AS the year comes to a close, World Bank data showed a total of $2.72 billion worth of loans are set for approval by the Washington-based lender for the Philippines next year.
The World Bank said the seven projects in the pipeline are linked to water, transport, climate action and energy, among others.
The largest commitment of the World Bank is slated for the Pagkilos - Locally-Led Climate Action project which is estimated to receive $700 million in financing.
“The objective of the project is to strengthen local capacities for participatory climate resilience planning and deliver climate action in vulnerable areas,” the
THEWorld Bank said.
The project, slated for approval in February 2025, will be implemented by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
Another big-ticket financing of $600 million is allocated for the Philippines First Energy Transition and Climate Resilience Development Policy Loan (DPL).
The project, slated for approval in March 2025, will be implemented by the Department of Energy, Energy Regulatory Commission, and the Department Environment and Natural Resources.
“The Program Development Objective is to support Government of the Philippines reforms to
(1) scale up adoption of clean energy technologies; (2) increase the security, flexibility and competition of electricity markets; and (3) improve water management across water uses,” the World Bank said.
These are followed by the $496-million financing for the Philippines Health System Resilience Project Phase 1 and $456-million commitment for the Mindanao Transport Connectivity Improvement Project.
The Health System Resilience Project Phase 1 aims to improve the utilization and quality of health services as well as enhance health emergency prevention, preparedness and response in the project provinces.
The Mindanao Transport Connectivity Improvement Project aims to improve connectivity, climate resilience, and safety of Selected Roads in the Mindanao region. Both projects are slated for approval by the World Bank in February 2025.
The list also includes the World Bank’s commitments for the Philippine Water Supply and Sanitation Project worth $250 million; Project for Learning Upgrade Support and Decentralization, $150 million; and the Philippines Civil Service Modernization Project, $67.34 million.
By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario
country’s widening current account deficit (CAD) is expected to place more pressure on the peso to depreciate, according to an international think tank.
In its latest economic brief, ANZ Research said the country’s CAD could widen to 2.9 percent of GDP in 2024 compared to the 2.7 percent of GDP posted in 2023.
The wider CAD is mainly due to the ballooning trade deficit which reached $5.1 billion in September 2024, the widest in 20 months.
“We think the current account deficit is likely to widen further as the government is more focused on enhancing economic growth. We think that this could exert further depreciation pressure on the peso,” ANZ Research said.
The country's trade deficit widened, ANZ Research said, due to declining exports and higher imports. The decline in exports was mainly due to weak electronic exports.
The think tank said the country's exports are plagued by its declining share in global exports since 2017 and the absence of gains in exports in absolute terms.
According to ANZ Research, the country’s monthly exports have remained static at a little over $6 billion since 2021. It added that on a 12-month moving average basis, total exports fell 0.7 percent in September 2024 compared to December 2021.
“The problem of declining competitiveness has been particularly pronounced for the electronics sector, which accounts for 55 percent of the Philippines’ overall exports,” ANZ Research said.
By Reine Juvierre Alberto @reine_alberto
by
As
it intends
Legal tender coins include the BSP
and the New Generation Currency Coin Series, composed of 1-, 5-, 10-, and 25-Sentimo; and 1-, 5-, 10-, and 20-Piso. BSP reminded customers using the machines to ensure that coins are not taped or
THE Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG) will come up with guidelines for the Maharlika Investment Corporation’s (MIC) highly technical positions and compensations as its organizational structure is stiwll being finalized.
At the sidelines of the GCG Awards ceremony on Monday, GCG Chairperson Marius P. Corpus told reporters the governing body has yet to establish the guidelines for highly technical positions and their compensation.
“The president has instructed us to coordinate with Maharlika to come
up with the guidelines. That is what we’re doing,” Corpus said.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has approved the interim staffing pattern of non-highly technical positions and their compensation, he added.
Corpus said the guidelines will likely be approved next year, but still not definite. “Anything can come up. So, we have to really finalize and refine the guidelines.”
Despite the slowdown in arrang
ing MIC’s organizational structure, Corpus said the state-run corpora
tion could already proceed with its investments.
FlYIng hIgh On november 24, cebu Pacific became the first Philippine company to feature an ad on the iconic burj Khalifa in Dubai. the 3-minute spectacle showcased the Philippines’ breathtaking tourist spots, including Palawan, Siargao, Davao, bo hol, Iloilo and cebu, on the world’s tallest digital billboard. Story on A5
BSP...
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bundled, and do not come with other objects like buttons, magnets, nails, tokens, screws, or washers. These should be gently placed in the coin slot in handfuls.
The BSP also advised customers to ensure their e-wallet accounts are valid, active and within the prescribed transaction limits.
The CoDMs are presently located in Robinsons Place Metro East, Pasig City; Robinsons Place Novaliches, Quezon City (QC); Robinsons Place Antipolo, Rizal; Robinsons Place Magnolia, QC; Robinsons Place Ermita, Manila; and Robinsons Galleria, Ortigas.
The list included Festival Mall, Muntinlupa City; SM Megamall, Mandaluyong City; SM City Grand Central, Caloocan; SM City Marilao, Bulacan; SM City Taytay, Rizal; SM Hypermarket FTI, Taguig City; SM Southmall, Las Piñas City; amd SM City Sucat, Parañaque.
The machines may also be accessed by the public in SM City Calamba; SM City Marikina; SM City San Mateo, Rizal; SM City Valenzuela; SM Mall of Asia, Pasay City; SM City North EDSA, QC; SM City Fairview, QC; SM City San Lazaro, Manila; SM City Bicutan, Parañaque; and SM City Bacoor, Cavite. Cai U. Ordinario
Election officer shot dead in Lanao, Comelec alarmed
By Justine Xyrah Garcia
THEwave of violence against election officers continues to claim lives, with the latest victim being Mark Orlando Q. Vallecer, a 5-year employee of the Commission on Elections
in Northern Mindanao.
Vallecer was ambushed on Monday in Lanao del Norte as he was leaving a monthly meeting with Comelec Region 10 officials. His vehicle was reported to be riddled with nine bullets.
In a text message, Comelec Chairman George Erwin M. Garcia expressed deep frustration and sorrow over the attack.
“ Nagpopoot po ang galit namin. Sana maaresto naman agad ang suspect,” the poll chief told BusinessMirror
The commission also vowed to conduct its own investigation alongside law enforcement agencies.
Vallecer's killing adds to a string of recent murders of election officers, politicians, and candidates that have alarmed both Comelec and the Commission on Human Rights (CHR).
According to CHR, at least seven elec -
tion-related killings have been recorded from September to October—reflecting a dangerous escalation of violence ahead of the 2025 polls.
Among the notable cases are the deaths of Agutaya, Palawan Election Officer Emmanuel Gacott and his wife, found dead in their home on September 25, and Village Councilor Toto Gogo Kensa, who was gunned down in Datu Hofer, Maguindanao del Sur, on October 19.
CHR condemned these killings as threats to public safety and the democratic process.
“These killings not only violate the right to life but also disrupt the democratic system by instilling fear among election officials and the public,” it said in a statement.
The agency has also launched a Quick
Response Operation to investigate the incidents and determine whether the incidents were politically motivated.
No power yet I N a s eparate interview last week, Chairman Garcia expressed frustration over Comelec's limited authority to address election-related violence at this stage.
“We still don’t have the authority to put any area under Comelec
control or classify a place as an area of concern. All of this is deemed a law enforcement issue,” he said, noting that such powers only take effect during the official campaign period.
He called on local governments and law enforcement agencies to take immediate action, urging them to arrest the perpetrators as a show of accountability even before the election period begins.
“Therefore, we are calling on the [Department of Interior and Local Government], the [Philippine National Police] to arrest with dispatch all those responsible [for these killings] so we can show our people that even outside of the election period, these kinds of criminals can be arrested,” Garcia said.
The 90-day campaign period for national candidates— senators and party-list hopefuls—will begin on February 11, while local candidates will have 45 days to campaign from March 28.
Meanwhile, the election gun ban is set to take effect on January 12, with applications for exemptions now open.
new monster. The DEPD will just retain all the agencies under or attached to the Neda.”
coordinating programs across government agencies to ensure that developmental goals are met and policies are effectively and efficiently implemented,” Villanueva said.
Meanwhile, Zubiri anticipated that some quarters may raise “the question of whether there are new agencies to be created. The answer is NONE, Mr. President. We are not creating a
The budgetary impact is minimal, he said, because current Neda chief, Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, “being a true G.I. or Genuine Ilocano, will only ask for an additional 170 new positions or staff, which at the 2025 compensation level would amount to P116,000,000. However, we did not put this in the bill yet, as the new staffing pattern will still be subject to the approval of the DBM and can just be requested in the succeeding budget cycle.”
t he World Bank to help the government push forward the country’s digital transformation.
The Water Supply and Sanitation Project is up for approval i n June 2025 while the Learning Upgrade Support and Decentralization is scheduled for M ay 2025. The Civil Service Modernization Project is also slated for approval in February 2025.
E arlier, the Philippines secured a million-dollar loan from
Corpus said since MIC President and Chief Executive Officer Rafael Consing Jr. a nd the board of directors are now sitting at the table, they can approve the contract or investment—the staff needed is only lacking.
“Consing is capable of finalizing these investments. S o, this will not really hinder the flow of investments. Just to move forward, the organization needs to be set up,” he ad ded. The MIC board also includes Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto, Land Bank of the Philippines President and CEO L ynette V. Ortiz, Development Bank of the Philippines P resident and CEO Michael
“The monthly run rate of electronics exports in 2024 has been $3.4 billion, the lowest in four years. This contrasts with the performance of electronics exports of its regional peers such as Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan,” it added. The think tank also noted that the country's semiconductor exports, the top export of the Philippines, have fallen 7.2 percent compared to last year. This happened at a time when these global exports posted an 18.6-percent growth.
The low value-added semiconductor products produced by the Philippines may account for this, according to ANZ Research. The country mainly assembles and packs semiconductors. However, some of the slack in exports have been made up for by domestic demand and household consumption.
The country's imports were mostly composed of consumer goods which grew 7.8 percent in the third quarter— a figure that, ANZ Research said, is a record high for consumer imports.
“We do not expect imports to taper off in near future for two reasons. Firstly, the government has allocated 5.2 percent of GDP to infrastructure spending in 2025,” ANZ Research said.
“Secondly, the central bank has lowered its policy rate by 50 basis points (bps) and intends to cut by another 100 bps over the course of the monetary cycle. Any impetus to domestic demand from these impending rate cuts will bolster imports,” it added.
Earlier, the International Merchandise Trade Statistics (IMTS) showed that the country’s trade deficit posted a 43.4-percent growth in September 2024 and was the highest since the 81.1-percent growth recorded in August 2022.
The country’s trade deficit has posted consecutive growth since the 7.5-percent growth recorded in May 2024. Prior to the September estimate, the deficit grew the fastest at 18.2 percent in July this year.
The PSA said the trade deficit reached $5.09 billion in September, which placed the country’s nine-month deficit at $39.4 billion. (See: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2024/11/07/trade-deficitposts-largest-growth-in-2-years-psa/).
I n a statement, the World Bank said it approved a $750-million Second Digital Transformation Development Policy Loan f or the Philippines.
The loan will help the government’s efforts to transform t he country’s digital sector, including through enhanced connectivity, digitalization, a dynamic innovation ecosystem, and private sector partnerships.
Cai U. Ordinario
de Jesus. Other MIC directors include Vicky Castillo Tan, Andrew Jerome Gan, German Lichauco and Roman Felipe Reyes, and the MIC advisory board.
Based on Republic Act No. 11954 or the MIC law, the board must determine the positions that are highly technical, including their compensation and other emoluments, a nd bonuses, which should be comparable with the prevailing rates in the private sector.
M IC has yet to make investment in the energy sector, particularly in transmission grids of small power utilities groups, to raise about $1 billion.
The MIC is the sole vehicle for mobilizing and utilizing the Maharlika Investment Fund for investments in transactions aimed at generating o ptimal returns on investments.
She also expressed hope that DOT continues its welcome celebrations in Manila for all cruise ships, and not just for those “on their maiden voyage,” like it does now, as this helps improve Manila’s image as a destination.
UK cruise firm back in ‘26 B A NZON likewise suggested that the DOT regional offices and local government units “help each other to develop their own tour programs and “to promote their respective destinations.” Meanwhile, the travel specialist disclosed the return of the Noble Caledonia, a leading small cruise ship specialist in the United Kingdom, to the Philippines. “I met them and they will be returning to the Philippines in 2026. So we have a program for their turnaround.” A turnaround is when a cruise ship disembarks passengers and their luggage at the final point of destination on its itinerary, and picks up new passengers and supplies for another itinerary.
“Some passengers will stay, so you will provide them with hotels and they will request for a pre- and post-tours, so that’s additional business [for us],” she said. Noble Caledonia uses expedition ships, which carry about 200 passengers. “They’ve been [coming] to the Philippines for about four years, but they stopped because of the pandemic,” said Banzon, who met with the cruise company, while she attended the recent World Travel Market in London. She said she is currently in talks with the DOT to explore the new niche markets, such as all-women tours, that opened up for the Philippines during meetings with travel buyers. (See, “WTM opens new markets for PHL sellers, but cost an issue,” in the BusinessMirror, November
Photo of Vallecer’s bullet-riddled car, driven by the victim when he was ambushed. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Panel extends detention of Duterte chief of staff
By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz
WHILE lamenting that the controversy surrounding the P612.5 million confidential fund of the Office of the Vice President could have been resolved much earlier if Vice President Sara Duterte and her officials had cooperated from the beginning, the House of Representatives’ Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability on Monday extended the detention of OVP Chief of Staff Zuleika Lopez to 10 days from the original five.
Deputy Minority Leader France Castro filed the motion to extend Lopez’s detention during the resumption of the hearing on Monday.
The committee had earlier cited Lopez in contempt for “undue interference” in the proceedings, particularly regarding her attempts to block compliance with a House subpoena issued to the Commission on Audit.
“I move, Mr. Chair, that the period of detention of Attorney Lopez be ten days instead of five days. She won’t be able to attend now, you see,” Castro said.
“We’ve seen from her history of evasive attitude and behavior, and this narrative she’s created—her lies—when she wasn’t harassed,” she added. Lopez, currently confined at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center for Acute Stress Disorder and other ailments, was absent from Monday’s hearing. Her medical certificate indicated symptoms such as anxiety, difficulty sleeping, and musculoskeletal pain.
The committee chairman, Manila Rep. Joel Chua criticized Lopez’s actions, describing them as an effort to derail the inquiry. Documents presented during the hearing showed contradictions in Lopez’s statements, including liquidation records bearing her signature and a letter to the Commission on Audit seeking to nullify the House subpoena.
Chua also highlighted Lopez’s repeated denials of knowledge about the OVP’s confidential fund utilization despite her documented involvement.
Humane treatment
HOUSE Secretary General Reginald Velasco, meanwhile, clarified that detainee Lopez was being treated humanely, with access to legal counsel and medical care.
He added that heightened security measures had been implemented at the House complex amid reports of Duterte’s potential visit.
Also, House Majority Leader Manuel Jose M. Dalipe expressed strong indignation over what he called the misleading narratives propagated by Duterte and her allies concerning the detention of Lopez at the House of Representatives.
“It is outrageous that Vice President Duterte and her supporters are distorting the truth. The House has always respected due process and upheld the legal rights of detainees,” Dalipe asserted.
“The timeline clearly shows that the allegations of denying lawyers entry are baseless and untrue,” he added.
Dalipe pointed out that Duterte herself acted as Lopez’s legal counsel during the crucial hours, alongside lawyer Lito Go, who was immediately granted access upon arrival.
The Majority Leader also criticized Duterte for obstructing House personnel in implementing the order to transfer Lopez’s place of detention from the House custodial facility to the Correctional Institute for Women in Mandaluyong City.
“Instead of complying with lawful processes, the Vice President chose to hold a press conference at midnight. Is this the behavior of someone who respects the rule of law?” Dalipe asked.
Deputy Speaker David Suarez also condemned Duterte’s obstruction of the lawful transfer of Lopez to the Correctional Facility for Women in Mandaluyong City, calling it a blatant disregard for the rule of law and an affront to the justice system.
“The Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability unanimously decided to transfer Attorney Lopez, yet VP Duterte chose to obstruct this lawful order,” Suarez said. “Her actions undermine not just the House but also the integrity of our justice system.”
Truth, not theatrics
“THE people deserve the truth, not political theatrics. VP Duterte owes the House and the public an apology for her actions, which have done a disservice to justice and accountability,” Suarez said.
The Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability had earlier ordered Lopez detained after citing her in contempt during its investigation into Duterte’s alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds.
However, owing to Duterte’s repeated security breaches, including her insistence on accompanying Lopez in detention, the committee decided to transfer Lopez to the Correctional Institute for Women. This transfer was obstructed by Duterte, delaying its implementation.
For humanitarian reasons, the lower chamber decided to prioritize Lopez’s health and directed her temporary stay at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City.
For her part, Vice President Sara Duterte questioned the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability’s decision to cite her chief of staff in contempt and detain her.
Duterte, who attended the hearing under oath, argued that the issue regarding the resignation of Department of Education (DepEd) undersecretaries should be addressed to President Marcos, as he was the one who accepted their resignations.
In response, Chua and member Antipolo Rep. Romeo Acop suggested that Duterte bring her concerns to the courts instead of challenging the committee’s actions directly.
Cooperate
DEPUTY Majority Leader Lorenz Defensor expressed frustration on Monday over the prolonged inquiry into the OVP’s use of P612.5 million in confidential funds, blaming it on Duterte’s refusal to cooperate and her officials’ lack of transparency.
Defensor, who represents Iloilo said that the controversy could have been resolved early had the Vice President or her representatives appeared and fully explained the fund’s utilization.
“If only all the resource persons attended and told the truth, it would take this committee only one hearing to conclude its inquiry on what happened to the funds of DepEd and OVP,” Defensor said.
Defensor pointed out that Duterte’s failure to authorize OVP officials to clarify the fund’s usage and her absence from hearings significantly delayed the process. He noted that evasion and non-attendance have fueled suspicions of mismanagement, further complicating the investigation.
Chairman Chua agreed, affirming that the inquiry could have concluded earlier if transparency had been prioritized, adding that the absence and evasion of resource persons hindered the progress of the investigation.
Also, Chua criticized Duterte for allegedly employing “diversionary tactics” to sidetrack the investigation into the purported misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds.
“Instead of addressing our questions, they staged dramatic incidents here in Congress and spinned narratives about Lopez’s detention,” Chua said.
Sara told: Just explain use of intel funds; no diversionary accusations
By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie
PEAKER Ferdinand Martin
SG. Romualdez on Monday challenged Vice President Sara Duterte to just directly address allegations regarding the alleged misuse of P612.5 million in confidential funds allotted to the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) during her time as Education Secretary and criticized the second highest official for making what he called “diversionary accusations” against him and the First Family, including an alleged assassination plot.
In a speech, Romualdez said the Vice President’s statement that she had contracted an assassin to kill him, President Marcos, and First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos was “both alarming and unprecedented” and “is not just reckless—it is dangerous.”
“Let me be clear: This is no longer a joke. This is no longer normal rhetoric. This is a direct threat to our democracy, our government, and the security of our nation,” said Romualdez. He said the Vice President’s
threats against him, the President, and the First Lady send “a chilling message to our people, a message that violence can be contemplated by those in positions of power.”
“This is not just an affront to the individuals targeted; it is an attack on the very foundation of our government. It is an insult to every Filipino who believes in the rule of law and the sanctity of life. Violence has no place in our society. It is irreconcilable with the values that have taught and guided us for years—values of respect and amicable peaceful conflict resolution,” he said.
Romualdez said House members should not let the Vice President’s threats “pass as mere rhetoric.”
“The gravity of such a confession demands accountability. It demands answers. It demands that we, as the representatives of the Filipino people, take a stand to protect our democracy from any and all forms of threats,” he added.
“The actions of the Vice President will go down the annals of history like a nightmare that will haunt our people for generations, and this House will do whatever we can to protect the dignity of this
institution and the 100 million Filipinos we represent,” he added.
Plot
ROMUALDEZ said the Vice President’s allegations that he was plotting to destroy her because of her supposed political ambitions in 2028 are “unfounded and baseless” and “are a desperate attempt to distract from the real issues at hand.”
He said his focus “has always been on fulfilling my responsibilities as Speaker of this House, leading with utmost integrity, untarnished by division and selfinterest, and guided by the principle that every action and decision I take must always be for the benefit of the Filipino people.”
“These unfounded accusations are not just about me. They are an affront to the House of Representatives. They are an attempt to erode public trust in this institution, to sow division, and to create chaos. We choose unity over division, dialogue over conflict, and cooperation over confrontation,” he added.
The House leader wondered why the Vice President was making the baseless accusations.
“The answer is simple: to divert
attention from mounting evidence of fund misuse under her leadership at the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd),” he said.
“The issues surrounding confidential and intelligence funds, the questionable disbursements, and the lack of transparency demand answers. We will not tolerate and accept vague explanations and evasive responses,” he said. According to the Speaker, the public has the right to know the truth.
“Accountability is not optional. Transparency is not negotiable. Those entrusted with public funds must be prepared to explain where it was disbursed and how these resources were utilized,” he added. He reminded everyone that “the truth is resilient” and “no amount of noise can drown it out.”
The House leader told his colleagues that he was prompted to address them, “with a heavy but reroute heart,” by the “accusations that have been hurled against me personally but also the attacks on the institution we hold sacred— the House of Representatives, the heart of our democracy, and the voice of the Filipino people.”
BuCor: Up to 10K prisoners up for release by year end
TBy Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573
HE Bureau of Corrections on
Monday said it is eyeing the release of 5,000 to 10,000 prisoners or persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) before Christmas following the finalization of the implementing rules for the Good Conduct Time Allowance applicable to those convicted of heinous crimes.
Corrections Director General Gregorio Pio P. Catapang Jr. made this announcement during a concluding event for 500 PDLs who were released between October 22 and November 25, which included the 104 PDLs who were released on Monday.
Among those released, 347 had served their maximum prison terms, 110 were acquitted, 21 received probation, 20 were granted
parole, one was allowed bail, and another was released through the writ of habeas corpus.
Catapang, in an interview said, the implementing rules and guidelines for the mass release of PDLS has been signed by Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla and is awaiting concurrence by the Secretary of the Interior and Local Government Juan Victor Remulla.
The ceremonial signing of the implementing rules is tentatively scheduled on December 2.
“Hopefully before the year ends we will have a mass release of about 5,000 or more,” Catapang said.
He noted that, from the total releases, 39 aree from the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong City, nine from CIW Mindanao, 53 from Davao Prison and Penal Farm, 41 from Iwahig
Veloso to be given choice of prison
THE Filipino death-row convict in Indonesia who is about to be repatriated to the Philippines will be given a choice of prison where to be detained, Corrections Director General Gregorio Catapang Jr. said on Monday.
Mary Jane Veloso, Catapang said, will be given a chance to decide where she would want to serve her jail term once she is turned over by the Indonesian government to the country. However, Catapang said Veloso would initially be confined at the minimum security compound of the Correctional Institute for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong City, which is also under the supervision of
the Bureau of Correction upon her return.
The BuCor chief said other options for Veloso’s detention are the CIWs in Puerto Princesa or Davao City.
“if she prefers Palawan because it’s cozier there, she can. Palawan or if she wants in Davao because we have a CIW in Davao. She can be employed there in the banana plantation. She will have an opportunity to work,” Catapang said.
