BusinessMirror November 02, 2022

By Andrea E. San Juan

By Enda Curran & Claire Jiao

ASIA’S factories slumped in October as global demand for merchandise goods made in the region continues to weaken.

The slowdown in Asia adds to growing evidence that a pronounced deceleration in world trade is under way as soaring inflation and inter est rates crimp consumer spending in the US and Europe. South Korea

recorded its first decline in exports in two years in October, among the clearest signals yet that the global economy is cooling.

Korea’s trade data came as pur chasing managers indexes laid bare the scope of the decline.

Taiwan’s slump was a stand out, with the S&P Global manu facturing purchasing managers’ index dropping to 41.5 in October from 42.2 in September to mark its weakest reading since Janu ary 2009.

Falling customer orders and de mand are accelerating the decline for Taiwan’s factories, which are trimming production in response.

“Weak domestic and interna tional demand conditions were the main drag on the headline figure with the rate of decline in new orders the sharpest since the initial phase of the Covid-19 pan demic in May 2020,” Shreeya Patel, economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said in a statement.

Japan’s manufacturing gauge

slipped to 50.7 from 50.8. South Korea’s PMI rose to 48.2 from 47.3, still its fourth consecutive month of contraction. The nation also reported its first exports de cline in two years on Tuesday, in yet another sign that the global economy is cooling.

A reading above 50 indicates ex pansion from the previous month, while anything below denotes contraction.

Central banks urged to set up digital currencies for inclusion

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

CENTRAL banks should consider digital curren cies which could improve financial inclusion efforts in countries, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

In an Asian Development Blog, ADB South Asia Department’s Lotte Schou-Zibell said central bank currencies are issued and regulated by governments and

can serve unbanked and underbanked populations.

These digital currencies, Schou-Zibell said, are less risky compared to digital curren cies such as Bitcoin or Ether because Central Banks back these currencies.

“It is time for central banks also in developing countries to explore and better understand central bank digital currencies in

See “Digital currencies,” A2

PBBM: Deforestation behind Maguindanao floods, slides

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

PRESIDENT Ferdinand

about by Paeng.

Meanwhile, areas affected by landslides include Barangay Ku siong in Datu Odin Sinsuat; Ba rangays Romonggaob and Looy in South Upi; Barangays Maaga bo Bayanga Sur, Upper Bayanga Sur Norte and Kabugaw Sapad of Matanog.

Mangudadatu urged the De partment of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to prioritize the completion of flood control projects in the provinces located in the upstream of Maguindanao since it will also benefit their province.

were really substandard. [They] probably made use of only one layer of hollow blocks so it was not very sturdy,” Marcos said.

Life preservation GUARDING as well the surrounding areas of Maguindanao will help to greatly reduce the incidents of floods and landslides caused by typhoons in the province, the President said.

While the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and non government organizations could help in re forestation efforts in Maguindanao, it will be up to local communities to preserve the planted trees.

Price-hike.

Assistant Secretary Ann Claire Cabochan said in a televised interview on Monday.

Cabochan said the Trade department is coordinating with the manufacturers of these products.

“We have a pending application for price increases and our message has always been that we are in active coordination with the manufacturers of these products and we are study ing these petitions very carefully,” said the Trade official.

Last week, Jerome Ong, Vice President of Philippine As sociation of Meat Processors Inc. (Pampi) said in a televised interview they are requesting for a price increase that ranges from P1.50 to P2 per canned meat.

“We understand that everyone’s having a hard time right now. We are ready to make the sacrifice and ask for a smaller price increase compared to what we really need. The price increase that we need is P3 to P4 per can. But since we are also backing the DTI and the government’s goal of selling canned meat at cheaper prices in order to help consumers, our request only ranges from P1.50 to P2 per can,” Ong said on Thursday.

The Pampi official claimed that some members of their group are bearing the brunt of surging production costs, and some have aresorted to cutting down operations.

To mitigate future flooding in Maguindanao, he is now pushing for a comprehensive flood control in the province, to include treeplanting activities.

Marcos made the remark after his aerial inspection in flood-hit areas in Maguindanao during a situation briefing with local ex ecutives on Tuesday.

“I noticed all the mountains with landslides were deforested,” Marcos said in Filipino.

“So we have to include tree planting in our flood control,” he added.

Catch basin

MAGUINDANAO Governor Bai Mariam Sangki-Mangudadatu said the areas of Upi, Barira, Matanog, South Upi, Datu Blah Sinsuat, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Ta layan, Guindulungan and North ern Kabuntalan suffered severe flooding from the rains brought

“Maguindanao is a catch basin. So I am appealing to our honor able secretary of DPWH to fasttrack the [completion of the] flood control in South Cotabato, North Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat since if those are completed, there will be minimal flooding in our ar eas,” Mangudadatu said.

Marcos said he will make sure that flood control systems in these areas will not be substandard, la menting what he has observed in other areas.

“Those [flood control projects] which I have seen in other areas

“The new way to do it is by making the locals owners of the trees so they will be the ones to take care of them,” Marcos said.

“I know people think that it is just to save the environment, no, it’s to save lives. It will really save lives,” he added.

Mangudadatu said the storm affect ed 124,501 families or 622,505 individuals in Maguindanao. Of these, 61 died, 40 were wounded, and 17 went missing.

Digital currencies. .

their continued efforts to follow global best practices as the economies become increasingly digitized,” Schou-Zibell said.

These currencies have the potential to allow people in remote areas to make payments without needing a bank account. This can be useful in areas frequented by disasters or have unreliable access to electricity and the internet, Schou-Zibell added.

“Remote and sparsely populated countries can potentially benefit from governmentbacked digital currencies to leap-frog the limitations of traditional currencies, get more people into financial systems and overcome challenges in cross-border payments,” he argued.

For central banks to succeed in this regard, however, there must be support from government bodies, end-users, financial institutions, technology and infrastructure providers, academia, and standards development organizations.

It is also important for central banks to have a framework by which they can evaluate the readiness of the infrastructure; e-commerce penetration; mobile-money penetration; and regulation.

Countries must also establish a corridor risk assessment measure that simplifies the prevention of money laundering in lowerrisk transactions.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Department of Economic Research Director Lara Romina E. Ganapin earlier said the BSP is assessing the potential impact of climate change on the conduct of monetary policy and how this can be integrated into the Central Bank’s monetary policy framework.

She also said the BSP is looking to “pilot [a] wholesale central bank digital currency [CBDC]” which will be done next year. Through the project, the Central Bank can better examine the feasibility of a wholesale CBDC in the country.

“We do have some members who used to operate six days a week, but now operate three to four times a week either be cause their materials are not enough or sales is bad because of the higher production cost,” that is reflected in the pric ing, Ong had explained in a televised interview on Thursday.

However, Cabochan dismissed the group’s arguments. Speaking partly in Filipino, he pointed out that,  “As it is, government as already reduced tariff temporarily to avoid cost of production from rising further. So for as long as that remains manageable, we do not see [any basis for] any adjustments based on the prices of [mechanically deboned meat] MDM.” Cabochan added that perhaps, “there are other factors of production we can also look into.”

At the public hearing before the Tariff Commission last Thursday, Pampi proposed to extend the 5-percent tariff on mechanically deboned meat of chicken and turkey from 2023 until 2025.

Representing Pampi, Ong cited keeping the national economy afloat and helping temper food inflation among the reasons behind the local meat processors’ petition to extend the lower tariff rates on chicken and turkey MDMs.

Bread makers

MEANWHILE , in relation to price-increase requests by manu facturers of bread, Philippine Baking Industry Group (Phil Baking) President Jerry Lao said two weeks ago that some of their members have cut down production because of the increase in price of flour.

“But as members, we still have to produce the Pinoy Tasty for the consumer but the problem is now,” Pinoy Tasty gets gobbled up quickly from shelves. “So in order for our mem bers to continue producing Pinoy Tasty and help them with the cost of the flour, DTI will come in here to help us. So we’re asking for a P4-peso, very minimal increase,” Lao said.

The PhilBaking president said the industry’s price-increase request has been delayed for “six months already” because, he said, they wanted to help consumers stretch their purchasing power. Lao said, however, the industry can no longer hold on with the effect of the price increase in sugar and fuel.

According to the Suggested Retail Price (SRP) bulletin published August 12, Pinoy Tasty currently sells at P38.50 per 450 gram pack while Pinoy Pandesal costs P23.50 for a pack of 10 pieces.

Sardines

MEANWHILE , Canned Sardines Association of the Phil ippines (CSAP) Executive Director Francisco Buencamino said last week the petition to increase the SRP for canned sardine by P3 was filed by CSAP in July, months before the group warned of a “looming” raw material shortage in the latter part of the year.

Buencamino stressed, “The P3 [proposed increase] is a very small portion of the finished canned prices. That is very small despite the fact that we have maintained our prices for two years now.”

The prevailing price for a 155-gram canned sardines in tomato sauce, based on the government’s SRP as of Au gust 12, ranges from a low of P13.25 to a high of P19.58.

CSAP explained last week that their petition to increase canned sardines prices was driven by rising cost of materi als like imported tin cans and tomato paste, as well as fuel due to the weakening of the peso and the consequences of the Ukraine-Russia war. (Full story: https://businessmir ror.com.ph/2022/10/25/sardine-canners-stay-put-on%E2%82%A73-price-hike/)

Purchasing Managers’ Index came in at 49.2 for the past month, despite a small pickup from September’s 48.1.

For China, a private gauge of manufacturing pointed to a deteriorating situation in October as Covid control measures continued to weigh on production and demand, although the pace of decline eased. The Caixin Manufacturing

Supply, domestic and overseas demand, and employment in the manufacturing sector all contracted in October, accord ing to a statement by Caixin and S&P Global. The findings are largely in line with that of the official PMI, which tracks larger and more state-owned enterprises and also showed a contraction in activities.

The picture was also soft across Southeast Asia. Thailand saw the region’s steepest drop even as its factory activity re mained in expansion territory. Its PMI fell to 51.6 from 55.7 as selling prices rose at their fastest rate on record and global demand for goods deteriorated. Indonesia and Vietnam also reported more sluggish expansion in October. Malaysia’s manufacturing activity saw a deeper contraction.

Meanwhile, India posted the region’s best reading of 55.3 in October, climbing from 55.1 the month prior as manufac turers increased employment and inventories in anticipation of better sales.

“The Future Output Index component indicated robust business optimism towards the year-ahead outlook for out put,” said Pollyanna De Lima, an economist with S&P Global Market Intelligence.  With assistance from Lin Zhu/Bloomberg

“Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. said deforestation worsened the flash floods and landslides in Maguindanao when it was hit by tropical storm “Paeng” (international name Nalgae) during the weekend, leaving over 60 people dead in the southern province.

The Nation

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco @claudethmc3

THE Department of Health (DOH) on Monday reported that the country’s health-care utilization rate (HCUR) has shown signs of improvement along with other key indicators.

“ This means that our key indica tors, such as the health-care utili zation rate, are showing improve ments. We attribute this develop ment to every Filipino who contin ues to cooperate with our Covid-19 response,” DOH Officer-in-Charge (OIC) Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said, noting that outside of the number of confirmed cases, there are other indicators that pro vide a clearer picture of Covid-19 situation in the country: deaths, case doubling time, and critical care utilization rate.

M eanwhile, following the ap proval of the new Covid-19 Alert Level System (ALS) classifications for provinces, highly urbanized cities, and independent compo nent cities from November 1 to 15, 2022 by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., the DOH reiterated the need to strengthen public ca pacity for risk assessment, and highlighted the different layers of protection that the public can use to limit transmission, amid the coming holiday season and the relaxation of masking mandates in various settings.

B ased on the recently approved ALS classifications, a total of 89 (74 percent) out of 121 provinces, highly urbanized cities, and inde pendent component cities and 192 out of 669 other component cities and municipalities are under Alert Level 1.

On the other hand, 32 provinces, highly urbanized cities, and inde pendent component cities are under Alert Level 2.

But while we see a continu ous decline in case and admission trends, we must remember that de-escalation does not mean that the battle with Covid-19 is already over,” Vergeire said.

T hese current numbers, she said, “Are not permanent; we must all work together to maintain these low numbers.”

In light of the new classifications, along with the recent relaxation of mandatory masking in most set tings, the DOH emphasized the need for increased vigilance and stricter implementation of measures and policies against Covid-19, especially ahead of the coming holiday season where increased mobility and contact rates are expected.

devastation revive call for speedy passage of natl land use act

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie

ALAWMAKER has called for the urgency of instituting a national policy that would ensure the efficient and sustainable use of the country’s land and physi cal resources as a means to provide long-term safeguards to communi ties vulnerable to climate change.

T his developed as the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Man agement Council (NDRRMC) re ported that severe tropical storm “Paeng” has left 110 dead from flooding and landslides, which also displaced hundreds of thou sands of residents.

A bout 2.4 million individuals were affected, including 866,000 forced to flee homes in one of the most destructive storms that hit the country, the NDRRMC said on Tuesday. Agriculture losses, on the other hand, were estimated at P1.3 billion, while the cost of damaged to infrastructure was about P760 million, it said. The death toll has risen from 98 reported on Monday.

D avao City Rep. Paolo Duterte, in a news statement, said the re cent destruction wrought by Paeng in Maguindanao, which resulted in scores of deaths caused mostly by landslides, demonstrated the direct impact of proper planning and use of land resources on sav

ing people’s lives.

A long with Benguet Rep. Eric Yap and two other lawmakers, Duterte has filed House Bill (HB) 3956 which aims to establish clear parameters on the utilization of all land and physical resources in the country by institutionalizing a National Land Use Policy.

T he bill outlines land use policies to determine areas allocated for ag ricultural production, housing and settlements, energy development, industries and other economically productive sites and protected zones for environmental sustainability.

Duterte said the bill and other similar measures filed in Congress seek to “end the current degradation of the country’s land resources, and optimize balanced development.”

He said one key aspect of pass ing the National Land Use Act (NLUA) that has often been un derstated or overlooked is its im portance in protecting communi ties from the destructive effects of climate change.

“ We often mention the National Land Use Act in the context of ensur ing food security by, for one, prevent ing the conversion of agricultural lands to housing and commercial projects. But the rational and effi cient planning and use of our land resources is also vital in ensuring that we get to identify high-risk and danger-prone locations in our com

munities,” Duterte said.

HB 3956 states that “priority shall be given to life and safety, and thus to identifying hazard prone areas and corresponding risk reduction measures as part of the DRR [disas ter risk reduction] and CCA [climate change adaptation] objective.”

Given the country’s approximate land area of 300,000 square kilome ters, there is a need for a comprehen sive and responsive land use policy to address the impact of deforestation and urbanization on food, housing, business, health and the environ ment,” the bill’s authors said.

D uterte said the bill and other similar measures should be ap proved at the soonest possible time by Congress to protect future generations of Filipinos, and enable them to adapt better to climate change and respond to the growing needs of the population for food, shelter and jobs.

He recalled that the passage of the NLUA has been certified as urgent by the previous administration of his father, former President Rodrigo R. Duterte, who had said the law “will address our competing land require ments for food, housing business, and environmental conservation.”

On top of addressing these needs, the Davao City lawmaker said a na tional land use policy would also as sist local government units (LGUs) in mapping out their climate-resil

ient development plans.

T he bill also mandates the De partment of Environment and Nat ural Resources (DENR) and other concerned government agencies and bodies to delineate and con tinuously update the mapping of hazard prone and vulnerable areas in the country.

“ These maps shall be shared and disseminated to LGUs, which shall subsequently guide them in the preparation of their own hazardsconstrained development and physi cal framework and land use plans,” the bill states.

H B 3956 also calls for the cre ation of National Land Use Policy Council (NLUC), which will serve as the highest policy-making body in all matters pertaining to land use and management.

T he NLUC, which will be chaired by the Secretary of the National Economic and Development Au thority (Neda) is authorized under the bill to resolve land use policy conflicts. It is also tasked to inte grate efforts and monitor develop ments relating to land use and the evolution of policies.

Several versions of the NLUA have been filed in the 17th and 18th Con gresses. The current administration has also urged Congress to swiftly pass the NLUA.

L ast week, Neda called on Con gress to immediately pass the

Marcos administration’s priority measure, the proposed NALUA D uring the first briefing of the House Special Committee on Land Use, Neda Undersecretary Carlos Abad Santos reiterated the need to harmonize various policies on land use, such those in agriculture, agrarian reform, ancestral domain, protected areas, and housing and urban development.

“By harmonizing these various policies we will be able to have proper allocation of land and reduce disaster risk to proper land use planning and various development,” he said.

A ccording to Abad Santos, the 13 NALUA bills filed in the lower chamber have similar compo nents with the Neda Board-ap proved version.

T hree of these 13 bills, he said, are similar to the Neda Board-ap proved version—House Bill 420 of Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, HB 3611 of Ilocos Sur Rep. Kristine Singson Meehan and HB 3956 of Davao Rep. Paolo Duterte.

Abad Santos said proposed NA LUA seeks to address urban sprawl or uncontrolled development that encroaches on prime agricultur al lands and other fragile areas. He said it would also address in discriminate conversion of prime agricultural lands to non-agricul tural uses, which has an impact on food security. With Bloomberg

By Glen Jacob Jose

ATOTAL of 246 persons were arrested during the intensi fied weeklong anti-illegal drugs and anti-criminality opera tions in Quezon City from October 24 to 30.

I n a news statement, QC Po lice District (QCPD) Director Brig.

Gen. Nicolas Torre III said during the period, a total of 37 anti-drug operations were conducted that led to the arrest of 79 drug suspects and confiscation of 79.47 grams of shabu valued at P540,396 and 50.30 grams of marijuana valued at P6,036.

He said the operations against the wanted persons led to the arrest of 72 wanted persons wherein 32 were the most wanted persons and 40 other wanted persons.

O n operations against illegal gambling, Torre said a total of 30

operations were conducted, which resulted in the arrest of 95 gam blers and confiscation of P17,275 in money bets, while 8,184 violators of City Ordinances were accosted wherein 6,583 were warned, while 1,601 were fined.

Torre commended his men for their relentless implementation of QCPD’s anti-illegal drug and anticriminality operations that resulted in this notable accomplishment.

Asahan po ng publiko na magig ing masigasig ang kapulisan ng Kyusi sa pagpapatupad ng operasyon laban sa kriminalidad, ito ay bilang paghah anda upang matiyak na ligtas ang ating mamamayan sa kanilang paggunita ng Undas [The public should expect that the QC police force will be dili gent in the implementation of the operation against criminality, this is in preparation to ensure that our people are safe in their Undas com memoration],” he said.

FOR the second time around, Lt. Gen. Rhodel Sermonia is now officially the second highest ranking official of the Philippine National Police (PNP) following his appointment as deputy chief for ad ministration effective Sunday.

Sermonia was named deputy chief for administration in March under then PNP chief Gen. Dionardo Car los and last October 2 he was named Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the Office of the Deputy Chief for Adminis tration after Lt. Gen. Jose Chiquito Malayo who reached the mandatory retirement age of 56.

P NP chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. implemented a major reshuffle a few days into his appointment in August, making Sermonia the chief Area Police Command (APC) in the Visayas.

Meanwhile, some 16 ranking police officials were included in the

latest reorganization of the PNP.

M aj. Gen. Michael John Dubria, from director of the Civil Security Group (CSG), will be the chief APC in the Visayas, replacing Sermo nia, while Maj. Gen. Eden Ugale will be new CSG director, replac ing Dubria.

B rig. Gen. Romeo Caramat Jr., director for Police Regional Of fice in Caraga (PRO-13) will be assigned as Deputy Director of Directorate for Intelligence (DI) and Brig. Gen. Pablo Labra II will be the new PRO 13 Regional Direc tor, replacing Caramat.

Brig. Gen. Belli Tamayo from DI will be the acting deputy commander of APC Western Mindanao, while Col. Gil Francis Tria will be acting deputy director for administration PRO Bangsamoro Autonomous Re gion (BAR).

A lso getting new assignments

are Col. Jeffrey Fernandez from PRO BAR will be headed to PRO 4B (Mimaropa); Col. James Gulmatico from PRO 12 (Soccsksargen) to PRO BAR; Col. Patrick Joseph Allan from Police Community Affairs and Devel opment Group (PCADG) to PRO Cor dillera (PROCOR); Col. Henry Binas from APC- Visayas to Internal Affairs Office (IAS); Col. Lou Evangelista from PRO 9 (Zamboanga Peninsula) to PCADG; Col. Arnold Thomas Ibay from the National Capital Region Po lice Office (NCRPO) to PRO 9; Col. Cresenciano Landicho from Finance Service to PNP Recruitment and Se lection Service (RSS); Col. Marcial Mariano Magistrado IV from PCADG to APC Visayas; Col. Julius Cecil Or dono from PRO 2 (Cagayan Valley) to NCRPO; and Col. Warren Gaspar Tolito from PNP RSS to PCADG. T he revamp took effect on Sunday, October 30. Glen Jacob Jose

By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Mar cos Jr. has appointed Meinrado C. Pañgulayan, Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) under secretary for Policy, Planning and Research, as director of the Career Executive Service Board (CESB) for a full term of six years.

P añgulayan will discharge the duties of CESB director and DAR Undersecretary in a simultane ous capacity.

A lawyer by profession, Pañgu layan said his appointment comes at the best of times, with a DAR chief in Secretary Conrado M. Es trella III “who is very supportive of the career advancement and pro fessional growth of the men and women of the Department.”

Interviewed by the Business Mirror , Pañgulayan is confident that the President would like to continue what his father, the late former President Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr., “to professionalize the government career service

in accordance with the Consti tution; public officers must act responsibly, efficiently and live modest life, and serve the Fili pino people.”

Pañgulayan said he looks for ward to working with Civil Service Commission (CSC) Chairman Karlo Alexei B. Nograles who sits as the Board Chairman of the CESB.

“Together with chairman Karlo Nograles, I think the President has acted to fill up the vacancies, which caused the slight delay in the rank ing of CESOs [Career Executive Ser vice Officers], now, kumpleto na, we have a quorum. Actually, Chairman Nograles is calling a meeting next week. There are pending resolu tions that need to be acted upon,” said Pañgulayan.

Pañgulayan said he would help the CESB in his capacity as a voting member, while helping DAR in pur suing a more professionalized career service, from the rank and file up to the highest ranks in the career ser vice officer rank.

The Career Executive Service (CES) is the third level or the

managerial class in the group of career positions in the Philippine Civil Service.

The CES was created by Presiden tial Decree No. 1 by President Ferdi nand E. Marcos Sr. in 1972 to “form a continuing pool of well-selected and development-oriented career administrators who shall provide competent and faithful service.”

The CES is also a public personnel system separate from that of the first two levels of positions in the Philip pine Civil Service.

The CESB is the governing body of the CES. It is mandated to promul gate rules, standards and procedures on the selection, classification, com pensation and career development of members of the CES.

CESOs are appointed to ranks and assigned to CES positions. As such, they can be reassigned or transferred from one CES position to another and from one office to another but not more than once every two years. The CES is like the Armed Forces and the Foreign Service where the officers are also appointed to ranks and assigned to positions.

Entry to the CES is based on merit and fitness as determined by competitive examination, or based on highly technical qualifications. This is undertaken through the four-stage CES eligibility examina tion process, namely: CES Written Examination; Assessment Center; Performance Validation; and CES Board Interview.

CES Eligibility is acquired by passing the four-stage CES eligibil ity examination process. Successful completion of each stage is a prerequisite to the succeeding stages of the CES eligibility examination process. The Career Service Execu tive Eligibility (CSEE) conferred by the Civil Service Commission (CSC) is equivalent to the two of the fourstage CES eligibility examination process, namely: Written Examina tion and Board Interview.

Undersecretary Pañgulayan is the founding President of the DAR As sociation of Career Executives (DAR ACES), which was organized in 2021 and is operating as an association registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

THE Quezon City government received accolades from vari ous national government agencies (NGA), including the 2022 Seal of Good Local Governance award from the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

Quezon City was one of five Metro Manila cities to receive the said honor from the DILG, along with Muntin lupa, Caloocan, Mandaluyong and Navotas, a news statement said.

