BusinessMirror February 04, 2023

‘BLACK HAWKS’ FLY IN PHL SKIES

DND to acquire 32 more S-70i helicopters to further boost PAF’s

By Rex Anthony Naval

MILITARY helicopters, regardless of their various functions and missions today, were designed and built to do one thing well. And that is to be able to land and take off at the smallest space possible, unlike their fixed-wing cousin that requires long, expensive and timeconsuming to build concrete runways before any operation can be mounted.

With the capability to land on unprepared land surfaces, helicopters earned the admiration of various militaries in the world, who set about to acquiring the rotary-wing aircraft and attaching it to their forces for scouting or reconnaissance, gunfire spotting and support, medical evacuation, troop and cargo transport, and even close air support, to name some of the missions planners have made for this small and yet highly functional flying machine.

I n the Philippines, various models of the Bell UH-1 Huey helicopters have proven their worth in operations against insurgents and terrorist threats since the first units of these then brandnew rotary-wing aircraft were acquired by the Philippine military on March 29, 1969.

The Huey has a maximum speed of 127 mph, or 204 kph and a range of 318 miles (511 km) and it is capable of carrying or transporting 9,500 pounds (4,309 kg).

The ease of operating and maintaining the Huey in PAF colors had generations of military pilots flying the various models of the reliable UH-I during their stints in the Philippine Air Force (PAF).

Be it flying troop insertions in hostile territory, returning these soldiers back to their bases, evacuating them when wounded, or resupplying them in the event of prolonged encounters, or using its machine guns when these personnel needed more fire support, the venerable UH-I seems destined to remain an immortal in the PAF.

airlift capability

The donation of these UH-1J helicopters is expected to be received two to three years from now.

The UH-IJ is manufactured by Japan’s Fiji Heavy Industries. Trinidad said the donation will significantly boost the capabilities of the Army Aviation Regiment in the field of HADR, medical evacuation, transport of personnel and supplies, and for damage assessment flights in times of national emergencies and calamities.

In the same meeting, PA chief Lt. Gen. Romeo S. Brawner Jr. discussed with JGSDF chief of staff Gen. Yoshida Yoshihide potential areas of military cooperation to include capability development, training and exercises, as well as defense materiel assistance.

a night-flying exercise.

The S-70i’s in PAF service are capable of speeds of 224 mph (361 kph), a range of 290 miles (460 km) and are capable of carrying 22,000 pounds (9,979 km).

2024, second batch (10 units); CY 2025, third batch (10 units); and CY 2026, last batch (seven units),” Lorenzana said.

DF) to provide it with a number of UH-IJ utility helicopters last December.

The PA chief also expressed hope that this nascent partnership would bring about mutually beneficial outcomes for both the PA and JGSDF.

A side from their military missions, S-70i’s in PAF service were utilized to transport relief supplies and rescue personnel to areas heavily hit by typhoons and other calamities in recent years.

Black Hawk helicopters were also tasked to transport Covid-19 vaccines in geographically isolated areas during the government’s massive vaccination campaign aimed at defeating the dreaded disease.

PAF gets initial ‘Black Hawk’ fleet

BUT even legends like the Vietnam war-era Huey grow old, so

PAF has decided to look and gradually replace its existing Huey fleet with the Sikorsky UH-60 “Black Hawk” manufactured by Polish firm PZL Mielec.

The Polish variation now in PAF service is known as the S-70i, of which 16 were originally acquired for $241 million in 2019.

The first batch of six helicopters was delivered in November 2020, followed by the second batch of five in June 2021 that was formally accepted, turned over and blessed in October of that same year.

The last batch of five was delivered on November 8, 2021, and formally accepted by the PAF on December 3, 2021. However, one of the initial six units delivered crashed on June 24, 2021, while on

The then DND chief issued the Notice of Award for PZL Mielec for the 32 Black Hawk helicopters on December 28, 2021. Once deliveries are completed, the PAF will have around 47 S-70i units, giving it more leeway to retire some of its helicopters that have been too long in service like the Huey.

Black Hawk training with US

The JGSDF pledged to transfer UH-1J utility helicopters to the PA through a government grant. This was announced during a side-bilateral meeting between the two Armies during the first-ever Japan-Philippine-US Trilateral Key Leaders’ Engagement at Camp Asaka, Tokyo, Japan, on December 11, 2022,” PA spokesperson Col. Xerxes Trinidad said in a news statement. At its peak, the PAF is believed to have operated between 30 and 50 units of Huey helicopters in various configurations.

As we all know, the Philippines and Japan are within the Pacific Ring of Fire and we experience so many disasters every year. By collaborating, all of our Armies will be able to cooperate on ensuring that our people are safe as we face the various calamities that come to our land every year,” Brawner said.

Additional

32 Black Hawks for Air Force

DUE to this sterling service in disaster relief, former Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on February 22, 2022, signed the contract with PZL Mielec, calling for the acquisition of 32 more S-70i units for the PAF.

This is a continuing relationship between our countries. The PAF is very happy with the Black Hawk helicopters,” he said.

The contract is worth $624 million and comes with an integrated logistics support and training package for pilots and maintenance crew.

“

The delivery of these helicopters will start on CY [calendar year] 2023 (five units), while the remaining ones will be delivered in three batches as follows: CY

AND with the PAF poised to get more S-70i Black Hawks in the coming years, the Air Force is looking to have more training opportunities with the United States Army Pacific Command (USARPAC). This was among the matters discussed by PAF and USARPAC officials during a meeting last February 21, 2022.

“Discussed are the possible subject matter expert exchanges (SMEEs) and training on helicopter operations, particularly the Black Hawk and other SMEEs, which will benefit both parties,” the PAF said.

Army eyes Japanese Huey for disaster relief missions

AND while the PAF is poised to retire some of its elderly Huey helicopters with the arrival of the brand-new S-70i’s, the Philippine Army (PA) is expected to boost its humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) capabilities following the pledge of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGS -

A PRIEST blesses a small fleet of newly delivered S-70i Black Hawk helicopters at a local airstrip. PHOTOS COURTESY OF PHILIPPINE AIR FORCE

US and China talk about better ties, but things have only become worse

By Iain Marlow, Jenny Leonard & Rebecca Choong Wilkins Bloomberg News

since it shed its Zero Covid strategy, and it may help pave the way for another Biden-Xi meeting at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in the US later this year.

This is the most consequential bilateral relationship in the world,” US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said this week. He said the two sides would look for modest gains—such as expanded contacts over climate change and between their militaries.

Two months after President

Joe Biden met Xi Jinping in Bali with a promise to arrest a slide in ties, the world’s two biggest economies and preeminent superpowers have been unable—or unwilling—to halt a cycle of suspicion and provocation. That’s renewing doubts ahead of talks next week in Beijing about the possibility that the relationship will ever return to normalcy.

The US is pressing ahead with a campaign to limit China’s access to sensitive semiconductor technology, by both limiting exports US companies can send to China and marshaling Japan and the Netherlands to restrict the sale of advanced chip-making equipment.

China has largely held off punching back, but has shown a willing-

ness to violate Western sanctions against the purchase of Iranian oil and, according to US officials, deepening its economic ties with Russia despite the invasion of Ukraine.

“Neither capital has indicated that they are prepared to compromise,” said Drew Thompson, a former US Defense Department official responsible for China and currently a senior fellow at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore.

Blinken’s scheduled visit to China

ALL of this makes for a tense environment for Secretary of State

Antony Blinken’s visit to China next week, the first high-level US encounter there since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. It’s another step in China’s reopening

Josef Gregory Mahoney, a politics professor at Shanghai’s East China Normal University, had a different take: “Perhaps it’s more like a court-mandated meeting with an ex-spouse.”

Pompeo snubbed

THE last time a secretary of state visited Beijing was 2018, when former President Donald Trump’s top diplomat, Michael Pompeo, had a testy exchange with Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Wang accused the US of having “damaged our mutual trust” and Pompeo was snubbed by Xi, who broke with precedent and declined to meet with him.

US officials have played down expectations for Blinken’s Beijing visit, emphasizing that it’s mostly symbolic. They’ve described it as solely an effort to show the Biden

administration is committed to keeping channels of communication open.

The US and China may agree to allow visa holders to stay longer and add to the number of flights between the countries, veteran US diplomat and trade negotiator Wendy Cutler told Bloomberg Television’s “Balance of Power With David Westin” on Monday. “ This is a journey,” said Cutler, a vice president at the Asia Society. “We should not expect any breakthroughs.”

Russia aid? THE Biden administration has privately confronted the Chinese government over evidence that the US says shows some of the country’s state-owned enterprises have been aiding Russia’s war efforts in Ukraine. Blinken will push his Chinese counterparts on the matter and make clear that the US is watching, officials said.

The meeting may be more important for China than it is for the US. China—looking to spur flagging economic growth and emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic for good—has a strong interest in making it at least look like relations are getting back on track.

X i’s abrupt shift toward a more growth-first strategy since securing a third term as Communist Party leader has helped propel a dramatic turnaround in markets. The MSCI China Index, which had slumped to an 11-year low in October, has gained more than 50 percent in subsequent weeks, becoming one of the world’s best-performing gauges.

Beijing is urging common ground for the sake of the global economic recovery, the Communist Party’s flagship newspaper said. The US hasn’t “let go of its obsession with treating China as a so-called strategic competitor,” the People’s Daily said in a commentary Wednesday, adding that “blind anti-China approaches will not work.”

Blinken simply setting foot

in China may be enough to calm rising tensions, said Wang Huiyao, the founder of the Center for China and Globalization, a policy research group in Beijing.

What a handshake could do IN past interactions, US and Chinese diplomats talked past each other, Wang said. “This is very important—the image, the handshaking, the meeting taking place in China,” he added.

Th e muted expectations highlight the challenges of Biden’s “three C’s” strategy to compete, contest and cooperate. While the US wants to pressure China over national security issues, it’s far from certain that it can do so and also get China’s help on pressing global issues such as climate change.

A ny tangible improvement will be hampered by the widely shared view in Washington— now incorporated in Pentagon doctrine—that Beijing poses the main threat to the US. A four-star Air Force General, Mike Minihan, fanned the tensions with a note to his staff last month, predicting war with China.

I hope I am wrong,” Minihan wrote to his staff. “My gut tells me we will fight in 2025.”

US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has promised to visit Taiwan, in a replay of a visit last year by his predecessor as speaker,

Nancy Pelosi. Her trip sent relations into a spiral, sparking retaliatory Chinese military exercises and leading Beijing to cancel a range of working-level discussions.

One of the first acts after Republicans won control of the House was to create a committee whose sole role will be to address what’s described as the rising threat posed by China. It will be chaired by Representative Mike Gallagher, who’s among lawmakers who want to ban the China-owned TikTok social-media app from US phones. He’s also interested in the type of symbolic moves that infuriate China, and may even arrange a committee hearing in Taiwan.

Even if Blinken’s visit calms the rhetoric between Washington and Beijing, neither side is expected to change positions on any of the fundamental disagreements fueling US-China tensions—and Beijing may play nice simply to focus on challenges at home.

“ To the extent that there’s sort of the appearance of a lowering of tensions, I think it is tactical and near-term and is mostly a reflection of the fact that the Chinese have a ton of their own problems to deal with,” said Ryan Hass, a former US diplomat who was a White House adviser on Asia during the Obama administration and is now a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

THE US keeps saying it wants to set a “floor” under the relationship with China. Its recent moves against Beijing and new pressure from Congress make achieving that look increasingly unlikely.

IN this December 4, 2013, file photo, Chinese President Xi Jinping shakes hands with then US Vice President Joe Biden as they pose for photos at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. AP/LINTAO ZHANG, POOL, FILE

Elon Musk’s Starlink to launch broadband service in PHL in Q1

By Lenie Lectura

BILLIONAIRE Elon Musk’s Starlink

and its local partner

Data Lake announced Friday the commercial launch of broadband service in the Philippines within the first quarter of the year.

“We are excited to finally introduce Starlink to the Philippine market by Q1 2023. The high speed, low latency broadband Internet service through the use of satellites will be game changing in connecting our 7,640 islands to the rest of the world. This will also be in line with President (Ferdinand R.) Marcos (Jr.’s) push for greater digitization,” said Data Lake Vice Chairman and CEO Anthony Almeda, who is also the president of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).

Data Lake, the Philippine-based data company of Henry Sy Jr. and Almeda and the first Starlink integrator in the country, recently met with the President to discuss the expedited entry of Starlink as a satellite internet provider.

Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez, Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Ivan John Uy, and Starlink representative Nick Galano were present to support the talks, in response to the US Government’s direction to hasten its expansion. The move delays in the production and deployment of low earth orbit (LEO) satellites pushed back Starlink’s initial December 2022 entry to the first quarter of 2023.

Once established in the country, Starlink will be able to provide high-speed broadband internet to end-users, including remote and geographically isolated areas, as it uses satellites positioned in low-Earth orbit (LEO) than the conventional and more costly underground fiber optic cables.

Starlink plans to offer its service to Philippine customers at an initial $599 per satellite unit and connectivity service at $99 per month, with a download speed of 200 Mbps.

DOF begins study on implementation

THE finance department is now studying the mechanisms of the value added tax refund scheme for tourists (VRST), particularly the modality on how the government will implement the measure starting 2024.

“Right now we are trying to find out the most favorable modality—what is the global practice? I think it is [through] a third party that handles the [refund], usually at the airports instead of at the point of sale because it has a high leakage rate,” Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno told reporters in an interview on Friday.

“We are starting it and we will implement it by 2024,” Diokno added.

Earlier this week, Malacañang said that President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has approved the VRST as recommended by the Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC) to attract more foreign tourists to the country. (Related story: https://businessmirror.com. ph/2023/01/30/manila-dan

Inflation has reached long-awaited peak at 8.1 percent in December–DOF chief

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

FINANCE

Secretary

Benjamin

E. Diokno on Friday said the country’s inflation rate may have already “peaked” in December at 8.1 percent and added that he is optimistic that average inflation this year would be within the government’s target band.

“I think it has peaked. And we look forward to an inflation of about 4.5 percent this year and going back to where we were originally 2 percent to 4 percent, mid -

point 3 percent, by 2024,” Diokno told the Makati Business Club in a forum organized by the business group on Friday. The Cabinet-level Development

boost tourism

gles-vrst-e-visas-to-tourists/)

The PSAC noted that the Philippines is the only Asian country without a VRST refund scheme as it is being implemented in 69 other countries.

While no details were made available, the scheme could be patterned after Singapore’s, where tourists who purchase goods and services more worth more than S$100 at participating shops and merchants, may claim a refund on the 7-percent goods and services tax (GST) paid, before departure from Changi Airport.

