Edge Davao Vol. 15 Issue 191 | Friday, Nov. 25, 2022

An exhibitor shows a cacao vinegar, a product of Balaoro Farmers Association of Balaoro, Kadingilan, Bukidnon, at the exhibit area of the two-day National Cacao Congress at SM Lanang Premier’s SMX Conven tion Center on Thursday.

Lean Daval Jr.

DIGI-PALENGKE

Rigo echoes Mayor Baste’s call to use Paleng-QR Ph in transactions

By MAYA M. PADILLO

Councilor expresses concern on impacts of SIDC to traffic

Councilor Diosdado

“Konsi” Mahipus Jr. expressed concern on the impact of the bridge approach ramp on the Davao City side of Samal Island-Davao City (SIDC) Connector Project.

He wanted to clarify whether the location is re ally along R. Castillo Street or J.P. Laurel Avenue as it is potentially affecting traffic and businesses in the area.

ect Management Office (UPMO) of DPWH.

n 2019, the option that was approved was from Azuela Cove in Lanang on the Davao City side to the closest point in IGaCoS, based on the documents of the Regional Development Council (RDC). In 2020, the final bridge landing sites will be in R. Castillo Street, Agdao on the Davao City side and in Barangay Cali clic in Samal.

Rodrigo

“Rigo” Duterte II echoed May or Sebastian “Baste” Duterte’s call to Dabawenyos to try transacting cashless and use the newly-launched PalengQR Ph program.

“Daku ni nga higayon na makasabay ta sa mga silingan nato sa Southeast Asia. Ang ubang coun tries naga cash-less na ug

opportunity na to ni na sugdan na sa atong dak bayan,” Rigo said.

(BSP) governor and Mon etary Board chair Dr. Felipe Medalla, and BSP deputy governor for Re gional Operations and aadvocacy Sector Berna dette Romulo-Puyat led the Davao City launching of the Paleng-QR Ph at Bankerohan Public Mar ket on Wednesday.

In his message, Duter

te urged the Dabawenyos to try using Paleng-QR Ph whenever they go to the market or ride the tricycles. He said these innovations using tech nology are the things that will make the lives of Dabawenyos easier.

Davao City is the first local government

Sara’s DO 49 wants teachers to focus on learning matters: Atillo

Department of Edu cation 11 spokes person Jenielito “Dodong” Atillo made clarifications on the order made by Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte.

Atillo said the Vice President “just wanted teachers to focus more on important things re lated to the learnings of the students” amid the

controversy surrounding Department Order (DO) No. 49, which she signed on November 2, 2022.

DO No. 49 s. of 2022 amended DepEd Order No. 47 series of 2022 or the “Promotion of Profes sionalism in the Imple mentation and Delivery of Basic Education Pro grams and Services.”

“Ang paningkamot lang ni nga gitaagan ug

dakong bili ang engage ment sa mga magtutud lo ug sa atoang mga ka bataan para dili mausik ang panahon. Kay karon man gud naa tay dakong problema nga giatubang nato tungod sa Covid-19. Ug naningkamot mi nga marespondehan ang namugna nga gap,” Atillo said over Davao City Di saster Radio (DCDR) on Thursday.

Atillo also said there are learning gaps be cause of the two-year Covid problem and that is the precise reason why the vice president wants teachers to focus only on important things that are related to learning.

“Ang ikaduha dinha buot pud i-emphasize nga ang panahon sa bata sa iyahang pagtubo para

“As a representative of the Second District, I still do not know asa ang ap proach is located. We want to know so that we can an ticipate the impact of that with regards to traffic and business because for exam ple what happened to Ulas there is no specific timeline for when the Ulas project will be finished because there might be problems with budgeting and I do not want that to be happening in my district. I want to par ticipate in the discussion so that we can answer the questions of our constit uents,” he said during the session of the City Council on Tuesday.

DPWH 11 spokesper son Dean Ortiz, who was present during the session, said the alignment for the bridge will start in Baran gay Lizada along the Davao Beach Club shoreline cross ing Limao, Island Garden City of Samal (IGaCoS).

“The road after Azuela Cove you go right towards Davao Beach Club where the marina is,” he said.

Yet, Ortiz explained that he is not familiar with the design of the abutment of the bridge on the Davao side since the project is under the Unified Proj

“During the previous committee hearing with DPWH in attendance when we asked them they told us that they cannot answer our questions because only Manila people can answer because it’s (SIDC) a special project. We were just ask ing whether or not there is a traffic impact assessment on whether they will con tinue the Samal bridge to go to J.P. Laurel or R. Cas tillo but we really cannot have a concrete answer as they are not authorize to answer all the questions,” Mahipus said.

