BusinessMirror March 28, 2023

BusinessMirror

ERC ORDER MAY BRING EARLY OUTAGES—NGCP

By Lenie Lectura @llectura

THE possibility of power outages could happen soon unless the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) withdraws its order denying the request of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) for monthly extensions on ancillary services agreements (ASAs).

On Monday, NGCP  warned of the possibility of intermittent power interruptions after  the ERC denied a request for month-onmonth extensions on ASAs, while the competitive selection process (CSP) is being undertaken.

In denying its request, the ERC cited DOE (Department of Energy) Circular No. 2019-12-0018 which disallows execution of Ancillary Services Procurement Agreements (ASPAs) on a non-firm basis, and Circular No. 2021-10-0001 which requires procurement of AS through CSP only.

The NGCP has already concluded the acceptance and opening of bids for AS on March 14, 15, and 16 for Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, respectively. It  is now evaluating the bids and expects to formally award contracts to winning bidders no later than  April 18, 2023.

However, the ASPAs resulting

SELF-MEDICATION, DETENTION FEAR STYMIED COVID TREATMENT

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

SELF-MEDICATION and the fear of going to a health facility were among the top reasons Filipinos did not seek medical consultation for Covid-19 symptoms, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

Labor seeks common wage hike for Calabarzon region

at 90.5 percent.

The data also showed this was the lowest in Soccsksargen at 67.5 percent and Zamboanga Peninsula at 75.2 percent.

The fear of going to a health facility was highest in Cagayan Valley at 63.1 percent, followed by Zamboanga Peninsula at 53.9 percent.

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

WITH the high cost of living having a uniform impact on the income of workers across Calabarzon, a group of 12 labor organizations

from CSP still need to be approved by the ERC. NGCP is anticipating that a provisional approval (PA) for the said ASPAs may not be expected earlier than June 2023, “with the regulatory processes that applications of this nature need to undergo.”

NGCP said that as early as September 2022, several of its ASPAs have already expired. Consequently, it was constrained to extend existing ASPAs on a month-to-month basis to ensure the sufficiency of services while the procurement process is ongoing.

“With ERC’s denial of this interim arrangement, our hands are tied. The Philippine Transmission Grid shall be vulnerable to power interruptions resulting from an artificial lack of AS. Without an existing ASPA, NGCP cannot nominate power plants to provide the critical services,” explained NGCP.

See “ERC,”

Based on the 2022 National Demographic Health Survey (NDHS) Key Indicators report, the majority or 65 percent of households did not seek consultation or treatment for their Covid-19 symptoms.

Of these Filipinos, some 83.7 percent did not consult a doctor because they self-medicated while 35.2 percent expressed fears of going to a health facility due to Covid-19.

In terms of age group, those who self-medicated the most belonged to the 50 to 64 year old bracket at 86.8 percent; followed by the 65 and older at 86.6 percent.

In terms of region, selfmedication as a reason not to seek medical consultation was the highest among those in Davao Region at 94.8 percent, and Northern Mindanao

The lowest percent distribution for fear of going to a health facility was seen in Calabarzon at 20.7 percent, followed by the National Capital Region at 23.1 percent.

Almost half or 43.8 percent of younger Filipinos aged 20 years old and below did not seek medical attention for fear that they would be sent to a health facility due to Covid-19.

Meanwhile, other reasons Filipinos refused to seek medical attention for Covid-19 symptoms were harmless symptoms at 14.1 percent; cost, 3.7 percent; and distance, 1.3 percent.

Others were embarrassed to seek treatment for their symptoms at 0.9 percent; there was an absence of doctors or health facilities, 0.3 percent; and others did not know at 0.2 percent. See “Self-medication,” A2

DOH told: El Nino a hotbed for epidemics, prepare now

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

weather events more likely in certain areas of the country. It could intensify droughts, floods and storms. So, apart from usual damage due to natural disasters, let us also expect diseases related to these hazards.”

With this, Salceda said he hopes the Senate can approve the charter of the Center for Disease Control when session resumes on May 8.

“The CDC would definitely add institutional muscle to our preparations, especially since El Nino could persist until 2024,” he said.

“The presence of a full-time, dedicated staff for disease control and prevention would help ensure that this doesn’t get buried in bureaucratic gobbledygook,” Salceda added.

Salceda said he is more satisfied with the 19th Congress’s 3rd reading version than the one the House approved last Congress, as the CDC in this Congress is focused on communicable or infectious diseases.

“The petition aims to increase the daily minimum wage at four area classifications, which are now P470, P429, P390, and P350. To have a common Calabarzon minimum wage, an increase of P280, P321, P360, and P400 is petitioned for said current wage classifications,” WIN4WIN said in a statement. It called on the RTWPB-4A to immediately act on their wage order despite the existing one-year ban on issuing a new wage order.

spokesperson, said they will continue to demand for their proposed minimum wage rates in the next Labor Day this May.

“There should be a needed and fair wage increase...we hope the government will listen [to our demand],” Castillo said.

House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Joey Sarte Salceda warned that the tropical diseases can be particularly problematic.

“Global studies indicate a spike of between 2.5 percent and 28 percent in cases during El Nino activities. El Nino is a hotbed for epidemics—climate is warmer than usual, and people have less water

available,” he said.

“So, we should be working on adaptations such as mandating LGUs to clean up, hospitals to probabilistically allocate resources among probably tropical diseases, and the DOH to do the coordination work and provide close guidance,” he added.

Salceda added that “El Niño and La Niña can make extreme

“Now that the Senate version has already been certified as urgent, I am hopeful that we will have a bill ready for President Marcos’s signature before he makes his second State of the Nation Address,” he added.

The Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, under the proposal, will “be part of a broader ecosystem of disease prevention. So it will no longer operate in a vacuum.”

“Both the emerging Senate and the approved House versions are focused on ‘Emerging or re-emerging infectious diseases’ although the House version is more explicit about measures for rapid detection of such diseases, instead of a lack of institutional focus by covering all diseases.”

“The special powers are also broader and more relevant. So, I think both the Senate and House versions already make the cut as far as health emergency response is concerned,” he said.

A wage board can be exempted from such restriction if it declares an existence of a “supervening event” in its jurisdiction due to unusual economic incidents, such as extraordinary increase in petroleum products and basic goods and services for a long period.

WIN4WIN pointed out that the high inflation in Calabarzon has eroded the real value of minimum wage rates in the region by P90.

Mary Ann Castillo, WIN4WIN

WIN4WIN is composed of Metal Workers Alliance of the Philippines (MWAP), Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino Southern Tagalog (BMP ST), Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), Federation of Free Workers (FFW), Confederation of Filipino Workers (CFW), National Federation of Labor Union  (Naflu), Drug, Food and Allied workers Federation (DFA), Kilos na Manggagawa Southern Tagalog (KNM ST), TF2- Kilos Damit (TF2-KD FFW), Workers Assistance Center (WAC), Workers in Semiconductor and Electronics Network (Wisenet), Kilusan ng Manggagawang Makabayan -Katipunan (KMM- Katipunan).

Ancillary services support the transmission of power from generators to consumers to maintain reliable operations. These are necessary for NGCP to manage power fluctuations to ensure the quality

and reliability of power flowing through its system. If not managed properly, fluctuations can cause damage to sensitive equipment, or even automatic load dropping (ALD) if the fluctuations are severe enough to pose a danger to the transmission system as a whole.

“We have always conducted the procurement of AS with good faith,

with the best services for the least cost as a primary motivating factor. We have done much to improve the procurement process, but above all else, we must be able to provide these services,” NGCP stressed.

“With this disappointing development, this leaves us with no other option. If we sign interim extensions, we expect the ERC to issue

us yet another show-cause order. If we do not, we will be unnecessarily subjecting consumers connected to the grid to avoidable and damaging fluctuations or worse, interruptions,” explained NGCP.

Order was 3 months old

THE ERC order was promulgated on  December 12, 2022 but was received by NGCP only last March 22.

NGCP will file a motion for reconsideration on the argument that the DOE circulars apply only to new ASPAs, and not to extensions of existing ASPAs.

When sought for commnent, ERC chairperson Monalisa Dimalanta said her office will wait for NGCP’s filing of a motion of reconsideration, which is provided for under the Revised Rules of Practice of the commission, “so we can officially revisit our ruling,” she replied via Viber.

Separately, NGCP President Anthony Almeda wrote to DOE Secretary Raphael Lotilla, asking the agency to intervene in the issue to avert avoidable power interruptions.

“We respectfully inform you of the immediate the need to extend existing ASPAs to prevent possible ALD caused by a lack of AS,” Almeda said.

Further, Almeda told Lotilla that “unless the ERC withdraws its order, or DOE authorizes the month-tomonth extension of existing ASPAs by clarifying that Circular Nos. 2019-12-0018 and 2021-10-0001 do not apply to these contracts, the Philippine Grid will unnecessarily be vulnerable to ALD caused by the artificial lack of AS.”

Almeda reiterated that the grid operator considered these extensions as a middle ground strategy to remain compliant with the relevant DOE circulars, while at the same time preserving the integrity of the transmission grid with the continuous provision of AS, especially during the summer months, when it is needed most.

“He was already the subject of an assassination plan since last year, since December last year, but they were not able to consummate their earlier attempts due to several factors that are out of their control. They are planning to do this earlier before it was consummated on March 4,” he said.

“One thing for sure is that the third one, which succeeded, is just part of a grand plan, it’s really a plan to assassinate Governor Degamo from the very beginning,” he added.

Remulla  said  this was why the  governor twice visited his office before he was killed.

Remulla also said  those behind Degamo’s killing are likely  part of a big criminal organization involved in several assassinations and illegal gambling, including e-sabong,  in Negros Oriental.

He also noted that the interagency task force has been provided with a list of those killed in Negros Oriental the past six years, where Teves was also linked.

Topacio: Complete case buildup TEVES ’ lawyer Ferdinand Topacio said their camp was no longer surprised the latest pronouncements of Remulla.

“This is anti-climactic, When the investigation started all the oblique references, all the innuendoes [point to] Teves,” Topacio said.

He also appealed to Remulla to avoid issuing updates on the case if the information have yet to be verified or established by evidence.

“There are statements that [begin with] ‘I think,’ ‘I am not sure,’

‘It is possible.’   Complete the case build-up and please file it so that the prosecutors would be able to evaluate it,” Topacio said.

“In the meantime, I hope they avoid all appearances of prejudgment, prejudice and partiality ,” he added.

Bleisure will likely help the business travel spending to recover to its precrisis 2019 levels by 2024.

Among the identified symptoms of Covid-19 were fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, and diarrhea.

A total of 83.6 percent of Filipinos did not experience Covid-19 symptoms while 16.2 percent experienced the symptoms. A total of 30,372 respondents were asked to answer the NDHS survey.

Widow’s plea: Expel him PAMPLONA , Negros Oriental Mayor Janice Degamo is asking the House of Representatives to expel suspended Negros Oriental Rep. Teves Jr.

In a letter to the Office of the Speaker, Degamo appealed to the House to expel Teves as member of the House. The letter was received by the House Committee on Ethics and Privileges, according to House Secretary General Reginald Velasco.

Velasco said the House Committee on Ethics can meet to consider the letter of Mayor Degamo.

The House of Representatives slapped Teves earlier with a 60-day suspension for disorderly behavior.

With 292 affirmative votes and without abstention, they adopted the recommendations of the House Committee on Ethics and Privileges against Teves, for acts that “constitute disorderly behavior affecting the dignity, integrity, and reputation of the House of Representatives.”

Meanwhile, the lower chamber also received a letter from Atty. Topacio, asking for the lifting of the suspension order against Teves.

“The threat that Rep. Teves conceives, may therefore be said as falling under ‘unavoidable circumstances’ which prevents his physical presence in the sessions of the House, hence, an exempting circumstance under Sec. 71, Rule 1X of its Rules,” Topacio said.  As Teves has expressed intention and his standing commitment to participate in the sessions, Topacio said “there is no refusal to discharge his duties nor disrespect the authority and dignity of the Honorable Congress.”

“It is, thus, most respectfully prayed that the said suspension be lifted and Rep. Teves be allowed to participate in the sessions and discharge his duties as member of Congress, virtually in the meantime,” he said.

Bremmer, for her part, said, “Postpandemic, hybrid working practices will continue to dampen the rebound for business travel as virtual conferencing continues to eat share. However, the transformation of the traditional business trip into bleisure trips will enable more blended trips to take place.”

Recovery in 2026

OVERALL , Euromonitor projects international tourism spending to recover to 85 percent of its 2019 levels this year, amounting to $1.5 trillion.

“Growth is expected to moderate but still be strong at 37 percent in 2023, compared to the exceptional growth of 107 percent enjoyed in 2022, thanks to the rolling back of travel restrictions coupled with

strong pent-up demand,” she said. Recovery will likely happen by 2024 for Europe, the Americas, and Australasia “with Asia Pacific lagging behind, not expected to return to peak levels until 2026, in a baseline scenario. However, the recent reopening of China following the removal of its zero-Covid policy will provide a welcome boost,” she stressed.

Although inflation hangs over the global tourism recovery, sectors seen to be the most resilient are spas and medical tourism, “as consumer wellbeing post-pandemic is expected to remain a top priority, both growing at 11 percent in CAGR over 2023-2027. Whilst duty-free [9 percent], national parks [8 percent, and food and dining [7 percent] are also expected to grow above average per year, as travelers seek out real world experiences,” said Bremmer.

AS the coming El Nino season could be a “hotbed for epidemics,” a lawmaker on Monday urged the Department of Health to beef up its contingencies to respond to diseases typically accompanying a hot season, such as cholera, Chikungunya, and Zika virus, on top of “usual preparations for Covid-19.”

The Nation

3 suspected KTF extremists from India nabbed in Iloilo

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

THE Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) on Monday reported that the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC), the Bureau of Immigration (BI), and the Military Intelligence Group arrested three suspected members of Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF), an extremist group from India.

CICC Executive Director Alexander K. Ramos attributed the successful operation to the “proper and speedy coordination among agencies involved that was harnessed,” thanks to the new National Cybercrime Hub at the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.

Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco identified the cell group as KTF. The suspects apprehended are: Manpreet Singh, 23; Amritpal Singh, 24; and Arshdeep Singh, 26, all Indian nationals.

They were arrested in Iloilo City.

The KTF is classified as “a militant outfit because it aims at reviving terrorism in Punjab.” It supposedly promotes various acts of terrorism, including targeted killings in Punjab.

According to the CICC, the suspects slipped into the country using fake passports and authorities failed to immediately track them down.

Experts from the CICC stumbled on their whereabouts and alerted the BI and the Armed Forces during a case conference held at the newly established National Cybercrime Hub.

The suspects are also on the Interpol, Red Notice watch list.

They will face charges of murder, violation of Explosive Substances Act 2001 and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act 1967 of India.

The CICC said the “timely crackdown on the extremist group has prevented potential escalation of their activities in the country that may have cause loss of lives and millions in damages.”

The suspects were airlifted back to Manila for interrogation and detention to identify who facilitated their entry into the country and who are sheltering them.

“These wanted foreigners will be expelled for being undesirable aliens, and also for being undocumented as their passports were already cancelled by their respective governments,” Tansingco said.

Rep. Barbers suspects PNP ‘cover up’ on Sgt. Mayo’s ₧6.7-billion shabu case

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz  @joveemarie

THE House Committee on Dangerous Drugs on Monday pressed the Philippine National Police (PNP) to fast-track its investigation into the case of a PNP intelligence officer who was arrested and implicated in the storage of nearly a ton of shabu worth P6.7 billion in October last year in Manila.

Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers said Sgt. Rodolfo Mayo could have not acted alone in his illegal activities and there is an urgent need to ascertain who were his coddlers, protectors or financiers.

“The current investigations being

PBBM

By  Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. said the 8-kilometer segment of the elevated North Luzon Expressway-South Luzon Expressway (Nlex-Slex) Connector project in Metro Manila is expected to be finally completed before his second State of the Nation Address in July.

Marcos made the announcement during the inauguration of the first part of the project of the Connector expressway from Caloocan to España, Manila on Monday.

Spanning 5 kilometers, the socalled section 1 of the project is expected to reduce travel time between Caloocan to España in just five minutes.

“Together with the EspañaMagsaysay Section of this Connector—which is targeted for completion in June this year— the Caloocan-España section will finally connect the Nlex with the Slex,” Marcos said.

The second part of the connector expressway is already 42 percent complete as of March 23, 2023, according to the Presidential Communications Office.

The President urged the Department of Transportation and the Nlex Corporation to ensure the project will be completed on time.

conducted by a PNP special investigation task group [SITG] created for the purpose had not come out with any substantial evidence or leads on Mayo’s case six months after he was arrested,” the lawmaker said.

He added: “Why is it said that PNP SITG is foot-dragging or dillydallying on their probe? Are they covering up for something we don’t know or are they still trying to make up a different script about his arrest and involvement in shabu stockpiling and possibly for recycling?”

Barbers said that while Mayo has a right to due processes of the law, he has not heard an update from the PNP about the status of his administrative or criminal cases except say-

ing “the case is still under investigation” six months after it transpired.

“Sgt. Mayo, for all we know, is an owner of a lending institution catering to police officers. This, despite receiving a monthly salary of only P34,079.00. Is he the sole proprietor of his business, which many believe is a convenient cover for his illegal drug activities?” Barbers said.

According to PNP chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr., a ranking police official, whom he did not identify and is under investigation, was responsible for bringing Mayo back to PNP’s Drug Enforcement Group (DEG).

Earlier, Brig. Gen. Narciso Domingo, director of the PNP-DEG, said the first buy-bust operation was conduct-

ed and resulted in the apprehension of a certain Ney Saligumba Atadero, 50, a resident of Ermita, Manila, and the discovery of 890 kilos and 102 grams of shabu worth P6.7 billion.

The shabu haul was reportedly stored inside a money lending office owned by Mayo.

A follow-up operation later led to the apprehension of Mayo who was caught allegedly in possession of two kilos of suspected shabu worth P13.6 million. Police reports failed to indicate where and what date Mayo was arrested in the follow-up operation.

Domingo said Mayo had no prior derogatory record before he was arrested on Saturday night in Manila.

But Senator Ronald “Bato” dela

Rosa revealed later that Mayo was among the ninja cops, or police officers involved in the illegal drug trade, whom he reassigned to Mindanao in 2016 when he was PNP chief.

Dela Rosa expressed concern how Mayo was reassigned to the PNPDEG despite his background. Mayo was once recognized as the best policeman of the same PNP office. Reports coming from the PNP allegedly stated that Mayo was “reprojected” as PNP-DEG intelligence officer and served his post, until his arrest, during the time of former PNP chiefs, Generals Archie Gamboa, Camilo Cascolan, Debold Sinas, Guillermo Eleazar, Dionardo Carlos, Vicente Danao and Jun Azurin.

Atienza: Let us not be fooled by the ‘conspiracy against life’

BUHAY Party-list Chairman

Once fully completed, the P23billion Connector project will serve around 35,000 vehicles daily and help reduce traffic congestion in Metro Manila.

“The Nlex Connector will also contribute to the ease of movement of cargo and goods from north to south and vice versa, especially those coming from the Port of Manila,” Marcos said.

“It will provide great relief to the logistics sector since there will be an alternative route for truckers who wish to avoid the congestion in the main roads within the metropolis,” he added.

The President assured his administration would continue to build similar infrastructure projects to create a “highly interconnected road network” nationwide under his “Build, Better, More” initiative.

“This road project will form an integral part of the Luzon Spine Expressway Network, which in turn is a component of the Philippine High Standard Highway Network,” Marcos said.

ROW issues

FOR its part, Nlex Corp. said might be able to finish the second section of the Nlex Connector by the first half of 2023, should the government be able to deliver the necessary rightof-way (ROW) for the construction of the road.

Luigi Bautista, the company’s president, said the group is gearing for the completion of Section 2 of the Nlex Connector for June, noting that the delivery ROW is just 20 percent shy from completion.

“Provided that we get all the right of way from the DPWH, we think we will be able to complete it by the end of June—Section 2 that’s from España all the way to Magsaysay interchange,” he said.

Currently, the said section, which runs between España and the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, is at a 42 percent accomplishment rate. The government has so far delivered 80 percent of the ROW needed for the construction of the 2.75-kilometer section.

“We still have three months to go,” Bautista said. “If they are able to deliver all of the remaining right of way by April, we would be able to finish by June.”

Nlex Corp. has completed the first 5.15-kilometer section of the Nlex Connector. The said segment runs between C3 in Caloocan and Espana, Manila.

On Monday, no less than President Marcos Jr. led the inauguration of the first section. Joining him are Nlex Corp. executives and Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Jaime J. Bautista. With Lorenz S. Marasigan

and former deputy speaker

Lito Atienza has called on the people not to be fooled by the conspiracy against life, which include proposals allowing divorce and same-sex marriage.

In his recent speech during the national summit organized by Human Life International in Cebu City last Saturday, Atienza said measures allowing divorce and same-sex marriage are “bills that go against God’s divine plan.”

“I urge all of you not to be fooled by this conspiracy against life being foisted upon us by our lawmaker—who are all pushing for bills that would allow divorce and same-sex marriage. These are bills that go against God’s divine plan,” said Atienza.

“Life is God’s most sacred gift to man and even our Constitution guarantees the government’s duty to protect life, marriage and the family. But our very own lawmakers are doing all they can to undermine these most sacred principles,” Atienza pointed out.

