BusinessMirror October 29, 2022

HOLIDATES!

An online dating app poll bares a good number of pandemicweary single Pinoys long to find love in this season of cheer

By Roderick L. Abad Contributor

IT’S the season of merrymaking again as the Christmas spirit gets stronger, with the festive atmosphere felt almost everywhere after more than two years of lockdowns at home or restrictions on socializing due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

A s to when the health crisis will stay may still be uncertain. Nonetheless, the good thing is that the situation has somehow eased to a point where, it seems, people are overcoming their fears in order to finally resume their stalled holi day traditions.

Th is holds true, especially with the Philippines having the longest Yuletide period in the world. Cel ebrated during the “ber” months— from September to October, No vember and December—it’s the highly anticipated time of the year when the only Catholic-dominated nation in Asia spends it with full revelry and customs.

The fever officially starts on September 1 and ends December 31, with the nonstop radio play ing of carols; display of Christmas lights and trees, lanterns or parol and other decorations; numerous mall sales; corporate and street parties; and the age-old practices, from attending “Simbang Gabi” or nine-day pre-dawn masses up to the eve with the lavish Noche Buena spread and exchange gifts. But it doesn’t stop there. Shortly after the New Year, the holiday cheer continues until the first week of January.

Romance in the air

EXCITED to observe it anew the prepandemic way, Filipinos have started to plan when, where and how to spend it. Other than the usual preparations leading to Christmas, it’s also the time for many to now find romance as they

seek a more meaningful celebra tion, especially coming from a twoyear singlehood status with the en suing health crisis.

The so-called IRL (short for “in real life”) Holi-Date is heightened as the Christmas season creeps in. While Filipinos look forward to decorating their homes anew and what presents they will buy and give to their loved ones come Yuletide, Bumble, an online dating app, found out that 56 percent of them long for lasting relationships with the relaxation of health mea sures and protocols, as well as un restricted face-to-face interactions as pandemic protocols ease.

Based on the fieldwork and online survey it conducted last Au gust, only 5 percent of them indi cated that they do not want to date at all. This is despite the fact that almost half (49 percent) of those 1,108 single adult-participants in the poll said they are more worried to go on a date now than before Covid-19 hit China late 2019 and, eventually, the Philippines and the rest of the world in early 2020.

We know that dating in this post-Covid world can feel anxietyinducing, as people can feel out of practice and more self-conscious than they felt prior to the pan demic,” Lucille McCart, communi cations director for Asia Pacific at Bumble, said in their recent media briefing in Makati. “[But] what our research found is that [an] over whelming [number of] our people in the Philippines are excited about love during the holidays.”

Neuroscience and psychobiol ogy studies consistently confirm this as they indicate that humans are innately social beings and that meaningful relationships help them thrive, according to clinical psychologist Dr. Margie Holmes.

The relationship expert of Bumble emphasized that people re ally need to connect. Failing to do so makes them feel depressed and anxious. That’s one of the reasons the pandemic was so difficult for many people, particularly for Fili pinos who are wired to be sociable, and are typically surrounded by “six people in a house.”

So when you’re used to that, when you’re alone, it seems like you need to connect in different ways,” Dr. Holmes said. “However, despite our sincere attempts to connect with others, we sometimes make mistakes. Yet because we are wired to connect, we continue to seek healthy and equitable connections with others.”

Single no more AS the country welcomes the cold “ber” months, two in five of the respondents search for someone to spend with as Christmas draws near. The women-first dating and social-networking app’s report further revealed that 27 percent of those surveyed want a date to bring to family gatherings. Since it’s the season for sharing and giving, 12 percent candidly say they would get into a relationship for gifts.

The close-knit family ties typical of households in the Philip pines, however, leaves a very thin line for privacy among loved ones: Filipinos, more often than not, pry into the personal affairs of their loved ones.

In reunions at this time of the year, singles usually are asked: “ Wala ka pa ring jowa [You don’t have a partner yet]?” Even if these words pop out with no malice from a rela tive’s mouth, they still can be hurt ful to some. No wonder, 11 percent of the participants expressed their desire to have a partner due to fam

ily pressure, with single male mil lennials (14 percent) as the most prone to this trend.

“Being a bit older, they are more likely to experience such,” she explained. “But I think also it’s like a universal feeling to all people that don’t want to be the only one single person at the holidays or a lot of family gatherings, knowing that they’re gonna have to answer questions about when they will be walking down the aisle—or, are they dating anyone.”

So when asked about why they would bring a date to their get-together with loved ones this Christmas, it’s not surprising for 23 percent of Filipino respondents to cite family pressure as their top motivation to do so; and another 23 percent giving as reason that it’s hard to be the only single attend ing the gathering.

“ They are looking for relation ships or looking for dates as some of the reasons for [them to use] this app since they don’t want to be the only single people in family gatherings,” McCart noted.

Where do lonely hearts go? WITH revenge travel on the rise due to the reopening of most tour ist destinations amid the improv ing Covid situation, people tend to go out, more so during this season. Feeling the cold air, they want to have someone to cuddle with while having a retreat somewhere.

Per Bumble’s study, seven in 10 single Filipinos are open to finding love or going on a date while traveling. Gender-wise, men (72 percent) are slightly in clined to seek a romantic holiday trip than women (68 percent). Most of the respondents fall back on tourist activities (38 percent), followed by online or apps (35 percent) to find a partner.

B ecause getting love today seems possible at a push of a but ton, almost three-quarters (74 percent) of those asked are open to and will consider using dating apps while trekking, with more than one in four polled sharing

that they’ve actually used and connected with people through these platforms before.

“Across Southeast Asia, the demand for all online products is growing, and dating is no exemp tion. I think people, especially in markets like the Philippines, are becoming more open to the idea of dating using apps. So we do see that demand growing as the mar ket grows across Southeast Asia, as people get more online and be come more open to the concept of dating post-pandemic as well because it’s been a difficult time meeting new people when you have lockdowns and different re strictions. Going into next year when we expect to have a lot less of that, we expect more people to be open to the idea of IRL dating again,” she told the BusinessMir ror in a sideline interview.

Seeing that people would want to join the holi-dating scene and travel with someone special this sea son, Bumble touts itself as a great platform to connect with new peo ple. What makes it different is that

no matter the type of relationship, women always make the first move.

On Bumble, you are a lot more in control of your experience as a woman because you match with the man and, then, it’s up to you how and when you start the con versation,” McCart said.

“Bumble is certainly admirable for providing everyone, especially women, with the means to do so. With their efforts, more women are empowered to do something about connecting and to create their own luck,” Dr. Holmes added.

Founded by Whitney Wolfe Herd in 2014, Bumble connects people across dating (Bumble Date), friendship (Bumble BFF) and professional networking (Bumble Bizz). To date, there have been nearly two billion first moves made and hundreds of engage ments, marriages and babies born out of this app. It’s free and widely available in the Apple App Store, Google Play Store and the Web.

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Taiwan tensions raise alarms over risks to world’s subsea cables

By Philip Heijmans, Cindy Wang and Samson Ellis Bloomberg News

tensions with China have prompted Taiwan to boost its military defenses. Now it’s heeding the lessons of the war in Ukraine to address one of its bigger weakness: the fragile undersea infrastructure that connects the island to the internet.

SURGING

Taiwan has 14 subsea cables— many little wider than a garden hose—stretching thousands of miles and directly linking Asian nations including China to the US and other parts of the world. That’s a vulnerability the island’s govern ment, seeing any interruption as potentially destabilizing, wants to minimize.

A d isruption in a conflict with China could result in Taiwan get ting cut off from the world, similar to what happened to the Pacific Island nation of Tonga earlier this year when a volcanic eruption left it without internet access for more than a month.

“ Undersea cables are a serious Achilles’ Heel to Taiwan,” said Ken ny Huang, chief executive officer at the Taiwan Network Informa tion Center, a non-profit partially owned by Taiwan’s government.

It’s not just a concern in Tai pei: With US-China ties under strain, defense strategists around

the world are looking carefully at the risks facing the estimated 1.3 million kilometers of subsea ca bles that nearly all internet traffic passes through and planning con tingencies for how to deal with the risk of lost access.

Taiwan’s government knows those risks well: an earthquake off the island in 2006 cut eight cables, took weeks to repair and caused disruptions to the internet, bank ing services and cross-border trad ing that was felt as far away as Sin gapore.

‘Reunification’ threat

FOR Taiwan President Tsai Ingwen, the China threat is rising: President Xi Jinping said at the opening of the Communist party congress this month that “reunifi cation” with Taiwan “must be real ized and it can without a doubt be realized.” And the Chinese general who led the military command re sponsible for Taiwan was rewarded

by Xi with the post of vice chair of the Central Military Commission.

In response to the increasing threat, starting this year Taiwan will incorporate communication breakdowns into its frequent war drills. In the short term it will also spend NT$550 million ($17 mil lion) on a plan to bolster existing mobile infrastructure, including submarine cables, and accelerate the deployment of fifth-genera tion mobile network base stations through 2024.

False information can eas ily flow and cause social chaos,” Audrey Tang, Taiwan’s minister of digital affairs, told Bloomberg. “We realize that whether Taiwan is un der military aggression or encoun ters emergencies such as natural disasters, it is very important to maintain high-quality, instant communication.”

L onger term, Tang said Taiwan wants to improve access to commu nications satellites and has put to gether a proposal to tap high-speed satellite systems in an emergency.

Lessons

THAT plan was partly inspired by Ukraine’s response to Russia’s in vasion. Within days of Russia’s at tacks, Elon Musk’s orbiting broad band provider Starlink activated services in Ukraine, extending a communications lifeline in occu pied areas and impressing even US military officials who noted such capabilities were difficult to defeat.

If you asked me about using satellites last year, I’d say it’s im possible,” said Huang. “But after we learned from the lesson of Ukraine war, I’d say we need to make the impossible possible.”

It’s not clear if the world’s rich est man would come to Taiwan’s aid, however, after he voiced sup port for Taiwan to become a “spe cial administrative zone” under Chinese rule, comments that were quickly criticized in Taipei and ap plauded in Beijing.

Officials at SpaceX, which op erates Starlink, didn’t respond to emailed requests for comment.

Tang, a 41-year-old former hacker and self-described “con servative anarchist,” was tapped to lead the new digital affairs ministry just two days after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei in August. Her trip triggered a wave of cyberattacks 23 times stronger than anything Taiwan had seen in a single day

The disruptions from those cyber attacks were minor, but a move to sever the island’s subsea fiber cables, which cross disputed waters claimed by China, could be catastrophic. Sustained damage to Taiwan’s cables could crush a digi tal economy set to reach NT$6.5 trillion ($204 billion) by 2025, along with any ambition to become a high-tech hub.

Tonga, a Pacific island nation of about 106,000 people, was left almost entirely cut off from the rest of the world for over a month when its single international cable was damaged in a volcanic erup tion earlier this year.

Residents of the Shetland Is lands, the northernmost region of the UK, lost access to mobile and broadband for a few days last week after cuts to a cable connect ing them to the mainland. Police boosted patrols to reassure resi dents during the outage, which ca ble operator Faroese Telecom said was likely the result of a fishing ac cident, the BBC reported.

TeleGeography, a market re search and consulting firm that produces an updated map of the world’s subsea cables, said the data lines can be prone to damage or breaks for reasons ranging from anchor drag to underwater land slides. They’ve even been seen, on rare occasions, to be the target of shark bites.

An evolving threat

IN developed nations with mul tiple systems, consumers wouldn’t notice the impact of a single cut as data can be quickly rerouted. But while acts of malice are rare, de fense officials are increasingly ac knowledging the threat.

A s Vladimir Putin massed troops along Ukraine’s border earlier this year, the head of the UK’s armed forces told The Times that a “phenomenal” build-up of Russian submarine activity threatened underwater cables, and warned an attack on them was an act of war. France rolled out a strategy this year to defend against “seabed warfare” with deep-sea capabilities including underwater drones and robots.

Beijing considers Taiwan part of its territory, and the island has become the biggest source of ten sion with the US in recent months.

But China’s ambassador to the

US, Qin Gang, said in August that “people are over-nervous”’ about the risk of attack.

Nevertheless, Taiwan’s rush for new capacity underscores another geopolitical tension: of the more than 500 subsea cables globally, according to a Bloom berg analysis, US companies own all or part of 22 percent of them, while China has a small but grow ing stake at 4 percent.

One method of ensuring in ternet resilience is to build more cables. Between 2017 and 2019, international bandwidth used by global networks more than dou bled, according to TeleGeography. Google, for example, spent over $2 billion on its network infrastruc ture in the Asia-Pacific over a de cade since 2010.

But that’s getting harder as regulations become more cumber some and the US-China standoff worsens.

A mid a global campaign to block Huawei Technologies Co. from supplying 5G wireless net works, the Trump administration pushed so-called “clean cables” to ensure China couldn’t subvert the global internet for intelli gence gathering.

Since then, at least four proj ects directly linking the US with Hong Kong were forced to with draw licensing bids amid Ameri can national security concerns, though one backed by Meta Plat forms Inc. later won approval af ter agreeing to route the system through Taiwan.

You build as much diversity as you can and this is partly why you see us investing into all the submarine cables, because ulti mately the best way of getting re liability is redundancy in the ca ble system, so you build as much as you can,” said Bikash Koley, Google’s vice president and head of global networking.

But the possibility of severed cables is a threat many nations still need to address.

A s the host of about 40 un dersea cables, Singapore is setting up a cyber military force to meet threats in the digital domain, in cluding to physical infrastructure.

Could bad actors try to cause a “digital blackout so that the target country is literally cast into dark ness. I think, yes,” Singapore De fense Minister Ng Eng Hen said in June. “It’s not just the stuff of good novels.”

as Chinese warships prepared for drills off its shores.

THE Northern Commander tows the BoaBarge 21 out of Ringdalsfjord, in Halden, Norway. The cables on the barge are going to the Aasgard field in the Norwegian Sea and will transmit power and communication signals to the world’s first subsea gas and compression plant. STEIRUS | DREAMSTIME.COM

By Lenie Lectura

THE Manila Electric Com pany (Meralco) expects to surpass last year’s core in come of P24.6 billion after post ing P19.6 billion from January to September this year.

“Despite the challenges the country is currently facing, in cluding elevated food and energy prices, Meralco expects power de mand to continue growing, which makes the energy sector maintain its critical role in supporting eco nomic growth and progress.

“As we anticipate robust pan demic recovery efforts, there is good indication that Meralco will surpass our 2021 CCNI (Consoli dated Core Net Income),” Meralco Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said.

CCNI for the nine months end ing September 2022 rose by 9 per cent to P19.6 billion from P18.1 billion in the same period last year with the sustained growth in energy sales and higher earnings of its power generation business from projects both locally and in Singapore.

Reported net income, mean while, increased by 20 percent to P19.8 billion from P16.5 billion in 2021.

Consolidated revenues stood at P314.9 billion, 36 percent higher than from P231.7 billion, mainly due to higher pass-through charg es on account of persisting increas es in global fuel prices.

Meralco’s average retail rate in creased by 17 percent to P9.43 per kWh from P8.08 per kWh as genera tion charges, which accounted for about 65 percent of the total retail rate, went up by 32 percent due to higher fuel costs, peso depreciation and higher spot market prices.

Meralco’s consolidated capital expenditures amounted to P20.8 billion, of which P13.5 billion went to Networks CAPEX, which con sisted of new connections, asset renewals, and load growth proj ects, among others.

Operating expenses (OPEX), meanwhile, went up by 10 per cent to P24.9 billion due to higher customer-related expenses and in crease in spending of subsidiaries.

Consolidated energy sales sur passed prepandemic levels. Meral co’s year-to-date consolidated distribution utility energy sales volumes increased by 6 percent to 36,553 GWh from 34,398 GWh in the same nine months last year.

Sales mix continued to shift towards the commercial segment, whose share to total sales increased to 35 percent from 33 percent a year ago. Residential accounted for 35 percent from 37 percent, while industrial segment’s contribution was retained at 30 percent.

“Surpassing prepandemic levels in our consolidated sales volumes signifies that demand for power, particularly from the commercial segment, will continue to grow as we recover and move forward from the pandemic,” Meralco President and CEO Ray C. Espinosa said.

“However, we recognize that elevated fuel prices coupled with the depreciation of the Peso, which is already nearing Pesos 60 to a dollar, continued to put upward pressure on Meralco’s retail rates. While we seek ways to cushion the impact of these challenges, our customers can expect that Meralco will continue to energize more households and more businesses, while powering our economy with stable, reliable, and cost-competitive electricity,” Espinosa added.

PBBM vows to help more MSMEs thrive by easing govt processes

ACKNOWLEDGING the importance of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) as the country recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Friday said the government remains committed to streamlining existing processes and making it easier for businesses to thrive and flourish.

