BusinessMirror November 10, 2022

WORLD | A11

Treaty against fossil fuels floated at UN climate conference in Egypt

ber 2022.

Philippines’s farm output grew at a 1.8 percent annual rate from July through September, snapping two straight quarters of contraction.

e Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said the growth was driven by higher value of crops, livestock and poultry production during the three-month period, offsetting decline in fi sheries production.

e increase in output came on the heels of two consecutive contractions in agricultural production: -0.3 percent in the fi rst quarter and -0.6 percent in the second quarter.

e value of the country’s agricultural output in the third quarter, at constant 2018 prices, reached P414.266 billion, P7.355 billion higher than the P406.911 billion recorded amount in the same period of last year.

e value of crops output, which accounted for nearly 54 percent of total agricultural production, rose by 1.8 percent year-on-year to P223.483 billion, driven by higher value of palay and corn.

“Increases in the value of palay and corn production were recorded at 1.0 percent and 2.5 per-

PRESIDENT Ferdinand

“Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. has approved the creation of an investment council to fast-track the processing of applications from offshore wind (OSW) power developers.

Marcos made the decision during his closed-door meeting with Energy Secretary Raphael P.M. Lotilla and other energy officials on Wednesday, when they presented their exploration and

ECONOMISTS,

importers and local food producers were at each other’s throats over the proposed extension of reduced tariff rates on imported agricultural commodities as the government advances discussions on the matter.

e Tariff Commission (TC) on Wednesday conducted its public hearing on the petition to extend Executive Order (EO) 171, with multiple groups and organizations in attendance.

e petition was fi led by the Foundation for Economic Freedom (FEF) on the premise that the country is not out yet of the woods from the detrimental economic impact of the Ukraine-Russia war and other Covid-19 pandemic-related

problems. roughout its presentation on Wednesday, FEF argued and emphasized that prolonging the lower tariff rates on coal, corn, pork, and rice is “imperative” to slow down the increase in the prices of these commodities amid sizzling infl ation.

e objectors to the push to extend lower tariffs were led by the Federation of Pork Producers Inc. and the National Federation of Hog Farmers Inc., United Broiler Raisers Association (Ubra), Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (Sinag), Philippine Maize Federation Inc. (PhilMaize) and the Federation of Free Farmers (FFF).

FEF calculations

BASED on its calculations, peti-

tioner FEF said Filipino consumers saved P108 billion from lower pork tariffs this year and would save more next year at an estimated amount of P156 billion.

e lower pork tariffs, FEF argued, tempered the increase in pork retail prices as these averaged P287 per kilogram last year and P314 per kilogram this year.

If the lower tariff rates were not in place, the FEF claimed that pork prices would average at P355 per kilogram in 2021 and P397 per kilogram this year.

Corn tari s FEF said the lower corn tariffs would lead to a net benefit to consumers estimated at P4.2 billion from the period of April to Decem-

e group claimed that every peso decrease in the price of yellow corn means the prices of pork, chicken meat and table eggs reduce consequently.

FEF’s computations showed that a P2.81 reduction in yellow corn prices would decrease pork prices by P1.12 per kilogram, chicken meat by P2 per kilogram, and table egg by P0.023 per piece.

“Extending EO 171, particularly lower corn tariffs, is imperative if the government wants to slow down the rate of increase of prices of corn-dependent products to ensure food availability and affordability of these key agricultural

THE Philippines is faring well in terms of international arrivals, making it one of the most visited destinations in Southeast Asia this year.

In a new report published for the ongoing World Travel Market in London, ForwardKeys showed the Philippines just 55 percent behind 2019 international arrivals. Other top destinations in the region were: Indonesia (less 71 percent from 2019 arrivals), Malaysia (-76 percent), Singapore (-69 percent), ailand (-75 percent), and Vietnam (-77 percent).

Founded in 2010, ForwardKeys compiles and provides air ticketing data to tourism organizations, hotels, and retailers. Its latest report is based on actual air tickets as of October 18, 2022, combining historic results and booked tickets until the yearend.

In terms of cities, the top destinations in Southeast Asia were Bangkok (75 percent behind 2019 arrivals), Denpasar (-74 percent), Ho Chi Minh City (-69 percent), Kuala Lumpur (-73 percent), Manila (-50 percent), Phuket (-72 percent), and Singapore (-69 per-

Asia Pacific destinations, overall, are still 76 percent short of arrivals in 2019, while worldwide international arrivals are 45 percent behind, indicating that much of the tourism recovery is happening in the West and in Europe.

Still, “Asia Pacific’s gradual recovery is positive news for the industry as a whole, and if governments, destinations and airlines can work together to inspire consumer confidence, it is only a matter of time until every region is welcoming similar numbers of international tourists as in 2019,” said ForwardKeys.

Americans driving arrivals

THE Philippines reached an historic high of 8.26 million in international arrivals, pre-pandemic, in 2019.

Data from the Department of Tourism (DOT) showed, from February 10 to November 8, international arrivals in the country reached 1.96 million, of which 1.43 million were foreign passport holders, and 529,231 were overseas Filipinos.

Like much of the world, the Philippines’s tourism recovery is being driven by arrivals from the United States, with

PHL raises RE installed capacity to 5,471.04 MW

THE country’s total renewable energy (RE) installed capacity as of end-September this year stood at 5,471.04 megawatts (MW), slightly up from 5,442.71MW in the same period a year ago.

Of the total, 5,273.04MW were for grid use while 191.355 were for own use. Based on DOE data posted on its web site, a total of 1016 RE projects—952 for grid use and 64 for own use—were recorded. In the same period last year, the number of RE projects was recorded at 933.

Of the total RE projects, there are 431 hydro, 334 solar, 81 biomass, 126 wind, 36 geothermal and eight ocean projects. The numbers remain unchanged for ocean and geothermal at endSeptember last year, while others increased except for biomass, which recorded 83 projects.

In terms of capacity, geothermal reached 1,931.67MW; hydro, 1,109.581MW; solar, 1169.422MW; wind, 442.91MW; and biomass, 817.461MW. The Department of Energy (DOE) is targeting 35 percent RE share in the power generation mix by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040. As of last month, the RE share stood at 22 percent. To meet this target, the renewable portfolio standards (RPS) program of the government was adjusted to 2.5 percent from 1 percent. The increase in the utilization of RE in the country’s power generation mix would encourage more investors and end-users to develop and utilize domestic energy sources, DOE Secretary Raphael Lotilla said earlier.

The RPS program requires distribution utilities to tap eligible RE facilities for a portion of their supply needs. It is among the measures under the Renewable Energy (RE) Act of 2008 to raise RE production and meet renewables targets. Lenie Lectura

“Bongbong”

Marcos Jr. has vowed to protect national interests and secure recognition for the country as a reliable “global partner” during the 40th and 41st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summits in Phnom Penh, Cambodia this week.

In his pre-departure speech at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) Terminal 2 on Wednesday afternoon, Marcos disclosed he will be raising issues at the meetings which will benefit the country.

“I will seek further cooperation in key priorities of my Administration as well as how to explore what we can do to come together to address the most pressing issues of the region,” Marcos said.

“We will emphasize regional

cooperation on maritime security, climate change, food security, health cooperation and economic recovery among others,” he added.

He will also raise international issues such as the political crisis in Myanmar, developments in the South China Sea, and the ongoing confl ict between Russia and Ukraine.

Global partner

AT the summits, Marcos is also eyeing to forge new bilateral agreements with Asean member countries and the regional bloc’s dialogue partners including Australia, Canada, China, Japan, India, the Republic of Korea, and the United States.

“We will promote the Philippines not only as an investment center, not only as a tourism center, but as a partner, a global partner for our Asean member nations

and for all our friends around the world who will be joining the Asean Conference,” Marcos said.

e Asean Summits, set for November 10 to 13, will be the fi rst to be held in person in the last three years after being constrained by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

us, Marcos said he expects many existing and new Asean areas of cooperation will be reviewed in the said meetings.

“And that adds to the importance because very much has happened in the past three years which we need to discuss and which we need to decide upon how we member nations of Asean will jointly move forward,” the President said.

Aside from the Asean-related meetings, Marcos will meet with the Filipino community in Cambodia. “I look forward as well to meeting the Filipino community in Cambodia,” Marcos said.

Investment council for wind power to be created

development plan for OSW. e Office of the Press Secretary said the President was “in favor” of the DOE proposal to create Offshore Wind Development and Investment

Council, which will serve as a “onestop shop” for OSW developers.

However, Marcos said he still wants the DOE to oversee the regulation of OSWs.

“It should be the Department of Energy who should be talking with the OSW developers, in

consultation with the council, of course. It has to be led by the DOE,” Marcos said.

Lotilla proposed the formation of the council amid the “strong interest” for foreign companies to provide the country access to OSW technologies.

DOE reported it has already approved 42 offshore wind contracts with an indicated capacity of 31,000 megawatts (MW).

Citing the World Bank’s OSW Roadmap, it noted the country has the capacity to deploy 40 gigawatts of OSW electricity by 2050, which will help address the country’s growing power needs.

“ is is more than enough to cover the 500,000 MW projected peak demand the country will require by 2040 based on DOE’s medium to long-term power outlook,” Lotilla said.

Samuel P. Medenilla

Stakeholders clash at low-tariff rates hearing

commodities,” the group said. Groups such as the Meat Importers and Traders Association (Mita) supported FEF’s proposal to maintain lower tariff rates on pork in the short-term until local production records significant recovery and returns to the preAfrican swine fever output level.

e Philippine Feed Millers Association (PAFMI) threw its support behind extending lower corn tariffs to help its industry cope with the estimated yellow corn shortfall of at least 4 MMT. PAFMI also argued that lower corn prices would ensure cheaper local meat prices.

Pork producers

MEANWHILE, the Federation of Pork Producers Inc. and the National Federation of Hog Farmers Inc. opposed the extension of lower pork tariff rates, arguing that it would further derail and discourage local hog repopulation efforts as farm-gate prices remain below cost-to-produce levels.

e United Broiler Raisers Association (Ubra) also bucked the extension of lower tariff rates on the petitioned commodities except for coal.

e Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (Sinag) opposed extending lower tariff rates on yellow corn, pork and rice.

e Philippine Maize Federation Inc. (PhilMaize) resisted prolonged lower corn tariff rates.

e Federation of Free Farmers (FFF), meanwhile, opposed extended lower tariff rates on rice imports, arguing that the country’s rice import sources were not diversified despite EO 171.

cent, respectively,” the PSA said in its quarterly report published on Wednesday.

Palay production in the third quarter reached 3.788 million metric tons (MMT), 35,880 MT higher than the 3.752 MMT recorded in the same period of last year.

Meanwhile, corn output rose to 2.349 MMT from last year’s 2.292 MMT.

Historical PSA data showed that livestock production rose by 4 percent on an annual basis in the third quarter, making it the highest growth of the sector rate in the past 23 quarters.

PSA data also showed this was the highest growth rate recorded by the livestock sector since the African swine fever ravaged hog farms in 2019.

e value of livestock production in the third quarter was estimated at P64.514 billion versus

the P62.047 billion recorded in the same period of last year.

Hog production value, which accounted for 82 percent of livestock output, reached nearly P53 billion from last year’s P50.667 billion, according to PSA.

e hog sector posted a 4.5-percent year-on-year growth, the highest in the past 24 quarters, based on historical PSA data.

In terms of volume, hog output was estimated at 436,680 MT from 418,070 MT in the third quarter of last year.

e poultry sector, meanwhile, registered P63.060 billion worth of output, 6.41 percent over the P59.26 billion recorded in the third quarter of last year.

Fisheries production declined by 4.2 percent year-on-year to P63.2190 billion, according to the PSA report.

e PSA said agricultural output from January to September increased by 0.3 percent on an annual basis to P1.267 trillion.

“Reduction in tariffs on nonAsean rice imports did not, and will not, significantly diversify sources of rice,” FFF said.

“No correlation between reduction in non-Asean rice tariffs and rice retail prices. Tariff reduction benefits mostly consumers of premium rice grades or importers and traders who pocket gains from reduced tariffs,” it added.

Sinag claimed that EO 171 was futile in lowering pork and rice prices in the market, with only importers allegedly benefiting from the tariff reductions.

“Why would any government sacrifice funding social welfare services and providing public health care projects, just for the benefit of these privileged importers?” it said.

“Increasing public revenues is the cornerstone of the economic program of all governments, bar none, amid the post-pandemic global economic recession,” it added. Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

PHL among most visited SE Asian destinations

373,372 visitors accounting for close to some 19 percent of total. “ e US outbound market is currently the world’s travel recovery powerhouse, with a high number of travelers keen to explore and spend their hard-earned cash on new experiences. Destinations that have depended on this audience in the past now face more global competition and cannot rely on a generic approach, while destinations that depended more on markets such as China and Russia ought to shift their focus to communicating more openly with travel-hungry American audiences,” said ForwardKeys.

e Philippines is participating in this year’s edition of the World Travel Market from November 7 to

9 at ExCeL London.

‘Hilot’ in WTM London

IN a news statement, DOT’s marketing arm, the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB), said the Philippines booth is featuring popular destinations such as Palawan, Cebu, Boracay, Bohol, Siargao, the Cordilleras, and Manila. It is also highlighting diverse cultural offerings including the Kadayawan Festival of Davao and the Bicol Express dish from the Bicol Region.

With this year’s theme revolving around wellness and sustainability, a Philippine Networking Night will be conducted on November 8 at “ e Retreat,” a Philippinesponsored area where visitors can experience a nature-inspired wellness spa setting and indulge and the traditional Filipino massage,

hilot.Visitors will also be treated to fl air bartending, a food demo, and pocket performances by notable Filipino artists.

“With experiential travel as one of the biggest travel trends in this post-pandemic period, our goal is to immerse visitors in the unique Filipino brand. e heart and soul of our people and the stories we fight to keep alive,” said TPB COO Maria Margarita Montemayor Nograles. “Wellness, sustainability, design, culture and tradition are just some of the many components that come with our most recent travel packages. Coupled with our sun, beach and dive destinations, adventure tours, colorful festivals, and a mélange of culinary delights, we have high hopes for the Philippines to be a top of mind destination,” she stressed.

By Glen Jacob Jose

THEnational government, through its Enhanced Com prehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP), has provided a total of P45.79 million in financial and livelihood assistance to some 611 former rebels (FR) and their families since July 2022 to help them lead peaceful lives, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) bared on Wednesday.

In a news statement, Interior and Local Government Secretary Benja min “Benhur” C. Abalos Jr. said the E-CLIP assistance granted to FRs covers livelihood, education, housing, medical and other social services cru cial to their reintegration in society.

He urged local government units (LGUs) to work closely with the na tional government in nipping the insurgency from the roots by pri oritizing programs, projects and ac tivities that are responsive, socially inclusive, and involves the active participation of different sectors to pursue the country’s peace agenda.

H e cited the institutionaliza tion of the whole-of-nation ap proach in Executive Order No. 70 as the game changer in addressing the ills of society, including pov erty, social inequality, and histori cal injustice among others.

“ Wars are won by [winning] the hearts of the people. We need to re frame our focus on viewing insur gency as purely security and military concern into a much broader social, economic concern and injustice,” Abalos said in his keynote speech during the Support to Barangay De velopment Program (SBDP) Summit at Widus Hotel, Clark, Pampanga, held recently.

Abalos also said there are 1,019 completed SBDP projects in insurgen cy-cleared far-flung barangays last year that have already made a huge difference in the lives of beneficiaries.

He said these much-needed in frastructures and social develop ment packages funded by SBDP are those identified by the communities themselves when they crafted their enhanced barangay development programs or e-BDPs in priority in surgency-cleared barangays.

JUSTICE Secretary Jesus Crisp in Remulla announced on Wednesday that 120 out of the 176 unclaimed cadavers of persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) will be transferred to the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) for autopsy to deter mine whether they died of natural causes or were summarily executed while serving their prison terms in side the New Bilibid Prison (NBP).

I n an interview during the 86th founding anniversary celebration of the National Bureau of Investi gation (NBI), Remulla told report ers that the management of PGH and the Department of Justice would be signing a memorandum of agreement (MOA) for the turn over of the 120 bodies for patho logical examinations.

Remulla said well-known forensic pathologist Dr. Raquel Fortun would lead the autopsy.

By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

JUSTICESecretary Jesus Crisp in Remulla on Wednesday said both suspended Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief Gerald Bantag and deputy security and operations officer Ricardo Zulueta are still in the country.

They are still in the country,” Remulla said when asked if the two officials who were recently charged with murder in connection with the killing of broadcaster Percival “Percy Lapid” Mabasa last October 3 and al leged middleman Jun Villamor.

T he issuance of a precaution ary hold departure order (PHDO) against the two BuCor officials is now being processed and is expected to be filed once the DOJ starts the preliminary investigation of the murder case. “It’s being processed by the DOJ now,” Remulla said.     Bantag and Zulueta have been tagged as the masterminds in the

killings of Mabasa and Villamor.

T hey were charged as principals by inducement in the two murder cases after they allegedly tapped sev eral gang leaders in the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) to plot Mabasa’s killing and then Villamor.

In their investigation report, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) said Bantag had a clear motive to effect the murders.

In the case of Mabasa, the two agen cies pointed to Mabasa’s continued expose of the issues against Bantag on his show “ Lapid Fire” as the motive.

For Jun Villamor, the NBI and PNP said the motive was to cover up the murder of Mabasa.

V illamor was named by selfconfessed gunman Joel Escorial as the one who contracted him to kill Mabasa in the amount of P550,000.

Zulueta allegedly served as Ban tag’s middleman to the NBP gang leaders involved in Mabasa and Villamor’s killing.

R emulla reiterated his call for Bantag and Zulueta to submit them selves to the legal process by submit ting their counter-affidavit to an swer the charges against them once the preliminary investigation starts.

That’s the legal process They should respect the law. Enough of dramas, face it like a man,” Remulla said.

‘Cinderella man’ spin angersBantag?

MEANWHILE , Remulla disclosed new information that might help in the prosecution of the murder cases against Bantag.

R emulla was referring to the “Cinderella Man” story that Mabasa worked on that could have triggered Bantag to order the latter’s killing.

T he DOJ secretary said it was narrated to him that Bantag skipped the graduation ceremony of the University of Perpetual Help for its student-inmates held last Septem ber 9 at the NBP.

“ It’s very significant because all the board of trustees of the Universi ty of Perpetual Help were all there to witness the graduation. They’re all present. These are people who really are doing a great service to the na tional penitentiary because they’re providing college education to many of the inmates who want to do it,” Remulla pointed out.

R emulla noted that Bantag did not show up during the event because he reportedly hurriedly went back to his house in Laguna after finding out that Mabasa went to his house that day to ex amine and take pictures of his residence and vehicles.

“Bantag not returning there is a sign also that he was very mad, he was very livid about it,” Remulla said.

Bantag has yet to surface since the filing of charges against him and several others before the DOJ.

PNP tracker teams ready

THE PNP is now readying tracker

teams to arrest Bantag and Zu lueta if a warrant of arrest is is sued against them in connection with the killing of Mabasa and Villamor.

But for the moment, PNP chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. said they are just monitoring the whereabouts of the two suspects who allegedly ordered the killing of Mabasa over his expose on the alleged ill-gotten wealth of Bantag.

In the event that a warrant of arrest is issued, there will defi nitely be tracker teams to look for them. So far now, we are just monitoring. We are just validat ing information where they are,” he told reporters when sought for comment on the sidelines during the blessing and turnover ceremo ny of the newly constructed PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group building at Camp Crame in Quezon City on Wednesday.

Bantag and Zulueta are facing two counts of murder. With Glen Jacob Jose

THE Philippine National Police (PNP) is eyeing to recruit some 1,500 more personnel for its Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG) to effectively respond to the growing threats and incidents of criminal activities in cyberspace.

PNP chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. said on Wednesday they would also be requesting funds for the recruitment of at least 500 policemen who will be assigned to beef up the ACG and ac quisition of modern equipment.

“Our ACG needs more personnel who would man different offices and functions of the ACG. So by next year, we will be proposing at least 500 ad ditional ACG personnel to be part of the recruitment,” he told reporters on the sidelines during the blessing and turnover ceremony of the newly con structed PNP ACG building at Camp Crame in Quezon City on Wednesday.

He also noted the presence of many foreign counterparts during the blessing ceremony of the building

amid the noted rise in cybercriminal ity as well as transnational crimes victimizing children.

Modern equipment that we can use in our cyber patrol and then we know that the focus of most of the interna tional communities today is online sex, against child abuse and exploitation,” the country’s top cop noted.

If the proposal is approved, Azur in said the PNP would focus on bring ing in IT experts.

We will be requiring our ACG and our Directorate for Information and Communications Technology Man agement [DICTM] to come up with a proposal on the qualification of the personnel who would be recruited for ACG,” he added.

But what is important is that the recruits must have knowledge on technology, specifically IT,” Azurin pointed out.

Past PNP leaders had emphasized the need to strengthen law enforce ment and crime prevention online

amid the increase of cybercrimes in the past years, especially at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic when most of people went online.

M ost of the victims would choose not to report cybercrime over perceptions that the country has weak law enforcement capabil ity against cybercrime.

Earlier, Interior Secretary Benja min Abalos Jr. stressed the impor tance of addressing cybercrimes, especially with the advent of tech nology and Filipinos’ heavy reliance on social media.

He noted that cybercrimes, espe cially cyberpornography, have been on the rise following the surge in the use of the Internet due to the pandemic.

“Just let me know what equip ment you need. If it is necessary for our Anti-Cybercrime Group to con duct seminars, study or hire tech nical people, please do so,” Abalos assured the PNP chief. Glen Jacob Jose

T he DOJ chief clarified that not all of the 176 unclaimed bodies would be turned over to PGH since the latter can only accommodate a maximum of 120 cadavers.

T he cadavers are currently stored at the Bureau of Corrections-ac credited Eastern Funeral Homes in Muntinlupa City.

“ We will determine the cause of death based on the carpeta [prison records] and based on the death certificate and the actual autopsy to be conducted by Dr. Fortun,” Remulla said.

Remulla said in case the results of the autopsy on the cadavers would in dicate possible foul play, the NBI and the Philippine National Police (PNP) would be tapped to conduct further investigation and case build up.

B ut he noted that the NBI would have the first crack on the investigation.

“ The NBI will be given the first crack at this because it’s a DOJ [De partment of Justice] undertaking. The PNP will also be given a similar copy of all the results because we are conducting a joint operation on this matter. This is also a police matter,” the DOJ chief said.

They’ll have the first crack because this involves scientific process yan. We want to have a hand in it. But we will also refer to the police because remem ber all of these people went to jail, died in jail…so we have to give due courtesy to both agencies,” he added.

W hen asked what will happen to the remaining 26 cadavers, Re mulla said: “We will see. The DOJ and its attached agencies’ priority right now are to locate the families of these people. Remember these are people, cadavers of people who had families. We will try to give them a decent burial.”  Joel R. San Juan

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco @claudethmc3

THEDepartment of Education (DepEd) in Western Visayas (Region 6) has launched an investigation into the reported food poisoning incident at Pili National High School in Ajuy, Iloilo, which reportedly claimed the life of a learner and the hospitalization of 15 others.

T he incident was recorded to have happened on Friday, November 4, 2022.

Based on the incident report from the Schools Division of Iloilo, the learners, together with their adviser, had lunch in their

classroom where students brought a variety of food.

On November 5, some learners reportedly experienced stomachache and vomiting.

T hey were immediately rushed to Barotac Viejo District Hospital where they were hydrated and started on IV antibiotics.

Upon investigation, the deceased learner was first brought to Sara District Hospital and was advised to be admitted but refused to do so and went home instead.

A few hours later, the learner’s condition reportedly worsen, and was rushed to Barotac Viejo District Hospital but was declared dead on arrival.

T he school, together with the

Schools Division Office of Iloilo, is currently coordinating with the Rural Health Unit of Ajuy to address the needs of the affected learners and personnel and to conduct further investigation into the case.

Meanwhile, the local government unit of Ajuy pledged to shoulder the hospital bills of the victims and extend financial assistance to the family of the deceased learner.

Pili National High School personnel and nearby public schools of Ajuy, also initiated financial assistance to the victims.

DepEd Regional Office 6 also tasked the Legal Unit to conduct further investigation into the case.

By Manuel T. Cayon @awimailbox Mindanao Bureau Chief

CITY—Interprovin cial buses are being asked anew to take in passengers only inside the main bus terminal at Ecoland here and to refuse all others embarking at any other points along the national highways.

DAVAO

T he practice has been in force since May this year as a precau tion against a repeat of the recent bomb explosion inside a bus when an unattended baggage turned out to contain a crude bomb that ex ploded inside a bus in Koronadal City in South Cotabato on May 26.

Another crude bomb explosion fol lowed a few hours later in another bus in Tacurong City.

