Manila Standard - 2022 October 8 - Saturday

Oil price hike to stoke inflation

Fuel up P4/l next week, gov’t warned of ‘dissatisfaction’ with rising prices

By Alena Mae S. Flores and Othel V. Campos

PUMP prices are expected to rise by as much as P4 per liter next week following the decision of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies to cut production.

Tuesday's anticipated oil price hike will end five consecutive weeks of roll backs—and stoke fears of rising infla tion anew, as indicated in a Pulse Asia survey released this week.

‘Economy must be foremost focus of PBBM’

THE most pressing among macroeconomic issues is uplifting the country’s economy, the results of the latest PUBLiCUS survey released Friday suggested.

Conducted

the

PUBLiCUS Asia

Quarter

Survey between September 16-20 saw 23 percent of respondents saying that it must be the foremost focus of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. One in 10 voters said the most important issue the President should focus on is corruption (12%), poverty

(11%), prices/inflation (11%), or jobs (10%), which are closely interrelated with the economy.

The 1,500 registered Filipino voters who participated in the PAHAYAG 2022 Third Quarter Survey were randomly

Meanwhile, with the upcoming closed fishing season for sardines, can neries are seeking a P3 to P5 increase in the retail price of canned sardines— a staple of many poor Filipino fami lies—after projecting fish scarcity at 72,000 metric tons (MT) over the three-month season.

The group noted the impact as well of the increasing prices of other manu

facturing inputs.

Canned Sardines Association of the Philippines (CSAP) executive di rector Francisco Buencamino said at least eight canneries are poised to sub mit their petition to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

Rino Abad, director of the Depart ment of Energy's Oil Industry Manage ment Bureau, said the oil price hike would be implemented across all prod ucts.

"Pump prices of all products will go up. Gasoline is less than P1, diesel

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Speaker: High ratings mean President on right track

By Maricel V. Cruz

SPEAKER Martin G. Romualdez on Friday expressed elation over the high public approval ratings President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. received in the first Pulse Asia survey on the new leadership’s performance since

Mabasa

THE Palace on Friday announced that the Office of the Press Secretary would be headed by lawyer Cheloy VelicariaGarafil as officer-in-charge three days after its chief resigned.

Garafil said she quit as chairperson of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to take the job.

“I have accepted the offer to help in the Office of the Press Secretary as its

undersecretary and OIC,” Garafil said.

“This is a great honor and privilege and I thank the President for this opportunity to once again work with him in his administration to serve the Filipino people,” she added.

The press secretary post has been vacant since Tuesday, Oct. 5, following the resignation of Trixie Cruz-Angeles, officially due to health reasons.

By Joel E. Zurbano

THE Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Friday released an enhanced digital image of a suspect in the murder of veteran radio broadcaster Percy Mabasa.

DILG Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. also announced that the cash reward for anyone who can provide information that could lead to the identification and arrest of suspects in the case has increased from the initial P500,000 to P1.5 million.

“The Philippine National Police (PNP) and the DILG will not rest until

assuming office on June 30. “The good showing means that President Bongbong Marcos is on the right track of governance,” Romualdez said.

The House leader said the President “started on the right foot by convincing the best and the brightest and most

capable among Filipinos to serve the people by joining his economic team and his Cabinet.”

He said Filipinos were happy with the Marcos administration’s response to recent destructive typhoons, particularly super typhoon Karding (international

First Lady to take PH Chief Girl Scout mantle

FIRST Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos will be conferred the "Chief Girl Scout" title by the Girl Scouts of the Philippines (GSP) in November.

The installation and investiture rites will be held at Malacañang Palace's Ceremonial Hall, the GSP said in a Facebook post.

Araneta-Marcos met Thursday with GSP officials at the Presidential Management Staff building inside the Palace grounds.

The GSP delegation was led by Dr. Cristina Lim-Yuson, GSP National Executive Committee president.

"The meeting discussed the First

Abalos yanks police escorts from POGOs

By Vito Barcelo and Macon Ramos-Araneta

OFFICIAL BUSINESS. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. joins other government officials and executives of the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the Asian Development Bank in the contract signing for the North-South Commuter Railway System, which they are co-financing, on Friday. Earlier, Mr. Marcos administered the oath of office to DICT Secretary Ivan John Uy (inset), Pedro Laylo Jr., Philippine Ambassador to Israel Pedro Laylo Jr., and the newlyelected officers of the Malacañang Press Corps. Presidential Photos

INTERIOR Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. on Friday ordered police to stop providing security details to foreigners working in Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs).

