message.
SOCIAL media was abuzz yesterday that another Cabinet movement was in the offing at the Palace.
Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles, however, denied the rumors that were being floated on socmed.
“No, not true,” she said in a Viber
PRESIDENT Marcos inaugurated the new terminal building of the Clark International Airport in Pam panga Wednesday, saying it was “an other building block” toward turning
the Philippines into the logistics center of Asia.
“We need this, we need more,” the President said. “We have many plans for the air port in Manila (and) we have many plans for
the airports surrounding Manila.”
He said that while some airports such as those in Bulacan and Cavite
were already being built, other exist ing facilities in the regions must al ready be open.
“Let’s not compel everyone to go through Manila,” he said in Filipino. “So they can go direct to Bohol,
By Maricel V. CruzVOTING 289 to 3, the House of Representatives on Wednesday night approved on third and final reading the P5.268-trillion proposed national budget for 2023.
The approval of House Bill (HB) 448 or the General Appropriations Bill (GAB) on second and third reading on the same day was made possible by a certification from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for the urgent passage of the proposed budget for next year.
Speaker Martin Romualdez lauded his colleagues for their valuable con tributions to the swift passage of the GAB and for ensuring that every cen tavo “is spent wisely to implement the programs of the Marcos administra tion aimed at revitalizing the country’s economy amid the lingering ill-effects of the coronavirus pandemic.”
“The expeditious passage of the pro posed 2023 budget is the product of the collective effort of the entire House, in transparent and open proceedings where the majority accorded ample op portunity for the constructive inputs of our friends from the minority bloc,” Romualdez said.
He said the House-approved budget for 2023 remains consistent with the eight-point socio-economic agenda of
By Maricel V. Cruz and Macon Ramos-Araneta
THE House of Representatives and the Senate on Wednesday night rati fied the bicameral committee report
on the SIM Registration bill which, according to Speaker Martin Romual dez, may gain the distinction as the first law to be signed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
“This may be the first of the many
legislative measures that will be signed and enacted into law by President Marcos Jr. in his six years of office,” Romualdez said.
Romualdez said the approval of the measure is timely amid the continuing
THE death toll from Super Typhoon Karding rose to 10 as the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Manage ment Council (NDRRMC) reported two more fatalities Wednesday, one in Baliuag, Bulacan and the other in Ta nay Rizal, both from drowning.
Earlier, five rescuers died in San Miguel, Bulacan, while one person drowned in Cabangan, Zambales, an other died in a motorcycle accident in a flooded street in San Felipe Zam bales, and another was buried in a landslide in Quezon province.
The number of missing climbed to eight, five of whom were fishermen from Mercedes, Camarines Norte. Two were reported missing in Antipo lo, Rizal and one was missing in Pat nanungan, Quezon province.
THE Office of Solicitor General on Wednesday said the International Crimi nal Court (ICC) has yet to rule on the gov ernment’s request to stop its human rights investigation into former President Rod rigo Duterte’s bloody war on drugs.
Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra
said while ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan had opposed the government’s bid, the ICC pre-trial chamber had not ruled on the Philippine request to deny Khan’s motion to resume the investigation into alleged human rights abuses in Du terte’s war on drugs.
Guevarra, who served as secretary of the Department of Justice in the Duterte ad ministration, pointed out that regardless of
the ruling, the government will avail itself of all legal remedies “both domestic and in ternational” while “vigorously” pursuing its own investigation of crimes committed as a result of the war on drugs.
Guevarra issued the statement after Khan said the Philippine government’s arguments against the resumption of the ICC probe have no merit.
proliferation of malicious text messages meant to take advantage of unwary cell phone users and could even pose danger to people’s lives and to public order.
“This Act will not only help promote
CONGRESS on Wednesday ratified the bicameral conference committee report on the bill postponing the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections, originally slated for December this year, to October 2023.
With the House of Representatives and the Senate ratifying the bicameral report, the measure would be sent to Malacañang for President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. to sign into law.
Earlier, the respective bicameral con ference panels of the House and the Senate met to harmonize the disagree ing provisions of House Bill (HB) 4673 and Senate Bill (SB) 1306, which both sought the postponement of the baran gay and SK elections.
The version of the bill approved by the House set the next barangay and SK elections on the first Monday of De cember 2023 while the Senate version slated it for the second Monday of De cember 2023.
A STAPLE dish in Philippine cele brations has been recognized as the second-best street food in the world by an online travel guide.
Lumpiang shanghai garnered a 4.9 rating from the audience of Taste Atlas, which revealed the 50 Best Street Foods glob ally as of September 2022 in a social media post on Wednes day.
A crispy deep-fried Filipino snack
that evolved from Chinese spring rolls, shanghai is the most popu lar variety of lumpia, according to
Facebook posts surfaced yesterday claiming that former Press Secretary Mike Toledo will reportedly join the Marcos administration as presiden tial spokesman.
POSITIVE SIGNAL. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. leads the opening of the new state-of-the-art terminal building at the Clark International Airport -- which he said signals to the world that the Philippines is open for business. Joining the President are (from left) BCDA chairperson Delfin Lorenzana, Transport Secretary Jaime Bautista, Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, Tourism
Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco and Luzon International Premier Airport Development (LIPAD) chairperson Frederick Go.
WARM WELCOME. Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (front left) welcomes Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio before a reception at the Asakasa State Guest House in Tokyo on September 27, 2022, following the state funeral for Japan’s former prime minister Shinzo Abe. AFP
page
WASHINGTON will operate “undaunted and unafraid” throughout Asia, including the Taiwan Strait, US Vice President Kamala Harris said Wednesday as she addressed American troops in Japan.
Speaking after attending Tuesday’s funeral for assassinated former Japanese leader Shinzo Abe, Harris accused China of “disturbing behavior” in the East China Sea and the South China Sea and “provo cations across the Taiwan Strait.”
“The United States believes that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait is an essential feature of a free and open Indo-Pacific,” she said, using Washing ton’s term for the Asia-Pacific region.
“We will continue to fly, sail and op erate, undaunted and unafraid, wher ever and whenever international law allows,” she added.
Beijing claims both democratic Taiwan and the narrow body of water separating the island from mainland China -- one of the world’s busiest shipping channels.
The United States has long used “free dom of navigation” passages through the Taiwan Strait to push back against Chi
nese claims, and Western allies have in creasingly joined these operations.
Harris restated Washington’s long standing opposition to any unilateral attempt by Beijing to take control of Taiwan and pledged ongoing US sup port for the island’s self-defense.
In recent months, US President Joe Biden has said American troops would come to Taiwan’s aid in the event of a Chinese invasion, despite Washing ton’s official policy of “strategic ambi guity” on the matter.
The White House has said there is no change to that policy and Harris did not address Biden’s comments in her re marks to troops on the USS Howard at
the Yokosuka Naval Base outside Tokyo.
She also slammed Russia for “at tempting to annex the territory of an other sovereign nation” in a reference to votes organized by Moscow in oc cupied areas of Ukraine.
And she accused North Korea of threatening regional stability with fresh missile launches.
Washington “does not seek conflict with China,” Harris said, but “we antic ipate continued aggressive behaviour from Beijing as it attempts to unilater ally undermine the status quo.”
Harris leaves Japan later Wednesday for South Korea, where she will visit the Demilitarized Zone. AFP
THE Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) on Wednes day fined Maynilad Water Services Inc. P9.264 million – in the form of bill re bates by November for customers in the southern part of its concession area -- for “unusual and prolonged” service interruptions over several months.
MWSS chief regulator Patrick Lester Ty said the total amount of P9,264,358 will be shared by Maynilad customers who experienced service interruptions from May to July 2022.
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Instead of holding the elections on December 2023, the bicameral confer ence committee reached a consensus to reschedule the barangay and SK polls two months earlier, or on Octo ber 2023.
The harmonized version of the bill provides that “there shall be a syn chronized barangay and sangguniang kabataan elections, which shall be held on the last Monday of October 2023 and every three years thereafter.”
The term of office of officials elected in the 2023 barangay and SK elections shall commence at noon of November 30 next following their election.
As a necessary consequence of the postponement, the measure contained a hold-over provision.
it stated that “until their successors shall have been duly elected and quali fied, all incumbent barangay and SK of ficial shall remain in office unless soon er removed or suspended for cause.”
Likewise, such officials serving as ex officio members of the sangguniang bay an, sangguniang panglungsod, or sanggu niang panlalawigan shall continue to serve in such capacity until the next barangay and SK elections, unless removed in ac cordance with existing rules or for cause.
Funds necessary for the imple mentation of the law postponing the barangay and SK elections shall be taken from the appropriations of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) under the General Appropriations Act (GAA) or supplementary appro priations that Congress may subse quently approve.
Lawmakers had called for the post ponement of the barangay and SK elections for various reasons, includ ing the use of the P8.4-billion al location for the polls to address the problems related to the COVID-19 pandemic and to give the country time to heal after the divisive 2022 national elections, among others.
CHIEF Justice Alexander Gesmun do on Wednesday said the Supreme Court will “not take it sitting down” if there are attacks against judges and judiciary employees.
Gesmundo made the statement after former Communications Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy red-tagged a judge for a decision favoring the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army,
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the Marcos administration to achieve sustainable growth.
The Speaker took pride in the record ac complishment of the House of Representa tives in the first 23 session days of the 19th Congress, which convened last July 25.
“We rolled up our sleeves and worked hand in hand to ensure collective and re sponsive action upon all pending bills and resolutions, including priority bills in the legislative agenda of our President,” he said.
“Our mission from Day One is clear: Help resuscitate the pandemic-battered economy and make economic trans formation the main engine to uplift the lives of the Filipino people,” he said in remarks before the House adjourned its session for the first recess of Congress.
Romualdez said the House wrapped up its plenary budget deliberations in just seven days.
He expressed confidence that “our good senators will also act with dis patch in having this most important piece of legislation approved in order for both houses to ratify the budget bill in time for signature of the President be fore the end of the fiscal year.”
The President called for the swift pas
Toledo has yet to issue a statement to confirm or deny his alleged return to the Palace.
Cruz-Angeles, for her part, has yet to be scheduled by the powerful Com mission on Appointments.
She will have to be nominated again by the President after she was bypassed by the CA before Congress adjourns on October 1.
Toledo, incumbent head of Gov ernment Relations and Public Affairs of the Metro Pacific Investments Corp., served as press secretary and spokesperson of former President Joseph Estrada.
responsibility in the end users of SIMs for electronic devices but also provide our law enforcers the necessary tools to resolve crimes involving telecommuni cation devices,” Romualdez said.
Romualdez is the main author of the SIM Registration Act approved by the House (House Bill No. 14), with Reps. Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” Marcos and Tingog party-list Reps. Yedda Marie Romualdez and Jude Acidre as co-authors.
According to Romualdez, the expedi tious approval of the bill by the House and the Senate bicameral panel is the product of a new coordinating mecha nism that he and Senate President Juan
“Just like before, when there’s a ne cessity for the court to make a state ment, warranted under the circum stances, the Supreme Court will not take it sitting down and express its view. Of course, avoiding pre-judging, in case a case should reach the court,” Gesmundo said.
“Basically, the Supreme Court will always be there to protect its judges, justices, court employees, and everyone in the judiciary,” he added.
Meanwhile, a legislator said
sage of the 2023 budget “to address the need to maintain continuous government operations following the end of the cur rent fiscal year, strengthen efforts to re spond more effectively to the COVID-19 pandemic, and support initiatives towards national economic recovery.”
With the approval of the GAB on final reading, the House met its self-imposed deadline to terminate the deliberations on the 2023 budget prior to the adjourn ment of its session from October 1 until November 6, 2022.
It took the House barely six weeks to ap prove the GAB, from the time the Depart ment of Budget and Management (DBM) submitted the National Expenditure Pro gram (NEP) on August 22 to last night.
Romualdez acknowledged the cru cial role of House Majority Leader and Rules Committee chair Manuel Jose M. Dalipe, Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co, chairman of the House Commit tee on Appropriations, and senior vice chairperson of the House committee on appropriations and Marikina City Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo in spearheading the passage of the 2023 budget.
He also lauded the deputies and vari ous teams that managed the flow of de liberations in the plenary.
Meanwhile, a party-list lawmaker called on Congress to restore the requested budget
Miguel Zubiri helped create in partner ship with PLLO Secretary, Mark Lean dro “Dong” Mendoza.
He expressed confidence it will not suf fer the same fate as the SIM Card Reg istration Act that then President Rodrigo Duterte vetoed in April this year over a provision on social media that may give rise to intrusions and violations of consti tutionally protected rights.
“This bill no longer contains the controversial provision that orders the mandatory registration of social media accounts,” Romualdez said.
Senator Grace Poe, for her part, said the reconciled parts of the bill were all “improvements.”
“As the text capital of the world, we hold precious our means to communicate and an yone who abuses or misemploy the system
Wednesday Badoy is no longer con nected with the National Task Force to End Local Community Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).
Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco, who sponsored the budget of the Office of the President (OP) during yesterday’s budget deliberation at the House of Representatives, made the disclosure in reply to members of the Makabayan Bloc, who asked if Badoy and Jeffrey Celis or “Ka Eric” are still connected with the OP.
of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) for its “Libreng Sakay” Service Contracting program and the proposed allocation of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to ad dress its backlog on plate numbers.
During his interpellation on the pro posed 2023 DOTr budget, AGRI Partylist Rep. Wilbert Lee cited the need for the Libreng Sakay program, stating that scrapping it “during these challenging times would be a disservice to the mil lions of Filipino commuters who con tinue to benefit from the program.”
“The Libreng Sakay program exten sively helps millions of our fellow Fili pinos. I am aware that this is not a sus tainable program for our riding public but rising oil prices have continued to exacerbate our existing transport crisis since the pandemic occurred,” Lee said.
“On top of that, the peso continues to weaken. A weaker peso leads to higher prices of goods and overall inflation.