With another bombing incident on a bus on Sunday in Cotabato City, the Task Force Davao has asked all buses to refuse passengers embark ing in “non-designated bus stops in the city.”

“We are asking them and encour aging them not to pick up passen gers along the way because based on the investigation of the 6th Infan try Division, the passengers were

picked up on the way to Tacurong and alighted shortly before the ex plosion and they are suspected to have caused the explosion,” Task Force Davao Commander Col. Dar ren Comia said in Filipino.

C omia said the joint security forces have coordinated with bus companies after Sunday’s bombing incident in Tacurong City and warned them to pick up passengers only in

designated bus terminals.

He said they also coordinated with the Yellow Bus Line to immediately report to them threats from terror ists. The company operates the illfated buses in the May explosions and on Sunday’s incident.

We are coordinating with the bus company; in fact, we have talked with the management of Yellow Bus and asked them to report to us if they will

receive a demand letter or extortion letter,” he said.

T he Task Force Davao noted how ever, that there was no direct threat to Davao City but security forces were placed on high alert.

“ We continue to tighten security check in our border control points, especially the possible areas where the suspected terrorists might enter the city,” Comia said.

PINOY WINS NY STATE ASSEMBLY SEAT Steven Raga makes history by becoming the first Filipino to win a New York State Assembly seat. Steven is the only child of Adela Cabildo Raga of San Ildefonso, Alaminos, Laguna, and Andy Raga of Lumban, Laguna (both deceased). He spent his early childhood in San Pablo City before migrating to New York. Steve successfully ran as a Democrat in mid-term elections and will now represent District 30 in the State Assembly in Albany. He is among several Filipinos elected to public office in the United States.  TROI SANTOS

Vittorio V. Vitug

Economy

BusinessMirror

Meralco hikes November electricity rates

By Lenie Lectura @llectura

www.businessmirror.com.ph

ELECTRICITY

rates for November will slightly go up by P0.0844 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), bringing the overall rate for a typical household to P9.9472 per kWh from the previous month’s P9.8628 per kWh.

For residential customers con suming 200 kWh, the adjustment is equivalent to a slight increase of around P17 in their total elec tricity bill, the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) announced on Wednesday.

T he uptick was brought about by an increase in generation charge by P0.0725 to P6.9917 from P6.9192 per kWh.

C harges from Power Supply Agreements (PSAs) also increased

by P0.2711 per kWh largely due to the scheduled maintenance outage of First Natgas-San Gabriel plant from October 1 to 14. This was mitigated by lower charges from In dependent Power Producers (IPPs) and the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM).

T he P0.1520 per kWh decrease in IPP charges was primarily due to a stronger peso, which affected 99 per cent of IPP costs, and the reduced use of more expensive alternative fuel

by First Gas-Sta. Rita. Malampaya natural gas prices remained stable following its quarterly repricing that reflected recent movement of inter national crude oil prices.

Meanwhile, WESM charges went down by P0.7959 per kWh with fewer instances of the secondary price cap imposition. During the October sup ply period, the secondary price cap was triggered 51.64 percent of the time, down from 55.16 percent the preceding month.

PSAs, IPPs and WESM accounted for 49 percent, 45 percent, and 6 per cent, respectively, of Meralco’s total energy requirement for the period.

Transmission, taxes, and other charges for residential customers also went up by P0.0119 per kWh.

Meralco said the pass-through charges for generation and trans mission are paid to the power suppliers and the grid operator, respectively, while taxes, univer sal charges, and Feed-In Tariff Al lowance (FiT-All) are all remitted

to the government.

Meralco’s distribution charge, on the other hand, has not moved since the P0.0360 per kWh reduction for a typical residential customer begin ning August 2022. In addition, the four ongoing distribution-related refunds, equivalent to a total of P1.8009 per kWh for residential customers, continue to temper cus tomers’ monthly bills.

One of the four refunds, equiva lent to P0.4669 per kWh for resi dential customers, is expected to be completed this November. The other three are expected to be fully refunded by December 2022, Janu ary 2023, and May 2023 and the impact will subsequently be felt in succeeding billing periods.

Meanwhile, Meralco recorded 457 cable theft incidents from 2020 to October 2022. It said that majority of them occurred in Metro Manila. Of the total, 106 resulted in service interruptions and eight led to injury or death.

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes @brownindio

THE Philippines needs to es tablish a Cabinet-level orga nization to explore and har ness the potential of the country’s vast aquatic resources under the Blue Economy.

We need to put up the Depart ment of Fisheries and Aquatic Re sources to help our marginalized fisherfolk. With a department that is solely focused on man aging the country’s aquatic re sources, we can not only address the problems but also explore the potentials and opportunities and at the same time manage our natural resources in a sustainable way,” said Philippine Rural Re construction Movement (PRRM) President Edicion dela Torre in a television interview during the launch of “The Way Forward,” which aired on Wednesday in CNN Philippines.

L awyer Karen Jimeno, the host of the show, said “The Way Forward” hopes to jumpstart the start of the conversation together with the ex perts and thought leaders from the science, academe and the legal field to form the ideas so that we can move forward.

PR RM is the producer of the show. It will have three episodes featuring experts and thought lead ers discussing several issues on the Blue Economy. The talk show airs every Wednesday.

De la Torre said PRRM decided to produce “The Way Forward” as the government tends to put emphasis on land-based natural resources of the country. To balance the ne glect imparted on the country’s fisherfolk, he said PRRM decided to launch the show as he also said it was part of the organization’s self criticism as it did not give the same support to the fisheries sec tor compared to farmers.

H e stressed the government needs to recognize the potential

of the country’s resources in the Blue Economy. Despite the coun try’s huge potential, de la Torre stressed there is no clear-cut policy to serve as a guide for the Blue Economy.

“ We are the largest fishing nation in the world. The Philip pines is a Maritime and Archipe lagic Nation [MANA]. This is our MANA. We must defend it,” dela Torre explained.

L awyer Francis Jardeleza, a re tired associate justice of the Su preme Court and one of the guests of the pilot episode, underscored the importance of the value of the arbitral award and the United Na tions Convention of the Law of Sea (UNCLOS) to enable the country to harness its rich natural resources for the Blue Economy.

I n the interview, he quashed the nine-dash line presented by China, pointing out that it does not exist.

The EEZ is the economic zone. It was agreed upon by the coun tries that first met to form the treaty that is now called the UN CLOS. The EEZ is an invention of the UNCLOS. So they say we give each country 200 nautical miles from the outer parts to make it simple,” Jardeleza explained.

Sovereignty is like to put it in simple terms. We are sovereign over Luzon because Luzon is our terri tory. So we have full civil, political control, the Philippines over Luzon. A sovereign right is over the area outside of the territory, and then you have 200 nautical miles out wards the sea. We have the right to exploit the fish and the right to exploit the underground minerals,” Jardeleza added.

H e assured the fisherfolk that their fellow Filipinos are ready to help them to apprehend the poachers and make it difficult for them to get out on bail. “If you ask me, I would wish it to be declared a heinous crime,” he pointed out.

Blue Economy is main topic during launch of CNN’s latest show ‘The Way Forward’

Taiwan-backed school-on-wheels for learners launched in Manila

By Roderick L. Abad @rodrik_28 Contributor

MORE than 1,000 learn ers stand to benefit this school year with the launch on Wednesday of a rolling school program initiated by Tai wan’s government with support from its Philippine counterpart and business community.

T he Taiwan Excellence Mobile Classroom, which was unveiled during its media presentation at the Manila Hotel, is a school-onwheels model meant to provide quality education to marginalized members of society, especially those in the countryside.

T his came from the idea of Sustain able Energy and Enterprise Develop ment for Communities (SEED4com), which started with bicycle and sidecar types of a classroom equipped with minimal amenities. Besting entries from 61 other countries, such concept won in the Taiwan Excellence: Sharing is Caring competition early this year.

Now fully realized as the Taiwan Ex cellence Mobile Classroom, it comes in a truck with display monitors, laptops for both learners and teachers, solar panels with a full inverter system, bat tery storage with a three-kilowatt per hour capacity, speaker systems and mi crophones, foldable chairs, tables and tents courtesy of Taiwanese companies supporting the endeavor.

T he Department of Education (DepEd) provides the Alternative Learning System modules it developed for use in its rollout in Bulacan, Cebu, Laguna and Quezon Province. Learn ers will be taught subjects, such as Integrated Math, Entrepreneurship, Life Skills, Digital Citizenship, and Basic Education.

The mobile classroom project will offer greater educational oppor tunities for learners of all ages in the Philippines. Today’s event is a start to connect with respective communities. It’s a start to unite bilateral goodwill for those in need, and it’s also a start to trigger more parties go for global ESG [environmental, social and cor porate governance],” said Cynthia Kiang, director-general of Taiwan’s Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT). Based on the existing solid foun

dation of friendship between Taiwan and the Philippines, with concerted efforts [from the Taiwanese compa nies], I believe our bilateral relation ship was stepped up to new levels of excellence,” she added.

A mbassador Michael Peiyung Hsu of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in the Philippines could not agree more to her as both countries have expansive interactions in many areas, including trade and investment.

In fact, he cited that Taiwan is the eighth largest trading partner of the Philippines, with their bilateral trade reaching $8.29 billion in 2021.

“I’m glad that Taiwan Excellence has made a lot of efforts to have mobile classroom come true. Through Taiwan Excellence, the mobile classroom can reach learners in remote areas with the support of products made in Taiwan from several outstanding Taiwanese companies,” Hsu said of the govern ment-to-government cooperation between the two Asian neighbors.

Speaking on behalf of the Philip pine government, Vice President and Department of Education Secretary Sara Duterte-Carpio expressed her gratitude to the Taiwanese govern ment and Taiwan Excellence for en couraging innovative ideas related to society’s sustainable growth and environmental preservation.

In an archipelagic country like the Philippines, mobile classrooms ensure equitable access to education, while promoting the use of renew able energy in remote areas. It will also help us ensure education in emergencies [by] engaging children and youth [who] will, otherwise, be deprived of education and the nor malcy of school life,” she said, while urging Filipino teachers, engineers, scientists and entrepreneurs to cre ate innovative solutions to help the country’s post-pandemic recovery

We applaud the efforts of BOFT and TAITRA [Taiwan External Trade Development Council] for creating the platform to realize these oppotunities and these initiatives. We, therefore, look forward to more similar devel opments to improve and upgrade our educational system with the help of our closest friend and neighbor Taiwan,” added Silvestre Bello III, chairman of Manila Economic and Cultural Office.

PBBM says PHL on track to recovery, but cautions on ‘shocks’ from abroad

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

economic team, even before I took office, we really concentrated on the creation of jobs,” Marcos said.

T he top employment-generating sectors were Manufacturing, Edu cation, Public Administration and Defense, Transportation and Real estate, according to PSA.

T he President is confident the trend will persist since job genera tion is among the top priorities of his administration.

ment rate, which accelerated to 15.4 percent last September, the President said the government will address this by improving the qual ity of jobs.

This is a good sign. The econo my is trying very hard to grow,” the President said in a news statement.

On Tuesday, the Philippine Sta tistics Authority (PSA) reported the unemployment rate slowed to 5 per cent last September, the lowest rate since the 4.5 percent in 2019, from 5.3 percent in the preceding month.

L ikewise, it reported that em

PRESIDENTployment for the same month also slightly improved to 95 percent from 94.7 percent in August.

Job creation

THE President attributed both im provements in the labor market to the employment generation efforts of the government.

Ever since we started with the

“ We just have to be able to toler ate the shocks that are coming from abroad. But otherwise, the economy is moving in the right direction,” the President said.

To note, PSA attributed the drop in unemployment to the decline in labor force participation as many workers decided to return to school.

Better quality

WHEN it comes to underemploy

In a text message, Labor and Em ployment Secretary Bienvenido E. Laguesma said among their initia tives to provide better employment opportunities to workers will be through the skills training or up skilling programs of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda).

Effective job facilitation and accurate and reliable labor market information are part of DOLE ini tiatives that can likewise be of help,” Laguesma said.

L abor groups have called on the government to address rising un deremployment by taming high inflation rate and increasing more “quality” employment opportunities.

797 law graduates ‘no show’ on 1st day of ’22 Bar exams

By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

800 law graduates failed to show up during first day of the 2022 Bar examina tions on Wednesday in 14 local test ing centers (LTCs) nationwide.

NEARLY

Based on the data released by the Office of the Bar Chairperson, of 10,006 examinees who participated in the venue selection, 92.03 percent or 9,209 showed up.

T he SC said 797 qualified exam inees were absent.

T he National Capital Region (NCR) has the highest number of Bar examinees who failed to take the first day of the exams.

At the Ateneo de Manila Uni versity where 2,529 Bar examinees where supposed to take the exams, only 2,234 were present, while 295 did not show up.

T he attendance in other LTCs in NCR is as follows: San Beda Uni versity, 579 out of 600 (21 were

absent); De La Salle University, 762 out of 794 (32 were absent); Manila Adventist College, 332 out of 350 (18 were absent); University of the Philippines-Bonifacio Global City, 637 out of 680 (43 were absent).

In LTCs in Luzon, the attendance is as follows: Saint Louis University, 967 out of 1,000 (53 were absent); De La Salle Lipa 35 out of 366 (33 were absent); and University of Nueva Caceres (439 out of 465 (26 were absent).

Meanwhile, the attendance in LTC’s in Visayas is as follows; Uni versity of San Carlos, 493 out of 530 (37 were absent); University of Cebu-Banilad, 708 out of 789 (81 were absent); Dr. Orestes Romualdez Educational Foundation, 361 out of 392 (31 were absent).

I n Mindanao LTCs, Xavier Uni versity-Ateneo de Cagayan, 440 out of 464 (24 were absent); Ateneo de Davao University, 706 out of 780 (74 were absent); and Ateneo de Zam boanga University, 238 out of 267

(29 were absent).

T he succeeding dates of the Bar examinations are on Novem ber 13, 16, and 20, 2022 under a “regionalized and digitalized” set up which was first adopted in the 2020-2021 Bar exams held in February of this year.

T he SC decided to use the said set up in the 2020 and 2021 Bar exams due to the health and travel restrictions brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.

2022 Bar Examinations Commit

tee Chairperson and Supreme Court Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin S. Caguioa said the first day of the Bar exams “went well and smoothly.”

SC spokesman Brian Keith Ho saka said Justice Caguiao is hoping for the same results in the remaining Bar exam days.

T he SC earlier announced that it would refund the bar fees of law graduates who are scheduled to take the 2022 Bar exams but would not be able to do so due to the aftermath of severe tropical storm “Paeng.”

Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF).

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie

PHILIPPINE

National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. on Wednesday announced the arrest of 25,568 wanted persons in in tensified anti-criminality operations.

A zurin said among those arrested were 19 top most wanted persons (TMWP) with monetary rewards of fered by government for information leading to their arrest.

Nonetheless, PNP Units accom plished the duty of law enforcement to implement orders of the Court to effect the arrest of criminal offend ers,” Azurin said in a news statement.

He further noted that from July 2022 to October 2022, the PNP post ed high-performance ratings on key issues of promoting peace, enforcing the law, and fighting criminality as ex pressed by a good majority of Filipinos in a recent survey by Pulse Asia.

A zurin also mentioned that this expression of the people’s outlook is consistent with crime data and offers an accurate validation of the prevail ing crime situation as he commended police units in PNP’s drive against no torious fugitives.

Our steadfast commitment to pur suing good governance and to creat ing more stable, peaceful, and secure communities for the Filipino people is what unites all our sustained efforts as we measure up with the National Strategic Direction set by President Ferdinand R Marcos Jr. on peace and security…,” Azurin said. Glen Jacob Jose

THEHouse Committee on Government Reorganization on Wednesday approved Package 3 of the Comprehensive Tax Re form Program or the Real Property Valuation Reform Bill, a priority measure of the adminis tration of Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.

In the immediate approval of the bill, the com mittee chairman and Bukidnon Rep. Jonathan Keith T. Flores cited Rule 10, Section 48 of the lower chamber, which authorizes the committees to dispose of priority measures already filed and approved on third reading in the immediately preceding Congress.

K abayan Rep. Ron Salo said the newly ap proved bill was based on the approved version of the last 18th Congress.

T he bill, which seeks to institute reforms in real property valuation and assessment and re organizing the Bureau of Local Government Fi nance (BLGF), is a consolidation of HBs 54, 197, 813, 1276, 2695, 3420, 3436, 3954, 3955, 4094, 4269 and 5241.

Authors of the bills include Reps. Joey Sarte Salceda, Jurdin Jesus Romualdo, Michael Rome ro, Ph.D., Luis Raymund Villafuerte Jr., Dep uty Speaker Kristine Singson-Meehan, Jaime Fresnedi, Teodorico Haresco Jr., Paolo Duterte, Edvic Yap, Gus Tambunting, Jocelyn Tulfo and Jonathan Keith Flores.

T he bill, which provides for the Package 3 of the CTRP, will now be transmitted to the House Committee on Ways and Means for its tax provision and to the House Com mittee on Appropriations for its appropria tion provision.

T he proposal seeks to improve real property valuation for the government by adopting a market-based schedule of market values (SMV) to be used as the basis of local and national real property taxation.

It also seeks to reorganize and strengthen the

T he bill requires that the valuation or ap praisal of all real property, whether taxable or tax-exempt, shall be based on prevailing market values in the locality where the property is situ ated in conformity with the valuation standards adopted in the proposal.

T he bill mandates the Department of FinanceBLGF to lead and manage the implementation of the proposal.

T he bill aims to harmonize the real property valuation for taxation purposes, which releases the Bureau of Internal Revenue from promulgat ing the Schedule of Zonal Values.

T he bill also establishes and maintains valu ation standards to govern the valuation of real property in the country. It also provides a com prehensive and up to date electronic database of all real property transactions.

T he measure also ensures transparency in real property transactions to protect the public and develop confidence in the work of apprais ers and assessors.

Earlier, Salceda said this would enable the lo cal government units to become self-reliant and perform their role as development partners of the national government.

Salceda said the real property valuation re form bill is pro-local government, saying “we expect P30.2 billion estimated revenue for the first year of the implementation for local gov ernment units.”

A lso, Salceda said Package 3 is also beneficial to the national government as it will address the issues on right of way.

T he lawmaker said the government would also save P25.2 billion per year due to elimina tion of costs for notice, conduct of hearing, and publication of zonal values.

For his part, Salo said one of the most vaunted sources of revenues is real property, which is con sidered as the most important natural resource and the biggest financial asset.

Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Wednesday declared that the country is on track to achieve its pandemic economic recovery targets as jobless figures reached record low.

Basic

PHAN

Brief Job Description: Being the voice of our players within our fast-growing online/offshore gaming platform, stay on track with the game updates, implementing procedures to support players, work creatively across multiple projects and platforms at the same time.

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PHAN THI THUY DUNG Customer Support Specialist

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Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 27.

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Basic Qualification: Can contribute information, ideas, and research to help develop marketing strategies; can help to detail, design, and implement marketing plans for each product or service being offered.

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64.

DIEP THANH THUY Gaming Support Specialist

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Basic Qualification: A passion for delivering excellent customer service, Excellent communication skills in Chinese, both spoken and written, Previous experience in a similar role in the offshore/online gaming industry or less experience but a good attitude and motivation to learn.

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Basic Qualification: A passion for delivering excellent customer service, Excellent communication skills in Chinese, both spoken and written, Previous experience in a similar role in the offshore/online gaming industry or less experience but a good attitude and motivation to Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: A passion for delivering excellent customer service, Excellent communication skills in Chinese, both spoken and written, Previous experience in a similar role in the offshore/online gaming industry or less experience but a good attitude and motivation to

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relationship with the key senior decision makers

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JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A.- PHILIPPINE GLOBAL SERVICE CENTER 25f Jpmorgan Chase & Co Tower, 9th Avenue Cor. 38th St., Uptown Bonifacio, Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig

LAL, RAJSHREE Payment Lifecycle Manager

84.

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Brief Job Description: Includes all activities required for completion of payments processing across various products which could include the transfer of funds between financial institutions, cardholders and merchants, corporate and retail clients, or other parties, as well as reconciliation of purchase and sales options, futures, or securities.

BANERJEE, SHRIYA Trade Lifecycle Manager

Brief Job Description: Trading Lifecycle roles are responsible for core functions of pre and post trading lifecycle across all asset classes. Responsibilities may include operational support related to regulatory, market and legal requirements, fund transfers, reconciliation, billing and expenses, sanctions screening, exceptions processing, cash management and formal documentation.

Basic Qualification: Strong financial markets product knowledge and understanding of the transaction lifecycle in custody and/or fund services

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JTI GBS PHILIPPINES, INC. 14th And 17th Floor - Office A, Ten West Campus Building, Le Grand Avenue, Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig

MCLEOD, MARTIN ALEC Bts Gsc Planning & Logistics Manager

Basic Qualification: At Least 10 Years of Experience

86.

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Brief Job Description: Testing Support during Project Implementation, testing coordination and monitoring during project phases, follow up and monitoring of testing activities for planning team, training support activities

OBIAZOV, VITALII Cyber Infrastucture Security Manager

Brief Job Description: Designing, developing and maintaining of technical security solutions and security standards related to the Global IT infrastructure, ensuring the best use of cyber security tools to protect the company, the customers, partners and systems from cyber-attacks and security incidents, delivering regular and consistent input and reports to support compliance, audit and risk control teams.

AVLIAKHANOV, GEORGII Data Center Technical Architect Manager

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88.

Brief Job Description: Design cloud based solutions for JTI, lead validation of cloud based technologies, drive JTI Datacenter infrastructure migration to the cloud, ensure that business needs and requirements are translated into appropriate technical requirements and standards, ensuring overall integration and consistency of the infrastructure, data center solutions design review and validation: sizing, performance, scalability, reliability and availability use of cyber security tools to protect the company, the customers, partners and systems from cyber-attacks and security incidents, delivering regular and consistent input and reports to support compliance, audit and risk control teams.

MEDIYAYNEN, ANDREY Data Center Technical Architect Manager

Basic Qualification: At Least 10 Years of Experience

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Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 99.

100.

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TSAN CA NIM Call Center Agent Brief Job Description: Customer Service

LI, ZHENYU Chinese Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries

BOBY ERIKO Indonesian Customer Service Representative

Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries

ERNI KARTIKA Indonesian Customer Service Representative

Basic Qualification: College Graduate/Level and Fluent in Mandarin/Basic English

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

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103.

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Brief Job Description: Managing Incoming calls and customer service inquires.

HARTONO Indonesian Customer Service Representative

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HENDRI Indonesian Customer Service Representative

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KATHERINE Indonesian Customer Service Representative

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

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106.

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KRISTINA Indonesian Customer Service Representative

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89.

Brief Job Description: IT projects management, data center contractor’s team management, datacenter management and budgeting, worldwide infrastructure planning and design, communication with key JTI vendors

SENKEVICH, KIRILL Data Center Technical Architect Manager

Basic Qualification: At Least 10 Years of Experience Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999 90.

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LAVEN CHANDRA Indonesian Customer Service Representative

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MARIATI Indonesian Customer Service Representative

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Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

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chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

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30,000 - Php 59,999

164.

165.

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NGUYEN THI MAI HUYEN It Officer Brief Job Description: Assesses infrastructure on a regular bases to ensure it continues to meet necessary demands.

TRAN VIET TUNG Vietnamese Customer Service Representative

Brief Job Description: Attracts potential customers by answering product and service questions, suggesting information about other products and services.

BUI CONG CHIEN Vietnamese Customer Service Representative

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BUI THANH TUAN Vietnamese Customer Service Representative

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DAO QUANG HUY Vietnamese Customer Service Representative

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168.

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DO THI THUY Vietnamese Customer Service Representative

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DOAN THACH THAO Vietnamese Customer Service Representative

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in English and their respective native language for the position applied for, Fluent in Chinese Mandarin is an advantage.

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170.

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Basic

Treaty against fossil fuels floated at UN climate conference in Egypt

By Frank Jordans & Wanjohi Kabukuru The Associated Press

SHARM

EL-SHEIKH, Egypt—

The world should confront climate change the way it does nuclear weapons, by agreeing to a nonproliferation treaty that stops further production of fossil fuels, a small island nation leader urged Tuesday.

The proposal by Tuvalu came as vulnerable nations pushed for more action and money at inter national climate talks in Egypt, while big polluters remained di vided over who should pay for the damage industrial greenhouse gas emissions have done to the planet.

“We all know that the leading cause of climate crisis is fossil fu els,” Tuvalu Prime Minister Kau sea Natano told his fellow leaders.

The Pacific country has “joined Vanuatu and other nations calling for a fossil fuels non-proliferation treaty,” Natano said. “It’s getting too hot and there is very [little] time to slow and reverse the in creasing temperature. Therefore, it is essential to prioritize fastacting strategies.”

