BusinessMirror February 25, 2023

By Rex Anthony Naval

Th is weapons platform is expected to address the country’s defense weaknesses and vulnerability in sea control, anti-access/ area-denial (A2/AD), and coastal and island defense operations.

The BrahMos cruise missile can be launched from a ship, aircraft, submarine, or land and has a top speed of around Mach 2.8, or around 3,400 kilometers per hour, and is capable of carrying warheads weighing 200 to 300 kilograms.

E xpected to operate the BrahMos cruise missile system is the Philippine Navy’s Marine Corps (PMC), which activated a shorebased anti-ship missile (SBASM) battalion on April 3, 2022. This unit is under the PMC’s Coastal Defense Regiment (CDR).

A m issile battery typically consists of three mobile autonomous launchers with two or three missile tubes each, along with the tracking systems.

A shore-based missile system is a significant part of any reliable coastal defense system in pursuit of maritime security while in a defensive posture.

Certified ‘ready’

AS this developed, 21 PN personnel were recently awarded with their interim missile badges and pins by Indian Navy Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Radhakrishnan Hari Kumar, following the completion of their operator training of the SBASMS, which took place in India from January 23 to February 11.

Th e PMC, in a Facebook post on February 18, said the training focused on the operations and maintenance of some of the most important logistics package of the SBASM.

The induction of the BrahMos missile into the PMC will strengthen your maritime capability and will also contribute to our collective maritime security within the region. I sincerely hope that you’ll always cherish the bonds of friendship you had during your stay here,” Kumar said.

He also congratulated PN officers, enlisted personnel and civilian human resource participants who finished the practical series of the training successfully, and added that, “as pioneers of the system, each have proven his/her capacity as fine ambassador of their country.”

In the same PMC Facebook post, CDR commander Marine Col. Romulo D. Quemado lauded the team for the successful accomplishment of the training. He also expressed his optimism on the CDR’s future with the trained personnel.

Quemado also emphasized the value of retaining the knowledge they gained during training to honor the investment made by the Filipino people.

The training is a critical package included in the PN SBASM project contract signed by the Philippines and India in 2022.

“ The said acquisition was viewed as a boost to the PN’s capability to defend the country’s maritime borders and will further complement the efforts of the PN surface assets in patrolling Philippine waters,” the PMC added.

BRAHMOS UNLEASHED

BrahMos to help guard WPS

ON January 28, 2022, the Department of National Defense (DND) officially signed the contract for the acquisition of the BrahMos medium-range ramjet supersonic cruise missiles.

Then DND Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and BrahMos Aerospace Director General Atul Dinkar Rane signed the contract worth P18.9 billion in a virtual ceremony at the DND building in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

Th ree batteries of the BrahMos cruise missiles will be acquired by the country under this contract. Lorenzana said the BrahMos cruise missiles will greatly beef up the PN’s firepower. He added that the BrahMos cruise missile system would provide counter-attack capabilities within the Philippine exclusive economic zone. “As the world’s fastest supersonic cruise missiles, the BrahMos missiles will provide deterrence against any attempt to undermine our sovereignty and sovereign rights, especially in the West Philippine Sea,” Lorenzana said. Initial delivery of the BrahMos cruise missile system is expected this 2023. BrahMos is under Horizon 2 of the Revised Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Program (RAFPMPP), which is slated for 2018 to 2022.

L orenzana signed the notice of award for the PN’s BrahMos acquisition project, which is a government-to-government deal, in India on December 31, 2021.

“It includes the delivery of three batteries, training for operators and maintainers as well as the necessary integrated logistics support package. Conceptualized as early as 2017, the Office of the President approved its inclusion in the Horizon 2 Priority Projects in 2020,” he added.

Army eyes own BrahMos system

THE Philippine Army (PA), for its part, is also eyeing to acquire the BrahMos cruise missile system via Horizon 3 of the RAFPMP. PA’s acquisition of BrahMos is programmed under the 3rd Horizon (Year 2023-2027) of the RAFPMP.

“Hence, the PA is yet to acquire said units since we are still on the 2nd Horizon (2018-2022) wherein some of the programmed acquisitions are still in process,” PA spokesperson Col. Xerxes Trinidad said.

He added that the Army is programmed to get two BrahMos batteries, to be used for coastal defense missions.

“ The acquisition of two batteries will serve as the general support artillery unit in coastal defense that will [complement] the joint force in territorial defense,” Trinidad said.

The BrahMos, according to him, fills the PA’s requirement of ground-based anti-ship missiles (GBASM) and the mission of the field artillery to destroy, neutralize and suppress the enemy through cannon and rocket fire.

“

The concept of coastal defense implies the application of an in-depth defense. As such, defenses have to provide much further into the sea to weaken advancing enemy forces and much further inland to protect against envelopment and isolation,” Trinidad said.

The GBASM system is a mobile system with long-range precision capability to destroy hostile warships in territorial defense. “Said GBASM system will form part of the layered defense strategy and will be under the Army Artillery Regiment. The weapon will also provide area denial as the operational situation requires,” Trinidad said.

The GBASM is designed to be launched from land to hit targets at sea with high speed and precision. It has an all-weather, long-range capability of 250 to 300 kilometers. Its launch platform consists of two missiles in a ready-to-launch configuration on containers. The system also uses a radar and fire control system for coordinating the launch.

WITH the expected delivery of the Indian-made BrahMos mediumrange ramjet supersonic cruise missile systems within the year, the country’s capability to defend its coastline and territorial waters will get a much needed firepower boost.

DEFENSE Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and Indian Ambassador to the Philippines Shambhu Kumaran during the ceremonial contract signing for the BrahMos deal between India and the Philippines on January 28, 2022, for the Philippine Marines’ Coastal Defense Regiment’s SBASM Battalion. DEPARTMENT OF NATIONAL DEFENSE

BRAHMOS supersonic cruise missile, with major indigenous systems, successfully test fired from ITR, at Chandipur in Odisha, India, on September 30, 2019. INDIAN MINISTRY OF DEFENCE (GODL-INDIA)

Word war: In Russia-Ukraine war, information became a weapon

By David Klepper The Associated Press

WASHINGTON—Russia’s

The online fight has played out on computer screens and smartphones around the globe as Russia used disinformation, propaganda and conspiracy theories to justify its invasion, silence domestic opposition and sow discord among its adversaries.

Now in its second year, the war is likely to spawn even more disinformation as Russia looks to break the will of Ukraine and its allies.

The natural question is: What’s next to come? We know that Russia is preparing for a protracted conflict,” said Samantha Lewis, a threat intelligence analyst with the cybersecurity firm Recorded Future. “Ukrainian morale is almost certainly a key target of Russian psychological operations. And there’s the risk of international complacency.”

A look at Russia’s disinforma-

tion war since the conflict began:

DIVIDE AND CONQUER

THE Kremlin’s propaganda efforts against Ukraine began many years ago and increased sharply in the months immediately before the invasion, according to Ksenia Iliuk, a Ukrainian disinformation expert who has tracked Russia’s information operations.

Russia tailored the messages for specific audiences around the world.

In Eastern Europe, Russia spread baseless rumors of Ukrainian refugees committing crimes or taking local jobs. In Western Europe, the message was that corrupt Ukrainian leaders couldn’t be trusted, and that a long war could escalate or lead to higher food and oil prices.

In Latin America, Russia’s

local embassies spread Spanishlanguage claims suggesting its invasion of Ukraine was a struggle against Western imperialism.

Similar messages accusing the US of hypocrisy and belligerence were spread in Asia, Africa and other parts of the world with a history of colonialism.

Russia’s information agencies flooded Ukraine with propaganda, calling its military weak and its leaders ineffective and corrupt. But if the message was intended to reduce resistance to the invaders, it backfired in the face of Ukrainian defiance, Iliuk said.

“Russian propaganda has been failing in Ukraine,” she said. “Russian propaganda and disinformation are indeed a threat and can be very sophisticated. But it’s not always working. It’s not always finding an audience.”

BLAME THE VICTIM

MANY of Russia’s fabrications try to justify the invasion or blame others for atrocities carried out by its forces.

A fter Russian soldiers tortured and executed civilians in Bucha last spring, images of charred corpses and people shot at close range horrified the world.

Russian state TV, however, claimed the corpses were actors, and that the devastation was faked. Associated Press journalists saw the bodies themselves.

Russia initially celebrated a missile strike on a rail station in the Ukrainian town of Kramatorsk, until reports of civilian casualties surfaced. Suddenly Russian news outlets were insisting the missile wasn’t theirs.

“ When they realized that civilians were killed and injured, they changed the messaging, trying to promote the idea that it was a Ukrainian missile,” said Roman Osadchuk, a research associate at the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab, which has tracked Russian disinformation since before the war began.

One of the most popular conspiracy theories about the war also had Russian help. According to the claim, the US runs a series of secret germ warfare labs in Ukraine— labs conducting work dangerous enough to justify Russia’s invasion.

Like many conspiracy theories, the hoax is rooted in some truth. The US has funded biological research in Ukraine, but the labs

‘The natural question is: What’s next to come? We know that Russia is preparing for a protracted conflict. Ukrainian morale is almost certainly a key target of Russian psychological operations. And there’s the risk of international complacency.’ Samantha Lewis, a threat intelligence analyst with the cybersecurity firm Recorded Future

are not owned by the US, and their existence is far from secret.

The work is part of an initiative called the Biological Threat Reduction Program, which aims to reduce the likelihood of deadly outbreaks, whether natural or manmade. The US efforts date back to work in the 1990s to dismantle the former Soviet Union’s program for weapons of mass destruction.

EXTENDED WHACK-A-MOLE

AS European governments and USbased tech companies looked for ways to turn off the Kremlin’s propaganda megaphone, Russia found new ways to get its message out.

Early in the war, Russia relied heavily on state media outlets like RT and Sputnik to spread pro-Russian talking points as well as false claims about the conflict.

Platforms like Facebook and Twitter responded by adding labels to the accounts of Russian state media and government officials. When the European Union called for a ban on Russian state media, YouTube responded by blocking the channels of RT and Sputnik.

TikTok, owned by a Chinese company now based in Singapore, did the same.

Russia then pivoted again to tap its diplomats, who have used their Twitter and Facebook accounts to spread false narratives about the war and Russian atrocities.

Many platforms are reluctant to censor or suspend diplomatic accounts, giving ambassadors an added layer of protection.

A fter its state media was muzzled, Russia expanded its use of networks of fake social media accounts. It also evaded bans on its accounts by taking identifying features—such as RT’s logo—off of videos before reposting them.

Some efforts were sophisticated, like a sprawling network of fake accounts that linked to websites created to look like real German and British newspapers.

Meta identified and removed

that network from its platforms last fall.

Others were far cruder, employing fake accounts that were easily spotted before they could even attract a following.

GETTING AHEAD OF THE CLAIMS

UKRAINE and its allies scored early victories in the information war by predicting Russia’s next moves and by revealing them publicly.

Weeks before the war, US intelligence officials learned that Russia planned to carry out an attack that it would blame on Ukraine as a pretext for invasion. Instead of withholding the information, the government publicized it as a way to disrupt Russia’s plans.

By “prebutting” Russia’s claims, the US and its allies were attempting to blunt the impact of disinformation. The next month, the White House did it again when it disclosed suspicions that Russia might seek to blame a chemical or biological attack on Ukraine.

The invasion prompted tech companies to try new strategies, too. Google, the owner of YouTube, launched a pilot program in Eastern Europe designed to help Internet users detect and avoid misinformation about refugees fleeing the war.

The initiative utilized short online videos that teach people how misinformation can trick the brain.

The project was so successful that Google now plans to roll out a similar campaign in Germany.

I liuk, the Ukrainian disinformation researcher, said she believes there’s a greater awareness now, a year after the invasion, of the dangers posed by Russian disinformation, and a growing optimism that it can be checked.

It is very hard, especially when you hear the bombs outside of your window,” she said. “There was this huge realization that this [Russian disinformation] is a threat. That this is something that could literally kill us.”

invasion of Ukraine is the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II, and the first to see algorithms and TikTok videos deployed alongside fighter planes and tanks.

DESTROYED Russian armored vehicles sit on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, March 31, 2022. In the year since Russia invaded Ukraine, disinformation and propaganda have emerged as key weapons in the Kremlin’s arsenal. AP

DTI

By Andrea E. San Juan

GIVEN the extent of economic activities in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) region, Trade Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual has signaled the Philippines’s readiness to attract investors in the country, particularly in the areas of manufacturing and innovation.

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) chief cited that the RCEP region accounts to 50 percent of the global manufacturing output, 50 percent of global automotive products, 70 percent of electronic products, and the main global value chain (GVC) hubs of China, South Korea, and Japan.

“Given this extent of economic activities, there are a lot of opportunities that foreign investors and local businesses can seize, explore, and develop, especially in the manufacturing sector and innovation. We want to Make it Happen in the Philippines, and we are ready,” the trade chief said on Friday.

With this, Pascual is pitching opportunities that investors can explore in the country.

“As we set to participate in the largest free trade bloc, investors should know that there is enough space and vast opportunities in the country,” Pascual said.

H e also expressed confidence that the country’s trade and investment policy direction is “clear and stable,” owing to the country’s participation in the mega trade pact coupled with the recent key economic reforms.

The DTI said in a statement on Friday that the Philippines “has the necessary foundation to support a robust innovation ecosystem, from a strong intellectual property regime, the passage of the Philippine Innovation Act and Innovative Start Up Act, establishment of Regional Inclusive Innovation Centers (RIICs),

and a number of Innovation and Technology Support Offices (ITSOs) around the country.”

Now as the Philippines positions itself as an innovation hub in the region, the Pascual said the country has to encourage more investments in green technologies, energy, logistics, smart agriculture, and information technology.

Further, Pascual stressed that the growing e-commerce industry is also an opportunity for the Philippines to secure its niche in the digital economy, noting the country’s strength in the IT and Business Process Management (IT-BPM) sector.

For his part, DTI Assistant Secretary Allan B. Gepty stressed, “That is why the comprehensive chapters on e-commerce, intellectual property, and services including financial services and telecommunication services in the RCEP agreement are important foundations in attracting more investments in the country.”

Mean while, Gepty, who’s also the Philippines’s top negotiator for RCEP, unveiled the country’s “core” competitive advantage in the region. These are the country’s “dynamic workforce, strategic location, and clear trade and investment policies.”

Simply put Gepty noted, these are the country’s “People, Place and Policy.”

O n Thursday, Pascual, who also chairs the Board of Investments (BOI), revised the agency’s 2023 investment registration target from P1 trillion to P1.5 trillion following the “strong” investment approvals recorded in January 2023 alone.

When asked if the country’s ratification of the RCEP had a hand in the revision of investment registration target for 2023, Pascual said he is “confident” that the mega trade deal “can contribute to pushing investors to decide on setting up in the Philippines.”

BSP CHIEF MEDALLA: TRACKING INFLATION ‘MONTH-ON-MONTH’ MORE CRUCIAL NOW

By Cai U. Ordinario

THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)

on Friday said it would be monitoring inflation on a month-on-month basis to determine whether it will raise or cut interest rates.

O n the sidelines of the Bankers Night on Friday, BSP Governor Felipe M. Medalla said if it will decide to raise interest rates, it might happen in the next monetary policy meeting. Medalla r eiterated that a zero and a 75 basis points or a jumbo interest rate hike would not be likely.

“If inflation is still high, by the way, we’re looking now month-on-month because whatever happens because of sheer momentum, year-onyear will be high. So its really the month-on-month that we are watching,” Medalla said.

We are still hawkish. If the results are bad, we will act. (If the) month-on-month is 1 percent (and translates) to a year-on-year of

12 (percent), we have to act. But the reason we cannot say is we could be surprised one way or the other,” he explained.

N onetheless, raising interest rates of above 25 basis points would be possible if February rates would be higher.

