BusinessMirror October 01, 2022

Sierra Madre’s conservation will help keep its role as protector of the environment and of humanity while helping avert climate-related catastrophes

PROTECTING THE PROTECTOR

By Rory Visco

WHAT should have been a typically regular (and supposedly relaxing) Sunday morning for everyone after a busy week was jolted when the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) announced that an approaching typhoon named Karding (international code name Noru) was elevated to supertyphoon status.

A ll because the typhoon went into a “period of explosive inten sification,” a situation wherein a tropical cyclone’s maximum sus tained winds increase by more than 65 kph within 24 hours. In the case of Karding, the wind surge reached a staggering 90 kph. The state weather firm says that

though explosive intensification is rare, what happened to Karding was not the first.

Burdeos in Quezon and Dinga lan in Aurora were among the first to feel the destructive wrath of Karding and left massive damage to property and infrastructure. The rest of Luzon, including Bu

But before making landfall, Karding packed sustained winds of 185 kph and gustiness of 230 kph, yet later weakened when it slammed the Sierra Madre moun tain range, long touted as a “ bagyo buster” by many Filipinos.

A special place called Sierra Madre STRETCHING to about 10 prov inces—Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, Nueva Ecija, Quirino, Au rora, Quezon, Rizal, Laguna and Bu lacan—the land area of the 540-km Sierra Madre mountain range covers an estimated 1.4 million hectares. It is home to

Continued on A2

lacan, Pampanga, Rizal, Zambales, Bataan, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, includ ing Metro Manila, all experienced torrential downpours that led to massive flooding, landslides and other upheavals. Classes and work were suspended in these areas, while flights were also canceled.

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How a Japanese drugmaker got the clean win over Alzheimer’s

By Kanoko Matsuyama and Michelle Fay Cortez Bloomberg News

55 million people who suffer from Alzheimer’s globally.

These results should end “any doubts that these drugs have clinical effect, and we predict there could be multiple drugs driving a multi-bil lion-dollar class in the future,” said Michael Yee, an analyst at Jefferies LLC, in a note to clients.

Earlier mistakes

Eisai Co., a Tokyo-based phar maceutical company with a family bent and market capitalization of more than $14 billion, crossed the finish line before behemoths val ued nearly 20-fold higher, includ ing industry leaders Roche Holding AG and Eli Lilly & Co.

The results of its Clarity-AD trial this week showed the medi cine it’s developing with Biogen Inc., lecanemab, curbed the most common type of dementia—a breakthrough more than 100 years after the disease was discovered.

The discovery took years of struggle amid a slew of setbacks, including the high-profile implo sion earlier this year of another Al zheimer’s drug the two companies developed together.

A long the way, Eisai faced un relenting questions about the hy pothesis that treating the buildup of amyloid plaque in the brain of Alzheimer’s patients could slow the disease, a theory that seemed less likely with the failure of each highprofile rival.

On Wednesday in Tokyo, Chief

Executive Haruo Naito was un equivocal that Eisai has silenced the doubters: “After 30 years, lecanemab proved that the patient’s condition can be improved by removing amy loid beta,” he said. The results “prove the amyloid hypothesis.”

A nalysts and investors were buoyant as well, though approval and pricing issues remain. Eisai jumped to an upper daily trading limit for a second day and closed 14 percent higher Thursday. Biogen, which remains a partner and will reap half the profits, soared 40 per cent Wednesday.

We finally have what we be lieve to be a clean win in Alzheimer’s disease,” Evan David Seigerman, an analyst at BMO Capital Markets, wrote in a note to clients. “The topline data is as strong as can be, with high statistical significance across all endpoints—data doesn’t get much cleaner than this in biotech.”

W hile other companies, in cluding Roche and Lilly, are on its heels, the data from Eisai and Bio gen cracked the glass ceiling that’s kept effective treatments from the

THE earlier failure with Aduhelm proved a baptism by fire, with the company learning from the mis takes made in the process that saw that drug become a commercial fail ure. The clinical trial results weren’t definitive, the approval was pushed through in the US over the objec tions of treating doctors and regula tory advisers and the price was sub stantial at $56,000 a year. A decision by the US’ Medicare health insur ance program for the elderly to limit coverage sealed its fate.

Naito vowed to make use of that experience after Eisai took the lead in developing lecanumab in March. It patiently undertook a long inter mediate trial to identify the right dosage to bring into final stage test ing, a step many companies were skipping. And it didn’t halt phase 3 trials halfway, something that hap pened with Aduhelm which ulti mately undermined its legitimacy in the eyes of the scientific community.

“I have come to understand what kind of environment we must establish in order for long-awaited new drugs, both by patients and doctors, to be accepted in society,” Naito said.

Th rough the long development process, researchers didn’t lose faith in the amyloid theory even after most drug candidates based

on it ended in failure—despite billions of dollars spent by major pharmaceutical companies.

The hypothesis dates back to 1991, when a team of scientists led by renowned neurogenetist John Hardy at University College London found that deposition of amyloid beta protein in the brain is crucial in Alzheimer’s disease.

Eisai has been working on the next-generation drug for years. Lecanemab was originally licensed

from BioArctic AB in Sweden, which formed a joint research proj ect with Eisai in 2005. Biogen and Eisai started their partnership to combat the condition in 2014.

Pioneering drug

PART of the company’s confidence came from an early hit with Al zheimer’s, a pioneering drug called Aricept that treated the symptoms of the disease, though not its un derlying causes. Sales peaked at

more than ¥300 billion ($2 billion) a year in March 2010 after it was approved in 1996.

Unlike bigger Western phar maceutical companies, the Japanese firm remains under the influence of its founding family, a potential fac tor that helped it remain steadfast as other drugmakers came under pres sure from shareholders to abandon drug candidates.

Its origins can be traced back to 1936 when Toyoji Naito, the grand father of the current chief execu tive, set up a laboratory in Japan at a time when the country depended on pharmaceuticals imported from overseas. CEO Haruo Naito’s son, Keisuke, also works at the company, where he’s currently vice president and chief ecosystem officer.

A mid the celebratory mood, the CEO, who was a senior direc tor in the laboratory where Aricept was developed decades ago, apolo gized that it took more than two decades for Eisai’s second Alzheim er’s breakthrough.

“I’m filled with embarrass ment and feel sorry that it took that long,” he said. “Alzheimer’s disease is complicated in charac ter and we’ve repeatedly failed and learned from mistakes we made.

I hope we don’t have to take that long to come up with other drugs.”

PROTECTING THE PROTECTOR

Continued from A1 flora and fauna and also a major con tributor to the water supply of Metro Manila.

But aside from its massive geographical grandeur and role in preserving biodiversity, the Si erra Madre mountain range is also called Luzon’s backbone for its significant role in protecting Lu zon primarily from severe weather disturbances such as Karding, and also past supertyphoons like Ompong that made landfall in Cagayan in 2018, Lawin that also hit Cagayan in 2016 and typhoon Karen that slammed Baler in Au rora province also in 2016.

Though this is still largely de batable, many still believe that the Sierra Madre mountain range greatly helps in dissipating, even in the slightest manner, the strongest typhoons coming from the Pacific Ocean that ever hit Luzon.

Call to save Sierra Madre

AFTER renewed observations that it has yet again saved Luzon, there is now a widespread call to pro tect Sierra Madre, what with all the degradation happening in the area from illegal logging, gold and limestone mining, construction aggregate quarrying, deforestation and dam building. Critics include among the culprits the highly con troversial Kaliwa Dam project.

C avite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr., chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources, filed House Resolution 430, asking Congress to look into these activities, i.e., if indeed they “are being conducted at the Sierra Madre mountains” that can hurt what he called the “Mother of Mountain Ranges” in the Philippines and if environmen tal impact assessments were done, and also to come up with ways to protect it.

Another congressman, Rizal Fourth District Rep. Fidel Nograles, joined the fray by repeating his call to institute a Sierra Madre Develop

ment Authority or SMDA by spon soring House Bill 1972.

Private sector does its share BACK in 2011, the Yucheng co Group of Companies (YGC) launched what it called a “forwardlooking” project the objective of which was to plant 50,000 native trees within the sprawling Mount Bangkaan in Sierra Madre, cover ing about 100 hectares.

It was a crucial decision in choosing Mount Bangkaan, where the forest cover was largely denud ed already, even if it is considered a huge part of the micro basin of the Laiban Watershed, a vital potential source of water for Metro Manila.

Unfortunately, the state of Mount Bangkaan at that time was similar to what’s happening in Si erra Madre and other forestlands in the country. So YGC partnered with the Indigenous People (IP) of Tanay and the Department of En vironment and Natural Resources (DENR) to launch that same year the YGC Earth Care Project, a massive reforestation initiative that will benefit not only Sierra Madre’s biodiversity but also the entire population of Metro Manila through a sustainable watershed protection.

To date, 23,000 forest trees have already been planted on 58 out of the planned 100-hectare coverage, and most trees are now over 20 feet high. After 10 years, the once-denuded forest is now teeming with forest life. The en demic native trees are now signifi cantly contributing to watershed protection and safeguarding biodi versity.

Helen Yuchengco Dee, YGC chairperson, thanked their dedi cated partners such as the DENR for the 100 hectares it entrusted to YGC and for continuously shar ing its expertise in forest man agement, and to the IPs of Mount Bangkaan—the Dumagats and the Remontados—who have warmly embraced this project from the

start and faithfully nurtured the trees as their own.

Dee also commended their YGC Earth Care Mountaineers, the volunteers from the various YGC companies “who have selflessly shared their time and energy in en suring that we maintain this fine balance, protecting the present and our future.”

Going to Phase 4 of protection SO, what’s in store for the remain ing 42 hectares that needed to be covered under the project? Accord ing to Liwayway Gener, executive vice president of YGC Corporate Services Inc., Phase 4 is significant because they will implement an agroforestry model that will ad dress both environmental and so cioeconomic goals.

The next phase will blend sus tainable life for the IPs through reforestation activities and water shed protection that will benefit 21 IP families, 11 of them working already with YGC for over 10 years.

Just recently, mostly fruit trees and crops totaling 6,000 high-grade saplings of Guimaras mango, RCF avocado, Haitian star apple, Bangkok santol, and R5 ram butan have been readied for plant ing. A timeframe of between three and five years is seen for the trees to start to bear fruits and the so cioeconomic objectives for the IPs are expected to be attained and YGC’s Sustainable Life Program for the IPs will be met.

Through our initiatives like the YGC Earth Care Project, we underlined the weight of our deci sions and showed others how we must be responsible and account able stewards of the environment,” Dee said.

What we take, we must give back—ensuring balance, peace, stability and sustainability. Re member, the actions we take to day have a direct consequence on our tomorrow. And this impact is not limited to our own personal sphere, it affects us all,” she added.

THREE decades after the presumed cause of Alzheimer’s disease was identified, a Japanese company little known outside of the pharmaceutical industry has become the first drugmaker to prove the debilitating condition can be slowed.

GROUNDBREAKING of Phase 4 of the YGC Earth Care project. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

A SCAN of a brain of a patient affected by Alzheimer’s disease. Only a handful of drugs are approved to manage symptoms of Alzheimer’s, and there are none to treat the cause. BLOOMBERG

THE increase in commodity prices is expected to exceed 7 percent in September, ac cording to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in its month-ahead inflation forecast.

The Central Bank said inflation could be as low as 6.6 percent to as high as 7.4 percent in September on the back of high cost of food and electricity as well as the peso depreciation.

In August, inflation slowed to 6.3 percent from the 6.4 per cent posted in July (Full story here: https://businessmirror.com. ph/2022/09/06/inflation-rateslows-down-to-6-3-in-augustpsa/). The Philippine Statistics Au thority (PSA) will release the latest inflation data next week.

“Inflation for the month is ex pected to be driven by the increase in electricity rates and prices of key

food commodities, as well as by the depreciation of the peso. This could be offset in part by the decline in local fuel prices and lower meat prices,” the monetary authority said in a statement on Friday.

“Looking ahead, the BSP will continue to monitor very closely emerging price developments to enable timely intervention to prevent the further broadening of price pressures, in accordance with the BSP’s price stability man date,” it added.

Based on the 2018 Consumer Price Index (CPI), food and nonalcoholic beverages had a weight of 37.75 percent while housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels had a weight of 21.38 percent.

The Philippine peso, meanwhile, has been depreciating against the dollar. On Thursday, it closed at P58.97 to the greenback. Cai U. Ordinario

‘Karding’ farm damage balloons to ₧2.95 billion

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

THE agricultural damage and losses incurred by the Philip pines due to typhoon “Kard ing” (international code name: Noru) climbed to P2.95 billion, according to the latest report of the Department of Agriculture (DA).

In its eight bulletin on Karding, the DA said it has now recorded agricultural damage and losses in Western Visayas, increasing the number of regions affected by the super typhoon to seven.

The DA added that 164,217 hect ares of farms with an estimated pro duction loss of 154,734 metric tons were affected by Karding across the regions of Cordillera Administra tive Region (CAR), Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, CALABARZON, Bicol Region and Western Visayas.

The DA said at least 103,522 farmers and fisherfolk lost income because of the devastation caused by the typhoon.

“Affected commodities include rice, corn, high value crops, live stock and poultry, and fisheries. Damage has also been incurred in agricultural infrastructures, ma chineries and equipment. These values are subject to validation,” the DA Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Operations Center (DA-DRRM OpCen) said in its bulletin.

The DA-DRRM OpCen said the damage and losses in the rice sector has reached P2.02 billion with total affected area at 159,251 hectares

and a volume of production loss at 133,294 MT.

However, the DA-DRRM OpCen said that the production loss only ac counts for 0.66 percent of the coun try’s total rice production target this year at 20.25 million MT.

“While for corn, damage and losses amounted to P65.4 million with affected area at 2,002 hect ares and volume of production loss at 2,634 MT that represents 0.05 percent of the annual total produc tion target volume for corn, which is 5.11 MMT,” it added.

In a related development, the Fed eration of Free Farmers urged the government to fast track the distri bution of various interventions, such as income and production subsidies, to help farmers and fisherfolk cope with the impact of Karding.

“Support will be in the form of income support, crop insurance, free seeds as well as subsidized credit, fertilizer and fuel under the regular and special programs of the Department of Agriculture,” FFF national president Dioscoro A. Granada said.