Catapang also assured Veloso’s safety while serving her prison term.
“All PDLs [persons deprived of liberty] are monitored wherever they go. Their safety is always ensured,” he said.
Prison and Penal Farm, 20 from Leyte Regional Prison, 135 from the Maximum Security Camp of New Bilibid Prison (NBP), 69 from the Medium Security Camp of NBP, 20 from the Minimum Security Camp of NBP, 14 from the Reception and Diagnostic Center of NBP, 44 from Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm, and 56 from San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm.
The BuCor chief said the current congestion rate of 300 to 320 percent of prison facilities is expected to go down to 200 percent once the mass release happens.
He also stressed the bureau’s intention to foster stronger partnerships with the business sector to provide job opportunities with released PDLs.
Catapang reported that, so far, responses have come from San Miguel Corporation, under the leadership of business executive Ramon S. Ang, as well as BF One Foods Inc., represented by its president, Antonio Sebastian Escalante, Catapang said. He also highlighted the need for enhanced collaboration with various government agencies, including local governments, particularly in areas where individuals deprived of liberty will be reintegrated; the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Health (DOH), Department of Labor and Employment (Dole), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), and other stakeholders from the private sector to support BuCor’s efforts in reforming and reintegrating individuals deprived of liberty.
Veloso was sentenced to death after she was arrested upon her arrival in Indonesia for carrying 2.5 kilograms of heroin in her luggage.
She was supposed to have been executed by a firing squad in April 2015 but Indonesian President Joko Widodo granted a reprieve to allow Philippine authorities to pursue criminal charges against her alleged illegal recruiters.
Last week, President Marcos announced that an agreement has been reached between the Philippines and Indonesia for the turn-over of Veloso’s jurisdiction to the Philippine government. The actual date of Veloso’s return to the country has yet to be announced.
Joel R. San Juan
No hike in number of Metro motorcycle taxis–LTFRB
THE number of motorcycle taxis in Metro
Manila remains at 45,000 since three years ago, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said Monday.
“LTFRB did not increase the number of MC taxis in NCR. It was pegged at 45,000 three years ago. It still stands at 45,000. All the allegations are false and misleading,” said LTFRB Chairman Teofilo Guadiz III.
Guadiz issued the statement after a group of drivers said they lose up to 50 percent of their income due to the increasing number of motorcycle taxis.
However, the LTFRB chief admitted that the number of motorcycle taxis in other regions went up. “The increase was in Regions 3 [at 4,000] and Region 4 ([at 4,000],” he added.
Guadiz also belied allegations that the Technical Working Group (TWG) for MC taxis did not submit the result of study, which became the basis of the passage of a bill at the House of Representatives.
“House Bill 10571 or the motorcycle taxi bill which aims to provide a safe and economical public transportation option by regulating the use of motorcycles was passed
by congressmen last October,” said Guadiz. “The bill is now at the Senate Committee on Transportation for deliberations for the eventual approval of its Senate version of the [proposed] Motorcycle Taxi Law,” Guadiz added. He said that the allegations the TWG for MC taxi did not submit any report is false, as a report was submitted to the House Committee on Transportation and to the Senate Committee on Transportation. Guadiz said the TWG report was the basis for the passage of the proposed measure. Lenie Lectura
Go helps workers
SEN. Christopher Go emphasized the significance of expanding livelihood opportunities for the underprivileged as his Malasakit Team visited Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte, on Thursday, November 21, to extend support to struggling workers in the area. Following the completion of the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/ Displaced Workers (Tupad) program by the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole), livelihood support through temporary employment was provided to displaced workers. This program was conducted in collaboration with Go and the local government led by Mayor Lester Sinsuat.
To better support vulnerable sectors affected by crises and provide for those in rural areas facing employment challenges, Go filed Senate Bill 420 to institutionalize a Rural Employment Assistance Program (REAP), which can give temporary jobs to qualified individuals from low-income rural families, if enacted into law. Furthermore, to ease the financial burden on Filipino families, Go also coauthored and co-sponsored SBN 2534, which aims to raise the daily minimum wage by P100 nationwide. As the chairman of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography and as a health reform crusader, Go offered further assistance
Tuesday, November 26, 2024
DAR condones ₧1.1 B farmers’ debts
PBy Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga
RESIDENT Marcos and Agrarian Reform Secretary
Conrado M. Estrella III recently led the distribution of 26,285 Certificates of Condonation and Release of Mortgage (CoCRoM) to 21,496 Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs) condoning a total of P1.164 billion in loans from three provinces in Cagayan Valley.
The ARBs are from the provinces of Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, and Quirino.
The distribution was held at the Doña Josefa T. Albano Gymnasium, Centro, Cabagan, Isabela on November 22.
During the distribution, Marcos assured the farmers of the government’s continuous
support especially those who have been struck by the recent series of typhoons. “ Sa kabila ng sunod-sunod na kalamidad, hindi po naming nakakalimutan ang aming prayoridad na maiahon ang ating mga kababayan, lalo na ang ating mga magsasaka. Batid po naming na ang pagkakakutang ay isa sa nagbibigay sa inyo ng alalalhanin at paghihirap. Kaya naman, narito kami na patuloy ang pagsuporta sa inyo. Hindi tumitigil sa pagbibigay ng lupa at pagpapawalang-bisa sa utang sa lupa ninyo ,” Marcos said. It can be recalled that Marcos signed Republic Act 11953, or the New Agrarian Emancipation Act (Naea), on July 7, 2023, to condone all loans, including interests, penalties, and surcharges incurred by ARBs from land awarded under Presidential Decree 27, RA 6657,
and RA 9700.
The law covers more than 1.7 million hectares of agrarian reform lands nationwide, and around 610,054 farmers will benefit from it, making them debt-free from P57.65 billion of agrarian arrears.
From this total, 25,773 certificates were distributed to 21,496 ARBs from the province of Isabela, covering 21,796 hectares of land canceling a total of P1.152 billion loan. Meanwhile, 182 certificates were distributed to 154 ARBs from Nueva Vizcaya, covering a total of 52.5118 hectares of land, and condoned a P2.678 million loan.
In Quirino, 330 certificates were distributed to 314 ARBs, covering a total of 325.654 hectares, with P9.388 million of loans condoned.
During the event, the President also distributed a total of
1,170 Electronic Titles (E-titles) under the Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling (SPLIT) and Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOAs) under the regular (Land Acquisition and Distribution) program to 918 ARBs covering a total of 1,133.4261 hectares of land.
Meanwhile, DAR has also granted condonation to 1,483 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) from Bulacan, Aurora and Bataan, relieving them of paying debts related to the acquisition of CARP-awarded lands by the government.
The DAR said 1,792 certificates of condonation with the release of mortgage (CoCRoms) covering 719.6 hectares of land were issued during a simple ceremony on November 24, 2024, at the Victory Coliseum in San Rafael, Bulacan.
Let’s look at the future of cross-border data regulations
LBy Henry J. Schumacher
IVING in a country where data is handled excessively, I always have my eyes on cross-border data regulations.
Recent global developments offer a glimpse into the future of cross-border data regulation. Today, cross-border data regulations are starting to cover a broad array of data, such as personal data, nonpersonal data and other company information, for a diversified range of public policy purposes—national security, artificial intelligence, antidiscriminationfairness, competition and the like.
Oil firms to hike pump prices
PUMP prices of fuel products will increase by more than P1 per liter starting Tuesday.
Oil companies announced on Monday that they will jack up gasoline products by P1.15 per liter, diesel by P1.10 per liter, and kerosene by P0.80 per liter.
The new prices will take effect at 6:00 a.m. for Petron, Shell, Caltex, Total, Unioil, Seaoil, Jetti, PTT, and Phoenix. Cleanfuel, on the other hand, will adjust its prices at 4:01 p.m.
Last week, oil companies implemented a price hike in gasoline by P1.50 per liter, P2.10 per liter for diesel and P1.20 per liter for
Continued from A3
kerosene. This brought the yearto-date, total adjustment of gasoline and diesel at a net increase of P10.15 per liter and P9.40 per liter, respectively. On the other hand, kerosene has a total net decrease of P1.40 per liter.
Oil companies adjust their prices every week to reflect movements in the world oil market.
The Oil Industry Management Bureau of the Department of Energy cited the escalating geopolitical tension around Russia, the possible closure of Russia’s oil refinery business, and the oil production outage in Norway as the reasons for this weeks increases.
as he encouraged them to visit the nearby Malasakit Centers located at Cotabato Sanitarium and General Hospital in Sultan Kudarat town, and Cotabato Regional and Medical Center in Cotabato City. Go. . .
to those who may need medical assistance
On a parallel track, pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the US administration declared a national emergency with respect to the outbound transfer of sensitive personal information to foreign adversary countries. The US Department of Justice and other agencies are actively engaged in rulemaking, including potential criminal penalties, that will trans -
US outbound data transfer restrictions to countries of concern FOR the first time, the US is establishing outbound data transfer restrictions. One set of restrictions came into effect in June pursuant to the Protecting Americans’ Data from Foreign Adversaries Act of 2024, which prohibits data brokers from transferring certain personally identifiable sensitive data of US individuals to foreign adversary countries, including China, Iran, North Korea and Russia.
form the legal environment for US companies on cross-border transfers, particularly with respect to cross-border vendor and third party contracting. A final version of the DOJ regulations is expected to be adopted before the end of the year.
China’s data and cybersecurity regulations
CHINA is currently engaged in regulatory implementation of its Cybersecurity Law, Data Security Law and Personal Information Protection Law. A sweeping set of regulations implementing these laws will come into force
in January 2025. Significantly, the outbound transfer provisions of the implementing regulations focus on not only personal information but also “important data,” which encompasses information China considers to be important from national security, critical infrastructure and cybersecurity perspectives. Such important data will be subject to effective data localization requirements, and outbound transfers of such data might be disallowed under approval procedures.
EU digital rulebook
THE EU is engaged in an ambitious digital regulatory initiative aimed at strengthening its digital sovereignty and setting standards on data, technology and infrastructure. Several elements of these sweeping new regulations will compel disclosure of nonpersonal data and company information to help achieve public policy goals to foster innovation, competition and fairness.
Among other examples, the European Health Data Space regulations will require data holders to make electronic health data available
to other researchers, including competitors. The EU Data Act will require the data generated by connected products, commonly referred to as the Internet of Things, to be directly accessible to users of such products and services, as well as to third parties in some cases.
Emerging AI legislation PERHAPS the biggest wild card on the global scene is AI legislation, as this relatively new area of law could easily be adapted to meet various public policy goals, including national security. China is considering an AI Law, which explicitly states the legislative intent is to focus on national security considerations.
The EU AI Act aims to regulate AI systems developed and/or deployed in the EU. The AI Act adopts a risk-based approach to AI systems, including outright prohibition of AI systems that carry what the regulatory authorities deem to be “unacceptable risk,” such as social scoring, followed by high-risk AI systems and limited-risk AI systems.
Implications for global companies
GLOBAL companies need to look around the corner and anticipate these changes on cross-border data regulation in planning and compliance activities. Several key areas of focus are as follows.
Assess applicability of cross-border data and AI regulations
BASED on their business operations and geographic footprints, companies need to evaluate whether and how these new emerging crossborder data regulations apply to their global business. In general, the more a company’s business operations and/or industry vertical relates to critical infrastructure, defense,
sensitive personal data, AI and technology, the greater the likelihood it may come within the scope of these emerging laws.
Enhance data and AI governance COMPANIES need to sharpen the focus of their data governance efforts to confirm when they may be processing sensitive personal data, important data and other critical business information within the meaning of these new requirements.
Evaluate third-party contractual arrangements COMPANIES should evaluate whether or how data disclosures to third parties could create cross-border data regulatory risks.
Strengthen cybersecurity controls GLOBAL companies should continue to invest in and strengthen cybersecurity controls across the enterprise, conduct tabletops, and otherwise regularly test for significant cybersecurity and disruptive data incidents.
The outlook is certainly challenging I EXPECT these cross-border data regulatory issues to become more challenging over time, as geopolitical tensions and risks are likely to continue to develop and change rapidly. Companies will need to remain attentive to regulatory changes and adapt to anticipated changes sooner rather than later, so they can better manage these new and emerging global risks.
I will continue observing the cross-border data regulation changes and report on movements that can affect your business. Please direct feedback to be under hjschumacher59@ gmail.com.
PBBM won’t let Sara drag country ‘through the mire’
ABy Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla
N embattled President Ferdinand Marcos has vowed to stop Vice President Sara Duterte from dragging the country “through the mire of politics,” with her alleged attempts to escape the fund misuse probe of the House of Representatives (HOR), including threatening him and his family.
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said it will be issuing a subpoena to Duterte on Tuesday as part of its joint investigation with the Department of Justice (DOJ) on the Vice President’s serious threat against the life of the President.
In a strongly-worded video message on Monday, Marcos condemned the controversial remark of his former running mate in the 2022 polls against him, which he said has no place in a democratic country like the Philippines. “S uch criminal attempts should not be overlooked. I will not allow that,” he said.
Diversionary
tactic
LAST week, Duterte said in an online interview that she contracted an assassin to take down Marcos, First Lady Liza A. Marcos, and House Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez if she is killed. She made her c ontroversial remark after the HOR ordered Duterte’s chief of staff, Zuleika T. Lopez, to be transferred from the detention facility to the Women’s Correctional Facility in Mandaluyong City, which she opposed.
Lopez was detained by the HOR for her supposed interference in the investigation of the Lower House on the possible misuse of confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President (OVP).
Mar
cos said the issue would not have ended in such “drama” if Duterte had simply answered the legitimate questions from the Senate and the House of Representatives on the fund use of the OVP instead of resorting to “diversionary tactics.” “ This conversation would have ended
DA aims to open 71 more Kadiwa stores by yearend
Tif she just performed her sworn duty as a public servant to tell the truth and not to hinder [its disclosure],” he added.
Very bad precedent
THE threat from the Vice President prompted the Presidential Security Command to double the number of the security detail around Malacañang to ensure the safety of Marcos.
It also led the NBI and the DO J to conduct an investigation during the weekend to determine the possible legal liability of the Vice President for her threatening remarks.
“ We will continue to do this until we get to the bottom of it. This is a serious threat.
A very very bad precedent for our country if we will not take legal action on this kind of threat coming from a very high ranking official,” Department of Justice (DOJ) Undersecretary Jesse Hermogenes T. Andres in a briefing in Malacañang last Monday.
“ We have to maintain order in a civilized
society by adherence to the rule of law and we will apply the full strength and force of the law on this matter,” he added.
D uterte had later appeared to backtrack on her angry remarks, saying she said them in reply to hypothetical questions on her security. She explained that if anything happened to her, there would be no other suspect in her killing except Marcos, his wife and his cousin Romualdez. Thus, she would be avenging her killing from the grave.
Same protection FOR his part, NBI Director Jaime B. Santiago noted their protection for the government officials also extended to the Vice President, who also expressed concern for her safety. Duterte claimed she also received death threats.
“ On the part of the NBI, we have yet to receive any information regarding the threat on the life of the Vice President,” Santiago said.
The NBI chief said they will give Duterte
five days after receiving their subpoena to explain her side on the matter.
H e noted the NBI usually arrests people who threaten the life of the President such as in the case of Ronnel Mas, a 25-year old public school teacher, who offered P50 million as a reward to anyone who can kill former President Rodrigo R. Duterte in 2020. This time, out of courtesy...we did not immediately arrest the Vice President since she is a high ranking official. So we are giving her a chance, due process to answer the—the allegations against her,” Santiago said.
Legal consequence
JUSTICE Undersecretary Jesse Hermogenes
T. Andres said they are currently considering Duterte as a “self-confessed mastermind” in a plot to kill the president until the Vice President could prove otherwise.
B oth the DOJ and NBI said Duterte, who is a lawyer, is now facing several possible sanctions and cases, including disbarment,
for her alleged attempt on the life of the President, depending on the result of their probe.
“ The Vice President is not immune from suit. She can be the subject of any criminal, administrative case and the Ombudsman also has the authority to do its duty to discipline and to take necessary measures to deliver on its mandate as the investigator of all highranking government officials,” Andres said. H e noted the Ombudsman can also issue a preventive suspension for Duterte, while the House of Representatives can also consider impeaching her.
“ The impeachment is a constitutional option that is vested in the House of Representatives to initiate and eventually elevate into the Senate; it is not within the ambit of our authority to determine whether this should be grounds for impeachment. But, I will only say that there are serious violations of the law in these acts. So, we will leave it up...to Congress to make that determination,” Andres said.
Caap, FAA sign plan for air navigation, cooperation
By Ada Pelonia @adapelonia
HE Department of Agriculture (DA) plans to open 71 more Kadiwa ng Pangulo centers by yearend to ensure a steady supply of affordable agricultural commodities.
Agriculture Assistant Secretary for Consumer and Legislative Affairs Genevieve Velicaria-Guevarra said the additional KNP centers will be geared toward major cities outside Metro Manila.
She noted that there are 108 existing KNP centers nationwide, which they aim to increase to 179 by December and 300 by mid-2025 with the ultimate goal of reaching 1,500 KNP centers by the end of the administration in 2028.
“Angsabi [ ni President Marcos], dapat ay gawin nating mas accessible, mas palakasin natin dahil nga po dito mas makakabili ng mas mura,” Guevarra told reporters in a news conference on Monday.
She explained that prices of some agricultural commodities tend to spike after the onslaught of typhoons due to problems with supply.
“Kapagmaymgaganitong calamit y, at least that is what we would want the people to have access to,” she added.
Guevarra said the target to expand KNP centers can be achieved through the agency’s partnerships with other govern -
ment agencies, such as the Philippine Carabao Center (PCC) and National Housing Authority (NHA) which offer venues that can be converted into KNPs.
She said they are eyeing the Philippine Postal Corp. (PhilPost) as their major partner in reaching the target 1,500 expansion of KNP centers.
“Alam naman po natin ang PhilPost has offic es indirectly. Sa pinakamunisipyo may mga opisina po sila [...] tapos meron pa silang mga trucks,” she said.
“L ogistics wise sila po ang in the best position to help us be able to transport all these goods in various areas in the country.”
Meanwhile, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said KNP is part of President Marcos Jr.’s vision of a foodsecure Philippines under the Masaganang Bagong Pilipinas, “where ideally every Filipino family has food on their table and farmers and fishermen earn decent returns for their labor.”
The DA will begin the three-day Kadiwa ng Pangulo Expo 2024 on Tuesday at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) which is open to the public from November 26-28, 2024.
T he KNP Expo, which is set to showcase over 100 farmer exhibitors, will unveil variations of Kadiwa models, including Kadiwa food hubs, centers, stores, model trucks, carts, and the Kadiwa App—each designed to streamline the delivery of fresh produce from farm to market.
work plan on the
of the 35th APANPIRG Meeting (Asia/Pacific Air Navigation Planning and Implementation Regional
in Bangkok, Thailand.
THE Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have signed a Non-Binding Air Navigation and Implementation Cooperation Work Plan, strengthening collaboration between the two agencies.
Caap Director General Manuel Antonio Tamayo and Timothy Arel, chief operating officer of the FAA’s Air Traffic Organization, signed the work plan on the sidelines of the 35th APANPIRG Meeting (Asia/Pacific Air Navigation Planning and Implementation Regional Group) on Monday in Bangkok, Thailand.
T he work plan provides a framework for cooperation in improving air navigation and safety by sharing non-sensitive data and resources. It aligns with international efforts to modernize aviation systems and practices.
This work plan reflects our shared commitment to a safer, more efficient, and forward-thinking aviation industry,” Tamayo said.
T he agreement also focuses on key areas, including the modernization of communication, navigation, and surveillance (CNS) systems and automation infrastructure, air traffic flow management and contingency planning, and the potential privatization of airports and air navigation and traffic services.
T he partnership underscores the Philippines’ commitment to aviation safety, efficiency, and modernization through international collaboration, Tamayo said as he emphasized its importance in creating a safer and more innovative aviation industry. Nonie Reyes
Cebu Pacific lights up Burj Khalifa, first for a PHL brand
By Malou Talosig-Bartolome
BURJ Khalifa in Dubai, UAE beamed a three-minute advertisement of carrier Cebu Pacific Sunday night, marking the first Philippine brand to be featured on the tallest building in the world. Cebu Pacific’s video, “Fly to Happy, Fly to the Philippines,” also featured the best tourist spots in the Philippines such as Boracay, Cebu, Iloilo, Siargao, Clark and Bohol.
For the past few years, the Philippine flag has been projected in Burj Khalifa during the Philippine Independence Day celebration.
Multinational companies such as Tiktok, Disney and Huawei promote their brands on Burj Khalifa, considered one of the largest digital billboards in the world.
Ad rates on Burj Khalifa is considered
SPECIAL Disbursing Officers (SDOs) of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education (DepEd) testified before the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability (blue-ribbon) on Monday, and admitted they released millions in confidential funds directly to security officers following explicit instructions from Vice President Sara Duterte. Gina Acosta,
one of the most expensive in the world, and possibly more expensive than Times Square in New York. According to published rates, it starts at AED 350,000 (P5.6 million) for three minutes.
Xander Lao, CEB President and Chief Commercial Officer, and other executives of Cebu Pacific personally attended the historic event.
We’re proud to share a piece of home on such a grand stage,” Lao said.
“ This is a celebration of Philippine pride and an invitation for travelers to connect with the unique beauty, culture, and warmth that our country offers.”
Philippine Consul General Ford Angeles and other OFW-based influencers posted on their social media accounts the Burj Khalifa displaying Cebu Pacific ads.
“A moment to be proud of, Cebu Pacific
became the first Philippine brand to be showcased on Dubai’s iconic landmark, Burj Khalifa, featuring Philippine tourism destinations,” Angeles wrote on Instagram.
Cebu Pacific launched a special seat sale
from Dubai to Manila from November 22 to 30 for as low as AED 229 (around P3,700) one-way base fare, exclusive of fees and surcharges. Travel period is from January 15-30, 2025.
CAAP Director General Manuel Antonio Tamayo (left) and Timothy Arel, chief operating officer of the FAA’s Air Traffic Organization, sign the
sidelines
Group) on Monday
PHOTO COURTESY OF CAAP
10.
11.
Brief
12.
management activities of the projects.
BAYER BUSINESS SERVICES PHILIPPINES, INC.
6th Floor Science Hub Tower 1, Campus
Basic Qualification: College graduate, with previous work experience in a similar role and with excellent leadership and communication skills. Salary Range: Php 500,000 and above
YANG, AHONG
Mandarin Speaking Business Development Associate
Brief Job Description: Conduct market research and identify potential clients, cultivate strong relationships with new clients, while maintaining existing client relationships and able to manage multiple projects concurrently and meet deadlines.
Basic Qualification: Bachelor’s degree with experience in Business Management, Finance, Computer/Software, Marketing/Sales, or related field and fluent in both written and verbal English and Chinese/ Mandarin languages.
Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
YANG, HUAXIA
Mandarin Speaking Business Development Associate
Brief Job Description: Conduct market research and identify potential clients, cultivate strong relationships with new clients, while maintaining existing client relationships and able to manage multiple projects concurrently and meet deadlines.
Basic Qualification: Bachelor’s degree with experience in Business Management, Finance, Computer/Software, Marketing/Sales, or related field and fluent in both written and verbal English and Chinese/ Mandarin languages.
Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
CHEN, JIANLE
Mandarin Speaking Computer Programmer
Brief Job Description: Develop computer software using coding languages like html, java script, and etc., and troubleshoot software problems.