H owever, Medalla said if the month-onmonth inflation rates would fall to negative territory, the Monetary Board might not even hike interest rates in its next meeting.

“ The main impetus behind inflation is not demand. What is happening is what we call second order effects. Prices are rising because previous increases influence future increases,” Medalla pointed out.

Medalla said Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno and National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan were already able to convince the President to import food, such as sugar.

T hese non-monetary measures, he added, are expected to help cool inflation

in the coming months. If these measures continue, inflation may have peaked in January 2023.

Medalla said the BSP expects inflation to fall below 4 percent by around November or December this year.

Medalla also said he expects a shift to a quarter-point move at the next monetary policy review, amid expectations for inflation to start cooling.

There may be one more increase, Medalla said at an event in Manila on Friday. A 25 basis-point move is the most likely option, he added.

W hile many central banks including the Federal Reserve have slowed the pace of monetary tightening to quarter-point increments, BSP has so far stuck to outsized moves to tame an unexpected surge in inflation. A downshift to 25 basis-point increment will align the BSP’s rate action with peers, some of whom have already

opted to pause.

With inflation still at a 14-year high of 8.7 percent as of January, Medalla said he’s hoping to be pleasantly surprised by the consumer-price trajectory. The expectation is it for price gains to decelerate to 4 percent by November or December, he said.

Medalla said he hopes non-monetary measures will become more effective in putting a lid on price-growth. His comments follow earlier remarks by Diokno that monetary authorities have done their part, and that direct measures to address supply issues were needed to fight inflation.

Within Southeast Asia, the Philippines’ monetary path has diverged from peers such as Indonesia and Malaysia, where authorities have paused amid signs of easing inflation. Elsewhere in Asia, India is grappling with persistent price pressures, although the Reserve Bank of India has slowed its rate action to 25 basis points. With Bloomberg

China’s BYD has 3 SEA countries, including PHL, vying for EV plant

THE Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia are competing to host an electric-vehicle (EV) assembly plant for BYD Co., the world’s second-largest maker of EVs, according to a top Philippine trade and investment official.

The Chinese auto giant is in an “advanced stage of discussions” with the Philippines, the Southeast Asian (SEA) nation’s Trade Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo said in an interview on Wednesday. BYD representatives scoured the Philippines for possible factory sites during a visit late last year and the company may decide on the site during the second quarter, said Rodolfo, who also heads the Board of Investments.

BYD, which is already set to build its first EV production facility in SEA in Thailand, is still exploring whether the new factory will be a fullblown assembly plant or a final-assembly facility with car parts shipped in from overseas, said Lanie Dormiendo, director for the Philippines’ International Investments Promotion Service.

A spokesperson for Shenzhen-based BYD said the company doesn’t have “any relevant information to disclose.”

renewable energy to half of its electricity mix from around 30 percent currently by 2040.

Chinese battery making giant Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd., or CATL, is also in talks with Philippine government officials to invest in a plant to process nickel for electric car batteries, along with its subsidiary Brunp, said Rodolfo, 52, who’s been with the government’s trade and

investment agencies for a decade.

CATL did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Rodolfo was part of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s entourage in the US and China, two of nine nations the Philippine leader had visited since he assumed office nearly eight months ago. Those trips generated about $63 billion in investment commitments, according to his office. Bloomberg News

APULSE Asia survey has shown that 83 percent of Filipinos prefer to patronize products and services of brands that have environment-friendly operations and products.

Pulse Asia President Ronald Holmes presented the survey results during a forum on sustainable and strategic waste management on Thursday organized by the Stratbase ADR Institute and the Philippine Business for Environmental Stewardship (PBEST). The survey was conducted from November 27 to December 1, 2022, and was also commissioned by Stratbase.

“The message is clear: a sizable majority of Filipinos will support enterprises that have environment-friendly operations and products...Filipinos know that there are certain things that are happening in the country that require us to be more socially conscious. The question now is whether industries or firms will be able to cater to this preference,” Holmes said.

Reports showed that Philippines is the third largest contributor to plastic waste in the world, generating an estimated 2.7 million tons of plastic waste per year.

Last month, Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga signed the implementing rules and regulations for the Extended Producer Responsibility or EPR law of 2022. This measure requires enterprises to offset their plastic packaging footprint by 20-80 percent starting this year until 2028 and beyond. They are obliged to form and implement their EPR programs to divert plastic packaging waste from landfills and prevent its leakage into the environment.

Environment Undersecretary Carlos Primo David said since the EPR was launched, more than 500 companies already registered to comply with the law.

“With many of our policies in the past, it is indeed implementation that will spell the success or failure of the waste-to-energy and of the EPR program. For our part on the DENR, we hope to make the EPR procedures as straightforward as possible, less paperwork hopefully, and focus first on the registration of all plastic producers...I am hopeful of the EPR program having heard of the willingness of the private sector to be part of the program,” David said.

For Stratbase ADRi President Dindo Manhit, addressing the waste problem in the country entails a whole-of-society approach.

“While the government plays a key role through the formulation and implementation of policies, industry players are also expected to equally contribute through their investments and programs that enable circular business models,” Manhit said.

“As a problem that drastically affects the future of all, everyone, including the public must act jointly...Discipline, especially on the part of consumers, in proper waste disposal, or simply by not littering will already drastically reduce

the tonnage of garbage in our waterways,” he added.

Management Association of the Philippines

Vice President Alexander Cabrera believes there is a need to provide incentives and impose taxes to businesses to effectively address the waste problem in the country.

“There must be an incentive integrated in the EPR or supplement to it when collecting your plastic or repackaging in order for your products to be more environment friendly. Meanwhile, the compulsion of taxing end-of-life plastic use will force people to reinvent their packaging because they don’t want to pay tax. It’s not a question of whether it can be done or not, it’s a question of political will,” Cabrera said.

David agreed to Cabrera’s proposal.

“ THE role of government is to provide incentives and disincentives towards behavior that we want to achieve...We want a deeper learning and understanding of issues. First is put in the policies, then put in the incentives for people to do the behavior that is desired,”David explained.

Environment Assistant Secretary and DENREnvironmental Management Bureau Director Gilbert Gonzales said the complex waste management problem in the Philippines is a result of a linear economic model, which follows a “take-make-dispose” process for products.

“Pursuing a circular economy offers a strategy and a pathway that could potentially reduce greenhouse gas emissions emissions across the economic sectors and value chains, by transforming the way products are designed and used, and derive more value from products through better product design, increased valueretention of materials, and diversion of waste from landfills,” Gonzales said.

“It can also create new investment and job opportunities, enhance local and global competitiveness, and improve resilience and vulnerability to economic shocks,” he added.

Climate Reality Project Philippine Branch Manager Nazrin Castro said it is in the best interest of the Philippines to shift to a circular economy.

“A circular economy can help avoid excessive consumption, waste and use of fossil fuels by leasing, reusing, repairing, and recycling existing materials and products,” Castro said.

Philippine Business for Environmental Stewardship Secretary General, Engr. Felix Vitangcol for his part, said that “the potential benefits of the circular economy are enormous, and they go beyond waste reduction and environmental protection.

“The transition toward a circular economy is not an easy task and requires a long-term vision and commitment from all stakeholders. It requires a change in mindset, behavior, and systems,” Vitangcol said.

Talks between BYD and Indonesia over a potential investment in an EV factory in the country are ongoing, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be named as the discussions are private. The Indonesian government is offering a slew of tax holidays, incentives and access to battery raw materials to convince the carmaker to set up there rather than expanding in a neighboring country like Thailand, the person said.

BYD didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Indonesia.

“The mere fact that BYD is scouting for auto manufacturing sites in Southeast Asia highlights how global it is setting its sights,” said Taylor Ogan, CEO of China-based hedge fund Snow Bull Capital.

SEA nations are racing to attract investments in EVs as global carmakers pivot away from the combustion engine, a transition that China has been dominating. Great Wall Motor Co. has already set up a production line in Thailand, while nickel-rich Indonesia has drawn interest from both BYD and rival Tesla Inc.

With an economy that expanded the most in nearly half a century last year, the Philippines is courting top-tier producers of EVs and batteries like BYD with tax breaks and other incentives under a law passed last year as rising oil prices help accelerate the global shift away from gas-fueled cars.

Indonesia and the Philippines, which together account for almost half the world’s nickel reserves, are a good fit for electric-car and makers of batteries where the metal is a key component. Rodolfo said BYD, which uses lithium iron phosphate in its EV batteries, is considering the Philippines for its growth potential.

“We’re not a low-cost destination, but we are a destination for companies who are looking for solutions for their Net Zero carbon commitments,” he said.

The Philippines has previously lost out on investment opportunities to its neighbors given its power rates are among the costliest in the region. But it is positioning as a hub for sustainable manufacturing facilities, Rodolfo said. The country aims to increase the share of

Sen. Recto calls for expansion of BOC’s AirTag-like program to curb smuggling

IF the Bureau of Customs (BOC) can find onions in an air passenger’s bag, then there is no reason why it can’t detect smuggled sugar-carrying ships as big as malls, House Deputy Speaker Ralph Recto said on Friday. But if it is still having a hard time curbing smuggling, the BOC should expand and maximize the use of tracking technology to follow monitored cargoes, the senator said in news release.

“In this age of ‘AirTag,’ it will be hard for cargoes to vanish in thin air,” he said, referring to the Apple-made tracking device that can geolocate items to which it has been attached.

“Yung pitaka nga, nahahanap ng AirTag, a shipping container as big as a house pa kaya?” Recto pointed out.

At present, the BOC employs an Electronic Tracking of Containerized Cargo or e-TRACC System in which a container is armed with a GPS tracker to monitor its movement from ship discharge to its intended destination.

The objective is to prevent the container’s diversion during transit to other customs territories and facilities.

“Kasi kung, halimbawa, ang deklarasyon ay gagamitin lang ang lamannitosaloobngisangfreeport, kayawalangbuwis,hindipwedeng ilabas‘yan. Otherwise, smuggling na,” Recto said.

He said Customs should study what tracking technologies can be used to monitor containers laden with agriculture produce from “port of origin to eventual destination here.”

“Atkungkailangannaka-synch ‘yansa cellphone ngmgamatataas na opisyales ng Department of Agriculture, mas mabuti,” he said.

“Kung papabili ka ng rice meal sa GrabFood o Food Panda, nasusundan mo takbo ng courier sa phone, ito pa kayang barko na may kargang 50,000 sako na bigas,” Recto said.

The idea is to make technology ahead of the smuggling curve, he said.

Philippine imports of agricultural and petroleum products from 2016 to 2021 have been underreported by P280 billion, Recto said.

“The benefit of an expanded e-TRACC clearly outweighs the cost of doing it,” he said.

chief signals PHL’s readiness to accept more investments after RCEP ratification

Survey: 8 out of 10 Pinoys prefer environment friendly products

NGCP warns of thin power supply in summer months

By Lenie Lectura

POWER

transmission grid op -

erator National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) has warned of thin power supply in the summer months because of higher forecasted demand at 13,125 megawatts (MW).

The NGCP said the Department of Energy (DOE) forecasted a total peak demand of 13,125MW for Luzon to occur towards the end of May, an 8.35 percent increase from the actual 2022 peak load of 12,113MW which occurred on May 12, 2022.

For Visayas, the peak demand occurred in September, while in Mindanao, the peak demand occurred in June. A 16.19 percent increase in demand is forecasted for Visayas this year at 2,691MW, while a 10.52 percent increase is expected for Mindanao at 2,395MW.

Thin operating margins from where ancillary services, or power used to manage and balance the grid, are taken, are forecasted for this year. Operating margin is the power in excess of demand. For the Luzon grid, these are forecasted from April to June due to the historically high demand during the summer months.

While base case projections show no occurrence of “yellow” or “red” alerts, there are weeks between March

PSA FULLY IMPLEMENTS

WALK-IN PHILSYS REGISTRATION; CLOSES ONLINE STEP 1 PORTAL

TO pave the way for easier and more convenient registration, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) is disabling its online Step 1 registration portal, and is fully implementing walk-in registration to the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) nationwide.

Starting 23 February 2023, Filipinos who wish to register to PhilSys can head to any registration center and would no longer need to pre-register through online Step 1 via register. philsys.gov.ph, a website initially introduced by the PSA for safe and accessible PhilSys registration during the pandemic.

“The PSA and its PhilSys registration centers are happy to welcome walk-in registrations nationwide,” said PSA Undersecretary Dennis Mapa, National Statistician and Civil Registrar General. “Ngayong mas pinadali na ang pag-register, inaanyayahan namin ang lahat na magtungo sa registration centers at mapabilang sa milyon-milyong nakapagparehistro na sa PhilSys,” he added.

The process of registering to PhilSys at registration centers remains fast, easy, and convenient. With any primary or secondary supporting documents in hand, an individual’s demographic information will be validated by the PSA personnel, after which, the biometric information will be collected. Upon completion of the process, a transaction slip will be given to the registered person.

Apart from registration centers at fixed locations and malls, the PSA and its field offices are continuously ensuring inclusion of all Filipinos by conducting PhilSys mobile registration activities across the country, including farflung areas.

As of February 20, 2023, 76,681,716 Filipinos are already registered to PhilSys.

and April where operating margins are below required levels due to higher demand and planned outages of plants, if any.

NGCP said it coordinates the preparation and submission to the DOE of an annual Grid Operating and Maintenance Program (GOMP), a consolidated preventive maintenance schedule of power plants, with consideration for the needed supply to meet the projected demand.

The 2023 GOMP was approved by the DOE on December 27, 2022. “In compliance with the DOE directive, no maintenance shutdowns were scheduled during the summer months,” NGCP said.

The grid operator assured that it coordinates with the generation and distribution sectors to optimize and rationalize maintenance schedules to ensure sufficiency, at least on paper, of power supply throughout the year.

“Unplanned shutdowns, which are outside of the GOMP, may still have a significant impact on the supply demand profile if, as in the past years, several power plants simultaneously shut down outside of its schedule,” NGCP said.

A yellow alert is issued when the operating margin is insufficient to meet the transmission grid’s regulating and contingency requirement,

which is at 668MW each. A red alert status is issued when supplies are insufficient to meet consumer demand and the transmission grid’s regulating requirement.

“While the GOMP is formulated to ensure adequacy of supply especially during the critical months, there are instances of forced or unplanned outages of plants which may disrupt the normal operations of the grid and warrant the issuance of yellow or red alerts. As transmission service provider, NGCP can only give an overview of the current supply and demand situation, and endeavor to dispatch any and all available grid resources. It cannot intervene on matters concerning power generation,” said NGCP.

To alleviate possible power shortages, NGCP is appealing to policy makers to immediately explore demand side management (DSM) strategies to mitigate any possible supply issues in the coming summer months.

The DOE has been pushing for DSM programs for various sectors to soften the impact of any power supply tightness. These are initiatives meant to encourage consumers to optimize their energy consumption.

“We should not look at demandside management as only a band-aid solution. Instead, it should be a natural element embedded already in our

entire management system,” DOE Secretary Raphael Lotilla said.

“If our consumption becomes more efficient, that means we will no longer have to run diesel-fired power plants that are more expensive,” had said.

The Manila Electric Company (Meralco), for instance, wants more of its large customers to sign up for its Interruptible Load Program (ILP).

The ILP is a DSM program wherein participants will be asked to temporarily de-load from the grid and use their generator sets when there is supply deficiency and power interruptions are imminent.

In this case, the ILP participants may run their facilities to allow more grid capacity to serve other customers.

According to the DOE, the DSM programs for various sector focuses on the utilization of efficient equipment and appliances, and the promotion and implementation of policies and programs that best fit each industry.

For the commercial sector, the utilization of energy-efficient equipment such as inverter-type air conditioners and LED lightings is being promoted. Further, the promotion of the energy-labeling program will ensure informed decisions of households regarding the energy performance and efficiency of all household appliances.

Several business groups urge PBBM admin to free de Lima

By Joel R. San Juan

SEVERAL business groups on Friday called on the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to take the necessary steps that would pave the way for the immediate release of former Senator Leila de Lima from detention.