FFF Secretary-General Anacleto Mejares said the government should ease the rules covering the distribu tion of fuel subsidies to fisherfolk and farmers nationwide.

“Problems include delayed dis tribution of fuel subsidy cards and pin codes, distant location and limited number of gas stations with point-of-service counters for swiping of cards, and withdrawal of fuel only in kind rather than in cash,” Mejares said.

Budget deficit narrows for second month to ₧72B in Aug; 8-mo deficit is ₧833.02B

By Cai U. Ordinario

the P958.19 billion posted in 2021.

Meanwhile, the BTr data also showed the government’s spend ing reached P3.2 trillion in the Jan uary to August period, a growth of 8.02 percent from P2.96 trillion in the same period last year.

National government revenues in August reached P332.44 bil lion. This was 28.23 percent more than the P259.25 billion posted in August 2021 and 7.7 percent higher than the P308.6 billion in July 2022.

On Friday, the BTr said the defi cit reached P72.04 billion in Au gust, a contraction of 40.4 percent from the P120.94-billion deficit in August 2021.

The data also showed that com pared to July, the budget deficit

in August was narrower by 16.97 percent from the P86.76 billion recorded during the period.

In the January to August pe riod, the budget deficit reached P833.02 billion in 2022, a 13.06-percent contraction from

Spending in August reached P404.48 billion, a 6.39-percent increase from the P380.19 bil lion posted in August last year. The figure in August was also 2.3 percent higher than the P395.4 billion in July.

State revenues in the eightmonth period hit P2.37 trillion, a growth of 18.09 percent from the P2.01 trillion posted in the same period in 2021.

Revenues generated from the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) reached P308.44 billion in August and P2.13 trillion in the January to August period.

BIR revenues amounted to P228.94 billion while BOC rev enues reached P78.88 billion in August. In the eight month period, BIR revenues reached P1.56 trillion and for BOC, P559.2 billion.

PBBM assures financially ‘strong, stable’ SSS during anniversary rites

By Samuel P. Medenilla

PRESIDENT Ferdinand “Bong bong” R. Marcos, Jr. on Friday gave assurances the Social Security System (SSS) will remain “strong and stable” during his term.

Keynoting the 65th Anniversary of SSS in Quezon City, Marcos said ensuring the stability of the state-run pension fund will be more crucial for its members to cope with the pandemic and economic impact of the interna tional geopolitical situation, such as the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

“As your President, I assure you that I commit myself to every initia tive that will improve the efficiency and productivity of the SSS and thereby improve the welfare of our people,” Marcos said.

The SSS earlier said its fund life is now expected to last until 2054.

Marcos lauded the new initia tives of SSS to make its services more accessible to its members through its Contribution Subsidy Provider Program, flexible pay ment scheme for fishermen and farmers, and the Contribution Pen alty Condonation Program for busi nesses and household employers.

“For more than six decades, the SSS has been a bastion of stability for every Filipino in the private sector. And the SSS has done this by empow ering our employees with equitable

and world-class protection, ensuring that they will have a safety net dur ing life’s most difficult moments,” Marcos said.

Marcos also thanked the partners of SSS, which helped in the imple mentation of its services.

Some of the partners, includ ing employers and media entities, were recognized by SSS through its Balikat ng Bayan Awards in an awarding ceremony also on Friday.

The BusinessMirror was cho sen as the 2022 Balikat ng Bayan Best Media Partner—Print Cat egory. The SSS Balikat ng Bayan Awards was established in 1995 to honor individuals, employers, and

National debt inches up 1% to hit ₧13.02T as of end-Aug

THE national debt has in creased to P13.02 trillion as of the end of August, according to the latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr).

The BTr said this was P133.64 billion or 1 percent higher than the July 2022 level. The increase was driven by domestic securities issu ances and currency adjustments.

Compared to the debt as of December 2021, BTr said the national government’s debt in creased P1.29 trillion, or an 11-percent growth. The bulk or 68.7 percent was domestic bor rowings and 31.3 percent was sourced externally.

The national government’s

(NG) domestic debt amounted to P8.94 trillion, which is P111.21 billion or 1.3 percent higher com pared to the end-July 2022 level.

In August, the BTr said the in crease in domestic debt resulted from the net issuance of govern ment securities amounting to P109.43 billion and the P1.78 bil lion impact of local currency de preciation against the US dollar.

Since the beginning of the year, BTr said the domestic debt portfo lio has increased by P772.98 bil lion or 9.5 percent on the back of domestic borrowing to lessen the impact of currency fluctuations.

NG external debt amounted to P4.08 trillion, which is P22.43 bil

lion or 0.6 percent higher than the end-July 2022 level. For August, the increment in the level of ex ternal debt was due to the impact of local currency depreciation against the US dollar amounting to P62.24 billion.

This offsets the P26.59-billion effect of third-currency deprecia tion against the US dollar and net repayment amounting to P13.22 billion. Year-to-date, NG external debt increased by P520.03 billion or 14.6 percent from end-Decem ber 2021, primarily due to localand third-currency fluctuations that increase the peso value of foreign denominated obligations.

Total NG guaranteed obliga

tions decreased by P15.24 billion or 3.7 percent month-over-month to P392.76 billion as of end-August 2022. For August, the decrease in guaranteed debt was primarily due to the net repayment of both domestic and external guarantees amounting to P4.43 billion and P10.81 billion, respectively.

Meanwhile, the impact of net appreciation on third currencydominated guarantees was further trimmed P3.65 billion, offsetting the P3.4 -illion effect of local cur rency depreciation. From the endDecember 2021 level, total NG guaranteed debt has decreased by P31.16 billion or 7.4 percent.

Cai U. Ordinario

New GCG chief vows to fast track purge of non-performing state firms

By Butch Fernandez

THE new chief of the Gov ernance Commission for Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations (GCG) on Friday assured senators he will fast track the proczess of abolish ing non-performing state corpora tions despite a modest proposed budget of P245.7 million for 2023.

Fielding questions from, among others, Senator Sherwin

Gatchalian, who presided over the Finance Subcommittee E hearing on the proposed GCG budget, chairman Alex Quiroz committed to review and intro duce “some dynamics” to hasten the process.

With the appointment of Quiroz and new commission ers, Gatchalian aired confidence there will be “a lot of improve ment” in the agency.

“I know the budget is not so

big, considering the overall bud get of the national government,” the senator noted, adding, “My principle is always there’s a new chance of improving the agency under a new management.”

In the hearing, Gatchalian asked Quiroz what strategies could be employed to remove bottle necks in the process of abolishing government-owned corporations, noting that about 25 corporations are still in various stages of liqui

dation for almost 10 years already.

The proposed 2023 budget for GCG under the national expen diture program is P50.4 million higher than the current year’s al location.

Per expense class, GCG’s P245.7-million budget under the national expenditure program is 40 percent personnel services (P97.28 million) and 60 percent maintenance and other operating expenses (P148.4 million).

organizations that significantly contributed to the SSS’s pursuit of its mandate.

“Because of you, the SSS is able to carry out its mandate efficiently, smoothly through the strong part nerships that you have formed with the agency and with your clientele,” Marcos said, addressing the recipi ents of the Balikat ng Bayan award.

Earlier, at a news conference marking the SSS’s 65th anniver sary, SSS President and Chief Ex ecutive Officer Michael G. Regino said the agency is keen on invest ing in infrastructure projects as early as next year to diversify its investment portfolio and expand

its revenue stream.

He said the pension fund is now in talks with the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) on the pos sibility of investing in infrastructure programs and projects.

Regino added that the idea of investing in infrastructure came from Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno. At present, the SSS has no investments in any infrastructure program or project of the govern ment, Regino said.

The SSS may venture into vari ous investment areas using a por tion of its reserve fund known as the investment reserve fund (IRF), as stipulated under the implement ing rules and regulations (IRR) of Republic Act 11199 or the Social Security Act of 2018.

Under the IRR, the SSS may in vest in bonds, securities, promissory notes or other evidence of indebted ness of the Philippine Government, or any of its agencies or instrumen talities to finance domestic infra structure projects such as roads, bridges, ports, telecommunications and other similar projects.

As to how much the SSS is willing to invest in infrastructure programs, Regino pointed out that the agency has “enough funds,” and may even sell some of its stock investments if necessary to pursue infrastructure investments.

LOANS extended by universal and commercial banks (UKBs), net of reverse repurchase (RRP) placements with the Central Bank, continued to post double-digit growth in August.

In a preliminary report, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said outstanding loans of UKBs grew 12.2 percent in August, faster than the 12 percent posted in July 2022.

On a month-on-month seasonally adjusted estimate, outstanding universal and commercial bank loans, net of RRPs, rose by 1.3 percent.

“The sustained expansion in credit activity and ample liquidity will continue to support the recovery of economic activity and domestic demand. Looking ahead, the BSP reiterates its commitment to ensure that liquidity and lending conditions remain in line with the BSP’s price and financial stability mandates,” BSP said.

Data showed outstanding loans to residents grew 12.1 percent in August from an increase of 11.9 percent in July.

Meanwhile, outstanding loans for production activities rose by 11.5 percent in August from a growth rate of 11.6 percent in July.

This was mainly driven by the rise in credit for real-estate activities (13.9 percent); manufacturing (15.9 percent); information and communication (28.6 percent); wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (9.7 percent); and electricity, gas, steam and air-conditioning supply (9 percent).

The data also showed consumer loans to residents grew faster by 18.3 percent in August from 14.7 percent in July driven by the year-on-year rise in credit card loans, motor

vehicle loans, and salary-based general purpose consumption loans.

“At the same time, outstanding loans to non-residents expanded by 16.3 percent in August following a 14.6-percent increase in the previous month,” the BSP added.

Liquidity grows 6.8%

MEANWHILE in a separate preliminary report, the BSP said domestic liquidity (M3) grew by 6.8 percent year-on-year to about P15.4 trillion in August from the 7-percent growth in July. On a month-on-month seasonally-adjusted basis, M3 increased by 0.9 percent.

“Looking ahead, the BSP will continue to ensure that domestic liquidity conditions remain in line with the BSP’s price and financial stability objectives,” BSP said.

Domestic claims rose by 11.5 percent year-on-year in August, unchanged from the rate recorded in the previous month, given the improvement in bank lending to the private sector.

Claims on the private sector grew by 9.1 percent in August from 8.9 percent in July with the sustained expansion in bank lending to non-financial private corporations and households.

Meanwhile, net claims on the central government rose by 21.2 percent in August from 22.2 percent in July owing to the sustained borrowing by the national government.

Net foreign assets (NFA) in peso terms decreased by 0.8 percent in August following a 0.5-percent contraction in July. The NFA of banks likewise contracted mainly on account of higher bills payable. Meanwhile, the BSP’s NFA position returned to expansion after contracting in the previous month. Cai U. Ordinario

THE national government’s budget deficit narrowed for the second consecutive month in August, according to the latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr).

PRESIDENT Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. SCREENGRAB FROM RTVM

Peso decline and high cost of food, electricity may drive inflation beyond 7% in Sept–BSP

PHL and US defense chiefs highlight strong security ties in Hawaii meeting

By Rene Acosta

THE Philippines and the United States have agreed to further improve their defense relations and strengthen their interoperability and exchange of security information following a meeting between Department of National Defense (DND) Officer-in-Charge Jose Faustino Jr. and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III in Hawaii on Saturday.

“Our meeting highlighted the im portance of the bilateral defense rela tions between the Philippines and the US, and we were able to discuss for ward-looking, practical, and tangible ways on how to empower our partner ship through improving defense coop eration across various lines of efforts, as well as increasing interoperability and information sharing between our two armed forces with the end view of further enhancing the credibility of our alliance,” Faustino said.

The meeting, held upon the invita tion of Austin, was the second time this month that both officials engaged in

talks following Austin’s phone call to Faustino wherein they discussed bilat eral defense and security cooperation under the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT).

Sharing a little bit about the focus of their discussions, Austin said he and his Philippine counterpart agreed on a number of ways to “continue to grow” the defense and security cooperation between the two countries.

“As you know, we’ve been able to move forward our VFA (Visiting Forces Agreement) and we discussed EDCA (Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement) which is critical to our al liance cooperation and strengthening

our combined capabilities… it’s about the engagement, it’s about the oppor tunity to work together and that’s re ally the focus of our discussion today,” Austin said.

Austin and Faustino held a news briefing and answered questions re lated to the Russia-Ukraine war, North Korea, and regional security issues, in cluding the West Philippine Sea (WPS) and the Taiwan Strait, which both in volved China.

“Our next step concerning the WPS and the SCS (South China Sea), Phil ippines underscore the importance of diplomacy and dialogue for peaceful resolution of these issues in SCS. This includes continuous engagement with China and both bilateral and multilat eral platforms or multilateral dialogues without prejudice of course to the PH’s position in WPS to facilitate mutual trust and understanding,” Faustino said.

“Admittedly the volatile situation in the SCS and WPS remains as the PH’s form of security concern and as it is right now, we continue to engage with like-minded countries and make sure that the rule of law and the rules based on international order will pre vail in the SCS,” he added.

Earlier, President Ferdinand “Bong bong” R. Marcos Jr. said there is no conflict in the WPS. Instead, he said, what the country has is a territorial challenge from China, with Beijing “claiming a territory that belongs to the Philippines.”

Austin reiterated that the US re mains committed to “maintaining an open and free Indo-Pacific region,” and it wants to “maintain the ability

to sail the seas and navigate the skies as we should be allowed to do and we will continue to work on that [until the very end].”

On the Taiwan issue, the US defense chief said they do not want to see “any type of unilateral change to the status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, adding, “we are focused on making sure that we are working together to maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific.”

“We remain focused on making sure that we do everything we can to continue to strengthen our alliance with the ROK (Republic of Korea). We remain committed to the protection and defense of the ROK. We’ll continue to work with our allies here and other allies in the region like the Japanese. We remain our focus going forward,” he also said.

On the other hand, Faustino ex pressed the government’s serious con cern over security developments in the Taiwan Strait as he called on both China and Taiwan to exercise restraint and diplomacy, while saying the coun try adheres to the “One China” policy.

“In view of the volatile situation in the cross Straits, the Philippines’sw immediate concern is the safety of our OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) in Taiwan which, is at this point, num bering to around 130,000 to 150,000 OFWs,” he said.

“And we continue to update and enhance our contingency plans. It is also imperative to regularly update and exercise the PHL-US mutual de fense concept plan under the ambit of MDT based on our dynamic security environment,” he added.

