BusinessMirror May 2, 2024

HBy Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

OT money inflows in the first quarter grew despite recording declines in January and March this year, according to the latest data from the Bangko Sentral

THE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has moved to protect consumers from the spike in power rates by suspending the operations of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) in Luzon and Visayas whenever the red alert notice is issued by the system operator.

By Reine Juvierre S. Alberto @reine_alberto

T

HE use of hybrid cars in the country will open opportunities for the Electronics industry, according to the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation Inc. (Seipi).

“In hybrids, you probably have over 90 percent of the components in electronics. So, yes, it does open opportunities,” Seipi President Danilo C. Lachica told reporters on the sidelines of GPCCI’s forum on Tuesday.

Lachica said he’d rather go with hybrid first, considering that the country still has to put up the necessary infrastructure or enough charging stations for electric vehicles and “fast-charging” stations for commercial use.

“I’d be nervous driving an EV from Manila to Baguio and running out in Tarlac, you know...of the charge, right? But it’s a good step. But eventually, EV would be the way to

go,” the Seipi president added. Lachica emphasized that if the government plans to roll out electric vehicles especially for commercial use, they should ensure that there would be sufficient fast-charging stations. “Now, you can’t convince the jeep drivers or even the bus drivers to wait 10 hours to charge an EV. We have to make sure that we have abundant fast charging stations for commercial use,” the Seipi chief stressed. In a separate interview, Trade and Industry Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual told reporters earlier the Committee on Tariff and Related Matters (CTRM) will discuss the ongoing review on the potential expansion of Executive Order (EO) 12 to cover e-motorcycles and hybrid vehicles.

WITH a hefty task of collecting a record-high P4.3 trillion in revenues this year, Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto said the tax collection of the Bureaus of Internal Revenue and of Custom, and their importance of hitting the numbers signals no need for a downward revision of revenue targets.

“Our revenue collection today seems to be on target. So right now, no need to revise it yet. So far, we’re on target,” Recto told reporters.

On Monday, the Department of Finance (DOF) said the national government’s borrowing plan was increased to P2.57 trillion in 2024, higher by 4.47 percent than

the P2.46-trillion target set by the Cabinet-level Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC).

Recto clarified to reporters that the government did not revise the borrowing plan but the DBCC’s GDP growth target, which was slashed to 6 to 7 percent for 2024 from 6.5 to 7.5 percent.

“As a consequence of that, revenues will be less because of [lower] growth. Ergo, there’s a possibility of an increased borrowing,” Recto said.

The Finance chief added that these would all depend on whether the government will be able to hit its revenue targets this year, which, Recto stressed, the economic team did not reduce.

Recto explained that when DBCC’s GDP growth targets are too

high, then revenue targets are also expected to be higher.

“If you fail to hit those [GDP] targets, you’ll fail to hit the revenue. Your deficit becomes higher. That’s why we wanted to put it more realistically—realistic GDP growth numbers,” Recto added.

The bulk of the P4.3 trillion in revenues, or P3 trillion, will be raised by the BIR while the remaining P1 trillion will come from the BOC.

“I’ll be seeing them soon within the month to discuss the revenue targets this year and all the way to 2028. But the most important is this year because we’re already funding the budget this year,” the Finance chief added.

The BIR collected a total of P591.8 billion from January to

March this year, higher by 17.15 percent than the P505.2 billion it recorded in the same period in 2023.

“If [the BIR] can continue with that, we shouldn’t be borrowing more. In fact, we should be borrowing less,” Recto said.

BOC collection

MEANWHILE, the BOC generated P218.9 billion in the first quarter of 2024, up by 2.35 percent yearon-year from the P213.8 billion it posted in 2023.

Recto said the government is banking on better tax administration for 2024 and the coming years, specifically collecting taxes based on transactions done through e-

By Lenie Lectura @llectura & Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

According to the website of the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda),the CTRM is composed of the Secretary of DTI as Chairman, with the Secretary of NEDA as Co-Chair. Its members are the Executive Secretary; the Secretaries of Department of Agriculture, Department of Budget and Management, DOLE, DAR, DOF, Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR); the Governor of BSP; and the Chairman of the Tariff Commission.

While the Trade chief said he is open to hear arguments on the proposal to include hybrid vehicles in the coverage of the tariff exemption, he maintained that “the motivation for lifting the tariff on electric vehicles is very clear,” to increase the car population with electric engines for purposes of encouraging the setting up of charging stations.

Eh, kung hybrid, hindi kailangan ng charging stations,” Pascual said. With the ongoing review, he said he “cannot speculate” if the coverage will be broadened with the inclusion of hybrid vehicles in the tariff exemption under EO 12, “because this is a committee work.”

At a hearing before the Tariff Commission last March, the Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines (EVAP) also stressed that it strongly opposes the expansion of tariff exemption to hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), noting that hybrids do not contribute in the development of the charging infrastructure which it said “is one of the main objectives of the Evide [Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act].”

The EVAP also stressed that HEVs pricing is competitive and, hence, there is no need for introducing tariff exemption to HEVs. (See: businessmirror.com.ph/2024/03/13/ tariff-exemption-for-electric-vehiclessought-for-survival/)

For its part, the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) said at the same tariff hearing last month, “We support the expansion of the coverage of EO 12 to cover hybrid electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.”

“We are looking at it [from] a broader perspective. In terms of fuel consumption reduction and emissions mitigation, Campi’s position is that all electric vehicle technologies can significantly contribute to the achievement of our carbon neutrality goals,” Campi said.

EO 12, which became effective on February 20, 2023, temporarily reduced the rates of import duty on certain electric vehicles (EVs) and their parts and components for five years. Section 2 of the said measure provides for the review of the EO after one year of implementation, for which the Tariff Commission shall be asked to conduct a public hearing for this purpose. The review shall follow the tariff modification process under Section 1608 of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act, and shall be presented to the Committee on Tariff and Related Matters and the Neda Board. (Full story here: businessmirror. com.ph/2024/03/11/zero-tariffs-onhybrid-vehicles-not-justifiable-thistime-dti/)Andrea E. San Juan

DMW: After big ’23 bounce, seafarer deployment slows

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

DESPITE a strong rebound in the deployment of Filipino seafarers last year from the effects of the pandemic, there are now signs of a slowdown in its increase this year, according to the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW).

Based on its latest and preliminary deployment data, DMW said the number of deployed Filipino seafarers during the first quarter of the year was at 110,032, which is 26.28 percent lower compared to the 149,262 in the same period in 2023.

Most of those deployed this year

were still non-marine at 48,280.

This was followed by ratings with 38,933, officers with 22,812 and others with 7.

Overall seafarer deployment last year reached 578,626, which is higher compared to the 385,239 in 2022.

“That’s an all-time high. Before

mitigation, such as the Secondary Price Cap (SCP), and the Administered Price, the lower of the two prices shall apply in the settlement of transactions for such interval.

the so-called Administered Price shall apply, or if a dispatch interval is subject to both a price

Administered Price is imposed by the WESM operator on trading participants during market suspension. Meanwhile, the SCP of P6.245 per

that, the highest was 507,730. That was the highest in 2019. Prepandemic,” DMW Secretary Hans J. Cacdac said in a media forum on Wednesday.

He attributed the trend to the “restoration of global trade” last year as consumer demand picked up after the pandemic-induced lockdowns.

kilowatt hour is in effect whenever the P9-perkWh rolling average price over three days at the electricity spot market has been breached. The cap is meant to protect the public and prevent the repetition of excessive and unreasonable high market prices.

A red alert status is issued by the National

“Which means increased global commerce, which means more ships are out there and that’s one factor. Two is the continuing demand for our quality workforce. There are other nationalities on board ships, but still I think ship owners continue to appreciate the quality of our seafarers,” Cacdac explained.

Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) when power supply cannot meet consumer demand and the transmission grid’s regulating requirement.

The first red alert for Luzon grid this year was issued last April 16. As of April 25, the Luzon grid had been placed on red alert for 20 hours and 46 minutes’ and on yellow alert for 57 hours and 50 minutes.

A yellow alert is issued when the operating margin is insufficient to meet the transmission grid’s contingency requirement.

The Visayas grid was not spared from the issuance of red and yellow alerts. From January up to April 25, the red alert was in effect for 24 hours and 14 minutes. The Visayas grid was also placed on yellow alert for 46 hours and forty minutes.

Profiteering risk

LAST Tuesday, ERC suspended the operation of the WESM since it can be used by the unscrupulous power producers to engage in profiteering during the crisis.

The WESM is the venue for trading electricity as a commodity operated by the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP), which shows real-time power supply and demand in the country.

WESM prices have risen in the last two weeks, when the Luzon and Visayas power grids were placed under yellow and red alerts status due to lower power supply.

ERC will lift the suspension once “regional capacity, less actual regional demand, reaches above zero for 24 hours.”

The Department of Energy (DOE) said last week that more yellow, and possibly red, alerts are expected in the coming weeks as the country has already exceeded its forecasted demand given the prevailing heat levels.

The scorching heat, aggravated by the El Niño phenomenon, has affected the performance of the power plants. In fact, the actual demand of 9,301 megawatts (MW) for this year has already surpassed the forecast of 9,226MW for 2025. The demand is expected to rise further in the coming weeks this May, the typical period for peak demand or the year.

“This clearly shows that the alert issuances this 2024 are significantly affecting the condition of the power system attributable to the aforementioned reasons. Data from the WESM for the periods when the high heat index was recorded and alert notices were issued show that the average prices per day increased by an average of 11 percent in Luzon and 53 percent in Visayas, which will translate to a significant impact in the consumers’ electricity bill,” the ERC said on Wednesday.

The ERC also ruled that the WESM suspension shall be lifted only if the regional available capacity, less actual regional demand, reaches above zero for 24 consecutive hours.

“The Commission is working doubly hard to alleviate the impact of El Niño on our power system, and we are finding ways to mitigate the

commerce.

“It’s harder to collect from them right now so that will be part of our strategy and of our meeting [with the BIR],” Recto said. Recto noted that all e-commerce transactions are subject to tax, which the government is unable to collect revenues from.

Starting July 15, local online sellers who fail to submit a sworn declaration of gross remittances that their total income exceeds P500,000 in the previous or current year to the BIR Revenue District Office (RDO) will automatically be deducted of the 1 percent creditable withholding tax by the online selling platform where they are listed.

This is in line with Revenue Regulation (RR) No. 16-2023 which imposes a 1-percent withholding tax on one-half of the gross remittances made by e-marketplace operators and DFSPs to sellers/merchants for the goods or services sold/paid through their platform/facility.

impact of the extremely high demand resulting from the high heat index as these ultimately affect our consumers,” ERC Chairperson Monalisa Dimalanta said.

Epira mandate

SECTION 30 of Republic Act No. 9136, or the “Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001” (Epira) empowers the ERC to suspend the operation of WESM or declare a temporary WESM failure in cases of national and international security emergencies or natural calamities.

Section 2, Article of ERC Resolution No. 12, Series of 2018 further defines “Natural Calamity” as an act, event, happening or occurrence due to natural causes, thus, without interference or aid from man. Some examples are flood, earthquake, storms, hurricanes, wildfires, tsunamis, typhoons and volcanic eruption that will gravely affect the power system.

With the recorded increasing temperature, the government’s Task Force El Niño reported that 103 cities and municipalities have already declared a State of Calamity. On this basis, the ERC has determined the occurrence of conditions equal to or comparable to a natural calamity as defined in ERC Resolution No. 12, series of 2018.

“We are also reiterating our call for distribution utilities sourcing from the WESM to be proactive in exploring ways to lessen their exposure. Impact of high prices can also be alleviated by existing programs, such as the anti-bill shock lending program of the Land Bank of the Philippines, to at least allow consumers to pay through installment the incremental increases in their electricity bill,” added Dimalanta.

PE2’s call

MEANWHILE, the Philippine Energy Efficiency Alliance (PE2) called for a strategic shift in managing electricity peak demand.

“PE2 believes that our limited power supply capacities can be optimally planned and dispatched if we try to flatten our steep peak demand curves as an initial step. There is so much talk about beefing up our thinning reserves by accelerating the addition of new power plants, but there are no conscious and concerted efforts toward shaving or shifting peak demand toward off-peak periods,” said PE2 President Alexander Ablaza.

PE2 said a significant portion of the countrywide 3,340-MW rise in summer demand can actually be flattened through either peakshaving

“While

DMW Secretary Hans J. Cacdac

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Legislator seeks probe of BI, other agencies for influx of Chinese ‘students’ in Cagayan

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

AVETERAN lawmaker who is also a Christian pastor is seeking the investigation by the House of Representatives of the influx of thousands of Chinese “students” in Cagayan Valley or Region 2. Three RP-US Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (Edca) sites are located in that region.

In a resolution, Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr. of Manila asked the chamber to investigate the Bureau of Immigration (BI) for the influx of the Chinese “students” in Cagayan Valley as the House raised the cudgels up for a lawmaker who had come under criticism from the Chinese Embassy owing to his investigation into the increase of Chinese students in Northern Luzon.

In a privileged speech on Tuesday, Abante expressed concern over the “unprecedented” influx of Chinese nationals choosing to study in an area that accommodates three sites accessible to American troops under the RP-US Edca.

“These are the Cagayan North International Airport in Lal-lo and the Camilo Osias Naval Station in Santa Ana, both in Cagayan province, and Camp Melchor dela Cruz in Gamu, Isabela,” warned the legislator, who said that the extraordinary influx of Chinese workers, businessmen, tourists, and students “should not be taken for granted.”

Abante said it was suspicious and anomalous “that these foreigners obtained Filipino birth certificates, driver’s licenses, UMID cards, passports, and even accreditations and auxiliary membership in the armed services, particularly in the Philippine Coast Guard [PCG].”

“We should take this matter seriously. While these Chinese nationals are ‘students,’ their influx and their choice of school location should awaken and alarm us,” cautioned Abante.

“This does not only concern our educational system and institutions, our

national security, but also honesty and integrity in government service. Corruption in the Bureau of Immigration must be stopped.”

Abante pointed out the history of corruption in the BI, particularly the involvement of its personnel in the departure of trafficked people from Philippine airports and the questionable entry of Chinese into the country.

Hands off MEANWHILE, an opposition lawmaker in the House reminded China to keep its hands off elected legislators who are simply doing their job, following a surge of Chinese students in Northern Luzon, which prompted a congressman to take action.

In a separate address Rep. Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez, the nominee to the House of the 1-Rider party-list group defended his colleague, Cagayan Rep. Joseph Lara, who faced criticism from the Chinese Embassy for his inquiry into the surge of Chinese students in Northern Luzon.

Gutierrez emphasized the importance of Congress’s role in conducting inquiries to address potential national security concerns, dismissing accusations of Sinophobia and McCarthyism.

Gutierrez underscored the need for transparency and accountability in governance, reaffirming the legislature’s duty to investigate matters that could affect national security.

“For the Chinese Embassy to issue a statement directly attacking the inquiry and the motives Congressman Lara has, is this the non-interference that China espouses? ” he asked.

“The Chinese Embassy would chalk this up to Sinophobia, a resurgence of McCarthyism, and would attack and malign Congressman Lara’s motives for the resolution,” the lawyer-legislator said, referring to Lara’s House Resolution 1666 that called for an investigation into the surge in the number of Chinese “students” in Cagayan.

Legislator seeks heavier penalties for trafficking of fake medicines

IN response to the escalating proliferation of fake medicines in online markets, a lawmaker sought the urgent enactment of legislation imposing harsher penalties, including life imprisonment, on individuals involved in the large-scale production, sale, and possession of fraudulent pharmaceutical products.

Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan, the nominee to the House of Representatives of the Bicol Saro party-list group, raised the call following the launcing by the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPPHIL) and the Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines (PHAP) of a joint campaign aimed at weeding out fake medicines from the market and promoting affordable healthcare innovations.

“This partnership between the government and the pharmaceutical sector will help achieve our collective goal of protecting Filipinos from the serious dangers to health posed by the sale of fake and substandard medicines, especially online. However, this campaign should be complemented by a measure that would give more teeth to existing laws that penalize the manufacture, sale, and distribution of these counterfeit products,” Yamsuan said. Yamsuan referred to House Bill 3984, of which he is a co-author, as a significant legislative measure poised to fortify the fight against counterfeit pharmaceuticals by categorizing their large-scale production, distribution, and possession as acts of economic sabotage.

“Our porous borders and easy access to goods online make our country vulnerable to the entry and use of counterfeit products, including medicines. While authorities continue to work tirelessly to stop pharmaceutical crimes, we must send a strong message, through measures like House Bill 3984, that those responsible deserve to be severely punished,” Yamsuan said.

HB 3984 provides both administrative and criminal penalties to those found guilty of the “manufacture, importation, distribution, sale, offering for sale, donation, trafficking, brokering, exportation, or possession of counterfeit pharmaceutical products.”

Under the bill, “counterfeit pharmaceutical products” refer to those that do not contain the amounts of ingredients as claimed, with the wrong ingredients, without active ingredients; or with less than 80 percent of the active ingredient it

FMJr asks Congress to pass 3 bills aimed at generating ‘green’ jobs

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday called on the Congress to pass three new bills that aims to help boost government efforts to generate “quality and green jobs” and help attract more investments from abroad.

Among the measures Marcos wants to be prioritized are the Enterprisebased Education and Training Program (EBET) bill, the proposed Revised Apprenticeship Program Act, and the proposed Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises to Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy (CREATE MORE) Act.

“I call on [the] Congress to pass laws that will support the attainment of our jobs creation agenda,” Marcos said in his Labor Day celebration speech in Malacañang.

purports to possess as distinguished from an adulterated pharmaceutical product, including reduction or loss of efficacy due to expiration.”

They also refer to products that are deliberately and fraudulently misrepresented with respect to their identity, composition, and/or source.

The administrative penalties under the measure include fines of P100,000 to P5 million and the suspension or revocation of the license to do business; while the criminal penalties include prison terms ranging from not less than 6 months and 1 day to 15 years.

If the counterfeit pharmaceutical products involved is at least worth P1 million, this offense shall be deemed an act of economic sabotage punishable with life imprisonment and a fine ranging from P5 million to P10 million.

Life imprisonment and a fine of P500,000 to P5 million are the penalties proposed under the bill if the counterfeited product is determined to be the proximate cause of death for a victim who unknowingly bought and took it. Drug counterfeiting has been steadily increasing over the years. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been regularly reminding the public to remain vigilant when buying pharmaceutical products, especially online.

In the 2024 Special 301 Report of the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), the Philippines was named as among the “leading sources of counterfeit medicines distributed globally.”

Yamsuan said that while the decadesold Republic Act 8203, or the Special Law on Counterfeit Drugs, prohibits the sale of fake medicines, this has been weakened by the enactment of other health-related laws that have provided inconsistent definitions of the word “drugs.”

He said that in one case, the Supreme Court stated that RA 9502, or the Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act, nullifies the purpose of RA 8203, making the latter lose all its meaning and function.

HB 3984 and other similar measures have been consolidated into a substitute bill and submitted to the House Committee on Health for approval. Its authors include Camarines Sur Reps. Luis Raymund Villafuerte, Miguel Luis Villafuerte and Tsuyoshi Horibata Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

The EBET bill aims to consolidate the apprenticeship, dual training, on-the-job training programs and all other forms of industry-based training arrangements.

The Revised Apprenticeship Program Act, once passed, is expected to prevent the circumvention of labor laws and labor standards, as well

as strengthen linkages with existing education-to-employment policies and programs for apprentices.

The last of the pending measures that Marcos wants the Congress to pass is the CREATE MORE bill, which seeks to make the country’s tax regime compliant with the minimum global tax standards as well as make it competitive as compared to other economies.

Training priority

THE President said the additional measures will complement existing government policies like the Trabaho Para sa Bayan Act, which was passed last September, and the Labor and Employment Plan 2023 to 2028 in addressing jobs-skills mismatch, underemployment, and youth unemployment.

The Marcos administration is focused on providing workers to improve their skills as well as learn new crafts to enable them to can meet the changing requirements of the private sector.

“I have directed [the] Department of Labor and Employment to prioritize addressing underemployment by promoting training in skills that the local and international labor markets need and ensure that there is placement for those who are going to be

trained,” Marcos said.

DOLE’s Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) was able to provide technical and vocation training to 2 million Filipinos and provide one million certifications last year as part of its initiatives to increase the local pool of skilled workers.

Employment opportunities

MARCOS said more employment opportunities will become available in the country with the realization of the more than 200 business pledges, worth P4 trillion, in the coming years.

So far, 21 have registered with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to start their investments in the country.

Last year, Marcos said the Investment Promotion Agencies approved almost P1.7 trillion in investments in various sectors, which are expected to create almost 108,000 jobs.

“This includes the investments we attracted in our meetings in other countries. For now, eight [of these] business projects are ongoing in the Philippines,” he said.

The implementation of the 123 infrastructure flagship projects (IFP) under his administration’s Build Better More program will also help in

creating more job vacancies, he said.

“We aim not just for job growth, but for quality and green jobs that are aligned with our vision for a sustainable, human capital-centered economy,” Marcos added.

Meanwhile Speaker Ferdinand

Martin G. Romualdez vowed to further enhance the welfare of workers, both in the Philippines and overseas, through legislation aimed at ensuring fair labor practices and enhancing safety and health standards.

“As we mark this important day, let us also reaffirm our commitment to the welfare of our workers. It is imperative that we continue to work towards legislation that guarantees fair labor practices, promotes safety and health standards, and ensures that the benefits of our growing economy are felt by all,” Romualdez said in his Labor Day message.