At a budget hearing at the Senate, Abalos issued the order after senators questioned the deployment of personnel from the Philippine National Police Security and Protection Group (PNP-

WANTED.

HR champs win Nobel Peace Prize

OSLO—A trio of human rights champions from Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, a highly symbolic choice of laureates drawn from three nations at the center of the war in Ukraine.

The honor went to detained activist Ales Bialiatski of Belarus, Russia's Me morial group, and Ukraine's Center for Civil Liberties.

"They have made an outstanding ef fort to document war crimes, human rights abuses, and the abuse of power. Together they demonstrate the signifi cance of civil society for peace and de mocracy," the head of the Norwegian

Oil...

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more than P4, and kerosene more than P2 as of Thursday," Abad said.

OPEC+ announced a production cut of 2 million barrels per day starting next month to push up oil prices after its Oct. 5 meeting.

World oil prices dropped slightly above $80 per barrel from a high of $120 per barrel in the previous months due to global recession fears.

On Oct. 4, the oil companies cut the prices of gasoline by P0.40 per liter, die sel by P0.45 per liter, and kerosene by P0.85 a liter.

These resulted in the total year-todate net increase of P14.45 per liter for gasoline, P28.95 per liter for diesel, and P23.25 per liter for kerosene.

Earlier this week, Pulse Asia said 66 percent of respondents in a September sur vey said containing inflation was the most urgent issue for the national government to tackle. Forty-two percent of the respon dents also said they disapproved of the ad ministration’s efforts to tame inflation.

Pulse Asia President Ronald Holmes said if left unchecked, the problem of in flation could lead to general dissatisfac tion with the administration as a whole.

He added that the survey should signal to the administration that it must step up its efforts to control inflation.

Meanwhile, House Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. France Castro said the recent Pulse Asia

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sampled by PureSpectrum, a US-based panel marketplace with multinational presence, from its national panel of more than 200,000 Filipinos. The sample-wide margin of error is +/- 3%.

It echoed a recent Pulse Asia poll that showed most Filipinos see the need to control inflation as the most urgent issue that requires the government’s immediate attention.

In that survey of 1,200 adults conducted from Sept. 17 to 21, 66 percent of the respondents cited inflation as the most important issue, followed by increasing workers’ pay at 44 percent, creating more jobs at 35 percent, and

Abalos...

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"If the Philippines is such a dangerous place for them, why are they here to do business?" Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III asked.

Senator Juan Edgardo Angara, who presided over the hearing, said Filipino taxpayers are the ones paying for these PNP-PSPG personnel and government resources.

PNP chief Police General Rodolfo Azurin Jr. said he has ordered a review of people who can be provided with security by the PSPG, but Senator Ronald dela Rosa suggested he simply order a stop to the practice.

"When the issue is very hot about POGO, all it will take is one order,” Dela Rosa, a former PNP chief, said.

“If they need a lot of security, that means they are engaged in a very dangerous business,” he added in a mix of Filipino and English. "They are here to engage not in a legal business. Maybe it’s an illegal business they are

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Lady’s role as the Chief Girl Scout," Yuson posted on Facebook.

In attendance during the courtesy call were GSP international commissioner and immediate past national president Susan Romualdez-Locsin, legal committee chair Eugenia Fernandez, fund development committee chair Leonida Ortiz, and national executive director officer-in-charge Roselyn Davadilla.

Assistant national executive director for program Ginnie Oribiana, national executive director technical assistant Princess Ballesteros, and Deputy Chief of Presidential Protocol and Protocol Officer to the First Lady Gift So also

Nobel Committee, Berit Reiss-Anders en, told reporters.

The committee called on Belarus to release Bialiatski, 60, who has been jailed since 2021 (see related story in World, page B2 – Editors).

Bialiatski's wife said she was "over whelmed with emotion" after the news.

While the prize was not a direct mes sage to Putin, Reiss-Andersen called his

survey should be a wake-up call for the Marcos administration.

House Speaker Martin Romualdez, on the other hand, asked the public to be more patient, saying the government is addressing the situation, which he blamed on external factors, including the strength of the US dollar vis-a-vis the Philippine peso, the increase of the price of crude oil in the world market and dis ruptions in the supply chain caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and Russia’s inva sion of Ukraine.

“Singly, each of these events already puts pressure on inflation.

Their confluence makes matters worse for all consumers throughout the world,” he said (see related story on A1 – Editors).