The proposed bridge, which broke ground last month, has a width of 24 meters and a vertical nav igation clearance of up to 47 meters. Envisioned as a 3.98-kilometer, 4-lane bridge that will link Samal Island to Davao City, SIDC will cross over Pakiputan Strait, supported by two pylons with a height of 73 meters.

When completed, SIDC is seen to facilitate the eco nomic advancement of the Davao Region, and further boost the tourism poten tial of IGaCoS, known for its pristine beaches.

By Maya M. Padillo

Rodrigo “Rigo” Duterte II greets a father and his daughter after an event in Davao City in this undated photo. Rodrigo “Rigo” Duterte II echoed Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte’s call to the Dabawenyos to try doing cashless and use the newly-launched Paleng-QR Ph program. Lean Daval Jr.

Mayor Duterte, Bang ko Sentral ng Pilipinas

On the possible impact of the bridge approach ramp of the Samal Island-Davao City (SIDC) Connector Project to traffic and businesses:

“As a representative of the Second District, I still do not know asa ang approach is located. We want to know so that we can anticipate the impact of that with regards to traffic and business because for example what happened to Ulas there is no specific timeline for when the Ulas project will be finished because there might be problems with budgeting and I do not want that to be happening in my district. I want to participate in the discussion so that we can answer the questions of our constituents.”

OLIVIA D. VELASCO President

SOLANI D. MARATAS Finance

JASPER

GREGORIO

MAYA

MOSES BILLACURA Sports Editor

COUNCILOR DIOSDADO “KONSI” MAHIPUS

ANTONIO V. FIGUEROA FAST BACKWARD

SENATORS OF DAVAO

From the Malolos Congress of 1898 to the Japanese-dictat ed National Assembly of 1943, Davao was never represented by a lawmaker who was relat ed to the region either by birth, marriage, residence, or lineage. It was not until the 1958 nation al elections that Davao fig-ured in the Senate.

Alejandro ‘Landring’ D. Al mendras, Sr., a migrant from Da nao, Cebu, and the grandson of political kingpin Ramon Dura no, Sr., is the first senator from Davao. He was studying Law at Mindanao Colleges (now a uni versity) when he was tapped to run for governor of undivided Davao. His electoral win later catapulted him to the Cabinet and eventually as a senator. He was connected by affinity to President Rodrigo Duterte thru his grandmother, Beatriz Duter te, a first-degree cousin of Davao governor Vicente G. Duterte, the

president’s father.

Dubbed the ‘power couple’ in today’s parlance, Gaudencio Antonino and, by replace-ment, Magnolia Welborn-Antonino, became the second and third senators from Davao. A mi grant from Jaen, Nueva Ecija, Gaudencio, though identified closely with Gen. Santos City where his scions later became political stalwarts, lived in Davao City where he built his for-tune as a logger and invest ed heavily in real estate. He was even honored with a city street name (now Pantaleon Pelayo Sr. Street) and a barangay (now Pangi) in Maco, Davao de Oro. When he died on the eve of the 1967 national polls in a helicop ter crash, Magnolia substitut-ed for him.

Alberto Gatmaitan Romulo, a native of Camiling, Tarlac, who is the father of former tour-ism secretary Bernadette Fatima

T. Romulo-Puyat, is related by marriage to the region; he was senator from 1987 to 1998. His wife, Davao-born Rosie Love ly Tecson, former chair of the National Council on Disability Affair, is a scion of a prominent clan in the city. Her father was from Bulacan, the province where the patriarch of the Gat maitans of Manay, Davao Orien tal, was originally from.

Another senator with Davao lineage is Jose Victor Gomez Ejercito, son of former Pre si-dent Joseph Estrada and Davao beauty queen, Guia Guanzon Gomez. After his stint as city mayor of San Juan, Met ro Manila, he ran for the Senate in 2013 and won. He sought reelec-tion in 2019 but lost. He made a comeback in 2022 and landed 10th in the winners’ gallery of 12. Gomez, herself an ex-San Juan city mayor, was a former Miss Rizal Memorial

Colleges and Miss Caltex.

Baguio-born Gregorio ‘Grin go’ Ballesteros Honasan II, who helped engineer the fall of the Marcos regime, was long-time resident of Ladislawa Village when he was hunted for leading the coup against the first Aqui no admin. He bought a house at the subdivision where the whole family resided while the children were enrolled in a sec tarian school. He first became senator in 2001.

Two Davao-born legisla tors made it to the Senate in the 2019 national polls. Ronald Mar-apon dela Rosa, a retired Philippine national police and bureau of corrections chief, is from Bato, Santa Cruz, Davao del Sur. That makes him the second senator from that once sleepy town; the other was Almendras. He is married to Nancy Johnson Comandante, granddaugh-ter of an American hemp plantation

owner in Don Marcelino, Davao Occidental.