Ad valorem tax on EVs may go down to zero by yearend’

By Andrea E. San Juan

AN official of the Department of Energy (DOE) is hopeful that the ad valorem tax on electric vehicles (EVs) will go down to zero by the end of the year.

DOE’s Director for Energy Utili zation Management Bureau Patrick Aquino said the petition to cut the ad valorem tax on EVs is currently pend ing before the Committee on Tariff and Related Matters (CTRM).

“The zero percent ad valorem is expected to be released within the year. So you can expect that zero ad valorem from 30 percent or 5 percent, irrespective of country of origin, to

zero hopefully before the end of the year,” Aquino said, adding that this ad valorem component will be effec tive for “7 or 8 years regardless of the country of origin.”

He said an Executive order will be issued by the President once the CTRM approves the petition to reduce the ad valorem tax on EVs.

Meanwhile, Electric Vehicle Asso ciation of the Philippines (EVAP) Presi dent Edmund Araga said the industry will fulfill the policy objectives of the Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act or Republic Act 11697. The law took effect on May 11 while its implement ing rules and regulations took effect on September 20.

‘Karding’ splits demand for food, personal care items in sari-sari stores–Packworks

By Roderick L. Abad Contributor

DEMAND for food and personal care items sold in sari-sari stores is expected to increase in areas recently battered by typhoon “Karding” (international code name: Noru), but priorities of consumers will change depending on available supplies, according to a data analytics platform provider.

“ We will likely see spikes and shifts in the coming weeks as it will take some time to react or behave differently based on the baseline,” Packworks Head of Data Andres Montiel told the B usiness M irror in an e-mail interview on Thursday.

Contrary to the findings of their latest study that shows Filipinos are more mindful of their hygiene than their empty stomach as they prioritize purchasing self-care essentials in small neighborhood retail shops in the event of disasters or emergencies, he said that the buying pattern of victims of the strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines this year will possibly be not the same as those of previous catastrophes—typhoon “Odette” in December 2021 (Leyte), the Taal volcanic eruption in March 2022 (Batangas/Cavite), and the 7.0 magnitude earthquake in July 2022 (Abra).

“ This time around, with Karding, it might be a bit different—especially with Polillo Island—as they may have been cut off to proper logistics that can replenish their inventory,” he noted.

The typhoon struck the central and southern parts of Luzon with heavy rains and strong winds at nighttime of September 25. The Polillo Group of Islands in Quezon province sustained massive damage, according to local disaster officials.

We expect that they will focus more on F&B [food and beverage] as they are aware that it would take sometime for them to get those supplies and their current stocks will be scarce,” Montiel said.

“H owever, for the other parts of the country that were hit by the storm and have easier access to supply replenishment [like Bulacan], personal care items may likely still be the number one category post-disaster,” he added.

Hygiene over food

BASED on results of the new study of Packworks that were released last September 23, affected residents by the above-cited three calamities prior to Karding cared most about their crowning glory as they bought more shampoo and conditioner in their respective community stores.

Data generated by the firm’s Sari IQ Data dashboard revealed that hair care products account for 18 percent of sales of sari-sari stores, followed by laundry supplies at 16 percent. The “others” category, which included oral care, body care, beverages, and canned goods, saw the third highest portion with 15 percent.

Food items, on the other hand, were given a lesser priority, with breakfast items like tea, coffee, and creamer came in fourth only with 14 percent; cooking essentials and oats and cereals tied up in the fifth spot at 13 percent; and pasta and noodles placed sixth at 11 percent.

A fter the onslaught of Odette late last year, hair care necessities took only 11 percent of the average consumer spending, trailing behind noodles and cooking essentials that grew by almost 60 percent, as well as pasta at 15 percent.

Solon wants to criminalize elder abuse, abandonment

By Filane Mikee Cervantes

ACONGRESSMAN wants to strengthen the protection being given to the coun try’s senior citizens by filing a measure seeking to criminalize the abandonment of elderly per sons and other abuses committed on senior citizens.

A gusan del Norte Representa tive Dale Corvera filed House Bill No. 5116, or the Senior Citizens Protection, stating that acts or lack of appropriate action when the circumstances require, includ ing threats of such acts, commit ted by a person against a senior citizen, which result in or is likely to result in physical or psychologi cal harm, suffering or distress to the latter, including battery, as sault, coercion, harassment or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, shall be punishable.

Corvera cited a study of the World Health Organization that said one in six senior citizens experienced some form of abuse in 2021.

Cases of elder abuse increased as community quarantines made in teractions between senior citizens and their potential abusers more frequent, he noted.

“The proposed measure recog nizes the vulnerabilities of our senior citizens and aims to uphold their dignity by protecting them from all forms of violence, abuse, neglect, abandonment, exploitation, coer cion, and other acts deleterious to their personal safety and security, or otherwise discriminatory,” Corvera said in a statement.

The bill also proposes the cre ation of a national Senior Citizen Help hotline, which can be accessed by victims and concerned citizens free of charge.

A Senior Citizens Help Desk shall be created in every village and will be supervised by competent welfare officers on a 24/7 basis.

“No one can exactly predict when an abuse will be committed against a senior citizen. Thus, it is critical to design and implement response mechanisms which will attend to the needs of our victim senior citizens on a 24/7 basis,” he said. PNA

90% of NCR seniors now fully vaccinated

By Ma. Teresa Montemayor

Group fellow Dr. Guido David said over Twitter.

MANILA—The

number of fully vaccinated senior cit izens in the National Capi tal Region has reached 1,047,250 or 90.73 percent of the target, accord ing to Department of Health-Metro Manila Center for Health Develop ment regional chief Gloria Balboa.

She said about 5,067,530 NCR residents have received their first booster dose of the Covid-19 vaccine as of September 23.

In a statement on Wednesday, Balboa said the tally is 50.17 percent of the fully vaccinated population in the region.

“ This achievement would not have been possible without a col laborative effort among the DOHMMCHD staff, the DOH-Central Office, the region’s health workforce and institutions, all the region’s 17 local government units as well as all partner stake holders such as national government agencies, nongovernment organizations, civil society organizations, religious groups, and the rest of the private sector,” she said.

A s of September 26, more than 73 million Filipinos are fully vac cinated. Of the total count, around 6.8 million are senior citizens, 9.9

million are adolescents, and 5 mil lion are children.

More than 19.2 million individu als have received their first booster dose and almost 2.8 million have

received their second booster shot.

Meanwhile, the positivity rate —the number of people testing for Covid-19—in the NCR increased to 18.5 percent as of September 24 from

last week’s 15.7 percent, the OCTA Research Group said Monday.

“This has already exceeded the positivity rate of 17.5 percent on August 5, 2022,” OCTA Research

NCR’s reproduction number, the number of individuals a case could infect, also increased from 1.21 (Sep tember 5) to 1.30 as of September 22.

“The NCR had 1,600 new Co vid-19 cases on September 25, 2022 based on the date from DOH. This was higher than a peak of 1,502 new cases reported on August 7, 2022,” David said.

The one-week growth in the NCR increased to 25 percent as of Septem ber 25, almost double of the 13-per cent rate on September 18.

The region’s health-care utiliza tion rate for Covid-19 remained low at 36 percent.

In a televised public briefing, infectious disease expert Dr. Ront gene Solante said the rise in cases is brought about by the increased mobility in the region and people’s complacency in observing health protocols.

“Those who are admitted in hospitals are the elderly popula tion ages 65 and above, partially vaccinated, and vaccinated with comorbidities,” he said.

Omicron subvariants only cause mild symptoms among members of the population who are not vulner able, he added. PNA

Zambales revives birthday tribute for senior citizens

By Henry Empeño Correspondent

IBA, Zambales—For one day each year, senior citizens in this province get the recognition they deserve when the provincial government lavish upon them a birthday treat like no other.

T hey get cakes and presents, enjoy dancing and bonding with peers, have fun games in an entertainment show, and also get to win raffle prizes during the series of mass birthday parties held in all of the 13 municipalities here.

G overnor Hermogenes Ebdane Jr., who just revived the birthday tribute to seniors as the Covid-19 pandemic waned, said it’s a fitting ceremony that looks back on the importance of elderly residents and reminds them that they are appreciated.

About a brother called ‘Dex’

“In the past, these people were the pillars of the community— teachers, businessmen, government officials and civic leaders, and farmers and fishers and workers who contributed their best time to our community, so they are really important,” Ebdane explained.

“Now we’re telling them in the best way we can that we have not forgotten,” he added.

Calling them his “dabarkads” (gang mates), the governor, who is also a certified senior, gives them a pep talk every party time, reminding them to stay healthy and happy and stress-free.

Ebdane also updates them on his administration’s programs and projects, stressing how these were arrived at due to feedback from the community, including the senior citizens. The events also serve as

venue for the induction of officials and members of senior citizens associations in the province.

Making up for lost time

THE senior citizens’ birthday bash used to be a monthly event in this province before the pandemic, and celebrated with those whose birthdays fall within the month.

T he recent re-staging, however, feted seniors who were born from January to August, in order to make up for time lost when Covid-19 restrictions were not yet eased.

T he birthday program usually starts at 9 a.m. with an opening prayer and singing of the national anthem, followed by some talk by local Senior Citizens Association officials. Then comes dance time, fun games, and raffle draws.

A fter some intermission greetings from some local

IN

one of my past column articles, I said memoir writing is good medi cine especially for people of my age.

So to reawaken my mind’s memory I am doing what I preach.

T here is a stage performer in our family. Or he used to be, anyway. In recent years, he has decided to stay at the back stage and we’re all waiting for his reappearance.

He is my older brother whom we call Cong Noel, third in a brood of eight siblings. He is now looked up to as our oldest living sibling, as my Atsing Lita and Cong Boy are both gone.

I was just a small kid in primary grade when Cong Noel started going up on stage, competing in a high school declamation contest. He would prac tice his piece day after day, with our Tatang or Ima, and me sometimes, as his rehearsal audience.

I remember one line in particular

By Nick Tayag

because he kept repeating it, pronounc ing the syllables of each word, figur ing out where to put the emphasis on the phrases: “Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant never taste of death but once.” It sounded pretty impressive to me, although I didn’t know what it meant. Later in college, I learned it was from William Shakespeare’s play “Julius Caesar.”

Cong Noel is a natural extrovert. What you see is what you get: no guile, no affectation, open faced. What made him unique was his flair for the dra matic, having the personality of some one who can get and hold the attention of other people.

Like any other performing talent, he also has a stage name: Dex or Dexter for short. I don’t remember when or how he came up with it but the name stuck to him ever since.

I n the “umpukan” in our street

many years ago, neighbors and gang mates would gravitate to Dex, his performer self, who often hogged the limelight. That’s be cause he wouldn’t just tell a story, he would act it out. He would re gale, fascinate, and delight his ad hoc audience with his delivery, as they sat open-mouthed hanging on to every word. Then Dex would draw it to a satisfying close and punctuate his performance with his trademark infectious guffaws.

In college, not surprisingly, he came to lead the drama guild of his school. They staged several plays and in many afternoons, I would go home from school and find them rehearsing those plays and generally having fun.

But his performing ways were not confined to the theater. He was also a skilled street basketball per former. He could dribble and shoot the ball with fluidity and grace. He didn’t have the height but he em ployed the facial contortions of a seasoned actor to deceive his guard and fake his moves. He would also use a range of vocal skills to vex the opposing team all game long.

He also had a way with the guitar. Next thing I knew, he had formed a band or combo as we called it then. He was the bass ist in a group of 5. They branded themselves as “D’ Clerics,” a refer ence to the one year he spent in a

Benedictine monastery.

T he band would perform most ly during neighborhood events such as birthday parties, baptis mal parties, and Saturday night dance gigs in our street.

I could hear them practice their numbers in the home of one of the bandmates. I still remember a few of the instrumental pieces in their shallow repertoire. Because it was the pre-Beatles era, they played mostly covers of hits by the American instrumental rock band Ventures.

Suddenly one summer, Cong Noel left home to join the US Navy. I was with the group that saw him off at Sangley Point in Cavite. Since then, we lost touch with each other.

L ater, we learned he developed a romantic relationship with an American named Sue whom he married a few years afterward.

Their marriage produced three sons, Jonathan, Vince and Ed win who grew up to be fine young men, siring kids of their own who I still have to meet, all living in Georgia, USA.

W hile still in the navy, from time to time, Cong Noel would surprise us, appearing unexpect edly at the door, such as when his ship would dock at Subic Bay on its way to Okinawa or a naval base somewhere in Asia.

government officials who joined the activity, there would be more games and raffle draw.

T he finale would be Gov. Ebdane’s pep talk, the end of which would signal the time for blowing the candles on birthday cakes, the mass singing of the birthday song, and lunch.

Bringing home memories

SENIOR citizens who attended the birthday parties said the celebrations will long be etched as happy memories for them.

A nd aside from an overload of happy moments, some find practical reasons to thank the provincial government for: like Concepcion Fallorin of Botolan town, who said the money she won from the raffle would buy medicine for her sick husband.

Apart from cash, lucky birthday

In later years, a death in our family would occasion Cong No el’s visit to the Philippines. How I cherish those moments when we would be together with him again. His mere presence never failed to make our conversations sparkle.

But then something changed after Sue, his wife of many years, passed away after a long bout with a progression of health ailments. Cong Noel had become reclusive. He lost the appetite for traveling abroad. I know he also has seri ous health issues but I don’t think that’s the reason. What we hear from his sons is that he prefers to stay at home, alone. He goes out oc casionally to their homes barbecue afternoons to down a beer or two, his favorite alcoholic beverage.

He has no social media exis tence so to speak. We can’t even post messages to him via mes senger, viber, or e-mail because he has no accounts. He has gone back to being the Benedictine monk he once aspired to be in his youth, alone in his own private cloister.

In the long silence, I’ve come to realize that in the two thirds of our respective lives, Cong Noel and I have not occupied the same space and time. I specially miss having an intimate talk with an older brother, more so now that my other older brother, Cong Boy, is no longer here to keep me under

celebrants also get to bring home raffle prizes like rice and food packs, and home appliances like rice cooker, electric kettle, washing machine, and LCD television. For the major prize in the “Sulong o Bayong” game, contestants can win as much as P20,000.

Regular well-wishers who attend the parties and provide for raffle prizes include Congresswoman Bing Maniquiz of the Zambales First District, as well as provincial board members and LGU executives.

