BusinessMirror July 10, 2023

BusinessMirror

GIR FALLS BELOW

AGAIN AS OF END-JUNE

THE country’s Gross International Reserves (GIR) dipped to below $100 billion for the second time this year, according to data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

T he BSP said the country’s GIR reached $99.77 billion by the end of June, the second lowest this year. The country’s GIR declined 1.07 percent from the $100.85 billion posted in the same period last year.

Compared to the end of May, the GIR contracted 0.81 percent. The GIR value in June also represented the third consecutive month that the GIR fell this year. “ The month-on-month decrease in the GIR level reflected mainly the National Government’s [NG] net foreign currency withdrawals from its deposits with the BSP to settle its foreign currency debt obligations and pay for its various expenditures, and downward adjustments in the value of the BSP’s gold holdings due to the decrease in the price of gold in the international market,” the BSP said.

H owever, BSP said the latest GIR level represents a more-thanadequate external liquidity buffer equivalent to 7.4 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income.

I t is also about 5.7 times the country’s short-term external debt based on original maturity and 4.1 times based on residual maturity.

T he BSP said the net international reserves refers to the difference between the GIR and reserve liabilities or short-term foreign debt and credit and loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

T he central bank noted that in principle, GIR is viewed to be adequate if it can finance at least three-months’ worth of the country’s imports of goods and payments of services and primary income.

DOF: DBP-LBP MERGER DONE IN

THE Department of Finance (DOF) sees the merger of Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) and the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) being completed within the first half of next year as the Executive branch is now doing due process for the merger.

Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said the DOF has already submitted the draft executive order (EO) for the merger to the Office of the President (OP).

T he draft EO will now undergo complete staff work, which Diokno said would be “completed soon.”

D iokno added that the merger

of the two state-run banks would also require approval by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

We feel around the fourth quarter it would be on the BSP’s [table already]. It will be approved by the BSP by the end of the year,” he told reporters in a recent press briefing.

And it will not end there. It has to go through the process. Around the middle of next year would be the full completion—that is a reasonable timeline,” he added.

D iokno said he did not want to speculate on what caused the delays of the merger, since the timeline has been moved. He

just noted that the government is “very active” and it has a lot on its plate right now, which includes the reforms on the military and uniformed personnel pension as well as the creation of the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF).

D iokno earlier announced that the EO could be issued before the end of May, with the merger being done by November.

Legal challenge

A FEW months ago, a DBP official warned that the proposed merger might be challenged before the Supreme Court by possibly affected

Debt to GDP still metric to watch, says Diokno

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

THE public should not worry about the country’s ballooning debt since it remains manageable, according to Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno, who maintained that it is the debt’s proportion to the economy that should be monitored.

D iokno said the country’s outstanding obligations would remain “sustainable” as long as the national government achieves its goal of keeping the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio between 60 percent and 61 percent by end of the year.

“ We are not really thinking of [the debt] in terms of nominal. It should be quarterly based on the debt-to-GDP ratio,” Diokno said in a recent press briefing.

“And the best way to cut that ratio is to expand your denominator which is the nominal GDP,” he added.

E arlier this month, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) reported that the national government’s outstanding debt as of end-May reached P14.096 trillion, a new record high, due to weakening of the peso and fresh borrowings both from local and foreign markets. (Related story: https:// businessmirror .com.ph/2023/07/05/endmay-phl-debt-hits-%e2percent 82percenta714t/)

stakeholders like farmers if the proposal pushes through.

D BP Chairman Dante O. Tiñga warned that the merger would be most likely “questioned” by “affected” stakeholders before the High Court if the merger between the two state-owned banks materializes through an EO.

T iñga maintained that the only way the merger could happen is through legislation, since the two banks were created by laws. (Related story: https:// businessmirror .com.ph/2023/05/26/ lbp-dbp-merger-must-be-covered-by-a-law/)

Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

Diokno explained that the country’s debt-to-GDP rose because of the Covid-19 pandemic that forced the national government to borrow more money to bankroll health and social services programs to mitigate the socioeconomic implications of the health crisis.

D iokno had earlier argued that the country’s debt-to-GDP is way better compared to other countries like the United States and Japan, which have a debt-to-GDP ratio in the vicinity of 100 percent and 300 percent, respectively. (Related story: https:// businessmirror com.ph/2023/06/30/1-year-onmarcos-administration-bravelyfaces-debt-challenges/)

DESPERATE FOR WATER Children in Barangay San Isidro, Taytay, Rizal, enjoy a respite from the scorching heat by immersing themselves in a man-made canal, unfazed by the murky waters and presence of green algae with a sewer-like odor. The prevailing El Niño, as predicted by national weather bureau PAGASA, has prompted them to seek relief in any available water source. The water level of Angat Dam currently stands at 179.99 meters, below its minimum operating level of 180 meters, as of Saturday. BERNARD TESTA

PSA: Pinoy wanderers hike spending in vacations abroad

By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo @akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror

FILIPINOS are leaving the Philippines and giving in to their wanderlust for tourist destinations abroad.

A ccording to the Philippine Tourism Satellite Accounts released by the Philippine Statistics Authority’s, outbound tourism expenditures surged by 88.6 percent to some P190 billion in 2022, from 2021’s P100.4 billion. Outbound tourism expenditures refer to the spending of Filipino visitors while traveling outside the country. It may include expenses of same-day visitors as well as overseas Filipino workers, and thus fall under “imports of goods of services” in the country’s balance of payments.

Last year’s outbound tourism expenditures were 44 percent short of the level in 2019, prior to the pandemic, which reached close to P342 billion.

In an interview, Aileen Clemente, president of Rajah Travel Corp., said the most popular holiday spot for Filipinos continues to be “Japan, still our number one. This is followed by other South-

Continued from A1

F urther, short-term debt based on residual maturity refers to outstanding external debt with

east Asian neighbors—Singapore and Bangkok. Then of course, Hong Kong.”

Tips for traveling abroad

HOWEVER , she said the vacation sports in the Western Hemisphere are not far behind. Filipinos are also traveling to “Europe, the United States, and Canada, especially given that if you have a US visa, it won’t be difficult for you to go to Canada.” Rajah Travel is the local agent for Insight Vacations, an exclusive collection of premium guided tours and cruises, a brand under the The Travel Corp. S he noted that international travel is still not back to 2019 levels in terms of the number of transactions, “but definitely way past 50 percent.” She attributed this to the continued limitation of international flights “because of the lack of pilots, crew, and planes. You really have to book very early to get good rates. Even getting visas for

original maturity of one year or less, plus principal payments on medium- and long-term loans of the public and private sectors falling due within the next 12 months.

A ccording to the BSP, the GIR

some countries takes some time,” Clemente added.

For those raring to explore the world this year, after being cooped up at home during the pandemic, the tourism leader offers the following tips: ■ Book early to get good rates;

level as of a particular period is considered adequate if it provides at least 100-percent cover for the payment of the country’s foreign liabilities, public and private, falling due within the immediate 12-month period.

■ Include contingencies in planning like secure your travel insurance; and

■ Ensure you know visa and medical requirements in places where you transit and at your final destination, and on return flights.

Unexplored places

FOR those who still have fears for health reasons, Clemente said there are new less-traveled places people might want to visit instead of the usual popular tourist sports. She cited Salina, Italy, parts of the Balkans,

Gangwon in South Korea, along with Wakayama or Kyushu in Japan as examples of less traveled places but still offering a lot of beautiful sites and fun activities in which to engage.

M eanwhile, inbound tourism expenditure expanded to P369 billion last year, a jump of over 1,200 percent from the 2021 level of some P27 billion. It was just 33 percent less than the P549 billion spent by visiting tourists in 2019. The Philippines reopened to international travelers on February 10, 2022.

A ccording to the PSA, inbound tourism expenditures ranked fifth (5.9 percent) among the country’s biggest export items in 2022, after electronic products (36 percent); business services (24 percent); other exports of goods (6.7 percent); and telecommunication, computer, and information services (6.6 percent).

T he Department of Tourism has just unveiled its enhanced tourism branding anchored on the “Love the Philippines” slogan, which Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco said the agency will keep despite the drubbing it received after showing a tourism video, which inadvertently promoted foreign destinations. (See, “DOT bid out P550-million projects for rebranding campaign,” in the BusinessMirror , July 5, 2023.)

Poe calls ‘unacceptable’

Maynilad water disruptions

SEN. Grace Poe finds “unacceptable” an announced extended waterless supply starting July 12, and has prodded the Metropolitan Waterworks and   Sewerage System (MWSS) to adopt urgent remedial action to mitigate the impact of the service interruption affecting almost 600,000 Maynilad Water Service customers. MWSS should not take this matter sitting down as these recurring service cuts will affect over half a million consumers,” said Poe, the chairperson of the Senate Committee on Public Services.

S he lamented that the Maynilad water service customers have already noticed that the period of  water supply shutdowns were “stretching for hours and getting longer,” and she complained this is “unacceptable.”

For its part, Maynilad said its customers may experience up to 9 hours of nightly water service interruptions starting July 12, blaming it on “the decreasing water level of Angat Dam.”

I n turn, the senator suggested that the MWSS determine wheth-

T he order also mandates all cities and municipalities to set up one-stop shops for construction permits, which will provide frontline services to applicants securing building permits and other related certificates.

S ubject to existing laws, rules and regulations, all covered government agencies and LGUs must implement a zero backlog policy in all applications for permits and clearances covered by EO 32, which also required them to comply with the annual submission of list of pending applications and compliance with the ARTA.

T he EO also organizes a Technical Working Group (TWG) on Telecommunications and Internet Infrastructure as an oversight body to ensure efficient implementation of the order.

T he TWG, chaired by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), will craft the EO’s implementing rules and regulations within 60 days from the effectivity of the order.  Andrea E. San Juan

POE

er water utilities like Maynilad are “adhering to their obligations based on their franchise.”

MWSS should be proactive,” Poe stressed. “It cannot be just the bearer of bad news to consumers of Maynilad’s water cuts.”

Moreover, the senator said that Maynilad should have acted urgently in investing and building its supply capacities to “avoid being caught flatfooted by increasing demand for potable water as what is happening now.”

The utility should not simply rely

“on the volume of rainfall. When there’s a water shortage, they always blame Angat Dam,” she noted. Poe also wants MWSS and the water concessionaire to tell the public of the long-term and short-term solutions to the water shortage.

T he senator reminded them that the authority granted to concessionaires to distribute water to consumers carries a serious obligation to deliver efficient service.

I n addition, she stressed anew the need to establish a Department of Water Resources to give better focus on water use, management and sources.

A s author of the enabling bill, she sought to give the new department the task of primary policy, planning, coordinating, implementing, monitoring and administration of water concerns for the executive branch.

Poe noted  that the regulatory framework for water in the country has many overlaps, and economic regulations are provided under different setups, resulting in instability and fragmentation. Butch Fernandez

National Treasurer Rosalia

V. De Leon said international credit rating agencies are “not really concerned” with the outstanding debt of the country since they saw that our “debt profile continues to be resilient.”

A factor to the country’s “resilient” debt profile, De Leon said, is the mix of the country’s debt portfolio, which is about 68 percent local and 32 percent foreign.

“Even the maturity, the average maturity of our debt, is about 7.6 years which is every manageable in terms of our repayment capacity. Even in terms of interest rates, about 88 percent is fixed rates, meaning there’s no repricing even if interest rates rise,” she added.

N onetheless, De Leon conceded that the Philippines could exceed the P14.63-trillion projected outstanding debt by the end of the year.

D espite this, Diokno remains confident the country

can meet the debt-to-GDP target this year.

It is not bad to borrow money if you are going to use the money for business, and we are using the money for infrastructure,” he said.

L atest BTr data showed that the country’s outstanding debt as of end-May stood at P14.096 trillion, P185 billion higher than the P13.911-trillion recorded debt stock in end-April.

O n a yearly basis, the country’s debt stock was P1.601 trillion higher than the P12.495-trillion debt level recorded by the country in May 2022.

T he country’s debt has grown by P676 billion since end-December 2022 when it was estimated at P13.42 trillion.

T he latest debt figure is already 96.35 percent of the anticipated P14.63-trillion outstanding debt of the national government by the end of the year.

AS outbound tourism expenditures surged 88.6 percent in 2022, inbound tourism expenditures expanded to P369 billion last year, a jump of over 1,200 percent from the 2021 level of some P27 billion. The PSA said inbound tourism expenditures ranked fifth (5.9 percent) among the country’s biggest export items in 2022.

GAME CHANGER. Photo provides a bird’s-eye view of the 29.7-kilometer LutimanGuicam-Olutanga (LGO) road, one of three core road projects under the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-assisted Improving Growth Corridors in Mindanao Road Sector Project (IGCMRSP) implemented and completed by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). The DPWH said this project in Zamboanga Sibugay Province has now contributed to the development of agribusiness, ecotourism, and logistics in the island of Olutanga and the town of Alicia. (See Story on A4) DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS AND HIGHWAYS

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

REDUCING the student-classroom ratio and instituting remedial programs for lagging students are crucial steps in improving the quality of the country’s education system in the post-lockdown era, according to the government’s think tank.

This will however require more investments, even in Metro Manila, said a Policy Note by Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) Senior Research Fellow Michael R.M. Abrigo and President Aniceto C. Orbeta Jr.

Abrigo and Orbeta said in Metro Manila, there are still 48 students per classroom while in Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), there are 54 students in a classroom. The target of the government is to bring down these numbers to 40 students per classroom.

“Despite prioritizing education in the government budget, the country’s public education spending remains below its Southeast Asian peers. In -

THERE are 18 Indigenous People (IP) groups that are composed of less than 1,000 individuals, according to the latest Census of Population and Housing (CPH).

Based on the CPH data, the Kailawan/Kaylawan have only 117 people followed by the Buhid Mangyan at 169 people.

“The categories of ethnicity were provided by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples and the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos,” PSA said.

Other IP groups with fewer than 1,000 individuals are the Kabayukan with 201; Dumagat-Tagebolus, 222; Manobo-Blit-Tasaday, 241; Talaingod, 300; Kabihug, 308; BukidnonHalowodnon, 320; and the Magkunana, 451.

The list also includes the KalingaMinanga with 508 individuals; Isneg/ Isnag, 547; Bukidnon-Tagoloanon, 571; Kaunana, 573; Lambanguian, 574; Manobo-Blit, 836; KalingaGaang, 858; Manobo-Dunggoanon, 876; and Bukidnon-Pan-Anayon, 928.

In 2020, PSA said IPs identified by National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) comprised 9.84 million or 9.1 percent of the 108.67 million household population.

“The top 10 IP groups in the Philippines accounted for about 48.3 percent of the total IPs,” PSA said.

Data showed the Subanens/Subanons ranked first with 758,499 persons accounting for 7.7 percent of the total followed by the Manobos with 644,904 persons at 6.6 percent, and

Mandayas with 523,475 persons at 5.3 percent.

The PSA also said Muslim tribes identified by the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF), including the tribes that were also identified as IPs by the NCIP, accounted for 7.11 million or 6.5 percent of the 108.67 million household population in 2020.

Among Muslim tribes, PSA said Maguindanao accounted for 2.02 million persons or 28.4 percent of the total.

They were followed by the Maranao with 1.8 million persons or 25.3 percent of the total followed by the Tausog/Tausug with 1.62 million persons at 22.7 percent; Sama/Samal, 398,666 persons or 5.6 percent; Iranun/Iraynun, 333,454 or 4.7 percent; and Yakan with 282,715 persons or 4 percent.

PSA said the remaining Muslim tribes accounted for less than two percent each.

Among the 108.67 million household population, 93.09 million or 85.7 percent were classified as nonIndigenous Peoples (non-IPs).

The remaining 15.56 million household population were IPs identified by NCIP with 8.21 million or 7.6 percent of the total; while Muslim tribes identified by the NCMF reached 5.48 million or 5 percent.

IPs and Muslim tribes identified by both NCIP and NCMF account for 1.63 million persons or 1.5 percent and foreign ethnicities with 230,917 persons or 0.2 percent. Cai U. Ordinario

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie

IN light of a larger-than-usual intrusion of about 48 Chinese vessels into Philippine waters last week, House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Joey Sarte Salceda said on Sunday he will enhance discussions on the nation’s maritime defense capabilities to know what resources are needed to ensure the Philippines is ready. He will also initiate discussions on updates on the review of the US-Philippine Mutual Defense Treaty during budget deliberations on the 2024 General Appropriations Act.

“I’m glad Secretary [Gilberto] Teodoro is now on board the administration because we have serious questions of maritime defense capabilities that need to be addressed in the 2024 budget. I will be sending in questions that I hope the DND, the National Security Adviser, and the Philippine Coast Guard can provide answers to during the budget hearings,” Salceda said in a statement.

“To the extent that discretion allows, it is in the public’s interest to know what preparations are being made to defend our territorial waters,” Salceda added.

He explained that “a fuller picture would help us understand what policy reforms are needed to bolster our defense capabilities.”

deed, in a recent analysis, countries that performed poorly in the recent PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment), such as the Philippines, have invested relatively less in schooling per person,” Abrigo at Orbeta said.

Apart from this, the two researchers said the majority of students have below-minimum proficiency levels. This means many Filipino children are lagging behind, especially after the longest lockdown in the world.

The authors said during the lockdowns, “children from richer households were also more likely to have better-quality home support through their better-educated parents and guardians.”

The challenge when it comes to quality education is compounded by the struggles before the pandemic. Abrigo and Orbeta noted that “when adjusted for performance, average schooling in the Philippines translates to only 7–8 years’ worth of schooling, or a learning gap of about 6 years.”

“A promising intervention used in other countries is ‘teaching at the

As an example, Salceda said the Ways and Means committee worked on amendments to the Official Development Assistance (ODA) Law to accommodate more foreign aid from European countries in the areas of defense.

“So, what we really need from the DND is how much it would take to get us to adequate readiness. It doesn’t matter what we can afford. We can explore different sources. What matters is how far we have gone and what steps we still need to take,” Salceda added.

The lawmaker also said he supports the acquisition of advanced defense capabilities as part of AFP modernization.

“This year, we will be acquiring USmade High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and Indian BrahMos anti-ship cruise missiles. They have lethal capacity for maritime aggression. This is one of the most underreported accomplishments of the President, and fully support him in this. We in Congress will make room in the budget and our foreign aid policy for this,” he said.

“PBBM is accomplishing many things under the radar. One of the major strides of his administration is AFP modernization. He’s able to do that because his emphasis on peacemaking and internal unity is allowing us to focus more on external

By Rene Acosta @reneacostaBM

right level’, which recognizes differences in student abilities and learning stages and provides appropriate interventions specific to the student’s current learning levels. Such interventions have been proven to be both effective and scalable,” Abrigo and Orbeta said.

Apart from these, the authors recommended leveraging technology for greater student-centered education. Content must be focused on increasing the interaction between teachers and learners as well as enabling greater learners’ control of their education, they added.

They also recommended greater private school participation in the Department of Education’s Education Service Contracting for junior high school, the Senior High School Voucher Program, and the Joint Delivery Voucher Program for Technical-Vocational-Livelihood Specialization. By expanding these programs, Abrigo and Orbeta said the government may be able to tap on a “costeffective way of addressing several extant issues on education access and quality.”

threats. Moving forward, my Committee also hopes to support with policy our capability to build ships, and a homegrown defense industry. Every decent military force has one,” he added.

Treaty review MEANWHILE, Salceda said he intends to ask the DND whether there are updates or changes to the previous administration’s policy of reviewing the PH-US mutual defense treaty, including the triggers and extent to which the US will help defend Philippine security interests.

“The US has dramatically expanded its military footprint in the Philippines, so it is important that lawmakers understand how, when, and to what extent that presence will be used. What counts as an act of aggression that the US will defend the Philippines from? I think clarity on that scale is also a deterrent to would-be aggressors. Otherwise, what’s the point of having the US here with their big guns?” he said.

“I don’t think we should be content with the US’s policy of ‘strategic ambiguity’ in Asia-Pacific. I support the reinvigorated partnership between our countries. But having more US bases here serves their security interests. It’s a fair price to ask for clarity,” Salceda added.

By Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

TO avert extreme water supply shortage, the Water Resource Management Office (WRMO), a unit under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), is pushing for a water conservation measure for the whole Metro Manila and for areas adjacent to the National Capital Region (NCR).

WRMO Bulletin 2 has instructed barangay officials and condominium and subdivision managers to advise residents to conserve water through activities that will reduce the consumption of large amounts of water, such as watering lawns and washing vehicles.

The water conservation advisory was handed down as the water level in Angat Dam, which supplies potable water to the NCR and nearby provinces, continues to drop amid an impending El Niño dry spell.

As of July 8, 2023, the water level in Angat Dam was at 179.99 meters, which is below the 180-meter minimum operating level.

When below operating levels, the allocation for irrigation will be reduced and supply for NCR and the provinces of Rizal, Cavite and Bulacan will be at the minimum volume.

As such, residents could expect lower water pressures mainly during the night and possible interruptions in certain areas serviced by MWSS.

Previous episodes of water supply shortage compel the National Water Resources Board (NWRB), an office under the DENR, to reduce water allocation for Metro Manila, resulting in massive water supply interruptions in the entire NCR and nearby provinces affecting a population of approximately 12 million water consumers.

Under MC 22, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. directed the WRMO to monitor the progress of all agencies towards conserving water through the analysis of their monthly water bills, with the aim of reducing their consumption by 10 percent.

Created last April by virtue of Executive Order 22, the WRMO is mandated to ensure the availability and sustainable management of water resources in the country.

WRMO Bulletin 1 was earlier issued pursuant to MC 22 signed by Marcos mandated all government agencies and instrumentalities to strictly implement water conservation measures to prevent a water crisis amid a looming El Niño phenomenon.

In its latest WRMO Bulletin, the water resource body encouraged residents to practice rainwater collection for non-potable use of water and to reuse laundry and dishwashing wastewater for watering plants.

viding modern equipment alone,” the President said.

CLARK FREEPORT—The government’s premier planning body cited the role of this Freeport in driving Central Luzon’s progress.

The significance of this Freeport was underscored during the hybrid event, “Clark in Action: The Role of Clark Freeport Zone in the Socioeconomic Transformation of Central Luzon,” held at the Clark Visitors Center on July 4.

Co-organized by the Clark Development Corp. (CDC) and NEDA Regional Office 3 (NEDA RO 3), the event served as a platform to highlight the Freeport Zone’s vital and dynamic contributions to the region’s overall progress. During the event, Jose Miguel de la Rosa, CDC vice-president for Administration emphasized the importance of development to the region’s development. He called for the support of locators in aligning with the national government’s efforts to achieve holistic development.

“Now is the time for our locators to understand the national government’s efforts to ensure national and

local development,” de la Rosa said.

During the event, Evelyn NacarioCastro, NEDA RO 3 assistant regional director lauded the Freeport Zone for its significant role in economic development. She recognized its contribution to job creation, investment attraction, and increased regional trade and revenue.

“Clark is the arrowhead in terms of economic development. The unemployment in the region [Central Luzon) is at 5 percent, that means on the 95 percent, you have a major contribution on that and of course on investments, the trade that are coming in and even your contribution to national coffers,” Castro said.

“So, you are that arrowhead. Not only for the region but also nationally. You have a big role to play in that you are generators and key players on jobs and investments that are here generating more revenues for the country,” Castro added.

“You serve as the model for smart development. You are also serving as the showcase for the kind of development we want to have,” she furthered.

For her part, Nerissa T. Esguerra, Regional Director of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), discussed the key components of the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) and the Central Luzon Regional Development Plan (CLRDP) for the years 2023 to 2028.

“With Metro Clark identified as a strategic growth area in the Central Luzon Regional Physical Framework Plan 2020-2024, Clark Freeport Zone will prime itself as a sustainable and industrial zone with world-class international connectivity,” Esguerra said.

“Central Luzon must continue to harness its export and investment potential. Its wealth of resources, pool of skilled human capital, infrastructure development, and presence of special economic zones make the region a haven for export processing and investment,” Esguerra underlined in her presentation.

The event gathered 77 locator companies and 35 CDC employees, representing a diverse range of stakeholders in the region’s progress.

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said the administration’s commitment to the modernization of the military extends beyond the acquisition of modern assets and equipment as it also includes the further improvement of the capability as well as the morale and welfare of soldiers.