Tourists can either claim their refunds either in cash or via electronic means. The Presidential Communications Office said Marcos Jr. would be issuing an executive order to implement the VRST scheme.

Sen. Nancy Binay earlier asked the DOF to detail the implications of the VRST to the government’s revenue collections. (Related: https://businessmirror.com. ph/2023/01/31/agencies-told-toready-tourism-data-vrst-impacton-revenue/). Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

Youth interns receive stipend from BARMM labor ministry

DAVAO CITY—Some 495

Bangsamoro youths received last week their first stipend as interns and labor apprentice from the Bangsamoro government’s Ministry of Labor and Employment (MOLE).

Sixty-five beneficiaries of the Government Internship Program (GIP) from Cotabato City received a three-month stipend of P16,087.50 each, which is equivalent to 75 percent of the minimum wage. The remaining 25 percent would be given by their respective employers, depending on the minimum wage of each area, the Bangsamoro Information Office said.

Aside from the Cotabato City interns, 112 youth beneficiaries from the two Maguindanao provinces, 110 from Basilan, 104 from Tawi-Tawi, and another 104 from Sulu received P14,850.00 each.

The MOLE released the threemonth stipend during the fourth Bangsamoro Foundation Day on January 22.

The MOLE’s Bureau of Employment, Promotion and Welfare (BEPW) said the internship “pro -

vides opportunities to fresh college graduates and unemployed Bangsamoro youth to work in the government for three months.”

Deputy Minister Tommy Nawa said the GIP would help unemployed Bangsamoro youth improve their skills and talents. “We’re glad that the program enhanced your work experiences and that you’ve learned something from us which you will be able to apply to your next job.”

One of the beneficiaries, Abduladsis Nandog, 24, a graduate of Headstart College of Cotabato, said the program signified the efforts of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao was not remiss on its vow of addressing the needs of the youth sector in the region.

“We hope that this program will continue for youth and fresh college graduates will be able to have a work as a government employee, since it would difficult for us to find a job at this time,” said Sandra Dela Pena, a beneficiary from Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte, and a graduate of Cotabato State University. Manuel T. Cayon

Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) has set an inflation target of 2.5 percent to 4.5 percent this year.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas earlier projected that inflation in January would settle between 7.5 percent and 8.3 percent. (Related story: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2023/02/01/ bsp-january-inflation-couldstill-breach-8/)

Furthermore, Diokno pointed out that things are looking brighter for the Philippines following the strong full-year economic performance last year, which was at 7.6 percent.

Diokno said he is “optimistic” this year that the Philippines would be able to meet its target of growing between 6 percent to

7 percent.

For one, Diokno said the national government is keen on improving the agriculture sector, which he noted has remained a “laggard” for decades already.

Diokno added that mining is expected to contribute more to the country’s economy following the lifting of the nearly decadeold ban on new mining projects. “I am very optimistic because of our young population in an aging world. That is an asset. [We] just have to make sure that they are well educated, they get good health care,” he said.

Diokno also said the national government is banking on a “strong” private sector support to uplift further the country’s economy.

Pacific, UNICEF raise ₧10 million for Vulnerable Filipino Children in ’22

CEBU Pacific (CEB), in partnership with UNICEF Change for Good, have raised over P10 million in 2022, thanks to the generosity of its passengers and the support of its employees. The donation will help save more children’s lives and improve the situation of children in need.

CEB has been a proud partner of UNICEF Change for Good

since 2016, with the goal of raising funds through the collection of spare change from passengers. CEB is the first and only airline in the Philippines to partner with UNICEF for the Change for Good initiative.

Since the start of the partnership, the Philippines’s largest carrier has raised more than P79 million to help children in the Philippines survive and thrive in their

Japan manufacturers express keen interest to invest in Philippines

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

COLLIERS Philippines on Thursday revealed that Japanese manufacturers have expressed interest to invest in the country .

“Over the past 12 months, we also saw major investments being funneled into food manufacturing, e-commerce, and logistics segments. The development of new industrial parks and facilities in central and southern Luzon should provide potential locators with more options and opportunities to haggle for more attractive land leasehold and warehouse lease rates,” Colliers Philippines research director Joey Roi Bondoc said during the presentation of the company’s quarterly report in Makati City.

As of August 2022, Japan, a key trade partner of the Philippines, accounted for 27 percent of total Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA)-approved investments. PEZA expects the expansion of Japanese locators particularly in the chemicals, automotive, computer and optical products, and transport and logistics industries

Bondoc urged developers to explore sunrise industries such as electric vehicles (EVs), a new priority of the Philippine government. Moreover, he said developers must focus and study the progress of the Philippine Development Plan, which covers the

development of more ecozones.

“The Philippine government is working on reviving the manufacturing as one of the major pillars of the country’s economic revival. No less than President Marcos has ordered the development of the country’s manufacturing capabilities, and this should benefit the industrial sector in general. Over the near to medium term, the sector’s growth is likely to be supported by investments from new trade deals and the emergence of new industries including the electric vehicle industry. In our view, Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs) need to further improve the country’s manufacturing competitiveness and business environment to entice more industrial locators,” Bondoc stressed. He said Colliers recorded a marginal increase in land leasehold rates in the second half of 2022 as e-commerce and logistics firms took up space. In 2023, Bondoc said Colliers expects a continued rise in warehouse lease rates with the potential growth of semi-conductor firms.

Bondoc said Colliers sees vacancy to decline in 2023 as manufacturing investments materialize and gobble up space. He said Colliers expects chemicals and automotive manufacturers, as well as transport and logistics companies to likely occupy more space in the next 12 months.

first 1,000 days of life. Over the years, the program has expanded to provide essential services in the areas, water, sanitation, hygiene, education, child protection, especially in emergencies and humanitarian response.

During the pandemic when operational flights were stopped, CEB and UNICEF quickly adapted by shifting the Change for Good program online, allowing the

public to donate safely through the web site. Whether the cash were collected by cabin crew in a bag, or online, all funds were pooled to support lifesaving programs for children.

The partnership continues to uplift and reach thousands of vulnerable children and families, giving them access to essential services and lifesaving support.

of VRST starting ’24 to

Cebu

THROUGH the support of individual donors and corporate partners such as Cebu Pacific, UNICEF continued to support children and families in typhoon “Odette” affected areas. Residents from Barangay Magallanes in Limasawa, Southern Leyte received medical assistance from mobile health clinics organized by UNICEF, partners, and the local government. UNICEF PHILIPPINES/2022/ACDIMATATAC

Saturday, February 4, 2023

Neda OKs 7 ‘high impact projects’ under PBBM

By Samuel P. Medenilla

THE construction of a new Dumaguete airport, rehabilitation of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) and the creation of the flood control system in Mindanao are among the seven “high impact projects,” which were approved by the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Board during its meeting on Thursday.

Socio-economic Planning Secretary Arsenio

M. Balisacan disclosed the approved projects would help the administration achieve its medium term “economic and social transformation” targets.

“In line with the strategies identified under the Philippine Development Plan 2023 to 2028, the approval of these high-impact projects is a manifestation of the Marcos administration’s strong commitment of improving the quality of life of the Filipino people,” Balisacan said at a news conference in Malacañang on Friday.

“In the next six years, we can look forward to seeing more of our agencies and sectors working

hand in hand toward creating a prosperous, inclusive, and resilient society,” he added.

Affordable services

AMONG the said projects is the P6-billion University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) Cancer Center-the first Public Private Partnership (PPP) project of the Marcos administration.

B alisacan assured the center would remain to be owned by the government and only be operated by the private sector for a given period under a Build-Operate-Transfer scheme.

“To set the record straight, there will be no privatization of PGH services. The government shall own the entire facility and PGH shall continue to operate as a public hospital,” Balisacan said.

He also noted the center will dedicate half of its 300-bed capacity to accommodate poor patients.

“

The ward is really for the, that part of the facility, is for the low-income groups,” Balisacan said.

No unjustifiable increases

ALSO approved during the meeting was the proposal to increase the budget of the MRT 3 Rehabilitation project from P21.9 billion to P29.6 billion.

It aims t o restore MRT 3 to its “asdesigned state” with a provision for capacity expansion.

“All subsystems will be restored, renewed, or upgraded, including the tracks, signaling system, power supply system, overhead catenary system, and communication system as well as maintenance and station equipment,” Balisacan said.

The project is not expected to translate to excessive fare hikes for MRT.

And of course, again, the contract has to be designed in such a way that we protect the interest of the riding public that there will be no sharp increases in—or unjustifiable increases in fare,” Balisacan said.

ICC approved

BALISACAN also announced the Neda Investment Coordination Committee (ICC) also approved three projects, which will be funded through Official Development Assistance (ODA) from other countries, international financial institutions and the government.

These include the new P17billion Dumaguete Airport Development Project of the Department of Transportation (DOTr), which will be partially funded by the Export Import Bank of Korea Economic Development Cooperation Fund.

T he new airport will be constructed in Bacong, Negros Oriental and replace the Dumaguete-Sibulan Airport. “

The new Dumaguete Airport shall enhance the province’s tourism and trade potential, economic activities and standard of living,” Balisacan said.

Also approved is the Mindanao Inclusive Agriculture Development Project (MIADP) of the Department of Agriculture (DA), “which aims to increase agricultural productivity, resiliency and access to markets and services of organized farmers and fisherfolk groups”

in ancestral domains in Mindanao.

The P6.6-billion project will be funded through a loan from the World Bank.

The ICC also gave its go signal for the first phase of the P20-billion Integrated Flood Resilience and Adaptation Project of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will fund the project, which will provide strategic flood risk management in three target major river basins, namely, Abra, Ranao and Tagum-Libuganon in Mindanao.

Better commuter experience

THE Neda Board also approved the two more projects, which aim to provide better experience for commuters.

It approved the use of the P2.12 billion loan balance from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to improve the C ommunications, Navigation and Surveillance Systems for Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP).

The project will include the maintenance and resiliency enhancement of the CNS/ATM as well as the feasibility study for the independent back-up of the system.

“The approval includes a 60-month loan with a validity extension from 2023 to 2028 to cover their preceding intended utilization,” Balisacan said.

T he government decided to prioritize updating the CNS/ATM after it suffered from a glitch last month, which resulted in the temporary disruptions of operations at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia).

B alisacan said they also approve the increase in cost and extension of the implementation period for the Davao Public Transport Modernization Project from 2023 to 2029.

“The project involves delivering a modern, high-priority bus system for Davao City wherein interconnected bus services will be prioritized along 29 routes,” Balisacan said.

ON TAX EXEMPT PROPOSAL FOR MIC, MIF’

By Butch Fernandez

AIRING concerns over government’s grant of tax perk, Senator Francis Escudero zeroed in on the privileges accorded to the proposed Maharlika Investment Corporation (MIC), which will manage the recently created Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF).

Escudero also questioned the basis of requiring two banks to provide capitalization of P50 billion and P25 billion each for the MIF “without guaranteeing” a return of investment (ROI).

In a statement, the senator stressed Thursday the Marcos administration should uphold its “no tax exemption” policy as he questioned the perk proposed to be accorded MIC.

Escudero expressed concern over the “many privileges” the MIC may avail of supposedly to attract investors and augment government resources.

As provided in the proposed enabling law, he noted “the MIC will be exempted from national and local taxes, and from coverage of the Governance Commission for Government owned and Controlled Corporations, the Government Reform Procurement Reform law and the Salary Standardization law.”

Zeroing in on the tax exempt privileges, the veteran senator conveyed apprehension, viewing the proposal as a “bad policy if the government grants too many tax exemptions in general.”

Escudero cited Section 31 of Senate Bill (SB) 1670 that prescribes the MIC and MIF shall “be exempt from local and national taxes, direct and indirect, that may be imposed under the Local Government Code of 1991, and the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as amended, pursuant to the regulations to be issued by the Department of Finance [DOF], upon the recommendation of the Bureau of Internal Revenue [BIR].”

Moreover, the senator added that importation of supplies and equipment by the MIC and MIF “shall also be exempt from customs duties, in accordance with the provisions of Republic Act No. 10863 or the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.”

At the same time, he also reminded “the Secretary of the DOF was the Secretary of the Department of Budget and Management in the previous administration, and the policy of the previous administration was not to provide tax exemption, or at the very least minimize it.”

Escudero pointed out it is bad policy to have a lot of exemptions and very difficult to implement, if at all. So, I think they should continue with that policy.”

PHL eyeing Euro bond retail to broaden funding sources

MANILA is mulling over issuing Eurodenominated retail bonds (RTB) to capitalize on the keenness of European business to invest in the Philippines, Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said.

Diokno said the European business community expressed warm interests to invest in the Philippines through debt papers during their recent Philippine Economic Briefing (PEB) in Frankfurt, Germany.

“When we were in Frankfurt, German [businessmen] told us why we don’t issue Euro-denominated [retail bonds]? We are considering that,” Diokno said in an interview with reporters on Friday.

Diokno said the national government does not have a timeline yet on when it will issue the Euro-denominated RTBs, but emphasized that he expects that the offering would be met with a “strong” demand.

“There will be strong demand and strong interest especially with the seniors, not just the OFWs [overseas Filipino workers]. But also from the Filipino-Germans who want

to invest in the country because of the high return over time and it is tax free,” Diokno added.

He also cited the overwhelming demand during the last offshore bond offering by the Philippines that had a total tender of $28 billion. The Philippines raised $3 billion from the said dollar bond sale. (Related story: https:// businessmirror.com.ph/2023/01/10/phlraises-3b-from-dollar-bond-sale/)

The finance chief also expressed optimism toward the Bureau of the Treasury’s local retail bond offering (RTB) next week.

The Treasury is set to launch on February 7 the RTB-29 that seeks to raise a minimum aggregate amount of P30 billion from local investors. Last year, the national government was able to raise over P400 billion twice from its offering of RTBs.

The Treasury raised P458 billion during the 27th offering of RTBs in the first quarter of last year and another P420 billion from the 28th tender of RTBs. Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

Diokno assures sufficient fund for purchase of bivalent vaccine

FINANCE Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno has assured the public that the government has sufficient resources to provide booster shots to Filipinos and even procure bivalent vaccines in the future.

Diokno disclosed on Friday that the national government still has $800 million in loans to purchase bivalent vaccines if needed.

Diokno also pointed out that the country still has about 70 million doses of vaccines. He noted that the average booster vaccination rate of the Philippines is only at 10,000 in the past few days.

He added that Covax Facility is set to give the Philippines 1.2 million doses of bivalent doses next month.

The senator suggested “the MIC should be obligated to pay the taxes due, as the government, if it wants to, can always funnel the money back to the Maharlika Fund by way of the Tax Expenditure Fund as provided for in the annual General Appropriations Act.”