“ We are humbled and honored by the DILG’s recognition. This would further inspire the city government to work even harder to further im prove our governance and enhance the delivery of services to our con stituents,” Mayor Joy Belmonte said.

Quezon City also won the award in 2019 before it was temporarily sus pended due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Established by virtue of Republic Act 11292, the Seal of Good Local Governance is an award, incentive and recognition-based program for all local government units (LGU) to continually progress and improve their performance in the following areas:

Financial administration; disas ter preparedness; social protection and sensitivity program; health compliance and responsiveness; programs for sustainable education; business friendliness and competi tiveness; safety, peace and order; environmental management, tour ism, heritage development, culture and arts; and youth development.

A lso, the city government bagged several awards from the DILG-National Capital Region dur ing the 2022 Urban Governance Exemplar Awards.

V ice Mayor Gian Sotto received the following awards on behalf of the city government: Local Coun cil for the Protection of Children Ideal level of functionality, Func tional Peace and Order Council, High Functional Anti-Drug Abuse Council, Local Committee on AntiTrafficking and Violence Against Women and Children Ideal Level of functionality, MBCRPP LWM Cluster Top Performer, MBCRPP ISF Cluster Top Performer and MB CRPP Moderate Compliance.

PSA forecasts improved rice and corn yield in Q3

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

THE country’s palay production in the third quarter could have settled at 3.83 million metric tons (MMT), 2.2 percent higher than the 3.75 MMT last year, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

I n its latest forecast report, the PSA said palay production esti mates as of August 1 showed that output in the July to September period would be 80,000 MT higher year-on-year.

However, the PSA pointed out that the latest forecast is 0.4 per

cent lower than the 3.85 MMT it projected in July.

“ The estimated harvest area for the period of July to Sep tember 2022 may increase to [928,200] hectares or by 1.7 per cent, from  [912,660] hectares ac tual estimate of harvest area in the

NAMRIA, Nippon-GEBCO ink accord for Seabed 2030 project

By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

THE Nippon Foundation-GE BCO Seabed 2030 project has entered into a memorandum of understanding with the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA) of the Philip pines to work together on global un derstanding of ocean science.

Seabed 2030 is a collaborative project between The Nippon Foun dation and GEBCO to inspire the complete mapping of the world’s ocean by 2030, and to compile all bathymetric data into the freely available GEBCO Ocean Map.

GEBCO is a joint program of the International Hydrographic Orga nization (IHO) and the Intergovern mental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) and is the only organization with a mandate to map the entire ocean floor. Seabed 2030 is formally endorsed as a Decade Action of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sus tainable Development.

A n attached agency of the Depart ment of Environment and Natural Resources, NAMRIA is mandated to provide the public with mapmak ing services and to act as the central mapping agency, depository, and distribution facility for natural re sources data in the form of maps, charts, texts and statistics. Through its Hydrography Branch, the agency conducts hydrographic surveys to analyze oceanographic data used primarily in navigation, research, and marine management.

I n addition to its Hydrography Branch, NAMRIA also comprises other technical branches, including the Mapping and Geodesy Branch (MGB), Resource Data Analysis Branch (RDAB), and Geospatial Information System Manage

ment Branch (GISMB). MGB is in charge of national geodetic refer ence frame development and topo graphic base map production.

R DAB manages land and coastal resource mapping, land classifica tion, and thematic mapping activi ties; and GISMB oversees the sharing and dissemination of data which help create essential base maps.

“ We want to see the Philippines become a geospatially empowered nation,” NAMRIA Administra tor, Undersecretary Dr. Peter N. Tiangco, was quoted as saying in a news release.

NAMRIA strives to become a centre of excellence not only in sup port of this national aspiration, but also to help progress the global ef fort, led by Seabed 2030, to expand our understanding of the ocean. We acknowledge the vital role a complete map of the ocean floor plays in help ing us protect the planet—the blue planet—and we are delighted to join this endeavor,” he said.

Seabed 2030 Project Director Ja mie McMichael-Phillips said, “Our partnership with NAMRIA is a sig nificant development for the project. As a founding member of the Asso ciation of Southeast Asian Nations, the Philippines has become the first member state to sign up to Seabed 2030, demonstrating its commit ment to developing our understand ing of ocean science, and working towards Sustainable Development Goal 14: to conserve and sustainably use the oceans. “We look forward to working with colleagues at NAMRIA to progress our goal of 100 percent of the ocean floor mapped by the end of the decade.”

A ll data collected and shared with the Seabed 2030 Project is included in the GEBCO global grid, which is free and publicly available.

same period of 2021,” the PSA said in its report published recently.

Likewise, yield per hectare may increase to 4.13 metric tons or by 0.5 percent, from 4.11 metric tons in the same period of the previous year,” the PSA added.

In late September, the Depart ment of Agriculture (DA) disclosed that it expects full-year palay pro duction to reach 19.5 MMT despite various challenges such as more ex pensive fuel and fertilizer.

T he country’s palay output in the first half fell slightly to 8.743 MMT from last year’s nearly 8.8 MMT, his torical PSA data showed.

I n the same report, the PSA said local corn production in the third quarter would reach 2.37 MMT, 3.3 percent higher than the 2.29 MMT recorded in the same period of last year.

The updated estimate of corn production as of 01 August 2022 was higher by 1.2 percent from its esti mate of 2.34 million metric tons as of July 1, 2022,” the PSA added.

T he higher production is driven by better yield as the PSA projected a decline in the total corn harvest in the July-to-September period.

Harvest area for the period of July to September 2022 may decrease to [790,470] hectares or by 2.3 per cent from [809,270]  hectares actual estimate of harvest area in the same period of 2021,” the PSA said.

“On the other hand, yield per hect are may increase to 3.00 metric tons or by 6.0 percent, from 2.83 metric tons in the same period of the previ ous year,” it added.

Corn output in the first half grew to 3.926 MMT from last year’s 3.882 MMT, historical PSA data showed.

PHL promotes Batangas’ world-class dive sites in DEMA exhibit in Florida

THE Philippines will pro mote Batangas dive sites in an upcoming international diving industry convention in the US, a vice chairperson of the House Committee on Tourism said on Tuesday.

Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro said Marine Sanctuary Verde Island Passage could boost Philippines tour ism after the Covid pandemic.

“ The Annual DEMA [Diving Equipment and Marketing As sociation] is the largest event for companies doing business in scu ba diving, ocean water sports and adventure/dive travel industries. It attracts hundreds of exhibitors and thousands of dive and travel industry professionals from around the world,” said Luistro, who is set to join the Department of Tourism, headed by Secretary Christina Fra sco, in the DEMA Show 2022 from November 1 to 4 at the Orange County Convention Center in Or lando, Florida, US.

“ This convention is the biggest magnet of tourists whose passion is diving. The Philippines will be mar ketable here, especially since we are known for our world class beaches, marine sanctuaries and dive sites,” she said.

Luistro said she expects to actively participate in the convention and speak about the Verde Island Passage.

T his passage, also known as the VIP, is a strait that separates the Luzon from Mindoro. When marine experts and conservation ists talk about the VIP, one would often hear that it is the “center of the center of marine shore fish biodiversity.”

T he Coral Triangle is a roughly triangular area in the tropical waters around the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the

Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste. This area contains at least 500 spe cies of reef-building corals in each eco region.

“Ang mga nagda -dive sa VIP ay waring nadadala sa ibang daigdig. Isa itong underwater wonderland ng giant clams at coral reefs, na kung saan napakaraming mga makukulay na reef fishes, hump head wrasses, anthias, eels, nu dibranchs, frogfishes, seahorses, hawksbills, olive ridley at green turtles. Karamihan sa mga sea crea tures na ito ay dito lamang masisi layan,” added Luistro, who repre sents the resort towns of Mabini (where Anilao is), Bauan, San Luis, Lobo and Tingloy, in Batangas, where some of the best dive sites in the country are located.

T he Covid-19 pandemic has rav aged the Philippine tourism industry. It caused the closure or suspension of operations of hotels, resorts and tourist destinations. It has resulted to the loss of thousands of jobs and livelihood. It contributed to the eco nomic crunch the country is pres ently experiencing.

I commend the Department of Tourism, headed by Secretary Frasco, in being very aggressive in promoting the country and wel coming back tourists and visitors to the country. I believe that the sending of this Philippine dele gation to the 2022 DEMA would achieve the objective not only of marketing the country’s dive sites. It would also create aware ness on our government and local community’s serious and diligent efforts in preserving our wealth of marine resources, highly di verse coral reefs, pristine waters, mangrove forests, seagrass mead ows and coastal environs,” added Luistro. Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

Face mask use optional in face-to-face classes–DepEd spox

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco @claudethmc3

Department of Education

Monday said the wearing of face mask is also optional

classrooms with the start of

face-to-face classes today, Tuesday, November 2.

Schools may immediately im plement optional masking indoors pursuant to EO [Executive Order] 7,” DepEd spokesperson Atty. Mi chael Tan Poa said.

T he EO allows the voluntary wear ing of face mask indoors across the country amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Earlier, Vice President and Educa tion Secretary Sara Z. Duterte issued DepEd Order 34 s. 2022 mandating five days of in-person classes start

ing November 2.

The DO also stated that public and private schools will only be allowed to hold blended learning and full distance learning until October 31.

“After the said date, no school shall be allowed to implement purely dis tance learning or blended learning for those that are implementing Alterna tive Delivery Modes,” the DO read.

Poa also said initial reports showed that Paeng, which hit wide parts of the country before the open ing of in-person classes, damaged 261 schools and 381 classrooms.

“Please note that the numbers are moving on a daily basis,” Poa said in a Viber message, noting that the report was recorded as of 6 p.m. on Monday, October 31.

DOLE and DENR pact taps TUPAD beneficiaries for forest protection

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz  @joveemarie

THE chairman of the House Committee on Labor and Employment revealed over the weekend that the government is set to tap beneficiaries of the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers program (TUPAD) as forest rangers to implement the country’s national greening program.

In a news statement, Rizal 4th District Rep. Fidel Nograles said the Departments of Labor and Employ ment (DOLE) and Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) recently signed a memorandum of agreement to mobilize TUPAD beneficiaries as forest rangers.

This is an excellent program that not only helps address our shortage of forest workers, but also provides our TUPAD beneficiaries with meaning ful and noble work that will directly benefit their communities and the whole country,” Nograles said.

The MOA is a creative solution to our need for more forest workers, and hopefully with this we can better monitor and protect these areas, espe cially in the face of continued [forest] encroachment,” Nograles added.

Under the DOLE-DENR accord, TUPAD beneficiaries will serve as

forest patrollers. They are also tasked with seedling production, establish ing plantations and assist on forest protection activities in support of the greening program.

According to DOLE, it would set aside funds for payment of the pre vailing daily minimum wage in the region where the TUPAD workers are assigned, and to cover the administra tive cost for personal protective equip ment and group personal accident in surance of workers who will be hired.

T he Technical Education and Skills Development Authority or its accredited training institutions will provide appropriate skills training and education on environment-re lated laws, rules, and regulations.

Nograles acknowledged the po tential impact of the training that TUPAD workers will undergo in “instilling a green consciousness” among the people.

“Hindi ito dead-end job, hindi bor ing, at maraming matututunan. This is an opportunity to empower our TU PAD workers, and to instill in them a green consciousness that they can pass on to their families and friends,” the lawmaker said.

Nograles also expressed hope that the MOA would be “only the first step in our efforts to revitalize our forests and mitigate the effects of the climate crisis.”

Davao del Norte cited as most competitive province in VisMin

By Manuel T. Cayon @awimailbox Mindanao Bureau Chief

DAVAO CITY—Davao del Norte province retained the distinctive honor of being the most competitive province in the Visayas and Mindanao region, a distinction it held for two years in a row now.

T his came out when it landed third in the 2022 rankings of the Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index (CMCI).

Davao del Norte was recognized as the Most Competitive Province in the country during the 10th Cit ies and Municipalities Competitive Summit spearheaded by the Depart ment of Trade and Industry (DTI) held at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City, the provincial information office said.

W hile it placed third, Davao del Norte province came out strong be hind Rizal province and Cavite, both of the Greater Manila Area.

It garnered an average score of 37.42 percent in the CMCI this year, just 0.26 shy from second placer Cavite that has a score of 37.68 percent.

R izal Province bagged the mostcoveted award for seven straight years with a score of 40.23 percent in the CMCI.

D avao del Norte slid down though from its previous second

position in the 2020-2021 edition of the CMCI. Yet, it remained the most competitive province outside of Luzon, “Based on an index that gauged local government units in terms of economic dynamism, gov ernment efficiency, infrastructure, resiliency, and innovation,” the in formation office added.

Governor Edwin Jubahib shared the award with the 11 towns of Davao del Norte, whose efforts he said “col lectively contributed to the overall ranking of the province.”

“The key policy initiatives and sus tainedinfrastructuredevelopmentthat we carried out to foster an environment conducive for business to flourish are truly working,” the governor told the first convocation program of the Pro vincial Capitol after two years.

Provincial Administrator Engr. Josie Jean Rabanoz received the award on behalf of the governor. She was accompanied by DTI-XI Re gional Director Maria Belenda Q. Ambi, DTI-Provincial Director Romeo Castañaga, Assistant Provincial Ad ministrator Engr. Maria Hazel Zafra, and Provincial Local Economic Invest ment Promotion Officer Joevynar Miedes. The information office said Davao del Norte was also a finalist in the ongoing search for the Most Business-Friendly (MBF) Province Award, “as it was further identified as a potential passer of the Seal of Good Local Governance this year.”

“ That prevents fly-by-night trad ers from cornering import alloca tions. An auction, in economics, is always the most transparent way to allocate scarce resources. So, if the SRA is serious about transparency, an auction is the best way to allocate import space. It also ends alleged corruption in the arbitrary grant of import allocations,” he said.

Fourth, the lawmaker said the SRA itself should have the ability to import sugar over and above its sugar import orders during emer gency situations, such as thin in dustrial inventory.

“ They should be able to import and sell the imports to industrial users, if they will not allow industrial us ers themselves to import. That will prevent closures of food manufactur

ing plants. Ideally, they should allow industrial users to import when the technical panel determines the ex istence of a shortage,” he said.

“

Fifth, and finally, the SRA’s capacity to spend the Sugar Indus try Development Fund should be improved. Reforms should include allowing the SRA to transfer funds from the SRA to DA Field Offices for sugar sector programs. The SRA Board can continue providing the policy direction for programs but DA Field Offices are better at implemen tation,” he said.

I f they do that, Salceda said he will be the strongest in Congress to push for earmarking sweetened beverage taxes towards the domes tic sugar sector, as they do with to bacco taxes.

‘Draft tweaks to SRA charter won’t redress supply, price issues’

PNP-MG urged to deploy gunboats to Pag-asa Island

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz  @joveemarie

ASENIOR lawmaker called on the Philippine National Po lice Maritime Group (PNPMG) to permanently deploy two of its newly acquired high-speed gunboats to Pag-asa Island at the northeastern section of the dis puted Spratly archipelago.

For border protection against smugglers, Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel said the Bureau of Customs Enforcement Group’s Water

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes @brownindio

AMEMBER of the academe is proposing the integration of the Department of Foreign Affairs in the effort to beef up the country’s National Security Cyber security Plan to counter foreign cy ber threats.

“ Diplomacy was not figured in the plan. The Department of For eign Affairs was not part of the inter-agency framework. They are the front and center because of what’s happening now, the increas ing cyber skirmishes. So diplomacy means norms. Diplomacy means international law. We already have a set of cyber norms,” De La Salle University Assistant Professor of International Studies Francis Domingo explained in a recent forum on the establishment of a strong and credible cyber defense posture in the Philippines hosted by the Stratbase Albert del Rosa rio Institute (Stratbase ADR) in partnership with the US Embassy in the Philippines.

“

I argue that if we’re facing, let’s be blunt, Chinese cyber op erations, the logical strategy is to leverage our alliance because we already have it. Whether the treaty covers cyber is still in a gray area but it does not mean that we can’t focus on capacity building, we can’t focus on exercises, and we can’t focus on diplomacy,” Do mingo added.

Dan Ennis, a former director of the United States National Security Agency’s Threats Operations Cen ter said government and private sector partnership is key in fight ing cybercrimes.

“ The biggest strategy you can do, from my perspective, to defeat cybercrime is by sector, by entity,

Patrol Division should also deploy two of its newly procured fast patrol boats to Pag-asa as they can function as an extension of the bureau’s Puerto Princesa City sub-station.

“ The police maritime group al ready has a new detachment of eight officers led by a major positioned in Pag-asa. We should reinforce them with a couple of gunboats to protect our waters there with seaborne pa trols,” Pimentel said in a news state ment issued on Tuesday.

P imentel is a staunch backer of the Visiting Forces Agreement

between the Philippines and the United States.

“ We should populate Pag-asa with as many relevant agencies as pos sible, while encouraging more civil ians, particularly fisherfolk, to live and work there,” Pimentel said.

“ The other countries that claim the Spratly archipelago either as a whole or in part are clearly increasing their visibility on the islands, reefs and shoals that they’ve occupied there. We should do the same,” Pimentel said.

Pag-asa has been occupied by the Philippines since 1970. The low-

lying 37.2-hectare island lies some 480 kilometers northwest of Puerto Princesa City.

Surrounded by shallow coral rang es, Pag-asa is the largest landmass of the Kalayaan Island Group in the West Philippine Sea.

Besides Pag-asa, the Kalayaan Is land Group also includes the islets of Likas, Parola, Lawak, Kota, Patag and Panata, and Balagtas Reef, Ayungin Shoal and Rizal Shoal.

On June 11, 1978, then Presi dent Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. issued Presidential Decree No. 1596, which

created the Municipality of Kalayaan over the Kalayaan Island Group un der the Province of Palawan.

T he Kalayaan municipal govern ment is based in Pag-asa, which is also the town’s lone barangay.

A sixth-class municipality, Kalay aan is the least populated town in the Philippines, with only 193 residents who all live on Pag-asa, according to the 2020 census.

Pag-asa has a small military de tachment led by a lieutenant. The Philippine Navy also runs the Naval Station Emilio Liwanag on the island,

while the Philippine Coast Guard has a sub-station there.

T he Department of National De fense in 2020 built a beaching ramp on Pag-asa to facilitate the delivery of construction equipment and ma terials needed to repair the island’s dilapidated 1.3-kilometer airstrip.

T he Department of Transpor tation in 2021 also put a sheltered port on Pag-asa for Filipino fishing vessels, while the state-run National Power Corp. energized the island with diesel generating sets with a capacity of 300 kilowatts.

By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

by company, by government agency, by wherever you sit. Set a set of pri orities that you will focus on and then communicate those priorities again and again and again. They may change over time, but that communication will do a lot of good, both in helping defend and helping our public gain confidence that we know what we’re doing both in the government and in the private sec tor,” he said.

Further, Ennis believes cyber threats will continue to evolve as seen in recent developments.

I think our citizenry are going to begin to challenge us both in the public and private sphere with how we respond to cyber. At some point, our citizenry, our public, as they get more educated and as we attempt to fully educate them, is going to demand solutions. It’s an area that we need to be conscious of,” Ennis pointed out.

O n the government side, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said it is also pursuing public-private partnerships to se cure cyberspace in response to the budget cuts in 2023.

D ICT Undersecretary for Spe cial Concerns Paul Joseph Mer cado said the agency originally asked for a P34 billion budget for next year but only P5 billion was allotted in the proposed 2023 national budget.

D espite the reduction in their budget for next year, Mercado re mained optimistic they can per form their mandate. “We are trying to make do with what we have. We will try to pursue public-private partnerships. There are ways even with limited budgets. If we spend this correctly, I think we will still have a very good future ahead of us in terms of these ICT projects,”

Mercado explained.

T he National Bureau of Inves tigation earlier said that there was a more than 200 percent increase in phishing cases reported to the agency in 2020, while the Depart ment of Justice’s Cybercrime Office also reported a 264 percent increase in the number of reported online sexual exploitation of children from March to June 2020 alone.

A 2021 survey by Cybersecurity firm Sophos also showed that 69 percent of Philippine organiza tions experienced ransomware at tacks in 2021. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas also reported receiv ing 42,000 complaints related to online transactions in 2020-2021, amounting to P 540 million.

Collaborate with state allies STRATBASE ADR Institute Presi dent Victor Andres Manhit urged the Marcos administration “to explore opportunities to engage in bilateral, minilateral, and mul tilateral initiatives such as capac ity-building and expertise-sharing activities with like-minded part ners such as the United States as the country’s digital infrastruc ture needs to be strengthened as a result of the ongoing exposure to cyber threats, thus policies and initiatives must be developed and put into action,” he said.

Manhit also urged President Mar cos to pursue a partnership with the country’s allies in the Indo-Pacific region to enhance defensive and offensive cyber capacities, increase state interoperability, and ensure collective security.

“ Only by creating a strong and credible cyber defense posture will the Philippines and Indo-Pacific be able to achieve a secure and trustworthy digital community,” Manhit said.

THE Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday clarified that the 2022 Bar examinations will proceed as scheduled even as the country is still reeling from the dev astation caused by severe tropical storm “Paeng,” which left almost 100 people dead and 1.8 million individu als affected.

The 2022 Bar exams will proceed on November 9, 13, 16, and 20 as originally scheduled and announced Bar Bulletin No. 6, S. 2022,” said SC

spokesman Brian Keith Hosaka.

T he same Bar bulletin, however, stated that the exams might still be rescheduled due to “unforeseen cir cumstances and contingencies.”

Hosaka earlier said it would check with the Office of the Bar Confidant (OBC) if there were requests to re schedule the Bar following the on slaught of Paeng.

“I think it would be premature to say the OBC has received a formal re quest or petition on this considering the official holidays. I would have to wait for November 2 to be able to re spond to your question,” Hosaka said.

A round 10,000 law graduates are expected to take the 2022 Bar exami nations starting next week.

T his year’s Bar exams will be held under a “regionalized and digi talized” set up, which was first ad opted in the 2020-2021 Bar exams held in February of this year.

T he SC decided to use the said set-up in the 2020 and 2021 Bar exams due to the health and travel restrictions brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. The SC earlier announced that it has designated 14 testing centers across the country for the 2022 Bar examinations.

By Manuel T. Cayon @awimailbox Mindanao Bureau Chief

within a laboratory facility. The fer tilized egg or embryo is then injected into the woman’s uterus after about two weeks, inducing pregnancy.”

WITH tourism recov ery among the govern ment’s top priorities, a lawmaker wants to find out from the Department of Tourism (DOT) how much of the over P34-billion bailout package for businesses under the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Republic Act 11519 or Bayanihan 2 law) had actually been availed of by small and me dium-sized entrepreneurs in tour ism, which was one of the sectors hardest hit by Covid-19.

Such relief funds in 2021 for pandemic-hit enterprises and busi ness persons included a P10-billion outlay that the House of Repre sentatives had originally allotted for infrastructure projects of the Tourism Infrastructure and Enter prise Zone Authority (TIEZA) in its version of the Bayanihan 2 bill, but which, following the subsequent lobbying in the Senate by the DOT and certain industry players, was scrapped in the final congressional bill submitted to Malacañang, said CamSur Rep. LRay Villafuerte in a news statement.

Amid the assertion then by DOT officials and certain industry

players that tourism infrastruc ture was not a priority at the time, the P10-billion intended by the House for TIEZA ended up being allotted to government financial institutions [GFIs] for bailing out Covid-affected businesses, includ ing those in the tourism industry,” according to Villafuerte, who was the lead author in the House of both Bayanihan 2 and the Bayani han to Heal as One Act (RA 11494 or Bayanihan 1).

