BusinessMirror November 18, 2022

PHL has to cut rates to attract more European tourists–exec

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

THERE’S high interest in the Philippines as a tourism destination, that’s for sure, but more European tour ists will come if only airline fares a nd hotels were less expensive.

That’s according to Gregor Zajc, general manager of Blue Horizons Travel & Tours, one of eight par ticipating tour operators and Phil ippine sellers in the recent World Travel Market (WTM) in London. He expressed optimism about the recovery of Philippines tourism and returning to pre-pandemic levels next year, “if hotels and airlines will participate to get EU (European Union) business. The EU tourist is not prepared to pay high price points and compares the Philippines with Bali and Phuket.”

The Philippines also lost its only direct connection with Eu rope when flag carrier Philippine A irlines dropped its London-Ma nila route.

A t the WTM last week, Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco conveyed the Philippines’s open

ness to tourism and business op portunities, expressing confidence t hat, “No doubt our country con tinues to be a top-of-mind desti nation, notwithstanding all of the c hallenges and calamities that we have faced.”

The Philippines has received over 2 million tourist arrivals from February 10 to November 8, defy ing even revised projections of the l ocal tourism stakeholders. The Department of Tourism (DOT) also estimated visitor receipts at P100 billion from February to September this year. (See, “PHL earns close to $2B from tourist arrivals,” in the B usiness M irror , November 16, 2022.)

Unvaxxed tourists welcome A D DRESSING t ourism ministers and international travel and tour ism executives during the Pacific A sia Travel Association (PATA) Aligned Advocacy Dinner in Lon don on November 7, Frasco shared s ome of the steps undertaken by Manila to sustain the positive trajectory seen with the country’s tourist arrivals. These include al lowing the entry of unvaccinated t ravelers who only need to show a negative antigen test result, the launch of winter packages devel

oped with travel agencies, and im plementation of a cultural heritage an d arts caravan.

According to DOT’s marketing arm, the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB), 211 sales leads were gener ated from six sellers who participat ed in this year’s WTM, just a little m ore than the 207 sales leads from 22 sellers in pre-pandemic 2019. Leads, however, are merely possibili ties that sellers still have to pursue t o get an actual booking. The TPB isn’t able to track how many leads turn into actual sales.

In the case of Blue Horizons, one of the most active tour and travel operators in the Philippines, which regularly participate in the WTM and other foreign travel trade shows, Zajc said, “We’ve had severely leads, but it’s too early to confirm actual bookings. Most of the clients come from the UK, Germany, Romania, and Italy.” But he stressed, “There were more quality buyers this year; the demand is back for the Philip pines.”

M ost of his clients, a mix of old and new travel buyers, are interest ed in Boracay Island, El Nido, and B ohol, he said, but they expressed concern that the Philippines was “too expensive, in terms of giving

value for money.”

Madrid, Berlin shows A S IDE f rom Blue Horizons, other Philippine sellers included Sharp Travel Service, the Shangri-La Group, Annset Holidays, Atlantis Dive Re sort, Avidair Travel and Tours, and A A World Travels. Megaworld In ternational was listed as a partici pant, but it was not clear if they were s elling condominiums or promoting their hotels.

The large tour operators and popu lar hotels and resorts were noticeably a bsent, some of them sharing with this paper that it still wasn’t the right time for them to be in WTM London, while others said they were more inclined to join Fitur Madrid in January and ITB Berlin in March.

WTM is among the key travel trade shows that the Philippines attends to sell destinations to more affluent travelers from Europe. According to organizers, over 35,800 people partic ipated in last week’s event, over double t he attendance than that of 2021, and thus exceeding expectations.

Buyers were up 25 percent com pared to 2021, with key attendees m ostly global travel buyers i.e., in dividuals with direct purchasing re sponsibility for travel products.

Biz...

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“The International Energy Agency [IEA] said that the most effective way to reduce energy prices for consumers is to invest in and shift to renewable energy in the long term and lessen reliance on oil overtime. This is a timely reform given the global shift towards renewable en ergy to rely less on the currently volatile oil m arket. We also look forward to the job creat ing investments this reform will bring,” MBC s aid in a statement.

Following the amendment of Section 19 of the IRR of Republic Act No. 9513 or Renewable Energy Act of 2008, foreign-owned entities may engage in the exploration, development, and utilization of the country’s renewable re sources such as solar, wind, biomass, ocean or t idal energy.

“The country has a vast potential in RE [renewable energy] development. Now that the foreign equity restrictions in the RE sector has been relaxed, we expect an increase of in vestments in the sector which would certainly c ontribute to our economy, provide jobs to our people, and help meet the goal of increasing the RE in the power generation mix of 35 percent by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040,” Lotilla said.

“With the impressive amount of interests the DOE has been receiving both from the lo cal and foreign investors in RE development, p articularly in the offshore wind potential, the State can now directly undertake the explora tion, development, production and utilization o f RE resources or it can enter into RE Service or Operating Contracts with Filipino and/ or foreign citizen or Filipino and/or foreignowned corporations or associations,” the DOE secretary added.

Marcos...

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because we are a country with over 7,000 is lands. I am sure that there are many places t hat are suitable for this kind of operation,” Marcos said.

During his ongoing visit in Thailand, Mar cos said he is eyeing to get more public-private p artnerships (PPP) to help in the country’s post pandemic “economic transformation.”

“There are many opportunities. I suppose the most important thing is that we are able to forecast a little bit, which direction the economy is going and how we in the Philippines or any other country position themselves to take full advantage of the new post-pandemic global economy,” Marcos said.

Marcos is currently in Thailand to attend the 2022 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit.

Inflation...

However, Medalla said in flation in the second semester of 2023 will be closer to 3 per cent than 4 percent. This lends some optimism that inflation could average 3.1 percent in 2024 from the previous fore cast of 3.2 percent.

Risks to the BSP's inflation outlook are "strongly skewed to the upside" especially for 2023 "but broadly balanced for 2024."

The possible impact of transport fare hikes and the higher prices of vegetables and fruits are considered me dium upside risks to the in flation forecast of Monetary Authorities.

Considered low upside risks are higher global food prices; higher sugar prices, which had a relatively low weight in the Consumer Price Index (CPI); and the non-extension of Exec utive Order 171, which reduced tariffs on certain food imports.

Given these expectations, Medalla also said the monetary authorities decided to also raise interest rates on the overnight deposit and lending rate facili ties to 4.5 percent and 5.5 per cent, respectively.

Fed rates

MEDALLA said the BSP expects that the last 75 bps rate hike implemented by the US Federal Reserve would be the last of the four 75 bps rate hikes expected for the year. This, he said, could indicate that no future rate hikes of the same magnitude is expected this year.

He also cited unusual cir cumstances which led the BSP to have off-cycle interest rate announcements as well as early pronouncements two weeks before the actual policy rate setting.

However, Medalla does not expect these to be repeated. He noted that the last two policy rate hikes implemented by the MB were largely reactions to the increases made by the US Federal Reserve.

If the recent policy rate hikes implemented by the US Federal Reserve were smaller, Medalla said, the Monetary Board’s rate hikes may have also been smaller.

“The things that caused them are also unusual and I think they will not be repeated. For instance, they’re now talk ing of the Fed making smaller increases. And also to the ex tent that policy rates are also rising in Europe, in other coun tries, then the US dollar will not appreciate as much as it used to,” Medalla said.

Oxford Economics said in its briefer on Thursday, following the 75 bps rate hike of the Mon etary Board, that it expects the BSP to raise interest rates by 50 bps in December.

This will match the ex pected move of the US Federal Reserve. The Monetary Board

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has another policy rate setting meeting on December 15.

However, Oxford Econom ics expects that with mounting inflation risks, the BSP may decide to tighten monetary policy further in 2023. This could hamper the economy's growth in the coming quar ters.

"We estimate the output gap is still negative, and since the effect of monetary tightening on the economy comes with a certain lag, the BSP may risk overtightening. That said, we see broad dollar strength lin gering next year, and should global prices remain higher for longer than we forecast, the BSP might be forced to tighten further next year," Oxford Eco nomics said.

Nonetheless, Medalla said the targets set by the Devel opment Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) remain at tainable despite the tightening of monetary policy.

Based on the July 2022 DBCC estimates, the target of the administration is for GDP growth to average 6.5 to 8 per cent annually between 2023 and 2028.

The BSP also noted that re cession expectations in major economies starting next year could bring down oil prices and cool inflation. The Philippines is a net importer of oil and is thus significantly affected by swings in oil prices.

The recession in major economies and slower global economic growth is one of the downside risks to inflation, albeit having a low probabil ity as of the latest estimates of the BSP.

"We think that all the back log in capital formation during the pandemic, [growth] will remain strong. We're confident that in spite of the interest rate hike we have done, [growth ex pectations are] still very, very feasible,” Medalla said.

Inflation in October aver aged 7.7 percent, a 14-year high. This was on the back of more expensive food items as Food inflation alone is pegged at 9.8 percent.

The data also showed food and non-alcoholic beverages was recorded at 9.4 percent nationwide and accounted for 80.9 percent of the increase in the country’s inflation print for October.

Meanwhile, the country’s economic growth performance posted a better-than-expected rate of 7.6 percent in the third quarter. This is faster than the 7.5 percent posted in the sec ond quarter of the year and the 7 percent recorded in the same period last year.

The latest GDP print brought the average growth in January to September to 7.7 percent. The government’s GDP growth target for the year is 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent.

tal rice supply stood at 17.946 MMT, of which 14.096 MMT were allotted for local con sumption.

“This indicates that 18.5 percent of the available supply of rice came from imports,” the PSA said.

The PSA defines SSR as the “magnitude of production in relation to domestic utiliza tion.” It is the extent to which a country’s supply of commodi ties is derived from its domes tic production or the extent to which a country relies on its own production resources.

“The higher the ratio, the greater the self-sufficiency,” the PSA said.

Last year, the country’s to

The country’s net food dis posable (NFD) per capita last year rose to 135.09 kilograms per year from 125.26 kilograms per year in 2020 due to higher gross supply.

“Net Food Disposable [NFD] refers to the volume of com modity available in its original [unprocessed] form for human consumption,” the PSA said.

“The daily net food dispos able of a commodity of each member of the population measured through an index in dicates the movement of food available for consumption in a specified year relative to a base year,” it added.

BusinessMirror The Nation

Bantag says DOJ has yet to serve subpoena

By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

SUSPENDED  Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief Gerald Bantag said on Thursday he has yet to receive a subpoena issued by the Department of Justice (DOJ) compelling him to answer the murder charges filed against him and several others in connection with the killing of veteran radio commentator Percival “Percy Lapid” Mabasa and inmate Jun  Villamor alias Jun, the alleged middleman in the case.

B antag claimed the subpoena server did not leave a copy of the subpoena in the barangay hall when

the barangay chairman told them that he is no longer living in the area since he assumed the top BuCor post in September 2019.

“I haven’t received a subpoena, they also did not leave one in the house in Caloocan. My brother-inlaw is living there but I don’t know where he is at that time,”  Bantag said in an interview over DZBB.

T his was contrary to Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Charlie Guhit’s statement that the subpoena was deemed served at Bantag’s last known residential address in Caloocan City but the latter was not there to personally receive it.

The barangay chairman said that since I accepted the BuCor post I have

not been visiting the house because it is too far. So, they did not leave a subpoena,” the embattled BuCor chief  said.

Guhit, however, said the barangay hall in Caloocan City where Bantag previously stayed received the subpoena with a note stating that he is not staying there anymore after his appointment in BuCor.

Bantag reiterated that he would cooperate in the investigation of the cases, adding he might even personally attend the preliminary investigation set by the DOJ on November 23 and December 5.

B ut he said he would consider the advice of his lawyers on whether he would personally appear dur-

ing the preliminary hearing since his presence in the proceeding is not required.

T he subpoena directed Bantag to attend the preliminary investigation of the case, adding that failure on his part to do so and answer the allegation shall be considered as waiver to present his defense in the preliminary hearing and that the case shall be considered submitted for resolution.

Bantag has maintained his innocence over the killing of Mabasa and Villamor.  The DOJ has created a three-man panel composed of Deputy State Prosecutor Olivia I. Laroza Torrevillas, as chair,  with Guhit and Josie Christina T. Dugay as members.

Bantag and BuCor deputy security officer Ricardo Zulueta were charged as principals by inducement in the Lapid killing.

A lso charged in the Mabasa killing as “principals by indispensable cooperation” were Bilibid inmates Denver Batungbakal Mayores, Alvin Cornista Labra, Aldrin Micosa Galicia and Alfie Peñaredonda.

For Villamor’s death, Bantag and Zulueta were charged as principals by inducements while persons deprived of liberty (PDL) Labra, Galicia, Mario Germones Alvarez and Joseph Medel Georfo were charged as principals by indispensable cooperation and PDLs Christam Dizon Ramac, Ricky Lamigo Salgado, Ron-

nie Pabustan de la Cruz and Joel Alog Reyes were charged as principals by direct participation.

Investigators said Bantag had a clear motive to order Lapid’s killing  due to the latter’s continued exposure of his alleged illegal activities in his hard-hitting radio program “Lapid Fire.”

A s to Villamor, he said he was killed to cover up Lapid’s murder.        Zulueta had gone into hiding days before the complaints were filed.     T he DOJ consolidated the cases with the earlier murder complaint filed against self-confessed gunman Joel Escorial, Edmon and Israel Dimaculangan and one alias Orly or Orlando.

Badoy to SC: Socmed post vs judge covered by free speech

FORMER National Task Force

t o End Local Communist

Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) spokesperson Lorraine Marie Badoy asked the Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday to set aside the “show cause” order the Court issued against her in connection with her social-media post allegedly redtagging a trial court judge for his decision in junking the government’s petition to declare the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New People’s Army, as terrorist organizations.

Badoy, through her counsel, international lawyer Harry Roque, said the contempt order infringes on her constitutional right to free speech being a former spokesperson for the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict and a journalist.

Roque noted that Badoy is also a news commentator employed by the SMNI News Network.

“ The use of contempt powers of the Supreme Court against a fair criticism by Dr. Badoy in her exercise of journalistic comment

of an erroneous decision of a lower court judge constitutes punishment and thus infringes on her freedom of expression and freedom of the press,” Roque argued in a 47-page comment.

T he SC, in a resolution issued on October 4, gave Badoy 30 days to explain why she should not be cited in contempt for red-tagging Manila Regional Trial Court Judge Marlo Magdoza-Malagar for denying the government’s petition.

Roque explained that the socialmedia statement of Badoy that

Judge Malagar’s refusal to proscribe the CPP-NPA as a terrorist group is wrong, it involves “matters of public interest” and constitutes fair comment consistent with the Court’s pronouncements in Borjal vs. Court of Appeals.

T he SC also said in the same ruling that “if the comment is an expression of opinion, based on established facts, then it is immaterial that the opinion happens to be mistaken, as long as it might reasonably be inferred from the facts.” In the said case, the SC held

that “fair commentaries on matters of public interest are privileged and constitute a valid defense in an action for libel or slander.”

Badoy’s camp maintained that her comment is fair due to obvious errors in Judge Malagar’s resolution.

F urthermore, Roque said Badoy’s social-media comment did not contain incendiary language that breaches the clear and present danger rule that would warrant her punishment for indirect contempt.

R oque said Badoy did not threaten Judge Malagar and described

her social-media posts as an “honest and informed criticism” of the latter’s resolution.

For speech to be considered [an] incitement, it must reach a high threshold, which in Philippine jurisprudence is speech that threatens to provoke imminent lawless action,” Roque said.

He argued that based on the phrasing of Badoy’s “if-then” statement, there was no intention to incite violence nor provoke imminent harm to Malagar, her family, or members of the judiciary. Joel R. San Juan

BusinessMirror

DOLE assures emergency jobs for 35,000 workers affected by closed fishing season

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

THE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Thursday assured emergency employment will be provided to at least 35,000 workers, who will be temporarily displaced during the closed fishing season in the Zambo anga Peninsula.

I n a televised interview, DOLE

Region 9 Director Roy L. Buenafe said the affected workers in the fishing and canning industry will benefit from their institutional ized Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) program.

He noted the TUPAD beneficiaries would be given emergency employ ment in a cooperative farm within the ecozones in Zamboanga.  They will be provided salaries

for 15 days and they will work in our cooperative farm,” Buenafe said.

The members [of the coopera tive farm] are the workers from the canning and fishing [industry]. Our goal is once the dividends [from the cooperative] are released, it will pro vide them income, which will be good for at least one month,” he added.

For this closed fishing season, DOLE has allocated P10 million to help the affected workers in

the sardine industry in the Zam boanga Peninsula.

A side from TUPAD, Buenafe said they would also provide alternative livelihood to the temporarily dis placed workers.

T he closed fishing season, which is held annually, will last from De cember to February next year.

It is aimed to help in the recov ery of the sardine population in the Zamboanga Peninsula.

Forfeited farmlands eyed for possible CARP coverage DHSUD bares plan to build new housing project for ISFs

THE Department of Agrarian Re form (DAR) is eyeing to distrib ute lands forfeited by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) for possible distribution to landless farmers.

DAR Secretary Conrado Estrella III has directed all the regional and provincial officials of the Depart ment of Agrarian Reform (DAR) to conduct ground validation of the list of properties that had been forfeit ed by the BIR for possible coverage under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

He cited Executive Order No. 407 of 1990, which directs, among others, all government-owned or -controlled corporations to transfer ownership of all lands suitable for agriculture to the DAR for immediate distribution to identified CARP beneficiaries.

So far, about 500,000 hectares of agricultural lands are still up for distribution nationwide under CARP, 300,000 of which, however,

are classified as “problematic” since these are still under different stages of litigation.

T he remaining 200,000 hectares are classified as “workable,” mean ing, free of any legal impediments, and up for distribution to landless farmers. Half of them are under the jurisdiction of the DAR and the rest under the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Agrarian Reform of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Acting upon the directive of the Secretary, Atty. Kazel Celeste, DAR Undersecretary for Field Operations, advised the field implementers to submit reports of the BIR-forfeited properties in their respective areas.

Celeste said the reports should con tain information on the name of the taxpayers, tax declaration numbers, status, areas covered, classification and location of the properties.

Jonathan L. Mayuga

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

THOUSANDS of informal settler families (ISFs) stand to benefit from me dium rise buildings to be built in Tanauan, Batangas, according to the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Devel opment (DHSUD).

DHSUD said 4,000 ISFs could oc cupy the 16 medium rise buildings, which, the agency said is equipped with facilities like a school, play ground, health center and a multipurpose hall.

T he housing project site is located near the New Tanauan City Hall, Downtown, Trading Post, and STAR Tollway, providing beneficiaries with an easy access to job and livelihood opportunities.

Ang kagandahan nito, paglabas

ng bahay malapit lang sa trabaho,” DHSUD Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar said in a news statement issued on Thursday.

T he project is the first in Batan gas province under the President’s Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pili pino Program which aims to address the 6.5 million housing backlog in the country.

Acuzar and Tanauan City Mayor Nelson Collantes recently signed the memorandum of understanding and led the groundbreaking ceremony in Barangay Sambat.

Acuzar stressed that aligning ef forts among national and local gov ernment units is key to ensuring the housing program’s success.

Dahil sa lubos na kasipagan ni may or at gigil na gigil mapatayo ang paba hay, maaasahan niyo kami sa DHSUD na tututukan namin ang proyektong ito,” Acuzar said.

CHED issues clarification on latest order on in-person learning for degree programs

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco @claudethmc3

HIGHER education institu tions (HEIs) may choose to design and deliver their de gree programs through onsite learn ing or hybrid learning modality start

ing the second semester of School Year (SY) 2022-2023, Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Chairper son Prospero de Vera III said.

O n Friday, November 11, de Vera issued Memorandum Order No. 16, directing the return to inperson learning.

“This CHED Memorandum Order, therefore, is adopted to provide clar ity and support to HEIs towards their progressive transition to on-site learning within the larger context of flexible learning,” de Vera said, even as he clarified that hybrid or a combination of online and in-person classes will still be allowed.

Upon a comprehensive assess ment of institutional capabilities, analysis of learner needs and pref erences, and conduct of stakeholder consultations, HEIs may choose to design and deliver their degree pro grams through onsite learning or hybrid learning modality starting the second semester of School year 2022-2023,” de Vera explained.

“By in-person learning in hybrid learning, it means classroom-based, on-campus, or face-to-face learning,” the CHED order stated.

T he order said HEIs have to seek CHED’s approval if they wanted to go into full distance learning mode.

It added that HEIs opting to implement hybrid learning—which combines both onsite and remote learning—should allot at least 50 percent of the total contact time for in-person or face-to-face classes.

Contact time refers to the total number of learning hours critical to achieving the intended learning outcomes of a course or subject.

It said that for a course that re quires at least 54 contact hours, 27

should be devoted or conducted on a learning facility such as a classroom, laboratory and other learning spaces.

“ The rest of the contact hours may be delivered through other flex ible learning strategies or modali ties such as, but not limited to, selfpaced printed or online learning modules, synchronous or asynchro nous learning sessions, and remote guided peer learning approaches,” the CHED order read.

O nsite learning is also a must for shop or laboratory courses with on-the-job (OJT) apprentice ship programs.

In cases where partner host training establishments have inte grated emerging remote work mo dalities including online options in the OJT and apprenticeship pro grams, the equivalent hours shall be included in reckoning the total train ing hours,” the CHED order added.

C olleges and universities seek ing to offer graduate and under graduate degree programs online or through distance learning mode must also seek CHED’s approval before doing so.

De Vera said HEIs are also man dated to submit to their respective CHED regional offices their respec tive teaching and learning institu tional plans toward transitioning to onsite or hybrid learning at least “one month prior to their schedule of opening classes.”

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Group tells consumers: Shun imported, buy fresh, local fish

By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

THE Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) on Thursday urged Filipino consumers to patronize fish in the market that are caught by Filipino fishermen and avoid buying imported fish.

According to Pamalakaya, grant ing there will be shortage of round scad for the next three months, there are other affordable fish in the mar ket to choose from.

Pamalakaya made the call as the group again questioned the govern ment’s alleged “fixation” on round scad or galunggong T he group said there are many fish available in the market that have the same protein benefits and are more affordable. These include freshwater fish such as tilapia (P120/ kg) and bangus (P160/kg), as well as salt-water fish, including tulingan (P180/kg), dalagang bukid (P200/kg), asuhos (P150/kg), salay-salay (P160/ kg), among many others.

“ There are many fishes in the local market that have the same nutrient benefits and are more af fordable. Why is the government so fixated on flooding our local market with imported fish prod

ucts that are inferior in quality being frozen, at the expense of our local fishers and the public health of consumers?” Ronnel Arambulo, the group’s national spokesperson, said in a news statement.

T he fishers’ group warned that imported fish, which are frozen and inferior in quality, might also pose health risks to consumers.

T here are earlier reports that im ported galunggong from China have a two-year expiration date. The group also recalled that a few years back, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) confiscated 2,000 kilograms of formalin-tainted galunggong at the Navotas Fish Port.

We appeal to consumers to op pose the planned importation of fish.  This will not only affect small fishermen, but the health of con sumers as well.  It is also a big insult to us as an archipelagic country, to let imported fish flood our markets,” Arambulo said.

T he fisherfolk group earlier raised the possibility of ‘galunggong returnees’ (balikbayan) from China, the country rampantly carrying out massive poaching in the Philippine waters. Citing data of the United States Department of Agriculture, China comprises 78 percent of the Philippines’s imported fish.

