Manila Standard - 2022 February 23 - Wednesday

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US: Russian invasion started 'Response will be swift, severe' as Putin orders troops into Ukraine

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ASHINGTON—The United States said Tuesday that Russia's move into eastern Ukraine amounts to the "beginning of an invasion" and warned that "severe" sanctions would be announced shortly.

"We think this is, yes, the beginning of an invasion, Russia's latest invasion into Ukraine, and you're already seeing the beginning of our response, that we said will be swift and severe," deputy national security advisor Jonathan Finer told CNN. The White House also welcomed Germany's decision to halt the mammoth Nord Stream 2 pipeline project

meant to deliver Russian natural gas to Europe.

President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops into two Moscowbacked rebel regions of Ukraine earlier Monday, prompting a furious response from the West with the United States denouncing the move at the UN Security Council as a "pretext for war."

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VOL. XXXVI • NO. 10 • 2 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P18 WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2022 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Western allies set massive sanctions KYIV—Russia faced a furious global diplomatic and economic backlash Tuesday after President Vladimir Putin ordered his forces into Ukraine to secure two breakaway regions.

Germany announced that it was halting certification of the Nord Stream

2 gas pipeline from Russia and said the European Union would adopt "robust and massive" economic sanctions.

Kyiv recalled its top diplomat from Moscow as President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Putin's recognition of the breakaway regions heralded

"further military aggression" against Ukraine.

Putin's move—which came with tens of thousands of Russian soldiers on Ukraine's borders and amid warnings of an all-out invasion—was quickly Next page

SIGNS OF WAR. Smoke rises from a power plant after shelling outside the town of Schastia, near the eastern Ukraine city of Lugansk, on February 22, a day after Russia recognized east Ukraine's separatist republics and ordered the Russian army to send troops there as "peacekeepers." Inset shows a handout video grab released by the Russian Defence Ministry on February 21 that shows bombing during joint exercises of the armed forces of Russia and Belarus as part of an inspection of the Union State's Response Force, at a firing range near Brest, near Ukraine’s northern border. AFP

60 OFWs in HK with COVID, assured to get job back

By Vito Barcelo THE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said that at least 60 overseas Filipino workers in Hong Kong have tested positive for COVID-19 as the city goes through a surge in

coronavirus infections brought about by the Omicron variant.

The Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Hong Kong reported that as of Feb. 21, 60 OFWs have tested positive for COVID-19, 49 of whom are asymptomatic and in community

isolation. Nine are symptomatic and in hospital, while two have recovered, Labor Secretary Silvestre Belo III said.

The Labor department assured the workers that they are ready to assist those who test positive for COVID. Next page

PH cases leveling, all regions except two rated low risk

MMDA says NCR ready for Alert Level 1

By Willie Casas THE local government units in the National Capital Region are ready to shift to Alert Level 1, an official of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority said Tuesday.

Interviewed on Super Radyo dzBB, MMDA officer-in-

By Willie Casas THE number of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines is plateauing, with all but two regions showing a two-week decline in infections, the Department of Health (DOH) said on Tuesday.

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3,654,284 1,019

56,668

55,776

13

3,541,840

2,988

(As of 4 PM, FEBRUARY 22)

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charge and general manager Romando Artes said the NCR has been successful in implementing COVID-19 response programs.

“If we are talking about the preparation of the LGUs, all of them are ready.

NCR is number 1 in implementing the government’s pandemic response. If Next page

HAVE JAB, RIDE TRAIN. A health worker shows a man the syringe used to inject him with the COVID-19 vaccine, as others wait their turn to be jabbed on the LRT Line 2 Recto Station platform in Manila on Tuesday, as the number of positive cases of the virus in the country continues to drop. Norman Cruz

Crashed chopper out to fetch PNP chief THE helicopter that crashed in Real, Quezon on Monday was en route to fetch Philippine National Police Chief General Dionardo Carlos from his "private time" in Balesin Island after his pre-arranged private transport became unavailable.

In a statement, Carlos expressed regret over the chopper crash, which re-

sulted in the death of a policeman and injury to two others.

At the same time, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said Tuesday there was no need for Carlos to go on leave amid the investigation on the crash.

“He (Carlos) is still the chief PNP and it’s rightful for him to use the PNP Next page

PUMP PRICES SOARING. A member of the transport group Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (PISTON) holds a gasoline station pump and a placard along East Avenue in Quezon City on Tuesday to protest the eighth consecutive week of oil price hikes in the country. Manny Palmero

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News

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2022

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Duterte: Don’t buy ‘sari-sari’ meds “To say it again, Ill repeat it in a sentence: Don’t buy medical whatever, there —I cannot mention the medication, it would not be proper. Because you may buy medicines that are expired,” Duterte said in his regular “Talk to the People” public address Monday Night.

The President earlier directed the Department of Interior and Local Government to take steps to protect the public, as the government cracks down on the sale and proliferation of fake medicines in the market.

He warned that these expired medicines sold in “sari-sari” stores could cause

headaches and serious side effects.

“So, the best way really is to give a warning, a serious warning, to our constituents specially to barangay captains, mayors, that you should not buy there,” Duterte added.

Meanwhile, Duterte said he was content that he was able to deliver his campaign promise that he would end his term with a strong military despite the government’s limited income.

Duterte made the comment after Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana reported on the modernization program in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the doubling of the salaries of all military personnel and pensioners.

US:...

for eight years.

"Russian troops moving into Donbas would not be a new step," he said.

"We'll continue to pursue diplomacy until the tanks roll."

Later Monday a White House spokesperson first revealed that new sanctions would be announced, indicating that the position was hardening.

Beyond Nord Stream 2 Secretary of State Antony Blinken slammed Russia's recognition of the separatist areas as a sign Putin had no interest in negotiating, saying it "directly contradicts Russia's claimed commitment to diplomacy, and is a clear attack on Ukraine's sovereignty."

Putin's announcement also sparked intense phone diplomacy between Washington, European capitals and Ukraine as the United States tries to maintain unity among dozens of partners over how to respond to Russia, which supplies much of the European Union's energy supplies.

After announcing a stop to the nearcompleted Nord Stream 2 pipeline project, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned Russia "there are also other sanctions that we can introduce if further measures are taken."

On Friday, the deputy US national security advisor for international economics, Daleep Singh, warned that the full set of sanctions under preparation would turn Russia into an international "pariah."

In an often angry 65-minute televised national address from his office, Putin railed against Ukraine as a failed state and "puppet" of the West.

Putin said it was necessary to "take a long overdue decision, to immediately recognize the independence" of the two regions.

In two official decrees, the Russian president instructed his defense ministry to assume "the function of peacekeeping" in the separatist-held regions.

Moscow's gambit triggered international condemnation and a promise of targeted sanctions from the United States and the European Union—with a broader package of economic punishment to come in the event of further incursion into Ukraine's territory.

The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting, where US ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield described as "nonsense" Putin's reference to peacekeepers.

"We know what they really are," Thomas-Greenfield said, adding Putin's speech amounted to a "series of outrageous, false claims" that were aimed at "creating a pretext for war."

Russia's ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya told the meeting that Moscow was still open to a diplomatic solution.

"However, allowing a new bloodbath in the Donbas is something we do not intend to do," he added, referring to the region encompassing Donetsk and Lugansk.

Putin's move triggered panic on financial markets, with equities tumbling in Asian trade while the price of oil spiked.

'We are on our own land' As news of the late-night recognition hit the streets of Kyiv, many were in disbelief but said they were ready to defend their country if called on.

"I am very shocked," Artem Ivaschenko, a 22-year-old cook originally from Donetsk, told AFP in the capital, calling the recognition the "scariest news" he had heard since he had fled the region eight years ago.

"I live here, I already lost a part of my

homeland, it was taken away, so I will protect it."

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky convened a meeting of his national security council and held telephone calls with several world leaders in a bid to shore up support.

"We expect clear support steps and effective support steps from our partners," he declared in a late night televised address, vowing that Kyiv was not afraid of anyone.

"It is very important to see now who is our true friend and partner, and who will continue to scare the Russian Federation with words," he said.

"We are on our own land."

'Blitzkrieg' In his address, Putin repeatedly suggested Ukraine was essentially part of Russia.

He accused Kyiv of persecuting Russian speakers and of preparing a "blitzkrieg" against the breakaway regions of Donetsk and Lugansk in Ukraine's east.

"As for those who seized and hold power in Kyiv, we demand an immediate end to their military operations," Putin said.

"Otherwise, all responsibility for the possible continuation of bloodshed will be fully on the conscience of the regime in power in Ukraine."

And he made clear the stakes were bigger than Ukraine, whose efforts to join NATO and the European Union have deeply angered Moscow.

"The use of Ukraine as an instrument of confrontation with our country poses a serious, very big threat to us," Putin said.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called Putin's move "a flagrant violation of the sovereignty and integrity of the Ukraine", with his foreign minister promising new sanctions on Russia. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

In a statement issued during a visit to Washington, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he was working with Kyiv's friends "to impose tough sanctions against the Russian Federation."

In Moscow the lower house of the Russian parliament, the Duma, voted to approve Putin's friendship deals with the so-called Donetsk People's Republic (DNR) and Lugansk People's Republic (LNR).

This will give Putin legal cover for the deployment of forces into the rebel-held territories but will not protect Moscow from the diplomatic consequences of his actions.

Zelensky said he would decide immediately after his talks with Karis whether to cut diplomatic ties with Moscow.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov that if Kyiv did so, it would be "an

extremely undesirable scenario that would make everything even more difficult."

And German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that, when EU foreign ministers meet in Paris later in the day, he was confident that they would adopt a huge package of economic sanctions -- in addition to the halted pipeline.

The United States and Britain were also expected to announce sanctions within hours, as European and Russian stocks tumbled, and oil prices surged over news of the recognition.

Meanwhile, in the frontline town of Shchastya, shellfire rang out around an electric power station as fearful residents awaited the Russian deployment.

A shell hit the roof of 59-year-old Valentyna Shmatkova's apartment block overnight, shattering all the windows in her two-room apartment.

"We spent the war in the basement," she said, referring to the 2014 fighting that saw the region break away from Ukraine.

"But we weren't expecting this.

We never thought Ukraine and Russia wouldn't end up agreeing."

Asked what she thought of Putin's decision to recognize the republics, Shmatkova laughed: "I have no idea what's going on, we have no light, no electricity, nothing!"

Social media posts suggested Russian troops were heading to Donetsk and Lugansk after Putin issued decrees ordering them to assume "peacekeeping" functions in the territories.

Western officials were not yet describing Putin's moves as an invasion, but US officials say there is a 150,000-strong Russian force poised to launch an all-out assault. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

Carlos said he “never wished harm to my personnel nor losses to the organization. Rest assured that a thorough investigation is being undertaken."

Monday's chopper crash resulted in the death of an enlisted crew member, Pat. Allen Noel Ona, while the aircraft's pilots, Lt. Col. Dexter Vitug and Lt. Col. Michael Melloria, were severely injured and are undergoing treatment.

The helicopter took off at 6:17 a.m. in Pasay City and was initially reported missing but was later discovered to have crashed in Real, Quezon two hours later.

Rescue teams from the PNP, Bureau of Fire Protection, and local government unit reached the crash site in Barangay Pandan around 8:05 a.m. where the three police officers were pulled out of the chopper.

The PNP has formed a Special Investigative Task Group to probe the incident.

PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said the SITG would look into all possible angles on the crash with the assistance of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines.

Fajardo, however, maintained that Carlos was in Balesin for some “family time” and not for any political reasons. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

PH...

All regions are also under a low risk case classification except for the Cordilleras and the Davao regions, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said.

The national health care capacity is under low risk classification, while Davao region's intensive care unit occupancy is at a moderate risk 58 percent, Vergeire said.

“All island groups--Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao--show a gradual decline in cases. All regions have fewer than 1,000 cases daily for this week,” said Vergeire.

The Omicron variant caused the highest increase in daily cases at 34,903 during its peak although it had the lowest number of severe and critical cases, Vergeire said.

Currently, 12-15 percent of hospitalized COVID-19 patients are severe and critical, Vergeire added.

“This proves that vaccines are effective,” she said.

Less than 30 in 1 million doses of COVID-19 jabs, or 4,041 in 1,333,659,314 caused serious adverse events following immunization, she added.

“More people die from COVID-19 than from vaccines. So it's important for all of us to get vaccinated.,” she said.

Some 15,200 persons per 1 million virus cases have died from the respiratory illness, while three deaths per 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been recorded, she said.

"The benefits our vaccine provide greatly outweigh the risks," she said.

Acting presidential spokesman Karlo Nograles urged the public to get their booster shots as 23 million out of 33.5 million individuals eligible for the jab have yet to receive it.

The Philippines has so far fully vaccinated 62.65 million people while 61.9 million others have received an initial dose and 9.8 million booster shots have been administered as of Monday.

For an area to deescalate to Alert Level 1, Vergeire said at least 80 percent of the vulnerable population must be vaccinated against COVID-19.

"This is not an additional condition...

We increased the target because we know they are the most vulnerable against COVID-19," she said.

The Inter-Agency Task Force Against COVID-19 will meet Thursday to discuss the alert level system of provinces and regions, Nograles said. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

He said once the POLO receives requests for assistance, it will immediately coordinate with the Hong Kong Center for Health Protection and non-government organizations for the hospital admission and for quarantine of infected OFWs. Meanwhile, the After-care Financial Assistance Program through the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), will provide US$200 to those who fall ill.

“An additional US$200 was provided to OFWs with concerns regarding quarantine facilities. POLO is also helping in transporting COVID-infected OFWs to quarantine or isolation facilities and if needed, to hospitals in view of the current shortage in available ambulances,” Bello said.

He said COVID-19 infection is not a valid ground for termination, adding that POLO is closely coordinating with employers to reassure workers that they can still return to work once they recover.

Bello added that the department will continue to help affected OFWs in Hong Kong.

Meanwhile the Palace denied reports that the government will not allow infected OFWs to return home, saying they can come home anytime they wish.

Acting presidential spokesman Karlo Nograles said there is no such policy to ban Filipinos from coming home to the Philippines.

“Our policy is that all Filipinos who want to go home will be allowed to go home to the Philippines. There is no ban against coming home to the Philippines,” Nograles said.

In a press briefing, the Palace official appealed to the Hong Kong government not to impose a ban on OFWs who wish to return to the Philippines.

OWWA Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac said they are monitoring the situation to see if any Filipino workers are stranded.

“We are now monitoring the airports for those who may be affected,” he said.

The Filipino Migrant Workers’ Union (FMWU) said the situation for OFWs in Hong Kong who have contracted COVID-19 is better now than in the last few days.

FMWU vice chairperson Eman Villanueva made the remark a few days after Philippine Consul General Raly Tejada said up to 10 Filipinos in the territory were forced by their employers to sleep in public areas such as parks after testing positive for COVID-19.

Many of them have since been transferred to temporary shelters, Villanueva said.

The consulate general said at least 23 OFWs have sought assistance after testing positive for COVID-19.

These OFWs sought assistance for admission to hospitals or for an isolation room.

The consulate said they are now safe and are in isolation facilities.

"It must be noted that the severity and magnitude of the fifth wave [of COVID-19] took everyone by surprise and affected not just Filipinos but all citizens," the consulate general said in an advisory.

tivity rate of 4.9 percent was already at the target range set by the World Health Organization of under 5 percent.