“The government is steadfast in its resolve to create more job opportunities and to foster an environment where labor rights are protected and economic opportunities flourish. We pledge to enhance our efforts in equipping our workforce with the skills needed for the jobs of tomorrow through robust education and training programs,” he added.

With Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

Coast Guard: Chinese water cannon assaults still not armed attacks

By Rex Anthony Naval

ALTHOUGH Filipino ships were damaged by water cannon attacks by China Coast Guard ships, such assaults “still does not constitute an armed attack.”

Thus said the Philippine Coast Guard’s spokesman for the West Philippine Sea.

In a media briefing on Wednesday, Commo. Jay Tarriela said: This is a “complicated question” as China is still using water cannons when trying to block or intimidate Filipino ships in the Panatag Shoal and other parts of the WPS.

“It is also possible that China is increasing the pound per square inch [pressure] setting on its water cannons to make the blast more powerful compared to those used by other nations,” Tarriela said.

“China is still using water cannons, [the] only different perhaps they are increasing the PSI [on their water cannons], but as far

as the [Philippine] Coast Guard is concerned this is still not an armed attack,” Tarriela added.

When asked what the PCG can do to counter this Chinese tactic, he said that all procedural changes need to be first approved by the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS).

“Well for the PCG, we are just part of the NTF-WPS, anything that concerns the operation or changes in our procedure has to be subjected to the approval of the NTFWPS,” he added.

“After this operation we are going to make a report, from the Coast Guard to the NTF-WPS and then of course, it will be deliberated and evaluated on what will be our response or next actions with this kind of action of the CCG,” Tarriela stressed.

Damaged in this latest water cannon attack by the China Coast Guard (CCG) was the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG)’s

BRPBagacay(MRRV-4410) and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR)›s BRPBankaw(MMOV-3004).

These ships were enroute to Panatag Shoal with supplies for Filipino fishermen when harassed by the CCG and its maritime militia.

“Initial reports from PCG and BFAR personnel onboard, as reflected by live media reports, indicate that the PCG vessel suffered some damage to a part of its superstructure from targeted highpressure water cannoning by CCG vessels,” the NTF-WPS disclosed.

Meanwhile, BRP Bankaw sustained damage to its heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems.

Aside from this, the BFAR ship also took damage to its electrical, navigation, and radio systems along with minor damage to its hull.

“[This] as the vessel was subjected to

at least eight instances of targeted highpressure water cannoning from CCG vessels and was rammed a total of three times by both CCG and CMM [Chinese Maritime Militia] vessels,” the task force pointed out. Despite these harassment, the Philippines will continue to act peacefully and responsibly, consistent with a rules- based international law, on the basis of UNCLOS and the valid and binding 2016 Arbitral Award.

NTF-WPS also said peace and stability in the region cannot be achieved if countries, big or small, do not exercise due regard for the well-established and legally-settled rights of others.

“The Philippines will not be deterred from pursuing legitimate and lawful activities in our maritime zones, including in BDM [Bajo De Masinloc] which is a vital source of livelihood for our fisherfolk,” the task force pointed out.

House cites UP Law for victory in US moot court competition

THE House of Representatives has adopted a resolution recognizing the University of the Philippines College of Law for its outstanding victory at the esteemed 2024 Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, held in Washington, DC on April 6. Lawmakers adopted House Resolution 1683 was introduced by Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez and other House leaders. Romualdez, an alumnus of the UP College of Law, expressed immense pride saying: “It is the oldest and largest world competition that tests the aptitude of students in their knowledge of international

law. We are so proud of this achievement!” The Jessup Competition, a simulation of fictitious disputes adjudicated by the International Court of Justice, witnessed the UP Law Jessup Team emerge as the sole representative from the Asia-Pacific Region. Their journey culminated in a riveting final against Universidad Torcuato Di Tella of Argentina, addressing pivotal issues including political expression, statelessness, nationality rights, and UN Security Council authority in dispute resolution. The UP Law Jessup team bested the Universidad Torcuato Di Tella of Argentina to win its historic Jessup Cup. The team is composed of law students Mary Regine

Dadole, Pauline de Leon, Pauline Samantha Sagayo, Chinzen Viernes, and Ignacio Lorenzo Villareal, with coach Prof. Marianne Vitug and faculty advisor Prof. Rommel Casis. Villareal of the UP Law Jessup Team also clinched the Schwebel Award for Best Oralist in the championship round.

“UP Law made history in 1995 when it won the Jessup Cup and earned the Philippines its first-ever championship since the tournament’s inception in 1960, followed by the Ateneo Law School when it bagged the crown in 2004,” the resolution said.

The Jessup Competition is named after Philip C. Jessup, the

“The outstanding performance of the University of the Philippines College of Law Jessup Team deserves utmost commendation and praise for bringing great honor and prestige to the

BCDA charter amendments to hasten development of baselands–Cayetano

SBy Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

EEKING to address constraints that hinder further development of lands hosting former foreign military bases since their ouster in 1972, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano has filed a bill aimed at further empowering the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) in its mission to transform such bases into vibrant economic zones that benefit both the economy and the people.

Cayetano, who chairs the Senate Committee on Government Corporations and Public Enterprises, filed on April 30 Senate Bill No. 2647 proposes amendments to Republic Act No. 7227, as amended, addressing crucial aspects of the Bases Conversion and Development Act of 1992, “alongside the

DA-BFAR

Rconstraints that require attention.”

The bill was prepared and submitted jointly with the Senate Committee on National Defense and Security, Peace, Unification and Reconciliation, chaired by Senator Jinggoy Estrada, with Senator Francis Tolentino serving as vice-chairperson.

Among the key amendments to the bill is the extension of BCDA’s corporate term by another 50 years; increasing the authorized capital stock from P100 billion to P200 billion; declaring a certain percentage of the land area of each BCDA economic zone as alienable and disposable, authorizing its sale for residential use, mixed use, industrial and institutional purposes; and remitting a portion of net proceeds from land sales to the AFP Pension Fund.

“Since its establishment, the BCDA has been a stalwart in driving new investments and realizing master plans for cities and

economic zones,” Cayetano said, as he cited worthwhile projects such as the Bonifacio Global City (BGC), Clark International Airport, and Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX).

The proposed amendments, the senator explained, are “crucial to maintaining investor confidence and facilitating the implementation of long-term infrastructure projects within BCDA economic zones.”

Last year, BCDA officials sought the Senate’s support, particularly Cayetano’s, for needed amendments to their charter.

“BCDA’s contribution to the country has just started. With more challenges and opportunities, BCDA needs its charter to keep up with the needs of the country,” BCDA President and Chief Executive Officer Joshua “Jake” Bingcang said on September 21, 2023.

In 2019, Cayetano worked closely with the BCDA when he led the Philippine Southeast

warns vs red tide in 7 areas

EDtide is threatening at least seven areas in the archipelago.

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources cautioned that eating shellfish from these areas is dangerous and may result in death.

Asian Games Organizing Committee (PHISGOC) during the 30th Southeast Asian Games held in the country.

“I personally experienced working with the, and I have full trust in their capability,” he said, speaking partly in Filipino.

The BCDA charter amendment is set to be presented and discussed in the Senate sessions, which reopened last April 29. With the support of development corporations and key agencies such as the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the University of the Philippines (UP), it is expected to boost the country’s development.

The BCDA was created after the historic September 1991 Senate vote that rejected a bid to extend the life of the US bases treaty, thus ending eight decades of US military presence in several bases, including the two biggest outside the US mainland, Clark Air Base and Subic Naval Base.

invertebrates with shells.

Teodoro: Secure environment key to PHL economic progress

ABy Rex Anthony Naval

SECURE community is essential to the country’s economic development, the country’s defense chief said on Labor Day.

“As we pay tribute to workers from all walks of life, let us likewise remember the importance of supporting peace and security efforts. A stable and secure environment is essential for economic progress, ensuring that prosperity is within reach of every Filipino,” Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said in a statement.

In addition, Teodoro also said the whole DND joins the entire country in recognizing the sacrifices made by Filipinos here and abroad.

“On behalf of the men and women of the Department of National Defense [DND], convey our solidarity with the Filipino people in recognizing the immense sacrifices and contributions of Filipino workers both here and abroad,” he added.

Teodoro also hopes that the Labor Day celebrations will inspire all Filipinos to

“continue working towards a brighter and more secure future.”

Meanwhile Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez vowed to further enhance the welfare of workers, both in the Philippines and overseas, through legislation aimed at ensuring fair labor practices and enhancing safety and health standards.

“As we mark this important day, let us also reaffirm our commitment to the welfare of our workers. It is imperative that we continue to work towards legislation that guarantees fair labor practices, promotes safety and health standards, and ensures that the benefits of our growing economy are felt by all,” Romualdez said in his Labor Day message.

“The government is steadfast in its resolve to create more job opportunities and to foster an environment where labor rights are protected and economic opportunities flourish. We pledge to enhance our efforts in equipping our workforce with the skills needed for the jobs of tomorrow through robust education and training programs,” he added.

In Shellfish Bulletin8 Series of 2024 dated April, BFAR warned against eating shellfish harvested from coastal waters of Milagros in Masbate, Dauis and Tagbilaran City in Bohol, San Pedro Bay in Samar and Matarinao Bay in Eastern Samar, Dumanquillas Bay in Zamboanga del Sur, and San Benito in Surigao del Norte.

Velayo Jr., said.

“All types of shellfish andAcetes sp.oralamanggathered from these areas are not safe for human consumption,” it added.

Marine resources collected and tested from these sites “are still positive for Paralytic Shellfish Poison [PSP] or toxic red tide that is beyond the regulatory limit,” the bulletin signed by BFAR Officer-in-Charge Isidro M.

Health experts said PSP’s symptoms like numbness, dizziness, weakness, gastrointestinal discomfort, pricking sensation, difficulty in speech or swallowing, and headaches can occur within 12 hours of ingesting aquatic

In such cases, it’s important to take action immediately by seeking urgent medical attention at the nearest health center or hospital.

The BFAR, however, clarified that other seafoods such as “fish, squids, shrimps, and crabs are safe for human consumption.”

It reminded thepublic that they are still fit to be eaten “provided that they are fresh and washed thoroughly, and internal organs such as gills and intestines are removed before cooking.” Roderick L. Abad

Clark opens new showroom for local talents’ creativity, craftsmanship

CLARK FREEPORT—Clark has unveiled its new Deco Central showroom, which displays a diverse range of locally crafted furniture, art, and decorations.

Clark Development Corporation (CDC), the Philippine Exporters Foundation Region III (PhilExport Region III) led the inauguration, with First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and CDC president and chief executive officer Agnes VST Devanadera leading the ribboncutting ceremony recently. They were joined by Pampanga Gov. Dennis “Delta” Pineda and Vice Gov. Lilia “Nanay” Pineda, among other local officials. The 2,000 square meter showroom provides a platform for 34 regional artisans to gain exposure, while also contributing to the local economy and attracting tourists. The showroom features a variety of locally crafted products, including religious statues, furniture, decorative frames, beds, dining tables, and assorted handicrafts—all showcasing the skill and creativity of these talented craftsmen. Devanadera said that this larger showroom was inspired by Vice Governor Pineda, who noticed the growing demand

La

AFIRST Lady Louise Araneta-Marcos (third from right, first row) graces the Inauguration of the New Deco Central in Clark Freeport Zone. Joining the First Lady are CDC President and CEO Agnes VST Devanadera (fourth from right, first row), and other key officials including (from right to left, first row) Pampanga Gov. Dennis “Delta” Pineda, Pampanga Vice Gov. Lilia “Nanay” Pineda, PhilExport Region III President Philip Repato, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) Chairman Alejandro Tengco, Pampanga Second District Board Member Mylene Pineda-Cayabyab. Also in the photo are (from left to right, second row) CDC Chairman Edgardo D. Pamintuan, Angeles City Mayor Carmelo “Pogi” Lazatin Jr., Mabalacat City Mayor Crisostomo Garbo, and Guagua Mayor Anthony Joseph Torres.

for Pampanga’s furniture. The showroom provides a centralized location where visitors can check out and purchase these products, offering a convenient way for buyers and tourists to connect with manufacturers. Philip Repato, president

of PhilExport Region III, said the showroom will have a significant impact on the local economy and job generation.

Repato estimated that around 3,0004,000 indirect workers could benefit from the showroom’s operations, boosting job

Mesa watershed greenpark ready for nature lovers, guests

RECENTLY inaugurated tree sanctuary at the La Mesa Dam watershed in Quezon City is now open for nature lovers and guests.

The QBE Green SanQtuary Park was earlier inaugurated by Million Trees Foundation Inc. (MTFI), the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) and QBE GSSC (Group Shared Services Centre) at the La Mesa watershed compound in Quezon City.

The park which broke ground on March 11, is the maiden long-term collaboration program of QBE GSSC and MTFI. QBE GSSC through the QBE Foundation has initially contributed P3.7 million to support the different environment protection projects of MTFI.

QBE officials from Australia, MTFI president and executive director Melandrew T.

Velasco and MWSS Administrator Leonor Cleofas led the inauguration. Velasco and Cleofas both cited QBE for its pursuit of long-term sustainability program for the La Mesa watershed in support of the Annual Million Trees Challenge.

Aside from the development of the green park, the QBE GSSC and MTFI partnership involves the establishment of greenhouses containing native and fruit-bearing seedlings, rebagging of saplings, and treeplanting and tree-growing activities in areas to be designated by MTFI.

QBE Green SanQtuary Park covers 1,600 square meters of the 5-hectare area assigned by MWSS to MTFI for its Million Trees Nursery and Eco Learning Center as part of the watershed rehabilitation projects.

The La Mesa watershed has been

identified as one of the seven critical watersheds beneficiaries of the Annual Million Trees Challenge, an initiative of MWSS started in 2017 that aims to rehabilitate watersheds essential in the water supply of Metropolitan Manila and neighboring provinces.

It is composed of 2,700 hectares of forest and watershed area, the only forest area in the metropolis. Within the La Mesa compound is the La Mesa Dam and Reservoir which is part of the Angat-Ipo-La Mesa water system that supplies most of the water requirement of Metro Manila.

The QBE GSSC Sustainability Committee known as Team Verde is composed of volunteers from various towers across the organization committed to bolster a resilient workforce and support sustainable

opportunities in the manufacturing and furnishing industry.

Vice Governor Pineda expressed delight at seeing her long-held dream become a reality, demonstrating the creativity and hard work of the local artisans. Deco Central Showroom is now open to the public, and the Clark Development Corporation (CDC), PhilExport Region III, and the Pampanga Provincial Government are inviting everyone to come and explore the finest furniture and home decor from Region III.

“We have a new, bigger Deco Central, showcasing the best furniture and furnishings. We hope to see you at our showroom soon,” Repato said.

The new Deco Central exhibitors include Chrysara, Philiana, Maze, JB Woodcraft, Montes, South Sea, KLM, Triboa, Furnitureville, Calfurn, and Ellen’s Mirror.

Also on display are products from A. Garcia, Red Slab, Asia Ceramics, South Sea Metro Art, Vulcan, Country Accents, Genteel, More Than a Chair, Phomi, La Forge, Venzon, Betis Crafts, Fashion Interiors, Fleur d’ Elise, Prizmic, and Wooden It Be Nice among others.

communities through various initiatives.

Team Verde has been involved in environment protection activities such as tree-growing and coastal clean-up. It has also conducted environment awareness campaigns among its employees. More volunteers for its sustainability program are being recruited by Team Verde and their induction is among the activities during the inauguration of the QBE Green SanQtuary.

The GSSC inauguration team were represented by Bing Regaldo, Samir Kumar and Cathy Nuval.

The Million Trees Foundation is a nonstock, non-profit organization and the partner nongovernment organization of MWSS in the continued implementation of the Annual Million Tree Challenge. Since its kick-off tree-planting activity at Ipo dam in 2017, around 7.8 million trees have been planted in critical watersheds vital to the water supply in MWSS coverage areas.

CDC chief tells aviators to ‘move up higher’ at CAE’s 10th graduation

CLARK FREEPORT—Strive for career growth. Atty. Agnes VST Devanadera, President and CEO of Clark Development Corporation (CDC), delivered this key message during the 10th graduation ceremony of the pilot training school CAE Philippines, at the Clark Marriott Hotel on April 27.

She urged aviators to “move up higher” in their careers and emphasized the importance of striving for excellence and embracing opportunities for professional growth within the aviation industry.

“So you’re training now; even if you consider yourself at the first, second, or third level of your career, move up higher,” the CDC president said.

The ceremony celebrated the graduation of 101 pilots from CAE Philippines, underscoring the significance of their theme: “Your wings already exist. All you have to do is fly.”

Devanadera emphasized the importance of career growth and urged aspiring pilots to strive for excellence. She stressed the need for continuous improvement in the industry and urged pilots to advance their skills to meet evolving demands.

“We need more than just pilots; we need dedicated and well-trained pilots,” Atty. Devanadera said.

“When we have this kind of development, we will have more planes, and we need more pilots. We need well-trained pilots,

OPERATIONS Adviser Philippa Trice (leftmost), and Head of Training Capt. Reuven Locson (rightmost) both from CAE Philippines present a token of appreciation to CDC President and CEO Atty. Agnes VST Devanadera (center) during the CAE’s 10th Commencement Exercise held at the Clark Marriott Hotel. CDC PHOTO committed pilots, brilliant pilots, and pilots with a presence of mind,” she added.

Formerly recognized as the Philippine Academy for Aviation Training (PAAT), CAE Philippines, a collaboration between Cebu Pacific Air and CAE, strives to establish top-tier standards for pilot training in the region according to CAE Philippines website.

Located on Claro M. Recto Highway Clark Freeport, CAE Philippines provides Airbus A320, A320 NEO, and ATR 72-600 pilot training to Cebu Pacific Air and other regional operators. The training center features four CAE-built Level D simulators, including three Airbus A320 full-flight simulators (FFS) and one ATR 72-600 FFS.

Submit financial reports on time, FDA orders pharmas, other stakeholders

By Claudeth S. Mocon-Ciriaco @claudethmc3

HE Food and Drug Adminiatration

T(FDA) has reminded its stakeholders to submit their financial reports through the agency’s Online Disclosure Reporting System (ODRS), covering the year 2023.

FDA’s reminder came following the alleged multi-level marketing scheme involving a pharmaceutical firm and some doctors.

“Pursuant to Section 35 (b) of Republic Act 11223 on Ethics on Public Health Policy and Practice, all FDA-licensed manufacturers, traders, repackers, distributor-importers, and distributor-wholesalers of drug, medical devices, and biological products including vaccines, and medical supplies

registered with the FDA are mandated to collect and track all financial relationships with healthcare providers and healthcare professionals and report these to the Department of Health, through the FDA,” read the FDA reminder signed by Director General Samuel A. Zacate on April 26.

On Tuesday, during the Senate Committee on Health and Demography’s hearing, senators grilled an official of the controversial Bell-Kenz Pharma Inc. over the issue.

The DOH, the Professional Regulation Commission, and the FDA are set to conduct a joint investigation this week into the alleged pyramiding scheme employed by BellKenz pharma involving doctor-investors.

During the same hearing, officials of the company denied wrong doing.

Envoys ‘concerned’ after China water bombs PHL Coast Guard, BFAR vessels in WPS

PBBM vows to continue legacy of 50-year-old PHL Labor Code

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. on Wednesday vowed to continue the legacy of the Labor Code by implementing new policies and infrastructure to protect the rights and welfare of workers

The chief executive made the remarks at the commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Labor Code and the 122nd Labor Day in Malacañang.

Signed in 1974 by the President’s father, the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos, Sr. the Labor Code consolidated and enhanced the country’s existing labor policies for the private sector.

“Leading the celebration of its golden anniversary, the 122nd Labor Day, I proudly reaffirm the government’s commitment to champion the rights of Filipino workers, in pursuit of development and prosperity,” Marcos said.

Better protection

FOREMOST of such initiatives, he said, is the country’s ratification of the InternationalLaborOrganization(ILO)Convention No. 190 to protect Filipino workers against workplace violence and harassment.

He also announced the approval last week of the Joint Guidelines Executive Order No. 23 for reinforcing and protecting the Freedom of Association and Right to Organize, which he issued in response to concerns raised by local trade federation over rising incidents of abuses against trade unionists.

The President said the Department of Migrant Workers continues to do its mandate to protect the rights of overseas Filipino workers (OFW) abroad using its P2.8-billion Aksyon Fund.

The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) and the Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-Ibig) continue to improve their health and housing services, respectively, for members, he added.

The Department of Labor and Employ-

ment (DOLE) is also set to build a Workers Rehabilitation Center.

“This 50-hectare property of the Employees’ Compensation Commission in Tanay will serve as a sanctuary and a place of rehabilitation for our workers and soldiers who suffer from work-related injuries,” Marcos said.

W

age issue

MARCOS called on the Regional Tripartite Wage and Productivity Boards to initiate a timely review of the minimum wage within 60 days prior to the anniversary of their latest wage order.

The 60-day review policy is already contained in the National Wages and Productivity Commission Guidelines No. 3, series of 2020.

Disconnec t

LABOR federations slammed the President’s Labor Day speech for not addressing their major demands on wages and freedom of association.

“Is the president not getting it? We’re

all rallying hard and pushing for legislated wage increase because those regional wage boards have utterly failed,” Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (SENTRO) Secretary General Josua Mata said in a statement.

