BusinessMirror November 07, 2022 by BusinessMirror

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THREATS TO U.S. ELECTION SECURITY GROW MORE COMPLEX

‘Close borders, Omicron exposure Congresscut tackles budget, Ledac risk’ bills

By Cai U. Ordinario with their loved ones, while forwhich, she said, the economy can no for government to be proactive in By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz lar session on Monday, targetmittee chair Juan Edgardo final reading at least 16 to 18

eigners living in temperate regions longer afford. imposing them. ing to promptly pass its version Angara have all said the huge of the 30 Ledac measures beusually want to relax in tropical “It is better that we do protective Previous instances when the & Butch Fernandez of the P5.268-trillion 2023 damage wrought by storms, fore Congress goes on another LOSING the country’s borders countries like the Philippines. This preventive measures than get excountry had the opportunity to imGeneral Appropriations Bill especially tropical storm Paeng break starting December 17. is one of the most immediate year’s influx of OFWs is expected to posed again. We have a lot to lose,” pose travel restrictions did not preHE ratification of the that the House sent to it earlier. that caused over P3 billion, at “Of course, on top of our courses of action the governbe heavier since many of them were Oplas said. “We should do it now so vent the spread of Covid-19. That was P5.268-trillion national While various Senate comlast count, to the farm sector priority list is the final apment must take to prevent the latunable to come home for the holidays that we can open just before Christmainly because the decision was not budget for 2023 and the mittees have been holding alone, will be considered. proval or ratification of the est Covid-19 variant, Omicron, from in December 2020. mas. If it gets contained, we can open made immediately, he said. approval of 18 Legislative-Exhearing throughout the recess The Senate leadership is proposed P5.268-trillion nareaching Philippine shores, accord“My recommendation is to protect it again.” “Kung papatay patay [If we’re ecutive Development Advisory in order to have a first-pass of eyeing a final Senate-House tional budget. We will have a ing to local economists. the borders. Do not allow people with Ateneo Center for Economic Reslow] and we get caught flat-footCouncil (Ledac) priority bills various agency requirements, reconciled version of the GAB budget before the end of the T he new var iant is a threat, a history of travel to countries with search and Development (ACERD) ed, [that’s risky] We were too rewill be the top agenda of the lawmakers have signalled they before the Christmas recess to year,” Romualdez said. e s p e c i a l l y w it h t he hol id ay s positive cases to enter,” Oplas said. Associate Director Ser Percival active instead of proactive before. 19th Congress in the remaining will likely move to tweak some avert having the government “One of our main prioricoming up and more foreigners “We should be more restrictive. [We K. Peña-Reyes said closing the We should learn from that,” Peñadays of the year, Speaker Martin parts of the budget to make running on the old (2022) budties is the ratification of next being a llowed to travel to the have to be] more protective in terms country’s borders would be effecReyes said. “It’s a delicate balancing G. Romualdez said on Sunday. room for higher funding for get by January. year’s national budget to proPhilippines, De La Sa lle Univerof our measures.” tive but should still adhere to the act. We need to push testing and Romualdez made a statesectors and areas hard-hit According to Romualdez, vide social safety nets for the sit y economist Mar ia Ella Oplas Oplas said that while this will be standards set by the World Health tracing to be properly informed ment as the Congress will reby recent typhoons. On this the Congress timeline is to people and help them recover told BusinessMirror. a setback to some industries, this Organization (WHO). of our decisions. Blanket/shotgun sume its regular sessions this score, Senate President Miguel ratify the Marcos administrafrom the economic displaceThe holidays usually bring in is a fair measure considering that What is needed, Peña-Reyes told approaches could have dire conseMonday, November 7. Zubiri, Minority Leader Koko tion’s P5.268-trillion budget ment caused by Covid-19. Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) this could help prevent placing the this newspaper, is for travel restricquences on the economy.” Senators also resume reguPimentel and Finance Comfor 2023 and pass on third and See “Congress,” A2 who are eager to spend Christmas country in another strict lockdown, tions to be put in place swiftly and See “Omicron,” A2 @caiordinario

@joveemarie

Monday, November 29, 2021 Vol. 17 No.52 n Monday, November 7, 2022 Vol. 18 No. 26

NATL GOVT BORROWINGS NG’S SUBSIDIES TO GOCC FOR 10 MOS DIP TO P2.75T SHRINK 21.68% IN 9 MOS T S w w

By Bernadette D. Nicolas By Cai U. Ordinario @BNicolasBM

P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 20 pages | P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 24 pages |

Omicron risk spurs revival of quarantine rules in PHL

@caiordinario

UBSIDIES HE nationalextended by the national government to stategovernment’s gross firms contracted owned borrowings as of 21.68 percent between January and end-October shrank September this year, according to the by almost 6 percent Bureau of the year-on-year toTreasury (BTr). P2.75 trillion.

The data showed total subsidies extended by the national governLatest data from the Bureau of the ment declined to P114.25 billion Treasury showed that the governin the nine-month period this year ment’s gross borrowings during the from P145.88 billion in the same 10-month period fell by 5.99 percent period last year. from P2.92 trillion a year ago. However, BTr said subsidies exWith only two months left for tended by the national government this year, the latest figure is already more than doubled to P23.65 billion equivalent to 89.6 percent of its in September 2022 from P9.16 bilP3.07-trillion borrowing program. lion in September 2021. Broken down, gross domestic borBTr data showed Other Governrowings from January to October ment Corporations (OGCs) received settled at P2.23 trillion, down by 5.08 percent from P2.35 trillion in 2020. The bulk of the amount was sourced from Fixed Rate Treasury Bonds (P1.19 trillion), followed by short-term borrowings from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas or BSP (P540 RBAN poor Filipinos billion), Retail Treasury Bonds/Preliving in Metro Manila myo Bonds (P463.3 billion), Retail experienced the highest Onshore Dollar Bonds (P80.84 bilinflation nationwide, according lion). In the same period, there was to data released by the Philipalso a net redemption of Treasury pine Statistics Authority (PSA). Bills amounting to P43.94 billion. Data showed inflation among Net debt redemption means the poorest 30 percent in the Nathere were more debts repaid comtional Capital Region (NCR) saw pared to the amount borrowed durinflation soar to 9.1 percent in ing the period. October 2022. Meanwhile, gross foreign borInflation was the highest in rowings in the same period also transportation at 18.9 percent, contracted by 9.7 percent to P518.7 followed by restaurants and billion from last year’s P574.4 billion. miscellaneous goods and serThis was raised through global vices at 11 percent, as well as bonds (P146.17 billion), program the heavily weighted food and loans (P139.98 billion), euro-denon-alcoholic beverages index nominated bonds (P121.97 billion), at 10.5 percent. a project loan (P86.41 billion), and Under transportation, the yen-denominated samurai bonds operation of personal transport (P24.19 billion).

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

NTER NATIONA L concerns over the possible spread of the more infectious Omicron CoP66.33 billion in the January to vid-19 variant prompted the govSeptember period this year while ernment to reimpose mandatory Major Non-Financial Governfacility-based quarantine for all ment Corp. (MNFGC) amounted arriving passengers in the country. to P47.61 billion during the nineActing Presidential spokespermonth period. son Karlo B. Nograles announced Government Financial Instituon Sunday that the Inter-Agency tions only received P314 million Task Force for the Management worth of subsidies in the January of Emerging Infectious Diseases to September period. In the same (IATF) suspended the implemenperiod last year, GFIs received subtation of its Resolution No. 150sidies worth P824 million. A (s.2021), effectively imposing See “Subsidies,” A2 stricter protocols for all inbound travelers. To note, IATF Resolution 150A had allowed fully vaccinated PEOPLE walk past the mural of Gat Andres Bonifacio at Manila City Hall Underpass. non-visa travelers from Green List The country will celebrate the 158th birth anniversary of Filipino revolutionary areas to enter the country withhero Gat Andres Bonifacio on Tuesday, November 30. ROY DOMINGO out the need for facility-based as long as they secure equipment grew 22.9 percent ‘FUNDEMIC FOOD STREET’ The easing of pandemic restrictions paves the way for the return of night food stalls, such as the “Fundemic Food Street” atquarantine Barangay 484, Zone 48 on Cristobal Street negative Reverse Transcriptionwhile catering services under in Manila, where food stalls open every night from 6 to 12 midnight. ROY DOMINGO Polymerase Chain Reaction (RTrestaurants and miscellaneous PCR) test within 72 hours prior goods and services saw inflation to their departure. reach 7.3 percent. “Except for countries classified By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas dating its registry following the them. This allows everyone to see programs as President Duterte The increase in food inflaas ‘Red,’ the testing and quarantine @jearcalas enactment of the Coconut Farmwho are listed in the registry and if is expected to sign the industry tion experienced by the poorest protocols for all inbound internaers and Industry Trust Fund law. farmer doesn’t see his name then he development plan in early 2022. in NCR was 11.2 percent. Food By Andrea E. San Juan example, one of the products we’ve properly market and reach out what tal revenue of enterprises and the 99 tional travelers in all ports of entry ORE than 3 million Rosales explained that about shall coordinate with the PCA imRosales said the PCA will not items that saw high year-onbeen getting is a pure calamansi products should go to overseas Filipercent only contribute 30 percent of shall comply with the testing and coconut farmers and 500,000 coconut farmers and mediately,” he explained at a recent stop updating its list of coconut year increases in inflation were HE government should zero in without pulp and sugar, nobody’s pinos and what could possibly go to the total revenue of enterprises. quarantine protocols for ‘Yellow’ workers are now regisworkers were added to the PCA’s dialogue with coconut farmers. farmers and enjoined them to regsugar, jam, honey, chocolate and on the development and probeen highlighting it and so what mainstream markets.” This, Medina said, is a “very list countries,” Nograles said, citing tered with the government’s reg2018 list that had about 2.5 million “On the other hand, if people ister in order to reap the benefits confectionery at 54.9 percent. motion of Philippine export happens is that it doesn’t get to The head of the group of local exstrong and striking imbalance the provision of IATF Resolution istry, which serves as the basis coconut farmers and farm workers. would see names on the list and of the decades-long idled coconut This was followed by oils and products to be able to compete with where it should be,” Tomas B. Meport consolidators also stressed that with regard to the positioning No. 151-A. for the number of people to be The PCA’s next step is to conthey think they are not coconut levy fund. “We will not stop at 3.1 fats at 17.3 percent; meat, 10.7 other countries in the global arena, dina, president of PESPCA said at while the government says the micro, and sustainability of MSMEs.” He noted Hong Kong, which has covered by the utilization of the duct an exclusion-inclusion profarmers or their details are incormillion. We hope that more indipercent; corn, 10.5 percent; vegaccording to the Philippine Export the monthly food forum “Usapang small and medium-sized enterprises Medina also illustrated the confirmed a case of the Omicron P75-billion coconut levy fund. cedure by making the updated rect, they can report it to the PCA viduals will register in our coconut etables, 9.3 percent; and Other Service Providers and Consolidators Pagkain” organized by the Philip(MSMEs) make up 99 percent of tocritical role of export consolidavariant, will also fall under the YelPhilippine Coconut Authority farmers’ registry public, providfor immediate action,” he added. farmers registry,” he said. Cereals, Flour, Cereal PreparaAssociation, Inc. (PESPCA). pine Chamber of Agriculture and tal enterprises and only about a little tors in giving exposure to small low list countries. (PCA) Deputy Administrator Roel ing everyone the opportunity to The PCA official noted that The updating of the coconut tion, Bread, Pasta and Other “Most of the government agenFood Inc. (PCAFI) recently. over 2 percent are the large corporamerchants, noting that besides proThe suspension of the rules for M. Rosales said about 3.11 million check the veracity of the list, Rothe completion of the initial list farmers registry is mandated by Bakery Products as well as milk, cies now lack promotional efforts Medina stressed that the countions, statistics quoted in most of motion, the country needs to develop “Green List” countries will be in coconut farmers and farm worksales added. of coconut farmers registry would Republic Act (RA) 11524 or the cheese, and eggs at 8.1 percent. on our products. And so what haptry’s salesmen at the forefront of the trade data also state that the 2 new products to be on a par with other effect from November 28, 2021 to ers have been registered with the “The list will be posted in public be just in time for the expected Coconut Industry Trust Fund Act. Continued on A9 pens is that, even if somebody came government agencies “have not percent which are large enterprises countries in the global arena. December 15, 2021. government since it started upspaces where people can easily see rollout of coconut levy-funded See “3-M farmers,” A2 See “Govt,” A2 up with a very nice idea, say for learned their lessons on how to contribute actually 60 percent of to-

NCR’S URBAN POOR HARDEST HIT BY OCT INFLATION–PSA

See “Borrowings,” A2

OVER 3-M FARMERS LISTED FOR P75-B COCO LEVY FUND

Govt urged to invest in exports devt, promotions

Continued on A2

PESO EXCHANGE 0.3959 n UK n HKn7.4729 n CHINA 8.0357 7.9013 n SINGAPORE 41.2699 36.8968 n AUSTRALIA 36.8802 n36.2807 EU 57.2003 n KOREA n SAUDI ARABIA 15.6076 Source: BSP (November 2022) PESO EXCHANGERATES RATESnnUSUS58.6610 50.4600n JAPAN n JAPAN 0.4374 n 65.4950 UK 67.2329 HK 6.4722 n CHINA n SINGAPORE n AUSTRALIA n EU 56.57580.0412 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.4531 Source: BSP (November 26,4,2021)

News

BusinessMirror

A2 Monday, November 7, 2022

Revenge travelers unfazed by weak peso, bookings up By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo

@akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror

HE depreciated peso seems to be of no concern to revenge travelers, as outbound travel agencies rack up bookings to nearby Asean countries, North America, and Europe. This developed as Tokyo advised tourists to secure enough travel insurance to cover for any possible medical expenses while visiting Japan. Failure to pay hospitalization expenses will affect a tourist’s future application for a visa. In an interview with the BusinessMir ror, R itchie Tuaño, chairman and general manager at Asiareps Travel Services Inc., “The interest of most people to break the travel hiatus supersedes the concern on cost…based on the sheer number of outbound travels. The depreciating peso is even coupled with the higher airfare than usual due to the increased demand since not all airlines have returned to their seat capacity offerings, prepandemic.” He said Filipinos are traveling to Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. He noted, however, “The embassy of Korea in

Manila cannot cope with the demand for visas, and with Hong Kong still with restrictions, albeit relaxed, Singapore became the alternative.” He added these bookings represent a 100-percent increase in demand from last year, “and we have two months to go, so it’s a major turnaround, and a lot earlier than expected.” Most of Asiareps clients, Tuaño said, are families booking trips, individuals, and “a little of group of travelers” like friends.

Outbound travel expenses up 31%

DATA from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas showed outbound travel expenditures (i.e., travel imports) surged by some 31 percent to US1,979 million in the first half of the year, confirming that Filipinos are traveling and spending in the destinations of choice. The peso closed to an all-time

low of P59 to the dollar on October 3, but has since recovered to P58.55 on November 4. The local currency is trading stronger though at 0.3959 Japanese yen, and 0.0412 Korean won, which makes it an advantage for Filipinos traveling to Japan and South Korea. For her part, Michelle Thyland, president of the Philippine Travel Agencies Association shared, “The most popular destinations for Pinoys since borders reopened are Turkey, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, the United States, Canada, Australia, France and other European countries.” She also predicted Morocco as the next popular destination for Filipinos, after PTAA had a familiarization tour. “With Morocco’s unique arts, culture, and beauty, I am sure that it will attract many visitors,” she added, saying Filipinos don’t require a visa to visit there. “It’s also very affordable to most travelers.”

Insurance for Japan

MEANWHILE, in a news statement, the Japan Tourism Agency, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan advised tourists to adhere to “infection prevention measures” such as wearing of masks, disinfection of hands, and avoiding the “Three Cs (closed spaces, crowded places, close-contact settings).”

The agency also recommended that visitors purchase adequate medical insurance to cover hospitalizations, especially those due to Covid-19, as “there is a possibility that the medical expenses will be quite expensive.” It cited as examples that tourists may have to spend up to 6 million yen on surgery or hospitalization resulting from a heart attack, plus an additional 4 million yen to be transported back to one’s home country. “Foreigners who fail to pay medical expenses may not be permitted entry into Japan in the future,” warned JTA. Emergency and medical consultation hotlines for tourists in English are available at https://bit.ly/2S1T7hL According to an investigation by Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare, in October 2018 alone, “approximately 20 percent of Japanese hospitals that accepted foreign patients had experience of patients not paying fees. Furthermore, out of the 3,156 such cases, 23 percent of them involved foreign visitors. This finding then directly led to the Japanese government’s enforcement of stricter immigration screening of foreign visitors with history of failing to pay medical fees, in order to prevent recurrences, starting in May 2021.”

Govt...

Continued from A1

“I can put 20 small manufacturers in one container or even 50 and that would give them exposure at the very least to the overseas Filipino market which if we don’t serve, is being served by Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam. These three countries have copied the preferred profile of snacks and condiments that we are producing, at a more competitive price,” the head of the group of export consolidators stressed. “Now, given the situation that we have, these small enterprises being given the exposure through consolidation, another thing that we need to address is the development of new products for the market,” Medina added. Supermarkets both here and abroad offer the same products, he noted— from the granule-based seasoning, condiments, to the bottled nata de coco which is an ingredient for the Filipino dessert Halo-halo. “Imagine there is nothing that we have come up with when in fact Thailand has come up with canned rambutan, they have come up with canned nata de coco,” he added. He stressed, “If you don’t give exposure to our MSMEs, then there will be no more growth, no more new products coming out and the Philippines will have no future in the world arena insofar as product development is concerned.” With this, he urged the government to create policies to help and facilitate exports, including the elimination of the 12-percent valueadded tax (VAT) being imposed on indirect exports under the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) law. (Full story here: https://businessmirror. com.ph /2022/11 /0 4/pespcaigripes-over-12-vat-imposed-onindirect-exports/) Based on DTI’s proposed budget for 2023, there was a 35.20-percent (P1.226 billion) reduction for the MSMEs. A lawmaker also earlier questioned the reduced budgetary allocation for the development and assistance of MSMEs, noting that this contradicts the administration’s “bold pronouncements” to fully support small merchants. Despite a 10-percent cut in its budget, the Trade department said a month ago that it targets to raise earnings from exports of goods and services to $110 billion next year.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Subsidies...

Continued from A1

The National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation (NHMFC) was the only GFI included in the list and only received subsidies worth P205 million in June and P109 million in August. NHMFC also received P824 in June and P172 million in October. For OGCs, the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PHIC) received the highest amount of subsidies in the January to September period worth P44.924 billion. In September alone, the PHIC received P11.231 billion. A far second was the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) with subsidies worth P4.581 billion in the January to September period and P2.411 billion in September.

Among the MNFGCs, the BTr data showed the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) received the highest amount at P29.416 billion in January to September. In September alone the NIA received P2.663 billion in September. The second highest was the National Housing Authority (NHA) which received a total of P8.941 billion in the January to September period. However, it did not receive any subsidies in September and the last subsidy it received was in June, at P5.747 billion. In September, second to NIA, the government owned corporation that received the highest subsidies was the National Power Corporation (Napocor) with P1.319 billion during the period.

Congress...

Continued from A1

We will work harder for our economy to recover with agriculture as the major engine for growth and employment,” Romualdez said. He added that Congress will support the initiative of President Marcos to provide subsidies to the most vulnerable sectors to cushion the impact of global inflation. Earlier, President Marcos directed continued support to the most vulnerable sectors in the form of cash transfers and fuel discounts to mitigate the impact of rising inflation.

Confident

ROMUALDEZ also said he is confident that the House will approve 16 to 18 Common Legislative Agenda (CLA) listed by Ledac during its first meeting in Malacañang last October 10. “We will also speed up the passage of Ledac-priority bills, including the E-Governance Act and EGovernment Act, in response to the appeal of President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr.,” Romualdez said. Romualdez said most of the priority measures were mentioned by President Marcos in his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) in July and later adopted as the CLA of Ledac. Apart from the consolidation of E-Governance and E-Government Act bills, Romualdez said the rest of the 16 priority measures include: Medical Reserve Corps, Virology Institute of the Philippines, National Disease Prevention Management, Mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) and National Service Training Program, Amendments to the Bui ld- OperateTransfer Law, Condonation of Unpaid Amortization and Interests of Loans of Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries, Valuation Reform, Passive Income and Financial Intermediary Taxation Act (PIFITA), Internet Transaction Act, Government Financial Institutions Unified Initiatives to Distressed Enterprises for Economic Recovery (GUIDE), Department of Water Resources, The New Philippine Passport Act, Wasteto-Energy Bill, The Magna Carta of Barangay Health Workers, and National Government Rightsizing Program. The Speaker added that the House will likewise try to pass on the third and final reading before Christmas break the Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers and the Budget Modernization bills. At the first Ledac meeting convened by President Marcos, the 20-member council initially listed 32 priority measures to boost the country’s economy. Romualdez said some of the 32 measures have already been passed by Congress and signed into law by President Marcos, particularly Republic Act (R A) No. 11934 or the Subscr iber Identity Module (SIM) Registra-

tion Act and R A No. 11935 or the postponement of the 2022 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) from December 5, 2022, to October 30, 2023. The 11 other remaining CLA under Ledac are the Unified System of Separation, Retirement and Pension bill; National Land Use Act, National Defense Act, Enactment of an Enabling Law for the Natural Gas Industry, Amendments to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA), Establishment of Regional Specialty Hospitals, Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers, Establishing the Negros Island Region, The Apprenticeship Act, Providing Free Legal Assistance for Military and Uniformed Personnel, The Creation of the Leyte Ecological Industrial Zone, and The Creation of the Eastern Visayas Development Authority.

Senate timeline

SENATE President Juan Miguel Zubiri expects approval of the P5.268 trillion national budget by “the third week of this month.” He indicated their budget bill timetable can be met as Senator Angara is already poised to sponsor the Finance Committee report for prompt plenary approval of the annual money measure. He confirmed that upon the opening of the session on Monday, “we will go straight to the budget deliberations in the plenary.” The Senate leader also assured “there will be morning and afternoon sessions to finish the deliberations until the second and third reading approval of the proposed budget measure.” “With the hard work and commitment of all our fellow senators, we expect two weeks of marathon plenary deliberations, and hopefully we can have it approved on third reading in the Senate as early as the third week of November,” the Senate President projected. He gave assurances that the subcommittees “carefully combed over our agencies’ programs and spending” even after the Senate session adjourned last October 1 in order “to ensure that the 4.9-percent increase from this year’s budget is warranted, and is crucial to the country’s continued recovery from the pandemic.” At the same time, Zubiri added that “I am grateful to all our hardworking senators for ably steering their respective subcommittees, and for keeping us on track with our budget timeline. With everyone keeping the same work ethic and urgency to the plenary, we expect to spend about two weeks in marathon plenary deliberations, and we will hopefully be able to approve the budget as early as the third week of November,” projecting the latest time to get the budget approved by the bicameral conference committee is the second week of December, before the Congressional yearend recess.

The Nation BusinessMirror

A4 Monday, November 7, 2022 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

Lawmaker backs Marcos’s wish to overhaul Epira law By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie

SENIOR lawmaker “strongly” backed the proposal overhauling the 21-year-old Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira), as endorsed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., to slash electricity rates and attract energyrelated investments. Camarines Sur Rep. LRay Villafuerte said the Congress should pursue reforms to the Epira Law of 2001 (Republic Act 9136), including an amendment scrapping the rule that allows distribution utilities (DUs) to enjoy a monopoly over electricity supply in their respective franchise areas. DUs are corporations, electric cooperatives, state-run utilities or local government units (LGUs) that have exclusive franchises to operate and maintain electricity distribution systems. “The 1987 Charter prohibits any monopoly or exclusive right in franchises,” said Villafuerte, the president of the National Unity Party (NUP), which backed Marcos’s bid for the presidency. “The Epira Law of 2001 should thus be amended to make this Constitutional prohibition clear so that competing DUs could be allowed to do business in areas currently serviced solely by franchisees,” he added. “This way, consumers will have the power of choice as to which service provider to get, based on which one offers more stable, bet-

ter and cheaper services.” Villafuerte issued this statement as he welcomed a decision reached by the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (Ledac) during its first meeting convened by Marcos last September to give priority to amending the Epira when the Congress resumes session this Monday after its month-long break. During his visit to Bacolod City, the President batted anew for amending the Epira after local officials had informed him of their plan to enter into a joint venture (JV) with solar power generation companies so they could tap renewable energy (RE) sources in slashing electricity rates for the benefit of consumers. Given that the Epira prohibits power generators from selling electricity directly to consumers, the President suggested to Bacolod officials for the city government to get an opinion from the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) on this matter.

Eight reforms

WITH the President himself backing changes to RA 9136, Villafuerte said the Congress should pursue eight reforms, topped by amending Epira, “to foster genuine market competition” that, in turn, “would clear the way to more affordable electricity for consumers and a lot more investments by the private sector.” “Such reforms would enable the Marcos administration to achieve after over two decades the lofty goals of the Epira Law to nurture true mar-

ket competition, ensure reliable and affordable electricity for consumers, attract more FDIs (foreign direct investments) and check market abuse,” Villafuerte said. The lawmaker added he believes the country needs “to rid this market of monopolistic structures, particularly in the power distribution level, that have hindered true competition and prevented consumers from gaining access to industry players that offer better services and cheaper electricity.” Second, to ensure that electricity consumers are neither overcharged nor held hostage to sudden rate adjustments that unduly pad their monthly bills, Villafuerte said the DOE should consider negotiating for long-term power supply agreements (PSAs) with fixed electricity rates in lieu of the current government practice of approving “floating” PSA contracts that are adjusted from time to time, based on unpredictable factors such as fluctuating foreign exchange rates and global oil prices. He said that in relation to this, a third reform is for the DOE to introduce a long-term forward market where the entire industry could bid for long-term forward contracts for the entire national power grid. Fourth, the DOE should also consider dumping its current policy of approving individual contracts in favor of approving the entire load profile per contractor in which the PSA itemizes how much of the entire electricity load for a franchise area

comes from their baseload, intermediate or mid-merit and peaking plants, he said. Fifth, the DOE, together with the Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC), should strive to increase the share of natural gas in our national power mix to ensure a more stable power supply through diversification. Sixth, he said, the DOE should put a premium on developing indigenous renewable energy (RE) sources like geothermal power, and Distributed Energy Resources (DERs), which are small-scale units that generate 3 kilowatts to 50 megawatts of generally lower-cost power and operate locally but are connected to larger power grids of DUs. Seventh, he said, the DOE works with other stakeholders in reviewing the bidding process for energy exploration contracts, and looks into the proposal of experts for the government to greenlight non-exclusive deals for the cash-intensive exploration of oil, LNG and other energy sources. Eight, Villafuerte said the DOE should mull over reforms in the ERC, with an eye to restructuring its archaic procedures that make filing rate cases a long and arduous process. “The DOE should encourage greater and genuine competition at the distribution level by doing away with the current monopolistic structure arising from an Epira provision on captive markets that prevents DUs from doing business in a particular franchise area already serviced by another DU,” he said.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

CA affirms illegal detention case Vhong filed against Lee By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

OMEDIAN and television host Ferdinand “Vhong” H. Navarro scored against businessman Cedric Lee after the Court of Appeals (CA) denied Lee’s motion seeking the dismissal of the serious illegal detention for ransom case filed against him by Navarro. In a 12-page decision penned by Associate Justice Angelene Mary W. Quimpo-Sale, the CA’s Seventeenth Division affirmed the 2019 order issued by the Regional Trial Court of Taguig City denying Lee’s motion to dismiss the case. Lee filed a motion to dismiss after the trial court denied his demurrer to evidence in its order issued on May 27, 2019. The trial court denied the motion to dismiss after finding that it is essentially a second demurrer to evidence that cannot be entertained and that the Rules of Court does not provide for a remedy of a motion to dismiss. It can be recalled that Lee and six others, namely Deniece Cornejo, Bernice Cua Lee, Simeon Palma Raz Jr., Jose Paolo Gregorio A. Calma, Sajed Fernandez Abuhijleh and Ferdinand Guerrero were charged with serious illegal detention under Article 267 of the Revised Penal Code by Navarro in connection with the January 22, 2014 incident that took place inside the condominium unit of Cornejo in Bonifacio Global City where Navarro was accused by the latter of raping her and committing acts of lasciviousness. Navarro denied Cornejo’s accusations and claimed that he was illegally detained by Lee’s group by means of threat and intimidation with the use of firearms. He said that during his deten-

tion, Lee’s group mauled him and threatened to kill him if he would not pay P200,000; this was later increased to P2 million. Navarro said he agreed to pay the amount of P1 million to secure his release. On July 21, 2022, the CA’s Special Fourteenth Division has issued a rulingdirectingtheDepartmentofJustice (DOJ) to revive the rape case and acts of lasciviousnesschargesagainstNavarro. The CA reversed and set aside the 2018 and 2020 resolutions of the DOJ dismissing the complaint filed by Cornejo in 2014. As an offshoot of the CA’s ruling, the DOJ filed the criminal charges against Navarro before the trial courts in Taguig. On September 19, 2022, Taguig Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 116 Presiding Judge Angela Francesa Din issued a resolution finding probable cause to put Navarro on trial for acts of lasciviousness and ordered Navarro to post a bail of P36,000 for his temporary release. On the same day, Taguig RTC Branch 69 Presiding Judge Loralie Cruz-Datahan issued an arrest warrant against Navarro for the rape case; a non-bailable offense. Navarro is currently detained at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI). In junking Lee’s motion to dismiss, the CA said the petition failed to substantiate his claim that the trial court committed grave abuse of direction in denying his motion. “Petitioner, in his motion to dismiss before the trial court also argued that even assuming the information is complete, the case must still be dismissed or failure of the prosecution to prove all the elements of the crime charged,” the CA noted.