Davao-born Christopher Lawrence Tesoro-Go, on the other hand, stormed the nation al consciousness as President Duterte’s trusted special assis tant and ‘national photobomb er.’ He joined the Senate roster in 2019 and made a name for himself with the tag ‘malasakit.’ The family of his maternal grandparent owned the larg est and most modern printing press in Mindanao.

Rafael Teshiba Tulfo, the son of the late PC Col. Ramon Silves tre Tulfo, Sr. and Japanese mes tiza Caridad Teshiba, is Davaoborn. His father was once PC commander of Davao Ori-ental where he met his wife, who was from the town of Manay. Chief ly a journalist by pro-fession, Raffy, as he is called, landed sec ond in the 2022 senatorial elec tions and is Senate’s rising star.

FRED C. LUMBA SPECKS OF LIFE

SURPRISE, KAMALA HARRIS WAS HERE?

There was a period in our political history that the Philip pines was a favorite destination of US dignitaries - congress men, senators, Vice-Presidents and Presidents, I think this was in the fifties up to the eighties when the two American bases - in Subic and Clark - were still actively functioning.

After the US military bases were lamentably kicked out, the visits of US officials became scarce.

Quite naturally. They had no more business to talk and transact about with their Phil ippine counterparts.

But the signing of the EDCA (Enhanced Defense Coopera tion Agreement) eight years ago put into focus the vital importance the Philippines played vis a viz freedom of navigation in the now hotly disputed South China Sea.

Harris reiterated the sworn promise of her predecessors to protect the Philippines from

external aggression as the spe cial provision of the Mutual Defense Treaty of 1951.

She was most probably al luding to China and its unwar ranted incursions into our EEZ.

I wonder why she had to go to Palawan to express the official US sentiment when she could have declared this in a press conference in Manila where all of the mainstream media would have given her extensive coverage.

Well, perhaps she was egged on to see the beauty and the wonder of Palawan which she had only heard of and read in promotional tourist messag es.

Without really trying, I thought Harris gave our tour ism efforts a big shot in the arm.

But I think there is much more that she wanted to relay to PBBM in a manner that only she - a lady - can do without creating too much ado.

Was she mimicking - in

a manner of speaking - for mer First Lady Imelda Marcos whom the former late Presi dent sent as his ambassador to leaders of nations so that Harris could have PBBM’s full attention?

I don’t think she flew sever al thousands of miles away just to say “hello” and then segued to a very “womanly” discus sion of issues with VP Sara.

As the Dems already lost the House Speakership after the US midterm elections to the Republicans and former POTUS Donald Trump has announced his candidacy for the 2024 US presidential bal loting, I have this naughty feeling that the Biden admin istration wants a huge favor from the incumbent Marcos Jr government in the coming months.

The Republicans have strongly pledged to seek out Hunter Biden’s record of il legal financial “connections” and transactions with Chinese

companies when Joe Biden was still VP to Barack Obama.

The US can always create a global or international situa tion that results in their favor, even if the reason is flimsy.

For sure, Kamala Harris would help shore up Biden’s political image and assure himself of another vice-presi dential run in 2024.

Who knows if the Dems might push her up - instead of Biden - to face Trump?

PBBM should be on guard.

VP Sara likewise.

When the Greeks bring gifts or good tidings, ah, something must be going on.

The EDCA provides for the US the pre-positioning of supplies and materials in at least five key Philippine bases around the country which it will be able to draw on during emergencies such as military conflict or humanitarian cri ses.

Secondly, the EDCA also more importantly seeks to live

up to what the name of the agreement says: enhanced de fense cooperation between the Philippines and the US.

Harris cited the UN Arbitral Ruling favoring the Philippines re the South China Sea issues and said China should respect international law.

The test of the pudding is in its eating, isn’t it?

Why does not then the US try teasing Xi Jin Ping by flex ing its diplomatic and military muscle and see how China will react?

The South China Sea row is too volatile for comfort.

Then you have the Taiwan polemic begging for a resolu tion.

I think Biden is also scared where muscle flexing could lead to that might not be to his liking.

He has more problems in Washington than he can han dle now. (Email feedback to fredlumba@yahoo.com.

Overseas property seekers boost PH real estate demand —Lamudi

Realestate platform Lamudi said Wednesday it saw a boom in demand for rentals in the Philippine real estate market driven by a boost from overseas property seekers—a trend which has been on the rise since the last quarter of 2021.

In a statement, citing its The Outlook Quarterly report on the Philippine real estate market, Lamudi said that out of all property seekers abroad, Singapore was the leading overseas source of inquiries for con dominiums and houses for sale, “proving yet again to be an attractive destination for OFWs and local expatri ates seeking work opportu nities close to home.”