OCTA Research fellow Guido David said during a televised briefing: “Even the ICU (intensive care unit) utilization is low. We believe that we are there now. Maybe by next week,

by March 1, we could lower it to Alert Level 1."

In Metro Manila, 26 percent of ICU

beds, 24 percent of isolation beds,26 percent of ward beds, and 19 percent of ventilators, are in use, according to the Department of Health.

In a separate interview on ANC, San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora said he was in favor of shifting the NCR to Alert Level 1 starting March 1.

He said the Metro Manila Council, composed of 17 mayors, would meet Tuesday evening to discuss the possible

shift to Alert Level 1.

Earlier, Artes said the mayors would look into the data from the Department of Health and the Inter-Agency Task Force in making the recommendation.

He added they would consider the risk classification, health care utilization rate, and trend of COVID-19 cases.

Under Alert Level 1, intrazonal and interzonal travel shall be allowed without regard to age and comor-

bidities. All establishments, persons, or activities are allowed to operate, work, or be undertaken at full on-site or venue/seating capacity provided it is consistent with minimum public health standards.

There are more than 13.5 million people in the NCR and accounts for a third of the country's gross domestic product. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

By Vito Barcelo

P

RESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has urged the public not to buy medicines from “sari-sari” stores, as he warned that most of these medicines being sold in neighborhood stores were already expired.

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After weeks of massing troops around Ukraine, Putin recognized the independence of the former Soviet state's rebelheld Donetsk andLugansk regions— paving the way for the deployment of a potential invasion force.

President Joe Biden "made clear that if Russia invaded Ukraine, we would act with Germany to ensure Nord Stream 2 does not move forward... We will be following up with our own measures today," Press Secretary Jen Psaki tweeted.

Putin sharply escalated the crisis in eastern Europe on Monday when he announced recognition of independence for two separatist enclaves that Moscow supports in Ukraine—and said Russia's military would be responsible for what he called "peacekeeping."

It was not immediately clear what the scope and timing of Russian "peacekeeping" troop movements would be and, crucially, whether Russia will now openly support the separatists in their goal to seize even more Ukrainian territory across the Donbas region.

Biden immediately reacted by imposing economic sanctions on the two enclaves.

But while the United States and other Western allies condemned a violation of pro-Western Ukraine's territorial integrity, Washington was initially cautious about whether to characterize Putin's move as an invasion, thereby triggering much wider Western sanctions against Russia itself.

"We are going to assess what Russia's done," a US official told reporters, stressing that Russian forces have already been deployed covertly in the separatist areas

Western...

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and widely condemned by Kyiv's allies in the West.

"We strongly condemn all military and hybrid actions against Ukraine," Estonia's President Alar Karis declared after flying into Kyiv to stand in solidarity with Zelensky.

"Indeed, it is a decisive moment in European history. President Putin will answer to the future generations for his violent actions," he vowed.

'Robust and massive' But in some capitals, there was debate over whether sending troops into an area that was already controlled by Russianbacked rebels amounts to the kind of allout invasion that would justify imposing the harshest sanctions.

Crashed...

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chopper to be able to attend a forthcoming official duty when there are no other available means," he said in a message to the government-run Philippine News Agency.

Meanwhile, Partido Reporma standard bearer Senator Panfilo Lacson said Carlos should explain his presence on the exclusive resort island.

"Let's not prejudge CPNP (Chief PNP) Carlos, we don't know yet on whether he has any official function there. Now if that is personal, he might have a problem. I hope the PNP can clarify that particular issue," said the former national police chief in an interview.

Another former PNP chief, senatorial candidate Guillermo Eleazar, extended his sympathies to the family of the lone fatality in the mishap.

At the same time, Eleazar said he joined the men and women of the PNP in praying for the full recovery of the two pilots who were injured in the chopper crash.

Año also cleared Carlos of any liability and said the investigation would "focus on the cause of the accident."

MMDA...

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we are talking about preparation, Metro Manila is ready for Alert Level 1,” Artes said.

Also on Tuesday, the independent OCTA Research Group said Metro Manila could shift to COVID-19 Alert Level 1 by March, noting that its posi-

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“As I ponder on the last paperwork that I have to work on, I’ve been seeing their promotions… I am comfortable with the thought that I have done my best, especially what I have promised to the military,” the President said.

“It is not just a campaign slogan. It was something that I concocted while I was in the years as a mayor and, you know, you have to have rapport with the police and the military for you to succeed,” he added.

“Let it be a policy that you care for people who die for you… So, I made that promise to — I said that ‘I would double your salary’… I am happy that it helps improve the fighting spirit of the police and the military,” Duterte said.

Gov’t preparing for ‘eventualities’ of Ukraine-Russia THE Philippine government “has been preparing for all and any eventualities,” Malacañang said Tuesday, amid the threat of Russian troops invading Ukraine.

“Your government is preparing for all contingencies,” acting presidential spokesperson Karlo Nograles said in a televised briefing.

“I hope all of us across the world can find good avenues to successfully achieve peace,” he said.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) earlier sent a consular team to Lviv, Ukraine “to guarantee immediate assistance to Filipino nationals.”

As of February 22, 6 Filipinos staying in Ukraine have been repatriated.

The geopolitical tension in Europe turned for the worse after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Moscow is recognizing the legitimacy of two Ukrainian regions controlled by rebels.

With his decision, Putin brushed off Western warnings that such a step would be illegal, would kill off peace negotiations, and would trigger sanctions against Moscow.

Also on Tuesday, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration said the Philippine government is not yet mandating mass repatriation from Ukraine despite the tension between the former Soviet states.

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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23,2022

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This posh Pasig address puts you in the middle of everything From premier schools, offices, transport hubs, and retail outlets, convenience comes first at The Fifth near Ortigas CBD

By Jules Matabuena

I

N Metro Manila where traffic jams and hours-long commutes are the norm even in the middle of the pandemic, accessibility has always been a top-of-mind consideration among professionals who want to live near their offices.

Perhaps this is why—despite a growing preference for suburban or provincial locations among Filipino homebuyers seeking fresh air and green spaces, according to the Knight Frank Global Survey 2021 Philippine Edition—a considerable number still prefer to live in cities, where the country’s biggest central business districts (CBDs) are found.

The same survey showed that, aside from work, proximity to leisure spots like restaurants, gyms, retail, and cultural amenities continue to be among the considerations home buyers have in mind in choosing where to live once restrictions end.

In Pasig City, there’s an upcoming residential community that offers unparalleled accessibility: The Fifth, a two-tower residential condominium by Megaworld subsidiary Global-Estate Resorts, Inc. (GERI) located within the sophisticated Renaissance community in Ortigas—the company’s first in Metro Manila.

Everything within reach Rising along Meralco Avenue, The Fifth is conveniently a walking distance to and from the Ortigas CBD. With work just nearby, one would even have time to squeeze in a quick workout session or jog at the Philippine Sports Complex or parks near the property.

The Fifth makes for an ideal home for growing families, too, as prestigious schools like St. Paul CollegePasig, Poveda College, the University of Asia and the Pacific, and the Lourdes School are only a few minutes away.

Come weekends, residents will have tons of options for play and leisure, with museums, shopping malls, cafes and restaurants,

commercial and dining districts, spas, and more dotting The Fifth’s immediate area. Top hotels like Richmonde Hotel Ortigas are within the vicinity, too, should they opt for a staycation or order a sumptuous hotel meal on the go.

What’s more, transport hubs, government offices, churches, and world-class medical institutions like The Medical City and Cardinal Santos Medical Center are close by.

Residents of The Fifth who would need to drive outside of Ortigas or simply want a change of scenery can easily do so as it is bordered by major thoroughfares that lead to several points in the metro. That includes other areas of Pasig, as well as the cities of Mandaluyong, Quezon, Makati, and San Juan.

New and upcoming infrastructures promise better interconnectivity within and around Metro Manila, too, including the MRT-7, Santa Monica-Lawton Bridge, Cavite–Laguna Expressway (CALAX), and the Fort Bonifacio-Ortigas Center Link, which cuts down travel time to Bonifacio Global City from The Fifth to about 15 minutes A serene space in an urban setting Despite being in a bustling locale, The Fifth remains a peaceful community where residents can unwind after a busy day at work or school.

Recreational amenities within The Fifth are exclusively available to residents. These include a wine bar, alfresco cabanas, lounging deck, Sky Garden, outdoor playground, children’s playroom, fitness center, swimming pool, jacuzzis, function hall, coffee shop, spa, a CoLab Working Space, and an outdoor CrossFit gym.

Residents can wind down at the alfresco roof deck.

Two-bedroom units open right into roomy dining and living areas.

The Fifth rises within the posh Renaissance community in Pasig City.

The Fifth is composed of the 32-storey Astra Tower and the 36-storey Luna Tower, with studio type, one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom penthouse units ranging from 36 to 229 square meters. Currently, units in the Luna Tower are available for pre-selling.

“At The Fifth, there’s a space for every resident whether they are mil-

lennials, young professionals climbing the corporate ladder, or start-up families. Its location near the Ortigas central business district and proximity to retail, hospitality, medical, leisure, commercial, and even government establishments, combined with the residences’ serene, resort-inspired ambiance, give The Fifth an edge above others,” said

Karen Piolo-Arcilla, head of sales and marketing, Megaworld GlobalEstate, Inc. When it comes to city living, location always matters. Make it count by choosing a community that not only places you near your place of work, but also offers the opportunity to lead a holistic way of life.

The swimming pool area is located at the 5th floor amenity deck, between the Luna and Astra Towers

The Fifth’s spacious penthouse units make for the perfect urban dwelling for families.

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News

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2022

PAL eyeing to restore its 300 flights daily

SUICIDE?

Members of the Manila Police District Scene of the Crime Office (MPD-SOCO) check the body of an unidentified Korean national who jumped from a condominium located along MH Del Pilar Street in Malate, Manila, on February 22.

Norman Cruz

By Joel E. Zurbano LEGACY carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) is preparing to restore its prepandemic flight levels as the number of COVID-19 cases in the coutry continues to decrease.

Cebu Pacific Air (CEB) meanwhile announced it has delivered more than 50 million COVID-19 vaccine doses across the country as part of its initiative to help the government in its national inoculation program.

CEB has safely transported the vaccines to 28 provinces since March last year as the government ramps up vaccination for the children and the elderly and booster jabs.

On PAL’s flights, company spokesperson Cielo Villaluna said “before the pandemic lockdown, flag carrier Philippine Airlines operated an average of 300 flight legs per day. Today, PAL has yet to restore its pre-pandemic number of flights, but remains confident about the future.”

“We are serving 32 international and 27 domestic destinations,” she added.

On Tuesday, PAL resumed operating flights between Manila and Siargao via a thrice-weekly service.

This coming March, the airline will also increase flights between Manila and Zamboanga from nine to 11 flights weekly and will increase flights between Cebu and Cagayan de Oro from five to seven flights weekly.

PAL’s services to Guam will also increase from two to three flights a week; to Kuala Lumpur - from three to seven flights a week; to Singapore - from five to seven flights a week; to Jakarta - from three to four flights a week; to Bangkok - from three to seven flights a week.

CEB reported that it has delivered vaccines to Bacolod, Boracay, Bohol, Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, Cauayan, Cebu, Cotabato, Davao, Dipolog, Dumaguete, General Santos, Iloilo, Legazpi, Kalibo, Masbate, Naga, Ozamiz, Pagadian, Puerto Princesa, Roxas, San Jose, Siargao, Tacloban, Tuguegarao, TawiTawi, Virac, and Zamboanga.

Probe sought on Castro arrest

By Maricel V. Cruz

B

AYAN Muna on Tuesday sought a congressional investigation into the arrest of Dr. Ma. Natividad Marian “Naty” Castro whom the group said to be a victim of “redtagging and harassment.”

In House Resolution 2496, Reps.

Carlos Zarate, Ferdinand Gaite, and Eufemia Cullamat of Bayan Muna urged House committee on human rights “to condemn and investigate” the case of Castro, “a human-rights defender.”

“The Philippines has a shortage of health workers with only one doctor every 33,000 persons. There are even fewer doctors in

remote areas. Amid the poor government response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the severe shortage of health workers, the continuing harassment against our doctors is unacceptable and highly condemnable,” the lawmakers said.

The three lawmakers said Congress must “defend the rights of our people and check on excesses and violations,

especially in this time of crisis.”

Castro was arrested on kidnapping charges Friday by Philippine National Police (PNP) and Armed Forces intelligence operatives in Barangay San Perfecto, San Juan City based on a warrant of arrest issued by an Agusan del Sur regional trial court.

The Alliance of Health Workers (AHW) meanwhile is calling for the immediate release of Castro.

The PNP, in its statement on Friday, identified Castro as a member of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Central Committee, and head of the CPP-New People’s Army’s (NPA) national health bureau based in Barangay Libertad, Butuan City.

DA culls birds with avian flu in Central Luzon

By Othel V. Campos

PH acquires 32 Black Hawks from Polish firm THE Philippines and Poland inked an agreement on 32 Black Hawk helicopters which are worth $624 million (more than P32 billion).

The Department of National Defense (DND) said the contract for the purchase of the S70i Black Hawk helicopters will also include an “integrated logistics support and training package” for Filipino pilots and maintenance crew.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, in a signing ceremony held at the DND building in Camp Aguinaldo, said the department is “happy” with the purchase.

Lorenzana also said he hopes the helicopters will be delivered soon for the use of the Philippine Air Force (PAF).

He said the choppers will greatly improve the capabilities of PAF. Lorenzana signed on behalf of the Philippines, while Janusz Zakrecki, PZL Mielec president represented the Poland-based company.

Earlier, the DND also bought 16 Black Hawk helicopters from PZL Mielec. The final batch of choppers arrived in November 2021.

Health workers insist that Castro, 53, is a long-time executive director of a Community-Based Health Program in Butuan City that helped train community health workers and established health committees in the Caraga region.

“We health workers are infuriated with what the state forces did to Dr. Castro. We believe that she is innocent and all of the charges accused of her are all fictitious.

Dr. Castro and other health workers who chose to sincerely and wholeheartedly serve the poor communities by providing health services to the underprivileged are very scarce nowadays,” said Robert Mendoza, AHW national president. With Macon Ramos-araneta

FOR WETLAND CONSERVATION. Senator Cynthia Villar leads the opening of a photo exhibit about the Las Pinas-Paranaque Wetland on Tuesday. The exhibit aims to promote awareness of the importance of wetlands and what actions stakeholders can do to help in wetland conservation. Danny Pata

Villar bats for protection of wet lands in Parañaque

By Macon Ramos-Araneta SEN. Cynthia A. Villar has rallied behind this year World Wetlands Celebration’s call to take action for wetlands and appeal to invest financial, human and political capital to save wetlands from disappearing and to restore those that have been degraded.

During the celebration in Las Pinas Parañaque Wetland Park (LPPWP) on Feb. 22, Villar also noted that the United Nations encourages the annual cel-

ebration to raise public consciousness on wetlands, which are critically important ecosystems contributing to biodiversity, climate mitigation and adaptation, freshwater availability and to economies.