Once the cost of goods increases, ordi nary citizens spend less on the necessi ties and food items,” Lee added.
The lawmaker from Sorsogon said he will introduce the amendments neces sary to restore the P12 billion needed to continue the Libreng Sakay, reiterat ing that the program should continue at least until the end of 2023 for the ben efit of the millions of commuters.
for their own fraudulent and unlawful inter est must be traceable and subsequently held accountable,” said Poe, head of the Senate contingent to the bicameral panel.
Under the bill, all SIM sold are in a de activated state, and end-users are required to register their SIMs with the concerned Public Telecommunication Entity (PTE) as a pre-requisite to activation.
All existing SIM subscribers are required to register with their respective PTEs within 180 days from the effectivity of the law.
However, the DICT is allowed to ex tend the registration for a period not ex ceeding 120 days.
Failure to register the SIM within the prescribed period will result in auto matic deactivation and may only be re activated after it is registered in compli ance with the requirements of the law.
It was the second-biggest fine im posed on Maynilad and was calculated as 25% of the cost needed to fix the is sues, which involve the Putatan Water Treatment Plant (PWTP).
Ty said MWSS investigations showed Maynilad was unable to provide 24/7 water supply at a minimum pressure of 7 pounds per square inch (psi) for at least 15 days to several customers in Las Piñas City, Muntinlupa City, Parañaque City, and the Cavite province during the period.
The MWSS RO earlier this year al ready penalized Maynilad for unusual and prolonged service interruptions within the PWTP supply zone, equiva lent to a rebate of P323 in the April bill.
“The nature, scope, and other details of the rebate program will further be discussed in October during a public information drive which will be con ducted by the MWSS-RO (Regulatory Office),” Ty said in a virtual briefing.
Maynilad provides water and waste water services to residents in most parts of the City of Manila; northern and western parts of Quezon City; western parts of Makati City; and the cities of Caloocan, Pasay, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Valenzuela, Muntinlupa, Navotas, and Malabon in Metro Manila. Rio N. Araja
direct to Cebu, direct to Cagayan de Oro, and direct to Davao, so they no longer have to pass through Manila.”
Marcos said the new airport terminal signaled the country’s commitment to business and more investments.
The Office of the Press Secretary said the 110,000 square-meter build ing at Clark airport, which can accom modate about 8 million passengers yearly, aims to decongest the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
“It is state-of-the-art, and this is one of the things that we will continue to do in the future to bring you all to come and be partners with the Philippines to help the lives of our people, to help the Phil ippine economy,” Marcos said.
“This facility is essentially a very strong signal that yes, indeed, we are open for business,” the President said.
“The Philippines is an ideal place to in vest and the government is ready to go the extra mile to nurture strong partnerships with potential investors wanting to put their money in the country,”Marcos said.
“We are probably the most vibrant economy in Southeast Asia, and we understand the requirements and the needs of our potential investors, and we will do everything so that that partnership becomes to the advantage of... the private sector, the public sec tor, and the people,” Marcos said.
Marcos said he was confident that the new passenger terminal and other public-private partnership (PPP) pro jects would encourage more investors to do business in the Philippines.
The NDRRMC said damage to infrastructure has reached P23 mil lion, most of it in damaged roads and bridges in the Ilocos Region, Mima ropa and the Cordillera Administra tive Region (CAR).
CAR suffered P19.6 million in dam age, while Mimaropa had P3 million in infrastructure losses. The Ilocos Re gion lost P450,000.
The damage assessment was incom plete as the authorities focused on relief and clearing operations.
But the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) estimated damage at a much higher P135.09 mil lion, with P34.71 million of that in dam aged roads, P22.39 million in damaged bridges, and P77.9 million in damaged flood-control structures.
In the Cordillera Administrative Re gion (CAR), damage to infrastructure was placed at P19.6 million; Region 2 at P9.11 million; Region 3 at P91.38 million; Region 4-B at P3 million; and Region 6 at P12 million.
Five national roads remained closed to traffic, including Kennon Road in Benguet; Cabagan-Sta. Maria Over flow Bridge in Isabela; Nueva EcijaAurora Road, Diteki River Detour Road; Baliwag Candaba – Sta. Ana Road in Brgy. San Agustin, Candaba, Pampanga; and Hamtic-Bia-an-EgañaSibalom Road, Egaña Bridge in Brgy. Egaña-Buhang, Sibalom, Antique due to a wrecked steel bridge.
The DPWH also reported three na tional roads with limited access in Gapan Ft. Magsaysay in Brgy. Padolina, Gen eral Tinio; Candaba-Sana Miguel Road in Pampanga; and the Angeles-PoracFloridablanca Dinalupihan Road, Man cantian Bridge in Pampanga.
The Marcos administration previously said the tribunal lacks jurisdiction, the al leged crimes are insufficiently grave to warrant further action, and the govern ment has investigated and prosecuted the alleged crimes or is currently doing so.
Guevarra also said the OSG is stud
Taste Atlas.
“Even though lumpia appears in nu merous variations, the Shanghai ver sion is characterized by a savory fill ing which combines ground pork or beef with carrots, onions, various sea
ying if there is a need to respond to Khan’s remarks.
Last year, the ICC authorized a full investigation into Duterte’s drug war, saying it appeared to be an illegitimate and systematic attack on civilians.
In reaction to the probe, Duterte pulled the Philippines out of the ICC by withdrawing from the Rome Statute.
sonings, and (occasionally) shrimps,” it added.
Lumpiang shanghai is usual ly sold in street stalls across the country and is also served during special occasions with a sweet and sour sauce.
The best lumpiang shanghai can be found at The Aristocrat Restau rant in Malate, Manila, Taste Atlas
Remulla said the Philippines is no longer a member of the ICC and that it has a functioning democracy.
“As far as we are concerned, we are not members of the ICC anymore and he (Khan) cannot have any compulsory process in our country if he wants to in vestigate what he wants to investigate,” he said.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Re mulla, meanwhile, said there is no need for the Philippine government to re spond to Khan’s statement.
recommended.
Besting shanghai on the list is Roti canai, a traditional Malaysian panfried flatbread made with flour, wa ter, eggs, and fat. In third to fifth were Japan’s karaage, Vietnam’s banh mi, and Indian’s paratha.
Last June, Taste Atlas also ranked Filipino food as the 19th best cuisine in the world.
THE ROAD TO LEARNING. For many a pupil in the rural areas like these two youngster from Barangay Ararampang, Balaoan, La Union, the road to learning is across rice paddies that sometimes turn dangerously slippery after the rains such as those dumped by typhoon Karding over the weekend, leaving a wide swathe of destruction in some provinces in mainland Luzon. Revoli Cortez
IN a bid to boost investor confidence, the Quezon City government is hosting a business investment summit to present its ease-of-doingbusiness initiatives and plans to enhance its business climate.
The summit, to be held at the Novotel Manila in Cubao on Oct. 7, is also meant to be a venue for engagement with the business leaders to seek their views on policies and programs for the mutual benefit of both the local government and the private sector.
With the theme “QC is Future Ready,” the conference aims to bring together investors, business leaders, business associations, chambers of commerce, foreign dignitaries and city government officials.
“We want to achieve three things at this event. We want to generate investments for our city, build partnerships favorable to all QCitizens, and we want to make QuezonCitythetop-of-mindpreferred investment destination,” Mayor Joy Belmonte said.
During her first term, Belmonte and the Quezon City government received 83 awards and recognitions from the national government, private sector, and the international community.
While she is grateful for the recognitions, Belmonte said the real measure of success is the number of Quezon City residents whose lives have improved under her watch.
She is now pursuing five major thrusts to foster a robust business climate and increase investor confidence. Rio N. Araja
THE Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor (PCUP has promised to extend assistance to residents of Barangay Sauyo affected by the Segment 8.2 infrastructure development project that will connect the South LuzonExpressway and the North Luzon Expressway.
Commissioner for the National Capital Region Rey Galupo, along with Field Operations Division assistant chief Dennis Protasio and area coordinator Ed Labaco met with the officers and members of the Informal Settlers Association (ISA) and the Nagkaisang Mamamayan ng Barangay Sauyo (NaMaBaSa), led by Mirasol Abacco and Sigfredo Novilla.
Galupo said he learned about the sorry state and request of the affected residents for help to enhance the viability of their livelihood projects involving handicraft products and local food items, particularly homemade noodles, and means of realizing their urban farming plans.
He vowed to do his best in providing the much-needed aid so that they would be able to continue with their livelihood efforts and obtain a dignified life.
“We can see the actual coordination with our urban poor. Through this, we get to know their real sentiments and needs so the government could respond well,” he said.
“Rest assured that the assistance we are giving comes from the heart and is within the agency’s mandate in line with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s goal to improve the lives of the people,” he stressed. Rio N. Araja
By Joel E. Zurbano
GOVERNMENT agents assigned at the Ninoy Aquino I ternational Airport (NAIA) and Port of Clark have intercept ed smuggled shipments of cocaine and shabu worth P27.5 million from Brazil and London.
Two separate operations conducted by agents of the Bureau of Customs, the NAIA Inter-Agency Drug Interdiction Task Group, and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency also resulted in the arrest of three suspects, including an American tourist identified as Stephen Joseph Szuhar.
Szuhar was caught carrying a luggage containing 3.7 kilos of cocaine worth P19.6 million.
The suspect arrived at the Manila airport from Doha, Qatar Tuesday night via Qatar Airways flight QR 932 from Brazil.
In Clark, the Bureau of Customs formed a joint team with PDEA to conduct a controlled delivery operation in Bacoor City in Cavite following the arrival of a shipment containing shabu worth P7.87 million.
The authorities arrested two claimants of the shipment, but the suspects were not identified.
The shipment, which was declared as “unsolicited gift-baby soft toys for personal use,” arrived on Sept. 26 from Victoria, London.
utility vehicles (PUVs) must with limits on standing passengers under pain of P5,000-fine, the Land Transportation Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said on Wednesday.
LTFRB board member Mercy Jane Paras-Leynes, in a television interview, said a maximum number of standing passengers has been set for PUVs “If they are caught violating or exceeding the number of maximum passengers, or disregarding the public health protocols, they may be
TRAIN VS. CRANE.
The Philippine National Railways on Sunday lost a train which smashed into a crawler crane that partially blocked the track in Antipolo Street, Sampaloc, Manila. The collision sent the train’s pilot, his conductor, and a 68-year-old woman passenger to the hospital for treatment of injuries.
fined P5,000 for the violation of their franchise terms,” Leynes said.
Based on Memorandum Circular No. 2022-070, passenger buses and modern public utility jeepney (MPUJs) Class 2 will be allowed to have standing passengers subject to the following conditions:
a. For Low Entry/Low FloorPUBs, a maximum of 15 standing passengers are allowed, with at least one person apart;
b. For Coach-type PUBs, a maximum of 10 standing passengers are allowed, with at least one person apart and;
c. For MPUJs-Class 2, a maximum of five standing passengers are allowed, with at least one person apart.
Leynes said the LTFRB may still change the limitations depending on the development of the COVID-19 situation in the country.
Prior to the operation, the Port of Clark placed the shipment under physical examination after X-ray scanning inspector noticed a suspicious image.
AN AMERICAN septuagenarian was arrested for allegedly trying smuggle into the country through the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) 3.7 kilos of cocaine worth P19.6 million.
The Philippine Drug Enforce ment Agency (PDEA) on Wednes day identified the suspect as Ste phen Joseph Szuhar, 75, a retired casino manager.
Szuhar arrived at the Customs International Arrival Area in NAIA Terminal 3 at around 8 p.m. Tuesday via Qatar Airways Flight QR 932 from Doha, Qatar.
Subsequent screening and inspection of Szuhar’s luggage yielded the illegal substance.
Also seized from the suspect were one black luggage containing assorted clothes, several pieces of carbon paper, and three pieces of improvised pouches made of packaging tape each containing a white powdering substance.
The seized pieces of evidence have been submitted to the PDEA Laboratory for further processing.
THE Philippine government is trying to recover P1.9 billion in deposit for the purchase of 17 Russian-made helicop ters, but was cancelled following the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war.
This was disclosed by Department of National Defense (DND) officer-incharge Undersecretary Jose Faustino Jr. during a budget hearing of the Senate Committee on Finance.
Faustino said a review commit tee was working on the termination of the transactions for 16 choppers worth over P12 billion.
“We are now exerting effort to (re cover) the amount through diplomatic channels, considering that the pro ject was implemented through a government-to-government procure ment,” Faustino said.
A SUSPECT in the attack on an el derly Filipina in Yonkers, New York last March entered a guilty plea during his arraignment.
Tammel Esco, 42, suspect in the assault on the 68-years-old Filipina woman, entered a plea agreement at the District Attorney’s Office.
Esco was identified as the attack er in the incident caught on CCTV footage inside an apartment building in Yonkers last March 11.
The victim was punched 125 times, kicked seven times, and was spat on by the suspect.
As a result, the victim suffered fa cial bone fracture, brain bleeding and multiple contusions, and had bruises on her face.
Responding police arrested the
suspect.
Charges of attempted murder and one count of assault under hate crime, a violent felony, were filed against the suspect.
In a statement, District Attorney Miriam E. Rocah said justice was given to the victim in the attack.
“Today’s agreement secured jus tice for the brave victim who endured the shocking attack and its aftermath and for a community impacted by the trauma of this hate driven violence,” Rocah said.
The court scheduled the sentencing on Esco in November.
Aside from possibly facing 17 and a half years of prison, the suspect may also have to undergo post-release supervision for five years.
“The previous administration deemed that it was no longer feasible to pursue the project given the major sanctions imposed on Russia that affected its financial transactions,” he added.
Senator Ronald Dela Rosa inquired about the government’s efforts to recover the P1.9-billion advance payment made under the Duterte
administration.