Govt lists 3,000 illegal builds Davao Light’s underground cabling targets historic R. Magsaysay Ave. in Region 4A protected areas By Manuel Cayon

By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

HE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is targeting some 3,000 illegal structures and occupants in Protected Areas (PA) within Region 4A. DENR Calabarzon Regional Executive Director Nilo B. Tamoria told the BusinessMirror that most of these illegal structures were constructed without securing necessary permits from the DENR and should be dismantled to pave the way for massive reforestation in these so-called “areas set aside for conservation.” Last Wednesday, the DENR led regional officials and representatives from the Department of the Interior and Local Government, Philippine National Police, Department of Public Works and Highways, National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, Army, National Bureau of Investigation and local government units in issuing “show cause” orders for structures along the Marilaque (Marikina-Rizal-Laguna, Quezon) Highway, demanding an explanation or justification from their owners or occupants for the existence of their facilities within a PA. A total of 239 show cause orders were issued so far. These are broken down as follows: Rizal, 106; Laguna, 55; and, Quezon, 78. “Once we saturated the serving of the show-cause orders in the areas within the 80-meters buffer from the centerline of both sides of the highway, we will again sit down with different agencies, assess and target other areas (interior) moving outward the national highway,” Tamoria said. Residential and medium rise buildings, resorts and even swine farm or poultry farm, he said, are covered by the saturation drive. “All the structures will be covered. Other bigger structures will be covered eventually when we go outward. Most of those covered

last Wednesday were small-scale to medium-sized and big business establishments and residential. This is because we focused on the 80 meters on both sides of the road,” he said, referring to the Marilaque Highway. The highway traverses all the way from Marikina to Antipolo, Rizal, and several towns in Laguna and Quezon. According to Tamoria, the Marilaque Highway straddles in three PAs, namely the Upper Marikina River Basin Protected Landscape (UMRBPL), the Kaliwa River Forest Reserve by virtue of Presidential Proclamation 1636. As for the structures within the Masungi Georeserve, he said some of the illegal structures within the area covered by the controversial memorandum of agreement (MOA) signed by former DENR Secretary Regina Paz L. Lopez and the Masungi Georeserve Foundation Inc. led by Ben Dumaliang that assigned close to 3,000 hectares to Masungi Georeserve, have already been covered by show cause orders in the past. As for the Masungi Georeserve itself, which is lacking a Special Use Agreement in Protected Area (Sapa) as mandated by environmental laws, the DENR Central Office has yet to come up with a decision of its ongoing assessment and review of the legality of the MOA. Tamoria said the DENR’s approach in the case of Masungi Georeserve is a review of the MOA. However, he said, in Filipino, that other structures inside the 2017 MOA were covered with showcause orders. The DENR Calabarzon had earlier recommended the cancellation of the MOA and to enforce the National Integrated Protected Areas System Act covering all PAs in the Calabarzon and called on all legal occupants to secure Sapa from the DENR as mandated by Department Order 2007-17 and subsequent amendatory orders.

@awimailbox Mindanao Bureau Chief

AVAOCITY—HistoricRamon Magsaysay Avenue is next in line in ridding the city’s major thoroughfares of unsightly overhead electrical and cable wires. Claveria Street and part of San Pedro Street fronting City Hall and Sangguniang Panlungsod were the first to be free of those tangled and dangling wires in the Underground Cabling project of the Aboitiz-owned Davao Light and Power Co. (Davao Light). “Nearing completion of the electrical works of the underground cabling activities at San Pedro Street, Davao Light, an Aboitiz Power Corp. subsidiary, targets R. Magsaysay Avenue in Davao City to be wire-free next,” the company said in a statement. The first part of the underground cabling project along R. Magsaysay covers the Philippine Post Office up to the corner of Suazo Street. Additionally, the civil works of Davao Light were now 23.5 percent complete, the company said. It said civil works include the excavation and installation of conduits and manholes to lay the pipes where the primary

MEN work on a portion of San Pedro Street fronting City Hall and Sangguniang Panlungsod in Davao City where Davao Light and Power Co. are installing underground cables. MANUEL T. CAYON

lines would go through. R, Magsaysay Ave. was among the network of main streets of the city which proceeds from the Santa Ana Wharf, then the main seaport here. The street connects to Claveria Street, now replaced with the name Claro M, Recto Street, and San Pedro Street. R. Magsaysay was previously called Uyanguren Street. Both Uyanguren and Claveria were the names of Spanish military officers sent to strengthen the foothold of Spanish colonizers more than 300 years ago. Davao Light engineers have made

innovation of the manholes that originally took four to six weeks to be constructed and installed at the site. Installing them now would only take 48 hours using pre-fabricated manholes, it said. The innovation aims to lessen the timeframe of the closure of roads due to construction. “The pre-fabricated manhole is Davao Light’s innovation to minimize public inconvenience and [the cost and timeframe] of the project implementation. We construct the manhole, where the primary lines will go through, in a separate, con-

trolled area and then deliver them to the site for construction to make the process considerably faster,” said Leonardo Remulta III, the project lead of Davao Light for the R. Magsaysay Avenue area. The civil works on the first part of the R. Magsaysay area were expected to be completed by the first quarter of next year. After that, the electrical works would commence and would be completed by the first quarter of 2024. “We thank everyone for their continued support and understanding while we conduct our underground cabling activities at night to mitigate the possible heavy traffic in the area,” said Chad Ramos, head of Davao Light Power Systems Design Department (PSDD). The underground cabling plan of the city government was pushed through City Ordinance 0152-17 (series of 2017) that mandates all telecommunication companies and Davao Light to convert overhead lines to an underground system. “The completion of the project hopes to make the city more attractive to investors and tourists as only a few cities are implementing the underground cabling project in the Philippines,” the Davao Light said.

Jinggoy presses for Senate probe on cholera outbreak in regions

EN. Jose Pimentel “Jinggoy” E. Estrada Jr. is pressing for an urgent Senate inquiry into the reports on alarming outbreak of cholera in many parts of the Philippine islands. Estrada cited a recent report by the Department of Health (DOH) recording “a total of 3,729 rising cases since January this year, a 282-percent increase from the number of cases during the same period last year. “At least 33 individuals have already died from the disease this year and children aged five to nine were most affected by cholera,” the senator said. Estrada suggested that “more than ascertaining the whys and the

wherefores, the situation strongly calls for a review of existing policies to prevent and mitigate the outbreak of the disease.” This the lawmaker stated in the explanatory note of his proposed Senate Resolution 266 paving the way for an inquiry. The lawmaker lamented what he saw as “a disease of inequity, disproportionately affecting the poorest and most vulnerable sectors.” He cited a recent Global Task Force on Cholera Control reporting that deaths due to the disease are preventable with today’s arsenal of tools as it can be controlled with a multi-sector approach through the provision of basic water, sanitation

and hygiene services and oral cholera vaccines. At this time, he stressed “there is a need to protect the population, especially the children and the underprivileged, against this debilitating yet preventable illness through a coordinated approach among governments. The senator suggests “the existing policies and programs on sanitation and immunization must be reviewed in order to enhance emergency response mechanisms and preventive measure against the transmission of the disease and to promote public health.” He notes that DOH data shows an upsurge in cholera cases in the

country, from 976 cases recorded in January to October last year to 3,729 during the same period this year, with most of the cases reported from Eastern Visayas, Davao Region and Caraga. Central Luzon, Western Visayas and Eastern Visayas surpassed the epidemic threshold levels for cholera during the past 10 months. Cholera, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), is an extremely virulent disease caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium vibrio cholerae and it can cause severe acute watery diarrhea affecting both children and adults and can kill within hour left untreated. Butch Fernandez

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Davao del Norte beefs up construction equipment By Manuel T. Cayon

in the province. The new pick-up trucks were given to the board members and various offices of the Provincial Capitol to facilitate delivery of more services to the barangays. “There is no reason why we cannot deliver better services,” Jubahib said. In June this year, the province received the delivery of seven 19-seater van-type lightweight trucks and 27

4x4 rescue pick-up trucks, where some were distributed to improve the response capabilities of the local government units (LGUs) of the province. The purchase was through a bank loan and funds from the Local Government Empowerment Program of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG). The latter was facilitated by first District Congressman Pantaleon Alvarez.

Philexport celebrates 30th anniversary as export advocate, partner of MSMEs

Civil Service Commission vows Asean cooperation marked by ‘significance’

@awimailbox Mindanao Bureau Chief

AVAO CITY—The provincial government of Davao del Norte beefed up its fleet of construction equipment and vehicles after purchasing P265-million worth of vehicles and heavy equipment. Governor Edwin I. Jubahib said the

HE Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport) marked its 30th anniversary recently with a celebration of its long and colorful story as a partner of micro-scale, small-scale and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and a champion of exports. Philexport President Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis Jr. led the umbrella organization of ex porters on October 28 in celebrating “the small and major victories that we have achieved together in the last three decades.” Since its inception in 1992, Philexport has been in relentless pursuit of export growth, propelled by a vision of catalyzing nation building through its support and protection of MSMEs and exporters. In his welcome remarks at the celebratory event, Ortiz-Luis Jr.

new equipment and vehicles would boost service delivery and build vital infrastructures to maximize growth potential of the province. “With the acquisition, the province is set to bring more services to the barangays, accelerate infrastructure development and enhance disaster preparedness for effective response,” Jubahib added. The new fleet of vehicles and

said that “either at the level of the organization or at the industry, totoo pong may dugo at pawis na puhunan sa patuloy nating pakikibaka [it is true that there is blood and sweat invested in our ongoing struggle] to uplift our people’s lives through exports.” Among the key accomplishments he mentioned is the group’s part in the monumental passage in 1994 of the Export Development Act (EDA), which led to the creation of the Export Development Council (EDC) and the National Competitiveness Council (NCC). Ortiz-Luis noted that the EDA— also known as Republic Act (RA) 7844 or “An Act to Develop Exports as a Key Towards the Achievement of the National Goals towards the Years 2000”—set in motion the advocacies and programs that led to the crafting of the Philippine Export Development Plan (PEDP),

heavy equipment include two heavyduty rescue vehicles with crane, five heavy-duty rescue vehicles, one crawler hydraulic excavator, one crawler long-arm excavator, two wheel-type excavators, two bulldozers, two dump trucks, two 16-ft fuel tankers and two 4-wheel drive pick-up trucks. “We aim to deliver more services, build more infrastructures and improve disaster response to satisfy the

ORTIZ-LUIS

the country’s roadmap to export growth; the issuance of the Magna Carta for MSMEs, the landmark legislation mandating development and nurture of the Filipino entrepreneurial spirit; and, the implementation of export promotion and support funds. The law also paved the way for the streamlining of export procedures and requirements;

basic needs of our people,” Jubahib said, as he viewed the 21 service and rescue vehicles and heavy equipment on Thursday. He said the vehicles and heavy equipment would open up more roads and infrastructures. The excavators would assist the dredging machines in the on-going desilting operation of major rivers and tributaries to address perennial flooding

opening and expansion of market access; liberalization of key economic sectors such as banking, telecommunication, retail and franchising; and, institutionalization of trade facilitation policies and laws. Looking ahead, Ortiz-Luis sees a tough road filled with serious challenges and gaps that have to be addressed to improve and sustain local exports. “And as proven in this pandemic, we do not have control of everything. Indeed, we have a long way to go to achieve our dream of becoming the next industrialized economy,” the Philexport president said. The Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict in particular combine to present a challenging and volatile environment for hard-pressed exporters and MSMEs. The trade associa-

tion must firmly lead its members through the uncertain postpandemic world and the changing export landscape, which are forcing a sharp departure from past strategies for export expansion and development. But the organization believes the worst of the crisis is over, thanks to stirring signs of economic recovery. The rela xation of quarantine measures in some countries, the gradual reopening of businesses, and the resumption of production suggest that the export sector is slowly getting back on its feet. “Philexport reiterates and renews its commitment to be an advocate and facilitator of positive developments for the industry, the organization and the country. We have the next 30 years and more to show fruits of this promise,” OrtizLuis concluded.

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie

OOPERATION with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in advancing personnel administration in the Philippines is to have “significance,” the Civil Service Commission (CSC) vowed. CSC Chairman Karlo Alexei B. Nograles issued the statement following the International Conference on Human Resource Management in the Public Sector by the Asean Conference on Civil Service Matters (ACCSM) Plus Three in Korea. “As we continue to face similar challenges, it is comforting to know that we are not alone in our struggle and that we have a network of people and organizations that can help us in our own efforts to find solutions,” Nograles said.

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DA banks on fertilizer vouchers to hike rice yield By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie

HE expanded implementation of the fertilizer discount voucher project under the National Rice Program is expected to fast-track efforts to expand rice production, the Palace said on Sunday. The Palace made a statement after the Department of Agriculture (DA) issued the updated guidelines on the implementation of a fertilizer discount voucher project. Under amended Memorandum Order (MO) 65 signed last October 17, the Palace said the project will cover regions that planted inbred and hybrid rice seeds except for the National Capital Region and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. MO 65 said the project will enable rice farmers to supplement the requirement for urea fertilizer for their rice production. It also seeks to stabilize the rice supply situation in the country despite challenges in the price of commercial fertilizers. Through the project, it said the agency will provide fertilizer vouch-

A FARMER in Central Luzon plants rice in this BusinessMirror file photo.

ers to eligible beneficiaries which will be used in acquiring urea fertilizers in a bid to cushion the potential impacts of “under application of urea fertilizer [on] palay production and ultimately food security.” Meanwhile, the DA, which is also headed by President Marcos, said the

use of fertilizer vouchers offers an alternative to farmers to buy a sufficient volume of urea recommended for their rice fields. The DA said a supplemental fund sourced from an unprogrammed regular agency fund, over and above the 2022 General Appropriations Act

(GAA) budget has been released to enable rice farmers to meet the recommended urea fertilizer “thereby, securing rice production in the country.” The fund, the DA said, will be used by beneficiaries as a discount on the retail price of urea fertilizers. The activity aims to ensure the

timely availability of the needed fertilizer for rice production in the targeted areas through the distribution of fertilizer vouchers, the DA said. The 2022 wet season implementation is funded under the 2022 GAA while the 2022-2023 dry season implementation will be funded under the 2022 GAA and the unprogrammed funds. For the 2022-2023 dry season, the project aims to enable rice farmers to supplement the requirement for urea fertilizer for their rice production; to attain the target yield of 4.22 metric tons per hectare of palay for 2023; and to stabilize domestic rice supply. In determining the voucher value per cropping season, the DA said, the amount or fund source is divided into the number of hectares to be served under the project as a complement to the inbred and hybrid seed distribution program of the rice program. For 2022 wet season cropping, the fertilizer vouchers will be used by the farmer-beneficiaries to claim the inorganic fertilizers, organic fertilizers, foliar fertilizers, biological fertilizers or biological stimulants at accredited merchants.

The discount voucher will have a value equivalent to P1,131 per hectare for inbred, and P2,262 per hectare for hybrid. The DA noted that discount vouchers are for one-time use only and may be claimed at any accredited fertilizer merchants in the preferred area of the farmer-beneficiaries. For the 2022-2023 dry cropping season, the discount voucher value will be computed based on the rice farm area. According to the latest data from the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA), the average price of urea (prilled) and urea (granular) per 50-kilogram bag as of October 28 reached P2,523.68 and P2,490.35, respectively. President Marcos earlier met with the officials of Chen Yi Agventures to discuss measures aimed at helping farmers who are affected by the increasing prices of fertilizers. “Ang hakbang na ito ay bahagi ng ating pakikipag-ugnayan sa pribadong sektor upang marinig ang boses ng mga kabilang sa ating sektor ng agrikultura. Kaugnay nito, isasailalim natin sa masusing pag-aaral ang mga naging suhestiyon ng nasabing kumpanya,” he said.

Camiguin agrarian reform beneficiaries get electronic land titles By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

HE Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) distributed electronic land titles or e-titles to 30 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in Camiguin Island. DAR Secretary Conrado M. Estrella III led the distribution of e-titles,

which cover 17 hectares of agricultural lands in different municipalities of Camiguin and were distributed under the Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling (SPLIT) project of the agency. Camiguin is the smallest province in the Philippines in terms of both land area and population, next to Batanes.

In his brief speech during the ceremony held last week, Estrella said the SPLIT project intends to fast-track the land subdivision or parcelization of collective certificates of land ownership award (CCLOAs) of about 1.3 million hectares of land nationwide. “The SPLIT project was funded by the World Bank so that the CCLOA could be parceled to issue individual

‘Failure to control sugar prices to kill industries, cut revenue’

continued from a16

“Is there a sugar shortage among our industrial users, yes or no? And how much is the shortfall? So that the administration can make a decision that works for both industry and farmers based on that matter,” he said. “Otherwise, industrial users are going to have to find a way to get their sugar, one way or another. They will either manufacture abroad, or smuggle sugar here. Either way, we’ll see jobs killed,” he said. Meanwhile, Salceda clarified that his proposal to allow the importation of some 400,000 MT should cover the end of SO2 until the harvest season in 2023. “Likewise, my proposal to raise revenues from imports is NOT out of tariffs, but out of auction fees—could be as much as P30/kilo, which will

still result in prices that are lower by as much as 33 percent from domestic retail prices,” he said. According to the lawmaker, sugar is now the commodity with the highest inflation rate—34 percent— among all commodities in the CPI. “Sugar prices in the world market—P24/kilo according to the Intercontinental Exchange—are as much as 1/4 the price of domestic retail sugar. Even if sugar in the Philippines were enough—and long-term figures indicate that we have a structural deficit of around 200,000 MT—our domestic industries are still constrained from growing due to high domestic sugar prices,” he added. “High sugar prices constrain us from having a big food export sector. Sugar is a major input in everything from dried mangoes to canned pine-

apples,” he said. The lawmaker said industrial users have as little as 4 to 7 days of inventories, and manufacturing plants are at risk of closing down due to lack of available domestic sugar. “Moving forward, the national conversation must go beyond whether there is enough sugar to meet our demands. Domestic availability is a limiting constraint, and unless we are able to lower sugar prices, our food manufacturing sector will stagnate if not decline,” he said. “Food manufacturers will get the sugar they need, one way or another. If they can’t get it here, they will either smuggle sugar or they will ship jobs abroad by setting up plants there. That is already the case with many of our homegrown brands,” he added.

titles. We will release individual etitles. The purpose of this is to protect and affirm the property rights of our ARBs,” Estrella said. “When we see our name on the land title, we know that it is legally and completely ours. To God be the glory, the DAR blessed me with this piece of land,” farmer Grace Guibao said after receiving her e-title.

Estrella also urged the beneficiaries to do their part in improving their respective farmlands and elevating their economic lives. “We promise to give you support services like farm machines, access to credit, and various training to help you sustain the gains that you reap from this land that is now legally yours,” Estrella said.

Kazel Celeste, DAR Undersecretary for field operations, said they are in close coordination with the Registry of Deeds and Land Registration Authority for the smooth processing of issuance of e-titles. “This is a milestone for the farmer-beneficiaries, particularly in strengthening their land tenure security.”

Copper has best day since 2009 as metals rocket on dollar drop

OPPER soared by the most since 2009 as optimism about a relaxation in China’s Covid policies and a steep decline in the dollar set off a scorching run-up across industrial metals markets already facing tight supply. Copper c losed 7.1 percent higher on the London Metal Exchange, while zinc rose 5.7 percent and aluminum rallied 4 percent. Mining equities also jumped, with Anglo American Plc surging 11 percent. A slumping dollar boosts purchasing power for commodities consumers in countries like China, where the yuan saw its biggest rally since 2005. Metals have been caught for months in a push-pull between the soaring dollar and global economic gloom, on the one hand, and chronic supply constraints that have gripped markets including

copper and zinc, creating the risk of whipsawing rallies if demand conditions improve. Still, the strong US currency and macroeconomic pressures from rising interest rates to the debt crisis in China’s property sector and Europe’s energy crunch have kept prices under pressure for months—even after Friday’s surge, copper is only at the highest since mid-September. This week, sentiment toward China shifted rapidly as a flurry of market-friendly headlines—along with unverified talk that China is poised to exit its strict Covid Zero policy—helped unleash a sharp rally in Chinese equity markets. Adding fuel to Friday’s rally on the LME, the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index earlier plunged by the most since March 2020 in the wake of US data showing a rise in new jobs, but an increase in the overall un-

employment rate. Copper rose as high as $8,121 a ton, before closing at $8,099 a ton, in the biggest daily gain since January 2009. Protests at MMG Ltd.’s giant Las Bambas mine in Peru also stoked concerns about supply, after the company said it’s been progressively halting operations since Oct. 31 due to blockades at the mine. “Despite the recent announcement by MMG that it plans to double copper production from all its operations by 2025, recurrent and ongoing disruptions from indigenous communities at Las Bambas have resulted in around 18 months of outages over the last six years,” Colin Hamilton, managing director for commodity research at BMO Capital Markets, said in an emailed note. Bloomberg News

Across Asia, bikers greet COP27’s NCR’s urban poor hardest hit by opening in Egypt Oct inflation–PSA continued from a16

continued from a1

Other items in the Consumer Price Index for the bottom 30 percent that saw double-digit increases were preprimary and Primary Education at 14.9 percent; Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels, 13.8 percent; and Tobacco at 10.9 percent. “The Marcos administration also needs to give much more attention to addressing chronic vulnerabilities rooted in underdeveloped agriculture and domestic industry rather than being trapped in old ways of thinking and not doing everything to relieve the Filipino people’s mounting distress,” Ibon Foundation Inc. said.

Government efforts

RESEARCH group Ibon said the Marcos administration can address high inflation and help millions of Filipinos cope with rising prices if it wanted to.

The group thinks that the people may find little relief and may be worse off should the government stick to its weak response of hiking interest rates and limiting subsidies. “Raising interest rates may reduce aggregate demand and inflationary pressures but can also dampen economic activity, depress jobs and reduce household incomes further,” Ibon said in a statement. Prices can be immediately lowered by suspending or removing consumption taxes such as value-added tax (VAT) and oil excise taxes, Ibon added. Revenue losses from this may partially be made up for by any increased economic activity. It added that revenue losses from scrapping consumption taxes can even be more directly addressed with higher taxes on high-income families, large

corporations and billionaire wealth. Additionally, considering that a large part of inflation is from food, Ibon said the government can also help lower prices with increased production, marketing and logistics support for rural producers. On the demand side, Ibon said wage hikes can be a start to support families’ purchasing power, which has eroded so much after pandemic lockdowns and incessant oil and other price hikes. “Large and medium firms are likely to afford this while small and micro enterprises can be assisted by the government with wage subsidies,” Ibon said. Substantial emergency cash or ayuda for the poorest 19-20 million families will also improve household welfare, spur economic activity and help give the supply-side measures more traction, the think tank continued. Cai U. Ordinario

“This 100-billion climate finance goal is miniscule, considering that the estimated climate finance needed between now and 2030 is at least $11 trillion. But rich countries are not even fulfilling their promise of this ridiculously low amount. They are spending several times more on subsidies for fossil fuels,” said Nacpil. “They are also refusing to provide climate finance to cover loss and damage to lives, infrastructure, ecosystems and economies,” she said. The COPs are the biggest and most important annual climate-related conferences. This year marks the 27th annual summit, or COP27. Countries agreed at last year’s summit to deliver stronger commitments this year, including updated national plans with more ambitious targets. However, only 23 out of 193 countries have submitted their plans to the UN so far.

This year’s summit will also see negotiations regarding some points that remained inconclusive after COP26 in Glasgow, including “loss and damage” financing. Atty. Aaron Pedrosa, speaking for the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ), said the usual inaction, deception and tactics by governments of the Global North to avoid their climate finance obligations are “serious travesties of justice and outright violations of human rights at this time of intensifying climate impacts.” “The lack of progress in climate pledges has put us on the pathway to climate catastrophe. We have very little time left to address climate change and save humanity and the planet,” added Pedrosa. This is the fourth Pedal for People and Planet event this year. The first was held on April 24 in 9 countries,

the second was held on June 5 in 11 countries, and the third on October 2 in 8 countries. In the Philippines, bike actions were held in 10 cities and provinces with routes that included sites of proposed coal and LNG plants. The biggest event was held in Metro Manila with more than 2,500 bikers riding 15 kilometers from Quezon City to Manila to Quezon City, including 500 bikers riding 27 kilometers from Bulacan BP to join the bike action. The event was organized by APMDD with Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ), Sanlakas, Oriang, 350.org Pilipinas, Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC), The Climate Reality Project Philippines, Oxfam Philippines, Greenpeace Pilipinas, Caritas Philippines, The Firefly Brigade, Siklistang Pilipino, Galas Bikers Club and Aniban ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura.

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Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries

Php30,000 - Php59,999

ANGSAER, JUMAHALI

Basic Qualification:

Chinese Customer Service Representative

Must be able to fluently speak, write and read Mandarin and other local dialects spoken in other parts of China like Cantonese and Fukien.

November 07, 2022 NOTICE OF FILING OF APPLICATION/S FOR ALIEN EMPLOYMENT PERMIT/S (AEP/S) Notice is hereby given that the following companies/employers have filed with this Regional Office application/s for Alien Employment Permit/s: NO. 1

ESTABLISHMENT CYBER POWER SYSTEMS MANUFACTURING INC. Unit A&B, Lot 6, Block 1, Phase II, Golden Gate Business Park, Buenavista II, City of General Trias, Cavite

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL, POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION LIU, ZHENGYUN

Basic Qualification:

Technical Advisor

College Graduate; with experience in manufacturing

CYBER POWER SYSTEMS MANUFACTURING INC. Unit A&B, Lot 6, Block 1, Phase II, Golden Gate Business Park, Buenavista II, City of General Trias, Cavite

HYS METAL PLASTIC AND ELECTRONICS (PHILIPPINES) INC. Amplefield SME Park, J.P. Rizal Ave., Lima Technology Center, Bugtong na Pulo, City of Lipa, Batangas

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Island Cove II, Covelandia Road, Pulvorista, Kawit, Cavite

Brief Job Description: Provide technical advice as well as expertise to systems development technical project groups.

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

Salary Range:

Php30,000 - Php59,999

YUAN, ZHIHAO

Basic Qualification:

Technical Advisor

College Graduate; with experience in manufacturing

Island Cove II, Covelandia Road, Pulvorista, Kawit, Cavite

Brief Job Description: Provide technical advice as well as expertise to systems development technical project groups.

Salary Range:

MAKIHATA, MASAMICHI

Basic Qualification:

Sales Consultant

Have worked in manufacturing company and have some technical skills

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP.

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Island Cove II, Covelandia Road, Pulvorista, Kawit, Cavite

Php30,000 - Php59,999

Brief Job Description:

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP.

Plan and coordinate production engineering processes on daily basis to produce high quality products

Salary Range:

Island Cove II, Covelandia Road, Pulvorista, Kawit, Cavite

AUNG THURA

Basic Qualification:

Burmese Customer Service Representative

Able to speak, read and write Chinese language

Php90,000 - Php149,999

Brief Job Description:

Salary Range:

Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries

Php30,000 - Php59,999

KWAE CHAN

Basic Qualification:

Burmese Customer Service Representative

Able to speak, read and write Chinese language

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. Southwoods Office Tower 2, San Francisco, Biñan, City of Biñan, Laguna

Brief Job Description: Field incoming help requests from end users from the People’s Republic of China via both telephone and work orders in a courteous manner 16

Brief Job Description:

Salary Range:

Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries

Php30,000 - Php59,999

DI, HAOKUN

Basic Qualification:

Chinese Customer Service Representative

Able to speak, read and write Chinese language

Brief Job Description:

Salary Range:

Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries

Php30,000 - Php59,999

FU, GAN

Basic Qualification:

Chinese Customer Service Representative

Able to speak, read and write Chinese language

Brief Job Description:

Salary Range:

Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries

Php30,000 - Php59,999

JIA, ZHIWEI

Basic Qualification:

Chinese Customer Service Representative

Able to speak, read and write Chinese language

Brief Job Description:

Salary Range:

Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries

Php30,000 - Php59,999

LIAO, YOUZHI

Basic Qualification:

Chinese Customer Service Representative

Able to speak, read and write Chinese language

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. Southwoods Office Tower 2, San Francisco, Biñan, City of Biñan, Laguna

Basic Qualification:

Chinese Customer Service Representative

Must be able to fluently speak, write and read Mandarin and other local dialects spoken in other parts of China like Cantonese and Fukien.