Vanuatu and Tuvalu, along with other vulnerable nations, have been flexing their moral authority against the backdrop of recent cli mate-related disasters. The idea of a non-proliferation treaty for coal, oil and natural gas has previously been advanced by campaigners, religious authorities including the Vatican, and some scientists, but Natano’s speech gave it a boost in front of a global audience.

A year ago at climate talks in

Glasgow, a proposal to call for a “phase out” of coal—the dirtiest of the fossil fuels—was changed at the last minute to “phase down” by a demand from India, earning the wrath of vulnerable countries.

Since then the global energy crunch triggered by the Russian invasion of Ukraine has prompted a scramble by some countries and companies seeking to tap fresh gas and oil sources.

Pushing back against that, vul nerable nations also called for a global tax on the profits of fossil fuel corporations that are making billions of dollars daily from skyhigh energy prices.

“It is about time that these com panies are made to pay a global carbon tax on their profits as a source of funding for loss and dam age,” said Gaston Browne, prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda. “Profligate producers of fossil fu els have benefited from extortion ate profits at the expense of human civilization.”

The idea of a windfall tax on carbon profits has gained traction in recent months amid sky-high earnings for oil and gas corpora tions even as consumers struggle to pay for heating their homes

UN to vote on resolution saying Russia must pay reparations

By Edith M. Lederer The Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS—The UN General Assembly scheduled a vote for Monday on a resolution that would call for Russia to be held accountable for violating international law by invading Ukraine, including by paying reparations.

The draft resolution, obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, would recognize the need to establish “an international mechanism for reparation for damage, loss or injury” arising from Russia’s “wrongful acts” against Ukraine.

It would recommend that the assembly’s 193 member nations, in cooperation with Ukraine, create “an international register” to document claims and information on damage, loss or injury to Ukrainians and the government caused by Russia.

Russia’s veto power in the 15-member Security Council has blocked the UN’s most powerful body from taking any action since President Vladimir Putin ordered his forces to invade Ukraine on February 24. But there are no vetoes in the General Assembly, which already has adopted four resolutions criticizing Russia’s invasion.

Unlike Security Council resolutions, General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding, but they do reflect world opinion and have demonstrated widespread opposition to Russia’s military action.

The proposed resolution is co-sponsored by Canada, Guatemala, Netherlands and Ukraine. General Assembly spokeswoman Paulina Kubiak said Tuesday that there will not be a debate on the draft resolution, but countries can give an explanation of their vote before or after the assembly

takes action.

The resolution would reaffirm the General Assembly’s commitment to Ukraine’s “sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity” and reiterate its demand for Russia to immediately “cease its use of force against Ukraine” and withdraw all its forces from Ukrainian territory.

It also would express “grave concern at the loss of life, civilian displacement, destruction of infrastructure and natural resources, loss of public and private property, and economic calamity caused by the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine.”

The draft recalls that Article 14 of the UN Charter authorizes the General Assembly to “recommend measures for the peaceful adjustment of any situation...which it deems likely to impair the general welfare of friendly relations among nations including violations of the Charter.

It also refers to a General Assembly resolution adopted on December 16, 2005, titled “Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Gross Violations of International Human Rights Law and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law.”

Soon after Russia’s invasion, the General Assembly adopted its first resolution on March 2 demanding an immediate Russian cease-fire, withdrawal of all its troops and protection for all civilians by a vote of 141-5 with 35 abstentions.

On March 24, the assembly voted 140-5 with 38 abstentions on a resolution blaming Russia for Ukraine’s humanitarian crisis and urging an immediate cease-fire and protection for millions of civilians and the homes, schools and hospitals critical to their survival.

and filling their cars. For the first time, UN climate conference del egates are to discuss demands by developing nations that the rich est, most polluting countries pay compensation for damage wreaked on them by climate change, which in climate negotiations is called “loss and damage.”

Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley said fossil fuel companies should contribute to those funds, which would provide vulnerable countries with financial aid for the climate-related losses they are suffering.

Other leaders rejected the idea.

“I think this is not the place now to develop tax rules, but rather to jointly develop measures to pro tect against the consequences of climate change,” German Chan cellor Olaf Scholz told reporters.

If the small islands can’t get a global tax on fossil fuel profits, Antigua’s Browne suggested going to international courts to get pol luters to pay. Scientists from Dart mouth College calculated specific damages for all the world’s coun tries and how much was caused by

other nations, saying it would work well in international court cases.

Browne quoted William Shake speare’s “Macbeth” in sharing his frustration with lack of action.

“Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow creeps in this petty pace from day to day to the last sylla ble of recorded time. And all our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death,” Browne said.

Despite 27 climate summits “tomorrow has not come,” he said.

Speaking for a country that has suffered from the consequences of climate change recently, Soma lia’s president said it faces “one of the worst droughts in modern history.”

President Hassan Sheikh Mo hamud said more than 7 million Somalis, or about half the popula tion, cannot meet their basic food needs as the Horn of Africa region has seen two years of failed rains.

“We are trying desperately to respond,” he said. The drought has killed thousands of people, many of them children. It is also reshap ing Somalia’s landscape as the country struggles with one of the

world’s fastest urbanization rates as many people flee parched areas.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shah baz Sharif told fellow leaders how his country was struck by cata strophic floods in recent months that affected 33 million people and caused more than $30 billion in economic damage.

“This all happened despite our very low carbon footprints,” Sharif said, insisting: “Of course it was a manmade disaster.”

Sharif called for additional fi nancial support for his country and others suffering from the effects of climate change, saying money to help Pakistan rebuild af ter the floods should be on top of other aid and not come in the form of loans. Further debts, he said “would be a financial death trap.”

The president of Malawi, mean while, praised those leaders pres ent in Egypt for simply showing up.

“The temptation to abstain from COP this year was great,” President Lazarus Chakwera said, referring to the talks by their UN acronym, “because of the great and unprecedented economic hard ships your citizens are suffering.”

“But you resisted this tempta tion and chose the path of cour age,” he said.

Chakwerea said any agreements forged at the two-week meeting should recognize the different abilities of countries such as the United States and China, and de veloping nations like his own.

There is growing pressure on Beijing to step up its climate ef forts given its massive economic clout.

So far, the world’s biggest pol luter has insisted that it cannot be held to the same standards as de veloped economies like the United States or Europe because it is still lifting millions of its citizens out

of poverty.

Beijing’s climate envoy said Tuesday that the meeting in Egypt should focus on “implementation” of existing pledges.

“The developed countries will take the lead in effectively scal ing up their emission reduction targets and achieving carbon neu trality ahead of time,” Xie Zhen hua said, according to an official translation of the speech.

Xie said it was up to developed countries to “achieve substantive results” on measures for adapting to climate change and financial aid for the poor that are “of greatest concern to developing countries.”

The US mid-term elections were hanging over the talks, with many environmental campaigners wor ried that defeat for the Democrats could make it harder for President Joe Biden to pursue his ambitious climate agenda.

Also hanging over the confer ence was the fate of one of Egypt’s most prominent jailed pro-democ racy activists, Alaa Abdel-Fattah, who has been imprisoned for most of the past decade. He stopped even drinking water Sunday, the first day of the conference, vowing he is willing to die if not released, his family said.

Numerous world leaders raised his case in meetings with Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, and the head of the UN human rights office called for his imme diate release.

Egypt’s longtime history of suppressing dissent has raised controversy over its hosting the annual conference, with many climate activists complaining that restrictions by the host are quiet ing civil society.

report.

Powerball ticket sold in California snags record $2.04-billion jackpot

By Stefanie Dazio & Scott Mcfetridge The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES—Someone who bought a Powerball ticket in Southern Cali fornia has won a record $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot after more than three months with out anyone hitting the top prize.

The winning numbers were se lected Tuesday morning, nearly 10 hours after the scheduled Monday night drawing because of problems processing sales data at one of the game’s member lotteries. Lottery officials acknowledged the un precedented delay for such a highprofile drawing but said the game’s security process took precedence.

“Protecting the integrity of the draw is of utmost importance, and we were able to do that dur ing this historic drawing with the cooperation of all participating lotteries,” said Drew Svitko, the chairman of the Powerball Prod uct Group and executive director of the Pennsylvania Lottery.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Min nesota Lottery acknowledged their sales verification system caused the lengthy delay.

The winning numbers drawn Tuesday morning at the Florida Lottery draw studio in Tallahassee were: white balls 10, 33, 41, 47 and 56, and the red Powerball was 10.

The jackpot ticket was sold at Joe’s Service Center in Altadena,

an unincorporated community in the foothills northeast of Los An geles. For selling the winning tick et, business owner Joe Chahayed will receive a maximum Powerball bonus of $1 million.

“I’m very surprised. Very ex cited. Very happy,” said Chahayed, who wore a bright yellow Califor nia Lottery shirt and cap.

Chahayed said he didn’t know who won the giant prize but hopes it’s someone local.

“I wish I knew the person but most people who buy tickets from me are from the neighborhood. I hope one of them will be the win ner,” he said.

Chahayed said he would spend

his $1 million on his five children and donate some to the community.

Under California rules, the name of the winner must be dis closed but no other information, including the winner’s address, has to be made public.

Thomas Murrell said he had stopped at Joe’s Tuesday morn ing with the intention of buying gas and $200 worth of Powerball tickets, in case no one had won the giant jackpot.

“I know Joe. I’ve known him for years and talk to him all the time,” Murrell said. “Joe’s always been a lucky guy. He’s a good guy. I’m not surprised it happened here.”

The $2.04 billion jackpot was

by far the largest lottery prize ever won, topping the previous record $1.586 billion prize won by three Powerball ticketholders in 2016. Only four previous jackpots have topped $1 billion, but none of those are close to the current prize, which started at $20 million back on August 6 and has grown over three winless months. No one has won the jackpot since August 3.

The jackpot was initially report ed as an estimated $1.9 billion on Monday, but the prize was increased to $2.04 billion Tuesday morning after updated calculations.

The Multi-State Lottery Asso ciation said the scheduled drawing was delayed from 10:59 p.m. EST Monday to 8:57 EST a.m. Tuesday because a participating lottery wasn’t able to process its sales data. After Minnesota completed its pre-draw procedures, the draw ing was able to go ahead.

Marie Hinton, a Minnesota Lot tery spokeswoman, said the lot tery was reviewing what happened and hoped to report its findings by Wednesday.

Terry Rich, a former director of the Iowa Lottery who also served on the Powerball board, said the delay was likely due to a two-part verification system of ticket sales that makes use of an outside ven dor to ensure all is in order before the game’s numbers are drawn.

McFetridge reported from Des Moines, Iowa.

KAUSEA NATANO, prime minister of Tuvalu, speaks at the COP27 UN Climate Summit on Tuesday, November 8, 2022, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. AP/PETER DEJONG

Seth Borenstein and Samy Magdy contributed to this

BUSINESS owner Joe Chahayed holds a check with his son, Joe Chahayed, Jr, as they pose for a picture outside his Joe’s Service Center in Altadena, northeast of Los Angeles on Tuesday, November 8, 2022. CA Lottery officials presented a CA Lottery’s retailer selling bonus check for “One Million US Dollars,” for selling the lottery ticket that won a record $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot. AP/DAMIAN DOVARGANES

World

Myanmar tops Asian summit’s agenda as global issues loom

By David Rising The Associated Press

Asian leaders convene in the Cambodian capital on Thursday, faced with the challenge of trying to curtail escalating violence in Myanmar while the country’s militaryled government shows no signs of complying with the group’s peace plan.

US President Joe Biden will be on hand for the Phnom Penh sum mit of the Association of South east Asian Nations, which comes as Washington and Beijing are increasingly jockeying for influ ence in the Asia-Pacific region. It sets the stage for the Group of 20 meetings in Bali, Indonesia, that immediately follow and are expect ed to include Chinese President Xi Jinping and possibly Russian President Vladimir Putin, then the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Bangkok.

In addition to Myanmar, the four-day meetings are expected to focus on ongoing disputes in the South China Sea, pandemic recovery issues, regional trade and climate change.

Neither Xi nor Putin is expected to attend the Asean talks or the parallel East Asia Summit, though both China and Russia are thought to be sending high-level delega tions headed by Prime Minister Li Keqiang and possibly Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Looming large over Asean, the G-20 and APEC are the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and Rus sia’s consequent search for new markets for its energy resources, as well as resulting supply chain and food security issues, China’s increasingly aggressive saberrattling over Taiwan, and rising tension in the Korean Peninsula.

By attending the Asean sum mit in person, Biden will be able to push American interests and also visibly demonstrate Wash ington’s renewed commitment to the region, said Thomas Daniel, an expert with Malaysia’s Insti tute of Strategic and International Studies.

Former US President Donald Trump skipped the summits after 2017 and left the 2017 meetings early, before the plenary session of the East Asia Summit, a key

BANGKOK—Southeastregional strategic dialogue, leav ing then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to stand in for him.

“For Southeast Asia it’s really important to physically show up, and I think the Americans are very aware of this,” Daniel said. “I can not emphasize how much damage was done by the Trump adminis tration not showing up—and it’s not just not showing up, it’s send ing representatives that are seen as just further downgrades.”

Asean this year is elevating the US to a “comprehensive strategic partnership” status—a largely symbolic enhancement of their relationship but one that puts Washington on the same level as China, which was granted the dis tinction last year.

Ahead of the summit, Daniel Kritenbrink, US assistant secre tary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, said the talks would be an opportunity to work on a “broad range of diplomatic priori ties across the region” and to focus on “carrying out everything we’ve promised rather than coming for ward with another long list of new initiatives.”

“A high-level US presence at these summits will demonstrate our strong and enduring commit ment to the region,” he said at a late October roundtable hosted by Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies.

“From the president to the sec retary of state, throughout the entire US government, we know that America’s future security and prosperity are entirely dependent on what happens in the Indo-Pa cific,” he said.

China’s Foreign Ministry did not mention the US when out lining details of Li Keqiang’s up coming appearance, saying only that the country is “committed to its foreign policy of maintain ing world peace and promoting

common developments.”

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, whose country has the rotating chairmanship of Asean, has invited Ukraine to participate in the summit and its foreign min ister is expected to attend, though it has not yet been officially an nounced.

Hun Sen’s office said he spoke with President Volodymyr Zelen skyy by phone at the start of the month, and that the Ukrainian leader had requested to address the summit by video, but it was not immediately clear if that had been approved.

Kritenbrink applauded the in clusion of Ukraine, and said the US was working with its Asean friends to “ensure that Ukraine meaning fully participates and that the (East Asia Summit) partners send a strong message that big countries cannot simply take what they want from smaller neighbors.”

He added that the US would talk with Asean members about additional steps to put pressure on Myanmar’s regime to push it to stop the killings and move toward a democratic path.

“We are not going to sit idly by while this violence continues,” Kritenbrink said.

Asean, which includes Myan mar, has tried to play a peace making role since shortly after the country’s military ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and seized power in Feb ruary 2021.

At a special meeting at the end of October, the foreign ministers of Asean’s other members—Cam bodia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Laos, Singapore, Thai land, Vietnam and Brunei—ac knowledged their efforts to bring

peace hadn’t succeeded and called for “concrete, practical and timebound actions” to support the implementation of its five-point peace plan.

It calls for the immediate ces sation of violence, a dialogue among all parties, mediation by an Asean special envoy, provision of humanitarian aid and a visit to Myanmar by the special envoy to meet all sides.

Myanmar’s government ini tially agreed to it but has made little effort to implement it, aside from seeking humanitarian aid and allowing Asean’s envoy, Cam bodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn, to visit. But it refused to allow him to meet with Suu Kyi, who was arrested and is being tried on a variety of charges that critics say are meant to sideline her from politics.

In response, Asean has not al lowed Myanmar’s leaders to par ticipate in its official meetings, and Myanmar has rejected the idea of sending non-political rep resentation to the summit, though working-level officials have joined some pre-summit meetings.

Asean foreign ministers in Au gust concluded a meeting with a joint statement criticizing Myan mar for its lack of progress, but little more, deciding to instead leave the issue for the leaders to decide in Phnom Penh.

It could be, however, that the leaders also choose to wait un til Indonesia, which has taken a tougher stand on Myanmar, takes the chair of the bloc in 2023, be fore taking more decisive action.

“There is every chance that they might choose to delay and kick this down the road again,” Daniel, the analyst, said.

Seoul: Recovered North Korean missile was anti-aircraft weapon

By Kim Tong-Hyung The Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea—South

Korea says the recovered de bris of a North Korean mis sile fired toward the South amid a barrage of sea launches last week was determined to be a Soviet-era anti-aircraft weapon that dates back to the 1960s.

South Korea’s Defense Min istry said Wednesday that an analysis of the 3-meter (9.8 foot)long wreckage fetched from wa ters near the Koreas’ eastern sea boundary on Sunday showed it was one of North Korea’s SA-5 surface-to-air missiles. The min istry said a similar missile was used by the Russian military to execute ground attacks during its invasion of Ukraine.

Photos released by the South Korean military showed what ap peared to be a mangled rocket en gine and wires sticking out from a broken rocket body that was still attached with fins.

The missile, which was one of more than 20 missiles North Korea fired last Wednesday, flew in the direction of a populated South Korean island and landed near the rivals’ tense sea border, triggering air raid sirens and forc ing residents on Ulleung island to evacuate.

The South Korean Defense Ministry said it “strongly” con demns the North Korea’s firing of the SA-5, which it sees as a violation of a 2018 inter-Korean military agreement on reducing tensions.

North Korea fired dozens of

missiles last week, including an intercontinental ballistic mis sile that triggered evacuation warnings in northern Japan, in an angry reaction to a massive combined aerial exercise between the United States and South Ko rea that the North described as an invasion rehearsal.

Some experts say it’s possible that North Korea reached into the inventory of some of its older weapons to support the expand ed scale of last week’s launches, which the North described as simulated attacks on key South Korean and US targets such as air bases and operation command systems.

The launches added to North Korea’s record pace in weapons testing this year as leader Kim Jong Un exploits the distraction

created by Russia’s war on Ukraine to accelerate arms development and ramp up pressure on the Unit ed States and its regional allies.

“The North Koreans would want to display their range of missile technologies through these tests, but not all launches have to reveal the latest tech nological advancements,” said Soo Kim, a security analyst from California-based RAND Corporation.

“It may be in North Korea’s interest to hold some of its mod ern capabilities in reserve and test them at opportune occa sions. Kim, again, is playing a longer game, so to reveal all of his cards—the different types of mis siles and capabilities his country has acquired—would not work to his favor,” she said.

Beijing’s new Covid infections hit 5-month high; Guangzhou worsens

NEW Covid cases in Beijing jumped to the highest level in more than five months, with officials alarmed by infections being found outside of quarantine that show the virus is still spreading in the community.

The capital reported 78 new infections Wednesday, the most since May 22. The city has reported double-digit daily cases for most of the past month, though numbers started to spike in recent days, doubling from 39 on November 4.  Six cases were found outside of isolation facilities, up from one infection the day before. China, which automatically quarantines confirmed cases and their close contacts, monitors community transmission as a key indicator of whether an outbreak is under con trol. While the numbers are small by global standards, with much of the world now living with Covid, they’re high for a country that is continuing to try and eliminate the virus.

“Currently Beijing continues to find cases through community testing, which shows that risks of hidden transmissions in the community persist,” Liu Xiaofeng from the Beijing Center for Disease Control told reporters at a brief ing Tuesday. That was a change from a day before when another CDC official said that the capital has effectively controlled most of the transmission chains through fast and scientific virus controls and the cooperation of the public.

More than 10 buildings and neighborhoods in Beijing’s central Chaoyang district, where most of the cases have been found, were locked down. Residents can’t leave their homes or housing complexes unless they’re getting a Covid test, and more than 4,400 Communist Party cadres have been dispatched to assist with the needs of those under lockdown, according to a district official.

Testing frequency has been in creased to once a day, for up to five

days this week for several districts including Chaoyang, Haidian and Changping. With the outbreak concentrated in Chaoyang, some residents there reported being sent to quarantine centers after receiving abnormal test results that could indicate Covid infec tions. However, some schools, day care centers and kindergartens that closed earlier in the week were able to reopen after infection risks have been eliminated.

The nation’s biggest outbreak is in Guangdong province, which is the main driver of the national caseload rising to 7,740 on Tues day, the highest tally since April 29. Most of the cases are in the southern metropolis of Guang zhou, which reported 2,637 cases and locked down a second district from 9 a.m. Wednesday.

Concerns are growing that Guangzhou could be headed for a Shanghai-style situation, with cases snowballing in the face of more tar geted restrictions. Some residents Bloomberg News spoke to have tried to order items like toilet paper, medi cine and instant noodles in bulk, but have been impeded by disruptions to courier services from the lock downs. Those in the districts where stay-at-home orders were imposed are still able to go out for groceries and essentials.

The swelling outbreaks show the strain China’s Covid Zero strat egy is facing, with even harsh lock downs and constant mass testing failing to quickly get them under control. Health officials over the weekend reaffirmed the country’s unswerving commitment to the policy, even as it hammers the economy, dashing hopes that au thorities will soon move toward easing some of their strictest rules.

Meantime, a weeklong lock down in one of Zhengzhou’s districts has ended, though the world’s largest iPhone assembly plant is located in an area that will continue to face strict curbs.

Bloomberg News

Hacker publishes Australian health insurer’s customer data

By Rod Mcguirk The Associated Press

CANBERRA, Australia— Medibank client data was published by an extortion ist Wednesday, including details of individuals’ medical procedures, after Australia’s largest health in surer refused to pay a ransom for the personal records of almost 10 mil lion current and former customers.

The release of information on the dark web appeared to be a sample of the data that Medibank had previously determined had been stolen last month, a company said. Medibank expected the thief would continue releasing data.

“This is a criminal act designed to harm our customers and cause distress,” Medibank CEO David Koczkar said in a statement that reiterated a previous apology to customers.

“We take seriously our respon sibility to safeguard our custom ers and we stand ready to support them,” he added.

Cybersecurity Minister Clare O’Neil, who is a Medibank cus tomer and has had personal data stolen, urged social and traditional media companies to prevent their platforms from being used to share people’s stolen medical histories.

“If you do so, you will be aiding and abetting the scumbags who are at the heart of these criminal acts and I know that you would not do that to your own country and your own citizens,” O’Neil told Parliament.

She said the number of people whose medical information had been compromised was “small at this stage.”

“But I want the Australian peo ple to understand that that is likely to change and we are going through a difficult period now that may last for weeks, possibly months, not days and hours,” O’Neil added.

Prime Minister Anthony Alba nese, who is also a Medibank cus tomer, welcomed the company’s refusal to pay the hacker to have the records returned.

“This is really tough for peo ple. I’m a Medibank Private cus tomer as well and it will be of concern that some of this infor mation has been put out there,” Albanese told reporters, refer ring to a Medibank brand.

“The company has followed the guidelines effectively, the advice, which is to not engage in a ransom payment. If you go down this road, then you end up with more diffi culties potentially across a wider range,” Albanese added.

The thieves had reportedly threatened to expose the diagno ses and treatments of high-profile customers unless a ransom of an undisclosed amount was paid, but Medibank decided there was “only a limited chance” that a ran som would prevent the data being published.

A blogger using the name “Ex tortion Gang” posted Monday night on the dark web that “data will be publish (sic) in 24 hours.” Medibank this week updated its estimate of the number of people whose personal informa tion was stolen from 4 million two weeks ago to 9.7 million. The stolen data included health claims of almost 500,000 people including diagnoses and treat ments, the company said.

POLICE officers pose for a souvenir in a group photo as they guard near the Phnom Penh International Airport for the upcoming Association of Southeast Asian Nations summits in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Tuesday, November 8, 2022. Southeast Asian leaders convene in the Cambodian capital Thursday, faced with the challenge of trying to curtail escalating violence in Myanmar while the country’s military-led government shows no signs of complying with the group’s peace plan. AP/HENG SINITH

Agriculture/Commodities

Bill condoning agrarian reform loans gets nod

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie

THEHouse Committee on Agrarian Reform on Wednes day approved a Marcos prior ity measure emancipating agrarian reform beneficiaries from the debt burden arising from the award of agricultural lands under the Com prehensive Agrarian Reform Pro gram (CARP).

T he committee, chaired by Ifu gao Rep. Solomon R. Chungalao, ap proved the unnumbered substitute bill to 11 related house bills, which will condone some P58 billion in agrarian reform loans.

T he consolidated bill will be known as the “New Agrarian Eman cipation Act.”

Under the bill, the existing loan of Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs) due to unpaid amortization or interest shall be condoned and written off.

A ll unpaid amortizations and interests, including penalties or surcharges, if any, due from loans secured under the CARP or from other agrarian reform programs or laws are hereby condoned by the

government, relieving all ARBs from the payment thereof, thereby repealing Section 26 of Republic Act (RA) 6657, as amended, Section 6 of Executive Order (EO) 228, series of 1987, as well as the pertinent provi sions of other agrarian reform laws, said the bill.

