BusinessMirror November 27, 2021

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Saturday, November 27, 2021 Vol. 17 No. 50

P25.00 nationwide | 16 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK

BuyAnihan sa Palengke, championed by foodpanda and 7-Eleven, ties up with LGUs and NGOs to provide hope to those impacted by the pandemic, including those haunted by Caloocan’s drug war.

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Text and photos by Bernard Testa

IVE years since President Duterte’s war on drugs began, it continues to draw headlines, as local and international groups seek a reckoning for what is seen as too huge a “collateral damage” in the crackdown on ruthless, powerful syndicates.

A KEY supporter of BuyAnihan is Rep. Dale Malapitan, whose commitment of support was crucial to the program’s launch and future success.

Unfortunately, most of what is seen as collateral damage involves little people who were either small pawns in a massive network of criminals; people with a past association with drug use and ended up on some petty bureaucrat’s list; victims of a revenge by parties with some personal grudge; or, simply, people at the wrong place at the wrong time, conveniently included by some bloodthirsty or overzealous lawmen eager to up the ante.

Whether the campaign—or the manner it was conducted— was legal or otherwise remains a point of contention. But beyond that, some broken lives must be rebuilt, even as those lost forever to state forces’ bungling can never be restored.

One such broken life struggling to recover is Sharon Cubanon (not her real name), 35, who spent two years in detention for what she

claims was a simple mistake that cops refuse to own. She was having a quiet afternoon in Camarin, Caloocan, when a group of policemen swooped down on their home and invited her and the nephew of her common-law husband for questioning. She was told that they were going to be released later.

“Nadamay lang sa isang police operation, may masabi lang na nahuli, kasi dahil sa quota. Ang kaso ko daw po ay mistaken identity, sumama na daw ako kasi me itatanong, papauwiin din daw ako, hinold kami ng pamangkin ng asawa ko, two years kaming nakulong, in violation of RA 511 [I was caught up in a police operation, where they apparently just wanted to say they were able to arrest somebody, maybe because of their ‘quota.’ They said I was a case of mistaken identity. They said I should go with them and they just needed to ask me questions. But

VICTOR PATERNO, CEO of Philippine Seven Corp., committed the use of 7-Eleven delivery vehicles to pick up produce directly from farms and deliver these to BuyAnihan Palengke community resellers.

DANIEL MAROGY, foodpanda managing director

they held me and my husband’s nephew for two years, for violation of RA 511].”

Two years passed, and after their plea-bargain agreement, she went to the local Caloocan AntiDrug Abuse Office (CADAO) and spent six months in rehabilitation and training on entrepreneurship and self-sufficiency.

“I got some goods to sell from CADAO, I displayed these in front of my house like a mini-talipapa—vegetables, fish, among others. Our dream is for my minitalipapa to become a full-fledged small market because I suffered for two years. The guilty should have been in jail, but when I was inside, I reflected on my life. People are not perfect and sometimes we do things that aren’t so good, and then I realized I can forgive and deepen my faith in God,” Cubanon said, mostly in Filipino.

Eloisa Aranas, 58, of Bagong Barrio, was gripped by fear when

her name came out on a list in 2016. The mother of nine children said she had been “clean” for five years and was starting her new life as an employee in a canteen inside a private school.

She said she was doing drugs before 2010, but had been clean for five years. Why her name came out on a list still puzzles her.

Curiosity, she recalled, was behind her first outing with the illegal substance. “I was wondering why many people liked it, and wondered what it had.” She was tending to her junk shop, so to keep her busy and alert, she started taking the substance until she realized she was already hooked.

Fast forward: when she was summoned by the Barangay Captain, she immediately availed herself of the balik-loob project, because of her fear of Tokhang, the term coined by Duterte and his police chief to describe their style— Continued on A2

FOODPANDA Philippines managing director Daniel Marogy hands over farm produce from upland farmers to beneficiaries during turnover ceremonies of the BuyAnihan Palengke at the Caloocan City Hall.

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 50.4600

n JAPAN 0.4374 n UK 67.2329 n HK 6.4722 n CHINA 7.9013 n SINGAPORE 36.8968 n AUSTRALIA 36.2807 n EU 56.5758 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.4531

Source: BSP (November 26, 2021)

NewsSaturday

LIFE AFTER DEATH A2 Saturday, November 27, 2021

BusinessMirror

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Continued from A1

knocking on doors. “Natakot po ako kasi tumapat sa bahay namin ’yung mga pulis, ang dami nila, puno ng pulis ang buong bahay ko. Pinipilit nila ako isama, me tinabig pa akong photographer dahil kuha nang kuha ng litrato, sabi ko nga e, ‘bakit ka ba kuha ng kuha e di naman ako mamamatay tao.’ Tumanggi akong sumama, sabi ko ‘huwag na po, sir, ako na lang po magpapa-drug test sa sarili ko,’ hindi po ako sumakay, ang nasa isip ko kagad totokhangin nila ako. May mga natokhang sa kabilang barangay, kung sumama ako, e sigurado na na-tokhang na ako.”

Her children were angry after she went to the barangay, she said.

But after she completed the six months’ training in CADAO, she was soon welcomed back by her children.

“So now, I sell people food for breakfast. I buy vegetables as well because at the carinderia, I’m a seller and buyer at the same time.”

Aranas has a word or two to the would-be drug users, and even those still doing it: “Huwag na po nila balakin, sa mga nagamit pa, ihinto niyo na, huwag niyo ituloy [Don’t even think about it. If you’re doing it, stop it now].”

Now a grandmother, Noralyn Lopez, 47, also of Bagong Barrio, Caloocan, said she was happy with her decision to avail herself of the balik-loob program, “Kusa po akong sumuko, sabi ko sa mga anak ko, para sa kanila ito. Pagkatapos po ng pag-

CONTRACT signing between Philippine Seven Corp. and foodpanda Philippines, and the Caloocan LGU launching of the BuyAnihan Palengke. In photo: Caloocan Anti-Drug Abuse Office head Atty.

Sikini Labastilla; Engr. Oliver Hernandez, Caloocan City city administrator; foodpanda Philippines Managing Director Daniel Marogy; Rep. Dale Malapitan; Jose Victor Paterno, President/CEO Philippine Seven Corp.; Leopoldo de Castro, foodpanda director for finance; and Dr. Angelita Catedral, president of Asian Society of Community Rehab Practitioners.

suko ko e kinontak ako ng CADAO. After ng six months na training, involved na ako sa madaming activity, sarap ng pakiramdam ng may mga taong pwede pang magtiwala sa iyo, kaya tuloy-tuloy ang pag-iwas sa droga para sa apo ko.”

These three women (their real names are not disclosed here)have stories that provide some hope, amid the sense of despair and disgust sparked by the killing of teenager Kean de los Santos in 2017, who the court found was murdered

by three Caloocan cops who took him and insisted he was a drug suspect who “fought back.” The trio has been convicted, and Kean remains the poster boy for the innocent victims of the drug war.

CADAO program graduates and BuyAnihan recipients

looking for a fresh start—while assuring fair prices for farmers and fresh produce for consumers.

Program by professionals

THESE three women, meanwhile, are graduates of a program created by professionals.

According to CADAO head Atty. Sikini Labastilla, they trained doctors, psychiatrists, psycholo-

Congressional support for BuyAnihan

BUYANIHAN Palengke is a livelihood program that offers beneficiaries not only a lifeline but a steady source of income.

gists and health workers in handling the rehabilitation of former drug users and dependents. The program wanted the participants to learn self-sufficiency and entrepreneurship.

When he was part of the Department of Health program to assess and evaluate the participants, they found out that the levels of drug users are different. They wanted to take care of everyone from those with severe addiction to “leisure users,” but definitely the program needed to be science-based.

“Imagine that in 2016 they said that we have 5 million drug users. Assuming the numbers were right, we only have a 50,000-bed capacity in both public and private facilities. So we came out with an idea that we should assess the level of addiction—whether, following the law, a person must be considered an in-patient or must be jailed—without, of course, the tokhang factor,” he explained, partly in Filipino.

Now, CADAO has produced 1,694 graduates integrated into society. “Actually our participants have evolved, they wanted to work in their own small group, like a cooperative, it is like a Grameen type, where everyone is an investor and guarantor at the same time.”

After organizing the gradu-

ates into several groups, Labastilla is very upbeat that the skills they have learned from the program will keep their investments tight and working.

Enter: foodpanda and 7-Eleven

NOW, the initiative has partnered with foodpanda and 7-Eleven, two of the most omnipresent brands in the country.

While helping farmers up north in the delivery of their produce, 7-Eleven came up with the idea that their empty delivery trucks can be loaded with a lot of produce on the way back, which—with the help of an NGO and local governments, initially in Caloocan—can be resold by beneficiaries such as the graduates of CADAO.

Thus, BuyAnihan was born.

The country’s leading food delivery digital platform firm foodpanda and Philippine Seven Corporation, operator of the 7-Eleven chain of 24-hour stores, partnered with the Caloocan City government for BuyAnihan Palengke, a livelihood program that offers beneficiaries not only a lifeline but a steady source of income.

It will principally benefit people who are barely holding on to hope— reformed drug dependents finding it difficult to land jobs, families of delivery riders in search of additional incomes, and repatriated OFWs

A KEY supporter of BuyAnihan is Rep. Dale Malapitan, whose commitment of support was crucial to the program’s launch and future success.

Malapitan said one of the target beneficiaries of the program, former drug dependents, are especially in need of a livelihood source in keeping with the concept of dealing with drug dependency as an entire society.

Speaking on behalf of the city government, Malapitan thanked foodpanda PH, 7-Eleven and the diocese of Caloocan City for joining hands with city officials in developing the livelihood program.

Many of the jobless reside in Caloocan City. As the drug menace bore down on Caloocan, many residents also found themselves unable to make ends meet because of their inability to land jobs.

This explains the involvement in the project of the CADAO and the Asian Society of Community Rehab Practitioners (Ascorp), a local nonprofit organization. These two organizations will identify the beneficiaries and also provide training to ensure the sustainability of their business.

Vision for BuyAnihan

DANIEL MAROGY, foodpanda managing director, said BuyAnihan is meant to open doors for the underserved sectors to sell fresh farm produce, learn the ropes as small business owners, and grant their communities access to fresh fruits and vegetables at fair prices.

For Caloocan City, foodpanda Philippines is set to invest an initial seed capital of P2 million to help BuyAnihan Palengke beneficiaries start their fresh produce reselling venture.

Through BuyAnihan, the beneficiaries won’t just wait to be given fish but be able to fish themselves.

“We want to build their confidence and lead them towards the path of financial independence,” Marogy said. He also emphasized the huge role of 7-Eleven in linking rural farmers with urban community resellers under this livelihood scheme.

Victor Paterno, CEO of Philippine Seven Corp., committed the use of 7-Eleven delivery vehicles to pick up produce directly from farms and deliver these to BuyAnihan Palengke community resellers.

Malapitan said foodpanda PH and 7-Eleven serve as models for other companies that wish to help local governments care for constituents impacted by the global pandemic.

News BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

DTI-CPG issues SRP list for ‘Noche Buena’ goods

By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

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he Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) released on Friday the list of suggested retail prices (SRP) of Noche Buena items amid the holiday season, with the majority keeping the same price level.

In a news statement, the trade department noted that 110 shelfkeeping units (SKUs) have the same prices, while 20 SKUs saw decline in prices.

DTI’s Consumer Protection Group (CPG) has ensured the availability and price stability of the products included in the list for the consumers.

“As Covid-19 cases continue to decline and vaccination efforts intensify, the spirit of the holiday season compels our consumers to purchase their favorite Noche Buena products for their families to serve at their dining tables,” DTI Undersecretary Ruth Castelo said.

Ham prices vary from P158 to P204 (500 grams) to P345 to P1,120 (1 kilogram) while 165-gram cheese has an SRP of P49.50 to P81.30.

Half a kilogram of keso de bola (cheese ball) is priced within P285 to P410.

A spaghetti package (1 kilogram)—pasta, spaghetti sauce and

tomato sauce—may cost as much as P219.70 in total.

A kilogram of elbow or salad macaroni is priced within P71.75 to P89.25.

Mayonna ise and sandw ich spread (470 milliliters) have an SRP of P96.50 to P169 and P122.85 to P157, respectively.

The full list may be accessible here: htt ps://www.dt i.gov.ph / konsyumer/e-presyo/. “ The DTI thanks the manufacturers for heeding the call not to increase prices demonstrating their sense of solidarit y w it h our consumers t his Christmas despite the Covid-19 pandemic. In doing this, we give w ider choices of affordable Noche Buena products for the Filipino consumers,” Trade Secretar y R amon Lopez said.

“Our efforts to reopen safely the economy to bring back more jobs while keeping prices relatively stable will make the Christmas season merrier,” he added.

The DTI advised the public to create a shopping list and refer to the Noche Buena SRP list “to avoid panic buying and ensure value for money.” The department also reminded the consumers to follow the health protocols when shopping in establishments.

IATF resolution allows entry of fully vaxxed nationals of non-visa countries

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ully vaccinated nationals of non-visa required countries will be allowed to enter the Philippines starting December 1, Acting Presidential spokesman and Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles announced on Friday.

In a press briefing, Nograles said the new guidelines, which were approved by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) in Resolution No. 150-A, shall take effect until December 15, but could be extended depending on the evaluation and monitoring of its implementation.

“Right now the IATF is just prepared to release a resolution that says up to December 15 pero ‘pag makita naman po natin na maganda ang implementation nito, ie-extend natin ang dates [but if we see that the implementation is good, we could extend the dates],” he said.

Under the resolution, holders of passports valid for at least six months at the time of arrival, and with a return or outbound ticket to their country of origin or next country of destination, will be allowed to enter the Philippines.

Nograles said prior to arrival in the Philippines, the foreigner should have stayed exclusively in “green” list countries, territories, or jurisdictions for 14 days.

Nograles said foreigners entering the country must present their proof of vaccination such as:

n World Health Organization’s International Certificates of Vaccination and Prophylaxis n VaxCertPH; or n National or state digital certificate of the foreign government which has accepted VaxCertPH under a reciprocal arrangement unless otherwise permitted by the IATF. Nograles said the passengers should have a negative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test taken within 72 hours prior to departure and no longer need to observe facilitybased quarantine and take another RT-PCR test upon arrival.

He said travelers merely transiting through non-green list territories are not considered having been there if they stayed in the airport the whole time and were not cleared for entry.

“The testing and quarantine protocols of minors shall follow the testing and quarantine protocol of the parent/guardian traveling with them,” the resolution read.

Those vaccinated but failed to comply with the test-before-travel requirements shall follow the protocols for unvaccinated individuals coming from green list countries.

They will be required to undergo facility-based quarantine until the release of a negative RT-PCR test taken on their fifth day in the Philippines and self-monitor until their 14th day of staying in the country. PNA

Saturday, November 27, 2021

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Duterte seen to sign devt plan for ₧75-B coco fund in early ’22

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

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RESIDENT Duterte is expected to sign the coconut industry development plan in early 2022, setting in motion the much-awaited utilization of at least P75 billion in coconut levy fund that promises to modernize the sector and uplift farmers’ lives.

Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) Deputy Administrator Roel M. Rosales said the legally mandated Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Plan (CFIDP) is “nearing its completion” and is expected to be deliberated on by the PCA board in mid-December.

“If it is approved it will be submitted to the Office of the President since it is the President who will approve the plan. We do not have control over when the President will sign it, but he is expecting this since this is his promise to have an inclusive and comprehensive program for coconut farmers,” Rosales told coconut farmers during a Friday

dialogue organized by the Ang Magsasaka Party-list.

“But,” he stressed, they do not see the matter being extended much longer, “and we expect that the President will approve it by early next year. Once the President signs it, we are all set and we are ready to immediately implement the plan.”

The CFIDP is mandated by Republic Act 11524 or the Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund Act, which allows the management and utilization of the decades-long idle coconut levy fund.

Under the law, the utilization of the coconut levy fund shall be “in accordance” with the development plan. The law stipulates that the plan will “set the directions and policies for the development and rehabilitation of the coconut industry within 50 years.”

In fact, the submission by the PCA to Duterte of the CFIDP has been overdue since the law only provided a 120-day deadline from the effectivity of the law or until

the middle of August.

Sources told the BusinessMirror that the submission has been delayed due to lack of manpower by PCA. “I suspect that the delay is caused by the lack of manpower.

Like the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund [RCEF], the coconut industry plan involves a lot of agencies to coordinate with,” former agriculture secretary Leonardo Montemayor told the BusinessMirror.

Farmers impatient

Montemayor sa id coconut farmers are becoming “impatient” with the implementation of the CFIDP, having waited for decades already for a law to utilize the coconut levy fund. Nonetheless, given the current schedule, he expects the implementation of the CFIDP to start in the first quarter of next year.

“Farmers are becoming very impatient. They waited already many decades for the law to be

enacted. The implementing rules and regulations of the trust fund are already approved. Why is it taking so long?” he said.

Rosales assured coconut farmers that once Duterte approves the CFIDP, implementation of all programs under the CFIDP as mandated by law will immediately start.

“We have readied all the devices and methodologies for the immediate implementation of the plan.

Let’s pray that it will be approved early next year so the industry may now start benefiting from the coconut levy fund,” he said.

“All the government agencies involved in the implementation of the plan are ready,” he added.

Under the law, the CFIDP shall take into account the mandated distribution of the annual allocation of the trust fund that includes development of hybrid coconut farms, training of farmers, research and promotion, crop insurance, farm diversification and credit programs, among others.

Gatchalian prods Duterte admin to go after text spam syndicates

By Butch Fernandez

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rodding the Duterte administration to go after “spam syndicates,” Senator Sherwin Gatchalian pressed government regulators and security officials Friday to step up a crackdown against cybercriminal syndicates misusing the widely popular Internet link-ups.

The senator suggested that the concerned agencies—Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)’s Cybercrime Division and the Philippine National Police (PNP) Anti-Cybercrime Group — c losely l in k up w it h i nter n at ion a l c y ber - sec u r it y

agencies in tracking down cyber criminals.

In a news statement, Gatchalian on Friday disclosed he, too, had been receiving “text spams,” or scam text messages offering non-existent jobs almost on a daily basis for several weeks now.

He proposed a no-nonsense clampdown on global cybercrime syndicates behind spam text messages, noting the urgent need to “wage a no-nonsense clamp down” against cybercriminal operations in the country,” reminding authorities to work hand in hand with organizations and institutions that address international cyber security.

The lawmaker aired the alert

in the wake of “recent revelations” by the National Privacy Commission’s (NPC) noting “the onslaught of spam text messages offering nonexistent jobs” traced to be the “ handiwork of global crime syndicates.”

“Authorities should leave no stone unturned in unmasking the culprits behind these smishing activities and to at least put a stop to the latest scam trend they have employed.”

At the same time, Gatchalian goaded the NPC and the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to look into the revelations of tech expert Art Samaniego who tagged a Chinese web site appeared to be “among the sources of the text spams.”

The senator said the information conveyed to the Senate panel might be of help in stopping the Internet anomalies based on the initial findings of the NPC investigation indicating it to be the handiwork of global crime syndicates.

Gatchalian added some of his staff who also received text spam engaged the text senders and noticed the senders could not communicate in Filipino.

As provided in Gatchalian’s Senate Bill No. 176 or the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) Card Registration Act seeks the mandatory registration of all users of SIM cards to better track fraudsters because they use prepaid SIM cards as a tool to carry out their illicit activities.

803,521 OFWs repatriated since onset of pandemic last year–OWWA chief

By Samuel P. Medenilla

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he O versea s Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) on Thursday reported that it has repatriated more than 800,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFW) since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic last year.