Basic Qualification: Bachelor’s degree with experience in Business Management, Finance, Computer/Software, Marketing/Sales, or related field and fluent in both written and verbal English and Chinese/ Mandarin languages.
Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
HONG, ANUAN
Mandarin Speaking Computer Programmer
13.
Brief Job Description: Develop computer software using coding languages like html, java script, and etc., and troubleshoot software problems.
Brief Job Description: Develop computer software using coding languages like html, java script, and etc., and troubleshoot
Basic Qualification: Bachelor’s degree with experience in Business Management, Finance, Computer/Software, Marketing/Sales, or related field and fluent in both written and verbal English and Chinese/ Mandarin languages.
Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
Basic Qualification: Bachelor’s degree with experience in Business Management, Finance, Computer/Software, Marketing/Sales, or related field and fluent in
Brief Job Description: Plans for the brand in the local market.
49. ZHUANG, YU Brand Planning Specialist
Basic Qualification: Able to speak, write and type in Mandarin and Vietnamese languages.
Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
Brief Job Description: Plans for the brand in the local market. Basic
50. LI, QIN Chinese Speaking Documentation Officer
Brief Job
51. WANG, JINDING Chinese Speaking Documentation
BusinessMirror
LUN CORPORATION Unit 2705 Bandong Tower, 366 Baracca St. Cor, Muelle De Binondo St, Barangay 282, San Nicolas, City Of Manila
76. CAI, DIWEI
Chinese Marketing Specialist
Brief Job Description: Responsible for coordinating with other marketing and sales professionals to implement innovative campaigns for branding or product launches.
77. SUN, LIANG Chinese Project Coordinator
Brief Job Description: Plan, organize, and direct the activities of a construction project, under the direction of a general manager.
78. ZHANG, YUANSHAN Chinese Project Coordinator
Brief Job Description: Plan, organize, and direct the activities of a construction project, under the direction of a general manager.
Basic Qualification: Ability to work under pressure and motivation to succeed in a competitive environment. With good communication and interpersonal skills. Able to speak and communicate using Mandarin language is an advantage. Must be an aggressive salesperson. Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999
Basic Qualification: Knowledge in Microsoft applications including Word, Excel, and Outlook. Knowledge of file management, transcription, and other administrative procedures. Read and interpret blueprints, drawings and specifications. Salary Range: Php
Basic Qualification: Knowledge in Microsoft applications including Word, Excel, and Outlook. Knowledge of
79.
Brief
80.
107.
SALMON SERVICES INC. (SALMON SERVICES, SALMON
12th Floor Four/neo, 4th Avenue, Bonifacio Global City, Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig
108. VERETENNIKOV, STEPAN Machine Learning Lead
Brief Job Description: Responsible for managing the company’s Machine Learning Software engineering team and for enhancing the user experience of chat-bot interactions through advanced algorithmic strategies.
SHIMIZU CORPORATION 5/f King’s Court Bldg. 1, 2129 Chino Roces Ave., San Lorenzo, City Of Makati
109. SAITO, KAE Senior IT System Manager
Brief Job Description: Manages, coordinates and supervises various professional, technical and analytical staff and duties associated with application development.
SNPDRI PHILIPPINES CORP. Unit 620, 621, 622, Bsa Twin Tower Bldg. J. Vargas, Wack-wack Greenhills, City Of Mandaluyong
110. KANG, JIANCHAO Mandarin Quality Inspector
Brief Job Description: Responsible for ensuring that products meet company requirements and are manufactured according to company and client specifications.
111. DANH HOANG HIEN Vietnamese Customer Service Representative
Brief Job Description: Responsible for managing large amounts of phone calls, generate sales leads and identifying and assessing customers’ needs to achieve satisfaction.
Tuesday, November 26, 2024 A10
Rockets rain down on Israel as Hezbollah retaliates against deadly strikes in Beirut
By Kareem Chehayeb & Tia Goldenberg The Associated Press
BEIRUT—Hezbollah fired about 250 rockets and other projectiles into Israel on Sunday, wounding seven people in one of the militant group’s heaviest barrages in months, in response to deadly Israeli strikes in Beirut while negotiators pressed on with ceasefire efforts to halt the all-out war.
Some of the rockets reached the Tel Aviv area in the heart of Israel.
Meanwhile, an Israeli strike on an army center killed a Lebanese soldier and wounded 18 others in the southwest between Tyre and Naqoura, Lebanon’s military said. The Israeli military expressed regret, saying that the strike occurred in an area of combat against Hezbollah and that the military’s operations are directed solely against the militants.
Israeli strikes have killed over 40 Lebanese troops since the start of the war between Israel and Hezbollah, even as Lebanon’s military has largely kept to the sidelines.
Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, condemned the latest strike as an assault on USled cease-fire efforts, calling it a “direct, bloody message rejecting all efforts and ongoing contacts” to end the war.
Hezbollah fires rockets after strikes on Beirut
Hezbollah began firing rockets, missiles and drones into Israel after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack out of the Gaza Strip ignited the war there. Hezbollah has portrayed the attacks as an act of solidarity with the Palestinians and Hamas. Iran supports both armed groups.
Israel launched retaliatory airstrikes at Hezbollah, and in September the low-level conflict erupted into all-out war as Israel launched airstrikes across large parts of Lebanon and killed Hezbollah’s top leader, Hassan Nasrallah.
The Israeli military said about 250 projectiles were fired Sunday, with some intercepted.
Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service said it treated seven people, including a 60-year old man in severe condition from rocket fire on northern Israel, a 23-year-old man who was lightly wounded by a blast in the central
city of Petah Tikva, near Tel Aviv, and a 70-year-old woman who suffered smoke inhalation from a car that caught fire there. In Haifa, a rocket hit a residential building that police said was in danger of collapsing.
The Palestine Red Crescent reported 13 injuries it said were caused by an interceptor missile that struck several homes in Tulkarem in the West Bank. It was unclear whether injuries and damage were caused by rockets or interceptors.
Sirens wailed again in central and northern Israel hours later.
Israeli airstrikes without warning on Saturday pounded central Beirut, killing at least 29 people and wounding 67, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.
Smoke billowed above Beirut again Sunday with new strikes. Israel’s military said it targeted command centers for Hezbollah and its intelligence unit in the southern suburbs of Dahiyeh, where the militants have a strong presence.
Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,700 people in Lebanon, according to the Health Ministry.
The fighting has displaced about 1.2 million people, or a quarter of Lebanon’s population.
On the Israeli side, about 90 soldiers and nearly 50 civilians have been killed by bombardment in northern Israel and in battle following Israel’s ground invasion in early October. Around 60,000 Israelis have been displaced from the country’s north.
EU envoy calls for pressure to reach a truce
The European Union’s top diplomat called Sunday for more pressure on Israel and Hezbollah to reach a deal, saying one was “pending with a final agreement from the Israeli government.” US envoy Amos Hochstein was in the
Russia boosts army recruitment with debt forgiveness incentive amid war escalation
By Samya Kullab & Elise Morton
The Associated Press
KYIV, Ukraine—Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law granting debt forgiveness to new army recruits who enlist to fight in Ukraine.
The measure, whose final version appeared on a government website Saturday, underscores Russia’s needs for military personnel in the nearly 3-year war, even as it fired last week a new intermediate-range ballistic missile.
According to Russian state news agency Interfax, the new legislation allows those signing up for a one-year contract to write off bad debts of up to 10 million rubles ($96,000). The law applies to debts for which a court order for collection was issued and enforcement proceedings had commenced before Dec. 1, 2024. It also applies to the spouses of new recruits. Russia has ramped up military
region last week.
Josep Borrell spoke after meeting with Mikati and Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally who has been mediating with the group. Borrell said the EU is ready to allocate 200 million euros ($208 million) to assist the Lebanese military.
But Borrell later said that he did not “see the Israeli government interested clearly in reaching an agreement for a cease-fire” and that it seemed Israel was seeking new conditions. He pointed to Israel’s refusal to accept France as a member of the international committee that would oversee the cease-fire’s implementation. The emerging agreement would pave the way for the withdrawal of Hezbollah militants and Israeli troops from southern Lebanon below the Litani River in accordance with the U.N. Security Council resolution that ended the monthlong 2006 war. Lebanese troops would patrol with the presence of U.N. peacekeepers.
One year since the only hostagerelease deal With talks for a cease-fire and hostage release deal in Gaza stalled, freed hostages and families of those held marked a year since the war’s only hostage-release deal.
“It’s hard to hold on to hope, certainly after so long and as another winter is about to begin,” said Yifat Zailer, cousin of Shiri Bibas, who is held along with her husband and two young sons. Around 100 hostages are still in Gaza, at least a third believed to be dead. Most of the rest of the 250 who were abducted in the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack were released in last year’s cease-fire.
Talks for another deal recently had several setbacks, including the firing of Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who pushed for a deal, and Qatar’s decision to suspend its mediation. Hamas wants Israel to end the war and withdraw all troops from Gaza. Israel has offered only to pause its offensive.
The Palestinian death toll from the war surpassed 44,000 this week, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count.
On Sunday, six people were killed in strikes in central Gaza, according to AP journalists at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah. Goldenberg reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press Writer Abby Sewell in Beirut contributed to this report.
firing of a new intermediate-range ballistic missile at Ukraine on Thursday. Putin said it was in response to Kyiv’s use of American and British missiles capable of striking deeper into Russia.
recruitment by offering increasing financial incentives, in some cases several times the average salary, to those willing to fight in Ukraine.
The strategy has allowed the military to boost its ranks in the conflict zone while avoiding another mobilization order. A “partial mobilization” in September 2022 sparked an exodus of tens of thousands of Russian men, who fled the country to avoid enlistment.
The intense and drawn-out war has strained Russian resources. Putin in September called for the military to increase its troops by 180,000.
The US, South Korea and Ukraine say North Korea sent more than 10,000 troops to Russia in October, some of whom have recently begun engaging in combat on the front lines, piling more pressure on Ukraine’s also weary and overstretched army.
The AP sees wreckage of Russia’s new experimental missile
The push for recruits coincides with the
Ukraine’s Security Service showed The Associated Press on Sunday wreckage of the new experimental ballistic missile, which struck a factory in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro.
The fragments of the missile called Oreshnik -– Russian for hazel tree, and which the Pentagon said is based on Russia’s RS-26 Rubezh intercontinental ballistic missile – have not been analyzed yet, according to security officials on site in an undisclosed location in Ukraine. The AP and other media were able to see the fragments before they were taken by investigators. Charred, mangled wires and an ashy airframe the size of a large snow tire was all that remained of the weapon, which can carry either conventional or nuclear warheads.
“It should be noted that this is the first time that the remains of such a missile have been discovered on the territory of Ukraine,”
Lebanon’s Shiite Muslims caught in the crossfire suffer disproportionately in Israel-Hezbollah war
By Bassem Mroue & Kareem Chehayeb The Associated Press
BEIRUT—The Lebanese civilians most devastated by the IsraelHezbollah war are Shiite Muslims, and many of them believe they are being unfairly punished because they share a religious identity with Hezbollah militants and often live in the same areas.
“This is clear,” said Wael Murtada, a young Shiite man who anxiously watched paramedics search rubble after a recent Israeli airstrike destroyed his uncle’s twostory home and killed 10 people.
“Who else is being attacked?” Israel has concentrated its attacks on villages in southern and northeastern Lebanon and neighborhoods south of Beirut. This is where many Hezbollah militants operate from, and their families live side by side with large numbers of Shiites who aren’t members of the group. Israel insists its war is with Hezbollah and not the Lebanese people—or the Shiite faith. It says it only targets members of the Iran-backed militant group to try to end their yearlong campaign of firing rockets over the border.
But Israel’s stated objectives mean little to people like Murtada as growing numbers of Shiite civilians also die in a war that escalated sharply in recent months.
Shiites don’t just measure the suffering of their community in deaths and injuries. Entire blocks
of the coastal city of Tyre have been flattened. Large parts of the historic market in the city of Nabatiyeh, which dates to the Ottoman era, have been destroyed. And in Baalbek, an airstrike damaged the city’s famed Hotel Palmyra, which opened in the late 19th century, and a home that dates to the Ottoman era.
“Lebanese Shias are being collectively punished. Their urban areas are being destroyed, and their cultural monuments and buildings are being destroyed,” said Mohanad Hage Ali, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut.
As Shiites flee their war-torn villages and neighborhoods, the conflict is increasingly following them to other parts of Lebanon, and this is fueling tensions.
Scores of people have been killed by Israeli airstrikes on Christian, Sunni and Druze areas where displaced Shiites had taken refuge. Many residents in these areas now think twice before providing shelter to displaced people out of fear they may
have links to Hezbollah.
“The Israelis are targeting all of Lebanon,” said Wassef Harakeh, a lawyer from Beirut’s southern suburbs who in 2022 ran against Hezbollah in the country’s parliamentary elections and whose office was recently demolished by an Israeli airstrike. He believes part of Israel’s goal is to exacerbate frictions within the small Mediterranean country, which has a long history of sectarian fighting even though diverse groups live together peacefully these days.
Some Shiites say statements from the Israeli military over the years have only reinforced suspicions that their wider community is being targeted as a means to put pressure on Hezbollah.
One commonly cited example is the so-called Dahiyeh doctrine, which was first espoused by Israeli generals during the 2006 IsraelHezbollah war. It is a reference to the southern suburbs of Beirut where Hezbollah is headquartered and where entire residential blocks, bridges and shopping compounds were destroyed in both wars. Israel says Hezbollah hides weapons and fighters in such areas, turning them into legitimate military targets.
A video released by the Israeli military last month has been interpreted by Shiites as further proof that little distinction is being made between Hezbollah fighters and Shiite civilians.
Speaking from a southern Lebanese village he did not name, Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari called it “a terror base. This is a Lebanese village, a Shiite village built by Hezbollah.” As he toured a house and showed stocks of hand grenades, rifles, nightvision goggles and other military equipment, Hagari said: “Every
house is a terror base.”
Another army spokesperson disputed the notion that Israel tries to blur the line between combatants and civilians. “Our war is with the terror group Hezbollah and not with the Lebanese population, whatever its origin,” said Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani. He denied that Israel was intentionally trying to disrupt the social fabric of Lebanon, and pointed to Israel’s evacuation warnings to civilians ahead of airstrikes as a step it takes to mitigate harm.
Many Lebanese, including some Shiites, blame Hezbollah for their suffering, while also decrying Israel’s bombardments. Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel last year the day after Hamas attacked Israel and started the war in Gaza; this went against the group’s promises to use its weapons only to defend Lebanon.
Since last October, more than 3,500 people have been killed in Lebanon, and women and children accounted for more than 900 of the dead, according to the Health
Ministry. More than 1 million people have been displaced from their homes. Shiites, who make up a third of Lebanon’s 5 million people, have borne the brunt of this suffering. Israel says it has killed well over 2,000 Hezbollah members in the past year.
The death and destruction in Lebanon ramped up significantly in mid-September, when Israeli airstrikes began targeting Hezbollah’s leaders, and once again in early October, when Israeli ground troops invaded.
Early in the war, Israeli airstrikes killed about 500 Hezbollah members but caused very little collateral damage. But since late September, airstrikes have destroyed entire buildings and homes, and in some cases killed dozens of civilians when the intended target was one Hezbollah member or official.
On one particularly bloody day, September 23, Israeli airstrikes killed almost 500 people and prompted hundreds of thousands of people—again, mostly Shiites— to flee their homes in panic.
Murtada’s relatives fled from Beirut’s southern suburbs in late September after entire blocks had been wiped out by airstrikes. They moved 22 kilometers (about 14 miles) east of the city, to the predominantly Druze mountain village of Baalchmay to stay in the home of Murtada’s uncle.
Then, on November 12, the home where they sought refuge was destroyed without warning. The airstrike killed nine relatives—three men, three women and three children—and a domestic worker, Murtada said.
The Israeli army said the home was being used by Hezbollah. Murtada, who lost a grandmother and an aunt in the strike, said nobody in the home was connected to the militant group.
Hezbollah has long boasted about its ability to deter Israel, but the latest war has proven otherwise and taken a severe toll on its leadership.
Some Shiites fear the weakening of Hezbollah will lead to the entire community being sidelined politically once the war is over. But others believe it could offer a political opening for more diverse Shiite voices.
Cease-fire negotiations to end the Israel-Hezbollah appear to have gained momentum over the past week. Some critics of Hezbollah say the group could have accepted months ago the conditions currently under consideration. This would have spared Lebanon “destruction, martyrs and losses worth billions (of dollars),” Lebanese legislator Waddah Sadek, who is Sunni Muslim, wrote on X.
The Associated Press writer Tia Goldenberg contributed to this report from Tel Aviv, Israel.
Global negotiators in Busan aim for historic plastic pollution treaty amid sharp divisions
By Jennifer Mcdermott The Associated Press
NEGOTIATORS gathered in Busan, South Korea on Monday in a final push to create a treaty to address the global crisis of plastic pollution.
It’s the fifth time the world’s nations convene to craft a legally binding plastic pollution accord. In addition to the national delegations, representatives from the plastics industry, scientists and environmentalists have come to shape how the world tackles the surging problem.
The planet is “ choking on plastic, “ according to the United Nations. It’s polluting lakes, rivers, oceans and people’s bodies.
“Don’t kick the can, or the plastic bottle, down the road,” UN Environment Programme Executive Director Inger Andersen said in a message aimed at negotiators.
This “is an issue about the intergenerational justice of those generations that will come after us and be living with all this garbage. We can solve this and we must get it done in Busan,” she said in an interview.
The previous four global meetings have revealed sharp differences in goals and interests. This week’s talks go through Saturday.
Led by Norway and Rwanda, 66 countries plus the European Union say they want to address the total amount of plastic on Earth by controlling design, production, consumption and where plastic ends up. The delegation from the hard-hit island nation of Micronesia helped lead an effort to call more attention to “unsustainable” plastic production, called the Bridge to Busan. Island nations are grappling with vast amounts of other countries’ plastic waste washing up on their shores.
“We think it’s the heart of the treaty, to go upstream and to get to the problem at its source,” said Dennis Clare, legal advisor and plastics negotiator for Micronesia. “There’s a tagline, ‘You can’t recycle your way out of this problem.’” Some plastic-producing and oil and gas countries, including Saudi Arabia, disagree.
GARBAGE collected en route to Mount Everest is stacked before undergoing sorting for recycling at a facility operated by Agni Ventures, an agency that manages recyclable waste, in Kathmandu, Nepal on June 24, 2024. AP/SANJOG MANANDHAR
They vigorously oppose any limits on plastic manufacturing. Most plastic is made from fossil fuels. Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest exporter of primary polypropylene, a common type of plastic, accounting for an estimated 17 percent of exports last year, according to the Plastics Industry Association.
China, the United States and Germany led the global plastics trade by exports and imports in 2023, the association said.
The plastics industry has been advocating for a treaty focused on redesigning plastic products, recycling and reuse, sometimes referred to as “circularity.” Chris Jahn, International Council of Chemical Associations secretariat, said negotiators should focus on ending plastic waste in the environment, not plastic production, to get a deal. Many countries won’t join a treaty if it includes production caps, he said.
To continue to progress and grow as a global economy, there are going to be more plastics, Jahn added.
“So we should strive then to keep those
plastics in the economy and out of the environment,” Jahn said.
The United States delegation at first said countries should develop their own plans to act, a position viewed as favoring industry. It changed its position this summer, saying the US is open to considering global targets for reductions in plastic production.
Environmental groups accused the US of backtracking as negotiations approached.
Center for Coalfield Justice executive director Sarah Martik said the United States is standing on the sidelines rather than leading, putting “their thumb on the scale throughout the entirety of the negotiations.” She hopes this does not derail other countries’ ambition.
The US Environmental Protection Agency released a national strategy to prevent plastic pollution Thursday, but Martik said she thinks too many of the measures are voluntary to make a difference.
See “Busan,” A12
DESTROYED buildings hit by Israeli airstrikes are seen in Nabatiyeh town, south Lebanon on October 13, 2024. AP/MOHAMMED ZAATARI
November 26,
Rising price of paying national debt is a risk for Trump’s promises on growth and inflation
WBy Josh Boak & Fatima Hussein The Associated Press
ASHINGTON—Donald
Trump has big plans for the economy—and a big debt problem that will be a hurdle to delivering on them.
Trump has bold ideas on tax cuts, tariffs and other programs, but high interest rates and the price of repaying the federal government’s existing debt could limit what he’s able to do.
Not only is the federal debt at roughly $36 trillion, but the spike in inflation after the coronavirus pandemic has pushed up the government’s borrowing costs such that debt service next year will easily exceed spending on national security.
The higher cost of servicing the debt gives Trump less room to maneuver with the federal budget as he seeks income tax cuts. It’s also a political challenge because higher interest rates have made it costlier for many Americans to buy a home or new automobile. And the issue of high costs helped Trump reclaim the presidency in November’s election.
“It’s clear the current amount of debt is putting upward pressure on interest rates, including mortgage rates for instance,” said Shai Akabas, executive director of the economic policy program at the Bipartisan Policy Center. “The cost of housing and groceries is going to be increasingly felt by households
said an expert with Ukraine’s Security Service, who identified himself only by his first name Oleh because he wasn’t authorized to discuss the issue with the media.
Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate
said the missile was fired from the 4th Missile Test Range, Kapustin Yar, in Russia’s Astrakhan region and flew for 15 minutes before striking Dnipro. The missile had six warheads, each carrying six submunitions. The peak speed was 11 Mach.
The US needs to “get ahead” of escalation, says incoming national security adviser
In light of the missile strike, US President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming national security adviser, Mike Waltz, said Sunday that the incoming administration wants “to get both sides to the table” and is concerned about escalation.
Waltz made clear on “Fox News Sunday” that he has met with Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, to discuss US policy and options in Ukraine, and the Florida congressman assured that those conversations will continue.
“For our adversaries out there that think this is a time of opportunity, that they can play one administration off the other, they’re wrong,” Waltz said. “We are hand in glove. We are one team with the United States in this transition.”
Waltz seemed to endorse Biden’s decision to send antipersonnel mines for Ukraine forces to use in the conflict. “It is a step towards somewhat solidifying the lines, and we also needed to stop Russian gains,” Waltz said.
The congressman also emphasized Trump’s desire for the conflict to end quickly. Trump, who has praised Putin over the years, avoided throughout the campaign setting conditions for an end to the conflict, suggesting he would be open to considerable annexations of Ukraine. Waltz avoided discussing any terms Trump might pursue once he takes office.
in a way that are going to adversely affect our economic prospects in the future.”
Akabas stressed that the debt service is already starting to crowd out government spending on basic needs such as infrastructure and education. About 1 in 5 dollars spent by the government are now repaying investors for borrowed money, instead of enabling investments in future economic growth.
It’s an issue on Trump’s radar. In his statement on choosing billionaire investor Scott Bessent to be his treasury secretary, the Republican president-elect said Bessent would “help curb the unsustainable path of Federal Debt.”
The debt service costs along with the higher total debt complicate Trump’s efforts to renew his 2017 tax cuts, much of which are set to expire after next year. The higher debt from those tax cuts could push interest rates higher, making debt service even costlier and minimizing any benefits the tax cuts could produce for growth.
“Clearly, it’s irresponsible to run back the same tax cuts after the deficit has tripled,” said Brian Riedl, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a former
Republican congressional aide. “Even congressional Republicans behind the scenes are looking for ways to scale down the president’s ambitions.”
Democrats and many economists say Trump’s income tax cuts disproportionately benefit the wealthy, which deprives the government of revenues needed for programs for the middle class and poor.