DOTr, PPP activity gauges investors’ interest in transport infra projects

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

THE Department of Trans portation (DOTr) and the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center are conducting a mar ket sounding activity for the first batch of priority transport infra structure projects.

I n a media advisory, the agency said the activity, which will run until November 23, would feature the following projects: NCR-Edsa Busway and North Long Haul InterRegional Railway.

These projects are identified as priority PPP projects to contribute to the improvement of transportation infrastructure and establishment of livable and sustainable communi ties,” the advisory read.

T he market sounding activity intends to “solicit insights and feedback on the project terms from interested private sector partners.”

The initiative aims to evaluate the level of interest from the private sector to undertake the proposed PPP projects and identify possible issues or problems that may affect the viability of the projects.

I n a Viber reply, a DOTr repre sentative said the second batch of PPP deals to be featured in another market sounding activity include “other DOTr PPP projects” like the Manila Bay-Pasig River-Laguna Lake (MaPaLLA) Ferry System.

T he PPP Center manages the Project Preparation and Monitor ing Facility (PDMF), which provides funding for the feasibility study of PPP projects.

DOTr has applied to utilize these funds for its upcoming transportation PPP projects. The preliminary market sounding activity is part of the process of PPP Center’s approval process of DOTr’s application for funding,” the DOTr said.

BOC files 33 criminal cases vs agri traders and brokers

MORE than 30 cases have been filed against traders for smuggling of agricul tural products amounting to P251 million, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) reported on Thursday.

I n a news statement, BOC said from January to date, the Bureau’s Action Team Against Smugglers (BATAS) filed cases before the Department of Justice (DOJ) against 33 importers and 11 cus toms brokers.

Of the total number of cases, 22 were filed for violation of the Repub lic Act 10845, or the Anti-Agricultur al Smuggling of 2016.

It noted that nine cases against importers and five customs brokers were filed under the administration of Customs Commissioner Yogi Fi lemon Ruiz as part of its intensified border protection measures.

T he involved agricultural products have a total dutiable value of P251.61 million, while duties, taxes and fees amounted to P107.19 million.

Me anwhile, the BOC has also strengthened its risk profiling and inspection of shipments and ware houses, resulting in the filling of ap propriate cases against unscrupulous individuals. PNA

Unlocking ‘trillions’ in private sector funds: Panel okays new law on PPP

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie

THE House Committee on Public Works on Thursday approved a new Public Private Partnership law, which seeks to un lock “trillions” in corporate and pri vate sector funds for infrastructure projects in the country.

House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Joey Sarte Sal ceda, one of the authors of the bill, said funds from the PPP law would

supplement the country’s public resources.

T he proposed PPP law is in cluded in the priority bills of the administration of President Fer dinand R. Marcos Jr.

“ There is at least P27 trillion in financial resources available in the banking sector, and at least P600 billion annually in just the large conglomerates, every year for pri vate sector financing of PPPs. We need that with current elevated debt levels,” Salceda said.

T he lawmaker said that the exper tise, operational flexibility, and net work of the private sector would be crucial in completing high-priority, big-ticket projects.

More than just the financing, it’s the private sector’s ability to get things done. We need that,” he said.

T he House public works com mittee approved the substitute bill drafted by the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office and other executive agencies with the committee.

T he proposal sets clearer rules and definitions on unsolicited and solicited proposals, the approval mechanisms, governing institu tions for PPPs, contract terms, and others.

Salceda, however, flagged con cerns about the transition between the old PPP regime under the BuildOperate-Transfer Law and the pro posed measure.

Salceda said, “Since the new mea sure will abolish the old law, we need a clear transition framework.”

PBBM to Apec: Be an instrument of peace, prosperity

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

PRESIDENT Ferdinand “Bong bong” R. Marcos Jr. on Thurs day called on members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) to become instruments of peace and innovation to ensure in ternational prosperity.

Marcos made the remarks at the 2022 Apec CEO Summit in Bangkok, Thailand, where he was one of the panel speakers.

In his opening speech, the Presi dent expressed concern over existing

geopolitical developments, which could threaten international peace.

“Prosperity and progress is only possible in a world that is at peace, be cause we as nations of the world can never achieve our fullest potential un less we do it together,” Marcos said.

“ Whatever plans we may have for our countries, for our economies, those will come to naught unless they are within the context of peace in the region and in the world,” he added.

During the Asean Summits in Cambodia last week, Marcos called for an end of hostilities in Ukraine, Korean Peninsula, and the Taiwan

strait, which all have the potential of escalating to global conflicts.

Big changes

THE President also raised the impor tance of the innovation to help in the post pandemic economic recovery and address climate change.

We cannot be too married to the ideas that we were holding as truths before and we have to be willing to make big changes but with the recognition that from what is actu ally happening around the world,” Marcos said.

A mong such innovations, he said,

would be the mainstreaming of the use of renewable energy to help mini mize global carbon emissions.

As the energy demands of the modern global economy continue to expand rapidly, diversification into renewables and other sources is im perative,” the President said.

He noted the country is open to such reforms and is now in the pro cess of expanding its use of renew able energy.

“ To this end, the Philippines has prioritized hydrothermal, geother mal, solar power, wind power as well as other low-emission energy sources

by setting a target for a 35 percent renewable energy in the power gen eration mix by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040,” Marcos said.

Premier forum

THE President said he is confident APEC could serve as the forum to help facilitate the peace and innova tion initiatives.

Apec’s size and dynamism, cou pled with its strength in consensusbuilding and implementing multiyear programs, makes it well-posi tioned for this task,” Marcos said. We must leverage our region’s

core strengths and values as the pre mier forum in the Asia-Pacific, as an incubator of cutting-edge ideas, as a pathfinder for collaborative solu tions to new and emerging trade is sues, and as a laboratory for forwardlooking and responsive economic and trade policies,” he stressed.

Apec comprises 21 member econo mies, namely, Australia, Brunei, Can ada, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, United States, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Chile, Peru, Rus sia and Vietnam.

PNP impounds 16,861 vehicles in renewed anti-carjacking drive Zambales names Bong Go as ‘adopted son’

By Glen Jacob Jose

THE Philippine National Po lice (PNP) on Thursday said it has impounded more than 16,000 vehicles in its renewed anticarjacking campaign and violations of law governing land transporta tion over a four-month period since July 2022.

I n a news statement, PNP Chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. lauded the PNP Highway Patrol Group (HPG) for impounding a total of 16,861 cars and motorcycles comprising of 3,419 motor vehicles and 13,442 motorcycles for violation of RA 4136 also known as Land Trans portation and Traffic Code, and other various violations.

A zurin said that among those accosted by HPG personnel were 425 drivers of motor vehicles with unauthorized HPG logo/ stickers; 311 drivers with illegal horns; 4,501 for using blinkers/ illegal lights and 743 motorbike drivers with illegally modified mufflers.

B ased on the report submitted by Brig. Gen. Clifford Gairanod, HPG Director, Azurin said that regional highway patrol units (RHPU) issued 350,487 traffic ticket/citations and cited 5,980 traffic violations in relation to Republic Act No. 4136 for various violations of RA 4136 and local ordinances.

I n the campaign against car

jacking, the PNP-HPG arrested 222 persons while 209 vehicles were recovered.

“ Let us step-up and intensify more the enforcement of RA 4136, especially in busy highways in the country, to include areas which have been a regular scene of accidents to ensure road safety and security of general public. Ang aming patuloy na panawagan sa ating mga motor ista na maging masunurin sa batas trapiko upang maiwasan ang abala at aksidente sa daan lalo na ngayong darating na Kapaskuhan. [We con tinue to appeal to our motorists to be obedient to traffic laws to avoid inconvenience and accidents on the road, especially this upcoming Holi day Season],” Azurin said.

IBA, ZAMBALES S en. Chris topher Lawrence “Bong” Go was named an adopted son of Zambales for his support to the health services program of the province and his ef forts to empower local governance and strengthen delivery of public service.

Governor Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. on Tuesday presented Go a copy of the provincial board resolution adopting the senator as son of the province when the latter visited this town to inspect infrastructure projects he sponsored for funding.

Without his support, these proj ects like the new Iba municipal hall and the super-health center would not have materialized at all. And the people of Zambales are really grateful

for that,” Ebdane said.

Go, who authored the Malasakit Center Act of 2019, arrived here on Tuesday with Senator Robinhood Pa dilla to distribute assistance to indi gent families in the community.

They also made an ocular inspection of the new GO Iba municipal building at Barangay Dirita and the Super Health Center at Barangay Bangantalinga.

Go said that as chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, he is pushing for the establishment of 304 superhealth centers all over the coun try. “These are bigger than your usual health centers,” he said.

“I want to strengthen the health system because we don’t know if this [Covid-19] would be the last pandemic

we will experience,” he added.

In the resolution, the Zambales Provincial Board recognized Go’s “sig nificant contributions, goodwill and support to Zambaleños,” and cited the establishment of a Malasakit Center at the provincial hospital where indigent patients get medical assistance.

Go also “embodied the spirit of good governance and public service” and em powered the government of Zambales by pouring resources and aid to the prov ince, the resolution added.

Aside from his projects for health de livery, Go had also provided assistance for agriculture and food security, sports and youth development, as well as fire prevention and protection among oth ers, the Zambales commendation said.

ICONGRATULATE the Stronghold Insurance Company, Incorporated on the inauguration of its newlyconstructed Western Visayas Corporate Center in lloilo City. The past two years have been difficult for all sectors of the economy. Despite the challenges, our insurance sector managed to thrive, as evidenced by its continued growth in terms of assets, premiums earned, and investments.

Digitalization played a key role in the industry's impressive performance. In the years to come, this tool will only grow more relevant. As Finance Secretary, I challenge our insurance companies to embrace technology to achieve greater transparency, efficiency, and financial inclusion.

A credible insurance industry encourages more people to avail themselves of financial protection that will

My

Thank you, Stronghold, and more power!

now back on track and ready to reclaim its glory of being a pre fer red location for business and leisure by many big players in various ind ustri es.

administration has recently launched MoRProGres Iloilo or “a movement for the resurgent, progressive, globally competitive, and resilient province of Iloilo” and we are glad to partner with industry leaders like Stronghold to invite other business frontrunners to come over and expand here in this beautiful city and province of Iloilo.

BUILT TO PROTECT, MESSAGES

TODAY

The

DAVID C. MERCADO Chairman Emeritus

ATTY. EMMANUEL F. DOOC Chairman

ROMULO I. DELOS REYES JR. President

APEC CEO Summit: Leaders turn spotlight on climate, technology

long-standing economic and social problems. The demonstrations are taking place under a large po lice presence, with the Bangkok Post reporting that more than 35,000 security personnel had been deployed for the summit.

Vietnam president bats for green technology

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha opened proceedings with a speech to the CEO Summit on Thursday morning, kicking off three days of talks focused on boosting economic prosperity and environmental sustainabil ity. Chinese President Xi Jinping will give a speech and then con tinue with face-to-face meetings with several leaders including Japanese Prime Minister Fu mio Kishida and New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern.

There will be at least one no table absence from the Bangkok meetings. US President Joe Biden is heading back to the White House for his granddaughter’s

wedding Saturday and will be represented by Vice President Kamala Harris at APEC.

Key developments: A SMALL crowd of protesters gathered in the Asok area, near the convention center where the APEC Leaders’ Meeting is sched uled to take place. Some dressed up in dinosaur costumes, in a symbolic dig at what they view as Thailand’s outdated and cal cified government.

One protester told the gather ing that they will march to the convention center, intending to show world leaders how the Thai government has failed to address

THE world is changing in a “com plex and unpredictable way” and technologies that target net-zero emissions will be the “strongest driver of FDI in the future,” Viet namese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc said at the APEC CEO Summit at a trade and investment session.

Many Vietnamese factories have reduced production or even shut down as a result of supply chain problems from the pandemic and Ukraine war, Phuc said. The Covid-19 pandemic showed the “importance and indispensabil ity of digital-based business and production,” he said.

Macron open to submarine cooperation with Australia

FRENCH President Emmanuel Macron said his government was still open to revisiting a submarine deal with Australia. The option for

Australia to build together or pur chase French-made submarines remained “on the table,” although there had been no indication yet from Canberra that it was looking to revisit the deal, he told a press conference in Bangkok.

Macron met with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Bali on Wednesday eve ning. While the French president acknowledged they had discussed the subject, the Australians “haven’t decided to change strategy on that subject” yet.

President Marcos urges greater climate action

PHILIPPINE President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. called for stronger ac tion on climate change, which he described as the “most pressing ex istential” issue of all time. He told the APEC CEO Summit meeting that “not enough” progress has actually been made to lower emissions.

Marcos also urged nations to prioritize food security and to invest in pandemic preparedness. He also said “the geopolitical cur rents that we must live with are something that we still need to be concerned about.”

GOP wins slim House majority, complicating ambitious agenda

By Will Weissert, Sara Burnett & Jill Colvin The Associated Press

WASHINGTON—Re

publicans won control of the US House on Wednesday, returning the party to power in Washington and giv ing conservatives leverage to blunt President Joe Biden’s agenda and spur a flurry of investigations. But a threadbare majority will pose immediate challenges for GOP leaders and complicate the party’s ability to govern.

More than a week after Election Day, Republicans secured the 218th seat needed to flip the House from Democratic control. The full scope of the party’s majority may not be clear for several more days—or weeks— as votes in competitive races are still being counted.

But they are on track to cobble together what could be the party’s narrowest majority of the 21st cen tury, rivaling 2001, when Republi cans had just a nine-seat majority, 221-212 with two independents. That’s far short of the sweeping victory the GOP predicted going into this year’s midterm elections, when the party hoped to reset the agenda on Capitol Hill by capital izing on economic challenges and Biden’s lagging popularity.

Instead, Democrats showed surprising resilience, holding on to moderate, suburban districts from Virginia to Minnesota and Kansas. The results could compli cate House GOP leader Kevin Mc Carthy’s plans to become speaker as some conservative members have questioned whether to back him or have imposed conditions for their support.

McCarthy celebrated his party having “officially flipped” the House on Twitter on Wednesday night, writing, “Americans are ready for a new direction, and House Republicans are ready to deliver.”

Biden congratulated McCarthy, saying he is “ready to work with House Republicans to deliver re

sults for working families.”

“Last week’s elections demon strated the strength and resilience of American democracy. There was a strong rejection of election deniers, political violence, and in timidation,” Biden said in a state ment. “There was an emphatic statement that, in America, the will of the people prevails.”

He added, that “the future is too promising to be trapped in political warfare.”

The narrow margins have up ended Republican politics and prompted finger-pointing about what went wrong. Some in the GOP have blamed Donald Trump for the worse-than-expected outcome.

The former president, who an nounced his third White House bid Tuesday, lifted candidates during this year’s Republican primaries that often questioned the results of the 2020 election or downplayed the mob attack on the US Capitol last year. Many of those struggled to win during the general election.

Despite the GOP’s under whelming showing, the party will still have notable power. Republi cans will take control of key com mittees, giving them the ability to shape legislation and launch probes of Biden, his family and his administration. There’s par ticular interest in investigating the overseas business dealings of the president’s son Hunter Biden. Some of the most conservative law makers have raised the prospect of impeaching Biden, though that will be much harder for the party to accomplish with a tight majority.

Any legislation that emerges from the House could face steep odds in the Senate, where Demo crats won the barest of majorities Saturday. Both parties are looking to a December 6 Senate runoff in Georgia as a last chance to pad their ranks.

With such a potentially slim House majority, there’s also po tential for legislative chaos. The dynamic essentially gives an in dividual member enormous sway over shaping what happens in the

chamber. That could lead to par ticularly tricky circumstances for GOP leaders as they try to win sup port for must-pass measures that keep the government funded or raise the debt ceiling.

The GOP’s failure to notch more wins—they needed a net gain of five seats to take the ma jority—was especially surprising because the party went into the election benefiting from congres sional maps that were redrawn by Republican legislatures. History was also on Republicans’ side: The party that holds the White House had lost congressional seats dur ing virtually every new president’s first midterm of the modern era.

The new majority will usher in a new group of leaders in Wash ington. If elected to succeed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in the top post, McCarthy would lead what will likely be a rowdy conference of House Republicans, most of whom are aligned with Trump’s bare-knuckle brand of politics. Many Republicans in the incom ing Congress rejected the results of the 2020 presidential election, even though claims of widespread fraud were refuted by courts, elec tions officials and Trump’s own attorney general.

McCarthy won the nomination for House speaker on Tuesday, with a formal vote to come when the new Congress convenes in January.

“I’m proud to announce the era of one-party Democrat rule in Washington is over,” McCar thy said after winning the nomi nation.

Republican candidates pledged on the campaign trail to cut taxes and tighten border security. GOP lawmakers also could withhold aid to Ukraine as it fights a war with Russia or use the threat of default ing on the nation’s debt as leverage to extract cuts from social spend ing and entitlements—though all such pursuits will be tougher given how small the GOP majority may end up being.

As a senator and then vice presi dent, Biden spent a career craft

ing legislative compromises with Republicans. But as president, he was clear about what he viewed as the threats posed by the current Republican Party.

Biden said the midterms show voters want Democrats and Repub licans to find ways to cooperate and govern in a bipartisan manner, but also noted that Republicans didn’t achieve the electoral surge they’d been betting on and vowed, “I’m not going to change anything in any fundamental way.”

AP VoteCast, a broad survey of the national electorate, showed that high inflation and concerns about the fragility of democracy had heavily influenced voters. Half of voters said inflation factored significantly, with groceries, gaso line, housing, food and other costs that have shot up in the past year. Slightly fewer—44 percent—said the future of democracy was their primary consideration.

Counter to the GOP’s expecta tions, Biden didn’t entirely shoul der the blame for inflation, with close to half of voters saying the higher-than-usual prices were more because of factors outside his control. And despite the president bearing criticism from a pessimis tic electorate, some of those voters backed Democratic candidates.

Democrats also likely benefited from anger over the Supreme Court overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade decision cementing a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion. Voters in Michigan voted to amend their state constitution to protect abortion rights while far more reli ably Republican Kentucky rejected a constitutional amendment declar ing no right to an abortion.

Overall, 7 in 10 voters said the high court’s ruling overturn ing the 1973 decision enshrining abortion rights was an important factor in their midterm decisions. VoteCast also showed the reversal was broadly unpopular. About 6 in 10 say they are angry or dissatis fied by it. And roughly 6 in 10 say they favor a law guaranteeing ac cess to legal abortion nationwide.

Tourism as engine of Thai growth

TOURISM will be the “engine to drive” Thailand’s economy in 2023 and beyond, Kobkarn Wat tanavrangkul, chairperson of Kasikornbank Pcl, the nation’s second-biggest bank by assets, said in a Bloomberg TV interview on the sidelines of the APEC CEO Summit.

The bank expects hotel opera tors and other tourism related business customers to recover strongly as Thailand’s travel in dustry rebounds from the Cov id-19 pandemic. Thailand, where tourism accounts for 12 percent of gross domestic product and a fifth of jobs, needs to diversify its foreign tourist market beyond China to maintain the industry’s long-term growth, Kobkarn said.

Environmental sustainability a key APEC agenda

THAI Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha said the world was fac ing unprecedented environmen tal challenges and sustainability would be the single most impor tant agenda for the APEC leaders summit this week.

He also called upon the public

and private sectors to cooperate on supporting sustainability initiatives, adding “we must en sure that we leave no one behind on the path of development and growth.”

Prayuth urged APEC leaders to sign a so-called Bangkok Goals declaration on the “bio-circulargreen” economic model at the end of the summit. “No country can achieve its objectives alone,” Pra yuth said. “We inhabit the same earth.”

NZ PM to meet with China’s Xi Jinping

NEW ZEALAND Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on the side lines of the APEC Leaders’ Sum mit in Thailand, Stuff reports without citing a source for the information.

Arden had earlier said that if a meeting were to take place it would cover issues including trade, climate change and areas of differences, the media outlet reported.

With assistance from Samy Adghir ni, Pathom Sangwongwanich and John Boudreau/Bloomberg.

OIL CONTINUES RETREAT ON DEMAND CONCERNS AS GEOPOLITICAL RISKS EASE

By Yongchang Chin

OIL extended losses as investors shifted their focus back to concerns over the demand outlook after geopolitical tensions eased.

West Texas Intermediate dropped toward $84 a barrel after closing 1.5 percent lower on Wednesday. China is grappling with rising Covid cases, while JPMorgan Chase & Co. projected the US will enter a “mild” recession next year due to interest-rate hikes. Opec trimmed its forecasts for oil demand earlier this week.

NATO and Polish leaders said there’s no indication a missile that struck the nation’s border with Ukraine was an intentional attack by Russia, easing fears it might lead to an escalation of the war in Europe. The Druzhba pipeline that carries Russian oil westward also restarted after a power disruption.

“With geopolitical risks having subsided somewhat, demand concerns have once again taken center stage for the oil market,” said Warren Patterson, head of commodities strategy at ING Groep NV. “Chinese demand remains a concern.”

Widely watched time spreads remain in a bullish backwardation structure, but they’ve narrowed in recent sessions. Brent’s prompt spread—the difference between its two nearest contracts—was $1.19 a barrel in backwardation, compared with $1.86 at the start of the month.

There was little price reaction after US government data showed commercial stockpiles shrank by 5.4 million barrels last week, the biggest weekly drop since August. Still, the global supply outlook remains uncertain, with the European Union set to sanction Russian crude flows from December.

China’s oil refiners worried MEANWHILE , China’s largest oil companies are seeking help from Beijing to keep Russian imports flowing after new sanctions on Moscow that are set to kick in next month.

S tate-owned oil refiners are worried about their ability to work out the payment channels, logistics and insurance needed to keep buying from the Opec+ producer after December 5, said people with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified as the information isn’t public.

S ome solutions that have been floated include increasing the volume of Russian oil transported via pipelines, setting up a designated bank to handle payments and liaison with Moscow, and the use of more outat-sea transfers to help with the challenges of direct shipments between seller and buyer, said the people.

With the European Union set to ban the

financing, insuring and shipping of Russian crude in three weeks—unless terms for exemption are met—Asian importers are seeking workarounds that don’t involve banks, insurance clubs and shipowners from the bloc. The request for help from Chinese refiners reflects concern that unless they receive assistance, these companies could run into challenges keeping Russian crude flowing.

It’s unclear if any of these options will be rolled out, they added. China’s Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Foreign Affairs didn’t immediately respond to faxes seeking comment.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. had warned in July of a worst-case scenario of oil hitting a “stratospheric” $380 a barrel if western penalties prompt Russia to inflict retaliatory output cuts. More recently, however, President Biden stressed the importance of keeping Russian oil flowing to prevent a supply shock that would send prices soaring.

Janet Yellen said this week that Chinese and Indian imports of Russian oil were aligned with America’s goal. The US treasury secretary has been rallying support for an oil-price cap that would exempt Russian shipments from European sanctions, although details on the initiative remain scant.

Russia shipped 2.9 million barrels of crude daily in the seven days to November 11, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The volume of Russian crude heading to Asia hit 2.01 million barrels a day on a four-week rolling average basis, with China and India purchasing the bulk of supplies.