Lamudi added that over half of all leads for residen tial properties for sale on its site were for listings priced P6 million and below.

For commercial rent als, the real estate platform said, the world’s largest service outsourcers such as the United States and Aus tralia formed the majority of the market.

“These trends all tell the same story: that the

Philippines is headed to wards greater heights as the economy reopens in the post-COVID era. More and more developed countries are undoubted ly setting their sights on building a Philippine base, which means that the do mestic real estate market is expected to be busier than ever,” said Lamudi Philippines country head Anurag Verma.

Property seekers from cities in the Middle East— Dubai, Doha, Riyadh, Abu Dhabi—and Singapore sent in the most inquiries for CALABARZON proper ties in the second quarter of 2022, Lamudi said.

It added that OFWS, with a majority hailing from Cavite and Batangas, are looking to purchase properties in their home towns or invest in real es tate in metropolitan areas nearby.

With the passage of amendments to the For eign Investment Act, For eign Investment Negatives List, Public Service Act, and Retail Trade Liberalization Act, the country is poised to receive more interest from overseas investors— paving the way for positive developments in indus tries, including the real es tate market, according to Lamudi.

Global economic growth to slow to 2.2% in 2023, says OECD

Global gross domestic product (GDP) growth is projected to slide from 3.1 percent this year to 2.2 percent in 2023, the Organi zation for Economic Co-op eration and Development (OECD) said in its latest Eco nomic Outlook on Tuesday.

The 2022 figure is around half the pace recorded in 2021 during the rebound from the pandemic, and the growth rate projected for 2023 is well below that fore

seen before the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

“Asia will be the main engine of growth in 2023 and 2024, whereas Europe, North America and South America will see very low growth,” it said.

The major emerging markets in Asia are project ed by the OECD to account for close to three-quarters of global GDP growth in 2023, while the economies in the United States and Europe

are expected to slow down.

“Held back by high en ergy and food prices, weak confidence, continuing sup ply bottlenecks and the ini tial impact of tighter mon etary policy, annual growth in the euro area in 2023 is projected to be 0.5 percent,” the organization said.

The United States econ omy would only grow by 0.5 percent in 2023, compared with 1.8 percent in 2022.

The energy markets re

main among the significant downside risks.

“Europe has gone a long way to replenish its natural gas reserves and curb de mand, but this winter in the Northern Hemisphere will certainly be challenging,” it said, adding that higher gas prices or outright gas sup ply disruptions would entail significantly weaker growth and higher inflation in Eu rope and the world in 2023 and 2024.

E-vehicle boom opens new opportunities for PH mining

Developing the electric vehicle (EV) industry is opening new oppor tunities for the Philippine mining sector, a company executive said Wednesday.

In a media roundtable, DMCI Mining president Tul si Das Reyes said the e-vehi cle sector has provided new opportunities for the mining industry and his company is keen to take part in this de velopment.

He described that min ing became a “sunset busi ness” before the growth of the e-vehicle industry.

“Prior to the EV boom, stainless steel was going nuts, and they don’t have ca pacity already for the stain less steel market. And China is the only growth for stain less steel, all other countries in the world (are) slowing down,” Reyes said.

He said the growing de mand for e-vehicles globally has offered a “fresh light” for the mining business.

Nickel is a component for e-vehicle batteries.

“Without EVs (e-ve hicles), we would (have) ended so many other niche market(s). So it was a huge impact,” Reyes added.

In the recent foreign business missions of the

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in the United States, South Korea and Ja pan, companies from these countries expressed their interest in the Philippine e-vehicle industry, including manufacturing batteries for electric cars.

Part of the DTI’s Make It Happen in the Philippines campaign is to attract in vestments for integrated mineral processing to have value-added activities in the mining industry instead of exporting minerals as raw materials.

Reyes said DMCI Min ing is in talks with pos sible foreign partners to explore opportunities for integrated mineral pro cessing here, including Indonesian and Chinese partners, but this will re quire adequate infrastruc ture in place and support from the government.

Meanwhile, DMCI Min ing net income in January to September this year declined by 17 percent to PHP1.17 billion from PHP1.41 billion in the same period last year.

The lower profit for the first nine months of 2022 was mainly due to decline in shipment.

A visitor takes photos of the different varieties of cacao on display at the booth of the Department of Agriculture (DA) during the two-day National Cacao Congress at SM Lanang Premier’s SMX Convention Center on Thursday.

Lean Daval Jr.

Better financial mgm’t skills developed during pandemic

Budgeting, either for an individual or a fam ily, is a goal but the necessity to really be seri ous about it rose when the pandemic hit since many people lost their income sources.