The Commander-in-Chief underscored this during his address of the 106 graduates of the Officer Candidate Course (OCC) “GAIGMAT” Class 58-2023 held over the weekend at the headquarters of the Philippine Army at Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City.

Addressing the newly-minted Army junior officers, Marcos said that aside from equipping the military, his administration is also focused in providing the soldiers with necessary skills and knowledge “to excel and overcome current and pressing threats.”

“Be assured that the government’s dedication to your advancement and welfare goes beyond pro -

“We continue to prioritize retooling and retraining to arm you with intellectual fortitude, tactical prowess, and strategic acumen to thrive on the modern battlefield,” he added.

Marcos is the first President to lead the OCC graduation rites which was also attended by Department of National Defense Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro Jr., the Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Andres C. Centino, Army Commanding General Lt. Gen. Romeo S. Brawner Jr. and Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) commander Maj. Gen. Luis Rex D. Bergante.

The President said that he has already instructed leaders of the military to ensure that the AFP modernization is on schedule as he imparted his knowledge to new generation of military professionals.

“Let patriotism permeate every fiber of your being, empowering you to navigate the complexities of the field with heightened awareness and true mastery of your craft,” Marcos said.

Meanwhile, the WRMO has directed all local government units in the NCR to fast-track the approval of pipe repairs of water concessionaires Manila Water and Maynilad.

“As we prepare for even drier conditions due to El Niño, it is, more than ever, important to conserve water in order to prevent massive water interruptions later this year,” the WRMO Bulletin No 2 said.

The water body shall conduct spot inspections of office buildings for “unwarranted use of water,” leaks and faulty bathroom fixtures. The team will ensure that WRMO Bulletin 1 and WRMO Bulletin 2 are posted in offices accordingly.

The WRMO said that together with the Metropolitan Water and Sewerage System (MWSS), it will review the monthly water bills of all government facilities in accordance with MC 22. Notices on excessive use of water shall be issued, it added.

The office also advised the public to report leaks along streets to the MWSS or to water service providers. Leaks within compounds and which may need major repairs may be reported to the DENR-WRMO.

‘Lower student-classroom ratio, remedials for laggards are crucial education reforms’

18 PHL IP groups have fewer than 1K individuals–census

Govt urges water conservation as El Niño impacts Angat dam

Clark Freeport ‘arrowhead of progress’, ‘model for development’–NEDA

Amid a new swarm of Chinese vessels, solon seeks security focus in GAA ‘24

Modernization includes soldiers’ morale, welfare–Pres. Marcos

OFWs in Hong Kong spend less for investment–study

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

FILIPINO migrant workers in Hong Kong spend more of their remittances for social and religious obligations and ceremonies than investing in businesses or availing insurance, according to a new study.

A 5-year comparative study regarding the remittances from Filipino and Indonesian migrant workers in Hong Kong showed how migrant workers use the remittances they send back home.

The research titled “Lives of Migrant Remittances” was conducted by the University of Alberta, KABAR BUMI Indonesia, PILAR HK, Indonesian Migrant Workers Union HK at Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants (APMM) and Migrante Philippines with the aim of “highlighting” the “invisible labor” of sending and managing remittances.

The study showed that 16.4 percent of remittances sent by Filipino and Indonesian migrant workers were used for social and religious obligations and ceremonies.

The study did not provide any con -

NGO to sell rice worth

₧38

per kilo

By Raadee S. Sausa @raadeeboy

AS part of support to the government’s affordable rice program in the market, a non-government organization (NGO) will start selling rice worth P38 per kilo, a convenor said over the weekend.

The Philippine Rice Industry Stakeholders’ Movement (Prism) said the “Tulong sa Bayan, Bigas para sa Mamamayan,” will start on July 10.

Prism Lead Convenor Rowena

D. Sadicon said the program will be implemented nationwide to help consumers have access to affordable and quality rice.

As of now, prices of rice in the market start at P40 per kilo, Prism said.

The rice that will be sold by the NGO will be of good quality as it is classified as well-milled rice, according to Sadicon.

“The price of rice in the market is really high, so we are giving a way now, we have discussed a solution with our stakeholders, how can we cross it so that somehow there is still P38 to buy,” Sadicon said.

For his part, Orlando C. Manuntag, national spokesman of the Grains Retailers’ Confederation (Grecon) said the program will run only until the end of the lean season which will be in October as the harvest season for the first rice cropping begins.

“At P38, this is our subsidy, and we want to extend it until we have harvest time in October,” he said.

“So this is not sustainable throughout the season, we will provide that, it depends on supply and demand and how much we price rice in each province as per harvest season,” Manuntag added.

Meanwhile, Sadicon said, the group is still finalizing the areas where they will sell rice starting Monday.

She said, they would partner with the Department of Agriculture’s Kadiwa program and other selling channels like rice mills, rice traders, barangays, and the local government units chosen by the participating stakeholders.

In Bulacan, the group is planning to implement the program through a rice caravan to reach depressed areas which is the main target of the program.

Prism is composed of various stakeholders including seed growers, farmers, millers, traders, importers and retailers.

The group was officially formed in 2019 and part of their advocacy is to ensure an affordable supply of rice during the lean season when prices of rice usually increase.

text or explanation behind the figure. But the study’s data showed that the amount of remittances being spent for social and religious obligations and ceremonies were higher than the amount that migrant workers use for business investment and insurance.

The study indicated that only 5.8 percent of the surveyed Filipino and Indonesian migrant workers in Hong Kong sent remittances for business investment while 8.3 percent said they sent money back home to avail insurance.

“Although fostering business investment is purported by the proponents of the migration and development paradigm as among the benefits of remittances, only 5.8 percent of our survey takers indicated that they send remittances for this purpose,” the study read.

Worse, the study showed that business investment is not among the top 10 reported first, second, and third priority expenses of both Hongkongbased Filipino and Indonesian migrant workers.

The study also indicated that about

23.7 percent of the respondents sent remittances to pay their loans. The top identified use of financial remittances were food at 81.3 percent, tuition and school fees at 70.9 percent and housing and repair at 40.6 percent, according to the study.

In terms of priority uses, the payment of school fees and tuition was identified as the top of most important uses, the study added.

“In several of our conversations with civil society and government representatives, we repeatedly heard that migrant parents’ motivation to work abroad is to send their children to a good school,” it said.

“Supporting attainment of literacy as a pathway to a better life is the same explanation we heard from unmarried and migrants without children who have taken up or were given the responsibility of financing their siblings’ education,” it added.

The study surveyed 1,020 Filipino and Indonesian migrant workers in Hong Kong complemented by focus group discussions and key informant interviews with 192 migrant workers,

returned migrant workers, migrant family members, industry personnel, and policy makers in Hong Kong as well as three communities in the Philippines and Indonesia.

The study disclosed that the median amount of monthly remittances sent by the survey respondents was at HK$2,500 (roughly P17,700) or about US$322 (about P17,800).

“Our results revealed that the production of migrant remittances requires immense physical, affective, and emotional work and often additional input from family and friends. Additionally, it requires sophisticated knowledge to navigate the remittance landscape,” it said.

“Decisions about where and how to send remittances are not individual but involve employers, recipients, the private sector who support various modalities of remittance channels and set exchange rates and fees, and home countries who may invest in infrastructure required to support remittance and banking options, and who regulate recruitment agencies, among other issues,” it added.

Govt mulls over waiving fees for OECs

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has directed the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) and other agencies to explore the possibility of making the application for Overseas Employment Certifications (OEC) free of charge, the Presidential Communications Office said on Sunday.

The PCO, in a statement, said the President issued the directive during a meeting with officials of the DMW, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) in Malacañan Palace, where the migrant agency presented the DMW Mobile App. DMW Secretary Maria Susana “Toots” Ople said they are just waiting for the approval of the DICT for the official launch of the “DMW Mobile App” to ensure its cybersecurity features.

“We are just waiting for the green light from DICT so we can be sure of the app’s cybersecurity features. After that, hopefully within the week he will be launched,” Ople said, referring to the “DMW Mobile App.”

Ople said the President was exuberant over the mobile application as it is a simple yet effective digital solution to problems encountered by the OFWs when processing their OECs.

“His [the President] only order is for the department to ensure that our migrant workers, our OFWs, do not pay anything for using the mobile app, and downloading and getting the OFW Pass,” Ople added.

Marcos earlier directed the DMW and the DICT during his 2022 State of the Nation Address (SONA) to automate the verification of contracts, and issue OECs that can be stored on smartphones.

In response to the President’s directive, the DMW developed the DMW Mobile App that aims to “make an overseas Filipino workers [OFW]journey easier.”

Ople said the mobile application is for free as the government’s way of honoring the country’s “modern-day heroes.”

The DMW app contains the OFW Pass, a digital and secure version of the OEC, which serves as the digital identity of OFWs.

After a 2-month to 3-month transition period upon activation, the OFW Pass will completely replace the OEC.

The OFW Pass and OEC have significant differences. The OFW Pass, for instance, is QR-code generated and can be acquired only through the App, while the OEC requires onsite processing with a PhP100 charge.

The OFW Pass is valid until the expiration of the OFW’s work contract, while the OEC only lasts for 60 days.

Those who can avail of OFW Pass include the following: first-time OFWs; “Balik Manggagawa” OFWs or OFWs going to the Philippines temporarily but will be returning to the same employer; and, OFWs who have transferred to a different employer or whose contracts need to be registered and verified by the Office of the Labor Attaché.

To disseminate the app, the DMW established the “OFW Pass Teacher,” a volunteer system where registered OFWs will be given relevant materials to teach other OFWs how to utilize the app.

The DICT will test the cybersecurity features of the App and report its findings to the DMW before its public release.

The agency is also expected to integrate its Mobile App with the BI’s eTravel and e-Gate systems, and eventually link it to DICT’s “eGov PH Super App.”

DPWH Mindanao road sector project brings game-changing devt in Zamboanga Sibugay

AKEY and long-awaited road project of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in Zamboanga Sibugay Province has now contributed to the development of agribusiness, ecotourism, and logistics in the island of Olutanga and the town of Alicia.

According to Senior Undersecretary Emil K. Sadain, in-charge of DPWH infrastructure flagship projects under “Build Better More” program, the once horrendous travel experienced about decades ago because of the deep muddy road is now a thing of the past with the concrete paving of a highway known as Lutiman-GuicamOlutanga (LGO) road.

The 29.7-kilometer LGO road, one of the three core road projects under the Asian Development Bank (ADB)assisted Improving Growth Corridors in Mindanao Road Sector Project (IGCMRSP) implemented and completed by the DPWH through its Unified Project Management Office (UPMO)-Roads Management Cluster II (Multilateral), is a game changer for the socioeconomic growth and development of Alicia and Olutanga Island.

In his report to Secretary Manuel M. Bonoan following an ocular inspection on July 7 to July 8, 2023, Sadain said that the construction of an interisland Guicam

Bridge—a separate, non-core component of IGCMRSP connected with the LGO road— is 43 percent completed to date and target for completion by 2024.

With an entire project length of 1.21 kilometers, the bridge project to link Barangay Guicam, Alicia to Barangay Hula-Hula, Mabuhay crossing the Canaliso Strait will serve as transport and economic connector between the three municipalities of the Olutanga Island which include Olutanga, Talusan, and Mabuhay and mainland municipality of Alicia toward other towns of Zamboanga Sibugay.

The project’s long-term impact will help sustain peace and security in the island, as well as harness the socioeconomic opportunities and growth of the communities.

Oluntanga Island has a vast tourism and agro-fishery potential with its long coastline of beaches, snorkeling and diving sites, production of high-value aqua and fisheries products, especially the fish cage farming of “Lapulapu,” dried fish-making and seaweed industry.

The P25.257-billion IGCMRSP finance with a P19.080-billion loan by the Asian Development Bank and P6.117 billion from the Government of the Philippines, is composed of eight subprojects with

AMEMBER of the House Committee

on Ecology said last Sunday that an initial batch of 3,457 victims from the fisheries sector have so far filed a combined P114 million in financial compensation claims for the economic losses they suffered due to the MT Princess Empress oil spill. Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny T. Pimentel said through a statement that these estimated figures from the International Oil Pollution Compensation Funds or (IOPC Funds) are “very preliminary.”

“Additional claims from the capture fishery alone have probably been submitted by now, but have not been aggregated and reported yet,” Pimentel said.

“We understand that the IOPC Funds are now managing the civil liability claims with respect to the oil pollution damage caused by the incident,” Pimentel said.

According to Pimentel, the Philippine Coast Guard and other government agencies involved are also expected to file their respective claims for costs incurred in cleanup operations, preventive measures and sea response.

Beach resorts, tour boat operators and other tourism service providers hit by the oil spill are also expected to file claims, added Pimentel.

By Lenie Lectura @llectura

THE Department of Energy (DOE) expects the hydro power plants to run at below capacity generation this year after the state weather bureau declared the start of the El Niño phenomenon.

“Based on Pagasa’s El Niño forecast, the hydro power plants’ deration could be at 50 percent starting July up to 70 percent by the end of this year,” said DOE Undersecretary Rowena Cristina L. Guevarra.

As such, the DOE official said there could be yellow alert warnings on the third week of July and possibly three weeks in August. However, there are no expected red alert warnings due to hydro power plant deration for the rest of the year.

A yellow alert means thin power reserve while a red alert status is issued when power supply is insufficient to meet consumer demand and the transmission grid’s regulating requirement.

The DOE is closely monitoring the

The 508-ton MT Princess Empress sank on February 28 in the Tablas Strait and discharging up to 5,600 barrels (900,000 liters) of highly toxic industrial fuel oil into the waters of Oriental Mindoro, Batangas, Antique and Palawan.

Fishing and swimming bans were imposed for an extended period in the areas hit hardest by the spill, thus adversely affecting communities dependent on seafood harvesting and tourism activities.

The London-based IOPC Funds pay compensation to those who have suffered pollution damage from spills of persistent oil from tankers in a member state, such as the Philippines.

Claimants may be individuals, partnerships, companies, private organizations, or public bodies, including states or local authorities.

Compensable claims include property damage, costs of cleanup activities at sea and on shore, economic losses by fisherfolk and seafood vendors, or those engaged in mariculture, economic losses in the tourism sector and costs for reinstatement of the environment.

The IOPC Funds work with The Shipowners’ Club—a mutual insurance association based in Luxembourg—to settle claims.

280-megawatt (MW) Angat plant, 720MW Kalayaan, 345MW Magat, and 435MW San Roque at 435 MW.

Based on DOE’s monitoring, Guevarra said the El Niño phenomenon will not have a major impact on the country’s power supply because the projected demand could be reduced by about 300MW to 500MW. “Nakitanamannatinnaparangsataong ito hindi natin na-reach ‘yung projected demand. Ibigsabihin,mababa‘yungdemand natin by about 300-500 megawatts. Dahil doon hindi namin nakikita na magiging major problem for this year itongatingmga hydroelectric power,” she said.

[We have seen that this year it seems we’re not reaching projected demand. That means our demand is low by about 300-500 megawatts. Because of that we don’t see hydroelectric power to be a major problem this year].

Nonetheless, she added, partly in Filipino, that based on the power outlook, there could be four yellow alerts because of El Niño.

DTI chief prods German gas firm

Messer Grp to set up PHL plant

By Andrea E. San Juan @andreasanjuan

TRADE Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual has encouraged Messer Group, a Germany-based industrial gas manufacturing company, to consider establishing an industrial manufacturing plant in the Philippines, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) announced over the weekend.

people in Germany and in over 100 locations globally.

“The company manufactures industrial gases like oxygen, nitrogen, argon, hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, shielding gases, and gases for medical use,” the DTI said.

portland concrete cement paving of roads of about 151.05 kilometers and construction of 31 bridges—with a total length 2,132.62 meters all located in Zamboanga Peninsula. There are also three bridges with a total gross length of 1,790 lineal meters located in the island province of Tawi-Tawi.

Senior Undersecretary Sadain, along with UPMO Project Directors Sharif Madsmo H. Hasim and Benjamin A. Bautista, Stakeholders Relations Service Director Randy R. Del Rosario, and Project Manager Emmanuel M. Supe also inspected the completed 24-kilometer Alicia-Malangas Road with eight bridges and 17.93-kilometer Siay-Gapol Road with two ongoing bridges located in Zamboanga Sibugay Province; and the ongoing 24.52-kilometer R.T. Lim-Siocon Road with eight bridges connecting the provinces of Zamboanga Sibugay and Zamboanga del Norte.

The DPWH UPMO-Roads Management Cluster II (Multilateral) headed by Project Director Hasim has already completed 122.07 kilometers of paved roads equivalent to 81 percent and 11 out of 34 bridges.

By end of December 2023, DPWH targets to have total paved roads of 143.12 kilometers and complete eight more bridges.

Pascual emphasized that setting up an industrial manufacturing plant in the country “will provide high-quality and better-paying jobs for Filipinos,” according to DTI.

Pascual held a virtual meeting with Stefan Messer, the CEO of Messer Group, to discuss the firm’s interest in supplying industrial gas requirements in the Philippines, said the DTI.

This would be viewed in light of the objective of meeting the country’s growing demands, particularly in the steel and electronics sectors.

Messer Group is a privately-owned specialist for industrial, medical and specialty gases. Its “Gases for Life” products are used in industry, in environmental protection, in medicine, in the food industry, in welding and cutting technology, in 3D printing, construction, and in research and science, its website noted.

As a global player, the firm offers its sustainable products and services in Europe, Asia and America.

According to the DTI statement, the Messer Group has approximately €282 billion in total assets and employs 10,000

During the meeting, Pascual extended the Philippine government’s support to Messer Group by helping it in identifying an “anchor client” in the steel and electronics sectors.

The CEO of Messer Group is scheduled to visit the Philippines in September 2023 for meetings with potential anchor clients in the said sectors, DTI said.

The key government and trade officials who joined the virtual meeting alongside Pascual were Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation Inc. (SEIPI) President Danilo C. Lachica, Board of Investments (BOI) Director Evariste Cagatan, Special Trade Representative (STR) Nicanor S. Bautista, BOI Director Lanie O. Dormiendo, BOI Managing Head Ceferino S. Rodolfo and DTI Undersecretary Kim B. Lokin.

Still in Germany but in a separate meeting, Pascual visited Hasso Plattner Institute (HPI) to meet with Professor Ulrich Weinberg, Head of HPI’s School of Design Thinking, where they discussed “significant outcomes” for the future of design thinking in the Philippines.

During the meeting, DTI said HPI provided a “comprehensive briefing” to the Trade chief and the Philippine delegation to shed light on the “inner workings” of HPI and the diverse curriculum offered to both private and public sector organizations.

Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

Thousands affected by oil spill file compensation claims–solon

With El Niño, DOE sees hydro plants running at below capacity generation

• Editor: Jennifer A. Ng

‘Govt must subsidize anti-ASF vaccine drive’

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie

Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund F. Villafuerte said the assistance should be directed to backyard raisers whose farms were decimated by the fatal hog disease.

Villafuerte issued the statement after President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. himself vouched last week for a Vietnamese vaccine, which, he said, was proven in field trials to produce sufficient

antibodies against ASF and is safe for use for domestic pigs.

“The BAI [Bureau of Animal Industry] must mount a nationwide inoculation drive for domestic pigs as soon as the FDA [Food and Drug Administration] gives its go-signal for commercial use to the Avac Live vaccine, and for the government to subsidize the cost of the shots for small-scale or backyard raisers

Benchmark index of international food prices declined again in June

THE benchmark index of international food commodity prices declined again in June, led by price decreases for all major cereals and most types of vegetable oils, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reported on July 7.

The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of commonly-traded food commodities, averaged 122.3 points in June, down 1.4 percent from May and 23.4 percent from its peak in March 2022.

The FAO Cereal Price Index declined 2.1 percent from May. International coarse grain quotations in June decreased by 3.4 percent, driven mostly by increased maize supplies from ongoing harvests in Argentina and Brazil and improved output prospects in key producing areas of the United States.

International wheat prices dropped by 1.3 percent, as harvests began in the Northern Hemisphere, influenced by ample supplies and a lower export tax in the Russian Federation, along with improved conditions in the United States International rice prices declined by 1.2 percent amid subdued demand for nonIndica varieties and efforts by Pakistan to attract export sales.

The FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index declined by 2.4 percent from May, as lower world prices of palm and sunflower oils more than offset increases in quotations for soy and rapeseed oil, influenced by weather conditions in major growing regions.

The FAO Dairy Price Index declined by 0.8 percent in June, led by lower international cheese prices, even as world butter prices rose, driven by active demand for spot supplies, mainly from the Middle East.

The FAO Sugar Price Index declined by 3.2 percent, its first drop after four consecutive monthly increases, mainly triggered by good progress of the sugarcane harvest in Brazil and sluggish global import demand, particularly from China.

The FAO Meat Price Index was virtually unchanged in June, with poultry meat prices rising on the back of high import demand from East Asia amid ongoing supply challenges linked to the widespread avian influenza outbreaks. International pig meat prices also rose, while those of bovine and ovine meats dipped due to increased exportable availabilities from Oceania.

Cereal output

WORLD cereal production is predicted to hit a record high in 2023/24, according to the latest Cereal Supply and Demand Brief, also released last Friday.

FAO raised its 2023 global cereal production forecast to 2 819 million tons, indicating a 1.1 percent increase from the previous year.

The higher forecast almost entirely reflects better prospects for global wheat production, now pegged at 783.3 million tons, buoyed by improved outlooks in several countries, including Canada, Kazakhstan and Turkey. However, global wheat production is still seen falling below last season’s output by 2.3 percent.

Global coarse grain output for the year is now forecast to grow by 2.9 percent from 2022 to 1 512 million tons. Likewise, world rice production in 2023/24 is expected to rise by 1.2 percent above the 2022/23 reduced level, to 523.7 million tons.

World cereal utilization in the season ahead is expected to expand by 0.9 percent to 2 805 million tons, led by expected increased use of coarse grains, especially of maize for animal feed.

FAO raised its forecast for world cereal stocks by the close of 2023/24 seasons to 878 million tons, some 2.3 percent higher from the previous season. At this level, the global cereal stocks-to-use ratio would remain unchanged at 30.6 percent, “indicating comfortable supply prospects in the new season.”

who have endured the brunt of the ASF outbreaks,” he said.

“The government needs to declare a state of calamity in ASF-hit areas so it can look for and immediately release emergency funds to

bankroll a mass vaccination drive this year, and then set aside additional funds in next year’s General Appropriations Act [GAA] so the BAI can sustain this inoculation project in 2024.”

Marcos announced at a July 5 livestock event the completion of the initial phase of safety and efficacy trials for the anti-ASF vaccine, which, he said, was found by BAI to produce sufficient antibodies against the virus and safe for use for local hogs.

As part of his multi-pronged proposal, Villafuerte also urged the FDA to speed up its registration process for the Avac Live vaccine, so it can be available for local commercial use; and for the BAI to prepare this early by immediately requesting funds for the vaccine purchase and eventually overseeing the immunization drive in hograising areas nationwide.

An agency attached to the Department of Agriculture (DA), “the BAI needs to subsidize 100 percent, or at least half or 50 percent, the cost of the vaccine for small-scale or backyard hog raisers hit hard by the lingering killer

animal disease,” Villafuerte said.

“Many of them [backyard raisers] are believed to still be reeling from the twin impacts of ASF, which resurfaced locally in 2019, and the three-year Covid-19 pandemic, and are in no position to pay for this medical expense.”

Citing assessments by industry players, Villafuerte said that only an immunization drive can prevent more ASF-related animal deaths, reverse the low hog supply in the country, reduce imports and prevent a repeat of the escalation in market prices of pork products in 2021.

“Amid the proposed initial rollout of vaccines this year, the DBM [Department of Budget and Management] and BAI can then work on a regular budget plan that can be incorporated into next year’s GAA or national budget, so the Bureau can continue this year’s vaccination drive in 2024.”

SRA to collect clearance fee for imported refined sugar

THE Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) will collect a fee for every 50-kilogram bag of imported refined sugar that will be brought into the Philippines.

The collection of P30 for every 50-kg bag of sugar was indicated in Sugar Order (SO) 7 issued by the government last week. SO 7 authorized the importation of 150,000 metric tons (MT) of refined sugar.

