Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto said in a statement that funding for big-ticket infrastructure projects and budget support for health and climate change initiatives were secured from Japan on Monday, March 24.
About P17.67 billion or (JPY 46.34 billion) was extended by the Japanese government to finance the construction of the 45.5-kilometer four-lane bypass road under the Davao City Bypass Construction Project (III).
A P17.45-billion financing (JPY 45.76 billion) was also given to the Pasig-Marikina River Channel Improvement Project Phase IV (II) to improve flood
management infrastructure in Metro Manila through the establishment of dikes and revetments, installation of flood gates and channel dredging. The Cavite Industrial Area Flood Risk Management Project (II) also received financing worth P5.52 billion (JPY 14.48 billion) to help mitigate flood damage in the lower reach of the San Juan River Basin and its adjacent Maalimango Creek Drainage Area. The Philippine and Japanese governments also signed the agreements for two programs for budget-support financing to assist the Philippines in
By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla
THE government has maintained the lower tariff on rice despite the drop in the average market price of the local food staple this month amid the ongoing harvest season.
As of Monday morning, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) and the Department of Agriculture (DA) are still reviewing if the rice tariff rate will be maintained or finally be raised.
“For now, I don’t have any details [about their recommen -
dations] at this time,” she said in Filipino when asked if both agencies already submitted recommendations related to Executive Order No. 62 to the Office of the President (OP) for consideration.
EO 62 reduced the tariff on rice from 35 percent to 15 percent as part of the government’s efforts to stabilize the price of the local food staple.
Neda is required to conduct a review on the said tariff rate every four months since EO 62 took effect in 2024.
Last month, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu-Laurel, Jr. said he will propose to the Office of the President to raise the rice
tariff as demanded by local farm groups if the retail price for rice drops to P42 to P45 per kilo.
Local farmers opposed the lower tariff during the harvest season since it will bring down their profit.
“The harvest season may be near. So that it [lower tariffs] will not have a significant impact on our farmers, it will undergo a review,” Castro said.
Based on the price monitoring of the agency in markets in Metro Manila, the average price for well-milled rice reached P46.84 per kilogram (kg) and regular milled at P40.72 per kg from the last week of February to early this month.
It started on a downward trend this month when the average price for local well milled rice dropped to P46.40 per kg and regular milled to P40.51 per kg from March 10 to 15. As of March 17 to 22, well milled rice was at 45.97 per kg and regular milled at P40.58 per kg. The average price of imported well milled rice and regular milled rice also decreased to P44.55 per kg and P40.34 per kg, respectively from the P45.49 per kg (well milled) and P41.77 (regular milled) in the third week of February. The DA attributed the trend to the decline in the international price of rice this month.
By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo
Special to the BusinessMirror
THERE may have been less traffic at the world’s largest travel trade fair this year, but Philippine sellers still managed to impress old and new buyers looking for more interesting destinations to visit in Southeast Asia. Unfortunately, the high cost of airfare and hotels in the Philippines remains a key concern.
This developed as the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) reported that the Philippine delegation generated some P637.4 million in sales leads at the ITB Berlin from March 4 to 6 this year, 30 percent more than last year. The sales leads are estimates by private tourism stakeholders of possible bookings, based on their meetings with travel buyers from Germany, Europe, and
other parts of the globe. TPB is the marketing arm of the Department of Tourism (DOT).
“The enthusiasm for our renowned and emerging destinations affirms the transformative experiences that await visitors to our shores,” said TPB Chief Operating Officer Maria Margarita Montemayor Nograles in a news statement. “We are optimistic that the partnerships we have forged and the interest we have generated will lead to greater global awareness of the Philippines and, ultimately, increased visitor arrivals, strengthening our tourism industry in the years ahead.”
The DOT and TPB led a delegation of 29 private sector exhibitors composed of tour operators, destination management companies (DMCs), along with hotels and resorts. Key desti-
TBy Ada Pelonia @adapelonia
HE Philippine Fiber Industry Development Authority (PhilFida) is mulling over regulating the entry of imported fibers, particularly abaca, as part of efforts to bolster the local industry.
PhilFida Executive Director Arnold Atienza said they are looking at legal possibilities that would regulate fiber imports. He noted the possibility of seeking the issuance of an Executive Order (EO) from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. “We should also look into the imports, because why are we importing abaca when we have [plenty of] abaca?” Atienza told reporters in a press briefing on Monday.
“There’s a lot of imports because [private entities] don’t know where to source their materials,” he said.
Atienza said the agency is keen on forging partnerships that would link farmers with the private sector involved in value-added products of fiber textiles.
This is part of its new program “Adopt-a-Farm.” which will help bridge that gap by providing the private sector direct access to raw materials, he added.
The PhilFida chief said engaging farmers with value-added products would also boost their income.
Currently, he noted that the price of abaca fiber ranges from P35 to P110 per kilo based on grading.
Atienza said the “Adopt-aFarm” initiative would also fast-
track the agency’s goal to arrest the decline in abaca output this year.
“So, we get to produce not just raw material but we get to produce value-added products,” he said.
Data from PhilFida showed that the country’s abaca production in 2024 declined by 4 percent to 43,055.78 metric tons (MT) from the previous year’s 44,868.36 MT. The recent figure is also lower than the 63,640.61 MT in 2022.
Cotton
MEANWHILE , PhilFida and the Philippine Textile Research Institute (PTRI) recently teamed up to increase cotton production and promote its use in textile manufacturing. (See: https://businessmirror.com. ph/2025/03/10/ptri-ties-up-
with-philfida-to-bolster-cotton-industry/)
Recently, PTRI distributed local cotton to weaving communities nationwide, equipping artisans with training programs to refine their skills in handling natural fibers. Unlike synthetic materials, natural cotton requires distinct weaving techniques, prompting the need for specialized training.
“We are here, we are open to engage. We have engineers and textile experts. We are on the same page with DA-PhilFida,” PTRI Director Julius Leano Jr. said during the Innovation Dialogue held at the PTRI Building.
Atienza underscored the strong demand for locally grown cotton.
“We have the raw materials, and with both agencies working together, we can achieve so much more,” he said.
Comelec, BSP deposit 2025 polls’ source codes in escrow
By Justine Xyrah Garcia
THE Commission on Elections and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) formally deposited in escrow on Monday the final trusted build source codes for the automated system of the upcoming 2025 midterm elections.
In a side interview, Comelec Chairman George Erwin M. Garcia said this step serves as proof that the source codes remain protected and tamper-free.
“The level of security at the BSP is different. This guarantees the public that our source codes are safeguarded. The envelope containing them is still sealed, bearing the signature of our international certifier,” Garcia explained.
ing system.
These codes have undergone both international certification and local review and are stored in digital media devices to preserve the accuracy and reliability of electronic election processes.
The poll chief assured the public that the escrowed envelope would remain sealed unless explicitly required by law.
nations that piqued the interest of most buyers included Siargao, Boracay, Palawan, Cebu, Iloilo, Ilocos Sur, and Negros Occidental, said the TPB.
Wanted: Lower airfare, hotel rates
and local elections since the country first adopted an automated system in 2010.
which could result in “P112 million” in possible sales between now until 2026. She added that “new contracts are being made from agents all over Europe, and even North and South America.”
There were over 170 countries represented and an estimated 100,000 attendees in this year’s ITB Berlin, held from March 4 to 6 at Messe Berlin.
Garcia emphasized that securing the source codes is essential to ensuring free, fair, and credible elections, as they serve as the backbone of the automated election system.
The deposited source codes cover key components of the automated election system, including the automated counting machine, the consolidation and canvassing system, the election management system, the secure electronic transmission system, and the online voting and count -
The deposit complies with Republic Act No. 9369, which mandates that the poll body place the source codes in escrow with the BSP to ensure their safekeeping.
“Unless Congress or the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee orders us to produce the source code, we will not touch it. If such an order comes, we will immediately comply in accordance with the law. But once we deposit it with the BSP, we have no intention of tampering with or compromising the source code,” Garcia said. He also clarified that the source code is not necessary for election protests, as the original ballots serve as the best evidence in such cases.
Before the deposit, Comelec and BSP officials signed an escrow agreement, formalizing the central bank’s role as the custodian of the election source codes.
The BSP has held the source codes from previous national
BSP tightens watch on votebuying MEANWHILE , as part of broader efforts to safeguard the integrity of the 2025 elections, the BSP has ordered all its supervised financial institutions (BSFIs) to strengthen their monitoring of vote-buying, vote-selling, and the potential misuse of public funds.
In a memorandum released Sunday, the BSP warned that digital banking platforms, mobile wallets, and cash transactions could be exploited for illicit election-related activities.
The central bank urged BSFIs to enhance their fraud detection systems and tighten controls on account registrations and money transfers, particularly in areas where vote-buying is prevalent. Financial institutions were also advised to flag suspicious activities, such as sudden spikes in account openings, unusually large cash withdrawals or deposits, and frequent fund transfers between digital wallets.
IN an interview with the BusinessMirror, Matt Poonin, general manager of Travelite Travel & Tours said, “While there was noticeably less foot traffic at ITB Berlin this year, we were able to maximize our time through quality meetings with both our long-standing partners and a number of promising new contacts. However, a recurring challenge that came up was the relatively higher cost of travel to the Philippines versus other destinations in the region.”
This was echoed by Jose C. Clemente III, president of Rajah Tours Philippines, who said despite the weak peso versus most foreign currencies, “It looks like we are still more expensive than our neighbors. We adjusted our conversion rates but the hotels and other suppliers also increased their rates, so in effect, we come out as expensive still.”
The cost of traveling to the Philippines was also raised by buyers at the World Travel Market in London last year. (See, “WTM opens new markets for PHL sellers, but cost an issue,” in the BusinessMirrror, Nov. 11, 2024.)
Katalene Agmata, Director of Marketing for Amorita Resort in Panglao and The Funny Lion in Coron, said they met with 68 buyers this year (versus 54 last year),
Continued from A1
advancing health and climate change initiatives.
Nearly P13.35 billion (JPY 35 billion) was awarded to bankroll the Climate Change Action Program Subprogram 2 to provide the government financial capability to implement more climate adaptation, mitigation and disaster preparedness initiatives.
The Build Universal Health Care Subprogram 2 also provided P11.44 billion (JPY 30 billion) to improve access to quality health services, promote responsiveness to genderspecific health concerns and the health impacts of climate change.
“We are deeply grateful to the government of Japan for its confidence in our ability to turn these projects into realities. On the part of the Philippine government, we will honor this trust by ensuring that every peso, every yen, and every commitment made today translates into real improvements to the people we serve,” Recto said.
Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) Country Chief Representative Baba Takashi
and the Finance chief signed the financing agreements.
Meanwhile, the Japanese government reaffirmed its support for the Marcos Jr. administration’s Build Better More program and other key priorities.
Fast-tracking major Japanfunded projects such as the Metro Manila Subway, NorthSouth Commuter Railway, MRT-3 rehabilitation, Dalton Pass East Alignment Road, and Metro Manila Priority Bridges Seismic Improvement were discussed.
Japan is also in talks to back projects such as the Central Mindanao High Standard Highway, a second San Juanico Bridge and the Magat Dam Reconstruction.
Discussions also covered the Mindanao peace process, disaster risk reduction, maritime safety, regional development, ICT and energy transition.
The Philippines outlined future infrastructure plans, emphasizing Public-Private Partnership (PPP) integration and Official Development Assistance (ODA) as it moves toward Upper Middle-Income status.
Information gap prevalent TRAVELITE was able to meet with potential parters from new markets like Northern and Eastern Europe. “Their interest was largely focused on high-end leisure destinations such as Palawan and Siargao, as well as emerging experiences that offer authenticity, wellness, and naturebased travel.”
Despite the cost concerns, “The Philippines is still seen as a great fit for niche markets like honeymooners and those looking for off-thebeaten-path or fresh destinations,” she noted.
For his part, Clemente said he was able to highlight new destinations like Dumaguete and Siquijor. “They were also keen on Siargao,” he added. He pointed out though the “information gap that needs to be addressed” by government after meeting with new buyers. “Their common comment was that they do not know much about the country, which is why they haven’t promoted us heavily,” he said.
The DOT has projected inbound visitors to reach 8.4 million this year. In 2024, just 5.95 million foreign tourists visited the Philipines. (See, “Missed goal: 5.95-M foreign tourists visited PHL in 2024,” in the BusinessMirror, Jan. 6, 2025.)
National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is leading global efforts in cyber resilience, helping nations and businesses build defenses against evolving cyber threats.”
“The UK has also taken bold steps in AI governance, from publishing the AI White Paper to establishing the AI Safety Institute, underscoring our commitment to fostering innovation while ensuring ethical and safe AI deployment. As Prime Minister Keir Starmer recently highlighted, the UK has a crucial role to play in responsible AI develop -
ment—striking the right balance between innovation and governance to unlock AI’s full potential for economies and societies alike,” Beaufils said. In fintech, UK companies continue to drive financial inclusion and digital transformation. London remains one of the world’s leading fintech hubs, home to firms revolutionizing payments, digital banking, and financial security, she added.
In the same event, Martin Kent, UK’s Trade Commissioner for Asia Pacific, recognized the “remarkable” progress in digital
prevent abuse,” she said. Given this, Quiray supported implementing comprehensive reproductive health education in schools, saying “It’s timely to integrate ageappropriate, science-based sex education into the curriculum...We’re not talking about sex with kindergarteners, but rather basic concepts like personal safety.”
Responsible parenthood TO address population concerns, Popcom said it continues to advocate for responsible parenthood and family planning through its “I Choose” or “Malaya Akong Maging” campaign. The platform offers resources on sexual and mental health, relationships, and family planning for young adults and couples.
According to the Department of Health, 8.6 million Filipino women are currently using family planning methods. Contraceptive pills remain the most popular, while injectables and implants have seen the highest growth in usage.
transformation in the Philippines, calling it a journey that is “positively” impacting millions of Filipinos.
Kent said: “I’m particularly proud to announce today is the Philippines’s launch of our UKAPAC Tech Growth Programme, our new partnership with Kickstart Ventures.” The British Trade commissioner said this UK governmentbacked initiative is designed to help British tech firms “scale and succeed” across Asia Pacific, “bringing the very best of what the UK has to offer here.” Andrea E. San Juan
Batangas Loop 2025
MOTORCYCLE RIDERS REV UP FOR BATANGAS LOOP 2025
By Vincent Peter Rivera
OTORCYCLE enthusiasts in the coun-
Mtry had a momentous experience last month, as they gathered in the City of Sto. Tomas, Batangas for the thrilling Batangas Loop 2025.
The motorcycle riders from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao completed a route of 11 destinations, showcasing the culture, heritage, and hidden gems of the city.
A total of 445 registered loopers have participated in the event. 263 of them are tourist loopers while 62 are VIP riders. Batangas Loop 2025 is part of the Philippine Loop (Loop PH), a tour-oriented project endorsed by the Department of Tourism (DOT).
It is designed to promote the Philippines as a major sports and adventure destination in the Asia Pacific Region.
Through the efforts of the Philippine Motorcycle Tourism and in collaboration with MotorClyde Training Center, Loop Ph successfully partnered with the City of Sto. Tomas, Batangas to host the Batangas segment of the project.
City of Sto. Tomas, Batangas Mayor Arth Jhun A. Marasigan, popularly called AJAM, shared his happiness that Batangas Loop 2025 finally happened after months of preparations.
“I feel accomplished and relieved because I thought at first that only a few will join (the Batangas Loop). But to my surprise, many riders are here. I’ve seen from previous loops, like in Mindanao, that a large number of riders are participating. I am happy to see a lot of people here.” Mayor AJAM said.
Sudden rain greeted the start of the loop.
Coach Tannie Ortigueras Jr., Head Trainor and Operations Director of MotorClyde Training Center, expressed his relief that despite the rain, the event proved successful and safe for riders.
“I felt nervous before the take-off (of the loop) because it was raining. It’s a natural
hazard that we cannot predict. But then, because of the coordination with each LGU, the ride went smoothly. There were no casualties recorded and that’s a good sign,” Ortigueras told BusinessMirror.
Known motorcycle riders participated in Batangas Loop 2025. They included: actor JC Santos, ambassador of MotorClyde Training Center; famous moto-vlogger Jet Lee, and government officials like Senator Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito and Juan Paolo Lopez, mayor of Madrid town in Surigao del Sur.
“The riders were very disciplined. I am very proud and happy that there were no incidents.” Senator Ejercito said. Ejercito congratulated the organizers “for clarifying that this (Batangas Loop 2025) is ‘not a race.’ They were well prepared and there were precautionary measures for any law violators.”
Day 1: Batangas Loop 2025
Last Feb. 7, the participating motorcycle riders across the country arrived at the City of Sto. Tomas, Batangas.
The whole day was given for the riders to prepare and learn everything that they had to know about the loop. These included the distribution of kits that they will be using for the entire loop and a safety riding clinic demonstration hosted by the MotorClyde Training Center.
“This riding clinic is specifically made for riders to have an idea, specially the participating loopers, about the different destinations that they will explore in the coming days—so they can be aware. Technically, the drill is more on maneuvering and slow maneuvering which are necessary (skills to apply) during traffic and we’ve witnessed from this loop that they benefited from it,” Coach Ortigueras Jr. said.
Day 2: Batangas Loop 2025
As early as 4 a.m., the NDN Hotel at the City of Sto. Tomas, Batangas was already filled with
hundreds of motorcycle riders, ready for the jump off of the ride. Day 2 marked the official kickoff of Batangas Loop 2025.
Actor and participating motorcycle rider
JC Santos shared his feelings on joining his first-ever loop. “Riding is something I’m passionate about aside from acting. And every ride is always an opportunity for me to make new friends, to build a community, to create stories as an actor myself, and build new adventures. This community is important to me because it saved me during the pandemic, during those moments that I was close to becoming depressed.”
JC also emphasized his advocacy for safe riding and hoped that this resonates, as well, to his fellow loopers during the event.
Malvar Shrine
Mayor AJAM welcomed the riders to their first destination: the Malvar Shrine, inside the Municipal Hall complex of the City of Sto. Tomas. The riders enjoyed a free breakfast of Suman, Kuchinta, and Kapeng Barako.
Bañadero Baywalk
Mesmerized by the picturesque view of Taal lake and the majestic Malepunyo mountain range, the loopers visited the second destination: Bañadero Baywalk in Tanauan Batangas. Riders got treated to a free Zumba session upon their arrival.
Fantasy World
Moving to higher ground, the third stop in the Batangas Loop is Fantasy World in Lemery, Batangas, where the air was cold and the scenery dotted with fairytale castles that brought to mind the Disney movies of Snow White and Sleeping Beauty.
Small eateries lined the main road, offering hot Bulalo, so beloved by Batangueños and other classic dishes like Tawilis, Kare-Kare.
At the heart of the town, riders found the Calatagan Municipal Hall, the statue of Jose Rizal, and Poblacion 3. Exploring the area enabled riders to discover the Cape Santiago Lighthouse, one of Calatagan’s hidden gems.
Taal Town Plaza
At Taal Town Plaza, the loop’s fifth stopover destination, riders touched faith as they reverently entered Basilica Minor and the Parish of St. Martin of Tours.
It was also a delight to visit the Museo nina Marcela Mariño at Felipe Agoncillo, a rich demonstration of Batangas cultural heritage, and to purchase the famous balisong (fan knife).
Anilao Port
Anilao Port in Mabini, Batangas served as the last destination of Batangas Loop 2025 Day 2. With its one-of-a-kind view of mountain and seascape, Anilao Port showed riders the singular beauty of mixed landscapes, as mountain ranges lived harmoniously with the sea.
To conclude their first day, the participating loopers lodged into various hotels and accommodations throughout Batangas province, directly supporting the event’s stated goal of boosting local tourism.
Day 3: Batangas Loop 2025
Starting at 7 a.m., the third day of Batangas Loop 2025 took loopers to the five remaining destinations of the route.
Batangas Provincial Capitol
The first destination of the second leg was the Batangas Provincial Capitol where the government offices of the governor, vice-governor, and board members of the province were located.
the locals of Cuenca.
Balete Baywalk
Montemaria International Pilgrimage and Conference Center
Known as a place for spiritual activities, the participating riders experienced the breath-taking view of Montemaria International Pilgrimage and Conference Center. The destination is popularly known as a pilgrimage site with the sight of the tallest statue of Mary around the world, Mother of all Asia-Tower of Peace, with a height of 98 meters.
Malabrigo Lighthouse
Upon setting foot in the area, the Loopers were immediately greeted with the traditional dances from the youth of Lobo, Batangas as they were celebrating the Anihan Festival. After the performance, the riders headed towards the area of the tout Malabrigo Lighthouse that towers for 56 ft. It was built during the Spanish colonization which explained the architecture of the lighthouse and the infrastructure surrounding it. The riders were also met by the picturesque view of the seashore while exploring the area.
Imelda’s Garden
Found in the municipality of Cuenca, Batangas, the loopers headed towards the haven-like Imelda’s Garden. The place was filled with various trees, plants, and flowers, giving the riders an aesthetic place to capture photos and videos.
In front of the garden is the scenic view of the Taal lake, Taal volcano, and Mt. Maculot.
Aside from this, the area also has a hotel and restaurant inside of it.
The loopers’ experience became complete with instrumental and dance performances from
Heading to the last destination of the entire loop, the riders have, once again, witnessed the beauty of the Taal lake upon arriving at the Balete Baywalk. Its wide and long road was enough for all the loopers to enjoy the majestic view of the lake at a different angle. Mayor Marasigan, together with other loopers, seize the moment by watching the sunset from the baywalk.
Some riders were also able to try the municipality’s signature food, Suman,
Calatagan Town Plaza
History beckoned as the riders reached the loop’s fourth destination—the Calatagan Town Plaza.
The tourist spot also houses the province’s archives, museums, and library which gives a glimpse of Batangas’ past and history.
Sen. Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito and Mayor Arth Jhun A. Marasigan shake hands for a successful Batangas Loop 2025.
Batangas Gov. Hermilando Mandanas together with his wife, Atty. Angelica Chua, welcomes Batangas Loopers at the Batangas Provincial Capitol.
Mayor Arth Jhun A. Marasigan and fellow loopers pose at the 1st destination, the Malvar Shrine.
(L-R) Actor JC Santos, City Councilor Helengrace Navarro, City Councilor Adrian Carpio, Sen. Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito, , and Mayor Arth Jhun A. Marasigan at the 1st destination of the Batangas Loop 2025, the Malvar Shrine.
AnaKalusugan Partylist Rep. Ray Florence Tolentino Reyes, Mayor Arth Jhun A. Marasigan, and participating motorcycle riders celebrate the successful first leg of the Batangas Loop 2025 at Mabini, Batangas.
(L-R) Madrid, Surigao del Sur Mayor Juan Paolo Lopez, Mayor Arth Jhun A. Marasigan, Sen. Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito, Atty. Angelica Chua, Batangas Gov. Hermilando Mandanas, and motovlogger Jet Lee at the Batangas Provincial Capitol.
Batangas Gov. Hermilando Mandanas together with his wife, Atty. Angelica Chua give a tour of the Batangas Provincial Capitol among the Batangas Loopers.
Participating loopers experience the MotorClyde Training Center’s training clinic. Motorcycle rider ATV Wanderer joins the Batangas Loop 2025.
Mayor Arth Jhun A. Marasigan at the Batangas Loop’s 10th destination, the Imelda’s Garden.
Loopers successfully arrive at Balete Baywalk, the Batangas Loop’s 11th destination
BI stops deportation flights with layovers
TBy Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573
HE Bureau of Immigration (BI) has banned deportation flights with layovers for foreign fugitives involved in Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (Pogos).
In a statement, Immigration
Commissioner Joel Viado admitted that the move was intended to address loopholes in the deportation process for Pogo foreign workers that provide them an opportunity to escape at their transit destination.
from manipulating deportation protocols.
Viado said under BI Board of Commissioners Resolution 2025002, issued on March 21, 2025, deported foreign nationals with links to Pogos can only be placed on direct flights to their home countries, except in cases where no direct route exists from the Philippines.
lower opportunities of them expanding their operations in other countries in the Asian region,” he added.
Viado said the BI, in coordination with the Department of Justice (DOJ), has begun working with airlines and foreign embassies to ensure smooth enforcement of the new directive.
Viado also urged lawmakers to explore further legislative support to institutionalize the policy.
Legislator demands more apologies from vloggers
This prompted Sens. Anna Theresia “Risa” Hontiveros and Sherwin Gatchalian to push for stricter measures to prevent high-profile criminals
The modus where foreigners subject to deportation purchase airline tickets with layovers in order to escape was revealed during the Senate justice and human rights subcommittee hearing held early this month.
“This is uncharted territory since we started mass deportations and arrests this year in compliance with President Marcos’s declaration of a Pogo ban,” said Viado.
“The discussions during Senate hearings allowed us to hear other perspectives that we have included in our discussions,” Viado said.