Atienza said Filipinos should “face up to the problem. Our country has been blessed by God with abundant natural resources for everyone’s needs, but man has been using these resources to enrich only a few. This is the reason our country is poor, not because there are 100 million Filipinos. Our people

are our greatest resource, and yet these lawmakers want us to believe otherwise.”

Atienza called on the participants to be involved in the selection of candidates and to elect the right leaders and to elect a pro-life government.

“Ipaglaban natin ang buhay at labanan natin ang lahat ng kalaban nito! Mabuhay ang Buhay! Mabuhay kayo!” said Atienza.

A lawmaker has refiled the Civil Partnership Bill, which allows samesex and opposite sex couples to enter into a Civil Partnership.

Davao del Norte Rep. Pantaleon

D. Alvarez said his proposal House Bill 6782 aims to support the welfare and well-being of couples, of either the opposite or same sex, who are denied their rights and obligations on account of absence of legal provisions that recognize their relationship and amply provide for their protection.

Also, the House Committee on Population and Family Relations has approved an unnumbered substitute bill on absolute divorce in the Philippines.

Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, principal author of the proposal, said the approval of the substitute bill on absolute divorce for eventual plenary debates assures that the country is now at the threshold of joining the universality of absolute divorce in the community of nations.

Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

MAJ. Gen. Charlton Sean Gaerlan, former commandant of the Philippine Marine Corps (PMC), has assumed his new post as the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (TDCS-AFP) on Monday.

Gaerlan, who replaced Lt. Gen. William Gonzales, officially assumed as TDCS during turnover and assumption ceremonies presided over by Gen. Andres Centino, chief of staff of the AFP.

Gonzales, currently the Inspector General, assumed the position of deputy chief of staff, following the retirement of Vice Admiral Rommel Anthony Reyes on March 15.

A member of Philippine Military Academy Class of 1989, Gaerlan has more than 34 years of experience as a military officer and has occupied various positions in the areas of operations, intelligence and administration.

“I am humbled and honored to stand before you as I assume as the TDCS-AFP, a leadership post charged with a great amount of responsibility and a higher level of accountability,” Gaerlan said in his assumption speech.

“I urge everyone to continue to support the AFP modernization and transformation programs so that we

can achieve our mission to become a world-class armed force and continue to value the enhancement of professionalism across the organization,” he added.

Before heading the Marines where he was picked as the military’s deputy chief of staff, Gaerlan was the commander of the AFP Education, Training, and Doctrine Command and Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, AJ2.

Military public affairs office chief Col. Jorry Baclor said Gaerlan had also served as deputy brigade commander of the 2nd Marine Brigade; deputy commander for Marine Operations of the Naval Forces Western Mindanao; Inspector General of the Philippine Marine Corps and commander of the 3rd Marine Brigade in Western Command, Palawan.

“With the broad knowledge and expertise of MGen Gaerlan in the field of intelligence, operations, and personnel management, I am fully confident that he shall further fortify the traditions of the AFP leadership. Without doubt, his previous designations prepared him to take on greater tasks as the AFP’s third-incommand,” Centino said in installing Gaerlan to his new post. Rene Acosta

By Manuel T. Cayon @awimailbox Mindanao Bureau Chief

DAVAO CITY—Key leaders of two Moro revolutionary fronts and who are now holding important positions in the Bangsamoro government visited Northern Ireland, a former hotspot in the United Kingdom, for a “learning trip” on managing the peace process.

The visit coincides with the approaching 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, the final peace settlement between the UK government and the Irish Republic Army, the generic revolutionary group fighting for Irish unification and an end to British rule on the island.

The international peacebuilding organization Conciliation Resources facilitated the learning trip to help guide local Moro leaders in handling the peace settlement process in the central and southern parts of Mindanao.

The trip would hope to support the transition from conflict mode to peace in the Bangsamoro region

“by learning from the successes and challenges of the Northern Ireland peace process,” the Bangsamoro Information Office said.

The trip brought together leaders from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), as well as representatives from the indigenous people’s communities, civil society, and women’s organizations, the information office added.

The delegation was composed of Parliament Floor Leader ShaElijah Dumama-Alba, Labor Minister Muslimen Sema, Deputy Speaker Omar Yasser Sema, Members of Parliament Marjanie Macasalong, Laisa Alamia, and Forilyn Mendoza, Social Services and Development Deputy Minister Nur Ainee Lim, Director Hisham Nando of the Development Academy of the Bangsamoro, Prof. Abdullah Adam and Guiamel Alim, chairman of the Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society.

In Northern Ireland, the delegation had conversations

with Laurence Simms, the joint secretary to the British-Irish Intergovernmental Secretariat in Belfast and a senior official of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) of Ireland. They met with the 81st Lord Mayor of Belfast, Tina Black of Sinn Fein, as well as Alex Maskey, the speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

They also met with key political figures from Sinn Fein “to deepen their understanding on their political transformation.”

Claire Bailey of the Green Party shared her experiences on alliance building as with Ruari de Burca, head of the Anglo-Irish Division of DFAT Ireland, who highlighted dialogue mechanisms that the Bangsamoro government may adopt.

“The learning process was further enriched by talks with other key figures in the Northern Ireland peace process, including perspectives from the academe, former combatants and civil society leaders,” the information office said.

They discussed the transition of former armed groups

to political parties, about disarmament, reconciliation and transitional justice and how to ensure women and minority communities were included in the transition to peace. The group toured Belfast, the ground zero for many of the violent incidents in the course of fighting between IRA and British police and the Army in 1966-1998.

Salic Sharief, Jr. Philippine program director for Conciliation Resources said, “There is so much that we can learn from the successes and failures of other peace processes around the world that can help us make progress in the Philippines. This year marks 25 years since the end of the conflict in Northern Ireland, and the country still faces challenges. There is no quick fix for peace, but we can continue to take small steps into a better future for everyone in our country.”

In March 2014, the Philippine government and the MILF signed a peace agreement, while the MNLF earlier entered into final peace settlement in 1996.

Masagana 99 redux to help bring down rice price to ₧20/kilo–Rep. Villafuerte Fisherfolk get skills training ahead of boat delivery

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie

Camarines Sur Rep. LRay Villafuerte said that much higher palay yields via a revived Masagana program would significantly boost the market supply of rice, leading to the cheaper retail cost of this staple that could help President Marcos attain his goal of pulling down the price of rice to as low as P20 a kilo.

According to the lawmaker, the highly successful intensified production Masagana 99 program that enabled the government in the 1970s “to beat a nationwide supply shortage and even export the staple later during the incumbency of the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr.”

“The DA’s new strategy to sig -

nificantly boost palay yields and meet President Marcos’ goal of attaining rice self-sufficiency in two years’ time should clear the way to the revival of the Masagana 99 program, which our Chief Executive’s father launched in 1973 to address a then-nationwide rice shortage,” he said.

However, with the average yield of big producers like China at about 6.5 metric tons (MT) per ha, the lawmaker said, “the target of the proposed Masagana redux is to produce at least 129 cavans a hectare instead of 99 cavans.”

“Higher palay yields will boost domestic supply of the staple, eventually pulling down its market rate to possibly as low as P20 a kilo as hoped-for by the President,” Villafuerte added.

President Marcos reiterated his goal to make rice more affordable for Filipinos by eventually slashing

its per-kilo price in the market to P20, during his March 16 visit to Pili, CamSur where he launched a Kadiwa ng Pangulo center, the first such retail outlet in Bicol.

There are now over 500 Kadiwa outlets nationwide that sell cheaper basic goods, including rice at P25 a kilo, and at the same time provide direct market access to local farmers and producers.

Built on the provision of highyielding variety (HYV) seeds, cheap fertilizers and pesticides along with subsidized, collateral-free loans to let farmers acquire their production inputs to raise their output from the then-average of 40 cavans per hectare to 99 cavans, Masagana 99 enabled the country to become rice self-sufficient by 1975 and to even export the crop over the 1977-1978 period, according to Villafuerte. Masagana 99 managed to achieve that by promoting the use of the

high-yielding “miracle rice” variety developed by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) headquartered in Los Baños, Laguna.

“But given last month’s decision by President and concurrent DA Secretary Marcos to adopt higher-yielding hybrid seeds as a better option to the certified or inbred varieties now being used for palay production, the government’s goal of self-sufficiency after two years could be attained should a Masagana redux program target a production yield of at least 129 cavans each hectare, which is almost the average of the world’s largest producer China,” Villafuerte said.

Villafuerte said his province— according to the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS)—became the country’s 12th biggest rice producer in 2008 and a higher No. 8 in 2011. CamSur went up to No. 4 rice producer in 2016.

Earth Hour power savings pegged at 62.69 megawatts 296 North Cotabato farmers receive lands, titles from DAR

THE total power generation ca-

pacity saved from this year’s Earth Hour, or one-hour switch-off, stood at 62.69 megawatts (MW).

The figures are lower than last year’s 65.32MW, mainly because the heat index climbed to as high as 40 degrees compared to last year, the Department of Energy (DOE) said on Monday.

The largest savings this year came from Luzon with 33.29 MW, followed by 20.5 MW from Mindanao, and 8.9 MW from Visayas.

Last Saturday, the Philippines turned their lights off for an hour between 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., a symbolic demonstration of unity to reverse nature loss and achieve a climate-resilient future.

“The electricity demand reduction for that period alone is a testament that collectively, we could generate a great impact on our daily energy consumption.

This also illustrates how purposeful behavior could achieve something big and worthy. Imagine when individuals, businesses, government, and communities unite not only during Earth Hour but in making energy conservation their everyday way of life, the overall impact would be even much bigger,” DOE Secretary Raphael Lotilla said.

The DOE likewise invited the public to be in solidarity with the rest of the world from the comfort and safety of their homes by switching off their non-essential lights.

“Let us help sustain the momen-

tum by simply consistently practicing energy conservation measures at home, offices, communities, and businesses from switching off nonessential lights to choosing more energy efficient appliances, equipment and machines.

These are simple yet valuable actions that we can do easily not only for our planet but more especially during periods of high demand such as this summer season,” added Lotilla.

The Earth Hour is an annual symbolic lights-out event that started in Sydney in 2007 to work together on the planet’s biggest environmental challenges. It has grown to be the largest grassroots movements to reach more people around the world to work together and focus on climate and climate biodiversity actions. Lenie Lectura

PPA opens biggest port terminal in Mindoro

Romblon and Palawan.

By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

THE Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) has distributed 272 certificates of land ownership awards for agricultural lands covering a total of 696 hectares of farmlands benefiting 296 farmers from Pigcawayan, North Cotabato.

“The land title is very important to us because it is proof that we can tell anyone that we are the absolute owner of the land. It is now our valuable property that we can freely develop to make it productive for our family,” Pakir Pasawiran, one of the farmer recipient said in a statement.

Evangeline Bueno, Provincial

By Raadee S. Sausa @raadeeboy

THE Department of Agriculture–Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR) has recently conducted training to fisherfolk to help them boost their fish catch.

The DA-BFAR held the training at Sual Fish Port in Sual, Pangasinan to equip fisherfolk groups with technical skills and knowledge on using the steel-hulled purse seine (PS) fishing vessels, which will soon be turned over to them by the bureau.

Three fishing vessels will be given to the fisherfolk cooperatives and associations in Mimaropa, Eastern Visayas and Zamboanga Peninsula.

The vessels will be given by the DA-BFAR as part of its “Capacitating Municipal Fisherfolk Program,” which seeks to upgrade the fishing capacity and efficiency of municipal fisherfolk by providing them with units of 62-footer steel-hulled and fiberglass-reinforced plastic (FRP) fishing boats and hands-on training.

Agrarian Reform Program Officer II, said the distributed lands are located at Barangay Payong-payong in the said municipality.

“We are doing our best to fast track the distribution of lands as mandated by our Secretary and provide them with support services as a way of bringing the government closer to the people,” Bueno said.  Support services will be intensified in the area to capacitate the agrarian reform beneficiaries and provide them with enterprise development and economic support interventions to make their lands productive, increase their income, and improve the quality of their living.

Meanwhile, the bureau said beneficiaries would be given full responsibility to operate and manage the fishing vessels, as well as its gears and hauling machinery.

These vessels will sail in major fishing grounds for tuna, galunggong, sardines, and other small pelagic fishes.

DA-BFAR national director Demosthenes Escoto expressed optimism that the program and initiative will contribute to the attainment of sufficient food supply and ensure sustainable management of fishery and aquatic resources.

“Through modern machinery and equipment under our Capacitating Municipal Fisherfolk Program, we are hoping that fish production will increase in our municipal waters,” he said.

How to lead a high-performance team

CITY

OF CALAPAN,

Oriental Mindoro—The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) inaugurated on Monday the country’s biggest passenger terminal building (PTB) at Calapan Port here.

The P353-million, three-story PTB was designed to provide comfort and convenience to as many as 3,500 pas-

sengers at any given time, according to Engr. Margarito Dimailig, Engineering Services Division manager at the PPA Project Management Office-Mindoro.

The new PTB, he noted, will be a game changer for in-bound and outbound passengers in Oriental Mindoro as well as travelers from other provinces in Luzon such as Marinduque,

Dimailig said the PTB would play a major role in uplifting the tourism of the province and the entire Mimaropa region.

“It aims to provide more convenience and comfort to the sea-traveling passengers in line with the coming Holy Week,” he added. PNA

Fuel companies roll back pump prices anew

By Lenie Lectura @llectura

OIL companies on Monday announced another round of price rollback on petroleum products.

To take effect on Tuesday morning, March 28, gasoline prices will be slashed by P0.85 per liter, diesel by P1.30 per liter, and kerosene by P1.90 per liter.

The price adjustments of Petron, Shell, Caltex, Total, Unioil, Seaoil, PT&T, Phoenix will be implemented at 6 a.m. For Cleanfuel, its adjusted pump prices will take effect at 12:01 a.m.

The oil companies implemented last week a per liter decrease of P1.20 for gasoline, P1.85 for diesel and P2.00 for kerosene.

These resulted to a year-to-date net decrease for diesel at P2.85/liter and kerosene at P3.65/liter. Gasoline on the other hand, has a net increase of P5.50/liter.

Oil firms adjust their prices every week to reflect movements in the world oil market.

The local oil industry uses MOPS, which is the daily average of all trading transactions between buyer and seller of petroleum products as assessed and summarized by Standard and Poor’s Platts, a Singapore-based market wire service.

By Henry J. Schumacher

WE all want to lead highperformance teams, right? Then we are all confronted with these questions: How to manage a top team under pressure?

How to set high standards— and still not forget what is human?

How to address mistakes without blaming them?

How to motivate your employees over and over again?

Today, I wish to focus on “multidimensional leadership.” Our business environment is facing unprecedented change, becoming more complex and unpredictable day by day. Our current view of leadership tends to be one-dimensional, with one or two people at the top. In reality however, leadership is multidimensional. Exploring those different expressions offers a clear roadmap for leadership development. Here are five different expressions of leadership:

Leading from within—when we are leading from within, we remain flexible and open to outside

influences but rely most heavily on our moral compass. We let go of performing and striving for approval and instead seek to lead according to our own values and principles. By leading from within, we remain centered in our own self-authority and strive to offer our best to the world every day. We lead by example through the integrity of our day-today activities and our leadership is nourishing.

Leading from the front—true “leaders from in front” inspire those who are following by providing a clear vision and direction, while at the same time encouraging connection and collaboration. Without a connection to people, leading from the front can be isolating and burdensome. The most important aspect of a leader in front is knowing when to sit down and move to leading from behind and encouraging others to take charge. This can foster a dynamic rather than static relationship between the leader and his or her world and encourage shared leadership throughout the organization.

Leader from behind—focuses on evoking the brilliance in others by championing them and coaching them through deep listening and powerful questions. It is important for leaders to have the ability to shift from leading from in front to leading from behind by being able to sit down and empower others to take charge. Note that sitting down does not mean sitting back. Leading from behind has tremendous influence and reach. By empowering others, “leaders from behind” leverage leadership throughout the organization and capture the breadth of talent and creativity available.

Leading from beside—coleading consists of dividing respon-

sibilities and a “your turn, my turn” way of doing things. Leading from beside is a true partnership, with both people being fully responsible for every part of the initiative. Dynamic and enthusiastic disagreement is an important aspect of leading from beside. There is none of us (or even a group of us) that has the whole answer to all the challenges we face. The more we can engage in enthusiastic disagreement with each other, the more we will be able to uncover the best in ourselves and each other.

Leading from the energetic field—there is an energetic field in every organization. Leading from the energetic field is about expanding our attention beyond individual people to connect with the energetic field, using our imagination, instinct, and intuition to access a deeper resonance. In leading from the energetic field, we refuse to accept that that the only thing that exists is the factual, pragmatic reality right in front of us. To create new ideas that are truly innovative, we must reach into the invisible and unseen with our intuition, instinct, and imagination.

Which of these expressions of leadership feel the most comfortable and familiar to you? Which one feels most challenging? Practicing expressions that are more unfamiliar will bring agility and range to your leadership. Experiencing and embracing failure is the best leadership practice of all.

Why am I focusing on new types of leadership? We are engaged in leadership training, both in open enrollment and in-house. I suggest you try us in leadership and strategic training, and in executive coaching. You can contact me at hjschumacher59@gmail.com

ASENIOR lawmaker on Monday proposed that the Department of Agriculture (DA)’s strategy to plant higher-yielding hybrid seeds in 1.5 million hectares of land this dry season be anchored on the revival of the Masagana 99 program.

LTO draws up measures for safer

dry season travel

By Lorenz S. Marasigan  @lorenzmarasigan

T

LTO chief Assistant Secretary Jay Art Tugade said the agency will be placed on “heightened alert status” starting March 31, Friday until April 10 under the “Oplan Biyaheng Ayos: Semana Santa and Summer Vacation 2023.”

This year’s road safety campaign will “focus on the overall road safety, including the roadworthiness inspection of public utility vehicles [PUVs], and will conduct inspections on land transport terminals as well as provide assistance to motorists.”

Tugade added that agency would also conduct random drug testing among transport workers.

Aside from monitoring the major roads heading north and south of the National Capital Region, LTO personnel will also monitor all strategic locations and terminals in all regions of the country.

“We at the LTO want to ensure that motorists and the commuting public will be safe during the Holy Week and the Summer Vacation. We are asking for the public’s support by following traffic rules,” Tugade said.

T

By Samuel P. Medenilla   @sam_medenilla

HE Land Transportation Office (LTO) said on Monday it would implement measures to ensure the safety of the public and motorists for the coming Holy Week and summer vacation.This after President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. announced during his speech at the groundbreaking of the Disiplina Village in Arkong Bato Park in Valenzuela City on Monday that the mechanism for the said process

By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

THE owner of MT Princess Empress that sank off Naujan, Oriental Mindoro on February 28, 2023, may be facing a slew of criminal, administrative, and possibly civil charges for the massive oil spill that continues to threaten coastal communities in Palawan and Antique and now Batangas.

According to the international nongovernment organization Oceana, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), as an attached agency of the Department of Transportation and Communication, is mandated to develop oil spill response, containment, and recovery capabilities, enforce laws, and promulgate and administer rules and regulations for the protection of marine environment and resources from offshore sources of pollution within the maritime jurisdiction of the Philippines.

However, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is mandated to enforce environmental laws, including Republic Act 9275 or the Clean Water Act.

“Clearly, we need to diversify and increase opportunities in other sectors if we are to become a selfsustaining and prosperous country,” Villanueva stressed.

Expecting that the masterplan shall be formulated by an InterAgency Council chaired by the National Economic and Development Authority, with the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department of Labor and Employment as co-chairpersons, the senator expects that the conferees shall direct all government agencies to come up with integrated and coordinated solutions for a range of matters such as:

Rising precarity and informality of work;

Tackling the nuanced needs of particular sectors—including the marginalized and vulnerable;

Increase in the number of workers in the digital economy, gig economy, and platform work;

Full-cycle reintegration of Overseas Filipino Workers;

Promoting opportunities in priority sectors, key and emerging industries with high employment potential;

Expanding access to active labor market policies; and Job-skills mismatch and potential skills gap in emerging industries.

The Council shall also harmonize all existing policies, plans, programs, and projects and shall work together with existing interagency councils engaged in efforts that aim to provide an enabling environment for employment and enterprises to grow.

“The TPB Plan will harmonize and synergize all efforts towards a coherent and cohesive employment policy: A single plan that provides direction for all policies, projects, programs and other initiatives to sustain efforts to ensure high-quality jobs in the country,” Villanueva said, partly in Filipino.

is still pending.

HE national government (NG) has yet to institutionalize the utilization of its idle lands for socialized housing initiatives of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD).“We are still studying how to go about identifying and using vacant government land, which can be used for housing in line with existing laws and rules,” Marcos said in Filipino.

As early as last November, the Presidential Communications Office said Marcos was already planning to issue a new executive order (EO) to allow DHSUD to use idle government lands for its housing projects.

The issuance was supposed to instruct DHSUD and other concerned government agencies to

including its marine environment, by regulating the discharge of pollutants, including oil, into bodies of water,” Ramos said.

Ramos added discharge, as defined by law, includes the act of spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, releasing or dumping of any material, including oil, into coastal and marine waters without a permit is prohibited.

“In case of an oil spill incident, the responsible party is required to immediately notify the appropriate government agency, which includes the Philippine Coast Guard, and take all necessary measures to contain and clean up the spill,” she said.