“Once again, this signals a glaring oversight on the President’s part, showing a disconnect from the needs of the working class,” he added.

During their Labor Day demonstrations, labor groups led by the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP), and Nagkaisa Labor Coalition (Nagkaisa!), which includes Sentro, called for the passage of pending legislated wage hike.

They said workers need the proposed P100 to P150 wage increase in Congress to cope with the rising cost of living.

“Since 1989 after the last legislated wage hike, increases made by regional wage boards have been insufficient . For 35 years, workers have struggled to make ends meet,” the joint labor statement said.

PBBM unveils ’24 Labor Day Commemorative Stamps

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and Postmaster General Luis D. Carlos of the Philippine Postal Corporation (PHLPost) unveiled the Commemorative Stampsfeaturingthe50th Anniversaryofthe LaborCodeofthePhilippinesinMalacañang Palace, Manila, as the nation marked the 122nd Labor Day celebration.

Fifty years ago, on May 01, 1974, a milestone event in the history of the Philippine labor system took place after President Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. signed Presidential Decree (PD) No. 442, S. 1974, which instituted a labor code that revised and consolidated the existing labor and social laws to ensure and strengthen the welfare of the Filipino workers.

with the Philippine Postal Corporation, issued the commemorative stamps and Official First Day Cover.

did not ru e, though, on the sovereignty issues of either the Philippines or China. It on y declared that it is a traditiona fishing ground, and that China has no right to stop Fi ipino fishermen from fishing.

Manila claims Scarborough Shoal is part of its exclusive economic zone. Beijing insists Scarborough Shoal is part of its territory. On April 30, two China Coast Guard vessels fired water cannon on BRP Bagacay of PCG and BRP Bankaw of BFAR while they were enroute to Scarborough Shoa to supp y food and fue to F lipino fishermen in the area. The ships sustained damage. (see related story: https://businessmirror.com. ph/2024/05/01/ccg-water-cannon-phl-shipsenroute-to-panatag-shoa /) In Washington D.C., the deputy spokesperson of the US State Department, Vedant Patel underscored that this“repeated harassment of Phi ippine vesse s near Scarborough Reef is detrimental to regional peace and stability.

“Our be ief is that the Chinese coast guard installation of these barriers a so endangers Philippine fisherfo k’s ivelihoods and prevents them from exercising their egal rights to fish in those waters. These are rights that were set out in 2016 in a final and legally binding judgment in the PhilippinesChina

nternationa law must prevail Ambassador Laure Beaufils (United Kingdom) UK condemns today’s dangerous actions by Chinese vesse s against Philippine Coast Guard and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources near Scarborough Shoa We reiterate our call for respect for UNCLOS and adherence to the 2016 Arbitral Award, which is egally binding on the parties.

Ambassador Luc Veron (EU delegation) DANGEROUS maneuvers, water cannoning, floating barrier, or any aggressive behavior, is a threat to safety of life at sea, the freedom of navigation, and the prohibition of the use of force or coercion. n short, this is against internationa aw.

Ambassador HK Yu PSM (Australia) CHINA’S dangerous maneuvers and obstruction encountered by Phi ippine Government vesse s in the South China Sea—today at Scarborough Shoa —create risks of miscalculation and endanger peace. Disputes must be resolved peacefully under #UNCLOS.

Ambassador David Hartman (Canada) CANADA is concerned by China’s coercive actions against Philippine vessels in the vicinity of Scarborough Shoal including the use of water cannons and dangerous maneuvers.

South Korean Embassy in Manila THE E mbassy of the Repub ic of Korea in the Phi ippines is concerned about the recent dangerous maneuvers and use of water cannons against the Phi l ippine vesse s around the Scarborough Shoa l We reiterate the importance of upho l ding peace, stabi ity, safety and ru l es-based maritime order in the South China Sea, a critica sea ane of communications for a ll countries that are using it.

Ambassador F M Mellbin (Denmark) DEEPLY concerned that China continues to obstruct the freedom of navigation at sea through its aggressive and dangerous maneuvers and actions in the West Phi ippine Sea. All parties shou d respect the UNCLOS convention and its 2016 arbitra award.

Sweden Embassy n Manila WE are concerned by the incident causing damages to Phi ippine vesse s. We call for full respect of the UN Charter, the UNCLOS, the 2016 Arbitration Award and other relevant regu ations.

Christian Ha

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), in collaboration

“These stamps and cover symbolize the enduring significance of the law in realizing our collective aspiration for every Filipino worker to attain total, decent, and produc-

tive employment,” the President said. On 1 May 1903, Labor Day was first celebrated in the Philippines when more than a hundred thousand workers marched to Malacañang to demand better working conditions. Likewise, on 01 May 1913, Filipino

workers and labor leaders convened a labor congress at the Cine Oriente along C.M Recto Street, then known as Azcarraga, in Manila. Around 36 labor unions heeded the call to Congress and united under one umbrella to fight for the rights of Filipino workers.

PHLPost will sell copies of the two stamp designs depicting the historic signing of the Philippine Labor Code with denominations of P16 each. It releases 40,000 pieces of the stamps along with 3,400 copies of the first day cover envelope. The stamps were designed by Mr. Nazer-Ren Aquino of DOLE and Jose Antonio A. Jayme of PHLPost. Stamps and First Day Cover envelope shall be available at the Postshop, located at the back of the Manila Central Post Office Building in Liwasang Bonifacio.

Marcos tells Partido Federal to ally with political parties

As the chairman of P F P, Marcos said he has started ta l ks with eaders of the other major po l itica l parties.

“As far as I can tell it appears they are willing to ta k [with PFP] and find a way around on this so that during the e ections, we have unity,” he said.

The President said he wants the negotiations to be completed before the period of the filing of Certificate of Candidacy (COC) in October so that PFP will have the list of candidates it will endorse.

[Christian

Democrats], NPC (Nationa ist People’s Coa ition, NP (Nacionalista Party), NUP (Nationa Union Party) especially for the House [of Representatives],” Marcos said, partly in Fi ipino.

“But we a l so have to ta k with the governors because they a l so have their l oca parties. So we have to come to some kind of arrangement [with them],” he added.

Continued from A12

The Bangko Sentral ng Pi ipinas (BSP) attributed the worsening numbers to the widening of the trade in goods deficit and contraction of net receipts from trade in services. Last month, the po icymaking Monetary Board kept the BSP’s target reverse repurchase rate unchanged at 6.5 percent, on higher inf ationary projections. While domestic tourism was a so strong in 2023, some countries will continue to experience hote room shortages and weakness in tourism labor supply. Oxford Economics cited Singapore, where room rates are now exceeding pre-pandemic evels despite visitor arriva s still being short. Leechiu

He said PFP still needs to“work hard”in the next e ections to maintain its current po itical influence, something vital to helping his administration push for its socioeconomic agenda.

“We are trying to engage with all the politica factions to our own advocacy. And that advocacy will be for the good of our country. n improving the economy and guarding the daily lives of F lipinos and defending our rights in the international scene,” Marcos said.

During the 2022 polls, PFP formed an alliance

Property Consultants recent y predicted a similar room shortage in the Philippines in the medium term, pushing hote rates higher. (See, “‘KEYS MUNA’ | Imminent hotel room shortage— and resulting higher room rates—could derail PHL’s ambition to lure more visitors,” in the BUSINESSMIRROR, April 20, 2024.)

Although inbound arriva s in the region are c imbing back c oser to prepandemic eve s, Oxford Economics pointed out that “air ine capacity constraints will also ike y still present challenges to arriva s in the region. The global economic forecasting group described the Philippines as the “regiona laggard” based on first-quarter 2024 arriva s data, which showed the country achieving just 71 percent of

with the Lakas-CMD, Hugpong ng Pagbabago, and the Pwersa ng Masang Pi ipino.

New members

D E SP ITE being only established in 2018, PFP has started gaining more members, inc uding the 33 officia s sworn in on Wednesday at a ceremony hosted by San Migue Corporation (SMC) President and CEO Ramon S. Ang. The new PFP members inc ude Nueva Ecija 3rd district representative Rosanna Vergara; Su tan Kudarat 2nd district representative Horacio Suansing, Jr.; Catanduanes lone district representative Eulogio Rodriguez; Dinagat slands governor Ni o Demerey, Jr.; Marinduque

arrivals recorded in the same period in 2019. In contrast, arriva s in Malaysia was 107.3 percent of 2019 leve s, followed by Vietnam (113.4 percent), Singapore (94.6 percent), Thai and (85.7 percent), and Indonesia (83.3 percent). While arrivals on a month y basis have been increasing since January for many in the region, arrivals in the Philippines have trended downward. The strong arriva s in the region since last year was traced to the increase in outbound tourists from China as Singapore, Ma aysia, and Thailand began relaxing entry ru es, “rather than a sudden willingness by Chinese consumers to spend more on tourism. n other words, this boost is probably temporary.” Oxford Economics stressed: “From here, we expect the pace of recovery to s ow. Rea interest rates are like y to stay higher for

By Malou Talosig-Bartolome @maloutalosig

Jennifer A. Ng

PhilRice: RTL raised rice yield

By Ada Pelonia @adapelonia

THE Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), a government corporate entity at-

tached to the Department of Agriculture (DA), claimed that the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) improved rice yield and reduced production costs five years after its enactment. In a paper it presented during a

hearing at the House of Representatives last Monday, PhilRice said rice yield per hectare rose by 21 percent to 4.36 metric tons (MT) from 3.63 MT in 2019 and by 9 percent to 4.03 MT during the dry and wet season, respectively. It added that production fell to P13.64 per kilogram (kg) in 2023 from P15.24 per kg in 2019.

The DA urged lawmakers to extend the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) until 2030, citing

the “significant gains” it brought to the local rice sector. The said fund, which was created by Republic Act (RA) 11203, is set to lapse this year.

The RCEF allocates P10 billion for farm mechanization (P5 billion), inbred seeds (P3 billion), rice credit assistance (P1 billion), and rice extension service (P1 billion).

“The extension of the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund until 2030 and reallocation of funds towards farm machinery, seed development, and training and extension services are recommended, with special attention given

to soil health improvement initiatives,” National Rice Industry Development Program Undersecretary Christopher Morales said.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. proposed amendments for the RTL extension to boost farm productivity and improve farmers’ competitiveness.

Among the DA’s proposed changes were higher allocation of funds for farm inputs, post-harvest facilities to lessen wastage, and the imposition of timing restrictions on import permits to control arrivals during harvest season.

The department also called for strengthening the regulatory functions of the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) and allowing the National Food Authority (NFA) to secure buffer stock through alternative schemes.

Under RA 11203 or RTL, the NFA was stripped of its function of importing rice and selling it to the public. It has been reduced to keeping an emergency buffer stock of domestically produced rice.

“Our goal is to address existing gaps and better meet the needs of our farmers and stakeholders,” Morales said.

He also said supporting the country’s rice farmers would help the majority of poor Filipino households who spend 20 percent of their budget on rice.

The poorest households bear the brunt of increase in food prices. The Bottom 30 percent of Filipino households spend more than half of their income for food of which rice accounts for nearly 18 percent.

“Our focus on enhancing the competitiveness of rice production in the Philippines is pivotal for improving the livelihoods of our farmers.”

Asian workers and activists mark May Day with calls for higher wages and labor rights

By Hyung-Jin Kim The Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea—Workers, activists and others in Asian capitals marked May Day with rallies and marches to call for better working conditions and greater labor rights.

May Day, which falls on May 1, is observed in many countries as a day to celebrate workers’ rights.

May Day events have also given many an opportunity to air general economic grievances or political demands.

In Seoul, the South Korean capital, thousands of protesters sang, waved flags and shouted pro-labor slogans at the start of their rally on Wednesday. Organizers said their rally was primarily meant to step

up their criticism of what they call anti-labor policies pursued by the conservative government led by President Yoon Suk Yeol.

“In the past two years under the Yoon Suk Yeol government, the lives of our laborers have plunged into despair,” Yang Kyung-soo, leader of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, which organized the rally, said in a speech.

“We can’t overlook the Yoon Suk Yeol government. We’ll bring them

down from power for ourselves.”

KCTU officials said they plan similar May Day rallies in more than 10 locations across South Korea on Wednesday.

KCTU union members decried Yoon’s December veto of a bill aimed at limiting companies’

rights to seek compensation for damages caused by strikes by labor unions. They also accuse Yoon’s government of handling the 2022 strikes by truckers too aggressively and insulting construction sector workers whom authorities believed were involved in alleged

Blinken in Israel to push for a cease-fire in Gaza as humanitarian crisis intensifies

By The Associated Press

UNITED STATES Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Israel on Wednesday for meetings with Israeli leaders and told the country’s ceremonial president that “the time is now” for a cease-fire deal in the war in Gaza.

This is Blinken’s seventh visit since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out in October. He is trying to advance a truce that would free hostages held by Gaza’s Hamas militants in exchange for a halt to the fighting. Palestinian prisoners are also expected to be released as part of the deal.

On Tuesday, Blinken said that Israel plans on opening a major humanitarian aid crossing into hard-hit northern Gaza. Israel’s war against Hamas has flattened huge swaths of Gaza’s north, and famine is imminent for the hundreds of thousands of civilians who remain there.

Blinken returned to the Middle East this week to advance cease-fire negotiations as the talks appear to be gaining momentum.

Nearly seven months of Israeli bombardment and ground offensives in Gaza have killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, and sparked a humanitarian catastrophe.

The Israel-Hamas war was sparked by the unprecedented October 7 raid into southern Israel in which militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250 hostages. Israel says the militants are still holding around 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others.

Netanyahu vows to attack Rafah MEANWHILE, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged Tuesday to launch an incursion into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are sheltering from the almost 7-month-long war, just as cease-fire negotiations between Israel and Hamas appear to be gaining steam.

Netanyahu’s comments came hours before Blinken was to arrive in Israel to advance the truce talks—which appear to be one of the most serious rounds of

ICJ rejects Nicaragua’s request for Germany to halt aid to Israel

By Mike Corder The Associated Press

THE HAGUE, Netherlands—The top U.N. court rejected on Tuesday a request by Nicaragua to order Germany to halt military and other aid to Israel and renew funding to the U.N. aid agency in Gaza. The International Court of Justice said that legal conditions for making such an order weren’t met and ruled against the request in a 15-1 vote, effectively siding with Germany, which told judges that it’s barely exporting any arms to Israel. However, the 16-judge panel declined to throw out the case altogether, as Germany had requested. The court will still hear arguments from both sides on the merits of Nicaragua’s case, which alleges that, by giving support to Israel, Germany failed to prevent genocide in Gaza. The case will likely take months or years.

The court “remains deeply concerned about the catastrophic living conditions of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip,” said Nawaf

Salam, the court’s president. He added that the court “considers it particularly important to remind all states of their international obligations relating to the transfer of arms to parties to an armed conflict, in order to avoid the risk that such arms might be used” to violate international law.

The reading of the decision lasted less than 20 minutes.

The German Foreign Office welcomed the ruling in a post on X.

“Germany is not a party to the conflict in the Middle East—on the contrary: we are working day and night for a two-state solution,” the ministry said. “We are the largest donor of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians. We are working to ensure that aid reaches the people in Gaza.”

But it added that Israel has the right to defend itself and said more than 100 hostages are still being held by Hamas, “which is abusing the people of Gaza as shields.”

The court noted that Germany had

granted only four export licenses to Israel for weapons of war since the start of the conflict, two for training ammunition and one for test purposes, as well as one consignment of “3,000 portable anti-tank weapons.”

Nicaragua, a longstanding ally of the Palestinians, alleges that Germany is enabling genocide by sending arms and other support to Israel. The head of Nicaragua’s legal team, Carlos Jose Argüello Gómez, told reporters at the court that his country would press ahead with its legal arguments.

Israel, which isn’t a party to the case between Nicaragua and Germany, strongly denies that its assault on Gaza amounts to acts of genocide.

Nicaragua’s government noted that at least the court had reminded “all states of their international obligations with respect to the transfer of arms to Israel, including Germany.”

“No state can say that it is unaware of its obligations with respect to the genocide in Gaza and other violations of international law,” the government’s statement said.

negotiations between Israel and Hamas since the war began. The deal is meant to free hostages, bring some relief to the population and avert an Israeli offensive into Rafah and the potential harm to civilians there.

Netanyahu said Israel would enter Rafah, which Israel says is Hamas’ last stronghold, regardless of whether a truce-forhostages deal is struck. His comments appeared to be meant to appease his nationalist governing partners but it was not clear whether they would have any bearing on any emerging deal with Hamas.

“The idea that we will stop the war before achieving all of its goals is out of the question,” Netanyahu said, according to a statement from his office. “We will enter Rafah and we will eliminate Hamas’ battalions there— with or without a deal, to achieve the total victory.”

The US has repeatedly said it opposes the Rafah operation until Israel presents a credible plan for evacuating and protecting the estimated 1.5 million people seeking shelter there.

Nicaragua’s case is the latest legal bid by a country with historic ties to the Palestinian people to stop Israel’s offensive.

Late last year, South Africa accused Israel of genocide at the court. The cases come as Israel’s allies face growing calls to stop supplying it with weapons, and as some, including Germany, have grown more critical of the war.

The court also rejected Nicaragua’s request for Germany to be ordered to reinstate direct funding to the U.N. aid agency in Gaza.

Israel says it is acting in self-defense after Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing around 1,200 people.

Since Israel launched its offensive, more than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the territory’s Health Ministry. Its toll doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants, but it has said women and children make up the majority of the dead.

Israel blames the high civilian death toll on Hamas because the militants fight in dense, residential areas. The military says it has killed more than 12,000

without providing evidence.

irregular activities.

Since taking office in 2022, Yoon has pushed for labor reforms to support economic growth and job creation. His government has vowed to sternly deal with illegal strikes and demand more transparent accounting records from labor unions.

“The remarkable growth of the Republic of Korea was thanks to the sweat and efforts of our workers. I thank our 28.4 million workers,” Yoon said in May Day message posted on Facebook. “My government and I will protect the precious value of labor.”

Police said they would mobilize thousands of officers to maintain order. Police said in a statement they will sternly deal with any illegal activities such as occupying streets.

In the Philippine capital, Manila, hundreds of workers and left-wing activists marched and held a rally in the scorching sum-

mer heat to demand wage increases and job security amid soaring food and oil prices.

Riot police stopped the protesting workers from getting close to the presidential palace. Waving red flags and holding up posters that read: “We work to live, not to die” and “Lower prices, increase salaries,” the protesters rallied in the street, where they chanted and delivered speeches about the difficulties faced by Filipino laborers.

Poor drivers joined the protest and called to end a government modernization program they fear would eventually lead to the removal of their dilapidated jeepneys, a main mode of public transport, from Manila’s streets. Similar May Day rallies were expected in other Asian and European cities.

The Associated Press journalist VJ Basilio Sepe Manila contributed to this report.

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao sentenced to 4 months for allowing money laundering

By Gene Johnson The Associated Press

SEATTLE—Changpeng Zhao, founder of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, was sentenced Tuesday to four months in prison for looking the other way as criminals used the platform to move money connected to child sex abuse, drug trafficking and terrorism.

US District Judge Richard A. Jones credited the founder and former CEO of Binance for taking responsibility for his wrongdoing. Zhao, 47, pleaded guilty in November to one count of failing to maintain an anti-money-laundering program. Binance agreed to pay $ 4.3 billion to settle related allegations from the US government.

“I failed here,” Zhao told the court Tuesday. “I deeply regret my failure, and am sorry.”

But the judge said he was troubled by Zhao’s decision to ignore US banking requirements that would have slowed the company’s explosive growth. “Better to ask for forgiveness than permission,” is what Zhao told his employees about the company’s approach to US law, prosecutors said.

“No person—regardless of wealth—is immune from prosecution or above the laws of the United States,” Jones said.

The sentence, which included a previously agreed-to $ 50 million fine, was far less than the three years the Justice Department had sought, but defense attorneys had asked that Zhao spend no time in prison.

Zhao is the first person ever sentenced to prison time for such violations of the Bank Secrecy Act, which requires US financial institutions to know who their customers are, to monitor transactions and to file reports of suspicious activity. Prosecutors said no one had ever violated the regulations to the extent Zhao did. If he did not receive time in custody for the offense, no one would, rendering the law toothless, they argued.

“This wasn’t a mistake,” Justice Department lawyer Kevin Mosley told Jones.

“When Mr. Zhao violated the BSA he was well aware of the requirements.”

For example, Mosley said, Zhao directed the company to disguise customers’ locations in the US in an effort to avoid having to comply with US law.

The Justice Department on Monday sent a letter urging Congress to stiffen penalties in such cases. Violations can allow billions of dollars to flow illicitly through the US financial system, but penalties under the government’s sentencing guidelines are “poorly calibrated to address the severity of the crimes,” the letter said.

Binance allowed more than 1.5 million virtual currency trades, totaling nearly $ 900 million, that violated US sanctions, including ones involving Hamas’ al-Qassam Brigades,

al-Qaeda and Iran, prosecutors have said.

Defense attorneys Mark Bartlett and William Burck told the judge there was no evidence Zhao knew of any specific transaction that would have been barred by US regulations or sanctions. Also, they argued, Binance transactions that violated US sanctions constituted a miniscule portion for a company that processed trillions of dollars per year. And they noted that Zhao began making changes to improve Binance’s compliance before stepping down.

In a letter to the court, Zhao wrote that there was “no excuse for my failure to establish the necessary compliance controls at Binance.”