Filed incoming help requests from end users from the Peoples Republic of China via both telephone and work orders in a courteous manner consistent with Chinese standards.

Salary Range:

GAO, WENZHI

Basic Qualification:

Chinese Customer Service Representative

Must be able to fluently speak, write and read Mandarin and other local dialects spoken in other parts of China like Cantonese and Fukien.

Brief Job Description:

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. Southwoods Office Tower 2, San Francisco, Biñan, City of Biñan, Laguna

Salary Range:

JIANG, BO

Basic Qualification:

Chinese Customer Service Representative

Must be able to fluently speak, write and read Mandarin and other local dialects spoken in other parts of China like Cantonese and Fukien.

Salary Range:

Manage incoming calls and customer service inquiries

Php30,000 - Php59,999

Filed incoming help requests from end users from the Peoples Republic of China via both telephone and work orders in a courteous manner consistent with Chinese standards.

Salary Range:

KIM, JUHO

Basic Qualification:

Chinese Customer Service Representative

Must be able to fluently speak, write and read Mandarin and other local dialects spoken in other parts of China like Cantonese and Fukien.

Brief Job Description: Brief Job Description:

Php30,000 - Php59,999

Filed incoming help requests from end users from the Peoples Republic of China via both telephone and work orders in a courteous manner consistent with Chinese standards.

Brief Job Description:

Php30,000 - Php59,999

CHI, WEI

Brief Job Description:

Salary Range:

Filed incoming help requests from end users from the Peoples Republic of China via both telephone and work orders in a courteous manner consistent with Chinese standards.

Php30,000 - Php59,999

Salary Range: Php30,000 - Php59,999

The World

Editor: Angel R. Calso

BusinessMirror

Monday, November 7, 2022 A11

Pope tells Bahrain youths to seek real advice from parent, not Google

Pope Francis arrives to celebrate mass at the Bahrain National Stadium in Riffa, Bahrain on Saturday, November 5, 2022. Pope Francis is making the November 3-6 visit to participate in a governmentsponsored 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. AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino

By Nicole Winfield The Associated Press

ANAMA, Bahrain—Pope Francis shifted gears Saturday in his visit to Bahrain to minister to the Gulf’s Catholic community, presiding over a huge open-air Mass and then meeting with young people to give them a bit of fatherly advice: Don’t just Google your questions about life decisions, he told them. Instead, find a parent, teacher or grandparent who can offer guidance. After focusing on relations between Catholics and Muslims the first two days of his four-day visit to the tiny kingdom, Francis on Saturday was treated to the multiethnic diversity of the Gulf region’s Catholic community. It’s made up mostly of South Asian migrant workers who often leave behind their families to work in construction, oil extraction, domestic and service industries. An estimated 30,000 people, some traveling from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other Gulf countries, packed the Bahrain national stadium for Francis’ big Mass. The English-language liturgy was clearly geared toward the foreign workers, with popular English hymns and prayers in Malay, Tagalog and Tamil and a priest offering English translations of the pope’s native Spanish homily. “This is actually a very huge honor,” said Bijoy Joseph, an Indian living in Saudi Arabia who attended. “This is like a bless-

ing for us to be part of our Holy Father’s papal Mass in Bahrain.” Francis is on the first-ever papal visit to Bahrain, a Sunniled island kingdom the size of New York City that lies off the coast of Saudi Arabia. The primary aim was to participate in a government-sponsored interfaith conference to promote Catholic-Muslim dialogue. But for the final two days, he focused on ministering to the Catholic community, a minority in the country of around 1.5 million. In his homily at the stadium, Francis urged the Catholic faithful to do good “even when evil is done to us.” “There will be cases of friction, moments of tension, conflicts and opposing viewpoints, but those who follow the Prince of Peace must always strive for peace. And peace cannot be restored if a harsh word is answered with an even harsher one,” he said. “No, we need to ‘disarm,’ to shatter the chains

of evil, to break the spiral of violence, and to put an end to resentment, complaints and self-pity.” After the Mass, Francis met with several hundred young people at the Sacred Heart school, which dates from the 1940s and is affiliated with the church of the same name that was the first Catholic church built in the Gulf. The school boasts more than 1,200 students and faculty from 29 different nationalities and a variety of faith groups, including Muslims studying alongside Christians. Teen-age girls in saris danced for him, alumni offered testimonies and students offered words or wishes to him in over a dozen languages. Francis urged them to forge a future where such friendly interfaith relations remain the norm. And then he offered some personal advice, saying he too was once an adolescent and never made a big decision alone. “Before you go to the Internet for advice, always seek out good counselors in life, wise and reliable people who can guide and help you,” he said, listing parents, grandparents or a spiritual guide. And then revisiting an exhortation from one of his first meetings with young people as pope, Francis urged the students to always keep adults on their toes. “We need your creativity, your dreams and your courage, your charm and your smiles, your contagious joy and that touch of craziness that you can bring to every situation,” he said. Such craziness, he said, “helps to break us out of our stale habits and repetitive ways of looking at things.” Francis wraps up his visit Sunday meeting with priests and nuns at the Sacred Heart church.

India’s move to slash sugar export quota seen tightening world supply By Pratik Parija & Atul Prakash

ndia sharply reduced its sugar export quota for 20222023, potentially worsening the global market outlook already strained by supply hiccups in top shipper Brazil. The South Asian nation asked the millers to sell 6 million tons in the overseas market by May 31, according to a food ministry notification, indicating it may still permit more shipments through October 2023. The quota for 2021-2022 totaled 11.2 million tons. The move comes at a time when the world is already thirsty for supplies, with Brazil witnessing excessive rains and delays in

sugar cane crushing. Raw sugar in New York have jumped more than 6% since late October, and could strengthen further following the announcement by India that vies with Brazil as the top producer. Bloomberg News reported on Monday that India was considering allowing exports of 6 million tons in a first tranche, and another about 3 million in a second, based on the pace of production. Shipments from the South Asian nation used to be unregulated, but the country imposed limits last year to ensure sufficient local supply after output concerns. The government has extended the curbs until October next year. However, the re-

strictions don’t apply to sales to the EU and the US under some quotas. Production in India is forecast at 35.5 million tons this year, according to the Indian Sugar Mills Association. The country counts Indonesia, Bangladesh, Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates among its customers. India is also the world’s biggest consumer of sugar. Indian sugar mills have already contracted to export as much as 2.2 million tons, said Rahil Shaikh, managing director of Meir Commodities India Pvt., which traded about 500,000 tons of sugar in the domestic and overseas markets in the 2021-2022 season. Bloomberg News

A12 Monday, November 7, 2022

The World BusinessMirror

Deadly tornadoes level out houses in Texas, Oklahoma By Jake Bleiberg & Ken Miller The Associated Press

DABEL, Okla.—Residents in southeastern Oklahoma and northeastern Texas began assessing weather damage Saturday, working to recover and thankful to have survived after a storm stretching from Dallas to northwest Arkansas spawned tornadoes and produced flash flooding, killing at least two people, injuring others and leaving homes and buildings in ruins. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt went to the town of Idabel to see the damage. He said on social media that all the homes had been searched and a 90-year-old man was killed. Keli Cain, spokesperson for the state’s Department of Emergency Management, said the man’s body was found at his home in the Pickens area of McCurtain County, about 36 miles (58 kilometers) north of Idabel. Morris County, Texas, Judge Doug Reeder said in a social media post that one person died as a result of a tornado in the far northeastern Texas County, offering no other details. Reeder and other county officials did not immediately return phone calls for additional comment. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol also reported a 6-year-old girl drowned and a 43-year-old man was missing after their vehicle was swept by water off a bridge near Stilwell, about 135 miles (217 kilometers) north of Idabel. The drowning has not been officially attributed to the storm and will be investigated by the medical examiner, Cain said. Saturday afternoon Stitt declared a state of emergency for McCurtain County, where Idabel is located, and neighboring Bryan, Choctaw and LeFlore counties. The declaration is a step in qualifying for federal assistance and funding and clears the way for state agencies to make disaster-recovery related purchases without limits on bidding requirements. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said damage assessments and recovery efforts are under way in northeast

Texas and encouraged residents to report damage to the Texas Division of Emergency Management. “I have deployed all available resources to help respond and recover,” Abbott said in a statement. “I thank all of our hardworking state and local emergency management personnel for their swift response.” National Weather Service meteorologist Robert Darby in Tulsa said the far-reaching storm produced heavy rain in the Stilwell area at the time, around 4 inches (10.16 centimeters). Idabel, a rural town of about 7,000 at the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains, saw extensive damage, Cain said. “There are well over 100 homes and businesses damaged from minor damage to totally destroyed,” Cain said. Trinity Baptist Church in Idabel was preparing to complete a new building when the storm ripped apart their sanctuary and flattened the shell of the new structure next door, according to Pastor Don Myer. The 250-member congregation was to vote after the Sunday service on whether to move ahead with the final work to complete the building, Myer told The Associated Press. “But we didn’t get to that. Every vote counts and we had one vote trump us all,” Myer, 67, said. “We were right on the verge of that. That’s how close we were.” Myer said the congregation is going to pray on what happened, see how much their insurance covers and work to rebuild. On Saturday morning, a few members of the church took an American

Najib’s son to make run for state seat in Malaysia election debut By Kok Leong Chan

ohamad Nizar Najib, the eldest son of jailed former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, will contest for a state seat in this month’s election as he seeks to continue his family’s political legacy. Nizar, 44, will contest for the Peramu Jaya seat under the Pekan federal constituency, according to the Election Commission. He is among more than two-dozen new candidates that the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition picked for the Pahang state poll that will be held alongside the Nov. 19 national vote. Speculation was rife that Nizar would contest the parliamentary seat of Pekan, which his family had won in almost every election since Malaysia’s independence in 1957. Nizar replaces incumbent

Peramu Jaya assemblyman Sheikh Mohamed Puzi Sheikh Ali, who will instead stand in the Pekan parliamentary seat. Najib is serving a 12-year prison sentence for his role in the multibillion-dollar 1MDB scandal. He has applied for a royal pardon, but remains on trial in four other cases, each carrying prison terms and hefty financial penalties. Campaigning for Malaysia’s general election kicked off Saturday, with the ruling Barisan Nasional alliance seeking to strengthen its position following a run of successful local polls. Nearly 1,000 candidates submitted nomination papers, according to the Election Commission. More than 21 million Malaysians will cast ballots for 222 parliament seats and pick representatives for the states of Pahang, Perak and Perlis. Bloomberg News

Logan Johnson, 11, carries a sign that reads “Thankful” after he recovered it from his family’s destroyed home after a tornado hit in Powderly, Texas on Saturday, November 5, 2022. AP Photo/LM Otero

flag that had been blown over in the storm and stood it upright amid the wreckage of the original church building. Shelbie Villalpando, 27, of Powderly, Texas, said she was eating dinner with her family Friday when tornado sirens prompted them to congregate first in their rented home’s hallways, then with her children, aged 5, 10 and 14, in the bathtub. “Within two minutes of getting them in the bathtub, we had to lay over the kids because everything started going crazy,” Villalpando said. “I’ve never been so terrified,” she said. “I could hear glass breaking and things shattering around, but whenever I got out of the bathroom, my heart and my stomach sank because I have kids and it could have been much worse.... What if our bathroom had caved in just like everything else? We wouldn’t be here.” Terimaine Davis and his son were huddled in the bathtub until just before the tornado barreled through Friday, reducing their home in Powderly to a roofless, sagging heap. “We left like five minutes before the tornado actually hit,” Davis, 33, told The Associated Press. “Me and my son were in the house in the tub and that was about the only thing left standing.” In their driveway Saturday morning, a child’s car seat leaned against a dented, grey Chevrolet sedan with several windows blown out. Around back, his wife, Lori Davis, handed Terimaine a basket of toiletries from inside the wreckage of their house.

The couple and the three kids who live with them did not have renter’s insurance, Lori Davis said, and none of their furniture survived. “We’re going to have to start from scratch,” she said. They hope to stay with family until they can find a place to live. “The next few days look like rough times,” Terimaine Davis said. Judge Brandon Bell, the highest elected official in Lamar County where Powderly is located, declared a disaster in that area. Bell’s declaration said at least twodozen people were injured across the county. Powderly is about 45 miles (72 kilometers) west of Idabel and about 120 miles (193 kilometers) northeast of Dallas and both are near the Texas-Oklahoma border. The National Weather Service in Fort Worth confirmed three tornadoes—in Lamar, Henderson and Hopkins counties—Friday night as a line of storms dropped rain and sporadic hail on the DallasFort Worth area and continued to push eastward. The weather service’s office in Shreveport, Louisiana, said it was assessing the damage in Oklahoma. Weather service meteorologist Bianca Garcia in Fort Worth said while peak severe weather season typically is in the spring, tornadoes occasionally develop in October, November, December and even January. “It’s not very common,” Garcia said, “but it does happen across our region.” Miller reported from Oklahoma City. Adam Kealoha Causey in Dallas contributed to this report.

S. Korea miners lived on coffee, water while trapped in shaft By Hyung-Jin Kim The Associated Press

EOUL, South Korea—Two South Korean miners who were rescued after being trapped underground for nine days said they had lived on instant coffee powder and water falling from the ceiling of a collapsed shaft. The two men, aged 62 and 56, were pulled out to safety on Friday night from a collapsed shaft at a zinc mine in the southeastern town of Bonghwa. They had been stranded there after a heap of earth fell inside the shaft on Oct. 26. Bang Jong-hyo, a doctor who treated the miners at a local hospital, told reporters Saturday that both men were in fairly good condition though they initially said they were suffering hypothermia and muscle pains. He said the two were expected to be released from the hospital within days.

Bang said the two miners told him they shared 30 sticks of instant coffee while trapped underground. The two also drank water running inside the shaft and made a fire to survive, South Korea’s emergency office said in a statement. Local media said the water fell from the shaft’s celling. President Yoon Suk Yeol called their rescue “miracle-like” and “touching.” Yoon sent a senior presidential official to the miners to convey letters wishing for their quick recovery and unspecified gifts. In the letters, Yoon was quoted as saying the miners have given “new hope to the Republic of South Korea, which has been stricken by grief,” his office said Sunday, in an apparent reference to a harrowing Halloween crowd surge in Seoul that killed 156 people last weekend.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Power blackouts hit Ukraine amid heavy Russian shelling By Andrew Meldrum The Associated Press

YIV, Ukraine—Ukraine’s state electricity operator on Saturday announced blackouts in Kyiv and seven other regions of the country in the aftermath of Russia’s devastating strikes on energy infrastructure. The move comes as Russian forces continue to pound Ukrainian cities and villages with missiles and drones, inflicting damage on power plants, water supplies and other civilian targets, in a grinding war that is nearing its ninemonth mark. Russia has denied that the drones it has used in Ukraine came from Iran, but the Islamic Republic’s foreign minister on Saturday for the first time acknowledged supplying Moscow with “a limited number” of drones before the invasion. Hossein Amirabdollahian claimed, however, that Tehran didn’t know if its drones were used against Ukraine and stated Iran’s commitment to stopping the conflict. Ukrenergo, the sole operator of Ukraine’s high-voltage transmission lines, initially said in a an online statement Saturday that scheduled blackouts will take place in the capital and the greater Kyiv region, as well as several regions around it—Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Zhytomyr, Sumy, Poltava and Kharkiv. Later in the day, however, the company released an update saying that scheduled outages for a specific number of hours aren’t enough and instead there will be emergency outages, which could last an indefinite amount of time. Ukraine has been grappling with power outages and the disruption of water supplies since Russia started unleashing massive barrages of missile and drone strikes on the country’s energy infrastructure last month. Moscow has said those came in response to what it alleged were Ukrainian attacks on Crimea, the region that Russia illegally annexed in 2014. Ukraine has denied those allegations. According to Ukraine’s presi-

dential office, at least three civilians were killed and eight others were wounded over the past 24 hours by Russian shelling of nine Ukrainian regions, where drones, missiles and heavy artillery were used. In the Russian-occupied Kherson region, where a Ukrainian counteroffensive is underway, the Russian military continue to abduct local residents, the presidential office said. About 40 shells were fired overnight at the city of Nikopol, Dnipropetrovsk Gov. Valentyn Reznichenko said on Telegram. The Russian forces targeted the city and the areas around it with heavy artillery, as they have done repeatedly since July. Two fires broke out, and more than a dozen residential and utility buildings, as well as a gas pipeline, were damaged, he said. Elsewhere in the region, Ukrainian forces shot down a drone and another projectile, according to Reznichenko. In the southern Mykolaiv region, the overnight shelling of rural areas damaged several houses but didn’t cause any casualties, Mykolaiv Gov. Vitali Kim said on Telegram. Russian forces also fired missiles at the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, which has been illegally annexed by Moscow and large parts of it remain occupied. According to regional Gov. Oleksandr Starukh, the attack took place shortly after midnight and damaged three businesses, as well as a number of cars. In the eastern Donetsk region, also annexed and partially occupied by Russia, eight Ukrainian cities and villages were shelled, including Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Porkovsk. Russian-installed authorities in Donetsk reported an attempt on the life of a Moscow-appointed judge of the region’s Supreme Court. Alexander Nikulin, who was on a judicial panel that in June sentenced to death two Britons and a Moroccan fighting for Ukraine, has been hospitalized with gunshot wounds and is in grave condition, Kremlin-backed officials said.

Singapore PM says political succession to coincide with vote By Harry Suhartono & Philip J. Heijmans

ingapore’s planned political succession that would see Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong become the country’s next leader will coincide with general elections due by 2025, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Sunday. “Comrades, the next GE is going to coincide with Singapore’s political succession,” he said during a gathering of the ruling People’s Action Party, referring to the general election. Party members are voting for a new central executive committee at the event. “We will be tested on all fronts domestically as well as abroad,” Lee said. “I have no doubt our neighbors will be watching closely whether Singaporeans continue to support the government. Whether Singapore will continue to function and to succeed the way it has been doing.” While it remains unclear whether the ruling party will seek a fresh mandate through early elections or if Lee, 70, plans to lead them, he said the PAP would keep on working at succession and leadership renewal of the so-called fourth generation of party cadres. Lee previously said he would hand the reins to Wong, 49, once he is ready. The party vote comes at a time as the PAP seeks to strengthen its hand

after its worst showing in the 2020 election. Prime minister-in-waiting Wong warned his ruling party on Sunday it shouldn’t take winning the next election for granted, despite having held power since the city state’s independence in 1965. Wong said the opposition will be stronger at the next election, and reminded delegates that their challengers had won more seats and votes in recent contests. “While we put up good candidates and fight to win every seat, we have to be prepared that we will not win all of them and nor can we assume that we’ll form the next government,” Wong said at the party’s congress. “Whether it happens before or in 2025, we already know it’ll be a tough battle.” Wong said the government wants to tilt its “policies further in favor of the less fortunate and vulnerable,” as many in the wealthy city state battle rising prices. The low inflation and interest rates of the past few decades have come to an end, said Wong, who is also the country’s finance minister. He also warned the free flow of goods and investments that Singapore has grown accustomed to in recent decades is set to shift, if not reverse, with the emergence of a new “cold war” between the US and China, which “will be more dangerous than the first cold war.” Bloomberg News

www.businessmirror.com.ph

The World BusinessMirror

Ahead of COP27, African climate activists speak out By Wanjohi Kabukru The Associated Press

INDHOEK, Namibia—Young climate activists from African nations have high demands but low expectations for the UN climate conference which begins Sunday in the Egyptian coastal resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. Observers and organizers of the COP27 summit have made much of its location, branding the conference as an “African COP” where the positions of African countries on issues like finance for adapting to climate change or moving to renewable energy sources will be central to the talks. Activists hope that’s true. “For COP27 to be the ‘African COP’, the needs, voices, and priorities of the African people need to be reflected in the outcome of the negotiations,” Kenyan climate activist Elizabeth Wathuti told The Associated Press. “COP27 is a chance to bring justice to the most impacted countries through global solidarity and cooperation.” Analysts point to sticking points between richer and poorer nations, such as questions around whether vulnerable countries should receive compensation for climate-related catastrophes, known as “loss and damage” in climate negotiations, as hindering progress at previous summits. Some youth activists, like Wathuti, say that the continent should be looking to rich nations for massive emissions cuts and for compensation for loss and damage caused by climate catastrophes. Africa is responsible for only 3% to 4% of global emissions despite having 17% of the world’s population but it is more vulnerable than most places as many people, especially those outside urban centers, are less able to adapt. “Financial delivery is fundamental to enable the development of Africa,” Wathuti said. “The African population is growing rapidly and securing energy for people will be crucial to combat poverty and create opportunities for a higher quality of life.” Others say African countries need to look inward, as developed nations have failed to keep their promises. Hounaidat Abdouroihamane, an activist from the Comoros Islands said Africa should stop relying on developed countries for funding. “Why should we beg the polluters for answers and money when we know so

well they will not provide it and if they do, it will be in the form of a loan?” asked Abdouroihamane, adding the continent should “put in adaptation measures that are easy and less costly to implement” such as better management of water resources and reforesting and restoring land. Developed nations have already failed to fulfill pledges on climate change funding, including a $100 billion-a-year pledge that is two years past its deadline and hasn’t yet been fulfilled. Wathuti said that the negotiations should be about “accountability” and hoped the conference will address the “delivery of promises made but not met.” Ugandan activist Vanessa Nakate agreed that financing from developed countries was central for the continent to achieve its aims. “The $100 billion promised is no longer enough. There needs to be additional finance,” Nakate told the AP, adding there needs to be a separate fund for loss and damage. 116 million people in Africa’s coastal states and islands face sea-level risks and by 2050 African nations are projected to spend $50 billion annually on climaterelated impacts, the U.N. weather agency said. “We know what needs to be done about climate change. But what we lack is political will to actually do something,” said Nakate, adding that vulnerable communities direly need funds to help prepare for climate-related disasters. Wathuti, Nakate and Abdouroihamane are part of a growing number of young people in Africa and around the world who have been running grassroots projects in their respective countries and call on national and international governments to do more on climate change and biodiversity loss. Abdouroihamane is actively involved in waste management projects, Nakate spearheads the installation of clean cookstoves and solar panels in schools in her native Uganda, and Wathuti leads a forest restoration project in Kenya. Although activists have long been part of the conversation, many feel that they are not listened to. Increasingly, climate campaigners particularly in Europe have started taking drastic measures to make their arguments heard, including throwing food at famous paintings or gluing themselves to roads to a mixed reception.

Kosovo’s ethnic Serb police, lawmakers resign en masse By Zenel Zhinipotoku & Llazar Semini The Associated Press

RISTINA, Kosovo— Representatives of the ethnic Serb minority in Kosovo on Saturday resigned from their posts in protest over the dismissal of a police officer who did not follow the government’s decision on vehicle license plates.

Earlier this week Pristina authorities dismissed a senior Serb police officer in northern Kosovo, where most of the ethnic Serbs live, who refused to respect the decision to change vehicle license plates in Kosovo to ones issued by Kosovo. The shift has ignited volatile issues about Kosovo’s sovereignty, especially among its Serb minority, many of whom still want the former Serb province to be part of Serbia and not independent. Serbia itself has never recognized the independence of Kosovo. As the measure came into effect Tuesday, Kosovo authorities said enforcement would be gradual. In three weeks Pristina authorities will be issuing warnings to the ethnic Serbs who keep their old license plates. For the next two months they will be fined, and the next three months they can drive only with replaced temporary local plates. Ethnic Serbs have a government minister, 10 parliamentarians and other top posts in governing, police and judiciary in their four local communities. All resigned and senior police officers symbolically took off their uniforms Saturday. The effect of the mass resignation was unclear.

Twitter users can soon get blue check for $7.99 monthly fee By Barbara Ortutay The Associated Press

Anyone being able to get the blue check could lead to confusion and the rise of disinformation ahead of Tuesday’s elections, but Musk tweeted Saturday in response to a question about the risk of impostors impersonating verified profiles—such as politicians and election officials—that “Twitter will suspend the account attempting impersonation and keep the money!” “So if scammers want to do this a million times, that’s just a whole bunch of free money,” he said. But many fear widespread layoffs that began Friday could gut the guardrails of content moderation and verification on the social platform that public agencies, election boards, police departments and news outlets use to keep people reliably informed. The change will end Twitter’s current verification system, which was launched in 2009 to prevent impersonations of high-profile accounts such as celebrities and politicians. Twitter now has about 423,000 verified accounts, many of them rank-and-file journalists from around the globe that the company verified regardless of how many followers they had. Experts have raised grave concerns about upending the platform’s verification system that, while not perfect, has helped Twitter’s 238 million daily users

determine whether accounts they get information from are authentic. Current verified accounts include celebrities, athletes and influencers, along with government agencies and politicians worldwide, journalists and news outlets, activists, businesses and brands, and Musk himself. “He knows the blue check has value, and he’s trying to exploit it quickly,” said Jennifer Grygiel, a social media expert and associate professor of communications at Syracuse University. “He needs to earn the trust of the people before he can sell them anything. Why would you buy a car from a salesman that you know has essentially proved to be chaotic?” The update Twitter made to the iOS version of its app does not mention verification as part of the new blue check system. So far, the update is not available on Android devices. Musk, who had earlier said he wants to “verify all humans” on Twitter, has floated that public figures would be identified in ways other than the blue check. Currently, for instance, government officials are identified with text under names stating they are posting from an official government account. President Joe Biden’s @POTUS account, for example, says in gray letters it belongs to a “United States government official.”

US military hits al-Shabab extremists in Somalia

of Cadale in the Middle Shabelle region. Cadale is 220 kilometers (137 miles) north of the capital, Mogadishu. The US statement says al-Shabab fighters had been attacking Somali military forces. It says the initial assessment is that no civilians were killed. The US has carried out dozens of drone strikes against extremists in Somalia in recent years.

AN FR ANCISCO—Twitter has announced a subscription service for $7.99 a month that includes a blue check now given only to verified accounts as new owner Elon Musk works to overhaul the platform’s verification system just ahead of US midterm elections. In an update to Apple iOS devices available in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK, Twitter said users who “sign up now” for the new “Twitter Blue with verification” can receive the blue check next to their names “ just like the celebrities, companies and politicians you already follow.” But Twitter employee Esther Crawford tweeted Saturday that the “new Blue isn’t live yet—the sprint to our launch continues but some folks may see us making updates because we are testing and pushing changes in real-time.” Verified accounts did not appear to be losing their checks so far. It was not immediately clear when the subscription would go live. Crawford told The Associated Press in a Twitter message that it is coming “soon but it hasn’t launched yet.” Twitter did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

By Omar Faruk | The Associated Press

OGA DISHU, Soma lia—T he United States military says it has carried out an airstrike in support of the Somali government’s operations against the al-Shabab extremist

group that has killed some of the group’s fighters. A statement by the US Africa Command on Saturday describes the airstrike as being carried out Thursday in “collective self-defense” and at the request of the Somali National Army near the town

Monday, November 7, 2022 A13

Serb police officers took off their uniforms in the town of Zvecan, Kosovo on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022. Representatives of the ethnic Serb minority in Kosovo on Saturday resigned from their posts in protest over the dismissal of a police officer who did not follow the government’s decision on vehicle license plates. Earlier this week Pristina authorities dismissed a senior Serb police officer in northern Kosovo, where most of the ethnic Serbs live, who refused to respect the decision to change vehicle license plates in Kosovo to ones issued by Kosovo. AP Photo/Bojan Slavkovic

Both Pristina and Belgrade toughened their language and accused each other of violating the deals they have reached at EUmediated negotiations. The European Union has told Kosovo and Serbia they must normalize ties if they want to advance toward membership in the 27-nation bloc. Kosovar President Vjosa Osmani accused Belgrade of exerting pressure on Kovoso’s ethnic Serb minority. “Such a move urged from Serbia proves again what we have repeated many times, that Serbia is destabilizing Kosovo and the region because of its territorial and hegemonistic goals,” said Osmani. Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti called on the ethnic Serbs not to boycott the local institutions, “not to fall prey of political manipulations and geo-political games.” Kurti claimed that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic was lying to American and European envoys and “often meets with and coordinates with the Russian ambassador to Belgrade.” “Not being a democratic country, Serbia is becoming a Kremlin tool,” Kurti posted on social media. In Belgrade, Vucic attended a government session, met the Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch Porfirije, as well as the ambassadors of allies Russia and China, to discuss the situation in Kosovo. Vucic also spoke on the phone with the US ambassador in Belgrade.