Workarounds

CHINA —the world’s no. 1 crude importing nation—is no stranger to working with sanctioned regimes such as Iran, having persisted with imports from the Opec producer and Venezuela’s state-owned oil company PDVSA despite trade restrictions imposed during the Obama administration.

The Chinese had used a local financial entity known as Bank of Kunlun to deal with Tehran, consolidating all activities under one domestically-focused entity that continues to operate after being slapped with US sanctions.

O n the logistical front, the people said Chinese state refiners were worried about cargo and shipping insurance as large European companies start to distance themselves from the trade. They also highlighted challenges surrounding so-called re-insurance, which is the passing on of some liability from one insurer to another to help manage exposure to major claims.

With assistance from Zhang Dingmin and SereneCheong/Bloomberg

WORLD leaders descended on Bangkok for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings, the last of the three major summits in the region that have seen discussions range from climate change to the war in Ukraine and food inflation.

Russian strikes hit Ukraine’s Odesa region, city of Dnipro

By John Leicester The Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine—Russian strikes hit Ukraine’s south ern Odesa region and the city of Dnipro for the first time in weeks on Thursday morning, and air raid sirens sounded all across the country amid fears that Moscow unleashed another large-scale missile attack.

An infrastructure target was hit on the Odesa region, Gov. Maksym Marchenko said on Telegram, warn ing about the threat of a “massive missile barrage on the entire terri tory of Ukraine.”

Multiple explosions were also reported in Dnipro, where two in frastructure objects were damaged and at least one person was wound ed, according to the deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko.

Air defense systems were operat ing in the central Kyiv region, Gov. Oleksiy Kuleba said. The Kyiv city administration said two missiles were shot down over the capital.

Officials in the Poltava, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi and Rivne regions urged residents to stay in bomb shelters amid the persisting threat of missile strikes.

Thursday’s blast follows the huge barrage of Russian strikes on Tuesday, the biggest attack to date on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure that also result ed in a missile hitting Poland.

Russia has increasingly resorted to targeting Ukraine’s power grid as winter approaches as its battlefield losses mount. The most recent bar rage followed days of euphoria in Ukraine sparked by one of its big gest military successes—the retak ing last week of the southern city of Kherson.

The head of Ukraine’s presiden tial office, Andriy Yermak, called the strikes on energy targets “a na

ive tactics of cowardly losers” in a Telegram post on Thursday.

“Ukraine has already withstood extremely difficult strikes by the enemy, which did not lead to results the Russian cowards hoped for,” Yer mak wrote, urging Ukrainians not to ignore air raid sirens.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he ex pected the renewal, for at least 120 days, of a UN and Turkish-brokered deal that that has enabled Ukraine to export over 11 million metric tons of wheat and Russia to ship its grain and fertilizer to world markets.

Zelenskyy tweeted Thursday

that the deal “will be prolonged for 120 days.” He called it a “key deci sion in the global fight against the food crisis.”

There was no immediate confir mation from Russia. Turkish offi cials also wouldn’t confirm it, saying that negotiations for the extension of the grain initiative are continuing and that an announcement will be make when the talks are concluded.

The United Nations has previ ously said that it is “cautiously op timistic” that the deal, due to expire Saturday, will be renewed. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24, saw growing food

shortages and skyrocketing prices that left millions of people espe cially in developing countries un able to buy enough to eat.

Russia’s UN ambassadors had complained last month that more needed to be done to facilitate its ex ports of grain and fertilizers. Under the separate agreements with Russia and Ukraine brokered by the United Nations and Turkey, the deal will be extended for another 120 days when it expires on November 19 unless ei ther Moscow or Kyiv objects.

S uzan Fraser contributed to this re port from Ankara, Turkey.

Climate change threatens PHL’s economic growth

THai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha opened the CEO Summit in Bangkok on Thursday saying the world is currently facing unprecedented environmental challenges. Sustainability, he said, would be the most important agenda for the aPEC leaders summit. “We must ensure that we leave no one behind on the path of development and growth. No country can achieve its objectives alone. We inhabit the same earth,” he said.

In a speech at the same forum, President Marcos reiterated his call to address climate change, citing the need for stronger action in relation to the Paris Agreement. The President lamented the fact that not enough progress has actually been made to lower global emissions.

Climate change is a major risk to the Philippine economic development. The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank said in a study that the Philippines faces some of the highest disaster risk levels in the world, and these are projected to intensify as the climate changes. The country is especially exposed to tropical cyclones, flooding, and landslides.

Super Typhoon Odette, which struck the Philippines on December 16 and 17, was the 15th storm to hit the country in 2021 and was the strongest storm last year. It swept through 11 of the country’s 17 regions, leaving a swathe of destruction and forcing the government to declare a state of calamity in six regions. As of January 27, 2022, a total of 9.9 million people were affected across 11 regions in 9,500 barangays. Around 144,000 displaced people were reported in five regions, with 80,000 people staying in evacuation centers. A total of 1,700,000 houses have been damaged, out of which 415,000 are destroyed.

In April 2022, tropical depression Agaton visited the country. It was a weak but deadly tropical cyclone that led to the sinking of two ships. Major landslides pushed mud over villages in Leyte, burying around 210 houses. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) has reported 214 deaths, 132 missing, and 8 people injured. Damage to agriculture was placed at P3.27 billion, and infrastructure damage was estimated at P1.45 billion.

Severe Tropical Storm Paeng hit the country in October. It was one of the most destructive tropical cyclones that pounded the Philippines this year. Paeng’s devastation shocked the country, including President Marcos who questioned the 51 casualties in Maguindanao, saying it was “a little too high.” Damage to agriculture and infrastructure was estimated at more than P11 billion.

The NDRRMC placed Paeng’s damage to agriculture at P6.19 billion in the Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, Western Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, and the Cordillera regions. About 144,682 farmers and fisherfolk were affected by the tropical cyclone. Infrastructure damage was estimated at P5.05 billion in the Ilocos region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Davao region, Soccsksargen, BARMM, and Cordillera. Damaged houses were put at 53,906—47,988 were classified as “partially damaged” and 5,108 were categorized as “totally damaged”. The total number of verified deaths from the tropical cyclone was 127, while the number of those injured reached 146.

These are just three tropical storms that recently visited the country, but they already set us back billions of pesos in damages to agriculture and infrastructure.

A welcome development at COP27: The Group of Seven leading economies launched a new insurance system on Monday to provide swift financial aid to countries hit by the devastating effects of climate change. The so-called Global Shield is backed by the V20 group of 58 climate-vulnerable nations and will initially receive more than 200 million euros in funding, mostly from Germany. Initial recipients include the Philippines, Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Fiji, Ghana, Pakistan and Senegal.

Let’s hope that rich nations, including the United States, will resolve at COP27 the issue of “loss and damage” being pressed by poor nations that are seeking financial aid for the damages brought about by typhoons, floods, and other devastating effects of global warming.

The Philippine economy: Moving ahead in a rough and tough road

services; 4) professional and business services; and 5) accommodation and food service activities.

Dr. Ser Percival K. Peña-Reyes

EAGLE WATCH

LaST week, Dr. a lvin P. ang, Senior Research Fellow at the ateneo Center for Economic Research and Development, gave a briefing on the current state and outlook of the Philippine economy. Today’s column summarizes his presentation, which he organized as follows: 1) the latest picture of income, jobs, and prices; 2) other indicators; and 3) expectations.

Regarding income, the Philippine economy needs to grow by just 4.5 percent this year to get back to its 2019 level. Thus far, economic growth has been faster than expected. However, had there been no massive economic shock, the economy could have grown by 6.1 percent annually since 2019, which implies a significant opportunity loss. With the reopening of the economy, though, consumer expectations are almost back to pre-pandemic levels.

In fact, both consumption and investment spending have driven the recent brisk growth of 7.6 percent.

Revenge spending to relieve pandemic-related stress is evident, as consumption is mostly done on the

following: 1) recreation and culture, 2) restaurants and hotels, and 3) transportation. Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) show that, from 2019 to 2021, savings increased across the board, regardless of demographics. The recent decrease in savings implies that people have been unloading their savings to finance their revenge spending. How long this can be sustained, however, remains to be seen.

Industry sector growth has been weak, but services sector growth has shown a remarkable uptick driven by the following: 1) wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles; 2) transportation and storage; 3) financial and insurance

Regarding jobs, employment growth in manufacturing and retail appears to match income growth.

Both the number of unemployed persons and the unemployment rate have declined, although they are still higher than they were before the pandemic. The latest number of employed persons is higher by about five million than the level in Q2-2020 (Enhanced Community Quarantine).

Despite significant growth spurts, the structure of income remains skewed. In fact, the disposable income of the top decile is about 14 times that of the bottom decile.

Poverty incidence, whether across families or across population, remains elevated. Indeed, a dramatic reduction in poverty and a significant improvement in employability can be achieved if the productivity of the agricultural sector increases, since agriculture is the predominant occupation in areas where it is safest to reopen.

Regarding prices, today’s inflation is still largely cost-push in nature (i.e., externally driven and due to the supply side). In the US, contractionary monetary policy to curb its demand-pull inflation has led to peso depreciation. Food and

transportation, which are linked to commodity imports, are fueling inflation in the Philippines.

Initially, the BSP saw no need to match US interest rate hikes point by point because Philippine inflation was not as high and was more due to supply disruptions (especially in meat and fish). However, the RussiaUkraine conflict has affected supplies and pushed up prices of fuel, fertilizer, and wheat. Further peso depreciation can worsen inflation itself, so the BSP is now compelled to tighten money supply to arrest both inflation and depreciation. Of course, raising interest rates runs the risk of dampening economic growth, but Philippine economic managers see that there is still room to absorb rate hikes.

Regarding other indicators, fortunately, there appears to be enough import cover to sustain the economy in the short term. Remittances are back to pre-pandemic levels. Business process outsourcing industries are still contributing a significant amount of revenues. Nevertheless, tourism arrivals are still way below pre-pandemic levels. The Philippines has the lowest level of foreign direct investment in Southeast Asia, but it does not have the worst debt-to-GDP ratio. Philippine debt is more domestically

Asia-Pacific leaders tackle trade, sustainability in Bangkok

By Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul | The Associated Press

BaNGKOK—The war in Ukraine, great power rivalry in asia, inflation and food and energy shortages are on the agenda as leaders prepare for the third back-to-back gathering this week, a Pacific-Rim summit taking place in a heavily guarded venue in Thailand’s capital.

Leaders from the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum will meet formally in closeddoor sessions Friday and Saturday. For some, it will be at least the third such opportunity for face-to-face talks in the past two weeks. However, US Vice President Kamala Harris is attending instead of President Joe Biden, who will be hosting his granddaughter’s wedding at the White House.

APEC’s official mission is to promote regional economic integration. Most of the business conducted happens on the summit’s sidelines in meetings such as a planned meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

The two Asian powers have a history of tense relations, a legacy of Japan’s World War II aggression compounded by territorial disputes and China’s growing military might.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Mao Ning, said the encounter would “carry great importance.”

Xi, Harris and French President Emmanuel Macron will also speak at a business conference held just ahead of the summit meetings that is mostly closed to media apart from outlets sponsoring the event.

The APEC meetings are being held in downtown Bangkok’s main convention center, which is cordoned off with some streets in the area completely closed to all traffic. Rows of riot police stood guard behind barbed wired barricades at a major intersection nearby, underscoring host Thailand’s determination to ensure the summit suffers no disruptions.

A small but noisy group of protesters scuffled briefly with police demanding to deliver a letter to leaders attending the summit. The demonstrators back various causes including demanding the removal of

strict royal defamation laws.

In recent years, Bangkok has seen a wave of large-scale protests aimed both at the government and at the powerful monarchy, though they have faded under the pressures of the pandemic and targeted arrests of key figures.

Before the summit, Thai officials said they were hoping to steer APEC toward long-term solutions in various areas, including climate change, economic disruptions and faltering recoveries from the pandemic.

“The APEC meeting this year takes place amidst a dual jeopardy. We need not be reminded of the severe security conflicts that know not what victory looks like. Meanwhile, the world is staring at the hyper inflation married to recession, a broken supply chain and scarcity and climate calamities,” Don Pramudwinai, Thailand’s foreign minister said in opening a meeting of foreign ministers and commerce ministers who were working on draft statements due to be issued after the summit.

Apparently alluding to Russia and recent condemnation of its war on Ukraine, he also said there was a growing “cancel mentality” that makes

“any compromise appear impossible.”

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said in a tweet after the morning meeting that the ministers had “reaffirmed the need to work together to promote balanced, inclusive, and sustainable growth in the Asia Pacific region.”

APEC members account for nearly four of every 10 people and almost half of world trade.

“What we are going to do is to have all economies agree on a set of targets ... climate change mitigation, sustainable trade and investment, environmental resource conservation and, of course, waste management,” said Cherdchai Chaivaivid, director-general of Thailand’s Department of International Economic Affairs.

APEC’s official mission is to promote regional economic integration, which means setting guidelines for long-term development of a free trade area. Most of its work is technical and incremental, carried out by senior officials and ministers, covering areas such as trade, tourism, forestry, health, food, security, small and mediumsize enterprises and women’s empowerment.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha and abolition of Thailand’s

Soft-spoken Jokowi emerges as surprise power broker at G-20

By Philip J. Heijmans & Norman Harsono Bloomberg Opinion

DesPIte being the world’s fourth-most populous nation and the biggest economy in southeast asia, Indonesia has long punched below its weight on international affairs. that changed at this year’s Group of 20 summit.

With a mix of careful diplomacy and good humor, Indonesian President Joko Widodo managed to bring a sense of collegiality to a world riven by conflict and crisis. A meeting that started on the resort island of Bali with high tensions around Ukraine, US-China relations, climate change and inflation ended with a joint statement that seemed improbable only days before.

Xi Jinping and Joe Biden exceeded low expectations with an in-person meeting that saw cooperation restored across a range of key areas, stabilizing a relationship between the world’s biggest economies that had been drifting toward conflict. That set the tone for broader agreement on a statement in which “most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine” -- one of the biggest public dressing downs to date of Vladimir Putin, who stayed at home.

The soft-spoken, smiling Indonesian leader known as Jokowi served as a calming presence throughout the world’s most highly anticipated diplomatic showdown. Whether driving leaders around in a golf cart or leading them to plant mangroves in tropical heat, Jokowi set the tone for a successful summit. And to top it off, he walked away with $20 billion in financing to help Indonesia pivot away from coal.

“Before this almost everyone was pessimistic,” Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi told reporters on Wednesday. “In previous international meetings everyone else failed, so reaching this declaration that was the consensus by all parties is in my opinion extraordinary.”

The result was a culmination of months of careful diplomacy. Indonesia, which maintains non-alignment, resisted pressure to isolate Russia for invading Ukraine. Instead Jokowi flew to Kyiv and Moscow, extending invitations to both Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy while becoming the first Asian leader to visit Ukraine since the war began.  While neither man took up the offer, both countries participated. Putin sent Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who was said to have stayed in the room as Zelenskyy addressed the grouping virtually. G-20 leaders also remained in their seats when Lavrov addressed the summit despite suggestions ahead of time they might not.

That marked a contrast from the discord at other gatherings this year. Trade representatives for the US and Russia in May staged a tit-fortat walkout during an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Thailand.

Just days before the start of the G-20, the US and Russia disagreed over the language at a summit hosted by the Association of Southeast Asian nations in Cambodia, prompting the meeting to close without a traditional joint statement.

“Indonesia deserves considerable credit for getting through without any major blow-ups,” said Greg Poling, head of the Southeast Asia program at Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies.

“After all the political fireworks, they were able to discuss the real issues that Indonesia wanted on the agenda: food security, climate change and energy security. That’s a win.”

Indonesia under Jokowi has gradually been stepping up its international presence. Last year, his government played a key role in negotiations that led to the US exiting Afghanistan. The nation also led efforts at Asean to hold the Myanmar junta accountable for continued violence against civilians after the military seized control of the government in a coup last year.

During his address to G-20 leaders on Wednesday, he was direct.

“Stop the war. I repeat: stop the war,” he said. “The global economic recovery will not happen unless the situation improves.”

Southeast Asia has largely refrained from picking sides among competing major powers—a bid to fortify regional centrality and ensure greater economic benefits for the region’s nearly 700 million people. That has kept the door open for Indonesia to take up the mantle of independent mediator amid a persisting stalemate at the United nat ions Security Council.

“Indonesia is traditionally adroit in managing strategic challenges at the critical moment,” said Ong Keng Yong, former secretary general of the Association of Southeast Asian nations. “Indonesian officials are seasoned diplomats, and it is always dicey to take their country and president for granted.” With assistance from Grace Sihombing and Yudith Ho / Bloomberg.

These rights to life

Tito Genova Valiente annoTaTions

What happened to indigenous people during the pandemic?

If there is an element in the collective memory of lowlanders, those living in towns with remarkable population density and especially those in the cities, it could be the enforced lockdown that separated us from each other. But the degree of separation was never the same. In fact, the idea of locking down people in neighborhoods was immediately rendered absurd. Walls were nonexistent between homes; gates were rare.

When the concept of “social distancing” was floated, there was confusion. There has always been “social distance” in the country, the sociological kind. This refers to the distance between individuals or groups, which are occasioned by race, age, social class, gender, etc. To Georg Simmel is attributed the concept of the hypothetical “stranger” to groups of people—how far or close do we situate ourselves to that person we barely know?

But what about those human groups already isolated? The farming communities in far-off agricultural areas where roads have not been built yet? Or the landless that lived in mountainous areas? Or the indigenous people isolated or detached from the rest because of their cultures?

In the documentary made by Arbi Barbarona, the filmmaker explores the isolation of a group of Manobo people who flee from persecution only to be caught by the pandemic.

A population called “bakwit,” a term that is derived from “evacuate,” the Manobos have to contend with masks and face shields, contraptions that look odd on us, lowlanders in touch with Western medical ways, and are even more intrusively terrifying on this cultural community.

The arrival of the virus and its spread created a place to escape and this was identified as found in the homes and lands of the “gentle savage,” a term that is so loaded one needs to debunk this concept before one even embraces it.

In Barbarona’s documentary, people are talking about how they are going to be saved because they are far from civilization. They also discuss

keeping their communities pure.

Histories are replete with viruses and epidemics wiping a staggering number of people.

In the paper, Epidemics, indigenous communities, and public health in the Covid-19 era: views from smallpox inoculation campaigns in Colonial Guatemala, it notes the distinct relationship between health and history:

the greatest destruction of lives in human history’, while others have labeled these collective events as ‘the Great Dying’.”

Published online by Cambridge University Press, and dated november 6, 2020, the scientific paper notes how “Alfred Crosby identified infectious disease as a key component of the “Colombian exchange,” arguing that the intentional and unintentional exchanges of biological agents —plants, animals, and especially epidemic diseases—had profound environmental consequences for the Americas.”

The paper continues: “Among the most devastating were the so-called ‘virgin soil’ epidemics that included bubonic plague, smallpox, measles, influenza, and typhus, diseases to which indigenous peoples had no previous exposure.”

The commentary continues: “Wars, forced displacement, and violence were thus crucial additional elements that magnified the impact of epidemics.” It has been documented, in hindsight, how the disease wiped out multi-ethnic population not so

with the Colombian exchange, did we ever have the corresponding phenomenon, a Magellanic exchange?

Were we of different make that our forebears did not feel the impact of any virus introduced by the European bodies? As our limited histories make it appear, there was no dramatic decimation of our population due to diseases coming from across the ocean. There are, however, sketchy accounts of a million inhabitants dying from hunger and disease, but the correlation was always with the war.

Minnie Degawan, director of the Traditional and Indigenous Peoples Programme at Conservation International, said: “The global health crisis has highlighted the resilience of some indigenous communities. But above all, it has revealed the fragility of these populations— whose poverty, malnutrition and poor access to health care makes them particularly vulnerable to infectious diseases.”

Protecting the indigenous communities means protecting native knowledge and traditions.

In data from the Unesco Courier, we are informed how indigenous peoples have a keen knowledge of isolating themselves from the outside world when certain conditions warrant said decisions. It mentions our very own Cordillera communities where “such a practice—known as ubaya or tengaw— is regularly observed at specific points of the agricultural cycle, to allow for the earth and the people to rest.” This concept of “rest” or “cycle” is vanishing, if not lost, among us who live in a world of 24/7, of cities that never sleep, and of works that continue on and on so long as the technological connectivity is provided.

The indigenous notion of isolation in the Cordillera can be astounding: no one is allowed in or out of the community, including community members who happen to be outside when the lockdown was announced.

A knotted clump of leaves is placed at various entrances and exits to signify that the community is on ubaya. It is taken very seriously by community members and neighbors alike—to violate it is to invite disaster for the entire community.”

The strategies are around us, native, but we have become foreign.

As half of the world contended

E-mail: titovaliente@yahoo.com

Xi looks away from Putin toward West in world stage return

turns out Chinese President Xi Jinping’s partnership with Vladimir Putin has limits after all: he doesn’t want to follow the russian leader into diplomatic isolation.

President Xi Jinping has always been clear on that, he is calling for peace and the end of the conflict.”

sourced and long-term, so income growth can outpace debt growth. However, the most productive sectors are also the ones that employ the least, so there is a need to stimulate other economic activities that create the most benefits for the domestic economy through the widest network of linkages. Agriculture, manufacturing, and housing are seen as promising sectors.

Lastly, regarding expectations, OFW remittances will remain high, especially with higher exchange rate, for unfinished pre-pandemic plans

like housing, education, small businesses, and leisure. BPOs will likely offer more flexibility due to expanded work-from-home arrangements. Tight labor markets in Western countries are seen increasing BPO activities. Middle-class earners will likely forego vehicles, but their credit purchases will increase. SMEs will likely recover, but not yet back to their pre-pandemic levels.

Growth will likely be brisk in Q4-2022 such that the government target for the whole year can be exceeded.

With speeches and gestures in recent weeks, Xi has taken his most significant steps to create space between Beijing and Moscow since Putin invaded Ukraine almost nine months ago. The latest signal came at the Group of 20 summit on the Indonesian resort island of Bali, where China signed off on a communiqué Wednesday saying that “most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine.”

“The Russian president is almost alone in the world with his policy and has no strong alliance partner,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who met Xi in Beijing earlier this month, told reporters in Bali on Wednesday. He noted the statement’s “astonishingly clear words.”

That show of solidarity followed a series of relatively warm meetings between Xi and world leaders who have led the campaign to punish Moscow, including his first sit-down with

US President Joe Biden on Monday. In those talks, Xi reinforced his opposition to the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine—a stance that outlines China’s red lines without abandoning Russia altogether.

The moves appeared to be part of a broader return to pragmatism since Xi set himself up to rule for life by breaking succession norms at a twice-a-decade party congress last month. China has also in the past week relaxed Covid quarantine requirements and delivered a plan to rescue the battered property sector —telegraphing shifts in key policies blamed for battering financial markets and the economy.

“Finally getting all these meetings legitimately raises the prospect of whether this is a juncture after the congress where we will finally see that slight shift in tone,” said Andrew Gilholm, director of analysis for China and north Asia at Control Risks.

Leaders from the 21 economies on both sides of the Pacific Ocean often take the opportunity to conduct bilateral talks and discuss side deals. The Latin American contingent comes from Chile, Mexico and

Peru. Other members are Australia, Brunei, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, new Zealand, Papua new Guinea, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been avoiding international forums where he would be showered

with criticism over the invasion of Ukraine and will not attend.