“The SRA shall collect a fee of Thirty Three Pesos [P33.00] per 50-kilo bag of imported refined sugar as SRA Clearance Fee,” SO 7 read.

Based on BusinessMirror’s calculation, the latest sugar import program would yield as much as P99 million in clearance fee.

Also, SO 7 indicated that every allocation of imported refined sugar will be subject to a bond of

P750.00 per 50-kg bag.

SO 7, which was approved by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and was released by the SRA last Friday, authorized the third sugar import program for crop year 2022-2023 to ensure sufficient sugar for domestic consumption. Part the volume would also serve as sugar buffer stock.

Department of Agriculture and SRA officials led by Marcos noted that production losses due to the early start of milling in August 2022, unfavorable weather conditions and the anticipated increase in demand for sugar due to the easing of restrictions necessitated the issuance of SO 6 last February.

“Despite the release of Sugar Order 06 import program Series of 2022-2023, the further reduction of sugar production volume

for Crop Year [CY] 2022-2023 is forecasted due to early start and early end of milling, and in anticipation the possible shortfall of supply and to bridge the gap between the supply and the demand, the SRA finds it imperative to open a second import program to address the demand for CY 2022202,” SO 7 read.

The latest sugar import program is open to duly registered SRA international traders “in good standing” and participants that will comply with the documentary requirements of the government.

The SRA Board will approve the volume allocated to an eligible importer.

Those who are granted allocations under the import program are required to bring in their volumes not later than September 15, or two weeks after the start of the

Cooperatives fight poverty, says Villar

COOPERATIVES can help the government and the private sector curb poverty, according to Senator Cynthia Villar.

“Nothing can equal the help of cooperatives in the growth of a community and small business and alleviating the lives of farmers and fishermen,” said Villar during the Philippine Federation of Credit Cooperatives 11th Annual General Assembly and 2023 Educational Forum at Clark Marriott Hotel in Mabalacat, Pampanga.

The chairperson of the Senate Agriculture committee said the

Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) is the partner of the government and the private sector in creating cooperatives in the different Philippine industries.

“One of the distinct advantages of social enterprises and cooperatives is that they are more attuned and in touch with the needs of the poorer segments of the society,” she said.

“The wide geographical reach of micro small and medium enterprises including, social enterprises and cooperatives, in various regions and provinces make their impact more allencompassing.”

Biggest cocoa trade in more than a decade rattles London market

THE biggest cocoa trade in more than a decade is rattling the London exchange, bringing back memories of when a hedge fund manager known as “Chocfinger” tried to corner the market.

Two years of deficits have dramatically reduced stockpiles of the key chocolate ingredient, with a measure of supplies at its lowest in four decades. That’s left traders vulnerable to a squeeze—when they’re unable to find enough supplies to deliver to buyers as contracts expire, and are forced to buy back futures.

The rush to avoid having to deliver beans at expiration in about a week has sent cocoa for July to a premium as high as £240 pounds a ton to the next futures contract. The last time a similar trade hap -

pened in London was in 2010, when Anthony Ward, who managed Armajaro Asset Management LLP’s CC+ fund—famous among commodity traders—took one of the largest-ever deliveries of cocoa on the London exchange, a move that led to a surge in prices. The latest trades have been fueled by tight supplies after production fell short of demand for two consecutive years, driving the global stocks-to-use ratio— a measure of reserves relative to consumption—to 32.2 percent, the lowest since the 1984-85 season, according to data from the London-based International Cocoa Organization.

To make matters worse, buyers had no option but to hit the market. Many chocolate makers which stocked up during the pan -

demic fearing supply disruptions had been using up their reserves, delaying purchases while waiting for lower prices. Their strategy has backfired.

Pandemic fallout

“BUYERS have been behind in purchases,” said consultant Judy Ganes, president of J. Ganes Consulting, who has followed markets for more than 30 years. “As prices climbed and there were concerns of even higher prices, they threw in the towel to buy more.”

Chocolate makers didn’t have enough supplies, and let their futures cover run low, Ganes added. Earlier this year, commercial players held the biggest net-short position on record, meaning they were betting on lower prices, exchange data going back at least a

decade showed.

That’s all happening just as an El Niño weather pattern risks further disrupting global production, and top growers Ivory Coast and Ghana have already sold a large part of their crop for next season.

OPEC of

cocoa

IN the physical market, beans from the two countries for next season are trading at a premium of at least £40 to £60 a ton to the futures market, according to traders familiar with that matter, who asked not to be named because they are not allowed to speak to the media.

That cost comes on top of a hefty fee of $400 a ton introduced by the producers a few years ago with the aim of boosting farmer income, a cartel-like move that

She also noted that cooperatives embody the “Bayanihan” spirit.

To recognize the importance of cooperatives, she said, the Villar SIPAG since 2013 has been awarding 20 cooperatives yearly wherein the winners are given a plaque and P250,000 each.

“Through this recognition, we hope to inspire and encourage cooperatives to continue with their work to uplift the lives of their communities.”

This nationwide search for best co-ops, Villar said, is “very thorough and tedious.”

“We receive hundreds of appli -

Crop year 2023-2024.

“Thereafter, each Eligible Importer shall be given one month from actual arrival of shipment to completely distribute their allocations and submit to SRA within 30 calendar days thereafter written proof of compliance to the said actual distribution. Any imported volume of refined sugar that arrives under this sugar order shall be classified as ‘C’ [Reserve Sugar] subject to future disposition or reclassification, as SRA deems necessary,” SO 7 read.

“Eligible Importers that fail to bring in any volume of their imported refined sugar allocation or raw sugar allocation on or before September 15, 2023, may be subject to sanctions and penalties as the SRA may deem fit and proper.” Raadee S. Sausa

cations yearly, and only the best ones are chosen. We make sure that the initiatives of these community enterprises are outstanding models of good practices in income poverty reduction.”

The yearly Villar Sipag Awards aims to recognize good practices and innovations of community enterprises, which create jobs and increase household income especially in vulnerable sectors.

It also highlights outstanding initiatives of community enterprises as models of good practices in poverty reduction.

Villar spoke before 390 cooperative leaders from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, representing a total of 1.5 million co-op members nationwide.

has led to them being dubbed the OPEC of cocoa.

Cocoa supplies in Europe are already tighter than in the United States, and a fire at a Vollers Group GmbH warehouse in Amsterdam earlier this year damaged some supplies, the company said on its w ebsite.

A similar squeeze affected the New York cocoa market a few years ago, when Hershey Co. took the unusual step of directly sourcing a large amount of cocoa through the ICE Futures US exchange instead of buying beans in the physical market, allowing it to obtain cheaper supplies. Bloomberg News

THE government must subsidize the vaccination of hogs against African swine fever (ASF), which continues to threaten domestic pig production, a senior lawmaker said over the weekend.

COCOA beans at the Alba Chocolatier’s production facility in Putrajaya, Malaysia, on Wednesday, December 14, 2022. IAN TEH/BLOOMBERG

THREE-MONTH - OLD pigs stand in a pen in this file photo. DANIEL ACKER/BLOOMBERG

The World

Editor: Angel R. Calso

Zelenskyy hails soldiers from a symbolic Black Sea Island to mark 500 days of war

By Felipe Dana | The Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine—Ukrainian President Volodymyr

Zelenskyy marked the 500th day of the war Saturday by hailing the country’s soldiers in a video from a Black Sea island that became the symbol of Ukraine’s resilience in the face of the Russian invasion.

Speaking from Snake Island, Zelenskyy honored the Ukrainian soldiers who fought for the island and all other defenders of the country, saying that reclaiming control of the island “is a great proof that Ukraine will regain every bit of its territory.”

“I want to thank—from here, from this place of victory—each of our soldiers for these 500 days,” Zelenskyy said. “Thank you to everyone who fights for Ukraine!”

It was unclear when the video was filmed. Zelenskyy was returning from Turkey on Saturday.

H e announced that five commanders of the defense of the Azovstal steel plant, a grueling months-long siege early in the war, were returning on the plane with him.

T he sprawling steelworks was the last bastion of resistance as Russian forces took control of the port city of Mariupol. Its defenders became renowned among U krainians for holding out in wretched conditions in the plant’s tunnels and corridors.

Azovstal’s more than 2,000 defenders left the steelworks in mid-May 2022 and were taken into Russian captivity. The five leaders, some of whom were part of the Azov national guard regiment that Russia denounces as n eo-Nazi, were freed in a September prisoner swap and taken t o Turkey.

Under the exchange, the leaders were to remain in Turkey until the end of the war under the Turkish president’s protection. There was no immediate official explanation from Ankara or Kyiv about why they were allowed to return to Ukraine.

“The return of the leaders of the Azovites from Turkey to Ukraine is nothing more than a direct violation of the terms of the existing agreements. Moreover, in this case, the terms were violated by both the Ukrainian side and the Turkish side,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Russian forces took control of Snake Island on Feb. 24, 2022, the day Moscow launched its invasion, in the apparent hope of using it as a staging ground for an assault on Odesa, Ukraine’s biggest port and the headquarters of its navy.

The island took on legendary significance for Ukraine’s resistance, when Ukrainian troops t here reportedly received a demand from a Russian warship to s urrender or be bombed. The answer supposedly came back, “Go (expletive) yourself.”

The island’s Ukrainian defenders were captured but later freed a s part of a prisoner exchange. After the island was taken, the Ukrainian military heavily bombarded the small Russian garrison t here, forcing the Russians to pull back on June 30, 2022. The Russian retreat reduced the threat o f a seaborne Russian attack on Odesa and helped pave the way for a deal to resume Ukrainian grain exports.

“Let the freedom that all our heroes of different times wanted for Ukraine and that must be won right now be a tribute to all those who gave their lives for Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said. “We will definitely win!”

I ntense battles continued to rage Saturday in the country’s east and south as Ukrainian forces pressed their attacks against m ulti-layered Russian defenses in the initial stages of their counteroffensive.

U kraine’s interior ministry said that a Russian rocket strike on the town of Lyman killed eight civilians and wounded 13 others early Saturday. Pavlo Kyrylenko, the governor of the eastern Donetsk region, posted images show -

ing some of the dead, including a b ody lying under a bicycle and body fragments on the pavement next to a damaged vehicle, saying that “the Russian terrorists are continuing to strike civilians in Donetsk.”

Lyman is a few kilometers (miles) from the front line, where Russian troops have recently intensified fighting in the forests o f Kreminna.

The U.K. Ministry of Defense said in its latest intelligence update that the eastern town of B akhmut that was captured by the Russians in May has seen some of the most intense fighting along the front during the last week. It said that Ukrainian forces have made steady gains to both the north and south of Bakhmut, noting that “Russian defenders are highly likely struggling with poor morale, a mix of disparate units and a limited ability to find and strike Ukrainian artillery.”

Amid the fighting, Russia and Ukraine accused each other of planning to sabotage the Russiacontrolled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is Europe’s largest, fueling fears of a radiation catastrophe. Ukraine’s military intelligence claimed Saturday t hat Russian troops have planted more mines around the plant, a claim that couldn’t be independently verified.

T he head of the United Nations nuclear agency, Rafael Mariano Grossi, told The Associated Press on Friday that the International Atomic Energy Agency experts had recently gained access to more of the site, including the cooling pond and fuel storage areas, and found no mines there. Grossi said he was still pushing for access to the rooftops of reactors where Ukrainian officials accused Russia of planting explosives.

O n Saturday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was shown visiting firing ranges where volunteer soldiers are being trained, a t rip that comes two weeks after an abortive mutiny launched by mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, w hose Wagner troops marched on Moscow in a bid to oust Shoigu.

Prigozhin agreed to end the mutiny, which represented the biggest threat to Russian President Vladimir Putin in his more t han two decades in power, in exchange for an amnesty for himself a nd his troops and permission to move to Belarus. On Saturday, Russian messaging app channels ran comments by one of Wagner’s commanders, Anton Yelizarov, who said that the mercenaries had taken leave but would eventually deploy to Belarus.

Pitched battles along the front line in Ukraine are raging as NATO leaders are set to meet in Vilnius for a two-day summit next week to offer more help in modernizing Ukraine’s armed forces, create a new high-level forum for consultations and reaffirm that it will j oin their alliance one day.

By Bassem Mroue The Associated Press

BEIRUT—Russian fighter jets have “harassed” American drones over Syria for the third day in a row this week, the US military said.

Tension between Russian and US troops is not uncommon in Syria as both countries conduct patrols on the ground as well as overflights. Syria’s 12-year conflict has left half a million people dead and over 1 million wounded.

The US military said in a statement that Friday’s encounter lasted for about two hours during which three MQ-9 drones were “once again harassed” by Russian fighter aircraft while flying over Syria.

“Russian aircraft flew 18 unprofessional close passes that caused the MQ-9s to react to avoid unsafe situations,” Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich, head of US Air Forces Central Command, said in a statement.

Rear Adm. Oleg Gurinov, head of the Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria, said earlier this week that the Russian and Syrian militaries have started a six-day joint training that ends Monday.

Gurinov added in comments carried by Syrian state media earlier this week that Moscow is concerned about the flights of drones by the US-led coalition over northern Syria, calling them “systematic violations of protocols” designed to avoid clashes between the two militaries.

The first friction occurred on Wednesday morning when Russian military aircraft “engaged in unsafe and unprofessional behavior” as three US MQ-9 drones were conducting a mission against the Islamic State group, the US military said. On Thursday, the US military said Russian fighter aircraft flew “incredibly unsafe and unprofessionally” against both French and US aircraft over Syria.

The US and France are part of an international coalition fighting IS that once controlled largest parts of Syria and Iraq where the extremists declared a caliphate. Despite IS defeat in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria less than two years later, the extremists still carry out deadly attack in both countries.

On Friday, a drone attack by the US-led coalition killed a man in northern Syria who was riding a motorcycle. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said the man was an IS militant.

Russia joined Syria’s conflict in September 2015 and has since helped tip the balance of power in favor of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces. Russian warplanes still carry out attacks against the last major rebel stronghold in Syria’s northwest.

On any given day there are at least 900 US forces in Syria, along with an undisclosed number of contractors, who partner with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

“We continue to encourage Russia to return to the established norms of a professional Air Force so we can all return our focus to ensuring the enduring defeat of ISIS,” Grynkewich said, using a term to refer to IS. Gurinov, the Russian officer, warned that the increase of “uncoordinated flights” for the coalition’s drones leads to escalation and “Russia is not responsible for the safety of these flights.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center left, stands next to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew i, the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, at the Patriarchal Church of St. George in istanbul, Turkey on Saturday, July 8, 2023. Zelenskyy attended a memorial ceremony for the victims of the war in Ukraine led by Patriarch Bartholomew i AP Photo/Fr An cisco seco

Russian fighter jets harass American drones over Syria, US military says

Yellen says US-China ties on ‘surer footing’ after trip

By Viktoria Dendrinou

Dutch PM hands in resignation as govt collapses over migration

By Mike Corder The Associated Press

THE

HAGUE, Netherlands—

Dutch Prime Minister Mark

Rutte visited the king Saturday to hand in the resignation of his four-party coalition, setting the deeply divided Netherlands on track for a general election later this year.

King Willem-Alexander flew back from a family vacation in Greece to meet with Rutte, who drove to the palace in his Saab station wagon for the meeting to explain the political crisis that toppled his administration.

Rutte declined to answer reporters’ questions as he drove away from the meeting that lasted over an hour, saying the talks with the monarch were private.

Yellen’s comments were delivered at a press conference capping a four-day visit to Beijing that she’d described as a mission to revive engagement between the two largest economies. Frictions between Washington and Beijing have tumbled into a titfor-tat trade war that has seen both sides restrict exports critical to advanced technologies.

The US Treasury chief emphasized the benefits of trade with China and said she’d stressed to skeptical officials in Beijing that “diversifying” supply chains in narrow areas wasn’t the same as decoupling. “This is something I am trying to communicate and believe very strongly myself,” she said. “I think that message was received.”

While in China, Yellen held 10 hours of talks that she described as “direct, substantive and productive,” and said had brought US-China ties closer to a “surer footing.” Half of that time was spent with her counterpart vice premier He Lifeng, the first extensive exchange between the two policy chiefs since China’s new economic team was appointed. During a shorter meeting with Premier Li Qiang, she had a broader exchange on the US-China relationship.

Yellen’s task in Beijing was

By Samy Magdy

The Associated Press

CAIRO—An airstrike in a Sudanese city on Saturday killed at least 22 p eople, health authorities said, in one of the deadliest air attacks yet in the three months of f ighting between the country’s rival generals.

The assault took place in the Dar es Salaam neighborhood in Omdurman, the neighboring city of the capital, Khartoum, according to a brief statement by the health ministry. The attack wounded an unspecified number of people, it said.

The ministry posted video footage that showed dead bodies on the ground with sheets c overing them and people trying to pull the dead from the r ubble. Others attempted to help the wounded. People could be heard crying.

The attack was one of the deadliest in the fighting in urban areas of the capital and elsewhere in Sudan. The conflict pits the military against a p owerful paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces. Last month, an airstrike killed at least 17 people including 5 children in Khartoum.

T he RSF blamed the military for Saturday’s attack and o ther strikes on residential areas in Omdurman, where

a tricky one. She sought to air concerns about Chinese economic policies, while calling for greater cooperation and engagement between the two nations, especially on global challenges such as climate change and debt distress in poorer nations.

It was first a major test of a policy she outlined in April that’s geared toward defending and securing US national security without trying to hold China back economically.

During her trip, Yellen raised China’s “non-market” practices and “coercive actions” against American firms, and warned Chinese companies against providing material support for Russia’s war in Ukraine. China expressed its concerns about US sanctions and restrictive measures.

Despite those pressure points, Yellen’s overall message was for both sides to manage their rivalry with a fair set of rules. “President Biden and I do not see the relationship between the US and China through the frame of great power conflict,” she said on Sunday. “We believe the world is big enough for both of our countries to thrive.”

Yellen’s visit was part of a broader push by President Joe Biden’s administration to mend

relations with America’s main geopolitical rival, while also sending clear messages about US policy.

During her visit she met with Pan Gongsheng, who is expected to take over as governor of China’s central bank, as well as her former counterpart Liu He—a fluent English-speaking veteran of the international stage who has a rapport with Yellen.

Yellen is the second member of Biden’s cabinet to visit China in three weeks, after Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit in June. Yellen’s efforts to narrow the scope of de-risking and identify “unproblematic” trade opportunities in China contrasted with Blinken’s more combative tone. The top US diplomat said in Beijing that the US would seek to protect “our critical technologies so that they aren’t used against us.”

US Climate Envoy John Kerry is expected to visit later this month for talks on global warming, an area of mutual concern where Beijing and Washington could also find more common ground.

No final decisions

The relationship’s next test may come soon. Biden’s team is preparing an executive order

curbing US outbound investment in China that could further restrict China’s access to advanced technology.

Yellen said “no final decisions” had been reached on that action but pledged any new restrictions would be “highly targeted” toward a few sectors. “I wanted to allay their fears that we would do something that would have broad-based impacts on the Chinese economy,” she added, referring to her counterparts in Beijing.

Vice premier He warned the US on Saturday that “generalizing national security” was not conducive to economic exchanges, according to a readout published by the official Xinhua News Agency.

Treasury officials said that Yellen’s primary objective in Beijing was to build communication channels with the Chinese government’s new economic team. On Sunday, Yellen said the meetings she’d had in Beijing gave her confidence more talks could be achieved.

“We will have more frequent and regular communication and there will be benefits that come from that,” she said. With assistance from Ana Monteiro and Lucille Liu / Bloomberg

The vexed issue of reining in migration that has troubled countries across Europe for years was the final stumbling block that brought down Rutte’s government Friday night, exposing the deep ideological differences between the four parties that made up the uneasy coalition.

Now it is likely to dominate campaigning for an election that is still months away.

“We are the party that can ensure a majority to significantly restrict the flow of asylum seekers,” said Geert Wilders, leader of the antiimmigration Party for Freedom, who supported Rutte’s first minority coalition 13 years ago, but also ultimately brought it down.

Opposition parties on the left also want to make the election about tackling problems they accuse Rutte of failing to adequately address—from climate change to a chronic housing shortage and the future of the nation’s multibillion-euro agricultural sector.

Socialist Party leader Lilian Marijnissen told Dutch broadcaster NOS the collapse of Rutte’s government was “good news for the Netherlands. I think that everybody felt that this Cabinet was done. They have created more problems than they solved.”

Despite the divisions between the four parties in Rutte’s government, it will remain in power as a caretaker administration until a new coalition is formed, but will not pass major new laws.

“Given the challenges of the times, a war on this continent, nobody profits from a political crisis,” tweeted Sigrid Kaag, leader of the centrist, pro-Europe D66 party.

Rutte, the Netherlands’ longestserving premier and a veteran con -

sensus builder, appeared to be the one who was prepared to torpedo his fourth coalition government with tough demands in negotiations over how to reduce the number of migrants seeking asylum in his country. Rutte negotiated for months over a package of measures to reduce the flow of new migrants arriving in the country of nearly 18 million people. Proposals reportedly included creating two classes of asylum—a temporary one for people fleeing conflicts and a permanent one for people trying to escape persecution—and reducing the number of family members who are allowed to join asylum-seekers in the Netherlands. The idea of blocking family members was strongly opposed by minority coalition party ChristenUnie.

“I think unnecessary tension was introduced” to the talks, said Kaag. Pieter Heerma, the leader of the Christian Democrats, a coalition partner, called Rutte’s approach in the talks “almost reckless.”

The fall of the government comes just months after a new, populist profarmer party, the Farmers Citizens Movement, known by its Dutch acronym BBB, shocked the political establishment by winning provincial elections. The party is already the largest bloc in the Dutch Senate and will be a serious threat to Rutte’s People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy.

The BBB’s leader, Caroline van der Plas, said her party would dust off their campaign posters from the provincial vote and go again.

“The campaign has begun!” Van der Plas said in a tweet that showed her party’s supporters hanging flags and banners from lampposts.

fighting has raged between the warring factions, according to residents. The military has reportedly attempted to cut off a crucial supply line for the paramilitary force there.

A spokesman for the military was not immediately available for comment Saturday.

Two Omdurman residents said it was difficult to determine which side was responsible for the attack. They said t he military’s aircraft have repeatedly targeted RSF troops in t he area and the paramilitary force has used drones and antiaircraft weapons against the military.

At the time of the attack early Saturday, the military was hitting the RSF, which took people’s houses as shields, and the RSF fired anti-aircraft rounds at the attacking warplanes, said Abdel-Rahman, on e of the residents who asked to use only his first name out of concern for his safety.

“The area is like a hell... fighting around the clock and people are not able to leave,” he said.

The conflict broke out in mid-April, capping months of increasing tensions between the military, chaired by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Gen. Mohammed H amdan Dagalo. The fighting

came 18 months after the two generals led a military coup in October 2021 that toppled a Western-backed civilian transitional government.

Health Minister Haitham

Mohammed Ibrahim said in televised comments last month that the clashes have killed over 3,000 people and wounded over 6,000 others. More t han 2.9 million people have fled their homes to safer areas inside Sudan or crossed into neighboring countries, according to UN figures.

It’s a place of great terror,”

Martin Griffiths, the United Nations humanitarian chief, said of Sudan on Friday. He decried “the appalling crimes” taking place across the country and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people.

T he conflict has plunged the African country into chaos and turned Khartoum and other urban areas into battlefields.

Members of the paramilitary force have occupied people’s houses and other civilian properties since the onset of the c onflict, according to residents and activists. There were also reports of widespread destruction and looting across Khartoum and Omdurman.

S exual violence, including the rape of women and girls, has been reported in Khartoum and the western Darfur region,

which have seen some of the worst fighting in the conflict. Almost all reported cases of sexual attacks were blamed on the RSF, which hasn’t responded to repeated requests for c omment.

On Wednesday, top UN officials including Volker Türk, t he UN high commissioner for human rights, called for a “prompt, thorough, impartial and independent investigation” into the increasing reports of sexual violence against women and girls.

The Sudanese Unit for Combating Violence against Women, a government organization th at tracks sex attacks against women, said it documented 88 cases of rape related to the ongoing conflict, including 42 in Khartoum and 46 in Darfur.