Vucic said Serbia is determined to strongly defend its vital national interests. Serbia’s Prime Minister Ana Brnabic accused Pristina authorities of increasing attacks “on Serbs ... their property was illegally taken away, rare returnees were most brutally harassed and expelled again, innocent people arrested and convicted.” Trouble brewed this summer over Serbia’s and Kosovo’s refusal to recognize each other’s identity documents and vehicle license plates. Kosovo Serbs in the north put up roadblocks, sounded air raid sirens and fired guns into the air. In August, EU and US envoys negotiated a solution to the travel documents problem, allowing the situation to calm down. Pristina also postponed to Nov. 1 the decision to require vehicles holding old or Serbian license plates to replace them with Kosovar ones. That also meant that vehicles entering from Serbia had to replace Serbian license plates with Kosovo ones. For the past 11 years, the reverse has been required by Serbia for vehicles coming in from Kosovo. Kosovo’s 2008 independence has been recognized by the United States and most EU countries, while Serbia has relied on support from Moscow and China for its bid to retain the former province. Semini reported from Tirana, Albania; Jovana Gec contributed from Belgrade.

A14 Monday, November 7, 2022 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

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editorial

Politicians’ disaster management

ack in 2011, celebrity economist and Nobel Prize winner Paul Krugman said a possible solution to dismal US economic growth could happen “if we discovered that space aliens were planning to attack, and we needed a massive build-up to counter the space alien threat, and inflation and budget deficits took secondary place to that, this slump would be over in 18 months.”

In the movie “Independence Day,” the world comes together in a unified effort to fight the Humans vs. Aliens war. Another tale worth mentioning is the natural disaster apocalypse film “2012” as the geopolitical divides and conflicts are overcome in working together to save humanity. But we know that these stories are just fantasy. Some countries would definitely cut a deal with the extraterrestrials and there is always the chance that the “2012 arks,” built and being launched from Chinese soil, would have been filled with Chinese Communist Party apparatchiks and not the world’s best and brightest minds. We know from long experience that a natural or man-made disaster is a glorious opportunity for the political opposition in any country to rise to the occasion. Not to help necessarily, but even then when actually helping, to score political points against the government leadership. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the US states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, displacing hundreds of thousands and devastating the city of New Orleans. At the time President George W. Bush was on vacation and was characterized as not being on top of the disaster. Two days after the hurricane struck, he came back to Washington to oversee the government’s response. He flew over the calamity area and was photographed looking out the window at the overwhelming damage. “Bush declined to visit the devastated area right away. White House aides said at the time that Bush didn’t want to cause disruptions in rescue and recovery efforts by diverting security and communications to himself. He never recovered from Katrina, said a former Bush adviser.” A political leader is faced with walking the line between optics and doing something purposeful. We want to know that the person in charge is actually “in charge.” But we also know how silly it would be to have a leader making decisions that are better left to professionals with expertise in disaster relief and response management. On the night of October 29, 2022, a crowd crush occurred in the Itaewon neighborhood of Seoul, South Korea. At least 156 people were killed and at least 172 others were injured. The day after the Itaewon tragedy, a river bridge in Morbi in Gujarat, the home state of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, collapsed, killing at least 135, most of them women, children, and elderly. In early October a mass panic at a stadium in Malang in Indonesia led to 131 deaths when police fired tear gas at fans. In India, the state government run by Modi’s party was quick to blame the town government. Indonesians are highly skeptical of President Joko Widodo investigating the police over-reaction because of his close police/ military ties. Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has an approval rating of 32 percent, already significantly undermining his ability to govern. The opposition Democratic Party of Korea is holding back its criticism until the pain has subsided. What is the responsibility and accountability of the national leader? What do people want from their leaders during calamities? Studies have concluded that this is what leaders should do: Be visible and change normal daily activities to an immediate and focused response. Leaders should think of themselves as islands of coherence in a sea of chaos while providing clear and trustworthy communication. Most importantly, leaders must provide reassurance that lessons will be learned from any shortcomings of preparation and response.

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Still hopeful about COP 27

There are important reasons for the Philippine representatives to work extra hard this year. We all know the country is one of the most affected places as far as climate change is concerned. The rise of sea level and severe weather events affect our people and property greatly. Livelihood, agriculture, and biodiversity all suffer.

The Philippines has a delegation in the conference, many of whom were part of the preparations held in October. A consultation meeting was participated in by the Climate Change Commission (CCC), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and 23 Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) that are actively working on climate change-related initiatives. The rest of the country is keeping its fingers crossed that our COP 27 delegation will, indeed, achieve the

change is concerned. The rise of sea level and severe weather events affect our people and property greatly. Livelihood, agriculture, and biodiversity all suffer. According to experts, extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and more intense. For example, typhoons will be stronger and droughts will last longer. It will either be extremely hot, or extremely flooded/cold. If it’s any indication, the recent typhoons— Paeng, Agaton, Odette—have wreaked great havoc on our people and their livelihood, not to mention on various infrastructure and other assets.

Atty. Jose Ferdinand M. Rojas II

RISING SUN

S you read this column, environmental activists, scientists, and government officials in the thousands are gathered at the 27th Conference of the Parties (COP 27) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change being held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. This event is happening from November 6 to 18, 2022. desired results from the meeting. There are many groups and individuals worldwide who have expressed hopelessness about the COP meetings, saying that after such a long time and numerous conferences, we have achieved very little and are still far from hitting our targets. This is despite the global climate’s emergency situation. There are important reasons for the Philippine representatives to work extra hard this year. We all know the country is one of the most affected places as far as climate

COP 27 is crucial in that a critical matter will be (has to be) discussed —climate finance. The issue is not about raising targets, but rather a matter of raising money so poor countries can move away from coal, so developing nations can do their part. Targets are meaningless if some nations do not have the capacity at all to deal with the impacts of a heating planet. Ironically, these nations that are making the tiniest contributions to global warming are the same ones that feel its consequences more acutely. Part of climate justice is the creation of a loss and damage finance facility. It’s also about fairly sharing the remaining carbon budget. Simply put, the poorer nations are saying that developed countries that have burned fossil fuels in the past in order to develop their economy have already taken more than their fair share of the carbon budget. They are, therefore, responsible for financial damages and losses from extreme weather events caused by climate change resulting from past emissions. It definitely looks like there will be hot debates over this.

Trump says US ‘in decline’; Biden has his own dire warning By Steve Peoples, Aamer Madhani & Marc Levy The Associated Press

ATROBE, Pa.—Former President Donald Trump is predicting America’s destruction if his fellow Republicans don’t deliver a massive electoral wave on Tuesday. Democrats, led by President Joe Biden and two other former presidents, are warning that abortion rights, Social Security and even democracy itself are at stake. Three of the six living presidents delivered dire closing messages Saturday in battleground Pennsylvania entering the final weekend of the 2022 midterm elections, but their words echoed across the country as millions of Americans cast ballots to decide the balance of power in Washington and in key state capitals. Polls across America will close on Tuesday, but more than 39 million people have already voted. On Sunday, Biden was set to campaign in suburban New York, while Trump was headed to Florida. “If you want to stop the destruction of our country and save the American dream, then on Tuesday you must vote Republican in a giant red wave,” Trump told thousands of cheering supporters as he campaigned Saturday in western Pennsylvania, describing the United States as “a country in decline.” Earlier in the day, Biden shared the stage with former President Barack Obama in Philadelphia, the former running mates campaigning together for the first time since Biden took office. In neighboring New York, even former President Bill Clinton,

largely absent from national politics in recent years, was out defending his party. “Sulking and moping is not an option,” Obama charged. “On Tuesday, let’s make sure our country doesn’t get set back 50 years.” Not everyone, it seemed, was on message as the weekend began. Even before arriving in Pennsylvania, Biden was dealing with a fresh political mess after upsetting some in his party for promoting plans to shut down fossil fuel plants in favor of green energy. While he made the comments in California the day before, the fossil fuel industry is a major employer in Pennsylvania. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said the president owed coal workers across the country an apology. He called Biden’s comments “offensive and disgusting.” Trump seized on the riff in western Pennsylvania, charging that Biden “has resumed the war on coal, your coal.” The White House said Biden’s words were “twisted to suggest a

Over and over on Saturday, Trump falsely claimed he lost the 2020 election only because Democrats cheated, while raising the possibility of election fraud this coming week. In part, because of such rhetoric, federal intelligence agencies have warned of the possibility of political violence from far-right extremists in the coming days.

meaning that was not intended; he regrets it if anyone hearing these remarks took offense” and that he was “commenting on a fact of economics and technology.” Democrats are deeply concerned about their narrow majorities in the House and Senate as voters sour on Biden’s leadership amid surging inflation, crime concerns and widespread pessimism about the direction of the country. History suggests that Democrats, as the party in power, will suffer significant losses in the midterms. Trump peeked ahead toward Florida as he campaigned in Pennsylvania, slapping at the state’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis. After displaying recent presidential poll numbers on the big screens, Trump called DeSantis, a potential 2024 GOP rival, “Ron DeSanctimonious.” Trump’s weekend travels were part of a late blitz that will also take him to Ohio. He’s hoping a strong GOP showing on Tuesday will generate momentum for the 2024 run that

he’s expected to launch in the days or weeks after polls close. Over and over on Saturday, Trump falsely claimed he lost the 2020 election only because Democrats cheated, while raising the possibility of election fraud this coming week. In part, because of such rhetoric, federal intelligence agencies have warned of the possibility of political violence from far-right extremists in the coming days. “Everybody, I promise you, in the very next—very, very, very short period of time, you’re going to be happy,” Trump said of another White House bid. “But first we have to win an historic victory for Republicans on November 8.” Biden’s Pennsylvania address was largely the same he has been giving for weeks—spotlighting a grab bag of his major legislative achievements, while warning that abortion rights, voting rights, Social Security and Medicare are at risk should Republicans take control of Congress. The president highlighted the Inflation Reduction Action, passed in August by the Democratic-led Congress, which includes several health care provisions popular among older adults and the less well off, including a $2,000 cap on out-of-pocket medical expenses and a $35 monthly cap per prescription on insulin. The new law also requires companies that raise prices faster than overall inflation to pay Medicare a rebate. But with a bigger and more energetic audience in his home state, Biden’s energy seemed lifted.

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Opinion

Frustrated aspirations

Strength in numbers

BusinessMirror

Joel L. Tan-Torres

Siegfred Bueno Mison, Esq.

y term as dean of the University of the Philippines Diliman Virata School of Business (UPD VSB) or College of Business Administration (CBA) to a large extent was under the remote learning set-up brought about by the academic community response to the Covid-19 pandemic. I was in my fifth month as dean when the country started its Covid-19 lockdown on March 12, 2022. This resulted in the closure of all schools’ face-to-face classes.

he more the merrier; the more the better; the more the stronger. Such cliché statements hold true in most cases, more so in labor unions. In the past decade, the number of members of private sector unions is generally increasing, according to the statistics shared by the Philippine Statistics Authority. There are around 600 duly registered national trade unions, industrial federations, and plant-level unions from private and public sectors. Although they represent less than 10 percent of the Philippine workforce, unionization rate is on a steady increase.

THE PATRIOT

DEBIT CREDIT Conclusion

The key stakeholders (the students, teachers, school administrators, and government education regulators) of the educational system throughout the Philippines had to shift and adjust to the online learning mode. It was an abrupt change that caused a lot of problems and tensions in the academic community, including the UP. For the next few years, until the end of my deanship in October 2022, I had to contend with the Covid-19 pandemic-related disruptions and the continuing opposition of the protesting Faculty members to my appointment as dean of the VSB. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, in its study “The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Education,” discussed the difficulties and shortcomings of online education brought about by the Covid-19 response. I share most of the findings in this Unesco research, based on my experiences and observations in the VSB. I discuss the impact on the quality of declining education outcomes. In particular, I cite the below-par performance of the CBA takers in the recent Certifed Public Accountant Licensure examinations. In the October 2022 CPA examinations, out of the 34 takers, 30 passed (for a passing percentage of 88.29 percent), while 4 failed or got conditional ratings. In the May 2022 examinations, 35 passed (71.43 percent passing rate) and 12 did not make the grade. While these results would be exemplary for all other schools, these do not meet the College’s standards and tradition. The typical results of past examinations were 100 percent passing rates, several topnotchers in the Top Ten of CPA exam passers, and acknowledgment by the Professional Regulatory Board of Accountancy as the Top Performing School. As a graduate of the College of Business Administration and Number 1 CPA examination passer (way back in May 1979), I express concern with these sub-standard results and the possible adverse impact of the remote learning experience on our CPA examinees. I also observe the proliferation of the “grade inflation” syndrome. This is a recent offshoot of the pandemic years with the remarkable increase in the number of students who are graduating with Latin honors: cum laude, magna cum laude, and summa cum laude. In the July 2022 graduation rites in the UPD, there were 147 summa cum laude, 652 magna cum laude, and 634 cum laude graduates. That totals to 1,433 honor graduates or 38 percent of the 3,796 graduates in 2022. In the VSB, there were 7 summa cum laude, 50 magna cum laude, and 50 cum laude graduates, or a total of 107 honor graduates of the 125 undergraduate program graduates. This number comes up to 85.6 percent of the graduates of the school’s two academic programs, namely, Business Administration, and the BA and Accountancy. Are these truly indicative of the quality of education and competence of these graduates as measured by the honors that they have received? My discussions with the industry leaders indicate that they are concerned with the declining competence levels that their new hires are bringing into the workplace.

I am also disturbed about the state of the assessment and testing process in an online environment. Just before the end of my term as dean, I had to address a number of student integrity or cheating cases in the VSB. These cases started at the onset of the lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020. This continued just before the graduation of these cheating students. These students took advantage of the vulnerable online mode of taking examinations and the ease in sharing of answers to these tests via the online platform to perpetuate their cheating. It was unfortunate that these students were able to graduate in July 2022 since the results of the investigation of their cheating cases were resolved only after their graduation. Definitely, this is another case of the shortcomings of the online learning mode. For these reasons (and more), I support the initiative of Senator Pia Cayetano of mandating the resumption of in-person classes for state universities and colleges, including the UP, to fully implement this direction. In her committee hearing in September 2022 to deliberate on the 2023 budget of the Commission on Higher Education and SUCs, Sen. Cayetano admonished the representatives, including UP President Danilo Concepcion, to immediately proceed with conducting face-to-face classes in the schools. Such a measure is doable at this time with declining pandemic risks and the government policy of opening up and normalizing the state of the country. I hope the UPD academic community will be able to resume face-to-face classes soon. I leave the deanship of the UPD VSB with mixed emotions. I am pleased that I have made my modest accomplishments in the College, despite the many challenges. However, I am frustrated that most of the aspirations that I wanted to pursue as dean were unfulfilled. As part of my “Looking In Reaching Out” deanship program that I formulated three years ago, these included enhancing the industry-VSB engagements. These would have involved integrating industry-required competencies into the curriculum and learning agenda in the CBA that meet local and global standards. Such skills as business analytics, environmental, social, and governance advocacies, design and integrated thinking, futures foresight, digital literacy, and regulatory compliance would have been part of the skills set of a VSB graduate. My experience and network in the business and the global community would have facilitated this endeavor. Lost opportunities with frustrated aspirations? This appears to be the case for me and the CBA community. Joel L. Tan-Torres was the former Dean of the University of the Philippines Virata School of Business. Previously, he was the Commissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the chairman of the Professional Regulatory Board of Accountancy, and partner of Reyes Tacandong & Co. and the SyCip Gorres and Velayo & Co. He is a Certified Public Accountant who garnered No. 1 in the CPA Board Examination of May 1979. This column accepts contributions of articles from the business community for publication. Articles not exceeding 700 words can be e-mailed to boa.secretariat.@gmail.com.

In a case study done by the Central Philippines University years ago, most union members joined the union voluntarily due to security needs satisfaction, belief in the group leader’s goal, and because of economic reason. On the other hand, employees who opted not joining the labor union did so since they want no involvement in union activities and because of union membership dues, which add up to more deductions in their pay. What some employees do not realize is that labor unions charge dues to pay the salaries of union leaders and workers during a strike, among other union-led activities. Other drawbacks of labor union membership reportedly include workplace tension and slower career advancement. The common perception of both union and non-union members is that management will provide the same employee benefits even if they are not unionized. Such perception and the increasing unionization rate indicate that internal communication plays a critical role in enhancing the relationship between employer and employees. Therefore, built in any workplace should be continuous education, especially among rank-and-file employees, to further improve positive perception towards labor and management relationship. Most critical in this awareness cam-

paign is to simply allow more avenues for employees to present their grievances, issues on security, and social needs, without fear of reprisal. Once grievances and issues are heard, management must respond, with compassion and fairness in mind. In my experience as part of several management groups, I have witnessed how unions can be perceived to be a minus instead of a plus in labor relations. After all, unions are often associated with strikes and labor unrest, at least in this country, when, in truth, labor management relationship can be enhanced when both sides of the spectrum understand that they need each other towards cooperation with compassion as a binding solution to their seemingly irreconcilable positions. I had the opportunity of dealing with the unions in the University of the East and in Philippine Airlines in my capacity as legal counsel. As in any adversarial situation, communication played a major role in resolving disputes. Representatives from both sides were patient enough to realize that deadlocks in CBA negotiations or, worse, strikes/lockouts are detrimental to both sides. Special mention goes to Miguel Teano of the UE Employees Association and Rafael dela Cruz of the PAL Employees Association, whose necessary communication skills and fairness mindset allowed

Monday, November 7, 2022 A15

their respective unions to achieve industrial peace. Realizing how “unions” can have a negative connotation, part of the mandate of the National Conciliation and Mediation Board is to help companies promote labor-management cooperation programs. Under RA 6715, such operating mechanism in organized establishments is called Labor-Management Council, while in unorganized establishments, it is called Labor-Management Committees. While the NCMB prescribes a success formula to ensure the orderly operations of the Council or the Committee, the underlying principle can be summarized in one word—compassion. In terms of structure and features of an LMC, the NCMB also prescribes a set of guidelines (e.g., adequate number of representatives from labor and management), the underlying principle can be summarized in one word—fairness. According to the NCMB website, labor management cooperation seeks to establish a continuing process of enhancing mutual trust and respect through “information sharing, discussion, consultation, and negotiations”—all of which require effective communication skills. In an effective LMC, employees will have the opportunity to participate in decision-making processes as well as make inputs in solving operational problems affecting workers in the workplace. An LMC allows everyone to have a voice in management, regardless of how little the voice can be. Listening to the other side promotes fairness and listening with heart, and not just the ear, shows compassion for the other. Fairness and compassion are attributes of a believer. In the Bible, 1 Peter 3:8 tells us, “Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.” Sadly, at least in the United States, there is little or no compassion in the workplace, as corporate executives in major companies like Amazon, Dollar General, Hershey’s, and Chipotle seem to move mountains, to legitimately break up selforganization efforts, according to

Managing the risks of people By Reynaldo A. De Dios

he concept of risk management is generally focused on the protection of assets and the profits of corporations, but what is overlooked is the fact that most risks are ultimately of people failings, whether at a strategic, managerial or operational level. As is commonly known, people are often cited as the greatest asset of a corporation. But just as risk presents opportunities or threats, so are people, who can also be the greatest potential liability. Human behavior is inherently complex, unpredictable and inconsistent. Even the best people make errors, but there are inevitable slips and lapses that can cause disruptions in the workplace. People are essentially honest and they do not come to work to defraud or steal. But there are many aspects of their personal environment that will affect their reliability. Times

of personal change such as bereavement, marital breakup, health problems and threats to income may lead to criminal behavior. Then there are problems in the workplace that can be categorized as risky behavior such as sexual harassment, and releasing proprietary information. At any rate, because personal circumstances change from day to

day, assessing exposure is no easy task. People risk is often caused by poor management and organization within the workplace, as well as the culture of the firm. The human resources department is often considered as a cost center in the past but in the present postpandemic times, their role is now to support the firm’s long-term goals and concerns itself with the longerterm people issues, matching resources to future needs and looking at structure, quality, culture, values and commitment training and development for both new and existing members of the staff including job rotation. At a higher level, leadership should be developed within the firm and this can be done by arranging senior executives to undergo training involving people skills such as

records filed in the US Department of Labor. There is such a company called Labor Relations Institute (LRI), which guides companies to become “union free” by educating employees about the disadvantages of having unions in the workplace. LRI emphasizes that labor and management are social partners sharing a common interest in the success of the enterprise. In the Philippines, due to the tripartite efforts of labor, management, and government, reforms have contributed to industrial peace based on the principles of social justice. The more recent reforms include the Voluntary Codes of Good Practices (VCGP), which prescribed a set of guidelines establishing voluntary minimum standards towards self-regulation in the industry. Tripartism, another recent program strategy, participated in by the social partners of labor, employer and government sectors, promote social dialogue. As a result of this tripartite consultation, the 30-day conciliation-mediation more known as the Single-Entry Approach is a reform program during the Aquino administration to streamline procedures to restore fairness in the system of labor adjudication. All told, labor and management relationship ought to be enhanced by good communications grounded on the principles of fairness and compassion. Yes, there is indeed strength in numbers, especially if both management and labor are in the same “union”—whose aim is to make each other’s lives merrier, better, and stronger. A former infantry and intelligence officer in the Army, Siegfred Mison showcased his servant leadership philosophy in organizations such as the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, Malcolm Law Offices, Infogix Inc., University of the East, Bureau of Immigration, and Philippine Airlines. He is a graduate of West Point in New York, Ateneo Law School, and University of Southern California. A corporate lawyer by profession, he is an inspirational teacher and a Spirit-filled writer with a mission. For questions and comments, please e-mail me at sbmison@gmail.com.

coaching, communication, conflict management, counseling, motivation, performance evaluation and time management. In conclusion, good people risk management calls for choosing the right people and making sure that they know their role and the importance of their job, giving them opportunities to develop and learn, paying them according to clear and transparent performance criteria. In addition, giving them regular feedback and dialogue with their superiors and making sure there is effective internal communication. The foregoing steps will ensure that people risks are being successfully managed and mitigated. The author is a risk management consultant and Editor of Insurance Philippines magazine.

China markets set for more volatility as Covid-Zero policy stays By Youkyung Lee & John Cheng Bloomberg Opinion

hinese markets are facing another volatile week after health officials vowed to “unswervingly” stick to the country’s Covid Zero approach, damping investor optimism that Beijing was working toward easing restrictions. Assets from equities to oil rallied last week on convictions that China is taking concrete steps toward reopening. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index had its best weekly gain since 2015, Brent crude closed at the highest in two months, iron ore futures jumped and the offshore yuan strengthened more than 1 percent at one stage. But authorities tempered those hopes in a briefing on Saturday. “Previous practices have proved that our prevention and control plans

and a series of strategic measures are completely correct,” said Hu Xiang, an official at the National Health Commission’s disease prevention and control bureau. The comment is the latest from government officials to back a strict adherence to China’s reliance on lockdowns and mass testing to stamp out infections. The approach has weighed on the economy, which in turn has dragged on financial markets. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said China has given some signs of a potential exit from Covid Zero, such as trying to alleviate public fears of the coronavirus and other medical preparations. However, “the government still needs to keep its zeroCovid policy until all preparations are done,” economists including Hui Shan wrote in a note. That may take months, according

to Goldman, which expects a reopening in the second quarter of next year. Still, the repeated signs of a reopening followed by government denials of any changes have kept investors on the edge and added to market volatility. Investors have been looking for reasons to scoop up Chinese stocks, which are among the worst performers in the world this year as the economy grows near the slowest pace in four decades. Markets were boosted last week by unverified online posts about China’s reopening, as well as headlines supporting the easing scenario: Bloomberg reported that officials are working on plans to end Covid flight suspensions, while German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said China would make BioNTech’s Covid shots available to foreigners in the country, a potential first step toward wider offerings. The rebound took place just one

week after a historic rout in equities sparked by concerns about President Xi Jinping’s power grab at the Communist Party congress. While Chinese equities are likely to fall on Monday, expectations for further stimulus from the government after weak economic data and gains in Covid-19 cases in October could help limit the decline, according to Cui Xuehua, China equity analyst at Meritz Securities Co. in Seoul. “I expect there would be a reversal of the last week’s gains, but I believe the stock markets are not likely to break the previous lows,” she said. “The fact that rumors have spread is a positive signal that the Chinese government is internally discussing easing virus restrictions.” However, some analysts warned of continued market turmoil even before the health officials’ comments over the weekend.

A16 Monday, November 7, 2022

‘Failure to control sugar prices ACROSS ASIA, BIKERS GREET COP27’S OPENING IN EGYPT to kill industries, cut revenue’ C

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

@joveemarie

N economist-lawmaker said while most price increases are “beyond our control due to global conditions,” the prices of sugar “are almost completely within our power to lower.” House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Joey Sarte Salceda made the statement over the weekend in response to the October 2022 inflation report, which shows the country’s general price levels to be the highest since November 2008. According to Salceda, high prices of sugar “kill domestic jobs more than they help farmers.” “High corn, fuel, and electricity prices are primarily a matter of global conditions. But for sugar, because of our longstanding policy of misguided protectionism, we have it coming,” Salceda said. The solon also warned that “the problem with high sugar prices isn’t just that consumers are bearing the brunt of it. It’s that Philippine industries consume more sugar

than consumers do. And they’re in trouble if we don’t sort the situation out.” “Some 66 percent of all sugar demand is as input to other Philippine industries. Only 34 percent is consumed in final form. So, very expensive sugar prices kill Filipino jobs,” Salceda said. “The top 3-in-1 coffee brand in the country, Kopiko, is imported, because our domestic manufacturers can’t compete. Homegrown brand C2 is already being manufactured in Vietnam because Philippine sugar is expensive,” he said.

Costing jobs

SALCEDA warned that the country’s “structural sugar issues” is already costing jobs. “The next thing you’re going to

kill is domestic fruit canning and manufacturing, which is a major jobs provider in Mindanao. You’re going to kill softdrinks makers, where as much as 18 percent of costs are sugar. Alcohol makers, some of the only true global Filipino brands, use a lot of sugar—as much as 9 percent of costs, based on IO tables,” he added. “And high sugar prices, because they are inputs to other sectors, are definitely affecting the prices of bread, softdrinks, alcoholic drinks, dairy, and other processed foods.” Salceda cited the 2018 240-sector input-output tables by the Philippine Statistics Authority, showing some 102.5 billion in sugar is consumed by other sectors as an intermediate input, while only 51.9 billion is used as a final good. Salceda also stressed that “out of all the goods in the October inflation report, sugar represents the highest year-on-year increase at 34 percent. That is a form of self-harm or self-sabotage when global prices have already stabilized at more or less their 50-year average of 17-18 cents per pound.” According to the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the global price of sugar is now at just around P24 per kilo, while retail prices in the domestic market fetch as high as P120 per kilo,

according to the lawmaker.

Industrial imports

MEANWHILE, Salceda reiterated that allowing industrial users to import sugar is “the most immediate way to address some parts of food inflation.” “I’ve talked to farmer groups and they complain that their problem is input costs. High fertilizer and farm fuel costs are major issues. Among milling companies, energy costs are also the issue. I already have a proposal to allow industrial users to import another 400,000 MT of refined sugar. If we auction those slots off, we could be earning as much as 12 billion pesos, which we could provide to farmers and millers as direct subsidies,” he said. “I have also alerted the government to the fiscal risks of expensive sugar. We were supposed to collect some P2.8 billion in sweetened beverage taxes every month. That’s not going to happen if bottlers keep closing down plants due to lack of available sugar inputs,” he added. The lawmaker also urged the Department of Trade and Industry and Neda to apprise the government of the implications of the current conditions.