For the rest of this year, Ebdane said the seniors’ birthday parties will revert to their quarterly schedule.

Like the other seniors here, I also look forward to reconnecting and making good memories again,” Ebdane said. “It’s something that makes us feel very happy and fulfilled.”

his wing.

T here’s so much in his life that I long to know. How was his life as a US Navyman? How did he meet Sue and how did they adjust to each other, he being Filipino and she, a mixed race American (Sue had native American blood)? How did they raise their three boys? So many questions wait ing to be answered.

T his is why I would love to have Dex the performer come out and take the stage once again. What a glorious moment it would be if he would unlock his box of memories, even the unwelcome parts of his life, and share them with me. It will be good medicine for the two of us.

Be that as it may, even in his iso lation, far away in a foreign land, may Cong Noel feel the warmth of my filial company in spirit, re calling the words of one writer, a descendant of immigrants: “What happens to my brother in some sense happens to me. Nothing can erase that, no matter how far apart we live or how well we hide.”

O n another level, I imagine that Cong Noel has befriended the darkness of alone-ness. As someone has pointed out, these moments of being alone with ourselves “hold the possibility of being catalysts for spiritual transformation.”

AN elderly gets his Covid-19 booster shot in one of Metro Manila’s vaccination venues. PNA PHOTO

Tesda to further advance tech-voc programs in 2023

By Roderick L. Abad

THETechnical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) has vowed to better enhance its technical vocational (techvoc) programs in 2023 to meet the needs, demands and expectations of industries and learners.

Said government agency is fully cogni zant of the jobs mismatch concern in the country, wherein the skills or educational background of an employee are not com pletely aligned with the requirements of a certain position.

According to Tesda Director General Danilo P. Cruz, the nation’s tech-voc educa tion and training (TVET) must be rebranded to improve its image and perception among the youth, parents and employers.

“[The agency] needs to intensify the pro motion of TVET as a viable path for post secondary education,” he said in a recent media interview.

Accordingly, the agency will implement innovative programs such as the nationwide roll out of e-certificates, institutionaliza tion of microcredentialing and recognition of prior learning, plus the possible addition of its Registry of Certified Workers with the

Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) PhilJobNet.

Likewise, the official said they will con tinue pursuing the establishment of innova tion hubs, while expanding both the Tesda Online Program and the Enterprise-Based Training sessions to back up sectors being prioritized by the administration of Presi dent Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

These include agriculture, tourism, manufacturing, transportation and logis tics, health, information technology and business-process management, creative industries, energy, and construction.

“There is a challenge to pursue transfor mation for Philippine TVET to remain resil ient, accessible and inclusive,” Cruz pointed out. “Everything must be digitalized and au tomated to keep up with the ever-changing requirements of…industries.”

Together with the DOLE and the De

partment of Trade and Industry, he also disclosed that they will form a mechanism that will give job facilitation and technical assistance to TVET graduates.

“We will encourage more partnerships with organizations and other government agencies to [help improve] the employabil ity and working conditions of our gradu ates, and eventually help address the jobskills mismatch in the country,” the Tesda chief said.

Despite a cut on their budget next year, Cruz assured that they will still keep on developing and holding training programs for tech-voc learners.

Bonuan Buquig Natl HS: Finalist for World’s Best School Prize for Environmental Action

APHILIPPINE school made it as a Top 3 finalist for the new $250,000 World’s Best School Prizes, launched this year by T4 Education in collaboration with Accenture and American Express.

Bonuan Buquig National High School, a public high school in Dagupan City, Pan gasinan that restored lost mangroves to reverse the environmental devastation, landed third for the World’s Best School Prize for Environmental Action.

According to event organizers, the five World’s Best School Prizes—for Commu nity Collaboration, Environmental Ac tion, Innovation, Overcoming Adversity, and Supporting Healthy Lives—celebrate learning institutions for their pivotal role in developing the next generation of learn ers, and for their enormous contribution to society’s progress especially in the wake of the pandemic.

Aside from Accenture and American Ex press, the prizes were founded by T4 Edu cation in collaboration with Yayasan Hasa nah, Templeton World Charity Foundation, the Lemann Foundation, D2L, Mellby Gård, and Universidad Camilo José Cela to share best practices of schools that are transform ing the lives of their students and making a real difference to their communities.

“[We are] proud to collaborate with T4 Education on the World’s Best School Prize for Environmental Action, which celebrates schools’ incredible efforts to empower the next generation to harness new technolo gies and innovative practices that tackle the global sustainability issues that impact us all,” Global Sustainability Services Lead and Chief Responsibility Officer Peter Lacy of Accenture said. “Through this prize, we aim to recognize the tools and techniques nurtured by schools and share them with a broad audience, enabling others to repli cate their work and multiply the impact at speed and scale. Teachers everywhere will

be inspired by the example of this outstand ing Philippine school.”

“We are pleased to recognize students and educators who are taking action to protect the environment and their futures,” Head of Corporate Sustainability Madge Thomas of American Express said. “As we… work to advance climate solutions, we will continue to support programs and partner ships like this one to help build more cli mate resilient and equitable communities.”

Thomas furthered: “The World’s Best School Prizes surface the expertise of in spirational schools from every corner of the globe. It’s time for governments everywhere to listen to their voices.”

“As the world looks to rebuild from the… pandemic, far too many children will con tinue to be left behind—unless we see ur gent action on education,” said Vikas Pota, who is the founder of T4 Education and the World’s Best School Prizes. “Leaders must learn from the knowledge and experience contained within our schools, because those on the frontlines of education know better than anyone else the change we need to see.”

Reversing devastation

IN 2009 Typhoon Pepeng (international name Parma) left two-thirds of the city submerged in flood water. Fishponds, rice fields and other industries in the commu nity were heavily damaged. The city gov ernment, aware of its geographical chal lenges on land that is only 1 meter above sea level, started to dredge rivers to reduce the impact of the flood, but it came with unintended consequences.

Bonuan Buquig National High School took action to support its students and save the local environment as it planted thousands of mangrove propagules each year, which have provided new habitats and shelter for fish. As a result, the mangroves along the banks of Longos River are nearly

rehabilitated and stabilized.

The school also initiated a coastal cleanup in 2014, working with volunteers in the shorelines of Bonuan Beach. It also plant ed trees to rehabilitate a local dump site. Collected garbage was then classified and accounted for to determine the number of biodegradable and nonbiodegradable mate rials. Recyclables were upcycled as garden pots and decorations.

Should it be eventually recognized, Bonuan Buquig National High School said it will use the prize money as fund to build a nursery that could house around 50,000 mangrove seedlings a year, then push for much-needed research to improve tech niques and technology on mangrove propa gation and preservation.

Next steps

THE Top 3 finalists for each of the five World’s Best School Prizes will now be en tered into a public advisory vote, where the public has until October 2 to tell judges who they think should win each prize at worldsbestschool.org/

The Judging Academy, composed of dis tinguished leaders all across the globe in cluding academics, educators, nongovern ment organizations, social entrepreneurs, government, civil society and the private sector, will be presented with the results of the public advisory vote, and will assess the finalists based on rigorous criteria.

Winners will be announced on October 19 during World Education Week, where each will receive an award of $50,000.

All shortlisted schools in the five awards will share their best practices during the World Education Week through School Transformation Toolkits that showcase their “secret sauce” to innovative approach es, and step-by-step methods on how others can replicate their methods to help improve education everywhere.

Declare state of learning crisis, academicians urge

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

DECLARING a state of learning crisis will enable the Philip pines to mobilize the energy of stakeholders so they could concentrate on tackling challenges in the education sector.

Dr. Edizon Fermin, vice president for Academic Affairs at the National Teachers College (NTC), told the Busi nessMirror that by doing such, all agencies concerned with the education sector can collectively address the mul tifaceted nature of the crisis.”

Fermin said that by “declaring a state of learning crisis,” even ordinary citi zens could take part in the discourse on accessible and quality education. They can do these, he said, by volunteering in similar efforts like community-based literacy programs and others that “will increase [chances of our learners to cope with the crisis’ complexity].”

The private sector, according to the NTC official, would be a vital partner, as there have been noteworthy publicprivate partnerships focused on ad dressing perennial problems in terms of access, quality and relevance. He also emphasized that the collaboration should be supported by a “comprehen sive education-crisis response frame work” that can be produced following a multistakeholder approach.

“While partnerships are okay, the government should also address the complementarity between public and private education, especially as the lat ter has suffered a lot of losses during the pandemic,” said Fermin.

The NTC executive also urged the government to support local learningsolutions providers, as they have the expertise in developing alternative

learning methods such as virtual class rooms, telecommuting and work-fromhome setups.

He also pressed the government to still implement the hybrid-learning scheme, as this is the direction of ed ucation around the world in the new normal.

“All recent meta-analyses and policy analyses around the world that explain the direction of education in the new normal articulate that hyflex [or hybridflexible] learning is the way to go if we were to maximize the gains in terms of learner engagement, teacher upskilling and school resilience,” said Fermin.

For C&E Publishing Inc. Chief Operat ing Officer John Emyl G. Eugenio, inter ventions in the education sector should be efficient without compromising the intended positive impact on learners.

These are achieved, he explained, through smart, technology-based meth ods: “As we have seen with online learn ing today, [they make] best use of time for students as well as parents.”

Eugenio endorses the firm’s “adap tive learning solutions” as one of these learning methods, then said the 30-year-old firm has a strong record of introducing adaptive, innovative and resilient education solutions.

The firm, he noted, has expertise in creating integrated solution systems for learners, teachers, parents, admin istrators, researchers and education technologists.

“Most important, C&E—as a familyowned institution—has deep regard for the Filipinos’ pursuit of meaningful and transformative education,” he shared. “Their values system is an inspiring source for people wanting to contribute to the critical collective that can change education for the better.”

Benilde School of Management, IT names new associate deans

ABOITIZ-LED UnionBank said its Innovation Campus in San Pedro, Laguna will promote the growth of e-governance in the country while helping small and medium enterprises (SMEs) achieve bigger growth.

In a press briefing, UnionBank Vice President, Chief Technology and Opera tions Officer-Chief Transformation Offi cer Henry A. Aguda said the bank will be working closely with government agen

c ies to achieve seamless transformation from “brick-and-mortar” working pro cesses.

Dennis Omila, chief information of ficer, said of the UnionBank Innovation Campus’ assistance to SMEs: “We will encourage [them] to embark on a digi tal transformation, and later develop a unique value proposition…in the local [and] international markets.”  Omila added: “It is part of our ecosys

tem from a technology perspective, and exposes our capabilities to them.”

Transaction Banking Center Head and Project Head of UnionBank Innovation Campus Ramon Duarte also said that the plan is also to make the campus a cocre ation site for blockchain solutions: “The Philippines has a big potential [there], as the campus is also planning to launch a ‘metaverse center of excellence.’”

Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

DE La Salle-College of Saint Benilde recently announced the academic appointments of associate deans for the School of Management and Information Technology (SMIT), effective the first term of Academic Year (AY) 2022-2023.

Catherine Mojado was named associate dean for SMIT Analytics, Computing, and Infotech (ACI) Cluster, while Ricardo Cruz Jr. will hold the same post for SMIT Leader ship, Management, and Entrepreneurship (LME) Cluster.

Mojado served as chairperson of the SMIT Information Systems Program from AY 20172018 and 2021-2022. She was instrumental in the development of the school’s latest Bachelor of Science (BS) in Cyber Security program. Her expertise includes IT infra structures, computer networking, informa tion security, enterprise architecture, web design and e-learning management. She was a former instructor in several institutions such as St. Paul University (SPU), Technologi cal University of the Philippines-Graduate School, and Adamson University.

Prior to Benilde, Mojado was an informa tion and communications technology con sultant for the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), and an ICT Man ager at SPU-Manila. Mojado earned her BS in Computer Engineering degree and her Master of Engineering-Major in Computer Engineer ing degree from Adamson University. She is now completing her doctoral degree in IT at SPU-Tuguegarao City.

Meanwhile, Cruz has taught in Benilde since 2017 and served as the officer in chargechairperson of the SMIT Export Manage ment Program for a term. He was a faculty member in different institutions, including Far Eastern University’s Master of Business

Cruz was the head of Quality Assurance, chairperson for Marketing and International Business, and dean for the School of Business of Assumption College.

He received his BS in Business Adminis tration-Major in Accounting degree at Pasig Catholic College. He finished his MBA at the Ateneo de Manila Graduate School of Busi ness, and also has Doctor of Business Ad ministration (DBA) units from De La Salle University.

Mojado and Cruz will lead Benilde SMIT in pursuing the college’s missions of in novation and inclusion through the most technology-driven and industry-relevant business-technology programs.

The ACI Cluster has degrees in Cyber Se curity, Interactive Entertainment and Mul timedia Computing, Information Systems, and Business Administration, with majors in Business Intelligence and Analytics as well as Computer Applications.

Conversely, the LME Cluster covers pro grams that instill leadership skills, manage ment expertise, and entrepreneurial excel lence to the students. It includes Bachelor’s diplomas in Real Estate Management and Business Administration with majors in Business Management, Export Management, Human Resource Management and Market ing Management. It houses two graduate pro grams: Master in International Business and Master in Human Resource Management.

Administration (MBA) program, Asia Pacific College, Assumption College’s Milleret School of Business and Management for Women, La Salle College International, Southville For eign Colleges-American City University, SFCIHMCS, SPU-Manila, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, as well as Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Pasig.

MOJADO

Tourism&Entertainment

Editor: Carla Mortel-Baricaua

Of COlOrful Weaves and Culture at Yakan village in ZambOanga CitY

Story & photos by Marky Ramone Go

Acouple of days after being graced by the presence of National living Treasure awardee Apuh Ambalang—a Yakan master weaver who unfortunately passed away at age 78 in February 2022—in lamitan, Basilan, we continued our discovery of the habi (weaving) culture of Zamboanga peninsula by making an educational stop at the Yakan Village.

Despite the fact that this was my second visit, I was immediately captivated by the vibrant woven creations displayed in the rows of stalls that greeted us after we alighted from our vans.

Originally indigenous Muslim settlers of Basilan in the Sulu Ar chipelago, the Yakans—known for their vibrant geometric weav ing creations and distinct tradi tional practices—began migrat ing to mainland Mindanao in the early 1970s, many of them com pelled by political unrest. A sig nificant number settled in Zam boanga City. The Yakan Village in Zamboanga was established to showcase their weaving art and other traditions to preserve their culture.

