BusinessMirror March 30, 2023

THE Marcos administration was reminded to “proceed cautiously and prudently” in contemplating the merger of the Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) and Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), seen to create, if implemented, the largest bank in the Philippines.

Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros, citing a painful lesson from the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, argued that large banks are riskier, and tend to introduce more systemic risk into the fi nancial system. For his part, Minority Leader Koko Pimentel cautioned against

rushing the merger.

“Don’t rush as a lot of employees will be affected,” he said in an SMS to BM when sought for reaction to an announcement by Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, that no less than President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. himself is now pushing for the two banks’ merger, in order to create what is envisioned to be a big, stable bank that can carry out multiple mandates.

Hontiveros noted that the LandBank and DBP carry out separate, and distinct, mandates: the DBP serves industry by fi nancing infrastructure, logistics, and commerce. e LandBank, on the other hand, has been the primary institution mandated by the State to fi nance

the acquisition of land estates, and assist small farmers, fi sherfolk, and ARBs, among others.

“We have to understand exactly where the redundancies are and what efficiencies can be gained from this merger, and balance these against any risks that the merger may pose to the economy and fi nancial system,” Hontiveros said in a statement Wednesday.

She recalled that in 2016, this was why then-Budget Secretary Diokno, together with Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez, opposed the merger when it was proposed at that time. “What has changed since then?” she asked.

In 2016, even then-senator Marcos Jr. had opposed the merger, as Diokno himself recalled on

THEPhilippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) said it has recorded P12.537 billion worth of investments for the first quarter of 2023, a 53.99-percent increase from the P8.141 billion in approved investments recorded from the same period in 2022.

“ e Peza Board has approved a total of 42 new and expansion projects of ecozone locators and developer/operators for the fi rst quarter of the year, which are expected to bring more than P12 billion of investments,” Peza Director General Tereso O. Panga said in a statement on Wednesday.

“ is surge in investments that gained more than 50 percent in increase as compared to January to

‘Key Cabinet members back recasting of econ provisions’

TRADE Secretary Alfredo

E. Pascual underscored the role that infrastructure development plays in addressing transport and logistics constraints, energy supply shortages and connectivity issues, which he said “stifle” economic activities.

“ e development of robust infrastructure is the key to unlocking business opportunities and stimulating and sustaining economic growth,” Pascual said in his speech at the Urban Land Institute Philippines Conference on Wednesday.

By investing in high-quality infrastructure, the Trade chief said the country will not only

enhance its overall business environment “but also pave the way for increased investment.”

According to Pascual, as the Philippines moves toward “robust” economic expansion, it is now transitioning from a consumer-driven to an investmentled economy.

Connectivity, both physical and digital, is “integral” in pursuit of accelerating growth of investments and businesses and enhancing ease of doing business, he stressed. “Our national development plan highlights digital and physical connectivity as cru-

CABINET members have expressed support for the initiative of the House of Representatives to rewrite the Constitution’s “restrictive” economic provisions, a lawmaker claimed on Wednesday.

“We are encouraged by the statements/position papers of members of the President’s economic team and of the Cabinet who share our desire and goal for the country to attract more foreign investments through economic reform in the Constitution,” Rep. Rufus Rodriguez of the second district of Cagayan de Oro City said. e latest member of the

President’s economic team to support the House constitutional amendment push is Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, he said.

“We are heartened by Secretary Diokno’s supportive statement. He is an influential voice in the administration and in the business community,” Rodriguez added.

Moreover, the lawmaker cited the position papers presented to his committee by Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual, National Economic and Development Authority Director General Arsenio Balisacan, Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos, Social

Tuesday. At that time, Marcos Jr. was concerned about the possibly huge labor displacement among the two banks’ work forces. However, Diokno explained, nowPresident Marcos has changed his mind, after tracking international developments, including the spectacular collapse of three big banks in the west.

Hontiveros pointed out that the Governance Commission for Government-owned and -controlled corporations itself, the regulatory body established for the purpose of monitoring and exercising oversight over GOCCs such as the LandBank and DBP, has previously expressed doubts that the contem-

‘INFRA VITAL TO SOLVING KEY ECONOMIC ISSUES’

Infra...

Continued from A1

cial given our country’s archipelagic configuration,” he added.

Citing current efforts connecting “our ecozones, trade centers, and manufacturing and logistics hubs,” the Trade chief said this “should serve the needs of businesses locating in the Philippines.”

According to him, connecting urban centers and rural areas enable a “more balanced growth” among regions across the country.

“Building infrastructure enables us to address transport and logistics constraints, energy supply shortages and costs, and connectivity issues that stifle economic activities,” Pascual said.

He explained the advantages of having improved physical infrastructure, saying it “expands accessibility, drawing investors to previously underserved regions and driving inclusive growth.”

As the country aims to spread economic growth to these underserved areas, Pascual said infrastructure will “bridge gaps” in time and space, “facilitating the movement of people and goods, improving productivity, and making local production nationally and globally competitive.”

“Furthermore, infrastructure development balances growth opportunities across communities, enabling efficient social service delivery, job creation, and improved welfare,” the Trade chief also noted.

In bridging ecozones, trade centers and manufacturing and logistics hubs, Pascual cited the 147-kilometer North-South Commuter Railway, which “will seamlessly connect technology industrial sites in Calabarzon to Clark Airport, driving economic growth.”

In the country’s pursuit to drive inclusive growth in the countryside, the DTI chief also cited the Digital Cities Program, which he said aims to establish IT and Business Process Management (IT-BPM) locators in 31 cities across the country by 2025. Andrea E. San Juan

Curriculum needs revamp to keep pace with new tech, lure investors

By Andrea E. San Juan

“In the Philippines, we have a demographic dividend, the average age of our population being just 25 to 26 years old,” the Trade chief said. However, he said, while the country seems to have a “demographic advantage,” it is a challenge at the same time.

To harvest the demographic dividend, Pascual emphasized the need to train these young people.

“It is hard to change mindsets and policies, but we need to overhaul the educational curriculum to include the fundamentals of new technologies, so that the graduate

can be employable after completion of basic education,” Pascual told an international publication in an interview published on the Trade chief’s social media page on Wednesday.

“Unfortunately, today, a lot of graduates do not fit the requirements of industry and labor markets,” the Trade chief also noted.

Pascual also said there are “academics” who think they educate students for some other purpose, to be “good citizens.”

While this is part of educating students, the Trade chief said

“there are realities in the world,” which he said requires young people to be fit for specific jobs and in order to keep attracting foreign investors to the Philippines.

In August 2022, Pascual questioned the K to 12 education program, which he said is supposed to produce graduates who are “technologically and technically qualified to work.”

However, he said earlier this has not happened to a great extent for many reasons, including the availability of competent teachers. Pascual also noted, “it will take a long time for this to be solved.”

While awaiting reforms that would produce workers with digital skills, there could be a shortterm solution for the manpower shortage in the country, according to Pascual. “So, the shortcut is for companies themselves to do the training.”

“These days, the training they need is very focused; as long as you get a literate candidate for employment, you can provide intensive

training for a few weeks...focus only on the job to be done,” Pascual had said at the 43rd National Conference of Employers in August 2022.

The Trade chief said he would promote in the Philippines’s educational system the so-called “micro-credentialing,” a process where short courses only take a few weeks or few months focusing only on specific skills, which can then be the basis for hiring people.

Meanwhile, the Philippines Jobs report which was released by the World Bank last week noted that the education and skills development environment suggests that “the country has a long way to go to adapt to the global megatrends of Industrial 4.0.”

“It was only in 2017 that the K-12 reform, introduced in 2013, commenced implementation, and the expansion of tertiary education has been slow in spite of the increased number of individuals with secondary education,” the report also noted.

PEZA: Q1 INVESTMENTS SURGE 54% TO P12.5B

Continued from A1

March 2022 is an indication that we are on the right track in achieving our 10-percent target this

year,” Panga added.

The investment promotion agency said this comes after the PEZA Board approved last March 24 about 12 new and expansion

projects expected to bring in P2.343 billion worth of investments for the month of March alone. As to the breakdown of the 42 projects approved in the first quarter of 2023, Peza said 40 locator projects are expected to bring in P8.188-billion investments and two developer projects with P4.349 billion.

Meanwhile, these approved projects in the first quarter of 2023 are expected to generate US$616.585-million exports and 5,236 in direct employment, Peza noted.

In January, Peza said it approved P6.39 billion in investments while it approved P3.80 billion worth of investments in February 2023.

During the first quarter of 2022 or from January to March last year, Peza approved investments amounting to P8.141 billion which came from 29 new and expansion projects.

With the growth in investment approvals, the Peza chief expressed confidence that “we can sustain this momentum in the coming months as we expect more inbound delegations of foreign investors.”

“The best is yet to come as we further open up the economy and manage the external headwinds,” Panga added.

Meanwhile, Peza said its ecozone stakeholders welcome President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s appointment of a permanent

Senators caution vs rushing DBP-LBP union

Continued from A1

plated merger would produce a beneficial synergy.

The senator reminded the two institutions have very different mandates and very different client bases. “Bakit ipagsasama ang dalawang bangko na magkaiba ang misyon at layon [Why merge two banks with vastly different missions and objectives]?”

The DBP, because of the nature of its mandate, “has also been historically embroiled in controversies involving behest loans and other transactions tainted by undue influence and conflict-of-interest,” added Hontiveros. One such issue involved its funding facilities that were put up by government for the 2019 Southeast Asian Games. “Do we want to risk these same issues affecting LandBank?” the senator wondered aloud.

Director General after only having Panga as the agency’s Officer-inCharge since July 2022 by virtue of Memorandum Circulars 1 and 3.

Moving forward, the Peza chief divulged his plans and targets for the agency.

“We have taken the job seriously since the day we assumed as OIC. And now, with the stability as the Peza Head, we will go far with our targets to position the Philippines as the investment hub in Asia,” Panga said.

“We will be more proactive and agile to keep up with the demands of stakeholders,” he added.

The Peza chief said among the recent leads from new ecozone locator applicants and inbound investors’ delegations are into vaccine and life sciences sector, new wave of electric vehicle (EV) battery technology, motorcycle manufacturing, integrated circuit (IC) packaging and testing services, regenerative agriculture, organic fertilizers and pesticides, healthcare, deep learning, fintech, and “other frontier technologies.”

Panga said there are also leads from anaerobic waste water treatment and (liquefied natural gas) LNG facilities.

“These emerging technologies will complement the steady flow of investments in semicon-electronics manufacturing and IT services, which are the leading sectors in Peza,” Panga said.

“We need a bank that remains focused on agriculture because this is the sector that does not really interest private commercial banks,” Hontiveros said, adding that the merger “may result in funds being diverted to the more bankable commercial and industrial sectors already adequately served by the private sector.”

She continued: “At the end of the day, what is this merger truly for? Bakit gagawin ito? Sino ba ang makikinabang dito [Why do this? Who will gain from it]? Certainly not the employees, whose jobs are suddenly at risk,” she asked, adding: “I stand by the workers of the LandBank and the DBP who report that they have not been properly consulted about the merger.”

As it is, Hontiveros quoted the two banks’ workers as telling her that “personnel and operational issues from the LandBank and UCPB merger remain unresolved, and if this is true, these should be settled first before proceeding with this new merger.”

The senator added: “I am also preparing a resolution, for filing at the soonest possible time, to urge the Senate to safeguard the stability of the financial sector by exercising oversight over the proposed merger.”

CABINET MEMBERS BACK RECASTING OF ECON PROVISIONS’

Continued from A1

Welfare and Development Secretary Rex Gatchalian and Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo.

The five departments were among the agencies that the Rodriguez committee officially requested to present position papers on Charter Change in recent public hearings held at the House of Representatives.

The DTI headed by Pascual said enacted laws provide some space for liberalization in certain sectors of the economy such as foreign investment, retail trade and telecommunications.

“However, we note that several foreign equity restrictions are still enshrined in the Constitution, rather in an investment law or sectoral legislation, which actually makes economic reform more challenging...I think we’re the

only two countries [the other is Myanmar] that have economic restrictions, foreign [investment] limitations that are enshrined in the Constitution,” he said.

For his part, Balisacan said “NEDA would be open to revisiting or amending the restrictive economic provisions...in line with, of course, the goal of propelling our growth, projecting our global position upward.”

Abalos told the committee that his department has written its Core Constitutional Reform Handbook, which advocates Charter amendments, including “liberalizing citizenship-based restrictions on foreign direct investment.”

DSWD’s Gatchalian said, “we believe that amending the Constitution is timely and necessary, particularly the economic provisions that are already outdated and are no longer

in the context of the present economic situation.”

The DFA chief, moreover said during the hearing that “a lot of foreigners want to retire in our country, but they want to own their retirement home. They end up, more often than not, marrying a Filipina, as a workaround. They want to own an investment, it’s very difficult for them.”

Rodriguez said local governments grouped under Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines, led by Quirino Gov. Dakila Cua, have also supported the House initiative.

“Whether through the process of a constituent assembly or constitutional convention, we can clearly see that some changes are necessary to address the various challenges the country is facing,” Cua said in a position paper submitted to the House.

‘KEY

THE Philippines should “overhaul” the educational curriculum to keep up with new technologies and to keep attracting foreign investors, Trade Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual said.

58thAnvil Awards

PLDT SMART emerges as top winner in 58th Anvil Awards Gabi ng Parangal

By Anne Ruth Dela Cruz

THE 58th Anvil Awards Gabi ng Parangal took place last March 8, 2023 to recognize the Philippines’ most outstanding PR programs and tools at awarding rites at the Marriott Grand Ballroom, Newport Boulevard, Newport City Complex, Pasay City in the award’s first in-person ceremony since 2019.

This industry event and flagship program of the Public Relations Society of the Philippines (PRSP) brought together some 800 participants from the private sector, government, academe, and other allied industries.

The Grand Anvil Award was given to PLDT and Smart for their “Madiskarte Moms PH (MMPH)” campaign. An online community for aspiring, starting and experienced mompreneurs, MMPH aims to educate them on how to successfully start or grow their business; build a strong support system with like-minded moms in a safe online space and empower them to succeed in their entrepreneurial journey through technology and skills training in partnership with industry leaders.

Platinum Awardees

THE Bank of Philippine Islands bagged the Platinum Anvil Award under the Public Relations Tools Multimedia-Social Media Tool for the “Going Viral? Do It Yourself” campaign. Social media played a huge role in the 2022 elections and this became an opportunity for brands to be part of the conversation. A day after the April 18, 2022 election related press conference where then presidential candidate Iskho Moreno called on fellow candidate Leni Robredo to withdraw from the race, BPI made te word withdrawal a hot topic on social media. This provided the bank with the chance to capitalize on the trending topic while communicating a public service announcement

on how making cash withdrawals can be safe and secure. As a result, “Want to withdraw? Do it yourself” was born.

Under Public Relations Tools Multimedia –Online Video / Online News / Podcast, PLDT and Smart bagged the Platinum Anvil Award for “Usap Tayo.” an election campaign that cultivates the home as a safe space for honest conversations. The campaign also reminded families to find a common ground because at the end of the day, family is far more important than winning an argument over politics.

This year’s Company of the Year is PLDT Smart with one each Grand Anvil Award and Platinum Anvil Awards; nine Gold Anvil Awards and 15 Silver Anvil Awards. The Agency of the year, on the other hand, is 360. The agency bagged three Gold Anvil Awards and 17 Silver Anvil Awards.

Face-to-face awarding

“THIS year marks the return to face-to-face awarding after the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns,” 58th Anvil Awards Chair Georgina Banzon said. “We enjoyed the opportunity to honor works that best exemplify outstanding

synergies and impacts that rise above any difficulties. Thank you for joining us in our crusade for outstanding works.

The Gabi ng Parangal’s theme of “Isang Habi” or “One Weave” likens the process of weaving various fibers and materials into a beautiful fabric to the role that PR plans in bringing together diverse, relevant elements in PR programs and tools that enable positive action and sustainable change for the better.

This year’s Chairman of the Board of Jurors Is Dr. Jesli A. Lapus, a former Secretary of Trade and Education and presently an Independent Di-

NARZO WINS ANVIL ON MAIDEN ENTRY; GETS RECOGNIZED FOR NATIONWIDE INITIATIVE

rector of the Alliance Global Group. The other members of the Board of Jurors are Dr. Edna T. Bernabe, University Extension Coordinator, Polytechnic University of the Philippines Col -

By Anne Ruth Dela Cruz

AT the 58th Anvil Awards held March 8, 2023, narzo bagged its first-ever Silver Anvil for the entry titled “narzo Roundtable Series: An Inclusive Approach to BrandBuilding”. narzo Philippines won the accolade at only seven months old in its first attempt. Winning under the Special Events and Exhibits category, the award recognized narzo’s efforts back in September to October 2022 for a collaborative method that involved both Metro Manila and regional media in the brand’s drive towards a stronger nationwide presence. The Silver Anvil commends narzo “for effectively implementing an inclusive and collaborative approach to establish ties with media nationwide and extend its brand presence in key areas of the Philippines.”

“We are both grateful and honored to be recognized by the PRSP,” said entry proponent Carlo Nemo, narzo’s Public Relations Officer.

“Our entire team dedicates this victory to our media partners for their all-out support for our then-fledgling brand, and to the Filipino everyman that fuels narzo’s mission of bringing Quality Sulit devices in the budget segment.”

The Anvil Awards is annually presented by the Public Relations Society of the Philippines (PRSP), and is considered to be the highest symbol of excellence in the field of Public Relations. This year’s Filipiniana-themed awarding ceremony, dubbed Gabi ng Parangal, was centered around the concept of “Isang Habi”, or One Weave. It was held at the Manila Marriott Hotel in Newport, Pasay City.

narzo by the numbers

NEWS of the Anvil Award also coincided with narzo’s seventh month of brand presence in the Philippines. To date, narzo has six smartphone models in its Quality Sulit lineup: starting from the entry-level narzo 50i Prime (P4,499) all the way to the mid-range narzo 50 Pro 5G (P13,999).

The challenger brand also expanded rapidly to both offline and online platforms during its infancy period. As of March 2023, narzo already established a total of 64 physical stores nationwide, with more to follow throughout the year. Most notably, narzo has more branches in the provinces combined than in Metro Manila, enabling it to reach far-flung regions. narzo is also present on e-commerce platforms, including Shopee, Lazada, TikTok, Zalora, and SM Malls Online.

When it comes to social media, narzo recently gained over 36,000 followers on its official Facebook page and over 15,000 members on its growing online community. narzo has achieved multiple sold-out records on Double Digit and Payday Sales, and its models have been included in various Gaming and Budget year-end lists of media publications for 2022.

narzo is also the official smartphone partner of the PUBG Mobile City Tournament 2023, further strengthening its gaming affinity by connecting on-ground with avid mobile players this summer. The month-long gaming festival concludes this weekend, April 1 to 2, in Ayala Malls Glorietta for the NCR Grand Finals. Stay tuned and follow narzo’s official Facebook page for upcoming announcements.

lege of Communication; Dr. Prita Kemal Gani, President of ASEAN PR Network

MICE ready Marriott Hotel Manila wins first Anvil

By Candy P. Dalizon Contributor

YOUR special moments are worth celebrating. Three years ago, back to normal was something every person dreamed about month after month. People around the world experienced much loneliness during the pandemic due to uncertainty and changes such as lockdowns, social distancing, and the switch to online classes and remote work. To cope with loneliness, they found ways to gather and celebrate virtually, reaching family and friends through video conferencing and social media.

Now with eased restrictions and improved health outcomes, people can travel, spend time or gather with loved ones, and celebrate life again. Create great moments that surpass a lifetime - these are Marriott Moments. The campaign presented by Marriott Bonvoy— the hotel’s global loyalty program—led by Marriott Philippines was highlighted by a gathering of people and organizations to help the events industry bounce back from the ill effects of the pandemic.

The Marriott Moments campaign won a silver award during the 58th Anvil Awards’ Gabi ng Parangal under the category PR Tools – Special Event and Exhibit held at the Marriott Grand Ballroom on March 8, 2023. Marriott became the first hotel chain to receive such a recognition.

Presented annually by the Public Relations Society of the Philippines (PRSP), the Anvil Awards is dubbed the “Oscars of Public Relations” and is considered the symbol of excellence in Public Relations in the country.

The campaign had three major elements - Online, Onstage, and On ground. To boost its online presence, #MYMarriottMoments series, which is a showcase of real people sharing their memorable events held at Marriott Hotel Manila, was shared on the hotel’s official YouTube channel, sub-branded as My Favorite Travel Channel (MyFTC).

Onstage, the campaign featured “Marry Me at Marriott (8th edition)” at the Marriott Grand Ballroom, a by-invitation signature event featuring eight designers and six event stylists in one bridal fashion show. On ground, “Marriott Moments A Fair: Life’s Big Events Expo” was held to coincide with the launch of the MGBX convention center featuring top wedding and event suppliers.

MICE ready MGBX

In JULY 2022, Marriott opened and formally inaugurated its exhibition center called MGBX. This came seven years after it launched the Marriott Grand Ballroom (MGB).

MGBX is a 4,400 square meter convention space located at Level B1 of MGB. The “X” in its name stands for exhibition which also connotes “collaboration” and “partnership” where individuals, groups and industries can grow and unite.

“Since the launch of the Marriott Grand Ballroom in 2015 and prior to the start of the pandemic period, the growth in the scale and volume of MICE events in Metro Manila, was a great success story,” noted Bruce Winton, Multiproperty Vice President – The Philippines of Marriott International.

“We simply identified a growing need with an under-utilized space and made the de-

Receiving this prestigious award: Multi-property Vice President, Marriott International - The Philippines Bruce Winton (5th from left) and Marriott Hotel Manila, Sheraton Manila Hotel, and Courtyard by Marriott Iloilo Cluster Director of Marketing Communications Archie Nicasio (3rd from left); (L–R) Clark Marriott Marketing Communications Manager Jayvie Dizon; Cluster Marketing Communications Graphic Designer Diana Licop; Cluster Marketing Communications Manager Belle Cahulogan; The Westin Manila Marketing Communications Manager Meg Hernandez; Cluster Marketing Communications Assistant Christelle Tolisora; Cluster Marketing Communications Senior Graphic Designer Jaron Nepomuceno. cision to convert it into exhibit space to complement our abundant, luxury meeting spaces,” Winton said, adding that Newport World Resorts has always been geared towards building the concept of a one-stop, nonstop tourism destination.

MICE or Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions is an industry sector that brings together large groups of attendees for a particular purpose. MICE is an ever-growing part of the business tourism industry and an important contributor to the Philippines’ economy.

Last year was the start of revenge tourism. Families and friends were finally able to travel, albeit domestically, and enjoy a holiday together. This year, it is about restarting and boosting economic and tourism activities throughout the country through MICE.

Manila Marriott Hotel boasts a coveted location in Newport World Resorts, formerly Resorts World Manila.

Strategic location

SINCE Marriott is strategically located across NAIA Terminal 3, Winton said their source markets for MGB and MGBX “are primarily domestic corporate, association, government and social events nicely complemented by international corporate and MICE events mostly from ASEAN countries and some broader regional markets in Asia Pacific.”

“We have experienced some world class, large scale, international events and the hosting of the 2022 WTTC Global Summit not only brought positive attention to the Philippines as a destination but also highlighted our continued capability to execute at the highest level despite the setbacks of the pandemic period,” Winton noted.

“We are confident that as the sector rebounds that Manila, in particular, will capitalize on growing its share in the region as we continue to offer more and more top class facilities and improved transportation and tourism infrastructure,” he added.

Just recently, the biggest and long-awaited coffee expo dubbed “Manila Coffee Festival”

was held in MGBX putting the spotlight on the country’s coffee heritage, food, and subcultures. The festival brought together thousands of local and international coffee lovers, with a diverse range of exhibitors including coffee growers, baristas, roasters, café and restaurant owners, industry experts, innovators, food artisans, pottery and ceramic artisans, ecofriendly advocates, and more.

The festival also featured interactive workshops, engaging talks with coffee experts, live cultural performances, art exhibitions, and much more. MGBX is expected to host similar big exhibitions and various conferences that will cater to all kinds of interests in the future.

Regular meetings

WHILE the country has not yet fully recovered from the pandemic, Winton said that social and milestone events are in their peak and corporate meetings are catching up.

With more companies shifting from permanent to hybrid or work-from-home set ups, periodic, quarterly or annual get-togethers may just become more important. Online communication tools have indeed helped build strong virtual bonds, but still face-to-face conversations are not easy to replace. Now that things are back to normal, meetings with managers and coworkers in person and physical events are eagerly anticipated.

“We certainly hope so as the industry is such an important part of our economy. It makes such a huge impact on people’s lives, to the lives of our associates, our business partners, our communities and we are doing all we can to encourage the return of meetings and events,” Winton said.

Winton added that hosting meetings and events in Marriott can earn points and rewards through Marriott Bonvoy, the largest and most looked up travel program in the Industry.

“Not only can you have your fantastic milestone events but also get rewarded for doing them as well. This cuts across Marriott’s 30 brands in 140 countries and a growing members’ database of about 160 million,” Winton said.

From left are PRSP Adviser Norman Agatep; narzo Brand Representative Elaine Dela Cruz; narzo PR Carlo Nemo; realme and narzo Marketing VP Austine Huang; Ripple8 Managing Partner Michelle Orosa-Ople; Ripple8 Account Manager Shane Torres; and PRSP VP-External Lady Ochel Espinosa.

Photo courtesy of narzo PH.

The Nation

US to turn over 2 Cyclone-class patrol ships to Philippine Navy

By Rene Acosta @reneacostaBM

THE United States is expected to turn over to the Philippines two newly-decommissioned patrol craft under its foreign military sales (FMS) program, ramping up its support to its treaty ally and partner in Southeast Asia.

The Philippine Navy is seen to get hold of the

two Cyclone-class “patrol coastal” vessels, USS Monsoon (PC 4) and USS Chinook (PC 9), from the US Navy, following their decommissioning on Tuesday. The Chinook and Monsoon, the last two of the Cyclone-class ships in the service of the US Navy, were decommissioned by the US Navy’s 5th Fleet in Bahrain after nearly three decades of naval service.

No less than Capt.

Anthony Webber, commander of Task Force 55, which oversees the operations of the 5th Fleet’s surface forces, has disclosed the upcoming turnover of the two former warships to the Philippines, as reported by the US Naval Forces Central Command.

“I’m proud of our crews

for reaching this milestone and representing our nation and Navy with utmost pride and professionalism. I’m also proud that we are turning over great ships to our Philippine partners,” the Central Command quoted Webber as saying.

The decommissioning of the two former patrol coastal ships was attended by Philippine officials.

In 2011, the Philippines acquired a decommissioned Hamilton-class cutter from the United States Coast Guard and it has since become the Navy’s flagship, operating as BRP Gregorio del Pilar.

The announced delivery of the two patrol craft comes as Manila and Washington are revitalizing their defense and military alliance, which became moribund during the Duterte administration.

Currently, the US and the Philippines are holding the military exercise “Salaknib” in Central Luzon and will be staging the bigger exercise, Balikatan, next month.

By Lorenz S. Marasigan  @lorenzmarasigan

THE Land Transportation Office (LTO) has apprehended five suspected fixers in a district office, with its chief calling on the public to stop “patronizing the services of fixers” and emphasized that “it would be better to immediately report their illegal activities instead.”

According to LTO Chief Jay Art Tugade, the joint initiative with the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) arrested five suspects outside the LTO Novaliches District Office in Quezon City.

“There are people who pay fixers P10,500 for a student permit and yet they are not trained and educated enough on basic transport laws. This is a hazard for the public and these kinds of shortcuts may lead to accidents. We have to stop this practice,” Tugade said.

Earlier, the alleged fixers were caught in the act while making transactions with operatives who posed as individuals applying for student permits.