“The president-elect’s tax policy ideas will increase the deficit because they will decrease taxes for those with the highest ability to pay, such as the corporations whose tax rate he’s proposed reducing even further to 15 percent,” said Jessica Fulton, vice president of policy at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a Washington-based think tank that deals with issues facing communities of color.
Trump’s team insists he can make the math work.
“The American people re-elected President Trump by a resounding margin giving him a mandate to implement the promises he made on the campaign trail, including lowering prices. He will deliver,” said Karoline Leavitt, the Trump transition spokeswoman.
When Trump was last in the White House in 2020, the federal government was spending $345 billion annually to service the national debt. It was possible to run up the national debt with tax cuts and pandemic aid because the average interest rate was low, such that repayment costs were manageable even as debt levels climbed.
Congressional Budget Office projections indicate that debt service costs next year could exceed
$1 trillion. That’s more than projected spending on defense. The total is also greater than nondefense spending on infrastructure, food aid and other programs under the direction of Congress. What fueled the increased cost of servicing the debt has been higher interest rates. In April 2020, when the government was borrowing trillions of dollars to address the pandemic, the yield on 10-year Treasury notes fell as low as 0.6 percent. They’re now 4.4 percent, having increasing since September as investors expect Trump to add several trillions of dollars onto projected deficits with his income tax cuts.
Democratic President Joe Biden can point to strong economic growth and successfully avoiding a recession as the Federal Reserve sought to bring down inflation. Still, deficits ran at unusually high levels during his term. That’s due in part to his own initiatives to
boost manufacturing and address climate change, and to the legacy of Trump’s previous tax cuts.
People in Trump’s orbit, as well as Republican lawmakers, are already scouting out ways to reduce government spending in order to minimize the debt and bring down interest rates. They have attacked Biden for the deficits and inflation, setting the stage for whether they can persuade Trump to take action.
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, the wealthy businessmen leading Trump’s efforts to cut government costs, have proposed that the incoming administration should simply refuse to spend some of the money approved by Congress. It’s an idea that Trump has also backed, but one that would likely provoke challenges in court as it would undermine congressional authority.
Russell Vought, the White House budget director during
Trump’s first term and Trump’s choice to lead it again, put out an alternative proposed budget for 2023 with more than $11 trillion in spending cuts over 10 years in order to potentially generate a surplus.
Michael Faulkender, a finance professor who served in Trump’s Treasury Department, told a congressional committee in March that all the energy and environmental components of Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act from 2022 should be repealed to reduce deficits.
Trump has also talked up tariffs on imports to generate revenues and reduce deficits, while some Republican lawmakers such as House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, have discussed adding work requirements to trim Medicaid expenses.
The White House was last pressured by high rates to address debt service costs roughly three decades ago during the start of Democrat Bill Clinton’s presidency. Higher yields on the 10-year Treasury notes led Clinton and Congress to reach an agreement on deficit reduction, ultimately producing a budget surplus starting in 1998. Clinton political adviser James Carville joked at the time about how bond investors pushing up borrowing rates for the US government could humble the commander in chief.
“I used to think that if there was reincarnation, I wanted to come back as the president or the pope or as a .400 baseball hitter,” Carville said. “But now I would like to come back as the bond market. You can intimidate everybody.”
Senators took down one Trump Cabinet pick; but fight over their authority is just beginning
By Stephen Groves The Associated Press
WASHINGTON—It’s a short phrase in the Constitution, mentioned in passing. But it’s already taking on an outsize significance as President-elect Donald Trump charts his return to office.
The withdrawal of Matt Gaetz as Trump’s nominee for attorney general dramatically affirmed that the Senate still maintains its “advice and consent” powers when it comes to vetting and installing a president’s Cabinet. Yet it may be only a brief reprieve from the intense struggles to come as Senate Republicans try to preserve their constitutional role.
Trump has been making his Cabinet announcements at a rapid clip, often over social media, and frequently catching GOP senators off guard. Gaetz’s selection on November 13, in particular, left Republicans shocked and momentarily dumbfounded. His withdrawal just over a week later came just as suddenly, leaving many grasping for words.
Within hours, Trump had moved on, announcing on social media that he had selected another loyalist, former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, to run the Justice Department. Over the weekend, Trump filled out the rest of his Cabinet selections.
The dizzying speed of the picks has given Trump’s second term in office a bracing start, a show of force from a presidentelect who has made clear he intends to fill
his administration with officials who are willing to upend the ways of Washington. His desire to pack the government with loyalists and wield executive power in expansive ways seems certain to result in frequent clashes with Congress, even with Republicans in control.
“From what I’m hearing from my Republican colleagues on everything from defense secretary to other posts, it sounds like they are ready to roll over for Mr. Trump,” Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat, said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
Republican senators are choosing their words carefully as they size up Trump’s proposed Cabinet, while also issuing gentle reminders about their role in the confirmation process.
“The constitutional directive is clear, and it does not change based upon the personalities involved,” said Sen. Mike Rounds, a South Dakota Republican. “The way approach it, the president has a responsibility to make nominations, and we give him the benefit of the doubt, but we do have a responsibility for ‘advice and consent.’”
Gaetz’s nomination was sunk after Republican senators had privately become wary of a volatile confirmation hearing amid allegations he had sex with an underage girl. As many as four to six GOP senators were signaling their reservations, according to one outgoing Republican senator, Mike Braun of Indiana, though the number was certainly higher.
With Democrats ready to oppose Cabinet
nominees they view as unqualified and extreme, Trump’s margin for error is narrow. Republicans are set to have a 53-47 majority in the next Senate, so defections from just four Republicans would mean defeat for any nominee that doesn’t enjoy bipartisan support.
Other Cabinet picks also face a complicated path to confirmation. Trump’s transition team has so far not signed the requisite agreements that allow the FBI to screen his personnel choices, sending nominees before the Senate without the typical vetting that happens beforehand.
So far, Trump’s nominees have included for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, a Fox News personality who was accused of sexual assault, which he denies; for secretary for health and human services, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who has also faced allegations of sexual misconduct as well as concern about his opposition to vaccines; and for national intelligence director, Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic House member who has echoed Russian propaganda and talking points.
Those picks fall outside the Republican mainstream and are a notable departure from when Trump entered the White House the first time and mostly chose from the ranks of Republican officials well-respected across Washington.
“The Constitution gives us a role in personnel called ‘advice and consent,’” said Sen. Mitch McConnell, the outgoing Senate Republican leader who will remain in office
next year. “My view is that’s exactly what will unfold here when these nominees are actually sent forward, and we will treat them like we’ve treated all others with proper vetting.”
Still, Trump’s allies argue that senators need to be ready to confirm the Cabinet, no matter who is chosen.
“The president deserves to be able to put people in place who will do what he campaigned on, which is to disrupt, and the establishment is concerned, and they probably should be,” said Sen. Eric Schmitt, a Missouri Republican, adding, “I fully support President Trump’s ability to pick his people to go do that.”
After Gaetz’s withdrawal, Trump supporters on social media and in activist circles circulated the names of Republicans they believed were holding out support.
Charlie Kirk, whose conservative youth organization Turning Points Action worked closely with the Trump campaign, is already organizing a “grassroots army” to pressure senators to confirm his nominees.
That might not even matter. Trump has also demanded that Senate Republicans agree to allow him to make recess appointments, a process whereby the Senate would adjourn so that Trump could use a constitutional power to make appointments while the chamber is in recess. Sen. John Thune, who will take over as Senate majority leader in January, has kept that option on the table, saying he would be inclined to use it if Democrats try to delay confirmations.
It would be unprecedented in modern times for the Senate to step aside willingly to allow the president to make top-level Cabinet appointments. Experts say it would amount to surrendering the chamber’s constitutional power over Cabinet choices.
“It’s crystallized the choices for Senate Republicans,” said Sarah Binder, a political scientist at George Washington University. “Who is your loyalty to and how far are you willing to put your loyalty to President Trump above your procedural rights and constitutional powers?” Yet some Trump allies have also discussed a scenario where the Republican-controlled House could vote to adjourn Congress. Even if the Senate declined to adjourn also, that could theoretically create a “disagreement” between the two chambers, which allows the president to tap a constitutional authority to adjourn Congress until a time he thinks is “proper.” Still, that constitutional provision has never been tried, and Binder asserted that it would still be within the Senate leaders’ ability to promptly call the chamber back into session. But it would also be a further test for the senators.
“A constitutional system doesn’t work unless those in the institutions stand up and fight to maintain their constitutional rights of advice and consent,” said Binder.
The Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro and Mary Clare Jalonick contributed.
Foreign ministers meet in Italy for last G7 meeting of the Biden administration
By Nicole Winfield The Associated Press
FIUGGI, Italy—Foreign ministers from the world’s leading industrialized nations are meeting Monday, with the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East entering decisive phases and a certain pressure to advance diplomatic efforts ahead of the new US administration taking over.
Hopes for brokering a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon are foremost on the agenda of the Group of Seven meeting outside Rome that is gathering ministers from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, in the last G7 encounter of the Blinken administration.
On the first day of the two-day gathering Monday, the G7 will be joined by ministers from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, as well as the Secretary General of the Arab League.
“With partners will be discussed ways to support efforts to reach a cease-fire in Gaza and Lebanon, initiatives to support the population and the promotion of a credible political horizon for stability in the region,” the Italian foreign ministry said.
The so-called “Quintet” grouping of the U.S., Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt and the UAE has been working to finalize a “day after” plan for Gaza, and there is some urgency to make progress before the Trump administration takes over in January. President-elect Donald Trump is expected to pur -
Left-wing opposition candidate wins tight presidential election in Uruguay
By Nayara Batschke Associated Press
MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay
(AP) — Uruguay’s leftist opposition candidate, Yamandú Orsi, claimed victory in a tight presidential runoff Sunday, ousting the conservative governing coalition and making the South American nation the latest to rebuke the incumbent party in a year of landmark elections.
Even as the vote count continued, Álvaro Delgado, the presidential candidate of the center-right ruling coalition, conceded defeat to his challenger.
“With sadness, but without guilt, we can congratulate the winner,” he told supporters at his campaign headquarters in the capital of Montevideo Fireworks erupted over the stage where Orsi, 57, a workingclass former history teacher and two-time mayor from Uruguay’s Broad Front coalition, thanked his supporters as crowds flocked to greet him.
“The country of liberty, equality and fraternity has triumphed once again,” he said, vowing to unite the nation of 3.4 million people after such a tight vote.
“Let’s understand that there is another part of our country who have different feelings today,” he said. “These people will also have to help build a better country. We need them too.”
With nearly all the votes counted, electoral officials reported that Orsi won just over 49 percent of the vote, ahead of Delgado’s 46 percent. The rest cast blank votes or abstained in defiance of Uruguay’s enforced compulsory voting. Turnout reached almost 90 percent.
While failing to entice apathetic young voters, Uruguay’s lackluster electoral campaigns steered clear of the anti-establishment fury that has vaulted populist outsiders to power elsewhere in the world, like in the United States and neighbor -
ing Argentina.
After weeks in which the moderate rivals appeared tied in the polls, Delgado’s concession ushers in Orsi as Uruguay’s new leader and cuts short the center-right Republican coalition’s shot at governing.
The 2019 election of President Luis Lacalle Pou spelled an end to 15 consecutive years of rule by the Broad Front.
“I called Yamandú Orsi to congratulate him as Presidentelect of our country,” Lacalle Pou wrote on social media platform X, adding that he would “put myself at his service and begin the transition as soon as I deem it appropriate.”
Orsi’s victory was the latest sign that simmering discontent over post-pandemic economic malaise favors anti-incumbent candidates.
In the many elections that took place during 2024, voters frustrated with the status quo have punished ruling parties from the U.S. and Britain to South Korea and Japan.
But unlike elsewhere in the world, Orsi is a moderate with no radical plans for change. He largely agrees with his opponent on key voter concerns like driving down the childhood poverty rate, now at a staggering 25 percent, and containing an upsurge in organized crime that has shaken the nation long considered among Latin America’s safest.
Despite Orsi’s promise to lead a “new left” in Uruguay, his platform resembles the mix of market-friendly policies and welfare programs that characterized the Broad Front’s tenure from 20052020.
The coalition of leftist and center-left parties presided over a period of robust economic growth and pioneering social reforms that won widespread international acclaim.
The driving force behind Uruguay’s legalization of abortion, same-sex marriage and sale of
sue a policy that strongly favors Israel over the aspirations of the Palestinians.
As the G7 ministers arrived in Italy, Israel’s ambassador to the US, Mike Herzog, told Israeli Army Radio on Monday a cease-fire deal to end fighting between Israel and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah could be reached “within days.”
Host Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani added another item to the G7 agenda last week after the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister and Hamas’ military chief.
Italy is a founding member of the court and hosted the 1998 Rome conference that gave birth to it. But Italy’s right-wing government has been a strong supporter of Israel after the October 7 Hamas attacks, while also providing humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza.
The Italian government has taken a cautious line, reaffirming its support and respect for the court but expressing concern that the warrants were politically motivated.
“There can be no equivalence between the responsibilities of the state of Israel and the terrorist
marijuana a decade ago was former President José “Pepe” Mujica, an ex-Marxist guerilla who became a global icon and mentor to Orsi.
Mujica, now 89 and recovering from esophageal cancer, turned up at his local polling station before balloting even began on Sunday to praise Orsi’s humility and Uruguay’s proud stability.
“This is no small feat,” he said of his nation’s “citizenry that respects formal institutions.”
Specific proposals by Orsi include tax incentives to lure investment and revitalize the critical agricultural sector, as well as social security reforms that would lower the retirement age but fall short of a radical overhaul sought by Uruguay’s unions that failed to pass in the October 27 general election during which neither front-runner secured an outright majority.
In keeping with the nation’s reputation for being sensible, voters rejected generous pay-outs and the redistribution of privately managed pension funds in favor of fiscal constraint.
He is also likely to scupper a trade agreement with China that Lacalle Pou had pursued to the chagrin of Mercosur, an alliance of South American nations promoting regional commerce.
“He’s my candidate, not only for my sake but also for my children’s,” said Yeny Varone, a nurse at a polling station who voted for Orsi.”In the future they’ll have better working conditions, health and salaries.”
Delgado, 55, a rural veterinarian with a long career in the National Party, served most recently as Secretary of the Presidency for Lacalle Pou and campaigned under the slogan “re-elect a good government.”
With inflation easing and the economy expected to expand by some 3.2 percent this year, Delgado has promised to continue pursuing his predecessor’s probusiness policies. Lacalle Pou, who constitutionally cannot run for a second consecutive term, has enjoyed high approval ratings.
organization of Hamas,” Premier Giorgia Meloni said, echoing the statement from U.S. President Joe Biden.
Nathalie Tocci, director of the Rome-based Institute for International Affairs think tank, said Italy would be seeking to forge a united front on the ICC warrants, at least among the six G7 countries that are signatories of the court: everyone but the US.
But in an essay this weekend in La Stampa newspaper, Tocci warned it was a risky move, since the US tends to dictate the G7 line and has blasted the ICC warrants against Netanyahu as “outrageous.”
“If Italy and the other (five G7) signatories of the ICC are unable to maintain the line on international law, they will not only erode it anyway but will be acting against our interests,” Tocci wrote, recalling Italy’s recourse to international law in demanding protection for Italian U.N. peacekeeepers who have come under fire in southern Lebanon.
The other major talking point of the G7 meeting is Ukraine, and
tensions have only heightened since Russia attacked Ukraine last week with an experimental, hypersonic ballistic missile that escalated the nearly 33-monthold war.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha is expected at the G7 in Fiuggi on Tuesday, and NATO and Ukraine are to hold emergency talks the same day in Brussels.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said the strike was retaliation for Kyiv’s use of US and British longer-range missiles capable of striking deeper into Russian territory.
The G7 has been at the forefront of providing military and economic support for Ukraine since Russia’s invasion in February 2022 and G7 members are particularly concerned about how a Trump administration will change the US approach.
Trump has criticized the billions of dollars that the Biden administration has poured into Ukraine and has said he could end the war in 24 hours, comments that appear to suggest he would press Ukraine to surrender territory
that Russia now occupies. Italy is a strong supporter of Ukraine and has backed the US decision to allow Ukraine to strike Russia with US-made, longer-range missiles. But Italy has invoked the country’s constitutional repudiation of war in declining to provide Ukraine with offensive weaponry to strike inside Russia.
The G7 foreign ministers’ meeting, the second of the Italian presidency after ministers gathered in Capri in April, is being held in the medieval town of Fiuggi southeast of Rome, best known for its thermal spas.
On Monday, which coincides with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, ministers will attend the inauguration of a red bench meant to symbolize Italy’s focus on fighting gender-based violence. Over the weekend, tens of thousands of people marched in Rome to protest gender-based violence, which in Italy so far this year has claimed the lives of 99 women, according to a report last week by the Eures think tank.
Philippine child labor report shows progress and ongoing obstacles
The recent report from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) paints a complicated picture of child labor in the country. While the total number of child laborers has decreased from 828,000 in 2022 to 678,000 in 2023, a troubling trend emerges: more children aged 15 to 17 are working over 40 hours a week, indicating a shift towards exploitative labor practices among older children. This raises urgent questions about the nature of work they are engaged in and the broader implications for their futures. (Read the BusinessMirror story: “Older children continue to work for more hours,” November 22, 2024).
Child labor, as defined by the PSA, encompasses activities that jeopardize children’s health, safety, and development. Industries such as mining, construction, transportation, and agriculture are not only demanding but also hazardous. The fact that 65.3 percent of child laborers are still found in agriculture highlights the sector’s ongoing reliance on child labor, despite a slight decrease from the previous year. This reliance underscores systemic issues in our agricultural practices and economic structures that necessitate urgent reforms.
Moreover, while the overall number of working children has dropped from 1.48 million to 1.09 million, the proportion involved in exploitative labor has risen from 56 percent to 62 percent. This shift indicates that, although fewer children are working, a greater percentage is subject to conditions that could hinder their educational and personal development. The reality is stark: a significant number of children are caught in a cycle of labor that deprives them of their right to a proper childhood and education.
The demographic breakdown of child laborers is equally concerning. Boys make up the majority of this group, with 62.1 percent of child laborers being male. This raises important questions about gender dynamics and the specific vulnerabilities faced by young boys in laborintensive industries.
Department of Labor and Employment Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma has acknowledged the duality of this situation, emphasizing the progress made while also calling for sustained efforts to combat child labor. His commitment to intensifying interventions is commendable, but it must translate into concrete actions that address the root causes of child labor rather than just managing its symptoms.
As a society, we must rally behind initiatives that raise awareness about the importance of eradicating child labor. Education must be prioritized, ensuring that every child has the opportunity to learn and thrive without the burden of excessive work. Community programs, policy reforms, and collaboration with non-governmental organizations are critical in developing a comprehensive approach to this issue.
While we celebrate the decrease in the total number of child laborers, we cannot overlook the alarming increase in those working under exploitative conditions. Every child deserves a safe, nurturing environment that fosters their growth and allows them to pursue their dreams. It is a collective responsibility to ensure that our children are not just counted, but also truly cared for. Together, we can create a future where childhood is cherished and education is a right, not a privilege.
BusinessMirror
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John Mangun
Your brain is costing you money OUTSIDE THE BOX
The war in Ukraine is experiencing new levels of confrontation. “US backs Philippine forces in South China Sea with task force.”
The Philippine peso is bumping against a historic low against the US dollar. The New York stock market is at its historic high level. The US Federal Reserve says the US economy is doing well so that there is no need for an immediate decrease in interest rates.
The first paragraph presents statements of fact devoid of any language bias or subjective interpretation regarding the implications of these facts. However, I guarantee that each sentence elicited in you some sort of emotional/intellectual reaction.
Winner of the 2002 Nobel Prize in economics Daniel Kahneman wrote a book in 2011, after decades of research and analysis, called “Thinking, Fast and Slow.” Kahneman is considered the “grandfather of behavioral economics.” He should probably be considered a great-grandson of Adam Smith and Jeremy Bentham, whose foundational principles of behavioral economics were established 250 years ago. The idea is that human psychology, thinking, and im-
‘Tpulses play a major role in economic decisions.
All aspects of an economy, from a child buying candy at the sari-sari store to global macroeconomics, are governed by more than just numbers. From Vilfredo Pareto (1906: Pareto principle, the 80/20 rule) to Irving Fisher (1929: “It’s the stock market only shaking out the lunatic fringe”), economists have been trying to figure out why we make economic decisions the that way that we do.
Kahneman writes of ‘System 1’ and ‘System 2’ thinking first introduced with psychologist Amos Tversky to describe two different modes of thought: System 1 is lightning-fast, intuitive and instinctive thinking, automatic when we make snap judg-
O ink or not to ink, that is the question!” Tattoos as protected copyright was the issue in the emerging IP Rights Committee of the 76th Council Meeting of the Asian Patent Attorneys Association (APAA) at the SMX Convention Center and Conrad hotel in Pasay City, Metro Manila from November 18 to 21, 2024.
A tattoo is “an indelible mark or figure fixed upon the body by insertion of pigment under the skin or by the production of scars.”
Tattoos are emerging into greater significance and presence due to shifting societal attitudes toward tattoos as a form of self-expression and art, which has fueled acceptance and the demand for diverse tattoo styles and designs.
Copyright protection applies to “original works of authorship,” both published and unpublished; this includes writing, art, music, dramatic works and other intellectual property.
Copyright arises automatically
when a “work” that qualifies for protection is created and “fixed”— that is, taken out of the mind of the creator and turned into a tangible, material form.
The work must be tangible: Ideas, speeches, or other works that have not been written down or recorded are not subject to copyright protection.
The work must be original, meaning it needs to be a product of an author’s judgement and skill, and must not be copied—it is the author’s own “intellectual creation.”
The discussion revolved around issues of possible statutory or common law defenses or exemptions, application of tests of substantial
ments. System 2 is slow and indecisive analytical logical thinking, which takes mental effort. System 1 is in charge 95 percent of the time partly because it is easier, faster, and has kept humans alive for the past umpteen thousand years. It is good to be able to distinguish a dangerous animal in the jungle without a lot of thought.
But System 1 thinking creates considerable blind spots called fallacies and cognitive biases. System 1 thinking also helps you lose money in the stock market.
I learned almost on Day One of being a stockbroker from my mentor Jim Marshall that “If you cannot afford to lose, you cannot afford to win.” That is the foundation of the cognitive bias of “Loss Aversion.” We humans feel losses two times more intensely than equivalent gains. Losing P1,000 hurts more than finding P1,000 feels good. The pain of accepting the loss is worse than the potential gain of reinvesting later. That is why your stock market portfolio is down 20, 30, 40 percent and I am still sitting in 100 percent cash for more than a month. Sorry, but reality is not kind.
The Sunk Cost Fallacy can kill you financially as you continue holding a position even if continuing is not the most rational choice. It is like finishing a bad movie because you are “halfway through.” The past cost should be ir-
similarity in various jurisdictions, and proper assessment of damages.
Many noted the lack of legal precedents specifically addressing tattoos within copyright laws.
Most countries adopt the principle of fair use, which allows the exploitation of a copyrighted work depending on its intended use. The application of the fair use concept, in order to avoid liability for copyright infringement, depends on varying circumstances that are subjectively determined based on the reproduction of the copyrighted work on a person’s body as a tattoo.
Some participants argued that a person’s body is a form of inviolable self-expression and art, which should exempt it from copyright infringement.
The absence of a protection mechanism to enjoin copyright-infringing artwork in the form of tattoos presents a challenge, largely due to the lack of legislation specifically addressing tattoos as copyrighted works.