“It is processing the contract termination under the terms of reference for the project and in con sonance with the guidelines of termination of the contract under RA 1984,” Faustino said
The Philippine government made the deposit in January before the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Text by Willie Casas COVID-19 VACCINATION. Frontline workers and other employees of the Skyline Hospital and Medical Center in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan get their booster shots during the Bakunahang Bayan: Pinaslakas Vaccination Drive. John Mark PinedaQC to host business investment summit
SENATOR Risa Hontiveros on Wednesday said alleged “ghost schol ars” under the Commission on Higher Education’s (CHED) scholarship pro gram is a serious concern that should be investigated.
She said the scholarship program is mandated by the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act or Republic Act 10931.
According to Hontiveros, her office received complaints from almost 400 students who said they have not received their education subsidy. “included here were complaints about ‘ghost scholars’ who got tuition reimbursement from students who had already graduated.
“So kung hindi ang mga bata, sino ang totoong nagka-cash in?” Hontiveros said.
During the Senate budget hearing of CHED, Hontiveros also questioned the agency on its defective Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between UniFAST, and the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) that led to P1 billion in parked funds since 2019 and prevented the implementation of the program.
“You know there’s a problem in the MOA but why did you not immediately send back the P1 billion allocated for this to National Treasury? “ she said She related that the backlog of CHED in the release of money has a backlog of up to three years.
The senator also brought up screenshots emailed to her office of the official UniFAST NCR and Region 10 Facebook pages whose admin urged students to post #IStandWithCHEDUniFast after the senator called for an investigation of the agency’s P7 billion worth of ‘questionable releases’. Comments underneath the post show more complaints from the students.
She said there is a real climate of fear among students, and “we at the Senate should find out who is instigating it.”
By Rey E. Requejo
THE Philippines has expressed deep concern over the looming “new arms race,” including the use of nuclear weapons, amid the ongoing military conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
This prompted the Department of Foreign Affairs through Undersecretary for Multilateral Affairs and International Economic Relations Carlos Sorreta to encourage other members of the United Nations to help each other “to take a step closer in advancing our common goal” due to a “very challenging” geopolitical environment the world is currently facing.
“As what President (Ferdinand) Marcos conveyed at the General Assembly last week, ‘unity is possible even in the most trying circumstances,’” Sorreta said, in a Philippine statement he delivered during the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons at the UN Headquarters in New York on Monday.
Sorreta stressed that “nuclear weapons do not promote security” because “no aspiration or ambition could ever justify their use or possession.”
SENATOR Grace Poe is supporting calls for a possible ban on Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) due to rising crimes related to the industry.
She also said the social costs of POGOs are “too high,” noting that there have been many POGOrelated abductions and decreasing tax collections from the industry
A recent report said more than 70 foreigners allegedly detained at POGO site in Cainta have been rescued. Authorities are also set to deport 40,000 Chinese workers in online gaming crackdown.
“These are questions that we really have to consider before we make a categorical decision on whether we should ban them or not,” she said,
RICE STOCK. A retail store at tendant arranges several sacks of rice at a storage in Quezon City. The Department of Agriculture said the typhoon devastated 141,312 hectares of agricultural areas and 72,231 metric tons of agriculture products in the Cordillera Admin istrative Region, Ilocos Region, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, and Bicol.
Manny Palmero
quoted by an ABS-CBN News report. “But my leanings now, unless otherwise they could improve during our hearing with the [Senate] Ways and Means [Committee] next week, is the social costs are a bit too high.”
She said the country should consider “creative ways” to generate income.
“We cannot support something just because we earn from it. We should also ask, ‘What are we exchanging for this?” the lawmaker said. Poe also dismissed concerns the total ban would only drive these online gambling operators underground.
Finance Secretary Benjamin Dioknosaid earlier this month that revenues from POGOs peaked in 2020 at P7.2 billion but fell sharply last year to P3.9 billion.
David Leechiu, chief executive of Manila-based Leechiu Property Consultants, in the ABS-CBNNews report, said the Philippine economy could lose an estimated P200 billion in rental revenue and salaries if POGOs were expelled.
A Senate panel will set a hearing next week on the economic impact of banning POGOs.
Deputy Speaker Raymond Democrito Mendoza of partylist group Trade Union Congress of the Philippines meanwhile on Wednesday appealed to the government to apply fair and equal treatment to POGO workers. Maricel V. Cruz
DEPARTMENT of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Susan Ople expresses her deepest thanks and gratitude to the House of Representatives for its approval yesterday of the department’s proposed P15.2 billion 2023 budget.
Quezon Representative David “Jayjay” Suarez defended the appropriation which proposes a budget of P3.5Bn for the Office of the Secretary and the various units and bureaus under its supervision. The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), an attached agency of the DMW, meanwhile will receive the remaining P11.7Bn of the department’s budget.
“It is an honor to sponsor and defend the budget of the most infant of departments in the government, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW). We often refer to our Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) as our modernday heroes for the remittances that they send and continue to bring life to our economy. It is only right that we have a department that will truly cater, fight for the rights of our OFWs,” Suarez noted in his opening statement.
REP. Richelle Singson of the Ako Ilocano Ako party-list urged Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista to provide funding for the proposed P340-million Vigan Airport Development Project in Vigan City, Ilocos Sur under the 2023 Department of Transportation (DOTr) budget.
In a letter to Speaker Martin G. Romualdez and Appropriations Committee chairperson, Rep. Elizaldy Co, Singson also appealed to her fellow legislators to support her call.
SENATOR Robin Padilla is pushing for a bigger budget for the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) after its P510 million proposed budget for 2023 was trimmed by 69 percent.
Padilla lamented the budget allocated for MinDA. “We have seen the proposed budgets for Luzon and
Visayas, and they are considerable. But for Mindanao, the budget is quite small. This is very sad,” he said.
“As you said, peace is very important. And we know the key to peace is to address the cause of chaos by ensuring equitable development,” Padilla said.
At the hearing of the Senate finance subcommittee presided by Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, MinDA Usec Janet
Lopez said their original proposed budget was P510,095 million, but the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) approved only P158,958 million for next year.
“For 2023, the National Expenditure Program allotted P158.958 million for MinDA -P197.27 million lower than the agency’s budget of P38.312 million for 2022.”
THE House of Representatives has congratulated the Jesus is Lord (JIL) Church Worldwide led by evangelist and Citizens Battle Against Corruption (CIBAC) party-list Rep. Eduardo Villanueva on its 44th Founding Anniversary, saying the organization “deserves special recognition from the Filipino people for its ministry of healing and inspiration that promotes Christian values and tradition.”
The congratulatory message is contained in House Resolution (HR) 420 introduced by Speaker Martin G. Romualdez, House Majority Leader and Zamboanga City Rep. Manuel Jose
Dalipe, House Minority Leader and 4Ps party-list Rep. Marcelino Libanan, senior Deputy Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand Alexander A. Marcos, Tingog party-list Reps. Yedda Marie K. Romualdez and Jude A. Acidre and adopted by the House Tuesday evening.
“Four decades on, the JIL Church Worldwide stays committed to fulfilling its apostolic and prophetic mission in the country … This year’s anniversary theme, ‘Arise and Build,’ encourages the members of JIL Church Worldwide to contribute to the creation of a resilient and progressive nation by spreading hope and positivity in the midst of crises and suffering,” the resolution read.
The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) estimated the budgetary allocation that will be needed for the immediate Construction of Control Tower Building, Power Supply, and Supply/Installation of Communications and MET Equipment, is P120 million; and for Extension/Widening of Runway for P220 million.
The Vigan Airport Development Project was launched on April 8, 2018. The CAAP said other vital components of the project were already started, including the expansion of the Passenger Terminal Building, construction of the Administration Building, and improvement of Vehicle Parking Area, and now nearing 88.24 percent completion. The procurement of the runway site acquisition is also ongoing.
“I can understand why there is a growing public disappointment on the matter. After eagerly expecting the completion of the improvement of the Vigan Airport, the budgetary allocation was not included in FY 2023 National Expenditure Program (NEP) in spite of the DOTr proposing it to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM),” Singson said. Maricel V. Cruz
Singson seeks more cash for Vigan airportCOURTESY CALL. Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin pays a courtesy call on House Speaker Martin Romualdez at the Speaker’s Office in the House of Representatives. Ver Noveno
WE EXTEND our deepest condolences to the families of the five rescuers who perished while performing their duties at the height of the typhoon Karding in Luzon on Monday.
The five rescuers of the Bulacan Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office did not survive after being swept away by floodwaters in the town of San Miguel, Bulacan.
I’m sure the local government units (LGUs) are already giving all the necessary assistance to the aggrieved families. In addition, the regional Field Office of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is also making available any form of assistance to the victims’ families.
Various forms of help from goodhearted individuals have also poured in to help the families recover from the tragedy.
We honor such heroic deeds by rescuers who go out of their way to save the lives of fellow Filipinos.
On the other hand, it is fortunate for the rest of us in Luzon that the super typhoon moved out of the Philippines area of responsibility immediately but not without costing P1.2 billion damage.
The DSWD on Wednesday released over P22.7 million in relief assistance to typhoon victims.
As of Sept. 28, we have provided more than P22.7 million worth of food and non-food items (FNIs) as resource augmentation to concerned LGUs.
Although this is not the time to blame anyone for such disasters, we should be constantly reminded that destruction of the natural environment such as the forests in the mountains cause the flash floods in the lowlands.
Also, such destruction of our greeneries aggravates the effects of climate change.
We honor such heroic deeds by rescuers who go out of their way to save the lives of fellow Filipinos
In fact, protecting and conserving the environment can be our way to honor the memory of the heroic five rescuers of Bulacan and all other rescuers and volunteers who previously made the ultimate sacrifice.
No less than President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. raised the concern about climate change when he spoke before the recent United Nations General Assembly as he urged international cooperation to combat its ill-effects.
We have to seriously consider these issues as they will surely affect the future generations to come.
arms of Xi Jinping.
A former high government official invited me to a bet: as to where the president would first visit, officially that is -- Washington or Beijing?
I bet on Beijing. He says it’s DC.
MALACANANG is very happy with the week-long sojourn of Pres. Marcos Jr. in New York.
While the main purpose was to address the UN General Assembly, a usually hohum event, and more of an annual junket for heads of state to the city that never sleeps, the president was able to squeeze in talks with several personages, from the super senior Pres. Biden to the supra senior Henry Kissinger.
He also met with the business community leaders, many of whose firms have been here for some seven decades, even more.
Some have since transferred their manufacturing operations to Indonesia or Thailand, leaving just a marketing arm in our country. Will the assurances of our president get them to expand here?
Or will buying treasuries be safer haven while the Federal Reserve Board is on an interest hike binge?
The answer must be simple: not yet; not now.
For unfortunately that is how the whole world economy is in these days and in the months and perhaps another year to come: wait and see, and, meanwhile, look inwards.
The plunge in our exchange rate versus the US dollar is in fact an American sponsored devaluation which, to a great extent, exacerbates another US sponsored inflation. The other day, the peso hit a record low of 58.99 to the mighty dollar.
Whenever heads of state visit rich countries, they should remind themselves of that successful 80s marketing slogan of a diner chain in the US -- Denny’s.
“Where’s the beef?” they taunted the competition in TV ads, meanwhile showing generous portions of their soso steak astride a mountain of French fries.
In New York, we got ladles of promises, but where’s the beef?
Predictably, as soon as the president got back, the Chinese ambassador paid him visit, perhaps to reiterate his government’s invitation for Marcos Jr. to come to Beijing, and into the open (?)
Well, Biden met the president in New York, on the sidelines of their common hegira to East Side Manhattan. But not in DC, and not officially.
I think I will win this bet. It well might be Beijing next. But wait: before he goes, lesser officialdom should ask the Chinese -- where’s the beef?
As for the US of A, two things militate against an official visit these days: Primero, no hay premium beef to serve at the rate their economy is going; and Segundo, there will be midterm elections this November that keeps Biden and the Democrats in tenterhooks.
Now that the money rainfall is drying up in the Chinese economic clouds, asking for the beef might result in sukiyaki-thin slices
And for Beijing, right after the third coronation of Xi, a state visit by the Philippine president should be a “harmonious” (China’s favorite adjective) occasion.
But just a reminder, looking at President Duterte’s five-year bromance with Xi.
Before jumping aboard a jet to the celestial capital, Pres. Marcos Jr. should ask “where’s the beef?” and “when will it arrive?” Baka naman nga-nga ulit?
Just do not be surprised when the Chinese hosts ask back: “It’s your fault. Your bureaucracy asks too many questions, and you act too slow.”
Remember that Chinese saying, “When the rains pour, bring out your basins.”
Former Chinese ambassador Zhao kept complaining about our slow absorptive capacity.
Now that the money rainfall is drying up in the Chinese economic clouds, asking for the beef might result in
THE the wake of persistent reports of a spike in kidnapping cases involving Chinese nationals working in Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), there’s been a growing clamor for the new administration to close down these controversial gaming sites altogether.
IN
It’s not just the kidnapping angle, however, that’s giving authorities a king-sized headache.
The POGOs, staffed by Chinese na tionals and catering mostly to their com patriots back home, are also alleged to be engaged in human trafficking, bring ing in undocumented Chinese workers and harboring those with expired visas and overstaying in the country.
In addition, some POGOs are be lieved to be operating illegally since they do not have the required licenses and permits from the government. Oth ers are also said to be evading the pay ment of the correct taxes.
Given all this, Finance Secretary Ben jamin Diokno is said to be amenable to the idea of closing down all POGOs in the country.
Recently, lawmakers, including Sen ate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, Sena tor Grace Poe, Manila 6th District Rep. Bienvenido Abante and Iloilo 1st Dis
Some POGOs are believed to be operating illegally since they do not have the required licenses and permits from the government
trict Rep. Janette Garin, also expressed support for sending POGOs packing.