“Let me assure you that the government remains dedicated to streamline existing processes and making it easier for businesses to thrive,” Marcos said during the ribbon cutting of the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Hub at Savya Financial Center in Taguig City.

“We will continue to initiate worthwhile programs to give our ‘kababayans’ enough space and resources to maintain, start, and even restart their ventures,” the President added.

In a news statement, Marcos encouraged all of the country’s MSMEs to avail of the existing financial assistance and facilities that the government has provided together with its partner institutions to maximize their growth potential.

The President also advised them to embrace information and communications

Elon

technology (ICT) for the country’s digital transformation to ensure the continuity of business amid the Covid-19 pandemic and meet the growing demands of businesses and consumers.

According to the chief executive, MSMEs hold real potential to become the Philippines’ engines for inclusive economic growth recovery, as they account for more than 99.5 percent of all business establishments in the country based on 2021 figures.

The MSMEs also provide over 5 million jobs for the nation’s citizens, enabling a significant portion of the population to not just survive and fulfill their most basic needs, but also empower them to pursue their dreams, Marcos pointed out.

At the same time, the President said the new financial hub is a welcome space where people, particularly those working in the MSMEs, can find and create meaningful opportunities for their businesses.

Moreover, it is a testament to the fruits that can be harvested when people engage in meaningful collaborations, Marcos said, adding that the hub’s unveiling is in line with the national goal of advancing growth and development.

tycoon

CCAP sees ‘high-level growth’ in contact center industry with 1M more jobs by ‘28

By Andrea E. San Juan

THE Contact Center Asso ciation of the Philippines (CCAP) said it is bullish about creating one million more jobs by 2028.

“Based on a high-growth sce nario forecast, the industry sees the potential to increase the number of its full-time employ ees (FTEs) from 1.3 million to 2.3 million and achieve an annual revenue of $49 billion by 2028,” CCAP said in a news statement issued on Friday.

At the recently held Contact Islands Conference in Boracay, CCAP outlined the provisions of the 2022-2028 industry road

map. In addition, the contact center industry discussed “path ways” towards maximizing global customer experience manage ment (CXM) opportunities.

According to the CCAP, it is looking at having more than 600,000 additional jobs and a $40 billion revenue, while the “least optimistic” scenario proj ects 300,000 more jobs and $32 billion annual revenue by 2028.

CCAP President Mitch Locsin said the contact center industry would achieve a high-level of growth scenario with the “right support and policy landscape.”

The CCAP president also noted that half of the 1 million jobs target would come from the countryside.

“What makes us even more in spired is that half of the 1 million additional jobs forecasted would come from the countryside, mak ing growth more inclusive and impactful,” Locsin added.

Under its roadmap, the in dustry identified four accelera tion pillars to ensure continued growth. These are: government support, talent development, in frastructure expansion, and mar keting and brand repositioning.

For his part, CCAP Chairman Benedict C. Hernandez said the Roadmap 2028 would propel the industry to contribute $49 billion export revenues to the Philippine economy by 2028.

With support from our govern ment, academe, and other enabling sectors, we are confident we can achieve this” Hernandez added.

According to CCAP, the Con tact Islands Conference is its annual event, which provides industry executives a platform to exchange views on matters critical to industry resilience and growth.

For this year’s conference, conference speakers and panel ists talked about specific recom mendations under each of the industry roadmap acceleration pillars.

By Lenie Lectura

SHELL Energy Philippines Inc. (SEPH), the retail electricity supplier under the Shell Group, has been tapped by the Lucio Tan Group of Companies to supply renewable energy (RE) to its various companies.

SEPH announced Friday that it has forged partnerships with PMFTC Inc., Asia Brewery, Inc. (ABI) and Lufthansa Technik Philippines.

SEPH will supply 15 megawatts to ABI’s manufacturing facilities in Luzon. The RE contract is one way to reduce ABI’s carbon footprint.

ABI’s other sustainability efforts include the recycling of broken or waste glass to produce new glass bottles and the manufacturing of bottles using lahar, which comes from the 1990 Mt. Pinatubo eruption.

PMFTC’s Batangas and Marikina plants, meanwhile, have switched to renewable power.

“We’re very happy to enter into a relationship with SEPH. I’m really looking forward to this new relationship not only in terms of being an electricity provider. We can partner in certain projects, share our experience, benefit as well from their expertise, and continuously make our business more sustainable,” said PMFTC Director of Manufacturing Nicolas Souvlakis.

Lufthansa Technik Philippines is the latest addition to the Lucio Tan Group of Companies that have forged partnerships with SEPH to power up their existing facility in Villamor Air Base.

In addition to SEPH’s inked agreements with the said Lucio Tan Group of Companies, other sister companies, Philippine Airlines, Philippine National Bank and Eton Properties Philippines, Inc. are also set to join SEPH’s growing list of RE partners which is currently at 59. These collaborations signal SEPH’s expansion in supplying alternative sources of energy to major industries, while business leaders and iconic brands take a significant step in adopting sustainability in their production and supply chain processes.

“Establishing strategic partnerships with the Lucio Tan Group of Companies is an opportunity for both our organizations to be on the frontline in building up the renewable power business on a national and global scale,” SEPH General Manager and President Bernd Krukenberg said.

“With the right support and policy landscape, the industry is keen on achieving the highlevel of growth scenario. We are optimistic that our value proposition—highlighted by our competent talent pool, our track record in delivering unri valed quality and business out comes for our clients—remains strong and highly relevant, and will allow us to continue to take a significant percentage of the outsourced CXM demand across the globe,” Locsin said during the event conference.

“Roadmaps represent our col lective aspiration, our vision as an industry. It contains a blue print of how we collectively work together to create the condi tions necessary to achieve that vision. Roadmap 2028 is meant to inspire, galvanize, and rally multi-sectoral efforts to work together and create one million more direct jobs and contribute $49 billion export revenues to the Philippine economy by 2028,” the CCAP chairman said.

“A million more direct jobs matter to our national economic recovery. It matters to our country, it matters to our fellow Filipinos.

These include, among oth ers, crafting dedicated remote working policies to enable easier adoption of hybrid workplace, reskilling and upskilling of em ployees, developing robust senior high school and technical/voca tional programs to increase em ployability, tapping new sources for talent recruitment, ensuring last mile connectivity, marketing among untapped global buyers/ customers etc.

The CCAP is the umbrella or ganization of the Philippine con tact center industry. It serves as the “focal point” of sectors that enable the Philippines to sustain its leadership in the global con tact center industry.

With Jan-Sept core income hitting ₧19.6B, Meralco expects to

full-yr

Shell Energy inks RE supply deals with Lucio Tan Group of Companies

At least 13 dead in floods, landslides in Maguindanao

AT least 13 people died and five others were missing in flash floods and land slides set off by torrential rains that swamped a southern Philip

pine province overnight, officials said Friday.

Ten villagers drowned in rampag ing floodwaters and landslides in Datu Blah Sinsuat town and three others

drowned in nearby Datu Odin Sin suat town in Maguindanao province, regional official Naguib Sinarimbo told reporters.

Five people were missing in Datu

Blah Sinsuat, according to the town’s mayor, Marshall Sinsuat.

A rescue team was deployed to a tribal village at the foot of a moun tain in Datu Odin Sinsuat to check

on reports that floods and landslides also hit houses in the area, Sinarimbo said, adding there were no immediate reports of casualties.

The unusually heavy rains that flooded several towns in Maguindan ao and outlying provinces overnight in mountainous regions with marshy plains were caused by tropical storm “Paeng” (international code name: Nalgae), which was expected to hit the country’s eastern coast from the Pacific Ocean on Saturday morning, according to forecasters.

Floodwaters rapidly rose in many low-lying villages, forcing some vil lagers to climb onto their roofs, where they were rescued by Army troops, police and volunteers, officials said. The floods started to recede when the rains eased Friday morning, they said.

“In one area in Upi only the at tic of a school can be seen above the floodwater,” said disaster-mitigation officer Nasrullah Imam, referring to a flood-engulfed town in Maguindanao.

The wide rain bands of Nalgae, the 16th storm to hit the Philippine archi pelago this year, enabled it to dump rains in the country’s south although the storm was blowing farther north, government forecaster Sam Duran said.

About 20 typhoons and storms batter the Philippines each year. It’s located in the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a region along most of the Pacific Ocean rim where many volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur, making the Southeast Asian archipelago one of the world’s most disaster-prone areas.

PRC places first aiders,ambulances on high alert

THE Philippine Red Cross (PRC) is preparing its medical assets and ser vices to accommodate the anticipated increase of people in bus terminals, seaports, airports, highways, memo rial parks, and selected thoroughfares following the easing of travel restric tions and reopening of cemeteries on All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day.

PRC will start its operation as early as Friday and will continue until Wednesday, November 2, to provide medical care to motorists and com muters visiting cities and provinces and ensure their safety.

“Nakahanda ang ating mga volun teers, staff, ambulances at first aid stations para samahan ang ating mga kababayan na uuwi at dadalawin ang kanilang mga yumaong mahal sa bu hay. Naka standby rin ang ating mga chapters at relief operations sa pag dating ni bagyong Paeng,” said PRC Chairman and CEO Richard Gordon.

Pinoy

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

THE chairman of House Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs has called on government agencies to comply with the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW Convention), particularly those identified by the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) of the European Union (EU) to save the jobs of thousands Filipino seafarers.

Rep. Ron Salo of KABAYAN Partylist has invited key government agencies for a briefing on the compliance of the Philippines with the requirements under the STCW Convention.

“We have been informed that around 40,000 to 50,000 of our Filipino seafarers working on European vessels are [at risk] of losing their certification by the EMSA because of the inability of concerned Philippines agencies to implement reforms since the first assessment done in 2006,” Salo said.

“It is high time that we take compliance with the STCW Convention seriously, as this will ultimately cost the livelihood of thousands of our Filipino seafarers,” Salo explained.

During the Thursday’s hearing, Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Assistant Secretary Jerome Pampolina said that aside from loss of jobs in seafaring and manning industries, OFW cash remittances from all sea-based OFWs in a five-year period averaged a total of P376.12 billion.

He said this amount of remittances is also at risk should the country fail to meet the minimum global standards of maritime education, training, and certification.

Pampolina proposed creation of a tripartite roadmap to boost Philippine competitiveness as the best source of maritime workers and officers.

Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega assured that they have been closely coordinating with EU member-states to facilitate the discussion of

PRC Safety Reminders:

n Use a seatbelt.

n Wear a helmet on a motorcycle.

n Drive at a safe speed and distance suitable for the conditions.

n Do not drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

n Do not use a mobile phone while driving.

n Know and respect the highway code.

n Maintain the vehicle in good condition.

n Be visible as a pedestrian or a cyclist.

n Know how to react in case of a crash.

n Wear loose cotton shirts.

n Avoid bringing small children to a cemetery, if necessary, put a small piece of paper with their name and contact details in case they might get lost

n If under medication, don’t forget to bring your medicines

n Avoid bringing easily spoiled food

n Don’t forget to bring drinking water, fans, face towels, and umbrellas to avoid dehydration

n Remember “BLOW BAGETS” (Breaks, Lights, Oil, Water, Batteries, Air, Gas, Engine, Tires, Self)

For emergencies and any untoward incidents, contact PRC 24/7 Operations Center, dial 143 or 8790-23-00.

PRC will mobilize 1,104 trained first aid volunteers and 222 staff na tionwide.  217 first aid stations and 62 ambulances with first aid stations will be set up and positioned in 235 cemeteries nationwide as well as on major highways (Abra, Ifugao, Mt. Province, Northern Luzon Express way, Sta Rosa, Laguna, Davao Del Sur, Surigao Del Sur, Valenzuela Mcarthur Highway), bus stations, seaports and airport for fast deployment in any untoward situation.

Meanwhile, PRC Chapters are on standby and prepared to provide re lief and medical assistance following the report of Philippine Atmospher ic, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) that tropical depression Paeng is projected to reach typhoon category by Saturday.

PRC volunteers and staff are con tinuously reminding the public to strictly follow minimum public health standards on Covid-19, which entails wearing face masks, physical distanc ing, and proper washing of hands. Most cemeteries will require fully vaccinated individuals 12 years old and above. AP with Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

STCW compliance with the EMSA. The DFA committed to continue to use diplomatic tools to defend the country’s STCW status.

“We always present to the EU how important and competent our seafarers are, and that it is a mutually beneficial matter for us to be certified. We also discuss this with the European maritime companies because they want to continue hiring Filipino seafarers,” De Vega said.

The Commission on Higher Education (CHED), on the other hand, highlighted the solution of imposing of a 5-year moratorium on the opening of new marine transportation and marine engineering programs and the institutionalization of national maritime admission examinations (NMAE) and the phasing out of non-compliant programs.

Salo, meanwhile, requested the Philippine Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) to present all the 23 EMSA findings and the compliance being undertaken by the concerned agencies of the government. MARINA grouped these items into six key areas of inspection.

Officer-In-Charge of the Office of the Executive Director of MARINA Samuel Batalla noted that there are only a few items that are needed to be complied with, such as the curriculum of the maritime education programs, which should be completed by the end of December.

Salo pointed out the inefficiencies of the changing curricula of maritime programs, noting the lack of coordination with the MARINA and Commission on Higher Education.

“These are already recurring issues when it comes to curriculum. Sasabihin ng MARINA, CHED ang may hawak, tapos pag tinanong natin ang CHED, sasabihin ang MARINA naman. So sino ba talaga, at the end of the day?”Salo asked.

“Kung paulit-ulit na lang na issue ang compliance ng ating curriculum, dapat matagal nang na-address yan. The education sector should definitely know better,” Salo added.

DAR pays tribute to elderly farmers for contributing to PHL food security

By Marita Moaje

MANILA—The Depart

ment of Agrarian Reform (DAR) recently recognized the contribution of elderly Filipino farmers who continue to bring food to Filipino families despite their ad vanced age.

In Quezon province, 50 elderly agrarian reform beneficiaries were honored and given food packs, accord ing to a DAR news release on Tuesday.

“We are giving this tribute to our elderly farmers for their role in providing the Filipinos with food. At their age, they are still working in the fields for the country’s food supply,” said Cupido Gerry Asuncion, DAR 4A (Calabarzon) director. “De spite the limitations and obstacles caused by various circumstances like the pandemic, many senior citizens, especially elderly farmers, continue to work for their families and their communities, and help strengthen the country’s food security.”

A study by the University of the Philippines Los Baños last year showed that the average age of the Filipino farmer is 53 years old.

Notwithstanding their age, the DAR said older farmers continue to go out to ensure food security, even at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic that made them more vulnerable to infections.

The same study said the younger generation has no interest in farm ing despite the Philippines’s vast ag ricultural lands and bodies of water.

Agrarian Reform Secretary Con rado Estrella III previously said his de partment would continue to address farmers’ needs, based on President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directives to intensify the provision of support services, such as more infrastructure facilities, machinery, equipment, in puts, and development training.

The DAR is likewise planning to provide farmers with medical assis tance through a partnership with the Department of Health. PNA

Davao del Norte seniors get cash for Covid-19 vaccines

By Manuel T. Cayon Mindanao Bureau Chief

DAVAO

CITY—Some creativ ity and a little cash still work wonders in Davao del Norte.

T he Davao del Norte local govern ment unit this week got affirmation that the strategy works when Gover nor Edwin Jubahib led the distribu tion of cash incentives to about 500 senior citizens who got vaccinated for Covid-19.

“I am happy that you responded to our call for you to get immunized,” he said on Monday after handing out the monetary reward of P2,000 per senior citizen.

T he provincial information of fice said Governor Jubahib “imple mented the vaccine incentive reward program as an effective way to en courage seniors to get vaccinated, since they are at highest risk of

deaths due to Covid-19.”

T he governor thanked the De partment of Social Welfare and De velopment (DSWD) for providing the funds for the Covid vaccine incen tives program for the elderly.

N eidel Feah Ferido, the provin

cial coordinator of the National Immunization Program, said that after the governor announced the incentives in August, vaccine rates among the elderly increased by as much as 1.3 percent for those completing their second dose of the Covid-19 vaccines and 31.8 percent for those receiving their first booster dose.

Since the start of the vaccination drive last year, a total of 49,829 se nior citizens in the province have already completed their second dose, while 13,039 already got their first booster dose.

Ferido said that with the guar anteed cash reward, the vaccination campaign blasted off from August 1, 2022 to September 30, 2022. She said some 561 senior citizens received their second dose; at the same time, 4,144 elderly had their first booster shot during the period.

T he governor assured the senior citizens that vaccination prevents severe illness, hospitalizations and death. He cited studies of people 65 years and older who received both doses of the Covid vaccine, which reduced the risk of Covid-related hospitalization by 94 percent.

Jubahib dispelled misinforma tion circulating on social media about the ill-effects of the vac cine, which resulted in some form of vaccine hesitancy among his constituents. The governor said vaccination is still the best way to prevent Covid infection.