“I wish I could change that part of Binance’s story,” he added. “But under my direction, Binance has now implemented the most stringent anti-money laundering controls of any non-US exchange, and those controls have been in place since 2022.” Zhao, his legal team and family members left after Tuesday’s hearing without speaking to reporters. Zhao will report to serve his sentence at a date yet to be determined.

The cryptocurrency industry has been marred by scandals and market meltdowns.

Zhao was perhaps best known as the chief rival to Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX, which was the second-largest crypto exchange before it collapsed in 2022. Bankman-Fried was convicted last November of fraud for stealing at least $10 billion from customers and investors and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Zhao and Bankman-Fried were originally friendly competitors in the industry, with Binance investing in FTX when BankmanFried launched the exchange in 2019. The relationship deteriorated, however, culminating in Zhao announcing that he was selling all of his cryptocurrency investments in FTX in early November 2022. FTX filed for bankruptcy a week later.

More recently, Nigeria has recently sought to try Binance and two of its executives on money laundering and tax evasion charges. The US Justice Department on Tuesday charged early bitcoin investor Roger Ver, known as “bitcoin Jesus” for his avid promotion of the currency, with evading $ 50 million in taxes.

The judge described Zhao’s life story as remarkable: He grew up in rural China and his family immigrated to Canada following the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. He worked at a McDonald’s beginning at age 14 and eventually became enamored of the tech industry while in college. He founded Binance in 2017, motivated at least in part by a desire to help people in underdeveloped countries access reliable banking. The company made him a crypto celebrity and a billionaire many times over; he announced in 2021 that he intends to give away nearly all of his fortune.

militants,

FILIPINO workers carry streamers and posters during a protest to mark International Labor Day near the presidential palace in Manila, Philippines on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Hundreds of Filipino workers from various labor groups took to the streets to mark Labor Day and demand a wage increase and job security amid soaring food and oil prices. AP/BASILIO SEPE

MOURNERS carry the bodies of members of the Abu Taha family who were killed in an Israeli airstrike, during their funeral at Al-Salam cemetery, east of Rafah, Gaza Strip on Monday, April 29, 2024. AP/MOHAMMAD JAHJOUH

Nearly 50 years later, Asian American and Pacific Islander month features revelry and racial justice

By Terry Tang The Associated Press

IT has been almost 50 years since the US government established that Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders and their accomplishments should be recognized annually across the nation.

What started as just one week in May has evolved over the decades into a month-long tribute of events in cities big and small. The nature of celebrations also evolved. Asian American and Pacific Islander or Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month is not just about showcasing festive fare like food and fashion, but hard subjects like grief and social justice. The rise of antiAsian hate during the pandemic only heightened that effort.

“I think the visibility and the level that the increased participation of organizations in Asian Pacific Heritage Month activities is also an indication of the increasing voice of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in civic life more generally,” said Karen Umemoto, director of the UCLA Asian American Studies Center. “And also an indication of the spaces that we’ve come to collectively enter to be able to create those.”

Indeed, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month celebrations are not relegated just

to ethnic enclaves or culturally specific venues. Across the US this year, events are planned at public libraries, parks and museums either highlighting a specific Asian culture or myriad of them.

Many credit the observance’s origin to Jeanie Jew, a co-founder of the congressional Asian-Pacific staff caucus. In 1977, the Chinese American shared a moving story with New York Republican Rep. Frank Horton about how her grandfather had helped build the transcontinental railroad in the 1800s and then was killed amid anti-Asian unrest.

Jew believed Asians should appreciate their heritage and “Americans must know about the contributions and histories of the Asian-Pacific American experience,” Horton said in 1992, according to congressional archives. At that time, Black History Month and Hispanic Heritage Month had already been instituted. Yet, Asian Americans were described as the fastest growing racial group.

Horton and California Demo-

cratic Rep. Norm Mineta proposed

President Jimmy Carter issue a proclamation that the first week of May be “Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week.” Hawaii Senators Daniel Inouye and Spark Matsunaga, both Democrats, brought up a similar bill in the Senate.

May was chosen because of two significant events. The first Japanese immigrants to the US arrived on May 7, 1843. Then on May 19, 1869, the final spike for the transcontinental railroad track, in which Chinese laborers played a crucial role, was embedded.

Umemoto recalls hearing talk of Asian Pacific Heritage Week as a college student. But it wasn’t something that was mainstream.

“I think it was more of a kind of cultural celebration in the early days,” she said. “And so a lot of student groups, I remember as doing

programming around the different histories, cultural traditions and issues in the community.”

In May 1990, President George H.W. Bush expanded the designation to the entire month. In 2009, President Barack Obama changed the name to Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Now, President Joe Biden’s administration refers to it as Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

“As artists and journalists, doctors and engineers, business and community leaders, and so much more, AA and NHPI peoples have shaped the very fabric of our Nation and opened up new possibilities for all of us,” Biden said in an official Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders Heritage Month proclamation issued on Tuesday.

NATO members fail to deliver timely military aid to Ukraine, allowing Russia to gain ground

KBy Jill Lawless The Associated Press

YIV, Ukraine—NATO countries haven’t delivered what they promised to Ukraine in time, the alliance’s chief said Monday, allowing Russia to press its advantage while Kyiv’s depleted forces wait for military supplies to arrive from the US and Europe.

“Serious delays in support have meant serious consequences on the battlefield” for Ukraine, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told a news conference in Kyiv with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Outgunned, Ukraine’s troops have struggled to fend off Russian advances on the battlefield. They were recently compelled to make a tactical retreat from three villages in the east, where the Kremlin’s forces have been making incremental gains, Ukraine’s army chief said Sunday. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed Monday its forces had also taken the village of Semenivka.

“The lack of ammunition has allowed the Russians to push forward along the front line. Lack of air defense has made it possible for more Russian missiles to hit their targets, and the lack of deep strike capabilities has made it possible for the Russians to concentrate more forces,” Stoltenberg said.

Kyiv’s Western partners have repeatedly vowed to stand with Ukraine “for as long as it takes.”

But vital US military help was held up for six months by political differences in Washington,

and Europe’s military hardware production has not kept up with demand. Ukraine’s own manufacturing of heavy weapons is only now starting to gain traction.

Now, Ukraine and its Western partners are racing to deploy critical new military aid that can help check the slow and costly but steady Russian advance across eastern areas, as well as thwart drone and missile attacks.

Zelenskyy said new Western supplies have started arriving, but slowly. “This process must be speeded up,” he said at the news conference with Stoltenberg.

Though the 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line has shifted little since early in the war, the Kremlin’s forces in recent weeks have edged forward, especially in the Donetsk region, with sheer numbers and massive firepower used to bludgeon defensive positions.

Russia also continues to launch missiles, drones and bombs at cities across Ukraine. At least four people were killed and 27 injured in a Russian missile strike on residential buildings and “civil infrastructure” in the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa on Monday, regional governor Oleh Kiper said on the Telegram messaging site.

A turreted Gothic-style building known locally as the “Harry Potter Castle,” was seen in flames after the strike.

Russia is a far bigger country than Ukraine, with greater resources. It has also received weapons support from Iran and North Korea, the US government says.

Drawn-out Ukrainian efforts to mobilize more troops, and the belated building of battlefield fortifications, are other factors undermining Ukraine’s war effort, military analysts say.

Nick Reynolds, a research fellow for land warfare at the London-based Royal United Services Institute, said the war “is still largely an artillery duel.”

He said he did not expect to see major movement of the front lines in the near term, but that “the conditions are being set for which side has military advantage at the front line. The Russian military is in a better position at the moment.

“When we see one side or the other being in a position to move the front line, at some stage, maneuver will be restored to the battlefield. Not in the next few weeks, maybe not even in the next few months. But it will happen,” he told The Associated Press.

Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh, at a briefing with reporters Monday, also acknowledged Russia’s recent battlefield gains, noting that a delay in congressional approval for additional spending “set the Ukrainians back.”

NATO chief Stoltenberg, however, said more weapons and ammunition for Ukraine are on the way, including Patriot missile systems to defend against heavy Russian barrages that smash into the power grid and urban areas.

Ukrainian officials say Russia is assembling forces for a major summer offensive, even if its troops are making only incremental gains at the moment.

“Russian forces remain unlikely to achieve a deeper operationally significant penetration in the area in the near term,” the Institute for the Study of War said in an assessment Sunday.

Even so, the Kremlin’s forces are closing in on the strategically important hilltop town of Chasiv Yar, whose capture would be an important step forward into the Donetsk region.

Donetsk and Luhansk form much of the industrial Donbas region, which has been gripped by separatist fighting since 2014, and which Putin has set as a primary objective of the Russian invasion. Russia illegally annexed areas of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia regions in September 2022.

In other developments, Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh made an unannounced visit to Ukraine – the first British royal to travel to the country since Russia’s 2022 invasion.

Buckingham Palace said Monday that Sophie, wife of Prince Edward, met President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and First Lady Olena Zelenska in Kyiv and delivered a message on behalf of King Charles III. It did not disclose the timing or details of the visit.

The palace said Sophie, 59, made the trip “to demonstrate solidarity with the women, men and children impacted by the war and in a continuation of her work to champion survivors of conflictrelated sexual violence.”

The Associated Press writer Tara Copp in Washington contributed reporting.

The White House will hold a celebration in Washington on May 13 to commemorate 25 years since the inception of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders.

Asian American and Pacific Islander advocacy groups have long used the month as a platform to bring resources to underserved communities and educate the public. But, the one-two punch of Covid-19 and assaults on Asian people in the US really gave some a new appreciation for the heritage month’s purpose.

Pre-pandemic, Amber Reed, of Montclair, New Jersey, didn’t really think about Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

A Korean-American adoptee that grew up one of few Asian children in rural Michigan, she said she didn’t feel a strong connection to her Asian ancestry. That changed after the March 2021 Atlanta spa shootings that left eight dead, including six Asian women.

“Certainly it jolted me out of thinking that my family could be safe and that we could just sort of muddle through without sort of reckoning with some of the very vicious currents of racism in our culture,” Reed said. “And I take no pride in having needed that moment to wake me up.”

In response to the shootings, Reed and around 50 others started the nonprofit AAPI New Jersey— originally AAPI Montclair. Their advocacy began with surveys of local schools and other institutions’ recognition of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

The group then quickly orga-

nized the Lantern Festival for Justice and Remembrance for May. The Chinese tradition of lighting lanterns became a vehicle to honor victims of hate or injustice, Reed said. The event is now in its fourth year.

“I think one thing Asian cultures do so well is provide these rituals, including for collective grief,” said Reed, who still finds it surreal that the group continues to grow.

The variety of subjects and cultures feted during Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month has flourished. There are events happening this month that include more narrow topics, such as a panel on the Asian American Church in Pasadena, California. There’s an Asian Comedy Fest in New York City. And in Wisconsin, the state will celebrate May 14 as Hmong-Lao Veterans Day, which was signed into law in 2021. Thousands of HmongLao soldiers fought alongside US forces during the Vietnam War. Many Hmong and Laotian families resettled in Wisconsin.

These heritage month celebrations are helping to erode the notion that the whole population is a monolith, Umemoto said.

“I think it’s important for people to visibly see from a wide range of groups that fall under the category Asian American and Pacific Islanders. There are over 70 different ethnic and national groups and over 100 languages spoken within those communities,” Umemoto said. “And they’re very different.”

Terry Tang is a Phoenix-based member of AP’s Race and Ethnicity team.

US to reclassify marijuana as less dangerous drug, clearing way for major policy change

By Zeke Miller, Joshua Goodman, Jim Mustian & Lindsay Whitehurst The Associated Press

WASHINGTON—The US Drug Enforcement Administration will move to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, The Associated Press has learned, a historic shift to generations of American drug policy that could have wide ripple effects across the country.

The proposal, which still must be reviewed by the White House Office of Management and Budget, would recognize the medical uses of cannabis and acknowledge it has less potential for abuse than some of the nation’s most dangerous drugs. However, it would not legalize marijuana outright for recreational use.

The agency’s move, confirmed to the AP on Tuesday by five people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive regulatory review, clears the last significant regulatory hurdle before the agency’s biggest policy change in more than 50 years can take effect.

Once OMB signs off, the DEA will take public comment on the plan to move marijuana from its current classification as a Schedule I drug, alongside heroin and LSD. It moves pot to Schedule III, alongside ketamine and some anabolic steroids, following a recommendation from the federal Health and Human Services Department. After the public comment period and a review by an administrative judge, the agency would eventually publish the final rule.

“Today, the Attorney General circulated a proposal to reclassify marijuana from Schedule to Schedule III,”Justice Department director of public affairs Xochitl Hinojosa said in a statement. The DEA is a component of the Department of Justice. “Once published by the Federal Register, it will initiate a formal rulemaking process as prescribed by

Congress in the Controlled Substances Act.”

Attorney General Merrick Garland’s signature throws the full weight of the Justice Department behind the move and appears to signal its importance to the Biden administration.

It comes after President Joe Biden called for a review of federal marijuana law in October 2022 and moved to pardon thousands of Americans convicted federally of simple possession of the drug. He has also called on governors and local leaders to take similar steps to erase marijuana convictions.

“Criminal records for marijuana use and possession have imposed needless barriers to employment, housing, and educational opportunities,” Biden said in December. “Too many lives have been upended because of our failed approach to marijuana. It’s time that we right these wrongs.”

The election year announcement could help Biden, a Democrat, boost flagging support, particularly among younger voters. Biden and a growing number of lawmakers from both major political parties have been pushing for the DEA decision as marijuana has become increasingly decriminalized and accepted, particularly by younger people. A Gallup poll last fall found 70% of adults support legalization, the highest level yet recorded by the polling firm and more than double the roughly 30% who backed it in 2000.

The DEA didn’t respond to repeated requests for comment.

Schedule III drugs are still controlled substances and subject to rules and regulations, and people who traffic in them without permission could still face federal criminal prosecution.

Some critics argue the DEA shouldn’t change course on marijuana, saying rescheduling isn’t necessary and could lead to harmful side effects.

Goodman reported from Miami, Mustian from New Orleans. AP writer Colleen Long contributed.

PRESIDENT Joe Biden speaks before a screening of the series “American Born Chinese” in the East Room of the White House in Washington, in celebration of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, May

Philippine street food: Unlocking the country’s hidden tourism gems

THE vibrant street food culture of countries like Thailand, Singapore, and Vietnam is a major draw for tourists, showcasing the unique local flavors and culinary traditions. In the Philippines, street food vendors have long been a fixture in cities and towns, providing affordable and delicious meals to the masses. However, they are often stigmatized as nuisances rather than recognized for their valuable contributions.

Senator Nancy Binay’s call to support Philippine street food vendors is a welcome step in the right direction. As she rightly points out, street food is an untapped tourism potential that can raise the profile of local government units (LGUs) and promote culinar y tourism. By training vendors in food safety and sanitation practices, LGUs can elevate the quality of the street food experience and position it as a key attraction for visitors. (Read the BusinessMirror story: “Street food hawkers can boost culinary tourism,” April 30, 2024). The comparison to successful street food hubs like Bangkok, Taipei, and Singapore is particularly apt. In these cities, bustling hawker centers and food streets are celebrated as integral parts of the local culture and culinar y landscape. The Philippines has a wealth of unique flavors and regional specialties that deser ve similar recognition and promotion.

Just like Taipei Bangkok, and other Asian cities, we can organize and elevate our own food markets to promote them as culinar y destinations. Senator Binay’s vision of a “Jolly jeep Jamboree” or a street food festival showcasing the best Filipino dishes from various LGUs is an exciting prospect that can capture the attention of both domestic and international tourists.

To make this vision a reality, LGUs must play a crucial role in providing support and training to street food hawkers. By focusing on sanitation and safety practices, food preparation, handling, and ser ving, the quality of the street food experience can be elevated. This also ensures hygiene, food quality standards, and consumer safety. The success stories of Iloilo, Bacolod, Pasig, and Makati where strict adherence to food sanitation protocols is obser ved, ser ve as valuable lessons for other LGUs to follow.

Moreover LGUs need to address the issue of vending and no-vending zones. Street food vendors often occupy sidewalks and public spaces due to the lack of decent, clean, and safe vending zones. This not only hampers pedestrian flow but also exposes vendors to the risk of eviction, demolition, and harassment. By identifying suitable areas for vending and implementing effective zoning regulations, LGUs can improve the overall street environment while supporting the livelihoods of these vendors.

Resea rc h h as shown t h at posit ive st reet food experiences sign i f icantly i nfluence tourists’ percept ions of a dest i nat ion. Sat isf ied v isitors a re more l i kely to recommend t he place to ot hers and ret ur n for f ut ure v isits. By i nvest i ng i n st reet food c u lt ure, t he Phi l ippi nes can c reate a posit ive i mage, generate word-of-mout h recommendat ions, and u lt i mately i nc rease tourist a rrivals.

It is time to recognize the economic and cultural value of street food vendors and provide them with the necessar y support. By doing so, LGUs can ensure the preser vation of street food as an accessible aspect of our cultural heritage. This will benefit tourists and local communities, fostering economic growth and promoting a sense of pride in our diverse culinar y traditions.

The Philippines has an array of local flavors worth showcasing to the world. Let us embrace our street food culture and organize events that celebrate our culinar y heritage. By work ing together we can cu ltivate a dynamic and flourishing street food cu lture that captivates v isitors from all cor ners of the globe. T he potential is boundless, and the advantages are w ithin our g rasp as we rally behind Senator Binay’s v isionar y goal of elevating the prominence of Fi lipino street cuisine.

Global fracturing

resources in the South China Sea area because they both are honorable and interested in bettering the future of the world.

GOUTSIDE THE BOX

LOBAL geopolitics is a strange world. Henry Kissinger is vilified for having said that “America has no permanent friends or enemies, only interests”. But that is more realistic and sensible than almost anything being said today, both in the Philippines and on the world stage.

The classification of individuals as “friends” or “enemies” is based on the extent and manner in which they uphold and safeguard your personal interests. “I always considered him a close friend until he shot my dog, stole my car, and ran off with my wife.” Equally unrealistic is the idea that a nation should or even can remain “neutral” in matters of global significance. Asked to name a neutral nation, Switzerland is usually mentioned. Except Switzerland joined European Union sanctions against Moscow. India is another good answer, I suppose. Except, in 2023, Russia accounted for more than 30 percent of India’s oil imports increasing from 2 percent in 2020.

A divided population decided in 1992, “US bases bad.” In 2024, a divided population decides “US bases good.” That is obviously a simplifica-

Ttion, but the point stands. Friends and enemies are determined by interests.

Many people expected that by now we would all be singing “I’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony.” Globalization would fairly distribute economic opportunity if not wealth to all. Disputes between governments and people would be rationally adjudicated by a wise and reasonable world body. Iran would lead the world to gender equality and North Korea would be the paragon for democratic government. But along the way the realization became more apparent that maybe one countr y’s interests were not aligned with another nation’s. An example. For the Philippines to be “neutral,” it would have to believe that both the US and China would be extremely happy to share the natural

By Molly Smith

HE recent surge in immigration to the US has led many economists to boost their forecasts. Now they’re looking for more signs of its impact in the data.

Growth in employment has

tinually surprised to the

in

formerly

Stephen Stanley, chief economist at Santander US Capital Markets LLC.

Actually, that might be accurate as both the US and China have Jollibee restaurants. But even here, it is not neutral. “Jollibee Group Opens 500th Store in Mainland China.” “There are 72 Jollibee restaurants in the United States as of Februar y 2024.”

Capital Economics analyzes it this way. “During the past decade, the global economy has transitioned out of an era in which globalization was the key driver of economic and f i nanc i al relat ionships i nto one shaped by geopolitics. Prev iously, most governments had believed that closer economic integration would promote long-term prosperity. Now, integration is seen as a source of risk and insecurity.” Outsourcing became “Friendshoring.”

The key global geopolitical divide is between a group of Western countries centered on the US and another group centered on China. And that divide is shifting with these eight notable examples. Saud i A rabi a, Lebanon, South Africa, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Hungar y are now “Closer to China.” On the other side, Nigeria, Oman, and Bahrain were in the “Leans China” camp and have been shifted to “better classed as unaligned.” “We now class Algeria as “Leans China.” And we were wrong to ally Morocco w it h C hina; t he

strength of its economic ties with Europe puts Morocco in the “Leans US” camp. The blocs are not equal. The China bloc generates only 27 percent of the world’s GDP, compared with 67 percent from the US bloc. On global capital spending—the China bloc accounts for 37 percent of the total, against 58 percent in the US bloc. On industrial output: China is 38 percent of industrial value-added globally versus US 55 percent. In agriculture, the China bloc accounts for 49 percent of output, compared with 38 percent for the US bloc. The China bloc’s share of outstanding debt securities is smaller still: 16 percent of the global total, compared with 80 percent for the US bloc. But then again, the US bloc is paying for the war in Ukraine, tr ying to keep the Gaza war from expanding any more that it has, and how to mitigate Red Sea shipping disruptions. This on-going global fracturing is showing the validity of K issinger’s statement. The over whelming majority of nations shape their foreign policy to advance longer-term benefits. They may not always be correct. But most decisions are based on doing what you think makes sense at the time.

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

sistently topped forecasts over the past couple years, and the number of employed foreign-born workers rose to a record in March Meanwhile, the unemployment rate has been under 4% for more than two years and is seen holding steady at 3.8% in data out Friday.

sur vey of businesses does a better job of capturing it, while others say it’s more likely to register in the smaller poll of households.