This as he also noted the Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) and the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), the financial institutions eyed to be the major contributors to the MIF, have been paying taxes as the rest of the other corporations. “ The LandBank and the DBP do not enjoy these exemptions. So, why give it to the MIC?” he asked.

The senator signaled he will soon recommend other sources of funds in an effort to plug the many gaps and loopholes in the current draft bills, indicating that “in the next couple of days, we will be proposing where the money can come from. We’re just finishing the research on it.”

The lawmaker likewise recalled, “The economic managers started with the Government Service Insurance System and with Social Security System pension funds. Then they now move to LandBank and DBP and even included the BSP. I don’t know where else they will go after this, but we’re finishing up the research and we will be proposing a viable fund source that we live and exceed their P100 billion expectations,” he said.

At the hearing on the proposed establishment of the MIF conducted by the Committee on Banks, Financial Institutions and Currencies, Escudero questioned the basis of requiring the two banks to provide capitalization of P50 billion and P25 billion each in the fund without guaranteeing a ROI.

In the position papers submitted by these government financial institutions to the Senate panel, they expressed concern on the bill’s silence on their supposed ROI and asked that it be specifically stated in the proposed law.

“We actually suggested that the draft bill to indicate our ROI in the MIC or MIF as being contemplated. If it is not in absolute percent, maybe it should be like a formula or something that can be referenced to the current averaged ROI being already enjoyed by the bank from their regular investments,” LandBank CEO Cecilia Borromeo told the Senate panel hearing on Wednesday.

During the briefing, the country’s economic managers said initial capital of the Fund will be sourced from the LandBank and DBP, and subsequent annual contributions will be from the BSP and BSP royalties and/ or special assessments on natural resources, proceeds from privatization of government assets and borrowings.

“How long would it take to use up [all of those doses] at a rate of 10,000 daily? Maybe 90 days,” he told members of the Makati Business Club during a forum organized by the group on Friday.

“As Covax said, as soon as you use up the 1.2 million doses we will give you more. Apparently, the rest of the world does not want to be vaccinated. There is a resistance,” he added.

Diokno was responding to the query of Jannette Jakosalem, managing director of Zuellig Pharma and treasurer of the Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association

of the Philippines, regarding the possibility of allowing the private sector to import bivalent vaccines.

Jakosalem explained that without the extension of the declaration of a state of calamity, private companies would undergo the regular bureaucratic process of procuring vaccines, which is by securing certificate of product registration or CPR.

Undergoing the CPR route, which Jakosalem described as “lengthy,” would derail the arrival of new bivalent Covid-19 vaccines with early next year as the soonest possible time frame.

“The process is lengthy. With that, we do not expect any new vaccines arriving within the year. At best it would be early next year,” she said during the forum.

Diokno explained that the Covax Facility is willing to donate more bivalent vaccines to the Philippines and the national government can tap the remaining $800 million in loan to purchase new vaccines.

“We can use [the $800 million] to buy the vaccines. Under the terms, it is the World Bank or the Asian Development Bank that will procure for us. It is not the Philippine government,” he said.

“So we are covered. Let us not panic,” he added. Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

SEN. TULFO PRODS SENATE TO LEGALIZE ‘UKAY-UKAY’

THE Senate is on track to consider passage of remedial legislation legalizing the popular ukay-ukay stalls and regulate importation of secondhand garments and goods.

Senator Raffy Tulfo moved to legalize and regulate the importation of ukay-ukay or imported second-hand garments and goods, which, he noted, has already evolved as part of the Filipino culture.

In filing Senate Bill (SB) No. 1778, Tulfo triggered the process of repealing Republic Act (RA) No. 4635 prohibiting the commercial importation of used clothing and rags that has long been observed openly in the breach.

Although ukay-ukaybusiness is deemed illegal pursuant to aforesaid law, the senator noted, “there has been a proliferation of the ukay-ukay business because of the ineffective implementation of the applicable law banning it.”

“The ukay-ukay industry has evolved as part of the Filipino Culture,” he reminded adding, “It goes without saying that the revenue-generating industry has generated jobs for our fellow Filipinos. However, it must be regulated by the proper government agencies to ensure its compliance with applicable laws.”

T he Tulfo bill’s explanatory note added: “P ursuant to the proposed bill, the P18 billion industry will no longer be an underground enterprise since it will be duly registered and its revenues audited for accountability by the proper government agencies.”

Prior to filing Senate Bill 1778, Tulfo recalled raising the idea of legalizing the commercial importation of ukay-ukay last year, noting the failure of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) to control its influx in the country.

The lawmaker lamented “small-time sellers are obliged to pay taxes, while the importers are not paying their duties to the BOC.”

In filing the measure, the senator stressed the need to investigate the BOC and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) to ensure that ukay-ukay will not be smuggled and misdeclared as used rags that are free of taxes and duties.

“ To stop smuggling,” he suggested, “All locators in PEZAs [export processing zone authorities] should have factories with proper machineries to process raw products/materials that will be re-exported and in turn generate money for the government.”

Moreover, he recalled that previous Customs investigations found that certain locators inside economic zones, like Bataan, Laguna, Cavite, Cagayan, Baguio, Clark and Subic Freeport zones, use their privilege to import raw materials tax-free to smuggle used clothing in the guise of scrap fabric.

These locators then sell the used clothing to dealers who then supply local ukay-ukay business owners.

The lawmaker likewise stressed the need to further consult the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the local garment manufacturers and other stakeholders for their inputs to further improve his proposed law. Butch Fernandez

‘GO SLOW

House OKs bill seeking to lower retirement age of govt workers

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

VOTING 268 against one and one abstention, the House of Representatives on Tuesday approved on third and final reading a bill seeking to lower the optional retirement age for government personnel from 60 years to 56 years.

S peaker Ferdinand Martin G.

Romualdez said the proposed law gives the more than 1 million workers in the bureaucracy the choice to retire early.

They can opt to quit working, receive their benefits, do other activities, and enjoy life in retirement with their loved ones even before they become senior citizens,” he said.

He said for many employees, retiring early would enhance their well-being.

D ubbed “An Act lowering the optional retirement age of government workers from 60 years to 56

years, amending for the purpose Section 13-A of Republic Act 8291, otherwise known as The Government Service Insurance System Act of 1997,” House Bill 206 consolidated 13 related measures.

T he bill states that a government worker-GSIS member would be entitled to retirement benefits if he is at least 56 years of age at the time of retirement, has rendered service for at least 15 years and he is not receiving a monthly pension for permanent total disability.

Under RA 8291, a retiring member could opt for a five-year lump sum of

benefits, with his monthly pension to be paid after five years, or cash equivalent to 18 months, with the payment of his pension taking effect immediately. Retirement is compulsory at 65 years.

Authors of the consolidated bill said their proposal to lower the optional retirement at 56 years would put the rest of government workers at par with members of the military and the police, whose mandatory retirement age is 56.

T hey said Filipinos need more rest so they could live longer, since their life span is shorter than other nationals.

T here should be a happy balance between working and retiring, the authors said.

S ome of the measures merged into Bill No. 206 sought to apply the lower optional retirement only to public school teachers, who comprise the single biggest sector in the bureaucracy.

P roponents of these measures said teachers are among the hardworking public servants and their profession requires long hours of work, hazards and a high level of stress.

Indigent senior citizens to receive ₧12,000 this year–Angara

By Wilnard Bacelonia

MANILA—Some 4.1 million indigent senior citizens are seen receiving P12,000 each as social pension this year under the approved P5.268 trillion national budget.

Sen. Sonny Angara said on Friday that Republic Act (RA) 11916 mandates the 100 percent increase in the indigent senior citizen’s monthly pension—from P500 to P1,000.

R A 11916 or an Act Increasing the Social Pension of Indigent Senior Citizens amended RA 7432, the first Senior Citizens Act.

“ We made sure that the increase in the social pension for our indigent senior citizens will be funded in the 2023 budget. We pushed for their additional pension, especially since they do not have any savings or financial

These did not age well

By Nick Tayag

MY SIXTY-ZEN’S WORTH

IF you go by its literal meaning, the term “did not age well” refers to a person or a thing that has worsened or been passed over by time.

I know some people who did not age well, victims of the ravages of age, dissipation and neglect and sometimes their own arrogance.

One acquaintance, a top performer on campus who seemed bound for success in the post-graduate life, was almost unrecognizable when I finally saw him after 50 years. He looked frail, spent and dispirited like a pendejo (loser) as someone warned me beforehand.

It explains why he had been shying away from attending class reunions and even occasionally posted bitter comments on the group chat about those who are eager to show off on such occasions. He could barely afford the cost of his medicines. He kept shifting the conversation to a topic he was more excited about: the prospects of

his daughter landing a job in Canada; apparently she was his saving grace.

A s I am writing this, my wife showed me pictures of her aged aunt and husband in a nursing home in California, taken by their adult children during a visit. The aunt looked shockingly grotesque, her head almost bald, her eyes bulging, reminding me of the sculpted gargoyles perched on facades of ancient European cathedrals. Just 10 years ago, when they last visited the Philippines, she and her husband were haughtily showing off their good fortune as American citizens, looking down on relatives who did not prosper because they chose to stay in the Philippines, and casting aspersions on poor relatives as totally lacking drive and ambition.

To the unsuspecting poor relatives who went to face her, the said auntie would look down on them and hurl insulting remarks about their physi-

cal imperfections: missing teeth, dark skin, flat nose, and so on, while she patronizingly handed out dollars.

Did that attitude of hers age well? What I see now in that image shared on social media among relatives is a face that would fit in a poster for a horror movie. The malice in her inner self still shows even with the passage of time.

“Did not age well” can also refer to beliefs, pronouncements and predictions that did not come true. There are old posts that make you shake your head and think “they could not have been more wrong considering recent events.”

For my generation, one prediction that did not age well is the world of the future as envisioned in the movie “2001 Space Odyssey.” When that particular year came, we were nowhere near the age of space travel as wondrously portrayed by writer Arthur Clarke and director Stanley Kubrick.

C an the same thing be said about the novel 1984 by George Orwell? The totalitarian society of the future he depicted where “Big Brother is Watching” was way off when we reached the year 1984, although arguably some brutal aspects of it became real during the Nazi regime in Germany and the Stalin era in Russia. Some say, it’s now occurring in China where technology is enabling the col-

lection of personal data and the surveillance of facial images of citizens through ubiquitous cameras installed in public places.

Many things that were once innovative, revolutionary and groundbreaking have become obsolete, swept into oblivion. In the past 20 or so years alone, VHS tapes, the video laser disc player, pagers, audio cassettes, CDs, MP3s, and floppy disks are some of the things that have almost completely disappeared. Who still remembers Polaroid camera?

Haven’t you noticed that the once familiar Kodak processing lab outlet is nowhere to be seen anymore? How about the fax machine? What happened to CD-R King, which was once the go-to store for computer gadgets? Even the landline phone seems destined to become a thing of the past.

T here’s one widely accepted practice that has not aged well: physical punishment and verbal abuse by parents and teachers. My father often employed the belt to punish us when we were kids, and no one objected. Our classroom teachers were allowed a lot of leeway to discipline unruly or negligent students: spanking, hitting, pinching, slapping, threatening, insulting, humiliating and shaming them.

In my early years as a baby boom parent, in instinctive imitation

support from anyone,” Angara said in a statement.

He said the additional social pension will help indigent senior citizens further sustain their daily subsistence and medical needs.

A ccording to the guidelines of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, the implementing agency, eligible senior citizens should fall within the following criteria: frail, sickly or with disability; without pension from the Social Security System, Government Service Insurance System or from any sources of pension in government and private agencies; and without any permanent source of income, compensation or financial assistance from relatives to support their basic needs.

Close to 10 percent of all Filipinos aged 65 and above are living alone. Many are not so lucky

of my father, I would obligatorily spank my kids (not too hard) when they wouldn’t listen to their mother’s admonitions. Then I stopped altogether when the practice went out of fashion and I became more enlightened (the truth is I didn’t have the heart for it).

Now, millennials and Gen X parents appear to be spanking their kids less than previous generations. A study reveals that younger parents of today “tend not to hit their children...there’s been a growing rejection of any sort of violence within the home, including spanking.”

In hindsight, it was never a good thing to begin with. At least, 75 studies on spanking found that it contributed to aggression, mental health and social esteem problems and antisocial behavior in children, who were more likely to be violent toward women later in life. I sincerely hope that these studies will convince parents and educators that raising one’s voice will not raise their children’s grades and that spanking and other punishments are not necessary to bring up wellmannered educated kids.

Being philosophical about it, human history teaches us that all things must pass.

Everything has its allocated time in which to shine. A time for every purpose under heaven. We

as to have savings to get them through their twilight years and there are a lot more who have no relatives who will take care of them,” Angara said.

First introduced in 2010, the social pension for indigent senior citizens was an additional government assistance under RA 9994 or the Expanded Senior Citizen’s Act, which amended the original Senior Citizen’s Act or RA 7432 to provide more benefits for Filipinos aged 60 and above, including the grant of a 20-percent discount on the purchase of certain goods and services such as medicines, a special 5-percent discount on prime commodities and basic necessities, and an exemption from the value added tax on the sale of goods and services.

A ngara’s father, the late former Senate President Edgardo Angara, authored both of these laws. PNA

have all our entrances and exits.

However, there are current trends that I specially like to age badly soon: social media platforms and digital channels that provide the stage for vanity performances and self-promotion, anonymous bots peddling lies and falsehoods and Internet sites that instigate hatred, spew toxic comments, and badmouth other people without remorse or accountability.

On a deeper level, there are things that we have the duty and obligation to ensure that they will not only age well but would last as long as humanity.

I can point out a few: the arts, the legacies of the past, which are conveyors of our culture and our natural resources, an inheritance, which must not only be respected, protected and conserved but renewed. Then, of course, there are the immortal lessons from the spiritual masters.

You know what I also like to see get better with age? You.

M ark Twain once said that ageing is “a privilege denied to many.” So make the best of this privilege. “Getting old is like climbing a mountain,” the actress Ingrid Bergman noted, “you get a little out of breath, but the view is much better!”

A ge well like a good wine. Grow mellow. Become more aromatic and flavorful.

FILE photo shows a Grade 3 teacher fondly called “Ma’am Jing” by her pupils guides them in a reading comprehension session inside the San Juan Elementary School in Cainta, Rizal. Some of the measures merged into House Bill 206 sought to apply the lower optional retirement only to public school teachers, who comprise the single biggest sector in the bureaucracy.