Villafuerte, also president of the National Unity Party (NUP), said, “Given President Marcos’ apt push for tourism infrastructure, it seems ap propriate for the DOT to tell us how much of the P34.72-billion bailout fund for Covid-hit businesses un der Bayanihan 2 had actually been released to rescue resort operators and other financially distressed en trepreneurs and establishments in the tourism industry.”

Citing reports, Villafuerte said the Department of Budget and Manage ment (DBM), for instance, plans to spend P133 billion for network de velopment to build new roads and widen existing ones, of which P15.7 billion will reportedly be spent on

links to tourism destinations.

Such P15.7-billion allotment will supposedly be used by the govern ment to improve over 16 kilometers (km) of roads leading to airports, 27.5 km leading to seaports, and 308 km leading to tourist destinations, he said.

V illafuerte recalled that the House, under then-Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, endorsed in 2020 an allocation of P10 billion from the Bayanihan 2 stimulus pack age for Covid-19 response for tourism infrastructure to be built by TIEZA.

H e explained this proposed P10-billion infrastructure bud get for TIEZA was included in the House-approved version of Baya nihan 2 on the legislators’ belief that “more and better tourism in frastructure projects needed to be built in 2021 and onwards for the government to rev up this Covidbattered sector anew as a boom industry and major dollar earner once the pandemic is over.”

However, he said, this infra structure budget “failed to see the light of day,” as then-DOT Secretary Berna Romulo-Puyat,

CITY—The first in-vi tro fertilization (IVF) facility in Mindanao has marked its seventh year, after giving the island’s first test tube baby by a Muslim woman on its first year, and cur rently reaching its services to as far as the Sulawesi Region of Indonesia.

DAVAO

“ We are fulfilled to have been helping many families realize their dreams of having their own chil dren through IVF technology,” said Lourdes Cabling, medical director of IVF Davao.

In its web site, it listed stories of a “Muslim mother [who] gave birth to Mindanao’s first test-tube baby” and of a young woman politician who also gave birth to a son.

Throughout our seven-year his tory, we have welcomed many couples and helped them go through the par enthood journey with comfort, care, and utmost guidance,” Cabling said.

T he facility said that IVF “is a medical procedure wherein an egg cell and a sperm cell, extracted from a couple, are combined for fertilization

I VF Davao says “offers assisted reproductive technology services in cluding egg freezing, sperm freezing, embryo freezing, testicular sperm extraction, intracytoplasmic sperm injection, and fertility counseling.”

“ It provides a patient-centered care service and treatment for all age groups,” it added.

I VF Davao said it has invested in equipment to implement the newest medical technologies for fertility. “IVF Davao is the first IVF center in the entire island region of Mindanao.

Prior to its opening in 2015, most IVF facilities in the country were in Metro Manila and Cebu,” it said.

IVF Davao has been providing fertility, IVF, and other assisted reproductive technology services not just for couples within Davao and Mindanao but also to aspiring parents from as far as the Sulawesi region in Indonesia,” it added.

A 2011 study by market research firm Synovate stated “about 10 per cent of Filipino couples are infer tile.” This was cited by Merck Inc.,

the Philippine affiliate of the global pharmaceutical firm Merck KGaA, a global market leader in fertility. Merck Inc. cited the same study as showing that the number was higher compared to about 8 percent infertil ity rate in the Philippines reported in 2004 by the United Nations De velopment Program.

The World Health Organiza tion defines infertility as failure to achieve a clinical pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular un protected sexual intercourse,” the Merck Inc., said, citing the same study. “Medical experts cite several factors leading to infertility, includ ing heredity, lifestyle, age, and the overall health of a couple.”

T he company said it has supported the IVF facility here and has been its partner. “Merck is happy to sup port IVF Davao, which we consider as a milestone in itself in terms of making the technology available to more Filipino families. This is in line with our company’s commitment to building families and enabling many couples to achieve their dreams of becoming parents,” said Henry Wil son, Managing Director and General Manager of Merck Inc.

with the support of certain leg islators and big industry players, had lobbied during the bicameral deliberations on Bayanihan 2 for the realignment of the P10-billion infrastructure outlay intended for TIEZA to a bailout fund for tourism-related businesses hurt severely by the government’s stringent lockdowns or mobil ity restrictions nationwide that barred foreigners and locals alike from going to tourist destinations.

Under Section 10 of the Bayani han 2 law, a total of P39.472 billion was allocated for capital infusion to Government Financial Institu tions (GFI), of which P18.47 billion went to the Land Bank of the Phil ippines (LandBank) and another P6 billion to the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) for their  “wholesale banking and equity infusion for low-interest loans to persons and entities engaged in Covid-affected industries.”

A lso, P10 billion was set aside in Bayanihan 2 as additional funding for the Covid-19 As sistance to Restart Enterprises (CARES) microfinancing project and other lending programs of

the Small Business Corp. (SB Corp—a GFI attached to the De partment of Trade and Industry (DTI)—“as well as interest sub sidies to MSMEs [micro, small and medium-sized enterprises], cooperatives, hospitals, tourism industry and OFWs [overseas Filipino workers] affected by the pandemic.”

“ That fund diversion under the Bayanihan 2 budget turned out to be one policy boo-boo, given ini tial reports subsequently reaching my office that not many industry stakeholders had actually availed of the bailout package for the tourism sector,” said Villafuerte.

M oreover, because the tourism slump was expected to continue until such time that the pandemic threat has subsided, Villafuerte said legislators felt the need to provide infrastructure funds to TIEZA for its long-term infra structure program, as the sharp drop in tourism revenues and travel tax collections would mean this state-run firm was looking at scant resources ahead to finance its planned projects.

“ The then-proposed TIEZA in

frastructure spending would have helped provide many jobs to dislo cated industry workers and boost local economies, as infrastructure investments have a high multiplier effect of 3.5—meaning, it will gener ate P3.50 for the economy for every P1 investment—that would have generated badly needed economic activity in the tourism sites.”

Hence, the aborted P10-billion infrastructure spending would have generated a projected P35 billion worth of economic activities last year in areas with tourist spots had TIEZA been given that amount to build various projects to improve facilities or make them more acces sible to tourists, said Villafuerte.

C ontrary to the claim by DOT and some big industry players that infrastructure development was not a priority at that point in the pandemic, Villafuerte said the House leadership was, “back then, looking at the big picture and beyond the pandemic, and felt a long-term goal to sharpen the Philippines’ competitiveness by improving the poor state of our tourism infrastructure.”

Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

The

South Korea’s first decline in exports in 2 years highlights global slowdown

By Sam Kim

SOUTH Korea’s first decline in exports in two years is among the clearest signals yet that the global economy is cooling under the pressure of rising interest rates.

Working-day shipments on aver age declined 7.9 percent in October from a year earlier, customs office data showed Tuesday. Headline ex ports dropped 5.7 percent, worse than estimates for a 2.1 percent fall.

Korea’s trade performance is a canary in the global coalmine as the country manufactures key items such as chips, displays and refined oil for the world economy. The data showed semiconductor exports, Korea’s biggest source of income,

dropped the most since 2019, while shipments to China contracted by double-digits for the first time since the onset of the pandemic.

“It’s an early indicator that is signaling demand is slowing in the global economy,” said Roh Hyunwoo, a strategist at Hanwha Asset Management. “Interest rates are rising, credit markets are strained and sentiment is weakening and exports reflect those trends.”

Overall imports gained 9.9

percent, resulting in a trade defi cit of $6.7 billion, the nation’s seventh consecutive monthly shortfall. The deficit was almost double the $3.5 billion expected by economists.

Deteriorating exports and mounting trade deficits are among the latest concerns for policy mak ers who are struggling to maintain economic momentum. A deadly crowd crush during weekend Hal loween celebrations in Seoul is set to add to factors weighing on the economy as it’s likely to hurt con sumer sentiment.

A credit rout triggered by the default of a local developer also chilled investor sentiment, prompting the government to pledge 50 trillion won ($35 billion) in financial support. Economic growth decelerated last quarter as inflation remained elevated and the central bank stepped up policy tightening.

Musk floats paid Twitter verification, fires board

By Matt O’brien & Barbara Ortutay AP Technology Writers

BILLIONAIRE Elon Musk

is already floating major changes for Twitter—and faces major hurdles as he begins his first week as owner of the so cial media platform.

Twitter’s new owner fired the company’s board of directors and made himself the board’s sole member, according to a company filing Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Musk later said on Twitter that the new board setup is “temporary,” but he didn’t provide any details.

He’s also testing the waters on asking users to pay for verifica tion. A venture capitalist working with Musk tweeted a poll asking how much users would be willing to pay for the blue check mark that Twitter has historically used to verify higher-profile accounts so other users know it’s really them.

Musk, whose account is veri fied, replied, “Interesting.”

Critics have derided the mark, often granted to celebrities, poli ticians, business leaders and jour nalists, as an elite status symbol.

But Twitter also uses the blue check mark to verify activists and people who suddenly find themselves in the news, as well as little-known journalists at small publications around the globe, as an extra tool to curb misinforma tion coming from accounts that are impersonating people.

“The whole verification pro cess is being revamped right now,” Musk tweeted Sunday in response to a user who asked for help get ting verified.

On Friday, meanwhile, billion aire Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal said he and his Kingdom Holding Company rolled over a combined $1.89 billion in exist ing Twitter shares, making them the company’s largest shareholder after Musk. The news raised con cerns among some lawmakers, including Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut.

Murphy tweeted that he is re questing the Committee on For eign Investment—which reviews acquisitions of US businesses by foreign buyers—to investigate the national security implications of the kingdom’s investment in Twitter.

“We should be concerned that the Saudis, who have a clear inter est in repressing political speech and impacting US politics, are now the second-largest owner of a ma jor social media platform,” Murphy tweeted. “There is a clear national security issue at stake and CFIUS should do a review.”

Having taken ownership of the social media service, Musk has in vited a group of tech-world friends and investors to help guide the San Francisco-based company’s transformation, which is likely to include a shakeup of its staff. Musk last week fired CEO Parag Agrawal and other top executives.

There’s been uncertainty about if and when he could begin largerscale layoffs.

“I do think there will be a lot of layoffs,” said Matthew Faulkner, an assistant finance professor at San Jose State University. Faulkner noted the need for costcutting after Musk bought Twitter for a premium and the platform’s longtime struggles trying to turn a profit. But Musk might also want as quickly as possible to weed out employees who don’t believe in his mission so that those who stay feel more secure.

“You don’t want to have franti cally scared employees working for you,” Faulkner said. “That doesn’t motivate people.”

Those who have revealed they are helping Musk include Sriram Krishnan, a partner at venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, which pledged back in the spring to chip in to Musk’s plan to buy the company and take it private.

Krishnan, who is also a former Twitter product executive, said in a tweet that it is “a hugely impor tant company and can have great impact on the world and Elon is the person to make it happen.”

Jason Calacanis, the venture capitalist who tweeted the poll about whether users would pay for verification, said over the weekend he is “hanging out at Twitter a bit and simply trying to be as helpful as possible dur ing the transition.”

Calacanis said the team already “has a very comprehensive plan to reduce the number of [and vis ibility of] bots, spammers, & bad actors on the platform.” And in the Twitter poll, he asked if users would pay between $5 and $15 monthly to “be verified & get a

blue check mark” on Twitter. Twit ter is currently free for most users because it depends on advertising for its revenue.

Musk agreed to buy Twitter for $44 billion in April but it wasn’t until Thursday evening that he finally closed the deal, after his attempts to back out of it led to a protracted legal fight with the company. Musk’s lawyers are now asking the Delaware Chan cery Court to throw out the case, according to a court filing made public Monday. The two sides were supposed to go to trial in Novem ber if they didn’t close the deal by the end of last week.

Musk has made a number of pronouncements since early this year about how to fix Twitter, and it remains unclear which propos als he will prioritize.

He has promised to cut back some of Twitter’s content restric tions to promote free speech, but said Friday that no major deci sions on content or reinstating of banned accounts will be made un til a “content moderation council” with diverse viewpoints is put in place. He later qualified that re mark, tweeting “anyone suspend ed for minor & dubious reasons will be freed from Twitter jail.”

The head of a cryptocurrency exchange that invested $500 mil lion in Musk’s Twitter takeover said he had a number of reasons for supporting the deal, includ ing the possibility Musk would transition Twitter into a com pany supporting cryptocurrency and the concept known as Web3, which many cryptocurrency en thusiasts envision as the next generation of the Internet.

“We want to make sure that crypto has a seat at the table when it comes to free speech,” Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao told CNBC on Monday. “And there are more tactical things, like we want to help bring Twitter into Web3 when they’re ready.”

He said cryptocurrency could be useful for solving some of Musk’s immediate challenges, such as the plan to charge a premium membership fee for more users.

“That can be done very easily, globally, by using cryptocurrency as a means of payment,” he said.

The Associated Press Writer Randall Chase contributed to this story.

High global commodity prices are raising the prospect of Korea’s first annual trade deficit since the global fi nancial crisis. The won’s slide against the dollar is likely to cause a decline not only in imports but also exports going forward, according to the Korea Development Institute.

Russia’s war on Ukraine, mon etary tightening in major countries and a global slowdown are among factors driving the drop in exports, the trade ministry said in a state ment. It also pointed to slowing exports and rising deficits in other manufacturing powerhouses such as Germany, France and Japan.

Chip sales down

GLOBAL chip sales contracted for the first time since early 2020, in a blow to South Korea’s economy, which is highly geared to the in dustry and struggling to adjust to weaker demand.

Worldwide sales of semiconduc

tors declined 3 percent in September from a year earlier, according to data from the Washington-based Semi conductor Industry Association. In the same month, Korean chipmak ers manufactured 3.5 percent less than a year earlier, deteriorating from a 0.1 percent fall in August, the national statistics office said separately on Monday.

Semiconductors represent the biggest source of income for the Korean economy, which slowed last quarter as a weakening cur rency amplified trade deficits and rising interest rates worldwide weighed on consumer demand for the nation’s technology exports.

Chip demand tends to cycle through booms and busts and the latest downturn adds to concerns for Korean policy makers, who are struggling to lessen the economic hit from a credit rout sparked by the default of a local developer.

On-again, off-again Covid lock

Pelosi suspect wanted to break House speaker’s knees–Police

By Lisa Mascaro, Stefanie Dazio & Terry Chea The Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO—The man

accused of attacking House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s hus band with a hammer told police he wanted to hold the Democratic leader hostage and “break her knee caps” to show other members of Congress there were “consequences to actions,” authorities said Monday.

In a chilling federal complaint, officials say David DePape, 42, car rying zip ties, tape and a rope in a backpack, broke into the couple’s San Francisco home early Friday morning, went upstairs where 82-year-old Paul Pelosi was sleeping, and demanded to talk to “Nancy.”

“This house and the speaker herself were specifically targets,” San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said at a Mon day evening news conference an nouncing state charges against De Pape, including attempted murder.

“This was politically motivat ed,” Jenkins said. She implored the public to “watch the words that we say and to turn down the volume of our political rhetoric.”

Investigators believe DePape had been researching in advance to target Pelosi, Jenkins said in an in terview with The Associated Press.

“This was not something that he did at the spur of the moment,” she said.

In a statement late Monday, Speaker Pelosi said her family was “most grateful” for “thousands of messages conveying concern, prayers and warm wishes.” Her husband underwent surgery for a fractured skull and other injuries after the attack. She said he was making “steady progress on what will be a long recovery process.”

The stark narrative laid out by state and federal prosecutors stands in contrast to the mock ing jokes and conspiracy theories circulated by far-right figures and even some leading Republicans just a week before midterm elec tions. A record number of security threats are being reported against lawmakers and election officials.

At a campaign event Monday in Arizona, Kari Lake, the Republi can candidate for governor, drew hearty laughs as she joked about security at the Pelosi home.

In addition to the state charges, DePape was also charged Monday in federal court with influencing, impeding or retaliating against a federal official by threatening or injuring a family member. He also faces one count of attempted kid napping of a United States official because of their official duties.

No attorney has been listed for DePape. He is scheduled to be ar raigned Tuesday on the state charg es, and prosecutors will ask for him to be held in jail without bail.

Authorities said DePape smashed a glass door in the back of the home with a hammer, went to the upstairs bedroom and told a surprised Paul Pelosi to wake up.

When Paul Pelosi told the in truder his wife was not home, DePape said he would wait—even after being told she would not be home for some days. The assailant then started taking out twist ties to tie Pelosi up, the complaint says.

DePape told investigators he wanted to talk to Speaker Pelosi and viewed her as the “leader of the pack of lies told by the Dem ocratic Party,” according to the eight-page complaint.

“If she were to tell DePape the ‘truth,’ he would let her go and if she ‘lied,’ he was going to break her kneecaps,” the complaint alleges.

“By breaking Nancy’s kneecaps, she would then have to be wheeled into Congress, which would show other members of Congress there were consequences to actions,” the complaint says DePape told investigators.

The federal complaint says De Pape said he wanted “to use Nan cy to lure” another person, but it provides no details of such a plan.

After DePape confronted Paul Pelosi in his bedroom, Pelosi tried to make it to an elevator in the home to reach a phone, but DePape blocked his way, Jenkins said. In a nightshirt, Pelosi then told the assailant he had to use the rest room, allowing him to get to his cellphone and call 911, according to authorities.

Police were dispatched to the home in the upscale Pacific Heights neighborhood around 2:20 a.m. Friday. They arrived two minutes later to see the two men strug gling over a hammer, and then DePape struck Pelosi at least once before being tackled by officers,

downs in China, Russia’s war on Ukraine and Beijing-Washington trade tensions have overshadowed earnings for Korean chipmakers such as Samsung Electronics Co., whose net profit missed estimates in the third quarter. The company said in its earnings call that it doesn’t expect a demand recovery until at least the second half of 2023.

Other chip data from Statistics Korea showed inventory growth remained elevated, hitting 54.7 percent in September. Factory ship ments of semiconductors showed signs of stabilizing, declining just 0.9 percent from a year earlier.

Meanwhile, Korea’s overall in dustrial production rose 0.8 percent from a year earlier in September, less than economists’ estimate of 1 percent. From a month before, it contracted 1.8 percent, deeper than a 0.8 percent decline forecast by analysts, according to the statistics office. Bloomberg News

Jenkins said.

She said police body camera footage “shows the attack itself.”

Police later found a second ham mer, along with rope, tape and a diary in DePape’s backpack.

In the ambulance to the hos pital, Paul Pelosi told police he had never seen DePape before, the complaint said. And Jenkins said Sunday, “We have nothing to suggest that these two men knew each other prior to this incident,” a statement contra dicting vulgar unsupported suggestions on social media.

DePape told investigators he didn’t leave even though he knew Paul Pelosi had called 911 because “much like the American founding fathers with the British, he was fighting against tyranny with out the option of surrender,” the affidavit said.

Speaker Pelosi, who was in Washington, D.C., at the time of the attack, returned swiftly to California. Unlike presidents, con gressional leaders have security protection for themselves, but not their families.

DePape is a Canadian citizen who legally entered the United States in 2000 but has stayed long after his visa expired, according to a US official who was not au thorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Family described DePape as estranged, and he was known by some in San Francisco as a pronudity activist who appeared to embrace a range of conspiracy theories. DePape has lived for the past two years in a garage at a resi dence in Richmond, California, the complaint said.

The attack was an unsettling echo of the January 6, 2021 in surrection at the US Capitol, when rioters trying to overturn Joe Biden’s election defeat of Donald Trump stormed the halls eerily calling “Where’s Nancy?” Some carried zip ties.

Elon Musk over the weekend tweeted, then deleted, a fringe website’s conspiracy theories to his millions of followers, as his purchase of Twitter has raised con cerns that the social media plat form would no longer seek to limit misinformation and hate speech.

Mascaro reported from Washington and Dazio reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press writers Michael Bal samo in Washington and Elliot Spagat in San Diego contributed to this report.

The World

North Korea warns US of ‘powerful’ response to joint military exercises

By Kim Tong-Hyung The Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea—North Korea’s Foreign Ministry criticized the United States for expanding joint military ex ercises with South Korea that it claims are practice for a potential invasion, and it warned Tuesday of “more powerful follow-up mea sures” in response.

The statement from the minis try came as the US and South Ko rea conduct aerial drills involving more than 200 warplanes, includ ing their advanced F-35 fighter jets, as they step up their defense posture in the face of North Ko rea’s increased weapons testing and growing nuclear threat.

North Korea has ramped up its weapons demonstrations to a record pace this year, launching more than 40 ballistic missiles, including developmental inter continental ballistic missiles and an intermediate-range missile fired over Japan. The North has punctuated those tests with an escalatory nuclear doctrine that authorizes preemptive nuclear attacks in loosely defined crisis situations.

The US and South Korea have resumed large-scale military drills this year after downsizing or suspending them in past years as part of efforts to create diplo matic space with Pyongyang and because of the pandemic.

The United States and South Korea’s “Vigilant Storm” air force drills, which are to continue through Friday, came after South Korea completed its annual 12-day “Hoguk” field exercises that offi cials say also involved an unspeci fied number of American troops.

North Korea’s latest statement came just days after the country fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea, extending a barrage of launches since late September. Some of those launches have been described by the North

as simulated nuclear attacks on South Korean and US targets.

North Korea has said its testing activities are meant as a warning amid the joint military drills. But some experts say Pyongyang has also used the drills as a chance to test new weapons systems, boost its nuclear capability and increase its leverage in future dealings with Washington and Seoul.

In comments attributed to an unidentified spokesperson, the North Korean Foreign Ministry statement said the military drills exposed the United States as the “chief culprit in destroying peace and security.” It said the North was ready to take “all necessary measures” to defend against out side military threats.

“If the US continuously per sists in the grave military provo cations, the DPRK will take into account more powerful follow-up measures,” the spokesperson said, using North Korea’s formal name, the Democratic People’s Repub lic of Korea. The statement did not specify what those measures could be.

South Korean officials have said North Korea could up the ante in coming weeks by detonating its first nuclear test device since Sep tember 2017, which could possibly take the country a step closer to its goals of building a full-fledged nuclear arsenal capable of threat ening regional US allies and the American mainland.

In recent weeks, North Korea has also fired hundreds of shells in inter-Korean maritime buffer zones that the two Koreas estab lished in 2018 to reduce frontline military tensions. North Korea has said that firing was in reaction to South Korean live-fire exercises at land border areas. The rival Koreas exchanged warning shots October 24 along their disputed western sea boundary, a scene of past bloodshed and naval battles, as they accused each other of vio lating the boundary.

Bahrain’s Shiites hope pontiff raises human rights during visit

By Bassem Mroue, Jon Gambrell

& Mariam Fam The Associated Press

BEIRUT—Pope Francis is making the first-ever papal trip to Bahrain this week, sparking calls from the country’s majority Shiite opposition and human rights activists for the pontiff to raise human rights concerns in the small island nation.

The island off the coast of Saudi Arabia is ruled by a Sunni monarchy that violently quashed 2011 Arab Spring protests there with the aid of allies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

In the years since, Bahrain has imprisoned Shiite activists, deported others, stripped hundreds of their citizenship, banned the largest Shiite opposition group and closed down its leading independent newspaper.

“There’s a huge elephant in the room in this situation,” said Devin Kenney, Amnesty International’s Bahrain researcher. “The watchwords of this visit are coexistence and dialogue and the Bahraini government suppresses civil and political freedoms, without which coexistence and dialogue cannot be sustained.”

Bahrain maintains it respects human rights and freedom of speech, despite facing repeated criticism by local and international rights activists, as well as UN human rights special rapporteurs.

Francis is making the November 3-6 visit to participate in a government-sponsored conference on East-West dialogue and to minister to Bahrain’s tiny Catholic community, part of his effort to pursue dialogue with the Muslim world.

While some Shiite opposition leaders welcome the visit, they hope Francis won’t sidestep the issue of decades of sectarian strife.

“The people of Bahrain live under

the influence of sectarian persecution, discrimination, intolerance and systematic governmental repression,” said Al-Wefaq, a opposition Shiite party outlawed and dismantled by court order in 2016.