Economists have coalesced around population growth as a

“The question isn’t whether it’s happening or not, it’s how much it’s being captured in the numbers.”

explanation after a

Congressional Budget Office report estimated higher immigration than previously thought. With over a million people entering the countr y each year, it stands to reason that a bigger population will increase demand for housing and a wide range of other goods and ser vices. For now, some of the places forecasters are looking to gauge the impact may not prov ide obv ious answers: consumer spending data, for example, aren’t broken down by demographic. “The flows of the magnitude in the past two years that we’ve seen have to be having some sort of an impact on the broader economy,” said

A recalibration of forecasts now calling for growth rates previously deemed too strong will have important implications for the Federal Reser ve. Chair Jerome Powell has credited immigration as a supplyside boost for the economy, able to generate faster growth without faster inflation.

Here are a few data sets that economists are monitoring to assess the impact of immigration:

Labor market

THE most logical place to start is the labor market. After all, many migrants are coming to the US in search of work that affords them a better quality of life. Job gains have con-

Moreover many jobs that economists see immigrants as more likely to take—including in construction, household cleaning, home health aides as well as leisure and hospitality—are showing strong growth with employment levels in those sectors at or above their pre-pandemic trend.

“The reason you ’ re seeing sturdy continued payroll prints and the unemployment rate maintaining is that you re simply seeing higher population growth,” said Brett Ryan, senior US economist at Deutsche Bank AG.

“The Fed looks at that as a supplyside boost. You could have a stronger growth profile without stoking inflation.”

Analysts are somewhat divided as to where in the jobs report immigration will be most evident. Some maintain the headline nonfarm payrolls number that comes from a large

There’s also the effect on wages to consider W hile many economists say immigrants will likely fill low-paying jobs that shouldn’t add to wage pressures, they’ll still be earning money to spend, said Yelena Shulyatyeva, senior US economist at BNP Paribas.

“Even if immigration depresses average hourly earnings in aggregate, it will boost personal income this year, and that in turn would support personal spending,” Shulyatyeva said.

Spending, inflation WITH more people entering t he countr y, that means more demand for necessities like food, clothing and shelter In March retail sales topped forecasts and inflation-adjusted consumer spending advanced by the most this year

“Some of what we’re seeing here in terms of the resilience of the consumer and the resilience of labor market, that definitely has the finger prints See “Immigration,” A

John Mangun

Ireland now has zero female listed CEOs

By Olivia Fletcher & Jonas Ekblom

IRELAND has become one of only two European Union states to have no women leading any of its listed companies, in a setback for a country that has become known for achieving rapid social change in recent decades.

Since Margaret Sweeney retired Tuesday as chief executive officer of Ireland’s biggest private residential landlord Irish Residential Properties REIT Plc, all 31 companies listed on Euronext Dublin’s website are to be headed by a man. Overall the picture isn’t much brighter across the EU for women in leadership positions with it being common for even large stock exchanges to have less than a handful of female CEOs. However Ireland, with a population of 5 million, will be an outlier from Wednesday, when Eddie Byrne succeeds Sweeney as CEO. Almost ever y other EU countr y, except the small state of Lu xembourg, has at least one woman at the top of a listed company, according to analysis by Bloomberg. All other member states have female CEOs, besides Slovak i a, whic h h as one company, Biotika AS, run by three directors including a woman, and Phi lip Morris’s Czech out posting, led by a female manag ing director who is set to be replaced by a man in June, according to a company statement.

Only 8 percent of CEO positions at the largest listed companies in the EU28 in 2023 were women, according to the European Institute for Gender Equality. It’s a bleak insight into the state of gender equality in cor porate Europe, and now especially in Ireland, which has become a poster child for progressing in a short stint of time.

Even in similarly sized Scandinavian countries women are scarce in top roles, despite their progressive reputations. Sweden’s main OM X Stockholm 30 index was earlier this year left with only one female CEO among 30 after a series of resignations among women in top roles, including fast-fashion giant H&M AB’s Helena Helmersson and phone carrier Telia AB’s Alison Kirkby. Both were replaced by men.

T he lack of gender equality at the top of companies listed on Ireland’s exchange is exacerbated by the fact it is dominated by traditionally male-heavy industries like construction, said Gi llian Har ford, Ireland’s countr y executive at 30 percent Club, a campa ign g roup that aims to increase female representat ion on company boa rds. Euronext Dublin boasts large caps such as Ryanair Holdings Plc. and K ingspan Group Plc.

T he picture in the US is only slightly better, with 10 percent female CEOs on the Fortune 500 in 2023 according to Fortune. Globally, quotas have been set for improving

While there has been progress on achieving equality at board level in Ireland, the lack of a female CEO in a listed company shows there is much to be done to shatter the glass ceiling. A government-led report from November 2023 showed female board representation stood at 39 percent, up from 18 percent five years earlier.

board diversity, although most appear not to specifically target the top job. The EU has mandated that non-executive boards of listed companies must consist of women. The US’s Nasdaq sets board targets too.

In Ireland, the government set a 33 percent target for women on boards by the end of 2023

“W here the represented base is already small, sustainment has to depend on succession planning, and that’s where we see the gender power gap becoming most prevalent,” Harford said. “Until we achieve constant focus on succession and gender balance across all functional roles, and remove or reduce the gender power gap it will be a challenge to maintain momentum on gender progress at CEO level.”

W hile there has been progress on achieving equality at board level in Ireland, the lack of a female CEO in a listed company shows there is much to be done to shatter the glass ceiling.

A government-led report from November 2023 showed female board representation stood at 39 percent, up from 18% five years earlier

Outside of listed companies, Ireland has a burgeoning startup scene that appears to attract more women than the public companies. It was the third in Europe for investment in women-led startups, according to financial research firm PitchBook.

However many of those companies have decided not to IPO in Ireland so far, a wider struggle for Euronext Dublin which has seen some of its most well-established companies i nclud i ng Flutter Enter ta i nment Plc flock to larger pools of capital in the US.

“R ight along the scaling escalator we have specific strategic initiatives to support and ensure that the correct policies are in place to encourage a pipeline of strong female managers and female founders to come through the ecosystem,” said Jenny Melia, executive director at gover nment business agency Enter prise Ireland. “There certainly is a big focus on it here in Ireland.” Bloomberg

An open letter to Environment Secretary Yulo-Loyzaga

THIS column takes the form of my open letter to Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga to appeal for an urgent meeting with her and/or her representatives regarding the continued operation of environmentally destructive illegal lead smelters and recyclers of used lead acid batteries in different parts of the country.

Madam Sec reta r y, as I’ve i nformed you through a letter that I sent to you last Februar y, unregulated lead smelters and ULAB recyclers continue to wreak havoc on the environment and the health of the surrounding communities in areas like San Simon, Pampanga; Tondo, Manila; Valenzuela, Tarlac, Cavite, Cebu, and Davao, among others.

They also undermine the operations of legitimate batter y manufacturers and recyclers, who are investing heavily just to make sure they are complying with the regulations set by the DENR.

Pres i dent Ma rcos knows t he gravity of their impact that immediately after I exposed the operation of these illegal smelters through this column last August 2 (https:// businessmirror.com.ph/2023/08/02/ calling-on-denr-dole-the-illegal-leadsmelters-are-back/), the Office of the President directed the DENR to look into the matter I was furnished a copy of Malacanang’s order to the DENR, signaling that I also coordinate with you as I’m already duty-bound to see through this case and also periodically report its progress to the President as a matter of courtesy.

T he same t hi ng h appened to my exposé on the illegal importation of palm olein for animal feeds compou nd i ng. Malacañang also furnished me a copy its directive to the Department of Agriculture to investigate the matter I also took the effort to coordinate with then Senior Undersecretar y Domingo Pan-

of this immigration stor y in it,” said Scott Anderson, chief US economist at BMO Capital Markets.

W hile the boost to demand will be immediate, it may take longer for some migrants to find work. That’s why Anderson said the influ x could put upward pressure on prices in the near term, even if it’s more neutral or even beneficial for the inflation trajector y in the longer run. Others see increased immigration as a factor that has helped alleviate inflationary pressures over the last year or two.

“We have to consider the possibility it could be adding a bit to price

ganiban and the Bureau of Animal Industr y. Today, I’m happy to report that the illegal importation of palm olein for animal feeds compounding, which robbed the government of about P45 billion in revenues over a six-year period, has stopped based on official records.

On the matter of the illegal smelters, the DENR confirmed that indeed several lead smelters are operating w ithout the per mits and licenses required by t he DENR and local government units (LGUs), the largest of them located in San Simon, Pampanga and Valenzuela.

I received information that one of the illegal smelting plants in Valenzuela is owned by a multiple product smuggler

In San Simon, the LGU has already slapped two cease and desist orders aga i nst C hi lwee Metall ic Manufacturing Cor p., Energetically Batter y Manufacturing, and Ecoseal Metallic Manufacturing Cor p. However, based on the information we are getting from nearby residents, these smelters appear to be having guerrilla operations still, as their chimneys continue to emit dark and foul smelling smoke, while their untreated wastewater and other effluents are still being dumped into the nearby river T hey cont inue to buy ULABs, firewood, and used oil. Please note that these smelters do not have the permits and licenses to store, treat, and recycle ULABs, which are considered hazardous wastes. The DENREMB Region 3 under Director Martin

pressures right now,” Anderson said.

Housing

SINCE immigrants likely won’t be looking to buy homes right away, economists are looking to rent measures from sources like Zillow Group Inc. and Apartment List to see not only if those prices go up, but where as well. There’s also the possibility that some migrants may not show up in housing data for a while if they initially stay with family and friends who are already in the US before finding work, Anderson said.

Wit h more people work ing in construction, more homes will probably be built, and building projects already under way will finally be finished. That could help alleviate pres-

Jose Despi has found them to be in violation of the Clean A ir Act, Clean Water Act, and the Hazardous and Nuclear Wastes Act. But apparently, no for mal c h a rges—adm i n i st rative and criminal—have been filed against them.

Environmental NGO SEEDS PH has commissioned a DENR-accredited laborator y to test the river beside Global Aseana Business Park, where these smelters are located, last Februar y 9. According to SEEDS Executive Director Dhel Pulanco, the river upstream was basically free of traces of harmful chemicals and heavy metals. A few meters away from Global Aseana’s discharge point, however, almost 70 percent of the 23 parameters that were measured already showed contamination.

He said there’s already a significant presence of cadmium and nickel, which can cause cancer and liver failure. The presence of lead in the water has already gone up to an alarming level and this could cause diseases in the kidney, heart, and blood.

The Biochemical Oxygen Demand and Chemical Oxygen Demand have considerably shot up, while the dissolved oxygen and water pH dropped tremendously.

These are clear signs of water pollution and could trigger fish kills.

T his was probably caused by the dumping into the river of electrolytes from used lead acid batteries that contain sulphuric acid and other toxic chemicals.

This is why, according to the Barangay officials of Dela Paz, fishpond owners and fishermen in the area and downstream towns like Minalin have been complaining that their livelihoods are being affected already.

Dela Paz Barangay Chairman Ramil Mangay also said at a hearing conducted by the DENR-Environmental Management Bureau Region 3 last September that they have v ideos showing chemicals being dumped from Global Aseana to the river

The negative effects on the environment, the communities, and legitimate businesses that these illegal smelters are creating are too harsh and too wide.

This is why, with all due respect, this matter needs your attention.

Consistent with the pronouncement of the President that smuggling and other forms of illicit trade would not proliferate under the Marcos Administration, your urgent action on this would send the signal that indeed, even environmental crimes being committed by unscrupulous businesses would be dealt with accordingly.

We, at the Federation of Philippine Industries and Fight Illicit Trade, are willing and ready to do our share in this fight.

Just like what we did in the case of the palm olein smuggling, which was investigated by the National Bureau of Investigation and Bureau of Inter nal Revenue, we have also asked the NBI to launch a thorough probe into the operation of these i llegal smelters and ULAB recyclers, always i n consu ltat ion w it h t he DENR, and hopefully bring their operators (and possibly protectors) to justice. T hese people shou ld be put in jai l and their i llegal businesses shuttered immediately.

To do this, the government and well-meaning members of the private sector the civil society, and the communities must cooperate. As we always say, fighting smuggling and illicit trade is the job of all government officials and private groups as well because of the wide detrimental effects to our fellow Filipinos and our beloved countr y. And this is my open invitation and appeal to you Madam Secretar y Yulo-Loyzaga.

Hopefully, we can get to meet with you ver y soon.

Dr Jesus Lim Arranza is the chairman of the Federation o Philippine ndustries and Fight Illicit Trade; a broad-based, multisectoral movement intended to protect consumers sa eguard government revenues and shield legitimate industries from the ill effects of smuggling

Dear Madam Secretar y, based on reports we are getting, it is obvious that what is happening in San Simon, Pampanga is also happening in other areas where these illegal lead smelters and ULAB recyclers are operating with full impunity despite having no permits and licenses.

sure on home prices, especially since the US has struggled with a chronic shortage of housing since the 2008 financial crisis.

“It would be natural to see a pickup in completions as opposed to under construction, or to expect the gap to at least narrow,” Shulyatyeva said.

An academic study published in Februar y found that an increase in immigration boosted the supply of US housing, which in turn made new homes more affordable.

Growth

GIVEN t h at consu mer spend i ng is the biggest driver of US g ross domestic product, economists are mark ing up their forecasts. W hi le f irst- qu a r ter GDP g rowt h d isap-

South Korea’s export growth picks up, led by record US demand

By Sam Kim

SShipments that reflect

11.3 per-

from a year earlier, according to data released Wednesday by the customs office. Without the adjustment, headline exports rose 13.8 percent while overall imports increased 5.4 percent. The trade sur plus came to $1.5 billion. Exports to the US amounted to an all-time high of $11.4 bi ll ion in April, rising 24 percent from a year earlier, according to the trade ministr y. Meanwhile, shipments to China totaled $10.5 billion with a year-on-year increase of 9.9 percent. The trend in which exports to the US exceeded those to China stretched to a third consecutive month

The shift in South Korea’s trade activity with its two leading destina-

tions for goods coincides with simmering geopolitical risks, as Washington ratchets up its export controls on Beijing in an effort to maintain its global dominance. The US earlier this year accused China of affecting global prices by over-producing goods that it claims are sold below the cost of production. Seoul has had to navigate a path through the tensions. South Korea has emerged as a major beneficiar y of the US infrastructure boom, supplying ever ything from machines to power cables. That’s in addition to resurgent sales of semiconductors used in artificial intelligence development and electric cars that are popular in the world’s biggest economy, according to Austin Chang, director of analysis and forecasts at the Ko-

Exports to the US amounted to an all-time high of $11.4 billion in April, rising 24 percent from a year earlier, according to the trade ministry. Meanwhile, shipments to China totaled $10.5 billion with a year-on-year increase of 9.9 percent. The trend in which exports to the US exceeded those to China stretched to a third consecutive month.

rea International Trade Association.

“South Korea is enjoying a windfall from more and more Chinese products being driven out of the US,” Chang said. “The odds are becoming stronger that more exports will keep going to the US than China.”

China, which was the No. 1 destination for South Korean products for two decades, is struggling to rebound from a consumption slowdown triggered by a property market slump. It reported a sur prise decline in indus-

trial profits in March underscoring the risks.

The world’s second-biggest economy also continues to replace imports with domestic goods, making it harder for companies like Samsung Electronics Co. and Hy undai Motor Co. to sell their products there.

Sout h Korean expor ters h ave meanwhile benefited from strong demand in developed economies including the US. The International Monetar y Fund said last month that advanced economies would likely see a pickup in their growth this year compared with 2023, while emerging and developing markets experience a modest slowdown.

Semiconductor sales have been recovering even as Middle East tensions persist and global interest rates stay elevated, pressuring consumption. Top companies including SK Hynix Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co., have reported better-than-expected earnings as demand for the memor y chips that power modern electronics and artificial intelligence rebounds

from last year’s downturn. Expo r ts of sem i cond u cto r s jumped 56.1 percent from a year earlier in April. Automobile exports rose 10.3 percent, according to the trade ministr y. Shipments of oil products increased 19 percent.

“This marked a seventh straight mont h of expor t ga i ns, pri ma rily fueled by surging shipments of memor y chips. The data reinforce our view that external demand will d rive an econom ic expansion i n 2024,” said Bloomberg economist Hyosung Kwon.

“Export growth will likely remain the main driver of growth this quarter amid the strong demand for semiconductors,” Dave Chia, an associate economist at Moody’s Analytics, said in a note before the trade figures. “Export growth will likely remain the main driver of growth this quarter.”

T h e So u t h Ko r ean economy expanded 1.3 percent in the first quarter, a pace faster than the most optimistic estimates, with exports driving the momentum. Separately,

pointed last week, a gauge of underly ing demand continued to rise at a strong pace.

“At its most basic, GDP is the sum of population growth and productivity growth,” Deutsche Bank’s Ryan said. “W hen you re raising population growth, you ’ re raising spending growth And if you have more spending growth, you have more things to spend on and more production to meet that spending.”

Granted, it’s st i ll early in t he trend and thousands of mig rants are entering the countr y ever y day. T hat means it’s not just a short-term stor y for the US economy, but also one that can play out over at least t he next f ive yea rs, Shu lyatyeva said. Bloomberg

Taiwan, another major semiconductor-producing nation, reported the fastest economic expansion in almost three years in the first quarter as global demand for AI-related technologies fueled a boom in exports.

“Recent data suggest the strength in Asian exports may still have some way to go,” Sheana Yue, an Oxford Economics economist, said. “T he chip upcycle should keep exports of advanced semiconductors and associated manufacturing equipment elevated. But we maintain our caution about the general outlook for external demand.”

A key source of concern for South Korean policymakers is the sliding value of the won against the dollar W hile companies such as Hy undai Motor Co. have beat earnings forecasts partly on the back of a weaker local currency, smaller companies and importers are struggling to cope with higher costs of raw materials and energy. The won has been one of the worst performing currencies in Asia this year Bloomberg

Dr. Jesus Lim Arranza MAKE SENSE

INFLATION, THINNING CHINESE ARRIVALS SEEN TO WEIGH ON ASEAN TOURISM GROWTH

Tw ith inflation mak

vacations more costly and an ant ic ipated weakening in C hinese a rrivals. In its latest analysis, Oxford Econom ics noted tourist a rrivals in t he Assoc i at ion of Sout heast Nat ions (Asean)-6, whic h i ncludes Si ngapore, Malaysi a, T ha i land, Vietnam, Indonesi a and t he Phi l ippines, have signif icantly improved since t he end of 2023 “but is st i ll behind t he pre-pandem ic t rajector y However we expect t he pace of recover y to slow. T he init i al surge of pent-up demand w i ll l i kely be more g radu al aga inst a backd rop of more u ncer ta in econom ic env ironments, since tourism is la rgely a lu x ur y good.

Fur t her more, whi le we ant ic ipate t hat t he number of Chinese t ravelers w i ll improve, we don’t expect a recover y in t his segment to 2019 levels u nt i l 2025.”

T he projected g rowt h slowdown in tourism w i ll also affect t he abi l ity of t he reg ion’s central banks to c ut key pol icy rates as US dolla rs become sca rce, t hus keeping many local c urrenc ies weak. “A weaker c urrency is a concer n as it feeds into imported inflat ion T herefore, t he c ur-

rent accou nt balance can be a const ra int on moneta r y pol icy moves, as a weaker c urrent accou nt impl ies less suppor t for domest i c c urrenc ies. An i mprovement i n touri st dolla rs, being ser v ices expor ts, wou ld be helpf u l for c urrent accou nts. T his wou ld l i kely create more space for cent ral banks to move independently of t he US Federal Reser ve. T his in tur n wou ld help central banks cut sooner as lowering pol icy rates before t he US Fed risks a weaker c urrency.”

It noted t h at Si ngapore and V ietnam, w hic h led t he touri st recove r y i n t he reg ion, recorded hi g he r c urrent accou nt s ur plu ses i n t he four t h qu a rte r 202 3 t h an t he rest. T he Phi l ipp i nes, howeve r recorded a US$520-m i ll ion c urrent accou nt def ic it i n t he pe riod, hi g he r by 942 pe rcent t h an t he $50-m i ll ion def ic it i n t he same pe riod i n 2022.

talks with UAE to open soon; yearend finish eyed

By Andrea E. San Juan @andreasanjuan

THE f irst rou nd of talks for t h e f r ee t r ade ag r eement between t he Phi l ippines and t he UAE w i ll sta r t next week and w i ll hopef u lly be concluded w it hin t he yea r accord ing to Trade Undersecreta r y for Inter nat ional Trade Group (ITG) Allan B. Gepty. “T h at w i ll be on May 6, next week. So t h at’s, of course, a ver y i mpor tant f ree t rade ag reement for t he Phi l ippi nes g iven t h at, i n t he case of UAE, we h ave a lot of professionals and also bu si nesses i n t he UAE,” Gepty told repor ters on t he sidel i nes of t he Intellect u al Proper ty Off ice of t he Phi lippi nes’ (I POPHL) Gawad Yamang Isip Awa rds Nig ht on Monday i n Makat i C ity.

As t he Phi l ippi nes celebr ates its 50t h anniversa r y of d iplomat ic relat ions w it h t he UAE t his yea r Gepty noted, “And g iven t he impor tance of t he FTA, hopef u lly we can f inish t he same  [negot i at ions]

w it hin t he yea r.” He added: “If we can conclude t hat w it hin t he yea r, t hat wou ld be a good m i lestone in our d iplomat ic relations, par ticu larly economic relat ions.”