After the arrest of the alleged fixers, Tugade immediately went to the head of

the LTO Novaliches District and warned the latter of his liability for the proliferation of “fixers” outside his office.

Tugade also stressed that the head of the LTO Novaliches District Office may face not only administrative but also criminal liabilities if he is proven to be connected to the “fixers” operating outside his office.

“Aside from administrative liabilities, there are criminal liabilities that the district office may face if found guilty,” he said. “I will hold people accountable.”

Tugade also assured that measures to fully digitalize the agency and its services, which he instituted since he assumed office, are continuously being implemented—the goal of which is to make the transaction of services more efficient and more convenient for the public.

“The digitalization of the LTO is one of the initiatives that we are implementing to stop corruption and this despicable practice of fixers. We also believe that this will provide greater convenience to the motoring public when they transact with the agency,” Tugade said.

AMONTH after the sinking of the ill-fated MT Princess Empress off the coast of Oriental Mindoro, cause-oriented groups have bonded together and launched the “SOS: Stop the Oil Spill, Save Our Seas!” (SOS) to pool efforts in calling for immediate accountability and action on the oil spill.

The members of the coalition raised concern over the level of responses so far being led by the government.

“We, a collective of concerned and affected stakeholders, are very alarmed by the inadequate level of response afforded to this disaster. While government agencies have been taking action, it does not seem to be the prompt and coordinated response needed by this oil spill, which is already a disaster of national and international proportions. A tragedy of this scale —one that directly affects an estimated 36,000 families whose lives and livelihoods are interwoven into the health of our seas—must be met with the greatest possible action and highest standard for accountability of all involved actors,” the group said in a statement. The coalition lambasted the govern-

ment’s lack of transparency and urgency in oil spill containment efforts and investigations, increasing scope of affected seas and communities, insufficient action to ensure accountability and lingering silence on decisive and punitive actions to be taken against liable actors, lack of opportunities for the meaningful participation of stakeholders, and absence of any meaningful discourse on policy reforms needed to protect coastal and marine communities and biodiversity and to prevent future spills.

“The big problem now is the day-today food requirements [of the affected communities] and the lingering question of where can they get the money to buy food. Even the tourism industry is affected and it happened at a time when tourists are supposed to start coming.  This will no longer happen. What we want is concrete and quick action from the government, the owner of the vessel, and the charterer. There should be accountability for government officials who have been remiss of their duties,” Dindo Melaya, convenor of Koalisyon ng mga Mangingisdang Apektado ng Oil Spill said in a statement. Jonathan L. Mayuga

SolGen clarifies: PHL filing with ICC stands, awaiting final ruling continued from a12

Solicitor General Guevarra argued that the activities of Prosecutor Karim Khan in relation to his investigation into the country’s situation “would lack any legal foundation and encroach” on the  Philippines’s sovereignty.

On Tuesday, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights said the appeal filed by Manila “was a courteous assertion of our sovereignty, its denial has no binding effect.”

Sen. Francis N. Tolentino asserted that the Philippine government appeal  “will not clothe the International Criminal Court [ICC] with jurisdiction, as there was none in the first place. ICC should recognize the fundamental pillar of the international legal order, which is sovereignty.”

Labor hits ‘disengage’ line

MEANWHILE, the country’s largest labor coalition said the decision of President Marcos Jr. for the government to “disengage” from the ICC over the Hague-based body’s probe on local drugrelated killings was another blow to the country’s international reputation.

In a statement, the Nagkaisa Labor Coalition condemned the “parochial” decision of the President to cut any government contact or communication with the ICC.

Not only was the move an injustice for the victims of the killings, but it also put the country in a bad light for tolerating such crimes, said the alliance.

“The government’s decision to sever ties with the ICC is counterproductive as it sends a wrong message to the international community that justice prevailed under the previous administration,” Nagkaisa said.  “A transparent and impartial investigation by the ICC is crucial for ensuring justice for the victims and their families, as well as for preventing future human rights violations,” it added.

The ICC is currently seeking to investigate the over 6,000 “extra judicial killings” during the time of former President Rodrigo R. Duterte.  Marcos maintained the probe can no longer push through after the country left ICC jurisdiction in 2019.  The ICC’s insistence on looking into the killings was an attack on the country’s sovereignty, he said.

Nagkaisa, however, reiterated the country still has the obligation to cooperate with ICC since the covered killings happened between November 1, 2011 and March 16, 2019, while the country was still covered by the Rome Statute— the international treaty which created the ICC.  “The President should have acted [like] a real statesman by ditching his fear of offending a political ally rather than lose face before the international community,” Nagkaisa said.

During the 2022 elections, Vice President Sara Z. Duterte, the daughter of former president Duterte, was the running mate of Marcos.

LTO chief revives crackdown against driver’s license ‘fixers’

Coalition presses govt action, accountability as Oriental Mindoro oil slick spreads further

Road Safety

Road safety is paramount as travelers hit the road during the holiday break

By Rory Visco Contributor

WITH the onset of the dry season in the Philippines this year, and with a looming five-day holiday starting with the Holy Week that got extended up to April 10, expect more people to cash in on this. Many have already prepared what to do and where to go during the original four-day break, but with an added day of rest, expect more travelers to adjust their travel itineraqries.

The Department of Tourism (DOT) recognizes the incredible value of domestic tourism in supporting the local economy, and the agency continues to bolster its efforts to grow domestic tourism further. One such scheme is the crossprovince tourism circuits, which it hopes will be enhanced with the connectivity of destinations.

But the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) advised the public that planning for a trip for

that much-needed, stress-relieving break also includes observing road safety. This year, as restrictions to mobility continue to lessen, expect more people to trek to different destinations in the country. Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data revealed that an estimated 37.28 million traveled domestically in 2021. Though this is way off the pre-pandemic level of 122.12 million in 2019, expect this figure to continually surge this year. This is the reason why the two agencies emphasized to travelers

the value of keeping safe on the road. The Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) reported some time ago that road crashes in expressways grew over a three-year period, starting with 5,818 in 2016, then 7,960 the year after and 9,166 in 2018.

In Metro Manila, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), through its Metro Manila Accident Reporting and Analysis System (MMARAS) report for 2021, revealed that there were 58,447 incidents of road crashes, or about 160.12 cases happening daily.

LTO, LTFRB take road safety seriously THAT is why this upcoming Holy Week and dry season travels, the LTO will be placed on heightened alert starting March 31 until April 10, including weekends, with the “Oplan Biyaheng Ayos: Semana Santa and Summer Vacation 2023” where it will implement measures to ensure the safety of the public and motorists.

LTO Chief Jose Arturo “Jay Art” Tugade said the LTO is focused on overall road safety. It will conduct roadworthy inspections of public utility vehicles (PUVs), conduct random drug testing of PUV drivers and conductors, and will check land transport terminals and provide motorists with assis-

tance. LTO personnel will also be stationed to monitor major roads going out of the National Capital Region (NCR), plus terminals in all regions nationwide. “We will strictly enforce the LTO’s mandate under Republic Act 4136 or the ‘Land Transportation and Traffic Code’ and other similar laws. We will not hesitate to apprehend all violating motorists. We will make sure that the public’s observation of the Holy Week and their vacation will be smooth and safe that is why we urge the public to take utmost care and follow traffic laws for a hassle-free travel this year,” LTO Chief Tugade said.

On the part of the LTFRB, it issued Board Resolution No. 009 that amended the duration of the Special Permit for public utility buses (PUBs) for 2023 Holy Week, from the original April 2-11, 2023 to March 31 to April 17, 2023. The Special Permits are issued by the LTFRB to augment the number of PUBs that will ply provincial routes to service travelers going to the provinces to observe the long Holy Week and take that much-needed break to relax and reflect for emotional and spiritual nourishment.

LTFRB Chairman Teofilo Guadiz III said the extension of the Special Permits was necessary with the expected surge of travelers this year during the Holy Week so that

those going to the provinces are assured there are buses that will take them to their destination.

Aside from extending the duration of Special Permits, the LTFRB chief said its personnel in the NCR and regional offices nationwide will make the rounds of bus terminals to conduct rigorous inspections to check the roadworthiness of PUBs to assure road safety, anti-colorum operations, perform random drug testing of drivers and conductors and ensure that existing public health protocols remain observed.

Although it may be a little awkward to say, LTFRB Chairman Guadiz also encouraged the public who will use their own vehicles to remember the “BLOWBAGETS” (Battery, Lights, Oil, Water, Brake, Air, Gas, Engine, Tire, and Self) checklist so car problems won’t make motorists worry while traveling.

“We will make sure that our commuting public will enjoy a smooth travel experience this season wherever they are headed, and stick to our mandate of ensuring a safe, comfortable, and reliable public transportation system,” LTFRB Chief Guadiz emphasized.

Keep safe, everyone

BUSINESSMIRROR managed to collect some tips on safe road travel, whether short or long-distance,

that commuters may bear in mind for that trouble-free journey. Keeping—and maintaining— a safe distance between your vehicle and the one in front of you remains an effective safeguard against rearend collisions, where you have time to react, avoid contact/impact, and be safe overall.

Distractions, specifically your phone or even food, are dangerous so remove them so you can keep your eyes on the road and focus on your driving. Pull over so you can answer the call if it is an emergency.

Observe speed limits. These were put in place for motorists’ protection so don’t get caught with that urge to create your own “Fast and the Furious”-like scene, especially in accident-prone areas. Make sure you are in tip-top shape to always remain alert, especially when driving long distances. Being physically and even mentally well makes driving safer, and refrain from consuming alcoholic beverage. Remember the adage “if you drink, don’t drive; if you drive, don’t drink.” It remains to be a foolproof reminder to drivers.

Save your life and that of your passengers by always wearing your seat belts. Most fatalities in road crashes were those who failed to buckle up. It takes only a few seconds to strap on that safety belt so you can avoid a lifetime of regret, or even death.

A vehicle in tip-top shape, an alert and distraction-free driver and secure passengers, are some of the key ingredients to a safe travel. With thorough preparation, motorists can avoid dangerous road crashes and other mishaps so you arrive at your destination in the company of family and friends safe and sound.

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

AROUND 6,000 job opportunities will be opened during the two-day second nationwide Trabaho Turismo Asenso Philippines Tourism Job Fairs of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) this week.

Vittorio V. Vitug

In a Viber message, Bureau of Local Employment (BLE) Director Patrick P. Patriwirawan Jr. said they were able to solicit 5,686 job vacancies for the events.

The tourism sector-focused job fairs will be simultaneously held in Pampanga, Iloilo, and Cagayan de Oro on March 30 and 31, 2023.

Employers from the Hotel and

Accommodation Services, Retail, Manpower Services, Manufacturing, and Business Process Outsourcing sectors will also participate in the event.

The tourism job fairs were a result of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed by DOLE and the Department of Tourism (DOT) on August 30, 2022.

PBBM pushes perks for LGUs in implementation of PMNP

It aims “to sustain the continuous recovery efforts in the tourism sector, especially in light of the reopening of business establishments.”

During the first Trabaho Turismo Asenso Philippines Tourism Job Fair held last September, over 8,000 of the applicants were hired-on-the-spot or became near hires.

LGUs urged to help fund school feeding program

THE president of the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) urged local government leaders to help fund the school feeding program in their respective areas.

This, after the World Food Programme (WFP) found that only a little more than a quarter of Filipino schoolchildren are being covered by the program.

“I call on my fellow local leaders to help in funding the school feeding program.

Tulungan natin ang mga pamilya sa ating mga pamayanan na matustusan ang nutritional needs ng mga anak nila,” Quirino Governor Dax Cua said.

The WFP’s “State of School Feeding Worldwide 2022” report

revealed that only an estimated 27 percent or 3.5 million students in the Philippines benefited from government-led school meal programs in 2022.

The figures, however, also represent a significant increase from the 16 percent recorded in 2021 during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, where only 2.3 million students benefited from feeding programs.

Cua noted the role that local government units could play in supplementing the budget for feeding schoolchildren, especially after the Department of Education’s (DepEd)school feeding program was cut by half in 2022.

From P6 billion in 2021, the 2022 allocation for the program

THE Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) and the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) inaugurated a new fire sub-station in Pasig, marking a significant milestone in their joint efforts to strengthen emergency response and promote public safety.

The Meralco Rescue Fire Sub-station, located within the power distributor’s Ortigas headquarters, will serve as the power distributor’s fire emergency response center, training facility for firefighters and rescue teams, and adirect line of the BFP to Meralco’s System Control so that power can quickly be switched off in areas servicedby the distribution utility should these be hit by fire.

It will also house the Meralco Fire Brigade and its specialized equipment such as firetrucks, water tankers, rescue tenders, and rescue boats. The new substation complements the operations of BFP-Pasig and willserve not just the needs of Meralco but also that of nearby cities like Pasig and Mandaluyong.

Pasig City District Rep. Roman T. Romulo thanked Meralco and emphasized the

was P3.3 billion.

“Pwede nating punan ang pagkukulang sa pondo na ito para patuloy na magtagumpay ang programang ito. School feeding is a crucial intervention to ensure that children, especially those from poorer families, fulfill their nutritional requirements.”

“Kung nakakakain ng masustansiya ang mga bata, they can develop properly, at mabibigyan sila ng sapat na proteksyon laban sa sakit.

Every LGU [local government unit] has an incentive in ensuring this happens to ensure a healthy community,” Cua said.

The governor also said Vice President and DepEd Secretary Sara Duterte had also solicited

LGUs help in expanding the implementation of the program.

“Kung maaari daw sana, tulungan natin ang DepEd para gawing realidad na ‘all schoolchildren, every day’ ang school feeding program,” he said.

The WFP considers school feeding “one of the largest and most widespread social safety nets in the world,” and emphasized that school meals are a significant tool for the government to address malnutrition.

“We have been asking the national government for a greater role in nation-building. This is a great opportunity for us to pitch in and help in making a difference in the fight against malnutrition,” the governor said. Samuel

P. Medenilla

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said the government would be providing incentives to local government units (LGU) in implementing the provisions of the Philippine Multisectoral Nutrition Project (PMNP) to combat malnutrition in their localities.

In his speech during the launch of the PMNP on Wednesday at the Manila Hotel, the President said the measure would ensure the PMNP would be enforced at the grassroots level.

“The program will also incentivize the participating LGUs...And we were just having a very quick discussion about how that should be—how we can achieve that,” Marcos said.

The President noted how LGUs usually opt not to prioritize antimalnutrition initiatives due to lack of available capacity, ability, skills or manpower.

“So we have found a way to bring the LGUs in. Because it is without their partnership, we do not get to what is often referred to as the last mile,” Marcos said.

“And that is always the problem when you try to translate a program from the national level, a program of the national government, all the way down to the local government, down to the barangay level,” he added.

Multisector approach

THE PMNP, which was crafted with the funding aid from the World Bank, is a “multisectoral community par-

ticipatory approach,” which aims to address the “multi-faceted” problem of malnutrition.

Aside from LGUs, it would also be implemented by the Department of Health, Department of Social Welfare and Development, National Nutrition Council, and the Department of Science and Technology-Food and Nutrition Research Institute.

Among the interventions under the initiative are providing LGUs access to primary health-care support and nutrition services, including Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) services as well as access to clean water and sanitation, technical information, training and financing.

He stressed the importance of addressing malnutrition since it could have negative effects not only on the health of those affected by “stunting,” but also on the country’s socioeconomic development.

“Malnutrition is, in turn, linked to long-term adverse developmental impacts, taking its toll on our people’s learning ability, academic performance, all the way to productivity and employment opportunities— and it also carries with it hereditary implications,” Marcos said.

“Therefore, as we aim for food security, we must also pursue with the same vigor and consistency the remedies to this grave problem of [malnutrition].  In fact, whatever solutions we adopt in these two areas, they must be strategically related and mutually reinforcing,” it added.

We’d like to again thank Meralco, and we hope that you will never tire of helping and supporting the local and national government,” he said.

importance of the partnership between the government and the private sector to public service. “This firestation, along with the fire trucks, is a big help to our district.

“This will be of great help to the City of Pasig and the Bureau of Fire Protection,” concurred Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto, adding that Meralco’s fire brigade team is already joining emergency response activities of BFP-Pasig.

The construction of the fire sub-station is aligned with the memorandum of agreement signed by Meralco and BFP last year, through which they committed to collaborate to organize, train, and operationalize a fire

By Raadee S. Sausa @raadeeboy

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) and World Bank (WB) have discussed preparations for the DA–Philippine Rural Development Project Scale-Up (DA-PRDP Scale-Up) recently. DA Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban and World Bank (WB) Country Director to the Philippines Ndiamé Diop discussed the preparations for the project.

DA-PRDP National Project Director Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa and National Deputy Project Director Shandy Hubilla, presented the progress of the team on the preparation for the project appraisal.

Diop has expounded the importance of the timeline set by the WB for the DAPRDP Scale-Up.

“We’ve set this specific timeline so we can launch the PRDP Scale-Up by July and I can see that the PRDP team is doing very well in hitting the targets,” the WB director said.

Moreover, WB Task Team leader to the DA-PRDP Mio Takada thanked

brigade team based inside the Meralco Operating Center in a bid to help in immediately responding to fire incidents in the nearby communities and other slow-onset emergencies within Meralco’s franchise area. This will significantly contribute to the BFP’s goal of reaching the target firegrounds within the ideal response time of five to seven minutes.

BFP Chief Fire Director Louie S. Puracan, for his part, said: “We are very thankful for this partnership because this is a great example of a public and private collaboration. Fire prevention is everybody’s business. We hope that this new fire station will help us with our mandate to save lives and properties.”

Panganiban for his continuous guidance since the inception of the proposed PRDP Scale-Up.

“On behalf of the World Bank team, I thank you, Senior Undersecretary Panganiban, for your guidance since our very first meeting way back in September 2022,” he said.

“We’re preparing all the necessary paper works as we are very excited to start the implementation of the PRDP Scale-Up as soon as possible,” Takada added.

Meanwhile, WB Lead Urban Specialist Madhu Raghunath has raised the importance of the harmonization of the three WB-assisted DA projects currently on the way.

“We’re making sure that all project operation manuals of PRDP ScaleUp, Mindanao Inclusive Agriculture Development Project [MIADP], and Philippine Fisheries and Coastal Resiliency [FishCoRe] are harmonized to ensure that there will be no duplication of interventions and that the implementation of these three projects complement each other,” she said.

Myanmar junta dissolves Suu Kyi’s party, much of opposition

By Grant Peck The Associated Press

BANGKOK—Myanmar’s military government took another major step in its ongoing campaign to cripple its political opponents on Wednesday, dissolving dozens of opposition parties including that of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi for failing to meet a registration deadline ahead of elections.

say the charges were contrived to prevent her from participating in politics.

Kyaw Htwe, a member of the NLD’s Central Working Committee, told The Associated Press on Tuesday night that the party’s existence does not depend on what the military decides, and it “will exist as long as the people support it.”

His statement was a reference to a message Suu Kyi sent to her supporters through her lawyers in May 2021 when she appeared in court in person for the first time after the military seized power, She said “Since the NLD was founded for the people, the NLD will exist as long as the people exist.”

“The party will continue to fulfill the responsibilities entrusted by the people,” Kyaw Htwe said in a text message.

The army said it staged its 2021 takeover because of massive poll fraud, though independent election observers did not find any major irregularities. Some critics of Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, who led the takeover and is now Myanmar’s top leader, believe he acted because the vote thwarted his own political ambitions.

China threatens retaliation if Tsai and McCarthy meet

BEIJING—China has threatened “resolute countermeasures” over a planned meeting between Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and Speaker of the United States House Speaker Kevin McCarthy during an upcoming visit in Los Angeles by the head of the self-governing island democracy.

makes it difficult for opposition groups to mount a serious challenge to the army’s favored candidates. It sets conditions such as minimum levels of membership and candidates and offices that any party without the backing of the army and its cronies would find hard to meet, especially in the repressive political atmosphere.

The new law required existing political parties to re-apply for registration with the election commission by March 28.

Ninety parties ran in the 2020 election, of which just under half have been dissolved. The staterun Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper on Wednesday published the election commission’s list of 50 existing parties that had registered by the Tuesday deadline, and 40 that had not, meaning they would be dissolved as of Wednesday.

The surviving parties are unlikely to pose a meaningful electoral challenge to the junta: they won only a handful of seats in the 2020 election, and most will not mount national campaigns.

Diplomatic pressure against Taiwan has ramped up recently, with Beijing poaching its dwindling number of diplomatic allies while also sending military fighter jets flying toward the island on a near daily basis. Earlier this month, Honduras established diplomatic relations with China, leaving Taiwan with only 13 countries that recognize it as a sovereign state.

Tsai is scheduled to transit through New York on March 30 before heading to Guatemala and Belize. On April 5, she’s expected to stop in Los Angeles on her way back to Taiwan, at which time the meeting with McCarthy is tentatively scheduled.

Spokesperson for the Cabinet’s Taiwan Affairs Office Zhu Fenglian at a news conference Wednesday denounced Tsai’s stopover on her way to diplomatic allies in Central America and demanded that no US officials meet with her.

“We firmly oppose this and will take resolute countermeasures,” Zhu said. The US should “refrain from arranging Tsai Ing-wen’s transit visits and even contact with American officials, and take concrete actions to fulfill its solemn commitment not to support Taiwan independence,” she said.

Transit visits through the United States during broader international travel by the Taiwanese president have been routine over the years, senior US officials in Washington and Beijing have underscored to their Chinese counterparts.

In such unofficial visits in recent years, Tsai has met with members of Congress and the Taiwanese diaspora and has been welcomed by the chairperson of the American Institute in Taiwan, the US government-run nonprofit that carries out unofficial relations with Taiwan.

Tsai transited through the United States six times between 2016 and 2019 before slowing international travel with the coronavirus pandemic. In reaction to those visits, China lashed out rhetorically against the US and Taiwan.

However, the planned meeting with McCarthy has triggered fears of a heavyhanded Chinese reaction amid heightened frictions between Beijing and Washington over US support for Taiwan, trade and human rights issues.

led by Myanmar’s ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi was dissolved by the military-appointed election commission on Tuesday, March 28, 2023, because it declined to register for a planned general election it denounced as a sham. AP

Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, or NLD, was one of 40 parties ordered dissolved in an official announcement by the election commission published Wednesday in the state-controlled press. The NLD governed Myanmar with overwhelming majorities in Parliament from 2015 to 2021 before being overthrown by the military.

The NLD had already announced that it would not register, denouncing the promised polls as a sham.

The party, and other critics, say the still-unscheduled polls will be neither free nor fair in a militaryruled country that has shut free media and arrested most of the leaders of Suu Kyi’s party.

The NLD won a landslide victory in the November 2020 election, but in February 2021, the army blocked all elected lawmakers from taking their seats in Parliament and seized power, detaining top members of Suu Kyi’s government and party.

The army takeover was met with widespread popular opposition. After peaceful demonstrations were put down with lethal force, many opponents of military rule took up arms, and large parts of the country are embroiled in conflict.

Suu Kyi, 77, is serving prison sentences totaling 33 years after being convicted in a series of politically tainted prosecutions brought by the military. Her supporters

The new polls had been expected by the end of July, according to the army’s own plans. But in February, the military announced a six-month extension of its state of emergency, delaying the possible legal date for holding an election. It said security could not be assured. The military does not control large swaths of the country, where it faces widespread armed resistance to its rule.

“Amid the state oppression following the 2021 coup, no election can be credible, especially when much of the population sees a vote as a cynical attempt to supplant the landslide victory of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy in 2020,” said a report issued Tuesday by the Brussels-based International Crisis Group think tank.

“The polls will almost certainly intensify the post-coup conflict, as the regime seeks to force them through and resistance groups seek to disrupt them.”

The military government enacted a new political party registration law in January that

“Among these 63 parties, 12 parties will launch election campaigns across the nation and 51 parties only in one region or state,” the state-run paper reported.

The military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, which ran a distant second to the NLD in 2015 and 2020, registered again. The Shan Nationalities League for Democracy, and NLD ally that won the third largest number of seats in 2020, did not.

Thirteen new parties registered, and the announcement said the opportunity for new parties to register was still open.

The National League for Democracy was founded in 1988 in the wake of a failed uprising against military rule. It won a 1990 general election that was invalidated by the country’s military rulers. It was technically banned after it boycotted a 2010 election held under military auspices because it felt it was not free or fair, but was allowed to register when it agreed to run in 2011. It took power after a landslide victory in the 2015 general election.

Following a visit by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan in 2022, Beijing launched missiles over the area, deployed warships across the median line of the Taiwan Strait and carried out military exercises in a simulated blockade of the island. Beijing also suspended climate talks with the US and restricted military-to-military communication with the Pentagon.

McCarthy, R-Calif., has said he would meet with Tsai when she is in the US and has not ruled out the possibility of traveling to Taiwan in a show of support.

Beijing sees official American contact with Taiwan as encouragement to make the island’s decades-old de facto independence permanent, a step US leaders say they don’t support. Pelosi, D-Calif., was the highest-ranking elected American official to visit the island since then-Speaker Newt Gingrich in 1997. Under the “One China” policy, the US acknowledges Beijing’s view that it has sovereignty over Taiwan, but considers Taiwan’s status as unsettled. Taipei is an important partner for Washington in the Indo-Pacific.

US officials are increasingly worried about China attempting to make good on its long-stated goal of bringing Taiwan under its control by force if necessary. The sides split amid civil war in 1949 and Beijing sees US politicians conspiring with Tsai’s proindependence Democratic Progressive Party to make the separation permanent and stymy China’s rise as a global power.

The 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, which has governed US relations with the island, does not require Washington to step in militarily if China invades but makes it American policy to ensure Taiwan has the resources to defend itself and to prevent any unilateral change of status by Beijing.

Tensions spiked earlier this year when President Joe Biden ordered a Chinese spy balloon shot down after it traversed the continental United States. The Biden administration has also said US intelligence findings show that China is weighing sending arms to Russia for its ongoing war in Ukraine, but has no evidence Beijing has done so yet.

China, however, has provided Russia with an economic lifeline and political support, and President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping met in Moscow earlier this month. That was the first face-to-face meeting between the allies since before Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine more than a year ago.

The Biden administration postponed a planned visit to Beijing by Secretary of State Antony Blinken following the balloon controversy but has signaled it would like to get such a visit back on track. AP

38 DEAD IN MEXICO FIRE AFTER GUARDS DIDN’T LET MIGRANTS OUT

By Fabiola Sánchez & Morgan Lee

The Associated Press

IUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico—When smoke began billowing out of a migrant detention center in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez, Venezuelan migrant Viangly Infante Padrón was terrified because she knew her husband was still inside.

The father of her three children had been picked up by immigration agents earlier in the day, part of a recent crackdown that netted 67 other migrants, many of whom were asking for handouts or washing car windows at stoplights in this city across the Rio Grande from El Paso, Texas.

In moments of shock and horror, Infante Padrón recounted how she saw immigration agents rush out of the building after fire

started late Monday. Later came the migrants’ bodies carried out on stretchers, wrapped in foil blankets. The toll: 38 dead in all and 28 seriously injured, victims of a blaze apparently set in protest by the detainees themselves.

“I was desperate because I saw a dead body, a body, a body, and I didn’t see him anywhere,” Infante Padrón said of her husband, Eduard Caraballo López, who in the end survived with only light injuries, perhaps because he was

scheduled for release and was near a door.

But what she saw in those first minutes has become the center of a question much of Mexico is asking itself: Why didn’t authorities attempt to release the men—almost all from Guatemala, Honduras, Venezuela and El Salvador—before smoke filled the room and killed so many?

“There was smoke everywhere. The ones they let out were the women, and those

(employees) with immigration,” Infante Padrón said. “The men, they never took them out until the firefighters arrived.”