Moreover, Ramos said under Section 16, any person who causes pollution in or pollutes water bodies, at his own expense, shall undertake cleanup operations to remove pollutants discharged or spilled into the water body and its surrounding areas and shall restore the affected areas to their original state or condition.

conduct an inventory of the then estimated 16,000 hectares of “idle state lands suitable for housing and rural development.”

Pending the release of the said EO, the DHSUD is currently rely with its partner local government units (LGU) to provide the necessary land, which it can use for its housing projects, through agreements.

Among the said initiatives is the fourth Disiplina Village to be built on a 2.07-hectare land at Barangay Arkong Bato in Valenzuela City.

The 20 5-story buildings will ben-

violations relating to Presidential Decree 979 (Marine Pollution Decree). It states: For violations falling under Section 4 of Presidential Decree No.979 or any regulations prescribed in pursuance thereof, such person shall be liable for a fine of not less than P50,000 or more P1,000,000.00 or by imprisonment of not less than one year nor more than six years or both, for each offense, without prejudice to the civil liability of the offender in accordance with existing laws.

Meanwhile, if the offender is a juridical entity, then its officers, directors, agents or any person primarily responsible shall be held liable: Provided, that any vessel from which oil or other harmful substances are discharged in violation of Sec. 4 of Presidential Decree No.979 shall be liable for a penalty of the fine specified by the law.

efit 1,200 informal settler families (ISF), who were living along the Tullahan River and the Manila Bay.

The completed DHSUD housing projects include the 1,380 housing units under the St. Gregory Homes Project in Malabon City.

St. Gregory Homes Project is a resettlement site comprising 23 5-story low-rise buildings, which will accommodate the ISFs living along Malabon City’s waterways and danger zones, and those affected by the construction of the Department of Public Works and Highways’ (DPWH)

sions of the Philippines Fisheries Code, as amended, may be used instead since the provisions of the Code is enforceable in all Philippine waters.

pumping stations. Marcos led the turnover of some of the remaining vacant units of the said housing projects to its intended beneficiaries on Monday.

The President urged the private sector to continue to provide support to DHSUD so it can build more socialized housing through its “Build, Better, More” housing program.  “It is important for other government agencies to cooperate with the private sector to realize our collective goal [of building more housing units],” Marcos said.

resources, pose potential and/or real hazard to human health, hindrance to aquatic activities such as fishing and navigation, discharge of petroleum or residual products of petroleum or carbonaceous materials/substances, and other, radioactive, noxious or harmful liquid, gaseous or solid substances,” Ramos added.

Sought for a legal opinion, Oceana’s vice president Gloria Estenzo-Ramos created a team of legal and environmental experts to respond to queries such as which environmental laws may apply in going after the parties behind the Oriental Mindoro oil spill.

Clean Water Act applies to oil spills

ACCORDING to Oceana, Clean Water Act also applies to oil spills. “There is nothing in the law which limits its application to effluent discharges. It bears stressing that the law aims to protect and preserve the quality of the country’s water resources,

By Raadee S. Sausa @raadeeboy

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) has received 400 metric tons of milled rice from the Republic of Korea–Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (ROKMAFRA) recently.

The milled rice will be distributed to 10,000 families affected by flooding and landslides in Oriental Mindoro through the DA-National Food Authority (NFA) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

DA Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban expressed his gratitude to the South Korean government for its prompt assistance, most especially to Misamis Oriental residents.

“The immediate provision of emergency food aid is critical at all stages of disaster response. This provision ensures food security the earliest time possible,” he said.

In the event emergency cleanup operations are necessary and the polluter fails to immediately undertake the same, the DENR, in coordination with other government agencies concerned, including the PCG, shall conduct containment, removal, and cleanup operations.

However, expenses incurred in said operations shall be reimbursed by the persons found to have caused such pollution.

“Reimbursements of the cost incurred shall be made to the Water Quality Management Fund or to such other funds where said disbursements were sourced,” said Oceana.

To further reinforce the point that the Clean Water Act applies, Section 28 of the same law defines the penalties for oil spill incidents and other

“We are not only accepting the goodwill of tested ally but also recommitting ourselves to our common objective for food security and the future,” Panganiban added.

South Korea is the Philippines’ sixth largest source of Official Development Assistance (ODA), with commitments through its Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).

In a 2021 report, the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) reported more than $925 million worth of ODA grant projects and loan programs from South Korea.

South Korea has also been donating rice as assistance in times of calamities, with its rice distribution in Misamis Oriental being the third time.

The rice donations were made possible under the third tier of the Asean Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR) Program—a regional cooperation

“Clearance of such vessel from the port of the Philippines may be withheld until the fine is paid and such penalty shall constitute a lien on the such vessel, which may be recovered in proceedings by …the proper court…,” Oceana said, citing the provision of PD No. 979.

The owner or operator of a vessel or facility that discharged the oil or other harmful substances will be liable to pay for any cleanup costs.

ENIPAS and Fisheries Code

MEANWHILE , Oceana said while the ENIPAS Act only applies to areas that have been formally set aside and designated as protected areas through a statutory process, the Fisheries Code penalizes aquatic pollution.

“It must be noted that although the penal provisions of the ENIPAS Act is not applicable, as there are no national MPAs (marine protected area) involved, the penal provi -

among Asean countries with the aim of strengthening food security, alleviating poverty, and eradicating malnourishment without distorting normal trade in the Asean+3 region.

The Philippines joined the APTERR in 2012 and has since then been a recipient of rice donations from fellow membercountries Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Japan and South Korea.

“Our Philippine President [Ferdinand Marcos Jr.] as Secretary of Agriculture strongly emphasizes the importance of ensuring food security for all, especially for the most vulnerable calamity-affected communities in the country,” Panganiban said.

“I am positive that the APTERR will continue to be a catalyst for regional cooperation providing the necessary humanitarian aid to be able to realize its mandate,” he added.

Ukraine demands emergency UN meeting over Putin nuclear plan

By Karl Ritter The Associated Press

Nationwide protests erupt after Netanyahu fires defense minister

By Ilan Ben Zion

The Associated Press

JERUSALEM—Tens of thousands of

Israelis poured into the streets of cities across the country Sunday night in a spontaneous outburst of anger after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abruptly fired his defense minister for challenging the Israeli leader’s judicial overhaul plan.

Protesters in Tel Aviv blocked a main highway and lit large bonfires, while police scuffled with protesters who gathered outside Netanyahu’s private home in Jerusalem.

The unrest deepened a monthslong crisis over Netanyahu’s plan to overhaul the judiciary, which has sparked mass protests, alarmed business leaders and former security chiefs and drawn concern from the United States and other close allies.

Netanyahu’s dismissal of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant signaled that the prime minister and his allies will barrel ahead this week with the overhaul plan. Gallant had been the first senior member of the ruling Likud party to speak out against it, saying the deep divisions were threatening to weaken the military.

But as droves of protesters flooded the streets late into the night, Likud ministers began indicating willingness to hit the brakes. Culture Minister Micky Zohar, a Netanyahu confidant, said the party would support him if he decided to pause the judicial overhaul.

Israeli media said leaders in Netanyahu’s coalition were to meet on Monday morning.

Later in the day, the grassroots protest movement said it would hold another mass demonstration outside the Knesset, or parliament, in Jerusalem.

In a brief statement, Netanyahu’s office said late Sunday the prime minister had dismissed Gallant. Netanyahu later tweeted, “We must all stand strong against refusal.”

Tens of thousands of Israelis poured into the streets in protest after Netanyahu’s announcement, blocking Tel Aviv’s main artery, transforming the Ayalon highway into a sea of blue-and-white Israeli flags and lighting a large bonfire in the middle of the road.

Demonstrations took place in Beersheba, Haifa and Jerusalem, where thousands of people gathered outside Netanyahu’s private residence. Police scuffled with protesters and sprayed the crowd with a water cannon. Thousands then marched from the residence to the Knesset.

Inon Aizik, 27, said he came to demonstrate outside Netanyahu’s private residence in central Jerusalem because “bad things are happening in this country.” He called the judicial overhaul “a quick legislative blitz.”

Netanyahu’s decision came less than a day after Gallant, a former senior general, called for a pause in the controversial legislation until after next month’s Independence Day holidays, citing the turmoil in the ranks of the military.

Gallant had voiced concerns that the divisions in society were hurting morale in the military and emboldening Israel’s enemies. “I see how the source of our strength is being eroded,” Gallant said.

While several other Likud members had indicated they might follow Gallant, the party quickly closed ranks Sunday, clearing the way for his dismissal.

Galit Distal Atbaryan, Netanyahu’s public diplomacy minister, said Netanyahu summoned Gallant to his office and told him “that he doesn’t have any faith in him anymore and therefore he is fired.”

Gallant tweeted shortly after the announcement that “the security of the state of Israel always was and will always remain my life mission.”

Opposition leader Yair Lapid said Gallant’s dismissal “harms national security and

ignores warnings of all defense officials.”

Israel’s consul general in New York City, Assaf Zamir, resigned in protest.

Avi Dichter, a former chief of the Shin Bet security agency, is expected to replace Gallant. Dichter had reportedly flirted with joining Gallant but instead announced Sunday he was backing the prime minister.

Netanyahu’s government is pushing ahead for a parliamentary vote this week on a centerpiece of the overhaul—a law that would give the governing coalition the final say over all judicial appointments. It also seeks to pass laws that would grant parliament the authority to overturn Supreme Court decisions and limit judicial review of laws.

Netanyahu and his allies say the plan will restore a balance between the judicial and executive branches and rein in what they see as an interventionist court with liberal sympathies.

But critics say the laws will remove Israel’s system of checks and balances and concentrate power in the hands of the governing coalition. They also say that Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption charges, has a conflict of interest.

Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets over the past three months to demonstrate against the plan in the largest demonstrations in the country’s 75-year history. The State Department dismissed as “completely false” claims repeated by Yair Netanyahu, the prime minister’s son, that the US government was financing these protests.

Leaders of Israel’s vibrant high-tech industry have said the changes will scare away investors, former top security officials have spoken out against the plan and key allies, including the United States and Germany, have voiced concerns.

In recent weeks, discontent has surged from within Israel’s army—the most popular and respected institution among Israel’s Jewish majority. A growing number of Israeli reservists, including fighter pilots, have threatened to withdraw from voluntary duty if the laws are passed.

Israel’s military is facing an increase in fighting in the occupied West Bank, threats from Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group and concerns that archenemy Iran is close to developing a nuclear-weapons capability.

Manuel Trajtenberg, head of an influential Israeli think tank, the Institute for National Security Studies, said that “Netanyahu can dismiss his defense minister, he cannot dismiss the warnings he heard from Gallant.”

Meanwhile, an Israeli good governance group asked the country’s Supreme Court on Sunday to punish Netanyahu for allegedly violating a conflict of interest agreement meant to prevent him from dealing with the country’s judiciary while he is on trial for corruption.

The Movement for Quality Government in Israel, a fierce opponent of the overhaul, asked the court to force Netanyahu to obey the law and sanction him either with a fine or prison time for not doing so. It said he was not above the law.

The prime minister said the appeal should be dismissed and said that the Supreme Court didn’t have grounds to intervene.

Netanyahu is barred by the country’s attorney general from directly dealing with his government’s plan to overhaul the judiciary, based on a conflict of interest agreement that the Supreme Court acknowledged in a ruling over Netanyahu’s fitness to serve while on trial for corruption.

Instead, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, a close confidant of Netanyahu, is spearheading the overhaul.

The Associated Press journalist Tia

One Ukrainian official said Russia “took Belarus as a nuclear hostage.”

Further heightening tensions, an explosion deep inside Russia wounded three people Sunday. Russian authorities blamed a Ukrainian drone for the blast, which damaged residential buildings in a town just 175 kilometers (110 miles) south of Moscow.

Russia has said the plan to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus comes in response to the West’s increasing military support for Ukraine. Putin announced the plan in a TV interview that aired Saturday, saying it was triggered by a U.K. decision this past week to provide Ukraine with armorpiercing rounds containing depleted uranium.

Putin argued that by deploying its tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, Russia was following the lead of the United States. He noted that Washington has nuclear weapons based in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey.

“We are doing what they have been doing for decades, stationing them in certain allied countries, preparing the launch platforms and training their crews,” he said.

Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry condemned the move in a statement Sunday and demanded an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.

“Ukraine expects effective

action to counter the Kremlin’s nuclear blackmail by the UK, China, the US and France,” the statement read, saying these countries “have a special responsibility” regarding nuclear aggression.

“The world must be united against someone who endangers the future of human civilization,” the statement said.

Ukraine has not commented on Sunday’s explosion inside Russia. It left a crater about 15 meters (50 feet) in diameter and five meters deep (16 feet), according to media reports.

Russian state-run news agency Tass reported authorities identified the drone as a Ukrainian Tu-141. The Soviet-era drone was reintroduced in Ukraine in 2014, and has a range of about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles).

The explosion took place in the town of Kireyevsk in the Tula region, about 300 kilometers (180 miles) from the border with Ukraine. Russia’s Defense Ministry said the drone crashed after an electronic jamming system disabled its navigation.

Similar drone attacks have been common during the war, although Ukraine hardly ever acknowledges responsibility. On Monday, Russia said Ukrainian drones attacked civilian facilities in the town of Dzhankoi in Russia-annexed Crimea. Ukraine’s military said several Russian cruise missiles were destroyed, but did not spe -

cifically claim responsibility.

In December, the Russian military reported several Ukrainian drone attacks on long-range bomber bases deep inside Russia. The Russian Defense Ministry said the drones were shot down, but acknowledged that their debris damaged some aircraft and killed several servicemen.

Also, Russian authorities have reported attacks by small drones in the Bryansk and Belgorod regions on the border with Ukraine.

On Saturday, Putin argued that Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has long asked to have nuclear weapons in his country again to counter Nato. Belarus shares borders with three Nato members—Latvia, Lithuania and Poland—and Russia used Belarusian territory as a staging ground to send troops into neighboring Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

Both Lukashenko’s support of the war and Putin’s plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus has been denounced by the Belarusian opposition.

Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, tweeted Sunday that Putin’s announcement was “a step towards internal destabilization” of Belarus that maximized “the level of negative perception and public rejection” of Russia and Putin in Belarusian society. The Kremlin, Danilov added, “took Belarus as a nuclear hostage.”

Tactical nuclear weapons are intended for use on the battlefield and have a short range and a low yield compared with much more powerful nuclear warheads fitted to long-range missiles. Russia plans to maintain control over the ones it sends to Belarus, and construction of storage facilities for them will be completed by July 1, Putin said.

Russia has stored its tactical nuclear weapons at dedicated depots on its territory, and moving part of the arsenal to a storage facility in Belarus would up the ante in the Ukrainian conflict by placing them closer to Russian aircraft and missiles already stationed there.

The US said it would “monitor the implications” of Putin’s announcement. So far, Washington hasn’t seen “any indications Russia is preparing to use a nuclear weapon,” National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said.

In Germany, the foreign ministry called it a “further attempt at nuclear intimidation,” German news agency dpa reported late Saturday. The ministry went on to say that “the comparison drawn by President Putin to Nato’s nuclear participation is misleading and cannot be used to justify the step announced by Russia.”

Kirsten Grieshaber contributed to this report from Berlin

North Korea test-fires 2 more missiles as US sends carrier

By Kim Tong-Hyung The Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea—North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into its eastern waters Monday, continuing its weapons displays as the United States moved an aircraft carrier strike group to neighboring waters for military exercises with the South.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the two missiles were fired from a western inland area south of the North Korean capital of Pyongyang from around 7:47 a.m. to 8 a.m. and traveled around 370 kilometers (229 miles) before landing at sea. Japan’s military said the missiles flew on an “irregular” trajectory and reached a maximum altitude of 50 kilometers (31 miles) before landing outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone.

Japan has previously used the term to describe a North Korean solid-fuel missile apparently modeled after Russia’s Iskander mobile ballistic system, which is designed to be maneuverable in low-altitude flight to better evade South Korean missile defenses. North Korea also has another short-range system with similar characteristics that resembles the US MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System. The launches came a day before the USS Nimitz and its strike group are to arrive at the South Korean port of Busan. South Korea’s Defense Ministry said in a statement that the Nimitz strike group will participate in exercises with South Korean warships on Monday in international waters near the

South Korean resort island of Jeju before heading to Busan.

The launches were the North’s seventh missile event this month and underscore heightening tensions in the region as the pace of both North Korean weapons tests and the US-South Korea joint military exercises has accelerated in recent months in a cycle of tit-for-tat responses.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said North Korea may dial up its testing activity further with more missile launches or even conducting its first nuclear test since September 2017.

The South Korean and Japanese militaries

denounced the latest launches as serious provocations threatening regional peace and violating UN Security Council resolutions and said they were working with the United States to analyze the missiles further.

The United States and South Korea completed their biggest springtime exercises in years last week, which had included both computer simulations and life-fire field exercises. But the allies have continued their field training in a show of force against North Korea’s expanding nuclear arsenal and belligerent threats of nuclear conflict.

Jang Do Young, a spokesperson of South

Korea’s navy, said during a briefing that the allies’ combined exercises involving the Nimitz strike group are aimed at sharpening joint operational capabilities and reaffirming the credibility of the US commitment to defend its ally in face of the North’s “escalating nuclear and missile threats.”

North Korea had also conducted a shortrange launch when the USS Ronald Reagan and its battle group arrived for joint drills with South Korea in September, which was the last time the United States sent an aircraft carrier to waters near the Korean Peninsula.

North Korea has fired more than 20 ballistic and cruise missiles across 11 launch events this year as it tries to force the United States to accept its nuclear status and negotiate a removal of sanctions from a position of strength.

North Korea’s launches this month included a flight-test of an intercontinental ballistic missile and a series of short-range weapons intended to overwhelm South Korean missile defenses as it tries to demonstrate an ability to conduct nuclear strikes on both South Korea and the US mainland.

The North last week conducted what it described as a three-day exercise that simulated nuclear attacks on South Korean targets as leader Kim Jong Un condemned the US-South Korean joint military drills as invasion rehearsals. The allies say the exercises are defensive in nature.

KYIV, Ukraine—Ukraine’s government on Sunday called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to “counter the Kremlin’s nuclear blackmail” after Russian President Vladimir Putin revealed plans to station tactical atomic weapons in Belarus.

ISRAELIS opposed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul plan set up bonfires and block a highway during a protest moments after the Israeli leader fired his defense minister, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Sunday, March 26, 2023. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant had called on Netanyahu to freeze the plan, citing deep divisions in the country and turmoil in the military. AP/OHAD ZWIGENBERG

AP writer Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed

US Army soldiers wait to board their CH-47 Chinook helicopter during a joint military drill between South Korea and the United States at Rodriguez Live Fire Complex in Pocheon, South Korea on March 19, 2023. South Korea’s military said Monday, March 27, 2023, it detected North Korea, firing at least one ballistic missile toward the sea off its eastern coast, adding to a recent flurry in weapons tests as the United States steps up its military exercises with the South to counter the North’s growing threat. AP/AHN YOUNG-JOON

UKRAINIAN servicemen fold the national flag over the coffin of their comrade Andrii Neshodovskiy during the funeral ceremony in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Saturday, March 25, 2023. AP/EVGENIY MALOLETKA

editorial

Let’s keep our priorities in order

MeMbers of the House of representatives overwhelmingly approved a proposal seeking to amend the 1987 Philippine Constitution on March 6, 2023. speaker Martin romualdez said the lower house, voting 301-6, approved a resolution calling for a constitutional convention that will draft the changes to the 1987 Charter.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra earlier said moves to amend certain portions of the Constitution would not require a constitutional convention. “A constitutional convention, where delegates will be elected by the people, is more appropriate if the entire Constitution will be revised. But if only certain provisions of the Charter will be amended, a constituent assembly is more expedient and less expensive,” Guevarra said.

The 1987 Philippine Constitution establishes the structure, policies, roles and duties of the government. Currently, there’s a general observation that the Constitution is not without imperfections as there are certain provisions that require amendments to keep them attuned to the times.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III and Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez are both in favor of initiatives in Congress to further open up the economy, whether through Charter change or the enactment of laws. Dominguez said the government should open up the economy to its widest extent, but with exemption to land ownership. On the other hand, Lopez said the removal of economic restrictions in the Constitution would help “unleash” the economic potential of the Philippines.

Sen. Robinhood Padilla, head of the Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Codes, recently said his committee is set to present a report on the resolution seeking to amend the restrictive economic provisions of the Constitution. Padilla is proposing that Charter change be done through a constituent assembly (con-ass) with members of the Senate and House of Representatives voting separately.

Local business groups are asking the Senate to consider, among others, the cost to be allocated for a Constitutional convention (Con-con) to amend the Charter, noting at least P14 billion of such allocation could be “better spent” on pro-people programs, such as on agriculture. (Read, “Biz groups press Senate to ditch Cha-cha, say P14-B tag on Con-con ‘better spent’ for people,” in the BusinessMirror, March 24, 2023).

The Makati Business Club, Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines, Justice Reform Initiative, Filipina CEO Circle, Philippine Women’s Economic Network Inc., and Women Business Council Philippines issued a joint statement on Friday wherein they listed the points that they think the Senate should consider as it deliberates on whether to support current House-led moves to amend the Constitution.

“The National Economic and Development Authority estimates a Constitutional convention would cost P14 billion to P28 billion. We believe the funds can be better used on agriculture to address the high inflation, transportation to enable Filipinos to get to work and home in much less time, and needed social services like health, education, and social security,” they said.

