BusinessMirror May 17, 2023

LOCAL CONGLOMERATES’ DEBT MAY CAUSE INSTABILITY

BSP seeks forex exposure report

By VG Cabuag @villygc

PBBM signs off on PHL’s 5-yr tourism devt plan

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

THE country is now eyeing to attract around 52 million overseas visitors by 2028 by becoming a “tourism powerhouse” with the implementation of its National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP), according to the Department of Tourism (DOT).

I n a press conference in Malacañang, DOT Secretary Christina G. Frasco said President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. approved the 2023-2028 NTDP during a sectoral meeting on Tuesday.

B SP Governor Felipe M. Medalla said they may ask some of the country’s largest conglomerates to submit to them the exact foreign debt exposure as the central bank may not have the complete data.  “ Right now, we wish we had even more complete data.  And under the law, we can actually ask them, how much they have borrowed from abroad and in what currency, and what the maturity is. But we are not doing it,” Medalla said.

S hanaka Jayanath Peiris, division chief of regional studies, Asia and Pacific department of the International Monetary Fund, said household debt is not a problem but regulators may want to focus on corporate debt.

Peiris said that for the Philippines on average, the corporate debt level is quite manageable.

MALAMPAYA GRP COMMITS $.6B TO DRILL NEW WELLS

By Lenie Lectura @llectura

THE consortium operating the Malampaya deep-water gas-to-power project has committed an initial investment of $600 million to drill new wells under the first phase of its committed work program, according to the Department of Energy (DOE).

D OE officials said in a media briefing on Tuesday that the amount would cover for the drilling of possibly up to three wells and for a tieback facility connecting the gas to the platform.

T he consortium is led by Prime Energy Resources Development B.V. of tycoon Enrique Razon, UC38 LLC, and Philippine National Oil Company-Exploration

Corp. (PNOC-EC).

P rime Energy is the gas operator and has a 45-percent stake in the project. UC38 also has a 45-percent stake while the remaining 10 percent is owned by PNOC-EC.

T he service contract for the Malampaya project has been extended for 15 years or until February 22, 2039. Under the contract, the consortium is required to con-

tinue production operations, as well as conduct a minimum work program consisting of geological and geophysical studies and drill at least two deep water wells during the sub-Phase 1 from 2024 to 2029.

D OE Undersecretary Alessandro Sales said the Malampaya consortium is preparing to drill up to three wells.

See “Malampaya,” A2

S he said the plan—the result of their  nationwide stakeholder consultations—will serve as the blueprint and development framework for the tourism industry.

“ We are very grateful to our President for articulating very early in his administration his priority for tourism development,” Frasco said.

“And this has resulted in a convergence among government agencies as far as giving full support to the development of the industry recognizing the losses that have ensued as a result of the pandemic and various calamities,” she added.

T he DOT chief said the budget to implement the five-year NTDP is still undergoing “recalibration” in consideration of the events that the Philippine will host in the coming years.

See “PBBM,” A2

MACTAN, Cebu —The Bangko Sentral

ng Pilipinas may ask local conglomerates to report on their foreign currencydenominated debt as this may cause instability in the country’s banking system, such as when the peso depreciates against the US dollar.

Gilas Pilipinas plays a methodical game in easing past a heavily American-reinforced Cambodia team, 80-69, to bring back home the men’s basketball gold medal at the 32nd Southeast Asian Games on Tuesday night in Phnom Penh ROY DOMINGO

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has approved the new 5-year National Tourism Development Plan, aiming to make the Philippines a "tourism powerhouse." This photo captures the essence of ecotourism with a mesmerizing river featuring shimmering blue waters and a sky that resembles a frozen sea. Siitan River, near the mouth of the Cagayan River, is an unexplored gem of ecotourism in Nagtipunan, nestled within the embrace of the Sierra Madre mountain range. It offers an unforgettable experience for those seeking solace in nature's harmony. JOEL C. PAREDES

Poll: 9 of 10 Pinoys say govt must support manufacturing

By Andrea E. San Juan

NINE out of 10 Filipinos believe that the government should support the Philippine manufacturing sector, saying it has the capacity to accelerate the growth of the country’s economy, according to a recent Pulse Asia survey commissioned by international think tank Stratbase ADR Institute.

T he nationwide survey, conducted from March 15 to 19 with

1,200 respondents, showed that 89 percent of Filipinos agree that the government should support the local manufacturing sector.

M ajority or 62 percent of Filipinos believe local manufacturing activities can contribute to economic growth through creating livelihood opportunities for local service businesses needed to support manufacturing operations.

A t least 62 percent also noted that the manufacturing sector can contribute to the economy by making goods more affordable and accessible to Filipino consumers.

Meanwhile, half of Filipinos or 50 percent said they also believe the manufacturing sector increases local and foreign investment that will generate more quality jobs and employment opportunities. Moreover,

the survey showed that 49 percent believe the sector produces more products for the local and export market.

W ith these economic benefits, the survey respondents identified actions the government should take to spur the growth of manufacturing and other industries.

Sixty-one percent of Filipinos cited a need to provide opportunities for training to workers to upgrade or learn new work skills; 50 percent believe there is a need to provide more incentives that are competitive with other countries, and 45 percent believe there is a need to develop more economic zones.

T hrough the government’s lens, Rafaelita M. Aldaba, Undersecretary for the Competitiveness and Innovation Group of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)

“But there are some sectors where it’s probably higher than others, including in real estate, which tends

said the manufacturing sector “has always been a priority” for the government. But, she said, the government has adopted a “more targeted” approach in terms of the specific sectors that it is promoting.

A ldaba unveiled the four clusters. These are: Industrial, Manufacturing and Transport (IMT) which focuses on automotive and electric vehicles and parts manufacturing, among others; Technology, Media, and Telecommunications (TMT) which is focused on the IT and Business Process Management (IT-BPM) and creative economy, among others; Health and Life Sciences which focuses on pharmaceuticals and medical devices, among others, and Modern Basic Needs, Resilient Economy which puts a spotlight on food security, agriculture, education, fishing, among others.

T he trade official also underscored the importance of the menu of incentives enclosed in the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) law, a fiscal stimulus for businesses.

“

The more high-tech the activity is, the higher the incentive and at the same time the farther away the activity is from NCR and other urban areas, the higher the incen -

to historically be an area where you need to watch out for those kind of things,” Peiris said.

Improved facilities and access

tinations,” Uy said.

tives that will be provided,” Aldaba explained at the online forum, “Reinvigorating the Philippine Manufacturing Sector for Job Creation” organized by the Stratbase ADR Institute on Tuesday.

S he said this menu of incentives is “important for us to achieve our inclusive development goal that we would be able to provide more jobs, more investments and in particular we want this to go to the regions.”

For his part, Stratbase ADR Institute President Dindo Manhit said with firms now having their “moving capacity at prepandemic levels,” there is a need for investments in the manufacturing sector to meet the growing demands of consumers.

Investments in the manufacturing sector will lead to a domino effect that will increase productivity, create high-quality jobs, provide income and food security, enable the affordability of goods, and spur consumer spending. But then again, setting up a manufacturing operation requires a significant investment in infrastructure, workforce, and knowledge capital,” Manhit added. P ulse Asia released the survey results on Tuesday during the online forum organized by Stratbase.

And what we’ve done in our report is like corporate stress testing. Everybody is talking about stress-testing banks, for the last few decades. But we got to stress-test the corporates as well, and what does that mean for the banking and financial institutions,” he explained at the sidelines of Financial Sustainability Conference.

Medalla, during the conference, said someone asked him if he was worried about a major financial instability happening in the next six months.

I do worry that one big conglomerate makes a huge mistake. And then it turns out that it also affects the views about the others. And then that may add to their worry, of course...that the conglomerates are a lot more exposed to foreign debt than we think we know. And therefore, if any, there’s a very large shock to the exchange rate, it may affect the conglomerates,” he said.

Still, Medalla said if the exchange rate changes dramatically, it can only affect the growth of the company and may not cause instability in the system.

A friend of mine says, well, you’re building two airports Bulacan and Sangley. What if both of them turn out to be money losers, what’s the implication in the financial system,” he said.

Medalla revealed he gets all sorts of questions like that, i.e., the extent to which conglomerates might be the source of the next shock in the financial system.

“ But then the fact that the bank is also embedded in that conglomerate... is also a quite a big source of worry. And so in other words, we were asking more or less the correct questions in our financial stability meeting,” Medalla said.

He expressed hope these people would realize that the central bank is not targeting them.

This is part of our regular exercises. We’re not really saying a conglomerate X will fail but we have to be ready. And so the thing to do is do these exercises for every conglomerate, so that they do not think that somebody’s being singled out. I think if you do that, then we are fine,” he said.  Many local conglomerates, such as Jollibee Foods Corp., the Gokongweis’ food and other units, are going international and these source their funding offshore, mostly dollar-denominated.

UNDER the NTDP, the government will focus developing necessary tourism-related infrastructure, where, Frasco said, the country is still trailing behind its other Association of Southeast Asian (ASEAN) neighbors.

“ The Philippines actually ranks number six vis-à-vis our neighbors in the ASEAN especially in terms of infrastructure, business environment, safety as well as other indices including connectivity,” Frasco said.

To address the gap, she said the government is eyeing to improve the experience of visitors in popular and emerging tourist destinations by building the necessary roads, drainage, sewerage, and water treatment facilities in the said areas.

DOT is also coordinating with the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to restore or put up new connecting flights across the country to make travel to tourist sites more convenient.

A mong the newly established routes are the direct flights from Clark to Caticlan, Clark to Busuanga in Palawan, as well as connecting flights from Cebu to Baguio and even Cebu to Bangkok.  F rasco said they are also considering easing visa requirements for countries which are potential top tourist sources such as China and India.

Some of the visa reforms being eyed to attract visitors from such countries are the institution of the electronic visa, resumption of group travel, visa on arrival as well as more liberal landing permits related to tourism.

Digital presence

ALSO part of the NTDP is the improvement of internet connectivity in major tourist sites to help with the country’s online tourism promotion.

“As we all very well know, many of the tourists now are also vloggers; they vlog about their experience while they are there experiencing or enjoying the tourism sites,” DICT Secretary Ivan E. Uy said.

“ So while they’re there, enjoying those experiences, they can actually be also our marketing tool in propagating the message through them, how they’re having fun in the Philippines and how they are enjoying the Philippine experience which will be very unique from many other des -

DICT has identified 94 tourist destinations with internet connectivity issues.

It is now prioritizing vital infrastructure to provide free wireless fidelity (Wifi) access in 47 of the said sites located in provinces of Benguet, Palawan, Aklan and Cebu.

Heritage and culture mapping

FOR NTDP’s component for the “equalization of tourism development and promotion,” Frasco said they are now engaged in developing heritage and culture mapping.

Here, local government units (LGUs) can develop their own local tourism products, to  be promoted by DOT.

The main change, first of all is that the focus of the Department of Tourism will be to highlight the heart and soul of the Filipino that is evident in our culture—our festivals, our food, the local products of our small and medium enterprises, our living cultural heritage, everything that makes us diverse and unique and a proud Filipino people that give us pride of place,” Frasco said.

S he said this will be encapsulated in DOT’s “enhanced slogan,” which they will launch “in the next few weeks” after it is presented to tourism stakeholders.

We will make sure to engage in consultation with our tourism stakeholders first, as their opinions matter very much to us,” Frasco said.

Ongoing recovery

TOURISM was one of the top employment and income generators of the country before travel restrictions during the Covid-19 crisis.

T he government is hoping the NTDP will help accelerate the recovery of tourism to its prepandemic levels.

W ith the full implementation of the plan, DOT expects the country will generate 34.7 million tourism-related jobs.  Frasco noted signs of such recovery after foreign tourist arrivals reached 2.65 million last year, exceeding DOT’s target 1.7-million arrivals in 2022.  T his year, DOT is hopeful the country will host 4.8 million visitors from abroad after it already registered 2 million arrivals as of May.

“In terms of committed investment, in the renewal contract itself, the work commitment for the first phase is at least two new wells. In their submissions to us, they are indicating that they are preparing to drill for three wells and this is above the committed program for renewal contract,” Sales said.

T he cost to drill one well is between $80 million and $90 million. Sales said if the drilling activities prove successful then an additional $330 million to $360 million is needed for the tieback and subsea facilities.

“ In total, for two wells and the tieback for production, this would amount to about $600 million. These are all, at the moment, high-level numbers because in fact the pricing of drill ships, equipment, specialist services are getting to be a little bit volatile,” he said.

Sales added that the Malampaya field’s best estimate for the near field is about additional 210 billion cubic feet of gas.

DOE Secretary Raphael Lotilla said Prime Energy, as lead operator of the gas

project, has shown its technical competence over the last six months by managing the decline of the gas supply and undertaking successfully a maintenance activity. “This confirms the findings of the DOE last year on the operator’s technical, financial, and legal qualifications,” said Lotilla.

He also pointed out that this is the first extension ever granted to a natural gas producing Service Contract in the Philippines. “We hope that it would not be the last of its kind. That there are attractive prospects within the same Service Contract area worthy of an extension beyond the initial period shows promise in exploration activities in the Philippines,” Lotilla said.

H e also said the Malampaya consortium is the first consortium backed up entirely by Filipinos and run entirely by Filipinos. “A remarkable milestone in the maturation of the Philippine petroleum industry,” the energy chief said. The consortium has been remitting 60 percent of the net proceeds from petroleum operations to the government. During the period from October 2001 to December 2022, the consortium has remitted more than $13.14 billion.

2 fishermen hurt as boat burns, sinks off Palawan

By Rene Acosta @reneacostaBM

TWO fishermen were injured when their fishing vessel caught fire following an explosion in the engine room off the waters of Cuyo Island in Palawan, a Philippine Coast Guard report said.

T he FV Victor 89 was in the waters of Imalaguan Island, Barangay San Carlos when a blast hit its auxiliary engine that triggered a fire.

Members of the Coast Guard Station Eastern Palawan, Cuyo Municipal Police Station and fishermen from Frabelle Fishing Corp. responded and secured its five crewmembers.

T he PCG said two of the five rescued crewmen suffered first-degree burns and were taken to the Cuyo District Hospital in Palawan.

According to FV Victor’s crew, they left the Navotas Fish Port in Navotas City on May 2 for their fishing activities in the Sulu Sea.

T he PCG said the fishing vessel was anchored when it was hit by the fire, prompting the vessel to sink at around 9 a.m. on Monday.

Lawmakers push ‘deep’ review of BFP fire truck procurement bidding process

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie

proper TOR and specifications for all the processes that suppliers can follow,” Yamsuan told BFP Director Louie Puracan at the hearing conducted by the House Committee on Public Order and Safety.

T hrough the committee chaired by Santa Rosa City Rep. Dan Fernandez, Yamsuan asked the BFP to submit documents listing and defining the functions of the units under the agency; the figures on its backlog on fire trucks; and its procurement plan for the current fiscal year.

Congress in determining how the agency can improve its capabilities and efficiently carry out the provisions of Republic Act 11589 or the BFP Modernization Act.

contracts and its omission in other similar deals, which was apparently why some suppliers were shut out in the bidding.

B icol Saro Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan, a former Assistant Secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), said conducting this review and initiating change within the BFP will also help to finally end the perennial backlog of fire

trucks in the country.

“Since 2006 when I was in the DILG and up to now, there is still a backlog. Why can’t we resolve this? And at the same time, we always have this issue—there’s always an issue about overprice, about favored bidders. These should end. Let’s have a

T he panel held the hearing to continue its inquiry, in aid of legislation into the BFP’s bidding process in procuring fire trucks. The probe stemmed from House Resolution 724 filed by ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro, Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Arlene Brosas and Kabataan Party-list Rep. Raoul Danniel Manuel seeking an investigation into the alleged restrictive and questionable fire truck procurement process of the BFP in line with its modernization program.

Yamsuan said the BFP should help

You are the ones who will have to initiate change in your agency. You should initiate change. If you don’t change, nothing will happen. Our countrymen will end up in a pitiful state, as we all will be. It’s a reflection on us. What is happening to you is also a reflection on others in government. Because if you don’t do good, we also don’t do good. That’s why it’s better if we can fix this together,” he said.

For his part, Fernandez also pointed out that the winning bidder for the BFP’s fire truck procurement contract in question—Palmer Asia— is facing a criminal case for graft before the Sandiganbayan. The case also involves a procurement contract for fire trucks.

A mong the other alleged irregularities questioned by lawmakers was the inclusion of the BFP of personal protective equipment (PPE) in its acquisition of fire trucks in some

Meanwhile, Puracan explained that omitting the PPE in some of the contracts was the result of the BFP’s market study that showed that its P15 million approved budget for the procurement would not be sufficient because of “price escalation.”

He said that before the price escalation, the BFP chose to include PPEs in its procurement so that the total approved budget for the contract (ABC) of P15 million would be fully used.

But Fernandez doubted that this was the case considering that the supposed price escalation of about P4 million claimed by the BFP happened in a span of only seven months.  To settle the issue, Yamsuan directed Puracan to submit to the committee the documents supporting its claim of  “price escalation.” Based on documents submitted to the panel, the BFP has procured 562 fire trucks valued at P7.2 billion since 2018.

LTO allows 3-year registration of motorcycles 200cc and below PHL, Australia begin Army-to-Army

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

THE Land Transportation Office (LTO) has resumed the processing of new motorcycle registration with engine displacement of 200cc and below, which now has a validity of three years.

According to LTO Chief Assistant Secretary Jay Art Tugade, “more than a thousand” new units with an engine displacement of 200cc and

Despite Covid uptick, PHL to remain open to tourists

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

THE country will remain open to foreign tourists despite a recent uptick in Covid-19 cases, according to the Department of Tourism (DOT).

“ The direction of the Philippines is forward and that is to ensure that we continue to open up the country to travel and tourism, that is the direction set by our President,” Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco said in a news conference in Malacañang on Tuesday.

She noted the government policy is in line with the declaration of the World Health Organization (WHO) that Covid-19 is no longer a global health emergency.

T he DOT chief, however, stressed that the necessary health protocols will remain in place to prevent the spread of infections in tourism activities.

Of course, all the minimum health and safety standards are in place and this is also made sure of as far as compliance with our DOTaccredited establishments,” GarciaFrasco said.

S he made the pronouncement when asked if the government will impose stricter travel rules after the Department of Health (DOH) reported the number of new Covid-19 cases nationwide breached the 12,000 mark from May 8 to 14.

T he tourism sector was among the most heavily affected industries by the lockdowns during the onset of the pandemic.

It only started to recover last year after the government started easing travel restrictions.

below were registered through the Land Transportation Management System (LTMS) on Monday.

Using the LTMS for the registration of these brand new motorcycles demonstrates how both the agency and the public benefit from the digitalization of LTO’s frontline services. We must maintain this momentum and expand it to make services for the public easier, simpler, and more convenient,” he said.

Last month, Tugade issued a mem-

orandum circular that will lower the requirements for a three-year registration, noting that the new policy is “among the new measures designed to speed up processes and ease the public’s transactions with the agency.”

B efore the policy was issued, only motorcycles with an engine displacement of 201 cc and above are entitled to three-year registration validity.

Tugade emphasized that the

agency finds no safety concerns about the extension of the registration to motorcycles with lower engine piston displacement.

Citing LTO data, Tugade said an estimated 2 million new motorcycles with displacement 200cc and below are set to be registered this year. These will be the principal beneficiaries of the new policy.

T he new policy will help reduce the costs of owning a motorcycle in the Philippines.

Fil-Am nurse gets Marcos Jr. to autograph his father’s book

exercise in Tanay, Rizal

THE Philippine Army (PA) and the Australian Defence Force (ADF) began on Monday their month-long Army-to-Army exercise at the compound of the 2nd Infantry Division in Tanay, Rizal.

One hundred fourteen Filipino soldiers and 43 Australian personnel are joining the training dubbed as “Kasangga,” which will last until June 23, Army spokesman Col. Xerxes Trinidad said.

For this year, the Kasangga will train both forces in urban operations combat tracking; jungle warfare and survival training; longrange marksmanship; tactical combat casualty care; sensitive site exploitation, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations, and small unit leaders’ training through an exchange of tactics, techniques and procedures.

T he country has an existing Status of Visiting Forces Agreement with Australia, which has been assisting the Philippine military, both in training and equipment.

T he training focuses on urban operations and counterterrorism, which became a necessity right after Islamic extremists attacked Marawi City in 2017.

Last year, around 500 Filipino and Australian troops trained in urban operations at Camp Tecson in San Miguel, Bulacan, home base of the Army’s First Scout Ranger Regiment, also under Kasangga.

T he training, which lasted for two months, was participated by Scout Rangers and members of the 3rd Royal Australian Regiment. It focused on tactical combat casualty care and close quarter battle.

During the training, Scout Rangers shared their knowledge and skills in jungle operations with Australian servicemen, who also helped them sharpen their urban operations capabilities.

K asangga is an annual bilateral training exercise aimed at bolstering the interoperability between the Philippine Army and the ADF.

Rene Acosta

DOH confirms local transmission of Arcturus as three more cases logged in Western Visayas

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco @claudethmc3

DEPARTMENT of Health (DOH) Officer-in-Charge

Maria Rosario Vergeire

By Troi Santos

NEW YORK CITY—Dr. Dely

Po Go, a multiawarded

Filipino-American nurse who immigrated to the United States in the 1980s, received an unexpected surprise during her visit to Washington, D.C. Her 38-year-old book, “The Filipino Ideology,” which had been published by former Philippine President Ferdinand E. Marcos, was autographed by his son, Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos. DR. Go had received the book as a gift from a friend who worked for the Marcos government during the 1980s.

W hen Go was invited to attend a Philippine Embassy Filipino Community event to

meet President Marcos earlier this month, she decided to bring the book with her. Little did she know that she would meet President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. When the President diverted his exit out of the Ritz Carlton Ballroom, his entourage passed by Dr. Go’s seat at the back of the ballroom. When she showed him the book, he said that he remembers the book and then graciously autographed it for her.

“I was so surprised and honored to meet Ferdinand Marcos Jr.,” said Go. “I just wanted to see him but never expected to meet him, and I never thought he would autograph the book. It was truly an unforgettable moment.”

T he autographed book now holds special significance for Go, who cherishes it as a symbol of her Filipino heritage and

her connection to Philippine history. “The book is more than just a book to me,” said Go. “It represents an important part of Philippine history and culture. They provide insight into the political ideology and vision of one of the most significant figures in Philippine history.”