The consensus among participants is that tattoos should not be exempt from copyright laws.
Unless a tattoo is considered an original expression or independent creation of the tattoo artist, or if the tattoo qualifies under the circum-
relevant to future decisions. Back to the first paragraph. Your positive or negative response to those statements is in part because of Availability Bias and Confirmation Bias. People make decisions and judgments based on the information that is most readily available in their memory. It would be essentially impossible to see any positives in my statements unless you have been deep inside a Mt. Makiling cave with no access to “The News.” Read the Internet and you know that the world is on the “Highway to Hell.” Beyond, we get caught in the death loop of Confirmation Bias when we favor and believe information that confirms our existing beliefs that comes from the Availability Bias memory. How to do more “System 2” thinking? For me, it’s play more video games. In other words, slow down decision-making and think it through. Practice Mindfulness and engage in activities that force you to focus your awareness on the present moment. Learning something new, especially something complex, forces you to engage in System 2 thinking. If you play Assassin’s Creed, you know exactly what I mean.
E-mail me at mangun@gmail.com. Follow me on Twitter @mangunonmarkets. PSE stock-market information and technical analysis provided by AAA Southeast Equities Inc.
stances covered by the doctrine of fair use, it is no different from other forms of intellectual creation, which may warrant different treatment.
Established in December 1969, membership of APAA is open to individuals practicing the profession of patent attorney in the Asian region as well as organizations that comprise such individuals and are constituted in the Asian region.
With over 1,200 participants, some of APAA’s activities include exchanging information and views concerning Intellectual Property (IP) protection on issues involving anticounterfeiting, copyright, patents, designs, trademarks, and emerging IP rights, and their enforcement in different jurisdictions.
Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero, as the keynote speaker during the opening ceremony, urged major reforms that must be made to national innovation system, which encompasses the academe, the government, and the business sector.
“We must do more to boost and support the local production of knowledge by our home-grown scientists and researchers. We play an important and integral role in developing not only the countries where we live but in developing the world See “Gorecho,” A15
Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon
AMIcUS cUrIAE
Dennis Gorecho
Biofertilizer industry in crisis
By Leonardo Q. Montemayor
In March 2024, Chancellor Jose V. Camacho, Jr. of the University of the Philippines at Los Baños (UPLB) granted an exclusive license to an agribusiness company called Agri-Specialist, Inc. (ASI) to use, produce and sell the biofertilizer trademarked as “Bion” nationwide.
In turn, ASI—a newcomer in the biofertilizer industry—has allegedly been telling existing and potential Bio-N clients, including farmers’ cooperatives, private enterprises and national and local government agencies, to stop making, marketing or using Bio-N without ASI’s permission. To date, however, ASI has not secured a certificate of product registration for Bio-N from the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority under the Department of Agriculture (DA).
Currently, the production and supply of Bio-N in various areas has reportedly dwindled or stopped. This is harming thousands of rice, corn and vegetable producers, who have been enjoying higher yields and substantial savings in urea fertilizer costs with this technology.
Under President Bongbong Marcos’ direction, Bio-N and other biofertilizers have gotten increased public funding in a bid to reduce the country’s dependence on imported and increasingly expensive inorganic farm inputs. For 2024, the DA has a P1.9 billion-budget for the procurement of biofertilizers.
Bio-N was discovered in 1985 by Dr. Mercedes Garcia of the National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (BIOTECH) in UPLB. Dr. Garcia came up with an inoculant—derived from bacteria found in talahib grass roots—that enables rice and other crops to use nitrogen from the air. Bio-N technology was developed at BIOTECH with financial support from the DA and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).
In 2002, DA started the commercialization of Bio-N. DA and its regional offices and attached agencies/ units (National Food Authority and Bureaus of Agricultural Research, Plant Industry, and Soils and Water Management) worked closely with BIOTECH, local governments, state universities and colleges, farmers’ cooperatives and private companies in establishing 83 mixing plants to produce and/or distribute Bio-N fertil-
Raging bull within us
Bio-N was discovered in 1985 by Dr. Mercedes Garcia of the National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (BIOTECH) in UPLB. Dr. Garcia came up with an inoculant—derived from bacteria found in talahib grass roots—that enables rice and other crops to use nitrogen from the air. Bio-N technology was developed at BIOTECH with financial support from the DA and the Department of Science and Technology.
izer to farmers under joint venture, third party and similar agreements.
In 2009, the Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) sought BIOTECH’s authorization to mass-produce another BIOTECH biofertilizer product—Mykovam—for coconut farmers. Prior to this, the FFF did field trials—under BIOTECH scientists’ supervision—in several sites across the country. Test results showed that Mykovam had significantly improved the growth and yields of coconuts at significantly reduced costs. However, BIOTECH inexplicably sat on the FFF’s partnership proposal.
We were therefore greatly surprised when—in the case of ASI— the UPLB Chancellor quickly issued an exclusive, long-term license to an industry newcomer for the acquisition, manufacture and marketing of Bio-N.
Considering too that Bio-N was developed with the use of public funds, how can it become the sole property of UPLB or ASI? Shouldn’t the national and local governments that contributed resources be entitled to royalties, unhampered access to the technology, and a say in its disposition?
Leonardo Q. Montemayor is the Board Chairman of the Federation of Free Farmers and former Secretary of Agriculture (2001-2002).
Adani summoned by US SEC to explain position in bribery case
By Satviki Sanjay
NDIAN billionaire Gautam
IAdani and his nephew, Sagar Adani, were summoned by the US Securities and Exchange Commission to explain allegations that they paid more than $250 million in bribes to win solar-power contracts, Press Trust of India reported. The summons were sent to the Adanis’ respective residences in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad, with replies expected within 21 days, PTI said, citing a Nov. 21 notice dispatched through the New York Eastern District Court. A judgment by default will be entered against the Adanis if they don’t respond on time, the notice said.
The SEC will have to send the summons via an “established protocol” involving diplomatic channels, which include the Indian Embassy in the US, PTI said in a separate story citing two sources.
It will take some time before the notice can be served to the Adanis, the report added.
A representative for the Adani Group didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment outside business hours.
On November 20, US prosecutors announced a criminal indictment against the two Ada-
Separately, a fresh plea has been filed to India’s Supreme Court seeking an investigation by Indian authorities into the bribery allegations, CNBC reported. India’s capital markets regulator is also looking into whether the group violated rules mandating the disclosure of market-moving information, Bloomberg News reported Friday.
nis and others in relation to the bribery allegations, while the SEC separately charged them in a civil case.
The Adani Group denied wrongdoing. On Saturday, Chief Financial Officer Jugeshinder Singh said in a post on X that the group would respond publicly to the charges after a detailed legal review, adding that the claims are allegations and the accused have a presumption of innocence.
Separately, a fresh plea has been filed to India’s Supreme Court seeking an investigation by Indian authorities into the bribery allegations, CNBC reported. India’s capital markets regulator is also looking into whether the group violated rules mandating the disclosure of market-moving information, Bloomberg News reported Friday. Bloomberg
Siegfred Bueno Mison, Esq.
THE PATRIOT
After that viral video of VP Sara Duterte bad-mouthing Speaker Martin romualdez, first Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, and even the highest public official in the Philippines, President ferdinand Marcos Jr., came out a few days ago, there is no doubt that filipinos, regardless on whose side they belong, are and should be outraged. the mudslinging, which began in earnest during budget hearings in Congress, has gone full blast to the point that invectives from the second highest public official in our land were not spared, supposedly secret deals among erstwhile allies have been exposed, and even assassination plans have been implied.
Once formidable allies, the Marcoses and the Dutertes are now on a collision course as one family tries to destroy the other, exposing corruption in the process. Visibly irked from the relentless attacks in Congress, VP Sara’s anger is expected yet appalling. Her anger can be justified, especially when there are broken promises among “partners in crime” so to speak. But as to the manner she got angry, there is no amount of communication strategy that can vindicate her actions. It is a PR nightmare! I have been angry quite a few times. My pastor friend taught me that the key to being righteously outraged is to be aware of the sinful boundaries so that I can stop myself and not sin by letting anger control me (Ephesians 4:26). Anger can be righteous at times, depending on the WHY (the reason and the purpose of being angry) and HOW (the speed and manner of the expression of anger). Righteous anger is motivated by godly convictions of honoring God whereas unrighteous or bad anger
is driven by self-serving motives. If we are to be angry righteously, anger should restore and not destroy as when Jesus walked into the temple and overturned the tables because people were being disrespectful to the house of God. In His righteous anger, Jesus may have destroyed things around the temple but he did so to purposely restore it as a place of worship and not as a marketplace. As to the manner of expression, bad anger is quick; while good anger is slow in keeping to what the Bible said that we “should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.” (James 1:19-20). Believers are comforted by the way God is patient and forgiving, whenever we are about to display unrighteous anger. Our Almighty God taught us to be forgiving to those who offend us—“seventy times seven.” Practicing what this means should equip believers with longer patience, thus being “slow to anger.” Further, in his book, Good and Angry, author
Once formidable allies, the Marcoses and the Dutertes are now on a collision course as one family tries to destroy the other, exposing corruption in the process. Visibly irked from the relentless attacks in Congress, VP Sara’s anger is expected yet appalling. Her anger can be justified, especially when there are broken promises among “partners in crime” so to speak. But as to the manner she got angry, there is no amount of communication strategy that can vindicate her actions. It is a PR nightmare!
David Powlison said that “Godly anger confronts someone. Human anger condemns. Righteous anger admonishes, while unrighteous anger accuses. Righteous anger warns, and unrighteous anger threatens.” So whenever anger is accompanied by foul language, the method of venting is far from being Godly, violative of what the Bible taught us—“Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.”
(Ephesians 4:29) As such, when VP Sara cussed at certain officials, angrily and shamelessly, I find it difficult to justify it. Even though those uttered words are mere expressions of anger, they are unrighteous since she seems to use them with less noble intentions. She was angry purposely to destroy those who are destroying her, something that can be seen as rational in the eyes of men but not in the eyes of the Lord.
Former Cabinet official Rafael Alunan recently said that all public officials “must remain calm and stable under pressure, and be in con-
trol of themselves, their people, and the many stressful situations they will encounter in office.” Some of the fruits of the Holy Spirit include gentleness and self-control, both of which were lacking during the time of the “wrath of Sara.” My pastor friend gave me some practical tips to be more gentle and practice self-control when faced with circumstances that can trigger anger. He told me to think before acting, by counting one to a hundred or taking a sip of water before responding. In the Bible, Psalms 4:4 tells us, “Don’t sin by letting anger control you. Think about it overnight and remain silent.” There is truly a need to pause and reflect before venting any anger. Perhaps the anger of VP Sara began with a righteous cause (exposing corruption) but then shifted to an unrighteous response (shouting invectives), simply because she evidently, time and again, lacked self-control. I read before that righteous anger is God-oriented and not me-oriented. All of us can be angry, after all, anger is a human emotion. We just have to be mindful that anger can still be pleasing to His eyes, depending on the reasons and the manner of venting our anger against others. We have to control that raging bull within us by staying connected with our Almighty God whenever things don’t go our way.
A former infantry and intelligence officer in the Army, Siegfred Mison showcased his servant leadership philosophy in organizations such as the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, Malcolm Law Offices, Infogix Inc., University of the East, Bureau of Immigration, and Philippine Airlines. He is a graduate of West Point in New York, Ateneo Law School, and University of Southern California. A corporate lawyer by profession, he is an inspirational teacher and a Spirit-filled writer with a mission. For questions and comments, please e-mail me at sbmison@gmail.com.
Reformed tax incentives under CREATE MORE
TAx LAw fOR BuSInESS
One significant amendment introduced by republic Act no 12066 or the Corporate recovery and ta x Incentives for enterprises to Maximize Opportunities for reinvigorating the economy (Cr eAte MOr e) is the reformed bundle of tax incentives available to registered Business enterprises (rBe) duly registered with the fiscal Incentives review Board (fIrB) and other Investment Promotion Agencies (IPA).
Subject to certain conditions and period of availment, types of incentives that may be granted to registered projects or activities include 1) Income Tax Holiday (ITH), 2) Special Corporate Income Tax (SCIT) Rate, 3) Enhanced Deductions Regime (EDR), 4) Duty exemption on importation of capital equipment, raw materials, spare parts, or accessories, 5) Value Added Tax (VAT) exemption on importation and VAT zero-rating on local purchases, and 6) RBE local Tax.
ITH is an exemption from income tax on registered project or activity and is available for both export and domestic market enterprises. The SCIT is a tax equivalent to five percent of gross income earned and is in lieu of all national and local taxes and local fees and charges. Only registered export enterprises may avail themselves of SCIT.
Under CREATE MORE, EDR has been made a separate tax regime where qualified enterprises shall be taxed at a rate equivalent to 20 percent
Continued from A14
in which we live in.”
Escudero added: “In the hope, in the dream that we can make this a better place than our world when we were born in it, than our children when they were born in it. Hopefully, our grandchildren and our children’s
of taxable income derived from registered projects or activities. This is in addition to the enhanced deductions enumerated under the law. Notably, CREATE MORE also increased from 50 percent to 100 percent additional deduction on power expense incurred during the taxable year.
Registered export enterprises may opt for one of the following: 1) ITH, which shall be followed by SCIT or EDR; or 2) SCIT, which shall be in lieu of all national and local taxes and local fees and charges and may be granted immediately at the start of commercial operations; or 3) EDR, which may be granted immediately at the start of commercial operations. Registered domestic market enterprises may opt for either 1) ITH, which shall be followed by EDR; or 2) EDR, which may be granted immediately at the start of commercial operations.
The RBE local tax may be imposed by the concerned local government unit through an ordinance issued by the concerned Sanggunian, at a rate
grandchildren will live in a far better place than where we are living today.”
The Organizing Committee of the 76th APAA Council Meeting in Manila is led by Chairman Atty. Lorna Kapunan and Co-Chairman Atty. Pablo Gancayco. Intellectual Property Association of the Philippines (IPAP) is led by Atty. Rico Domingo, IPAP President, and Atty. Ferdinand Fider, IPAP Chairman.
of not more than two percent of an RBE’s gross income during the ITH and EDR. This shall be in lieu of all local taxes and local fees and charges imposed by the local government unit. RBE local tax shall not be imposed on RBEs under SCIT.
Another significant amendment introduced by CREATE MORE is the different periods of availment of incentives for projects or activities approved by IPAs and FIRB. For export enterprises registered with IPAs, ITH shall be for a period of four to seven years, depending on location and industry priorities, followed by SCIT or EDR for 10 years, or SCIT or EDR for a maximum period of 14 to 17 years, depending on location and industry priorities.
For domestic market enterprises, ITH shall be for a period of four to seven years followed by EDR for 10 years, or EDR for a maximum period of 14 to 17 years, depending on location and industry priorities.
On the other hand, for export enterprises registered with the FIRB, the ITH incentive shall be for a period of four to seven years, depending on location and industry priorities, followed by SCIT or EDR for 20 years, or SCIT or EDR for a maximum period of 24 to 27 years, depending on location and industry priorities.
For domestic market enterprise, ITH incentive shall be for a period of four to seven years, followed by EDR for 20 years, or EDR for a maximum period of 24 to 27 years, depending on location and industry priorities.
As regards duty exemption, CREATE MORE modified the rules such that the exemption shall now apply to the importation of capital equip-
“This is a great opportunity for Asia to connect. This APAA conference is a learning curve for many.
ment, raw materials, spare parts, or accessories directly attributable to the registered project or activity of RBEs, including goods used for administrative purposes, unlike the old provision where the exemption applies only to those exclusively used in the registered project or activity. For VAT, the exemption on importation and VAT zero-rating on local purchases shall only apply to goods and services directly attributable to the registered project or activity of a registered export enterprise, or a registered high-value domestic market enterprise, including expenses incidental thereto.
Subject to certain conditions, RBEs may continue to avail of the VAT zero-rating on local purchases and VAT exemption on importation, and duty exemption on importation for the entire registration period as an RBE, reckoned from the date of registration, if the RBEs continue to meet the terms and conditions of their registration. True to its objective as encapsulated in its title, CREATE MORE is expected to maximize opportunities and reinvigorate the economy. Let’s support CREATE MORE for it to meet its objectives set to be achieved.
The author is a partner of Du-Baladad and Associates Law Offices (BDB Law) (www.bdblaw.com. ph), a member-firm of WTS Global. The article is for general information only and is not intended, nor should be construed as a substitute for tax, legal or financial advice on any specific matter. Applicability of this article to any actual or particular tax or legal issue should be supported therefore by a professional study or advice. If you have any
This is a seminar we hold for furthering IP practice and to share what we have, to meet other people, to network and impart knowledge,” Atty. Gancayco said. Atty. Kapunan explained that the purpose of the conference is to enlighten and inspire attendees in the various aspects of IP. The Philippines hosted the APAA council meeting four times: 1990 (Manila Hotel), 2000 (Cebu), 2011 (Makati) and 2024 (Pasay). Atty.
the
Atty. Rodel C. unciano
Tuesday, November 26, 2024
‘Neda as DEPD can better help PHL face challenges’
By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM
SEN. Juan Miguel Zubiri on Monday urged colleagues to pass a bill transforming NEDA into a Department of Economy, Planning, and Development or the DEPD, saying the country needed a planning agency that can keep pace with new challenges in the world and the region.
Senate Bill No. 2878, or the Economy, Planning and Development Act will reorganize the National Economic and Development Authority into the DEPD.
“This is an opportune time for Southeast Asia. As global politics shift, more and more foreign investors are choosing to move out of China, and our region stands as a promising alternative. And the Philippines, in particular, is well poised to take advantage of this moment, as we build on various multilateral and bilateral initiatives such as the landmark Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, and our recently upgraded strategic partnerships with South Korea, Aus -
tralia, and New Zealand,” Zubiri’s sponsorship speech said. But, he added, “economic success is not an inevitability. Just because investors are moving into the region, does not mean that they are moving to us automatically. We still have to fight for our seat at the table, especially since we have difficult competition. Our neighbors are coming up with much better incentives packages and lease policies, and we are, in truth, still playing catch up.”
This is a shame, added, “he given the advantages that we have as an Englishspeaking country with a sizable demographic of professional, skilled, and manual workers.”
Using a metaphor, the senator said,
PHL, premier cruise hub? Why not? But first, have a better passenger facility
By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo @akosistellaBM Special to
BusinessMirror
THE Marcos administration is committed to improving the Philippines’s chances of becoming a premier hub for cruise tourism in Asia.
At the recent Seatrade Cruise Asia 2024, Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco underscored the government’s “commitment to a cruise industry that is inclusive and rooted in sustainable practices, where we streamline operations, enhance efficiencies, improve the overall tourist experience while preserving our natural and cultural heritage. With this, we aim to establish the Philippines as a hub for cruise tourism and a place where innovation, collaboration, and sustainable growth converge.”
She also highlighted ongoing initiatives by various government agencies to upgrade ports, develop world-class tourism infrastructure, and foster a welcoming environment for international cruise lines. A partial report released by the DOT in May showed some 80,000 cruise passengers were projected to arrive in the Philippines from 2024 to 2026, with most of them dropping anchor in key tourism destinations. (See, “Cruise ships drop anchor the most in Palawan, Boracay,” in the BusinessMirror, June 3, 2024.)
Over 350 international delegates from over 30 countries arrived for the three-day Seatrade in November, many of them from
leading cruise lines, port agents, itinerary planners, and other industry stakeholders.
Develop new tours, too T H i S d eveloped as Ma. Lourdes Banzon, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Sharp Travel Service (Phil.) i nc., reiterated the need to develop a better passenger cruise terminal in Manila. i n an interview with the B usiness M irror , she said, “A big problem is the cruise terminal; it’s really meant for cargo, not for cruise passengers.” Sharp Travel is a pioneer in cruise ship shore excursions in the country. i nternational cruise ships making stops in Manila drop anchor at Pier 4 at the South Harbor, which hosts a cramped terminal and where disembarkation (or embarkation) has to be carefully planned for and scheduled. i n late November 2023, reports of chaotic disembarkation procedures by Norwegian Cruises and its local partners resulted in the latter’s suspension of PPA.
(See, “PPA suspends ship, shore-ex agents of Norwegian Cruises,” in the BusinessMirror, December 22, 2023.)
Banzon added that new types of products need to be offered” for cruise passengers in Manila. “We have the usual—Luneta, Fort Santiago, etc.—we need new tours [that are accessible],” she said, acknowledging the traffic problem in Metro Manila that make even land tours to nearby provincial destinations an issue sometimes.
“what we need is an executive chef—a figure of authority who can get the entire kitchen in line, and make sure every last person is working toward the same goal. We need a strong economic directive. We need plans, yes, but more importantly we need a whole-of-government followthrough on these plans,” he said, by way of justifying the creation of a DEPD.
“We need someone to oversee all of our government agencies and our local government units, and make sure that they are all doing their part to put our economic plans into action. This is why we are now proposing that the Neda be turned into a full-fledged department, so we can accord it the authority that it needs to lead our economic development initiatives.”
For decades, he said, the Neda “has been at the helm of economic planning, doing its level best to avert us from economic headwinds and to keep us on course with the tailwinds. But economic growth cannot be the work of one agency alone.” He noted thaht Neda sits in over numerous interagency bodies and councils, underscoring its vital role in shaping the nation’s economic and social development.
As the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development, Zubiri thinks Neda “will be in a better position to push for the implementation of their
economic plans and policies—and they will be able to engage with other government agencies and offices, as well as foreign political actors, with the full standing and command of an executive department. The reorganization will institutionalize the expanded powers and functions of the agency, facilitate the organizational restructuring necessary for the agency to deliver this expanded mandate, and place the DEPD on equal footing with other executive departments, further resulting in easier coordination, implementation, and monitoring of plans and projects.”
The bill pushes for a stronger regional presence for the DEPD, with regional offices “that can focus on the particularities of our regional economies.”
Sen. Joel Villanueva, who co-sponsored Senate Bill No. 2878, underscored Neda’s importance in the research, formulation, and management of plans and policies for the development of the country.
“These plans guide our government in laying out strategies to address issues such as poverty and unemployment. NEDA also plays a pivotal role in identifying key sectors and projects that will drive economic growth, facilitating public-private partnerships, and
SRA PUSHES FOR SUGARCANE PLANTATIONS IN MINDANAO
By Ada Pelonia
THE Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) is keen on expanding sugarcane plantations in Mindanao and increasing farmers’ yields.
SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona vowed to increase the agency’s presence and programs in Mindanao during the recent 23rd Joint Annual General Assembly of Sugarcane Growers Association of Bukidnon, i nc. (SGAB i ) a nd the Sugarcane Farmers of Bukidnon Multi-Purpose Cooperative (SFBMPC) in Bukidnon.
“We are in the process of expanding our research program in Mindanao, particularly in Bukidnon, to help our sugar farmers increase their yield as we see that the future of expanding our sugar industry is here in Mindanao,” Azcona was quoted in the statement as saying.
The SRA chief urged the farmers not to rush the harvesting of their canes to ensure a better yield, noting the drop in sugar pThe agency said Bukidnon farmers started milling yesterday, almost two months since mills opened in Negros Occidental.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) earlier said the prolonged dry spells brought by El Niño resulted in the cane being physiologically immature, which resulted in a 16-percent lower sugar content per MT of cane and constrained sugar output despite an increase in planting areas.
Earlier, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said there was no immediate need for additional imports since the domestic supply of raw and refined sugar was sufficient to meet projected needs.