Do not believe fake news sto ries since the truth can’t be denied that unvaccinated individuals are at a higher risk of infection. There is a great possibility that you will not survive since unvaxxed people are more likely to die of Covid-19,” he said.

Number of centenarians in Japan grows by five times in 20 years

By Low De Wei

THEnumber of centenarians in Japan has risen to a fresh record, underscoring the chal lenges facing the country as its popu lation rapidly gets older.

T here are now 90,526 Japanese citizens aged 100 and above, an increase of 5 percent from a year earlier and more than five times the amount two decades ago, ac cording to a report by the Ministry

of Health, Labor and Welfare. The data was unveiled in September in celebration of Respect for the Aged Day, or Keiro no Hi, a na tional holiday.

By comparison, the US has 97,914 centenarians, according to the latest census data, despite having about a population that’s more than 200 million larger.

Japan is struggling to manage one of the world’s fastest-aging societies and a low birth rate that

has strained its pension system. Helped by healthy diets and an ac cessible medical system, Japan has the second-highest life expectancy in the world, ranking just behind Hong Kong.

People turning 100 in Japan typically get a silver cup from the prime minister. The rapid increase in the number of centenarians prompted the government to turn to a cheaper version of the metal in 2016.

T he holiday’s roots stem from Ja pan’s appreciation of the elderly and using their knowledge to benefit the greater good of society. While there’s no traditional way to celebrate it, people will choose to visit their el derly parents or grandparents, or send them gifts.

T he oldest person in the country is Fusa Tatsumi, a 115-year-old woman living in Osaka prefecture, the min istry said. With assistance from Marika Katanuma and Junko Hayashi / Bloomberg

Family members face man charged in killings of 22 elderly Texans

By Jamie Stengle The Associated Press

week after the second conviction of a man charged in the deaths of 22 elderly women, family members of those he is accused of killing gath ered at a Dallas courthouse Friday

to face him.

In Ellen French House’s victim impact statement, she told Billy Chemirmir, who was wearing a striped jail uniform, that she wanted him to see two photos of her mother: one of Norma French alive, the other after the 85-year-old was killed.

This is my beautiful mother,”

House said as she displayed the first photo. “This is my mother after you pried her wedding ring off of her fin ger that she couldn’t even get off.”

For most of the families, Friday may be their only chance to face Chemirmir in a courthouse. After trying Chemirmir in two of the deaths and obtaining two sentences

of life in prison without parole, Dal las County prosecutors have said they will dismiss their remaining 11 capital murder cases against him. Prosecutors in neighboring Collin County haven’t yet said if they will try any of their nine capital murder cases against him.

C hemirmir, 49, received his

second sentence of life in prison without parole last Friday after being convicted of capital mur der in the smothering death of 87-year-old Mary Brooks. He was already sentenced to life in prison without parole for an April con viction in the death of 81-year-old Lu Thi Harris.

The making of a China watcher: Turning exile into opportunity

school and became an activist.

Sometime in 1971, he went to China as part of a student ex change program arranged by the China Friendship Association.

By Nick Tayag

MY SIXTY-ZEN’S WORTH

the writer belongs to a class that in cludes the leaders who transformed China into the modern power that it is today.

On page 29, he mentions a “Bene dictine monk” as among the final 15 chosen delegates. That monk was my brother Carlos Tayag. Jimmy and Caloy became good friends and that’s another reason why I feel close to Jimmy.

UP. Then as China began opening its doors to the world, the door of opportunity also opened for him to work for Newsweek, Time and CNN as a China correspon dent and later the first Filipino to become Bureau Chief of CNN. Now a retiree, he is a respected China watcher with a teaching job in Beijing and Tokyo.

fascinating drama. The character sketches of his revolving dorm mates and people he met on his way to the top are so intimate and vivid that I found myself wanting to befriend them too.

S o many thoughts came to mind as I was going through it.

Authorities say he preyed on older women, killing them and stealing their valuables. Time after time, their deaths were initially deter mined to be from natural causes, even as family members raised alarm bells about missing jewelry. He has been charged in deaths over a two-year span.

dents and professionals and ac tivists who were all felled in one swoop by the scythe of Martial Law and now being continued by the red tagging of the rabid misguided followers of rightist thinking. Who knows, by this time, the Philippines could have been more progressive and pros perous in their hands. TOTGA, as they say nowadays.

ON the book cover is the title “Class of 77” subtitled “How My Classmates Changed China.” It shows a group picture and in the middle is a diminutive young man in red jogging pants with white stripes. He is a true-blooded Pinoy among Chinese students in the heart of mainland China. That’s the book’s author, Jaime A. FlorCruz, then in his late 20s.

T he blurb on the cover tells us that

How did this Pinoy end up in the elite class of China’s future leaders? Equally intriguing, how did this Pi noy, who one day is carrying a bam boo pole on his shoulders balancing two wooden buckets of human fe ces to use as fertilizer in a remote farm in Mao’s China and then in just a few years finds himself on the global stage as a correspondent on network television? The answers to those questions form the two main arc lines that drive the flow of the book’s narrative.

B elieve it or not, many moons ago, Jaime was my boarding house mate. He was simply called “Jimmy” then and we were both staying at Eagles’ Nest along Katipunan Road in Que zon City. Hailing from Malolos, Bu lacan, he was a likeable fellow, easy to befriend.

He later on transferred to another

T he timing of their trip coin cided with the political turmoil in the Philippines beginning with the Plaza Miranda bomb ing, the First Quarter Storm leading to the declaration of Martial Law. The group conse quently found itself marooned in China. After being warned by friends that activists were being rounded up and jailed or made to disappear, Jimmy and a few oth ers decided to stay in that coun try. The rest opted to go back to the Philippines, and one of them was my brother Caloy who later became a “desaparecido,” alleg edly abducted forcibly by agents of the military during the most murderous stretch of the Mar tial Law years.

Since he could not leave China, Jimmy made the best out of a bad situation by learning Man darin and pursuing his studies in Beida, a university that is China’s equivalent of Ateneo or

Two years ago, I met Jimmy again in person in a happy re union of former boardinghouse mates. On that occasion, he told us he was writing a book about his experience while in China in forced exile.

T his is that “book” he was tell ing us about. This is not a review or a critique of the book but to be honest, I am biased for the book and after reading it, I urge every one to grab a copy because it’s a unique and well-told story. Maybe a good gift for the holidays? It’s available at Popular Bookstore in Timog Avenue, Quezon City.

Jimmy’s journey, from a col lege student in forced exile to an internationally respected China watcher, is really one for the books, to use a cliché that in this case is very appropriate. I would call it a “Tale of the Longest 3-week Tour of China.”

It may even make a good film or a limited series. It is packed with stand-alone mini stories, having all the elements that make for

T he Chinese are very fond of sloganeering. And one slo gan that Jimmy cites in the book is “turn adversity into opportunity” akin to another Maoist meme “turn grief into courage.” His story is a series of heart-breaking partings from his family, his homeland, his Filipino comrades, his Chinese batch mates and his Chinese girlfriends. But each farewell led to doors of new possibilities.

Jimmy labels his batch mates at Beida as the “lost generation” because they were in limbo for many years during the chaotic and now discredited Great Prole tarian Cultural Revolution when schools were closed and students were instead ordered to work in farms and factories to learn from the masses. Now those same “Lost Generation” students, after gradu ation, have helped China become a superpower.

It makes me think that the Philippines too has its own “lost generation.” I am referring to that whole batch of bright dynamic and idealistic young college stu

Just thinking out loud. With his priceless knowledge of China and its leaders and his vantage view of the political winds that come and go inside Beijing, it is a wonder why Jimmy has not yet been invited to government hearings on China. As a resource person he can contribute to a more balanced, deeper and broader perspective on our gov ernment’s stance on the ChinaTaiwan-USA conflict. Is anyone at the DFA listening?

Jimmy has gone a long way since our days at the old boarding house. Little did we know, he would one day be on the same global stage as the big names in journalism, non-fiction and travel literature, like Pico Iyer, Gay Talese, Melinda Liu, all of whom I have admired for years from afar.

A fter putting down this solidly written but highly readable book, I can conclude without doubt that the country deserves to benefit from this member of China’s Class of ‘77 by putting his charm, intel lect, wisdom and perspective to work for our people.

GOVERNOR Edwin Jubahib said he thought of the vaccine incentive reward program as a way to encourage seniors to get vaccinated.

THE Department of Agrarian Reform recently honored 50 elderly agrarian reform beneficiaries in Quezon province. COURTESY OF DAR FACEBOOK

Israel boosts local learning, spruces up Taguig school

By Roderick L. Abad

THE Embassy of Israel took an active part in the Brigada Eskwela program of the Education Department by helping redecorate local schools for full face-to-face learning.

On October 24 Ambassador Ilan Fluss led volunteers from the em bassy in preparing Taguig City’s Bagong Tanyag Integrated School (BTIS) for the 100-percent imple mentation of in-person classes scheduled to start next month.

Recently Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte said that the Department of Edu cation is ready for the resumption of regular five-day, physical con duct of classes since the start of School Year 2022-2023 in August.

Until November 2 various learn ing options—including an entire weekday of in-person classes, blended learning, or full-distance learning—were allowed in many public schools nationwide. After such, full face-to-face class instruc

tions will become mandatory for these learning institutions.

The embassy staff aided in assembling and painting tables that were donated to pupils of 10 kindergarten classes at BTIS. “Brigada…” provided the oppor tunity for the personnel to join in a volunteering activity with its partner-schools.

T he Israeli envoy expressed his delight in taking part in the ini tiative, which he said was “close to his heart,” since his better-half is also engaged in the noble profes sion of teaching.

“My wife Gila is a teacher. We are happy to participate physi cally in ‘Brigada…,’ and to work side-by-side with the community, especially with the teachers and

students,” Fluss shared. “This is a fulfilling initiative, and we hope that our little assistance will in spire the students to study well. Education is very important in Jewish tradition.”

In his opening remarks, the am bassador underscored the friendly relations between Israel and the Philippines. According to him, they are eager to collaborate with various fields to strengthen the cooperation of both nations.

BTIS thanked the generosity of the embassy for donating more ta bles to help ensure that proper so cial distancing is practiced among

their pupils.

Apart from such, a number of gadgets and health supplements were handed out to the young learners. The initiative was done in partnership with MASHAV, Is rael’s agency for international de velopment and cooperation.

Guests who graced the cere monial turnover included Taguig City Mayor Ma. Laarni Cayetano, Schools Division Assistant Super intendent Quinn Norman Arreza, BTIS faculty members headed by Principal Dr. Erlinda Butcon, local barangay officials, and the school’s parents-teachers’ association.

ECONOMIC zone operator First Philippine Industrial Park Inc. (FPIP) recently donated hand washing stations to 15 public schools in its two host cities in Batangas province as part of its support to help control the spread of Covid-19 and other in fectious diseases, on top of promoting proper hygiene among schoolchildren.

Lopez-led FPIP formally handed over the facilities to the schools in the cities of Santo Tomas and Tanauan in Batangas to also assist in the prepara tions of both local governments units and the Department of Education for the safe resumption of full, in-person classes in November.

During the handover ceremonies, Mayor Arth Jhun A. Marasigan of Santo Tomas City pointed out the role the FPIP donations play in minimizing children’s health concerns and poor school per formance by providing them the con venience inside their schools to clean their hands with soap and water: “Uni cef [United Nations Children’s Fund] says almost 50 percent of school-aged children are infected with communitytransmitted infections, which are the usual cause of diarrhea, stunted growth

[and absenteeism among schoolchil dren, which have a high impact on the level of their] education.”

According to Marasigan, the prob lems are “[due to the lack of] access to safe water, and it is not acceptable to me.” The local chief executive said

that the addition of the handwashing facilities inside the schools will help local government units develop aware ness and habits among schoolchildren on proper hygiene, which in turn, will help promote good health and improved academic performance.

“It is our role to imprint in the young minds of our schoolchildren the high level of health awareness and proper sanitation and hygiene,” the mayor said.

Ricky Carandang, FPIP vice presi dent and head of external affairs, disclosed that the operator has so far designed and installed complete hand washing stations in 11 public schools in Santo Tomas, and in four others in Tanauan. He disclosed that, next year, the industrial park will complete the free construction of 15 more similar sanitation stations for public schools in the two cities.

Lopez-controlled First Philippine Holdings Corp., together with Sumi tomo Corp. of Japan as a partner, es tablished FPIP as a world-class location for global traders and manufacturers, as well as a platform for creating jobs for ordinary Filipinos and tax revenues for the government.

Today the 520-hectare ecozone pro vides employment for almost 70,000 Filipinos and generates millions in tax revenues for the government from lo cators, aside from exporting more than P200 billion in goods and services an nually to the rest of the world.

BONUAN

Buquig National High School (NHS) in Dagupan City, which restored destroyed mangroves to reverse environmental devastation impacting its students, was adjudged as top winner of the inaugural World’s Best School Prize for Environmental Action.

The high school bested two other finalists for the prize: Green School Bali in Indonesia and International School of Zug and Luzern in Switzer land. (Read in the BusinessMirror: Bonuan Buquig National HS: Finalist for World’s Best School Prize for Environmental Action; Octo ber 1, 2022).

“Congratulations to Bonuan Buquig NHS... Teachers everywhere will be inspired by the example of this outstanding Philippines school; [its] inspirational work is lighting the way toward a better future,” Accenture’s Global Management Committee member Peter Lacy said. “[We are proud to collaborate with T4 Education on the award], which celebrates schools’ incredible efforts to empower the next generation to harness new technologies and in novative practices that tackle the global sustainability issues that im pact us all.”

Lacy added: “Through this prize, we aim to recognize tools and tech niques nurtured by schools, [then] share them with a broad audience, enabling others to replicate their work and multiply the impact at speed and scale.”

For T4 Education and World’s Best School Prizes founder Vikas Pota: “It’s time for world leaders to sit up and listen to schools like Bonuan Buquig NHS in the Philippines. Far too many children will [still] be left behind in the wake of Covid-19—un less governments take urgent action to tackle the education crisis.”

Pota furthered: “As a first step, they must turn to the knowledge and experience contained within our schools, because those on the frontlines of education know bet ter than anyone else the change we need to see.”

American Express Head of Corpo rate Sustainability Madge Thomas commented: “I…congratulate Bonu an Buquig NHS for this fantastic achievement. We are pleased to recognize students and educators… taking action in schools to protect the environment and their futures. As we at American Express work to advance climate solutions, we are proud to support programs and part nerships like this one to help build more climate-resilient and equitable communities.”

The five World’s Best School Priz es, founded this year by T4 Education in ties with Accenture and American Express, are the world’s most pres tigious education prizes—said the organizers—as winning schools shared $250,000 in cash awards.

The five World’s Best School Prizes: for “Community Collabora tion,” “Environmental Action,” “In novation,” “Overcoming Adversity” and “Supporting Healthy Lives,” celebrate schools everywhere for the pivotal role they play in developing the next generation of learners, and for their enormous contribution to society’s progress—especially in the wake of the pandemic.

Prizes were founded by T4 Educa tion in collaboration with Accenture, American Express, Yayasan Hasa nah, Templeton World Charity Foun dation, and the Lemann Foundation to share the best practices of schools that are transforming lives of their students, and making a real differ ence to their communities.

MAPÚA

University said it has finally realized its vision of becoming one of the top higher education institutions (HEIs) in the world, as it was included in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2023.

Out of the more than 25,000 uni versities throughout the world, Mapúa is ranked 1,501+ among the 1,799 uni versities across 104 countries and re gions that made it to the list. Further, it is one of only four in the Philippines in the roster.

The global ranking is measured by the universities’ core missions. Mapúa is listed as follows in various criteria: Research: 1,139; Citations: 1,703; In dustry Income: 1,716; Teaching: 1,757; and International Outlook: 1,771.

In Research, it was THE’s second-

highest ranked among the four local universities.

According to a statement, the new recognition from THE “is an assur ance for all of Mapúa’s stakeholders; most important—the Filipino com munity, of the excellence and global competitiveness of the Mapúa educa tion, far-extending from its role as a nation-builder to an adept initiator and enabler of cutting-edge research, development, and innovation that is beneficial to all.”

Mapúa shared that THE’s rankings ( https://www.timeshighereducation. com/ ) empower universities world wide, while keeping students and their families, academics, university leaders, governments, and industries informed of the schools’ performances and suc cesses on a global stage.