YCLING enthusiasts and ordinary people joined climate campaigners in 49 coordinated biking events in nine Asian countries as the COP27 climate summit began Sunday in Egypt. COP27 is being held at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh from November 6 to 18. Pedal for People and Planet was held in the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Japan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Nepal. The bikers called on governments of rich, industrialized countries to immediately deliver climate reparations for developing countries that are bearing the brunt of climate change. Lidy Nacpil, coordinator of Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD), said the plight of people of Pakistan, Bangladesh, and the Philippines after climate change-related calamities dramatically and tragically highlight the gravity and urgency of addressing climate change. “This year, millions of people all over the world have suffered the grave impacts of climate change. Homes have been damaged, jobs and livelihoods disrupted or lost altogether, vast areas of crops destroyed, people have been dislocated. Too many died. We call on the governments

of rich, industrialized countries, their elites and giant corporations who bear the greatest responsibility for the climate crisis: pay your climate debt owed to people and communities who contributed the least, if at all, to the problem, but bear its biggest impacts,” said Nacpil. Nacpil said the fulfillment of climate finance obligations is part of reparations. The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change—a legally binding agreement that is the basis of the climate summit that is about to start in Egypt—specifies that developed country governments must provide climate finance to developing countries in recognition that developed countries have contributed the most to the problem of climate change. “This climate finance is to be used for adaptation, building resilience, and GHG reduction measures in developing countries, which includes the transition to renewable energy away from fossil fuels. It is not aid or assistance but part of reparations for the harm caused,” said Nacpil. In 2009, developed countries pledged to jointly mobilize $100 billion annually in climate finance by 2020 to fund climate action in developing countries. Continued on A9

Continued on A9

‘Cold chain in rural areas to solve agri woes’ By Andrea E. San Juan

HE government should put up cold chain facilities in the countryside to solve the agricultural production woes in the Philippines, according to the head of a logistics solutions firm. At the monthly food forum “Usapang Pagkain” organized recently by the Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food Inc. (PCAFI), Renato Pamintuan, president of Bayside Terminal and Transportation Services Inc. (BTTSI), said the government should look into solving the agricultural production issues such as the perishability and spoilage of goods by putting up cold chain facilities in the countryside. “Do you know why the Philippines has such a big volume of imports? Because all of the cold chain facilities are concentrated in the demand side, which is Metro Manila. They’re all here,” Pamintuan said, partly in Filipino. He explained that since “importation is via port of Manila,” when the items arrive, there should be a facility that can handle them and distribute them to cold chain facilities. He wondered aloud why the government is only focused on the demand, “and why are they not solving the supply side? It’s all there in the provinces, in the rural

areas. So if you did not put the cold chain facilities outside, you are not solving the supply side and production side,” the head of the logistics solutions firm added. Pamintuan emphasized that this has been the “elephant in the room,” as it is the recurring problem being faced by the country’s fishermen and farmers. This, he said, leads to the prices of produce declining down every hour because these cannot be preserved. He also stressed that the fishermen’s capabilities are confined to making dried fish since the method of drying does not require the use of cold chain facilities, or at the least, ice-making machines, which Pamintuan said, the Philippines lacks. “Out of 7,600 islands in the country, there are very few ice-making machines provided to fishermen,” and this accounts for why “we are just good at making tuyo and daing. Why? Because that’s the only thing the fishermen [can do]” given the circumstances, Pamintuan said. Pamintuan suggested creating a hub system for food distribution, with every region having its own regional food terminal in order to establish a system for food distribution. He said he was inspired by the Amir market in Dubai, which has a huge food terminal system. “Every trader is operating its own cold chain

facility and this is...why Dubai catapulted itself to become the principal food supplier of the entire Middle East. They are not producing it, they are only traders but they all receive it there, they process it there, and then they ship it to Saudi Arabia and all the other areas around.” In his proposal, “Every region will have its own regional food terminal and then Clark, with the huge area that it has right now, Clark will be the national hub. Clark is near Subic so all the imported food, to stop all of this smuggling, should only be coursed through that area for customs processing. They should all come in through there because it is near Metro Manila which is the demand side and then Central Luzon is booming as well,” Pamintuan said. The regional food terminals, he said, should contain “practically everything that is needed by the farmers,” such as machines for drying, processing, cutting and packing. “Give them all that, offered by the government as a toll service,” and they can just pay per kilo, for example. Pamintuan stressed that terminals provide efficiency, cost-savings, and put order into everything. He zeroed in on strengthening the production capacity of the country, saying one cannot have surplus or excess of goods to export without first having the capability to produce.

Taguig ramps up jabs for students, frontliners

HE Taguig city government is set to visit more schools in the city to conduct Covid-19 vaccination for students and education frontliners as part of the city’s effort to stop the spread of the virus and ensure safety. On Sunday, the city government announced that over 10,000 individuals were vaccinated as it joined the Department of Health’s (DOH) PinasLakas Immunization Campaign and vaccinates through the School Tour: One-Stop Shop Bakuna for children aged 5 to 17 years old as face-to-face classes have resumed. These individuals have been vaccinated in the city with their first and second doses, and first and second boosters through the school vaccination drive since August 15, 2022. Likewise, teaching and non-teach-

ing personnel of every school were among those who have received their Covid-19 vaccination. The vaccination drive has so far visited 23 elementary and high schools. This is to further ensure everyone’s safety upon the school reopening and encourage more people to get their booster shots once eligible, the city government said. The PinasLakas campaign is part of the DOH’s nationwide campaign to vaccinate 90 percent of senior citizens and increase booster coverage of all eligible population to 50 percent by targeting individuals from various communities including schools, marketplaces, and transportation terminals. The program of Taguig has been coordinated with the Department of Education- Division Office to expand

and intensify the Covid-19 vaccination program for children in preparation for face-to-face classes. Moreover, all eligible residents and non-residents in the country can walk into Taguig vaccination hubs from Monday to Friday at Lakeshore Vaccine Information Center, Venice Grand Canal Mall, and Bonifacio High Street. All barangay health centers also offer Covid-19 vaccination to the eligible population every Monday, Tuesday, or Friday. As of October 28, 2022, the city has administered a total of 2,124,944 jabs: 915,159 individuals are vaccinated while 869,922 are fully vaccinated. 327,066 had received their first booster and 39,739 had received their second booster. Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

Companies BusinessMirror

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng

Monday, November 7, 2022

San Miguel beer unit posts 15% hike in 9-mo. income

By VG Cabuag

fected by the pandemic because of restrictions not just throughout the country, but also in its international markets. But because of its strong, iconic brands and the agility of our people to respond to rapidly changing market conditions, SMB has remained resilient and has sustained its strong momentum,” San Miguel President and CEO Ramon S. Ang said. “This reflects the fundamental

BusinessMirror file photo

strength of not just the beer business but overall, SMC’s diversified portfolio, which has allowed us to weather challenges. With our economy back in full swing and our major markets reopened, we’re even more upbeat and positive about our full-year prospects, heading into the holidays.” SMB posted robust domestic results with the further easing of restrictions beginning end of March, which paved the way for the re-opening of on-premise outlets. This was supported by effective volume-generating efforts and marketing programs across traditional and modern trade channels executed by the San Miguel Pale Pilsen, Red

Horse Beer and San Mig Light brands, among others. As a result, total domestic revenues reached P88.4 billion, up 19 percent from 2021. With cost saving-initiatives and operational efficiencies, operating income reached P20.3 billion, 20 percent higher than last year. SMB’s international operations also sustained its positive performance, registering higher volumes during the period. This was attributed to consistent volume gains in its Thailand, Indonesia and export operations, even as the Hong Kong, South China and Vietnam markets continued to be hobbled by pandemic restrictions.

Universal Robina profit hits ₧9.72B U niversal Robina Corp. (URC) said it recorded a net income of P9.72 billion for the nine months of the year ending September 30, a 13-percent decline from P11.23 billion in 2021 due to a gain on sale of assets booked last year. Core net income, excluding oneoff gains, was up 9 percent, in line with operating income growth, it said. Sales for the nine months reached P107.9 billion, up 26 percent versus last year’s P85.79 billion. Sales in the third quarter grew 32 percent to P36.76 billion from last year’s P27.91 billion, on the back of the strong reopening mo-

mentum from economies around the region. Net income for the quarter, meanwhile, was up 19 percent to P3.24 billion from last year’s P2.72 billion URC said its financial position remains strong, with a healthy cash balance of P13.9 billion, net debt of P5.9 billion and a low gearing ratio of 0.19. Sales of domestic and international branded consumer foods, excluding packaging, accelerated its momentum into the third quarter, achieving sales of P78.4 billion for the nine months, up 30 percent year-on-year. “Sales from the Philippines continued to break records, posting its

highest monthly and quarterly sales in history for the third quarter in a row.” Revenues for the nine-month period hit P54 billion, increasing by 22 percent from the same period last year. The company said most categories exhibited strong growth, with strong sales offtake and healthy inventory levels seen in the trade. The international business units, meanwhile, performed well, with total revenues including Munchy’s reaching P24.4 billion, up 51 percent versus last year. The core international business, excluding Munchy’s, grew 24 percent with all manufacturing businesses growing at double digit rates against

lower comparables from the Covid-19 Delta surge last year. Sales at the agro-industrial and commodities divisions went up by 15 percent to end at P28 billion for the nine months of the year. “We will continue to execute our plans to keep our margin recovery on track despite the challenges on all fronts, notably inflationary pressures from volatile commodity costs and the strength of the US dollar. We remain confident that the strength of our core products, along with our successful new launches, will continue to provide value for our consumers and drive growth into 2023 and beyond,” Irwin Lee, URC president and CEO, said. VG Cabuag

CEB receives CAPA Award for Sustainability United suspends C Twitter ads

everal big-name Twitter advertisers are monitoring Elon Musk’s changes to the service, watching and weighing whether to stay on the platform even as United Airlines Holdings Inc. joined a spate of high-profile marketer defections. Microsoft Corp., Verizon Communications Inc. and Charter Communications Inc. are among the companies taking a wait-and-see approach, and have not made a decision about their Twitter advertising, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing private information. The companies declined to comment. United Airlines suspended its advertising on Twitter earlier this week, spokeswoman Leslie Scott said Friday without commenting further. Southwest Airlines Co. isn’t making any immediate changes to its Twitter advertising but will continue to closely monitor the situation, a spokeswoman said, while American Airlines Group Inc. and Delta Air Lines Inc. didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. HBO, one of Twitter’s largest advertisers according to research firm Pathmatics, is also evaluating its spending. An HBO spokesperson said the network “will be assessing the platform under its new leadership” and has yet to “determine appropriate next steps.” Bloomberg News

Magna Prime relaunches Sinclair paint solutions

@villygc

an Miguel Corp.’s flagship beer business San Miguel Brewery Inc. (SMB) said its income in January to September rose 15 percent to P16.2 billion from last year’s P14.04 billion. SMB’s consolidated revenues reached P99 billion, a 21 percent increase from last year’s P82.08 billion on the back of higher domestic and international volumes. Improved operational efficiencies resulted in a 22-percent improvement in operating income to P22.2 billion, from last year’s P18.18 billion. “Among our businesses, SMB has perhaps been the most af-

ebu Pacific (PSE: CEB) received the Asia Environmental Sustainability Airline/Airline Group of the Year from the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) for its leadership in sustainability performance in the regional aviation industry. CEB was recognized for its ongoing integration of various sustainability programs across its day-today business, as well as its continuous collaborations with industry stakeholders to drive adoption of green initiatives with the regional industry. Xander Lao, Cebu Pacific chief commercial officer, received the award at the aviation summit’s evening gala on November 3. Lao also spoke at a panel session about CEB’s recovery. “We are honored to be the pioneer recipient of such an award which should help encourage an even greater push and recognition of sustainability’s importance,” Lao said. Even before the pandemic, CEB has begun its sustainability journey through its early investment in fuelsaving aircraft. By 2028, it intends to operate an all-NEO (New Engine Option) fleet, allowing the airline to remain true to its commitment to provide low fares, while becoming more efficient and environmentfriendly. “The Philippines is among the top countries at risk of adverse impacts of climate change so our commitment to sustainability has evolved over time. Cebu Pacific is among the

Cebu Pacific Chief Commercial Officer Xander Lao (right), receives the award for Asia Environmental Sustainability Airline/Airline Group of the Year from CAPA’s Global Content and Marketing Director Marco Navarria in Singapore on November 3. Contributed photo

first low-cost carriers in the world to adopt carbon emission reduction initiatives. We are committed to investing time and resources to become the greenest airline in Asia,” said Mark Cezar, Cebu Pacific Chief Finance Officer. This year, the airline has also beefed up its sustainability initiatives as it started using Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in its aircraft deliveries. On September 28, it operated its first SAF-powered commercial flight, becoming the first Philippine

carrier to incorporate SAF in its commercial operations. CEB intends to make SAF a permanent part of its operations through aircraft deliveries from Airbus. By 2030, it targets to use SAF across its commercial flights. “We have a long way to go to achieving the target of net zero by 2050 and we need our partners to commit, so we all succeed and create meaningful change. We encourage everyone to join us on this journey,” Cezar said.

agna Prime Chemical Technologies Inc. said it is bringing back the paint brand Sinclair amid the boom in the construction sector due to the reopening of the economy. According to Magna Prime CEO and Founder Derrick Tan these offerings have been years in the making prior to the return of the iconic paint brand to the market. “It took us a while to do our research and development to understand the needs of the market,” he told the BusinessMirror in an interview on the sidelines of their press launch at the PHILCONSTRUCT 2022 in Pasay City last Friday. “Because of the easing pandemic, it’s a good timing for us to reintroduce and relaunch Sinclair paints.” With the emergence of technological advancements and competitive construction development market in mind, the company said it will offer “a broader and more advanced selection of products” that provide beauty, durability, affordability, and ecofriendly solution. The brand’s lineup of quality products include the acrylic system, comprised of marine shellsinspired Natica Waterproofing Paint, which can also be used as a primer, sealer and top coat for exterior walls; and Tamago Cleanable Interior Paint that takes on the sheen of an eggshell. “We developed a product that is both a waterproofer and paint. So it’s going to be very economical for the Filipino,” Tan said. Magna Prime is the first paint manufacturer in the Philippines to offer the water-based Armadillo Polyurethane Paint that is tough and flexible just like the New World placental mammal. “It’s durable for five to 10

years,” he said. “Normally, we recommend it for medium- and high-rise buildings.” Taro Silicone Paint is a pioneering product as it can penetrate through the pores of the substrate, thus enhancing its adhesion. Likewise, it has highperformance formula creating high-vapor permeability that allows water vapor to escape from the surface, avoiding the build-up of algae and fungus that cause paint to peel off or appear like a blister. Tan said this paint is suitable for structures in highlands, beside seashores, and areas where wall moisture is present. He said, “So even if you paint and then there’s moisture, the moist will just come out because its breathable.” Sinclair has also leveled up its Classic Paint selection, ranging from oil-based to water-based paints, namely, Ligno, Rhino and Cascara. Its colorants products are made to provide good color retention without losing the glossiness of the base paint. There is also the Chameleon Colorant, which gives accurate blend and color, as it combined homogenously either with waterbased, solvent-based or epoxybased type of paints. “With more Filipinos enjoying DIY [do-it-yourself ] home projects, Sinclair paint products that are highly recommended by professionals are made to spark creativity and freedom, while providing protection, peace of mind, and value to Pinoys’ hard work and money,” Tan said. “Our mission is to help the contractors, engineers and homeowners that need like durable, friendly products that are easy to use or make,” he said. “You can expect a lot of innovation in the coming months and years.” Roderick L. Abad

Companies BusinessMirror

Monday, November 7, 2022

Megaworld receives LEED certifications for buildings

By VG Cabuag

@villygc

egaworld Corp. said the United States Green Building Council and Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI) granted its four office towers in its Uptown Bonifacio and Arcovia City townships Gold and Silver LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environment Design certifications.

Earning a Gold LEED certification each are the 17-storey One Paseo, the first office development to rise within the 12.3-hectare Arcovia City in Pasig, and the 25-storey Worldwide Plaza in Uptown Bonifacio, a build-tosuit office building that is now the home of the Philippine Global

MUTUAL FUNDS

Service Center of JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A. Also receiving Silver LEED certifications recently were Alliance Global Tower and Uptown Place Tower 3, both located in Uptown Bonifacio. These now bring Megaworld’s total number of LEEDcertified buildings to 17— seven

November 4, 2022

NAV One Year Three Year Five Year Y-T-D per share Return* Return Stock Funds ALFM Growth Fund, Inc. -a 197.39 -13.53% -8.34% -7.55% -15.32% ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 1.2662 -23.84% -5.59% -4.74% -23.92% ATRAM Philippine Equity Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 2.7253 -14.52% -11.43% -9.81% -15.83% Climbs Share Capital Equity Investment Fund Corp. -a 0.6645 -11.71% -11.12% -8.04% -12.16% First Metro Consumer Fund, Inc -a,4 0.6242 -20.81% -10.43% n.a. -19.03% First Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund,Inc. -a 4.3954 -14.21% -6.81% -5.92% -15.19% First Metro Save and Learn Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a,3 0.6607 -14.15% n.a. n.a. -15.65% MBG Equity Investment Fund, Inc. -a 75.47 -24.42% -12.75% n.a. -20.08% PAMI Equity Index Fund, Inc. -a 40.501 -14.15% -8.23% -6.34% -15.85% Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 420.23 -14.32% -8.25% -6.5% -16.07% Philequity Dividend Yield Fund, Inc. -a 1.1468 -10.91% -4.52% -4% -15.45% Philequity Fund, Inc. -a 31.4817 -12.28% -6.74% -5.07% -13.97% Philequity MSCI Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.7964 -13.62% -8.54% n.a. -15.4% Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. -a 4.2153 -13.27% -7.52% -5.69% -15.03% Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a 702.16 -13.45% -7.59% -5.71% -15.25% Soldivo Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 0.6283 -15.57% -11.45% -8.27% -16.52% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, Inc. -a 3.1645 -14.59% -9.81% -7.05% -16.18% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.7992 -13.66% -7.86% -6.01% -15.38% United Fund, Inc. -a 2.9437 -13.47% -7.6% -5.24% -14.36% Primarily invested in Peso securities (units) COL Equity Index Unitized Mutual Fund, Inc. -a,5 0.9933 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. Philequity Alpha One Fund, Inc. -a 0.9677 -17.27% n.a. n.a. -16.77% Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a 853.6 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. Exchange Traded Fund (shares) First Metro Phil. Equity Exchange Traded Fund, Inc. -a,c 94.7275 -13.18% -7.4% -5.45% -15.02% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities (shares) ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund, Inc. -b $0.7616 -34.47% -8.12% -6.76% -32.39% Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, Inc. -a $1.3914 -25.29% 1.96% 2.43% -24.64% Balanced Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities (shares) ATRAM Dynamic Allocation Fund, Inc. -a 1.4863 -12.16% -2.39% -4.38% -12.16% ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 2.0186 -10.18% -3.93% -3.82% -11.52% First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. -a 2.4098 -9.93% -3.21% -2.7% -10.45% First Metro Save and Learn F.O.C.C.U.S. Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a 0.1864 -6.57% -7.38% n.a. -10.81% NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils., Inc. -a 1.8301 -8.3% -2.45% -1.58% -9.25% PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc. -a 3.3222 -10.79% -4.56% -3.27% -11.76% Philam Fund, Inc. -a 14.7628 -11.47% -4.78% -3.46% -12.36% Solidaritas Fund, Inc. -a 1.9237 -8.17% -3.74% -3.07% -9.32% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 3.2009 -11.42% -6.47% -4.29% -12.23% Sun Life Prosperity Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a 0.8395 -9.97% -5.41% -3.66% -12.02% Primarily invested in Peso securities (units) Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2028, Inc. -a 0.8797 -10.61% -5.03% n.a. -11.12% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2038, Inc. -a 0.7877 -15.31% -8.08% n.a. -16.6% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2048, Inc. -a 0.7738 -15.92% -8.54% n.a. -17.14% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities (shares) Cocolife Dollar Fund Builder, Inc. -a $0.03134 -17.02% -6.35% -2.81% -17.4% PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, Inc. -b $0.8029 -25.03% -6.99% -4.91% -24.76% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc. -a $3.748 -22.44% -0.38% 0.92% -21.95% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund, Inc. -a,2 $0.9581 -20.44% -3.68% -1.59% -20.07% Bond Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities (shares) ALFM Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 375.54 0.67% 1.84% 2.22% 0.33% ATRAM Corporate Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.8663 -3.14% -0.99% -0.37% -0.98% Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. -a 3.2084 -1.04% 1.2% 2.79% -1.1% Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc. -a 2.1484 -4.2% -1% 0.35% -4.58% First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund,Inc. -a 2.3834 -1.66% 0.54% 1.45% -1.76% Philam Bond Fund, Inc. -a 4.1081 -6.85% -1.77% 0.14% -6.54% Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc. -a 1.3136 -0.31% 1.77% 2.61% -0.42% Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.8282 -3.31% 0.7% 1.82% -3.47% Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.0071 -2.33% 1.79% 1.66% -2.05% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.1014 -2.83% 0.57% 2.21% -2.7% Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc. -a 1.678 -3.07% -0.18% 1.57% -3.04% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities (shares) ALFM Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $476.82 -2.36% 0.76% 1.4% -2.6% ALFM Euro Bond Fund, Inc. -a Є207.86 -5.45% -1.84% -0.52% -5.52% ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -b $0.9914 -17.33% -6.23% -2.66% -17.65% First Metro Save and Learn Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $0.0237 -8.49% -2.79% -1.06% -8.85% PAMI Global Bond Fund, Inc -b $0.8403 -17.66% -8.44% -4.92% -17.84% Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $2.0834 -16.33% -4.57% -1.47% -16.85% Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc. -a $0.0594455 -4.81% -0.46% 0.67% -4.57% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund, Inc. -a $2.5821 -18.1% -6.58% -3.03% -19.21% Money Market Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities (shares) ALFM Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 132.97 1.57% 2.05% 2.54% 1.36% First Metro Save and Learn Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.0695 1.25% 1.36% n.a. 1.12% Sun Life Prosperity Peso Starter Fund, Inc. -a,1 1.3335 1.6% 1.95% 2.43% 1.36% Primarily invested in Peso securities (units) ALFM Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 100 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. Primarily invested in foreign currency securities (shares) Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Starter Fund, Inc. -a $1.0676 0.74% 1.06% n.a. 0.66% Feeder Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities (units) ALFM Global Multi-Asset Income Fund Inc. -a 44.1632 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. Sun Life Prosperity World Equity Index Feeder Fund, Inc. -a 1.2514 -8.74% n.a. n.a. -9.51% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities (units) ALFM Global Multi-Asset Income Fund Inc. -a $0.7731 -21.11% n.a. n.a. -20.3% a - NAVPS as of the previous banking day. b - NAVPS as of two banking days ago. c - Listed in the PSE. d - in Net Asset Value per Unit (NAVPU). 1 - Renaming was approved by the SEC last July 8, 2021 (formerly, Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund, Inc.). 2 - Adjusted due to stock dividend issuance last November 25, 2021. "While we endeavor to keep the information accurate, the Philippine Investment Funds Association (PIFA) and its members make no warranties as to the correctness of the newspaper’s publication and assume no liability or responsibility for any error or omissions. You may visit http://www. pifa.com.ph to see the latest NAVPS/NAVPU."

Gold and 10 Silver certifications. “Megaworld has always been an advocate for sustainable developments, as demonstrated by its commitment to build green buildings taking LEED standards into account across its various townships,” Roland J. Tiongson, first vice president of the Megaworld Premier Offices said. “We thank the US Green Building Council and Green Business Certification Inc. for this recognition, and we continue to adhere to our pledge of supporting the protection and conservation of the environment as we build sustainable communities all over the Philippines.” The full Megaworld portfolio of LEED-certified buildings include the following developments in Megaworld townships in Taguig City: 8 Campus A, 8 Campus B, 8 Campus C, and Southeast Asian Campus (all Gold-certified) in McKinley Hill; 1 West Campus, 2 West Campus, 3 West Campus, 5 West Campus, 6 West Campus, 8 West Campus, (all Silver-certified), and 10 West Campus (Gold) in McKinley West; and Uptown Tower Place 1 and Uptown Place Tower 2 (both Silver-certified) in

Uptown Bonifacio. Meanwhile, plans are underway to have most of Megaworld’s upcoming office towers nationwide LEED-certified. “Megaworld is an advocate of sustainability and nation-building. Being the top office developer in the Philippines, we feel that it is our responsibility to lead the market in terms of improving our products in the best way possible, and we believe that having LEED-certified buildings allows us to achieve that,” Tiongson said. Megaworld’s first two LEED certifications were awarded to its office developments in 2014. In the LEED rating system, the most widely used green building rating system in the world, the GBCI verifies, reviews, and awards projects applying for certification points up to 110, depending on their adherence to prerequisites addressing carbon, energy, waste, water, transportation, materials, health and indoor environmental quality. The four levels of certifications are Certified, 40-49 points; Silver, 50-59 points; Gold, 60-79 points; and Platinum 80 points and above.

STOCK-MARKET OUTLOOK Last week

Share prices gained last week as bargain hunters prevailed during the three-day trading session. The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index rose 32.10 points to close at 6,156.11 points. Trading, however, remained sluggish as investors shrugged off the higher inflation rate for October, which came in at 7.7 percent, the highest in 14 years—or since the Asian financial crisis in 2008. Volume of trade was still low, averaging only at P4.54 billion. Foreign investors, who accounted for more than half of the trades, were net buyers at P771.91 million. All other sub-indices ended in the green, led by the broader All Shares index that gained 16.41 points to close at 3,273.70 points, the Financials index closed higher by 14.85 to 1,602.99, the Industrials index was up 20.66 to 9,008.56, the Holding Firms index climbed 6.69 to 5,940.06, the Property index rose 30.88 to 2,603.63, the Services index added 14.27 to 1,606.60 and the Mining and Oil index increased 146.22 to 9,949.17. For the week, gainers slightly edged losers 98 to 93 and 37 shares were unchanged. Top gainers were Jackstones Inc., Manila Bulletin Publishing Corp., Manila Broadcasting Co., Euro-Med Laboratories Phil. Inc., Top Frontier Investment Holdings Inc. and Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Top losers were Acesite (Phils.) Hotel Corp., MJC Investments Corp., Oriental Petroleum and Minerals Corp. A shares, D and L Industries Inc., Axelum Resources Corp., 2Go Group Inc. and Asian Terminals Inc.

This week

Share prices may go down this week as investors continue to worry over the prevailing high prices of goods and commodities. Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco, senior research analyst at Philstocks Financials Inc., said the local market could move sideways with a downward bias as investors continue to contend with worries over aggressive monetary policy outlooks and their impact on the local economy. “This comes amid an anticipated 75 basis point policy rate hike by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, and the continuation of the Federal Reserve’s policy tightening in the near future,” he said. Concerns over inflation following the 7.7 percent for October may also weigh on sentiment. “On a positive note, optimistic anticipation of Q3 corporate results may provide support to the market. Investors are also expected to watch out for our Q3 GDP data for cues,” he said. Broker 2TradeAsia said winter is coming to the West but this has to be unsurprising to markets at this point as oil prices are expected to rise. “Real value should flow to and with companies who have more wood to burn for the winter,” it said. Immediate support for the main index is seen at the 6,000 to 6,100 range while resistance is seen at the 50-day exponential moving average at 6,200 to 6,300.