THE Quezon City government validates indigent senior citizens entitled to assistance at the SB Park in Batasan Hills on January 17, 2023. The Department of Social Welfare and Development will implement the distribution of the monthly social pension, which has been increased from P500 to P1,000 starting this year.

PNA PHOTO BY ROBERT OSWALD P. ALFILER

Multisectoral forum highlights PPPs in addressing PHL educational crisis

By Roderick L. Abad

On January 25 PHINMA Education led a policy convention: the “Private Education Towards Nation Building” forum that ushered and ignited discussions on ways the national government and nonstate tertiary education institutions could complement one another to elevate the academic system nationwide.

Based on a 2022 study by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, investments in learning had increased for more than two decades, with educational expenditures rising by about 6.4 percent annually within the last 15 years alone.

This exceeded the growth in per capita income of Filipino households. With them bearing the brunt of these expenses, the nation’s performance in global standardized rating for learners has turned poor. In fact, the 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment ranked the Philippines as the lowest among 79 participating nations in reading comprehension, and secondlowest in both mathematical and scientific literacy.

“While the public sector’s education spending per person in the

country has grown robustly over the past 25 years, we continue to perform poorly in international standardized student assessments,” said Ramon R. del Rosario Jr., chairman and CEO of PHINMA Corp. “This is a clear indicator that we have much to do, [with] increasingly little time to do it.”

To help address this concern, Global Schools Forum program director Kavita Rajagopalan cited the importance of foundational education—or teaching the basic literacy, numeracy and transferable skills to school kids—in the Philippine setting.

“Eighty-six percent of education innovations originate in the nonstate sector,” Rajagopalan said. “[It] is a powerful partner for driving the innovation in education needed to end the learning crisis.”

She further explained the need to build and scale alliances with government and ministries of education in terms of both PPP and technical advisory.

For Asian Development Bank’s education specialist for Higher Education Meekyung Shin, almost all developing economies in Asia Pacific region are middle-income

countries, which means that they face surplus in lower-level skills and major shortages in higher level skills.

“As successful countries like Korea and Japan have shown, private education plays a critical complementary role in improving access, quality and relevance of higher education,” Shin stated. As such, PHINMA acknowledges the fact that uplifting the country’s state of education is not the sole responsibility of the government, but also the business community and other stakeholders involved.

“We in the private sector believe that we can contribute to changing the course of history,” del Rosario Jr. pointed out. “Private education institutions can complement the public sector in improving the quality of education in the country.”

PHINMA Education’s presi -

dent and CEO Dr. Chito B. Salazar could not agree more, as he noted that “there should be complementarity between the private and public sectors, where the [former] can offer education services that normally come from public schools.”

“This is so the government will not need to build or produce new schools,” Salazar emphasized. “The public and private sectors need to work together to really maximize our efforts, facilities and resources to solve the learning crisis.”

The multisectoral conference drew more than 150 education leaders and stakeholders, including heads of the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities, Philippine Business for Education, Private Education Assistance Committee, and Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines.

FEU filmmakers fetch awards here and abroad

NINE short films made by Digital Cinema and Convergent M edia students from Far Eastern University’s (FEU)-Department of Communication (DepComm) q ualified for “REALIFILM 2023 | Haze of Truth: Underlying Gap of Life”—an interschool film contest organized by Adamson University’s Silip@Lente, in collaboration with the AdU Cultural Affairs Office.

The entries competed with 17 other student finalists at the AdU Theater on January 27, with “Romanticizing Life and Social Issues” a s its theme.

Akin ang Buhok Ko,” written and directed by Luke Salazar, follows the story of a nine-year-old boy who simply wants to keep his long hair against the wishes of the adults around him. It previously won “Best Short Film” and “Best Director” for Salazar at FEU’s “LIKHANG MULAT:

Gabi ng Parangal 2022.”

In “All the Things Left Unsaid” by Josh Van Ulric Ocampo, a boy narrates his life as a queer individual s peaking about his inner child in a very mundane setting. He starts by unfolding his imaginative perspective on the laundry as a colorful w orld with dirty clothes and cute little fishes.

On the other hand, “Ang Babayi ” by Sydney Dominic Roxas tells an alternate version of “The Story of Creation”—this time, Eve (Joyce Macalia) emerges from the water and becomes the first human instead of Adam. Her exploration of survival in the Garden of Eden leads her to a predatory foe and an unlikely companion.

I n “ Baka Búkas, Bukás Na ” by Ely Baculo, two old men, who hang out every day in a local coffee shop, reminisce about their bittersweet past when two young men enter the coffeehouse.

Banaag ” by Frangel Obien is about a woman who creates an almost perfect life as she coexists with

he r younger and future self in an attempt to heal wounds of trials and t ribulations.

In “Heels On” by Daniel John Sanchez, a young father wears fabulous c lothes and heels as a dance teacher at a studio in Cubao. As he gets home, he thinks that his daughter does not have any idea about his work.

Meanwhile, chaos erupts as an uninvited guest interrupts three men having a casual drink in “ Hilahil ” by JD Mardo.

In “If You Leave Me, Please Let Me Know” by Patrick Pangan, a young boy (Kaloy Estrella) thoroughly looks at a giant felled tree in front of their house. It seems oddly mysterious to him as he finds a connection to it. This as bullies tease him that he is a son of a kapre : a giant creature who lives in a tree. The short film is one of the finalists in the Young Voices section of “ Sine Halaga 2 ” and the Sorok Short Film Festival.

Finally, in and “Save the Last Dance for Me” by Kaloy Cabarrubias, a young man (Aristedes Lamorena Jr.) meets a mysterious woman ( Bjorn Pestaño) in a forest. Mesmerized by her beauty, he is determined to pursue her, and they develop a deep connection. He is unaware that this encounter will alter his life forever.

FEU DepComm program chair Herwin Cabasal lauded the films for being “proud to tell the stories of the unheard and explore the gaps in today’s society.”

Conquering the ‘West’ MEANWHILE, FEU alumni and student-filmmakers won accolades for their short films in two international film festivals in Spain and the U nited States.

Ramri Rivota’s “ Dalaw (The Guest)” led FEU awardees by winning “Honorable Mention in Art Direction” for Melbrick Morillo at the Festival de Cinema Internacional de Merd ə de Sueca (CIM Sueca) in Spain, and another honorable mention at the Student World Impact Film Festival 2022 in the US.

R ivota, who graduated FEU-DepComm, also served as secretary of the F EU Communication Society.

In “ Dalaw,” Grace (Maniecel Jagonob) is forced to stay for a couple o f days with her Lola Mary (Wendy Villacorta). During supper, a spoon accidentally falls which, based on a superstitious belief, leaves them waiting for an unexpected guest.

Aside from Morillo, Rivota—who wrote and directed the film—also got ample support from producer/

production manager Shaina Legaspi, assistant director Patricia R igodon, director of photography/ editor Andrew Aquino, assistant director Audrey Vicencio, script by Angelica Altera, casting manager Yvonne Salazar, sound designer Val Manalo, wardrobe-makeup artist Cyrus Barros, as well as production assistants Donita Borre and Maurich Macatangay.

Staged by the Cultural Association for the Second Law of Thermodynamics, CIM Sueca is a global t ilt of “low-budget, independent, or noncommercial cinema.”

“We hope to stimulate countercultural audiovisual initiatives to s potlight independent productions which focus on creativity, medium love and sheer fun over technical requirements leading to a ban from the commercial mainstream. We aim to establish the CIM as a meeting venue for the unassimilated, the re bellious, and the free minds of the audiovisual underworld,” CIM Sueca organizer Eugeni Alcañiz said.

Dalaw,” which was previously a finalist at the Short+Sweet Film Manila and Sinepiyu film festival at FEU, also made it to SWIFF, which got more than 5,400 entries from 120 countries.

“We loved the technical creativity and impactful message of… Dalaw,” SWIFF Director Mark Leschinsky disclosed.

Apart from the latter, other FEU student films such as “Agam ” (Thought) by Rose Anne Abellar, “Debut” by Reyna Nicole Paner, “ H utik Sang Mga Kuliglig ” by Luke del Castillo, “ K umari ” by Angela Aguila and One Carlo Diaz, “On the Shepherd’s Warning” by Lily Gomes, “ Pua Iyam ” (Coming Out) by Juan Pablo Pineda III, and “ Retrospektib ” by Daryll Jameson Apaga also received honorable mention citations and were n ominated for multiple awards, including “Best Short Film” and “Global I mpact Grand Prize.”

Editor: Mike Policarpio

Sarangani govt scholars graduate with Latin honors, bag incentives

By Manuel T. Cayon

DAVAO CITY—Thirty-six

scholars of the Sarangani provincial government graduated with Latin citations and were provided incentives for their academic feat, the provincial information office said.

One of them, Dominic Carl E. Gascon, a resident of Malungon, was a recipient of the summa cum laude honors.

As he received his incentives, Gascon thanked the provincial government, with the belief that his peers would be inspired by the program.

He anticipated that “there will be more future Latin-honor awardees coming from our province.”

For him, “education is the best thing that we can hold on to for the change of our world…Embrace [it] as part of our lives, and its importance for our future.”

Five also received the same honors, while 30 others finished cum laude.

Giving of incentives for academic excellence by government scholars is provided for in Pro -

vincial Ordinance 2021-10-082. It was authored by Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Federation president Rheymar M. Dian, who established the “Youth Excellence Award and Outstanding Sarangani Youth Incentives” program.

It recognizes students for excelling in their studies, or being outstanding youths and SK members, as they would “further promote active citizenship and encourage youth-individuals and/or group/s involvement in the attainment of development in the province.”

Graduates with Latin honors, per the ordinance, will receive P5,000, P3,000, and P2,000, according to their rankings.

Meanwhile, local youth development officer John Oliver Tablazon said the award aims to encourage students “to really strive hard to bring pride not only to their families, but to Sarangani Province, as well.”

“We want to motivate them by giving these incentives,” Tablazon added.

He said the incentives program began in 2021, after the provincial ordinance’s eventual approval.

DepEd, Globe connect to uphold child safety

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

THE Department of Education’s (DepEd) Child Protection Unit (CPU) and Globe Telecom recently joined forces to counter the proliferation of abuses committed against children, especially within school premises.

The education department led the creation of the DepEd Learners’ TeleSafe Contact Center, where students can report acts of exploitation, violence and neglect committed against them.

“This endeavor will impact the lives of our learners and schools,” said Atty. Suzette Gannaban-Medina who is the officer in charge-director of DepEd CPU. “With this, we hope to forge a strong partnership with Globe, as we hope to share our goal of providing quality, enabling, and liberating basic education to Filipino learners by protecting them from all forms of violence, abuse, bullying, neglect, cruelty, exploitation, and other conditions prejudicial to their development.”

To support the program, Globe will extend use of its M360 service: a web-based, multichannel message blaster allowing large-scale launch of campaigns and advocacies. Through such, the CPU will be further equipped to manage childsafety inquiries nationwide, and also engage in education drives via mobile connectivity.

By utilizing the service, the CPU will be reinforced to manage childsafety queries around the country, and engage in education drives via mobile connectivity.

“We are honored to be invited by DepEd CPU as a partner in this timely and significant undertaking,” said Yoly Crisanto, Globe Group Chief Sustainability and Corporate Communications officer. “As a longtime advocate of child protection,

whether online or offline, Globe believes in the importance of strong public-private collaboration in keeping our youth safe.”

In her message at the Culminating Activity of 30th National Children’s Month last November 24, 2022, Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Z. Duterte likewise vowed to provide a safe environment for children in schools.

The CPU and Child Rights in Education Desk were recently merged to create the Learner Rights and Protection Office, which will serve as the focal office in all matters on learners’ rights and protection within and outside school premises. Said office is tasked to process and address reports of abuse with utmost urgency.

Crisanto pointed out that the principles of child rights are integrated into Globe’s business principles, ensuring that the company complies with global standards on child protection, and that its employees are well-informed about related laws and guidelines.

Moreover, the Ayala-led company has been promoting online child safety through #MakeITSafePH since 2017. The campaign educates the public about good digital citizenship and responsible online behavior through its Digital Thumbprint Program. It includes ways to stop online sexual abuse and exploitation of children (OSAEC), and protecting children from other online risks.

The telco firm is also part of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)-led SaferKidsPH, which raises awareness on pressing and emerging OSAEC cases. It also supports the ABS-CBN Foundation Inc.’s Bantay Bata #163 Helpline, free for all Globe and TM mobile-phone users to make it easier to report child-abuse incidents.

ALEADING conglomerate recently highlighted the importance of public-private partnerships (PPP) in tackling the current learning debacle in the country.

VICE Governor Elmer de Peralta (left) addresses provincial-government scholars during a regular Monday flag ceremony in the Alabel government center. SARANGANI INFORMATION OFFICE

CAST and crew of ‘Ang Babayi’

PHINMA Corp. Vice President for Public Affairs Peter Perfecto (from left), Global Schools Forum’s program director Kavita Rajagopalan and Asian Development Bank’s education specialist for Higher Education Meekyung Shin

Tourism&Entertainment

Editor: Carla Mortel-Baricaua

Shariff KabunSuan feStival highlightS bangSamoro heritage

In the Philippines’s Central Mindanao Peninsula, long before Ferdinand Magellan discovered the Philippines in 1521, Shariff Kabunsuan’s great works already made a significant development in the lives of its cultural communities since 1475.

For the first time in history, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) and the City Government of Cotabato recently conducted a joint commemoration of the Shariff Kabunsuan Festival through a week-long staging of activities in reverence to the Great Work of the Shariff Mohammad Kabunsuan in propagating Islam in Central Mindanao. These festivities were held in Cotabato City and nearby municipalities. The essence of the Shariff Kabunsuan Festival is its religious element combining traditions and rich cultural heritage in one big celebration. The event also gave opportunities to locals and tourists to discover their culture, history, and traditions. The focus is inclusivity, peace and togetherness where Muslims, Christians, and Indigenous Peoples co-exist in harmony.

Dubbed as the “Commemoration of Shariff Kabunsuan Day,” its primary initiative is to converge the regional ministries, the local government units, and the business sector leveraging on the local economic benefits of tourism, giving highlights on cultural solidarity

with the Bangsamoro government. Its long-term goal is to thrive on meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MIC e ), Trade and Tourism. Its economic benefit and incentives will greatly be enjoyed by the region and its peoples.