It added that the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) will issue, whenever necessary, a Certificate of Condonation which will be anno tated on the Emancipation Patent (EP), Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA), or on any other title based on the applicable agrarian re form law.

A lso, it said that condonation will lift all mortgage liens in favor of the National Government, as represented by the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP), attached to the land acquired.

T he measure said that such con donation will be in accordance with the applicable banking laws and regulations of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

T he bill seeks to amend Section 27 of RA 6657 or the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 1988.

T he bill said lands acquired by

beneficiaries under the proposal or other Agrarian Reform Laws will not be sold, transferred or con veyed except through hereditary succession, or to the government or to the LBP, or to other qualified beneficiaries through the DAR for a period of 10 years.

It added that the government will substitute the ARBS on their financial obligation to pay the value of the awarded land to the landown ers acquired under the voluntary land transfer and direct payment schemes, thereby amending Section 20 of RA 6657, as amended.

Payment of the remaining bal ance of the compensation due the concerned landowners under the voluntary land transfer and direct payment schemes will be paid by the government from the Agrarian Reform Fund through the LBP.

T he bill indicated that ARBs who are still to receive their awarded lands under the CARP or any other agrar ian reform program or laws will do so without any obligation to pay any amortization. All private agricultur al lands covered under the CARP or any other agrarian reform program or laws that have not been distrib

uted at the time of the effectivity of this proposal, shall be distributed at no cost to the qualified beneficiaries.

Under the measure, ARBs who have completed payment of the amortization schedule and the payment of interest charges under Section 26 of RA 6657, as amended, Section 6 of EO 228 of 1987, and other agrarian reform laws will be given preference in the provision of support services and access to credit facilities.

It said ARBs who have paid any portion of the amortization sched ule and interest charges under Sec tion 26 of RA 6657, as amended, and other agrarian reform laws prior to the effectivity of this proposal will be entitled to an Estate Tax Amnesty until June 30, 2025.

A lso, the agrarian reform lands of such beneficiaries may, as estates, enjoy the immunities and privileges of Estate Tax Amnesty and pay an estate amnesty tax at the rate of 6 percent based on the decedent’s total net estate at the time of death.

T he authors of the bill include Chungalao, Ralph G. Recto, Maria Bernadette G. Escudero, Robert Raymund M. Estrella, Arnan C. Pa

naligan, Jaime R. Fresnedi, Wilbert T. Lee, Joey Sarte Salceda, Angelo Marcos Barba, Alfred C. Delos San tos, Arlene D. Brosas, France L. Cas tro, Raoul Danniel a. Manuel, and Kristine Singson-meehan.

T he bill will be transmitted to the House Committee on Ways and Means for the deliberations of the tax provisions of the bill.

‘Biggest achievement’

SALCEDA called the measure “poten tially PBBM’s biggest policy achieve ment in 2022 as it could change the game for our long-suffering and long-stagnating rural communities.”

He said the CARP needs a “major shakeup and this landmark measure might just be it.”

CARP without adequate support services and with limited capital or entrepreneurship among farmerbeneficiaries is shown to have re duced agricultural productivity in CARP lands by as much as −34.1 percent compared to baseline. This has resulted in almost P418 billion in lost productivity for all CARP lands every year [for the 10.3 million hect ares of CARP land].”

He added that condonation of

‘Extreme weather events to dampen local cacao production’

By Manuel T. Canyon @awimailbox Mindanao Bureau Chief

ARB debts could result in an increase in productivity of between 23.8 per cent as the market can now allocate the land more efficiently and 38.3 percent if productivity-enhancing interventions are increased.

Salceda, who objected to propos als to ban mortgaging of the eman cipated lands, said that the proposal could unlock as much as P472 billion in credit and P629 billion in produc tivity gains in agriculture.

He said the gross value added in agriculture could also increase by as much as P174 billion “as lands would be available towards their best use.”

Salceda is proposing for a tax amnesty as an incentive for those who have paid part of their amor tizations, until June 30, 2025. The House tax panel chair expects the measure to yield P6.1 billion in ad ditional estate tax collections every year due to the proposal.

I think this is a crucial provi sion because these lands tend to be idle or in disuse. They’re not earning much. So, the ARB decedents who will inherit these might not have the resources to pay the estate tax on these lands. That will prevent ti tling, credit access, and proper use.”

FAO: 100 states endorse agreement on port state measures

CITY —Extreme weather events are alter ing agricultural practices as farmers adapt to the changing climate to avoid unnecessary losses.

DAVAO

A pioneer cacao grower here re ported that erratic weather patterns may disrupt traditional farming practices and affect the productiv ity of the crop.

C harita Puentespina, founder of Puentespina Farms which grows and harvests “heirloom” cacaos, said climate change is affecting their pro duction of cacao.

Puentespina’s cacao farm is the source of the internationally ac claimed Malagos Chocolates.

“Nala -late ’yung supposedly mer on tayong peak season from Novem ber, December January before that we have the low season from May to June parang nawala then ngayon parang sabay marami masyadong harvests, marami masyadong bu laklak,” Puentespina was quoted by the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) as saying.

Shesaid the production process has drastically changed. “The ap plication of fertilizer, the program of pruning, the scheduling, it’s no longer the same.”

A common complaint of farmers

is heavy rainfall which is increas ingly happening during the flow ering stage of fruits. The failure of rambutan, mangosteen and lanzo nes trees to bear fruits in the third quarter was attributed to extreme weather events.

“It [onset of heavy rains] matters because the flowers of the cacao are very tiny and heavy rainfall could af fect the flowers,” Puentespina said.

She said climate change and its impact on cacao production would be one of the highlights of the Na tional Cacao Congress which be held here on November 24 and 25 at SMX Convention Center. Puentespina is a member of the Philippine Cacao Industry Assocation.

She said the association would also launch a guide on growing cacao and taking care of cacao trees during the congress.

T he PIA dispatch said Dante Muy co Jr., chairperson of the National Cacao Congress Technical Working Group, said among the speakers dur ing the congress would be Bruce Pears from West Australia where he has been implementing successful pro grams on regenerative agriculture.

“He [Bruce Pears] will be provid ing us information on plant nutrition and bringing back the nutrition to the soil. I think that is one of the measures we can really address all these problems in production includ ing climate change,” Muyco said.

FARMERS

in Uruguay, which is emerging as a supplier of soy beans to giant export plants in neighboring Argentina, are withstand ing climate change through invest ments in technology to fight droughts.

T he harvest next year could reach about 3 million metric tons despite forecasts of dry weather in the River Plate region until January. That’d be only slightly lower than the 2022 crop, which benefited from timely rains, according to Montevideobased consultancy firm Exante.

With climate change roiling farm ing and withering crops across South America, Uruguayan growers have embraced technology to beat the weather. In particular, they’ve in vested heavily in hardier soy strains that bolster yields and in more pre cise applications of seeds and fer tilizer, Marcos Guigou, executive director at Agronegocios del Plata, one of Uruguay’s biggest agriculture companies, said in an interview.

Three or four years ago we used 80 kilograms of seed per hectare and today maybe we are using 60 kilograms,” Guigou said. By the end

of the decade, according to Guigou, Uruguay could boost its soy yields to 25 percent higher than today’s levels.

Droughts that have crimped soy harvests in Argentina and Paraguay are paving the way for Uruguay to ship beans this year to Argentine processors, the world’s No. 1 export ers of soy meal and oil.

Uruguayan growers’ defiance in the face of extreme dryness provides a microcosm of how the global agri culture business is seeking out ways to adapt to climate change, including gene-modified soybeans that toler ate drought.

Family-owned Agronegocios del Plata manages about 44,000 hect ares (109,000 acres) of farmland and 47,000 cattle. This season, the company plans to sow soy on about half that acreage. Plants could yield well, though they’ll depend on rains falling during key growth stages in February and March, Guigou said.

A third straight La Nina-fueled drought is set to sputter out over the southern hemisphere summer.

We think it could be an OK year,” he said.

Farmers are also planting increas ing volumes of canola in recent years thanks to strong global demand for an oilseed used to make edible oils

and biofuels. Almost 270,000 hect ares were planted with canola this year, up from about 160,000 hectares in 2021, according to data compiled

by the agriculture ministry.

“It’s likely that canola could reach 400,000 hectares in a couple of years,” Guigou said. Bloomberg News

GLOBAL

action to fight illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing has intensified as 100 states have now committed to the UN Food and Agriculture Orga nization’s Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA).

T he PSMA is the first binding in ternational agreement specifically de signed to prevent, deter and eliminate IUU fishing by denying port access and use to foreign vessels engaging in or supporting such fishing.

A ngola, Eritrea, Morocco and Nige ria are the latest countries to back the PSMA. Now 60 percent of port states globally, are committed to the agree ment, which is a binding international instrument to combat IUU fishing.

Rising consumer demand and transforming agrifood systems in fisheries and aquaculture have driven global fish production to its highest levels and there is broad recognition of the need to step up the fight against IUU fishing” says QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General. “It is encouraging to see more States support the PSMA in support of the Sustainable Develop ment Goals.”

One in every 5 fish caught around the world every year is estimated to originate from IUU fishing, with dev astating impacts on the sustainability of fisheries and the livelihoods of those who depend on them, as well as the conservation of marine ecosystems.

IUU fishing undermines national, regional and global efforts to achieve sustainable fisheries and its elimina tion is key to succeeding in reaching the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

We have a responsibility to manage and use all aquatic resources sustainably,” said Manuel Barange, director of FAO’s Fisheries and Aquaculture Division.

“ We need to work together to step up port controls and an adequate in formation exchange through the im plementation of the PSMA. This will contribute to transforming aquatic food systems and maximize their role as drivers of employment, economic growth, social development and en vironmental sustainability.”

FAO recently launched the PSMA Global Information Exchange System (GIES), which collects and shares offi cial compliance-related information with a focus on port inspection results, actions taken and port entry or denials. With the FAO Global Record of Fishing Vessels, Refrigerated Transport Ves sels and Supply Vessels (Global Record), the platform supports States in their efforts to implement the PSMA and complementary instruments which aim to combat IUU fishing.

PULP-COVERED beans protrude from a cocoa pod at a farm that supplies Marou in Tien Giang province, Vietnam. BLOOMBERG NEWS

editorial

Ancestral lands shield us from

climate hazard

Economic inequality is the unequal distribution of income and opportunity between different groups in society. in the Philippines, our indigenous people (iP) have been unjustifiably trapped in the web of economic injustice for the longest time. Despite their territories having an estimated forest ecosystem value of P1.1 trillion annually, three in every four indigenous persons remain among the poorest 40 percent of Filipinos, according to the Legal Rights and natural Resources center (LRc)

LRC is the chapter of Friends of the Earth in the Philippines. It works for the recognition and protection of the rights of indigenous peoples and upland rural poor communities to land and environment. The Center seeks to bridge the gap between the informal articulations of the aspirations of these marginalized communities on the one hand, and the formal, technical, bureaucratic and legal language used by the state, on the other.

In its 2022 State of the Indigenous Peoples Address Report, LRC said that half of all Certificate of Ancestral Domain titles (CADTs) in the Philippines are embroiled in environmentally destructive projects. The threats were found to cover at least 1.25 million hectares or equivalent to 21 percent of the total area of all CADTs (Read, “Report shows vast tracts of PHL ancestral domain lands tied to destructive projects,” in the BusinessMirror, November 4, 2022).

“We found that half of all approved large-scale mining contracts and a whopping 87 percent of all large-scale logging projects are within or close to registered ancestral domains. Protecting ancestral domains and their natural defenses to extreme climate impacts is urgently needed if we are to rise above the climate emergency we are already experiencing now,” said Atty. Mai Taqueban, LRC executive director.

The report said the indigenous people are facing significant socioeconomic gaps in accessing education, public health, water and electricity, and other public services. “The exploitation and commoditization of nature is sadly an enduring framework to managing our natural resources. This is contrary to indigenous peoples’ conception of development. Not only has this marginalized them; it has also worsened their human-rights situation, for many of them naturally oppose these projects. What they have been clamoring for is support for their own development plans, anchored in their right to selfdetermination,” Taqueban said.

The report highlighted the ongoing struggles of IP communities against extractive projects, such as the water woes experienced by the Tuwali people during the operations of the OceanaGold copper-gold project in Barangay Didipio, Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya. Protesting the depletion and pollution of water and its impacts on their farmlands, they have been repeatedly met with a history of violence and human-rights violations.

Taqueban said: “Indigenous peoples have declared they will pursue an IP agenda under the new government. They called for a harmonization of the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act with natural resources and other laws affecting IPs. They also enjoined the government to fast track the issuance of CADTs. Indigenous peoples’ enjoyment of their rights is premised on their right to land.”

The LRC report, which was launched in time for the opening of the UN COP27 climate negotiations, highlights the need for both local and world leaders to support indigenous actions to address the climate crisis.

The country’s indigenous lands are the last remaining intact ecosystems that can protect us against the negative effects of climate change. For example, the Sierra Madre Mountain, which is home to indigenous DumagatRemontado communities that have ancestral domain claims covering parts of the mountain range, acts as a resilience backbone that weakens the impact of typhoons. Apart from being a natural barrier to typhoons, the Sierra Madre Mountain range absorbs large amounts of rainfall, thanks to the diversity of ecosystems found in the area.

It’s about time that interest groups are stopped from treating our ancestral lands as a rich resource base of raw materials. Let’s find out how we can do our share to protect these ecosystems, which are nature-based solutions that shield us from the devastating effects of climate change.

Energy and agriculture: Get serious

OUTSIDE THE BOX

ouR local economic forecasters are reasonably accurate— some more than others, of course—when the numbers stay within an established trend. most do a terrible job at predicting—as they did with the latest inflation numbers—when there is major shift out of the trend.

Based on the course of inflation that started in March when it moved from the previous three percent to four percent, the trend “predicted” no more than 7.3 percent for October rather than the actual 7.7 percent increase, with food prices rising the most in four years.

These forecasters are highly skilled at “data mining.” It is just that they are digging in the wrong place.

I would assume that at least some do their own personal homework maybe in the course of their daily lives, shopping at the malls and buying groceries at the nearest supermarket. But those outlets do not, and actually cannot, react to price changes in the “farm-to-marketeconomy” quickly enough to be able to spot trend changes.

Want to track inflation? Go shopping (better yet have a pork, chicken, and vegetable suki) at a palengke and not at one of the super huge wet markets. The big palengkes are often just a “rustic” version of a ShopWise, Robinsons or WalterMart that may buy

in bulk from vendors. However, your suki at a small local talipapa changes the price of the pork cuts from the pig they brought in from Batangas last night.

To paraphrase the “Ghostbusters,” Philippine inflation currently is a disaster of biblical proportions: “Real wrath of God type stuff. Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies! Rivers and seas boiling! Dogs and cats living together...MASS HYSTERIA!”

One analyst who had the closest forecast—7.4 percent, which as I said was the trend plus a little more—attributed the price increases in part to global prices of food also being high. But “the FAO Food Price Index averaged 135.9 points in October 2022, virtually unchanged from September, with the price indices of all the covered commodity groups, except cereals, down month-on-month” and only 2 percent above October 2021.

The reality is not that global food prices are higher. It is that Philippine

The two major deficiencies of the Philippine economy are energy and food security and self-sufficiency. While renewable energy is a noble and even financially sound pursuit, it is not a mass-scale baseload alternative to coal/natural gas power generation. Further, current primary energy supply mix from indigenous sources is 52 percent. We have a long way to go, and wind and solar won’t get us there.

food prices are out of control. Again, food and non-alcoholic beverages, which account for nearly 38 percent of the theoretical consumer basket, rose to 9.4 percent year-on-year in October. The typhoons played a substantial role in the overall increase and will continue to do so. But the root cause is that Philippine agricultural production has been ignored for decades with only effectively subject to lip service.

The last secretary of Agriculture who actually made a living from the land was Roberto Sebastian under President Fidel Ramos. Sebastian managed the Marsman banana plantations from 1976 and was the company’s president and CEO. The others who might have had an earlier connection to agriculture became politicians.

Also contributing to the faster headline inflation in October were housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels at 7.4 percent annually.

The two major deficiencies of the

Philippine economy are energy and food security and self-sufficiency. While renewable energy is a noble and even financially sound pursuit, it is not a mass-scale baseload alternative to coal/natural gas power generation. Further, current primary energy supply mix from indigenous sources is 52 percent. We have a long way to go, and wind and solar won’t get us there.

The Department of Energy created a realistic and practical energy plan through 2030 with a side program specifically for “renewables” as useful and applicable. But it needs to be fast-tracked with proper legislation and strong backing for its implementation from Malacañang.

Unfortunately, the Department of Agriculture’s 2016 “The One DA Reform Agenda: Eighteen Key Strategies” along with its 2018 “The Philippine Rice Industry Roadmap 2030” read more like a “wish-list” rather than an action plan. The Rice Roadmap required 17 technical working groups. Top rice producer Thailand shifted away from protecting peasant rice farmers to more of a commercial, profit-maximizing industry. Also, villagers have a “cat procession,” throwing water at it in the belief that a “crying” cat brings a fertile rice crop.

The Philippines must become more serious and proactive about energy and agriculture. The future waits for no man or country.

E-mail me at mangun@gmail.com. Follow me on Twitter @mangunonmarkets. PSE stock-market information and technical analysis provided by AAA Southeast Equities Inc.

Mishaps, distrust spur Election Day misinformation

By David Klepper | The Associated Press

casting ballots in tuesday’s pivotal midterms grappled with misleading claims about glitchy election machines and delayed results, the final crest of a wave of misinformation that’s expected to linger long after the last votes are tallied.

VotERs

In Arizona, news of snags with vote tabulators spawned baseless claims about vote rigging, which quickly jumped from fringe sites popular with the far right to mainstream platforms. It didn’t matter that local officials were quick to report the problem and debunk the theory.

In Pennsylvania, election officials pushed back on baseless claims that delays in counting the vote equate to election fraud. But the conspiracy theory spread anyway, thanks in part to former President Donald Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz and other prominent Republicans who have amplified the idea.

There were lots of other misinformation too: false claims about bal-

lots cast by non-citizens or pre-filled registration forms; hoaxes about voting machines and tales of suspicious Wi-Fi networks at election offices.

The states and facts involved were all different, but most of the misinformation aimed at voters this year had the same drumbeat: American elections can no longer be trusted.

“People were looking for things to go wrong to prove their preconceived notions that the election was rigged,” said Bret Schafer, a senior fellow at the Alliance for Securing Democracy, a Washington, D.C.-based nonpartisan organization that tracks misinformation. “And there are always things that go wrong.”

If 2020 is any guide, many of the claims that emerged Tuesday will

persist for days, weeks and even years, despite efforts by election officials, journalists and others to debunk them.

There was a sharp uptick in social media posts Monday and Tuesday claiming Democrats would use delays in vote tallying to rig elections throughout the country, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, a firm that tracks disinformation.

Some of the posts originated on websites popular with Trump supporters and adherents of the baseless QAnon conspiracy theory.

The increased popularity of mail ballots is one reason why results can take a while. In key battleground states like Pennsylvania, Michigan and Arizona, election officials cannot begin counting mail ballots until Election Day, guaranteeing delays.

“We have never certified an election on election night,” said Sheryl Albert, director of elections for Common Cause, a non-profit group that has been tracking election mis-

information. “This is nothing new. It’s just people trying to undermine faith in elections.”

Misinformation about voting and elections has been blamed for a widening political divide, decreased trust in democracy and an increased threat of political violence like the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol.

The same false claims fueled the campaigns of candidates who reject the outcome of the 2020 election, including Republican gubernatorial candidates Kari Lake in Arizona and Doug Mastriano in Pennsylvania.

Several GOP nominees for secretary of state positions overseeing elections have also said they supported Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election and remain in power.

Though not on the ballot, Trump helped spread many of the leading false claims on Tuesday. Using his TruthSocial platform, he amplified the conspiracy theories from Pennsylvania and Arizona. “Another big

“Mishaps” A15

John Mangun

Ambassador

Zelenskyy open to talks with Russia—on Ukraine’s terms

By Andrew Meldrum & Yuras Karmanau | The Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine—Ukraine’s president has suggested he’s open to peace talks with Russia, softening his refusal to negotiate with Moscow as long as President Vladimir Putin is in power while sticking to Kyiv’s core demands.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s appeal to the international community to “force Russia into real peace talks” reflected a change in rhetoric. In late September, after Russia illegally annexed four Ukrainian regions, he signed a decree stating “the impossibility of holding talks” with Putin.

But the preconditions the Ukrainian leader listed late Monday appear to be non-starters for Moscow, so it’s hard to see how Zelenskyy’s latest comments would advance any talks.

Zelenskyy reiterated that his conditions for dialogue were the return of all of Ukraine’s occupied lands, compensation for war damage and the prosecution of war crimes. He didn’t specify how world leaders should coerce Russia into talks.

Western weapons and aid have been key to Ukraine’s ability to fight off Russia’s invasion, which some initially expected would tear through the country with relative ease. That means Kyiv cannot ignore how the war is seen in the US and the European Union, according to political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko.

“Zelenskyy is trying to maneuver because the promise of negotiations does not oblige Kyiv to anything, but it makes it possible to maintain the support of Western partners,” said Fesenko, head of the Kyiv-based Penta Center independent think tank.

“A categorical refusal to hold talks plays into the Kremlin’s hands, so Zelenskyy is changing the tactics and talks about the possibility of a dialogue, but on conditions that make it all very clear,” he added.

While support for Ukraine has garnered strong bipartisan support in the US Congress, a growing conservative opposition could complicate that next year if Republicans take control of the House in Tuesday’s elections.

Recent comments by Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy that lawmakers would not cut a “blank check” to Ukraine reflect the party’s growing skepticism about the cost of support.

In private, Republican lawmakers who support aid to Ukraine see an opportunity to pass one more tranche of assistance this year with the current Congress.

Russia and Ukraine held several rounds of talks in Belarus and Turkey early in the war, which is now nearing its nine-month mark, and Zelenskyy repeatedly called for a personal meeting with Putin—which the Kremlin

Mishaps

voter tabulation problem in Arizona,” he wrote. “Sound familiar???”

The false claims seen in 2022 are likely to stick around and become part of the misinformation facing voters in the presidential election, said Morgan Wack, a University of Washington disinformation researcher and part of the Election Integrity Partnership, a collaborative research group focused on election misinformation.

“We will almost certainly see this again in 2024,” Wack said.

Most major social media platforms announced plans to combat election misinformation and provide voting resources to users. It was a different story on fringe platforms like Gab, where misinformation and even threats of violence were easy to spot Tuesday.

Twitter was of particular concern to disinformation researchers given its new owner, Elon Musk, a selfdescribed free speech absolutist who has spread misinformation himself.

One analysis of bots and fake accounts on Twitter found a significant increase in discussion of election fraud in the week before the elec-

Zelenskyy said Monday that Ukraine’s conditions for dialogue included the “restoration of (Ukraine’s) territorial integrity... compensation for all war damage, punishment for every war criminal and guarantees that it will not happen again.”

brushed off.

The talks stalled after the last meeting of the delegations, held in Istanbul in March, yielded no results.

Zelenskyy said Monday that Kyiv has “repeatedly proposed (talks) and to which we always received crazy Russian responses with new terrorist attacks, shelling or blackmail.”

Russia resumed calls for talks after it started losing ground to a Ukrainian counteroffensive in the east and the south in September.

Zelenskyy rejected the possibility of negotiating with Putin later that month after the Russian leader illegally claimed four regions of Ukraine as Russian territory.

Zelenskyy said Monday that Ukraine’s conditions for dialogue included the “restoration of (Ukraine’s) territorial integrity... compensation for all war damage, punishment for every war criminal and guarantees that it will not happen again.”

Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Andrei Rudenko, said Tuesday that Moscow was not setting any conditions for the resumption of talks. He accused Kyiv of lacking “good will.”

“This is their choice. We have always declared our readiness for such negotiations,” Rudenko said.

Putin and other Russian officials have repeatedly claimed that the United States is preventing Ukraine from engaging in peace talks, which several countries have offered to mediate.

In an interview released Tuesday, Ukrainian presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said Western countries wouldn’t push Kyiv to negotiate on Moscow’s terms.

“Ukraine is receiving rather effective weapons from its partners, first and foremost the US,” Podolyak said.

“We’re pushing the Russian army out of our territory. And given that, it’s nonsense to force us to negotiate, and de facto to concede to Russia’s ultimatum! No one will do that.” Karmanau reported from Tallinn, Estonia. Associated Press writer Farnoush Amiri contributed from Washington.

tion. The number of automated or fake accounts posting about “stolen elections” doubled in the sample reviewed by researchers at Cyabra, an Israeli tech firm.