While the groups said they have long supported proposals to amend economic provisions of the Constitution that “impede” trade, investment, innovation, competition, and economic and job growth, they believe that recently enacted reforms have addressed many of these “impediments.”

The economic reforms include the amendments to the Public Service Act, Retail Trade Liberalization Act, the Foreign Investment Act, the passage of the Rice Trade Liberalization Act, and the most recent one, the Department of Energy circular allowing 100-percent foreign ownership in the renewable energy sector.

“We believe that these reforms, combined with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s efforts to revive local and foreign investment, can accelerate recovery and job growth at a time when the Philippines and the world face serious economic headwinds,” the business groups added. While it is true that certain provisions of the Constitution are inadequate to respond to new needs and to reflect current realities, thus the need to keep them attuned to the times, most Filipinos frown upon Charter change especially at this time when we are facing serious economic challenges.

As the local business groups pointed out, “recently enacted reforms have addressed many economic provisions of the Constitution that impede trade, investment, innovation, competition, economic and job growth.”

Let’s focus first on helping the Philippine economy bounce back from the effects of the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, rising prices, and depreciating peso before trying to amend the Constitution. Let’s keep our priorities in order. If Filipinos have no jobs, if the people are hungry, any attempt to amend the Charter is bound to fail. It would do well for our lawmakers to remember that “a hungry man is an angry man.”

Healthy banking sector is fueling PHL growth

benchmark rate and the US Federal Reserves’ interest rate to minimize the fluctuation in foreign exchange.

Manny B. Villar

We have a sound banking system that continues to fuel economic growth despite talks of contagion from the collapse of several banks in the united states and europe.

Our economy grew at a robust pace of 7.6 percent in 2022, and is expected to sustain the momentum going into 2023 as business activities pick up as a result of greater mobility.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ benchmark interest rates are rising, but the banking industry’s deposits and loans continued to post positive performance. Total assets of banks rose 8.9 percent to P22.2 trillion of as end-November 2022, with total deposits expanding 7.4 percent to P17 trillion.

Latest available data also showed bank loans grew 10.1 percent to P12.2 trillion as of end-November 2022, representing 16 straight months of expansion.

The healthy state of our banking

system, thus, is ensuring economic growth. Increasing loans are the telltale signs of economic expansion. The outstanding loans of universal and commercial banks are still growing by more than 10 percent as of January 2023, reflecting the still strong demand from businesses and households. Non-performing loan ratio was manageable at 3.3 percent as of end-January 2023, down from 4.1 percent in the same month last year. Of course, rising interest rates could temper the growth of core banking services, and that is arguably the intention of the BSP as it tries to cool down demand to ease the inflation rate. The BSP is keeping a steady differential between its

Root cause to root solution

John Mangun

OuTSIDE THE BOX

soLutions are more complicated than the Problems. take the Christian doctrine of the fall of Adam and eve and their expulsion from the Garden of eden. A “momentary” act of disobedience leads to consequences that then take millennia to be resolved through a “Messiah.”

Unfortunately, there is not a messiah available—regardless of your personal religious beliefs—to straighten out the difficulties that the world faces daily.

It is relatively easy from the golden comfort of my palatial mansion to describe and attempt to explain the global condition. It does not take any rocket science intelligence to see what is happening. It often does take extreme effort to filter out the agenda-driven garbage that passes for “news.”

And then comes the question that I avoid answering at all costs: “What does it mean for the Philippines?”

There are two primary issues for the Philippines and every nation— food security and the purchasing power of the local currency both domestically and internationally. Note that a success or failure with these two is equally a matter of the reality of the facts and public confidence in

The value of the peso against the dollar is a significant factor in keeping inflation rate down in the Philippines, which is a net importer of commodities.

Although there are talks of possible recession in several countries that could affect their banking systems, Philippine lenders are in a better position to withstand such aftermath.

Underpinning the strength of our local banks is the improving economy, which one can glean from statistics on electricity, manufacturing and automotive sales.

Manila Electric Co., which serves 7.6 million customers in Metro Manila and its surrounding provinces, reported a 6-percent increase in energy sales volume to 48,916 gigawatt hours in 2022, which exceeded the pre-pandemic levels. Commercial power sales rose by an impressive 14 percent last year.

Factory output, based on the volume of the production index compiled by the Philippine Statistics Authority, expanded 10.6 percent year-on-year in January 2023.

Automotive assemblers and importers reported a 27.2-percent in-

There are three basic tools used to achieve food security: domestic production, stockpiles, and a balanced amount of imports. The Philippines has never reached those goals and the current administration has continued to erode public confidence with its management of agriculture and therefore food security.

crease in sales in February this year to 30,905 vehicles from a year earlier. It followed the 42-percent rise in January 2023 and 33-percent increase in 2022. Total new vehicle sales last year reached 352,596 units, up from 268,488 in 2021. Banks finance a large portion of vehicle acquisitions in the Philippines.

These data only show that domestic demand continues to grow, which feeds the expansion of the banking sector.  Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp., a major international bank, acknowledged that “the banking system in the Philippines remains sound and liquid for now, despite the aggressive pace of rate hikes over the past 10 months.”

HSBC sees the Philippine financial system as liquid as the amount of bank funds parked with the BSP remains higher than pre-pandemic levels. This is an indicator of excess liquidity in the system.

I am confident that our economic and monetary officials are highly equipped to handle the challenges emanating from the external front.

The BSP has assured the citizens that the Philippine banking system could withstand the possible shocks from the collapse of Silicon Valley See “Villar,” A11

risk management and bad decisions by the banks compounded then by the unholy alliances between bankers and politicians.

the government’s ability. The fact is that the Philippines does not have any large river networks. Can we have confidence that the government can manage that fact?

The “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse”—War, Pestilence, and Famine leading to Death—are merely factors that affect the two primary issues and are not always causes of the “problem.” To achieve the “Root Solution” you need to find the “Root Cause.”

Food security does not mean a national rooftop garden any more than you or I can expect to grow all our own food. Japan imports 60 percent of its food and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has defined Japan’s goal as “enabling all citizens to have access to quality food at reasonable prices now and in the future,” not just through production. It means to have a steady supply of food and the money to buy it.

If you want to make a problem worse, let the people you lead, be it family, community, or nation, think that you are not up to accomplishing the task. The longer we wait for the appointment of a DA secretary with agricultural management expertise and whose appointment is not seen as political, the more public confidence will grind down. The Philippine agricultural roadmap and its implementation are like one of those smartphone-driving apps that direct you to drive down the railroad track or into a canal.

The purchasing power of the local currency is dependent on government monetary policy and the strength of the banking system. However, government monetary policy is reactionary to conditions and is always subject to criticism as its success varies widely.

As the Agri core Solution to the core Problem is public/private measures that effectively manage “production, stockpiles, and imports,” currency purchasing power depends on a systemically sound banking system.

The Asian Crisis and Global Debt Crisis came down to one factor: Bad

So, to answer during the current global banking crisis “What does it mean for the Philippines?”—not much. The 1997 Asian Financial Crisis caused the Philippine economy to post a negative gross domestic product in 1998 of 0.6 percent. Indonesia lost 13.5 percent of its GDP that year, and Malaysia saw its GDP plunge 6.2 percent. Finance One, the largest Thai finance company until then, collapsed.

When asked why Philippine banks avoided the 2008 disaster of Lehman Brothers helping bring down the global banking system with defaulting Mortgage-Backed Securities, the head of a major Philippine bank responded, “We do not invest in things that we do not fully understand”. That is “Root Solution” systemic risk management. The Philippine banking system has it; the others do not.

Philippine banks kept the confidence of the people and the financial community.

The Year from Hell will bring much more excitement. In the meantime, go take care of your own business. We have tremendous rebuilding to do from the Covid lockdowns.

E-mail me at mangun@gmail.com. Follow me on Twitter @mangunonmarkets.

Twenty years on, reflection and regret on 2002 Iraq war vote Ready. Set. INVEST!

By Mary Clare Jalonick | The Associated Press

At some point in the presentation—one of many lawmaker briefings by President George W. Bush’s administration ahead of the October 2002 votes to authorize force in Iraq—military leaders showed an image of trucks in the country that they believed could be carrying weapons materials. But the case sounded thin, and Stabenow, then just a freshman senator, noticed the date on the photo was months old.

“There was not enough information to persuade me that they in fact had any connection with what happened on Sept. 11, or that there was justification to attack,” Stabenow said in a recent interview, referring to the 2001 attacks that were one part of the Bush administration’s underlying argument for the Iraq invasion. “I have a son and a daughter — would I vote to send them to war based on this evidence? In the end the answer for me was no.”

As with many of her colleagues, Stabenow’s “nay” vote in the early morning hours of Oct. 11, 2002 didn’t come without political risk. The Bush administration and many of the Democrat’s swing-state constituents strongly believed that the United States should go to war in Iraq, and lawmakers knew that the House and Senate votes on whether to authorize force would be hugely consequential.

Indeed, the bipartisan votes in the House and Senate that month were a grave moment in American history that would reverberate for decades — the Bush administration’s central allegations of weapons programs eventually proved baseless, the Middle East was permanently altered and nearly 5,000 US troops were killed in the war. Iraqi deaths are estimated in the hundreds of thousands.

Only now, 20 years after the Iraq invasion in March 2003, is Congress seriously considering walking it back, with a Senate vote expected this week to repeal the 2002 and 1991 authorizations of force against Iraq. Bipartisan supporters say the repeal is years overdue, with Saddam’s regime long gone and Iraq now a strategic partner of the United States.

For senators who cast votes two decades ago, it is a full-circle moment that prompts a mixture of sadness, regret and reflection. Many consider it the hardest vote they ever took.

The vote was “premised on the biggest lie ever told in American history,” said Democratic Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, then a House member who voted in favor of the war authorization. Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa said that “all of us that voted for it probably are slow to admit” that the weapons of mass destruction did not exist. But he defends the vote based on what they knew then. “There was reason to be fearful” of Saddam’s and what he could have done if he did have the weapons, Grassley said.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, then a House member who was running for the Senate, says the war will have been worth it if Iraq succeeds in becoming a democracy.

“What can you say 20 years later?”

Graham said this past week, reflecting on his own vote in favor. “Intelligence was faulty.”

Another “yes” vote on the Senate floor that night was New York Sen.

In 2002, the Bush administration worked aggressively, in briefing after briefing, to drum up support for invading Iraq by promoting what turned out to be false intelligence claims about Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction.

Chuck Schumer, now Senate majority leader. With the vote coming a year after Sept. 11 devastated his hometown, he says he believed then that the president deserved the benefit of the doubt.

“Of course, with the luxury of hindsight, it’s clear that the president bungled the war from start to finish and should not have ever been given that benefit,” Schumer said in a statement. “Now, with the war firmly behind us, we’re one step closer to putting the war powers back where they belong—in the hands of Congress.”

In 2002, the Bush administration worked aggressively, in briefing after briefing, to drum up support for invading Iraq by promoting what turned out to be false intelligence claims about Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction.

In the end, the vote was strongly bipartisan, with Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., House Democratic Leader Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., and others backing Bush’s request.

Joe Biden also voted in favor as a senator from Delaware, and now supports repealing it as president.

Other senior Democrats urged opposition. The late Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.V., urged his colleagues to visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the National Mall, where “nearly every day you will find someone at that wall weeping for a loved one, a father, a son, a brother, a friend, whose name is on that wall.”

Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, now the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, recalled on the Senate floor earlier this month his vote against the resolution after the threat of weapons of mass destruction “was beaten into our heads day after day.”

“I look back on it, as I am sure others do, as one of the most important votes that I ever cast,” Durbin said.

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., who also voted against the resolution, said that at the time, “I remember thinking this is the most serious thing I can ever do.”

For many lawmakers, the political pressure was intense. Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, then a House member and now the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, says he was “excoriated” at home for his “no” vote, after the Sept. 11 attacks had killed so many from his state. He made the right decision, he says, but “it was fraught with political challenges.”

For those who voted for the invasion, the reflection can be more difficult.

Hillary Clinton, a Democratic senator from New York at the time, was forced to defend her vote as she ran for president twice, and eventually called it a mistake and her “greatest regret.”

Markey says that “I regret relying upon” Bush and his vice president, Dick Cheney, along with other administration officials.

atty. Jomel n. Manaig

Tax Law for Business

THe colors red, yellow, and green are universal in each and every race. Red means danger or stop. Yellow means caution and yield. Green simply means go!

The same can be said for the Philippine efforts to liberalize the economy. For the proponents of the amendments to our investment laws, foreign investors see red when investing in the Philippines due to the supposed restrictions. In recent years, significant headways were achieved when the economic liberalization laws were passed. This seemingly signals a yellow light for foreign investors.

Among the laws passed were the amendments to the more than 80-year-old Public Service Act (PSA).

And now, a year from the passing of the law, the implementing rules and regulations were issued. Let’s take a better look at some of the provisions of the IRR, shall we?

One of the highlights of the

amendments to the PSA was the determination of the six specific sectors considered as public utility. In effect, the 40 percent foreign ownership restriction is now limited only to those classified as public utilities. Public services that are not considered as public utilities are not covered by the foreign ownership restriction.

Though the six public utilities were expressly mentioned, the law did not close the door to adding more to it in the future. The IRR gave life to this by laying down the mechanism to review and reclassify public services into public utilities. Based on the IRR, the review may either be initiated by the relevant Administrative Agency or by the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) itself. Fortunately, the rules provide

that a consultation is part of the procedure so the relevant stakeholders would be able to voice their support or opposition.

The IRR likewise shed some more light on the term “natural monopoly”, which is one of the factors in reclassifying public services into public utilities. Under the IRR, there is natural monopoly when, among others: (i) the economies of scale is characterized by declining average cost relative to output; (ii) high fixed cost; (iii) demand is insufficient to support two or more firms; and (iv) monopoly power is not due solely to regulatory or legal restrictions.

In addition to public utilities, a public service engaged in the provision of telecommunications services is considered a “critical infrastructure”, which renders it subject to foreign ownership restrictions. However, unlike the 40 percent foreign ownership restriction for public utilities, the restriction for critical infrastructure is the total ban on investments by foreign state-owned enterprises and the requirement of reciprocity.

Though similar to public utilities, critical infrastructure is not limited to telecommunications. The IRR provided for the mechanism to allow the President to declare a public service as critical infrastructure. It

would once again be initiated by the relevant Administrative Agency or by Neda itself.

The IRR also provides for the mechanism for the conduct of a national security review for certain mergers and acquisitions either in the initiative of the relevant government department/Administrative Agency or by voluntary declaration. With the IRR of the PSA in place, is the Philippines now a more attractive place to invest for foreigners? Are the red and yellow lights now over and we are now forging ahead with a green light over the horizon?

Hopefully, we are. We all want to see the Philippines finish the investment race in first place. Nothing is more satisfying than seeing the checkered flag of success being waved.

The author is a junior partner of Du-Baladad and Associates Law Offices (BDB Law), a memberfirm 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, you may e-mail the author at jomel.manaig@ bdblaw.com.ph or call 8403-2001 local 380.

Joint patrols to protect PHL’s right to explore and utilize energy resources in West Philippine Sea

By Ambassador Albert Del Rosario

THe 2016 Arbitral Award ruled that the sovereign rights over the West Philippine Sea exclusively belong to the Philippines. Thus, the Philippines has the exclusive right under international law to explore the West Philippine Sea for possible energy resources and, eventually, to utilize such resources for the benefit of the Filipino people. No other country has the right to explore and exploit the resources of the West Philippine Sea.

Given that the Philippines has the exclusive right to explore and exploit the West Philippine Sea, the

country can undertake measures so that it may be able to exercise such right. In the context of China’s

unlawful claims in the West Philippine Sea, the Philippines can lawfully, and should, engage in joint patrols with its allies like the United States, Japan, Australia and the UK so that it can protect its right to explore, develop and utilize the resources of the West Philippine Sea. This is a right guaranteed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the 2016 Arbitral Award, and the Philippine Constitution.

The dwindling energy resources

of our country makes it imperative for us to explore and develop our resources in the West Philippine Sea for the sake of the Filipino people. Given Chinese aggressions, the successful development and utilization of energy resources in the West Philippine Sea would be a remarkable legacy of the President of our country.

Ambassador Albert Del Rosario is the Chair of Stratbase ADR Institute. He is a former Philippine Ambassador to the US, and former Secretary of Foreign Affairs.

Daunting recovery underway in tornado-devastated Mississippi

By Michael Goldberg & Emily Wagster Pettus

The Associated Press

ROLLING FORK, Miss. — Help began pouring into one of the poorest regions of the US after a deadly tornado tore a path of destruction for more than an hour across a long swath of Mississippi, even as furious new storms Sunday struck across the Deep South.

At least 25 people were killed and dozens of others were injured in Mississippi as the massive storm ripped through more than a half-dozen towns late Friday. A man was also killed in Alabama after his trailer home flipped over several times.

“Everything I can see is in some state of destruction,” said Jarrod Kunze, who drove to the hard-hit Mississippi town of Rolling Fork from his home in Alabama, ready to help “in whatever capacity I’m needed.”

Kunze was among volunteers working Sunday at a staging area, where bottled water and other supplies were being readied for distribution. Search and recovery crews resumed the daunting task of digging through flattened and battered homes, commercial buildings and municipal offices after hundreds of people were displaced.

The storm hit so quickly that the sheriff’s department in Rolling Fork barely had time to set off sirens to warn the community of 2,000 residents, said Mayor Eldridge Walker.

“And by the time they initiated the siren, the storm had hit and it tore down the siren that’s located right over here,” Walker said, referring to an area just blocks from downtown.

The mayor said his town was devastated.

“Sharkey County, Mississippi, is one of the poorest counties in the state of Mississippi, but we’re still resilient,” he said. “We’ve got a long way to go, and we certainly thank everybody for their prayers and for anything they will do or can do for this community.”

President Joe Biden issued an emergency declaration for Mississippi early Sunday, making federal funding available to hardest hit areas.

“Help is on the way,” Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said at a news conference with local, state and federal leaders.

Recovery efforts in Mississippi were underway even as the National Weather Service warned of a new risk of more severe weather Sunday— including high winds, large hail and possible tornadoes in Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

A tornado touched down early Sunday in Troup County, Georgia, near the Alabama border, according to the Georgia Mutual Aid Group. Affected areas included the county seat of LaGrange, about 67 miles (108 kilometers) southwest of Atlanta.

About 100 buildings were damaged, with at least 30 uninhabitable, and five people suffered minor

injuries, officials said. Many roads, including Interstate Highway 85, were blocked by debris.

Two tigers briefly escaped from their enclosures at Wild Animal Safari in Pine Mountain, Georgia, after the park sustained extensive tornado damage. “Both have now been found, tranquilized, and safely returned to a secure enclosure,” the park said on Facebook. None of its employees or animals were hurt, it said.

Outside of Rolling Fork, a tornado ripped apart the home where Kimberly Berry lived in the Delta flatlands. The twister left only a foundation and a few belongings— a toppled refrigerator, a dresser and nightstand, a bag of Christmas decorations, some clothing.

Berry said she and her 12-yearold daughter huddled and prayed inside a nearby church as the storm roared outside.

“I didn’t hear nothing but my own self praying and God answering my prayer. I mean, I can get another house, another furniture. But literally saving my life—I’m thankful,” she said.

Following Biden’s declaration, federal funding will be available for recovery efforts in Mississippi’s Carroll, Humphreys, Monroe and Sharkey counties, including temporary housing, home repairs, loans covering uninsured property losses and other individual and business programs, the White House said in a statement.

The twister flattened entire

blocks, obliterated houses, ripped a steeple off a church and toppled a municipal water tower.

Based on early data, the tornado received a preliminary EF-4 rating, the National Weather Service office in Jackson said in a tweet. An EF-4 tornado has top wind gusts between 166 mph and 200 mph (265 kph and 320 kph).

In Rolling Fork, the tornado reduced homes to piles of rubble and flipped cars on their sides. Other parts of the Deep South were digging out from damage caused by other suspected twisters.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said 25 people were confirmed killed in Mississippi, 55 people were injured and 2,000 homes were damaged or destroyed. High winds, hail and strong storms were expected for parts of Alabama and Georgia on Sunday, the National Weather Service said.

The tornado that slammed into Rolling Fork tore across Mississippi for about 59 miles (95 kilometers) over a period that lasted more than one hour, the National Weather Service said in a preliminary report Sunday. The tornado was an estimated three-quarter of a mile wide at some points, according to the preliminary estimate. Associated Press journalists Leah Willingham in Charleston, West Virginia; Jim Salter in O’Fallon, Missouri; Lea Skene in Baltimore; Jeff Martin in Woodstock, Georgia; Christopher Weber in Los Angeles, and Nicole Winfield in Rome contributed to this report.

Bank and Signature Bank in the United States. In Europe, the UBS Group took over Credit Suisse for $3.25 billion as part of an “emergency ordinance” to prevent financial mar-

ket instability in the region. BSP Governor Felipe Medalla has reassured the public that unlike foreign banks, Philippine lenders mostly hold loans that are less susceptible to changes in fair value. Philippine banks have lower market risk exposure and maintain a diversified lending base, with manageable

loan quality.

Bank executives have attested to the strength of the local financial institutions. Developments in the US financial system, says the Bankers Association of the Philippines, will have no substantial or material impact on local banks. While our officials and bank

executives are confident about the strength of the local banking system, we should remain cautious and vigilant in case the contagion from the global financial system becomes real with deepening effect.