“They alone had the key,” Infante Padrón said. “The responsibility was theirs to open the bar doors and save those lives, regardless of whether there were detainees, regardless of whether they would run away, regardless of everything that happened. They had to save those lives.”

Immigration authorities said they released 15 women when the fire broke out, but have not explained why no men were released.

Surveillance video leaked Tuesday shows migrants, reportedly fearing they were about to be moved, placing foam mattresses against the bars of their detention cell and setting them on fire.

In the video, later confirmed by the government, two people dressed as guards rush into the camera frame, and at least one migrant appears by the metal gate on the other side. But the guards don’t appear to make any effort to open the cell doors and instead hurry away as billowing clouds of smoke fill the structure within seconds.

“What humanity do we have in our lives? What humanity have we built? Death, death, death,” thundered Bishop Mons. José Guadalupe Torres Campos at a Mass in memory

of the migrants.

Mexico’s National Immigration Institute, which ran the facility, said it was cooperating in the investigation. Guatemala has already said that many of the victims were its citizens, but full identification of the dead and injured remains incomplete.

US authorities have offered to help treat some of the 28 victims in critical or serious condition, most apparently from smoke inhalation.

For many, it the tragedy was the foreseeable result of a long series of decisions made by leaders in places like Venezuela and Central America, by immigration policymakers in Mexico and the United States, right down to residents in Ciudad Juarez complaining about the number of migrants asking for handouts at street corners.

“You could see it coming,” more than 30 migrant shelters and other advocacy organizations said in statement Tuesday. “Mexico’s immigration policy kills.”

Verza reported from Mexico City. Associated Press videojournalist Alicia Fernández and writers Guadalupe Peñuelas in Ciudad Juarez, Mark Stevenson in Mexico City, Sonia Pérez D. in Guatemala City and Elliot Spagat in San Diego contributed to this report

MYANMAR’S then leader Aung San Suu Kyi delivers a speech during a meeting on implementation of Myanmar Education Development in Naypyitaw, Myanmar on January 28, 2020. The political party

Is Kim ready to use nuclear weapons?

North Korea attacked South Korea on June 25, 1950, igniting the Korean War. the North aimed to conquer the South to unify Korea under the communist North Korean regime. Concerned that the Soviet Union and Communist China might have encouraged the invasion, President harry S. truman committed United States air, ground, and naval forces to the combined United Nations forces assisting the republic of Korea in its defense.

In the Philippines, prior to the outbreak of the Korean War, President Elpidio Quirino, through the insistent suggestion of UN President Carlos Romulo, sought to form a Pacific Pact and planned to invite Taiwan and South Korea to join the proposed Asian Conference. Neutralist countries India and Indonesia, however, prevailed. And they were dropped from the final list of participating nations.

Four months before the Korean War erupted, Quirino expressed his neutralist attitude to the press: “Let China go communist. Let Japan go communist. We don’t care. We will respect whatever form of government any of our Far Eastern neighbors choose to have.”

North Korea’s invasion of South Korea, however, hardened the Philippine stand against communism. On September 7, 1950, Republic Act 573, or the Philippine Military Aid to the UN Act, was signed into law, making possible the sending of a Filipino expeditionary force to South Korea to help repel the communist aggression. The country sent 7,420 soldiers to South Korea over a five-year period, among them the late President Fidel Ramos and two former ambassadors to South Korea, the late Col. Nicanor Jimenez and Gen. Ernesto Gidaya.

The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) is regarded as the cornerstone of the global nuclear non-proliferation regime and a vital foundation for the pursuit of nuclear disarmament. The accord seeks to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament.

Opened for signature in 1968, the Treaty entered into force in 1970. On May 11, 1995, the Treaty was extended indefinitely. A total of 191 countries signed the accord, including the five nuclear-weapon States—the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, and China.

North Korea joined the NPT in 1985 as a non-nuclear-weapon state. But it withdrew from the Treaty in 2003 and began developing nuclear weapons.

Pundits said North Korea’s withdrawal from the NPT and defiance of United Nations Security Council resolutions inevitably weakened the global restraints on the spread of nuclear weapons, including ballistic missiles. Today, North Korea’s long-range missiles and nuclear program represent the region’s most immediate security challenge.

From Bloomberg: “Leader Kim Jong Un said North Korea is ready to use nuclear weapons “anytime and anywhere,” delivering a new threat as a US aircraft carrier group arrives in South Korea. Kim made the comments while visiting a facility producing nuclear bombs, the official Korean Central News Agency reported on Tuesday. State media released images of Kim standing with military officials among his arsenal of warheads.”

“This is a significant size improvement over prior North Korean nuclear weapons, and possibly design advance,” George William Herbert, an adjunct professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, said on Twitter about the warheads shown in the photos released by the Kim government.

North Korea is estimated to have about 80 to 90 warheads, the Seoul-based Korea Institute for Defense Analyses said in a paper released in January, adding Kim was looking to have 100 to 300 over the long term. Among the new weapons that Kim recently rolled out include an underwater drone that reportedly can deliver a nuclear strike capable of causing a “radioactive tsunami.”

The Philippines, as an ally of South Korea and the United States, remains concerned and continues to condemn North Korea’s nuclear missile tests. Since 2006, the UN Security Council has passed nearly a dozen resolutions sanctioning North Korea for developing nuclear weapons.

Kim said he is ready to use nuclear weapons “anytime and anywhere”. If he starts an all-out war, the Philippines could be involved because of its close ties with the US and its obligations under two bilateral treaties. This 21st century war involving nuclear capable states would not be as bad as you think. It would be much, much worse than your worst nightmare.

Fears and closet monsters

John Mangun

OUTSIDE THE BOX

DUrINg his first inaugural speech in 1933, Franklin D. roosevelt said: “Let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is...fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.” those words were meant to sooth and inspire a nation in dire economic times and the worst depression in history.

Many of the issues we fondly identify as “problems”—and the fear that the discussions around those conversations try to create— are too often intellectual exercises and/or in furtherance of political agendas. Roosevelt cited “nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror.”

The actual problem is identifying what is real and what is a childhood monster-in-the-closet to which fear is unjustified.

Government debt is both a genuine concern and “fear itself.” Most people—and the experts have no desire to explain the truth—do not remotely understand sovereign debt.

If you fail to pay your car loan or

home mortgage, the lender will repossess or foreclose on your collateral. Loans to governments are not collateralized. Since 1980, Argentina has defaulted on its international debt six times, with Nigeria and Ecuador not far behind with five defaults each. But the Argentine presidential office/mansion is still the “Casa Rosada” and not the “Casa IMF.”

Further, unlike the loans you take out, government debt is never expected to be paid off...ever. The debt is always rolled over as long as the debt service, the interest payments, are paid in full and on time.

Philippine government debt increased substantially during the

lockdowns and the wailing about it is deafening. I wonder if the same people that were crying “more ayuda! more ayuda!” are the same ones crying now about the debt?

If I offered to loan you P10 million, payable whenever if at all (your choice) and at 3 percent interest, would that be a good deal? The Philippine government’s total foreign and domestic debt service in 2021 was 2.992 percent of Gross National Income. In 2004 it was 11.1 percent of GNI, and in 2015 it was 3.1 percent. In 2021, the government paid P1.2 trillion in debt repayments including principal. Interest payment (percent of revenue) in 2015 was 13.3 percent, slightly lower than currently.

Personally, I will not borrow (except for credit card zero interest) and I hate government debt. Unfortunately, “The People” also hate paying enough taxes to pay all the bills. Using the excuse that taxes are unfair because there is government waste and corruption is ridiculous. Department stores add 5-10 percent to their prices to cover shoplifting and employee theft. Complain the next time you go to the mall. There are other issues that are discussed that have only peripheral consequence to the Philippines, the US dollar as the global reserve cur-

rency being one.

“A reserve currency is a foreign currency held in significant quantities by central banks as part of their foreign exchange reserves.” That’s it. The USD is not ordained as “God’s Own Money.” It is most widely held because there is more of it than any other and the US can be relied upon not to demonetize. You can buy a beer in Botswana—and every other place else on earth—with a “Benjamin.” The same cannot be said of a “Mao.”

A “trade currency” is what is used to settle international buying and selling and the US dollar is the most widely accepted by a wide margin.

Why? China may use the renminbi to buy oil from Saudi Arabia. But what is Saudi going to do with all those yuan?

Buy Chinese chopsticks and pork?

The central banks will decide which “reserve currency” they want to hold and if they eventually choose the yuan, so be it. In the meantime and separately, the USD is the trade currency and will be as long as goods and services sellers and buyers find more business use for USD than the CNY. I prefer PHP, of course. E-mail me at mangun@gmail.com. Follow me on Twitter @mangunonmarkets. PSE stock-market information and technical analysis provided by AAA Southeast Equities Inc.

Macron’s allies fear street violence is spiraling out of control

By Ania Nussbaum | Bloomberg Opinion

the escalation of violence in cities across France is spreading alarm through President emmanuel Macron’s coalition, with some leading supporters fretting that the situation is spinning out of control.

Macron’s allies in the National Assembly are still backing his controversial pension reform but several of them are urging the president to find a way to take the heat out of demonstrations. With increasing numbers of police confronting protesters on the streets, they are worried that someone could be killed, unleashing a new wave of anger.

“We’re heading into unknown territory and each step brings us closer to a disaster and a possible deadly incident,” said Eric Bothorel, a lawmaker in Macron’s Renaissance party from Brittany. “The most urgent priority is de-escalating violence.”

One option would be to hit pause on the pension legislation, giving Macron the opportunity to re-start discussions with moderate unions on labor conditions, and broaden the focus to education and health issues, in line with demonstrators’ demands, said economist Philippe Aghion, who has been a driving force behind Macron’s policies including his pensions overhaul.

“I’m in favor of putting the reform on hold — that would clear the air,”

said Aghion, a former Harvard University professor. “Letting things rot is not a good strategy.”

Bothorel said that pausing the reform would allow both Macron and unions to save face. “Emmanuel Macron cannot come out of this humiliated, abandoning his reform, and unions cannot be humiliated either, we can’t give the impression that we despise them,” said Bothorel, who as a former Socialist embodies Macron’s attempt to govern beyond party lines.

Hundreds of people have been arrested since the beginning of March. Human rights NGOs like Amnesty International have accused the government of excessive use of force and abusive arrests. Images of special brigades hitting peaceful demonstrators with clubs have become viral, along with images of protesters setting garbage on fire, looting supermarkets, throwing Molotov cocktails at the police and storming banks.

The level of violence has gained momentum since Macron’s government used a constitutional provision to bypass a parliament vote that he

was set to lose earlier this month.

So far, Macron is standing firm. For the president, putting the reform on hold for a couple of months would amount to killing it, according to a government adviser. Given the number of youths joining the street protests, he is considering new proposals on issues involving young people, climate change and purchasing power, the adviser said.

Awaiting a verdict

M ACRON is ready to speak directly to labor representatives once the Constitutional Council has ruled on the conformity of the bill, government spokesman Olivier Veran said Tuesday. The Council has until April 20 to reach its verdict. Macron has so far ruled out any concessions to unions.

Macron said last week he hoped that calm would return by the summer. He’s ignoring a call from the moderate CFDT union to drop, at least temporarily, the retirement age measure.

Backing down would raise questions over Macron’s pledge to balance the books and spur the labor market with pro-business reforms.

The French Pension Advisory Council estimated the current system could cost the public finances at least 0.5% of GDP annually over the coming decade.

Meanwhile, lawmakers are in-

creasingly being targeted. Bothorel’s office was tagged with threats. Protesters broke the windows of the office of Eric Ciotti, the head of the conservative Republicans, in Nice. He’d urged his party members to back the pension reform.

Guillaume Gouffier-Cha, another lawmaker from Macron’s party, filed a complaint after his office was tagged with the drawing of a hanged man. Back in 2020, he saw Macron’s initial pension reform project—which Gouffier-Cha himself was shepherding through the lower house—abandoned after months of protests. At the time, Macron cited the need to focus on the Covid-19 pandemic.

‘Deaf and blind’

T ODAY, Gouffier-Cha wants the country to reform its institutions to allow more dialogs, and urges the government to hear the discontent.

“We can’t remain deaf and blind,” he said. Government spokesman Veran has acknowledged that bypassing parliament, where Macron lost his absolute majority in elections last year, has irked many demonstrators, especially younger ones. During a party meeting in Paris on Saturday, former premier Edouard Philippe said Macron’s coalition should “not just inform others of what we must do, but also come together to think things through.”

By Dasha Litvinova | The Associated Press

TALLINN, Estonia—A Russian court on Tuesday convicted a single father over social media posts critical of the war in Ukraine and sentenced him to two years in prison — a case brought against him after his daughter’s drawing at school opposed the invasion, according to his lawyer and activists.

But Alexei Moskalyov fled house arrest before his verdict was delivered in his Russian hometown of Yefremov and is at large, court officials said. His 13-year-old daughter Maria, who has been taken from him by the authorities, wrote him a supportive letter for his trial from the orphanage where she is living, according to his lawyer, telling him, “Daddy, you’re my hero.”

Moskalyov’s case has drawn international attention and was a grim reminder that the Kremlin is intensifying its crackdown on dissent, targeting more people and handing out harsher punishments for any criticism of the war. The broad government campaign of repression has been unseen since the Soviet era.

Moskalyov, 54, was accused of repeatedly discrediting the Russian army, a criminal offense in accordance to a law Russian authorities adopted shortly after sending troops into Ukraine.

He was indicted for a series of social media posts about Russian atrocities in Ukraine and referencing the “terrorist” regime in Moscow that he insists he didn’t make. But, according to his lawyer and activists who supported him throughout the case and trial, his troubles started last spring after his 13-year-old daughter, Maria, drew an antiwar picture at Yefremov School No. 9 that depicted missiles flying over a Russian flag at a woman and child and said, “Glory to Ukraine.”

In April 2022, Moskalyov was fined for critical comments on social media. His apartment was raided in December and a criminal case was opened against him this month. He was placed under house arrest and his daughter was placed into the orphanage.

At the trial, which concluded in one day on Monday, three teachers and the director of Maria’s school testified that they found Moskalyov’s “discrediting” social media posts at random and that Maria’s drawing had nothing to do with the case — contradicting the accounts of his lawyer and other supporters. Men in military uniforms and medals showed up at the courthouse Monday, apparently in support of the authorities.

Moskalyov rejected the accusations and insisted he had nothing to do with the social media posts in question.

In a short closing statement, Moskalyov said he was “against” what the Kremlin insists on calling a “special military operation.”

“How can one feel about death, about people who are dying? Adults are dying, children.... Only negatively —how else can one feel about a war?” he was quoted as saying by Russia’s independent news site Mediazona.

Court officials said Moskalyov fled house arrest overnight from his apartment in Yefremov, about 300 kilometers (about 186 miles) south of Moscow and a similar distance north of the Ukrainian border. He had been wearing a bracelet that tracked his movements but apparently had taken it off.

When an official announced in court Tuesday that Moskalyov had fled, some in attendance shouted, “Bravo!”

Moskalyov’s lawyer Vladimir Biliyenko said he learned of his client’s disappearance at the hearing. Moskalyov was scheduled to appear in court again next week on a petition to restrict his parental rights.

Biliyenko told The Associated Press the authorities’ petition to restrict Moskalyov’s parental rights was based almost solely on his po -

litical views and his prosecution for discrediting the army, which they said posed a threat to his daughter.

The officials have also accused Moskalyov of being a negligent parent because Maria stopped attending school after her drawing was reported to the police and she was questioned. According to Biliyenko and Moskalyov’s supporters, she was scared to go back after that and studied at home.

The lawyer described the prosecution of Moskalyov as “bullying of the family.”

The lawyer visited Maria in the orphanage Tuesday and told reporters that while he wasn’t able to see her, local administrators allowed him to photograph a letter she wrote to her father, which ended with, “Daddy, you’re my hero.” Biliyenko also was given two drawings Maria made, depicting a dog and rabbits.

Olga Podolskaya, a member of Yefremov’s municipal council who has been helping Moskalyov, told AP that father and the daughter clearly love each other, and the decision to take Maria away was politically motivated. Maria’s mother left when the girl was 3 and has another family in a different city, Podolskaya told AP by phone.

Podolskaya said the news that Moskalyov escaped house arrest shocked her.

“We’re all really worried, including Alexei’s lawyer,” she said, adding that the hope now was for other relatives to seek custody of Maria.

Biliyenko said after the hearing that he tried calling Moskalyov after his visit to the orphanage, but he wasn’t answering his phone. “I thought that he was being brought here (to the courthouse), because they usually arrive in advance,” he said.

Russian human rights activists say the Kremlin has ramped up pressure on those who disagree with the war. The OVD-Info rights group that tracks political cases and provides legal aid this month has registered an increase in prison sentences for people prosecuted for their antiwar stance, said Daria Korolenko, the group’s lawyer and analyst.

“Repressions are picking up speed,” Korolenko told AP in a phone interview, adding that the numbers are expected to continue growing.

Also on Tuesday, a court in St. Petersburg continued a hearing in the case against Irina Tsibaneva, 60, who is charged with desecrating a grave. In October she left a note on the grave of President Vladimir Putin’s parents that said, among other things: “You raised a monster and a killer.” She faces up to five years in prison if convicted.

Earlier this month, a court in the nearby region of Tver sentenced a married couple to 6 1/2 and 7 years in prison on charges of vandalism and spreading false information about the army. According to OVD-Info, Alexander Martynov and Lyudmila Razumova were charged after critical social media posts and antiwar and antigovernment slogans they allegedly wrote on buildings.

In Moscow last week, police raided two bars suspected of raising funds for Ukraine’s military. According to media reports, police played patriotic songs and forced the guests to sing along during the raid. At least 40 people were briefly detained.

Another recent raid in the capital targeted an event dedicated to the jailed artist Sasha Skochilenko, who is on trial for spreading false information about the army. The event’s participants reported being beaten by police or threatened with rape.

By Josh Boak And Hannah Fingerhut | The Associated Press

WASHINGTON—In

Russia convicts father of teen who drew antiwar picture Poll: Cut federal spending–but not big-ticket programs

the federal budget standoff, the majority of US adults are asking lawmakers to pull off the impossible: Cut the overall size of government, but also devote more money to the most popular and expensive programs.

Six in 10 US adults say the government spends too much money. But majorities also favor more funding for infrastructure, health care and Social Security—the kind of commitments that would make efforts to shrink the government unworkable and politically risky ahead of the 2024 elections.

These findings from a new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research show just how messy the financial tug-of-war between President Joe Biden and House Republicans could be. At stake is the full faith and credit of the federal government, which could default on its obligations unless there is a deal this summer to raise or suspend the limit on the government’s borrowing authority.

Biden this month proposed a budget that would trim deficits by nearly $3 trillion over 10 years, but his plan contains a mix of tax increases on the wealthy and new spending that led GOP lawmakers to declare it dead on arrival. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., is insisting on budget talks with the White House but has not produced a plan of his own to cut deficits, which Biden has said is a prerequisite for negotiations.

The new poll finds US adults are closely divided over whether they want to see a bigger government offering more services or a smaller government offering fewer services. But a clear majority—60 percent— say they think government is spending too much altogether. Just 16 percent say the government is spending too little, while 22 percent say spending levels are about right.

US adults were previously less supportive of spending cuts, a possible sign of how the pandemic and a historic burst of aid to address it have reshaped politics. Compared with 60 percent now, 37 percent called for spending cuts in February 2020, as Covid-19 was beginning to spread throughout the US. By May, even fewer, 25 percent, wanted less spending, after the virus had forced major disruptions to public life, the economy and the health care system.

Retiree Peter Daniluk acknowledged the tensions over the federal budget by saying the government might be “a little too” large, but “you’ve got to spend money in order to make things better.” The 78-yearold from Dryden, New York, voted for Biden and believes there should be more funding for the environment and military, while also preserving Social Security and Medicare.

“The rich don’t pay enough of the taxes—that’s the problem,” he said. “They know how to get out of paying their proper share.”

Inflation jumped as the US economy recovered from the pandemic. GOP lawmakers have blamed Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package for rising prices as they’ve pushed for spending cuts, while the president says inflation reflects global factors involving supply chains and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Federal expenditures are expected to be equal in size to roughly 24% of all US economic activity for the next several years, a figure that will likely grow as an aging population leads to more spending on Social Security and Medicare. Government spending accounted for just 20.5% of

US gross domestic product a decade ago, according to the White House Office of Management and Budget.

Even if a majority of adults desire a tightened budget, the challenge for lawmakers trying to hash out an agreement is that the public also wants higher spending on a wide range of programs. While Biden rolled out a budget that would trim deficits largely through tax increases on the wealthy, GOP lawmakers have struggled so far to gel around a set of spending cuts—and even if they did, the White House is betting that their plan would upset voters.

Roughly 6 in 10 adults say the government is spending too little on education, health care, infrastructure and Social Security, as well as assistance to the poor and Medicare. About half say government is spending too little on border security, childcare assistance, drug rehabilitation, the environment and law enforcement.

By comparison, a wide majority—69 percent—say the US is spending too much on assistance to other countries. But slashing foreign aid would have almost no impact on the overall size of the government, as it accounts for less than 1 percent of all federal spending, and major programs such as Social Security and Medicare are causing the government to grow in size over the next decade.

Glenn Cookinham, 43, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, said inflation and health care expenses are major problems confronting the US as a country right now. A Republican who views Biden as “OK,” Cookinham feels as though the US could pull back on military funding to focus on its own internal challenges.

“I don’t think we should be the police for the rest of the world, really,” he said.

About a third of US adults say spending on the military is too little and nearly as many say it’s too

much; an additional third say it’s about right. Bipartisan majorities back more spending on infrastructure and Social Security. But wide differences across party lines on other priorities could be a sticking point in budget talks.

Most Republicans say too much is spent on assistance to big cities (65 percent vs. just 19 percent of Democrats), and about half say too much is spent on the environment (51 percent vs. just 6 percent of Democrats). Republicans are more likely than Democrats to indicate that the military, law enforcement and border security are underfunded. By comparison, far more Democrats say too little is spent on aid for the poor (80 percent vs. 38 percent of Republicans), the environment (73 percent vs. 21 percent of Republicans), childcare assistance (71 percent vs. 34 percent of Republicans), drug rehabilitation (67 percent vs. 36 percent of Republicans), and scientific research (54 percent vs. 24 percent of Republicans).

There is also a generational breakdown in terms of priorities. Young adults are more likely than older adults to say too little is spent on the environment and assistance to big cities, while more older adults say too little is spent on infrastructure, the military, law enforcement and border security. Young adults are especially likely to think too much is spent in those areas. For those between the ages of 30-44, who are especially likely to have school-age children, there is a desire for the government to spend more on education.

(The poll of 1,081 adults was conducted Mar. 16-20 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the US population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.0 percentage points.)

Ukraine’s Zelenskyy: Any Russian victory could be perilous

By Julie Pace & Hanna Arhirova | The Associated Press

ON A TRAIN FROM SUMY TO KYIV, Ukraine—Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Tuesday that unless his nation wins a drawn-out battle in a key eastern city, Russia could begin building international support for a deal that could require Ukraine to make unacceptable compromises. He also invited the leader of China, long aligned with Russia, to visit.

If Bakhmut fell to Russian forces, their president, Vladimir Putin, would “sell this victory to the West, to his society, to China, to Iran,” Zelenskyy said in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press.

“If he will feel some blood—smell that we are weak—he will push, push, push,” Zelenskyy said in English, which he used for virtually all of the interview.

The Ukrainian leader spoke to the AP aboard a train shuttling him across Ukraine, to cities near some of the fiercest fighting and others where his country’s forces have successfully repelled Russia’s invasion. The AP is the first news organization to travel extensively with Zelenskyy since the war began just over a year ago.

Since then, Ukraine—backed by much of the West—has surprised the world with the strength of its resistance against the larger, better equipped Russian military. Ukrainian forces have held their capital, Kyiv, and pushed Russia back from other strategically important areas.

But as the war enters its second year, Zelenskyy finds himself focused on keeping motivation high in both his military and the general Ukrainian population—particularly the millions who have fled abroad and those living in relative comfort and security far from the front lines.

Zelenskyy is also well aware that his country’s success has been in great part due to waves of international military support, particularly from the United States and Western Europe. But some in the United States—including Republican Donald Trump, the former American president and current 2024 candidate—have questioned whether

Washington should continue to supply Ukraine with billions of dollars in military aid.

Trump’s likely Republican rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, also suggested that defending Ukraine in a “territorial dispute” with Russia was not a significant US national security priority. He later walked that statement back after facing criticism from other corners of the GOP.

Zelenskyy didn’t mention the names of Trump or any other Republican politicians—figures he might have to deal with if they prevailed in 2024 elections. But he did say that he worries the war could be impacted by shifting political forces in Washington.

“The United States really understands that if they stop helping us, we will not win,” he said in the interview. He sipped tea as he sat on a narrow bed in the cramped, unadorned sleeper cabin on a state railway train.

The president’s carefully calibrated railroad trip was a remarkable journey across land through a country at war. Zelenskyy, who has become a recognizable face across the world as he doggedly tells his side of the story to nation after nation, used the morale-building journey to carry his considerable clout to regions close to the front lines.

He traveled with a small cadre of advisers and a large group of heavily armed security officials dressed in battlefield fatigues. His destinations included ceremonies marking the one-year anniversary of the liberation of towns in the Sumy region and visits with troops stationed at front-line positions near Zaporizhzhia. Each visit was kept under wraps until after he departed.

Zelenskyy recently made a similar visit near Bakhmut, where Ukrainian and Russian forces have been locked for months in a grinding and bloody battle. While some Western military analysts have suggested that the city is not of significant strategic importance, Zelenskyy warned that a loss anywhere at this stage in the war could put Ukraine’s hard-fought momentum at risk.

Zelenskyy recently made a similar visit near Bakhmut, where Ukrainian and Russian forces have been locked for months in a grinding and bloody battle. While some Western military analysts have suggested that the city is not of significant strategic importance, Zelenskyy warned that a loss anywhere at this stage in the war could put Ukraine’s hard-fought momentum at risk.

“We can’t lose the steps because the war is a pie—pieces of victories. Small victories, small steps,” he said. Zelensky’s comments were an acknowledgement that losing the seven month-long battle for Bakhmut— the longest of the war thus far— would be more of a costly political defeat than a tactical one.

He predicted that the pressure from a defeat in Bakhmut would come quickly—both from the international community and within his own country. “Our society will feel tired,” he said. “Our society will push me to have compromise with them.”

So far, Zelenskyy says he hasn’t felt that pressure. The international community has largely rallied around Ukraine following Russia’s February 24, 2022, invasion. In recent months, a parade of world leaders has visited Zelenskyy in Ukraine, most traveling in on trains similar to the ones Zelenskyy uses to crisscross the country.

In his AP interview, Zelenskyy extended an invitation to Ukraine to one notable and strategically im-

portant leader who has not made the journey—Chinese President Xi Jinping. “We are ready to see him here,” he said. “I want to speak with him. I had contact with him before fullscale war. But during all this year, more than one year, I didn’t have.”

China, economically aligned and politically favorable toward Russia across many decades, has provided Putin diplomatic cover by staking out an official position of neutrality in the war.

Xi visited Putin in Russia last week, raising the prospect that Beijing might be ready to provide Moscow with the weapons and ammunition it needs to refill its depleted stockpile. But Xi’s trip ended without any such announcement. Days later, Putin announced that he would be deploying tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus, which neighbors Russia and pushes the Kremlin’s nuclear stockpile closer to Nato territory.

Zelenskyy suggested Putin’s move was intended to distract from the lack of guarantees he received from China. “What does it mean? It means that the visit was not good for Russia,” Zelenskyy speculated.