Among the reasons they cited was that the revenues collected by the government from POGOs have not been enough to justify their continued operations.
On the other hand, Albay Rep. Joey Salceda has warned that a total ban on POGOs because of recent kidnappings and illegal activities involving Chinese nationals might be harmful to the coun try’s economy.
The lawmaker, who chairs the House ways and means committee, described the suggestion to close down all POGOs as akin to burning down a house “just to kill the rat inside.”
For Salceda, “a blanket ban on a spe cific sector, when there are laws that al ready exist to prevent abuses in any kind of business, will be seen as arbitrary… My stand is for the government to wield the full weight of the law against illegal gaming operations. But our policy can
not be to give up an entire industry just because there are bad actors. All indus tries have bad actors.”
His suggestion is to keep POGOs within zones “ring-fenced from the rest of the country.” New licenses may be granted in these zones, but existing li censes will be allowed only to complete their leases. Any offshore gaming that operates outside such zones will be con sidered illegal.
He argued that the administrative and support staff of POGOs are Filipinos, and a sudden downturn in office oc cupancy will kill jobs and cost at least P18.9 billion in rental income from of fices, and P28.6 billion in housing rent.
The lawmaker’s stand in defense of POGOs is likely to be given due con sideration by the national government, especially since it needs all the resourc es it can generate to pay off huge debts from the past administration’s COV ID-19 response.
Meantime, the administration should do what needs to be done to rationalize POGO operations. The Justice Department, for in stance, wants illegal POGO workers to be summarily deported for overstaying.
The Chinese Embassy in Manila is backing the national government’s move to crack down on crimes related to POGOs.
President Marcos Jr. and the Cabinet should study the matter carefully and weigh both the economic, political and legal repercussions of continued POGO presence in the country.
does not leave much to the imagination as to its meaning.
As we often hear, we cannot have our cake and eat it too.
HE WENT, he saw but did he conquer?
By all accounts, it would seem that PBBM’s trip to the United States was a resounding success.
He met with an enthusiastic Filipino community in New Jersey, delivered his speech at the United Nations General Assembly and met with US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, two of our most impor tant partners.
According to Senate President Miguel Zubiri, the President hit a home run. Even the President said upon ar rival that his trip was successful.
We cannot at the moment quantify how much PBBM was able to accom plish because, as the President himself said, the agreements will still have to be operationalized and that takes time.
All the optics during his stay in New York, however, were such that his team could not have asked for a better result.
In his UNGA speech, he was in his element. His speech was eloquently de livered and he represented the country very well indeed. It is as if he has been preparing for such an occasion for a long time.
The US is, of course, his old stomp ing ground as he reminisced the fact that he first met the First Lady in New York.
One big reason for his trip was his meeting with the US President which is important to both countries.
Not only in terms of attracting Ameri can investments but also with regard to our defense relationship with the coun try which was put on hold by the last administration.
What made PBBM’s trip doubly sig nificant were the statements that came from him and US President Joe Biden.
The statement of President PBMM saying he cannot foresee a future for the country without the US as a partner was powerful and so unequivocal that it
sukiyaki-thin slices.
But who knows? After his third coronation, President Xi might be more generous. For after all, he and he alone, calls the shots in his country. Sukiyakithin can become stroganoff slices. Thank the celestials for their tender mercies.
***
But on the night after his homecoming, a rude welcome brought Karding visiting Central Luzon. It is as if the heavens rained on the Malacanang parade. We rename the international brand of
For people who believe they can remain aloof to world events, they should learn a lesson from what happened to some countries in the last two World Wars
On the part of US President Joe Biden, his response was that US defense of the Philippines being ironclad was more than what we can ever hope for.
The US President also mentioned the US wanting to recalibrate our relation ship which became somewhat rocky during the last administration due to our former President’s pivot to China.
But how should all these words be in terpreted?
Should we take them to mean that there will now be changes in some Phil ippine policy decisions on foreign af fairs as well as defense?
Well, the short answer is that we have to wait and see because nothing is defi nite yet.
For one, when all these words were being reported, one official here was also issuing statements to the effect that we will continue to be a friend to all and an enemy to none.
People seem to forget that our country entered into a military defense alliance with the US, which means that we are bound by the provisions of that treaty that we signed.
It is not a one-way ticket on the part of the United States to come to our de fense when we are invaded.
typhoons when they enter the Philippine area of responsibility. Noru became Karding.
It used to be the nasty practice of our meteorologists to give female names to typhoons, until gender sensitivity brought about a level of political correctness.
Although naming Yolanda in lieu of Haiyan in 2013 did not stop it from becoming the strongest typhoon in human memory. Mercifully Karding did not tarry, and the Sierra Madre blunted
If we really believe that we do not have enemies and every country is our friend, then what is the point in entering into military alliances?
I hate to think that what we are do ing is what we call in our vernacular Balimbing because that is the interpre tation that one can make with what we are doing.
We should preserve our self-respect so that other countries will believe us. We have to make up our minds on where we should be with and who our real friends are.
For people who believe they can re main aloof to world events, they should learn a lesson from what happened to some countries in the last two World Wars.
The Low Countries in Europe de clared their neutrality believing that they would be spared if there was going to be war.
They were invaded just the same sim ply because of geography.
Unfortunately for us, our country’s lo cation is in a potential flash point which will make it difficult for us to avoid get ting involved if there is conflict. We of course, hope that there will be no such thing because war is hell.
To use a much abused phrase, we live in uncertain times.
There is war going on in Europe which is not showing any signs of end ing.
To add to its horror, we hear threats about the possible use of nuclear weap ons which is so terrifying.
Add the Taiwan issue into the mix and PBBM has a lot in his hands.
Although that war seems so distant to us, it is affecting our daily lives due to inflation caused by high oil prices.
We can only hope that he will be equal to what lies ahead and be able to make the right decisions that will be best for the country.
its strength.
Still, wide swaths of destruction in Polillo, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Zambales and Bulacan would make you cry with empathy at our kababayan. In most cases, harvestable palay was caked in mudflows, no longer fit for human consumption.
Now the DA will have to recalculate their supply situation of the staple grain. Let’s see how Noru behaves when it hits land in Vietnam, which is a major exporter of rice.
Honor Blanco Cabie, Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.comglaciers lost six percent of their total volume this year due to a dry winter and repeated summer heatwaves, shattering previous ice melt records, a report revealed Wednesday.
The study by the Cryospheric Commission (CC) of the Swiss Academy of Sciences laid bare the drastic scale of glacial retreat –which is only set to get worse.
“2022 was a disastrous year for Swiss glaciers: all ice melt re cords were smashed,” the CC said, adding that a two percent loss in 12 months had previously been considered “extreme.”
Three cubic kilometers of ice – three trillion liters of water -- have melted away, the report said.
“It’s not possible to slow down the melting in the short term,” said glaciology professor Matthias Huss, head of Glacier Monitor ing in Switzerland, which documents long-term glacier changes in the Alps and is coordinated by the CC.
If carbon dioxide emissions are reduced and the climate protect ed, “this might save about one third of the total volumes in Switzer land in the best case”, he told AFP.
Otherwise, the country “will be losing almost everything by the end of the century.”
At the start of the year, the snow cover in the Alps was exception ally light, then a large volume of sand dust blew in from the Sahara Desert between March and May, settling on the surface.
The contaminated snow absorbed more heat and melted faster, depriving the glaciers of their protective snow coating by early in the European summer. AFP
Ukraine and its allies have denounced the so-called referendums as a sham, saying the West would never recognise the results of the ballots, which have dramatically ratcheted up the stakes of Russia’s seven-month invasion.
Pro-Russian authorities in Zaporizhzhia said 93.11 percent of voters backed joining Russia, according to preliminary results on Tuesday evening.
In Kherson, another Moscow-occupied region in southern Ukraine, officials said more than 87.05 percent of electors support ed the move after all the ballots were counted.
In the eastern Lugansk region controlled by pro-Russia separat ists, local authorities said more than 98.42 percent voted in favour of annexation, according to local authorities. AFP
SINGAPORE scrambled fighter jets to es cort a flight on Wednesday after a passenger on board allegedly claimed he had a bomb in his luggage and assaulted the crew, po lice said in a statement.
Police were notified of a bomb threat on Singapore Airlines flight SQ33 from San Francisco at around 2:40 am Wednesday, the statement said.
The plane landed safely at Changi Air port about three hours later, escorted by fighter jets.
“Preliminary investigations indicate that a 37-year-old male passenger had allegedly claimed that there was a bomb in a handcarry bag, and had assaulted the crew,” the police statement said.
The man was restrained by crew mem bers and later arrested for making false threats of a terrorist act and for suspected drug consumption.
“Singapore Airlines can confirm that an unruly passenger allegedly hit a cabin crew member and made a bomb threat on board flight SQ33,” a spokesperson for the airline said.
Passengers and crew disembarked nor mally after security checks of the aircraft were completed, they added.
On Facebook, the city-state’s defense ministry said that F-16 fighter jets had es corted the plane to Changi Airport where the army’s bomb squad and airport police determined the passenger’s claims were false. AFP
KREMLIN-INSTALLED authorities in four Ukrainian regions un der Russian control claimed victory Tuesday in annexation votes, drawing global outrage, as Moscow warned it could use nuclear weapons to defend the territories.
THE stock market sank to near two-year low Wednesday as recession fears mount and traders grow increasingly concerned about tensions between Russia and the West.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index tumbled 140.39 points, or 2.3 percent, to 5,879.68 on a value turnover of P6.8 bil lion. Losers routed gainers, 156 to 49, with 39 issues unchanged,
GT Capital Holdings Inc. of the Ty
GENEVA, Switzerland—The World Trade Organization’s chief said Tues day she believes the world is head ing towards a global recession due to multiple colliding crises, and called for radical policies to revive growth.
WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said Russia’s war in Ukraine, the climate crisis, food price and energy shocks plus the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic were creating the conditions for a world recession.
“Now we have to weather what looks like an oncoming recession,” she told the opening of the global trade body’s annual public forum in Geneva.
“I think a global recession. That’s what I think we are edging into. But at the same time, we have to start thinking of the recovery. We have to restore growth.”
She noted that the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund had both downgraded global growth forecasts, while indicators on trade numbers were “not looking too good.”
Okonjo-Iweala added: “We have security shocks, we have climate shocks, we have energy shocks, we have food price shocks, and all of this hitting countries at the same time, so we cannot afford to do business as usual.”
The former Nigerian finance and foreign minister said central banks were in a tight spot, with little choice over the course ahead.
“Central banks don’t really have too much of a choice but to tighten and increase interest rates—but the repercussions on emerging markets and developing countries is quite severe, because they too are tighten ing an increase in interest rates,” she said. AFP
Group slumped 7.8 percent to P415.60, while Semirara Mining and Power Corp. of the Consunji Group fell 4.7 percent to P38.60.
ACEN Corp., the energy unit of the Ayala Group, dropped 7.4 percent to 5.51, while sister unit and major prop erty developer Ayla land Inc. declined 5.5 percent to P23.05.
The rest of Asian equities and crude prices fell while the dollar held at multiyear highs Wednesday.
Investors are keeping a close eye on London, after new finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng’s tax-cutting last week sent shock waves through markets, pushing the pound to a record low and
leading to dire warnings for Britain’s economy.
While Asia saw small gains Tuesday, New York and Europe ended mostly in the red again, with Wall Street jolted by data showing a surprise improvement in US consumer confidence—likely because of a dip in petrol prices--and a jump in home sales.
The figures pointed to resilience in the world’s top economy despite three successive bumper Federal Reserve rate hikes—and expectations for another in November—as it tries to tame four-de cade-high inflation.
Several Fed officials have lined up this week to reassert their determination
to keep hiking until prices are brought under control, even at the cost of a re cession.
Observers are now betting that bor rowing costs will top out at around 4.75 percent next year, and some policymak ers have suggested they could remain elevated for some time.
The prospect of such tight monetary policy has battered equities, as US 10year Treasury yields—a gauge of future rates—hit four percent for the first time since 2010.
The Dow and S&P 500 ended down Tuesday, though the Nasdaq enjoyed a slight uptick.
Asia resumed its downtrend Wednes
day, with Hong Kong down more than three percent, while Seoul and Taipei sank more than two percent. Tokyo, Shanghai and Singapore were off more than one percent.
There were also losses in Sydney, Wellington, Bangkok and Mumbai, while London, Paris and Frankfurt were also sharply lower.
The dollar remains the go-to unit as the Fed leads the way in central bank tightening.
“The fact we have such a strong in crease in US yields is attracting flows into the US dollar,” said Nannette Hechler-Fayd’herbe, of Credit Suisse Group AG. With AFP
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CHANGE CHANGE
1 ROCK 1.25 -0.25 -16.67%
NEW YORK, United States—Large Wall Street firms agreed to pay $1.8 bil lion in fines over failures to keep elec tronic records such as text messages between employees on personal mobile phones, US authorities announced Tues day.
Barclays, Bank of America, Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs were among the firms that agreed to fines over “long standing failures” to maintain and pre serve electronic communications that must be available to regulators in the course of oversight, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said in a statement.
The SEC announced a total of $1.1 billion in fines on 16 institutions in all.
The 16 firms listed included some com panies such as Morgan Stanley with af filiated firms also covered by the agree ment.
In a parallel action, the Commod ity Futures Trading Commission an nounced it reached settlements totaling $710 million from the same group of financial institutions over the same of fenses.
“Finance, ultimately, depends on trust. By failing to honor their recordkeeping and books-and-records obliga tions, the market participants we have charged today have failed to maintain that trust,” SEC Chair Gary Gensler said in a statement. “Since the 1930s, such record-keeping has been vital to preserve market integrity.
“As technology changes, it’s even more important that registrants ap propriately conduct their communi cations about business matters within only official channels, and they must maintain and preserve those commu nications.”