Concerns over a possible financial contagion have already punished global stocks, with our own Philip -

pine Stock Exchange index giving up gains it accumulated in the early part of 2023. We hope that our economic and monetary officials will continue to closely watch global developments and respond proactively to avert any adverse impact on the local economy. It is also time for the banking sec-

tor to use its excess liquidity to feed local demand and take advantage of rising economic activities in the Philippines, instead of parking their funds elsewhere.

For comments, send e-mail to mbv_secretariat@vistaland.com.ph or visit www.mannyvillar. com.ph

WASHINGTON—Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow was sitting in Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s conference room at the Pentagon, listening to him make the case that Saddam Hussein was hiding weapons of mass destruction.

SOLON EYES MASTER PLAN FOR JOB ISSUES

By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

SENATE Majority Leader

Joel Villanueva is looking forward to mustering bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress for the timely enactment of the enabling legislation  to establish the Trabaho Para sa Bayan Plan.      Touted to serve as a long-term employment generation and recovery masterplan, Sen. Villanueva envisions a landmark legislation—he filed Senate Bill No. 2035—to be known as Trabaho Para sa Bayan (TPB) Act. Once enacted, it will “promote job-led economic growth and enhanced industry collaboration providing overall services for worker development and incentives to businesses.”

Noting that the proposed Trabaho Para sa Bayan Bill was included in the priority measures of the Marcos administration, the Senate Majority Leader said: “We are humbled and thankful to President Bongbong Marcos for personally asking us to lead in the passage of this measure.”

As filed, the Senate version of the proposed Trabaho Para sa Bayan Act is meant “to provide an employment policy that is

comprehensive, coherent, and future-oriented, to be able to address the dynamic changes in the labor market.”

The Majority Leader stressed that “employment should not just be an incident to economic development,” reminding that “generating more decent and permanent employment should be the objective of economic growth, to make growth inclusive and a reality for all.”

Villanueva stressed that the Philippines has yet to overcome the “seasonality” of jobs, wherein more workers are hired during peak months.

He recalled that in December 2022, the unemployment rate dropped to 4.3 percent from the 5.3 percent in August 2022, but it climbed anew, however, in January 2023 at 4.8 percent after the holiday season. The underemployment rate has remained high from 13.8 percent in 2019 to 14.1 percent as of January 2023, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

Villanueva likewise cited PSA showing a huge gap in the employment in the service sector at 60.7 percent compared with the agricultural sector at 22.2 percent percent and the industry sector at 17.1 percent.

Remulla: Degamo slay evidence links Teves

By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573 & Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

JUSTICESecretary Jesus Crispin Remulla

on Monday said the ongoing investigation into the killing of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo and eight civilians last March 4 is pointing to Negros Oriental 3rd District Rep. Arnolfo “Arnie” Teves as one of the possible masterminds in the gruesome crime.

This, as Degamo’s widow formally asked the House of Representatives to expel the congressman, who last week was slapped by his peers with a 60-day suspension for disorderly conduct after he failed to return to work despite the lapse of his allowed leave of absence.

In an interview with reporters, Remulla said there is already evidence that would directly implicate Teves in Degamo’s killing, but these are still being validated in order to come up  with a strong case against the solon.

“We will look at the facts in the best way possible.

We will see the participation of

By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo @akosistellaBM

Special to the BusinessMirror

BLENDED travel continues to be a growing market for many destinations and is projected to be worth US$350 billion by 2027.

Speaking at this year’s ITB Berlin Convention, Euromonitor International’s senior industry manager Caroline Bremner said, destinations should be focusing on further growing this consumer segment. “Blended travelers are of increasing interest to destinations around the world from Cape Town, Buenos Aires, the Caribbean to Busan. These travelers include the traditional leisure add-on to a business trip, along with workations, corporate retreats, and employees taking advantage of work from anywhere policies,” she said. Euromonitor International is one of the world’s leaders in strategic market research reporting.

In his presentation, “Blended Travel and a Sustainable Travel Rebound,” Euromonitor Insights Manager-Düsseldorf Stephen Dutton noted separately, due to the pandemic work arrangements, leisure has become the main motivation for travel for many consumers, with business facilitating the opportunity to do so. This new market segment — Bleisure (Business + Leisure) offers “diverse travel opportunities, creating a more sustainable way to travel.”

In its global consumer lifestyle survey in 2022, over 33 percent of  Euromonitor respondents cited relaxation as a top feature for a blended traveler’s choice in a destination, followed by 30 percent for the destination’s safety. “Hybrid work options shift more control to the individual, strike the right balance between what they want from leisure and what they need from work,” said Dutton.

Maximizing budget

HE cited Busan, South Korea and

Venice, Italy among the destinations capitalizing on the expanding blended traveler market. Busan is currently promoting itself as “Best Bleisure City Busan”, while Venice has “Venywhere” remote working options.

“The city is looking to make Busan a key MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, Exhibitions) destination in South Korea,” said Euromonitor. “By emphasizing bleisure, the city is hoping to revamp its appeal and extend the traveling.”

In the Philippines, hotel sales and marketing professionals likewise noted the surge in Bleisure travelers, post-pandemic. “Why?

For one, [tourists] are really trying to be more practical, and economical. So they would rather go one time and stay a longer duration,” said Loleth So, president of the Hotel Sales and Marketing Association Inc. in a recent interview with reporters. “The Bleisure travelers become innovative and maximize their budget and also their time.”

DOT workation program

THE Department of Tourism likewise tried to encourage more digital nomads to temporarily relocate to Boracay Island with its Boracay Wellness Workation Program, a package that tied up the agency with 20 hotels to offer stable internet connection and coworking spaces. As most of these hotels also have gyms or spas, travelers can shift seamlessly from working on laptops to getting a massage.

Blended travel creates a good value stream for destinations, while keeping to sustainable tourism ideals. “Travelers spend longer, more meaningful time in a destination. Money spent tends to remain with local communities. Blended travel contributing to long-term growth trends in spend per trip, a reversal of prepandemic mass tourism trends,” said Dutton.

people and we will see also from what we have right now the statements given by the suspects jive with the facts that we have discovered,” Remulla said.

Remulla earlier said several of the suspects who earlier surrendered to authorities have named Teves as the alleged mastermind.

Their statements, however, would have to be validated and corroborated by other evidence before a case can be filed against the solon, according to Remulla.

“You still have to evaluate the weight of the evidence. We also have to ask questions again. We only have to make  sure when we file a

case it is already insurmountable. That is the case build-up. We try our best to build the best case so it would not be difficult when we go to the court,” Remulla explained.

However, Remulla said the interagency task force mandated  to resolve the Degamo killing is still looking for at least two to four  more personalities as possible masterminds.

When asked if these masterminds are still within reach of authorities, Remulla said “they can still be contacted and are always in social media.”

“One of them even texted me. Congressman Teves texted me,” he added.

Remulla said it would be up to the panel of prosecutors to weigh the evidence that  have been gathered  so far in connection to the case.

“But right now the way it is progressing, that is the direction we’re heading to,”  Remulla said.

At least 10 suspects, mostly former soldiers, have surrendered to authorities and admitted either direct or vital participation in the crime.

They are now under the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) pending the result of the

preliminary investigation on the murder charges and other criminal charges filed against them before the DOJ.

Remulla is confident the panel of prosecutors would be able to come up with a resolution already within the week indicting the suspects.

“By Friday, at least the end of the month, we can have this filed already. Some of them before the courts, but for the rest of the suspects who surrendered, hopefully, we have charges filed by Friday,” Remulla said.

One of suspects in custody, according to Remulla had disclosed participation not only in the killing of Degamo but also  in past  two attempts to assassinate the governor.

“That person was involved not only in the last assassination attempt that succeeded, but in two other failed assassination attempts on Governor Degamo,” Remulla told CNN Philippines in an interview.     The DOJ secretary revealed that Degamo was the subject of an assassination plan as early as December 2022 but that the suspects failed to carry it out due to “several factors” beyond their control.

Labor mourns passing of Jimmy Tadeo

THE coalition of the country’s largest groups mourned the passing of Jaime “Jimmy” Tadeo, one of the framers of the 1987 Constitution, at the weekend.

“The Nagkaisa Labor Coalition expresses its deep sorrow over the passing of Ka Jimmy,” it said in a statement issued on Monday.

“His passing is a great loss to the labor movement, and his legacy will continue to inspire and guide us in our struggle for social justice,” it added.

The coalition said Tadeo will be remembered not only for serving as the sole peasant representative in the 1986 Constitutional Commis -

sion, but also for his advocacies.

“Ka Jimmy was a key member of the Constitutional Commission that framed the 1987 Constitution, which carried strong social justice and human rights provisions, including agrarian reform and full protection of labor,” Nagkaisa said.

It also remembered how Tadeo fought for such ideals not only during the dictatorship of former President Ferdinand E. Marcos, but even during the time of former Corazon C. Aquino.

“He was one of the icons of street protests during the time of the Marcos dictatorship, and he con -

tinued to champion the cause of social justice throughout his life,” the coalition said.

“In 1990, Tadeo was arrested and taken to the maximum security National Penitentiary at Muntinlupa, which supporters claim was due to his outspoken criticism of Corazon Aquino’s executive order on agrarian reform,” it added.

Nagkaisa lamented how the current Congress and administrations are now threatening the many legacies of Tadeo in their attempt to change the Constitution and enforce new economic policies, respectively.

“We mourn Ka Jimmy’s passing,

especially at a time when attempts at changing the 1987 Constitution are being revived in Congress,” Nagkaisa said.

“Meanwhile, liberalization in agriculture is also in full swing, to the detriment of local farmers and Filipino consumers. It is sad to note that full liberalization, foreign ownership of land, privatization, flexibilization of labor, and term extension in politics are among the recycled agendas of those pushing for constitutional change,” it added.

Tadeo died Sunday morning due to health complications from his diabetes. Samuel P. Medenilla

‘Destinations must focus on growing new markets’ like ‘Bleisure’ travel

KIDS’ DREAMS Oola Life founder Dr. Dave Braun and cofounder Dr. Troy Amdahl place stickers written with dreams of the children on a surfboard at the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig City. The Oola Million Dream Tour is in the country to promote the global tour and share their plans for the Philippine market. The tour has traveled to several cities across the US and Canada, providing participants with a unique opportunity to grow, learn and connect with others on a similar journey and now they have already started making their mark in Asia. Oola is a lifestyle brand that offers products and programs to help people “live a

life

of balance, growth and purpose.” ROY DOMINGO

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng

Companies

B1

Tuesday, March 28, 2023

Alternergy names ex-SEC Commissioner as adviser

By VG Cabuag @villygc

The appointment came following the debut of Alternergy at the main board of the Philippine Stock Exchange last Friday, the first initial public offering of the year.

“Commissioner Amatong has a solid track record on financial mar-

kets and securities as a former SEC Commissioner. His work as supervising commissioner of markets and securities regulation helped create the right regulatory environment and set the stage for Alternergy to take the plunge of an IPO. This has

given Alternergy a fresh inflow of capital to advance to construction phase two of our projects under development,“ Alternergy chairman Vicente S. Perez Jr. said.

These two projects are the Solana solar project in Bataan and the Lamut Run-of-River Hydro Project in Ifugao.

Perez said as a listed firm, Alternenergy can do other other capital raising activities in the future, including a bond float.

“Amatong can be very instrumental in guiding Alternergy with our future capital market issuances, particularly in the area of green bonds.”

Perez said the green bonds could be one of the financing modes to tap to fund future financing requirements of projects in the next three to five years.

Apple CEO meets China exec to talk supply chain

Amatong, meanwhile, expressed confidence that the current economic uncertainties can be seen as opportunities to create innovative schemes that would bring out the most benefits to companies seeking financing and growth.

“As a renewable power pioneer, Alternergy has strong prospects for growth as well as multiple opportunities in the growing field of sustainable finance. I look forward to working with the Alternergy team to optimize funding and ensure that its portfolio of power projects is developed and delivered on time for the benefit of the communities it serves,” Amatong said.

Amatong served as SEC commissioner from May 2014 to March 2022. He was admitted to the Philippine Bar in 2002 and to the New York Bar in 2007.

FNI income grows despite low revenues

GLOBAL Ferronickel Holdings Inc. (PSE: FNI) said its income grew 9 percent last year to P2.2 billion from the previous year’s P1.97 billion despite fall in revenues.

Revenues fell 13 percent yearover-year to P6.7 billion from the previous year’s P7.7 billion due to adverse weather, partially offset by a rise in medium-grade ore prices and a favorable foreign exchange impact when compared to 2021.

“Our performance during the year showed our company’s ability to evolve and make further progress against our strategic priorities,” FNI President Dante R. Bravo said.

“Most notably, we completed the commissioning and started commercial export of nickel ore from our mine in Palawan. We also completed the acquisition of a 20 percent stake in Guangdong Century Tsingshan Nickel Industry Co. Ltd., the owner

of a 33-hectare rotary kiln-electric furnace processing facility in China that caters to customers from within and outside Guangdong’s Economic and Technological Development Zones,” Bravo said.

Total shipped volume fell 24 percent to 3.73 million wet metric tons (WMT) resulting from weather events such as more rain days that affected the production of nickel ore. Overall product mix was 76 percent low-grade ore and 24 percent medium-grade ore with an average realized price slightly lower by 0.3 percent from prior year to $31.68 per WMT.

Bravo said the start of commercial operations at the Palawan mine along with the acquisition of 20 percent interest of GCTN, both in the fourth quarter, should enable the company to carry out production all year-round and generate improved financial growth as it scale and in-

tegrate the business.

“We believe this positions us to achieve more consistent profitability throughout the year. It will also allow us to benefit from higher nickel prices and China’s ongoing reopening, which is expected to prompt a rebound in stainless steel production and in the new energy vehicle supply chain,” he said.

“Moving forward, we are very excited about expanding our nickel ore production by 20 percent this year with the addition of our Palawan mine with an annual production capacity of 1.5 million WMT that would complement our Surigao mine’s 7.5 million WMT.

“We are also on track with our medium-term strategy which includes the construction of a steel processing plant in Mariveles, Bataan and its commercial production, and the development of a nearby port,” Bravo said. VG Cabuag

Mreit purchase of Megaworld assets OK’d

MREIT Inc., the real estate investment trust of Megaworld Corp., on Monday said it secured approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the acquisition of four office properties in McKinley West and Iloilo Business Park with a total value of P5.3 billion.

The new acquisitions will have a total gross leasable area (GLA) of 44,567 square meters, which will increase the company’s asset portfolio by 16 percent to 325,000 square meters of GLA from the current portfolio of 280,000 square meters.

These properties were the Festive Walk 1B and Two Global Center in Iloilo Business Park, and One West Campus and Five West Campus in McKinley West in Taguig.

As of the end of last year, the four prime office properties have an occupancy rate of 96 percent, above the industry level of 81 percent.

“The SEC approval of our property-for-share acquisition results in the recognition of income from the new assets by Mreit from January 1, 2023, which will help drive our growth. The high occupancy rate of these buildings is a clear proof of the quality of our assets and their strategic loca -

tions. The new office assets from McKinley West now command one of the highest rental rates in the Greater Manila Area, supported by the high demand for office space in this area,” Kevin Andrew L. Tan, the company’s president and CEO, said.

The properties will be exchanged for 263.7 million primary common shares at P20 per share and represents a 41 percent premium over Mreit’s s price of P14.20 per share on March 24.

The properties to be infused are dividend accretive, meaning

that the properties are expected to increase MREIT’s dividend payments to its shareholder.

“We’re committed to grow our portfolio size by 54 percent to 500,000 square meters by 2024. This will help us achieve our goal of delivering at least 10 percent annual total shareholder return as we are now looking forward to the next phase of Mreit’s growth,” Tan said.

The acquisition will expand the company’s portfolio to 18 office properties in four Megaworld premier townships. VG Cabuag

APPLE Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook met China’s Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao last Monday, underscoring the importance of the relationship between the leading US consumer tech company and its key partner despite heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing.

“Both sides exchanged views about Apple’s development in China and stabilizing the industry supply chain,” according to a statement from Wang’s ministry on the meeting between the two. Wang also told the Apple CEO that China will continue to open up and provide good services to foreign firms including Apple.

Cook joins a number of US and European industry leaders who’ve met with Wang in recent days around the China Development Forum in Beijing — the government’s showcase for signaling a reopening following years of Covid Zero restrictions. Together, they represent the most significant official pow-wows with foreign executives since China dropped those curbs in December. Wang, who was appointed to his role this year, has so far met with the leaders of Nestle SA, BMW AG,

Mercedes-Benz Group AG, Pfizer Inc. and Qualcomm Inc.

Last Saturday, Cook told an audience at the CDF that Apple and China have grown together, and the relationship between the two is “symbiotic.” His China trip also included a stop at an Apple retail store in the Chinese capital with Deirdre O’Brien, the company’s retail chief, and other executives. Since Cook orchestrated a retail expansion in China about a decade ago, Apple’s products have grown in popularity in the region. The company now counts on Greater China for about 20 percent of its sales.

The longstanding relationship is showing signs of fraying, however. Apple suffered unprecedented snags in production last year due to Covid-triggered factory closures, limiting supply of its flagship iPhone 14 Pro. Apple is now looking to further diversify its manufacturing operations, including by shifting more iPhone production to India. Bloomberg News

ALTERNERGY Holdings Corp.,

a newly-listed renewable energy firm, has appointed former Securities and Exchange Commission commissioner Ephyro Luis B. Amatong as adviser to the firm’s board of directors.

BIR starts ‘war’ vs CPAs, traders in ‘ghost receipts’

will be imprisoned for tax evasion. Not only will you lose millions of pesos, you will also lose your freedom,” Lumagui said “in his ultimatum to the taxpaying public.”

File, pay anywhere

“The war is officially designated as the ‘Run After Fake Transactions’ (RAFT) program of the BIR,” a statement from the Commissioner’s office read. “Its base of operations is the Office of the Commissioner, the program being the brainchild of Lumagui himself.”

The statement said the program “is the first of its kind in the history of the BIR.” The program stems from the issuance of Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) 38-2023, containing the priority programs and projects of the BIR for this year, the agency’s statement read.

The BIR defines “ghost receipts” as “fictitious receipts/invoices where transactions did not take place.”

“Its main purpose is to reduce the income tax and VAT [value-added tax] liabilities of the purchaser by claiming false deductions/expenses and claiming input VAT on the basis of fictitious transaction, ultimately resulting to defrauding the government of taxes.”

The BIR said its “war against ghost receipts” will be made on three fronts: buyers; sellers; and, certified public accountants (CPAs).

Hauled to jails

ACCORDING to the BIR, it will audit buyers of ghost receipts and revoke the license of a CPA “for abetting and advising their clients to avail of a tax evasion scheme.” The agency said it will seek imprisonment for six years to ten years for buyers, sellers and CPAs charged with tax evasion.

“This is an all-out war. All available BIR forces will be deployed, this is the top priority program for our enforcement activities,” the Commissioner emphasized.

Lumagui said this is his “last warning” as the April 17 deadline for the filing of tax returns nears.

“In the coming April 17 deadline, this is my last warning to all buyers of ghost or fictitious receipts. Do not use the same in your tax filings. Do not listen to your CPAs or financial advisors telling you to evade your taxes through ghost receipts.”

The BIR chief said his office has a list of buyers and sellers of ghost receipts.

“Your business will be tagged and audited. You will spend more due to this audit, in comparison to just paying the proper taxes. You, your company officers and financial advisors

IN a separate statement, Lumagui said he has authorized the filing and payment of the 2022 Annual Income Tax Return (AITR) anywhere, through RMC 32-2023. The RMC provides that taxpayers can now file their 2022 AITR and pay the corresponding taxes due thereon anywhere on or before April 17, 2023, without penalties imposed for wrong venue filing, according to the BIR.

“I wanted to improve the services that we offer to the taxpaying public. My ultimate goal here is to provide each one of us the luxury of filing and paying our correct taxes at our most convenient time and place without any penalties involved. I am encouraging everyone, avoid the rush! File and pay as early as now before the April 17 deadline,” Lumagui was quoted in the statement as saying.

According to the BIR, taxpayers who are mandated to use the agency’s electronic filing and payment system, or “eFPS,” shall file their AITRs electronically and pay the correct taxes due through the eFPS-Authorized Agent Banks (AABs) where they are enrolled.

“Thus, in cases wherein filing cannot be made through the eFPS, due to specific reasons mentioned in the RMC, taxpayers shall use the eBIRForms in filing their AITR. Hence, the tax returns filed through the latter shall no longer be required to be filed [through] the eFPS.”

Payment gateways

ON the other hand, the payment of

taxes due for the electronically-filed returns through the eBIRForms may be made through any AABs; Revenue Collection Officers (RCOs) in each Revenue District Offices (RDOs) or through the different Electronic Payment (ePayment) channels of the BIR.

These ePayment Channels accept tax payments through the use of either online, credit/debit/prepaid cards and mobile payments such as GCash, Maya & MyEG.

Link to the ePayment channels is accessible in the BIR website. Likewise, each payment gateways have provided instructional videos to taxpayers, particularly the step-by-step procedures in making their online tax payments so that they can easily navigate the electronic platform they opt to use in paying their taxes.

It is also underscored in the RMC that, “No Payment AITRs” shall also be filed electronically.