The Philippine Chamber of Agricul ture and Food, Inc. (PCAFI) proposed reviving the consumer Price Watch to better monitor the behavior of consumer goods and track any attempt aimed at de ceiving consumers.

"This committee will serve as a guide for all to the right pricing of agricultural commodities. It is better for all of us to know the data, so we can see if there are instances of price manipulation,” said PCAFI president Danilo Fausto during the regular Usapang Pagkain forum held Friday.

Price Watch, composed of producers, retailers, importers and government rep resentatives, has been in hibernation for over three years now.

The group has recently forwarded its second aide-memoire to the President, in his capacity as the concurrent Agriculture

reducing poverty at 34 percent.

The Marcos administration received mostly positive ratings in addressing various national issues, except in controlling the increasing prices of basic commodities.

About 18 percent of respondents in the PUBLiCUS survey said that not having the money to pay for basic needs remains the top key concern among households heading into the last quarter of 2022, the survey firm added.

Other issues including losing a job (12%), not getting enough pay (12%), difficulty in finding employment (11%), and getting sick with a serious disease apart from COVID-19 (10%) all boil down to the fear of not being able to afford one’s living necessities.

engaged in.” Dela Rosa and Pimentel then mentioned a complaint where Filipinos were allegedly being stopped from entering a public restroom when the "big boss" of these bodyguards was using it.

Abalos then ordered Azurin during the hearing to look into the incident mentioned by the senators and file cases if necessary.

"I'm directing our chief to look into this. Number one, we’ll file a case if need be. It cannot be that nobody can use the restroom when a foreigner is taking a leak. We are in the Philippines. This is not acceptable,” Abalos said in Filipino.

“Take down all their names and discipline them. Number two, let’s stop this practice. Take this all down,” he added.

After the hearing, Abalos said his order was effective immediately.

On Friday, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said it has canceled the visas of at least 372 foreign nationals for illegally working in online gambling operations and ordered them to leave the country. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

attended the meeting.

Through the years, the GSP continues to pursue character building and youth development programs as part of its commitment to nation-building.

Under the GSP Charter, a woman president or the First Lady of the Philippines is designated as the Chief Girl Scout, thus automatically making Araneta-Marcos the title holder.

The GSP's Chief Girl Scout medal is the highest award given to the country's girl scouts and is built on the total development of the woman's spiritual, physical, mental, emotional and social aspects.

The Chief Girl Scout medal scheme mandates the country's senior and cadet Girl Scouts to serve the community and to develop their leadership capabilities, perseverance, and sense of responsibility.

regime an "authoritarian government that is suppressing human rights activists" and that the committee wanted to highlight the "way civil society and human rights advo cates are being suppressed."

Last year, the Peace Prize crowned two champions of freedom of the press, Philippine journalist Maria Ressa and her Russian colleague Dmitry Muratov.

The prize comes with a gold medal, a diploma, and a prize sum of 10 million Swedish kronor (about $900,000).

Not yielded an inch'

The award will be presented at a for mal ceremony in Oslo on December 10, the anniversary of the 1896 death of the prize's creator, Swedish inventor and

secretary.

The document called on the Presi dent to stop the importation of 416,000 deboned chicken, to avoid further dis placement of poultry growers.

The imports are about a third or 34 percent of the projected output of the lo cal poultry industry, as estimated by the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI).

Stakeholders said the importation, sanctioned by the Department of Agricul ture (DA), has compromised local output as local farm gate prices of chicken have gone below break-even cost, prompting poultry growers to stop production.

“While there is a need to import me chanically deboned meat (MDM) since they are not locally produced, deboned chicken is passed on as chicken fillet or chicken meat directly competing with our local chicken production, which is 97 percent sufficient to supply local de mand,” Fausto said.

PCAFI have also asked for budget ary support to the seaweeds industry and policy support for the fisheries subsector in relation to the enforcement of the fishing ban on sardines starting endNovember 2022 to end-February 2023.

CSAP’s Buencamino said that while price adjustments have been kept at mini mum levels, the recent adjustments were not reflective of the true cost of production that prompted canned-fish manufacturers to seek another price increase.

The group noted that the DTI has been pushing back prices through the department’s suggested retail price (SRP) bulletin, the price monitoring

The most popular issues among Filipinos currently are the use of renewable energy, penalizing text spammers and scammers, and the continuation of government subsidies like Libreng Sakay and “ayuda” (cash aid) for marginalized sectors

The survey saw 88 percent of respondents saying they “approve” or “strongly approve” of using renewable energy such as wind and solar farms.