Stock picks

Broker Regina Capital Development Corp. advised investors to hold on the stock of International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) as its price may not fall in the near term. Last week, at the market open, the bears raced in placing sell orders, making the stock price hit its intraday low of P161.80. Shortly after the plunge, bargain hunters then entered the arena and drove the price to the north. “Overall, ICT is still trading below all its significant moving averages, and it is likely that it could continue trading sideways for the subsequent weeks,” it said. ICTSI’s shares closed at P177.80 on Friday. Meanwhile, the broker advised to sell on rallies on the stock of Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (SCC) as after the massive downturn from last week, the market finally decided to step on the breaks. “All in all, SCC could be a good candidate for players who are seeking quick gains as the volatility is pretty high on this stock. This stock is playable especially while using lower timeframes,” it said. Semirara Mining’s shares closed last week at P34.15 apiece. VG Cabuag

www.businessmirror.com.ph

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

November 4, 2022

Net Foreign Stocks Bid Ask Open High Low Close Volume Value Trade (Peso) Buy (Sell) FINANCIALs

BDO UNIBANK BANK COMMERCE BANK PH ISLANDS CHINABANK EAST WEST BANK METROBANK PB BANK PHIL NATL BANK PSBANK RCBC SECURITY BANK UNION BANK COL FINANCIAL IREMIT PHIL STOCK EXCH SUN LIFE

559,896,795 97,520 140,943,671.50 400,025 221,528 48,232,234.50 337,390 5,142,782 5,103 10,540,745 60,583,276 1,630,818.50 81,590 1,420 114,726 552,000

166,267,550 12,800 33,932,175.50 -135,455 31,632,175.50 -2,335,588 3,402 32,400 -7,824,875.50 631,192.00 552,000

INDUSTRIAL ACEN CORP 6.12 6.14 6.09 6.12 5.93 6.12 6,993,500 41,916,104 0.79 0.81 0.79 0.79 0.79 0.79 56,000 44,240 ALSONS CONS 32.35 32.5 32.7 32.7 31.95 32.35 623,600 20,218,395 ABOITIZ POWER 1.68 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.66 1.68 274,000 459,140 RASLAG BASIC ENERGY 0.305 0.31 0.295 0.315 0.295 0.305 5,460,000 1,670,350 FIRST GEN 15.34 15.4 15.4 15.4 15.32 15.36 162,600 2,498,854 FIRST PHIL HLDG 60.4 61.8 60.4 60.4 60.4 60.4 690 41,676 301 310 299.6 310 296 310 125,760 38,478,912 MERALCO 15.7 15.78 15.86 15.86 15.42 15.78 700,100 10,862,442 MANILA WATER 2.4 2.41 2.41 2.48 2.4 2.41 559,000 1,348,770 PETRON PETROENERGY 4.21 4.68 4.47 4.47 4.47 4.47 8,000 35,760 11.42 11.48 11.36 11.56 11.3 11.42 388,300 4,431,262 SYNERGY GRID PILIPINAS SHELL 17.4 17.6 17.68 17.68 17.38 17.6 101,100 1,761,876 9.8 9.9 9.35 10 9.35 9.8 46,500 444,128 SPC POWER 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.17 1.14 1.14 9,491,000 10,882,040 SOLAR PH 6.97 6.98 7 7 6.84 6.98 1,788,700 12,434,517 AGRINURTURE AXELUM 2.59 2.62 2.73 2.75 2.56 2.59 1,142,000 2,998,930 CENTURY FOOD 24.15 24.2 24.2 24.45 24.1 24.15 767,000 18,575,455 DEL MONTE 12.3 12.48 12.5 12.5 12.5 12.5 25,600 320,000 7.19 7.22 7.34 7.34 7.16 7.22 560,800 4,045,414 DNL INDUS 19.62 19.72 19.64 19.72 19.58 19.72 3,066,600 60,180,034 EMPERADOR 34.95 35.3 34.25 35.45 34.1 34.95 51,100 1,773,605 SMC FOODANDBEV FIGARO COFFEE 0.59 0.6 0.58 0.6 0.58 0.6 1,640,000 971,940 ALLIANCE SELECT 0.52 0.54 0.52 0.52 0.52 0.52 3,000 1,560 0.98 0.99 0.98 0.99 0.98 0.99 459,000 450,210 FRUITAS HLDG 103.2 105.8 105.8 105.8 105.8 105.8 8,140 861,212 GINEBRA 228.2 228.6 228.4 230 225 228.2 361,280 82,218,566 JOLLIBEE 1.08 1.1 1.07 1.1 1.07 1.1 179,000 192,560 KEEPERS HLDG LIBERTY FLOUR 18.2 18.98 17.98 18.6 17.98 18 4,800 86,562 MAXS GROUP 4.3 4.49 4.42 4.49 4.42 4.49 17,000 76,230 0.112 0.113 0.107 0.113 0.105 0.112 890,000 97,630 MG HLDG 11.34 11.5 11.68 11.68 11.28 11.5 3,423,700 39,060,644 MONDE NISSIN 7.35 7.4 7.35 7.4 7.35 7.4 14,800 109,023 SHAKEYS PIZZA 0.46 0.47 0.45 0.47 0.45 0.46 1,510,000 681,200 ROXAS AND CO 3.77 3.8 3.8 3.8 3.77 3.8 202,000 767,570 RFM CORP SWIFT FOODS 0.081 0.088 0.082 0.082 0.081 0.081 110,000 9,010 124.9 126.6 119.8 126.6 119.5 126.6 939,590 115,644,477 UNIV ROBINA VITARICH 0.56 0.59 0.59 0.6 0.59 0.6 705,000 422,500 36.55 39.85 36.55 36.55 36.5 36.5 18,000 657,165 CONCRETE A 0.65 0.67 0.66 0.67 0.66 0.67 287,000 189,700 CEMEX HLDG 21 21.1 20.8 21.25 20.75 21.1 1,487,200 31,227,090 EAGLE CEMENT EEI CORP 3.21 3.25 3.2 3.3 3.2 3.3 4,000 13,000 3.27 3.28 3.3 3.3 3.25 3.28 276,000 903,250 MEGAWIDE PHINMA 19.6 19.84 19.6 19.84 19.6 19.84 21,700 430,120 0.8 0.81 0.81 0.82 0.81 0.81 313,000 253,650 VULCAN INDL 1.47 1.51 1.5 1.52 1.5 1.52 37,000 55,560 CROWN ASIA 0.92 0.93 0.94 0.94 0.94 0.94 18,000 16,920 EUROMED MABUHAY VINYL 6.31 6.41 6.67 6.77 6.4 6.41 4,700 30,819 15.18 15.94 15.94 15.94 15.18 15.94 1,700 27,022 CONCEPCION 1.64 1.65 1.65 1.66 1.63 1.65 2,567,000 4,212,010 GREENERGY 4.88 5.2 4.9 5 4.9 4.9 233,000 1,156,850 INTEGRATED MICR 0.485 0.5 0.485 0.485 0.485 0.485 10,000 4,850 IONICS 5.03 5.39 5.01 5.39 5.01 5.39 3,500 18,105 PANASONIC SFA SEMICON 1.43 1.48 1.45 1.49 1.45 1.48 320,000 471,850 2.48 2.5 2.51 2.52 2.46 2.5 273,000 680,900 CIRTEK HLDG

6,933,867 960,145.00 -21,350 -2,194,030 -6,644 19,526,704 149,274 -1,135,430 -1,832,058 10,560 414,950 -442,406 -463,240 11,854,405 -78,750 -3,183,502 56,499,116 -470,640 2,320 49,000 847,458 -11,779,568 -21,400 -10,800 -13,063,702 -763,800 65,445,350 -15,840 8,732,410 -821,340 -466,870 245,200 9,920

HOLDING & FRIMS ABACORE CAPITAL AYALA CORP ABOITIZ EQUITY ALLIANCE GLOBAL ANGLO PHIL HLDG ATN HLDG A COSCO CAPITAL DMCI HLDG FILINVEST DEV GT CAPITAL HOUSE OF INV JG SUMMIT LOPEZ HLDG LT GROUP METRO PAC INV PRIME MEDIA SOLID GROUP SM INVESTMENTS SAN MIGUEL CORP SEAFRONT RES WELLEX INDUS

126.6 7.92 95 26.5 5.8 51.95 7.79 19.3 55.2 24.8 88 78.1 3.13 0.71 157.3 2,300

2.34 626 56.3 8.8 0.65 0.355 3.92 9.66 6.4 405 3.28 43.8 2.94 8.47 3.63 1.65 0.8 813.5 98 1.79 0.235

127 8.18 97 26.6 5.85 52.15 8.09 19.4 56.7 25 88.4 79 3.14 0.87 160 2,380

2.35 630 57.2 8.85 0.69 0.36 3.94 9.67 6.64 408.8 3.68 44 2.99 8.5 3.67 1.68 0.81 835 99 1.99 0.275

126 8.19 94.5 26.1 5.8 52 7.98 19.4 56.7 24.15 88.4 79.65 3.15 0.71 159 2,300

2.35 646 57.8 8.8 0.66 0.355 3.94 9.68 6.4 407 3.5 44.95 2.95 8.5 3.63 1.65 0.81 819 98.7 1.79 0.235

127.6 8.19 97 26.5 5.86 52.15 8.1 19.7 56.7 25.3 88.8 79.65 3.15 0.71 164.9 2,300

2.4 650 57.8 8.89 0.66 0.355 3.95 9.75 6.64 409.2 3.5 44.95 2.95 8.54 3.67 1.67 0.81 835 99 1.79 0.235

126 8 92.95 26.1 5.8 51.1 7.98 19.3 56.7 23.8 86.65 77.75 3.13 0.71 157.1 2,300

2.32 623 56.3 8.75 0.66 0.355 3.92 9.6 6.4 401 3.5 43.5 2.94 8.33 3.58 1.65 0.81 811.5 98 1.79 0.235

127 8 97 26.5 5.85 52.15 8.09 19.4 56.7 25 88.4 79 3.13 0.71 160 2,300

2.35 626 57.2 8.85 0.66 0.355 3.94 9.67 6.64 408.8 3.5 43.8 2.94 8.5 3.67 1.65 0.81 835 99 1.79 0.235

4,423,080 12,000 1,473,420 15,200 38,100 927,060 42,200 264,100 90 432,400 687,930 20,720 26,000 2,000 720 240

5,467,000 290,470 1,327,780 937,100 10,000 1,010,000 86,000 3,225,200 3,000 148,300 3,000 788,600 120,000 2,708,600 7,037,000 13,000 70,000 132,380 57,870 2,000 10,000

12,876,980 182,341,260 75,891,019 8,274,733 6,600 358,550 338,040 31,144,584 19,440 59,969,640 10,500 34,646,040 353,800 22,917,985 25,420,210 21,570 56,700 109,070,240 5,721,545.50 3,580 2,350

PROPERTY

AYALA LAND 25.35 25.4 26.45 26.6 25.25 25.35 11,758,500 302,029,015 3.23 3.25 3.26 3.27 3.25 3.25 566,000 1,839,930 AYALA LAND LOG 11.8 12.88 12.88 12.88 12.88 12.88 100 1,288 ALTUS PROP 1.07 1.1 1.07 1.07 1.06 1.07 78,000 83,420 ARANETA PROP AREIT RT 31.3 31.35 31.4 31.4 31.05 31.3 180,800 5,659,720 A BROWN 0.71 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 2,000 1,500 0.65 0.66 0.66 0.66 0.66 0.66 49,000 32,340 CITYLAND DEVT 0.077 0.081 0.078 0.08 0.078 0.08 20,000 1,580 CROWN EQUITIES 2.58 2.7 2.65 2.7 2.65 2.7 300,000 809,750 CEB LANDMASTERS 0.335 0.34 0.34 0.345 0.335 0.34 620,000 209,500 CENTURY PROP CITICORE RT 2.03 2.04 2.03 2.05 2.01 2.04 1,923,000 3,905,910 DOUBLEDRAGON 6 6.06 5.73 6 5.68 6 433,700 2,549,592 DDMP RT 1.2 1.21 1.2 1.21 1.18 1.2 1,299,000 1,549,640 6.56 6.58 6.58 6.58 6.58 6.58 10,000 65,800 DM WENCESLAO 0.248 0.255 0.248 0.25 0.247 0.25 10,130,000 2,505,260 EVER GOTESCO 5.58 5.71 5.73 5.73 5.6 5.6 99,000 560,635 FILINVEST RT FILINVEST LAND 0.79 0.8 0.81 0.81 0.79 0.8 1,206,000 954,670 8990 HLDG 9.22 9.6 9.21 9.6 9.21 9.6 15,700 149,219 0.92 0.93 0.92 0.93 0.92 0.92 258,000 237,460 PHIL INFRADEV 0.71 0.75 0.71 0.71 0.71 0.71 2,000 1,420 CITY AND LAND 2.06 2.07 2.09 2.1 2.05 2.06 14,452,000 29,878,260 MEGAWORLD 0.174 0.176 0.176 0.176 0.176 0.176 80,000 14,080 MRC ALLIED MREIT RT 12.44 12.6 12.6 12.7 12.44 12.44 441,300 5,520,042 PHIL ESTATES 0.4 0.405 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 860,000 344,000 5.05 5.09 5.09 5.18 5.05 5.05 545,800 2,769,201 RL COMM RT 14.9 14.92 14.9 14.98 14.72 14.9 998,300 14,840,142 ROBINSONS LAND 0.19 0.209 0.186 0.186 0.186 0.186 10,000 1,860 PHIL REALTY 1.3 1.32 1.31 1.32 1.31 1.32 38,000 49,900 ROCKWELL SHANG PROP 2.41 2.57 2.57 2.57 2.57 2.57 2,000 5,140 2.9 3 2.94 3 2.94 3 110,000 327,020 STA LUCIA LAND 32 32.3 32 32.3 31.2 32.3 6,606,000 210,766,700 SM PRIME HLDG VISTA LAND 1.66 1.68 1.7 1.7 1.63 1.68 113,000 189,000 1.47 1.48 1.48 1.48 1.48 1.48 44,000 65,120 VISTAREIT RT SERVICES ABS CBN 7.61 7.8 7.61 7.8 7.6 7.8 15,200 116,102 10.34 10.36 10.16 10.34 10.16 10.34 302,600 3,101,390 GMA NETWORK 0.285 0.36 0.4 0.42 0.36 0.36 40,000 15,400 MANILA BULLETIN 2,286 2,300 2,260 2,300 2,240 2,300 65,045 147,853,520 GLOBE TELECOM PLDT 1,603 1,614 1,605 1,614 1,590 1,614 43,160 69,461,305 APOLLO GLOBAL 0.027 0.028 0.027 0.028 0.027 0.028 12,100,000 332,800 CONVERGE 12.02 12.06 12.3 12.42 12 12.02 7,028,300 84,910,190 2.8 2.84 2.79 2.85 2.74 2.8 1,301,000 3,641,760 DITO CME HLDG 0.87 0.88 0.87 0.88 0.86 0.87 582,000 505,510 NOW CORP 0.215 0.216 0.216 0.216 0.215 0.216 390,000 84,210 TRANSPACIFIC BR 2GO GROUP 6.21 6.5 6.5 6.8 6.5 6.5 6,100 39,950 CHELSEA 1.1 1.13 1.1 1.13 1.1 1.13 117,000 131,060 35.6 36 36 36.3 35.55 36 52,900 1,901,095 CEBU AIR 175 177.8 171.9 177.8 167.1 177.8 2,363,430 408,904,061 INTL CONTAINER 4.56 4.59 4.56 4.59 4.55 4.59 176,000 804,680 MACROASIA 5.7 5.89 5.7 5.7 5.7 5.7 2,000 11,400 PAL HLDG HARBOR STAR 1.13 1.14 1.16 1.17 1.13 1.14 219,000 250,470 0.46 0.475 0.46 0.465 0.46 0.46 3,000,000 1,380,300 WATERFRONT CENTRO ESCOLAR 6.49 7 7 7 7 7 13,700 95,900 5.63 6.7 6.84 6.84 6.5 6.5 3,000 20,240 IPEOPLE 0.315 0.325 0.325 0.325 0.325 0.325 220,000 71,500 STI HLDG 7.08 7.15 7.05 7.15 6.92 7.15 2,071,800 14,607,319 BLOOMBERRY PACIFIC ONLINE 1.44 1.45 1.36 1.45 1.36 1.45 13,000 18,580 2.9 2.91 2.78 2.91 2.78 2.9 4,803,000 13,845,160 LEISURE AND RES PH RESORTS GRP 0.8 0.81 0.81 0.81 0.8 0.81 458,000 367,300 0.445 0.45 0.445 0.45 0.44 0.45 4,610,000 2,072,350 PREMIUM LEISURE 2.76 2.77 2.74 2.77 2.74 2.76 2,227,000 6,124,660 PHILWEB 0.245 0.249 0.25 0.25 0.245 0.245 9,720,000 2,399,400 ALLDAY ALLHOME 2.64 2.65 2.83 2.84 2.62 2.65 84,000 223,870 METRO RETAIL 1.36 1.37 1.37 1.37 1.37 1.37 321,000 439,770 30.6 30.7 29.5 30.8 29.5 30.7 365,600 11,119,550 PUREGOLD ROBINSONS RTL 53.7 54.65 54.8 54.8 53.55 54.65 4,100 222,195.50 66.1 69 69 69 69 69 1,560 107,640 PHIL SEVEN CORP 1.35 1.36 1.35 1.37 1.35 1.36 192,000 259,420 SSI GROUP 29.6 30 29.85 30.2 29.35 30 1,877,200 56,283,765 WILCON DEPOT APC GROUP 0.19 0.193 0.178 0.19 0.178 0.19 340,000 60,640 0.84 0.85 0.82 0.87 0.82 0.85 8,043,000 6,779,100 MEDILINES PRMIERE HORIZON 0.27 0.275 0.275 0.275 0.265 0.275 1,240,000 334,650 3.59 3.6 3.55 3.59 3.55 3.59 32,000 114,820 SBS PHIL CORP MINING & OIL ATOK 7.4 7.5 7.55 7.89 7.5 7.5 267,100 2,008,253 1.5 1.51 1.45 1.51 1.45 1.5 1,270,000 1,900,110 APEX MINING 3.25 3.3 3.23 3.3 3.23 3.3 78,000 256,020 ATLAS MINING BENGUET A 4.19 4.22 4.22 4.22 4.22 4.22 8,000 33,760 4.09 4.18 4.09 4.09 4.07 4.07 63,000 256,470 BENGUET B 0.21 0.225 0.225 0.225 0.225 0.225 10,000 2,250 COAL ASIA HLDG 2.56 2.68 2.68 2.68 2.68 2.68 25,000 67,000 CENTURY PEAK 2.19 2.2 2.23 2.27 2.19 2.2 804,000 1,772,550 FERRONICKEL 0.104 0.105 0.104 0.105 0.104 0.105 20,000 2,090 LEPANTO A MARCVENTURES 1.31 1.32 1.3 1.31 1.28 1.31 366,000 477,130 0.82 0.86 0.86 0.86 0.86 0.86 23,000 19,780 NIHAO NICKEL ASIA 5.26 5.27 5.04 5.29 5 5.27 5,426,400 28,222,863 0.69 0.7 0.67 0.7 0.67 0.7 32,000 21,800 ORNTL PENINSULA 2.24 2.25 2.22 2.29 2.22 2.24 605,000 1,362,880 PX MINING 34.15 34.25 35.3 35.95 34.15 34.15 3,935,700 137,035,550 SEMIRARA MINING UNITED PARAGON 0.005 0.0058 0.0058 0.0058 0.0058 0.0058 1,000,000 5,800 12.6 12.8 12.88 12.88 12.52 12.8 17,600 223,506 ACE ENEXOR 0.01 0.011 0.01 0.011 0.01 0.01 50,800,000 520,600 ORNTL PETROL A 0.0091 0.0093 0.0091 0.0091 0.0091 0.0091 25,000,000 227,500 PHILODRILL 5.81 6 5.95 6 5.8 6 211,200 1,259,975 PXP ENERGY PREFFERED HOUSE PREF B 95 98 98 98 98 98 520 50,960 96.7 101.1 101.1 101.1 101.1 101.1 10 1,011 HOUSE PREF A 485 489 499 499 499 499 200 99,800 AC PREF B2R 100 102 100 100 100 100 1,500 150,000 BRN PREF A CEB PREF 35.1 36.1 35.1 35.9 35.1 35.9 33,000 1,160,700 DD PREF 91.55 94.8 93 93 91.55 91.55 910 83,455.50 100 101 101 101 101 101 200 20,200 EEI PREF A 951 990 990 990 990 990 10 9,900 GTCAP PREF A 928 959 927 927 927 927 40 37,080 JFC PREF A 896 898 898 898 898 898 500 449,000 JFC PREF B MWIDE PREF 2A 95 97.2 95 97.2 95 95 2,150 204,360 85.2 88.8 88.8 88.9 85.1 88.9 260 22,668 PNX PREF 3B 651 690 641 696 635 695 910 596,720 PNX PREF 4 980 990 990 990 980 980 2,350 2,310,450 PCOR PREF 3A 1,003 1,004 1,005 1,005 1,003 1,004 1,985 1,992,145 PCOR PREF 3B 74.75 75 75 75 75 75 110 8,250 SMC PREF 2F SMC PREF 2H 74.2 74.5 74.4 74.4 74.4 74.4 110 8,184 69.6 70 70.05 70.05 70 70 75,410 5,278,705 SMC PREF 2J PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR 8.08 8.58 8.06 8.06 8.06 8.06 1,000 8,060 9.9 10.08 10.2 10.2 10 10 50,500 505,100 GMA HLDG PDR WARRANTS TECH WARRANT 0.52 0.56 0.56 0.56 0.56 0.56 1,000 560

3,913,420 -84,328,045 5,895,352 -3,758,714 0 -259,220 7,815,833 -19,209,172 18,674,185 -295,000 -904,795 4,101,070 -8,822,535 4,240,212.50 -37,906,025 -1,566,700 -1,546,120 26,400 -8,100 122,260.00 -1,400,897 -840,870 -2,473,000 -9,458 -681,420 -6,440 -782,170 -1,071,984 -1,376,555 -147,350 23,277,715 -38,420 8,880 34,800,520 13,653,590 2,800 -1,391,104 -271,970 2,640 -69,120 23,400 436,965.00 -97,493,712 -174,500 -11,400 46,000 11,620,520 -47,340.00 -13,750 62,150 -127,790 2,577,315 36,466.50 -107,640 -27,200 18,258,225 23,780.00 -164,450 36,750 67,000 -4,650 19,780 4,875,124.00 -73,460 18,140 -35,940

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

BALAI FRUITAS CTS GLOBAL HAUS TALK ITALPINAS MERRYMART XURPAS

0.65 0.83 0.86 0.75 1.18 0.255

0.66 0.84 0.9 0.78 1.19 0.27

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS FIRST METRO ETF

93.35

94.5

0.69 0.84 0.89 0.78 1.19 0.27

0.7 0.85 0.9 0.78 1.19 0.27

0.65 0.83 0.86 0.78 1.17 0.27

0.66 0.83 0.9 0.78 1.18 0.27

6,421,000 273,000 150,000 108,000 336,000 10,000

4,335,230 228,920 131,150 84,240 396,760 2,700

107,700 806 5,100 6,900 -68,290 31,500 153,400 -

94.3 94.5 93.5 94.5 14,250 1,340,120 132,445

www.news.businessmirror@gmail.com

Banking&Finance

Lender relies on data science, AI for clients By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

XECUTIVES of UnionBank of the Philippines said they are putting premium on data science and artificial intelligence (AI) as they saw response rates to cross-selling financial products doubling through its implementation of “hyper personalization” initiatives for both consumers and corporate clients. During the Singapore Fintech Festival, UnionBank Head of Data Science Solutions Julie Anne C. Dela Cruz said “hyper-personalization” allows the bank to offer financial solutions that are specific to the needs of its clients, helping it improve customer experience. “So far it’s actually improved our cross selling. In terms of response rates, for products wherein we are able to implement next best offer models, we actually saw our response rates double. So that way, it really improved the revenues and as well as the process because we are able to find customers in a scalable manner and implement it across our customer base,” Dela Cruz said. She said UnionBank uses data processing solutions to pinpoint the specific needs of its customers— both consumers and corporate. This enables the bank to cross-sell products like bancassurance and drive more revenues to the group.

“Another example for personalization is, actually, understanding our customers in a personalized way. For us, it’s important to close the loop with the customers,” UnionBank Head of AI and Innovation Center for Excellence Adrienne G. Heinrich said. Heinrich explained that UnionBank uses customer feedback, processing unstructured text messages and forms to create report files for resolution and implementation of better processes and solutions. “So what we’re doing there is we’re using natural language processing to automatically analyze all these tags and do it in such a way that we understand which customer group has which concerns and feels very happy about which experiences so that we can also understand what has high impact,” she said. Through AI, UnionBank is now able to process feedback from “weeks to minutes.” Moving forward, UnionBank intends to maximize the potential of AI and big data to create a frictionless customer experience, the executives said. “We want to push this innovation beyond what we can do today. We have long term teams, we are exploring more of some of these use cases and opportunities—which means fail fast. We will learn from that. That is a conscious decision,” Heinrich said.

Perspectives Big shifts, small steps

HE Survey of Sustainability Reporting 2022’s title “Big shifts, small steps” acknowledges the many ways in which the world has changed over the past two years. Regulators and non-profit standardsetters around the world have taken significant action around non-financial disclosure during this period, as shown below. More importantly, corporations are evolving in real time with shifting priorities in the world around them. Events like the “Code Red for Humanity” report of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), the Covid-19 pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement and the Russian government’s invasion of Ukraine have drawn strong reactions from the public; but now the public expects corporations to react to such events as well. Over the past three decades, our surveys have shown that sustainability reporting has become an accepted part of disclosure and transparency for many large companies, with a continued uptake of sustainability reporting globally and increasing integration into mainstream financial reporting. With this increased transparency comes greater accountability for action around reducing carbon emissions, halting biodiversity loss and tackling societal inequality. Yet, this work is challenging and growth in reporting has slowed as companies focus inward, assessing the investment necessary to mitigate their risks and take advantage of the opportunities that have come to light. The survey spotlights five major emerging trends within sustainability reporting: n Sustainability reporting is growing incrementally with movement towards the use of standards framed by stakeholder materiality assessments: The rates of sustainability reporting among the world’s leading 250 companies are at an impressive 96 percent. The Global Reporting Initiative remains the dominant standard used around the world and nearly three-quarters of companies carry out materiality assessments. n There is increased reporting on climate-related risks and carbon reduction targets: Nearly three-quarters of companies report their carbon targets, while the number of companies reporting against TCFD (Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures) has nearly doubled. This is in line with findings from the TCFD’s 2022 Status Report that states more than 3,900 companies, spanning 101 countries, covering nearly all sectors of the economy, with a combined market capitalization of $26 trillion, have pledged their support for the TCFD. n There is growing awareness

of biodiversity risk: Most sectors, even low risk ones, acknowledge biodiversity as a risk to their business. However, despite growing awareness of biodiversity loss, less than half of companies recognize this risk. n Reporting on the UN SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) prioritizes quantity over quality: The majority of companies report on SDGs, with 10 percent of companies reporting against all 17 SDGs. n Climate risk reporting leads, followed by social and governance risks: Since 2017, there has been a marked improvement in the number of companies that acknowledge climate change as a risk to their business. However, less than half of companies report on social and governance risks. In light of the trends highlighted in this survey, here are some tangible ways businesses can begin to navigate the sustainability reporting landscape: n Understand stakeholder expectations using stakeholder materiality assessments to inform your business strategy and prioritize your focus. n Determine strategic imperatives against key ESG topics and define key metrics, considering impending regulations. n Establish a cross-functional governance structure to collect, report and approve sustainability and ESG information. n Consider investing in quality nonfinancial data management, including documenting process and testing controls over the information, or system implementation. Each company’s sustainability reporting journey will be unique. Whether you report on climate-risk or biodiversity, align with the SDGs or SASB (Sustainability Accounting Standards Board), or choose to report on 10 metrics or 100 metrics, a successful program will comply with mandatory reporting rules, accurately and reliably reflect the material impacts the company has on the environment and society and effectively describe how the company integrates ESG risks and opportunities into its business strategy. As we continue to see big shifts, you can be confident that KPMG is ready to walk alongside you as you take your next steps. The excerpt was taken from the KPMG Survey of Sustainability Reporting 2022: https://assets.kpmg/ content/dam/kpmg/xx/pdf/2022/10/ssr-executivesummary-small-steps-big-shifts.pdf. KPMG Intl. Ltd. is a private English company limited by guarantee and does not provide services to clients. For more information on KPMG in the Philippines, you may send a message through ph-marketsph@kpmg.com or visit www.home.kpmg/ph.

BusinessMirror

Editor: Dennis D. Estopace • Monday, November 7, 2022

Govt working on lowering tax on Filipino freelancers

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

@joveemarie

S freelancing could be “future of the service sector” in the Philippines, the House Committee on Ways and Means is now working with the Department of Finance and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to lower the withholding tax on Filipino freelancers employed by US companies. Citing a report by New York, USheadquartered Hire Digital Corp., House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Joey Sarte Salceda said that 59 percent of AsiaPacific marketers saw growth in the freelancing sector over the past five years. “Freelancing, particularly freelancing for foreign clients, is the future of the services sector in the country. It’s basically micro-BPO [business process outsourcing] and it will change purchasing power and employment conditions in the countryside,” Salceda was quoted in a statement as saying. “It’s already changing the landscape in towns in Albay.” The lawmaker estimates that as much as two million Filipino workers work part-time or fulltime as freelancers with foreign

income, and that the sector could be as large as the BPO sector within the decade. Salceda said that, currently, most types of US sourced income received by Filipino freelancers and content creators are subject to tax of 30 percent in the United States of America. This, he added, there’s “a reduced rate or exemption if there is a tax treaty between the foreign person’s country of residence and the United States.” Salceda said that there is a USPhilippines “double taxation agreement.” However, he added, this does not yet operate for Filipino freelancers and content creators, such as Youtubers, who pay 30 percent of their US-derived income as US tax. “We don’t get any of that tax, and our tax rates are, of course, much lower for personal income.”

Citing a provision in the Train Law (Republic Act 10963) that reduces basic tax rates starting January 1, 2023, Salceda said the Philippines is lowering its tax rates next year by around 5 percent across the board for personal income taxes. “This becomes even more crucial to negotiate a tax deal with the US that allows Filipino freelancers to be taxed at our lower tax rates, instead of the US rate,” Salceda said. He explained that the effective tax rate for anyone earning under P2 million, which is typically the income of Filipino freelancers, is 20.1 percent. “So, they will save around 10 percent of their income if they get taxed at Philippine rates instead of US rates,” he added. “That’s as much as P200,000 more that they can provide their families.” Salceda estimated that the Philippines could also earn as much as P26 billion in revenues, as opposed to the US earning as much as P75 billion in taxes from Filipino freelancers. “It will mean higher take-home pay for freelancers—a new revenue stream for the Philippines—and we will be better able to protect freelancers as well.” Salceda said Senate approval of an international tax agreement could be necessary. The lawmaker said he is also working with tax agencies to determine whether the ratification of the “Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters” or “MCMAAT,” is necessary for the tax-lowering move. The MCMAAT has been pending in the

Philippine Senate since 2014 when the country signed on to the measure. “That treaty makes exchange of information automatic between tax authorities,” Salceda said. “That basically allows us to identify Philippine taxpayers who are taxed under US law, so we can lower their taxes.” “I hope it’s no longer needed but, if it is, I hope the Senate, perhaps with the urging of my counterpart, Sen. Win Gatchalian, ratifies the treaty.”

Service sector

MEANWHILE, Salceda also thinks that the foreign-employed freelancing sector could be “the future of the Philippine services sector.” “They’re OFWs [overseas Filipino workers] without travelling or living abroad. They get to take care of their families while earning foreign currency. It’s a win for us. And I hope we can nurture this sector more,” he added. The lawmaker said he is working with companies like Amazon.com Inc. to establish “digital jobs centers” in the country and build facilities where there is stable Internet and uninterrupted power. He also hopes Jeff Bezos’s firm could establish other amenities that allow freelancers in rural communities to serve their contracts. “Internet access remains a challenge in many rural communities; so I am also working with their employers to provide facilities where they can provide high-standard service despite internet connectivity challenges in their communities.”