That leaves Chinese leader Xi as the star attendee in Bangkok, where he also is making an official visit to Thailand just after obtaining a rare third term as top leader at a once-in-five years Communist Party congress.

Biden is giving ground to China

in the competition for friends and influence in Southeast Asia by skipping the APEC meetings. But US officials say Washington has demonstrated its seriousness in relations with the region through frequent visits by Cabinet members including Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and other key senior officials.

That doesn’t mean all is well. In a rare unscripted moment at the G-20, Xi confronted Canadian leader Justin Trudeau and accused him of leaking details of a private meeting between the men. “If you are being sincere, we must communicate with mutual respect,” Xi told Trudeau. “If not, I’m not so sure how it will turn out.”

One Ukrainian diplomat in Beijing traced China’s efforts to distance itself from Russia to the Ukrainian counteroffensive that has reclaimed large swaths of territory since early September. That showed that the combination of Ukrainian troops and Western weapons were stronger than Russia and China realized, the diplomat said.

‘Signaling to the West’

PU TI n told Xi during a meeting in Uzbekistan that month that he understood Beijing’s “questions and concerns” about the conflict, in a rare sign of strains between

As host, Thailand invited three special guests to the meeting: the French president Macron; Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the prime minister of Saudi Arabia, and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who was to represent the Association of Southeast Asian nations but will not attend after getting Covid-19.

the two. As the Russian setbacks pile up, Kremlin officials including former President Dmitry Medvedev have warned about the possible use of tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

Then, in the Scholz visit earlier this month, Xi warned against any use of atomic weapons. A US statement after the Biden meeting, which China didn’t dispute, said both leaders expressed opposition to Russia’s loose talk of using nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

“There is a clear desire by Beijing to show that they want to move the US relationship to a more stable basis,” said Raffaello Pantucci, a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at nanyang Technological University in Singapore. “All of this is signaling to the West, rather particularly than a sign of distancing from Putin. More a clarification and signal that they want to find a stable way forwards.” With assistance from Lucille Liu, Jing Li, Yanping Li, Rebecca Choong Wilkins, Zibang Xiao, Sarah Zheng, Ilya Arkhipov and Samy Adghirni / Bloomberg.

For Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, the most welcome visitor may well be the Saudi leader, whose visit may help restore friendly relations they soured due to a theft of Saudi royal jewelry in 1989 and unsolved murders of Saudi diplomats in Bangkok. Associated Press journalists Grant Peck and Tassanee Vejpongsa contributed to this report.

“European participants in the wars of conquest and early colonization in the Americas, along with indigenous peoples who survived the waves of new infectious diseases that arrived in their wake, considered the mortality rates catastrophic. These events have led some scholars to argue that ‘the Americas in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were in all likelihood the scene of

much because of biology but because of economics: “As the waves of diseases persisted, so to the systemic abuses instrumental in colonization processes: “poverty, periodic food shortages, and the systemic violence of slavery and forced labor systems that structured the lives of Maya, African-descended, and multi-ethnic colonial subjects.”

Dr. Ser Percival K. Peña-Reyes is the Director of the Ateneo Center for Economic Research and Development.

PSA BUDGET GETS OK, BUT SENATE PROBERS HIT SUBPOENA SNUB

THE Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) ran into trouble with senators hear ing its budget after it refused to comply with a subpoena from the Blue Ribbon Committee probing the controversial procurement of overpriced and outdated laptops for public school teachers.

D uring the Senate’s plenary debates Thursday, November 17, 2022, on the PSA’s proposed 2023 budget, the Blue Ribbon Com mittee chairperson, Sen. Francis Tolentino, said a subpoena duces tecum signed by Senate President Juan Miguel “Migz” F. Zubiri was sent to the PSA for a copy of the death certificate of a notary public who legalized the agreement be tween the Department of Educa tion (DepEd) and the Department of Budget and Management’s Pro curement Service (PS-DBM) for the laptop purchase.

T he PSA, however, rejected the Senate panel’s request and invoked data privacy based on

an internal circular.

Tolentino said the rejec tion was a defiance of the Sen ate’s constitutionally-recognized mandate to conduct inquiries in aid of legislation. “If that is not indirect contempt, I don’t know what to call it,” Tolentino said in mixed English and Filipino.

“ I ask the PSA not to disrespect us like this...Respect the law, re spect the Constitution, respect the Philippine Senate,” he told PSA officials.

E arlier, Sen. Sonny Angara, chairperson of the Senate Commit tee on Finance, defended the P9.73billion PSA budget along with the agency’s head Claire Dennis Mapa.

A ngara defended the PSA budget for the second time after the Senate deferred its submis sion last Wednesday, pending the interpellation of Tolentino.

After Tolentino’s interpellation, the PSA budget was deemed sub mitted for the body’s consider ation. Butch Fernandez

PHL asks UN rights body to carefully check HR violation reports

By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

THE Philippine government through Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla has called on member-states of the Unit ed Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to take with a grain of salt accusations of human-rights violations committed against ac tivists, lawyers and mediamen in the country.

In his statement during the adop tion of the recommendation of the Working Group of the Universal Pe riodic Review (UPR) of the Philip pines conducted by the UNHRC in Geneva, Switzerland on Wednesday, Remulla maintained that the Philip pines has “no state policy to attack, harass or intimidate” human-rights advocates, lawyers, the media and other practitioners of the legal pro fession.”

R emulla stressed that “claims of a shrinking civic and media space are unfounded” and such allegations could be traced to the ongoing cam paign of the government to end the longest-running armed  communist insurgency in the world.

He said communist groups have been using human rights to shield their members against legitimate gov ernment operations and prosecution.

They use human rights as a tool to advance their violent agenda, claiming red-tagging and reprisal when the State exercises its duty to protect the human rights to life, liberty, security of persons and property, and to preserve national security and safeguard the demo cratic order,” Remulla pointed out.

“ In the interest of fairness and objectivity, we call on our colleagues partners—in the UN to exercise due diligence in the consideration of allegations received from various sources,” he added.

Remulla assured that the country under the administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has “a vibrant democracy” where the people’s right to free expression and freedom of the press are protected.

He said extrajudicial killing is also not a state policy.

“ Classifying a death that oc curred during an anti-illegal drug operation as extra-judicial killing by default runs counter to the te nets of due process and the rule of law,” the DOJ chief, adding that the government “will never tolerate the abuse of power and use of force be yond the bounds of law.”

R emulla also told delegates that the Philippines has accepted 200 recommendations made by mem ber-states of the UNHRC to further improve and protect the country’s human-rights situation.

A total of 289 recommenda tions were made during the UPR of the Philippines’s human-rights situation, and Remulla said the re sponses for the remaining 89 will be submitted to the UNHRC “in due course.”

T he current review on the Phil ippines human-rights records was the fourth such review since 2017.

W ith the Marcos administration only in office for about five months most of the fourth UPR will thus delve into the conduct of the then Duterte administration.

The protection and promotion of human-rights is a solemn Consti tutional commitment and constant endeavor that the Government of the Philippines shall never waver. In this spirit, and as preliminary action, we are proud to announce the acceptance of 200 recommen dations—more than two thirds of all the recommendations during our UPR,” Remulla said.

A mong the recommendations ac cepted by the Philippine government according to Remulla are UN Joint Program, the Philippine Commission on Human Rights, a National Human Rights Action Plan, combating dis crimination and gender-based vio lence, maintaining a moratorium on the death penalty, preventing extrajudicial killings, conducting indepen dent investigations on human-rights violations, decongesting prisons, further expanding access to justice, protecting human-rights defenders and journalists, promoting the rights to education, health, and adequate standard of living, upholding the rights of persons with disabilities, in digenous peoples, women, children, refugees, and stateless persons.

He said the government will re view the rest of the recommenda tions that he said the delegation believes rest on less than solid prem ises or are not in line with Philippine cultural values, religious beliefs and national identity.

“As our system of government consists of three independent and co-equal branches, each with its own mandate, we will review them in consultation with relevant stake holders back home. We will submit our positions on these deferred recommendations in due course,” he added.

PEZA wants locators’ issues with BIR on perks resolved

By Andrea E. San Juan

THE Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) said there’s a need to resolve issues of locators related

PEZA Officer-in-Charge Tereso O. Panga said his office has been meeting with the BIR regarding the concerns of locators under the Cor porate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Law.

“ We have been meeting with the BIR and we raised with them the locators’ issues with [revenue memorandum circulars] on CRE ATE concerns,” Panga told the Busi nessMirror on Thursday.

T he PEZA chief said some loca tors want the government to have uniform, simple and transparent guidelines for the conduct, particu larly on tax assessment.

“ If BIR can be more proactive in assisting the locators in terms of compliance with documentary/

audit requirements. This is where the government can enhance the regulatory relief mechanism so lo cators can bring up their concerns with higher authorities other than the BIR and the [Court of Tax Ap peals] CTA,” Panga said.

L ast month, PEZA said the coun try has attracted nearly P40 billion in investments for 148 new and expansion projects in January to September.

However, data from the PEZA showed that the amount of in vestments greenlighted by the in vestment promotion agency (IPA) was 22.6 percent lower than the P51.202 billion it approved last year. The number of projects was also lower this year compared to

the 189 recorded in 2021.

Meanwhile, the PEZA chief said there are 13 pending economic zones as of October which are expected to bring in investments amounting to more than P17 billion.

Panga said there are seven pend ing manufacturing ecozones, four for IT Parks and Centers, one for the Knowledge, Innovation, Sci ence, and Technology (KIST) Park, and one agro-industrial ecozone which are all located outside Metro Manila.

T he PEZA chief earlier said the agency remains bullish that it will be able to achieve its 6-7 percent investments target for the year taking into consideration the firm growth forecasts for 2022.

Panga cited the “winner ecozone sectors”—the Information Tech nology and Business Process Asso ciation of the Philippines (IBPAP) at 10-15 percent and Semiconduc tor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation, Inc. (SEIPI) with a 10 percent target.

A s for the agency’s outlook for the last quarter of the year, Panga said PEZA remains optimistic that the Philippines can attract more investments particularly in the electronics and IT sectors.

T he agency earlier said its mis sions to Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan will help generate more in terest in the Philippines.

In fact, PEZA divulged two weeks ago that it has recorded seven in vestment pledges amounting to $65 million during its investment mission in Taiwan.

M eanwhile, without disclosing figures, PEZA said it is optimistic that it has at least four big com panies of lead of new locators and one potential joint collaboration on waste management with South Korea.

A s for Japan, Panga revealed on Thursday in a televised interview that the agency signed a registra tion agreement with an electronics company. While the PEZA chief did not disclose figures, he said, “Malaking investment po ‘yan dahil they got a five-hectare lot for their hightech manufacturing.”

Panga said the electronics firm will operate in Aboitiz-led LIMA Land in Batangas.

Moreover, the PEZA chief said the investment promotion agency signed a memorandum of under standing (MOU) with a prospective Japanese investor into biotech and blockchain technology.

Solon wants bigger fines for deposit law breach

ALAWMAKER wants to in crease the maximum fine imposed on hospitals and clinics demanding deposits before administering treatment for emer gency and serious cases.

F rom the current P1 million it should be raised to P5 million, along with other stringent penal ties, under House Bill (HB) 3046 filed by Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte and three other lawmakers.

T his proposed amendment to the Anti-Hospital Deposit Law also includes a provision mandating the establishment of a  government hotline where the public can im mediately call to seek immediate assistance regarding violations of the law.

Together with Benguet Rep. Eric Yap and ACT-CIS Party-list Reps. Edvic Yap and Jeffrey Soriano,  the Davao City lawmaker said the cur rent set of penalties imposed by Re public Act (RA) 10932 on erring em ployees and officials of medical fa cilities should be increased further, as “there is still a significant number

of reports of hospitals violating the Anti-Hospital Deposit Law.”

The [Anti-Hospital Deposit Law] asserts the rights of an indi vidual to be admitted to any hos pital and be given basic emergency care without being asked to hand over an advance payment outright. This is in consonance with the Hip pocratic Oath that physicians take, pledging to help the sick to the best of their ability and knowledge,” the bill’s authors said.

B atas Pambansa (BP) 702 makes it unlawful for any hospital or medical clinic to demand deposits or advance payments for the con finement or treatment of patients in emergency and serious cases. Certain provisions of BP 702  have  been amended under RA 8344  and RA 10932, and increased the pen alties on hospital employees and officials violating the law.

R A 10932, signed by former President Rodrigo Duterte in 2017 and implemented the following year, penalizes hospital employ ees or medical practitioners found

guilty of violating the Anti-Hos pital Deposit Law with  fines of P100,000 to P300,000 and/or  im prisonment of 6 months to 2 years.

T he same law also imposes high er penalties of imprisonment of 4 to 6 years, and a fine of P500,000  to P1 million, or both, on directors or officers of hospitals or clinics responsible for implementing poli cies or instructions that violate the Anti-Hospital Deposit Law.

Five years after the signing into law of RA 10932, Duterte wants even more severe penalties imposed on hospitals and clinics, comple mented by the establishment of a Department of Health (DOH)administered  national hotline to make it easier to flush out the law’s violators.

Under HB 3046, a hospital em ployee, official or medical practitio ner found violating the Anti-Hospital Deposit Law will be fined  between P500,000 and P1 million or impris oned from 4 to 6 years, or both, upon  the discretion of  the courts.

I f the courts find that the viola

tion was committed as a result of the medical facility’s established policy, or upon instructions of its management, the director or offi cer responsible shall be penalized with imprisonment of 6 to 12 years and/or fined P2 million to P5 mil lion under the bill.

H B 3046 also adds a provision that would allow the filing of ad ministrative cases against erring hospital employees and officials with the corresponding penalty of suspension, cancellation, or revoca tion of their professional licenses

T his is on top of the revoca tion of the medical facility’s li cense to operate by the DOH after three repeated violations of the Anti-Hospital Deposit Law aris ing from an established policy  or instructions of its management.

Under  the bill, the president, chairman, board of directors, or trustees, and other officers shall also be held solidarily liable for damages the court may award to the patient-complainant.

Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

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Deputy Manager Strategy

Brief Job Description: Develop processes for the used car financing business and oversee adoption of the said processes.

Basic Qualification: Management graduate with at least 2 years of strategy / consulting / operations experience. Strong numerical and analytical skills.

Salary Range: Php 90,000 - Php 149,999

CASPO INCORPORATED 43/f, 45/f, 49/f Pbcom Tower, 6795 Ayala Avenue Corner V.a. Rufino Street, Bel-air, City Of Makati

EVI PUSPITA SARI Operation Analyst

15.

Brief Job Description: Providing analytical job in actual business operation for the company and its worldwide clients

Basic Qualification: Has extensive experience and good working knowledge in operational procedures and policies; is proficient and able to communicate in Mandarin or any Chinese language

Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999

CHROMELAB TECHNOLOGIES INC. 25/f Techzone Bldg., 213 Sen. Gil Puyat Ave., San Antonio, City Of Makati

16.

TAN BOON LAY Bi-lingual Speaking Data Analyst Executive

Brief Job Description: Interprets data, analyzes results using statistical techniques and provides ongoing reports

Brief Job Description: Supports customers by providing helpful information, answering questions, and responding to complaints.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak and write in MANDARIN and at least college level with related BPO experience.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak and write in MANDARIN and at least college level with related BPO experience.

Salary

30,000

59,999

Basic Qualification: Able to

Basic

Basic Qualification: Fluent and proficient in writing and speaking at least two of the following languages: English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Thai, Bahasa, Malaysia, Bahasa Indonesian, Korean, Spanish and Portuguese/ 1 year experience of working in a similar role Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Fluent and proficient in writing and speaking at least two of the

17.

JACKY TING HING TAI Bi-lingual Speaking Data Analyst Officer

Brief Job Description: Interprets data, analyzes results using statistical techniques and provides ongoing reports

BOSKALIS PHILIPPINES INC.

3701, 3801 The Orient Square, F. Ortigas Jr. Road, Ortigas Center, San Antonio, City Of Pasig

49.

NGUYEN KIM DUNG Asset Management Analyst

Brief Job Description:

Basic Qualification:

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

50.

UNG QUOC HUU Asset Management Analyst

Brief Job Description: Support in all phases of development for prominent and active development company. Prepare revenue and cost analysis on commercial real estate portfolios for owners and third party-clients. Review leases and prepare lease abstracts. Compile / maintain databases on financial and operating information. Coordinate completion of takeover task list for new properties.

LIENG KY HAO Associate Real Estate Developer & Coordinator

Basic Qualification: Strong communication and writing skills, Strong quantitative skills, Selfstarter, Must be fluent in English and Vietnamese language.

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

51.

Brief Job Description: Assists project managers in (i) contract monitoring for compliance with all contract provisions and in clarifying claims/queries of contractors; (ii) preparing comprehensive pre-qualifications and bid documents and work performance statements; (iii) monitoring and documenting work progress of all projects in accordance with the contract requirements and in coordination with project managers concerned; and (iv) preparing project completion reports

YU, TIEN-FU Development Design Consultant

Basic Qualification: Strong analytical problem solving and interpersonal skills with ability to liaise effectively with internal and external clients. Must be fluent in English and Vietnamese language.

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

52.

Brief Job Description: Provides technical advice during land acquisition with respect to analysis of site physical properties, technical due diligence, development costs and construction methods; Design and prepares initial site grading plans for reference of design consultants; Monitors the performance of the consultants, designers and contractors to ensure that they fulfill the agreed-upon time, cost and quality.

53.

VU TIEN HOAN Financial Analyst

Brief Job Description: Development of written content for offering Memorandums, BOVs and marketing flyers alongside the creation of financial analysis and summary. Collect and analyze relevant data to identify real estate market trends. Communicate with clients on timing of deliverables and market feedback of assets.

Basic Qualification: Good interpersonal skills to communicate with a wide variety of technical consultants Organization and Planning skills, Honest and hardworking and Flexible and open to changes; Must be fluent in English and Chinese language.

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

Basic Qualification: Strong knowledgeable of real estate valuation and assessment of risks affecting property values is required. Ability to think critically and creatively in financial analysis aspect of role and creatively in the content creation of marketing materials. Must be fluent in English and Vietnamese Language.

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

54.

YANG, YUAN Financial Analyst

Brief Job Description: Development of written content for offering Memorandums, BOVs and marketing flyers alongside the creation of financial analysis and summary. Collect and analyze relevant data to identify real estate market trends. Communicate with clients on timing of deliverables and market feedback of assets.

Basic Qualification: Strong knowledgeable of real estate valuation and assessment of risks affecting property values is required. Ability to think critically and creatively in financial analysis aspect of role and creatively in the content creation of marketing materials. Must be fluent in English and Vietnamese Language.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php

Basic

Basic

Basic

59,999

30,000 -

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write chinese language

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 65.

TUN NAING OO Burmese Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Managing Incoming calls and customer service inquires.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, read, and write Chinese language. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 66.

YONE CFHAN Burmese Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquires

ZAYAR

Basic Qualification: Able to Speak, Read and Write Chinese Language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 67.

Basic Qualification: Able to speak, Read, and Write chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 68.

NHOR KA Cambodian Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming calls and customer service inquiries

NIM, VECHRADANE Cambodian Customer Service Brief Job Description: Managing incoming

Basic Qualification:

Basic Qualification:

YEN Vietnamese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

LE VAN QUANG Vietnamese Customer Service

Basic Qualification:

Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in computer application with good oral and written communication skills

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

Basic Qualification: Customer support and data base services

246.

247.

Brief Job Description: Knowledgeable in computer application with good oral and written communication skills

NGUYEN MANH CUONG Vietnamese Customer Service

Brief Job Description: Knowledgeable in computer application with good oral and written communication skills

NGUYEN PHU KHANH Vietnamese Customer Service

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

Basic Qualification: Customer support and data base services

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

248.

249.

Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

NGUYEN THANH AU Vietnamese Customer Service

Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in computer application with good oral and written communication skills

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

Basic Qualification: Customer support and data base services

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 250.

Brief Job Description: Knowledgeable in computer application with good oral and written communication skills

NGUYEN THI HOA Vietnamese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services.

Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in computer application with good oral and written communication skills. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 251.

NGUYEN THI LUAN HUONG Vietnamese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in Computer Application With Good Oral and Written Communication Skills

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 252.

NGUYEN THI MAI PHUONG Vietnamese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in Computer Application With Good Oral and Written Communication Skills

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 253.

NGUYEN THI PHUONG HIEN Vietnamese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in computer application with good oral and written communication skills

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 254.

NGUYEN TIN HIEU Vietnamese Customer Service Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

Basic Qualification:

Razon-led Prime Infra to spend ₧55B for energy, water projects

By Lenie Lectura @llectura

is to sustain and expand gas production in light of growing electricity demand.

t he company is also expanding its energy portfolio by investing heavily in renewables—solar, hydropower, waste-to-fuel and a gas-fired power plant in iraq.

At a press briefing on t hu rsday, Prime i n fra President and C e O G uillaume l u cci said the company is “well-positioned” to build projects supporting most urgently needed sustainability goals—energy, access to clean water, waste management and viable critical infrastructure.

He said as much as P55 billion in equity has been identified to finance existing projects and those that are in the pipeline.

“We need about, give or take, P50 to P55 billion of equity to support our projects,” said lucci.

Prime infra said its energy portfolio has always been aligned with the national government’s objective of attaining energy independence and security, while reducing the country’s reliance on fossil fuels.

it has recently completed the acquisition of the 45-percent operating stake in the Malampaya deep water gas-to-power project. t he next step

Prime has been reported to invest at least P200 billion in terra solar Philippines to build a solar facility that would be the biggest contracted solar power plant in the world.

t he commitment that was made vis-a-vis terra solar being P200 billion. Keep in mind that we fund our projects with project financing at the asset level,” said lucci.

Prime i n fra is also committed to deliver on time vital water infrastructure. Just recently, its subsidiary, WawaJ vC o i nc., started the commercial operations of Bulk Water supply Project Phase 1 in Rizal province that would deliver

an initial 80 million liters per day of raw water to Manila Water Co. and Metropolitan Waterworks and s e werage sy stem.

Construction of the project’s Phase 2 is expected to be completed by 2025.

t hese projects, lucci said, support the company’s goal to build better lives and resilient economies through critical infrastructure.

“As you can tell, we never stopped; we are always ahead and always moving and looking at opportunities. We will continue doing that, remaining true to our purpose in the market segments that we serve,” said lucci. “Our edge is we are a very disciplined management. We are absolutely relentless and always moving and two steps ahead.”

“We actually get things done. Our track record is proven—when it comes to stepping up and getting things done in complex settings.”

Filinvest Land income down 37%

By VG Cabuag @villygc

Filinvest l and inc. (Fli), the listed property development arm of the Gotianun Group, said its attributable income in January to september fell by 37 percent to P2 billion from the previous year’s P3.18 billion.

t he company noted that it recorded a P1.1-billion income tax benefit last year due to the Corporate Recovery and ta x incentives for enterprises Act.

Fli said its revenues grew 9 percent to P13.66 billion from last year’s P12.46 billion.

Rental services rose 9 percent during the period to P4.68 billion from last year’s P4.28 billion.

Real estate sales, meanwhile, grew 10 percent to P8.98 billion from the previous year’s P8.18 billion, driven by the company’s accelerated construction activities and the strong performance of its housing projects

in Cavite, laguna and Rizal, and midrise condominiums in Metro Manila and Davao.