“This is a firm step in strengthening our deportation procedures. Removing direct flights for Pogorelated foreign nationals would
Solons assail Chinese-owned TikTok for failure to combat disinformation
CITING the platform’s failure to prevent the spread of false claims asserting Chinese ownership of Palawan, a lawmaker has called for stricter content moderation policies as he criticized the Chinese-owned TikTok for its inadequate efforts to combat disinformation.
Following House Tri-Committee investigation on fake news, 1-Rider Party-list Rep. Rodge Gutierrez expressed alarm over the viral posts, deeming them deliberately misleading and indicative of TikTok’s reactive approach to fake news.
He argued that TikTok primarily acts after harmful content is flagged, rather than implementing preventive measures to detect and halt disinformation before it reaches a wide audience.
He pointed out that removed content is often quickly reposted by different accounts, rendering takedown efforts ineffective.
“When we see one video posted and it has been reported, we would see the same video posted by a different person, he explained.
The issue arose during a House inquiry on online disinformation, where the Coast Guard (PCG) revealed the circulation of false claims about Chinese ownership of Palawan, often accompanied by Chinese characters.
“This is a new kind of propaganda,” PCG Commodore Jay Tarriela, the agency’s spokesman for
the West Philippine Sea, said. TikTok’s public policy manager, Peachy Paderna, assured lawmakers that the platform prohibits harmful misinformation.
Paderna reported that between July and September of the previous year, over four million videos violating community guidelines were removed, with a majority taken down proactively.
However, Gutierrez remained unconvinced, asserting that TikTok’s efforts fall short of effectively stopping viral falsehoods.
He called for stricter content moderation policies, including aggressive takedowns of coordinated disinformation campaigns and harsher penalties for repeat offenders.
Warning
THE House Committee on Public Accounts chairman, Rep. Joseph Stephen Paduano meanwhile warned vloggers and influencers involved in the online disinformation if they attack or undermine the proceedings or lawmakers after the hearings.
Paduano, the nominee of the party-list group Abang Lingkod, reminded them that resource persons could face contempt charges.
“Just to remind you—Section 11 of our internal rules, Paragraph F—we will not allow discussions or attacks or insults at this committee hearing after the suspension of this hearing because you will
be in violation…we will be forced to cite you in contempt [for undue interference],” said Paduano.
He emphasized that the House had previously implemented this rule, citing a past incident involving a block timer from Bombo Radyo Cagayan who was cited in contempt after attacking the committee’s findings post-hearing.
The House joint committee, consisting of the Committees on Public Information, Public Order and Safety, and Information and Communications Technology, has scheduled its next hearing for April 8, subject to any changes.
Paduano earlier called for subpoenas to be issued to 24 pro-Duterte vloggers and influencers who failed to attend the hearing despite receiving showcause orders.
Among those subpoenaed were former NTF-ELCAC spokesperson
Lorraine Badoy, vlogger Jeffrey “Ka Eric” Celiz, and vlogger Allan Troy “Sass” Rogando Sasot.
Other individuals subpoenaed include Alex Distor, Alven Mortero, Claire Eden Contreras, Claro Ganac, Cyrus Priglo, Darwin Salceda, Edwin Jamora, Elmer Jugalbot, Ernesto Abines Jr., Atty. Glen Chong, Jeffrey Cruz, Josmith Medina, Jonathan Morales, Julius Milan Maui, Kester Tan, Lord Byron Cristobal, Maria Florenda Espenilla, Maricar Serrano, Susan Batalla, Mary Catherine Binag, and Vivian Zapata Rodriguez. Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz
Legislator eyes long-term govt care, job programs for seniors
Anext five years. While senior citizens currently benefit from discounts, cash assistance, and social pensions, Bicol Saro Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan stressed that these should be
complemented by sustainable programs that promote active and healthy aging while also providing support for frail and dependent elderly individuals.
“By 2030, which is only a few years from now, our country will start transitioning to an aging society. We need to act now to ensure that our senior citizens remain healthy—both physically and mentally— and that they get the quality care they deserve,” Yamsuan said.
Estimates done by the National Com -
In addition, the bureau is studying more security enhancements for deportation procedures, including tighter coordination with law enforcement agencies abroad.
“This is just the beginning. We will continue reviewing and strengthening our deportation processes to prevent criminals from finding ways back into the country or evading justice,” Viado added.
PH, US armies kick off Sabak 2025 drills
By Rex Anthony Naval
SHOWCASING the strong military ties between the two nations, the Philippine and US armies, formally kickedoff the “Salaknib” and “Balikatan” or “Sabak” 2025 joint exercises at Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija on Monday.
The exercise, which will last until April 11, will bring personnel from thePhilippine Army (PA) and US Army Pacific (Usarpac) for “robust joint exercises” in key locations in the Philippines, the Army spokesman, Col. Louie Dema-ala, said in a statement.
“The exercise, designed as a continuous operation, focuses on enhancing combined-joint all-domain operations, reinforcing warfighting capabilities, and showcasing a strong bilateral commitment to safeguarde the Philippines’ territorial integrity. Aimed at strengthening defense readiness, Sabak 2025 will also provide critical training in humanitarian civil assistance, information operations, counterintelligence, and protection,” Dema-ala added.
He also said that the exercises would tackle capability
mission of Senior Citizens (NCSC) show that by 2030, the number of Filipino elderly citizens will comprise about 8.5 percent of the population.
These projections were confirmed by the findings of The Longitudinal Study of Aging and Health in the Philippines (LSAHP), which cited the country’s shift to an aging society by 2030 as a result of a recent sharp decline in fertility rates and increased life expectancy among Filipinos.
“We highly value and love our senior citizens. At this time, we should be preparing for the increasing number of our elderly countrymen, and many of our loved ones will belong to this group by 2030. They should have a stable support system so that they can remain active, productive, and healthy members of our society,” he said.
In the Congress, Yamsuan has filed House Bill 7980, which aims to institute long-term care programs for the elderly, especially indigent seniors; HB 7971, which prohibits and provides penalties for abuses committed against senior citizens; and HB 10630, which seeks to put in place offices
By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie
THE chairman of the House Committee on Human Rights on Monday demanded more than apologies from vloggers who spread misinformation, following a House hearing where an online content creator admitted to falsely labeling extrajudicial killings (EJKs) as a “hoax.”
Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr. insisted that vloggers must actively correct the damage they caused, particularly regarding EJKs, the alleged “mass resignation” of policemen, and false claims about the West Philippine Sea.
“These apologies are a start, but they are not enough. If these vloggers are truly sincere, they must stop spreading lies and start presenting the truth—not their socalled ‘truth,’ but the real, honestto-God truth,” Abante said.
His remarks followed a House Tri-Committee hearing where a vlogger conceded she lacked evidence to support her claims about fabricated EJKs during the Duterte administration. Her assertion of “my truth” was strongly rebuked by Abante.
The Tri Comm is composed of the Committees on Public Order and Safety, on Information and Communications Technology, and on Public Information.
“You cannot hide behind the phrase ‘my truth’ when talking about human rights violations. Truth is not subjective. It must be based on facts and evidence.
Calling the EJKs a ‘massive hoax’ is not just irresponsible—it is an insult to the victims, to the grieving families, and to the institutions—such as the House and the Commission on Human Rights—that investigated these crimes,” he said.
Abante reminded influencers that “freedom of speech does not mean freedom from accountability.”
He emphasized the responsibility that comes with a large platform.
“They admitted they had no
documentation, no solid evidence––and that they were relying on posts online. These were red flags. This tells us that this wasn’t journalism; it was propaganda,” lamented Abante. He urged vloggers to use their platforms to rectify the falsehoods they disseminated, acknowledging the suffering of victims’ families.
“If they are truly sorry, they should use their platforms now to correct the misconceptions they promoted. Say what is true. Describe what really happened. Acknowledge the pain of the victims’ families,” said Abante.
“We’re not just talking about social media posts. We’re talking about narratives that erase the suffering of victims, distort history, and protect impunity,” he added. Abante called on the public to remain vigilant against disinformation and pledged to continue his efforts to purge social media of falsehoods and manipulative content.
Krizette Laureta Chu, along with Mary Jane Quiambao Reyes and Mark Lopez, apologized during Friday’s hearing attended by pro-Duterte influencers.
Abante reprimanded Chu for her misleading social media posts. He demanded an apology after she admitted to basing her statements on news reports without supporting documents.
Chu claimed that there was a mass resignation within the National Police (PNP), which the force denied.
Abang Lingkod Rep. Stephen Joseph Paduano also grilled vlogger Quiambao-Reyes over her post claiming that EJKs were a hoax. When asked if she had documents or proof to support her claim, Quiambao admitted she had none.
Vlogger Lopez, another proDuterte influencer, also found himself in hot water during the hearing.
When pressed about his own social media posts concerning the South China Sea, Lopez admitted to spreading falsehoods. He admitted before the panel, “I’m sorry; I spread fake news.”
Oil firms set price hike
AFTER three consecutive weeks of price reductions, oil companies are set to implement price increases today, Tuesday.
Chevron Philippines Inc. (Caltex) and Seaoil Philippines Corp. announced that they will increase pump prices by P1.10 per liter for gasoline, and P0.40 per liter for both diesel and kerosene.
Cleanfuel and Petro Gazz will implement similar adjustments, excluding kerosene, which they do not carry. This latest adjustment follows a modest rollback on March 18, when local companies reduced diesel prices by P0.20 per liter and kerosene by P0.40 per liter, while
remained unchanged. According to its latest oil price monitor advisory, the Department of Energy (DOE) sees several global factors that affected fuel price adjustments, including rising tensions in the Middle East, China’s implementation of fiscal stimulus measures aimed at boosting consumption, and data indicating a draw in US fuel inventories.
As of March 18, the weekon-week price of Dubai crude remained unchanged at around $71.20 per barrel. However, international prices of gasoline, diesel, and kerosene declined, with diesel down by $1.40 per barrel, kerosene by
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Nlex suspends collection of toll from Balintawak to Meycauayan
By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan
NORTH Luzon Expressway
Corp. suspended toll collection on the northbound section of the expressway’s open system—from Balintawak to Meycauayan—on Monday at 12 noon, as repair works continue on the Marilao Bridge.
The toll highway operator said the temporary relief covers northbound entry plazas at Balintawak, Karuhatan, Mindanao Avenue, Paso de Blas, and Lawang Bato. Only vehicles entering through these toll plazas and heading northbound are eligible for the waived tolls.
When asked how long the toll holiday is, the company said it will remain in effect “until all four lanes of the northbound bridge are reopened.”
The toll relief comes in response to a call from the Department of Transportation (DOTr), following severe damage sustained by the Marilao Bridge.
Nlex said the damage was caused by a truck that violated height regulations and crashed at the Marilao bridge, prompting the implementation of immediate repair works and traffic flow adjustments to ensure public safety.
“The Department of Transportation extends its gratitude to the Nlex Corp. for heeding our call on waiving toll collection from motorists passing through Balintawak-Meycauayan while the repair works for the Marilao bridge are underway,” the DOTr said in a statement.
Nlex is closing portions of the northbound side of the Marilao Interchange Bridge until March 28 to make way for critical safety repair works.
Two lanes—specifically the leftmost and rightmost—will remain open to motorists during the repair period. However, the middle lanes will be closed, potentially causing traffic build-up along the stretch.
A zipper lane will also be opened on the southbound side when conditions allow, to help manage the traffic flow. The toll operator advised motorists to expect heavy traffic and consider alternative routes during the closure period.
“This swift action between the government and the private sector shows commitment to helping commuters as this immediate solution will help ease the burden of the affected motorists and passengers while we work on opening all affected lanes the soonest possible time,” it added, the DOTr noted.
Senate bet urges local govts to buy directly from farmers
By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM
ENATORIAL candidate
SFrancis Pangilinan on Monday underscored how buying produce directly from farmers is a win-win situation for farmers and local governments.
In a speech at the awarding of officers of the City Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council (CFARMC) in Parañaque City, the former Senator and Food Security Secretary shared how local governments can bring the prices of food down.
He said that through his Oplan Sagip Kamatis launched in Nueva Ecija to save some 12 tons of surplus tomatoes, the city government of Muntinlupa was able to save three times the total amount it would have normally paid for five tons of tomatoes since the market price of tomatoes in Metro Manila now is at P100 per kilo.
The purchase also helped farmers in Nueva Ecija with
their revenues as the Muntinlupa local government bought the tomatoes at P25 to P30 (if with transportation cost) per kilo compared to the P4 per kilo being offered by middlemen to the farmers.
“So kung bibili nang direkta sa magsasaka, times six ang kikitain ng mga magsasaka, divided by three naman ang matitipid ng locality. Kumita magsasaka, nakatipid ang local govenment,”said Pangilinan.
He added that local governments are also assured that they’ll have access to fresh produce when they buy directly from farms.
“Iyan ang ibig sabihin ng food security [That’s what food security means],” the former senator stressed. “Ganyan ang paraan para mapababa ang presyo ng pagkain na lahat tayo makikinabang [That’s the way to bring down the prices of food that we can all benefit from].”
Pangilinan is advocating for food security in his run as senator in the coming May 2025 elections.
‘Include industrial chemicals, pesticides on monitoring list’
By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga
ALOCAL waste and pollution watchdog has expressed support for the inclusion of several industrial chemicals and pesticides in two global treaties that count on the Philippines among the state parties.
In a position paper submitted to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) through the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), EcoWaste Coalition, an advocacy group for a zero waste and toxics-free society, agreed to the recommendations made by expert groups to include the nominated chemicals under Annex A of the Stockholm Convention and in Annex III of the Rotterdam Conventions.
EcoWaste Coalition is a participating organization of the International Pollutants Elimination Network (Ipen).
The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), adopted in 2001 and ratified by the Philippine government in 2004, aims to protect human health and the environment from POPs. These highly toxic pollutants include pesticides, industrial chemicals, and by-products that do not readily degrade
and can remain intact in the environment for long periods, travel long distances, accumulate and magnify in living organisms through the food chain, posing a serious threat to the health of humans and wildlife.
Annex A of the Stockholm Convention currently includes 17 industrial chemicals, pesticides, and by-products that are targeted for global elimination.
Nominated by the POPs Review Committee for inclusion in Annex A following rigorous evaluation are chlorpyrifos, long-chain perfluorocarboxylic acids, their salts and related compounds (LCPFCA), and medium-chain chlorinated paraffins (MCCPs).
In endorsing the POPRC’s recommendations, EcoWaste Coalition cited the Committee’s conclusion that chlorpyrifos, LC-PFCA, and MCCPs are likely, as a result of their long-range environmental transport, to lead to significant human health and/or environmental effects such that global action is warranted.
Echoing IPEN’s position, the group also pointed out that the most effective means to protect human health and the environment from the risks associated with the nominated POPs is a complete prohibition of their production, sale, and use with no
specific exemptions, noting that viable alternatives exist and are in use for these proposed POPs.
The Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure (PIC) for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade, adopted in 1998 and ratified by the Philippine government in 2006, establishes the PIC procedure to ensure that listed industrial chemicals and pesticides are not exported to countries that have not agreed to receive them.
Annex III of the Rotterdam Convention presently lists 36 pesticides, 18 industrial chemicals, and one chemical classified as pesticide and industrial chemical.
Nominated by the Chemical Review Committee (CRC) for listing in Annex III are acetochlor, carbosulfan, chlorpyrifos, chrysotile asbestos, fenthion, iprodione, liquid formulations (emulsifiable concentrate, and soluble concentrate) containing paraquat dichloride, mercury, methyl bromide, and paraquat.
In supporting the inclusion of the above chemicals in Annex III of the Rotterdam Convention, EcoWaste Coalition emphasized that such a listing will assist governments in monitoring the importation, distribution, sale, and use of these chemicals, as well as
PHL accounts for 73% of global Mosip IDs
By Bless Aubrey Ogerio
THE Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that 73 percent of the world’s Modular Open Source Identity Platform (Mosip)-powered ID registrations are from the Philippines.
PSA data indicate that as of February 5, over 92 million Filipinos have registered for the National ID system since its implementation in 2019.
National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa noted the role of open-source identity platforms like Mosip in supporting the National ID system’s rollout.
“In an increasingly digital
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world, open-source identity platforms are transforming how we approach identity solutions, making them more accessible, secure, and adaptable to the unique needs of our societies,” Mapa said in his welcome remarks at the Mosip Connect 2025 event at the Philippine International Convention Center.
“Boosted by Mosip, the Philippines, through the PSA, has made significant strides in advancing digital identity by successfully registering over 92 million Filipinos to the National ID system since implementation began in 2019. That is 73 percent of the 126 million individuals registered in Mosip-powered identi -
fication systems in various parts of the world,” he added.
The PSA and Mosip jointly organized the conference, which featured a National ID registration demonstration at the PSA exhibit and presentations on how organizations are using the National ID’s authentication services.
Mosip Connect 2025 marks the second edition of the forum, following the inaugural event in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Mosip provides modular and open-source technology designed to aid countries build and manage national identity systems, serving as the foundation of the Philippines’ National ID System.
control illegal trade, by requiring PIC of importing countries.
While listing the 10 nominated chemicals in Annex III of the treaty will not prohibit them from being manufactured and exported, the application of the PIC procedure will enable the Philippines and other countries to control the entry of these chemicals into their ports and make informed decisions about their importation and use, the group clarified.
“We request the upcoming Conferences of the Parties of the Stockholm Convention and the Rotterdam Conventions to adopt the recommendations made by the POPRC and the CRC as their affirmative decisions will help in safeguarding public health and the environment from the nominated industrial chemicals and pesticides,” the coalition said.
The meetings of the Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam, and Stockholm Conventions, or the 2025 BRS COPs, will be held in Geneva, Switzerland from April 28 to May 9 under the theme “Make visible the invisible: sound management of chemicals and wastes.”
The EcoWaste Coalition will send a representative to the 2025 BRS COPs as part of the IPEN delegation.
Armies. . .
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enhancement on operational command and control, combined arms force-on-force, largescale operational maneuvers, combined arms live-fire exercise, and sustainment operations in support of external security operations. He added that the “Salaknib” portion of “Sabak” 2025 will be attended by some 3,000 Filipino troops and 2,000 soldiers from the Usarpac.
Dema-ala said these military personnel will take part in various subject matter expert exchange and warfighting exercises. Phase 1 of “Salaknib” will be conducted from March 24 to April 11 and “Salaknib” Phase 2 will be from May 19 to July 20 at Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City, and the area of operations of the Fifth Infantry “Star” Division and the Seventh Infantry “Kaugnay” Division.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion–critical for any organization
By Henry J. Schumacher
SINCE the US president began cracking down on leadership diversity programs with rants and legislation, corporations have dropped their targets, remained silent, and feared losing business.
“Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” (DEI) stands for diversity, equality, and inclusion in human resources management—and has been considered a principle by many companies since studies have shown that diverse teams are more creative and productive. But since Donald Trump recognized “illegal” practices in this area, US companies have been removing the DEI acronym from their websites. Other globally active corporations also fear reprisals.
Given Trump’s absurd policy on DEI, allow me to explain what diversity is: It can be defined as the unique differences between people, including race, ethnicity, gender, age, social class and so on. However, in an organizational setting, diversity goes even further, beyond demographics. Diversity also relates to unique skill sets, such as life experiences and education.
Building a diverse workforce requires equity and inclusion. Equity refers to ensuring employees of all backgrounds have access to the same opportunities. And inclusion refers to a work environment where everyone feels welcome, supported and celebrated regardless of differences.
Diversity is tremendously
valuable. It breaks down barriers, improves our view of the world and opens the doors of opportunity for so many who would otherwise be overlooked. And this is just the start. The benefits of embracing diversity within your workforce are plentiful. Let me just highlight three benefits: 1. Fresh ideas - Innovative
ideas are priceless for any organization. And when individuals with different worldviews, experiences, backgrounds and perspectives come together, new ideas are born. How? Different people think, well, differently.
For example, when a problem arises, each individual will have a different approach to solving it based on their unique experiences. Often, this leads to better solutions than you would have without a diverse team. The same goes for generating everything from new product ideas to innovative marketing methods.
2. Increased morale - What do employees want in an employer? Money or remote work may come to mind. However, employees also want to work with a diverse team. A diverse workforce
will become even more important as roles, skills and company requirements change.
3. Higher retention levels - You know that it costs more to source and hire new talent than it does to retain the incredible talent you already have. We also know the pain of losing some of our coveted team members. One of the factors driving employees to look elsewhere is a lack of diversity. In other words, we must begin to prioritize diversity, equity and inclusion to ensure happy, healthy and thriving employees who stick around. Diversity is not an option.
To promote diversity within your organization, someone needs to be responsible for developing, implementing and
monitoring diversity initiatives, such as diversity training and multicultural events. You also need someone to oversee the hiring process to ensure diversity is kept top of mind. As mentioned above, innovative ideas are priceless for any organization. And when individuals with different worldviews, experiences, backgrounds and perspectives come together, new ideas are born. How? Different people think, well, differently. In other words, forget Trump’s idea that DEI are “illegal” practices. If I convinced you that diversity makes sense for your organization, create a diversity policy now. I am certainly looking forward to your comments; contact me at hjschumacher59@ gmail.com.
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March 25,
AI in hospitals sparks debate: Are automated assistants replacing nurses or helping them?
By Matthew Perrone Ap Health Writer
THE next time you’re due for a medical exam you may get a call from someone like Ana: a friendly voice that can help you prepare for your appointment and answer any pressing questions you might have.
With her calm, warm demeanor, Ana has been trained to put patients at ease—like many nurses across the US. But unlike them, she is also available to chat 24-7, in multiple languages, from Hindi to Haitian Creole.
That’s because Ana isn’t human, but an artificial intelligence program created by Hippocratic AI, one of a number of new companies offering ways to automate time-consuming tasks usually performed by nurses and medical assistants.
It’s the most visible sign of AI’s inroads into health care, where hundreds of hospitals are using increasingly sophisticated computer programs to monitor patients’ vital signs, flag emergency situations and trigger step-bystep action plans for care— jobs that were all previously handled by nurses and other health professionals.
Hospitals say AI is helping their nurses work more efficiently while addressing burnout and understaffing. But nursing unions argue that this poorly understood technology is overriding nurses’ expertise and degrading the quality of care patients receive.
“Hospitals have been waiting for the moment when they have something that appears to have enough legitimacy to replace nurses,” said Michelle Mahon of National Nurses United. “The entire ecosystem is designed to automate, de-skill and ultimately replace caregivers.”
Mahon’s group, the largest nursing union in the US, has helped organize more than 20 demonstrations at hospitals across the country, pushing for the right to have say in how AI can be used—and protection from discipline if nurses decide to disregard automated advice. The group raised new alarms in January when Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the incoming health secretary, suggested AI nurses “as good as any doctor” could help deliver care in rural areas. On Friday, Dr. Mehmet Oz, who’s been nominated to oversee Medicare and Medicaid, said he believes AI can “liberate doctors and nurses from all the paperwork.”
Hippocratic AI initially promoted a rate of $9 an hour for its AI assistants, compared with about $40 an hour for a registered nurse. It has since dropped that language, instead touting its services and seeking to assure customers that they have been carefully tested. The company did not grant requests for an interview.
AI in the hospital can generate false alarms and dangerous advice HOSPITALS have been experimenting for years
left the workforce during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to one estimate, the biggest staffing drop in 40 years.
As the US population ages and nurses retire, the US government estimates there will be more than 190,000 new openings for nurses every year through 2032.
Faced with this trend, hospital administrators see AI filling a vital role: not taking over care, but helping nurses and doctors gather information and communicate with patients.
with technology designed to improve care and streamline costs, including sensors, microphones and motionsensing cameras. Now that data is being linked with electronic medical records and analyzed in an effort to predict medical problems and direct nurses’ care—sometimes before they’ve evaluated the patient themselves.
Adam Hart was working in the emergency room at Dignity Health in Henderson, Nevada, when the hospital’s computer system flagged a newly arrived patient for sepsis, a life-threatening reaction to infection. Under the hospital’s protocol, he was supposed to immediately administer a large dose of IV fluids. But after further examination, Hart determined that he was treating a dialysis patient, or someone with kidney failure. Such patients have to be carefully managed to avoid overloading their kidneys with fluid.
Hart raised his concern with the supervising nurse but was told to just follow the standard protocol. Only after a nearby physician intervened did the patient instead begin to receive a slow infusion of IV fluids.
“You need to keep your thinking cap on— that’s why you’re being paid as a nurse,” Hart said. “Turning over our thought processes to these devices is reckless and dangerous.”
Hart and other nurses say they understand the goal of AI: to make it easier for nurses to monitor multiple patients and quickly respond to problems. But the reality is often a barrage of false alarms, sometimes erroneously flagging basic bodily functions—such as a patient having a bowel movement—as an emergency.
“You’re trying to focus on your work but then you’re getting all these distracting alerts that may or may not mean something,” said Melissa Beebe, a cancer nurse at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento. “It’s hard to even tell when it’s accurate and when it’s not because there are so many false alarms.”