De Lima has been in detention at the Philippine National Police (PNP) Custodial Center for six years now after being charged before the Regional Trial Court of Muntinlupa City by the Duterte administration for allegedly benefitting in the illegal drug operations inside the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP) during her term as justice secretary.

The call was made by the Filipa CEO Circle Justice Reform Initiative, Makati Business Club, Philippine Women’s Economic Network and Women’s Business Council Philippines.

“On the sixth anniversary of Sen. Leila de Lima’s detention, we respectfully appeal for the Marcos administration to take necessary steps to pave the way for her release based on her constitutional right to a speedy trial,” the groups said.

“We believe the justifications for her detention by the previous administration have long disappeared, as witnesses recanted their testimonies,” they added.

De Lima’s release, according to the business groups, would restore her human rights and would help undo other human rights violations.

They also expressed belief that her release would contribute to the current administration’s bid to strengthen the economy and repair the country’s reputation before other countries.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin

Remulla said the delegates of the European Union Parliament Parliament-Subcommittee on Human Rights inquired about the status of De Lima’s case during their meeting last Thursday.

Remulla said he told the EU lawmakers that one of the possible legal steps that the De Lima camp may

avail of is the filing of habeas corpus petition, which earlier paved the way for the release of lawyer Jessica “Gigi” Reyes, former chief of staff of then senator and now chief presidential legal counsel Juan Ponce Enrile.

Reyes’ petition for habeas corpus was granted by the Supreme Court recently on the ground that her nineyear detention violates   her right to speedy trial and infringes on her right to liberty.

Reyes was charged with plunder, a non-bailable offense, before the Sandiganbayan in connection with the alleged P172.8 million kickbacks from businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles from the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) during her stint as chief of staff of Enrile.

Remulla noted that the Muntinlupa regional trial court had already denied her motion to post bail.

“I told them that we offered to backchannel before but there was no response. We just want to end things properly,” Remulla.

Remulla added that the DOJ would not oppose any move by De Lima’s camp to secure her temporary liberty through legal proceedings.

Dismiss case vs de Lima, free Ronnie

THE camp of De Lima, meanwhile, filed a motion before the Muntinlupa City RTC Branch 204 to dismiss the case against her due to lack of evidence, and to order the release of her c o-accused Ronnie Dayan.

As an alternative, De Lima’s lawyer Teddy Esteban Rigoroso asked the court to grant the former senator and Dayan their right to post bail.

The motion was filed in light of the presentation of former Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief Rafael Ragos as witness for Dayan.

Ragos, who was supposed to be a witness for the prosecution, has issued an affidavit on April 30, 2022 recanting his previous testimony before the court linking De Lima and Dayan to the illegal drugs trade in the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in

SPEAKER Ferdinand Martin G.

Romualdez on Friday assured businessmen and the public in general that the proposed Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) or sovereign wealth fund would not be abused.

Romualdez gave the assurance in his video message before the Asia CEO Forum at the Manila Marriott hotel.

As far as the issue of possible misuse and abuse of the Fund, let me assure everyone that your House of Representatives is keenly aware of your concern. For this reason, we have seen fit to incorporate adequate safeguards in House Bill No. 6608 to ensure that the funds are invested properly. These safeguards are both proactive and punitive,” he said.

The House Speaker said the MIF’s proactive safety checks, including transparency provisions and the requirement to subject the books of accounts of the Maharlika Investment Corp. (MIC), which will manage the fund, to three layers of audit by an internal auditor, an external auditor and the Commission on Audit (COA).

The audits shall include an assessment of whether investments are made in compliance with the Santiago principles, a set of guidelines designed to promote good governance, accountability, transparency, prudent investment practices, and a stable and open investment climate.

The MIC’s operations will also be monitored by the Maharlika Investment Fund Joint Congressional Oversight Committee.

HB No 6608 likewise provides that all Maharlika documents will be open to anyone who wishes to review them, including reports from the internal auditor, external auditor, and COA.

The MIC management will be made up of persons of good moral standing and reputation, of recognized probity and independence, with substantial experience and expertise in corporate governance and administration, investment in financial assets, and management of investments in the local and global markets.

commercial real estate and infrastructure projects.

MIC can only participate in government projects that are approved by the National Economic Development Authority (Neda), ensuring that the MIF is used for purposes that support the socioeconomic development plan of the government.

“If these proactive provisions are not enough, House Bill No. 6608 also provides heavy penalty provisions and criminal sanctions to hold accountable and punish any director, trustee, or corporate officer who is proven to have abused the management of the Maharlika Investment Fund,” the Speaker said. He said any erring MIC official could be charged with malversation or plunder, the latter being a non-bailable offense, depending on the amount embezzled.

He said the mission of the House in pushing for the creation of MIF is clear: “to help resuscitate the pandemic-battered economy and make economic transformation the engine that will uplift the lives of our people.”

“From the swift passage of the General Appropriations Act of 2023 to the passage on third and final reading of important measures, such as the Virology and Vaccine Institute of the Philippines Act, the Health Emergency Auxiliary Reinforcement Team Act, as well as the Maharlika Investment Fund proposal, to the move to amend the restrictive economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution—the welfare of the Filipino people and the economic development of the country is always the paramount consideration,” he stressed.

The House leader encouraged those who could contribute their input to improve the MIF bill and other pieces of legislation to make their ideas known and present their proposals.

“We at the House of Representatives do not claim monopoly to development solutions. If there is anyone who has more creative ideas on how to support national development, by all means, make them known,” he said.

Muntinlupa City during her term as justice secretary.

De Lima’s camp said Ragos’ retraction has become part of the records of the case and is now within the cognizance of the court following his presentation as witness and his crossexamination by the prosecution.

“Given her innocence, as now plainly revealed in Ragos’ April 30, 2022 affidavit, freely and voluntarily executed, affirmed in open court and subjected to, and hurdled, the crucibles of lengthy cross-examination, accused De Lima must now be spared from further inconvenience, expense, pain, anxiety and the ignominy of prolonged trial proceedings through outright dismissal of the instant case,” the 33-page motion read.”

“She suffered enough, not the least of all barely surviving a hostagetaking incident that almost cost her life,” it added.

In his affidavit of retraction, Ragos testified that he was forced and coerced by Aguirre to implicate De Lima and Dayan in the illegal drugs trade in NBP.

Ragos then claimed that De Lima and Dayan received P10 million from the proceeds of illegal drug trade inside the NBP, which he delivered to the former senator’s house in Paranaque in 2012.

Aside from Ragos, other personalities who have recanted their statements implicating De Lima in the illegal drug trade inside NBP are self-confessed drug lord Kerwin Espinosa; Marcelo Adorco; and De Lima’s co-accused and former bodyguard Ronnie Dayan.

It can be recalled that Ragos executed an affidavit on September 5, 2016 claiming that in November 2012, as BuCor officer-in-charge and together with aide Jovencio Ablen, they delivered a black bag containing P5 million to Dayan and De Lima at the latter’s residence.

He added that they made another delivery of money contained in a plastic bag in December 2012 to De Lima and Dayan.

A small portion of investible funds of the Land Bank, Development Bank of the Philippines, and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas would be pooled and placed under the management of MIC as the initial capital, which shall be the Maharlika Investment Fund.

The bill also identifies financial instruments where the fund could be used, including foreign currencies, domestic and foreign corporate bonds, Sukuk or Islamic bonds, mutual funds, joint ventures, and

He said the House “is more than happy and willing to receive these ideas, so that these may be refined and fine-tuned over the course of the legislative process.”

“I am confident in every Filipino’s innate ability to find practical solutions to many of our problems. Let us work together towards a brighter future for the Philippines. With unity of spirit, there is truly nothing we cannot do,” he said. Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

DTI, DA urged to ramp up aquaculture production for fish canning industry

HOUSE Committee on Ways and

Means Chairman Albay Rep.

Joey Sarte Salceda on Friday called on the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department of Agriculture to engage the canned fish sector over supply concerns, especially sardines, during the close of the fishing season in the Zamboanga Peninsula, which happens every year from December 1 to February 28.

Salceda said this is to ensure that there is no shortage of canned sardines during the subsequent season.

“It looks like supply levels remain manageable, as the industry was able to meet the 75,000 metric tons it is required to store during the closed season. But I also expect demand for canned sardines to pick-up this year,” Salceda said.

“And there remain underlying issues, like the suggested retail price (SRP) being below the cost at which some of the canners produce. With marketing costs, the price is P20, which is above the P18 SRP,” he added.

The lawmaker said he is requesting the DTI and DA to hold a dialogue with the industry and with small players and stakeholders as soon as possible so the country can prevent this potential problem from materializing.

“Right now, the most immediate probable result is a lack of supply of some brands in supermarkets, especially as manufacturers try to skip shelf-space fees in supermarkets,” Salceda said.

“We also need to strengthen collaboration with alternative fish sources,

such as Papua New Guinea, which is one of our biggest sources of sardines,” Salceda added.

54 hatcheries

SALCEDA also said that the country needs to ramp up the completion of the 54 legislated hatcheries since only 3 have so far been completed.

“In the long run, of course, we really need to work on fish supply, because climate issues won’t get easier any time soon,” he said.

“I no longer think bashing the BFAR (Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources) is productive at this point. There is a new leadership, so I want to work with them,” Salceda said.

According to Salceda, the government needs to ramp up aquaculture.

“We source only 52 percent of our fish supply from aquaculture, and rely on capture for the rest. We can amp that up. I am already working with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources so they can finish up more hatcheries this year,” Salceda added.

“That will help us ease pressure on fish consumption in general, but we need to invest in research on sardine culture. It was only in 2018 when the first cultured sardines were successfully raised,” the lawmaker said. For sardines, the he said mariculture is the key.

“Portugal—arguably the country best known for sardines—is already doing it, backed by solid research. So, BFAR needs a very strong research and development component as well,” Salceda added. Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

MIF has adequate safeguards vs fund abuse, Romualdez tells bizmen, public

Solons: Vulnerable sectors must have alternative modes of voting

By Wilnard Bacelonia

MANILA—Senators are urging for the swift passage of a measure filed by Senator Sonny Angara seeking to enhance the accessibility of senior citizens and persons with disabilities (PWDs) when voting during elections.

S en. Christopher Lawrence Go assured on Tuesday that he will support Angara’s Senate Bill No. 777 to give senior citizens and PWDs the privilege of exercising their right to suffrage.

Like the absentee voting for OFWs, let us give them the chance to vote early especially our senior citizens and PWDs. Let us not burden them on election day when people crowd the polling places,” Go said during his visit to fire victims in Mandaluyong City.

“ The important thing here is they can comfortably exercise their right

to vote. I know many of them want to go out and vote. So let’s make it easier for them,” he added.

During a hearing conducted by the Senate Committee on Electoral Reforms on Monday, Sen. Imee Marcos stressed the urgency of passing the measure before the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) in October.

Marcos said passing the law before the Senate recess on March 23 will give the Commission on Elections (Comelec) ample time to install “assistive devices” in voting precincts and provide shuttle services

to and from polling places during the BSKE.

The current lack of facilities

and modes of access will disenfranchise thousands upon thousands of voters,” she said. “Let’s

make the BSKE’s postponement from last December worth it,” she said.

M arcos filed SBN 1160 in August last year to expand the coverage of Filipinos qualified for early voting, including health workers on duty on election day, hospitalized persons, internally displaced persons due to calamities or local conflict, and OFWs repatriated for reasons beyond their control.

The BSKE will be conducted manually, so the supplemental budget for additional work hours also has to be determined soon,” Marcos said.

SBN 1160 also requires the installation of assistive devices at voting centers, like ramps, railing, sidewalks, sufficient signage and lighting, as well as candidates’ lists in braille.

Every voting center must also provide a designated polling place for the exclusive use of senior citizens, PWDs, and pregnant women with “no prior manifestation” necessary for them to avail themselves of the said facility.

T he Comelec will also be required to provide a system of shuttle services for these vulnerable sectors to and from the voting centers. PNA

Muntinlupa lauds oldest, youngest couples on V-Day mass wedding

By Roderick L. Abad @rodrik_28 Contributor

INDEED , age doesn’t matter when it comes to the affairs of the heart.

This was proven recently when the City of Muntinlupa celebrated love, family, and marriage during the city’s annual “Kasalang Bayan” on Valentine’s Day.

A s in the past years, Mayor Ruffy Biazon officiated the mass wedding of 60 couples of various ages that took place on February 14 at the Ayala Malls South Park.

A mong those who tied the knot are 78-year-old Ceriaco C. Padernos and Irene N. Centinaje, who is a year younger. The couple

set the record as the event’s oldest couple.

On the other hand, Gerald E. Sauler and Hansel C. Dela Paz were the state-initiated nuptial’s youngest couple at 21 and 22 years old, respectively.

Both couples received gift packs and certificates from the local government unit.

The local chief executive congratulated all the newlyweds. Likewise, he urged them to treasure their relationship, and always keep their solemn promised to each other, which will strengthen their marriage as the years go by.

“We congratulate all the couples for having the courage to commit to each other, ‘til

death do you part, and we encourage you to always look back to this day when you said ‘I do’ whenever things don’t go to plan,” Biazon said.

The yearly “Kasalang Bayan” is a continuing project of the LGU of Muntinlupa that seeks to help couples living together, especially those who have no financial means, to realize their dream wedding at no cost to the couples.

This program of the City Hall also allows so-called live-in partners to avail themselves of the advantages afforded to married couples under civil law, such as having legitimate children, tax exemptions, and other legal rights and benefits.

The Pinoy’s extended sala MY

GENERALLY, I am a very tolerant person. I tend to give leeway to people who act differently or behave scandalously. I have mixed and worked with enough weird, rude, crude and offensive people in my previous life in production and advertising to fill a 500-page book of stories.

T hat said, in my advanced years, I may have become more socially conservative. My sensibilities have become more fragile. I now get disgusted and draw the line on boorish behavior.

I n one of our visits to a mall, I happened to see a man in his late 20s comfortably occupying one of the benches. He was totally riveted

By Nick Tayag

SIXTY-ZEN’S WORTH

to his phone, probably playing a video game, oblivious to everything around him. All the other benches were taken but his bench had ample space for others to sit on. Why was no one willing to sit beside him?

The reason: he had both feet on the bench, absentmindedly rubbing his soles with his hand.

T he guy had unkempt hair and was wearing a loose, ill-fitting sleeveless shirt that was more of a sando (undershirt) over beach shorts. Thankfully, his rubber sandals stayed on the floor. It was the kind of attire you would normally don inside your home. I imagined he just got up from his bed and went directly to the mall, not even bothering to brush his teeth and put on a deodorant.

Staring at the fellow, I said to my wife: “Pity the poor guy who will sit on that bench when he leaves.” She gave me a look of utter disgust. Then she added: “Ano yan, hanggang dito ang sala ng bahay nila?” (How dare him consider this place as part of his house?)

B efore you say it’s an isolated in -

cident, I’ve seen a few others, even women, mind you, usually in common eating places like food courts: they put up their feet on the chair by force of habit while casually eating like they were in the dining room of their house.

Like my wife said : “Ang laki ng loob ng bahay nila. Sakop ang mall.” (Can you believe their house is so expansive it includes a mall!)

W hat about the Pinoy who coughs up his phlegm (dahak) or snorts his mucus in a restaurant, or picks his nose or fingers his ear, sips his soft drink loudly and burps loudly even when there are other people. I can go on and on.

M ore and more Pinoys are starting to feel at home anywhere.

So comfortable, they make others feel uncomfortable to the point of utter disgust. I have no business minding what you do inside your house or your room or your car. But places such as malls, restaurants or theaters are social spaces and must be shared. In these zones, our respective personal spaces intersect or cross sect but it is our unwritten agreement that we refrain from doing anything that would disturb our respective zones of personal space and make others around us uncomfortable.