An SEC investigation uncovered “pervasive off-channel communica tions” involving a range of senior and junior investment bankers and traders-omissions that “likely” deprived it of communications in agency probes, it said.
Bank of America was fined a total of $225 million under the two settlements.
Financial giants agreeing to $200 mil lion in settlements were Barclays, Citi group, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and UBS.
Nomura, Jefferies and Cantor Fitzgerald will pay respectively $100, $80 and $16 million
The SEC in December 2021 fined JPMorgan Chase $125 million for the offense, spurring an industry-wide regu latory crackdown on poor record-keep ing, the SEC said. AFP
13.02 -1.58 -10.82%
TECHW 0.51 -0.06 -10.53%
0.55 -0.06 -9.84%
5 ACE 1.45 -0.15 -9.38%
6 AREIT 32.45 -3.25 -9.10%
7 AT 3.33 -0.32 -8.77%
8 SFI 0.088 -0.008 -8.33%
9 MB 0.33 -0.03 -8.33%
10 SEVN 68 -5.9 -7.98%
942,170 693,463,105
24,728,300 575,957,600
2,845,580 516,810,109
3,421,250 384,790,707
3,599,170 323,272,218
7,145,300 279,367,115
COTONOU, Benin—His Toyota Matrix has driven the equivalent of four times around the world and it would never pass an inspection in Europe.
But for its delighted new owner, Adam Adebiyi, the aging hatchback with more than 170,000 kilometers (105,000 miles) on the clock may just as well have rolled off the factory floor.
Like millions of other Africans, the Beninese computer scientist has turned to the second-hand market to buy a qual ity car that would normally be well be yond his budget.
Africa is the world’s biggest destina tion for used vehicles.
More than a quarter of second-hand autos exported between 2015 and 2020, or 5.6 million vehicles, ended up on the continent, according to the UN.
These vehicles come mainly from Europe and Japan, and increasingly from South Korea or the United States, but are often very old or high-pollution models.
Adebiyi’s Matrix Toyota went into circulation in 2004 in Canada, before
it was shipped by sea 15 years later to Benin, where it was purchased by a first owner, who then sold it to him.
Not far from the port of Cotonou, the economic capital of Benin, sales lots packed with second-hand vehicles, mainly from Europe, stretch for kilometers.
Benin is one of the five largest import ers of used vehicles in Africa, according to a UN report published at the end of 2021.
The West African country has only 11 million inhabitants, but it is the gateway to the markets of Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, and especially its giant neighbor Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa.
In one of these huge car lots near the border with Nigeria, Zakari Cisse re cently sat with his hand on the steering wheel of his just purchased car, a model put into circulation in Belgium in 2002.
He would have liked to buy a new one from a dealership. But lacking re sources, he fell back on this 20-year-old second-hand vehicle, which is “clean and well maintained.”
“The engine responds very well and you can tell by the noise,” he said.
“We don’t import rubbish,” said Os sama Allouch, an importer of used ve hicles in Cotonou, who says vehicles are subject to controls before purchase.
“They are not just any vehicles that are banned from use.”
In Benin, a 15-year-old im ported saloon, also called a se dan, typically changes hands for around 1.5 million CFA francs ($2,300).
That’s quite a bargain in a coun try where a brand-new model will cost a dozen times as much, and the average salary is little more than $100 per month. Stolen converters
According to a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report in 2021, most vehicles ex ported to developing countries are old, polluting, energy-inefficient, potentially dangerous and under mine efforts to reduce carbon emis sions.
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During an inspection by Dutch authori ties at the end of 2019 in Amsterdam port— from where boats transporting these cars to Africa leave every week—the average age of the vehicles waiting was 18 years and they exceeded 200,000 kilometers (120,000 miles) mileage on average. AFP Secondhand cars are seen on Sep tember 16, 2022 on display at a dealer in Ekpe, Benin. Af rica is the world’s biggest destina tion for used vehicles. AFP NEW WINE REGION. A grape picker unload harvested Chardonnay grapes for wine in a vineyard in Quiery-la-Motte, northern France, on September 27, 2022. Farmer Laurent Sellie has replaced his usual crop of wheat grain on his plot in Quiery-la-Motte with Chardonnay grape vines. He aims to produce the first Chardonnay wine in the Pas-de-Calais northern region of France, which could soon become a new wine region as a result of global warming. AFPTHE Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines said Wednesday it expects an annual growth of 10.4 percent that will bring total revenues to $59 billion by 2028.
The group said the higher revenues would result in additional 1.1 million direct employees in the next six years.
IBPAP president and chief executive Jack Madrid said the figures were based on the second industry roadmap that would track the growth trajectory of the industry from 2022 to 2028.
“In the next six years, what IBPAP aims, along with industry players, is for our sector is to create even meaningful impact as we envision our country to be the world’s number 1 experience hub for customer centric and digitally-enabled services while driving sustainable eco
nomic and social growth,” Madrid said in a briefing at the sidelines of second day of the International Innovation Summit.
The roadmap assumes that about 54 percent of the projected 1.1 million hires would come from the countryside. This would bring the sector’s total headcount to 2.5 million by 2028.
Highlighting the industry’s multiplier effect, IBPAP also forecasts up to 3 mil lion in indirect jobs for allied sectors such as retail, hospitality, infrastructure, transportation and real estate.
The roadmap, unveiled on the first day of the summit, underscored the in
Notice is hereby served to the Public that SPC POWER CORPORATION with business address at BDO Towers Paseo, 8741 Paseo De Roxas, Makati City, Philippines has filed with MARINA Regional Office VI for a re-issueance of Certificate of Ownership and Certificate of Philippine Registry due to change of Ownership from AC ENERGY CORPORATION to SPC POWER CORPORATION of vessel named, “POWER BARGE 103”. Any person or entity adversely affected by said claim may file their written opposition with Maritime Industry Authority Regional Office VI, MARINA Bldg., De La Rama St., Iloilo city within ten (10) days from date of posting.
(MS SEPT. 29, 2022)
Notice is hereby served to the Public that SPC POWER CORPORATION with business address at BDO Towers Paseo, 8741 Paseo De Roxas, Makati City, Philippines has filed with MARINA Regional Office VI for a re-issueance of Certificate of Ownership and Certificate of Philippine Registry due to change of Ownership from AC ENERGY CORPORATION to SPC POWER CORPORATION of vessel named, “POWER BARGE 102” . Any person or entity adversely affected by said claim may file their written opposition with Maritime Industry Authority Regional Office VI, MARINA Bldg., De La Rama St., Iloilo city within ten (10) days from date of posting.
dustry’s potential to increase its contri bution to the economy to 8.5 percent of the gross domestic product.
IBPAP, in its bid to realize Roadmap 2028’s vision, provided high-level rec ommendations for strategic priorities and acceleration levers that include policy and regulatory support; talent de velopment; infrastructure development; and, marketing and brand positioning.
Madrid said the government was very responsive in supporting a businessfriendly environment through clear and consistent policies in line with the ex pectations of global investors.
THE peso touched a new intra-day low of 59 against the US dollar Wednesday before closing slightly stronger at 58.98 as con cerns over the US Federal Reserve’s aggres sive interest rate hikes dominated the global equities and foreign exchange markets.
Data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines showed the peso gained a centa vo from the previous day’s closing of 58.99 a dollar, which was its record-low against the greenback.
Trading volume also went up to $1.19 billion on Wednesday from $1.06 billion on Tuesday.
Financial expert and economist Jonathan Ravelas predicted in a social media post that peso would likely fall to a range of 60.00 to 61.80 against the dollar this year, before rebounding eventually.
Bank of the Philippine Islands lead econ omist Emilio Neri Jr. also said a 60-perdollar exchange rate was “just around the corner.”
THE National Telecommunications Com mission said Wednesday it exceeded its 2022 collection target by more than P1.08 billion as of September 27.
The regulator said it collected P6.63 bil lion as of Sept. 27, surpassing the target col lection for 2022 amounting to P5.58 billion set by the Development Budget Coordina tion Committee.
It said the systematic collection effort is the agency’s modest way of contributing to the public service programs of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on food security, free and universal primary education and public health.
NTC commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba acknowledged the agency’s employees for the feat and encouraged them to make a fi nal push on generating more income as the year ends.
NTC is the government agency that regulates cable and commercial television operators, broadcast radio stations, telecom munications companies and commercial and portable radio operators.
Darwin G. AmojelarTHE board of the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. on Wednes day elected former Aboitiz Power Corp. ex ecutive Dennis de la Serna as its president and chief executive.
The appointment followed the release by Malacañang of his appointment as acting president and chief executive of PSALM and board member on Sept. 15.
PHILIP Morris International said Wednesday it plans to invest $150 million or about P8.8 billion in local affiliate PMFTC Inc. to open manu facturing lines that will produce heated tobacco sticks for smoke-free products.
The investment marks the first major investment in the cigarette category in the Philippines by a to bacco multinational company.
“We are proud to invest in the country’s journey to finally rid society of cigarettes, by provid ing those who would otherwise continue to smoke with better al ternatives, while helping generate revenues for the government and livelihood opportunities to the peo
ple,” said PMFTC president Denis Gorkun.
PMI said the investment would span a two-year period and could generate up to 220 new specialized jobs to support the local tobacco growing industry. It will include an expansion wing at PMFTC’s stateof-the art factory in Tanauan City, Batangas. Actual commercial pro duction is expected to start in the fourth quarter of 2023.
PMI said it approved the inclu sion of locally-grown tobacco in the production of heated tobacco sticks. This is expected to help sustain the livelihoods of Filipino tobacco farmers and sari-sari store owners, it said. Othel V. Campos
PSALM said in a statement de la Serna would lead the agency in optimizing the proceeds from the sale of power generation and real estate assets, settling the outstand ing financial obligations and liabilities of PSALM and administering the universal charge.
The company said de la Serna brings years of experience working in the power industry with vast exposure to regulatory, contract management, financial modeling and valuation.
He has over two decades of expertise in the Philippine energy sector and supervised PSALM’s universal levy, tariff and financial valuation department from 2002 to 2008.
Alena Mae S. FloresTHE Monetary Board, the policymaking body of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, said Wednesday it ap proved the second set of guidelines on digital banks following the release of a framework in December 2020.
The BSP said in a statement the ap proved guidelines set out the super visory expectations on corporate and risk governance of digital banks and the applicable prudential regulations on capital, leverage and liquidity.
It said the guidelines also prescribe the prudential limits on equity invest ments in allied undertakings, required reserves against deposit and deposit substitute liabilities and reporting re quirements of digital banks.
Digital banks, unlike brick-andmortar banks, have minimal or zeroreliance on physical touchpoints as their products and services are pro cessed end-to-end through digital platforms or electronic channels.
AYALA Corp. said Wednesday its board of directors appointed Cezar Consing as the conglomerate’s presi dent and chief executive following his appointment as interim chief on Aug. 15.
Consing replaced Fernando Zobel de Ayala, who stepped down from various leadership positions within the Ayala Group early this month on medical reasons.
Zobel de Ayala was appointed as special advisor to the board.
Consing, one of Asia’s most re spected figures in the banking sector, has more than 30 years of experience in international finance.
He started his career in Ayala as a
management trainee in Bank of the Philippine Islands where he eventu ally became the youngest assistant vice-president in the bank’s history.
He then worked with J.P. Morgan & Co. in Hong Kong and Singapore from 1985 to 2004 and headed the firm’s investment banking business in Asia Pacific from 1997 to 2004.
Consing became a partner at the Rohatyn Group from 2004 to 2013 and headed its Hong Kong office and its private investing business in Asia. He was a board director of its real estate and energy and infra structure private equity investing subsidiaries.
Consing was appointed president and chief executive of BPI in 2013 until his retirement in 2021.
It said that due to the nationwide market reach resulting from the use of digital platforms or mobile appli cations in the banking services de livery and ability to rapidly expand operations, this category of banks is considered as complex banks.
The governance expectations, Ba sel III standards and prudential re porting requirements applicable to universal and commercial banks will also apply to digital banks.
“As the digital financial ecosystem in the Philippines takes shape, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas remains committed to providing Filipinos with access to a range of innovative products and ser vices supported by sound governance framework and secure and reliable digital infrastructure,” BSP Governor Felipe Medalla said.
“The prudential requirements for digital banks will strengthen the resil ience of this new bank category to bet ter absorb financial shocks and promote financial stability,” Medalla said.
GLOBE’S
evolving nature in the aftermath
and the purpose that guides them in managing
future success.
SERBIAN import Nick Rakocevic impressed with his all-around game, and as he carried the Magnolia Timplados Hotshots to a 100-92 thumping of the Terrafirma Dyip as they began their 2022
PBA Commissioner’s Cup campaign on a bright note on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
The 6’11 Rakocevic had a monster game of 45 points and 25 rebounds, and he showed his unselfish side in the third period.
That was when Rakocevic led his teammates and the Hotshots to move away from a close, 59-54, halftime lead.
Rakocevic banged in 11 points and hauled down five rebounds in the third quarter to lift the Hotshots to an 80-71 spread at the end of the period.
His triple and assist to Rafi Reavis’ layup, followed by a three-point play saw the Hotshots taking a nine-point edge, 6758, with 8:23 left.
A layup from Rakocevic, and his presence underneath allowed teammates Jackson Corpuz and Andy Barroca to score, and put the Hotshots up by 15, and into their biggest advantage, 71-58, in the final six minutes of the third.
“Nakita naman natin. He plays both ends of the floor. He contributes to our defensive schemes, and in our offense,” said Hotshots coach Chito Victolero.
Lester Prosper also unloaded 41 points for Dyip, which remained winless after two games.