For Dr. Go, the autographed book is a very meaningful artifact of Philippine history. As this year’s Grand Marshal of the 125th Anniversary of Philippine Independence Day in New York City and Milan, Italy, her experience of meeting Marcos Jr. and having him autograph his father’s book was a poignant moment and serves as a reminder of the need to preserve and celebrate cultural heritage, and inspire diversity and inclusion.

on Tuesday confirmed the local transmission of Omicron variant XBB.1.16, also known as Arcturus, after three more cases were recently detected in Western Visayas with no linkages to international cases or no known history of exposure.

Also we had been discussing with our experts since last week and we think, based what we are seeing, there is already no linkage to any of these cases that we had been identifying that there is already a local transmission of this Arcturus,” Vergeire said in a media forum.

However, Vergeire said, just like any of the different subvariants or Omicron variant in the country, the public has nothing to fear.

Vergeire said that the public would be protected if the minimum public health standards will be strictly observed.

Continue to wear face masks, isolate when manifesting symptoms...,” she said as she encouraged the public to get vaccinated and boosted against Covid-19.

T here are now four cases of XBB.1.16 in the country based on the latest biosurveillance report of the DOH from April 26 to May 6.

E arlier, the DOH said that the first case of XBB.1.16 was detected in Iloilo Province and was asymptomatic.

T he case has already recovered.

A ccording to the World Health Organization (WHO), XBB.1.16 is a descendent lineage of XBB, a recombinant of two BA.2 descendent lineages.

XBB.1.16 was first reported on January 9, 2023, and designated a variant under monitoring (VUM) on March 22, 2023.

On April 17, 2023, XBB.1.16 was designated a variant of interest (VOI). XBB.1.16 has a similar genetic profile as the VOI XBB.1.5, with the additional E180V and K478R amino acid mutations in the spike protein compared to their parent XBB.1.

AMID investigation into a questionable fire truck procurement bidding, a member of the House Committee on Public Order and Safety on Tuesday urged the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) to review the terms of reference (TOR) and specifications in bidding out fire trucks to prevent allegations of irregularities in the agency’s procurement process.

‘Kasangga’

Sweet deal: SRA gets DA OK to import 150,000 MT of sugar

By Raadee S. Sausa @raadeeboy

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) has approved the importation at least 150,000 metric tons (MT) of sugar, according to the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA).

The 150,000 MT [is the] maximum number, if needed. But the actual volume schedules and details for that importation will be decided at the end of [the] milling [season]… which will close on May 30, maybe more or less. It depends on the supply of sugarcane,” SRA Acting Ad-

ministrator Pablo Luis Azcona told reporters on Tuesday.

Normally, when we start milling we should have 240,000 MT buffer stocks…,” he added.

What will happen if we don’t have buffer stock? The prices will surely go up. The position of local sugar now is in the better consumption,” Azcona explained.

He also assured the planned importation will be open to all traders.

Meanwhile, Manuel Lamata, president of the United Sugar Producers Federation of the Philippines said, “I approve, retail prices are still high. Imports should be increased to lower the price. Besides, the harvesting is over. No damage to the farmers. Good for the consumers.”

For his part, Butch Lozande, secretary general of National Federation of Sugar Workers said, “I learned yesterday that there is a plan to import an additional 150,000 MT of sugar. We vehemently oppose this new importation.”

Not even everyone has imported the full 450,000 MT and will import 150,000 MT. For us, the extra importation is an extra commission for the DA and SRA officials who [will] sign its approval and an extra billion in income for the complicit sugar traders, while the price of sugar in the retail markets in our country does not decrease,” he added.

On May 15, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. approved the additional importation of sugar following the recommendation of the SRA to stabilize the price and boost the country’s stock.

We agreed to additional importation of sugar to stabilize the prices. Maximum amount will be 150,000 MT but probably less,” the President said after the meeting with SRA officials headed by Azcona.

“ The exact amount will be determined once we have determined the exact amount of supply, which will come at the end of this month,” Marcos, who is also the concurrent

DA chief, said.

SRA forecast inventory showed that the country will have a negative ending stock of 552,835 MT by the end of August 2023, the end of the milling season, and importation of another 100,000 MT to 150,000 MT of sugar is necessary to avert a shortfall.

T he SRA said that as of May 7, 2023, the country has sufficient supply of raw sugar with a beginning stock of 160,000 MT.

However, the country will still need to import an additional 100,000 MT to 150,000 MT of sugar by this year because the expected local production of 2.4 million MT (MMT) and the 440,000 MT allowed to be imported under SO 6, s. 2022-2023 as well as the 64,050 MT under the Minimum Access Volume (MAV) mechanism will not be able to cover the 3.1 MMT demand.

A zcona also told the President that with the issuance of SO 6, sugar farmers are happy because they are

benefiting from the stable farm-gate price of raw sugar, which is averaging at P62/kg for the current calendar year (CY).

It is higher than the P38/kg average farm-gate price in CY 2021-2022. In order to improve productivity, Marcos said he also approved moving of the start of the milling season from August to September this year.

“ That’s important for the corresponding increase in production by approximately 10 percent,” Marcos said.

A zcona said opening the milling season in September might improve raw sugar recovery because it will minimize the milling of young canes. He also ordered the SRA to expedite block-farming initiatives to also increase production.

Block farming is a system by which small farm lots are consolidated into at least a 30 hectare-block farm. There are currently 21 block farms in the country averaging at least 40 hectares each.

House approves bill strengthening functions, powers of IPOPHL vs piracy and counterfeiting

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz  @joveemarie

IN order to respond to recent advances in technology, the House of Representatives on Tuesday approved House Bill 7600 strengthening the powers and functions of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines.

T hrough viva voce voting, lawmakers approved the bill to amend Republic Act (RA) No. 8293 to adopt some of the current best practices in the international community, and to fortify government efforts against piracy and counterfeiting.

T he bill is expected to be approved on third and final reading next week.

House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Joey Sarte Salceda, principal author of the bill, said piracy in the online space is driven by three key elements, “First, content is digital, and therefore easy to save. Second, the medium is the Internet, so sharing is easy. Finally, social media amplifies sharing, so there is an element of virality to online piracy.”

At this point, the concept of virality is very concrete to all of us after Covid-19. As we have seen with the pandemic, something viral starts with one ‘superspreader,’ after which content can proliferate very quickly. Once that happens, it becomes very difficult to contain it,” said Salceda.

“ One pirated content becomes viral, it becomes very difficult to prevent other users from accessing it. Copyright laws become impos -

DEPARTMENT of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Ivan John Uy on Tuesday said they are looking to improve internet connectivity in 94 identified tourist destinations in the country before the end of this year.

H e said this would be done through the activation or deployment of the needed internet infrastructure, which will boost connectivity in these destinations.

Uy, in a Palace briefing, said the deployment of the needed internet infrastructure for the initial 46 tourist destinations will be completed by the next quarter.

“In a matter of a few months, we have already put into the program for the first phase, we will be able to deploy 46 out of the 94 destinations that will be lightened with free internet connectivity,” he added. Uy said the first phase would cover major tourism sites, which include

sible to enforce on viral content. So, the point of any intellectual property enforcement law in the digital age must be to prevent infringement before it becomes viral,” he added.

Salceda said House Bill 7600 allows the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) to receive complaints and petitions to take down infringed content posted online, or to conduct site blocking.

“ The complaints can be heard in a simplified manner that also adheres to the constitutional requirement of due process—including means for appeal. And within five days, the IPOPHIL can decide on the complaint, and 48 hours thereafter, compel an internet service provider to block the offending site,” he said.

Let me assure stakeholders, however, that we have exhausted every means to ensure that this process, while quick, retains constitutional protections,” he added.

Salceda also emphasized the cost of online piracy.  The creative industries already account for around 7.5 percent of GDP, with digital content creation contributing as much as 0.46 percent of GDP to the economy. It will continue to grow, but so will the cost of online piracy, already estimated to cost between 0.12 percent of GDP, or more than onefourth the size of the total digital creatives sector. Without enforcement, piracy will kill this sector in its infancy,” he said.

M eanwhile, the bill defines counterfeit goods as goods or mate -

Baguio, Palawan, Boracay, and Cebu, among others.

Meanwhile, the remaining 48 tourist destinations will “most likely” have better Internet connectivity by the end of the year to achieve “full 100 percent coverage.”

“This is a joint initiative with the DICT in order to ensure that our tourists will have a complete experience in the tourism areas,” he said.

Uy said boosting connectivity in tourist spots would be a good strategy to market the Philippines as a tourist destination, considering that many tourists are also “vloggers.”

“Many of the tourists now are also vloggers. They vlog about their experience while they are there experiencing or enjoying the tourism sites so it is critical that we provide them with Internet connectivity. So while they’re there, enjoying those experiences, they can actually be also our marketing tool in propagating the message to them how they’re having

rials including packaging bearing without authorization a trademark which is identical to a trademark validly registered with the IPOPHL or already declared as a wellknown mark internationally or in the Philippines by a competent authority in respect of such goods or which cannot be distinguished in its essential aspects from such a trademark and which thereby violates the rights of the owner of the trademark in question.

T he bill also authorizes the IPOPHL to perform the following enforcement functions:

Gather intelligence information related to the violations of RA 8293, conduct inquiry and investigation, and develop effective countermeasures to deter counterfeit or pirated goods or content;

Conduct visits during reasonable hours to establishments and businesses of activities suspected to be in violation of RA 8293 in accordance with prescribed procedures;

Develop a database of pending cases involving violations of RA 8293; Undertake any or all of the specific enforcement actions coordinate with other government agencies and the private sector efforts on matters related to intellectual property rights enforcement;

Assist in the enforcement of orders, writs, and processes issued by the IPOPHL Bureau of Legal Affairs and the Office of the Director General;  Conduct monitoring activities related or relevant to intellectual property rights enforcement;

Exercise inter-agency special enforcement coordination

fun in the Philippines and how they are enjoying the Philippine experience,” he said.

“The DICT’s role here is to really support the Department of Tourism [DOT] in its effort in establishing the Philippines as one of the primary tourist destinations around the world,” Uy added.

In December 2022, the DICT and DOT signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to digitalize tourism services across the country and improve internet connectivity in 94 identified destinations.

Aside from the tourist magnets Boracay, Palawan, Cebu, Bohol and Siargao, the DOT would focus on emerging and lesser-known destinations.

The partnership is part of DOT’s goal to fully digitalize tourist transactions and integrate them into one system to further attract tourists, both foreign and local, to tour around the country seamlessly.

Among the transactions the DOT

functions; and

Such other powers and functions as may be necessary or incidental to the attainment of the purposes and objectives of RA 8293 or as may be assigned by the IPOPHL Director General.

T he bill also increases the range of administrative fines that can be imposed by the Director of Legal Affairs from a minimum of P5,000 and a maximum of P150,000, to a minimum of P100,000 and a P1 million. A lso, the maximum additional fine for each day of continuing violation is raised from P1,000 to P10,000.

The bill also incorporates a new Section 216-A on Preventive Action on Online Infringement, which empowers the IPOPHL, after due notice and hearing, to disable access to an online location and prevent further access to an online location whose primary purpose or primary effect of which is to infringe copyright or facilitate copyright infringement;

The measure allows the copyright owner or the exclusive licensee of copyright i.e. the “eligible party” to submit an application to the IPOPHL to order the disabling of access to any infringing online location identified in the application.

It also incorporates a new Section 216-8 detailing the procedure of inquiry for preventive action on online infringement to be formulated by the IPOPHL.

T he bill mandates the IPOPHL to promulgate the necessary implementing rules and regulations within 90 days from the effectivity of this proposal.

is looking to modernize is the selling of tickets in seaports, citing the difficulty in obtaining one when purchasing online.

Under the MOU, the DICT is tasked to increase the bandwidth and reliability for destinations that have Internet access and tap satellite technology in the case of remote areas.

In the same briefing, Uy said the DICT would cooperate with the DOT, Bureau of Immigration, and the Department of Foreign Affairs for the deployment of an e-visa system.

He said the government is planning to tap private sector partners that have “proven capacity” in handing e-visa services to ensure a “seamless experience” for tourists.

“This is just an initial stage and we will continue to look for ways in improving the digitalization of our infrastructure as well as our connectivity to support all our different departments of the government,” Uy said. PNA

SC affirms filing of charges vs group behind importation of P6.2-B ‘shabu’ in ‘08 in Subic

THE Supreme Court has junked the petition filed by GMA Network, and its wholly-owned subsidiary Citynet Network Marketing and Productions Inc. (Citynet) seeking to nullify the blocktime agreement entered into by rival network ABC-5 and Malaysian company Media Prima Berhad (MPB), and Primedia due to unfair competition.

I n a 30-page decision penned by Associate Justice Marvic Leonen,  the Court’s Second Division upheld the ruling issued by the Court of Appeals on October 16, 2012, which affirmed the Regional Trial Court of Quezon City’s order dismissing the complaint filed by GMA and Citynet due to lack of jurisdiction.

T he controversy stemmed in 2008 when it was reported that ABC-5 sold through a Blocktime Agreement all its airtime to MPB Primedia Inc. (Primedia), except news and Christian programming.

T he acquisition was reportedly part of the investment strategy of Media Prima Berhad, a Malaysian corporation, to establish a company in the Philippines of which it would be 70 percent owner.

However, the petitioners alleged that even if Primedia’s Articles of Incorporation stated that it was Filipino-owned, it was nonetheless Media Prima Berhad’s subsidiary, purposely established to purchase and manage a chunk of ABC-5’s airtime content and sales.

T he petitioners claimed that it would eventually convey all its rights in the Blocktime Agreement to the MPB Strategic Media Fund, an equity fund set up for Asean media investments of Media Prima Berhad.

T he petitioners claimed that the agreement should be declared void under Article 1409 of the

By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

SEN. Raffy Tulfo visited President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. at Malacañang Palace on Monday, expressing concern over the country’s energy security amid poor performance of and threats to such security arising from the ownership of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).

A s presiding chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy, Tulfo sought an audience with the Chief Executive in a bid “to get the cooperation of different government agencies and swiftly address issues” with NGCP.

A t the center of his discussion with the President was the NGCP, the country’s energy grid systems operator: 40 percent of it is owned by the State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC), while 60 percent is Filipino-owned.

At the same time, Tulfo pointed out that Chinese ownership of NGCP “poses serious national security threat” amid the current conflict

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz  @joveemarie

THE House Committee on Metro Manila Development has called the heads of Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), Maynilad, Manila Water, Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Water Resources Management Office and Laguna Lake Development Authority to a meeting today (Wednesday) to brief the panel on depleting water supplies in Metro Manila.

M anila Second District Rep. Rolan Valeriano, the panel chair -

Civil Code, not only for violating the limitation in ownership and management of mass media under Article XVI, Section 11(1) of the Constitution, but also the AntiDummy Law.

T he plaintiffs said that Primedia’s control and management undermined the nationalized broadcast media and resulted in unfair competition among local broadcasting networks.

On the other hand, the respondents maintained that the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has jurisdiction over the issue of unfair competition.

T hey added that the summary dismissal of the case is warranted due to petitioners’ violation of the Rules of Court when they pursued the case despite having previously filed a lettercomplaint before the NTC.

By filing the letter-complaint, the respondents said the petitioners acknowledged NTC’s regulatory authority over the matter.

A BC-5 even noted that the petitioners have not even seen the Blocktime Agreement they seek to declare void, thus, cannot say for sure how its contents violate the law.

In denying GMA and Citynet’s petition, the SC ruled that it has no jurisdiction over the issues raised in the petition.

“ Here, the issue of whether to nullify the Blocktime Agreement between respondents ABC-5 and Primedia for its supposed constitutional and statutory violations is intertwined with the issue of whether it had indeed, as petitioners allege, transferred control and management of ABC-5 to Primedia, which is a factual question within the Commission’s sphere of concern,” the SC explained. Joel R. San Juan

between China and the Philippines over the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

T he senator pressed for the return of the systems operation of the country’s transmission grid to the National Transmission Corporation (TransCo), a Philippine government entity.

However, the idea of the Philipine government retaking the operations of the transmission grid drew alarm bells from another senator.

S en. Chiz Escudero cautioned against the “renationalization” or reacquiring of properties formerly owned by the Philippine government, saying it might discourage foreign investors from doing business in the country.

Tulfo cited an “intel report” that China has the capability to “remotely access the country’s national grid and sabotage it.”

T he senator also noted, “All the instructions posted in NGCP plants about operations of sensitive equipment, including manuals, are written in Chinese characters, adding

man, said his committee would discuss the depleting water supply for Metro Manila with concerned government agencies.

T he committee has also invited the National Economic and Development Authority, National Power Corp., National Water Resources Board, and Local Water Utilities Administration.

T he committee is also expected to look into the water level situation in Angat and La Mesa Dams.

Valenzuela Rep. Eric Martinez raised the continuous decline of dams’ water levels, citing Pagasa’s monitoring effort.

F or his part, Makati Rep. Luis Campos recalled having pushed for the desalination of water

By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

office after committing to produce the cargoes’ necessary documents, but he failed to return.

W hen the boxes were opened, they were found to contain 40 transport plastic packs containing white crystalline substance and weighing 81.95 kilos, which later tested positive for shabu, a dangerous drug.

On May 28, 2008, two bags containing 10 vacuum sealed packs of the same substance were recovered by divers of the Subic Dry Dock, which later yielded positive results for shabu with a weight of 20.49 kilos.

Asia; Robert Lee, an incorporator of Anglo-Asia; Ang and Labandelo.

T he complaint against Ang was eventually filed with the Olongapo City Regional Trial Court and a warrant of arrest was issued against him but he could no longer be located.

T he complaint against Lee and other incorporators of Hualong identified as Anton Go, Cai Wengcong, Yao, Chua, and Changcheng was dismissed by the City Prosecutor of Olongapo.

I n a 10-page decision penned by Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, the Court’s Second Division junked the petition filed by Rudy Chua and Cai Changcheng, two of the accused in the drug complaint, seeking the reversal of the Court of Appeals’ (CA) decision dated July 17, 2012 and resolution dated November 14, 2012.

T he appellate court, in the said rulings, found no grave abuse of discretion on the part of the Secretary of Justice in reversing the City Prosecutor’s dismissal of the complaint and ordering the filing of information for violation of Section 4 (Importation of Dangerous Drugs and/or Controlled Precursors and Essential Chemicals) and Section 5  (Sale, Trading, Administration, Dispensation, Delivery, Distribution and Transportation of Dangerous Drugs and/or Controlled Precursors and Essential Chemical) under Article II of Republic Act No. 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 against Chua, Changcheng and several others.

“ The Court of Appeals correctly

that there is no Filipino technician knows how to operate this.”

T he lawmaker relayed to the President alleged violations by NGCP of its franchise contract, such as its failure to make good on the timely development of connectivity in the main power grid in various provinces.

“ These concerns and lapses are enough reason for the government to cancel the franchise of NGCP,” the senator stressed.

He added that while Chinese shareholders only own 40 percent of NGCP, under the shareholders’ agreement they have the power to veto or junk the board resolution of majority shareholders. “In short, Chinese shareholders can do everything they want to do in running the NGCP. This is the reason our energy situation is problematic,” he said, speaking mostly in Filipino.

T he senator has filed Senate Resolution (SR) No. 609 seeking to investigate the corporation.

A lso part of his basis for seeking an investigation are reports indicat-

drawn from the Laguna de Bay as another source of potable water for Metro Manila.

A ccording to Valeriano, Angat provides 97 percent of Metro Manila’s water or 4,000 million liters per day of water via the La Mesa reservoir system.

“Although 60 percent of this is allocated to Maynilad, it has been penalized a couple of times lately by MWSS due to repeated water interruptions,” he said.

“More allocated to Maynilad, still not enough. Remember, Manila Water has only a 40 percent share,” he added.

Valeriano said it is critical to find out “how worse exactly is our water situation at present.”

found that respondent Secretary of Justice did not commit any grave abuse of discretion in finding probable cause against petitioners. Respondent Secretary of Justice’s Resolution finding probable cause was reasonably based on available evidence,” the SC ruled.

It can be recalled that on May 25, 2008, a security guard of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) flagged down a Mitsubishi Outlander with Plate No. RAE 615 driven by Anthony “Anton” Ang, part owner of import-export firm Hualong International Inc. (Hualong).

D uring inspection, the driver failed to show documents authorizing them to bring out cargoes, which were earlier seen being unloaded from a docked Chinese-registered cargo ship FIB Shun Fa Xing.

A ng was then brought to the office of Internal Affairs General Assignment Service for investigation.

W hen questioned, Ang refused to open the boxes and claimed that they merely contained sensitive computer parts.

A ng was later allowed to leave the

ing that the NGCP failed to perform its mandate to contract ancillary providers in accordance with the requirements of the Department of Energy (DOE).

T he senator recalled that “the Luzon grid was recently placed under red and yellow alerts, with several areas reporting power outages,” adding that the prolonged power interruptions in Panay and Negros over the past weeks had been “discovered to be due to inadequacies in the transmission system being operated by the NGCP.”

Escudero’s warning AMID the frenzy of NGCP bashing triggered by recent unscheduled outages, Escudero counseled caution.

“ The renationalization of formerly-owned sold state assets is a policy that the national government should be very careful about or should be more circumspect about as it might send a wrong signal to existing and potential investors,” Escudero said.

On the same day, operatives of the Presidential Anti-Smuggling GroupTask Force Subic received information that a dark blue Toyota Hi-Ace with plate number UKU-699 parked inside a warehouse owned by Anglo Asia Commodity Corp. (Anglo Asia) contained similar boxes as those earlier seized.

T he operatives proceeded to the warehouse and confiscated 60 boxes containing five packs of shabu weighing 612.22 kilograms.

Enrique L. Ong, manager of Anglo Asia, admitted that he was instructed by Ang and Ang’s wife Estrella Ang, operations manager of Hualong, to allow Rolando Labandelo, the driver of the vehicle, to park inside the warehouse.

It was also revealed during the investigation that Estrella notified the Seaport Department of SBMA of the arrival of the cargo vessel FB Shun Fa Xing, which was loaded with dangerous drugs that were later seized.

O n June 13, 2008, the Task Force Subic operatives filed drug complaint before the Office of the City Prosecutor of Olongapo City against Enrique Ong, manager of Anglo-Asia Commodity Corporation; Harry Yao, owner of Anglo-

W hen asked for comment on the proposal of some senators for the government to buy back the state’s 40-percent shares acquired by Chinese investors, the lawmaker said he was not supporting it until the case has been thoroughly evaluated.