Reservation sales also grew by 15 percent to P14 billion during the period as it launched new residential projects valued at P2.24 billion located in te resa in Rizal, na ga in Camarines su r, and s a n Rafael, Bulacan.

t he developer recently launched master-planned condo communities in Dagupan City, and Zamboanga City further strengthened Filinvest l and’s smart-value condo segment.

“We are pleased with the continued growth of our residential business, especially the sustained sales performance of our newly opened condominium projects in Dagupan City and Zamboanga City,” Fli Presi-

dent tr istan l as Marias said.

“Our investment to increase sales networks, locally and internationally, especially in tested markets like the Middle east and europe, is driving improvement in reservation sales performance year on year.”

Futura One at Fora Dagupan and Futura vinta in Zamboanga are green and sustainable mid-rise condo communities that offer residential units amid refreshing amenities and wide open spaces.

Futura One at Fora Dagupan offers studio units fit for students or those working in the city and twobedroom units apt for growing families. Futura vinta offers two-bedroom units exclusively. t hese units are also investor-friendly with rental income opportunities and potential

capital value appreciation.

Futura One at Fora Dagupan and Futura vinta in Zamboanga are expected to be followed by another mid-rise condo community in General santos in the coming months. t hese three condo communities are the first master-planned condo communities in their respective cities. Filinvest l and is also poised to enter Bataan within the year.

t he company’s mall business also grew by 66 percent compared to the same period last year and contributed P1.14 billion in revenues. t he growth in mall revenues was due to the improvement in tenant occupancy and the increase in in-store sales brought about by increased foot traffic.

“With the increase in occupancy and improved performance of our mall business, we are optimistic that we can sustain our recovery trajectory and further increase revenues in the coming months,” l a s Marias said.

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

Due to a network outage in its electronic toll collection platform, s a n Miguel Corp. (s M C) had to waive the toll for roughly 84,000 motorists that were affected by the traffic jam along portions of its expressways on t h ursday.

i n a media advisory, sMC i n frastructure said motorists along the s outh l u zon e x pressway, s k yway, na ia e x pressway, and the st ar tollway experienced heavy traffic due to a “momentary network outage in our electronic toll collection system.”

“Our i t teams traced the source of the downtime to a cut in our fiber optic network. We are still determining the root cause of the damage, but there are indications that a major vehicular accident may have contributed to the situation,” the advisory read.

s M C deployed additional manpower to provide support for

motorists in a bid to ease traffic congestion.

“We also opened affected toll plazas and waived toll fees. All in all, this covers around 84,000 vehicles that passed through the expressways from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., t hu rsday, no vember 17,” the advisory read.

Motorists whose Autosweep accounts were deducted toll from upon entry will receive electronic

refunds, the company added.

“While the system was restored around 9 a.m., we decided to keep barriers at toll plazas up, to enable all affected motorists to pass through for free,” sMC said. “Again, we apologize for the inconvenience, and ask for our motorists’ understanding, as we work to ensure that we deliver the same high level of efficiency and reliability they have come to expect from us, at all times.”

Prime infrastructure Capital inc. (Prime infra) will shell out some P55 billion to develop various projects that are meant to add value to its core business segments.

UBX targets OFWs in SG in deal with ThitsaWorks

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

FINANCIAL technology (fintech) player UBX Philippines Corp. of the Aboitiz family has struck a partnership deal with a foreign digital platform to enable online cross-border remittances between the Philippines and Singapore.

UBX partnered with ThitsaWorks Pte. Ltd., a fintech backed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, targeting more than 500,000 Filipinos in Singapore sending remittances. UBX didn’t disclose the deal’s worth.

Under the deal, UBX will provide the infrastructure for remittances between Singapore and the Philippines via its banking-as-a-service platform.

John Januszczak, the president and CEO of UBX, said they entered into a deal to edge out competitors sending to rural areas and have complicated, expensive and slow services.

Filipinos who only have accounts with microfinance institutions (MFIs) and rural banks may receive direct remittances from anyone in Singapore, Januszczak said.

The executive said he is “confident that this partnership will also accelerate financial inclusion in the Philippines by giving clients across all regions of the archipelago—regardless of how rural or remote— access to secure and connected payments through any financial service provider including rural banks, cooperatives and other community based financial institutions.”

ThitsaWorks CEO Nyi Nyein Aye was also quoted in the statement as saying he believes the deal “will positively affect the remittance challenges that many overseas migrant workers in Singapore undergo, which we witness daily.” Aye didn’t provide details of these challenges.

UBX expects the deal to take effect in the first quarter of 2023. There are roughly 600,000 overseas Filipinos in Singapore remitting roughly SGD2.8 billion annually, the firm said.

SSS offers loans after ‘Paeng’ hit

THE Social Security System (SSS) announced last Thursday it will extend financial assistance to its members and pensioners in areas affected by Severe Tropical Storm “Paeng” (international name Nalgae) starting November 17 until February 16, 2023.

SSS President and CEO Michael G. Regino was quoted in the pension fund’s statement that the SSS calamity assistance package consists of the calamity loan assistance program (Clap) for its members and the 3-month advance pension for SSS and Employees’ Compensation (EC) pensioners.

Regino said members and pensioners in the areas to be declared under state of calamity by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) or local government officials can avail of the financial assistance.

Under the Clap, qualified members in Paeng-affected areas can borrow a loan equivalent to their one monthly salary credit or up to P20,000. The calamity loan is payable in two years or 24 equal monthly installments with an annual interest rate of 10 percent.

Likewise, the SSS will provide financial aid to SSS and EC pensioners in typhoon-hit areas. Through this facility, SSS pensioners will be given three months advance of their total monthly pension.

Meanwhile, Regino reminded members and pensioners in areas affected by Super Typhoon “Karding” (Noru) that they still have until January 6, 2023, to avail of the Clap and Three-Month Advance Pension for those hit by the super typhoon.

Banking&Finance

Insurer now allows direct purchase

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes @brownindio

GOODBYE, agents.

surance

Manulife Philippines President and CEO Rahul Hora said the online shop the firm recently launched is a digital platform to allow Filipinos to purchase affordable insurance products online “at their own

convenience.”

Hora said the shop provides “intuitive, convenient and frictionless customer experience for today’s hyper-digital Filipinos, in line with our ambition to be the most digital,

customer-centric global company in our industry.”

He added the firm launched the online store to “respond to the needs of Filipinos who want access to easy and affordable insurance protection options, with the comfort of digitally driven customer experiences where they can transact seamlessly.”

The online store, according to Hora, offers annually renewable insurance products. Customers can choose their coverage based on their budget, with life protection coverage up to P1 million, subject to the terms and conditions of their procured insurance policy, the executive said.

A recent study titled “The Modern Filipino Family: Exploring family dynamics and digitaliza-

tion in the new normal,” revealed that many Filipinos buy insurance products online. The study showed that 90 percent of the Filipinos surveyed use e-commerce apps and 82 percent use finance apps for cashless payments or to buy insurance.

Among those surveyed, 25 percent of Filipino Gen X and 33 percent of Filipino Millennials said they bought insurance products online in the past 12 months.

The study also showed that 41 percent of Gen Zs are considering purchasing insurance products online in the next 12 months. Participants in the survey cited convenience (45 percent), sense of security (22 percent) and protection (17 percent) as their reasons for buying insurance products online.

Consumers can directly buy, sans an agent, three insurance products at Manulife Philippines’s online store. One is an accident life insurance plan that covers accidental death, dismemberment, total permanent disability, double indemnity and family assistance for P199 ($3.46 at current exchange rates) a year.

Another is a term life insurance plan that provides coverage for P249 ($4.33) a year. The third product is a combination of term life and personal accident insurance plan that provides both life and accident protection benefits for P448 ($7.79) a year.

Hora said the Dubai, United Arab Emirates-headquartered insurance technology company Democrance DMCC developed the platform for the insurer.

CRYPTO’S latest existential crisis, courtesy of Sam Bankman-Fried’s epic faceplant, flared amid far-reaching planned changes in the digital-asset rulebooks of Asian centers including Hong Kong and Singapore.

The fall of his FTX exchange showed the world lacked the true picture of its operations. As a result, officials in both jurisdictions and further afield face calls to ensure greater transparency, especially on customer assets.

The immediate focus in Asia is on “disclosures of leverage ratios, any conflict of interest with user funds, details of those funds and risk man-

agement,” said Cici Lu, founder at Venn Link Partners, a digital-asset consultancy.

For now, Hong Kong and Singapore are sticking with diverging regulatory paths. Hong Kong two weeks ago pivoted to a more welcoming stance, detailing plans to become a crypto hub with legalized retail trading and dedicated exchangetraded funds. Singapore, in contrast, is clamping down on retail crypto trading, focusing instead on productive applications of blockchain technology.

Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan in a Sunday blog post indirectly referenced FTX’s

November-11 slide into bankruptcy while adding that the industry is “full of hope” for the city’s virtual-asset market. He argued that’s because Hong Kong is on course for a rule book that delivers the transparency, compliance and investor protection needed to tackle the risks writ large by the so-called crypto winter.

Hong Kong’s Securities & Futures Commission has said the exposure

of local licensed entities to FTX is “non-material.”

Singapore argues FTX’s woes affirm the city-state’s focus on consumer safeguards such as a proposed ban on leveraged token purchases by mom-and-pop investors.

Asked at a conference about whether the FTX imbroglio changes the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s approach to crypto, its chief

FTX bankruptcy is fresh test of nerves for Asia’s crypto regulators Associations and Kaizen

IN this 300th column (thank you, BusinessMirror, for this milestone!), I will touch upon a topic close to my heart as this has been a part of my work and advocacy on association management.

The term kaizen is a fusion of two Japanese words that translate to “good change” or “change for the better.” Eventually, kaizen has evolved to mean “continuous improvement,” becoming a Japanese business philosophy that entails people involvement and productivity in a gradual and methodical process.

I personally experienced the kaizen way years ago when I attended the “Executive Corporate Management Program” in Tokyo, Japan, organized by the Association of Overseas Technical Scholarship, now Association for Overseas Technical Cooperation and Sustainable Partnerships (AOTS).

Kaizen was known to be first adopted in Japanese businesses after World War 2, partly influenced by American business and qualitymanagement practitioners, and mostly by “The Toyota Way,” a set of guiding principles anchored on respect for people and continuous improvement. Kaizen has since spread throughout the world and has been applied to environments other than business and productivity.

So what can associations learn from kaizen? Here are a few ideas based on each of the kaizen principles developed by the Kaizen Institute founded by Masaaki Imai, known as the father of continuous improvement.

1. Know Your Customer. This means creating customer value by identifying their interests to enhance their experience. Associations have been adopting this principle to attract, engage with, and retain their members. A tweak of this could be KYM or “know your member,” focusing to having a “We are here to serve you” culture.

2. Let It Flow. This refers to targeting zero waste by making everyone in the organization aim to create value and eliminate waste. While not exactly as literal, “letting it flow” in the context of an association could mean putting its

resources to good use by undertaking relevant programs and activities and those that create value to members.

3. Go to Gemba This relates to following the action and going where things actually happen since true value is created there. (Gemba means “the actual place” in Japanese.) In the case of an association, this could be “being where your members are,” e.g., being in social media channels if they are there, or organizing events that promotes peer learning and delivers networking opportunities.

4. Empower People. This deals with organizing teams by setting the same goals for them and providing them with a system and set of tools to use. One of the outstanding characteristics of thriving associations is having a team culture and a data-driven strategy to go with it.

5. Be Transparent. This pertains to showing the real data as performance and making improvements tangible and visible. In the context of an association, this could relate to fully disclosing to its stakeholders—board, staff, members and volunteers—the state of the organization, including programming and financial reports. Transparency is one of the hallmarks of good governance.

The implementation of these five kaizen principles in an organization is fundamentally important to have a successful continuous improvement culture and to mark a turning point in the progression of quality, productivity, and workermanagement relations.

Octavio Peralta is currently the executive director of the Global Compact Network Philippines and founder and volunteer CEO of the Philippine Council of Associations and Association Executives (PCAAE), the “association of associations.”

The PCAAE is holding its Associations Summit 10 (AS10) on November 23 and 24, 2022. E-mail: bobby@pcaae.org

fintech officer Sopnendu Mohanty said Wednesday “we stay on the course, we stay on the business-case driven approach to the space.”

The central bank is “willing to innovate” if risks are under control, he added. The monetary authority is also currently reviewing the license application of FTX.com local subsidiary Quoine Pte. in the wake of recent developments. Bloomberg News

The Manufacturers Life In-

Co. (Phils.) Inc. (Manulife Philippines) now allows anybody to buy products when they need it and wherever they are.

Octavio Peralta

Association World

Relationships

is the easiest to prepare. Drowned in a dipping saucer of vinegar and chopped red onions, and eaten with rice topped with the oil used to pan-fry the sausage, the meal is simple but pure heaven.

ALL it chorizo, as in Spain, Mexico, and in the Visayas region; or longganisa, as in most parts of the Philippines, but there’s never been a more dependable and versatile food than sausages.

Sausages are typically made of coarsely ground meat like pork and beef, but many variations in other parts of the world also use lamb or chicken, mixed with various seasonings, and are stuffed in pork intestine casings. (Commercially-branded sausages use artificial casings.) The sausages can be dry, like Hong Kong-style pork sausages or salami, or smoked like the Polish kielbasas, and can be served fresh and boiled, or boiled then grilled, or boiled then pan-fried.

Most people, like the British and Filipinos, like our sausages served at breakfast, while the Spaniards usually have them as part of a tapas plate. The Chinese use their sausages as ingredients for noodle dishes, while New Yorkers like their hotdogs boiled and served with relish and mustard on top in a bun for a quick lunch or snack.

I love sausages any time of the day. I have them for breakfast with garlic fried brown rice and sunny-side up egg; my favorites are usually the garlicky longganisas from Calumpit and Bacolod. On those days when I’m too tired to think of what to eat (or when the budget is tight and there’s nothing in the ref), slices of Chinese pork sausage (locally dubbed chorizong macau) gifted to me

I also have them for lunch or dinner, often with potato salad or slices of baguette slathered in garlic butter, as I did when I recently had delicious sausages from One World Butchers. This new favorite hangout, which has opened in trendy Poblacion, Makati, specializes in house-made gourmet sausages and asador-grilled meats. (An asador is basically a roasting jack, or a contraption that allows the roasting or grilling over a parilla, or open fire.)

Aside from traditional sausages such as Vienna, Bratwurst, Bockwurst, and the Nürnberger, which formed part of the deli-restaurant’s recent Oktoberfest plate, along with the smoky Cabanossi, they also serve new interesting variants, or artisanal sausages, that adventurous eaters such as myself truly appreciate.

The most curious for me was The Mask, made of bits of pork face, one of the most flavorful parts of a pig, which gave the sausage a good bite and chew. Think of it as a sisig in a sausage. The Green Mexican is also a flavorful variant because it is only ever-so-slightly spicy, and doesn’t overwhelm the tastebuds. It merely teases the palate, making it most agreeable to the taste.

For sides, I had creamy Virgin Mashed Potatoes and charred vegetables which lent a sweet touch to the meal. There was a smoky gravy served on the side to dip the sausages in, but I still prefer traditional wholegrain mustard.

One World Butchers’ sausage meat is just impeccable, and the flavors are a proper punch to the gob. Other artisanal sausages I want to try next are the Sundried with Cheese, Cilantro Jalapeño Cheddar, Smokey Hawaiian, Kaffir and Red Curry Pork. Diners can choose to have their sausages with a selection of sides and sauces, or can have them as a flatdog, wherein the sausages are placed on a piece of flatbread then loaded with fixings.

Aside from the sausages, One World Butchers serves other meaty and hefty dishes (with a few salads to make your heart happy), all thoughtfully conceptualized and crafted by Chef Miguel Gianan and his team. For starters, there’s the Black Forest Ham and Egg, which features smoked house ham atop a sturdy raft of rye bread with grilled asparagus and a marinated egg. One World Butchers Board is an eye-catching and mouthwatering assortment of handcrafted cold cuts, curated meats and cheese, which is good for sharing.

Heat-blistered meats are also hefty with flavors, intensified with the lick of the flame before the lick of the tongue. There’s the robustly flavored, pit-roasted Braveheart Bone-in Ribeye, good for sharing, or the Manly Skirt Steak, a tender delight to eat.

Among the sides available are the European (Spätzle) Mac, Fully Loaded Grilled Corn, Sauerkraut, and Dirty Rice, to name a few. The dessert menu is well-curated and can sweetly knock out one’s meal: Peanut Butter Pretzel Brownie, Apple Berry Crumble, and Berry Panna Cotta

According to Chef Miguel, “The cooking here at One World Butchers is big and bullish, but our commissary is where the real action is. Everything you see in the deli case is made from scratch right here daily—exactly what makes a good delicatessen exceptional. We have an assembly of sausages, cold cuts and trimmings on display and ready for the picking—perfect for cooking up a gourmet meal at home.”

Diners will also surely appreciate the delirestaurant’s breezy outdoor seating, away from the grand asador at the heart of the open kitchen, where all the searing and flaming happens.

One World Butchers is the latest concept to be introduced under PYC Foods Corp. and located at 8491 Kalayaan Avenue corner Matilde Street, Makati. It’s open from 11 am to 10 pm every Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and 11am to 12 midnight from Thursday to Saturday. For reservations, contact 0917-8236631. Let’s feast, folks!

A sausage by any other name… UP MassCom to host Glory Awards, homecoming on November 19

FOUR outstanding alumni of the University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication (UP CMC) will receive the 2022 Glory Awards. This year’s awardees are Christian Broadcasting Network-Asia head of production and programming Katherine “Kata” Inocencio (Broadcast and TV Arts); independent documentary filmmaker Jewel Maranan (Film); development communicator Marcia “Chuki” Feria-Miranda (Allied Disciplines); and former ABS-CBN head of newsgathering and online operations Charie Villa (Journalism).

Riding the resurgence of face-to-face events, the annual Glory Awards and UPCMCAA homecoming will finally return to campus after three years on Saturday, November 19, 2022, at the University Hotel in Diliman, Quezon City. Bestowed annually since 2017 by the UPCMCAA, the Glory Awards honor alumni whose work goes beyond “the usual” consistent track record of excellence.

T he Glory Awards were inspired by the legacy of honor and distinction of Dr. Gloria Feliciano, the founding dean of UP CMC. The Glory trophy, sculpted by UP Professor Emeritus and former Chancellor Grace Javier Alfonso, will be presented to winners.

T his year’s panel of jurors was composed of former Glory awardees and respected practitioners, including creative director Dolores Cheng, former press secretary Danilo Gozo, free press and journalist rights advocate Rowena Carranza-Paraan, TV entertainment executive Lilybeth Rasonable, film producers Linggit Tan and Ronald Arguelles, TV host and film critic Butch Francisco, filmmaker Jeffrey Jeturian, journalist and UPCMC journalism department chair Kara David, and The Sun - Hong Kong editor and migrant rights lawyer Daisy Mandap. The Glory also has two permanent jurors, UP CMC Dean and communication research professor Fernando dlC. Paragas

and former ANC and CNN Philippines news director Jing Magsaysay, who represents the family of Dr. Feliciano.

E lections will also be held at 5 pm to select 15 alumni board members who will serve for a three-year term until 2025.

Ice Seguerra and acoustic duo Dindo & Ryan lead the special guest performers for the event. The duo will accompany UP CMC talents in singalongs throughout the night.

R egistration is at 4 pm. Tickets are for P1,000 per head, inclusive of dinner and the annual alumni membership fee. Payment details as follows: GCash: +639770874437 (subscriber name Katrina Mae Ramos, executive assistant of UPCMCAA), or PNB Bank Account UP College of Mass Communication Alumni Association (1086-70009544) MAYA: QRPH-072226.

Today’s Horoscope

By Eugenia Last

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Damon Wayans Jr., 40; Chloe Sevigny, 48; Owen Wilson, 54; Oscar Nuñez, 64.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Be realistic about life and what you can achieve this year; you will find it less stressful getting to your destination. Don’t let life pass you by without having a little fun. Put together a routine that offers pastimes that stimulate your mind and ensure a healthy lifestyle. Reach out to people you trust and who can help you gain independence. Your lucky numbers are 3, 10, 19, 26, 30, 33, 44.

aARIES (March 21-April 19): Look at what everyone around you is doing, and it will spark ideas that will help you offer something unique as your contribution. A partnership, sharing expenses or an adventure will improve your life. Make laughter a priority. HHH

bTAURUS (April 20-May 20): You’ve got what it takes to excel, so don’t just sit there watching the world pass you by; take the initiative and concentrate on getting things done without emotional interference from someone trying to outmatch you every step of the way. HHHHH

cGEMINI (May 21-June 20): Pace yourself. Don’t take on tasks that don’t belong to you or expect someone to come through for you just because you ask. Do your own thing, plan carefully and leave nothing undone. Be responsible for yourself and the promises you make. HH

dCANCER (June 21-July 22): Take everything you know and what you do best and turn it into something that puts a smile on your face. Bring loved ones together for a fun time or plan a romantic evening with someone special. Live, love, laugh. HHHH

eLEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Don’t hold yourself back because you don’t know what others plan to do next. Dismiss getting involved in joint ventures. Follow the path that leads to peace of mind and personal happiness. Do what pleases you. Self-improvement is favored. HHH

fVIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Keep things in perspective. If you jump to conclusions, you will make a mistake that will lead to regret. Be a good listener and follow the dots, and you’ll discover what really took place and how it might benefit you as well. HHH

gLIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Reach out to a friend, relative or someone you consider an expert. Talks will lead to new beginnings and a change of scenery. Personal improvements will help build confidence and encourage you to be socially active in your community. HHH

hSCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Do what others expect of you and keep the peace. Suggest an exciting alternative to your usual weekend plans or connect with someone you haven’t seen in a long time. Attend a reunion or fix up your space. Romance is favored. HHHH

iSAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Charm will help you get your way. Plan to have fun with friends and entertain on your turf. A partnership needs attention if you want help with your goals. Keep everyone updated and on board with your plans. HH

jCAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Check out an investment that interests you, and you’ll come up with a moneymaking plan that is unique and profitable. A change at home will lift your spirits and give you a reason to plan something special for family and friends. HHHHH

kAQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Keep money matters to yourself. Consider what’s possible, and don’t make a move that poses uncertainty or that someone you don’t trust initiates. Do your homework, but in the end, trust in yourself, not someone eager to take advantage of you. HHH

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Listen to the experts and figure out what works best for you. Regarding investments, you are better off following your instincts and sticking to what you know is a sure thing. Don’t let emotions cost you. HHH

BIRTHDAY BABY: You are unique, charismatic and kind. You are social and persuasive.

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

The Manunuri honors RoxLee: Pioneering saboteur of f ilm forms

them in a network of bizarre kinship.

IT was merely a few days before the world went on lockdown—we never knew a phenomenon like that would come in our lifetime—when independent filmmakers, mostly regional and unheralded, gathered in Naga City for the 12th Cinema Rehiyon.

Coming mostly from the peripheries, the film makers, curators and programmers were used to the non-mainstream kind of cinemas. Experimental, abstract, self-conscious sometimes, ponderous even, intellectual, subversive. Amid this interesting cast of characters was one glorified by many for being all that in his works—experimental and favoring abstrac tions and images over straight narrative, egregiously self-conscious sometimes, politically ponderous, intellectual (to critics but not to him), subversive.