Prosper was shacked to six points in the third, which saw the Hotshots nurse a nine-point advantage, 80-71, before the fourth canto began. Peter Atencio
THE training of the Ateneo Blue Ea gles in Tokyo, Japan, and Tel Aviv, Israel will definitely sharpen the re solve of the Loyola squad to return to the finals of the 85th University Ath letic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s basketball tourna ment when it starts this Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Coach Tab Baldwin said the squad has managed to blend well as they get ready for their first game on Sun day against the Far Eastern Univer sity Tamaraws.
“We were blessed, and not blessed, with the opportunity to travel overseas to Japan for World University Series and to Israel for some basketball and cultural experience. It was really good. But we missed out on the pre-season,” said Baldwin during the launch of sea son 85 on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Now that Ange Kouame, Dave Ildefonso, and Matthew Daves are coming back from injuries, the Blue Eagles are expected to be in good shape when they meet the Tamaraws. But not having a feel of how the Tams performed during the offseason is something that’s keeping Baldwin on his toes.
“Missed out to compete in the preseason. It may come back to bite us,” added Baldwin.
The Fighting Maroons are favored to be back and stay in contention in their title-retention bid.
Coach Goldwin Monteverde, who is on his second season with the squad, knows this and said the Maroons are adjusting well without graduates Ricci Rivero and Noah Webb.
Now, he is counting on the likes of Fil-American cager Zavier Lucero and Carl Tamayo to provide leader ship in their title retention bid.
“The team is OK. We were able to get them together in Korea, and their preparation has been continuous,” said Monteverde.
Monteverde explained that the young players of the squad had a chance to experience different play ing situations when they played in pre-season tournaments like the FilOil-EcoOil and the UCBL PreSeason tournaments.
The La Salle Green Archers will have coach Derrick Pumaren han dling the squad for a second year, and their togetherness and confi dence will make them a threat this season.
The Tams, with coach Olsen Race la calling the shots, may be missing RJ Abarrientos, who recently turned pro in Korea, along with Emman Ojuala following his graduation.
But a new batch led by LJay Gon zales and Xyrus Torres are expected to lift the Tams’ fighting spirit.
The National University Bulldogs are also favored to get into the Fi nal Four with their experience of winning the FilOil-Ecoil preseason crown.
By Randy Caluag
pole vault ace EJ Obiena’s alma mater, Chiang Kai Shek College, has vowed to support his quest for glory in the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The road begins with qualifying tournaments for the biggest sporting spectacle.
On Wednesday, Obiena was given a warm welcome by the CKSC community on his return to the country for a short vacation.
“It really feels good to be back here. I won’t be a person like me today if not for my beloved school and the community,” said Obiena, who was met by school and alumni association officials.
CKSC Alumni association president
Benjamin Tan said the school community will be in full support for Obiena in his training and competitions prior to and all the way to the Olympics in Paris.
“The amount is not important, we pledge our support to EJ,” he said.
Obiena, currently the world no, 2 in the world, was accompanied by his German girlfriend Caroline Joyeux and parents Emerson and Jeanette, who was also an alumnus of the same school and current coach of the track and field team.
Obiena will go back to Europe next
week and prepare the laid-out plans to compete in big tournaments before going to Paris.
“Hopefully by then, I’d be able to jump six meters already. I would love to be the first Asian to jump more than six meters. I do believe in my ability, I‘ll really try hard to get that magic number. I really believe that’s coming soon, added Obiena.
CKSC president Judelio Yap said the CKSC community helped Obiena keep going even at his lowest point. “And we will continue to support him all the way to Paris.”
“It was never expected. They knew I was in need, the alumni stepped in. They just get me going for the next eight months. The biggest chunk of my expenses was shouldered by a few men here. I will not have a successful season without them,” said Obiena, who was coming off a fruitful season where he harvested 12 golds, two
silver, and three bronze medals in the last eight months.
“I really take this opportunity to thank you again., I really do appreciate everything.”
Obiena capped his season with a second consecutive first-place finish in Gala dei Castelli in Switzerland. where he set a new tournament record of 5.81 meters, beating world No. 2 Christopher Nilsen of the United States, who tallied 5.71m.
A day before Obiena made 5.81 meters to rule the Golden Fly Series in Liechtenstein. After a successful season, the 26-year-old Obiena arrived in Manila on Thursday.
His most memorable stint was a big win over world champion and Top 1 Armand Duplantis in the Memorial Van Damme.
Obiena studied at CKSK in Tondo, Manila from pre-school up to high school before he was recruited to play for the University of Sto. Tomas in the UAAP.
THE Philippine Sports Commission, in partnership with the Department of Health and the City Government of Manila, provided COVID-19 vaccination booster shots to athletes, coaches, and employees at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum, earlier today as the sports agency continued its vigilance against COVID-19 and its variants.
Tokyo Olympian Cris Nievares was among the more than 160 athletes and coaches from Baseball, Canoe Kayak, Karate, Olympic Rowing, table tennis, judo, kurash, gymnastics, taekwondo, water polo, and diving who availed of the vaccination drive.
PSC Chairman Jose Emmanuel “Noli” Eala said that as the PSC’s facilities open “it is also vital that we remain vigilant and protected against COVID-19. Our athletes, coaches, and employees who serve them need to be secured protected, and cared for as we begin the transition and the return of our sports activities and events.”
Almost 400 booster vaccines were administered to the athletes, coaches, and PSC employees who availed of the vaccination drive.
men of the tour can’t wait to get going after a long break with Clyde Mondilla rejoining the Philippine Golf Tour’s return to Riviera’s daunting Langer course and the likes of Juvic Pagunsan and Angelo Que back in pursuit of the ICTSI Riviera Championship crown. That should make the Oct. 4-7 championship far-reaching with Michael Bibat, winner of the last PGT leg at Eagle Ridge-Aoki, multi-titled aces Tony Lascuña, Jhonnel Ababa, Jay Bayron, and Dutch Guido Van der Valk beefing up the stellar cast in the P2 million event put up by ICTSI.
Ira Alido will also make a return trip to the tougher of the two Riviera courses where he nailed his breakthrough victory in 2020, toughened up by stints on the Asian Development Tour, topped by a tied for 21st finish in the
Gurugram Challenge in India last April. Also on the early roster are John Kier Abdon, Ferdie Aunzo, Rufino Bayron, Jobim Carlos, Fidel Concepcion, Dan Cruz, Rico Depilo, Marvin Dumandan, Paul Echavez, Anthony Fernando, Gerald Rosales, Keanu Jahns, Rene Menor;
Teodoro Osabel, Robert Pactolerin, Mars Pucay, Sean Ramos, Joenard Rates, Rolando Marabe Jr., Kuresh Samanod, Richard Sinfuego, Orlan Sumcad, Joeleo Torrecampo, Arnold Villacencio and Dino Villanueva.
But no player could be as much thrilled to launch his drive as Mondilla, who is out to rebound from a string of setbacks in the first three legs of this year’s circuit. He yielded to Miguel Tabuena in sudden death at Luisita, lost by four to Zanieboy Gialon at Caliraya Springs and blew a third-round lead, and wound up third at Splendido Taal topped by Van der Valk.
But the 2019 Philippine Open champion will be as much tested as the rest of the field on a risk-and-reward course kept in championship form all year long with Pagunsan also looking to recall the form that netted him a runaway victory in stormy conditions in 2019 that capped a run of four victories in a dominant campaign on his way to the second Order of Merit crown.
Pagunsan also made a comeback of sorts at Eagle Ridge last July where he and Que marked their PGT return with tied for fourth finishes with the veteran duo taking another break from the Japan Golf Tour, where they are based, to help stir up play at Riviera.
The Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc.organized circuit winds up its six-leg season on Oct. 25-28 for the ICTSI Pradera Verde Championship at the posh Lubao, Pampanga layout where Mondilla rallied with a closing 67 then beat four others in PGT’s most crowded playoff cast in 2020.
Riera U. Mallari,
Caluag,
Clyde Mondilla will be back in the hunt after a long break
John Paul Selencio of the Philippine Canoe Kayak Federation gets his Covid-19 booster shot
Pole Vault ace EJ Obiena is assured of support by the Chiang Kai Shek College community.
BATAAN blitzed Manila in overtime, 109-102, while General Santos City subdued San Juan, 79-69, to join Pampanga in the winner’s circle on Tuesday in the OKbet-MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) 4th Season Pre sented by Xtreme at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.
The Bataan Camaya Coast Risers rattled off 13 straight points to zoom ahead of the Manila Stars, 105-92, in the extension period and raise their re cord to 11-8 in the single round-robin elimination phase of the 22-team tournament.
James Darwin Castro again shone for Bataan with 30 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists, followed by Kristoffer Torrado with 22 points, Jamil Gab awan with 16 points and 8 rebounds, and Arvie Bringas with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Manila, which tumbled to 6-14, got 23 points and 8 assists from Dan Sara, 23 points from homegrown Francis Camacho and 19 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists from Ronnie Matias.
The GenSan Warriors pulled away at 75-63 and prevented the Knights from mounting a rally to tally their 13th victory against 6 losses.
Christian Fajarito presided over GenSan’s offense with 20 points plus 6 rebounds against his former team San Juan , which skidded to 12-7 despite the 18-point, 12-rebound effort of Dexter Maiquez and the 15-point, 10-rebound output of Michael Calisaan.
As expected, Pampanga pounded Makati without letup and handily prevailed, 91-54, in the opener to climb to 13-5.
Hurting from a 74-80 defeat it suffered against Nueva Ecija on Friday, Pampanga led by as many as 40 points, 91-51, in pulling down Makati to the cellar at 1-17.
With the Giant Lanterns in full control, Pampanga coach Gov. Dennis Pineda had the luxury of shuffling his 15 players, all of whom scored.
Archie Concepcion led Pampanga with 16 points and 3 assists, followed by Alex Ramos with 11 points and 12 rebounds and Michael Garcia with 10 points.
The MPBL visits the Laguna Sports Com plex in Santa Cruz on Wednesday with another triple-bill featuring the Nueva Ecija-Pasig en counter at 7 p.m. Other games pit Zamboanga against Quezon City at 5 p.m. and Muntinlupa against Laguna at 9 p.m.
Bull’s dominant Max Verstappen can clinch a second world championship when the Singapore Grand Prix returns this weekend after a three-year absence because of Covid.
The flying Dutchman has a mathemati cal chance to seal back-to-back world titles under lights around the spectacular and demanding Marina Bay street circuit.
To do so, the 24-year-old must win the race — something he has never done in Singapore — and needs his closest rivals to falter badly.
If that does not happen, the champion ship fight will move on to the Japanese Grand Prix a week later. It looks a case of when, not if.
“You need a bit of luck for that as well,” Verstappen told Sky Sports of retaining his crown in Singapore.
“I don’t think about it.”
Verstappen opened up a 116-point lead
in the drivers’ standings over Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc following his victory at the Italian Grand Prix. He is 125 clear of third-placed Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez.
He needs to extend his lead to 138 points by Sunday’s chequered flag to be crowned with five races to spare — the earliest championship win since Michael Schumacher’s in 2002 with six GPs re maining.
Monza was Verstappen’s 11th victory in 16 races of a potentially record-break ing season.
He needs two more wins to equal the single-season mark of 13 jointly held by Schumacher (2004) and Sebastian Vettel (2013).
“I want to go to Singapore and try to win that race as well,” Verstappen said.
“We are having a great season, so we should really try and appreciate it and en joy the moment.”
To take the title this weekend, he must win the race with Leclerc finishing no higher than eighth or ninth — depending on who claims the extra point for the fast est lap — and Perez outside the podium places.
Much will depend on Saturday night’s
qualifying for a grand prix that has been won from pole position seven times in its last 11 runnings.
The night race around the tight street track affords precious few overtaking opportunities and the stifling heat and humidity provide a test of stamina and re liability as much as driving ability.
Singapore’s climate always carries a threat of rain-induced chaos, as happened in 2017, when Vettel and Verstappen started on the front row only to crash out before the first bend.
Mercedes chase Ferrari
Red Bull also look sure to wrap up the constructors’ championship — al though they won’t do so in Singapore — but the race for second is still alive with Mercedes banking on a late-season revival to overtake early front-runners Ferrari.
The consistent George Russell is still in mathematical contention for the driv ers’ crown in his first Mercedes season, though a Verstappen victory would end his hopes.
But the Silver Arrows are pushing hard and are 35 points behind Ferrari, who have suffered from a combination of reli ability issues and strategic blunders. AFP
THE second Hermosa Triathlon will be held in Zamboanga City on Oct. 30 after a three-year, pan demic-induced hiatus as the city reasserts its position as one of the country’s leading sports tourism destinations.
The Hermosa Triathlon is part of the city’s annual La Hermosa Festival and is held under the aus pices of the city government and its tourism office. Mayor John Dalipe gave the green light for the holding of the swim-bike-run event with City Administrator Mario Yanga and City Tourism Officer Sarita Sebastian-Hernandez as co-chairs of the Hermosa Festival organizing committee.
The city officials on Tuesday pre sided over the official launching of the month-long La Hermosa Festi val, with Mayor Dalipe vowing to make this year’s La Hermosa Festi val a grand celebration of colors or “Celebracion de Colores.”
The race starts with a swim off the city’s Plaza del Mar with a line of colorful vintas marking the 1.6-kilometer course; followed by a 45-kilometer through the Zambo anga West Coastal Road up to the Zamboanga Economic Zone and back; and ending in an 11-kilome ter two-loop run course through the scenic R. T. Lim Boulevard.
It will climax the month-long La Hermosa Festival, one of the country’s oldest and most colorful religious and cultural festivals. It is also known as Fiesta Pilar, which honors the city’s patron saint, Our Lady of Pilar.
The race is organized by Fuerza Multisports — the event organiz ing arm of Trimac Coaching under Head Coach and Race Director Jojo “Jomac” Macalintal — in coop eration with its local partners, the Zamboanga Trail Runners.