PAL PREXY TO ADDRESS DLS-CSB GRADS Captain Stanley Ng, president of Philippine Airlines, will be the honorary speaker in the face-to-face commencement exercises of his alma mater: the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde today, October 29, at the Philippine International Convention Center. Ng, who earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration-Major in Computer Applications from the School of Management and Information Technology, will impart his wisdom and knowledge before the latest batch of graduates. He will share his beginnings as a young dreamer attending classes in the cam pus, enrouteto becoming head of the nation’s premiere flag carrier. Ng shares Benilde’s commitment of innovative and inclusive education, as well as the continuous growth of the hospitality and tourism edu cation and industry. He is the first pilot to assume the headship of PAL since the early 1960s. DLS-CSB

STuDENTS from Cale Elementary School in Tanauan City flash the thumbs-up sign after trying the new handwashing station. Behind them are Tanauan City Councilor Czylene Marqueses (from left), fPIP vice President and Head of External Affairs Ricky Carandang, Tanauan School of fisheries administrator Dr. Shirley Siman, Tanauan City

EMBASSY OF ISRAEL

competition: “Rebuilding Siargao.” Said contest called for two separate proposals:

proposal

TimbaatTabo(“Pail and Dipper,” concept above)”

supply due to groundwater saline intrusion

spread of Covid-19. The winning entry will be built by Lokal Lab, a nongovernmental

community. UST OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Tourism&Entertainment

hit the pause button at Chateau hestia

photos By Ardee P. de los

Revengetourism is here and it is time to scratch that travel itch. An easy and quick getaway to the south of Manila is just two hours away. grab your overnighter bag and let us visit this hidden forest in Silang, Cavite.

A quick check on Google Maps or Waze will give you the exact directions on how to get there. Take this opportunity to slow down and recover from the daily grind in busy Manila.

So close to Tagaytay and said to be among the oldest towns in Cavite, the mu nicipality of Silang offers more breathing space as far as the traffic and crowds are concerned. This is especially true during weekends. Parking in the area is easy and very ideal for social distancing.

A Garden Paradise

Ch AT e Au h e stia is one of the country’s best-kept Bed & Breakfast garden res taurants, which features authentically delectable e uropean cuisine. The place is often visited by high-profile personalities who enjoy great-tasting food.

This is our third visit here and the experience only gets better. The res taurant has new dishes that are a great addition to its already rich e uropean menu. For lunch, we tried the Roasted Bone Marrow with Toast, Caprese salad, and Truffle pizza; all wonderful addi tions to an already full menu. I always go back to their garden restaurant for the sumptuous Osso Bucco and Risotto, which is a very generous serving of meltin-your-mouth Beef shank and Risotto. For dessert, their Burnt Cheesecake is highly recommended.

It’s great to see familiar faces on this return visit. The staff I’ve known through the years are always welcoming and available to guests. They are helpful and knowledgeable if there are questions regarding the property or about the dishes on the menu.

On this visit, we met the property’s general manager, Juliana Zehethofer. It was refreshing to see someone so youth ful and well-informed about the business. She is the perfect host as she toured us around and explained the new additions to the property.

For dinner, we feasted on pasta, steaks, and wine. We also tried the Mozart Choc olate Cream, a taste of Austria indeed. This was a perfect meal to end the day and begin another experience. We are looking forward to staying for the night.

Bed and breakfast

Ch AT e Au h estia has several suites and casitas on the property. Cottages with a jacuzzi, steam bath, garden view, and a big veranda are available. Guests have more time to breathe the fresh air and

appreciate nature if they stay for a night or two. We took this opportunity to relax and stayed for the night at their spacious suite cottage. No air conditioning, no TV, no problem. You feel one with nature this way. And it gets cold at night, being in a secluded tropical forest. There is also a ceiling fan in the bedroom.

The suite cottage offers an eclectic mix of a typical Philippine beach casita and a distinctive e uropean home. It is airy, has a comfortable king-size bed, and a spa cious veranda. The bathroom also has a shower cabin with a steam bath to relax you on those chilly evenings. The accom modation is made of local materials and provides an opportunity to commune with nature. Water bottles and towels are also provided.

I had a good night’s sleep and the ex perience felt like being outdoors with all the comforts of home. The veranda also provides additional sleeping quarters for two more people; perfect for families or friends traveling together.

Breakfast by the trees

The next morning was exciting for me. The sun is out and breakfast is served al fresco. There is something special about the chilly morning air and the smell of a fresh pot of coffee. I had the German Style breakfast and chose the h u ngarian sau sage served with homemade Sauerkraut, two eggs (your way), and Garlic Rice.

After breakfast, we walked around the property and saw a vast area with a helipad. I learned that some guests from

Manila visit by using a helicopter. That is having lunch in style.

The area is also surrounded by wellmanicured gardens and a tropical forest and is certainly a wonderful sight that is both Instagrammable and refreshing.

This part of the property has a play ground for kids and a trampoline for both the young and the not-so-young. Part of the land is also used for pineapple farm ing. We broke a sweat as we jumped up and down the trampoline and then walked through the trees illuminated by the sun as we headed back.

Chateau h e stia is worth coming back to. We go back for the delectable food, great service, and to experience all of this while communing with nature. If you haven’t been, then it is time for a visit.

Phl to host Int’l Ecotourism Travel Mart

The  Philippines will take global en vironmental stage once more as it h osts the International e c otourism Travel Mart (I e T M), the world’s first-ever and biggest ecotourism-themed expo from March 29 to April 2, 2023 in Silang, Cavite.

In line with the event, the Interna tional School for Sustainable Tourism ( ISST), the AS e A N Centre for Biodiversity (ACB), and the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (S e A RCA) recently forged a memorandum of understanding for the hosting of the said expo.

According to ISST President Mina Gabor, the five-day fair will share best practices on ecotourism from global experts and pro vide networking avenues with ecotourism a uthorities and advocates.

Organized by the Japan-based Asian

e n vironmental Network, the I e T M will promote the country’s ecotourism sites, indigenous practices and culture, and push for measures to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

The gathering will also bring togeth er delegates and exhibitors worldwide t o showcase products and services that have a strong ecotourism component, green technology, and sustainable green practices.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has catalyzed the growing awareness that nature is part of the solution to public health and envi ronmental challenges. Thus, a regional f air that elevates the tourism sector as a leader in promoting the balance between economic development and harnessing na ture as a solution to our current challenges o nly comes timely,” says ACB e x ecutive

Director Theresa Mundita Lim.

She said that as an event partner, the ACB will feature the success stories of its biodiversity conservation and livelihood programs in Southeast Asia through an interactive exhibition.

The 11-member Jakarta-based AS e A N has declared the revival of the tourism sector as a key component in the region’s efforts in its comprehensive recovery framework.

Originally set in 2020 at the Interna tional Institute for Rural Reconstruction i n Cavite, the I e T M was postponed due to the pandemic.

The event’s government partner agen cies are the Department of Tourism, De partment of Foreign Affairs, Tourism Pro motions Board, Province of Cavite, and M unicipality of Silang.

Story

More people now watch YouTube on their TVs; YT Shorts gaining momentum

Learn to protect children’s mental health online

WITH the Philippines marking National Mental Health Week in mid October, Globe is shedding light on the silent battle the Filipino youth face as they spend more time online, such as cyberbullying which they face mostly by themselves.

THE first YouTube channel I ever watched was Fafinettex3’s. The creator was Aubrey, an Asian-American who applied makeup so skillfully. Even before I started to watch Michelle Phan, I was already watching Aubrey’s videos. The channel is still on YouTube but the videos are gone. Aubrey still does makeup for wedding clients. I know, because I’ve seen her Instagram account. If I may say so, Aubrey and Michelle are two people who fueled my passion for beauty and changed my (wrong) perception that writing about makeup and skincare was frivolous. So you could say that in some way, they helped change my life.

These days, much of the beauty content I consume is on TikTok. I do love TikTok but I see it as YouTube’s younger sibling that provides briefer content. If, say, I wanted to cook pork binagoongan for dinner, I wouldn’t go to TikTok. I’d go to Chef Tatung’s YouTube channel and look for the recipe there. If I wanted cleaning hacks or tips on organizing, I’d still go to YouTube. For vlogs, I’d still go to YouTube although I also watch them on TikTok.

A survey conducted by Ipsos showed that YouTube is the video service Filipino viewers will miss the most if ever it goes offline. The survey also showed that in Q1 2022 compared to the same period last year, watch time of food craving videos grew by over 55 percent while Philippine viral trend videos grew by more than 10 times, and family-related content showed a 60 percent increase. Parenting videos were also very popular as watch time grew twice compared to the previous year.

A new trend, according to Jolly Estaris, head of video at YouTube Philippines, is people watching YouTube videos not just on their mobile devices. I would attribute this to the pandemic when people mostly stayed home.

In May 2022, over 16 million Filipinos streamed YouTube on their TVs with 87 percent of those surveyed saying that YouTube is TV when viewed on their connected TVs.

Another trend that’s gaining momentum is YouTube Shorts, which are short videos in Portrait mode with a maximum length of one minute. According to YouTube internal data as of April 2022, views of YouTube Shorts surpassed 30 billion views globally.

These have resulted to YouTube’s marketing effectiveness to be 3.2x greater than digital platforms and TV in the Philippines combined from 2017 to 2022. The platform has a return on investment (ROI) 1.5x higher than total media ROI from 2017 to 2022 across all platforms in the country.

YouTube said 4,600 channels now have over 100,000 subscribers (a 40 percent increase, yearon-year) and 350 channels with more than 1 million subscribers (a 35 percent increase, year-on-year).

When it comes to budol, which means influencing people what to buy, Estaris said, “The 2022 Google/ Talk Shoppe Study showed that 92 percent of viewers surveyed agreed that YouTube helps them decide what

to buy.”

YouTube has announced the winners of the 2022 YouTube Works Awards in the Philippines on October 25 at Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. It was the first onground Brandcast event in two years, and was hosted by Khalil Ramos and Gabbi Garcia.

Accenture’s “#StoriesofAccenture Vertical Film Festival: Gravity” got the Grand Prix, the highest recognition given to a campaign that is effective, also creative, innovative and data-driven for demonstrable business results. The same campaign also won the Force For Good Award which honors campaigns that best demonstrate brand values and proven impact on social issues.

The Best Collaboration Award, which celebrates the best strategic and creative collaboration between brands and YouTube Creators, was given to Orocan’s “Miss Hurt” campaign starring host and drag queen Paolo Ballesteros as Ms. Hurt, who takes her audience to a vlog-style tour of her house and bags, including the Orocan Ice Box.

Union Bank of the Philippines’s “Heaven” won the Best Storytelling Award. The highlight of the campaign is a commercial where a man named Dante enters the underworld of inadequate bank practices, and showcases all of Union Bank’s solutions which help create a better banking experience for consumers.

Jollibee’s “Now Showing: Love for a Perfect Pair” took home the Brand as Creator Award, which is given to a campaign that best demonstrates brands behaving like creators and using YouTube formats that tap into consumer trends and growing communities. The 36-minute short film heralded the return of the popular Bea Alonzo and John Lloyd Cruz love team.

Diskartech’s “Carabao” won The Challenger Award, which is given to small- and medium-sized brands that were able to do more with less. “Carabao”

showed how easy it is to get loans from Diskartech by presenting it in a fantastical and humorous way via a person popping out of the backside of a carabao.

The Best Personalization Award, which is meant for brands that find creative ways to make sure their messages are tailor-made for their audiences, has remained unclaimed for two years in a row.

KOREAN alternative hip-hop group Epik High, which first came to the Philippines in 2014 for the Epik High Parade Tour, is coming back on November 30 at the New Frontier Theater for the first Southeast Asian stop in the Asia Pacific leg of Chapter 2 of their tour.

The shows were sold-out in Singapore; Melbourne, Sydney; Bangkok, and Jakarta. The tour is in conjunction with the release of their highly anticipated 10th studio album in two parts, Epik High is Here (Part 1) and Epik High is Here (Part 2).

The split of the album mirrors the way traditional Korean novels are released in two parts, giving time to take a break and process what you have consumed before moving on to the next. According to a recent interview with Rolling Stone magazine, the message behind this newest release is that Epik High is here even when you think no one is willing to listen. This album shares wisdom that only comes from the experience of 20 years of lows and some pretty epic highs.

Epik High—composed of Tablo, Mithra Jin, and DJ Tukutz—debuted in 2003. Their blend of hip-hop and sharp lyrics, which openly discuss themes, like mental health and social issues, turned them into one of the most pivotal groups in Korean music. Throughout their 20 years together, Epik High has released hundreds of anthemic songs and were the first Korean act to ever play at Coachella in 2016. Ticket prices for the Manila show start at P5,900 and are available at www.ticketnet.com.ph ■

World Boxing Champ Floyd Mayweather pitches for AQ Prime

BY LEONY GARCIA

“HELLO, Champ!”

His countenance softened, prompting a smile that seemed very pleased and genuine besides displaying his pearly white teeth.

Perhaps he was elated when I started with the greeting, “Hello, Champ!,” when it was my turn to ask questions.

Yes, undefeated world boxing champ Floyd Mayweather was recently in the country for some business ventures. For one, he is the face of AQ Prime, the streaming platform launched in August 2022 by A&Q Entertainment and Prime Stream Inc. in partnership with South Korea’s Sun Mobile

Commerce (SBT).

“We are back again in this great country. So many great people, a beautiful place, humble, respectful [people],” Mayweather said in his opening speech at the mediacon at Cove Manila of Okada Manila.

“I already had my hard fights. Now, everything is just entertaining people around the world, and just having fun,” he said about his partnership with AQ Prime. “It’s all about connecting the dots and doing business worldwide, and with my reach we were able to communicate with their team over the phone, and it was like a match made in heaven,” he said.

#AQPrimeXMayweather opens up the possibility of Mayweather’s reported docuseries on his life, which is set for release in 2023, to be made available

on the platform.

“His life story will not only entertain people but also inspire people to be like him,” said AQ Prime COO Atty. Honey Quiño. “And because we want to offer only the best, we have Mayweather on the board with us now,” she added.

Quiño, together with AQ Prime president and CEO Atty. Aldwin Alegre, Creative Business Partner RS Francisco, and the firm’s Korean partners, formally welcomed Mayweather to AQ Prime family.

And true to his words of enjoying the Philippines, the next few days saw Mayweather enjoying Boracay and some Manila outskirt street party with new friends in Manila, including Frontrow’s RS Francisco and Tutok to Win Partylist Rep. Sam Verzosa.

To lend support to the embattled youth of today, the telco giant is undertaking a holistic effort to spread awareness on the negative effects of online threats on children’s mental health, equipping parents and guardians on how to protect children against these risks, and providing a platform where they may get expert help for free.

Globe and KonsultaMD have partnered to offer one free session with a mental health professional for children, their parents and guardians who may have been affected by cyberbullying. It can be redeemed with the code MAKEITSAFEPH on the KonsultaMD app.

At the same time, Globe equips parents and guardians with the tools to protect the mental health of their children through its online safety platform www.makeitsafe.ph/.

The site, which features the A to Zs of cyberbullying glossary, decodes for parents and guardians current Internet emoji slang as a way of equipping them to be vigilant against signs of cyberbullying and other online threats. For instance, parents may not be aware that a combination of the smirking face and nail polish emojis means “I’m better than you.” A fairy emoji, meanwhile, means something really nasty is about to be said in an online chat.

The site is also available in chatbot form through Globe Bridging Communities. It has been visited over 30,400 times since it launched in mid-July.

The telco has also partnered with popular Facebook parenting communities Glam-o-Mamas and Usapang Nanay to bring important discussions on child online safety and responsibility, digital wellness and mental health straight to parents.

“Globe is working to make the digital space safe for Filipinos by espousing Tech4Good. We urge parents and guardians to be better digital protectors of their children by teaching online safety and responsibility,” said Yoly Crisanto, Globe group chief sustainability and Corporate Communications Officer.

Many are unaware of the worsening situation in select parts of the Philippines where about 60 percent to 80 percent of children aged 12 to 16 have experienced cyber violence, according to a 2015 study by Stairway Foundation. A third of these deplorable acts are in the form of verbal abuse over the Internet or on mobile, while the rest involves sexual messages.

According to KonsultaMD psychologist Dr. Mec Perez, cyberbullying occurs in various forms. It includes rude and hateful memes and comments, rumors that cause pain and embarrassment, threats of physical harm and exposure of private content and information, and acts that push people to commit suicide.

Since such incidents can create lasting emotional and psychological scars, Globe stressed that teaching online safety and responsibility must start at home, especially with the popularity of social media in the Philippines, where there are an estimated 92 million users as of January this year.

More information about Globe’s efforts can be found on online safety platform.

vivo X80 Pro: Rewrite the stars

smartphone but on the back, it flaunts one of the biggest and most unique-looking camera modules.

This Cloud Window 2.0 design balances the round camera module with a square plate. The primary, ultra-wide and one of the telephoto cameras sit inside a circular ring, while the periscopic telephoto camera is placed just below it. My only peeve about this design is the numerous “ZEISS” branding all over that camera module.

that bokeh effect without blurring your other friend’s faces.

THE vivo X80 Pro is my favorite flagship of 2022.