She thanked the LPPWP- Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) and its partners, the Society for the Conservation of Philippine Wetlands (SCPW), the Asean Center for Biodiversity (ACB) and the Philippine Wild Bird Club of the Philippines, for their active

participation in this event.

According to the senator, the 2016 Atlas of Philippine Inland Wetlands and Classified Caves has put the number at 314 inland wetlands and 2,487 river systems. Out of these, 314 wetlands are 221 lakes, 12 marshes and swamps, 9 peat lands, 39 water storage, and 31 ponds.

However, she lamented that some people, even those in our government, do not fully recognize and appreciate the significance of wetlands.

POULTRY stakeholders and the Department of Agriculture (DA) culled infected birds detected in a duck farm in Baliuag, Bulacan, and quail farms in Candaba and Mexico, Pampanga to contain avian influenza (bird flu) and prevent another outbreak.

“We immediately carried out the needed protocol to effectively contain avian influenza that was detected in ducks and quails in Baliuag, Bulacan, and in Candaba and Mexico in Pampanga, aimed mainly at preventing it from spreading to other areas,” said Agriculture Secretary William Dar. The Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) confirmed the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) H5N1 strain through its Animal Disease Diagnosis and Reference Laboratory (BAI-ADDRL) using Real Time-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR).

BAI director Reildrin Morales said while there is no reported occurrence of AI in chickens and turkeys, the Bureau continues to monitor all poultry species through municipal agriculturists.

The disease was first detected from a duck farm, in Barangay Barangka, Baliuag, Bulacan, through routine surveillance activities on January 6, 2022. The monitoring is part of the early warning system enforced by BAI. Another incident was reported on January 21, 2022, from 2 commercial quail farms, in Brgy. Dalayap, Candaba, Pampanga and from a quail farm, in Brgy. Mangga, Candaba, Pampanga, in January 27, 2022.

DA acting chief joins crusade supporting BBM-Sara ACTING Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Secretary Bernie Cruz has officially joined the nationwide crusade supporting the candidacy of former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. and his running-mate Davao Mayor Sara Duterte.

Marcos Jr. is one of the presidential aspirants in the coming May elections.

In a meeting with Masada national lead convenor Undersecretary Ben Raque, Cruz said that he is joining Masada to support the crusade to continue the gains of the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte.

Raque said the support of Cruz will bolster the snowballing support to the Marcos,Jr.-Sara Duterte Tandem.

Cruz served as DAR undersecretary for Foreign Assisted Project Office (FASCO) before his appointment as DAR acting secretary. He is described by his peers as a man of few words but a person of action. Cruz has set up the Masada operation center in Makati and will also set up Masada Headquarter in Zambales.

DAR awards lands to farmers through SPLIT project

By Rio N. Araja

MASADA MEETING. Department of Agrarian Reform Secretary Bernie Cruz (left) and Energy Undersecretary Ben Ranque welcoming each other with fist bumps upon the arrival at the MASADA headquarters in Makati City on Monday.

THE Department of Agrarian Reform has subdivided 174,798.86 hectares of agricultural land to 112,783 agrarian reform beneficiaries through the implementation of Project SPLIT or Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling.

“The other regions have accomplished a total of 80,280.80 hectares, and we believe that they would follow these pilot regions after this event,” SPLIT national project director and Assistant Secretary Rene Colocar said, during the “Operations Problem Solving Workshop cum Policy Formulation Conference” on

Monday, February 21, held in Cebu City.

Through the SPLIT project, lands distributed under collective certificates of land ownership award (CCLOAs), were subdivided and famer-beneficiaries who were previously awarded with lands under collective ownership would be issued individual land titles.

Opinion A questionnaire for choosing the next president

AT THIS point in the 2022 electoral season, this country’s approximately 61 million eligible voters may be divided into two groups. The first group is made up of voters who have already decided, or are committed to support one of the eight major candidates for the office of President of the Philippines; let’s call them the Decideds. The rest of the 2022 voting population is composed of voters who either are leaning toward one of the candidates or are still undecided as to who among the eight individuals is the most meritorious beneficiary of their votes. “Sino ba ang iboboto natin?” is a question that is asked with increasing frequency by the Undecided as Election Day nears.

I have prepared a six-item questionnaire for the benefit of those Undecideds who intend to approach with good conscience, common sense and, yes, patriotism the task of choosing the best-possible 17th President of the Philippines.

The five items relate to the candidate’s integrity, competence, experience, political philosophy and personal character. Undecided voters should direct the five questions of the questionnaire against the eight contenders to see who among them comes closest to meeting the requirements of a good and able national leader.

The first question that needs to be asked about the presidential candidates is, has the candidate ever been accused and/or prosecuted of any kind of wrongdoing, either as a private citizen or as a public official? Being accused of a serious wrongdoing is a bad mark for a presidential candidacy; having been prosecuted and convicted should spell doom for the candidacy.

The second question that should be directed at a presidential aspirant is, has the candidate received education or professional training sufficient to enable her or him to grasp the intricacies and nuances of the job of Chief Executive and to govern a nation of 112 million people competently in a 21st century setting?

A good President need not be a Ph.D; Ramon Magsaysay is acknowledged to have been a good president, yet he was a mere engineering graduate. It goes without saying that all educational credentials must be truthful and

verifiable.

The third item in the five-item questionnaire for President-choosing relates to experience.

Does the candidate have creditable either as a public servant - a vice-president of the Philippines or senator or mayor - or as a professional in the private sector? The presidency of the Philippines cannot be a matter of on-the-job training or of the best intentions; it is a very serious business.

These five items relate to the candidate’s integrity, competence, experience, political philosophy and personal character.

The voters in the coming election need to have a good idea of the political philosophy of a candidate. Is she or he a liberal with regard to the role of the government in Philippine society, or is she or he a believer in minimal government involvement? Does she or he believe in centralized government or is she or he a strong advocate of devotion of governmental powers?

The answers to these and similar issues need to be known by the voters of 2022.

Filipino voters in the May 9, 2022 election also need to pose the question about a candidate’s personal traits. Does the candidate have good work habits, is personally disciplined and is systematic and organized in her or his approach to professional natters? Or is the candidate a bon vivant and lacking in discipline in her or his approach to life? The voters of 2022 need to know about these things before the electoral season comes to an end.

Last but certainly not the least, the Undecideds need to direct a question about baggage - not baggage of the travel kind - about the presidential candidates. Are the candidates carrying into the election baggage from the past - unexplained wealth, a conviction, personal use of narcotics, an extramarital relationship or a police rubout?

Or is a candidate squeaky clean, with no vulnerabilities?

The candidate that emerges best after the asking of the questionnaire’s questions is the candidate that the Undecideds should vote for come May 9.

Too much ‘democracy’?

THE 1987 Constitution envisioned the partylist system as a vehicle for representatives of the marginalized and underrepresented sectors in Philippine society to directly participate in crafting laws and government policies, not just to elect national and local officials.

This provision was clearly the product of recognition that the existing political parties in the country in the postwar period had been dominated by the elite, especially those who had been educated in the best schools here and abroad, or who had accumulated enough wealth whether through business acumen or the practice of lucrative professions.

The solution? Expand the scope of democracy.

Give those who have had limited education and who have remained poor, powerless and voiceless for one reason or another to run for public office. This way, they can help shape the future of the nation.

But has this constitutional provision and implementing law, Republic Act 7941 or the Party-List System Act of 1995, achieved this goal of an enhanced democracy?

This law seeks to promote proportional representation in the House of Representatives through a party-list system of registered national, regional and sectoral parties or organizations or coalitions. It allows citizens belonging to the marginalized and underrepresented sectors, organizations and parties, and who lack welldefined political constituencies but who could contribute to the formulation and enactment of appropriate legislation that will benefit the nation as a whole, to become members of the Lower Chamber of Congress.

This law also mandates the State to develop and guarantee a full, free and open party system in order to attain the broadest possible representation of party, sectoral or group interests in the House of Representatives by enhancing their chances to compete for and win seats in the legislature.

In the initial years of implementation, the party-list system appeared to achieve its goal of broadening citizen participation in legislation, with representatives from farmers, labor, teachers, women, and youth able to win seats in Congress.

But in 2013, the Supreme Court opened the floodgates for just about everyone to aspire to

become members of Congress when it revised its own rules laid down in 2001. It allowed political parties and groups not representing marginalized and underrepresented sectors to participate in party-list elections.

The Court en banc granted 54 petitions for certiorari and prohibition filed by party-list groups that were earlier disqualified by the Commission on Elections (Comelec). The justices ordered the cases remanded to the poll body so it could ascertain the qualifications of each party-list groups based on the revised standards formulated by the Court.

Have these politicians really improved the quality of legislation and the practice of representative democracy in our country?

The high court cited six “parameters” that the Comelec should “adhere to” in determining which group may participate in subsequent elections.

First, three different groups are allowed to participate in the party-list system: national parties or organizations; regional parties or organizations; and sectoral parties or organizations.

Second, national parties or organizations and regional parties or organizations do not need to organize along sectoral lines and do not need to represent “any marginalized and underrepresented” sector.

Third, political parties can participate in party-list elections provided they register under the party-list system and do not field candidates in legislative district elections.

Fourth, sectoral parties or organizations may either be “marginalized and underrepresented” or lacking in “well-defined political constituencies...It is enough that their principal advocacy pertains to the special interest and concerns of the sector. The sectors that are marginalized and underrepresented include labor, peasant, fisherfolk, urban poor, indigenous cultural communities, handicapped, veterans and overseas workers.

The sectors that lack well-defined political constituencies include professionals, the elderly, women and the youth.”

ManilaStandard

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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2022

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EDITORIAL

Method and rigor

F

ACULTY members of the School of Statistics of the University of the Philippines released a statement this week, calling out the pervasive abuse of survey methodologies by some entities engaged in their own brand of research.

Worse, these entities promote their results on social media.

“We are dismayed by their cavalier disregard for the principles of data gathering,” the professors said, pointing to some vloggers, PR companies, private individuals and even some media organizations who publish the results of their surveys even if these were done with unclear methodologies.

The statisticians called on the public to be critical of surveys and to not accept the results as they are. Consider, they said, the appropriateness of the sample

size based on, but not limited to, a target margin of error, level of confidence, and nature of the target population.

This is a truly daunting task ahead of us.

Some suggestions from the experts: “How was the sample selected? Which sectors of the population, if any, are being represented? What events surround the period of data gathering? When facing an interviewer, was the respondent interviewed in a neutral yet professional tone? What are the control mechanisms implemented to ensure accuracy of the protocols in data collection?” These, they say, are marks of surveys with proper implementation and control.

Unfortunately, these particulars are lost on many Filipinos who, by sheer laziness, refusal to listen to contrary opinion, or plain lack of capability, tend to accept survey results uncritically and allow themselves to be conditioned by

them.

Tragically, as well, we are speaking to the same sets of people who believe that YouTube and TikTok are more credible sources of information than court decisions, news reports produced by journalists steeped in the rigors of verification, or academic papers that are based on scientific, historical – by no means mere anecdotal – data.

These, too, are the same group of people who resort to attacks and name calling once they are given suggestions on how to be more circumspect and critical of the information they receive and pass on.

It is easy to feel defeated knowing that this low regard for rigor in thinking and decision making will decide the fate of our nation come Election Day. Still, we persevere – one survey, one fact nugget, one truth-resistant compatriot at a time. In the long run, perhaps the best places to begin a mindset of verification and rigor are homes and primary schools, where children are taught not to accept or believe anything they hear or read at face value.

This is a truly daunting task ahead of us.

The aura of EDSA I is gone Cory had little role in People Power. She was in Cebu hiding in a convent during the first and most dangerous night of People Power, on Feb. 22, 1986, a Saturday. Her young son then, Noynoy Aquino, was too engrossed with many other things to have participated, too. I was at People Power I as a foreign correspondent.

THIS Friday, Feb. 25, 2022, the nation marks what has been called the People Power or EDSA I revolution of Feb. 22-25, 1986.

People Power ended the 20-year reign of Ferdinand Edralin Marcos and installed housewife-turned-politician Corazon Cojuangco Aquino. Her presidency is the most troubled in history—eight coup attempts, the worst volcano eruption, the worst earthquake, the worst maritime accident death toll, and the worst communist insurgency —of the century.

Cory’s husband, opposition leader Benigno S.Aquino Jr., was assassinated by the military in 1983 while coming down from his plane’s stairs.

After 1986, more than 30 other countries ruled by tyrants or dictators sought democracy and underwent peaceful regime change, inspired by the Philippine People Power. These included the peaceful Velvet Revolution of Czechoslovakia in 1989. Sadly, the majority of them have returned to dictatorship, a regime change in reverse.

Normally, revolutions are violent, just like the French Revolution where the monarch, ruler, and his family are eliminated for good.

Revolutions should be violent, otherwise, people and their rulers do not learn their lesson.

After 36 years, People Power has lost its relevance and meaning to the majority of the Filipino people, supposedly its main beneficiary.

It didn’t bring any economic miracle. In 1966, poverty incidence was more than 50 percent.

In 2022, 79 percent of the people said they were poor or borderline poor. Poverty worsened.

“The accumulated resentments against elite rule under the banner of Edsa produced Rodrigo Duterte, the cultural antithesis of the polished Edsa politician. Such resentments have a long shelf life, and right now they favor the return of the Marcoses, who have successfully portrayed themselves as victims. Perhaps no one knows this better than the adaptable Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, a certified Edsa beneficiary who has turned full circle by cobbling together a Marcos-Duterte alliance,” wrote political pundit Randy David in his column, Sunday, Feb. 20, in the Inquirer.

The Cojuangco-Aquino family of BS Aquino III appropriated Edsa People Power as if it were their brand, their franchise, their business.

The Aquino family has been the biggest beneficiary of People Power. It was awarded two presidencies totaling 12 years and 4 months, more than enough compensation for what opposition leader Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. did in his political lifetime, which was to heckle and needle President Marcos Sr., during 17 of his 20-year presidency. Ninoy died from a military bullet in August 1983. And what did the people get for having two Aquino presidents?

In 1983, Cory blamed Marcos for her husband’s assassination and launched a destabilization campaign. Upon United States prodding, the strongman was forced to call a snap election to end bring the crisis, in February 1986. Marcos was confident he would win the election.

In 1982, Marcos still had the support of US President Ronald Reagan. The Philippine economy was stable, having weathered what could have been a crippling downturn. Basic services were in place. Reagan loved Marcos’ “adherence to democratic principles and practices”.

Marcos is the only president in history to have scored near-9 percent GDP growth rates, twice, 8.92 percent in 1973, and 8.8 percent in 1976. Because of the robust 1973 and 1976 growth rates, Marcos averaged 5.53 percent economic growth in the first ten full years of martial law, from 1973 to 1982. This is the Golden Era of Marcos’s martial rule, a fact not conceded by his bitter critics, even today. The 5.53 percent Philippine economic growth paced developing Asia’s growth which was averaging

Fifth, the majority of the members of sectoral parties or organizations must belong to the marginalized and underrepresented sector that they represent. The court pointed out: “To require all national and regional parties under the party-list system to represent the ‘marginalized and underrepresented’ is to deprive and exclude, by judicial fiat, ideologybased and cause-oriented parties from the party-list system.”

And sixth, national, regional and sectoral

parties or organizations shall not be disqualified if some of their nominees are disqualified, provided that they have at least one nominee who remains qualified.