This visit marks Francis’ second trip to a Gulf Arab state and his second to a majority Muslim nation in as many months, evidence that dialogue with the Muslim world has become a major cornerstone of his nearly 10-year papacy. He visited the United Arab Emirates in 2019 and traveled to Kazakhstan for a meeting of religious leaders in September.

In addition to meeting with Muslim leaders in Bahrain, he will also celebrate Mass in the national stadium for the country’s Catholic community, most of whom are expatriate laborers from the Philippines and India.

Asked if he will raise human rights concerns during the visit, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni cited Francis’ frequent calls for religious liberty and interfaith dialogue.

“The position of the Holy See and the pope concerning religious freedom and liberty is clear and is known,” Bruni told reporters at the Vatican. He declined to say whether Francis would address the Bahraini government’s treatment of its Shiite community in any way.

The island kingdom—about the size of New York City and with a population of around 1.5 million—has also struggled with years of economic problems.

Bahrain, which means “Two Seas” in Arabic, discovered its first oil well in 1931—the first among its Gulf Arab neighbors. Today though, it remains tens of billions of dollars in debt and reliant on handouts from neighbors to keep afloat. Its capital, Manama, has aspired to becoming a financial hub but has been eclipsed by neighboring Dubai.

Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates,andFamfromCairo.AssociatedPresswriter

NicoleWinfield in Rome contributed to this report.

50 countries pressure China to release detained Uyghurs

By Edith M. Lederer The Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS—Fifty mainly Western countries urged China on Monday to fully implement all recommendations in a UN report accusing the country of possible “crimes against humanity” against Uyghurs and other mostly Muslim ethnic groups, including taking prompt steps to release all those “arbitrarily deprived of their liberty” in the far western province of Xinjiang.

Canada’s UN Ambassador Bob Rae read the statement at a meeting of the General As sembly’s human rights commit tee expressing grave concern at the human rights situation in China, and Beijing’s failure so far to discuss the report’s find ings on the ongoing violations against the Uyghurs and other Muslim groups.

Human rights groups have accused China of sweeping a million or more people from the minority groups into detention camps where many have said they were tortured, sexually assaulted, and forced to aban don their language and religion. The camps were just one part of what the rights organizations

have called a ruthless campaign against extremism in Xinjiang that also included draconian birth control policies and allencompassing restrictions on people’s movement.

The assessment from the Geneva-based UN human rights office was released in the final minutes of High Commission er for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet’s four-year term on Aug. 31. It largely corroborated earlier reporting by research ers, advocacy groups and the news media.

The report concluded that China has committed serious human rights violations under its anti-terrorism and anti-ex tremism policies and called for

“urgent attention” from the UN, the world community and China itself to address them.

The statement from the 50 countries calls the report “an independent, authoritative as sessment that relies extensively on China’s own records” and “makes an important contribu tion to the existing evidence of serious and systematic human rights violations in China.”

In light of “the gravity” of the report’s assessment, the coun tries expressed concern “that China has so far refused to dis cuss its findings” and urged the government “to fully implement the recommendations.”

In addition to calling for ful fillment of the recommendation to release of all those arbitrarily detained the 50 countries urged China to clarify “the fate and whereabouts of missing fam ily members” and arrange safe contacts and reunions.

In response to the statement, the Uyghur Human Rights Proj ect tweeted that “A growing number of UN member states are pushing back on China’s treatment of Uyghurs.”

Britain’s Foreign Minister James Cleverly tweeted that the statement “supported by a record 50 countries across 6 continents, demonstrates growing breadth of international concern.”

The 50 countries that signed on to the statement were: Alba nia, Andorra, Australia, Aus tria, Belgium, Belize, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Croa tia, Denmark, Estonia, Eswa

tini, Finland, France, Germany, Guatemala, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithu ania, Luxembourg, Marshall Islands, Monaco, Montenegro, Nauru, Netherlands, New Zea land, North Macedonia, Nor way, Palau, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Slova kia, Slovenia, Somalia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkiye, Ukraine, United Kingdom and United States.

Last week, the US, UK and others organized a meeting fol lowing up on the former high commissioner’s report that included UN ambassadors, Uy ghur human rights advocates, the UN special investigator on minority rights and Human Rights Watch.

China’s UN Mission sent a letter to all UN member states expressing its “resolute op position” to the meeting and strongly recommending that they boycott “this anti-China event.”

“It is a politically motivated event,” said the letter, obtained by The Associated Press. “The co-sponsors use human rights issues as a political tool to in terfere in China’s internal af fairs like Xinjiang, to create division and turbulence and disrupt China’s development.”

Calling the event “disinfor mation propaganda,” the letter accused the sponsors of violat ing “the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and norms of international relations.”

Nine arrested after bridge collapses in India, killing 134

By Ajit Solanki, Aijaz Hussain, Krutika Pathi & Sheikh Saaliq The Associated Press

MORBI, India—Police in western India arrested nine people on Monday as they investigated the collapse of a newly repaired 143-year-old suspension bridge in one of the country’s worst accidents in years, officials said. The collapse Sunday evening in Gujarat state plunged hundreds of people into a river, killing at least 134.

As families mourned the dead, attention turned to why the pedes trian bridge, built during British colonialism in the late 1800s and touted by the state’s tourism web site as an “artistic and technological marvel,” collapsed and who might be responsible. The bridge had re opened just four days earlier.

Inspector-General Ashok Yadav said police have formed a special investigative team, and that those arrested include managers of the bridge’s operator, Oreva Group, and its staff.

“We won’t let the guilty get away, we won’t spare anyone,” Yadav said.

Gujarat authorities opened a case against Oreva for suspected culpable homicide, attempted culpable homi cide and other violations.

In March, the local Morbi town government awarded a 15-year con tract to maintain and manage the bridge to Oreva, a group of com panies known mainly for making clocks, mosquito zappers and elec tric bikes. The same month, Oreva closed the bridge, which spans a wide section of the Machchu River, for repairs.

The bridge has been repaired sev eral times in the past and many of its original parts have been replaced over the years.

It was reopened nearly seven months later, on October 26, the first day of the Gujarati New Year, which coincides with the Hindu fes tival season, and the attraction drew hundreds of sightseers.

Sandeepsinh Zala, a Morbi offi cial, told the Indian Express news paper the company reopened the bridge without first obtaining a “fit ness certificate.” That could not be independently verified, but officials said they were investigating.

Authorities said the structure collapsed under the weight of hun dreds of people. A security video of the disaster showed it shaking vio lently and people trying to hold on to its cables and metal fencing before the aluminum walkway gave way and crashed into the river.

The bridge split in the middle with its walkway hanging down, its cables snapped.

Police said at least 134 people were confirmed dead and many others were admitted to hospitals in critical condition. Emergency responders and rescuers worked overnight and throughout Monday to search for survivors. State minis ter Harsh Sanghvi said most of the

victims were teenagers, women and older people.

At least 177 survivors were pulled from the river, said Jigar Khunt, an information depart ment official in Gujarat. It was unclear how many people were on the bridge when it collapsed and how many remained missing, but survivors said it was so densely packed that people were unable to quickly escape when its cables began to snap.

“There were just too many peo ple on the bridge. We could barely move,” Sidik Bai, 27, said while re covering from injuries in a hospital in Morbi.

Sidik said he jumped into the wa ter when the bridge began to crack and saw his friend being crushed by its metal walkway. He survived by clinging to the bridge’s cables.

“Everyone was crying for help, but one by one they all began dis appearing in the water,” Sidik said.

Local news channels ran pictures of the missing shared by concerned relatives, and family members raced to overcrowded hospitals searching for their loved ones.

Gujarat is the home state of Prime

Minister Narendra Modi, who was visiting the state at the time of the accident. He said he was “deeply saddened by the tragedy” and his office announced compensation for families of the dead and called for speedy rescue efforts.

“Rarely in my life, would I have experienced such pain,” Modi said during a public event in the state on Monday.

Modi was the top elected offi cial of Gujarat for 12 years before becoming India’s prime minister in 2014. A Gujarat state govern ment election is expected in com ing months and opposition par ties have demanded a thorough investigation of the accident.

The bridge collapse was Asia’s third major disaster involving large crowds in a month.

On Saturday, a Halloween crowd surge killed more than 150 people attending festivities in Itaewon, a neighborhood in Seoul, South Korea.

On October 1, police in Indonesia fired tear gas at a soccer match, caus ing a crush that killed 132 people as spectators tried to flee.

India’s infrastructure has long been marred by safety problems, and Morbi has suffered other major disasters. In 1979, an up stream dam on the Machchu Riv er burst, sending walls of water into the city and killing hundreds of people in one of India’s biggest dam failures.

In 2001, thousands of people died in an earthquake in Gujarat. Morbi, 150 kilometers (90 miles) from the quake’s epicenter in Bhuj, suffered widespread damage. According to a report in the Times of India news paper, the bridge that collapsed Sunday also was severely damaged.

Hussain, Saaliq and Pathi reported from New Delhi.

RESCUERS on boats search in the Machchu River next to a cable suspension bridge that collapsed in Morbi town of western state Gujarat, India on Monday, October 31, 2022. The century-old cable suspension bridge collapsed into the river Sunday evening, killing 134 people, officials said. AP/AJIT SOLANKI

Unlimited rice and diabetes

Filipinos eat rice every day not only because it complements many of their dishes but because it is a cheap source of carbohydrate and protein. The recent spike in the price of meat products like pork has made it more difficult for consumers to diversify their diet. For the price of a kilo of pork, which averaged p370 a kilo in Metro Manila, pinoys can buy nearly nine kilos of regular milled local commercial rice.

That’s why it no longer comes as a surprise if diabetes is one of the top causes of death in the Philippines. According to a report released by the Philippine Statistics Authority, diabetes mellitus was the fourth leading cause of death in the first quarter of the year. The disease accounted for 6,151 deaths in the January to March period (See, “Covid still one major cause of deaths in PHL—PSA data,” in the BusinessMirror, July 4, 2022).

Experts have long warned about the health risks associated with consuming too much of white rice. A study conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) indicated that eating white rice on a regular basis may increase the risk of type 2 diabetes. The study, which was published in the British Medical Journal in March 2012, found that people who ate the most rice—three to four servings a day—were 1.5 times more likely to have diabetes than people who ate the least amount of rice.

Because it is a cheap source of carbohydrate and protein, poor Filipino families eat white rice three times a day and oftentimes in huge quantities. Even if they want to consume healthy and nutritious food, poor Filipinos can’t afford them. The latest data from the Department of Agriculture (DA) indicate that prices of meat, fish and vegetables continue to make it difficult for low income Pinoys, particularly in the National Capital Region, to diversify their diet. As of October 28, DA data showed that the price of local round scad or galunggong averaged P240 per kilo, while the average price of eggplant and tomato reached P100 per kilo.

There have been proposals in the past to promote the consumption of brown rice and to mix corn with white rice to reduce health risks but these suggestions failed to gain traction. Health experts have long been asking the government to wean Filipinos away from white rice and to consume other staples, such as brown rice, but the alternatives are expensive. Cost is still the main obstacle to the adoption of healthier alternatives to white rice.

Lawmakers who have made a pitch for the consumption of alternatives to white rice should keep this in mind if they are indeed serious about enticing Filipinos to eat other crops like kamote or sweet potato. Policymakers and lawmakers can take a cue from marketing professionals who have devised ways to introduce new products to consumers. Creativity and the willingness to fund efforts to promote alternatives to white rice are key to helping Filipinos develop a taste for healthy food items.

The Itaewon Halloween crowd crush

Kuwentong Peyups

Daysbefore the deadly crowd crush incident, i walked every night around the neighborhood of itaewon to explore the socalled party hub of seoul.

After attending the Asian Patent Attorneys Association (APAA) conference in Busan, we proceeded to Seoul and stayed at the G Guesthouse in Itaewon for almost a week.

The area is studded with vintage shops, restaurants, pubs inspired by Western countries, and nightclubs along its steeply sloping and twisted alleyways on either side of the main road.

It is beyond my imagination that at least 150 people will die of cardiac arrest on Saturday night, October 29, as Halloween revelers crushed their way into a small alley leading to the main party area.

The tragedy occurred during Seoul’s first Halloween festivities in three years.

Some 100,000 people were estimated to have passed through the neighborhood excited about the prospect of partying again after two years of strict Covid restrictions in the country.

It was about 10:20 p.m. (South Korea time) when the situation turned desperate as a number of people in an alley going to the main street fell over, causing a massive crush. Crowds pressing from both ends of the narrow alley caused more difficulty for people to get out.

Among the victims, nearly a hundred were women while over 50 were men, and most were in their 20s and 30s. Another estimated 150 people were injured as partygoers fell and were trampled over by the crowd.

Twenty-six foreign nationals are among the dead, from countries including China, Japan, Iran, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and Norway.

Crowd crush occurs when a group of people is packed so close together that no one can move and they keep pushing, causing the crowd to fall in a “domino effect” making it hard to get up.

A crowd crush is created by the press of human bodies on a central point or points while stampedes are usually created when a crowd starts fleeing from danger or a perceived danger.

The most common injury and death during a crowd crush is “compressive asphyxia”, which occurs when people are pushed against one another so tightly that their airways become constricted.

Cause of death is generally attributed to suffocation as the lungs do not find enough space to expand, making it difficult to breathe. It takes 30 seconds before one loses

The tragedy occurred during Seoul’s first Halloween festivities in three years. Some 100,000 people were estimated to have passed through the neighborhood excited about the prospect of partying again after two years of strict Covid restrictions in the country.

consciousness, and about six minutes for one to suffer compressive or restrictive asphyxia.

Experts urge those caught in a crush to stay on their feet, adopting a boxer’s stance to maintain balance and keeping hands up by one’s chest to protect breathing space.

One must not to resist the force of the crowd, but instead try to move diagonally to the edge of the crowd when there is a lull in movement. If one falls down, experts advise to curl into a ball to try to protect oneself.

In the 1990s and early 2000s, Itaewon was known as a red-light district largely supported by US troops.

But it has reinvented itself as a nightlife hub catering to a large contingent of foreigners and expats, reflecting global influences and values. It became popular as Seoul’s international district with hip lounges, bars, restaurants and cafes modeled after venues in the United States, Southeast Asia, Europe and Russia.

Itaewon became a by-word after Netflix aired the series “Itaewon Class”, which focuses on Se-ro-yi Park (Park Seo-Joon) as a determined character who refuses to take the easy way out of any situation if it means compromising his core values and beliefs.

He became a subject to many

ill circumstances and unjust treatment, eventually becoming a target of a powerful family who runs the most successful pub franchise in the country.

After Se-ro-yi was released from jail, he opened up a pub in Itaewon even with the label of ‘ex-convict’ tagged on his back. He put together a loyal team of societal misfits and together they work towards making his ambitious dreams for the pub a reality.

The G Guesthouse where we stayed appeared as ‘Bogwang Kosiwon’ (Bogwang Study Room) in Itaewon Class where Jang Geun-soo (Kim Dong-hee) lives. This building was seen in a part where Park Seo Joon slaps the District Head’s wife.

Itaewon Class also showed the more liberal societal attitudes with regard to sexuality as the neighborhood includes transgender or gay clubs, in a country where homosexuality remains a taboo.

Lee Joo-young plays transgender chef Ma Hyun-yi. An attempt to undermine the pub who uses her gender history against her, the story has emphasized the courage required for transgender individuals to claim the gender they feel most comfortable in.

An episode of Itaewon Class showed what a Halloween night out looks like in the neighborhood, with the main characters dressed up in costumes and heavy makeup to look like a vampire and clown.

Let us pray for the souls of those who died at the Itaewon Halloween crush.

Atty. Dennis R. Gorecho heads the seafarers’ division of the Sapalo Velez Bundang Bulilan law offices. For comments, e-mail info@sapalovelez.com, or call 0917-5025808 or 0908-8665786.

‘Manmade disaster’: Officials criticized over Seoul deaths

By Kim Tong-Hyung | The Associated Press

sEoUl, south Korea—seoul police assigned 137 officers to manage a crowd of Halloween revelers anticipated to number more than 100,000 over the weekend—a decision that has come under intense criticism following the deaths of more than 150 people when the group surged.

By comparison, nearly 7,000 police officers were sent to another part of the South Korean capital on Saturday to monitor dueling protests that drew tens of thousands but still fewer people than flocked to the popular nightlife district of Itaewon the same night. Even the task force created to investigate why the crowd surged, with 475 members, is three times larger than the detail assigned to crowd control.

As South Korea mourns, officials are facing tough questions about preparations for the celebrations and demands for accountability in the wake of the country’s worst disaster in nearly a decade.

The national government has insisted there was no way to predict the crowd would get out of control.

Experts disagree. Deploying so few police officers, they said, showed officials were poorly prepared despite knowing ahead of time that there would be a huge gathering following the easing of Covid-19 restrictions in recent months.

On top of assigning more personnel, police and officials in the Yongsan district, which governs Itaewon, should have banned cars from some streets and taken other measures to ease the crowding in narrow lanes like the one where the deaths occurred, experts said.

Instead, the 137 officers in Itaewon were assigned to monitor crime, with a particular focus on narcotics use, meaning that for all practical purposes “no one was looking after pedestrian safety,” said Kong Hasong, a disaster prevention professor at South Korea’s Woosuk University.

The deaths should be seen as a “manmade disaster,” said Lee Changmoo, an urban planning professor at Seoul’s Hanyang University.

Authorities have come under similar criticism in national media and on social networks. The headline of an editorial in the Hankyoreh newspaper on Sunday described the tragedy as “all too avoidable.” The paper said its reporting showed that a pedestrian got knocked down by a crowd in Itaewon a day before the Halloween festivities—although no one was hurt.

Saturday’s crowd surge occurred in a downhill alley running between a dense row of storefronts and the landmark Hamilton Hotel. The path

became clogged by a huge throng of partygoers before some of them fell and toppled over “like dominoes,” according to witnesses.

Emergency workers were so overwhelmed by the number of people lying motionless on the ground that they asked pedestrians to help them with CPR. But Choi Sukjae, an emergency medicine specialist and chief spokesperson of the Korean Emergency Medical Association, said CPR, which ideally should be administered within a handful of minutes, wouldn’t have made much of a difference in many cases since the paramedics were delayed getting to the scene because the area was so packed.

Kong, the disaster prevention professor, said more police and government workers should have been called on to monitor potential bottleneck points. He suggested that the crush may have been prevented if authorities had enforced one-way

Dennis Gorecho

Russia recruiting US-trained Afghan commandos, vets say

By Bernard Condon | The Associated Press

AfghAN Special forces soldiers who fought alongside American troops and then fled to Iran after the chaotic US withdrawal last year are now being recruited by the Russian military to fight in Ukraine, three former Afghan generals told The Associated Press.

They said the Russians want to attract thousands of the former elite Afghan commandos into a “foreign legion” with offers of steady, $1,500-a-month payments and promises of safe havens for themselves and their families so they can avoid deportation home to what many assume would be death at the hands of the Taliban.

“They don’t want to go fight — but they have no choice,” said one of the generals, Abdul Raof Arghandiwal, adding that the dozen or so commandos in Iran with whom he has texted fear deportation most. “They ask me, ‘Give me a solution. What should we do? If we go back to Afghanistan, the Taliban will kill us.’”

Arghandiwal said the recruiting is led by the Russian mercenary force Wagner Group. Another general, Hibatullah Alizai, the last Afghan army chief before the Taliban took over, said the effort is also being helped by a former Afghan Special Forces commander who lived in Russia and speaks the language.

The Russian recruitment follows months of warnings from US soldiers who fought with Afghan Special Forces that the Taliban was intent on killing them and that they might join with US enemies to stay alive or out of anger with their former ally.

A GOP congressional report in August specifically warned of the danger that the Afghan commandos — trained by US Navy SEALs and Army Green Berets—could end up giving up information about US tactics to the Islamic State group, Iran or Russia—or fight for them.

“We didn’t get these individuals out as we promised, and now it’s coming home to roost,” said Michael Mulroy, a retired CIA officer who served in Afghanistan, adding that the Afghan commandos are highly skilled, fierce fighters. “I don’t want to see them in any battlefield, frankly, but certainly not fighting the Ukrainians.”

Mulroy was skeptical, however, that Russians would be able to persuade many Afghan commandos to join because most he knew were driven by the desire to make democracy work in their country rather than being guns for hire.

AP was investigating the Afghan recruiting when details of the effort were first reported by Foreign Policy magazine last week based on unnamed Afghan military and security sources. The recruitment comes as Russian forces reel from Ukrainian military advances and Russian President Vladimir Putin pursues a sputtering mobilization effort, which has prompted nearly 200,000 Russian men to flee the country to escape service.

Russia’s Defense Ministry did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesman for Yevgeny Prigozhin, who recently acknowledged being the founder of the Wagner Group, dismissed the idea of an ongoing effort to recruit former Afghan soldiers as “crazy nonsense.”

The US Defense Department also didn’t reply to a request for comment, but a senior official suggested the re-

cruiting is not surprising given that Wagner has been trying to sign up soldiers in several other countries.

It’s unclear how many Afghan Special Forces members who fled to Iran have been courted by the Russians, but one told the AP he is communicating through the WhatsApp chat service with about 400 other commandos who are considering offers.

He said many like him fear deportation and are angry at the US for abandoning them.

“We thought they might create a special program for us, but no one even thought about us,” said the former commando, who requested anonymity because he fears for himself and his family. “They just left us all in the hands of the Taliban.”

The commando said his offer included Russian visas for himself as well as his three children and wife who are still in Afghanistan. Others have been offered extensions of their visas in Iran. He said he is waiting to see what others in the WhatsApp groups decide but thinks many will take the deal.

US veterans who fought with Afghan special forces have described to the AP nearly a dozen cases, none confirmed independently, of the Taliban going house to house looking for commandos still in the country, torturing or killing them, or doing the same to family members if they are nowhere to be found.

Human Rights Watch has said more than 100 former Afghan soldiers, intelligence officers and police were killed or forcibly “disappeared” just three months after the Taliban took over despite promises of amnesty. The United Nations in a report in mid-October documented 160 extrajudicial killings and 178 arrests of former government and military officials.

The brother of an Afghan commando in Iran who has accepted the Russian offer said Taliban threats make it difficult to refuse. He said his brother had to hide for three months after the fall of Kabul, shuttling between relatives’ houses while the Taliban searched his home.

“My brother had no other choice other than accepting the offer,” said the commando’s brother, Murad, who would only give his first name because of fear the Taliban might track him down. “This was not an easy decision for him.”

Former Afghan army chief Alizai said much of the Russian recruiting effort is focused on Tehran and Mashhad, a city near the Afghan border where many have fled. None of the generals who spoke to the AP, including a third, Abdul Jabar Wafa, said their contacts in Iran know how many have taken up the offer.

“You get military training in Russia for two months, and then you go to the battle lines,” read one text message a former Afghan soldier in Iran sent to Arghandiwal. “A number of personnel have gone, but they have lost contact with their families and friends altogether. The exact statistics are unclear.” Condon reported from New York.

Brazil’s brash President Bolsonaro mum after election loss

By Diane Jeantet & Carla Bridi | The Associated Press

BRASILIA,

Brazil—In Brazil’s capital on Monday, the silence was deafening.

Nearly a full day after President Jair Bolsonaro lost his bid for reelection, the usually brash right-wing leader had neither conceded defeat nor challenged the results of the country’s closest political contest in more than three decades.

Bolsonaro hadn’t spoken a word to reporters camped outside the official residence or the supporters who regularly gather nearby. Nor did he post on his otherwise prolific social media platforms.

The only sign of protest came from Bolsonaro-supporting truckers who on Sunday started blocking roads across the country. By Monday night, the Federal Highway Police reported 236 incidents in 18 states, up from 136 three hours prior to that.

Bolsonaro’s rival, former president and left-leaning ex-union leader Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won the runoff Sunday night with 50.9 percent of the votes, to Bolsonaro’s 49.1 percent. It was the closest election since Brazil’s return to democracy in 1985.