I don’t support it. Not until I read the fine print and subject it to a thorough study,” Escudero said.

He said “policy U-turns can be destabilizing and surely expensive.”

How much would this buyback cost? Do we even have the money given our huge debt? Are the current owners selling or will this be a forced sale? These are some of the questions that need answers,” he wondered aloud.

E scudero questioned the State’s capability to run the NGCP, which is now being blamed for the power outages in various parts of the country, noting that the government’s failure in the past led to the privatization of agency.

“ Is there a formal finding from regulators that it’s NGCP’s fault other than mere finger pointing?

But, then Justice Secretary, the late Raul Gonzalez Sr., reversed and set aside the City Prosecutor’s resolution maintaining that Chua and the other incorporators and directors of Hualong, must assume criminal liability.

C hua and Changcheng denied having knowledge or participation in the illegal importation of shabu as well as the lease agreement between Hualong and Anglo Asia.

T his prompted Chua et al. to file a petition before the CA, seeking the reversal of the DOJ’s ruling but it was denied.

T hus, Chua and Chengcheng elevated their appeal before the SC.

However, the Court held that the evidence presented by the petitioners should be examined in a full-blown trial.

“ If petitioners want to raise their arguments, the most appropriate recourse would be to proceed to trial and raise their defenses. The finding of probable cause is not a pronouncement of guilt, and a preliminary investigation does not require a full and exhaustive presentation of the parties’ evidence. Precisely, there is a trial to allow the reception of evidence for both parties to substantiate their respective claims,” the SC said.

Does anyone honestly think that the government can run NGCP better than the private sector?”

Escudero asked.

T here should be an “expert determination” on the role of NGCP in “power outages and shortages,” Escudero said.

“ If power generation is the problem, are we not applying the wrong solution?” He warned that “instead of finding solutions,” critics may just be “looking for convenient scapegoats.”

H e reminded the public that

“‘[we’ve] been there, done that…and the Napocor and the NGCP, at that time, racked up hundreds of billions of pesos of debts, which we are paying up to now.”

T he NGCP is 40-percent owned by the State Grid Corp. of China (SGCC), a business entity owned by the Chinese Government, while the remaining 60 percent is owned by a group of Filipino businessmen led by Henry Sy Jr. and Robert Coyiuto Jr.

JUSTICE Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla on Tuesday disclosed the possibility of suspended Negros Oriental 3rd District Rep. Arnolfo “Arnie” Teves returning to the country today (Wednesday). R emulla shared this at a hastily called news conference where he said the information came from a very reliable source who “may have access to flight data into the country.”

He’s usually a very reliable source for those who come in and out of the country,” Remulla said. I n anticipation of Teves’

return, Remulla said law enforcement agencies have already been placed on alert in order to avoid any untoward incident upon his arrival.

But Remulla clarified that Teves will not be arrested considering that there is no standing warrant of arrest against him yet.

“ Law enforcement agencies have been placed on alert so he can be secured properly. So, we would not be surprised by the arrival,” Remulla explained.

R emulla said the notice issued by the International Criminal Police Organization also known

as Interpol could have prompted Teves to consider returning to the country.

“ He’s already on Interpol notice and things are becoming more difficult for Mr. Teves to go around. That’s what was told to me by my reliable source,” the justice chief said.

“He will likely return, most probably because it’s difficult to go around the world now when you’re already on Interpol notice and it’s already known in Asean that he’s a subject of designation as a terrorist. So, things have become more difficult I suppose,” he added. Joel R. San Juan

THE Supreme Court (SC) has affirmed the decision issued by the Office of the Secretary of Justice reversing the dismissal by the City Prosecutor of Olongapo on the P6.2-billion drug complaint filed against the alleged members of a bigtime drug syndicate operating in Subic.

Court junks GMA’s unfair competition case against ABC-5, Malaysian partners

Tulfo visits PBBM, wants transmission grid back with govt, but Chiz warns NGCP critics

House panel sets inquiry into Metro water shortage Remulla’s ‘reliable source’ says Rep. Teves might be back to PHL today

NOTICE OF FILING OF APPLICATION/S FOR ALIEN EMPLOYMENT PERMIT/S (AEP/S)

Notice is hereby given that the following companies/employers have filed with this

Office application/s for

19

30 ANOC99 CORPORATION POGO 1 Building, Covelandia Road, Pulvorista, Kawit, Cavite

31 ARTNATURE MANUFACTURING PHILIPPINES INC.

Lot 2, First Street, First Philippine Industrial Park, Santa Anastacia, City of Sto. Tomas, Batangas

32 BRICKHARTZ TECHNOLOGY INC.

Lot 4044, Molino Boulevard, Niog III, City of Bacoor, Cavite

UCHIDA, TAKASHI

Director, Treasurer and Production Division Senior Manager

Brief Job Description:

Oversee the financial affairs of the company and as production division

Senior Manager to oversee operations in the production

PENG, JIATANG

Mandarin Customer Relations Officer

Brief Job Description:

Ensure outstanding customer satisfaction by maintaining strong working relationships

CHIU, HSIEN-KUNG

33 FONG SHANN PRINTING PHILIPPINES INC.

Lot 4, Block 3, Phase 3, Lima Technology Center, Santiago, Malvar, Batangas

Basic Qualification: Must be a Japanese nationality, fluent in English and with relevant work experience as Production Division Senior Manager

Salary Range: Php90,000Php149,999

Basic Qualification:

Has excellent problem-solving and communication skills in Mandarin, with related BPO experience

Salary Range:

Php30,000Php59,999

Basic Qualification:

34 FURUKAWA ELECTRIC THERMAL MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS AND PRODUCTS LAGUNA, INC.

Units 9, 10,13 & 14 Metrococo Bldg. 1B, 105 Industry Road, Laguna Technopark, Don Jose, City of Santa Rosa, Laguna

Maintenance Chief

Brief Job Description:

Plan and oversee all repair and installation activities/ maintenance procedures implementation

KAWANO, YOSUKE

Vice President and General Manager for Administration

Brief Job Description:

Support the president and handle Administration Department

Can speak English and Mandarin language

Salary Range: Php30,000Php59,999

Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in overall administrative jobs such as but not limited to human resources, finance and accounting

Salary Range: Php90,000Php149,999

35 HON-KWANG ELECTRIC (PHILIPPINES), INC.

128 North Science Avenue, Laguna Technopark, Malamig, City of Biñan, Laguna

36 JS CREATIVES PHILIPPINES INC.

Lot 10&11, Block 2, Unit 5G Borland Enterprise Center Bldg. Macaria Business Center Mabuhay, Bancal, Carmona, Cavite

37 NIPPON MICROMETAL CORPORATION PHILIPPINES Unit B-4, Lot 7, Phase 1A, First Philippine Industrial Park, Santa Anastacia, City of Sto. Tomas, Batangas

HUANG, YONG New Product Introduction Engineer

Brief Job Description:

Engineering support in electronics

manufacturing for standards and regulations

SAKANASHI, KENICHIRO

Vice President

Brief Job Description:

Supervise and manage business affairs of the corporation

YONEKURA, HISASHI

Senior General Manager Operations

Brief Job Description:

Manage and control the operation of Production, Production Engineering, Sales Philippines, Systems, Purchasing and Logistics Department.

Basic Qualification: 3–5-year work experience in electronics manufacturing company

Salary Range: Php30,000 - Ph 59,999

Basic Qualification: College graduate

Salary Range: Php90,000Php149,999

Basic Qualification: College graduate, fluent in English and Japanese language, must have expertise in setting direction, production planning, process control, detailed technical and engineering knowledge of the product development process

Salary Range: Php150,000Php499,999

HK leader says China’s sentencing of US citizen exposes national security threats

By Kanis Leung The Associated Press

HONG KONG—Hong

Kong’s leader on Tuesday said the sentencing on spying charges of a US citizen in China, who was also a permanent resident of the semi-autonomous city, illustrated that the territory should “stay vigilant to national security risks hidden in society.”

The government said mainland Chinese authorities had informed Hong Kong of the arrest of John Shing-Wan Leung in 2021. He was sentenced Monday to life in prison. Hong Kong’s government was prepared to provide assistance to anyone arrested by mainland authorities upon request but had not yet received any in Leung’s case, authorities said.

Neither Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee nor the court in the eastern Chinese city of Suzhou that tried Leung, 78, have released details of his alleged crime.

Since taking office last year, Lee has taken a hard line toward any signs of dissent, backed up by the uncompromising attitude adopted by Chinese leaders from authoritarian Communist Party head Xi Jinping on down.

“This incident showed us that national security risks could be hidden in society. That’s why we repeatedly stressed that, although Hong Kong’s situation appears to be largely stabilized, we can’t let down our guard over national security risks,” said Lee, a former police officer and head of security in the city.

A longtime Beijing loyalist, he was effectively appointed to the top position after running unopposed in an election choreographed by Beijing last year.

In an echo of party propaganda, Lee referred to the 2019 pro-democracy protests that triggered a crackdown as “black violence” and Hong Kong’s version of “color revolution,” a phrase used by China and Russia to describe political movements seeking to overturn authoritarian regimes. Lee said the protest movement was an alarm bell that reminds the city to keep monitoring such risks.

Leung’s sentencing threatens to further exacerbate already strained ties between Beijing and Washington.

Leung was detained April 15, 2021, by the local bureau of China’s counterintelligence agency in Suzhou, according to a statement posted by the city’s intermediate court on its social media site. His detention came after China had closed its borders and imposed tight domestic travel restrictions and lockdowns affecting tens of millions to fight the spread of Covid-19.

Such investigations and trials are held behind closed doors and little information is generally released.

The harsh sentence given Leung was especially notable because of his previous affiliations with pro-Communist Party organizations, including one seeking overseas support for Beijing’s goal of unification with self-governing Taiwan.

Relations between Washington and Beijing are at their lowest in decades amid disputes over trade, technology, human rights and China’s increasingly aggressive territorial claims toward Taiwan, the South China Sea and elsewhere.

High-level government exchanges between the sides have been placed on hold and US companies are delaying major investments amid mixed messaging from Beijing. Many Chinese firms, most notably telecoms giant Huawei, have been effectively shut out of the US market due to legal bans and high tariffs.

The sentencing comes as US President Joe Biden is traveling to Hiroshima, Japan this weekend for the summit of the Group of Seven major industrial nations, followed by a visit to Papua New Guinea, a Pacific island nation in a region where China has sought to expand its economic, military and diplomatic influence.

While the Suzhou court offered no indication of a link between Leung’s case and overall China-US relations, spying charges in China often appear highly selective and evidence backing them up is held in secret. The party’s rigid control over courts, civil society and the media effectively blocks efforts to gain further information or mount legal appeals.

The US Embassy in Beijing said Monday it was aware of Leung’s case, but could not comment further due to privacy concerns. “The Department of State has no greater priority than the safety and security of US citizens overseas,” the embassy said.

A former British colony, Hong Kong was promised it

would retain its financial, social and political liberties when returned to China in 1997. Beijing has since torn up that commitment through progressively harsher restrictions on public gatherings, free speech and political participation, while still promoting the city as an efficient and corruption-free center for trade and finance.

Meanwhile, on the mainland, Chinese national security agencies have raided the offices of foreign business consulting firms in Beijing and other cities as part of a crackdown on foreign businesses that provide sensitive economic data.

The pressure on foreign companies appears to clash with attempts by Beijing to lure back foreign investors after draconian Covid-19 pandemic restrictions were lifted at the beginning of the year.

It wasn’t clear who represented Leung at his trial and his family has not commented on the sentence. Friends and former colleagues declined The Associated Press’ requests for comment.

Long pretrial detentions are not unusual in China and prosecutors have broad powers to hold people charged in national security cases, regardless of their citizenship status.

Two Chinese-Australians, Cheng Lei, who formerly worked for China’s state broadcaster, and writer Yang Jun, have been held since 2020 and 2019 respectively, without word on their sentencing.

Government suspicion is particularly focused on Chineseborn foreign citizens and people from Taiwan and Hong Kong, especially if they have political contacts or work in academia or publishing.

Under Xi, the party has launched multiple campaigns against what it calls foreign efforts to sabotage its rule, without showing evidence. Online commentary and independent information sources have been muzzled and universities ordered to censor discussions of human rights, modern Chinese history and ideas that could prompt questions about total Communist Party control.

Xi’s government has also taken a hard line on foreign relations, most recently ordering a Canadian diplomat to leave at short notice in retaliation for Ottawa’s expulsion of a staffer at the Chinese Embassy who was accused of threatening a member of the Canadian Parliament and his family members living in Hong Kong.

China’s leader for a decade who faces no term limits, Xi has taken a highly confrontational stance toward the US and other democracies, while backing Russian President Vladimir Putin in his invasion of Ukraine and supporting other autocratic governments from Nicaragua to Myanmar.

China’s youth jobless rate hits record 20.4% in danger sign

By Jill Disis

CHINA’S youth jobless rate rose to a record 20.4 percent in April, showing the economy is still struggling to absorb new workers even as the overall labor force declines.

The youth unemployment rate rose from 19.6 percent and topped last summer’s previous record of 19.9 percent, even as the overall surveyed jobless rate declined to 5.2 percent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

“More efforts need to be made to stabilize and expand employment

for young people,” NBS spokesperson Fu Linghui said at a briefing in Beijing.

The data were among a set of disappointing figures released today showing that debt woes and a lack of private sector confidence are holding back growth.

The youth unemployment figures are a big concern, because some 11.58 million students are expected to graduate from universities and colleges this year.

The rise in youth unemployment comes even after the number of working people fell by more than 41 million people over the

past three years, the result of both the pandemic’s toll on the economy and the aging of China’s population.

Some 733.5 million Chinese people were employed in 2022, according to data released earlier this year by the statistics bureau. That’s down from 774.7 million in 2019.

The decline in employment over that period is almost equal to Germany’s entire workforce, which was about 44 million in 2021, according to the World Bank. With assistance from Phila Siu/ Bloomberg

HONG KONG Chief Executive John Lee speaks during a news conference in Hong Kong on March 21, 2023. Hong Kong’s leader on Tuesday, May 16, 2023, said Beijing’s sentencing on spying charges of a US citizen who was also a permanent resident of the semi-autonomous Chinese city was justification for a years-long crackdown on activities deemed subversive. AP/LOUISE DELMOTTE

The World

Russia launches intense air attack in Kyiv with drones and missiles

By Samya Kullab The Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine—Ukrainian air defenses thwarted an intense Russian air attack on Kyiv early Tuesday, shooting down all 18 missiles aimed at the capital.

Loud explosions boomed over Kyiv as the nighttime attack combined Russian missiles launched from the air, sea and land in an apparent attempt to overwhelm Ukraine’s air defenses. No casualties were reported.

Russia’s latest attack on Kyiv was “exceptional in its density— the maximum number of attacking missiles in the shortest period of time,” said Serhii Popko, the head of the Kyiv military administration.

The British ambassador to Ukraine, Melinda Simmons, tweeted that the barrage was “pretty intense.”

“Bangs and shaking walls are not an easy night,” she wrote.

It was the eighth time this month that Russian air raids had targeted the capital, a clear escalation after weeks of lull and ahead of a muchanticipated Ukrainian counter-offensive. It also came as President Volodymyr Zelenksyy concluded a whirlwind European tour to greet Ukraine’s key wartime allies, which spurred an additional tranche of pledged military aid.

Ukraine’s Air Force said 18 missiles of various types were launched, including drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles. All were intercepted, said Air Force spokesman Yurii Ihnat.

Six “Kinzhal” aero-ballistic missiles were launched from MiG31K aircraft, nine cruise missiles

from ships in the Black Sea and three land-based S-400 cruise missiles targeted the capital, Ihnat said in a statement on Telegram.

After the first onslaught, Russia also launched Iranian-made Shahed attack drones and conducted aerial reconnaissance, Ihnat said.

Debris fell across several districts in the capital. In the Solomyansky district, starting a fire in a non-residential building.

Debris set cars on fire and fell

Pacific Island leaders say rich countries not doing enough to fight climate change

By Jintamas Saksornchai

The Associated Press

BANGKOK—Pacific Island leaders are criticizing rich countries for not doing enough to control climate change despite being responsible for much of the problem, and for profiting from loans provided to vulnerable nations to mitigate the effects.

Leaders and representatives from Pacific Island nations demanded at a UN climate change conference Monday in Bangkok that the world make more effort to put aside differences in combating the environmental impact, especially as their countries emerge from the economic devastation of the Covid-19 pandemic.

to provide the financial help they had promised, which he said represents only a tiny portion of their prioritized expenditures such as the military.

“We didn’t cause the problem, but now they’re going to make money off of us by giving us a loan so we can pay back with interest,” he told The Associated Press. “So now you have to adapt, but we’ll give you money and make money off of you by giving you that money to adapt. That doesn’t make sense.”

on the grounds of a zoo, but no losses were reported, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. The barrage came as European leaders were due to attend a rare summit of the 46-nation Council of Europe, the continent’s main human rights body. The two-day meeting in Iceland seeks to set up a way of logging damage in Ukraine caused by the Kremlin’s forces so compensation claims can be lodged against Moscow.

South African army general in Moscow days after country accused of sending weapons to Russia

By Gerald Imray & Mogomotsi Magome

The Associated Press

CAPE TOWN, South Africa—Russia’s top army general and his South African counterpart discussed “military cooperation” while meeting Monday in Moscow, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

The announcement came hours after South African President Cyril Ramaphosa denied accusations by the United States that his country was siding with Russia in the war in Ukraine and had sent weapons to help it.

Gen. Oleg Salyukov, the commander of Russia’s ground forces, met the chief of South Africa’s army, Lt. Gen. Lawrence Mbatha, at Russia’s general command headquarters in Moscow, the Russian ministry said.

“The sides discussed issues of military cooperation and the implementation of projects geared to enhance the combat readiness of the two countries’ armies,” the ministry said in a statement. “The meeting between the military commanders yielded agreements on the further expansion of cooperation between the land forces in various areas.”

The Defense Ministry said a South African delegation would visit a number of Russian army “educational and training facilities.”

The South African army said the trip was planned well in advance of the US ambassador to South Africa alleging last week that the country had provided weapons to Russia when a ship under US sanctions made a secret stop at a South African naval base in December.

The South African government has denied the Russian cargo ship’s stop involved an official sale of weapons, although it has not categorically ruled out an arms transaction took place.

Ramaphosa has said an investigation was underway to determine if anyone loaded weapons onto the

Russian-flagged Lady R cargo ship at the Simon’s Town naval base near Cape Town.

Ramaphosa used his weekly message to the nation Monday to reaffirm South Africa’s nonaligned stance with regard to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The president’s statement was seen as a response to US Ambassador to South Africa Reuben Brigety, who questioned South Africa’s neutrality in the Ukraine war while making the allegations about a weapons shipment.

Brigety was subsequently summoned to a meeting with South Africa’s foreign minister.

“We do not accept that our non-aligned position favors Russia above other countries,” Ramaphosa wrote in his weekly message.

“Nor do we accept that it should imperil our relations with other countries.”

Ramaphosa added: “We have been firm on this point: South Africa has not been, and will not be, drawn into a contest between global powers.”

He also hinted that Russian President Vladimir Putin would

visit South Africa for a meeting of leaders of the BRICS economic bloc in August. The Kremlin has not confirmed that Putin plans to attend the BRICS summit.

Such a trip would entangle South Africa in another diplomatic mess because the country is a signatory to the treaty that created the International Criminal Court, which issued an arrest warrant for Putin in March for alleged war crimes involving the abductions of children from Ukraine.

Since the indictment, Putin has traveled rarely, and only to countries that are close allies of Russia. Countries that are parties to the treaty would be obliged to arrest the Russian leader.

While Russia and South Africa both described Monday’s meeting of the countries’ top army generals as part of a normal bilateral trip, it’s bound to increase scrutiny of Africa’s most developed economy, which is seen as an influential nation in the developing world.

South Africa is the only African nation in the BRICS bloc, which also includes Brazil, Russia, India and China.

Aside from the weapons allegations, South Africa also hosted Russian and Chinese warships and took part in naval exercises off its east coast in February that coincided with the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Brigety, the American ambassador, said last week that US officials have “respect for South Africa’s policy of neutrality and non-alignment in international affairs” but had “noted a series of issues which suggest that in practice the government of South Africa is in fact not non-aligned.”

The Associated Press independently verified that the Lady R cargo ship stopped at the South African naval base for at least three days in December, as Brigety claimed. A review of records by the AP also shows that the Lady R is tied to a company that was sanctioned by the US for transporting weapons for the Russian government and aiding its war effort in Ukraine.

Prime Minister Mark Brown of the Cook Islands said the finance model for combatting climate change—giving out loans to reduce the impact—is “not the way to go” for countries in his region with such small populations that produce “inconsequential amounts of carbon emissions” but suffer the most from the effects.

He encouraged a shift toward grants or interest-free loans to help ease the financial burden on poorer countries.

“All we’re doing is adding debt to countries that have come out of Covid with increased debt, and to me it is actually quite offensive that we would be required to borrow money to build resilience, and to borrow from the very countries that are causing climate change,” he told The Associated Press.

Brown said his country lost an estimated 41 percent of its GDP because of the pandemic, “a loss of a decade’s worth of prosperity.”

He said he will give this message to leaders when he represents his tiny South Pacific nation with a population of about 17,000 at a summit later this week of the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations in Japan, where he hopes to be able to speak on a more equal footing to the leaders than as “a grateful recipient” to “benevolent donors.”

Palau President Surangel S. Whipps Jr. agreed that financing opportunities are “few and difficult,” and criticized wealthy countries for failing to commit

Whipps said Palau’s economy relies heavily on tourism, which is greatly threatened by the impact of climate change. The country’s economic security is also a major issue in Palau’s negotiations with the US on the “Compacts of Free Association,” a broader agreement that will govern its relations with Washington for the next two decades. Those ties grant the US unique military and other security rights in the islands in return for substantial aid.

Whipps said the administration of President Joe Biden has promised approximately $900 million over the 20-year period. While the amount is “definitely less” than what his country would have wanted, Whipps said he is largely satisfied with the terms, renegotiated from what was achieved during the administration of former President Donald Trump.

While there are some concerns that the US Congress will cut foreign aid and in turn affect this funding, Whipps said he expects Washington will honor the agreement, which he hopes can be signed by both sides in Papua New Guinea next week.