Sadly, no matter how hard we try to be polite to others and behave in a way that considers their rights, there will always be people who have zero regard for other people. They are rude, obnoxious,

mean, coarse, crass and uncouth. In our lingo, bastos and makapal We just scoff or shrug our shoulders and try to distance ourselves from the situation.

People often use a derogatory term: iskwak. But I wouldn’t go that way. I don’t look at it from the perspective of social status. The truth is crassness or obnoxiousness is not limited to any social class. Even people from the affluent and educated category can be “wa -class.” I have seen one Pinoy executive stop his SUV in the middle of the road to converse with an acquaintance also driving an SUV, both oblivious to the cars behind.

What about the wealthy-looking matron I witnessed who had no compunction to leave her used tissues on the grocery cart after unloading the goods she bought?

How about the government official whose nasty escorts cut abruptly into the lane of other vehicles in slow moving traffic just so their boss can get ahead?

N o, it’s not about social class or status, I see it more as a creeping change in the culture of our society.

M anners have fallen by the wayside on social media where offensive or rude exchanges go on unabated and unrestrained. We also play a part—government and community leaders, parents as well as media—in the decline of manners and proper etiquette. Persons with good manners are considered to

be effete, effeminate or pretentious. There’s rampant lack of civility, and the lack of etiquette on the part of people who are supposed to be role models sends a powerful message to our youth, and they are watching and often imitating bad behavior.

Let’s stem the tide before it’s too late. The return of mandatory lessons in Good Manners and Right Conduct in our schools may be in the right direction. But it should go beyond just universally observed rules of public etiquette and leave it at that.

We need to get the learning rooted to the level of values to give our young citizens a deeper reason or motivation for observing such rules and practices. It has to take into consideration the authentic native psychology that is ingrained in our cultural DNA, in our pagkatao (personhood), which can be found in our kalooban (inner self).

I am talking about the values inherent in us that govern the way we Filipinos interact with each other. We need to sift through the muddied waters of today’s balahura culture and reclaim our set of true Filipino values and bring them back. It’s because what we see now is not the true Pinoy. Focus on just one value: pakikipag-kapwa. The dictionary translates it as “companionship.” But to me this is just a superficial and inane definition. The complete root word is kapwa-tao. The fuller and richer meaning of pakikipag-

kapwa is best articulated in the book “Kapwa” by Dr. Katrin de Guia, whose essence is succinctly said in the subtitle: “The Self in the Other.” When you see yourself in the kalooban of the other person, it goes without saying you will strive to be more considerate, careful, tactful, perceptive and thoughtful in a social space or public place that you share. This is the golden rule itself: to give proper respect to the pagkatao (being) of the other person in the same way you want or expect the other person to give respect to the tao in you.

To me this primary value is the wellspring of all our other cherished values and behavioral traits. Hiya, pakikisama, paggalang, pakiramdam, kagandahang loob, konsiderasyon and even bayanihan are various expressions and practices of pakikipag-kapwa

If you take out this inherent virtue from your kalooban or your pagkatao, then you cease to be an authentic Pinoy. What you have is diluted Filipino-ness.

L et me stop here, given the limited space, but if we can stir up the wonder and power of pakikipagkapwa in the inner selves of our youth, then I see hope in bringing back all the values that display the kagandahang loob of the Pinoy in private or public places. It is where he is truly at home.

M eanwhile, to the Pinoy who acts like the mall is his extended sala, please keep your bastos ways confined within your own home.

THE Register Anywhere Project of the Commission on Elections makes it convenient for a senior citizen to register at a mall in Binondo, Manila on January 26, 2023. PNA/YANCY LIM

SENIOR citizen lovers Ceriaco C. Padernos, 78 years old, and Irene N. Centinaje, 77 years old, seal their marriage vow with a kiss as they set the record as the oldest couple participating in the annual “Kasalang Bayan” in Muntinlupa City on Valentine’s Day.

Editor: Mike Policarpio

Sen. Gatchalian on improving LET scores: Ensure quality teacher training, education

with an overall passing rate of at most 25 percent—is 34.8 percent at the elementary level, and 24.4 percent at the secondary level.

According to Gatchalian, the Excellence in Teacher Education Act, or Republic Act 11713, is already in place and needs full implementation to address low passing rates of the LET, and to increase the number of high-performing TEIs.

education and training from preservice to in-service.

Gatchalian, who is the chair of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, said in Filipino that, in the quest to elevate the quality of learning received by the Filipino youth, it is likewise vital to ensure that their teachers receive superior education, especially that they have a key role in shaping the minds of students.

Based on the Philippine Business for Education’s study on the Board Licensure Examination for Professional Teachers between 2010 and 2022, the passing rate for overall takers at the elementary level is only 37 percent, and 40 percent for the secondary level. The report further revealed that, according to the overall passing rates of Teacher Education Institutions

with at least 300 takers in at least seven out of 12 years, the share of high-performing TEIs at the elementary level is only 2.2 percent, and 2 percent at the secondary level. Highperforming TEIs have an overall passing rate of at least 75 percent in at least seven out of the 12 years from 2010 to 2022.

From the same period, the rating of low-performing TEIs—or those

The law, which he authored and sponsored, seeks to improve the quality of teacher education and training via a revamped Teacher Education Council (TEC), which will boost the coordination among the Department of Education (DepEd), the Commission on Higher Education, and the Professional Regulation Commission.

The TEC, according to the senator, will ensure coherence in teacher

In her 2023 Basic Education Report presentation, Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte said that the DepEd aims to make the new TEC and its secretariat fully functional.

Duterte added that the TEC will start working on its mandates— including the basic requirements setting for preservice teacher-education programs in the country.

By Roderick L. Abad

THE local government of Muntinlupa continues to bring back the joy of discovering and reading books to its students, amid the popularity of digital media among the youth.

The Muntinlupa City Schools Division Office (SDO) has carried on with its Library Hub BookMobile project for the fifth year to develop the reading and comprehension skills of students.

February 13 to 17, and Alabang Elementary School between the 20th and the 24th day of this month.

PLDT Inc. and its wireless unit Smart

Communications Inc. are enhancing the capabilities of volunteer-teachers from the Ateneo de Davao University’s ( ADDU) Madaris Volunteer Program (MVP) in bringing inclusive quality education to Muslim-centered schools or “madaris” across the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

F or the first time, said volunteerteachers are equipped with a relevant and crisis-resilient teaching pedagogy through the Central Visayan Institute Foundation-Dynamic Learning Program (CVIF-DLP).

“The CVIF-DLP supports the Education [Department’s current curriculum. It’s an adaptive tool that can be used by different learning institutions that] transcends g eographical and cultural boundaries,” said Stephanie V. Orlino, AVP and head of Stakeholder Management at PLDT and Smart.

“Madaris volunteers serve the poorest BARMM communities, whose literacy rates consistently rank the lowest in the country. Schoolchildren [there are] victims of ar med conflict and decades-long historical disenfranchisement that still persists,” explained Tessa Mae D. Alison, MVP Training an d Special Events coordinator.

Madaris refer to Muslim private schools with a core emphasis on Islamic studies and Arabic literacy. Majority of these privately operated institutions rely on local c ommunity support or foreign aid, particularly from Islamic or Muslim nations.

O rlino said PLDT and Smart, together with ADDU, onboarded volunteert eachers bound for 14 madaris across the Bangsamoro Region. She added that the educators will immerse in their assigned communities, often staying with host families for around 10 months, to teach DepEd-mandated subjects.

“This teaching pedagogy is indeed a big help for me as a volunteer-teacher to promote independent student learning wherein the students will learn by doing,” said Radzmalyn M. Asula, who is assigned at Al-Qudwa Integrated Learning Center in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi.

Developed by Ramon Magsaysay awardees Dr. Christopher Bernido and the late Dr. Maria Victoria Bernido, the CVIFDLP is a teaching pedagogy that encourages independent learning among students. The program makes extensive use o f the CVIF-DLP Learning Activity Sheets that help improve learner outcomes, despite minimal interventions of teachers o r parents.

The CVIF-DLP has been supported by Smart and PLDT-Smart Foundation for over a decade to roll out programs that promote inclusive quality education, ensuring that no learner is left behind.

The initiative highlights the PLDT group’s commitment to help the nation achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal No. 4 on Quality Education. Rizal Raoul S. Reyes

MCU award honors renowned scientist, university’s founder

COMMITTED to honor excellence while developing talent throughout its 118 years in education, Manila Central University (MCU) is launching the Filemon D. Tanchoco (FDT) Scientific Discovery Award, which will recognize researchers and inventors whose discoveries have benefited the Filipino people, or are of utmost worth to the welfare of humanity.

According to MCU’s vice president for Planning and External Affairs Dr. Renato C. Tanchoco Jr., the award aims to educate and inspire the future generations of trailblazers, while at the same time recognizing brilliance, innovation and dedication to the fields of science and technology.

“We hope to empower the MCU community of students, alumni, and academy of the power and capacity that they have to make a difference and [create] positive change,” Dr. Tanchoco said.

This year’s search will apply the following criteria for the selection of the winner: the discovery, innovation or scientific works should “redound to the welfare of the Filipino people, and of universal importance to the welfare of humanity;” such contribution is significantly being applied, utilized, or implemented for at least five years from the time of nomination, and that it should meaningfully impact in addressing any of the Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations.

The winner will be awarded with a plaque of recognition, cash prize, as well as the opportunity of joining the FDT Scientific Discoverer Award committee and participating in the selection and verification of future

nominees.

Apart from these, the awardee will be a keynote speaker in the upcoming Filemon D. Tanchoco Sr. Memorial lecture at the University Foundation Day, and share with the local and global MCU communities his or her scientific discovery.

Who is Filemon D. Tanchoco?

WITH a double degree in Pharmacy and Law, the elder Tanchoco pursued a lifelong mission in education: an unremitting fight against poverty and ignorance, and for the reinvigoration of cherished Filipino ideals, according to MCU.

He began as an elementary school teacher in a branch of the former Colegio Filipino in Malabon. Two years later, after acquiring experience and learning the prerequisites, he taught at the Colegio San Geronimo in 1908, Colegio San Pablo in 1914, and later on at Liceo de Manila in

1914 to 1918.

In 1913 he was promoted to the position of professor at the Escuela de Farmacia de Liceo de Manila , and in 1946 became the dean of both the school and the Manila College of Pharmacy and Dentistry. This was followed by his appointment as the first president of the Manila Central University, or MCU.

He was quoted to have said:

“Meanwhile that the undersigned is living and with sufficient strength to work, our institution will continue on her way of progress; and even after, I have full confidence that my heirs and collaborators in the preparation of our youth for professional life will continue in their patriotic and educational endeavors for the proper and better preparation of our actual and future students who have faith in us and in our ability to give them the best we can for the good of the youth of [our] land.”

Recognizing excellence and service

IN its first year, nominations will be limited to graduates and full-time faculty members (minimum of five years of service) of MCU’s various programs who have discoveries of universal importance.

Additionally, a single winner will be chosen from the submitted nominees.

For 2023 the screening committee will include members of the FDT Trust Fund Board. Deans and program heads are eligible to submit nominations for this year’s FDT Scientific Discoverer Award.

Also, only qualified and reputable candidates will be considered for the citation.

“It’s important that we give priority to the reading ability of our students; but even more, we need to make sure they are actually comprehending what they read,” Mayor Ruffy Biazon said in a recent storytelling session with learners from Soldier’s Hills Elementary School.

T he BookMobile was already rolled out in Bayanan Elementary School-Unit 1 from

Said library-on-wheels is set to visit the Filinvest Alabang Elementary School from February 27 to March 3; Bagong Silang Elementary School, March 6 to10; Sucat Elementary School-Main, March 27 to 31; Cupang Elementary School-Annex, April 3 to 7; Buli Elementary School, April 10 to 14; Cupang Elementary School-Main, April 24 to 28; and Bayanan Elementary School-Main, May 15 to 19. The BookMobile initiative is being led by Schools Division superintendent Dr. Carleen Sedilla, together with Learning Resource Management Section supervisor Dr. Gina Urquia and SDO librarian Cecilia Ilarde. Education is one of the priority programs of the Biazon administration under its “7K” agenda.

Japan constructs HS classrooms in Bohol

THE Embassy of Japan turned over on February 16 a one-story, fourroom building and furniture sets under “The Project for the Construction of Classrooms for Santo Niño High School in Talibon, Bohol.”

Approved in Fiscal Year 2017, the project is part of Japan’s official development assistance (ODA) through the Grant Assistance for GrassRoots Human Security Projects (GGP).

Upon the Philippines’s implementation of the K-12 basic education program in 2016 that extended secondary-level education from four years to six years, public schools were mandated to set up additional classrooms for the newly added senior high-school program covering Grades 11 and 12. However, many were unable to meet the requirements due to budgetary constraints. The situation has led students such as those from Santo Niño High School to either transfer to distant schools, or to give up on their education upon com -

pleting Grade 10.

To address the issue, the embassy has provided a grant of $88,108, or about P4.3 million, to the Talibon municipal government. Aside from the construction, it covered the procurement of tables and chairs, with the hope of enabling students from the said secondary school to complete their senior high-school years.

The embassy’s Second Secretary Kensuke Sugimoto, along with Mayor Janette AurestilaGarcia of Talibon, Department of Education’s Regional Director Salustiano Jimenez, other DepEd and local government officials, school teachers and select students witnessed the ceremonial turnover.

In his message, Sugimoto reiterated that basic education is a right for all children, then lauded the community’s efforts in providing a quality learning environment for the children. He also expressed his hope that the new classrooms would serve as “keys to open more doors of opportunities for the students.”

SENATOR Sherwin Gatchalian is pressing for the full roll out of the Excellence in Teacher Education Act, as an advocacy group decried the persistently low passing rates in the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET).

Muntinlupa prioritizes comprehension, reading skills among city’s students

MAYOR Ruffy Biazon (left) led the storytelling activity with learners from Soldier’s Hills Elementary School.

SECOND Secretary Kensuke Sugimoto (from left), Mayor Janette Aurestila-Garcia and Department of Education’s Regional Director Salustiano Jimenez

DR. RENATO C. TANCHOCO JR.: The award aims to educate and inspire the future generations of trailblazers.

PLDT, SMART elevate BARMM volunteer-teachers’ capabilities

ENVOYS VISIT DLS-CSB Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Niyazi Evren Akyol (second from left) and Türkiye Embassy’s Third Secretary

Zeki

Furkan Küçük (left) on February 5 toured

De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde’s Angelo King International Center, where the modern Airbus A320 cabin is installed. The latest facility was built in collaboration with Türkiye-based SkyArt—the leading global supplier for aviation-themed Cabin Service Trainer that meets internationally recognized standards and product-safety directives. The model was specially designed for the college’s growing population of tourism management students’ real-world training. In their visit, the diplomats witnessed a contribution of the Middle Eastern country’s cutting-edge technology, which keeps Benilde at the forefront of innovative and inclusive education in the Philippines. They were joined by DLS-CSB’s chancellor (from center) Benhur A. Ong MBA; interim resident manager for the Hatcheries of Benilde School of Hotel, Restaurant, and Institution Management Dennis Sebastian; and DLS-CSB’s School of Diplomacy and Governance dean Dr. Gary Ador Dionisio DPA.

Tourism&Entertainment

Editor: Carla Mortel-Baricaua

A sustainable tourism and lifestyle island is rising in Bohol

It’s going to be the envy in southeast Asia. Leading Philippine conglomerate Alturas Group recently unveiled a bold new vision for development on the island of Bohol with the launch of Panglao shores, a 50-hectare mixed-use project

This new blueprint for sustainable tourism and lifestyle dream island in Panglao, Bohol garners an investment of a whooping 25 billion pesos (USD477 million). It is visioned as a mixed-use community development conceptualized by global leaders in sustainability and master-planning, hired by the conglomerate to make sure that this eco-tourism vision becomes a reality.