The event was first held in 2019 and was participated in by local triathletes and entries from all over Mindanao and the Visayas and from as far as Metro Manila. The pandemic, however, sidelined the event in 2020 until Mayor Dalipe called for its revival last July.
Games today (Thursday)
2:30 p.m. – VNS vs Navy (best-of-3 for third)
5:30 p.m. – Cignal vs NU-Sta. Elena (best-of-3 for title)
CIGNAL gets the chance for redemp tion but National U-Sta. Elena is all set to mount the Spikers’ Turf throne as they collide in Game One of the Open Confer ence finals at the Paco Arena in Manila today (Thursday).
The HD Spikers blew a two-set lead and bowed to the Nationals at the start of the semis last week but the defending champions worked their way back into finals contention by trouncing the VNS Griffins and the Navy Sealions, forging a high-powered duel with the top colle giate squad, which swept its way to the finals.
Gametime is at 5:30 p.m. with the core of the sport’s present crop confident but wary of the future stars in a best-of-three
showdown of power, speed and blocking.
Emphasis will also be on recep tion, floor defense and digging with the HD Spikers to likewise bank on their experience and poise lacking in their last face-off with the Nationals.
“We have to stay focused on Sta. Elena,” said Cignal coach Dexter Clamor after his wards put away the Navy Sealions in three in their knockout duel for the oth er finals berth last Tuesday.
The proverbial fire of the youth, meanwhile, could work wonders for the Nationals, who are actu ally using this top-level tourna ment as part of their buildup for the coming UAAP wars.
“Reaching the finals only showed where we are now,” said Sta. Elena men tor Dante Alinsunurin. “We just proved that the NU program is working, that we can keep up with the club teams.”
‘I know the boys can handle the chal lenge in the finals,” he added. But the pressure to deliver in a title duel could be far more daunting for the Nation als, who will again pin their hopes on Nico Almendras and Mike Buddin with the likes of Obed Mukaba, Ken Malinis, Jennge
Meanwhile, Navy and VNS-One Alicia likewise open their best-of-three series for third at 2:30 p.m.
Both games are aired on One Sports and One Sports+ and online portals Cig nal Play, Gigaplay and SpikersTurf.ph with a delayed telecast on One Sport at 9:30 p.m.
Shotokan Karate Federation-Philippine Shotokan Kara te Federation-San Jose Del Monte Bulacan (ISKF-PSKI SJDM Bulacan) — one of the active clubs affiliated with the Karate Pilipinas.
“They really wanted to follow in the footsteps of our Sensei Adora Aquino, a former national team karate member,” coach Mary Anne Guillermo, a Karate Pilipi nas licensed coach, said.
Steven Jhudiel Morales, 12, one of the most accom plished young fighters of the ISKF-PSKI SJDM Bu lacan, was a recent Karate Pilipinas National Champion ships kata and kumite gold medalist at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
He also dominated the kumite and kata divisions of the ISKF-PSKI Olongapo Karatedo Championships last June, and the 3rd ABR Cup Karate Championships In termediate Kata, where he won the 12-13-year-old and 14-15-year-old boys’ gold.
The eight-year-old Solara won the recent kata girls’ gold medal in the 3rd ABR Cup Karate Championships while also bagging the silver in the team kata, silver in the kumite and bronze in the team kumite.
captured the silver medal in the kata 6-7-year-old divi sion of the ISKF-PSKI Olongapo Invitational Karatedo Championships also last June.
She also took home the team and individual kata silver medals and individual kumite silver during the 3rd ABR Cup Karate Championships recently.
“These kids will grow with a lot of potentials to be come the next Junna Tsukii and possibly become world champions someday. At a young age, they really showed great improvements from time to time,” Guillermo add ed.
“With proper training and mindset, their dream to become national team members and bring pride to our country may soon become a reality. They just have to be supported by their respective parents, too.”
Other members of the club are 13-year-old Nicel Ezra Villegas and 14-year-old Julia Claret Bintulan, who also brought home a lot of different kata and kumite medals from the Batang Pinoy national competitions in 2018 and 2019.
The campaign of the ISKF-PSKI SJD is supported by the local government unit (LGU) headed by City Mayor Arthur Robes, Dr. Dennis Booth and Luis Gutierrez.
They are members of the prestigious International
Promising 8-year-old Zemira Zaigen Gawad Daz also
rard Diao, Jann Sumagui and playmaker Ave Retamar ready to step up as they always do in their rise to the top. The HD Spikers, however, are all geared up for a payback with top hitter Marck Espejo confident of drawing another solid support from Ysay Mara sigan, Louie Ramirez, Peter Torres, JP Bugaoan, Edmar Bonono, Chumason Njigha, Alfred Valbuena, Manuel Sumangid III and setter Owen Suarez the way they did against the Sealions. Winner Red Bull Racing’s Dutch driver Max Verstappen celebrates on the podium after the Italian Formula One Grand Prix at the Autodromo Nazionale circuit in Monza. AFP A BUNCH of kids from San Jose del Monte, Bulacan could be the next future of Philippine karate. The country’s karate grassroots program has discov ered a new breed of potential talents in Steven Jhudiel Morales, Solara Uriel Morales and Zemira Zaigen Ga wad Daz, who may excel in local to international arenas someday. Young karatekas (from left) Shihan Greg Lacorte and Solara Uriel G. Morales from Wado Ryu team and Zemira Zaigen G. Daz are declared winners during the All Lu zon Karatedo Championships in Nueva Ecija. Cignal players celebrate
concerned family and friends meddle in their affairs.
The romantic-comedy series will stream for free this September 30 on the iWantTFC app (iOS and Android) and website (iwanttfc.com). All episodes of seasons one and two are also still available for free on iWantTFC.
Jules (Joross) and Marge (Roxanne) are extremely excited to start a new life as they prepare to welcome their baby to their big stepfamily. However, Marge’s pregnancy will not be as smooth-sailing as they had hoped for when they find out that her pregnancy is delicate.
Wanting to make sure that Marge is always stress-free and healthy, Jules will try his best to take care of her while taking charge of their construction business. But more problems arise when overly-
The couple will struggle with the constant nagging of Richard (Dominic Ochoa), Marge’s ex-boyfriend, who not only wants to help in taking care of Marge, but he also suddenly becomes Jules’ competitor as the boss of a new construction firm. The nonstop bickering of Marge and Jules’ mothers, Elizabeth (Carmi Martin) and Malu (Keanna Reeves), will also escalate as they debate about pregnancy superstitions and effective medical practices.
As Marge and Jules learn how to adjust to their new way of life, their kids will also mature along with them as they become involved in romantic relationships. Charles (Aljon Mendoza), Marge’s son with Richard, will get to know Kara (Karina Bautista) on a deeper level now that they can finally make their relationship official.
But their young love will be put to the test
A SPANISH court has ordered Colombian music superstar Shakira to stand trial on charges of tax fraud to the tune of 14 million euros, with prosecutors seeking an eight-year sentence, filings showed Tuesday.
Prosecutors in Barcelona said in July they would seek to have the singer jailed for more than eight years alongside a fine of nearly 24 million euros ($24 million), after she rejected a plea deal over accusations of tax evasion.
They accuse the 45-year-old “Hips don’t Lie” songstress of defrauding the Spanish tax office of 14.5 million euros ($14.7 million) on income earned between 2012 and 2014.
Prosecutors say Shakira moved to Spain in 2011 when her relationship with FC Barcelona defender Gerard Pique became public, but maintained official tax residency in the Bahamas until 2015.
The couple, who have two children, announced their separation in June.
On September 19, a Barcelona court ordered the singer to stand trial for six alleged tax crimes, according to a ruling made public on Tuesday.
In a statement, Shakira’s lawyers said “the order to proceed with the oral hearing” was expected and that her legal team would “do its job by presenting its arguments at the appropriate time.”
Shakira has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and claims she owes nothing to the Spanish tax office.
“I’m confident that I have enough proof to support my case and that justice will prevail in my favour,” she said in an interview published in Elle magazine last week.
“While Gerard and I were dating, I was on a world tour. I spent more than 240 days outside Spain, so there was no way I qualified as a resident,” she added.
“The Spanish tax authorities saw that I was dating a Spanish citizen and started to salivate. It’s clear they wanted to go after that money no matter what.” AFP
SEASONED broadcast journalist Korina Sanchez-Roxas hosted numerous shows throughout her career. Aside from bringing people the latest information through newscasts, like Bandila and TV Patrol, Korina became well-known for her lifestyle newscast show Rated K, which later became Rated Korina.
This October, Korina returns to her element with her newest lifestyle show on NET25, Korina Interviews. There, Korina interviews known celebrities in the comfort of their homes to show a different side of them that not many people know.
Since the broadcast journalist has done this kind of show before, her audience will expect something different from her new venture.
According to Korina, unlike her previous engagements, Korina
Interviews will be an hour-long special where she can get to know more about her guests, from their experiences and secret talents to current issues.
“I’ve always wanted to do a oneon-one na isang buong oras talaga na isang tao lang. Kumbaga, relaxed.
Mailalabas yung mga bagay sa matagal na naming kwentuhan ng aking mga nagiging panauhin dito,” she said during a Zoomcon.
Korina added that with the four episodes of Korina Interviews they taped, she learned more about her guests that goes beyond their public image. Some of her guest celebrities include Doctor Vicki Belo, Senator Loren Legarda, and actor Raymond Bagatsing
She shared that some audience members suggested having her husband, former senator Mar Roxas with their twins Pepe and Pilar. The veteran broadcast journalist admitted to thinking of the same idea but needs to convince her husband further because he either doesn’t want to be put under the limelight or discuss anything political on screen.
Her list, however, doesn’t end there. She hopes to talk with more local celebrities but recognizes the limitations of contract stars from other networks and having a competition for
views and content with their channels. Yet she doesn’t let this stop her from doing her job.
“I’m a big believer that every person has a story to tell na hindi pa ninyo nalalaman,” Korina said, alluding to how Belo cried during their interview or how she discovered Legarda was a former disc jockey and Bagatsing was a dog lover and good cook.
Korina also added that when it comes to guests on her shows, she focuses more on celebrities with something new to tell the people. She’s also very hands-on with the show, with creative control over the guests, questions, and some of their activities. She hopes to surprise viewers with upcoming guests on Korina Interviews
Given her status in the industry, it’s no secret that many networks in the country want to work with Korina. Yet this time, she decided to work with NET25 out of coincidence. She shared that she was interested in working with the network, only to discover that NET25 also plans to do the same.
Although she has Korina Interviews on NET25, Korina shared that she still has offers from other networks, and there’s no exclusivity when it comes to her services.
Korina Interviews airs October 2, Saturday, 5:00 p.m., on NET25.
GMA Network’s flagship international channel, GMA Pinoy TV, received the Global Award at the 12th Annual The Outstanding Filipinos in America (TOFA) Awards for its efforts to raise the profile of Filipinos on a global scale with its network reach and critically-acclaimed programming. The awarding ceremony was held on September 16 in New York City.
GMA Pinoy TV, which celebrates its 17th anniversary this year, successfully fosters cultural pride and gratitude for the modern-day heroes who perpetuate the greatness of the Filipino race through its programs and various initiatives. Its “Stronger Together” campaign, in particular, brings Filipinos together in camaraderie and helps one another cope with today’s challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic and anti-Asian hate.
As the main highlight of the event, TOFA inaugurated the TOFA Global Awards Category. GMA International First Vice President and Head of Operations Joseph T. Francia accepted the award for GMA Pinoy TV alongside world-renowned designer Michael Cinco.
“We are strong as a people. Individually, each of us is strong. But when we celebrate our diversity and complement each other’s strengths – as a community coming together – we can be formidable. So let us face our many challenges. Let us be the #StrongerTogether Movement and be a powerful force for good in America,
and the world,” urged Francia in his acceptance speech.
TOFA inspires Filipinos all over the world with its positive contribution to the community’s rich heritage. It elevates the profile of Filipino Americans and Global Pinoys that promotes the exceptional quality of service, artistry, and professionalism Filipinos are known for in the world. Prominent personalities, dignitaries, and exemplary FilipinoAmericans were also honored in the national and presidential categories.
The awarding ceremony was graced by New York City Mayor Eric Adams who shared how proud he is of how New York City has embraced diversity. He recognizes and strongly believes in the commitment and dedication of the
Filipino Communities, “That diversity is allowing us to navigate any challenges we have. Thank you for allowing me to come here tonight and celebrate with you this rich and important organization,” Mayor Adams stated.
Executive Producer Elton Lugay, who founded TOFA in 2011, congratulated GMA Pinoy TV and shared how proud he is of his fellow Filipinos. “TOFA is a celebration of our presence in the United States, but tonight we’re going global. This is basically a celebration of Filipino talent, the hardworking Filipinos not only in New York or in the US but around the world.”
For more updates on GMA Pinoy TV’s events and programs, visit www. gmapinoytv.com
THE Hallyu craze has swept the entire country off its feet, and it’s not going anywhere anytime soon especially with the release of a series that is made for K-drama lovers, depicted through its characters’ colorful, relatable lives.
Introducing K-Love, Viu’s original series that pays homage to the love Filipinos have for K-drama. It mirrors the story of K-lover friends, whom we like to call the K-squad, and how K-drama inspires them to live vicariously in search of their own happy endings.
K-Love’s characters will be brought to life by a powerhouse cast of this generation’s hottest stars. Not only that, but they are also K-Drama lovers themselves.
Meet Iza Calzado as Tish, the driven woman who strives hard in every career pursuit that she has, but needs a little help in the love department.
Tish’s BFF is Shiela, played by Isabelle Daza. She’s a fulltime mom-fluencer and wife who always pursues perfection. Sue Ramirez plays the ambitious Val, a young Fil-Am fashionistaslash-entrepreneur whose mission is to take on the male-dominated tech world. The quirky but smarty Frances is Gabby Padilla. Frances, being the product of the ideal happy family, holds such high standards for guys, aiming for that ultimate “Oppa” she sees in dramas. And lastly, the story’s leading man is Jake Cuenca, playing the role of Jay. This dapper guy is the son of a wealthy tycoon and Tish’s high school sweetheart.