Ricardo Barros, Bolsonaro’s whip in the Lower House, told The Associated Press by phone that he was with the president Monday and that Bolsonaro was “still deciding” whether to speak about the election’s results.

Much like former US President Donald Trump, whom Bolsonaro admires, the outgoing Brazilian leader has repeatedly questioned the reliability of the nation’s electronic voting system. At one point he said he possessed proof of fraud, though he provided no evidence. And as recently as last month, he remarked that if he didn’t win in the election’s first round, something was “abnormal”—even as most polls showed him trailing.

As time passes and an increasing number of international leaders publicly recognize da Silva’s victory, the president’s room for dispute is

dwindling, experts told The Associated Press.

Some of Bolsonaro’s closest allies indicated the same.

“The will of the majority seen on ballots shall never be contested,” Lower House Speaker Arthur Lira told reporters Sunday.

Other Bolsonaro supporters who publicly acknowledged da Silva’s win include Sao Paulo governor-elect Tarcísio de Freitas and Senatorelect Damares Alves, both of whom served as ministers under Bolsonaro, and Lower House whip Barros.

Evangelical pastor Silas Malafaia, who has been a strident Bolsonaro supporter, called for God to bestow his “blessing” on da Silva.

“He must have several plans for how to contest the results of the polls; the question is whether he has the political support to go ahead with these plans,” said Paulo Calmon, a political science professor at the University of Brasilia. “He won’t have the support of Sao Paulo’s governor, of the Lower House, Senate, and he will have to face opposition from everyone.”

Calmon added that Bolsonaro had recently said during an interview last month that he would accept the result even if he lost, but that congratulating da Silva would hurt his popularity among his most radical base.

Abroad, US President Joe Biden was among the first world leaders to salute da Silva, highlighting the country’s “free, fair, and credible elections.” By contrast, Bolsonaro took more than a month to congrat-

ulate Biden’s 2020 victory against Trump.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador invited da Silva to visit Mexico at the end of November for the Pacific Alliance summit. The Workers’ Party leader responded he had to wait for Bolsonaro to admit his defeat before accepting the invite, according to a video of the exchange.

Like Trump, Bolsonaro has his own potential legal concerns. He is one of the targets of a Supreme Court inquiry into the spread of fake news and a Senate investigation recommended that he be charged with crimes for his mishandling of the Covid-19 pandemic.

On Brazil’s Independence day last year, Bolsonaro told a cheering crowd that only God can remove him from office, then continued: “For all of us, there are only three alternatives, especially for me: arrested, dead or victorious. Tell the scoundrels I’ll never be arrested!”

The high-stakes election was a stunning reversal for da Silva, 77, whose imprisonment for corruption sidelined him from the 2018 election that brought Bolsonaro, a defender of conservative social values, to power.

“Today, the only winner is the Brazilian people,” da Silva said in a speech at a hotel in downtown Sao Paulo. “This isn’t a victory of mine or the Workers’ Party, nor the parties that supported me in the campaign. It’s the victory of a democratic movement that formed above political parties, personal interests and ideologies.”

Da Silva has promised to govern beyond his party. He wants to bring in centrists and even some leaning to the right who voted for him for the first time, and to restore the country’s more prosperous past. Yet he faces headwinds in a politically polarized society and is likely to face strong opposition from conservative lawmakers.

Thomas Traumann, an indepen-

dent political analyst, compared the situation to Biden’s victory: Da Silva, like the US president, is inheriting an extremely divided nation.

“People are not only polarized on political matters, but also have different values, identity and opinions,” Traumann said. “What’s more, they don’t care what the other side’s values, identities and opinions are.”

The election in Latin America’s biggest economy extended a wave of recent leftist victories in South American countries, including Argentina, Chile and Colombia.

Da Silva’s inauguration is scheduled to take place on Jan. 1. He last served as president from 2003-2010.

During the campaign, he has kindled nostalgia for his presidency, when Brazil’s economy was booming and welfare helped tens of millions join the middle class.

Bolsonaro’s administration has been marked by incendiary speech, his testing of democratic institutions, his widely criticized handling of the pandemic and the worst deforestation in the Amazon rainforest in 15 years. But he has built a devoted base by defending conservative values and presenting himself as protection from leftist policies that he says infringe on personal liberties and produce economic turmoil. And he shored up support in an election year with vast government spending.

“We did not face an opponent, a candidate. We faced the machine of the Brazilian state put at his service so we could not win the election,” da Silva told the crowd during his acceptance speech in Sao Paulo.

But da Silva is also remembered for his administration’s involvement in vast corruption revealed by sprawling investigations. His arrest in 2018 kept him out of that year’s race against Bolsonaro, a fringe lawmaker at the time who was an outspoken fan of Trump. Jeantet reported from Rio de Janeiro. Associated Press writer Mauricio Savarese in Sao Paulo contributed to this report.

Ukrainians grapple with power outages as winter approaches

By Sam Mednick | The Associated Press

walking lanes, blocked entry to some narrow pathways, and temporarily closed Itaewon’s subway station to prevent an excessive number of people moving in the same direction.

Officials could have also temporarily closed Itaewon’s main road to cars, as they did during the an-

nual Itaewon Global Village Festival earlier in October, thereby giving people more room to spread out, Kong said.

Lee, the urban planning professor, criticized Interior and Safety Minister Lee Sang-min, who claimed, without elaborating, that having more police and fire department personnel on the ground wouldn’t have prevented the tragedy.

When asked about the number of

KYIV,

Ukraine—The decorative candles Yaroslav Vedmid bought more than a year ago were never meant to be lit, but the dried wax that now clings to them attests to how they’ve been used almost nightly—a consequence of power cuts across Ukraine.

Seated at the dinner table with his wife in a village on the outskirts of the capital, Kyiv, the two can’t count the number of times they’ve eaten in the dark since Russian attacks triggered the blackouts beginning in early October. Moscow has openly declared its intention to target the country’s energy infrastructure and drive the nation into the cold.

“When you’re relying on electricity, the worst thing is that you can’t plan…Psychologically it’s very uncomfortable,” said Vedmid, a 44-year-old business owner in Bilohorodka. The cuts are getting longer—nearly 12 hours of outages a day, he said.

So far, Russia has destroyed about 40 percent of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, affecting 16 regions, according to the Ukrainian government.

The latest assault came Monday, when a massive barrage of Russian cruise missile and drone strikes hit Kyiv, Kharkiv and other cities, knocking out water and power supplies in apparent retaliation for what Moscow alleged was a Ukrainian attack on its Black Sea fleet.

The unpredictable rolling black-

officers assigned, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said 137 was still more than it sent in 2020 and 2021, excluding units specifically assigned to virus control measures.

Police and government officials have acknowledged this year’s crowd was bigger—but it was not clear by how much.

Kong added that the lack of a central organizer on Saturday — when young people flocked to bars and

outs are increasing as the government scrambles to stabilize the energy grid and repair the system ahead of winter. The cuts add another layer of angst and uncertainty to a population already struggling with the stress of nearly nine months of war.

To try to ease people’s burdens, energy companies are publishing daily schedules of when neighborhoods won’t have power. But it’s not consistent, especially as strikes intensify. Last week a power station in the central region was damaged, causing an emergency shutdown and prompting the government to warn citizens of tougher and longer outages.

“Unfortunately, the destruction and damage are serious,” Kyiv region Gov. Oleksiy Kuleba said in a Telegram post. “It is necessary to prepare for emergency power outages for an indefinite period,” he said.

Across the capital, residents are stocking up on heaters, blankets, warm clothing and power banks to charge electronics. While most say they’re willing to bear the brunt of the blackouts for the sake of the war, the frequency and fluidity of the outages are taxing.

Starting Tuesday, the government

night clubs to celebrate Halloween but there was not one specific event promoted — may have contributed to the tragedy.

“Our country usually does a good job in following the manual and maintaining crowd control at events where there’s a specific organizer,” he said. “But officials are often unsure what to do or even don’t care about events that aren’t created by a specific organizer…although it’s

plans to change the schedule of the Kyiv subway to include longer wait times to save energy.

On the day that The Associated Press visited Vedmid’s house in October, there was an unscheduled five-hour power outage and then a scheduled one during dinner.

Every time the power shuts off, the family loses Internet service. Because the village also has a weak phone network, the household is often unable to communicate with others.

Staring at his mobile phone, Vedmid shrugs. Google Maps isn’t working, and he doesn’t know how long it will take to reach the train station for a planned trip with his wife to the country.

But what concerns him most are the months ahead when temperatures could drop to minus 20 degrees Celsius (minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit).

“My major fears are for (the) cold part of season, for winter, because right now it influences our comfort but doesn’t threaten our lives,” he said.

The family has ordered a generator, which should be installed by December, but demand has spiked and not everyone can afford to buy one or the fuel to run it. Diesel has doubled in price since the start of the war, local residents said.

Still, some have found a silver lining to the shutdowns. Vedmid’s wife, Olena, said she reads more books rather than constantly refreshing the Internet to see the latest war developments. It helps her feel less anxious.

If not for Russia’s incessant shell-

those events that usually require a closer watch.”

Hong Ki-hyeon, a senior official with the national police agency, acknowledged that problem during a news conference Monday, saying police do not have an established way to deal with such gatherings.

“In events like festivals that have a specific organizer, discussions are made between related municipalities, police, fire departments and

ing and the lack of repair equipment, much of which must be imported, the damage could be restored within weeks, energy experts said.

“The main danger is repeated missile attacks,” said professor Gennadii Riabtsev, chief researcher on energy security at the National Institute for Strategic Studies. Residents of cities near the front lines, such as Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv, will suffer the most from the outages, he said.

DTEK, Ukraine’s main energy company, said it has run out of equipment for repairs. The cost of the equipment runs into the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Russia is likely to continue the war into the winter, hoping to weaken Western support for Ukraine and “freeze Europe into surrender,” according to a report issued this week by the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank.

Residents near the front lines say they are bracing for conditions to get worse.

Mariia Chupinina was dealing with blackouts in Kharkiv even before the rolling outages began in the region this week. The woman who fosters orphaned children lives on the fifth floor of an apartment building and takes care of four babies who are less than 12 months old. When there’s no electricity, it’s impossible to heat the apartment, and every time they leave, they have to walk down five flights of stairs in the dark, she told the AP by phone.

medical experts who prepare and cooperate under different roles,” Hong said. “That is what we lacked regarding this accident.”

Yongsan district refused to answer questions about preparations. District Mayor Park Hee-young instead said in a statement Monday that her office was deploying “all administrative resources” to support the injured and families of the victims.

AP writers Rahim Faiez in Islamabad and Tara Copp in Washington contributed to this report.

BIR TO SET FLOOR PRICE FOR VAPE ITEMS, PER IRR

THE Bureau of Internal Rev enue (BIR) will set the floor price for vaporized nicotine and non-nicotine products, their devices, and novel tobacco prod ucts, according to the draft im plementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the Vape Law.

Section 3c of the IRR of Republic Act No. 11900, or known as the Va porized Nicotine and Non-nicotine Products Regulation Act states: “The BIR shall have exclusive jurisdiction on the following: c. Floor price set ting for Vaporized Nicotine and NonNicotine Products, their devices, and Novel Tobacco Products.”

Floor price, as defined by the draft IRR, is the minimum retail price to be set by the BIR at which vaporized nico tine and non-nicotine products, or their devices, or novel tobacco products may be sold, “taking into account the sum of their excise tax, value-added tax, and a reasonable production cost.”

T he floor price setting is only among the mandates of the attached agency of the Department of Finance (DOF) under the draft IRR of the Vape law, which was published by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on its website last week.

T he draft guidelines of the Vape law strictly prohibits both brickand-mortar and online stores to sell vape at a price lower than the floor price set by the BIR.

A part from the floor price man date, the BIR is in charge of tax payer registration.

According to the draft IRR of the Vape law, BIR shall also “formulate, draft and publish revenue regula tions covering Vaporized Nicotine and Non-Nicotine Products, their devices, and Novel Tobacco Products.”

Moreover, BIR is tasked to “en sure that revenue stamps affixed on Vaporized Nicotine and NonNicotine products, their devices, and Novel Tobacco Products are not affixed on non-compliant packages and certify under oath that prod ucts are taxed and compliant with the Graphic Health Warning Law or Republic Act 10643 prior to release by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) or a local manufacturer’s warehouse.”

T he Vaporized Nicotine Prod ucts (VNP) bill lapsed into law on July 24,2022.

P rior to becoming a law, though, government agencies such as the Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Education (DepEd) opposed the passage of the Vape bill, saying it could ex pose more people to the products, the health risks of which have not been fully ascertained.

A mong the provisions of the Vape bill which they earlier rejected are the transfer of the regulatory jurisdiction of e-cigarette and heat ed tobacco products from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to the Trade department; lowering the minimum age to access such products from 21 to 18 years old; and allowing its sale and promo tion online to non-smokers.

O n the other hand, Valenzuela City Mayor Wes Gatchalian, one of the principal authors of the bill, said in July that the new vaping law will provide a much-needed eco nomic boost for small businesses and the government.

T he DTI was set to hold a virtual public consultation on the draft IRR of RA 11900 on October 27 to 29. Andrea E. San Juan

‘Draft tweaks to SRA charter won’t redress supply, price issues’

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

THE chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means on Tuesday called the proposed reforms to the charter of the Sugar Regulatory Administra tion “immaterial to actual sugar prices and supply.”

“

The proposed SRA reforms: Not far enough, won’t make a dent on sugar prices,” Albay Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda remarked as the SRA issued a Memorandum Circular seeking comments on the recom mendations made by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee Report No. 3, following hearings on the sugar imports issue.

“

The recommendations might or might not be good. Some of them make sense, although not urgently. But, I can definitively tell you that they will do noth ing of immediate consequence to address ongoing sugar supply or price issues,” Salceda said in a statement.

T he recommendations include “incorporating transparency and accountability” provisions in the process of issuing import permits and other critical issu ances, including the SRA’s audit processes, procedures and public consultations.

T he proposal also expands the membership of the SRA Board from two to eight, with additional members coming from the follow ing sectors: industrial and house hold consumers, sugar industry workers, sugar transportation sector workers, other relevant stakeholders.

It also seeks to prohibit the SRA board from “delegating its author ity to reclassify sugar.”

A ccording to Salceda, “It might make sense to include more con sumer representation in the SRA board, but they’ll keep getting outvoted anyway, if the basis of import orders is still arbitrary. The

question should be simple for the SRA board: Is there a sugar shortage or not? And have we no other imme diate recourse but to import? Those are yes-or-no questions. They need technical answers.”

Salceda added that the proposals “do not address the urgent prob lems of consumers or industrial users.”

H e pointed out that, “Refined sugar is now up to P120 per kilo. Industrial users have 4-5 days’ worth of inventory, and several bottling plants have ceased or downscaled operations. These are immediate price and supply prob lems, and the answers aren’t going to be in increasing representation in the SRA board. That might be good. But the good that comes out of that will take months if not years.”

Alternative proposals

INSTEAD, Salceda proposed more sweeping changes to the SRA’s rules, “so that pressing issues are addressed without delay.”

“

First, the stakeholders should have the right to call the SRA board to a meeting as often as once a month on top of their regular meet ings. If the industrial inventories or consumer prices are in trouble, their representatives have a ‘golden buzzer’ to call for a board meeting and propose an immediate supply solution,” he said.

Second, a technical panel of experts composed of the DA, DTI, and NEDA should have motu pro prio powers to determine, based on official statistics, whether a sugar shortage exists. That should be the basis of all sugar import orders. Act ing on a shortage is not something you can compromise on in a com mittee. A shortage is a shortage,” he added.

T hird, Salceda said the import allocations should be auctioned off, and the schedule of arrivals should be more flexible.

Amid protest, BFAR backs WTO deal on fish subsidies

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

THEBureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) has remained firm in its stand that the World Trade Organization (WTO) deal on eliminating harmful fisheries subsidies is a step in the right direction amid concerns from certain quarters.

Nonetheless, the BFAR vowed to closely monitor developments at the multilateral body to ensure that local artisanal fisherfolk may be able to avail themselves of mech anisms that would allow certain subsidies, such as fuel, to flow to their sector.

We will see how the deal would affect small fishermen. But the subsidies agreement, in my per sonal view, [is good] since it targets subsidies that commit illegal, un reported and unregulated fishing (IUUF),” BFAR OIC-Director Dem osthenes Escoto told reporters in a recent interview.

“ If fishing is targeting an over fished stock, there should not be subsidies at all,” Escoto added.

E scoto pointed out that there

will be “more critical engagement” between the governments and the WTO regarding the implementation of the fisheries subsidies agreement.

Escoto assured municipal and ar tisanal fisherfolk that the national government will participate in the future negotiations of the agree ment, especially on critical issues affecting them.

He was reacting to a joint state ment issued by non-government organizations last month that small fisherfolk are at the losing end of the WTO’s fisheries subsi dies agreement since they will lose much needed subsidies from the government.

T he groups led by Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) said they

recognize that overfishing is indeed threatening the livelihood of small fisherfolk and marine and aquatic resources.

However, Pamalakaya claimed that “eliminating subsidies for com mercial fishing fleets will not deter their large-scale and destructive fishing practices.”

The measure to cut fishing sub sidies fails to identify who are the real culprits behind the exploita tion and exhaustion of the world’s seas and oceans,” Pamalakaya Na tional Chairperson Fernando Hicap said.

WTO’s measure to cut fish ing subsidies will be highly det rimental to small fisherfolk who direly need concrete government support especially in the midst of the global inflation and its conse quent economic crises. The fish ing subsidies should be properly disbursed to small fishers who are never engaged in any destructive fishing practices, and in order to boost their productivity for food security,” Hicap added.

T he group proposed that the na tional government provide P15,000 worth of subsidy, which is equiva lent to a small fisherman’s twomonth fuel consumption, to more than a million registered fisherfolk nationwide to help them cope with

expensive fuel prices.

T he country’s trade negotiators earlier announced that the agricul ture sector, including fishermen, stands to benefit from the slew of multilateral accords approved by the WTO that involve the curbing of harmful fisheries subsidies. (Re lated story: https:// business mirror .com.ph/2022/06/17/ phl-agri-seen-to-gain-fromwto-deals-on-harmful-subsi dies-food-export-curbs/)

Trade Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo said the Philippines ben efits from a provision of the fish eries deal that allows countries to provide support to their fishermen affected during times of disasters.

R odolfo said the Philippines was also able to secure government ca pability to support fishermen, in cluding artisanal fisheries, within the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone with a reference to Interna tional Law of the Sea.

E arlier, the Philippines ex pressed support for creating a WTO fund that would support de veloping countries’ capacity to im plement the agreement on curbing harmful fisheries subsidies. (Re lated story: https:// business mirror .com.ph/2022/06/15/ phl-backs-wto-fund-for-fisher ies-subsidies/)

Move It asks Robin to push motorbike taxi bill

SEN. Robin Padilla was asked to champion timely passage of a law  legalizing the motorcycle taxi business, estimated to provide jobs to hundreds of thousands of motorcycle owners, as well as a “more versatile public transport.”

Francis Juan, chairman of the Move It Coalition, said motorcycle taxis—still illegal under an exist ing law but operating temporarily for data gathering to guide Con gress on its bill’s details—could have saved the day for thousands of commuters stranded by tropical storm Paeng a few days ago.

T he gridlock caused by Paeng immobilized jeepneys and buses, leaving commuters helpless in the rain for hours without a ride, he recalled, while noting that “if the

motorcycle taxis had been fully mo bilized and legalized, there would have been more of them to serve the commuters.”

A t the same time, the Move It leader assured “motorcycle taxis can transport passengers through traffic and, in normal situations, to destinations not served sufficiently by public transport,” citing, for in stance, Bonifacio Global City from EDSA and inner roads.

He stressed the need for “a mix of modes of transport to give com muters a choice.”

T he transportation advocate recalled that a technical working group (TWG) has already submit ted its report on the motorcycle taxi business to Congress.

I n the 18th Congress, the House

of Representatives, acknowledging the urgent need to create jobs and provide public service to commut ers, passed the enabling House bill in one day  even as no counterpart bill was filed in the Senate.

“Three years of Technical Work ing Group  study with zero output from our politicians,” Juan lament ed. “Every day of delay only benefits us—Angkas, Joyride and Move It —while the public, the commuters, pay the price. This has to stop. Thus we call on Senator Padilla to take up the cudgels for the poor and needy,” the Move It leader said.

M oreover, he pointed out that thousands of motorcycle taxi owners must earn to pay for their monthly amortization and feed their family. Because of the le

gal limbo, some 200,000 illegal motorcycle taxis, or habal habal, risk apprehension each day but continue to ply Metro Manila’s roads to survive.

Protect the drivers and com muters, not the businessmen who own the three motorcycle taxi com panies under the TWG,” he said. Moreover, he stressed, the gov ernment should stop putting a cap on the number of operators and the number of motorcycle taxis because monopolies and duopolies are banned by the Constitution.        “Promote competition for ser vice to improve. With competition, fares might even go down. Senator Padilla, please lead the way and pro tect the public,” Juan said.

Butch Fernandez

EDSA CLEARING After a series of floods in Metro Manila, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) workers conduct a drainage cleaning operation along major thoroughfare EDSA in Quezon City on Tuesday, ahead of the return to work of millions from a long weekend. NONOY LACZA

‘More large firms use GRI in sustainability reporting’

By VG Cabuag @villygc

cent in the Middle east and Africa.

“With more companies committing to globally accepted reporting standards to deliver transparency on their impacts, this major research from KPMG offers reasons to be encouraged. If there was any remaining doubt, it is now abundantly clear that comparable sustainability reporting is widespread across countries and sectors—and it’s here to stay,” said eelco van der enden, Ceo of GRI.

to the study.

Almost three-quarters of those surveyed report on the United nat ions’ 17 sustainable development goals.

in net-zero program

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

Le G AC y carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) is investing in a carbon reduction program that will enable it to attain net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

vironment based on scientific best practices.

PAL has also tapped the services of United nations-acclaimed climate scientist and science diplomat Glenn Banaguas to help guide the company’s efforts.

In its report published on octo ber 26, 78 percent of the 250 global firms (G250) use the GRI standard in their sustainability reporting, up from 73 percent in the previous survey in 2020.

Some 68 percent of the larger pool of the top 100 businesses (n100) in

each of 58 countries, meanwhile, use GRI, up from 67 percent last year when it had a smaller sample size. The GRI offers the only reporting standards used by a majority of surveyed companies in all regions--75 percent in the Americas, 68 percent in Asia-Pacific and europe, 62 per-

o v erall, 96 percent of G250, unchanged from 2020, and 79 percent of n100, up from 77 percent in 2020, report on sustainability or on eSG (environmental, social and governance).

Carbon reduction is widely disclosed at 80 percent of G250 and 71 percent of n 100, yet under half report on biodiversity, according

“What the survey does not yet reflect are new developments in the corporate reporting landscape, including incoming sustainability standards from the IFRS Foundation, and the european Union. I can reassure GRI reporters that we have an essential bridging role across both these initiatives, underlining the growing relevance of our standards,” enden said.

“A revised GRI Biodiversity Standard, to launch in 2023, will be a key driver for increased reporting on this crucial topic, which goes hand-inhand with efforts to tackle climate change.”

Meralco to energize more substations

By Lenie Lectura @llectura

The Manila e l ectric Co. (Meralco) will energize more substations this year in a bid to build a more resilient network.

Meralco Senior Vice President Ronnie Aperocho said the utility firm continued with the expansion and upgrading of its distribution facilities and pole replacement activities to deliver safe, reliable, and adequate electricity service.

“For major load growth projects, we are now in the construction stages of 16 major substations and sub-transmission line projects which are scheduled to be commissioned or energized within the year,” he said. h e added that the relocation of

close to 5,000 poles to clear priority Build-Build-Build (BBB) and PPP (Public-Private Partnership) infra and DPW h road-widening projects is still in full swing, including the n L e X -SL e X Connector Road, P n R n o rth 1 Railway, MRT Line 7, and n A IA e x pressway- e D SA Tramo projects.