Can AI help in the hospital? EVEN the most sophisticated technology will miss signs that nurses routinely pick up on, such as facial expressions and odors, notes Michelle Collins, dean of Loyola University’s College of Nursing. But people aren’t perfect either.
“It would be foolish to turn our back on this completely,” Collins said. “We should embrace what it can do to augment our care, but we should also be careful it doesn’t replace the human element.”
More than 100,000 nurses
‘Sometimes they are talking to a human and sometimes they’re not’ AT the University of Arkansas Medical Sciences in Little Rock, staffers need to make hundreds of calls every week to prepare patients for surgery. Nurses confirm information about prescriptions, heart conditions and other issues— like sleep apnea—that must be carefully reviewed before anesthesia.
The problem: many patients only answer their phones in the evening, usually between dinner and their children’s bedtime.
“So, what we need to do is find a way to call several hundred people in a 120-minute window -- but I really don’t want to pay my staff overtime to do so,” said Dr. Joseph Sanford, who oversees the center’s health IT.
Since January, the hospital has used an AI assistant from Qventus to contact patients and health providers, send and receive medical records and summarize their contents for human staffers.
Qventus says 115 hospitals are using its technology, which aims to boost hospital earnings through quicker surgical turnarounds, fewer cancellations and reduced burnout.
Each call begins with the program identifying itself as an AI assistant.
“We always want to be fully transparent with our patients that sometimes they are talking to a human and sometimes they’re not,” Sanford said.
While companies like Qventus are providing an administrative service, other AI developers see a bigger role for their technology.
Israeli startup Xoltar specializes in humanlike avatars that conduct video calls with patients. The company is working with the Mayo Clinic on an AI assistant that teaches patients cognitive techniques for managing chronic pain. The company is also developing an avatar to help smokers quit. In early testing, patients spend about 14 minutes talking to the program, which can pick up on facial expressions, body language and other cues, according to Xoltar.
Nursing experts who study AI say such programs may work for people who are relatively healthy and proactive about their care. But that’s not most people in the health system.
“It’s the very sick who are taking up the bulk of health care in the US and whether or not chatbots are positioned for those folks is something we really have to consider,” said Roschelle Fritz of the University of California Davis School of Nursing.
Israel strikes major hospital in southern Gaza, causing casualties amid intensifying conflict
By Wafaa Shurafa & Samy Magdy The Associated Press
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip—
Israel’s military struck the largest hospital in southern Gaza on Sunday night, killing two people, wounding others and causing a large fire, the territory’s Health Ministry said.
The strike hit the surgical building of Nasser Hospital in the city of Khan Younis, the ministry said, days after the facility was overwhelmed with dead and wounded when Israel resumed the war in Gaza last week with a surprise wave of airstrikes.
Those killed in Sunday night’s strike included a 16-year-old boy who underwent surgery two days ago, according to the Health Ministry. Also killed was Ismail Barhoum, a member of Hamas’ political bureau, who was being treated at the hospital, Hamas said in a statement.
Israel’s military confirmed the strike on the hospital, saying it hit a Hamas militant operating there. Israel blames civilian deaths on Hamas because it operates in densely populated areas.
Like other medical facilities around Gaza, Nasser Hospital has been damaged by Israeli raids and strikes throughout the war.
More than 50,000 Palestinians have now been killed in the war, the Health Ministry said earlier Sunday.
The military claimed to have “eliminated” dozens of militants since Israel ended a ceasefire Tuesday with strikes that killed hundreds of people on one of the deadliest days in the 17-month war.
Israel’s unrest over Gaza and political issues grew Sunday, with anger at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as his government voted to express no confidence in the attorney general, seen by many as a check on the power of his coalition.
“I’m worried for the future of this country. And I think it has to stop. We have to change direction,” said Avital Halperin, one of hundreds of protesters outside Netanyahu’s office. Police said three were arrested.
‘Displacement under fire’
ISRAEL’S military ordered thousands of Palestinians to leave the
heavily destroyed Tel al-Sultan neighborhood in the southern city of Rafah. They walked to Muwasi, a sprawling area of squalid tent camps. The war has forced most of Gaza’s population of over 2 million to flee within the territory, often multiple times.
“It’s displacement under fire,” said Mustafa Gaber, a journalist who left with his family. He said tank and drone fire echoed nearby.
“The shells are falling among us and the bullets are (flying) above us,” said Amal Nassar, also displaced. “The elderly have been thrown into the streets. An old woman was telling her son, ‘Go and leave me to die.’ Where will we go?”
“Enough is enough. We are exhausted,” said a fleeing Ayda Abu Shaer, as smoke rose in the distance.
The Palestinian Red Crescent emergency service said it lost contact with a 10-member team responding to the strikes in Rafah. Spokesperson Nebal Farsakh said some were wounded.
Israel’s military said it had fired on advancing “suspicious vehicles” and later discovered some were ambulances and fire trucks.
In Gaza City, an explosion hit
next to a tent camp where people had been told to evacuate. “My husband is blind and started running barefoot, and my children were running,” said witness Nidaa Hassuna.
Strikes kill Hamas leader HAMAS said Salah Bardawil, a well-known member of its political bureau, was killed in a strike in Muwasi that also killed his wife.
Israel’s military confirmed it.
Hospitals in southern Gaza said they received a further 24 bodies from strikes overnight, including several women and children.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said 50,021 Palestinians have been killed in the war, including 673 people since Israel’s bombardment on Tuesday shattered the ceasefire.
Dr. Munir al-Boursh, the ministry’s general director, said the dead include 15,613 children, with 872 of them under 1 year old.
The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count but says women and children make up over half the dead. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 fighters, without providing evidence.
Russian drone strikes in Ukraine kill 7 ahead of key ceasefire talks
KBy Samya Kullab The Associated Press
YIV, Ukraine—Russia launched a barrage of drones across Ukraine overnight Sunday that killed at least seven people, according to local Ukrainian officials and emergency services.
The attacks, including on the capital, Kyiv, came ahead of ceasefire negotiations in Saudi Arabia in which Ukraine and Russia are expected to hold indirect US-mediated talks on Monday to discuss a pause in long-range attacks targeting energy facilities and civilian infrastructure.
The Ukrainian delegation is expected to meet with US officials in Saudi Arabia a day ahead of the indirect talks, Ukraine’s President Voldoymyr Zelenskyy said. Ukraine is planning to send technical teams to discuss the details of the partial ceasefire.
Speaking on “Fox News Sunday,” Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said he expected “some real progress” at the talks in Saudi Arabia, “particularly as it affects a Black Sea ceasefire on ships between both countries, and from that you’ll naturally gravitate into
a full-on shooting ceasefire.”
Asked about concerns that Russian President Vladimir Putin may be looking beyond Ukraine and could press further into Europe, even if Russia is awarded territory within Ukraine now, Witkoff said he has been asked his opinion on what Putin’s motives are on a large scale.
“I simply have said that I just don’t see that he wants to take all of Europe. This is a much different situation than it was in World War II. In World War II there was no NATO. You have countries that are armed there. I take him at his word in this sense. And I think the Europeans are beginning to come to that belief, too. But it sort of doesn’t matter. That’s an academic issue. … The agenda is to stop the killing, stop the carnage, let’s end this thing.”
Asked whether he was convinced that Putin wanted peace, Witkoff said: “I feel that he wants peace.”
Residential buildings hit by debris
RUSSIA launched 147 drones across Ukraine overnight, according to the Ukrainian Air Force. Ukrainian air defenses shot down 97, and 25 others didn’t reach tar -
gets due to Ukrainian countermeasures. The attacks struck the Kharkiv, Sumy, Chernihiv, Odesa and Donetsk regions, as well as the capital, Kyiv.
Three people, including a 5-year-old child, were killed and 10 others were injured in a drone attack on Kyiv, the city’s military administration said. Extended sounds of explosions were heard across the Ukrainian capital in the early hours as the air raid blared for over five hours. Russian drones and debris from shot-down drones, which were flying at lower altitudes to evade air defenses, fell on residential buildings.
Residents in Kyiv surveyed the damage done to their homes and neighborhoods on Sunday morning. Many were disparaging of the upcoming ceasefire talks, pointing to the burned-out properties destroyed in the drone attack, saying these were more indicative of Russia’s true intentions.
In an old multistory building on Kyiv’s left bank that was damaged in the overnight attack, Dmytro Zapadnya, 37, said he had no faith in Russia upholding any ceasefire agreement.
Ceasefire in tatters
THE ceasefire that took hold in January paused more than a year of fighting ignited by Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack into Israel, in which militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostage. Most captives have been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
In the latest ceasefire’s first phase, 25 Israeli hostages and the bodies of eight others were released in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Israeli forces allowed hundreds of thousands of people to return home. There was a surge in humanitarian aid until Israel cut off all supplies to Gaza earlier this month to pressure Hamas to change the ceasefire agreement. The sides were supposed to begin negotiations in early February on the ceasefire’s next phase, in which Hamas was to release the remaining 59 hostages—35 of them believed to be dead—in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal. Those talks never began.
New settlements in the West Bank
ISRAEL’S Cabinet passed a measure creating 13 new settlements in the occupied West Bank by rezoning existing ones, according to Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s far-right finance minister, who is in charge of settlement construction. This brings the number of settlements, considered illegal by the majority of the international community, to 140, said anti-settlement watchdog group Peace Now. They will receive independent budgets from Israel and can elect their own local governments, the group said.
Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writers Natalie Melzer in Nahariya, Israel, and Julia Frankel in Jerusalem contributed.
S. Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo reinstated as acting president after impeachment overturned
By Hyung-Jin Kim The Associated Press
SEOUL, South Korea—South Korea’s Constitutional Court overturned the impeachment of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, reinstating the nation’s No. 2 official as acting leader Monday while not yet ruling on the separate impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol over his shocking imposition of martial law late in December.
Many observers said the 7-1 ruling in Han’s case did not signal much about the upcoming verdict on Yoon, as Han wasn’t a key figure in imposing martial law. But the ruling could still embolden Yoon’s staunch supporters and ramp up their political offensive on the opposition. Speaking with reporters following his reinstatement, Han thanked the court for what he called “a wise decision” and promised to focus on tackling “urgent matters,” including a fast-changing global trade environment, in an apparent reference to the Trump administration’s aggressive tariffs policy. He also called for national unity, saying: “There’s no left or right—what matters is the advancement of our nation.” South Korea has been thrown into huge political turmoil, since Yoon, a conservative, declared martial law on December 3 and sent hundreds of troops to the liberal-
MOURNERS gather around the bodies of their loved ones who lost their lives in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, as they are brought for burial at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Sunday, March 23, 2025. AP/ABDEL KAREEM HANA
Pope Francis back home after 5-week hospital stay for double pneumonia
By Nicole Winfield, Paolo Santalucia & Trisha Thomas The Associated Press
VATICAN CITY—A frail Pope
Francis returned to the Vatican on Sunday after a five-week hospitalization for life-threatening double pneumonia, and he made a surprise stop at his favorite basilica on the way home before beginning two months of prescribed rest and recovery.
The 88-year-old pope sat in the front passenger seat of his white Fiat 500L wearing nasal tubes to give him supplemental oxygen as he entered the Perugino gate of Vatican City, where his return brought relief after fears that his illness could be fatal or lead to another papal resignation.
Francis’ motorcade from Gemelli hospital overshot the Vatican initially and took a detour across town to stop at St. Mary Major basilica, where the pope’s favorite icon of the Madonna is located and where he always goes to pray after a foreign visit.
He didn’t get out of the car but gave a bouquet of flowers to the basilica’s cardinal to place in front of the Salus populi Romani icon.
The Byzantine-style painting on wood is revered by Romans and is so important to Francis that he has chosen to be buried in the basilica to be near it.
The tour through Rome’s historic center came after Francis made his first appearance in five weeks to give a thumbs-up and brief blessing from a hospital balcony. Hundreds of people had gathered on a brilliant spring Sunday morning to say goodbye and catch a first glimpse of Francis, who seemed to be gasping for air.
“I see this woman with the yellow flowers. Brava!” a bloatedlooking Francis said in a breathless voice. He gave a weak sign of the cross before being wheeled back inside.
Chants of “Viva il papa!” and “Papa Francesco” erupted from the crowd, which included patients who had been wheeled outside just to catch his brief appearance.
Resting at home
DOCTORS say Francis needs two months of rest and convalescence at the Vatican, during which he should refrain from meeting with big groups of people or exerting himself. But they said he should be able to resume all his normal activities eventually.
His return home, after the longest hospitalization of his 12-year papacy and the secondlongest in recent papal history, brought tangible relief to the Vatican and Catholic faithful who have been anxiously following 38 days of medical ups and downs and wondering if Francis would make it.
“Today I feel a great joy,” said Dr. Rossella Russomando, who was at Gemelli on Sunday but did not treat Francis. “It is the demonstration that all our prayers, all the rosary prayers from all over the world, brought this grace.”
The Rev. Enzo Fortunato, who heads a papal committee dedicated to children, said it was clear that Francis was happy to return home and would surely improve, especially after receiving so many get-well cards from children from around the world.
“If the first medicine was the affection of the children, the second medicine is definitely (going) home,” Fortunato said. “It will certainly speed up his recovery.”
Pope is to receive 24-hour care AT the Vatican, where a Holy Year is under way, pilgrims cheered and applauded when Francis’ greeting from Gemelli was broadcast live on giant TV screens in St. Peter’s Square.
“For me it was an important emotional experience to see him, because many people were waiting for this moment,” said Sister Luisa Jimènez, a nun from Francis’ native Argentina.
Another nun from the same order, Colombian Sister Angel Bernal Amparo, expressed concern, given his bloating and inability to speak much.
“He didn’t look well,” she said. “He couldn’t (talk) and I realized it was because of his breathing and, well, he left right there. But I was glad to have seen him.”
No special arrangements have been made at the Domus Santa Marta, the Vatican hotel where Francis lives in a two-room suite on the second floor next to the basilica. He will have supplemental oxygen and 24-hour medical care as needed, although his personal physician, Dr. Luigi Carbone, said he hoped Francis would progressively need less and less assistance breathing as his lungs recover.
Two life-threatening crises T HE Argentine pope, who has chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed as a young man, was admitted to Gemelli on February 14 after a bout of bronchitis worsened.
Doctors first diagnosed a complex bacterial, viral and fungal respiratory tract infection and soon thereafter, pneumonia in both lungs. Blood tests showed signs of anemia, low blood platelets and the onset of kidney failure, all of which later resolved after two blood transfusions.
The most serious setbacks began February 28, when Francis experienced an acute coughing fit and inhaled vomit, requiring the use of a noninvasive mechanical ventilation mask to help him breathe. He suffered two more respiratory crises a few days later, which required doctors to manually aspirate “copious” amounts of mucus from his lungs, at which point he began sleeping with the ventilation mask at night to help his lungs clear the accumulation of fluids.
He was never intubated and at no point lost consciousness. Doctors reported he always remained alert and cooperative, although they say he has probably lost a bit of weight given a natural loss of appetite.
“Unfortunately, yes, there was a moment when many were saying that he might not make it. And it was painful for us,” said Mario Balsamo, the owner of coffee shop in front of Gemelli. “Instead, today with the discharge, we are very happy that he is well and we hope he will recover soon and will recover his strength.”
‘I’m still alive!’
DR . Sergio Alfieri, the medical and surgical chief at Gemelli who coordinated Francis’ medical team, stressed that not all patients who develop such severe cases of double pneumonia survive, much less are released from the hospital. He said Francis’ life was at risk twice, during the two acute respiratory crises, and that the pope at the time understandably lost his typical good sense of humor.
“But one morning we went to listen to his lungs and we asked him how he was doing. When he replied, ‘I’m still alive,’ we knew he was OK and had gotten his good humor back,” he told a news conference late Saturday.
Alfieri confirmed that Francis was still having trouble speaking due to the damage to his lungs and respiratory muscles. But he said such problems were normal, especially in older patients, and predicted his voice would eventually return. Francis is also continuing to take medication to treat a more minor respiratory infection. No confirmed appointments for now
VATICAN spokesman Matteo Bruni declined to confirm any upcoming events, including a scheduled audience on April 8 with King Charles III or Francis’ participation in Easter services at the end of the month. But Carbone said he hoped Francis might be well enough to travel to Turkey at the end of May to participate in an important ecumenical anniversary.
Only St. John Paul II recorded a longer hospitalization in 1981, when he spent 55 days at Gemelli for minor surgery and treatment of an infection.
The Associated Press writers Silvia Stellacci and Giada Zampano in Rome and Colleen Barry in Soave, Italy, contributed.
Experts warn of increased espionage risk as Trump and Musk overhaul government
By David Klepper & Eric Tucker
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON—As President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk work to overhaul the federal government, they’re forcing out thousands of workers with insider knowledge and connections who now need a job. For Russia, China and other adversaries, the upheaval in Washington as Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency guts government agencies presents an unprecedented opportunity to recruit informants, national security and intelligence experts say.
Every former federal worker with knowledge of or access to sensitive information or systems could be a target. When thousands of them leave their jobs at the same time, that creates a lot of targets, as well as a counterespionage challenge for the United States.
“This information is highly valuable, and it shouldn’t be surprising that Russia and China and other organizations— criminal syndicates for instance—would be aggressively recruiting government employees,” said Theresa Payton, a former White House chief information officer under
President George W. Bush, who now runs her own cybersecurity firm.
Many agencies oversee crucial data
EACH year an average of more than 100,000 federal workers leave their jobs. Some retire; others move to the private sector. This year, in three months, the number is already many times higher.
It’s not just intelligence officers who present potential security risks. Many departments and agencies oversee vast amounts of data that include personal information on Americans as well as sensitive information about national security and government operations. Exiting employees could also give away helpful security secrets that would allow someone to penetrate government databases or physical offices.
The Office of the US Trade Representative, for instance, maintains information on trade negotiations that could help an adversary undercut the United States. Federal records house data on clandestine intelligence operations and agents. Pentagon databases contain reams of sensitive information on US military capabilities. The Department of Energy oversees many of the nation’s most closely guarded nuclear secrets.
“This happens even in good times— someone in the intelligence community who for personal financial or other reasons walks into an embassy to sell America out—but DOGE is taking it to a whole new level,” said John Schindler, a former counterintelligence official.
“Someone is going to go rogue,” he said.
“It’s just a question of how bad it will be.”
Only a tiny fraction of the many millions of Americans who have worked for the federal government have ever been accused of espionage. The overwhelming number are conscientious patriots who would never sell out their country, Payton said.
Background checks, employee training and exit interviews are all designed to prevent informants or moles—and to remind departing federal employees of their duty to preserve national secrets even after leaving federal service.
Even one person can do serious damage IT takes only one or two misguided or disgruntled workers to cause a national security crisis. Former FBI agent Robert Hanssen and former CIA officer Aldrich Ames, who both spied for Russia, show just how damaging a single informant can be. Hanssen divulged sweeping information
about American intelligence-gathering, including details that authorities said were partly responsible for the outing of US informants in Russia who were later executed for working on America’s behalf.
The odds that one angry former employee reaches out to a foreign power go up as many federal employees find themselves without a job, experts said. What’s not in doubt is that foreign adversaries are looking for any former employees they can flip. They’re hunting for that one informant who could deliver a big advantage for their nation.
“It’s a numbers game,” said Schindler.
Frank Montoya Jr., a retired senior FBI official and former top US government counterintelligence executive, said he was less concerned about well-trained intelligence community employees betraying their oaths and selling out to American adversaries. But he noted the many workers in other realms of government who could be targeted by Russia or China,
“When it comes to the theft of intellectual property, when it comes to the theft of sensitive technology, when it comes to access to power grids or to See “Trump,” A10
Political showdown: Canada’s election
hinges on who
can fix an economy under US threat
PBy Erik Hertzberg, Laura Dhillon Kane & Derek Decloet
RIME Minister Mark Carney plunged Canada into an election campaign on Sunday, as US President Donald Trump’s trade war sharpens the focus on fixing long-standing problems that have hindered the Canadian economy.
Carney and his chief rival, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, each will seek to persuade Canadians he’s the best person to protect the country from Trump’s threats to use “economic force” to transform it into the 51st state.
That means the Canadian politicians must attack problems that have held the country back for years—over-reliance on the US as an export market, internal trade barriers between provinces, stagnant productivity and weak business investment. N o matter who wins the election, the economic strategy of the Justin Trudeau era—based on an expansion of government, higher taxes on upper-income earners and rapid population growth—is finished.
“It ’s a time where we want to take risk,” Carney, 60, said Friday before announcing a raft of measures to remove roadblocks to cross-country trade and speed up energy project approvals. “We have to do things that we hadn’t imagined possible before, at a speed that we haven’t moved before.” Carney on Sunday called a snap election for April 28.
The former central bank governor rocketed to the country’s top political office just eight days ago, after the governing Liberal Party selected him as their new leader to replace Trudeau. Some polls place Carney’s party a few points ahead of the Conservatives, a stunning turnaround from
earlier this year when the Conservatives led by more than 20 percentage points.
To Poilievre, 45, the Liberals’ sudden attention to the economy is rather rich. He points out the party has been in power for nearly a decade and has failed to speed up development of mining and other resource projects—in some cases blocking them altogether—while relying on increased immigration to juice growth.
The Conservative leader has pledged to cut taxes and regulation, which he described as “devastating” even before the US tariffs, but now represent “economic suicide.”
The Conservative leader’s criticisms have had an impact. In his short time as Liberal leader, Carney has tried to pushed the party closer to the center while walking away from some of Trudeau’s more unpopular policies.
Carney scrapped a planned increase to the capital gains tax inclusion rate and cut to zero the consumer carbon tax, which applies to a wide range of fossil fuels.
W hile demands to spend more on defense and infrastructure may still require the power of the government balance sheet, the expansion of social programs, such a big part of Trudeau’s legacy, is likely over for now.
H ere are the key economic issues that are set to define the race:
Trade tensions
TRADE with the US represents nearly 70 percent of Canada’s total exports and imports. The US trade deficit with Canada is an irritant to Trump, who calls it a subsidy. But it’s largely driven by the boundless American appetite for Canadian oil and gas. Excluding energy, the US has a trade surplus with Canada.
C rude from Alberta is sold to refineries in midwestern US states at a discount to West Texas Intermediate crude due to Canada’s
limited access to other buyers. The country has one oil pipeline to a marine terminal that can serve Asian markets. An expansion to a maximum capacity of 890,000 barrels a day was just completed last year at a cost of C$34 billion ($23.7 billion).
B oth Carney and Poilievre have pledged to fast-track critical minerals and liquefied natural gas projects and build infrastructure to bring those resources to new markets. Poilievre plans to scrap a Liberal environmental law and the carbon tax on industry. Carney says he would keep that tax—citing it as a requirement to trade with Europe—and maintain a controversial policy that caps emissions from the oil sands.
Trump’s threats also have renewed Canada’s focus on removing trade barriers between its 13 provinces and territories. After a meeting with premiers on Friday, Carney promised to eliminate these barriers by July 1 and argued that doing so would grow Canada’s economy by C$250 billion.
Trump wants to “weaken Canada dramatically,” said economist David Rosenberg, founder of Rosenberg Research & Associates. “He wants to bring the Canadian economy to its knees so that next year he could rewrite the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement. And we all know that he covets Canada’s natural resources.”
Rosenberg, formerly chief North American economist for Merrill Lynch, said he expects to see action from the Canadian government, including pipeline expansions and fast-tracking mineral projects, and building other trading relationships.
“We are still too reliant on the US. That’s over,” Rosenberg said.
Boosting productivity
AMONG Group of Seven countries, Canada’s economic growth has lagged only the US
since 2018, averaging a 1.8 percent yearly clip.
But tha t’s been largely driven by explosive growth in immigration. When output is measured on a per-capita basis—a proxy for living standards— Canada’s economy has languished.
The Bank of Canada has described the country’s sluggish productivity as an “emergency.” Both Carney and Poilievre have promised to cap immigration at levels the economy can sustain, while unleashing investment in infrastructure and technology that would boost Canada’s productive capacity.
Jim Balsillie, the former co-CEO of BlackBerry Ltd. and now chair of the Council of Canadian Innovators, said a singular focus on diversifying trading partners isn’t the right way to think about the economic challenge. Canada needs a much better strategy around protecting intellectual property and technology in order to diversify products, allowing it to become much more than an exporter of natural resources.
We just rip and ship stuff like critical minerals, energy, aluminum, agriculture and so on. And how are we going to diversify products and do more value-add in our products?” he said. “You don’t start with markets, you start with products.”
And given Trump’s assertive posture toward Canada, the country needs to design its economic policy with national security in mind, he said.
Housing prices
AS in a number of developed countries, Canada’s home prices have exploded. An index of national home prices is up 72 percent in the past decade, making the benchmark price for a home more than C$700,000 now. And that’s after a correction
governor, Yuri Slyusar.
in prices since 2022.