There I said it. You can bookmark this page, buy the vivo X80 Pro, and read this a month after and I’m sure you’ll agree.

For many tech reviewers, our usual honeymoon period with a device typically lasts a week (sometimes less), before the excitement fades and we have to move on to the next gadget.

But with the vivo X80 Pro, which I have been using for almost two months now, “It still feels like our first night together,” as Bryan Adams once sang.

I’ve honestly been putting off this review for a few weeks now as it’s actually hard to find something I didn’t like about this phone. To be clear, it’s not perfect, but most of its flaws aren’t really dealbreakers; rather, these areas they could improve in.

Now the challenge is to share all the things I like in less than 1500 words, so let’s get to it!

Let’s start with the packaging. I love that vivo ships its flagships in a totally different box than its other series. The vivo X80 Pro box has an almost leatherlike texture and it comes with all the accessories you need—an 80W fast charging adaptor, USB Type-C cable, SIM tray ejector tool, quick start guide, plus a pair of free earphones. And instead of the regular TPU case, vivo included a premium faux leather phone case.

■ DESIGN: The global version of the vivo X80 Pro is only available in one color, Cosmic Black. The back cover is made of Fluorite AG Glass and resembles a sandblasted finish. It may look rough but it is actually very smooth and the matte finish does a great job of repelling those annoying smudges.

The X80 Pro has a curved display and rear panel, a glass back and an aluminum frame. Weighing 215g, the vivo X80 Pro is heavier than most premium flagship phones, but that extra heft just makes it feel even more durable and incredibly made. It also has IP68 rating and wireless charging support, just like its predecessor.

On the front, it may look like any other

■ DISPLAY AND AUDIO: The vivo X80 Pro sports a gorgeous 2K E5 Ultra Vision Screen and that 6.78-inch 3D Curved Screen is an industry-leading AMOLED display with WQHD+ resolution. The refresh rate reaches 120Hz, while LTPO 3.0 technology enables the display to adjust its refresh rate between 1Hz and 120Hz to suit the user scenario and optimize the display’s power consumption.

Everything that appears on the screen is incredibly sharp, vivid and smooth as you’d expect from a flagship display. It can display 1 billion colors and supports HDR10+ content and its 1500nits maximum brightness is incredibly bright allowing you to use it even under direct sunlight. I also need to mention that this display also houses the biggest and fastest in-display fingerprint scanner on a phone. You can even assign shortcuts or set it up to recognize two fingerprints at the same time for added security.

The stereo speakers perfectly complement the display and can produce loud crisp audio. I probably binge-watched more shows on the X80 Pro than on any recent device, installing all my streaming accounts on it because it’s just that good—and I don’t even have to worry about the battery.

■ CAMERAS: “Own Your Masterpiece” is vivo’s main campaign slogan for the X80 series, putting its cameras front and center and for good reason— because the cameras are just insanely good. The vivo X80 Pro has four rear cameras—a new 50MP primary camera that uses a customized Samsung GNV sensor with optical image stabilization (OIS) plus a 48MP ultra-wide-angle camera with autofocus, plus 12MP IMX663 Portrait Camera with vivo’s gimbal stabilization system, and an 8MP 5X Periscope Camera with OIS. For selfies, there’s a 32MP front camera.

There are also a ton of modes you can play with. There’s 50MP high resolution that also supports 48MP wide-angle shots; Night, Portrait, Photo, Video and Pro. Tap “MORE” and you get access to Panorama, Live Photo, SloMo, Time Lapse, AR Stickers, Supermoon, UltraHD Document, Astro, Sports, Long Exposure, Double Exposure, Dual View, and even AI Group Portrait. AI Group Portraits work great with a group of three or more people so you can still have

Brands usually like to oversell their smartphone cameras, and I doubted vivo’s camera capabilities even when they partnered with Zeiss. But I am a grown man and I can admit my mistake. All the hype about its camera performance and gimbal stabilization system? Well deserved. If you are a content creator and you don’t want to carry around a big camera, the vivo X80 Pro has you covered. Better than the iPhone 13 series? Definitely.

I do have to mention that Zeiss mode you see onscreen. If you aren’t a fan of the slightly saturated colors the X80 Pro captures by default, you can enable Zeiss mode for more true-to-life hues. With everyone doing reels, I’ve also started shooting more videos recently. The vivo X80 Pro can shoot up to 8K videos at 30fps but I got

shoot the best results at 4K and 1080p as stabilization remained excellent, with great details, sharpness and contrast.

■ PERFORMANCE AND BATTERY: The vivo X80 Pro is powered by a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor paired with 12GB LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB UFS 3.1 storage.

As expected, everything was fast and

HELSINKI—Wireless and fixed-network equipment maker Nokia reported

substantially improved third-quarter profits and higher sales on Thursday on the back of strong demand for 5G technology from operators. The company, based in Espoo, Finland, reported net profit of €551 million ($539 million) for the July-September period, up 19 percent from 463 million euros a year earlier. Net income attributable to shareholders was up 21 percent at €550 million from €454 million a year earlier.

Nokia’s reported sales were up 16 percent to €6.2 billion.

CEO Pekka Lundmark said the company’s third-quarter performance “demonstrates we are delivering on our ambition to accelerate growth.”

“As we start to look beyond 2022, we recognize the increasing macro and geopolitical uncertainty within which we operate,” Lundmark said in a statement.

“While it could have an impact on some of our customers’...spending, we currently expect growth on a constant currency basis in our addressable markets in 2023.”

Nokia is one of the world’s main suppliers of 5G—the latest generation of broadband technology—along with Sweden’s Ericsson, China’s Huawei and South Korea’s Samsung.

“Considering our recent success in new 5G deals in regions like India which are expected to ramp up strongly in 2023, we believe we are firmly on a path to outperform the market and to make progress toward achieving our

long-term margin targets,” Lundmark said.

The Finnish company recently closed two significant 5G deals with Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio, two major Indian telecom operators.

Nokia’s largest market area during the quarter was North America, where it generated turnover of €2.3 billion ($2.2 billion), followed by Europe and Asia Pacific.

On Monday, Nokia announced it

would transform the company’s Canadian headquarters in Ottawa, Ontario, into a research and development center focusing on network technology, AI and cyber security, among other things.

The investment, to be realized in cooperation with Canada’s federal, provincial and municipal authorities, is worth more than CAD$340 million ($248 million) and the facility is expected to be opened in 2026. AP

snappy, and I never encountered any slowdown or frustrations during those times I really needed to open multiple browser windows, switch between apps, and use the camera for those quick snapshots. It’s like having the most efficient personal assistant.

The X80 Pro has a 4700mAh battery inside it, which considering its size is smaller than those found on other flagship phones. Still, it was able to outlast my former favorite flagship in terms of battery, which is why it got promoted quickly and became my primary daily driver.

■ FINAL WORD: The vivo X80 Pro is a fantastic phone and I think it’s actually the best one made by vivo so far. In terms of photography, the collaboration between vivo and Zeiss is turning out to be the pairing to beat, as the X80 Pro’s camera is the most fun I’ve tried. In a few years’ time, we’ll probably look back to the vivo X80 Pro as a turning point for the brand, rewriting the stars and earning its

turning for

place among the finest of flagship phones. ■

THE Walt Disney Company (Southeast Asia) Ltd. has announced that it is expanding access to its highly anticipated streaming service, Disney+, to the Philippines from November 17, 2022. The service is the dedicated streaming home for movies and TV shows from Disney’s iconic brands, including Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic and Star.

With Disney+ available soon in the Philippines, consumers will be able to enjoy an ever-growing library of global, regional and Asian language content such as blockbuster films from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to award-winning Pixar animation, to Korean content featuring BTS and other top Asian stars, under the Star brand.

Star also features thousands of hours of general entertainment content produced by Disney Television Studios (ABC Signature and 20th Television), FX Productions, 20th Century Studios, Searchlight Pictures and more. Star offers renowned movies and shows such as Emmy-award winning Grey’s Anatomy, Only Murders in The Building, Dopesick, The Bear, The Simpsons and The Kardashians. In addition, Star will offer exclusive originals produced in collaboration with producers and directors in the Asia Pacific region.

“Through Disney+, we are opening new doors of entertainment to everyone with our heritage of unparalleled storytelling, creative excellence and cutting-edge content delivery.” said David Shin, senior vice president and managing director, Southeast Asia, Taiwan and Hong Kong, The Walt Disney Company.

“We are excited that consumers in the Philippines can soon connect with their beloved characters and brands, and enjoy access to some of the world’s most original and iconic stories, told by the world’s most talented creators.”

From next month, consumers in the Philippines can join the Disney+ streaming service with the introduction of a new range of subscription plans that will deliver more choices than ever before. The expanded line-up of plans will offer viewers flexibility with different subscription options to suit their needs including: Mobile Plan for P159 monthly or P1,150 annually; and Premium Plan for P369 monthly or P2,950 annually.

The service will be accessible on a wide selection of mobile and televisions subject to users’ chosen subscription plans, including smartphones and tablets (Android or iOS), smart TVs such as Samsung and LG and connected TV devices including Google TV and other Android TV OS, Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD, and Chromecast.

PRIME Minister Justin Trudeau (left),

Pekka Lundmark, president

CEO

Nokia,

AP sources: Musk in control of Twitter, ousts top execs

ELON MUSK has taken control of Twitter and ousted the CEO, chief financial officer and the company’s top lawyer, two people familiar with the deal said Thursday night.

The people wouldn’t say if all the paperwork for the deal, origi nally valued at $44 billion, had been signed or if the deal has closed. But they said Musk is in charge of the social media platform and has fired CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal and Chief Legal Counsel Vijaya Gadde. Neither person wanted to be identified because of the sensitive nature of the deal.

The departures come just hours before a deadline set by a Delaware judge to finalize the deal on Friday. She threatened to schedule a trial if no agreement was reached.

Although they came quickly, the major personnel moves had been widely expected and almost cer tainly are the first of many major changes the mercurial Tesla CEO

will make.

Musk privately clashed with Agrawal in April, immediately before deciding to make a bid for the company, according to text messages later revealed in court filings.

About the same time, he used Twitter to criticize Gadde, the company’s top lawyer. His tweets were followed by a wave of ha rassment of Gadde from other Twitter accounts. For Gadde, an 11-year Twitter employee who also heads public policy and safety, the harassment included racist and misogynistic attacks, in addition to calls for Musk to fire her. On Thursday, after she was fired, the harassing tweets lit up once again.

Musk’s changes will be aimed at increasing Twitter’s subscriber

base and revenue.

In his first big move earlier on Thursday, Musk tried to soothe leery Twitter advertisers saying that he is buying the platform to help humanity and doesn’t want it to become a “free-for-all hellscape.”

The message appeared to be aimed at addressing concerns among advertisers—Twitter’s chief source of revenue—that Musk’s plans to promote free speech by cutting back on moder ating content will open the flood gates to more online toxicity and drive away users.

“The reason I acquired Twit ter is because it is important to the future of civilization to have a common digital town square, where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner, without resorting to violence,” Musk wrote in an uncharacteris tically long message for the Tesla CEO, who typically projects his thoughts in one-line tweets.

He continued: “There is cur rently great danger that social media will splinter into far right wing and far left wing echo cham bers that generate more hate and divide our society.”

Musk has previously expressed

distaste for advertising and Twitter’s dependence on it, suggesting more emphasis on other business models such as paid subscriptions that won’t allow big corporations to dic tate policy on how social media operates.

But on Thursday, he assured advertisers he wants Twitter to be “the most respected advertis ing platform in the world.”

The note is a shift from Musk’s position that Twitter is unfairly infringing on free speech rights by blocking misinformation or graph ic content, said Pinar Yildirim, as sociate professor of marketing at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.

But it’s also a realization that having no content moderation is bad for business, putting Twitter at risk of losing advertisers and subscribers, she said.

“You do not want a place where consumers just simply are bom barded with things they do not want to hear about, and the plat form takes no responsibility,” Yildirim said.

Musk said Twitter should be “warm and welcoming to all” and enable users to choose the experience they want to have. AP

AFTER a months-long ef fort to prop up the yuan, the People’s Bank of Chi na (PBOC) has cycled through most of its policy tools, leaving it with some tough choices.

As the currency hovers near the weak end of a daily 2 per cent trading band against the dollar, the specter of extreme measures—however unlikely—is growing. Already, there are signs that China is intervening in for eign-exchange markets, like Ja pan has done. A one-time revalu ation and restricting the yuan’s range are other major tools. These measures—if taken— have significant downside, as they will drain China’s foreign reserves and raise fears of stron ger capital controls just as in vestors fret about President Xi Jinping’s policy direction. Given the extremity of these options, analysts say they’re likely to be a last resort, with policy makers on Tuesday stating they would deepen market-based foreignexchange reforms.

“There are way more aggres sive tools that the PBOC (People’s Bank of China) can utilize if they want to push the yuan stronger and they have done it before,” said Mingze Wu, a foreign-exchange trader at StoneX Group in Sin gapore. “It’s feasible for PBOC to do it, but it’ll come at a cost. China wants to internationalize the yuan, which includes not be ing too heavy handed.”

likely option for policy makers, ac cording to analysts and traders. It would slow the yuan’s decline until China’s macro fundamentals im prove, said Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Stephen Chiu.

The downside to such a move is that it would erode China’s foreign-exchange reserves. Af ter the central bank devalued the yuan in August 2015—a shock that reverberated across global markets—its reserves fell by more than 15 percent in the period through January 2017, suggesting that it intervened.

The PBOC’s currency holdings dropped 7 percent in the first nine months to $3.03 trillion.

Another less obvious way to in tervene is to dramatically boost the cost for traders to short the yuan. Beijing could engineer a spike in the funding costs by mopping up liquidity in Hong Kong—a measure it used in early 2016 and 2017. While this would trigger massive losses for spec ulators, it might also spur wild swings in the currency market.

Narrowing the band

IN theory, the authorities can also narrow the yuan’s daily trad ing band. The PBOC last revised it back in 2014 when it widened the range to 2 percent from 1 percent to allow markets to play a bigger role.

CHINA’S economic growth outlook is darkening, with economists down grading their forecasts through 2024 as many bet Beijing will take a slow approach to dropping its “Covid Zero” policy.

Growth is now expected to be below 5 percent for each year through 2024, the latest Bloom berg survey of economists shows.

The median forecast for this year was lowered to 3.3 percent from 3.4 percent in the previous sur vey, while next year’s was cut to 4.9 percent from 5.1 percent. In 2024, the economy is seen ex panding 4.8 percent, down from the 5 percent projected earlier.

China’s zero-tolerance ap proach to combating Covid in fections has been a major drag on the world’s second-largest economy, with frequent lock

downs and regular testing mak ing consumers wary of traveling and spending, while businesses contend with ongoing disrup tions. On top of that, the worst housing market slump on record is rippling through sectors like construction and banking.

The Communist Party’s recent congress provided no clues that Covid Zero will be abandoned, adding to investors’ worries about China’s outlook and fuel ing a slump in the stock market and the yuan.

The Bloomberg survey showed that most economists -- 11 of 18 respondents -- expect China to reopen its borders only in the first half of next year. The rest predict a reopening only starting from the second half through to the first quarter of 2024. Some overseas investors, like Mark

Oil heads for weekly gain as dollar eases, US exports boom

OIL headed for a weekly gain, supported by tight ness in petroleum product markets, robust US exports, and a weakening US dollar.

West Texas Intermediate fell below $88 a barrel as a risk-off tone spread across wider mar kets, but remains over 3 percent higher this week. US petroleum exports have hit a record, while fuel holdings are at historic sea sonal lows. Diesel markets in the US and Europe are flashing signs of tightness.

The US dollar is set for a second weekly drop, making commodities priced in the currency cheaper for overseas buyers. The greenback has backtracked even as the Federal Re serve presses on with rate hikes to quell raging inflation.

Crude is on course to gain in October following a run of four monthly declines as slowdown concerns escalated. This month’s advance has come after the Orga nization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies agreed to

cut output in November, tighten ing the supply outlook as the war in Ukraine drags on and sanctions against Moscow tighten. In ad dition, refiners in top importer China have snapped up millions of barrels as they plan to ramp up fuel exports.

“The oil market has benefited from a weaker dollar and hope for a strong Chinese economic rebound,” said Ed Moya, senior market ana lyst at Oanda Corp. “But now the focus is shifting toward recession risks that are dragging down the crude demand outlook forecasts for the rest of the year.”

Oil’s drop on Friday came along with weakness in equity markets, as well as retreats across commodi ties including copper.

Still, widely-watched time spreads continue to hold in back wardation, a bullish pattern sig naling tightness. Brent’s prompt spread—the difference between the two nearest contracts—was $2.01 a barrel, up from $1.27 a month ago.

Mobius, say China could ease its Covid policy by the end of this year, although many experts are less sanguine.