Watching the weavers weave ArOUND t he village colorful ten nun hangs in eye-catching fashion popping with rich colors and hyp notic patterns. Tennun in Yakan means any woven cloth used in the making of a Yakan dress. The Yakans eventually expanded their homegrown art creations by weav ing other items such as trouser, table runner, apron, brass buttons, sash, scarf, malong, pillowcases, and even bags and shoes. They also introduced new designs such as the vine-patterned dawen-dawen, the diamond-shaped kabang buddi, and a few others inspired by ev eryday objects.

Yakan hand-loomed fabrics are well-known for their use of geo metric patterns in complemen

tary and contrasting colors. e a ch cloth’s design, like that of other traditional woven creations from Mindanao, refers to a specific cultural and historical narrative.

When you’re finished buying some of their products, you can watch some of the weavers at work, as several of them have a weaving machine set up inside their stores. This will give you a newfound ap preciation for the amount of time, effort, and artistry that goes into each tennun creation, with most taking an average of 5 hours for a small piece and up to two weeks for a long tennun cloth.

Aside from woven fabrics, the village also sells a large collection of antiques and trinkets related to Mindanaoan culture, particularly

that of the Zamboanga Peninsula region.

The facial art of Tanyak-Tanyak

We met Apuh Jahlinan Ilul, a cousin of Apuh Ambalang Ausa lin, after climbing the stairs to the upper level of the village. Despite the fact that we spoke different languages, we were able to com municate with each other thanks to her granddaughter, who served as our translator.

Apuh Jahlinan, it turns out, wanted to demonstrate the Yakan facial art of tanyak-tanyak. A tra dition unique to the Yakans, the tanyak-tanyak is worn by a bride on her wedding day.

This Yakan face painting tradi tion involves the use of bamboo

implements and powder made from rice grains and then mixed with water. It is then painted in the shape of miniature patterns such as circles, crescents, and dia monds on the face of a young lady. They recently substituted talcum powder for rice grains to make the process easier.

Apuh Ilul’s granddaughter en thusiastically agreed to be the

model. Once the process of ap plying the tanyak-tanyak started, the young lady’s tiny-shaped face blended beautifully with the intri cate designs Apuh was drawing in tiny and steady strokes.

A return to normal A S w e approach the tail-end of the pandemic, the Yakan Village in Zamboanga brightens up the cultural scene once more, thanks to the collective colorful culture that is preserved here.

What we visitors can do to help their weavers’ community return to normalcy is to show our ap preciation for their art and cul ture. What better way to assist the Yakans preserve their woven tradition than to obtain a piece or two—or more—so we can bring a piece of Yakan culture into our homes—not only for posterity and display purposes, but also to help the Yakans preserve their beauti ful weaving tradition.

The Philippine Travel Agen cies Association (PTAA), the largest and most prestigious association of travel agencies in the country, held its 5th Mem bership Meeting and  launched the 10th e me rging Outbound Destinations last September 22 at the ho tel Lucky China Town in Binondo, Manila.

For the PTAA’s 10th e m erging Outbound Destinations, several presenters showcased new and untapped international travel destinations to promote outbound travel as well as provide local trav elers with attractive and exciting choices for international desti nations.

During the event, the ambas sadors from Israel and e g ypt and representatives from the embas sies of Turkey and the United States were invited as guest speak ers to provide updates on the status of their tourism industry

and promote their different tour ist attractions in their respective countries.  Furthermore, they took the chance to discuss the travel opportunities in their countries and invited the public to visit and enjoy their unique and attractive tourist destinations.

As president of PTAA, Michelle Taylan reported positive develop ments in the tourism industry and emphasized that the key to recovery is collaboration. She said “PTAA has initiated collaborative work with different international travel organizations. It has met with members of the Federation of AS e A N Travel Association (FATA)

and AS e A N Tourism Association (AS e A NTA) to exchange notes on how to work together and achieve a common goal for the tourism industry. It has also attended the travel fair organized by the Ma laysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA). More im

portantly, it has signed an MOU between MATTA and PTAA on how to promote tourism in both coun tries, especially outbound travel. In addition, PTAA is also looking forward to partnering with other foreign governments and embas sies in finding common ground by working together in advanc ing tourism in the country.  These cooperations between different travel organizations will surely reinvigorate outbound travel and eventually result in a robust inter national travel industry.”

For International tourism, Tay lan said, “there have been strong signs of recovery since a large number of people is traveling af ter a two-year pandemic.” She cited the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) study that in the first five months of this year almost 250 million international travelers have been recorded as compared to 77 mil

lion travelers of the same period last year, a more than 300 percent increase.  “Though it is still far from the pre-pandemic figures, the number of tourist arrivals is very encouraging. It clearly shows that the tourism industry is on the

road to recovery and hopefully will reach the pre-pandemic levels of tourist arrivals in the near future,” she added.

In the local travel scene, indus try sources estimate that expected tourist arrivals for 2022 will be

1 million tourists.  As of August of 2022, that number has been breached and a new projection of 1.4 million travelers has been set with the industry stakeholders hoping to reach this target at the end of the year.

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JA

An Ilul applying the Tanyak-Tanyak to her granddaughter

The smallest tenun woven product can take a minimum of 4 hours to make

doll creations wearing Yakan clothing

In photo, (center) Michelle Taylan, President of Philippine Travel Agencies Association (PTAA) led the ribbon-cutting ceremonies for the formal opening of the 10th emerging Outbound Destinations with the Ambassador from Israel, embassy representatives from Turkey, egypt, usA, and PTAA board members.

Apple will manufacture iPhone 14 in India

NEW DELHI—Apple Inc. will make its iPhone 14 in India, the company said on Monday, as manufacturers shift production from China amid geopolitical tensions and pandemic restrictions that have disrupted supply chains for many industries.

“The new iPhone 14 lineup introduces groundbreaking new technologies and important safety capabilities. We’re excited to be manufacturing iPhone 14 in India,” Apple said in a statement.

Apple unveiled its latest line-up of iPhones earlier this month. They will have improved cameras, faster processors and longer lasting batteries at the same prices as last year’s models.

India is the world’s second-largest smartphone market after China but Apple iPhone sales have struggled to capture a large share of the market against cheaper smartphones from competitors.

The announcement from the Cupertino, California-based company dovetails with Prime Minister

Narendra Modi’s push for local manufacturing, which has been a key goal for his government ever since he took office in 2014.

The tech company has bet big on India, where it first began manufacturing its iPhone SE in 2017 and has since continued to assemble a number of iPhone models there. Apple opened its online store for India two years ago, but the pandemic has delayed plans for a flagship store in India, according to local media reports.

The latest model will be shipped out by Foxconn, a major iPhone assembler, whose facilities are on the outskirts of Chennai, a city in southern India.

Analysts expect that nearly a quarter of all Apple products to be manufactured outside China by 2025, compared to about 5 percent now. Supply chain risks like the stringent Covid-19 lockdowns seen in China are likely the trigger for such relocation efforts that will continue over the next two or three years, the

report said.

“Apple has been trying to diversify its supply chain for a while, but these efforts have grown in the last two years over trade sanctions between the US and China,” said Sanyam Chaurasia, an analyst at Canalys.

Last year, the tech giant manufactured around 7 million iPhones in India. This news is likely to significantly increase India-made Apple smartphones, he added. He said the plan to make more iPhones in India may also lead Apple to drop its prices for the Indian market, making it more competitive. “You can adopt a more aggressive pricing strategy if you manufacture locally,” Chaurasia said.

Most of Apple Inc.’s smartphones and tablets are assembled by contractors with factories in China, but the company started asking them in 2020 to look at the possibility of moving some production to Southeast Asia or other places after repeated shutdowns to fight Covid-19 disrupted its global flow of products. AP

Telemedicine bridges many gaps in the health-care system

visits, and professional fees monitoring. These can also include patient referrals to other doctors and communication with their staff.

“I really like the platform because it is well-structured from scheduling, input of data, to sending of prescription to patients. As a dermatologist, my field is visual so online consultation for people with specific skin, hair, or nail concerns is really helpful,” said Dr. Jarische Lao-Ang, a dermatologist for seven years. Jarische, by the way, is someone I follow on Instagram. I love her informative content.

FORMER E-COMMERCE LEAD OF MONDELEZ PHL MOVES TO ETAILY

BY RODERICK L. ABAD Contributor

ETAILY has welcomed its new fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) director, Alexandra Garcia, whose expertise as former e-commerce lead of the country’s top snacking company will further strengthen its position in the online trade field.

“It’s exciting to be part of etaily. Its service of helping brands scale up their business in the growing online marketplace is important to respond to the needs of the expanding FMCG market,” she said.

Previously leading the strategy and business foundations of Mondelez Philippines Inc.’ e-commerce platform, Garcia was instrumental to the company’s successful virtual trade, which currently boasts of a thriving business-to-business omni-channel and marketplace e-commerce business that makes it one of the largest and fastest growing e-commerce countries in Mondelez Southeast Asia, all the while ensuring total channel profitability.

ONEof the biggest changes that the pandemic brought about was in health care. Previously, online doctor consultations were for those who lived far away from hospitals or clinics, or those who were bed-ridden. When the pandemic started, people became afraid of going out but they still needed to consult with doctors.

My family and I were among those people. A side note is that one of the best things to have happened to us in the last two years was that we didn’t get the common cold or flu, but we did get skin problems and allergic rhinitis. My mom has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, so she has to consult with her pulmonologist regularly. The only thing we didn’t do an online consult for was her glaucoma as the doctor needed some tests to see the progress of the disease.

When my daughter got Covid in August, she was prescribed medication via her company HMO’s telemedicine service.

What people realized over the past two years is that telemedicine does work. For serious illnesses, we would need a face-to-face consult, but telemedicine is practical because it saves time and effort.

Telemedicine definitely minimized the risk of Covid-19 transmission because it prevented direct physical contact, provided continuous care to the community, and reduced morbidity and mortality. Telemedicine is now an important tool in medical services even as health experts are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

Metro Pacific Investments Corp.’s (MPIC) mWell is one of the telemedicine services that thrived in the pandemic. The app, which claims to be the Philippines’s first fully integrated health app with a robust telemedicine service, recently introduced mWellMD, an Electronic Medical Record (EMR) and clinic management system “designed by doctors, for doctors.”

This system allows medical practitioners at mWell to have insights on their practices even when they’re mobile.

With mWellMD, doctors can access their practice data and patient data with just a click of a button. These include clinic schedules, review patient notes, plan for in-patient

“With the Consult Now feature, I’m made available to my patients 24/7. It is easy to be on boarded—you can set your own schedule and state your own professional fee and get it 100 percent, with no commission from mWell. And now they have an EMR which is most useful to our practice,” said Dr. Rose Angela Mahipus, a primary care physician for five years.

“With mWell, I get to help a lot more patients who are not able to consult personally through the clinic or hospital, including patients who are bedridden. The opportunity to help and reach more patients from a wider area of practice up to Visayas and Mindanao is an advantage,” said Dr. Reymark Calma, general medicine, Occupational Medicine, primary care physician for 13 years.

mWellMD provides advanced analytics and dashboards to monitor patient medical records and history, provide convenient patient online consultation via the mWell app, give efficient appointment booking systems for online and office clinics, customized forms and templates plus quick text documentation, and make opportunities for collaborations with other doctors to send and receive patient referrals.

“The doctor experience is a key aspect of mWell’s operations—we make sure to listen to them and respond to their needs to deliver a seamless end-to-end journey,” said MPIC chief finance, risk and sustainability officer Chaye Cabal-Revilla.

Doctors interested in becoming mWell partners may sign up in as fast as 30 minutes via www.mwell.com.ph. There are no joining fees and only a PRC ID is required. They may charge their own professional fee without any commission from mWell. The app is also offering partner doctors an exclusive high-speed Internet plan from PLDT Home Fibr (1,000 mbps for P1,499). Partner-doctors may avail of the ExpertMD subscription plan to access a wider range of features. For only P1,599 a month, doctors may use customized forms and templates as well as advanced analytics and dashboards.

Telemedicine continues to bridge the gap between people, physicians and health systems, and it will continue to be an option for people seeking medical care. There is nothing like a face-to-face consultation, sure, but the accessibility and costeffectivity of telemedicine will ensure that it’s here to stay. ■

LG partners with WSI to provide powerful display solutions

TO help ensure more businesses have access to reliable, high-quality displays, LG Philippines recently entered into a partnership with Wordtext Systems Inc. (WSI). The two industry leaders held an intimate event in Joy Nostalg Ortigas to formally commemorate and launch the joint venture.

LG provides innovative award-winning displays that can cater to any business need, whether corporate or creative.

Its popular OLED technology was recently introduced to its line of monitors, providing professional-grade picture quality, vivid color reproduction, and an optimized workstation for visual tech professionals.

WSI has been a pillar in IT distribution in the country with over 40 years of experience under their belt. They have

an extensive nationwide channel base of over 2000 dealers in 18 key provinces. Their mission is to be the best distributor of IT products in the Philippines to enable its partners and the company to grow together.

LG Business Solutions Head Ed Kasunuran expressed his excitement with the partnership, stating, “WSI has over 40 years of experience of providing high quality hardware solutions to their clients, and we’re confident that LG monitors will be able to provide nothing but the best to their discerning partners. We look forward to working together in order to support all businesses, no matter how big or small.”

WSI President Juan Chua discussed how the new venture was a step in the right direction for the company, say-

ing, “Even if we’re the oldest IT distributor company, we’re still very relevant. We’re still innovating. We’re so happy and proud that LG Philippines trusted us as their newest distributor, LG being a leader in innovation and marketing for display technology. It is our business to grow your business.”

In conclusion, LG Business Solutions Product Director Hongjin Uhm took to the stage for a rousing statement: “WSI has been one of the pillars of the industry here for over 40 years and we couldn’t be happier to partner with them. We hope that together, with LG’s innovative monitor technology and WSI’s savvy business solutions, we can rise to the top.”

Now joining the Philippine-based e-commerce enabler, she will handle etaily’s global and local FMCG and beauty brands like Lactum, Enfagrow, Sustagen, Equal, URC, and Century Pacific Food Inc.

With the company’s growing clientele, she will implement the best practices she has developed over the years.