Aaron Villegas, co-founder of Filipi no-owned financial man agement app Lista, said they have already reached 1.4 million downloads na tionwide since the mobile application was launched in November 2021.

The app provides users with purpose-driven solu tions for personal and busi ness finance, such as sales target, inventory and sav ings, with the latter boosted by a savings challenge to encourage more users to be financially savvy.

Villegas, in an interview, said they did not expect the volume of app downloads to immediately rise but not ed this was driven partly by users who made Facebook groups promote Lista, and discuss among themselves how to better manage their money.

“The reason for that is if you have a certain level of salary, it’s hard to increase that. You just rather learn on how to improve and manage what you have,” he said.

Citing data, Villegas said around 30 to 40 percent of the app’s users use the sav ings challenge, which was launched last September.

“A large portion of our user base use it to save up for education, a house and motorcycle,” he said.

Villegas is optimistic that more people will tap the savings challenge, not

ing that based on the users’ statements on the Face book groups, some have achieved successes on their goals.

Lista launched on Tues day the budgeting feature of the app, which Villegas said is aimed at encourag ing their users to further improve their finances.

The app provides sug gestions such as the 70-2010 rule, where 70 percent of the income should be used for the needs, 20 per cent for savings and 10 per cent for wants.

Lista co-founder Khriz tina Lim, during the same briefing, disclosed the re sults of their survey regard ing the items that Filipinos save up for and plans to spend on during the holi days.

On top of the list is motorcycle, which has a target budget of around PHP54,000; followed by mobile phones, PHP24,000; travel, PHP23,000; and Christmas celebration needs, PHP17,000.

Lim said they put up Lista to help Filipinos “raise their quality of life, one step at a time.”

“Beyond the holidays, budgeting is a great way to gain control over your in come, which is why we’ve made it easier for Filipinos to create a budget, stick to it and use it as a tool to gain greater financial freedom,” she said.

Lista is a Series A startup firm with a USD5.8 mil lion capitalization from regional investors, such as Openspace Ventures, Saison Capital, Monde Nis sin and 1982 Ventures.

PH will not go into recession: Diokno

ThePhilippines will not go into re cession, the country’s top economic manager said Thursday.

Finance Secretary Ben jamin Diokno made the statement when asked about the Department of Finance’s plans to mitigate the looming global recession during a Commission on Appointments committee hearing on his ad interim appointment.

“I can assure you, your honor, that given the data that we have, under very extreme conditions, we will not have a recession because we have a very

young population,” Diok no said.

“For example, our unem ployment rate is now down to five percent—that is the lowest since before the pandemic. So I can assure you, given our focus on ag riculture, restored mining, power industry, and manu facturing are working well plus we have opened up the overseas workers, we have increased the quality of our overseas workers, I don’t think we’ll have a recession,

your honor,” he added.

CA Majority Leader and Camarines Sur Rep resentative Luis Raymund Villafuerte, who raised the question during the hearing, said while the projected eco nomic growth is “very good,” the country still needs to consider the global econo my.

Diokno, in response, ex plained that the Philippine economy is “less depen dent” on external factors.

“Our economy is more or less a domestic-driven economy,” he said.

The DOF chief likewise reiterated that the country’s debt is still manageable.

“Our public debt is man ageable, let’s put it that way. It should not be a cause for concern,” Diokno told the CA panel.

The DOF chief explained anew that the debt-to-GDP ratio increased from 40 per cent before the pandemic to 62 percent during the pandemic due to the vaccine procurement and improve ment of health services, among others.

“That should not be a cause for concern—62 percent. That’s very man ageable compared to other countries [whose] debt-toGDP ratio is 200 percent,” he added.

Life science company eyes increased footprint in PH

Life science firm Bayer is optimistic about in creasing its footprint in the Philippines as it inau gurated its PHP750-million integrated office in Taguig City.

On Wednesday, Bay er launched its new office at Science Hub Tower 1 in Bonifacio Global City (BGC), Taguig City, bringing together its crop science, pharmaceuticals, consum

er health and global busi ness services operations in time for its 60th anniversa ry in the country.

Bayer ASEAN managing director and chief finance officer Ernst Coppens said the PHP750-million inte grated office in the Philip pines is the largest of the six projects of the company in Southeast Asia.

Aside from the Phil ippines, Coppens said the

company has invested in Singapore, Vietnam, Ja karta, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok.

“This is the biggest office project of Bayer in ASEAN. Since Bayer stated the global transformation program in 2021, over 70 projects at Bayer sites are adopting the next normal office concept. Coming out of the pandemic, five out of six main offices in ASEAN

have completed this trans formation,” Coppens said.