In his Twitter post, OWWA Administrator Hans J. Cacdac said the government was able to bring home a total of 803,521 OFWs. He said they were able to extend food, quarantine accommodation, and transportation aid to the said OFWs. “That’s 800,000 OFWs person-

ally assisted, swabbed, monitored, and transported by DOLE-OWWA [Department of Labor and Employment-OWWA], DFA [Department of Foreign Affairs], DOTr-CAAPPCG-MIAA [Department of Transportation-Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines-Philippine Coast Guard-Manila International Airport Authority], DOH-BOQ [Department of Health-Bureau of Quarantine], DOT [Department of Tourism], DILG [Department of the Interior and Local Government], PNP [Philippine National Police], LGU [local government units], and DND-AFP [Department of National Defense-Armed Forces

of the Philippines],” Cacdac said.

T housands of OFWs opted to return to the countr y since last year after the business disr upt ion caused by t he pa ndem ic led to t heir ret renc hment or reduct ion of benef its.

To provide new employment opportunities to the said returnees and other Filipino jobseekers, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) will be conducting a virtual job fair on Saturday.

A total of 4,510 job vacancies from 17 participating recruitment agencies are expected to be made available in the event.

Some of the positions to be made available in the online job fair include construction workers, factory workers, and seafarers, among others.

“To join, register to the POEA’s E-registration System. Click Registration at the upper left corner of the poea web site [http:// w w w.poea.gov.ph%2C / ]ht t p:// www.poea.gov.ph,” POEA said in a brief statement.

“It is open to all interested nationwide,” it added.

The event is sponsored by the LGUs in Victoria, Tarlac, Palayan, Nueva Ecija, Balanga Bataan, Baler, Aurora and Iba, Zambales.

Young farmer in Pangasinan town turns veggies to chips

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Allan Padilla, president of the 4H AgriKuli Dinalaoan Club in Calasiao town, Pangasinan, turns vegetables into nutritious chips together with the other youths in his community. Padilla used the grant assistance he received from the Department of Agriculture to buy the needed machines for their production. Photo courtesy of Gerald Quinit

ALASIAO, Pangasinan— A young farmer here has found a way to address the oversupply of vegetables in his town by introducing “Pinakbet” chips.

Allan Padilla, president of the 4H AgriKuli Dinalaoan Club, used his grant assistance from the Department of Agriculture (DA) to buy a dehydrator machine, vacuum sealer, and powderizer machine to produce a nutritious snack that will also help the local farmers in his hometown.

Padilla said he thought of the Pinakbet (vegetable dish) chips upon seeing the problem of the farmers in the oversupply of their

vegetable products.

“Sabi po nung ibang farmers mas gusto na nila magkonstraksyon na lang kasi yong ani nila nalulugi din lang sila dahil sa mura na lang pagdating sa palengke sa dami ng supply [Some of the farmers prefer doing construction work as their harvest did not earn enough income because these were sold at a low price due to oversupply in the market],” he said in an interview on Friday.

Padilla and his other club members started sun drying the vegetables such as eggplant, lady’s finger (okra), sweet potato, tomato, string beans, squash, and sigarilyas (winged bean) to make Pinakbet chips.

However, when the weather was gloomy, the vegetables were destroyed by mold.

“I joined the DA’s Kabataang Agribiz Competitive grant assistance program and won at the provincial level hence, we were able to buy the needed machines with the P50,000 grant,” he added.

The production of Pinakbet chips also helps the youths, including the out-of-school ones in his community, to earn additional income for their school and other needs, he said.

Padilla said with the machines, they are able to produce 150 packs of 100 grams Pinakbet chips weekly.

“We sold it to our community and we target to sell more in Pasalubong Centers, hopefully in schools also so the children will have a choice of nutritious snack[s],” he said.

Padilla said the nutritional value of the vegetables remained intact as the dehydrator only removes water from the vegetables and not the nutrients.

“We also make sure that the ingredients are all natural even the seasoning that is composed of garlic and onion that was powderized without having to add preservatives,” he added.

The Pinakbet chips are sold at P45 to P75 wholesale prices. PNA

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Saturday, November 27, 2021

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ADB lists ‘vulnerabilities’ of PHL economy amid lingering pandemic

By Cai U. Ordinario

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he Philippines remains vulnerable to “economic setbacks” due to slow vaccination and rising inflation, according to the Manilabased Asian Development Bank (ADB).

In its latest Asia Bond Monitor, ADB expressed concern that these could lead to a weak labor market and slow consumer spending. It can be noted that the Philippine economy remains a consumption-driven one.

Based on the report, local currency (LCY) government bonds in the Philippines increased for all tenors between August 31 and October 15, except for 1-year bonds.

“The increase in yields may have also been due to some uncertainty in the domestic economic recovery, resulting in investors requiring a premium for the associated risks. For example, persistently high inf lation

might temper the recovery by discouraging consumer spending on the back of a weak labor market,” ADB said.

“In addition, while its vaccination rate is improving, the Philippines remained among the lowest in the region in terms of the percentage of the population vaccinated, making it vulnerable to economic setbacks,” it added.

Given the inflation concerns, ADB said central banks in the region might need to be less accommodative in the coming months in order to keep inflation in check.

“The encouraging macroeconomic outlook and accommodative policy stances are supporting the region’s financial conditions,” said ADB Acting Chief Economist Joseph Zveglich Jr. “However, central banks in the region may find they need to be less accommodative to keep inflation in check and to keep in step with US monetary policy changes. That said, the chance

of another ‘taper tantrum’ is limited as the direction of the Federal Reserve’s stance is clearly communicated and the region’s economic fundamentals remain strong,” he explained.

I n t he Ph i l ippi nes, A DB sa id yields on the shorter end of the curve (1-month to 6-month tenors) climbed 4 basis points (bps) on average, while those at the longer end of the curve (20year and 25-year tenors) increased an average of 5 bps.

ADB said much larger increases were seen for the yields of bonds with 2-year to 10-year maturities, which rose by 64 bps on average. The largest was for 10-year bonds with an 84-bps increase.

In contrast, the report stated that the yield fell 2 bps for 1-year bonds.

The yield spread between the 2-year and 10-year tenors widened during the review period from 215 bps to 269 bps.

In the region, emerging East Asia’s

bond market grew 3.4 percent in the third quarter to $21.7 trillion, although rising global inflation and a shift in the US monetary stance weakened regional financial conditions.

A DB said bond y ields rose, currencies weakened, and risk premiums edged up amid increased global inf lation and the US Federal Reser ve’s announcement that it would limit bond purchases starting in November.

Government bonds remained the dominant segment, increasing 3.9 percent from the previous quarter to $13.6 trillion. The bond markets of Asean members—many of which suffered from the Covid-19 Delta variant outbreak—grew 14.4 percent from a year earlier to $1.9 trillion in the third quarter, compared with 12.6 percent and 7.6 percent growth in the Peoples Republic of China and Republic of Korea, respectively.

More than 25K volunteers enlist for natl vaccine campaign–DICT

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

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total of 25,255 volunteers have signed up for the “Bayani ha n Ba k u na ha n: Lig t as.

Lakas. Buong Pinas” campaign from November 29 to December 1, 2021, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) reported.

However, the Department of Health (DOH) said that the National Vaccine Operations Center (NVOC) has projected over 50,000 volunteers needed for the three-day vaccination campaign with the aim of ramping up Covid-19 vaccination nationwide. The drive also aims to increase vaccine coverage and mobilize stakeholders from every sector to support the national government’s goal of giving Filipinos a safe and healthy Christmas.

“Protecting our health through

vaccination will increase our confidence to go out and see our loved ones this Christmas, as well as ensure a safe return to work. So we encourage every eligible individual, especially our lolo and lola, and our loved ones who have underlying medical conditions who are not yet vaccinated, to take advantage of these National Vaccination Days and get your jabs done,” said Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire.

DOH noted that reports in the US show that over 93 percent of Covid-19 deaths were among the unvaccinated individuals.

In the Philippines, an analysis of hospital data from March 1 to November 14 from reports submitted to the DOH Data Collect showed that 85 percent of the admissions due to Covid-19 are not fully vaccinated.

Moreover, deaths and serious outcomes are more likely to happen among

unvaccinated patients with over 93.4 percent of them dying based on the reports gathered by DOH. “While the vaccines are effective in protecting us from severe Covid-19, we still need to be mindful and constantly observe minimum public health standards as available vaccines at this time do not prevent transmission of Covid-19,” she added.

The theme emphasizes how various sectors can unite and work together to improve vaccination rates and prevent the further spread of Covid nationwide.

Meanwhile, companies and employers are further encouraged to ensure they have a fully vaccinated workforce in order to guarantee a safe environment for their people.

The event will also be an opportunity to accelerate giving of booster shots to health-care workers, senior citizens

Lacson files resolution to assert Manila’s rights on Pag-asa Island

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By Butch Fernandez

sserting Philippine sovereignty over Pag-asa Island as part of the Kalayaan Island Group in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), Senator Panfilo Lacson affirmed “it is ours,” and reminded the Duterte administration “must consistently act to thwart the bullying in the area by China.”

Lacson conveyed the message in filing Senate Resolution 954 after visiting the Pagasa Island group last week, as chairman of the Senate Committee on National Defense.

Senate Resolution 954 states “it is hereby resolved by the Senate to condemn the continued presence and hostile acts of Chinese Maritime Vessels within our EEZ [Exclusive Economic Zone] and urge the government to fortify, amplify and enhance our positions in the West Philippine Sea through defense and security agreements with other nations, and by consistently invoking and protecting our internationally recognized rights through continuing diplomatic dialogue with nations of mutual/common interests in the West Philippine Sea.” The Lacson resolution likewise called for “a comprehensive development plan that includes concrete projects to improve the quality of life and to ensure the efficient delivery of public services.”

“In pursuit of sending a stronger message of assertion that Pag-Asa Island is ours, a comprehensive Development Plan must be crafted laying-out concrete projects, programs and activities aimed at improving the quality of life and efficient delivery of public services therein,” the resolution read.

At the same time, the resolution reaffirmed that Pag-asa Island is considered a municipality in Palawan by virtue of Presidential Decree 1596 dated June 11, 1978.

“Yet, it is surrounded by Chinese maritime vessels despite our repeated diplomatic protests,” the resolution said.

The senator warned that if these continuing acts of the Chinese maritime vessels in the WPS remain unchecked and unchallenged, they may “constitute clear and present danger not only to our national interest and territorial integrity, but also to the peace and stability of the entire Asia Pacific Region.”

Lacson recalled that in 1995, China seized Panganiban (Mischief) Reef and turned it into a 550-hectare air and naval outpost that can deploy military assets and conduct surveillance over the WPS. Moreover, the senator added that in 2012, China disregarded an agreement brokered by the United States to end the standoff in Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal by not withdrawing from the area, and instead constructing chain barriers to prevent access by the Philippines. The lawmaker lamented that China also refused to accept the Philippines’ arbitral victory in 2016 and continues to occupy and enjoy the marine resources.

“Worse,” Lacson deplored “at least three Chinese Coast Guard vessels blocked and water-cannoned two Philippine supply boats en route to Ayungin Shoal, which is well within the Philippines’ 200-nauticalmile EEZ, last November 16.

Concerned Philippine officials, including President Duterte issued a statement in the Asean-China Special Summit abhorring the November 16 incident and urged China to exercise utmost self-restraint in Philippine territory.

For his part, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. condemned the incident, while Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana maintained China has no right to impede, prevent or harass our Philippine ships within our EEZ. On November 20, Lacson had a firsthand experience of Chinese bullying while en route to Pag-asa Island, as Chinese authorities issued a radio challenge to the pilots of the plane he was riding. Despite the challenge, Lacson and his party managed to visit the island—but received text messages that read “Welcome to China!”

In calling for a balance of power in the region and for development programs for Pagasa Island, Lacson stressed the importance of the WPS in ensuring freedom of navigation and unhampered international trade.

“Considering the importance of the West Philippine Sea in ensuring freedom of navigation, unhampered international trade and commerce in the Asia Pacific Region and the vital role it plays in the security and safety of the region, there is a need to uphold a rules based maritime order in the area to maintain the balance of power and stability therein,” he said.

and immunocompromised individuals.

While walk-ins are allowed especially for senior citizens and persons with comorbidities, vaccine recipients are encouraged to register with their respective local government units.

On the day of vaccination, recipients of primary dose series should bring any valid Identification Card (ID), medical certificate for immunocompromised, individuals with comorbidities, pregnant in their first trimester and children with comorbidities, and additional documents for the rest of pediatric population as provided in DOH DC 2021-0464.

Meanwhile, vaccine recipients requiring booster/additional doses must bring their original vaccination card showing completion of the primary series of vaccine, valid ID Card, and medical certificate for immunocompromised individuals.

DepEd seeks higher honoraria, allowances for teachers on poll duties in ’22 elections

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he Department of Education (DepEd) on Friday said that they are still hoping for a possible hike in the honoraria of teachers, who will serve as poll workers in the May 2022 national and local elections.

This after the Commission on Elections (Comelec) released teachers’ approved new honoraria and allowance rates which, they said, are “below par” with their proposed remuneration.

“Although it is less than our proposed increase for our teachers who will serve as poll workers, we appreciate the adjusted rates, and we will coordinate with Comelec [Commission on Elections] for possible increase of the honoraria and other allowances and benefits,” Education Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones said.

In June 2021, DepEd prescribed the following honoraria rates based on the Consumer Price Index and Inflation Rate as of January 2021: P9,000 for Chairpersons; P8,000 for Electoral Board (EB) members; P7,000 for DepEd Supervisor Official (DESO); and P5,000 for Support Staff.

DepEd also requested health insurance coverage for those who will be infected with the virus.

Other benefits such as on-site swab testing, shifting, and work hours of public school teachers in the EB, tax exemption, and any absence/ transfer/leave of DepEd employees due to election-related incidents will still be studied by the Comelec and DepEd. However, based on Comelec Resolution No. 10727, teachers who render election-related services are entitled to the following honoraria: Chairperson of EB-P7,000; EB Members-P6,000; DESO-P5,000; and Support Staff-P3,000.

The chairperson and members of EB, DESO, and their respective staff are also entitled to P2,000 travel allowance (P1000 for the day of Final Testing and Sealing of the Vote Counting Machine and the other P1,000 for Election Day.) In addition, DESO and DESO Technical Support staff will receive a communication allowance of P1,500, while members of the EB, DESO and their team are entitled to Anti-Covid-19 Allowance of P500.

Based on the resolution, a minimum of 5 days of service credits will accrue to all government officials and employees serving as EB, DESO, Medical Personnel, and Support Staff. The honoraria and allowances will be paid within 15 days from the date of the election.

In the event that those rendering election service die due to electionrelated risk, they will be entitled to Death Benefits amounting to P500,000 and if they suffer election-related injury or illness, they are eligible for Medical Assistance amounting to P200,000.

Meanwhile, Undersecretary for Administration Alain Del B. Pascua reminded DepEd personnel to submit their Philippine National Public Key Infrastructure (PNPKI) applications.

“We are urging all concerned personnel to immediately submit your accomplished applications for the Philippine National Public Key Infrastructure Digital Signatures as this will be used for the coming 2022 National and Local Election,” Pascua said. Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Angel R. Calso

The World BusinessMirror

Saturday, November 27, 2021

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China’s property-led economic drop shows no signs of ending

Shoppers walk through Victoria Gardens with an arm load of purchases in Rancho Cucamonga on November 24. Will Lester/MediaNews Group/Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/Getty Images

US Thanksgiving online shopping spending expected to set record

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-commerce spending by US consumers on Thanksgiving Day will probably climb to a record, even though sales may not be as strong as initially expected.

Adobe Analytics estimated consumers will spend $5.1 billion to $5.4 billion online Thursday, it said in an emailed statement, lowering the top end of its range from $5.9 billion. Shoppers, who had started their purchases earlier in the month, are being forced online as more retailers close their physical stores for the holiday.

“What we’ve seen this afternoon is that we’re on a trajectory in which the Thanksgiving Day total will be closer to the lower half of our originally proposed range,” Taylor Schreiner, director at Adobe Digital Insights, said in a statement. “This can be attributed to consumers spreading out their spending across November, which has shown up in more $3 billion online shopping days thus far.”

Shoppers have spent at a pace of at least $3.5 million per minute on Thanksgiving, Adobe said, with $2.3 billion of online spending reached as of 3 p.m. New York time.

Electronics and apparel are among the popular categories, Adobe said, with online purchases of electronics nearly doubling since September. Top products include video game Just Dance, Oculus Quest virtual reality headset, Rainbow High Dolls, Rainbocorns, Apple Inc.’s iPads and watches and Nintendo Switch, it added.

The US retail industry is entering the busiest shopping season of the year with the inflation rate at a three-decade high and supply-chain disruptions translating into delays and disappointed customers.

“In the midst of a holiday shopping season characterized by inflation, weaker discounts, and widespread product shortages, it’s noteworthy that US online spending has already racked up over $75 billion to date in November,” Schreiner said.

Scott Morrison, Australia’s prime minister, speaks during a news conference with US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat from California, not pictured, at the US Capitol in Washington, D.C., US, on September 22, 2021. President Joe Biden and the leaders of Australia and the UK celebrated their new defense pact in meetings on Tuesday, predicting an agreement that’s angered France would nonetheless benefit the world. Bloomberg

US lawmakers visit Taiwan, plan to meet senior leaders

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AIPEI, Taiwan—Five US lawmakers are in Taiwan on Friday in a surprise one-day visit, said the American Institute in Taiwan, the de facto embassy.

The lawmakers from the US House of Representatives arrived in Taiwan on Thursday night and will meet with senior leaders on the island. No further details were provided about their itinerary.

The visit comes as tensions between Taiwan and China have risen to their highest level in decades. Taiwan has been self-ruled since the two sides split during a civil war in 1949, but China considers the island part of its own territory.

“Just touched down in the Republic of Taiwan,” tweeted Republican Representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina on Thursday night, using the island’s unofficial name.

Representatives Mark Takano, Democrat-California., Elissa Slotkin, Democrat-Michigan, Colin Allred, Democrat-Texas., Sara Jacobs, Democrat-Californnia and

Mace are all part of the visiting delegation.

The trip comes just a few weeks after a group of six Republican lawmakers visited the island. That congressional delegation met with President Tsai Ing-wen, National Security Secretary General Wellington Koo and Foreign Minister Joseph Wu, among others.

It’s the third visit by US lawmakers this year. In June, three members of Congress flew to Taiwan to donate badly needed vaccines at a time when the island was struggling to get enough.

The Biden administration has also invited Taiwan to a Summit for Democracy next month, a move that drew a sharp rebuke from China.

C h i n a’s Fore i g n M i n i s t r y spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Wednesday, “What the US did proves that the so-called democracy is just a pretext and tool for it to pursue geopolitical goals, suppress other countries, divide the world, serve its own interest and maintain its hegemony in the world.”

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hina’s economy continued to slow in November with car and homes sales dropping again as the housing market crisis dragged on.

That’s the outlook from Bloomberg’s aggregate index of eight early indicators for this month. While the overall number stayed unchanged, under the surface there was a further deterioration in some of the real-time economic data.

Strong export demand has helped to partly offset the property slump, and the latest shipment figures from South Korea—a bellwether for global trade—suggest another solid month for the sector. However, the pace of increase slowed and other high-frequency global trade data also suggest an easing in demand.

New export orders for smaller manufacturers in China jumped in the month, according to a survey of more than 500 firms by Standard Chartered Plc. Exportfocused companies in the survey also said they expect faster sales, output, and new orders in the next three months.