In September, Meralco relocated close to 2,300 poles and there are still around 2,700 that need to be relocated till the end of the year.

For major load growth projects, Meralco commissioned its new Pamplona Uno 115-34.5 kV Gas-Insulated Switchgear (GIS) substation in Las Piñas City. Aperocho said this was part of its 2020 capital expenditure (capex) filing with a budget of P383 million.

“With this project we have already relieved the critical loading of nearby Pamplona power transformer banks 1 and 2. And this also provides the needed capacity to accommodate the increasing power requirements in Las Piñas and Parañaque cities.”

Meralco also said it has completed the uprating of Biñan –San Pedro 115kV line in Laguna.

Last month, the company said it expects to surpass last year’s core income of P24.6 billion after it posted P19.6 billion in core income in January to September.

“Despite the challenges the country is currently facing, including elevated food and energy prices, Meralco expects power demand to continue growing, which

makes the energy sector maintain its critical role in supporting economic growth and progress.

“As we anticipate robust pandemic recovery efforts, there is good indication that Meralco will surpass our 2021 CCnI (Consolidated Core net Income),” Meralco Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said.

CCnI for the nine months ending September rose by 9 percent to P19.6 billion from P18.1 billion in the same period last year with the sustained growth in energy sales and higher earnings of its power generation business from projects both locally and in Singapore.

Reported net income, meanwhile, went up by 20 percent to P19.8 billion from P16.5 billion in 2021.

PAL President and Co o Stanley K. ng said the initiative is part of the flag carrier’s commitment to supporting international agreements for climate action, including the Paris Agreement and the Glasgow Climate Pact.

“o u r net zero initiative comes at a crucial time for the international aviation industry, which is seeking to further lessen its environmental impact in response to the global scientific community’s clarion call against irreversible climate change,” he said.

As such, PAL is “is investing in an all-out carbon reduction program as part of a multi-year commitment to combat the worldwide scourge of climate change.”

The carrier’s net zero goal will be “holistic and comprehensive,” covering both flight and ground operations. Already, PAL has started shifting to renewable energy for the electricity supply of its major offices and working on the potential use of sustainable aviation fuel to power its fleet of high-technology aircraft.

It has also implemented fuel efficiency initiatives, such as Single en gine Taxi In (Se T I) and Reduced Acceleration Altitude (RAAL) that help reduce Co2 emissions while adhering to strict safety standards.

ng said in the long term, PAL seeks to develop a robust ne t Zero em issions ( nZ e) strategy and take substantive actions to foster a more earth-friendly aviation en-

With Banaguas providing expert guidance, PAL aims to conduct comprehensive assessments of its overall greenhouse gas (GhG) emissions and move towards full decarbonization.

“Being the country’s flag carrier and Asia’s first airline, we recognize that our essential role in bridging our country and the rest of the world goes hand in hand with the need for climate action across international borders,” n g said.

ng said PAL seeks to develop a roadmap for its own nZ e strategy, develop and integrate emissions scenarios projected until the year 2050 using internationally accepted models and relevant standards, and develop and recommend science- and evidence-based targets as well as gender-based programs for the entire PAL community.

Data from the International Civil Aviation o r ganization showed that greenhouse gas emissions from aviation could increase by a factor of two to four times 2015 levels by 2050.

Aviation makes up more than 2 percent of all global Co2 emissions: around 1.3 percent from international and 0.7 percent from domestic flights.

“PAL’s commitment to climate action is a great service to the country and to the world,” Banaguas said. “More than just a rallying call, it is a reminder of our shared responsibility for, and stewardship of, the environment.”

Sony Group Corp. nudged up its fiscal-year profit outlook after the weaker yen bolstered sales of image sensors used in Apple Inc.’s premium iPhones.

The Tokyo-based company raised its operating profit outlook to 1.16 trillion yen ($7.8 billion), matching average analyst estimates and up from its previous forecast of 1.11 trillion yen. The Japanese entertainment group reported on Tuesday an operating profit of 344 billion yen in the July-September quarter, against the consensus forecast of 280.7 billion yen.

The weak yen lifted sales of Sony’s image sensors, used in iPhones and other smartphones and which the company makes in Japan but mostly sells overseas. Bloomberg n e ws reported stronger-than-expected sales of the premium iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max, which use more cameras than the base models and require more sensors. Demand for highend handsets remains strong, despite weakening momentum for entry-level versions, according to smartphone component suppliers such as Murata Manufacturing Co.

STAT e-oW neD phone carrier

PT Telkom Indonesia is considering introducing investors to its data center business amid increasing interest for digital infrastructure assets, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Jakarta-listed telecom giant has held initial talks with prospective investors and could seek a valuation of more than $1 billion for the operation in a deal, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. options under consideration include selling a minority stake in the data center unit, the people said. The company said last year it was planning an initial public offering for the business in 2023.

Discussions are at an early stage and might not lead to any transactions, the people said. Telkom hasn’t decided whether it will introduce investors to, or hold an IP o for, the data center operation, President Director Ririek Adriansyah said in response to a Bloomberg n e ws query, adding that the business could be valued at about 25 times e b itda.

“We will see how our data center consolidation and development progresses,” he said in a text message. “We will also need to look at the macro conditions before deciding on the right scenario.”

Global investment funds are keen for digital infrastructure assets in Southeast Asia, which has seen rising demand for e-commerce and fi-

nancial technology services. Beyond Indonesia, the Philippines has also turned into a hot spot for deals in assets such as mobile phone towers and data centers.

Telkom, which has a market value of about $28 billion, has been looking into reorganizing and monetizing its wide-ranging assets from mobile and broadband, to satellites and digital content.

The company is considering a merger of its broadband and wire-

less businesses, a move that would create an entity valued at more than $30 billion, Bloomberg news has reported. Banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and PT Bank Mandiri have been tapped to work on the deal, people familiar with the matter have said.

Telkom’s infrastructure services unit, known as Mitratel, raised about 18.8 trillion rupiah ($1.2 billion) in a Jakarta initial public offering in november last year. Bloomberg News

GLoBe Telecom has normalized its operations in the national Capital Region and brought back its services in regional areas struck by tropical storm Paeng.

As of Monday, its ground crews have started crucial work, restoring call, text and data connectivity in all Metro Manila areas where its service was affected by the storm.

All services have also been fully restored in Laguna, Palawan, Masbate and Western Samar.

Areas nearing 100-percent completion include Albay, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Palawan, Sorsogon, Bohol, Guimaras, Leyte, negros or iental, northern Samar, Siquijor and Southern Leyte.

Meanwhile, restoration efforts continue in other storm-hit provinces still experiencing power outages and mobility problems because of impassable roads.

These include Cavite, Quezon, Marinduque, Romblon, Aklan, Antique and Capiz.

“our ground crews are working through the long weekend to immediately restore services in areas hit by Paeng, as connectivity is crucial in response and recovery efforts,” said Globe Chief Sustainability and Corporate Communications of ficer yoly Crisanto.

“We are working through limitations such as continuing commercial power failure and obstructed roads in affected provinces, but we’re doing the best we can to bring our services back up in these areas.”

As part of its emergency response, Globe also sent immediate support

for affected families, including free connectivity and medical aid.

The telco giant put up free call and charging stations in the following areas in Santa Monica Parish Church, Barangay Poblacion Ilaya, Panay and at GMart in Boac, Marinduque.

KonsultaMD is also extending health consultations pro bono for one month to provide medical support to storm survivors.

They may use the code LIBR enGKonSULTA to avail of these via the KonsultaMD app or by calling (02)7798-8000. Support sessions with a licensed mental health professional are also available for free for a month with the code heR eFoRU. Globe subscribers are encouraged to help the affected families by donating their rewards points. To donate, they just need to go to the new Globeone app, tap “Redeem”, choose the Donations tab, and select which partner where they would like to send help.

Donations will be divided among partners, such as ABS-CBn Foundation, Ayala Foundation, GMA Kapuso Foundation, Rise Against hu nger Philippines, and Tzu Chi Foundation, who will then send support to beneficiaries.

To donate through #GCashGivesBack, GCash users just go to Pay Bills, tap “o t hers,” then #GCashGivesBack. Proceeds will be sent to partner organizations ABS-CBn Lingkod Kapamilya, Ayala Foundation, Caritas Manila, GMA Kapuso Foundation Inc., Philippine Red Cross, Save the Children, U n IC eF and World Vision. Roderick L. Abad

Central banks’ demand for gold booms

CE n T r A L banks bought a record amount of gold last quarter as they diversified foreign-currency reserves, with a large chunk of the purchases coming from asyet unknown buyers.

Almost 400 tons were scooped up by central banks in the third quarter, more than quadruple the amount a year earlier, according to the World Gold Council. That takes the total so far this year to the highest since 1967, when the dollar was still backed by the metal.

Bullion prices have been pressured this year by aggressive US interest-rate hikes as the Federal r e serve tackles soaring inflation, which have prompted exchange-traded fund investors to sell the nonyielding asset. But support has come from other areas, such as retail buyers in Asia and central banks.

Central banks including Turkey and Qatar were among recent buyers, as well as unreported purchases from institutions—which the WGC said that although isn’t uncommon, amounted to a “substantial” estimate. n o t all countries report their gold purchases regularly, including major ones like China and r u ssia.

“ n o t all official institutions publicly report their gold holdings, or may do so with a lag,” the WGC said in a quarterly report released Tuesday. “We can’t rule out further unreported buying.”

The council expects overall investment for gold to decline this year, as lower ETF and over-the-counter demand offset strong retail buying.

Despite the strong demand, bullion prices are mostly reliant on external factors such as macroeconomic sentiment and the direction of the dollar, said Gnanasekar Thiagarajan, director at Commtrendz r i sk Management Services. The precious metal has been under pressure ahead of the Federal r e serve’s statement on Wednesday, he added.

Spot gold edged up by 0.3 percent to $1,637.73 an ounce as of 12:48 p.m. in Singapore, after finishing 0.7 percent down on Monday. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index declined 0.3 percent. Silver, palladium and platinum gained. Bloomberg News

Banking&Finance

IFC invests in green bonds of CLAS

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has invested in a sustainability-linked bond in the hospitality sector globally for CapitaLand Ascott Trust (CLAS).

IFC is the sole subscriber for the JPY16.5 billion or about S$157.4 million sustainability-linked bond. The seven-year bond will mature in november 2029.

The sustainability-linked bond is being issued as part of CLAS’ S$2billion Multicurrency Debt Issuance Program with a fixed coupon rate of 1.05 percent per annum and is paid semi-annually in arrears.

“We are delighted to support CapitaLand Ascott Trust, Asia-Pacific’s largest lodging trust, in its efforts to help address the climate crisis in

the region through IFC’s first sustainability-linked bond in the hospitality sector,” Kim-See Lim, IFC’s regional Director for East Asia and the Pacific, said.

“Our investment will support the decarbonization of a portfolio of energy-intensive buildings, while also ensuring that the energy reduction is specifically aligned with net Zero targets,” Lim added.

IFC said the proceeds from the bond will be used to refinance CLAS’ existing borrowings and to further decarbonize three of CLAS’ serviced

residences in Southeast Asia, namely Ascott Jakarta in Indonesia as well as Ascott Makati and Somerset Millennium Makati in the Philippines.

The three serviced residences are expected to achieve a 40.5-percent reduction in electricity consumption by December 31, 2028. The projects must also obtain IFC’s Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies (EDGE) certification within the same timeframe.

IFC said the electricity consumption reduction target is aligned with the targets set out under the CapitaLand 2030 Sustainability Master Plan.

The Master Plan outlines the Group’s efforts to accelerate its transition to a low-carbon business, improve water conservation and resilience, and to enable a circular economy.

“To date, CLAS has raised about S$450 million through sustainable financing. CLAS continues to collaborate with like-minded stakeholders in the financing and investment

community to fight climate change through our collective efforts,” CapitaLand Ascott Trust Management Limited and CapitaLand Ascott Business Trust Management Pte. Ltd. (the Managers of CLAS) CEO Serena Teo said.

“Currently, 35 percent of CLAS’ portfolio is green-certified and we remain on track to green 50 percent of our portfolio by 2025 and our entire portfolio by 2030,” Teo added.

IFC said CLAS issued its first sustainability-linked bond of S$200 million under its newly established Sustainability-Linked Finance Framework in April 2022.

CLAS is the first hospitality trust globally to issue a sustainabilitylinked bond and is also the first listed real estate trust in Singapore to issue a sustainability-linked bond.

The bond was well-received by investors and was about 2.2 times oversubscribed. CLAS has achieved several firsts as part of its global sustainability drive, further consolidating its reputation as a leader in sus-

tainability in the hospitality sector.

In 2018, CLAS’ sponsor, The Ascott Limited (Ascott) partnered with IFC to pioneer a green certification for serviced residences, as part of IFC’s EDGE framework.

The new international green benchmark for serviced residences paves the way for more serviced residences to achieve an accredited and well-recognized green certification.

Ascott’s partnership with IFC also includes an exchange of knowledge and research on sustainable design of serviced residences in developing regions such as Asia-Pacific, Indochina, and Africa.

An innovation of IFC, the EDGE certification empowers emerging markets to scale up resource-efficient buildings in a fast, easy, and affordable way.

It enables developers and builders to quickly identify the most costeffective strategies to reduce energy use, water use and embodied energy in materials.

IMF frets over ‘frequent’ policy meetings of monetary authorities

THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) expressed concern that while inflation data is collected monthly in the Philippines, monetary policy meetings happen more frequently in the region.

In its latest regional Economic Outlook for Asia Pacific, the IMF said this may prevent monetary authorities from monitoring inflation before decisions are made.

The IMF noted that inflation expectations would provide insights that would be crucial in making monetary policy statements. Central Banks, including the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) employ inflation-

targeting in setting interest rates.

“Some countries administer surveys once per quarter but hold monetary policy meetings more frequently [such as] the Philippines [and] Thailand. This may affect the ability of policymakers and market participants to monitor the evolution of inflation expectations before each decision,” the report stated.

The IMF also pointed out that available inflation expectations have short horizons of up to 12 months. Only Malaysia collects information at longer horizons, similar to countries in Latin America and Eastern Europe.

“This [short horizon] impedes the

ability of policymakers to assess the degree to which inflation expectations are well anchored and aligned with inflation targets,” IMF said.

Meanwhile, BSP underscored the importance of relevant and quality statistics in crafting sound economic and financial policies as it joined the nation in celebrating the 33rd nat ional Statistics Month (nSM).

In a recent speech, BSP Governor Felipe M. Medalla emphasized that high-quality and timely data enabled the country to effectively manage and navigate the challenges brought about by the pandemic.

“The BSP, together with the Phil-

Xendit teams up with China Bank for cash-in feature on Maya app

nC IAL technology (fintech) provider Xendit has collaborated with China Banking Corp. to launch a new feature that allows customers to safely and seamlessly fund their Maya account directly from their account in the bank owned by the Sy family.

With the China Bank Direct Debit, the bank’s clients nationwide can now swiftly connect their account to the mobile wallet to instantly cash-in any amount.

Once their accounts are linked together, they need not have to exit the Maya app or key in their bank account details for future cash in transactions.

After cashing in, users can easily pay their bills, buy load, or shop from

multiple merchants with their e-wallet.

According to Xendit Philippines Managing Director Yang Yang Zhang, they know the importance of digital transactions that’s why they keep on building partnerships to provide Filipinos more simple and secure cashless payment options.

“With the launch of this new channel in partnership with China Bank, we provide an improved customer experience when topping up the Maya wallet,” she said.

Maya Philippines Chief Operating Officer Khurram Malik said the company prioritizes making hassle-free cashless payments more accessible.

“This starts with providing a simple

and seamless cash in experience to our users. That’s why we’re pleased to work with China Bank and Xendit as we offer more ways for Filipinos to master their money with Maya,” he noted.

Teaming up with the fintech company, gone are the days when people had to personally go over the counter for every financial transaction, per China Bank Senior Vice President and Chief Digital Officer Manuel Tagaza.

“To meet the changing needs of our customers, we have to provide innovative financial services relevant in the digital world. Partnering with Xendit allowed us to offer convenience to our clients who use the Maya app for some of their financial needs,” he said. Roderick L. Abad

ippine statistical community, will continue to support all statistical initiatives and activities that would aid in nation-building and improve the lives of Filipinos,” Medalla said.

Under this year’s nSM theme, “Boosting the Country’s recovery with Informed Decisions, Better Policies,” the BSP conducted a virtual Public Information Campaign (PIC) to promote wider awareness and appreciation of economic and financial statistics.

resource persons from the BSP’s Department of Economic Statistics discussed data produced by the central bank, such as monetary statis-

tics compilation and dissemination, expectations and economic trends, trade in goods and network science perspective on the Philippine global foreign direct investment system.

Participants from the government and the private sector, the academe and officers and staff of the BSP attended the PIC. The event served as the culminating activity of the month-long nSM celebration and was broadcasted via the BSP Facebook Page.

The nSM is observed every October, pursuant to Presidential Proclamation 647 dated September 20, 1990. Cai U. Ordinario

Grameen Foundation names new president

GrA MEE n Foundation, a leader in providing access to information and resources with a mission to create a world without poverty and hunger, on Tuesday announced Zubaida Bai as its next President and CEO. She is the first woman and the first Indian American to lead the organization.

Bai comes to Grameen Foundation with over 18 years in the social impact space. Before joining Grameen Foundation, she served as the managing director of CA r E Social Ventures.

Why travel in September?

FOr me and my daughters the best time to travel is in the month of September. We just found this out in our recent trip to Europe. This is also a more convenient month for me because the tax season is over and although we have clients that have fiscal years as their accounting period-end, this month is not as hectic as the first half of the year when the deadlines are just crazy.

There is a song that goes “I’ll see you in September when summer is gone” and what a relief it is that the crowd of summer is indeed gone in September. And one big advantage when you travel this month is the cost is cheaper—the fares and the hotels are lower since this is not a peak month. The weather is also cool but not freezing cold. And as we observed we can enjoy more the places we will visit because there are fewer people compared to the summer months.

We started our journey for a “thousand steps” on September 17, 2022 (you will see later why a thousand steps). The first stop is the netherlands and we were anxious at first because of the recent news that there is a labor shortage in the airport. The problem is not in coming in but in flying out. Since we will be flying from Amsterdam to nice and my daughter anticipated the problem of the long queues, she booked us in business class. It was the best decision since we saw the super long trail of people lining up to check in and undergo security screening. And of course,

we enjoyed the lounge not only because of the many varieties of food but also because it is huge; thus, it is easier to find a good place to rest and even take a short nap.

We conveniently survived this challenge in getting out of the airport for another flight but we were also thinking of the future flight we have in going back to the Philippines since our exit airport is also Amsterdam. But no time to be worried because we are just about to start our trip to various countries in Europe.

It is true what some people advised —do not wait to travel until you are too old to walk. International airports are huge and there is a lot of walking to do to reach your departure gate or your baggage area or immigration area. But I just look at it as a sort of exercise since I walk every day at home anyway as my form of workout aside from spinning, dancing , and doing strength-training, such as lifting weights. You have to wear good comfortable shoes too, which you

can wear anywhere from the airport to the places you will be visiting. I brought only two types of shoes—a pair of rubber shoes and leather shoes which are so comfortable.

I am with my two active and driven daughters and I realized I am no match to their energy and vitality. Made me realize I am getting old and not as driven and energetic as they are. I can also see myself in them when I was at their age - squeezing in such short days as many itineraries and activities as I can. Although I am not far from being laid-back as I am now, one has to set priorities to be able to enjoy more peaceful moments when one can just relax and savor the place and the views. But my other daughter was telling me —Mom, you are still squeezing a lot of your activities even today! That is the advantage of travelling with families—you see yourself in what they tell you—traits which sometimes you failed to see in yourself since all of us have blind spots (huh!).

nonetheless, you can still do business while travelling which of course you should try to limit. But I did remote managing of our office work back home with the use of the internet. However, a word of caution—do not rely on roaming WIFI—the signals are unreliable. I got better signals from the airports and the hotels and the places we had been to. However, minimize using bank applications or accessing data that you do not want to be hacked!

The longest wait in the airport I had experienced was in the Schipol airport in Amsterdam on our way back to the Philippines. Since there is still a labor shortage, the waiting in the check-in was long but not as long as the queue for the security screening. It was the longest wait I ever experienced in my life in an airport. We anticipated that but did not anticipate it was worse than we can imagine. Lesson? Avoid the Schipol airport in Amsterdam as much as possible unless you have the endurance to wait in those long lines or check before you travel to ensure that labor shortage problem has been resolved. It used to be one of the best airports in Europe but it is now one of the worst.

There were ups and downs in travelling but I am still looking forward to another one. Travelling is an investment—it gives us a perspective that life is more than just our home, our work, our social circles and made me believe more in a greater God who created such an amazing, wonderful world. As in the line in Desiderata “with all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams—it is still a beautiful world”

Wilma Miranda is the 2022 Chair of FINEX Ethics Committee, Managing Partner of Inventor, Miranda & Associates, CPAs, Board of Directors Member of KPS Outsourcing Inc. The views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the opinion of these institutions.

“We are delighted to welcome Zubaida Bai as CEO,” said Marianne Udow-Phillips, Grameen Foundation board member and chair of the CEO search committee. “Zubaida is passionately committed to social inclusion. She believes social change can come about by adjusting our lens to the changing landscape. Utilizing lived experience, she has championed programs and products that are sustainable. She is the ideal person to lead Grameen Foundation into its next quarter-century of impact.”

“I am thrilled to be joining the Grameen Foundation team,” said Bai. “I believe Grameen Foundation is uniquely positioned to make good on its mission of a world without poverty and hunger. I am humbled to be joining this committed team and thank Grameen Foundation’s board and staff for their warm welcome.”

A compassionate leader, Bai has spent time in the poorest places in the world, co-creating products, and services. With cross-sector insights, Bai brings expertise in creating a meaningful impact while navigating a global market landscape. She is also the founder of ayzh, a social enterprise based in India and the United States that designs and distributes vital healthcare products that improve the health and happiness of women and girls across their

reproductive lives.

An empathetic communicator, she is as equally deft speaking with a rural midwife outside her hut as she is presenting to Global Leaders at Davos or the United nations.

Bai has been recognized as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, a Maternal Health Champion by Ashoka, a TED Fellow/ Speaker, and named United nations SDG 3 Pioneer by the United nations Global Compact (UnGC). She is a Visiting Social Innovator with Harvard University’s Social Innovative Change Initiative (SICI) and a member of the Governing Body at SEMA (Shaping Equitable Market Access) for reproductive Health.

Grameen Foundation also announced the appointments of Lauren Hendricks, Gopi Kallayil, and Jeffrey Scott to the board of directors.

“As Grameen Foundation nears the culmination of its 25th anniversary celebrations, we look to these three talented and committed individuals for their unique insights and contributions,” said Grameen Foundation Board Chairman Peter Cowhey. “They will combine with existing members to support Zubaida, whom we are eager to welcome as our new CEO.”

Grameen Foundation President and CeO Zubaida Bai

Finex Free enterprise

Wilma inventor-Miranda

book was a project of New York-based Filipino-American Special Education teacher Deirdre Levy (shown here with GMA Pinoy TV first vice president Joseph T. Francia) along with Fil-Am artists.

‘Black Adam’ takes top spot at box office again

By Lindsey Bahr The Associated Press

THE Dwayne Johnson-fronted DC superhero film, Black Adam kept its hold on the No. 1 spot at the North American box office in its second weekend in theaters. Down 59 percent from its launch, and facing little new competition, Black Adam added $27.7 million in ticket sales, bringing its domestic total to $111.1 million, according to studio estimates on Sunday.

Johnson spent a decade trying to bring the character to the big screen and has visions for followups involving Superman. But the future of Adam is not written quite yet, though it’s earned $250 million worldwide. The Warner Bros. film carried a hefty price tag of $200 million, not including marketing and promotion costs, and a sequel has not been officially greenlit.