T he unit, however, said the figure likely represented only 2% of the truce number of cases, which means there were a possible 4,400 cases of sexual violence since the fighting began on April 15, according to t he Save the Children charity.

“Sexual violence continues to be used as a tool to terrorize women and children in Sudan,” said Arif Noor, director of Save the Children in Sudan. “Children as young as 12 are being t argeted for their gender, for their ethnicity, for their vulnerability.”

UN refuses to retract its condemnation of Israel over Jenin military operation

By Edith M. Lederer The Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS—Israel’s United Nations ambassador called on Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to retract his condemnation of the country for its excessive use o f force in its largest military operation in two decades targeting a refugee camp in the West Bank.

UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq said the secretary-general conveyed his views on Thursday “and he stands by those views.”

Guterres, angered by the impact of the Israeli airstrikes and attack on the Jenin refugee camp, said the operation left over 100 civilians injured, uprooted thousands of residents, damaged s chools and hospitals, and disrupted water and electricity networks. He also criticized Israel for preventing the injured from getting medical care and h umanitarian workers from reaching everyone in need.

Israel’s two-day offensive meant to crack down on Palestinian militants destroyed the Jenin camp’s narrow roads and alleyways, forced thousands of people to flee their homes and killed 12 Palestinians. One Israeli soldier also was killed.

“I strongly condemn all acts of violence against civilians, including acts of t error,” Guterres told reporters.

Asked whether this condemnation applied to Israel, he replied: “It applies to all use of excessive force, and obviously in this situation, there was an e xcessive force used by Israeli forces.”

Israel’s UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan called the UN chief’s remarks “shameful, far-fetched, and completely detached from reality.” He said the Israeli military action in Jenin “focused solely on combating the murderous Palestinian terror targeting innocent Israeli civilians.”

H aq, the UN spokesperson, said Guterres “clearly condemns all of the violence that has been affecting the civilians in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, regardless of who i s the perpetrator.”

The UN Security Council discussed Israel’s military operation in Jenin behind closed doors Friday at the request of the United Arab Emirates and received a briefing from Assistant SecretaryGeneral Khaled Khiari.

Erdan sent a letter to the 15 council members and Guterres before the council meeting saying that over the past y ear, 52 Israelis were killed by Palestinians, and many attacks were carried out f rom Jenin or from the area.

“The international community and the Security Council must unconditionally condemn the latest Palestinian terror attacks and hold Palestinian leadership accountable,” he said. T he Security Council took no action.

US Treasury Secretary Janet

Yellen struck a positive but pragmatic tone after completing a high-stakes trip to China that aimed to reassure officials the US isn’t trying to hold back its biggest economic rival.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte sits in a car as he leaves Palace huis ten Bosch in the hague, Netherlands on Saturday, July 8, 2023 after he informed King Willem-Alexander that his coalition government has resigned. Rutte announced the collapse of the government Friday night and declined to answer reporters’ questions as he left. AP Photo/MichAel co rder

uS treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, center, speaks during her meeting with china’s Vice Premier he Lifeng at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on Saturday, July 8, 2023. Pedro PAr do/Pool Photo viA AP

Thorny questions to test NATO’s unity at annual summit in Vilnius

By Chris Megerian, Lorne Cook & Seung Min Kim The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues with no end in sight, NATO’s muchcelebrated unity faces fresh strains when leaders gather for their annual summit this week in Vilnius, Lithuania.

The world’s biggest security alliance is struggling to reach an agreement on admitting Sweden as its 32nd member.

Military spending by member nations still lags behind longstanding goals. And an inability to compromise over who should serve as NATO’s next leader forced an extension of the current secretary general’s term for an extra year.

Perhaps most thorny are questions over how Ukraine should be eased into the alliance. Some maintain admitting Ukraine to NATO would be the fulfillment of a promise made years ago and a necessary step to deter Russian aggression in Eastern Europe. Others are fearful it would be seen as a provocation that could spiral into an even wider conflict.

Bickering among friends is not uncommon, and the current catalogue of disputes pales in comparison to past fears that Donald Trump would turn his back on the alliance during his presidency. However, the challenges come at a moment when President Joe Biden and his counterparts are heavily invested in demonstrating harmony among members.

“Any fissure, any lack of solidarity provides an opportunity for those

who would oppose the alliance,” said Douglas Lute, who served as US ambassador to NATO under President Barack Obama.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is eager to exploit divisions as he struggles to gain ground in Ukraine and faces political challenges at home, including the aftermath of a brief revolt by the Wagner mercenary group.

“You don’t want to present any openings,” Lute said. “You don’t want to present any gaps or seams.”

By some measures, the Ukraine conflict has reinvigorated NATO, which was created at the beginning of the Cold War as a bulwark against Moscow. Members of the alliance have poured military hardware into Ukraine to help with its ongoing counteroffensive, and Finland ended a history of nonalignment to become NATO’s 31st member.

“I think it’s appropriate to look at all the success,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, said in an interview with The Associated Press. “So I think the invasion has strengthened NATO—exactly the opposite of what Putin anticipated.”

He noted Germany’s shift toward a more robust defense policy as well as

TwO men do construction work around the flags at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Thursday, July 6, 2023. As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues with no end in sight, NATO’s much-celebrated unity faces fresh strains when leaders gather for their annual summit this week in Vilnius, Lithuania. Disagreements have been stacking up over admitting Sweden as NATO’s 32nd member, boosting military spending and finding a new secretary general. AP Ph OTO/ V Irg INIA M AyO

other countries’ increase in military spending.

But the ongoing war has allowed other challenges to fester or bubble to the surface.

In particular, NATO leaders said back in 2008 that Ukraine would eventually become a member, but little action has been taken toward that goal. Putin occupied parts of the country in 2014 and then attempted to capture Kyiv in 2022, leading to the current war.

“A gray zone is a green light for Putin,” said Daniel Fried, a former US ambassador to Poland, and now a distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council.

The US and Germany insist that the focus should be supplying weapons and ammunition to help Ukraine win the current conflict, rather than taking the more provocative step of extending a formal invitation to join NATO.

However, countries on NATO’s Eastern flank—Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland—want firmer assurances on future membership.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is pushing for that as well. During a visit to Prague on Thursday,

South Korean solons berate IAEA chief over Japan’s plan to release wastewater

By Kim Tong-Hyung

The Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea—South Korean opposition lawmakers sharply criticized the head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog on Sunday for its approval of Japanese plans to release treated wastewater from the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant.

They met with Rafael Grossi in a tense meeting in Seoul that took place while protesters screamed outside the door.

Grossi, the International Atomic Energy Agency’s director general, arrived in South Korea over the weekend to engage with government officials and critics and help reduce public concerns about food safety.

The IAEA last week approved the Japanese discharge plans, saying the process would meet international safety standards and pose negligible environmental and health impacts. South Korea’s government has also endorsed the safety of the Japanese plans.

In his meeting with members of the liberal Democratic Party, which controls a majority in South Korea’s parliament, Grossi said the IAEA’s review of the Japanese plans was based on “transparent” and “scientific” research. He acknowledged concerns over how the Japanese plans would play out in reality and said the IAEA would establish a permanent office in Fukushima to closely monitor how the discharge process is implemented over the next three decades.

“Our conclusion has been that this plan, if it is carried out in the way it has been presented, would be in line, would be in conformity with the international safety standards,” Grossi said.

The lawmakers responded by harshly criticizing IAEA’s review, which they say neglected long-term environmental and health impacts of the wastewa -

ter release and threatens to set a bad precedent that may encourage other countries to dispose nuclear waste into sea. They called for Japan to scrap the discharge plans and work with neighboring countries to find safer ways to handle the wastewater, including a possible pursuit of long-term storage on land.

The party has also criticized the government of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol for putting people’s health at risk while trying to improve relations with Japan.

“If you think (the treated wastewater) is safe, I wonder whether you would be willing to suggest the Japanese government use that water for drinking or for industrial and agricultural purposes, rather than dumping it in the sea,” Woo Won-shik, a Democratic Party lawmaker who attended the meeting, told Grossi. The party said Woo has been on a hunger strike for the past 14 days to protest the Japanese discharge plans.

Further details from the meeting weren’t immediately available after reporters were asked to leave following opening statements. Closely watched by parliamentary security staff, dozens of protesters shouted near the lobby of the National Assembly’s main hall where the meeting was taking place, holding signs denouncing the IAEA and Japan.

Grossi was to fly to New Zealand later on Sunday and would then travel to the Cook Islands as he further tries to reassure countries in the region about the Japanese plans.

Hundreds of demonstrators had also marched in downtown Seoul on Saturday demanding that Japan scrap its plans.

A massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011 destroyed the Fukushima plant’s cooling systems, causing three reactors to melt and release large

amounts of radiation.

Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, which operates the facility, has been storing the treated water in hundreds of tanks that now cover most of the plant and are nearly full. Japanese officials say the tanks must be removed to make room to build facilities for the plant’s decommissioning and to minimize the risk of leaks in case of another major disaster. The tanks are expected to reach their capacity of 1.37 million tons in early 2024.

Japan first announced plans to discharge the treated water into the sea in 2018, saying the water will be further diluted by seawater before being released in a carefully controlled process that will take decades to complete.

The safety of Fukushima’s wastewater has been a sensitive issue for years between the US allies. South Korea and Japan have been working in recent months to repair relations long strained over wartime historical grievances to address shared concerns such as the North Korean nuclear threat and China’s assertive foreign policy.

In a statement released by state media on Sunday, North Korea also criticized the Japanese discharge plans, warning against “fatal adverse impact on the human lives and security and ecological environment.” The statement, which was attributed to an unidentified official in North Korea’s Ministry of Land and Environment Protection, also criticized Washington and Seoul for backing the Japanese plans.

“What matters is the unreasonable behavior of IAEA actively patronizing and facilitating Japan’s projected discharge of nuclear-polluted water, which is unimaginable,” it said. “Worse still, the US and (South) Korea openly express unseemly ‘welcome’ to Japan’s discharge plan that deserves condemnation and rejection, provoking strong anger of the public.”

Stockholm last week, and Erdogan signaled that this would pose another obstacle. He equated “those who permitted the crime” to those who perpetrated it.

Turkey and the US are also at an impasse over the sale of F-16 fighter jets. Erdogan wants the upgraded planes, but Biden says that Sweden’s NATO membership has to be dealt with first.

Sullivan said the US is confident that Sweden will join NATO “in the not-too-distant future,” but it’s unclear if the matter will be resolved during the summit.

It’s not the first time that Erdogan has used a NATO summit for Turkish gain. In 2009, he held up the nomination of Anders Fogh Rasmussen as secretary general but agreed to the move after securing some senior posts for Turkish officials at the alliance.

he said the “ideal” result of the Vilnius summit would be an invitation for his country to join the alliance.

Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, described the summit as “an important moment on that pathway toward membership” and that allies need to “discuss the reforms that are still necessary for Ukraine to come up to NATO standards.”

NATO could use the occasion to elevate its relationship with Ukraine, creating what would be known as the NATO-Ukraine Council and giving Kyiv a seat at the table for consultations.

Also in the spotlight in Vilnius will be Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the main obstacle blocking Sweden’s attempts to join NATO alongside its neighbor Finland.

Erdogan accuses Sweden of being too lenient on anti-Islamic demonstrations and militant Kurdish groups that have waged a decades-long insurgency in Turkey.

Sweden recently changed its antiterrorism legislation and lifted an arms embargo on Turkey. However, a man burned a Quran outside a mosque in

Max Bergmann, a former State Department official who leads the Europe Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said there’s growing frustration among allies toward Erdogan, building on concerns about his ties to Putin, democratic backsliding and sanctions evasion.

“They’ve tried playing nice,” Bergmann said. “The question is whether it’s time to get much more confrontational.”

Hungarian Prime Minister Vitkor Orban is also delaying his country’s approval of Sweden’s membership. In response, Sen. Jim Risch, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is blocking a $735 million US arms sale to Hungary.

“We don’t want members who aren’t interested in doing everything possible to strengthen the alliance rather than the pursuit of their own or individual interests,” he said. “I’m just sick and tired of it.”

However, Risch rejected the idea

that these disagreements are a sign of weakness within NATO.

“These are kinds of things that always arise in an alliance,” he said. “The fact that we’ve been able to deal with them and will continue to deal with them proves that this is the most successful and strongest military alliance in the history of the world.”

At least one potentially flammable item has been taken off the summit agenda. Rather than seek consensus on a new NATO leader, members agreed to extend Jens Stoltenberg’s tenure for a year. He’s h ad the job since 2014, and it’s the fourth time that his time in office has been extended.

Most wanted a woman to take the top job next, and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen had been considered a favorite candidate. However, Poland insisted that a candidate from the Baltic states should be next because there had already been two Nordic secretaries general in a row. (Stoltenberg was a Norwegian prime minister, and Rasmussen was a Danish prime minister.)

Others are skeptical of accepting a nominee from the Baltics, whose leaders tend to be more provocative in their approach to Russia, including supporting Ukraine’s desire to rapidly join NATO.

More disagreements loom over NATO’s updated plans for countering any invasion that Russia might launch on allied territory. It’s the biggest revision since the Cold War, and Skip Davis, a former NATO official who is now a senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis, said it could involve “lots of arm wrestling and card trading.” “That’s an issue that will cause tension and dissent, and that’s not what the Vilnius summit is all about,” he said. Cook reported from Brussels. Associated Press writer Sylvie Corbet in Paris contributed to this report.

Erdogan says Turkey wants 3-month extension of the safe-transit grain deal

By Baris Balci & Olesia Safronova

Turkey wants the safe-transit deal for u krainian grain exports from Black Sea ports extended for three months instead of two, said President r e cep Tayyip e r dogan.

“ I’m hopeful for an extension,” e r dogan said in Istanbul early Saturday in a joint appearance with u krainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The pair discussed the grain deal and other matters late Friday after u kraine’s leader arrived from Slovakia.

T he shipping deal is set to expire on July

17. It’s been a vital lifeline for u kraine’s agricultural exports that’s seen millions of tons of grains and other commodities exported over the past 11 months.

Turkey brokered the original deal along with the u n ited Nations. Its termination - which r u ssia has repeatedly threatened - may lift global food prices given u kraine’s importance as an exporter of grains.

r u ssia increased its criticism of the agreement during the previous extension period, saying the pact didn’t deliver sufficient food to poor African nations. Moscow recently said it sees “no grounds for further continuation” of the deal.

e r dogan also said r u ssian President Vladimir Putin will visit Turkey in August.

The whole world is interested in the functioning of the grain corridor,” Zelenskyy said, adding that the continuation of the agreement shouldn’t depend on the “wishes of one state” or “on the mood with which the president of the r u ssian Federation woke up.”

NATO path

Zele NS k yy’ S v isit to Turkey was a part of the broader diplomatic tour of NATO countries before the alliance’s summit next week, as he pursues a path for u kraine into the military alliance.

u ndou btedly, u k raine deserves NATO membership,” e r dogan said.

u S P resident Joe Biden has set a less enthusiastic tone, saying he doesn’t think u kraine is ready for membership in NATO. “A vote on u k raine by NATO members would be premature,” Biden told CNN. Bloomberg News

editorial

Creating quality jobs for Filipinos

Nearly three million Filipinos in the labor force were unemployed on June 30, 2022, when President Ferdinand r Marcos Jr. took the oath of office as the 17th president of the Philippines. af ter one year, the total number of unemployed in the country went down to a little over two million. The President attributed the drop in unemployment rate to his administration’s efforts at job creation.

Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said the Marcos administration continues to implement sound policies to ensure that the country’s macroeconomic fundamentals remain strong amid the global economic slowdown. The continued downtrend in inflation and the government’s sound fiscal position will help maintain a conducive environment that will encourage more investments and create greater employment opportunities, he said.

The President’s economic team has been conducting bilateral meetings, investor roadshows, and Philippine Economic Briefings abroad to attract foreign direct investments, increase private sector participation in strategic projects, and facilitate the creation of more, better, and green jobs, Diokno said.

To sustain the country’s recent employment gains and ensure that Filipinos can secure the jobs of the future, workers need to enroll in upskilling and lifelong learning programs, according to the National Economic and Development Authority. (Read, “Jobless rate dips to 2nd lowest in May, but Neda flags labor upskilling need,” in the BusinessMirror, July 8, 2023).

Neda Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said retooling and upskilling as well as lifelong learning programs are already being offered by both government and private education and training institutions. He cited the importance of establishing an enabling regulatory environment to improve the ease of doing business and encourage innovation, which will attract investors that have the technology and resources to bring in high-quality jobs.

The President said the government’s efforts to generate quality jobs for Filipinos is a work in progress as his administration continues to make the country businessfriendly. The initiatives being rolled out include mainstreaming digitalization in government to ensure ease of doing business as well as training and upskilling the country’s workforce. (Read, “PBBM: Creating more quality jobs for Filipinos will take some time,” in the BusinessMirror, July 8, 2023).

A recent World Economic Forum survey—Future of Jobs Report 2023—showed the expectations of the world’s largest employers related to job trends from 2023 to 2027. The report brings together the perspectives of 803 companies—collectively employing more than 11.3 million workers—across 27 industry clusters and 45 economies from all world regions.

Employers estimate that 44 percent of workers’ skills will be disrupted in the next five years, and technology adoption will remain a key driver of business transformation. Over 85 percent of organizations surveyed identify increased adoption of new and frontier technologies and broadening digital access as the trends most likely to drive transformation in their organization.

The largest employment losses are expected in administrative roles and in traditional security, factory and commerce roles. Surveyed organizations predict 26 million fewer jobs by 2027 in Record-Keeping and Administrative roles, including Cashiers and Ticket Clerks; Data Entry, Accounting, Bookkeeping and Payroll Clerks; and Administrative and Executive Secretaries, driven mainly by digitalization and automation.

Businesses predict the strongest net job-creation effect to be driven by investments that facilitate the green transition of businesses, the broader application of ESG standards and supply chains becoming more localized, albeit with job growth offset by partial job displacement. Climate change adaptation and the demographic dividend in developing and emerging economies also rate high as net job creators.

Respondents said analytical thinking and creative thinking remain the most important skills for workers in 2023. Six in 10 workers will require training before 2027, but only half of workers are seen having access to adequate training opportunities today. The highest priority for skills training from 2023-2027 is analytical thinking, which is set to account for 10 percent of training initiatives, on average.

Within technology adoption, big data, cloud computing and AI feature highly on likelihood of adoption. More than 75 percent of companies are looking to adopt these technologies in the next five years.

In line with the Marcos administration’s agenda to provide quality jobs for Filipinos, we hope that concerned authorities would consider the outlook provided in the World Economic Forum report to better prepare workers, businesses, and government agencies for the disruptions and opportunities to come. Strengthening the quality of employment in the Philippines and protecting people’s incomes will require government and business leaders to decisively shape these transformations and ensure that future investments translate into better-paying jobs for our people.

AI and the labor union

RISING SUN

WiTh the speedy development of ai language models like ChatGPT, along with automation and the proliferation of ai-powered applications and programs, traditional industries and the job market itself are facing likely disruptions. This is already being felt in many industries, not just abroad but also in the country.

Aside from the preparations that workers must do, such as upskilling and reskilling, it must not be forgotten that workers’ unions have an important role to play. In fact, they must step up their game as they are tasked with the important work of advocating for the interests of workers. Unions need to look more closely at the new issues coming up today in relation to developments in the realm of Artificial Intelligence and study

Aside from the preparations that workers must do, such as upskilling and reskilling, it must not be forgotten that workers’ unions have an important role to play. In fact, they must step up their game as they are tasked with the important work of advocating for the interests of workers.

how these affect workers and how they can represent the workers in various labor platforms.

For example, the role of AI has become an important point of contention in the negotiations between the Writers Guild of America, which is currently still on strike, and huge companies such as Disney and Netflix. In an AI-centric world of the not-so-distant future, how can unions help workers protect their livelihood? I hope that the labor

groups and our government’s labor offices have looked into this and are putting in place a system that will allow all parties to thrive in this highly advanced, new, and very different setup.

Labor unions will have to figure out new ways of addressing concerns like job security in an era of bots, fair distribution of benefits from automation, and the implications of AI systems on working conditions. What are the parameters related to the ethical use of Artificial Intelligence? How can labor unions protect workers from biases, discrimination, and unfair treatment stemming from the use of AI?

There must be ongoing discussions about the responsible and ethical use of AI among stakeholders such as employers, workers, and labor unions. It is very important for AI to be implemented in ways that respect and protect the rights of workers. Discussions like collective bargaining can also influence the creation of AI-related policies. Stakeholders must realize that involvement is key in making sure their inputs are considered. Be counted, and fight for your voice to be heard because participation is crucial during this time when all the basic and general policies are just being drafted.

As AI technologies continue to create great ripples in our lives, our workers’ unions must remain at the forefront in fighting for the welfare and rights of workers. This task can be daunting, especially during this era, but no one else can/will do it aside from the stakeholders themselves. Everyone must do his or her part in creating a bright future of work in the age of Artificial Intelligence.

The US will provide cluster bombs to Ukraine and defends the delivery of the controversial weapon

By Zeke Miller, Tara Copp & Lolita C. Baldor The Associated Press

WaShiNGTON—President Joe Biden on Friday defended what he said was a “difficult decision” to provide cluster munitions to Ukraine, a move the administration said was key to the fight and buttressed by Ukraine’s promise to use the controversial bombs carefully.

The decision comes on the eve of the Nato summit in Lithuania, where Biden is likely to face questions from allies on why the US would send a weapon into Ukraine that more than two-thirds of alliance members have banned because it has a track record for causing many civilian casualties.

“It took me a while to be convinced to do it,” said Biden in a CNN interview. He added that he ultimately took the Defense Department’s recommendation to provide the munitions and discussed the matter with allies and with lawmakers on the Hill. He said “the Ukrainians are running out of ammunition” and the cluster bombs will provide a temporary fix to help stop Russian tanks.

The move was met with divided reactions from Congress, as some Democrats criticized the plan while some Republicans backed it. It was hailed on Twitter by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who thanked Biden for “a timely, broad and much-needed defense aid package” that will “bring Ukraine closer to victory over the enemy, and democracy to victory over dictatorship.”

The munitions—which are bombs

that open in the air and release scores of smaller bomblets—are seen by the US as a way to get Kyiv critically needed ammunition to help bolster its offensive and push through Russian front lines. US leaders debated the thorny issue for months, before Biden made the final decision this week.

US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the US will send a version of the munition that has a reduced “dud rate,” meaning fewer of the smaller bomblets fail to explode. The unexploded rounds, which often litter battlefields and populated civilian areas, cause unintended deaths. US officials have said Washington will provide thousands of the rounds, but provided no specific numbers.

“We recognize the cluster munitions create a risk of civilian harm from unexploded ordnance,” Sullivan told a White House briefing. “This is why we’ve deferred the decision for as long as we could. But there is also a massive risk of civilian harm if Russian troops and tanks roll over Ukrainian positions and take more Ukrainian territory and subjugate

A convention banning the use of cluster bombs has been joined by more than 120 countries that agreed not to use, produce, transfer or stockpile the weapons and to clear them after they’ve been used. The United States, Russia and Ukraine are among those who have not signed on.

more Ukrainian civilians, because Ukraine does not have enough artillery. That is intolerable to us.”

But Marta Hurtado, speaking for the UN human rights office, said Friday “the use of such munitions should stop immediately and not be used in any place.”

UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “wants countries to abide by the terms of that convention and so as a result, of course, he does not want there to be continued use of cluster munitions on the battlefield.”

Colin Kahl, the under secretary of defense for policy, said the US will give Ukraine the most modern cluster munitions that have far lower dud rates. He said the bombs have been tested five times between 1998 and 2020, and the US is confident the rate of unexploded duds is below 2.35 percent. While he declined to say how many the US will send now, he said the US has “hundreds of thousands” of cluster munitions available for Ukraine at the low dud rate.

He said the key reason to pro-

vide the bombs is to keep Ukraine in the fight.

“Things are going a little slower than some had hoped,” Kahl said in a Pentagon briefing. “So this is to make sure that the Ukrainians have the confidence that they have what they need. But frankly, also that the Russians know that the Ukrainians are going to stay in the game.”

Kahl said the Ukrainians have provided written assurances that they will not use the munitions in urban areas that are populated by civilians and that there will be a careful accounting of where they are employed.