T he housing market looks dysfunctional.
Many current homeowners are rich on paper, with so much equity in their homes, and demand for homes is strong because of population growth. Yet homebuilding is not happening quickly enough, prices remain out-of-reach for many average Canadians and some parts of the market, such as Toronto condos, are in a deep funk.
P oilievre catapulted the Conservatives to a dominant lead in the polls in 2023 and 2024 in part by tapping into huge frustration about housing and blaming Trudeau’s Liberals for rising housing costs. “Canada is broken” was his oft-repeated slogan. He’s now switched to “Canada First” after Trump’s repeated threats unleashed a wave of patriotism.
Carney has promised federal investments in housing to “supercharge” construction, with the goal of building 4 million new homes by 2035. He would maintain the Liberals’ housing accelerator fund, which transfers cash to local governments to speed approvals for developers.
Poilievre similarly wants to “unleash the biggest homebuilding boom ever,” but he’d scrap the housing accelerator fund. He has also promised to expand the pool of homebuilders, including by boosting apprenticeship grants and training halls for skilled tradespeople. Both leaders have plans to scrap the national sales tax on some new-home purchases.
Government spending
FORMER Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland precipitated Trudeau’s exit with her stinging resignation letter in December that accused him of failing to keep the “fiscal powder dry” ahead of a trade war with the US. Now that the tariff fight is underway, the government is under significant pressure to
spend on programs to support businesses and workers.
In D ecember, the government projected a C$48.3 billion deficit for the current fiscal year, which is around 1.6 percent of gross domestic product. The country also faces major demands to increase its defense spending, which has long lagged other members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
P oilievre has promised to find one dollar in savings for every dollar of new spending. Carney has proposed splitting the budget in two—an operating budget that the government would balance, and a capital-spending budget for major infrastructure investments that would carry a modest deficit.
Carney has described the trade dispute with the US as a “crisis”. And there is little question that Trump’s repeated taunts about making Canada a US state have increased the appetite within Canada for big projects that can boost the country’s economy and reduce its dependence on the US market.
“I th ink the mood is a combination of white-hot anger and trepidation and profound feeling of betrayal,” said Roland Paris, director of the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa.
B alsillie said Canada has suffered from an economic policy failure for 30 years.
“But I think Trump has done a disservice to America by waking everybody up in Canada,” he said.
“If Canada seizes this moment, Trump has given us a gift that that is of phenomenal value. Yes, the transition’s going to have some difficulty, but we do have resources— in national capacity in many realms that we can bring to bear, and fiscal and financial.” With assistance from Randy ThanthongKnight/Bloomberg
“There is no point in signing anything (with Russians), because it will not be worth the cost of paper where you put this signature. Well, the only thing that is not very pleasant is that now the United States seems to have little understanding of our situation,” he said. Elsewhere, four people were killed in Russian attacks on Ukraine’s Donetsk region, regional Gov. Vadym Filashkin said, including three who died in a strike on the frontline town of Dobropillya.
controlled National Assembly and other places in Seoul. Yoon’s decree lasted only six hours as enough lawmakers managed to enter an assembly hall and voted it down quickly.
The impeachment arguments
THE assembly impeached Yoon on Dec. 14, alleging he violated the constitution and other laws by suppressing assembly activities and trying to detain politicians. Yoon’s impeachment made Han acting president until he was impeached in late December.
The unprecedented, successive impeachments that suspended the country’s top two officials intensified domestic division and deepened worries
‘New solutions are needed’ IN a statement on social media, Zelenskyy said attacks such as the one in Kyiv were a daily occurrence for Ukraine.
“This week alone, more than 1,580 guided aerial bombs, almost 1,100 strike drones and 15 missiles of various types were used against our people,” he said. “New solutions are needed, with new pressure on Moscow to stop both these strikes and this war.”
about the country’s diplomatic and economic activities.
Han, who attempted to reassure diplomatic partners and stabilize markets during his time as acting president, was accused in the impeachment motion of abetting Yoon’s martial law declaration and obstructing efforts to restore the Constitutional Court’s full membership and investigate Yoon’s alleged rebellion.
The nine-member court at the time had three vacancies, but ousting Yoon would require support from at least six justices. After Han was suspended, his successor as acting president, Choi Sang-mok, appointed two new justices but left the ninth seat vacant.
Seven of the Constitutional Court’s eight justices ruled to overturn or dismiss Han’s impeachment. They ruled the accusations against him weren’t against the law or weren’t serious
Also on Sunday, Russia’s Ministry of Defense said it had shot down 59 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 29 over the region of Rostov and 20 more over southwestern Astrakhan. In Rostov, one person was killed and a car caught fire due to the Ukrainian drone attack, according to the area’s temporary
enough to remove him from office or his impeachment motion didn’t even meet a required quorum when it passed through the assembly. One justice upheld Han’s impeachment.
The Democratic Party expressed regret over the court’s decision to reinstate Han and urged it to dismiss Yoon’s case quickly.
Yoon’s office welcomed Monday’s ruling, saying it shows again the opposition’s abuse of impeachment motions were “reckless, malicious political offensive.”
What’s next?
OBSERVERS earlier had predicted the Constitutional Court would rule on Yoon’s case in mid-March, but it hasn’t done so, sparking varied speculation on possible reasons.
“Today’s verdict will give hope to Yoon’s supporters for a similar fate and hope for Yoon’s opponents for his ouster,”
A woman also died in the Russian border village of Novostroyevka-Pervaya in the Belgorod region when a Ukrainian drone hit a car in which she was traveling.
The driver, the woman’s daughter, was also seriously injured in the attack, said local Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov.
The Associated Press journalist Bela Szandelszky contributed to this report.
said Duyeon Kim, a senior analyst at the Center for a New American Security in Washington. “But it’s too soon to predict the court’s verdict on Yoon because the specific details of both cases and allegations are different.”
Kim said the reinstatement of Han, a career bureaucrat, will bring more stability to South Korea compared to when his powers as acting president were suspended.
Massive rival rallies backing Yoon or denouncing Yoon have divided the streets of Seoul and other major cities in South Korea. Earlier surveys showed that a majority of South Koreans were critical of Yoon’s martial law enactment, but those supporting or sympathizing with Yoon have later gained strength.
The Associated Press writer Kim Tong-hyung contributed to this report.
financial systems, an IRS guy or a Social Service guy who’s really upset about what DOGE is doing, they actually are the bigger risk,” Montoya said.
Once military and intelligence officials were the primary targets of foreign spies looking to turn an informant. But now, thanks to the massive amount of information held at many agencies, and the competitive edge it could give China or Russia, that’s no longer the case.
“We have seen over the last generation, the last 20–25 years, the Chinese and the Russians increasingly have been targeting non-national defense and non-classified information, because it helps them modernize their military, it helps them modernize their infrastructure,” Montoya said.
Online activity makes it easier than it once was THE Internet has made it far easier for foreign nations to identify and recruit potential informants.
Once, Soviet intelligence officers had to wait for an embittered agent to make contact, or go through the time-consuming process of identifying which recently separated federal employees could be pliable. Now, all you need is a LinkedIn
subscription and you can quickly find former federal officials in search of work.
“You go on LinkedIn, you see someone who was ‘formerly at Department of Defense now looking for work’ and it’s like, ‘Bingo,’” Schindler said.
A foreign spy service or scammer looking to exploit a recently laid-off federal worker could bring in potential recruits by posting a fake job ad online.
One particularly novel concern involves the fear that a foreign agent could set up a fake job interview and hire former federal officials as “consultants” to a fake company. The former federal workers would be paid for their expertise without even knowing they were supplying information to an enemy. Russia has paid unwitting Americans to do its business before.
Payton’s advice for former federal employees looking for work? It’s the same as her guidance for federal counterespionage officials, she said: “Be on high alert.” The Office of the Director of National Intelligence did not respond to questions about the risks that a former federal worker or contractor could sell out the country. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard recently announced plans to investigate leaks within the intelligence community, though her announcement was focused not on counterespionage concerns but on employees who pass information to the press or the public.
Palace slams VP Sara for ‘baseless’ claims of threat to former president Duterte’s life
By Samuel P. Medenilla
@sam_medenilla
MALACAÑANG on Monday slammed Vice Presi -
dent Sara Duterte for allegedly making baseless claims that the government is threatening the life of his father, former President Rodrigo R. Duterte. “So where are they getting this [information]? We need materials and pieces of evidence before they can make such statements,” Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said in Filipino during a press briefing. Security threat
THE Presidential Communications Office (PCO) undersecretary made the remark after the Vice President said during a speech in the Netherlands that his father might suffer the same fate as former Senator Benigno “Ninoy” S. Aquino Jr. if he comes home from
the Netherlands.
Aquino was assassinated, when he returned home in 1983 after years of self-imposed exile from the United States. Duterte is currently detained in the Netherlands, where he is facing a crime against humanity case before the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the bloody campaign of his administration against criminality, which killed at least 6,000 people.
His family is hopeful he will still be able to return home despite the ongoing case against him. Castro downplayed the supposed attempt against the life of the former President, which she said is also similar to the unproven security threat against the Vice President.
“As a matter of fact, to this day, the alleged threats to VP [Vice President] Sara have still not
been shown by the NBI [National Bureau of Investigation] and the PNP [Philippine National Police],” she said.
Like Aquino or Hitler
CASTRO also criticized the attempt of the Vice President to liken the former 6President to Aquino.
The former President is more similar to the dictator of Nazi Germany, Adolf Hitler, who is known for the Holocaust, which resulted in the deaths of millions of Jews.
“So, it is a far cry to compare former President Duterte to Ninoy Aquino who did not have any record of mass murder or crimes against humanity,” Castro said.
“Former President Duterte would much prefer to compare himself to Hitler,” she added.
Obligation
CASTRO reiterated her call to the Vice President to return to the
country as soon as possible so she can address the issues on the alleged fake receipts issued by the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd).
This after the House of Deputy Majority Leader Paolo Ortega V revealed during the weekend even more suspicious names from the recipients of the confidential funds from DepEd, which includes Amoy Liu, Fernand Amuy, and Joug De Asim.
“We believe that VP Sara has the obligation to tell something about this, to tell something about these discoveries. There is a lot of talk about the fake receipts allegedly issued by the VP office,” Castro said.
“It would be better if she explained this,” she added.
The Vice President is currently on a month-long trip in Europe so she can visit her father in the Netherlands.
Wage hike for Bicol, Zamboanga Peninsula workers to take effect next month
By Justine Xyrah Garcia
MORE than 213,000 workers in the Bic ol Region and Zamboanga Peninsula are set to receive longawaited wage increases after the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) affirmed new wage orders approved by their respective regional wage boards. The wage adjustments, which take effect in early April, will raise the daily minimum wage of 100,414 workers in Bicol
by P40, while 113,026 domestic workers in both regions will see their monthly pay increase by P900 to P1,000.
I n Bicol, the wage hike will be implemented in two tranches, bringing the daily minimum wage from P395 to P435 across all industries.
T he first adjustment takes effect on April 5, with the second phase scheduled for December 1.
T he increase comes months after labor representatives in the region deferred wage adjustments in late 2024, citing the
need for economic recovery following the devastation of tropical cyclone Kristine.
Mean while, domestic workers in Bicol will receive a P1,000 monthly pay increase, setting their new minimum wage at P6,000.
“About 316,784 full-time wage and salary workers earning above the minimum wage may also indirectly benefit from upward adjustments at the enterprise level arising from the correction of wage distortion,” the labor department said.
In Zamboanga Peninsula, domestic workers will get a P900 raise, bringing
PEF and DENR translocation of PHL eagle in Leyte resumes
ABy Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga
FTER a significant setback, the death of a Philippine eagle released in the wild in Leyte, the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) has resumed the translocation of three more eagles from Mindanao.
The translocation of the eagles - Lakpue, Lyra Sinabadan, and Kalatungan 1—is part of the preparation for their eventual release. These birds were selected based on their health, survival potential, and genetic viability, following months of conditioning at the Philippine Eagle Center in Davao City.
To recall, in August last year, the PEF announced the tragic death of Uswag, the male Philippine eagle who “crashedlanded” and drowned in the waters of Cebu a month after being released in Leyte on June 28.
Uswag’s carcass, which is already in an advanced state of decomposition, was fished out in the waters of Pilar, Cebu on August 3, following 42 hours of search and recovery efforts.
The Philippine Eagle Foundation, however, decided to proceed with the release, of the three, citing the successful reintroduction of Carlito, a female eagle who has since established a territory within the Anonang-Lobi Mountain Range.
Uswag and Carlito were released at the same time. T heir release was the first of a series the PEF plans to execute in the next five years, with a total of 18 eagles having been allotted for the program to reintroduce
and rebuild the PEF in Leyte province.
Hon. Raissa Villasin, a Board Member of Leyte’s 2nd District, welcomed the guests and highlighted the significance of this initiative in restoring Leyte’s ecological balance.
She emphasized that bringing the Philippine Eagle back to the island is not just a conservation effort but a powerful statement of resilience and hope. She called on local communities to take pride in this historic reintroduction and actively participate in ensuring the eagles’ safety and survival. Mr. Arturo N. Salazar, Regional Executive Director of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Region 8 underscored the critical role of habitat protection in making the reintroduction successful.
He noted that while releasing the eagles is a significant milestone, sustaining their population in the wild depends on maintaining the integrity of Leyte’s forests. He urged local communities, policymakers, and conservation groups to work together to protect natural habitats from deforestation and other environmental threats.
Forester Victor Billiones, Assistant Regional Executive Director of DENR Region11, took reference from the case of Uswag to enhance methodologies and strengthen partnerships to ensure the bird’s survival on the island of Leyte.
He reaffirmed the commitment of DENR Region 11 and their counterpart in Leyte in supporting the Philippine Eagle Species Reintroduction Program. Representing the private sector’s commitment to
conservation, Mr. Raoul E. Littaua, President & CEO of Insular Life and Trustee of the PEF reinforced the idea that conservation requires long-term partnerships and shared responsibility.
He stressed that corporate support plays a vital role in ensuring the success of initiatives like this and that Insular Life remains dedicated to investing in programs that secure the future of Philippine wildlife. Dr. Antonette Sia, Brand Supervisor of Lakpue Drug, Inc. and adopter of Philippine Eagle Lakpue, spoke about the importance of direct involvement in conservation efforts. He shared how Lakpue Drug, Inc. has committed to continue their support to Philippine Eagle Conservation through their remaining adoption of Philippine Eagle LDI—an education ambassador at the Philippine Eagle Center. Local government representatives, including Hon. Vincent Enerlan of Burauen, Hon. Froilan Pundavela of La Paz, and Hon. Norly Manza of MacArthur, expressed their unwavering support for the initiative. They acknowledged the Philippine Eagle as an ecological treasure and committed to enacting policies and programs that will safeguard the forests where the eagles will be released.
They also called on the people of Leyte to embrace their role as protectors of the Philippine Eagle, ensuring that future generations will continue to witness its presence in their local landscapes. A symbolic ceremonial turnover of Philippine Eagle stuffed toys signified the shared responsibility among conservation groups,
their wages to P5,500 in chartered cities and first-class municipalities, and P5,000 in other areas.
T he regional boards in both areas have committed to conducting information campaigns to ensure compliance, while also assisting enterprises in addressing potential wage distortions.
C ertain businesses, including small retailers with fewer than 10 employees and those affected by natural disasters, may apply for exemptions under existing wage determination rules.
government agencies, and private entities.
This was followed by 1the signing of the commitment mural, where stakeholders pledged their continued dedication to Philippine Eagle conservation. The event culminated in the much-anticipated transfer of the Philippine Eagles to their hack cages in Barangay Kagbana, Burauen. They will undergo an acclimatization period of two months before they will be released to Leyte’s forest. The PEF and DENR are attempting to form a breeding pair between Lakpueand Carlito. Lakpue, a male from Mindanao, is being introduced into Carlito’s established territory using a controlled acclimatization process, including a temporary hack cage, supplemental feeding, and audio playbacks of eagle calls. This method encourages natural pair bonding, which could lead to the first recorded Philippine Eagle breeding attempt in Leyte in decades.
A separate experiment focuses on socially bonding Lyra Sinabadan and Kalatungan 1. Instead of immediate pairing, they are undergoing cohort bonding, where they are housed in one hack cage to build familiarity and trust. Once released, their strong social bond is expected to increase their chances of survival by encouraging cooperative hunting and territory establishment. T he reintroduction program is the result of years of conservation planning, habitat assessments, and collaborative efforts among government agencies, conservation organizations, and corporate partners. This initiative aims not only to restore the eagle population in Leyte but also to inspire stronger conservation actions across the country.
NBI taps new agents vs crybercrimes and fake news peddlers
TBy Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573
HE National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said it would deploy its new 44 agents in its fight against cybercrimes, including individuals spreading fake news in various social media platforms.
NBI D irector Jaime Santiago made the statement after the 52nd NBI Agents’ Basic Training Program Commencement Exercises for 44 new agents held at the Department of Justice (DOJ).
The new agents, according to Santiago, consist of lawyers and information and technology experts (IT).
H e added that DOJ Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla told him to assign the new agents to the NBI Cybercrime Division where they can be utilized to investigate vloggers peddling fake news in social media platforms.
“Fake news can cause panic. We just want to be on the right side of the law. There should be no [fake news] because it can cause a lot of unsettlement, I mean it can unsettle people’s feelings and we don’t want that to happen,” Remulla told reporters.
S antiango, on the other hand, said the NBI has already come up with a list of at least 20 vloggers who are likely to be investigated for spreading fake news.
“ We have a list already. We’re looking at no less than 20 individuals,” Santiago said.
H e, however, refused to identify the pending investigation and gathering of evidence.
“ We will act on this. We are investigating why there is a
proliferation of fake news, why they carry the same theme, and joining in the mess in our political atmosphere. This should not happen [because] this would only add to the mess and cause more confusion in our country,” Santiago said.
T he NBI chief also said they have coordinated with the Department of Information and Technology (DICT) and the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) on how to stop the proliferation of fake news in social media platforms.
H e added that they are also looking into possible criminal charges that can be filed in order to obtain jurisdiction over vloggers peddling fake news about the political situation in the country while based abroad.
“ We are studying this because in the United States libel is not a crime. It is only a civil case. But here libel is a criminal case. Much more if the vlogger is an American citizen, how can we enforce our laws to their citizens if our laws do not apply to them,” Santiago pointed out.
H e said the NBI is mulling to file inciting to sedition or tax evasion cases against these vloggers to be able to request for their extradition. Remulla, on the other hand indicated that it’s just a matter of time that the Philippine government would be able to go after vloggers who are based abroad.
Actually the borders are now getting less and less. There will come a time that even running after those who spread it from distant shores will be very possible,” the DOJ secretary said.
Fish unloading volume in regional ports dips in February–PFDA
TBy Ada Pelonia @adapelonia
HE country’s regional ports registered lower fish unloading volume in February, the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (PFDA) reported.
Figures from the PFDA showed that regional fish ports (RFPs) delivered 35,725.32 metric tons (MT) to consumers last month. This showed a 12.22-percent contraction from the 40,700.05 MT recorded in the same period the previous year.
The agency said General Santos Fish Port Complex unloaded 20,900.537 MT of fish products in February. This showed a 10.24- percent decline from 23,285.97 MT in the previous year.
The agency said Navotas Fish Port Complex registered a decline last month “due to the prolonged northeast monsoon” or amihan season as it unloaded 9,082.352 MT. This was 24.29 percent lower than the 11,996.62 MT of fish products distributed to consumers in February 2024.
The PFDA noted that fish unloaded in Lucena Fish Port Complex also slid by 7.67 percent to 1,618.29 MT last month from 1,752.66 MT last year.
For the country’s sole Visayas port, the agency said fish unloaded in the Iloilo
Port Complex shrank by 10.71 percent in February to 1,946.245 MT from 2,179.59 MT in the previous year. It also said that Camaligan Fish Port supplied clients with 0.153 MT of fish and fishery products from 2.13 MT in February 2024.
Meanwhile, the PFDA also registered increases in unloaded volume last month. It added that the Bulan Fish Port Complex had a “significant jump” as it unloaded 1,107.45 MT of fish in February from 558.55 MT last year. Furthermore, the PFDA said the Davao Fish Port Complex also recorded a rise in fish delivered to consumers last month to 259.03 MT, or 27.12 percent higher than the 203.77 MT in the previous year. The western Mindanao port, the Zamboanga Fish Port Complex, also experienced an uptick in fish unloading at 811.27 MT from 659.72 MT recorded in the previous year.
The country recently concluded its three-month closed fishing season that started on November 1 in waters northeast of Palawan and from November 15 in the Visayan Seas and Zamboanga Peninsula. All three areas are considered spawning grounds for small pelagic fishes like sardines and mackerel.
Bong Go strengthens partnership with barangay leaders in Pangasinan, vows continued support for grassroots devt
ENATOR Christopher “Bong” Go, an adopted son of Pangasinan, delivered a video message for the barangay leaders of San Carlos City and Mangaldan, Pangasinan during the Liga ng mga Barangay assembly on Friday, March 20 in Baguio City, emphasizing his strong commitment to empowering barangay officials and improving public service delivery at the grassroots level. Go, who is seeking re-election in the upcoming 2025 senatorial race, underscored the indispensable role of barangay leaders in community development. He acknowledged their vital contributions in shaping resilient and responsive local governance, stating that they are “superstars” in their own right—trusted by the people to lead their barangays toward genuine progress. Ang ganitong pagtitipon ay mahalaga hindi lamang para sa ating mga barangay leaders kundi pati na rin para sa pagpapalakas ng ating mga komunidad,” expressed Go.
He encouraged barangay leaders to continue striving for excellence and assured them of his unwavering support, especially if given a fresh mandate in the Senate. Mula pa noong ako ay naglilingkod kasamasidatingpangulongRodrigoDuterte, natutunan ko na ang tunay na kahulugan ng paglilingkod ay ang paggawa ng tama, anuman ang sitwasyon. Ang kanyang bilin na ‘always do what is right’ ay palaging umuukitsaakingpusoatisipansatuwingako aynagseserbisyoparasabayan,” he shared.
The gathering at UTown Plaza served as a platform for 500 barangay leaders, local officials, and community stakeholders to discuss strategies for improving local governance. Go commended the efforts of barangay officials in Pangasinan and expressed his appreciation to the local government for continuously supporting grassroots initiatives.
As a member of the Senate Committee on Local Government, Go highlighted the importance of providing barangay officials
with adequate funding, resources, and capacity-building programs. He mentioned key legislative measures that he has supported to uplift the welfare of barangay and health workers. He cited Republic Act No. 11462, which he co-sponsored and is one of the authors, postponing the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections to allow barangay leaders more time to implement their programs. Senator Go also filed Senate Bill No. 197 or the Magna Carta for Barangays, which seeks to institutionalize additional
THE danger signals are flashing, and they must be taken seriously. The continued encroachment of illegal commercial fishing activities into municipal waters is not just a violation of the law; it’s a direct assault on the livelihoods of small-scale Filipino fishers, the nation’s food security, and the health of our marine ecosystems. The recent Convergence Summit for the Protection of Municipal Waters has highlighted the urgency of this crisis, and it is imperative that the government, local communities, and all stakeholders act decisively to reverse this dangerous trend. (Read the BusinessMirror story: “Overfishing pushes PHL fish stock to brink of collapse,” March 21, 2025).
The figures are alarming. According to the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (NFRDI), 87 percent of our fishing grounds are already overfished. The Philippine Association of Marine Science (PAMS) reports a dramatic decline in catch per fisher, from five kilograms in 2010 to a mere four kilograms in 2023. This translates to a staggering loss of over 591,000 metric tons of fish in the last 13 years— enough to sustain 42 million Filipinos. These aren’t just numbers; they represent empty plates and struggling families.
The heart of the issue lies in the unfair competition between commercial fishers and the artisanal, small-scale fishers who depend on municipal waters for their survival. These waters, by law, are reserved for them, recognizing their traditional rights and their crucial role in local food systems. Yet, as Karagatan Patrol’s data reveals, illegal commercial fishing within the 15-kilometer zone is rampant, with a disturbing increase in detected vessel lights in recent weeks and years.
Compounding this problem is the controversial court decision that declared unconstitutional the preferential access of municipal fisherfolk to these waters. This ruling, now upheld by the Supreme Court, undermines local governance and weakens the ability of local government units to protect their marine resources. The League of Municipalities of the Philippines rightly recognizes this as a dangerous precedent that could erode decentralized governance.
The situation demands immediate and coordinated action. First and foremost, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), LGUs, and other enforcement agencies must intensify their efforts to stop illegal commercial fishing in municipal waters. This requires increased patrols, stricter enforcement of penalties under the Fisheries Code, and the filing of criminal cases against violators.
Furthermore, the government must invest in sustainable fishing programs and alternative livelihoods for affected communities. As the summit participants emphasized, a collaborative effort involving government, scientists, and local communities is essential to implement science-based policies that protect both the ecosystem and the livelihoods of those who depend on it.