Brown said efforts to tackle climate change and build resilience to its impact, such as better infrastructure and greater water and food security, require lots of money, especially for island nations with small populations. He said $1.2 billion a year for the region to spend on climate adaptation and mitigation measures would be “a starter.”

“The fact remains that the underlying solution to assist countries that are facing the impacts of climate change is to build resilience, and building resilience takes money,” he said.

Fire at New Zealand hostel kills at least 6 people, officials say

By Nick Perry

The Associated Press

WELLINGTON, New Zealand—A fire ripped through a hostel in New Zealand’s capital overnight, killing at least six people and forcing others to flee the four-story building in their pajamas in what a fire chief on Tuesday called his “worst nightmare.”

Six bodies were found but not all areas of the building had been searched yet because the roof on the top floor had collapsed, bringing down debris and making the area unsafe, said Bruce Stubbs, the incident controller for Fire and Emergency New Zealand.

Officials said 52 people had made it out of the building alive but they were still trying to account for others.

Loafers Lodge resident Tala Sili told news outlet RNZ that he saw smoke pouring through under his door and opened it to find the hallway was pitch-black.

“I was on the top floor and I couldn’t go through the hallway because there was just too much smoke, so I jumped out the window,” Sili said. He said he fell onto a roof two floors below.

“It was just scary, it was really scary, but I knew I had to jump out the window or just burn inside the building,” Sili told RNZ. He said he was rescued from the roof by paramedics and treated for a sprained ankle.

The Loafers Lodge offered basic, affordable rooms with shared lounges, kitchens and laundry facilities to people of a wide range of ages. Some were placed there by government agencies and were considered vulnerable because they had little in the way of resources or support networks.

The hostel has 92 rooms and features billboards on one side. Dark smoke stains extended up the exterior walls on the top story of the building in an industrial area near Wellington Regional Hospital.

Firefighters were called to the hostel at about 12:30 a.m. Emergency officials said the building had no fire sprinklers, which Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said was not required in New Zealand’s building code for older buildings that would have to be retrofitted.

Police said the cause of the fire was not known yet but they didn’t believe it had been deliberately lit. Police Inspector Dion Bennett said the plan was to begin a thorough scene investigation Wednesday after fire officials handed building access off to them.

Residents told reporters that fire alarms would regularly sound in the building, possibly from people smoking or overly sensitive smoke monitors, so many had initially thought it was another false alarm.

Hipkins said it could take authorities some time to confirm the number of dead.

Police said they did not have an exact count, although they believed the death toll was less than 10.

IN this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Situations Ministry, firefighters put out fire caused by fragments of a Russian rocket after it was shot down by air defense system during the night Russian rockets attack Kyiv, Ukraine on Tuesday, May 16, 2023.

UKRAINIAN EMERGENCY SITUATIONS MINISTRY VIA AP

Magome reported from Johannesburg. AP Writer Dasha Litvinova in Tallinn, Estonia, contributed to this report.

THE Russian vessel Lady R is docked at the Simon’s Town Naval Base near Cape Town, South Africa on December 8, 2022. The US ambassador to South Africa has accused the country of providing weapons to Russia. Ambassador Reuben Brigety said the US government was certain that weapons were loaded onto a cargo ship that docked secretly at a naval base near the city of Cape Town for three days in December. AP

Special

The World

By Eric Tucker & Lindsay Whitehurst

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON—A special prosecutor found that the FBI rushed into its investigation of ties between Russia and Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign and relied too much on raw and unconfirmed intelligence as he concluded a four-year probe that fell far short of the former president’s prediction that the “crime of the century” would be uncovered.

The report Monday from special counsel John Durham represents the longawaited culmination of an investigation that Trump and allies had claimed would expose massive wrongdoing by law enforcement and intelligence officials. Instead, Durham’s investigation delivered underwhelming results, with prosecutors securing a guilty plea from a little-known FBI employee but losing the only two criminal cases they took to trial.

The roughly 300-page report catalogs what Durham says were a series of missteps by the FBI and Justice Department as investigators undertook a politically explosive probe in the heat of the 2016 election into whether the Trump campaign was colluding with Russia to tip the outcome. It criticized the FBI for opening a full-fledged investigation based on “raw, unanalyzed and uncorroborated intelligence,” saying the speed at which it did so was a departure from the norm. And it said investigators repeatedly relied on “confirmation bias,” ignoring or rationalizing away evidence that undercut their premise of a Trump-Russia conspiracy as they pushed the probe forward.

“Based on the review of Crossfire Hurricane and related intelligence activities, we conclude that the Department and the FBI failed to uphold their important mission of strict fidelity to the law in connection with certain events and activities described in this report,” the document states.

The impact of Durham’s report, though harshly critical of the FBI, is likely blunted by Durham’s spotty prosecution record and by the fact that many of the episodes it cites were already examined in depth by the Justice Department’s inspector general. The FBI has also long since announced dozens of corrective actions. The bureau outlined those changes in a letter to Durham on Monday, including steps meant to ensure the accuracy of secretive surveillance applications to eavesdrop on suspected terrorists and spies.

“Had those reforms been in place in 2016, the missteps identified in the report could have been prevented. This report reinforces the importance of ensuring the FBI continues to do its work with the rigor, objectivity, and professionalism the American people deserve and rightly expect,” the FBI said in a statement. It also stressed that the report focused on the FBI’s prior leadership, before current Director Christopher Wray took the job in 2017.

Still, Durham’s findings are likely to amplify scrutiny of the FBI at a time when Trump is again seeking the White House as well as offer fresh fodder for congressional Republicans who have launched their own investigation into the purported “weaponization” of the FBI and Justice Department. After the report was released, Republican House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan said he had invited Durham to testify next week.

Trump, on his Truth Social platform, claimed anew that the report showed the “crime of the century” and referred to the Russia investigation as a “Democrat Hoax.”

Durham, the former US Attorney in Connecticut, was appointed in 2019 by Trump’s attorney general, William Barr, soon after special counsel Robert Mueller had completed his investigation into whether the 2016 Trump campaign had colluded with Russia to tilt the outcome of the election in his favor.

The Mueller investigation resulted in roughly three dozen criminal charges, including convictions of a half-dozen Trump associates, and determined that Russia intervened on the Trump campaign’s behalf and that the campaign welcomed the help. But Mueller’s team did not find that they actually conspired to sway the election, creating an opening for critics of the probe—including Barr himself—to assert that it had been launched without a proper basis.

Revelations over the following months laid bare flaws with the investigation, including errors and omissions in Justice Department applications to eavesdrop on a former Trump campaign aide, Carter Page, as well as the reliance by the FBI on a dossier of uncorroborated or discredited information compiled by an British ex-spy, Christopher Steele.

Durham’s team delved deep into those mistakes, finding that investigators opened the investigation hastily, without doing key interviews or a significant review of intelligence databases. The report says the FBI, at the time the investigation was opened, had no information that any Trump campaign officials had been in touch with any Russian intelligence officials.

The original Russia investigation was opened in July 2016 after the FBI learned from an Australian diplomat that a Trump campaign associate named George Papadopoulos had claimed to know of “dirt” that the Russians had on Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in the form of e-mails.

But the report faults the FBI for not having done important legwork before opening the investigation.

It also said the FBI did not corroborate a “single substantive allegation” in the so-called Steele dossier and ignored or rationalized what it asserts was exculpatory information that Trump associates had provided to FBI confidential informants. That includes, the report said, minimizing the importance of a conversation in which Papadopoulos strenuously denied to the FBI informant that he had any knowledge of ties between the campaign and Russia.

“An objective and honest assessment of these strands of information should have caused the FBI to question not only the predication for Crossfire Hurricane, but also to reflect on whether the FBI was being manipulated for political or other purposes,” the report said. “Unfortunately, it did not.”

Durham’s mandate was to scrutinize government decisions, and identify possible misconduct, in the early days of the Trump-Russia probe. His appointment was cheered by Trump, who in a 2019 interview with Fox News said Durham was “supposed to be the smartest and the best.” He and his supporters hoped it would expose a “deep state” conspiracy within the top echelons of the FBI and other agencies to derail Trump’s presidency and candidacy.

Durham and his team cast a broad net, interviewing top officials at the FBI, Justice Department and CIA in an investigation that ultimately cost more than $6.5 million. In his first year on the job, he traveled with Barr to Italy to meet with government officials as Trump himself asked the Australian prime minister and other leaders to help with the probe.

Weeks before his December 2020 resignation as attorney general, Barr appointed Durham as a Justice Department special counsel to ensure that he would continue his work in a Democratic administration.

The slow pace of the probe irked Trump, who berated Barr before he left office about the whereabouts of the report. By the end of the Trump administration, only one criminal case had been brought, while the abrupt departure of Durham’s top deputy in the final months of Trump’s tenure raised questions about whether the team was in sync.

Despite expectations that Durham might charge senior government officials, his team produced only three prosecutions. A former FBI lawyer pleaded guilty to altering an e-mail the FBI relied on in applying to eavesdrop on an ex-Trump campaign aide. Two other defendants—a lawyer for the Clinton campaign and a Russian-American analyst—were both acquitted on charges of lying to the FBI.

Pressure mounts on Thai senators to support Pita’s premiership bid

By Patpicha Tanakasempipat & Pathom Sangwongwanich

Hurdles have emerged in Pita’s path to power after some of the 250 unelected members of the Senate, stacked with allies of the promilitary establishment of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha, expressed their opposition to his bid for the top job, saying they won’t be guided by the election results alone. Under Thailand’s constitution, the 250-member Senate gets to vote alongside the 500-member lower house in picking the next prime minister.

In a country with a long history of coups, much of the opposition to Pita stems from his party’s pledges to amend the lese majeste law, which punishes criticism against King Maha Vajiralongkorn and other members of the royal family by up to 15 years in prison, end military conscription and rewrite the junta-era constitution.

“Pita has a defective political attitude,” said Senator Chadej Insawang, one of the lawmakers objecting to the 42-year-

old party leader. “I can’t accept that. I’ve vowed to be loyal to the monarchy.”  With Pita’s proposed coalition of six parties—including his Move Forward and Pheu Thai—well short of the 376 votes needed for a prime minister to get elected, supporters and allies of the Harvardeducated party chief are putting pressure on the Senate to back the popular mandate.

On Thai-language Twitter, hashtags that translate as “switch off the Senate” and “what good is the Senate” are trending with more than one million messages so far Tuesday.

“Pita faces an uphill battle as he needs to somehow convince nearly 70 Senators to actively vote for him, but Move Forward’s policy proposals are considered radical by Thai standards,” said Peter Mumford, Southeast Asia practice head at risk consultancy Eurasia Group.  But there is another option. Calls are also growing for parties

in the outgoing coalition, such as Democrat and Bhumjaithai— which together have won 96 seats and have previously opposed the Senate’s role in choosing the prime minister—to recognize the will of the people and back Pita.

“Now is the time for you to stand your ground and vote for Pita to truly conform with democratic principles, without giving the 250 Senators a say,” Srettha Thavisin, one of Pheu Thai’s prime minister candidates, wrote on Twitter. “Ignoring this duty will come with a heavy price to pay in the future.”

Both the Bhumjaithai and Democrat parties said on Tuesday they agreed that the party with the most seats should get the first chance to form a coalition government, but they’ve remained quiet so far on how they would vote regarding Pita’s leadership

specifically.

It’s also unclear how united the Senate bloc is when it comes to picking a prime minister. Some members have said they were still undecided, while others said they would abstain. Few, though, vowed to back the popular mandate.

“The May 14 election has reflected the will of the people,” Senator Amphon Jindawatana said in a Facebook post. “No one should intervene in the democratic process, no matter the excuse.”

But Move Forward’s Pita said he believed no one would eventually dare go against the popular mandate.

“Everyone should accept the popular mandate,” Pita told reporters on Monday after announcing his plan to lead the coalition. “Defying that will not do anyone any good, even the Senators.” Bloomberg News

Taiwan’s opposition to pick Hou for president over Foxconn’s Gou

By Cindy Wang

TAIWAN’S main opposition party is set to nominate New Taipei City Mayor Hou Yu-ih as its candidate for next year’s presidential election, a person familiar with the situation said, as it seeks to wrest back power in a vote crucial to USChina relations.

The Kuomintang on Wednesday is set to formally announce Hou as its choice to represent the party in January’s election, said the person, who asked not to be identified because they aren’t authorized to speak publicly. Hou would be taking on Vice President Lai Ching-te of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party.

The choice of Hou over Foxconn Technology Group founder Terry Gou, who also sought the nomination, is due to his strength in opinion polls and broader support among lawmakers and local government leaders, the person said.

In remarks to reporters on Tuesday, Hou didn’t directly address the question of whether he would be the nominee, saying that “no matter what the process is, I respect the party’s rhythm and rules.”

KMT spokesman Tony Lin declined to comment. Gou’s office said it won’t comment until there is an official announcement. A spokesperson for the New Taipei City government

declined to comment.

The winner of January’s election will be thrust into the center of a worsening relationship between the world’s two largest economies. A victory for the DPP would see the US keep a willing partner in its efforts to push back against China, while a win for the KMT—Beijing’s preferred negotiating partner in Taiwan—would likely ensure closer ties between Taipei and the Communist Party-led government in Beijing.

“The DPP is probably still the favorite to maintain the presidency, but after eight years of Tsai Ingwen’s leadership they are facing serious headwinds,” said Kharis Templeman, a research fellow specializing in Taiwan at the Hoover Institution in California. “In addition to the hostile crossstrait relationship, there is also a slowing economy, stagnant wages, high housing costs, repeated delays in the transition to renewable energy, water shortages, air

pollution, and so forth.”

‘More competitive’

HOU, 65, had been seen as more likely to win the nod from the KMT due to his broad popularity and grassroots appeal within the party. Some 33 percent of Taiwanese voters favor DPP’s Lai compared with 29.7 percent for Hou, according to a poll last month by the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation.

In a theoretical matchup against the 72-year-old Gou, Lai received an approval rating of 35.1 percent compared with 26 percent for the founder of Foxconn, also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. There’s also the likely candidacy of former Taipei city mayor Ko Wenje, expected to run with the Taiwan People’s Party.

“A Hou nomination by the KMT will make the 2024 presidential election an even more competitive three-way race between the DPP, KMT, and TPP, and therefore less predictable,” said Russell Hsiao, executive director of the Washington-based Global Taiwan Institute.

Hou had a distinguished, decades-long career in the police force, during which time he rose to become Taiwan’s top cop before switching to politics. He has served as mayor of Taiwan’s biggest municipality, New Taipei City, for the past five years, winning reelection for another

four-year term by a wide margin last year.

Singapore meeting

STILL , Hou faces a dilemma: declaring his ambition to run for president just months after winning the mayoral election could raise questions about his commitment to his constituency.

Another concern facing Hou is his lack of experience at the national level, particularly in the areas of foreign affairs and national defense.

In an effort to bolster his diplomatic credentials, Hou visited Singapore last month and met with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, who has been tapped to take the top job in the city-state.

On the issue of Taiwan’s political status, a crucial matter of contention in every presidential election, Hou has said he opposes Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formulation for bringing the democratic island under its control. He has also said he opposes Taiwanese independence, stating there is no legal basis for it. Referring to the island by its official name, Hou said recently that the “Republic of China is our country, while Taiwan is our home.”

Polls show that majority of Taiwanese people are happy to maintain the deliberately ambiguous status quo rather than seek unification or independence. With assistance from Jenni Marsh/Bloomberg

PRO-ROYALIST members of Thailand’s upper house are facing mounting pressure to back Pita Limjaroenrat as the country’s next premier, after the Move Forward leader staked a claim to form a coalition government of pro-democracy parties that swept Sunday’s election.

TERRY GOU BLOOMBERG

prosecutor ends Trump-Russia investigation, saying FBI acted hastily

Can PHL agri sector feed 113-M Pinoys?

THe Food Price Index of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations could cause jitters for countries dependent on food imports like the Philippines. The benchmark index of international food commodity prices rose in April for the first time in a year. According to FAO, this was caused by higher quotations for sugar, meat, and rice—three food items that the Philippines buys from other countries in huge quantities.

FAO’s All Rice Price Index averaged 124.2 points in April, up 2.5 percent from its March value and 17.8 percent above its year-earlier level. The steepest gains were registered in Pakistan where prices of 5 percent brokens leaped to levels not seen since late 2011. Based on data from the UN agency, Pakistan’s 5 percent brokens surged by 41.4 percent year-on-year, while quotations from India went up by 23.3 percent on an annual basis.

The UN agency also noted that the prospects for the 2023-2024 rice productions along and south of the equator are mixed, mainly due to the varied impact of the La Niña event. It is also closely monitoring the possible emergence of the El Niño phenomenon, which could cause drought in affected areas.

Another commodity that has become more expensive is meat. The FAO Meat Price Index rose 1.3 percent during the month, driven primarily by higher pig meat quotations, followed by poultry prices, which went up due to animal health issues that limited output as well as Asia’s rising demand for meat products. Bovine meat prices are also higher due to a decline in cattle supplies for slaughter, especially in the United States.

Rising meat prices means bad news for a country like the Philippines, which has been relying on foreign suppliers in recent months to meet the domestic demand for pork. Sporadic outbreaks of African swine fever had hampered hog raising in key areas. The threat of ASF has made it more difficult to ensure the stability of pork and even poultry prices.

While the local sugar sector is not faced with the diseases that have bedeviled livestock growers, declining productivity has affected its ability to meet the domestic demand for the sweetener. To fill the shortfall for this year, Malacañang has again approved the purchase of sugar imports. (See, “Marcos clears importation of more sugar on SRA report,” in the BusinessMirror, May 16, 2023) Manila will allow the entry of as much as 150,000 metric tons of imported sugar to pull down retail prices.

However, sugar is one of the commodities that saw double digit increases in prices, based on the FAO index. The sugar price index went up by 17.6 percent in April, its highest since October 2011.

FAO explained this was due to reduced productions expectations and outcomes in India, China, Thailand and the European Union caused by dry weather conditions as well as to a slow start of the sugarcane crop harvest in Brazil. Higher international crude oil prices, FAO said, could also put extra pressure on sugar prices as this could increase demand for sugarcane-based ethanol.

All these developments underscore the importance fast-tracking measures that would raise the productivity of the local farm sector. The performance of the farm sector in the first quarter, based on data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, is encouraging as output was higher by 2.1 percent year-on-year. It would do well for the government to put in more resources and effort into reforming the farm sector to enable it to adequately feed the entire nation.

Since

South Korea and Japan use G-7 to push improvement in ties long marked by animosity

By Foster Klug, Kim Tong-Hyung & Mari Yamaguchi

The Associated Press

TOKYO—Amid the high-level efforts to deal with a raft of global emergencies, this weekend’s Group of 7 summit of rich democracies will also see an unusual diplomatic reconciliation as the leaders of Japan and s outh Korea look to continue mending ties that have been marked for years by animosity and bickering.

At first glance the two neighbors would seem to be natural partners. They are powerful, advanced democracies and staunch US allies in a region beset with autocratic threats. The continuing fallout, however, from centuries of complicated, acrimonious history, culminating in the brutal 19101945 Japanese colonization of the Korean Peninsula, has resulted in more wariness than friendship.

A big part of the sudden recent shift in tone is a shared focus on China’s growing aggressiveness, the threat of North Korea’s fastimproving arsenal of nuclear-ca-

pable missiles—and deep worry about how Russia’s war in Ukraine is influencing both issues. Some diplomatic nudging by Washington, which provides military protection for both its allies and wants them to more strongly counter China’s rising global influence, has also helped.

Tokyo and Seoul “understand that their survival, both nationally and politically, depends on subordinating themselves to the US President Joe Biden administration’s global and regional priorities,” according to Daniel Sneider, an East Asia lecturer at Stanford

A big part of the sudden recent shift in tone is a shared focus on China’s growing aggressiveness, the threat of North Korea’s fastimproving arsenal of nuclearcapable missiles—and deep worry about how Russia’s war in Ukraine is influencing both issues. Some diplomatic nudging by Washington, which provides military protection for both its allies and wants them to more strongly counter China’s rising global influence, has also helped.

University.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s invitation for South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to be a guest at the G-7 talks in Hiroshima is only the most recent sign of these reset ties. It follows backto-back summits by the leaders, which hadn’t happened in years.

Japan also agreed to South Korea’s

request to send an experts’ team later this month to visit the destroyed Fukushima nuclear power plant to view preparation for a planned release into the ocean of treated but still slightly radioactive wastewater.

The G-7 summit, which runs Friday through Sunday, will allow the leaders to deepen their burgeoning relationship—Kishida, Yoon and Biden plan to meet on the sidelines—while also working to persuade the world’s most powerful leaders to tighten defense cooperation as China and North Korea expand their military postures in the region.

History issues have long harried Seoul and Tokyo. Ties worsened in 2018, for instance, after South Korean court rulings ordered two Japanese companies to compensate a group of Korean plaintiffs who the companies had used for wartime slave labor. Disagreement over the rulings later spilled over

See “South Korea,” A17

China’s economic recovery worries mount as data disappoints

CHINA’s consumer spending and industrial activity grew at a slower pace than expected in April, adding to signs the recovery in the world’s second-largest economy is losing momentum.

Industrial production rose 5.6 percent from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said Tuesday, much lower than the 10.9 percent median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists. Retail sales climbed 18.4 percent, helped by a low base of comparison from last year, although still missing expectations.

Growth in fixed-asset investment slowed to 4.7 percent in the first four months of the year, also weaker than forecast. The urban jobless rate eased to 5.2 percent, but unemployment among young people reached a record high of 20.4 percent.

The headline figures were boosted by comparisons with April 2022, when Shanghai was in lockdown, resulting in a plunge in business and consumer activity at the time. Even so, the numbers were disappointing and suggest policymakers may need to step up support for growth.

“China’s recovery strength this year will likely be weaker than previously thought,” said Wu Xuan, chief market analyst at Tebon Fund Management. The PBOC might cut interest rates in the second half of the year to support growth, he said.

Chinese stocks were little changed as of 10:47 a.m. local time after earlier dropping as much as 0.4 percent.

The People’s Bank of China hinted Monday it will keep policy supportive, pledging “appropriate” levels in money supply and credit. Earlier Monday, it injected more long-term liquidity into the financial system, while keeping the rate on its one-year policy loans unchanged.