Bayer Philippines man aging director and Country Division head Angel-Mi chael Evangelista said the company is eyeing to in crease its headcount to 2,000 next year from the current 1,800.

In 2021, Bayer Philip pines ended with 1,100 employees, adding 700 jobs in a year. (PNA)

Cebu Pacific Corporate Communications director Carmina Romero shares the updates and latest offerings of the airline company during Davao media and bloggers thanksgiving gathering at Rogen Inn in Davao City on Wednesday night. Lean Daval Jr.

BingoPlus sends help to victims of Typhoon Paeng in Hagonoy, Bulacan

Victims of recent ty phoon Paeng in Barangay San Roque, Hagonoy Bula can received care packages and other basic necessities from BingoPlus, the new est entertainment offering of Leisure & Resorts World Corporation (LRWC).

The area was among those hardly hit by the ty phoon during its landfall, with the entire province of Bulacan and other CALA BARZON provinces placed under Signal No. 3.

BingoPlus teamed up with One Race Filipino Ser vices to spearhead the as sistance drive that reached almost 300 families in Bula can. Barangay San Roque res idents received grocery packs consisting of rice, noodles, canned goods, coffee, bottled water, shoes, and clothes. Bin goPlus also brought smiles to 100 children who received toys and snacks.

The brand that vows to provide and promote happi

ness in good times and bad stayed true to its mission by extending help to calamity victims anew, as it had done in past similar circumstanc es.

“This is just one way to show how grateful Bingo Plus is to its supporters and the Filipino public in general because of their patronage since its launch last January. We want to share our bless ings with everyone, especial ly those who need it most,” says Jasper Vicencio, AB Lei sure Exponent Inc. President, the wholly owned subsidiary of LRWC that launched the BingoPlus brand.

BingoPlus is in full sup port of non-government organizations and local gov ernment agencies in helping Filipinos in times of catastro phes, Mr. Vicencio added. To learn more about BingoPlus, please visit www. bingoplus.com or check out its official Facebook page @ bingoplusph.

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DECODE is the largest cybersecurity conference in the Philippines hosted by Trend Micro, a global leader in cybersecurity. Register now for free and be a part of DECODE 2022: Detect & Respond at www.decodeph.com

Japan stuns Germany 2-1

Japanstunned Germany 2-1 in their World Cup opener on Wednesday, pun ishing the four-time champions for not taking their chances after they dominated the first half.

The German team cov ered their mouths for the team photo before the match in a powerful protest against FIFA’s decision to ban rain bow-themed armbands.

Hansi Flick’s team came to Qatar under huge pres sure to avoid the disaster of 2018, when they failed to make it out of the group stage in Russia as holders.

They took the lead through a first-half penalty from Ilkay Gundogan and should have been out of sight after creating a host of chances.

But Japan hung on and

equalized through substi tute Ritsu Doan in the 75th minute.

Takuma Asano then completed a remarkable turnaround eight minutes later, smashing the ball home to send the boisterous Japanese fans wild.

Germany’s World Cup future is now on the line, with games to come in Group E against Spain and Costa Rica.

Japan are eyeing a place in the knockout round after a dramatic comeback that scarcely looked possible at the end of the first half.

The Blue Samurai made a positive start, with Daizen Maeda putting the ball in the net as early as the eighth minute only for the lines man to flag for offside.

- German chances -

But it was to prove a false dawn for Japan as An tonio Rudiger headed past the post from a corner, before Joshua Kimmich tested goalkeeper Shuichi Gonda, with Gundogan blasting the rebound over the bar.

Gundogan peppered the Japan goal with shots, with Gonda keeping him out be fore Maya Yoshida threw his body in the way of another effort.

Gundogan put the Ger mans ahead after they were awarded a penalty when Gonda tripped David Raum,

Spain hammer Costa Rica 7-0 in 2022 World Cup

Spain tore Costa Rica apart in a FIFA World Cup Group E match that ended 7-0 on Wednesday, bagging the largest win yet in Qatar 2022.

Dani Olmo finished in a one-on-one situation to score the opener in minute 11 at Doha’s Al Thumama Stadium, netting Spain’s 100th World Cup goal.

Spain doubled the gap in the 21st minute as Marco Asensio fired with his leftfoot without trapping the ball. Jordi Alba assisted from the left flank.

Alba was fouled in the box, so Spain were awarded a penalty.

Ferran Torres scored from the white spot to make it 3-0 about 10 min utes later.

Torres was again on the scoresheet. In minute 54, he put the ball into the Costa Rica net after making a standing tackle near the goal.

In the 74th minute, Spain youngster Gavi made it 5-0, kicking the ball with the outside of his right foot, followed by another goal in minute 90, this time from Carlos Soler.