The president makes few predictions about the biggest question hanging over the war: how it will end. He expressed confidence, however, that his nation will prevail through a series of “small victories” and “small steps” against a “very big country, big enemy, big army”—but an army, he said, with “small hearts.”

And Ukraine itself? While Zelenskyy acknowledged that the war has “changed us,” he said that in the end, it has made his society stronger. “It could’ve gone one way, to divide the country, or another way—to unite us,” he said. “I’m so thankful. I’m thankful to everybody—every single partner, our people, thank God, everybody—that we found this way in this critical moment for the nation. Finding this way was the thing that saved our nation, and we saved our land. We are together.” Julie Pace is senior vice president and executive editor of The Associated Press. Hanna Ahrirova is a Ukrainebased AP correspondent.

A12 Thursday, March 30, 2023

HEAT STROKE BREAK FOR MMDA FIELD UNITS

AS a precaution against heat-triggered illness from the scorching weather, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) will impose a 30-minute “heat stroke break” for its field personnel from April 1 until May 31.

“This move is part of the agency’s efforts to prevent heat-related illness among our outdoor workers who brave the searing heat every day to fulfill their duties and responsibilities,” MMDA acting chairman Romando Artes said.

“Their safety is of paramount importance,” Artes added, after signing  a memorandum circular re-implementing the “heat stroke break” policy to protect field personnel from heat exhaustion, heat stroke and heat cramps due to extremely warm weather.

Artes said the heat stroke break will be implemented daily through rotation.

Under the policy, on-duty traffic enforcers and street sweepers are allowed to leave their posts in shifts to seek shelter from the sun and take a 30-minute break to allow their bodies to cool down.

For traffic enforcers who work from 5 am to 1 pm shift, the prescribed “heat stroke break” is from 10 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. or

10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.; for those on the 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. shift, the break time is from 2:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. or 3 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.; for those working from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., the prescribed break is from 11 am to 11:30 a.m. or 11:30 a.m. to 12 noon; and for the 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. shift, the break time shall be observed from 3 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. or 3:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Meanwhile, for street sweepers who work the 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. shift, the prescribed “heat stroke break” is from 11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. or 11:30 a.m. to 12 noon; those on the 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. shift shall observe 12 noon to 1 p.m. regular break time; and for those on the 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. shift, the break time shall be observed from 2:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. or 3:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

“The heat stroke break shall be done alternately by those who are assigned in a particular area to maintain visibility of traffic enforcers and street sweepers and to ensure field operations are not hampered,” said Artes.

Artes said that field personnel can also take an additional 15-minute break time in case the heat index or the “human discomfort index” in Metro Manila reaches 40 degrees Celsius and above. Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

SolGen clarifies: PHL filing with ICC stands, awaiting final ruling

By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573 & Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

SOLICITOR General Menardo

Guevarra said on Wednesday

he would meet with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to discuss other options available for the Philippine government following the denial by  the International Criminal Court-Appeals Chamber of its plea to suspend the implementation of  the pretrial chambers’ (PTC) January 26, 2023 decision authorizing its prosecutor to resume the investigation on killings related to the anti-illegal drug war campaign of  the Duterte administration.

“I’ll discuss possible options with the President,” Guevarra said when asked if the Office of Solicitor General (OSG) will withdraw its formal appeal filed on March 13, 2023 seeking the reversal of the January 26, 2023 ruling of the ICC-PTC in light of the directive issued by President Marcos to “disengage” from any contact with the ICC.

The President made the directive after being informed about the recent setback of the Philippine government before the ICC-Appeals Chamber.

“And so at this point, we essentially are disengaging from any contact, from any communication, I guess, with the ICC,” Marcos said in response to the March 27 ruling of the appeals chamber.

“We don’t have a next move. That is the extent of our involvement with the ICC. That ends all our involvement with the ICC since we can no longer file another appeal,” he added, at an impromptu interview with reporters.

However, Guevarra said he prefers that the government wait for the ICC-Appeals Chamber to finally

Fiscal discipline kept Asean banks on even keel–Medalla

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

In the Gala Seminar of the 2023 ASEAN Chairmanship of Indonesia on Wednesday, BSP Governor Felipe M. Medalla said fiscal discipline that sprung from the 1997-1998 Asian Financial Crisis (AFC) has made the region’s banking sector resilient.

“When you look at all these countries, they’ve got problems and they have long memories and they have learned from the past. They do not have this attitude that money grows on trees,” Medalla said in an open forum on Wednesday.

“And there is, I think, rising accountability because the middle class is growing. That I think in

itself will make this region even better,” he added. This was Medalla’s response to a question on how Asian banks have shown resilience amid the banking turmoil experienced by advanced countries like the United States and Europe.

Memory of Asian crisis

MEDALLA noted that in the case of the Philippines, most of those who now run Philippine banks still have a good memory of the AFC which makes them more prudent in crafting and implementing banking policies.

He said many of those who are now the top executives in Philippine banks were once Vice Presidents and Managing Directors of financial institutions that were around during the AFC.

“The people running the banks were probably the Vice Presidents or the Managing Directors in 1997. So they all knew the memory of the Asian Financial Crisis,” Medalla said in his speech.

Apart from this, Medalla noted that ASEAN central bank governors were prudent in maintaining adequate reserves that served as the buffer of countries.

He explained that prudence can go a long way in avoiding the ill effects of populism on a country’s finances. Medalla said every country in the world had a “favorite subsidy” and populism sometimes prevents countries from collecting taxes to finance these subsidies.

However, Asean countries have been vigilant in keeping fiscal authorities well-run, which prevents central banks from falling under pressure to finance shortfalls.

No impact

EARLIER , Medalla told reporters

that recent developments such as the collapse of some banks in the United States as well as the recent acquisition of Credit Suisse Group (CSG) AG by UBS Group AG through a “government-brokered deal” will not have an impact on the global economy, including the Philippines. Medalla also gave assurances that the BSP will closely monitor these developments as well as “assess their impact on the banking system and respond accordingly.”

The BSP chief assured the President that the banking sector can “withstand possible shocks” that could emanate from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank. Medalla also said losses of Philippine banks from rising interest rates are smaller relative to their counterparts in the United States. He noted that the interest rate hikes of the US Federal Reserve were larger. The US Fed has already raised key policy interest rates by 450 basis points (bps).

The BSP Overnight Reverse Repurchase Rate is currently at 6 percent from 2 percent on May 19, 2022, or 400 bps rate hike over the same policy horizon.

resolve its March 13 appeal.

“Personally, though, since we have already filed the appeal, we are not going to lose anything further by waiting for its resolution,” Guevarra said.

In another interview, Guevarra said he would explain to the President that the March 13 appeal of the government is still pending despite the ICC-Appeals Chambers’ denial of its request to halt the implementation of the January 26 decision pending the final resolution on the merit of its  appeal.

“I am sending a memo today for the President to explain to him the status of our appeal with the ICC Appeals Chamber. I’ll have to clarify with him that the appeal itself is still pending, it has not been denied, it has not been dismissed,” Guevarra said over ABS-CBN News Channel.

He said the President may have gotten the impression that the main appeal was already rejected with the March 27 ruling, considering that the ICC did not formally notify the government in advance of its decision.

In its March 27 decision, the ICC-Appeals chamber said the government failed to offer “persuasive reasons” in support of its request to suspend the pre-trial chambers’ decision.

“Somehow along the transmission of the information, the President might have gotten [the impression] that it was the appeal itself that was dismissed,” Guevarra explained.

It can be recalled that the Philippine government filed last February 6, 2023 a notice of appeal before the ICC-Appeals Chamber, seeking suspension of the implementation of the January 26 decision pending the final resolution on the merit of its appeal.

Real property valuation reform a win-win for all

SEN. Sherwin Gatchalian is banking on the   real property valuation reform measure to expedite the automation of local government units (LGUs) across the country and improve efficiency in revenue collection.

Given the direction of the current Marcos administration to enhance digitalization of government processes, Gatchalian affirmed his belief that the measure, once enacted into law, “will pave the way for LGUs to automate their processes including revenue collection.”

Presiding at a recent technical working group of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means that he chairs, Gatchalian noted that currently, only about 68 percent of LGUs in the country are implementing some form of automation.

Of that number, he noted that only 729 LGUs have existing real property assessment processes, adding that the remaining 32 percent—mostly 5th and 6th-class municipalities—have no real property assessment-related system.

According to Gatchalian, full automation of LGUs is also in line with a local governance reform project of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) providing technical assistance to LGUs on computerization, which includes a computer-aided mass appraisal with a geographical information system or GIS.

“From digitizing forms and simplifying processes,” he noted that “automation of LGU processes increases not only efficiency in providing front-facing services but also enables LGUs to become more

relevant to their constituents amid rapid digitalization of our everyday life.”

He stressed that under the proposed Real Property Valuation and Assessment Reform (RPVAR) Act, the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) of the Department of Finance (DOF) is mandated “to develop, adopt, maintain and implement uniform valuation standards” which shall be used by all appraisers and assessors in the LGUs and other concerned parties in the appraisal or valuation of lands, buildings, machinery, and other real properties for taxation and other purposes.

“We hope this would bolster our objective to make more efficient the collection of taxes, and make it unnecessary to hike them,” Gatchalian said, partly in Filipino.

He recalled that one of the priority bills of the Marcos administration is the proposed measure expected to “enhance technical cooperation between the national and local governments, and lead to a more efficient rollout of infrastructure projects due to minimized valuation disputes, and improve investor confidence and public trust in the government’s valuation.”

“We have seen from our experience that if you automate all the way to the settlement of fees, you will see an increase in revenue collection without even touching the tax rates. So, I think it is a good opportunity through this law to incentivize and push LGUs to automate,” he added, referring to his experience as former chief executive of Valenzuela City.  Butch Fernandez

GREATER fiscal accountability has allowed the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to withstand the shockwaves created by recent global developments, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

HIGH TEMP, LOW WATER LEVEL A worker updates data bulletin on the water elevation of La Mesa Dam, which dropped to 76.49 on Tuesday morning, March 28. Water concessionaires have advised the public to conserve water during the dry season and brace for possible water interruptions due to the possible threat of El Niño, a weather phenomenon that could lead to a dry spell. This week, several parts of Metro Manila have been alerted to water disruptions owing to the declining water levels. NONOY LACZA

56.

57.

58.

59.

60.

HE, XINGSHUI Mandarin Safety Officer Brief Job Description: the mandarin safety officer will be a strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goals.

HUANG, YOUDONG Mandarin Safety Officer

Brief Job Description: the mandarin safety officer will be a strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goals.

LAI, SHISHENG Mandarin Safety Officer

Brief Job Description: Able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goals.

LIANG, YUCHEN Mandarin Safety Officer

Brief Job Description: the mandarin safety officer will be a strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goals.

TIAN, YONGJIANG Mandarin Safety Officer Brief Job Description: The mandarin safety officer will be a strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most also implementing its vision, mission and long term goals.

and awareness on machinery and heavy equipment use by company. Demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plan.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: proven experience as mandarin safety officer, familiarity, knowledge and awareness on machinery and heavy equipment use by company. demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plan.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: proven experience as mandarin safety officer, familiarity, knowledge and awareness on machinery and heavy equipment use by company. demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plan.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Familiarity, knowledge and awareness on machinery and heavy equipment used by company.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: proven experience as mandarin safety officer, familiarity, knowledge and awareness on machinery and heavy equipment use by company. demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plan.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Familiarity, knowledge and awareness on machinery and heavy equipment used by company.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

and LIN, YUANJU Mandarin Site Officer Brief Job Description: The mandarin site officer will be a strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long-term goals.

the company to the most also Basic Qualification: Proven experience as mandarin site officer, familiarity, knowledge and awareness on machinery and heavy equipment use by company. Demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plan. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 68.

its vision, mission and long ZHANG, HAOQIANG Mandarin Site Officer Brief Job Description: The mandarin site officer will be a strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most also implementing its vision, mission and long term goals.

Basic Qualification: Familiarity, knowledge and awareness on machinery and heavy equipment used by company. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 69.

MA, RENHONG Mandarin Structural Maintenance Analyst Brief Job Description: the mandarin structural maintenance analyst will be a strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goals.

Basic Qualification: proven experience as mandarin structural maintenance analyst, familiarity, knowledge and awareness on machinery and heavy equipment use by company. demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plan. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 70.

SU, XINGWANG Mandarin Structural Maintenance Analyst Brief Job Description: The mandarin structural maintenance analyst will be a strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long-term goals.

Basic Qualification: Proven experience as mandarin structural maintenance analyst, familiarity, knowledge and awareness on machinery and heavy equipment use by company. Demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plan. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 CHINA ROAD AND BRIDGE CORPORATION Unit 2605, 2607, 2608, & 2609, High St. South Corporate Plaza, Tower 1, 9th Avenue Corner 26th St. Bonifacio Global City, Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig 71.

Basic Qualification: Experience in construction management/fluent in Chinese and English. Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999 72.

XU, XINBO Assistant Construction Superintendent Brief Job Description: Assist in overseeing the construction in job site.

LIU, ZHONGFENG Assistant Project Manager Brief Job Description: Assist project manager in the day-to-day monitoring of operations on the job site.

Basic Qualification: Experience in project management/fluent in Chinese and English. Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999 73.

WANG, XIANYANG Mandarin Safety Officer Brief Job Description: the mandarin safety Basic Qualification: Familiarity, knowledge and awareness on machinery and heavy equipment used by company. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 67.

Basic Qualification: Experience in construction management/fluent in Chinese and English. Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999 CITIGROUP BUSINESS PROCESS SOLUTIONS PTE. LTD 15th/f Citiplaza (w North), 34th St. Bgc, Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig 74.

SHENG, HONGCHUN Construction Superintendent Brief Job Description: Overseeing the construction in job site.

ALOYSIUS ANDREWS Service Senior Manager Brief Job Description: Senior Management level position responsible for accomplishing results through the management of Customer Service teams that perform customer service activities.

Basic Qualification: 6-10 years of related experience in senior level role with commensurate people management experience. Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999

elements within their management. A consultant specializes in management with expertise in helping foreign companies expand or transition into a new industry or sector. Employing analytic tools, templates, and processes to provide management with viable alternatives for informed decision-making, including, but not limited to, trend and forecast analysis, cost analysis, and gap analysis with the Mandarin/ Vietnamese client

Helps Mandarin/ Vietnamese client business owners to focus on all sorts of organizational concerns from strategy to a variety of elements within their management. A consultant specializes in management with expertise in helping foreign companies expand or transition into a new industry or sector. Employing analytic tools, templates, and processes to provide management with viable alternatives for informed decision-making, including, but not limited to, trend and forecast analysis, cost analysis, and gap analysis with the Mandarin/ Vietnamese client

TONG, WENHAO

Mandarin Management Consultant

Helps Mandarin/ Vietnamese client business owners to focus on all sorts of organizational concerns from strategy to a variety of elements within their management. A consultant specializes in management with expertise in helping foreign companies expand or transition into a new industry or sector. Employing analytic tools, templates, and processes to provide management with viable alternatives for informed decision-making, including, but not limited to, trend and forecast analysis, cost analysis, and gap analysis with the Mandarin/ Vietnamese client

TSAI, CHUN-I Mandarin Management Consultant

Brief Job Description:

Helps Mandarin/ Vietnamese client business owners to focus on all sorts of organizational concerns from strategy to a variety of elements within their management. A consultant specializes in management with expertise in helping foreign companies expand or transition into a new industry or sector. Employing analytic tools, templates, and processes to provide management with viable alternatives for informed decision-making, including, but not limited to, trend and forecast analysis, cost analysis, and gap analysis with the Mandarin/ Vietnamese client

YANG, LIANYING Mandarin Management Consultant

Brief Job Description:

Helps Mandarin/ Vietnamese client business owners to focus on all sorts of organizational concerns from strategy to a variety of elements within their management. A consultant specializes in management with expertise in helping foreign companies expand or transition into a new industry or sector. Employing analytic tools, templates, and processes to provide management with viable alternatives for informed decision-making, including, but not limited to, trend and forecast analysis, cost analysis, and gap analysis with the Mandarin/ Vietnamese client

Companies

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng

Thursday, March 30, 2023

Meralco, South Premiere ink 300-MW power supply deal

By Lenie Lectura @llectura

MANILA Electric Co. (Meralco) and South Premiere Power Corp. (SPPC) have executed an emergency power supply agreement (EPSA) for the supply of 300-megawatts (MW) baseload capacity, partially replacing the 670MW-capacity covered by their 2019 power supply agreement (PSA), which was subjected to a Writ of Preliminary Injunction issued by the Court of Appeals (CA).

t he ep SA takes effect from March 26, 2023, up to March 25, 2024. t his followed the power distributor’s receipt of the Department of energy’s (D oe) certification exempting the ep SA from a competitive selection process

(CSp), thereby allowing its immediate implementation. In a statement released last Wednesday, Meralco said the ep SA reflects a 2-part tariff composed of a p 1.75-per-kilowatt-hour (kWh) fixed-cost and variable-cost based

indexed on fuel price movements.

Meralco did not divulge the fuel pass-through cost. e arlier, Meralco First Vice p resident and head of regulatory management office r onald V. Valles said the offer has an average price of p 7.80 per kWh. If this was the amount agreed upon by the parties in their ep SA, the rate is higher compared to p4.2455 per kWh stated in their 2019 p SA, which was indefinitely suspended by the CA last January.

t he execution of the ep SA will help shield electricity consumers from volatile and potentially higher generation costs in the Wholesale e lectricity Spot Market, which is historically-recorded during the dry season when power demand spikes,” the utility firm said.

GNPD offer

VALL e S also mentioned earlier that it received an offer from GNpower Dinginin Ltd. Co. (GN pD) for 300MW. t he Aboitiz-led GN pD previously supplied Meralco with

Batangas City Grand Terminal holds perfume-making training for women

the same capacity through an epSA from December 15, 2022, to January 25, 2023, at a rate of p5.96 per kWh. t his was extended from February 3 to February 25. However, the second ep SA carried a full fuelpass through arrangement at a rate of p8.53 per kWh.

Meralco added that it sought the D oe ’s approval for another ep SA for its 180-MW baseload capacity requirement meant to boost available supply and help address the reduced capacity of natural gas-fired power plants. t he 180-MW supply was originally subjected to two rounds of CSps, which both failed due to lack of bidders. Given the urgency of the additional supply for the dry season, Meralco sought approval to execute an ep SA instead.

Meralco said it remains committed to its mandate to deliver stable, reliable, and least-cost supply to its 7.6 million customers and unceasingly works to mitigate any impact of challenging circumstances on its power rates.

B1

Ayala Land sells Areit shares at a discount

Property developer Ayala

Land Inc. announced last Wednesday that it sold 205 million shares of Areit Inc. at a transaction price of p 32.10 per share, equivalent to p 6.58 billion.

t he said transaction was in relation to its p 22.5 billion propertyfor-share swap transaction with Areit, the real estate investment trust sponsored by the property developer.

“ t he said shares were also offered and sold in the philippines in transactions that do not require registration under the philippine Securities r egulation Code,” the company said.

“Any future offer or sale of the offer shares by the buyers thereof in the p hilippines is subject to the registration requirements of the SrC unless such offer or sale qualifies as an exempt transaction in accordance with the applicable requirements of the SrC,” it said.

t he proceeds from the block sale shall be settled on April 3.

Areit is conducting a third property-for-share swap with its sponsor, involving prime property in Makati including a portion of its shopping mall.

t he transaction, the company said in its previous disclosure, will involve flagship offices and malls with an aggregate value of p 22.48 billion for 607.55 million Areit primary common shares, as validated by a third-party fairness opinion.

t he assets are mainly located in the Makati central business district, specifically, the newest “o ne Ayala Avenue e ast” and “West Bpo towers” at the corner of Ayala Avenue and eDSA, as well as the “Glorietta 1” and “Glorietta 2” shopping mall wing and business process outsourcing (Bpo) buildings at Ayala Center.

Aside from these, the “MarQuee” mall in Angeles, pampanga, located close to the Angeles exit of the North Luzon e xpressway, would also be added to Areit’s portfolio.

t hese assets have a combined gross leasable area of 190,000 square meters, an overall occupancy rate of 99 percent and a weighted average lease expiry of 14.5 years. t he shares of Ayala Land closed at p 28.90, up by 45 centavos from the previous close, while Areit shares closed at p 32.30, down by p 2 from the previous close.VG Cabuag

THe Batangas City Grand terminal conducted a one-day livelihood seminar entitled

“Serbisyo at Kabuhayan para sa

Kababaihan: An Actual perfumeMaking,” held on March 24, 2023, at Batangas City Grand terminal, Barangay Alangilan, Batangas City.

t hirty women from different barangays of Batangas City were selected to participate in the training. t hey were given hands-on experience with the proper techniques in perfume making. t he training was designed to provide women with necessary skills to start their small perfume businesses, which can serve as a source of livelihood for them and their families.

Led by Ms. Angelika r ose Gado, marketing officer of Batangas City Grand terminal and Ms. Cristy D. Villamor, officer-in-charge, the ac-

Pr IVAteLy-held realtor ISoC

Land Inc. announced last Wednesday the turnover of pre-sold units at one of six mid-rise vertical residences within its 2-hectare mix-used project will start next month.

Located along the main thoroughfare of Dr. Arcadio Santos Avenue in parañaque City, this is the first midincome residential condominium project in the country registered with the US Green Building Council.

tivity was conducted in partnership with Batangas City Agriculture. Ms. Glomaria r amos, Administrative Aide IV, served as the facilitator for the training.

t he activity was a success, with participants expressing their appreciation. “ t he training had been very helpful for us, attendees, to start a small business. I am happy and thankful to the management of Batangas City Grand terminal for hosting a training like this. Indeed, the management is not just here to do business, but also supports different advocacies to help people thrive and succeed,” Beverly Leyesa shared.

t he “Serbisyo at Kabuhayan para sa Kababaihan” is an annual livelihood activity of the Batangas City Grand terminal providing support to women and empowering

In an online interview, ISoC Land Vice president and Business Unit Head May V. Lopez told the BusinessMirror that the initial phase of the project called “I-Land residences Sucat” has a total inventory of 1,260 units.

According to Lopez, there are 308 units in “Lime tower,” (first building), 476 units in “olive tower” (second) and 476 units in “Sage tower” (third).

Lopez said Lime tower, which is

them to become agents of change.

Batangas City Grand terminal is a multi-purpose transport terminal and complex that serves as a hub for travelers going to, from and passing through Batangas City.

It is developed and operated by the Batangas Ventures p roperties and Management Corp.

Located at a 42,320 square meter property along Diversion r oad, Barangay Alangilan, Batangas City, which is partly owned by the city government of Batangas, the Batangas City Grand terminal is comprised of the terminal proper, which caters to buses, jeepneys, UV e xpress and other public transportation; a commercial space that will soon accommodate restaurants, food stalls and other business establishments; and, a parking space for private vehicles.

83-percent complete, is 85-percent sold. “olive tower” is 80-percent sold and “Sage tower” is 20-percent sold, she added.

t he firm’s recent top-off shows the company’s “commitment and capability to deliver on its promise of ‘the home of the future’ to our buyers and homeowners despite the ongoing challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Jess Chua Jr., group president of ISoC Holdings Inc., the parent firm of ISoC Land. Roderick L. Abad

RCBC, Globe Telecom sign agreement vs online fraud

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

EXECUTIVES of the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp.

(RCBC) and Globe Telecom Inc. (PSE: GLO) signed a memorandum of agreement to “work together against online fraud,” the latter firm announced recently.

Under the agreement, the two entities will have a “direct and roundthe-clock communication channel to report any fraudulent activities for immediate investigation and blocking.”

The initiative aims to address the increasing volume and complexity of financial crimes, identity theft, phishing, SMS spam, and other similar scams and other forms of fraud.

“Our collaboration with RCBC will enable us to take proactive measures to prevent spam and scams from occurring and strengthen our capabilities to investigate and respond to such incidents. Our commitment to fighting fraud remains strong, and we will continue to work with other institutions and stakeholders to protect our customers from fraudulent activities,” said GLO Chief Privacy Officer Irish Salandanan-Almeida.

With the partnership, GLO and RCBC will be able to enhance their capabilities to investigate and respond to incidents related to financial scams and fraud, as well as develop proactive measures to prevent further incidents and their escalation.

Bangladesh shadow

RCBC, to note, is still wrestling with its link to the so-called Bangladesh Bank cyber-heist.

It was in 2016 when a cross-border electronic heist made headlines, as hackers were able to steal $81 million of Bangladesh Bank’s funds, funds that were deposited in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

The stolen money eventually found its way into the Philippines through accounts in RCBC, where much of it was withdrawn and disappeared into the country’s casino sector.

In mid-2016, following investigation and processing of the issue, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) sanctioned RCBC with P1 billion in fines—the largest amount ever to be imposed as a fine for a banking institution in the Philippines.

In January, the Supreme Court of the State of New York, the first instance trial court, affirmed that it has jurisdiction over the case filed by the Bangladesh Bank against RCBC and its current and previous employees.

Integrated, collaborative GLO said it expects the recentlysigned agreement with RCBC “to promote a more integrated and collaborative approach to information and intelligence sharing and incident reporting.”

“Our partnership with [GLO] is aligned with our advocacy to educate the public about cybersecurity and is a major step towards enhancing our capabilities in fraud detection and prevention, and customer protection. Having direct coordination will boost our efforts against fraud. We look forward to working together to keep accounts safe and mitigate other cybersecurity threats,” said RCBC Chief Information Security Officer Carlos Tengkiat. SMS-based and online fraud have been rampant over the last few months, with GLO saying it has blocke 85 million bank-related spam and scam messages from January 2022 to January 2023. This is part of the record high of 3 billion scam and spam messages filtered out within the same period, the telecommunications firm added.

Pagcor upbeat about hitting goal of P244.8-B gross gaming revenues

Customs seizes 81 shipments, marks 4B liters of fuel in Q1

By Raadee S. Sausa

THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) announced recently that personnel from the Enforcement and Security Service (ESS) of the agency’s Enforcement Group (EG) has seized 81 shipments for the first quarter of 2023.

During the 35th founding anniversary of ESS, Customs Commissioner Bienvenido Y. Rubio reported that for the first quarter of 2023, the group seized 81 shipments with an estimated value of P999.474 million.

In 2022, the EG recorded 397

seized shipments amounting to P1.044 billion. The ESS was created under the EG in 2009 through Executive Order 805 issued by thenPresident Gloria M. Arroyo. Rubio also recognized the contribution of EG in the successful

implementation of the fuel marking program.

The BOC, through the ESS, marked four billion liters from January to March this year, about 22.22 percent of the total 18 billion liters of petroleum products marked in 2022.

“With this kind of performance, the ESS is evidently of great help and is necessary in attaining our 5-Point Priority Program,” Rubio said.

“Crafted through 35 years of existence, the ESS remains not only in the forefront of border protection but also of strictly implementing security measures that ensure the safety of the entire Customs community,” the commissioner added.

Moreover, the BOC has recognized deserving ESS offices and personnel, including the ESS Motor Vehicle Monitoring and Clearance Office, the Environmental Protection

and Compliance Division, the ESS Quick Reaction Team and the Customs Firearms and Explosives Unit. Rubio also said, he started his career as a special agent with the ESS. The entry level position opened a lot of platforms for the commissioner to improve his capabilities and learn the ropes at the bureau.

“This is, likewise, why I fully understand the demands of being in the ESS, as it has a myriad of roles to execute within and even outside the Bureau. And these roles are what we celebrate in today’s occasion,” he said.

Furthermore, the ESS continues to implement heightened security measures to achieve its mission to protect the national borders and to safeguard government revenues, aligned with the priority program of the government.

SSS, BI deal seen aegis for service workers in govt

AMemorandum of Agreement (MOA) signed by the top officials of the Social Security System (SSS) and the Bureau of Immigration (BI) on March 9 is expected to provide social security coverage to job order and contract of service workers in the government.