“Consumption remained solid, yet the spike in youth unemployment to a record high raises questions about how sustainable that recovery can be,” said Michelle Lam, Greater China economist at Societe Generale SA. “Today’s data opens the door for further cuts in the reserve requirement rate and interest rates, possibly in June. However, the key remains to boost confidence in the private sector and among households.”

The NBS highlighted global and domestic risks, saying “the global environment is still complex and grim, and domestic demand still looks insufficient.” The economy’s “internal drive for rebound is still not strong,” it said.

“The headline figures for production and retail sales rose—but only by comparison with last year’s terrible numbers, which cratered during Shanghai’s lockdowns. Measured against March, they are stalling. Meanwhile, slowing investment shows government spending isn’t gaining traction. Bottom line: The data are weak and add to the case for more monetary easing,” said Bloomberg economists Chang Shu and David Qu.

The housing market remains weak, the latest figures showed, another drag on the economy. While growth in property sales accelerated to 13.2 percent year-on-year in April, investment in the sector contracted 16.2 percent, according to Bloomberg calculations based on official data. Construction of new homes continued to decline.

The figures are in line with the trend from other recent data showing the economic recovery has waned after a strong start to the year. Property sales during the Labor Day holiday remained below pre-pandemic levels and consumers have cut back on mortgages. Consumer prices barely grew in April, while imports plunged,

a sign of subdued domestic spending. Borrowing by households and companies also slumped last month.

“The headline figures for production and retail sales rose—but only by comparison with last year’s terrible numbers, which cratered during Shanghai’s lockdowns. Measured against March, they are stalling. Meanwhile, slowing investment shows government spending isn’t gaining traction. Bottom line: The data are weak and add to the case for more monetary easing,” said Bloomberg economists Chang Shu and David Qu.

The NBS data showed retail sales were buoyed last month by car purchases and restaurant spending. Auto manufacturing also boosted industrial output last month, although textiles and pharmaceuticals output continued to contract.

“Today’s weaker-than-expected data show how difficult it is to keep the growth engine running after restarting it,” said Bruce Pang, chief economist for Greater China at Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. “China will continue to deliver strong year-on-year growth of activity data in the second quarter of 2023 on the back of a low base, but at a slower quarter-onquarter pace than the first quarter as the recovery is losing steam.” with assistance from Shikhar balwani, Zhu Lin and Chester Yung / bloomberg

Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua Founder

The Philippines is set to import 150,000 metric tons of refined sugar, according to Sugar Regulatory Administration’s Sugar Order No. 2. Image cred ts: serezn y | dreamst me.com

PBBM water crisis agenda eyes Laguna de Bay

LITO GAGNI

from southeast Asia welcome the results of the thai general elections and call on the thai authorities to protect and uphold the will of the people in the formation of the government.

JAKArtA—Parliamentarians

“We congratulate the people of Thailand on coming out in huge numbers to exercise their right to vote and register their aspirations for change through peaceful balloting. The voters have spoken, and their message is clear: they want real democratic reform,” ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) Co-chair and former Malaysian member of parliament Charles Santiago said on Monday.

While official results will only be available in 60 days, preliminary results announced by the Thai Election Commission indicate that the Move Forward party, led by Pita Limjaroenrat, is on track to win 151 seats. In comparison, fellow opposition party Pheu Thai has 141 seats: making a combined total of 292 out of 500 lower house seats.  The United Thai Nation Party of incumbent prime minister and former general Prayuth Chanocha, who rose to power in 2014 in a military coup, is trailing in fifth place with 36 seats.

Despite the overwhelming victory, however, the opposition parties may be unable to form a government. This is because the 250 military-appointed members of the upper house,

South Korea . . .

continued from A16

to trade and military cooperation issues. Japan insists all compensation issues were settled by a 1965 treaty that normalized relations.

Yoon’s summits with Kishida came after his government announced a domestically unpopular plan in March to use South Korean corporate funds to compensate the forced laborers. The move was aimed at preventing the courts from liquidizing the Japanese companies’ local assets, which would cause a further diplomatic rupture.

Kishida agreed to a resumption of defense, trade and other talks in his meetings with Yoon, and Japan recently announced that it is negotiating an agreement with Washington and Seoul on sharing real-time data on North Korean missile launches.

Seoul and Tokyo are both worried about the geopolitical uncertainty created by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has raised fears about similar Chinese aggression in the South and East China Seas and against Taiwan, the democratic, self-governing island that Beijing claims as its own. North Korea also used the global focus on the invasion to ramp up its tests of nuclear-capable missiles.

Japan is one of many nations in Asia that has territorial disputes with China, something that has strongly figured into Kishida’s push to distance Japan from its post-World War II principle of self-defense only. Last year, Tokyo adopted a new national security strategy that includes the goals of acquiring preemptive strike capabilities and cruise missiles to counter threats from North Korea, China and Russia.

Alarmed by the growing North Korean threat—Pyongyang has test-launched around 100 missiles since the start of 2022—Yoon may be using better relations with Japan as a way to forge a stronger alliance with the United States.

Yoon’s government has expanded its combined military exercises with the United States, which also included three-way drills with

Despite the overwhelming victory, however, the opposition parties may be unable to form a government. This is because the 250 military-appointed members of the upper house, which was formed as a result of the military coup, will also be voting on the next prime minister.

which was formed as a result of the military coup, will also be voting on the next prime minister.

“The Royal Thai Military must open their eyes and ears to what the Thai people are demanding. For years, protesters have taken to the streets, calling for democracy and human rights. They have now backed this up in the ballot box,” said Santiago.

“Subverting the election results and blocking the formation of a new government by the winning parties would be an unconscionable betrayal that would only result in unrest and instability. We, therefore, urge the military and incumbent government to do the right thing and abide by the will of the people.”

ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights

Japan, while seeking greater assurances from Washington that it would swiftly and decisively use its nuclear weapons to protect its allies in the event of a North Korean nuclear attack.

“There’s growing recognition [in both Tokyo and Seoul] that the region’s various security issues are becoming increasingly interconnected,” which is leading the countries to reassess their importance to each other, said Jin Chang Soo, an analyst at South Korea’s Sejong Institute.

During a recent meeting in Washington, Yoon and Biden agreed to a declaration that includes more nuclear information sharing and regular visits to South Korea by a US nuclear-powered sub.

The Biden administration may now be pushing for an extended deterrence dialogue among Washington, Seoul and Tokyo that “would convey a formidable response both to North Korea and to China, and even to a potential Chinese–Russian military axis,” Sneider recently wrote.

Hiroshima, the first target of a nuclear weapon in history, could provide a symbolic backdrop for Kishida and Yoon to raise awareness about the North Korean threat while underlining goals for nuclear non-proliferation.

In another trust-building gesture, Kishida and Yoon plan to pay their respects at a Hiroshima memorial for Korean atomic bomb victims.

Despite the improving ties, however, there’s no certainty how long reconciliation will last.

After decades of poverty and dictatorship following the 19501953 Korean War, South Korea has become a developed economic and military power. But there are large policy swings between conservative governments, like the one in power now, and liberal governments that are more wary of stronger ties with Japan and the United States.

And then there are the historical issues, including continuing court hearings on forced labor, which remain “buried like landmines, not far from the surface and ready to be set off,” Sneider said. Kim reported from Seoul.

President Marcos’s agenda on resolving the water crisis will include Laguna de Bay, the biggest freshwater lake in the Philippines, which is now threatened by the continued discharge of industrial pollutants resulting in the deterioration of its water quality.

The Laguna de Bay solution forms part of what the President said is an “overall plan” to address the looming water crisis since water from the lake is also used as a source of drinking water for Metro Manila residents. Thus, there is a need to ensure that the quality of water in the lake is not affected by chemicals, which makes it difficult for the water to be processed as drinking water.

“All of these things we have already put up together—we have already [put] together [an] overall plan. Now, we have to implement it. There are many agencies that are concerned when it comes to water management. So we have to make it more cohesive,” PBBM said when asked how his administration will address the water crisis.

This means that the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA), which oversees the implementation of measures to ensure that indus-

trial pollutants are not discharged into the lake, will have to act fast especially with the looming El Niño threat that PAGASA had flagged this coming month. After all, Maynilad Water Services, which services the West Zone, sources 300 million liters of water per day from the lake.

Aware of the looming water crisis, the President had set up the Office of Water Management, which will be under the Office of the President, to monitor the situation. That means LLDA will have to continuously monitor the discharge of industrial pollutants into the lake so that the processing of drinking water will not be affected.

The latest LLDA data showed that there is a high concentration of bluegreen algae in the lake, a form of bacteria that adversely affects both water quality and the filtration system in the lake. Thus, the LLDA deployed more than a hundred solar-powered

Government agencies need to help in the President’s economic agenda to make the Philippines a middle-income nation, and that means pursuing in their own turf the delivery of government services such as that of clean water, part of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal. Freeing President Marcos from these mundane and tedious tasks will give him more time to concentrate on making the economy grow.

paddle wheels to prevent the growth of the algae.

The challenge for LLDA to conform with President Marcos’ agenda on addressing the water crisis is to address the worsening turbidity in the Laguna lake water as this prolongs the processing of drinking water and may even result in the cut-off in supply. Aggravating the situation is the fact that parts of the Laguna lake has become shallow to as low as two meters due to siltation that strong gusts of wind can easily stir up sediments in the lake bed—making the raw water highly turbid.

We understand that Maynilad’s monitoring of the lake’s water quality showed that the water’s Nephelometric Turbidity Units reached 154 levels in April and a high of 233 NTU from May 1 to 7. Ideally, the

lake’s NTU should be below 100 or ranging from only 40 to 70.

This is a big challenge for LLDA and the Office of Water Management even as they look elsewhere for other sources of water for the metropolis, such as the installation of rainwater cisterns, to avert a crisis. But what LLDA can do is to fully monitor the pollutants that are dumped into the lake as these contribute to the water’s turbidity. Government agencies need to help in the President’s economic agenda to make the Philippines a middleincome nation, and that means pursuing in their own turf the delivery of government services such as that of clean water, part of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal. Freeing President Marcos from these mundane and tedious tasks will give him more time to concentrate on making the economy grow.

President Marcos has been at the forefront of moves to put vigor in the economy, traveling to foreign shores to pitch the country’s investment potential and address inefficiencies in the government as he embarks on an ambitious plan to make jobs available here. So far, he has been successful in roping in foreign direct investments to benefit the economy. But then, he also needs the help of government bureaucrats, and he needs not address his sights on small items like the Laguna Lake turbidity that can be addressed fully on the ground.

A lonely nation: Has the notion of the ‘American way’ promoted isolation across history?

By Ted Anthony | AP National Writer

neW YOrK—At the end of “the searchers,” one of John Wayne’s most renowned Westerns, a kidnapped girl has been rescued and a family reunited. As the closing music swells, Wayne’s character looks around at his kin—people who have other people to lean on—and then walks off toward the dusty West texas horizon, lonesome and alone.

It’s a classic example of a fundamental American tall tale—that of a nation built on notions of individualism, a male-dominated story filled with loners and “rugged individualists” who suck it up, do what needs to be done, ride off into the sunset and like it that way.

In reality, loneliness in America can be deadly. This month, US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy declared it an American epidemic, saying that it takes as deadly a toll as smoking upon the population of the United States. “Millions of people in America are struggling in the shadows,” he said, “and that’s not right.”

He cited some potent forces: the gradual withering of longstanding institutions, decreased engagement with churches, the fraying bonds of extended families. When you add recent stressors—the rise of social media and virtual life, post-9/11 polarization and the way Covid-19 interrupted existence—the challenge becomes even starker.

People are lonely the world over. But as far back as the early 19th century, when the word “loneliness” began to be used in its current context in American life, some were already asking the question: Do the contours of American society—that emphasis on individualism, that spreading out with impunity over a vast, sometimes outsized landscape—encourage isolation and alienation?

Or is that, like other chunks of the American story, a premise built on myths?

Habit of always standing alone

A LE x IS DE TOCqUEVILLE , watching the country as an outsider while writing “Democracy in America” in the mid-1800s, wondered whether, “as social conditions become more equal,” Americans and people like them would be inclined to reject the trappings of deep community that had pervaded Old World aristocracies for centuries.

“They acquire the habit of always considering themselves as standing

alone, and they are apt to imagine that their whole destiny is in their own hands,” he wrote. “Thus not only does democracy make every man forget his ancestors, but it...throws him back forever upon himself alone, and threatens in the end to confine him entirely within the solitude of his own heart.”

This has been a recurring thread in how Americans perceive themselves. In the age before democracy, for better and for worse, “People weren’t lonely. They were tied up in a web of connections. And in many countries that’s more true than it was in the United States,” says Colin Woodard, director of the Nationhood Lab at the Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy.

“There’s this idea that going out into those vast spaces and connecting with the wilderness and escaping the past was precisely what made us Americans,” Woodard says.

Yet many frontier myths skip over how important community has been in the settling and growth of the nation. Some of the biggest stories of cooperation—the rise of municipal organizations and trade unions, the New Deal programs that helped drag many Americans out of the Depression in the 1930s, war efforts from the Civil War to World War II—sometimes get lost in the fervor for character-driven stories of individualism.

Those omissions continue. Fueled in part by pandemic distrust, a latter-day strain of individual-overcommunity sentiment often paired with invocations of liberty and freedom occupies a significant chunk of the national conversation these days —to the point where advocacy about community thinking is sometimes met with accusations of socialism.

Let’s not consign Americans to be the heirs of a built-in loneliness gene, though. A new generation is insisting that mental health be part of the national conversation, and many voices —among them women and people of color—are increasingly offering new

Today, loneliness plays out on streaming TV all the time in the forms of shows like “Severance,” “Shrinking,” “Beef” and, most prominently, the earnest “Ted Lasso,” a show about an American in Britain who—despite being known and celebrated by many—is consistently and obviously lonely.

alternatives to the old myths.

What’s more, the very place where the discussion about loneliness is being held today—in the office of the surgeon general, a presidential appointee—suggests that other paths are possible.

What American art shows

THE ways Americans perceive themselves as solitary (whether or not it’s true) can be seen in their art.

One of the nation’s early art movements, the mid-19th-century Hudson River School, made people tiny parts of outsized landscapes, implying both that the land dwarfed humans and that they were being summoned to tame it. From that, you can draw a line straight to Hollywood and director John Ford’s Westerns, which used vast landscapes to isolate and motivate humans for the purposes of telling big stories. Same with music, where both the blues and the “high lonesome sound” helped shape later genres.

In the suburbs, Betty Friedan’s groundbreaking “The Feminine Mystique” helped give voice to a generation of lonely women. In the city, Edward Hopper’s work—like the iconic “Nighthawks”—channeled urban loneliness. At around the same time, the emergence of film noir—crime and decay in the American city its frequent subject— helped shape the figure of the lonely man alone in a crowd who might be a protagonist, might be an antagonist, might be both.

Today, loneliness plays out on streaming TV all the time in the forms of shows like “Severance,” “Shrinking,” “Beef” and, most prominently, the earnest “Ted Lasso,” a show about an American in Britain who—despite being known and celebrated by many—is consistently and obviously lonely.

In March, the show’s creator and star, Jason Sudeikis, appeared with

his cast at the White House to talk about the issue that the show is, in its final season, more about than ever: mental health. “We all know someone who has, or have been that someone ourselves actually, that’s struggled, that’s felt isolated, that’s felt anxious, that has felt alone,” Sudeikis said. Solitude and isolation do not automatically equal loneliness. But they all live in the same part of town. During the pandemic, Murthy’s report found, people tightened their groups of friends and cut time spent with them. According to the report, Americans spent 20 minutes a day with friends in 2020—down from an hour daily two decades ago. Granted, that was during peak Covid. The trend, though, is clear—particularly among young people ages 15 to 24. Perhaps many Americans are alone in a crowd, awash in a sea of voices both physical and virtual yet by themselves much of the time, seeking community but suspicious of it. Some of the modernizing forces that stitched the United States together in the first place—commerce, communication, roads—are, in their current forms, part of what isolates people today. There’s a lot of space between the general store and Amazon deliveries to your door, between mailing a letter and navigating virtual worlds, between roads that connect towns and freeways that overrun them. And if Americans can figure out more about what connects and what alienates, some answers to the loneliness epidemic might reveal themselves.

“We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately,” Benjamin Franklin, not incidentally the country’s first postmaster general, said under very different circumstances. Or perhaps it’s put better by the American poet Amanda Gorman, one of the country’s most insightful young voices. This is from her poem “The Miracle of Morning,” written in 2020 during the early part of the pandemic.

“While we might feel small, separate, and all alone, our people have never been more closely tethered.

Because the question isn’t if we can weather this unknown, but how we will weather this unknown together.” Ted Anthony, director of new storytelling and newsroom innovation at The Associated Press, has been writing about American culture since 1990.

Southeast Asian lawmakers call for the will of the Thai people to be upheld in the formation of a new govt

ALVIN LOBREGUITO finally wins the elusive gold medal.

Lobreguito, Tubog cap wrestling’s 4-gold medal run in Phnom Penh

By Josef Ramos

PHNOM PENH—Alvin

Lobreguito and Ronil Tubog won a gold medal each on Tuesday to cap a strong finish by the country’s wrestlers in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games at the Chroy Changvar Hall.

L obreguito finally hit paydirt in the games after he beat Thailand’s Nattawut Kaewkhuanchum, 6-2, in the 57-kg class and Tubog defeated Indonesian Zainal Abidin, 2-1, in the 61-kg category of men’s freestyle as the Philippines finished with four wrestling gold medals.

The gold medal haul was a marked improvement from the seven silvers and five bronzes Filipino athletes got in last Hanoi last year.

L obreguito used his familiarity with his Thai opponent to convincingly win gold.

“I know I can beat him [Nattawut] although he improved a little. He’s still predictable,” the 31-year-old Lobreguito told BusinessMirror. “This is my sweetest SEA Games because this is my first gold medal after four tries.”

The wrestler from Bagong Silang in Quezon City overpowered Vietnam’s Khac Huy Phung, 3-1, to advance in the final against his old nemesis.

“ I was really motivated to win because I’m very hungry of a gold medal,” said Lobreguito, who claimed silver in Vietnam last year and a bronze each in 2019 at home and in 2013 in Myanmar.

When I got the opportunity, I did my very, very best not to waste it,” Lobreguito said.

Tubog, meanwhile, beat Singapore’s Eddy Bin Khidzer, 4-0, Thailand’s Siripong Jimpakam, 3-1, and Cambodia’s Soeun Sophors, 4-0, on the way to the final.

L obreguito and Tubog joined Jason Balabal (men’s 87 kgs Greco Roman) and Cristina Vergara (women’s 65 kgs freestyle) on the wrestling gold medal list.

Wrestling Association of the Philippines President Alvin Aguilar praised his athletes for not giving up.

I’m so thankful to every wrestler who competed here,” Aguilar said.

“They didn’t give up and fought like true Filipino warriors.”

Cricket nails second silver

PHNOM PENH—The Philippines’s lost to Thailand, 11-13, in the women’s T10 final to settle for silver medal in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games Tuesday at the AZ Cricket Field.

The team is composed of Alex Bobbi Smith, April Rose Saquilon, Catherine Bagaoisan, Jennifer Alumbro, Jhon Kate Andreano, Joelle Galapin, Johannah McCall, Jonna Eguid, Riza Penalba and Romela Osabel.

It was still an excellent performance for the cricket team that made its SEA Games debut as the women’s 6-a-side team also captured a silver medal in cricket’s return to the biennial meet. Josef Ramos

Sports

Chair Bachmann: Proud moment for every Filipino athlete in SEAG

PHNOM PENH—Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Richard “Dickie”

Bachmann praised Filipino athletes for keeping the country afloat in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games that ends Tuesday.

“I am proud of our athletes,”

Bachmann said on Tuesday. “I saw how they worked hard—with my own eyes—while preparing for the games and when they did battle in Cambodia.”

Each moment our flag was raised in honor of a win was a proud moment for every Filipino,” he said.

B achmann is only in his fourth month as chairman of the PSC but he already witnessed firsthand how Filipino athletes trained and competed in international competitions.

The SEA Games is the first international competition under his watch and he made sure he had his eyes on each and every athlete in the games that end Tuesday.

Bachmann flew in three days before the opening ceremony and made the rounds—as many as he’s permitted to by the hectic schedule and at times heavy Phnom Penh traffic.

GILAS GETS GOLD BACK

By Jun Lomibao

PHNOM PENH—Gilas Pilipinas completed its mission of winning back the men’s basketball title at the 32nd Southeast Asian Games as Team Philippines surpassed by four its gold medal haul from last year’s edition despite looking to finish fifth in Cambodia’s first-time hosting of the regional multi-sport competition.

H ead coach Chot Reyes and his wards proved the rout they absorbed at the hands of the heavily American-reinforced host team at the start of the basketball competitions was a fluke by sailing to an 80-69 victory in Tuesday night’s final at the Elephant Hall 2 court inside Morodok Techno Park.

We did it, we did it and I don’t know if there’s anything left to say,” a profusely sweating Reyes told reporters after the customary handshake between opposing coaches. “I know a lot of people doubted this team [Gilas] the first time we lost to this team.” After we lost [the first

time], I said this was the lost that we could afford and I thought we needed that loss actually,” he said. “So we just got our focus and here we are. The players did a hell of a job.”

Reyes added: “We held this team with five Americans, five, six or seven imports to just below 70 points. It’s a great defense in the end.”

Win or lose, this was going to be my last SEA Games, I promised I’ll never coach in the SEA Games anymore,” Reyes said. “At least, I will go out with a gold medal.”

Justin Brownlee took charge with 23 points on 8 of 16 shooting with seven rebounds and four assists in the match that hardly showed the toughness and accuracy Cambodia showed in clobbering the Filipinos, 79-68, last week.

Gilas’s victory came after arnis and freestyle of wrestling delivered golden victories that raised the country’s total to 57 gold medals by 8 p.m. (Cambodia time), four more than the country’s harvest in Vietnam last year.

Gretel de Paz bagged the 57th gold medal in the 56-kg class of kickboxing’s low kick event.

A lvin Lobreguito delivered

Lofranco bagged the 53rd gold in women’s individual anyo nontraditional open weapon category.

C risamuel Delfin topped the men’s anyo non-traditional event for the country’s 54th gold and another wrestler, Ronil Tubog, made it 55 by beating Indonesian Zainal Abidin in men’s freestyle 61-kg event.