Finally, it would do well for the Supreme Court to reconsider its ruling on the preferential access of municipal fisherfolk. The Constitution mandates the promotion of social justice, and reserving municipal waters for small-scale fishers is a vital step in achieving this goal.
The well-being of coastal communities, the stability of our food supply, and the health of our oceans are all at risk. We cannot afford to stand idly by while illegal commercial fishing decimates our fish stocks and impoverishes our fisherfolk. It is time to act decisively, to protect our waters, and to protect our future.
Opinion
‘Fourteen stages to madness’
LOUTSIDE THE BOX
OVE seduces you through attraction, amorous affection, and attachment. The Four Stages of Joy lure you with eager anticipation, radiant bliss, quiet reflection, and wistful nostalgia. Grief drags you through five wrenching stages: denial, anger, bargaining, despair, and acceptance.
Only stock market investors endure the 14 stages of an emotional rollercoaster—Thrill, Euphoria, Panic, Desperation, and 10 more soul-crushing twists like a bus ride up Kennon Road during a rainstorm. The things we go through to make a few bucks.
Stock prices do not merely flicker as digits on a screen. They mirror the raw, unfiltered mess of human emotion, lurching violently, detaching from reality on fear, greed, and the herd’s mindless stampede. Cold hard numbers drag prices back to reality, but “The Fourteen Stages” fuel the daily circus until the next emotional typhoon hits.
Time to slice open this chaos with examples that scream investment madness.
Fear strikes like a sledgehammer. Recall the 2008 financial meltdown. Lehman Brothers imploded in September and panic engulfed
T. Anthony C. Cabangon Lourdes M. Fernandez Jennifer A. Ng Vittorio V. Vitug Lorenzo M. Lomibao Jr., Gerard S. Ramos
B. Resurreccion, Dennis D. Estopace
R. Calso, Dionisio L. Pelayo
Ruben M. Cruz Jr.
Eduardo A. Davad Nonilon G. Reyes
D. Edgard A. Cabangon Benjamin V. Ramos Aldwin Maralit Tolosa Rolando M. Manangan
BusinessMirror is published daily by the Philippine Business Daily Mirror
Wall Street. The Dow nosedived 777 points in one brutal day. The S&P 500 hemorrhaged 47 percent from peak to its 2009 gutter.
Did every company suddenly turn to sand? Hardly. Fear does not pause for spreadsheets. It dumps shares first, thinks later. Result: emotion smashed prices into irrational rubble. Logic took a long holiday while fear ran the show. Greed is the market’s rocket fuel. The dot-com bubble of 1999–2000 proves it. Internet startups like Pets. com, with no profits or a viable plan, rode a wave of pure hype. Investors drooled over the “next big thing” like dogs chasing a tricycle, pushing the NASDAQ to balloon 400 percent in five years.
With wild eyes, FOMO gripped their wallets. When reality punctured the fantasy, Pets.com vanished, the NASDAQ plunged 78 percent and took 15 years to claw
Stock prices do not merely flicker as digits on a screen. They mirror the raw, unfiltered mess of human emotion, lurching violently, detaching from reality on fear, greed, and the herd’s mindless stampede. Cold hard numbers drag prices back to reality, but “The Fourteen Stages” fuel the daily circus until the next emotional typhoon hits.
back. Emotion built the bubble and then blasted it. Herd mentality turbocharges both and turns emotion into a stampede. Reddit’s “WallStreetBets” mob turned a fading retailer, GameStop, into a crusade, crushing hedge funds and sparking a mania in 2021 with a 2,700 percent price spike in weeks, fueled by rebellion and FOMO, not balance sheets. The herd trampled common sense into dust. The price crashed back to $40 when the hysteria died. The mob, not the company, jerked the strings. Tesla in 2022 proved overreactions can overshoot, shedding 38 percent—$1,000 to $620—when Elon Musk’s Twitter fiasco spooked investors into thinking he would abandon his car gig. They fixated on the headlines; record auto deliveries meant nothing. Overreactions plague the market, swinging both ways—sometimes too hard, sometimes too soft. Contrast Tesla’s chaos with Boeing’s 737 MAX mess in 2019.
Two Boeing planes crashed due to a flawed automated flight control design, yet the stock dipped only 23 percent at first, $440 to $340. Investors clung to Boeing’s halo, ignoring the bleeding red flags. Months later, it sank to $180, a near-60 percent plunge, as truth clawed through Boeing’s denials. What is the lesson? Emotions rule the short term. Fear crashes markets, greed inflates bubbles, and the herd chases whatever moves in the shadows. Overreactions overshoot, underreactions lag. Yet, over years, fundamentals regain control—until the next wave of human nature unleashes the storm. Stocks do not merely represent investments or promise simple returns. They thrust you into the front row of humanity’s unhinged spectacle— a chaotic theater where fear, greed, and the masa’s blind stampede collide in a sweaty, rain-drenched mess. Popcorn is not included, but the show delivers traders chasing tricycles of profit as emotion slams prices up Kennon Road’s cliffs and down its mud-soaked gutters. Fundamentals are ready to yank the curtain down over time. Yet the audience stays hooked, pesos clenched in hand, betting on the next act of lunacy until the inevitable emotional typhoon clears the stage for another round. E-mail me at mangun@gmail.com. Follow me on Twitter @mangunonmarkets. PSE stock-market information and technical analysis provided by AAA Southeast Equities Inc.
AI boom turns Asian data centers into magnets for loan deals
By Kari Lindberg
ARTIFICIAL intelligence advances are fueling a funding frenzy for data centers in Asia, spawning a series of record breaking loans and filling the pipeline with even more potential deals.
In the span of a week, two major Asian data center operators secured their biggest-ever loans, partly earmarked for the expansion of their operations in Malaysia, which is becoming a hub for these facilities.
The deals underscore the industry’s appeal in attracting a range of investors—from banks to real estate players—as the AI boom drives demand. They also show how much of a data center hotspot Asia has become, with demand set to expand by about 32 percent a year through 2028, according to data by real estate services firm Cushman and Wakefield, outpacing the US’s expected growth of 18 percent. Though US tariff policy could be a wild card for the industry.
“The surge in demand for data
center capacity has piqued the interest of an ever-growing diverse pool of capital investors and providers across Asia Pacific,” said Yemi Tepe, a partner at law firm Morrison Foerster, who has worked on tech-related financial transactions. Banks have historically been the main source of funding for large scale projects, but the emergence of private credit and infrastructure funds have expanded financing avenues, said Tepe.
Among the recent financings, Bain Capital-owned Bridge Data Centres obtained a $2.8 billion facility for its operations in Malaysia, while DayOne, formerly known as GDS International, launched a $3.4 billionequivalent borrowing into market. There are more potential Asia
In the span of a week, two major Asian data center operators secured their biggest-ever loans, partly earmarked for the expansion of their operations in Malaysia, which is becoming a hub for these facilities.
Pacific deals on the horizon. A Singapore operating entity of Australia’s Firmus Technologies is seeking a $120 million private loan, while India’s Yotta Data Services Pvt. is in talks with private credit funds to raise about $500 million for its data center parks. Moreover, with tensions between Beijing and Washington escalating, tech multinationals are now diversifying beyond China. Hundreds of billions of dollars of investments are pouring into towns in Southeast Asia and reshaping the local economies there. Malaysia’s southern state of Johor, bordering Singapore, has been a major beneficiary of the flood of
funding. The state has about 30 data center projects completed or under construction, plus 20 more awaiting approvals. Elsewhere, Thailand approved investment applications worth $5.9 billion last week, including three projects targeting the sector.
Still, the industry faces uncertainties as the US readies more tariffs and the risk of a wider trade war rises. Likely targets include countries that supply the data center industry— largely in Asia—as well as some of the key components it relies on, like semiconductors. Projects could also face holdups if supply chains are disrupted.
“These geopolitical risks could lead to higher financing costs, lower investor confidence, and increased credit risk for financiers,” said Tepe. “Consequently, investors may demand higher risk premiums or choose to divest from projects tied to Chinese entities, potentially stalling growth in the Southeast Asian data center market.” Bloomberg
John Mangun
Netanyahu’s cabinet starts to oust legal chief as protests grow
By Galit Altstein
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU’S cabinet on Sunday took the first big step toward dismissing the attorney general in the latest attempt to reduce judicial oversight over the government’s actions.
Moves to fire the nation’s top security and legal officials—including Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar—sparked nationwide demonstrations over the weekend. Tens of thousands of people took to the streets to oppose what they see as an alarming dilution of checks and balances that poses a threat to Israel’s democracy.
Protests, the largest since the start of war in October 2023, continued Sunday in Jerusalem as the cabinet voted on a no-confidence resolution against Gali BaharavMiara, Israel’s attorney general since 2022.
Social and political unrest is on the rise after Israel resumed fighting in Gaza last week, ending a two-month ceasefire with Hamas. The military renewed air strikes on the Palestinian territory and has launched a limited ground operation as well. The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said Palestinians killed in the Israel-Hamas war have passed 50,000.
Netanyahu, though, is largely brushing off public displays of opposition after recently securing a firm majority of 68 out of 120 seats in parliament after Itamar Ben Gvir rejoined the government.
Negotiations on a new temporary ceasefire or a permanent end to the conflict are at a standstill, and Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that Israel will permanently annex land in Gaza if Hamas— designated a terror organization by the US and other countries— keeps up its refusal to free Israeli hostages.
The new fighting—including strikes over the weekend on Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon—and rising unrest put Israeli assets under fresh pressure. The Tel Aviv 35 benchmark index dropped about 3.2 percent as of 2:50 p.m. local time, following the cabinet vote. Companies including Bank Hapoalim, Israel’s second largest lender, and insurer Phoenix Financial Ltd. posted their biggest declines since the war started 17 months ago. The shekel depreciated by 1.9 percent last week, the second worst performing currency in a basket of expanded majors tracked by Bloomberg.
The government resolution on Baharav-Miara expresses “a lack of confidence in the attorney general in light of her inappropriate conduct and given substantial and prolonged differences of opinion between her and the government which prevent effective cooperation.” To oust her, the government needs to reconvene after deferring the matter to the same committee who appointed her and hearing its recommendation.
Netanyahu didn’t take part in Sunday’s deliberations given his conflict of interest while he’s on trial for corruption charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, which Baharav-Miara oversees.
Helming the meeting was Justice Minister Yariv Levin, who launched an unprecedented broadside on the attorney general in the form of an 86-page document presented to cabinet.
He blamed Baharav-Miara for the creation of a “gas lighting democracy,” saying that “while the attorney general exalts the values of democracy, in reality she has crushed to the ground the very principles in whose name she claimed to act.” Baharav-Miara and Netanyahu’s cabinet have clashed multiple times over the past two years as she repeatedly objected to their policies. She refused to back the bills meant to support the former judicial overhaul; urged the gov -
Opinion
Proposed changes under CMEPA
LThe Israel Business Forum, a group of 200 large companies, threatened to bring the economy to a standstill if the government doesn’t respect the court order, and an organization representing technology companies and venture capital funds said it may strike. The Histadrut, a labor federation, said the government should act in accordance with the court ruling.
ernment to draft Orthodox Jewish men into the military, upsetting some of Netanyahu’s closest allies in parliament; and opposed the reappointment of Ben Gvir as minister for national security, saying he has politicized the police.
Levin said that under BaharavMiara’s leadership, “the attorney general’s office has become a tyrannical political authority. The AG acts as the long arm of the government’s opponents and does not hesitate to use any means to thwart the will of the voter.”
Baharav-Miara, Israel’s first female attorney general, boycotted the meeting but sent a response saying that “the government wants to be above the law. We will not be deterred.”
Netanyahu’s government last week unanimously voted to oust Bar, also citing “mistrust,” saying the intelligence agency chief had a “misunderstanding of the subordination of the service and its head to the political echelon.”
The decision was placed on hold Friday by the Supreme Court until judges decide on multiple petitions against Bar’s firing. They claim— as did the attorney general, who was disregarded—that Netanyahu should be prevented from firing Bar given a Shin Bet probe into possible ties between his close aides and Qatar.
Netanyahu didn’t directly comment on the court’s decision but said in a post on X Friday that “Israel is a state of law and according to that law, the government decides who will be the head of the Shin Bet.
Some cabinet ministers, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, went further, saying that “High Court judges will not conduct the war or determine its commanders. Period.” The comments stirred concerns that the government would disobey the court order and proceed with firing Bar, plunging Israel into a constitutional crisis.
The Israel Business Forum, a group of 200 large companies, threatened to bring the economy to a standstill if the government doesn’t respect the court order, and an organization representing technology companies and venture capital funds said it may strike. The Histadrut, a labor federation, said the government should act in accordance with the court ruling.
Israel’s Supreme Court has been under constant attack since Netanyahu’s latest government took office in late 2022, including an attempted judicial overhaul aimed at diluting its power. While those reforms were shelved after Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza started in October 2023, they’ve recently been revived.
Later this week Israel’s parliament plans to vote on a bill that would change the composition of the Judge Selection Committee, giving the executive branch more power over the appointment of Supreme Court justices, by cancelling the veto right judicial representatives have over them. Bloomberg
TAX LAW FOR BUSINESS
AST year, I wrote about the proposed amendments under the CMEPA bill (the Capital Markets Efficiency Promotion Act) based on the version passed by the House of Representatives (H.B. No. 9277). The CMEPA bill was initiated as an “alternate” bill to PIFITA, or the Passive Income and Financial Intermediary Taxation Act, pending the passage of the counterpart PIFITA bill by the Senate. Early this year, the Senate approved on final reading its own version of the CMEPA bill (S.B. No. 2865), introducing significant changes and incorporating substantial provisions previously suggested in PIFITA. The changes were later approved by the Bicameral Conference Committee on February 5, 2025. Here is a preview of the proposed revisions under CMEPA bill, as approved by the Bicameral Conference Committee.
In CMEPA, taxation on interest earned from bank deposits, deposit substitutes, trust funds, and other similar arrangements is simplified.
To recall, under our existing laws, taxpayers are subject to different tax rates or to tax exemption on their interest income, depending on a lot of factors, such as the taxpayer’s classification, maturity period of the instrument, and the currency deposit unit system of the bank where they invested their money. Under CMEPA, all taxpayers will be subjected to 20 percent final withholding tax on their interest. This rule applies to all individuals and corporations,
except in the case of non-resident aliens not engaged in trade or business (NRANETBs) and non-resident foreign corporations (NRFCs) that will remain subject to 25 percent final tax on all interest. The rule effectively removes the previous tax exemptions enjoyed by certain individuals on interest from long-term deposits and by non-residents on income earned under the expanded foreign currency deposit unit system (EFCDU) of banks. Gains from sale or retirement of bonds, debentures, or other certificate of indebtedness with maturity of more than five years are no lon-
ger excluded from gross income. Instead, the CMEPA excluded from gross income the interest income and gains of only the bonds issued by the Republic of the Philippines or any of its instrumentalities to finance capital expenditures covered by the Philippine Development Plan and its equivalent and other high-level priority programs of the national government, as determined by the Secretary of Finance.
The present 15 percent capital gains tax (CGT) due on sale of shares in domestic corporation not traded through local stock exchange was extended to transfer of shares held in a foreign corporation not traded through stock exchange, local or foreign. The tax exemption on gains from redemption of shares of stock presently enjoyed by mutual fund companies was also extended to redemption of units of participation issued in mutual funds and in Unit Investment Trust Funds (UITFs).
The proposed bill further significantly reduces the stock transaction tax, from 0.60 percent to 0.10 percent tax rate, applicable to sale of shares of stock listed and traded through the local stock exchange. The reduced rate was extended to cover also shares of a domestic corporation listed and traded through foreign stock exchange. Under CMEPA, initial public offerings will no longer be subject to stock transaction tax.
There are also changes in the imposition of documentary stamp
Are we having a new world order?
Finex Free Enterprise
WHEN the Allied Forces vanquished the Germany-JapanItaly Axis, much of the Free World adopted the democratic way of government. Today, Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa says as of last year, right-wing, authoritarian regimes ruled 71 percent of the world.
This was before America’s Donald Trump was democratically elected but has shown autocratic tendencies, betraying a growing fascination with that mode of governance.
But just what is a right-wing, autocratic style of government?
It is characterized by “ultranationalism” anchored on an autocratic centralized government headed by a dictatorial leader. Present are suppression of the opposition and severe social and economic pressures.
According to the New York Times, Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Oban (ruler for 18 years and an ally of Trump) uses a template that “demonizes migrants, neutralizes independent jury, creates new crony capitalists and uses victimhood sentiments to manipulate historical memory.”
Incidentally, this is the same Oban who in 2010 sloganized “Make Hungary Great Again”—the same way Trump has his MAGA (Make America Great Again) and our own Ferdinand Marcos Sr. about making RP great again. The similarity is astounding.
Jason Stanley, in his book “How Fascism Works,” quotes fascism plots panic to drive people to seek refuge in extremists. To be fair, the disenchantment with the failure of democracy (liberal centrist) to end income disparity, likewise, made other alternatives attractive and the growing anxiety about globalization has led many nations to become xenophobic and ultra-protectionist. Two nations with over a billion in population are of such origins. China is largely state-controlled with excursions to capitalist experiments and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party constitute “the most organized far-right force in the planet.”
The dictator Russia’s Vladimir Putin has siphoned his soulmate in North Korea Kim Jung Un into his Ukraine adventure—two examples of strongmen. According to the book “How Democracies Die,” America’s Trump is flirting with extremist politics. Historically, America has been pro-democratic but in Trump we find the USA abdicating its role as a “democracy promoter” and as
the world’s Robocop by focusing on “America First.” After Marcos Sr., Hague-detained former President Rodrigo Duterte represents perhaps the most ardent devotee of strongman rule in the Philippines’ young democracy. After his 2016 election, almost all of Congress jumped to his party, and by mid-term only two senators were left against his draconian rule. He had appointed most of the current justices of the Supreme Court and all but one brushed off all opposition against his war on drugs.
Maria Ressa of Rappler was arrested twice and had 10 criminal cases filed at one time even as the ABSCBN’s franchise was not renewed, and the Daily Inquirer was hammered with tax cases. Heretofore, the two were the country’s leading TV and broadsheet entities.
Countries like Venezuela and Turkey have turned right-wing, while Poland’s right party dominates the Parliament. Israel is definitely far-right as the left wing has discredited itself. The hard right anti-immigrant party is also in control in the Netherlands. Italy under the “Brothers of Italy” Party is the “most right-wing party to govern Italy since Mussolini.” France’s Marine Le Pen Party and right leader the charismatic Jordan Bardella (only 28) has been a strong runner-up in the last two presidential polls. Can this happen even to libertarian France?
Germany’s Alternative for Germany (party) has 70 seats in Parliament and is a serious contender for control. In moderate Scandinavia, its right-wing party is on the rise. The right-wing populist Javier Melei’s victory in Argentina “packed
taxes (DST). One significant amendment is the imposition of DST at a uniform tax rate of 75 percent of 1 percent based on the value of the transaction for sale or transfer of bonds, debentures, certificates of stock, or indebtedness issued in foreign countries. Under CMEPA, DST on original issuance of shares of stock is reduced—from the current 1 percent to 0.75 percent—based on the par value of the shares or actual consideration in the transaction, if there is no par value. The following transactions will be exempted from DST: (a) original issuance, redemption, and other disposition of shares in mutual funds, and (b) issuance of certificate or other evidence of participation in mutual funds or UITFs. While we are yet to see the impact of these proposed changes, we highly hope that the bill will achieve its purpose of boosting the country’s competitiveness in the investment markets by making our tax system simpler, fairer, and more efficient.
The author is a junior partner of Du-Baladad and Associates Law Offices (BDB Law) (www. bdblaw.com.ph), a member-firm of WTS Global. The article is for general information only and is not intended, nor should be construed as a substitute for tax, legal or financial advice on any specific matter. Applicability of this article to any actual or particular tax or legal issue should be supported therefore by a professional study or advice. If you have any comments or questions concerning the article,
a political punch” after the fall of Bolsonaro.”
Democracy is in a recession, authors Levitsky and Ziblatt postulate.
Our Cory Aquino told the US Congress after the fall of Marcos Sr. that “the Philippines is restoring democracy with the ways of democracy.” Which means bringing back the norms that once were used to protect the democracy that was lost by Martial Law. Which means the Courts, Congress, Civil Society, Media, the Constitution, the Church, COA, Comelec, Ombudsman, and the Studentry.
Democracy, after all, is for mutual tolerance and institutional forbearance, while fascism frowns on individual freedom and egalitarianism. Author Stanley says in truth fascists are afraid of fascism’s past. This hammer rule will eventually trigger resistance from a broad range of coalitions among progressives, minorities, the private sector, and even partisans.
This could lead to “police repression and vigilantism” which will translate into escalating confrontation and violence. In the end, fascism will reap the seeds of contradiction it had sown.
“How Democracies Die” concludes: “Democracy depends on citizens. No single leader can end democracy. No single leader can rescue it even. Because Democracy is a shared enterprise. Its fate depends on all of us.
Bingo Dejaresco, a former banker, is a financial consultant, media practitioner, and author. He is a Life and Media member of Finex. His views here, however, are personal and do not necessarily reflect those of Finex. dejarescobingo@yahoo.com
Turkey bans short selling, eases buyback rules to bolster stocks
TBy Ugur Yilmaz
URKEY’S capital markets regulator banned short-selling across all stocks and relaxed share buyback rules in a bid to prevent further equity losses after the country’s benchmark index tumbled last week following the detention of a prominent opposition leader. The new rules, announced late Sunday, broaden a previous ban that limited short-selling to only the top-50 listed companies. In addition, the regulator has allowed listed companies to repurchase shares at
prices above the last market close and reduced the minimum equity capital protection requirement for margin trading to 20 percent from 35 percent. The moves come in the wake of the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Imamoglu’s detention on Wednesday sparked a market rout, sending the Turkish lira to an all-time low and driving bond yields higher. The banking stocks index posted its steepest weekly drop since at least 2001. In response, the central bank raised a key interest rate in
an unscheduled meeting Thursday. “A more autocratic Erdogan increases country risk in Turkey, which will widen credit spreads while raising the possibility of more irrational central bank policy,” said Kyle Rodda, a senior analyst at Capital.com in Melbourne. “At the margins, moves by authorities could quell things or stop markets moving in volatile way, but the underlying concerns remain for investors.”
The Turkish lira was quoted at 38.00 per dollar in early Asian trading Monday, according to Bloomberg’s BGN indicative pricing. The
currency closed at 37.73 per dollar on Friday. There’s a good chance that downward pressure on the Turkish lira will continue for the time being, Kumiko Ishikawa, a senior analyst at Sony Financial Group
Atty. Mabel L. Buted
Zoilo ‘Bingo’ Dejaresco III
Tuesday, March 25, 2025
Naia modernization gets P80B in funding from BDO
By Reine Juvierre S. Alberto @reine_alberto
SY-LEDBDO Unibank Inc. (BDO) is providing P80 billion in funding for the modernization of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) to improve the efficiency and passenger experience in the country’s primary gateway.
In a statement on Monday, BDO said the funding was facilitated by the Institutional Banking Group and BDO Capital & Investment Corporation (BDO Capital) to support the New Naia Infrastructure Corporation (NNIC) in rehabilitating and modernizing Naia.
BDO Capital President Eduardo V. Francisco said BDO has been a “steadfast partner” in infrastructure development, ensuring projects such as the Naia modernization have the necessary financial backing.
“This initiative will drive economic growth, improve air mobility, and
enhance the Philippines’s position as a regional hub,” Francisco was quoted in the statement as saying.
“We take pride in supporting transformative projects that create long-term value for businesses and communities. The modernization of Naia is a milestone in improving air travel efficiency and accessibility for millions of Filipinos,” BDO Executive Vice President and Head of Institutional Banking Group
Charles M. Rodriguez added.
BDO said it mobilized a significant capital within a limited timeframe. Meanwhile, BDO Capital,
together with other investment banks, structured a financing agreement for NNIC.
The NNIC is led by the San Miguel Holdings Corporation, the infrastructure arm of San Miguel Corporation (SMC), alongside RMM Asian Logistics Inc., RLW Aviation Development Inc., and Incheon International Airport Corporation (IIAC).
“Understanding the fiscal challenges inherited by the current administration, BDO is leveraging pri-
vate sector collaboration to ensure critical infrastructure initiatives remain on track,” BDO said.
BDO said the landmark transaction reflects the bank’s support of the government’s Public-Private Partnership (PPP) programs.
“Together, these initiatives will create a more integrated and efficient transportation network, driving economic opportunities and reinforcing the country’s position in the global market,” BDO added.
ADOZEN UK-based tech companies have flocked to the Philippines for the UK-Southeast Asia Tech Week to explore opportunities for collaboration, particularly in artificial intelligence (AI) for enterprise, data analytics and cybersecurity, according to British Ambassador to the Philippines Laure Beaufils.