Under the MOA, BI’s job order and contract of service workers will get SSS coverage under the “KaSSSama sa Coverage” program. Under the program, these BI workers will be classified as self-employed members of the SSS. The agreement also states that BI will act as a “coverage and collection partner” of the SSS.

As such, the SSS authorized the BI to collect and remit the monthly contributions of these workers through a salary-deduction scheme.

“The SSS aims to secure the future of all job order and contract of service workers in government agencies nationwide. Although these employees work in government offices, they are considered private self-employed members and are not covered by the Government Service Insurance System,” SSS President and CEO Rolando

L. Macasaet was quoted in a statement as saying.

Macasaet explained that as selfemployed SSS members, they will be entitled to receive social security benefits such as sickness, maternity, disability, retirement, funeral and death benefits. They will also get additional

coverage from the Employees’ Compensation Program (ECP) for workrelated contingencies. Moreover, they may apply for various member loans offered by SSS such as salary and calamity loans.

BI Commissioner Norman G. Tansingco thanked the SSS for bring-

ing social security benefits to their job order and contract of service workers, which they can rely on during times of contingencies.

Meanwhile, Macasaet visited the “KaSSSama sa Coverage” program servicing-counter set up for the occasion in the BI head office in Intramuros, Manila. SSS personnel from the SSS Manila Branch manned the online and onsite servicing counter to assist BI workers in creating online account with SSS through the My.SSS facility, registration with SSS as self-employed members, generating a “payment reference number” for contribution payment, verification of member’s records and answering inquiries on various SSS benefits and loan programs.

As of December last year, the SSS has partnered with 1,531 local government units, 499 national government agencies, 111 state universities and colleges and 68 local water districts covering job order and contract of service workers through the “KaSSSama sa Coverage” program with total collection exceeding P5.5 billion.

Villar picked as one of 100 notable Pinoy accountants

By VG Cabuag @villygc

FORMER Sen. Manuel B. Villar Jr. was conferred the prestigious Accountancy Centenary Award of Excellence in recognition of his vital contributions to the development of the accounting profession in the Philippines.

THE Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) expressed confidence about its performance growth as the local gaming industry continues to gain momentum, and has set a target of P244.84 billion in gross gaming revenues (GGR) for 2023.

In the 2023 Performance Scorecard submitted by Pagcor to the Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG), the forecasted GGR for this year is 33.13 percent or P60.934 billion higher than the 2022 GGR target of P183.906 billion.The GGR target is also P30.51 billion or 14.23 percent higher than the actual 2022 industry GGR of P214.33 billion.

According to Pagcor Chairman and CEO Alejandro H. Tengco, the staterun gaming firm’s increased GGR target is fueled by the gaming industry’s robust performance in 2022, which has been largely attributed to the opening of Philippine borders to local and foreign tourists.

“Since the lockdowns were eased in the country late last year and gaming venues reopened, customer confidence slowly returned and the attendance in our owned casinos slowly improved.

Our licensed casinos likewise recorded a major revenue growth,” Tengco said.

Because of this, Pagcor targeted P68.490-billion revenues from its

gaming operations by the end of 2023.

This amount is a 36.6-percent increase from our P50.13 billion target in 2022 and 24.41 percent higher than our 2022 income from gaming, the Pagcor official explained.

Also part of Pagcor’s commitment, as cited in its 2023 Performance Scorecard, are “100-percent payment of mandatory contributions to recipient agencies; attainment of P1.022 billion net income [less income tax]; and 98-percent collection efficiency of license and regulatory fees from Pagcor’s regulated gaming entities.”

Pagcor also endeavors to “retain its ISO:9001:2015 certification; 100-percent attainment of 2023 deliverables; 1000-percent completion of transactions within the prescribed period; revision of the agency’s Board-approved Competency Framework; and establishment of competency baseline for employees.”

To achieve these, Tengco said Pagcor, under the current management, will endeavor to improve its regulatory functions and business operations.

“We will ensure that our plans and programs for 2023 will be generally beneficial to our industries, putting foremost the interests of responsible gaming and of nation-building,” he said.

This award was given to Villar as one of the 100 notable Filipino certified public accountants “who have proven themselves worthy of honor and emulation and who demonstrated unquestionable integrity, contributed immensely in the advancement of the accountancy profession and participated in national development.”

“It is a tremendous honor to be included in the Centenary Awardees for Excellence. I am infinitely humbled to

be included in the who’s who, the hall of fame, of the field of Philippine accountancy. The list of 100 notable Certified Public Accountants [CPA], vetted and approved by the board, is indeed the epitome of excellence, unquestionable integrity, and immeasurable contribution not only to the field but to the Filipino nation as well,” Villar was quoted in a statement as saying.

Villar, the country’s richest person according to Forbes magazine, was feted by the Professional Regulatory Board of Accountancy, the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Association of Certified Public Accountants in Commerce and Industry, Association of Certified Public Accountants in Public Practice, Government Association of Certified Public Accountants and the National Associa -

tion of Certified Public Accountants in Education, in celebration of the 100th year anniversary of the accountancy profession in the country.

Villar, who is a CPA, graduated from the University of the Philippines with a degree of Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Masters in Business Administration. He worked at premier accounting firm Sycip, Gorres, Velayo and Co. (SGV & Co.) prior to establishing his groundbreaking venture into real estate development.

He currently serves as the chairman of listed property developer Vista Land and Lifescapes Inc., which established well-known residential brands such as Camella, Crown Asia, Brittany and Vista Residences, and commercial property development, Vista Malls.

Villar is now focused on creating

township developments, Vista Estates in Las Pinas, comprising upscale subdivisions, high-rise residential condominiums, office towers and commercial properties.

Villar is also the chairman of AllValue Holdings Corp., the family’s privatelyheld firm that includes home improvements retailer AllHome, grocery chain AllDay Supermarket and Coffee Project, among other retail and restaurant businesses. He also chairs listed firm Golden MV Holdings Inc., that includes Golden Haven, the largest Philippine deathcare property developer in terms of number of projects.

Villar holds the distinction of being the only post-war public official who became Speaker of the House of Representatives and President of the Philippine Senate.

BAP holds annual general assembly, elects new set of officers

THE Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP) held its annual general assembly on March 29 to take pride in the milestones it achieved for the year 2022, the organization said in a statement issued last Wednesday. In his speech, outgoing President Antonio C. Moncupa noted how the BAP has strived to pursue its advocacies to contribute to inclusive socio-economic development. “The BAP is doing its part in the national effort for sustained growth.

We have always been working towards better and more responsive financial services to support the economy and improve the lives of Filipinos,” Moncupa was quoted in the statement as saying.

“Better financial intermediation will

make the economy more efficient by optimizing the allocation of debt capital, improving cost efficiency for financial services, and making financial services more responsive to the growing sophistication of households and businesses,” he added. “At the same time, this will make the banking system safer, more reliable, and more stable.”

Moncupa highlighted the various milestones the BAP achieved in the pursuit of its advocacies, including:

n Improving the framework and governance of payments infrastructure

n Working with legislators to promote market-determined resource allocation

n Continued coordination with

regulatory authorities on matters such as open finance, data privacy, and the ongoing API-XML project

n Improving and updating market products and practices

“There have been a lot of activities in 2022, and the coming years promise to be as frenetic,” Moncupa said. “However, we can continue to achieve greater milestones because of the support and guidance of our board of directors. Issues continue to be manageable because of the working committees who do the actual spade work.”

During the general assembly, BAP members elected a new set of officers for the term 2023-2024. Bank of the Philippine Islands President and CEO

Jose Teodoro K. Limcaoco was elected as the next president of the organization.

“I am thankful for the trust that BAP members have placed in me to lead the organization into greater heights,” Limcaoco said. “As our country faces renewed challenges from global economic headwinds, there is a call for us in the banking industry to be forces of stability and growth so that our economy will continue to progress.” “Given the advocacies we have pursued throughout the years and our strong alliance with partners such as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the Philippine banking industry continues to be in a strong position to withstand shocks and serve the needs of the Filipino public,” he added.

This photo courtesy of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. shows Pagcor Chairman and CEO Alejandro h. Tengco and Governance Commission for GOCCs Chairman Justice Alex L. Quiroz (ret.) sign Pagcor’s 2023 Performance scorecard during their meeting held on March 28, 2023 in Makati City. Photo courtesy of the PAGcor

PhOTO shows sss President and CEO Rolando L. Macasaet (right) and Bureau of immigration Commissioner Norman G. Tansingco (left) during the ceremonial signing at the Bi main office in intramuros, Manila, that will benefit at least 800 job orders and contracts of service workers serving in the immigration regulatory body. creDIt: sss

Agriculture/Commodities

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng

House bill extends perks to students taking up agriculture-related courses

By Samuel P. Medenilla

@sam_medenilla

TO boost the number of youths pursuing a career in agriculture, a new bill was filed in the House of Representatives, which aims to provide living and transportation allowance to qualified students enrolled in agriculture-related courses.  House Bill (HB) No. 7572 was filed by Davao City 1st District Representative Paolo Duterte, Benguet Rep. Eric Yap and ACT-CIS Party-list Rep. Edvic Yap.

The proposed legislation aims to provide subsidies to children of qualified indigent farmers who will

pass admission requirements for agriculture courses and other related fields of study in state universities and colleges (SUCs) and other local universities and colleges (LUCs).

The said incentives will be on top of the free tuition already provided by Republic Act 10931 or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act.

The authors of HB 7572 stressed the importance of drawing in more young Filipinos to agriculture to counter the decline in the number of workers in the farming sector.

Citing data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), they pointed out the share to total em-

ployment of the agriculture sector declined to 22.5 percent (10.6 million) in October 2022, from 24.5 percent (9.7 million) in October 2020 and 24.6 percent (10.77 million in October 2021).

PSA also reported that in terms of skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers, the numbers continue to drop from 14.2 percent (5.7 million) in October 2020 and 12.4 percent (5.4 million) in October 2021 to 11.8 percent (5.6 million) in October of last year.

Duterte said the bill would also help bring in more technical innovation in the agriculture sector.

The lawmaker pointed out agri-

DA inspects Benguet vegetable trading hub

By Raadee S. Sausa @raadeeboy

THE Department of Agriculture-Cordillera

culture jobs are not only limited to farming, but also include technical fields such as biosystems engineering, agribusiness management, agricultural biotechnology, agricultural economics, and fisheries technology.

“We need young Filipinos who are exposed to today’s technologies to consider agriculture as a viable career. The youth’s innovative spirit, their enthusiasm to change the way we think or do things is what we need right now to reinvigorate our agriculture sector. Providing farmers’ children the educational support they need will encourage them to pursue agriculture and other related courses,” Duterte explained.

Administrative Region

(DA-CAR) inspected the Benguet Agri Pinoy Trading Center (BAPTC) in La Trinidad to assess the flow of goods from Baguio to Metro Manila.

The inspection was led by Agriculture Assistant Secretary Rex Estoperez and DA-CAR Regional Technical Director Jennilyn Dawayan.

The BAPTC serves as a major hub for the trade of highland grown vegetables, which are distributed to various markets in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

During the visit, the officials assessed the operations of the center and recommended plans of action to improve its services to farmers and consumers.

The BAPTC is governed by a project steering board (PSB) chaired by the DA Secretary represented by Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban. Benguet State University President Felipe Salaing Comila sits as vice chairman, with its members Rep. Eric Yap, Benguet Governor Melchor Diclas, La Trinidad Municipal Mayor Romeo Salda, DA-CAR Regional Executive Director Cameron Odsey, and farmer leader representative Joaquin Geronimo Depalog.

AGLOBAL biofuel boom is set to drive a shortage of vegetable oils—used for cooking and now increasingly to power trucks and planes—intensifying a debate over food versus fuel.

From the US to Brazil and Indonesia, governments are embracing energy made from plants like soybeans or canola, or even animal fat, to move away from fossil fuels and cut emissions. This has created opportunities for vegetable oils, especially palm oil, a ubiquitous but controversial ingredient found in products like pizza dough, instant noodles, chocolate and shampoo. Demand is so hot that producers are hunting for used cooking oil and sludge, a waste product from processing palm oil, as feedstocks for biofuels.

These lofty ambitions may face challenges. War and extreme weather are limiting vegetable oil supplies. A severe drought has devastated production in Argentina, the top exporter of soybean oil. In Europe, restrictions on using bee-toxic pesticides will curb planting of rapeseed that relies on the pollinators, while

Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine will slash sunflower oil exports. With growth in vegetable oil production expected to slow, biofuels could push the global market into a deficit in the second half of the year, according to Thomas Mielke, executive director of Hamburgbased Oil World.

Biofuels account for a large share of the vegetable oil market but only a fraction of energy demand, Mielke said. He’s concerned that combined

biofuel targets are overdoing what the global market for oils and fats can satisfy.

The US, Europe, Brazil and Indonesia are responsible for most of the biodiesel, renewable diesel and biojet fuel consumption growth.

The US uses a mixture of feedstocks such as soybean oil, rapeseed oil, used cooking oil and animal fats. Europe is producing from wastes, residues and rapeseed oil. Indonesia mainly uses palm oil to

produce biodiesel, while Brazil relies on soybean oil.

Shortage of cooking oil looms as biofuels gain global appeal Veterinarian to Antiqueños: Stick to local pork products

This trend is widely expected to benefit palm oil, a product that’s come under scrutiny in recent years amid reports of deforestation and forced labor. With rival oilseeds and vegetable oils being used increasingly in biofuels, some of the demand will spill over to palm, according to James Fry, chairman of Oxford-based agriculture consulting firm LMC International Ltd.

But the palm oil market may not be able to keep pace. Production in Indonesia and Malaysia, which together account for 85 percent of world supply, are plateauing due to the slow replanting of old and unproductive trees, erratic weather, and as deforestation curbs limit land bank expansion.

Threats to supply, particularly from climate change, will push up agricultural prices and slow the world’s efforts at converting food into fuel, said Dorab Mistry, an influential trader who’s worked in the industry for four decades.

The International Energy Agency

has warned that swelling demand for biofuels and a looming feedstock crunch, if not addressed, will undermine the potential for biofuels to contribute to global decarbonization efforts.  Biofuel mandates should be flexible and provide room for temporary adjustments in the event of supply shocks, according to Oil World’s Mielke. Given the importance of those policies to the entire oils and fats complex, any changes must be moderate as they can have a devastating impact, he said.

Last year, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine disrupted global sunflower oil trade and boosted demand for palm and soybean oil, sending prices to record highs. Even then, most countries did not ease their biofuel policies, leading to demand destruction in some vegetable oil consumers, mainly from developing nations.

“In periods of supply shortages, the necessary rationing of demand must not take place only on the shoulders of the food consumers,” Mielke said. “This is a lesson we have to learn from last year.” Bloomberg News

New fish hatchery seen boosting aquaculture production in Albay

LEGAZPI CITY—The new P31million multi-species hatchery in Ligao City is expected to help increase fish production and contribute to the aquaculture industry of Albay province and the rest of the Bicol region.

Albay Third District Representative Fernando Cabredo said in a phone interview that the facility located in Barangay Maonon shall help sustain the town’s production of different marine species such as milkfish, saline tilapia, and mangrove crabs.

He noted that the establishment of the hatchery was made possible by Republic Act 10950, otherwise known as “An Act Establishing A Multi-Species Hatchery in the City of Ligao, Province of Albay and Appropriating Funds Therefor” that was authored by then-congressman, now Ligao City Mayor Fernando Gonzalez and signed into law by former President Rodrigo R. Duterte in 2017.

“The purpose of this law is to

guarantee the sustainability of the supply of marine products in Ligao City and in the whole Bicol Region.

It also aims to address food security and provide livelihood opportunities for locals and fisherfolk in the coastal areas,” Cabredo said.

He added that the multi-species hatchery in Ligao will help address the increasing market demand in the whole region, and is aligned with the Marcos administration’s call for sustainable food production and development of the nation’s agriculture sector.

Cabredo said the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) would lead the operations and implement training for local government unit (LGU) personnel within two years after the construction of the multi-species marine hatchery and transfer the management to the LGU.

“Once fully operational, it is forecast to have a projected income of P5 million every year,” he noted.

distributes CLOAs to Maguindanao Sur ARBs covering 99.7 hectares of agri lands

COTABATO CITY—At least 43 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in Datu Abdullah Sangki, Maguindanao del Sur have become legitimate owners of the land they have been tilling for years under the government’s agrarian reform program.

This came after the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Agrarian Reform (MAFAR) distributed on Tuesday 43 Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOAs) to members of

the Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Organization (ARBO) in Abdullah Sangki town.

The CLOAs covered 99.7 hectares of agricultural land in the villages of Balaba, Kaya-kaya, Sugadol, and Guinibon in the municipality.

“Take care of your lands. These are now yours, make the most of it,”

MAFAR Minister Mohammad S. Yacob said in a statement Wednesday.

Provincial Director Ronjamin M. Maulana, meanwhile, assured

the ARBs that MAFAR would continue to provide support services and interventions to make their lands productive and generate more income.

“You are our development partners. BARMM will not achieve its objectives of improving the lives of the Bangsamoro without your participation,” he said.

Kaka Ali, 50, one of the beneficiaries, was elated that his “long-time dream” has become a reality. PNA

SAN JOSE DE BUENAVISTA, Antique—The Provincial Veterinary (ProVet) office here has warned residents to be extra careful and solely patronize locally produced pork and pork by-products to help keep Antique safe from the African swine fever (ASF).

ProVet Public Health Division chief Dr. Marco Rafael Ardamil, in an interview on Wednesday, admitted they are encountering difficulties in monitoring and apprehending online sellers, particularly from areas with ASF cases.

The “tempting” visual presentation, especially of pork by-products such as “tocino” (cured pork) and “chorizo” (seasoned pork sausage) may be enticing but they are temporarily banned in Antique as a preventive measure, he added.

“If there are no buyers, then online sellers will not thrive. So we are appealing to Antiqueños to refrain from buying pork products from areas outside the province,” Ardamil said.

He added that since January this year, they have yet to apprehend any online seller despite efforts to locate them, including the creation of a dummy account on Facebook.

Apart from keeping a tight watch against online sellers, Ardamil said the 24/7 operation of their border checkpoints in the municipalities of Hamtic and Anini-y continues. However, cargo inspection can only be carried out when deemed suspicious.

“Usually being inspected only are the styrofoam containers for possible pork-based food products or fresh pork,” Ardamil added.

The veterinarian added that farmers in the province enjoy a higher selling price for live-weight hogs at P170 per kilogram (kg) from P120-130 per kg in December 2022 as they still received pork meat orders from Iloilo.

Antique, Aklan, and Negros Occidental are still free from the ASF. PNA

NFA, Leyte town offer to buy palay at ₧21/kilo

TACLOBAN CITY—Rice farmers in Tanauan, Leyte who will sell their palay (unhusked rice) to the National Food Authority (NFA) will get an additional P2 per kilogram on top of the agency’s current buying price of P19.

The local government has set aside P2 million for the implementation of Palay Marketing Assistance Program for Legislators and Local Government Units (PALLGU), said Mayor Gina Merilo in an interview Wednesday. Merilo said the local government

and the National Food Authority (NFA) signed a memorandum of agreement on March 23 to raise the buying price of palay. Witnessing the signing was town councilor Isagani Espada, the principal proponent of the program.

The municipal government of Tanauan was the first to implement the PALLGU in Eastern Visayas, which aimed at boosting the farmers’ productivity.

“The program seeks to provide opportunities for our rice farmers to maximize their income. This is

an opportunity for us to serve our local farmers,” Merilo said.

NFA Eastern Visayas regional manager Jasmin Lintag said in a statement that under the program, the local government enters into a marketing agreement with NFA where they provide a premium amount to be added to the existing government-buying price of palay.

In the case of Tanauan town, the local government will be adding P2 to the existing palay buying price currently pegged at P19 per kilogram.

Grade school edition of family love and laughter ‘play list’

LAST week, I discussed my ‘play list’ for preschoolers and how to help them be “Big School Ready.” I shared play tools and activities that build our children’s skill-building, brain-building and socio-emotional learning (SEL) skills.

This week I will be finishing off this series with our grade-schoolers. In my own experience, there is a meaningful transition as our children say goodbye to preschool and enter grade school. The schedule is longer. There is more time for social interaction among classmates because there is now lunch and afternoon recess. There are also more subjects. As I imagined this new world of my child, I learned from experts that this is a time to build school confidence and the love for learning. I felt then that equipping them to build strong socio-emotional skills and an intrinsic curiosity for knowledge were foundations for them to not just like but LOVE school because it is a hub of learning. My other goals for my grade-schooler included providing them a sense of security through rituals, where we as parents can establish a solid line of communication; appreciation of work, and the ability to articulate their thoughts.

Although I grew up in the honor roll since prenursery, I never brought this up to my children. My children started in the same big school where I went. Each quarter, the honor roll would come out and my daughter would not be there. I truly never did mind, but I would still let her step up the bench and look at the photos posted on the bulletin board. I wanted her to discover her own aspirations and know what was meaningful to her. I would simply ask: Would you like to see your photo there? Each quarter was a different response. Later, she became curious about how to go about it. At the time, she would often get deductions on erasures and handwriting. She was left-handed. So, we identified the issue that summer. I simply wrote her very long name on a writing pad on dots and guided her that this was a good practice to improve her handwriting. I told her I believed in her even if she were left-handed. That summer, she practiced on her own. It was like a puzzle to be solved for her. The following school year, she overcame this hurdle. This is a simple illustration on how we gradually built a happy learning journey for and with my daughter.

Another tip I learned was whether they did well or not in a test or activity, I should ask how they felt about it. If it were a high grade, I would say good job for putting all the effort but hold back on statements like, “I am proud of you” or “Mom loves you.” A very wise educator, Teacher Betty, once told me to be careful that my children might equate my love for them on how high their grade was. She said this during an awarding ceremony, where my daughter, at

Grade 3, was receiving her Gold Medal. Many parents would be worried and tell me how they can do this since they are not “teacher-moms.”

I would always advise them to support their child’s school life with play. Although we do not have a teaching degree, we all loved and experienced play growing up. Below are some of my top ‘play’ picks in paving the way for a happy learning journey for my grade-schooler:

n STEAM (SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, ART, MATH) SUBJECT LEARNING. Most schools provide the syllabus ahead at the start of the quarter. I would try to look for play tools to augment this learning through play. When my children were not very familiar with Science, I introduced them to the Crayola Marker Maker. They were able to do their own experiments on colors with beakers and tongs. There are also very nice National Geographic play experiments like volcanos erupting. I also like the Learning Resources Puzzle Globe because it teaches children the continents, as well as facts about it. “Phy-gital” (physical plus digital activities) are highly-recommended now to balance

the negative effects of too much screen time for our children. This Mathlinks blocks creates a phy-gital play with the number blocks your child can watch in both YouTube and Netflix. n COMMUNICATION GAMES AND ACTIVITIES. It is good to set schedules to intentionally talk to our child. Being with our child does not necessarily mean we are communicating with them. I have a separate “alone-time” with each child since they were 4. No gadgets. I would bring our favorite Kanoodle Game or a pack of Crayola broadline markers, and we would play or draw while waiting for the food. I am also glad there are tools like the Learning Resources Talking Cubes that are dices but with topics to start the conversation with our children.

n ACTIVITIES FOR SELF. Encouraging your child to do puzzles on their own, or doing it as a family teaches patience, logic and trial-and-error. The best part is it provides a sense of achievement, which builds our child’s self-confidence. This is also a good opportunity to also involve our children in issues the community, the nation or the world is facing. n

Puppet show on Passion of Christ to be held free at the MET

A KID-FRIENDLY puppet show on the Passion of Christ, Papet Pasyon 2023 will be held for at the historic Metropolitan Theater (MET, www. facebook.com/METphOfficial) on March

31. Admission is free.

The hour-long production was written by the late Philippine National Artist for Theater Amelia LapeñaBonifacio, also known as the Grand Dame of Southeast Asian Children’s Theater. It is directed by her daughter, Prof. Amihan Bonifacio-Ramolete, former College of Arts and Letters dean of the UP-Diliman.

First mounted at the Cultural Center of the Philippines in 1985, it introduces the events in the life, suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ in a manner that can be easily understood by the young audience.

To make it children-friendly, it utilizes Pinoy-looking puppets specially designed by visual artists Bernadette Solina-Wolf and Maurice Carvajal, and carved by globallyknown local artisans from Paete, Laguna. Some of the original puppets

are still being used to this day.

Papet Pasyon was first written when the late award-winning playwright and puppeteer missed her chance to watch a live Passion play in Germany. It has since become an act of devotion, as well as an advocacy to foster the Filipino puppetry tradition.

“Puppetry is an effective instrument of storytelling,” visual artist and Teatrong Mulat ng Pilipinas

senior puppeteer and puppet maker Carlito Camahalan Amalla stated.

Amalla, who has been with the organization for approximately 20 years under the tutelage of LapeñaBonifacio, likewise reiterated the important role of the art form in teaching Filipino art and heritage.

“As Filipinos, our culture is our soul. It fosters nation-building and unity among the community,” added the

De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde Design Foundation educator.

Amalla likewise highlighted the diverse initiatives of Teatrong Mulat ng Pilipinas, a theater group which the award-winning playwright founded in 1977. They awaken the children to the wonders and richness of Philippine and Asian folktales and tradition through puppetry. Their outreach includes puppetry workshops and programs in the different communities across the Philippines.

“Teaching puppetry helps foster critical thinking and encourage creative solutions among children,” he expounded. “It is also a form of therapy and healing.”

Produced by Teatrong Mulat ng Pilipinas, Papet Pasyon is free and open to the public. It is scheduled on March 31 with shows at 10 am, 2:30 pm, and 7 pm. It will likewise be available via livestream on Palm Sunday, April 2, 8 pm, via Teatrong Mulat’s Facebook page. The Metropolitan Theater is in Plaza Lawton along Padre Burgos Avenue, Ermita Manila.

THE summer months in the Philippines usually record the hottest temperatures of the year. And this weather makes it the perfect time to travel around the country and have some sunny adventures with family and friends. The heat though can also have an impact on our overall health—we’re more prone to dehydration and having digestive issues that can spoil all the fun.

Make the most out of these easygoing months by staying healthy and nourishing the body with wholesome food choices. Filipino plant-based brand Sekaya (www.sekaya.com.ph), and Dr. Eca Lorenzo, internal medicine specialist and functional medicine practitioner, suggest tweaks on our daily eating habits that can help energize us throughout summer.

n TAKE ADVANTAGE OF FRESH PRODUCE. April and May are when produce is at its peak, when farmers harvest crops and when our own backyards are abundant with fruits. “During this time, you notice that local in-season fruits like mango, guyabano, coconut, rambutan, santol, pomelo and pineapple are more readily available at your favorite grocery stores and markets. This can help add more color and variety to your plates, allowing you to get as many nutrients as possible,” shares Lorenzo.

“It’s also great to keep yourself well-hydrated by adding in more vegetables with high water content like lettuce, tomato, broccoli, spinach, and eggplant to what you eat.”

n GO FOR LIGHTER MEALS. On warm days, the digestive system may become slow as more energy is being spent to keep the body from overheating. “Avoid eating heavy meals this summer to give your digestive system a chance to keep up with everything that’s going on in your body,” Lorenzo suggests. “Remember to control your portions and take your time chewing your food to avoid bloating.”

It’s good to have some healthy snacks like veggie sticks and dips, trail mixes and salad cups in between meals to curb hunger and avoid overeating. “This is also an opportunity to take in more fiber which helps digestion,” Lorenzo explains.

n CHOOSE YOUR COLD TREATS WISELY. Instead of ice creams and sugary beverages, try having fruit smoothies or botanical-infused drinks. “Sugar can actually lead to dehydration when consumed in high volumes,” Lorenzo warns.