At the 18th Congress, there are now a total of 51 party-list groups representing various sectors.

More than 120 others applied for accreditation to take part in the May 2022 elections but only a small number are expected to win seats based on recent survey results.

But the questions that need to be answered

Former Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno Anita F. Grefal Baldwin R. Felipe Edgar M. Valmorida

Board Member & Chief Legal Adviser Treasury Manager Head—Ad Solutions Circulation Manager

After 36 years, People Power has lost its relevance and meaning to the majority of the Filipino people, supposedly its main beneficiary.

4 percent per year, double the 2 percent per year of the rest of developing countries.

Compare Marcos’ 5.53 percent average tenyear growth rate with the 3.86 percent average economic gain during the six years of Corazon Aquino—3.4 in 1986, 4.3 in 1987, 6.7 in 1988, 6.2 in 1989, 3.0 in 1990 and -.57 in 1991.

Ninoy’s murder turned things upside down for the then already ailing Marcos. Economic growth turned negative at -7.32 percent in 1984 and -7.3 percent in 1985. As a result, Marcos’s average economic growth during his 20-year presidency slumped to 3.83 percent—almost the same as Cory’s 3.86 percent in six years.

Cory was succeeded to the presidency by Fidel V. Ramos, the West Point-trained enforcer of martial law, under his cousin, Marcos. The 12th president of the Philippines averaged just 3.76 percent growth during his six-year presidency—0.33 percent in 1992, 2.11 in 1993, 4.38 in 1994, 4.67 in 1995, 5.84 in 1996, and 5.18 percent in 1997.

Ramos, however, brought peace to the land. He amnestied the RAM military rebels, sought ceasefire with the communist guerillas, and worked out a modus vivendi with the Muslim separatists by installing MNLF chief Nur Misuari governor of the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) with an annual budget of P18 billion. Little of that money went to development but Ramos justified it as spending less than the P50 billion the army spent annually to run after the guerillas who turned terrorists.

Ramos firmly believed democracy and development went together.

Judging by the record, that is not necessarily true.

Cory, the mother of democracy, performed badly on the economic front. Her son, B.S. Aquino, also a democrat, averaged 6.25 percent economic growth during his six years as president: 7.33 percent in 2010, 3.85 in 2011, 6.89 in 2012, 6.75 in 2013, 6.43 in 2014, and 6.34 in 2015.

Rodrigo Duterte, supposedly a tyrant, easily surpassed Noynoy’s 6.25 percent, with a sterling 6.63 percent average during his first four years as president: 7.1 in 2016, 6.93 in 2017, 6.34 in 2018, and 6.11 percent in 2019.

Of course, the economy slumped by a whopping 9.57 percent in 2020 due the pandemic.

It is expected to recover in 2021 with 5.1 percent, if not higher, growth rate, and 7.5 percent in 2022.

In six years, Duterte should average 4.56 percent in net economic gain. Not bad. biznewsasia@gmail.com

should be: Have the party-list groups actually served the interests and improved the lives of the sectors they represent? Have they really helped solve the nation’s problems, mainly poverty and corruption? And have they really improved the quality of legislation and the practice of representative democracy in our country? If not, have they, in fact, diminished, rather than enhanced Philippine democracy over the years?

(Email: ernhil@yahoo.com)

Rolando G. Estabillo Publisher Ramonchito L. Tomeldan Chin Wong/Ray S. Eñano Joyce Pangco Pañares

Managing Editor Associate Editors News Editor

Jimbo Owen Gulle City Editor Honor Blanco Cabie Night Editor Lino M. Santos Chief Photographer

Emil P. Jurado Chairman Emeritus, Editorial Board

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‘China, Russia, Serbia arming Myanmar junta’

G

ENEVA—UN Security Council members China and Russia, as well as Serbia have continued supplying Myanmar’s junta with weapons used to attack civilians since last year’s coup, a UN rights expert said Tuesday.

United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights situation in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, urged the Security Council to convene an emergency session “to debate and vote on a resolution to, at a minimum, ban those arms transfers that the Myanmar military are known to use to attack and kill Myanmar civilians.”

He released a long-awaited report Tuesday detailing where the junta is getting its weapons from, highlighting that two permanent members of the Security Council itself, who hold veto power over its decisions, remain among the main suppliers.

“Despite the evidence of the military junta’s atrocity crimes being committed with impunity since launching a coup last year, UN Security Council members Russia and China continue to provide the Myanmar military junta with numerous fighter jets, armored vehicles, and in the case of Russia, the promise of further arms,” Andrews said in a statement.

“During this same period, Serbia has authorized rockets and artillery for export to the Myanmar military,” said Andrews, who is an independent expert appointed by the UN Human Rights Council, but who does not speak on behalf of the world body.

“It is imperative that member states and the Security Council act urgently to stop weapons sales to the military junta. Human lives, and Security Council credibility, are on the line,” he said.

“The Security Council should consider, at the very least, a resolution to ban weapons that are being used by the Myanmar military to kill innocent people.”

Myanmar has been in chaos, its economy paralyzed, and more than 1,500 civilians have

been killed in a military crackdown since the putsch in February 2021, according to a local monitoring group.

In a related development, China and Russia set off alarms in the West this month with the most robust declaration of their friendship in decades but Beijing has signaled it would not back Vladimir Putin if he sent troops in to invade Ukraine.

The February 4 joint statement by the neighbors included unprecedented support from Beijing for Moscow’s opposition to the expansion of NATO, and came as Washington and its allies were warning of full-scale Russian military action against Kyiv.

It was “quite a quantum shift from what has been a steady intensification, elevation of the content of Russia-China declarations over the last 20 years”, former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd said during an online discussion co-hosted by the Atlantic Council think tank and the Asia Society.

“It is China becoming a global security actor in a way that I personally have not seen before.”

China’s unusually direct position on NATO and support for Moscow’s “reasonable” security concerns have, however, placed it on a diplomatic tightrope, forcing it to balance its close Russia ties with major economic interests in Europe.

With more than 150,000 troops massed on the border with Ukraine, Russia has demanded guarantees that Kyiv will never be allowed to join NATO—a position in stark contrast to China’s long-standing stated foreign policy red line: no interference in other countries’ internal affairs. AFP

Republic of the Philippines REGIONAL TRIAL COURT National Capital Judicial Region BRANCH 226, QUEZON CITY rtc1qzn226@judiciary.gov.ph +639109078610 IN THE MATTER OF THE INTESTATE ESTATE OF THE LATE PUE SIN CHUA ENRIQUEZ SPEC PRO. CASE NO. 21-10386 JOSEPH GO ENRIQUEZ, Petitioner. x----------------------------------------------------x

ORDER This Petition for the Judicial Settlement of the Estate of decedent Pue Sin Chua Enriquez with prayers for Issuance of Letters of Administration filed by petitioner Joseph Go Enriquez. The petition alleges that the decedent Pue Sin Chua Enriquez was a resident of 150 Kaliraya Street, Barangay Tatalon, Quezon City. The decedent passed away in St. Lukes Medical Center in Quezon City last March 6, 2020 at the age of 88. He died intestate, and with no known creditors.

CAR BLAST. A woman looks on as behind her, security forces inspect the scene of an explosion that targeted the vehicle of and killed a member of the Turkish-backed Syrian fighters in Syria’s town of Azaz, in the rebel-controlled northern countryside of Syria’s Aleppo province near the border with Turkey, on February 22. AFP

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The decedent left the following legal heirs: Name Yu Son Jun Enriquez

Status Surviving spouse

Joseph Go Enriquez

Son

Jean Enriquez Monteverde Daughter Jocelyn Enriquez-Young Daughter Jorge Yu Enriquez

Son

Julieta Yu Enriquez

Daughter

Address No. 150 Kaliraya Street, Barangay Tatalon, Quezon City No.490 G. Araneta Avenue, Barangay Doña Imelda, Quezon City No. 2131, Taft Avenue, Pasay City No. 30-D, 11th Street, New Manila, Quezon City No. 150 Kaliraya Street, Barangay Tatalon, Quezon City No. 5701, Balboa Dr., Oakland, California, 94511, U.S.A.

Description 5,204 square meters located at Tabaco, Albay

FERDINAND J. RECTO, Petitioner, -versus-

Civil Case No. R-QZN-19-12690-CV For: Declaration of Nullity of Marriage

ELIZABETH M. COSME, Respondent. x---------------------------------------x

ORDER

The decedent left the real property described as follows: Asset TCT No. T-25193

Republic of the Philippines REGIONAL TRIAL COURT National Capital Judicial Region Branch 86, Quezon City

Probable Value Php 3,200,400.00

St. Lukes Medical Center, Quezon City the medical bills amounting to a total amount of Php 13,641,274.12.

Petitioner further allege that, in order to preserve the Estate of the decedent and to properly administer it for the benefit of all the legal heirs, Letters of Administration should be issued in his favor having all the qualifications and none of the disqualifications to serve as the administrator of the intestate estate of herein deceased Pue Sin Chua Enriquez.

Petitioner, thus, pray that the petition be given due course and be set for hearing and after proper proceedings, letters of administration be issued to the petitioner upon the filing of a bond in such amount as may be fixed by the Court.

Finding the petition to be sufficient in form and substance, the same is hereby given due course and is set for hearing on February 23, 2022 at 1:30 p.m. sharp, through video conferencing, at which date, time and place, any interested person may appear and show cause if any, why the petition should not be granted.

Let a copy of this Order be published at petitioner’s expense in Manila Standard , a newspaper of general circulation in the Philippines selected by raffle pursuant to PD No. 1079, once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks, prior to the date of hearing.

Likewise, let copy of this Order together with a copy of the petition and its annexes be served, at petitioners’ expense, at least thirty (30) days prior to the date of hearing, to the following: I.1) The Bureau of Internal Revenue -Agham Road, Quezon City; I.2) The Solicitor General- 134 Amorsolo Street, Legaspi Village, Makati City; I.3) The Department of Foreign Affairs - 2330 Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City; I.4) Yu Son Jun Enriquez No. 150 Kaliraya Street, Barangay Tatalon, Quezon City I.5) Joseph Go Enriquez - No. 490 G. AranetaAvenue, Barangay Dofia Imelda, Quezon City I.6) Jean Enriquez Monteverde - No. 2131, Taft Avenue, Pasay City I.7) Jocelyn Enriquez-Young - No. 30-D, llth Street, New Manila, Quezon City I.8) Jorge Yu Enriquez - No. 150 Kaliraya Street, Barangay Tatalon, Quezon City I.9) Julieta Yu Enriquez - No. 5701, Balboa Dr., Oakland, California, 94511, United States of America

For resolution is the Manifestation/Compliance with Motion to Resolve Petitioner’s Motion for Leave of Court to Effect Service of Summons by Publication. Petitioner avers that in the Order dated August 19,2020, the court deferred the resolution of his Motion for Leave of Court to Effect Service of Summons by Publication pending submission of a better address of the respondent or proof that latter said in the address indicated in the Petition. He claimed that he exerted diligent efforts to obtain the current address of the respondent but it was in vain. He further claimed that the address of the respondent in their Marriage Certificate is the same as that what he stated in his petition.

PM Trudeau: Emergency is not over OTTAWA—Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday defended his use of emergency powers to end weeks-long trucker-led protests and argued that lingering threats require the measures to remain in force for now.

Trudeau’s decision earlier this month to invoke the Emergencies Act—for only the second time in Canada’s history—has been criticized as overreach by his political opponents. The Canadian Civil Liberties Union is suing the government.

“This state of emergency is not over,” Trudeau said in his first appearance before reporters since authorities at the weekend broke up what the prime minister called “dangerous and unlawful” protests that brought the capital Ottawa to a standstill and blocked border crossings into the United States.

“There continues to be real concerns about the coming days,” he added.

Canada has been in the international spotlight for weeks as thousands of protesters, led by truck drivers furious over Covid-19 vaccination requirements for driving freight across the border with the United States, converged on Ottawa and hunkered down for a siege.

Initially dismissed by authorities, the

protesters later expanded their demands to a broader rejection of Covid restrictions in Canada.

Truckers and their supporters also blocked a bridge for days between the Canadian city of Windsor and the US city of Detroit, freezing a major trade route critical for industry including automobile manufacturing.

‘Tools to restore order’ The last big rigs were towed away Sunday from Canada’s capital, where the streets were quiet for the first time in almost a month following a massive police operation to end the drawn-out siege.

Trudeau stressed his government did not want to use the measure but felt it had been boxed into a corner.

“After weeks of dangerous and unlawful activities, after weeks of people being harassed in the neighborhoods, (and) after evidence of increased ideologically motivated violent extremism activity across the country,” local authorities needed “more tools to restore order,” Trudeau said.

He received a boost when the House of Commons later Monday approved use of the Act in a vote after days of debate. It must now be debated by the Senate. AFP

Petitioner cited Sections 3 and 16 of Rule 14 of the 2019 Amendments to the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure to support his motion. He prayed that his motion be granted.

Acting on petitioner’s motion, the court resolves to GRANT his Motion for Leave of Court to Effect Service of Summons.

Section 16, Rule 14 of A.M. No. 19-10-20-SC (2019 Proposed Amendments to the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure) provides: Section 16. Service upon defendant whose identity or whereabouts are unknown. - In any action where the defendant is designated as an unknown owner, or the like, or whenever his or her whereabouts are unknown and cannot be ascertained by diligent inquiry, within ninety (90) days from the commencement of the action, service may, by leave of court be effected upon him or her by publication in a newspaper of general circulation and in such places and for such time as the court may order.

Any order granting such leave shall specify a reasonable time which shall not be less than sixty (60) calendar days after notice, within which the defendant must answer.

Considering the above provisions, let Summons by Publication be issued for the service of Summons to respondent Elizabeth M. Cosme. Also, pursuant to Section 16, Rule 14 of A.M. No. 19-1020-SC, the respondent is given sixty (60) calendar days from the publication of this Summons to file her Answer.

WHEREFORE, in light of the foregoing, petitioner’s Motion for Leave of Court to Effect Service of Summons by Publication is GRANTED. SO ORDERED. Quezon City, February 11, 2021.

The petitioner is directed to comply with the above.

The petitioner as well as the above government agencies and heirs are directed to submit within five (5) days from receipt hereof their email addresses.

(Sgd.) HON. ROBERT P. BUENAVENTURA Presiding Judge

Republic of the Philippines Regional Trial Court National Capital Judicial Region Branch 86 Quezon City

The petitioner as well as the above government agencies and heirs are directed to submit within five (5) days from receipt hereof their email addresses and contact numbers.

SO ORDERED. December 7, 2021, Quezon City, Philippines.

(Sgd.) MANUEL B. STA. CRUZ, JR. Presiding Judge Copy furnished: Atty. Pablito F. Sanidad, Jr. Atty. Dick R. Sanidad Counsel for the petitioner Sanidad & Associates Law Offices Top V Compound, Barangay San Jose, Narvacan, Ilocos Sur

FERDINAND J. RECTO, Petitioner, -versus-

CIVIL CASE No. R-QZN-19-12690-CV SUMMONS

ELIZABETH M. COSME, Respondent. x---------------------------------------------x TO : ELIZABETH M. COSME 142 Fabella Street 1550 Mandaluyong City

Yu Son Jun Enriquez No. 150 Kaliraya Street Barangay Tatalon, Quezon City

GREETINGS: You are hereby required to file with the Branch Clerk of Court, at Rm, 110 Ground Floor. Hall of Justice, Quezon City, within fifteen (15) days from receipt of this Summons your ANSWER to the Petition, copy of which is hereto attached, together with the annexes. You shall furnish petitioner a copy of your ANSWER within the same fifteen (15) day period. If you fail to answer within fifteen (15) days, petitioner shall take action as authorized under Rules of Court the relief applied for in the said petition.