Domestic demand was “subdued” though, according to the survey, with the index for overall conditions improving slightly while the gauge for production remained unchanged.

“Services sector business activity has improved, while the performance of the manufacturing sector has softened further,” Standard Chartered’s economists, Hunter Chan and Shuang Ding, wrote in a report accompanying the survey.

“The current performance subindex for manufacturing SMEs (small and medium enterprises) dropped further to a nine-month low as production and new orders growth eased, despite a strong recovery in new export orders,” they said.

Stockpiles of iron rebar were at their lowest since mid-January this year as construction and steel output continues to slow. While low stockpiles are usually a good sign for the economy as it indicates strong construction demand, the nation’s property turmoil in recent

weeks has curbed construction activity and roiled metals markets.

The central government this week again called on local governments to sell bonds faster and use the money to boost infrastructure investment as a way to support growth. Iron ore prices have risen in recent days on expectations of a rebound in steel demand and output in the rest of the year, but local governments have struggled to find good projects to spend their money on this year.

So far the central bank and governments are keeping a tight rein on any large-scale stimulus or extra spending.

Factory-gate inflation showed no signs of easing this month, with a set of data tracked by Bloomberg Economics surging to the highest level on record, despite government efforts to control surging coal prices.

The official producer price index in October rose at the fastest pace since July 1995, and while that boosts the profits of energy producers and some other firms, it cuts into the margins of other companies and also led to power shortages earlier in the year.

Early indicators

Bloomberg Economics generates the overall activity reading by aggregating a three-month weighted average of the monthly changes of eight indicators, which are based on business sur veys or market prices. n Major onshore stocks-CSI 300 index of A-share stocks listed in Shanghai or Shenzhen (through market close on 25th of the month). n Total floor area of home sales in China’s four Tier-1 cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen). n Inventory of steel rebar, used for reinforcing in construction (in 10,000 metric tones). Falling inventory is a sign of rising demand.

Women graduates to outnumber men for first time at Japan’s FSA

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apan ’s f ina nc ia l reg u l ator is hiring more female college graduates next year as career bureaucrats than male ones, in a rare move highlighting the government’s efforts to improve gender parity in policy-making.

Women account for eight of the 14 fresh bureaucrats planning to join the Financial Services Agency (FSA) in April, said Hiroshi Okada, head of the regulatory office’s secretary division, in an interview. It will mark the first time since the FSA was created in 2000 for such female officers to outnumber their male counterparts.

Japan placed 120th in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index 2021 rankings, behind Angola and Myanmar, ref lecting how women tend to struggle to reach leadership posts in many sectors. Of the nation’s national government offices that typically hire 10 or more graduates every year as bureaucrats, the foreign and justice ministries have been the only ones where female entrants outnumbered men at least once during the past decade, according to the Cabinet Secretariat.

Women comprised 4.2 percent

of Japan’s highly ranked bureaucrats as of July, and 6.4 percent of those holding director-level jobs, Cabinet Bureau of Personnel Affairs data showed. The bureau has been calling on government ministries and agencies to pro-actively recruit women to raise those ratios to 8 percent and 10 percent respectively by March 2026.

Work-life balance

The limited representation of women in leadership positions is partly due to the absence of adequate help in the past for them to balance work and family life, which has caused some officials to quit after giving birth. Japanese gover n ment of f ices a l so used to hire even fewer female graduates.

While the FSA doesn’t have many female managers yet, the number of women serving as deputy directors—a key post for relatively young bureaucrats that leads to senior jobs—is increasing, the agency’s Okada said. “Should they keep building their careers, there could be more female executives in the future, including directors and director generals,” he said. Bloomberg News

Kaisa Group Holdings Ltd.’s City Plaza development under construction in Shanghai, China, on November 16. Qilai Shen/Bloomberg

n Copper prices-Spot price for refined copper in Shanghai market (yuan/metric tonne). n South Korean exportsSouth Korean exports in the first 20 days of each month (year-on-year change). n Factory inflation trackerBloomberg Economics created tracker for Chinese producer

prices (year-on-year change).

Small and medium-sized business confidence-Survey of companies conducted by Standard Chartered. n Passenger car salesMonthly result calculated from the weekly average sales data released by the China Passenger Car Association.

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Saturday, November 27, 2021

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Hong Kong finds two cases of new Covid variant identified in Africa B

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EU to limit political ads, ban use of certain personal info

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wo cases of the new Covid-19 strain raising alarm in parts of southern Africa have been found in travelers arriving in Hong Kong.

A traveler from South Africa was found to have the variant— currently known as B.1.1.529— while the other case was identified in a person quarantined in the hotel room opposite them, the Hong Kong government said late Thursday. That person may have been infected as air flowed between the rooms, according to the government.

B.1.1.529 carries an unusually large number of mutations and is “clearly very different” from previous incarnations, Tulio de Oliveira, a bio-informatics professor who runs gene-sequencing institutions at two South African universities, said at a briefing on Thursday.

South Africa’s Health Minister Joe Phaahla said the mutation was “of serious concern.” Virologists detected almost 100 cases linked to the variant in the country to date, said Anne von Gottberg, clinical microbiologist & head of respiratory diseases at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases. World Health Organization officials have met to discuss the virus, which has also been detected in Botswana.

In Botswana—which neighbors Sout h A f r ic a— t he ne w variant has been detected in vaccinated people, Kereng Masupu, coordinator of the Presidential Covid-19 Task Force, said in statement. The UK said late Thursday that it will temporarily halt flights from South Africa and five neighboring countries on concerns about B.1.1.529.

Twelve people who were staying in rooms close to the two Hong Kong cases are undergoing compulsory 14-day quarantines at a government facility, according to the statement issued on Thursday.

Hong Kong is one of the few places in the world that’s yet to have a recorded community outbreak of delta, the more contagious variant first detected in India that has now become the dominant strain worldwide.

The mutation has forced some countries that were able to keep Covid out through quarantines and border curbs in 2020 to abandon that approach, instead pivoting to treating the virus as endemic.

A traveler in the deserted hall at Hong Kong International Airport in Hong Kong, China, on August 10. Hong Kong started to allow vaccinated tourists from all but 10 places in the world to enter the city on August 9, a significant easing of some of the tightest border curbs in the world. Bloomberg

Tightening rules

The cases of the new variant may prompt Hong Kong to tighten what is already one of the toughest quarantine regimes in the world, with travelers from some places isolated in hotels for up to 21 days.

The city banned the use of masks with exhalation valves or vents in hotel quarantine this week, because they don’t effectively filter exhaled air. An investigation found that someone may have transmitted the virus to others while wearing one of these masks when their hotel room door was open. It’s unclear from

government statements whether this person is the carrier of the new variant.

Hong Kong also required air purifiers be installed in hotels quarantine rooms if the guest intends to exercise, to “remove aerosol generated during exercise,” according to a government s t at e me nt . O t he r c ou nt r i e s such as Australia have seen cases of Covid transmitted in the quarantine environment, fueling criticism that hotels aren’t adequate locations for housing travelers and suspected cases.

Bloomberg News

Russia: Death toll in Siberian coal mine blast raised to 52

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OSCOW—A devast at i ng e x plosion i n a Siberian coal mine Thursday left 52 miners and rescuers dead about 820 feet underground, Russian officials said.

Hours after a methane gas

ex plosion and f ire f il led the mine with toxic fumes, rescuers found 14 bodies but then were forced to halt the search for 38 others because of a buildup of methane and carbon monoxide gas from the fire. Another 239

people were rescued.

The state Tass and RIA-Novosti news agencies cited emergency officials as saying that there was no chance of finding any more survivors in the Listvyazhnaya mine, in the Kemerovo region of southwestern Siberia.

The Interfax news agency cited a representative of the regional administration who also put the death toll from Thursday’s accident at 52, saying they died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

It was t he dead l iest mine accident in Russia since 2010, when two methane explosions and a fire killed 91 people at the Raspadskaya mine in the same Kemerovo region.

A total of 285 people were in the Listvyazhnaya mine early Thursday when the blast sent smoke that quickly filled the mine through the ventilation system.

Rescuers led to the surface 239 miners, 49 of whom were injured, and found 11 bodies.

Later in the day, six rescuers also died while searching for others trapped in a remote section of the mine, the news reports said.

Regional officials declared three days of mourning.

Russia’s Deputy Prosecutor General Dmitry Demeshin told reporters that the fire most likely resulted from a methane explosion caused by a spark.

The miners who survived described their shock after reaching the surface.

“Impact. Air. Dust. And then, we smelled gas and just started walking out, as many as we could,” one of the rescued miners, Sergey Golubin, said in televised remarks. “We didn’t even realize what happened at first and took some gas in.”

Another miner, Rustam Chebelkov, recalled the dramatic moment when he was rescued along with his comrades as chaos engulfed the mine.

“I was crawling and then I felt them grabbing me,” he said. “I reached my arms out to them, they couldn’t see me, the visibility was bad. They grabbed me and pulled me out, if not for them, we’d be dead.”

Ex plosions of methane released from coal beds during mining are rare but they cause the most fatalities in the coal mining industry.

T he Inter fa x news agenc y reported that miners have oxygen supplies normally lasting for six hours that could only be stretched for a few more hours.

Russia’s Investigative Committee has launched a criminal probe into the fire over violations of safety regulations that led to deaths.

It said the mine director and two senior managers were detained.

President Vladimir Putin extended his condolences to the families of the dead and ordered the government to offer all necessary assistance to those injured.

Thursday’s fire wasn’t the first deadly accident at the Listvyazhnaya mine. In 2004, a methane explosion left 13 miners dead.

In 2007, a methane explosion at the Ulyanovskaya mine in the Kemerovo region killed 110 miners in the deadliest mine accident since Soviet times.

In 2016, 36 miners were killed in a series of methane explosions in a coal mine in Russia’s far north. In the wake of the incident, authorities analyzed the safety of the country’s 58 coal mines and declared 20 of them, or 34 percent, potentially unsafe.

T he List v yazhnaya mine wasn’t among them at the time, according to media reports.

Russia’s state technology and ecology watchdog, Rostekhnadzor, inspected the mine in April and registered 139 violations, including breaching fire safety regulations. AP

RUSSEL S — Concer ned by the misuse of political advertising to undermine elections, the European Union on Thursday unveiled plans to help people better understand when they are seeing such ads online and who is responsible for them.

The proposals, aimed at ensuring fair and transparent polls or referendums, would also ban political targeting and “amplification techniques” used to reach a wider audience if they use sensitive personal data like ethnic origin, religious beliefs, or sexual orientation without a citizen’s permission.

“Digital advertising for political purposes is becoming an unchecked race of dirty and opaque methods,” European Commission Vice-President Vera Jourova said.

“A myriad of data analytics and communication firms work daily with our data to try to figure out the best way to convince us to buy something or vote for someone or not to vote at all.”

She said people “must know why they are seeing an ad, who paid for it, how much, what micro-targeting criteria were used. New technologies should be tools for emancipation, not for manipulation.”

The commission, the EU’s executive branch, hopes that the 27 member countries and the European Parliament will have debated and endorsed the proposals in national law by 2023, in time for Europe-wide elections the following year.

Companies like Facebook and Google, the two dominant players in the digital ad industry, would face fines if they failed to comply.

Facebook, which has faced heavy criticism for its lack of transparency on political ads, welcomed the move.

“We have long called for EUwide regulation on political ads and are pleased that the Commission’s proposal addresses some of

the more difficult questions, in particular when it comes to cross border advertising,” the company, which recently renamed itself Meta, said in a news statement.

Google said in a blog post that it supported the proposals and recommended the commission clearly define political ads and spell out responsibilities for tech platforms and advertisers while still keeping the rules flexible.

Twitter, which banned all political ads in 2019, said it believed that “political reach should be earned, not bought” and noted that it has also restricted and removed microtargeting from other types of ads like cause-based ones.

Under the EU plan, political ads would have to be clearly labeled, and prominently display the name of the sponsor, with a transparency notice that explains how much the ad cost and where the funds to pay for it came from. The material would have to have a direct link to the vote or poll concerned.

Information must be available about the basis on which a person, or group of people, is being targeted by the advertisement, and what kind of amplification tools are being used to help the sponsor reach a wider audience. Ads would be banned if such criteria cannot be met.

Jourova told reporters that “the sensitive data that people decide to share with friends on social media cannot be used to target them for political purposes.” She said that “either companies like Facebook are able to publicly say who they are targeting, why and how or they will not be able to do it.”

The system would be policed by data protection authorities in each of the EU member countries.

National authorities would be required to impose “effective, proportionate and dissuasive fines” when the rules are broken. AP

Biden wishes Americans happy, closer-to-normal Thanksgiving

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ANTUCKET, Massachus e t t s — P re s id e nt Jo e Biden on Thursday wished Americans a happy and closer-tonormal Thanksgiving, the second celebrated in the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic, in remarks welcoming the resumption of holiday traditions by millions of US families—including his own.

“As we give thanks for what we have, we also keep in our hearts those who have been lost and those who have lost so much,” the President said in a videotaped greeting recorded with First Lady Jill Biden at the White House before their trip to Nantucket, Massachusetts, for the holiday.

On the island, the Bidens visited the Coast Guard station at Brant Point to meet with personnel there and virtually with US service members from around the world. “I’m not joking when I say I’m thankful for these guys,” the President said when asked what he was thankful for, referring to the Coast Guard members standing ramrod straight before him on the grounds as he departed.

Reporters were kept out of the room for Biden’s virtual remarks, apparently because of tight space in the building. Well-wishers waved and cheered as Biden’s motorcade navigated the island’s narrow paved and cobblestone streets to and from the Coast Guard compound.

Biden, whose late son Beau was a major in the Delaware Army National Guard, said he has watched US service members in action around the world, from

the South China Sea and Iraq and Afghanistan to South America.

He said when foreigners wonder what America is, “they don’t see us here,” meaning civilians. “They see them,” he said of members of the Coast Guard and the other branches of the US military. “It makes me proud.”

From Nantucket, the Bidens also called in to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, briefly bantering on air with NBC broadcaster Al Roker. Shut out a year ago, spectators again lined the route in Manhattan as some 8,000 participants joined the parade. Parade employees and volunteers had to be vaccinated against Covid-19 and wear masks.

The extended first family went traditional for their Thanksgiving menu: roasted turkey, stuffing using a grandmother’s recipe and other fixings. Dessert was three kinds of pie, and—in no surprise to those who followed Biden in and out of ice cream shops on the campaign trail—chocolate chip ice cream.

Biden and his wife started spending Thanksgiving in Nantucket since before they were married in 1977 because they were looking for a way out of choosing whose family to spend it with.

They did not visit in 2015 following Beau’s death earlier that year from brain cancer at age 46, or in 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic put the kibosh on big family gatherings.

Biden instead dined at home in Delaware last year with just his wife, daughter Ashley and her husband. AP

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Elderly, adults with comorbidities get booster shots in San Juan City

By Lade Jean Kabagani

12 to 17 years old so we can now focus on our health-care workers, senior citizens, and persons with comorbidities,” Zamora said.

The city government is further scaling up its vaccination drive “so we can all go back to a better, normal situation especially as Christmas approaches,” he added.

“We want people to feel protected especially since we have also started opening up more establishments and easing up quarantine restrictions and people are going out more,” the mayor said. Based on data, Zamora said there are about 15,000 elderly and 30,000 immunocompromised citizens in San Juan.

“We are relying on the data we gathered from administering first and second doses and we are expecting that in the next few days, they would all start registering for their booster shots,” he added.

The city government targets to complete the booster vaccination within a month, provided they start registering at once. PNA

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ANILA—The San Juan City government on Tuesday officially started the additional booster vaccination for senior citizens (A2) and immunocompromised individuals or adults with comorbidities (A3) at the FilOil Flying V Center, which can accommodate up to 3,000 people daily.

The qualified fully vaccinated residents are required to preregister through vaxreg.sanjuancity.gov.ph.

“The more vaccinees, the better because we can give an additional dose to more residents at the shortest time,” Mayor Francis Zamora said.

Registrants must wait for a confirmatorytextmessagebeforeproceeding tothevaccinationsites.Walk-insarenot allowed. “This has proven to be one of the most important aspects of our very organized vaccination,” Zamora noted.

Last week, the city government started the administration of booster shots to health-care workers.

“We are done vaccinating children

Editor: Angel R. Calso • Saturday, November 27, 2021 A7

BARMM to give incentives to seniors, PWDs on nationwide vaccination days

By Edwin Fernandez

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OTABATO CITY—Senior citizens, persons with disabilities (PWDs), and people with comorbidities will get relief aid from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) if they avail themselves of jabs during the three-day nationwide vaccination drive.

The national government has set the Covid-19 vaccination drive dubbed “Bayanihan, Bakunahan” from November 29 to December 1.

“The Ministry of Social Services and Development [MSSD]-BARMM is supportive of the region’s Ministry of Health [MOH] in this massive vaccination drive,” MSSD Minister Raissa Jajurie, a lawyer, said in a statement Wednesday.

She said the MSSD would support

MINISTRY of Social Services and Development-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Minister Raissa Jajurie FILE PHOTO COURTESY OF BANGSAMORO INFORMATION OFFICE-BARMM)

the vaccination drive through the provision of relief aid to indigents who will get their jabs during the

three-day campaign.

She did not say though whether the MSSD assistance would come in

cash or in kind. “It’s an inter-agency government strategy so we can reach population protection,” Jajurie said.

“The MSSD is an active partner of MOH-BARMM in this whole of government approach in vaccination rollout,” she added.

BARMM is one of the regions across the country that have a low vaccination rate as many refuse to get vaccinated due to myths and fake news.

Dr. Bashary Latiph, BARMM health minister, said as of November 21, the MOH has administered the first dose of Covid-19 vaccines to 311,578 individuals, while 314,877 have been fully vaccinated.

On December 1, a team from the National Task Force Against Covid-19 is scheduled to visit the region and supervise the vaccination program to address vaccine hesitancy.

PNA

Milwaukee’s ‘Dancing Grannies’ devastated by parade tragedy

By Tim Sullivan, Kathleen Foody and Tammy Webber The Associated Press

T

HE short skirts. The sparkly pompoms. The sassy hip sways. The grandchildren.

They are the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies, a marching, dancing holiday fixture in Wisconsin for nearly 40 years, and a joyful twist on America’s expectations that parades are supposed to feature mainly school-age dance troupes.

But tragedy struck the group when, as they marched down yet another Main Street on Sunday, holiday music blaring around them, three grandmothers were killed.

“Our group was doing what they loved, performing in front of crowds in a parade,” the group said in a statement Monday morning. “Putting smiles on faces of all ages, filling them with joy and happiness.”

Late Sunday afternoon, the driver of a red SUV roared through

THIS undated image from video provided by CBS 58 Milwaukee shows the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies. The Milwaukee Dancing Grannies, a marching, dancing holiday fixture in Wisconsin for nearly 40 years was hit by tragedy as they marched on Sunday, November 21, 2021, during the Christmas Parade in Waukesha, Wis. CBS 58 MILWAUKEE VIA AP

a Christmas parade in the suburban Milwaukee town of Waukesha, killing at least five people

and leaving 48 injured, according to authorities. Police said he had left the scene of a domestic dispute

No comedy like politics

By Nick Tayag

MY SIXTY-ZEN’S WORTH

O

NE time, I came across this amusing news item: “In Pancho Cucamonga, California, two candidates are running for Mayor. But both are named Dennis Stout.

Nobody wants to back out. So a third candidate has emerged hoping to profit from the confusion at the polls.”