Officials with the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said Tuesday they were monitoring for foreign attempts to sow doubt about the election but saw no evidence the efforts were paying off.

Russia, China and Iran have all mounted disinformation operations targeting US politics and will likely increase their efforts ahead of 2024, according to Craig Terron, director of global issues at Insikt Group, a division of the Massachusetts-based cybersecurity firm Recorded Future.

Terron said the Kremlin likely sees such meddling as justified, given US support for Ukraine following Russia’s invasion.

“Immediately after the US midterm elections, and into 2023 and beyond, the Russian government will very likely attempt to plan and execute malign influence efforts,” Terron wrote in an e-mail to the AP. “In particular, we expect to see campaigns aimed at undermining the next two years of President Biden’s term.” AP writer Haleluya Hadero contributed to this report from New York.

BusinessMirror

China producer prices in deflation for first time since 2020

ChIna’s

producer prices fell into deflation for the first time in nearly two years as global commodity prices slid and restrictions to control Covid outbreaks dragged on demand, a further sign of the challenges facing companies already under pressure from the economic downturn.

The producer price index declined 1.3 percent in October from a year earlier after gaining 0.9 percent the previous month, the National Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday, the first fall in the gauge since December 2020.

Consumer inflation, meanwhile, moderated further as weak demand keeps those prices low. The consumer price index rose 2.1 percent year-onyear, slowing from a 2.8 percent gain in September. Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, was unchanged at 0.6 percent, and has been below 1 percent for the last four months.

The subdued consumer and producer prices in China stand in contrast with other nations, where central banks have raised interest rates repeatedly to tame costs. Demand in China has been hit hard by the ongoing property market crisis and repeated Covid outbreaks and lockdowns, which have weighed on confidence.

That means China is getting hit by a demand dropoff from all sides: While Chinese consumers are reluctant to spend at home because of the property market weakness and Covid, high global inflation and recession fears are also warning overseas consumers off from spending.  That has started to affect Chinese

trade, with data earlier this week showing exports and imports both unexpectedly falling for the first time in two years.

“We think that China may begin to engage in a fierce battle with looming risks from deflation with weak domestic demand and softening export demand,” said Bruce Pang, chief economist at Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.  China’s benchmark CSI 300 Index of stocks fell after the data release, ending the morning session down 0.75 percent.

“China’s October price data send a strong disinflationary signal. The first year-on-year drop in the producer price index since late 2020 reflects softening global growth, while slower consumer inflation shows the toll Covid Zero policies took on domestic demand. We expect disinflationary pressure to build in the next quarter or two as demand weakens at home and abroad,” said Bloomberg economist David Qu.

Part of the weakness in factory prices can be explained by last year’s high base of comparison: PPI hit a 26-year high at this point in 2021 as global commodity prices rallied on booming post-pandemic demand and tight supplies.

However, this year’s deflation is also attributable to slumping commodity prices. Year-on-year price

The subdued consumer and producer prices in China stand in contrast with other nations, where central banks have raised interest rates repeatedly to tame costs. Demand in China has been hit hard by the ongoing property market crisis and repeated Covid outbreaks and lockdowns, which have weighed on confidence.

declines in cement, rebar and copper deepened in October, while prices of upstream products—including oil and coal—mostly narrowed gains or widened declines, according to Bloomberg Economics.

Soft demand

CHINA has been steadfast in sticking to its Covid Zero strategy of locking down areas to contain infections, which has successfully staved off high case counts and deaths but hit the economy hard.

Consumers have been avoiding spending as the prospect of mobility curbs looms, contributing to the knock on demand. Restrictions around the party congress last month likely contributed to the further cooling of inflation.

Dong Lijuan, chief statistician at the NBS, said the fall in demand after the holiday period in early October dragged on consumer price growth, as did a high base with last year.

“China’s core CPI is now the lowest among major economies and is even lower than Japan’s,” said Liu Peiqian, chief China economist at

NatWest Group Plc., adding that the subdued recovery in domestic demand was contributing to deflationary pressures.

Slowing price increases in transport and medical care, along with a dip into deflation for housing prices, offset a jump in some food costs. Pork, for example, accelerated to 51.8 percent in October, the highest rate all year. China, which produces and consumes about half of the world’s pork, has been selling the meat from state inventories in a bid to cool rising domestic prices.

Policy support

THE soft figures suggest the government still has room to support the economy, according to Zhou Hao, chief economist at Guotai Junan International Holdings Ltd. Economists expect gross domestic product to expand just 3.3 percent in 2022.

“As both inflation indicators remain soft, pointing to weakening domestic demand, there is room for further policy support from Beijing over the foreseeable future,” he said, adding that the recent rollout of quota for special bonds—often used for infrastructure investment—as a sign that “fiscal spending is set to accelerate soon.”

Larry Hu, head of China economics at Macquarie Group Ltd., said he sees interest rates as a bigger consideration for policymakers. The US Federal Reserve has raised interest rates six times this year and is expected to maintain an aggressive pace in the short term. With assistance from Fran Wang and Yujing Liu / Bloomberg.

World’s CO2 hotspots pinpointed by Al Gore-backed climate project

By Eric Roston | Bloomberg Opinion

aConsoRtIUM of dozens of research nonprofits on Wednesday launched a free online platform that details greenhouse gas emissions around the world across 20 economic sectors. Climate trace, which can be viewed on a web browser, includes a zoomable world map that displays and ranks the dirtiest 72,000 power plants, oil refineries, airports, ships and more. the group used satellite imagery and machine learning as well as more conventional techniques to build what it says is the largest available source of greenhouse gas emissions data.

“The sources of emissions data that are available now are not granular enough, or comprehensive enough, to use as the basis for decisions,” Former US Vice President Al Gore said in an interview. “And so what we are finding is that there is a ravenous hunger for accurate data.” Gore, who has fundraised for the group, is expected to introduce the platform on Wednesday at COP27, the UN climate talks in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.

Each economic sector on the platform is tracked using its own methodology, managed by team leads and checked by other experts not involved in creating the technique. Several of these individual methodologies have already been peer-reviewed, and the team expects to put more and more of its work through that rigorous process.

“I like to think of it as Wikipedia with more sensors,” said Gavin McCormick, executive director of the research nonprofit WattTime and a Climate Trace co-founder.

The site lets users compare any major pollution source in the world, no matter the scale, with any other. For instance: According to the site’s data, China’s five largest power plants release more carbon dioxide in a year than the entire country of Colombia.

The goal of the project is to provide decision-makers with information to determine where to cut carbon dioxide, the most common greenhouse gas, and the other pollutants. But the takeaways are not always intuitive. Saudi Arabia’s oil production, for example, is responsible for less CO₂ per barrel than the equivalent from Canada or Venezuela. In a world that still needs oil, some “might prefer to see a world where people are scaling up Saudi Arabian oil production and scaling down oil production elsewhere,” McCormick said. “So it’s a good example of how the data cut both ways.”

Climate Trace itself is made up of hundreds of researchers who have been scouring the world—tapping 300 satellites and 11,100 sensors, in addition to corporate and government data and the internet at large—for three years to assemble as complete a view of the human sources of greenhouse gas pollution as they think is currently possible.

The data they compiled suggests that oil and gas sector emissions are much higher than what some countries or facilities report. Recent scientific research into methane flaring and leaks is built into one of the platform’s models, leading to the conclusion that many facilities are dramatically under-reporting their emissions. Countries that disclose to the UN their emissions related to oil and gas production may have actual emissions up to three times that amount, according to Climate Trace.

“We know that transparency drives accountability,” said Andrew Zolli, chief impact officer at satellite company Planet Labs, a Climate Trace partner. “We are headed for an era of radical climate transparency.”

Their findings also show that in virtually every corner of the global economy, a small number of polluters make up the bulk of emissions. It’s true at the largest scale: The biggest 500 emitters make up less than 1 percent of all those in the group’s database, but were responsible for 14 percent of total emissions in 2021. Oil and gas production accounts for 26 of the 50 dirtiest sources. Sixty percent of the dirtiest 500 sources are power plants.

“We’re finding those patterns everywhere,” said McCormick. “Everywhere you look, in every sector, a relatively small number of assets make up a much larger share of total global emissions than we expected.”

With the world’s climate diplomats and advocates in Sharm El-Sheik for COP27, the ability to independently

check any country’s emissions estimates—or provide them where they’re absent—may be the most important potential use of Climate Trace this week and next.

But there are potentially many others. The mapping tool allows users to zoom in on any territory to see where specific facilities sit relative to surrounding cities or natural areas. A scroll along the bottom of the screen adjusts to show the biggest polluters at every zoom level.

Corporate supply chain managers might use the platform to gauge the carbon footprints of potential partners. International energy developers could scan a country or a continent for places where fossil-fuel generators are prevalent and clean power can make large CO₂ gains in a short period of time. Cities strapped to measure their CO₂ responsibility could use the tool to get a sense of how they’re doing, or to check their own math.

The purpose of Climate Trace is to spur collaboration, not to point fingers or “name and shame,” said Deborah Gordon, senior principal for climate intelligence at RMI, an energy think tank, and the lead for Climate Trace’s work on oil and gas production.

“Climate Trace doesn’t exist to be the climate police,” she said.

The project’s origins go back to 2018, when the UK research nonprofit Carbon Tracker published a pilot study that applied machine learning to satellite imagery of coal plants in countries where there’s often little data about them. The researchers studied images of plumes released from flue stacks and cooling towers and became confident in their ability to infer from that how much the plants were being used, their productivity and even their profitability.

McCormick and Matt Gray, who led the Carbon Tracker study and is now chief executive officer of the UK company Transition Zero, applied for and received funding from Google. org’s Google AI Impact Challenge to expand on the work, partnering also with the World Resources Institute. They announced in May 2019 their goal to track in real time pollution from every power plant in the world. Gore read an article about it, contacted them to see how many other sectors might be included, and Climate Trace was born.

The project grew as it became clear how much data it could suck in. Scientists contributed data that had never

left their own servers for little reason other than data incompatibility. Some 50 software engineers work on Climate Trace directly, in some cases just to make existing data usable.

In addition to convenor, Gore worked as a fundraiser for the group, attracting support from Google.org, Schmidt Futures, Benificus Foundation and his partners at Generation Investment Management. Fossil fuel backers were ruled out on principle and the team avoided companies too, to prevent them from potentially using any support of the effort to greenwash themselves, Gore said.

In September 2021 Climate Trace released national greenhouse gas inventories covering 2020, which until today was the group’s major output.

The group came in for some tough love in a “fast-track” National Academy of Sciences report published in early October, which evaluated ways to improve greenhouse gas monitoring. The report dinged the enterprise in several areas, including data transparency, whole-project peer review and inclusivity of air-pollution agencies or citizen science efforts.

McCormick said the panel was evaluating dated work, and added that as Climate Trace grows rapidly—its data doubling every two months or so—it is adopting recommendations and resolving critiques. The group is releasing more than 400 pages of additional material, according to McCormick; it has undergone checking by multiple independent sources and has sought input from a wide range of developing-country government officials and professionals, he said.

“Our commitment is to openly and transparently publish the best info we have at any time, and be constantly soliciting and incorporating widespread feedback from many sources as we go,” McCormick said. “And I think that’s what the peer review of the future has to look like.”

Gore said the urgency of climate change sometimes encourages research that publishes first and peer reviews later.

“The hunger for this data is such that people don’t want to wait for years before they start using data ... that can empower them to make important decisions,” he said. “We have a global emergency on our hands, and we have very accurate data that can be used to respond to that emergency.”

PSA REVISES 2ND QTR GDP GROWTH UPWARD FROM 7.4% TO 7.5%

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

THE Philippines’s eco nomic output in the sec ond quarter was revised upward to 7.5 percent from a preliminary estimate of 7.4 percent, according to the state statistical agency.

The major contributors to the upward revision were: con struction, from 19.0 percent to 19.5 percent; real estate and ownership of dwellings, from 3.9 percent to 4.4 percent; and manufacturing, from 2.1 percent to 2.2 percent,” the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said in a statement on Wednesday.

Furthermore, the PSA said the growth rate of net primary income (NPI) from the rest of the world was also revised upward to 65.3 percent from 64.8 percent.

Despite the upward revisions of GDP and NPI, the growth rate of Gross National Income (GNI) in the second quarter of 2022 was maintained at 9.3 percent,” it added.

T he PSA said it revises the GDP estimates based on an

approved revision policy (PSA Board Resolution No. 1, Series of 2017-053) which is consis tent with international standard practices on national accounts revisions.

T he expansion of the econ omy in the second quarter was driven by wholesale and retail trade, construction and trans portation and storage, as report ed earlier by the PSA. (Related story: https:// businessmir ror .com.ph/2022/08/09/phleconomy-expands-7-4-in-q2psa/)

With the second quarter growth, the country became the second fastest-growing economy in the Asean region after Viet nam, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said.

“Our country’s recovery from its most significant economic and health challenge remains strong due to improved risk management as more social and economic activities have been al lowed,” Balisacan said in a brief ing in August during the release of the preliminary estimate on second quarter GDP.

Sharp recovery seen in outbound travel in Asia Pacific–study

ASIA Pacific (APAC) has seen a “sharp” recovery in out bound travel, according to the Mastercard Economics Insti tute’s Shifting Wallets report.

A ccording to the statement re leased by Mastercard on Wednes day, among the key findings of the study is that spending on travel and experiences remains “strong” for consumers in the Asia Pacific re gion despite “personnel shortages and a surge in crude oil prices.”

I n fact, the research noted that consumer spending in Asean is experiencing a recovery in the key categories of retail, travel and en tertainment, with retail spend at 1.5 times pre-pandemic levels as of June 2022.

For travel, the study noted that “Singapore shows the greatest de mand in APAC for international travel, with consumer flight book ings at more than 10 percent above 2019 levels as of June of this year, despite heightened logistical chal lenges and price pressures.”

Meanwhile, in Australia, longhaul flight bookings are up 92 per cent in August 2022 compared to August 2019 and short haul flight bookings are up 155 percent, ac cording to the research.

Consumers in Asia Pacific are looking to make up for lost time after a challenging few years,” said David Mann, Chief Economist of Mastercard AP & MEA.

T he chief economist divulged the reason behind the revengetravel, noting that this is boosting demand among consumers.

“ The pent-up demand to see new places and experience new things is influencing consumer spend in a big way. With the ongoing pri oritization of getaways, dining, entertainment, and experiences, we are expecting to see even more rebound in the travel and enter tainment sectors,” Mann added.

I n addition, the chief economist stressed that there was also a shift in terms of where consumers pur chase, adding that they are seeing new opportunities for online busi

nesses as both goods and experi ences spending “shifts away from the weekends.”

“As digital shopping and remote work continue to influence our dai ly habits, consumers will adjust and re-adjust their spending preferenc es to match the changing rhythm of our lives,” the chief economist of Mastercard AP & MEA noted.

W ith digital shopping, Master card noted that while small busi nesses show gains in online ser vices, “globally, large businesses dramatically outperform smaller ones in the shift to digital—but small online service providers in APAC are still finding ways to thrive.”

In fact, the statement noted that in Singapore, small online business services—think tutoring, health care, and personal care services— rose over 3.5 times compared to 2019.

However, the global technology firm in the payments industry said the gap between large and small online businesses is “particularly evident” in the retail sector in more developed economies—ecommerce sales for Singapore’s large businesses grew 200 percent versus 59 percent for small online retailers in August 2022 compared to 2019. Likewise, for Australia, Mastercard said large businesses grew 93 percent versus 24 percent for small online businesses.

A ccording to Mastercard’s study, working from home and the shift to digital have “blurred the lines” in terms of when consumers spend.

“ Date night is any night, and leisurely shopping trips are no lon ger limited to Saturday and Sun day. This has significant staffing and supply chain implications for retailers, restaurants, and other businesses,” the statement of Mas tercard read.

For instance, in “retail-loving” Singapore, “department store spending fell 2.80 percent and 2.46 percent on Fridays and Saturdays respectively, but increased 1.87 percent on Thursdays.”

A ndrea E. San Juan

RCEP vital to PHL drive for investors; ratification seen

By Andrea E. San Juan

TRADE

President Marcos is commit ted to have this (RCEP) ratified,” Pascual said in a radio interview on Wednesday.

L ater on Wednesday, Senate leaders said during plenary dis cussions that they will give prior ity to tackling the trade deal  as soon as it is formally endorsed to them by the Executive, with Sen ate President Juan Miguel Zubiri noting that the Philippines is the only one in the region that has not acceded to it.

I n underscoring the importance of ratifying the regional trade pact, Pascual noted that prospective in vestors consider the Philippines’s accession to the trade deal before

investing in the country.

Our Senate needs to ratify this now because it is always raised in forums of economic ministers,” Pascual said, including the ones he attended in September.

RCEP, he said, plays a vital role in luring investors who wish to set up factories or plants for products meant to be exported to countries that are members of the regional trade deal.

Those investing here are asking when RCEP will be ratified because, when they set up factories here and they produce things meant for the export market, they would want to export to countries that are RCEP member,” Pascual said, partly in

Filipino.

T he Trade chief also said that if the Philippines won’t ratify the re gional trade deal, the country can not take advantage of the reduction in tariffs, which he said will pave the way for the country to export to other countries and be on a par with exported goods of other coun tries in the global arena.

If the Philippines is not a mem ber, it cannot get the  reduction in tariff” that allows it so sell at com petitive levels in the export market, said Pascual.

He has also assured the local agriculture sector that the “criti cal” agricultural products would be shielded from the importation of goods once the RCEP gets the Senate nod.

W hile acknowledging concern that it might adversely impact the farm sector, Pascual said there is consensus not to touch tariffs, as some sectors fear that with ratifi cation, the country will be flooded with  agricultural products from RCEP member-countries.

T he Trade chief said it is impor tant for the “industrial products” which are being produced in the Philippines to be competitive with goods offered by other exporting countries in the global arena. He

stressed that RCEP will also benefit both domestic and foreign inves tors in the country by giving them wider market access.

R CEP is a free-trade agreement among Asean countries and their trading partners Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea. Touted as the world’s larg est trade pact, RCEP represents 30 percent of the global gross domestic product (GDP) or $26.2 trillion.

M eanwhile, in a statement on Wednesday, DTI expressed a positive outlook toward the Food Philippines Pavilion during the 5th China International Import Expo (CIIE) held on November 6 in Shanghai, China.

T he Philippines’s participation in this year’s expo provides an “opportunity to expand the mar ket access of Filipino products and further solidify trade relations be tween the Philippines and China.”  Our participation in the CIIE has become not only a practical response to an opportunity but an imperative to expand our in ternational market, and solidify the Philippines’s reputation as a reliable sourcing destination for food”, Pascual said in a statement on Wednesday.

Budgets of DOF, DBM, Neda clear Senate

By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

THE budgets of key economic agencies were “deemed sub mitted” on Wednesday to the Senate in plenary, as it continued to rush deliberations on the 2023 general appropriations bill.

A fter Finance Committee chair man Juan Edgardo Angara de fended their respective budgets, the outlays for the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Department of Finance (DOF) and the National Economic and De velopment Authority (Neda) were deemed submitted in plenary.

Earlier, Angara endorsed the eco nomic managers’ pitch for austerity measures, even while conceding the need to balance these with bigger

spending for vulnerable sectors through the 2023 budgetary law.

A ngara said the economic man agers, led by Socioeconomic Plan ning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, described the austerity measure as “very important, given the post pandemic need to ensure fiscal sus tainability.”

Nonetheless, he told Sen. Risa Hontiveros as she interpellated him on the 2023 budget bill, “but on the other hand, expanding public spend ing in order to address the needs of vulnerable sectors is important as well as to ensure the correct amount of stimulus provided for a recover ing and transforming economy.”

T hus, Angara added, “fiscal pol icy and in general economic man agers face with the need to balance the numbers—on one hand, prac

ticing austerity and on the other hand, practicing public spending; they have to navigate these two extremes.”

Noting Balisacan’s remarks “in recent days that in the face of high and rising inflation, there is a need to support our vulnerable sectors and families,” Hontiveros asked Angara if Balisacan meant, “there was a need for more support on top of what is available already in the proposed 2023 NEP,” or, in short, a supplemental budget.

A ngara, in reply pointed to the 2023 GAB provisions for “various cash transfers and subsidy pro grams” which include those tar geted for farmers and fisherfolk public transport drivers, disadvan taged sectors, displaced workers, totaling over P200  billion. There

is also P115.6 billion for the 4Ps or the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, “which I know you’ve been supportive of in through this years.” She, meanwhile, wondered aloud if the Budget Secretary is being asked by “Neda or perhaps the whole economic cluster of the Cabinet to prepare a supplemental budget, for example?” She noted the windfall revenues of the  Department of Finance in 2023 “from the extraor dinarily high cost of food and fuel imports,”  noting the earlier cited figure of P9.7 billion.

A ngara noted that “according to the Neda Secretary, for now there is no need for the supplemental bud get but there’s a need to improve the delivery system for the benefits to ensure that these get to the benefi ciaries in a timely manner.”

Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual said President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is committed to ratifying Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which is being awaited by investors.

SKATEBOARD SURVIVAL Antonio Delapan peddles vegetable goods on a skateboard along a service road in Bicutan, Taguig City. The number of jobless Filipinos reached 2.5 million in September 2022, a 1.78-million decline from the 4.28 million posted in September 2021, according to Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data. NONIE REYES

Strong consumer demand drives up SMIC net income

By VG Cabuag @villygc

earnings. Banking took the largest share at 45 percent, followed by property at 23 percent and retail at 19 percent.

Total assets were at P1.5 trillion. Gearing ratio stood at 38 percent net debt to 62 percent equity.

SM Retail’s reported net income was at P11.5 billion from P4.8 billion in the previous period, up 138 percent and surpassing 2019 prepandemic levels.

percent as discretionary spending continued to be strong.

“Increasing employment and higher overseas Filipino workers remittances across the country helped fuel spending and we anticipate continued momentum towards the fourth quarter with the resumption of normalized holiday activities,” DyBuncio said.

PAL to launch flights from Clark airport

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

LEG a C y carrier Philippine a i rlines (Pa L) is beefing up its international network out of the recently-redeveloped Clark International a i rport (CRK).

President and COO Captain Stanley K. n g said the carrier will introduce services from Clark to Hong Kong, Seoul, and Busan within the fourth quarter of the year.

offer the convenience of nonstop flights to Hong Kong, Seoul and Busan for our passengers residing in the northern parts of the Philippines,” n g said.

Pa L will deploy the 199-seater a i rbus a 3 21 aircraft for these flights, offering business class and economy class cabins.

The legacy carrier announced last week that it is investing in a carbon reduction program that will enable it to attain net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Consolidated revenues grew 31 percent to P381.9 billion for the period, from the previous P292.6 billion.

“We continued to gain momentum in our growth (in the third) quarter, supported by increased economic activity and strong consumer sentiment. With encouraging results, we remain confident about sustained growth in the fourth quarter,” the

company’s president and CEO Frederic C. DyBuncio said.

“With the addition of Philippine Geothermal Production Co. and profitable performance across our invested companies, our portfolio investments have also become a meaningful contributor to the group,” DyBuncio said.

Portfolio companies accounted for 13 percent of reported net

With the resumption of faceto-face schooling, SMIC noted that there was a pick-up in demand for school essentials, such as shoes, bags and other supplies as well as fashion items.

Retail revenues grew 26 percent to P258.1 billion from P204.9 billion in the previous period. Income for specialty stores grew more than double and revenues were up 35

SM Prime Holdings Inc. reported P22 billion in consolidated net income, 41 percent higher than last year’s P15.6 billion.

BOO Unibank Inc. grew its net income to P40 billion in the nine months compared with P32.4 billion last year on solid results across its core businesses.

China Banking Corp. reported a net income of P14.7 billion, up 31 percent year-on-year, on higher top line revenues and core fee income.

SMFB profit hits ₧26.3B in Jan-Sept

San Miguel Food and Beverage Inc. (SMFB) said its net income in January to September rose 9 percent to P26.3 billion from last year’s P24.18 billion.

The company said it posted its highest revenue in a single quarter in the third quarter since its consolidation in 2018, bringing net sales for the nine-month period to P261.5 billion, an 18 percent increase from last year’s P221.74 billion.

The company said price increases were implemented across the various product portfolios to offset challenges posed by higher raw materials costs and a weaker peso.

Liquor maker Ginebra San Miguel Inc.’s (GSMI) net income for the period reached P3.4 billion, 7 higher than in the previous year’s P3.17 billion.

Revenues hit P34.5 billion, 12 percent higher than last year’s P30.72 billion, on the back of an 8 percent increase in volumes.

Ginebra’s business felt the full impact of the global effects of the war between Russia and Ukraine and

the weakening of the peso versus the US dollar in the third quarter, which brought the costs of fuel, alcohol and other material inputs higher, the company said.