Taxpayers with “No Payment AITRs” are allowed to manually file their 2022 AITR, provided that they qualify in any of the following conditions set by the Commissioner himself:

n Senior Citizen (SC) or Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) filing for their own returns;

n Employees deriving purely compensation income from two or more employers, concurrently or successively at any time during the taxable year, or from a single employer, although the income of which has been correctly subjected to withholding tax, but whose spouse is not entitled to substituted filing; and,

n Employees qualified for substituted filing (those who are covered by Section 2.83.4 of Revenue

Regulations No. 2-98, as amended), but opted to file for an ITR and are filing for purposes of promotion, loans, scholarships, foreign travel requirements, etc.

Manual filing

TAXPAYERS who qualified under the manual filing of their “No Payment AITRs,” shall prepare the tax returns in triplicate copies using the electronic or computer-generated returns or photocopied returns in its original format in legal-size and/or folio-size bond paper.

Furthermore, the RMC also reminds taxpayers who will manually file AITR and pay taxes due thereon through RCOs of the RDO to pay in cash up to P20,000 only or in check (payable to “Bureau of Internal Revenue”).

As to the submission of the required attachments, Lumagui highly advised those who electronically filed their AITRs to utilize the Bureau’s Electronic Audited Financial Statement (eAFS) System in submitting the required attachments. They are also given the option to personally submit it to the large taxpayer service (LTS) office and/or RDO where they are registered within 15 days from the date of the tax filing deadline.

Meanwhile, for taxpayers who electronically filed their AITRs but there are no attachments required, printed copy of the e-filed tax returns need not to be submitted to the BIR. The generated “filing reference number” from eFPS or the email confirmation from eBIRForms will serve as proof of the electronically filed AITRs.

Lumagui emphasized that only the attachments will be stamped received by the LTS/RDO and the printed copy of AITR need not be

stamped “Received.”

Enforcement activities

LUMAGUI also reminds the public not to use “ghost receipts” in their filings. He urges the public to scrutinize “the unlawful schemes their CPAs might use in illegally lessening their taxes.”

He cited that a CPA involved in these receipts will suffer both the revocation of their license and imprisonment. The Commissioner has already filed an administrative case for revocation of a CPA’s license last March 21 and a criminal case for tax evasion against the same CPA last March 16.

The filing of cases against this unnamed CPA came after a raid of a condominium unit in Quezon City last December, which, the BIR said, contained thousands of “ghost receipts.” The BIR said Lumagui filed criminal cases before the Department of Justice against the sellers of these ghost receipts last March 16. Lumagui said these are just one of the examples of the top agenda for his administration, which is “aggressive and fearless enforcement activities.”

The BIR said the Commissioner also led a nationwide raid against illegal cigarettes last January. There will be a nationwide filing of criminal cases against the traders involved in the coming months, Lumagui vowed.

He also led a raid against big warehouses where illegal vape traders are storing their untaxed and unregistered merchandise in November last year. Cases worth P1.2 billion and criminal cases were filed against these traders last December, according to the BIR.

Regular enforcement against illegal cigarettes and vape will also continue, the agency said.

Revisiting Pag-IBIG MP2 BSP pursues Islamic Finance certification of personnel

ACHIEVING a higher level of saving propensity can immensely benefit a developing country like the Philippines. Many of those who save place their money in bank accounts. Still, one particular saving alternative that has grown in popularity through the years is the “Pag-IBIG MP2,” or the “Modified PagIBIG II (Pag-IBIG MP2) Savings Program.”

The “Pag-IBIG MP2” is a voluntary savings fund launched by the Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG) in 2010. Data from Pag-IBIG reveals that, as of 2022, total savings under Pag-IBIG MP2 reached almost P40 billion with 977,643 total savers.

Pag-IBIG MP2 is considered to be a voluntary savings scheme. It was initially open only to active Pag-IBIG members. However, its participation has already been expanded to include former PagIBIG members like pensioners and retirees with income and with at least 24 monthly savings before retirement. For active PagIBIG members, the Pag-IBIG MP2 is separate from their Pag-IBIG Regular Savings, where the contribution is commonly seen as a deduction in the pay slip on a periodic basis. It has a maturity period of 5 years.

One reason why many people fail to save is due to hectic work schedules. Another reason would be cumbersome processes. The good news is that opening a Pag-IBIG MP2 account is relatively simple and safe. It can be done online and once the account number is generated, saving can now proceed. Opening an account is also facilitated through any Pag-IBIG branch nationwide. It is possible to open multiple Pag-IBIG MP2 accounts. It is possible to save a one-time lump sum amount for the entire 5-year duration.

Succeeding savings can be done through salary deduction or online remittance channels. The minimum saving amount is P500 per remittance. There is no maximum amount of saving per remittance. If the one-time saving amount done is greater than P500,000, payment will be through check. Those whose savings are greater than P100,000 will be required to show proof of income or source of funds. To help savers monitor their savings, there is the “Virtual Pag-IBIG” where all pertinent information can be accessed.

The funds saved in Pag-IBIG MP2 are mainly placed in housing finance. A common aspiration of many Filipinos is to own property. The loanable funds can help fulfill that aspiration. There is a multiplier effect since more savings can imply more loanable fund supply and consequently lower interest rates for those who borrow. These lower interest rates then help spur economic activity. The funds are also invested in government securities and corporate bonds. These instruments drive investments that support growth.

Apart from democratizing participation through the convenient opening, saving mechanisms and the relatively low minimum saving of P500 per remittance, the Pag-IBIG MP2 offers more advantages. The Pag-IBIG MP2 savings are guaranteed by government which means that risk is addressed to a certain extent. The PagIBIG MP2 offers higher dividends than Pag-IBIG Regular Savings. The dividends received are tax-free. There is flexibility since the dividends can be withdrawn at the end of the 5-year period or annually.

However, there are certain considerations that must be taken into account with respect to saving in Pag-IBIG MP2. Dividends received are not guaranteed as they depend on the general financial performance of Pag-IBIG. Looking at its history, the dividend rate in 2011 was 4.63 percent while the dividend rate in 2021 was 6.00 percent. However, the dividend rate has been on a decline since 2018. Those who have high risk appetite might also not be that satisfied with the returns of Pag-IBIG MP2 as compared to other saving options.

Saving is the first step in achieving financial freedom. While there are considerations, the Pag-IBIG MP2 can be a good saving alternative for many Filipinos. It has great personal finance consequences. It also has great macroeconomic possibilities. The Pag-IBIG MP2 can help fulfill many personal dreams and national goals.

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is working to support the Associate Qualification in Islamic Finance (AQIF) certification of 55 Islamic Finance Coordination Forum (IFCF) representatives and agencies.

The BSP said it is working with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in these efforts. To date, 50 BSP personnel have attained the AQIF certification.

This, BSP said, is in recognition of the need for continuous capacity-building activities and attaining formal certification, such as the AQIF program of the Islamic Banking & Finance Institute Malaysia (IBFIM) Sdn Bhd.

According to IBFIM, a commer-

cial bank, the AQIF “is designed specifically to meet industry needs and standards.”

“AQIF is developed to equip and assist working adults as well as in dustry practitio ners in enhanc ing their competencies, skills and knowledge in Islamic Finance,” the IBFIM website page reads.

“These initia tives complement the whole-of-govern ment approach in developing a stable and sustainable Islamic finance ecosystem in the country,” BSP Assistant Governor Arifa A. Ala was quoted in a statement as saying.

These kinds of efforts were the reasons for IBFIM’s recent conferment of the “Outstanding Industry Collaboration Award” to the BSP.

“The award recognizes the BSP’s calibrated efforts and strong commitment to enhancing the competencies of BSP personnel and IFCF members on Islamic banking and finance,” Ala said.

The IFCF is composed of the BSP, the ADB, the Department of Trade and Industry, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Insurance Commission, the National Commission on

Muslim Filipinos and the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

The forum also includes the following: Bureau of the Treasury; Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp.; Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao; Philippine Financial Reporting Standards Council; and, Auditing and Assurance Standards Council.

The IBFIM is referred to as “an industry-driven learning institution specializing in technical certifications that serve the needs of the Islamic finance industry.”

Its key programs are developed based on a qualifications framework and are accredited by the Finance Accreditation Agency, an organization in Malaysia that certifies international financial training courses, the statement from the BSP read.

BDO OKs buy out of Podium complex operator

By VG Cabuag @villygc

THE board of BDO

Unibank Inc. has approved the buyout of the entire equity interests of Keppel Philippines Properties Inc. and Opon-KE Properties Inc. in SM Keppel Land (SMKL) Inc., the operator of the Podium Complex in Ortigas Center.

The acquisition consists of 217.91 million common shares and 36.4 million redeemable preferred shares equivalent to 50 percent of the outstanding capital stock of SMKL at adjusted net asset value at closing.

“By this acquisition, BDO will consolidate its ownership of the Podium Complex, presently 50-percent owned by SMKL, consisting of BDO’s Corporate Center Ortigas, the West Tower and the Podium Mall. The Podium Complex currently houses BDO’s offices in Ortigas and BDO al -

ready occupies approximately 63 percent of the office spaces in the Podium Complex,” BDO said in its disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange.

SMKL, a joint venture between the lender and listed firm Keppel Philippines Properties Inc., will cease to exist at the close of the deal. Its primary business is to operate the Podium complex in Mandaluyong, which include its retail and office spaces.

In 2021, SMKL reported earnings of P1.15 billion, a turnaround from the P83.8 million loss in the previous year. Gross revenues for 2021 reached P2.1 billion, more than three times from the P673.8 million in 2020.

“This divestment is in line with Keppel’s Vision 2030 asset monetization plans to unlock capital which can be channeled towards new growth opportunities,” Keppel said.

“The consideration was arrived at on a willing-buyer, willing-seller basis, taking into account, among others, the agreed value of the Podium West Tower and the Podium Mall and the net asset value of the sale shares,” it said.

Ratings affirmed

THE announcement of the buyout came days after Moody’s Investor Service (Moody’s) affirmed the “Baa2” local and foreign deposit rating for BDO on the back of expectations that it will benefit from the country’s pandemic recovery.

“The affirmation of BDO’s ‘Baa2’ deposit and senior unsecured debt ratings reflects the bank’s stabilizing asset quality, strong capital and adequate profitability. Funding will remain a key credit strength, underpinned by its extensive deposit franchise as the largest Philippine bank by depos -

its,” Moody’s said. “BDO’s asset quality should continue to benefit from the strong post-pandemic economic recovery in the Philippines.”

The ratings agency, however, noted that BDO’s gross nonperforming loans (NPL) ratio at the end of 2022 declined to 2 percent from 2.9 percent last year while other asset quality indicators such as “net NPL formation” and “stage-2 loans ratio” improved.

The bank’s problem loan coverage was 138 percent as of the end of 2022, which is at a strong level, Moody’s said.

However, it noted that the bank’s credit concentration to large domestic corporates, a structural feature of the Philippine banking system, remains a key asset risk. The credit watcher also expects the bank’s profitability to remain stable over the next 1218 months, driven by a stable net interest margin.

NEARLY four weeks before the deadline of filing of tax returns, Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner Romeo D. Lumagui Jr. has officially declared war against all those who profit in propagating a culture of tax evasion using “ghost receipts.”

BIR Commissioner Lumagui. CREDIT: BIR

PERSonal FInancE

Genesis Kelly S. lontoc

Art BusinessMirror

Kyle Fortu-Legaspi and her woven memories

extended period of home quarantine. But while the lockdowns were meant to arrest the spread of the virus by limiting mobility, it also brought about a wave of anxiety. For visual artist Kyle Fortu-Legaspi, her prolonged stay at home brought about a sense of rediscovery.

“In our confinement, we uncovered the beauty that eluded us,” Legaspi said. “We began to see the reflections on surfaces and the textures of the things we own. We observed the curves on our drapes and found solace in the shadows. We experienced a multitude of emotions in silence and in the quietude.”

TODAY’S HOROSCOPE

By Eugenia Last

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS

DAY: Lady Gaga, 37; Julia Stiles, 42; Vince Vaughn, 53; Reba McEntire, 68.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Take your time; get organized. Preparation will help eliminate mishaps and misunderstandings. Stay in control and push forward with your issues and the goals that matter most to you. The hard work you put in this year will make a difference for years to come. Trust and believe in yourself, and refuse to let anyone get in your way. Think big, but be reasonable. Doors will open.

Your numbers are 7, 18, 21, 24, 30, 35, 48.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Distance yourself from anyone who tries your patience. Spend more time on personal goals, not arguing with someone about something that doesn’t matter. Focus on your options and how to make the most of your time. Success will follow. ★★

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Pay attention to detail and present what you have to offer with pizazz. How you portray yourself and your lifestyle will flip a switch in someone who can help. Share what’s important, but not too much about your personal life. ★★★★

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Stick to the script and you won’t get caught off guard. If you want others to take you seriously, display what you can do with precision and detail. Share with people who have track records of living up to their promises. ★★★

of its board of trustees shortly after. In 2020, the hyperrealistic watercolorist was awarded by BGC Arts Center for her piece in the You Are Not Alone Quarantine Art Competition. For three consecutive years, Legaspi has made it to the top 3 of the annual PGW National Watercolour Contest.

In Woven Memories, Legaspi presents 26 watercolor works, defined as always by her mastery of light and reflection. The featured still-life pieces combine elements of flowers, portrait and textile, which can be mistaken as a photograph.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): You’re all ready to go. Pour your energy into something concrete that will benefit you instead of bending to the likes of someone else. Learn from the experience and you won’t make the same mistake twice. Personal growth is favored. ★★★

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Step in and take over. Your insight and openness will encourage others to go to bat for you. Don’t let a change someone makes disrupt your plans. Avoid unpredictable situations or liability to your financial wellbeing. ★★★

ACLIP in 2020 resurfaced recently on social media, which captures the horrifying progression of the Covid-19 outbreak. The video, taken from a reality TV show, follows the moments when news of the pandemic was being broken to the contestants, confined in a monitored house and oblivious to the “outside world.”

They were being told that the World Health Organization was keeping tabs on a contagious virus from China spreading throughout the world. Shock and disbelief colored everyone’s faces. The updates continued in the following days, from the skyrocketing global tally of cases, to the closing of government borders, and—finally—to the cancellation of that show’s season.

It’s nothing short of ironic then that while the program was halted, its concept carried on around the world, with pretty much everyone going on an

More importantly, she added, “we found ourselves embraced by our own homes.”

Legaspi explores the idea in her newest solo exhibition this March, which marks the third year since the WHO declared Covid-19 as a pandemic, along with the continued celebration of International Women’s Month. The show, titled Woven Memories, opened recently at Conrad Manila’s Gallery C as the 23rd installment of its Of Art and Wine series. It will be on view until May 27.

Legaspi holds a degree and license in nursing. Drawn by her interest in the textures and colors of textiles, however, she went on to study at the Fashion Institute of the Philippines. In 2016, she learned watercolor painting and incorporated fashion in her art.

That same year, Legaspi joined the Philippine Guild of Watercolorists and became a member

Dispute over Van Gogh art in Detroit settled

DETROIT—A deal has been reached over control of an 1888 painting by Vincent van Gogh, lawyers said, weeks after the custody fight created public buzz and much tension near the end of a rare US exhibition in Detroit. Brokerarte Capital Partners Llc., which claims to own The Novel Reader, told a federal appeals court that it reached a confidential settlement with the unnamed entity who loaned the painting to the Detroit Institute of Arts for an exhibition of Van Gogh’s works that ended January 22.

Because of the dispute, the museum has been under orders to hold the painting while the court determined who would next get the art. Brokerarte Capital, an art brokerage, said it acquired the painting in 2017 for $3.7 million and gave temporary possession of it to a third party who absconded with it. The company filed a lawsuit on January 10 seeking to seize the painting, and the museum subsequently posted a security guard next to it. The museum was caught in the middle but wasn’t accused of wrongdoing. It has not publicly

In From Thy Bounty, an assortment of fruits and flowers are arranged on a plate, while a textured textile piece snakes around it. Particularly impressive in the piece is Legaspi’s depiction of the branches’ shadows, which elongate and curve and fade as they would in real life. Meanwhile, the lone kitchenware in Floral Dreams faithfully reflects the soft petals and intricate cloth surrounding it.

Legaspi likewise captures the innocence of a child’s eyes in her watercolor portraits, as seen, for instance, in Underneath. The pieces feature the nieces and nephews she lives with, who willingly model for her.

“The collection is a visual memoir of the blues and stillness, which will soon fade and become a memory,” Legaspi said. “The exhibit is a visual tribute to the women who fervently helped maintain harmony and sanity in our homes during the lockdown. It is a series of watercolor paintings illustrating the strength that these women displayed in solitude and silence.” ■

explained how it got the painting on loan, saying only that it came from a collection in Brazil.

Lawyers for Brokerarte Capital and its sole proprietor, Gustavo Soter of Brazil, said a deal had been reached with the other party. “Consistent with the confidential settlement, Brokerarte no longer seeks injunctive relief, and therefore, this appeal is moot,” lawyers said in a March 13 filing with the 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals.

The museum said it spent more than $100,000 defending itself in the litigation, which began in federal court in Detroit. It argued that a federal law governing the international sharing of art prevents courts from intervening. The US Justice Department took a similar position.

The museum still is concerned about the significance of the appeals court issuing an injunction in February. It wants the court to consider declaring the injunction “null and void” so it can’t be cited as a precedent in any future international art disputes. AP

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Don’t waste time when you can accomplish so much. Put your blinders on to help you ignore interference that comes your way, and allow yourself to focus on whatever carries you to your goal. A personal change will give you the edge you need in a competition. ★★★

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Keep your emotions out of the mix when dealing with professional situations. Protect your reputation by fulfilling your duties and keeping an open dialogue with your partners, peers and loved ones. Mix business with pleasure, and you’ll dominate what happens next.

★★

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): You’ll get the most done if you work alone. A home improvement project will pay off and put you in a better financial position. Let your creative imagination take over, and you’ll dazzle everyone with your comments or propositions. ★★★★★

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Don’t let anyone limit your achievements. Set your course and follow through. Build a solid foundation to satisfy your needs, regardless of what others do or say. Don’t let anyone disrupt your day or your plans. ★★★

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Stick close to home. Getting into a feud with a friend, relative or colleague will stop you from getting things done on time. Discipline will help you override any interference you encounter. Pay attention to your personal goals and update your image. ★★★

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Keep the momentum flowing and you’ll discover innovative ways to turn your attributes into a lucrative endeavor. Keeping a low profile and working alone will prove beneficial. Don’t present your plans until you are prepared and confident; you’ll achieve your desired results. ★★★★★

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Don’t get down; refuse to argue or let someone interfere with your plans. Working toward your goal will feed your imagination and encourage you to surpass your original objective. Believe in yourself and everything will fall into place. ★★

BIRTHDAY BABY:

You are outspoken, emotional and heroic. You are adaptable and pioneering.

‘reverse engineer’ BY ADAM SIMPSON

The

Crossword • Edited by David Steinberg/Anna Gundlach

VISITORS file past the Van Gogh painting Une Liseuse De Romans, also known as The Novel Reader, during the Van Gogh in America exhibit at the Detroit Institute of Arts, on January 11, 2023, in Detroit. AP

Show

‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ comes out blazing with $73.5M

By Jake Coyle

Press

The Associated

NEW YORK—John Wick: Chapter 4, the fourth installment in the Keanu Reeves assassin series, debuted with a franchisebest $73.5 million at the box office, according to studio estimates on Sunday.

The Lionsgate film, starring Reeves as the reluctant-but-not-that-reluctant killer John Wick, exceeded both expectations and previous opening weekends in the R-rated franchise. Since first launching in 2014 with John Wick ($14 million on its opening weekend), the Chad Stahelski-directed series has steadily grown as a ticket-seller with each sequel. The 2017 follow-up opened with $30.4 million, and the 2019 third chapter, Parabellum, debuted with $56.8 million.

But Chapter 4, running two hours and 49 minutes and costing at least $100 million to produce, is the biggest film yet in the once-lean action series. Critics also said it was a franchise high point, scoring 95 percent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. The film, which drew a 69 percent male audience, added $64 million overseas. It’s Lionsgate’s biggest success of the pandemic era.

“When you make a fourth in an action franchise, you have to expect it to go down. That is the nature of these franchises,” said Joe Drake, chairman of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group. “But we kept seeing signals and it was wonderful to see the movie they delivered. We saw the audience wanting more.”

Though John Wick has been bigger at the box office with each new release—an enviable and rare trajectory among Hollywood franchises—Chapter 4 brings some finality to Reeves’s character. The actor hasn’t entirely dismissed continuing the series, telling interviewers “never say never.”

Regardless, the franchise is set to keep humming. A spin-off titled Ballerina starring Ana de Armas and costarring Reeves has already been shot. The miniseries The Continental, with Mel Gibson, is upcoming on Peacock.

“Chad and Keanu have created this world and that

world continues to expand. I don’t know what all the edges of that world are, still,” said Drake. “As best they can, they’ll continue to try to seduce Keanu to come back and do things. He gets beat up in these shows. He really does. And at the end he’s like, ‘I’m not doing it anymore.’ Then you watch him sit in the theater and feel that audience.”

“So we’re going to continue to look for ways to meet that demand.”

The release of John Wick: Chapter 4, which included a surprise premiere at SXSW, was also bittersweet.