Equally popular at 87 percent is the general sentiment of being fed up with the spread of text spammers/scammers to the point of wanting to penalize them, the firm said in a statement.

The next most approved issues are the continuation of government subsidies in the form of free rides and cash aid for people below the poverty line (78%), and

Mabasa..

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we put this man behind bars to answer for his crime,” Abalos said in a press briefing in Taguig City.

Showing the digital image that clearly showed the suspect’s face, he said, “I know we can identify the suspect. We’re close.”

Mabasa, better known as Percy Lapid of DWBL 1242 station, was gunned down by two unidentified men along Aria St., Sta. Cecilia Village, Talon Dos in Las Piñas City on Monday.

The DILG chief said the PNP and its units in the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), the PNP Anti-Cybercrime and Intelligence Units, together with the special task Force created to resolve the case are all working round the clock to bring justice to Mabasa’s family.

He sought the public’s support to help the PNP identify the suspect by disseminating the photo on social

Garafil...

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Angeles was one of the officials that the Commission on Appointments (CA) bypassed last week.

Former Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin was appointed as the new Executive Secretary, replacing Vic Rodriguez, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s longtime aide.

Garafil is a former journalist, director at the House of Representatives committee on rules, a prosecutor at the Department of Justice, and a state solicitor at the Office of the Solicitor General.

She was appointed to head the LTFRB in June.

President Marcos earlier said a new “media-friendly” press secretary would

philanthropist Alfred Nobel.

Reiss-Andersen said she hoped Biali atski would be able to attend.

"We do hope... that he can come to Oslo and receive the honor bestowed upon him", she said.

Bialiatski was imprisoned from 2011 to 2014 and was again arrested follow ing large-scale demonstrations against the regime in 2020.

"He is still detained without trial. De spite tremendous personal hardship, Mr. Bialiatski has not yielded an inch in his fight for human rights and democracy in Belarus", the Nobel committee said.

AFP (See full story online at manilas tandard.net)

guide for basic necessities and prime commodities.

“That is understandable given that canned sardines are part of the so-called social commodities. What we noted, however, was that we filed for a price increase in 2019 but we got it in 2022, and the adjustment was barely enough for stakeholders to be profitable,” Buen camino said.

Compared to canned sardines pricing in the region, the Philippines’ pricing is about double, and at times, triple the price in ASEAN.

“The SRP of the DTI forces us to force down the price of sardines as a social product. That’s wrong but they’re doing it. They’re not looking at the viability of the businesses. They’re only looking at brownie points they earn from the public that they can force manufacturers to lower the price,” Buencamino said.

He also said the DTI should not as sume companies were hoarding if they find big hauls in cold storage during their surprise visits, as this is the indus try’s effort to buffer stock for the closed months.

For three months starting Nov. 31, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Re sources (BFAR) will enforce the closed season for sardines fishing, restricting commercial fishers from harvesting sar dines to allow the species to repopulate as part of sustainable fish management.

The looming shortage of “tamban” or sardines due to the upcoming closed season may prompt stakeholders to seek permission to import them.

banning sexual offenders from teaching (76%).

Even with a 71-percent approval of the full implementation of face-toface classes, hybrid work remains an acceptable arrangement for 72 percent of respondents, the survey added.

SIM card registration to curb scammers and the NTF-ELCAC are supported by 7 out of 10 respondents.

Some of the least approved are the removal of general education subjects in college, taxing of passive income, importation of refined sugar, and increasing prices of commodities.

PAHAYAG is an independent and non-commissioned national purposive survey conducted by PUBLiCUS Asia Inc. PAHAYAG, a CSR program of PUBLiCUS, is released quarterly.

media and other platforms to speed up the resolution of the case.

“This is important. Every bit of information can really help resolve this case the soonest,” he said.

At the same time, Abalos underscored the PNP and DILG’s initiative to protect journalists and urged them to report to the PNP any harassment or threats they are receiving.

He also urged the suspect in the photo obtained by the NCRPO from the CCTV footage to surrender. “To this person in the picture, I can only say this: Many people already know you. Many will report. You should give up.”

“It is very important that you surrender because think about it, those who ordered you might do something bad to you. Let the police take over here. The best thing to do is surrender and let the police take over,” he said.

Mabasa’s brother, meanwhile, said he was saddened that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. did not mention the slain broadcaster in a gathering of journalists Wednesday night. See full story online at manilastandard.net)

be named next week to replace Angeles.