Here also is something about another Dennis: “A legendary brothel owner named Dennis Hof won a state assembly seat in Nevada, despite being deceased.” Probably, his people never bothered to inform the electorate he died during the campaign period.

Amused? Here’s more.

Two years ago, the primary physician to US President Donald Trump said in a live news conference that Trump is blessed with a genetic makeup that would be the envy of the Greco-Roman gods and that his “incredible genes” could sustain him into a second century of life. The performance so impressed his boss that the physician was immediately tapped to head the Department of Veterans Affairs until his nomina-

tion was derailed by allegations that he drank on the job and had a reputation of creating a hostile workplace environment wherever he worked.

Then at the White House, Trump once again proved to be a s----r because he spent valuable time listening to another flatterer, this time a notorious rapper who profusely praised him about his “dragon energy” and then went on gabbing about alternative universes, hydrogenpowered airplanes, four-dimensional chess and “how to be malleable in the infinite universe.”

That reminds me about a certain first lady of the land who would endlessly croon about the good, true, beautiful and the godly to any one in front of her who had no choice but to lend an ear to her spacey speculations cosmic holes in the sky over the Philippines that could be harnessed to stop nuclear missiles. To think that lady wielded so much political power and authority once upon a blighted time.

How about elected public servants using their positions of power to

stretch ethical boundaries to the point of ludicrousness, unreasonable and impossible to take seriously. One spent his government funds to fly his pet animal around in a jet, while another allegedly spent money from his office budget to buy a food-service franchise for his wife.

Now turn to our local politics.

You look, listen, and then laugh.

Someone quipped that it’s a rigodon de la tsubibo. It’s all about themselves. No lofty discourses about saving and lifting the nation from the abysmal state it is in right now. When asked about it, what you get is something dismissive or almost disdainful such as: “I am withdrawing because I am withdrawing. Do I look like a mockery to you?” Or something as vacuous as “I don’t like to make a comment. Let’s just let the voters decide.”

One may feel aghast or dismayed but the better attitude is to laugh. What we are getting from the daily news are good materials for a series of sharp witty comedy skits. I am reminded of that classic Marx brothers movie “Duck Soup,” where the maniacs take over the government, something similar to the wacky comedy idea of patients taking over the mental asylum. As the Maximus character in the movie Gladiator spitefully bellowed to the audience: “Are you not entertained?”

Yes, we are entertained and we laugh, but then you also can’t help but weep because it hurts,

and didn’t appear to know anyone in the parade when he drove into the route.

Not even an hour earlier, the Grannies had called out to fans on their Facebook page.

“Waukesha here we come!!!” the post shouted. “The Grannies are kicking off their holiday parades.”

The Dancing Grannies grew out of an exercise class in 1984, with dozens of women, most ranging in age from their mid-50s to mid-70s, cycling in and out of the group over the years.

They have only one requirement: You need to be a grandmother.

Police identified those killed as Virginia Sorenson, 79; LeAnna Owen, 71; Tamara Durand, 52; and Wilhelm Hospel, 81. The three women were members of the Grannies, and Hospel reportedly helped the troupe with their shows.

Durand was doing her first show with the Grannies on Sunday, said her husband, Dave Durand, who was not at the parade. She’d seen them

knowing many of these fools are doing it at our expense, meaning our tax money.

It is all an opera buffa as the Italians call it or opera bouffon as the French prefer to label that genre of opera performed in the 1800s. That’s where we got the term buffon, because the said type of opera usually featured a clown, a character who does silly things, usually to make other people laugh for comic relief.

The opera buffa had a local equivalent: bodabil. That genre of live entertainment is now gone but in my younger days, I was able to catch bodabil in its dying years.

One of the highlights was the hilarious exchange between of Popoy and Poleng, the featured buffons of those shows.

That’s how I now see our politicians who make their entrances and exits on the national entablado—ludicrous persons paid by taxpayers’ money to entertain us.

Never mind the country.

Remember Mad Magazine? It was a source of absurdist satire aimed at everything from sacred cows to the profoundly stupid. I remember when the said magazine turned 60 years old, it featured a fiery headline “Welcome to Election Hell.” It exemplified the magazine’s style of political humor, blending trenchant critique with hyberbolic exaggeration of political humor.

Researchers at the University of Southern California have been examining the humorist’s

perform only once before deciding to join—simply because she found joy in dancing.

“She basically danced her way through life,” he said of his wife of eight years, a hospice chaplain and former high school and college cheerleader who was “super excited” for her first performance.

“She was totally energetic and was her happiest when she was dancing,” he said.

Tamara Durand was a mother of three with one grandchild.

She babysat her grandson so her daughter could finish nursing school, and volunteered at hospitals and hospices.

“She was an Energizer Bunny,” who ran every morning no matter the weather, Dave Durand said. And she could never pass up sweets, eating “more sugar than a sugar factory.”

Jane Kulich, 52, also died. Local news reports said she worked for a local branch of Citizens Bank, role in people’s politics. “Humor provides a salve in times of trouble,” one sociologist explained.

“It provides a moment of redress when you need to speak truth to power. And sometimes comedy, when it’s the most successful, is the absolute truth.”

That’s probably what we need right now. Our local politics at the moment are ripe for absurdity. We need subversive comedy shows like Saturday Night Live that will look for the absurd angle to any story and reveal the emperor not wearing any clothes.

Where are our comic artists when we need their transgressive humor? W hatever happened to the local TV programs in the late ’80s and early ’90s that had this type of comedy, poking fun at our political figures so they don’t get too enamored about themselves?

This is probably the problem with our politicians. They’re too full of themselves. An example is the scene up north where a father and son are challenging each other for the same position.

They don’t want to give up even if they know a sure defeat awaits one of them.

It stems from basic human nature. Pride. The desire to be the star of one’s own movie, but the trouble is they don’t know they are our present-day Popoys and Polengs in today’s political bodabil.

Laughing at our politicians just might be the best medicine for our sick society. Without them, life

which issued a statement saying an employee “was walking with our parade float” when she was struck and killed. The bank did not identify the employee.

Sorenson, a dance lover who had to give up the hobby years ago after surgery, was the group’s longtime choreographer.

“It was like I lost a best friend” when she had to stop dancing, she told WDJT, the Milwaukee CBS affiliate, in an August story about the group. The Grannies brought back that joy. “I love it, and I love the ladies.”

David Sorenson, her husband of nearly 60 years, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about how she loved working with the Grannies.

“What did she like about it? Everything,” Sorenson said. “She liked the instructing. She liked the dancing and the camaraderie of the women.

She liked to perform.”

And, he said: “She taught me to do the cancan.” AP

would be unbearably boring.

But here’s a warning from Soren Kierkegaard, the Danish thinker who helped spawn the philosophy of existentialism. It is in the form of a parable: “A fire broke out backstage in a theatre. The clown came out to warn the public; they thought it was a joke and applauded. He repeated it; the acclaim was even greater. I think that’s just how the world will come to an end: to general applause from wits who believe it’s a joke.”

Meaning, we can’t just sit back and enjoy it all and do nothing. In the final analysis, the joke could be on us. So let’s really be serious about our choices in the next election and all elections thereafter.

Sometime ago, a blind man won as councilor of a city in the southern part of the Philippines. The voters reasoned that they wanted him to be their guileless “eye” in making sure no corrupt deals would pass through the city council. And he played his role to the hilt. Being totally blind enabled him to listen more intently to people’s problems and grievances and get a real feel about their plight.

How I wish we could elect more blind people into office who will “see” the problems of society and give us better insights on governance, instead of the usual politicians who only see themselves and listen only to their own needs and interests.

Blind people leading us? Before you scoff and laugh, think more about it.

Education BusinessMirror

A8 Saturday, November 27, 2021

Editor: Mike Policarpio

DepEd vows to further elevate quality of local education

T

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco

HE Education Department is keen on driving the state of Philippine education to a higher level, despite current challenges weighing down on basic learning delivery.

On Wednesday the Department of Education (DepEd) disclosed that prior to the pandemic, it had already instituted various interventions addressing the said issues.

Although not categorically stating that its latest statement was in response to a recent World Bank (WB) study, DepEd pointed out that when public-health emergency struck, it had already introduced the “Bawat Bata,

Bumabasa [3Bs]” initiative nationwide, with field offices aggressively rolling out contextualized approaches to increase learners’ reading proficiencies.

DepEd explained that, “In addition to 3Bs, our ‘Every Child a Reader Program’ also integrates strengthened initiatives on ‘Early Language, Literacy and Numeracy’, ‘Mother Tongue-Based of Multilingual Education,’ and

‘Pedagogical Retooling in Mathematics, Languages, and Science [or PRIMALS].”

The department pointed out that, amid the public-health crisis, it has pushed to put in place reforms in curricula, the learning environment, and teacher-professional development through its “Sulong EduKalidad” campaign.

“We are also preparing for our participation in…upcoming international assessments to closely evaluate our efforts,” it added.

Learning poverty

ON Monday Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon expressed his alarm over the World Bank report: “Remote Learning During Covid-19: Lessons for Today,” which stated that majority of Filipino children aged 10 and below cannot read.

Drilon expressed his disappointment

during deliberations of the proposed 2022 budget of DepEd that the situation “affects the ability of our future generation to be useful citizens of our society. When nine out of 10 children do not know how to read at [the age of] 10, that should worry our education sector… [Our] administration…should give more funds to education, because we are already [lagging behind] in Southeast Asia.”

The senator cited that while Hong Kong only has a 3.2-percent learning poverty, the Philippines is ranked along with Ethiopia, Madagascar, Yemen, Afghanistan, which are among the lowestrated in remote learning worldwide.

Locally, only 20 percent of households with schoolchildren are able to carry out schooling conducted at home, as stated in the abovementioned report.

The World Bank calculated that the

Philippines’s learning poverty had worsened to as high as 90 percent by August.

Quest for quality

“THE issue of learning poverty has been a dilemma of the country for years,” the department admitted, “and [we are] proactively dealing with it for the long term.”

“With the objectives of ‘Sulong EduKalidad…’ and the Basic Education Development Plan 2030 set to materialize in the coming years, we are leaving behind a worthy mission to continue for the next DepEd administration.”

It concluded: “We have come a long way in our quest for quality education, but we are not yet done with our journey.

Our efforts must be consistent, cohesive, and collaborative for us to achieve…[and deliver] quality education to every Filipino child.”

Sen. Gatchalian pushes for graduates’ Nearly 7K PLM students receive ₧20.5-M cash aid global competitiveness T

S

ENATOR Sherwin T. Gatchalian is set to file the substitute bill on the proposed Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2).

Said bill will undertake a comprehensive assessment and evaluation of the entire education sector’s performance, and boost global competitiveness.

EDCOM 2 will review the observance of the mandates of the Department of Education, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), as well as the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority or TESDA, for a more harmonized and coordinated education ecosystem. It will also look at the role of digital transformation in education.

“Given the fact that labor markets are becoming increasingly global and workers are able to move from one place to another, quality does not simply equate to meeting locally set standards anymore,” said Gatchalian in a roundtable discussion hosted by the University of the Philippines Center for Integrative and Development Studies. “Quality now equates to being globally competitive.”

He added: “Employment mobility is becoming the norm now. Access and exposure to the Internet can get one employed in other countries.”

The chairman of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, Arts and Culture said EDCOM 2 must address the question: How do we ensure that higher-education graduates are globally competitive?

For Gatchalian, boosting global competitiveness among the country’s graduates requires aligning the country’s qualifications framework with internationally recognized

GATCHALIAN

qualification standards. The senator pointed out the way the Philippine Qualifications Framework (PQF) was designed to be in sync with the Asean Qualifications Reference Framework. This ensures graduates are equipped with competencies and skills that would make them globally competitive.

Under Republic Act 10968, or the PQF Act, the framework was institutionalized and established to describe the levels of educational qualifications, as well as set standards for qualification outcomes. The PQF is a qualityassured national system for the development, recognition, and awards of qualification based on standards of knowledge, skills and values acquired in various ways and methods by workers and learners of the country.

Gatchalian said that in the draft substitute bill on EDCOM 2,CHED will be tasked to ensure compliance to the Asean Qualifications Reference Framework, which enables comparisons of education qualifications across participating member-states in the region.

Coursera hastens PHL growth plans

O

NE of the largest online learning platforms in the world, Coursera Inc. (NYSE: COUR), recently announced a number of initiatives geared to accelerate local growth.

As demand rises in the Philippines, the company announced new enterprise and campus customers, as well as several platform innovations, to better serve Filipino learners. With more than 1.3 million registered learners and 85-percent year-on-year growth, the country is the third-fastest growing on the platform, and has emerged as a priority market for Coursera in Asia Pacific.

“The pandemic has dramatically changed the way we learn, teach, and work. Our strong momentum in the Philippines reflects the continued trend of individuals and institutions embracing online learning to develop high-demand digital skills,” said CEO Jeff Maggioncalda of Coursera. “We are excited to serve leading [campuses and firms nationwide], with a growing selection of job-relevant content and credentials delivered on a mobile-friendly platform to address the country’s skills and digital divide.”

Among the announcements Coursera made are the following: 60 new Coursera for Campus customers, including Lyceum of the Philippines University, Centro Escolar University, National Teachers College, University of the Philippines, and De La Salle-Lipa; 10 new Coursera for Business customers, including Ayala Corp., Globe Telecom, Bank of the Philippine Islands, Ayala Land, and Bayview Technologies; A government customer, the Department of Science and Technology, builds on the success of the Coursera for Workforce Recovery program; Platform innovations to bridge the digital divide and build accessible learning experiences, as 61 percent of learners in the Philippines use mobile devices to access Coursera. The platform allows learners to download courses,

MAGGIONCALDA

synchronize progress and quizzes, take notes with highlights, and calendar-sync, which is optimized for low-data consumption; With over 60,000 enrollments supported by financial aid, the Philippines accounts for the second-largest share of financial aid awarded by Coursera to learners in Southeast Asia; Women in the country are learning online at higher rates compared to pre-pandemic. The country leads in enrollments from women, growing 774 percent year-on-year—the highest increase worldwide.

“The pandemic has spurred large-scale upskilling among enterprises and governments, [while universities] can help reduce the skills shortage by improving student employability through industry-relevant content,” said Coursera’s Asia Pacific Managing Director Raghav Gupta. “As the country embraces online learning at a faster pace, Coursera is committed to helping many more learners and institutions in the Philippines prepare for the digital future.”

The country also leads Southeast Asia in the adoption of Guided Projects: a hands-on learning experience that enables subscribers to build a job-relevant skill in less than two hours.

Filipino learners accounted for more than half of the 375,000 enrollments in Guided Projects in the region since their launch in May 2020.

HE Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM), together with the City Government of Manila, has released the monthly cash allowances of its sophomore up to senior students for September to November 2021.

The P1,000 monthly aid under the social amelioration program (SAP) for students was released through LandBank cash cards previously distributed to enrollees who are bona fide residents of the City of Manila.

Said bank has credited the amounts to the cash cards of more than 6,900 students on November 10, which amounted to more than P20 million.

Meanwhile, SAP allowances of fresh-

men students will be released upon completion of the validation process of the residency and voter’s status of each. The distribution of cash cards is tentatively set during the first half of December 2021.

“We thank the City Government of Manila for its continued assistance to PLM students through the SAP, especially during this challenging period of distance learning,” PLM President Emmanuel Leyco said. “These student benefits would be [a] great help to them in improving their connectivity and later on, in preparing for the gradual resumption of face-toface classes.”

The Manila City government’s SAP provides direct aid to students who are

able to present proof of residence in the city. This is different from the national government’s household-based SAP during the lockdown period.

M ayor Fra nc i sco “ I sko Moreno” Domagoso signed the release of P44.62 million in allowances for a total of 11,155 PLM students on October 26, which cover payouts from September to December 2021.

The financial aid for December will be released next month, also through direct debit to existing SAP accounts. Upperclassmen who are facing issues with their SAP records, as well as those with unclaimed or lost LandBank cards, are currently undergoing validation.

CCA Manila’s 25th year: Moving forward with excellence, ‘e-nnovations,’ enduring ties

F

OR 25 years the Center of Culinary Arts (CCA Manila) has garnered accolades and credentials from around the world for its excellence in innovative culinary education, as well as advocating Filipino gastronomy.

Throughout that time, it has produced thousands of graduates who are now part of the global culinary industry as chefs, entrepreneurs, and educators.

“We are excited and [at the same time humbled to arrive at our 25th anniversary]. CCA Manila has endured through time and continues to be the leader in transforming Filipino talents in the kitchen into world-class culinary professionals,” says Dr. Veritas F. Luna, CCA Manila’s chancellor for education. “We remain positive that the school will continue its role as a leader by celebrating this milestone.”

True to its commitment in providing quality education, CCA Manila has implemented some “e-nnovations:” transforming innovative practices from the kitchen and into the digital realm. With this, the school continues to host virtual competitions and monthly webinars highlighting Filipino cuisine.

Partnerships and programs were also strengthened, such as with ROUXBE— the largest online culinary school in the world, and with Korean Food Promotion Institute by delivering authentic Korean cuisine classes. There are also partnerships with the Department of Trade and Industry for the Hybrid National Food Fair, as well as TikTok to promote Pinoy food to a global audience.

The school continued to offer programs and open opportunities for students to continue culinary education in the new normal, with the latest innovative programs applicable to the current situation, such as the innovative Bachelor of Science in Entrepreneurial Management Major in Culinary Arts, implemented in partnership with the University of Asia and the Pacific, as well as the relevant Culinary “Agri-preneurship,” done in partnership with the University of the Philippines-Los Baños.

There is also the ProChef Plus Certification Program, and the Food Entrepreneurship Masterclass, among others. All these are supported with a strong business approach, encouraging students to be bold, creative, and entrepreneurial.

“CCA Manila not only served as the pioneer in excellent professional culinary education in the region, but has pivoted the food and tourism hospitality to a ro-

bust industry through the generation of dedicated and competent culinary professionals,” said Luna. “Going virtual is also one of the prompt changes that CCA Manila [has adopted], as we digitized the business processes for better efficiency.

We also revived the alumni association, as well as reorganized the CCA Manila team for sustainability.”

Virtual festival

TO commemorate CCA Manila’s Silver Year of Cooking for the World, CCA Manila has prepared several events to mark the occasion.

A major one is a five-day virtual festival that will feature an exciting series of webinars where students, teachers, alumni and food-industry experts will get together to showcase Filipino cuisine, gastronomy, and heritage.

As a kick off, CCA Manila has invited Representative Christopher de Venecia, chair of the Special Committee on Creative Industry and Performing Arts, as well as notable food-industry leaders such as Ige Ramos, Nicole Ponseca and medical anthropologist Mike Tan to talk about Filipino gastronomy and talent.

On November 18 foodie and bestselling author Angelo Comsti with CCA Manila’s Public Relations and Business Development Director Ana Beatrice Trinidad moderated the “Pambansang Chef ” webinar, which was packed with insightful subjects such as “Filipino Gastronomy and Heritage Policy,” “Sustaining Cravings for Filipino Food,” “Pride of Filipino Gastronomic Roots,” and “The Important Role of Filipino Diaspora on the Promotion of Culinary Heritage.”

For “Pagkaing Atin, Ihain Natin,” CCA Manila has invited known food leaders who will share their experiences on ways they can promote Filipino culture and history around the globe. Connecting to Filipino gastronomy, the storytelling through food was held on November 25.

Entree Pinays, a collective of entrepreneurial Filipinas introducing Filipino cuisine and culture to the hearts and minds of Australians, discussed on the same day the manner of promoting the unique flavors of Filipino cuisine, which is still underrepresented in Australia.