“For this year’s UK-SEA Tech Week, we’ve brought 12 incredible UK companies offering cutting-edge solutions in data analytics, IoT, cybersecurity, consulting, and AI for enterprise. Over the next two days, we have an exciting lineup of discussions on AI and cyber. Plus, we’ll be talking about London Tech Week and how we can deepen UK-PH collaboration even further,” Beaufils said on the first day of the UK-Southeast Asia Tech Week on Monday. The 12 British tech firms are: Content Guru, CyberQ Group, Encompass, Intelligent AI Solutions, Kraken IM, National Innovation Centre, Open Data Institute, Smart, Summatic, Sumsub, Synetics, and Veracity Trust Network. Beaufils said the Philippines, with its “rapidly growing digital economy, presents immense opportunities or
collaboration from regtech solutions to embedded finance and digital identity verification.”
In fact, she said companies such as Wise, known for making cross-border transactions faster and more affordable, and NCC Group, a global leader in cyber risk management, have already opened offices in the Philippines, ready to support the Philippines’ Financial Inclusion story and help local enterprises in “fortifying” their digital infrastructure. The UK, Beaufils said, is one of only three countries with a trillion-dollar tech economy.
“The UK tech sector is by far and away Europe’s leading ecosystem. Fast-growing UK tech companies have continued to raise at near-record levels [£24 billion p/a], more than France and Germany combined. Leveraging the country’s deep science and technology base, the UK is leading the way as a leading ecosystem for responsible and values-led innovation,” added Beaufils.
The UK, she added, is at the “forefront of setting global tech standards, ensuring that cybersecurity, AI, and fintech evolve responsibly and securely. Our
By Malou Talosig-Bartolome
SAN Miguel Corp. initially just wanted to build an international airport in Bulacan that is environmentally compliant. But they wanted not just one that is compliant with the local environmental laws, but one that is internationally recognized. And the cost is staggering.
“Environmental, social and biodiversity offset. When you hear it, it doesn’t sound so complicated until you actually realize what it entails,” San Miguel Aerocity Inc. environmental and social head Cecile Ang said in a forum sponsored by the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation and New Zealand Embassy in Makati City.
Carbon offsetting involves investing in projects that reduce or remove carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to compensate for emissions that cannot be avoided.
The New Manila International Airport is considered to be the second most ambitious carbon offset airport project in the world, next to Lyon Airport in France.
Ang said of the 2,500-hectare area of the airport complex, around 1,600 hectares are existing ponds that require land filling.
In 2020, SMC borrowed US$2.5 million (P120 million) from the Dutch government’s export credit agency Atradius Dutch State Business.
“When we took on that loan, we were just told that you have to comply with some environmental and social things. It should not be so hard. You get a little discount from commercial loans, and we took it on,” she said. However, on the first two to three years of implementation, they realized it was “the hardest thing we ever had to do in our entire lives.”
The social offset, for one, involves not just relocating 450
families living in the platform.
“When we took out this loan, we had to do an audit of everything that we did before, and we were told that what you did is not enough. Giving them the option to choose between cash or house is not enough.”
Belatedly, they realized that the International Finance Corp. performance standards by the World Bank, “if the person chooses cash, it is our duty to convince them to choose house.” To make this even more complicated, this happened during Covid, when most people wanted to be more liquid. They are also required to compensate the affected 12,000 fisherfolks affected by the dredging.
Biodiversity offset ON the biodiversity offset, SMC was also required to find and build a new site for migratory birds.
Around 50 hectares of the airport site is the landing area of thousands of migratory birds from Siberia to Australia. Bulakan, Bulacan happens to be the stopover hotspot of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, a major migratory bird route.
“We have to look for 800 hectares just for offset for birds. And whenever we have to buy land and explain to people, explain to communities, we’re going to buy your land for birds. It’s a bit hard to explain,” she added.
She also said that one of the biggest challenges is to find an expert in IFC performance metrics in the Philippines. It turned out there was none. Thus, all of their consultants are based overseas.
Ang said she is sharing their experience for the national government to realize the magnitude of work needed when they require the private sector in the Philippines to be fully compliant with international environmental standards.
By Bless Aubrey Ogerio @blessogerio
THE Philippine population is projected to hit 114 million by the end of 2025, up from 109 million in 2020, according to the Commission on Population and Development (Popcom).
Popcom spokesperson Mylin Mirasol Quiray on Monday noted that the country’s rapid population growth continues to fuel poverty. “When there are more people, resources are stretched. Budget alloca-
tions for basic education, healthcare, and other services are spread thin, worsening poverty levels,” Quiray said in Filipino in a media forum. Yet, she highlighted the country’s declining population growth rate. “Our fertility rate is now at 1.9, below the replacement level of 2.1. This means we’re no longer replacing the number of parents with newborns, which reflects effective family planning,” she said. Recent data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed 761,227 births recorded
from January to September 2024. On the other hand, Quiray said the working-age population is at 63.6 percent. The Popcom spokesperson also expressed concern over the rising cases of teenage pregnancies among girls aged 10 to 14, increasing from over 2,000 in 2019 to more than 3,300 in 2023. “The youngest case was a nine-year-old who gave birth,” she said. On a slightly positive note, teenage pregnancies among 15 to 19-year-olds have declined. “From over 178,000 in 2019, the number dropped to more than 138,000 in 2023,” Quiray added. Factors like sexual abuse, coercion and lack of open discussions about sexuality at home are possible contributors, as well as exposure to explicit content on social media, she explained. “Parents need to have honest conversations with their children. Calling body parts by their proper names and teaching concepts like ‘good touch,
Editor: Jennifer A. Ng
Jollibee unit to raise funds via US dollar debt offering
By VG Cabuag @villygc
FASTFOOD giant Jollibee Foods Corp. on Monday said it has set a series of fixed-income investor meetings for the company float of fiveyear US dollar-denominated senior unsecured guaranteed notes.
The bonds will be offered by its unit Jollibee Worldwide Pte. Ltd. with the parent firm as the guarantor. The company did not specify the size of the offering.
The company has mandated J.P. Morgan Securities Asia Pvt. Ltd. and Morgan Stanley Asia (Singapore) Pte. as the joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners for the deal, and BPI Capital Corp., the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. Limited, Singapore Branch as the joint lead
managers and joint bookrunners.
“Proceeds from the contemplated offering are intended for the Issuer’s general corporate purposes and/or refinancing of its existing borrowings,” the company said.
Jollibee’s income last year grew 20 percent to P10.79 billion from the P8.98 billion recorded in 2023.
Systemwide sales (SWS) in 2024 went up by 13 percent to P390.3 billion from the previous year’s P345.32 billion, which was in line with the
company’s guidance.
“We also made significant progress in executing our strategy for our coffee and tea business,” Jollibee CEO Ernesto Tanmantiong said.
“After completing the acquisition of Compose Coffee in August 2024, this segment has become even bigger with over 5,000 stores and 78 percent of stores franchised. It opened 361 stores during the year and grew SWS by 37 percent with Compose Coffee contributing 22.6 percent to the growth.”
Jollibee Chief Financial and Risk Officer Richard Shin said the company plans to open anywhere from 700 to 800 stores this year across brands and regions and spend between P18 billion and P21 billion on consolidated capital expenditures.
“We expect to deliver an 8 percent to 12 percent growth in SWS in 2025, with 4 percent to 6 percent growth in same-store sales and store network growth of 4 percent to 8 percent. Op -
erating profit growth will be in the range of 10 percent to 15 percent,” Shin said.
“As anticipated, our China business experienced strong headwinds putting pressures in both top line and bottom line. The performance of our better burger category was also below expectations.”
While same-store sales growth turned positive during the fourth quarter, Shin said the company needs to further grow average daily sales and continue to work on profitability for this category.
At the end of December 2024, the company’s store network expanded by 41.8 percent to 9,766 compared to a year ago, with the Philippines having 3,382 branches. International branches reached 6,384, of which 580 are in China, 369 in North America, 388 in EMEA, 850 with Highlands Coffee mainly in Vietnam, 1,232 with CBTL, 336 with Milksha and 2,629 with Compose Coffee in South Korea.
ACEN hikes investment in unit
By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan
ACEN Corp. has subscribed to additional shares in its wholly owned subsidiary, ACEN Technical Services Inc. (ACEN TSI), with a total investment of P75 million to support the group’s project development and construction activities in the Philippines.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, ACEN said it has signed a subscription agreement with ACEN TSI, acquiring 7,500 common shares at a par value of
P100 per share and 67,500 redeemable preferred shares (RPS) at P1,100 each.
The move effectively raises ACEN’s stake in ACEN TSI to 86.2 percent of the latter’s outstanding shares. The shares subscribed to will be issued out of ACEN TSI’s unissued authorized capital stock and were fully paid in cash.
ACEN TSI serves as the Ayala-led energy platform’s development and construction shared services arm for its domestic renewable energy projects.
“This subscription will provide additional funding to ACEN TSI,
which was constituted as the ACEN Group’s development and construction shared services company for Philippine development,” the disclosure read.
The company’s net income jumped by 27 percent year-on-year to P9.36 billion mainly due to the strong performance of its renewable energy (RE) power plants.
Attributable renewables output of 5,596 gigawatt hours (GWh) was 25 percent higher than in 2023, buoyed by generation from plants energized throughout the year. In the Philippines, this new capacity also supported the expansion of
Jack Ma-backed Ant touts AI breakthrough
JACK Ma-backed Ant Group Co. used Chinese-made semiconductors to develop techniques for training AI models that would cut costs by 20 percent, according to people familiar with the matter. Ant used domestic chips, including from affiliate Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Huawei Technologies Co., to train models using the socalled Mixture of Experts machine learning approach, the people said. It got results similar to those from Nvidia Corp. chips like the H800, they said, asking not to be named as the information isn’t public. Hangzhou-based Ant is still using Nvidia for AI development but is now relying mostly on alternatives including from Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and Chinese chips for its latest models, one of the people said.
The models mark Ant’s entry into a race between Chinese and US companies that’s accelerated since DeepSeek demonstrated how capable models can be trained for far less than the billions invested by OpenAI and Alphabet Inc.’s Google. It underscores how Chinese companies are trying to use local alternatives to the most advanced Nvidia semiconductors. While not the most advanced, the H800 is a relatively powerful processor and currently barred by the US from China.
The company published a research paper this month that claimed its models at times outperformed Meta Platforms Inc. in certain benchmarks, which Bloomberg News hasn’t independently verified. But if they
the company’s net seller position to 1,131 GWh, a 57-percent increase year-on-year.
Across ACEN’s international portfolio, 3,770 GWh of renewable energy was generated, a 13-percent year-on-year increase. This was supported by output from newly operationalized plants in Australia, India, and Vietnam.
The company now has an attributable renewables capacity of 7GW, comprising 3.3 GW in operation, 2.3 GW under construction, and 1.4 GW of projects that are expected to begin construction within the next 12 months to 18 months.
work as advertised, Ant’s platforms could mark another step forward for Chinese artificial intelligence development by slashing the cost of inferencing or supporting AI services. As companies pour significant money into AI, MoE models have emerged as a popular option, gaining recognition for their use by Google and Hangzhou startup DeepSeek, among others. That technique divides tasks into smaller sets of data, very much like having a team of specialists who each focus on a segment of a job, making the process more efficient. Ant declined to comment in an emailed statement.
However, the training of MoE models typically relies on high-performing chips like the graphics processing units Nvidia sells. The cost has to date been prohibitive for many
small firms and limited broader adoption. Ant has been working on ways to train LLMs more efficiently and eliminate that constraint. Its paper title makes that clear, as the company sets the goal to scale a model “without premium GPUs.”
That goes against the grain of Nvidia. Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang has argued that computation demand will grow even with the advent of more efficient models like DeepSeek’s R1, positing that companies will need better chips to generate more revenue, not cheaper ones to cut costs. He’s stuck to a strategy of building big GPUs with more processing cores, transistors and increased memory capacity.
Ant said it cost about 6.35 million yuan ($880,000) to train 1 trillion tokens using high-performance
hardware, but its optimized approach would cut that down to 5.1 million yuan using lower-specification hardware. Tokens are the units of information that a model ingests in order to learn about the world and deliver useful responses to user queries.
The company plans to leverage the recent breakthrough in the large language models it has developed, LingPlus and Ling-Lite, for industrial AI solutions including health care and finance, the people said.
Ant bought Chinese online platform Haodf.com this year to beef up its artificial intelligence services in health care. Ant created AI Doctor Assistant to support Haodf’s 290,000 doctors with tasks such as medical record management, the company said in a separate statement on Monday.
The company also has an AI “life assistant” app called Zhixiaobao and a financial advisory AI service Maxiaocai.
On English-language understanding, Ant said in its paper that the Ling-Lite model did better in a key benchmark compared with one of Meta’s Llama models. Both Ling-Lite and Ling-Plus models outperformed DeepSeek’s equivalents on Chineselanguage benchmarks.
“If you find one point of attack to beat the world’s best kung fu master, you can still say you beat them, which is why real-world application is important,” said Robin Yu, chief technology officer of Beijing-based AI solution provider Shengshang Tech Co. Bloomberg News
SM Investments Corp. (SMIC), the conglomerate controlled by the Sy-family, on Monday said it delivered value to their shareholders over the last 20 years since being listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange.
SMIC, the parent firm, listed on the PSE on March 22, 2005 with an adjusted price of P123.27 per share.
Today, SMIC’s shares are being traded at around P795 apiece, or an increase of six times in the last two decades.
Over the course of 20 years, its assets grew by 10 times, delivering a compounded annual growth of 12 percent.
Frederic C. DyBuncio, SMIC’s president and CEO, said the group’s growth is a testament to SM’s “unwavering commitment to the Filipino people and the vision of its late founder Henry Sy Sr.”
“Over the past two decades, we’ve consistently created value, delivering steady returns to our investors while expanding opportunities for our people and communities. This legacy of growth and value creation continues to drive us forward,” he said.
“We continue to invest in green infrastructure, embrace innovation, and support communities across the Philippines. At SM, we are focused on building a responsible, sustainable future for the generations to come.”
He said the company is focused on creating long-term value for investors.
“The next 20 years will see SM continue to lead in retail, property and banking, while expanding into new regions where growth is accelerating, especially in provincial areas.”
SM Prime Holdings Inc., the shopping mall operator and property developer, is earmarking P100 billion this year for its malls, residences and hotels, driven by expectations of a sustained growth in consumer demand and corporate activity.
SMIC also announced a $1-billion buyback program, the first in its corporate history.
“Our buyback program is a clear
TELECOM giant PLDT Inc. and its wireless arm Smart Communications Inc. are ramping up their support for the government’s connectivity drive by distributing over half a million free SIM cards under the state’s flagship initiative to bridge the digital divide in underserved areas.
The group’s contribution to the P5-billion “JuanSIM ng Bayan” project will cover at least 170 locations, including far-flung schools and government offices. Smart is expected to provide nearly 473,000 SIM cards loaded with 25GB of data each by the end of 2025.
“PLDT has long prioritized connecting underserved communities, most especially schools and universities,” PLDT COO Butch Jimenez said. “We’re proud to be part of this new initiative, which aligns with our company and our chairman’s vision of improving digital access for all Filipinos. We believe there should be no Filipino left offline.”
The wider program—led by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) in partnership with major telcos— aims to deliver a total of 4.2 million
signal of our confidence in the future of both SM and the Philippine market. We believe in our country’s potential and in the enduring value SM will continue to create for its shareholders,” DyBuncio said. In 2024, SM expanded by an additional 619 retail stores, two malls and 73 bank branches, with over 85 percent of its footprint in the provinces. This brings SM’s total footprint to 87 malls, 4,470 retail stores and 2,441 bank branches by end-2024.
“We will continue to expand opportunities for Filipinos, providing greater access to modern retail, banking and integrated property developments that will help foster community, innovation, and sustainability for the next generation,” DyBuncio said.
SM founder, Henry Sy believed that business growth and social progress go hand in hand. Guided by this principle, and through the SM Foundation, the group granted 6,619 college scholarships, built 110 school buildings, trained 32,359 farmers, served 1.31 million patients through medical missions and Improved 216 health and wellness centers to date.
“As we look to the future, we remain focused on inclusivity and empowerment. Our brand promise, ‘We’ve got it all for you,’ has served us well for years. But as we move forward, we aim to build an SM for All, one that reaches and benefits every Filipino, ensuring that our growth is shared by all,” DyBuncio said. VG Cabuag
SIMs to 510 remote locations across the country.
Around 7 million Filipinos are expected to benefit from the initiative. “A SIM card can open doors—to learning, to livelihood, to connectivity, and to a better future,” Smart COO Anastacio Martirez said. “This initiative reflects our commitment to making technology accessible to every Filipino, and to make every Filipino thrive in a digital world no matter where they are.”
Since 2022, the PLDT Group has rolled out 1,000 Wi-Fi hotspots in 220 public higher education institutions across 60 provinces. It has also deployed its School-in-a-Bag program to support basic education, benefiting over 116,000 learners in remote and underserved areas. The group is likewise a longtime proponent of the Department of Education-endorsed CVIF-Dynamic Learning Program (CVIF-DLP), a teaching methodology used to strengthen science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education in primary and secondary public schools, alternative learning systems, and disaster-affected communities. Lorenz S. Marasigan
THE Ant Group Co. headquarters in Hangzhou, China. PHOTOGRAPHER: QILAI SHEN/BLOOMBERG
Banking&Finance
More tourism spend seen via VAT refund law
By Reine Juvierre Alberto @reine_alberto
THE Philippines stands to gain P197 in economic output for every P100 spent by a foreign tourist, following the signing of the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) for the newlyenacted Republic Act (RA) 12079 or the VAT Refund for Non-Resident Tourists on Monday.
Smart kids: Developing good money habits early
GIVING the kids their daily baon (allowance) is part of the process of growing up. Parents provide money, and the kids spend it on snacks, lunch or school supplies. But this is also a time to instill good money habits in children. When kids learn to handle money wisely, they become adults with good financial behavior. Most parents concentrate on academic achievement but tend to neglect money management. Money management is equally important as learning science or mathematics.
Children who practice good money habits in early childhood are likely to make wise financial choices when they grow up.
Money habits must start when children are young. If children are not taught how to budget, save, and spend money wisely, they can end up financially struggling or spending carelessly when they grow up. Teaching them on how to handle their baon makes them appreciate the value of money before they begin earning independently. When children learn money management at an early age, they will become effective at saving, budgeting, and spending. They also learn self-control and do not engage in impulse buying. By teaching children to manage money, parents prepare them to be financially independent. How to teach children money habits through their baon CREATE a fixed budget for their baon. This allows children to spend within their means. If they exhaust all of their money early, they will learn the lesson of budgeting better the next time.
Giving a weekly allowance is, to a certain extent, an effective way rather than a daily allowance. This compels children to budget their expenses instead of incurring it all in one day.
It is also a good idea to teach children that they don’t need to spend all that they earn. Instill in them the habit of saving part of their baon every day. A good guideline to follow is the “50-40-10 Rule,” where 50 percent is for daily expenditures such as food, 40 percent for savings and 10 percent for occasional treats. Parents can customize these allocations according to what suits their situation. Having a piggy bank or a savings jar in the house can also make children notice how their money accumulates, which inspires them to save more. Many children tend to spend their baon in advance on snacks and toys. Inculcating delayed gratification makes them more patient and financially wise. Ask them if they actually need it now. If a child wants something in the form of a
Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto was quoted in a statement as saying that refunding the valueadded tax (VAT) provides a reason for tourists to spend more in the country, which in turn, would grow the economy.
“[M]ore money spent by foreign tourists means more businesses created, more Filipino workers hired, more jobs provided, higher incomes for our people and more revenues for the government to collect. That’s the simple formula for growth,” Recto said.
Nonresident tourists or foreign passport holders may apply for a VAT refund from accredited stores for locally purchased goods worth at least P3,000 (around $52).
The goods must be physically taken out of the Philippines by the tourist as accompanied baggage within 60 days from the date of purchase.
The VAT refund only applies to retail and tangible goods, such as clothing, apparel, electronics, gadgets, jewelry, accessories, souvenirs, food or non-food consum -
ables and other goods intended for personal use.
Refunds can be made in cash or electronically to enhance the ease of doing business.
The IRR also mandates the Department of Finance (DOF) to engage the services of reputable and internationally recognized VAT refund operators to provide end-to-end solutions to the government.
toy, ask him/her to save money for it and not immediately beg you for buying it. As soon as he/she has enough money in savings, he/she understands the importance of patience and perseverance.
Another way of educating children on being financially responsible is through engaging them in minor money decisions. Let them shop for snacks and decide which one gives the best value. At the supermarket, let them assist in picking affordable items. When going out as a family, ask them to come up with ideas for saving money on food or activities. In making these small decisions, they realize the importance of planning ahead and wise spending.
Money is not only meant for spending and saving—it’s also for giving. Teach the kids to give a part of their money to charity, church, or those in need. Doing these things teach children the values of kindness and generosity.
Helping your child with money
ONE mistake that parents usually do is giving more money all the time when their children ask them for some. If children use their baon mindlessly and are given more money right away, they may think that money has no limits. Instead, make them face the consequences so they learn how to plan their money better next time.
Another thing to avoid is to buy everything for them. When parents buy toys, clothes, or gadgets all the time, children never learn about the value of money. Show them that if they want something, they have to save for it or work for it by doing small chores. It is also a good practice (with caution) for parents to give rewards when their children do well in school in the form of good grades or winning a competition. These instill responsibility and awareness that money is earned. Parents also need to be careful about the example they set. Children learn how parents manage money, so if they see parents spending money impulsively, they will probably follow the same behavior. Providing a good example through practicing wise financial decisions allows children to emulate the same.
Begin small and include money lessons into daily life. Keeping simple daily habits can raise intelligent and responsible individuals who can manage their finances well. Clyde
THE Philippine insurance industry is poised for significant expansion as the country’s rapidly growing workforce fuels demand for financial protection, according to Pru Life UK’s top official.
In a roundtable discussion on Monday, Pru Life Insurance Corp. of UK (Pru Life UK) President and CEO Sanjay Chakrabarty said those belonging to the Generation Z, those who were born in 1997 to 2012, emerge as a key driver for growth as they enter the workforce.
“We believe there’s going to be a massive explosion of insurance as more and more people enter the workforce. The workforce is growing very rapidly,” Chakrabarty said.
As a result, Chakrabarty said there will be a secular growth in insurance sales across all segments as the workforce will seek financial security.
By Reine Juvierre Alberto @reine_alberto
THE national government upsized the amount of Treasury bills (T-bills) it awarded during Monday’s auction after yields ended mixed amid lingering investor concerns over US tariffs being applied on April 2.
The Bureau of the Treasury’s (BTr) auction committee raised the volume of T-bills it awarded to P28 billion, more than the P22 billion initially programmed.
The auction was 2.4 times oversubscribed as demand for the government securities reached P67.205 billion.
Broken down, the Treasury generated P7 billion from the 91day T-bills with demands reaching P18.825 billion.
Yields of the 91-day T-bill averaged 5.157 percent, up by 3.9 basis points from the previous auction’s 5.118 percent. Interest rates ranged from a low of 5.140 percent to a high of 5.179 percent.
Meanwhile, the Treasury upsized the amount it awarded for the 182-day T-bills to P9.8 billion, above the programmed P7 billion, as tenders reached P19.250 billion.
The 182-day T-bills fetched an average rate of 5.554 percent, 5.8 bps higher than the 5.496 percent yield for the same tenor last week. The rate settled between 5.488 percent and 5.599 percent.
Further, bids for the 364-day tenor amounted to P29.130 billion with the auction committee upsizing the P8 billion on offer to P11.2 billion.
The average rate for the security settled at 5.681 percent. This showed a 1.6 basis point decrease compared to the 5.697 percent set in the previous auction.
Yields of the 91-day and 364day T-bills are lower than the comparable Philippine Bloomberg Valuation (PHP BVAL) benchmarks, except for the 182-day tenor. The PHP BVAL reference
“From our end at the DOF, we aim to deliver a VAT refund system that is world-class, modern, and built on the principles of transparency, efficiency and ease,” Recto said.
The Finance chief also called on the Department of Tourism to market the Philippines as the right place for tourists to visit and spend their money.
Unlike in a saturated market where insurance companies must figure out which segment to target and with what product, Chakrabarty said the Philippines’s insurance sector is expected to grow by double digits even if the market share remains flat or even drops.
“[Gen Zs] have joined the workforce, decided to make money, and they are thinking about their futures. Gen Z is a responsible generation. They plan, they think, so I have no doubt that there will be a massive contribution,” Chakrabarty added.
Insurance penetration, or the insurance sector’s contribution to the national economy, slightly improved to 1.67 percent in 2024 from 1.61 percent in 2023.
Average spending of each individual on insurance, or insurance density, amounted to P3,892.77 in
rates are 5.176 percent for the three-month tenor, 5.525 percent for the six-month tenor and 5.687 percent for the one-year tenor.