Speculation on social media focused on several candidates for the job, including Transportation Undersecretary Cesar Chavez, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. director Gilbert Remulla, lawyer Michael Toledo, and filmmaker Paul Soriano.

Of the four, Toledo, Remulla and Chavez were former media practitioners. Remulla was a former reporter of ABSCBN, Toledo was a former news anchor of TV5, while Chavez was a former station manager of dzRH.

Senior Deputy Speaker and former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo congratulated Garafil on her latest appointment, saying that she is more than qualified to be the OIC of the Office of the Press Secretary. Vito Barcelo, Vince Lopez, Rio N. Araja and Maricel V. Cruz

US, PH backstop pact with joint military drills

US and Philippine marines stormed a beach near a disputed rocky outcrop in the South China Sea on Friday as part of joint military drills involving more than 3,500 troops.

It is the first time the annual naval ex ercises have been held under President Ferdinand Marcos, who has expressed strong support for the decades-old alli ance, after rocky relations under his pre decessor Rodrigo Duterte.

Duterte had threatened to cancel drills and axe a key military deal with the Unit ed States as he pivoted towards China.

But Mr. Marcos told US President Joe Biden during a meeting in New York last month that he appreciated America's role in "maintaining the peace in our region".

China's recent war games around Tai wan, which it claims as part of its terri tory, rang alarm bells among nations sur rounding the South China Sea.

Beijing claims sovereignty over al most the entire sea, while the Philip pines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei have overlapping claims to parts of it.

China has ignored an international court ruling that its claims have no le gal basis, and has aggressively asserted its stance. AFP (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

COA: P691.76-b losses by gov’t CPSE firms in ‘21

THE government lost about P691.76 bil lion in 2021, representing the combined comprehensive loss of state corporations classified as commercial public sector entities (CPSEs), state auditors noted Friday.

According to the 2021 Annual Finan cial Report on Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations by the Com mission on Audit (COA), that was an increase of P358.15 billion or 107.36 percent from the 2020 combined com prehensive loss of P333.61 billion in 2020.

Copies of the report were received on September 29 by the offices of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Senate President Miguel Zubiri, and House Speaker Mar tin Romualdez.

The combined comprehensive loss figure is the net result of the total com prehensive income of P167.40 billion and total comprehensive loss of P859.16 billion.

The top three CPSEs that reported comprehensive losses were the Social Security System at P826.95 billion, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas at P26.657 billion, and Manila International Airport Authority with P2.451 billion.

The top three state firms that regis tered the highest comprehensive income were the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation with P32.839 billion, Gov ernment Service Insurance System with P31.109 billion, and Home Development Mutual Fund with P29.086 billion.

Speaker:...

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Also receiving 78 percent were the administration’s coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) control measures.

Romualdez said the government’s decision to continue reopening the economy while making sure that COVID-19 does not spread and ensuring the strengthening and readiness of the health care system has resulted in more mobility, more economic activities, more jobs, and increased income for the people.

He encouraged Filipinos to get their booster shots so the nation could soon achieve herd immunity against novel coronavirus, which he said would lead to the full opening of the economy.

The Pulse Asia survey also showed that the Marcos administration received high marks ranging from 52 percent to 69 percent in the areas of promoting peace, protecting the welfare of overseas Filipinos, fighting criminality, enforcing the law, creating jobs, increasing workers’ pay, right graft and corruption, protecting the environment, and defending the country’s territorial integrity.

Romualdez said the uptick in inflation could be traced largely to external factors, including the strength of the US dollar vis-a-vis the Philippine peso, the increase of the price of crude oil in the world market and disruptions in the supply chain caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“Singly, each of these events already puts pressure on inflation.

Their confluence makes matters worse for all consumers throughout the world,” he said.

Gov’t unveils new drug war plan

By Joel E. Zurbano

THE government on Friday formally launched a campaign using a “whole-of-nation” approach against the drug menace.

The campaign involved local govern ment units, national government agen cies, and other key sectors of society that will focus more on drug demand reduction and rehabilitation.

Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Ben jamin Abalos, Jr. said the program dubbed as “Buhay Ingatan, Droga’y Ayawan” or BIDA is in line with the present administration’s commitment to continue the campaign against illegal

2 dead, 3 hurt in NPA attack in East Samar

TACLOBAN CITY—Two soldiers died, two others were wounded, and a child got hit by a stray bullet when a band of New People’s Army (NPA) at tacked government troops in a remote village in Jipapad, Eastern Samar province early Friday.