Spain did not stop here, as Alvaro Morata finished in the area two minutes later after a show of teamwork,

naming the result.

So, the 2010 world champions Spain secured the 7-0 win for a superb start to their Qatar cam paign, topping Group E on goal average.

Japan, who stunned Germany 2-1 earlier on Wednesday, are second in the standings.

Germany and Costa Rica are the two lowest teams in the group.

In the next fixture, Spain will face Germany on Nov. 27 at the Al Bayt Stadium.

Only the best two teams in each group will reach the last 16 after the third match es. (Anadolu)

coolly slotting his kick down the middle.

Jamal Musiala give a glimpse of his immense talent when he turned and flashed a shot over the bar on the stroke of half-time.

There was just enough time for Kai Havertz to put the ball in the net before the interval, only for VAR to rule the goal out for offside.

Musiala returned to tor ment Japan after the break, skipping through the de fense before blazing over.

The 19-year-old then turned provider, laying the ball off for Gundogan to lash against the post.

Japan brought on live wire forwards Asano and Kaoru Mitoma to try to in ject some energy into the four-times Asian champi ons.

But Germany kept up their pressure and only a string of last-ditch saves from Gonda prevented Ja pan from falling further be hind.

Hiroki Sakai had a gold en chance to equalise but blazed wildly over the bar after Manuel Neuer had par ried the ball into his path.

Doan showed him how it was done just minutes later, converting after Neuer had palmed away Takumi Minamino’s effort.

Japan stunned Germany 2-1 in their World Cup open er on Wednesday, punishing the four-time champions for not taking their chances af ter they dominated the first half.

The German team cov ered their mouths for the team photo before the

match in a powerful protest against FIFA’s decision to ban rainbow-themed arm bands.

Hansi Flick’s team came to Qatar under huge pres sure to avoid the disaster of 2018, when they failed to make it out of the group stage in Russia as holders. They took the lead through a first-half penalty from Ilkay Gundogan and should have been out of sight after creating a host of chances.

But Japan hung on and equalized through substi tute Ritsu Doan in the 75th minute.

Takuma Asano then completed a remarkable turnaround eight minutes later, smashing the ball home to send the boisterous Japanese fans wild.

Takuma Asano of Japan scores the 2-1 lead during the FIFA World Cup 2022 match against Germany in Doha, Qatar, on November 23, 2022. Ronald Wittek, EPA-EFE

Players of Spain celebrate after scoring a goal during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group E match between Spain and Costa Rica at Al Thumama Stadium on November 23, 2022 in Doha, Qatar.

BDO Trust Recognized as The Asset Management Company of the Year for 5 Consecutive Years

BDO Trust and Investments Group (BDO Trust) wins the As set Management Award for the 5th straight year at The Asset Triple A Sustainable Investing Awards.

BDO Trust continues to demonstrate its leadership in product and service innovation through constant improve ments on its investment offer ings such as the BDO Pension 360, a new take on corporate pension fund management. Known as an industry first, BDO Pension 360 is a compre hensive corporate retirement plan solution designed to help companies fulfill retirement benefit obligations efficiently while encouraging loyalty from employees and improving their talent recruitment and reten tion outcomes. Another newly created product is BDO Money Manager, designed to help re tail clients develop a well-di versified portfolio to reach their long term investment goals. Enhancements are also being carried out to enable customers

have full mobile access on BDO UITF (Unit Investment Trust Funds) and PERA (Personal Eq uity and Retirement Account), with BDO Easy Investment Plan (EIP) capabilities for all UITF products, and a full-service In vest Online functionality for smoother transactions.

These technology-driven ini tiatives aim to give customers an easy and accessible investment platform which also supports BDO’s sustainability efforts in reducing carbon footprint. While BDO Invest Online and BDO Mobile Banking offer con venience, BDO Trust continues to leverage on BDO’s vast net work and reach with more than 1,500 branches nationwide.

“Our clients are at the center of what we do and we consis tently find ways to achieve their business goals. I am truly proud of my diligent and persevering team who continues to deliver for the past 5 years and enhance customer journeys,” said Rafael G. Ayuste Jr., Senior Vice Presi dent and Head of BDO Trust.

The Asset Triple A Awards recognize companies that have established a comprehensive platform for investing across various asset classes and ser vicing the needs of institution al, corporate and retail clients. They have consistently shown exceptional performance and set the tone for innovation and industry practice including ESG (environmental, social and gov ernance) integration. The Asset Awards judges use highly strin gent criteria which include cli ent feedback, testimonials and information gathered during the review period. Whenever possible, The Asset editorial team also conducts confidential teleconferences and meetings with clients.