Questioned at length about the decision, Sullivan said the US consulted closely with allies before making the final decision, noting that even allies who have signed on to a ban of the bombs “have indicated, both privately and many of them publicly over the course of today, that they understand our decision.”

Allies “recognize the difference between Russia using its cluster munitions to attack Ukraine and Ukraine using cluster munitions to defend itself its citizens and its sovereign territory,” he said. The US “will not leave Ukraine defenseless at any point in this conflict, period.”

Still, US reaction was mixed. Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn., called the decision “unnecessary and a terrible mistake.” And Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., said the civilian risk lin-

Atty. Jose Ferdinand M. Rojas II

Is

NGCP being treated unfairly? Destruction by distraction

Siegfred Bueno Mison, Esq.

THE PATRIOT

Alfredo J. Non

DEBIT CREDIT

Part three

There is no doubt that the objective of the privatization of electric power transmission is to pass the heavy capital burden of expansion to the private sector, but at the same time, get the maximum benefit for the government. Part of that agreement was to turn over not only the operations, but also the profits thereon to the winning private sector bidder but at the same time the government retains the ownership of the assets. Therefore, while ownership was retained, the benefits of use and profits were transferred.

If the concession fee represents the present value of the expected future cash flows from transmission operations, this means that the government already received in advance the future profits (over 25 years) from transmission operations. Why do we now question the profitability of the concessionaire National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP)? Was there a mistake in the privatization? If there was none, then focus must be made on the more important issues like how to make the transmission operations responsive to the current industry needs after determining the issues to be resolved.

Let us accept it—the necessary increase in capacities cannot happen overnight. If there will be any benefit from Malampaya gas field, this will take a few more years to materialize. The current focus on renewables can provide a very low Effective Load Carrying Capacity (ELCC). A perfect plant is always available when needed and has an ELCC of 100 percent. Renewables would have an ELCC of about 30 percent because of their intermittency. This means a 1,000 MW renewable plant can be expected to contribute to capacity only 300 MW. So, the DOE’s Green Energy Program that is expected to contribute about 7,000 MW up to 2030 only translates to about 2,100 MW additional capacity by 2030. The other area not yet studied carefully is how this intermittency could affect integration with the grid and how the ancillary requirements would be acquired. Offhand, I believe that the intermittency would increase ancillary requirements – which translate to additional capacity requirements and higher electricity costs to be passed on to consumers.

An amount is considered reasonable or unreasonable in relation to various factors. Rate of return, for example, may be considered as such in relation to experience in the industry or market conditions at that time. There will be differences determined by many factors like credit worthiness, asset values, integrity of management and the financial state-

ments submitted, internal control structures, risk management practices, consultants involved and the governance structure. So, to allege that Annual Revenues and net income are unreasonable would have to be clearly determined with reference to reliable bases of comparison. The annual gross revenues, for example, has to be closely related to the Maximum Allowed Revenue each year, and the Net Income has to be closely related to the Return on Investment as one of the MAR determinants. The MAR and the ROI are evaluated by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) and subjected to public hearings and at times involve independent consultancy studies.

Let us take a look the summary below lifted from the Research Brief Energy Financial Assessment of NGCP prepared by the staff of Sen. Win Gatchalian—June 6, 2017

(Amounts in Billion Pesos).

From the above comparisons, it should be noted that the actual gross revenues reported by NGCP are quite close to the maximum allowed revenues by ERC. However, the reported net income in the NGCP financial statement is much lower than the approved return on investment by the ERC. Finally, the annual concession fee, which was assumed to be the future cash flows each year, is also higher than the actual net income reported. This means that the cash flows to NGCP that formed part of the calculation of the concession fee are not materializing. Contrary to allegations that net income is unreasonable, when compared to what was promised in the concession agreement, NGCP is receiving even less.

So, where does the unreasonableness come from?

To be continued.

Alfredo Non is a CPA by profession and a former Partner at SGV & Co. He served as Commissioner of the Energy Regulatory Commission till he completed his term in 2018. He also served as Director and Executive Officer of several private companies and a former professor in Financial Management at the Ateneo Graduate School of Business.

IN Army operations, a feint is a diversion used to distract the enemy from the main point of attack. The US Army defines a feint as a “form of attack used to deceive the enemy as to the location or time of the actual decisive operation.” The pertinent field manual further describes these distractive maneuvers as “shallow, limitedobjective attacks conducted before or during the decisive operation.” (FM 3-90).

In history, the best feint ever happened in 1944 when Allied forces during World War II deceived the Nazis by convincing the latter that the Allies wanted to invade occupied Norway and Pas de Calais in France instead of Normandy. The feint operations included the deployment of a fake army consisting of inflatable tanks and trucks and a deliberate transmission of “secret” information about troop movements for easy interception by German intelligence.

Feints are also used in sports, especially in boxing, where players try to out-fake each other before delivering a power punch. One boxing analyst said that eight-division world

boxing champion Manny Pacquiao has a very unique feinting technique since he “doesn’t only use his gloves to feint his opponents but he uses his shoulders, head, torso, and even footwork to feint.” Whether called a trick or a ruse, these kinds of maneuver are indirect means to gain the real objective or a diversion or distraction of attention away from one’s real intent. In combat or in boxing, these distractions are aimed towards the destruction of another.

Similarly in life, feints are thrown at us, which make us pay more attention to what is good instead of what is better. Some people fail to pursue the more important things in life and

By Denitsa Tsekova, Carly Wanna & Lu Wang

UP and down Wall Street, forecasters were caught flat-footed by how the first half of 2023 unfolded in financial markets. That seems to have rattled their faith in what the winning playbook for the rest of it should be. heading into the year, a handful of predictions dominated strategists’ annual outlooks. A global recession was imminent.

B onds would trounce stocks as equities re-tested bear-market lows. Central banks would soon be able to stop the aggressive rate hikes that made 2022 such a year of market misery. As growth stumbled, there’d be more pain for risky assets. But that bearish outlook was shattered as stocks rallied even as the Federal Reserve continued to ratchet up interest rates in the face of stubbornly elevated inflation. And what was supposed to be the Year of the Bond fizzled: US Treasuries have nearly wiped out their tiny gain for the year as yields test new highs and the economy remains surprisingly resilient in the face of the Fed’s monetary policy onslaught. As a result, financial soothsayers have rarely disagreed more about where markets are headed next. That’s brought into relief by forecasts for where the S&P 500 will end the year: There’s a 50 percent difference between the most bullish one from Fundstrat (which sees it rising nearly 10 percent more to 4,825), and the most bearish call from Piper Sandler (down some 27 percent to 3,225), according to those compiled by Bloomberg. The mid-year gulf hasn’t been that wide in two decades.

Some are now rescinding recommendations or pushing out the timing of their calls. JPMorgan Chase & Co. strategists recently ditched a recommended long position in fiveyear Treasuries. Those at BlackRock

enjoy life’s little pleasures. Time for work is good. Attention to family can be better. Money is always good but a good name can be better. Watching movies in Netflix is good but listening to a podcast that teaches us or inspires us to read the Bible can be better. In the Bible, the story of Martha and Mary in Luke 10:40-41 tells us how feints can distract us from what matters most. “But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me. But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details!” Martha was “distracted” by fixing dinner while “her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught.” (Luke 10:39). Such story depicts how distractions can lead us to destruction. What we do when we wake up every morning dictates whether we can fish out the “feint attacks” sent our way. On a few occasions, I succumb to these feints by checking my phone or tablet for work e-mail or Facebook posts instead of reading my Bible devotional or spending quiet time with Him. The Mary and Martha story encourages us to spend quality time with God every day, preferably the first thing we do when we wake

up in the morning and the last thing we do before we sleep at night. Indeed, time in our offices or businesses to earn money is good. Spending dedicated attention with loved ones can be just as good. But, time spent studying the Bible, praying to Him, and following the instructions given by Him is what matters most. Our preoccupation to things that are good distract us, just like a feint in military operations and in boxing matches, from the “decisive” and more important aspects of living. Each day, while we can be both, let’s be more of a Mary than a Martha. Or better yet, we can all strive to be like Jesus who responded to Martha’s query: “There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 38:41) And that thing is truly The Only One.

A former infantry and intelligence officer in the Army, Siegfred Mison showcased his servant leadership philosophy in organizations such as the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, Malcolm Law Offices, Infogix Inc., University of the East, Bureau of Immigration, and Philippine Airlines. He is a graduate of West Point in New York, Ateneo Law School, and University of Southern California. A corporate lawyer by profession, he is an inspirational teacher and a Spirit-filled writer with a mission. For questions and comments, please e-mail me at sbmison@gmail.com.

tute are among those forecasting it will end the year lower than it is now. BlackRock is betting on the AI boom, even as it continues to warn about the dangers haunting developed-market equities.

Investment Institute, who suggested a push into investment-grade bonds at the start of the year, now have a neutral view of the sector. At Bank of America Corp.—and elsewhere— the recession once expected for this year has been pushed out as growth holds up stronger than expected. Bespoke co-founder Paul Hickey was among those who weren’t caught completely off guard. In January, he offered a contrarian outlook, saying that the negative consensus among strategists meant that risk assets like stocks may be poised for a rebound. “With consensus being so bearish to kick off the year, rather than needing a positive catalyst to spark a rally, all the market needed was a lack of bad news,” he said. “Whenever we are faced with conflicting messages from the news and the markets, we always defer to the markets.”

After a 37 percent surge in the Nasdaq 100 Index this year, some strategists have revised their stockmarket targets just to account for the equity rally—even if they see modest gains, or declines, for the rest of the year. Goldman Sachs has raised an initial 4,000 year-end target for the S&P 500 to 4,500 after the bank downgraded the odds of recession. It closed just shy of 4,400 Friday. Bank of America, Barclays, BNY Mellon Investment Management, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo Investment Insti-

But even with about a third of the two-dozen strategists surveyed by Bloomberg already upgrading their targets and measures of short-term sentiment improved, big investors remain cautious. A survey by HSBC Holdings Plc of the largest 60 asset managers shows they have turned more dour on the long-term outlook, making them even more pessimistic on high-yield bonds and stocks and fueling an even stronger preference for long-duration government debt. At the same time, the average of strategists’ year-end outlooks represents a decline of around 8 percent in the S&P 500 in the last six months of 2023. That’s the most bearish second-half view since at least 1999.

“It’s premature to say that the bearish end-of-year calls are truly wrong,’’ said Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers. “Being bullish on equities in the face of the sharpest rate hikes in a generation alongside persistent quantitative tightening flies in the face of that logic.’’

From a contrarian point of view, the persisting pessimism can be framed as a good sign for risk assets, since that suggests unspent buying power that could push stocks higher when it’s plowed back into the market and bears finally give in. That’s what has happened all year, when defensively positioned investors were under pressure to chase gains.

One thing is for sure, while some bears are sticking to their guns, the few bulls from the start of the year are getting more bullish. Fundstrat’s Tom Lee, who already had the highest year-end forecast for the

S&P 500, has boosted his estimate further to 4,825. Meanwhile, Ed Yardeni, founder of his namesake research firm, who was calling for a soft landing at the end of last year, says the worst may be behind and the economy may already be accelerating. “Our ‘rolling recession’ is turning into a ‘rolling expansion,’” Yardeni said. “The pessimists were putting a lot of weight to the tightening of the monetary policy. They kept waiting for a recession and just like Godot, it just didn’t show up.”

Here’s a sampling of what some of the biggest names are telling clients: Bank of America: The bank has revised higher its target for US stocks and predicts a later and milder recession in the US.

Barclays Research: The firm has given up on their preference for bonds over stocks and sees milder economic contraction in the US. BlackRock Investment Institute: The world’s largest asset manager has just introduced a bullish call on AI while remaining cautious on developed market stocks.

BNY Mellon Investment Management: The firm is seeing higher chances of recession and higher price pressures than previously forecasted.

Citi: The bank has maintained a US stocks target that suggests losses in the second half and sees a US recession in 2024.

JPMorgan: The bank is currently forecasting weakness for equities in the second half of the year amid challenging macro backdrop.

Morgan Stanley: The bank sees the US and Europe avoiding a recession but sees no gains for US stocks through June 2024.

Wells Fargo Investment Institute: It is pushing its recession forecast later and has lowered its target range of returns for US stocks. Bloomberg

gers “often long after a conflict is over.” Meanwhile, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, backed the move, saying Ukraine needs access to weapons Russia already is using.

According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, some cluster munitions leave behind bomblets that have a high rate of failure to explode—up to 40 percent in some cases. With a claimed rate under 3 percent for the supply to Ukraine, US officials said there would be fewer

unexploded bombs left behind to harm civilians.

A convention banning the use of cluster bombs has been joined by more than 120 countries that agreed not to use, produce, transfer or stockpile the weapons and to clear them after they’ve been used. The United States, Russia and Ukraine are among those who have not signed on.

The cluster munitions are included in a new $800 million package of military aid the US will send to Ukraine. Friday’s package, drawn from Pentagon stocks, will also include Bradley and Stryker armored vehicles and an array of ammunition,

such as rounds for howitzers and the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, officials said.

Providing the cluster bombs will also ease the pressure on limited US ammunition stockpiles. The US has been taking massive amounts of 155 mm rounds from Pentagon stocks and sending them to Ukraine, creating concerns about eating into American stores. The cluster munitions, which are fired by the same artillery as the conventional 155 mm, will give Ukraine a highly lethal capability and also allow them to strike more Russian targets using fewer rounds.

Kahl said the cluster bombs are not a permanent solution, but more of “a bridge” as the US and allies work to increase the production of the 155 mm rounds.

So far the reactions from allies have been muted. NATO SecretaryGeneral Jens Stoltenberg stressed on Friday that the military alliance takes no position on cluster munitions and it is a decision that allies will make. And Germany, which has signed the ban treaty, said it won’t provide the bombs to Ukraine, but expressed understanding for the American position.

“We’re certain that our US friends

didn’t take the decision about supplying such ammunition lightly,” German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit told reporters in Berlin. “We need to remember once again that Russia has already used cluster ammunition at a large scale in its illegal war of aggression against Ukraine.”

Oleksandra Ustinova, a member of Ukraine’s parliament who has been advocating that Washington send more weapons, noted that Ukrainian forces have had to disable mines from much of the territory they are winning back from Russia. As part of that process, Ukrainians will also

be able to catch any unexploded ordnance from cluster munitions. The last large-scale American use of cluster bombs was during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, according to the Pentagon. But US forces considered them a key weapon during the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, according to Human Rights Watch. In the first three years of that conflict, it is estimated the US-led coalition dropped more than 1,500 cluster bombs in Afghanistan. AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee and Associated Press writers Geir Moulson, Ellen Knickmeyer, Lorne Cook, Nomaan Merchant, Frank Jordans and Edith M. Lederer contributed to this report.

Wall Street soothsayers have rarely been so bewildered about what’s next

With IEB in place, next task is BARMM tax code–solon

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie

IN response to the recent formalization of the Inter-governmental Energy Board (IEB), an economistlawmaker said the House of Representatives will work with the national government and engage the Bangsamoro government on the region’s Tax Code. This is part of efforts to ensure that the tax regime for oil and gas exploration and extraction in the region are “clean, fair, and square.”

H ouse Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Joey Sarte Salceda said in a statement at the weekend that the key to Philippine energy security could be in Bangsamoro.

T he IEB, which will manage the extraction of petroleum reserves in the Bangsamoro, was created this week in the presence of President

Ferdinand Marcos Jr.  T he board’s duties will include setting policies for the extraction of oil and gas in the Bangsamoro region, which covers such gas-rich areas as the Liguasan Marsh.

Liguasan Marsh is suspected to have the largest deposits of natural gas in Southeast Asia. Now, we can’t know for sure, because prospect -

ing has been limited by lack of investments and the peace and order situation, until now. The BARMM government and close collaboration with the National Government gives us the opportunity to do that,” Salceda said.

T he Liguasan Marsh, which includes large swathes of BARMM, is a 220,000-hectare wetland with proven reserves of natural gas.

“

It could be the key to energy independence for the Philippines, especially with the shift towards LNG as a transition away from coal. It could also make BARMM one of the richest areas in the country, if we can manage governance well,” Salceda said.

H e added that clarifying its tax regime early on is an opportunity to “start on the right foot and correct the mistakes of our existing tax regime on oil and gas exploration, under Presidential Decree No. 87.”

The opportunity here is we start on a more or less blank slate in terms of policy,” Salceda said.

S alceda added that he is now working with the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity, and will be engaging the Bangsamoro Parliament, in ensuring that the

PSAC: EO 32 TO SPEED UP VITAL TELCO, INTERNET INFRA WORKS

BARMM Tax Code is “constitutional, consistent, and constructive,” especially in areas of oil and gas exploration.

“ The regime I envision is 60 percent of net revenues go to government, equally shared between BARMM and the NG, in lieu of any and all taxes. Of course, that decision is to be made by the Bangsamoro Parliament, but my Committee will offer its expertise and perspective,” he said.

“ We want no hiccups once exploration begins, so anything that might be litigious or contentious is best ironed out. I am happy to say that my initial discussions with BARMM stakeholders were received with openness and enthusiasm,” Salceda added.

THE Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC) welcomed President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s issuance of Executive Order (EO) No. 32, a measure which streamlines the permitting process for the construction of telecommunications and internet infrastructure in the country. This measure is “crucial” for the advancement of the country’s economy and well-being of its citizens, PSAC said.

The Private Sector Advisory Council wholeheartedly supports President Marcos’ initiative to streamline the permitting process,” Sabin Aboitiz, PSAC lead convener and Aboitiz Group president and CEO said in a statement.

B y reducing bureaucratic red tape and harmonizing the procedures involved in infrastructure development, EO. 31 will “accelerate” the deployment of critical telecommunications and Internet infrastructure across the nation, Aboitiz said.

cess will attract more investments, encourage innovation, and enhance connectivity, “ultimately benefiting” the Filipino people.

M arcos Jr. signed EO No. 32 on July 4, 2023 in a bid to sustain the development of the nation’s digital infrastructure by institutionalizing a set of streamlined guidelines for the issuance of permits, licenses, and certificates for the construction of telecommunications and Internet infrastructures.

T he order covers all national government agencies and instrumentalities, including government-owned or controlled corporations as well as local government units (LGUs) involved in the issuance of permits, licenses, clearances, certifications, and authorizations.

A mong those covered are the construction, installation, repair, operation and maintenance of Shared Passive Telecommunications Tower Infrastructure; and, erection of poles, installation of aerial and underground cables and facilities, underground fiber ducts, ground terminals, and other transmission telecommunications and Internet infrastructure and facilities.

The PSAC believes that a robust and efficient digital infrastructure is crucial for the advancement of the country’s economy and the well-being of its citizens,” Aboitiz added.

T he Council also thinks the streamlined permitting pro -

T his week, the OPAPRU under Secretary Carlito Galvez also released a statement thanking Salceda for his support for the peace process. Our discussion with Rep. Salceda was very productive. We identified possible areas of collaboration, particularly on how we can enhance the delivery of our peacebuilding initiatives in the Bangsamoro and other conflictaffected areas in the country,” Galvez said in the statement. See

Groups: Digitalization goals to stall sans Open Access in Internet law

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

WITH the Philippines “suffering” from a so-called broadband infrastructure gap, the President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. will find it hard to achieve his digitalization goals, unless the government “immediately” enacts the proposed Open Access in Internet Services Bill.

T his was the consensus of 10 organizations that range from advocates and industry alliances to chambers of commerce. Among the signatories are representatives from the Better Internet Philippines, National ICT Confederation of the Philippines, Internet Society of the Philippines, Fintech Alliance, Philippine Cable and Telecommunications Association, and Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

T hey recently issued a joint statement urging the Philippine Senate to pass the Open Access in Internet Services Bill, which is described as a “curative law that will address the legal obstacles and binding constraints, which have long stifled the growth of the Philippines’ Internet industry.”

T he groups explained that there are major challenges in Internet access, quality, and affordability which are affecting the digitalization of the Philippines.

“ Moving forward, the digital divide threatens to undermine our economic growth, and must be addressed for the government’s push

for e-governance to truly succeed,” the groups said.

T hey cited challenges with education, for instance, explaining that more than half of the public schools and 83 percent of their enrollees were unable to go online for distance learning at the height of the pandemic.

Despite some improvement over the past two years, the country continues to suffer from a broadband infrastructure gap, which is worse in the rural areas. Legal obstacles brought about by outdated laws restrict the building and operation of broadband networks. These obstacles are manifested in high barriers to entry and a costly and inefficient way of installing broadband infrastructure. As a result, poor and unreliable access and unaffordable Internet services persist,” the joint statement read.

A side from access, the quality of Internet connections also matter, the groups said. They cited an Ookla study published in March, saying that the Philippines’s mobile broadband was about 40-percent slower than the median speed of its Asean peers, although its fixed or wired broadband is doing slightly better.

“ Excluding Singapore, the Philippines has the second highest number of “mobile Internet poor” who find mobile data unaffordable and, inversely, the second lowest affordability score in Asean,” the groups said.

T he Open Access Bill, however, will lower barriers and cost to market entry of Internet network

operators by simplifying the registration and qualification process for providers.

It will also make broadband network deployment faster and more efficient by promoting infrastructure sharing and streamlining the approval process for permits to install broadband infrastructure.

L ast year, the House of Representatives approved on third reading House Bill No. 6 or the Open Access in Data Transmission Act.

T he Senate Committee on Science and Technology has initiated public hearings on key digital connectivity and cybersecurity bills, including Open Access.

“An Open Access law is critical to supporting the Marcos administration’s goal of promoting universal, seamless, and secure connectivity for Filipinos. We call on the 19th Congress to approve Open Access to make the Philippines a truly digital nation,” the groups said.

O ther signatories include Democracy.PH, Foundation for Media Alternatives, Philippine Exporters Confederation, and Employers Confederation of the Philippines.

“

We, the undersigned organizations, express our full support for the immediate enactment of the proposed Open Access in Internet Services Act. Through this Joint Statement of Support, we are optimistic that the Senate will fasttrack the approval of this bill, and that the President will sign this landmark legislation into law,” the groups said.

Only 1% of Pinays are screened for cancer

SCREENING for breast and cervical cancer among Filipino women could be the lowest in the world, with just 1 percent of eligible women getting themselves screened, the first step to cancer prevention.

Valerie Gilbert Ulep, senior research fellow at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), said at a recent presentation of their study that “a big portion [of the] country’s cancer burden is preventable” if only more early screening can be conducted among women.

U lep said cancer patients in their

most productive age of 40 to 69 years old account for most deaths, resulting in untold social and economic costs to the country. Data show that for breast cancer alone, 27,000 new cases are reported each year while 9,000 women die annually.

L ow screening has been traced to lack of funds provided by the government, especially for the poor. This results in very few government hospitals offering this screening service.

A lso, many fear finding out that one has cancer, and go for screening

only when they are already suffering and it is too late.

We are diagnosing cancer patients at a very, very late stage,” he said, adding “it boils down to (conducting) comprehensive preventative and curative interventions for the population” to save those afflicted. The cancer screening rate in Malaysia and Thailand is 20 percent and “they are even worried that their rate is low,” Ulep said, adding that Cambodia and Myanmar have better numbers than the Philippines. The West has a 50-percent screening rate.

Companies

Editor: Jennifer A. Ng

Monday, July 10, 2023

B1

Expert: ‘Optimal rates’ will make GEA more attractive

By Lenie Lectura @llectura

“Ultimately, price is the most significant factor in endeavors like this (Ge A), so it should be set at a level that is most optimal to all stakeholders,” said lawyer Jose M. l ayug Jr., co-chairman of the european Chamber of Commerce’s Renewable energy and energy ef ficiency Committee.

l ayug issued the statement following the low turnout of bidders. “We laud the efforts of the DOe [Department of energy] and eRC [energy Regulatory Commission] in the aggressive transition to renewables with the ambitious R e [renewable energy] installation targets. While the DOe did not meet its aspiration in this round, it would be good to review and assess several factors that yielded such results.”

The Ge A Program 2 generated 3,580.76 megawatts (MW) of R e ca-

pacities that are committed for delivery from 2024 to 2026. The numbers are way below the 11,600MW offered by the DOe T he DOe cited supply limitation, low incentives, delay in the conduct of grid impact studies, and the cost of financial guarantees as some of the reasons for low investor turnout.