“As we do not expect a quick turnaround in Covid-19 policy following the Chinese Commu nist Party summit, and with the property sector still in the dol drums and global growth coming down sharply, we have lowered our growth forecasts,” said Arjen van Dijkhuizen, a senior econo mist at ABN Amro Bank NV. He now sees growth of 3.5 percent next year and 5.2 percent expan sion in 2023.

Some 60 percent of the econo mists surveyed saw China’s de layed reopening as the biggest threat to economic growth, with 30 percent citing the slowdown in global growth.

On inflation, economists see

a weaker outcomes for consumer and producer prices in the fourth quarter compared with earlier predictions. Consumer inflation will likely average 2.7 percent in the final quarter, while producer inflation will be zero, the latest forecasts show.

Economists raised their esti mates for export growth slightly for the fourth quarter to 3.7 per cent from 3.1 percent, while cut ting their predictions for imports sharply to 0.5 percent from 2.9 percent. Retail sales are now ex pected to reach 4 percent from 4.8 percent in the previous survey.

“Consumption remains a weak link amid the zero-Covid stance, with its growth outlook darken ing,” said Bernard Aw, an econo mist for Asia Pacific at Coface SA, who now predicts 3.2 percent for this year. Bloomberg News

While it’s impossible to mount a sustained defense against a stronger dollar that has steam rolled every other currency, the PBOC has rolled out a raft of mea sures, limiting its drop this year to 12 percent—a performance that’s better than the yen and South Korea’s won.

A 12 percent rally in the dol lar this year has pushed the yuan close to the weak end of its trad ing band, raising the specter of a repeat of the experience in 2012. Back then, China’s currency fre quently hit the limit of the set range, fueling a drop in liquidity which led to a virtual standstill in trading in the foreign-exchange market, according to traders who were in the market back then.

Intervention

THERE are signs that China is already stepping up the defense of its currency, with traders say ing state-owned banks sold dol lars on Wednesday and Thursday. The lenders took advantage of a broad dollar-selling spree on Wednesday when the offshore yuan rose by a record.

Such intervention is the most

However, the central bank is unlikely to restrict the band as this would run counter to its stated aim to allow for more market-driven price action and spur doubts about China’s efforts to internationalize the yuan, ac cording to Alvin Tan, the head of Asia currency strategy at RBC Capital Markets.

Adjusting the fix

LASTLY , the PBOC can initi ate a one-time adjustment to strengthen the yuan’s fixing, although this would again be construed as a reversal of its market reforms. The last time the authorities revised the fix was in 2015 when they devalued the Chinese currency.

China may be holding back from some of the extreme measures because unlike the yuan’s sharp depreciation in 2015 and 2018, the currency remains elevated on a tradeweighted basis, according to HSBC Holdings Plc.

“We cannot rule out the pos sibility of further tightening of FX control then, especially if the RMB’s depreciation against a bas ket of currencies also hastens,” said Paul Mackel, global head of FX research at HSBC.

Biden crows about chips bill, says Beijing ‘concerned’ about US plans

P RESIDENT Joe Biden said Chi na’s leader had expressed wor ries about the US strength ening its domestic production of semiconductor chips as his adminis tration moves to reduce reliance on Asian suppliers and restrict Chinese access to chipmaking technology.

“I’ve heard from Xi Jinping that he’s a little concerned about that,” Biden said Thursday in Syracuse, New York, as he delivered a speech touting job growth and his economic agenda ahead of the November 8 midterm elections.

Biden hailed the bipartisan Chips and Science Act, which he signed into law in August, and said it would help the US “out-compete the rest of the world” in chipmak ing. The president spoke at a Mi cron Technology Inc. site, where the company plans to invest $100 billion to bolster chip manufactur ing, an investment Biden said was spurred by the measure.

“Because of the new law I signed and Chuck designed and delivered, we’re turning things way around,” said Biden, who was joined by New York lawmakers and officials, in cluding Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

Biden said Micron’s investment alone would “increase America’s

share of global memory chips and production by 500 percent.”

The semiconductor subsidy bill is intended to make the US less de pendent on Asian chipmaking gi ants. Yet the measure has spurred concerns abroad, including among American allies such as South Ko rea and Japan, about the impact on their companies.

The US Commerce Department also unveiled sweeping regula tions on Oct. 7, intending to curb the sale of advanced semiconduc tors and equipment to China and banning Americans from helping with the country’s development of chip technologies. The moves strike at the very foundation of China’s efforts to build its own cutting-edge chips.

China’s embassy hit back against the recent US economic measures aimed at curbing Bei jing’s access to advanced technol ogy. Speaking in an online brief ing on Thursday, before Biden’s remarks, senior Chinese diplomat Wang Hongxia criticized the new chip rules as an “abuse of export control measures,” and accused the Biden administration of a “politi cized and weaponized” approach to normal economic and business cooperation.

“These negative measures have brought huge losses to businesses and consumers in both countries,” said Wang, who is a counselor in the embassy’s office of economic and commercial affairs. “Once the Chinese market is lost, it will be hard to regain.”

On Thursday, the top US official overseeing export controls said he expects a deal with global allies to limit shipments of chip-producing technology to China.

“We expect to have a deal done in the near term,” Alan Estevez, undersecretary of Commerce for industry and security, said at an event hosted by the Center for a New American Security.

Tensions between the US and China have intensified in recent months, with the world’s two larg est economies sparring over trade, human rights and Beijing’s aggres sive moves against Taiwan.

Xi in a letter to the National Committee on US-China Rela tions’ annual dinner Wednesday, though, said his nation is willing to work with the US to find ways to cooperate.

The conciliatory tone comes be fore a potential face-to-face meeting with Biden at a Group of 20 summit next month in Indonesia. The plan

ning for that encounter is ongoing, though, and a date has not been confirmed.

Biden on Thursday said making chips in the US would lower costs for American consumers, as the ad ministration seeks to counter per ceptions it is not doing enough to combat soaring inflation. With the midterms less than two weeks away, polls show rising costs are voters’ top concern and Democrats are at risk of losing one or both chambers of Congress.

“Making these chips in America is going to help lower the costs for families looking to buy a car, replace your washing machine, get a new cellphone,” he said.

Micron, which first an nounced its investment earlier this month, has said the plans will generate about 50,000 jobs in the state, including 9,000 highpaying positions.

Biden’s visit to New York is the latest he’s taken to celebrate the chips law. The president visited an IBM Corp. campus in Poughkeep sie, New York, earlier this month where the company plans to invest $20 billion in quantum comput ing, and the groundbreaking for an Intel Corp. facility in Ohio in September.

China’s growth now seen below 5% through 2024 on ‘Covid Zero’ risk

As yuan weakens, PBOC confronts tough choices in currency defense

The World

Russia’s Putin says he won’t use nukes in Ukraine conflict

MOSCOW—Russian Presi

dent Vladimir Putin on Thursday denied having any intentions of using nuclear weapons in Ukraine but described the conflict there as part of alleged efforts by the West to secure its global domination, which he in sisted are doomed to fail.

Speaking at a conference of in ternational foreign policy experts, Putin said it’s pointless for Russia to strike Ukraine with nuclear weapons.

“We see no need for that,” Putin said. “There is no point in that, neither political, nor military.”

Putin said an earlier warning of his readiness to use “all means available to protect Russia” didn’t amount to nuclear saber rattling but was merely a response to Western statements about their possible use of nuclear weapons.

He particularly mentioned Liz Truss saying in August that she would be ready to use nuclear weapons if she became Britain’s prime minister, a remark which, he said, worried the Kremlin.

“What were we supposed to think?” Putin said. “We saw that as a coordinated position, an at tempt to blackmail us.”

In a long speech full of diatribes against the United States and its allies, Putin accused them of try ing to dictate their terms to other nations in a “dangerous, bloody and dirty” domination game.

Putin, who sent his troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24, has cast West ern support for Ukraine as part of broad efforts by Washington and its allies to enforce its will upon others through a rules-based world order.

He argued that the world has reached a turning point, when “the West is no longer able to dictate its will to humankind but still tries to do it, and the majority of nations no longer want to tolerate it.”

The Russian leader claimed that the Western policies would foment more chaos, adding “he who sows the wind will reap the whirlwind.”

Putin claimed that “humankind

now faces a choice: accumulate a load of problems that will inevi tably crush us all or try to find solutions that may not be ideal but could work and could make the world more stable and secure.”

Without offering evidence, the Russian leader repeated Moscow’s unproven allegation that Ukraine was plotting a false flag attack in volving a radioactive dirty bomb it would try to pin on Russia.

Ukraine has strongly rejected the claim, and its Western allies have dismissed it as “transpar ently false.” Ukraine argued Russia might be making the unfounded allegation to serve as a cover for its own possible plot to detonate a dirty bomb.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters on Thurs day that the US has still not seen anything to indicate that Putin has decided to use a dirty bomb.

Putin said he personally or dered Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to call his foreign counterparts to tell them about the purported plot. He maintained that Russia knows the Ukrainian facilities working on the project.

He mocked the allegations by Ukraine and the West that Russia was firing on the territory of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in southern Ukraine as “ravings.” Russian troops have occupied the plant, Europe’s largest, since the early days of the conflict.

Putin also expressed bewilder ment about Washington’s policy on China, noting that tensions sparked by a recent visit to Tai wan by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi come amid the US-Russian showdown over Ukraine.

“Why spoil relations with China at the same time?” Putin said. “It seems to defy logic and common sense. It looks like ravings.”

He hailed Russia’s relations with China, but said he hadn’t warned Chinese President Xi Jin ping about his intention to send troops into Ukraine when he vis ited Beijing days before that to at tend the 2022 Winter Olympics. AP

UK PM demotes climate ministers, opts out of COP27 annual summit

UNITED KINGDOM Prime Minister Rishi Sunak demoted two climate ministers and decided not to attend the annual United Nations (UN) climate change summit next month, raising questions about his commitment to fight global warming.

S unak, whose predecessor Liz Truss had planned to go to the so-called COP27 UN meeting in Egypt, won’t attend “due to other pressing domestic commitments,” including an economic statement planned for November 17, his office said Thursday in a statement.

Q uestions have been asked in the past about Sunak’s commitment to tackling climate change, not least when he cut taxes on fuel and flying just days before the UK hosted last year’s UN summit in Glasgow. Adding to the sense that he’s downgrading the importance of climate in the government agenda, the premier also decided this week that COP26 President Alok Sharma and Climate Change Minister Graham Stuart will no longer attend Cabinet meetings. Both remain in post. It ’s not unusual for a head of government to miss the UN summit. Though Truss had planned to attend COP, world leaders tend only to attend the UN conference every few years when bigger

agreements are being negotiated.

Last year’s gathering in Glasgow was the biggest since one in Paris in 2015 that produced a global agreement to limit temperature rises. Truss’s predecessor, Boris Johnson attended the Glasgow meeting, while then Prime Minister David Cameron went to the French capital.

Sunak’s approach to climate issues has been mixed. He restored a ban on fracking this week, but told Conservative Party members over his summer leadership campaign that he’ll halt efforts to bring back onshore wind.

His new Energy Secretary, Grant Shapps, previously called onshore wind turbines an “eyesore.” Sunak also privately lobbied to impose a green levy on petrol and diesel when he was Chancellor, but it was rejected by thenleader Boris Johnson.

The opposition Labour Party’s spokesman on climate, Ed Miliband, called Sunak’s failure to attend COP27 a “massive failure of leadership,” while Greenpeace UK’s head of politics, Rebecca Newsom, said in a statement that Sunak’s non-attendance suggests he “neither takes the climate crisis seriously enough, nor recognizes the opportunities for Britain to take a leadership role in helping to solve it.” Bloomberg News

Xi takes leaders to revolutionary site, signals ‘challenges ahead’

PRESIDENT Xi Jinping took his newly appointed team of loyalists to a key landmark in the Communist Party’s revolutionary rise, telling China’s most-powerful men to prepare for “challenges ahead.”

The seven-man Politburo Standing Committee—China’s most powerful body—traveled to Yanan, in China’s northwestern Shaanxi province, on Thursday to tour one of the party’s main revolutionary bases, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

The group visited the city’s Yangjialing area, where former Chinese leader Mao Zedong re grouped after the Long March, before winning the country’s civil war and founding the People’s Republic of China in 1949.

Xi called on party members to “strengthen their fighting capac ity” and “resolutely overcome dif ficulties and challenges ahead,” according to Xinhua. Earlier this month, Xi vowed to ensure Chi na “leads the world in terms of composite national strength and international influence” by 2049, a goal that seemingly sets Beijing up for increased competition and tensions with Washington.

The Yanan trip comes days af ter the 69-year-old Xi clinched a precedent-defying third term in

office at a leadership reshuffle that saw him sideline rivals in order to stack the Politburo and Standing Committee with allies.

Xi’s growing dominance has fanned concern among investors that Beijing has abandoned prag matism for ideology, as the party shifts its focus from economic development toward security.

Previous trips

CHINESE leaders typically sig nal their policy priorities for the next five years by traveling to a politically significant site im mediately after securing a new term in office.

In 2017, Xi led the previous Standing Committee to a Shang hai museum commemorating the first congress of the Com munist Party, foreshadowing the party’s 100th anniversary celebrations that fell during his second term.

In 2012, Xi took his top leader

ship panel to Shenzhen, following in the footsteps of former leader Deng Xiaoping’s 1992 southern tour that kick started the na tion’s “reform and opening up” policy. That trip bolstered hopes Xi would further open the world’s second-largest economy and drive economic reforms.

The choice to travel to Yanan, and recall a key moment in Mao’s rise, could stoke fears Xi is taking China back to an era of personality cult and unwinding the system of collective leadership embraced after the party patriarch’s death in 1976.

Yan’an is also where Xi’s father, the revolutionary hero Xi Zhongxun, met with Mao in 1947—a reminder of Xi’s deep ties to the nation’s birth.  Long before becoming presi dent, Xi worked for several years in a village near Yanan during the Cultural Revolution, now a popular “red tourism” site that attracted about a million visitors a year be fore the pandemic.  Bloomberg News

Spy agencies pulled ‘20 vote study after internal dissent

WASHINGTON—As US spy agencies ramped up their work to catch foreign meddling in this year’s election, a team of CIA experts studied lessons learned from the contentious 2020 vote.

Unexpectedly, their report sparked a controversy within parts of the intelligence com munity.

In a rare move, their study was withdrawn shortly after it was is sued in the spring after rank-andfile officers protested that it failed to address the allegations of poli tics seeping into intelligence that arose in the 2020 election and that remain unresolved for some today.

Reissued in September, the study remains classified and its full contents aren’t publicly known. Several people familiar with the matter would say only that it included recommendations on how intelligence leaders could best examine and report election threats attributed to Russia, China and other American adversaries.

The dispute over a relatively routine study and its unusual withdrawal highlight ongoing concerns over how to address the varying foreign threats to US elec tions—including disinformation, cyber espionage and the amplifi cation of existing divisions within American society. In an increas ingly polarized America, some of those tensions have spilled over inside the nominally apolitical world of intelligence, some former officers say.

Some officers have alleged in telligence leaders in 2020 played down findings on Russia to suit the demands of former President Donald Trump, who fired a direc tor of national intelligence in one dispute over Moscow’s election meddling.

Others say election-related intelligence on China in particu lar was wrongly played down out of a belief that politicians would

misuse it.

The study was requested by the former election threats executive at the Office of the Director of Na tional Intelligence, which oversees the 18 U.S. spy agencies. It was ul timately republished with what’s known as a “scope note” explaining the study was focused primarily on senior leaders and not intended to delve into the politicization of intelligence or other potential is sues around elections.

Several people described the debate over the study on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence matters.

Tim Barrett, the top spokes man for Director of National In telligence Avril Haines, said intel ligence officials have expanded training on objectivity in analysis and worked to better collaborate across agencies.

“We are committed to impar tial and inclusive analysis and will continue to provide the insights needed to safeguard our democ racy,” Barrett said in a statement.

The CIA’s Center for the Study of Intelligence produces internal his tories of key moments and issues faced across the intelligence com munity. Its reports are intended to guide current and future officers.

Nicholas Dujmovic, a retired CIA officer who served on the agency’s history staff, said any de cision to withdraw a study would be unusual, but not unprecedent ed. Dujmovic, now a professor at the Washington-based Catholic University of America, said he did not have specific knowledge of the recently republished study.

“We’re in the intelligence busi ness. We’re in the truth busi ness,” he said. “Occasionally, if we have information that a study is flawed, we might pull it back and rework it.”

One of the study’s recommen dations was for intelligence agen cies to adopt a definition across countries of “election influence”

and “election interference.”

The lack of a standard practice was flagged by the intelligence community’s analytic ombuds man, Barry Zulauf, shortly after the 2020 election. Zulauf wrote in a separate report—an unclassi fied version of which was released in January 2021—that analysts studying Russia and China defined “influence” differently, possibly leading to the analysts drawing different conclusions about each country’s intentions and actions.