Lance Reddick, who plays the Continental Hotel concierge, Charon, in the films, unexpectedly died at the age of 60 a week before the film’s release.

But the success of John Wick: Chapter 4 adds to a strong start in 2023 for Hollywood. After ticket sales

Dingdong Dantes back on prime-time TV via ‘Royal Blood’

DINGDONG DANTES makes his biggest and highlyanticipated comeback to the small screen in the upcoming series Royal Blood.

From the creator of Widows’ Web, Ken de Leon, and the brilliant mind of RJ Nuevas, GMA Network presents another murder mystery drama that will surely keep viewers on the edge of their seats.

Royal Blood follows the story of Napoy (Dingdong), a loving single father who struggles to provide for his daughter’s needs by working as a motorcycle rider. He is also the bastard son of a business tycoon.

Despite facing financial problems, Napoy is able to provide for his child with the help of friends and neighbors. However, chaos begins when his estranged father suddenly appears and wants to make amends with him.

As Napoy enters the family of his rich father, he gets to know his half-siblings and discovers that being rich does not guarantee a perfect and happy life. Sooner or later, things become more complicated when their father is murdered and Napoy becomes the primary suspect.

rebounded to about 67 percent of pre-pandemic levels last year, the release lineup is steadier and more packed this year. Sequels have led the way, including Creed III and Scream VI. Ticket sales are up 28 percent from last year, according to data firm comScore. But there have been some exceptions. After its disappointing $30.5 million debut last weekend, the superhero sequel Shazam! Fury of the Gods slumped to second place with $9.7 million in its second weekend. The Warner Bros. release dropped steeply, tumbling 68 percent from its launch. Scream VI took third place with $8.4 million in its third weekend, bringing its total thus far to $90.4 million domestic and $139.3 million worldwide. Creed III followed in fourth with $8.4 million. Michael B. Jordan’s sequel is up to $140.9 million domestic. n

Serving a feast for the senses

ONE of the actors to watch out for in the GMA stable of Sparkle contract stars is the gorgeous Kirst Viray. A model and an athlete, Viray is also a restaurateur, being part owner of the hole in the wall Mangan-tila restaurant on Scout Torillo in Quezon City.

Viray told us that he always had that entrepreneurial spirit. “I have always been businessminded ever since I was in school. Up to now, I find ways on how to earn extra money. I would rent out a vacant room, I’d sell tickets for an event, little things like that. It has always been a dream for me to have my own restaurant and I am happy that I have seen this dream come true.”

A native of Pangasinan, Viray shared that “Mangan-tila” means “Let’s eat.” “It’s a place where nothing is ever formal, and friends and colleagues can gather and enjoy a good chat while having a sumptuous meal and a few drinks too!”

Most of Viray’s model and athlete friends hang out at the restaurant. And since he is now an actor (his last outing was in GMA’s Maria Clara at Ibarra), many showbiz personalities also drop by regularly to grab a quick bite or to chill after a day’s work at Mangan-tila. We learned that lovers Jak Roberto and Barbie Forteza also closed the place recently for a private event, for their close friends and guests to enjoy the feast Viray and his kitchen staff prepared for them.

When we dropped by a few days ago, there were quite a number of beautiful beings in Mangantila, true to what our friend told us when she recommended the place to us: All your senses will be covered when you go to Mangan-tila.

LUCKY 77

PRODUCER and businessman Rex Tiri might be in a semi-hibernation state as a movie producer for the past few years but he is very much on top of his restaurant Limbaga 77 Cafe & Restaurant, which recently opened a new branch at the Ayala Malls

TriNoma.

Invited to cut the ceremonial ribbon were celebrities Diego Loyzaga, Sylvia Sanchez and RJ Agustin of Firestarter Productions. Tiri was busy entertaining his other guests that included Julia Barretto, Jon Verzosa, Juan Carlos Galano, filmmaker Real Florido, and some media friends.

Tiri is the well-loved producer of films, like Deadma Walking, Bakwit Boys, Billie & Emma, Barbie: D’ Wonder Beki and Patay na si Hesus. He got burnt producing a movie where he was apparently duped by a nowdeceased loud and feisty filmmaker.

But like any strategic thinker, Tiri knows when to make his big moves, and the new Limbaga 77 Cafe & Restaurant in TriNoma is certainly one that will give him the lucky numbers.

A KAPAMPANGAN DELIGHT ON BIG SCREEN ONE of the more awaited entries in the coming Metro Manila Summer Film Festival is the movie Apag, which means feast in Kapampangan. Directed by Brillante Mendoza, it delves on the intricacies and complexities of two families in Pampanga that were involuntarily brought together by fate following a tragic road accident.

Leading the stellar cast of mostly Kapampangan actors is Coco Martin, who when he was still a

struggling newbie in 2005, got his first big film role via Mendoza’s Masahista. Martin’s character in Apag turns the world of these two families upside down when he ran away from the scene after killing the victim in a vehicular accident. Also in the cast are Lito Lapid, Jaclyn Jose, Gladys Reyes and Gina Pareño. Not many are aware that Martin was a replacement to Aljur Abrenica, who was supposed to play this central character of the movie. According to Mendoza, Abrenica backed out without giving any specific reason a few days before the team was supposed to start shooting the movie. “We panicked, but Coco came into the picture and he became a

How will the mystery unravel? Who among them is the real innocent and who will be judged guilty?

Completing the star-studded cast are Megan Young, Dion Ignacio, Mikael Daez, Lianne Valentin and Rhian Ramos. Introducing in the action-packed family drama is Miss Universe Philippines 2020 Rabiya Mateo together with Benjie Paras and Arthur Solinap. Playing a special and significant role in the program is multi-awarded actor Tirso Cruz III as Gustavo Royales, the rich and shrewd business tycoon and patriarch of the Royales family.

Royal Blood is made possible under the supervision of GMA SVP for entertainment group Lilybeth G. Rasonable, and directed by Dominic Zapata. More information is available at www.gmanetwork. com.

blessing in disguise,” remarked Mendoza.

For his part, Martin told us that it was an unplanned movie reunion with Mendoza. “Hindi po talaga ako kasali sa project. Nagkataon po na may Christmas break po ang Ang Probinsyano [the defunct ABS-CBN series that ran almost seven years], and nag-swak ang mga schedules kaya nakapag-shoot po ako ng eight days bilang kapalit ng original na aktor. I guess it was meant to be.”

Viewers will find out how the feast becomes an integral part of the movie’s narrative and what senses will be stirred by this family drama when it opens on Black Saturday next month.

FROM left: Kirst Viray, Rex Tiri and Coco Martin

KEANU REEVES as John Wick in a scene from John Wick 4.

FROM left: Arthur Solinap, Lianne Valentin, Dion Ignacio, Rhian Ramos, Tirso Cruz III, Dingdong

Dantes, Megan Young, Mikael Daez, Rabiya Mateo, and Benjie Paras.

Boutique airline Sunlight Air launches van transfer service from San Vicente Airport in Palawan

Ocampo and Manalo Law Firm on its 25th year: Technology and Productivity

FOR over 25 years, the Ocampo & Manalo Law Firm (OMLAW) has assisted numerous companies and organizations in achieving their business objectives and secure their place in their respective industries.

OMLAW recognizes that as the country and the world face new challenges, the environment is ripe for positive growth. Placing capable individuals in key government positions will improve the Philippines standing in the global community. Atty. Carlos T. Ocampo, founding partner of the firm, said that the firm is active in some professional associations whose purpose is legal and economic development. They hold events where they invite government officials from as high as the president to cabinet secretaries seeking to hold healthy exchange of ideas. Atty.

Ocampo stated that “there might not be direct involvement on the part of the firm or a formal relationship with the government agencies but we take an active role in making sure that the government is guided accordingly and going in the right direction.”

Managing Partner, Atty. Manolito A. Manalo stated that “as far as our involvement with the government is concerned we have been identified as stakeholders in certain practice areas and sectors. We would be asked to participate informally in policy formulation and suggest regulatory processes.”

For more than 25 years, the Ocampo & Manalo Law Firm has survived challenges and continues to be one of the country’s leading law offices. They share some of their practices.

“Work with consistency, this was what Atty. Ocampo has been telling me since I was a young lawyer,” Litigation Partner, Atty. Juan Victor Valdez said.

“The firm’s lawyers have proven their trustworthiness – their worth (even) in the most trying of times when we could

not see each other (during the pandemic). The firm started with a one day a week work schedule in the office upon our return from lockdown. We surmised that as long as the collective output does not suffer, it will be worth the gamble. We have been proven correct, the team seems to be happier without compromising productivity,” he said. Atty. Ocampo noted: “We help each other. Clients do not see what happens behind the scenes. There is checking and rechecking – collaboration.”

OMLAW has a strong mix of veteran and young lawyers in different areas of practice. “Every generation is different and no generation is better than the other. They just have different qualities about them. I attended a conference and the breakout sessions were with young lawyers. It was really refreshing to find out their view point on the practice – on dealing with clients,” Atty. Ocampo said. “If any firm will be successful, it will have to be by bringing together the different generations. Together, it is a potent team because the strengths of one generation will complement the other.

A key improvement in OMLAW operations is digitalization. “We realized

the potential in digitizing – not just to store information but to provide solutions with the use of platforms. Things are quicker, more accurate, and nimble. We can utilize information more effectively, while still looking for areas for improvement,” Atty. Ocampo said. “Unlike before where you have rows and rows of folders. To do everything manually would be unheard of nowadays. Now, by just leveraging on technology we can keep up with the best practices abroad. We can keep up with the demands and requirements of our clients abroad.”

Atty. Manalo adds a factor to their firm’s success, “We are just the right size. Over the years that is something that has served us really well, offered us some flexibility to make adjustments when necessary and this was easily met.”

Ocampo & Manalo Law Firm is a fullservice law firm celebrating its 25th year of legal service in the Philippines. The firm’s major practice areas are corporate law, commercial litigation, civil law, infrastructure and project development, transportation, project finance, intellectual property, energy, real estate and construction and mining, taxation, labor and employment, immigration, and international trade law.

Go Negosyo holds Women Entrepreneurship Summit in Parañaque to celebrate Women’s Month

GO Negosyo held the Women Entrepreneurship Summit last March 18, 2023, Saturday at the Ayala Malls Manila Bay in Parañaque City. Headlining the event was First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, while US Ambassador Marykay Carlson, Department of Trade and Industry Secretary Alfredo Pascual, Parañaque City Mayor Eric Olivarez, joined Go Negosyo Founder Joey Concepcion to welcome the nearly 1,000 women entrepreneurs who came to learn from seasoned entrepreneurs who spoke at the event.

“In the 17 years that we’ve worked closely with MSMEs, we found that women make the most resourceful, creative and determined entrepreneurs,” said Concepcion. “That’s why we make it a point, since early in Go Negosyo’s history, to always dedicate one of our events to honoring women entrepreneurs,” he said.

With the theme “Celebrating Inspiring Filipina Entrepreneurs,” the Women Summit 2023 soughy to highlight the role of women in various fields, including innovation, technology, trade, and business leadership, and recognize women who have excelled in these fields. The event was

also an opportunity to present successful business models that women can venture into and inspire the next generation of women entrepreneurs and leaders to pursue their dreams, build their businesses, and make a positive impact on society.

Fifteen outstanding Filipina entrepreneurs were awarded the Inspiring Filipina Entrepreneurship Award during the summit. The award is given to outstanding Filipina entrepreneurs who have demonstrated exceptional leadership and made meaningful impact in their communities. More than 200 outstanding women entrepreneurs have already been given the award since its inception.

Philippine Retailers Association President and Wilcon Depot SEVP Rosemarie Ong chaired this year’s Inspiring Filipina Awards, while ASEAN BAC Philippines and Go Negosyo Senior Adviser Josephine Romero will preside over the awarding ceremonies.

The Women Entrepreneurship Summit 2023 was also a day of insightful discussion and inspiring stories.

Discussing their journey in the maledominated world of tech were Angkas

founder Angeline Tham, Kumu VP and She Talks Asia co-Founder Victoria Herrera, GrowSari CMO Maimai Punzalan, and Kindred Health CEO

Jessica De Mesa.

Business-minded beauties Ms.

Universe 1969 Gloria Diaz and Ms. Universe Philippines (Agusan del Norte) Jannarie Zarzoso shared their entrepreneurial journeys in their postpageant life, while Amina AranazAlunan talked about being a first-mover in the fashion accessories business. Jessica Wilson of Sunnies Face gave her insights on what it takes to build a trusted brand, while content creator Nana Silayro talked about purpose and celebrating individuality, while celebrity mom Melai Cantiveros-Francisco held her own stand-up, inspirational talk before the audience.

Lydia’s Lechon founder Lydia de Roca, Ate Rica’s BacsilogOwner Rica Peñalosa, and mother-daughter tandem Mary Grace Dimacali and Marian Dimacali Calaquian of Mary Grace recounted what it took to succeed in the food business, while Eggluck owner Luck Pedro, House of Musa founder Gleizl Joy Soo, Arkat Lawanen Chair Amielyn Limbona and Something Nice CEO Rosanna Kabiling participated in a forum on what it takes to succeed as a woman entrepreneur, including. Livening things up was celebrity vlogger Macoy Dubs who gave talk in his “Lisa B.” persona about diversity and inclusivity.

Go Negosyo also conducted free entrepreneurship mentoring sessions simultaneously with the event, while sponsors who offered assistance on capital and access to markets were on hand, including Esquire Financing Inc., which offered interest-free loans of P50,000 to attendees of the Women Entrepreneurs Summit. The Women Summit 2023 was held in partnership with the US Embassy.

SAN Vicente is steadily growing in fame as one of Palawan’s premier vacation destinations thanks to its unspoiled environment, pristine beaches, cool waters, and strong waves. However, more than that, it’s also considered a more affordable entry point to El Nido, Palawan thanks to its proximity to the beloved location. To aid travelers who are looking to go to El Nido from San Vicente, Sunlight Air recently launched its van transfer services from San Vicente Airport.

While San Vicente is a worthy getaway location in its own right, it’s undeniable that some travelers use it as a gateway to the more popular destination of El Nido, which is only two hours away by van. However, it can sometimes be difficult to catch a ride to El Nido.

To rectify this, Sunlight Air has begun to offer van transfers to its passengers who are looking to visit El Nido from San Vicente through the “Easy Shuttle” service. With the Easy Shuttle service, Sunlight Air passengers who fly to San Vicente can easily hitch a ride to El Nido for a fee of P784 per pax, per way with a required minimum of four passengers

per group. To avail of the Easy Shuttle service, passengers need only visit http://sunlightair. ph/easy-shuttle. As only ten seats are available per flight, advanced bookings are required.

The Sunlight Air Easy Shuttle service was launched at the perfect time as it came only weeks after the airline relaunched its Manila to San Vicente flights to coincide with the 2nd Paragua Surfing Competition.

Sunlight Air is a boutique airline based in Manila. The airline flies to select island destinations within the country such as Coron (Busuanga), Camiguin, San Vicente, and Siargao, with seasonal flights to Puerto Princesa and Boracay (Caticlan). Flights are exclusively chartered by Asia Pacific Travel.

Reader’s Digest Trusted Brands Awards reveal the Brands, personalities Pinoys trust the most in 2023

and ultimately outstanding reliability and value. But this hard work pays off when a brand is recognised in the market as a Trusted Brand. Congratulations to all the brands celebrating success in this year’s Trusted Brands Awards,” says Reader’s Digest Editor-in-Chief, Louise Waterson.

THE survey results for the annual Reader’s Digest Trusted Brands Awards are in!

On Tuesday 14 April, 2023 the Reader’s Digest Trusted Brands Awards will be presented to winners gathered to celebrate at the Marco Polo Ortigas Manila Hotel at 7pm. Some of the country’s marketing leaders and captains of the industry will be in attendance to cheer on the success of those brands that hold the highest levels of consumer trust in the Philippines market today. These innovative brands not just engage with their customers but also consistently deliver on their promises, something that has earned their customers’ trust.

This year’s Awards is particularly special as it marks the 25th Anniversary Year of the Trusted Brands Survey.

For 25 consecutive years, the results of the Reader’s Digest Trusted Brands annual survey have highlighted the invaluable role trust plays in influencing consumer behaviour. Gaining and maintaining consumer trust has become increasingly challenging for brands, both established and newcomer companies. What’s more, it’s clear that a lack of trust or eroded trust in a brand can be catastrophic to a company. Brands that forget this risk losing their market share to new players.

“Today’s consumers have high expectations of the brands they purchase goods and services from – high quality must be matched with value for money. Gaining a consumer’s trust in your brand takes years of careful planning, product research, dedicated ongoing customer service,

The independently-conducted Trusted Brands survey appears exclusively in the April 2023 issue of the Philippines Reader’s Digest magazine. The research was conducted by leading research company, Catalyst, who surveyed 8,000 everyday consumers across the markets of the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Taiwan, asking each to identify which recognizable brands of products and services they trust the most.

Twenty-five years ago, Reader’s Digest launched the first Trusted Brands survey in Asia. Since then the survey has grown from 11 categories to today’s survey that covers 50 categories in the Philippines markets.

“The strength of our Trusted Brands survey lies in its longevity and consistent methodology. Over the years, it has helped countless brands understand what matters most to their customers. Earning the right to display a Trusted Brands Trustmark logo is a significant benchmark across the various industries surveyed as it identifies which brands and services, as well as personalities, local consumers trust the most,” said Reader’s Digest Asia-Pacific Retail and Advertising Sales Director Sheron White.

Also celebrating today is an elite group of individuals who have won the coveted awards in the Most Trusted categories of Radio Presenter (Mike Enriquez), Entertainment & Variety Presenter (Vice Ganda), TV Host For News & Current Affairs (Atom Araullo) and Sportsperson (Alyssa Valdez).

One of the highlights of the 2023 Reader’s Digest Trusted Brands awards is the list of most trusted personalities in the following categories: Most Trusted News Presenter; Most Trusted Radio Presenter; Most Trusted Variety/ Entertainment Presenter; and Most Trusted Sportsperson. The personalities that Filipinos put their trust in most were:

GREEN TECH FORUM. From left William Guido, Chairman and CEO-DB International, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista and Science and Technology Secretary Dr. Renato Solidum are seen together at the Sustainable Green Tech Forum with the theme “Building Sustainable Future Through Green Technology.” The forum was a gathering of like-minded individuals whose goal is to impress upon the industry the importance and urgency of incorporating sustainability in all business practices. Photo by: Nonie Reyes

Aging shadow fleet carrying Russian oil poses disaster risk

By Asad Zulfiqar

The 26-year-old vessel hasn’t had a full inspection since 2017, according to a database dedicated to promoting safe shipping. It also lacks industry standard insurance and sails under the flag of country with a poor standing for the oversight of maritime safety.

But rather than being steered onto a beach in Bangladesh, India or Pakistan for dismantling, the 1997-built tanker is collecting heavy fuel at the Russian port of St. Petersburg.

The aftermath of European Union sanctions on Russia mean that the Turba has been enlisted into a vast shadow fleet carrying Moscow’s oil around the globe. Its continued operation is a stark reminder that Group of Seven sanctions on Moscow carry an environmental risk.

The big concern is that some older vessels—the global fleet is now the oldest in almost two decades—may not be properly inspected and maintained, leading to a catastrophic accident at sea.

“They’re an environmental disaster waiting to happen,” said Lars Barstad, chief executive officer of the management unit of Frontline Plc, one of the largest

owners of supertankers.

In normal times, owners start to consider demolishing tankers when they’re about 15 years old. By year 20, the ships’ fate—to be sold for scrap—is usually sealed.

Right now, though, shipowners are squeezing a few more years out because there’s money to be made.

The sanctions imposed Dec. 5 are forcing vessels to sail thousands of miles further, boosting demand and freight rates.

Inspections

AT least 40 vessels hauling Russian oil to China and India between early December and early February lacked insurance from members of the International Group of P&I clubs or routine safety-management certificates, according to data from Equasis, the maritime safety database. Three, including the Turba, didn’t have something called classification that would demonstrate how seaworthy they are.

The Turba brings up uncomfortable memories of one of the worst oil spills from a tanker in European history. The tanker Prestige broke in half and leaked thousands of tons of heavy fuel oil onto the

coast of Spain in November 2002.

Seabirds and fisheries were decimated, and beaches in Spain and Portugal were ruined.

The Turba is the same age as the Prestige was, and it just collected the same type of cargo from the same Russian port, according to data from Kpler, a shipping analytics firm.

Russia’s Ministry of Transport, the nation’s Federal Agency for Maritime and River Transport, and Rosmorport, an entity that oversees port infrastructure, didn’t respond to e-mailed requests for comment. Spain’s merchant navy pointed out that it cannot control activity outside its territorial waters.

Good reasons

THERE are sound reasons for scrapping tankers by the time they’re 20. Often, it’s about the cost of trying to keep them in service as safety and maintenance requirements become more onerous.

But there is also the effect of years of pounding waves, saltwater corrosion and near-constant use that place a strain on hull integrity and propulsion systems.

Tankers normally receive inspections—known as special surveys—about every five years. By the fourth time around, the economics of continuing to trade diminish sharply. The surveys can cost $3 million to $4 million for big tankers, and they will then require an intermediate inspection about 2 1/2 years later.

Port authorities also tend to scrutinize older ships more closely. The increased expenses, and the lack of customers, would—in normal times—encourage owners to sell them for scrap.