A d ay after ending the reign of Indonesia, Gilas hurdled the final obstacle in its bid to reclaim its seat at the high table with a pesky defense that stopped the Cambodians’ usually high-octane offense.

The team’s solid defensive effort was in full display in the second quarter, where they scored 23 while limiting the hosts to just 11 to grab a 44-33 halftime lead.

We just keep fighting and it really feels great to get the win. We knew this won’t be easy so thankful to all the coaches and teammates for their great job,” Brownlee, the only naturalized player of team Philippines in this SEA Games, said.

W ith 79 silver and 11 bronze medals that went with the 56 golds, the Philippines ranked fourth in the medals race dominated by Vietnam with a 131-103-108 goldsilver-bronze tally, followed by Thailand (102-82-100), Indonesia (80-76-101) and Cambodia (73-69120). Singapore wound up sixth with a 48-39-61 haul in the games which winds up with Wednesday’s closing ceremony.

Taekwondo ends campaign with 4 more podium finishes

Aidine Laxa (women’s team) and kyorugi rulers Kurt Barbosa (men’s finweight), Arven Alcantara (men’s featherweight), Samuel Morrison (men’s middleweight) and Elaine Alora (women’s middleweight).

Perez accounted for the lone silver in partnership with Ian Corton and Joaquin Tuzon in the recognized poomsae men’s team event.

O ther bronze medalists were Ninobla and Corton (recognized poomsae mixed pair), Jeordan Dominguez, Darius Venerable, Justin Macario, Juvenile Faye Crisostomo and Zyka Angelica Santiago (freestyle mixed team), Veronica Garces (women’s -45kg), Nicole McCann (women’s -57kg).

The jins more than lived up to expectations.

We were targeting four golds— at least two in poomsae and two in kyorugi,” Samson said. Jun Lomibao

It’s extremely hot in Cambodia— even hotter than back home—but that didn’t deter his eagerness to witness every victory and every gallant effort by athletes who missed the podium.

The Philippines—although looking improbable to repeat as fourth-placer to match the performance in Vietnam last year— has broken the 50-gold medal barrier on Monday night.

A nd two more gold medals means—with dozens of finals still to be played Tuesday—Filipino athletes have surpassed their harvest in 2022. Th at inspires Bachmann to vouch for the PSC’s full support to Team Philippines’ campaign in future international competitions.

We reaffirm our support to our national athletes,” he said. “The PSC will continue to work as hard as you train. Salamat sa lahat ng inyong sakripisyo!” Jun Lomibao

Lifter Tabique breaks 3 PHL records

PHNOM PENH—Dexter Tabique broke three Philippine records but his effort was only good for a bronze medal in men’s weightlifting at the 32nd Southeast Asian Games Tuesday at the Olympic Stadium.

The Cebuano Tabique had difficulty going down in weight— from 102 to 89 kgs—and it showed despite the new national records of 140 kgs in snatch, 170 in clean and jerk and a total lift of 310 kgs.

He erased the previous record of 125, 170 and 295 John Kevin Padullo set last year in Hanoi.

Q uoc Toan Nguyen of Vietnam claimed the gold medal with heaves of 115-190-345, all games’ records. Muhammad Zul Ilmi of Malaysia was second with a total lift of 328.

“ I felt a bit nervous but I tried my best not to be overcome by emotions,” Tabique said.

National coach Tony Agustin said Tabique met his goal by competing in the 89-kg class for the first time. The goal is to put him in medal position in his new weight class, and he did it,” Agustin said.

K ristel Macrohon settled for fourth with lifts of 101 and 120 for a total of 221 kgs in the women’s +71 kg. class also on Tuesday.

D uangkasorn Chaidee of Thailand took the gold with 270 kgs, Nukmul Akmal of Indonesia placed second (263) and Si Ro Pha of Vietnam was third (246).

Vanessa Sarno (-71kgs) and Elreen Ando (-59kg) delivered the two golds for the Philippines, which also had four silvers, courtesy of Angeline Colonia (women’s 45 kg), Lovely Inan (women’s 49 kg), John Febuar Ceniza (men’s 61 kg) and Rosalinda Faustino (women’s 55 kg). Josef Ramos

Anthony Davis versus Nikola Jokic. This time, LeBron James will stay at the back seat.

T hat seems to be the incontrovertible narrative.

B ut, wait, it’s not all cameo role for James, though.

The King will still play an active part while seated on his throne.   Imagine him being a back seat driver and you will not be rebuffed.

S o, sit back, relax and enjoy the first game Wednesday of the fight-for-four finale featuring the worthiest contenders for the National Basketball Association

(NBA) Western Conference crown.

D avis was his usual “board chairman” when he hauled down 20 rebounds in the Lakers’ series-clinching 122101 win that eliminated defending champion Golden State Warriors in Game Six on May 13 at Crypton.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA. He capped that effort with 17 points to more than

back up LeBron’s 30 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists in spearheading the Lakers’ 24th Conference finals, the most by any team in NBA history.

But if Davis is the board chairman, Jokic is the beast.

Jokic, the massive two-time NBA Most Valuable Player, a 7-footer from Serbia, is almost a do-it-all giant.  He can dribble.  He can shoot from both near and far.  He can stuff both a dunk and a put-back.  He can spin-move.  He can assist with insane ease, including no-look passes at the most unexpected times. He can rebound—mostly snatching offensive boards when no one’s looking.

A nd so, will Denver, No. 1 in the regular season, oust Los Angeles, No. 7 going into the playoffs?

I n the end, LeBron James will still have the last say.  Even if he’s already 38.  Some are simply ageless.

Meanwhile, this shrill question:  Did Gilas Pilipinas defeat Cambodia last night to grab back the men’s basketball gold in the SEA Games in Phnom Penh, Cambodia?

I f the answer is yes, then prayers were answered.  Against an import-laden Cambodia lineup (six were at least Americans), only divine intervention can make us gain redemption.

I f the answer is no, we will still find solace in the fact that we ousted defending champion Indonesia, 84-76, in the semifinals.  Indonesia it was that beat us last year in Vietnam, thereby ending our 30-plus years as SEA Games men’s basketball champion.

T HAT’S IT   Condolence to Mareng Paz and to the other loved ones of Hernando “Dick” Neri, including Mike, Candy & Greyson Magturo.  Pareng Dick had passed on after a lingering illness at age 79. Soft spoken and exceedingly gentle in his ways, Pareng Dick, a consummate artist, was deeply admired by his television peers for his unparalleled professionalism.  You will be missed, Pareng Dick.

Some are simply ageless

PHILIPPINE Sports Commission Chairman Richard Bachmann and Commissioner Fritz Gaston do the rounds in Phnom Penh.

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng

Companies

B1

Wednesday, May 17, 2023

Filinvest REIT income falls as revenues decline in Q1

By VG Cabuag @villygc

Revenues fell more than 2 percent to P800.97 million from the previous year’s P823.42 million.

The company said its acquisition of the 2.9 hectares of prime resort property that is being leased to Crimson Resort and Spa Boracay began contributing to Filreit’s income starting January 1.

“The infusion of the Boracay property is only a first step towards

a more diversified portfolio for Filreit. While it has now broadened Filreit’s income profile mix beyond office leasing and into the growing Philippine hospitality and leisure segment, we remain focused on further growing Filreit’s portfolio organically and with regular asset infusions,” company president and CeO Maricel Brion-Lirio said.

“We are guided by a clear invest-

ment strategy of increasing occupancy, cost management and asset acquisition to sustain the portfolio expansion and deliver stable and competitive return to our investors.”

Together with its fund management company, the firm said it is in the process of completing the due diligence and internal approvals of new asset infusions.

It did not identify the properties.

Filreit said its average occupancy rate in the first quarter stood at 85 percent. Occupancy has been able to hold up compared to the estimated office industry’s average occupancy rate of 81 percent based on Colliers’ first quarter property market report.

The company said it continues to finalize new leases and renew expiring contracts. As of the end of the first quarter, almost 10,300 square meters of new leases have signed letters of intent and contracts of lease.

On renewals, almost 17,200 square meters or 42 percent of the

SEC garners third consecutive good governance award

lease expiries for 2023 have already been renewed, with another 11,000 square meters or 27 percent awaiting finalization of the renewal contracts.

The balance is due for renewal throughout the remainder of the year.

The company said it is focused on sustainability and the utilization of eco-efficient assets. Two buildings in Filreit’s portfolio are LeeD Goldcertified while two other buildings passed the criteria for Level 1 certification on eDGe (excellence in Design for Greater ef ficiencies) developed by the International Finance Corp.

“These green building certifications confirm FILRT’s commitment to sustainability, particularly on energy, water and resource efficiency. As a sustainability-themed R eI T founded on strong eSG [environment, social and governance] principles, Filreit looks forward to growing a resilient and robust real estate investment portfolio,” the company said.

Radisson seeks new partners to expand footprint in PHL

By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo @akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror

The Radisson hotel Group (R hG) is looking to expand the number of properties it will manage in the Philippines, outside of the recently-signed agreement with a leading local hotel developer.

The international hospitality chain also intends to bring in its Radisson Collection, its luxury lifestyle brand, according to Ramzy Fenianos, the company’s Chief Development Officer for the Asia-Pacific.

“A brand that we would be keen to develop further in the Philippines would be the Radisson Collection… a luxury lifestyle collection of hotels and resorts, boasting unique locations in each destination,” he told the BusinessMirror.

“These iconic properties are based on the pillars of authentic local influence, living design, and a vibrant social scene and enable guests to enjoy the benefits of an aspirational lifestyle. The brand is created to unlock owner value, the brand offers opportunities for exploring hotel collections in premium market categories while connecting with affluent travelers,” he added.

Resorts eyed in key leisure destinations

W I T h their newly expanded development office in the country, R hG is actively looking for partnerships with other hotel developers.

“We’re active in the market and having conversations with owners to launch hotels across our brands in key cities and some of the most beautiful destinations across the country,” he averred.  “Our dynamic business model and clear brand architecture allow us to work with owners to ensure that we support them in the best way possible to suit their assets. As for our entire footprint in the Philippines, we are looking to triple our current portfolio in the next five years,” said Fenianos.

he said the group is sizing up “mature markets” in key cities in Metro Manila, Metro Cebu, and Davao for its city hotels. “For resort hotels, we will expand our presence in top-tier leisure destinations in

the country such as Boracay, Mactan, Bohol, and Palawan.”

But he underscored that R hG i s “not ruling out opportunities to establish resorts in destinations near Metro Manila, such as Batangas and Cavite, which have been gaining popularity due to their accessibility.”

Potential of Cebu

The group is opening Radisson

R e D Cebu Mandaue in 2024, a project with Cebu Landmasters Inc., targeting the growing millennial market. The R hG executive explained the 146-room hotel will feature a “bold design, stylish spaces and seamless connectivity… along with two F&B [food and beverage] outlets.”

R hG believes in Cebu City because of its “tourism potential,” said Fenianos. “As one of the country’s most popular destinations with stretches of fine, white-sanded beaches, world-famous diving spots, and ample outdoor activities, Cebu City is a popular destination for both international and domestic tourism.”

Prior to the pandemic, Cebu City attracted 1.4 million, and is forecast to welcome 1.8 million this year, “Indicating the vast potential of the market to rebound.” Aside from the pandemic, the province of Cebu was also lashed by Typhoon Odette (international name: Rai) in December 2021, which damaged many hotels and resorts along its coastline.

The Brussels-based R h G r ecently signed a Master Development Agreement with SM hotels & Conventions Corp. for the management of 14 more hotels that the latter will build. Among

these is the 516-room dual-branded property in Cebu City under the Radisson and Park Inn by Radisson brand, which is slated to open in

2027. R hG also manages Radisson Blu Cebu. (See, “SM to spend P15B for 14 new hotels till 2028,” in the Business Mirror , April 26, 2023.)

The Securities and exchange Commission (SeC ) has received the Global Good Governance (3G) award for the third consecutive year.

London-based Cambridge International Finance Advisory (IFA) conferred the SeC with the 3G Advocacy and Commitment to Corporate Governance Award 2023 during the 8th 3G Annual Awards ceremony held in Dubai last May 8.

“We are honored to be recognized by the 3G Awards for the third consecutive year. These awards affirm the success of our strategies toward good governance and sustainability, and inspire us in the pursuit of our goal of a secure and better life for Filipinos,” SeC Chairman emilio B. Aquino said.

“We will pursue more dialogues and collaborative efforts with our stakeholders to impart our vision on sustainability, to ensure not just the long-term success of individual corporations, but of the

business sector as a whole.”

The 3G Advocacy and Commitment to Corporate Governance Award, which the SeC also received in 2022 and 2021, honors an organization that has demonstrated a strong commitment to corporate governance practices and policies and to a sustainable corporate strategy and business policy geared to creating long-term value for shareholders, strategic and problem-solving skills and competence in dealing with change. The SeC also received the 3G Championship Award in eSG Practices, given to organizations and institutions that champion emerging technologies and sustainable growth strategies while being mindful of their impact on society and aspiring for a better future.

Founded in 2016, Cambridge IFA has since presented over 150 3G awards in more than 35 categories to various individuals and institutions in more than 25 countries. VG Cabuag

Filinvest Reit Corp. (Filreit), the real estate investment trust (Reit) of the Filinvest Group, said its income fell 20 percent to P304.13 million in the first quarter from the previous year’s P382.35 million on lower revenues.

Sharpening the Axe

‘Resolve residual VAT issues, please’

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

ABRAHAM L I n C o L n once said, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” I spent last year, sharpening my axe in preparation for an expanded role at work this year and there were two habits that I have continued to use: coaching and journaling. The combination of these two has allowed me to have a clearer mind and better focus not just in my professional life but in my personal life as well.

I had reservations about coaching prior to trying it out. My executive coach is Julius C. ordoñez who is the founder and president of Benchmark Consulting Global Ltd. as well as the Philippines’s first International Coach Federation-certified “Master Coach.” Upon our first meeting, I really saw the value in Julius helping to put me in the best position for me to succeed. We met on a regular basis and Julius would always ask me what I wanted to achieve in each session. Mainly he would listen and guide me toward eliminating self-limiting beliefs and setting clearer goals. From being a skeptic, I became a real advocate for people to engage a coach.

THE chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means asked the Department of Finance and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to respect the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises, or “Create,” law by resolving remaining issues with the exemptions and zero-rating of registered business enterprises (RBEs) with tax incentives on or before June 20, the next date of the monthly physical filing of value-added tax (VAT) returns.

House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Jose Ma. Clemente “Joey” S. Salceda made the “urgent request” during regular committee meeting of the House tax panel last Tuesday.

Salceda explained the actions taken by the Committee to address House Resolution (HR) 490, authored by Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, which directed the Committee to determine inconsistencies between the Create law (Republic Act 11534) and its corresponding administrative issuances regarding VAT privileges of registered business enterprises.

Salceda said that the committee found there are substantial incon-

sistencies between RA 11534 and its IRR as well as BIR issuances.

Negative list

THE lawmaker explained that RBEs inside economic zones (ecozones) were entitled to VAT zero-rating privileges under the cross-border doctrine.

“The privilege was withdrawn, invoking Train law [RA 10963] provisions and the veto message principle that the zero-rating privilege should only apply to exporters,” Salceda said. “[The] Train [law] did not repeal the cross-border doctrine. It did not repeal the provisions designating ecozones as separate customs

territories. And a veto message is not a law.” He also pointed out that the purchases of registered domestic enterprises catering to registered export enterprises were subjected to VAT, which they cannot pass on to their clients.

“The VAT-exemption and zerorating privileges of some domestic market enterprises previously enjoying the 5-percent GIE [gross-income-earned] rate were withdrawn, despite the Create [law’s] transition period—for solving by issuing an RR [Revenue Regulation] consistent with the letter and spirit of the Create transition period, which was to retain [the rate] in lieu of all [tax] privilege for those under the 5- percent GIE rate,” Salceda said.

Salceda acknowledged that some concerns have already been addressed by RR 3-2023, which effectively expanded the definition of which transactions of registered exporters are VAT zero-rated by setting a narrow negative list of what cannot be counted as “directly and exclusively used” for export activities. He added this issue was further addressed by Revenue Memorandum Circular 242023, which entitled logistics service enterprises serving registered exporters to VAT zero-rating.

‘Stickiest point’

SALCEDA added that the “stickiest point” remains with the privileges of domestic enterprises enjoying a VAT exemption prior to the enactment of the Create law, but whose privileges

were withdrawn “in direct contravention of the transition period under the law, where they enjoy whatever they had prior to the law.”

The lawmaker said he is urging the BIR and the DoF to respect the letter and spirit of Section 311 of the Tax Code, under the Create Law, “which was an assurance to investors that status quo stays for 10 years to give

them time to adjust.”

“We should honor the promises we make,” Salceda said.

The lawmaker believes that, given their respective return on equity, the electronics sector, petrochemicals and food manufacturing—“all essential sectors”—will be among the first to take the hit with these VAT issues.

JCI Manila’s Cerebral Palsy Awareness Group committee members together with (second from left) Dr. Pablo Beleen, CP specialist and pediatric rehabilitation doctor; Yvan Limsoneen, CP book illustrator; Kimberly Puig, CP book writer; and Dr. Alexis De Leon Reyes.

Recovering from a bad decision

TODAY’S HOROSCOPE

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS

Nikki Reed, 35; Derek Hough, 38; Trent Reznor, 58; Craig Ferguson, HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Your descriptive way of expressing yourself will attract an attentive audience this year. Prepare to make your mark through conversations and demonstrations. Own the airwaves with precision and detail, and deliver what you promise. The world is yours to discover, protect and honor. The response you get from doing the right thing will be all the help you need to succeed. Your numbers are 6, 13,

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Refuse to let anger or interference distract you from your goal. Rise above criticism, adjust whatever isn’t working and keep a low profile until you can offer a flawless presentation. Discipline will pay off.

★★★

IN a former organization, my team rolled out a new learning platform which became so successful that several clients wanted to have their own version. Our prototype evolved and with it came complications and challenges we did not foresee. In time, with our limited resources and increasing pressures brought on by client demands, we had to put a stop to the project. What started out as a good idea became a pain point for the team. After several meetings with our executives, we realized we should have stopped with the initial project.

There are many reasons why we make bad decisions. Mine was the mistaken belief that new service offerings would help make my team continue to be relevant to the organization. By offering new services, I thought I was protecting my team’s place in the organization. In reality, however, my team was already doing well with the projects we were handling. Sometimes, bad decisions stem from our own biases and assumptions about others, and so we act on unsubstantiated information. Or, if we are given information, it is not enough, or we only listen to those that we want to hear. Most of the time, we make bad decisions because we insist on what we want.

Whatever your reason for making a bad decision, you are likely acting out of a limited set of information, perspective, or assumption. In my case, we started out the project thinking that we were only servicing one client. We did not know that it was going to be that successful that other clients would also request the same. In a sense, we were biting off more

JCI Manila reinforces support for cerebral palsy awareness

PREMIERE leadership development organization JCI Manila has strengthened its support for cerebral palsy awareness by launching a three-part book series that would help more people understand the condition and provide support for families of those born with it.

The three books, written by Kimberly Pauig and illustrated by Yvan Limson, were launched during a symposium hosted by JCI Manila at the San Andres Sports Complex. During the event, speakers discussed the Bobath method and developmental pediatrics pertaining to cerebral palsy.

JCI Manila has supported the advocacy for increased cerebral palsy awareness through its own Project-CPAG (Cerebral Palsy Awareness Group) under the Golden Heart initiative since 2015.

“The main objectives of this event are for CP warriors [patients] and their families to have access to relevant medical practices and practitioners through the publication of a book highlighting the Bobath Approach,” said Bobbit Castro, JCI-Manila CPAG chairman.

CP warriors and their families, partner institutions The Vanguard Academy and Metropolitan Medical Center, students from the University of Perpetual Help, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, and Universidad de Manila, and JCI Manila officers and members.

The symposium was a Discussion on the

Bobath Approach. Bobath is a physiotherapy treatment that aims to improve movement and mobility in patients with damage to their central nervous system (brain and spinal cord). Many physiotherapists use Bobath in the rehabilitation of patients with cerebral palsy. For the symposium, the panelists were Dr. Pablo Beleen, a renowned international specialist in treating

The

specialist in the treatment of cerebral palsy and pediatric rehabilitation; and CP Cares, an empowered CP community composed of patients (CP Warriors) and their families.

The first book, Ang Kapa ni Rafa, focuses on raising awareness about cerebral palsy and showcases the daily life of a patient.

The second book, Bakit Mahilig sa Dagat si Nanay?, is told from the perspective of the families of patients; while the third one, Pupunta sa Dagat si Rafa, narrates how it takes a village and a lot of compassion to help provide the best life cerebral palsy patients can have.

The event was presented by JCI Manila with the City of Manila, One Manila Organization, Office of the Honorable Vice Mayor Yul Servo Nieto, Sonera Industrial Group Inc., Royalty88manufacturing, Ricoh Philippines, and PalawanPay.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Harness your skills and implement changes to make your life easier. Don’t put up with what or who holds you back. Set guidelines, and take the road that satisfies you mentally, physically or financially. Romance will increase confidence and stability. ★★★

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Set a path that takes you to your destination. Leave nothing to chance or up to someone who isn’t as invested in what you are trying to achieve. Momentum is what you need, not someone who stands in your way.

★★★★

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Do your best and see what happens. Take care of responsibilities and procedures to help those less efficient or effective, and you’ll advance. Be adventurous and let your imagination work overtime. What you discover and present will pave the way to

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Stand still, observe and evaluate your options. A creative experiment will help you get ahead. Present your intentions to someone you trust, and the help you receive will speed up the process. Learn as you go, get paperwork in order and maintain control.

★★

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): You’ll see things clearly and be able to identify how to take advantage of an opportunity. Your gains will encourage helping others or calling on those you know can contribute. Put together a team that shares your morals and ethics. ★★★★★

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Don’t take unnecessary personal or professional risks. Concentrate on what you can do to make your home life function better. Use your imagination; what you decide to do will become a learning experience to help you find your niche. ★★★

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): You’ll attract people who can offer information and guide you to a better place or lifestyle. High energy coupled with promising partnerships will lead to stability, a better understanding of what’s possible and a timeline to finish what you start. ★★★

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Don’t share your ideas with anyone likely to interfere with your plans. Consider what will bring in money and turn your vision into a reality. Work alone to avoid overspending, and go the distance by taking your idea a step further than the competition. ★★★

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): You are sitting in a better position than anticipated. Leave no room for failure, take care of all the details yourself, and alter where and how you work to ensure you accomplish the most. An unusual offer will take you by surprise. ★★★★★

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Don’t stop because someone pulls out of a promise. Anger will slow you down, but taking ownership and following through with your plans will get you where you want to go. Pay attention to how you handle your cash, and create opportunities. ★★★★

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Your vision will be remarkable regarding earning or investing money as well as picking the ideal time and skills for something you want to pursue. Selfimprovement projects will help build confidence. ★★★

BIRTHDAY BABY:

You are talented, outgoing and compassionate. You are sensitive and responsive.