Joseph Go Enriquez No. 490 G. AranetaAvenue, Barangay Dona Imelda, Quezon City Jean Enriquez Monteverde No. 2131, Taft Avenue, Pasay City Jocelyn Enriquez-Young No. 30-D, 11 th Street, New Manila, Quezon City

You are reminded of IBP-OCA Memorandum on Policy Guidelines dated March 12, 2000 to observe restraint in filing a motion to dismiss and instead alleged the ground thereof as defenses in the answer.

Jorge Yu Enriquez No. 150 Kaliraya Street, Barangay Tatalon, Quezon City Julieta Yu Enriquez No. 5701, Balboa Dr., Oakland, California, 94511, United States of America

The Respondent in an action for Annulment of Marriage, Declaration of Nullity of Marriage, or Legal Separation must strictly observe the above-prescribed period to file answer.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue Agham Road, Quezon City

WITNESS my hand under seal of the Court, this 9th day of SEPTEMBER 2019 in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines.

The Solicitor General 134 Amorsolo Street, Legaspi Village, Makati City

(Sgd.) HON. ROBERT P. BUENAVENTURA Presiding Judge

The Department of Foreign Affairs 2330 Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City (MStandard-Feb. 9, 16 & 23, 2022)

(MStandard - February 16, 23,& Mar. 2, 2022)

COLOR IN THE SLUMS. Pedestrians walk past a mural on a building portraying daily life in the Dharavi slums, in Mumbai, India on February 22. AFP

Tonga back online as cable repaired NUKU’ALOFA, Tonga—Internet connection was restored in Tonga on Tuesday, five weeks after a massive volcanic eruption shredded the undersea cable that connects the Pacific nation with the rest of the world.

Telecom providers Digicel and TCC said data connectivity had been restored to two main islands, after breaks in an 80-kilometre (50-mile) stretch of the cable were finally fixed.

Residents reported services were quickly coming back online, email seemed blazingly fast after 38 days in the internet doldrums and a slew of calls from family overseas were coming in— their voices now heard loud and clear.

“YES! TCC is restoring fiber cable internet services,” the company said in a message to customers.

The January 15 eruption was so powerful it was heard as far away as Alaska and caused a tsunami that flooded coastlines around the Pacific.

It covered Tonga with ash and mangled an 80-kilometre stretch of the undersea cable that

proved more difficult than expected to fix.

Immediately after the disaster, contact with Tonga was only possible via a handful of satellite links. Although some connectivity was later restored, connections were limited.

Digicel said “data connectivity had been restored” to two islands, after “multiple faults and breaks” were repaired.

“We are delighted to see that our customers are connected to the outside world again,” said Digicel Tonga chief executive Anthony Seuseu.

Earlier this month Tonga Cable Limited chief executive James Panuve said a repair ship had located the severed ends of the 840-kilometer-long cable linking Tonga to Fiji that was cut in the blast.

‘Major havoc’ But rather than a clean break, Panuve said the ship found the eruption tore an 80-kilometer section of cable into numerous pieces as it pummeled the seabed with the explosive force of a nuclear bomb. AFP

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

News

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2022

Rody ‘mindful’ of deadline for poll vacancies

WARMEST OF WELCOMES.

Vice President Leni Robredo stops her motorcade during her visit to Gingoog City in Misamis Oriental to greet a man who was waiting to see her, with pink balloons tied to his wheelchair. Robredo was joined by Cagayan de Oro City Mayor and Misamis Oriental gubernatorial candidate Oscar ‘Oca’ Moreno and his running mate, Ayi Hernandez, in the motorcade.

Robredo tops poll survey of Catholic schools VICE President Leni Robredo emerged as the top choice for president among respondents from Catholic educational institutions across the country.

In a statement posted on its Facebook page, the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) said Robredo got 52.57 percent out of a total of 3,089 responses from students, school heads and administrators, nonteaching personnel, alumni, and other staff of voting age.

The 2nd National Elections Pulse survey was conducted from January 24 to February 4, which CEAP acknowledged was “during the height of issues [before] the Commission on Elections regarding the petition to cancel the certificate of candidacy of presidential aspirant ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. and the release of the decision [junking the case].”

In second place was Marcos with 24.54 percent followed by Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso with 9.61 percent, Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson with 3.53 percent, Senator Manny Pacquiao with 0.87 percent and labor leader Leody De Guzman with 0.26 percent.

During the first CEAP survey conducted before the deadline of the filing of COCs in October, Robredo received 45.16 percent of the votes while Marcos got 20.86 percent.

In all age groups, Robredo got the highest number of votes while across designations, she was the top pick by school heads/administrators, teaching personnel, non-teaching personnel, and other designation.

Marcos, on the other hand, was the top pick among students and alumni.

A7

Lawyer asks Comelec to halt ‘Oplan Baklas’

E

LECTION lawyer Romulo Macalintal has formally asked the Commission on Elections to temporarily halt its “Oplan Baklas” operations until it has resolved questions on the regulations covering private properties.

Macalintal said suspending the removal of campaign materials until March 25 – the start of the campaign period for local candidates – will give the poll body “ample time” to review its regulations to “ensure a uniform standard and policy for the campaign activities of national and local candidates.”

On Monday, the poll body relented a bit where oversized tarpaulins inside private properties are concerned, provided that these are advocacy-based.

“If you had your own poster made, expressing your advocacy, and in the

process you mention the name of a candidate, that might be exempted [from the size regulation] because it is advocacy-based,” Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said.

“It depends really on the material used. If you are only mounting a campaign poster of a candidate, that is another story. That is simple political campaigning which the Supreme Court said we can regulate,” Jimenez added.

Macalintal said invoking Comelec guidelines on motu proprio removal of prohibited material in private properties

of non-candidates “without notice and hearing” was “so arbitrary.”

“Such action is so arbitrary and a clear violation of one’s constitutional right to his property and due process,” Macalintal said.

The veteran election lawyer cited the 2015 landmark ruling of Bacolod v. Comelec which stated the provisions on posting of campaign materials do not apply to private persons or noncandidates.

Part of the ruling, Macalintal said, read: “Comelec does not have the authority to regulate the enjoyment of the preferred right to freedom of expression exercised by a non-candidate.”

Jimenez on Monday acknowledged that the poll body is willing to review its policy.

MALACAÑANG on Tuesday said President Rodrigo Duterte would meet the deadline in naming the new officials to fill in vacant seats at the Commission on Elections.

Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles made the statement as the poll body remains without a chairman and two poll commissioners following the mandatory retirement of chairperson Sheriff Abas and commissioners Antonio Kho Jr. and Rowena Guanzon on February 2.

“The President is mindful of the deadlines, the legal and lawful deadlines for the appointment of very important appointees to the Comelec.

So, knowing the deadline and knowing that there’s a vetting process, let’s just wait for the President’s decision,” Nograles said.

He said Duterte “will make the appointments soon, beating the deadline.”

“Even I cannot give a definite timeline or answer as to a particular date and time,” Nograles said.

The Palace earlier announced that Duterte already has a shortlist of possible appointees who will replace the three Comelec officials.

For its part, election watchdog National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) urged Duterte to make the vetting process as transparent as possible.

All the remaining four commissioners are appointees of Duterte.

“A transparent appointment process, with focus on qualifications and suitability for the job, will help dispel concerns that the Comelec as a constitutional body will be composed of individuals that only come from the President’s hometown, or who are inside the President’s inner circle,” Namfrel said in a statement.

Beleaguered Boracay folks seek BBM aid

By Rey E. Requejo

MACHO BLOC. Members of the Senate’s so-called

‘Macho Bloc’ – Partido Reporma presidential candidate Panfilo ‘Ping’ Lacson, running mate and Senate President Vicente ‘Tito’ Sotto III, and former DICT Secretary Gregorio ‘Gringo’ Honasan – reunite for the first time in the campaign for the May 9 elections as they visited Sta. Cruz, Laguna on Tuesday. Only Senator Manny Pacquiao, who is also running for president, was absent among the bloc members. (Inset) Former PNP chief Gen. Guillermo, a senatorial bet under the Lacson-Sotto slate, was received warmy in Laguna.

Text by Macon Ramos-Araneta

‘Doc Willie is Isko’s only VP candidate’

By Rey E. Requejo TEAM Isko political and campaign strategist Lito Banayo maintained that Doc Willie Ong is the only runningmate and vice presidential candidate of Aksyon Demokratiko standard bearer Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso.

Banayo issued the statement even as he admitted it was his personal decision not to bring Ong with the team in their provincial sorties in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), especially in Maguindanao where the Mangudadatus have openly declared their preference for an Isko Moreno-Sara Duterte tandem.

“That was my call. That was my decision. Whenever you make sorties or campaign trips, you send an advance team, normally, four or five days beforehand, even a week beforehand. They called me up and they said, ‘Boss, all the tarpaulins and streamers here are IskoSara,’” Banayo told ANC. “So I called up Doc Willie, and I said, Doc, maybe it’s better if you don’t come to Mindanao because I don’t want to put you in an embarrassing situation where the tarpaulins there are Isko-Sara,” Banayo added.

Sara: Equal law enforcement vital in fight vs. crime, drugs

By Maricel V. Cruz LAKAS-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD) vice presidential candidate Davao City Mayor Sara DuterteCarpio on Tuesday stressed equal law enforcement on Filipinos is key in the fight to eradicate criminality and illegal drugs in the Philippines.

During an ambush interview in Batangas City, the presidential daughter was asked how she intended to take on the problems of crime and the illegal drug menace should she become victorious on May 9.

“We will go in what President Du-

terte started, the crime rate went down during his administration, and we will replicate Davao City’s mechanisms in its anti-criminality campaign,” Duterte-Carpio told reporters at the Batangas Livelihood Center after the meet-and-greet with local leaders and supporters led by Batangas Gov. Hermilando Mandanas, a stalwart of the ruling Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban).

Mandanas has declared his support for Mayor Duterte-Carpios’s vice presidential bid.

The President’s daughter has repeat-

edly said that she wants to continue her father’s legacy in the campaign against illegal drugs and criminality.

Duterte was in Batangas for her Mahalin Natin ang Pilipinas Ride (MNPR) – a caravan aimed at delivering her message of hope, patriotism and unity among Filipinos.

“That is the reason why Davao City is awarded one of the best city police offices because they fully know how to handle it, particularly [matters] against anti-criminality,” she said.

This is not the first time that DuterteCarpio espoused the notion of equality during her vice presidential bid.

BUSINESS leaders and residents in the tourism paradise of Boracay Island in Aklan called on presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to take notice of their problems and help them get back on their feet if he wins the May 9 national elections.

“We are looking at these developments in the island and the May elections that will decide who will be our next leader would be very crucial to who we are and what we are doing here,” businesswoman Elena Tosco Tosco said.

“Whoever can give us the assurance that the rights that we have been fighting for will be heard – no one will be displaced, the issue of the power of imminent domain, the continuous demolitions without relocations – these things are what triggered us to look for someone who can help us, and by all indications Mr. Marcos is in a position to win,” local broadcaster Allan Palma said.

Palma said they closely monitored the other candidates’ stand on the matter and “they want to hear categorically what Marcos will have to say, because from the looks of it. he doesn’t want people to be displaced and he doesn’t want businesses to shut down.”

Popular for its picturesque white sand beaches and sky blue waters, Boracay Island is the country’s top tourist destination and a major revenue earner.

According to the Department of Tourism, the island attracts more than two million visitors and generated a staggering P56 billion in revenue before the pandemic.

Ping-Sotto: R&D to unlock local food growers’ potential

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

UNION ORGANIZING AS HUMAN RIGHTS. Advocates of the Free Our

Unionionist Network hold an assembly outside the Commission on Human Rights in Quezon City on Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022, to press for the release of detained union activists and to call on candidates to make their concerns an election issue. Manny Palmero

THE country can expect more research and development projects for agriculture and other technologies that would benefit Filipino farmers and fishermen once Partido Reporma presidential candidate Panfilo “Ping” Lacson and his running mate, Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, get the people’s mandate during the May 9 national elections.

Lacson and Sotto stressed their sup-

port for the growth of the farming sector following campaign sorties in Nueva Ecija and Laguna, both foodproducing provinces, whose farmers and fishermen have suffered under the effects of rampant agricultural smuggling and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The longtime public servants also visited the University of the Philippines Los Banos campus in Laguna on Tuesday, lauding the state learning institution for leading the way in R&D projects in agriculture and biotechnology.

A8

WEDNESDAY, FEBUARY 23, 2022

Riera U. Mallari, Editor; Randy M. Caluag, Assistant Editor

Sports Yuka Saso meets the Filipino press at the Solaire Resort and Casino on Monday.

Inset shows Saso’s stamps featuring her winning moments.

PhilPost honors golfer Saso with commemorative stamp

By Randy Caluag

J

UST like other Filipino sporting greats, Yuka Saso will also have her own commemorative stamp as a fitting tribute to her achievement as the first Filipino and youngest player to win the prestigious Women’s US Open golf.

The Philippine Postal Office (PhilPost) began the release of the stamps featuring the 20-year-old Filipina-Japanese golf sensation, who was the youngest player ever to bag the coveted trophy in 2021.

She actually tied South Korean Park Inbee as the youngest US Open champion at 19 years old, 11 months, and 17 days old. Park was 19 when she won in 2008.

The stamps feature the winning moments of Saso and a photo holding her Harton S. Semple Championship Trophy.

“We commend her (Saso) for her hard work, perseverance and dedication to remain humble despite here achievements,” said Postmaster General Norman Fulgencio.

Saso is in town to visit her friends and relatives in Bulacan and Manila as

well as prepare for the resumption of her LPGA campaign in Singapore and Thailand in March.

Meeting the Filipino press on Monday night at the Solaire Resort and Casino, Saso vowed that she will forever remain a Filipino at heart.

“I’m super proud of being half-Japanese, half-Filipino, and that will never change,” said the ICTSI-backed ace.

“I’ll be forever Filipino.”

Saso carried the Philippine flag when she won the major golf tourney in June last year as a dual citizen with a Filipino mother and Japanese father.

Unfortunately, Japanese law prevented her from carrying dual citizenship and her choice of Japanese passport was necessary in her professional golf career, especially

during this COVID-19 pandemic.

The Japanese passport is considered the most powerful passport in the world in terms of travel freedom.

According to the Henley Passport Index as of January 2022, Japanese citizens can travel to 192 countries and territories even without a visa. They are tied with Singaporeans at the top with the same level of access.

Before Saso, the PhilPost honored Tokyo Olympics gold medalists Hidilyn Diaz, silver medalists Nesthy Petecio and Carlo Paalam, and bronze medalist Eumir Marcial.

Basketball legends Sonny Jaworski and Ramon Fernandez, bowling Hallof-Famers Bong Coo and Paeng Nepomuceno, and billiards master Efren “Bata” Reyes were also honored with their own commemorative stamps.