Gepty sa id t he FTA w i ll be a “big help” for t he Fi l ipino professionals and businesses in t he UAE as fa r as

PSA: Palay output fell slightly in Q1; CL still top producer

By Ada Pelonia

THEcountry’s unmilled rice production declined slightly in the first quarter of 2024, based on the Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) survey of production volume.

t uitous events,” PSA sa id. Its data also s h owed t h at palay o u tp u t i n irri gated and r a i nfed fa r ms decl i ned i n t h e f ir st qu a r te r T h e p r od u ct i on of irri gated fa r ms d i pped by 2. 3 4 pe r cent, reac hing 3.6 MMT f rom last yea r’s 3.69 MMT. Ra infed fa r ms, whic h depend solely on ra infall, produced 1.086 MMT, sl ightly lower t han t he 1.094 MMT recorded in 2023 Meanw hi le, t he palay output of Cent r al Lu zon, t he cou nt r

t he “stable” business env ironment is concer ned.

In t he same manner, he noted, “It’s also impor tant for UAE investors here in t he Phi l ippines because as always, a stable business env ironment wou ld really encourage some more investments in t he cou nt r y.”

Since it’s a Comprehensive Econom ic Pa r tnership Ag reement, t he Trade u ndersecreta r y sa id it covers “several areas more than the market access.”

“So yea h so c hapters on intellect u al proper ty, compet it ion, also dig ital trade, e-commerce, of course a por t ion of t hat is negot i ated also on gover nment proc urement and t hen movement of t he nat ural persons in relat ion to ser v ices,” Gepty sa id. T he Trade undersecretar y for Inter nat ional Trade Group expla ined t hat t he f irst rou nd of negot i at ions

w i ll foc us on t he text of t he f ree t rade deal.

“In ter ms of lang u age, of course, t hat w i ll have to be negot i ated. So we’ll have to factor in t he sensit iv ities; also, the levels of development, t he pa r t ies, so in t his case, t he PH and UAE. So in ter ms of levels of development, of course we can say UAE is more advanced; so depending on t he a reas of negot i at ion, so we’ll have to consider t hat also,” Gepty noted.

Series of ‘firsts’ mark Shari’ah Bar exams

THE Supreme Cour t has recorded a series of f irsts in t he conduct of t hi s yea r ’s

Sha ri ’a h Ba r Exam inat ions (SBE) held simu ltaneously at two local test ing centers (LTCs), one in Mindanao and one in Met ro Mani la. For t he f irst t ime, t he 2024 SBE was held u nder t he d ig ital i zed and reg ional i zed set up at t he Ateneo de Davao University (ADDU) in Davao City and t he ot her at t he University of the Philippines Diliman (UP Diliman) in Quezon C ity. T h e SBEs we r e

SBE is being chaired for the first time by a sitting member of t he Cour t—Assoc i ate Just ice Ma ri a Fi lomena Singh—as par t of effor ts to for mally integ rate t he Sha ri

asp iri ng Sha ri ’a h cou nselors to u nder take suc h endeavor.”

In add it ion, t he SC noted t he hold ing of a second batc h of t he Sha ri‘a h Tra ining Sem ina r (STS) h eld i n seven d i ffe r ent venu es a rou nd t he cou nt r y in order to encourage more exam inees.

T he STS is a requirement for t hose who intend to take t he SBE.

T he SC w i ll also take over t he conduct of t he STS in cooperat ion w it h t he Nat ional Comm ission of Musl im Fi l ipinos (NCMF).

T he Cour t has also allowed interested overseas Fi l ipino workers

(OFWs) f rom t he K ingdom of Saud i A rabi a to join t he STS onl ine and take t he exam inat ions in t he Phi lippines.

T he SC g ranted qu al if ied examinees f inanc i al assistance to cover t heir a ir fa re and accommodations. A total of 855 examinees attended t he f irst day of SBE on Apri l 28, t he highest nu mber of SBE examinees in histor y. In t he 2022 SBE, 526 took t he exams. C hief Ju st ice Alexander Gesmu ndo, in his message to exam inees, noted t hat “t he Sha ri ’a h Ba r Exam inat ions stands as a testament to t he enduring legacy of Islam in t he Phi lippines,” add ing t hat it “represents our collect ive effor t to promote inclusiv ity and diversity w it hin t he legal profession.” Gesmu ndo also annou nced t hat t he SC Comm ittee on Sha ri ’a h Just ice, headed by Senior Assoc i ate Just ice Ma r v ic Leonen and Assoc i ate Just ice Japa r B. Dimaampao as c ha ir man and v ice c

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng

Phinma: Mindanao cement plant presents opportunities

By VG Cabuag @villygc

PHINMA Corp. is close to acquiring Petra Cement Inc.’s plant in Mindanao, according to one of its executives.

Eduardo

said the transaction will position Phinma as the only company to ser ve the cement needs of northern Mindanao.

The company’s unit Philcement Cor p. signed a manufacturing and sale agreement with Petra Cement in Januar y to enable it to operate the Petra Plant, and to manufacture and produce, distribute and sell cement products.

“We actually look at that as an opportunity. W hen we look at where it is located, it’s almost like we’re the only one t here ser v ing nor t her n

THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is appealing to companies to comply with its reportorial requirements to avoid the agency’s steep penalties.

“We’re not happy penalizing them at all. It’s an exercise of good cor porate governance, submitting your financial statements, (and) general information sheet to your regulators, complying with orders of the SEC. That’s good cor porate governance,” SECChairman Emilio B. Aquino said.

“There’s a ver y low compliance level for us. Before it’s 20 percent, we were able to hit more than 50. We hope we’re going to increase it more.”

In March the agency released SEC Memorandum Circular No. 6, Series of 2024, which formally imposes higher fines and penalties for the late and non-filing of reportorial requirements by companies starting, April 1. The fines were raised 22 years after it was increased.

Mindanao. We think that has a good potential for us,” Sahagun said.

The acquisition will complement the 1.5 million ton per year cement packaging plant the company plans to put up in Davao. Currently, Phinma has a processing plant in Mariveles, Bataan.

“That will bring our total capacity to somewhere like 5 million tons if all those things will be completed in a couple of years,” Sahagun said. Sahagun said the Davao plant is about to start, with initial costing now estimated to reach P2 billion.

The company’s construction materials group, composed of Union

Aquino said the agency has been investing in its digital transformation, as it is the “only way” to improve its ser vices.

“The only way to be competitive is digitalization, not only within the Philippines but global. If we’ve been late by a few months, we will be laggards. We have to push our countr y for ward.” Aquino said the compliance rate now is 66 percent, adding that, “ if it can go 100 percent, why not? That’s for ever yone”.

“Our businesses, a lot of them, are not even preparing their FS [financial statement], that’s why they don’t submit. And language of business is your financials, accounting. If you don’t get to account, how can you even manage? So, their compliance is ver y critical.”

Under the new schedule of fines, domestic stock cor porat ions and one-person cor porations (OPC) and with retained earnings of not more than P100,000 w ill incur a basic

Galvasteel Cor p. (UGC), Philcement

Cor p. and Phi nma Sola r Energy

Cor p., had combined revenues of P13.27 billion and a combined net income of P430.95 million.

“UGC’s sales volume grew as construction activ ities rebounded in the second half of 2023,” the company said. T he company’s sola r b u s i ness, meanw hi le, posted i ts hi g h est revenu es to date, as well as bei ng t h e only s u ccessf u l b i dde r for sola r rooftops i n t he gove r nment’s g reen Ene r gy A u ct ion Prog r am—58 p ro j ects, total i ng 9. 3 9 megawatt peak (mW P).

The company earlier said it will allocate some P4.5 billion for capital expenditures (capex) this year up from last year’s P3 billion. The said amount does not yet include the acquisition cost for Petra Cement.

Edm u nd Alan Qu a-H i ansen, Phinma’s CFO, said the company’s education business will have about half of the total allocations, with the property business getting P1.75 bil-

penalty of P5,000 for the late filing of their general information sheet (GIS) or annual financial statements (AFS), plus P1,000 for ever y month of continuing violation.

The same penalty applies to domestic non-stock cor porations with a fund balance or equity of not more than P100,000. Meanwhile, non-filing of GIS or AFS by OPCs and domestic stock and non-stock cor porations w ith retained earnings and fund balance/ equity, respectively, of not more than P100,000 will incur a basic penalty of P10,000, plus P1,000 per month of continuing violation.

“Fo r e i gn stock co r po r at i ons w it h acc u mu lated i ncome/f u nd balance/members’ equity of less than P100,000 will incur a fine of P10,000 plus P 6,000 late penalty, if their report is filed after 30 days, or P12,000 penalty, if filed after 60 days,” the SEC said.

The base penalty for foreign non-

lion. Meanwhile, some P500 million will go to the company’s hospitality and construction materials businesses.

Qu a-H i ansen sa i d t h e capex spending will be financed by a mix of debt and equity.

“For properties, a lot will be coming mostly from collections done in previous years. We are expecting to generate about P1.3 to 1.4 billion for the year,” he said.

Qua-Hiansen also said the company expects healthy growth “All our businesses are ver y robust and energetic and we expect a stronger top line.”

“We feel we’re well-placed in all the sectors where we’re operating. T he outlook looks ver y bright, I think, in all of them. And therefore, we’re quite bullish as a group.”

Phinma reported that its profit last year grew 6 percent to P1.63 billion from P1.53 billion in the previous year

Revenues expanded 20 percent to P21.27 billion from P17.66 billion.

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

INTERNATIONALConta i ne r Terminal Ser v ices Inc. (ICTSI) said on Wednesday the Visayas Container Terminal (VCT) is transforming the Iloilo Commercial Port Complex (ICPC) “ into a more competitive and efficient trade gateway for Western Visayas.”

ICTSI took over the operations of VCT on April 1 and since then, it has ser viced about 40 vessels, including container ships, Ro-Ro and bulk carriers. According to VCT Executive Director Timothee Jeannin, the company has “steadily enhanced the terminal’s infrastructure “to drive productivity, to mirror ICTSI’s global standard of port operation.”

stock cor porations with less than P 100,000 acc u mu lated i ncome/ fund balance/members’ equity is at P5,000, plus P 6,000 penalty if filed after 30 days, or with an additional P12,000 penalty if filed after 60 days.

A f i ne of P10,000, plu s a penalty of P12,000, sh all be i mposed for t he non-f i l i ng of repor ts by bot h foreign stock and non-stock cor porat ions w it h acc u mu lated i ncome/ f u nd balance/members’ equity of less t han P100,000. Aquino, meanwhi le, sa id t he SEC h as delayed t he i mplementat ion of higher fees and c h a rges as it cont i nues to talk w it h business g roups. “We have committed to cont inue to talk and d iscuss.”

In Ju ly 202 3 t he SEC sou g ht p u bl i c comment for its plan to r a i se fees for company appl i cat ions.

VG Ca bu ag

“Our operations are off to a good start thanks to the great team that we have here at VCT. Ever yone worked tirelessly to get ever ything up and running, including the renovation of the terminal’s facilities, and set up of the systems needed to run the terminal within our desired standards. Customers can expect more improvements as we continue to deploy more equipment and complete the rest of the terminal upgrades in less than two months.”

Currently, VCT operates with a fleet comprising five reach stackers, four trailers, and three prime movers.

Anticipating increased demand, the terminal is set to bolster its arsenal w ith additional equipment, i nclu d i ng f i ve empty conta i ne r handlers, 12 prime movers, and 12 trailers.

Furthermore, plans are underway to introduce two mobile harbor cranes by September aiming to further optimize vessel operations.

To cater to refrigerated cargo, VCT is on track to finalize the construction of its reefer stacks by August, initially offering 40 plugs with provisions for expansion based on demand. Additionally, the terminal is keen on enhancing bulk operations through investments in state-oft he-a r t bagg ing mac hines, clamshells, and supplementar y mobile equipment.

Beyond oper at ional en h ancements, Jeannin said VCT is actively exploring collaboration opportunities with domestic and international shipping lines, aiming to augment ICPC’s connectivity and appeal. By fosteri ng compet it iveness, the port aspires to attract a diverse range of shipping ser vices, thereby unlocking new cargo destinations for Western Visayas trade, he added.

Highlighting VCT’s commitment to local empowerment, Jeannin said the company prioritizes local hiring and engagement of community contractors, aiming to catalyze economic activity and foster community development in the region.

“We are proud to spearhead the transformation of the Iloilo Commercial Port Complex into a worldclass maritime facility. At the same time, we are grateful for the opportunity to spur economic activity in the Visayas region and elevate the local communities that host our operations.”

VCT is ICTSI’s first operation in the Central Philippines.

By VG Cabuag @villygc

THE Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP) said it is willing to sell its stake in Philippine Dealing System Corp., the owner of the fixed-income trading market, but at the right conditions.

BAP President Jose Teodoro K. Limcaoco said the organization of banks would also want to see the governance mechanism of PDS when it is already being operated by the Philippine Stock Exchange Inc.

“They have said they want to buy. There’s no price. We’ve engaged an adviser on what the value might be. That’s where we are,” said Limcaoco, who is also the CEO of the Bank of the Philippine Islands CEO.

“We have to understand the governance of PDEX (Philippine Dealing and Exchange Cor p.). PDEX is the bond exchange. The biggest customers there are the banks. We want to understand how that would operate,” Limcaoco said.

“We’re a sh a re holder of PDS, which in effect has shareholdings in PDEX So we understand how PDEX is governed. If we we’re to sell PDS, we wouldn’t understand how PDEX is governed. So we’re tr ying to understand how they are supposed to govern PDEX,” he added.

PSE President and CEO Ramon

S. Monzon said the self-regulator y organization is waiting for the renewal of the BAP’s special power of attorney from bank members to restart talks anew.

Limcaoco, however said the PSE offer has not indicated any offer price yet.

“We’re willing to sell at the right conditions. They’ve given us a letter saying that they are interested.

THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) will depend on a “soft approach in dealing with social media (soc-med) influencers to pay their taxes instead of filing cases against them for evading their tax obligations. Internal Revenue Commissioner Romeo D. Lumagui Jr told reporters that the BIR will refrain from filing cases against influencers who have not been paying their income taxes despite earning millions of pesos from different socmed platforms.

“Basta mag-comply lang kayo, tutulungan namin kayo [Just comply and we will help you],” Lumagui said adding that the Bureau will also rely on educating taxpayers on their obligations and the consequences of their failure to pay taxes.

Since tax compliance among influencers are voluntar y, the BIR chief said the Bureau would talk to influencers that are tax compliant and encourage them to tell their influencer friends to comply as well.

Lumagui did not provide how much the BIR would stand to gain from its collection of taxes from influencers as, according to him, the Bureau doesn’t know the entirety of those who are earning on soc-med platforms.

However those who gained immense popularity and are raking in millions in income from their socmed sites, such as those included in the list of Top 100 Filipino vloggers, are under Lumagui and the BIR’s watch Lumagui said the BIR is able to know those influencers who should be paying taxes through their “flexing” of earnings from various soc-med platforms.

Kung gusto niyo talagang magflex diyan edi magbayad kayo [If you want to flex how much you are earning then you should pay your taxes],” Lumagui called on to the influencers, adding that some

There’s no price,” Limcaoco said.

Incor porated in 2003 the PDEX operates the organized secondar y market for the trading of fixed-income securities issued by cor porations, as well as the government’s bonds.

The PDEX also calculates the PDS treasur y reference rates, which form the basis for valuing and markingto-ma rket interest rate-sensit ive instruments.

Monzon earlier said the PSE is likely to close the deal this year after the PSE secures the exemptive relief it was asking of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the limit on ownership in an exchange like the PDS, as outlined in the Securities Regulation Code.

The stock exchange intends to acquire up to 100 percent of the operator of the countr y’s sole fixed-income exchange, and eventually merge the two platforms—the equities and the fixed-income exchanges.

The Securities Regulation Code, or Republic Act (RA) 8799, states that no person may beneficially own or control, directly or indirectly, more than five percent 5 percent of the voting rights of the exchange and no industr y or business group may beneficially own or control, directly or indirectly, more than 20 percent of the voting rights of the exchange.

The PSE owns 20.98 percent of the PDS but RA 8799 caps ownership in the PDS at 20 percent by an individual or an industr y. The other shareholders of PDS are Singapore Stock Exchange, W histler Technologies Ser vices Inc., Tata Consulting Ser vices Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., San Miguel Cor p., the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines and the Social Security System.

NG to borrow higher in May as ’24 deficit target tweaked

By Reine Juvierre Alberto

THE national government aims to borrow P210 billion from the local debt market this month, higher by P15 billion than April’s programmed amount of P195 billion as the state recently increased its borrowing program for 2024.

The Bureau of the Treasur y (BTr) targets to raise P150 billion through the sale of Treasur y bonds (T-bonds) and another P60 bi llion through Treasur y bills (T-bills).

According to the Treasury’s schedule of T-bonds and T-bills offering for the second quarter of the year P30 billion in T-bonds will be offered on each auction day for all five Tuesdays of the month

T-bonds with 7-year tenor will be offered on May 2 while 10-year debt papers will be sold on May 9. Apart from these, 15-year, 20-year and 3-year T-bonds will be auctioned off on May 16, May 23, and May 30, respectively.

On t h e ot h e r h and, P 15 b i ll i on i n 91-day, 182-day and 3 64-day

THE Department of Finance (DOF) anno u nced last Wednesday that Finance Secretar y Ralph G. Recto paid tribute to his predecessors during a dinner reception for past DOF secretaries and officials, highlighting their crucial roles in keeping the Philippine economy strong and stable throughout periods of crisis.

showed willingness to comply.

In 2021, BIR Assistant Commissioner Clavelina Nacar said the BIR collected P44.68 billion in taxes from online sellers and soc-med influencers.

According to the BIR’s Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) 97-2021, soc-med influencers include all taxpayers, individuals or cor porations receiving income, in cash or in kind, from any soc-med sites and platforms in exchange for ser vices performed as bloggers, video bloggers or “vloggers” or as an influencer

Influencers sh all be l i able to i ncome tax and percentage or value-added tax u nless t hey ea r n an annu al i ncome not exceed i ng P250,000 for i ncome tax and not more t h an P3 m i ll ion a yea r i n g ross revenues for VAT exempt ion.

Influencers who derive their income from the Youtube Par tner Prog ram, sponsored social and blog posts, display adver tising, being a brand representative or ambassador, aff i liate marketing, co-creating product lines, promoting own products, photo and v ideo sales, dig ital courses, podcasts and webinars are taxable under income tax.

For bu si ness tax, whic h may eit her be percentage or VAT, soc-med i nfluencers a re considered as self-employed i nd iv iduals l i able to ava i l of t he 8 percent tax on g ross sales i n excess of

P250,000 i n l ieu of t he g radu ated i ncome tax rates.

Influencers who attempt to evade the payment of tax or fail to make a return, supply accurate information, or pay tax will be held criminally liable under Section 254 (Tax Evasion) and Section 255 (Failure to File Return, Supply Correct Information, Pay Tax Withhold and Remit Tax and Refund Excess Tax) of the National Internal Revenue Code (Tax Code). Reine Juvierre Alberto

“Today’s gathering can also be rightly called as a reunion of sur vivors of economic crises, of veterans of wars against deficits, because of the 43 finance secretaries the countr y had, none had the lu xur y of being spared of confronting one,” he said in his remarks for the Secretar y’s Hour toast on April 30, 2024 at the Ay untamiento.

The reception was held in celebration of the DOF’s 127th anniversar y on April 24.

Recto recou nted how his predecessors successfully steered the Philippines in turbulent times in histor y and how their actions have accumulated into the fortitude, tenac ity, and professional ism t h at

GLOBAL bond markets will take their next cue from a slew of US economic data and the Federal Reser ve’s decision, all of which risk pushing a rebound in fixed-income assets further into the future.

US policymakers are expected to signal no imminent plans for cuts after a string of higher-than-expected inflation data, possibly keeping yields at the highest levels of the year The two-year yield is hovering around 5 percent and the 10-year one is at 4.7 percent.

US Treasuries had their worst performance in 14 months in April as traders pared bets on how much easing the Fed stands to deliver They

THE prospect of higher-for-longer interest rates is weighing on cr ypto, under ined by deepening Bitcoin losses after the token’s worst monthly drop since the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX empire

define DOF today.

“These can be words in the coatof-arms of this fighting unit, if ever there was one,” he emphasized.

T he DOF chief recognized the past finance secretaries present during the dinner reception, starting with Carlos G. Dominguez who he praised for successfully keeping the Philippine economy afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, which brought the global economy to a standstill.

Meanw hi le, he acknowledged the efforts of Cesar V. Purisima and Cesar E.A. Virata who both raised much-needed funds to rebuild the economy and support the victims of two of the countr y’s most devastating typhoons.

Virata was at t he helm of DOF w h en bot h s u pe r typ h oon Yoli ng and T he Great Cent ral Lu zon Flood devastated t he cou nt r y i n 1970. Meanwhi le, Puri si ma was t he Fi nance Sec reta r y when super typhoon Yolanda—one of t he most powe r f u l t ropical cyclones eve r recorded—st ruck t he Phi l ippi nes

went from pricing as many as three quarter-point rate cuts this year to just one by November Now, a hawkish tilt from the Fed risks putting that single reduction into question too, especially if Powell signals that delaying cuts until 2025 is a possibility.

“Fixed income investors may need to wait to benefit from US rate cuts,” said Brendan Mur phy, head of global fixed income for North America at Insight Investment. “Everyone thought the Fed would be the first or one of the first central banks to cut rates this cycle, now it looks like it will be one of the last.”