Chef John Buenaventura, named executive chef at the newly opened Hilton Abu Dhabi Yas Island, will share how he has been rediscovering Filipino heritage dishes and promoting them globally;

while Chef Gelo Guizon will highlight the power of social media, specifically TikTok, and how he uses this platform to advocate Filipino cuisine to today’s generation.

Ambassadors and alumni

RECOGNIZING the excellence of CCA Manila’s “ambassadors,” there will be a demonstration of both modern and traditional Filipino dishes by the center’s alumni on December 1 at 2 p.m. The event is a cookoff among graduates of CCA Manila who are well-known in the food industry: Chef Allan Briones (chef de cuisine at The Peninsula Manila), Chef Migo Razon (executive chef of Sheraton Melbourne), Chef Pauline Sarmiento (owner of a bakeshop and home-cooked foods restaurant), and Chef Sonny Mariano (corporate pastry chef of Tasteless Food Group).

On December 2 at 2 p.m., the “Clash of the Clans: Culinary Competition”— one of the highlights of the 25th year celebration—will take place. Groups of CCA Manila students will compete among themselves in a face-to-face Fi lipino-cuisine competition in the meat, plant-based, seafood appetizer, and cheese-based dessert categories.

An alumni homecoming on December 3 at 10 a.m. will feature special awards such as “Pandemic Hero,” “Culinary Social-Media Influencer,” “Filipino Cuisine Champion,” and “Chef-preneur in The Time of Pandemic” for deserving recipients.

The registration period for the series of activities has already started with limited slots. Aside from the access to the five-day virtual event, this online festival includes a digital cookbook with 25 Filipino cuisine recipes from CCA Alumni, webinar certificates, cooking-demo recipes, and 25 free culinary eBooks from the CCA E-Library.

For more information on event line-up and conference tickets, contact Jessica Cristobal at j.cristobal@cca-manila.edu.ph or talktous@cca-manila.edu.ph, call +63955143-8890, visit Facebook.com/ccamanila or Instagram.com/ccamanila. Register also via http://tinyurl.com/ccamanilasilveranniversary.

CCA Manila is the pioneer, leader, and innovator in the formal culinary education in the country. Trinidad said, “We continue to nurture the chefs of the future by providing innovative culinary education that elevates Filipino cuisine in the global culinary arena.”

Tourism&Entertainment BusinessMirror

Editor: Carla Mortel-Baricaua

Saturday, November 27, 2021 A9

The Museum of the Filipino People reopens its doors

KABAN ng Lahi (Archaeological Treasures) displays a burial jars collection.

T

Faith, Tradition and Place—Bangsamoro Art from the National Ethnographic Collection

MANLILIKHA ng Bayan Hall (National Living Treasure) features material culture from Lumad groups.

By Benjamin Locsin Layug

his month, the National Museum of the Philippines is accepting fully vaccinated adults and visitors ages 18 and below, provided they are accompanied by a fully vaccinated adult.

All visitors are also required to reserve online and book slots at least a day before their visit. Walk-in visitors without prior reservation will not be granted entry.

Admission is free.

The National Museum of Anthropology, formerly the Museum of the Filipino People, one of the National Museum of the Philippines three component museums (the other two are the National Museum of Fine Arts and the National Museum of Natural History), is housed in the impressive, NeoClassic-influenced, 5-story former Department of Finance Building. The second building pledged to the National Museum, as a cultural center, it takes the lead in the study and preservation of the nation’s rich artistic, historical and cultural heritage in the reconstruction and rebuilding of our nation’s past. Built in 1940 in the Federal architectural style, its construction was implemented

by Arch. Antonio Toledo of the Bureau of Public Works who was responsible for the construction of Manila government structures under the American colonial regime.

At the open courtyard is an actual Ifugao House (Fhaley Ad Henenga) from Mayoyao. The ground floor houses division offices of the museum and the National Museum Library while the fifth floor houses the National Ethnographic Collection Repositories. The middle floors house the exhibits. The Marble Hall, at the second floor, serves as the lobby of the museum. Also on this floor is “The San Diego: A Homecoming Exhibit” and “Garing: The Philippines at the Crossroads of Ivory Trade.”

The former, probably the museum’s most popular exhibit, displays 5,000 artifacts recovered,

from January 1992 to May 1993, from the San Diego, a galleon which sunk after a fierce, six-hour naval battle, on December 14, 1600, with Dutch privateers under Admiral Oliver Van Noort off the Batangas coast. On display are 14 bronze cannons, pieces of intact Ming Dynasty porcelain ware and navigational instruments including an astrolabe (one of only 67 that have been preserved and, more uniquely, 1 of 5 oldest as well as 1 of 6 or 7 known examples dating before 1600) and a bronze astronomical ring (the only known example of this type, in terms of both mechanism and shape).

“Garing: The Philippines at the Crossroads of Ivory Trade” displays real African elephant (Loxodonta Africana) ivory tusks from Tanzania, Africa (seized by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and donated to the National Museum) as well as elephant tusks recovered from the Lena Shoal wreck north of Palawan in 1997.

The third floor houses six exhibitions. Along the corridors are “Lantaka: Of War and Peace,” a display of bronze swivel guns inaugurated in 2015. The “Manlilikha ng Bayan-Hall [National Living Treasure],” inaugurated last June 1, 2016, features the work and lives of 13 people awarded, since 1993, the Gawad Manlilikha ng Bayan (GAMABA) or the National Living Treasures Award in recognition of their contribution and preservation of culture.

“Lumad: Mindanao,” inaugurated last December 12, 2015, features

THE National Museum of Anthropology stands proud with its Neo-Classical-influenced architectural design.

RICE, Biodiversity and Climate Change highlights cultivation practices, among others.

“the material culture of 13 of the roughly 19 major Lumad groups from the National Ethnographic Collection.

“Faith, Tradition and Place: Bangsamoro Art from the National Ethnographic Collection,” inaugurated last October 2014, is a permanent exhibition on the rich material cultural heritage of the Islamic cultures in Mindanao, Southern Philippines. The 51 objects on view include the Koran of Bayang (a copy of the Koran supposedly handwritten in the mid-19th century), a rarub-a-kulong (armor), kulong sa ulo (helmet); a wall ornament depicting the heroic mythical character Prince Indarapatra; a sataran (a Maranao chess set of wood and silver); an elaborately-carved, throne-like wooden korsi (here a kulintang player sits while entertaining royalty); a wooden winged horse which boasts of ornate and

THE Marble Hall greets visitors at the lobby.

THE cannons from the San Diego galleon.

curvy engraved details; swords (kris) and a kinupud, a boraq (winged creature); a colorful, wood and metal Maranao kokora (coconut grater); and a canopy of silk and cotton used by Maranao royalty to cover their beds.

“Kaban ng Lahi [Archaeological Treasures],” one of the museum’s long running exhibitions (installed in 1998), portrays secondary burial jar collections as well as samples of other utilitarian vessels unearthed from different cave sites across the Philippines.

Highlights of this gallery are a number of objects declared as National Cultural Treasures (NCTs) by the National Museum and regarded for their uniqueness and outstanding historical, cultural, artistic and historical value discovered from different sites in the Philippines—the Manunggul Jar, Maitum Anthropomorphic Burial Jar 21 (depicted with male genita-

A weaving loom from HIBLA ng Lahing Filipino.

lia), the Leta-Leta Stem Cup,the Leta-Leta Presentation Dish and the Leta-Leta Footed Jarlet.

“Biyay: Traditional Ecological Knowledge among Philippine Negrito Communities,” opened October 20, 2018, is the first exhibition, of this scale and depth, on the Negritos, the least understood Philippine ethnolinguistic group. Biyay is the Ayta term for “life.”

The fourth floor houses four exhibits. “Rice, Biodiversity and Climate Change,” inaugurated last December 17, 2013, highlights, among others, the history of rice cultivation in the Philippines, rice farming practices, plants and insects in the field, farmers way of life, and the importance of rice conservation.“Hibla ng Lahing Filipino: The Artistry of Philippine Textiles,” inaugurated last May 18, 2012, features the different textile collections from the National Museum, National Anthropological

Collection, and from the private collection of Senator Loren Legarda as well as weaving looms.

“Baybayin: Ancient and Traditional Scripts of the Philippines,” inaugurated in 2013, showcases baybayin, the ancient and traditional native Filipino script of the Philippines prior to the arrival of the Spaniards. On display here are archaeological artifacts such as the Laguna Copperplate Inscription (said to be one of the bases of baybayin), the Calatagan Pot, the Intramuros Pot Shard, the Monreal Stones and some books loaned by the UST, NHCP and National Library. “Entwined Spheres: Mats and Baskets as Containers, Costumes and Conveyors,” inaugurated in 2017, showcases a huge collection of old mats from various indigenous groups in the country and baskets that are used by the natives in many different and surprising ways.

CITY OF DREAMS MANILA REACHES 99% COLLEAGUE VACCINATION RATE

T

he Safety Seal-certified City of Dreams Manila establishes colleague immunity with 99 percent of its staff fully immunized. The announcement comes timely as the luxury integrated resort gears to welcome more guests and reopen more facilities with the easing of Metro Manila to Alert Level 2.

“We are grateful to our colleagues who have taken the step towards protecting themselves, their families and colleagues, our guests and the community in general,” says Property President Geoff Andres. Fully vaccinated staff are those who have

completed the required vaccine dosage. The resort, which has ordered enough vaccines to vaccinate its staff, is currently inoculating their staff ’s dependents.

Their children under 18 years old follow suit.

Various initiatives were granted by the resort to encourage the vaccination uptake, including two-day paid leaves on the day of the vaccination and after, to provide rest should the staff experience any post-vax side effects, and continuously re-enforcing the message that the vaccination is a collective effort and a compassionate step towards stemming

the spread of Covid-19. Webinars conducted by medical authorities gave staff a better understanding on the benefits of being vaccinated. The resort also allowed time for vaccine confidence to grow, as those who initially hesitated eventually agreed, upon seeing their colleagues get vaccinated, and also provided shuttle service from the resort to the vaccination sites for its team members, and allowed them to get vaccinated during work hours.

Pregnant staff are offered hotel limousine service from their home within a reasonable radius to the vaccination center and

back. The resort’s inhouse Occupational Health and Safety unit keep track on the staff ’s vaccination status, and helps the staff m a ke appoi nt ments t hrough available channels. Colleagues who have been off-site were urged early on to get vaccinated in their respective communities where available.

City of Dreams Manila implements a “Play it Safe” campaign, which mandates all colleagues to follow stringent health and safety guidelines throughout the property, including their work areas and in community spaces such as the employees’ dining area.

BusinessMirror

A10 Saturday, November 27, 2021 • Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

Cebu City-based retail taps intelligent pricing platform

BY RIZAL RAOUL S. REYES CEBU City-based Prince Retail recently deployed the Revionics intelligent pricing platform to “optimize pricing decisions for products sold at its more than 65 locations throughout the Philippines.”

“By leveraging a data-driven approach to pricing, Prince Retail can offer our valued customers the most competitive pricing on the items that matter most to them,” said Rina Janine Go, chief merchandising, marketing and distribution officer, at the Prince Retail Group of Companies. She added the recent installation of Revionics is in response to the Covid-19 pandemic which caused a lot of disruption to numerous businesses.

“Our selection of the Revionics Base Price Optimization solution reflects this spirit of innovation,” Go added. “With Revionics, we can unlock pricing that achieves stronger financial results and maintains our strong focus on the customer. With its advanced AI algorithms, the pricing tool will allow us to optimize prices across every product and in every store—even as consumer behaviors, competitive positions, and local conditions continue to shift,” Go explained.

Go said the expansion of Prince Retail, opening of a significant number of new stores in recent years throughout the country, required the company to acquire cutting-edge solutions to bring greater efficiency in its operations.

“To accommodate this growth and to ensure it can offer shoppers the best prices in each store it operates, Prince Retail is investing in Revionics technology to bring greater levels of scale, science and automation to its pricing function,” she said.

Trusted by retailers around the world, Revionics is a recognized leader in the retail price optimization space.

Its cloud-based solutions are used by top retailers across the grocery, discount, drug, convenience, sporting goods, general merchandise, hardware, and specialty retail sectors.

Founded in 1990 by Robert Lim Go, Prince Retail is a chain of retail and wholesale stores present around the country. Operating under the Prince Hypermart banner, Prince Retail is a one-stop shop providing customers with a wide variety of grocery, general merchandise, and department store items. Prince Retail offers affordable prices for the quality merchandise it sells, with an emphasis on serving underserved shoppers in rural and island regions.

Following its acquisition by Aptos in 2020, Revionics continues to expand its customer base globally—including in the strategic Southeast Asian market. The partnership with Prince Retail reflects Revionics and Aptos’ commitment to building their local presence throughout the region.

“Prince Retail, with its mission to serve the underserved, is an inspiring retail group that has a positive impact on the lives of its customers,” said Steve Towe, Aptos COO and president.

“We are immensely proud to work with a retailer of this caliber and to support Prince Retail in its adoption of a unified pricing strategy. As more Philippine retailers adopt digital transformation strategies, our best-in-class pricing, customer experience and merchandising solutions are a direct match to their needs.”

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Streaming service produces original musical

F

OR Still, the original musical series produced

by Viu, the cast, production staff and crew had to go through two lock-in tapings.

“We’re about to go on our third lock-in,” said Viu chief content officer Garlic Garcia. “We had 100 people on set at any one time, all Covid-free. We want to send everyone back home to their families safe and sound.”

“The quality and production and effort just to enter the lock-ins have been so amazing to see. We had a great experience producing this. Because of this, we believe this is the way forward,” said Arianne KaderCu, country head of Viu Philippines.

Created by Palanca-awardee Pat Valera, who is known for award-winning shows Dekada ’70 The Musical and Mula Sa Buwan, Still was cocreated by theater stalwarts Giancarlo Abrahan and Nicco Manalo. The series was directed by Treb Monteras II of the internationally acclaimed rap musical Respeto while multi-awarded screenwriter, director, producer and editor Monster Jimenez produced the series.

The eight-episode series follows the story of talented upcoming artists participating in Daloy Himig, a music camp that abruptly ends when the pandemic hits. With quarantine protocols placed around the country, the campers are stuck in Balay, with only their music and each other to keep them company.

Leading the campers are estranged best friends Laura (Julie Anne San Jose), always the relentless dreamer who fights for herself, for the people she loves and for the limelight, and Sab (played by Gab Pangilinan), the voiceless writer who wants to follow her dreams but can’t. The two instantly become friends with veteran camper Iggy (Mike Shimamoto), always “the happy pill” Tugs (Abe Autea) and tiredbut-still-a-fighter Leigh (Lance Reblando). Along with their mentors Nikolas (Christian Bautista) and Annette ( veteran stage and concert singer Bituin Escalante), the campers’ lives and stories intertwine through powerful and poignant music.

When asked how similar she was to her character Laura, San Jose had this to say: “It’s my first time to have this kind of role. This one’s really different. There are a lot of contradictions. I am not my character. I had to really discover how my character is sa araw araw na

IN Still, GMA star Julie Anne San Jose plays aspiring artist Laura.

buhay. She’s tough and she could be a bit of a handful but deep inside, she’s loving and caring. We’re similar in that we fight for what we want for our dreams and our families.”

“It’s quite overwhelming. It gives much broader chance to express, flesh it out,” said Shimamoto of the difference between acting for the theater versus being on Still.

“But logistically, this is more difficult to get people together. The setup was still very theater. We had rehearsals and a spirit of ensemble. We were lucky to have a team who supported us through and through,” said Pangilinan.

You can watch Still on Ticket2Me. New episodes will be added every week and can be viewed multiple times within a 32-hour window. For a special rate of P599, Viu subscribers can avail of an Exclusive Viu Package (a free six-month Viu Premium subscription plus a free digital Still chord book) with early access per episode.

Filipinos can also listen to the show’s 13 original songs performed by the country’s best talents via Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer and Tidal. ■

NEW HUAWEI SMARTWATCHES IN TIME FOR THE HOLIDAYS SOME exciting holiday stocking stuffers are here, with Huawei Philippines bringing in the new generation smartwatch, the Huawei Watch GT 3 46mm and 42mm powered by HarmonyOS 2.1. Delivering an upgraded, more powerful, and convenient user experience, these new products are more dynamic and intelligent with fashionable appearance, comprehensive upgrades, and new interface design.

The brand-new Huawei Watch GT 3 is another breakthrough in health monitoring and scientific training.

It is designed to make life easier and more convenient for consumers, as well as help them to achieve fitness goals using scientific data.

Health and fitness monitoring has always been among the core strengths of the brand’s wearables and this time, Huawei is providing a comprehensive upgrade to the GT series, with the addition of the new TruSeen 5.0+. It also comes with 14-day battery life, and an Intelligent Dynamic Adjustment Plan.

The Huawei Watch GT 3’s innovative design is inspired by nature, focusing on the beauty of nature and the integration of cutting-edge technologies.

The minimalist lugs, large lenses and lightweight design make the Huawei Watch GT 3 46mm look more futuristic, delivering a highly distinguished smartwatch. Without a strap, the 46mm weighs just 42.6g with an overall

thickness of 11mm, while the Huawei Watch GT 3 42mm weighs 35g with an overall thickness of 10.2mm. Both bring consumers a lighter and thinner wearing experience.

The 46mm supports a 14-day battery life in typical usage, while the 42mm offers a seven-day of long battery life in typical usage. The longer battery life ensures users can wear it all day and use it continuously, even during sleep.

The Huawei Watch GT 3 is a personal trainer on the wrist. It records and analyses the user’s workout data, and intelligently identifies the basic period, lifting period, consolidation period, and reduction period according to the user’s current athletic ability level and goals, then adjusts the training intensity and gradually increases the training volume to gradually improve athletic ability.

The new smartwatch supports personalized health and fitness features, including AI Running Coach and Healthy Living Shamrock, which is like a health and fitness assistant for users to stay healthy and active. And for the first time, Huawei Watch GT 3 features the HarmonyOS 2.1. It maintains a unified design layout with other HarmonyOS products and allows users to experience the interactive features of the smartphones.

Those who pre-order the new Huawei Watch GT 3 46mm and 42mm get exclusive freebies until December 9.

More information is available at consumer.huawei.com/ ph/.

Stay safe while holiday shopping with Apple partner’s e-options CHRISTMAS cheer is in the air, and with restrictions gradually easing, it’s the perfect time to get some holiday shopping done. For those not too keen to go out yet, premier Apple partner Power Mac Center has rolled out Enhanced Contactless Shopping, or EC Shopping, offering Apple patrons from all over the country safe and convenient contactless ways to get their hands on their dream Apple products.

“Our EC Shopping options are a testament of how we value the ways we deliver the complete Apple experience to Filipinos, not just during the holiday rush but year-round. Customer service has been the core of what we do at Power Mac Center, and it’s important for us to give our patrons the safest and most convenient ways of accessing Apple devices and repairs, especially now that most of us are relying on our gadgets for our day-to-day productivity and creativity,” said Joey Alvarez, PMC director for marketing, product management, and space planning.

With EC Shopping, customers may avail Apple devices via call-to-order to check the availability of the products first by calling their preferred store nationwide, then paying in-store or online.

There’s also the call-to-deliver option for door-todoor deliveries, and the curbside pick-up option where customers may receive their purchases at a designated area in participating malls, without the need to drop by the store.

Ever-ready to serve Filipinos with their Apple needs, Power Mac Center’s online stores are also operational and accessible regardless of the quarantine status in different areas of the country.

The products are also available on Shopee and Lazada.