“It has been a particularly challenging period, with the conflict in Ukraine continuing to have wideranging impacts on economies, companies, suppliers, workers and employees alike. Fortunately, GSMI has been able to adapt to changing conditions, especially on the ground, as it continues to work to reach and serve its target markets,” San Miguel Corp. President and CEO Ramon S. a ng said.

The company’s beer volumes also continue to recover following the lifting of lockdown restrictions and the reopening of the economy resulting from the surge in Covid-19 in January. The business has also been implementing various programs in key channels to further spur demand and maximize volumes.

San Miguel’s food business, meanwhile, sustained its growth, post-

ing consolidated revenues of P128 billion, an 18 percent increase from last year’s P108.95 billion.

a lmost all food businesses delivered double-digit growth, including its prepared and packaged food segment. Consolidated earnings before interest, taxes and amortization for the food business amounted to P15.4 billion, 3 percent higher yearon-year.

“Our solid performance and strong fundamentals today are a reflection of the investments we made over the years, as well as our focus on execution to drive growth and profitability,” a ng said.

“We continue to implement performance improvement measures and prudently invest in projects that will further solidify our market-leading positions in the markets we operate. We remain fully committed to building long-term value for all our shareholders, as well as deliver quality products for the everyday needs of the consumers.” VG Cabuag

PLDT inks power supply deal with EDC

By Lenie Lectura @llectura

PLDT Inc. has tapped Energy Development Corp. (EDC) to supply power to its facilities in Davao as part of its decarbonization roadmap, which aims to further reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by around 40 percent by 2030.

“During the quarter, PLDT signed an agreement with First Gen’s Energy Development Corp. (EDC) for the supply of geothermal power to six PLDT facilities in Davao which will commence once the Mindanao WESM [Wholesale Electricity Spot Market] is operational,” the phone giant reported during its nine-month earnings briefing.

The WESM in Mindanao is set to start commercial operations by the end of the year. Mindanao Development authority deputy executive director Romeo Montenegro had said that “Mindanao gets ready to transition from bilateral contracts to market-operated electricity regime with the anticipated commercial start of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market Mindanao by yearend.”

When sought for comment, PLDT President a lfredo Panlilio said in a text message that the power supply

deal with the subsidiary of Lopez-led First Gen Corp. involves 3.45 megawatts (MW). “The estimated annual consumption of 16.4 million kilowatt hours (kWh) is equivalent to avoiding about 12,700 kiloton.”

EDC is the largest producer of geothermal energy in the country and the second largest in the world.

In Visayas, Panlilio mentioned that PLDT has inked a similar deal. “a nother 3.7MW for seven Visayas sites,” he said.

Last July, PLDT energized another facility in the Visayas with solar rooftop. Located along Osmeña Boulevard in Cebu City, the installed PV (photovoltaic) panels on the rooftop of PLDT Jones will generate approximately 214,553 kWh of solar power annually.

This is the third PLDT facility in the Visayas to be partly powered by solar energy. Two more offices in the Visyas are set to be equipped with solar panels soon.

During the same briefing, PLDT also reported that Smart Communications Inc. is likely to utilize solar and battery energy storage for some of its cellular sites.

“Smart is exploring the use of solar panels and batteries in running its cell sites in selected areas

of the country to complement power sourced from the commercial grid and reduce the cell sites’ reliance on generators,” PLDT added.

Panlilio said the company continues to run tests on 17 cell sites and that the actual number of cell sites to use this technology will be determined after the tests are done.

“Solar panels with battery for cell sites is under a six-month proof of concept (POF) still. Testing under different local conditions, and for various grid types,” he added.

Last July, PLDT announced that it was set to power 20 PLDT and Smart facilities with renewable energy as part of its green and sustainability efforts.

PLDT is also deploying electric vehicles (EVs) to be initially assigned to selected service personnel handling home broadband installation and repair within Metro Manila. The phone giant will add more EVs to its fleet under its Green Fleet Program.

These initiatives underscore PLDT’s efforts in helping the country achieve its commitment under the Paris a g reement and to the United nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) particularly SDG no. 7 on affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.

n g said the four times per week Clark-Busan route will start on n o vember 10, while the daily Clark-Seoul (Incheon) service will commence a day after.

The thrice weekly seasonal service between Clark and Hong Kong will be launched on December 9.

“Clark is on the rise, as Philippine a i rlines forges new connections to the business and tourist markets of Hong Kong and Korea. We are happy to mount international flights out of Clark International a i rport, which will help bring greater flows of tourists and economic activity to the Central Luzon region and

n g said the initiative is part of the flag carrier’s commitment to supporting international agreements for climate action, including the Paris a g reement and the Glasgow Climate Pact.

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

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

SMInvestments Corp. (SMIC) on Wednesday said its consolidated net income rose by half to P42.9 billion in January to September from last year’s P28.6 billion.

Davao City BOC exceeds October collection target

By Manuel T. Cayon @awimailbox Mindanao Bureau Chief

CITY—The Bureau of Customs-Port of Davao exceeded again its revenue collection target for October, a feat that mirrors its performance for the first seven months that all exceeded collection targets.

DAVAO

The Port of Davao collected P3.38 billion in revenue for the month of October. This was 1.98 percent higher than its target of P3.31 billion, posting a surplus of P65.71 million.

The month’s actual collection was also higher by 19 percent compared to the 2021 October collection performance of P2.83 billion.

The BOC-Port of Davao ascribed the steady collection performance this year to the “strengthened collaboration and dialogues between its employees and stakeholders who continue to transact at the port.”

District Collector Erastus Sandino B. Austria commended the Collection District XII and thanked the port’s stakeholders “for their trust and support of the reforms and programs of the Collection District.”

Also in October, Customs officials and Chinese Ambassador Huang Xil-

ian visited a durian farm for talks “on ways to assist industry players in the export process for the product and boost overall agricultural export to China.”

China is the country’s second largest market for Cavendish banana, which is widely grown in the Davao Region and the southern part of the Caraga Region. Durian was being gradually groomed for international foray with Asia as its initial market.

Austria spoke with members of the Durian Industry Association here on October 28.

The BOC said the talks were held at the Belviz Durian Farm in Calinan, some 29 kilometers north of downtown Davao City. It said the discussion was part of the Chinese embassy’s “program to open their country as a market for Mindanaogrown fruit.”

Austria assured the farmers that the bureau was ready to help growers to remove technicalities as barriers to making Filipino agriculture accessible worldwide.

The BOC-Port of Davao has assured Filipino business groups that the agency would “continue to ease business conduct to encourage foreign investors to transact with the Port.”

Petition to extend measures vs imported cement junked

By Andrea San Juan

THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) dismissed the petition to the extension of general safeguard measures on imported cement. The DTI also shut the door on any appeal for such saying in an order that the safeguard measure imposed until 2022 would no longer be extended.

“In view thereof, the petition for the extension of general safeguard measure on importations of Ordinary Portland Cement Type 1 and Blended Cement Type 1P is hereby dismissed,” read the Department Administrative Order (DAO) 22-14 document that was published on the agency’s website last Wednesday.

The petitioners included the Cement Manufacturers Association of the Philippines Inc., Republic Cement Corp. and Holcim Philippines Inc.

“Accordingly, the definitive safeguard measure imposed for a period of three years commencing on October 22, 2019, shall expire on October 22, 2022,” the DAO noted.

It was last October 5 that the trade department said it received the Tariff Commission’s formal investigation report on the petition for extension of general safeguard measures on importation from various countries of Ordinary Portland Cement Type 1 and Blended Cement Type 1P.

The tariff body, pursuant to Republic Act (RA) 8800 (Safeguard Measures Act), recommended that the imposition of the definitive general safeguard measure on imported cement shall no longer be extended.

Profitable industry

THE Commission said its decision was based on its findings after a review of the measures from 2019 to 2021. The Commission noted that during the review period, it found that the domestic industry maintained its market standing, increased mill capacities, stabilized manufacturing costs and improved profitability.

“The domestic industry was profitable as its income from operations bounced back in 2021 to pre-pandemic levels of P13 billion,” the tariff body’s report read. “Return on Sales was stable at 13 percent, attributable to successfully executed cost-cutting and productivity-enhancing industry measures.”

With this, the tariff body said, there was “no significant overall impairment” in the position of the domestic cement industry that constituted “serious injury.”

In accordance with RA 8800, safeguard measures could be initiated by domestic producers, the Trade Secretary or the House or Senate Committee on Trade and Commerce as long as certain elements are established in the investigation.

These elements include the presence of directly competitive products and that there must be recent, sudden, sharp and significant increase in imports. The law also said there must be serious threat or injury (i.e., impacted overall performance of the local industry) and the imported product directly causes serious injury to the domestic industry.

Senators back temporary tax relief for film industry

By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

Robinhood C. Padilla advocated temporarily providing tax exemptions for films produced locally; thus throwing full support for a proposal pitched by Sen. Jinggoy Estrada in a privileged speech on Tuesday.

SENATOR

Padilla said a temporary suspension of a slew of taxes would help in the fast recovery of the Philippine movie industry. In his manifestation during the plenary session last November 8, Padilla added that granting the local film industry temporary relief on tax could help the industry get back on its feet.

“I hope the industry would be given a chance to breathe. We are not asking for a total suspension of tax but only temporary,” Padilla said in Filipino.

This developed as several senators backed the enabling bill bolstering the film industry, following Sen. Estrada’s speech.

The lawmakers lined up support behind the bill seeking to improve the economic viability of the Philippine film industry, and its potential as an effective tool for boosting tourism, in the way that several global destinations have benefitted from hosting film locations.

In his privilege speech, Estrada cited the dire straits in which many workers and stakeholders in the local film industry—or the audiovisual services sector in its entirety—have found themselves in with the pandemic.

Verge of collapse

TAKING the floor “on a matter of personal and collective privilege,”

Estrada recalled that “for the past several weeks, I have been subjected to numerous tirades over a comment I made during the committee hearing on the proposed 2023 budget of the Film Development Council of the Philippines or FDCP last October 18.”

The senator affirmed that records of the Senate committee hearing “will bear me out that I was trying to take a grasp of the state that the audiovisual services sector has been in nowadays, which by and large, is on the verge of collapse even during the pre-pandemic period and which was painted in that hearing to be now in the ICU [intensive care unit] needing critical care from specialists.”

“Sadly,” the lawmaker lamented, “my statements were magnified and even misconstrued by many,” including a number of industry members who are part of the more than 760,000 workforce in the film and audio-visual sector who, the senator said, he was trying to protect and fight for.

Villain, antagonist

THE senator deplored that “what reverberated in the minds of many was the furthest thing from my mind,” ruing that “I was portrayed as a villain; an antagonist.”

“Nakakalungkot na mas nanaig sa kaisipan ng marami ang mga katagang

hindi ko layon na mangyari,” he added. [It is unfortunate that the words I did not intend to happen prevailed in the minds of many.]

“Be that as it may,” Estrada said, “I deem it best to put forth the issues plaguing the barely-surviving industry that is personally close to my heart, with the desire of lighting even a glimmer of hope that it can still be salvaged.”

Lamenting that “this is the abysmal state of our local film industry,” the senator reminded that for this year, only nine local movies have been released, according to theater group operators, noting that the nine were from the 20 films reviewed by the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board or MTRCB since January this year.

Nakapanlulumong isipin na may panahon na umaabot sa tatlong daan ang napo- produce na pelikula kada taon,” he said. [It is depressing to think that there was a time when 300 films were produced each year.]

“Now, it’s not even a fraction.”

Standard arrangement

ESTRADA explained that in order to come up with a quality film, producers have to fork out “between P10 million to P30 million,” according to FDCP Chairman and CEO Tirso S. Cruz III. And to recoup this, they have to earn at least triple or 270 percent of that amount.

“But how can an industry barely in survival mode and among the most heavily taxed entertainment in Asia, recover from its current state?”

To further illustrate, Estrada explains that for a P50-million film production with a P100 million box office revenue, the producer needs to pay amusement tax, value-added tax and distribution fee.

He adds that 10 percent will go to amusement tax and 90 percent will go to the theater owner and film producer. About 45 percent of the ticket sales will go to theater owners.

That, Estrada affirms, has been

the “standard arrangement” between the producers and cinema owners or operators for the longest time as the latter claim that they invest in the construction and maintenance of theaters.

“On top of this, there is VAT [value-added tax] to be paid by the producer; and from the 45 million peso ticket sales, the amount will dwindle to P39.6 million,” he said.

Unprecedented phenomenon

ESTRADA explained that from these figures, a 5-percent distribution fee will still be deducted, which leaves the producer with the final amount of P37.62 million.

This means that the producer loses P12,380,000, the lawmaker said.

And if a producer makes a profit, he still has to pay a 30-percent income tax, Estrada said.

The lawmaker relates that the film industry, following the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, was “confronted by an unprecedented phenomenon of almost no revenue coming in despite the easing of social restrictions.”

“Likewise, our kababayans [compatriots] have to spend around P280 to P450 per person in admission tickets when they watch in movie houses,” Estrada said. “Konti na lang ay katumbas na ito ng arawang kita ng mga minimum wage earners na nasa P316 to P537 kada araw.” [It is just a little bit equivalent to the daily income of minimum wage earners, which is around P316 to P537 per day.]

Besides Padilla, the Estrada proposal for a fiscal relief for the industrh was backed by: Sen. Grace Poe, former MTRCB chair and daughter of “King of Philippine Movies” FPJ; Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., an actor-producer from a showbiz clan; and, Sen. Francis N. Tolentino. The latter threw full support to the economic gains of the industry when he chaired the Metro Manila Film Festival for several years.

Moody’s affirms PNB’s rating, stable outlook

ings account deposits.”

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

Analytics on Wednesday affirmed the Philippine National Bank’s (PNB) Baa3 long-term deposit ratings and raised the bank’s outlook to stable from negative on the back of better asset quality and profitability.

MOODY’S

Likewise, Moody’s affirmed the “Ba1” baseline credit assessment of PNB.

“The affirmation of PNB’s ratings and the outlook revision to stable from negative were driven by an improvement in the bank’s asset quality over the past 12 months,” the international credit watcher said in a statement issued last Wednesday.

Moody’s explained that the bank’s nonperforming loan (NPL) ratio improved to 6.5 percent at the end of June from 11.5 percent in the same month of last year.

The improvement in NPL ratio was caused by the “normalization of loan repayments by a few large exposures in pandemic-impacted sectors such as travel and tourism,” Moody’s added.

“Moody’s expects the bank’s asset quality to remain stable over the next 12-18 months because its legacy problem loans are largely classified as NPLs while its new loans underwriting has been conservative over the past two years,” it said.

Remain muted MOODY’S also noted that PNB’s com-

mon Equity Tier 1 ratio increased to 14.5 percent as of end-June from 13.2 percent a year ago, due to “muted” balance sheet growth and reduction in NPLs.

“Its capital will remain stable over the next 12 months to 18 months because its balance sheet growth will remain muted,” it said.

“PNB’s core profitability is lower than its peers’ and is a key credit weakness. However, it will benefit from a normalization of credit costs, in line with the improvement in asset quality,” it added.

Moody’s pointed out that funding remains a credit strength of PNB as its cost of funding being comparable to the country’s big three banks thanks to the “high share of current and sav-

Moody’s explained that PNB’s Baa3 rating is one notch above its ba1 BCA, thus reflecting a “high” likelihood of support from the government when “needed,” given the bank’s high systemic importance as reflected by its market share by total assets of 5.6 percent at the end of first half.

“Moody’s could upgrade PNB’s BCA and ratings if [a] its asset quality significantly strengthens, with its NPL formation rates reverting to prepandemic levels for a sustained period and [b] its pre-provision profitability improves,” it said.

“However, Moody’s could downgrade PNB’s ratings and BCA if its asset quality and capital deteriorate substantially,” it added.

Financial advisor: Having helped clients a bonus for simple, but not easy, job

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes @brownindio

is a deadly sin for some. For Kimberly Anne Zandueta, it’s how she feels with her job as financial advisor of the Manufacturers Life Insurance Co. (Manulife).

PRIDE

Zandueta said that pride comes from knowing she can help people understand the importance of financial security.

A financial advisor helps breadwinners establish financial stability by teaching them how to secure their hardearned money, she said. Hands of parents are also held when building their child’s educational fund, according to her.

Zandueta said the job gives her the opportunity to help Millennials and Gen Zs prepare for their dreams and future towards a comfortable retirement.

“Being a financial advisor is such a

fulfilling job. It can be simple but it is not easy,” she said. “We make sure that day in and day out, we are able to at least touch lives and make a positive impact on every single person we meet.”

Zandueta, to note, is the youngest Financial Advisor of the Year in Manulife Philippines’s history. She is also a member of the Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT), a prestigious organization of top financial agents.

Daily

aim

HER daily aim to “touch lives” became more evident during the lockdown measures the government imposed to stem Covid-19 infection. Just like everyone, I was also frightened when the pandemic happened, Zandueta said.

Further, she said she was a bit lost where to start. As the pandemic became stubborn and stayed longer in the coun-

try, I realized I had to step up and roll with the punches, Zandueta said. She reached out to her clients and checked on them and their loved ones.

She said she also reassured them she is accessible and, if they need someone to talk to, they can just go to her. She was always ready and willing to listen.

The pandemic taught Zandueta that her job as a financial advisor plays a very important role in very difficult times. That alone motivated me to reach out to more people, she said. Zandueta said she also realized that it’s important to upgrade her mindset for success and to always focus on the positive. “In that way, it will be easier for you to look for the silver lining in every situation.”

MDRT Club

ZANDUETA said the MDRT Club plays a big role in her career. Personally, she believes the MDRT puts her in an environment of positivity and constant growth.

Attending the MDRT annual meeting is a lovely experience as it gives an opportunity to connect, amplify and strengthen goals to become a successful financial advisor, she said.

“MDRT is like a marathon running with people who are motivated to run faster. These people inspire me in so many ways and that makes me a better person—individually and professionally.”

Zandueta is a seven-time member of the MDRT. The MDRT is a global and independent association of the world’s leading life insurance and financial services professionals. Further, Zandueta was awarded “Court of the Table” for her stellar track records 2018 and 2021. She was also a “Top of the Table” member once. She received a Star Master Builder award as well.

Mom’s role

THE 29-year-old Zandueta credits what she is today to her mom.

She said her mother played a big role in her chosen career as a financial advisor at Manulife. After finishing a Bach-

elor of Arts degree, major in Mass Communication and minor in Development Communication from Saint Scholastica’s College Manila, Zandueta said she always wanted a performance-based job wherein she’s compensated based on the effort she puts in. Interestingly, Zandueta is a second-generation advisor.

“My mom has been in the business for almost 20 years. I believe that my mom was the main reason why I pursued this career.”

Zandueta’s fascination with the job started when she was brought by her mother in her younger days to client calls, company events, awards nights and incentive trips. Thus, she found her mother’s job lovely. She also said her mother’s job provided well for the family and, at the same time, was able to balance family and career, never missing any important school events.

Editor: Dennis D. Estopace

Zandueta

Health& Fitness

Wider booster coverage needed to combat the two new Omicron subvariants–experts

By Rory Visco Contributor

YES,the fear of Covid-19 has somewhat diminished, proof that more people are now going out to work, to travel to be with relatives in the province or for that much-needed vacation, and even kids are going back to a full face-toface class setup, at least in the public schools and in some private ones.

Though with a decreased im pact, there is no denying that c o v id-19 is still in our midst, and there are two Omicron subvari ants—the XBB and the BQ.1.1, a descendant of the B a 5 subvari ant of Omicron—that emerged to be the most dominant mutations just yet.

Based on the forecasts of Dr. Franco Felizarta, i n fectious Dis ease Specialist of the University of the Philippines Medical a lumni Society of a m erica (UPM a S a ), it looks like these two latest subvari ants of Omicron would be the next dominant ones.

Dr. Felizarta said that although B a 4 is still the dominant Omicron subvariant in the US from 85 per cent to 50 percent, BQ.1.1 is seen to be having an increasing trend there and e u rope. The XBB, on the other hand, is the dominant strain in a s ia like in Singapore, i n dia and Bangladesh, which is almost at 100 percent, “The bad news is that there’s more growth advantage with the new Omicron subvariants. But the good news here is that we can

now predict the Omicron subvari ant that will happen in the future so we’re not having any different variants now but only subvariants of the original Omicron variant,” says Dr. Felizarta during the re cent Stop c O.V. i D Deaths webi nar titled “Bago na n a man? XBB and BQ.1.1 a l amin!” that was or ganized by the University of the Philippines, the UP Manila ni H n a tional Telehealth c e nter and in cooperation with UP Philippine General Hospital (PGH).

He noted that the BQ.1.1 will become the dominant virus by January 2023, and now there’s talk about the need to use the “biva lent” booster vaccines, which the US Food and Drug a d ministration says is a combination of a compo nent of the original virus and that of the Omicron variant, which the agency also called an “updated” c o vid-19 booster dose. However, Dr. Felizarta reiterated that more studies based on the live virus are needed just to confirm that the bivalent booster is superior to the older booster.

For her part, Dr. a n na Lisa

Ong-Lim, a member of the Depart ment of Health’s (DOH) Techni cal a d visory Group on Pediatric i n fectious Diseases, said they are reviewing the current situation locally and thinking about how the protection of vaccines can still be harnessed to continue protect ing Filipinos.

The DOH reported that the to tal number of c o vid-19 cases in the country has already exceeded four million cases since tracking start ed two years ago. The good news, she said, is that daily numbers have really significantly decreased since the last surge early this year.

“There has been no upsurge since the middle of this year which we are attributing to Omicron as well as to its subvariant mutations.”

Dr. Ong-Lim also noted that the increase in cases has not been par alleled by an increase in the num ber of deaths. Upon assessment, there’s no evidence for more severe illness nor more severe clinical manifestations compared to the original Omicron variant.

She likewise noted that the Philippine Genome c e nter in Que zon c ity, plus another one in the Visayas and one already in Min danao are capable of doing their sequencing runs and the data is completed quickly. During the most recent sequencing run from October 15 to 17, a total of 61 XBB variant cases were reported, 60 coming from Western Visayas and one from the Davao region. a s o f October 18, eight cases were tagged as active, while 50 were reported to have recovered, while three cases’ outcomes are still be ing verified.

Are the vaccines still effective?

S H e said they want to keep an eye on the variants because the goal is to assess whether Filipinos can still be adequately protected with

the current measures, including vaccines, and find out whether the current vaccines are still effective.

Dr. Ong-Lim emphasized still that if one received only two doses, it may not be enough protection against symptomatic infection, which means one can still con tract c o vid-19 but there will be no severe outcomes. But if one is boosted, one is not only protected against severe disease but there is also added protection against symptomatic infection.

“So, this is really the reason why we keep encouraging people to be boosted. You get not just an improvement in your protection against severe disease but also improved protection against get ting symptomatic infections if the boosters used are the ones with the original sequence, or those that are currently being used to day,” she said.

But do we still need to wait for the bivalent vaccines before we get booster shots, she asked. The answer to this, according to Dr. Ong-Lim, is to get vaccina tion soonest because the protec tion one gets now is essential. “ i f there are bivalent boosters avail able, that is well and good but we don’t need to wait for them to ar rive and provide the protection that we will get from the third and fourth doses.”

She also repeated that their recommendations for multiple layers of protection such as physi cal distancing, hand hygiene, ventilation, vaccination will not change. “We really want to make sure that this message comes across. We want all of these lay ers in place and we also want to draw attention to the fact that we are still sorely lacking in the booster coverage and we need to work on this very, very urgently,” Dr. Ong-Lim concluded.

Stop osteoporosis from fracturing your life

Astooped posture and an aching back are the common symptoms of osteoporosis that people are aware of. Unknown to many is that osteoporosis does not always exhibit a symptom. t h is silent disease often goes unnoticed until the patient suffers osteoporotic frac tures, which can cause pain, swelling, a nd bruising.

Many also think that osteoporosis is a health concern only for the elderly and those with sedentary lifestyle. While it is more common in older adults, this bone disease can strike at any age. It can hap pen even to adults with active lifestyle. I t happened to a multi-awarded dances port athlete.

A ballerina’s porous bones

B A l ler I n A an d dancesport champion

Anna Marie p e riquet was 49 when she was diagnosed with osteoporosis. A swollen foot and severe pain in the back, knees, and feet prompted her to seek medical help. After taking a bone mineral density test, her doctors revealed that she already had multiple fractures and bones like those of an 80-year-old woman. Anna also suf fered from lumbar spondylosis, periostitis o f the foot and lower extremity neuroma.

With her healthy diet and active life style, she never imagined herself to suffer f rom a bone disease. s h e was not spared from bearing the brunt of having porous bones as she ticked off all the items on the osteoporosis risk factor list: woman with a small body frame, Caucasian or Asian, and perimenopausal. s he consequently was not able to continue her dance training and fitness program that her body was used to.