According to Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort, investor concerns over Washington’s tariff policy pushed T-bill yields higher despite the slight decline in short-term benchmark yields.
Ricafort said he believes the reciprocal tariff tack would dampen US economic growth and quicken inflation, which reduces the chances of the Fed cutting interest rates.
Nonetheless, he still expects local monetary authorities to slash key policy rates by 25 basis points in the meeting of the Monetary Board on April 10.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Eli M. Remolona said that with inflation on track, the central bank will gradually reduce key policy rates this year by 25 bps at a time.
Finance Secretary and MB Member Ralph G. Recto echoed the same sentiment, saying that key policy rates could be lowered by 50 to 75 basis points this year as the BSP is still on an easing cycle.
Ricafort said oil prices remaining near 3.5-month lows as well as the peso at its strongest against the dollar in five months supports lower inflation “that could help further justify future local rate cuts/monetary easing that would match future Fed rate cuts, going forward.”
This March, the Treasury raised a total of P111.6 billion through auctioning off T-bills.
The government will borrow P2.545 trillion this year, following an 80:20 mix in favor of local sources.
The government’s outstanding debt reached a new record high of P16.312 trillion as end-January 2025, as peso depreciation continued to weigh on financial obligations.
2024, a 12.58-percent increase from last year’s P3,457.84.
The low insurance penetration, Chakrabarty said, stems from financial literacy and financial awareness: “It’s not going to change overnight; it’s a journey.”
Still, the Pru Life executive remains optimistic about the Philippines’s growing insurance market, citing the country’s demographics and a middle-class population growing as well.
“The demographics of Philippines, [with] a median age of 25, positions it extremely well as an incredible insurance market with meaningful population. So there is no doubt that the market will grow and grow fast,” Chakrabarty said.
Pru Life UK posted the highest New Business Annual Premium Equivalent (NBAPE) amounting to P9.8 billion as of the end of 2024.
THE Social Security System (SSS) announced last Monday the state-run pension fund manager has disbursed a total of P39.1 billion in employee compensation to 2.7 million beneficiaries.
“These benefits have provided muchneeded financial relief to workers who have suffered work-related injuries or illnesses, helping them cover medical expenses, replace lost income, and rehabilitate their lives,” a statement quoted SSS President and CEO Robert Joseph M. De Claro as saying.
The bulk, or 81 percent, of the benefit disbursements were long-term benefits worth P31.6 billion. These benefits are composed of P27 billion in death benefits to almost 42,000 claimants as well as P5.1 billion in disability benefits to over 78,000 workers.
The remaining 19 percent of benefit disbursements were short-term benefits amounting to almost P7.5 billion. These consist of sickness benefits worth P5.3 billion extended to nearly two million workers and P1.7 billion in medical service benefits released to more than 700,000 workers.
Other short-term benefits include funeral benefits worth P284 million released to almost 28,000 beneficiaries and rehabilitation service benefits amounting to over P85 million to help more than 15,000 workers.
This year, Chakrabarty said the company is targeting an ambitious double-digit growth. Pru Life UK also saw a 4.3-percent increase in its total premium income worth P48.2 billion in 2024 from P46.2 billion in 2023.
“Our strong business performance reflects our commitment to addressing the evolving needs of Filipinos with the right insurance products at the right time,” Pru Life UK Chief Financial Officer Francis P. Ortega said. As the first Takaful operator in the Philippines, Pru Life UK is preparing to introduce its first affordable, Shariah-compliant Family Takaful product to meet the protection needs of the Muslim Filipino community. Chakrabarty said the product is eyed to be launched in April this year, to be brought down to a micro level. Reine Juvierre S.
“Our shared goal should be clear: Tourists should leave the Philippines with more than just souvenirs. They should leave knowing that this is a country that delivers on its promise,” the statement quoted the DOF chief as saying. SSS disbursed ₧39.1 billion to 2.7 million beneficiaries
De Claro said the SSS will continue to work closely with the Employees’ Compensation Commission (ECC) to ensure that all Filipino employees are protected from the risks of work-related contingencies.
“The SSS, being a key partner in the administration of the Employees’ Compensation (EC) program, recognizes ECC’s unwavering commitment to providing comprehensive, meaningful, and timely assistance to workers and their families in times of work-related sickness, injury, or death,” De Claro said. The ECC is the lead agency implementing the EC program, which provides tax-exempt income, medical and other related benefits to employees, including self-employed and their dependents in the event of work-related sickness, injury or death. The State Insurance Fund, sourced from employers’ contributions, is administered by the SSS to private-sector and informaleconomy workers. Meanwhile, the Government Service Insurance System administers it to government employees. The ECC was established on March 17, 1975, after former President Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. signed Presidential Decree 626 (Employees’ Compensation and State Insurance Fund) into law. Reine Juvierre S. Alberto
By VG Cabuag @villygc
THE Ayala-led Bank of the Philippine Islands announced it has opened its first physical-digital (“phygital”) branch in Mindanao. The new branch is located at Azuela Cove in Lanang, Davao City, a 25-hectare development envisioned as a premier waterside business and residential district. The branch “showcases BPI’s blend of digital innova-
Art BusinessMirror
Stressed? Sick? Swiss town lets doctors prescribe free museum visits as art therapy for patients
BY JAMEY KEATEN
The Associated Press
NEUCHATEL, Switzerland—The world’s woes got you down? Feeling burnout at work? Need a little something extra to fight illness or prep for surgery? The Swiss town of Neuchâtel is offering its residents a novel medical option: Expose yourself to art and get a doctor’s note to do it for free.
Under a new two-year pilot project, local and regional authorities are covering the costs of “museum prescriptions” issued by doctors who believe their patients could benefit from visits to any of the town’s four museums as part of their treatment.
The project is based on a 2019 World Health Organization report that found the arts can boost mental health, reduce the impact of trauma and lower the risk of cognitive decline, frailty and “premature mortality,” among other upsides.
Art can help relax the mind—as a sort of preventative medicine—and visits to museums require getting up and out of the house with physical activity like walking and standing for long periods.
Neuchatel council member Julie Courcier Delafontaine said the Covid crisis also played a role in the program’s genesis. “With the closure of cultural sites [during coronavirus lockdowns], people realized just how much we need them to feel better.”
She said so far some 500 prescriptions have been distributed to doctors around town and the program costs “very little.” Ten thousand Swiss francs (about $11,300) have been budgeted for it.
If successful, local officials could expand the program to other artistic activities like theater or dance, Courcier Delafontaine said. The Swiss national health care system doesn’t cover “culture as a means of therapy,” but she hopes it might one day, if the results are positive enough.
Marianne de Reynier Nevsky, the cultural mediation manager in the town of 46,000 who helped devise the program, said it built on a similar idea rolled out at the Fine Arts Museum in Montreal, Canada, in 2019.
She said many types of patients could benefit.
“It could be a person with depression, a person who has trouble walking, a person with a chronic illness,” she said near a display of a feather headdress from Papua New Guinea at the Ethnographic Museum of Neuchatel, a converted former villa that overlooks Late Neuchatel.
Part of the idea is to get recalcitrant patients out of the house and walking more.
Dr. Marc-Olivier Sauvain, head of surgery at the Neuchatel Hospital Network, said he had already prescribed museum visits to two patients to help them get in better shape before a planned operation.
He said a wider rollout is planned once a control group is set up. For his practice, the focus will be on patients who admit that they’ve lost the habit of going out. He wants them to get moving.
“It’s wishful thinking to think that telling them to go walk or go for a stroll to improve their fitness level before surgery” will work, Sauvain said on a video call Saturday, wearing blue scrubs. “I think that these patients will fully benefit from museum prescriptions. We’ll give them a chance to get physical and intellectual exercise.”
“And as a doctor, it’s really nice to prescribe museum visits rather than medicines or tests that patients don’t enjoy,” he added. “To tell them ‘It’s a medical order that instructs you to go visit one of our nice city museums.’”
Some museum-goers see the upsides, too. “I think it’s a great idea,” said Carla Fragniere Filliger, a poet and retired teacher, during a visit to the ethnography museum. “There should be prescriptions for all the museums in the world!”
‘Membranes’ third solo exhibition by Nicole Coson
ART hub Silverlens presents Membranes, the third solo exhibition by London-based Filipino artist Nicole Coson in its Manila location. With a foundation in printmaking, Coson’s work traverses painting, installation, and sculpture, led by a material investigation of what social and poetic connotations lie within the repetition of forms.
Two everyday objects form the focal point of Membranes: Styrofoam mesh fruit casing and standard plastic shipping crates.
Both ubiquitous in the global food supply chain, they speak to the vast journeys that perishable goods undergo before eventual consumption—even those typically
perceived as “local” or “native” in a Philippine context. Contending with the long history of the archipelago as a key transnational trading point, Membranes highlights the material infrastructures that lie behind the “exotic” and how they become meaningful in social terms, at home and away, over time.
The standard plastic shipping crate has been an ongoing object of interest for the artist, culminating in the ongoing series Circuits. In a significant deviation from standard printmaking technique, Coson hand-presses large, unstretched pieces of canvas onto crates, effectively imprinting them in dense arrangements. Facing these labyrinthine images
is an elongated plinth built using yakal, a native Philippine wood. Scattered on top is an arrangement of Styrofoam mesh casings clearly shaped after fruits commonly found in the Philippines: papaya, Philippine persimmon, macopa, soursop, dragon fruit, jackfruit, pineapple. The conventional ephemerality of these objects is balanced by their evident weightiness, for the casings are in fact hyperrealistic sculptures (Vanitas 2025) modeled from digital scans and 3D-printed in polyamide, a heavier synthetic material that naturally occurs in silk and wool.
Membranes, the third solo exhibition by Nicole Coson, is on view until April 25 at Silverlens, Manila.
By Eugenia Last
How you use your time and energy will determine how far you get. Connect with those capable of caring for obligations you can’t do yourself. Make your priority marketing, promoting and doing your best to have a positive impact. ★★★
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Embrace change and learn from experience. Your growth will change how you feel and who you choose to connect with. The choice to simplify your life and let go of the past will positively influence how others respond and the opportunities you receive. ★★★
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Manifest opportunities instead of waiting for a miracle. Trust and believe in your ability to do what’s best for you, and don’t let anyone speak on your behalf. You have more influence than you realize. It’s time to expand your interests and verbalize your plans. Love, romance and equality are on the rise. ★★★
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Set your sights on something unique, and let your creative imagination lead the way. Refuse to let your emotions dictate your reaction to domestic situations you have no control over. Look at the big picture and the emotional, financial or physical risk, and choose the path that offers the least fallout. ★★
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Look for exciting opportunities, but don’t be foolish or trust everything you hear. Verify information and adjust whatever you discover to suit your needs. Put a budget in place that doesn’t inflict financial pain, and use discretion when sharing information with those who like to exaggerate or twist your words. ★★★★
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Trust your instincts over what others tell you. Listening to too many versions of a situation will convolute communication. Consider options, how to make the most of your situation and what’s available. Don’t expect to please everyone; take action once you establish what’s best for you. ★★★
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
Show BusinessMirror
Derrick Monasterio is in top form
RIZED GMA actor Derrick Monasterio
Pis aware that the profession he chose is constantly evolving, and it is essential for an artist like him to continue being active. He also knows that in order to keep the projects coming in, he should solidify his being not only a reliable figure but also someone who can inspire and make a difference.
“I’ve been an actor for more than a decade now, and the journey has not been easy. For many years, I have been told time and again that I am a ham actor, and I have to admit that the pain can pierce so deep and it can be numbing. But I guess it’s the survivor and fighter in me that comes out every time I am being bashed, criticized and lambasted for my acting, because I am one who will never just give up and quit.”
He added, “Oh yes, I’d question myself, see if their observations are valid, but I will divert my focus to how I can improve. I’d invest my time watching movies and Netflix and observe how other good actors portray their roles. I read, I explore, I ask the experts. I have learned not to be afraid to ask, especially in situations where I need to find clarity and understanding, because I know I cannot give life to a character who I do not understand.”
Now 29, Monasterio is also aware that in his pursuit of industry longevity, it is crucial to maintain a balance between his professional success and personal well-being. Being an actor in itself is already demanding, but without good health, strong relationships both on the personal and professional levels, and a healthy work-life balance, the pursuit of true success becomes hallow.
Known for being a health buff, Monasterio shared that his current fitness regimen is to be able to go back to being lean and toned.
“I’m aware I grew big and chunky so I do a lot of cardio these days. Friends like you are probably aware that working out has become a lifestyle for me, not just a fitness activity. I believe that to be fit not only in the physical sense always gives me that push when it comes to the work I have. Being in top form always feels great.”
At the recent BENCH Body of Work fashion extravaganza, Monasterio got some of the loudest cheers from the audience. “I really worked hard and prepared for the event, and I’m just glad I made a lot of people happy. It always feels good to inspire.”
He said that he remains grateful to his home studio GMA Network and his management team at Sparkle, both entities that continue to push him to his limits in being an actor, choosing projects that would not only give him growth and challenge but also satisfaction and fulfilment.
“Take, for instance, this new suspense thriller series titled Slay, a joint venture between GMA Network and VIU Philippines where I play the lead male character of a fitness instructor whose death is being investigated. It’s a project that I cherish so much,” Monasterio shared.
“Through the years, I have maintained a very good relationship with my bosses, and the production executives, and I will continue to do so because trust is something actors have to earn and loyalty has its rewards. I owe a big part of wherever I am today because they never gave up on me.”
He also thinks that his romantic relationship with actress Elle Villanueva has done him a lot of good. “My life slowly evolved into something I like after I met her and after falling in love with Elle. I cannot really describe the feeling that I am with a partner that is like a soulmate, one that inspires me to become better in my profession and eventually makes me realize that it is also very important to become a good person, a strong and assertive individual, and someone who matters.”
Monasterio shared that during a recent vacation in Europe, he almost lost Elle due to a freak accident.
“We were in Switzerland, on snow covered alps, and Elle was taking videos for our vlog and then she slipped because she didn’t notice that we were already
Mariah Carey didn’t steal
By Andrew Dalton The Associated Press
A FEDERAL judge in Los Angeles has ruled that Mariah Carey did not steal her perennial megahit “All I Want for Christmas Is You” from other songwriters.
Judge Mónica Ramírez Almadani granted Carey’s request for summary judgment on Wednesday, giving her and co-writer and co-defendant Walter Afanasieff a victory without going to trial. In 2023, songwriters Andy Stone of Louisiana—who goes by the stage name Vince Vance—and Troy Powers of Tennessee filed the $20 million lawsuit alleging that Carey’s 1994 song, which has since become a holiday standard and annual streaming sensation, infringed the copyright of their country 1989 song with the same title.
Their lawyer Gerard P. Fox said he’s “disappointed” in an e-mail to The Associated Press.
GMA NETWORK CHAIRMAN ATTY.
FELIPE L. GOZON NAMED IABC COMMUNICATOR OF THE YEAR
GMA Network chairman Atty. Felipe L. Gozon was recently awarded Communicator of the Year (COTY) in the Executive Leader category by the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Asia Pacific.
The award was in recognition of Gozon’s outstanding contributions to the field of communication, taking the lead in transforming GMA Network into the country’s leading broadcast organization and constantly redefining the landscape of Philippine broadcast media.
“I would like to thank IABC Asia Pacific for this very great honor,” said Gozon in his acceptance speech. “Being named Communicator of the Year in the Executive Leader category by a very respected global community of communicators is deeply meaningful to me. This recognition holds even greater significance in a year of convergence—the 55th anniversary of the IABC, the 75th anniversary of our company, GMA Network, and receiving this prestigious award at my age of 85.” Gozon was nominated for the IABC Asia Pacific Communicator of the Year Award by GMA Network vice president and head of corporate affairs and communications Angela Javier Cruz.
As the third consecutive winner from the Philippines of the IABC COTY Award in the Executive Leader Category, Gozon joins the esteemed group of previous awardees that include Bank of the Philippine Islands president and CEO Jose Teodoro K. Limcaoco and Grupo Agatep chairman and CEO Charlie A. Agatep.
I see [Atty.] Gozon as an impressive individual,” says Barbara Pesel, chairman of IABC Asia Pacific board of directors. “He’s a leader that through his communication with his team, he inspired the people to recognize the importance of the Philippine culture. And it was, I think, this collaboration and this bringing of these people together that made GMA what it is today. And for that we recognize the importance of his work, and award him the Communicator of the Year.” COTY honors exceptional communication excellence and recognizes individuals who have demonstrated excellent leadership skills in strategic communication.
ONE-ACT PLAY DISCUSSES EDUCATION SYSTEM PERILS
ANG Goldfish ni Prof. Dimaandal is a satirical production which dwells on prevailing power struggles and flaws of the education system.
on the edge of the slope. Things happened so fast, so many things came to my mind at the same time but thank God after a few seconds, she stopped sliding down and she was not even injured. But that was a big scare, a wake-up call at the same time—to be careful, to love the people while they are with us, while we can, to say I love you, to make those we love feel loved.” He also told us that he has started investing in property, land specifically. “I’ll be 30 in no time and I’ve started to look seriously into the future so I can build a home and raise a family. I decided to invest on land because in the right location, the value of land appreciates.”
Debonaire Derrick Monasterio is still peaking as an actor, and he seems to be playing his cards well. He said that one important thing he learned that is so very basic is to listen more.
“I think the art of listening is something we tend not to take seriously, but I’ve come to realize that it did me a lot of good, because when one knows how to listen, one really does learn more.” n
Written by three-time Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards first-prize winner Eljay Castro Deldoc, this show, inspired by the playwright’s real-life experiences. It will be presented by Hala Theater under the School of Arts, Culture and Performance of the Theater Arts Program of the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde. It is directed by Benilde alumna and Virgin Labfest Writing Fellow Mikaella Yoj Sanchez. The story follows an ongoing investigation involving cranky science teacher Prof. Dimaandal, in pursuit of justice over her beloved pet goldfish which was allegedly murdered by three students. Amid the chaos, true problems within the school will be unveiled.
The theater play, which was first staged at the 10th Virgin Labfest in 2014, highlight social issues with a touch of comedic entertainment. It wishes to spark conversations on how to improve the academic system in the country.
The student-performers include Anthony Peñaranda as Prof. Dimaandal, Erich Noreve Baldove as Prof. Caracol, Hosanna Samonte as Tita Pits, Franchette Montezza as Vannie, Dave Palomo as Pasigan, Jeric Tan as Sir Tugbo, Leann Garin as Lady Guard, and Adrianna Baleda as Dedels. Peñaranda also serves as the assistant director. The play is produced under the supervision of production management adviser Glen Dominic Alarcon, a part-time faculty at SACP.
The show will run from March 24 to 27, with performances at 3 pm and 6 pm; March 28 at 3 pm and 7 pm. The gala premiere will be on March 29 at 3 pm. It will be held at six floor, Lobby Blackbox Theater of the Benilde Design + Arts Campus. Tickets are available for P250 for Benildeans, P300 for regular attendees, and P500 for the gala. Those interested can register and avail their tickets by accomplishing this form at tinyurl.com/AngGoldfishniProfDimaandal. Walk-in slots are likewise available.
More information can be found at www.facebook.com/halatheater/.
‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ from other writers, judge says
based on the opinions of two esteemed musicologists who teach at great colleges.”
Stone and Powers’ suit said their “‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ contains a unique linguistic structure where a person, disillusioned with expensive gifts and seasonal comforts, wants to be with their loved one, and accordingly writes a letter to Santa Claus.” They said there was an “overwhelming likelihood” Carey and Afanasieff had heard their song—which at one point reached No. 31 on Billboard’s Hot Country chart—and infringed their copyright by taking significant elements from it. After hearing from two experts for each side, Ramírez Almadani agreed with those from the defense, who said the writers employed common Christmas cliches that existed prior to both songs, and that Carey’s song used them differently. She said the plaintiffs had not met the burden of showing that the songs are substantially similar. Ramírez Almadani also ordered
sanctions against the plaintiffs and their lawyers, saying their suit and subsequent filings were frivolous and that the plaintiffs’ attorneys “made no reasonable effort to ensure that the factual contentions asserted have evidentiary support.”
She said they must pay at least part of the defendants’ attorney fees.
Defense attorneys and publicists for Carey did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Carey’s Christmas colossus has become an even bigger hit in recent years than it was in the 1990s. It has reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart the past six years in a row—measuring the most popular songs each week—not just the holiday-themed—by airplay, sales and streaming.
Carey and Afanasieff have had their own public disagreement—though not one that’s gone to court—over who wrote how much of the song. But the case made them at least temporary allies.
GMA Network chairman Atty. Felipe L. Gozon (center) was awarded Communicator of the Year (COTY) in the Executive Leader category by the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC). From left are IABC’s Barbra Pesel, IABC’s Liza Vengco, GMA’s Angela Javier Cruz, and IABC’s Kane Errol Chua.
Manila Water to increase sanitation reach with first-ever Utility Model patented Portable Desludger
MANILA Water has been granted a patent by the International Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) for its groundbreaking portable desludger. This innovative device is set to enhance the company’s sanitation efforts, particularly in hard-to-reach barangays, ensuring cleaner and healthier communities.
The Portable Desludger features a straightforward design, adapting the conventional vacuum tanker into a compact 1m³ capacity tank. This smaller tank can be mounted on a smaller vehicle and connected in series with a larger
10m³ desludging truck. This setup allows the 10m³ truck to remain on standby, while the more agile Portable Desludger navigates narrow roads to efficiently meet customers’ desludging needs. Currently, the portable desludger is
HERMA Group Celebrates 40 Years of Maritime Excellence, Filipino Enterprise
THIS March marks the 40th anniversary of The HERMA Group, a testament to Filipino Business Excellence. From its humble beginnings in March 1985 with the maiden voyage of a rented barge, HERMA 1, the company has grown into a dynamic conglomerate with operations spanning maritime logistics, petroleum, shipbuilding, environmental services, agribusiness, and business operations shared services.
Today, The HERMA Group comprises over 13 companies operating across the Philippines, proudly standing as one of the nation’s largest 100 percent Filipino and privately-owned maritime businesses. This remarkable growth is anchored in the core values of Enterprise, Excellence, Integrity, Respect, and Teamwork, which continue to drive the company forward. As the Chairman, Herminio S. Esguerra, often emphasizes, “By staying true to our values and working diligently, we can ensure sustainable growth, maintain our close-knit family spirit, and significantly contribute to the well-being of our people and the progress of our nation.”
Celebrating four decades of maritime excellence, The HERMA Group looks forward to continuing its legacy
CHAIRMAN and CEO of the Herma Group Herminio S. Esguerra of providing quality services, fostering Filipino talent, and contributing to the Philippines’ growth and development for many years to come.
The Corner House: A Space for Everyone
THE Corner House is more than just a commercial hub, it’s a community-driven space that’s rooted in the rich heritage of San Juan City. Inspired by the growing needs of the local community, it is thoughtfully designed to combine innovation with the city’s history. Being the first of its kind in Manila, The Corner House seamlessly integrates commerce, creativity and culture while offering a unique space for artists, businesses and individuals where they can connect, collaborate and foster meaningful relationships. Designed to nurture the community and cater to their needs, The Corner House is a place where everyone can feel at home through fun community events, pop up markets and anything in between. Whether you’re spending time with your family or you are enjoying your me time, here are some meaningful ways to enjoy your time at The Corner House: Food Crawl SATISFY your craving for both local and international cuisine with the wide variety of restaurants at the Corner House. Authentic Singaporean dishes are within reach at Kaokee, flavorful Japanese specialties at Tamagogo and Tajimaya, as well as bestselling Chinese dishes at The Leg Room and soon to open Ocean Empire. A wide selection of Spanish cuisine is also available at Papeo and different seafood dishes at Bun Appetit. Of course, there’s always room for a sweet treat! Enjoy delectable desserts at Cold Folks & Shari Shari while strolling as you grab your daily grocery essentials from One World Deli. Coffee lovers are also gonna love the vibe at Yardstick and A.M. Espresso.
If you want to chill after a fulfilling week, you can enjoy the vibe while sipping a cocktail at Raion or enjoy a bottle of wine at Lounge 207. For a more cozy ambiance, you would live the experience at Gnamma. And there’s definitely a lot more in store for the community, with soon to open food options including Wadashi Ramen, Fat Leo’s Burger & Fries, and Mizuki - a Hitori-style premium Japanese Shabu Shabu and Sukiyaki restaurant.
Play Date with Kids
HERE at The Corner House, there’s always something for everyone! Playtown Kids Cafe is a fun space where you can spend a date with your kids while also having a great time. Partnered with a cafe, parents will also have a leisure time to relax while you watch your kids.
Health and Wellness THE Corner House is your go-to place for all your self-care needs. Treat yourself to a well-deserved pampering day when you spend a relaxing time at Maestro Barbers, VIP Salon, Powerhouse Pilates and Sacred Skin Clinic.
being deployed in various barangays where accessibility challenges hinder Manila Water’s ability to perform desludging services. These barangays are primarily located in areas with narrow streets and elevated terrains, making them inaccessible to conventional desludging trucks.