Panglao Shores is located on beachfront land on the south coast of Panglao Island in Bohol, Philippines. It is going to be a lowdensity, mixed-use development that is infused with the nature of Bohol, created for domestic and international buyers. There will be six hotels and resorts, a 37,000 sq m of retail and commercial space, with over 1,000 residential units. Panglao Shores will also have an international

medical facility, while seamlessly weaving sustainability and social responsibility into the fabric of the project and the wider destination. The space is going to be modern, yet, laid-back and zen.

This dream project is the result of the aftermath of the owners’ experiences during the pandemic. Those were trying years for them, which created many challenges for businesses and led to hardship and layoffs. The Alturas group retained all staff however, repurposing them into sometimes unfamiliar roles as they built, tilled, planted and fished in one of the Alturas properties in Panglao island, which later on became South Farm.

Everything the staff produced and harvested was to support themselves and the local communities.

Over time, it became a sustainability incubator, a place to meet, practice, experiment and culti -

vate resources. Planting trees, store materials such as recycled woods, and even create artisans out of themselves with visual art, basket weaving, and wood sculpting. South Farm naturally evolved into a place that simply and most meaningfully represented the essence of the inclusive culture and community ethos of Alturas.

The result of the pandemic years was that South Farm has become the inspiration for the entire Panglao Shores development. The success and spirit engendered at South Farm left a deep impression on Alturas Group, which is founded in Bohol by the Uy family. From this seed, a wider vision for the future was developed and planned with the help of London-based sustainability experts, XCO2, and master planners SCSY who’s head office is located in Singapore.

“It was an epiphany for us, a real moment of awakening,” said Hope Uy, CEO of Panglao Shores. “The realization was that here was an opportunity to create a generational product, inspired by Bohol, on a scale that would enable a fully-integrated community to flourish with sustainability at its core,” she added.

Conceived by Panglao Bay Premiere Parks and Resorts Corp. (PBPPRC), which is a subsidiary of Alturas Group of Companies (AGC), the project is located on the southern coast of Panglao, just off the coast of Bohol. This ambitious flagship project is also recognized by the Tourism Infrastructure Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA), which makes sure that everything is designed to deliver outstanding economic and social benefits to Philippine destination. This partnership with TIEZA is also

historical, since its the agency’s very first partnership with a private company. This shows the trust and the ideals of having the same direction for a better, and sustainable tourism that will not only benefit its owners, but the whole country itself.

To date, the Panglao Shores is currently under construction, with a target opening date of phase one in the year 2024.

At the heart of the project is the Town Square Retail Mall & Night Market, a vibrant indooroutdoor hub of shopping, dining and entertainment with live performance areas, garden walkways and courtyards. This will be surrounded by facilities and amenities, including commercial and retail, residential villages, a convention center, co-working spaces, international hotels and resorts, and a beach club. These are

all entwined with lush greenery, bike lanes, and natural walkways. International eco-building standards and materials have been incorporated throughout, such as high-performance glass, natural ventilation and solar harvesting, along with smart technologies, electric transport, water treatment, waste reduction, and the removal of all single-use plastics. Local vendors are supported to sell crafts, native farmers and fishing communities have been built into the supply chain.

Construction of the 188-room new South Palms Resort is currently underway.

Bohol is one of the most exciting destinations for investment and tourism in the Philippines. The island is served by the Panglao Bohol International Airport, a mere 15-minute drive to the soon to open Panglao Shores.

Richard Juan says ‘Hello’ to new dining spots in Hong Kong

For r ic hard Juan, a Hong Kong trip is never complete without exploring the city’s culinary scene. From traditional Cantonese seafood to contemporary f usion dishes, there was no shortage of tasty and unique dining options for r ic hard to choose from during his recent Hong K ong trip. Each restaurant that he visited had its own charm. “I was constantly amazed by the variety and quality of the food. Hong Kong is really a great place to explore and discover new flavors and experiences,” he remarked.

o n e of the highlights of his food adventure was dining at the Artisan Lounge. T his all-day dining café, bar, and bespoke boutique was inspired by the elegant, sophisticated “manor-like” concept of K11 M USEA, a top-tier shopping mall in the city.

“Having afternoon tea at the Artisan Lounge was 100 percent a different type of memorable experience,” r ic hard shared.

“The atmosphere was sophisticated and elegant, with a beautiful burgundy and

metallic bronze color scheme. The food was also top-notch, especially the tarts we had from the afternoon tea set.” The lounge also offers a great view of the Gold Ball, the multi-cultural exhibition space of K11 MUSEA, which added to the overall ambiance of the place.

“With the unique drinks, like the cotton candy hot chocolate that I ordered, e verything about this place is amazing for photos,” he added. “I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a sophisticated, Instagrammable afternoon tea experience in Hong Kong.”

Additionally, r ic hard made it a point to explore the city’s modern restaurants. o n e of which is FAM, a dining place in Kowloon that fuses contemporary Chinese cuisine, art, and music in one destination.

“The food was absolutely delicious, with standout dishes including the flavorful shrimp dumplings, the savory abalone, and wild mushrooms in puff pastry,” he highlighted. “The restaurant itself is chic

and stylish, with an art deco-inspired indoor open-space that is both inviting and s ophisticated.” o n t op of that, r ic hard’s dining experience was amplified by the breathtaking view of Victoria Harbour from the restaurant.

“FAM is located in the Art Park of the West Kowloon Cultural District, which offers a stunning 270-degree view of Victoria H arbour. The outdoor grass lawn adds to the atmosphere and makes it a great place to relax and enjoy the view. I was able to soak up the atmosphere and take in the beautiful scenery while I ate,” he relayed.

The actor also dined at the all-day café bar called I- o - N in Central Market. “I like the vibe of the European-styled cafe fare with a Hong Kong twist,” r ic hard detailed. “The cafe and cocktail bar area is very aesthetic and is very Instagrammable.”

He encourages his fellow foodies to fly to the city and navigate the urban jungle’s diverse culinary scene to search for the best food finds.

Story & photos by Arabelle Jimenez

that marks sustainability, community and local culture as its guiding principles.

Present at the Panglao shores Press Launch were (from left): r J Ledesma; program host, Hope Uy; Chief executive Officer Panglao shores, Atty. Karen-Mae Baydo; Asst Chief Operating Officer t eZA, and Bill Barnett; Managing Director C9 HotelWorks.

from shopping, Hong Kong offers a culinary adventure.

tH e beachfront at south Palms resort Panglao is calming and inviting.

One of attractions is the white sand beach in Panglao, Bohol.

tH e south Palms beachfront cottages await guests.

U P C yCLeD swings can be found in front of south Palms resort Panglao.

t H e Uy family members of the Alturas Group of Companies pose for the camera.

LO CALLy- M AD e pastries and paintings are welcome treats for guests of the day.

sOU t H Palms resort Panglao serves farm to table breakfast buffet.

Cloud kitchens and Crossfitters in the news

IF you don’t know it yet, Pickup Coffee opened its first physical branch less than a year ago because the brand started out via the cloud, specifically cloud kitchens.

Cloud kitchens were born as a result of the pandemic, just like Zoom meetings, webinars and lockdowns. Essentially, cloud kitchens were created for the purpose of preparing food for delivery or takeout only, with no dine-in customers. During the pandemic, cloud kitchens helped entrepreneurs open businesses at little cost.

But contrary to popular belief, cloud kitchens or ghost kitchens were already in existence even before the coronavirus became a reality. These mobile canteens, which started after the 2007-2008 financial crisis, popularized the concept of on-demand food delivery. These ghost kitchens became an alternative to the more expensive fine-dining restaurants, many of which closed because of the recession. This concept evolved with the advancement of technology. In 2020, someone estimated the global size of the food delivery market will be at $164.5 billion by 2023 but as of 2022, initial data indicates that it was expected to reach $215.69 billion in 2022.

Pickup Coffee was a start-up with the goal of making espresso and milk-based beverages more accessible to Filipinos with drinks from P50 to P100 only. The initial locations of Pickup Coffee’s cloud kitchens were in Rockwell, Julia Vargas, Alabang, Banawe, UP Town Center, Mall of Asia, Ayala Malls Vertis North, San Juan, and Nuvali. You could get the coffee offerings via Grab Food or foodpanda.

Today, the homegrown coffee company has 50 cloud stores, delivery hubs, and physical branches combined. The coffee and tea products are indeed accessible, with nothing costing over Php100 pesos.

“We actually price the coffee at the right point. The second one is making it accessible. We try to bring Pickup Coffee to as many locations as fast as possible. So it doesn’t matter where you are in Metro Manila, at any given point you can have it in 10 to 15 minutes. It makes it very easy for people to simply pick up one,” said Jaime Gonzalez, Pickup Coffee cofounder and head of strategy.

Pickup Coffee recently introduced Anne Curtis as its new ambassador. With almost 19 million followers on the platform, Curtis is, unless I am mistaken, the most followed Filipino celebrity on Instagram.

“Coffee makes us feel good. It makes us feel great. And that is the feeling that led us to Anne Curtis. She makes thousands of Filipinos feel good, from her movies and hosting, to the products she produces. As

contestants, including mixed martial arts fighter Yoshihiro Akiyama or Choo Sung-hoon in Korea, took part in some of the toughest challenges to prove that they were worthy of the title “perfect physique” and take home the cash prize of 300 million KRW (or nearly P13 million).

The winner was Crossfiter and snowboard crossplayer Woo Ji-yong, born in 1986 and graduated from Chung-Ang University to become a physical education teacher early on. He also attained his masters degree from the university’s Graduate School of Physical Education.

posting spoilers when he hadn’t watched the finale yet. “Of course, they couldn’t shut up about the winner being a Crossfit athlete,” he said. What I liked about Physical: 100 was that it celebrated strength and power in different forms and ages. The five male finalists didn’t have bodies that we’d normally associate with hot men on the beach but they were strong and powerful bodies that could lift, pull, jump and bend. I wish that some of the challenges weren’t skewed toward men so the female contestants had a fighting chance but the show was inspirational and aspirational. ■

Araneta group boosting its position in cyberparks

BY RIZAL RAOUL S. REYES

THE Jorge Araneta-led Araneta City continues to bolster its position as a major technology hub in the country when it recently held the ceremonial first concrete pouring at Cyberpark 3.

“Cyberpark 3 is our latest solution to the needs of companies and locators looking for options. Once completed, it will serve as a suitable, even superior, alternative to office spaces in the usual CBDs,” Rowell Recinto, senior management consultant of the Araneta Group, said in an interview with reporters on the sidelines of the event.

The P4 billion Cyberpark 3 is part of the P20billion Cyberpark development of the Araneta Group of Companies.  Recinto said Cyberpark 3 is the third office building to rise in Araneta City’s 8-hectare Cyberpark Office district. It will be a 30-storey office building that features state-of-the-art facilities including a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design

(LEED) certification.

Recinto said Cyberpark 3 will have 27 levels of office spaces, three basement parking levels, and two floors of retail space in its podium. It will have large floor plates (typically 2,500 square meters), floor-toceiling windows, and top-of-the-line facilities which include, among others, a Smart Elevator System.

Cyberpark 3 is the latest addition to Araneta City’s master-planned community that already includes residential, office, hospitality, and retail developments.

He said the office tower will house retail spaces in its podium. It is accessible to other key landmarks in the center—entertainment venues, like the Smart Araneta Coliseum, retail centers like Farmers Plaza, Ali Mall and the soon-to-open Gateway Mall 2, hotels like Novotel Manila and the upcoming ibis Styles Hotel, and the Manhattan Gardens residential towers.

It straddles the crossroads of Edsa, Aurora Boulevard, and P. Tuazon Street, giving easy access from anywhere in Metro Manila. Cyberpark 3, as

with the whole Araneta City, has access to multimodal transport like the MRT, LRT, buses, commuter vans, and jeepneys.

Like its two predecessors, Cyberpark 1 and 2, this new office building highlights green initiatives and renewable energy solutions and will carry a LEED certification. It will feature energy-efficient doubleglazed windows and a rainwater collection system, among others.

“We will continue to introduce environmentally impactful design features and specifications in our Cyberpark construction. This serves as Araneta Group’s commitment toward environmentally responsible developments,” Recinto said.

A PEZA-registered IT Zone, the Cyberpark Complex is projected to have five towers with a combined floor area of over 500,000 square meters. Two towers have been completed—Cyberpark 1 which opened in 2016, and Cyberpark 2 which opened in 2018. Target completion is the first quarter of 2025.

DIGITAL BANK, SINGAPOREAN FIRM TO TEACH FINANCIAL LITERACY TO SMALL BIZ PLAYERS

BY RODERICK L. ABAD Contributor

UNO Digital Bank has tied up with Singapore-based Proxtera to train 10,000 homegrown micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) on financial literacy as part of the SME Financial Empowerment (SFE) program to help integrate them into the banking system and empower them to scale and grow. Such joint initiative is a step toward educating millions of unbanked Filipinos that traditional financial institutions find hard to reach.

According to the 2021 Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Financial Inclusion Survey, 45 percent do not have the minimum financial requirement to open an account, 40 percent lack the right documents, and 22 percent lack knowledge about the process.

“When you piece all this together, the financial literacy penetration is very low because people haven’t really understood what it means to integrate into organized banking or have a relationship with financial institutions,” said Manish Bhai, chief executive officer (CEO) of UNO Digital Bank. “We want to promote financial literacy as an entry point to the formal financial sector.”

“SFE provides financial literacy credentials which is the first step in providing an important indicator of intent to pay,” noted Proxtera CEO Saurav Bhattacharyya. “We are very excited to have this partnership with UNO Digital Bank in the Philippines as it supports the core purpose of Proxtera: to serve MSMEs through financial inclusion.”

The program’s courses are heavily subsidized to ensure they are accessible to MSMEs.

“What Proxtera has done is develop these modules which are effective, fun and engaging. With this partnership, we want to make sure that these modules reach the critical mass,” Bhai said.

Those who finish the course will receive a digitally verifiable certificate, gain access to a resource hub with financial services tools and knowledge services, and get a digital bank account and loan facilities.

After Proxtera’s SFE courses were successfully launched in Africa and Asia, UNO decided to work with the former, cementing it during the recent Philippine FinTech Festival convened by Digital Pilipinas, in partnership with Elevandi, which was founded by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

Bhai cited the partnership “will definitely help the business owners out there to make use of multiple financial products that will enable them to grow their business, and be profitable and self-sustaining.”

Bhattacharyya agreed, saying, “Our whole purpose as a company is to help MSMEs in financial inclusion—which is where UNO Digital Bank is starting and targeting their customer base, as well.”

For UNO Digital Bank chief business officer Amit Malhotra, small businesses are the economy’s lifeline. He said: “The MSMEs have a need for credit rating, financial investment, and other financial services. And we as a digital bank feel that providing such is our moral responsibility to

KONSULTAMD SHEDS LIGHT ON MENTAL HEALTH

LEADING telehealth service provider KonsultaMD recently hosted a memorable celebration to launch the highlyanticipated mental health song “I Want to Be Here.” Performed by Kiana V. with Curtismith and Nix Damn P., the song aims to bring attention to the importance of mental health and encourage the younger generation to speak up and seek help. The exclusive listening party held at The Island in BGC on January 26 was a significant moment for both KonsultaMD and mental health advocacy in the country. It was attended by representatives from mental health organizations such as Juan for Mental Health and Silakbo, representatives from 917Ventures and the Ayala group, and other celebrities.

The night kicked off with a Q&A featuring the artists, KonsultaMD CEO Cholo Tagaysay, KonsultaMD chief business and medical affairs officer Chelsea Elizabeth Samson, and the music video team led by Miko Reyes and Gian Fausto. They provided insights into the creative process behind the powerful song and their mission to normalize mental health conversations. The song’s journey took about a month from writing to production, and Tagaysay shared the inspiration behind the collaboration: “Mental health should

BusinessMirror

Epic nights of smartphone launches

IT wasn’t the Valentine date we planned, but it still turned out to be an epic night, even though we had to spend most of it in traffic, rushing from Samsung Galaxy’s S23 launch in Rockwell to the premiere of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania at SM Aura Premier.