“Drinking water is still the best way to quench your thirst. But if you want something more flavorful, it’s best to choose the healthy route by making smoothies with the freshest fruits and without added sugar, or add ice to your favorite botanical infusions.”

Sekaya Botanical Infusion, the plant-based brand’s line of botanical blends made from organic ingredients with wellness benefits like easing digestive issues and boosting immunity, can also be added to one’s hydration fix. They are so easy to prepare. Just steep a bag or two in freshly boiled water and infuse for 3-4 minutes, then add ice or put it inside the fridge for a refreshing healthy drink.

n OBSERVE FOOD SAFETY PRACTICES.

Lorenzo reminds that cases of food poisoning and gastroenteritis can be quite common during summertime. “Food poisoning and gastroenteritis due to bacteria or virus have similar symptoms like an upset stomach and vomiting. Both are caused by unhygienic or contaminated food and water,” she adds. “Prevent this from happening by following food prep standards like washing your hands when handling ingredients, making sure fruits and veggies are washed before eating, and ensuring that meat is cooked through. Also, avoid leaving food and water out for hours, especially under the heat of the summer sun.”

Summer is a great time to rest, relax and loosen up, but the heat can take a toll on our health too. Maintain good eating habits and even add a few more, so we can avoid the summer blues and keep having fun all season long.

PHY-GITAL PLAY Matthew watching Numberblocks on YouTube while playing with Mathlinks Numberblocks blocks.

Healthy eating habits to help families keep up with all summer fun

MPIC, DENR, QC LGU break ground on model park Gabay Kalikasan Park

“Gabay Kalikasan Park, aptly named after our advocacy on environment stewardship, is a testament to our group’s commitment to become a catalyst for inclusive, safer, resilient, livable, and sustainable cities and communities,” said MPIC Chief Finance, Risk, and Sustainability Officer Chaye A. Cabal-Revilla. “We gladly take on the responsibility with the government and communities to create greater environmental responsibility in our country, for the good of our people and our planet.”

Aside from the establishment of the green linear park, the parties will also jointly implement important project activities such as development of Communication, Education, and Public Awareness (CEPA) plans and capacitybuilding trainings and workshops for the partner communities, among others.

Celebrate Ramadan @ The Heritage Hotel Manila

AWHOLE day of fasting deserves a satisfying meal, so what should we eat for iftar (the evening meal)?

Ramadan falls on March 23, 2023 to April 21, 2023, so whether you’re looking for a spot to buka puasa (break your fast) with the family or want to do a celebratory company dinner this Ramadan, The Heritage Hotel Manila (THHM) has prepared special buffet and set menu for our Muslim community. For the Buka-Puasa, THHM offers a special dinner buffet at P1,188. There is a Set Menu

from Sunday to Wednesday where guests can choose from a variation of Ramadan dishes. Then a Special Ramadan Buffet is served from Thursday to Saturday, at P1,288 nett. As a Halal-Certified hotel, The Heritage Hotel Manila is popular for its Malaysian and Singaporean dishes like the Laksa, Hainanese Chicken, Nasi Goreng, Nasi Lemak, and Beef Rendang. Let the iftar feasting begin! For reservations, call +63 (2) 8854-8888 loc. 7355/7357.

Dasmariñas City business owners can now settle their business permit fees through Starpay app

METRO Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC), the country’s leading infrastructure investment company, broke ground on the Gabay Kalikasan Park, in partnership with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources – Biodiversity Management Bureau (DENR-BMB), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources –National Capital Region (DENR-NCR), and the local government unit of Quezon City.

In a groundbreaking event held on March 9, 2023, representatives from MPIC, DENR-BMB, DENR-NCR, and the QC LGU, officially ushered the development of Gabay Kalikasan Park into an urban green park model as part of the landmark threeyear public-private partnership for urban biodiversity in the Philippines.

“MPIC sees itself as the public sector’s partner in nation building, and advocating for environmental sustainability is part of that,” said MPIC Chairman, President, and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan. “Expanding our biodiversityfriendly footprint is crucial to our mission

of uplifting the lives of Filipinos.”

The primary goal of the project is to contribute to the development of a biodiversity-friendly city to increase access of urban dwellers to green spaces and maintain functional urban green spaces to regain ecosystem services, develop resiliency, increase aesthetics and quality of urban environment, and bring people close to nature to improve human well-being.

“Given the circumstances, I think this is the perfect site for this project,” said Quezon City LGU Parks Development and Administration Department OIC Ar. Baltazar Avelino. “On behalf of our Mayor, I would like to thank the DENR for initiating the project and MPIC for funding the project. I hope we do more projects with you and would like to thank all of you for your initiatives.”

The project aims to pilot the Adopt-aCity approach in the implementation of the Urban Biodiversity program, encouraging business sector support in creating green urban communities at the city and barangay/village level.

DENR-NCR Regional Executive Director Jacqueline Caancan emphasized the goal of this program and the impact it will have. “Gabay Kalikasan Park is an important undertaking as it helps address the lack of urban green spaces in Metro Manila and provides a model for the private sector on green investments. As the pandemic has taught us, urban green spaces play an important role in keeping us physically and mentally healthy and in improving the environment. Hence, the initiative of the MPIC to build a public park in partnership with the DENR and the Quezon City government is truly commendable.”

“This partnership with MPIC also highlights the role of the business sector in building green and resilient cities,” says DENR-BMB Director and Assistant Secretary for Policy, Planning and Foreign-Assisted and Special Projects Marcial C. Amaro, Jr. “Let us continue our collaborative work towards the goal of developing biodiversity-friendly cities in the country and in strengthening biodiversity conservation in the metropolis.”

This partnership for Gabay Kalikasan Park bolsters MPIC’s resolve to be the largest catalyst for a Sustainable Philippines. It is also aligned with the efforts of the conglomerate to contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), primarily SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities.

Eton’s Blakes Tower wins in 2022 Carousell Property Awards

ETON Properties Philippines received recognition for its Blakes Tower project in Makati City as “Best Mixed-Use Development” in the 2022 Carousell Property Awards.

“We are pleased to present the Best Mixed-Use Development award to Eton Properties’ Blakes Tower for their exemplary efforts to fulfill the growing demands of Filipino home seekers. The mix of residential spaces and offices is well-designed for today’s knowledge workers who value flexibility and agility — a testament to their passion and our aligned vision to provide every type of home for every Filipino,” said Shine Resurreccion, Carousell Philippines’ country representative.

Blakes Tower, within the Eton WestEnd Square in West Makati, brings together an exciting mix of especially curated property components. At 36-storeys, it has an office portion, alongside with residences for lease; capitalizing on the work-life integration that is very much relevant now with a pandemic recovery market. It has 11 office floors and 15 residential floors, the rest of the floors dedicated to amenities and parking.

Blakes Tower has small and flexible office units to keep up with the current market demand. “Businesses these days prefer small office spaces to save on office expenses like utilities, supplies, among others. With today’s hybrid business model of having a work-fromhome arrangement and only essential departments having the need to report daily, shifting to a smaller office can

significantly cut down costs for companies,” says Kyle Tan, Executive Director of Eton Properties.

With a residential component, Blakes Tower is in fact an ideal one-stop-shop for employers who would like to provide a safe residence for their employees within the same building of their workplace. Meeting, breakout rooms and recreational amenities would also be accessible for both Blakes Tower office workers and residents to promote productivity and make seamless work-life integration possible.

Blakes Tower is easily accessible through the LRT-1 train, public buses, jeepneys, cabs, and tricycles, with major commercial centers just a few minutes away. The Eton WestEnd Square development, where Blakes Tower is situated, also features eWestMall, which houses two floors of retail spaces, ensuring no shortage of different lifestyle options.

“We would like to thank Carousell Property Awards for the chance to showcase our mixed-use building, Blakes Tower; and for recognizing its potential, inventiveness

and quality of work that we strive to deliver in all our developments. With this recognition, you have inspired us to raise the bar, and bring our company to greater heights,” says Tan.

This is the second time that Blakes Tower has received such recognition. The project was cited as highly-commended “Best Mixed-Use Development” in the 2021 Philippines Property Awards where Eton Properties was also given a Special Award in ESG for its Environment, Social, and Governance best practices.

Eton Properties is the real estate brand of the Lucio Tan Group, one of the biggest business conglomerates in the Philippines. Its foreign counterpart, Eton Properties Ltd, is an established real estate brand in Hong Kong and mainland China. With an extensive land bank in strategic locations all over the country, Eton specializes in high-end and mid-income high-rise and horizontal residential developments, office projects, commercial centers, and mixeduse township developments.

THE City of Dasmariñas is going digital by bringing more convenience to the city’s business owners. City Mayor Jennifer Barzaga and Starpay Head of Growth

Richard Rosettes signed the Memorandum of Agreement together with Starpay Partner Specialist Head Warren Encarnacion. The agreement allows entrepreneurs to settle their business permit fees using the Starpay app.

The City of Dasmarinas, through its Business Permits and Licensing Office (BPLO) recently implemented the Electronic (Online) Business One Stop Shop (EBOSS) so that taxpayers and entrepreneurs can experience the ease of doing business. Applicants can fill up the official forms online, attach all documentary requirements and acknowledge the official privacy statement, without visiting the BPLO office. Notifications are sent via email or SMS, applicants are advised to ensure that mobile numbers and email addresses are accurate and active.

Following the convenience of online business applications and renewals, fees, and charges can now be settled via Starpay. Applicants will receive an interoperable QR code that follows the national standard, which can be scanned via the app and other participating e-wallets and banks.

With over seven million users, Starpay

Product and Marketing Head Ryan Uy continues to see tremendous growth as more and more cities shift to digital financial convenience.

“The public has been very receptive because the platform is user-friendly and very convenient,” adding that cashless retail purchases are currently being utilized in public markets in Baguio, Davao, Tagbilaran, and most recently Pasig.

Regulated by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. Starpay is available for download on the Google Play Store, Apple App Store, and Huawei App Gallery. The company strictly monitors users to avoid fraud and misuse of accounts.

CITY of Dasmarinas Mayor Jennifer Barzaga and Starpay Head of Growth Richard Rosettes signed the Memorandum of Agreement together with Starpay Partner Specialist Head Warren Encarnacion. The agreement allows entrepreneurs to settle their business permit fees using the Starpay app.

Nationwide search is on for Miss Aura Philippines 2023

IT is said that behind her good looks and vivacious spirit, every woman has that special character that generates from the inside and permeates out: that special thing that is called AURA.

It is that very same aura that develops her innermost strengths that will radiate into something more productive, more transforming and more inspiring to the rest of humankind.

And, it is here where a one-of-a-kind pageant generates that renewed sense of confidence, compassion, service, dedication and spirit among its contenders as it transcends the common notions of what beauty contests are all about. It is one that combines beauty and brains with what these females can do to create that big difference in much more holistic, inspiring ways as interactive role models. Enter Miss AURA Philippines 2023, a joint production with Charmed Entertainment Productions.

Founded with the aim of empowering young women, breaking stereotypes, and promoting self-confidence, Miss Aura Philippines welcomes females between the ages of 18-28 who are passionate about making a

positive difference in their communities. The pageant will showcase the contestants’ skills and abilities, including talent, poise, the social graces, proficiency in current events/ issues, mettle and public speaking, among others. In addition to celebrating the beauty and intelligence of young women, Miss Aura will also promote various humanitarian causes, whereas contestants will be required to participate in community service projects. This pageant will not only provide a platform for young women to showcase their abilities, but it will also be an opportunity to make a transformative and uplifting impact in their communities.

“We are excited to grace the second National Search for candidates who will represent the country to show the world our empowered Filipina, with intellect, beauty, grace, devotion and compassion. The Miss Aura International competition ushered in a new modern woman who possesses beauty, body, brains and behavior, tempered with ‘Interactive Compassion’ that will make a big difference in transforming and uplifting lives. This is indeed a whole new level of criteria never seen in beauty pageants Worldwide,” stressed Rowee Lucero, a visionary entrepreneur, model and beauty queen, and the pageant’s President and National Director.

Kathniss Griffiths, Miss Aura Philippines’ founder and CEO, is excited about the potential impact this beauty pageant will have on young women’s lives and the communities in which they live. “We believe that every young woman has the potential to make a positive difference in her community, and Ms. Aura Philippines’ will provide a platform for them to showcase their talents, skills, and abilities. We are excited about the opportunity to empower and inspire young women from all walks of life.”

For more information about the Miss Aura Philippines, please visit Miss Aura Philippines’ facebook and Instagram pages, or you may email hello@charmedep.com

Miss Aura Philippines was founded in 2020 with Katniss Griffiths as the CEO with Rowee Lucero as the President and National Director and Jino Wilfredo Esteban as the Vice President. Miss Aura Philippines will have its Grand Coronation Night on May 27, 2023.

ETON Properties’ Blakes Tower in Makati City wins Best Mixed-Used Development in the 2022 Carousell Property Awards.

OFFICIALS present during the Gabay Kalikasan Park Groundbreaking Ceremony are, from left, QC LGU’s Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability Department Representative Carl Ignacio; DENR-NCR Conservation and Development Division Chief Aida Esguerra; DENR-BMB Caves, Wetlands and other Ecosystems Division OIC Chief Anson Tagtag; MPIC Executive Director and Chief Finance, Sustainability and Risk Officer Chaye Cabal-Revilla; Barangay Mariana Chairperson Regina Celeste San Miguel; Barangay Mariana Councilor Ma. Conception Amorillo; DENR-NCR Regional Executive Director Jacqueline Caancan; MPIC Vice President for Investor Relations Maricris Aldover-Ysmael; and QC LGU Parks Development and Administration Department OIC Ar. Baltazar Avelino

Envoys&Expats

PBBM anticipates tighter relations with Chile, Qatar, Brunei, Malaysia

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. made the remark as he welcomed at Malacañang Palace the two countries’ new envoys to the Philippines: Ambassador Alvaro Domingo Jara Bucarey of Chile, and Ambassador Ahmed Saad Nasser Abdullah AlHamidi of Qatar.

As he received the Chilean diplomat, Marcos said the Philippines needs partners as nations slowly redefine their economies for postpandemic and post-Ukraine aggression scenarios.

He noted that the country is looking at new technologies and best practices around the world to transition from traditional fossil fuels to renewables.

The president particularly cited that while the Philippines is considered as one of the top producers of geothermal power, it has to explore other areas, with old, local geothermal sources starting to run out.

Bucarey described to Marcos Chile’s potential for solar and geothermal energies: “With [the former], we have been able to modify the energy production in Chile. In the northern part… there is an immense potential for energy generation.”

Marcos was delighted about the opportunity to explore with the Chilean envoy some of the new ideas and technologies available to both countries: “I look forward to that, Mr. Ambassador…I’m very happy that you have come as the envoy from your country, and I…hope that you will get to [travel around the archipelago].”

In welcoming Ambassador AlHamidi, the president hopes that

the Philippines could work closely with Qatar.

He noted that it will be a great advantage if the Philippines can learn best practices from the Gulf country, especially in revenue and income generation.

“I think that there are many areas that will provide us opportunities for partnership,” he told the Qatari envoy.

Al-Hamidi said his country is willing to work with the Philippines in exploring opportunities that the two countries feel they have great potential through years of vibrant diplomatic relations.

To help Mindanao

THE Chief Executive also welcomed Ambassador Megawati Dato Paduka Haji Manan of Brunei Darussalam and Ambassador Dato Abdul Malik Melvin Castelino Bin Anthony of Malaysia, as he thanked the country's two Southeast Asian neighbors for helping bring stability in Mindanao.

Marcos remains hopeful that the two Asean member-countries will continue supporting the development efforts in Mindanao to uplift living conditions there.

In welcoming Manan, Marcos said Brunei Darussalam's assistance and support have been big factors in establishing a successful autonomous Muslim government on the southern part of the island-region.

“So again, I hope that Brunei [Darussalam] continues to give our Muslim community in Southern

Philippines whatever opportunities are available, because that is the best way to assert that having peace is to give good life to the people [which] they… deserve,” he said.

The approach that the government has taken, Marcos shared, is the best formula, which is to bring as much development as quickly as possible in areas that will increase economic activity, so that people will have ideal living conditions, and they have all the essentials to turn them away from secessionist activity.

In response, Manan said it would certainly be her country’s direction to increase the level of cooperation with the southern region, considering that there are certain commonalities with its Asean neighbor.

“We hope that we will branch out and expand the existing cooperation to give…more opportunities for the south side,” she told the president. “As Mr. [Marcos said], giving them more…opportunities [will make them] feel that they’re more empowered in terms of uplifting their lives as well.”

The Chief Executive and the

diplomat also underscored the importance of the Asean in resolving regional concerns, such as the South China Sea/West Philippine Sea issue, and the civil unrest in Myanmar.

Marcos said Asean still remains the “most important mover for all [our diplomatic attempts] in terms of the conflicts that we are seeing."

In welcoming the Malaysian ambassador, Marcos recognized Kuala Lumpur’s role in bringing peace to the Southern Philippines, as he expected it to continue participating in the development of the Bangsamoro Region.

“It’s going to be very important... One of the complaints over the many, many years from the Muslim community in the Philippines [is] that they are underrepresented and underdeveloped. And they [are] absolutely right,” the president shared.” So we are trying to fix that. We are trying to return a balance.”

As the region gains stability, The Malaysian envoy believes that what Malaysia has done so far will sustain the progress of Mindanao. Filane Mikee

Cervantes/PNA

Natl agencies to boost maritime security, sustainable fisheries in PHL, Indo Pacific

ON March 20 and 21, 11 maritime Philippines agencies converged in Manila and agreed to create a National IORIS Governance structure to best serve operational interests of the Philippines, being a neutral and secure information-exchange and maritime-coordinating platform serving the needs of national agencies across the Indo-Pacific.

Once established, the structure would allow the country to be integrated into the wider IORIS Community being developed to address maritime challenges, with the two-fold objective of facilitating enhanced exchange of information with re -

gional partners, while also ensuring for the long-term implementation and sustainability of the platform.

Local maritime agencies have received extensive training on the IORIS platform since 2021. It has harmonized interagency information flows, promoted collaboration and trust, and enhanced interoperability among one another.

With the creation of the IORIS National Governance Structure, signatory agencies agreed to become active members of the IORIS National Board, which will assure proper functionality of the platform at national and regional levels to best serve the operational needs of

its users, remaining aligned with the tool’s fundamental objectives: (1) interconnect maritime agencies and authorities at national and regional levels, (2) better address maritime security and safety hurdles nationally and in the Indo-Pacific region, and (3) support sustainable fisheries.

Closing the event, CRIMARIO project director Martin Cauchi-Inglott said: “The Philippines has been at the forefront of welcoming IORIS to the region, the action even commencing with intensity when [the pandemic] was at its peak. It is now set to lead the way in taking ownership of IORIS, allowing itself to drive

the process internally, and bridge external partners whenever…necessary. My hearty congratulations go to these most professional maritime agencies coming on board.”

The event was organized by CRIMARIO, a European Union-funded project established in 2015 to contribute in enhancing maritime domain awareness, which now addresses maritime security and safety threats, in collaboration with the Philippines's National Coast Watch Center—an interagency body that provides strategic direction, while formulating and promulgating policy guidelines on maritime issues and security in the country.

WHILE in Northern Mindanao for a 400-metric ton (MT) rice turnover, Ambassador Kim In-chul of South Korea stopped by two world-leading Korean companies in Region 10.

On March 21 Kim visited the site of Daesang tapioca starch manufacturing facility in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental, which is currently under construction and will start its operation in August.

The $20-million project will produce 33,000 tons of tapioca starch and 4,446 tons of tapioca residue annually. It will bring the cassava starch production capacity of the Philippines from 370,000 MT to 403,000 MT.

As the facility will need 500 tons of fresh cassava per day, the project is expected to benefit and empower

local cassava farmers.

Kim also inspected the CJ Feed manufacturing plant in Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon. The plant produces 12,000 tons of its popular highquality animal feed monthly. With the plant, the firm aids local farmers by procuring corn from them.

CJ Feed and Care built its first feed manufacturing plant in Bulacan in 1997, and expanded its business to Mindanao in 2018.

According to the South Korean Embassy, the companies serve as “inspiring stories of agricultural entrepreneurship in Northern Mindanao with their unwavering commitment to growing together with local communities. They will continue their endeavors to improve agricultural productivity and attain food security in the Philippines.”

ON March 21 the GermanPhilippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GPCCI), in cooperation with the Philippine Energy Efficiency Alliance (PE2) and Cold Chain Association of the Philippines (CCAP), organized the “Energy Efficiency and Solar for Buildings” conference, where over 100 German and Philippine industry experts, as well as government stakeholders, shared project opportunities and best practices.

“The…German companies have the advanced technical know-how in the field of energy efficiency, and we are happy to provide the stage for them to connect with both key public and private stakeholders in the Philippines,” said GPCCI executive director Christopher Zimmer. This business mission saw participation from five German firms and discussed the following topics: SolarNext AG (Systems Solutions in Regenerative Heat and Cooling Supply), MIG mbH (Thin Insulations and Smart Coatings), Hörmann KG (Fire-rated and Multi-purpose Door Solutions), eeaser GmbH (Energy Efficiency in Consultancy) and Ecoligo GmbH (Clean Energy Transition Solutions).

“Several German corporations are already involved in the industry of energy efficiency in the Philippines, and this delegation signals an increased potential and investor interest,” claimed GPCCI president Stefan Schmitz. “We are delighted

to see more attention again from [them].”

Philippine Energy Efficiency Alliance’s president Alexander Ablaza and the Department of Energy’s Energy Utilization Management Bureau director Patrick Aquino also participated.

“Aside from its cost-saving benefits, energy efficiency is one of the most labor-intensive activities in the energy sector,” according to Ablaza. “There is a huge potential for investment opportunities [which] can generate more green jobs.”

“Our vision [is] to have renewable energy plus energy efficiency to attain energy sustainability,” affirmed Aquino. “We are currently developing policies that will effectively implement the intended goals of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act.”

In the following days the German delegation will further explore partnership potentials with Philippine counterparts through business-tobusiness meetings, project site visits, and other business networking activities.

The conference was part of the business delegation in the Philippines for German companies in the fields of energy efficiency and renewable-energy industry from March 20 to 24. It was organized in cooperation with Eclareon, and is part of the German Energy Solutions Initiative of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action.

UPLIFTING LIVES Canada’s envoy to the Philippines David Hartman met with former vice president and nongovernment organization Angat Buhay chair Ma. Leonor “Leni” Robredo to discuss opportunities for collaboration in health, education, food security and disaster-response capacity for Philippine partners. EMBASSY OF CANADA IN THE PHILIPPINES

IMPROVING HEALTH, SANITATION Ambassador Kazuhiko Koshikawa signed on March 13 a grant contract for “The Construction of Rainwater Tanks to Provide Safe Water Supply and Sanitary Education to Prevent Infectious Diseases in Bohol with Frequent Droughts“ project with Japanese nongovernment organization “Ikaw-Ako.” The $184,042 grant—approximately P10 million—will be funded under the Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects. EMBASSY OF JAPAN IN THE PHILIPPINES

SACHET ECONOMY Ambassador Ilan Fluss recently visited “sari-sari” stores in Metro Manila and Bulacan, whose owners use Israeli technology to fast-track transactions within their respective supply chains, which include small stores and wholesale distributors. FB: EMBASSY OF ISRAEL IN THE PHILIPPINES

PRESIDENT Marcos Jr. PNA

SoKor promotes inclusive business in Nor. Mindanao

AMBASSADOR Kim (second from left) EMBASSY OF KOREA IN THE PHILIPPINES

Germany, Energy Efficiency, solar energy firms seek biz opportunities

The Chief executive hopes to enhance ties with Chile and Qatar in disaster response, climate-change adaptation, energy security and revenue mobilization.

BIKE-FRIENDLY INTRAMUROS

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) aims to transform historic Intramuros into a more walkable and bike-friendly space via a project consisting of 9.6 kilometers of Class 1, 2 and 3 bike lanes, according to Secretary Jaime Bautista who adds that the department is also pursuing tourism advocacy by giving a modern appeal to alternative transport. ROY DOMINGO

Bachmann to PBBM: Aye aye, Sir!

By Josef Ramos

PHILIPPINE Sports Commission

(PSC) Chairman Richard “Dickie” Bachmann on Wednesday assured President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. of a successful Philippine lead hosting of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) World Cup.

RUSSIANS IN PARIS: NO CLEAR STATUS YET

GENEVA—Some Russian athletes can soon return to international sports, although their status for next year’s Paris Olympics is still up in the air.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended Tuesday that individual athletes from Russia and Belarus should be allowed to return to competition under a neutral status as long as they have no military links.

But the IOC, facing increased pressure to ban Russia and Belarus from the Paris Olympics because of the war in Ukraine, held off on deciding whether they can compete at next year’s Summer Games.

That decision will be taken “at the appropriate time,” IOC President Thomas Bach said.

When it comes to other events, including Olympic qualifiers, it will be up to each individual sport’s governing body to make the final decision on whether Russian and Belarusian athletes can take part.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy to exclude all Russian athletes while his country is being occupied and attacked.

But athletes from Russia and its military ally Belarus who have actively supported the war in Ukraine, or are “contracted to the military or national security agencies,” should not be cleared to compete as neutral individuals, Bach said.

The Russian Defense Ministry has said more than 20 of the country’s medalists at the Tokyo Olympics staged in 2021 held military ranks.

Of the 71 medals won in Japan, 45 were by athletes affiliated with the Central Sports Club of the Army.

In team sports, Russia and Belarus “cannot be considered” for a return, Bach said at a news conference after what he said was a unanimous agreement among the 15-member executive board.

Team events in other sports, such as relays or mixed doubles or team all-around in gymnastics, should also be off limits, the IOC said in a document explaining its guidance.

these, they understand very well that Russia itself will not agree to them.”

In the guidance document, the IOC said it would like Russians and Belarusians to be known as Individual Neutral Athletes with the French acronym AIN.

They should wear uniforms that are either entirely white or a single color, and can’t have a team logo. Athletes should be barred from displaying their national flags on social media or making statements “that may be prejudicial to the interests of the competition, its integrity or the participant’s neutrality,” the 5-page document stated.

The IOC’s recommendations “do not concern” the Paris Games that opens in 16 months’ time.

“The IOC will take this decision at the appropriate time at its full discretion,” said Bach, adding that “we are not kicking it down the road” when asked if the IOC was effectively buying time for the war to end.

“I humbly express my gratitude to President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and our leaders in the Senate and Congress for their support in ensuring that the Philippines delivers the best World Cup hosting in history,” Bachmann said in a statement.

“The PSC continues to commit its support and cooperation for the successful hosting of the Games, and to work hand-in-hand with the SBP [Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas] and other vital agencies, with the ultimate objective of creating an amazing basketball environment that unites people and encourages them to ‘Win for All.’

President Marcos formed an Inter-Agency Task Force through Administrative Order (AO) No. 5 to help the SBP in its hosting of the FIBA World Cup that the country is co-hosting with Japan and Indonesia from August 25 to September 10.

AO No. 5, issued through Executive Secretary Lucas P. Bersamin, instructed the PSC to head the said task force.

The SBP also expressed its gratitude to President Marcos.

“We are so pleased to hear all of

these, as this is all for our country, to show the world what we are capable of” SBP Vice President Ricky Vargas said. “We are very thankful to our President for helping us to have a great hosting of the World Cup and we will promise him to deliver the best World Cup.”

The task force is also composed of the Departments of Foreign Affairs, Health, Interior and Local Government, Public Works and Highways, Tourism and Transportation, Bureau of Customs, Philippine National Police and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority.