Another way is through Power Mac Center’s official Viber store which now serves more than 46,500 subscribers. It has a chatbot that will guide customers in their shopping journey and assist them in browsing through Apple offerings, locating branches, inquiring about repair services and training, and its enterprise and education solutions.

More information is available at bit.ly/3l9axJD.

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

• Saturday, November 27, 2021 A11

Globe At Home’s new promo bundle keeps whole family connected SOME customers have to choose between loading their mobile phone or Home Prepaid WiFi due to budget limitations, but with Globe At Home’s new promo, HomeSHARE, there’s no need to get a separate data promo for your mobile and WiFi devices.

With HomeSHARE, you can now easily share Globe At Home Prepaid WiFi data allocation with members of the family as they go to work yet still let others engage in online activities at home.

The whole family can connect to the Internet wherever they may be. You can subscribe to just one offering and share it with up to three other Globe Prepaid, Globe MyFi, TM, Postpaid, Platinum, and Home Prepaid WiFi users.

Globe vice president for Broadband Marketing Barbie Dapul shared, “Subscribers no longer have to choose between loading their mobile or their Globe Home Prepaid WiFi since now they can have both with HomeSHARE.” Dapul highlighted the ease and convenience of being able to load your Globe Home Prepaid WiFi for your family using the Globe At Home app or new Globe One app.

She added, “We design our services and promos with our customers in mind. Our new HomeSHARE promo will make it easier for Filipino households to enjoy accessible Internet for all of their interests and for a price that fits their budget.”

“The pandemic has pushed us to find ways to be creative on how we save and spend. That is why Globe Prepaid WiFi is bringing this offer to give our customers the power to share and maximize every peso they spend,” added Dapul.

More information can be found at bit.ly/3xlgGaw.

Interpol adopts resolution to fight online child abuse ISTANBUL—Interpol member countries are calling on nations to urge local online end-to-end encryption providers “to take responsibility” and design products with the aim of protecting children against abuse, the international policing body said on Wednesday.

A resolution adopted at Interpol’s annual General Assembly in Istanbul also calls for member countries to approve laws enabling local law enforcement to prevent and respond to online child sexual abuse cases using the technology. The resolution was adopted on the second day of the three-day meeting, according to an Interpol statement.

“Through the resolution, member countries expressed their concern at the increased use of end-to-end encryption to conceal illicit online crimes against children such as grooming, live streaming of sexual abuse and the distribution of child sexual abuse material,” Interpol said.

The resolution was overwhelmingly endorsed by delegates, the statement said. About 470 police chiefs, ministers and other representatives from more than 160 countries are attending the meeting. The statement quoted Interpol Secretary General Juergen Stock as saying: “This issue is often presented as a zero-sum game, privacy versus child protection, but both can be protected.”

“With safety by design, service providers can meet privacy obligations and also ensure that new technologies do not come at the cost of child safety,” Stock said.

Interpol said the end-to-end encryption technology prevents service providers “from detecting child sexual abuse and from complying with lawful requests by law enforcement seeking to investigate cases, arrest offenders and remove child victims from harm.”

The policing body is scheduled on Thursday to hold a closely-watched election for a new leadership.

The international policing body’s first-ever Chinese president, Meng Hongwei, vanished midway through his fouryear term on a return trip to China in 2018. It subsequently emerged that he had been detained, accused of bribery and other alleged crimes. Interpol then announced that Meng had resigned from the presidency.

A vice president, Kim Jong Yan from South Korea, was elected as a replacement to serve out the rest of Meng’s term.

The vote is also the subject of controversy because representatives from China and the United Arab Emirates are bidding for top posts. Critics contend that if these candidates win, their countries would use Interpol’s global reach to apprehend exiled dissidents and even political opponents at home, instead of hunting down drug smugglers, human traffickers, war crimes suspects and alleged extremists.

Human rights groups have also accused the candidate from the UAE of involvement in torture and arbitrary detentions. AP

INFINIX Hot 11S

Christmas-bonusfriendly smartphones W

ITH less than a month to go before Christmas, many of you are probably expecting your 13th month pay and bonuses in the next few days, so you better get that nice list ready and check it twice.

Smartphones have always been part of everyone’s wishlist especially after the pandemic made them a work-from-home or distance learning essential. This week, we feature two entry-level smartphones that would make your loved one feel extra special—and maybe even restore their faith in Santa.

SMOOTH OPERATOR

FIRST is the realme 8i. The realme 8 series has been one of the best offerings this year, and I personally have been using the realme 8 Pro as my daily driver since it launched in May. The realme 8i is the latest and most afffordable of the realme 8 family. With a starting price of P9,990, you get a device with 6.6-inch FHD+ display with 120hz refresh rate, a MediaTek Helio G96 processor, a 50MP main camera, and a 5,000mAh battery with 18W fast charging.

In terms of looks, the phone shares a similarity with the realme 8 5G edition, flaunting either a Stellar Black or Stellar Purple glossy mirror-like finish. It also doesn’t have that divisive “Dare To Leap” branding. The Stellar Purple we have for review looks really cool as you can get different shades depending on how the light shines on it. The downside? It can be quite slippery to hold and is a smudge magnet, so better slap that jelly case on for protection.

The main selling point of the realme 8i is its display. You get a pretty spacious 6.6-inch IPS LCD screen with a 2412 x 1080px HD+ resolution and a 400ppi density. Text and photos look sharp and detailed onscreen and the 600 nits of max brightness helps visibility during outdoor use. It is also one of the few in its price range that features a 120Hz refresh rate, allowing you to experience smoother gaming action and reduces motion blur on video. Another benefit of a high refresh rate is that it can make navigating the interface of your phone also feel more responsive. If you love playing those fast-paced action games, the realme 8i delivers on its promise of making your games look less choppy. When watching those fast-paced sports videos, the action will also apper smoother with less screen stutter. You can always turn auto-switch on to revert back to the standard 60hz to save on battery.

Now, if you love watching videos, the realme 8i has Widevine L1 DRM support so you can stream videos at the highest resolution. I didn’t expect too much from its single loudspeaker, so I wasnt disappointed. At this price point you know something has to give and audio quality is probably the easiest to sacrfice. Volume does get quite loud but the sound quality is average at best.

It’s good enough for watching TikTok videos or Reels or some casual gaming, but you can easily plug in wired headphones for better audio output.

Its cameras, however, was a pleasant surprise and the realme 8i performed much better—especially for food shots during my tests. You get a main 50MP camera, 2MP macro and another 2MP for depth. If you are like me who like more boosted (saturated) colors, I suggest turning on AI mode—except when taking photos with text as it often converts it to a document and crops the rest of the image out. There’s some depth effect when using the standard mode and when focused correctly, you can get even better subject background separation in portrait mode. I also got some pretty detailed photos using night mode, though I still wish there was a timer to let you know how long you have to hold it very still to avoid blur.

For selfies, there’s a 16MP front camera that has all the facial editing tools you might want to make you look flawless. It works best under natural lighting, but if you are indoors or in darker places, you can get better photos either by using fill light or switching to nightmode—both of which I noticed takes about the same amount of time processing. Take a couple of safety shots just to be sure.

To keep things running smoothly, realme opted to use a MediaTek Helio G96 chipset with a Mali-G57 MC2 GPU, plus either 4GB or 6GB of RAM. The 4GB variant was the one we used for this review and it performed acceptably for casual day-to-day use. You won’t have a problem using it for calls, messaging, browsing through your social-media feeds, watching online videos and taking photos.

If you opt to go for the 6GB RAM variant, you can make use of realme’s Virtual RAM feature.

This uses the phone’s internal storage as makeshift RAM and increases the total amount of RAM on your smartphone and improve the phone’s overall smoothness.

The realme 8i is equipped with a 5000mAh battery and this easily lasted us more than a day before we needed to recharge. According to tests done by realme Lab, you can use the realme 8i for 47 hours on calls, 40 hours on music, 11 hours on YouTube or eight hours playing Mobile Legends.

UPGRADED BUDGET GAMING PHONE

ANOTHER brand that is making a name for itself in the budget-phone segment is newcomer Infinix.

Its latest offering, the Hot 11S gets some key spec upgrades in terms of the display, processor and cameras, making it another good choice for budget hunters. To start off, let me just say that I love the new neon/electric green packaging of the Hot 11S. The brand also included everything you need in the package including a plastic case, a SIM ejector tool, 18w charger, USB-C cable, and a pre-installed screen protector.

As with all other smartphones in this price range, you get a polycarbonate build with a glossy back that’s made to look like glass. The HOT 11S has a glitter-like 2.5D plastic back design with a geometric pattern of wavy lines that gives off a gradient effect.

The Hot 11S has a 6.78-inch Full HD display with a 399 pixel per inch density. It also has a 90hz refresh rate and 180hz touch response rate. Aside from the display, the phone also comes with stereo speakers, with the earpiece acting as the second speaker— something most of its competitors lack. The stereo

REALME 8 5G edition

speakers are not that loud but the quality is noticeably better.

For its cameras, the Hot 11S has a triple camera setup with a 50-megapixel f/1.6 main sensor, plus an AI lens and depth sensor that help improve photo quality. For a budget device, the phone’s cameras are no slouch and are capable of getting photos with lots of details and accurate color. For videos, I think it is the only smartphone in this segment that can shoot 2K video for both rear and front cameras—a feature that aspiring content creators and vloggers would find very useful.

The Hot 11S likewise receives an updated processor in the Helio G88 with either a 4GB+64GB config or 6GB+ 128GB option that you can get for just P1,000 more—which I think would be the better option in the long run. Since this is a phone that targets gamers, another noteworthy feature is its Dar-Link Ultimate Game Boost. This adjusts the system to keep games running smoothly. Game Zone, on the other hand, brings all your favorite games in one place, and allows you to play with other friends in the WeZone App even without an Internet connection if they are also using an Infinix smartphone even.

As for the battery, the Hot 11s has a 5000mAh battery capacity but unlike its predecessor, it now has USB-type C and a faster 18w charging support.

For me, it’s one of the best bang for your christmas bonus smartphones below the P8K range. ■

Sports BusinessMirror

THERE’S no denying Chanelle Avaricio of the title this time.

AVARICIO WINS IN STYLE C

Couples course, reeling with four bogeys against another birdie for 74 and a 220 for joint fourth with Sunshine Baraquiel, whose two-birdie feat after seven holes sparked some hopes for the recent Highlands leg winner to wage a comeback.

But the lady pilot sputtered with three bogeys against one more birdie as she settled for a second straight 72 and took P54,000.

After romping off with the low amateur honors in the last two tournaments, Singson stared at losing her shot at a third straight as Laurea Duque moved to joint second with an even par card after 13 holes. She still led Singson by one despite a bogey on the 16th but failed to score a followup on her Aoki feat last March with a closing double-bogey.

Duque wound up with a 75 and ended up instead at sixth with 221, enabling Singson to nail another trophy in the circuit put up by ICTSI. “I could’ve finished better but it was okay,” said Singson, who rued her bout with a balky putter majority of the way. “I hit most of the greens but the greens are really tricky and was able to make just two birdies.

Marvi Monsalve battled back with a 73 to finish seventh at 225 while Daniella Uy hardly recovered from a disastrous second round 79 with a 75 to place eighth at 227 followed by Korean rookie pro Jane Jeong, who limped with an 82 for a 231, and Florence Bisera, who also skied with an 80 for a 232.

Beach volley bets put up gallant stand in Phuket Asian tilt

Aoki legs this year, Constantino still finished second at 219 despite that closing six-over card with Ikeda matching that output after fighting back from three early bogeys with birdies on Nos. 8 and 14 for a 73.

“Still in shock but I felt happy that I finally won,” said Avaricio, who lost to absentee Princess Superal twice at Sherwood and Eagle RidgeNorman last July.

The Alabama State U product finished fourth at Aoki and struggled to sixth place at Highlands but got back into the thick of things with a 70 Thursday that put her within two strokes off Constantino.

“This victory exceeded all my expectations and I want to thank ICTSI for sponsoring our circuit,” said Avaricio, who banged in a birdie putt from long range on No. 3 then pulled off two solid shots on the par-5 seventh and drained in the eagle putt from pin-high distance.

“Sana more [wins] to come in the future,” added Avaricio, who banked her biggest earnings of P101,250 since turning pro in mid-2019.

Constantino and Ikeda each received P63,750.

Singson, who contended for the pro crown in the last two stops of the Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc.-organized circuit at Aoki and Highlands, pressed her bid with a birdie on No. 5. But like the rest of the pursuers, succumbed to tough conditions and tricky surface of the

T

Tolenada blends well with Cargo Movers

HANELLE AVARICIO, twice denied of a top podium finish on the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour (LPGT), broke through in style and captured the International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) Riviera Ladies Challenge crown via a whopping seven-stroke romp over Harmie Constantino and Chihiro Ikeda on a closing 69 in Silang, Cavite, on Friday.

Bracing for another tough drive to LPGT glory against a player who has racked up two victories in her rookie season, Avaricio wiped out Constantino’s two-stroke lead after 36 holes with a birdie-eagle feat on Nos. 3 and 7, respectively, then cruised to the lopsided victory at four-under 212 despite a two-birdie, two-bogey game the rest of the way.

For Constantino and amateur Mafy Singson failed to mount any challenge with the former surrendering the lead despite an even-par game after six holes and bowing out of the title race with three straight bogeys from No. 7. She yielded three more strokes in a birdie-less 78.

Twice winner of the Eagle Ridge-

HE Philippines matched a milestone in men’s action while the women put up a gallant stand in the Asian Senior Beach Volleyball Championships at the Bang Tao Beach in Phuket, Thailand.

The 19th-seeded pair of Jude Garcia and Krung Arbasto reached the quarterfinals following a stunning 22-20, 18-21, 15-12 win over Qatar 2’s Ahmed Mahmoud and Saifeddin Elmajid, the eighth seeds in the five-day tournament.

The pair matched the country’s best finish in the annual competition since Rhovyl Verayo and Parley Tupaz made the final eight in 2007 in Songkhla also in Thailand. Verayo is now coaching the men’s team.

Garcia and Arbasto, however, took a 19-21, 21-13, 10-15 loss to Iran 2’s Bahman Salemi and Abolhassan Khakizadeh in a 49-minute contest to miss a semifinal berth. Salemi, a 2017 Asian champion, and Khakizadeh are seeded 11th in the contest.

“I’m very satisfied with the way our beach volleyball players performed in Phuket. We will get better,” said Philippine National Volleyball Federation President Ramon “Tats” Suzara.

The Philippines—whose participation in the tournament is backed by Rebisco, Taguig City through Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano, Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Olympic Committee, is back in the tournament after an 11-year absence.

Dij Rodriguez and Gen Eslapor and Sisi Rondina and Bernadeth Pons, meanwhile, showed signs of getting to competitive form by reaching the round-of-16 in women’s play.

The 16th-seeded Rodriguez and Eslapor lost to Australia 2’s Jasmine Fleming and Stefanie Fejes,18-21, 14-21 while No. 12 Rondina and Pons bowed to Japan 2’s Akiko Hasegawa and Yurika Sakaguchi, 17-21, 15-21.

The other men’s squad is composed of AJ Pareja and James Pecaña. They didn’t get past the pool play.

O

NLY one month in an F2 Logistics and Iris Tolenada is playing like a long-time Cargo Movers.

The Filipino-American setter easily blended into the F2 Logistics system and joined the Cargo Movers in crowning themselves as the first Philippine National Volleyball Federation Champions League winners.

Tolenada played a vital role in helping the Cargo Movers complete a 5-0 campaign without dropping a set on Thursday at the Aquamarine Recreational Center in Lipa City. She went on to win the Best Setter award.

“This is an amazing feeling. Coming in to this program, I knew it is a championship team. I have been a champion before and I was really excited to experience another one with these girls,” said Tolenada, who overcame late game struggles in the title clincher thanks to her teammates led by MVP Kim Kianna Dy. “Today I didn’t play my best game.

But the great thing about a solid team and a solid family is everyone has each other’s back and that’s what they did today,” she said after the Cargo Movers formally clinched the crown following a 25-20, 25-20,

IRIS TOLENADA sets perfectly in her new team.

Cycling tour back on road in February

A

FTER an absence of nearly two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, big-time cycling returns with a bang with the staging of the GO Philippines Tour 2022, a multi-stage bike festival featuring 16 legs over 22 days all over the archipelago opening on February 14 in Davao City.

“We know how our local cycling fans and riders have been hungry to have another big cycling competition and this

our answer to that,” said GO Philippines Tour event director Ric Rodriguez during the press conference launching the event last Thursday night at the City of Dreams ballroom in Parañaque.

Rodriguez said this was why the organizers were offering a total pot of P10 million, the biggest in local cycling history, to whet the appetites of the teams and cyclists competing in the bikathon reminiscent of

25-22 victory over Chery Tiggo. “They carried me through. They still believed in me. They stuck with me and that means a championship in itself.”

The San Francisco State University product was delighted to play under multi-titled collegiate and club champion Coach Ramil de Jesus who boosted her confidence.

“Playing for coach Ramil has been great because I’m also getting better at the game. You know I’m 30 years old and I’m still learning a lot from him and that’s so exciting for me as a player. To keep growing,” Tolenada said.

“I understand why people want to play for him. I understand why he is a champion coach like the way he runs his programs and the way he is on and off the court. It’s amazing,” she said. “He feels like a dad. He feels like a family and they welcomed me with open arms ever since I stepped to the gym.”

In a recent interview, de Jesus said that Tolenada is coachable and the national team mainstay was happy to hear that from the man who steered De La Salle and F2 Logistics to several championships.

“That’s amazing. I’m glad.

That’s how I am raised and that’s the only way to be better is to be coachable, and be open to feedback and get excited to get better. And get excited to fail before you succeed even more,” Tolenada said.

Despite the short preparation, the Cargo Movers still won it all.

When Tolenada entered F2 Logistics’ Lipa City training bubble after her stint in the Asian Women’s Club Volleyball Championship last month, the challenge was so tremendous being the team’s main setter.

But she passed with flying colors.

“Everything was worth it. All the tears, all the sweat, all the blood,” Tolenada said. “Winning the championship with this team is just the best feeling.” Josef Ramos past great cycling showcases like the Tour of Luzon and Marlboro Tour.

“We are just as excited with Rodriguez in the staging of this event that will be anticipated by local riders and cycling fans alike,” noted GO Philippines Tour Chief Executive Officer Marian Romilyn Galanza of the event that will be passing through some of the country’s top scenic and tourist attractions.

“This is a dream come true for us,” said Galanza, who was born in Paris, the French capital of the fabled Tour de France.

A12

| Saturday, November 27, 2021 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao

POC PROBES EJ-PATAFA CONTROVERSY

T

HE Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) has tasked its Ethics Committee to commence next week its probe on a complaint filed by Olympian pole vaulter Ernest John “EJ” Obiena against Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (Patafa).

Obiena’s complaint was filed before the Athletes Commission and Safe Sports Technical Working Group, according to POC President Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino.

“The POC assures that it will resolve the issues with expediency and hold people who are accountable,” Tolentino said.

Obiena’s complaint—lodged against the Patafa and its president, Philip Ella Juico—borders on alleged harassment, attempting to collude with coaches to fabricate statements, coercing to solicit doctor-patient privileged communication, psychological abuse, bullying and neglect of duty.

The Ethics Committee is chaired by rowing’s Patrick Gregorio with sailing’s Ernesto Echauz and bridge’s Gerry Alquiros as members.

The POC, Tolentino said, also ordered the Patafa to cease from further releasing media statements in order to prevent further damages they could bring to Philippine sports.