Garcia, likewise, will build talent capabilities as she onboards experienced young talents from known multinational FMCG brands.

Complementing her vast experience in Mondelez, she brings with her the sterling credentials she gained from her previous stints in other top-tier companies including L’Oreal, wherein she spearheaded the growth of Kiehl’s — today’s No. 1 luxury skin-care brand in Lazada.

Prior to this, she worked as the Consumer Product Division (CPD) Platform lead for Lazada and handled its total CPD portfolio: Maybelline, L’Oreal, and Garnier.

Having developed expertise across leading beauty subcategories (makeup, skin care, and hair care), the brands she handled were consistently recognized as part of the Top 5 Brands on key platforms like Lazada and Shopee.

“We are super excited to have Alexandra part of the etaily rockstar team. Her complementary experience, valuable insights and track record are impactful and will further strengthen our position and capabilities as a full-funnel partner to help our clients gain a competitive edge in today’s digital world,” said etaily cofounder and chief executive officer Alexander Friedhoff.

etaily provides retailers with the technological expertise, brand management, operational services, and data capabilities to e-tail their business. It enables retail brands to provide a customer-centric and consistent brand experience through seamless integration of omnichannel operations to maximize the scale of their services.

Hongjin “Peter” Uhm, LG Philippines business solutions product director; Ed Kasunuran, business solutions head; and Ryan Nulud, IT sales and marketing manager, celebrating the partnership of LG Philippines and Wordtext Systems Inc.

Enchanté WIKO

FRANCE, the country of the Enlightenment, the land of human rights, the Eiffel Tower, the Notre Dame Cathedral, and Paris—the City of Love.

The French are also known for being very passionate about their culture and art, which is showcased in many museums like the Louvre. If you love food, French cuisine is internationally renowned, from bread and macaroons to wine and champagne, it’s no surprise that a trip to France is probably on every Pinoy’s bucket list.

But while visiting the European country may not be on your plans anytime soon, a smartphone brand is actually offering a taste of “France” via their devices.

From the sky-high districts of France to other parts of Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia, WIKO has finally landed and is set to ignite the Philippine tech sphere. Established in 2011, WIKO is an international mobile brand original to Marseille, France. Following its success in the European market, it rapidly expanded its reach and visibility in more than 30 countries worldwide.

WIKO is known for fusing the latest tech innovations and the refined artistic taste of its French roots, promising to take its users to the upscale streets of France just by having it in the palm of their hands.

We were able to try their newest budget-friendly devices—the WIKO 10 and WIKO Buds 10, which indeed gave us a taste of what the brand can offer.

WIKO 10: A FRENCH KISS OR JUST A SMACK ON THE CHEEK?

THE WIKO 10 is the inaugural smartphone of WIKO’s new digital series representing a fusion of aesthetic design and advanced technology. The brand said it is specifically created for young users who are stylish, trendy, tech-savvy and passionate about their expression of individuality, offering a flawless experience with a fresh and elegant design that reflects the latest trends among Gen Z.

The WIKO 10 comes in color finishes Klein Blue, Silver and Black. The Klein Blue color variant has a matte finish and is probably bluer that any blue phone I’ve ever tested, no doubt channeling the classic French Blue.

The iconic blue is described as creating a stark visual contrast with the environment, showcasing its owner’s style and individuality. The alluring Silver, on the other hand, resembles the ashen hues of classic European architecture similar to the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre. Meanwhile, the black is a ray of bright light that disrupts the tranquil yet mystique pitchblack night, colliding decorative art with architectural structures.

The phone weighs about 199g (the battery included) and measures 168.3mm (H) x 77.6mm (W) x 8.98mm

(D), so it still fits and feels comfortable to hold in the hand, though the big screen makes it a challenge for one-handed typing, especially for those with smaller hands.

One of the top features of the WIKO 10 is its large 6.74-inch HD+ screen. This LCD display has a 1600 x 720-pixel resolution, pixel density is up to 260 PPI. The 90.69 percent screen-to-body ratio is exceptionally competitive compared to other smartphones at the same price level, giving you a more immersive viewing experience whether you are watching videos, playing games, or just browsing your social media feed. The display of the WIKO 10 delivers good brightness, decent color and viewing angles, and the resolution is enough to please casual users.

For audio output, the WIKO 10 has a 3.5mm audio jack for your wired earphones and a single-firing loudspeaker at the bottom. The sound quality is OK, loud enough for a small quiet room, but I suggest you plug in your cans for a more enjoyable sound experience, or use the WIKO Buds 10 instead.

The WIKO 10 has a triple camera with a main 50MP sensor (f/1.8 aperture). The JN1 sensor’s pixel isolation technology allows more light for every pixel, ensuring high color fidelity for vibrant colors. This sensor is slowly becoming a popular choice among budget smartphones as it offers good overall performance in general shooting conditions.

The camera works best when outdoors and in great lighting conditions and as you’d probably expect, it diminishes in quality in darker environments. Night mode does help give it a boost making photos brighter with additional details, though there are times that photos come out overexposed so you might want to experiment on the best angle and take lots of photos to be sure you get a good shot.

For portraits, WIKO has this Bionic Stereo Vision—a WIKO-exclusive technology that makes portraits more prominent with a more natural blurring effect. This is done with the collaboration of both the main camera and the depth-of-field camera, and a 5-layer imaging optimization

algorithm. While the 50MP main shooter works hard and can capture nice photos, it would have been better if they just swapped the two other lenses and replaced them with an ultra-wide-angle camera for added versatility. The WIKO 10 is powered by a 12nm Octa-core MediaTek Helio G37 processor, comprising four Cortex-A53 CPUs 2.3GHz and four Cortex-A53 CPUs 1.8GHz for faster single and multi-threaded performance. This Helio G37 is a workhorse and is enough for ordinary day-to-day use, such as socialmedia browsing, Internet surfing, watching movies, listening to music and a bit of light gaming.

The WIKO 10 runs on the latest Android 12 and provides a smooth user experience, thanks to its nearstock and bloatware-free build—yup, no pre-installed apps or folders filled with app suggestions.

Another impressive feature is the WIKO 10’s 128GB storage—this space is enough to store over 10,000+ HD music files, 900+ HD TV episodes, or 20,000+ pictures on the phone that users

can immediately access, even when not

connected to the Internet.

For the battery, it has a 5,000mAh capacity with support for 22.5W fast charging. The battery of the WIKO 10 can last you a day of moderate to heavy use. The 22.5W WIKO SuperCharge allows it to be 70 percent charged in 60 minutes, while a quick 10 mins charge can refuel the phone to 15 percent battery for 2 more hours of video enjoyment. A complete charge takes about 96 minutes. Besides its fast-charging ability and large battery capacity, WIKO 10 also supports wireless reverse-charging for other devices. A quick 10-minute reverse-charging can cover 40 percent of a headset or 25 percent of a smartband’s full power, which only takes up 1-2 percent power cost of WIKO 10. Now you do not have to worry about other devices as long as you have WIKO 10 with you.

The WIKO 10 is a solid debut for the brand’s new digital series and gives tech enthusiasts a good taste of what it can offer. Priced at P8,999, the WIKO 10 offers solid performance, a large screen for multimedia enjoyment a reliable camera performance, and a long-lasting battery with a very useful reverse charge feature. It may not be a passionate French kiss, but it could still be a memorable “une bise” for those looking to buy their first smartphone and bargain hunters looking to try out a different brand.

Alongside the launch of WIKO 10 smartphone, the brand is also presenting the WIKO Buds 10. I’ve been using the earbuds for the past few weeks and I must say I’m quite impressed with what it offers: 30 hours playback, stable Bluetooth 5.2 connection and a dynamic driver that delivers some deep bass— something that I often find lacking in other buds within this P1,499 price range.

The WIKO Buds 10 is very lightweight at just 4.2g each and fit so snugly you would barely feel them. As an added bonus, the Buds 10 IPX4 water resistance allows uninterrupted listening anywhere. So you don’t have to worry about using it during those sweaty workouts or fear the drizzling rain.

For the sound quality, it’s good enough for its price. The volume gets loud enough with good balance of mids and highs and, more importantly, the heavy bass was noticeable. ■

Fujitsu enters local market with iconic ultralightweight devices

DEDICATED to be the customer’s first choice of laptops and deliver devices that meet customers’ demand, Fujitsu Client Computing Limited (FCCL) has launched in the Philippine market its iconic ultralight consumer laptop family to bring consumers optimal mobility and power with extraordinarily lightweight devices.

Designed with details that will appeal to the needs of today’s working professionals, consumers can look forward to the Fujitsu UH-X and Fujitsu CH Series.

Focused on addressing the needs of professionals who wish to achieve a high level of productivity, the UH-X series is engineered for robust multi-tasking.

Equipped with up to an Intel CoreTM i7-1255U processor, Intel Iris Xe Graphics and Windows 11 OS, the UH-X delivers exceptional performance for both personal and professional uses. It also comes equipped with the Intel Iris Xe Graphics for great visuals perfect for handling basic graphical tasks. The UH-X series is designed with a 13-inch FHD.

Crafted from durable yet light magnesium alloy, the Fujitsu UH-X strikes a perfect balance of strength, power and beauty. Weighing at only 878G and coming

in at 15.5mm thin, the laptop is known to be one of the lightest devices in the country. It also has an official MIL-STD 810H certification, assuring customers that the device can withstand bumps and drops. Made in Japan, the UH-X Series was engineered to the standards of Takumi: a Japanese brand of perfection achieved over decades of meticulous craft.

The UX-H series features up to 16GB of memory and 512GB SSD of storage. Users will also experience less lag with the Wi-Fi 6 antenna placement and a 64 Whr battery capacity. It is also fitted with innovative features and functions to enhance the user experience including a fingerprint sensor built in the power button supported by Windows Hello, a full suite of ports for full connectivity (HDMI, USB Type-A, USB Type-C), SD card slot, and a backlit keyboard.

Having passed rigorous tests, the UH-X series is built to last, providing consumers a reliable work device. The series comes in a sleek dignified black colorway, perfect for that minimalist aesthetic. Bundled with a free Microsoft Office Home and Student, and a three-year Onsite Warranty, the Fujitsu UH-X is priced starting at P64,995.

Meanwhile, perfect for the consumers who wish for a lightweight yet premium device that delivers premium entertainment experience on-the-go, the Fujitsu CH is an Intel EVO-certified device crafted with precision and showcases a design for ultimate comfort with its chassis, gentle curves and minimalist dark silver design—true to the Fujitsu zen philosophy.

Enjoy entertainment anywhere with a 13.3-inch Full HD OLED display with 2.5D glass and stereo speakers powered by Dirac Audio. It also features an Intel Core i5-1135G7 processor and Windows 11 OS to address the needs of professionals who are always on-the-go.

It also comes equipped with the Intel Iris Xe Graphics to grant users visuals perfect for entertainment and work-related functions. More information about Fujitsu’s latest range of ultra-portable laptops can be found on bit.ly/ 3E4CoVO.

THE ultra-portable Fujitsu UH-X

China factory activity struggles on Covid curbs, property woes

CHINA’S factory activity continued to struggle in September, while services slowed, as the country’s economic recovery was challenged by lockdowns in major cities and an ongoing property market downturn.

The official manufacturing purchasing managers index rose to 50.1 from 49.4 in August, ac cording to a statement from the National Bureau of Statistics on Friday. That compared with the median estimate of 49.7 in a Bloomberg survey of economists. Any figure higher than 50 indi cates expansion.

The non-manufacturing gauge, which measures activity in the con struction and services sectors, was

50.6, compared to 52.6 in August. That was lower than the consensus estimate of 52.4.

Separately, the Caixin private gauge of manufacturing activity fell to 48.1 in September from 49.5 in August. That was worse than the consensus expectation of 49.5.

China’s fragile economic re covery has been challenged this year by the country’s adherence to Covid Zero, a policy intended to stamp out infections that has

caused intermittent turmoil to supply chains, taken a toll on spending and damaged business confidence. Data earlier this week showed profits of industrial firms shrank in the first eight months of the year.

The services index was “affected by Covid outbreaks and other fac tors,” NBS analyst Zhao Qinghe said in a news statement, adding that the driver of the fall in senti ment in that gauge was related to a fall in in-person activities such as retail sales, aviation and dining.

Chinese stocks edged higher in early trading. The benchmark CSI 300 Index climbed as much as 0.6 percent while a broader gauge of Asian equities declined.

The country’s mobility restric tions are estimated to have shaved about 1.1 percentage points from China’s GDP growth in the third quarter as consumption weak ened, according to Natixis SA. The consensus estimate for growth

this year is just 3.4 percent.

This month, Chengdu was locked down for about two weeks, reviving memories of painful curbs in Shanghai this spring and once again threatening economic out put. The city of 21 million people, though, managed to contain the outbreak faster than Shanghai did.

On top of Covid restrictions, the country is also contending with a severe property market downturn. Home prices slumped for the 12th straight month in August, and a plethora of measures—such as loosening purchasing restrictions and down payments, and lower ing mortgage rates for some resi dences—haven’t been enough to solve the crisis.

The drag from the sector risks driving deflationary pressure, ac cording to a private survey this week that showed companies re ported the weakest growth in sales prices since the end of 2020.

Bloomberg News

Ian leaves Florida’s power grid in tatters despite billions spent

PARTS of Florida’s electric grid must be completely rebuilt after Hurricane Ian battered the state and blacked out 2.6 million homes and busi nesses—many of which face days or even weeks without power.

Ian walloped Florida’s electric

system despite years of efforts by the state’s utilities to harden it. After a string of major hurri canes ravaged the state in 2004 and 2005, Florida utilities invested billions of dollars upgrading the system, replacing many wooden utility poles with concrete ones

and placing some power lines un derground.

The state’s four biggest utili ties spent an estimated $3 billion on storm protection in 2020 and 2021, according to the Florida Pub lic Service Commission.

“I don’t care how much you spend, if a Category 5 hits, it’s go ing to tear up something,” said J.R. Kelly, a former utility customer advocate for Florida’s Office of Public Counsel. “There is no foolproof system.”

Some sections of Florida’s grid were more vulnerable than others.

The company that provides power to the region where Ian made landfall with 150-mile-perhour winds, Lee County Electric Cooperative, acknowledged in a report to state regulators earlier this year that 19 percent of the distribution poles it examined—or 5,904—failed inspections in 2021. The cooperative later replaced 750 of those poles.