Some officers accused Trump’s top appointees of delaying and distorting some intelligence find ings for political reasons, Zulauf said. Some of Trump’s attacks on election-related intelligence be came public in 2020, including his firing of the director of national intelligence, Joseph Maguire, af ter his office briefed Congress that Russia was trying to boost Trump’s reelection campaign.

Zulauf also found the political pressure may have affected analysts focused on China, who “appeared hesitant to assess Chinese actions as undue influence or interference,” in part because they felt Trump would use their findings to attack China and downplay Russia’s interven tions in support of him.

Ultimately, US intelligence con cluded Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized influence op erations intended to help Trump, while Chinese leaders “considered but did not deploy” measures.

In a dissent published in the same report, the national intel ligence officer for cyber said he believed China “took at least some steps” in 2020 to try to undermine Trump, primarily through social media and official statements.

This year, US officials are warn ing of more foreign campaigns to influence midterm races along with the spread of domestic dis information, the prospect of cy berattacks, and threats and ha rassment toward election workers.

“The current election threat en vironment is more complex than it has ever been,” said Jen Easterly, the director of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) cy bersecurity arm, in a recent media briefing.

Intelligence officials have not given a public briefing on foreign election threats. But unclassified intelligence reports from the De partment of Homeland Security, sent to state and local govern ments, capture some of the current US findings on the intentions of Russia, China and Iran.

Russia is seen as trying to un dermine Americans’ willingness to support Ukraine eight months into Putin’s invasion.

Iran may be interested in “ex acerbating social divisions and sowing doubt in US democratic institutions,” according to a DHS report issued earlier this year.

And China is probably seeking to influence select midterm races to “hinder candidates perceived to be particularly adversarial to Beijing,” according to a DHS report from September. Officials said in the advisory they believe Beijing sees a lower risk in meddling in the mid terms versus a presidential election.

Zulauf, the ombudsman, said in his report released last year that the “polarized atmosphere” of the US has “threatened to undermine the foundations of our Republic, penetrating even into the Intelli gence Community.”

That has made election in fluence a particularly sensitive topic for spy agencies, former of ficers say.

“In the golden age, the good old days, people at work didn’t know whether your co-workers— also intelligence officers—were Democrats or Republicans,” said Dujmovic, the retired CIA his torian. “That has changed over time. There is more partisanship in the work force and that reflects American society in general.” AP

China ramps up lockdowns, Covid curbs across country

INVESTORS hoped China would ease its stringent Covid Zero strategy once the piv otal Communist Party congress cemented President Xi Jinping’s grip on power. Instead, the oppo site seems to be happening.

Fresh lockdowns are being im posed from Wuhan, Covid’s origi

nal epicenter, to China’s industri al belt on the east coast. Schools and dining in at restaurants in the southern manufacturing powerhouse of Guangzhou have been suspended, while targeted shutdowns in the metropolises of Beijing and Shanghai continue, with apartment blocks and neigh

borhoods subject to stay-at-home orders if even a close contact of someone infected has visited.

The intensification comes as infections start to rise again, with China reporting 1,321 new Covid cases for Thursday, the highest tally in two weeks. It also belies an expectation by some inves

tors and China watchers that the country would change tack on the virus after the once-in-fiveyears congress was over, with Xi defending the Covid Zero policy in his opening address.  A survey by Japanese bank Nomura found the number of Chinese under Covid control

measures right now is around 232 million, up from 225 million last week. The 31 cities under some form of lockdown as of Oct. 27 account for one in six people in China and 24.5 percent of its gross domestic product, Nomura’s anal ysis found, up from 22.9 percent the previous week.  Bloomberg News

A12 SAturdAy, OctOber

Lomibao

Editor:

DUTCH RULES IN LUBAO

‘Mr. Mainit’ tops inaugural URCC bare-knuckle fight

KENJHONS “MR. MAINIT” overcame a sluggish start to beat Map Soberano via unanimous decision in the inaugural Universal Reality Combat Championship (URCC) bare-knuckle super fight main event bout at the Xylo of the Palace at Bonifacio Global City.

The YouTube rapper sensation Kenjhons— Kenneth Serrano in real life—fought knuckleto-knuckle in the third and last round, hitting the 39-year-old Angkas driver Soberano with big shots in the face to get the nod of the judges during URCC 80 “Bare Madness.”

I salute all those fighters who participated in this bout and fans who watched the first ever URCC bare-knuckle fight,” Kenjhons said. “It was a great pleasure fighting in front of you people.”

D espite losing his first fight, Soberano unleashed a one-two combination that dealt Kenjhons a cut just below his right eye in the first round.

Soberano tasted Kenjhons’s blood after the first round, but Mr. Mainit was the more solid competitor and retaliated with accurate strikes in the second round.

Kenjhons was as consistent in the third and last round to snatch the win and crown himself as the first URCC bare-knuckle champion of the event presented by Angkas and supported by Unique Water, Bench and Winzir.

U RCC founder and president Alvin Aguilar and URCC global chairman Arnold Vegafria gave their thumbs up to the bare-knuckle debut saying the fights “lived up to the people’s expectations.”

“ We exceeded all expectations,” said Aguilar, who thanked a live crowd of more than a thousand. “I’m so happy about what happened, the way they fought and their showmanship. It is very awesome and I can’t wait for the next one.”

I n the other results, veteran Ruel Catalan put Edrion Macatangay into rear naked choke in the second round to win by submission in their mixed martial arts (MMA) 125-pound clash and Kimbert Alintozon scored a first round knockout win over JV Baldonasa in bare-knuckle a 125-pound duel.

R ocky Vergara defeated Marvin Dela Cruz via unanimous decision in their 125-pound bare-knuckle showdown, while the 145-pound bare-knuckle show between Elias Duran and Ronnel Esperas ended in a majority draw.

Jayson Margallo beat Wilson Managuio in their MMA 135-pound event via rear naked choke submission while John Ornido won via second round technical knockout over Janedie Bernardo in their MMA 135-pound encounter.

Inquiries about the fight and future bouts are available at www.urcc.online and https://apps.wix. com/place-invites/join-lp/b4e05b90-55a0-40a88fac-17ccf4a2c074?ref=pre_banner_top.

FINIS wraps up yearlong program with long course swimming series

FINIS Philippines completes its 2022 calendar with the National Long Course Swimming Competitions Series southern swing starting with the Visayas leg on November 5 and 6 featuring the thrills and feel of an international competition.

FINIS Philippines Managing Director

Vince Garcia said that young swimmers from the Visayas would be the first to experience the brand’s thrust in organizing quality competitions in the event set at the Iloilo Sports Complex pool in Iloilo City.

National team member and one of FINIS’s ambassadors Kyla Soquillon of Malay, Aklan, is expected to lead participants in Iloilo.

“ We’ve done it in our previous short course meet so I’m confident that we will make it bigger and much better as we continue to inspire young Filipino swimmers through high-quality competitions,” said Garcia, an active triathlete and “godfather”

Converge turns TNT into dud

By Josef Ramos

CONVERGE turned blue-chip TNT Tropang Giga into a dud via a 130-117 beating as the FiberXers continued to send a strong message with their third consecutive win Friday in the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.

The FiberXers steamrollered the Tropang Giga in the first two quarters and never cooled down to cruise to their fourth win in six games, while dealing their victims their third loss also in six outings.

I think as we go further in this conference, as players, we’re still learning [and improving] coach Aldin’s [Ayo] system,” said Jeron Teng, who had 22 points, eight rebounds and five assists for Converge. “But we’re embracing the system and all players are ready to contribute anytime.”

GUIDO

VAN DER VALK saved his best for last and rewrote the script in overcast Lubao Friday to rule the International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) Pradera Verde Championship as Jhonnel Ababa and Tony Lascuña sputtered in the championship flight.

Van der Valk battled back from as deep as four shots down after 10 holes, eagled the par-five No. 12 to get back into the thick of things then rode a clutch two-shot swing on No. 14 to wrest the lead he held to the finish with a brave run of pars.

The Dutch closed out with a solid 69 for an eight-under 280 total to nip Ababa and Lascuña by one after the third-round leader Lascuña fumbled with a 72 and Ababa couldn’t go lower than a 70 for identical 281s.

Van der Valk banked another P360,000 as he clinched the crown in fitting fashion—he was the only player to go under par in all four days at the 7,262-yard well-kept championship layout at the sprawling Pradera complex.

It’s a bit of struggle, actually all week,” said Van der Valk, who fired 71 in the opening round then put himself in contention with back-to-back 70s. “I didn’t hit the ball well but my short game has been really, really good this week.”

So that got me through and I started to hit the ball better in the last nine holes, which is kind of good timing because that’s when it was needed,” added the Manila-based Dutchman, whose latest win, his fifth, including the The Country Club Invitational in 2020, made him the only player to win two titles in this year’s six-leg Philippine Golf Tour following his

playoff triumph over Luisita leg winner Miguel Tabuena at Splendido Taal last May.

W ith a streak of 11 pars in the final round, Van der Valk thought he would never had a chance to get a crack at the crown. He was so frustrated he would lose his cool in one stretch, cursing himself for a missed chip on No. 11.

B ut all changed when he chipped in for eagle on No. 12 as he pulled within one off the Davaoeño aces, who slugged it out for the coveted diadem from No. 5 all the way to the 12th.

I couldn’t get a birdie in the first 11 holes. But on No. 12, I hit a good drive and tried to hit a 5-wood high so it would stop. But it landed off the green but rolled that one in. It was really nice,” he said.

It was, however, his chip-in birdie on No. 14 that shoved him to the lead as Ababa failed to rescue a par from the bunker and Lascuña also yielded a precious stroke on a flawed par-putt bid.

That made the big difference. I also thought I had them both but my birdie putt on No. 16 lipped out. Luckily, it was enough in the end,” added Van der Valk.

“ Sayang, kinapos,” rued Ababa, who actually looked headed to posting a third victory here at Pradera after birdying two of the first three holes to hike his lead to four. But he fumbled with back-to-back bogeys from No. 6, recovered the strokes on Nos. 9 and 10 but slipped back with bogeys on Nos. 11 and 14.

L ascuña leaded appeared on his way to snapping back-to-back runner-up finishes at Eagle Ridge-Aoki and Riviera after drawing

Endurance Race flags off in February in Clark

THE Philippines’s ultimate endurance motorcycle race that blasts off at the track in February next year was launched recently at the City Club at Alphaland in Makati.

Going by the name Army Navy Club200 200/50 Endurance Race, the novel motorcycle spectacle is the first of its kind in the Philippines, an adventure bike endurance relay race to be held on the track, specifically at the Clark International Speedway.

It’s going to be an ultimate race, a battle of strategies and stamina among the participants,” said Bobby Unson, president of the organizing Army Navy/Club 200. “This will test the riders’ stamina, strength and skill, challenges that we believe the participants will fully embrace.”

E ach team will be composed of three riders sharing one transponder and riding duties in 50 adrenaline-pumping laps of approximately 200 kilometers.

Registration in the Endurance Race presented by SMAC BMW, Pirelli, KTM, Ducati, Angkas, Evo Helmets, APRILIA, Juan Life, Hotel 101 and Merry Mart begins in November, with

the race proper set February 11 next year.

A f ree practice race at the Clark International Speedway will also be held on December 11 for registered participants.

Rules and system for the event were jointly developed by race officials of the Clark International Speedway and the Pirelli Technical Team.

The organizer, Club 200, is planning to exclude competitive racers currently riding in the National Superbike Series to level the playing field among regular everyday riders and weekend enthusiasts in this Endurance Event also powered by Wheeltek,  Triumph, Harley Davidson of Manila and Motoworld.

That is the plan so that the regular motorcycle enthusiasts who ride for fun and not competing in any ongoing Race Series can join,” Unson said. “So we are casting a wide net and expecting a huge array of various participants. If you basically love riding and have not raced in a competition in the recent past, this is for you.”

Formed in 1994, Club 200 is a pioneer motorcycle club composed mostly of former superbike champions, preaching fun and safety riding.

Morning races will be the 50-Lap Endurance Relay Race for Adventure and Adventure Open Classes Open to 400cc-1300cc Adventure Motorcycles with 21-19 inch Front Wheels and 2/3 Cylinder Engines for the Adventure Class; and 19-17 Front Wheels with 4 Cyl for the Adventure Open/Sport Touring Class.

A Feature 5-Lap Race will be run Mid Day for the First Ever Boxer Cup, Featuring the BMW R Ninety Motorcycles. The Sportbike/Sport Naked 50 Lap Endurance Race will ensue shortly after the Boxer Cup.

level with Ababa with a birdie on No. 12. But the four-time PGT Order of Merit winner missed a par-saving bid on No. 14 and like Ababa, missed a playoff-clinching putt from eight feet on the 72nd hole.

“ I had a good read and stroke but the ball just didn’t drop,” said Lascuña, who split the combined second and third prizes worth P372,000 with Ababa.

K eanu Jahns matched Van der Valk’s three-under card to finish solo fourth at 282 and pocketed P106,000 while Angelo Que carded a 70 for fifth at 284 and Ira Alido ended up sixth at 285 after a 71.

Justin Quiban fired the day’s best 68 to snare seventh place at 286, Reymon Jaraula pooled a 287 after a 73 for eighth and Frankie Miñoza turned in a 73 to tie Gerald Rosales, who struggled with a 74, at 10th at 288, the legend’s best in a long while.

But it was Van der Valk who hogged the spotlight in the end, proving that any average hitter could win on a course which puts premium on length.

He dedicated his latest exploit to his wife, Loradelle, and his parents who arrived the other day for a brief vacation.

Their presence motivated and inspired me no end,” said Van der Valk.

We just have to execute it very well,” he added.

T he FiberXers literally jumped the gun on the Tropang Giga and established control in the first quarter, 43-24 and looked headed toward an easy night, 73-47, at the half.

T hey led by as many as 35 points, 91-56, against a TNT side that was in disarray. And although coach Chot Reyes’s wards tried to mount several rallies, they could create stops and the best they could muster was to trim their deficit to 113-91 and 128-115, in garbage time.

C onverge import Quincy Miller put up big numbers of 38 points—12 in the opening quarter—20 rebounds and five assists, while Aljun Melecio added 20 points and Justin Arana tallied a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds.

T he FiberXers set season highs for both the league and franchise—their 43 points in the first quarter and 73 points in the second period.

Ayo, however, saw a crack when the team relaxed in the fourth quarter.

“ We have a tendency to divert from our game plan and relax every time we have big leads—that’s what we need to address,” Ayo said. “But I think slowly we are absorbing already what we have to do.”

Cameron Oliver posted 41 points and 11 rebounds and Mikey Williams had 27 points for the Tropang Giga.

Zamboanga Hermosa triathlon up

of the TODO Para Athletes team.

The Mindanao leg is set on November 12 and 13 at the Joaquin F. Enriquez Memorial Sports Complex in Zamboanga City, while the Luzon Leg is on November 26 and 27 at the New Clark City Aquatics Center in Capas, Tarlac.

Garcia said that for the Visayas and Mindanao entry forms and info kits, interested individuals, schools, swimming clubs and organization are advised to send entries to  events@finis.ph;  leigh_sanchez07@yahoo. com; and renolddutchilla_1877@yahoo.com.ph.

F or Luzon Leg entry forms and info kit, they are available at the events@ finis.ph; coachrichardluna@gmail.com ; (cc: ricpolo12@yahoo.com).

G arcia said that the best and brightest swimmers in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao legs will clash for the national Titles on December 17 and 18 also at the New Clark City Aquatics Center.

AFAST and exciting contest is shaping up for Sunday’s Second Hermosa Triathlon, the climax of the city’s month-long “celebration of colors” called the La Hermosa Festival in Zamboanga City. Triathletes and relay entries from all over the country, particularly from Mindanao make up the motley field of beginners and elite athletes as the city tries to stamp itself as a major sports tourism destination.

Headlining the elite field is Claire Adorna, women’s triathlon champion of the 2015 Southeast Asian Games in Singapore and mixed relay gold medalist in 2019 SEA Games in Subic.

Mayor John Dalipe is expected to beat the gong that will signal the start of the 1.6-km swim off the city’s Plaza del Mar, a 45-km bike ride through the Zamboanga West Coastal Road, and an 11-km run through the scenic RT Lim Boulevard.

Dalipe will be assisted by City Administrator Mario Yanga and City Tourism Officer Sarita Sebastian-Hernandez, cochairs of the La Hermosa Festival organizing committee.

The swim-bike-run event, which the city first hosted in 2019, was sidelined for twoyears by the Covid-19 pandemic along with the rest of the month-long activities of the festival, which is also known as Fiesta Pilar honoring the city’s patron saint, Our Lady of Pilar. Mayor Dalipe dubbed this year’s revival as “Celebracion de Colores.”