Obiena and Vitaly Petrov, went online on Sunday to air their grievances against the Patafa’s claim that the multi-medalist athlete didn’t pay the legendary pole vaulting coach his salaries.

Obiena claimed otherwise and prompted the Patafa from shifting its accusation from non-payment to late payment of the Ukranian’s salaries.

Earlier this week, the Senate budget committee withheld its approval of the Philippine Sports Commission’s 2023 budget unless the sports agency fixes the row.

The PSC on Thursday decided to give Obiena and the Patafa a mediation submission agreement to help resolve their differences.

The sports agency deemed that the mediation submission agreement is the best possible option for the row’s resolution without the PSC intervening into purely national sportys association affairs.

GABUCO

PICSON

Picson elected boxing chief, champ Gabuco joins board

E

By Josef Ramos

D PICSON was elected president of the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (Abap) in a virtual exercise on Thursday with former world champion Josie Gabuco joining the association’s board of directors.

And that’s in line with what former president and now Abap Chairman Ricky Vargas envisions the association’s leadership to become.

“The goal is to elect officers from within the association, those who knows the ins and outs, those who have been there and worked hard for the Abap,” Vargas told BusinessMirror on Friday. “And eventually, the goal is to have a former boxer to lead the association, that’s why Josie [Gabuco] is in the board now.”

Vargas, Abap’s president for 13 years, said he’s giving others the chance to lead the association.

“It’s time to give others a chance like Ed [Picson] and I want him to be his own man,” he said. “I have seen him work and so he just needs to continue what we’re doing in our program especially in the grassroots level.”

Picson was initially Abap’s executive director when Vargas’s group took over the reins from

She also cited Sen. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, the Chairman of the Senate Sports Committee, for supporting the bikefest, underscoring his status both as a sportsman and patron of local sports.

Go is the principal author of Republic Act 11470 creating the National Academy for Sports, a high school for promising young athletes, whose campus will be set up in the New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac.

Manny Lopez in 2008. Picson was secretary-general before his election as president.

Picson, according to Vargas, first refused the presidency but was prevailed upon.

“I suggested that Mr. Vargas stay because the association is on the right track,” Picson said.

“I am humbled by the trust and confidence reposed in me.”

“The results in the Tokyo Olympics, where Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam won silvers and Eumir Marcial got bronze, will be a tough act to follow,” he said. “But our boxers, coaches and support staff assured me they are all up to the task. We vow not to let the country down.”

Also elected were Deputy Speaker Robbie Puno as vice president and former congressman Raul Daza as vice chairman.

Government intervention in NSA and sports affairs is taboo in the Olympic Movement and any violation could merit suspension of a national Olympic committee from the International Olympic Committee or international federations.

PSC Chairman William Ramirez stressed on the agency’s role of mediator in the crisis.

“I will not give any solutions. It is them agreeing and making peace,” Ramirez told BusinessMirror. “I’m just providing an opportunity for them to talk again and reconcile without looking who’s wrong or who’s correct.”

“Peace making is an extremely difficult matter, but I’m duty bound as it is embedded in our PSC charter to provide leadership in success and in crisis,” Ramirez added.

Meralco grabs Lakas ng Tatlo 2nd leg crown

M

ERALCO won’t be denied this time as it clinched the Leg 2 title of the Philippine Basketball Association 3x3 Lakas Ng Tatlo at the expense of guest team Platinum Karaoke, 21-16, in Thursday’s finale at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.

Tonino Gonzaga sparked the Bolts’ fast start, accounting for three of the team’s first four points that set the tempo for Meralco’s championship run after falling short in the opening leg last week.

The veteran guard out of Ateneo finished with seven points to steer the team to the title and the prize purse of P100,000.

The Bolts, coached by Patrick Fran, received balanced contributions from Joseph Sedurifa who finished with six points, including the last three of the team, Dexter Maiquez with five, and Alfred Batino with three.

Meralco had little time to savor its victory though as play resumes Saturday also at the same Pasig City venue for Leg 3.

Chris De Chavez topscored with a game-high 11 points for Platinum Karaoke, which bagged runner-up honor worth P50,000, while maiden leg winner TNT Tropang Giga fell short of a back-to-back title and finished third to receive P30,000 after beating Limitless Appmasters, 21-14.

On its way to the winner-takeall finals, Meralco avenged its championship loss against TNT as Gonzaga and company bundled out the Tropang Giga in the semifinals, 21-13. They eliminated the San Miguel Beermen earlier at the start of the knockout stage, 21-12.

Platinum Karaoke meanwhile, knocked off Sista Super Sealers in the quarterfinals, 20-17, and followed it up with a 21-16 win in the semifinals against Limitless Appmasters, 21-16, to arrange the title showdown with Meralco.

The runner up finish though, is the highest so far achieved by one of the three guest teams that also included Pioneer Pro Tibay and Zamboanga Valientes.

Platinum Karaoke, also composed of Karl Dehesa, Yutien Andrada and JR Alabanza, and coached by Anton Altamirano, reached the semifinals of the opening leg but lost to Meralco.

MERALCO’S Joseph Sedurifa baits a foul from Platinum Karaoke’s JR Alabanza.

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No.

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

No.

8 STONE BUSINESS OUTSOURCING OPC 5-10/f Tower 1, Pitx Kennedy Road, Tambo, City Of Parañaque

YU, JIAN Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 1.

Brief Job Description: Build sustainable relationship of trust through open and interactive communication in Mandarin speaking

LI, TINGTING Marketing Staff Mandarin Speaking 2.

Brief Job Description: Monitor, review and report on all Marketing activity and result

XIAO, CONG Marketing Staff Mandarin Speaking 3.

Brief Job Description: Monitor, review and report on all Marketing activity and result

MA, ZHANYUAN Chinese IT Support Specialist Basic Qualification: Knows how to recommend potential products or services to management by collecting customer information and analyzing customer needs.

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

12.

13.

Basic Qualification: Analyze the productivity of the Marketing plans and projects, recommend to Senior Management Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Analyze the productivity of the Marketing plans and projects, recommend to Senior Management Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

4.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for the Inspection of all activities related to the operation of rock quarries and borrow areas, and exploration of new material required for production of the following processed construction materials.

RAKSRI, THIPHONG Technical Consultant - Pumping Station

5.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for the inspection of all activities related to the operation of rock quarries and borrow areas, and exploration of new material required for production of the following processed construction materials.

Basic Qualification: Experience developing dam design and construction

Brief Job Description: The Chinese IT Support Specialist shall answer incoming calls from clients and troubleshoot customer technical problems with computer software and hardware YANG, ZHANDONG Chinese IT Support Specialist Brief Job Description: The Chinese IT Support Specialist shall answer incoming calls from clients and troubleshoot customer technical problems with computer software and hardware WONG CHAO SING IT Support Specialist

14.

Brief Job Description: The Chinese IT Support Specialist shall answer incoming calls from clients and troubleshoot customer technical problems with computer software and hardware

DING, SHIHUAN Mandarin Deputy Project Supervisor 15.

Brief Job Description: The Mandarin Deputy Project Supervisor will be strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goal.

6.

Brief Job Description: Provides customer service in foreign language, taking phone calls, answering to customer inquiries through emails, and solving customer issue

7.

Brief Job Description: Provide appropriate action to identify and help minimize the risk posed by fraud pattern and trends

8.

Brief Job Description: Monitor that the company is following the company plans

Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999

16.

Basic Qualification: Excellent writing, reading, listening and talking in French language.

Preferably with prior experience of at least 1 year in similar BPO outfit

Brief Job Description: The Mandarin Electrical Supervisor will be strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goal.

HONG, FURONG Mandarin Human Resources Supervisor 17.

Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999

Brief Job Description: The Chinese IT Support Specialist shall answer incoming calls from clients and troubleshoot customer technical problems with computer software and hardware DENG, SHUNJIE Chinese IT Support Specialist

10.

Brief Job Description: The Chinese IT Support Specialist shall answer incoming calls from clients and troubleshoot customer technical problems with computer software and hardware

LI, ZHEN Chinese IT Support Specialist 11.

Brief Job Description: The Chinese IT Support Specialist shall answer incoming calls from clients and troubleshoot customer technical problems with computer software and hardware

Basic Qualification: Must be in Fluent in Chinese Language (Writing and Speaking)

Basic Qualification: Proven experience as a Mandarin Deputy Project Supervisor , Familiarity, knowledge and awareness on Machinery and Heavy Equipment use by company, Demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plan.

Basic Qualification: Proactive documentation of operational procedures required to tackle known risk.

Brief Job Description: The Mandarin Human Resources Supervisor will be strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goal.

DING, SHIMIN Mandarin Technical Works Supervisor 18.

Salary Range: Php 90,000 - Php 149,999

Basic Qualification: Bachelor’s degree graduate at least 5 years experience in relevant industries

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

Brief Job Description: The Mandarin Technical Works Supervisor will be strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goal.

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

Basic Qualification: Must be in Fluent in Chinese Language (Writing and Speaking) Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Proven experience as a Mandarin Human Resources Supervisor, Familiarity, knowledge and awareness on Machinery and Heavy Equipment use by company, Demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plan.

Basic Qualification: Proven experience as a Mandarin Technical Works Supervisor , Familiarity, knowledge and awareness on Machinery and Heavy Equipment use by company, Demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plan.

CONCENTRIX SERVICES CORPORATION 18th, 20th, 21st Floor, Tera Tower, Bridgetown Along C-5 Road, Ugong Norte, Quezon City

RAVINDER PARTAP SINGH Associate Director, Service Delivery Brief Job Description: Proven ability to lead and organize multi-disciplinary projects and initiatives in a fast-paced and deadlineoriented business environment with broad impact

22.

Basic Qualification: With atleast 2 years’ experience as an Operations Director in a BPO environment. Mastery of communication skills and styles, both written and verbal

Brief Job Description: Responsible for providing statistic forecasting and future projections in international trade to client

WU, SHIJIE Project Manager 23.

20.

Brief Job Description: Provide valuable information about products and services to consumers

21.

Brief Job Description: Assist / Help customers, give customers information about product and services

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

Brief Job Description: The Project Manager will be strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goals

Basic Qualification: Proven experience as Project Manager.

Excellent communication, interpersonal and presentation skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

KE, TSUNG-YU Marketing Consultant (Mandarin Speaking Clients) 24.

Brief Job Description: *Studying company profile and operations to understand its marketing needs. * Implementing a marketing strategy according to objectives and budget.

Basic Qualification: *Preferably 6 months experience with the above position. *Can multi-task and keen to details. *Any nationality who can speak and write Chinese fluently.

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

GLOBALLGA BUSINESS PROCESS OUTSOURCING Ground Level, Level 2-5 Floor, Silver City 4, Ortigas East, Ugong, City Of Pasig

DENG, TIANWEI Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 25.

Brief Job Description: Build sustainable relationship of trust through open and interactive communication in Mandarin speaking

GUO, QINGFEI Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 26.

Brief Job Description: Build sustainable relationship of trust through open and interactive communication in Mandarin speaking

LI, GUOQING Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 27.

Brief Job Description: Build sustainable relationship of trust through open and interactive communication in Mandarin speaking

ZHU, WEI Customer Service Representative Mandarin Speaking 28.

Brief Job Description: Build sustainable relationship of trust through open and interactive communication in Mandarin speaking

Basic Qualification: Knows how to recommend potential products or services to management by collecting customer information and analyzing customer needs Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knows how to recommend potential products or services to management by collecting customer information and analyzing customer needs Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knows how to recommend potential products or services to management by collecting customer information and analyzing customer needs Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knows how to recommend potential products or services to management by collecting customer information and analyzing customer needs Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

HAMMERTIME CONSTRUCTION INC. Unit 203-s3 2nd Flr., Fbr Arcade Bldg., #317 Katipunan Ave. Loyola Heights 3, Quezon City

LIANG, TONG Mandarin Project Supervisor 29.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for coordinating all labor needs for a given project

XU, YUANYUAN Mandarin Project Supervisor 30.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for coordinating all labor needs for a given project

Basic Qualification: Bachelor’s degree with at least 3-5 years of working experience in the related field; fluent in mandarin/ basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Bachelor’s degree with at least 3-5 years of working experience in the related field; fluent in mandarin/ basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

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

DYNAMIC STUDIO TECHNOLOGY INC. 5th To 10th/f Platinum Tower Building, Aseana Ave. Cor. Fuentes Street, Baclaran, City Of Parañaque

LIANG, PENG Chinese Speaking Business Development Associate

Basic Qualification: Proficiency in English, Mandarin, and multilingual language

FLY ASIAN INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION Eighty One Newport Blvd., Newport City, Va, Brgy. 183, Pasay City

Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in Mandarin

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

FIBERHOME PHILS., INC. U-19d 19/f Rufino Pacific Tower, 6784 Ayala Ave. Cor. V.a. Rufino St., San Lorenzo, City Of Makati

CURRENTCORE SERVICES INC. Unit 2c, Flr. No. 4f, One Ecom Center Bldg. Ocean Drive St., Moa Complex Subd. Barangay 076, Pasay City ZHANG, HONGXIAN Mandarin Field Marketing Officer

Basic Qualification: Must be in Fluent in Chinese Language (Writing and Speaking)

LIU, XIANQUE Mandarin Speaking Trading Consultant

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

Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999

Basic Qualification: Must be in Fluent in Chinese Language (Writing and Speaking)

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

EVONIK TRADING CORPORATION E-045 8/f Co Ban Kiat Bldg. Ii, J. Luna St., 027, Bgy. 287, Binondo, City Of Manila

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

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

19.

9.

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

No.

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

CAPSLOCK INC. 7th & 8th Flr. Y Tower Bldg., Coral Way Drive Cor. Macapagal Ave., Brgy. 076, Pasay City CHEN, RONG Chinese IT Support Specialist

Basic Qualification: Must be in Fluent in Chinese Language (Writing and Speaking)

Basic Qualification: Experience developing dam design

ASCENT DEVELOPMENT CONSTRUCTION INC. 5th Floor Strata 100 Bldg., F. Ortigas Jr. Ave. Ortigas Center, San Antonio, City Of Pasig

PARK, JUNSUCK Planning Department Lead

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

Basic Qualification: Proven experience as a Mandarin Electrical Supervisor, Familiarity, knowledge and awareness on Machinery and Heavy Equipment use by company, Demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plan.

AMAZON OPERATION SERVICES PHILIPPINES, INC. B21 Three E-com Moa Complex, Harbour Drive Cor. Bay Shore, Brgy. 076, Pasay City

FAN, QIANG Investigation Specialist I

Basic Qualification: Must be in Fluent in Chinese Language (Writing and Speaking)

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

ALLSECTECH MANILA, INC. 3rd Floor, Market! Market! Mall, Bonifacio Global City, City Of Taguig

BAMPATA, REAGAN BOMPATA Bilingual French Analyst

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999

LIN, JINYONG Mandarin Electrical Supervisor

A13

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

CHINA HARBOUR ENGINEERING COMPANY 5/f Rm 501 Ramon Magsaysay Center, 1680 Roxas Blvd., 076, Bgy. 699, Malate, City Of Manila

AFRY CONTRACTING PHILIPPINES, INC. 8/f King’s Court Bldg., 2129 Don Chino Roces Ave., Pio Del Pilar, City Of Makati CERIANI, STEFANO Technical Consultant - Geology, Excavation And Quarry

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Saturday, November 27, 2021

Basic Qualification: With at least 6 months customer service experience/ Good in oral communication and written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

YI, NA Mandarin Project Supervisor 31.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for coordinating all labor needs for a given project

Basic Qualification: Bachelor’s degree with at least 3-5 years of working experience in the related field; fluent in mandarin/ basic English Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

HECTECHURE CORP. Units A&b 20/f Rufino Pacific Tower, 6784 Ayala Ave. Cor. V.a. Rufino St., San Lorenzo, City Of Makati

A14

BusinessMirror

Saturday, November 27, 2021

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No.

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

UWALAKA, BEDE IKECHUKWU It Operating System Supervisor 32.

Brief Job Description: The IT Operating System Supervisor will be strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goal.

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE Basic Qualification: Proven experience as an IT Operating System Supervisor, Familiarity, knowledge and awareness on Machinery and Heavy Equipment use by company, Demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plan.

No.

HOANG THI VAN IT Support Specialist 46.

ZHI, FEI Mandarin Operating System Supervisor 33.

Brief Job Description: The Mandarin Operating System Supervisor will be strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goal.

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

47.

34.

LIN, YANSHAN Marketing Officer Brief Job Description: Help develop customer research databases

KANG, YOUNGSUK Korean Customer Service Representative 48.

DZUNA FOTSO, OLIVIER KEVIN Customer Service Process Specialist 35.

Brief Job Description: Troubleshoot on internet issues, evaluate process in French and Portuguese

ESPINOZA AYALA, CHRISTIAN ALEXANDER Customer Service Process Specialist 36.

Brief Job Description: Review of French & Portuguese accounts of purchasing & accounting

RUDOLPH EKAM EKAM Process Specialist 37.

Brief Job Description: Accent receivable matching payment with invoices in fluent language

Basic Qualification: French bilingual both written and oral, fluent in English

49.

50.

51.

52.

Brief Job Description: Assist/help customers, give customers information about product and services

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

ITECHNO SPECIALIST INC. 9/f 100 West Building, Sen. Gil Puyat Ave., Pio Del Pilar, City Of Makati BAI, YUANYUAN Chinese IT Support Specialist 39.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for providing quality it support of enterprise systems throughout the Chinese clientele.

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Chinese writing and speaking language

40.

Brief Job Description: The Chinese IT Support Specialist (CITSS) is an integral member of the company infrastructure, Application Support, and of the IT Division and is responsible for providing quality IT support of enterprise systems throughout the Chinese clientele.

QIN, DONGHUI Chinese IT Support Specialist 41.

Brief Job Description: The Chinese IT Support Specialist (CITSS) is an integral member of the company infrastructure, Application Support, and of the IT Division and is responsible for providing quality IT support of enterprise systems throughout the Chinese clientele.

YE, SHUANGLONG Chinese IT Support Specialist 42.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for providing quality it support of enterprise systems throughout the Chinese clientele.

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

Brief Job Description: Your primary function is to help the company and its clients to generate more income for the company

MASAKI, RYUJI Managing Director 54.

Brief Job Description: Provide strategic advice to the board and chairperson; analyze problematic situations and occurrences and provide solutions to ensure company survival and growth.

ZHANG, XIANBIN Chinese Travel Consultant Brief Job Description: suggest suitable travel options that the best suite client needs plan and organize travel

56.

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

Brief Job Description: The position requires the exercise of discretion in the application of the principle, practices and techniques related to planning and analysis design; development and implementation; maintenance; support and management of information technology function YE, XUANYUE Chinese IT Specialist

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Chinese writing and speaking language

Basic Qualification: Can speak and read Cantonese, Mandarin and Fukien language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

No.

Basic Qualification: at least college graduate, speak and write Korean fluently

60.

61.

62.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: at least college graduate speaks and write fluently (Korean & English)

63.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 64.

Basic Qualification: Must be fluent in chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

65.

66.

57.

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

Brief Job Description: The position requires the exercise of discretion in the application of the principle, practices and techniques related to planning and analysis design; development and implementation; maintenance; support and management of information technology function

67.

43.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for providing quality it support of enterprise systems throughout the Chinese clientele.

ZHU, DONG Chinese IT Support Specialist 44.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for providing quality IT supports of enterprise systems throughout the Chinese clientele.

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Chinese writing and speaking language

HU, JIANGUO Chief Operation Officer

DO VAN THIEN IT Support Specialist

Basic Qualification: Postgraduate/master’s graduate; preferably 5 years’ experience.