MVP Badminton Cup lures country’s top players THE country’s top badminton players will figure in their first tournament in two years as the Manny V. Pangilinan Second Badminton Cup will be held from February 23 to 25, 2022 at the Olympic Badminton Center in Pasig City.

A total of 34 players are set to compete in men’s doubles, men’s singles, women’s doubles, and women’s singles.

Besides finally getting the chance to play in a tournament, this will also be the first time Smash Pilipinas head coach Rosman Razak can evaluate the players as he plots his pool for the 31st Southeast Asian Games this May. “Since I came here, this is the first time I can see the players play in a competitive setting,” said the Malaysian, who is a two-time SEA Games silver medalist. “This is the first time they will play in this pandemic. The SEA Games is two months away and we still have time.”

Competing in the men’s division of this

Sarah Barredo

tournament sanctioned by the Philippine Badminton Association are Alvin Morada, Ros Pedrosa, Rabie Oba-ob, James Villarante, Christian Bernardo, John Paul Pantig, Mark Anthony Velasco, Jewel Albo, Clarence Villaflor, Lance Vargas, Kenneth Monterubio, July Vil-

labrille, Solomon Padiz, Joshua Morada, Jason Vanzuela, Robert Ishmael Ramos, Jefferson Oba-ob, John Michael Estrada, John Matthew Bernardo, and Michael Clemente.

For the women’s division of this tournament backed by Smart Commu-

nications, the MVP Sports Foundation, and Philippine Sports Commission, Thea Pomar, Nicole Albo, Eleanor Inlayo, Jochelle Alvarez, Mikaela De Guzman, Sarah Barredo, Janelle San Andres, Anthea Gonzales, Susmita Angelique Ramos, Althea Fuentespina, Danielle Masongsong, Andrea Hernandez, Christel Fuentespina, and Angel Valle are set to compete.

“I hope the players can show me something good,” said Razak. “This is the first time for me to evaluate the players, not just within our system but also outside of it. This is really a good opportunity for me to see what the Philippine badminton player is all about.”

For the first two days, the games will be held from 6:30 AM-1:30 PM. The finals will be held on the 25th from 4:00 PM onwards.

Games will be streamed live on Smash Pilipinas’ Facebook page (https://web. facebook.com/pbasmashpilipinaspage).

PATAFA confident of SEA Games chances

Philip Ella Juico

THE Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association is confident that its athletes to the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi from May 12 to 23 can stand their ground despite all the challenges.

“Most of those who won the gold or silver (in 2019) are still around. Most of them are in shape. Most of them have continued training,” said PATAFA president Philip Ella Juico yesterday.

The former chairman of the Philippine Sports Commission, therefore, expects the national team to at least duplicate its 11-8-8 (gold-silver-bronze) haul when the country hosted the SEA Games in 2019.

“We can maintain that. We can say that this is very ideal,” Juico told the online Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum.

Juico said while Filipino athletes faced various difficulties caused by the two-year-old pandemic, the coaching

staff has made sure the athletes are in great shape heading to the Hanoi SEA Games.

“We make do with what we have wherever we are. We cannot keep on complaining. We need to adjust,” Juico told the forum presented by San Miguel Corporation, MILO, Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee, Amelie Hotel Manila and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation.

“We are not offering excuses for any possible lapses in the competition,” added Juico, who was joined in the forum by MILO Philippines assistant vice president Lester Castillo, PATAFA training director Renato Unso and coach Jeoffrey Chua.

Castillo reiterated MILO’s support to PATAFA, including performance trials scheduled to begin tomorrow in Baguio City then in Imus, Cavite and Philsports Arena in Pasig City, and

the National Open by April.

Juico said while they are allowed to field 63 track bets in Hanoi, they are looking at 50 entries in 38 or 39 of the 44 events to be disputed. He said USbased athletes like Kayla Richardson, Kristina Knott, William Morrison, Natalie Uy and Eric Cray are in the thick of training for the SEA Games where they are the reigning champions.

Tokyo Olympics veteran and world No. 5 pole vaulter EJ Obiena, according to Juico, is currently off the list of national pool members.

“EJ Obiena is not on the national training pool list. We have to discuss that among ourselves in the PATAFA board but he’s not in the list right now,” said Juico of the reigning SEA Games champion.

“We have to look at his case if he wants to participate (in Hanoi). He has said he will ask for help from others.

Let’s see what works,” added Juico.

Drex talks risky move to lightweight ONE division DREX “T-Rex” Zamboanga explained his decision to move up three weight classes ahead of his lightweight bout against Rahul “The Kerala Krusher” Raju in the lead card of ONE: FULL CIRCLE on February 25 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

The 32-year-old debuted in the flyweight division when he submitted Detchadin “Detchpool” Sornsirisuphatin via second-round submission in a bout where his length and size were evident.

He believes that he can make the most out of that said size if he bulks up and adds power to his game instead of using his leaner frame in the flyweight division.

“My conditioning coach gave me that idea to try it out at lightweight because I felt like being at flyweight is unhealthy for me. At the same time, it’s risky. I’m a big man. I’m 5’11 at flyweight. I can’t maximize my strength in matches,” he shared.

“Most of my fights came at 61 kg before. It has always been doable, but my conditioning coach suggested that I move to a higher weight class.”

Another factor is the lack of Filipinos competing in the division.

Not one to stand in the way of his compatriots, he believes that he won’t have to cross paths with a specific countryman on his way to the top.

“There’s only one Filipino competing in lightweight [Eduard Folayang] and by moving here, I feel like it’s opening another opportunity for Filipinos to become a world champion,” he explained. “That’s my goal, to win a world championship at lightweight.”

But talks of a world title can wait for now as his entire focus has been preparing to compete in the heavier weight class.

Sure, he believes there are a lot of uncertainties in this move, but he trusts his team and he expects to be in tip-top shape come fight night.

“I focused on my strength and conditioning program in this fight so I won’t feel uncomfortable in this new division,” he mentioned.

“Now’s the perfect time to test my skills in the lightweight division.

But looking at my camp, things are going well.”

ONE Championship returns with ONE: FULL CIRCLE on February 25. Download the ONE Super App for free to catch the fights live.

Korea skips FIBA Asian Qualifiers due to COVID-19

By Peter Atencio THE Korean men’s basketball team, ravaged by COVID-19, will be skipping the second window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers this week at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, thereby forfeiting its four-game assignment.

One more player tested positive for the virus hours before their departure to Manila on Monday evening, sending Korean basketball officials into an emergency meeting.

Officials of the Korea Basketball deliberated on the status of their national team and decided with finally they will no longer join the Manila window.

In a statement, the KBA said that the decision they made was in consideration of the safety of the players.

Korea, coached by Jo Sanghyun, was scheduled to play the host squad Gilas Pilipinas tomorrow, and New Zealand and India in the succeeding days.

The player confirmed positive had been in training with the national team and was among the 10 remaining players, who previously tested negative during the camp that was held in Goyang. He was the 10th Korean player with the virus.

Among those who were named for the trip to Manila were Kim Sunhyung of Seoul, Lee Daesung of Goyang, Heo Ung of Wonju, Yang Hongseok of Busan, Lee Weonseok of Seoul, Yeo JunSeok of Korea University, Doo Kyungmin of Daegu, Byeon Junhyeong of Anyang, An Youngjun of Seoul, Lee Kwanhee of Seoul, Lee Seunghyun of Goyang, and Jang Jaeseok of Ulsan.

Business

IN BRIEF Ray S. Eñano, Editor Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor business@manilastandard.net extrastory2000@gmail.com WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2022

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Citicore spending P70b for renewable projects in 5 years

By Alena Mae S. Flores CITICORE Renewable Energy Corp., parent of Citicore Energy REIT Corp., the country’s first energy real estate investment trust, plans to spend P70 billion for its pipeline of 1,500 megawatts of renewable energy projects in the next five years.

CREC and CREIT president Oliver Tan said in a briefing following the listing of CREIT’s shares at the Philippine Stock Exchange Tuesday that around 630 MW were already in various development stages and would come online in the next two to three years.

Tan said around 120 MW of RE capacity would be infused into CREIT by the first quarter of 2023.

“It [capital expenditures] can be funded by the sponsor using various funding sources, one would be from CREIT IPO proceed. We can also borrow from mixed local banks to bankroll construction which later on will be folded into CREIT and maybe a combination of preferred shares offering from the sponsor,” Tan said.

CREC plans to spend around P3 billion for the land capital expenditure this year.

“This would be for the Arayat 2. We are expanding Silay plant, also the Bataan plant and three projects in Batangas,” Tan said.

He said CREIT is unique compared to other listed REITs in the PSE because of its leasing structure. “Land asset of CREIT are being leased out to RE companies,” he said. CREIT has partners such as AC Energy Corp.

Tan said they are also open to acquiring other solar power assets to grow CREC’s portfolio.

“You will see 10 MW, 20 MW across the Philippines. We see an opportunity to consolidate all these operating assets.

Notwithstanding, we are open to looking into other technologies. We’re gonna be primarily solar, but were also exploring other technologies,” he said.

DOF readies fiscal plan for next gov’t

FINANCE Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said Tuesday a fiscal consolidation plan for the next administration is nearing completion that underscores the need to outgrow the pandemic-induced debt by ensuring that job-generating infrastructure investments far outweigh state spending on operational expenses.

Dominguez said in a presentation during the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines’ general membership meeting that whoever succeeds President Rodrigo Duterte would find the plan “useful in continuing the dynamic recovery of the domestic economy over the next few years.”

“We commit to a seamless transition and stand ready to assist the next administration as it takes over the reins of leadership. The fiscal consolidation plan is just one of the many measures that have to be undertaken by the next administration,” he said.

Dominguez said the first on the list that should be addressed by the next presidency is outgrowing the country’s debt at the soonest possible time to reduce its share in relation to the gross domestic product, the ratio of which spiked to 60.5 percent in 2021 from a historic low of 39.6 percent in 2019. Julito G. Rada

SEC drafts guidelines on ‘umbrella funds’

CREIT LISTING. Citicore Energy REIT Corp. concludes its initial public offering by listing its shares at the Philippine Stock Exchange. The first renewable energy REIT, now listed under the stock symbol ‘CREIT,’ raised P6.40 billion from the IPO. Attending the listing ceremony are (from left, by row) CREIT president and chief executive Oliver Tan, PSE chief operating officer Roel Refran, CREIT director Manuel Louie Ferrer, CREIT chairman Edgar Saavedra, PSE president and chief executive Ramon Monzon, PSE head of issuer regulation division Marigel Garcia, Citicore Group investor relations head Abigail Joan Cosico, CREIT chief finance officer Mia Grace Paula Cortez, Securities Clearing Corporation of the Philippines chief operating officer Renee Rubio and PSE general counsel Veronica del Rosario.

Housing developers see rebound, vow backlog cut

By Othel V. Campos

T

HE Subdivision and Housing Developers Association said Tuesday it expects to sustain the recovery of the residential sector and reduce the housing backlog this year.

SHDA president May Rodriguez said while private developers incurred losses at the start of the pandemic due to lower sales and collection, they began to see recovery toward the end of 2020 and 2021.

“We understand some of our buyers lost their jobs or shifted their priorities. Fortunately, towards the end of 2020 and 2021, many developers were able to recover, but

not yet to pre-pandemic levels. Private developers were able to accomplish 50 percent to 70 percent of what they were doing pre-pandemic,” Rodriguez said during the first Kapihan Forum 2022 organized in partnership with the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Developments.

She said the sector anticipates the continuation of the rebound as developers clear the backlog that built up during the pandemic.

The Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council estimated the housing backlog at 5.7 million units for 2011 to 2016. The HUDCC said to clear this backlog, there was a need to build 2,602 homes a day in the next six years.

DHSUD officer-in-charge director for real estate development and regulation bureau Angelito Aguila said the government plans to grant incentives to a new housing scheme that would make homeownership

accessible while addressing the backlog.

The DHSUD had initial talks with the Board of Investments to include rental housing in the Strategic Investment Priorities Plan that would entitle developers to incentives.

Aguila said the government might allow rental housing as compliance by developers to a regulation mandating them to allocate a portion of their project portfolio to socialized housing.

“Rental housing is being considered as an option for those who cannot afford homeownership right away and will form part of the country’s 20-year housing roadmap. One way of making land available for housing is to unlock idle government land,” he said.

He said the government has plenty of idle and readily available land that can be used to improve housing production for the informal sectors and even for the private sector in partnership with the government.

THE Securities and Exchange Commission said Tuesday it is drafting rules that will allow investment companies to be formed as “umbrella funds” that can create sub-funds with segregated assets and liabilities.

It said in a statement the proposed rules on the creation and operation of umbrella funds would provide investment companies and fund managers greater operational flexibility and cost savings.

An umbrella fund is a registered, open-end investment company that consists of two or more sub-funds that may pursue different investment objectives, policies and strategies.

The proposed rules will apply to newly formed, existing and open-end investment companies seeking to adopt an umbrella fund structure.

Under the draft rules, an umbrella fund should consist of at least two sub-funds at any time during its operation. However, it is granted a six-month period to comply and register at least one more sub-fund from approval of the first.

Jenniffer B. Austria

PAL announces digital transformation

PHILIPPINE Airlines said Tuesday it tapped NTT Data Philippines to implement its digital transformation.

The partnership brings together NTT Data’s best-in-class global IT services with SAP’s intelligent enterprise solutions to support PAL’s goal of achieving full digital transformation.

“Being a pioneer in the aviation industry, we are intent on implementing 21st Century technological solutions to improve our business processes,” PAL chief financial officer Nilo Thaddeus Rodriguez said.

“A true digital transformation will strengthen interdepartmental collaboration and promote sound decision-making as we tackle the challenges of global competition. This will benefit our customers who look to us for reliable service as the nation’s flag carrier and largest international airline,” he said.

PAL senior vice president for supply chain management Alvin Kendrich Limqueco said the new business solutions from NTT Data and SAP would help equip PAL leaders with the right data at the right time to make sound decisions that will allow the airline to quickly adapt to change.

Darwin G. Amojelar

Business

B2 || WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2022 extrastory2000@gmail.com

PSEi February 22, 2022

TOP GAINERS

1 CREIT 2 FEU 3 OPMB

LAST PRICE CHANGE 2.84 0.29 594 59 0.013 0.001

% CHANGE 11.37% 11.03% 8.33%

4 5 6 7 8 9 10

5.2 0.99 0.77 1.05 78.8 2.9 6.9

7.88% 7.61% 6.94% 6.06% 5.00% 4.69% 4.39%

BCB VUL PHA NI SMC2F SLI DITO

0.38 0.07 0.05 0.06 3.75 0.13 0.29

TOP LOSERS

1 HTI 2 KPPI 3 MB

LAST PRICE CHANGE 1 -0.08 2.8 -0.2 0.415 -0.025

% CHANGE -7.41% -6.67% -5.68%

4 5 6 7

LR PRF3B BKR ATN

1.35 1077 2.05 0.62

-0.07 -53 -0.1 -0.03

-4.93% -4.69% -4.65% -4.62%

8 9

MWC CDC

21.45 0.71

-1 -0.03

-4.45% -4.05%

10

ZHI

0.17

-0.007

-3.95%

Stocks bounce back; Citicore REIT sizzles

S

TOCKS rallied Tuesday on bargain hunting and improving COVID-19 situation in the country, ignoring the slump in the rest of the region amid the escalating tension in Ukraine.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index rose 68.66 points, or 0.9 percent, to 7,440.91 on a value turnover of P12.8 billion. Losers, however, edged losers, 98 to 94, with 54 issues unchanged.