But big changes are afoot at DC—the studio just announced a new leadership team of Peter Safran and James Gunn, whose love for propping up little-known comic book characters is well-documented. And on

iN the spirit of bringing Global Filipinos closer to home, and as part of building on its #StrongerTogether campaign, GMA Pinoy TV visited various Fil-Am communities and offices in the uS to celebrate Filipino American History Month (FAHM) last october.

introduced by the Filipino American National Historical Society in 1992 and officially recognized in 2009 by the uS congress, FAHM commemorates the first arrival of Filipinos in the country in Morro Bay, california, on october 18, 1587. with the concurrent celebrations of FAHM’s anniversary and GMA Pinoy TV’s 17th anniversary, the GMA Pinoy TV team took every opportunity to visit different Fil-Am communities, embassies, and consulates during its uS trip.

GMA international first vice president and head of operations Joseph T. Francia met with New York deputy consul general Arman Talbo for the turnover of Stronger Together coloring books to the Philippine New York consulate.

The Stronger Together coloring book was a project of New York-based Filipino-American Special Education teacher Deirdre Levy with visual artist AJ Lavilla along with fellow Fil-Am artists Erwin ong and Mark Torres.

She distributed the coloring book to school children as a mental health

Sunday, Johnson posted a note to his 344 million Instagram followers about the end of the world press tour, thanking those who worked behind the scenes to launch “our new DC franchise known as Black Adam.”

Bucking recent romantic comedy trends,

moviegoers remained curious about Ticket to Paradise, Universal’s Julia Roberts and George Clooney destination romp, which fell only 37 percent

Today’s Horoscope

By Eugenia Last

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Jon M. Chu, 43; Marisol Nichols, 49; David Schwimmer, 56; k.d. lang, 61.

HAppY BIRTHDAY: Expanding your interests and circle of friends will tempt you, but before you make time-consuming and costly changes, put together a financial plan. Choose a responsible course of action to help you maintain a healthy, affordable lifestyle. A trendy new look will attract attention and give you the boost you need to follow your heart. Your numbers are 6, 18,

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Take responsibility and finish what you start. Refuse to let anyone interfere with your plans or promises. Be straightforward regarding what you can do and what you need others to contribute to ensure everything runs smoothly. Control the outcome. HHH

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): A change will give you a different perspective on life, love and what’s possible. Dig in and try your hand at something new. The impact your success has will encourage you to be less fearful and more confident in HHHH

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Offer explicit information and call out anyone who offers hypothetical plans with no real potential to manifest into something lucrative or special. Trust in your judgment, experience and ability to outmaneuver anyone who tries to compete with you. HH

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Consider what you enjoy doing most and head in that direction. Find additional information, skills and qualifications to help you land a position of choice. Connect with people who can help you reach your goal. Romance and personal growth are favored. HHHHH

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Prepare to do the work yourself. It’s up to you to concentrate on reaching your target on time and within budget. Take measures to lower your overhead. Practicing efficiency or finding a less expensive place to live will help you maintain an affordable lifestyle. HHH

fVIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Not everything will make sense or fit into your plans. Listen to suggestions, but in the end, head down the path that provides you with satisfaction, joy and concrete results. Socializing or mixing business with pleasure will bring positive results. HHH

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): A wholehearted attempt will turn out just the way you want. Leverage your talent, discipline and enthusiasm to win a spot on a team you feel shares your interests. Travel, experience and educational pursuits will get you where you want to go. HHHHH

hSCORpIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Do what you can to improve your surroundings, but budget for and hire an expert if necessary. A change of heart will leave you questioning your next move. Distance yourself from people who don’t share your beliefs and values. HH

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Stick to the truth and take care of business. Refuse to let anyone stand between you and what you want to achieve. Be realistic regarding relationships and the way you allow someone to treat you. HHHH

intervention in the face of the pandemic challenges and Asian Hate crimes.

initially distributed in New York city and in partnership with GMA Pinoy TV, the Stronger Together coloring book has now expanded distribution to San Francisco, Los Angeles, chicago, and Houston.

Francia also met with Migrant workers secretary Susan “Toots” ople to discuss possible collaborations.

Francia and marketing director Beth c imaco-de Guzman had a courtesy visit to the Philippine consulate General (PcG) in Los Angeles. They were welcomed by consul general Hon. Edgar Badajos, consul

Marie Alnee Gamble, and cultural officer Hazel Manahan-Mendoza, along with information officer Mary Grace Leano, and former Eat Bulaga host and GMA star ruby rodriguez. During the visit to the PcG, Francia also turned over copies of Stronger Together to consul general Badajos.

Prior to the GMA Pinoy TV concert in california, Los Angeles’s oldest Filipino community, the Filipino American community in Los Angeles (FAcLA) hosted a welcoming ceremony for the GMA headliners of the Together Again concert.

Bea Alonzo, Ai-Ai de las Alas, Julie Anne San Jose, rayver cruz and Dingdong Dantes

together with director Mark reyes and GMA executives oliver Victor B. Amoroso and Darling de Jesus-Bodegon got to meet 13th District councilman Mitch o’Farrell, and vice consul Macrise corrado who shared an overview of the Fil-Am history and the importance of the Historic Filipinotown Gateway landmark in the community. Gracing the event were FAcLA president Trinity Foliente, and Filipino American Service Group inc. board president celina Taganas-Duffy.

More information on GMA Pinoy TV events and Filipinos abroad can be found at www.gmapinoytv.com.

DYLAN

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CApRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Establish what you are willing and capable of doing, and go about your business. A discussion with a friend or relative will offer insight into options you hadn’t considered. Take the road less traveled and learn as you go. HHH

k

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Learn from experience and make decisions that will help you ward off disruption and encourage you to focus on putting your responsibilities behind you. Worrying over something you cannot change is a waste of time. Finish what you start. HHH

lpISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Pay attention to money matters, and a financial gain will come your way. An unexpected opportunity will take you on an adventure that will give you hope for better days ahead. Stop worrying over things you cannot change. HHH

BIRTHDAY BABY: You are indecisive, original and playful. You are energetic and demonstrative. H: Avoid conflicts; work behind the scenes. HH: You can accomplish, but don’t rely on others. HHH: Focus and you’ll reach your goals. HHHH: Aim high; start new projects. HHHHH: Nothing can stop you; go for gold.

DwAYNE JoHNSoN

in the Dc superhero

film Black Adam, which remained at the top of the North American box office.

Pressure to perform

IHAVE been in the academe, private corporations, and even government service long enough to understand that not all workplaces are created equal. Some have seasons of hurried activities followed by weeks of placid routine, while others have fast-paced workplaces where work seems to multiply faster than there was that got done. But one thing is certain, there will be times when you will be asked to do more work than usual either for promotion, because of reduced manpower, or as a stretch assignment.

But whatever the reason for being given more workload, take it as an opportunity to step up and prove to the management that you can do it. It might be stressful and difficult at times, but those can be overcome with careful planning, managing your own emotions, and helping your team overcome difficulties. The mere fact that they have entrusted you with more work is an indication that they believe in your potential. So, when given an additional workload, take it as a chance to grow professionally and personally.

To succeed, you first need to create a plan by breaking it down into milestones and creating a checklist of tasks under each one. This provides a visual image of what you need to accomplish and ensures that you do not forget anything important. It also keeps you on track and helps you pace your activities, so your team does not get worn out easily. It also helps you get organized and identify dependencies from other departments.

Planning ahead will also help you identify the resources you might need later. There are instances when you will need additional equipment or even to rely on other people from other teams. Understand that other teams do not work on your schedule, so you need to identify early on which teams you need to tap so they can plan and accommodate your request. Remember that lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on their part.

phone or send an e-mail to yourself in one thread for easy reference. However you want to keep track of tasks, make sure you have easy access to them so you can track completion. Prioritize which ones are urgent and then set a schedule for those that can be postponed. Part of your leadership development is discerning which ones need to be prioritized. Your team’s action is contingent on your decision, so decide quickly and act fast.

If possible, set a regular meeting with your manager to discuss progress. The meeting does not have to be long, but enough to apprise your

the time to explain the dashboard so they understand when their help is needed.

Your manager will not always be monitoring your dashboard so when you need them to step in, immediately alert your manager. There are roadblocks that are not within your authority, and you will need the help of your manager to either clear them for you, or provide direction on how to overcome or go around them. The key here is to keep them in the loop to keep them aware of what is happening so they can start thinking of how to best position the team. You will not always be privy

to what is happening to the organization, but your manager does. Keep them in the loop so they can provide direction when needed.

There will be cases when your team will encounter difficulties and unforeseen issues. When this happens, respond to the situation, not the person. When everything seems to be an emergency, adopt a solution-based mindset rather than looking for someone to blame. There will be time later on to do a postmortem analysis, but for the time being, focus on the issues and problems by encouraging an attitude of thinking for alternative solutions. By rallying them to look for solutions, it will develop their creativity and critical-thinking skills. It will also help them understand that they belong to a team and the difficulty of one is the difficulty of all.

An important thing you need to do is to take care of your well-being. This means not just taking care of your body but also your mental and emotional health. Take the time to do well-being checks and incorporate activities that will help you and your team become mindful of their well-being. You can have lunch together but make it a rule not to discuss any workrelated topics. You can also schedule a team activity away from the office where you can get to know them better so you can take care of your team. Remember that if you take care of your team, they will take care of you too.

Understand also that you are not a machine, and you have limitations. If you need to take a break, do so. If there are issues that are not within your control, turn your focus on something that you can actually do. It is useless being anxious about things you have no influence on. After doing what you can possibly do and appraising your manager on what needs to be done, you need to learn to let go and focus on another part of the project.

It goes without saying that if the pressure becomes unbearable, ask for help. You might be surprised to know that others are willing to help, only if you ask. There is no shame in asking for help from others. In fact, it helps you create a network of support that you can depend on in the future and provides a venue where you can also help others.

When asked to do more, take them as opportunities for validating the potential your leaders see in you. Make it easier for them to see that by planning carefully, managing your own reactions, and helping your team cope with issues and uncertainties, because it is in these times you will discover that you are more than what you thought you were. n

PHOTO BY CHARLESDELUVIO ON UNSPLASH

WITH widespread cases of identity theft across the globe, international employers and health-care regulators need to be sure that the person who claims to have undergone professional health-care training is the same person applying for a particular position.

In the recruitment process, especially for overseas employment, identity verification provides the employer with the added assurance that the individual applying for the role is exactly who they say they are.

Many health-care professionals who successfully landed a lucrative employment abroad have found a reliable partner for verification in TrueProfile.io, a platform that provides Filipino health-care professionals around the world with the tools they need to secure a lucrative career abroad.

TrueProfile.io has become a trusted health-care career platform due to being part of the DataFlow Group, a global leader in primary source verification (PSV) of professional documents including degrees, professional licenses, good standing certifications and experience certificates.

TrueProfile.io uses IDNow for processing identity verification and the entire process can be easily completed via a mobile phone, taking just a few minutes to process the identity verification. As the platform has partnerships with employers and regulators in different countries, many health-care professionals have come to rely on its verification services to authenticate important documents such as certificates, licenses and educational records.

“In addition to the sophisticated technology we use for identity verification which includes facial recognition and AI, TrueProfile.io’s use of blockchain technology means that individuals no longer need to verify their documents over and over again. The member can simply verify once, and a digital fingerprint of their verification is stored on the blockchain which is fully owned and controlled by the individual. This means they can share their verification directly with employers, recruiters and regulators who can be assured of the authenticity of the documents,” said Alejandro Coca, Head of Business, TrueProfile.io.

Having your identity verified has a lot of advantages and benefits. For one, it protects you from becoming a victim of fraud and identity theft. Equally important, it establishes a strong sense of trust among employers and regulators, and this can open a whole new world of opportunities for you as you can easily apply for positions in different countries across the world.

More information is available at www.trueprofile.io.

weekend as Ayala Land Inc. and Make It Makati launched its “It All Happens in Makati” campaign with a dynamic street meet that brought together some of the city’s well-known and best-kept food and lifestyle offerings and establishments.

The event showcased how multifaceted Makati is—being far beyond just the financial center it is most known for. From well-followed incognito food critic “Masarap ba?” pop quiz, insider information on the city’s secret spots, free-flowing Heineken Silver beer, to rousing sets by The Authority band, and great beats by DJ Agnes, the launch was a fitting start to a slew of things to come.

Continued from B4 in weekend two to claim second place. The genre has not been the most reliable bet at the box office lately, with films, like Bros stumbling in theaters, but the star power of Roberts and Clooney is proving hard to resist. Ticket to Paradise added $10 million from 3,692 North American theaters, bringing its domestic total to $33.7 million. Globally, it’s grossed $119.4 million to date.

Horror movies, meanwhile, claimed spots three through five on the weekend before Halloween on Monday. Lionsgate’s Prey for the Devil opened in third place with $7 million from 2,980 theaters. Notably, it is the only one of the three horror films that carried a PG-13 rating. The others were R-rated.

Paramount’s Smile took fourth place in

David Celdran and Nicole Andersson, both Makati enthusiasts, served as event hosts and revealed some insights and their very own faves about the world-class city. We all know that everything happens in Makati, but the event proved that there’s even more to look forward to. Makaturismo’s Ichi Yabut presented details on the interesting and fun Makati walking tours and their collaboration underlining, “There is so much to see around Makati, and it truly is a destination.” JC Cailles of Fine Dining Manila announced teaming up with Make It Makati as their new “resident fine dining guy.” Everyone can anticipate regular content from him on their social-media pages. Make

its fifth weekend with another $5.1 million, bringing its domestic total to $92.4 million (on a $17 million budget), while Halloween Ends landed in fifth place in its third weekend with $3.8 million. Ends, which has grossed $60.3 million in North America, was released simultaneously on NBC universal’s streaming service Peacock.

“This is just another mandate in favor of horror,” said Paul Dergarabedian, comScore’s senior media analyst. “It’s not just about being in October, horror movies have played well throughout the pandemic. It’s a genre that continues to kill it at the box office time and again.”

Chinonye Chukwu’s Mamie Till-Mobley film Till went wide this weekend, adding $2.8 million from 2,058 locations to take seventh place. Boasting a 98 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, the united Artists Releasing

It Makati is also collaborating with Jungo TV to launch an exclusive channel to provide more interactive content to the public.

Ayala Land Estate head for Makati Shiella Aguilar spoke about the ever-changing Makati skyline, particularly the newest additions including Tower Two within the Ayala Triangle Gardens, which design-wise blends the architecture of a premier office building with that of the green space of the gardens. There is also the Samsung Performing Arts Theater at Circuit Makati; and One Ayala, a terminal to ensure better commuting experiences for Makatizens with its queueing system and various loading bays.

film has gotten good word-of-mouth with much of it centered on Danielle Deadwyler’s performance.

This weekend also saw the expansion of several notable films, like Todd Field’s Tár, which expanded to 1,087 theaters nationwide where it grossed $1 million and landed in 10th place. Cate Blanchett’s performance as a renowned composer and conductor won her a top acting prize from the Venice Film Festival last month.

Another Venice-winner, The Banshees of Inisherin widened to 58 theaters and 12 new markets over the weekend. The Martin McDonagh film starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson earned $540,000. The Searchlight Pictures release will expand to around 800 locations next weekend.

Charlotte Wells’s Aftersun expanded to 17 locations where it earned $75,242,

bringing its cumulative grosses to $166,030. The A24-released father-daughter film starring Paul Mescal and Frankie Corio will continue to expand throughout awards season.

James Gray’s Armageddon Time opened in six theaters in New York and Los Angeles, to $72,000. Gray mined his own childhood to tell the story about an 11-year-old in Queens in the fall of 1980. The film, which premiered at Cannes earlier this year, stars Banks Repeta, Anne Hathaway, Jeremy Strong and Anthony Hopkins.

But as far as blockbusters are concerned, things will be somewhat slowgoing until Black Panther: Wakanda Forever arrives on November 11.

“That’ll get the box office going again in a way that feels more like summer,” Dergarabedian said. n

❶ FROM left: Ichi Yabut, head of Makati Tourism Board; Mel Ignacio, senior head of Makati Estate; Chrissy Roa, head of marketing and communication, Ayala Land Estate; and Sheilla Aguilar, head of Makati Estate.

❷ THE Sarsa food station

❸ SOuL food truck

‘Black Adam’ takes top spot at box office again

Groundbreaking book launched by Australian author Mick Spiers

Premiere Mobile Sportsbook Site Sports Plus Offcially Launched for Avid PInoy Sports Fans

THERE’S nothing quite like being an avid sports fan. Regardless of your game of choice—be it basketball, soccer, volleyball, boxing, or any other spectator sport—there is an unmistakable thrill from following the struggles and successes of world-class athletes. In many ways, fans share in the losses and victories of their favorite teams and athletes from around the world, creating a communal experience unlike any other.

Now, this experience gets richer and more immersive than ever with SportsPlus, the premier mobile sportsbook site that offers a convenient and seamless experience for users all across the country so that they, too, can “Win the Game.”

Officially launched on November 2, SportsPlus capitalizes on the worldrenowned passion Filipinos have for their favorite sports—and hopes to drive this passion towards an experience that is more exciting than ever. By offering competitive odds, SportsPlus allows fans to feel the same surge of excitement over their victories being tied to the results of each game.

AUSTRALIAN

recently launched his debut book, “You’re a Leader, Now What?”

The book is about inspiring people into action and building up our next generation of leaders.

“We are facing an engagement crisis in the workplace. I strongly believe that one’s success in business and life has been through the development and support of the people, teams and leaders.” Mick shares.

Recent research has shown that only 16% of people in the world truly love their job and like their boss. It is a tragedy that people are spending up to 1/3 of their lives in jobs and workplaces that do not inspire them and where they struggle to find meaning and purpose.

The book was launched during one of the power meetings of BNI - Business Network International at Summit Ridge Hotel in Tagaytay, where he also gave an informative talk before CEO’s and business owners on how to empower leaders with the knowledge and skills they need to create amazing team and amazing workspaces so that people fall back in love with their jobs again.

Mick stresses, “My ultimate goal is to create a world where people have purpose and meaning in their work; where people feel that their opinions are valued; and ultimately feel that they matter.”

This book will equip readers with practical leadership skills never taught in school and rarely developed in early careers. If you are looking to become a

leader people naturally gravitate towards that inspires purpose-driven action in your teams, Spiers lays out a compelling blueprint to follow!

Mick Spiers is also the Founder of the Leadership Project and host of The Leadership Project podcast.

TLP aims to empower leaders with the knowledge and skills they need to create amazing team and amazing workspaces so that people fall back in love with their jobs again.

You’re A Leader, Now What? is now available thru Amazon.com, Shopee, Lazada and National Bookstore outlets nationwide.

Visit Mick's website, www.mickspiers. com to know more about the book, his coaching tours and The Leadership Project.

Cetaphil Baby promotes the right foundation for baby‘s healthy start with four healthy pillars, new product line

RAISING a healthy child is a mom’s ultimate achievement. As a mom, you are constantly worried about your baby’s development; you would like them to experience new things, but you are also afraid of what these new things can bring. Thankfully, moms have the healthy pillars to help them as they raise their kids and navigate the world of motherhood. Interconnected with each other, these pillars are integral during the first steps of a baby’s development, making sure that they’re all set as moms nurture them.

Cetaphil Baby advocates the Four Healthy Pillars: Healthy Food, Healthy Play, Healthy Sleep, and Healthy Skin. Each pillar is important for baby's health and development, and skin is such an important part of their overall health, because it will protect them throughout their life.

Cetaphil Baby offers moms the best way to give babies the right foundation for healthy skin by supporting its

development as it matures from its earliest stages onward. Moms can find peace and assurance that they can keep their baby’s skin protected now and in the future.

Cetaphil Baby products are clinically proven to respect, maintain and improve the structure of even the most sensitive skin, supporting baby skin’s natural development. It has been tested and approved by experts because of its gentle, hypoallergenic formulation that contains skin-barrier building ingredients like glycerin and panthenol, and other natural ingredients like chamomile, shea butter, almond oil, aloe vera, and calendula to keep baby’s skin soft, smooth and protected.

Cetaphil Baby currently has two ranges: the Classic Line and the newly launched Calendula range. Included in the Classic Line are: the Cetaphil Baby Gentle Wash & Shampoo, a tear-free 2-in-1 hair and body formula that gently cleanses your baby’s delicate skin and hair, leaving it soft and clean.

For those looking for moisturizing

goodness, the Cetaphil Baby Moisturising Bath & Wash is enriched with ⅓ baby lotion to care for even the most delicate skin protecting it against dryness.

The Cetaphil Baby Shampoo is a gentle caring formula enriched with chamomile to restore natural skin protection for a healthy scalp, while the Cetaphil Baby Gentle Cleansing Bar is ideal for teaching babies about hygiene as moms give them independence and the responsibility of caring for themselves with simple tasks like handwashing.

The Cetaphil Baby Daily Lotion is enriched with shea butter that soothes, nourishes, and keeps the baby's skin hydrated for up to 24 hours.

The new Cetaphil Baby range contains calendula extract that has been used for many centuries due to its antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties and includes Cetaphil Baby Wash and Shampoo, 2-in-1 formula that smoothens, softens, and improves skin texture. It is specifically designed to be used from head to toe daily.

The Cetaphil Baby Daily Lotion with Organic Calendula is especially helpful for the skin barrier of sensitive skin, providing 24 hours of skin moisturization.

Finally, for babies experiencing rough skin patches in cheeks, knees, elbow areas, or under those chubby folds, the best suited product is the Cetaphil Baby With Organic Calendula Advanced Protection Cream, which helps reduce the feeling of discomfort and irritation and provides long-lasting irritation for up to 24 hours.

To complement the existing lines, Cetaphil Baby also introduced its latest product: the Cetaphil Baby Gentle Wipes. This new product gently cleanses and moisturizes baby’s delicate skin and is made from 100 percent plant derived fabric. Made with natural ingredients like aloe vera and Vitamin E it helps prevent baby’s skin from drying out, making Cetaphil Baby Gentle Wipes ideal for face and body use of baby’s delicate skin.

Through competitive odds and a diverse array of sport offerings—from the NBA and UFC to Premier League and NFL—Pinoy sports fans are sure to have a fun and “sulit” sportsbook experience with SportsPlus.

More than that, the PAGCORaccredited service has designed SportsPlus for maximum ease of use. Registration

is quick and simple, enabling all users— who must be at least 21 years old—to immediately enjoy the site’s benefits. With rapid registration, faster KYC, and strong data privacy, SportsPlus users can enjoy the game to its fullest without worrying about any bumps or buffers.

The site is also designed specifically with the modern mobile user in mind. There’s no need to download an app as the site itself offers a seamless experience on any standard mobile browser, which means you can play anywhere. The seamless UI and UX are also geared to maximize convenience and minimize eye fatigue.

SportsPlus is made simple, as well, with the site’s integration of GCash’s services. Cashing in and out is as simple as channeling funds to and from your GCash e-wallet. Thus, the payout experience is essentially done in real-time, allowing users to play and win whenever they choose.

To ensure that users receive the best possible service, SportsPlus offers 24/7 online customer assistance in any need and concern.

All in all, SportsPlus is primed to become a can’t-miss destination for dedicated sports fans all over the country. Offering competitive odds as their premier sportsbook mobile site, SportsPlus elevates the experience for every user.

Gaming for 21 years old and above only. Keep it Fun. Game Responsibly.

SLMC celebrates 119th anniversary with Culture of Care’s sustainability and community development initiatives

AS part of its 119th anniversary celebration, and its endeavor to take a holistic approach in green healthcare, St. Luke’s Medical Center (SLMC) recently introduced sustainability efforts centered on helping address the country’s plastic waste pollution, and empowering partner communities with livelihood opportunities as part of its Culture of Care CSR program.