“The development of Manila Water’s newly patented portable desludger exemplifies the company’s ongoing commitment to enhancing sanitation services, particularly in underserved communities,” Manila Water Corporate Affairs Group Director Jeric Sevilla said.
With this innovation, Manila Water aims to boost customer participation in their desludging services, thereby safeguarding cleanliness and community health. In its efforts to promote a cleaner and healthier environment, the company successfully emptied 129,420 septic tanks, surpassing the 117,075 tanks serviced in 2023.
4 Ways to Prepare for the Future Even While Still at School
SEMESTERS have come and gone, and graduation festivities are drawing near. It’s no wonder days seem to appear shorter and more hectic—it’s normal. Pondering over what your future might look like is something that every student experiences and while it may sound daunting at first, dipping your toes into the waters might just be the push you need to get started working on your dreams.
Get a head start on your career path by following these tips.
Stay curious
As a student, academics should be your main focus at school but it doesn’t have to be your only focus. Maximize your learning years by discovering different aspects about yourself, your skills, and your passions. Think about what piques your interest. What are the things you love and hate? From there, assess which areas you shine best and those you need to improve on. Now is the perfect time to really sit down and ask yourself, “What do I really want?” Online assessment tools like the STI SCOPE, or Student’s
Career Opportunity & Personality Evaluator, where students can determine their personality type and best career options can help you look inward, making it a lot easier to know your path to success and enabling you to be future-ready.
Learn beyond the classroom
It’s time to pad your skill set by honing existing abilities and picking up new ones through workshops and online courses aligned to your interests. Just recently, STI College rolled out LearnIt, a platform offering a wide range of courses and career tools, and expert tips and insights that students can access for free.
Want a change of scenery and a quick break from the pressures of school? You can also try participating in extracurricular activities such as sports, music or arts. All these provide valuable experiences that extend far beyond textbook learning, developing your decision-making abilities, sense of responsibility, time management, and teamwork necessary in the workplace.
If you prefer a more active routine, The Corner House has a 500-meter jogging path that wraps around the building. With the community’s welfare in mind, it provides a more secure environment to get your daily steps in check. Equipped with rubberized flooring which ensures a comfortable low-impact experience while you move, it’s a great place to enjoy the outdoors and breathe in the scenic beauty of the surroundings. It’s definitely the perfect spot to stay active and clear your mind. From delectable dishes to meaningful moments and conversations, The Corner House is the perfect place that everyone can treat like a second home. It’s the ultimate destination to relax, unwind and foster new connectionsyour home away from home. Visit us at 455 P. Guevarra St. Corner C.M Recto, San Juan City and discover a whole new community. 8
88 Horsemen Group Inc. and MJC Investments
Corp., operator of Winford Resorts and Casino Manila, are revolutionizing the local luxury gaming scene with the launch of the city’s first and only junket and VIP club.
The club will feature high-stakes gaming tables, state-of-the-art electronic gaming machines, and exclusive VIP lounges for elite players.
The two companies formalized their partnership on March 18, 2025 with the signing of a memorandum of agreement. The new VIP gaming operations will be strategically positioned at Winford’s main concourse, offering an exclusive experience for premium players.
According to their executives, the contract signing solidifies a collaboration aimed at enhancing VIP gaming experiences, expanding high-stakes gaming opportunities, as well as attracting global and local premium players to Winford Resorts and Casino.
The partnership will also boost Winford Resort & Casino’s VIP gaming
era for Manila’s luxury gaming scene,” enthused 888 Horsemen Group’s president Jackson Chua Jr. “This partnership aligns with our commitment to providing elite gaming services and unforgettable experiences to our clientele.”
“This partnership elevates our position as
Gain the right experiences Most employers value work involvement and immersion even if you’re still at school or a fresh graduate. That’s just how it is. But don’t worry, for starters, yours begin by taking your learning experience outside the four walls of the classroom. Internships, volunteer work, on-the-job training and part-time jobs can be a good example of a work experience. These expose you to the real workplace cultures and industries, letting you peek into the professional world and gain insight into what your potential career path is going to be. Here, you’ll be able to apply what you learned in class in actual situations or might as well become your transition from school to a full-time job opportunity. Don’t be afraid to take a chance.
Build your network and seek guidance PUTTING yourself out there is the ultimate key to expanding your connections. Attending your school’s career fair plus your relationships from organizations, internships and OJTs can get you acquainted with like-minded individuals. Take note that a lot of job openings are being filled through referrals, and at these kinds of social gatherings, you can meet professionals and even industry leaders that can land you job offers. You don’t want to miss out! Whether you’re planning for college, a part-time job, or personal growth, the steps you take today can open doors to opportunities for tomorrow. Hence, it is important to choose the right track and more importantly, the right educational institution that supports your passion like STI. Guided by its commitment to shape future-ready graduates and professionals, STI offers its signature brand of holistic education through a wide range of industryadept programs integrated with a balance of traditional, experience-based, and character-building activities. Visit www.sti.edu to know more.
MANILA Water’s
Trump administration’s new era: Journalists face increased challenges and media control
By David Bauder Ap Media Writer
NEW
YORK—During the first Trump administration, the biggest concern for many journalists was labels. Would they, or their news outlet, be called “fake news” or an “enemy of the people” by a president and his supporters?
They now face a more assertive President Donald Trump. In two months, a blitz of action by the nation’s new administration—Trump, chapter two—has journalists on their heels.
Lawsuits. A newly aggressive Federal Communications Commission. An effort to control the press corps that covers the president, prompting legal action by The Associated Press. A gutted Voice of America. Public data stripped from websites. And attacks, amplified anew.
“It’s very clear what’s happening. The Trump administration is on a campaign to do everything it can to diminish and obstruct journalism in the United States,” said Bill Grueskin, a journalism professor at Columbia University.
“It’s really nothing like we saw in 2017,” he said. “Not that there weren’t efforts to discredit the press, and not that there weren’t things that the press did to discredit themselves.”
Trump supporters say an overdue course correction is in order SUPPORTERS of the president suggest that an overdue correction is in order to reflect new ways that Americans get information and
to counter overreach by reporters. Polls have revealed continued public dissatisfaction with journalists—something that has been bedeviling the industry for years. Tension between presidents and the Fourth Estate is nothing new—an unsurprising clash between desires to control a message and to ask probing, sometimes impertinent questions. Despite the atmosphere, the Republican president talks to reporters much more often than many predecessors, including Democrat Joe Biden, who rarely gave interviews.
An early signal that times had changed came when the White House invited newcomers to press briefings, including podcasters and friendly media outlets.
The AP was blocked from covering pool events in a dispute over Trump’s renaming of the Gulf of Mexico, setting off a flurry of First Amendment concerns among press advocates and leading the administration to assert that the White House, not the press, should determine who questions him.
Two months before the administration took office, former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer, who served under Republican President George W. Bush, had urged that changes be made.
“It’s time to bring that (briefing) room in line with how readers and viewers consume the news in 2025,” Fleischer said in an interview. “They don’t get their news from The Washington Post, The New York Times and the three networks anymore. They get their news from a myriad of sources.”
In practice, some newcomers have refreshingly tried to shed light on issues important to conservatives, instead of hostile attempts to play “gotcha” by the mainstream media, Fleischer said. There were also softballs, like when the Ruthless podcast asked press secretary Karoline Leavitt if reporters who questioned border policy were “out of touch.” The conservative Real America’s Voice network tried to knock Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy off stride by asking why he wasn’t wearing a suit in the Oval Office.
While the White House Correspondents’ Association has protested the AP’s treatment and efforts to upend tradition, it has been largely toothless. For more extensive discussions, the president and his team generally favor interviews with outlets that speak to his supporters, like Fox News.
The Trump team’s rapid response efforts to fight the ‘fake media’
THE White House has also established a “Rapid Response 47” account on X to disseminate its views and attack journalists or stories it objects to. The feed’s stated goals are supporting the president and “holding the Fake Media accountable.”
Leavitt, 27, hasn’t hesitated to go toe to toe with reporters, often with a smile, and Tik-Tok collects some of those moments.
“We know for a fact there have been lies that have been pushed by many legacy media outlets in this country about this president, and we will not accept that,” she said at her first press briefing. It stood in contrast to Trump’s 2017
press secretary, Sean Spicer, who got into an angry confrontation with the press about the size of the president’s inauguration crowd on his first day in the White House, and never truly recovered from it.
Showing the spread of the administration’s disciplined approach, the Defense Department also has a rapid response account that says it “fights fake news.”
The Pentagon has evicted several news organizations from longheld office space, leading some reporters to worry about access to fast, reliable information during a military crisis.
“Strategically, he likes to use the press as a pawn—it is one of the institutions that he can demonize to make himself look good,” said Ron Fournier, a former Washington bureau chief for the AP.
Trump has active lawsuits going against news outlets that displease him, such as CBS News for the way “60 Minutes” edited an interview with 2024 election opponent, Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, or The Des Moines Register, for what turned out to be
an inaccurate pre-election poll of Iowa voters.
The new FCC chairman, Brendan Carr, has signaled an activist stance, with investigations open against CBS for the “60 Minutes” case, ABC News for how it fact-checked the Trump-Harris debate and NBC on whether it violated federal “equal time” provisions by bringing Harris onto “Saturday Night Live.”
Even with all the change, many newsrooms are confronting the challenge FLEISCHER welcomes a newly aggressive attitude toward the press. He believes many journalists were more activists than reporters during Trump’s first term. He wondered why journalists were not more aggressive in determining whether Biden’s advancing age made him fit for the presidency.
Worth watching, too, is a disconnect between newsrooms and the people who own them. Both the Los Angeles Times and Washington Post backed off endorsements of Harris last fall at the behest of their owners, and Post owner Jeff Bezos attended Trump’s inauguration. When the Post announced a reorganization earlier this month, Leavitt took a shot: “It appears that the mainstream media, including the Post, is finally learning that having disdain for more than half the country who supports this president does not help you sell newspapers.”
Many newsrooms are notably not backing down from the challenge of covering the administration. “60 Minutes” has done several hard-hitting reports, the Atlantic has added staff and Wired is digging in to cover Elon Musk’s cost-cutting.
For their own industry, much of the news is grim. The future of Voice of America is in doubt, eliminating jobs and, its supporters fear, reducing the nation’s influence overseas. Cost-cutters are eyeing government subscriptions for news outlets, eliminating an income source. On a broader scale, there are worries about attacks on journalists’ legal protections against libel lawsuits.
“They’re pulling at every thread they can find, no matter how tenuous, to try and undermine credible news organizations,” Grueskin said. It is well organized. It is coming from multiple directions. And it has been only two months.
The Associated Press writer Ali Swenson contributed to this report.
“I think that the press is either in denial, or they acknowledge that they have lost the trust of the people but they won’t change or do anything about it,” he said. “They just don’t know how to do their jobs any differently.” Press advocates worry about the intimidation factor of lawsuits and investigations, particularly on smaller newsrooms. What stories will go unreported simply because it’s not worth the potential hassle? “It has a very corrosive effect over time,” Grueskin said.
European allies left in limbo as $15 million in aid stalls amid Trump administration’s funding cuts
By Ellen Knickmeyer, Jamey Keaten, Mike Corder & Vanessa Gera
The Associated Press
THREE European allies provided millions of dollars that the United States was supposed to spend for low-income countries. Then the Trump administration and Elon Musk’s government-cutters arrived. Government officials from Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands told The Associated Press that a combined $15 million they contributed for joint development work overseas has been parked at the US Agency for International Development for months.
After the Republican administration and Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency cut USAID’s funding and the bulk of its programs, the Europeans asked whether their money would be funneled to projects as expected or refunded. They have gotten no response.
“It’s a concern for us, especially as we want our partner organizations to be compensated for the work they have put into the programs,” said Julia Lindholm, a spokeswoman for the Swedish government’s international development agency.
The true total may be larger. Other foreign governments also had money entrusted with USAID for distribution in a range of joint development projects at the time President Donald Trump ordered the funding freeze on January 20, according to an official directly
familiar with the matter who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The worries point to the extent to which the new administration’s abrupt cutoff of foreign assistance and canceling of contracts for humanitarian and development work are raising questions about Washington’s financial reliability. They also show further strain between allies as Trump revamps American foreign policy.
The State Department and USAID did not immediately respond to questions asking how many foreign governments had money for joint development programs going unspent and unrefunded in the USAID funding freeze, how much money that was in total, and whether the administration was doing anything about it.
Concerns from American allies SWEDEN Norway and the Netherlands had been partnering with USAID on a project called Water and Energy for Food, or WE4F. It helps farmers and others in poorer countries develop innovative ways to grow more food without straining water supplies or depending on climatedamaging forms of energy.
“Most importantly,” Lindholm said by email, the US failure so far to disburse or refund allies’ donations is harming “6 million of the poorest and most vulnerable farmers in the world who are dependent on the technologies for their food production and food security.”
Other administration actions already have alarmed traditional partners. Trump
has said he would not necessarily follow the mutual-defense pact underlying the NATO security agreement, he has advanced some of Russia’s talking points and demands in its invasion of Ukraine and has imposed tariffs on Canada, the European Union and others.
America as a reliable financial partner
NOW doubts about the US as a reliable business partner have emerged in lawsuits over the administration’s abrupt cancellation of what Secretary of State Marco Rubio said were 83 percent of USAID contracts, forcing partner organizations to lay off workers and driving some out of business.
In a brief supporting a lawsuit from federal workers, former Defense Secretaries Chuck Hagel and William Perry, former CIA Director Michael Hayden and more than a dozen other former senior US officials said the administration’s mass canceling of thousands of USAID contracts was flouting US financial regulations and “destroying the United States’ credibility as a reliable partner.”
Canceling the contracts “sends a message that this administration does not feel bound by those regulations— regulations on which every business that works with the United States relies,” the former officials said.
In another case, lawyers for nonprofits and businesses seeking payment from USAID told a judge that because of the financial chaos surrounding the agency’s dismantling, banks have stopped what used
to be routine financing for USAID partners based on their contracts with the US agency.
Since the Cold War, the national security argument for development programs has been that making poorer countries more prosperous and stable lessens refugee flows and conflicts.
Trump and Musk call foreign assistance through USAID in particular a fraud and scam. Administration officials are looking at focusing US development efforts much more narrowly on combating China’s influence abroad and boosting US trade and business opportunities.
Seeking money back from the Trump administration
GROWING steadily more alarmed by the administration’s foreign aid moves, Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands initially sent USAID e-mails inquiring about the money they had parked in USAID accounts.
Frustrated at getting no response, two of them warned in the government-togovernment emails that they were looking at talking to local media about their missing money, according to the official directly familiar with the matter.
Under court order, the administration has started making good on some $2 billion USAID already owed when Trump ordered the freeze in USAID and State Department foreign assistance on Inauguration Day. But forced leaves and firings have
yanked most officials and workers at USAID’s headquarters off the job. That includes many who oversaw development programs and would be involved in tracking down numbers and calculating any refunds for the foreign governments.
Sweden’s development agency told the AP that it estimates it has $12 million total, including $5.1 million for WE4F, sitting in USAID accounts—money going unspent for people in Africa, Asia and the Middle East and unrefunded by the administration. Lindholm, the spokesperson for Sweden’s development agency, called the WE4F program “extraordinarily impactful,” with measurable benefits for farmers and others many times greater than the program’s initial targets.
PRESIDENT Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One en route from Miami to
Joint Base Andrews, Md., January 27, 2025, as White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt listens. AP/MARK SCHIEFELBEIN
B8
Ginebra nears title: Thumbs up for JB!
By Josef Ramos
JUSTINE BROWNLEE was again so instrumental in Barangay Ginebra San Miguel’s 73-66 victory over TNT Tropang Giga in Game 5 of the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup Finals where he racked up 23 points, 12 rebounds and five assists.
So what hand injury—to think that the Gin Kings are a win away from their 16th championship?
“E verybody knew that Justine Brownlee was struggling a little bit more with his [right] hand today [Sunday] than he was in the last game,”Ginebra head coach Tim Cone said. “Hopefully, given another couple of days, he can recover a little bit and be a little stronger with that thumb.”
“But he is playing Magnificently despite that, and that really is amazing at this point,” Cone added.
Brownlee hurt his right hand in in their 88-85 loss in Game 2 but didn’t give up.
Ginebra’s resident import was terrible with a 1 of 5 shooting in the first half of Gam3 5 but found his rhythm in the last two quarters to snare the win at the Ynares Sports Center.
Cone also credited his locals particularly 2019 Most Valuable Player Scottie Thompson who finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds—two of them crucial boards—five assists and two steals.
“I think e verybody learned how to step up,” Cone said.
Ginebra was down 35-45 at the half in Game 5, but Thompson unloaded six crucial points in the last
period to defuse TNT, whose second consecutive loss was marked by a verbal spat between the Tropang Giga coach Chot Reyes and JP Erram in the third quarter.
Cone said that he hopes Thompson again brings his inspired play in Game 6 at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“It was really the inspiration of Scottie that turned the tide for us after Brownlee made some big shots down the stretch,” Cone said. “There is so much that Scottie does that doesn’t show up in the scorecard or the points or rebounds. He just inspired the whole team.”
TN T’s three-time Best Import Rondae HollisJefferson had 19 points and 12 rebounds while Rey Nambatac had 19 points in Game 5.
L A Tenorio, still playing strong at 40, was a surprise pick by Cone in the final two-minute mark of third quarter where he subbed for Thompson with Ginebra leading with 57-56.
He didn’t produce big numbers in six minutes on the floor but provided Cone with leadership and stability.
“L A is always ready. He works so hard in practice everyday,” Cone said. “Even though he’s not playing, he is still working.”
Cone added: “He’s 40 years old, still working super hard in practice every day.”
Tenorio’s task was to put his teammates into their spots and execute their plays well. He did.
“I felt that we were not executing well, and that’s one thing about LA, he is really smart with his execution. He knows that,” Cone said.
Tenorio had one rebound and one assist in Game 5.
Angels vs Thunderbelles in do-or-die PVL clash
PETRO GAZZ and ZUS Coffee clash on Tuesday in a do-or-die Game 3 for the last semifinals berth of the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference at the PhilSports Arena. Game time is set at 6 p.m. with neither team entering the no-tomorrow duel as the favorite. Instead, it will be a clash of experience against youthful exuberance, a battle between a vocal tactician who commands every tool at his disposal and a reserved coach whose quiet, observant approach has worked wonders for the Thunderbelles.
B ut the fate of an all-important
semifinals spot rests in the hands of the players as the battle-tested Angels and the gritty Thunderbelles set out for an intense do-or-die encounter for the right to join Creamline, Choco Mucho and Akari in the semifinals.
For Petro Gazz, it’s about keeping its championship dreams alive after two Reinforced Conference title conquests and for the Thunderbelles, it’s a shot at rewriting history—an unlikely semifinals appearance for a team built on the energy of young upstarts and experience of veterans.
“It’s going to be a battle and we have to focus on Game 3,” Petro Gazz star
Newly-elected IOC head Coventry feted
Foreman:
Ring and grill champ
Brooke Van Sickle said. “ZUS will keep fighting so we got to be ready.”
C hai Troncoso and Jovelyn Gonzaga personified the Thunderbelles’ never-say-die spirit to prove that they are far from finished, while rising talents Thea Gagate, Chinnie Arroyo, Michelle Gamit and Gayle Pascual and setter Cloanne Mondonedo could make ZUS Coffee a formidable force in future conferences.
After being stunned in Game 1, the Angels responded emphatically with a straight-set victory in Game 2, a dominant bounce
HARARE, Zimbabwe—Newly elected International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Kirsty Coventry arrived Sunday in her home country of Zimbabwe to a hero’s welcome as her victory is celebrated as a national milestone.
The southern African country has faced years of isolation and sanctions by the United States and other Western nations.
ALEX EALA pulled the rug from under world No. 5 Madison Keys of the US, 6-4, 6-2,
star ted training at 13 at the Rafael Nadal Tennis academy in Mallorca, Spain, faces former world No. 2 Paula Badosa of Spain in the roundof-16 on Tuesday morning.
Hback performance tht saw Van Sickle, Myla Pablo, MJ Phillips and the returning Jonah Sabete rise to the ocassion.
As an athlete, this is where we want to be, this is where we want to play—high-strung matches,” Van Sickle said. “Super cheesy, diamonds are made under pressure. That’s how good teams in the PVL, that’s how they’re able to handle pressure, be calm, be lethal, and accept the challenge.”
The 41-year-old Coventry, who is also Zimbabwe’s sports minister, was the only female candidate in the IOC presidency race and became the first woman and first African to be elected head of the global Olympic movement.
She beat six other candidates in the vote in Greece on Thursday, including the head of world track and field, the head of international cycling and a member of Jordan’s royal family.
“It’s not just my success, it is our success. We broke down barriers,” Coventry said in Zimbabwe.
Dancers in animal fur kilts and head gear made from bird feathers stomped the ground as part of a traditional African folklore dance to the sound of trumpets and drums to welcome Coventry home as she arrived at an airport in the capital, Harare. Dozens of others, including female cricketers, young karatekas and children in school uniform cheered loudly.
“M en have dominated sport for so long, I am thrilled that one of our own is now at the very top where she can tackle the issues affecting women in sports,” said Abigail Madera, a female boxing referee.
This is not just a personal victory, it will put Zimbabwe on the global stage,” said Women Affairs Minister Monica Mutsvangwa at the welcoming ceremony at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport.
Coventry is an ex-Zimbabwe swimmer and was the back-to-back Olympic champion in the 200 meters backstroke at the 2004 and 2006 Games. She retired from swimming after the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016 with seven Olympic medals and is the most decorated Olympian from Africa.
Coventry was widely praised in her country as a source of pride and a unifying figure during her swimming career. AP
considered the GOAT of Polo or the Michael Jordan of the sport.
fter La Dolfina Tamera, GlobalPort will lock horns with BTA on Sunday, before wrapping up its group assignments against the other former US Open titlist Park Place on April 5.
“Our game against BTA would be the highlight of the day, but it will just be the start of a tough climb as we battle Park Place next which is a former champion,” said
Romero, who was once the godfather of Philippine amateur basketball. But no matter what happens in what is to be the biggest polo event, Romero’s GlobalPort is already assured of a place in Philippine sports history—its participation in the US Open is already a testament to its growing influence international polo especially in the Asian region and Romero is the first Filipino player to do so.
L a Dolfina Tamera—bannered by world No. 1 Adolfo Cambiaso Jr., Alejandro Poma, Diego Cavanag and Matt Copola—is coming off a title run in the C.V Whitney Cup last month. Park Place, however, is the overwhelming favorite having won the just-concluded US Gold Cup. But GlobalPort is no pushover with the team banking on world No. 4 Bartolome Castagnola, Beltran Laulhe, Lucas Diaz Alberdi and substitutes Nico Escobar and Santos Merlos. The Philippine crew is riding the crest of a championship run in the Sterling Cup where it toppled former champion Maltese Falcons in a thrilling 12-11 overtime victory in the final.
G lobalPort also participated in the Gauntlet of Polo, a trio of top-notch 22-goal championships which also included the US Open, and reached the semifinals in the Whitney Cup with a 2-2 record in the groups in the ongoing US Polo Association Gold Cup. World No.6 Hilario Ulloa leads Park Place with Andrey Borodin, Louis Hine, Mariano “Peke” Gonzales Jr. and substitutes Gabriel Crespi and Nicolas Sivori.
Joining GlobalPort in Bracket I are Clearwater and La Dolfina Catamount.
down for the count of 10 in 1994. At 45 years and 299 days old, Foreman was once again the heavyweight champion of the world, the oldest man to hold boxing’s greatest prize (and also the oldest champion ever, a record that stood for 20 years).
F oreman was also an Olympic gold medalist and a noted HBO boxing analyst calling fights together with Jim Lampley. A fter his loss against Ali in “Rumble in the Jungle,” Foreman said of the defeat: “From pride to pity, that was devastating.” F oreman complained the ropes had been loosened, that his trainer even drugged him. He campaigned for a rematch but never got it. But once Ali called time on his career, he and Foreman became close friends, according to BBC.com.
To others, he is George Foreman the boxer or George Foreman the ordained pastor. But to me, he’ll always be the man behind the “George Foreman Grill.”
KIRSTY COVENTRY speaks at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe Airport in Harare. AP
Junior World-bound Junior World-bound (from left) Tristan Padilla, Lisa Sarines, Reese Ng and Ralph Batican display their medals after ruling their age-group divisions in the Uswing Mojing Junior World Championships Qualifying at The Country Club recently. They will be joined by 12 other top finishers from the three-day eliminations sanctioned by the
IT’s import vs import inGame 5—
Ginebra’s Justin Brownlee and TNT’s Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.
MIKEE ROMERO’S confident his team would make heads turn in Florida.