Cool Smashers, Angels eye PVL crown in no-tomorrow Game 3

SEAN GIBBONS remains as the main man of MP Promotions, ring icon and former senator Manny Pacquiao affirmed on Wednesday.

“He [Gibbons] still represents MP Promotions. Of course I order him to represent us in dealings abroad, in the US, if there’s a potential bout,” Pacquiao told BusinessMirror during the Alaxan FR Grand Media Event “The Showdown of the Year ‘’ which he graced with Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo at the Unilab Bayanihan Center in Pasig City.

“There are no issues between me and Sean,” Pacquiao added.

Gibbons is the subject of a social media attack that say he’s no longer involved with MP Promotions—MP being Manny Pacquiao—which he heads as president.

Pacquiao said he got wind of the attack on Gibbons during last week’s 23rd Gabriel Flash Elorde Boxing Awards Banquet of Champions at the Okada Grand Ballroom in Parañaque City.

The eight-division world champion said a man, who Pacquiao said introduced himself as a vlogger, approached him and told him that Gibbons was “making decisions that he isn’t aware of.”

“Someone told me that [Sean] Gibbons has made a decision that I have no knowledge of, then I replied to him that I have no idea what his question was all about,” Pacquiao said. “So why do I answer if I don’t know what exactly it was? I don’t have any problem with him.”

Gibbons is negotiating a comeback fight for Pacquiao in June in Abu Dhabi where he will face in a welterweight bout Briton Conor Benn. Josef Ramos

While the IOC said Russia and Belarus should remain barred from team sports such as soccer and basketball, it still defied repeated calls by Ukrainian President

“There is definitely discrimination in this,” veteran Russian gymnastics coach Valentina Rodionenko said in comments reported by RIA Novosti, adding that with “conditions like

CAS, again, dismisses PSI appeal

THE Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has dismissed with finality another appeal by the Philippine Swimming Inc. (PSI) for a stay of execution of a decision by the World Aquatics to withdraw recognition on the PSI.

“The urgent request for a stay of execution of the decision rendered by the FINA [World Aquatics] Bureau on 21 February 2023 filed by the Philippine Swimming Inc. on 24 March 2023 in the matter CAS 2023/A/9489 Philippine Swimming

Inc. v. World Aquatics is dismissed,” wrote, Dr. Elisabeth Steiner, deputy president of the CAS Appeals Arbitration Division, in an order dated March 28, 2023.

“The costs of the present Order shall be determined in the final award or in any other final disposition of this arbitration,” the order added.

The CAS has earlier dismissed an initial request by the PSI for a stay of execution of the international federation decision in a memorandum dated February 2, 2023, and also

Taekwondo summer classes ongoing

TAEKWONDO has again reinforced its status as one of the most popular martial arts in the country with a heavy turnout in the ongoing Philippine Taekwondo Association-Smart/MVP Sports Foundation summer classes.

On Tuesday night, PTA’s headquarters inside the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex was packed with kids and teenagers all eager to embrace the most recognized Korean martial art.

PTA’s annual summer activities are supported by the Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee and Milo.

Taekwondo’s popularity in the country continues to grow because aside from being a superior art of self defense, it also gives practitioners better and sound mind through intensive training.

More importantly, with its regiment of physical conditioning, it helps improve one’s concentration and alertness that’s why the PTA is inviting parents to encourage their children to take up the sport and train under PTA’s seasoned coaches.

The individual Olympic sports must now decide the entry and eligibility conditions for their events, which include ongoing qualifiers for the Paris Olympics and beyond to the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Games. AP

signed by Steiner

The CAS’s first dismissal order was stated in a 16-page letter that was a response to the PSI appeal sent to the Lausanne-based sports court last December 20, 2022.

In that first dismissal, the CAS affirmed the World Aquatics’s ordered the creation of a Stabilization Committee to handle the national sports association’s affairs.

In a separate order, the World Aquatics instructed the Stabilization Committee to conduct tryouts for the national team to the Cambodia Southeast Asian Games—an exercise conducted late last month at the New Clark City Aquatics Center.

Naval scores ace, leads Southwoods Invitational meet

MARC NAVAL grabbed the opening day spotlight in the Southwoods Invitational as he scored a hole-in-one on No. 7 of the Legends course and combined for 84 points with guest partner Miguel de Asis to set the early pace in Division II in Carmona, Cavite, on Wednesday.

Pablo Olivarez and Roberto Ronin Leviste pooled 83 points in Aggregate format at Legends while the Gerardo Cadiz-Dante Maldia, Brian ParkEden Hernandez and Bong AgojoMonching Rivera pairs matched 77 points to stay within striking distance of the Naval-de Asis tandem as they head to the Masters course where play shifts to Best-Ball under the Stableford Points scoring system

learn the basics of taekwondo.

with applied course handicaps.

But Naval already emerged the big winner as he claimed a sevennight Eastern Mediterranean Cruise onboard the Odyssey of the Seas, including two round-trip ManilaRome-Manila tickets, and P100,000 worth of free bet certificates from PAGCOR Casino Filipino, for his holein-one feat.

Naval used a TaylorMade 8-iron and Pro VI #2 ball in acing the 132-yard hole with de Asis, fellow Southwoods member Raoul Viray and guest Richard Lista.

Organizers, meanwhile, said if more than one player makes a holein-one on the same hole, the prizes will be shared.

IT will be all about mindset, heart and resiliency as Creamline and Petro Gazz face off in sudden death for the coveted Premier Volleyball League (PVL) All Filipino crown at the SM Mall of Asia Arena Thursday. Creamline coach Sherwin Meneses put it all in context when he said: “It’s no longer about skills—it’s down to mental.” But the Cool Smashers flashed not only their mental toughness but also their big fighting heart then showed poise in a nerve-wracking stretch to stop the Angels, 18-25, 25-16, 25-18, 23-25, 15-6, in another dramatic duel Tuesday that sent their best-of-three series into a winner-take-all Game 3. Game time is at 5:30 p.m. with the match to be telecast live on One Sports, One Sports+, Cignal Play, and SMART Live Stream and on pvl.ph.

Despite its championship experience, Creamline had to buck a lot of odds to force the equalizer and get back on track for a crack at a sixth PVL crown.

Dropping Game 1, 22-25, 26-24, 23-25, 24-26, the Cool Smashers were also dragged into another five-set struggle in a finals appearance.

But they rose to the challenge as Tots Carlos, Jema Galanza, Michele Gumabao, Ced Domingo and playmaker Jia Morado, along with the rest of the Cool Smashers, stepped up to foil the Angels with that blistering run in the fifth set and send the highly-charged series back to where it started Sunday.

“The skills are given, but whoever plays better that day and whichever team shows more chemistry and character, will have the edge,” said Meneses, whose Cool Smashers are eyeing a a third PVL championship.

The Angels did rue their missed chance to wrap it up in two but coach Oliver Almadro opted to put all the pent-up emotions of their failed sweep bid behind.

“We’ll forget about the loss and we’ll bounce back in Game 3,” said Almadro, whose wards’ fightback in a rip-roaring fourth set skirmish sparked hopes for the two-time Reinforced champions’ rise to the PVL throne the third time around.

PHILIPPINE Sports Commission Chairman Richard “Dickie” Bachmann vows to lead the task for a successful hosting of the World Cup.

ALYSSA VALDEZ, still recovering from an injury, cheers her teammates in Game 2.

INTERNATIONAL Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach speaks at the opening of the executive board meeting of the IOC in Lausanne Tuesday. AP

Pacquiao: Sean still my main man at MP

Health& Fitness

Editor: Anne Ruth Dela Cruz

Retired school principal thankful for early colon cancer diagnosis; is on the road to recovery

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

KABANKALAN, Negros

Occidental—Emmanuel

“The diagnosis came as a shock,” e mmanuel, a retired public school principal, recalled in an interview with BusinessMirror e mmanuel, or “Jun” to his friends, recalled that sometime in 2021 he had sudden changes in bowel habits. h e was also experiencing constipation, six months prior to the diagnosis.

Blood in the stool

l aT er his symptoms were persistent.  h e said he experienced bloody stools.

“That’s it. I said something is not normal here,” he suspected.  he and his doctor thought it was hemorrhoids but after the physical exam, it was something else. h e was told to undergo a colonoscopy.

“My doctor suspected that it was ‘something inside’ the intestine,” he said.

Sad news

They then proceeded to Bacolod City, a one and a half hour travel from Kabankalan, to undergo a colonoscopy.

a fter his examination, the doctor in Bacolod revealed the problem. There was a tumor in his colon.

I have Stage 2 colon cancer,” he said.

h e added: “When you find out you have cancer, many questions will flood your mind.”

“But the good thing is that I will not undergo chemo or radiation. a nother thing, is that it was detected early,” he said. e mmanuel said he is thankful that he has strong family support from his wife Vilma,72, and his six children, Zhyrel, Judson, Giselle, Grace, Ian Try, and Kristian.

Vilma said that she tried to show her husband that she was strong so that he will not feel weak and hopeless.

“But when he was in the hospital and [due to the pandemic] I was not allowed to be with him since I am a senior citizen, I was crying. I cried with my children while we are inside the vehicle,” Vilma recounted.

God never fails eMM an U el said that he constantly prayed to God to give him strength while facing such an ordeal.

h is operation at r iverside Medical Center was successful at r iv -

erside Medical Center. It was his granddaughter febe who took care of him for a couple of days at the hospital before he was discharged.

Road to recovery

o n C e e mmanuel arrived home, he said that the road to recovery was never that easy.

“It was a major adjustment,” he said adding that his movements were limited while he was healing at home.

“There was also discomfort [due to the ostomy bag],” he shared, adding that he had to stay in bed most of the time and move slower than his usual pace.

Vilma said that they were then extra careful with her husband’s physical movements, diet, and even mental well-being.

you really can’t help it but sometimes I know that he was getting depressed. But I told him he can get through it and just continue to pray,” Vilma, a retired public

school teacher, said. however, e mmanuel said that with patience, a positive attitude, the love of his family, and his faith, he was able to go back to his normal schedule and activities.

“But with limitations, of course,” he said. emmanuel eventually attended church services again at Good Shepherd Church and supervised their tailoring business, avvaya Shop. h e said that he had to follow the orders of the doctor while recovering to avoid complications and prevent setbacks.

“God never fails,” he said.

To avoid recurrence, e mmanuel said, he has to go to the doctor every six months.

Full recovery

There is only one thing that e mmanuel is asking for and that is to fully recover from cancer.

“I am thankful to God. he really takes good care of me and my

family,” he said.

a nother thing to be thankful for, he said was that he was able to witness the wedding of his youngest son Kristian who got married on March 17.

“It is really your faith in God that will push you not to give up,” he said as he learned to treasure every moment and never take life for granted.

While he was thankful to God for his provision, e mmanuel also is grateful to his physicians, Dr. r oselle Serna, Dr. John Ignatius l edesma, and Dr. a aron Jacildo. h e said they were God’s instruments who gave him the best care available.

In the Philippines, colon cancer according to the International a gency for r esearch on Cancer of the World h ealth o rganization has recorded 17,364 cases in 2020 for both sexes on all ages. It places third after Breast and l ung Cancers.

Metro Pacific Health pushes for collaborative cancer care, names Asian Hospital and Medical Center its apex hospital

By Candy P. Dalizon

for Dr. h arish Pillai, Chief e xecutive o fficer of Metro Pacific h ealth (MP h ) collaboration is key when it comes to improving and expanding access to cancer care and expertise.  MP h manages the largest private hospital network in the Philippines with 20 hospitals and a growing primary care network and cancer centers.

“What we are trying to do with our group right now is to convert it into a collaborative network and build a hub and spoke model of health care,” he said.

Dr. Pillai bared plans of creating a national network with one of MP h ’s hospitals in Metro Manila as its apex where most of the expertise or the best clinicians can come from.

“We are fortunate to have an institution like a sian h ospital with an infrastructure that is truly world class, not just the infrastructure but also the medical equipment and the faculty and personnel there, they are really top notch. It is also JCI [Joint Commission International] accredited. It is the apex of the network in a way,” said Dr. Pillai.

a sian h ospital is one of the largest hospitals and most advanced healthcare institutions in the Philippines.

In 2015, it established the a sian Cancer Institute ( a CI) a state-of-the-art, multidisciplinary, and integrative cancer care facility.

“What we are trying to do is to ensure that the clinical focus there [at a sian h ospital] can be targeted towards the benefit of the entire network. h ospitals of the network can collaborate. e xperts of one hospital can go to the other and they can refer patients too. a sian h ospital can

be the apex of the southern network too as it is close to l aguna,” he added.

a sian h ospital is strategically located in f ilinvest City in a labang, Muntinlupa City—only 10 kilometers from the country’s central business district Makati City; 20-minute drive from the International and Domestic airports, and less than a kilometer from the South l uzon e xpressway (S le X).

It is also the goal of the hospital network to help decrease the amount of patients from the provinces of Visayas and Mindanao who are traveling to Metro Manila for cancer care and other health concerns.

Dr. Pillai mentioned r iverside Medical Center in Bacolod which can be their referral hospital in Visayas and Davao Doctors h ospital in Mindanao.

h e talked about collaborative cancer care as part of the hospital network’s vision in improving cancer care in the country during the recent Philippine n ational Cancer Summit. This year’s theme is “Bridging Gaps in Cancer Care through  3Cs - Communication, Complementation, and Collaboration.”

sion or PCS Can Com spearheaded the cancer summit together with the Philippine Cancer Society and Cancer Coalition of the Philippines.

The goal of MP h for cancer care runs parallel to that of the recently concluded national cancer summit.

“The goals of the cancer summit are to inspire all stakeholders to collaborate and work together more synergistically and to serve as an opportunity to share knowledge, expertise, experiences, research, good practice models, best practices and social innovations, for promoting and advancing integrated, multidisciplinary, patient-focused, quality cancer care and management,” said Dr. Corazon ngelangel, president of the Philippine Cancer Society.

Dr. n gelangel is one of the country’s top medical oncologists and the director of the a sian Cancer Institute of a sian h ospital.

Global expertise in cancer care aCC or DI n G to Dr. n gelangel, basic to advanced treatment options for cancer in the Philippines are at par with the rest of the world: “There might be highly specialized advances in precision oncology covering diagnostics  [such as  use of a rtificial Intelligence or a I] and treatment [surgery

with intraoperative molecular imaging, robotic radiotherapy, and highend precision medicine] that are yet to be fully in place in the Philippines, but we are getting there.”

The a CI, which is among the most advanced cancer facilities in the country,  also stands out as it offers a true one-stop-shop experience to patients. It utilizes an innovative team approach in cancer prevention and management with access to modern diagnostics and cancer treatment. These include genomics and molecular oncology for precise and personalized cancer therapy, targeted and immuno-oncology drugs, intraarterial micro-brachytherapy or SI r T, high dose-rate or h Dr brachytherapy, stereotactic radiosurgery and stereotactic body radiotherapy via the stateof-the-art, image-guided TomoDirect Tomotherapy h Da - h Series machine system.

The institute also recognizes that holistic care or looking past the physical needs of patients is essential in cancer management. Services for the whole spectrum of cancer management are available and accessible at the a CI—from cancer awareness and genetic counseling, early detection, diagnosis, definitive cancer treatment, to supportive, palliative, hospice care, with cancer support groups.

It is manned by a competent group of dedicated oncologists and allied oncology professionals who are recognized experts in their fields.

l aunched in 2015, a CI has been embracing patients with healing, comfort, and hope. It remains committed to deliver its promise of providing Global e xpertise in cancer care and to serve with a f ilipino h eart that comforts and heals.  a CI maintains that “a more coordinated

Who are more likely to develop and die from colorectal cancer? Those people who have smoked tobacco for a long time.

“We know that smoking may cause lung cancer but let us not forget that it is linked to different types of cancers also like colon cancer. Smoking increases the risk of colorectal cancer mortality,” said Dr. Jaime Galvez Tan, a trustee of h ealthJustice Philippines.

Dr. Galvez Tan, who is also a former h ealth Secretary, said smoking affects a person’s prognosis once diagnosed.

In the Philippines, colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer and the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths.

Warning signals

The Department of health (D oh ) said that warning signals of colon cancer include change in bowel habits.

This includes recurrent diarrhea and constipation, particularly with the presence of abdominal discomfort, weight loss, unexplained anemia, and blood in the stool.

Early detection

Unfor TU na T ely, early colon cancer is asymptomatic, and there is still no efficient screening method for early detection.

Early diagnosis

approach to cancer is required which enables integrated services to be provided within a patient-centered and multidisciplinary-interdisciplinary framework.”

Dr. n gelangel said the four integrated centers of excellence under aCI are constantly improving to boost outcomes and quality of life of cancer patients, with patient-centered goals. The e mmanuel Centers (God is with us…)—which include e mmanuel Main, Breast, and Simply Woman Centers—conduct screening, diagnosis, and surgical care. The Conquer C Center ( yes, we can…) offers services in radiation oncology, nuclear oncology, and interventional radio-oncology.

Chrysanthemum I Center ( h ealth and long life…) provides medicalhematology, adult-pediatric oncology services, and precision oncology medicine, while Chrysanthemum II Center ( h ealth and comfort…) gives quality integrative, supportive and palliative-hospice care services.

The a CI treats adults and children with all types of cancer. The medical staff encompasses nearly 205 attending multidiscipline physicians and more than 70 oncologytrained nurses and allied staff. The institute has an average of 1,316 new cases annually for the past eight years and this can be attributed to several factors such as increased public awareness of cancer symptoms, improved referral system in MP hh I and among different health facilities, and increased diagnostic capability of the hospital.

f or more information, contact a sian h ospital and Medical Center h otline 632 8-771-9000 or visit  https://www.asianhospital.com  and on facebook,  https://www.facebook. com/AsianHospitalPH/

The D oh said that the aim should be an earlier diagnosis of symptomatic patients who complain of changes in bowel habits, vague abdominal pains, and unexplained weight loss and anemia, particularly among patients 50 years old and above, by means of barium enema or colonoscopy.

The mistaken obsession of physicians with amoebiasis and other forms of inflammatory bowel disease had for decades been a major factor that had delayed the diagnosis of colon cancer.

The wider availability of antidiarrheals, antibiotics and amoebecides may have worsened the situation.

“Too many physicians still insist in giving vitamin preparations and hematinics for chronic unexplained weight loss and anemia without carefully looking for the cause,” the D oh said.

Prevention

Dr. Galvez Tan encouraged smokers to quit.

“Quitting smoking will reduce your risk of colon cancer. It will not only improve the overall health of smokers but it will protect their loved ones from the dangers of second-hand smoke exposure,” Dr. Galvez Tan said.

Studies indicate that colon cancer is highly preventable.

Increasing physical activity, keeping a healthy weight, reduction of alcohol consumption and not smoking are among the ways people can reduce their risk of colon cancer.

Claudeth Mocon Ciriaco

D. Cabalatungan, 77, never imagined that he would be diagnosed with stage 2 colon cancer.

Smoking, too, can cause colon cancer—expert

Emmanu E l and Vilma Cabalatungan Th E Cabalatungan family at the wedding of Kristian, the family’s youngest.

Health&

Next generation cancer screening technology to speed up cancer testing, possibly treatment

By Rory Visco Contributor

Colon cancer patients to benefit from NICCA

By Dr. Jun R. Ruiz

Can C er is a catastrophic disease and is one of the leading causes of death in the Philippines. More than 153,000 patients were estimated to have cancer in 2020. Breast cancer ranks first in incidence with 17.7 percent of the cases, followed by lung (12.5 percent), and colorectal (11.3 percent).

Colorectal (or simply Colon) Cancer awareness Month spotlights on this malignancy because it is the third most common cancer in the world. Furthermore, it is the second cancer killer internationally, despite it being a treatable cancer. The advocacy is annually celebrated in March, as it encourages people at risk to undergo screening, as colorectal cancer (C r C) is a preventable disease.

However, the future of early cancer detection in the Philippines remains to be bright through a new technology that will soon be available in the country to help fight cancer called n ext Generation Sequencing ( n GS).

Cancer defined

aCCOr DI nG to Dr. e ugene Odoño, Medical Specialist III at the Department of Laboratories of the UP Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH), cancer is defined as the abnormal growth of cells that may lead to the formation of tumors. While the existence of a tumor does not necessarily mean it is cancer, most cancers, except those in the blood, can create tumors. Cancer may also deprive the body of nutrition and can also destroy other organs and muscles in the body.

Cancer may generally be formed when the D na in the genes that guide the growth of cells experience changes that is called “mutation.” It then goes on a destructive stage when it goes to spread to other parts of the body or what is called “metastasis,” Dr. Odoño explained during the last Stop C.O.V.I.D. Deaths webinar titled “Labanan ang Kanser: n ext Generation Sequencing ( n GS) Parating n a!” a webinar organized by the University of the Philippines, the UP Manila n IH n ational Telehealth Center and in cooperation with UP-PGH.

He said there are at least three

EastWest

ea ST West Banking Corporation ( e astWest) held a number of activities for its employees to raise awareness about breast cancer, and how to fight back through detection to prevention. a s an organization whose workforce is 65 precent female and given that breast cancer affects three in 100 Filipino women, this cause is an intimate one for e astWest.

e astWest employees rallied to raise funds for breast cancer detection and prevention of the beneficiaries of Philippine Foundation for Breast Care Inc. (PFBCI), also known as Kasuso.org. This was done through the launch of the very first Magenta r ace—a virtual run/walk and cycle for breast cancer. The choice of magenta, a deeper shade of the pink that is associated with cancer awareness, wishes to express e astWest’s deeper commitment to this cause. a total of 145 employees took part in the e astWest Magenta r ace, with 94 joining the run/walk, and 51 joining the cycle race. e ach participant registered and paid for a Magenta r ace dri-fit shirt, and part of its proceeds were collected as donations to PFBCI.

The e astWest Magenta r ace ended

basic forms of providing cure for cancer: surgery that aims to remove the tumor, chemotherapy where it strives to kill cancer cells and also includes immunotherapy and hormonal therapy, and lastly radiation or radiotherapy. But how to determine what treatment would best suit a patient? Would it be just surgery, or would chemotherapy suffice? Dr. Odoño, however, believes that the appropriate treatment depends on the type of cancer, or on the “stage” or level of coverage of cancerous cells and how it has already spread throughout the body. “These will help you and your doctor decide which appropriate mode of treatment can be done. This will also help in informing the family of the patient on the chances of recovery or prognosis,”

Dr. Odoño stressed.

Traditional or modern?

aT present, the way of determining the type and stage of cancer in a patient is through traditional means such as a histopathologic examination or “biopsy,” where cells are extracted from the patient’s tumor, or through “excision biopsy” where the tumor is removed then examined by a pathologist through a microscope.

On the other hand, Dr. Odoño said the stage of a cancer is determined through x-rays, M r Is, CT scan, bone scan or P e T scan.

But what if there is a way to read the D na in the genes? Dr. Odoño

said there is an existing technology called “molecular diagnostics” that is now used against cancer. This test checks the D na or genes in the cells and blood that can help determine if cancer is present or not, the type of cancer it is, or what are its mutations. Through molecular diagnostics, knowing the mutations in cancer can help determine which type of cancer it is, which type of medicine will work or not, and know the chances of recovery.

One example of a molecular diagnostic test is eGF r or estimated glomerular filtration rate testing for lung cancer, which is done to check if there are mutations that can be treated by a particular type of medicine.

Unfortunately, there are only a few institutions that offer molecular diagnostic tests for cancer, Dr. Odoño pointed out, and mostly found in bigger hospitals in progressive cities, and many of them can only check one gene per testing to find out if there is mutation or not.

Hope for cancer testing through NGS

THIS is why in the Department of Laboratories of the UP-PGH, Dr. Odoño said, they are already trying if they can put up n ext Generation Sequencing or n GS test, a type of molecular diagnostic test

wherein several genes are examined and read simultaneously.

“With n GS, we have what we call ‘panels,’ or a list of genes that is searched for and examined in each panel. Using modern and efficient technology, the genes in the list can be read simultaneously.”

One of the notable advantages of n GS is that it can search for mutations in dozens of genes in just a single test, and increases the possibility of finding more mutations. r esults are known much faster because it can test several genes and not one at a time just like before, and only a small amount of tissue can be extracted to test as many genes as possible.

But just like any modern technology, n GS is quite expensive. But since cancers have so many mutations, testing through n GS will be worth every peso spent if more genes can be tested.

Still, Dr. Odoño said the best way is to ask your physician if n GS can be done based on your ailment since the doctor will be the one to explain the results, give advice on next steps to take, and how the test results can be used in the treatment of cancer.

“Because of its outstanding benefits, the UP-PGH is trying its best to help establish n GS by this year for the benefit of our fellow Filipinos and those who have cancer,” Dr. Odoño stressed.

band together to help fight breast cancer

the work that they do at Kasuso.org.

a s part of e astWest’s health and wellness program, it also conducted a month-long series of breast health check-ups for all employees across all corporate centers and in certain stores in Luzon (Cavite, Batangas, San Fernando and Dolores in Pampanga) and VisMin (Cebu, Iloilo, Bacolod, Davao, Cagayan De Oro, General Santos).

The bank’s activities concluded with the turnover of the check amounting to P380,000 raised by e astWest employees via the Magenta r ace. The funds will be used to help in the early detection of breast cancer through free checkups such as mammograms and breast ultrasound.

Over the last decade, there has been an increasing incidence of C r C in persons younger than 50 years of age (called as “early onset colorectal cancer”) in the United States. This disease was recently in the spotlight in 2020 after “Black Panther” star Chadwick Boseman died from the disease at the age of 43. Last week, the Philippine sports community was shocked when Ginebra player Lewis a lfred (L a ) Tenorio announced that he had been diagnosed with Stage 3 colon cancer at the young age of 38.

Cancer screening

C a n C er screening is looking for cancer before the person develops any symptoms. The best way to prevent C r C is through screening. a lmost all of these cancers start as benign growths called polyps and may take as long as 10 years to become malignant. The removal of these polyps through a procedure called colonoscopy prevents C r C, reducing the risk by as high as 70 percent. When the test finds cancer at an early stage, treatment is most effective and can result in cure.

C r C screening is recommended for average-risk asymptomatic persons starting the age of 50 years in the Philippines. e arlier screening is advocated in patients with additional risk factors, like family history of colorectal cancer.

NICCA

TH e n ational Integrated Cancer

Control a ct ( n ICC a ) r epublic a ct 11215 was signed into law on February 14, 2019, to ensure high quality health services for patients diagnosed with cancer, and to provide financial assistance to the Filipino patient as a cancer diagnosis burdens the family with a financial catastrophe.

In preparation for the full implementation of Universal Health Care, the Department of Health (DOH) will be starting the integration of primary care guidance and standard of care to encompass health promotion, primary prevention, screening, early diagnosis, and referral. In the health care system of developed countries, as exemplified by Kaiser Permanente in the United States, the success of holistic management of patient’s health is achieved under the efficient coordination of primary care physicians.

Cancer Care Beyond the Pandemic” on March 3, 2023, in collaboration with the DOH. The speakers were DOH a ssistant Secretary Dr. Beverly Lorraine Ho, Professor Jose D. Sollano, medical oncologist Dr. necy Juat, and this writer.

Dr. Ho gave updates on the n ICC a , and shared the many wonderful benefits for cancer patients, like expansion of coverage of services and a more sizable budget for medicine assistance and other diagnostic examinations. Cancer patients are already considered “persons with disabilities,” and can thus avail of discounts in medicines and hospital services.

Cancer patients now have improved access to free medicine, as the budget of the Cancer and SupportivePalliative Medicine a ccess Program (CSPM a P) has been increased to P1 billion this year. The CSPM a P has now been expanded to eight focus cancers, including C r C. The Cancer a ssistance Fund (C a F) is a separate program that funds cancer control services such as diagnostics, therapeutic procedures, and additional medicines.

