Agri dept expects lower sugar prices after clearing imports

Lazada optimistic on continues growth despite rising inflation

E-commerce platform

Lazada is optimistic that it will continue growing despite rising inflation, its CEO Carlos Barrera said on Thursday.

More Filipinos are tightening their belts as inflation reached a fresh 14-year high in January at 8.7 percent, but Lazada is also offering more deals for consumers who are becoming “wiser” with how they spend money, Barrera said.

He said that volume doubled as consumers sought affordable items on the platform using deals that are not available elsewhere.

“We allow them to stack different vouchers and to bundle all these promotions because cash back, free shipping, wallet discount, we want people to use this as a way to always know that they get a better deal online,” he said.

“People are now trying to save a bit more on their day-to-day purchases, we’re fully aligned with that. What we have seen is that the market has evolved volume if two separate programs and then jf that happens, magiging kawawa ang farmers,” SRA Board Member Pablo Azcona said. a lot. So the average tickets are slightly lower, also they have that value-seeking, people know that they can buy it cheaper and they can find good deals… We’re seeing strong buyer behavior this year, where people turn to online to find high quality items. It’s about being mindful,” he added.

An official of the Department of Agriculture said the price of sugar is expected to go down following the clearing of imports.

However, these imports need to be reclassified from ‘reserve’ to ‘domestic use’ sugar before being sold in markets.

E-commerce, he said, is somewhat insulated from challenges since online sellers are more “nimble” in costs since the costs of operations are also smaller for micro-entrepreneurs who operate from home.

PRO-POLICY DEVELOPMENT

Barrera said Lazada is supportive of government policies that aim to develop the industry as well as scale up small sellers.

He said they have been collaborating with the government in terms of sharing best global practices in other countries, among others. He said the platform also supports small businesses since legitimizing their ventures allow them to scale up.

FLAZADA, P10

Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban estimates that the retail price of refined sugar will slightly go down to P80-85 per kilo in two weeks’ time.

This was after he ordered the Sugar Regulatory Administration to issue clearances to the imported sugar, which was earlier flagged for being smuggled.

Sugar prices currently range from P87-110 per kilo, based on monitoring from the Department of Agriculture.

“Binigyan na ng clearance ng SRA eh. The sugar will lower the price of the commercial sugar in the Philippines. It will be 8085 pesos per kilo in two weeks,” Panganiban said.

The memorandum clears the imported sugar to be transported from ports to warehouses of three handpicked importers.

SRA clarified that the volume of sugar authorized by Panganiban in January, or a month before the sugar order was finalized, will now fall under Sugar Order No. 6.

This is to ensure that the volume of imports will not be doubled.

“Yung idea po ni Senior Usec actually, and yung hinihiling ng farmers natin to have only one program, we will have too much

Senator Risa Hontiveros, who first exposed the issue, criticized Panganiban’s move.

“Ika nga, ang isda ay sa bibig nahuhuli. Totoo iyan, kahit sa smuggling ng asukal. Sa mismong memo ng DA lumalabas ang katotohanan - na matataas na opisyal ang nasa likod ng binubuong cartel at smuggling ring sa suplay ng asukal sa bansa. We should not

Cebu Pacific says nearly 13.5 million domestic passengers flown in 2022

Cebu Pacific said on Friday it flew close to 13.5 million domestic passengers in 2022, up 312 percent compared to the previous year, indicating a recovery in traffic and capacity.

Its domestic market share reached 57 percent in 2022, it said in a disclosure to the stock exchange, citing data from the Civil

Aeronautics Board (CAB). Combined with international operations, Cebu Pacific flew over 14.8 million passengers for the year, the Gokongwei-led airline said.

“Higher travel demand both domestically and internationally, coupled with the easing of various travel regulations, drove the steep recovery for CEB in 2022,” it said.

In the fourth quarter, it flew 4.4 million passengers as key destinations such as Japan, South Korea and Taiwan eased travel restrictions, the airline said.

Hong Kong, one of its largest markets, lifted the mandatory quarantine requirements in December.

Long haul destina- tions, including Dubai and Sydney, rose 14 percent in terms of passenger volume, the airline said.

Cebu Pacific said it flew around 108,300 flights and 19.7 million seats as it ended 2022, reaching 92 percent of its pre-pandemic capacity.

Airlines were among the hardest hit during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On the status of Davao City’s proposed waste-to-energy (WTE) project:

“Naa na karon sa NEDA board. We are waiting for that and how many months na naa pa sa NEDA board para sa approval ana ug kung ma aprubahan na siya DENR will help us fund the project. We are hoping na mugawas ang ilang decision.”

GARAY DELIGERO Editorial Consultant

Editor

According to Max Weber, the state is the “political institution that has the monopoly in the legitimate use of coercion or force within a clearly defined territory.” The state, in return for the surrender of our individual wills to it, must render to the people the public good through rules embedded in the constitution. Politics is about interests, not personal, but collective, which determine for us the vision and meaning of the public good. Individuals have personal interests, but these must be reconciled with the collective will. Government officials must hold themselves accountable to the people. This is the essence of legal and rational nature of the state, the hallmark of modern-day democracy.

No two people have identical moral preferences. But they must agree on the meaning of the public good. This is why we have to reach a con-

Max Weber And The Rational Nature Of The State

sensus, a process in which we either vote, discuss, or choose as a body the good we have to share, e.g. social security, health care, etc. We have distinct wants, desires and even disagree on how much we must spend on something. To arrest any impasse, the democratic process must determine how people are to make priorities. The problem arises when one party has a more dominant voice than others and when the powerful manipulates the democratic process. The rule of the majority hides the prevalence of structural and systemic injustices inherent in pragmatic approach to statecraft.