“We commend the DA and the SRA for their foresight and judicious decision-making. Rest assured, we stand ready to support and collaborate in any initiatives that further strengthen our agriculture industry,” former Bukidnon Rep. Manuel Antonio Zubiri said.
The Luzon Federation of Sugarcane Growers i n c. (Luzonfed) said the suspension of sugar importation until after the harvest season “offers significant relief to sugarcane farmers who have been struggling with the negative impact of excessive imports on local prices.”
“We are grateful for the SRA and DA’s acknowledgment of our concerns. By postponing imports until mid-2025, farmers can optimize their harvests and foster a more sustainable local industry,” Luzonfed President Cornelio Toreja said. Luzonfed said it remains committed to advocating for farmers’ interests and believes that collaboration with the SRA and DA will contribute to a flourishing sugar industry for the country.
Meanwhile, sugar farmers from Luzon and Mindanao expressed support for the SRA and DA’s recent announcement of delaying the importation of sugar until May 2025.
By Reine Juvierre Alberto @reine_alberto
THE Philippines secured financial and development
c ooperation agreement with the Swedish government to support development initiatives, the Department of Finance (DOF) said.
I n a statement on Monday, the DOF announced it sealed a government-to-government financial and d evelopment cooperation agreement with Sweden on November 22.
Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto and Minister for Infrastructure and Housing Andreas Carlson signed the memorandum of understanding.
“With this partnership, the Philippines will have a greater oppor -
tunity to invest in more projects t hat matter most to our people,” Recto said.
The agreement will enable the Philippine government to tap and access grants, technical assistance, concessional official development assistance, or blended financing from the Swedish Government for priority programs and projects or both. Sustainable infrastructure development, public transportation, re newable energy, water and waste management, among others, are the high-impact sectors covered by the agreement, Recto added.
Particularly, the projects in the pipeline are the Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (Edsa) Busway Proj -
ect, the Iloilo Bus Rapid Transit, t he Subic-Clark-Manila-Batangas Railway Project, the National Bus Standardization, the Hydropower Potential Resource Assessment and the National Power CorporationHybridizing Diesel Power Plants.
The Philippines also stands to gain access to world-class expertise, technical know-how and innovative solutions of the Swedfund International AB and the Swedish Export C redit Corporation.
“All these will help us transition into a greener, healthier, and more sustainable future for our people. And these projects complement Sweden’s ongoing support to enhance t he welfare and global competitiveness of Filipinos through partner -
ships in cancer care, defense and d igitalization,” Recto said.
“In these times marked by your political uncertainty, it is the conviction of the Swedish government t hat we must do everything possible to foster strong partnerships for growth, prosperity, and security in our respective countries and around the world with trusted partners. The Philippines is one of the very important partners in the world,” Carlson said.
Recto assured the Swedish government that the Department of Fi nance (DOF) will efficiently implement the newly signed agreement, e nsuring that all relevant agencies fully comply with the processes and protocols agreed upon.
See “Neda,” A2
Editor: Jennifer A. Ng
STI net income surges as enrollment hits record-high
By VG Cabuag @villygc
STI Education Systems Holdings
Inc., an operator of a network of schools, said it recorded a net income of P263.2 million for its fiscal first quarter ending September 30, a 13-fold increase from the previous year’s P19.75 million.
t he company attributed the surge to the significant growth in enrollments this academic year, alongside improvements in operational efficiency, effective cost management initiatives and sustainability investments.
total revenues reached P1.03 bil-
lion for the three-month period, 60 percent higher than the P650.6 million last year.
t he increase was driven by the 15-percent increase in total enrollment and an earlier start of classes for school year 2024-2025. total enrollment in S t I hold-
ings’ schools reached a record-high of 138,060 students for the current school year.
t he significant growth in enrollment played a pivotal role in enhancing the company’s financial performance.”
Programs regulated by the Commission on higher Education, registered a roster of more than 100,000 students, a 20-percent increase compared with the previous year’s level. t his jump highlighted the rising demand for higher education programs offered by St I holdings.
to support the growing student population, S t I holdings said it continues to invest in campus infrastructure. Recent developments include property acquisitions in Alabang and tanauan in Batangas for the construction of future St I Academic Centers, ongoing renovations across existing campuses to expand class-
room capacity and the completion of a P243.2-million School of Basic Education Building at St I West Negros university.
S t I , with its 63 campuses nationwide, has a total capacity of 146,585 students. o r iginally focused on I t education, the company has expanded its offerings to include business, hospitality, tourism, psychology and criminology degree programs. It also offers Junior and Senior h i gh School programs, ensuring comprehensive educational pathways for students. St I WNu, based in Bacolod City, provides programs ranging from pre-elementary to postgraduate levels and can accommodate up to 15,000 students. Its state-of-the-art facilities include the newly completed School of Basic Education building, designed to support its growing student population.
Comelec seals deal with Alabama firm
By Justine Xyrah Garcia
Commission on Elections
hE
T(Comelec) has formalized its partnership with Alabamabased technology firm Pro V&V for international certification, as preparations intensify for the 2025 elections.
t he contract signing, held Monday at the Palacio del Gobernador, was described by Comelec Chairman George Erwin M. Garcia as “a crucial step” in ensuring the readiness of the automated election system.
t h is will now test, hopefully,
SFA to delist from PSE in December
South Korean firm SFA Semicon Philippines Corp. will delist from the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) on December 12 after the company was able to buy almost all of the shares that are not owned by its parent firm.
t he company, which has a semiconductor plant in Pampanga, said SFA Korea bought 9.43 percent of its total issued and outstanding shares, or about 192.77 million common shares.
t he tendered shares were crossed through the PSE on November 21, 2024, upon approval by the PSE of a special block sale of the tendered shares, with settlement occurring on November 22, 2024. t he tendered shares were purchased by the bidder at the tender offer price of P2.22 (per share), for a total consideration of P427.95 million.”
As a result of the tender offer, SFA Korea’s ownership in its local unit rose to 99.41 percent from the previous 89.98 percent.
“Accordingly, the bidder’s resulting shareholding has exceeded the threshold required to complete the voluntary delisting.”
t he said delisting will be effected if SFA Korea has obtained at least 95 percent of the total outstanding common shares of the company.
t he bidder believes that the voluntary delisting will expedite the decision-making process of the company and will allow it to be more flexible in the implementation of corporate activities, thereby continuing to develop and maintain the company’s competitiveness,” the company said. VG Cabuag
By Lenie Lectura @llectura
Th E Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) has reached the 8-million subscriber mark last o c tober 29, a top official of the power distribution utility firm said.
because of the expertise of Pro V&V, the source code as well as other components of the automated election system, particularly Miru, Io ne, and Sequent.”
Pro V&V, which was the lone bidder for the project, submitted a proposal amounting to P127,120,455 earlier this year.
under Republic Act 9369, or the Automated Election Law, a technical evaluation committee is required to certify the automated election system (AES) through an international certification entity (ICE). t he law mandates that this certi-
fication confirm, no later than three months before election day, that the AES—including its hardware and software components—is functioning properly, securely, and accurately.
Comelec said several documents, including the source code and technical details of the automated election system, will be submitted to Pro V&V for evaluation.
Garcia expressed optimism about passing the certification process by the end of 2024, despite delays. “ tr uth be told, we’re already delayed by at least one month. We’re hoping to be able to catch up and
everything will be completed before the timeline we have arranged for purposes of the mock elections.”
Comelec aims to begin mock polls in the second week of January, during which 50 test ballots will be used to give voters a firsthand experience of the voting procedure.
Garcia also confirmed that the delivery of the remaining automated counting machines is expected to be completed within the week, while the automated source code review is set to conclude by the end of November.
“All other activities will proceed despite the pendency of the (ICE).”
Rolls-Royce: Upgrades to drive revival of shunned jet engine
RoL LS-RoyC E holdings Plc is confident it can revive demand for its struggling trent 1000 engine that powers Boeing Co.’s 787 airliner because some upgrades will improve durability and make the model more competitive.
t he two fixes, which the uK engine maker previously announced, will help create new orders for the engine, Chief Executive of ficer tufan Erginbilgic said in an interview with Bloomberg’s Francine Lacqua. “By the end of next year, we will have a very competitive product and then we are going to push that product because it’s a very good product. But durability has been the issue,” Erginbilgic said in the interview in London.
Asked about how many new orders the upgrades to the engine will generate, the executive said it was too early to say but the company was “optimistic”.
t he model, one of two options available for Boeing’s popular widebody jet, has seen its market share slip in recent years as airlines abandoned the uK variant for General Electric Co.’s rival GEnx powerplant.
t he GEnx now sits on about twothirds of all 787s in service, and Rolls-Royce is enginemaker of choice on just 52 unfilled 787 orders. t hat compares with 574 for the GEnx.
t he British manufacturer has come under fire from customers British Airways and Virgin Atlantic after both airlines said they’d be forced
to scrap some routes next summer due to a shortage of aircraft caused by 787 maintenance. Virgin said it would delay the restart of services to tel Aviv and a new service to Ghana, while BA will remove Dallas and Kuwait from its schedule.
u n der Erginbilgic, Rolls-Royce has focused on unwinding unprofitable engine contracts and showing greater fiscal discipline, although that has sometimes put its relationship with airlines and planemaker Airbus SE under strain. t h e company aims to invest more than £1 billion to improve its engines that power large commercial aircraft, including the 787 and rival Airbus A350 model. Bloomberg News
Meralco Senior Vice President and Chief Revenue o f ficer Ferdinand Geluz said “approximately 210,000 more customers” were added to the distribution network “compared to a year ago (when it was) at around 7.79 million.”
“We ended o c tober 2024 at 8.006 million versus 7.792 million in o c tober 2023.”
At end-September, the company’s consolidated customer count grew steadily, rising by 3 percent to 7.99 million from 7.77 million in September 2023. Energization of new customers for both ordinary service and project-covered applications recovered, as local government units and developers cleared backlogs and normalized operations.
Meralco is the largest private distribution company in the country and provides electric service within its franchise coverage that includes Metro Manila and nearby provinces.
It expects to end the year with a consolidated core net income
(CCNI) of P43 billion following record results as of end-September.
“We expect to exceed the P43billion profit guidance we set out in the first half, paving the way for another year of record earnings,” Meralco Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan had said. Meralco reported a CCNI of P35.1 billion from January to September, 17 percent higher than the P30 billion in the same period in 2023. t h e utility firm attributed this to the strong performance of its electricity sales, power generation and retail electricity supply (RES) businesses. t h e distribution business accounted for 59 percent; 25 percent, generation; and RES and non-electricity businesses, 16 percent.
Pangilinan said 2025 is going to be another profitable year due to “organic growth” and contributions from new investments, some of which are awaiting approval from the Philippine Competition Commission.
“We remain optimistic about the continued expansion of the country’s economy under the leadership and tutelage of President Marcos, with full-year economic growth forecasts hovering around 6 percent and the potential to outpace other Southeast Asian nations.”
Photo from www.meralco.com.Ph
BloomBerg News
Banking&Finance
Govt jazzed over loans for farm sector in ’25
By Ada Pelonia
THE Department of Agriculture
(DA) is set to secure big-ticket foreign-assisted projects worth over $2 billion by 2025.
Agriculture Assistant Secretary
Arnel V. de Mesa said that of these projects, the “Philippine Sustainable Agriculture Transformation” (PSAT) project is the largest. According to De Mesa, some $1 billion would go
into the project, the loan agreement of which with the World Bank set to be signed by June next year and will run until 2030.
The official told reporters in a news conference last Monday that
PSAT “will become the single largest project within the department.”
According to De Mesa, the project would have “disbursement-linked indicators” wherein the DA would commit certain policy reforms within the agency. In return, this act would trigger a disbursement of funds that could be used to bankroll the government’s priority projects.
“The priority will be our agriculture infrastructures that, for the longest time, lacked financing,” he said, partly in Filipino.
De Mesa said the World Bank began last Monday a “scoping mission” for another $300-million proj-
Multi-Asset Global Investing
FOLLOWING the recently concluded US elections, stock market indices showed varied responses driven by investor sentiment, economic conditions, and expectations regarding the policy environment.
The Philippine market had a recent downtrend from the previously uptrend movement after the rate cuts of the US Federal Reserve and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. Now that we have seen the volatility at this quarter, I would like to share the reasons why Filipino Investors should consider multi-asset global investing.
As a Filipino investor navigating today’s dynamic financial landscape, you’re likely searching for strategies to grow your wealth while minimizing risks. Multiasset global investing offers a balanced and efficient way to achieve these goals.
Here are the top five reasons why this approach should be part of your investment plan:
1. D iversification for stability. Multi-asset global investing helps spread your funds across various asset classes— such as stocks, bonds, real estate, and commodities—and across countries. This diversification reduces the impact of any single asset or market underperforming, making your portfolio more resilient to local and global economic uncertainties.
2. Access to global growth opportunities. By investing globally, you gain exposure to high-growth regions and industries that may not be readily available in the Philippine market. For instance, emerging markets in Asia or tech-driven economies in the West provide opportunities for greater returns, especially during periods of rapid growth in those areas.
3. Protection against local risks. A globally diversified portfolio helps shield your investments from risks specific to the Philippine economy, such as currency fluctuations, inflation, or market volatility. By spreading your investments across different regions, you’re better positioned to weather economic downturns locally or globally.
4. F lexibility to adapt to changing markets. Multi-asset global strategies are dynamic, meaning they allow for adjustments as market conditions change. For example, fund managers can shift allocations to favor regions or asset classes performing well, ensuring your portfolio stays aligned with growth opportunities while managing risks.
5. Expert management for better results. Global multi-asset funds are typically managed by experienced professionals who analyze market trends and implement strategies to optimize returns. As a Filipino investor, this provides access to world-class expertise, saving you the time and effort of managing complex global investments yourself.
Incorporating multi-asset global investing into your portfolio gives you the benefits of diversification, access to international markets, risk management, and professional oversight. This approach positions you to take advantage of opportunities worldwide while safeguarding your investments for the future. It’s a smart choice for Filipino investors seeking sustainable, long-term growth.
Investing can be a powerful tool to grow your wealth, but it’s important to approach it carefully. Here are the key things to consider before you start investing: 1. Define your financial goals.
n Short-term vs. long-term goals: Are you saving for a vacation, your child’s education, or retirement? Your goals will determine your investment horizon and strategy.
n Clear purpose: Knowing why you’re investing helps in choosing the right assets.
2. Understand your risk tolerance.
n Risk appetite: Assess how much risk you can handle. This depends on factors like age, income, and financial stability.
n Risk-reward balance: Higher returns often come with higher risks, so align your investments with your comfort level.
3. Educate yourself about investment options.
n Types of investments: Learn about stocks, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs, and other instruments.
n Pros and cons: Understand the benefits and risks associated with each investment type.
4. A ssess your financial situation.
n Emergency fund: Ensure you have 3-6 months’ worth of living expenses saved for emergencies.
n Debt status: Pay off high-interest debt before investing to avoid financial strain.
n Cash flow: Know how much you can afford to invest without affecting your daily needs.
5. C hoose the right investment strategy.
n Active vs. passive investing: Decide if you want to manage your investments actively or prefer a hands-off approach.
n Diversification: Spread your investments across asset classes and industries to reduce risk
6. Understand costs and fees.
n Expense ratios: Check the fees charged by mutual funds or ETFs.
n Transaction fees: Consider brokerage charges for buying or selling investments.
n Taxes: Be aware of how taxes may impact your returns.
7. Time horizon.
n Short-term investments: Choose safer assets like money market funds or bonds if you need the money within a few years.
n Long-term investments: Equities or growth-oriented funds may be suitable for long-term goals.
8. Stay informed about market conditions.
n Economic trends: Monitor interest rates, inflation, and market performance.
n Global events: Economic policies, political changes, and global events can affect your investments.
9. Evaluate investment platforms.
n Reputation and regulation: Ensure the platform is regulated and reliable.
n Accessibility: Check if the platform offers tools and resources to support your investment journey.
Investing requires a blend of planning, education, and discipline. By considering these factors and starting with a clear strategy, you can maximize the potential for financial success while managing risks effectively.
Karlo Biglang-Awa
ect tied to climate financing. Called the “MSME Access to Finance and Climate Resiliency,” the project will help the micro-sized, small-scale and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) recover from calamities.
The DA official said the Department of Finance (DOF) has already endorsed the concept to the World Bank, with the loan “hopefully [signed] by next year.” The agreement will run for five years beginning 2025.
Among the other projects include a $250-million solar irrigation project, which De Mesa said the Asian Development Bank (ADB)
Govt
By Reine Juvierre Alberto @reine_alberto
THE national government will not be revising its borrowing mix next year as it remained unfazed by the possible impact of peso volatility in its debt.
At the sidelines of the Asean Social Security Association’s (ASSA) conference last Monday, National Treasurer Sharon P. Almanza told reporters the government will not change the 80:20 borrowing mix for next year, which favors local sources of funds.
“No, we’re not changing,” Almanza said, adding that the Cabinet-level Development Budget and Coordination Committee (DBCC) factored in the volatility of the peso in its projections for the country’s debt and debt ser-
vicing. Hence, she emphasized that the “volatility is really on the strengthening of the US dollar.”
Based on the national government’s fiscal program, P2.037 trillion from the domestic debt market next year while P507.408 billion will be borrowed externally. A total of P2.545 trillion will be raised to finance the government’s programs and projects. Almanza said the government will not be issuing any commercial loans or global bonds, similar to what Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto had said earlier.
Having raised the $4.5 billion out of the $5 billion planned borrowings to be sourced internationally, Almanza said the government is just finishing its project and program loans as part of its external financing.
The Bureau of the Treasury
recently approved for financing next year.
“Our priority here is to ensure first that the water will be sustainable because we don’t want it to stagnate,” he said in Filipino, noting that the project targets to irrigate rice, corn, and vegetable plantations nationwide.
De Mesa said that the solar irrigation project has been approved by the Investment Coordination Committee (ICC) Technical Board, pending confirmation from the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Board.
The DA official added that the
(BTr) will also be wrapping up its auction of the remaining Treasury bills and bonds for the year, the official added.
The borrowing mix was adjusted this year, coming from 75:25, to lessen its dependence on foreign borrowings to save up on interest payments amid geopolitical tensions and peso volatility.
Bond index return
ALMANZA said the government is also addressing investors’ concerns in Manila’s bid to be reincluded next year in the local currency emerging-market debt index of JPMorgan Chase & Co.
PWD
CBy Butch Fernandez @butchfBM
ITING growing concerns over rampant tax leakages, Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian moved to investigate tax leakages caused by the proliferation and unscrupulous use of “faked” Person with Disability (PWD) identification cards allowing holders to avail of a 20-percent PWD discount and value added tax (VAT) exemption. Gatchalian cited reports of individuals selling faked PWD IDs in certain areas prompting him to file Senate Resolution 1239 to pave the way for an inquiry For instance, members of the senator’s raiding team uncovered more than a hundred fake PWD IDs in Bacolod City. Upon discovery, the senator’s team also found that the IDs were printed on a different type of paper. Likewise, the PWD numbers were mixed up and the types of disabilities on the ID cards were spurious. In Cebu City, the city government confiscated at least seven fake PWD IDs after receiving reports of an alleged increase in the issuance of these perkgiving documents. The confiscated ID cards did not match the names in the city government’s verified list of PWDs, according to the senator’s office. The raiding team also found out that “the use of fake PWD IDs has
cards
robbed the national government of revenues it could have collected if not for the VAT-exemption and PWD discounts given to unqualified individuals,” said Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means.
As various local government units have also funded various assistance and incentives to PWDs, the use of fake PWD IDs has also undermined the success of the programs of local government units meant to address the needs of PWDs, he added. Further, restaurant owners have also raised concerns over losses sustained due to the use of fake PWD IDs that enable holders to avail of the 20-percent PWD discount and VAT exemption. Restaurant owners have claimed that over the recent years, there has been a significant increase in sales made to PWDs from only 5 percent to 30 percent.
It was pointed out that under Republic Act 10754 (Act Expanding the Benefits and Privileges of PWDs), establishments are allowed to recoup the PWD discounts granted through tax deductions based on the net cost of the goods sold or services rendered.
“We need to determine the effect on the government’s tax collection of the tax leakages caused by the proliferation of fake PWD IDs so we can craft the necessary legislation or policy recommendation,” Gatchalian emphasized.
ADB also provided a $140-million grant for the preparation of three projects, namely the installation of 18 ports nationwide, a pipe irrigation system, and an aquaculture project for the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).
De Mesa also noted that they will submit another project, worth 350 million euros, to the French government. The project will finance 300 farm-to-market bridges nationwide, he added.
The DA official said these foreignassisted projects will help plug the shortfall in investments in the agriculture sector.
“We’re still under the radar,” she said, noting that the review process will occur in January until the middle of the second quarter of 2025. After that, another round of consultation with investors will take place.
“We are trying to address all the issues that the investors raise, which is liquidity and the [issue on withholding tax],” Almanza said. Recently, the BTr announced it will implement a simplified tax treaty process for non-resident investors in government securities.
With the new system in place, non-resident investors need not submit multiple tax documents to the issuer to claim their tax treaty benefits on specific government securities income. This also eliminates the risk of claim denial and removes the need to file for tax treaty relief and undergo an extensive tax refund process.
The Philippines currently has 42 Double Tax Agreements or Tax Treaties providing preferential tax rates from 10 to 15 percent depending on the country.
THE national government generated a total of P77.6 billion from the sale of Treasury bills (T-bills) in November despite interest rates for the securities increasing weekly.
Treasury bill (T-bill) rates continued to rise for the eighth straight week, mostly higher than the PHP BVAL benchmarks, amid anticipation of higher inflation caused by the volatility of the peso and the impact of recent typhoons on the economy.
On Monday’s auction, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) fully awarded bids for the 91-day, 182-tenor and 364-day T-bills and raised a total of P15 billion.
Bids for the short-term government securities reached P47.155 billion, which was 3.1 times oversubscribed.
Broken down, average interest rate for the 91-day T-bill increased to 5.647 percent, up by 1.6 basis points (bps) from 5.631 percent recorded last week for the same tenor. Rates ranged from a low of 6.638 percent to a high of 5.650 percent.
The Treasury accepted P5 billion from the P17.250-billion demands for the 91-day tenor.
Meanwhile, average interest rate for the 182-day T-bill grew to 5.882 percent, 2 bps higher than the 5.862 percent set at the previous auction. The rate settled between 5.862 percent and 5.914 percent.
Bids for the 182-day tenor reached P14.745 billion with the auction committee awarding the full P5 billion.
Lastly, average interest rate for the 364-day tenor increased by 3.4 bps to 5.905 percent from 5.871 percent during last week’s auction.
The 364-day T-bill was awarded a full P5 billion with bids reaching P15.160 billion.
Rates in the secondary market are 5.533 percent for the three-month tenor, 5.899 percent for the six-month tenor
and 5.941 percent for the oneyear tenor, according to the Bloomberg Valuation Service Reference Rates as of November 25, 2024.
Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort pinned the increase in T-bill yields on investor expectations of higher inflation amid a weaker peso, the recent typhoons and other geopolitical risks. Ricafort said importation costs could drive overall domestic inflation. Meanwhile, escalating tensions involving Russia and the Ukraine and Israel and Palestine as well as signals of protectionist policies by US President-elect Donald Trump, could lead to higher US inflation. These could also reduce possibilities of rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve (Fed), he added. These might influence the Monetary Board, the highest monetary policy-making body of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), in reducing local policy rates, the RCBC executive mused.