She added that “the department recognizes that its programs may need assistance from the private sector, and that is why we celebrate partnerships, like what we have with the Medical City.”

Start of screening age for CRC maintained at 50 Pr OF Sollano discussed the Third a sia-Pacific Consensus r ecommendations on C r C screening (2022) and emphasized that the start of the screening age for average-risk is maintained at 50 years, as the costeffectivity of lowering this age to 45 has not yet been demonstrated in a sia. r isk stratification and sequential offering of tests are reasonable approaches to C rC screening in a sia.

Despite the numerous benefits from n ICC a for cancer patients, the fight against C r C has been an uphill battle. In spite of the numerous educational activities by the DOH and the medical community in the last five years, a majority of the population is still reluctant to undergo testing due to lack of medical awareness (health literacy). The absence of a national population-based C r C screening program and the big financial burden of screening on the individual patient (as discussed by Dr. Juat) are additional barriers to this campaign. Local health maintenance organizations still refuse to pay for C r C screening strategies.

with the first placer receiving a trophy and limited-edition merchandise. The other top ten placers received Magenta r ace medals and merchandise.

e astWest employees ordered extra shirts and sent in cash pledges beyond the e astWest Magenta r ace registration, which further increased the amount pledged to PFBCI.

Moreover, the bank also partnered with MediCard, e astWest’s health in -

surance provider to educate the bank’s employees about breast cancer detection and treatment. Together, they conducted a “Breast Cancer a wareness Talk Webinar” which aimed to answer important questions about breast cancer. The guest speakers were Dr. Lissa Theresa r esurreccion of MediCard, who talked about breast cancer prevention and detection, and Dr. Marilyn C. Barza who talked about

“a s employees of e astWest, part of our mission is to help improve the quality of life of those around us. We are honored to have even the smallest contribution to this cause, and we are pleased that the Bank truly shares the same values as its employees. We are hopeful that we can continue this partnership and advocacy even beyond the breast cancer awareness month,” said a tty. Clarissa B. r amos, one of the Magenta r ace organizers, and an active member of e astWest Milers, the bank’s running club.

The DOH realizes that prevention and screening of malignancy will be cost-effective in cancer management economics, given the country’s limited financial, infrastructure, and manpower resources. It aims to make cancer care more equitable, affordable and accessible to all, especially to the underprivileged, poor and marginalized Filipinos.

March against Colon Cancer

TH e Medical City organized an online forum entitled “March against Colon Cancer: Towards a Universal

When the DOH has a national C r C screening program in the future, this can result in diagnosing cancers in the earlier stages when these can be effectively treated and lead to an eventual decrease in mortality. a t that future time, screening measures to prevent C r C can be finally realized as envisioned by n ICC a

About the Author: Dr. Jun R. Ruiz is a Philippine and American board-certified gastroenterologist. He is the Lead for Colon Cancer Awareness Advocacy of The Medical City, and the Programs and Advocacy Officer of TMC’s Cancer Institute.

CANCER remains to be one of the top three killer diseases in the country, next only to ischemic and cerebrovascular diseases. The difficult part for most cancers is that some are detected when it is at its more serious stage already, where treatment and recovery would be next to impossible for certain patients.

Dr. Jun Ruiz, gastroenterologist at The Medical City

employees

o M left, Juni del Rosario, Jeff ortega—Social and Media Lead, EastWest, Malu del Rosario—Chairman, PFBCI, Clarissa Ramos—AVP Corporate and Custodianship, Legal Services Division, EastWest, Lizette Lim—Trustee, Membership Committee, PFBCI, Es Vidaurreta Internal Communications Lead, EastWest, Aileen Antolin—Trustee, Program Development Committee, PFBCI

PEXELS.COM KAROLINA GRABOWSKA

PHL experiencing an obesity epidemic—DOH

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

Is the Philippines experiencing an obesity epidemic?

Apparently, yes, according to Department of h ealth (DO h ) officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire

“We have an obesity epidemic here in the Philippines,” Vergeire said in a media forum.

Citing the latest survey, Vergeire said that 14 percent or one in 10 Filipino school-aged children are obese.

Thirteen percent or one in 10 Filipino adolescents are also considered overweight.

Three in 10 lactating mothers and 4 in 10 adults are obese.

l ikely to develop noncommuni -

cable diseases

According to the World h ealth Organization, overweight and obese children are more likely to stay obese into adulthood and to develop noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) like diabetes and cardiovascular diseases at a younger age.

Obese children and adolescents may also suffer from both shortterm and long-term health consequences.

Overnutrition such as overweight and obesity, the DOh said, is a serious health concern especially in the light of its strong as

By Rizal Raoul Reyes

AS they say, health is wealth and beauty is skin deep.

Katherine Alejar, Chief e xecutive Officer of i3 Inc., knows the value of good health. This was stressed to her during the pandemic when millions of people around the world, including the Philippines, got afflicted with the Covid-19 virus.

Further, her health advocacy also opened her eyes to a number of things about women as members of the workforce, trendsetters, and individuals. The way they eschewed health and wellness to invest their earnings in luxury goods, in particular, was something she found disturbing.

Me NTA l health is defined by the World h ealth Organization (W h O) as a state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community

The social and economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has exposed people to situations linked to poor mental health outcomes, such as isolation from loved ones, fear of the virus, business bankruptcy and job loss, and even return-to-work anxiety.

Because of this, experts have declared that the next global health crisis will be a mental health pandemic.

Expanded partnership

T O help address these issues, the local government of Pasig City in the Philippines and MindNation renewed and expanded the partnership that began in December 2020.

Under the terms of the revised agreement, MindNation will provide free mental health services to city government frontliners.  MindNation is a mental health and well-being organization with a goal of happier, healthier employees and communities.

The organization provides expert-backed surveys, talks, training, teletherapy services, and mental health programs for teams.  Plans are also underway to extend the same service to Pasig City residents who are small and mid-size enterprise owners. Teletherapy

therapy sessions with psychologists, 24/7 chat support with a trained mental health professional, mental health webinars, and Premium access to the MindNation app.

The partnership kicked off with an onboarding talk from MindNation Chief Product and Data Officer, Cat Triviño, and a stress management seminar conducted by MindNation Chief WellBeing Officer, e iza Fusingan for members of the City Government’s Ugnayan sa Pasig Unit and the Office of the City Administrator.

“A barrier to mental health support is inaccessibility; many are unable to receive appropriate, affordable services in a timely manner,” says MindNation Chief Impact Officer Kana Takahashi. Takahashi added, “Community partnerships like these are key to improving access to mental health care and ensuring that people know where to go for help.”

Meanwhile, Atty. Diego l uis Santuago, Assistant City Government Department h ead II from the Office of the City Administrator, said that the importance of mental health cannot be overstated, especially from the experience during the time of the pandemic and even during our daily duties.

“Oftentimes, our frontliners come face to face with stressful situations, affecting us mentally and emotionally, causing new or aggravating already existing psychosocial disorders. We are very thankful to Mindnation for reaching out to our local government unit and greatly alleviating the stresses of our public servant employees through their advocacies in mental health.” he said.

Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

“ h ealth issues are one of the most common problems I’ve seen with my peers,” she said. A lot of women tend to neglect this; and, instead, I see them buying these luxurious items.

They are not paying attention to their health and that’s going to be a problem sooner or later,” she said.

By Roderick L. Abad Contributor

Bel I e VING that a healthy community helps build a robust economy, Flash e xpress has reached out to some local government units in the metropolis to extend medical assistance to their respective communities.

As part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) thrust, the fastestgrowing logistics and courier service company in the Philippines paid a courtesy call with Pasig City Vice Mayor Robert Vincent Jude “Dodot” B. Jaworski Jr. early this month.

In support of the city’s health and wellness programs, Flash e xpress donated more than 265,000 pairs of medical supplies covering all barangays within the locality.

The firm, likewise, discussed its intention to back up the city’s business programs for the benefit of micro, small and medium enterprises, especially the online sellers.

On the same day, it also visited the health workers in Barrio Obrero h ealth Center in Manila. Multiple sets of medical supplies were also handed over to them.

Both cities are now fully recovering from the ensuing health crisis. Amid the resurgence of their local economies, following the resumption of business activities, the city

sociation with the development of non-communicable diseases which are among the leading causes of mortality, morbidity and disability in the country today.

These NCDs include cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, renal diseases, and degenerative arthritis, gout and gallbladder diseases.

With the various medical consequences associated with overnutrition, this weight problem contributes to decreased productivity and economic growth retardation.

Factors contributing to the increasing problem of overweight and obesity include poor diets, inadequate nutrition, and failing food systems.

In addition, limited physical activity is likewise contributing to the growing problem on overweight and obesity.

Prevention is key

The DOh said prevention remains to be the most feasible option for curbing the childhood obesity epidemic.

Results from the e xpanded National Nutrition Survey conducted by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) in 2019 reported a relatively low prevalence of overweight at 2.9 percent among children under five years old; medium prevalence of 9.1 percent and 9.8 percent among children aged five to 10 years old and 10 to 19 years old, respectively.

Among Filipino adolescents, overweight has tripled in the last 15 years.

There is a higher rate of overweight and obese children in urban areas than in rural areas and higher prevalence of several risk factors and environmental conditions could rapidly increase the rates.

Seeking a solution

I N response to the pandemic, Alejar stepped up to the occasion by seeking a solution that would help boost one’s energy in a healthy and non-toxic manner and thus improve one’s productivity and vitality. That is where the French-developed technology Vital Dome comes in.

“It’s not just a machine for beauty and, in the post-pandemic scenario, it’s timely because this is exactly what

we need,” Alejar says. “After living under the specter of Covid-19, we need to think of ways to live healthier lives. The Vital Dome is one such way.”

The infrared rays generated by the carbon panels within the Vital Dome help reduce internal inflammation which is necessary for managing chronic pain, mitigating the impact of aging on the joints and muscles and rehabilitating those recovering from injuries or wear and tear of repetitive movement.

The benefits of using the Vital Dome include healthy weight management, body shaping and even dermatology as it kick starts the regenerative process at the skin’s cellular level leading to a fresher, more elastic and younger appearance.

She likewise began offering partnerships with clinics and wellness centers to retain brand visibility, something that allowed her to continue ordering from her principal in France and retain her position as the device’s exclusive distributor.

The De l a Salle University graduate also introduced the Bring h ome a Dome campaign that would allow clients to install Vital Dome in their homes so that they could share its benefits with family and friends.

Beyond the Dome

W h I le i3 Inc. is the exclusive Philippine distributor of the Vital Dome, it is not the only wellness solution it offers.

Alejar recently introduced Oligocheck, a non-invasive diagnostic device that does real-time analysis if one has been exposed to heavy metals and other environmental contaminants that are detrimental to one’s health.

i3 is also the exclusive distributor of Rejucream, a solution that women in their perimenopausal and menopausal years will gladly welcome as it relieves discomfort in the female intimate areas by relieving vaginal atrophy, a key source of stress and physical pain for women in their 40s and 50s.

ment organizations, clients’ business partners and customers that our organization is their partner not only through Flash e xpress› delivery services but also as their partner in nation-building through our CSR programs,” he explained.

Fast care

ACCORDING to Flash e xpress Public Relations & Partnerships Manager Reginald Rex Pumihic, the company has been conducting CSR activities for the past two years since its inception in the Philippines. The firm had to reinforce its CSR campaigns through “Alagang Flash.”

governments of Pasig and Manila cannot afford to be complacent of the improving pandemic situation.

h ence, they continue to partner with the private sector to enhance their healthcare services to their constituents. Not only that they constantly guard against the recurrence of coronavirus infection, but also keep on getting rid of other illnesses and health risks that also require ample attention.

Apart from conducting a series of medical mission and donation, Flash e xpress also held various outreach programs to the different communities and government organizations.

l ate last month, for instance, the company reached out to the community of Tondo, Manila and gave sets of goods and clothes to different family beneficiaries living near its warehouse.

Flash e xpress Marketing Deputy Director AR Polinar said that they do not only commit to provide delivery service to Filipinos but also serves as an organization that provides care to its host communities.

“We launched ‘Alagang Flash’ with the core message of ‘Tagapag-hatid ng Serbisyong may Kalinga’ to send the message across our community, including our employees, govern -

“Since Flash e xpress serves a lot of communities, we want to centralize all our programs in order to bring our CSR efforts closer to these communities. We have set different CSR activities targeted to every community of Flash e xpress involving our employees, business partners, clients, partner-foundations and government organizations,” he said.

During its first year of operations in the country, the company has already made several CSR efforts to contribute to the community. To name a few, Rated K “tsinelas” donation drive, ABS-CBN Sagip Kapamilya’s Tulong-Tulong sa Pagbangon, and various medical missions and disaster responses to the community and its employees during calamities.

JCOMP FREEPIK.COM

Thursday, March 30, 2023

Health& Fitness BusinessMirror

Centuria Medical Makati to house ‘Heal Venture Lab’ as incubation hub for medical start-ups

Centuria Medical Makati, the largest medical arts facility in the Philippines, is expanding with the opening of Heal Venture Lab, an incubation hub for medical start-ups.

The incubation hub aims to help local and foreign health-care startups easily set up in the Philippines and take advantage of the growing demand for health care.

heal Venture Lab is a health-care investment platform that aims to bridge the gap and promote cross-border collaboration in Asia by bringing technology and capital,” Dr. Jaemin Park, Managing Partner of heal Venture Lab, said. They aim to address other unmet health needs such as pediatric health, rural health, biopharma, and medical devices through various structures including a venture fund, incubators, and more with heal Venture Lab as a group platform.

The incubation hub is located on the 29th floor in Centuria’s new extension at Century Diamond Tower, which primarily serves as a free co-working space for all clinicians, medical engineers, pharma/medtech industry professionals, and overseas

medical companies who want to enter the Philippines. According to Dr. Park, the Philippines tends to be overlooked by overseas medical companies due to its geographic and historical position, unlike Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia. however, the opportunities in the Philippines are numerous. Dr. Park is optimistic about opportunities in the Philippines, especially since neighboring countries are already saturated with players in the health-care sector. he added that the Philippines, with a population of 100 million populations who can speak e nglish, will be a viable next destination over other markets in AS e AN.

The environment for more health care services has also become more favorable for young companies recently, with the rise and acceleration of health-care spending during the pandemic. Figures from the Philippine Statistics Authority show the steady

increase in health-care expenditure in the country from P917.15 billion in 2020 to P1.09 trillion in 2021, with the country’s top income earners accounting for P380 billion or 34 percent of this total spend.

Furthermore, the signing of RA 11647 allows non-Philippine nationals to do business in the country or invest up to 100 percent of the capital needed for domestic enterprises.

Dr. Park said they chose to locate in Centuria because it has a community of independent medical clinics not allied with large incumbent medical groups. These specialty medical clinics have a strong potential for growth to ride along the rise of ambulatory clinics in the Philippines to become clinic chains

Manila Doctors partners with The Farm at San Benito for medical tourism

In a ceremonial signing of the Memorandum of Agreement in Lipa City, Batangas last February 17, 2023 private tertiary hospital Manila Doctors Hospital (MDH) partners with eco-luxury medical wellness resort The Farm at San Benito to provide a one-of-a-kind health and wellness package to its patients, corporate clients, and medical tourists.

The MOA signing was attended by MDH President Arlene P. Ledesma and Hospital Director Dr. Hian Ho n . Kua, and The Farm’s General Manager Preet Singh and Global Head of Sales, Marketing and Communications Jennifer Joyce Sanvictores. It was witnessed by MDH Business Planning and Development Director Ruby n ietes and The Farm’s Medical Chief Dr. Marian Alonzo.

like the ones in the US.

“Centuria is in a position to absorb some of this growth as it has become a trusted name and destination in this sector. This is also why we have expanded Centuria to its neighboring building, the Century Diamond Tower,” Marco Antonio, Century Properties President and C e O said.

Located in Century City in Poblacion, Makati, Centuria has more than 600 medical experts composed of doctors, dentists, and allied health professionals, and 350 leading health and wellness brands and group practices, accredited by 95 percent of local and international h MO providers. Today, 15 percent of its patients are foreign nationals.

The Medical City introduces the E-Vehicle Charging Station as part of its sustainability program

The Medical City (TMC) is making strides in its bid to become a more sustainable hospital, kick-starting initiatives that aim to reduce the negative impact on the environment caused by carbon emissions, with the launch of the TMC e -Vehicle Charging Stations last March 8, 2023, a first of its kind in a hospital setting, located at the TMC Parking Basement 1. The e -Vehicle Charging Station of TMC represents the company’s progress towards a more sustainable future. As consumers become more environmentally conscious, the adoption of e -vehicles ( e Vs) in the country is on the rise. e Vs present numerous benefits, including their eco-friendliness, energy efficiency, lower maintenance costs, and affordability compared to fuel-powered vehicles. In addition, the government’s efforts to incentivize e V owners by fully exempting e Vs from excise tax and the number coding system have also contributed to its growing popularity.

Further, the convenience of charging e Vs at home, work, or public charging stations has become a significant factor in vehicle owners’

The Department of h ealthIlocos Region hailed sanitary engineers and sanitation inspectors as the unsung heroes in public health for their contribution to environmental health and sanitation services and the implementation of the Zero Open Defecation (ZOD) Program during the first face-to-face Regional e nvironmental h ealth and Sanitation Summit held in Lingayen, Pangasinan on March 24, 2023.

A total of 26 sanitation inspectors were given service awards, and another 100 were given achiever awards in recognition for their efforts and support in the implementation of ZOD program in their municipalities.

Out of 116 municipalities, there are already 48 certified ZOD local government units (LGUs) municipalities, a total of 38.4 percent regional accomplishment.

decision to switch to e Vs. The shift towards e Vs represents a positive trend toward sustainable and environmentally friendly transportation. It is a testament to the public’s growing awareness and concern for the planet’s well-being.

Recognizing the need and the demand for facilities to fast-track the adoption of e Vs, TMC was steadfast in supporting the cause by providing e -Vehicle Charging Stations, aiming to reduce the amount of emissions from cars. Patients and employees of TMC are encouraged to utilize the newly installed chargers from Wallbox, which can fully charge a car battery in six to eight hours.

“Some might say it’s not common to own an e-vehicle. h owever, years ago, we also would have never imagined we can make houses with bricks from plastic bottles or create clothes with fabric made entirely from recycled materials. They all started with a decision to change and make that choice for hopefully a more sustainable and greener earth. This is how we contribute to that change,” says Dr. e dmond Dazo, COO, Medical Arts Tower Inc.

TMC and Its Sustainability Efforts

Be FOR e the launch of the e -Vehicle Charging Station, TMC has taken steps toward environmental sustainability. In 2020, TMC installed bicycle lanes in the parking facility to promote and encourage the use of pollution-free modes of transportation. As a result, Mobility Awards recognized TMC for being a bikefriendly workplace.

To promote energy efficiency and environmental sustainability in the hospital, traditional lighting systems systems have been replaced with L e D lights that are known to be up to 80 percent more efficient. Motion sensors have been installed in common restrooms to enhance further energysaving efforts, which can detect human activity and automatically turn on the lights accordingly.

TMC believes that green spaces promote healing, so it converted several areas within its walls into a central garden, pocket garden, sunken garden, and nursery—improving the employees’ and patients’ physical and mental well-being while ensuring that they would enjoy a considerable difference to hospital life.

The Medical City’s launch of the

e -Vehicle Charging Stations and its other sustainability initiatives demonstrate the possibility of organizations, especially those in health care, to take proactive steps toward a low-carbon future. By prioritizing environmental sustainability, TMC is fulfilling its responsibilities as a corporate citizen and contributing to the global effort to combat climate change.

“This is part of our role as a healthcare institution as far as sustainability is concerned. We are increasingly focusing on how to get involved as an enterprise in environmental protection, societal behavior, as well as governance. e nabling an environment for these innovations to thrive is how change happens and we are proud that TMC is one to make this available to everybody,” says Dr. e ugenio Jose F. Ramos, President and C e O, The Medical City.

“It is essential that like TMC, more organizations adopt sustainable practices to create a better and more sustainable world for future generations. We can all do our part in protecting the planet and securing a cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable future for all,” he added.

Strengthening Medical Travel in the Philippines

“ W ITH the Philippines as a prime destination for wellness and healing, the collaboration between Manila Doctors Hospital and The Farm at San Benito aims to promote the country’s health tourism globally,” Sanvictores shared. She also added that the partnership will likewise showcase the international standards in health care, modern technology, world-class medical facilities, highlyskilled medical doctors and health professionals in the country.

“It will also highlight the Filipino’s exceptional heartfelt service and genuine care,” she further noted.

Dr. Kai R. Sibayan, Regional e nvironmental and Occupational h ealth Manager, who led the conduct of the summit, said that the capacities of municipal sanitation inspectors must be upgraded to include management and operation response pandemic should be institutionalized, as these measures will motivate them to work harder and discharge their duties with pride and dignity.

“We saw the hardship and the sacrifice of our sanitation engineers and sanitation officers especially at the height of the pandemic. They were deployed in quarantine centers to lead in the disinfection and conduct of WAS h [Water, Sanitation, and h ygiene] activities in their respective local government units,” Dr. Sibayan said.

“They are the ones responsible for our clean and safe surroundings.

They worked to provide community service regardless of the increased risk of exposure they faced every day. And we are giving them their due recognition at this summit,” Sibayan emphasized.

Sanitation Inspectors are among the first responders in every recent emergency. Their job is to prevent infection outbreaks and diseases in the community by implementing waste management activities to mitigate health issues and concerns.

There are a total of 210 Sanitary e ngineers and Sanitation Inspectors in Region 1.

“Much has been said acknowledging the untiring and unprecedented persistent efforts of our health workers during the pandemic, but sanitation workers are not given their due attention. Together with our health workers, our sanitation officers, gar -

The partnership includes the bundled health and wellness package of MDH. Called the RECHARGE International Wellness Package, patients and medical tourists alike will experience holistic wellness with a comprehensive Executive Check-Up (ECU) at MDH’s The Wellness Hub followed by an overnight stay at The Farm at San Benito and Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila, and two-night stay at The Manila Hotel, Club Balai Isabel, n urture Wellness Village, Crimson Hotel Alabang, and Bellevue Hotel.

Included in the ECU for this package are: Whole Body Scan DXA (bone/ fat scan), Coronary Calcium Scoring, Treadmill Exercise Stress Echo, PFT Spirometry with IOS, Physical Examination, Laboratory tests including CBC with platelet count, BU n , Creatinine, Fasting Blood Sugar (FBS), Lipid Profile, Uric Acid, SGPT/ALT, SGOT/AST, HBA1C, 2D Echo (Plain), Urinalysis (automated), ECG-EHC, Chest PA/AP, Electrocardiogram (ECG), Mammogram or Breast Ultrasound for Females, Prostate Specific Antigen-IRMA for males, PAP Smear for females, Whole Abdomen (male and female), Concierge Service, Life Coaching, n utrition Counselling, Rapid Antigen Test, and Post consultation. It also comes with free breakfast, snacks and parking during the ECU.

Meanwhile, inclusive of the overnight accommodation at The Farm are: n utrient-rich vegan plant-based breakfast, Holistic Health Consultation with Cellular Health Screening, Participation in Mindful Movements & Functional Fitness activities: Yoga, Mandala Flower Meditation, Guided n ature Walks, Interactive Wellness Workshops, HIIT & Circuit Training, Sound Healing, Kids activities and more, Complimentary WIFI throughout the resort, Use of swimming pools, meditation pavilions, and Pure Energy Gym, and 20 percent off medical, spa, and acqua treatments.

MDH’s RECHARGE Wellness Package also comes with a local package, with a minimal difference in ECU inclusions and accommodations with other partner hotels.

Sitting on 51 hectares of lush green jungle, The Farm at San Benito is a pioneer holistic medical wellness resort in the country. For over 20 years, The Farm has amassed international following for its medically supervised, science-based, and evidence-guided health optimization programs that address and treat chronic lifestyle illnesses naturally and holistically.

Recognizing the significance of helping promote medical travel in the Philippines, as per the mandate of Department of Tourism’s Medical Travel and Wellness Tourism campaign, the two health care and wellness institutions believe that the collaboration will bring in more foreign tourists seeking immediate medical care and attention in the country. “With its strategic location near Manila’s best tourist spots, its roster of bankable and acclaimed physicians, and the hospital’s investment on the best state-of-the-art medical equipment available in the market, our patients and medical tourists will experience optimum healing and wellness at Manila Doctors Hospital”. Ledesma shared.

Dr. Paulo Tugbang, Director for Health & Wellness Tourism and concurrent Director for Product and Market Development of the Department of Tourism lauds this initiative in boosting medical travel in the Philippines.

“Our health and wellness industry has a lot of untapped potential, and we want to leverage that in order to boost our country as a hub for medical tourism. With our partnerships with top hospitals, recreational facilities, and hotels, we will be on our way to becoming a more attractive destination for medical tourism,” Tugbang added.

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has recented reported that the international spending on medical tourism or health-related personal travel reached USD11 billion in 2017 alone, with the United States as the largest destination market.

Last July 2022, MDH has earned the Platinum Level for Health Service and Health Travel from Accreditation Canada, International (ACI). The Platinum Accreditation for Health Travel strengthens the hospital’s standing as a recognized hospital for medical tourism in the Philippines.

CSMC President honored with the Accountancy Centenary Award for Excellence

CARDI n AL Santos Medical Center (CSMC) President and CEO Raul C.

gents 40 years later, in July 2021.

bage collectors, and other informal workers are silent working hard to prevent the spread of Covid in the barangays,” Assistant Regional Director Rodolfo Antonio M. Albornoz stated in his inspirational message.

“These sanitation inspectors are the unsung warriors that maintain clean, healthy, and safe surroundings for us. They have also placed their lives on the line at par with medical doctors and nurses. They are the ones in charge of disinfecting health facilities and we cannot deny the fact that they are also among the most vulnerable among the group of frontliners.”

Albornoz also expressed his gratitude to all the sanitation officers and assured that the regional office will continue to provide technical support in ensuring sustainable sanitation programs in the region.

Pagdanganan was recently honored with the Accountancy Centenary Award for Excellence by the Professional Regulatory Board of Accountancy (BOA). The conferment was held at the Manila Hotel on March 17, 2023, in celebration of 100 years of the Accountancy Act of 1923 in the Philippines.

Following the theme “Celebrating the Past, Transforming the Present, Shaping the Future,” the Accountancy Centenary Award was given to 100 of the most excellent certified public accountants (CPA) in the country who “demonstrated untarnished integrity and reputation” and “have contributed immensely in the advancement of accountancy profession and national development.”

Pagdanganan finished his Business Administration and Accountancy degree at the University of the Philippines (UP) in 1981 and passed his board exam as part of the top 20 successful takers. He was appointed to the UP Board of Re -

Pagdanganan has accumulated 25 years of experience as a senior finance executive and member of management in different companies, joining CSMC as its President and CEO in September 2020. During this period, he has helped bolster CSMC’s reputation as one of the Philippines’ leading hospitals in the fields of Cardiology, Oncology, n eurology and more, with his efforts commended on numerous prestigious platforms; Pagdanganan’s most recent recognition prior to the Accountancy Centenary Award was the Dangal ng Lipi Award for Health, the highest award given by the provincial government of Bulacan, presented to him in September 2022.

“I’m humbled and greatly appreciative of this recognition given to me by my esteemed colleagues in the field of Accountancy,” said Pagdanganan. “I’m also grateful to the people and businesses who trusted me over the years, especially my Cardinal Santos family. I would not be where I am today without their support.”

DOH Ilocos Region hails sanitation officers as unsung heroes in public health

Th E heal Venture Lab incubation hub at Centuria’s Expansion in Century Diamond Tower Makati