In setting the Green energy Auction Reserve (Ge A R) prices for each R e technology, l ayug said the DOe and the eRC should re-consider the possible risk of financial losses that potential bidders may be exposed to. It would also be helpful if the rates are relative to the price levels in the Wholesale electricity Spot Market and the retail market.

Moreover, the agencies should also consider the practical period needed by the R e developers to suf-

ficiently prepare for the bids, among others.

“Ultimately, price is the most significant factor in endeavors like this, so it should be set at a level that is most optimal to all stakeholders,” said l ayug, a former DOe Undersecretary and National Renewable energy Board chairman.

“We have seen such experience during the FIT [Feed-in-Tariff] regime. But we fully support the DOe and eRC in their continuing efforts to push for more R e capacities. The private sector hopes to continue to collaborate with the government to ensure maximum utilization of renewable energy resources.”

The eRC has set a Ge A R price of P4.4043 per kWh for ground-mounted solar, P4.8738 per kWh for the rooftop solar, P5.3948 per kWh for the floating solar, P5.8481 per kWh for onshore wind, P5.4024 per kWh for biomass and P6.2683 per kWh for the biomass waste-to-energy.

According to the Philippine Solar and Storage energy Alliance (PSSeA), the rates do not reflect the realities of the current demand and supply of electricity in the country, nor is it encouraging R e developers to build.

“The framework of the auction is to set a price cap and bid below the

price cap. It seems, however, that the regulators are setting a floor price.

Secondly, the developers have repeatedly made representations to the eRC on the parameters of the tariff structure. In the case of solar, PSSe A submitted studies and actual references that can form part in designing green tariff. Unfortunately, these parameters failed to convince eRC,” said PSSe A Chairman Tetchi Capellan.

“We believe that for the industry to deliver the ambitious target of the President there has to be an honest-to-goodness realization of the current market prices. Without this, future Ge A will fail to entice developers.”

DO e Undersecretary Rowena Guevara had said a review will be conducted to assess what improvements need to be done. “We will review, and we will also have discussions with the auction participants.”

Alternergy Group, meanwhile, said that it would support the review.

It is also encouraging R e industry players to join in this dialogue to address earlier concerns to ensure that the project capacities offered are delivered according to more realistic timelines and within “competitive power rates.”

SteelAsia ships steel bars to Canada

ST e elA S IA Manufacturing

Corp. said it has shipped over 36,000 metric tons (MT) of high-strength steel bars used in infrastructure construction to Canada.

According to the firm, the steel bars were produced using green steel production methods. The latest shipment, SteelAsia said, is its fifth, which brings the total value of its exports to $24 million or P1.32 billion.

SteelAsia Chairman and C e O Benjamin Yao said the firm “has broken through the First World market where quality and performance standards are highest.”

“We have invested in the best available technology to produce the highest quality steel products and these shipments are our initial reward, and a validation of our reliability and capability,” Yao added.

In a statement issued it on Friday, SteelAsia said it has been using geothermal energy to recycle steel scrap into high-value, infrastructure-grade steel bars.

EDC: Leyte project bags

CSR award

FIRST Gen Corp.-owned energy Development Corp.’s (eDC) Keitech education program in leyte was recognized as the Best Corporate Social Responsibility Project for education 2023 at the league of Corporate Foundations’ CSR Guild Awards last week.

Keitech is a technical-vocational school established in 2009 by eDC in partnership with the Technical education and Skills Development Authority.

“We are honored and humbled to share with the Board that our Keitech won the Outstanding CSR Project in e d ucation at the l e ague of Corporate Foundations CSR Guild Awards,” Keitech President Allan Barcena said. Lenie Lectura

“This technology not only supports the Philippines’s infrastructure program but also promotes sustainability in steel production.”

Yao said his “vision” is for the Philippines to have its own integrated steel industry that “will give birth” to new industries and businesses such

The energy Regulatory Commission (eRC) is set to hear the applications for approval of Ancillary Services Procurement Agreements (ASPA) filed by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).

As of July 7, the eRC has completed the pre-filing review of all 36 ASPAs. All applications have also undergone publication and proper payment of filing fees. Of this number, 21 applications have been formally set for hearing before the eRC.

The agency said it continues to promptly process NGCP’s ASPA applications pursuant to the competitive selection process mandated by the Department of energy (DOe)

“The eRC remains committed to facilitate the approval of the ASPAs to ensure that consumers continue to have access to reliable electricity.”

as those that produce ships, cars, appliances and support others like construction and housing.

As the country imports most of its steel needs for now, Yao said this is a “tragedy” as other countries are “sapping” the jobs that are supposed to be generated in

Ancillary services support the transmission of power from generators to consumers to maintain reliable operations. These are necessary for NGCP to manage power fluctuations to ensure the quality and reliability of power flowing through its system. If not managed properly, fluctuations can cause damage to sensitive equipment, or even automatic load dropping if the fluctuations are severe enough to pose a danger to the transmission system as a whole.

NGCP is anticipating that a provisional approval for the ASPA applications should be out soon.

“The Philippine Transmission Grid shall be vulnerable to power interruptions resulting from an artificial lack of AS. Without an existing ASPA, NGCP cannot nominate power plants to provide the critical services,” the company said in its

the Philippines.

“We export our resources such as steel scrap and iron ore, then import back finished steel products,” he said.

“This is a tragedy because the value and the jobs are created in another country and, in the meantime, the Philippines is import-dependent. We need job creation here, and that’s what having our own steel industry does.”

Yao said the solution is to invest in state-of-the-art steel mills.

l ast May, SteelAsia announced that the commercial operations of its mill that would produce its first reinforced steel bars in Cebu could start in June.

The steel company issued the statement after the mill produced its first reinforced steel bars as it entered the final phases of commissioning.

SteelAsia said the steel mill in Compostela, Cebu would produce some 1 million tons of “highstrength” rebars yearly, owing to the technology it is using.

applications.

Andrea E. San Juan

Meanwhile, the eRC said it entered into a tripartite agreement with the City Government of Pasig and Manila electric Co. (Meralco). The agreement aims to expedite the adoption of renewable energy (R e) w ithin Pasig City.

Under this agreement, the eRC, Pasig, and Meralco will collaborate on opportunities that will encourage the use of R e in the locality, focusing on projects like the net-metering program and distributed energy resources, which can help manage electricity costs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and generate economic development.

As of June 30, the eRC has issued Certificates of Compliance to 146 qualified end-users under the netmetering program in Pasig City, with a total capacity of 1,284.87 kilowattpeak. Lenie Lectura

ERC to facilitate approval of ASPAs filed by NGCP

RegulatoRs must come up with “the most optimal rates” to attract more bidders to the government’s green energy auction (gea), according to an energy expert.

Perspectives Get ready for the next wave of ESG reporting

OVER the past two decades, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) reporting has increased in transparency and importance, with greater integration of ESG-related information into mainstream financial reporting.

According to KPMG’s 2022 Global CEO Outlook, 69 percent of CEOs see significant stakeholder demand for increased transparency and reporting on ESG matters (up from 58 percent in 2021). Next to this, 72 percent feel that stakeholder scrutiny regarding ESG issues—such as climate change and gender equality—will continue to accelerate. Additionally, more than one-third believe their organizations struggle to narrate a compelling ESG story.

The number of companies that publish sustainability reports has been growing steadily over the past decade. KPMG’s 2022 Global Survey of Sustainability Reporting shows that 79 percent of the N100 group (the leading 100 companies in every country surveyed) report on sustainability. Among the world’s top 250 companies (G250), this figure is 96 percent. For smaller companies, however, these figures are likely to be considerably lower.

In a rapidly evolving landscape, global regulations are compelling organizations to a heightened level of transparency.

As these new ESG reporting regulations (such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive) gain traction, companies worldwide are finding themselves in a position to prepare comprehensive baseline reports that align with the demands of this emerging paradigm of sustainability and responsible governance.

According to KPMG in the Philippines Advisory Partner and ESG Lead Kristine Aguirre, “ESG reporting is becoming increasingly important in the Philippines as companies recognize the value of sustainability and responsible business practices. It is likely that we will see an increased demand for ESG information from investors, regulators and other stakeholders in the future.”

ESG drives business resilience and competitive advantages

I N VESTORS increasingly recognize the link between sustainability and corporate success.

Overall, they are more likely to direct their investments toward companies that can demonstrate their ESG credentials. Nearly three-quarters of CEOs surveyed in the 2022 KPMG CEO Outlook agree that progress on ESG improves corporate financial performance, which is an increase of 38 percent compared to 2021.

Greater transparency enables investors and stakeholders to make informed decisions based on companies’ true level of sustainability.

Companies must now also disclose, in greater detail, their transition plans to a lower carbon economy, supported by clear actions and reflected in their strategy. Implementing the standards is not just about compliance, it’s a strategic, board-level issue. And more and more suppliers are being asked to share information about the integrity of their supply chains. Specifically, concerns about vulnerabilities to climate change and strategies for climate change mitigation and adaptation are frequently being raised.

Organizations that cannot provide the required level of transparency risk exclusion from their

traditional marketplaces. This is about how companies face social risks as well as climate risks, and physical as well as transition risks—all the more reason to integrate ESG into corporate risk management systems. The effective management of ESG risks and opportunities helps companies build future-proof and resilient businesses.

The Global ESG Standards and their implications in the Philippines

THE European Union’s (EU) Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) which aims to enhance the quality and consistency of corporate sustainability disclosures across EU member states, also holds significant implications for the Philippines. The CSRD’s influence extends beyond the EU’s borders due to its wide-reaching requirements and global impact on sustainability reporting standards.

Many Philippine companies are part of global supply chains, supplying goods and services to international markets. Aligning with CSRD requirements can help Philippine companies meet the sustainability expectations of their international counterparts, ensuring their continued participation in global supply chains.

On the other hand, the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) has been making significant developments in setting global sustainability reporting standards. On June 26, 2023, the ISSB has just issued its inaugural standards—IFRS S1 and IFRS S2—ushering in a new era of sustainability-related disclosures in capital markets worldwide. As the Philippines has expressed its intention to adopt these standards, it signifies the country’s commitment to aligning with international best practices and enhancing transparency in sustainability reporting.

The ISSB is a part of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation and aims to develop a comprehensive set of sustainability reporting standards that are globally recognized and widely adopted. These standards will provide a harmonized framework for organizations to report their environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance, enabling comparability and consistency across industries and regions.

By adopting the ISSB standards, the Philippines complies with a more standardized and reliable approach to sustainability reporting, ensuring that companies consistently disclose relevant ESG information. This promotes transparency, builds investor confidence, and helps stakeholders make informed decisions about the organizations’ sustainability practices.

The excerpt was taken from the KPMG Thought Leadership publication: https:// kpmg.com/xx/en/home/insights/2023/01/ get-ready-for-the-next-wave-of-esg-reporting.html.

© 2023 R.G. Manabat & Co., a Philippine partnership and a member-firm of the KPMG global organization of independent memberfirms affiliated with KPMG Int’l. Ltd., a private English company limited by guarantee. All rights reserved. For more information, email ph-kpmgmla@kpmg.com or visit www.home.kpmg/ph.

DOJ greenlights COA audit of POGOs’ gaming receipts

By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

Guidance sought

THE DOJ made known its position on the issue in response to the letter by COA Chairman Gamaliel A. Cordoba seeking guidance and/or confirmation of the agency’s power to audit the GGRs of POGOs.

In his letter, Cordoba noted that Section 8 of RA 11590 (An Act Taxing Philippine Gaming Operations) requires Pagcor to engage the services of an “independent, reputable, internationally-known and dulyaccredited third-party auditor” that would determine the gross gaming revenues or receipts of POGOs.

press statement saying the regulator has “issued a Notice to Terminate the Consultancy Contract with Global ComRCI, the third-party auditor for licensed offshore gaming operations.”

Constitutional mandate

THE COA maintained that it can audit the GGRs of POGOs as this is within its constitutional mandate and in accordance with the relevant provisions of Presidential Decree 1445, otherwise known as the Government Auditing Code of the Philippines, and that it also possesses the qualifications required by RA 11590.

While it is clear under Section 125-A of the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC) that the conduct of an audit on the GGR of POGOs should be done by a third-party platform, the DOJ noted that the same section also provides that COA may conduct a post audit independent verification of the GGR determined by the third-party auditor.

“Taking into consideration the foregoing circumstances and to ensure that the aim and objective of the law is met, there appears to be legal basis and sound fiscal

reasons for COA to audit the GGR of the POGO, while Pagcor is still in the process of procuring the services of a qualified third-party audit platform in accordance with the provisions of RA [Republic Act] 11590 and RA 9164,” the DOJ said through Undersecretary Raul T. Vasquez, officer-in-charge.

“Without this audit, POGOs would be able to defraud the government, i.e., Pagcor and BIR [Bureau of Internal Revenue], of its rightful share in the GGR, by declaring a lower amount,” the DOJ said.

But, on March 31, 2023, the Pagcor terminated the consultancy contract with Global ComRCI, due to the latter’s default and violation of RA 9184 (Government Procurement Reform Act) and its implementing rules and regulations. The gaming regulator, thus, requested for COA to conduct the audit of the POGO GGRs.

A document by the 19th Congress read that it was on October 26, 2017, when the Pagcor issued a notice of award to Global ComRCI, a consortium between Global Myoho Renge Copy Inc, Highweb Trade Ltd. and Comfac Corp. for a total annual contract price of roughly P552.215 million “payable per year for ten years.”

Last March 9, the Pagcor issued a

However, the DOJ declined to give a legal opinion on the issue noting that COA has already adopted a definite stance on the matter.

“Being an independent constitutional body, this Department does not possess any reviewing authority over the rulings or official actuations of said agency,” the DOJ said.

However, the DOJ acknowledged that the audit of the GGR of the POGO is necessary to ensure that the proper gaming tax on services rendered and regulatory fees are imposed and collected.

In view of the importance of issue raised, the DOJ said it is necessary for the agency to express its views and comments on the issue.

Blue Finance, UBS arm eye PHL ‘blue economy’

By VG Cabuag @villygc & Jonathan L. Mayuga @jonlmayuga

THE Blue Finance Group and UBS Optimus Foundation UK announced a partnership to provide a loan facility focused on the marine sector; the facility providing an up-front, blended capital of $600,000 (about P33.32 million at current exchange rates).

A statement issued by the UBS foundation described its initiatives as “empowering” the marine protected-area network in the country to implement several “blue economy” revenue-generating initiatives while focusing on protecting and regenerating coral reefs, increasing marine biodiversity, and enhancing livelihoods.

“We are strong proponents of their holistic approach, which supports biodiversity and climate mitigation while improving the livelihoods of local communities,” UBS Foundation CEO Maya Ziswiler said.

“Our impact loan to marine protected area (MPA) projects in the Philippines showcases the financial viability of what will be a self-sustaining conservation model and highlights the impact potential of Blue Finance’s approach.”

“We believe in nature conservation with sustainable, long-term business models to address the biodiversity crisis in the long term. This innovative approach is transformative for MPAs and is setting a precedent for impact investment in marine conservation and economic development globally,” Blue Finance executive director and co-founder Nicolas Pascal said. Pascal added that “while more than 60 percent of coral reefs worldwide are under immediate threat, we have shown that [MPAs] are one of the best tools we have for protecting marine biodiversity.”

In 2020, Blue Finance created the Blue Alliance NGO with the support of the United Nations, the Global

DA-BFAR earns COA’S highest audit rating anew

THE Department of AgricultureBureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR) announced it has once again received the highest audit rating from the Commission on Audit (COA) for its 2022 annual audit report, signifying that the agency’s financial statements are presented in accordance with applicable financial reporting frameworks.

In its new report, the whole DA-BFAR has attained an “unqualified opinion,” a significant improvement from COA’s previous audit report in 2021 in which only the DA-BFAR Central Office was given the highest audit rating.

National Director =Demosthenes

R. Escoto said the state auditors’ rating reflects the DA-BFAR’s commitment to excellence and integrity in managing its financial assets. He also expressed his gratitude to the Bureau’s officials and employees for their hard work and dedication to the effective utilization of the agency’s funds.

“The unqualified opinion by the COA is a testament to how the Bureau upholds excellence and integrity in managing its funds, in the fulfillment of our mandates and in line with the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. of providing ef-

fective and efficient services to Filipino fisherfolk to improve their lives and increase our fisheries production,” he said.

“It will inspire us to work tirelessly towards good governance, transparency, and accountability,” he added.

Director Escoto also stressed that the DA-BFAR will continue to improve its quality management system and collaborate with stakeholders to address the needs of the fisheries sector.

The comprehensive audit of the DA-BFAR’s accounts, transactions, and operations for the fiscal year 2022 was conducted under the leadership of State Auditor Lea T. Petero.

In the report, COA said the audit presented by the DA-BFAR was “sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.”

“In our opinion, the accompanying financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the BFAR as of December 31, 2022, and its financial performance, changes in net assets/equity, cash flows, and the comparison of budget and accordance with International Public Sector

Actual Amounts for the year then ended Accounting Standards (IPSASs),” state auditors said.

Fund for Coral Reefs and the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The Blue Alliance manages the MPA network and related projects alongside local authorities in North Oriental Mindoro.

This island province in the western part of the Philippines encompasses the Verde Island Passage, recognized as a global shore fish biodiversity hotspot. This ocean channel supports more than two million people. The network currently comprises 12 MPAs, which together protects some 70 kilometers (km) of coastline and 52-square kms. of coastal marine ecosystems, including a U NESCO biosphere reserve. Currently, 30 rangers, community officers and managers are employed to implement core MPA activities.

This funding will allow Blue Alliance to enhance the management and protection of coral reef ecosystems, develop sustainable revenue mechanisms for the MPA network and contribute to the achievement

of multiple UNDP Sustainable Development Goals. Blended finance unlocks commercial capital by combining it with philanthropic capital to improve project design and execution, enabling the projects to meet the investor’s criteria. The impact loan will be repaid through revenue streams such as nature-based ecotourism, blue carbon credits from mangrove conservation and small-scale aquaculture projects. The interest rate is linked to social and environmental performance, the greater the impact, the lower the interest rate, the foundation said.

The impact will be measured using recognized international standards for ecosystem integrity, species protection, livelihood outcomes including job creation, as well as gender equality and overall MPA management effectiveness. The funding will also support the development of innovative tools to measure impact, which can be applied to other MPAs in the future.

PHL’s September RTB issuance seen to raise $2M

THE Philippines could offer retail dollar bonds by September, with the national government eyeing to raise about $2 million as economic officials are set to entice investors from North America this week.

The plan has been disclosed multiple times by economic officials; but the timeline has been moved again and again due to market conditions, which include a favorable exchange rate.

Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said one of the priority agendas of the economic managers upcoming visit to the US and Canada is floating the planned offering of retail dollar bonds.

The economic team is set to fly to Toronto and New York this week.

“This is also a road trip for [National Treasurer Rosalia V. De Leon]. We are going to float dollar denominated bonds since there are interests from our fellow Filipinos to invest in retail bonds,” Diokno said in a recent news briefing.

“And also, we are going to explain to them the new Philippines. During the pandemic we opened up telecommunications, shipping, toll roads [and] airports. The outside world are [sic] not aware of those—that is the purpose of the roadshow,” the Finance

Secretary added.

De Leon said they are optimistic that they will be able to entice Filipino migrant workers in New York and Canada to invest in the retail dollar bonds since it only requires a minimum $200 as investment and it is exempted from any taxes.

De Leon noted that the target amount to be raised through the dollar retail bonds remains at about $2 billion.

“We are doing all the marketing now. If markets are favorable, [we can offer it in] September,” she said. This could be the first dollar-denominated retail bond offering under the Marcos Jr. administration. The national government raised around $1.6 billion through its maiden sale of retail dollar bonds in 2021. (Related story: https://businessmirror. com.ph/2021/10/04/retail-dollarbonds-sale-nets-1-6b-for-phl/)

As for the earlier disclosed plans to offer Euro-denominated bonds, Diokno said it would have to wait until next year.

“It would perhaps be next year, when the country is very much attractive [to investors],” he said.

Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

Jasper

THE Department of Justice (DOJ) has thumbed up the audit of the gross gaming receipts (GRRs) of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) by the Commission on Audit (COA), while the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) is still looking for an independent third-party auditor.

U.S. citizenShip teSt changeS are coming, raiSing concernS for thoSe with low engliSh SkillS

By Trisha Ahmed The Associated Press/ Report for America

The naturalization test is one of the final steps toward citizenship—a monthslong process that requires legal permanent residency for years before applying.

Many are still shaken after former Republican President Donald Trump's administration changed the test in 2020, making it longer and more difficult to pass. Within months, Democratic President Joe Biden took office and signed an executive order aimed at eliminating barriers to citizenship. In that spirit, the citizenship test was changed back to its previous version, which was last updated in 2008.

In December, US authorities said the test was due for an update after 15 years. The new version is expected late next year.

US Citizenship and Immigration Services proposes that the new test adds a speaking section to assess English skills. An officer would show photos of ordinary scenarios—like daily activities, weather or food—and ask the applicant to verbally describe the photos.

In the current test, an officer evaluates speaking ability during the naturalization interview by asking personal questions the applicant has already answered in the naturalization paperwork.

“For me, I think it would be harder to look at pictures and explain them,” said Heaven Mehreta, who immigrated from Ethiopia 10 years ago, passed the naturalization test in May and became a US citizen in Minnesota in June.

Mehreta, 32, said she learned English as an adult after moving to the US and found pronunciation to be very difficult. She worries that adding a new speaking section based on photos, rather than personal questions, will make the test harder for others like her.

Shai Avny, who immigrated from Israel five years ago and became a US citizen last year, said the new speaking section could also increase the stress applicants already feel during the test.

“Sitting next to someone from the federal government, it can be intimidating to talk and speak with them. Some people have this fear anyway. When it’s not your first language, it can be even more difficult. Maybe you will be nervous and you won’t find the words to tell them what you need to describe,” Avny said. “It’s a test that will determine if you are going to be a citizen. So there is a lot to lose.”

Another proposed change would make the civics section on US history and government multiple-choice instead of the current oral short-answer format.

Bill Bliss, a citizenship textbook author in Massachusetts, gave an example in a blog post of how the test would become more difficult because it would require a larger base of knowledge.

A current civics question has an officer asking the applicant to name a war fought by the US in the 1900s. The applicant only needs to say one out of five acceptable answers—World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War or Gulf War—to get the question right.

But in the proposed multiplechoice format, the applicant would read that question and select the correct answer from the following choices:

A. Civil War

B. Mexican-American War

C. Korean War

D. Spanish-American War

The applicant must know all five of the wars fought by the US in the 1900s in order to select the one correct answer, Bliss said, and that requires a “significantly higher level of language proficien -

cy and test-taking skill."

Currently, the applicant must answer six out of 10 civics questions correctly to pass. Those 10 questions are selected from a bank of 100 civics questions. The applicant is not told which questions will be selected but can see and study the 100 questions before taking the test.

Lynne Weintraub, a citizenship coordinator at Jones Library’s English as a Second Language Center in Massachusetts, said the proposed format for the civics section could make the citizenship test harder for people who struggle with English literacy. That includes refugees, elderly immigrants and people with disabilities that interfere with their test performance.

“We have a lot of students that are refugees, and they’re coming from war-torn countries where maybe they didn’t have a chance to complete school or even go to school,” said Mechelle Perrott, a citizenship coordinator at San Diego Community College District’s College of Continuing Education in California.

“It’s more difficult learning to read and write if you don’t know

how to do that in your first language. That’s my main concern about the multiple-choice test; it’s a lot of reading," Perrott said.

US Citizenship and Immigration Services said in a December announcement that the proposed changes “reflect current best practices in test design” and would help standardize the citizenship test.

Under federal law, most applicants seeking citizenship must demonstrate an understanding of the English language—including an ability to speak, read and write words in ordinary usage— and demonstrate knowledge of US history and government.

The agency said it will conduct a nationwide trial of the proposed changes in 2023 with opportunities for public feedback. Then, an external group of experts— in the fields of language acquisition, civics and test development—will review the results of the trial and recommend ways to best implement the proposed changes, which could take effect late next year.