‘round numbers’ BY JEFFREY MARTINOVIC AND JEFF CHEN

Cannes director defends festival a�ter Adèle Haenel slams French film industry’s #MeToo response

Bad decision...

CONTINUED FROM B4

cost fallacy where you continue to persist in a course of action simply because you have invested significant time and cost already. Cut your losses and save as much as you can from the situation. I had to sit down with my team and evaluate what we could realistically deliver to our clients and be upfront on what we could deliver. This also helped them manage their expectations and gave us enough time to deliver what was reasonable.

Part of the planning should include identifying the risks in the bad decisions and finding ways to mitigate them. One of the risks we identified was some of the client’s loss of confidence in what my team could do. My team and I realized that we had to rebuild that confidence by delivering as scheduled, and to avoid overpromising by thoroughly understanding their requirements so we could provide realistic timelines. The incident helped us craft a project scoping document for requests that were beyond what we normally do for clients. The document helped us improve our processes and avoid overcommitting to new requests.

As part of mitigating the effects of the bad decision, we identified action plans to work our way toward a solution. One of the things people forget when they make a bad decision is to mitigate the adverse effects of their decision. Some people just ignore what they did and move on. If you really want to repair the lost trust, you have to do reparations to rebuild it. One way we did that for a client was to provide help in developing a training program they had been working on for a year. They appreciated the olive branch we extended, and it helped us develop better working relationships. If you truly want to avoid making the same mistake, identify the lesson that can be learned from the experience. Some leaders commit the same mistake over and over again because they have not taken the time to reflect and internalize the lessons that they should have learned. As Paulo Coelho, a renowned author, once wrote, “A mistake repeated more than once is a decision.” If you really want to improve and develop your leadership skills, you need to be deliberate in your actions, and your team needs to understand the purpose of your actions and decisions.

If you can, share the experience so that others can learn from it. Remember that bad decisions can come from incomplete information or erroneous data. Nobody is perfect but anybody can learn from other people’s mistakes. When I shared this experience with another manager, he was grateful because he was about to commit the same mistake. Apparently, he had a client who was insisting on a project, but he knew that his team could not take on any more projects. I advised him to report it to our manager who was the one who negotiated on his behalf. When lessons are shared, mistakes can be minimized. As a people manager, you are bound to make bad decisions. But it is what you do after the bad decision that defines your kind of leadership. Are you the kind of leader who passes the responsibility to others, one who blames someone else, or one who takes the responsibility and learns from it? What you do will determine the kind of leaders you are grooming for the next generation, and will determine the kind of legacy you leave behind.

CANNES, France—After one of France’s top actors, Adèle Haenel, announced she was quitting a French film industry that she denounced for “complacency toward sexual aggressors,” Cannes Film Festival chief Thierry Fremaux rejected her criticisms while addressing members of the media Monday.

Haenel, star of the 2019 Cannes entry a Lady on Fire the Telerama Cannes and other pillars of the French film industry are “ready to do anything to defend their rapist chiefs.”

Fremaux strongly disagreed while speaking to journalists before the festival kicks off Tuesday with the premiere of Maïwenn’s historical drama Barry, starring Johnny Depp.

“No doubt for somewhat radical reasons, she had to make this comment about Cannes, which was obviously false,” said Fremaux.

In 2019, Haenel accused French director Christophe Ruggia of sexually harassing her for years beginning from the age of 12. Ruggia has denied it. Since then, Haenel has often vocally protested what she’s called an insufficient response sexual abuse in French filmmaking. At the César Awards in 2020, she walked out of the ceremony after Roman Polanski won best director.

In his remarks, Fremaux only specifically addressed Haenel’s criticism of Cannes. When she came to the festival with Celine Sciamma’s Portrait of a Lady on Fire, he said: “She didn’t think that when she came to Cannes unless she suffered from a crazy dissonance.

“The proof is that if you believed it, you would not be here, listening to me now, taking your accreditations and complaining about the press screenings for a festival of rapists,” Fremaux said the gathered reporters. How the #MeToo movement has reverberated in Cannes, one of the world’s oldest and most glamorous film festivals, has been a subject of debate. Harvey Weinstein was for years a prominent presence in Cannes, and some of the incidents of sexual abuse alleged against the producer took place during the

and Julia Ducournau in 2021 with Titane. In 2018, 82 women led a protest on the Cannes red carpet. The following year, Fremaux bowing to pressure, signed a pledge promising to strive toward greater gender parity.

Fremaux acknowledged that the festival once had a problem in gender inclusivity. “Maybe I was clumsy,” he said. This year, there are a record seven films directed by women out of the 21 movies in competition, which he said reflects the growing prominence of female filmmakers around the world. Now, he added, “when we hesitate between a film made by a man or a film made by a women, we’ll select the film made by the woman. But only when we hesitate.

“This all denotes progress,” said Fremaux. At the same time, Cannes has sometimes been

in Cannes but it didn’t make the lineup. Asked about it, Fremaux said he would only address films in the selection.

Fremaux was, though, questioned about the selection of Jeanne du Barry as the opening night film. The film, which co-stars Maïwenn, is Depp’s first since his high-profile trial with Amber Heard, his exwife. After both Depp and Heard accused each other of physical and verbal abuse, a civil jury awarded Depp $10 million in damages and $2 million to Heard. In December, they reached a settlement.

“To tell you the truth, in my life, I only have one rule: it’s the freedom of thinking, the freedom of speech and the freedom to act within a legal framework,” said Fremaux. “If Johnny Depp had been banned from acting in a film, or the film was banned we wouldn’t be here talking about it.” ■

GMA Pinoy TV, GMA Life TV and GMA News TV available on Jungo Pinoy

GLOBAL Pinoys will never miss a GMA show ever again as the Philippines’ leading broadcasting company, through its overseas arm GMA International, teams up with Jungo Pinoy, the fastest-growing entertainment mobile app specifically created and curated for Filipinos by Los Angeles-based media company Jungo TV, to bring Filipinos around the world closer to home.

Jungo Pinoy users abroad can now enjoy GMA’s international channels: GMA Pinoy TV for streaming hit shows, like Abot Kamay Na Pangarap, Family Feud, Eat Bulaga and more;

GMA Life TV for lifestyle, travel, and infotainment programs; and GMA News TV for the latest, most comprehensive, and most credible news from home—with no TV, cable, or satellite required. And until May 31, Jungo Pinoy is offering free mobile streaming of these premium channels as a special limited-time offer. They can simply

download the app and turn to their phones anytime, anywhere to watch their favorite GMA programs.

Following the free preview, viewers can catch up on the beloved and acclaimed historical fantasy series Maria Clara at Ibarra and other popular GMA shows.

GMA’s top-rated lineup of comedy, game, reality, variety and talk shows will be available on demand via Jungo Pinoy to the many Filipinos living and working in Hong Kong, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Canada.

The app is also now available in Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan, Macau, Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, Turkey, Lebanon, Mexico, the UK, and other European countries like Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands,

Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

“Jungo’s mission is to provide world-class entertainment at an affordable price. We believe everyone deserves the best quality entertainment without overpaying. Through our advanced technology, we are able to offer a reimagined digital TV experience for Filipinos abroad, at a fraction of the traditional cost of cable and satellite,” Jungo TV CEO George Chung.

“We’re excited to be showcasing our highly rated programs on the Jungo Pinoy app that lets them ‘watch TV’ on their phones wherever they may be. With this partnership, GMA Network hopes to give Global Pinoys the opportunity to stream and watch the shows that their loved ones back in the Philippines enjoy,” adds GMA International FVP and head of operations Joseph Francia.

‘Guardians Vol. 3’ and ‘Super Mario Bros.’ top box office again

3 added $60.5 million from North American theaters, according to studio estimates on Sunday.

That’s a slim 49 percent drop from its opening, which is rare for big superhero films that tend to be front-loaded and have big second weekend drops of 60 percent or more. As the smallest Marvel drop since the beginning of the pandemic, it also answers the “superhero fatigue” question that some floated last weekend. Including $91.9 million from international showings, Vol. 3 has already grossed over $528.8 million worldwide.

topping movies, as Star Lord in Guardians and the voice of Mario, debates have ensued about how much of the draw is star power versus brand power.

It was an especially crowded weekend for new movies, opening both wide and limited in all genres and of all qualities. Book Club: The Next Chapter fared the best on the charts with $6.5 million from 3,508 locations. The sequel, released by Focus Features on Mother’s Day weekend, reunites the cast with director Bill Holderman and his cowriter Erin Simms.

million to make. It went into the weekend with poor reviews (32 percent on Rotten Tomatoes) and limited marketing from distributor Ketchup Entertainment, and earned just $2.4 million from 2,118 locations.

Other mid-level releases failed to make a big splash, including Charlie Day’s Hollywood satire Fool’s Paradise, which earned $443,140 from 784 locations, and the anime-inspired Knights of the Zodiac, which made only $535,000 from 586 theaters.

SEVERAL new movies infiltrated theaters nationwide this weekend, from a lighthearted trip to Italy with Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen, Diane Keaton and Mary Steenburgen, to a Ben Affleck-fronted detective thriller. The two top spots were once again claimed by Marvel and Mario, however.

In its second weekend, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.

Second place went to The Super Mario Bros. Movie with $13 million in its sixth weekend, bringing its domestic grosses just shy of $536 million. Families with younger children have had almost no other options at the theaters since Mario entered the picture, resulting in repeat viewings and its continued dominance at the box office, where it is still playing in 3,800 locations domestically. Globally, it’s at $1.2 billion.

With Chris Pratt in the leading positions of chart-

Audiences were heavily female (77 percent), Caucasian (59 percent) and over 45 (66 percent), and the hope is that there will be a Mother’s Day boost and decent holdover for the $20 million production. Older audiences typically don’t rush out on opening weekend. The first film opened to $13.5 million in 2018 and went on to gross over $104 million.

Robert Rodriguez’s Hypnotic, meanwhile, is bombing. The mystery starring Affleck as a detective whose daughter is missing cost a reported $65

BlackBerry, Matt Johnson’s well-reviewed portrait about the rise and fall of the beloved smartphone starring Glenn Howerton and Jay Baruchel, got off to a bumpy start with $473,000 from 450 theaters.

There was also quite a bit of competition on home screens, from a Michael J. Fox documentary on Apple TV+ to the Jennifer Lopez action pic The Mother on Netflix.

Things are going to pick up considerably next weekend when Fast X enters the summer box office race, followed by the live-action The Little Mermaid on May 26. AP

THE official poster featuring actress Catherine Deneuve from the film La Chamade is pictured on the facade of the Palais des Festivals ahead of the Cannes film festival, in Cannes, southern France, on May 15, 2023. AP

Jehovah‘s Witnesses commence series of conventions throughout the Philippines on exercising patience

Asian Terminal nets P1.18 billion in Q1 on sustained trade growth

BUILDING on last year’s strong economic rebound, listed trade enabler Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI) sustained its growth momentum into the first quarter of 2023 driven by continued recovery of trade volumes towards pre-pandemic levels.

In a regulatory disclosure, ATI reported that its revenues for the first quarter reached P3.75 billion, representing an increase of 29.4 percent from P2.90 billion last year on account of higher volumes of international containers, imported car shipment, and passengers.

Net income for the first three months almost doubled to P1.18 billion from P601.9 million, for an increase of 95.5 percent.

ATI’s gateway ports in Manila and Batangas handled a consolidated container throughput of over 384,000 teus (twenty-foot equivalent units) during the period, for a 19.8 percent year-on-year growth. From January to March, ATI’s flagship terminal Manila South Harbor handled a monthly average of over 100,000 teus of international boxed cargoes, a first

since the pandemic. ATI’s Batangas Port, the country’s premier international car carrier terminal and the busiest interisland transit hub, likewise sustained its growth trajectory, handling over 57,000 units of imported completely built cars and more than 580,000 passengers during the first quarter, for a volume growth of 5.5 percent and 57.4 percent, respectively, compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, anchored on its commitment to delivering sustainable shareholder value, ATI announced the release of an aggregate cash dividend amounting to P2.0 billion during its annual shareholders meeting held last month. ATI’s board of directors approved the release of regular cash dividends amounting to 88 cents per share, followed by a further 11.20 cents per share as special cash dividend, for a total of P1.00

per share resulting from ATI’s robust performance in 2022. Dividend payout is scheduled on June 20, 2023. To sustain its momentum and in preparation for future trade growth, ATI is allocating a minimum of P5.2 billion in capital investment for 2023. This will bankroll the creation of additional berthing spaces and yard facilities, deployment of new cranes and eco-friendly equipment, reopening of the Manila cruise terminal, expansion of ports and logistics touchpoints in key markets, and the rollout of innovations and technologies, in line with ATI’s long-term commitment with the port authority and in support of the Philippine economy.

#RevlonProMom: A Mother’s Day Tribute to Michelle R. De Castro and her journey towards self-care

shades and achieve deeply vibrant color. With a demanding schedule and a strong commitment to her work and loved ones, she found it challenging to carve out time for self-care. De Castro admits, “My hair is extremely dry because, admittedly, my hair has always been my guilty pleasure, and I love styling it every day. I can’t even go out of the house without blow-drying and/or curling my hair.”

JEHOVAH’S Witnesses will be holding a series of more than 170 conventions throughout the country beginning May to August this year, marking their return to large halls, stadiums and venues after three years of pandemic pause.

As one of the largest convention organizations in the world, Jehovah’s Witnesses will be holding their three-day 2023 “Exercise Patience!” Convention in at least 90 host cities nationwide, including Metro Manila. The convention series will run for four months starting May 26 to August 27. These conventions that will be hosted in the Philippines will form part of the 6,000 “Exercise Patience!” Convention series that will be held globally. Aside from the Philippines, Jehovah’s Witnesses are present in 238 other lands.

“Patience is a beautiful quality that all Christians desire to display in their daily lives. Despite our good intentions, however, maintaining patience in the face of life’s many challenges can be a daily struggle. Spending three days exploring aspects of this quality will be very timely for all of us,” said James Morales, spokesman for Jehovah’s Witnesses.

From Friday through Sunday, six convention sessions will explore the quality of patience, highlighting its modern-day relevance through Scriptural examples. During the Saturday session, attendees will learn how showing patience can help people improve their relationships with family and friends. A live baptism will be also performed following the Saturday morning session. A pre-recorded drama with title “Commit Your Way to Jehovah” will be featured in two parts during the Saturday and Sunday afternoon sessions.

The upcoming conventions will be available in at least 11 languages for the more than 249,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Philippines as well as for interested individuals.

JEHOVAH’S Witnesses in the Philippines will be holding their three-day 2023 “Exercise Patience”! Convention in at least 90 host cities nationwide, including Metro Manila, starting from May to August this year. More information about the program, global convention locations and dates can be found on the official website of Jehovah’s Witnesses, jw.org. (Photo courtesy of Jehovah’s Witnesses) long to get back to our joyful fellowship at these large gatherings,” Morales said.

Even when the Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) status of Covid-19 has been lifted recently, Morales expounded that Jehovah’s Witnesses continue to value the health and the welfare of their community and thus continue to implement health standards set by local authorities when holding large conventions.

“While we enjoy our return to inperson large gatherings, we can maintain a high level of consideration for the general well-being of our fellow worshippers and other people around us,” he said.

MOTHERS today are constantly juggling family, work, and personal responsibilities, often with little time left for themselves. And there’s no better occasion to remind these incredible women that they deserve a moment of indulgence and self-care than Mother’s Day.

With Revlon’s #RevlonProMom campaign, they celebrate the transformative power of salon pampering for an extraordinary woman, Michelle R. De Castro, the Vice President for PR and Advertising at Sta. Lucia Land. Discover how she found the perfect balance of selfcare and dedication to her family through Revlon’s professional hair care treatments. Now a mother of three, De Castro has always put her family and career first.

De Castro though finds fulfillment and joy in motherhood. She shares, “Being a mother of three is the most fulfilling job ever. Life now has so much more meaning and purpose. Motherhood holds a sense of beauty, wonder, and inspiration. Your family becomes a source of motivation to keep on going and striving, especially when you want to make them feel loved and appreciated.”

Recognizing that she deserved a moment of pampering, the #RevlonProMom campaign offered her a transformative Air Touch Balayage Hair Coloring, Caleb Matteo used Revlonissimo™ Colorsmetique, the perfect palette of professional permanent hair color with rich, true-to-tone, sophisticated results, mixed with Revlonissimo™ Colorsmetique Pure Colors to intensify the

To maintain and enhance her fresh color, she was introduced to Nutri Color™ Creme, a nourishing treatment that revitalizes colored hair. The striking results revitalized De Castro’s appearance and brought out her vibrant personality, empowering her to confidently embrace her role as a #RevlonProMom while balancing her personal and professional life.

De Castro’s incredible journey illustrates the transformative power of self-care and confidence. The #RevlonProMom campaign proudly supports Mitch on her pursuit to happiness and well-being, inspiring other mothers to embark on their own empowering hair care adventures. This Mother’s Day month, let’s take the time to appreciate the amazing women in our lives, acknowledging their unwavering determination, enthusiasm, and inner and outer beauty.

Investment bank Mavek, SAP to host global webinar on semiconductors, to shed light on policies of 3 countries

MAVEK , an investment bank, along with SAP, are hosting a global semiconductor webinar on June 8, 2023, which will shed light on Japan, Korea and Taiwan’s semiconductor industries as well as government diplomatic and industrial policies.

Since February of this year, the “Global Semiconductor Chip Wars & Implications” series has been ongoing in four parts, featuring speakers from major global institutions and the academe. So far, decision-makers from over 300 corporations and organizations in the Asia-Pacific region have tuned in.

The next webinar series will feature Member of House of Councilors (Upper House of Japan’s National Legislature), Masahisa Sato; South Korean Member of National Assembly (Korea’s National Legislature), Yang Hyang-ja; Taiwanese former Minister of Economic Affairs, Hsieh Fa-dah; KPMG Japan’s Industrial

Manufacturing Team Leader, Jun Okamoto; Head of Hyundai Motor Securities Research, Roh Geun-chang; Deloitte Taiwan’s TMT Leader, Ming Chen; and Managing Partner at Mavek, James Khoo

Masahisa Sato is a three-term House of Councilors Member and current chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee for the Liberal Democratic Party. He served as the State Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2017 to 2018. Sato is a prominent opinion leader in Japan’s diplomatic field whose webinar segment will cover the status of Japan’s diplomacy and international cooperation. National Assembly Member, Yang Hyang-ja, is a semiconductor expert and a former executive at Samsung Electronics whose session will cover South Korea’s governmental support policies and diplomatic issues for Korea’s semiconductor industry.

The webinar, titled “Taiwan, Japan,

& South Korea — Where do they head?” will give an overview on the Taiwanese, Japanese, and South Korean governments’ diplomatic efforts, which have been playing a major role in the global semiconductor supply chain amidst the U.S.-China conflict. Discussions will include topics such as the status, trends, and strategies of the semiconductor industry and companies of each country.

According to Managing Partner of Mavek, James Khoo, “Amid the relocation of semiconductor global supply chain is happening already, the Philippines has an opportunity to rejoin the global supply chain as a major player. We’ve invited only the best experts, hoping to provide insights to semiconductors leaders in the Philippines.”

Registration for the webinar series is available at Mavek’s website (www. mavekinc.com/rsvp)

Prior to the Covd-19 pandemic, Jehovah’s Witnesses in Metro Manila and nearby areas attended their annual conventions at the SMX Convention Center, Cuneta Astrodome, Paco Arena Events and Sports Center and the Metro Manila Assembly Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses. As part of their efforts to safeguard health, they shifted their in-person events to virtual convention programs in more than 500 languages globally.

“As much as we loved the convenience and quality of our virtual conventions, nothing can replace being together in a large group setting. While our online conventions reached millions around the world and kept our communities safe, we

Jehovah’s Witnesses have been holding public conventions in stadiums, arenas, convention centers, and theaters around the world for more than 100 years. After resuming smaller in-person meetings and their public ministry during 2022, midyear 2023 marks the first time they will gather at much larger regional events around the world since the lifting of pandemic restrictions.

The convention is open to the public and no collection is taken. For more information on the program or to find other convention locations and dates, please go to jw.org and navigate to the “About Us” tab. A preview on the topics that will be discussed during the convention can be also viewed on its official website.

There are 8.6 million Jehovah’s Witnesses worldwide, and they are known for their door-to-door preaching activity as well as other forms of ministry like the so-called cart witnessing that feature free Bible-based literatures relevant to the times.

Exciting deals up for grabs this HONOR Payday Sale with up to P750 discount on cellphones, laptops

THE country’s leading smart devices provider, HONOR, is throwing away exclusive deals and free shipping discounts nationwide this payday sale! Up to P750 worth of discounts on HONOR devices, including the viral X series, will be available via Lazada, Shopee, and TikTok Shop!

“HONOR prides itself with its wide range of smartphones and devices that cater to every Filipino lifestyle. We have the DSLRlike phone, HONOR X8a for photography enthusiasts, the HONOR X7a for those who are continuously using their mobile devices and need a long-lasting battery, and the indestructible HONOR X9a 5G for those who are worried of continuously dropping their phones and cracking their screens. We also have the HONOR MagicBook X laptops and HONOR Pad 8 for digital people who are always on the go,” said Stephen Cheng, HONOR Philippines Vice President.

Enjoy amazing deals and free shipping discounts from May 13 to 17 with Lazada Sulit Sweldo Sale (https://bit.ly/3VGu3OV), TikTok Budol Sale from May 14 to 16 (https:// bit.ly/3IMaizo), and Shopee Payday Sale on May 15 (https://bit.ly/3J1Zv5n). Early birds can also get exclusive freebies on selected HONOR gadgets! Get a FREE Magic Keyboard with Php 5,990 when you purchase an HONOR Pad8, and a FREE Premium HONOR bag worth Php 2,000 for every purchase of HONOR MagicBook X 14 or MagicBook X 15. For more information and announcements, you may visit HONOR’s website www.hihonor.com or social media platforms: Facebook (Facebook.com/ HonorPhilippines), Instagram (Instagram. com/honorphilippines/) and TikTok: (Tiktok. com/@honorphilippines). To check out HONOR’s complete list of retail stores, go to https://www.hihonor.com/ph/retailers/.