The political process is about how good citizens must choose an ethical decision meant to promote the welfare of the public. Democracy in this respect is about just or fair procedures. Even with our diversity, we must respect each other on the basis of our diverse values and character. The task of government is the enforcement of the unequivocal respect for the dignity of each person, equally and without any preferential treatment. The law must apply to all or else, it can be said that any government loses its legitimacy. We have no moral obligation to follow laws that are unjust or against our person. This is the essence of any type of civil disobedience.

The moral propriety of state action is something that is grounded in the equality of each before the law. Any insinuation of collusion between the judiciary and the other branches of government necessarily diminishes the legitimacy of any decision. For this reason, the principle of co-equality is fundamental. Precisely, the power in common in which people come to agree on primary state inter-

ANTONIO V. FIGUEROA FAST BACKWARD

Deployment of troops is part of the art of war. While numbers play a crucial part in defin-ing victory or defeat, knowing the military officers assigned to handle vital assignments also provides a perspective on why conflicts are won or lost. In the case of Davao’s involvement in World War II, it is interesting, even for information only, the commanders who kept Allied forces in check on their way to liberating Davao region from the Japanese juggernaut.

The Southern Task Force, part of the South Western Area Fleet, was led by Vice Admiral Denshichi Okochi. Under him was the 32nd Japanese Naval Force, commanded by Rear Ad-miral Naoji Doi, with a total strength of 3,500 men. The naval contingent was divided into three, namely the Headquarters Forces, the First Battalion, and the

Second Battalion.

Adm. Okochi, along with General Yamashita Tomoyuki, dubbed the ‘Tiger of Malaya,’ surrendered their forces to the U.S. Army at Camp John Hay, Baguio City, after the latter’s capture by Filipino the guerillas of the USAFIP-NL at Kiangan, Ifugao, in 1945.

The HQ Forces was headed by Staff Officer Capt. Katsuji Shimamura, along with Cmdr. Shinji Saji as acting officer-in-charge of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Marine Battalions. The other offic-ers were Lt. Cmdr. Ki Kawai, as a staff officer; Lt. Senior Grade Koshi Ishiwara, as a staff of-ficer with 300 men under his command.

The HQ Forces had about 300 men positioned at Mandug, about 10 kilometers north of Davao City. They stayed in that assignment until June 3, 1945, before mov- ests must be guaranteed by the respect for the equal rights of each. Equality is not something nominal. It is a principle that lies at the core of our political existence. The violation of our individual liberties is an assault against our equal dignity as persons.

Due process, in this way, is non-negotiable. The power of the law is the soul that unites us as one people. The principle is enshrined in democratic institutions because of the tendency of the powerful to take advantage of the weak. The only protection that the people can expect from the basic structure is that laws and rules must be above the whim or caprice of any person. This is the danger that comes from charismatic authority. Populism substitutes the legitimacy of will-formation in the public sphere. The authority that emanates from the law is ultimately founded in the will of the people, which translates into the power of sovereignty, thereby giving every public official the legal mandate and authority.

But while any revolution appears tempting to those who have felt disadvantaged by the state, our true problem, however, is about meaningful representation. Governance is not just about how we are supposed to be ruled. Rather, it is rooted in the ability of citizens to contribute meaningfully in the analysis, discussion, and understanding of issues. The responsible citizen, in this way, is one who participates in the will-formation of the state. Political decisions may be unpopular because they are not faithful to the sentiments of the people. But good governance is not just about satisfying what the constituents of a public official wants. It is about foresight in one’s course of action.

Japanese Troops In Davao

ing deeper to a mountainous area double the distance from the city proper but still in the same area. They defended the place from Allied incursion but eventually surrendered when the mission be-came untenable.

On the other hand, the 1st Battalion was under Cmdr. Saji with Lt. Junior Grade Suekishi Morimoto as a company officer. The unit had about 800 men and were holed up in the vicini-ty of Sasa Air Field from October 8, 1944, to June 1, 1945, before moving to the mountains. At the start, the contingent was led by Maj. Gen. Muraji Kawazoe.

Also under the leadership of Cmdr. Saji is the 2nd Battalion with Lt. Junior Grade Kijiro Saito as a company officer. Like the first battalion, the contingent had 800 servicemen. They were located east of Davao River and north of Davao City until June 1, 1945, a month after Davao City was liberated by the Americans. The contingent, at the start, was also under Maj. Gen. Kawazoe.

Maj. Gen. Kawazoe, born on November 1892, had an illustrious career in the Japanese Imperial Army. He earned the ranked of colonel in 1939, became the commanding officer of the 3rd Infantry Regiment three years later, then attached that same year to the Taiwan Ar-my Headquarters. In 1944, he became the chief of staff of the 16th Division and the following year as commanding officer of the 75th Infantry Brigade in the Philippines. He died on Janu-ary 4, 1959.

Another notable Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) officer who figured in the defense of Da-vao during the 1945 liberation of the city was Lt. Gen.

Jiro Harada (born November 10, 1894; died December 20, 1989). He commanded the 100th Division and at one time took charge of most of Mindanao’s defenses along with Lt. Gen. Gyosaku Morozumi and Rear Admi-ral Naoji Doi.

Allied troop concentration that swarmed the city as the liberation neared forced Lt. Gen. Harada, despite his vaunted valor, to retreat with the troops and sought shelter at Kibangay. Due to the lack of food supply and depleting munitions, he ordered his men to disperse, effec-tively dissolving his division. When the Japanese eventually yielded to the US Forces in Lu-zon, he did the same, conscious that his scattered contingent was only a shell of what it was when they resisted the entry of the Allied Forces in the last days of April 1945.