The festival has been described as one of the oldest and most colorful of the country’s religious and cultural fiestas.

A l ine of colorful vintas serves as the buoy line for swimmers, who will cover two loops of the 800-meter course with spectators watching from the water’s edge on the city’s iconic Plaza del Mar.

The new bike route is fast and flat. It covers 45 kms to the Zamboanga Economic Zone and back through the Zamboanga West Coastal Road. The run course has also been revised from that of 2019. The 11-km two-loop finale will now start and end at the Plaza del Mar, which is also the venue for the awarding of prizes.

C ash prizes courtesy of Dalipe will be awarded to the top five overall finishers of both male and female categories, including P30,000 to the winners. The top three finishers of the age group will also receive prizes, including P5,000 to the winner. Prizes will also be awarded to the all-men, allwomen, and mixed relays.

I n cooperation with local partners, the Zamboanga Trail Runners or ZTR, the race is organized by Fuerza Multisports—the event organizing arm of Trimac Coaching under head coach and race director Jojo “Jomac” Macalintal.

KENJHONS “MR. MAINIT” savors

victory.

CONVERGE import Quincy Miller looks unstoppable under the basket. PHOTO BY RUDY ESPERAS

VINCE GARCIA (seated left) with brand ambassador and national junior record holder Jamesray Ajido.

GUIDO VAN DER VALK’S short game does the talking.

Salary Range:

Rueda Bldg., 101 Urban Ave., Pio Del Pilar, City Of Makati 16.

17.

GUO, BINGCHENG Business Development Specialist

Brief Job Description: Act as a specialist consultant, which entails identifying market landscape, business development, and securing partnership in a competitive environment. Advising clients on value-add solutions. Provide our customers with market advice & trends. Networking to build business information that can be converted into commercial opportunities. Will handle the account for Chinese National Investors. Applicants is required to communicate in Mandarin Language.

Basic Qualification: Act as a specialist consultant, which entails identifying market landscape, business development, and securing partnership in a competitive environment. Advising clients on valueadd solutions. Provide our customers with market advice & trends. Networking to build business information that can be converted into commercial opportunities. Will handle the account for Chinese National Investors. Applicants is required to communicate in Mandarin Language.

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

LIAO, YINGGUI Business Development Specialist

Brief Job Description: Act as a specialist consultant, which entails identifying market landscape, business development, and securing partnership in a competitive environment. Advising clients on value-add solutions. Provide our customers with market advice & trends. Networking to build business information that can be converted into commercial opportunities. Will handle the account for Chinese National Investors. Applicants is required to communicate in Mandarin Language.

Basic Qualification: Act as a specialist consultant, which entails identifying market landscape, business development, and securing partnership in a competitive environment. Advising clients on valueadd solutions. Provide our customers with market advice & trends. Networking to build business information that can be converted into commercial opportunities. Will handle the account for Chinese National Investors. Applicants is required to communicate in Mandarin Language.

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

WANG, KUI Business Development Specialist

18.

Brief Job Description: Act as a specialist consultant, which entails identifying market landscape, business development, and securing partnership in a competitive environment. Advising clients on value-add solutions. Provide our customers with market advice & trends. Networking to build business information that can be converted into commercial opportunities. Will handle the account for Chinese National Investors. Applicants is required to communicate in Mandarin Language.

Basic Qualification: Act as a specialist consultant, which entails identifying market landscape, business development, and securing partnership in a competitive environment. Advising clients on valueadd solutions. Provide our customers with market advice & trends. Networking to build business information that can be converted into commercial opportunities. Will handle the account for Chinese National Investors. Applicants is required to communicate in Mandarin Language.

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

YANG,

Brief Job Description:

-

30,000 - Php

Range: Php 30,000 - Php

Range:

30,000 - Php

Range:

30,000 - Php

Basic

Salary Range:

CAPSLOCK INC.

CHENGZHI Chinese It Support Specialist

Brief Job Description: Shall answer incoming phone calls from Chinese clients and troubleshoot customer technical problems with computer software and hardware.

LIU, SIGUANG Chinese It Support Specialist

Basic Qualification: Must be fluent in Chinese language (writing and speaking)

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

Basic Qualification: Must be fluent in Chinese language (writing and speaking)

58.

Brief Job Description: Shall answer incoming phone calls from Chinese clients and troubleshoot customer technical problems with computer software and hardware.

XIE, YUXIANG Chinese

Brief

troubleshoot

ZHANG, YIJUN Chinese

Brief

KELVIN It Support Specialist

Brief Job Description: Shall answer incoming phone calls from Chinese clients and troubleshoot customer technical problems with computer software and hardware.

LE THI DIEU LINH It Support Specialist

Brief Job Description: Shall answer incoming phone calls from Chinese clients and troubleshoot customer technical problems with computer software and hardware.

NGUYEN HOANG GIA It Support Specialist

Brief Job Description: Shall answer incoming phone calls from Chinese clients and troubleshoot customer technical problems with computer software and hardware.

NGUYEN THI HANH It Support Specialist

Brief Job Description: Shall answer incoming phone calls from Chinese clients and troubleshoot customer technical problems with computer software and hardware.

NGUYEN THI PHUONG THAO It Support Specialist

Brief Job Description: Shall answer incoming phone calls from Chinese clients and troubleshoot customer technical problems with computer software and hardware.

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

Basic Qualification:

be fluent in Chinese language (writing

Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Must be fluent in Chinese language (writing and speaking)

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

Basic Qualification: Must be fluent in Chinese language (writing and speaking)

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

Basic Qualification: Must be fluent in Chinese language (writing and speaking)

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

Basic Qualification: Must be fluent in Chinese language (writing and speaking)

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

Basic Qualification: Must be fluent in Chinese language (writing and speaking)

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

Basic Qualification: Must be fluent in Chinese language (writing and speaking)

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 CHINA ROAD AND BRIDGE CORPORATION Unit 2605, 2607, 2608, & 2609, High St. South Corporate Plaza, Tower 1, 9th Avenue Corner 26th St. Bonifacio Global City, Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig

ZHOU, JIAN Financial Manager

Brief Job Description:

financial reports, plan and strategies

Basic Qualification: Experience in finance management/fluent in Chinese and English

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

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

NGO CHAN XUONG

Data Analyst

JEONGHYUN

Brief

D’ HOOVER RESIDENCES DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

43 Bsa, Townhomes, Bagong Silang, City Of Mandaluyong

YANG, ZILONG

75.

ZHONG, MIN Account

Brief Job

Basic

Salary Range:

Basic Qualification: Bachelor’s degree in accountancy; at least 3 years’ work experience as an ccounting Manager; must be able to fluently speak and write in Korean and English; at least 5 years work experience in dealing with Korean nationals

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

107.

108.

HONG, ILPYO

Brief Job Description:

PARK, YOUNGKI Email Marketing Specialist

Brief Job Description:

email

Basic Qualification: Bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications or similar.

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

Basic Qualification: Bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications or similar.

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

GRAND BLUE HOTELS CORP. Unit No. U-206a, Bldg. No. 26, Antel Seaview Towers Bldg., Roxas Blvd. St., Barangay 76, Pasay City

CAI, QING Payroll Accounting Manager

109.

Brief Job Description: Supervising payroll team & interpret new legislation impacting payroll, review all payroll accounts and support internal & external audits; prepare reports and fs in english and mandarin.

HIROTA SEISAKUSHO PHILIPPINES, INC. 23/f Tower 6789, 6789 Ayala Ave., Bel-air, City Of Makati

TAKAHASHI, MASAFUMI Manager Of Engineering Department

Brief Job Description:

technical support for HDD equipment; Overall in charge of the engineering department oh Hirota Seisakusho Philippines, Inc.

HWA LUN CORPORATION Unit 1606 B, Sunjoy Bldg., Barangay 271, San Nicolas, City Of Manila

111.

112.

CHEN, SHIHAO Import Manager

Brief Job Description: Negotiating document agreements for the delivery and management of products and commodities

SHI, LINJIAN International Trade Manager For China

Brief Job Description:

Basic Qualification: Cpa licensed; 4yrs of work experience related to position; must be fluent in english & mandarin.

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

Basic Qualification: Excellent management, decision making and goal oriented; Knowledge of the Japanese language is a must.

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

Basic Qualification: Fluent in mandarin/fukien or other Chinese language

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

Basic Qualification: Fluent in mandarin/fukien or other Chinese language

121.

NGUYEN

Brief

work with

Description:

skills to provide worldclass service.

Basic Qualification: Superior customer service skills, Nice to have experience working with online gaming/offshore gaming industry or less experience but a good attitude and motivation to learn, Excellent communication skills in Chinese, both spoken and written.

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

NGUYEN THI HOI Customer Support Specialist

Brief Job Description: To work with a variety of customers and use your expert relationship-building skills to provide worldclass service.

Basic Qualification: Superior customer service skills, Nice to have experience working with online gaming/offshore gaming industry or less experience but a good attitude and motivation to learn, Excellent communication skills in Chinese, both spoken and written.

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

122.

NGUYEN THI SI Customer Support Specialist

Brief Job Description: To work with a variety of customers and use your expert relationship-building skills to provide worldclass service.

Basic Qualification: Superior customer service skills, Nice to have experience working with online gaming/offshore gaming industry or less experience but a good attitude and motivation to learn, Excellent communication skills in Chinese, both spoken and written.

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

international conferences to promote company presence and focus on the great impact events and trade shows

CAI, WENHAO Mandarin Program Trade Consultant

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 113.

Brief Job Description: Working with chinese clients to understand their needs and to agree the scope of each consulting projects

INTERGENERATION PRIME HOLDING INC. 16/f Tower 6789, 6789 Ayala Ave., Bel-air, City Of Makati

Basic Qualification: Fluent in mandarin/fukien or other Chinese langauage

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

123.

PHAN DUC LOI Customer Support Specialist

Brief Job Description: To work with a variety of customers and use your expert relationship-building skills to provide worldclass service.

Basic Qualification: Superior customer service skills, Nice to have experience working with online gaming/offshore gaming industry or less experience but a good attitude and motivation to learn, Excellent communication skills in Chinese, both spoken and written.

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

114.

LI, LINHONG Chinese Speaking Financial Analyst

Job Description:

required financial reports and projections

on the analysis

Basic Qualification: Can speak Chinese language and knowledgeable in financial analysis Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 ITECHNO SPECIALIST INC. 7/f Aseana I Bldg., Bradco Avenue Aseana Business Park, Tambo, City Of Parañaque 9/f 100 West Building, Sen. Gil Puyat Ave., Pio Del Pilar, City Of Makati

Basic Qualification:

PHONG NAM KIN Customer Support Specialist

BUI NHU

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php

Basic Qualification:

124.

Brief Job Description: To work with a variety of customers and use your expert relationship-building skills to provide worldclass service.

Basic Qualification: Superior customer service skills, Nice to have experience working with online gaming/offshore gaming industry or less experience but a good attitude and motivation to learn, Excellent communication skills in Chinese, both spoken and written.

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

125.

SAM THI KIEM Customer Support Specialist

Brief Job Description: To work with a variety of customers and use your expert relationship-building skills to provide worldclass service.

Basic Qualification: Superior customer service skills, Nice to have experience working with online gaming/offshore gaming industry or less experience but a good attitude and motivation to learn, Excellent communication skills in Chinese, both spoken and written.

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

126.

THONG PHUC PHI Customer Support Specialist

Brief Job Description:

work with a variety of customers and use your expert relationship-building skills to provide worldclass service.

Basic Qualification: Superior customer service skills, Nice to have experience working with online gaming/offshore gaming industry or less experience but a good attitude and motivation to learn, Excellent communication skills in Chinese, both spoken and

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

Basic

Salary Range:

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

Salary Range:

LIU, HANCHUAN Gaming Support Specialist

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

TRAN

Brief Job Description:

the voice

fast-growing

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

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

Basic Qualification: A passion for delivering excellent customer service,

communication skills in Chinese, both

and

experience in a

role in

experience

offshore/

a

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

Basic Qualification:

A passion for delivering excellent customer service,

communication skills in Chinese, both spoken

Salary Range:

Basic Qualification:

Basic

Range: Php 30,000

Range:

Range: Php

Qualification:

Range: Php 30,000 - Php

Qualification:

Range: Php 30,000 - Php

Customer Service

Description:

MA SEE Myanmari Customer Service

Brief Job Description:

support

Basic Qualification: Customer support and data base services

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

Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in computer application with good

communication skills

Range:

data

KYAW HLAING Myanmari Customer Service

Brief Job Description:

services

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

-

Basic

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

-

Range:

Basic

Range:

Range: Php

Qualification:

Range:

Basic Qualification:

Salary Range: Php 30,000 -

Basic Qualification:

Range: Php 30,000 - Php

Php 59,999

Basic

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

Basic Qualification:

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

Range:

-

-

NGUYEN VAN

NGUYEN VAN LANG

VAN

NGUYEN VAN TRUNG

VIET ANH

Basic Qualification:

Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification:

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

Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in

Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification:

support

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

Basic Qualification:

support

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

Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in computer

Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in computer application

Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

338.

339.

Support and Data Base Services.

PHAN THI NGOC THUY Vietnamese Customer Service

Brief Job Description:

support and

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

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

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

base services

PHAN THI THANH TAM Vietnamese Customer Service

Brief Job Description: Knowledgeable in computer application with

oral and written communication skills

PHAN THI THINH Vietnamese Customer Service

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

Basic Qualification: Customer support and data base services

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

340.

341.

Brief Job Description: Customer Support and Data Base Services.

PHAN VAN THANH Vietnamese Customer Service

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

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

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

Basic Qualification: Customer support and data base services

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

Basic Qualification:

and

Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification:

and

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

Basic Qualification:

- Php

-

JI-RU

SHAONAN

JINXING Mandarin Technical Support

Job Description:

specialized services to assist end-users in technology needs.

WEN Mandarin Technical Support

Job Description:

needs.

services to assist end-users in

Range:

LE THI HA Customer Service Representative

Brief Job Description:

TUNG

NGUYEN DINH

Service

Job Description:

NGUYEN HOANG BA NHAN Customer Service Representative

Basic Qualification: Ability to

manage time effectively

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

Basic Qualification:

to multi-task

Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification:

to multi-task

Range: Php 30,000 - Php

Basic Qualification: Ability to multi-task

manage time effectively

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

Basic Qualification: Ability to multi-task and manage time effectively

Range:

Basic Qualification:

Range: Php 30,000 - Php

Basic Qualification:

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

Basic Qualification:

in

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

Basic Qualification:

Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification:

to multi tasks and manage time effectively.

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

Basic Qualification: Ability to multi tasks and manage time effectively.

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

Basic Qualification: Fluent in mandarin, both oral and written.

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

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin, both oral and written.

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

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin, both oral and written.

Range: Php 30,000 -

396.

Brief Job Description: Customer support services

NGUYEN PHUONG BINH Customer Service Representative

Brief Job Description: Customer support services

NGUYEN PHUONG HOAI MO Customer Service Representative

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

Basic Qualification: Ability to multi-task and manage time effectively

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

398.

399.

400.

Brief Job Description: Customer support services

NGUYEN THANH LAM Customer Service Representative

Brief Job Description: Customer support services

NGUYEN THE HUYNH Customer Service Representative

Brief Job Description: Customer support services

Basic Qualification: Ability to multi-task and manage time effectively Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Ability to multi-task and manage time effectively

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

Basic Qualification: Ability to multi-task and manage time effectively

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

Basic Qualification:

to

Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification:

to multi-task

Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

448.

HOANG VAN TRUNG Customer Service Representative

Brief Job Description: Customer relations service provider.

THI THUONG

Service

Description:

TRUNG LAP

Service

Description:

VAN THUAN Customer Service

Job Description: Customer relations service provider.

LE VAN TRONG NGHIA Customer Service Representative

Brief Job Description: Customer relations service provider.

LEE, KICHAN Customer Service Representative

Brief Job Description: Customer relations service provider.

NGUYEN MINH KHAN Customer Service Representative

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin, both oral and written.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php

Basic Qualification:

and

in Mandarin, both

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

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin, both

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

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin, both oral and written.

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

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin, both oral and written.

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

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin, both oral and written.

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

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin, both oral and written.

454.

Range: Php 30,000

Basic Qualification:

Brief Job Description: Customer relations service provider.

NGUYEN THI THINH Customer Service Representative

Brief Job Description: Customer relations service provider.

NGUYEN XUAN DUC Customer Service Representative

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

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin, both oral and written.

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

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin, both oral and written.

456.

Brief Job Description: Customer relations service provider.

ANH NGOC Customer Service Representative

Brief Job Description: Customer relations service provider.

GANG

Service Representative

Job Description:

relations service provider

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

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin, both oral and written.

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

Basic Qualification: Fluent in mandarin, both oral and written

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

Basic Qualification:

Range:

60,000