Samsung launched its flagship Galaxy S23 series at The Fifth in Rockwell with a spectacular Epic House party highlighting the series’ Nightography feature.

The Samsung S23 Series marks a new era for ultimate premium phone experiences headlined by truly cinematic Nightography videos with transformative AI, the “Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy” for powerful performance, and an embedded S Pen that offers more possibilities for productivity, all housed within a striking design that advances the company’s sustainability commitment.

Actress Liza Soberano, iconic photographer BJ Pascual, and famed artist Leeroy New took media guests on a tour of the Epic Rooms—experiential installations that brought to life exactly what makes the Samsung new Galaxy S23 series so exciting.

Guests had the opportunity to experience Samsung’s most cutting-edge camera through the Epic Nightography room that featured three stations: Night Selfie, Night Video, and Night Portrait where we could take photos with dazzling neon decorations that added to the vintage, nightlife vibe.

As Nightography is now also available in selfie mode we were able to try taking selfies in the dark, surrounded by neon lights. Night Video, on the other hand, allowed guests to record themselves in the dark surrounded by reflective panels to boost the Galaxy S23’s ability to capture motion while light conditions are low. For those who are into reels, the Slow Video feature adds a dramatic slow-motion effect to your videos that give a look of elegance. The Night Portrait room was surrounded by colored lights to show the Galaxy S23’s enhanced Nightography feature in portrait mode.

Samsung Galaxy S23’s enhanced Nightography feature now includes a new AI-powered image signal processing (ISP) algorithm that enhances object details and color tone under low-light conditions, which makes images at night crisper and more detailed. One can also take pro-grade photos with The Expert RAW app, which is exclusive to Samsung Galaxy. The series also has the most stable video capture yet with a doubled optical image stabilizer (OIS), so taking videos at night do not have to look blurry. The video quality has also improved with the new series, with enhanced 8K video at 30fps with a wider angle for the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.

Liza Soberano then introduced the Epic Passions rooms with larger-than-life installations to showcase how the S23 series helped her with Productivity, Gaming and Self-Expression, as it allows her to connect with other Samsung devices creating an ecosystem where she could multitask with her different passions at the same time.

The Samsung Multi Control feature connects the Samsung S23 to the Samsung PC and tablet with mouse and keyboard functionality. The embedded S-Pen on the Samsung S23 Ultra allows users to collaborate with other people in making projects through the co-editing feature in Google Meets live

sharing. In the Gaming station, guests were given the chance to use the Samsung Galaxy S23 series for mobile gaming to spotlight its premium performance with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy and an improved 5000mAh battery for the S23 Ultra. Rounding up the Epic Passions room is the Self-Expression Zone for those who love to customize their phones through their favorite apps widgets and aesthetic phone cases.

Lastly, the Epic Sustainability room introduced the importance of sustainability and how the Galaxy S23 Series was designed with the planet in mind.

An awe-inspiring Flotilla installation, created by renowned sustainable artist Leeroy New, was the room’s showpiece, made with recycled materials and other sustainable products. The Galaxy S23 series is Samsung’s most sustainable line of mobile devices yet from the tech giant, made from pre-consumer recycled aluminum and glass and post-consumer recycled plastics sourced from discarded fishing nets, PET bottles and water barrels. It is also the first S series to market their screens made of Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2, the most durable glass yet made with 22 percent pre-consumed recycled material.

Congratulations to our friends from Samsung Philippines and TARO AOX for making launch events exciting again.

FLAGSHIP KILLER RETURNS BUT AT WHAT PRICE?

IF interactive was the theme of the Samsung launch, OnePlus held a concert featuring legendary local rock band Urbandub alongside the Manila Symphony Orchestra as it unveiled the OnePlus 11 5G.

The rock symphony was a powerful demonstration of the brand’s “Never Settle” ethos, combining two genres to showcase the Shape of Power. With the help of the OnePlus 11 5G’s groundbreaking technology, futuristic design, and Hasselblad imaging, the symphony exemplified the brand’s commitment to pushing boundaries and striving for excellence with each device.

Living up to its “Flagship Killer” rep, the OnePlus 11 5G features a Snapdragon 8 Gen2 processor, up to 16GB RAM (allowing as many as 44 opened apps); a TÜV SÜD 48-month Fluency Rating A that guarantees smooth performance without lags for up to four years; 100W SUPERVOOC fast-charging (0-100 percent in less than half an hour); and a Hasselblad system-based triple camera module.

The main sensor features a 50MP Sony IMX 890 camera that provides the ability to take low-light photos and videos even in backlit areas. Following the main camera are the 115° 48MP ultra-wide camera and IMX709 32MP telephoto lens which allow users to snap and produce DSLR-level quality shots.

For its display, the OnePlus 11 5G has a 6.7-inch 2K 120Hz Super Fluid AMOLED Display with LTPO 3.0 and Corning Gorilla Glass Victus protection. Moreover, the phone is powered with Dolby Vision HDR, one of the first Android phones to feature this, to deliver the best viewing experience.

The OnePlus 11 5G is now available for pre-order via OnePlus Stores in two colors (Titan Black and Eternal Green) for P45,990 for the 8+128GB variant and P49,990 for the 16+256GB variant.

NEW BATTERY KING?

WRAPPING up the series of smartphone launches this week was Honor, reminding us that summer is here with a pool party held at The Island, BGC, Taguig City.

Following the “smashing” success of the Honor X9a, the brand builds more momentum with the launch of the Honor X7a that features a long-lasting 6,000mAh battery, a 50MP ultra-clear quad camera system, 128GB storage,

and 6.74-inch

Honor FullView Display at an even more affordable package. The Honor X7a promises a three-day battery life, and it actually exceeded our expectations when we brought it to our Hong Kong trip. I only had to charge it once when we began our weeklong trip and it still had about 15-percent left by the time we got home.

The 6,000mAh battery delivers extraordinary battery life through its Smart Power Saving Technology that optimizes power consumption, allowing you 42 hours of social media browsing, 42 hours of phone calls or 29 hours of music streaming on a full charge. This makes it one of the best options for users who are constantly out and on the go. The cell of the Honor X7a comes with a higher energy density and a reduced thickness, contributing to the long battery life and the slim form factor. The battery should also demonstrate exceptional longevity, with the company claiming that it is capable of maintaining above 80 percent health even after three years of use. It has already entered the DXOMARK smartphone battery rankings, earning the DXOMARK Gold Battery Label in recognition of its outstanding battery performance.

The Honor X7a boasts a 6.74-inch Honor FullView Display with a remarkable 90.07 percent screento-body ratio, providing an immersive viewing experience for users whether they are working, streaming videos, or gaming. With support for HD resolution and a color depth of 16.7 million colors, visuals are displayed with stunning clarity and vibrancy.

For its cameras, the phone has an ultra-clear quad camera setup with a 50MP Main Camera, 5MP Wide Camera, 2MP Macro Camera and 2MP Depth Camera, plus an 8MP front camera for selfies. Its large 128GB storage can store over 28,000 pictures, 11,000 songs or 450 HD videos locally which could further be expanded up to 1TB via the MicroSD card slot.

The Honor X7a is available in three stunning colors: Titanium Silver, Ocean Blue and Midnight Black, and is priced at P7,990 and comes with free Honor Earbuds worth P1,590 until February 28, 2023. Alongside its newest smartphone, Honor also unveiled its MagicBook X 14 and Honor Magic X 15 laptops that are equipped with 11th Gen Intel Core processors.

Perfect for those who spend long hours in front of a screen, the Honor MagicBook X 14 and Honor MagicBook X 15 come with TÜV Rheinland Low Blue Light Certification and TÜV Rheinland Flicker-free Certification, ensuring enhanced eye protection and a comfortable viewing experience while studying, working, or watching TV shows.

Ensuring an uninterrupted experience while gaming, the laptops come with an advanced Supersized Cooling Fan, enabling efficient heat dissipation to maintain a manageable temperature even during long periods of use. Along with a massive 56Wh battery, users can enjoy up to 9.9 hours of local 1080p video playback or 9.2 hours of webpage browsing on a single full charge.

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Ending war ‘the most important thing’ for global economy–Yellen

efforts to restrict Russia’s capacity to wage war.

“This war has its most devastating effects in Ukraine, but Putin’s weaponization of food and energy has harmed developing countries and created global economic headwinds that have hurt every nation represented in this room,” Yellen said, according to remarks prepared for delivery.

Deadly accident exposes danger in China’s rush to mine more coal

ADEADLY mine accident in northern China is casting a spotlight on the dangers inherent in the country’s effort to prioritize energy security by boosting coal production.

executives warned that the push to produce more would likely cost lives as companies reopened and expanded smaller mines that, prior to the crisis, had been deemed unnecessary.

humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and expects to provide around $10 billion in additional economic support over the coming months. Financial aid, used to support critical public services and help keep the government running, is one of several ways in which the US and its allies are helping Ukraine.

At least six people are dead and 47 missing after a wall collapsed at Xinjing Coal Industry Co.’s openpit mine in a remote part of Inner Mongolia. Police are investigating the cause of the disaster and have detained several people suspected for being responsible, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

Speaking in a closed-door meeting Friday in Bengaluru, India, where G-20 finance ministers

and central bank governors are gathered, Yellen reiterated calls to her counterparts to redouble

Her comments on the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine come as she doubled down on calls to increase financial support to the war-torn nation during her discussions in Bengaluru, formerly known as Bangalore.

The US has provided over $46 billion in security, economic and

Yellen has also called for the IMF to move swiftly toward a fullyfinanced program for Ukraine. On Friday she warned Russian officials attending the G-20 meetings that they are “complicit in Putin’s atrocities.”

“They bear responsibility for the lives and livelihoods being taken in Ukraine and the harm caused globally,” she said. Bloomberg News

US readies new $2 billion aid package for Ukraine

THE US will send Ukraine another $2 billion in security assistance, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Thursday night. The package, to be issued under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, will build on previous efforts to aid Ukrainian defenses against Russia.  Sullivan confirmed the new assistance during a CNN Town Hall with US Agency for International Development Administrator Samantha Power.

The initiative is intended to finance contracts with delivery dates months or even years away to bolster the nation’s long-term security needs, not for immediate battlefield use.

Sullivan added that President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had “deep conversations about precisely what kinds of capacities and what kind of training Ukraine needs to be successful in this effort to take back the territory.”

Ukraine has asked repeatedly

for fighter jets, which the US has been wary of providing because of the risk of provoking Russia. Sullivan said the two Presidents had discussed F-16 warplanes.

“F-16s are not a question for the short-term fight,” Sullivan said. “F-16s are a question for the long-term defense of Ukraine, and that’s a conversation that President Biden and President Zelenskiy had.”

Earlier Thursday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the US also plans to announce

“sweeping sanctions against key sectors that generate revenue” for Russia, including the country’s banking, defense, and technology industries.

Since fiscal 2022, the Pentagon has received $18.3 billion in congressional appropriations through Jan. 31 for Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative contracts. The Pentagon has awarded $2.9 billion in contracts, including $1.3 billion to Raytheon Technologies Corp. for the NASAMS air defense system. Bloomberg News

China prepares to police AI as ChatGPT Frenzy Spreads

CHINA will introduce rules to govern the use of artificial intelligence (AI) across a swath of industries, moving to regulate emergent spheres as ChatGPT fever sweeps the world’s No. 2 economy.

The government will push for the safe and controllable application of AI services, which it considers a strategic industry, officials from the Ministry of Science and Technology told reporters on Friday. And it will continue to monitor its evolution over the longer term to gain a better understanding of the ethical concerns surrounding AI and other transformative technologies, Science Minister Wang Zhigang said.

San Francisco-based OpenAI’s conversational bot has captivated users since its rollout months ago, prompting a plethora of American and Chinese corporations to unveil

similar projects and inflaming AI-linked stocks.

Wang’s remarks follow reports that regulators have forced Chinese apps and websites to terminate services that route users to ChatGPT, in part because of content and data security concerns.

The introduction of regulations may be intended to ensure ChatGPT-like services hew to the Communist Party’s non-negotiable censorship of controversial or undesirable content online. But it could also be a boon to companies like Baidu Inc., providing clearer ground rules for future services.

The search giant’s shares soared 13 percent after Bloomberg News first reported its plans for a ChatGPT-like service. It has since reaffirmed plans to roll out its Ernie Bot conversational AI in March, while Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. has said it’s working to integrate generative AI in several of its products. Other

high-profile Chinese enterprises, including brokerage China International Capital Corp Ltd., are already experimenting with the technology’s potential to transform everything from finance to health care.

“We have to see that ChatGPT is doing very well,” Wang said at Friday’s briefing. “Following the emergence of a new technology, including AI, our country will introduce relevant measures (to regulate them) in an ethical manner.”

The field of AI is among several in which the US and China are racing for the lead, part of a broader struggle for technology and geopolitical supremacy. Some experts believe the Asian power has the edge in terms of the sheer amounts of data required to train AI platforms.

A parallel race among global tech giants has intensified since ChatGPT took the Internet by storm. Microsoft Corp., which owns a

stake in OpenAI, showed off how the technology could supplement its Bing search engine. Not to be outdone, Google demonstrated a novel service called Bard that would incorporate similar features.

It’s unclear, however, how Beijing views private sector involvement in the sensitive field, particularly given a deep-seated suspicion of increasingly powerful internet firms that resulted in crackdowns on sector leaders from Ant Group Co. to Alibaba and Didi Global Inc.

ChatGPT’s users have pointed to the dangers of abusing the technology, from the ability to draw out disturbing responses to its longer-term ability to displace humans at work.

Wang said it will take time to draw up Chinese regulations.

The regulatory measures “will come after we understand the technology,” he said. Bloomberg News

Australia quietly expels major Russian spy ring,

CANBERRA, Australia—

Australia has quietly expelled a large Russian spy ring whose members were posing as diplomats, a newspaper reported Friday after Australia’s main security agency revealed a major counterespionage success.

The spy ring comprised purported embassy and consular staff as well as other operatives using deep-cover identities, The Sydney Morning Herald reported, citing unnamed sources with knowledge of the operation.

The Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO), the nation’s main domestic spy agency, revealed on Tuesday it had “detected and disrupted a major spy network.” ASIO has not named the country responsible.

ASIO’s secretary-general of

security Mike Burgess described the network as a “hive” of spies because it was bigger and more dangerous than a “nest” of spies previously disrupted. Precise numbers have not been reported.

“Proxies and agents were recruited as part of a wider network. Among other malicious activities, they wanted to steal sensitive information,” Burgess said in ASIO’s annual report on threats posed to Australia.

“It was obvious to us that the spies were highly trained because they used sophisticated tradecraft to disguise their activities,” Burgess added.

ASIO “removed them from this country, privately and professionally,” he said.

The Russian spies were quietly forced out of Australia over the

report says

past six months with their visas not renewed or cancelled, the newspaper reported.

There were concerns that publicly expelling the spies could lead to retaliation against diplomats and other Australians living in Russia.

The Russian Embassy in Australia did not respond to a request for comment on Friday.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese would not say whether the spy network that ASIO had disrupted was Russian. “I don’t comment on national security briefings, but I just say that ASIO do a very good job in defending Australia’s national interest and they have my absolute confidence and support in doing that job,” Albanese told reporters. Before Albanese was elected to

The mine in question has a history of safety violations and was shut down for three years before 2021, when government officials gave the company permission to reopen it and convert it from a below-ground to an open-pit operation, consultancy Fengkuang Coal Logistics said in a research note.

That year, China began a campaign to boost coal production after a shortage of the fuel caused widespread power outages. The efforts paid off, with production jumping 10 percent last year and China getting through the winter without supply disruptions and with ample stockpiles.