RoxLee—can we call it a portmanteau of Roque Lee, or an attempt at cuteness (which I as a friend be lieve he desires as a trait and, to a degree, he achieves as only he in his capacity as a raconteur can achieve)?

Roque Federizon Lee is RoxLee’s best kept secret, his humanity and ordinariness.

RoxLee produced animations in the period when the term meant “cartoons” and Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse. He got immersed in the mak ing of short films when films then were meant to be long—an hour or more, and had stories and actors that looked good and mighty, and actresses who were willowy, sensual, or dumb but alluring.

But, as stories have beginnings, storytellers have provenance.

It all began in a small school in a small city, Ateneo de Naga in Naga City. In high school, RoxLee was a storyteller. His stories came out in the student maga zine, called An Maogmang Lugar, a phrase which liter ally meant “The Happy Place.” It was a term coined by Fr. James O’Brien, SJ, a Jesuit English teacher who also developed a course on Bikol Culture in Ateneo de Naga High School, a rare pedagogical experimentation in the country’s secondary education in the ‘60s.

In Ateneo de Naga, he became popular as an il lustrator/cartoonist for the Knight Literary Magazine in the late ’60s and ’70s. His works came in the form of rough-and-tough doodles, the lines going on and on like a madman’s idea of a picture. When Martial Law was declared, the literary magazine was banned. But student life continued and there, RoxLee’s life as an artist continued. Then he moved to Manila.

In the 1980s, RoxLee would do more animations mostly done in super-8. Despite being not a formal part of the animation industry, he would be credited as being one of the founding members of the Anim

It was in 1984 when the world of experimental films noticed RoxLee. The piece was called The Great Smoke. The reference was to the A-Bomb and the aim was to call attention to disarmament and driv ing away the American bases from the Philippines. Collage, photos, stop motion and humanoids whose only signs of anthropomorphism were in bodily parts disembodied—noses, mouths, with skin connecting

My introduction to RoxLee was via a film he wrote, Tronong Puti (The White Throne). Onscreen, a ritual is taking place. Men carry what looks like a small palanquin. Then bombs start falling. The trono turns out to be a toilet bowl. Imagine human waste inside the toilet bowl. Offensive. Dirty. But an incense is waved over it and bombs appear. Recognizable are clips from journalists documenting the Vietnam War and more wars. On the street, people are covering their faces with handkerchiefs. The world is polluted. Voices float over the scene. The chant reminds us of Gregorian music but the eeriness is gothic. Then words clearly say: the toilet bowl is a human invention that brings release and contentment.

In 1986, RoxLee did Juan Gapang. Historicised as happening in the period of the so-called Edsa Revolu tion, the film takes on the heavy politics of an advocacy film. Viewed in itself, Juan Gapang is both disruptive and meditative: think of how a man can spend all his days walking on all fours, a vestigial organ of a humankind that has already stood up. And yet, Juan Gapang is also the forgotten person, the ignored, the downtrodden, the regular beggar, the suffering of the quotidian. The cars whizz by. This is filmmaking at its edgiest: the ac tor’s weight teeters on the brink of tight sidewalk. The dangers of falling and being hit by cars are there but the camera is also there, confrontational, reckless, bold but not even heroic, a documentary of how we are as a population—uncaring, observing but also observed.

Juan Gapang would win the Gawad Urian in 1987 for Best Short Film.

Suffice it to say that there is more to cinema in RoxLee. There is more to him than the arts. The simplest thing that comes close to the obscurity of this artist is the fact that in what appears to be an organi cally nihilistic attitude to life is his love of that which he denies. What are these? Truths of all kinds and their inversion—lies.

To appreciate the films of Rox Lee is to see him in his other personas as painter, actor and performance artist. In the said domains, RoxLee is uncaring about traditions; he celebrates noise both of the invasive and abrasive kind; he is par excellence a saboteur of everything pleasant and acceptable. His short films are about memories of disaster, of identities in crisis.

RoxLee, who is considered by many filmmakers as their “godfather,” has inspired young artists to pursue narratives that question harmony and regularities, inducing a movement in cinema that urges experi mentations which produce shapes that are absurd but closer to the realities around us.

AVID fans of the GMA hit prime-time series First Lady are in for an early Christmas treat as the romantic-drama series starts streaming on Netflix Philippines on December 9.

First Lady is the sequel to the Philippines’s No. 1 show for 2021, First Yaya (TheFirstNanny), which debuted on Netflix last July 29.

The drama stars the swoon-worthy pairing of award-winning actor Gabby Concepcion as President Glenn Acosta and dazzling actress Sanya Lopez as First Lady Melody Acosta.

First Yaya ended on a happy note with the fairy-tale romance of President Glenn and Melody. This time around, the newlyweds navigate new territory and delve into trust and doubt, change and tradition that will challenge their marriage.

As Glenn seeks another term for his presidency, Melody needs to reassess and find her place once more in her husband’s chaotic and busy life.

Meanwhile, GMA’s flagship international channel GMA Pinoy TV adds another feather to its cap as it bagged two Silver Awards at the 2022 International Film Festival Manhattan (IFFM) for its original programs GlobalPinoyUnlimitedandEntrePinoyAbroad

Winning Silver under IFFM’s News Category, GlobalPinoyUnlimited features shortform content on what’s new in the global Pinoy community—highlighting community news, Pinoy headliners and their significant contributions to the

community, as well as special kababayanand fans happenings across the globe.

We at GMA Pinoy TV are one with Global Pinoys who continue to dream and work for representation,” said GMA International Senior Vice President for Programming Cheri C. Domingo in her acceptance speech. “And this recognition of our content efforts aligned with that aspiration is very much inspiring and motivational for us.”

On the other hand, EntrePinoyAbroad is a digital series by GMA Pinoy TV, highlighting the stories of Filipinos abroad who, despite the challenges of putting up their own business in a foreign land, continue to persevere and promote Filipino products to the world.

LONDON—Actor Kevin Spacey will be charged with seven further sex offenses in Britain, all relating to the same alleged victim, UK prosecutors said Wednesday. It brings the number of charges the Hollywood star faces in the UK to 12.

Britain’s Crown Prosecution said Wednesday that charges against the former HouseofCards star are three of indecent assault, three of sexual assault and one of causing a person to engage in sexual activ ity without consent. The charges relate to incidents between 2001 and 2004.

The prosecuting authority approved the charges following “a review of the evidence gathered by the Metropolitan Police in its investigation,’’ said Rose mary Ainslie, head of the CPS Special Crime Division.

Spacey, a double Academy Award winner, has already pleaded not guilty to charges that he sexually as

saulted three men between 2004 and 2015 when he was the artistic director at the Old Vic theater in London.

His trial is due to start on June 6, 2023 and last for three to four weeks. It is likely to be at the Old Bailey, the venue for Britain’s highest-profile criminal trials. He also faces a December 16 court hearing on the new charges.

Spacey, who has addresses in London and the US, was granted bail and allowed to return to the United States after a preliminary hearing in June.

Spacey, 63, won a best supporting actor Academy Award for the 1995 film TheUsualSuspects and a lead actor Oscar for the 1999 movie AmericanBeauty

His celebrated career came to an abrupt halt in 2017 when actor Anthony Rapp accused the star of as saulting him at a party in the 1980s, when Rapp was a teenager. Last month, a jury at a civil trial in New York cleared Spacey of those allegations. AP

Earning a Silver under the Episodic Category was the feature on Filipina architect Evangeline Macasa Monjardin, a managing partner in an interior design and contracting company in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. In the episode, she shared her inspiring journey on how she transitioned from being an employee to putting up her own business. It was initially published on GMA Pinoy TV’s Facebook and YouTube pages, and was aired on GMA Pinoy TV.

On behalf of GMA Pinoy TV, congratulations to our hard-working team behind GlobalPinoy Unlimited and EntrePinoyAbroad, as well as to our kababayanswho trusted us in sharing their stories to inspire their fellow Kapuso abroad. This recognition from the IFFM is yet another testament that we truly are stronger together in creating an impact across the globe. We share this honor with all Global Pinoys!” GMA International First Vice President and Head Joseph T. Francia concluded.

The International Film Festival Manhattan is an independent film festival that showcases a selection of world-class short films that are screened at several theater venues in Manhattan, New York City, USA. Now in its 13th year, the award-giving body focuses on social relevance as part of its programming and goals as it creates an opportunity for filmmakers and artists to showcase their works in the Big Apple. This year’s IFFM awarding ceremony was held last November 12 and hosted by Luis Pedron.

Jungo Pinoy expands streaming service to overseas Filipinos

An entertainment app that’s specifically created and curated for Filipinos by Los Angeles-based media company Jungo TV, Jungo Pinoy is now expanding their streaming service to include countries known for having large overseas Filipino communities.

Fil ipinos in the United States, Canada, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain can now access Jungo Pinoy’s impressive selection of free movies, series and shows including the world’s largest Tagalog-dubbed film library. With new titles published weekly, subscribers get to enjoy a programming lineup packed with Pinoy favorites across different genres.

A long with the streaming service’s expansion are new videos and Tagalog-dubbed series and films that are going to be available on the Jungo Pinoy app soon. These include popular Latin American movies and telenovelas, like the exclusive Tagalog-dubbed version of the acclaimed 1994 Mexican TV series Marimar  led by Thalia; and another Mexican TV favorite, Triunfo del amor  featuring the popular Cuban-American actor William Levy.

Ho oked on K-dramas? Jungo Pinoy is also streaming the Tagalog-dubbed versions of popular Korean dramas such as the 2018 web series Monkey and Dog Romance, 2022 youth drama Bubble Up and the 2016 romcom Touching You starring K-pop idol and 2PM member Ok-Taecyon.

Apart from updating its collection, Jungo Pinoy is also launching FAST or Free Ad-supported Streaming TV Channels on its app to provide subscribers with a premium cable TV experience on mobile for free.

The current lineup includes notable channels like Cinemundo Pinoy for Tagalog-dubbed and Filipino films; A8 Esports for best esports and gaming shows; and Black Belt for non-stop martial arts instructions, movies and TV shows. There are other exciting ones in the works, like Make It Makati in partnership with Ayala Land, which highlights interesting spots, events and activities in the vibrant and dynamic city, making it a first-of-its-kind FAST Channel on the app.

Download Jungo Pinoy app on Google Play Store and Apple App Store To unlock more content, check out Jungo Pinoy’s partnership with DITO Telecommunity for affordable subscription plans.

agination, which evolved into Animahenasyon, a competition in Philippine animation. For this, RoxLee was honored with a lifetime achievement award by the group.

NOAH CENTINEO on Jungo Pinoy

Oman to Celebrate 52nd National

THE Sultanate of Oman will celebrate the 52nd National Day on Friday, the 18th of November. Omani people will mark the Renewed Renaissance and its glorious reign under the leadership of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik, who affirmed his constant quest to advance Oman’s modern cultural and economic status and his keenness to make Omani citizens as true partners in their country’s comprehensive development.

H is Majesty the Sultan’s vision for the future of this benign land reflected positively on the integration of government departments with private sector establishments and civil society institutions. This has in turn brought about tangible results in different social, economic and political fields.

T he attention that His Majesty the Sultan accords to the study of decision-making mechanisms is aimed at serving the country’s supreme interests. The outcome was a set of decisions, the most prominent of which the restructuring of the Council of Ministers on 16 June 2022. The decision was the second one after His Majesty the Sultan assumed the reins of power. It affirmed His Majesty’s resolve to follow up the efforts exerted to improve government performance towards the realization of Oman Vision 2040. The establishment of the Supreme Judicial Council, under His Majesty’s own chairmanship, was yet a step forward in founding a system capable of achieving the loftiest standards of justice, impartiality and transparency in line with pillars of Oman Vision 2040. The step also combines all parties of litigation into a single judicial schema.

T he Royal Decree on enhancing the role of the governorates constituted a major step in achieving the modern approach to decentralize local administration. It empowers Oman’s 11 governorates, defines their roles in development and defines their economic and social priorities to benefit from the comparative advantage among governorates. Decentralization also streamlines service procedures for citizens, an objective underscored by His Majesty the Sultan upon his chairmanship of the Council of Ministers on 11 October 2022.

In the meeting, His Majesty the Sultan stressed the importance of coordination among units of the States’ Administrative Apparatus and the governorates, the acceleration of electronic transformation, interconnection among governorates to streamline procedures, facilitate the execution of transactions, develop the quality of government services and address the existing challenges.

A d ecision was issued to add two new wilayats to Oman’s administrative division— namely by according the status of “wilayat” to both “Al Jabal Al Akhdar” and “Sinaw”, raising the total number of wilayats in Oman to 63. The decision was aimed at attracting

investments, developing resources and upgrading services and activities in the two wilayats.

H is Majesty the Sultan’s keenness to hold direct meetings with sheikhs and dignitaries of Oman constitutes a strong manifestation of the leader’s keenness to get firsthand knowledge about citizens’ needs, despite the existence of public institutions such as the Council of Oman—a legislative monitoring body— and municipal councils, which undertake developmental and service roles in their respective wilayats.

T he Royal-meet-the-people gatherings affirm His Majesty the Sultan’s sincere desire to implement decentralization and make it the most straightforward administrative application for the future in Oman’s governorates.

T he new administrative setup offers governors and governorates direct authority to run their internal affairs, including planning and implementation of missions. This makes governorates’ affairs more closely associated with the districts themselves, their governors and their municipal councils.

M uch hope is pinned on elections of municipal councils, due to be held on 25 December for local voters and 17 December 2022 for citizens voting from abroad. The tasks of municipal councils keep pace with the Royal vision of His Majesty the Sultan and the role that the councils are expected to undertake.

R oyal Decree No. 38/2022 introduces amendments to some provisions of the Municipal Councils Law, which aims to facilitate their missions in different governorates. This was stated by His Majesty the Sultan who has affirmed that time is ripe for decentralization of decisions pertaining to local communities. This brought to the limelight the role of governors and the role of municipal councils.

H is Majesty the Sultan’s emphasis on interaction between governors, municipal councils, Oman Investment Authority and Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry assumes a special significance. This interaction gains more impetus after the Governorates Development Programme’s allocations were increased to RO 20 million and the addition of new development projects to previous projects endorsed for implementation during the rest of the 10th Five Year Plan (2021-2025) whose worth exceeding RO 650 million in different sectors. The Royal vision will spur economic

growth and contribute to the continuity of services and the completion of infrastructure. It will also boost private sector activities and provide more employment opportunities for citizens.

L ast January, Oman implemented the “System of Individual Performance and Institutional Proficiency” (Ejada) in 57 government institutions. The system, which covers about 175,000 government employees, aims at generating a quantum leap in government performance by enhancing the efficiency of human resources and improving the level of government services.

T he Government Digital Transformation Programme is an executive arm of a digital economy and a basic enabler in achieving the priorities of Oman Vision 2040. It contributes to the establishment of a flexible and innovative government apparatus based on principles of governance and providing highquality performance and smart government services.

I ndicators for measuring the performance of the programme include raising the percentage of automation of government services from 34% in 2020 to 80% by 2050, with the expected investment volume for implementing the programme set at RO 170 million, which will be invested in improving procedures, re-engineering government services, improving digital infrastructure, and empowering national competencies in the field of digital transformation.

T he Sultanate of Oman has attached a great importance to protecting the environment and preserving its various natural resources.

His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik endorsed the year 2050 as a date for achieving zero carbon emissions. A national plan prepared for this objective includes the establishment of Oman Sustainability Centre, based on the outputs of the Carbon Management Laboratory.

This serves as a major step that aims at diminishing the impacts of climate change, striking a balance between sustainable development and effects of climate change, establishing a knowledge-based economy, benefiting from clean technology to achieve sustainable development and developing a diversified mix of energy sources.

H is Majesty the Sultan issued directives to expedite the development of an early warning system and implement the best urban planning methodologies to limit the impacts of climatic conditions, disasters and related epidemics. This affirms the attention accorded by His Majesty the Sultan to the human being— Omani citizens and expatriates alike.

R oyal Decree No. 54/ 2022 establishes the National Natural Park Reserve in Musandam Governorate. The park is aimed at achieving sustainable development by preserving natural resources, sustaining biodiversity and protecting wildlife and geological diversity. The park is the first one of its kind in Musandam Governorate and the 22nd in Oman.

T he presence of Omani women in all fields and their impressive contribution to Oman’s comprehensive development constitutes a direct outcome of the attention and care that women have received. This was confirmed by Her Highness the Honourable Lady Assayida Ahd Abdullah Hamed Al Busaidi, Spouse of the Sultan of Oman, on the occasion of Omani Women’s Day, which falls on 17 October.

It reflects the achievements the women have made in all fields and in different practical and scholarly sectors.

H H Sayyid Theyazin bin Haitham Al Said, Minister of Culture, Sports and Youth, also stressed that Omani women showed their mettle over time as essential partners in Oman’s march prosperity, as desired by His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik. HH Sayyid Theyazin made the statement during the inauguration of the logo and identity of Women’s Club for Sports and Cultural Innovation.

H is Majesty the Sultan also accorded attention to the establishment of Omani women’s societies and rehabilitation centres for people with disabilities, both governmental and private, in all governorates of Oman, so that all could play their roles

in domestic development.

His Majesty the Sultan gave directives to provide appropriate financial support to those institutions and develop them. The result was that the Omani Women’s Societies Development Laboratory launched 19 empowering and investment initiatives, with a set of themes in mind to achieve progress. The themes include governance, the application of laws and legislation, a supportive environment, funding and investment.

H is Majesty the Sultan is following up efforts made by the government to care for young people and highlight their contributions. On the occasion of the Omani Youth Day, HH Sayyid Theyazin stressed that “youth are among the most important pillars of Oman Vision 2040, which

seeks to achieve sustainability and prosperity for the present generation of Omanis and the future generations.”

A ddressing the citizens of Oman, His Majesty the Sultan affirmed the need to adhere to the principles and values of society and to be proud of their identity, “the core component of our personality”. He added that the national identity constitutes one of the pillars of the history of this benign land, given the impacts of technology and information revolution on the world, including the spread of negative thoughts and alien customs.

H is Majesty the Sultan stressed that openness to the world must be "in a balanced, clear-cut manner. We have to interact with technology positively, lest we might lose our originality or forget our identity”, His Majesty explained.

His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik, the Sultan of Oman.

National Day on 18 November

crises. On top of these measures was the medium-term Fiscal Balance Plan (2020-2023), which proved practical through the results it achieved, supported by the 10th Five Year Plan (2021-2025) in line with Oman Vision 2040. This approach was emphasized by His Majesty the Sultan who expressed his satisfaction with the positive change in the course of the state’s financial performance and Oman’s ability to meet its financial obligations.

D uring this year and until the end of August 2022, the Sultanate of Oman was able to pay off loans and replace some high-cost bonds with lowcost ones valued at more than RO 4 billion. It also cut down the size of the public debt by about RO 2.4 billion as at the end of August 2022, to stand at RO 18.4 billion, thanks to Government measures taken to support economic recovery.

T he ratio of public debt to the GDP decreased to 46.5%. This enabled the government to diminish public debt risks and reduce the cost of public debt interests to be paid in the future by about RO 127 million, besides improving the credit rating and other benefits to consolidate economic growth.

T he increase in added value in oil and non-oil activities at the end of the second quarter of 2022 contributed to the growth of the GDP value at current prices by 30.4%, touching RO 20.4 billion, compared to RO 15.6 billion at the end of the corresponding quarter in 2021.

H is Majesty's directives during his chairmanship of the Council of Ministers last March—to keep pace with global transformations in the field of green hydrogen and allocate appropriate sites for its production—will enhance foreign investment opportunities, localize this technology and benefit from its multiple uses to produce electrical energy and provide thermal energy for local industries.

To lend support to low-cost clean energy solutions, Ibri Solar Energy Project opened last January 2022 as the first solar power plant to be connected to the main electricity grid with the aim of diversifying sources of renewable energy, maximizing the contribution of clean energy projects, boosting the national economy and attracting investments.

H is Majesty the Sultan’s directives to add more than RO 650 million to implement additional development projects over projects already endorsed in the 10th five-year plan 20212025 and his Royal instructions to increase fiscal liquidity for Budget allocations by RO 200 million will contribute to promoting economic growth, completing infrastructure, supporting private sector activities and providing more employment opportunities for Omani citizens.

non-interference in internal affairs, positive cooperation, mutual interests, justice, dialogue, humanity, and support for international peace and security—have made the Sultanate of Oman a reliable international partner at the local and global levels.

O man’s status among entities that are active in resolving regional crises and the country’s presence at international events related to this matter is a direct outcome of the soundness of its foreign policy foundations. At the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Oman reiterated that its solid political approach is based on a deep and stable vision and a vast experience derived from its heritage and human history.

Oman also affirmed that the pillars of its foreign policy are standing on solid grounds of truth and justice, boosted by positive cooperation and ties of friendship with all, with the prime aim of contributing to the consolidation of international peace and security.

O man is also convinced that “establishing and maintaining peace in the world is necessary for the good of peoples, and that this stance can be maintained only if it is based on firm rules of justice and solid foundations of cooperation and harmony among all nations with the aim of engaging positively with countries of the world for a promising future of mankind."

T he vision of His Majesty the Sultan is based on Oman’s maintaining positive cooperation with all in various spheres and in a manner that promotes mutual interests.

The results of the vision were manifest in His Majesty’s visits to a number of countries, including the Kingdom of Bahrain, the State of Qatar, the United Kingdom and Federal Republic of Germany. A number of state leaders visited Oman, including Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah II Ibn Al Hussein of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, President Abdel Fattah el Sisi of the Arab Republic of Egypt, President Ebrahim Raisi of the Islamic Republic of Iran, President Samia Suluhu Hassan of the United Republic of Tanzania, and Dr. Hussein Ali Mwinyi, President of Zanzibar. The visits culminated in signing of partnerships and memoranda of understanding, as well as executive programmes in investment, trade and other areas.

H e added that “The upbringing of children does not take place through social networks. Raising children is an essential part of the origin of Omani society. The success of the community lies in the fact that our children get imbued with our customs and traditions and adhere to the family and society.” In this context, His Majesty the Sultan commended the effective role of Omani media in preserving and documenting Omani culture.

H is Majesty the Sultan also underscored the role of education and vocational training sector in supplying the labour market with skilled national human resources. His Majesty advised that an integrated executive plan for the development of this sector be prepared in cooperation with some international institutions.

He also called for aligning technical education and general education tracks so that the outputs from general education (technical specialization) would benefit from the Education and Vocational Training Programmes.

T he innovation system in Oman functions through the integration of a number of entities, most notably the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology, and the Central Bank of Oman. The system works towards converting acquired knowledge into innovative applications that can be turned into commercial projects and registered as property rights—

and thereby be entitled to receive partial funding that enable them to embark on entrepreneurial ventures.

O man has exerted efforts to cut down the period of intellectual property registration and change its registration mechanism to allow beneficiaries to register global intellectual property from Oman. These efforts coincide with national programmes that contributed to transforming graduation projects into start-ups.

O man’s efforts have become a model in developing ways to finance nascent companies of all sizes and needs. This is accomplished through various programmes, including direct financing, business accelerators programmes and business incubator programmes that gave rise to business incubators

in various governorates, besides merging a number of institutions to form the Industrial Innovation Academy. The academy will transform knowledge into innovative project.