“ t h roughout my difficulties with os teoporosis, I learned the valuable lesson o f acceptance and the joy that comes with

it,” Anna shared. “ t h ere are certain move ments that I can’t do as well as before or t otally anymore, but I have found that healing begins and happiness takes over when we accept defeats but still take a chance to change our life for the better, despite our limitations.”

According to d r. Monica t h erese Cabral, Former p r esident of the o s teoporosis s o ciety of the p h ilippines Foundation, Inc. ( o sp F I), an estimated 8.9 million Filipi nos have osteoporosis. p e ople gradually start losing bone mass from age 35, but women, especially those who have early menopause or who underwent a hysterec tomy, are more likely to have osteoporosis.

“ tak ing care of our bone health should start in childhood. p h ysical activity, espe cially exercises that involve weight-bear ing, such as walking and jogging, can help m ake bones stronger and healthier,” d r Cabral explained. “As we age, we slowly lose bone mass, but the higher the peak bone mass in your youth, the less likely it is to develop osteoporosis in the future.”

An irreversible disease that weakens the bones o s teoporos I s s a disease that causes bones to become porous and weak. It develops when bone mineral density de creases due to various factors like poor nu trition, low physical activity, age, hormonal changes, unhealthy lifestyle choices, and certain medical conditions. With weak bones, a person’s risk of fracture increases that even simple movements like sneezing or lifting a grocery bag can cause a bone to break.

t h e painful reality is that there is no cure for osteoporosis. However, there are ways to lower the risk of fractures and strengthen the bones.

“ t h ere are two types of effective medi cations for osteoporosis—one slows down b one resorption, the other aids in bone growth,” explained d r e d gar e u femio, Medical d rector of the p eak F orm s p orts r e covery Center and Chairman of the Car dinal s a ntos Medical Center (CM s C ) s p orts Medicine Institute.

“Aside from medications, one should also have adequate Calcium and Vitamin d intake and proper diet and engage in resistance exercises that promote muscle toning using weights and activities that aid in coordination and balance, like Yoga, p i lates, ta i Chi,” he continued.

In Anna’s case, d r e u femio recom mended a teriparatide injection that works f ast in aiding bone growth, although it re quires daily injections. Anna administered t he bone-regenerating drug to herself for 18 months. s h e also underwent regular physical therapy and maintained a healthy lifestyle. After ten months, she was well on her way to recovery.

Living life with osteoporosis

Her recovery journey is a story of hope for every person enduring the pain of weak and broken bones. Certainly, there is life after osteoporosis. d e spite having the dis ease, Anna once again enjoys living her life t o the fullest—working in the corporate world, dancing, and performing onstage. r e ceiving the right treatment and com mitting to a healthy lifestyle are crucial to enjoying life even with osteoporosis.

“ l iv ing with osteoporosis is possible and I want to show to everyone that this disease is beatable and treatable,” said Anna. “We must do our part to raise awareness for prevention and treatment of osteoporosis and low bone mass and inform those who suffer from it that they

can live their lives to the fullest with proper knowledge and guidance.”

Spreading hope through awareness campaign

Kno W I n g how difficult it is to live with the disease, Anna sought to empower those with osteoporosis by embracing an advocacy. s h e agreed to be a lay spokesperson of the o sp F I, and as she celebrates 50 years of dance this year, she is also embarking on a passion project to raise awareness on osteoporosis and promote bone health through dance and movement healing.

“ o s teoporosis is a chronic preventable illness that is fast becoming a world health problem,” said d r t h eresa Marie ValdezFaller, p r esident of osp F I. “ o u r mission is to promote the study of osteoporosis through education, advocacy and research.”

to e ducate Filipinos on how to prevent osteoporosis, osp F continues to imple ment programs and activities such as annual c onventions with international and local speakers, post graduate courses as well as research grants for scientists and physicians conducting studies on this disease. o u treach programs for barangay and rural health workers, and lay fora for the patients and their relatives are also done in various provinces to increase awareness.

t h ere is something that can be done to stop bones from breaking. o s teoporosis is a disease that can be prevented through lifestyle changes. t h ere are also ways for people with osteoporosis to receive relief and live a normal life.

to k now more about programs for os teoporosis awareness, visit osp F I’s Face book p a ge https://www.facebook.com/ OsteoporosisPhilippines.

Editor: Anne Ruth Dela Cruz

DOH launches campaign to drum up vaccination among infants, children

Vaccine preventable dis eases (VPDs) are infectious diseases caused by viruses or bacteria.

i n 2 002, World Health Organi zation (WHO) estimated that 1.4 million of deaths among children under five years due to diseases that could have been prevented by routine vaccination.

This represents 14 percent of global total mortality in children under five years of age.

However, these diseases can be prevented with vaccines.

Department of Health (DOH) Officer-in- c h arge Undersecre tary Maria Rosario Vergeire, ear lier, said that vaccination is for the protection of the infants and the prevention of potential VPD outbreaks.

To ensure that infants/chil dren and mothers have access to routinely recommended infant/ childhood vaccines, the DOHMetro Manila c e nter for Health Development (DOH-MM c H D) launched on n o vember 7, the Vax-Baby-Vax Routine c atch-up i m munization c a mpaign at Lake shore Hall, in Taguig c ity.

The program aims to reduce morbidity and mortality among

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

Den GU e is a mosquito-borne viral disease that poses a sig nificant global public health threat, with prevalence in over 125 countries.

The dengue outbreaks are observed in tropical and sub-tropical areas and have recently caused outbreaks in the Philippines.

The latest e p idemic-prone Dis ease c a se Surveillance ( e c D S) report of the Department of Health (DOH) e p idemiology Bureau for Morbidity Week 38 (January 1 to September 24 2022) recorded a total of 172,985 dengue cases.

The figure is 197 percent higher compared to the same period last year.

The number of cases detected is still expected to increase with the continuing monsoon season until the end of the year.

Approved in Indonesia

Take D a , a global, research and development-driven pharmaceuti cal company, announced that their dengue vaccine was approved re cently by the i nd onesia n a tional a g ency for Drug and Food c o ntrol, Badan Pengawas Obat dan Makanan (BPOM), for the prevention of den gue disease caused by any serotype in individuals six years to 45 years of age. The use of the vaccine should be in accordance with official recom mendations.

Takeda’s dengue vaccine (T a k 0 03) is the only dengue vaccine ap proved in i n donesia for use in indi viduals regardless of previous dengue exposure and without the need for pre-vaccination testing.

“We are thrilled to announce the approval of our dengue vaccine in i n d onesia, signifying a new era in the management of dengue. This mile stone is critical as i n donesia suffers from a high burden of dengue in the region, causing severe impacts on the health and welfare of the people,” said Dr. Mahender nayak, a s ia Pacific a rea Head of Takeda.

“Our extensive clinical data dem onstrates that our dengue vaccine provides protection for children and adults across all four dengue sero types, preventing serious illness and hospitalization for those living in i n d onesia. Years of steadfast dedication and cumulative efforts have brought us here today, and we remain commit ted to protect those at risk of contract ing dengue in endemic communities, many of which are located in this part of the world,” Dr. n a yak said.

children against the most common VPDs which include tuberculosis, poliomyelitis, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis and measles.

The campaign aims to vaccinate zero to 23 months old babies that will protect them from VPDs.

Likewise, the campaign targets to increase the knowledge and awareness of the safety and ef ficacy of vaccines among family decision makers to drive behavior change with the help of govern ment agencies, local government unit, organizations and private sector.

The DOH said that the launch was made possible through the active participation of the Local Government of Taguig c ity, De partment of the i nterior and Local Government- nc R , WHO, Rotary c lub District 3780, Philippine Pe diatric Society and the Pediatric i n fectious Disease Society of the Philippines.

The DOH-MMc H D said that around 256,400 newborn babies and infants aged 0-23 months old, are eligible for routine catch-up immunization.

Of the number, 46.55 percent or 119,352 or have been fully im munized. Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco.

Three-year study

T H e approval of Takeda’s dengue vaccine is based on results of a study conducted through three years after vaccination from the ongoing Phase 3 Tetravalent i m munization against Dengue e f ficacy Study (T i D e S ) trial that enrolled over 20,000 healthy chil dren and adolescents ages four to 16 years living in dengue-endemic areas in a s ia and Latin a m erica.  The vaccine demonstrated contin ued overall protection against dengue illness and hospitalization three years after vaccination, regardless of an in dividual’s previous dengue exposure. it h as also been generally well tol erated, with no important safety risks identified in the T i D e S t rial, to date.

Takeda recently presented long-term safety and efficacy results from the T i D e S t rial through 54 months of follow-up, which further validated the vaccine’s efficacy and safety profile.  Takeda is committed to make their dengue vaccine available to healthcare providers and their eligible patients in i nd onesia and to work with BPOM and local health experts to make the vac cine accessible in the coming months. Recently, the c o mmittee for Medici nal Products for Human Use (c H MP) of the e u ropean Medicines a g ency ( e M a ) announced a positive opinion, recommending approval of Takeda’s dengue vaccine for the prevention of dengue disease caused by any sero type in individuals four years of age and older in e u rope and in dengueendemic countries who took part in the e U -Medicine for all or  e U -M4all procedure.

Review

i n t he Philippines, Takeda’s dengue vaccine is planned to be submitted for a regulatory review by the Philip pines FDa

Takeda is committed to working closely with the DOH and local health authorities to make Ta k 003 available in the country for the prevention of dengue disease.

“Having worked on vaccines and preventable diseases for more than four decades, we see that the addition of another public health intervention for dengue, can be the cornerstone by which the Philippines can contribute to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 which aims to prevent need less suffering from preventable dis ease and premature death by focusing on key targets that boost the health of a country’s overall population,” said e x ecutive Director of the Philippine Foundation for Vaccination (PFV) Dr. Lulu Bravo.

Takeda to submit dengue vaccine to PHL FDA for regulatory review

Parentlife

Cre Ate your dre Am

desserts

minus the Cle An-uP A CANdElABRA lighting up a rose buttercream cake...Honey Bee Bee cupcakes that are making a buzz...a giant monster chocolate sponge cake filled with hazelnut paste and fresh raspberry filling.

These are some of the delightful desserts first-timers, budding bakers, and even pros can whip up as Bakebe, a diY baking studio, opens its second and newest branch at the S Maison Mall in the Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City.

Founded by entrepreneur Venus Chi in Hong kong, Bakebe is the first co-baking space that teaches one to bake with an app. Bakebe teams up with talented pastry chefs who have worked in Michelin-starred restaurants to design the menu.

A modern wonderland, the co-baking space comes fully equipped with ovens, mixers, utensils, tools, and all the ingredients needed to bake like a pro. Guests can bake any pastry from the menu from scratch to finish with zero experience needed. Guests are given an iPad with the Bakebe app, which includes detailed instructions, graphics, videos, and a step-by-step guide for each baking project. in-house pastry chefs are also on hand for assistance.

The best part is that Bakebe makes it possible to bond over baking with the bae or your besties, or bake sweet memories together with the family. Bakebe also offers creative and fun packages: rent out the entire studio for a bridal shower, gender reveal party, or a children’s birthday celebration. it’s also a great place to schedule your next teambuilding session or school group activity. Each package includes your choice of cake to bake, exclusive use of venue, party décor, party favors, plated meal or graze box, and more. Plus, guests get to bring home their very own creations to enjoy in a beautiful signature box.

Gracing the opening of Bakebe S Maison were Pasay City Government officials, councilor Joey Calixto isidro and councilor Mark Calixto, who were welcomed by Bakebe co-owners kay lacap, Regine Tecson Que, Tasha Reyes and Joseph Moore. Guests were seen enjoying the cake and cupcake decorating activities, while others had fun taking

A meditation on passing

ALL Souls’ Day has passed. My son Marcus also went just recently in Mexico when the famous El Dia de los Muertos [The Day of the Dead] was also being celebrated. He was there with his basketball teammates to compete for the Philippines in the 2022 Torneo Amistad at Toluca, Mexico. Congratulations to their team for winning the bronze.

Remembering “death” has always been poignant for me. I have always looked forward to visiting the cemetery annually pre-pandemic to “update” parted loved ones and continuously seek their guidance. This would include my great grandparents, my grandparents and my grand aunt. This year, I also remember my godfather, Jone Wong, who I once thought lived permanently in The Manila Hotel, and who would always spend great conversation time with me when I visited Hong Kong.

I remember Fr. Peter Yang, our principal in Saint Jude Catholic School who baptized me as a baby and had always been a great inspiration to me. I remember crying so hard when they announced in one of the holy hours in school that he was ill. After so many years, I was led to find a photo of Natsi, a dear college friend of mine who passed a few months after graduation. We were block mates since Day 1 and I always took it upon myself to protect him who had the kindest heart. Last but not the least, I pray and remember with utmost gratitude my sister-friendprotector Princesse, who my whole family deeply misses. Up to this day, it is very hard to imagine going through a future without you.

This year, I was also directed to relationships that have passed. To commemorate them, here is an essay I wrote for our school paper, called The Judenites, back in 1991. The essay is titled, Something Died [SeptemberNovember 1991, The Judenites, Features Section]:

“Life has all its moods. Sometimes it gives you all the laughter and at other times, all the tears. In both

cases, you need people to share those moments with. In short, the world is not your own, you need friends to share the tone.

“Somehow these are all true. But what if it fails? Isn’t it even harder to accept? Is the laughter once shared enough to suppress the pain of losing a friend?

“Not long ago, about two years back, I met a person who never failed to comfort and accompany me in whatever I pursue. He enabled me to overcome the pressures of everyday life. He was a normal person, not a genius or a super famous personality, just a person who followed the high tides and the low tides of time. But for me, he was as special as diamonds locked in one’s heart. He served as the bridge and inspiration to all my dreams and desires. It seems as though with him around, everything was in place, every dream was just a step away. I could say communication was the key to our months of togetherness. Usually, it was more open and alive through the lines and wires than in actual speaking. We could always share our deepest sentiments and wildest dreams.

“Of course not all agreed with our relationship. But back then, I was stubborn and determined. I knew it was right so I fought for it. I went for it. But it was everything for nothing. For there came a time when the ringing stopped. I felt different. I didn’t know if

I could face reality after passing through paradise. I was troubled. If ever I would trip and fall, would there be someone to watch over me, to see me cry and ease my sorrows?

“But as time passed by, lessons are learned and experiences are gained. Though I want the friendship back, I know it can never be. I realized that good things never last. Maybe it was not our time. But I know now that when one leans too much, the post may not be as firm as you want it to be and may just break apart.

“Until now, questions still arise but I could never utter. Was it my doing? Or just nature’s way? I strived for years to let go and forget. With every strife, there was anger and regret. But I know now it does not anymore matter since it’s all part of the past. What matters now is the present and what lies ahead. The better opportunities to be sought, the better friendships to be won.

“Seeds grow into trees but trees soon die and leaves start to wither. This is how things go. Though accepting is hard, the only explanation I have is that death is a natural thing. One comes and one goes. So simple to say yet so difficult to accept.

“Something died—in my heart, in my soul, in my mind.

“Time can heal the wounds but never the pain.

“Goodbye, my friend. Good luck!”

Reading this again allowed me to realize how lucky I was that “writing” found me and how it gave me deep solace. This is why I encourage my children to journal or draw to tangibly release their emotions. It also made me see the gratitude I feel as I look back at such endings...for there were those “deaths” that fueled my inner strength today, those that pushed me to learn to forgive, and even those that also emerged into rekindled priceless second wind of relationships. May we remember all our “Something Died” with peace and gratitude. n

Pope tells Bahrain youths to seek real advice, not Google

By Nicole Winfield The Associated Press

MANAMA, 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’s 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 blessing for us to be part of our Holy

Francis is on the first-ever papal visit to Bahrain, a Sunni-led 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

In his homily at the stadium, Francis urged the Catholic faithful to do good “even when evil is done to

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,

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.

Teenage 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.

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

POPE Francis arrives to celebrate mass at the Bahrain National Stadium in Riffa, Bahrain, on November 5, 2022.

ClOCkwiSE My grandparents in my childhood and my most favorite escape home, Agno; my godfather Jone wong in one of my trips to Hong kong; Natsi on the far right in one of our weekend get-togethers; Fr. Yang donning an award in my grade school graduation rites.

uniCorn’s Childhood This magical creation features the popular reversal ice cream cone cake with a cute baby unicorn. Available exclusively at Bakebe S Maison.

BAkE with your bestie at Bakebe S Maison.

THE Giant Monster at Bakebe S Maison is a chocolate sponge cake filled with hazelnut paste and fresh raspberry filling.

SM Foundation leads bloodletting drive in various SM malls nationwide

ALL it takes is just one poke to save lives. While blood donation drives are often conducted, blood shortages remain pressing in low- to middle-income countries. In the Philippines, blood donation activities were reduced during the height of COVID-19, making it even more challenging for the country to provide blood in times of need.

Amidst the obstacles, organizations and volunteers continue to unite to help increase the country’s safe blood supply. Beyond this, such initiatives also become an avenue that awakens volunteerism and unity of communities

to fulfill a crucial goal.

Joining hands for social good, SM Foundation, Inc. (SMFI), Philippine Red Cross, and the Philippine Blood Center recently collaborated for several bloodletting activities in SM malls nationwide.

The second blood donation campaign led by SMFI logged over 3,000 successful donors with volunteers coming from more than 70 malls and SM Corporate Offices.

Each bag of donated blood can help save a life or the lives of three individuals as transfusable components, namely white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets,

can be derived from donated blood.

The donated blood bags are stored at its blood bank at the DOH (Department of Health) Philippine Blood Center and can be accessed by indigent patients should the need arise.

Aside from bloodletting initiatives, SMFI’s Health and Wellness Program upgrades public health centers of grassroots communities, complemented by its medical caravans across the country.

To date, it has renovated more than 160 health and wellness centers and served more than one million patients in its medical missions.

MullenLowe TREYNA Group triples new biz wins with clients from various industries

ON its first full year, the MullenLowe TREYNA Group has tripled its new business total compared to 2021.

Over P40 million in combined pitch wins and assigned new business comes from MLT Group’s extensive product lineup: integrated creative solutions, strategic narrative, user research and experience, PR, and activation.

Qairos won user research, experience design, and development duties on DITO Telecommunity; PMFTC; Nextbank, a cloudbased banking SaaS provider; and RS2, a global payment platform for credit card clients and merchants based in Germany and Malta. “Winning our clients’ trust in a competitive environment is crucial,” says Denise Haak, CEO of Qairos. “I’m glad even global clients like RS2 can see the value and expertise we bring to the table.”

For Tricia Kiocho, Managing Director of MullenLowe MARC, one piece of new business that stood out was Life by Petto. “With so

many pet parents in the office, being awarded PR for the country’s first app-based pet health plan service truly felt special,” she said.

MullenLowe TREYNA won creative relaunch duties on M. Lhuillier, and projects with Emperador Light and Mineski Global. After the success of COMELEC’s Magparehistro Ka campaign, Google also awarded business to MLT without a pitch.

Concurrently, MullenLowe Singapore paved the way for the agency to launch a campaign for Bumble in the Philippines.

Mike Trillana, Chairman and CEO of MullenLowe TREYNA Group, emphasizes: “Getting new clients on board isn’t only about the ideas, it’s about the people you get to work with. We committed to a hybrid setup early in 2022, but we also took steps to ensure that we could sustain the elements of a winning agency culture. This is proof that looking after your people brings in the business, and makes business better for our clients.

Rediscover learning and entertainment with the 3rd generation Lenovo

AS adapting to a hybrid lifestyle continues to inspire more intuitive consumer experiences, Lenovo goes all in on smarter innovations benefiting daily life. With corners of our homes feeling stretched and thinned of inspiration or excitement, Lenovo is introducing the newest generation of Lenovo Tab M10 and Lenovo Tab M10 Plus, allowing consumers to open up their world in search of fresh ideas, transforming the way people live, work, and play with Smarter Technology for All.

“Designing with purpose to meet customers’ needs with the best devices at great value is always the core of our business at Lenovo,” shares Michael Ngan, President and General Manager of Lenovo Philippines. “The new Lenovo Tab M10 and Tab M10 Plus redefines learning and entertainment experience with greater performance, versatility and portability, leading to more inspiration-fueled discoveries with the aid of technology in an inclusive digital world.”

Discover a world of entertainment and learning with the new Lenovo Tab M10. This budget tablet keeps up with the wealth of content the digital space offers with the power of the latest Unisoc T610 Octa-core processor with up to 4GB of memory and 64GB of storage.

NMM, partners plant 2,000 trees to protect Mount Makiling Forest Reserve boundary against damage

NMM

other damages that may arise along the Mount Makiling Forest Reserve (MMFR) boundary. Specifically, it aims to plant vegetative markers with unique colors for easy recognition and reference along the MMFR boundary and to strengthen the partnership between communities for more effective monitoring and protection of the reserve. The species of trees being used as markers are the Palawan Cherry, Banaba, and Alibangbang.

The Boundary Tree Planting and Nurturing Project aims to protect the area from encroachment, expansion, and

Attendees arrived at the venue as early as 6 am with the event formally starting at 8 am. Present for the event were UBE Media President Donna Lina’ NMM President Atty. Randy Nague and his wife, Farrah; MCME Deputy Director Dr. Rogello Andrada II; Department of

In his opening remarks, Lina thanked everyone for participating in the event as it will surely help the future generations of the communities around Mount Makiling and beyond. Lalican emphasized the importance of this project and said “bigyan natin ng puso ang ating pagtatanim dahil ito ay may buhay.” Nague echoed everyone’s sentiments and left everyone with saying that “a man doesn’t plant a tree for himself but for posterity.”

After a brief orientation from Dr. Andrada, the guests were ready to begin the tree planting proper. The guests formed groups of 15 and were assisted by MCME volunteers as they spread out among the five different stations along the boundary. NMM has committed to planting 2,000 saplings over the course of the year.

The guests were then treated to a simple brunch after completing their tree planting trek before concluding for the day.

Nague Malic Magnawa & Associates Customs Brokers (NMM) is a general professional partnership of customs brokers duly registered by the Securities and Exchange Commission and The Bureau ofCustoms. It is engaged in delivering professional services in customs, tariff, international trade, logistics, and consultancy services.

Its four-side narrow-bezel and 10.1-inch FHD IPS display provides users an enjoyable entertainment experience with vibrant color from a wide 100 percent sRGB color gamut paired with enhanced sound from the dual speakers by Dolby Atmos.

Not forgetting the little ones, the Lenovo Tab M10, hand in hand with Google Space Kids, provides kids a safe space where they can learn, create and play with an abundance of high-quality content available through apps in the Google Play store

Along with the Android 11 OS and three years of guaranteed security updates, the Lenovo Tab M10 provides a more personalized and seamless user experience that allows users to set boundaries, manage content, and create better digital habits. Available in 3GB+32GB and 4GB+64GB variants, take home the newest device that will give the entire family a joyful streaming

Tab

M10 and Tab M10 Plus

experience, starting at PHP9,995.

For users who crave the added punch of premium features, the new Lenovo Tab M10 Plus provides exactly that without burning through hard earned money. Powered by the Snapdragon SDM680 or MediaTek G80 Octa-core Processor with up to 6GB Ram and 128GB of storage, this device provides longer hours, perfect for bingeing the best movies and TV shows or reading through e-books and other digital content.

Guaranteed to provide the best entertainment experiences at its friendly price point, The Lenovo Tab M10 Plus is equipped with a 10.61-inch 2K IPS display touchscreen with narrow bezels that boasts an 85 percent screen-to-body ratio to provide the optimal visual experience. It also provides dazzling, cinematic entertainment with every scene appearing crisp even at well-lit environments with the help of up to 400 nits of brightness paired with highfidelity, immersive sound from its quad Dolby Atmos-optimized speakers.

The Lenovo Tab M10 Plus is also a great learning companion. Its Reading Mode transforms the screen color into a paperlike matrix that switches easily between chromatic and mono modes for longer and more comfortable reading. Certified with TUV Eye Care Technology, there will be less strain on the eyes, allowing for a more extensive consumption of written work be it for work or relaxation. For those who like jotting down notes, the Lenovo Tab M10 is compatible with the Lenovo Precision Pen 2, providing users with a natural handwriting experience, perfect during classes or meetings.

The Lenovo Tab M10 Plus is also equipped with the latest Android 12 OS and comes with the inclusion of 3 year-security updates to allow users a continuous, smooth and more personal UI experience.

Grasp high entertainment and educational experience on the Lenovo Tab M10 Plus, available in 3GB+32GB and 4GB+64GB variants starting at PHP 10,995. Visit Lenovo Exclusive Stores and authorized resellers nationwide.

For more information, follow Lenovo Philippines’ official Facebook page.

A VOLUNTEER from Philippine Red Cross prepares the blood bag before collecting blood from SM employee-volunteers.