Apart from The Asset Awards, BDO Trust has re ceived multiple recognitions internationally from vari ous prestigious publications such as Alpha Southeast Asia Awards, Reader’s Digest Asia, World Finance and Asian Bank ing & Finance.

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unit (LGU) in Mindan ao that adopted the “di gi-palengke” system.

The Paleng-QR Ph program, jointly devel oped by the BSP and the Department of the Interi or and Local Government (DILG), aims to build the digital payments ecosys tem in the country by promoting cashless pay ments in public markets and local transportation, particularly tricycles.

“I believe that this

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mas matagaan pa niya ug bili ang iyahang pagkaba ta ug mas masabtan niya samtang bata pa siya mao nang dili nato sila i-en gage ug mga panahon na dili ting klase ug panahon na dili teaching learning schedules. May connec tion pud ni sa katong dugay na kaayo namo gi pagawas nga department order sa pagpahinumdum sa tanang tulunghaan public man o private nga dili maghatag ug assign ments during weekends,” he added.

The amendment was reportedly issued to fur ther strengthen profes sionalism within the De

will bring convenience to Dabawenyos and it im prove the way the people of Davao City do busi ness,” Rigo said.

Meanwhile, Medalla is expecting that Davao City will be the launching pad for the series of launch ings of the Paleng-QR ph program in Mindanao.

“Nakausap ko ang nagbebenta ng suha ang sabi niya maraming tur ista pero walang dalang pera buti na lang may

Gmaya (Gcash and Maya) and addition to that dahil kilala na siya ng e-money company hindi lang ang pagbabayad na solve pati na yung access to credit na solve na rin. Malaking bagay ang role ng technol ogy kasi gaano man ka layo ang kompanya kilala niya kung sino ang puwe deng pautangin,” Medalla said in an interview.

Medalla commended Davao City for setting a standard for good gover

partment and integrate it in all areas of work and practice in the depart ment. It also included additional provisions on employment and person nel relations, as well as the responsible use of so cial media.

In the said order, DepEd told its officials and personnel to “avoid relationships, interaction, and communication, in cluding following social media with learners out side of the school setting, except if they are rela tives.”

“Isa pud niana katong mga magtutudlo should also be given an opportu

nity to mend and tend for their respective activities kay kining mga magtutud lo nato while they are sur rogate parents they also have their very own pri vate lives that they have to tend and mend to mao ng importante ug nakita namo ang importansya niining maong gipagawas nga DO 49,” Atillo said.

The officials and em ployees of the department were also reportedly re minded of the provisions of Republic Act No. 6713, otherwise known as the Code of Conduct and Eth ical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.

By Maya M. Padillo

ANTI-GAME FIXING

House OKs Anti-Game Fixing Act on 2nd reading

The House of Representatives has approved House Bill 4513 or the “Anti Game-Fixing Act” which expands the definition of game-fixing by includ ing the acts of point-shaving and game-machinations on Second reading.

The bill also considers the elements of “monetary gain” and “valuable con sideration” as prima facie evidence of game-fixing.

The bill would also include abetting, aiding, inducing any person to commit game-fixing and profiting therefrom as other forms of game-fixing.

New commissioner vows: ‘No more game-fixing scandal’ in VisMin Cup

It also defines game-fixing as com mitted by a syndicate when three or more persons conspire or confederate with one another.

It punishes game-fixing acts com mitted in both professional and ama teur sports, including collegiate leagues.

It punishes violations with impris onment from three years and one day to six years or a fine of not less than P1 million to P5 million.

It likewise imposes stiffer penal ties of imprisonment from six years and one day to twelve years or a fine of not less than P1 million but not more than P5 million when the offender is an athlete, promoter, referee, um pire, judge, coach in the game, race or sports competition.

DOJ to charge 17 individuals over

MPBL game-fixing scandal

It also imposes life imprisonment or a fine of not less than P10 million but not more than P50 million if the offend er is a member of a syndicate.

Meanwhile it imposes only admin istrative liability upon student violators who are minors.

On the other hand the bill penalizes even the mere proposal, attempt and conspiracy to commit gamefixing with imprisonment from one year to three years or a fine of not less than P500,000 but not more than P1 million.

It also imposes the penalty of per petual disqualification from participa tion, in any capacity, in both amateur and professional sports upon those who found guilty of game-fixing.

It also provides exemption from prosecution or punishment for those who shall disclose, testify or assist in the prosecution of game-fixing and all other punishable acts.

The same fact sheet explained the bill seeks to promote fair play and elimi nate game-fixing by providing penalties against its various forms.

The House will vote on the bill on 3rd and final reading in 3 days.

Duncan Reid of Bay Area Dragons score from close range. Bay Area defeated TNT to gain a twice to beat edge in the PBA Commis sioner’s Cup playoffs. PBA