A head of t he FOMC meet ing, traders will be confronted with a slew of US economic releases includ-

i n 2013

He, likewise, lauded Roberto F. de Ocampo who manned the fort to fend off the contagion of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, and a decade later Gar y Teves who masterfully shielded the countr y from the fallout of the Great Recession of 2008. He also recognized Jose T. Pardo for managing the economy well despite the political turbulence in the 2000s.

“Indeed, we stand on the shoulders of these giants. So tonight, as we mark the 127th anniversar y of the DOF, please allow us to pay tribute to your hard work that has allowed t his crucial inst it ut ion to t hrive through tests and time,” Secretar y Recto stressed.

The incumbent Finance Chief assured his predecessors of his commitment to uphold the tradition of sound fiscal policy-making and to build on the heritage of excellence that they have left behind.

Moreover, Recto sa id he i s ver y for t u nate to i n he rit not only a robu st i nst it ut ion but a team of

ing job openings and manufacturing data. They will also be on watch for the Treasur y’s quarterly plan of longterm debt sales, which are expected to remain steady, and the exact date for a Treasur y program to buy back existing debt.

T he Fed C h a ir al ready st ruck a more h awk i sh tone last mont h , wa r n i ng it wou ld l i kely take more t i me for off ic i als to ga i n t he necessa r y conf idence t h at price g rowt h i

hig h ly talented DOF employees, whom hi s predecessors h ave i nspired to embr ace t he nobi l ity of c iv i l ser v ice.

“So at this juncture, allow me to share a toast in honor of my i llustrious predecessors and for mer off icials who brought the Depar tment of Finance v isionar y foresight, policy acumen, and excellent public ser v ice,” the Finance Secretar y said in closing.

In a video message, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr expressed his “profound gratitude” to the present and former finance secretaries and employees of the DOF for ensuring that the countr y’s fiscal policies are beneficial and responsive to the needs of ever y Filipino.

“Your service, your guidance, your wisdom has enabled our nation to overcome all the challenges that have come along our way. Today, under the leadership of Secretar y Ralph Recto, I trust that the DOF will continue to effectively translate these policies into real and tangible results,” the President said.

Health& Fitness

Editor: Anne Ruth Dela Cruz

Health advocacy groups hit govt officials for ‘blatant support of deceitful industry’

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

THE Parents Against Vape (PAV) said that there is a need to take a closer look at the use of electronic smoking devices, noting that there are a growing number of documented cases of vaping-related illnesses and injuries affecting even young children.

“Instead of coddling the industry, our government should be protecting the health of our children,” said Rebie Relator, President of PAV.

The PAV, Child Rights Network, and the Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development are also wondering why state figures and government officials were present and were openly endorsing heated tobacco products at the inauguration of a vape manufacturing

TBy Roderick L. Abad Contributor

HE heat is on. And what bet-

ter way to make this summer sweeter and sweatier than by Anytime Fitness’s midyear special promo.

Now ongoing until May 14 across all of its more than 140 clubs nationwide, the fitness franchise and global pioneer in 24/7 gym access brings back its highly anticipated 12-month membership discount, slashing it at 15 percent off to let every Juan start his fitness journey and be in the best fit and form at only P2,252. Even non-members wanting to get healthier and more ready to flaunt that beach bod for the summer would also be in for a treat as joining fees will be waived throughout the promo period.

What’s in store

AVAILING of the membership promo entitles customer to enjoy Anytime Fitness’ signature keyfob, available for P2,650, allowing all to unlock the range of features offered by the gym round-the-clock.

Whether old or new member, the keyfob grants an all-access pass to the global network of this gym, state-of-the-art equipment, group fitness classes, and personal coaching sessions.

Committed to setting new benchmarks in the wellness industry since its inception, Anytime Fitness is dedicated to be the most extensive and diverse fitness network in the region as it also stands as the pioneer of the 24/7 fitness franchise concept.

For a decade and counting, this global gym has already gained over five million members and continues to expand in number and reach worldwide—with 5,500 clubs across the globe, including Antarctica—as it provides all with the opportunities to grow and experience a new level of wellness commitment.

To know more about the offer and features of Anytime Fitness by visiting its website. Also, check out Anytime Fitness Philippines on Facebook and Instagram.

facility in Tanauan, Batangas on April 15.

“First of all, it is deceitful to call this vape manufacturing facility a ‘smoke-free’ facility. Vapes and heated tobacco products still produce smoke and contain toxic and addictive substances that when inhaled can damage the lungs and the brain,” said Relator.

“This attempt of the industry to make their products appear safe should not be condoned by the government,” she said.

Accountability

THESE health advocacy groups are calling for accountability for the blatant show of government support to a “deceitful” industry.

“For government officials to support this heated tobacco product hub is a disservice to public health and the right of our children to grow up in a healthy environment,” Relator said.

She said that tobacco companies are continuously deceiving the public with disinformation about electronic smoking devices like vapes and heated tobacco products being “safer alternatives.”

Meanwhile, Rom Dongeto, Convenor of the Child Rights Network and Executive Director of the Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development, shared that people in government are not supposed to bow down to the interests of the tobacco industry.

“We would like to remind our government officials of their sworn duty to protect the in-

terests of the Filipino public. This includes abiding by the law, which prohibits unnecessary interactions between the government and the tobacco industry,” Dongeto said.

“This manufacturing facility for electronic smoking devices is not only a public health disaster waiting to unfold. It is reckless to support this amid a growing vape epidemic that is primarily affecting the Filipino children and youth,” he added.

According to the 2019 Global Youth Tobacco Survey, one in seven Filipino students aged 13 to 15 already use e-cigarettes.

The Department of Health’s first recorded case of e-cigarette or vape-associated lung injury or EVALI in the Philippines occurred in November 2019, which involved a 16-year-old girl from the Visayas region who used both vapes and traditional cigarettes.

Last March, the Philippine National Police reported that it had recorded reprimanding 8,000 minors using vapes and e-cigs.

Makati gets 1st AI-powered Medical Imaging System for Cancer Care

RESIDENTS of Makati City will be the first in the Philippines to experience the uMI 550, an artificial intelligence-enhanced digital PET/CT system that the Makati Life Medical Center has purchased, which offers clear, sharp, and efficient medical imaging.

As part of Mayor Abby Binay’s commitment to give Makatizens the finest preventive care possible, the scan’s capacity to identify cancer in its early stages gives doctors the ability to help with tailored treatments. Its acquisition represents a major advancement for Makati.

“That’s why we enthusiastically welcome this groundbreaking equipment to the world of medical imaging, the uMI 550, from United Imaging Health Care. The very first in the Philippines,” she said.

The largest health care publicprivate partnership in the nation is Makati Life Medical Center. It is the primary provider of emergency and healthcare services in the city. The application of this modern PET / CT scanning equipment shows Makati Life’s commitment towards offering Filipinos access to top-notch medical care.

“Together, we are not just acquiring a machine. We are investing in the future. It is a future where cancer is detected early, treated effectively, and ultimately conquered,” said Dr. Dennis Sta. Ana, Makati Life CEO.

The Makati Life CEO said cutting-

THE BDO Foundation (BDOF) has completed its rehabilitation efforts on the rural health units (RHUs) in four municipalities in Iloilo province, benefiting more than 220,000 residents in 160 barangays.

Still part of BDOF’s ongoing program to improve the country’s basic healthcare delivery system, the completed RHUs are the Carles Primary Care Facility, Sara Municipal Primary Care Facility, Ajuy Primary Care Facility, and Alimodian Rural Health Unit and Birthing Facility.

“With improved primary healthcare facilities now available, residents can access quality medical services closer to home, thereby mitigating barriers to healthcare and promoting overall wellbeing,” said BDOF president Mario A.

edge medical equipment was acquired at the prompting of Binay, who envisions a comprehensive healthcare system for Makatizens.

He reiterated the mayor’s directive to prioritize Preventive, Therapeutic, and Rehabilitative (PTR) Medicine, highlighting the significant role of the scan in early cancer detection and targeted therapy.

“The uMI 550 PET/CT scan aligns perfectly with our mission of providing the best preventive care to our community,” said Dr. Sta Ana. “It represents hope, precision, and progress in the fight against cancer.

Paulo Del Prado, of Paeonmed, said, “We take great pride in introducing the advantages of this cuttingedge equipment to the Philippines, enabling healthcare providers to offer improved diagnosis and medical care to our patients we work towards improving healthcare accessibility

Deriquito.

The rehabilitation efforts addressed various aspects critical to delivering primary and maternal health services. These include structural and facility enhancements—waiting areas, offices, clinics, consultation and treatment rooms, and birthing facilities. New signages, furniture, and fixtures were also installed for greater comfort and convenience to both health workers and patients in the RHUs. Since 2012, BDOF has rehabilitated 178 RHUs, 19 of which are located in Iloilo.

“More are in the pipeline. These efforts are our contribution to achieving Sustainable Development Goal no. 3, which is to ensure healthy lives and promote the well-being of all people of all ages,” added Deriquito.

By Rory Visco Contributor

FOR the longest time, the idea of eating healthy is not really lost in the minds of people around the world. In fact, the pandemic even fueled the desire of families and people around the world to choose to eat vitamin- and nutrient-rich foods that will boost the immune system so that they can stay healthy and combat any virus or disease that will come along.

Even in the consumption of livestock like cows, chickens, or pigs, there’s been a constant interest in consuming livestock that are raised naturally, meaning those that are not confined in suffocating spaces and can freely roam around, and are nourished with natural and chemicalfree feeds.

One of those that took people’s fancy are eggs since they are easily accessible and affordable but offers a lot of nutritious value as well. Even with eggs, a lot of terms have been coined to make it a top choice of healthy food that consumers can consider as part of their diet.

Cage-free or free-range?

THERE’S been a lot of debate as to which is better. According to Eater. com, a website focused on food and dining, “free-range,” a term coined by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) are those eggs that “come from hens that have some sort of access to the outdoors but doesn’t mean that the hens actually go outdoors, or that the outdoor space is more than a small, fenced-in area ; it simply implies that a door exists that a farmer could at some point open.”

There is another term called “cagefree,” again courtesy of the USDA, wherein, Eater.com said, “the eggs come from hens that, put simply, aren’t caged. They can freely roam a building, room, or enclosed area with unlimited access to food and fresh water during their production cycle, but has no access to the outdoors.”

and outcomes for all members of our community. Let us unite in embracing innovation and progress for a healthier future.”

Dr. Ju Song X ia, United Imaging’s CEO for its international operations, explained the technical and medical features of uMI 550, which features a unique Integrated Light Guide Digital PET detector, achieving both high resolution and high sensitivity. It is a powerful tool for oncology, cardiology, and neurology scanning.

Mayank Nath, of Operista said, “This state-of-the-art PETCT machine underscores Makati Life’s unwavering dedication to providing world-class healthcare services to Filipinos. It’s a significant milestone in the advancement of healthcare in the region, positioning the hospital as a leader in providing comprehensive and state-of-the-art medical services to the community.”

An article that appeared in AVINews.com cited several reasons to consume cage-free eggs, which apparently has “a fresher taste, an enhanced nutritional profile, that they are products of hens that enjoy a wide habitat with access to open air, that’s why they are also called happy hen eggs,’ that there is respect for the animal and general improvement of its welfare, and is of high quality where consumers and animals benefit equally.”

Only cage-free eggs in the PHL PERHAPS the cage-free eggs fever has already caught on in the country if the results of a recent national consumer survey were to be believed.

Titled “The Philippines Consumer Survey For Cage-Free Eggs,” it revealed that a large majority of Filipino consumers prefer that food companies, those in the food industry such as restaurants, retailers and packaged food brands, should source their eggs

from farms that use cage-free production methods.

About 83 percent of Filipinos said that restaurants, supermarkets, packaged food companies, and other similar establishments should purchase the eggs from suppliers where the hens live in cage-free surroundings, while 80 percent said they’d lean more on patronizing a food brand that uses cage-free eggs.

And apparently, of the hundreds that were polled, many wouldn’t mind paying premium price just to be able to transition to cage-free eggs from the traditional ones. “89 percent of respondents agreed with the statement that the advantages of cage-free eggs in terms of food safety and quality are worth spending a little extra money on, while 76 percent of consumers were willing to pay 10 to 25 percent more for cage-free eggs in supermarkets, and 74 percent were willing to spend 5 to 10 percent more for a restaurant meal or packaged food product that used cage-free eggs.’”

Aside from this, interest in animal welfare was also a major element with regard to consumer attitudes. When presented with the statement that “hens that produce eggs should not be kept in cages, that they should have the freedom to walk and move around,” 95 percent of them agreed, while 99 percent said food companies should buy their eggs and meat supply only “from a supply chain that adheres to humane standards of animal treatment,” and 31 percent cited the safety of cage-free eggs as a valuable advantage.

Consumer attitude WITH these results from the survey that was conducted by leading APAC consumer research agency GMO Research, consumer attitude is already evolving toward “seeking higher animal welfare and sustainability standards from the food brands they patronize.”

Given this evolution in customers’ attitude, several major food brands operating in the Philippines like Jollibee, The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Red Ribbon, Mang Inasal, Ascott, MetroMart, including the SM Hotels and Conventions Corp. (SMHCC) and Robinsons Hotels and Resorts have already committed to using only cagefree eggs in the coming years.

“These new survey findings underscore how important it is for food companies to prioritize animal welfare and other ethical sourcing practices in their operations,” according to Robyn Del Rosario, Sustainability Program Manager at Lever Foundation, a non-government organization that supports companies in the Philippines and across Asia regarding sustainable sourcing. “As consumer awareness and demand for improvements like cage-free eggs continue to rise, businesses can seize the opportunity to enhance their brand reputation by aligning their sourcing standards with consumers’ expectations.”

In the photo are, from left, Dr. Dennis Sta. Ana, CEO of Makati Life Medical Center; Paulo Del Prado of Paeonmed; Mayank Nath of Operista; and Dr. Ju Song Xia, CEO, United Imaging.

Getting a good night’s rest is vital for neurodiverse children–pediatric sleep experts explain why

MVanderbilt University

OST of us are all too familiar with the consequences of a poor night’s sleep— be it interrupted sleep or simply too little of it. If you’re a parent with kids at

to increased aggression, irritability, inattention and disorder.

We are three sleep experts—a neurology physician with expertise in pediatrics, a psychologist and a pediatric nurse practitioner—who are working the autism spectrum, get better sleep. Two of us wrote a 2014 book for parents on the topic.

their families both at night and throughout the day to

THE SCIENCE BEHIND SLEEP DIFFICULTIES

children don’t sleep well, including medical

Medications that are used to treat medical conditions, such as antidepressants for mood disorders or stimulants for ADHD, can further disrupt sleep. and issues with processing brain chemicals, such as melatonin.

understanding what’s expected of them at bedtime time to go to sleep.

TREATING SLEEP PROBLEMS

ALL of these factors can be addressed and treated.

that is interfering with sleep.

Changes to daytime habits, including getting screens (TV, computers, phones, etc.) and establishing calming bedtime routines.

their child for those families who would like a child to fall asleep and stay asleep independently.

family. It's important to note that not all families want their children to sleep on their own. For instance,

families, children share a room with one or more Because there are so many factors that can cause disrupted sleep, addressing sleep problems cannot partnership with parents.

education, usually in an initial session lasting up to 90 minutes, and two 30-minute follow-up sessions. In this unique care model designed to increase access to sleep care for families, we train clinicians, including work with parents to put together a personalized plan.

more competent in their parenting.

THE UPS AND DOWNS OF MELATONIN

MELATONIN is a natural substance that is produced makes us drowsy and helps set your brain’s internal clock to promote sleep. Melatonin reduces anxiety Melatonin is one of the most studied supplements

randomized clinical trials.

There are potential downsides to melatonin, though. It is considered a dietary supplement and is not regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration. This makes it hard for parents to

tell how much melatonin a pill or gummy contains, let alone what other substances the supplement may include.

children experienced drowsiness, dizziness, such as low blood pressure and increased heart rate.

required breathing assistance through mechanical result from children eating a bunch of gummies, or parents not understanding how much melatonin is and articles on melatonin on the internet and social blogs on melatonin safety. These include topics like whether children can become dependent on melatonin will delay puberty, whether children might more.

PROMOTING HEALTHIER SLEEP

HERE are some general tips for helping your child sleep better, regardless of whether they are Choose a consistent bedtime and wake time. This consistency will help children's own natural melatonin kick in.

Make sure bedtime isn't too early. For example, an 8 pm bedtime is too early for most 10-year-olds.

become more anxious, which makes going to sleep

Help your child get natural sunlight in the morning. Morning sunlight sets our brain's internal clock so that we can fall asleep more easily at bedtime. during the day.

pm for school-age children. Naps can interfere with going to sleep at night. and chocolate.

minutes before bedtime. down all lights in the house. Consider using red night

Create wind-down time in place of screens.

is calming and soothing, such as reading a book, coloring or listening to music. If a bath is stimulating,

Help your child learn to fall asleep without That way, they will settle down on their own at bedtime. And when they wake up throughout the night, since we all wake up in the night, they will be able to go right back to sleep without becoming fully awake. THE CONVERSATION

an international swimwear brand based in the the nesting beaches of endangered sea turtles in Bacnotan, La Union. The one-day coastal cleanup, coinciding with Earth Day celebrations, underscored Blackbough Swim’s dedication to ecological Building on the success of its inaugural cleanup

marks Blackbough Swim’s continued commitment sustainability journey. As per a study in 2021 reported by ScienceDaily microplastics that endanger marine creatures. The shores of Bacnotan, a sanctuary for the pawikan

joined forces with CURMA (Coastal Underwater Resource Management Actions) whose leadership

been crucial for coastal forest restoration and waste

Blackbough Swim didn’t just do a cleanup; it was and action. Volunteers did more than just clear trash—they learned, they contributed, they made a Post-cleanup, CURMA did what it does best. which enlightened participants on the types of turtles in the Philippines, their nesting habits, actions can protect our oceans. To celebrate the day to refreshments from local LU businesses,

SUZUKI AUTO CLARK REOPENS WITH BIGGER SHOWROOM, NEW SERVICE BAYS

S“We

Mauricio leads Yamaha PHL Racing Team to first place in ARRC RD2

but also first for the Yamaha Philippines Racing Team at the top of the podium for the season.

This victory continued the winning streak for the team after a good start in round 1 of the Asia Road Racing Championship by securing podium finishes in both the SS600 and UB150 category last March.

The UMA MMR Yamaha Philippines Racing Team continue to fight for the top spot with valuable points coming from Mauricio and teammate April King Mascardo who finished in 11th place.

McKinley Kyle Paz who is racing under the Yamaha Tekhne Racing Team Asia and was 3rd place in Round 1 was able to earn valuable points in the SS600 category with a 7th place finish. This keeps his team at the top spot in the team standings.

Race 2 was canceled the following day due to weather conditions becoming unsuitable for racing. The consistency of the racing team is the result of Yamaha’s improved racing program that further develop riders and machines to compete at the highest level and create champions.

The Yamaha Philippines Racing Team received a warm welcome upon their arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport where they held their post-race press conference.

The team will be preparing for round 3 of the ARRC and hope to keep their winning streak alive at the Mobility Resort in Motegi, Japan on June 7 to 9, 2024.

Neocolours performed in sold-out concert last April 13

THE 80s multi-platinum OPM band, Neocolours dazzled their fans in a sold-out concert at the Music Museum tomorrow last April 13, 2024 The concert, titled “Tuloy Pa Rin ang Awit ng OPM,” a night of Original Pilipino Music and nostalgia, showcased Neocolours’ greatest hits alongside performances from a stellar lineup of guest artists that included Jinky Vidal, Noel Cabangon, Ice Seguerra, and Gloc-9.

Known for their chart-topping songs such as “Tuloy Pa Rin,” “Maybe,” “Say You’ll Never Go,” “Hold On,” and “Kasalanan Ko Ba,” Neocolours has solidified their status as a beloved fixture in the OPM scene.

The concert was presented by Ticket1, Philippines’ largest travel agency chain.

The concert was supported by Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office and Surf. It was also brought to concert goers by Bayad Center, Philippine Veterans Bank, Zamboanga Valientes and Go Hotels. The show’s media partners were: DOOH.PH, 91.5 Win Radio, 97.9 Home Radio,106.7 Energy FM and Wish FM 107.5. “Tuloy Parin Ang Awit ng OPM” was a production of Ticket1 Concerts.

Lazada partners with actress Gabbi Garcia for fashion line

“You can be fun and outgoing but when it’s time to work, you can be professional. You can be maarte and love fashion, but that doesn’t mean you’re shallow. My kaartehan and love for fashion turned into a business,” the actress shared.

Lazada Philippines Chief Executive Officer Carlos Barrera reaffirmed the platform’s commitment to nurturing entrepreneurship.

gion,”

WITH the hot summer days upon us, families and friends are all looking to create unforgettable memories together under the sun. Filipinos are especially fond of summer outings and making the most of the sunny weather: indulging in outdoor activities and swimming whenever possible to beat the heat.

With Intex, a pioneer brand in inflatable products, you can bring the summer fun with you wherever you go, and even into your own home.

A quick look at the reviews of customers who’ve purchased Intex products online all similarly highlight how Intex pools are the perfect size for families and safe for kids.