“May we be reminded that other than faith, it is the message of peace and unity among us is what this festival wants us to share and remember,” said Cotabato City Mayor Mohammad Ali “Bruce” D. Matabalao. “And that Cotabato City, being the crown jewel of BARMM, is truly para sa lahat [for all],” he added.

o p ening d ay W I TH t he theme “ o ne heritage, o ne culture, e nd less possibilities,” the opening ceremonies of the colorful Shariff Kabunsuan Festival in Cotabato City depict the early years of the Arab missionary with participants including students from various colleges and universities in Maguindanao, Cotabato City and nearby municipalities. The Kuyog streetdancing and competition brings out the youth’s creativity and love of their own culture, by recreating Shariff

PTAA PresidenT PATriA

‘Alone we can do little, together we can do a lot,” this is the rallying call of the newlyinstalled Philippine Travel Agencies Association (PTAA) President Patria “Pattie” T. Chiong, as the largest and most prestigious travel agency association in the country gears up to the 30th Travel Tour e x po 2023 and the 8th International Travel Trade e x po 2023 from February 3-5, 2023.

“It is without a doubt that the tourism and travel sector was one of the hardest hit by the pandemic. Through the tough times, PTAA did its best to take care of its members and continued to be of service to the public. We stood together united during the good times, and more so during the challenges brought by pandemic of the

Kabunsuan’s arrival in Central Mindanao by way of traditional dances, colorful costumes, music, and skits.

Agri-Trade Fair

T H e A gri-trade fair showcases the rich agricultural products of Maguindanao and Cotabato City. This activity pooled together local producers across the region focusing on micro, small and medium enterprises (MSM e s).

Culinary s ho wcase

In conjunction with the l o ngest Dulang which represents the food offertory for the coming of the Sharrif Kabunsuan, it was also a thanksgiving for the significance of his mission: the islamization of the tribal communi -

ties. A culinary showcase was held at the BARMM compound covered court that was participated by at least 15 local chefs from different backgrounds across central Mindanao. “Pagana,” or a hearty meal, is also a salo-salo dining in Moro tradition. The colorfully laid out cuisine reveals their articulate taste. Moro cooking has coconut milk with chicken or beef. n o p ork, please. Pastries from different parts of Mindanao were also served. It’s true that food brings us all together.

i nawl Fashion s how

Cele B RATI n G M oro heritage by way of fashion dates back hundreds of years ago. The Inawl Fashion Show preserves its important tradition of

creativity, uplifting the weavers of Mindanao, and is transformed by local designers of today. The featured designers were: Wilfred Yee, Cely nicolas, Israel Ungkakay, Marc Gernan, Melissa Ajaddi Chin, Akmad Kari, Jr., and Pepe Quitco.

This project is initiated and chaired by former Maguindanao 1st District Congresswoman Bai Sandra Sema, who is currently the chairperson of the City Tourism Council.

“The Inawl Fashion show started in 2003,” Sema revealed. “There were just a few weavers at that time, and it was dying tradition. n o w, we are launching inawl, which originates from our ancestors, and it’s the best fabric in the Philippines,” she added.

Inawl, or “inaul” is a Maguindanaoan traditional handwoven fabric renowned for its colors and elegance.

“Weavers use cotton or silk, and today at the Shariff Kabunsuan Festival, we witness a new generation of Moros joining together in the peace process through fashion, and very importantly, this first tandem with BARMM and the national government that shows we are moving in the same direction for our future.”

The g u inakit Fluvial Parade

T H e g rand finalé is the ceremonial Guinakit Fluvial Parade, a reenactment of Shariff Kabunsuan’s entry to the Philippines from Malaysia 500 years ago, introducing Islam to pagans, even before Ferdinand Magellan landed on our shores.

The popular Rio Grande de Mindanao came to life with the fluvial parade composed of 85 boats at the Tamontaka River to Baiwalk Kalanganan. The fluvial parade is designed to depict the re-enactment of the coming of the Shariff Kabunsuan in grand fashion during its time. The BARMM

and Cotabato City Government provided a guinakit boat mimicking the Shariff Kabunsuan persona. The guinaikit boats of Maguindanao province, the ARMM Government, and various l GU ’s of Maguindanao especially along coastal and river lines formed part of the whole entourage of the voyage of Shariff and his men. The boats are decorated with buntings and flaglets with gongs and music instruments to sound off the coming of the Shariff.

Places of i n terest

A S ID e from the main festivities of the Shariff Kabunsuan Festival, it was also an opportunity to visit the many places of interests in Cotabato City. First on the list was the Grand Mosque, which is a 20-minute drive from Cotabato City. The Grand Mosque is the second largest in the Philippines and the third largest in Southeast Asia. A gift from a Sultan of Brunei, the structure was finished in 2011.

The People’s Palace is the name of the Cotabato City’s Municipal Hall. The kind mayor named it as such as a symbol of peace, welcoming anyone who would want to enter the grounds.

The Bangsamoro Museum is worth visiting as it has documented the history of Islam, its peace process, and the Muslims’ struggle for independence from all kinds of attempted colonization, starting from the Spanish era to present times. Writings on the walls, artifacts, music instruments, traditional clothing are just some of the beautiful exhibitions on display.

Preserving ancient traditions, and respecting one’s heritage is what the festival is all about. Truly, achieving economic stability, and a thriving tourism starts with peace.

Chiong leAds members onwArd To Tourism indusTry’s reCovery

previous years. Slowly, the industry is on the road to recovery; we have seen the return of travelers and the rising demand for products and services involving tourism and travel. n o w, we must face these new challenges. This is the time we must work together, link arms, and help one another,” adds Chiong.

o n e of these challenges, according to Chiong, is the rising demand for more flights for international and local travel. While this development comes as a good sign of an industry in recovery, PTAA, along with other industry players, must meet the growing travel requirements of the public.

“While we welcome this problem, we are challenged to cope up and we are trying our very best to do just that,”

says Chiong.

In 2023, under her leadership, travelers can also expect new destinations being offered by travel and tour operators under PTAA. “We have several familiarization trips lined-

up so we can introduce new trips and packaged tours. We are also focusing on visa-free countries like the 10 member nations of the AS e A n . T hey’re good destinations with less hassle to the travel agencies and the travelers, too,” adds Chiong.

A traveler with a passion herself, the well-traveled Chiong shares that her favorite destinations are Scandinavian countries such as Finland, Denmark and n o rway. As a veteran practitioner in the industry, she is currently the Vice President of West Gate Travel and Tours Inc. with more than 40 years of experience in the travel and tourism sector.

In 1974, Chiong first worked at Philippine Airlines as Chinese Interpreter and then as airport station

supervisor. From 1979-1991, she was manager for China, Hong Kong and Singapore and retired from PA l e xp ress in 2009 as its Senior Vice President for administration.

l ater, she joined Guatson International Travel and Tours in 2010. She is the past president of SKA l Manila and past international counsellor for SKA l Philippines, an affiliate of SKA l I nternational, a global organization of travel and tourism professionals. She has successfully won the bid for Manila to host the SKA l Asian Congress in 2015.

Aside from travel and tourism, Chiong is also very active in socio-civic activities. She is the past district secretary for Rotary International District 3830 and past president of the

Zonta Club of Fort Bonifacio.

She is a recipient of several awards as a student, airline professional and socio-civic advocate. She hails from Jolo, Sulu and completed her studies in n o tre Dame of Jolo College and Ateneo de Manila University.

For PTAA, she is the former e x ecutive Vice President from 2017-2018, Secretary General in 2021, and currently a member of the Board of et hics. She represented PTAA as its official representative to the Federation of AS e A n Travel Associations (FATA) from 2015-2017, and alternate representative to AS e A n Tourism Association (AS e A n TA) from 2015-2017.

Chiong is also a member of the o rg anizing Committee for PTAA TravelTour e x po 2023.

Story & photos by Arabelle Jimenez

r ee T dance pays tribute to shariff Kabunsuan’s arrival in Central mindanao. Ch A m P i ons of Kuyog streetdance Competition from Tulunan, Cotabato are all smiles in a huddle. l o C A l c hefs prepare local dishes at the culinary showcase.

i n Awl fashion piece by designer Cely nicolas. i n Awl outfit by designer w lfred yee The traditional Pagana meal is a mor o dining tradition.

The reenactment of shariff Kabunsuan’s arrival at rio gr ande de mindanao marks the festival’s grand finale.

g uin A K i T Fluvial Parade shows off a convoy of traditional boats.

The Agri-trade fair showcases local products and souvenirs.

PAT ri A T. Chiong

Del Rosario siblings on Vivamax, working for the family, and a new streaming service

GroupM brings TV ad service to PHL

BY RODERICK L. ABAD Contributor

NOBODY is talking about how big Viva Communications is now and how it became even bigger after launching Vivamax two years ago.

Vivamax, by the way, has six million subscribers, and, not surprisingly considering that its library includes many of Viva’s old hits, a huge chunk of that comes from the United States, where most of the titles being watched are the classics such as Sharon Cuneta’s movies. In 2022, Vivamax generated almost 100 million views. It’s about eight million views a month, almost 300,000 a day. That’s a lot.

We got the chance to talk to Viva’s Del Rosario siblings—Vincent, who is president and chief executive officer, and Val, senior vice president for content creation and development—over lunch at Greyhound Café, which is also owned by the Viva Group.

First, a clarification: While Vivamax has content that’s for adults only, that only makes up for around 10 percent or even less of the titles on the platform. Vincent said there are about 800 titles in Vivamax, of which around 80 has content for adults only.

By the way, Viva Communications Inc. recently signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) for responsible viewership.

“They [MTRCB] wanted to know more about the platform and what are our built-in controls, all under their advocacy campaign [of] Responsableng Panonood [Responsible Viewership],” said Vincent.

The MOA with MTRCB means Vivamax will self-regulate, meaning Viva will continue to impose sufficient age-rating advisory on its video-ondemand (VOD) content, as well as continuing its parental control feature for subscribers within its web applications. For instance, you need a pin code to watch any Vivamax content. This is for any person trying to access content on the platform.

But the lunchtime interview with the del Rosarios was really more about Viva Prime, which offers new and classic titles, Hollywood, Asian and Korean blockbusters, series, concerts, live streams, documentaries, and more. The price for subscription is P49 a month and P99, ad-free. The six million subscribers of Vivamax can access the new platform on the same app.

“The perception that Vivamax consists of all

risqué films is the reason why Boss Vic (Del Rosario) decided to create a streaming platform called Viva Prime where we will curate so the content will be for a general audience. We are committed to the campaign for responsible viewing and making sure that access to limited content will be for adults,” said Vincent.

He said Viva Prime is also part of the company’s commitment to provide quality original content despite the Philippine movie industry not getting back to pre-pandemic levels.

“At the end of the day, most Pinoys want Pinoy content, either original Filipinos films or foreign ones that have been Tagalized. The Vivamax formula targeted the broad c and lower c markets. Now, our wish is for broadband to be more affordable and consistent in delivery of services,” said Vincent.

Now for the fun part: We asked Vincent and Val how it felt to be in the family business.

“We knew early on that we were going to work at Viva. But we weren’t forced. Ako personally, I really wanted to work at Viva because growing up, I saw my parents doing this,” said Val, who would work for Viva during the summers when she was still a student and also spent two years working for a TV network before she finally joined the family business.

Val’s mom was the actress, starmaker and producer Mina Aragon del Rosario, who came from showbiz’s famous Salvador clan.

Sa amin expected ’yun in a way because we grew up in that environment. Three of my kids are working in the company. Before Viva, two of them worked in

CCP partners with Tiktok

THE Cultural Center of the Philippines collaborates with TikTok through a partnership to pursue opportunities to champion the best of Filipino arts and culture. Through a Memorandum of Understanding, both CCP and TikTok aim to create a digital innovation for audience reach, interaction and appreciation in keeping up with the times, as well as pave the way for CCP to become relatable to the youth, and serve as a medium in flourishing the youth to preserve Filipino arts and culture.

TikTok is a video-sharing app that allows users to create and share short-form videos on any topic. It is mainly mobile-based, although one can still watch TikTok videos using the web app. The platform allows users to get creative with their content using filters, stickers, voiceovers, sound effects

and background music.

on December 14, 2022 at the CCP were

left):

they said yes willingly. Our jobs give us so many opportunities. It’s also a happy environment because you are with family everyday,” said Vincent.

But the rule is that Boss Vic is a boss in the office and a dad during the weekends. The Del Rosario siblings are treated no differently from the other Viva employees.

In fact, Vincent pointed out that since he joined Viva in 1986, he has also served under executives who are not his relatives.

So, are Vincent and Val also reprimanded by the boss when they makes mistakes?

“Yes, actually more is expected of us than the others. We are expected to uphold certain standards. Like now, I asked someone to check the phone because Boss Vic might call and check what’s being said in the presscon,” said Vincent.

“Boss Vic is still very hands-on,” said Val.

It is clear that the siblings have a lot of respect for each other’s professional capabilities. In fact, there was a point in the interview when Vincent was talking about Val and he started with “hindi naman sa pagbubuhat ng bangko...[this is not to brag but...].”

“Val has been given a load that is heavier in terms of responsibility compared to what I was given when I was working in production. Dalawa na kami ngayon, dati ako lang mag isa [I used to be alone but now there’s Val]. Val is being groomed to be our content czar to take care of curating our production needs. Tita June [Torrejon Rufino] is an integral part of our production but Val is in charge of the e-commerce side,” said

GROUPM, the media investment arm of British multinational WPP, has launched in the Philippines a first-to-market addressable television (TV) service that helps brands to still leverage on TV viewing being a constant favorite pastime of Filipinos.

“TV has undergone an incredible amount of transformation in the last five years,” said Nicola Lewis, global chief executive officer (CEO) of Finecast.

In fact, the Philippines is the third-largest TV market in Southeast Asia, with 22 million TV households. This has an impact on the country’s changing consumer behavior, together with the diversification of devices, content and channels that is more challenging for brands to plan and target audiences on the platform.

Mindful of this, GroupM seeks to push the envelope further for the country’s advertising industry by helping advertisers to increase the effectiveness of their campaigns to reach traditional viewers in a cost-efficient manner.

“We have been at the forefront of the innovation from the start, providing brands with the tools and capabilities to activate their campaigns on the big screen like never before,” she noted.

“With the country expected to reach $23.9 million on ad spend in connected TV in 2027, Finecast aims to solve this problem for Filipino clients by providing a single point of access to the entire addressable TV ecosystem, managing distribution and frequency holistically across broadcasters and screens in order to deliver relevant audiences wherever they are watching,” GroupM Philippines chief investment officer Yasmin Mallari added.

This new offering allows advertisers to target households with relevant TV ads across multiple TV channels, pay-TV platforms, set-top boxes, a variety of video on demand (VOD) services, over-the-top (OTT) providers, and game consoles—all combined for scale, inherently viewable, and within high-quality and brand-safe content.