What do these characters have in common? K-drama livens up their journeys, fuels their decisions, and kindles their relationships. Though people may think that K-dramas tend to give a cliché perspective with its highly romanticized tropes, the characters basically go through the same everyday pains as the K-Squad. And they use these experiences as guiding stars to make their way through this complicated thing called life. Relate much?
If you need more reasons to add this to your watchlist, you better know that K-Love is told by some of the industry’s top storytellers: From former Marvel Studios Executive and Gold Clio award-winning Corinna Vistan is the series creator, joined by Hollywood cinematographer Ian Takahashi, best-selling authors Tara Sering, and Tweet Sering, former Walt Disney Studios executive Lea Dizon, and Katherine Visconti, who worked on shows like Keifer Sutherland’s Designated Survivor and Chicago PD, and completing the group is Bobby Yan, and seven-time Emmy Awards winner. With a team like this, we are sure you’ll fall in love with K-Love
Follow the K-squad stories from navigating friendships, those swoonworthy kilig moments, and even their heartbreaks and stream K-Love, soon this October on Viu.
Nickie Wang Editor Patricia Taculao, Editorial Assistant By Patricia Taculao GET three times the fun and kilig as Joross Gamboa and Roxanne Guinoo-Yap welcome their first baby in season 3 of the iWantTFC original series Hoy, Love You The cast and creatives of ‘Hoy, Love You Season 3’ when Charles grows jealous of Kulas (Race Matias), Kara’s childhood friend, who also happens to be the love interest of JR (Brenna Garcia), Jules’ daughter with his first wife. More good vibes and kilig will unfold in the series with the barkada of Drew (TJ Valderrama), Bart (Yamyam Gucong), and Tommy (Pepe Herrera) - who will experience love at first sight with Agnes (Kate Alejandrino), a mysterious newcomer in their town who they suspect of being an aswang Returning for season 3 is Lou Veloso who plays Kara’s strict lolo, and new cast member Donna Cariaga Hoy, Love You is directed by Theodore Boborol and will stream on the iWantTFC app (iOS and Android) and website (iwanttfc.com) starting tomorrow. ‘K-Love’ stars (from left) Sue Ramirez, Gabby Padilla, Iza Calzado, Jake Cuenca, and Isabelle Daza TOFA Global Awardees Joseph Francia (left) and Michael Cinco (From left) Miles dela Cruz (TOFA), Joseph T. Francia (GMA Pinoy TV), and Vicente Gesmundo (TOFA) Through 'Korina Interviews,' the veteran broadcast journalist learns more about local personalities Korina Sanchez (left) and Doctor Vicki Belo share intimate secrets about life on 'Korina Interviews' Sylvia Sanchez (left) is among the celebrities Korina had as guests on her upcoming show
SO MUCH has been said about these so-called magical beans. If you’re familiar with the legend, you’d know why it’s been associ ated with magic.
A story is told about an Ethio pian goat herder named Kaldi, in the Kaffe region of Ethiopia, about 800 AD. After consuming the red berries, he noted how alert and animated his goats be came and how they even stayed awake during the night. Whether true or not, we do know that if we want (or need) to stay awake, alert, alive, and enthusiastic at night (like I do right now), cof fee is typically the first thing that comes to mind as a solution (or companion).
In all of these years of my ro mance with coffee, I have read so much stuff about it — the good, the bad, the verified, as well as the *still* unverified bits about it. My doctor at the Asian Breast Center in Centuria Medi cal Makati even advised me to go easy on my consumption and I don’t even go beyond five cups (giant cups?) daily. To him, as an expert in his field, when it comes to taking care of one’s health, it’s really better to prevent a dis ease than cure one. To be honest, this is one thing I have the hard est time giving up even with the sparing acid reflux attack. If need be, I know I’ll have to forego my love for coffee. For now, I will enjoy it with all my heart. Here, let’s explore its benefits ac cording to some of the reputable reads I found.
It’s a potent source of anti oxidants. Approximately 1,000 antioxidants have been found by scientists in unprocessed cof fee beans, and hundreds more develop during the roasting pro cess. As some of you may know, antioxidants fight inflammation, which can be an underlying cause of many chronic condi tions such as arthritis and many types of cancers, to mention. Antioxidants work to neutralize free radicals which cause oxida tive stress that leads to chronic diseases. Our antioxidant friends help keep us healthy by protect ing our cells from damage.
Short-term memory boost, anyone? There was a study conducted by Austrian re searchers wherein volunteers received a dose of 100 mil ligrams of caffeine (about the same amount in a single cup of coffee), and had a surge in their brain activity, as measured by functional magnetic resonance imagery (fMRI) while perform ing a memory task. Significant, right? Turns out, caffeine ap pears to affect the areas of the brain responsible for memory
JOB WELL DONE BY JOBA BOTANAand concentration, thus provid ing a boost to short-term mem ory though it’s not clear how long the effect lasts and how it varies from person to person.
It may help protect against cognitive decline. Medical ex perts have theorized that regular coffee consumption may help prevent cognitive decline asso ciated with Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia.
One promising Finnish study has found that drinking three to five cups of coffee daily at midlife was associated with a 65 percent decrease risk of Alzheimer’s and dementia in later life. The theory points out that caffeine prevents the buildup of beta-amyloid plaque that may contribute to the onset and progression of Al zheimer’s. Researchers also think that since coffee drinking may be associated with decreased risk of type 2 diabetes, a risk factor for dementia, its consumption also lowers the risk of developing de mentia. Also, these are theories, still, it is promising.
It is a friend to your heart.
There is a landmark Dutch study that analyzed data from more than 37,000 people over a period of 13 years, where it was found that moderate coffee drinkers (those who consume between two to four cups daily) had a 20 percent lower risk of developing heart diseases compared to heavy or light coffee drinkers, and non drinkers. So the operative word here is “moderate” (coffee drink ers). Apparently, there is some evidence that coffee may sup port heart health by protecting against arterial damage caused by inflammation. Go ask your heart doctor about this, if I may suggest.
It may help lower the risk of developing certain cancers. A recent study from the Harvard School of Public Health sug gests that consuming four or more cups of coffee daily de creased the risk of endometrial cancer in women by 25 percent as compared to women who drank less than one cup a day.
It’s also been said that men who drink coffee may be at a lower risk of developing prostate can cer. There is also an associa tion between regular drinking of coffee and lower rates of liver, colon, breast, and rectal cancers. It appears that antiox idant phytochemicals found in coffee carry anticarcinogenic properties that are said to help reduce the inflammation that may be responsible for some tumors.
Coffee is a liver lover. Aside from lowering the risk of liver cancer, coffee consumption is also linked to a lower incidence of cirrhosis, especially alco holic cirrhosis. The Archives of Internal Medicine has a study showing an inverse correla tion between increased coffee consumption and a 20 percent decrease in risk of cirrhosis for each cup consumed (up to four cups). Read full column story on manilastandard.net
FOR screen actor Piolo Pascual , waking up each morning is already a blessing, and that is already a good reason for him to start off his day with a wide optimistic smile.
“The mere thought of waking up every day to a new day is such a blessing already that you would want to be there, want to smile, because you’re given a chance to make things better. I guess when you are able to pay it forward, even with just your presence...those are the things that make me smile,” said the 45-year-old actor dur ing a contract signing event with Beaué derm Corporation.
Piolo was introduced as one of the of ficial faces of Koreisu, the oral health line of the popular beauty and lifestyle brand.
Beautéderm conceived Koreisu Family Toothpaste and Koreisu Whitening Tooth paste as a set of top-tier oral hygiene essen tials that are both fluoride-free and triclos an-free with very minimal ingredients that makes the products safe and ef fective for the entire fam ily to use. Koreisu Family Toothpaste is formulated with Sodium Bicarbon ate (baking soda) which makes it a safe alterna tive to commercial tooth pastes without sacrificing anti-plaque benefits while fighting tooth decay that causes bacteria. Koreisu Whitening Toothpaste on the other hand is a whit ening toothpaste that con tains activated charcoal that eliminates stains and unpleasant odor.
It should be noted that this is the third consecutive year that Pascual has been with Beau téderm as one of the brand’s A-list endorsers.
With an awe-inspiring career that spans three prodigious decades, Pascual’s body of work includes a consistent string of top-rating pri metime television series as well as blockbuster and critically-acclaimed films that has defined several generations, mak ing him one of the most respected and trusted actors in the history of Philippine en tertainment.
The immense mainstream popu larity and accomplishments of the iconic actor in both television and film paved the way for him to pay it forward as a produc er of quality films that greatly contribute to the growth of the industry.
Pascual’s success as an actor is borne out of hard work and perseverance, which is very much parallel to the story of Beau téderm that has equally inspired countless Fili pinos.
Both Pascual and Beautéderm are pas sionately committed to excellence and the highest standards of quality – making them a perfect match. And Pascual being a certi fied health buff makes him the ideal artist to promote Beautéderm’s
oral care essentials, espe cially these days where the maintenance of good wellbeing is extremely important not just to survive but also to thrive in these very challenging times.
“Koreisu Fam ily Toothpaste and Koreisu Whiten ing Toothpaste are daily essentials of mine in maintain ing excellent oral health,” said Pascual. “These are all-nat ural products that are not only hygienic but add an extra layer of protection against germs and viruses as well. I am so grateful to my Beauté derm family and to Ms. Rei for trusting me to represent these amazing products that I absolutely love.”
Beautéderm’s President and CEO Rhea Anicoche-Tan on the other hand is thrilled to have Pascual on board the fabulous Beautéderm family for the third straight year. “Who doesn’t love Piolo? No one could ever argue that he is the ultimate hunk and one of the industry’s top leading men,” says Anicoche-Tan. “But beyond all the pomp of his showbiz persona is a hard-working man who creates a positive difference in this world through his profes sionalism, humility, and the goodness of his heart. Plus it really doesn’t hurt that he has a dazzling megawatt smile right? It is truly our pleasure to have Piolo with us in our Beautéderm family.”
Splash a much-needed dose of pre mium in maintaining superior oral health and switch to Piolo Pas cual’s number one choice – Beautéderm’s Kore isu Family Toothpaste and Koreisu Whitening Toothpaste.
AS RESTRICTIONS ease up, chil dren have finally started going back out side, meeting their peers, and experienc ing face-to-face classes. After over two years spent indoors, an important ques tion on the minds of parents is: ‘’How can I prepare my kids physically and mentally for these changes?’’
‘’The first five years of life are crucial for physical growth and brain develop ment,’’ said Dr. Jose Rodolfo Dimaa no, Jr., medical affairs director for Ab bott’s nutrition business in Pacific Asia.
‘’To best prepare children to maxi mize their learning, and with the world opening up again, parents must ensure children continue to receive quality nu trition that supports stronger immunity, better cognition, and faster brain con nections. We believe that with good nu trition, children will be able to grow healthier and live fuller lives. ‘’
As a leader in nutrition, Abbott announced the launch of Similac GainSchool, the first and only milk formula with the PRODI-G Nutrient System and an exclusive blend of five different human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) to sup port better brain connections, higher IQ, and stronger immunity.
The new Similac GainSchool builds on Ab bott’s pioneering achievements in the field of child nutrition – launching the first milk for mula in the Philippines with 2’-fucosyllactose (2’-FL) HMO in 2018.
Abbott scientists have been studying HMOs for more than two decades. HMOs are spe
cial prebiotics that nourish and strengthen the body’s immune system. They feed good bacte ria in the gut where 70 percent of the immune system exists. HMOs have been a missing link in the composition of formula that intrinsically improve children’s immunity.
The new Similac GainSchool now improves on the brand’s previous formulation and adds five of the most abundant types of HMOs that proportionally make up 60 percent of total HMOs found in nature, scientifically designed for even better immunity, and less sicks days.
The breakthrough formulation also includes the PRODI-G Nutrient System which contains gangliosides – or complex lipids naturally found in the brain – and other essential nutri ents for brain development. Gangliosides are
The new Similac GainSchool was unveiled at a media launch held at Shangri-La The Fort in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig to day. The event included a series of expert-led talks on the importance of leveling up immunity and cog nition, followed by a panel discus sion on how parents can help their children thrive in a post-pandemic world.
The event highlighted the criti cal role parents play in supporting children’s growth during an im portant window of their develop ment. Providing proper nutrition for physical and cognitive development, lend ing emotional support, and celebrating the little wins at home are important components in a child’s overall growth.
Celebrity-influencers including Bianca Gon zalez Intal, Chynna Ortaleza-Cipriano and Feliz Lucas, and medical experts Dr. Mary Jean Guno and Dr. Anna Lisa T. Ong-Lim high lighted ways that they – as a parent or pediatric specialists – promote the health of their children.
The new Abbott Similac GainSchool is now available at most major retailers and online stores. To learn more about Similac Gain School, visit https://similac.com.ph, message us on the Alagang Abbott Facebook page or call Abbott’s nutrition hotline (8995-1555).
Nickie important nutrients that support better neural connections, cog nitive development, and perfor mance IQ. considered, there are many reasons to drink coffee. Mostly, we drink it for health. Looking for good reasons to drink coffee? We hear you. The event’s speakers together with representatives of Abbott Philippines pose for a photo after the official launch of the new Similac GainSchool last September 3 at Shangri-La The Fort, Bonifacio Global City Beautéderm’s President and CEO Rhea AnicocheTan introduced actor Piolo Pascual as one of the official faces of Koreisu, the oral health line of the popular beauty and lifestyle brand Anicoche-Tan and the 45-year-old actor during a photo shoot for Beauéderm Corporation Piolo answers questions from the press