“We’re pretty happy with the response we get from our customers as this aligns with how we work to ensure our products offer durability, ease of assembly, and a large capacity,” shared Adonis Rentoria, Brand Manager of Intex Philippines. Perfect for anyone looking to have a Do-ItYourself summer experience anytime, anywhere, read on to learn more about the endless possibilities with Intex.

1. Kid-proof and time-proof construction INTEX inflatables are renowned for their durability and sturdy construction, ensuring they can withstand the rigors of summer fun. From its line of inflatable pools to larger frame pools, Intex products are designed to last, allowing you to enjoy countless hours of entertainment and family fun without worrying about any punctures or leaks. Rest easy knowing your Intex products are all produced with high-quality materials and top-notch design, promising a worry-free summer.

the horizon.

3. Party of one to pool party fun THERE’S no need for a shortlist when inviting friends and family over for a pool party because Intex has got you covered. With a variety of pool designs and sizes to choose from, you’re set to accommodate your family and friends eager to join in on the fun. Create lasting memories as you lounge, splash, and relax together in the comfort of your own homes, without having to travel far for that refreshing pool-side fun. Splash around and

2. Assembly as easy as one-two-three GONE are the days of complicated setups and frustrating instruction manuals. Intex inflatables are designed with convenience in mind, making assembly a breeze. Setting up a pool for a refreshing dip has never been easier—and can even serve as a fun pre-game activity with the kids before hitting the water. With easy-to-follow instructions, intuitive designs that simplify the process, and accessories that offer a quick inflation process, you definitely won’t run out of energy before you get to splash around under the sun. Say goodbye to the hassle and say hello to effortless fun with Intex.

He said: “What we do at Lazada is simple: we build entrepreneurs and make selling easy for everyone. We’re very excited to take this next step with Gabbi, who has partnered with Lazada throughout the years on livestreams and LazBeauty, and launching her first brand with us just last year. By investing in our sellers, we get to grow a vibrant marketplace where buyers can access a wide assortment of quality products and get the best possible online shopping experience.” Mishie de la Cruz, head of affiliates at Lazada Philippines, echoed this sentiment, expressing their support of Garcia’s entrepreneurial journey “every step of the way”. For her encouraging words to aspiring entrepreneurs, Garcia said: “When you meet people who give you the right support, don’t be afraid and just go for it. Especially if it’s something that you’re passionate about and makes your heart flutter.” Dive into style and explore Garcia’s official LazMall Flagship Store “Sandy and Shine” exclusively on Lazada.

Envoys&Expats BusinessMirror

PHL, Germany bolster climate action with €36.8-M TRANSCEND project

THE German Development Cooperation (GIZ) and Climate Change Commission (CCC) will boost local capacities in effecting climate change and biodiversity policies.

Both announced on April 15 the soft launch of t he €36.8-mi ll ion (P2.35 billion) Transformative Actions for Climate and Ecological Protection and Development (TRANSCEND) project.

The foreign-assisted project aims to ensure transparent, integrated and accountable implementation of climate projects across all levels of society in the Philippines, while soliciting and mediating coordination among involved entities.

Accord i ng to GIZ’s i nd icat ive timeline, the TRANSCEND project main launch is set in August this year following the signing of the project’s Implementation agreement.

“Germany and the Philippines are partners who share the same values, and work hand-in-hand to strengthen the rule base of the national order in Europe, in Southeast Asia, and ever ywhere in the world where [danger exists],” said Dr Andreas Pfaffernoschke, who is Germany’s ambassador to the Philippines. “We have a lot in common: We are reliable partners, and today’s soft launching event is another milestone in our partnership.”

“Cl i mate c h ange poses many challenges, and has differentiated impacts on sectors and dispropor-

tionate effects on others,” CCC vice chair and executive director Robert Borje in his welcome remarks at the recent soft launch “Working with Germany on the TRANSCEND project, we can focus on maximizing and optimizing collaboration and cooperation between and among government agencies, CSOs and the private sector in pushing for a climate-smart and climate-resi lient Phi lippines. This is the call of our time: a truly whole of society and whole of world approach to address climate change and its impacts.”

Outl ined to suppor t t he Phi lippines in achieving its “National Adaptation Plan” and “Nationally Distributed Contributions Implementation Plan,” TRANSCEND is calibrated to work and assist in key climate inter vention areas as identified in the two framework documents.

T hi s i ncludes t he protect ion, conser vation and rehabilitation of biodiversity as well as natural carbon sinks, securing of investments to leverage on private-sector funds and jumpstart transition to a lowcarbon economy and create green jobs, synergizing of adaptation and mitigation strategies for effective carbon reduction, avoidance and se-

questration of carbon emissions, and establishment of multi-stakeholder decision-support systems at all levels of government to enhance transparency and accelerate transformative evidence-based policies.

“This project allows us to coherently synergize our efforts toward a low-carbon and biodiversity-friendly future through improved coordinat ion, for t i f ied pa r tnerships, and maximum impact of our resources.”

sa id Env ironment Secreta r y Ma. Anton i a Yu lo-Loyzaga w ho was represented by Assistant Secretar y Noralene Uy.

TRANSCEND, according to the sec reta r y, w i ll catalyze pos it ive c h ange, p romot i ng “ i nteg r ated, transparent, and accountable” efforts to safeguard the environment for present and future generations.

For Borje, the national government must continue to collaborate with partners, particularly with Germany: “W hile the work ahead of us is still long and still requires…hard work, there is a sense of hope, and

there is a sense of renewal.”

He added that, “pondered upon, it’s going to power the partnership that we currently have from 70 years to beyond.”

CCC continues to actively seek effective and robust local and global linkages as part of its commitment to enhance the countr y’s capacity to mitigate and adapt to the changing climate, and to usher in a new era of national climate resiliency.

The TRANSCEND project is deeply aligned with the United Nations Su sta i nable Development Goals, particularly SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 15 (Life on Land), and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) by focusing on enhancing climate resi l ience, biod iversity conser vation, and fostering ties for effective implementation.

The initiative holds much significance for both the Philippine and German governments, as it marks another chapter of the PhilippineGer man d iplomat ic relat ionship since its inception 70 years ago. PNA

Japan, ILO, DICT inaugurate digital transformation center in C. Luzon

ON April 26, the government of Japan, in cooperat ion with the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Depa r tment of Infor mat ion and Communications Technology (DICT) launched the d ig ital transfor mation center (DTC) in Mabalacat City, Pampanga.

For the Japanese Embassy, the DTC is a “significant component of t he extensive Japan-ILO project: ‘Bringing Back Jobs Safely under the Covid-19 Crisis in the PH: Rebooting Small and Informal Businesses’ launched in 2021.” Funded by their government, it will foster economic recover y and resilience in the wake of the pandemic.

The DICT Pampanga–DTC will offer a range of digital resources and t ra ining prog rams t hat w i ll support job creation and promote digitalization for businesses in the Central Luzon Region, particularly among micro-small and med ium enter prises.

The embassy’s first secretar y Chihiro Kanno underscored the value of digitalization, especially in businesses as one of the lessons learned from the health crisis: “The government of Japan is honored to be part

of this endeavor Rest assured of [our] steadfast support for the Philippines, as we put much value on the longstand ing f riendship between our two countries.”

The ceremony was also attended by Undersecretar y Jeffrey Ian Dy

of DICT, Hideki Kagohashi of ILO Phi l ippi nes, Prov i nc i al D irector Elenita Ordonio of Department of Trade and Industr y, Director Cosmas Zavazava of International Telecommunications Union, Julius Cainglet of Federation of Free Workers, and

Fe Bautista-Zulueta of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines. Over the years, Japan and ILO have collaborated on numerous development initiatives for the Philippines, with the common goal of helping improve Filipinos’ lives.

Internship possibilities with South Korea eyed

YOU know something’s afoot when d iplomats talk d ir ty abo u t anot h e r co u nt r y— w ithout f i lters.

W hen I was a newbie repor ter, I asked then-Foreign Affairs secretar y Domingo Siazon Jr.: “Is it your job to lie for the countr y?”

“I don’t lie,” he said. “But I have to be caref u l of the words I say, so I can have elbow room for flex ibi lity later.”

Me: “So you can deny that you said it?”

Siazon: “Maybe.”

T his is why it is quite discombobu lating to hear aga in f rom a rank ing Chinese off icial babbling about supposed deta i ls of t he ir closed-door meetings w ith Fi lipino gover nment men w ith regard to the West Phi lippine Sea (W PS)/South China Sea rift.

T he Chinese off icial’s bone of contention this time was that they did not only have dealings w ith the for mer Duter te reg ime. Time and again, they insisted, they received mi xed signals: One day, Fi lipino officials would agree to cooperate. T he next day, the latter wou ld back out.

Out of curiosity, we asked what exactly t heir a rrangements were w ith the current administration. T hey had two, they claim: an inter nal arrangement,” and a “new model” whic h he cla ims has t he “approval of the highest chain of command.”

T he “ inter nal arrangement,” the off icial said, was w ith the Phi lippines’s special envoy to China (and ambassador to t he Cour t of St. James) Teodoro Locsin Jr Locsin, who was the last foreign affa irs sec reta r y of t he D uter te administration, flew to Beijing in September 2023 T he v isit was not repor ted in Phi lippine or Chinese media— unti l only recently. I asked him for comment, but he has not retur ned my call.

I can only assu me about t he t i mel i ne, and t h at i s, t he v i sit h appened t he mont h after t he C hi na Coast Gu a rd (CCG) coll ided w it h a Phi l ippi ne Coast Gu a rd ( PCG) boat. In October Locsi n, for mer newspaper publ i sher, embedded w it h t he Fi l ipi no med i a at a coast g u a rd ship.

Respond ing to a net i zen in a tweet on October 23 Locsin, who had wanted to f ind out f irst-hand the situation at sea, said: "And our Coast Guard have risen to the challenge; take my word for it—I saw it for myself: the sophisticated calculations, the unfai ling courage and the exper t sai ling sk i ll.”

‘New model’

THEN in December last year, the C hi nese off i c i al sa i d t h ey met w ith the Phi lippine Wester n Command—the branch of the A r med Forces of the Phi lippines (AFP) directly involved w ith the security of the souther n por tion of the W PS, including Ay ung in Shoal.

“We have agreed on a new model,” he said. W hen pressed on what it is, he said: “W hat we can only tell you is that it worked on Februar y 2 this year.”

“I remember t h at Febru a r y 2 incident, because I w rote about it,” I told him.

Col. Raymond Powell, for merly of the United States A ir Force and founder of a maritime project of the Stanford Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation, was on his usual monitoring of ships and boats that day. He tweeted that the Phi lippine boats Unaizah May 1,

ments that they had dealings w ith the Chinese on the Ay ung in Shoal resupply mission.

Assistant Director General Jonat han Malaya, who is t he NSC’s spokespe r son conf ir med: “T h e Phi lippines never broke any ag reement, because there was none to beg in w ith.”

My colleag ue from the Philippine Daily Inquirer asked if China has any proof of this inter nal arrangement,” as well as the “new model.”

“We have communicat ion. We have text, v ideo, and Viber messages,” he said. “We hope we don’t get to the point of show ing these proofs.” I inquired if there were any representatives from the Depar tment of Foreign Affa irs (DFA) duri ng their meeting w ith the AFP ’s Wester n Command. T here was none, he replied.

“W hy is t h at?” I pursued t he matter

“I don’t know. You ask them.”

‘He said, he said’

YOU see, here in the Phi lippines, it’s quite nor mal for foreign diplomats to meet w ith off icials from other gover nment agencies w ithout clearance from the DFA.

A Wester n diplomat once told me that their access to Phi lippine off icials here is easier compared w ith other countries they were assigned to. So, it’s possible t hat mi litar y brass can meet Chinese off icials.

But the context is that, in these tense events at sea, when water bombing has become the nor m of RORE missions, it’s a big question as to why there were no DFA representatives around to at least be a notetaker? Granting, of course, that there was a meeting that took place. So, we are again at the “ he-said, he-said” situation. As to who is telling the truth, no one can tell. At least for now.

W hat is clear to me from our discussion was that the relations between the Philippines and China are really spiraling downwards. W hen words are spoken out in the media, the “elbow room” to patch things up is getting narrower because ever ything is on record. And the public is now involved.

We are used to politicians ly ing to our faces, and they do it to get our votes. Diplomats lie to protect their countr y. W hen both are mixed, it becomes a per fect tinderbox to launch a psywar Both sides

TRANSCEND aims to enhance the Philippines’s capacity to implement climate change and biodiversity policies. CCC

FIRST Secretary Chihiro Kanno (left) with officials from the DICT and DTC

(left) and

Gary Ador Dionisio DPA

B8 | THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2024

mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph

Editor: Jun Lomibao

First Lady assures full support for FIVB men’s worlds in 2025

THE Philippines’ solo hosting of the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship 2025 took one giant stride after First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos vowed her full support during an historic organizational meeting in Malacañang on Tuesday.

“The First Lady readily gave her full support to the country’s solo hosting of the world championship,” said Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) president Ramon “Tats” Suzara after the meeting at the First Lady’s Office at the PMS Building in the Palace.

“She’s so enthusiastic about the event and showed everyone in the room her love for sports,” Suzara added.

In firming up Malacañang’s support, the First Lady asked youngest Presidential son William Vincent Araneta Marcos to join the meeting that also set the foundation of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) for the 32-nation— including the Philippines—world championship set September 12 to 28 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum and SM Mall of Asia Arena.

It was one significant meeting that practically nailed all hinges for a smooth and best-ever hosting of the now biennial competition with Senator Alan Peter Cayetano

“For the first time in several years, we’ll host the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship Philippines

in 1998 and 2006.

2025,” Cayetano, who is also the chairman emeritus of the PNVF, said.

“All systems are now off and running and we’re bound to become the best host ever for the world championship,” the senator added, emphasizing the need for all channels to cover for wider reach of the global event.

Drawing parallels to the successful hosting of previous international sporting events like the 2019 SouthEast Asian Games and the 2023 FIBA Championship, Cayetano remarked that this will also be another opportunity for the Philippines to shine on the global stage.

“We are still known worldwide as the most hospitable people. I’m talking about how we, as a nation, welcome the rest of the world,” he said. Frasco meanwhile assured the DOT’s comprehensive and encompassing support to the event.

“The DOT will form a consortium for attractive packages for fans—foreign and local—with all efforts bordering on our Love The Philippines’ campaign,” she said. Also present in the meeting were Philippine Sports Commission chairman Richard Bachmann, Volleyball World CEO Finn Taylor, PNVF Vice President Ricky Palou and Secretary General Donaldo Caringal, and national team member Bryan Bagunas.

Rafa

Nadal: It’s a difficult day... but it’s a reality

MADRID—Rafael Nadal had to pause for a few moments, visibly emotional, while addressing the crowd after his loss in the fourth round at the Madrid Open. As chants of “Rafa, Rafa, Rafa” echoed around, the five-time champion in Madrid made a farewell speech following a 7-5, 6-4 loss Tuesday to the 31st-ranked Jiri Lehecka.

It was likely his last official match at the tournament in the Spanish capital.

“This is a difficult day when it arrives, but it’s a reality. My body and my life had been sending me signs for some time,” Nadal said. “I was able to say goodbye playing on this court, one of the most emotional ones for me. Madrid at times has been more important to me than a Grand Slam.

his highlights, as his wife and sister shed tears in the stands.

“It’s been a gift what you’ve done for me during the 21 years that I’ve played here,” said the 37-year-old Nadal, a winner of 22 Grand Slam singles titles. “All I can say is thank you.’” Nadal had not lost to a player ranked outside the top 20 on clay since falling to Pablo Cuevas in 2016 at Rio de Janeiro. He was seeking his 60th win in Madrid and the 100th Association of Tennis Professionals 1000 quarterfinal of his career.

Earlier, the player who Spanish fans hope will take over Nadal’s reign, Carlos Alcaraz, needed nearly three hours to beat Jan-Lennard Struff 6-3, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (4). Both Spaniards are coming off injuries and are trying to get back in shape ahead of next month’s French Open. The 20-year-old Alcaraz missed tournaments in Monte Carlo and Barcelona. Nadal was coming off two matches in Barcelona after not playing competitively in nearly three months. He arrived in Madrid saying he wasn’t fully fit and was worried about his condition, but in the end he won three consecutive matches without showing significant physical limitations.

PSC grassroots campaign on in LGUs

HE Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) stressed the importance of passion among sports leaders and coaches in establishing a concrete grassroots program.

PSC commissioner Edward Hayco said during the National Grassroots Sports Summit in Bacolod City that the program must aim at discovering new talents.

“What’s most important among coaches and leaders is the passion you have,” Hayco said. “Being an ordinary coach can create an extraordinary athlete in the future.” Hayco is the PSC’s lead commissioner on grassroots initiative and has campaigned all over the country to deliver the agency’s commitment in intensifying its agenda as mandated by law.

Similar summits were already

staged in Legazpi City, Cagayan de Oro City, Pagadian City, Angeles City, Tuguegarao City and Zamboanga City with Kidapawan City as the next stop. The summit tackled the blueprint of local grassroots initiatives and intrusion of relevant legal basis that can be used by leaders and coaches for lobbying partnerships with their local government units.

Commissioner Matthew “Fritz” Gaston joined Hayco in the Bacolod City summit conducted at the STI West Negros University. More than a thousand participants, meanwhile, attended the Zamboanga City led, including delegates from different associations including the Private Schools Athletic Association, Zamboanga Peninsula Regional Athletic Association and local government officials.

Getting high on 3x3

BASKETBALL

PpETRO GAZZ and Choco Mucho

hope to ride the momentum of their thrilling come-frombehind victories two nights ago as they try to arrange a titular showdown in the Premier Volleyball League All-Filipino Conference at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City on Thursday.

The Angels were resilient against the Chery Tiggo Crossovers in a 20-25, 25-21, 25-15, 25-16 victory and so were the Flying Titans who squeezed back from two sets down to stun the Creamline Cool Smashers for the first time in 13 faceoffs, 13-25, 19-25, 25-21, 25-20, 18-16, in Tuesday’s opener of the single-round semifinals before a packed crowd at the Pasig City venue. They switch opponents this time with the Angels battling the Cool Smashers at 4 p.m. and the Flying Titans colliding

them to the finals while Creamline and Chery Tiggo will duel for the bronze medal.

Choco Mucho coach Dante Alinsunurin expressed his confidence in his wards’ winning mindset.

SAN BEDA guard Peter Alfaro nailed a buzzer-beating layup to lift the Zamboanga Valientes past Pilipinas Hong Kong, 51-49, and win the Sketch World Cup Championship on Monday evening at the German Swiss International School in Hong Kong. It was a tight game most of the way with Alfaro breaking a 49-all standoff for the winning basket.

Pilipinas Hong Kong tied the count at 49 on two free throws, but Valientes center Jerome Ferrer

with the Crossovers at 6 p.m. Victories by top seed Petro Gazz and No. 2 Choco Mucho will propel

Alfaro powers Valientes in Hong Kong hoops

quickly inbounded the ball to Job Alcantara who found Alfaro rushing to the basket for the winner.

Alfaro finished with 13 points while Joewish Gracia made 12 points, Alcantara 11 points and Med Salim 10 points.

Zamboanga Valientes defeated a team from Canadian led by 6-foot-11 center Jason Hannibal in the quarterfinals, 39-34, and Australia in the semifinals, 37-30.

Junnie Navarro, the son of business-

“The goal is to work hard for every point,” he said.

The Cool Smashers looked poised to extending their 12-match dominance of the Flying Titans when they took the first two sets in lopsided fashions.

But Sisi Rondina and Royse Tubino found their rhythm and orchestrated the comeback.

The Angels, meanwhile, are cautious of the Cool Smashers with Brooke Van Sickle acknowledging the strength and defensive prowess of all competing teams.

“These teams are very scrappy, they’re very good at defense, and they’re going to put up a fight and I feel like I made a decent amount of errors [against the Crossovers],” said Van Sickle, who led the Angels’ with 21 points while taking over in a crucial stretch in the second set.

woman Cory Navarro, thanked the team— including former Philippine Basketball Association Mike Tolomia and Das Esa—for the successful stint in the tournament that also featured teams from China, Hong Kong, South Korea and the US.  Col. Ariel Quierubin, Dandy Feneral, Jeremy Go, owners Cory Navarro and Mike Venezuela, Mayor John Dalipe and Rep. Mannix Dalipe supported the team. Josef Ramos

na and ners Cor y zuela, annix ef Ramos

“Just two days before I left for Barcelona I really didn’t know if I was going to be able to play again in an official match,” Nadal said, “and in the end I’ve played two weeks.” The second-seeded Alcaraz was coming off two comfortable victories in Madrid but struggled on Tuesday. He squandered four match points against the 24th-ranked Struff while serving at 5-3 but converted on his first opportunity in the deciding tiebreaker at the Caja Magica center court.

“I wasn’t at my best physically toward the end of the match, but I’m happy that in the end I found my game,” Alcaraz said. “I fought for every ball and didn’t let down despite some difficult moments when things didn’t go my way.” Alcaraz is trying to become the first player to win three straight Madrid Open titles. He also needed three sets to beat Struff in last year’s final. The world No. 3 will next face seventh-seeded

I tried to stay focused. I broke him and the confidence level raised a bit.”

RAFAEL NADAL emotional after losing in his last Madrid Open appearance. AP

and Department of Tourism (DOT)

Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco providing a general brief on the world

championship that will be hosted only for the second time by an Asian country after Japan

COMMISSIONER Edward Hayco delivers a message at the STI West Negros University in Bacolod City.