“As the world’s largest media advertising company, GroupM is able to forge the sizable partnerships necessary to identify relevant audiences in the fragmented TV landscape,” said GroupM Philippines and Singapore CEO Puneet Arora.

“Through Finecast, we have partnered with the Philippines’s top content providers, broadcasters, platforms and data providers to build this market, which will inevitably add more value to GroupM’s clients in the country,“ he added.

Their key collaborations with best-in-class data providers enable intelligent audience segmentation based on socioeconomics, life stage and financial behaviors, resulting in highly precise TV viewer profiles, which brands can then use to show different ads to various households watching the same TV show, making their advertising more effective and driving cost efficiencies.

“With advancements in data and technology, as well as the massive growth of digital consumers in the Philippines, the advanced TV advertising opportunities available for brands are incredibly exciting,” said Kathryn Domingo, Finecast director for the Philippines.

“We are thrilled to bring our next-level TV advertising capabilities to market that fuse the best of TV’s emotional prowess with data, creating unique opportunities for advertisers across the country by providing a better, more personal TV experience,” she stressed.

(seated,

CCP board trustee and vice chairman Michelle Nikki Junia, Alexis Soon (community operations manager for Mundo, Atty. Lorna Kapunan (CCP board trustee), (standing, from left) Atty. Krischelle

CCP board trustee Benedict Carandang, CCP director Dennis Marasigan.

PHOTO BY KIKO CABUENA CCP

A9

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos • Saturday, February 4, 2023

Honor X9a 5G review: Harder to break than a bad habit

Experts urge Filipinos to be more vigilant against online scams in 2023

BY RIZAL RAOUL S. REYES

ALTHOUGH the Philippines is experiencing a boom in online commerce as part of the boom in digitalization, Filipinos must not let their guard down as more cyber threats from cybercriminals will emerge.

“The Philippines is one of the fastest-growing digital economies in the region, and as digitalization accelerates, the country will face more cyber risks.

As the country continues to strengthen its digital transformation initiatives, there is a strong focus on digitizing infrastructure, logistics, and the development of smart cities. As these sectors digitize, they will become highly desirable targets for attackers. This reality means that organizations need to protect themselves with the right IT and OT infrastructure security architecture and prepare for the digital world,” said Daniel Kwong, Field chief information security officer, Fortinet South East Asia and Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, Trend Micro vice president for Southeast Asia Nilesh Jain recently pointed out that the majority of the fraud happening in the space is based on stealing someone’s identity such as personal information and passwords, so banks should heavily invest in security models which focus on identity security and identitybased fraud detection capabilities.

Despite the decreasing number of digital fraud cases in 2022, Sharon Navarro, chief underwriting officer of FPG Insurance, warned online scams and phishing will continue to remain prevalent if Filipinos remain less wary about securing their online shopping presence.

Navarro also shared some warning signs in online transactions to determine if it may just be another scam.

■ Check if the website's universal resource locator or URL has no "S" in its "HTTPS" domain. The S in HTTPS indicates that the website is secure. Any sensitive data, such as those handled by online banking services, email providers, retailers, etc., will be transferred safely from the buyer to the website. An HTTPS domain prevents websites from having their information disclosed to anyone.

■ Be wary of sites or sellers that ask for financial information immediately, such as banking details, card information, or other sensitive financial details, even if you still need to add to your cart.

■ Return policy should be clear. In compliance with the Consumer Act of the Philippines, consumers have the right to be compensated for receiving defective products or not as advertised. Legitimate websites and online shopping platforms have clear return or refund policy instructions.

■ Check the reviews. Consider negative reviews and existing complaints on social media.

■ Seller's details must be available. The seller must be available in different communication channels through social media, text, or the online shopping app. Legitimate sellers reply to queries and concerns promptly.

Despite the availability of these measures to protect oneself against online scams, Navarro said people will still fall prey to these scammers. To safeguard Filipino online shoppers, FPG Insurance pioneered the creation of a tailor-made insurance product for a safer shopping experience.

“We’re really customer-centric—and what’s key for us is to really adapt and make sure that we’re always relevant in the changing times,” said Navarro as she stressed the need to protect Filipinos during this digital era.

Aptly called MyCyberProtect Mate, Navarro said insurance product protects online buyers from undelivered goods and losses due to unauthorized transfer of funds (online bank accounts, electronic wallets, or credit and debit cards) through phishing, malware, or electronic fund transfer. The product also covers identity theft, cyberbullying, and other applicable online fraud or scams.

She explained that people insured with MyCyberProtect Mate are given round-the-clock service through a dedicated team of cybersecurity experts to help those experiencing problems with their online transactions. FPG Insurance is the first to offer a cybersecurity insurance product in the Philippines, focused on protecting Filipinos throughout the country with innovative solutions.

AFEW years ago, the Honor 9x became famous after several users posted videos of them using the phone’s pop-up camera to open beer bottles.

Well, the brand is back at it, this time generating even more viral content for its first smartphone of 2023. Last week, Honor took about a hundred media guests to Taal Vista Hotel in Tagaytay for the grand launch of the Honor X9a 5G—but not before giving all of us a chance to drop, smash, shoot and watch the phone get run over by a car.

You’ve probably seen the social media videos and clips subjecting the Honor X9a 5G to various durability tests, and after trying it out for myself for a couple of weeks, I’d have to say it’s almost indestructible and the toughest one I’ve had since the days of the Nokia 3310.

I’ve dropped it from various heights and on different types of floors, used it to crush garlic and nuts and hammered it several times on the table, yet besides a few scuffs on the preinstalled screen protector, the screen remains almost pristine and undamaged.

According to statistics, cracked screens are the single most common type of smartphone damage with millions of screens broken every year—and probably the leading source of mini-heart attacks which occur every time your phone falls.

But if it can withstand the kind of abuse we put it through, I’m pretty sure it can handle those accidental drops from your daily misadventures.

The Honor X9a has a 0.65mm reinforced glass that protects it from drops of up to 5 feet high. Just to clarify: it’s the screen of the phone that has the most protection and as long the screen is flat when it makes contact you have nothing to worry about. Be warned though that your phone can still be damaged if it hits the floor on one of the corners, or on its back, so it’s best to still use the protective case that is included in the package.

Another thing to note is that the phone has no water- and dust-resistance. If you saw the watermelon or garlic smashing videos, just know that you can’t wash your phone to get rid of the sticky stuff.

Besides being unbelievably tough, the Honor X9a 5G also has a fantastic curved display which is almost unheard of in its P16,990 price point.

The flagship 6.67-inch AMOLED panel has a resolution of 2400x1080 pixels, can display up to 1.07 billion colors, and has a wide color gamut of 100 percent DCI-P3. Coupled with ultra-slim bezels which help to push the screen-to-body ratio to an impressive 93 percent, the Honor X9a 5G delivers visuals with vivid clarity and vibrant colors, perfect for viewing photos, videos, movies, etc. And with brightness levels reaching up to 800 nits, the display excels no matter what the lighting conditions are, even under bright sunlight.

It also has a screen refresh rate of up to 120Hz that translates to more frames per second for smoother visuals, effectively reducing motion blur. The high maximum refresh rate coupled with a touch sampling rate as high as 300Hz enable the display to be incredibly responsive whether you are gaming, typing or just editing files.

Making it ideal for today’s always-on generation who spend long hours on their smartphones, the Honor X9a 5G is brimming with features that enhance comfort and reduce eye strain. First is the 1920Hz Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) Dimming, which reduces brightness variations and flicker, making it easier to view in low-light environments.

Additionally, it has TÜV Rheinland Low Blue Light which reduces harmful blue light without changing the display colors, Eye Comfort Mode that adjusts the display to warmer colors and reduces blue light, Daylight Screen Algorithm which increases brightness and reduces glare under bright light, and

Night-time Screen Algorithm which reduces the display brightness level to as low as 2 nits in dimly-lit environments. These features combined make the Honor X9a 5G ideal for long hours of smartphone usage.

To prevent accidental touches on its curved screen, the Honor X9a 5G utilizes AI-enabled Mistouch Prevention that is capable of differentiating between intended actions and accidental touches.

The curved screen complements an ultra-slim profile that makes Honor X9a 5G the most gorgeouslooking among mid-range devices. Weighing just 175 grams and measuring just 7.9mm thick, it is even thinner than Honor’s own flagship, the Magic4 Pro, which is surprising because it costs more than double the SRP. It does inherit the same iconic circular camera layout as Honor’s flagship Magic Series lineup, with a symmetrical Matrix Star Ring camera design at the back, and I do like this kind of design compared to the horizontal cameral pill modules.

The overall design of the Honor X9a 5G exudes a sense of “premiumness” and high-quality craftsmanship, giving it a distinguished look and feel that sets it apart from other devices in its class. The frame is made out of aluminum which contributes to the phone’s overall toughness and even if the back of the device is made of plastic, you wouldn’t even notice or care because the two colors—Emerald Green and Titanium Silver—are both fine choices. I do wish they’d release the Midnight Black variant as well.

But the best part of this ultra-slim design is that the Honor X9a doesn’t compromise on battery capacity, as it packs a large 5100mAh battery and supports up to 2 days of daily use. This provides ample battery life for activities such as 29 hours of YouTube Music streaming, 24 hours of YouTube streaming, 19 hours of TikTok browsing, up to 21 hours of social media exploring, or 11 hours of gaming. Additionally, with its fast-charging capability, a-30 minute charge can give you 12.5 hours of video streaming.

In terms of hardware, the Honor X9a 5G is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G Mobile Platform, a 6nm advanced processor with integrated Qualcomm Adreno 619 GPU and Qualcomm Kryo 660 CPU. It is paired with 8GB of RAM that can readily handle your usual day-to-day apps with ease and a generous 256GB storage for

the apps we installed. Do note that the Honor X9a isn’t really designed for hardcore gaming, but it can still run even the most demanding games like Genshin Impact but at a lower settings.

Now for the cameras. The Honor X9a 5G features a triple rear camera setup that is headlined by a 64MP f/1.8 aperture shooter. It also has a 5MP Wide Angle Camera that comes with a f/2.2 aperture, and a 2MP Macro Camera with a f/2.4 aperture. While those numbers may not be as impressive as the 108MP cameras of its competitors, the Honor X9a 5G still has a decent set of cameras.

You can get great photos with good colors and sharp details from the main camera as long as you are mindful of the lighting conditions. Night mode is usable, but it takes a lot of time to snap the photo and could often result in producing a blurred photo. Unless you have very steady hands, it’s best to just use regular mode instead. The problems start to be more evident when switching to the ultrawide camera as there’s more noticeable image noise and grain, because of the low sensor size and the low pixel count. And we all know about the 2MP macro camera and it’s no different here.

But perhaps the weakest aspect of the Honor X9a cameras is shooting videos. Besides being capped at 1080P 30FPS, it has stability struggles with focusing and often seem sluggish even with the slightest movements.

I am happy though with the 16MP front camera, as it is fairly capable to vividly capture the your facial features with facial recognition capabilities while keeping the details of the background sharp.

FINAL WORD: The Honor X9a 5G solves two of the most common pain points of smartphone users: durability and battery life. If you are someone who isn’t particularly careful with your phone, or are looking for phone that could handle the stress of your daily abuse, this would make a great match for you. The battery life is also quite impressive and I’ve been using it more for my daily coverages as I don’t have to worry about forgetting my powerbank. Now, if you are a hardcore gamer or particular about photography, I would suggest getting a hands-on demo and try it out first. The Honor X9a 5G comes with a Free Honor Earbuds X3 Lite worth P3,999 when you pre-order on or before February 3, 2023. ■

all your videos and photos. During our testing period we had no problems with all THE Honor X9a 5G

Chill pervades China’s technology firms even as crackdown eases

or chairman of their respective firms—including Alibaba’s Jack Ma, JD.com’s Richard Liu, Bytedance’s Zhang Yiming and Pinduoduo’s Colin Huang.

Making companies pay for trash they produce boosts recycling, study finds

By Leslie Kaufman Bloomberg News

Analysts say China’s easing of restrictions on companies like ecommerce giant Alibaba and online games company Tencent and talk of support for the private sector reflects Beijing’s decision to refocus on growth after the economy was ravaged by the pandemic and restrictions imposed to fight Covid-19. But controls on internet content remain firmly in place. And the crackdown has left a “chilling” effect on the industry, potentially slowing innovation, while US restrictions against China’s computer chips industry are hindering progress in developing leading edge technology in 5G and artificial intelligence (AI).

In January, a top official at China’s central bank said in an interview with state-owned media that the crackdown on technology companies was “basically” over, adding that companies would be encouraged to lead economic growth and create more jobs. That came just weeks after China dropped stringent entry restrictions and testing and quarantine requirements that were part of its “zero-Covid” strategy meant to quash the virus.

“With the end of the zeroCovid policy, China is returning to prioritizing economic growth, and the technology sector is obviously a critical driver of growth in China and a celebrated source of innovation,” said Gregory Allen, a senior fellow in the Strategic Technologies Program at the US research organization Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Companies like Alibaba and Tencent control everyday apps and services that are used ubiquitously by large swathes of the population—including online payments, messaging, food delivery and e-commerce.

Such companies flourished for two decades with scant regulation before Beijing launched a barrage of anti-monopoly, data security and other restrictions from late 2020, seeking to rein in e-commerce, social media and other companies it viewed as too big and independent.

Signaling an easing, Didi Global—which was ordered to stop new-user registrations in 2021 following accusations that it violated data security rules—recently was allowed to resume taking on new users.

Regulators said e-commerce giant Alibaba’s finance affiliate Ant Group can go ahead with plans to raise $1.5 billion for its consumer finance unit, an important step forward after the government called off a planned IPO two years ago and ordered the firm to restructure.

After slamming online games as “spiritual opium” and enforcing strict controls on screen time for minors, regulators last April begun approving new games following an eight-month hiatus, with the first foreign titles greenlighted in December.

Stocks of technology companies, including Alibaba, Tencent as well as others such as food delivery company Meituan and search engine and AI firm Baidu have seen their stock prices nearly double since they hit rock bottom in late October. The market valuations of these companies, however, are still far from their peak in 2019.

The crackdown’s chilling effects for investors and entrepreneurs will linger, Allen said, since the authorities have shown they’re willing and able to forego growth to impose controls on the industry at any time.

Over the past two years, several founders of technology companies have stepped down as CEO

In January, Alibaba’s financial affiliate Ant Group said that Ma— once China’s richest man—would give up control of the firm following a restructuring, and that no single shareholder would have control. Ma has rarely been seen in public since regulators pulled the plug on Ant Group’s market debut in Hong Kong and Shanghai following his criticism of China’s financial sector in 2020.

He since reportedly has moved to Tokyo.