More than 90 percent of Lee County Electric customer were without power Thursday after noon. The storm all but destroyed the grid in the surrounding area, effectively knocking Lee and Charlotte counties “off the grid,” said Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

The state’s largest utility, Nex tEra Energy Inc.’s Florida Power & Light, said some sections of grid in southwest Florida are so damaged that they will need to be rebuilt. That will mean prolonged outag es for some. The work needed is “more than just connecting power

lines back to poles,” DeSantis said Thursday at a news conference. Other counties likely won’t require a structural rebuild.

The blackouts Ian left in its wake would have been worse with out the state’s investments in its grid, said Michael Webber, an en ergy professor at the University of Texas at Austin. He compared the fallout from Ian to the millions more in the Lone Star State who lost power during a brutal cold snap in 2021.

“The same storm hitting other states would knock the power out to many more millions of people,” Webber said in an interview.

As many as 1.7 million Florida Power & Light customers have lacked power amid Ian’s wrath, below the more than 4 million during Hurricane Irma in 2017, said Jeffrey Cassella, an analyst at Moody’s Investors Service. “It would be unfair to expect that you can prevent the outages that we are having, because these storms are so severe.”

Both Florida Power & Light and Duke Energy Corp. reported Thursday that they had restored power to some customers affected by Ian. But both cautioned that the flooding, winds and rain still trailing the storm were hamper ing efforts to assess the damage.

“There are some destroyed ar eas that simply cannot be repaired and they will have to be rebuilt,” said Eric Silagy, chief executive officer of Florida Power & Light, during a media briefing Thursday.

Bloomberg News

In one tiny German town, nobody worries about paying energy bills

FELDHEIM, Germany—Eu ropeans are opening their energy bills with trepida tion these days, bracing for hefty price hikes as utility companies pass on the surging cost of natu ral gas, oil and electricity tied to Russia’s war in Ukraine. Many are trying to conserve by turn ing down the heat and shutting off lights this winter.

Not so the people of Feldheim, population 130.

Located about an hour and a half south of Berlin, this modest but well-kept village has been en ergy self-sufficient for more than a decade.

A bold experiment launched in the mid-1990s saw Feldheim erect a handful of wind turbines to provide electricity to the vil lage. Then it built a local grid, solar panels, battery storage and more turbines. A biogas plant put up to keep piglets warm was ex panded, providing extra income to the farmers’ cooperative, which pumps hot water through a vil lage-wide central heating system. A hydrogen production facility is also under construction.

Now, 55 wind turbines can be seen but not heard on the slop ing farmlands around Feldheim and residents enjoy some of the cheapest electricity and natural gas rates in Germany.

“They can all sleep well at night,” says Kathleen Thompson, who works for a local educational organization, the New Energies Forum. “They’ve got no concerns because the prices are not going to change, not in the immediate future anyway.”

Feldheim’s hands-on approach to producing its own eco-friendly energy draws thousands of visi tors from around the world each year and contrasts with the way Germany as a whole still relies on fossil fuel imports for much of its needs.

That became painfully appar ent when Russia invaded Ukraine, upending the reliance Germany and other European countries had on Moscow’s coal, oil and natural gas.

Despite Germany pump ing billions into the growth

of renewable energy to reduce climate-changing emissions, fossil fuels and nuclear were re sponsible for more than half of the country’s gross power pro duction in the first six months of the year.

A lack of sufficient transmis sion capacity means wind parks in the north regularly have to be shut down while fossil fuel plants are fired up to provide electricity to factories in the south.

Letting locals participate in— and benefit from—the project was key to Feldheim’s success, said Michael Knape, mayor of Treuen brietzen, a municipality to which Feldheim belongs.

While wind parks elsewhere in Germany often face opposi tion, including some economi cally depressed neighboring villages, Feldheim’s close-knit community approved so many turbines that it actually ex ports about 250 times as much electricity as it consumes.

“Citizens need to feel that it’s their transition and not one im posed from above,” Knape said.

But he also credits authorities at the time with not interfering in what he describes as an “ex periment” that could have failed. It fell into a legal gray area that officials elsewhere might have clamped down on.

“In Germany, you sometimes get the impression that if some one makes a mistake then it’s a huge problem,” Knape said. “But it’s only in that way that we make progress.”

Feldheim’s grassroots ap proach to generating clean en ergy contrasts starkly with the prevailing practice in Germany, where large energy companies tend to build and control vast power projects. Small-scale ef forts, meanwhile, often face high regulatory hurdles.

Still, Knape is hopeful that Germany’s energy transition can catch up with Feldheim.

“I’m firmly convinced that given the current pressure in Europe...it’s become clear to ev eryone that we need to approach this differently than before,” he said.

AP

Royal Mint unveils first coins to feature King Charles III

LONDON—Britain’s Royal Mint has unveiled the first coins to feature the portrait of King Charles III.

Britons will begin to see Charles’ image in their change from around December, as 50-pence coins de

picting him gradually enter cir culation.

The new monarch’s effigy was created by British sculptor Martin Jennings, and has been personally approved by Charles, the Royal Mint said Friday.

In keeping with tradition, the king’s portrait faces to the left— the opposite direction to his moth er’s, Queen Elizabeth II.

“Charles has followed that gen eral tradition that we have in Brit ish coinage, going all the way back to Charles II actually, that the mon arch faces in the opposite direction to their predecessor,” said Chris Barker at the Royal Mint Museum.

Charles is depicted without a crown. A Latin inscription sur rounding the portrait translates to “King Charles III, by the Grace of God, Defender of the Faith.”

A separate memorial 5-pound coin remembering the life and legacy of Elizabeth will be released Monday. One side of this coin fea

tures Charles, while the reverse side features two new portraits of Elizabeth side by side.

Based in south Wales, the Royal Mint has depicted Britain’s royal family on coins for over 1,100 years, documenting each monarch since Alfred the Great.

“When first we used to make coins, that was the only way that people could know what the mon arch actually looked like, not in the days of social media like now,” said Anne Jessopp, chief executive of the Royal Mint. “So the portrait of King Charles will be on each and every coin as we move forward.”

Jennings, the sculptor, said the portrait was sculpted from a photo of Charles. AP

WIND turbines turn near the village of Feldheim near Treuenbrietzen, Germany, on Wednesday, September 28, 2022. Located about an hour and a half south of Berlin, the village of Feldheim has been energy self-sufficient for more than a decade. Text reads: “Energy Self-Sufficient District Feldheim. City of Treuenbrietzen.” AP

US VP under a microscope: Deft Asia diplomacy despite DMZ gaffe

S. Korea, US and Japan hold anti-N. Korean submarine drills

SEOUL, South Korea—South Korea, US and Japanese warships launched their first anti-submarine drills in five years on Friday, after North re newed ballistic missile tests this week in an apparent response to bilateral training by South Ko rean and US forces.

The North’s recent five mis siles launches, the first such tests in a month, also came before and after US Vice President Kamala Harris visited South Korea on Thursday and reaffirmed the “ironclad” US commitment to the security of its Asian allies.

In Japan, Harris stood along side other world leaders at the state funeral for Shinzo Abe, the former prime minister whose as sassination at a campaign event rattled a key American ally.

She delivered a carefully cali brated denunciation of China from the deck of a US warship intended to reassure allies—without deep ening a rift with Beijing that Presi dent Joe Biden has widened with explicit pledges to defend Taiwan from an invasion.

Harris soothed South Korean leaders angry over new US tax cred its for electric vehicles likely to disadvantage Asian automakers, while needling the country’s new president over gender inequities.

And at the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) dividing the Korean pen insula, a photo-op of Harris gaz ing through binoculars across the heavily fortified border echoed the previous visits of five Presidents.

But the clip of the vice president circulating on cable news the next morning featured an unfortunate slip of the tongue, after she said the US had a “strong alliance” with “the Republic of North Korea.”

The moment illustrated the microscope of scrutiny that Har ris, the nation’s first female vice president, labors under as she tries to rebuild her stature within the White House and with voters.

Her first year in office was marked by rampant staff turnover, rhetorical stumbles, and struggles to address migration from Central America, her highest-profile as signment from the president.

At the DMZ, Harris clearly meant to refer to the Republic of Korea—South Korea’s offi cial name—and she is hardly the only politician to commit such a slip. Only hours earlier, Biden made a much more awk ward gaffe when he called out

for a deceased congresswoman at a White House event.

Still, White House officials say perceptions of Harris within the West Wing warmed in recent months as her office staff stabi lized under a new chief of staff and the former California senator dem onstrated more political acuity.

She has earned praise even from skeptics in the adminis tration for her leadership of the White House’s response to the Supreme Court ruling striking down national abortion rights.

The vice president’s outspoken ness on abortion has impressed Biden’s aides, according to a person

familiar with their thinking, and is viewed as particularly helpful because the president—a nearly 80-year-old man and a practicing Catholic—can be uncomfortable speaking about the issue.  Harris, who is 57, has stood out as a key interlocutor with state and local women’s rights groups, a second person said. And she’s served as a bridge to Black, young, female and pro gressive voters who have not always rallied behind Biden. She’s also shown enthusiasm for space exploration, welcoming a chance to lead the president’s Na tional Space Council. Bloomberg News

Virus kills 100K cattle in India, sickens over 2 million more

NEW DELH —A viral disease has killed nearly 100,000 cows and buffaloes in India and sickened over 2 million more.

OIL headed for its first quar terly loss in more than two years as escalating fears over a global economic slowdown and a stronger dollar overshadowed the prospect for tightening supply.

West Texas Intermediate fu tures traded near $81 a barrel and are down 23 percent this quarter. Federal Reserve officials reiter ated Thursday that they will keep hiking interest rates to restrain high inflation, raising concerns about demand. The dollar hit a re cord this month, adding to bearish headwinds.

The economic recovery in Chi na continues to be challenged by lockdowns in major cities as well as an ongoing property market downturn. Factory activity strug gled in September, while services slowed, data released Friday show.

“Oil’s poor quarter is clearly a reflection of an oil market that is losing its tightness as global recession risks surge,” said Ed Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda Corp. “Energy traders clearly expect drastic action by OPEC+.” Bloomberg News

The outbreak has triggered dev astating income losses for cattle farmers since the disease not only results in deaths but can also lead to decreased milk production, ema ciated animals, and birth issues.

The disease, called lumpy skin dis ease, is spread by insects that drink blood like mosquitoes and ticks. In fected cows and buffaloes get fevers and develop lumps on their skin.

This year farmers have experi enced severe losses from extreme weather events: a record-shattering heat wave in India reduced wheat yields in April, farmers in eastern states like Jharkhand state saw win ter crops such as pulses shrivel with no rain, and an unusually intense September rainfall has damaged rice in the north.

And now, the virus has spread to at least 15 states with the number of cows and buffaloes dying nearly doubling in three weeks, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.

The contagion spreading among cattle is having a disproportionate impact on small farmers, many of whom have insulated themselves

from the shocks of climate change by rearing cattle for milk, said Devin der Sharma, an agriculture policy expert in northern Chandigarh city.

“It’s a serious, serious issue and this (disease)…has been growing since the last couple of years,” he said, adding that the government figures were likely an undercount of the actual death toll from the disease.

The first cases in South Asia were detected in 2019, and it has since spread to India, China, and Nepal. It was first recorded in Zambia in 1929 and has extended through Africa and more recently to parts of Europe.

Dairy is among the largest ag ricultural commodities in India, employing 80 million people and

contributing to 5 percent of its economy, per federal data. It’s the world’s largest milk producer, mak ing up more than a fifth of global production—but exports are only a fraction of this.

To try and protect the indus try, authorities are vaccinating healthy cows using a shot de signed for a similar disease while efforts are underway to develop a more effective vaccine.

India’s vast hinterland is now punctuated by mass graves of cows. In some places, the carcass es rot in the open and the pained cries of sick animals are resound in villages. Western Rajasthan state has seen the worst impact: 60,000 cattle dead and nearly 1.4 million sickened. AP

The one-day trilateral train ing off the Korean Peninsula’s east coast is meant to cope with a North Korean push to advance its ability to fire missile from submarines, according to a South Korean Navy statement.

North Korea has been building bigger submarines, including a nuclear-powered one and testing sophisticated missiles that can be fired from them in recent years. That’s an alarming development for its rivals because it’s harder to detect underwater-launched missiles in advance.

Friday’s drills involve the nu clear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan as well as US, South Korean and Japanese destroyers, the Navy statement read. During the training, the Navy ships from the three nations were to search and track a US nuclear-powered submarine posing as a North Ko rean submarine while exchanging

related information, according to media reports.

“We will respond and neutral ize any forms of North Korean provocations in an overwhelming and decisive manner,” Capt. Cho, Chung-ho, commander of South Korean Navy troops who took part in the training, was quoted as saying in the statement.

In addition to its submarinelaunched missiles, North Korea has also a variety of nuclearcapable missiles that place both the United States and its allies South Korea and Japan within striking distance.

This year, North Korea has performed a record number of missile tests as it refuses to re sume long-stalled nuclear diplo macy with the United States.

Friday’s three-nation train ing comes as South Korea and Japan are looking to mend ties frayed over history and trade disputes. The two Asian coun tries together host a total of 80,000 American troops.

Earlier this week, the Reagan took part in joint US-South Ko rean drills near the peninsula, the first such bilateral involving a US aircraft carrier since 2017.

The North’s most recent mis sile tests happened on Thursday, hours after Harris left South Korea. During her visit to the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas, Harris said: “In the South, we see a thriving de mocracy. In the North, we see a brutal dictatorship.” AP

Oil set for first quarterly drop since 2020 as macro mood sours

KAMALA HARRIS’S whirlwind tour of Japan and South Korea this week amounts to a microcosm for the state of her vice presidency: an ambitious, historic and increasingly confident effort still beset by the occasional high-profile gaffe.

US Vice President Kamala Harris, left, holds binoculars at the military observation post as she visits the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, in Panmunjom, South Korea on Thursday, September 29, 2022. AP

Unspent P3.3M Phisgoc money donated to POC athletes’ fund

FUNDS amounting to P3.3 mil lion that were unspent for the country’s hosting of the 30th Southeast Asian Games three years ago are now in the Philippine Olympic Com mittee (POC) trust fund for athletes.