The US currently has the easiest citizenship test compared to other Western countries—in -

cluding Germany, Canada and the United Kingdom—according to Sara Goodman, a political science professor at the University of California, Irvine.

Goodman said she uses the following metrics to determine the difficulty of a test: the number of questions required to pass and the number of questions overall, the percentage of applicants who pass the test, the language level of the test, and whether or not questions with answers are made available to study before taking the test.

In the US test, applicants must answer six out of 10 questions correctly to pass. About 96% of applicants pass the test, according to recent estimates. The test is at a “high beginner” level of English, Goodman said, and a question bank with answers is made available to study beforehand.

But in the German test, Goodman said applicants must answer 17 out of 33 questions correctly to pass. About 90% of applicants pass the test, according to recent estimates. The test is at an “intermediate” level of German, according to Goodman. And a question bank with answers is made available.

The Canada and United Kingdom tests are even harder, and a question bank is not provided in the latter, Goodman said.

Elizabeth Jacobs, director of regulatory affairs and policy at the Center for Immigration Studies—a nonprofit research organization that advocates for less immigration—said the proposed changes would make the US citizenship test even easier for many people.

“We think that’s in the wrong direction,” Jacobs said on behalf of the organization.

The proposed multiple-choice format for the civics section would put the answer to each question in front of applicants, Jacobs said, and would get rid of the memory challenge that’s in the current test.

Jacobs said her organization would prefer a test that includes more material and emphasizes American values, such as religious freedom and freedom of speech.

She added that most people who naturalize are not in the US because of merit or refugee status, but because of family sponsorship, where someone in their family became a citizen before them and petitioned for them to naturalize.

Jacobs said having a stricter test would help ensure that new citizens integrate into American society—and the economy—with sufficient English language skills, as well as promote a healthy democracy with civics knowledge and engagement.

Not everyone agrees.

“I S i t important for us to even have a civics test in the first place?

I don’t know the answer to that question,” said Corleen Smith, director of immigration services at the International Institute of Minnesota, a nonprofit that connects immigrants to resources.

Smith said USCIS already evaluates whether applicants have past criminal histories, pay taxes and support their children financially.

“They're already evaluating that portion of your background. Is it also important to know this information about history and government and be able to memorize it?” Smith said, adding: “People that were born in the US and are natural-born citizens—a lot of those folks don’t know many of these answers to the history of government questions.”

More than 1 million people became US citizens in fiscal year 2022—one of the highest numbers on record since 1907, the earliest year with available data— and USCIS reduced the huge backlog of naturalization applications by over 60% compared to the year before, according to a USCIS report also released in December.

ST. PAUL, Minnesota—

The US citizenship test is being updated, and some immigrants and advocates worry the changes will hurt testtakers with lower levels of English proficiency.

HeaveN MeH r eta 32, smiles and holds a small american flag inside Mount Zion temple in St. Paul, Minn., June 21, 2023, after becoming a US citizen at a naturalization ceremony that day in the synagogue. Mehreta immigrated from ethiopia 10 years ago, learned english as an adult and passed the US citizenship test in May. the test is being updated and some immigrants, including Mehreta, worry the changes will hurt test-takers with lower levels of english proficiency. a P/ t r isha a hme D

H UN d red S of people become US citizens during a naturalization ceremony at a convention center in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on March 9, 2023. the U.S. citizenship test is being updated and some immigrants and advocates worry the changes will hurt test-takers with lower levels of english proficiency. the test is one of the final steps toward citizenship—a months-long process that requires legal permanent residency for years before applying. a P/ t r isha a hme D

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ATHLEISURE BRAND UNVEILS LATEST COLLECTIONS AT NEW STORE

LEADING sports brand PUMA brings its own brand of athleisure flair and its Forever Faster spirit to Shangri-La Plaza, with exciting collections and collaborations that combine style and functionality from the tracks to the streets.

Now open at Shangri-La Plaza, PUMA is known around the world for its dedication to offering durable, high-quality products. The German brand manufactures a wide range of athletic and casual footwear, apparel and accessories, and is highly regarded in both the sports and fashion industry. It is known for its collaborations with high-profile athletes and celebrities such as Usain Bolt and Rihanna and most recently, Filipino basketball player Kai Sotto. PUMA’s dedication to bringing quality products is seen in its Forever Faster ethos, which stands for having the flexibility to adapt and innovate new product designs for every kind of lifestyle.

The latest store at The Shang embodies this innovative spirit by showcasing PUMA’s motorsports and golf categories. PUMA Motorsports offers a selection of sportswear and street-ready fanwear like jackets, pullovers, tees, caps, sweatpants, and trainers inspired by supercar manufacturers BMW and Ferrari, and their pursuit of speed, precision, and innovation.

PUMA Golf presents performance-driven, fashioninspired golfwear.

“Our new Shangri-La Plaza store carries a unique selection of PUMA products that can only be found there,” says the brand’s country manager Paolo Misa. “With a great store concept, product range and exclusive Shang selection, it’s worth a stop in one’s Forever Faster lifestyle.”

Other exciting collections at PUMA Shang include PUMA x 8enjamin Lamprey, featuring pastels and skateboarding aesthetics and a sneaker-loving pastel cloud character named Fluzz.

The PUMA x PALOMO Spain collaboration combines surf culture from the 1960s and 1970s with a colorful, gender-neutral twist to classic sport style pieces, including lightweight moiré cargo pants, bomber jackets, and printed hoodies. The brand has collaborated with Australian lifestyle label Perks and Mini to bring PUMA x P.A.M. for cutting-edge streetwear design.

“We’re thrilled to welcome the Fastest Sports Brand in the world here at Shang,” says Joy R. Polloso, EVP for retail and commercial at Shang Properties, says: “PUMA’s Forever Faster spirit that values innovation perfectly complements the kind of retail experience that we want to deliver to our mall guests. It’s a brand that has something for every lifestyle, yet never fails to keep pushing forward to bring new and better designs to all the communities they serve.”

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos • Monday, July 10, 2023

Kim Chiu as an Ukay Queen

FOR her high-school prom dress, a stillunknown Kim Chiu trekked to a thrift store to find that perfect outfit. That was probably before the humble Cebuana won the first Pinoy Big Brother Teen Edition in 2006 and hit the big time. Now, the screen queen can readily buy brandnew Versace shoes. In three colors!

Coming full circle, Kim stars in Fit Check: Confessions of an Ukay Queen, a fashion drama, romance, family, feel-good series that promotes upcycling clothes, zero-waste textiles and ways to make more sustainable fashion in a circular economy.

From a concept by Nathaniel Arciaga, ABS-CBN’s content development head, the glamorous series also star Jake Eercito, Christopher de Leon, Liza Lorena, Kylie Versoza, Justine Luzares, Kaladkaren, Frenchie Dy, Lie Reposposa, and Angel Aquino.

In an exclusive interview at the Manila Diamond Residences for this new series on Prime Video which started airing on July 6, the 33-year-old “Multimedia Idol” talked about the fashion-serye, her influences in fashion and her side hustle as a bag designer.

How close is your personality to your role?

Ako dito si Melanie de la Cruz. I play an aspiring fashion designer na gusto maging successful as a designer. Similar s’ya when it comes to being a gogetter. Tapos meron s’yang maging gustong maging, at gusto n’ya talagang marating kahit gaano na ’to kahirap and all. Parang lahat ng struggles pagdadaanan n’ya in order for her to succeed. Parang ganun din naman ’yung nangyayari sa akin. Parang lahat ng struggles pagdadaanan mo.

In preparing for you role, who are the real fashion people that you referenced?

S’yempre marami, I grew up in the showbiz industry, and marami tayo nilu-look up to when it comes to fashion. Isa na dun, Heart Evangelista sa local. Marami pa as we speak. Ang nilu-look up ko talaga when it comes to fashion is Black Pink talaga, si Jennie in particular.

Para sa akin kasi, when it comes to fashion, mas importante ’yung komportable ka and you’re confident when it comes to what you are wearing. Kasi kung hindi ka confident at ginaya mo lang ’yun sa isang tao at hindi naman bagay sa ’yo, so parang you cannot carry it confidently. And you’re not really happy with what you’re wearing kasi hindi ka komportable.

Do you actually own ukay pieces and what are they?

Yes, madami. Pag sinabi naman nating ukay, may ukay dito sa Pilipinas, may ukay sa Japan, may ukay sa US.

Masarap din mamili sa ukay stores dahil maramaing ukay finds na patapon na sa iba pero sa ’yo treasure na mahirap hanapin, ’yung iba rare, matagal ng wala pero ngayon nasa ’yo na.

You play a designer. Do you have any designer friends that you asked advice from?

Meron akong designer na super-close sa akin Name niya is Neric Beltran. Isa din s’ya sa mga nag-design sa

How to have a healthy scalp

cicatricial, postnatal, or traction from continuous pulling.

There was one thing I noticed when I started going to Svenson this year—there were so many clients. Quite a few were older like me but there were a lot of younger ones, too. There were even some teenagers.

Shai Aya-Ay explained: The pandemic caused a lot of stress and anxiety for people that led to some scalp problems as well.

B5

KIM CHIU wears a quirky Ha.Mu mixed-materials outfit inspired by the jeepney and Versace platforms at the show’s presscon, Michael Leyva red ballgown at a scene shot at the Manila Post Office, an Ehrran Montoya creation made of recycled scrap materials at a watch party, and Ha.Mu “Basahan at Retaso” dress. Styled by Adrianne Concepcion.

PHOTOS FROM @CHINITAPRINCESS

IT’S not a secret that I have hair and scalp issues and have been going to Svenson for treatments since early this year. I wanted relief from seborrheic dermatitis but as the months went on, I realized that it wasn’t just about the flakes and the itching. Severe dandruff could actually clog your hair follicles and prevent hair from growing.

Svenson trichologist Shai Aya-Ay said the usual causes of dandruff are dry skin, a reaction to hair products, an oily scalp, a yeast-like fungus called malassezia, and certain medical conditions such as psoriasis or eczema (seborrheic dermatitis), which is what I have.

Hair loss can be caused by a number of factors. It can be congenital, genetic, acquired, drug-induced,

The most common scalp problems, aside from alopecia, that became more common during the pandemic included (this did not surprise me) dandruff, folliculitis, scalp irritation, hair thinning, and psoriasis (stressful situations can trigger this autoimmune disorder that causes red, itchy, and scaly patches on the scalp).

So my daughter and I go to Svenson once a week. If you really have bad hair and scalp problems, you need to go thrice a week for the Scalp Corrective Treatment to maximize its effect. A 30-minute session uses an ultrasound device and Mariatti Scalp Massager to bring out dirt and oil buildup on the scalp. After that, topical scalp corrective solutions are sprayed on the scalp using an airbrush tool. This is followed by an iontophoresis device which aids in the penetration of ionized forms of the treatments’ nutrients. The treatment has antiseptic and astringent properties.

show na ito. Nakikita ko naman ’yung lagi nyang ginagawa at nakita ko kung paano sya naging successful. So parang inspired ’to sa kanya in a way.

Did you ask any of your fashion friends to do cameos?

Andami! Dito sa Fit Check, maraming mga fashion designers, influencers. Real-life roles na ginagawa talaga nila in their normal lives. Models. So nandito na ang best of the best in the fashion industry.

Did you have a hand in choosing your wardrobe?

In choosing our wardrobe, pinapabahala na namin sa stylists because that’s their job and kami naman susuotin lang namin. Iba din gagawin namin as actors and actresses.

Did you get to keep the pieces that you like? Ako wala.

Can you talk a bit about your House of Little Bunny business? Yes! It’s my bag business and I’m very happy dahil

“With the scalp cleaner, itchiness and irritations are reduced, helping make the scalp an ideal environment for healthy hair to grow,” said Aya-ay.

I really felt relief after the first two treatments and now months later, my scalp is healthier and new hair is growing. This isn’t just talk. The trichologist looks at your scalp using what looks like a dermoscope unit with a camera and you can view it on a screen. I’m really so happy with my scalp’s progress.

So I asked Aya-ay for some tips on how to keep hair and scalp healthy and here is what she shared:

n Wash your hair regularly. Use a mild shampoo to keep your hair and scalp clean and free of dirt and oil. I used to not wash it everyday, thinking that washing would dry my scalp. You could actually wash your hair twice a day, if it’s super oily.

n Avoid using harsh chemicals on your hair. Chemical treatments such as perms, relaxers and hair dyes can damage the hair and scalp. Try to avoid these treatments or use natural alternatives. I still color my hair but I only do so once in two or three months.

n Gentle combing. Combing your hair gently can help distribute natural oils throughout your hair, keeping it moisturized and healthy.

n Massage your scalp. Massaging your scalp can increase blood flow to the hair follicles and promote hair growth. I use Svenson’s Day and Evening Tonics

na umabot ako sa ganun na ang passion ko for bags is nabebenta ko na s’ya. I have my own design na rin at tinangkilik na rin s’ya ng mga tao at lagi s’yang nauubos. I’m very happy and grateful na meron akong side hustle.

Just like Melanie.

Do you do sketches? What are your creative outlets besides acting and dancing?

Hindi naman ako nag-i-sketch. Pili lang talaga ng design. Pili ng colors. ’Yung pagmi-mix and match ng design, color and material. ’Yan ang strength ko when it comes to my bag business.

What are your recent fashion splurges?

Sa work naman namin, kelangan talaga because everyday is a fashion show. (Laughs) Fashion splurge? Siguro shoes. Versace like the one I’m wearing now. Bumili ako nito tatlong kulay.

How excited are you for people to watch this?

Sobrang excited kami because this is going to be shown in 240 countries and territories. With subtitles. n

and massage my scalp after application.

n Use a conditioner. Conditioner helps to moisturize hair, making it easier to manage. It also helps prevent tangles. Combing through severely tangled hair can result in hair loss.

n Protect your hair from the sun and other elements.Cover your hair with a hat or scarf when exposed to direct sunlight or wind. The last time the trichologist looked at my scalp, she saw some UV damage so I was advised to use a hair covering when going out.

n Eat a healthy diet. A balanced diet rich in vitamins and minerals can promote healthy hair and scalp

n Reduce stress. Stress can contribute to hair loss and other scalp issues. Practice relaxation techniques such as yoga or meditation.

n Get enough sleep. Sufficient sleep can aid in repairing and regenerating cells in the body, including those related to hair and scalp health.

n Consult an expert. When you are experiencing persistent dandruff or other scalp issues, book a consultation so you may be given a recommendation of appropriate treatments and scalp care routine. A consultation at Svenson is free. The prices are admittedly not inexpensive but having a healthy scalp is so worth it.

SM Foundation launches KSK Batch 261 in Gerona, Tarlac

Meralco energizes health center for Rizal mountain community

fetal dopplers, and blood pressure monitors. In addition, OMF donated 100 school kits for students of the Laiban Integrated School in the community.

“This initiative led by our own Meralco employees signifies our commitment to empower not just our customers but also residents in remote communities. With the help of our government and private sector partners, Meralco aims to energize and support more communities and continue powering the good life for every Filipino,” Meralco Senior Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer Ferdinand O. Geluz said.

Tanay Mayor Rafael “Lito” A. Tanjuatco welcomed the assistance provided by Meralco, saying: “Rest assured that the municipality of Tanay together with our rural health unit and medical workers will work together to ensure that your good donation will be used for the benefit of the community since we all believe that light is life.”

SM Foundation’s Kabalikat sa Kabuhayan (KSK) Batch 261 was recently launched at the Farmers Training Center, Brgy Tagumbao, Gerona, Tarlac with 25 farmerparticipants. The KSK program, also known as KSK on Sustainable Agriculture Program aims to promote agri-entrepreneurship, community empowerment, food security and technology enhancement. This batch’s trainor is Emma Tolentino, a KSK graduate from Tarlac’s first batch. Jhen Lizardo of SM Foundation serves as project lead.

Among those who attended the program launch were SM Foundation AVP for Outreach, Cristie Angeles; SM City Tarlac Mall Manager, Engr. Darrel Ramos; Techinical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Tarlac Provincial Director, Leonardo Tabamo; Department of Social Welfare and

Development (DSWD) Tarlac, Eugene Lopez, Project Development Officer II; Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Tarlac Science Research Specialist 1, Dhannize Mae Pili; Local Government Unit of Gerona; Tagumbao Brgy. Captain, Pacifico Asuncion; Acting Municipal Agriculturist, Revilyn Yadyadoc; Social Welfare Officer 1, Nino Angelico Antonio; and St. Isidore the Farmer Learning Center President, Romeo Cordova, SM Foundation’s partner school for Tarlac site.

The KSK program of SM Foundation provides a holistic approach to farmers training. Participants not only learn farming techniques but are given capacity building, financial literary lessons as well, access to market linkages and values formation seminars. In pursuit of a more sustainable program, SM Foundation strongly encourages participants to share and replicate their learnings within their communities.

RESIDENTS of a mountain community in Rizal have started benefitting from better medical services after the Manila Electric Company (Meralco), through its corporate social development arm, One Meralco Foundation (OMF), energized a health center in the municipality of Tanay.

The project involves a three-kilowatt peak (kWp) solar photovoltaic (PV) system for the Barangay Laiban health center, which caters to the basic medical needs of over 3,000 residents of the community, including members of the Dumagat Tribe.

The new solar facility powers crucial medical equipment for improved delivery of health services in the community. Health care workers can now use nebulizers for those with respiratory ailments, and fetal dopplers for prenatal care. In addition, the health center is now sufficiently lit and ventilated

CONSTRUCTION STARTS ON

NEW DBD DASMARINAS

CHURCH BUILDING. Day by Day

Jesus Ministries Dasmarinas Cavite

Pastor Lawrence Sarmiento led the groundbreaking ceremony on July 2, 2023 to officially start the construction of the new DBD Dasmarinas, Cavite church building in Barangay San Agustin 2, Dasmarinas, Cavite. Present during the ceremony were DBD Jesus Ministries Project CANA committee members Dr. Toti Baylon, Engr. Elmer Bacomo, Christopher Batuhan, Engr. Leo Cristobal, Aries Ferrer, Lorie Quilaton and Engr. Charles Siringan.

for a more conducive environment for both medical workers and patients.

Installed by Meralco’s solar power subsidiary Spectrum, the solar PV system donation to the barangay was made possible through a fundraising led by Meralco employees from Customer Retail Services Group.

Alongside the energization, Meralco also conducted a medical mission for the residents of Barangay Laiban with the help of volunteer doctors from the Department of Health, Tanay Municipal Health Office, and Marikina Valley Medical Center. The medical mission

the Meralco

Meralco employees donated medicines and medical equipment such as nebulizers,

The energization of rural health centers is among the initiatives of OMF under its community electrification program which also covers off-grid public schools, low-income households in the Meralco franchise area, water access, and agricultural and livelihood programs.

“One Meralco Foundation will continue to take steps to make electricity access available to more underserved communities and help make basic services such as healthcare closer to as many as possible,” OMF President Jeffrey O. Tarayao said.

As the social development arm and corporate foundation of Meralco, OMF is committed to spreading the light to underserved communities across the country through sustainable social responsibility programs that have lasting impact.

THE demand for healthier food options is on the rise, driven by an increasing number of health-conscious consumers. According to a survey by Food Industry Asia, eight out of ten Filipino consumers are becoming more health conscious and would prefer healthier food choices as long as they are tasty.

This growing awareness of the importance of a healthy diet presents a substantial market opportunity for unique, tasty, and nutritious crops like East-West Seed’s hybrid Morado F1 purple sweet waxy corn.

With its vibrant color, anthocyanin content, sweetness, and potential to increase income, Morado presents an enticing opportunity for Filipino farmers.

Morado can provide farmers with a consistent income opportunity throughout the year as it is suitable to be planted all year round. It is also an early-maturing corn variety. Farmers can harvest within 60 to 62 days after planting, enabling them to sell their produce to the market sooner.

Morado stands out not only for its vibrant purple hue but also for its ear quality. The kernels are soft, tender, and stay sweet even two days after harvest.

and higher price, as they prioritize the health benefits it offers.

"Every week, we plant one to two kg of Morado to ensure a continuous supply," says Mike. This consistent planting approach enables him to meet the growing demand for this unique crop and capitalize on its market potential. Mike also shared that it is easy to grow Morado. He proudly mentions, "From my experience, Morado has a high germination rate at around 95 percent. It is also strong against diseases."

The uniqueness and versatility of Morado also opens up various marketing avenues for farmers like Mike. He shares, "Morado can be sold to processors of corn coffee, fresh markets or directly to consumers."

Sharks Billiard League

to showcase more world class billiard tournaments with new venue at Tomas Morato

TWO years after the launch of the only billiards’ league in the country, Sharks Billiard League (Sharks) launches its second arena hoping to usher in a new wind for both the sport and its players.

The Sharks Great White Arena located in Tomas Morato, Quezon City, is the League’s biggest milestone yet and is envisioned to be a venue for more local and international tournaments. Sharks’ first arena, The Tiger Arena, is also located in Quezon City.

Sharks provides billiards enthusiasts with a platform where they can watch daily tournaments among local and international billiard players. It hosts three events per day in each arena for professional and amateur nine-ball and 10-Ball players. With its

second arena, Sharks is able to host an additional three events per day, including the upcoming Sharks International 9-ball Open. All these will be live streamed for free through the Sharks official website. Very soon, billiard enthusiasts can also watch the said tournaments live at the Sharks’ Arenas.

“We continue to support the billiards industry by holding these tournaments for local and international talents, in efforts to bring back the passion the Philippines has for billiards. With two arenas in Quezon City, and an upcoming one in Manila, we hope to make the Sharks League a nationwide, and further, a worldwide phenomenon,” Sharks’ President, Sol Khan said.

“It was an honor and privilege to compete at the new Sharks Arena. The setup is second to none and the playing conditions are very professional,” internationally acclaimed and multiawarded Canadian pool player, John Morra, who played a game against one of Sharks’ rising star and Valenzuela pride, Marc Ejay Cunanan during the arena opening. World champion for eight-ball and nine-ball pool, Francisco Sanchez Ruiz, also commended Sharks’ efforts to host worldclass tournaments in the Philippines.

“Sharks has one of the most difficult competitions worldwide and competing here can really improve a player’s skills. Personally, I would love to come back to improve my game, especially the kick shot and safety,” Ruiz said.

Ruiz is currently in the country and is playing head-to-head with local legends, Dennis “Robocop” Orcollo and Anton “The Dragon” Raga exclusively livestreamed on Sharks’ official channels.

Aside from Cunanan, Orcollo and Raga, Sharks also conducts tournaments featuring other renowned local billiard players such as Southeast Asian nine-ball and international tournament medalists Johann Chua and Rubilen Amit.

Another remarkable attribute of Morado is its high anthocyanin content. Anthocyanins are the natural compounds responsible for the purple color of Morado. Studies have shown that anthocyanins possess antioxidant properties, offering numerous health benefits. These include reducing inflammation and preventive potential against cancer. Research also suggests that anthocyanins may be beneficial to the gut, which can contribute to overall improvement of health. Morado’s anthocyanin content makes it an appealing choice for health-conscious consumers.

Levi Llaneta, a farmer from Albay who planted Morado shared, "Morado is very easy to sell in the market. Our buyers always look for Morado because it’s sweet, sticky, and has health benefits."

Mike Paragozo, a farmer from Agusan del Sur, also attests to Morado’s potential to increase income. He shared that the market value of Morado commands a premium, with prices ranging from P50 to P80 per kilo, compared to other corn varieties.

From Mike’s experience, customers are willing to purchase Morado, regardless of size

Moreover, because of its unique purple color, farms planted with Morado have the potential to attract tourists, offering an additional income opportunity for farmers. Mike is establishing Morado as a trademark in his farm in Agusan del Sur to attract tourists who are intrigued by this distinct purple corn.

"At East-West Seed, we aim to improve the lives of our farmers by offering them innovative and high-yielding vegetable seed varieties that are suitable to the local growing conditions and needs of the local market," said Jay Lopez, General Manager of EastWest Seed Philippines. "Morado purple corn combines visual appeal, health benefits, and a significant potential to increase income, making it a favorable choice for entrepreneurial farmers," Lopez added.