& Associates Customs Brokers partnered with the Makiling Center for Mountain Ecosystems (MCME) through their Corporate Partnership and Environmental Restoration Program for a Boundary Tree Planting and Nurturing Project organized by UBE Media on October 22, 2022, at the Mount Makiling Forest Reserve in Brgy. Puting Lupa, Calamba, Laguna. This complies the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) Administrative Order No. 14-2020 which states that contract holders are required to plant 1,000 seedlings of trees or mangroves.

FROM left to right, standing MCME Deputy Director Dr. Rogello Andrada II and DENR representative Melvin Lalican.

From left to right, squatting: Farrah Nague and Atty. Randy Nague with their two daughters.

Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Senior Ecosystem Management Specialist Melvin Lalican; Puting Lupa Brgy. Captain Allan Pedraja, and One LGC Chairman Alberto Lina and his wife Sylvia. In total, there were 192 people present for the event.

Envoys&Expats

Japan decorates ex-PHL govt officials, volunteers

THE government of Japan announced the recipients of the 2022 Autumn Conferment of Japanese Decorations.

In the Philippines, the following individuals were decorated on November 3, as confirmed by the Embassy of Japan. It has extended its government’s sincere congratulations, while commending their active roles in strengthening the close ties with the Philippines:

Albert F. del Rosario

HE served as the secretary of Finance, and Philippine chair of the Japan-Philippines High-level Joint Committee on Infrastructure Development and Economic Cooperation from 2016 to 2022.

According to the embassy, Dominguez exercised outstanding leadership in promoting cooperation between the two countries, and contributed to the “fast and sure” implementation of Japan’s official development assistance (ODA) in the Philippines. He also took the lead in the further development of the Subic Bay area, which plays an important part in the regional security environment as a strategic point and gateway to the SCS/WPS.

Subway Project and the North-South Commuter Railway Project—both supported by Japan’s ODA—advanced smoothly under his leadership despite limitations posed by the pandemic. He also made substantial contributions to enhancing Japanese-Philippine maritime-security cooperation through the signing of a memorandum of cooperation fostering information exchange and human-resource development, as well as through regular meetings, close information sharing between officials, and joint training exercises, disclosed the embassy.

David F. Carter

Atty. Josue Sim Zuniega

THREE QUESTIONS

Australia takes bilateral ties to new heights

THE lawyer tirelessly contributed to improving the status of nikkeijin or the Japanese diaspora in the Philippines, while enhancing mutual understanding between the two nations through his activities at the Philippine Nikkei-jin Legal Support Center.

Atty. Zuniega smoothly facilitated activities of Japanese enterprises and residents in the country for years, noted the embassy.

Michiko Sakai

JUST a few weeks ago, Australia’s new ambassador to the Philippines Hae Kyong (HK) Yu PSM presented her credentials to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. at the Malacañang Palace.

ENVOYS&EXPATS caught up with Ambassador Yu to learn more about the exciting things Filipinos can anticipate under her leadership in the Manila-based Australian deputation.

ENVOYS&EXPATS: Welcome to the Philippines! We are excited to meet and learn more about you.

YU: Thanks! I am thrilled to be Australia’s ambassador, and I very much look forward to strengthening and deepening our countries’ relationship.

Many Filipino-Australians would be able to relate to my story, which in many ways, is typical of numerous immigrants in the “Land Down Under.” When I was 11 my family immigrated from Seoul, South Korea to Perth, Western Australia to have a better life.

working innovatively with partners to strengthen policies and institutions while advancing inclusive economic growth, increasing the preparedness and resilience of women-led small and medium sized enterprises to economic shocks and impacts of climate change, plus upskilling and reskilling the future work force to adapt to digitalization and meet the demands of a changing economy.

HAVING served as secretary of Foreign Affairs from 2011 to 2016, he was key in building the JapanPhilippines bilateral relationship toward becoming a “strategic partnership.” According to the embassy, del Rosario significantly contributed to ensuring the safety of ships navigating the waters around the Philippines by strengthening the maritime security relations between both nations.

The diplomat has also contributed to promoting the rule of law through the arbitration case regarding the South China Sea/West Philippine Sea (SCS/WPS).

Carlos G. Dominguez III

Further, as joint chair of the National Government-Bangsamoro Government Intergovernmental Relations Body, Dominguez promoted the steady progress of the peace process in Mindanao, which Japan has pushed forward for many years. He has contributed immensely to Japan-Philippines bilateral policies, and strengthened economic relations over the recent years.

Arthur P. Tugade

HE was a key figure in the promotion and development of judo in the Philippines, being a member of the Kodokan Judo Institute in Japan holding a fifth dan blackbelt, and a sports fellow of the Japan Foundation since 2001.

The embassy said that Carter also amassed vast professional experiences in coaching and managing regional and international judo events. At present he is the secretary-general of the Philippine Judo Federation Inc. and is the concurrent director of the Philippine Olympic Committee.

THE government of Japan also announced the conferment of the “Order of the Rising Sun, Silver Rays” on Michiko Sakai—a volunteer who constantly supported children of Japanese descent in the Cotabato Region.

The Cotabato Nikkeijin-kai (International School) was formally created in 1988, with Sakai as its first president. She devoted herself to improving the welfare of the local Japanese, as she provided educational opportunities for their children.

We are lucky that in Australia, people are given a fair go, and hard work is rewarded. So our family worked hard in our beautiful new country and have built a happy and successful life. I also like to think that Australia was lucky to have us, because hard-working immigrants and the existence of a vibrant multicultural society make it the wonderful country it is today.

I have worked in the Australian Public Service for 31 years. I have enjoyed some amazing career highlights: from delivering tax, competition, and consumer policy reforms in the Australian Treasury, leading the International Division in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, to leading the Middle East and Africa Division in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, as well as having two postings to Japan. I was also awarded the Australian Public Service Medal, or PSM, for my contribution to the chairing of the G20 after the Global Financial Crisis.

Australia is also working with the Philippines in increasing local capacity responding to health needs that have arisen from the pandemic. At its height, my country supported equitable access to vaccines through procurement, delivery support, as well as provision of health advice. We are now supporting your country as it implements economic and structural policy reforms for post-Covid recovery.

Since the 1990s Australia has given emergency relief and recovery assistance to thousands of Filipinos following natural disasters, man-made conflicts, and a pandemic. Today we work with government- and humanitarian partners in boosting cash-assistance services after disasters to help affected families rebuild their lives.

Across the embassy’s range of work, we remain committed in extending aid to vulnerable groups, including women and children. Our government is taking practical steps to support the needs of Filipino women and girls toward economic empowerment, active participation in peace and governance, and assuming leadership roles.

THE former secretary of Transportation from 2016 to 2022 promoted two-way cooperation between Japan and the Philippines in the field of transportation, which included railways, aviation, and maritime security.

In particular, the Metro Manila

His dedication to judo has paved the way for the deepening and broadening of Japanese-Philippine relations, especially in the field of sports cooperation. The judoka continues to be an active member of the Judo Union of Asia as its sports director, and with the International Judo Federation.

Because of the Second World War, many were rendered stateless, as they were unable to acquire Japanese nationality. After the chaos in the said region, Sakai played a vital role and greatly contributed by assisting in the collection of materials for the said individuals to obtain their Japanese citizenship.

PHL, France eye 10th JEC meeting in 2023

THE Philippines and France are rescheduling this year’s Joint Economic Committee (JEC) meeting initially set for the end of November, as confirmed by Ambassador Michele Boccoz.

In an interview, Boccoz said the 10th JEC meeting between both countries will be moved to a later date to give way to “Ambition Indopacifique” that will be hosted by the French government on November 24 and 25.

The economic forum aims to strengthen France’s economic relations with the Indo-Pacific region, which includes the Philippines.

Boccoz shared the 10th JEC meeting “will probably take place at the beginning of next year” in Paris.

This will be the first face-toface JEC meeting between the two governments since the onset of the pandemic. Manila and Paris staged the last meeting virtually in July 2021.

The French envoy said the two parties are conducting committee gatherings in preparation for the JEC’s 10th edition. These include meetings on defense and security

that already took place weeks ago, agriculture, science and technology, maritime security, energy, as well as political consultations.

According to Boccoz, both the governments of the Philippines and France are prioritizing issues on food security and energy, with which they can closely link up.

“Energy sector has become [increasingly] important, considering

the global situation…,” she added. “The food security dimension is going to be more present as one of our priorities.”

Boccoz said French company Hydrogen of France, or HDF Energy, which has a project in the Zamboanga Region, is eyeing to boost its presence in the Philippines.

Meanwhile, French shipbuilding firm OCEA, she said, also renewed

its interest in investing locally by signing a letter of commitment to build its local shipyard, and that it is actively searching for a location that will initially construct 20 vessels at most.

Movement of the Enterprises of France’s head of delegation Philippe Matiere said they have a good interest in the country, as the Department of Transportation (DOTr) is keen on replacing second-hand roll-on roll-off vessels, or ROROs.

”The DOTr really insisted very hard on the need for [a standardized RORO vessel that would go from one island to another. Your government wished it to be built] in the Philippines,” Matiere said. “OCEA wants to enlarge its activity here by constructing different types of vessels that the DOTr would like…to be used for one island to another to replace all the second-hand, nonstandardized RORO vessels.”

The Philippines was able to capture OCEA’s planned P1.5-billion investment during the 9th JEC meeting. Kris Crismundo/PNA

Australia and the Philippines are such strong partners, having just celebrated 75 years of diplomatic relations in 2021. Going forward, what can we expect under your term as Australia’s ambassador?

As a close friend and neighbor, Australia will continue to work with the Philippines to achieving a peaceful, stable and prosperous region.

We continue to strengthen our defense cooperation, which enables our defense personnel to train and build capabilities together. Just last month two Royal Australian Navy ships visited the Philippines as part of Australia’s annual Indo-Pacific endeavor. This allowed both our governments’ senior leaders to collaborate and conduct joint exercises on maritime security and law; humanitarian and disaster response; as well as gender, peace, and security.

Being a long-time supporter of peace in Mindanao, we continue to support the peace process and work toward long-term stability, security, and development in the region’s conflictaffected areas. We collaborate with Philippine security and intelligence agencies in tackling terrorism and transnational crime in maritime and aviation security, organized crime, and sexual exploitation of children.

Our nations have a longstanding development partnership spanning more than 50 years. We work closely with the Philippine government, partners and friends to ensure that Australia’s fifth-largest bilateral development program focuses on the Philippines government’s areas of priority.

To support the Philippines’s economic recovery program, Australia is

Our two-way trade and investments continue to grow despite the pandemic. We estimate more than 300 Australian companies are in the Philippines, employing more than 44,000 of your countrymen.

While our commercial ties are already strong, we are working hard to expand these further. The Australian government is developing a Southeast Asia Economic Strategy reflecting the importance we place on trade and investment into the region.

Given today’s global environment, how can Australia and the Philippines elevate their relationship?

The Philippines is at the forefront of an increasingly challenging strategic environment which we all face. As a longstanding friend and partner, Australia will continue to work in promoting a region that is free, open, resilient, and where sovereignty is respected.

There are countless opportunities for us to work together and for this reason, I am committed to driving and raising our bilateral cooperation to that of a strategic partnership, reflecting our countries’ commitment to do even more together.

In November Senator Penny Wong, who is Australia’s minister for Foreign Affairs, will visit the Philippines to discuss with government leaders our bilateral relationship and regional issues, as well as plans for elevation to a strategic linkage. Her visit is a testament to the importance Australia places on our partnership.

Building on our mutual ties that are already broad and deep, I am committed to achieve even more together, and continue our legacy of mateship and bayanihan.

AMBASSADOR Michele Boccoz and Philippe Matiere, head of delegation for the Movement of the Enterprises of France KRIS CRISMUNDO/PNA

AMBASSADOR HK Yu PSM (third from left) presented her credentials to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. (center) on October 11.

YU

Chairman’s Cup at Forest Hills offers big prizes

EVERYTHING is set for the grandest 18th Chairman’s Cup as the Forest Hills Golf and Country Club, a top golf desti nation east of Manila, celebrates its 25th anniversary.

At stake in the four-day event that starts Thursday are a Chery Tiggo car, golf set, GPS Tracker and P25,000 cash for whoever makes a hole-in-one in designated holes.

C lub chairman Atty. Ferdinand Santos and general manager Raymond Bunquin said cool prizes are also at stake in the grand raffle of the event supported by Escala Tagaytay, Cherrylume/Mileage Asia, Megaforce Security and EVA Airways.

M embers will play using the Stableford format while guests and sponsors will use the System 36 at the Nicklaus course.

T he first three days are sequential tee time while it will be double barrel on Sunday.

Gold sponsors are Golforce Inc. and Hon. Michael John Duavit while Silver sponsors are ANC/Suzuki, Ladies Circle, Peerless Products and Metro Rail Transit Dev. Co., Agrexplore, Aqua Haus, Bryan Isaiah Trading and Construction, Hydro Tech Irrigation and Interconnect Systems.

A lso supporting the event are Jasmig Construction, Kuysen, Line Craft Builders, Asian Eye Institute, Ayala Land Premier, Beverly Place, CJH Golf Club, Eatwell Supermarket, EdgePro Trading, Humans Fit, Luisita Golf, Manila Southwoods, Pascual Consumer Healthcare, Pradera Verde Golf, Sherwood Hills, Splendido Taal, The Manor at CJH and Wordtext Systems.

16 countries vie in Nomura Cup at Southwoods

SIXTEEN countries  bannered by defending champion Thailand and regional powerhouses Australia, Japan and Korea are vying for team and individual honors in the Nomura Cup—the Asia-Pacific’s most prestigious and longest-running men’s team championship—the country is hosting next week.

The 29th edition of the Nomura Cup will be held from November 15 to 18 at the Masters course of the Manila Southwoods Golf and Country Club in Carmona, Cavite, with the trio of Kristoffer Arevalo, Elee Bisera and Coby Rolida hoping to finally end the Philippines’s quest for a first victory in the biennial event.

It will mark the country’s fourth hosting of the Nomura Cup after 1963, 1971 and 1991, all at Wack Wack’s East course.

It is a great honor and pleasure for the Manila Southwoods Golf and Country Club to host the 2022 Nomura Cup,” Manila Southwoods chairman Bob Sobrepeña said. “We welcome the 16 national teams from Asia who will participate in this championship event.”

Australia, the winningest team in Nomura Cup history with 10 victories and four runner-up finishes, will be going for another major title at the same club where it captured the Eisenhower Trophy at the 1996 World Amateur Team Championship which to date remains the biggest amateur competition ever held in the country.

The 29th Nomura Cup was originally set at The Clearwater Bay Golf & Coun try Club in Hong Kong in November 2019 but was rescheduled to June 2020 due to peace and order concerns in the Special Administrative Region of China.

Then the Covid-19 pandemic intervened, prompting another delay to June 2021 which was further extended to 2022 because of continued travel restrictions.

REFEREE, FAN CAUSE AMORES TO LOSE COOL

He [Amores] was tripped but the referee [Escaros] whistled Amores a foul instead,” the insider said. “And when Amores was about to react, the referee cursed him, that’s when he tried to bump the referee.”

A nd when Amores was dragged to the JRU bench, a fan seating behind the Blazers’ bench kept cursing at him, the insider added.

That was when Amores totally lost his cool and he rushed to the fan, but was met instead by a punch by a Benilde player,” the insider said. That Blazer was Mark Daniel Sangco.

“After that, all hell broke loose,” the insider said.

A mores’s penalty were drawn from seven infractions— intentionally bumping the referee, pointing a finger at the referee, disrespecting NCAA official, JRU’s Paul Supan, disrespecting court officials, charging towards the Saint Benilde bench, making provocation gesture meant to ignite a fight or brawl and throwing punches at four Blazers.

S uspended for one game for entering the court without being recognized by the game officials were Saint Benilde’s Ladis Lepalam Jr. and JRU’s Jason Tan, Joshua Guiab, William Sy Jr., Jason Celis, Marwin Dionisio, Jan Marc Abaoag, Jonathan Medina, Karl De Jesus and Christian Gonzales.

Two-game suspensions—for engaging in a fist fight—were meted on Blazers Sangco and Chris Jay Flores, as well as Heavy Bombers William Sy and Ryan Jay Arenal.

T he brawl started with 3:22 left in the fourth quarter and the Blazers ahead, 71-51. The game was called at that point and was awarded to Saint Benilde.

UEZON City outlasted Imus City, 14-25, 25-20, 19-25, 25-16, 15-12, to clinch the No. 1 ranking in women’s Pool A of the Philippine National Volleyball Federation Champions League Wednesday at the Philsports Arena.

Bern Flora took charge and scored four of her nine points in the fifth set for the Lady Vikings, who checked Judith Abil and Justine Dorog in the decider.

W ith a 3-0 record, Quezon City will face the second-ranked squad in Pool B in the quarterfinals.

The Cavite-based AJAA Lady Spikers settled for second with a 2-1 card and will take on the Pool A winner in the next phase 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.

F inal day of women’s action is set Thursday, with Pool B leaders

CPS Antipolo City (2-0) battling Davao City (1-1) at 6:30 p.m. and UE Manila (1-1) going up against Bulacan (0-2) at 8:30 p.m.

A bil led the Lady Vikings with 16 points, including two blocks, Sheeka Espinosa chipped in 10 points, while Dorog also scored nine points.

Monica Guibao had six service aces for a 16-point outing while Jorelle Singh and Julie Catindig each had 14 points for Imus.

E arlier, UB Batangas topped ICC Caloocan, 25-15, 15-25, 25-23, 25-19, to finish third in Pool A.

D espite missing the semis bus, Lady Brahmans Coach Roderick Del Mundo is grateful to play in big-time competitions like the Champions League.

By Josef Ramos

JOHN ANTHONY AMORES

added more fuel to his already dismal reputation as today’s bad boy of collegiate basketball when he instigated a melee during Jose Rizal University’s (JRU) National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) game against College of Saint Benilde on Tuesday night.

T hus, the NCAA Management Committee acted swiftly and on Thursday, indefinitely suspended the JRU forward, meaning he won’t be playing anymore for the remainder of Season 98.

A mores is no saint on the court and he’s attracted hatred—‘amore,’ ironically, means love in Spanish— from fans and non-fans alike. A recidivist, he’s been involved in at last three brawls in his collegiate basketball career.

But to isolate Wednesday’s brawl from Amores’s previous outbursts, BusinessMirror learned that a referee and a fan caused Amores to go on a rampage at the FilOil-EcoOil Centre. A J RU insider told BusinessMirror that one of the three referees in the game— Dennis Escaros—ignited the fire in Amores. A fan, the same insider said, threw more logs into the fire when he repeatedly cursed at the Heavy Bomber.

Puerto Princesa City in harness for Ironman 70.3

national standards.

M ancom chairman Estefanio Boquiron Jr. of season host Emilio Aguinaldo College signed the twopage decision and an investigation committee composed of Arellano University’s Peter Cayco, Lyceum of the Philippines University’s Hercules Callanta and Letran’s Fr. Vic Calvo was formed.

The penalties imposed were in accordance with the NCAA Manual Operations,” a Mancom statement said on Wednesday. “Violence has no place in the NCAA. The Mancom condemns, and will not tolerate, any acts of violence that will endanger our athletes, participants, officials, supporters and the public.”

We would like to thank the PNVF for giving us the opportunity to showcase the talents of our athletes,” said Del Mundo, as UB is now setting its sights for the NCAA-South and PRISAA tournaments next month. “It is a great help for the kids because you can’t get experience from anywhere. By playing against strong teams, definitely, when we return to Batangas, we will become stronger as a team.”

Kylie Macatangay capped her sensational outing for the Lady Brahmans with 26 points, matching Jelai Gajero’s tournament-high in the CAL Babies four-set win over the Lady Warriors last Monday.  She also had a team-best four service aces.

Actually, she has been with us since high school.  So she came from our grassroots and with her experience, she knows how to carry the team,” said Del Mundo.

Ednelle Maniquis tallied 12 kills for the Lady Blue Hawks, who ended up winless in three matches.

PUERTO

Princesa City is pulling out all the stops to guarantee not just a successful staging of its first Iron man 70.3 hosting but also a memorable racing experience for more than 1,200 triathletes all geared up for the premier endurance race blasting off Sunday.

“ It is our inaugural year and any inaugural year in any location is special,” Puerto Princesa Mayor Lucilo Bayron said. “We have more than 1,200 triathletes from 26 countries competing in a new race after pandemic. It’s an excellent turnout and we must make it special.”

The Ironman Group/Sunrise Events Inc. has staged triathlon events in Cebu and Subic with general manager Princess Galura expressing her impression with the debuting city host’s preparations to ensure the smooth conduct of the 1.9-km swim, 90-km bike and 21-km run event over a challenging course set up to inter-

I n fact, a Puerto Princesa contingent, led by Bayron and city officials, watched the Ironman 70.3 event in Cebu last August to observe how the event is planned, organized, hosted and managed.

The new host city, however, said it’s more than providing the participants a new racing experience but also a “racecation of triathletes” of sorts, this being a rare chance for them to visit various scenic locations throughout the city which is home to a number of worldclass natural attractions.

They include the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park or the Underground River, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and holds a place in the new seven wonders of nature.

P uerto Princesa has also guaranteed the city’s hosting of the IM 70.3 in the next two years with next edition to include the pros from all over.

Meanwhile, regis tration remains open. For details, visit www. ironman.com/im703-puertoprincesa, puertoprincesa70.3@ ironman.com, or www.ironman.com for brand and global event series.

Titles to be disputed are the individual for men and women and the various age-group categories, along with men’s and women’s relay and the relay mixed with the recent Kona and St. George finishers also competing.

E xpected to crowd the locals for top honors are the triathletes from the US, Hong Kong, Guam, Singapore, France, the United Kingdom, Australia, India and Japan, Brazil, Thailand, the Netherlands, South Africa, Vietnam, New Zealand, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Turkey, Korea, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Saint Lucia and Guatemala.

PHL jins seeing action in Mexico worlds

TOKYO Olympian Kurt Bryan Barbosa leads an eightmember Smart/MVP Sports Foundation team seeing action in the World Taekwondo Championships that start Sunday and ends November 20 in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Joining Barbosa in the world championships that drew jins from more than 100 countries are his fellow 2019 Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Dave Cea (-74 kgs), Laila Delo (-67 kgs), Baby Jessica Canabal (-53 kgs), Joseph Chua (63 kgs) and

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PPS tennis levels up, stages collegiate tilt

PALAWAN Pawnshop goes a notch higher in its continuing commitment to boost local tennis by holding the PalawanPay National Collegiate Championships beginning Thursday at the Philippine Columbian Association outdoor courts in Plaza Dilao in Manila.

The field features player-students gearing up for the University Athletic Association of the Philippines and National Collegiate Athletic Associa tion wars with the men’s and women’s singles and doubles titles and men’s and women’s team championships up for grabs in the week-long tournament presented by Dunlop.

This tournament will help raise the level of play in the collegiate ranks, instill discipline among the players and at the same time elevate qualities like determination and teamwork,” said Bobby Castro, president and CEO of Palawan Pawnshop, which is also at the forefront of junior

tennis development with its annual, country-wide circuit.

The PalawanPay Juniors Group 1 tournament will be held right after the collegiate tilt from November 17 to 22, also at the PCA courts, home of the annual PCA Open.

University of the East’s Jarell Edangga and Stephen Guia, University of Santo Tomas’s Nilo Ledama and Eric Tangub, University of the Philippines’ (UP) Loucas Fernandez, Ateneo’s Gabriel Gurria, and National University’s (NU) Jude Ceniza and Ibarra Ortega banner the tough 64-player men’s singles draw in the event backed by ProtekTODO, PalawanPay, Unified Tennis Philippines and Universal Tennis Rating.

Headlining the women’s singles roster are NU’s Danna Abad, Ateneo’s Althea Ong, Tracy Llamas and Gabby Sandejas, UP’s Dominique Malazarte and Sydney Enriquez, De La Salle’s Beatrice Gomez and Mikaela Vicencio.

JOHN ANTHONY AMORES is being constrained during melee he instigated the other day.

Alfritz Arevalo (-68kg).

aul Romero and Carlos Jose Padilla are the team’s coaches while Raul Samson is team manager and former senator Anna Dominique “Nikki” Coseteng is the head of delegation.

This tournament is important for our athletes because it offers ranking points for qualification to the Paris 2024 Olympics,” Samson said.

team’s participation is supported by the Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Olympic Committee.

FORMER senator Anna Dominique ‘Nikki’ Coseteng (center) poses with members of the national team (from left) coach Paul Romero, Dave Cea, Laila Delo, Baby Jessica Canabal, Raul Samson (Team Manager) Olympian Kurt Bryan Barbosa, Joseph Chua, Alfritz Arevalo and Coach Carlos Jose Padilla.

ICC Caloocan’s Angelica Nidoy slips one in against UB Batangas’s Lovel Hernandez.