“If you were a technology entrepreneur in China five years ago, very likely someone like Jack Ma was your hero, your idol, and was precisely what you aspired to achieve and the sort of person you aspire to become,” said Allen. “And to see a man like that kind of torn down, I think sends a really strong message.”

He and other analysts say the crackdown could potentially stifle innovation, as investors and entrepreneurs become more cautious about operating in China.

“The crackdown was deep and cut far to the bone, probably more than the government expected it to,” said Shaun Rein, founder and managing director of China Market Research Group in Shanghai. “Because what’s happened is over the last two years, venture capitalists and entrepreneurs have been scared to deploy capital and start new companies.”

The value of venture capital deals in China plunged 44 percent to $62.1 billion in the first 10 months of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021, according to research firm Preqin.

Some entrepreneurs and venture capitalists are taking a waitand-see attitude, “worried in the long term that if they invest in a hot sector that the government that goes against China’s agenda or doesn’t fit with the government’s agenda for the private sector that they might get wiped out,” Rein said.

Well-established internet companies are still at an advantage to other tech industries in China that face added uncer -

tainty due to friction between Washington and Beijing over advanced technology and trade as the US seeks to block exports of high-end semiconductors and chip-making equipment and to limit Western dealings with companies like Huawei Technologies, the world’s largest maker of telecommunications networking gear.

The Biden administration has stopped approving renewal of licenses to some US companies that have been selling essential components to the Chinese tech giant. That’s according to two people familiar with the matter who were not authorized to comment publicly on the sensitive matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Washington gradually has tightened controls over US exports to Huawei but had allowed some companies like Intel and Qualcomm to sell its processors used in devices like laptops and lowerend smartphones. The US has justified such sanctions on national security grounds. Huawei denies the accusations.

Under such pressure, China has accelerated efforts to become more self-sufficient in semiconductors and other advanced technologies, providing billions in subsidies and investments for the industry. But it remains years behind in some of the most advanced semiconductor manufacturing processes and a US prohibition against supporting development and production of integrated circuits at some chip factories in China has deprived Chinese chip firms of the foreign talent that has long contributed to its domestic industry.

A US ban on selling crucial semiconductor manufacturing equipment to China is another obstacle.

“It’s one thing to go into areas like software and cloud services, in which Chinese companies are already quite strong,” said Allen of CSIS.

“It’s a very different thing to take Chinese companies that are a decade or two behind in state-ofthe-art semiconductor manufacturing equipment and tell them to grow up immediately by replicating some of the most advanced technologies that the world has ever produced.”

Investment in Belt and Road countries jumps on

CHINA’S investment in the countries along the Belt and Road rose to the highest since 2019, with much of that increase due to a new battery plant for electric vehicles.

Investment in the 147 nations in the BRI rose 63 percent to $32.5 billion from a year earlier, according to a report from Fudan University in Shanghai. Driving the rise was China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. and Mercedes-Benz Group AG plans to invest more than $7 billion in a plant in Hungary, the biggest single project in any BRI country

since it started in 2013.

After the tech sector, the energy sector was the largest recipient of Chinese investment, with $9 billion going into projects, mostly for oil, gas and green energy. Chinese firms also signed more than $15 billion in construction deals for the energy sector and another $12 billion for transport infrastructure such as ports, roads and railways, according to the report from Christoph Nedopil at Fudan’s Green Finance & Development Center.

Total construction deals fell 27 percent to $35.3 billion, lowest lev -

tech deals

el since the start of the initiative spearheaded by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Hungary was the largest recipient of Chinese investment among BRI nations, followed by Saudi Arabia and Singapore. Russia, Angola, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Peru saw no new investment or construction deals, while engagement in Pakistan fell 34 percent, and that in sub-Saharan Africa also dropped by double digits, the report showed.

Chinese lending to a number of nations has fallen during the pandemic as an increasing number of borrowers in Africa and

UNITED STATES could increase their recycling rates for printed paper and packaging by almost 50 percent if they adopted laws making manufacturers bear some responsibility for the afterlife of their products, according to a report released Thursday.

Ex tended producer responsibility (EPR) laws are common in Asia and Europe but are just getting a foothold in the US. They require c ompanies that make products that pile up in landfills to join or fund organizations that facilitate recycling of those products.

In 2021, Maine and Oregon became the first states to pass such laws for paper and plastic packaging. Colorado and California then followed last year.

T he Recycling Partnership, an industryfinanced NGO based in the US that advocates for improving recycling infrastructure and accessibility, examined the outcomes of EPR laws in seven different jurisdictions across the globe, from South Korea to British Columbia in Canada, selected for their variability in size, geographic location and policy approach.

T he study found that despite those differences, the recycling rates for target materials across five of the jurisdictions surged to over 75 percent and rose to over 60 percent in the remaining two.

In Belgium and Spain the before and after were particularly dramatic, with rates jumping from 10 percent or below to over 80 percent.

D ylan de Thomas, the lead author of the report and the group’s vice president of public policy and government affairs, said there were several reasons for the jumps.

The laws provide more money for infrastructure like sorting facilities and mandate equal access to the same recycling options to all communities, whether urban or rural. They also provide a financial incentive for manufacturers to redesign their packaging to be less wasteful.

The analysis shows that similar approaches in the US would yield equivalent increases in the collection and processing of such waste, de Thomas said. “Recycling, especially in the US, grew up in a haphazard way,” he said.

“This is an organizing principle, instead of a community-by-community solution.”

H e cited his home state of Oregon, which enacted an EPR law in 2021, as an example of how it might work. “It ’s now possible to recycle many more materials in Portland than in coastal areas,” he said. “After the law is implemented, everyone will have the same recycling system. That’s one of the big benefits of EPR—everyone gets the same access, as they do to trash.”

In terest in EPR laws is rising in tandem with awareness of plastic pollution. Plastic is clogging landfills, oceans and streams and harming wildlife. Microplastics have even been found in human blood and breast milk. Rec ycling rates in the US, particularly for plastic packaging, are dismal. The nation recycled less than 9 percent of the plastic it generated in 2018, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Oil set for weekly loss as China optimism dims, stockpiles swell

OIL headed for a second weekly drop as optimism over a recovery in Chinese demand dimmed and US stockpiles kept rising.

West Texas Intermediate held below $76 a barrel, set for a loss of almost 5 percent this week. The China reopening trade for commodities has flagged amid questions over the timing and extent of the country’s recovery. In the US, data midweek showed nationwide holdings expanded for a sixth week.

Crude has swung within a $10 range this year, with prices caught between concerns of a global slowdown and expectations of recovering oil demand in China after Beijing ditched its rigid Covid Zero policy.

Central banks in the US and Europe raised interest rates this week, and warned that they weren’t yet done with monetary tightening to combat still-too-elevated inflation.

Traders are also looking ahead to the next batch of sanctions on Russian energy flows, which will kick in at the weekend. The European Union is set to impose a ban on seaborne imports of Russian petroleum products, while also starting a price-cap mechanism similar to one in place on crude.

The measures are meant to starve Moscow of funds amid the war in Ukraine.

Oil’s in “limbo as the market awaits tangible signs of China’s oil demand recovery,” said Vandana Hari, founder of Vanda Insights. “The EU products ban is not seen as a major factor but it still comes with a bit of uncertainty.” Crude’s retreat this week has come alongside declines in other leading industrial commodities, with copper and iron ore also lower.

There are uncertainties regarding the pace of China’s reopening, according to RBC Capital Markets Llc., which highlighted what it termed a “sloppy” physical oil market. The world’s largest crude importer “needs to pull harder in order for the physical messiness to clean up,” it said in a note.

“Large US inventory builds this week have weighed on the market, while there is still little clarity on how strong a demand recovery we could see from China,” said Warren Patterson, head of commodities strategy at ING Groep NV. “However, we still hold onto our constructive medium-term outlook for the market with the expectation of a tightening in the oil balance.” Bloomberg News

elsewhere have either defaulted on their debts or requested debt restructuring. Pakistan was in talks this week with the International Monetary Fund for a resumption of a $6.5 billion bailout and Sri Lanka is moving closer to a restructuring deal.

Lending by China’s top two development banks slowed in 2020 and 2021, according to separate research.

The value of construction contracts should roughly track the value of overseas projects that are funded with Chinese loans, while the investment figure tracks overseas projects where Chinese companies have an equity stake, according to the report’s author.

As there is a possible overlap between the two and because some Chinese construction contracts will be for projects funded by other countries, the report tracks “engagement” in the BRI, not the total Chinese financing of BRI projects.

Total engagement in 2022 was $67.8 billion according to the report, slightly lower than the $68.7 billion in 202. Bloomberg

Worst year for Chinese steel mills since ‘16 gives way to hope

CHINA’S steel mills are gearing up for a brighter year as prices of the construction material recover on optimism that an economic rebound and measures to revive the property industry will boost demand.

Steel futures in Shanghai have surged as much as 26 percent in the past three months on expectations that consumption will expand after the government scrapped Covid-Zero rules, increasing optimism over the outlook for industry profits.

That brings welcome relief for the world’s largest steel industry after a dire year for earnings in 2022. China is now focused on ramping up its mammoth economy, with President Xi Jinping calling this week for enhanced efforts to boost consumption and expand investment.

Still, uncertainty remains over the strength of the rebound and how effective the support measures will be.

“There’s little doubt that China’s reopening will be a boon for domestic steel consumption in 2023 compared with the disappointing levels” last year, said Atilla Widnell, managing director at Navigate Commodities in Singapore.

The past year was indeed one to forget for

Chinese mills. Preliminary full-year earnings from 17 of the top producers show the industry experienced its worst year since 2016, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Almost half of them have signaled net losses, the data show, with one of the biggest, Angang Steel, reporting a massive 98 percent slump in net income from a year earlier.

The extent of the reversal in mills’ fortunes will depend on how efficiently government support feeds through to property developers and boosts consumer confidence. Some analysts are cautious about the benefit of the measures.

“ The economic support policies will more or less help the industry,” said Li Liangxu, a fund manager at Guangdong Ronghao Asset Management. “But I’m cautious about whether we’ll see a great uptrend,” he said, adding it’s unclear how much the property industry will recover this year.

Elevated production costs may eat into profitability, said Widnell from Navigate Commodities.

Prices of iron ore, the steel-making raw material, are up about 40 percent in Dalian and around 60 percent in Singapore since the start of November. Bloomberg News

HONG KONG—A grinding crackdown that wiped billions of dollars of value off Chinese technology companies is easing, but the once-freewheeling industry is bracing for much slower growth ahead.

The World

CHINESE SPY BALLOON SPOTTED OVER WESTERN U.S.–PENTAGON

WASHINGTON—The US is tracking a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that has been spotted over US airspace for a couple days, but the Pentagon decided not to shoot it down due to risks of harm for people on the ground, officials said Thursday. The discovery of the balloon puts a further strain on US-China relations at a time of heightened tensions.

A senior defense official told Pentagon reporters that the US has “very high

confidence” it is a Chinese high-altitude balloon and it was flying over sensitive sites to collect information. One of the places the balloon was spotted was Montana, which is home to one of the nation’s three nuclear missile silo fields at Malmstrom Air Force Base.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information.

Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, provided a brief statement on the issue, saying the government continues to

track the balloon. He said it is “currently traveling at an altitude well above commercial air traffic and does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground.”

He said similar balloon activity has been seen in the past several years. He added that the US took steps to ensure it did not collect sensitive information.

The defense official said the US has “engaged” Chinese officials through multiple channels and communicated the seriousness

of the matter.

The incident comes as Secretary of State Antony Blinken was supposed to make his first trip to Beijing, expected this weekend, to try to find some common ground. Although the trip has not been formally announced, both Beijing and Washington have been talking about his imminent arrival.

It was not immediately clear if the discovery of the balloon would impact Blinken’s travel plans.

The senior defense official said the US did get fighter jets, including F-22s, ready to shoot down the balloon if ordered to by the White House. The Pentagon ultimately recommended against it, noting that even as the balloon was over a sparsely populated area of Montana, its size would create a debris field large enough that it could have put people at risk.

The official would not specify the size of the balloon, but said it was large enough

that despite its high altitude, commercial pilots could see it. All air traffic at the Billings, Montana, Logan International Airport was placed on a temporary ground stop Wednesday as the military provided options to the White House.

A photograph of a large white balloon lingering over the area was captured by the Billings Gazette, but the Pentagon would not confirm if that was the surveillance balloon. AP

Jarencio back as UST coach

PIDO JARENCIO is back as head coach of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigers.

I want to help UST, that’s all,” Jarencio, 58, told BusinessMirror on Friday. “Nothing more, nothing less I just want to help.”

Jarencio replaced another former Growling Tiger and fellow former Ginebra player, Bal David, who went 1-13 in the previous University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP).

There’re a lot of things to be fixed here, a lot of things that need to be addressed,” said Jarencio, who steered UST to the UAAP title in a classic Finals with Ateneo in 2006. He stayed as of his alma mater until 2013.

Jarencio signed a three-year contract. He has as deputies Japs Cuan, son Jaren Jarencio, Juven Ledesma and Jeric Fortuna.

But his fervent wish in his return to Espana is to have former UST teammate now San Miguel Corp. sports director Alfrancis Chua.

“I’m waiting for Boss Al [Alfrancis Chua] to join us here in UST, but there’s no word from him yet,” he said.

C hua supported his high school alma mater Letran in the National Collegiate Athletic Association in 2019. Josef Ramos

CAS dismisses

PSI appeal vs World Aquatics

THE Court for Arbitration on Sport (CAS) dismissed a request filed by the Philippine Swimming Inc. (PSI) against World Aquatics for a stay in the enforcement of the world body’s withdrawal of recognition on the national sports association and the creation of the Stabilization Committee (SC) that would oversee swimming in the country.

The CAS’s dismissal of the appeal was stated in a 16-page letter dated Thursday, February 2, 2023, and signed by Dr. Elisabeth Steiner, Deputy President of the CAS Appeals Arbitration Division.

The request for a stay of execution of the decision rendered by the FINA Bureau on 3 and 15 December 2022 filed by the Philippine Swimming Inc. on 20 December 2022 and supplemented on 12 and 19 January 2023 in the matter

CAS/2022/9351

Philippine Swimming Inc. v. World Aquatics formerly known as Federacion Internationale de Natation [FINA], is dismissed,” the CAS document said.

W ith the dismissal of the appeal, the CAS affirmed the World Aquatics’s order for the establishment of the Stabilization Committee— composed of Atty. Wharton Chan, Valeriano “Bones” Floro and Arrey Perez—to handle the affairs that were supposed to be the PSI’s as the sport’s national federation.