A s a result of these efforts, Oman occupied 10th place globally in the education segment of the Global Innovation Index 2022. The ranking advanced Oman by 34 places over last year. Oman also ranked 19th in the Business Policies Index.

O man presses ahead with the approach charted by His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik to implement economic measures and streamline procedures. This was achieved despite the economic impacts brought about worldwide as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic and other global

F itch agency’s raising Oman’s credit rating and Moody’s amending the country’s future outlook from “stable” to “positive”, while at the same time fixing the rating at Ba3 confirm the Omani government’s commitment to implementing government measures within the framework of the Medium-Term Fiscal Plan to control financial conditions and benefit from the rise in oil prices. This enhances the confidence of investors in the stability of Oman’s investment climate and the ability of the country to fulfill its obligations. It also affirms the strength of the banking sector.

T he foundations upon which Omani foreign policy is based—notably good neighbourliness, respect for the sovereignty of states,

O man also promoted the principle of humanity in its foreign policy and played an active role in serving contemporary issues regionally and internationally, most notably realizing the truce in Yemen that paved the way for the safe return of detainees to their countries. Oman took keen interest in reiterating the call upon the international community to exert more efforts and to establish means of effective dialogue to stop human rights violations, whatever be the motives and causes. Oman also stressed the need to establish stability and prosperity for all nations and peoples on the basis of justice and equality.

In this context, the Sultanate of Oman believes that the realization of a fair and comprehensive peace in the Middle East requires the establishment of a Palestinian state on all its lands occupied since 1967. Oman stressed its rejection of all forms of systematic violations, expansionist domination and arbitrary arrests of Palestinians.

TONY LASCUñA continued to defy Father Time as he kept his energy up throughout a grueling campaign to barge into the finals of the International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) Villamor Match Play at the Villamor Golf Club in Pasay City on Thursday.

“I thought I needed to get ahead of them early. I’m so, so tired but good thing, my game didn’t change a bit,” said Lascuña, 51, after dominating Clyde Mondilla, 5&3, in the afternoon semifinals.

In the same fashion he booted out Gerald Rosales, 4&3, in the morning quarterfinals in hot conditions, Lascuna birdied the first two holes to take command, went 3-up after four then cleverly matched his rivals’outputs in the closing holes to secure the twin wins and the coveted spot in the finals of the first head-to-head tournament in the country’s premier pro circuit put up by ICTSI.

“Like against Gerald, after the first four holes, was up by 3. Then I played it safe but stayed focused in the succeeding holes, making sure they wouldn’t win three straight holes. played cautious – driving, iron and putting. I went for pars and made the most of my birdie chances (on the par-5s). Thank God won.

I was so exhausted,” said the second-seeded Lascuna.

But standing in his way is a young, hungry ace due for a breakthrough victory as Keanu Jahns stopped Lloyd Go, 2&1, in the other semifinal clash to get a crack at the top P280,000 purse.

They mix it up starting at 9 a.m.

The 24th-ranked Jahns, whose best career finish was second twice, the last when he lost to Lascuna by three in the 2019 ICTSI Apo Invitational, sustained her big 4&2 reversal over eighthranked Jhonnel Ababa in the Last 16 Wednesday, besting top seed Guido Van der Valk, 3&2, in the morning quarters then ending Go’s impressive run of victories that included a 5&4 rout of Marvin Dumandan in the first round, a 7&5 cruise over Zanieboy Gialon in the next, and a 3&2 victory over Miguel Tabuena in the quarters.

“I’ve been playing pretty solid and my swing feels good. So after my match with Ababa, that’s when felt good, that felt had the chance, so I kept the momentum going and won against

HARMIE CONSTANTINO trampled Marvi Monsalve with a 6&4 triumph while a steady Rianne Malixi hammered out a 3&2 decision over Chihiro Ikeda as they forged a showdown for the International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) Villamor Match Play crown in Pasay City Thursday.

The second ranked Constantino, reaching peak form, dominated the No. 6 Monsalve with a superb all-around performance at the Villamor Golf Club as she logged her most lopsided victory after grinding out a tough 1-up escape over Mafy Singson in the first round and pulling off a 3&1 win over Sunshine Baraquiel in Wednesday’s quarterfinals of the novel championship highlighting the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour (LPGT) season.

“I think made a lot of putts and had a lot of good saves,” said Constantino, who ruled the final leg of this year’s 11-stage LPGT at Pradera Verde last month.

In contrast, Malixi three-putted No. 9 that enabled Ikeda to force an all-square match but the top amateur hit a clutch birdie on the 13th and went on to win two more holes to thwart her top seeded rival via the same scoreline she disposed of Pamela Mariano and Gretchen Villacencio in the first two days.

“My ball striking was better than yesterday (Wednesday). But I struggled in numbers, especially in between clubs. I just can’t hit them,” said Malixi.

“The turning point was on No. 13. After I birdied it, I knew had to just make pars (to win),” said the rising 15-year-old star from the ICTSI golf stable, who edged multi-titled Princess Superal by one to rule the season-opening leg at Luisita last March.

Constantino and Malixi slug it out for the title worth P280,000 for the pro at 9:10 a.m. with Ikeda and Monsalve battling for third at 8:30 a.m.

Sugiura making three for a 70 to preserve a precarious three-stroke lead for their at 413 with 18 holes remaining.

I

T’S a case of the proverbial early bird catching the early worm for the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) which negotiated a bargain for an all-in advanced training package for Filipino athletes who qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

“It’s a bargain and it’s affordable,” said POC President Rep. Abraham“Bambol”Tolentino after the POC Executive Board approved the advanced Paris training program for qualified athletes during its regular meeting at the Papa Bolo brewpub in Tagaytay City on Thursday.

The POC, Tolentino said, will pay 65 euros (P3,900) a day for each qualified athlete who’ll be in Paris ahead of the July 26 to August 11 Olympics in. 2024.

“It’s all-in—free breakfast, lunch and dinner, and more importantly free venue, doctor, medical and sauna, among others,” Tolentino said. “Everything is there in the sport venue.”

The venue is situated near the banks of La Moselle in Paris, according to Tolentino. He said that the POC could only come up with the total cost for the program until after the qualified athletes are known next year and early 2024.

“It could either be a one-month or two-month stay in Paris ahead of the Games, depending on when an athlete gets his or her qualification,”Tolentino said.

The POC will advance the expenses but will reimburse the amount from the Paris Olympics budget of P100 million that was pegged by the Philippine Sports Commission.

The POC was an early bird in Paris and sent a delegation headed by Tolentino to scout a training-cum-accommodation venue for Filipino athletes last October.

The POC took advantage of the Terre de Jeux 2024 program, which in English translation means Land of the Games.

The venue is at Deuil-La-Barre, a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris.“We did our best to get an early reservation because representatives from other NOCs [national Olympic committees] already went there like Brazil and the US to get early reservation,” Tolentino said. “Otherwise, it will be difficult if we didn’t get an early reservation.” he added.

With Tolentino at the Papa Polo were secretary general Atty. Edwin Gastanes, deputy secretary general Bones Floro, chairman Steve Hontiveros, auditor Chito Loyzaga and board member Dr. Raul Canlas.

NILO LEDAMA beat fellow University of Santo Tomas (UST) ace Alexis Acabo, 5-3, 5-3, while Joshea Malazarte trampled Jonamil Prado, 5-3, 4-1, in an all-University of the Philippines (UP) ladies final as they claimed the singles crowns in the National Collegiate Tennis Championships at the Philippine Columbian Association outdoor courts in Plaza Dilao in Manila Wednesday.

Ledama survived National University’s (NU) Ibarra Ortega, 1-4, 4-1, 10-7, in the quarterfinals, overpowered University of the East’s (UE) Zion Guia, 4-2, 5-3, in the semifinals, then ended the unranked Acabo’s run with a straight-set romp in the finals to bag the men’s singles trophy in the pre-season tournament presented by Dunlop.

He went on to help deliver the two other titles for the Espana-based school, teaming up with John Steven Sonsona to trounce UE’s Patrick Mendoza and Dawson Ormoc, 5-3, 4-2, in the men’s doubles finals and then anchoring UST-A’s 2-1 victory over

UE-A in the men’s team event.

UE’s Stephen Guia edged Acabo, 8-6, in the first singles match but Eric Tangub and Richard Bautista nipped Norman Gaspar and Edangga, 8-7(7), in doubles before Ledama routed Jed Durog, 8-1, in the other singles duel.

It was sorry loss for Acabo, who scored a walkover win over No. 4 Loucas Fernandez then stunned top seed Jarell Edangga, also of UE, 4-5(4), 4-2, 10-4, in the semis.

The third-ranked Malazarte, on the other hand, repulsed No. 2 Althea Ong of Ateneo in the semis then imposed her will over fellow Lady Maroon Prado to notch the women’s singles diadem in the week-long event put up by Palawan Pawnshop president and CEO Bobby Castro as part of the Palawan PawnshopPalawan Express Pera Padala tennis program.

Malazarte matched Ledama’s three-title feat as she teamed up with Jesha Cervantes to drub NU’s Danna Abad and Luivy Carvajal, 4-0, 4-1, and helped steer UP Team B to the team championship over UP Team A, 2-1.

Sydney Enriquez beat Renee Esteban, 8-5, in the first women’s singles match then Malazarte and Cervantes clinched the win with a similar 8-5 victory over Anica Cari and Dana Regala in doubles play. UP Team A’s Anna De Myer averted a shutout loss by trouncing Chezka Malaki, 8-2.

JAPAN kept its bid for a record-tying 10th championship alive as Minato Oshima and Yuta Sugiura combined for a 139 to hold off a history-chasing Singapore side in the third round Thursday of the 29th Nomura Cup at the Masters course of the Manila Southwoods Golf and Country Club in Carmona, Cavite.

Japan’s top two players made a total of five birdies on their last four holes in a brilliant effort that doused cold water on the Singaporean charge with Oshima birdying twice for a two-under-par 69 and

Japan’s mission to join Australia as the winningest team in the event also known as Asia-Pacific Amateur Team Championship will be challenged by Singapore whose hopes for a breakthrough victory got a big lift from pro-bound James Leow with his second sixunder 66 effort in three days and Ryan John Ang’s 69 for a day-best 135 total.

Korea and New Zealand also stayed in the mix at 418 and 419, respectively, to occupy third and fourth places while defending

champion Thailand (136) moved to a share of sixth with Australia (142) at 427.

Jang Yubin scored a 68 and Dong Hyun Moon had a 73 for Korea’s 141 while New Zealand banked on Sam Jacob Jones’ 68 and the 74 of Jimmy William Hydes for a 142.

The Philippines remained mired in ninth place despite a 70 by rookie internationalist Coby Rolida. Kristoffer Arevalo squandered a three-under stint in the front nine with a wobbly finish and settled for a 73 and complete a 143 and 435. Elee Bisera had his worst score in three days of 77 and did not count for the second straight day.

By Josef Ramos

IN the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines’ (ABAP) book, there are no sacred cows—even though one’s an Olympic silver medalist.

A traditional box off looms between Carlo Paalam, who won silver in last year’s Tokyo Olympics, and Rogen Ladon, the 2018 Asian Games silver medalist and back-to-back Southeast Asian Games gold winner. They’ll be after a potential Paris 2024 Olympics slot in flyweight, the weight class Paalam almost dominated in Tokyo.

“We have to settle it through the traditional way...they will have a box off,” ABAP secretary general Marcus Jarwin Manalo told BusinessMirror on Thursday.

competition for more than a year since Tokyo and returned only this month and won gold at the Asian Boxing Confederation Asian Elite Men andWomen Championships on Saturday night in Amman, Jordan.

But Paalam fought as a bantamweight to adhere to an ABAP decision that he fights in the next heavier weight class to give way for Ladon at flyweight. Ladon exited early in Amman.

To date, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which will again supervise boxing competitions in Paris in lieu of the suspended International Boxing Association, has set seven weight classes in boxing— flyweight or 51 kgs included, but not bantamweight or 54 kgs.

“There’s no other way around but settle that in box off. That’s what it is,”said Pat Gaspi,

ABAP’s overall head coach, who expressed confidence Paalam could easily return to his comfort zone at flyweight. “Flyweight is his [Paalam] original weight class.”

Gaspi also dismissed the possibility for Paalam to fight as a featherweight, or 57 kgs.

“That’s way too high for him,” Gaspi said.

Paalam told BusinessMirror he’s willing to shed off weight, but he’ll have to exert an effort.

“I have to check my body first, but it’s really tough to reduce to meet that weight [flyweight],” he said. “But I’m very much willing to qualify and compete again in the Olympics.” Like fellow Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Nesthy Petecio and now pro Eumir Felix Marcial, a bronze medalist, Paalam wanted back in Paris to take a shot at the gold medal.

Also

Bootcamp

Tondag (-45 kgs) also won gold medals in muay.

In combat sambo at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum, Mariane Mariano beat Jomary Torres to secure the under 54 kgs title while Geli Bulaong claimed the under 59 kgs crown at the expense of Charina Margallo.

Princess Cortez (under 54 kgs) and Aislinin Agnes Yap (under 80 kgs) were the top finishers in sport sambo after downing Amber Arcilla and Lea Loren Quimba, respectively.

Board members Pearl Managuelod, Dave Carter, International Olympic Committee Representative to the Philippines Rep. Mikee Cojuangco-Jaworski and Nikko Huelgas of the Athletes Commission Nikko Huelgas attended online.

RUDZMA ABUBAKAR and Islay Erika Bomogao made heads turn not only with their good looks but with their title-clinching muay Thai skills on Thursday in the 8th Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Women’s Martial Arts Festival at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Abubakar, a Southeast Asian Games bronze medalist, defeated fellow national team member Floryvic Montero of Team Bagsik to clinch gold in the 48-kg category of waikru, while Bomogao beat SEA Games partner Rhichein Yosorez in the individual competition of the same form.

A proud native of Baguio City, Bomogao and Yosorez struck gold in women’s waikru in the Vietnam SEA Games last May and brought their winning act to the PSC-organized games supported by Pocari Sweat and Go21.

winning gold forTeam Bagsik—national athletes in muay— were Mary Glyde Elizabeth Salazar (48 kgs), Allysa Kylie Mallari (60 kgs) and April Joy La Madrid (63.5 kgs).

Muaythai’s Romarah Derrica Cerezo (54 kgs), Air Force’s Claire De Guzman (57 kgs) and and Baby Jane Buzon (45 kgs) and Malabonian Ninjas’ Ronelyn

NILO LEDAMA (left) and Joshea Malazarte pose with their trophies.

Beauty queen-actress Kylie Versoza is the 2023 Tanduay Calendar Girl

THE coming year promises to be another exciting one for Tanduay as it expands its business abroad and fortifies its leadership in the Philippines. To embody its successes and potential for 2023, the brand has chosen beauty queen-turned actress Kylie Verzosa as its newest Calendar Girl.

Verzosa represented and won for the Philippines the 2016 Miss International crown. She has endorsed many products and has graced various magazine covers. Most recently, she showed her mettle in acting in the Philippine adaptation of the Korean thriller, “The Housemaid.” Her portrayal won her an Actress of the Year award from the Distinctive International Arab Festivals Awards (DIAFA) in Dubai.

The beauty queen-actress is also a mental health advocate. She established Mental Health Matters, a nonprofit organization that started out as an online support group.

“Kylie is a multifaceted talent whose appeal comes from her beauty and brains as well as the strength of her advocacies. She is the perfect embodiment of the brand for 2023 as we seek to engage with varied customer profiles in different markets while continuing to serve our customers in the Philippines,” said Marc Ngo, International Business Development Manager and Senior Brand Manager for Tanduay Distillers, Inc.

Like Verzosa, Tanduay has received awards and distinctions from different international award-giving bodies, the most notable of which is the World’s Number 1 Rum recognition from Drinks International magazine for five consecutive years. Likewise, it has been named the Brand of the Year under the rum category of the London-based World Branding Awards for seven consecutive years.

Asked how she felt about being named the Tanduay Calendar Girl for 2023, the Management degree holder from Ateneo de Manila said that she is both honored and overwhelmed.

“It feels surreal to become a Tanduay Calendar Girl, especially if you consider all the strong and beautiful women who came before me like Heart Evangelista, KC Concepcion, and Bea Alonzo. It feels great to be in their company,” she said.

Ngo shared that Verzosa worked with topnotch editorial and commercial photographer BJ Pascual for the project.

The images came out really well, and we can’t wait to unveil them to the public,” Ngo said. Verzosa acknowledged that being a Tanduay Calendar Girl comes with the

responsibility to represent an iconic Philippine brand.

“Tanduay has been delighting customers for more than a century now. It has both been in the home arenas of the biggest teams in the National Basketball Association and in small-scale retail stores in areas outside of Metro Manila. You can see that whoever the brand serving, it makes sure that the person is enjoying the Tanduay experience. This is why it continues to be popular and relevant despite the entry of new brands,” he pointed out.

Verzosa likewise lauded Tanduay’s use of local materials in creating awardwinning rums. “It’s great to see a homegrown Filipino brand competing in the world stage,” she said.

Buildrite Construction Chemicals launches ‘First in the Philippines’ products Readycrete and Smartbond Flex at PhilConstruct 2022

strength. Readycrete is recommended for projects that are inaccessible to ready-mix concrete deliveries. No need for trucks or stocks of sand and aggregates. With Readycrete, just add water and you’re good to go!

For finishing projects, SmartBond Flex is the first ever flexible tile adhesive in the Philippines. The flexibility of the tile adhesive addresses a very specific problem that causes tiles to pop out, causing the movement of tiles and substrate. Aside from excellent adhesion, tiling also requires a tile adhesive with excellent flexibility to withstand the movements of tiles and substrate during thermal expansion and contraction, including the structural movements caused by traffic and external factors.

SmartBond Flex tile adhesive acts as a movement absorber or dampener, which then prevents the tile adhesive from cracking or losing adhesion.

Buildrite continues to seek advancements in construction chemical technology, staying true to its vision of bringing about a future where the Philippines can achieve world-class standard construction chemical products and methodologies.

Debutante in full bloom as she launches flower business, auctions art at 18th birthday party

JEM Carmelle Perona, who turned 18 this month, is a typical Filipino teenager. As a senior high school student in the Arts and Design track, she is thankful to have gone back to face-to-face classes after two years of struggling with online learning. She is active in her school’s dance company. She looks forward to university life and is now in the thick of applying to her colleges of choice.

But Jem is also atypical. At her age, she has two thriving businesses – flower arrangements, and a cafe. As such, her debutante’s ball, which will be held tomorrow, will be a tad different from the usual 18th birthday parties. She will celebrate her coming of age with family and friends with an auction of her art, which has been made available online for interested bidders, and launch Carmellena, the flower business she began during the pandemic. She will also give her guests a taste of the popular pastries and drinks she already serves at Creme Haven, the coffee shop she operates in San Pedro, Laguna.

Like many other young people trying to make sense of the isolation they felt during the Covid lockdowns, Jem looked for a means to channel her creative energies even while she was cooped up at home. In early 2021, with her artist’s eye, she became interested in flower arrangement videos on YouTube and wondered whether she could turn this newfound passion into something productive especially since Valentine’s Day was just around the corner.

Her parents Marie and John, whom Jem calls Ina and Ama, were only too happy to support their daughter’s idea.

“That’s how we have always been with our three children,” says Marie, an HR professional. “We expose them to many things, let them find out what their interests are, and then give them our all-out support.”

True enough, Jem credits her parents for their help and advice. During that first year, orders came mostly from friends and classmates whom Jem approached through social media. When Mothers’ Day 2021 came around, many of those who ordered in February came back for flowers for the mothers in their lives. And in February 2022, Jem took orders from more than 100 clients, who seemed to appreciate her flair for visual arrangements and personalized touch. She is a hands-on entrepreneur and even delivered the flowers herself, helped by her father who drove her around. She deals directly with her suppliers and constantly upgrades her knowledge and skill in flower arranging.

“I did not expect that kind of volume,” she said, especially since she only relied on social media and word-of-mouth. “They must really like what I had to offer.”

Now, at her 18th birthday party to be held at Acacia Hotel in Alabang, Jem is ready to introduce Carmellena to the world.

Creme Haven started much earlier, near the Peronas’ home in Santa Rosa, Laguna. Jem started by offering cinnamon braids that she made herself, and gradually expanded her menu. Now she manages some 10 staff members, whom she calls Ate or Kuya.

“I was always nervous in trying out these businesses because I felt I was too young and did not have any sufficient background,” Jem says. Fortunately, her mother’s expertise in human resources helped. Marie also sometimes calls her “CEO” – part affection, part aspiration, and a testament to her confidence in her daughter's talent, hard work, and dedication.

Jem hopes to pursue a degree in hotel entrepreneurship, combining her practical hands-on experience with the theories and best practices she is yet to learn.

Weeks before her 18th birthday party, the family put up a flipbook containing some floral arrangements and some of Jem’s paintings that showcase her maturity as a visual artist. Jem is also an advocate for the arts and has in fact led a group that sought to create an online platform bringing together artists and art/ artist seekers.

She was not always this confident, Jem is the first to admit. “There was a time when my self-esteem was so low and I was hesitant to do the things I wanted to do. The pandemic gave me the time and opportunity to reflect on my potential and what I wanted to do with my life.”

To those wanting to act on their ideas but may have some reservations, Jem has this piece of advice: “You never know until you try.”

10 winners in various Italian Chamber Award categories to be announced today at Dusti Thani event

THE Italian Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines (ICCPI) announced that the launch of the 2nd edition of the long awaited ICCPI Leadership Awards will be held today, November 18 2022 in Dusit Thani Manila.

Fielded are thirty nominees for 10 different awards categories including Woman in Business of the Year, Exceptional Entrepreneur Award, “ItalPinoy” of the Year, Young Business Leader, Emerging Entrepreneur, Sustainability Business / Entrepreneur, Innovation Champion, Restaurateur of the Year, Outstanding Leadership, and Italian Executive of the Year.

These awards recognize exceptional Filipino and Italian business leaders, entrepreneurs, and organizations who continue to promote outstanding practices and global excellence in their respective fields. The ICCPI Leadership Awards 2022 sets the tagline “Inspiring and empowering others” allowing attendees to not only celebrate excellence in leadership but also to be an example for young and upcoming academics, thinkers, entrepreneurs

and managers.

The event promises some exciting and thrilling moments of suspense as the panel of judges will carefully choose the winner among the pre-selected nominees. Among the panel of judges are ICCPI’s President Sergio Boero, Dusit Thani’s Managing Director Stanley Lo, BDO Capital’s President Eduardo Francisco, Proactive Resources CEO Hermod Allertsen and Italian Consul Antonio Gallo.

The exclusive ICCPI Leadership Awards is sponsored by Lazada, Essilor Luxottica, Dusit Thani, Stratbase, Crif, Blue Pacific Global (BPG), Fedrigoni, Bottega di Anna Maria Luisa and BDO. Ultimately the event strengthens relationships within the Italian-Filipino business network creating a sense of family, very dear to both cultures due to its shared practices and common cultural heritage. Beyond that, Italy has a name for entrepreneurship and world leading brands in fashion, automotive, accessories, machineries and design. An excellence in many fields that Italians would like to share with its local Filipino peers.

DURING the recently concluded PhilConstruct 2022, Buildrite Construction Chemicals officially launched their new “First in the Philippines” products–Readycrete: Ready-Mix Concrete in a Bag and SmartBond Flex: The First Flexible Tile Adhesive. The launch was a historic moment for Magna Prime Chemical Technologies, Inc., especially for its brands Buildrite and Sinclair Paints, as it marked the start of a company tradition of launching new, innovative products

during the yearly PhilConstruct event.