The institution has launched a distinctive line of environment friendly room amenities specially made by partner communities from Zamboanga, Aklan, Bicol, La Union, Benguet, Kalinga Apayao, Sagada, Cavite, Rizal, Batangas and Payatas. Among these locally made, eco-friendly products are handcrafted bath soaps, shampoo and conditioner bars, soap dishes, handwoven blankets, burlap slippers, coco sugar and drenched coffee, that ensures patients’ comfort, while reducing the adverse environmental impact and waste generated during their stay and providing partner communities livelihood programs that can improve their quality of life.

“As the unparalleled healthcare leader of the country, St. Luke’s pursues initiatives that allow us to embrace holistic green

healthcare programs. As we now celebrate 119 years of excellent patient care, we think it is the best time to implement another step in enriching our services by introducing sustainability in our institution,” Dr. Arturo S. De La Peña, President and CEO of SLMC, said.

St. Luke’s has also partnered with Benguet farmers to give them an avenue to sell their products, and with Aetas in Tarlac to provide them poultry-related resources— livelihood opportunities that cultivate the communities’ strengths and give them a sustainable source of income.

The farmers of Benguet would serve as the partner of St. Luke’s in providing healthy food options for the patients as they become the hospital’s direct source of fresh produce. Furthermore, they were also given space in the hospital’s cafeteria to sell their products.

Meanwhile, St. Luke’s also extended its assistance to the Aeta community by providing them with solar powered streetlights, deep well water source and a communal area which will serve as their mini classroom. St. Luke’s is also now working on the requirements to provide the community with a poultry farm. With this resource, they will be able to produce an average of 30 trays of eggs daily, which will be procured by St. Luke’s and used for its daily food production.

“It is crucial for all societal stakeholders to work together in promoting sustainability to reduce the harmful impact on the environment, but most importantly, to help promote social enterprises and provide livelihood opportunities to communities in need” De La Peña added.

IN celebration of St.

Sagada, Cavite, Rizal, Batangas and Payatas.

“Our sustainability initiatives contribute to the betterment of not just the country’s healthcare system, but also to the making of a greater society. We thank our patients, our partner communities, and our medical professionals within our hospitals for helping make these initiatives happen,” De La Peña concluded.

SOLENN Heussaff and the new line of Cetaphil Baby care products.

author Mick Spiers

SPORTSPLUS hopes to drive the shared Filipino passion of sports towards a more exciting experience than ever before.

Collaborative spaces and hybrid model continue to grow

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

There will be a continuous rise of collaborative spaces as the dramatic shift to remotecentric workstyles continues to grow in a post pandemic environment.

Balder tor, WeWork general manager for a u stralia and South east a s ia, recently told reporters in a press briefing the post pan demic will see the rise of collab orative spaces that will be chal lenging the cultural norms in the corporate world. “ t h is will give the enterprise organizations to have a portfolio flexibility and enable clients to downsize,” to r said.

i

n t he Philippines WeWork has presence in four locations, name ly, rC BC Plaza ( m a kati), m e narco to wer (Bonifacio g lobal City), m i lestone at 5th av enue (Bonifa cio global City) and Uptown to wer

(Bonifacio g lobal City). it h as a presence in 38 countries.

i n a n online briefing, Samir Sayed, managing director, a s ean and Korea, Poly agreed with tor that there has been an ongoing and dramatic shift to remotecentric workstyles. “From before the pandemic to 2022, there has been a 25% increase in workers adopting remote-centric working styles and preferences,” he said.

a lthough there are several ob stacles hindering the return to the office, Sayed emphasized the capacity to connect to one an other remains a key element in

driving people to return to the office. “Connecting employees is driving a shift in office realloca tion,” he said.

to r said the Covid-19 pandemic in 2019 forced many companies to reduce their investment in head of fices. i n 2 020-2021, the pandemic forced business organizations to implement the work from home (WFH) in response to the continu ing onslaught of the pandemic. i n 2022, he said companies saw the need for greater flexibility to have a more balanced approach in the workplace. i n their recent survey, to r said 59% of the executives in terviewed expanded their real es tate portfolio over the next three years, up by 20 percent compared to last year. “ t h e 20 percent of occupiers pointed out that they want shorter terms for traditional lease,” to r said.

m e anwhile, 75 percent would consider a flexible workspace so lution to address long-term of fice needs.

During the pre-pandemic,Low Hee Bun, Senior Solution a r chi

tect, Poly said up to 70 percent of office space was geared towards individual desks and support spac es. However, the post-pandemic period saw the shift to more re mote-centric roles which is driv ing a relocation from individual space, towards space that supports activities that connect employees for collaboration.

“ o r ganizations are getting se rious about implementing their long-term hybrid strategies, which also includes plans to re fit their office spaces to better fit the new purpose of the office as a center of corporate culture. Planning for the return to office is about designing experiences for this new hybrid world of work that will drive people to the office to build connections, and at the same time maximizing the experiences for those in the office and those who are remote.,” Low said.

a s a r esult, Sayed said the paradigm shift will change the delineation of a workplace which was usually defined as a location. However, “work is no longer a place

community

but it’s what your employees do,” Sayed said.

“Work is no longer a place; it’s what your employees do, and how they do it. i n t he same way, the world of work has also changed; hybrid working is here to stay as an increasingly permanent fixture, although many organizations are figuring out how to succeed at this new model, amidst ongoing challenges with the return to the office,” Sayed added.

c ha nges in the workplace

SaY e D r eiterated that changing the workplace scenario will involve the right technologies and strate gies in redefining the office space.

“For organizations to succeed in this new world of work, they first have to understand how their people do their best work, how to configure work spaces to enable their workers to get the most out of their working hours, and by ex tension, where to best invest their money in technologies that enable a seamless, flexible, and more eq uitable working experience.”

Being the most important as set for a company, Sayed said companies must properly de fine the needs and work styles of the people. t h e second most important component is check ing the right solutions to enable the people to become both effec tive and efficient while working across different spaces, regardless of where that might be. Finally, Sayed said better design experi ences increase both “engagement and innovation by eliminating friction to create seamless tran sitions from the home office to spaces across the office, or any where in between.”

t h is people-focused approach is a radical departure from defin ing requirements based on space. a s s uch, the best way to strategize for the future of work is to under stand the people who perform it,” Sayed added.

m e anwhile, to r said an enter prise sees an increased need for collaborative space that will have modular design to achieve cost efficiency.

RLC Residences offers an amazing new development for modern millennials with its newly launched pre-selling development, the SYNC N-Tower.

Millennials have numerous goals they wish to achieve. They aspire to have a suc cessful work life and financial stability. At t he same time, they want to nurture their physical and mental wellness. This new phase in one of RLC Residences’ most indemand properties offers a modern city home that caters to the ideal lifestyle that this generation aspires for.

SYNC-N Tower offers thoughtfullydesigned and best-sized studio, one-, and two-bedroom units with balcony options. Each one is furnished with home upgrades to improve quality of life and accommodate homeowners’ work needs. With fiber-optic connectivity and a dedicated space for a work-from-home setup, residents can enjoy a productive home life and pursue their ca reer goals in a space built for convenience.

O n top of this, units are also equipped with numerous smart home features for added security and comfort, making SYNC a future-ready investment. The smart lock, for example, provides more advanced op tions for security, while the audio-video i ntercom allows you to see and talk to guests before opening the door for them.

On the other hand, smart lights and socket controls let residents adjust home lights seamlessly through an app. Plus, units in the N-Tower are fiber-optic ready for fast and reliable connection.

In addition to helping consumers stay productive and feel secure, SYNC encour ages them to express themselves and revel i n the activities that they love, with vari ous amenities that cater to multiple in terests. A rooftop jog trail, fitness center, gam e room, private theater, and indoor and outdoor leisure pools are just some of the many facilities that residents can use at the property to have the work-life balance they seek.

Location is another major consider

ation for homebuyers. Given the current w ork-from-home and hybrid work setups, mobility is pivotal for working millennials, as well. Being at the heart of the biggest central business districts, SYNC has an excellent location for connectivity and mobility, with direct access to C5 road. It’s less than 5 km away from Bridgetowne, Ortigas and BGC; approximately 7 km from Makati; and 10 km from Eastwood. This advantage in proximity not only offers an easy shift from one work setup to another but also supports the on-the-go lifestyle that millennials enjoy.

SYNC-N Tower’s outstanding build and location are ideal for modern millennials who need a place where opportunities for career and personal growth are limitless. All these make SYNC a truly amazing home that empowers its residents to achieve the vibrant and fulfilling life they deserve.

For more information on SYNC, con nect with a Property Specialist by visiting r lcresidences.com. Interested individuals may also enjoy a special launch discount of up to 5% on units at the SYNC-N Tower, available for a limited time only. Terms and conditions apply.

Commemorating the i n ternational Day a g ainst Drug a bu se and i l licit tr af ficking ( i Da Da it ), US a i D ’s r e n ewHealth project hosted a joint event, the “Kapamilyang Kalinga sa Pagbangon Laban sa Droga,” in collaboration with the Depart ment of Social Welfare & Devel opment (DSWD), Department of Health (D oH ), and the Dangerous Drugs Board.

t h e event emphasizes the key role of family in the recovery and rehabilitation of people who use drugs (PWUDs). “ t h is year’s i D a D a it celebration is impor tant because it recognizes the role of family members in seeking help, treatment, and recovery of PWUDs,” said Dr. r e gina m . Hech anova a l ampay, Chief of Party of the US a i D r e newHealth Project as she welcomed participants.

t h e coming together of fam ily, community, and various sec tors for stronger evidence-based programs is necessary for PWUDs to make significant steps to in fluence healthy behaviors, as Dr. Beverly C. Ho, the Director of the Health Promotion Bureau and the Disease Prevention and Control Bureau of the Depart ment of Health stressed. Family is the recovery capital of PWUDs. t h ey are the first people they seek help from for personal is sues like drug use. r e covery is easier, safer, and speedier with a strong family support system. t h at’s why it becomes even more important to properly educate family members on how they

can properly guide a loved one suffering from substance use or addiction.

t h e r e newHealth project de veloped informational comics, a flyer, and a booklet that local government partners can use in their house-to-house and out reach campaigns. t h ese materi als provide information on what family members can do to help someone who can go for screen ing and treatment. t he step-by step care guide will be useful for local government partners when they conduct outreach activities to promote Community-Based Drug r e habilitation (CBD r ) s er vices. t h ese materials are avail able in #Bawat Simula Facebook page and the CBD r p ortal (www. cbdr.org ).

Undersecretary Joseline n i w ane of the DSWD also an nounced a significant development in supporting the family. She announced the DSWD’s ini tiative in partnership with US a i D r e newHealth Project, the Yakap Bayan Program, supports recov ering persons and children who use drugs towards reintegration into families and communities, transforming them into produc tive members of their families and society.

t h e highlight of the event was the announcement of winners for the CBD r Commu-nity Champi ons Video Contest. L g U s across the country submitted their own take of the song, “a d hikain,” judged by Lalaine F. Divina of the Dangerous Drugs Board, and

Jules Sabile of the Department of Health.

Winning the Best Use of the r e n ewHealth’s SBCC m a terial was the City of Pasig. g e neral Santos City won Best Dance Choreog raphy and o v er-all Second r u n ner-up. First r u nner-up went to CSWD- o r o Citizen’s Wellness and Development Center of Cagayan de o r o. a n d winning the high est prize, the Champion of the CBD r C hampi-ons Video Contest was the m a nila a n ti-Drug a bu se o f fice- m a nila tr eatment and r e h abilitation Center. e n ding on a high note, US a i D r e newHealth also announced that official cho reography to the “a d hikain” song would be released to serve as an icebreaker in treatment sessions, allowing for easier community engagement.

to c lose the event, a s sistant Secretary m a ria Belen a n gelita m a tibag, Deputy e x ecutive Direc tor for o p erations of the Danger ous Drugs Board shared her senti ments. “We cannot promise it will be easy, but we will stand with them [PWUDs] in their journey to recovery and a better life.” She promised a more responsive envi ronment for those recovering, in full knowledge that the drug prob lem can only be addressed through concerted efforts of many fields of expertise towards a common goal. a s ec. m a tibag closed off her speech and the event with a state ment capturing the learnings of the day’s event—“ e v ery PWUD deserves a golden opportunity for a life that matters.”

TRACK

thai teen thitikul no. 1 in women’s world golf ranking

THAI teenager Atthaya Thitikul reached No. 1 in the women’s world ranking on Monday, the 16th player and second-youngest to get to the top since the ranking began in 2006.

Thitikul had a chance to reach No. 1 by winning any of her last three tournaments on the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour. Instead, the 19-year-old replaced Jin Young Ko of South Korea on a week in which she didn’t play.

Thitikul heads to the Toto Japan Classic to make her debut at No. 1.

“It is very special to get to the top but it is much harder to retain,” Thitikul said.

Her first full year on the LPGA Tour has been more consistent than superb. Thitikul has won twice—in California a week before the first major and in Arkansas—to go along with 12 other finishes in the top 10.

She ended last year at No. 19 in the world after a two-win season on the Ladies European Tour and took advantage of strong play and injuries at the top.

Nelly Korda, who started the year at No. 1, had surgery for a blood clot in her left arm and wound up missing four months.

Ko began her season by winning the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore and had been No. 1 since the end of January. But she is dealing with an injury in her left wrist that kept her out for two months, and then she withdrew in her return at the BMW Ladies Championship in South Korea.

That cleared the way for Thitikul, who has finished in the top 10 her last five starts.

CARLOS

By Josef Ramos

YULO positioned himself for medal contention in four events—including his favorite floor exercise and the all-events—in the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships Tuesday in Liverpool, England.

The two-time world champion Yulo was also on track to defending his gold in vault and improving on his parallel bars silver medal at last year’s Kitakyushu, but lost out in pommel horse, rings and horizontal bars in the event Liverpool is hosting at the the M&S Bank Arena.

Yulo, with his long-time Japanese coach

Munehiro Kugiyama keeping a close eye on his every move, tallied a remarkable 15.266 points in topping the men’s floor exercise qualification to advance to Saturday’s finals. He won gold in the event in Stuttgart 2019 that qualified him for the Tokyo Olympics.

Japan’s Doi Ryosuke scored 14.766 points and Kazakhstan’s Milad Karimi had 14.733 points to trail Yulo entering the finals. England’s Giarnini ReginiMoran (14.533) and China’s Zhang (14.500) Boheng were fourth and fifth, respectively.

Yulo wound up third overall in the all-around with 84.664 points with Japanese Wataru Tanigawa and Daiki Hashimoto finishing 1-2 on 84.731 and 84.665 points, respectively.

The country’s most bemedaled athlete in the last Hanoi Southeast Asian Games with five golds and two silvers missed topping the vault because of a .10 penalty that relegated him to second place.

He scored 14.849 points—he did 14.966 on his second try after a low 14.733. Had he evaded the error, he could have marched to the finals No. 1 with a 14.915 score.

Armenia’s Artur Daytan (14.900) topped the vault, followed by Romania’s Gabriel Bourtanete (14.466).

Yulo got a chance to better his silver medal finish in parallel bars by advancing to the finals at No. 4 with 15.300 points.

“It was a great performance by Caloy [Yulo]. He made it at third place in the men’s all-around, then reached the finals of floor [exercise], vault and parallel bars,” Gymnastics Association of the Philippines President Cynthia Carrion-Norton said. Yulo wound up 102nd in pommel horse with 11.766 points, but managed a spot as reserve in the rings with 14.066 points by finishing 10th. Yulo placed 31st in the horizontal bar with 13.533. Only the top eight gymnasts in each apparatus qualify for the finals.

The men’s all-around final is on Friday while the medal rounds for floor exercise is on Saturday and the vault and parallel bars on Sunday.

Thitikul is the fourth player to reach No. 1 without having won a major, joining Lydia Ko in 2015, Ai Miyazato in 2010 and Lorena Ochoa.

Lydia Ko remains the youngest to be No. 1, getting there for the first time at age 17.

Thitikul in 2017 became the youngest player to win a professional golf tournament at the Ladies European Thailand (LET) Championship when she was 14 years and four months. That was among her four LET victories.

She joins Sung Hyun Park as the only players to reach No. 1 during their rookie season on the LPGA Tour. Park had won 10 times on the Korea LPGA before coming to America.

Jin Young Ko has been No. 1 four times for a total of 152 weeks, leaving her seven weeks short of breaking the record for most weeks at No. 1 set by Ochoa from April 2007 until her surprise retirement three years later. AP

SAN BEDA University tries to solidify its hold of third spot as it plays Arellano University at the resumption Wednesday of the National Collegiate Athletic Association seniors basketball tournament at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.

The Red Lions hope to repeat their emphatic 96-61 win over the Chiefs in the first round in the duel set at 12 noon.

Resurgent Mapua, on the other hand, takes on Jose Rizal University (JRU) in the day’s other game at 3 p.m.

Coming off a 72-64 victory over Emilio Aguinaldo College a week ago, San Beda moved to No. 3 with a 7-4 win-loss record, as Lyceum of the Philippines University lost two straight to drop to fourth at 8-5 won-lost.

The Red Lions hold a one-game lead over the Heavy Bombers (5-4) in the race for the last Final Four slot.

As for the twice-to-beat bonus, San Beda has a lot of catching up to do as it trails defending champion Letran (10-3) by two games.

All the Red Lions are focusing right now is to remain in Final Four range.

With a 5-6 record, Arellano University is two games out of the last Final Four slot and cannot afford to drop more games from now on.

The Chiefs hope follow up their 77-63 conquest of the Pirates, a big morale booster in their bid to make it past the eliminations.

Having won four of the last five games, the Cardinals finally found their rhythm after eight straight defeats as coach Randy Alcantara is still hoping for the best in their bid to make the Final Four.

JRU’s momentum from a five-game winning streak was sorely affected by a long break from health and safety protocols as it lost to leagueleading College of Saint Benilde and San Sebastian to crash out of the top four.

TWENTY-THREE teams—all local government unit (LGU) based—are seeing action in the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) Champions League that kicks off this Saturday (November 5) and ends two Sundays later (November 13) at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.

“This year’s Champions League is all about the LGUs so we expect more exciting matches ahead,” said PNVF president Ramon “Tats” Suzara as he thanked Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Noli Eala for supporting the annual event that the PNVF started in 2021 in a bubble environment in Lipa City.

“It’s going to be a battle of pride for these LGUs. It’s going to be more competitive than last year,”

Suzara said. “This year’s tournament is also be part of the selection for the national teams next year.”

The 23 teams—15 men and eighth women— were drawn to their respective pools in a virtual proceeding supervised by PNVF Don Caringal on Sunday.

The men’s Pool A is composed of the PGJC Navy Sea Lions, Basilan-Tennun Spikers, Cignal HD Spikers, VNS-Quezon City Griffins and AIPUniversity of Baguio-Benguet Province Cardinals.

Pool B is made up of the Aklan Ati-Atihans, Imus City- AJAA Spikers, National University (NU)-Pasay City Bulldogs, One Bulacan Republicans and PikitNorth Cotabato AMC G Spikers.

In Pool C are the University of the East (UE)Cherrylume Red Warriors, Baguio City Highlanders, Bacolod City Tarags, Sta. Rosa City Lions and ArmyTaguig City Troopers.

In women’s action, Pool A is composed of the University of Batangas-Batangas City Lady Brahmans, ICC-Caloocan City Lady Bluehawks, KMS-Quezon City Lady Vikings and Imus City-AJAA Lady Spikers.

Pool B in the women’s side is made up of last year’s first runner-up CPS-Antipolo City, Davao City Lady Agilas, UE Manila-Cherrylume Lady Red Warriors and Tomodachi Bulacan Bulakenyas. Team Dasma (men) and F2 Logistics (women) won the last year’s Champions League inaugurals.

T

NT is in the spotlight not for winning a big game but by suspending its big time player.

It is a move not as common as rain. But seemingly, it is justified.

“He just doesn’t care,”said TNT manager Jojo Lastimosa of Mikey Williams. “He’s getting paid a lot of money and he’s not being a good teammate.”

Harsh words? Justified. You got the money you asked for. You behave. You act accordingly.

But no. Williams comes in late for practice. Williams skips practices. Williams goes AWOL (Absent With Out Leave).

He is one of TNT’s top scorers. One of the team’s best. He starred in TNT’s recent championship feat. He is blue chip, no doubt.

But basketball being a team game, Mikey Williams should knock it in his head that he has teammates to contend with. A team to love—unconditionally.

“He is just one of the total parts of the team,” said Lastimosa. “There’s no sacred cow in our team.”

The star guard with double-digit dimensions across his name was in the freezer when TNT absorbed a 91-88 loss to Phoenix in Sunday’s Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.

The win gave the Fuel Masters a crucial 5-3, win-loss card to stay close behind leaders Bay Area Dragons of Hong Kong (6-1) and the Magnolia Hotshots (5-1) while the moping Tropang Giga went down deeper in the standings.

TEAM LAKAY ruled the recent National Open Kickboxing Championships by snatching 14 gold medals to go along two silvers and three bronzes at the Music Hall of the Mall of Asia in Pasay City.

Hanoi Southeast Asian Games gold medalists Jean Claude Saclag and Gina Iniong Araos led the powerhouse Baguio City-based fight club’s campaign with Saclag, coming off a bout with typhoid, scoring a technical knockout win over Erexter Taligan of Nak Muay Thai to win gold in the men’s 63.5-kg low kick class.

Araos beat Zepania Ngaya, 2-1, in the low kick 60kg women’s event for another gold. Ngaya also fights out of Team Lakay handled by trainer Mark Sangiao.

Mixed martial artists Danny Kingad, Honorio

Banario, Jeremy Pacatiw and Jenelyn Olsim also bagged gold medals in the three-day competition organized by the Samahang Kickboxing ng Pilipinas headed by Senate President Francis Tolentino and Secretary General Wharton Chan.

Kingad whipped Nak Muay Camp’s Vhiko Alhado in the gold medal match of the men’s 63.5-kilogram full contact division while Olsim defeated fellow Baguio City native Carrol Panganiban also of Nak Muay Camp to rule the women’s 60-kg full-contact final.

Banario, a SEA Games bronze medalist in Vietnam, downed Dragon Knights Martial Arts’ Ejay Pestano to capture the men’s 71-kilogkgram low kick gold. Pacatiw outclassed King’s Sword ABKA Davao’s John

Galvan to take home the men’s 71-kg full contact title. Mary Carluen and Jerlyn Kingad clinched gold and silver, respectively, in the 56-kg group.

The other Team Lakay winners were Daryl Chulipas (men’s 51-kg full contact), Carlo Buminaang (men’s 67-kg full contact), Jomar Balangui (men’s 57-kg low kick), Carlos Alvarez (men’s 67-kg low kick), Claudine Veloso (women’s 52-kg low kick), Lecko Gammonac (men’s 57-kg kick light), and Emmanuel Cantores (men’s 63-kg kick light).

Estrada Donga-As (men’s 54-kg full contact), Ezra Saclag (men’s 57-kg full contact) and Urbano De La Pena (men’s 60-kilograkgm full contact) settled for bronze medals. Josef Ramos

“We decided to suspend him (Williams) for a week because it’s become multiple infractions already,” Lastimosa said. “He won’t even apologize to his teammates. That’s your first responsibility…to be a good teammate.”

The one-week suspension also included suspending his salaries.

I remember Mikey Williams being sort of a holdout when he made himself scarce to TNT while his contract was being reviewed.

One can be a good player and be an asset to a team. But if he turns out to be a jerk in the end, he’d just end up as a suicidal TNT albatross. One that will drag his teammates down to hellhole.

I hate seeing Mikey Williams head to wasteland. But he must reform his ways. Quick. He’s a talent worth keeping.

THAT’S IT The Los Angeles Lakers have finally snapped out of a losing streak in a horrific 0-5 start, beating Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets last Monday behind LeBron James (26 points), Anthony Davis (23) and Russell Westbrook (18). ... Happy birthday to balikbayan Jun Magturo from Los Angeles, CA.