However, Ricafort said the headwinds could be offset by continued dovish signals by local monetary authorities if inflation remains manageable at 2 percent to 4 percent. A softer growth in gross domestic product could justify another rate cut by local monetary authorities, he added.
“BSP Governor (Eli M.) Remolona Jr. reiterated dovish signals, particularly the possible -0.25 rate cut on the next ratesetting meeting on December 19, 2024, but clarified that the decision could either be a rate cut or pause, depending on economic data, possible -1.00 rate cuts in 2025, gradual -0.25 rate cuts, going forward,” Ricafort said. Next month, the Treasury will auction off P15 billion on December 2, 9 and 18, aiming to raise P5 billion each from 91day, 182-day and 364-day tenor T-bills. Reine Juvierre Alberto
personal finance
Karlo Biglang-awa
Julie Gil on debut solo at 65: It’s the right time
ONE would not have guessed the true emotions of visual artist Julie Gil during the recent media preview of her first solo exhibition. While appearing as a bubbly picture of confidence and excitement as she gave a generous walkthrough of the show, explaining in great detail the inspiration and message of every artwork, she was, to her core, nervous.
“Did I do OK?” Gil asked when we approached her after the tour, to which we responded. “You were a natural, ma’am.”
It was Gil’s moment, and also her 65th birthday, during the first look of her ongoing exhibition at Art Lounge Manila in Molito Lifestyle Center, titled Palette of Allegory. After showcasing her watercolor works in group shows the past few years, the exhibit serves as
By Eugenia Last
picture, take advantage of free mental resources and put your energy into personal gain and selfimprovement. ★★★
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Making a last-minute change is okay. Refuse to let anyone bully you into adhering to their demands. Let your actions speak for you
Gil’s maiden solo presentation.
“I feel like this is the right time,” Gil said. “The life that had to happen, from being a wife and a mother with children to raise, happened. Now, I can focus on my art, on my personal journey as an artist.”
Gil graduated with a Fine Arts degree from the College of the Holy Spirit, but pursued other career options after a brief stint as an illustrator in an advertising agency. She spent years in the fields of interior design and floral arrangement, while attending to her husband Dino and daughters Dani and Nikki.
In 2019, Julie, who’s also a talented singer, revisited her painting skills. She took courses and attended workshops on watercolor, honing her romanticist style defined by bold strokes and layered textures that defied the medium’s norms.
For her debut solo exhibition, Gil decided to go with the familiar subject of flora and fauna. Working with flowers proved second nature to her, understanding how light interacts with each petal, and her mastery shows in each featured artwork. The artist acknowledged as well the flatness of a watercolor painting and succeeded in her attempt to give her pieces more texture and dimension with the skilled use of metal appliqué, elevating the narrative.
Her hyperrealist depiction of the interaction between flowers and animals aside, the pieces are also
charged with faith-based messages of compassion, prudence, and other virtues.
“The characters in my art, the flowers, the insects, the birds, the little animals, their emotions portraying human experiences, animate the allegory to convey timeless values,” Gil said. “Each day, valuable lessons are added to my palate of experiences and the most striking insights manifest as visual metaphors in every artwork I create.”
Portraying the intricate details of flowers or the butterfly’s wings, for instance, reminded her of how the Creator made each creation with such intention and thought—that each one exists for a purpose. Even how a stem points skyward in her painting reflects the act of submission to the Almighty.
“There is a process to everything,” Gil said, referring to her paintings and life in general. “For myself, this is the stage of the process where I paint. I feel like this exhibition, this new chapter in my life, is the culmination of all my art lessons.”
She added that “the show also represents my life journey because every piece narrates a part of what I went through.”
Julie Gil’s Palette of Allegory runs until November 29 at Art Lounge Manila in Molito Molito Lifestyle Center in the City of Muntinlupa.
More information is available at www. artloungemanila.com ■
‘TO SEE A LANDSCAPE AS IT IS’ GROUP EXHIBIT BY SOLER SANTOS AND FAMILY ON VIEW UNTIL DECEMBER 21
IN 2014, the Santos family—husband and wife Soler and Mona, and their three children Luis Antonio, Carina, and Isabel—showed their work collectively at Silverlens, in their previous site, along the same road. At this point, Soler and Mona had been working on their practice for decades, while their children were newly exploring their own expressions, coming from studies and professions decidedly removed from the fine art background they grew up around.
In Gathered Narratives, both Soler and Mona created large scale paintings drawing from nature, with Soler refiguring flora and
detritus into geometric abstractions, and Mona recreating the same chiaroscuro effect of her carefully painted flowers in the still life of a bed and rest. Luis Antonio’s photorealistic oil paintings of skulls were at the forefront of his artistic practice at the time, but the inclusion of galvanized iron sheets (painted in perfect precision) and photographic impressions on nontraditional materials were early indications of where his interests were currently and continued to move towards. Carina’s work had not traversed her chosen media then, where she had been only working with
found materials, mixed media, and personal ephemera to reference references. The youngest, Isabel began developing her visual language, populating this personal alphabet with distinct imagery and text that she still employs in her work today.
Ten years later, the Santoses are returning to Silverlens for their only group exhibit since then, occupying the entirety of Silverlens’ new site, with new work that ecompasses all their current practices, a catalog of their individual progressions in the last decade. To See A Landscape As It Is —a phrase taken from Roni Horn’s
“Thicket No. 1”—provides a view of the five artists’ different trajectories, presented plainly and without the insistence of external context. With 2014’s Gathered Narratives as the last save point, this presentation of new work outlines the ways in which these particular oscillations between mediums and genres provide markedly different expressions which are often expansions of their initial curiosities.
To See A Landscape As It Is group exhibit by Soler Santos, Mona Santos, Luis Antonio Santos, Carina Santos, Isabel Santos is on view until December 21 at Silverlens, Manila.
BY
of making things happen that improve your life. Socialize, network and share your thoughts with people who can offer a unique perspective, and then fine-tune the information to fit your budget and needs. ★★★★
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): You'll be drawn to someone charismatic and bold who tends to exaggerate. Make fact-checking part of your routine and question any quote you receive for self- or home improvement. A change will do you good, but first research and devise a plan you can afford. ★★★
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Explore what's available to you and expand your knowledge before discussing options with someone you are considering hiring or working alongside. Having a plan will help you maintain control of a situation that can easily take on a life of its own. Stick to your budget. ★★★
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Accidents happen when you take on too much, act in haste and don't leave yourself enough wiggle room to backtrack. Look at every possibility before you agree to anything, and don't hesitate to gather information and continue by yourself.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): When in doubt, stay put. Refrain from letting anyone talk you into something risky or lacking dimension. Stick to basics, proclaim the truth and offer only what's doable. A common-sense approach to life, love and happiness will not disappoint. ★★★★
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Redefine your purpose and what you enjoy most and incorporate it into your daily routine. Happiness is the prerequisite to doing the right thing at the right time for yourself. Put your energy where it counts and brings the highest returns, and positive change will unfold. ★★
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Stay on top of what's happening around you. A sudden move will turn out differently than anticipated. Spare yourself time, money and disappointment by slowing things down, setting a budget you can live with and using your intelligence and skills to reach your destination without unnecessary expense. ★★★★★
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Gratitude and attitude are necessary. Avoid letting someone lead you astray. Stop giving other people the jurisdiction over what happens. Be the leader and use your insight to make your dreams come true. You can't buy love, but you can say no to manipulation or risky financial maneuvers. 3 stars
BIRTHDAY BABY: You are charming, helpful and popular. You are emotional and entertaining.
‘splitting hairs’
SARAH SINCLAIR AND AMIE WALKER The Universal Crossword • Edited by David Steinberg/Anna Gundlach/Adrian Johnson/Jared Goudsmit/Taylor Johnson
JULIE GIL
A-list actors continue to amaze and assure
GMA NET wORk SURpASSES 4 BIllION VIEwS IN OCTOBER, STRENGTHENING DIGITAl
lE ADERSHIp
GmA Network is still the highest-ranking media company in Southeast Asia, surpassing 4.3 billion views across Facebook, TikTok and YouTube in october, based on data from Tubular Labs, a global video measurement and analytics platform.
The network’s official online platforms tallied 1,726,049,533 video views on Facebook, 1,808,256,775 on TikTok, and 815,085,705 on YouTube for a total of 4,349,392,013 video views, outperforming ABS-CBN’s 3,486,657,753 total video views.
Year-to-date data (as of october 31) across all creator properties shows GmA Network leading with a staggering 35,973,211,073 views across Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube, surpassing ABS-CBN’s 30,646,855,335.
GmA Network climbed to the 19th spot in the Tubular Leaderboard Worldwide rankings under the Entertainment and media Category for october, improving from the 20th spot in September. ABS-CBN, on the other hand, was ranked 22nd in october. GmA Network’s dominance across creator properties in october is a testament to its commitment to producing high-quality content that engages audiences. more information is available at www.gmanetwork. com.
THEIR names alone automatically give prestige and premium to whatever projects they decide to be part of. They have earned the respect of both their colleagues and the people behind every production—be it for film, the theatrical stage, streaming platform or television.
For years and even decades, the names Alden Richards, Mon Confiado, Nonie Buencamino, and Ruru Madrid continue to add sparkle and depth to any space they take up. Alden Richards continues to solidify himself as the premier leading man of the local entertainment industry by the projects he carefully chooses to accept.
The huge box office success of Hello, Love, Again, his latest movie with Kathryn Bernardo, certainly proves that Richards is playing his cards right. “It is very reassuring to know that it you give the audience what they want, and in a very good way at that, they will come and support what you offer them.”
Richards is also very visible on television, by way of the historical drama series Pulang Araw (seen on Netflix and GMA Network), where his acting continues to impress local viewers.
Backed by his formidable management team at Sparkle and his trusted creative and business
By Pauline Joy M. Gutierrez
strategists, Richards’ star is destined to illuminate and continue its rise for many years to come.
MON CONFIADO SHINES
BRIGHTER THAN EVER
THE inimitable Mon Confiado has joined the cast of the TV5 action drama series Lumuhod Ka Lang Sa Lupa and his presence will certainly add heft to the show that is co-produced by Viva TV, which is climbing the ratings chart slowly and consistently in recent months. For the series, Confiado now shares stellar billing with Sid Lucero, another award-winning actor and a friend of his, and another third generation actor Kiko Estrada who has been entrusted his first lead TV role. “I’m excited to see how our dynamics will take shape as the new season of the series progresses. I’ve always said that Sid is the best actor of his generation, and I believe Kiko is showing a lot of promise as an actor and a leading man material.”
Confiado, who just added another award to his growing collection of acting trophies by winning the Star Awards trophy for best movie supporting actor, said, “I’m very grateful for the many doors that open one after the other especially these past two to three years. Acting has always been my passion and these wonderful projects that land on my lap are solid proof that hard work pays off, especially if you put your
followers. Just a few weeks ago, Buencamino stunned theater audiences with a bravura performance in Tanghalang Pilipino’s staging of Balete. Critics are one in saying that his is the performance to beat in the coming awards season for theater and live performances.
Just recently, he accepted an offer to be part of the second season of Lolong, produced by the Public Affairs division of GMA Network.
“I always consider the description of the character before accepting any project, and of course the co-actors and the people I will work with. At my age, it is important that my role will not only have a huge impact in the progression of the narrative, but the working set should also be a pleasant environment wherein there is respect accorded to each and every person that is part of production, especially those who have been in the business for a long time.”
Buencamino also finds Lolong lead star Ruru Madrid very promising.
“He will definitely go places. May puso, may sinceridad, may lalim. I’m excited to work with Ruru for this TV series.”
For his part, Madrid is all powered up to start work for Lolong, just months after the highly successful action-packed series The Black Rider
streaming service, and its live TV offerings reflect its diverse programming.
“When we say free, we’re redefining what that means in the streaming world,” explained George Chung, CEo and co-founder of Los Angeles-based media powerhouse JungoTV, the parent company behind Jungo Pinoy.
“We value our viewers’ time as much as their money,” he added, emphasizing that this philosophy drives their commitment to democratize entertainment by ensuring that anyone with an internet connection can watch good quality content, including local films that showcase the unique brand of Filipino storytelling.
played by the late Julie Vega, as well as Gil Portes’ romantic drama Never Ever Say Goodbye (1983), starring industry icons Vilma Santos and Ian Veneracion. These films find new life alongside modern favorites, like Sid & Aya (starring Anne Curtis and Dingdong Dantes), Never Not Love You (featuring Nadine Lustre and James reid), and 100 Tula Para Kay Stella (with Bella Padilla and JC Santos).
According to Chung, Jungo Pinoy’s ambitions extend beyond being just another
A noteworthy addition to the platform is the All Women’s Sports Network (AWSN), co-created by Emmy, Grammy, oscar and Tony Awards (EGoT) winner Whoopi Goldberg. This channel broadcasts live matches across nine major sports, including basketball, volleyball, and soccer, featuring prominent leagues like the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL).
“This represents a significant step forward in celebrating female athletes,” said Chung, after revealing plans to incorporate Philippine women’s sports leagues in the future.
For Korean culture enthusiasts, the Hallypop channel delivers a curated selection of dramas, concerts, and variety shows, including Touching
You with 2Pm s ok Taec Yeon and All-Boys High featuring members of the rock band N.Flying. The platform offers both original Korean and Tagalog-dubbed versions depending on viewer preferences.
recognizing Filipinos’ love and nostalgia for telenovelas, Jungo Pinoy carries Spanishlanguage dramas, such as Tagumpay ng Pag-ibig and mexican classic Marimar starring Thalia.
Adding a modern twist to its lineup is Rebelde, a youth-oriented musical drama television series directed by Santiago Limón. Sports fans, meanwhile, can look forward to the launch of the Setanta Sports channel, offering a free month-long preview of premium coverage from leagues. like the NBA, Premier League, and La Liga. JungoTV chief operating officer miguel
Santos highlighted the platform’s strategic approach to content curation: “In today’s economic climate, entertainment often takes a backseat to necessities. our free, curated content model directly addresses this reality.” He also shared that the platform’s plans include offline viewing capabilities and the development and production of original content.
“We’re just getting started,” Santos added, outlining plans to include European, Taiwanese, and more Filipino dramas. “our goal is to create a truly diverse streaming experience that resonates with audiences everywhere.”
n Jungo Pinoy is accessible through its website www.jungopinoy.com
From left: ruru madrid, Nonie Buencamino, mon Confiado and Alden richards
WHooPI GoLDBErG and international streaming media company JungoTV have launched All Women’s Sports Network (AWSN) which airs live sports matches.
GEorGE CHUNG, JungoTV CEo and co-founder, shares Jungo Pinoy’s live sports offerings which include the All Women’s Sports Network. THE mobile streaming app boasts an extensive library of quality content including Tagalogdubbed telenovelas.
PDRF, private sector send aid to families affected by Typhoon Kristine
Higala, RCBC partner to connect rural banks, MFIs to InstaPay
HIGALA Group Inc., an inclusive instant payments platform operator, and Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) have joined forces to operationalize SynerFi, an open payments platform that expands digital financial access to the unserved and underserved sectors in the Philippines.
SynerFi was created to help rural banks and microfinance institutions (MFIs) offer their customers digital transactions through InstaPay, bringing banking services directly to their communities and fostering broader financial inclusion.
Traditionally, many rural and community banks have been excluded from the digital financial ecosystem due to regulatory and technological constraints. SynerFi changes this by providing these institutions with a seamless way to offer digital services to their customers and clients.
Under the partnership, Higala will provide the technology that powers SynerFi, enabling rural banks and microfinance institutions to connect seamlessly to a digital payments network. RCBC will act as the sponsor platform bank and manage the essential regulatory requirements, such as compliance, clearing, and settlement.
“SynerFi brings digital services within reach for rural banks and MFIs that have traditionally been left out of the payments ecosystem,” Higala CEO Vice Catudio said. “Through SynerFi, we are reducing entry barriers and ensuring these institutions can thrive in InstaPay. Expanding financial access allows them
to empower more Filipinos with the tools needed for economic participation and progress.”
By connecting local banks and MFIs to InstaPay, SynerFi allows these smaller, community-based financial institutions to offer faster, more affordable digital transactions, such as sending money, paying bills, and buying or selling goods online.
This means customers can access convenient financial services in their communities without needing to travel or rely on cash. Ultimately, SynerFi empowers more Filipinos to manage their finances digitally, helping them save time, reduce costs, and improve their financial well-being.
“RCBC’s collaboration with Higala through its SynerFi would further advance accessible and inclusive payment channels as pillars of sustainable finance, creating and opening doors of opportunities for millions of people nationwide,” RCBC Executive Vice President and Chief Innovations and Inclusion Officer Lito Villanueva said.
The collaboration addresses a critical gap in the current financial landscape. To date, only three percent of the total volume of digital transactions are interoperable
across participating financial institutions. Only five percent of over 360 rural banks participate in InstaPay, while all 2,400 credit cooperatives and 4,300 NGO-MFIs are excluded.
Allowing smaller banks and MFIs to participate in the broader payments network facilitates greater access to digital financial services. It reduces costs for end-users in previously unserved and underserved areas, making digital payments more inclusive, affordable, and accessible.
The initiative is also supported by Higala investor and sustainable development firm Chemonics International, which brings a wealth of expertise in fostering resilient, inclusive growth in underserved communities worldwide.
“SynerFi is a powerful tool for sustainable development, which is at the core of everything we do at Chemonics International. Together with our partners, we will move towards further reducing onramp barriers for all financial institutions looking to be part of the InstaPay network and drive true inclusion to unserved and underserved areas in the Philippines,” Chemonics International President and CEO Jamey Butcher said.
After 2024 success, Echelon 2025 primes PHL for more investments, innovation
WITH the overwhelming success of its debut, Echelon Philippines 2025, a tech and startup business conference, is expected to amplify investments and fuel innovation in the country’s thriving startup ecosystem, a multibilliondollar industry that is said to be the fastest emerging in the world.
Organized by e27 in partnership with Brainsparks, the first-ever Echelon Philippines 2024 drew more than 2,500 attendees, featured 90 leading speakers, and hosted 40 exhibitors, along with 15 startup showcases.
The event has sparked new opportunities for Filipino startups, marking the Philippines as a rising hub for tech innovation in Southeast Asia.
“e27 is thrilled to have partnered with Brainsparks for the first-ever Echelon Philippines event. Over the past decade, we’ve organized numerous pitching and networking events, witnessing firsthand the remarkable growth of the entrepreneurial community, advancements in technology infrastructure, and increasing investor interest in Philippines-focused startups and founders. This, combined with continued government support, highlights the country’s rising prominence in the regional Southeast Asia tech ecosystem. Echelon Philippines 2024 stands as a testament to the maturity and growing relevance of the Philippines in the region,” said Mohan Belani, CoFounder and CEO of e27.
“The growth of the Philippines’ startup ecosystem is a testament to the incredible talent and innovation present in the Philippines,” said Artie Lopez, Co-Founder of Brainsparks. “Echelon Philippines 2024 has set the bar for what we can achieve and we are incredibly excited for 2025. Our goal is to not only showcase Filipino innovation but also to drive substantial investments that will fuel the growth of our startup community.”
Echelon Philippines provided a platform for startups, investors, and key industry players to come together and explore opportunities for collaboration and investment.
One of the highlights was the Startup Pitch competition, where SolX, a platform offering endto-end digital energy solutions, took home the top prize. The competition underscored the potential of Filipino innovation, offering a spotlight on local startups and opening doors to significant investment opportunities.
“Echelon Philippines 2025 will amplify these opportunities,” Lopez added. “We’re planning more extensive startup showcases, deeper investor engagements, and specialized content sessions that align with the government’s vision for a tech-driven economy.”
Following Lopez’s vision, Belani emphasized the unique role government support plays in the growth of the tech ecosystem and highlighted the significance of collaborative efforts.
“At e27, we believe that collaboration between the private sector and government agencies is crucial to fostering sustainable growth in the tech ecosystem. The support of local government plays a unique role in creating a nurturing environment for startups and innovation to thrive. By working together, we can not only address the immediate needs of our entrepreneurs but also build a foundation that empowers them to drive long-term economic impact and social progress. Echelon Philippines serves as a bridge for this collaboration, creating an open space for government and industry leaders to explore synergies and align efforts for a vibrant, resilient future.”
Lopez also emphasized the importance of continued collaboration with the government, which has been supportive of the industry through sound policies and laws such as the Innovative Startup Act (ISA) and the Philippine Innovation Act.
“With the government’s support, we’re laying the groundwork for startups to succeed. Echelon Philippines 2025 will take this a step further by deepening engagement with investors and facilitating more opportunities for Filipino startups to scale both locally and internationally,” he said.
The government’s strong support for the startup sector, combined with the success of Echelon Philippines 2024, is expected to continue driving investments and innovation in the coming years.
The Philippine startup ecosystem, particularly Manila’s, saw its valuation surge to $6.4 billion in 2024, nearly doubling from $3.5 billion in 2023. This growth reflects the collaborative efforts between the private sector and the government to strengthen the ecosystem and position the Philippines as a key player in the region.
“As we move towards Echelon Philippines 2025, we are fully aligned with the government’s vision of fostering a digitally driven economy. By providing a platform where Filipino startups can connect with investors, corporates, and policymakers, we are directly supporting the government’s efforts to accelerate digital transformation and build a robust, innovative startup ecosystem that will power the country’s future,” Lopez said.
IN response to the devastating impact brought on by Tropical Cyclone Kristine (international name: Trami) last October, the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF) and its private sector network recently sent aid to the affected communities in Bicol.
Following the activation of its Emergency Operations Center in response to extensive flooding across Luzon and Visayas caused by the typhoon, PDRF convened its member companies and partners for a virtual briefing to update them on the impact, help offered by its member companies, and areas that need additional resources.
Through the active coordination of PDRF with the private sector and local government units, essential relief items were deployed to the identified hardest-hit areas in the Bicol Region, CALABARZON, and Northern Luzon.
PDRF deployed a team to facilitate the repacking and distribution of hygiene kits and food packs in Bicol. Ayala Foundation supported these efforts by assisting with the procurement of relief supplies and providing a staging area for repacking relief items.
Shell Pilipinas Corporation donated 1,454 hygiene kits to the affected families in Bicol. The Peace and Equity Foundation donated 125 hygiene kits and 266 family food packs in Bicol through the Albay Public Safety and Emergency Management Office.
In support of the Bicol response, food company networks of PDRF provided meals to the volunteers and rescue personnel in Bicol and Cebu.
McDonald’s provided 1,155 ready-to-eat (RTE) meals to the rescue personnel, volunteers, and affected families in Camarines Sur, Albay, and Naga City. Jollibee Group Foundation provided 530 hot meals to the rescue personnel and volunteers in Bicol and Cebu.
The PhilSeven Foundation provided 100 RTE meals to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) personnel in Mandaue City, Cebu.
PDRF also partnered with the YWCA Founders’ Federation of the Philippines to facilitate the repacking and distribution of food packs donated by J.P. Morgan for Naga City. Clean drinking water scarcity has become
a critical issue in CALABARZON due to widespread flooding. PDRF, in coordination with its Water Cluster, provided immediate assistance to address these needs.
Manila Water Foundation donated 2,000 units of five-gallon water in the affected areas in the Bicol Region, and CALABARZON. Maynilad donated 1,000 units of 6-liter water in Batangas. Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines, Inc. donated 650 units of seven-liter water to Naga City and CALABARZON.
Several member and partner companies of the PDRF provided logistics services to support the response efforts of the private sector and the government.