POC President Rep. Abraham “Bam bol” Tolentino said on Friday that the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Or ganizing Committee (Phisgoc) turned over the funds that were raised from private sponsors during the November 30 to December 10 SEA Games in 2019.

“ We’re very thankful to the phisgoc for donating the saved money that we can use for our athletes in the future,” said Tolentino, also the president of PhilCycling and Tagaytay City mayor.

Phisgoc Chief Operating Officer Ramon “Tats” Suzara—also head of the Philippine National Volleyball Federa tion—confirmed the funds’ turnover. He said the Philippine Sports Commis sion was informed of the transfer.

The Phisgoc operated with a P6 billion fund for the hosting of the 2019 SEA Games, where the country emerged overall champion. The funds were from the government and private sector.

The Phisgoc financial report revealed the unspent funds were for payments to suppliers of various national sports associations.

“But for one reason or another, these suppliers could no longer be found, nor did they send a representa tive to collect payments,” Tolentino said. “But in case someone surfaces to collect, they can do so with the PSC.”

Tolentino said the trust fund will be the source of cash incentives or bonuses for successful athletes.

Arcilla back on track, beats partner Joven in Puerto Princesa tilt

JOHNNY ARCILLA came away with a couple of breaks to shatter doubles partner Ronard Joven, 6-4, 6-4, in the finals and get back on the winning track in the Puerto Princesa National Tennis Championships at the Karawatan PPS tennis courts in Palawan Wednesday.

The Davis Cup veteran broke Joven early in the opening set to wrest a 2-1 lead then never gave the latter a chance to equalize in a holdhold game the rest of the frame.

Joven, however, put up a tougher stand in the second, battling his multi-titled rival to a 4-4 count before yielding the ninth as Arcilla broke out from 30-all game with back-to-back points to seize control.

A rcilla took the first three points in the 10th, dropped the next but finished off Joven in the ensuing play to clinch the crown worth P30,000 in a victory that somewhat erased the stigma of his early semis exit in the Governor Edwin Jubahib Cup in Davao del Norte last August.

He added another P20,000 in earnings which he and Joven split after they crushed the Jose Maria Pague-Christian Fel Lopez pair in the doubles final of the week-long event put up by Palawan Pawnshop president and CEO Bobby Castro.

On his way to the championship of the event presented by Dunlop, the durable Arcilla routed John Ed Melegrito, 4-0, 4-0, ripped young Mcleen Gomera, 4-1, 4-0, survived Loucas Fernandez, 5-4(2), 4-0, then trounced Pague in the semis, 6-1, 6-0, in the event, backed by ProtekTODO, PalawanPay, Unified Tennis Philippines and Universal Tennis Rating.

Joven, on the other hand, got past Andre Santos, 4-2, 4-1, tripped Evan Bacalso, 4-1, 4-1, dispatched Elvin Geluz, 4-2, 4-0, before dominating second seed Jarell Edangga, 6-3, 6-1.

Sharing the podium finish were women’s doubles champions Khyshana Hitosis-Trizzia Talan, who beat Myra Era-Anne Galias; Legends men’s doubles 100 titlists Carlo Gomez and Ramon Hitosis, who foiled Teddy Martin and Levi Evangelista; Legends men’s doubles 110 winners Boy Concepcion-Evangelista, who toppled Ediemar Estrella-Dean Pe; Legends men’s doubles 120 victors Roger Ventura and Jun Java, who downed Concepcion and Romy Mabella; and Legends men’s doubles 130 winners Ventura and Dante Villar, who edged Mabella and Butch Ferrero.

JOHNNY ARCILLA (second from left) and Ronard Joven lift their trophies after finishing 1-2 in Puerto Princesa City. With them are Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan-Express Pera Padala director for Business Development and Corporate Services Roberto Ben Castro (left) and Coach Ronald Kraut.

IKEDA MARKED AT RIVIERA

‘Thrilla in Manila’: Padilla right choice

By Eddie Alinea Special to BusinessMirror

IT’S better late than never for Carlos “Sonny” Padilla who was inducted into the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame early in August.

Philippines is capable not only to host an event of that magnitude, but also to handle all the situations relevant to the fight including officiating.”

M arcos won and an all-Filipino panel was named to the fight.

ORDER

of Merit (OOM) leader Chihiro Ikeda tries to zero in on a second career overall

individual crown on the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour (LPGT) as she headlines the field in the International Container Terminal Services Inc.

(ICTSI) Riviera Championship unfolding October 4 at Riviera’s Langer course in Silang, Cavite.

W ith erstwhile frontrunner Chanelle Avaricio focusing on her LPGA Tour card bid in the US, Ikeda stormed ahead of the OOM battle with a runner-up finish to amateur Rianne Malixi in the last LPGT leg at Valley Golf Club, raising her earnings to P702,750 heading to the last three legs of this year’s circuit in new normal.

Avaricio, whose three LPGT victories spurred her to seek a playing card in the world’s premier circuit, slipped to No. 2 with P605,000 in winnings while Harmie Constantino, who notched two victories and posted a couple of Top 5 finishes to win the OOM trophy in her rookie season last year, is at distant third with P499,500 in earnings.

But Ikeda isn’t looking past the ninth leg of LPGT’s first fullcalendar season since the pandemic, putting all her efforts on getting to be ready and doing better in the upcoming 54-hole, P750,000 championship put up by ICTSI.

This is going to be tough. Langer has always been a test, game-wise and mentally, with its length, tightness and all the

hazards that come into play in most holes,” said Ikeda, the 2016 OOM winner, during a break in practice at one of the country’s toughest championship courses.

The par-71 layout, kept in championship form all year-long, will indeed challenge not only the field’s golf skills but their patience and mental toughness as well given its length, menacing bunkers and hazards that come into play in most holes, particularly in the presence of the winds.

A number of holes could also be deceiving, requiring thorough study and decision-making on approach shots.

I keda finished second to Daniella Uy here last year with the Fil-Japanese keen on finishing on top this time in an attempt to score a follow-up to her victories at Mount Malarayat and Eagle RidgeAoki and firm up her OOM lead.

But Constantino is also out to foil her bid, along with Highlands leg winner Sunshine Baraquiel, former leg titlist Sarah Ababa and title-hungry Marvi Monsalve, Gretchen Villacencio, Apple Fudolin and Lovelynn Guioguio, and young guns Martina Miñoza, Pamela Mariano and Kristine Fleetwood.

A lso vying in the 54-hole tournament organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. are Lucy Landicho, Majorie Pulumbarit and Eva Miñoza.

Pradera Verde will host the next LPGT leg from October 25 to 27 before the circuit winds up November 2 to 4 for the Anvaya Cove Ladies International, which also marks the return of foreign bidders since 2019.

TALLO AND CO. READY TO DEFEND FORT

MANDAUE City—Host teams Cebu and Manila start their campaign in the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Chooks-to-Go 3X3 World Tour Cebu Masters 2022 on Saturday at the SM Seaside here in Cebu.

H ometown boy Mac Tallo of Cebu Chooks and his teammates are ready for the challenge of going up against world No. 3 rank Antwerp of Belgium in the eliminations that start at 3 p.m.

I don’t want to let my fellow Cebuano down particularly the kids we’ve met at the Sisters of Mary School Girls and Boys town,” the 28-year-old Tallo, who hails from Sambag Dos in Cebu City, told reporters before practice Friday.

But Antwerp, a semifinalist at last year’s Tokyo Olympics—are parading Olympic veterans Thibaut Vervoort

and Nick Celis together with Bryan de Valck and Dennis Donkor against the Filipinos.

T he Filipinos, ranked No. 26 in the world, are hoping the home crowd would add to their readiness for the competition.

“ I am ready and I will give my best even if I suffer cramps tomorrow,” Tallo, ranked No. 83 in the world, said.

We will be fighting for every Filipino,” Tallo’s teammate, Brandon Ramirez, said.

Tallo and Ramirez will be joined by Zachary Huang and Mike Harry Nzeusseu at Cebu Chooks, which faces Omaha at 7 p.m. in Pool A.

M anila Chooks—bannered by Arnold Dave Ando, Nigerian Henry Iloka, Dennis Santos and playing coach Chico Lanete—will start at 1 p.m. against India’s Ludhiana in the

Qualifying Draw A.

M anila battles Doha in its second qualifying draw match.

Cebu, also coached by Lanete, goes for an upset of the Belgian team and Doha for a seat in the quarterfinals.

I f Manila beats Ludhiana and Doha in the qualifying draw, the team will meet Ulaanbaatar of MMC Energy Mongolia in a Pool D main draw at 4:25 p.m.

C hooks-to-Go and Bounty Agro Ventures President Ronald Mascariñas, meanwhile, reiterated his gratitude to Cebu.

I’m really glad that we brought FIBA 3X3 in Cebu—a big basketball loving province—despite the tough competition ahead,” Mascariñas said. “If we win one or two games, that’s already a great accomplishments. This is a top level competition.” Josef Ramos

Now 88, it took 47 long years for Padilla to be inducted for a nook in the Hall of Fame he rightfully deserves after showing to the whole world that he was indeed the right man to referee the epic “Thrilla in Manila” between two boxing greats—Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier—on October 1, 1975, at the Araneta Coliseum.

Padilla and the Class of 2020 had to wait two years after the Covid-19 pandemic shuttered the ceremony. Last August, they finally got what’s rightfully theirs at the Resorts World in Las Vegas in Nevada.

B orn in  1934, Padilla is a retired actor and boxing referee and judge. He’s now based in Las Vegas.

H is shining moment came in that epic October 1 “Thrilla,” which had several names—“Fight of the Century” or “Super Fight 3”—to name a few. Ali won that 15-round duel via technical knockout in the 14th round.

The choice of Padilla—father of singer and actor Zsa Zsa Padilla to wife Esperanza—didn’t come that easy though Frazier’s camp, led by Hall of Fame trainer Eddie Futch, and fight promoter Don King himself expressing apprehension that a Filipino referee “was too small in size that he might not be able to control the fight.”

Futch’s apprehension stemmed from the second Ali-Frazier fight in January 28, 1974, at the Madison Square Garden in New York where Puerto Rican-American referee Tony Perez controversially stopped the bout in the second round when there still was 25 seconds left in the clock.

Futch then stressed that Torres failed to stop Ali’s illegal holding tactics and for pulling Frazier’s neck, allowing Ali to escape with a unanimous decision victory. Frazier won their first encounter in 1971 in the same iconic New York venue.

But then President Ferdinand Marcos intervened and instructed then Games and Amusements Board chair Luis Tabuena to convince the doubters on his recommendations— Padilla and Filipino judges Lary Nadayag and Alfredo Quiazon.

M arcos later revealed that he wanted Padilla and company for the fight “to prove to the world that the

Padilla, Nadayag and Quiazon all handled their assignments well to the satisfaction of everybody, including Don King, the boxers’ camps and media.

Padilla, son of Los Angeles boxing Olympian Carlos Padilla Sr., proved sharper than expected. For all of 14 rounds—36 minutes—he prevented Ali from using his rope-a-dope tacticsto his advantage.

“ I know boxing, I grew up with boxing,” Padilla told reporters after the classic fight. “My father’s a boxer, and so is my uncle,” said Padilla, whose uncle Jose Padilla Jr. was also an Olympian and matinee idol.

It wasn’t really that hard for me to officiate that fight. Both Ali and Frazier are intelligent and clean fighters—they had no intentions to play dirty,” said Padilla, who was voted Referee of the Year in 1975.

I was very happy and at the same time honored for having been selected to do the job, not only for myself and my family, but for the country  and our people,” he said. “Modesty aside, I believe I had a part in making the fight a real ‘Thrilla in Manlla.’”

He said: “In the first few rounds, I saw Ali tiring and trying to resort to holding and wrestling. Twice I warned him and Ali must have taken note. In the end, the fight turned out to be what everybody wanted, a real slugfest.”

P adilla was all praises for Ali and Frazier.

Ali can really fight. He’s at his best when fighting,” he said.” He’s really a great fighter.”

Padilla hailed Frazier for his demeanor and courage.

In my 11 years of officiating, I have never seen a fighter as clean and as brave as Frazier,” Padilla said. “For 14 solid rounds, he played it clean. He, too, is a great boxer. it’s a pity he turned out the loser, but in boxing, only one man wins.”

Padilla went on to officiate many of boxing’s most unforgettable duels, including the first Sugar Ray LeonardRoberto Duran welterweight fight in Montreal in 1980, and Thomas Hearns’s two-round destruction of Duran in 1984.

H e was also the third man on the right in the Salvador Sanchez vs Wilfredo Gomez featherweight clash in 1981.

Aboitiz Great Transformation brand shines in Acropolis Rally

DIAZ and co-driver

MIGUEL

Jordi Hereu wound up a decent fifth in their cat egory—and 34th overall—in a field of 80 participants in the recent Acropolis Rally leg of the 2022 World Champion ship Rally where the Aboitiz Group’s Great Transformation revealed itself on the global racing stage.

From September 8 to 11, participants raced through the rocky mountain roads along the historic isle of Greece in the iconic race—also called the Rally of the Gods—that opened at the Olympic Stadium in Athens before moving to the mountainous region of Lamia.

Tens of thousands of spectators cheered on the participants with one eye-catching rally car charging through the course with the clean streaks of Aboitiz red on its body shell and the Great Transformation logo emblazoned on the hood of car No. 46.

The GT2025 is all about speed, excitement, performance, and achievement through rough roads— and so we felt this was a great symbol of that,” Aboitiz Group President and CEO Sabin Aboitiz said.

D iaz was the only driver in the Acropolis Rally with a Filipino AAP Competition License.

I am very thankful, and feel very proud, to be able to carry the flag of the country where my mother was born,” said Diaz, who has more than two decades of rac ing experience. “With the [Great Transformation] logo, again, I feel proud to carry those colors on my car and on my suit.”

Th e Great Transformation of the Aboitiz Group puts innovation at the forefront of its growth strategy, bolstered by motivated and curious team members.

The Great Transformation’s global debut on the road was a fulfillment of the Aboitiz Griup’s commitment to the sustainable future of the rallying sport. Every enrolled rally car was required to carry sustainable, fossil-free based fuel engineered to minimize pollution.

CARLOS “SONNY” PADILLA turns out as a perfect choice for the classic “Thrilla In Manila” fight between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.

MIGUEL DIAZ (left) with his co-driver Jordi Hereu (right) pose with their machine.

CHIHIRO IKEDA eyes a second career overall individual crown.