But even at the time, industry

Among the safety problems at the Xinjing mine, it faced administrative punishment for not having signs for speed limits and crossings on the main road to the pit, and for failing to have a warning sign in a landslide area, according to Fengkuang.

It was forced to stop production in 2015 for not receiving approval to begin construction and for not implementing environmental impact assessment requirements, the consultancy said.

As rescue crews continue their search for the remaining missing workers, government officials in Inner Mongolia and neighboring provinces have launched safety inspections to try to prevent more accidents. That may slow production in the first quarter, but the impact is likely to be limited as Beijing continues to prioritize producing enough coal to fuel its economic rebound, according to a note from Citic Futures Co. Bloomberg News

Asia stocks mixed after Wall Steet breaks losing streak

BANGKOK—Shares in Asia were mixed Friday after Wall Street broke its longest losing streak since December with a modest rally led by tech stocks.

Benchmarks rose in Tokyo and Sydney but fell in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Seoul. Oil prices rose, while US futures edged lower.

Japan reported its core consumer price index, excluding volatile fresh foods, rose the most in 41 years in January. But the nominee to head its central bank, economist Kazuo Ueda, told lawmakers he favors keeping Japan’s benchmark interest rate near zero to ensure stable growth.

Ueda is expected to succeed Bank of Japan (BOJ) Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda when he steps down in April after two 5-year terms marked by unprecedented easing. The change of leadership has prompted speculation about a possible change in the ultra-lax monetary stance, though Ueda sought to dispel such expectations.

“Time is needed before the effects of monetary policy kick in,” Ueda told Parliament, noting the price rises are peaking.

Wages in Japan have failed to keep pace with price increases, and worries over a potential global recession have left the BOJ wary of altering course.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index added 1.1 percent to 27,390.09 and the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia gained 0.3 percent to to 7,303.50. India’s Sensex was up 0.3 percent at 59,814.70.

of worries about rising interest rates. They’re seen as some of the most vulnerable as the Federal Reserve jacks rates higher in hopes of stamping out inflation. High rates hurt prices for investments, particularly those seen as the riskiest, most expensive or whose big growth is furthest out in the future. They also raise the risk of a recession because they slow the economy.

A lengthening list of reports have shown the US economy is in stronger shape than expected, raising hopes a recession can be avoided. But that’s also forced Wall Street to raise its forecasts for how high the Fed will take interest rates and how long it will keep them there.

Fewer workers applied for unemployment benefits last week than expected, the latest indication the job market remains resilient.

A separate report said economic growth was likely a touch weaker in the last three months of 2022 than earlier estimated. But the US economy still grew at a 2.7 percent annual rate.

Wall Street’s heightened expectations for rates and the Fed have been most evident in the bond market, where Treasury yields have shot higher this month. They eased a bit on Thursday, taking some of the pressure off stocks.

government in May last year, he had called for Russian diplomats to be expelled from Australia in retaliation for the invasion or Ukraine.

But Russian Ambassador Alexey Pavlovsky remains in the Australian post he has held since May 2019.

ASIO exploited successive government decisions to allow Russian diplomats to stay by continuing its counterespionage probe and identifying the network’s members, the newspaper reported.

Burgess described the dismantling of the spy network as an example of his agency’s “more aggressive counterespionage posture.”

ASIO’s media office on Friday declined to comment on whether the network was Russian. AP

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index lost 1.4 percent to 20,063.48, while the Shanghai Composite index gave up 0.7 percent to 3,264.58. South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.7 percent to 2,423.56. Bangkok and Taiwan also declined.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 rose 0.5 percent for its first gain in five days, closing at 4,012.32. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.3 percent to 33,153,91, and the Nasdaq composite surged 0.7 percent to 11,590.40.

Tech stocks helped lead the way after Nvidia reported better results for the latest quarter than expected. Its shares jumped 14 percent after it also gave a forecast for upcoming revenue that topped some analysts’ expectations. It cited recovering strength in video gaming and demand for artificial intelligence products.

Tech and high-growth stocks have struggled recently because

The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which helps set rates for mortgages and other important loans, dipped to 3.86 percent early Friday from 3.93 percent late Wednesday. Earlier this week, it topped 3.95 percent, approaching its highest level since November.

On the losing end of Wall Street was Moderna, whose shares slid 6.7 percent after it reported its fourth-quarter profit tumbled 70 percent as Covid-19 vaccine sales fell and the drugmaker caught up on a royalty payment.

Domino’s Pizza dropped 11.7 percent despite reporting stronger profit than expected and Lordstown Motors tumbled 11.4 percent to $1.09 after it said it’s temporarily halting production and deliveries of its Endurance electric pickup due to performance and quality issues with certain components.

In other trading Friday, US benchmark crude oil gained 67 cents to $76.06 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. AP

UNITED STATES Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Russia ending the war was “the most important thing” for the global economy as she accused officials from Moscow attending a Group of 20 meeting of being complicit in atrocities taking place in Ukraine.

THE US is increasing its small contingent of troops in Taiwan to train local forces, an American defense official said, in the latest move of support for the island democracy and willingness to raise the ire of China.

The US military presence in Taiwan would grow to between 100 and 200 troops, up from about 30 a year ago, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier Thursday.

“We don’t have a comment on specific operations, engagements or training, but I would highlight that our support for, and defense relationship with, Taiwan remains aligned against the current threat posed by the People’s Republic of China,” Lieutenant Colonel Marty Meiners, a Pentagon spokesman, said in an email. The State Department later offered the same response.

The latest development is only likely to add to the strain in USChina relations, which have become frayed in the months since President Joe Biden met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Indonesia and tried to set ties on a more stable path.

Tensions have risen since the US identified, and then shot down, what it says was a Chinese spy balloon that crossed the US mainland. China denounced the action against what it says was a wayward weather balloon.

The balloon journey led to Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponing a planned trip to China for long-awaited meetings. And when the top US diplomat met his counterpart Wang Yi in Germany, the two traded barbs over everything from the balloon

The World

and Taiwan to North Korea and potential Chinese support for Russia’s war in Ukraine.

There’s also a lack of top-level military-to-military communications between the two sides. In early February, shortly after shooting down the balloon, the Chinese declined a request from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to speak to his Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe.

At the same time, the Biden administration is under pressure from US lawmakers of both parties to bolster US arms and aid to counter a potential future effort by China to seize Taiwan, which China claims.

In a statement on Wednesday, Republican Representative Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin, who chairs the House’s new select committee on China, said he came back from a visit to Taiwan “even more convinced that the time to arm Taiwan to the teeth was yesterday.”

US military support for Taiwan—including billions in arms sales for advanced weapons—is a constant source of tension between Washington and Beijing. This month, China hit Lockheed Martin Corp. and a subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies Corp. with sanctions and fines for arms sales to Taiwan—moves analysts consider largely symbolic given those units sell little or nothing to China.

The Chinese embassy in Washington didn’t immediately reply to emailed questions. Taiwan’s Presidential Office spokeswoman Kolas Yotaka declined to comment on the issue Friday.

Bloomberg News

China calls for Russia-Ukraine cease-fire, start of peace talks

that China’s allegiance with Russia meant it was not a neutral mediator. “We would like to see nothing more than a just and durable peace...but we are skeptical that reports of a proposal like this will be a constructive path forward,” he said.

The plan issued Friday morning by the Foreign Ministry also urges the end of Western sanctions imposed on Russia, measures to ensure the safety of nuclear facilities, the establishment of humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians, and steps to ensure the export of grain after disruptions caused global food prices to spike.

China has claimed to be neutral in the conflict, but it has a “no limits” relationship with Russia and has refused to criticize its invasion of Ukraine, over even refer to it as such, while accusing the West of provoking the conflict and “fanning the flames” by providing Ukraine with defensive arms.

China and Russia have increasingly aligned their foreign policies to oppose the US-led liberal international order. Foreign Minister Wang Yi reaffirmed the strength of those ties when he met with Russian President

Vladimir Putin during a visit to Moscow this week.

China has also been accused by the US of possibly preparing to provide Russia with military aid, something Beijing says lacks evidence.

Given China’s positions, that throws doubt on whether its 12-point proposal has any hope of going ahead—or whether China is seen as an honest broker.

Before the proposal was released, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called it an important first step.

“I think that, in general, the fact that China started talking about peace in Ukraine, I think that it is not bad. It is important for us that all states are on our side, on the side of justice,” he said at a news conference Friday with Spain’s prime minister. State Department spokesman Ned Price said earlier Thursday that the US would reserve judgment but

Price added that the US hopes “all countries that have a relationship with Russia unlike the one that we have will use that leverage, will use that influence to push Russia meaningfully and usefully to end this brutal war of aggression. (China) is in a position to do that in ways that we just aren’t.”

The peace proposal mainly elaborated on long-held Chinese positions, including referring to the need that all countries’ “sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity be effectively guaranteed.”

It also called an end to the “Cold War mentality”—it’s standard term for what it regards as US hegemony and interference in other countries.

“A country’s security cannot be at the expense of other countries’ security, and regional security cannot be guaranteed by strengthening or even expanding military blocs,” the proposal said. “The legitimate security interests and concerns of all countries should be taken seriously and properly addressed.”

China’s global influence worries US majority–AP-NORC survey

WASHINGTON—

Just 40 percent of US adults approve of how President Joe Biden is handling relations with China, a new poll shows, with a majority anxious about Beijing’s influence as the White House finds its agenda increasingly shaped by global rivalries.

About 6 in 10 say they are gravely concerned about China, the world’s secondlargest economy after the United States, according to the survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Biden has portrayed his domestic agenda on infrastructure and computer chip development as part of a broader competition with China, arguing that the future is at stake.

Tensions with China are crackling after government officials discovered and shot down a Chinese spy balloon two weeks ago. The Biden administration has preserved tariffs on imports from China and restricted the sale of advanced computer chips to the country, angering Chinese officials who want to fuel faster economic growth.

There are additional concerns over whether China will provide some form of military support for Russia’s war in Ukraine. As the war nears its one-year mark, the poll shows that serious concern about the threat Russia poses to the US has fallen.

Concern about China now outpaces that about Russia; last year, about even percentages had named the two countries as a threat.

Biden has tried to frame relations with China as a competition with boundaries, rather than as a larger geopolitical clash.

“We seek competition, not

conflict, with China,” Biden said last week. “We’re not looking for a new Cold War... We’ll responsibly manage that competition so that it doesn’t veer into conflict.”

Approval of Biden’s foreign policy is roughly in line with views of his presidency more broadly, a possible sign that his agenda is not viewed through its individual components but larger perceptions of the President himself.

The poll found that 45 percent of US adults say they approve of Biden’s overall performance, while 54 percent disapprove. That’s similar to views of Biden in recent months. Forty-one percent praised the President in late January and 43 percent did in December.

Concern about China’s global influence as a threat to the US is similar to last year but has grown steadily in recent years from 54 percent just after Biden took office and 48 percent in January 2020.

Melvin Dunlap, 68, said Biden needed to be careful with China, given the US reliance on Chinese manufacturing. The Peyton, Colorado, resident said he believes Biden “has a good heart” and “means well,” generally approving of Biden’s approach.

“You tread cautiously,” said Dunlap, who retired from law enforcement. “You show strength, not weakness.”

Fewer adults feel as wary about Russia as they did just after its military invaded Ukraine last year.

Now, 53 percent say they’re seriously concerned about Russia, down from 64 percent in March 2022.

Michael Marchek, 33, an engineer in the Atlanta area, said Russia’s military has struggled in Ukraine, failing to

achieve its goal of taking the capital of Kyiv and sustaining steep casualties that showed a sense of disarray.

“I was more concerned about Russia before they proved they were less effective than they appeared to be on the surface,” Marchek said.

“They played their hand and they did not play their hand effectively. They have nuclear capabilities and other things, but I don’t think they’re interested in using them.”

Biden made a surprise visit to Kyiv on Monday, declaring to that country’s President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, “You remind us that freedom is priceless; it’s worth fighting for as long as it takes. And that’s how long we’re going to be with you, Mr. President, for as long as it takes.”

To Ukraine’s defense, the US has committed tanks, armored vehicles, a thousand artillery systems, more than

2 million rounds of artillery ammunition and more than 50 advanced launch rocket systems, and anti-ship and air defense systems.

While Biden views the preservation of Nato and countering Russian aggression as necessary, most US adults say it should not come at the expense of their economy. Oil, natural gas and food prices initially worsened after Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine last February, causing US inflation to hit a 40-year high in June.

Inflation has since eased, and the US and much of Europe have so far evaded recessions despite the expected damage. Russia has adapted to financial sanctions and export controls designed to erode its ability to fund the war.

Yet in a late January APNORC poll, a majority of US adults—59 percent— said limiting damage to the

China abstained Thursday when the UN General Assembly approved a nonbinding resolution that calls for Russia to end hostilities in Ukraine and withdraw its forces. It is one of 16 countries that either voted against or abstained on almost all of five previous resolutions on Ukraine.

The resolution, drafted by Ukraine in consultation with its allies, passed 141-7 with 32 abstentions, sending a strong message on the eve of the first anniversary of the invasion that appears to leave Russia more isolated than ever.

While China has not been openly critical of Moscow, it has said that the present conflict is “not something it wishes to see,” and has repeatedly said any use of nuclear weapons would be completely unacceptable, in an implied repudiation of Putin’s statement that Russia would use “all available means” to protect its territory.

“There are no winners in conflict wars,” the proposal said.

“All parties should maintain rationality and restraint...support Russia and Ukraine to meet each other, resume direct dialogue as soon as possible, gradually promote the de-escalation and relaxation of the situation, and finally reach a comprehensive ceasefire,” it said. AP

Cambodia probes possible bird flu infections in humans

American economy is more important than penalizing Russia, even if that means sanctions are less effective. The balance of opinion had been the reverse in the early months after the invasion.

The US economy remains a sensitive subject for Biden. People are generally unimpressed by the 3.4 percent unemployment rate. Nor has a seven-month decline in inflation—which is still running high—done much to assuage fears.

While economists have yet to declare a recession, respondents to the survey feel as though the economy is mired in a downturn.

Overall, the new poll shows 32 percent say the economy is in good shape. That’s a slight improvement from 24 percent in January, which was consistent with views late last year. Still, 68 percent say the economy is in bad shape, and approval of Biden’s job handling the economy has remained negative. Only 36 percent say they approve of the President on the economy, similar to last month and late last year.

“It’s basically the inflation that we’re all worried about,” said Adriana Stan, 36, a teacher in Columbia, South Carolina.

Stan bought a house in December at a 5.5 percent mortgage rate, more than double the rate during the coronavirus pandemic. The Federal Reserve has increased its own benchmark interest rates in order to push down inflation, a move that has also driven up borrowing costs for homebuyers. Stan said her grocery bills are also much higher.

“We buy the same stuff,” Stan said. “But at the end of the month I feel like I’m paying so much more.” AP

OFFICIALS in Cambodia are investigating the possibility that a dozen more people have been infected with avian influenza after an 11-yearold girl died from the disease earlier this week.

“We have to wait for more results from the investigation to see if there’s any clue, or kind of contamination or transmission,” said Or Vandine, Secretary of State and spokesperson at the Ministry of Health.

There hasn’t been any indication that the virus is spreading from person-to-person, officials said.

Or Vandine said the 12 people being tested were in close contact with the infected girl, who had been exposed to sick birds. Four have begun exhibiting signs of illness, according to reports in media outlets including the Khmer Times and the Voice of Vietnam.

More information from the country’s experts are expected in the next couple of days, Or Vandine said. The World Health Organization (WHO) is collaborating with animal health authorities, and other investigating agencies include the Ministry of Health and provincial leaders.

The potential outbreak comes as the number of cases in wild and domesticated birds have been skyrocketing around the world, with more than 60 million affected since 2022. While there hasn’t been any recent signs of human-to-human transmission, the infections in birds can be passed on to humans via direct contact.