The Power of Purple: Why more farmers should grow this purple corn called Morado with soft, sweet kernels

LEADS RELIEF OPERATIONS FOR COMMUNITIES HIT BY FLASH FLOOD. Residents from Barangay Astorga in Sta. Cruz, Davao Del Sur received relief packs from representatives of AboitizPower subsidiaries Hedcor Sibulan Inc. and Therma South Inc. Over 550 families who live in Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur were affected due to heavy rains in the headwaters Baroring, Sibulan, and Baracatan rivers which affected the lowland areas. AboitizPower responded after local calls were made for immediate assistance. Similar relief operations were mobilized in barangays Darong, Sibulan and Tudaya, which included the host communities of Hedcor Sibulan B and Tudaya 2 hydro power plants.

was sponsored by

Employees Fund for Charity Inc., Pascual Laboratories Inc., Lloyd Laboratories Inc., and Megasoft Hygienic Products, Inc.

IN the photo are, from left, Meralco Head of HMB-Central Business Area Villardo D. Asuncion, Meralco Chief Corporate Social Responsibility Officer and OMF President Jeffrey O. Tarayao, Tanay Mayor Rafael “Lito” A. Tanjuatco, Tanay Municipal Health Officer Dr. Amor Dulce Rivera, Meralco Senior Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer Ferdinand O. Geluz, Rizal Vice Governor Reynaldo H. San Juan, Jr., Tanay Vice Mayor Rex Manuel Tanjuatco, Meralco Vice President and Head of Commercial Operations Charina P. Padua.

Love the Philippines, It’s More Fun in the Philippines: What we think of the new tourism slogan

IT hogged the headlines and television newscasts—and set social media on fire— this past week. With scores of netizens joining the fray, and Cebu City’s local executives rushing to the defense of the embattled DOT Secretary, a good friend/editor asked me if I could write about the raging issue for this column.

I had not intended to, but she sent me a link to the interview by Karen Davila with Joey Salceda on the program Headstart, and I later came across a number of columns, editorials, and Facebook posts about it. So here I am giving my two cents’ worth (together with those of a few colleagues) on the recently launched “Love the Philippines” tourism campaign, which has been deemed a “fiasco” and a failure.

We members of IPRA Philippines comprise several PR agency owners, with some working as either heads of Corporate Communications or government relations or hold key management positions in their companies. A couple are with government agencies, and one is with the academe.

When I asked if anyone wanted to comment about this hot new controversy, most of them begged off, wary of how doing so could compromise their current work with government agencies—and a few were unwilling to make it any worse for the parties involved. It was highly understandable; after all, we all work and move in the local advertising and communications circuit and it could have easily been one of us who was embroiled in the tricky situation.

But for purposes of discussion (and I want to make it clear that we do not intend to judge or choose sides or point fingers at anyone), I posed two questions to several people who have undertaken major campaigns like this: what they would do under the same circumstances and what advice would they give to the Client if they were asked for their opinion?

Let me start with my own humble point of view and some thoughts:

If a Slogan Works, Why Change It?

I H Ave always been an avid supporter of the last slogan “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” because it was, for me, the perfect description of everything that tourists

company, has partnered with Havas Health & You Malaysia to launch an impactful e S G campaign called the #GiveBack Campaign. This campaign aims to r aise awareness about the proper disposal of asthma inhalers (including medicine blister packaging) and the significant environmental impact they can have.

M any Malaysians are unaware of the environmental consequences associated with used asthma i nhalers. Data reveals that a single

and visitors can look forward to in the Philippines in terms of food, exotic destinations, events, the warmth and innate hospitality of our people.

Why, just watching the country’s political dramas morph into comic scenes affirms the fact that we are a fun-loving country! And as a people we love to laugh and make fun of ourselves, we show that we may use laughter to forget our troubles. Where else in the world would we find such creative memes and local witticisms as “Marites” and those endless dinosaur jokes about an aging ex-senator? We laugh to forget, which ultimately makes us more resilient in the midst of crises.

Aside from agreeing that “It’s more fun in the Philippines,” I also associate it with a very good friend, former Tourism Secretary Mon Jimenez, whom I and our entire industry still miss so much.

I was fortunate to have worked with Mon during our early years in advertising, during which time I noted his fine character and creativity, and his impeccable work ethic. Like others who knew him, I considered his stint as head of the Department of Tourism as a great personal service to the country. Mon had earlier earned his stripes and had no further need for recognition or accolade.

My personal stand on this controversy, therefore, is: why did we have to change a slogan that (still) works incredibly well, has remained relevant, and has brought in sizeable results in terms of tourism numbers.

Furthermore, the Department of Tourism could have channeled their efforts to working with industry stakeholders in upgrading our airports, ensuring the security of foreign and local travelers and their mode of transportation, or simply training hospitality trade frontliners to be more honest and more service-oriented?

Looking at how this new campaign panned out and how it was obviously mismanaged, my impression is based on what I saw and gathered from the news and other comments of lawmakers and some observers. I believe that there has to be joint accountability between client and agency.

With 40 years of working with various clients on various PR campaigns, I have found that whenever things go south, it is always convenient to put the blame on

inhaler releases greenhouse gases equivalent to 10 kilograms of c arbon dioxide, which is typically invisible to the naked eye. However, if this amount of gas were p umped into standard-sized balloons, it would fill up 300 of them, d emonstrating the substantial impact of inhalers on our planet.

To address this issue, Havas Health & You Malaysia has devised a creative solution to make t he unseen visible—using balloons to showcase the harm of

the agency, which is tasked to keep their clients clean and looking good. If this can happen in the private sector, it can certainly happen in the government sector where officials expect to be kept clean while the agency is held accountable for errors of judgment.

To be honest, the government officials involved in this “fiasco” should at least offer to resign after terminating the agency’s services.

I will leave my opinion at that and discuss how other colleagues view the issue:

A longtime PR practitioner who has always worked on the Client side gave two perspectives about this issue. She named two major points:

‘Client-Agency Protocols’

I T is good to understand the process and protocols in a clientagency relationship, especially how creative work is ideated, presented, revised, approved, and produced. Co-creation requires mutual trust and integrity. Approving creative work means one accepts accountability for one’s action and decision. This is how it should go:

Roles have to be clear—the client approves every step in the process and the agency produces based on the clients’ needs, standards and ethics.

The creative process goes through stages; each stage is presented to client for approval before it can proceed to the next.

It starts with ideation that produces an offline mood video or a creative study (a draft of sorts) with placeholder material that is presented to the client for approval/suggested revisions. From there, production of the final material ensues. The decision to shoot fresh materials or to use stock shots depends on the budget and which option client will approve.

u sed inhalers on the environment.

L aunched in conjunction with World e n vironment Day this June, the new #Giveback campaign is part of GSK’s nationwide e n vironmental, Social, and Governance ( e S G) efforts to collect used, expired, or unwanted a sthma inhalers and medicine blister packaging for proper and safe disposal. #GiveBack bins are being placed at over 600 collection points in partner pharmacies,

As a Client, I have always scrutinized every detail and every frame (perhaps to the chagrin of the agency) but I always ask questions to ensure respect for intellectual property. Before giving final approval, I also make sure that those concerned have been heard, knowing fully that every single detail tells the right story of the institution I represent and impacts on the reputation and authenticity of the institution.

Expect ubiquitous fact checking and reactions from all audiences

We must accept and be ready for the reality that today, anyone can fact-check and comment on creative or “original” works, anywhere and anytime, given the vast reach of digital capabilities. It is therefore important for us to be very cautious in using materials that are not original.

From another colleague who prefers to remain anonymous:

“I A PPR e C IAT e the effort of the DOT in launching a new Philippine tourism campaign with a world-class advertising agency, but all the hard work fell apart when stock images were used that were not real places and events in the Philippines. What an irony!

It is not clear if the moodsetter Av P w as meant only for an internal presentation but the accountability rests on both the DOT and DDB. While the agency was axed, someone in DOT should also be made accountable for approving and presenting a material that has not been vetted properly. They should have learned their lesson from previous fiascos! When all is done, the ultimate losers are the Filipinos whose hard-earned taxes pay for the salaries of incompetent government officials whose standards of quality and excellence are very much wanting. That’s what we get when the

hospitals, and clinics nationwide.

David Lin, Director of Communications, Government Affairs, & S trategic Customer Solutions at GSK, commented, “Now, more than ever, we must come together to protect the environment and make a difference. While ensuring that we provide medicines a nd inhalers for those who need them, it is equally crucial to do so in a sustainable manner to benefit the planet. We are confident that our ongoing efforts will resonate

administration appoints not the brightest people in that industry but someone who is a payback for political favors.”

From an educator:

Rowena Capulong Reyes Ph.D, former dean, Institute of Arts and Sciences of Far Eastern University and Ex-Officio, Philippine Association of Communication Educators VP of Corporate Affairs, FEU

“The current issue of using non-original materials is clearly a bad example for future communication practitioners whether in PR or advertising. One of the first things we teach our students, and eventually require them to practice, is to use original footage in their production. If and when they use stock or borrowed footage, they need to get consent and permission from the owners, copyright, and other holders.”

As I was wrapping up this column, two headlines I saw were:

“DOT Keeping ‘Love’ Campaign Despite Mess” and “DOT Likely to keep ‘Love the Phl.” So what was all the hullabaloo for?

Like I said: “It’s more fun in the Philippines!”

PR Matters is a roundtable column by members of the local chapter of the United Kingdom-based International Public Relations Association (Ipra), the world’s premier association for senior communications professionals around the world. Joy Lumawig-Buensalido is the President and CEO of Buensalido PR and Communications. She was past Chairman of the IPRA Philippine chapter for two terms.

PR Matters is devoting a special column each month to answer our readers’ questions about public relations. Please send your questions or comments to askipraphil@ gmail.com.

with our patients and help us make the positive difference we all want to see.”

Adding on he said, “The collaboration journey with Havas h as been pleasantly smooth and stimulating. I enjoyed the journey as the team at Havas is creative and proactive, making our collaboration a win-win formation. T hey are experienced in what they do best, coupled with added creative dust [that] makes the whole p artnership uniquely successful.”

GSK And HAvAS HEAltH

AdvoC AtE For tHE EnvIronmEnt In tHE ‘GIvE BACK’ CAmPAIGn

PHL athletes to World Beach Games, AIMAG need to reboot—Tolentino

FILIPINO athletes vying in two major multi-sport continental competitions that were either canceled or postponed have no choice but to reboot, Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Rep. Abraham “Bambol”

Tolentino said on Sunday.

The Association of National Olympic Committees, or ANOC, to which the POC is a member, canceled the World Beach Games set August 5 to 15 in Bali after the Indonesian government pulled the budget from 14-sport games only last July 4.

A nd on Saturday, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) announced that the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games (AIMAG) set November 17 to 26 in Bangkok and Chonburi were moved to February 24 to March 8 next year.

The OCA, which held its elections also on Saturday in Bangkok with Kuwaiti Sheikh Talal Fahad Al-Sabah winning as president by only four votes (24-20), said the AIMAG was canceled also because of budget concerns and that Thailand is transitioning to a new government administration.

These are the beyond our control.

I understand the sentiments of our athletes but this is something that we don’t have a choice about,” Tolentino said. “But as athletes, I trust them to make the adjustments.”

Many of the Filipino athletes who’re

supposed to be in Bali or AIMAG, according to Tolentino, are also on the delegation to the Hangzhou Asian Games set September 23 to October 8.

They can totally focus on the Asian Games, the biggest competition in Asia,” he said.

Two Filipino surfers—Jay-R Esquivel and Aping Agudo— have so far made the grade for the second edition of the World Beach Games.

They gained qualification via the world championships in El Salvador last month.

We’ve been work ing so hard in the past few weeks [in San Jose, La Union] and then we found out that the event was canceled,” Esquivel said. “We’re all sad and disappointed but there’s nothing we can do.”

The ANOC has yet to announce a new host and dates for the World Beach Games, the second global sports event after the FIFA Under-20 World Cup that Indonesia dropped at the 11th hour.

By Josef Ramos

THE Philippines has officially submitted its bid to the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) for the hosting of the 2025 women’s indoor world championships.

TOP junior swimmer Jamesray Ajido (center) with Philippine Swimming Inc. president Miko Vargas (right) and secretary-general Rep. Eric Buhain

Ajido, Bungubung bag slots to Jakarta

NATIONAL junior record hold-

er Jamesray Michael Ajido and World Junior Championship campaigner Amina Bungubung broke qualifying time standards (QTS) on Sunday to earn their spots on the national team with impressive performance to the 35th Southeast Asia Age Group Championship set August 24 to 26 in Jakarta.

A jido, who owns multiple national records in the 13-under class, and Bungubung are simming out of the Quezon City Buccaneers Swim (QCBS) Club under coach Sherwin Santiago.

Ajido, now 14 and winner of two gold medals at last year’s Southeast Asia Age Group Championships in Kuala Lumpur, topped the boys 14-15 200 meters individual medley and 100 butterfly with times of 2:14.33 and 57.46 seconds, respectively.

He broke the QTS of 2:14.83 and 58.43 in the event organized by the World Aquatic-backed Philippine Swimming Inc. (PSI) headed by president Miko Vargas and secretary general Batangas Rep. Eric Buhain at the Teodily Yldefonso Pool inside the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.

T he FINIS ambassador and holder of national records in the boys 13-under 50 butterfly (26.52), 100 fly (58.13), 50 backstroke (29.20) and 100 back (1:02.42) also claimed gold in the 100 backstroke with 1:01.73 but failed to surpass the QTS (1:01.30).

Bungabung, 16, who swam in last year’s worlds in Lima, Peru, ruled the girls 16-18 50 freestyle in 27.58, breaking the QTS at 27.69.

The PNVF would like to officially announce that we have submitted a bid to host the women’s world championship in 2025,” Philippines National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) president Ramon “Tats” Suzara announced in a press conference during a break in the Volleyball Nations League Week 3 men’s tournament on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The FIVB invited Suzara to Poland to discuss the bid process for the world championship during the VNL finals in Gdansk next week.

We’ll be able to get a clearer picture of our intention to bid, and win, in that meeting,” said Suzara, who added that Thailand, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Vietnam are also interested as hosts.

Hosting the women’s worlds, according to Suzara, would mean that the country would be privileged to field its national team in the biennial championship whose participation has been increased by eight countries to 32 teams in 2025.

“ If we are hosts, that means we’ll be in the women’s world championship for the first time since 1974, the last time we had a qualified team in the prestigious tournament in Mexico,” he said.

Suzara said he intends to apply

MARK CAVENDISH will have to share the record for most career stage wins at the Tour de France.

Competing in his final season, the most successful sprinter in Tour history crashed out during the eighth stage on Saturday. His team said he broke his right collarbone and will need surgery.

C avendish equaled Eddy Merckx’s record of 34 stage wins during the 2021 Tour, 13 years after his first success, but was not selected last year.

Th is edition was his last chance to become the outright record-holder after he announced in May during the Giro d’Italia that he will retire from cycling at the end of this season.

Cavendish ended the Giro in style, winning the final stage in the historic center of Rome to post his 17th stage win at the Italian Grand Tour.

K nown as “The Manx Missile” as he’s from the Isle of Man, Cavendish

Rooting for Kai

WHILE not seeing Kai Sotto given a chance to play in the Orlando Magic’s first pre-season game is a bummer, I still remain excited.

I t hink or I hope that it will come.

A ny Filipino athlete with designs on making it big abroad, I have to be proud of them.

I h ave to admit though that I am dismayed that many

B8 Monday, July 10, 2023

mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph

Editor: Jun Lomibao

Chicano, Burgos sprint way to titles in Bohol triathlon

JOHN LEERAMS CHICANO and Erika Nicole Burgos flashed enduring strength and energy then uncorked furious runs to crown themselves the new Sun Life 5150 Triathlon champions at the Bellevue Resort beachfront on Panglao Island in Bohol on Sunday.

C hicano, a multi-gold medalist in the Southeast Asian Games, posted a best 35 minutes and 41 seconds time in the closing run stage to clinch the overall championship in a fast 2:00:04 clocking in the 1.5-km swim, 40-km bike and 10-km run race under the Olympic-style setup at one of the country’s top triathlon hubs.

PNVF FILES BID TO HOST 2025 WOMEN’S WORLDS

the same formula of co-hosting that’s been granted the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas in hosting the FIBA 2023 World Cup in August.

Just like in the FIBA World Cup, we intend to host 16 of the qualifiers with the crucial phases and the finals scheduled for the Philippines,” he said.

C anada, meanwhile, scored 2325, 25-21, 25-17, 25-18 victory over China to dodge a possible relegation in the VNL also on Sunday.

A fter dropping a close first-set, the Canadians owned the next three frames for a big win to avoid lastplace complications and maintain a spot in the VNL featuring the topranked squads in the world.

It’s the first but the biggest win for the world No. 16 Canada in the Philippine leg of the VNL, organized by the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) and the Volleyball World with Ganten, Gerflor, Mikasa, Mizuno, Senoh and Stake.com as global sponsors.

C anada, after bowing to Poland, Italy and the Netherlands, thus finished its campaign at 3-9 to break free from the jampacked bottom half of the pack featuring Iran (2-9), Bulgaria (2-9), Cuba (2-9) and China (2-10) in a rumble for VNL retention.

A s only the eight teams will qualify in the final round of the VNL from July 19 to 24 in Gdansk City, Poland, the lowest-ranked squad in the 16team cast however gets a demotion to the Volleyball Challenger Cup, whose winner gains VNL promotion.

A nd Canada, behind the combined efforts of Stephen Timothy

Maar and Ryan Joseph Sclater made sure of that for its breakthrough win in the Philippine leg presented by PLDT with Rebisco, Akari and PSC as major sponsors.

Maar netted 20 points on six blocks and 14 aces while Sclater posted the same output for Canada, which pulled off a reversal after succumbing to a tough 23-25 loss in the opening salvo.

It’s a huge win. We needed this to stay in the VNL. To win this game and put everything on the line to save ourselves was intense and very emotional. We’re happy with how we performed,” said the 6-foot-6 Maar. D anny Demyanenko and Nicho -

las Hoag threw in 12 points apiece to backstop the Maar-Sclater duo.

Luke Herr prepared the table for Canada with 18 sets.

Jingyin Zhang put up 25 points for China, which tripped down the cellar at 16h place with a 2-10 card for a possible relegation pending the results of the final matches in other venues and in the Pasay City leg also backed by Fitbar, Instax Fujifilm, Fitness First, Pasay City, Taguig City, Diamond Hotel, Maynilad, Peugeot, SM MOA Arena, The Look Company and The Moment Group with Cignal, Inquirer Group, RMN, DOOH, One Sports, One Sports+ and Mega Mobile as media partners.

Cavendish crashes out in last attempt at outright record

was second in Friday’s seventh stage.

T he 38-year-old former world champion crashed with 63 kilometers left while riding at the back of the peloton at about 45 kph.

TV images showed the veteran rider lying on the ground and holding his right shoulder in pain.

C avendish’s teammate, Gianni Moscon, said he had to brake suddenly because of a crash in front of him “and someone changed line and he just hit the rear wheel of the guy in front of him and went down.”

“ It was quite bad,” Mosconi added. “I stayed with him but he wasn’t able to go on with the race so we had to go back in the peloton.”

Popularly known as “Rambo” in the triathlon community, Chicano came out of the waters in 00:20:33, just behind Penong 5150 winner Joshua Ramos’s 00:20:12, yielded to last year’s champion Satar Salem in the bike event, 00:59:48-00:58:52, but beat the rest in the run to win by over four minutes in near-ideal conditions.

Salem, who placed joint third in swim, 00:21:07, timed 00:39:53 in the run and settled for runner-up honors in 2:04:44, while Ramos slowed down in the bike (01:00:09) and finished in 00:42:30 for third in 02:07:30.

Burgos, on the other hand, took control early in her side of the battle, clocking 00:21:20 against Leyann Ramo’s 00:23:40 in swim, gave up the lead in bike (01:15:09-01:11:10) but, like Chicano, put up a strong finishing kick (00:43:18) to claim the women’s overall title in 02:24:28 in the event organized by The Ironman Group/ Sunrise Events Inc.

R amo failed to keep pace with Burgos and faded in 00:50:09 for second in 02:30:10 while Katrina Salazar clocked 02:32:09 for third place in the race sponsored by Sun Life Philippines for the third time and held in conjunction with the Sandugo Festival celebrations, a project of the Province of Bohol under Governor Aris Aumentado.

C hicano (30-34) and Burgos

(20-24) also topped their respective age group divisions with Salem and Ramos ruling the male 25-29 and 20-24 classes, respectively. Ramo also claimed the women’s 30-34 trophy while Salazar reigned in the 15-19 category of the event backed by Sun Life, Go For Gold, The Bellevue Resorts, Province of Bohol, Municipality of Dauis, Municipality of Panglao, Sandugo 2023, Rudy Project, Sante, Active, Manila

MARK CAVENDISH receives medical assistance after crashing during the eighth stage. AP

kababayans are putting him down for not playing, not getting drafted, not making his mark in the NBL (National Basketball League) or J.League.

A nd you see others by the same token taking shots at Victor Wembanyama for his not exactly mind-boggling stats. Dude, it is the first game. Now, if it is game #100, then maybe the criticism is justified.

L et me be clear about this.

I u nderstand that people do not have to like what he is doing or what I am saying.

Furthermore, I am not the blind person who touts Pinoy Pride like it is a Divine Right.

Now, that is something that annoys me.

I a m not going to co-opt another person of another nationality even if they have an ounce of Filipino blood. Er, did it not occur to them that these individuals have foreign blood in them and they are American, French, Japanese or what have you.

So you mustn’t feel bad when the Spaniards co-opt Juan Luna as their own as that was during the colonial period. And the Chinese have been here for hundreds of years— even before the arrival of the Spaniards—and their blood has been mixed with ours.

C avendish went into an ambulance for treatment and looked ashen-faced before his retirement

from the race was announced.

A stana-Qazaqstan public relations manager Philippe Maertens told The Associated Press that Cavendish was hospitalized in the city of Perigueux. He added that a screw that was inserted during the 2017 Tour to fix a scapula injury had become loose after his latest crash. Maertens added that Cavendish was expected to return home soon.

Merckx amassed his wins in the 1960s and 70s, an era during which his domination was such that he earned the nickname “The Cannibal.”

Unlike Merckx, who won a record five Tours, Cavendish has never won and specialized in the sprints.

H is speed, prowess and longevity among his fellow sprinters have no equal at the Tour. AP

So that must be why they claim the Spratlys as theirs if you want to go by that logic.

I magine even Lapu Lapu as a national hero? Seriously.

O ne, the Philippines, as we know it wasn’t even formed. And two, these datus came from Borneo and surrounding areas. If I remember my history right, Lapu Lapu was even seen as a brigand or pirate by the other chieftains which is why they sided with Magellan. And Lapu Lapu didn’t even die on our soil but he sailed back to Borneo.

W hoever dons the national colors, I will cheer for. Homegrown, scion of Filipinos born overseas, or naturalized.

B ack to my point.

S otto gave up a lot. I don’t think he was ever cut out for school and was never going to finish. Now, I am not against that. You do what you have to do for your career as people see it.

H im pursuing his dream. As much as I wanted him to finish his schooling at the Ateneo so we could win a whatever-peat, I thought that was me being selfish. It is all right to go and pursue your dreams whether domestically, regionally, or internationally.

Th at might be an anathema to others who think that finishing school is what is best. Look, even if you finish school, that doesn’t guarantee you will be successful. There are so many other factors in play.

Having said that, I am glad that courses previously unavailable to college students are now part of the curriculum. It is good that there are choices.

M y parents wanted me to be a lawyer or a doctor but never in my entire life did I consider either professions. I actually wish I followed what I wanted instead of trying to please them.

Ne vertheless, I am all right. I am fine.

T he important thing for Kai is to try and try and never give up. You will know when it is time to move on from that dream.

W hile for Filipinos, it would be good for homegrown players to make it to the world’s best basketball league. As we have seen from players from many other countries, more often than not, that dream lies elsewhere. Not making it doesn’t mean one cannot be successful.

B enched or not, Kai is closer to that opportunity more than any other homegrown Filipino. I’m rooting for him all the way.

VOLLEYBALL federation president Ramon “Tats” Suzara makes the important announcement on Sunday. NONIE REYES

CHINA’S Jingyin Zhang tries to break Canada’s defense. NONIE REYES

ERIKA NICOLE BURGOS outruns the field on her way to the crown.