Citicore Energy REIT Corp., the first energy-focused real estate investment trust company, surged 11.4 percent to P2.84 in its market debut, while DITO CME Holdings Corp., the third major mobile phone player, climbed 4.4 percent to P6.90.

SM Investments Corp. of the Sy

Group advanced 4.1 percent to P895, while International Container Terminal Services Inc., the biggest port operator and owned by tycoon Enrique Razon Jr. increased 3.8 percent to P220.

Equity markets in Asia, meanwhile, plunged while oil and haven assets rallied Tuesday after Russia’s Vladimir Putin ordered troops into two separatist regions in eastern Ukraine, ramping up geopolitical tensions and fears of a conflict.

The jump in oil is compounding worries about inflation around the world, with the Federal Reserve coming under intense pressure to tighten monetary policy to prevent prices running out of control.

That has in turn battered equity markets in recent months, and the latest developments out of Europe led to another day of hefty selling Tuesday.

Russia’s MOEX index plunged eight percent at the open, having lost 10 per-

cent Monday, while London, Paris and Frankfurt tumbled in early exchanges.

In Asia, Tokyo, Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Mumbai and Taipei dived at least one percent, while there were also losses in Bangkok, Jakarta and Wellington.

Hong Kong tanked 2.7 percent owing to a selloff in tech firms as traders again fret over the possibility China will embark on another crackdown on the sector.

Investors were sent running after Putin recognized the independence of two rebel-held areas of Donetsk and Lugansk and sent in “peacekeeping” forces.

The move came hours after the Kremlin appeared to pour cold water on a potential summit with US President Joe Biden and led to condemnation from world leaders and warnings Moscow would be hit with a series of sanctions. With AFP

MOST ACTIVE

VOLUME

VALUE (PHP)

1 2

CREIT SM

521,429,000 1,482,248,430 804,840 709,022,410

3 4 5

ICT SMPH DITO

2,291,670 10,361,400 55,516,000

6

SPNEC

190,724,000 354,418,270

7 8 9

AC BPI ALI

353,600 2,795,720 6,776,700

304,235,900 277,046,377 265,096,945

10

BDO

1,843,100

248,888,263

501,726,670 406,881,015 379,845,429

VIETNAM REOPENS. A shopkeeper (right) packs pork sausage at his shop in Hanoi on February 22, 2022. Vietnam will re-open to international tourists on March 15 after a two-year border closure due to the pandemic. The Southeast Asian nation of 97 million people largely closed itself in March 2020—a move that clobbered its burgeoning tourism sector which was worth $32 billion a year before COVID.AFP

Bundesbank expects Germany to enter recession due to latest pandemic wave FRANKFURT, Germany—The Bundesbank said on Monday the latest wave of the coronavirus pandemic risked pushing the German economy— Europe’s largest—into a technical recession before staging a recovery from the second quarter.

After gross domestic product shrank by 0.7 percent in the last quarter of 2021, “overall economic output could again sink noticeably in the first quarter of 2022, before picking up speed again in the spring,” the German central bank said in its monthly economic report.

Pandemic restrictions were mostly to blame for the drop, the Bundesbank said, with measures “hitting some service-sector branches hard.”

Manufacturing, meanwhile, continued to report “serious” problems with a lack of raw materials and components, as well as a shortage of labor.

“The pick-up in industrial production, however, suggested a certain easing” in the supply situation at the end of 2021, the central bank said.

A recession is technically defined as two consecutive quarters of economic contraction.

Germany’s European neighbors have seen their economies recover more strongly from the initial impact of the pandemic.

Germany registered a 2.8-percent growth in 2021, while France surged ahead with growth of seven percent.

The spread of the Omicron variant in Germany led to a record number of infections at the start of the year.

The government has said it will start to roll back health restrictions as the cases begin to ebb, with most rules lifted by the end of March under the plan.

AFP

outstanding debt of $3.5 billion and was no longer able to raise new commercial loans.

However, CPC is banking on a proposed credit line of $500 million from the Indian government to procure oil in the coming months, officials said.

The worsening economic crisis has already led to food rationing with supermarkets restricting the quantity of rice, milk powder, sugar, lentils and tinned fish sold to consumers.

Many pumping stations have also rationed fuel issued to motorists in the provinces.

Sri Lanka’s economy has collapsed since the onset of the pandemic, with a nosedive in tourism revenue as well as foreign worker remittances.

International rating agencies have downgraded Sri Lanka over expectations it may not be able to service its $35-billion foreign debt. The government insists it can meet its obligations. AFP

WASHINGTON, United States— A US Federal Reserve official said Monday she expected high inflation through at least the first half of 2022 and therefore backs an interest rate hike in March, though by how much would depend on data.

“I support raising the federal funds rate at our next meeting in March,” governor Michelle Bowman said, stressing that should the economy evolve as she expects, “additional rate increases will be appropriate in the coming months.”

She did not specify how big a hike she expects at this point.

“I will be watching the data closely to judge the appropriate size of an increase,” she said during a speech at the American Bankers Association Community Banking Conference.

US inflation is sitting at its highest level in four decades, battering President Joe Biden’s popularity and dealing a heavy blow to households and businesses in the world’s largest economy.

Markets already are anticipating the first of several rate hikes to come at the March 15-16 policy meeting, and some economists predict a strong 50 basispoint increase, double the usual amount.

Bowman anticipates “uncomfortably high inflation will persist at least through the first half of 2022.”

“We may see signs of inflation easing in the second half of the year, but there is a substantial risk that high inflation could persist,” she warned.

She also said labor market conditions are “currently consistent” with the Fed’s goal of full employment. The unemployment rate was four percent in January, and employers are facing a significant labor shortage.

Another measure that should help slow inflation will be the reduction of the Fed’s balance sheet. The central bank has since November been tapering its monthly purchases of bonds and securities meant to help the economy weather the COVID-19 downturn.

These asset purchases will be reduced to zero by March.

This “will remove another source of unneeded stimulus for the economy,” Bowman said, adding that “in the coming months, we need to take the next step, which is to begin reducing the Fed’s balance sheet by ceasing the reinvestment of maturing securities already held in the portfolio.” AFP

HSBC bares $1-b share buyback as 2021 profits doubled HONG KONG, China—HSBC on Tuesday announced bumper 2021 profits and plans to repurchase shares worth up to $1.0 billion as the Asia-focused bank continues its recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and major restructuring.

The lender endured a tumultuous 2020 like the rest of the banking sector as the virus outbreak rocked the economy just as it embarked on a restructuring program to slash 35,000 jobs to refocus on its most profitable areas in Asia and the Middle East.

The London-headquartered bank on Tuesday reported pre-tax profit of $18.9 billion in 2021, up $10.1 billion on the year before, helped by lower bad loans and operating expenses.

Profit after tax was up $8.6 billion to $14.7 billion. Fourth quarter profit before tax rose $1.3 billion to $2.7 billion.

In a boon for investors, the bank also announced plans for a $1-billion share buyback, adding to a $2-billion buy-

Sri Lanka inflation hits record high of 16.8% COLOMBO, Sri Lanka—Sri Lanka’s inflation hit a record high for the fourth consecutive month, official data showed Tuesday as an economic crisis driven by a crippling foreign exchange shortage worsens.

The National Consumer Price Index (NCPI) rose 16.8 percent in January from a year earlier, the fourth consecutive record rise and more than double October’s figure of 8.3 percent.

The record highs came as the South Asian island struggles to find dollars to finance essential imports, including food, fuel and medicines.

The energy ministry announced Monday it was struggling to buy fuel on credit and reported shortages at many pumping stations, leading to queues and forcing some to shut.

The ministry said the main stateowned oil company, Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, was straddled with

Interest rate hike in March to depend on inflation data

GAS SUMMIT.

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune (from left), Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi walk together after a group photo during the final session of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) summit in Qatar’s capital Doha on February 22, 2022. AFP

back announced late last year.

“We have good momentum coming into 2022 and are confident that we can continue to execute against our strategy,” chief executive officer Noel Quinn said in the statement.

“We also remain cognizant of the potential impact that further COVID-19related uncertainty and continued inflation might have on us and our clients.”

HSBC makes 90 percent of its profit in Asia, with China and Hong Kong the major drivers of growth.

Early last year it published a new strategy laying out plans to redouble its attempt to seize more of the region’s market.

HSBC wants to seek out more feebased income, especially via wealth management for Asia’s increasingly affluent.

It is also hopeful of a significant boost to income thanks to the prospect of higher interest rates to fight surging global inflation.

However its reliance on China could also be a vulnerability. Both the mainland and Hong Kong are among the last few remaining places rigidly sticking to a zero-COVID strategy.

That strategy has crumbled in Hong Kong this year during a wave of infections forcing the reimposition of economically painful restrictions and a deepening of the financial hub’s international isolation.

After strong growth for much of last year, China’s recovery also slowed in the last quarter.

“As a result, we expect China’s government to take action to ease monetary and fiscal policies, with the aim of shoring up growth,” group chairman Mark Tucker said in the results note.

He also highlighted a number of global economic headwinds on the horizon including “supply chain bottlenecks,” high energy, and food prices driving up inflation and tighter monetary policies from central banks. AFP

Entertainment

Nickie Wang, Editor nickie.standard@gmail.com WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2022

B3

‘Smile’ with The New Minstrels Remix FRESH from the release of its unique take on the nostalgic song “HahabolHabol,” The New Minstrels Remix continues to prove that music revival never goes out of style with its latest single “Smile.”

The single, produced by GOV Entertainment produces, was written by esteemed composer Butch Monserrat in 1979, and was popularised by the 2nd Generation of The New Minstrels, was arguably the most requested of ita songs on the radio and in concert.

The New Minstrels Remix brings together five generations of the Philippines’ most celebrated musical group including Ernie Mercado (Gen2), Zoe Zuniga (Gen3), Bobit Pablo (Gen5), Dingdong Fernando (Gen5), Jessica Cabasal (Gen2), Jaramie Zuniga (Gen3), Angie Wilson (Gen4), and Jinky Somera (Gen5).

Edward Mitra gave the revival song a new sound while music director Ernie Magtuto of The New Minstrels Remix’s latest single ‘Smile’ proves music revival never goes out of style Gen5 provided that distinct vocal

harmony TNM is known for.

Just as artists worldwide, the challenge for the group is how to create when faced with unprecedented restrictions and obstacles.

Yet, while its songs have been around for decades, TMN Remix’s members continued to adapt to the times, collaborating across borders and against the odds. The group relishes creating music, recording songs, and reliving TNM’s music as their legacy— the perfect motivation.

With shared goals, the process was precise. TNM Remix members have been convening weekly to organize the mother of all reunions, all the while juggling their personal lives as they navigate through a global pandemic.

As most are working from home, the creative process had to adapt, with an instrumental and vocal arrangement, learning the music is done by each band member at home. And while the approach is remote, the spirit of collaboration is kept alive through their regular creative catch-up sessions.

The best songs tell a story, and to do so in such a big group, shared energy must be achieved. It’s no small feat to hear so many

voices from across the world sing in unison, to feel the precise dynamics and rhythm.

This sense of effortless harmony and flow is usually discovered in person in the studio.

Without this real-life connection to lean on, TMN Remix has to completely step out of its comfort zone, trusting that the talent of the members will shine through their online collaboration.

The pragmatic way “Smile” brought an entirely new set of challenges for the members of TMN Remix. Gone is the safety of the studio, the reassurance of the band. Closets are now vocal booths, with takes having to be meticulously planned around unexpected birds chirping and passing sirens. Post-it notes adorn bedroom doors displaying “Quiet, I’m recording.”

Just because it’s possible to record studioquality vocals just about anywhere nowadays doesn’t necessarily mean it’s easy. But it works, and TNM Remix has done more than make it work. They’ve made some of their best music yet.

Catch the newly released single “Smile” on all digital platforms.

Ticket2Me launches Southeast Asia’s first micro film fest Ikli IN PARTNERSHIP with the Movement and 3:00 p.m.: (Micro Short Category) for Good Governance (MGG), YouthLed Looooongest Line by Giulia Saavedra; PH, YouthVote Philippines, and Rappler, Submit by Francis Ner Marañon; and Ticket2Me, the country’s leading Tuloy Pa Din Ang Training by Denzel independent creator monetization Galindez.

For Mini Short Category: Bitin platform, pioneers again by launching Ikli: The Philippines’ First Super Short by Maria Del Carmen S. Villapol; Film Festival.

Mangha by Mark Terence Molave; and Inspired by other microfilm festivals Recurring Dream by Alecx Julianne G. around the world, Ikli is an annual, online Literal.

For Super Short Category: Classroom film festival initially featuring three categories: Micro short (60 seconds or 2022 by Diana Galang; Pila. Pili. less) films, mini short (between 1:00 and Pilipinas. by Joseph Guinto Navarro; 2:20) films, and super short (between 2:21 and Si Jhemalyn at ang ‘Di Matapos na and 5:00) films with the festival motto, Paghahanap ng Karot Keyk by Ruka “The simpler, the better!”

Azuma.

For this year, the theme is “Bitin! We A virtual awarding ceremony will also deserve better!” to draw attention, in be held in March to publicly recognize an entertaining but enlightening way, and congratulate the winners of the first the many stories that can help convince Ikli film festival in each category.

Filipinos all over the world that we deserve better: better government, better If you want to know more about healthcare, better education, better Ticket2Me and its services, send an email livelihoods, better transportation - even at ask@ticket2me.net. better love lives.

Strategically aligned with the vision of the project and marking the commemoration of the 36th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution, the following chosen entries will be shown on Ticket2Me and Rappler’s Youtube channels on February 25, between 12:00 nn Ikli is an annual, online film festival that features micro films

Mikael Daez goes solo AFTER the successful run of the television series Love of My Life, which ended in March last year, Mikael Daez embarks on a new journey, this time a solo TV host for GMA-7.

Entitled The Best Ka!, the infotainment program features Guinness World Records “Best of the Best.”

“It really came as a surprise to me,” he stated during the program’s media junket. “In my 12 years with the Kapuso, it’s the first time that I’ll be hosting a full-length show. In the past years, I had been tapped to serve as segment host to various programs.”

T h e 34-year-old actor is very thankful to his mother network for the opportunity to headline his own show.

“As always, the management entrusts the

project to me along with the whole production team, encouraging us to treat it as our own and make the station proud with wonderful output. So, I guess it’s the same case with The Best Ka!. I intend to make the most out of this, give it my best shot and enjoy the experience,” he said.

The infotainment program is Mikael’s first TV project since Love of My Life, he admitted that it did not bother him a bit despite not being able to work on the small screen immediately after the soap ended.

“My wife Megan (Young) and I got afraid because of the pandemic. There were health and safety protocols to consider and no one knew what would happen next. Lots of TV programs were put on hold due to various external factors,” he said.

“It’s a matter of understanding the situation. There were lots of limitations.

But now, the past is behind us and we might as well look forward to the future.

I have The Best Ka! and I’m excited with this one,” he went on.

Now that he has his own program where he is the solo host, does he feel any pressure especially when it comes to ratings?