This reaffirms the world swimming body’s order for us in the Stabilization Committee to continue with our task, which, among others, include handling the day-to-day affairs of the swimming NSA, draft its new by-laws and recommend for the holding of elections of its board of trustees,” Chan said.

W ith the 32nd Southeast Asian Games just under three months away, Chan said that the conduct of trials for members of the swimming team to Cambodia is also tops in their priorities.

The Stabilization Committee earlier announced the holding of open tryouts for the national teams for swimming, diving and water polo February 18 and 19 at the New Clark City Aquatics Center in Capas, Tarlac.

The PSI, through its legal counsel Poblador, Bautista and Reyes Law Office, filed a request with the CAS against the World Aquatics for a delay in the execution of the international federation’s instruction on the creation of the Stabilization Committee and the withdrawal of recognition on the NSA’s board of trustees and its recognition as a FINA member.

P SI’s lawyers reiterated association president Lailani Velasco’s request that they should have been informed of the nature and cause of the complaints that prompted the FINA Bureau to withdrew its recognition on the group.

EJ LURKS IN MONDO’S SHADOW

By Josef Ramos

ERNEST JOHN “EJ”

OBIENA settled for a bronze medal at the Mondo Classic Indoor Pole Vault Championship on Friday in Uppsala, Sweden, to go 3-of-3 on podium finishes in the indoor season.

Obiena cleared 5.91 meters to finish third—setting a Philippine indoor record in the process—behind tournament host and Olympic and world champion and world record holder Armand Duplantis, who won with a new meet record of 6.10 meters.

World No. 10 KC Lightfoot of the US also managed 5.91 meters but claimed silver. He cleared the height in his first attempt with Obiena attempting thrice.

He did an amazing job. He tied the national [indoor] record and had a podium finish in a competition that was a ‘who’s who’ in pole vaulting,” said Jim Lafferty, Obiena’s confidante who follows the world No. 3 pole vaulter’s every move anywhere in the world.

Obiena also went for 6.0 and 6.05 meters but missed.

Obiena opened the indoor season with a silver (5.77) at the Internationales Springer-Meeting in Cottbus, Germany, and a gold (5.82) at the Perche En Or in Roubaix, France.

“

I’m very proud of him.  He had very close calls at 6 meters and clearly it’s just now a matter of time before 6 meters happens,” Lafferty added.

A shot at a fourth-consecutive podium finish, however, won’t come anytime soon.

Obiena won’t be seeing action in the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships set February 10 to 12 in Astana because there are no

airlines who fly to the Kazakhstan capital which could accommodate pole vaults.

Forget it, that’s final. We cannot get poles to Astana. We did everything,” Lafferty said. “I called everyone I know in Kazakhstan to help, but nobody can get poles to Astana.”

The predicament isn’t only Obiena’s predicament, according to Lafferty.

All countries are pulling out of

the pole vault competition,” Lafferty said. “Shame on Asian Athletics for choosing a location that wasn’t properly vetted.”

He added: “Basics like which airlines service the location and do they carry pole vault poles should be a basic part of due diligence in selecting a location for a championship meet.”

Obiena’s next competitions are the Orlen Cup and Copernicus Cup in Poland next week.

L afferty said that legendary

LEBRON ZEROING IN ON KAREEM RECORD

INDIANAPOLIS—LeBron James just put his head down and repeatedly drove to the basket Thursday night.

It was his vintage move.

The same late-game philosophy that led to four National Basketball Association (NBA) championships and has him on the precipice of becoming the NBA’s new career scoring champ worked perfectly again at Indiana.

James finished with 26 points, seven rebounds and seven assists and fueled another frantic

erase a 14-point deficit to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 112-111 victory over the Pacers.

He’s now 63 points away from breaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s career record of 38,387 points.

I just understood my game was needed more on the interior tonight,” James said. “Needed to get some rebounds, need to get some baskets in there and I felt like we were attacking, especially in the fourth quarter.”

James looked content doing the dirty work even though the Lakers trailed the entire first three quarters, usually by double digits.

But with a friendly road crowd imploring James to lead the Lakers back, his three-pointer with 2:35 left gave Los Angeles its first lead of the game.

Anthony Davis’s short jumper with 35.1 seconds left and subsequent block proved to be the decisive plays on a night he had 31 points and 14 rebounds, but was left out of the All-Star Game.

For the third time in 21 months, Indiana found itself at the forefront of a league-changing pursuit. It was here in May 2021 that Russell Westbrook recorded his 181st career triple-double to tie Oscar Robertson’s career mark. And it was here in December 2021 that Stephen Curry made five 3-pointers to pull within one of matching Ray Allen’s career mark of 2,973.

James is now at 38,325 and this one clearly means something special to him.

“ I think it’s one of the greatest records in sports, in general,” he said. “It’s like the home run record in baseball. It’s one of those records that you don’t ever see or think will be broken. You see guys like Hank Aaron, who had it for so long. You see guys like Sammy [Sosa] and Mark McGwire and you start climbing it and it’s like ‘Oh, this could really happen.’ It’s a fun thing as a sports person. It was fun watching those guys chasing it.”

But it was the Pacers who were chasing late.

O n a night Aaron Nesmith scored a career-high 24 points, newly minted All-Star Tyrese Haliburton added 26 points and 12 assists in his first game in three weeks and Myles Turner had 20 points and 13 rebounds after signing a two-year contract extension, Buddy Hield missed a 17-footer as the clock ran out.

I ndiana has lost four straight and this one befuddled longtime coach Rick Carlisle.

I ndiana relied on pace and speed to take control and still led 98-84 early in the fourth.

But the Lakers won it by going to the free-throw line 16 times, compared to zero for Indiana, in the final quarter.

The foul discrepancy and freethrow discrepancy [16-0 in the fourth quarter], is something I’ve never seen in my 38 years in the league,” Carlisle said, crediting the Lakers for being aggressive. “There was a lot going on

Ukranian coach Vitaly Petrov advised Obiena not to be stressed by the missed Asian championships.

There are more events heading toward the start of Olympic qualifiers beginning July,” he said.

“That’s Vitaly’s point—forget it and don’t risk your poles. He would lose the season if something happened to poles, which are custom-made for each vaulter.”

Obiena is the Asian outdoor record holder at 5.94 meters.

out there and they’ll see it in black and white in New York. Or actually, they’ll see it in HD.”

The NBA, meanwhile, has further adjusted the schedule of nationally televised games with James closing in on Abdul-Jabbar’s record.

James is on pace to break the record Tuesday at home against the Oklahoma City Thunder. That game will now be shown on TNT, a change that forced a reworking of that night’s entire schedule on the network.

T NT was supposed to show Atlanta at New Orleans, followed by Minnesota at Denver. Instead, it’ll show Phoenix at Brooklyn first, followed by the Thunder-Lakers game.

It’s a move that follows the NBA making similar adjustments earlier this week to show James and the Lakers nationally on Saturday, as he presumably moves closer to AbdulJabbar.

Th at game was moved up two hours to a 6 p.m. Eastern start. The Lakers-Pelicans game was moved to ESPN2, preceding a national broadcast between Dallas and Golden State at 8:30 p.m. on ABC.

James entered Thursday needing 89 points to pass Abdul-Jabbar, who has been the league’s leading scorer since 1984.

N BA Commissioner Adam Silver said last month in Paris that the league would ensure James’s recordbreaking game is shown nationally, as well as making it globally available.

I f James doesn’t have the record after Tuesday’s game, his next game is already scheduled for national TV. The Lakers’ home game February 9 against Milwaukee—the team that Abdul-Jabbar started his career with, before he joined the Lakers—will be shown on TNT. AP

Lebanese star Saoud, Al Riyadi lead Strong Group to Dubai exit

STRONG Group-Philippines found Al Riyadi star Amir Saoud too hot to handle and suffered a heartbreaking 107-97 defeat in their quarterfinal showdown in the 32nd Dubai International Basketball Championship early Friday at the Al Nasr Club Hall in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.

The Philippine ball club put up a gallant stand when it wheeled back from a 14-point deficit early on before holding its ground against the taller and heftier Lebanese only to fall victim to the hot hands of Saoud, who took over for Al Riyadi in the fourth quarter.

The dead shot of the Lebanon national team erupted for 17 points of his team’s 32 in the final frame, including a pivotal five straight points that capped a telling 14-2 run that gave Al Riyadi a safe 95-83 lead from an 81-all count.

Saoud, who will lead Lebanon against Gilas Pilipinas on February 24 in the sixth window of the FIBA

World Cup Asian Qualifiers, finished with 41 points built on seven triples against the team owned by Frank and Jacob Lao and backed by Mighty Sports and Acrocity.

Strong Group coach Charles Tiu admitted it was Saoud who did them in.

Painful and frustrating loss for us. Couldn’t stop Saoud today no matter what we did. Just too experienced for our team right now,” Tiu said. “Offense wasn’t the problem but we couldn’t get stops.

The young coach vowed to return fully prepared and much stronger next year as he thanked Filipino fans who bought expensive tickets to watch their games.

“ Thank you to our Filipino fans for supporting us. We are sorry for the loss,” he said. “We will come back stronger for sure.”

Saoud

Angels

take on Valdez-less Cool Smashers

PETRO GAZZ  hopes to exploit the absence of Alyssa Valdez as the Angels mix it up with the Creamline Cool Smashers in a compelling rematch of last year’s finalists marking the start of the Premier Volleyball League All Filipino Conference Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Valdez has been out of commission since suffering a right knee injury during the team’s bronze medal clash with Chery Tiggo in the 2022 Reinforced Conference but the three-time league MVP expects the rest of the Cool Smashers to take over and deliver despite her absence.

I’m very much confident that this team will give a good fight this conference,” said Valdez.

W ith Tots Carlos and Jema Galanza on the firing end, Ced Domingo manning the middle, Jia De Guzman orchestrating the plays and the likes of Michele Gumabao, Pangs Panaga, Risa Sato, Kyle Negrito, Kyle Atienza and Rose Vargas ready to step up at any given chance, things remain looking up for the defending champions in the tournament they ruled via sweep of the Angels last year.

B ut while the Angels also lost a key figure in Myla Pablo, who has opted to move over to F2 Logistics, the 2022 Reinforced Conference champions remain as formidable as ever with MJ Philips, Grethcel Soltones, Jonah Sabete, Nicole Tiamzon and Aiza Pontillas still in the fold, along with Djanel Cheng, Alisa Buitre, Lourdes Clemente and Remy Palma.

Ne w coach Oliver Almadro is also expected to give the team a new dimension and new recruits Dzi Gervacio and Jellie Tempiatura out to provide added firepower.

Gametime is set at 6:30 p.m.

Our matches against Petro Gazz have always been exciting, but with their new coach [Oliver Almadro], we need to do our homework,” Creamline Head Coach Sherwin Meneses said. “But expect us to be ready for them.”

“

The other teams beefed up during the offseason, but we kept ours intact,” Meneses said. “So let’s wait and see how everybody fairs.”

The 4 p.m. clash between Choco Mucho and Akari also promises to be fierce and tight with the Flying Titans raring to parade their triple-tower Kat Tolentino, Maddie Madayag and Bea de Leon along with the everreliable Des Cheng, Isa Molde, Cherry Nunag, Maika Ortiz, Caitlin Viray and Deanna Wong.

But the Akari Chargers have toughened up in the run-up to the new season of the league organized by Sports Vision, enlisting Dindin Manabat, Bang Pineda, Eli Soyud and rookie Camille Victoria to backstop the team’s mainstays in Michelle Cobb, Lcyha Ebon, Princess Madrigal, Jhoana Maraguinot, Janine Marciano and Shiela Pineda.

Games are telecast live on One Sports, One Sports+, Cignal Play, and SMART Live Stream and pvl.ph.

ERNEST JOHN “EJ” OBIENA (right) shares the podium in Uppsala with the meet’s host and champion Armand Duplantis (center) and silver medalist KC Lightfoot.

was ably supported by import Dominic Johnson, who added 23 points and seven rebounds as Al Riyadi exacted sweet revenge against

a Philippine team after Mighty Sports denied it the title in the final of the 31st edition of the tournament. T iu, however, took a potshot

at the referees. It didn’t help that we got cooked badly. I don’t know what game the refs we’re watching,” he said.

STRONG Group players and staff thank Filipino fans after their game against Lebanon’s Al Riyadi.

PHOTO COURTESY OF HERBERT IPONLA

LEBRON JAMES is 63 points away from becoming the National Basketball Association’s scoring champion. AP

or economics or engineering or risk management; minimum 5 years of experience in compliance or risk functions in the financial market (bank or insurance companies; insurance is preferred); understanding of the regulatory framework, applicable regulation and related compliance obligations; knowledge of insurance business and operations/ processes; familiarity with compliance risk management methodologies; ability to carry out effective communication and correspondence with external regulators and internal executives; ability to explain and follow relevant compliance policies involving applicable responsibilities, goals, processes and reporting procedures; team player with strong ability to manage time in an effective manner; ability to manage complex situations and meet deadlines; ability to work in a diverse and international environment; ability to deal with multiple stakeholders and executives; sound judgment and discretion when dealing with confidential information; excellent planning, organizational and decision making skills; fluent in English

LIU, QIAOLIN Mandarin Project Planner Brief Job Description: The Mandarin Project Planner is responsible for planning and scheduling various workloads. Gathers and analyzes information to prepare status report. Evaluate current procedures and recommends changes to improve the efficiency of planning and scheduling of projects.

PRIME METRO BMD CORPORATION

Basic Qualification: In-depth understanding of construction procedures, materials and project management principles. Must have understanding in cost planning and contracts administration. Familiarity with construction/project management in Mainland China and the Philippines.

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

16/f Three E-com, Moa Complex, Bayshore Cor. Ocean Drive, Barangay 76, Pasay City

DEVANTIER, JUSTIN SCOTT EVP - Strategy And Risk

193.

Brief Job Description: Oversee optimization and growth in new areas of development. Undertake initiatives that improve the general cost structure and competitive position of the business, by means of process improvement and the use of technology/IT, among others. Providing support and guidance to the business by enhancing pre-con and execution approaches, as well as a shared concern for the general welfare of the business as a member of the executive team. Take ownership of risk and opportunity identification and mitigation/attraction in both pre-con and execution stages.

Basic Qualification: At least 20 years combined experience in management, commercial, engineering and construction works execution to support the business in its expansion strategies and estimating process for large-scale projects. Hands-on tender analysis and estimation, multi-discipline work packages cost integration, cost engineering, subcontract/supplier cost/rates analysis, DJC analysis, tender submission requirements preparation and coordination, and tender input(s) coordination and review acquired from international construction environment.

Salary Range: Php 500,000