LandBank sees e-payment facility deals hit 0.5M By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

HE Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) facilitated over half a million transactions through its electronic payment facility in the January-to-September period this year. The state-run lender said it facilitated 506,000 transactions representing a 56-percent increase in transactions through the facility it calls “Link.BizPortal” on an annual basis. These transactions amounted to P8.8 billion or a 19 percent growth year-on-year.

“Through the [facility, Filipinos] can settle fees, dues and charges to the local government unit [LGU] at their convenience with just a few clicks on their computers or mobile devices,” a statement from the LBP read. The Municipal Government of Tumauini is the newest addition to the list of more than 970 government and private partner merchants nationwide that have been enrolled in the e-payment system, as of endSeptember 2022, the lender said. Last October 18, Tumauini Mayor Venus T. Bautista and LBP Ilagan Branch Head and Assistant Vice

President Lorenzo M. Saquing signed a Memorandum of Agreement for the use of the e-payment facility. LBP President and CEO Cecilia C. Borromeo was quoted in a statement as saying the lender “fully supports the digitalization initiatives of the local government of Tumauini to deliver convenient public services.” “We look forward to helping increase payment collection rates to fund more development programs in the municipality,” Borromeo said. The Tumauini LGU and LBP also inaugurated a new automated teller machine (ATM) at the new Municipal Building Compound in Barangay San

Pedro, Tumauini, Isabela. This second ATM of the LBP in the municipality will cater to government employees and private customers, including the beneficiaries of the National Government’s “Conditional and Unconditional Cash Transfer” (CCT/UCT) programs in the 46 barangays of Tumauini, as well as the 26 barangays of the neighboring Municipality of Delfin Albino. The presence of this new offsite ATM further complements the delivery of essential banking services in the area, in line with LBP’s thrust to promote financial inclusion nationwide, the lender said.

US inflation to pose fresh test for Fed under Powell

HE Federal Reserve gets fresh insight into its inflation challenge this week amid expectations US prices continued to rise at a stubbornly fast pace in the past month. The consumer price index report for October is scheduled for Thursday, and is set to have climbed 7.9 percent from a year ago, only a slight slowing from 8.2 percent recorded in September, according to the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Strip out food and energy and the index likely edged down to a 6.5 percent result from September’s 6.6 percent advance. That’s still far above the 2-percent inflation the Fed targets based on a separate gauge. On a month-over-month basis, the core measure is projected to rise 0.5 percent, matching the average pace since October of last year and indicating the Fed has made little progress arresting rampant inflation with its series of jumbo rate hikes. Fed officials, led by Chair Jerome Powell, raised their key interest rate on Nov. 2 by 75 basis points for the fourth meeting in a row. While they hinted at a potential willingness to slow the pace of increases when they next gather in December, that will ultimately depend on whether the outlook for inflation

cools. Policy makers are already signaling that rates may peak at a higher level than previously assumed. The inflation surge certainly has implications for lawmakers as US voters go to the polls on Tuesday. Opinion polls suggest Democrats will lose control of the House of Representatives and possibly the Senate as well.

Asia

JAPAN is expected to give details early in the week of a $200 billion extra budget to fund its latest economic stimulus package. How much will be funded by new issuance of bonds will be under close scrutiny as the country adds to the developed world’s worst public debt load. Japanese wage and spending figures out Tuesday are likely to show a continued fall in households’ purchasing power and expenditure as inflation strengthens. Daily intervention data for September are expected to show just one entry into markets to prop up the yen before Japan ramped up its strategy in October. Reserve Bank of Australia’s Deputy Governor Michele Bullock sheds light on the latest thinking on policy as the central bank appears to settle on an extended regular sized ratehike strategy. China is set to report trade data

on Monday and inflation numbers on Wednesday, with weakening factory prices and tame consumer prices another sign of weakness in momentum. Indonesia posts GDP (gross domestic product) data on Monday and the Philippines does so on Thursday.

Europe, Middle East, Africa

THE week kicks off with a meeting of euro-area finance chiefs in Brussels. They’re likely to lament the economic woes of a region that seems headed for recession while consumer prices are at a record high. A flurry of European Central Bank officials are scheduled to speak, among them President Christine Lagarde, Vice President Luis de Guindos, and Chief Economist Philip Lane. In the UK, third-quarter output on Friday is expected to show a contraction of 0.5 percent, evidence that the economy is already in a recession that the Bank of England predicts may rival that of the 1990s. Four BOE rate setters—including Chief Economist Huw Pill—will be watched for any indication on what the UK central bank may do at its next meeting after its latest 75-basis-point hike. In eastern Europe, the central banks of Poland and Romania are predicted to lift rates to 7 percent and 6.75 percent, respectively. Serbia

will also have to decide whether to shift, days after striking a deal with the International Monetary Fund. Data from Ghana on Wednesday may show annual inflation in October was almost quadruple the 10 percent ceiling of the central bank’s target. Egyptian inflation for October may be little changed from the previous month’s 15 percent on Thursday, in data that encompass a period before the latest devaluation of the pound.

Latin America

CHILE posts a raft of economic data on Monday, including trade and copper exports, followed by October inflation figures Tuesday that are expected to show a second straight year-on-year decline from August’s 14.1 percent cycle high. In Brazil, government electionrelated stimulus spending and tax cuts should bolster September’s retail sales figures. Look for a dramatic slowdown in consumer prices to extend into October, with early estimates of 6.4 percent nearly 600 basis points below April’s reading. Analysts continue to mark up their third-quarter growth forecasts for Colombia’s economy, suggesting strong September results for manufacturing, industrial output and retail sales. Bloomberg News

B4 Monday, November 7, 2022

Explainer BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Threats to U.S. election security

grow more complex By Frank Bajak TheAssociated Press

op US election security officials say protecting the nation’s voting systems has become increasingly challenging. That’s due mostly to the embrace by millions of Americans of unfounded conspiracy theories and false claims about widespread fraud in the 2020 presidential race. With the midterm elections just days away, the director of the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Jen Easterly, and other officials say they have no evidence that election infrastructure has been altered by hostile actors to prevent voting or vote counting, compromise ballots or affect voter registration accuracy. But they’re not lowering their guard. Disinformation is rampant. Foreign rivals are capable of potent cyber mischief. And the insider threat is considered greater than ever. On top of the physical threats and intimidation of elections officials— which is authorities’ overriding concern—security experts are particularly worried about tampering by those who work in local election offices or at polling stations. “The current election threat environment is more complex than it has ever been,” Easterly told reporters in midOctober. Global rivals also are expected to deepen longstanding disinformation efforts. The tense geopolitical moment means Russia, Iran and China may have fewer qualms about trying to disrupt the conduct of elections in key battlegrounds with cyber operations. The spectrum of potential threats is wide: foreign ransomware gangs friendly with the Kremlin, conspiracy-obsessed local election officials, hostile voters bent on sabotage or political provocateurs trying to suppress the vote with dirty tricks or misinformation. Here are some of the potential threats agencies are assessing through Election Day:

Threats from within

Insider threats are a growing concern and could undermine serious strides made to secure voting systems—including migrating to hand-marked paper ballots and introducing reliable audits—since they were declared critical national infrastructure in January 2017. Rogue election officials could provide access to voting systems to unauthorized individuals, as happened in Colorado and

Employees test voting equipment at the Miami-Dade County Elections Department, October 19, 2022, in Miami, in advance of the 2022 midterm elections on November 8. Top US election security officials say protecting the nation’s voting systems has become increasingly more challenging. That’s due mostly to the embrace by millions of Americans of unfounded conspiracy theories and false claims about widespread fraud in the 2020 presidential race. AP/Lynne Sladky

Georgia. Poll workers or even voters could try to access voter registration databases or equipment, or plant malware to taint election management systems. Eddie Perez, a voting technology expert with the nonprofit OSET Institute, calls the repeated efforts to cast doubt on the integrity of voting equipment an element of a more broad “manufactured chaos”— intentional subversion of the nation's elections to sow doubt. Perez is among specialists who think attempts to discredit voting technology are one manifestation of efforts by former President Donald Trump and his allies to undermine trust in election results so Republican-controlled state legislatures— rather than voters—can decide the outcome of future races. To counter the threats from insiders, federal authorities have conducted trainings and encouraged election officials to focus on limiting access to critical equipment, adding video surveillance and key cards on doors. They also encourage strict chain-of-custody rules for everything from ballots to voting scanners and tabulators. Threats to public officials and election disruption attempts haver occurred with increasing frequency and intensity, federal and local law enforcement officials say. They are especially concerned about physical violence by protesters in highly contested districts during the post-election vote-counting process.

Threats from abroad

US officials have issued two main election-security advisories in the run-up to the November 8 elections. They say malicious cyberactivity is unlikely to seriously disrupt or prevent voting and that hostile foreign states are apt to try to influence outcomes with “information operations.” Foreign meddlers could launch cyber attacks or exaggerate the effects of relatively ineffectual attacks. They could spread misinformation about voting or voter fraud, try to incite violence or, if violence is already happening, fan the flames. Hostile foreign bids to undermine US democracy have risen since the Russian operation that hacked and then leaked Democratic emails to aid Trump in the 2016 presidential race. None have had anywhere near the impact, though. Rivals constantly probe US networks for vulnerabilities. Moscow may seek payback for Washington’s arming of Ukraine against its invasion. Iran resents US support for anti-regime demonstrations triggered by the death in police custody of a young woman who defied head-scarf orthodoxy. As for China, relations are tense as Washington tries to throttle high-tech supplies to Beijing over its perceived hostility and growing authoritarianism. There's also the possibility that foreign actors might have breached election systems long ago and are waiting to pounce.

Attacks from foreign adversaries

On Election Day, hostile foreign powers or sympathetic hackers could mount what are known as denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, which render websites unreachable by flooding them with junk data. Targeting state and local government web sites, such attacks could prevent voters from looking up registration information or polling locations, or knock offline sites that report election results after voting ends. One group on the radar of the US cyber-security agency is Killnet, pro-Russia hackers who made a ruckus in October by organizing DDoS attacks on US airport and state government web sites. Such attacks are mostly a nuisance and don’t destroy data or even breach sites. But they can frustrate voters and election poll workers, and become powerful grist for disinformation offensives. For example, Russian state media and fake news mills could amplify exaggerated claims of disruption, as occurred with the Killnet effort against the airport and government sites. Another potential threat are Russianspeaking ransomware gangs that operate with little Kremlin interference. They have largely spared US election infrastructure, which by now tends to be a lot better protected than many of the hospitals, schools and businesses they routinely plague. Hack-and-leak operations also are possible. Sensitive data could be stolen from election or campaign websites, partially falsified and released online.

Cyber-security firm Trellix reported a spike in phishing e-mails targeting county election workers in Pennsylvania and Arizona, both battleground states, over the summer seeking to harvest passwords and potentially interfere with the administration of absentee ballots. “In many cases, the threat actors attempting to breach our election systems are the same ones who are conducting influence operations that seek to sow discord,” Easterly, the CISA director, said in mid-October. That could include the Russian troll farm known as the Internet Research Agency, a key player in the 2016 Russia destabilization campaign that favored Trump and sought to widen social divisions in the US. The group sought to manipulate public opinion by gaming social media platforms, including by purchasing online ads. In a pre-election report, the cyber-security firm Recorded Future said it was “almost certain” that networks associated with the group “are engaging in covert malign influence on a subset of the US population.” On Thursday, the social media analysis firm Graphika reported that suspected Russian operatives have been disseminating on far-right media platforms beginning October 29 political cartoons disparaging Democratic candidates in tight statewide races in Georgia, Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania.

Misinformation thrives on video site popular with far-right By David Klepper The Associated Press

lection misinformation is thriving on Rumble, a video sharing platform popular with some conservatives and far-right groups, according to research published Thursday. Nearly half of the videos suggested by the site in response to searches for common election-related terms came from untrustworthy sources, according to the analysis from NewsGuard, a firm that monitors online misinformation. The percentage was far better at Rumble's much larger rival YouTube, where about 1 in 5 videos came from untrustworthy sources. The search terms included the names of candidates as well as politically sensitive words and phrases such as gun rights, voter fraud and abortion.

The findings illustrate how alternative platforms like Rumble have become hot spots for election-related misinformation as they have increased in popularity. The site is popular with conservatives and some farright groups critical of content moderation efforts by larger platforms such as YouTube. Misleading or deceptive claims about voting and elections have proliferated heading into next week's elections and have been blamed for increasing distrust and polarization. Some of the videos reviewed by NewsGuard's researchers in October included online shows featuring allies of former President Donald Trump such as Steve Bannon and conspiracy theorists such as Alex Jones. Many videos contained debunked claims about the 2020 election, the Janaury 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, the QAnon conspiracy theory, as well as misinformation about voting and the elections.

“Rumble frequently pushes videos from untrustworthy sources that traffic in election misinformation,” NewsGuard's report found. The researchers used a number of factors, including the use of deceptive headlines or a history of publishing false content, to determine which sites were untrustworthy. Messages left with Rumble were not immediately returned Wednesday and Thursday. According to a mission statement on the platform's website, Rumble aims “to restore the internet to its roots by making it free and open once again.” Rumble said in September it now has 78 million active monthly users around the world, with 63 million in the United States and Canada. The site boasts a long list of podcasts helmed by prominent conservatives such as Dan Bongino and Bannon, whose videos have millions of subscribers on Rumble.

The Florida-based platform’s growth has come from users interested in news and politics, as well as younger users in the 18-24 age group, Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski said in September. Bannon's show was among the top results when researchers ran a search on the term “voter fraud.” A longtime Trump ally, Bannon was kicked off YouTube last year for repeatedly violating its rules; he was banned from Twitter after calling for Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease specialist, to be beheaded. A spokesman for Bannon told the AP on Thursday that Bannon's comment was metaphorical and that he didn't intend it to be taken literally. Together, the misinformation-laden videos turned up by researchers at NewsGuard had been viewed nearly 9 million times so far. YouTube has been criticized for not doing enough

to tackle misinformation on its platform. But the NewsGuard report shows the platform's efforts are making a difference. Researchers said that in addition to suggesting fewer videos containing misinformation, YouTube did not recommend any videos supporting QAnon. Nevertheless, a report released this fall by New York University faulted Meta, Twitter, TikTok and YouTube for amplifying Trump’s false statements about the 2020 election. The study cited inconsistent rules regarding misinformation as well as poor enforcement. In a statement e-mailed to the AP, YouTube spokeswoman Ivy Choi said the platform, which is owned by Google, has invested in efforts to identify misinformation and limit its spread. The most visited channels and videos about the election all rely on trustworthy, authoritative sources, she added.

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Monday, November 7, 2022 B5

Book review

‘It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want to Be’

‘N

By Abigail Ho-Torres

1. Set targets

It‘s difficult to measure success when you don’t know what you’re measuring. Arden reminds us to set a benchmark for ourselves: Just how good do you want to be? And don’t let anyone dictate this—this is all on you. You will be the one to do the work, after all. Be very specific, too, just like how Posh Spice Victoria Beckham said she wanted “to be as famous as Persil Automatic” (a washing machine detergent brand that I personally did not know of until reading Arden’s book—but is

n The creative industry is integral to the growth of developing economies, UNCTAD’s latest report finds

MANILA, PHILIPPINES—Last October 07, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) launched the Creative Economy Outlook 2022 at the 3rd World Congress on Creative Economy in Bali, Indonesia. According to the report, the creative economy offers a feasible development option to all countries. This includes, in particular, developing economies. UNCTAD has found that developing countries are underrepresented when it comes to creative trade data compared to developed countries and face hurdles in exporting creative

services. Hence, addressing this gap continues to be a significant opportunity for development for developing countries. “The report is published at a time when the global community faces some of the most significant challenges in decades: the Covid-19 pandemic, looming climate change and environmental crisis, geopolitical tensions, and a major cost-of-living crisis,” said UNCTAD Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan. “Despite these challenges, the creative economy remains a critical sector for sustainable development.” In fact, creative trade is found to generate increasing revenues for countries. Creative goods and services represented 3% of total merchandise exports and 21% of total services exports in 2020 according to the latest available data. While developed economies export significantly more creative services than developing ones, accounting for 82.3% of all creative services exports in 2020,

all the time. This closes your mind to new ideas. On the other hand, try to be wrong, too— take risks with seemingly wrong ideas, something that has never been done in your organization and, therefore, seems so very wrong to your colleagues. Who knows where that road could lead? Maybe nowhere or maybe everywhere.

9. Behold, the silly idea

Coax your playful self out and explore the anti-solution—the opposite of what the solution requires. Make random objects that you see around the room, outside the window, or on TV the solution to whatever problem you have. Thinking like this could help you get out of mental blocks, and possibly even produce the solution you were looking for.

10. “Don’t give a speech. Put on a show.” UPKLYAK | WWW.FREEPIK.COM

PR Matters

EARLY all rich and powerful people are not notably talented, educated, charming or good-looking. They become rich and powerful by wanting to be rich and powerful. Your vision of where or who you want to be is the greatest asset you have. Without having a goal, it’s difficult to score.” These are the opening lines of the book It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want to Be, written by the late great creative Paul Arden. It’s hard not to notice and remember these four lines. They jump at you the moment you turn the cover: written in bold sans serif typeface in white, on black pages, one sentence per page. A small book that packs a big punch—that’s the easiest way to sum up what I think of this book. The layout and typography are easy on the eyes, with just enough pictures to break the monotony of the text. Beyond the aesthetics, the contents are written clearly and concisely, like good advertising copy. It provides helpful, practical insights that can be useful to people in different seasons in their career. It may be a tad more relatable to people in industries like advertising and public relations, but is flexible enough to transcend industry, age, status, timing, and other types of boundaries. I zeroed in on some points that I believe are not only practical but definitely helpful for anyone seeking to become better, as people or as PR practitioners.

probably a household name in the United Kingdom where Beckham is from). The same goes for your campaigns. Set clear objectives, the SMART ones: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, time-bound.

2. Learn from criticisms

He also made a great point about seeking criticism rather than praise. Knowing your shortcomings, you can better figure out how to improve. For a brand, it pays to know what your customers don’t like about your product or service. Entire programs can be built around bridging the gap from customer dissatisfaction to delight.

3. Share your ideas

Don’t be stingy with what you know. Share it with others. This is one way to build on those ideas and make them greater than they are. Other people’s points of view can make your ideas richer. You

the opposite is true when it comes to creative goods. China was by far the largest exporter of creative goods ($169 billion) during that year with 40.5% of creative exports by developing economies coming from South-South trade. The report also shows that there is an increase in the countries’ support for the creative economy. According to UNCTAD, “Since 2015, more developing countries have issued national strategies, policies and regulations for the sector” and that national plans for the creative industries have become an integral part of Covid-19 recovery plans.

n Every customer gets the celebrity treatment in SEAOIL’s new campaign by GIGIL

MANILA, PHILIPPINES—The key to great service is treating each and every customer like they’re a VIP, and that’s something independent creative agency GIGIL perfectly captured with

don’t see everything and neither does everyone else. And if you give away what you have, you’ll constantly be forced to look for more ideas elsewhere, thus feeding your creativity.

4. Highlight the positive; eliminate the negative

What you have going for you, or what your brand has going for it, dramatize it, sell it to death. Just make sure the positives that you’re highlighting have a basis in fact. On the flipside, don’t put your competition down. They can do that on their own.

5. “Do not put your cleverness in front of the communication”

As a former journalist, I can never forget what I was repeatedly told by my seniors in the field: you deliver the news; you are not the news. Same way with PR and communication: go light on the bells and whistles and focus on the

its latest campaign for Seaoil Philippines (SEAOIL). With many businesses emphasizing excellent customer care, it can be hard to stand out and position your brand’s commitment to service in a new way. But GIGIL’s team came up with a unique take that will help get SEAOIL’s message across. “Alagang SEAOIL was the main inspiration for the concept,” shared GIGIL Associate Creative Director Soleil Badenhop, the creative lead for the campaign. “This signature brand of care is not just felt through SEAOIL’s products and services, it’s also felt through their people. Although ‘care’ is over-communicated by other brands, we wanted to show it uniquely.” The recent spot opens with Anne Curtis in a luxurious ride, pulling up at a SEAOIL station. A staff member politely greets her and proceeds to fill up the car’s tank and thoroughly cleans its windshield and hood. As she pays and drives away, it may seem like

substance. Know the right questions to ask, and you’ll ultimately find yourself getting the right answers—and the ideas you can use for your next campaign.

6. Be persistent—laugh in the face of slammed doors

Don’t take no for an answer. If you lose a pitch or do not get approval for a project proposal, ask why. Use those answers to tweak your original proposal and pitch again.

7. Don’t be afraid to fail

“Failures and false starts are a precondition to success,” Arden said in his book. Even some of the greatest people in history—Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstei—had more than their fair share of failure.

8. “It’s wrong to be right; it’s right to be wrong”

Avoid pushing your “rightness”

the end of your typical gas station ad embellished with an iconic celebrity spokesperson. But the spot continues and proves that it isn’t. Another customer arrives on a motorcycle, but as they remove their helmet, it’s revealed that it’s also Anne Curtis playing the role of the rider. Despite the absence of the celebrity persona, the staff member still dutifully offers and executes the service to the customer, from filling up the bike’s tank to putting air in its tires. The same goes for the next customer. This time, Anne Curtis plays a jeepney driver and one of the commuters riding the jeepney. At the end of the ad, when the staff member gets a tip for his excellent service and courteousness, it reveals the true face of the jeepney driver—just a regular Filipino—to emphasize that while the majority of SEAOIL’s customers may not be celebrities, each customer will be seen and treated like one. Soleil expounded on how SEAOIL’s priority is to commu-

“Show, don’t tell,” one of my journalism mentors instructed me, as I struggled, as a 19-year-old intern, to write my first feature story for the Philippine Daily Inquirer. Paint pictures with your words. In doing presentations or delivering speeches, this advice works well, too. Use powerful, engaging visuals. They don’t always have to be sophisticated animationW and dynamic graphics. Just make sure you use striking visuals that will make your viewers remember what you talked about—and remember you. PR Matters is a roundtable column by members of the local chapter of the United Kingdom-based Inter nat ional Public Relat ions Association (Ipra), the world’s premier organization for PR professionals around the world. Abigail L. Ho-Torres is AVP and Head of Customer Experience of Maynilad Water Services Inc. She spent more than a decade as a business journalist before making the leap to the corporate world. We are devoting a special column each month to answer our readers’ questions about public relations. Please send your questions or comments to askipraphil@gmail.com.

nicate its brand of care and to highlight how important it is in its brand identity, which is why it’s something it wanted to focus on for this campaign. “SEAOIL has been building trust and care through its products and services for years. While other gasoline brands communicate prices, promos, and environmental advocacy, SEAOIL wanted to reinforce their signature brand of care, ‘Alagang SEAOIL,’ that people come back to once they experience it firsthand. But the challenge was to make people aware of Alagang SEAOIL before they even drive to the station.” “We wanted to represent the Filipino people as best as we can so we put careful thought into casting the characters usually seen every day at SEAOIL gas stations,” added Soleil. “You have a motorcycle driver, a jeepney driver, and commuters all given consistent celebrity treatment which shows that care is given equally to all customers from different walks of life.”

B6 Monday, November 7, 2022

Sitel® Philippines named one of the top employers for 2022 in Asia CEO Awards

ITEL Group®, one of the largest providers of customer experience (CX) products and solutions, announced that Sitel® Philippines was awarded the Circle of Excellence for the Top Employer of the Year category in the recently held 2022 Asia CEO Awards. The Top Employer of the Year Award is open to any Philippine-based organization that achieved important employer success while overseeing a business enterprise within the Philippines or outside of it. The organization must demonstrate impressive results or initiatives in areas that include management, workplace enhancement, talent development, social commitment and work-life balance. “The award is a testament to our culture that is built on over 40 years of industry-leading experience and on our commitment to provide the best working environment that fosters inclusion, diversity and equality,” said Cecile Moreno-

Venancio, senior director for marketing and communications for Asia Pacific (APAC). Ravi Iyengar, COO for APAC, accepted the trophy at the awarding ceremonies held at the Manila Marriot Hotel on October 12, 2022. The Sitel Group® annual employee engagement survey in 2021 showed that its employees highly recommend the company as a place to work to their friends and family, describing their workplace as fun, friendly and safe. In addition, nearly 90 percent of its workforce intend to stay with the company as they highly value their working environment, career growth and compensation. Sitel® Philippines received a 4.4 out of 5 rating from its employees in one of the country's leading online job portals, citing working environment as its highly rated asset. “The success of our business is built on the talents within our team,” Venancio added. “To succeed together and remain as a leader in the CX industry, Sitel® Philippines

invests in training, recognizes talent and supports growth via coaching and mentoring. This results in more efficient and productive team members who stay for the long term, supporting some of the best-loved brands in the world.” Sitel Group® is a contact center company that is based in the United States. Since launching in the Philippines in 2000 and acquiring Sykes Enterprise, Inc. in 2021, it saw exceptional growth and expansion. Sitel® Philippines now operates in 17 locations across the country and has a combined force of 40,000 associates. Globally, Sitel Group® employs 160,000 people who connect some of the best-loved brands and customers over eight million times each day in more than 50 languages. Firmly believing that employee experience is the best customer experience, Sitel Group® harnesses the power of technology to empower its people to build emotional connection with customers.

DTI recognizes Mariwasa Siam Ceramics for commitment to quality management

ARIWASA Siam Ceramics, Inc. (MSCI), recently received recognition for Mastery in Quality Management Level 3 from the Philippine Quality Award (PQA). It is a national award program organized by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) that recognizes the achievements of the public and private sectors in their journey toward performance excellence. “The Covid-19 crisis may have been a challenge for all, but despite this, the year 2021 was another breakthrough year for DTI’s Competitiveness Bureau,” said DTI Undersecretary Rafaelita Aldaba during the virtual conferment of the 24th Assessment Cycle ceremony aired on Facebook. The PQA hit a record high with 14 applicant organizations in the 2021 Assessment Cycle. Mariwasa received Recognition for Mastery in Quality Management Level 3 because of its unwavering mission to provide quality products and services to consumers. Mariwasa is the only organization from the private sector that accepted the challenge of a very rigorous process of the Assessment Cycle. “This has been a testament of our company that delivers the best quality tiles through innovation and professionalism. We will continue to strive to be the market leader in the ceramic industry,” said Jakkrit Suwansilp, Mariwasa President and SCG Country Director for the Philippines. Mariwasa continues to pride itself by being the first and only local ceramic tile manufacturer to receive such a prestigious

award. The company also earned recognition back in 2011 for its commitment to quality management. Mariwasa’s motto, “Uncompromising Quality,” speaks volumes of its vision that prioritizes customer satisfaction and operations excellence. It is also known for utilizing the latest and most effective technology in manufacturing ceramic tiles. Mariwasa also employs highly competent personnel to ensure product quality through the continuous product research and development, and training and development of its personnel.

SM Foundation provides learners with an environment that is conducive to learning (L-R): Sitel® Philippines’ senior manager for Organization Development Hiroki Revereza, senior director for Marketing and Communications for Asia Pacific (APAC) Cecile Moreno-Venancio, VP for Operations Chie Fortuna, general manager for Transformation and Global GOS Leader Rahul Dewan, VP for Talent Acquisition Willy Lim; COO for APAC Ravi Iyengar, VP for HR Philippines & China Pam Donato, CFO for APAC Zameer Ahmed; and VP for Workforce Management Anand Iyer.