If all 12 people in Cambodia are confirmed infected, it would be the biggest outbreak of the feared pathogen in humans since 2015, when 145 people were infected worldwide.

There’s been at least one other person diagnosed with avian inf luenza this year. A 9-year-old in girl living in a rural area of Bolivar, Ecuador, was confirmed infected in January after she was exposed to backyard poultry. She is now recovering from what has been a critical illness and none of her close contacts have been infected, WHO experts said during a February 8 briefing. Bloomberg News

Pentagon bares plan to field additional troops to Taiwan

BEIJING—China, a firm Russian ally, has called for a cease-fire between Ukraine and Moscow and the opening of peace talks as part of a 12-point proposal to end the conflict.

US President Joe Biden, right, and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands before their meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit meeting, November 14, 2022, in Nusa Dua, in Bali, Indonesia. Just 40 percent of US adults approve of how President Joe Biden is handling relations with China, a new poll shows, with a majority anxious about Beijing's influence as the White House finds its agenda increasingly shaped by global rivalries. AP/ALEX BRANDON, FILE

A12 SAturdAy, FebruAry 25, 2023

mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph

Editor: Jun Lomibao

BIANCA REIGNS SUPREME

BIANCA PAGDANGANAN—with a huge lead and a brimful of confidence—turned the final round of the rich Anvaya Cove Ladies Invitational into a victory walk by beating Thais PK Kongkraphan and Pakit Kawinpakorn by six strokes on a closing in Morong, Bataan, on Friday.

A muffed birdie putt from six feet on the 54th hole would’ve highlighted a triumphant campaign in her first tournament as a pro in the country but the slip proved just a trivial as the kind of fight her rivals had put up in hot, breezy conditions. For she was in firm control from start to finish of the final round and didn’t lose grip of the big lead—six shots over Taiwanese No. 1 and former University of Arizona teammate Ya-Chun Chang and Thai Pakin Kawinpakorn—she had built after a stirring eagle-aided 67 Thursday.

Malixi misses podium finish in Sirikit Cup

RIANNE MALIXI lost via countback in the race for individual honors while the Philippines wound up in ninth place in the team competition at the close of the 43rd Queen Sirikit Cup at the Manila Southwoods Golf and Country Club in Carmona, Cavite, on Friday.

Malixi and Yoo Hyun-jo of South

Korea finished at five-under 283 but Yoo bagged third place with her 71 against the Filipina’s 74 in the final round of the four-day tournament organized by the Women’s Golf Association of the Philippines.

I ndia’s Avani Prashanth submitted a four-under 68 at the Masters course to hoist the individual trophy and complete a wire-to-wire romp with a 272 total.

Ne w Zealand’s Fiona Xu rediscovered her short game and bagged runner-up honors with 282 after a three-under 69 Friday.

It was disappointing for Malixi who got to within three strokes off the leader at the outward nine.

She struggled with a bogey on the 11th and a triple bogey 7 on the 13th that doomed her chances. She birdied the 18th though.

If not for the countback, Rianne (Malixi) would have taken a podium ending,” team captain Katherine Anne Granada said.

K im Min-sol scored 68 and Yoo had a 71 for 139 as South Korea took home the centerpiece overall team championship with a 564 tally.

I ndia, thanks to the excellent week of Prashanth, was second with 142-569, while Japan failed to defend the crown but still wound up third with 140-573 in a tie with Indonesia.

The Philippines was ninth with 148 to 583.

L ois Kaye Go’s 74 counted as the second score in the three-to-play, two-to-count format. Mafy Singson, the third member, had a 75.

I told the girls to play solid today so we could have a decent finish,” Granada said. “They did their best and I am proud of them.”

Arcilla bags title in Escudero Cup

JOHNNY ARCILLA overwhelmed Jose Maria Pague with a stellar play that has anchored his long reign in local tennis via a 6-2, 6-0 victory to capture the Escudero Cup National Tennis Open Championship in San Pablo City Friday.

A rcilla broke his young rival in the fourth game of the opening frame, then repeated the feat in the eighth game before turning their second set duel into a virtual workout, in the process limiting Pague to only one point in his three turns on serve.

A rcilla, 43, actually needed an extra set to subdue Vicente Anasta, 6-2, 1-6, 6-2, in the semifinals but the veteran

SWP NAMED NSA OF THE YEAR

THE Samahang Weightlifting

ng Pilipinas (SWP) again booked a banner year to deserve a special recognition in the San Miguel Corp.-Philippine Sportswriters Association (SMC-PSA) Annual Awards Night.

The PSA will again confer the National Sports Association (NSA) of the Year award to the SWP following its successful campaign from the Southeast Asian region all the way to the world championships anchored on Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo.

The 32-year-old Diaz-Naranjo was a class act in the 88th International Weightlifting Federation World Championships in Bogota last December with a three-gold medal sweep in the women’s 55kg class—a fitting follow up to the historic first Olympic gold medal in Tokyo in 2021.

For her back-to-back golden triumphs, the pride of Zamboanga City will be the recipient of the PSA Athlete of the Year award for the second straight time.

The SWP shared NSA of the Year honors with the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (ABAP) in 2021. The ABAP contributed two silver medals—Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam—and one bronze—Eumir Felix Marcial—at the Tokyo Olympics.

The SWP will receive the award on March 6 at the grand ballroom of the Diamond Hotel during the gala night presented by the Philippine Sports Commission and Cignal TV and supported by the Philippine Olympic Committee, Tagaytay City Mayor Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, Milo, Smart, MVP Sports Foundation, Rain or Shine, 1Pacman

Yulo out in floor exercise, rings qualification round in Cottbus

By Josef Ramos

CARLOS “CALOY” YULO groped for form to crash out of the

men’s floor exercise and rings in the first leg of the International Gymnastics Federation Apparatus World Cup on Friday morning at the Lausitz Arena in Cottbus, Germany.

The Tokyo Olympian Yulo had a 13.400 score to finish in 18th place in the 52-athlete floor exercise, a frustrating performance that extended to the rings where he salvaged 13th place on 13.833 points in a field of 47 gymnasts.

Gymnastics Association of the Philippines President Cynthia Carrion-

Davis Cupper and 10-time Philippine Columbian Association champion got his second win in the final and clobbered the second-ranked Pague. Prague also struggled past Charles Kinaadman, 6-1, 0-6, 6-4, in their semifinal in the Group A tournament that marked return of the Don Arsenio Escudero Sr. Cup after a long absence on the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala (PPS-PEPP) calendar. A rcilla has stayed in top form through the years, winning five

But more than the romp worth $18,000, the former Ladies Professional Golfers Association (LPGA) Tour campaigner somewhat considered her victory as a big first step for the long trek back to the world’s premier ladies circuit.

CARL ALMARIO and Jufil Sato fired eight-over par 80s worth 46 points each on Friday, enough for Cebu Country Club to stay atop the overall race in the Philippine Airlines Seniors Interclub championship with Luisita the new pursuer just two points behind in Cebu.

A lmario, the ex-pro, and Sato saw action for the second straight round and the home bets tallied 133 for the day at Club Filipino in Danao for 423 overall, 33 points

Rep. Mikee Romero, Philippine Basketball Association, OKBet International Container Terminal Services Inc. and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.

The weightlifting association led by its president Monico Puentevella, however, is more than just DiazNaranjo in 2022.

Vanessa Sarno began to make her presence felt after the 18-yearold lass blew the competition away in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in women’s 71 kgs for the country’s second gold medal after Diaz-Naranjo in the 55 kgs class in Vietnam.

Two months later in Tashkent (Uzbekistan), Sarno anchored the Philippine team’s campaign in the Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships.

The Bohol native booked another sweep of the junior women’s division to lead the 15 gold medal haul by the Filipino athletes.

Artem Dolgopyat of Israel topped the qualification round for floor exercise with 14.833 points, followed by Kazakhstan’s Milad Karimi (14.600) and France’s Benjamin Osberger (14.066).

Ten athletes advanced to the final.

Norton rued the two-week vacation Yulo took in Manila before the Cottbus event affected his performance.

Coach Mune [Munehiro Kugiyama] said Caloy’s two-week vacation in Manila made him lose lose energy,” Carrion-Norton told BusinessMirror on Friday. “But there are two more events so let’s see.”

Kugiyama is Yulo’s long-time coach who steered him to a slot in the Tokyo Olympics and world championship gold medals in floor exercise and vault.

Yulo will try again in the qualification round for vault and parallel bars on Saturday.

Tokyo Olympics gold medalist

Open titles in the Palawan Pawnshop-sponsored circuit last year, including the season-ending Naga Open in Cebu last December.

H is partnership with Bryan Saarenas also produced a victory as they held off Anasta and Pague, 6-3, 7-5, to clinch the doubles diadem in the event backed by Rep. Loreto Amante, Rep. Edwin Olivarez, Rep. Sonny Lagon, Arman Santos, Converge, Mitsubishi Motors, Dunlop and Slazenger.

This victory is a big confidenceboost, makes me really excited over how the rest of the year would go,” said Pagdanganan, who dominated the $100,000 kickoff leg of this year’s Ladies Philippine Golf Tour (LPGT) and second leg of the LPGA of Taiwan Tour, emerging as the lone player to have put under-par rounds in all three days for a nine-under 207 total, including a first round 69, at one of the country’s demanding courses.

It was a tough course, especially with all the challenges. I just stayed steady throughout my whole round and focused on the smaller details of my game. I don’t know, but it took a lot of patience out there with all the best players of each country in the field, They’re all just great golfers,” said Pagdanganan, who heads back to the US Saturday to prime up for the Epson Tour start on March 3 for the Florida’s Natural Charity Classic in Winter Haven.

K ongkraphan, the eight-year LPGA veteran who seized control in the first round with a 68 but failed to match Pagdanganan’s second round charge and faltered with 75, bounced back with an eagle-spiked 70 but could only tie Kawinpakorn

at second at 213. The latter birdied the last hole to match the champion’s one-under round.

They split the combined second and third prizes worth $19,500.

Pagdanganan, the 2019 SEA Games double gold medalist, stressed the victory was a lot more meaningful.

This is my first pro event and first pro win at home. I just enjoyed the moment, the whole experience playing before a home crowd…it’s something very memorable,” she said.

She also credited her two-year stint in the LPGA one of the keys to her victory.

It’s very competitive out there (LPGA), so I guess, it helped me a lot this week. I felt I was more relaxed out there but not to the point of being complacent,” she said.

Pagdanganan checked Chang’s early charge of birdie on No. 2 with her own feat on the next and no one else threatened or made an attempt to rebound in hot, breezy conditions, enabling the former to play virtually pressure-free the rest of the way.

She dropped a shot on No. 4, birdied the par-4 11th for the third straight day then negated another bogey on No. 14 with a birdie on the next.

Thai Chorphaka Jaengkit turned in the day’s best output of 68 and rallied from joint seventh to solo fourth at 214 worth $6,000, while Chang hobbled when it mattered most, reeling from a triple-bogey on the tricky par-5 No. 10 and two bogeys against three birdies. She ended up with a 74 and tumbled to a share of fifth at 216 with compatriots Tsai-Ching Tseng and Ching Huang and Thai Kusuma Meechai, who shot 68, 69 and 71, respectively.

O rnnicha Konsunthea and fellow Thai Kornkamol Sukaree matched 71s to finish ninth and 10th with 217 and 218, respectively, in the tournament organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc., co-sanctioned by the TLPGA and hosted by the Anvaya Cove Golf and Sports Club.

Cebu CC clings to 2-point lead in PAL Seniors Interclub in Cebu

ahead of The Orchard in the lower Founders Division race but with an eye on the bigger prize as the 72-hole championship winds down at wellmanicured Alta Vista Saturday.

A ntonio San Juan’s 41 counted as the last Cebu CC score, while the Luisitans were led by the 48 of Benjie Sumulong in a third round 138.

Manila Southwoods grabbed second spot in the centerpiece division with a 134 for 416, seven behind in the overall racem after drawing 48 points from Jun Jun Plana and 46 from Joseph Tambunting.

Luisita will have a very potent roster coming out for the final day, and Jeric Hechanova, the non-playing skipper, is happy at how things turned out after the third skirmish.

“ We are happy and confident because we have a very solid team tomorrow,” Hechanova said as Chino Raymundo, ex-pro Dan Cruz, Steve McDonald and rookie Marty Ilagan come out for the final 18. “Our lineup for four days, it seems, is working.

The game plan for today was to not be left behind by that much,”

Hechanova explained.. “But we were lucky and fortunate that hwe sliced the lead of Cebu.”

Eric Deen, Nelson Yuvallos, Kyu Ok on and Jay Yuvallos, who scored

53 points on Thursday in Cebu CC’s second round 140, will come out for the final round for the Cebuanos, even as ,Southwoods will have the same four on the course.

C angolf, meanwhile, got 48 points from Abe Rosal, 41 from Zaldy Villa and 36 from Rene Unson in a 125 for 413, now 10 points behind and with a lot of load left on the shoulders of Abe Avena, Damas Wong, Mari Hechanova and Rolly Viray for the Sugar Barons’ title repeat bid.

The annual event, considered the country’s unofficial national team championship, was shelved for two years due to the coronavirus pandemic, and the 74th staging of the event is supported by platinum sponsors ABSCBN Global, Asian Journal, Airbus and NUSTAR Resort and Casino.

Gold sponsors include Radio Mindanao Network, Mastercard, MemoRieS FM 89.9 Cebu, University of Mindanao Broadcasting Network, PLDT/Smart and Konsulta MD.  Joining the event as silver sponsors are Philippine National Bank, Biocostech and VISA and the ninor sponsors are Bollore Logistics, Tanduay Brands International, and Asia Brewery while donors are Department of Tourism, Ogawa, Newport World Resorts, Rolls Royce and Boeing.

La Salle-Lipa breezes past Parañaque in PNVF U18 debut

Greece’s Eleftherios Petrounias, on the other hand, topped the qualifiers in the rings with 14,733 points, followed by Iran’s Mahdi Ahmad Kohani (14,666) and Turkey’s Adem Asil (14,633).

The Cottbus tournament is the first leg of a series of qualifiers for the Antwerp world championships, where automatic berths to the Paris 2024 Olympics are at stake.

A fter Cottbus, Germany,  Yulo will proceed to Doha (Qatar) for the March 1 to 4 second leg, then to Baku (Azerbaijan) for the March 9 to 12 third leg and finally to Cairo (Egypt) for the April 27 to 30 fourth leg. The world championships are set September 30 to October 8.

ATHREE-HOUR land travel from Batangas didn’t prevent De La Salle-Lipa from debuting with a bang—scoring a 25-17, 25-12 victory over the Parañaque Green Berets—in the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) Under-18 Championships at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum. “ We’re used to travelling two to three hours each time we go to a competition,” said Aric Uzzaiah Aguila, assistant coach of De La Salle-Lipa which is fresh off a championship run in the Southern Luzon Colleges and Universities Athletic Association [SLCUAA].

I think our [SLCUAA] championship run last week in gave

us a big boost in our first game here,” Aguila said. “The players remained aggressive and steady.”

O utside spiker Danielle Kyle Marie Aldovino was aggressive for the Lipa City team, which also drew top performances from middle spiker Vida Dominique Caringal and setter Alayna Rocafort.

“

The game was fine, but I think we have yet to play our best here,” Aldovino, 15, said.

Parañaque dropped to 1-1 wonlost in the tournament organized by the PNVF headed by Ramon “Tats” Suzara and supported by the Philippine Olympic Committee, Philippine Sports Commission, PLDT, Rebisco and Akari.

BIANCA PAGDANGANAN gets the traditional douse of water and later kisses her trophy. ROY DOMINGO

JUFIL SATO is playing consistently for Cebu Country Club.

JOHNNY ARCILLA (left) clinches another open trophy over Jose Maria Pague

DE LA SALLE-LIPA’S girls don’t show signs of fatigue despite a three-hour land travel from Batangas.

De