68.

69.

Salary Range: Php 90,000 - Php 149,999

70.

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

71.

45.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for providing quality it support of enterprise systems throughout the Chinese clientele.

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

Brief Job Description: The Mandarin Service Manager will be strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goal.

Brief Job Description: Open and Maintain Customer Accounts By Recording Account Information CHENG, KAI-HSIEN Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider Brief Job Description: Open and Maintain Customer Accounts By Recording Account Information CHENG, KAI-WEI Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider

CHIEN, TA-CHIN Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider

CHU, KUAN-LIN Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Chinese language (writing & speaking)

72.

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

73.

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Chinese language (writing & speaking) Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 74.

Basic Qualification: Have extensive work experience.

75.

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

HE, YIHAN Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider

HUANG, CHIH-HSIN a.k.a. HUANG, YEN-HSUN Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider Brief Job Description: Open and Maintain Customer Accounts By Recording Account Information HUANG, HSIN-YUAN a.k.a. HUANG, CHIH-CHENG Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider

HUANG, KUO-CHIH Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider Brief Job Description: Open and Maintain Customer Accounts By Recording Account Information HUANG, SIH-WEI Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider Brief Job Description: Open and maintain customer accounts by recording account information HUANG, YU-LIN Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider Brief Job Description: Open and maintain customer accounts by recording account information JHUANG, JHEN-WEI Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider Brief Job Description: Responsible for handling service support calls

Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999

Basic Qualification: Proven experience as a Mandarin Service Manager , Familiarity, knowledge and awareness on Machinery and Heavy Equipment use by company, Demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plan.

Brief Job Description: Open and Maintain Customer Accounts By Recording Account Information

Brief Job Description: Responsible for handling service support calls

76.

59.

CHEN, GUAN-ZHOU Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider

Brief Job Description: Responsible for handling service support calls

Basic Qualification: With good oral and written communication skills. knowledge in computer application

LIUGONG MACHINERY ASIA PACIFIC PTE. LTD. PHILIPPINE BRANCH Unit A&b 20/f Rufino Pacific Tower, 6784 Ayala Ave. Cor. V.a Rufino Street, San Lorenzo, City Of Makati

Basic Qualification: Can speak and read Cantonese, mandarin, and Fukien language

Brief Job Description: Open and maintain customer accounts by recording account information

GUO, JIAN-ZHI Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Chinese writing and speaking language

YANG, YI Mandarin Service Manager

CHEN, GUAN-SYUAN Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider

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

58.

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

Brief Job Description: Open and Maintain Customer Accounts By Recording Account Information

Brief Job Description: Responsible for handling service support calls

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

Brief Job Description: Implement business operations and establishment policies.

CHANG, CHING-CHENG Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider

Basic Qualification: Must be fluent in chinese language

LEISURE & RESORTS WORLD CORPORATION 26/f West Tower, Pse Ctr., Exchange Rd., Ortigas Ctr., San Antonio, City Of Pasig ZHOU, LINGXIN Chinese IT Support Specialist

Brief Job Description: Responsible for handling service support calls

Brief Job Description: Responsible for handling service support calls

Basic Qualification: Must be fluent in chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

KIM, JUNGHOON Korean Customer Service Representative

Brief Job Description: Responsible for handling service support calls

Basic Qualification: Must be fluent in chinese language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

MEGA-WEB TECHNOLOGIES INC. 6,7,8,9,10,11/f Met Live Bldg., Edsa Cor. Macapagal Blvd., Brgy. 076, Pasay City

LAN TIAN ZI XUN INC. Unit 205 2/f Zen Tower, 1111 Natividad Almeda Lopez St., 071, Bgy. 659, Ermita, City Of Manila LIU, KAIJIA Chinese IT Specialist

Basic Qualification: A Chinese and fluent in Chinese writing and speaking language

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

K.B.C. DREAM TRAVEL AND IMMIGRATION CONSULTANCY CORPORATION (K.B.C. TRAVEL AND IMMIGRATION CONSULTANCY) U-ug02 Cityland 8 Condo., 98 Sen Gil Puyat Ave., Pio Del Pilar, City Of Makati

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

Basic Qualification: A Chinese and fluent in Chinese writing and speaking language

Basic Qualification: Can speak and read Cantonese, Mandarin and Fukien language

JSHIP MANAGEMENT PHILIPPINES OPC 5/f Remedios Tower 1971, Leon Guinto St. 075, Barangay 692, Malate, City Of Manila

55.

HAN, CHUNYUN Chinese IT Support Specialist

Brief Job Description: Your primary function is to help the company and its clients to generate more income for the company ZHANG, QIANG Strategic And Facilitation Officer

53.

38.

Brief Job Description: Your primary function is to help the company and its clients to generate more income for the company ZHANG, PANYIN Strategic And Facilitation Officer

INFOVINE INC. 8th, 9th, 10th/f Aspire Corporate Plaza Bldg., Macapagal Blvd. St., Zone 10, Barangay 076, District 1, Pasay City

ZHENG, YI Chinese Speaking Data Entry Clerk

Brief Job Description: Your primary function is to help the company and its clients to generate more income for the company LIU, ZHIHUI Strategic And Facilitation Officer

Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999

Basic Qualification: With atleast 6 months customer service experience/good in oral communication and written

Brief Job Description: create and manage product in conjunction with marketing strategies to Korean customer service representative

DUAN, FEN Strategic And Facilitation Officer

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: College Graduate, Fluent in English and French language

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

JDB MANAGEMENT AND CONSULTANCY CORP. 107 T & D House, Magallanes St., 069, Bgy. 655, Intramuros, City Of Manila

Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999 Basic Qualification: Multi language resource, fluent in French written and oral

Brief Job Description: create and manage product in conjunction with marketing strategies to Korean customer service KIM, TAIHYO Korean Customer Service Representative

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

INFOSYS BPM LIMITED - PHILIPPINE BRANCH 19th-23rd Flr., Bgc Corporate Center, 11th Ave. Corner 30th Sts., City Of Taguig

Brief Job Description: The IT Support Specialist (ITSS) is an integral member of the company infrastructure, Application Support, and of the IT Division and is responsible for providing quality IT support of enterprise systems throughout the Chinese clientele.

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

J-NA ALLOUT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS CORP. 3/f Lipams Bldg., #48 President Avenue, Bf Homes, City Of Parañaque

HOORAY E-COMMERCE CORPORATION Unit 4b 4/f #24 Ptc Building Doña Soledad Avenue Corner Argentina St., Better Living Subdivision, Don Bosco, City Of Parañaque Basic Qualification: Through understanding of social media and web analytic

Brief Job Description: The IT Support Specialist (ITSS) is an integral member of the company infrastructure, Application Support, and of the IT Division and is responsible for providing quality IT support of enterprise systems throughout the Chinese clientele.

NGUYEN THI HONG VAN IT Support Specialist

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proven experience as a Mandarin Operating System Supervisor, Familiarity, knowledge and awareness on Machinery and Heavy Equipment use by company, Demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plan.

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

www.businessmirror.com.ph

77.

JIAN, YU-LUN Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider Brief Job Description: Open and Maintain Customer Accounts By Recording Account Information

KUO, SHIH-HSIEN Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider Brief Job Description: Open and maintain customer accounts by recording account information

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking reading and writing in mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in Speaking, Reading and Writing in Mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in Mandarin.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in Speaking, Reading and Writing in Mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in Speaking, Reading and Writing in Mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking reading and writing in mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking reading and writing in mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking reading and writing in mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in Speaking, Reading and Writing in Mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking reading and writing in mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in Speaking, Reading and Writing in Mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking reading and writing in mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in Speaking, Reading and Writing in Mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in Mandarin.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in Mandarin.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking reading and writing in mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Proficient in Speaking, Reading and Writing in Mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in Mandarin.

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

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS No.

78.

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

LIN, WEI-LUN Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider

Basic Qualification: Proficient in Speaking, Reading and Writing in Mandarin

Brief Job Description: Open and Maintain Customer Accounts By Recording Account Information

No.

79.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for handling service support calls

80.

81.

82.

83.

84.

85.

86.

87.

88.

SHEN, SHIH-PING Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider Brief Job Description: Open and Maintain Customer Accounts By Recording Account Information SHI, YI-WEI Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider Brief Job Description: Open and Maintain Customer Accounts By Recording Account Information WANG, HAO-JEN Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider Brief Job Description: Open and maintain customer accounts by recording account information WANG, YI-WEN Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider Brief Job Description: Open and maintain customer accounts by recording account information WU, CHUN-MING Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider Brief Job Description: Open and maintain customer accounts by recording account information YANG, ZHONG-YI Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider Brief Job Description: Open and maintain customer accounts by recording account information YEN, TZU-YUN Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider Brief Job Description: Open and maintain customer accounts by recording account information YIN, YU-KAI Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider Brief Job Description: Open and maintain customer accounts by recording account information ZHU, JIN-CHENG Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider Brief Job Description: Responsible for handling service support calls

TRAN LE BACH Data Consultant

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking reading and writing in mandarin

89.

Brief Job Description: To troubleshoot, maintain and monitor the computer system

Basic Qualification: Proficient in Speaking, Reading and Writing in Mandarin

AHMER, TILAL Head Of Consumer Growth And Ecosystem 95.

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

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

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in Mandarin.

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

96.

97.

98.

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in mandarin

99.

90.

Brief Job Description: Responsible in developing new business and maintaining client accounts of the company.

100.

Brief Job Description: Solution selling for enterprise HCM Software.

101.

Brief Job Description: Reports to the customer fulfillment associate manager, & accurately & time receives, process customer orders for a portfolio of accounts & the resolution of internal & external customer queries

92.

Brief Job Description: To engage with customer on technical and commercial assessment

LOXOS, LEONIDAS Resident Agent 93.

Brief Job Description: Receive notices for the company, regularly communicate with the board.

Basic Qualification: Graduate of quantitative discipline (i.e. math, statistics, computer science, physics, operations research, or similar).

Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999

Basic Qualification: Bachelor degree in Finance, Mandarin Speaking

Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999

102.

103.

CHOMMETHA, NITTAYA Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

GABRIELLA ROSINA BOKY Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

SULIWONG, CHITRAPON Customer Service Representative Brief Job Description: Customer support and data base services

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Vietnamese Salary Range: Php 90,000 - Php 149,999

Basic Qualification: Has knowledge in computer applications

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Knowledgeable in computer application with good oral and written communication skills Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Excellent in reading, writing and speaking in Mandarin

105.

Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999

SMMT, INC. Unit 2208 The Trade And Financial Tower, 7th Avenue Corner 32nd Street, Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig

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

Brief Job Description: Responsible for inbound and outbound service calls

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

Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999

Brief Job Description: Responsible for all food related concerns and taking care on food preparation need.

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

Basic Qualification: with experience in chef.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for all food related concerns and taking care on food preparation feed.

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

TIANYU TECHNOLOGY INC.

16/f Socialdesk Tower, H.v. Dela Costa St., Bel-air, City Of Makati

PAN, XIAOLONG Chinese It Support Specialist 111.

Brief Job Description: Responsible for providing quality it supports of enterprise systems throughout the Chinese clientele.

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Chinese writing and speaking language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

TOTAL CREST BUSINESS SUPPORT, INC. 26/f & 27/f Alphaland Corporate Tower, Ayala Ave. Extn. Cor. Malugay St., Bel-air, City Of Makati DINH THI NGA Mandarin Field Marketing Officer 112.

Brief Job Description: Define a region-specific marketing plan that supports the regional sales strategy

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

TREVI FOUNDATIONS PHILIPPINES INC. U-2301 88 Corporate Center, 141 Valero Cor. Sedeno Sts., Bel-air, City Of Makati

SOLLERO, CLAUDIO Site Superintendent 113.

Brief Job Description: Supervise activity for installation (i)of large diameter off-shore bored piles from floating barges/marine facilities (ii)RC diaphragm walls with stop-ends and (iii)ground improvement by deep mixing

Basic Qualification: Minimum 20 years of experience in geotechnical/special foundations works and knowledge of soilmec equipment Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999

VPC CORPORATE SOLUTIONS INCORPORATED 11/f 100 West, Sen Gil Puyat Ave. Cor., Washington St., Pio Del Pilar, City Of Makati

Brief Job Description: Prepares product or service reports by collecting and analyzing customer information

Basic Qualification: Foreign language speaking Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

ZADDEN’S DISTRIBUTION INC. Unit No. 37 Baclaran Bagong Milenyo Plaza Bldg., F.b. Harrison St. Zone 10 District 1, Barangay 76, Pasay City Basic Qualification: Fluent in English/College Graduate

HASEGAWA, TOSEI Consultant Brief Job Description: Identify business challenges and solution.

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

ZONAC AND SHIBATA SERVICES INC. 4/f Pbcom Tower, 6795 Ayala Ave. Cor. Rufino St., Bel-air, City Of Makati

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Has knowledge in computer applications

Basic Qualification: Skilled in French language

Basic Qualification: with experience in chef.

NGUYEN THI QUYNH TRAM Vietnam-speaking Customer Service Officer

Basic Qualification: Advance technical knowledge on business support system technologies for telecommunications

Basic Qualification: Appointed by the board.

110.

LIU, LEI Mandarin Speaking Customer Service Representative 116.

Brief Job Description: Responsible in answering customer questions about product and services of the company

Basic Qualification: Proficiency in English, Mandarin and other multilingual language Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

ZTT PHILIPPINES CORP. 24 Flr. Bgc Corporate Center, 11 Ave. Cor. 30 St., Bonifacio Global City, Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig

DU, QIAN Project Manager 117.

SEAGULL-WORLD INC. Unit 2807 28/f Cityland, Pasong Tamo Tower, 2210 Chino Roces Ave., Pio Del Pilar, City Of Makati

GE, QIAN Mandarin Speaking Customer Service

Brief Job Description: Provides expedient and accurate customer service to French speaking clients and customers

JING, JIANJUN Chinese Chef

Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999 Basic Qualification: Bachelor degree in Operation Management, Mandarin Speaking

Basic Qualification: Fluent in Mandarin Both oral and Written Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

CHEN, YONGJI Chinese Chef

Salary Range: Php 60,000 - Php 89,999 Basic Qualification: Bachelor degree in Finance, Mandarin Speaking

Brief Job Description: Customer service

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

TIANJIN CUISINE GROUP INC. #250, Urban Ave., Pio Del Pilar, City Of Makati

115.

Basic Qualification: College graduate; Fluent in English.

ORIENT STAR PACIFIC REPRESENTATIVE OFFICE 24th Floor Bgc Corporate Center, 11th Ave. Cor. 30th St., Bonifacio Global City, Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig

108.

Basic Qualification: Graduate of banking, financial/business management, economics, management engineering or any related field Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999

QIN, CAILEI Mandarin Customer Service Specialist

NJOMBUA STEPHANIE, WUBUNJEH French Operations CSR II

SA RIVENDELL GLOBAL SUPPORT, INC. 9-11 Flr., The Biopolis Bldg., Macapagal Blvd., Brgy. 076, Pasay City

NITYO INFOTECH SERVICES PHILIPPINES INC. Unit 1001 10/f, 139 Corporate Center, 139 Valero St., Bel-air, City Of Makati

SHERKO MUBARAKH Engagement Manager

Basic Qualification: 15+ years working in a product marketing capacity (partnered closely with product management and/or engineering to represent market requirements and with marketing to support product launches

114.

Salary Range: Php 90,000 - Php 149,999

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

Brief Job Description: The employee is engaged to provide significant support, though the use Mandarin native language, to senior procurement specialist professionals in China

PHAM THI KIM LUYEN Analyst, Customer Fulfillment-Vietnamese (front Office)

104.

91.

Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

TELUS INTERNATIONAL PHILIPPINES, INC. Units 23/f, 31st/f - 37th/f Discovery Centre, Adb Avenue, Ortigas Center, San Antonio, City Of Pasig

S.C. JOHNSON PHILIPPINES ROHQ 1077, J.p. Rizal St., Poblacion, City Of Makati

NEW CHANGE TECHNICAL CONSULTANTS INC. 7/f Glorietta 4, Ayala Center, San Lorenzo, City Of Makati

NEDUNURI, SRIRAM MOHAN Senior Solution Consultant

Brief Job Description: Monitor the day-to-day financial operations within the company, such as payroll, invoicing, and other transactions ZHANG, KAIKAI Mandarin Operations Supervisor

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

Basic Qualification: knowledge and experience in selling software products to different industries

Brief Job Description: Monitor the day-to-day financial operations within the company, such as payroll, invoicing, and other transactions ZHANG, NANA Mandarin Finance Manager

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking reading and writing in mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Design and implement predictive machine learning models for business needs

LI, YONGJIE Mandarin Finance Manager

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in Mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Master’s or PHD research experience, with at least 6 years of experience practicing analytics

PH GLOBAL JET EXPRESS INC. 11th Floor, The Marajo Tower, 26th Street Cor. 4th Avenue Bgc, Fort Bonifacio, City Of Taguig

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in Mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Oversees the strategic data priorities of the assigned business segment

NIGAM, NISARG Senior Data Specialist

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in Mandarin Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Brief Job Description: Oversees the build and growth of the consumer and ecosystem business segments

MUSTAPHA, ANWAAR E Manager Of Insights Data Excellence And Analytics

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

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

No.

109.

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in Mandarin

Basic Qualification: Proficient in speaking, reading and writing in Mandarin

QUALIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE

Salary Range: Php 150,000 - Php 499,999

Basic Qualification: Proficient in Speaking, Reading and Writing in Mandarin

N-PAX SYSTEMS AND CONSULTING, INC. 17f One Global Place Building, 5th Ave., Corner 25th St., Bgc, City Of Taguig

ITO, KEISUKE Technical Sales

Brief Job Description: Design and implement predictive machine learning models for business needs

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

MINDSCAPE CREATIVES INC. Unit 19-o, Burgundy Corporate Tower, 252 Sen. Gil Puyat Ave., Pio Del Pilar, City Of Makati YAO, XINTING Mandarin Technical Support

NAME OF FOREIGN NATIONAL , POSITION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION

107.

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

Brief Job Description: Project managers are responsible for planning and overseeing projects to ensure they are completed in a timely fashion and within budget

LI, ZHUANGZHUANG Project Manager 118.

Brief Job Description: Project managers are responsible for planning and overseeing projects to ensure they are completed in a timely fashion and within budget

Basic Qualification: Natural leadership skills and the ability to work with all teams in the company Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 Basic Qualification: Natural leadership skills and the ability to work with all teams in the company Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999 *Date Generated: Nov 26, 2021

RENDON PEREZ, ROBIE ANNY Quality Assurance Sr. Specialist 106.

Brief Job Description: Provide support in the analysis of project requirements

A15

ESTABLISHMENT / ADDRESS

PAYMAYA PHILIPPINES, INC. 6/f Launchpad, Reliance Cor. Sheridan, Brgy. Highway Hills, City Of Mandaluyong

94.

LU, KUN-JIN Mandarin Speaking Customer Relations Service Provider

Saturday, November 27, 2021

Basic Qualification: Graduate of IT Courses Salary Range: Php 90,000 - Php 149,999

SPEED QUALITY TECH INC. 3/f Eco Plaza Bldg., 2305 Chino Roces Ave. Extn., Magallanes, City Of Makati

Any person in the Philippines who is competent, able and willing to perform the services for which the foreign national is desired may file an objection at DOLE National Capital Region located at DOLE-NCR Building, 967 Maligaya St., Malate Manila, within 30 days after this publication.

Please inform DOLE National Capital Region if you have any information on criminal offense committed by the foreign nationals.

ATTY. SARAH BUENA S. MIRASOL REGIONAL DIRECTOR