Coca-Cola PH, Save Philippine Seas expand community-based waste solution programs through Reimagine Recycling Year 4

IVE community-based programs that offer circular economy solutions have each received up to P500,000 in grant funding from the Reimagine Recycling initiative of Save Philippine Seas and CocaCola Foundation Philippines, with special participation from Tetra Pak Philippines. Reimagine Recycling is a program that aims to help non-government groups with emerging circular economy solutions that address issues in solid waste management and help improve the welfare of the informal waste sector. The program will help expand these projects through capacity-building workshops on stakeholder management, communications and business models, mentoring, and financial grant funding. Now in its fourth year, it sought program proposals to support and fund through Coca-Cola Foundation Philippines, CocaCola Philippines’ social investment arm. Since the call for applications was opened in June 2022, 10 were shortlisted to present their waste solutions and receive training and tools that will equip them in growing their initiatives. Out of the 10 shortlisted initiatives, Alon and Araw, Barrio Studios, #RefillNotLandfill, Sagip Kalikasan and KAKASIE Eco-Park were awarded grants and will continue their

work this time with more project funding, not just on collection and recycling but also in educating communities on proper waste segregation and management. “We at Coca-Cola believe in the power of partnerships to help address waste pollution and help establish a circular economy in the Philippines. This is why we continue to be supportive of collaborations like Reimagine Recycling that empower innovative and sustainable waste management solutions that create impact in the communities they serve,” said Tony del Rosario, President of Coca-Cola Philippines and Vice President for the East Franchise Operations of Coca-Cola ASEAN and South Pacific. “By partnering with Save Philippine Seas and Tetra Pak Philippines, we can help support entrepreneurs to scale up their existing programs that promote a circular economy, while also strengthening our efforts to achieve our goal of a World Without Waste.” With additional funding from Coca-Cola Philippines and its partners, the winners of Reimagine Recycling Year 4 can now focus on expanding and building a stronger foundation for its initiatives: Alon and Araw provides opportunities for underprivileged children of coastal communities through sports, which enable

COCA-COLA Philippines, in partnership with Save Philippine Seas and Tetra Pak, named the winners of this year’s Reimagine Recycling program at the World Without Waste Year 4 Progress Report event, awarding them with total grant funding of up to P500,000 each. Joining the awardees on stage are (from leftmost inward) Michael Wu, Managing Director, Tetra Pak Market Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines & Indonesia; Atty. Cashmer Dirampaten, Director for Public Affairs, Communications, and Sustainability, Coca-Cola Franchise East Region, Coca-Cola ASEAN and South Pacific; (from rightmost inward) Cecile Alcantara, President, Coca-Cola Foundation Philippines Inc.; and Anna Oposa, Executive Director of Save Philippine Seas.

them to foster love for the environment and aspire for a future with a better quality of life. Alon and Araw regularly conducts coastal cleanups as well as sports, education, and personal development workshops that reinforce important values and encourage responsibility within the family, society, and the environment; Barrio Studios is a textile and manufacturing hub by TenTwenty Kids that helps businesses manage their pre-consumer textile waste through the collection, segregation, and transformation of reclaimed fabrics into higher-value goods; #RefillNotLandfill is an advocacy of Suds Sustainable Pods, the country’s first pod brand that offers personal hygiene and household cleaning products packaged in water-soluble film that is biodegradable, non-toxic, and wastefree, offering a sustainable solution to sanitation. Suds was created to help reduce plastic waste and carbon footprint while providing a sustainable alternative that effectively cleans; Sagip Kalikasan aims to prevent the leakage of plastics into the ocean through environmental education, waste segregation, and collection in the municipalities of Naic, Marogondon and General Trias, Cavite; and Kasambuhan A’a Kauman Association for Sustainability, Innovation and Empowerment (KAKASIE) seeks to help address issues on improper waste disposal in Sapa-sapa, Tawi-Tawi by conducting regular training on recycling and upcycling. The community-based organization also aims to build an environmentally-friendly park. “It is truly inspiring to work closely with entrepreneurs and advocates on programs that help tackle waste pollution—from plastic waste collection, managing textile waste, to educational training. We are excited to support this year’s Reimagineers and see their initiatives grow through the resources and mentorship provided by the program,” said Anna Oposa, Executive Director of Save Philippine Seas.

ORE than just an area where students gather to hold classes, a school environment plays a vital role in the learners’ cognitive development. Research has shown that with an environment conducive to learning, students increase their attention and focus, and they are more motivated to practice higher-level critical thinking skills. Adamant to provide students with venues where they can fully hone their skills and knowledge, SM Foundation (SMFI), the corporate social responsibility arm of the SM group, cemented its partnership with the Department of Education (DepED) in 2002 through DepEd’s Adopt-A-School Program. Through this, SMFI builds SM school buildings in grassroot communities, complete with basic furniture and equipment. More so, SMFI integrates specialized features to each SM school building to address the unique needs of their school recipients. Some received rooms dedicated as a guidance office, a clinic, a mini-library, and some even got a water tank and a handwashing facility. To date, SMFI has turned over more than 100 SM school buildings nationwide with the help of its partners, which share the same aspirations for the Filipino learners and teachers. One of which is the SM Prime Holdings (SMPH, one of the largest integrated property developers in Southeast Asia. Since the project’s inception, over 90 SM school buildings out of the more than 100 were built through the social good collaboration with SM Prime. SMFI and SMPH ensure that the SM school buildings incorporate a disaster resilient design to guarantee the safety of the students, teachers, and other school personnel. Emergency lights in staircases, and fire and earthquake alarm bells are also installed. Principal Joji Buelvo, school principal of Basud Elementary School (BES) in Sorsogon City, shared the state of their school community before they accepted the fully furnished SM school building from SMFI and

SM Prime in 2021: “Our school has witnessed many calamities. Because of this, many of our classrooms are very old, the ceilings are in very poor condition. They are really not conducive for learning.” “But through your [SMFI and SM Prime] donation, our BES learners now have a haven where we can nurture their young minds to be academically-ready and well-rounded members of the community,” Buelvo further expressed. The continuous rapid growth of the country’s population is taking a toll on schools—leaving the students, even the teachers, with overcrowded classrooms which affect learners’ academic performance. In 2012, the Banisil National High School (BNHS) in General Santos City received its first SM school building. But being the only secondary school in Barangay Tambler, BNHS records a significant increase in their enrollment per year. With this challenge, SM Foundation decided to provide another edifice of hope for the sub-urban Muslim community in 2021, addressing the growing needs of BNHS learners and teachers. BNHS then principal Shiela Balbon said, “The yearly ballooning of our school population has really become a problem.” “In 2020, Covid happened. So I thought that the new building would not push through. But there is no pandemic for SM Foundaiton. They were determined to meet the needs of the students,” she added. “Our salute to our longtime partner, SM Foundation and SM Prime, for being so generous and proactive in providing us with school buildings that are conducive to learning. We are so grateful for your extended support to our school amidst the pandemic,” Balbon concluded. SM Foundation, through its School Building Program, is an active partner of DepEd’s Adopt-a-School project. This social good initiative aims to promote quality public education by building classrooms nationwide.

EVERY classroom in an SM school building is well-ventilated and spacious enough to allow the students to have a better learning experience.

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Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

• Monday, November 7, 2022

Within reach: Ji Chang Wook inclined toward acting. I have a lot of mistakes when I sing.” ■ BENCHSETTERS. The South Korean government supports its entertainment industry as zealously as the French champions its fashion stalwarts. The Korean celebrities have international appeal not just for their good looks but more so because of their superior talent. That’s why nowadays, they are much sought-after endorsers for global brands. Ji himself has posed for Giorgio Armani, Adidas x Gucci, and Calvin Klein. As a Bench endorser, Wookie joins the ranks of fellow Koreans Dong Hae, Si Won, Lee Min-ho, Park Shin Hye, Park Hyung Sik, Park Seo Jun, Hyun Bin, Kim Seon-ho, Byeon Woo-seok and Wi Ha-joon. Other heartthrobs include the Americans Liam Hemsworth, Cole Sprouse, Noah Centineo, Pietro Bosselli, and Nichkhun of 2PM. Hereabouts are GMA hunks Ruru Madrid, Derrick Monasterio and Paul Salas. Of note is Ji’s excellent record after his mandatory military service. He was appointed a platoon leader then promoted to corporal, then further promoted to sergeant. That accounts for his athletic physique that would have made him perfect as a Bench underwear model (and, perhaps, a spokesperson for our Department of Education’s obsession with ROTC?). But, for now, he’s happy and satisfied with endorsing scents. “Actually, Bench was the first company that I was able to work with in the Philippines and Bench was very hospitable and accommodating,” Wookie explained. “They treated me like a family where I could work in a very comfortable environment. So I guess I was able to work in a chill setting. I enjoyed working with Bench.” ■

ULL disclosure: I might be one of a handful few who hasn’t been swept—at least mot yet—by the Hallyu Wave hysteria. So when the gorgeously handsome Ji Chang Wook had a (thunderous, literally) media meetup on Saturday at a Makati hotel, I asked my sisterin-law Myla Luz and my nieces Daniella Louise and Primrose Grace, who are beyond obsessed with K-pop and K-dramas, about him. They told me about his unforgettable turns in Healer (2014-2015), Suspicious Partner (2017), Backstreet Rookie (2020) and The Sound of Magic (2022). Though when I saw a clip of Wookie (his pet name) fighting a bunch of hoodlums in a bathroom—bare-naked—in The K2 (2016), I was convinced that I should also be a stan. ■ MEETING THE FILIPINO FANS. It’s the first time for the acclaimed actor-singer to be in the country. And, yes, his smile can melt you softly. “I was very happy because I was able to be welcomed by the fans when I arrived here in the Philippines. And I thought the weather was going to be quite hot, but when I arrived the weather was really nice too. So I actually enjoyed my trip coming here to the Philippines,” Ji, 35, expressed through a translator. In 2019, lifestyle brand Bench tapped him to endorse its eau de toilettes So In Love and Sure Blue. He was supposed to visit the country soon after but Covid-19 happened. On Sunday, he held a fan meeting at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. “It has been a while since I communicated with my fans so I decided to have the fan meeting with the theme ‘Reach You’, and I decided to reach to my fans since it has been long since I could reach out to my fans and fellow people,” Ji explained. “I guess I will be talking about my personal life and also I will also be talking about the dramas and series that I have worked for. And also I think I will be singing some songs [from] the show so I guess I can have a very fun time with my fans,” he added. I thought I also heard Cebu when Ji was asked what he’d love to explore in the country, but the interpreter only said, “So for the tourist spots, I would like to travel around the Boracay area, which they say is a very famous tourist spot here in the Philippines. And actually last night I was in the Greenbelt area, having coffee and taking a walk,” Ji said. Ji has a whopping 22 million followers on Instagram and he follows only one account: @jichangwook_archive. “Actually, I am very thankful. Though I am only an actor in Korea, having different fans all over the world, I am very thankful for that. That’s also a drive for me to work harder so that I can also try various activities or other events that I can try in different

MASTERS OF VERSATILITY

countries.” ■ ACTING OR SINGING? Ji rose to fame after playing the lead named Dong-hae in the daily drama series Smile Again (2010–2011). For that role, he won the KBS Drama Award for Actor in a Daily Drama. At the APAN Star Awards in 2014, he won the Excellence Award, Actor in a Serial Drama, for Empress Ki; and in 2022, he won the Global Star Award for The Sound of Magic. In 2017, he was nominated at the Seoul International Drama Awards and Baeksang Arts Awards for Best New Actor-Film for Fabricated City. Asked about what his favorite role, Ji replied: “It’s hard for me to choose because all the series that I have worked on, I put my love into them, so it’s hard

for me to choose a specific role that I love.” He also said that he likes all acting genres so he can show his “dimensions and different aspects,” and is “open to new opportunities, to try fun and new things.” Ji graduated from the Dankook UniversityDepartment of Performing Arts and began his showbiz career in musical theater. He has released singles, such as “Meet Again Meet Again” (2011) and “Merry-Go-Round” (2022) from the Sound of Magic soundtrack. But acting takes precedence: “I guess that would be acting because, first of all, I’m not a professional singer. I was just fortunate to get an opportunity to sing. And if I would have to choose, I would be more

FOLLOWING the explosion by global footwear brand Merrell in the street fashion scene with the cult-favorite Hydro Moc clogs, the outdoor lifestyle giant debuts a new sneaker-clog-hiker hybrid that has been turning heads everywhere. The Hydro Runner is Merrell’s latest innovation in performance footwear that boasts the performance capabilities of a hiking shoe and the sleek aesthetics of a sneaker. At first glance, one may note some familiar design elements with the Hydro Moc. Unlike the average clog, however, the Hydro Runner’s design has trail performance in mind. The perforated EVA shell upper is combined with a high rebound EVA midsole and grippy rubber outsole that provides ample traction and support on mossy or muddy terrain. The breathable sock-like mesh lining ensures a light, secure and dry fit in and out of the water. Its sneaker-like silhouette makes it perfect for contemporary streetwear looks. It’s no surprise then that sneakerheads were among the first to take notice of this unique shoe. With the Hydro Runner’s eye-catching design and versatility, Merrell continues to gain fans among sneakerheads and streetwear enthusiasts alike. When paired with gorpcore staples like camo, khakis and cargos, these shoes look and feel right at home. Available in both men’s and women’s variants, the Hydro Runner has recently been released in stores across the country. More information is available at www.merrell.com.ph.

Here are some of the best 11:11 beauty picks

SHOPPING during online sales is not something I usually do now. Living through the pandemic has made me appreciate what I have and most of the time, I still shop through my stash of gifts and PR samples when I feel I need or want something. I only shop for things I use on a daily basis and have run out of. So it’s that time of the year once again. Lazada’s Biggest Sale, happening from November 11 to 13, offers up to 90 percent off Branded LazFlash Deals, fast and free shipping (no cap, no minimum spend), and stacking vouchers for big discounts on a wide assortment of trendy items. What I like about Lazada is the promptness of shipping. If you buy from LazMall stores like Unilever and P&G, shipping usually only takes 24 hours or sometimes even less. Just a reminder: I understand the need to accumulate material things. There is something satisfying about it but it’s also good to remind ourselves to buy only what we need and consume, instead of adding everything cute we see to our carts. So here are my 11:11 top beauty and personal care picks (most of these are things I use regularly): ■ BENEFIT COSMETICS 24-HR BROW SETTER CLEAR BROW GEL. This is a clear gel that you can use if you

want the look of laminated brows or generally if you just want a more polished appearance. I have never tested this gel past the 12-hour mark and it was still going strong. One thing I love about it is that it does not flake, and the formula is not messy at all. The custom-molded dual-sided applicator evenly coats brow hairs and there’s a flat side that flattens the brow hairs for that laminated look. I use this after I’ve applied the new Benefit Gimme Brow+ Volumizing Pencil. Volumizing fiber eyebrow pencil, which is a blessing for people like me whose brow hairs are individually thin and fine. Get both products at s. lazada.com.ph/s.5JHeA. ■ AMERICAN CREW ANTI DANDRUFF SHAMPOO. If you want a dandruff shampoo that’s not medicated (because this can be too harsh when not used properly) and not the ones you find in supermarkets either, the American Crew Anti Dandruff Shampoo is a good in-between product. This isn’t the first American Crew shampoo I have used. I’ve tried several of their products and liked all of them, especially the purple shampoo for those with grey hair. You use the Anti Dandruff Shampoo twice a week, alternately with your regular shampoos. It has a cooling effect on the scalp and it leaves your head feeling refreshed. This shampoo helps prevent dandruff and the itching associated with it. If your scalp is very sensitive, ask your dermatologist about this and its ingredients. Get it at s.lazada.com.ph/s.5JrBY. Disclaimer: Sometimes they don’t have this in their Lazada store. You can also check it out at www. newsummitcolors.com and www.hairmnl.com. ■ REVLON PROFESSIONAL COLOR SUBLIME HAIR COLOR SET. One thing I learned to do during the pandemic was to color my own hair and what I learned about coloring my hair is that when you have grey hair,

those boxed sets in drugstores won’t work to cover greying. Revlon Professional Color Sublime by Revlonissimo Color & Care is an ammonia-free permanent hair color blended with a variety of hair care ingredients, including cotton extract and rosehip oil. The results are excellent, the coverage of grey hair is almost 100 percent, and the product is not too drying on the hair. You need the guidance of a professional hairstylist to use it for the first time, as there are measurements that need to be made. Get it at s.lazada.com.ph/s.5JrBY. Disclaimer: Sometimes they don’t have this in

their Lazada store. You can also check it out at www. newsummitcolors.com and www.hairmnl.com. ■ MAC COSMETICS FIX+ STAY OVER ALCOHOL-FREE LONG LASTING SETTING SPRAY. This new alcohol-free, hydrating setting spray promises to set makeup for 16 hours while also delivering protection from pollution and blue light. I love the original Fix+ and always have that around when I travel, so I’m excited to try this. MAC has some great deals in the LazMall Flagship Store (s.lazada.com.ph/s.5JIef), including a free lipstick for every check-out. You can also check out their holiday collection, which includes sets of mini lipsticks. They have a pre-sale going on at Lazada where you make a downpayment, which you’d need to settle on or before the 11th in order to check out. They also have a pre-sale for the brand’s collaboration with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The 18-piece collection includes an eyeshadow palette with vibrant mattes and rich metallic shades, a chocolate-bronze highlighter in the shape of a Black Panther helmet, and a bright fuchsia that reminds me of the legendary MAC Heroine. ■ SON & PARK BEAUTY WATER. This clear-colored product is a multitasker that can be described as “liquid gold” because finding a full-sized bottle is not easy. What I do is wait for the sales and get three smaller bottles which last me around three to four months. What does Son & Park Beauty Water do? It cleanses, tones and exfoliates skin. It’s best used with a cotton pad and my skin really feels soft and supple when I use it with my favorite serums and moisturizers. I have yet to meet someone who doesn’t like this Korean beauty product. You use this after you clean your face and before your essences/serums/ treatment products/moisturizers. This has a pH of 5, which is perfect because your skin’s pH is 4.5-5.5. Get it at s.lazada.com.ph/s.5JEXT.

THE MAC collaboration with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is an 18-piece collection of color cosmetics. PHOTO BY JULIANA MAXINE VASQUEZ

YULO SLIPS, WINDS UP 7TH IN FLOOR EXERCISE By Josef Ramos

ARLOS YULO finished seventh in his pet floor exercise at the Liverpool World Artistic Gymnastics Championships on Sunday, no thanks to a slip early in his routine. Yulo, the floor gold medalist in 2019 in Stuttgart, slipped after his first jump at the M&S Bank Arena,

CARLOS YULO still has the vault gold medal to defend in Liverpool. AP

drawing a loud “oohhh” from the spectators that showed indications they rooted for the Filipino Tokyo Olympian. Yulo was unperturbed the rest of his routine and drew 13.300 points, enough to avoid finishing last in the eight-gymnast event that Britain’s Giarnni Regini-Moran ruled with 14.533 points. Men’s all-round champion Daiki Hashimoto (14.500) clinched silver and Ryosuke Doi (14.266) bagged bronze for a 2-3 Japanese finish. “The entire coliseum was shocked when Caloy slipped,” Gymnastics Association of the Philippines President Cynthia Carrion-Norton told BusinessMirror Sunday. “The whole coliseum expected him to win and be the gold medalist. So when he fell, the crowd shouted ‘oohhh.’”

“I wanted to cry,” CarrionNorton added. The 22-year-old Yulo— who was eighth in the all-around Saturday, an improvement from his 10th-place finish in Stuttgart—still have the vault gold medal to defend and the parallel bars silver to improve on Monday. “told him that there are some things that are really not meant to be. So we have to move on because there are still two more finals events to be contested,” CarrionNorton said “I encouraged him not to be disappointed but I feel he’s okay already and ready to bounce back.” France’s Benjamin Osberger (14.233) finished fourth, Italy’s Nicola Bartoloni (14.233) was fifth, South Korea’s Sunghyun Ryu (14.200) was sixth and Kazakhstan’s Milad Karimi (12.100) was eighth.

Sports BusinessMirror

| Monday, November 7, 2022 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

Pros ready for ICTSI Villamor Match Play

DUTCHMAN Guido van der Valk wants to extend his streak in Villamor.

REDEMPTION FOR ASTROS

OUSTON—Yordan Alvarez hit a towering, go-ahead homer and the Houston Astros clinched their second World Series title in six seasons and got Dusty Baker his first crown as a manager, beating the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-1, in Game 6 on Saturday night. Alvarez blasted a three-run drive in the sixth inning immediately after Phillies starter Zack Wheeler was pulled with a 1-0 lead. As Alvarez’s 450-foot drive disappeared, Astros starter Framber Valdez jumped and wildly screamed in the dugout as fans in the crowd of 42,948 went into a frenzy waving their orange rally towels. “When I was rounding second base, I felt the whole stadium moving,” Alvarez said through a translator. Baker finally got his first title in his 25th season as a manager, the past three since being hired by the Astros to help the team regain credibility after the sign-stealing scandal that cost manager AJ Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow their jobs, and made Houston the most reviled team in baseball. The 73-year-old Baker, who had been to the World Series twice before as a skipper, is the oldest championship manager in any of the four major North American sports. It came 20 years after a near-miss, when came within five outs of winning the championship while guiding the San Francisco Giants. “What’s next? I said if I win one, I want to win two,” Baker said afterward. Houston’s coaching and training staffs circled around Baker after Nick Castellanos flied out to end it, jumping up and down, and chanting “Dusty! Dusty! Dusty!” in the dugout before they joined the players on the field. Astros rookie shortstop Jeremy Peña was the World Series MVP after getting another key hit, a single to set up Alvarez›s drive. The 25-year-old star born in the Dominican Republic also won a Gold Glove award and American League (AL) Championship Series MVP— Peña is the first hitter to win those

three awards in a career, and he did it all in his first season, per OptaSTATS. Alvarez’s homer cleared the batter’s eye in straightaway center, the backdrop that extends 40 feet above the field. It was the first time the Cuban slugger connected since the first two games this postseason. “This time what I did, I just tried to stay a little bit calm, select a good pitch to swing at,” he said. “And that’s what I did.” Christian Vázquez added an RBI single later in the inning to make it 4-1. Valdez earned his second win of this Series. He had been in the dugout only a few minutes after throwing his 93rd and final pitch while striking out nine over six innings. But the lefty had walked off the mound with the wild-card Phillies up 1-0 on Kyle Schwarber’s homer leading off the sixth. AP

Lady Bulldogs clinch first final four berth

THE Houston Astros beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-1, in Game 6 to clinch the series, 4-1. AP

QC, Imus lead Champions League women’s spikefest winners’ roster

MS-QUEZON City and Imus AJAA beat their separate foes on Sunday for a hot start in the Philippine National Volleyball Federation Champions League women’s competition at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City. The Lady Vikings—behind Judith Abil’s 15 points she highlighted with 12 kills and three service points—defeated the ICC Caloocan Lady Hawks, 27-25, 25-18, 25-17, while the Lady Spikers rallied past the University of Batangas (UB) Lady Brahmans, 21-25, 25-12, 25-23, 25-16. Quezon City and Imus gained a headstart in women’s Pool A of the tournament supported by the Philippine Sports Commission, Rebisco, PLDT, Philippine Olympic Committee, Cignal HD, One Sports, Cignal Play, F2 Logistics and Amigo Segurado. Julie Catindig nailed the setclinching kill in the third to give the Cavite-based lady spikers a 2-1 advantage before coasting in the fourth frame.

‘One Big Fight’ more than a cheer IT’S a huge win—this 68-54 triumph over La Salle. One of the biggest all season. This is the game and the favorable result that I hope—as an Ateneo alumnus and supporter— turns the season around. At the start of the season I didn’t think that the Blue Eagles would win the title. Compete, yes. Winning it? That

HE pro golf circuit caps its big bounce-back season with a novel head-to-head tournament at the Villamor Golf Club in Pasay with the top finishers in the just-concluded Philippine Golf Tour (PGT) and Ladies PGT all prepped to mix it up for top honors in the International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) Villamor Match Play Invitational on November 15. Spread over four days at the flat but tight, challenging military layout, the top 32 in the PGT Order of Merit rankings after six tournaments and the top 16 in the LPGT prize money list after 11 legs make up the cast disputing not only the top P280,000 purse in both sides but also the bragging rights as the first Match Play champions in the country’s premier pro tour put up by ICTSI. The North and South duel, which pits the top players from Luzon against their counterparts from the Visayas and Mindanao, used to highlight each PGT and LPGT season before the pandemic with the organizing Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc. (PGTI) opting to shift from team play to individual competition that will put to test the competing field’s skills in head-to-head clashes. The first round will be played on November 15 for the Round of 32 (PGT) and Round of 16 (LPGT) with the winners advancing to the next round on November 16—Round of 16 (PGT) and quarterfinals (LPGT).

With veteran setter Gyzelle Sy orchestrating the offense, Catindig led Imus with 12 points while Monica Guibao added 10 markers. Kylie Macatangay paced the Lady Brahmans with 14 points. Judith Abil scattered seven of her 15 points in the third set and fired three service aces, while Justine Dorog had five

THE Basilan Tennun Spikers open their campaign on a winning note. ROY DOMINGO

isn’t a given. It has to be earned. I didn’t think the line-up is good enough. The talent is there but they do not have experience. I essentially boiled it down to two things that could bring the team across the finish line despite the lack of experience—hunger and heart. I would say it is a combination of talent and skill, experience, coaching and we have one of the best of the “bestest” coaches, as well as hunger and heart. Especially the last two—hunger and heart. That was sorely missing against National University (NU) in the second round loss. That is what makes NU dangerous. They are willing to pound the ball inside and rebound like there is no tomorrow. Those guys are fearless. Bleeping throwback basketball. Against NU, it seemed as if it was only BJ Andrade willing to go toe-to-toe. Whatever happened to that One Big Fight? Sure we are in rebuilding mode. Well, NU has been in rebuilding mode these last two seasons. Consider who they lost from top to bottom. And yet, here they are—pre-season champions and challenging for a title with a budget far less than Ateneo’s, La Salle’s, and UP’s. And with a foreign student-athlete who isn’t dominating. Chew on that. It doesn’t help that Angelo Kouame is not 100 percent,

of her eight points in the third for Quezon City. The Lady Vikings tallied three blocks, all came from Sheeka Espinosa. Ednelle Maniquis topscored for Caloocan with eight points. “It really great to see some new volleyball talents from Mindanao on

the first day,” PNVF President Ramon “Tats” Suzara said. In men’s action on opening day Saturday, Nico Almendras and Kenry Malinis each had 11 points as National University-Pasay opened its campaign with a 25-19, 25-20, 25-22 romp of One Bulacan Republicans in Pool B. Cignal, with Marck Espejo leading the charge with 18 points, also set in motion its title aspirations with 2225, 25-12, 25-15, 25-17 conquest of VNS-Quezon City in Pool A. In the other Pool B match, Pikit North Cotabato AMC G Spikers overcame a second set loss to beat Imus City-AJAA Spikers, 25-22, 2025, 25-20, 25-18. Basilan Tennun Spikers and PGJC Navy later joined Cignal for the early Pool A lead with victories of AIP Benguet. The Mindanao-based side scored a 25-17, 25-23, 25-19 victory over their counterparts from Northern Luzon. The Sea Lions pinned Benguet a second straight loss with a 25-13, 25-16, 20-25, 25-22, in the nightcap. Josef Ramos

but injuries are part of the game. And it is tough for La Salle to be without Schonny Winston and a less than 100 percent Philips brothers. I have been critical of the offense in the last several years for its penchant for bombing away from the outside and eschewing an inside attack. I have nothing against spreading the floor; the Blue Eagles wrote the book on that in college hoops. I have problems with it when they close to the basket then and yet, throw the ball out. I can understand it is a tall player meeting you in the lane, but when there is no challenge— and this happened several times against La Salle and lots of times this past and the previous season. I know that I am not as learned as the coaches but it doesn’t make sense to me to not go with the high percentage shot. That is why when say, Gio Chiu, goes out to meet the ball or to set a screen, I think it is a wasted opportunity when he isn’t a threat and opponents know he will pass the ball. Clumsy, awkward, or not, if Gio attacks he will prevent double teams on Angelo Kouame and open some space for the shooters. Provided he can find that confidence. Okay, on to the win over La Salle. The reason why I say it is huge is this—La Salle led early on then coughed it up, Ateneo led then coughed it up, the

ATIONAL University (NU) punched the first semifinal ticket with a dominant 25-10, 25-17, 25-15 win over Far Eastern University (FEU) in the knockout quarterfinals of the Shakey’s Super League Collegiate Pre-season Championship at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum on Sunday. The unbeaten Lady Bulldogs pounced on the stunned Lady Tamaraws early to build momentum and dictate the pace of the match that lasted only 79 minutes. “We prepared really well coming into this game. I think that helped us a lot in this game,” said NU coach Karl Dimaculangan, whose wards won their sixth straight in as many starts in the tournament organized by Athletic Events and Sports Management Inc. The Final Four is set Friday, while the winner-take-all championship match is on November 19. Erin Pangilinan and veteran Alyssa Solomon did most of the damage for NU, which rained down 53 attack points and exploited the problematic reception game of FEU to land 22 aces. Pangilinan accounted for eight of the total service winners scored by the Lady Bulldogs as she finished with 13 points. Solomon had 10 attacks, an ace and a kill block for 12 points. The Lady Tamaraws showed little resistance throughout the match and were tentative on their attacks with only 16 hits penetrating the defensive wall of NU. FEU tried to keep the third set close as it cut down its deficit to 1115 before the Lady Bulldogs opened a 24-14 gap off an ace by setter Joyme Cagande.

Blue Eagles went on a tear, and then repulsed a scorching rally by the Green Archers to get the win. That is what you hope to be a character building win whether Schonny Winston was present or not. And the other saving grace has been the half-time adjustment—an Ateneo patent since Norman Black was sheriff in these parts. I am glad they fixed that over dribbling where they was te all these precious seconds and they take shots with the shot clock winding down. The rotation was shorter and when others faltered, the starters went right back in. That’s good and bad, but it is winning time. Time to jockey for that favorable playoff position. So it is a win that gives hope. A win they should build on. Ateneo can very well not win it this season or even in the next few (well, we will be losing more players next year). I know that you cannot win them all. All you can ask is to fight to the last minute. That is why there is the cheer, “One Big Fight.” It is more than a clever cheer. The teams of yore were known for that. And the current Blue Eagles team could have it. They need to dig deep. Because more than ever, they will need it in this challenge of a season.