Editor: Tet Andolong

Gov’t faces formidable task in housing program

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

Ar.Leonardo Dayao Jr. national president of the Subdivision Housing Developers Association of the Philippines (SHDA) told the attendees of the recently concluded Philippines Furniture Furnishings Market (PFFM) that for 2021 to 2040, total housing need is placed at 2.06 million with an average of some 11, 544 per annum; requiring a total budget of P1.90 trillion with an average of P 105 billion per annum.

Meanwhile, Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar plans to build 6 million housing units under the Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pamilyang Pilipino (PPP) or 1 million housing units per year up to 2028.

Dayao said SHDA is targeting a P800,000price ceiling for horizontal development projects while the government seeks a price range of P1.1 million to P1.5 million for vertical projects depending on the number

of stories.

“We’re getting close to the pricing. It’s difficult to deliver the price of P580,000 especially with the price of land and construction nowadays. However, there are still opportunities in that segment by partnering with organizations such as Gawad Kalinga, Habitat for Humanity and local government units. We’re trying to come up with an agreement so we can start purchasing the land,” Dayao told reporters during the press interview. Dayao said the government must hurdle some of the following challenges to address the housing backlog. These are:

n Access to land and for housing settlements;

n Sustainable and available funds for housing activities;

n Tedious permitting and licensing processes for housing development and construction;

n Taxes-incentives to the private sector participation in housing activities;

n Public housing program for the lower segment of the population;

n Affordable interest rates for socialized and public housing.

SCT-Silkwave partnership paves way for smart homes

By Roderick L. Abad

INTELLIGENT homes and cities in the country are the next big things in the Philippines as Filipino-owner company Smart Citi Teknologi (SCT) has entered into a strategic partnership with Hong Kong-listed firm Silkwave Inc. to pioneer the satellite broadband and digital multimedia internet in the Philippines, which will be made possible with the forthcoming completion of their new satellite worth $400 million. “Connectivity really is the key to prosperity nowadays. We are running out of time that this is the moment and very timely to set up the Philippines to go into this digitalization process. So we should lay down the right foundation before stepping up to the next level of developing the country to become ‘Super Smart’, an ‘Intelligent Philippines,’” SCT Founder, P resident and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mario P. Marcos told reporters in a recent press briefing held at the Manila Hotel.

Silkwave, a new generation satellite mobile data service provider, is honored to ally with SCT, an Industrial Revolution 4.0, 5.0 and 6.0 digital integrator, c onsultant and solution provider, for this breakthrough data delivery.

The capability of that partnership is being able to push and stream virtually unlimited IP-based data content to billions of user devices on the ground with ubiquitous coverage and without any daily charge,” Silkwave CEO Charles C. Wong noted. “So we actually complement each other. Taking together what w e have is what we called a converged network of satellites plus 5G, which we have the huge capacity of delivering mobile data to anywhere, at the same time, integrating with the existing cellular network to make it one. So this essentially is a pioneering architectural 6G.”

Their strengths can provide communities, smart cities and the government with high-speed wireless fidelity (WiFi) coupled with unlimited real-time multimedia and data services at a low cost. Doing so, SCT w ill combine its cutting-edge Starlink/VSAT Internet broadband with Silkwave’s Asia-Asia-Star L-band mobile multimedia broadcasting satellite that covers the w hole of Asia via the set up in every village and smart cities of a unicasting fast internet mesh network. This

will bring last-mile wireless connectivity to all Filipino households within 20- to 30-kilometer radius of the community center with unprecedented efficiency and economies of scale.

“So one of the solutions we hope to provide the Philippines is a last-mile digital connectivity utilizing the satellite, and also integrating other satellites s o that it provides holistic package of broadband and also digital services,” he said of their satellite that can deliver low-cost universal data.

Both partners will, likewise, propose to the Philippine government the L-band connectivity to give t he best satellite mobile broadcasting/multi-casting services for crucial public missions and national security. Per Wong, their satellite can actually penetrate e ven during the most extreme hurricane and typhoon seasons. This way, establishments and households can better prepare for any eventuality that may cause damage to lives and properties.

The Marine Department can harness its real time, accurate climate forecasts and updates to give early warnings; deliver efficient, apt and quick disaster response prior, during or after calamities or national emergencies; latest weather information for ships and boats; and cascade relevant broadcasting, education, healthcare and welfare data to the public.

Adhering initially to Asia-Star’s “Proof of Concept,” Marcos revealed their pilot test of the L-band WiFi and it’s beneficial connectivity services in provincial, urban and island areas nationwide. He also bared a possible collaboration with the government to streamline and formalize the different strategic services and lo ng-term arrangements supported by the completion and launch of their second satellite “Silkwave-1” by 2025. Replacing Asia-Star, it boasts of 100 times connectivity speed, broader reach, and high power-level t o do the mass market rollout.

“In this way, we can address and we can meet our goal to complete the digital infrastructure of the Philippines. And if we did it, of course, we can copy paste this system to our neighboring countries, and we are the leader in this kind of technology. So this is very important. I want a voluntary participation of the government so that we can really move on and we can say we are already ready for digitalization,” Marcos stressed.

Dayao laid out some strategies to address the housing backlog such as active participation of the local government units, private sector developers and financial institutions in the implementation of the Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pamilyang Pilipino (PPP); implementation of the Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) and local shelter plans of the LGUs; among others.

Despite the challenges, Dayao said housing remains a bright prospect for the following reasons:

n The government policies and institutions are in place: Creation of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD). Three years from creation-SHDA has advocated for the creation of DHSUD;

n The government financial institution-the Home Mutual Development Fund has announced the availability of some P10 billion in 2022 for home-end buyers and members of the fund.

n The huge housing backlog and demand for quality housing specially after the pandemic will be addressed both by

the government and private sector.

n The strong private sector participation in the government’s efforts to address the country’s housing need; the presence of SHDA and its strong regional membership;

n The Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs)-strong market for the developers along with the government employees and the general increasing population and urbanization trend.

Dayao stressed the importance of public-private sector partnership in solving the housing backlog. He added the two parties could explore areas in providing affordable housing such as in-city low-cost condominuims; access to land and identification of beneficiaries; fast tracking permitting and licensing processes; direct subsidies for low-income families; low interest rates low-income segment; innovating and inclusive projects such as Building Adequate, Livable, Affordable, Inclusive (BALAI) rental, among others.

“It is inevitable for the government sector to double up its efforts, adopt

innovative strategies and programs, encourage private sector participation, and segmentation of housing needs and intervention channel more funds to address the spiraling housing need,” Dayao pointed out.

“Given all these, the housing sector remains a major contributor to the country’s economic development and general welfare. Over time, it has also shown very good prospects for a vibrant industry for the coming years,” he explained.

The Subdivision and Housing Developers Association (SHDA) Inc. is the leading industry association for housing and urban development in the Philippines. For over 50 years, we have actively partnered with stakeholders to strengthen the industry and create livable and affordable communities for all Filipinos.

The PFFM is bringing in diverse choices of high-quality furniture and furnishing products to fulfill the needs of the local market. The event will be held from July 5 to 7 at the SMX Convention Center.

IT w as a fitting recognition of the passion, industry mastery, and resiliency shown by this trusted property developer.

Sta. Lucia Land Inc., the publicly listed arm of the Sta. Lucia Group, was awarded with two seals of excellence as the “Leading Developer of Residential Communities Philippines” and the “Leading Real Estate Company Philippines” in the recently concluded 2023 World Business Outlook Awards, which commended the company’s exceptional performance in creating master planned communities across the country.

The prestigious awards recognized industry mastery, leadership talents, industry value or net worth, impeccable strategies for success, and potential on an international forum. It was hosted by the World Business Outlook, a Singapore-based business magazine that aims to provide business insights and

information through its connections in the industry.

“This recognition is proof that we remain faithful to our mission of building and developing quality projects that would not only uplift lives but also help in nation building. By continuously tapping new growth centers and fueling the fringe areas, we know that we are making an impact on our society,” said Sta. Lucia Land President Exequiel Robles.

“Awards like these inspire us to further develop and deliver projects that people will continue to benefit from.

That’s why we are truly grateful for such recognitions as these validate our belief that we are indeed doing the right things for the country,” Mr. Robles added.

Sta. Lucia Land and the entire Sta. Lucia Group showcase an impressive portfolio of residential projects ranging from lots, farm lots, resort-themed communities, hotels, townhouses, lake -

side and world-class golf communities, retail areas, office spaces and condotels, which give Filipinos limitless choices when it comes to finding the right investment for them.

But what makes Sta. Lucia truly stand out is its pioneering efforts to infuse capital and development in the fringe areas. As a catalyst for growth, it continues to bring its expertise outside the capital region and established central business districts, thus helping create new urban centers.

And by doing so, Sta. Lucia Land does not only provide residents with beautiful landmark developments they can proudly call home, but also gives the host communities new opportunities for business and employment, thus helping fuel economic activities in the area.

“We have survived many challenges in the past five decades and that is because of our resolve to always do things better and to put the welfare of the people first. There is no stopping us from serving the people and providing them developments they truly deserve. Again, we would like to thank the following people behind this recent recognition: our hard working employees, loyal customers, strategic-thinking management and supportive partners. Rest assured that we will continue to empower the Filipino people,” Mr. Robles concluded.

The government faces a herculean task in addressing the housing needs of the Filipinos. Right now, the current housing need is placed at 6.5 million dwelling units while production from both private and government average for less than 100,000 units per annum.

Sta. Lucia Land feted as ‘Leading Real Estate Company’ in PHL

Sta . Lucia’s strategic-thinking management has helped the company become one of the leading property developers in the country. tHE 22.88-ha Green Meadows Iloilo is home to Iloilo’s first residential lake community.

Sta . Lucia recognizes its hard-working employees as vital in achieving its goal of creating masterplanned communities across the country.

a M o d EL of socialized housing by Saint Joseph Homes-Calamba

dEC a Homes, Meycauayan, Bulacan by 8990 Holdings

Abbas urges UN to suspend Israel during first commemoration of 1948 flight of Palestinians

By Edith M. Lederer The Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS—

Palestinian President

Abbas spoke during the first official UN commemoration of the flight of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from what is now Israel following the UN’s partition of British-ruled Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states 75 years ago.

Israel’s UN ambassador, Gilad Erdan, had sent letters to General Assembly ambassadors condemning the commemoration and urging them not to attend what he called an “abominable event” and a “blatant attempt to distort history.” He said those who attended would be condoning antisemitism and giving a green light to Palestinians “to continue exploiting international organs to promote their libelous narrative.”

Israel and the United States were among those that boycotted the commemoration of what is known as the Nakba, or catastrophe.

In an hour-long emotioncharged speech, Abbas asked the world’s nations why more than 1,000 resolutions adopted by UN bodies regarding the Palestinians had never been implemented. He held up a letter from Israel’s foreign minister, Moshe Sharett, after the resolutions were adopted in 1947 and 1948 promising to create

a Palestinian state and allow the return of refugees and said: “Either they do fulfill these obligations, or they stop becoming a member.”

The General Assembly, which had 57 member nations in 1947, approved the resolution dividing Palestine by a vote of 33-13 with 10 abstentions. The Jewish side accepted the UN partition plan and after the British mandate expired in 1948, Israel declared its independence. The Arabs rejected the plan and neighboring Arab countries launched a war against the Jewish state.

The Nakba commemorates the estimated 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were forced from their homes in 1948.

The fate of these refugees and their descendants—estimated at over 5 million across the Middle East—remains a major disputed issue in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Israel rejects demands for a mass return of refugees to long-lost homes, saying it would threaten the country’s Jewish character.

The Nakba commemoration comes as Israeli-Palestinian fighting has intensified and protests over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government and its plan to overhaul Israel’s

judiciary show no sign of abating. Israel’s polarization and the Netanyahu government’s extremist positions have also sparked growing international concern.

Abbas specifically blamed Britain, as Palestine’s ruler before the 1947 partition, and the United States, Israel’s most important ally, for the flight of the Palestinians, saying they “bear political and ethical responsibility” for evicting Palestinians and implanting Israel “in our historic homeland.”

“And Israel would not have continued its hostility and aggression without the support it receives from these two countries,” he said.

Abbas strongly criticized Israel for calling itself the only democracy in the Middle East, saying “it is the only state in the world that occupies another people.” And he rejected Israel’s insistence that it “made the desert bloom,” saying Palestine pre-1947 was “very civilized,” green, with lakes and rivers, and exported oranges to Europe.

The Palestinian leader said the most important right Palestinians are demanding now is self-determination and an independent state based on June 1967 borders. He reiterated that the Palestinians have agreed to accept 22 percent of the 1947 territory as part of a twostate solution to the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict, not the 44 percent they were given in the partition.

But he said the two-state solution is being destroyed, pointing to Israeli ministers “publicly calling for another nakba against the Palestinians” and Israelis calling for the killing of Palestinians, insisting defiantly that the Palestinians will never leave or give up East Jerusalem, which they want as their capital.

Abbas said Palestinians are not against Jews, but “I am against those who occupy our land.” He was born in Safed in the Galilee, now part of Israel, and said like other Palestinian refugees he wants to go home.

He said Israel should recog -

‘Bangkok Spring’ sets up showdown over role of monarchy in Thailand

By Philip J. Heijmans & Patpicha Tanakasempipat

AN upstart Thai political party delivered a shocking blow to a royalist establishment that has suppressed democracy over the past two decades. Now the question is whether it can implement real change without a fight.

Pita Limjaroenrat, the 42-year-old Harvard-educated leader of Move Forward, staked his claim to becoming Thailand’s prime minister after his party won the most seats and total votes in Sunday’s election. The party was by far the most ideological in a field of politicians pledging populist handouts, standing alone among major groups in calling for changes to a law that restricts criticism of the nation’s powerful monarchy.

Addressing reporters after the win, Pita vowed not to compromise in the push to change Article 112, a law known as “lese majeste” that can put offenders behind bars for as many as 15 years if they’re convicted of insulting 70-year-old King Maha Vajiralongkorn or several other top royals.

“I’m worried about the relationship between the people and the monarchy, especially the younger generation,” Pita said on Monday.

“We’ll use the parliament to

make sure that it’s a comprehensive discussion, with maturity, transparency and how we should move forward in terms of the relationship between the monarchy and the masses,” he added. “It’s fair to say that it’s the sentiment of the era that has changed.”

The push to directly change laws affecting the monarchy breaks a longstanding taboo in Thailand, where in years past even the suggestion of disloyalty to the palace has been grounds for the military to stage a coup, leading to successive bouts of deadly street protests that have held back Southeast Asia’s second-biggest economy. Generals booted out an elected government in 2006 and then again in 2014, each time vowing to crack down on elements that posed a threat to the monarchy.

Tensions started to build further after the 2016 death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who was widely revered after spending 70 years on the throne. His son, King Vajiralongkorn, succeeded him and quickly asserted his authority, taking direct command of some army units and acquiring personal ownership of Crown Property Bureau assets valued at tens of billions of dollars.

A backlash manifested in the form of student-led protests in 2020 calling for more checks and balances on the monarchy. While the demonstrations eventually

flamed out, many who participated ended up joining or supporting Move Forward—sowing the seeds for the party’s sweeping victory on Sunday.

“This is a ‘Bangkok Spring,’” Surachart Bamrungsuk, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University, told The Nation television network, using a term first associated with political liberalization in Czechoslovakia in the 1960s. “Military leaders jumped out of their tanks and climbed into campaign trucks with confidence, but were crushed by dissenting voters.”

Yet if history is any guide, the hard work is just starting for Pita and other pro-democracy parties. Ahead of the vote, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha, a former general who led the 2014 coup, warned that groups proposing sweeping societal changes will drag the country into a “black hole of conflict.”

The potential for a conservative backlash is one reason investors were divided on the outcome, with the baht rallying by the most in five weeks while the benchmark SET Index fell 1.3 percent. Shares of companies linked to some of Thailand’s billionaires slumped on concern a government led by Move Forward may unveil measures to usher in more competition in sectors such as telecommunications and power.

“There is a possibility that

nize and apologize for the Nakba, which has created the world’s longest refugee crisis, and pay compensation to the refugees and for land it now occupies. And he said that if these root causes are not addressed, the Palestinians will continue to pursue their rights and take legal action, especially at the International Criminal Court, which was greeted by loud applause from the large audience in a UN conference room.

Israel has remained defiant.

“We will fight the ‘Nakba’ lie with full strength and we won’t allow the Palestinians to continue to spread lies and distort history,” Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said in a statement.

As the 75th anniversary approached, the now 193-member General Assembly approved a resolution last Nov. 30 by a vote of 90-30 with 47 abstentions requesting the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People to organize a high-level event on May 15 to commemorate the Nakba. The United States was among the countries that joined Israel in voting against the resolution.

Abbas called for the General Assembly to establish May 15 every year as an international day “to commemorate the Palestinian plight” and to call for Palestinians achieving their rights to an independent state.

Israel’s foreign ministry said dozens of countries canceled or downgraded their participation in Monday’s event in response to an Israeli campaign. But among the many groups supporting the Nakba commemoration and an independent Palestinian state whose representatives spoke on Monday were the Group of 77, a UN coalition of 134 mainly developing nations and China, and the 120-member Nonaligned Movement.

Speaking at the commemoration, UN political chief Rosemary DiCarlo expressed “deep concern”

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the government formula that we heard today may be totally different from the real thing over the next two-three months,” said Tim Leelahaphan, a Bangkok-based economist at Standard Chartered Bank Plc.

The first obstacle for Pita is a 250-member Senate appointed by the junta that took power in 2014. This group gets to vote for prime minister, and could still cobble together enough support with more conservative smaller parties to prevent Pita and other pro-democracy leaders from forming a government.

Doing so, however, risks sparking more violent protests and may be shortsighted, given the Senate’s ability to vote for prime minister is scheduled to expire next year. That means any minority government would be subject to a confidence vote that could see pro-democracy parties eventually take power.

More significant, perhaps, will be any attempts by Move Forward to amend the lese majeste law or to change the constitution. The appointed Senate can still block either of those initiatives. In addition, any legal changes can also be subject to review by the Constitutional Court, which has disbanded numerous political parties that have be seen to challenge the monarchy.  With assistance from Suttinee Yuvejwattana and Anuchit Nguyen/ Bloomberg

that prospects for restarting negotiations toward a two-state solution “continue to diminish.”

DiCarlo pointed to the rapid expansion of Israeli settlements, which is “illegal under international law,” pervasive violence including by Israeli settlers, and Israel’s “unabated” evictions, demolitions and seizures of Palestinian-owned property.

She also cited the record number of Palestinian civilians killed last year since the UN started recording deaths in 2005, and the highest number of Israeli civilians killed since 2015, warning that this year is on track to match or surpass those numbers.

“Palestinians deserve a life of justice and dignity and the realization of their right to self-determination and independence,” the undersecretary-general for political affairs said. “The UN position is clear. The occupation must end.”

In a speech to the UN Security Council on April 25, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Malki renewed his call for countries that haven’t yet recognized the state of Palestine “to do so as a means to salvage the moribund two-state solution.”

To hurt Israel economically, Malki urged countries to ban products from Israeli settlements and trade with settlements, to “sanction those who collect funds for settlements and those who advocate for them and those who advance them,” and to list settler organizations that carry out killings and burnings as “terrorist organizations.”

And he urged the international community to take Israel to the International Court of Justice, the UN’s highest tribunal. The General Assembly asked the court in December to give its opinion on the legal consequences of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories, a move denounced by Israel.

I lon Ben Zion contributed from Jerusalem.

is fair game.

As someone who grew up playing competitive sports, I have always valued having a good coach that could help develop me in terms of strategy, fundamentals, and tactics. As an adult, I have embraced that these same principles apply to an executive coach as well. Similar to getting in more repetitions outside of training and putting up more shots, there is a lot of room to continue with self-development.

Julius also brought up my selfcoaching quite a bit and this is related to my second point, the value of journaling. As Stephen Covey wrote in “Primary Greatness: The 12 Levers of Success,” “Keeping a personal journal—a daily in-depth analysis and evaluation of your experiences—is a high-leverage activity that increases self-awareness and enhances all the endowments and the synergy among them.”

I have gotten into the habit of starting my day with a cup of coffee and 15 minutes to 20 minutes of time journaling, spending that time sharpening the axe to prepare for the day. The benefits of it are numerous, first, it gives me time to wake up my mind slowly and it helps me start the day centered. I write about anything under the sun. Sometimes it’s a reflection, sometimes it’s more about self-care and sometimes I focus on gratitude. Anything under the sun

The benefits of both the coaching and the journaling have been immense as I feel more confident and have a clearer idea of what I want to accomplish. I find myself managing stress much better, focusing on what is really important. Re-reading my earlier journal entries, I’m struck by how much more organized my thoughts are.

One of my favorite sayings is by the author Will Durant, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” I also feel the benefit of coaching and journaling on a habitual basis. I know that I am taking proactive steps to look after myself.  I’ve been able to set tangible, measurable goals such as with regard to my physical fitness as well. I then have a channel to review my progress toward those goals. It’s an ongoing process as no one is perfect but it is a process that I am enjoying undertaking. We live in volatile times with numerous business challenges and while the road ahead might be murky, it is important to develop the tools to make sure that our minds are clear. Coaching and journaling are two of the tools that I use to keep sharpening my axe.

Mahmoud Abbas urged the United Nations on Monday to suspend Israel’s membership unless it implements resolutions establishing separate Jewish and Arab states and allows the return of Palestinian refugees.

A GROUP of Arab refugees walks along a road from Jerusalem to Lebanon, carrying their belongings with them on November 9, 1948. The group was driven from their homes by attacks in Galilee. For the first time, the United Nations will officially commemorate the flight of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from what is now Israel on the 75th anniversary of their exodus, an action stemming from the UN’s partition of British-ruled Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states. AP/JIM PRINGLE, FILE

E J Qua Hiansen is the deputy group CFO of Phinma Corp. and chairman of the Junior FINEX Committee of the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (Finex) Research Development Foundation. All views expressed are his own.