“Everything needs looking at—steel, engine,” said Halvor Ellefsen, a shipbroker at Fearnleys Shipbrokers UK Ltd. who’s worked in the industry for almost four decades. “The older they are, the more they find.”

European cutoff

THE EU, for years the top buyer of Russian oil, banned almost all seaborne exports from its onetime trading partner and joined the G-7 in capping the price of Moscow’s crude at $60 a barrel. It’s still possible to transport Russian oil at prices above the threshold but not with Western services such as insurance, crewing, vessel classification, financing and transport.

The net effect has been an increase in long-distance deliveries to Russia’s big remaining markets in Asia and the creation of a shadow fleet of tankers operating outside the sphere of G-7 companies.

The traders and shipping firms doing these deals often have opaque ownership structures.

Last year saw a surge in sales to unknown buyers, with 100-plus oil and fuel tankers changing hands. Over the same period, there also was a sharp decline in the number being scrapped, according to Clarkson Research Services Ltd.,

a unit of the world’s oldest shipbroker.

Some of the aging ships are transferring their hazardous cargoes on the high seas, often in international waters off Greece or the Spanish exclave of Ceuta in North Africa.

“This is a huge environmental risk,” said Adi Imsirovic, a veteran oil trader who’s now director of the Surrey Clean Energy consultancy. “Tankers that should have been scrapped by now are doing loads of ship-to-ship transfers of millions of barrels of oil without proper insurance.”

The Turba recently transported Urals—Russia’s flagship crude grade—to India and loaded heavy fuel oil in the port of St. Petersburg, according to Kpler. If it sails to Asia, it will involve navigating the Baltic Sea and passing several European coastlines.

The Aframax-class vessel’s owner is Scoot Chartering Corp., which is registered in the Seychelles, according to IHS Maritime data compiled by Bloomberg. Its last class renewal survey was in 2017. Its class was withdrawn by Bureau Veritas in 2021, the Equasis database shows.

High risk

HALF-A-DOZEN tanker brokers and owners said they didn’t have a means to contact Scoot, which doesn’t appear on a Seychelles corporate register.

The tanker flies the flag of Cameroon, one of a handful of black-

listed countries under something called the Paris MOU, an international organization that promotes and coordinates safe shipping. It’s the only blacklisted nation that also has a “high risk” designation. Approval by a member of the International Association of Classification Societies—which the Turba lacks, according to Equasis—means an audited international body of surveyors will have checked a vessel to monitor that its hull is structurally sound, and its propulsion, steering and power systems are reliable and functional.

The average age of the tanker fleet is now 12 years, according to data from Clarkson. Almost a third of vessels are older than 15, and the ranks of aging vessels is forecast to expand rapidly in coming years, said Svein Moxnes Harfjeld, CEO of DHT Holdings, an oil tanker company.

Given the lack of clarity around ownership, it’s likely the new operators don’t have the same levels of experience and professionalism normally associated with the Russian fleet, Ben Luckock, co-head of oil trading at Trafigura Group, said at an FT Commodities Global Summit in Lausanne, Switzerland, this week.

“You’ve got a lot of 17-, 18- and 19-year-old boats transiting the Danish straits with the oil,” he said. “We have changed the logistics skillset around Russian oil in a very short period.” With assistance from Julian Lee, Alex Longley and Pius Lukong/ Bloomberg

All-electric building draws energy from 500 feet below Earth’s surface

By Will Wade

THE key to heating an 834unit apartment tower under construction on the Brooklyn waterfront will be a hole in the ground.

Actually, it will be 322 holes, each about 4 inches (10 centimeters) across and exactly 499 feet (152 meters) deep—any deeper and New York State would consider it a mining project. These holes comprise the heart of a geothermal heat-pump system that is expected to reduce carbon emissions by 53 percent over a comparable building using conventional heating and cooling systems. When complete in 2025, 1 Java Street will be one of the biggest US residential buildings using the technology.

Buildings account for about 8 percent of global carbon emissions, mostly from burning fossil fuels for heating, and heat pumps are widely seen as an important tool to make homes cleaner. Spending on residential heat-pump systems climbed 9.6 percent to $64.3 billion worldwide last year amid a growing push to electrify more of the international economy. The Brooklyn project will be an important test for Lendlease Corp., the Australian developer that’s building 1 Java and seeks to eventually eliminate emissions entirely from its global operations.

“We don’t want to use natural gas anymore, in any of our buildings,” said Sara Neff,

Lendlease’s head of sustainability for the Americas. If the system at 1 Java works out, the company plans to use more of them in future US projects.

Lendlease said its geothermal system will increase construction costs by about 6 percent, though it wouldn’t provide figures for the total budget. Part of that expense will be covered by a $4 million state grant.

Heat pumps work by shifting warmth between the inside and outside of a building, and can be used for both heating and cooling. The more common directair systems use an electric compressor that applies pressure to a liquid refrigerant within closed coils of piping, and has valves to release the pressure. In the summer, warm indoor air is cooled as heat energy is absorbed by the liquid, which evaporates into a gas. The compressor puts pressure on the gas, making it even hotter as it flows into outdoor coils. Air from outside then absorbs some of that heat energy as the refrigerant cools and condenses back into a liquid.

Valves reduce the pressure on the fluid, which cools even more as it flows back inside to repeat the cycle. In winter, the process runs in reverse; the key is that adjusting the pressure can make the fluid hotter than exterior air in the summer or cooler than the outdoors in the winter.

Geothermal systems use the same basic principles, but they rely on the fact that underground

temperatures stay around 55F (13C), no matter how hot or cold the air is above. In the summer, water mixed with an additive that inhibits freezing and corrosion is pumped down pipes into the boreholes, where it gets colder and is then brought up to cool the building. In frigid winter weather, the stable underground temperatures can bring the water temperature to 55F and then an electric heater makes it even warmer as it’s pumped through the building to provide heating.

The geothermal system is key to limiting energy use at 1 Java, which will be fully electric (including induction stoves). For water delivered to the apartments, the constant underground temperature will be used to bring it to 55F and an electric boiler will then make it hot enough for

showers and dishwashing. The 55-degree water in the closed-loop system will be used to regulate temperatures instead of electric air conditioners or gas heating.

Even though 1 Java will be more dependent on electricity than a conventional building, it will need less of it, said Scott Walsh, the project director. That’s because electric heat pumps are more energy-efficient than the heating and cooling systems widely used now. He expects to see more buildings using the technology amid a global push to shift away from fossil fuels.

“In a cold climate, an allelectric building isn’t financially feasible without a system like this,” Walsh said.

Geothermal systems tend to be significantly more expensive

than other heat pumps to install, and the excavation required makes them difficult to add in existing buildings.

Geothermal heat pumps are more common in large commercial buildings than single-family homes, and are becoming more popular with developers because the systems need less energy to operate than the direct-air version and are more cost-effective in the long run, said Lewis Williams, an analyst with BloombergNEF.

But the global fight to curb climate change is making all heat pumps more popular because they are all-electric and eliminate the need for gas heating. Spending on heat pumps has doubled since 2015, and government incentives, especially in Europe and the US, mean demand will continue to grow.

“Heat pumps are becoming a much bigger part of the solution for building decarbonization,” said Williams.

Utilities are also finding ways to use geothermal heat pumps on their grids.

National Grid announced one such project in September in Massachusetts, and Vermont Gas Systems Inc. is planning one as well. Late last year, New York regulators ordered the state’s biggest utilities to come up with their own plans to implement the technology.

In a suburb outside of Boston, Eversource Energy is installing a geothermal heat-pump system

that uses a networked design and will provide heating and cooling to 39 buildings in a single neighborhood. It’s the first US utility to try this approach, which is expected to reduce both customers’ bills and carbon emissions by not relying on natural gas or heating oil.

That project will link residential and commercial buildings, including some lowincome apartments, to more than 100 boreholes that go down as far as 600 feet. Each building will have its own heatpump device and the system is expected to go into service before the start of next winter’s heating season, said Nikki Bruno, vice president of clean technologies at Eversource. The effort is expected to cost $10 million to $12 million.

The system will use much less electricity for cooling than conventional air conditioners, lowering customers’ bills in the summer. In the winter, people who use gas heat will probably see some savings as well. About 24 percent of Massachusetts homes are heated by some type of fuel oil, and those customers will see more significant cost reductions, Bruno said. Eversource considers this a test and says it can’t yet provide more specific savings projections, but expects the average residential customer’s emissions to decline by about 60 percent.

“This is an energy-efficiency play,” said Bruno. “You’re reducing your overall demand.” Bloomberg News

THE oil tanker Turba normally should have been melted down by now.

WHEN completed, 1 Java Street will be one of the biggest US buildings using a geothermal heat-pump system. ISMAIL FERDOUS/BLOOMBERG

Barracuda bet, British athletes top

By Josef Ramos

age groups

JAILANI LAMANA of Tri-SND

Barracuda topped the 25 to 29 years old group while Great Britain dominated the 30-34 division of the Ironman 70.3 Davao at Azuela Cove marred by the death of a participant and a road mishap Sunday.

Lamana, 26, clocked four hours, one minute and 21 seconds to rule his age group with Abdul Rahman Toroganan (4:04:08) finishing second and Mohammad Hanin Maruhom (4:07:16) coming in third.

The Britons, on the other hand, ruled their side of the competition behind Chris Weeks (3:34:54) followed by Christopher Keyes (3:43:07) and Alex Woodman (3:43:23).

Kenneth Bonda clocked 3:59:09 to rule the 18-24 class over Loris Millot (4:03:56) and Jacob Rodriguez (4:06:49).

Meanwhile, the Ironman Group mourned the passing of swimming coach Jerry Kasim, who succumbed to heart attack during the swim course. He was 49.

“We are deeply saddened to confirm the death of a race participant at Ironman 70.3

Davao,” the organizing Ironman Group/Sunrise Events Inc. said in a social media post. “The athlete required medical attention during the swim portion of the race and was transported to a nearby hospital where he was treated. Our condolences go out to the athlete’s family and friends, whom we will continue to support,”

Kasim’s younger sister Sanita Kasim Soreny, a former national dragon boat team member now based in the United Kingdom, said her family was left surprised by his untimely passing because they were not aware of any heart-related disease he might have had.

American triathlete David Smith also reportedly hit an 18-year-old spectator, who was allegedly picking up empty water bottles dropped by participants,during the bike course.

Portugal’s Filipe Azevedo and Australia’s Sarah Crowley, meanwhile, topped the premier pro division.

P’Gazz eyes

PVL crown vs Creamline in Game 2

PETRO Gazz goes for the clincher against a Creamline side that’s not expected to merely roll over and die in Game 2 of the best-of-three Finals of the Premier Volleyball League All Filipino Conference Tuesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Yet both coaches—Petro Gazz’s Oliver Almadro and Creamline’s Sherwin Meneses— agree that the very limited window to tinker with the game plan favors the side with a better mindset.

“Prepare the mindset, prepare the body and everything follows,” said Almadro, whose Angels shocked the Cool Smashers and their legions of fans, 25-22, 24-26, 25-23, 26-24, in Game 1 only two nights ago in the same Pasay City arena.

“Only one day rest and it will all be about mindset for the next match,” Meneses said.

Petro Gazz goes for the title in the match set at 6:30 p.m. A deciding Game 3 is set Thursday.

“It will be tough to adjust—the training schedule—that’s why the mindset will come into play,” Meneses said. The multi-titled Meneses rued his wards’ erratic outing and stressed their need to focus on avoiding basic errors in service and net touch.

The Angels pounced on the Cool

AMBODIA beckons and the Philippines answers with a festive and highly-spirited leg of the Torch Relay for the 32nd Southeast Asian Games on Monday morning in Tagaytay City.

Cambodia’s Tourism Minister Hor Sarun first carried the golden torch of the first-time SEA Games host and passed it forward to Cambodian Ambassador to the Philippines Phan Peuv, who in turn handed the symbol of the games to Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) President Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino.

The setting was close to perfect—a cool and breezy morning for host mayor Tolentino in Tagaytay City which in 2019 played venue to the cycling and skateboarding competitions of the 30th SEA Games.

“We warmly welcome the SEA Games Torch which is now celebrating Cambodia’s first-time hosting of the games,” Tolentino said. “Just like in our SEA Games hosting in 2019, we value this celebration not only for sports but for peace and camaraderie in the region.”

The Torch Relay began on De los Reyes Avenue in front of the Tagaytay City BMX and Skate Park, traversed Mahogany Road and back to the same Start/Finish area via Isaac Tolentino Avenue.

Athletes in cycling, taekwondo, football, kickboxing and boxing carried the torch along with Philippine Paralymic Committee head Mike Barredo and Commissioner Walter Torres of the Philippine Sports Commission.

Chito Loyzaga, Team Philippines’ chef de mission to the Cambodia SEA Games, then carried the torch at the penultimate 14th station before the Cambodian delegation completed the ceremony to festive music provided by the Tagaytay City drum and bugle band.

The Cambodia SEA Games are set May 5 to 17 with the country fielding a slightly reduced delegation composed of 840 athletes competing in 608 events in 38 sports.

Cambodia’s motto for the Games “Live in Peace” jives with Tolentino’s outlook on the regional event.

“Everybody will be competing for medal, but that’s secondary. Building friendship among Southeast Asian nations is the primary objective of

CAMBODIA BECKONS WITH TORCH RELAY

B8 Tuesday, March 28, 2023

mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph

Editor: Jun Lomibao

Smashers’ 22 miscues, including the match-clinching net violation that somewhat gave the thrilling duel— spiked by fierce exchanges of attacks, digs and everything else—an anticlimactic ending.

Meneses, however, downplayed that last error, a crucial point that Petro Gazz gained on a net touch challenge.

“Breaks of the game. But that’s not the reason why we lost, we had several lapses,” he said.

The two-time PVL champion coach, however, remained confident that the Cool Smashers will go all-out to send the series into a deciding game and stay in the hunt for back-to-back championships in the centerpiece tournament of the league organized by Sports Vision.

Cambodia kicked off the Torch Relay last Wednesday at the World Heritage Site Angkor Wat in Siem Reap and

Batangas’s Daluz, 3 others shine in Golden Goggles

BATANGAS bet Clevic George Daluz scooped three gold medals at the Congress of Philippine Aquatics (COPA) Golden Goggles Leg 1 and 2 at the Teofilo Yldefonso pool inside the Rizal Memorial Sports Center Sunday to lead the race for the Most Outstanding Swimmer (MOS) Award.

Daluz, a first-grader at the Agustin Ramos Memorial Elementary School in Balayan, on Sunday topped the boy’s eight years old class in the 50 meters backstroke in 51.03 seconds and the 100m breaststroke

in 2:01.11 for a fitting follow up to his triumph in the 200m freestyle (3:36.78) in Lag 1 Saturday of the event powered by Speedo and supported by the Philippine Sports Commission and Milo. “I’m happy that I gave my team and my parents these medals,” said Daluz of the Balayan Tigers Swim Team. Daluz and the other triple gold medal winners—Marcus Pablo, John Rey Lee, Samantha Mia Mendoza and Jamie Aica Summer Sy—qualified for this August’s Luzon Championship where they will clash with the best

swimmers from the Visayas and Mindanao regional championship of the tournament organized by the COPA headed by swimming icon and Batangas First District Congressman Eric Buhain.

Pablo, who also won the boys seven-years- class 200m freestyle (4:14.17) on Saturday, topped the 50m back (1:00.01) and 100m breast (2:14.28); while Lee clinched top honors in the nine years old group after winning the 100m breast (2:10.26), 50m back (52.33) and  200m free (3:17.50).

passed on the flame to last year’s host Vietnam.

After the Philippines, the torch will travel to Brunei, Timor Leste, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand,

Myanmar and Laos before returning to Cambodia on April 27.

The torch is 75 cms tall and weights slightly over one kilo. The top of the torch was designed to reflect

the symbol of Romdoul, the Kingdom of Cambodia national flower and it’s plated with gold color to show that the Kingdom of Cambodia and it’s people has risen to the top.

‘Apoyari’ awards fete best players in PHL esports

By Henry Empeño

THE best players and movers today in the growing competitive gaming industry or esports received their rewards during the 2022 Philippine Esports Awards held at the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Science Amphitheater on Saturday night.

This was the first ever national esports awards ceremony to be presented by both private and government stakeholders to recognize excellence among Filipino talents, athletes and organizations that impact the growing local esports scene, said awards executive producer and director May-i Guia Padilla.

The top recipients of the awards

AN extensive list of prizes— including a brand-new Toyota Raize, a Mitsubishi Xpander and a cruise package—is at stake for holes-in-one when the Southwoods Invitational kicks off Wednesday at the Masters and Legends courses in Carmona, Cavite.

Toyota Silang (Cavite) and Alpine Motors Corp. put up a Toyota Raize 1.2 M/T and Mitsubishi Xpander GLS 1.5G 2WD A/T cars, respectively, while Royal Caribbean/Baron Travel is offering a seven-night Eastern Mediterranean Cruise onboard the Odyssey of the Seas, including two round-trip Manila-Rome-Manila tickets, for aces on designated holes of the Jack Nicklaus-designed courses. Klio International Marketing

included noted Mobile Legends

captain Jonmar “OhMyV33nus”

Villaluna, who was named 2022 Esports Athlete of the Year, an award given by co-presentor San Miguel Corporation; and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, for the 2022 Esports

Game Title of the Year.

OhMyV33nus emerged winner of the top prize despite heavy competition from fellow local gaming legends Karl “KarlTzy” Nepomuceno, Sean Khierby “Helios” Miranda Palisoc, Jessie Cristy “JessieVash” Cuyco, Danerie James “Wise Gaming” Del Rosario, Timothy “Tims” Randrup, and Jerrold “Woopiiee” Regay.

Cosplay and gaming star Alodia Gosengfiao, actress and cosplayer Myrtle Sarrosa, and actor Alden Richards were among the celebrity gamers recognized in the ceremony.

Gosengfiao was named “Content Creator of the Year”; Sarrosa bagged “Cosplayer of the Year”; and Richards took the “Community Positive Influencer of the Year” award.

The “Apoyari” awards, named after Philippine legend’s Apolaki and Mayari, son and daughter of Bathala, the creator of the world, were given out in three categories: talent, technical and gaming.

Aside from Gosegfiao, Sarrosa and Richards, the talent awards

went to Mika Fabella, who was cited as Journalist of the Year; Caisam “Wolf” Nopueto, Analyst of the Year; Justin “Vill” Villaseran and Allyza “TayRawr” Taylor, Color Casters of the Year; “Manjean” Faldas, Play-by-Play Caster of the Year; OhMyV33nus, Personality of the Year; and Blacklist International, Esports Organization of the Year.

The technical awards went to Overdrive Studios, Creative Team of the Year; Gariath Concepts, Production Team of the Year; and CONQuest Festival, held July 23 and 24, 2022 at the SMX Convention Center, which won as Event of the Year.

The awards in the gaming category went out to the top players in their own field: Danerie James “Wise Gaming” Del Rosario, who was named Pro Mobile Athlete of the Year; Kristoffer “Bon Chan” Ricaplaza of Blacklist International MLBB, Coach of the Year; Lee “Owl” Gonzales, also of Blacklist International MLBB, Esports Rookie of the Year; Riot Games, Game Publisher of the Year; Aljon “Shintarou” Cruzin, Pro Controller Athlete of the Year; Jessie Cristy “JessieVash” Cuyco of Team Secret Valorant, Pro PC Athlete of the Year; Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Game Title of the Year; and OhMyV33nus, Esports Athlete of the Year.

CALL of Duty Mobile talent Alliana “BeefMami” Liongson (left) shares the winning moment with (from left) award winners Myrtle Sarrosa, Alodia Gosengfiao and Alden Richards

Prizes galore for holes-in-one

Corp. is also staking a round trip ticket for two (Manila-Taipei-Manila) with hotel accommodation, while a smart vogue plus urban massage chair from Ogawa, and P100,000 worth of free bet certificates from Pagcor Casino Filipino are also up for grabs for hole-in-one feats in Manila Southwoods’ flagship tournament spread over four days.

A record cast is vying in this year’s edition of the annual member-guest tournament backed by year-round sponsor Royal Caribbean/Baron Travel, hole-in-one sponsors Ogawa, Alpine Motors Philippines, Toyota Silang, Pagcor Casino Filipino and Klio International, with 325 teams composed of 650 players clashing for top honors in various divisions.

To accommodate the huge number

of participants, organizers will conduct sequential tee times on both courses tomorrow and Friday at 6:20 a.m. and a shotgun start on Thursday and Saturday at 7:30 a.m. on Legends and 8 a.m. on Masters.

Play is Aggregate format at the Legends and Best Ball format at the Masters under the Stableford Points scoring system with applied course handicaps.

The platinum sponsors are The Turf Company Inc., CWC International Corp. and Newport World Resorts; while the gold sponsors are Agrexplore Corp., Alpha Quality (GFX) Leads Agriculture/Malveda Properties Development Corp., MikroTech Capital Inc./Capital One Energy Inc., The Manor and The Forest Lodge at Camp John Hay.

PHILIPPINE Olympic Committee President Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino (second from left) leads the Torch Relay with (from left) chef de mission Chito Loyzaga, Cambodia Ambassador to the Philippines Phan Peuv and Tourism Minister Hor Sarun.

PETRO GAZZ’S Jonah Sabete tries to beat the defense put up by Creamline’s Michelle Gumabao and Ced Domingo in this Game 1 action.