“Well, all I can say is that I’ve been with GMA for 12 years now and I’ve done a show or two every year. Of course, the pressure is always there. What’s important is you give it your best and enjoy it. Those are two essential things.

If you have a script, read your script. If you have objectives, understand them.

But at the same time, you should enjoy the moment,” ended Mikael.

Mikael Daez is the new solo host for infotainment program ‘The Best Ka!’

Sofia Pablo (right) and Allen Ansay

Kyline Alcantara (right) and Mavy Legaspi

Shayne Sava (left) and Abdul Raman

Zonia Mejia (left) and Jamir Zabarte

Althea Ablan (left) and Bruce Roeland

Leading network bets on new love teams

O

NSCREEN pairing of celebrities has been known as a perfect formula to launch the careers of young stars who aim for showbiz success. Throughout the decades, we have seen numerous love teams who, despite not ending together romantically, are still winning the hearts of the public due to their palpable chemistry, the series of projects they starred in, and the solid fandoms that they created.

In a recent online junket, I was able to speak and get to know – at least the basic things a normal fan would want to know from a celebrity – the newest batch of love teams that GMA Network is betting on.

Introduced as Sparkle Sweethearts (Sparkle is the rebranded talent management arm of the country’s leading network), the promising sets of onscreen pairs, who already have a strong following online, are giving us more reasons to follow their journey as individual stars and as duos.

Now let’s get to know these five young and cute love teams that will certainly give their fans all the warm, fuzzy feels for the month of love.

Kyline Alcantara and Mavy Legaspi It’s not a stretch to dub Kyline Alcantara and Mavy Legaspi as up-andcoming showbiz royalties–Kyline with her years of experience in the industry and Mavy coming from a family of celebrities.

K y l i n e consistently w o w s fans and audiences alike with each of her portrayals on-screen, starting with

Sparkle Sweethearts is GMA Network’s promising set of onscreen pairs

Cheska in Kambal, Karibal, Anna/Elsa in Inagaw Na Bituin, and Maggie in Bilangin Ang Bituin Sa Langit, proving that she’s one to watch when it comes to acting.

Meanwhile, Mavy, who’s basically been a huge household name all his life, continues to make his star power shine brighter ever since he officially started his showbiz journey last 2018. He has already shown great promise as an actor, model, and performer and we have seen his acting, performing, and hosting skills develop even further.

We first saw Kyline and Mavy pair up when they portrayed the feisty city girl Tiff and the charming probinsyano Basti respectively in the 2021 romantic-comedy series I Left My Heart In Sorsogon.

Online, their love team garners thousands of likes and millions of views with each photo or video they share which shows just how invested people are in this good-looking tandem.

Sofia Pablo and Allen Ansay Lovingly referred to as “Team Jolly” by their fans, Sofia Pablo and Allen Ansay bring smiles to everyone’s faces wherever they go! The name “Team Jolly” is a perfect fit for these two sweethearts because their jovial personalities are extremely infectious and spread to those they work with on set or watch them on-screen.

One of Sparkle’s homegrown talents, we’ve seen Sofia’s acting skills grow immensely over the years and it has been a complete delight seeing her blossom as Donna Lyn/Lenlen in the top-rated drama series Prima Donnas.

We first met Allen when he competed in the 7th season of the reality artista search StarStruck in which this promdi cutie ended up placing as the First Prince.

Sofia and Allen paired up together for the first time in Regal Studio Presents: Raya Sirena where Sofia finally got her chance at fulfilling a childhood dream which was portraying a mermaid on TV. Allen also joins Sofia and the rest of the Prima Donnas cast for its second season and he’s ready to show all he’s learned so far.

T e a m Jolly is a huge hit on social media, especially on TikTok where videos Sofia and Allen upload easily

reach millions of views in no time.

Althea Ablan and Bruce Roeland Althea Ablan and Bruce Roeland’s tandem is definitely one to watch. Althea’s “One of the Boys” appeal meshes well with Bruce’s outgoing personality and active lifestyle. Like puzzle pieces custommade for each other, these two just click.

Althea started with Sparkle as a child actress and first made waves when she portrayed the young Alena in the 2016 Encantadia “requel.” Audiences then took quick notice of her when she breathed life into the role of the spunky Donna Belle/Ella in Prima Donnas.

Much like Althea, Bruce started his career with Sparkle at a very young age where he played kid roles in various television series. At 17, Bruce has shed his babyface image, developed quite the fit physique, grew to an admirable height, and is now ready to take centerstage.

Bruce joins Althea and the rest of the Prima Donnas cast for the top-rated drama’s second season where everyone will finally see their magic on-screen.

Shayne Sava and Abdul Raman We were first introduced to Shayne Sava and Abdul Raman when the two joined the reality artista search StarStruck during its 7th season.

Although the two have just met each other through StarStruck, both the show’s producers and fans immediately sensed a connection between the two, hence their love team was formed.

Shayne then went on to win the Ultimate Female Survivor title while Abdul ended up as an Avenger.

Shayne and Abdul then got to star together as Jamilah and Hammad in the 2021 top-rated cultural series Legal Wives.

Despite being new faces in the industry, they were able to stand their ground against seasoned actors and actresses such as Dennis Trillo, Andrea Torres, and Bianca Umali in heavy drama scenes which earned them plenty of praise from diehard viewers of the show.

The two are set to star as a love team once more in the upcoming series titled Raising Mamay where Shayne and Abdul will be given the chance to portray their first-ever leading roles.

Zonia Mejia and Jamir Zabarte There’s always an easy air of positive vibes and good energy whenever Zonia Mejia and Jamir Zabarte are around.

Zonia and Jamir’s love team was formed when they were cast to play the roles of Sol and Buddy in the 2021 romantic-comedy series Heartful Cafe.

Their characters’ “enemies-to-lovers” story arc was a hit among fans and they are definitely excited to see these two on-screen once more.

One of the reasons for their electric chemistry is because of Jamir’s natural charm and wit which perfectly goes well with Zonia’s sweeter than sweet disposition.

Nickie Wang, Editor lifeandshow.manilastandard@gmail.com

B4

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2022

Life T

O CELEBRATE the 25th anniversary of Bantay Bata 163, a portrait of Gina Lopez was unveiled at the Gina Lopez Building located in the ABS-CBN compound.

Present during the unveiling were Ernie Lopez, Roberta Lopez - Feliciano, Jonathan Manalo, and artist Kristine Lim.

The members of Coro San Benildo

Student-artists drum up election awareness campaigns through art and culture TO CELEBRATE the National Arts Pieces likewise encourage the audience Month, spearheaded by the National to practice their right to vote and to do Commission of Culture and the Arts so wisely. The community gallery is now (NCCA), the 17th Lasallian Arts Month available on view on https://www.benildevirtually enjoins young artists to utilize cultureandarts.com/. their talent, creativity, and skill to boost Virtual performances from internationengagement with the young in time for ally lauded and award-winning studentthe 2022 national elecartist groups including tions.

Coro San Benildo and Themed “Makinig Karilyo Shadowplay sa Tinig: Maki-alam, Collective are being Makibahagi, Maki-isa,” shown. the month-long celebraYoung People Power tion aims to maximize sets the stage for a seart and culture as a ries of creative perforchannel of transforma- A still from ‘Pagpukaw’ by Maria mances. Each number Payb Biglete, for the 17th Lasallian tion. It highlights the Arts Month promises to be a movecritical role of the youth ment that encourages and the significance of a rightful stand fellow youth to be civically engaged and during one of the most crucial times in to cast their votes in the upcoming electhe country. tions. It will go live on Friday, February Led by the Benilde Culture and Arts 25 on https://www.facebook.com/cultureUnit (BCAU) of the De La Salle-College andarts.benilde. of Saint Benilde, the event commences For more information about the 17th with an online community gallery that Lasallian Arts Month as well as the other features a collection of poetry, digital il- creative endeavors of the Benilde’s comlustrations, and ekphrastic artworks that munity, visit BCAU on Facebook @culdepict the Filipinos’ longing for peace. tureandarts.benilde.

Entitled Touch The Sky, the portrait was donated by ABS-CBN Fellowship members, with the cooperation of Art Lounge Manila, to ABS-CBN Foundation, and to Bantay Bata 163. The fellowship members present during the event were Linggit Tan Marasigan, Lita Teodosio, and Dyan Castillejo-Garcia who served as the host during the anniversary celebration.

A portrait of Gina Lopez by Kristine Lim

Touch the sky

A portrait celebrating the legacy of Gina Lopez According to “Artist on a Mission” Kristine Lim, it’s the first time that she made a portrait not using the name of the person as the title.

“I felt that it was not fitting for someone like Gina Lopez,” Lim said.

This is for the reason that she believed her legacy lies not in her name, or the foundations that she started, the company that she is connected with, or the family that she’s part of.

“I believe that the legacy of Gina Lopez lies in the lives of the people whom she was able to touch. Through her, a lot was able to feel that they can Touch The Sky. She was

the kind of woman who was able to bring heaven on earth.

She’s not just the kind of woman who did things in a good way. She did them in a godly way. Because of that, she was able to move and transform lives; and those lives are her true legacy,” the artist explained.

In line with the event, Jonathan Manalo, the Creative Director of ABS-CBN Music, shared a collaboration project with Kristine Lim. The details and the official announcement of the project will happen soon.

Jonathan Manalo and Kristine Lim will be donating part of the proceeds gathered from this event to ABSCBN Foundation, Bantay Bata 163.

TBA Studios takes part in Yuchengco Museum’s inaugural online film festival TBA Studios, one of the Philippines’ lead- Love, and legacy project Habambuhay: ing film production and distribution compa- Remembering Philippine Cinema. nies, will have some of its groundbreaking TBA Studios has carved a niche in and critically-acclaimed works be featured the film industry for its trailblazing conin the first-ever online film festival spear- tent with an aim to educate and entertain headed by the Yuchengco Museum. viewers as well as introduce talented FiliMovie fans can watch a variety of ti- pino filmmakers to a global audience. The tles from renowned directors as well as decision to join the festival was an easy up-and-coming student filmmakers for one to make as both TBA Studios and the free via a seven-day online filmfest called Yuchengco Museum share this advocacy.

Y2M (Yes2Movies), running until FebruAlso included in the Y2M filmfest are ary 28 on yfilms.ph. five films from this year’s batch of student Among the TBA Studios titles that films (features and shorts) from CineMamovie fans can access are the histori- pua. Schools and students nationwide are cal epic Heneral encouraged to Luna, quirky submit their films romcom I’m for archiving in Drunk, I Love Yuchengco MuYou., awardseum’s yfilms.ph winning drama website.

Women of The Y2M is available Weeping River, globally and is acromantic film cessible 24 hours a Write About John Arcilla (left) and Joem Bascon in ‘Heneral Luna’ day for free.

From left: The late Gina Lopez’s brother, Ernie Lopez, ABS-CBN executive, Linggit Tan, Gina’s sister and the new ABS-CBN Foundation managing director, Roberta Lopez-Feliciano, Dyan Castillejo, Jonathan Manalo, and Kristine Lim.

Death as we know it “IS THAT normal?” a friend asked when I told her that we would be burying our departed loved one in a gravestone built in the backyard.

In the northern Philippines, particularly in Benguet, this is quite normal. Even when there is a public cemetery, the Cordilleran people still practice burying the dead near their homes – usually in a residential compound or a common family backyard.

This funeral tradition stems from being close-knit. Family members want to stay close and be together even after death. It also signifies proof of land ownership.

It is also seen as an assurance that the property that the dead left behind would not be sold. To open the tomb and remove the remains from the property is not a simple act. It would require rituals.

Certain practices must be observed.

Is it allowed? In a way, it is. There is no permit needed to bury the dead in one’s backyard since it is a local tradition deeply ingrained in their culture.

Although, there have been some changes in this tradition, like embalming.

In the olden times, people didn’t practice embalming the corpse. They wanted the body to be as natural as possible before burying or mummifying. That means no preservative chemicals such

as formaldehyde injected in the body, no touch-ups with cosmetics, and what have you.

However, with the ruling perception that the bodies could be a source of contagion to the public, embalming was introduced. People started to think that this process is necessary to prevent the spread of possible diseases.

Embalming forestalls the decomposition and makes the body presentable for the lamay, the tradition of holding a wake to commemorate the dead person.

Paglalamay usually lasts from three to seven nights, with family members, relatives and friends gathering and participating in the vigil.

Filipino Muslims, however, do not practice lamay. Based on their religious custom, the dead should be buried within 24 hours after the time of death.

For the wake, the body would be put in a coffin. In Benguet, the coffin should not have any nails or metal. The dead should be devoid of jewelry and other metallic elements. Based on tradition, nails and metals often rust, which can contaminate the body. When the body is contaminated, it would cause misfortune or illness to the living family members.

This might be the reason some, especially those who can afford, choose

The burial practice in Benguet and Cordillera

to bury their departed in hollowed-out trees. The corpse is often entombed vertically inside the tree trunk. A likha or anito (a statue) is also buried with the body to protect it.

In Quezon, the dead is entombed inside a limestone sarcophagus. The Apayaos and/or Isnegs wrap the deceased in ikamen (a mat), while the T’bolis wrap it in a special T’nalak.

Giving of abuloy is another tradition practiced in the Philippines. When we held the wake for my sister-in-law, most gave monetary support. But there were some who brought food, agricultural products, and a pig to be butchered and served to the mourners and guests. Others contributed their time by helping cook and singing during the vigil.

One question that is often asked: how much abuloy should one give? I’d say, the grieving family would be grateful for any amount as long as it comes from the heart.

In Benguet, being a closely-knit community, the family of the departed would not need to worry about the funeral arrangements and financial obligations.

The relatives, friends, and members of

There are different funeral traditions throughout the Philippines

the community usually pitch in whatever they can contribute to relieve the burden of the grieving family.

This act of bayanihan has always been present in Filipino cultures. The kindness and generosity that one received during this trying time would be paid forward when others also lose a family member.

On the day of the libing, we wore white. Some cultures traditionally wear black or any somber colors. Wearing white or black during funerals indicates sympathy for the grieving family, respect for the deceased, and a sign of mourning.

Since we were burying our dead in the backyard, the coffin was carried by some of the family members, relatives, and friends after the funeral mass through the front door and towards the backyard where the nitso is.

The carriers make sure that the casket would not touch any part of the house to prevent the spirit of the dead from loitering and bringing misfortune to the family. In other cultures, when a casket hits any object during the funeral, it means another person will die soon. There is also the belief that death in the family comes in three.

Before closing the nitso, we threw flowers wishing for the soul’s safe journey to the Afterlife. A pack filled with personal belongings of the deceased was placed on top of the coffin to help her with her next journey.

After the burial, most mourners do their pagpag, a Filipino pamahiin that says those who attended the funeral or wake should not go straight home unless they want the spirit of the dead to follow them home.

For the next nine days, the bereaved family would do the novena. This period is called pasiyam, culminating on the ninth day with a service followed by a formal meal with family and friends.

This tradition is based on the folk belief that the soul enters the spirit world on the ninth day following death. It would take a year to take off the shroud of mourning and have the babang luksa.

••• Death has never been an easy topic.

It takes a certain courage to accept it as part of life, a journey one must take. But sometimes, when you look at Death in the eye, you’d find a new appreciation for Life.