Readycrete is the first and only readymix concrete in a bag in the Philippines, providing convenience for many construction projects.

This innovative product provides a consistent concrete mix design, ensuring that the required strength and quality are met on the jobsite. Small to medium projects don’t have to rely on jobsite mixing anymore, which is the primary cause of concrete problems, especially insufficient compressive

With the addition of Readycrete and SmartBond Flex to its product portfolio, the company will continue to develop more innovative solutions and educate people about cost-efficient, reliable, and sustainable construction chemical products and methodologies.

For more information on Buildrite Construction Chemicals, visit their website, www.magnaprime.com.ph, and follow their Facebook Page, @ BuildritePhils.

To learn more about construction chemicals, you can follow their YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/c/ RITECONSTRUCTIONCHEMICALS

BEAUTY queen-actress Kylie Versoza is the 2023 Tanduay Calendar Girl.

GRACING the ribbon cutting were (from left to right) United Architects of the Philippines (UAP) National Vice President

Architect Jayson Ang, UAP National President Architect Richard Garcia, CEO and Founder of Magna Prime Chemical Technologies Inc. and Construction Chemical Specialist Derrick Tan, UNTV News Anchor and Face of Buildrite William Thio, UAP National Treasurer Architect Richie Cucuero, and Pastor Loi Gatchalian.

Look forward to new journeys this month of November with special deals from Toyota

NOW that we’re only a few weeks away from the holiday celebrations, today’s the perfect time to plan your dream vacation and indulge in new journeys with an all-new Toyota vehicle! Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) is offering exclusive deals in all authorized Toyota dealers nationwide from November 4 to 30, 2022.

Look forward to more exciting journeys with Pay Low, Pay Light, or Savings Deal on your favorite Toyota models.

Get the Innova J Dsl M/T variant at P178,650 per month through the Pay Low option (all-in cash out with down payment as low as 15 percent, free one-year insurance and three-year LTO registration, and no chattel mortgage at 60 months to pay) or for as low as P12,787 through the Pay Light option (low monthly plan at 50 percent down payment with 60 months to pay).

Level up your road trips by driving Toyota’s latest models with flexible payment options. Raise your game with the all-new Raize through the Pay Light option and pay only P10,110 per month for the G CVT variant. You can also discover extraordinary places with the all-new Veloz – get it with a Pay Light option for only P13,210 per month for the G CVT variant.

Save as much as P45,000 when you purchase the best-selling Vios XLE CVT variant in cash, and up to P50,000

savings on the V HV and V variants of the Corolla Altis. When you purchase a brand-new Toyota Vios G, E, or XLE variant from any authorized Toyota dealer, you get a five-year warranty included!

For adventure goers, go all-in on your next adventure by getting the Hilux 4x2 J M/T variant for as low as P10,709 per month through the Pay Light option. For large group travelers, get the Hiace Commuter Deluxe M/T at P18,930 per month through the Pay Light option and transport family, friends, and goods safely and securely on your next journey.

Pay Low, Pay Light or Savings promos are also applicable across other Toyota units such as the Toyota Fortuner, Rush, Wigo, and Avanza models.

For those who want to trade in their old Toyota and upgrade to another model, a special deal awaits. Get a P35,000 rebate when you trade in a Wigo for a Vios, or a Vios for an Innova. You can also get a P20,000 rebate when you trade in a Vios for an Avanza, Veloz, or Raize Turbo. You can use the trade-in rebates as cash discount when you purchase a brandnew Toyota model within the promo period or to purchase accessories.

Drive worry-free this upcoming holiday season with free Periodic Maintenance Service (PMS) of up to 20,000 KMS. Customers are entitled

to the free PMS when they purchase a brand-new Vios, Corolla Altis, Raize, Avanza, Veloz, Rush, Innova, Fortuner, Hilux, or Hiace during the promo period.

Toyota also offers an early holiday gift to business owners as brand-new owners of the Lite Ace can avail of a Fixed Periodic Maintenance Package up to 40,000 KMS until the promo period. Lite Ace owners will only need to pay P1,999 per service until their 40,000 KM maintenance check.

On top of these special deals, all variants of the Wigo and Veloz, and select variants of the Vios, Altis, Innova, Hilux, Avanza, Rush, and Fortuner purchased from authorized Toyota dealers nationwide this November are entitled to a free oneyear comprehensive insurance provided by Toyota Insure. The comprehensive insurance includes: 24/7 Personal Accident Insurance, passenger auto personal accident insurance, three-year CTPL, own damage (OD), loss/theft, excess bodily injury (EBI), Property Damage (PD), acts of nature (AON), and emergency roadside assistance.

Looking forward to new journeys has never been this exciting! Treat yourself to a brand-new Toyota and enjoy the upcoming holiday season with these amazing deals. For the full mechanics of Toyota’s November deals and participating units, visit https:// toyota.com.ph/promos/NewJourneys

Share The Holiday Cool Breeze With Subway’s Mint Choco Chip Cookies

SPREAD love this Christmas with your family as Subway® brings back your favorite Mint Choco Chip Cookie, a sweet treat for your loved ones as you celebrate the holidays TOGETHER.

Subway®’s Mint Choco Chip Cookies are not only brought back due to popular demand but also because of its coolness that can make a thoughtful gift to people who matter to you and complement the warm feeling of home.

Experience a joyful night with your family and friends with the fine balance of sweetness and freshness of Subway®'s Mint Choco Chip cookies to indulge as a must-have goody in your Noche Buena.

It’s a perfect match to your flavorful dishes like Subway® 's much talked about secret recipe—the spicy and tangy Subway® Chicken Mala Sub, filled with unique Asian spices, to finish it up with a cool aftertaste.

The Mint Choco Chip Cookie price starts at Php 35 (1pc), Php 85 (3pcs), Php 175 (6pcs), and Php 350 (12pcs) which can be mixed with other flavors. As a welcome-back treat, you can also benefit from an exclusive promo of 5 pcs for Php 125.

Feel the holiday cool breeze at the nearest Subway® store until January 31, 2023! You asked for it, and now that it’s back, enjoy this moment to satisfy your year-long cravings with the people you love (dine-in and take-out transactions only).

Don’t forget to leave out a cookie for Santa on Christmas Eve too!

For more information on the latest Subway® #EatFresh and #BetterChoice promos, visit www. fb.com/SubwayPhilippines.

Balai

ni Frutas records almost three times growth in revenue for first 9 months of 2022

BALAI ni Fruitas Inc. (BALAI) continued its growth momentum by posting Php234.1 million revenue and Php23.2 million net income in the first nine months of 2022. The first nine months revenue for 2022 was an increase of almost three times while the net income increase was more than 10 times compared to the same period last year.

The significant increase in revenues is attributed to the ongoing store network expansion of the Balai Pandesal brand which already has 43 stores from five stores at the time of acquisition in June 2021. In addition, Balai Pandesal products have been made available in more than 20 community stores within the Fruitas Holdings network.

This has allowed the expansion of Balai Pandesal’s distribution in a very cost-efficient manner. The net income during the first nine months of this year surged to P23.2 million from P2.3 million primarily due to the economies of scale.

Gross profit margin slightly contracted to 50.5 percent from 51.5 percent during the same period last year. The company executed strategic price adjustments and executed tactical purchasing initiatives to successfully manage increasing raw material prices.

EBITDA continued to be strong as BALAI recorded P16.5 million and P45.8 million for the third quarter and the first nine months of 2022, respectively. The first nine month’s EBITDA margin stood at 19.5 percent.

BALAI has started to accelerate the Balai Pandesal store expansion by opening seven new stores after its Initial Public Offering in June 2022. The seven new stores opened during

the second half of 2022 are located in various locations within Metro Manila and Metro Cebu in both community store and kiosk formats.

As of October 2022, BALAI has 91 active stores nationwide of which 43 stores are Balai Pandesal, 39 are Buko Ni Fruitas stores, and nine are Fruitas House of Desserts stores.

“We have significantly grown the Balai Pandesal brand in just over a year since our acquisition. We aim to make Balai Pandesal the leading mid-priced community bakery in the country. The IPO has provided the company sufficient resources to further accelerate expansion and grow our capacity and product offerings. We are optimistic with the last quarter of the year and we hope to conclude the year on a high note by encouraging our customers to have BALAI products as part of their festivities,” said Lester Yu, BALAI President and Chief Executive Officer.

SMX Convention Center Manila won the world mice awards for 2022 Philippines’ best convention center

large-scale events with a total of 17,000 square meters of leasable space and up to 18,000 participants. In its 15th year in the MICE industry, SMX Manila remains the venue of choice with its modern facilities, spacious and flexible exhibition halls, pillarless function rooms, and a variety of meeting spaces.

In light of the easing of restrictions, SMX Convention Center Manila has taken the lead in hosting events in the country. Manila Book Fair, PhilConstruct, World Food Expo (WOFEX), Philippine Travel Agencies Association (PTAA), Philippine Franchise Expo, Philippine International Furniture Show, Philippine Dental Association, and WORLDBEX are some of the recent events that took place in the facility.

SMX Convention Center Manila alongside its branches nationwide upholds its commitment to providing a MICE facility that showcases best practices and international standards to ensure eXceptional service to all stakeholders. SMX Convention Centers continue to strictly adhere to the rules and guidelines of the LGU, IATF, and DOT.

Management firm Kearney Opens Manila Office to Capture Growth Opportunities in the Philippines

GLOBAL management consulting firm Kearney recently announced the opening of its Philippine office in Manila as part of the firm’s next stage of growth in Southeast Asia. Driven by client demand, the Manila office will enable Kearney to capture the growth opportunities and strengthen its commitment to the market.

This expansion is built upon Kearney’s close working relationship with clients in the Philippines since the 2010s, as well as its heritage as the original strategic operations and transformation firm. Over the years, particularly during the pandemic, Kearney has helped companies in sectors such as communication, media and tech, financial services, health and more to enhance their resilience in an evolving business landscape.

Kearney is planning to grow its team in the next few quarters by hiring more local talent, who will be supported by a bench of experts in the region, particularly in the areas of procurement, operations, and supply chain.

“Our Philippine business portfolio has grown steadily in the past few years. While the pandemic and recent geopolitical and economic uncertainties have created a challenging environment for businesses, they see the value that a third-party consultant brings to the table in helping them uncover and capture untapped opportunities through transformation,” said Marco de la Rosa, Partner, Philippines Country Head at Kearney.

The Philippine economy is poised for growth in the short to medium term. According to the Asian Development Bank’s latest forecast, the Philippines leads all Southeast Asian countries in its 2022 GDP growth at 6.5 percent, tying with Vietnam, and continues to see strong growth momentum in 2023 with GDP forecast to grow at 6.3 percent.

“We believe the future is bright for the Philippines market,” Marco added. “As we look to 2023—even as organizations are being more prudent given macroeconomic conditions—we expect to see Philippine corporates grow into adjacencies and accelerate their entry into the digital economy; more Philippine tech companies playing at a regional or even global level; and the government investing more in the requisite infrastructure and talent to enable this. These factors, together with the Philippines’ recent trajectory and strong fundamentals, make us incredibly bullish about the road ahead.”

“Southeast Asia remains an engine of growth in Asia and countries like the Philippines have risen as a compelling alternative for global supply chains against recent geopolitical headwinds and disruptions,” said Nithin Chandra, Managing Partner, Southeast Asia at Kearney. “We see enormous potential in the region, and are committed to leveraging our deep local knowledge and extensive regional network to grow together with our clients.”

LESTER Yu, BALAI President and CEO

SMX Convention Center Manila was recently awarded as the Philippines’ Best Convention Center for 2022 at the World MICE Awards. The awards celebrate the excellence of industry leaders in MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions), held annually to cultivate growth, innovation, and best practices globally.

SMX Convention Center Manila is the largest, privately owned venue in Manila that can accommodate meetings and other

Motoring

Editor: Tet Andolong

BusinessMirror

Drive-it-Anywhere Duo

Story & photos by Randy S. Peregrino

We took top variants of these models to the smooth stretches of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX), all the way to roads less traveled in San Marcelino, Zambales.

“The next-generation Ford Drive Experience was designed for participants to get up-close and personal with the next-gen Ford Everest and make them truly appreciate its features. With its bold and rugged look, spacious and comfortable interiors, and purposeful technology, the next-gen Everest is truly meant for families who are looking for a safe and reliable SUV for their adventures,” said Ford Philippines managing director Mike Breen.

in and out design overhaul, platform mods

W HAT comes with the latest generation models, of course, is Ford’s new global truck design DNA. Prominent upfront is the model’s signature C-clamp headlight and new grille unified by a horizontal bar. Even the bonnet received new treatment along with the shoulder lines and wider wheel arcs. Moreover, the numerous changes at the rear with new sets of LED taillights. Interestingly, the all-new Ranger now has rear box steps for easier rear bed access, which also has clamp pockets and other provisions to accommodate better loading. Platform-wise, Ford extended it to 50mm longer and the tire track to 50mm wider.

Inside, more changes were made, like the dashboard and console layouts, entirely a departure from the predecessors. Ford did a great job utilizing different materials and finishes and created that polished ambiance for the Everest and the rugged sportiness of

FTER the successful launch of the latest generations of Ranger and Everest, Ford Philippines took select members of the motoring media on an experiential test drive to Clark Freeport Zone.the Ranger. Of course, the highlight inside is the best-in-class 12-inch touchscreen complementing the digital instrument panel. This tablet-like infotainment unit has Ford’s latest SYNC® 4A with wireless Apple Carplay and Android Auto connectivity. Then other amenities are helpful in today’s daily driving, such as the new climate system, wireless charger, clever storage bins, and door pockets, among others.

steadfast drivability

THE top variants commissioned for the drive boast a powerful 2.0L Bi-Turbo mated with a 10-speed automatic transmission. With 207 hp and 500 N-m of maximum torque at its disposal, speed increments are swift and unrelenting, no question about that, even in Eco mode. But what elevates the highway drive for these models is its T6 platform’s known ability to provide stable and planted highway speed drives. That 50mm wider tire track made it even better and more reassuring.

The stretches of NLEX and SCTEX enabled us to test Ford’s suite of smart driver-assist technologies on both the Ranger and Everest. Throughout, the Adaptive Cruise Control with Stop-and-Go and Lane Centering became beneficial. The system was smart enough to control the speed depending on the leading vehicle’s speed and distance. Yes, the system is even programable to select the safe following distance. Moreover, the Lane Keeping System with Road Edge Detection, Forward Collision Warning, Lane Keeping Aid & Lane Departure Warning, among others, demonstrated real-time alerts. At some point, even ahead with our timely reaction. Noteworthy is how the system’s semi-autonomous

function operates the steering with enough movement to alert the driver.

UPON arriving at the hotel, Everest’s New Active Park Assist 2.0 was up for the task. With an orchestrated tight parallel spot, the vehicle scans the space and alerts once done. Then, with a button press, the system impressively steered itself into the area and settled. We like how the button acted as the main switch for the driver to still have complete control of the system. Then, it was time for the New Reverse Brake Assist. No matter how difficult it was not to react, this intelligent feature autonomously applied the brakes upon detecting the object behind. Interestingly, the vehicle also demonstrated its ability to automatically move the shift lever back to Park when the driver forgets to while unbuckling the seat belt and exiting.

o ff-roading supremacy

THE following day, the convoy traveled to a remote, lahar-stricken area in Zambales. It was that time again to subject both the Ranger and the Everest to several off-roading courses and rough paths. After vehicles were enabled on 4H with Mud/Rut drive settings, we initially took the rugged pickup through a downward slope followed by a series of deep puddles. With Hill Descent Control engaged, we went off while the vehicle automatically applied enough brakes to control the momentum. Afterward, we galloped through the deep puddles effortlessly, thanks to the vehicle’s high ground clearance.

Next was a long series of soft sand paths and shallow riverbeds where we alternately tested the Ranger and the Everest. During the drive, even with traction control engaged,

and despite losing momentum at times, the vehicle still managed to sliced through soft spots. All we did was operate the throttle, steered, and counter-steered correctly while the drivetrain remarkably took complete control.

Then came the shallow riverbeds. With safety markers to follow, we launched and drove thru water splashes with rocky paths. Not even a sign of momentum was lost. Both the Ranger and the Everest effortlessly sliced through. When we arrived at the tight dirt paths necessitating a slow crawl, we engaged the 4L setting and let the system take over while we steered correctly. We found the bigger infotainment screen better in engaging the 360-degree view during the entire session.

We also liked how Ford integrated some offroad functions for ease of operation. Then came the Camp Ford set up in Lake Mapanuepe, where we settled and did more exercises. There, the Ranger demonstrated its rear bed’s versatility to work with a handyman, while the Everest showcased its ability to provide versatile and voluminous cargo space. We left the camp, went through the same paths, and did the same exercise again as if it was a norm for the all-new Ranger and all-new Everest. While we have tested the previous generation models to more extreme off-road scenarios, this year’s version still proved the Ranger’s and Everest’s off-roading supremacy and, as drive-it-anywhere vehicles, straight out from the showroom.

November deals

SEVERAL Toyota models are on sale up to end of November in preparation for the holidays.

The Innova J Dsl M/T comes either at P178,650 per month or for as low as P12,787 through the Pay Light option scheme. The Raize is pegged at only P10,110 per month for the G CVT, and the all-new Veloz at P13,210 per month for the G CVT.

MOTORSPORTS fans and racers alike trek to Clark Freeport this weekend for the third and final leg of the TGR (Toyota Gazoo Racing) Vios Cup, the country’s benchmark of car racing for nearly a decade now as only the likes of Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) is capable of staging—and sustaining it no matter the odds.

The much-awaited, season-ending finale of a hotly-contested three-leg event is finally here and, to diehard race freaks, it is something of a never-miss climax.

The gates open early after the break of dawn at the iconic San Miguel International Speedway in Pampanga, where the first race gets flagged off at 9:30 a.m. on November 19.

Expected would be another throng of loyal spectators, including the young and old, male or female, and rich or poor. They have but one commonality: Their affection for the “aromatic” scent of burning rubber and high-octane fuel, and the “sweet” sound of an engine’s raging roar.

To one seeking alternative alienation, a car race is also a panacea to a conflicted

soul. Easily, the TGR Vios Cup supplies the answer. And, to top it all, admission is free as TMP has been a firm advocate of bonding through out-of-town trips to enjoy family togetherness.

A total of 55 racers are entered in the circuit championships and autocross challengers, distributed in 12 teams vying for cash prizes and attractive trophies, according to Sunshine Cabrera, who is TMP’s chief media architect for the event.

As usual, not only pro racers are featured but media and other big-time influencers as well during the whole-day Saturday shindig, which will likewise highlight the driving skills of celebrities and silver screen stars in a day of fun and thrill.

They will compete in the circuit championships’ three major classes, namely: Super Sporting, Sporting and Promotional.

Of course, while the racers readily grab the spotlight outright, the star potential of the Vios as a race fixture is a latent component of the event. For, as in all previous editions, only the Vios is allowed to compete. One star is enough.

And now the best-selling Vios XLE CVT comes at a discount of P45,000 when purchased in cash, and the Corolla Altis at P50,000.

Same deal with the Vios G, E, or XLE, plus a 5-year warranty.

The Hilux 4x2 J M/T can be had for as low as P10,709 per month, and the Hiace Commuter Deluxe M/T at P18,930 per month.

Also on promo are the Fortuner, Rush, Wigo, and Avanza.

For trade-in deals, get a P35,000 rebate for your Wigo for a Vios, or a Vios for an Innova. You can also get a P20,000 rebate for your Vios for an Avanza, Veloz, or Raize Turbo.

For the full mechanics of Toyota’s November deals and participating units, visit https:// toyota.com.ph/promos/NewJourneys.

PEE STOP With “revenge spending” set to grip the metropolis shortly, expect heavy traffic to bedevil us once again before and during the Yuletide. Even with malls opening at 11 a.m. and closing at 11 p.m. won’t be of any help either come the peak of the buying binge. I speak from experience.

parking made easy

A

ThE latest generation Everest Titanium+ 4x4 in Absolute Black

ThE latest generation Ranger Wildtrak 4x4 in Sedona Orange

AMID A HARVEST OF AWARDS, YOUR SUPPORT COUNTS MOST

Biodiversity,

THE pandemic tested the media industry, forcing newsrooms around the world to overhaul the way they do their job while following strict health protocols in order to survive a deadly infection.

T he BusinessMirror, the country’s premier national business daily, was tested like everyone else, and survived, even continuing to live up to its promise to provide a broader look at today’s business.

In November 2021, the business broadsheet was recognized as the “Business News Source of the Year” for 2020 by the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines (Ejap), the country’s premier organization of business reporters, editors and wire agencies. It was a 4-peat for BM, having gotten the same honors for the years 2017, 2018 and 2019.

And, as in the past Ejap awards, it also swept half of the individual categories, with its seasoned reporters adjudged as best in their respective coverages.

Ea rlier in 2021, the BusinessMirror was given the Pro Patria Award by the Rotary Club of Manila, for “its commitment of valuable resources for the protection of free expression and its resilience in disseminating fair and truthful information resulting in an informed and enlightened citizenry.”

It was just the latest recognition from the prestigious Rotary Club, which named it “Business Newspaper of the Year” for 2018-2019, and again in 2020. In all, it has received six top

Rotary journalism awards in its short 16-year existence.

T he BusinessMirror has also consistently reaped top awards in the Brightleaf Journalism Awards for Agriculture and the Philippine Agricultural Journalists-San Miguel Corp. (PAJ-SMC) Binhi Awards, also for the best in agriculture journalism.

T he BusinessMirror was also repeatedly adjudged the leading daily in biotechnology journalism, a recognition bestowed by the Jose G. Burgos Jr. Biotechnology Journalism Awards.

The “broader look” mantra also drew recognition from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) which named the BusinessMirror, at its first awards rites in 2018, as the inaugural “Data Champion.”

In t he first “Bantog Science for the People” awards for media from the Department of Science and Technology, the BusinessMirror got the top award for the Institution category for Print; and the grand prize in the individual category for science journalist Stephanie Tumampos.

In 2018, Environment Reporter Jonathan Mayuga received the Luntiang Aligato award from the Climate Reality Project, a nonprofit organization founded by Nobel Laureate and former US Vice President Al Gore.

The Broader Look at biodiversity was also recognized. It was named among the Asean Champions of

The Broader Look also extended to the paper’s corporate social responsibility. It organized and staged the first-ever recognition rites for the best of the Philippines’s friends in the world, with the “MISSION PHILIPPINES: The BusinessMirror Envoys & Expats Awards.” The initiative won a Gold Anvil in 2019.

Distinguished institutions in government have also repeatedly recognized the BusinessMirror’s role in spreading the word about the work they do—information that shines a light on good governance and committed public service to uplift people’s hopes. Most notably, these are the Social Security System and Pag-IBIG Fund.

Si xteen years, two of them in a pandemic, have tested the promise of a Broader Look. But they are also a measure of the unstinting support of friends—advertisers and news sources alike—and readers who continue to believe in that promise.

for the Media Category, by the Asean Centre for Biodiversity.

THANK YOU, EVERYONE. YOUR LOVE AND SUPPORT IS OUR MOST IMPORTANT TROPHY.