Metro Pacific Tollways South and San Miguel Corporation Logistics each deployed a 10-wheeler wing van to transport water donations from Manila Water Foundation to Agoncillo, Batangas.
The UPS Foundation provided three 10-wheeler wing vans to assist the Office of Civil Defense in transporting hygiene kits, tarpaulins, and generator sets from the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in Camp Aguinaldo to OCD Region IV-A to augment the ongoing responses of the region.
DHL provided funding for mobilization trucks to support PDRF’s response operations in the Bicol region.
Shell Pilipinas Corporation supplied 3,650 liters of fuel for Makati Development Corporation’s trucks, aiding the transport of water donations from Manila Water Foundation and supporting Ayala Foundation’s relief efforts in Bicol.
Several volunteer groups, including the Angat Buhay Foundation, Bicol University Red Cross Youth, Bicol University Students’ Organization for Meteorology, Sangguniang Kabataan Albay, UP SCINTILLA JURIS Fraternity, DSWD, and the Philippine Army, joined forces to support PDRF’s response initiative.
All the private sector response efforts coordinated through PDRF are consolidated in a comprehensive dashboard for tracking, minimizing duplication of efforts, and ensuring that help and resources reach those most in need.
DISTRIBUTION of relief items from Shell Pilipinas Corporation to families affected by typhoon Kristine in Bicol.
HILTON Manila is enhancing its commitment to sustainable dining through an exclusive partnership with Unilever Food Solutions, bringing to life a curated buffet experience at Kusina Sea Kitchens until November 30, 2024. Available for lunch from 12 pm to 2:30 pm (P2,800++) and dinner from 5:30 pm to 9:30 pm (P3,000++), this collaboration infuses Filipino cuisine with global food trends, and features environmentally conscious dishes crafted from thoughtfully sourced ingredients.
Hilton Manila’s Executive Chef Lord Bayaban has joined forces with Unilever’s esteemed culinary team, Chef Brando Santos, Chef Carlos Aluning, and Chef Paulo Sia, to present a menu that reimagines comfort foods, and caters to health-conscious diners, ensuring a delightful yet nourishing dining experience. The buffet draws inspiration from eight key global food trends identified by Unilever, such as bold flavor combinations, plant-based proteins, locally abundant ingredients, and low-waste dining practices. These trends are reflected in dishes such as the Lechon Baka Slider with Creamy Atchara Dressing, delivering a flavor shock that pushes culinary boundaries, the Slow-Roasted Cauliflower Bistek Tagalog, showcasing plant-forward innovation. Guests can also savor the Mustasa Rolls with Grilled
From crisis to reform: The long road to a new economic order
By John Authers
‘THE crisis was not a failure of the free-market system,” declared George W. Bush in November 2008. “And the answer is not to try to reinvent that system. It is to fix the problems we face, make the reforms we need and move forward with the free markets principles that have delivered prosperity and hope to people across the world.”
He has been proven wrong about this. Very few politicians in the western world would voice such thoughts now, let alone
Bush’s assertions that capitalism was “by far the most efficient and just way of structuring an economy,” an “engine of social mobility,” and “the highway to the American dream.” This year’s US election delivered the ultimate repudiation to those ideas. Bush’s own party, in particular, now rejects most of them outright.
While old orders fall quickly and suddenly, the new ones that replace them take longer to form. As a new model for the economy takes shape, the forces of markets and the macroeconomy are the drivers, while politics and elections— despite appearances—tend merely to ratify decisions and changes that have already been made.
When the global financial system suddenly collapsed in 2008, it seemed obvious that it had swept away an entire way of organizing the world. If capitalism were to survive, it would need to be turned upside down. And so it is proving. And yet 16 years and five presidential elections after Lehman Brothers collapsed, the alternative is still emerging.
The two key moments of economic crisis in the 20th century were the Great Crash of 1929, and Richard Nixon’s ending of the gold standard in 1971. It took years of turmoil for first the Keynesian New Deal version of capitalism, and then the Milton Friedmaninspired globalized free markets of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher to arise from these crises. Yet from the perspective of history, the building blocks for a new order were steadily falling into place throughout the chaos of the 1930s and the 1970s. History will probably perceive the same process at work in the even longer reaction to the Global Financial Crisis of 2008.
The Great Crash and Keynesianism
THE version of capitalism that fueled the Gilded Age and the Roaring ‘20s perished suddenly in October 1929. It was replaced by a model that would be labeled Keynesianism—even if John Maynard Keynes, who died in 1946, might not have liked the policies enacted in his name. This process took time.
Initially, Herbert Hoover’s administration trusted capitalist creative destruction. They let banks fail, hoping the system would be cleansed, while America took a disastrous turn towards protectionism with the Smoot-Hawley tariffs. Franklin D. Roosevelt arrived in 1933 determined to balance the budget.
The New Deal was FDR’s response to desperate circumstances; it hadn’t received any mandate from voters. He soon grasped that deficits were unavoidable. “To balance our budget in 1933 or 1934 or 1935 would have been a crime against the American people,” he said as he faced reelection. “When Americans suffered, we refused to pass by on the other side. Humanity came first.” He explained the key New Deal reforms:
This vicious tightening circle of our declining national income simply had to be broken. The bankers and the industrialists of the Nation cried aloud that private business was powerless to break it. They turned, as they had a right to turn, to the Government. We accepted the final responsibility of Government, after all else had failed, to spend money when no one else had money left to spend.
The financial system was brought to order and tightly regulated, most famously by the Glass-Steagall Act that forbade commercial banks from dabbling in investment banking. Massive spending to defeat Hitler led to a model of fixed exchange rates under the wartime Bretton Woods agreement, based on a dollar tied to gold, and spawned the Marshall Plan, the GI Bill, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Governments blessed corporatism: Unions were powerful, companies were generous to their employees, and spending to fight the Cold War kept the whole system going. The crash prone US banking system survived for several decades in a quiet period without any major crisis. By 1944, FDR had come full circle, “True individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. Necessitous men are not free men,” he said. Hunger and unemployment are the stuff of which dictatorships are made. For decades after the war, the western world proceeded on this
basis; market forces were useful, but could be contained and were of secondary importance.
Goodbye Bretton Woods, Hello Milton Friedman
That consensus ended in 1971 when Richard Nixon suddenly abandoned the Bretton Woods gold standard, which was buckling under the spending needed to finance generous social programs and the war in Vietnam. This allowed Nixon to spend money in his successful push for reelection. It also pushed up the price of gold, which led to the 1973 Arab oil embargo, as producers forced up the oil price, in dollars, to restore the value in gold it had held in 1971. Gold had given way to oil standard.
The miserable stagflationary 1970s ensued, but pieces of a new order steadily fell into place. In 1976, Britain’s hightax Labour government (“one for you, nineteen for me” as the Beatles complained) asked for a loan from the IMF. The conditions included austerity. Three years before he was defeated by Margaret Thatcher, Labour Prime Minister James Callaghan admitted that the Keynesian game was up: We used to think that you could spend your way out of a recession and increase employment by cutting taxes and boosting government spending. I tell you in all candor that that option no longer exists and that in so far as it ever did exist it only worked on each occasion since the war by injecting a bigger dose of inflation on every occasion followed by a higher level of unemployment as the next step.
The death of Keynesianism was proclaimed by an avowed socialist, not by the prophet of free markets who followed him.
In the US, Jimmy Carter appointed Paul Volcker the new Federal Reserve chairman. Volcker embarked on rate hikes that forced the world into another recession and at last gave the Fed sufficient credibility to act as an alternative to the gold standard. That would create the stability that had been denied the world during the decade when finance was effectively tied to the volatile oil price.
Thus the key decisions had already been made before the landmark elections of Margaret Thatcher in 1979 and Ronald Reagan in 1980 validated them. The full Thatcher-Reagan model involved financial deregulation, as well as globalization that was aided by the fall of the Communist bloc and the conversion of Deng Xiaoping to a Chinese version of capitalism. There were problems under the surface, of course, but the model was virtually unchallenged until 2008.
The Global Financial Crisis and... Trump?
THE collapse of the ThatcherReagan world in 2008 was absolute, but a response took a while to take shape. Rahm Emanuel, Barack Obama’s first chief of staff, said “you never want a serious crisis to go to waste.” But that is exactly what
the Obama team allowed to happen.
The new government opted against nationalizing the banks in favor of a timid and rulesbound re-regulation in the sprawling Dodd-Frank Act. They also chose not to prosecute financiers who might have been deemed responsible (a big difference from the 1930s). These decisions contributed to growing public mistrust, fostering the impression that it was the bankers and not their customers who had been bailed out, paving the way for Donald Trump.
Under pressure from the Tea Party revolt, thoughts of New Deal-style big fiscal spending were abandoned, but by printing money, the Federal Reserve turned what might have been a screeching conflagration into a slow-burning train wreck. A second Great Depression was averted, but growth remained painfully slow, and low interest rates rewarded those who already had assets, intensifying inequality.
The Obama team did broaden the social safety net with its huge health insurance reform— and easily defeated Mitt Romney in 2012 by painting him as the representative of Thatcher-Reagan capitalism. Trump’s election in 2016 left Obamacare in place (largely because Republicans found it politically impossible to change it for anything better), and he cheerfully allowed the deficit to balloon through an unfunded tax cut (the Tea Party qualms could be forgotten now) and made a big turn toward protectionism. During Covid-19, Trump spent money on a scale unseen in generations, as did many other governments around the world.
Joe Biden then intensified the Trump tariffs, bringing Chinese imports down as he embarked on the boldest industrial policy since the New Deal, investing in infrastructure and green technologies to create jobs. This keystone of Bidenomics was potentially transformative, and it was barely ever mentioned in the 2024 campaign.
The US is not alone in stepping back from globalization and allowing a greater role for the state. Xi Jinping reasserted the power of the Chinese state over the private sector, while European nations tried austerity and fostered a populist backlash. Much more populist and interventionist governments of different political stripes gained power in India, Turkey and Brazil. And now Trump is returning with a mandate for continued and intensifying economic nationalism.
Ignore the hesitancy of the Obama years, the head fake of the Tea Party and the fact that central banks slowed everything down for years by printing money, and you are left with a steady and inexorable shift away from Friedmanite capitalism, and even from Keynes, toward a new model with a bigger welfare state, trade blocs protected by tariffs and a government that is entitled to enforce its priorities on companies. Protectionism
has returned, but the financial sector will not be shackled. Trump’s return largely ratifies a new order that is already in place.
21st-century mercantilism
KEYNES once commented that “Practical men who believe themselves to be quite exempt from intellectual influences are usually the slaves of some defunct economist.” If there is a defunct economist who should take the credit for the model now emerging, the best option might be Jean-Baptiste Colbert, who ran Louis XIV’s treasury in the 17th century and whose name is now synonymous with the doctrine of mercantilism—a philosophy of economic nationalism, with intervention by the state if necessary to advance their interests at the expense of others. We can see mercantilism clearly enough at the “macro” level, through the rise in tariffs and in China’s moves to create a bloc of countries that rely on its investment. In the US, the victory of the concept at the micro level is even more telling. After 2008, companies attempted to reform and improve capitalism, along the lines that George W. Bush had suggested, setting up groups with names like the Council for Inclusive Capitalism and Focusing Capital on the Long Term, to “support a sustainable and prosperous economy.” ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) investing, in which big money managers tweaked their criteria to send some of their capital to the companies that most deserved it, grew into a huge Wall Street marketing effort.
Most famously, Klaus Schwab of the World Economic Forum proposed a “Great Reset” of capitalism in the wake of the pandemic. The idea was that companies’ owners should act in the interests of all stakeholders (including, for example, employees, or those who might suffer from pollution) and not just attempt to maximize value for shareholders, which, it was held, had led to short-termism and an emphasis on financial engineering. This didn’t go well. People don’t trust the institutions that brought the world into this mess to get us out of it, and Schwab’s Great Reset became the subject of a popular conspiracy theory.
Schwab’s approach still holds sway in Europe, but in the US the letters “ESG” have been demonized to the point where Larry Fink, who runs the world’s largest fund manager, BlackRock Inc., said that the term had been weaponized and was too toxic for use. Republican-led states now boycott any financial group that even offers ESG as an option, even though this costs money for their taxpayers.
The philosophy behind anti-ESG lawsuits has changed profoundly. A first wave of legal opposition was based on the orthodox Milton Friedman view that investment managers had a fiduciary duty to maximize return for their clients through shareholder value and nothing
else. But the animating spirit of the latest ESG boycotts is that governments and companies are entitled to deploy their money to advance their own interests versus everyone else’s, rather than to maximize returns.
In a letter to Fink by John Schroder, Louisiana’s state treasurer explained why the state was pulling out from his company altogether, even though BlackRock is a huge investor in fossil fuels: This divestment is necessary to protect Louisiana from actions and policies that would actively seek to hamstring our fossil fuel sector. In my opinion, your support of ESG investing is inconsistent with the best economic interests and values of Louisiana. I cannot support an institution that would deny our state the benefit of one of its most robust assets. Simply put, we cannot be party to the crippling of our own economy. This is exactly the opposite of the Friedmanite approach, which leads the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, Norway’s Norges fund, not to invest in Norway or in fossil fuels, on the logic that this would merely double down on the country’s exposure to oil.
But the new mercantilist approach is that owners don’t have the right to drive corporate changes. Schroder’s letter continues: You call for a “transformation” of our entire economy that will not be made through a democratic process. Instead you talked about how, “[b]ehaviors are going to have to change and this is one thing we are asking companies. You have to force behaviors. And at BlackRock, we are forcing behaviors.” So much for democracy.
Keynes himself was a brilliant value investor, who absolutely believed that shareholders should throw their weight around with managements. And the power of shareholders over the companies they own was central to the more liberal ideas of Friedman. The idea that governments can exert such influence over the private sector, as well as international trade, has been absent from the west (if not from China) for more than a century. Now, the notion has taken hold that the free market system really did fail in the Global Financial Crisis, and efforts to mend it from within haven’t worked.
History is ambiguous on whether it will work this time. The UK, the Netherlands and France all built big empires, and created great wealth using the mercantile model. But all abandoned it—amid revolution, in the case of France. It turned out that trade and the economy aren’t zero-sum games, and Industrial Britain managed to grow more by following the principles of free trade. It looks as though the world is going to have to learn that lesson again— and this time it will do so in an environment where colonizing large tracts of the world to gain access to trade and resources is no longer an option.
Golden treble for Garra, Taguinota
Versatility is key, Cone tells Gilas young guns
COACH Tim Cone encourages the young Gilas Pilipinas players to expand their “total game” after making it to the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) 2025 Asia Cup next year with big victories against New Zealand and Hong Kong over the weekend. Gilas Pilipinas completed its mission with a 93-54 win on Sunday against Hong Kong in the second window of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 qualifiers just three days after upsetting New Zealand last Thursday, 93-89, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
One of the young guns — 6-foot7 Carl Tamayo — took advantage of the opportunity given by Cone as he scattered 18 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field plus two treys and grabbed eight rebounds.
“He hit a three-point shot, he went to the basket, he had a post up, and he had an offensive rebound,” Cone said of Tamayo, a Korean Basketball League (KBL) Asian import. “That’s what I told him, and that’s what I’m looking for in the young guys. We want them to use their total game.”
L a Salle’s Kevin Quiambao, who got eight points, five rebounds and four assists, and Mason Amos, who had three points, also helped Gilas stay undefeated in four games in Group B. That earned them a spot in the Asia Cup set Aug. 5 to 17 next year in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
“That’s the case with him (Tamayo), that’s the case with KQ (Kevin Quiambao) and even Mason Amos.” Cone was also relieved to see Gilas recover from a lackluster start against Hong Kong.
“ We did not play a real great first half. It was a struggle and Hong Kong made open threes,” Cone said. “That’s a concern for us obviously in this window. But in second half we felt better, we got their shooters a little better and we move the ball better.” Gil as forced Hong Kong to take hurried shots and disrupted their offense that resulted in 20-of-65 shooting from the field for 30.77 percent. The Philippines shot 39-of82 overall from the field for 47.56 percent.
Justine Brownlee—after hitting 26 points, 11 rebounds and four assists against New Zealand—finished with just 13 points. Seven-foot-three center Kai Sotto racked up 12 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and blocked two shots against Hong Kong after getting 19 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists against New Zealand. Dwight Ramos didn’t play due to a minor calf injury. Meanwhile, New Zealand vented its ire at Chinese-Taipei, scoring a 8167 rout for a 3-1 win-loss card.
Sports BusinessMirror
Editor: Jun Lomibao
NU gets big boost ahead of UAAP title defense
NATIONAL UNIVERSITY got a huge early boost for the University Athletic Association of the Philippines competition.
With Alas Pilipinas players Bella Belen and Alyssa Solomon showing the way and new coach Sherwin Meneses calling the plays, the Lady Bulldogs capped a banner year with a three-peat in the Shakey’s Super League Collegiate Pre-season Championship.
NU completed a best-of-three finals series sweep of La Salle with a 23-25, 25-18, 25-16, 25-20, Game Two victory Sunday night at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
Meneses, who will make his UAAP return after his last stint with Adamson University in 2016, took over the coaching reins from Norman Miguel following the Lady Bulldogs’ first-ever National Invitationals championship last July.
“I was also very excited to win. This is a great help in the preparations for the
UAAP. That’s the reason why we joined this tournament,” Meneses said.
Solomon and Most Valuable Player winner Belen showed the way in rallying NU back from a tough start to once again beat UAAP archrival La Salle. The Lady Bulldogs won over the Lady Spikers in the inaugural edition two years ago and beat University of Santo Tomas in the finals last year.
The Lady Bulldogs won the series opener in straight sets.
“I’m very happy because we achieved our goal. This will be a stepping stone for us, our preparation for the upcoming UAAP Season,” said Belen, who had 15 points to back Solomon’s 19-point explosion in the second match.
It was a sweet statement win for NU after the Lady Spikers halted the Lady Bulldogs’ 28-match winning streak— an unbeaten run that spanned four tournaments starting in 2022—with a four-set triumph in the second round.
Monsalve Avaricio gear up for Match Play showdown
TOP pros collide in an exciting conclusion to the Philippine Golf Tour season as the International Container Terminal Services Inc. The Country Club Match Play Invitational begins Tuesday in Santa Rosa, Laguna.
The ladies’ event opens with exciting pairings, with defending champion Mikha Fortuna facing a formidable test against 16-year-old rising star Jiwon Lee, while the Marvi Monsalve-Chanelle Avaricio showdown is shaping up to be another must-watch duel.
Both Monsalve and Avaricio are fresh from their campaigns in Taiwan, setting the stage for a closely contested match.
Monsalve seeks to end her search for a career breakthrough, while Avaricio draws on her wealth of experience, including a stellar 2022 season on the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour where she notched multiple victories.
Fortuna begins her title defense against Lee, who has already made waves in the Junior PGT and earned a breakthrough professional win at the Splendido Taal leg.
Lee’s relative inexperience in match play is balanced by the mental toughness gained from her recent stints in Taiwan, making this matchup one to watch. Reigning Order of Merit (OOM)
Legendary Basketball Mind
winner and 2022 Match Play champion
Harmie Constantino takes on Kyla Nocum in the final pairing of the opening round.
Last year’s OOM champion Daniella Uy is heavily favored in her duel with Apple Fudolin, while Florence Bisera aims to secure a victory over Velinda Castil. Other first-round matchups include Gretchen Villacencio versus Rev Alcantara, Chihiro Ikeda against Kristine Fleetwood, and Sarah Ababa battling Pamela Mariano.
The winners on Tuesday advance to the quarterfinals on Wednesday, with the semifinals and championship rounds set for the following two days.
Lascuña vs Depilo, Que vs Bisera
MEN’S TOP seed Tony Lascuña, fresh off clinching his fifth Order of Merit title after 10 legs this season, leads the field. Despite his dominance this season, where no player managed multiple wins, Lascuña approaches his match against No. 32 Rico Depilo cautiously.
Unlike stroke play, where one poor hole can derail a round, match play allows players to recover quickly and take bold chances.
Angelo Que, seeded second and returning from the Hong Kong Open, faces Elee Bisera.
Our motivation is to move forward, to aim higher in the next game. Especially the UAAP, it’s the big league for college. We’re looking forward to doing better because we know all the other teams will also improve,” said Belen, who was named Best Open Spiker.
“The work does not stop, we will train to play even better,” Belen added. NU got the last laugh as it ended La Salle’s campaign with back-to-back losses after racking up eight wins in a row heading into the finals of the tournament supported by Shakey’s Pizza Parlor, GCash, Chery Tiggo, F2 Logistics, Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken, Potato Corner, R and B Milk Tea, Grab Philippines, and Summit Water with Smart Sports, PLDT Fibr, Mikasa, Asics, Rebel Sports, Eurotel, Victory Liner, Commission on Higher Education, Philippine Sports Commission and SM Tickets as technical partners.
By Josef T. Ramos
PUERTO PRINCESA—Sophia
Rose Garra and Arvin Naeem
Taguinota II sustained their fine performances in the pool at the Ramon V. Mitra Sports Complex, each bagging their third consecutive gold medal in the swimming competition of 2024 Batang Pinoy National Championships here on Monday.
Garra, 12, representing Malabon City, won the girls’ 12-13 200 long course meters backstroke by clocking two minutes and 30 seconds to add to her wins in the 200-m individual medley and 100-m freestyle last Sunday.
Anika Kathryn Matiling of Bacolod City came in eight seconds later for silver, while Kidapawan City’s Angella Tane Perez bagged the bronze, crossing the finish line 14 seconds after Garra.
“I felt tired but I’m happy to meet my times in several events. Batang Pinoy is very challenging because I’m competing with 13-year-old swimmers and other age-groups,” Garra, who is coached by former Sydney Olympian swimmer Jenny Guerrero, said.
“My goal now is to win the most bemedalled swimmer this year,” added Garra, who is eyeing the gold medals in the 100-m backstroke and 100-m breaststroke.
“L ast year I just won two golds, two silvers and one bronze, but I already surpassed it and my chance to achieve it is clearer.”
The 13-year-old Taguinota conquered the boys’ 12-13 200-m long course backstroke event in two minutes and 19.88 seconds. He earlier bagged the 200m individual medley and 100m freestyle gold medals. Mohammad Mojdeh of Parañaque
Future of PHL sports to be feted in Siklab Youth Sports Awards
Tfinest young Filipino athletes get their share of the spotlight as
Rianne Mikhaela Malixi of golf and wushu’s Alexander Gabriel Delos Reyes. Joining them are Asian junior gymnastics gold medalist Karl Eldrew Yulo, world youth champion Isabella Butler of ju-jitsu, Asian age-group swimming gold medalist Jamesray Mishael Ajido and table tennis youth champion Kheith Rhynne Cruz. The event supported by MVPSF, CEL Logistics, Go For Gold, Entrepro, Pacquiao Coffee and powered by Smart will likewise recognize muay thai world champions Janbrix Ramiscal and Lyre Anie Ngina, chess Olympiad gold medalist Ruelle Canino in the Super Kids Award category. Four special awards will be handed out to Olympic boxing medalist Nesthy Petecio as this year’s Sports Idol, longtime sports manager Agapito “Terry” Capistrano
Awards
with 2024 US Junior Girls
ARISTEN DORMITORIO cruises to victory in the mountain bike cross-country Olympic race. ROY DOMINGO
THE National University Lady Bulldogs vow to do even better after earning a third straight SSL title.
CHANELLE AVARICIO eyes a solid finish in the LPGT season-ender.
CARL TAMAYO earns praise from coach Tim Cone. PHOTO FROM FIBA