Citing initial reports, Capt. Ryan Layug, the spokesperson of the Phil ippine Army’s 8th Infantry Division, said an undetermined number of armed rebels attacked a squad of sol diers around 1:30 a.m. on Friday in re mote Dorillo village in Jipapad town.

The squad, with seven soldiers, was de ployed in the area to get rid of NPA threats.

“Our troop was in the village to co ordinate development projects. We are still gathering more information since this is a very sensitive operation,” La yug told the Philippine News Agency.

A 10-year-old girl was hit by a stray bullet from the enemy side, according to Layug.

Capt. Valben Almirante, the spokesper son of the Army’s 803rd Brigade, said the young victim was rushed to a hospital in Borongan City with the assistance of the local government of Jipapad.

drugs “within the framework of the law and with respect for human rights and with focus on rehabilitation and socioeconomic development.”

He said the BIDA advocacy program banks on the best practices of the past DILG programs against illegal drugs and now focuses on combatting the problem via demand reduction.

An offshoot of the previous BIDA ang may Disiplina Program, the campaign calls for the support of local government

units, partner government agencies, local stakeholders, and organizations to effec tively advocate drug demand reduction to all sectors of the community.

“We urge the different government agencies, the church, the school, private organizations, let us help one another on this war against drugs,” Abalos said.

“By raising awareness and encourag ing participation from all sectors of the community in drug demand reduction, we can address the perennial problem of illegal drugs which threatens peace and order and cause crimes in commu nities,” he added.

Abalos said BIDA specifically aims to strengthen institutions in the imple mentation of drug reduction activities, encourage multi-sectoral participa

tion, secure commitments from na tional government agencies and part ner organizations, and raise awareness through information, education, and communication materials.

During the launching held in Manila, a memorandum of undertaking on the BIDA program was signed by partner national agencies and key stakeholders.

The event was a hybrid of face-to-face and teleconferencing.

Present during the event are DILG officials, local chief executives from the National Capital Region, key stakeholders from the sectors of health, justice, national defense, fi nance, labor and employment, social welfare and development, foreign affairs, and education.

President rallies gov’t to prepare for Mayon unrest

By Rio N. Araja

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Friday he was working with state agencies and local government units to ensure readiness in light of the Mayon Volcano’s increasing unrest.

The Philippine Institute of Volcan ology and Seismology (Phivolcs) on Friday warned of possible eruptions of Mt. Mayon in Albay as it raised its alert level.

Marcos said he has been coordinat ing with agencies such as the Philip pine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).

“After Alert Level 2 was raised over Mayon Volcano, we continued to communicate with PHIVOLCS, NDRRMC, LGUs, and other agencies to make sure that everyone is prepared for a possible change in the situation. Stay safe,” he said on Twitter.

“The Department of Science and Technology-Phivolcs is raising the alert level of Mayon Volcano from Alert Level 1 (abnormal) to Alert Lev el 2 (increasing unrest),” the agency’s 3 p.m. bulletin read.

“Ocular inspection of the summit during an aerial survey this morning (October 7) confirmed the presence of freshly extruded lava at the base of the summit lava dome,” it said.

Senate panel approves P3.6b tourism budget

By Othel Campos

THE Senate Committee on Finance Subcommittee “J” on Thursday has submitted for plenary debate the pro posed P3.573 budget of the Depart ment of Tourism (DOT) and its at tached agencies for 2023.

Tourism Secretary Christina Gar cia Frasco expressed her elation with the development and offered the DOT’s sincerest appreciation to Senator Nancy Binay, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Tour ism and Senate Finance Subcom mittee J, and to Senators Grace Poe, Joel Villanueva, JV Ejercito, Koko Pimentel, Loren Legarda, and Robinhood Padilla for their mani festation of support to the Depart ment’s plans and programs that are enclosed in its seven-point agenda and three key strategies to revital ize the Philippine tourism industry in the coming years.

Frasco noted the impact of the Sen ate Subcommittee’s favorable decision on the DOT’s budget for FY 2023, with even some Senators strongly ad vocating for an increased budget for the DOT in the coming years.

Senators express dismay over BFP plan to buy firearms for firemen

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

SENATE Minority Floor Leader Aq uilino “Koko” Pimentel III expressed disappointment over the plan of the Bu reau of Fire Protection (BFP) to use its P45 million savings to procure 2,282 firearms for its firemen in 146 cities and 17 regional offices.

SC rules in favor of landowners in Valenzuela land dispute

By Rey E. Requejo

AFTER nine years since Valen zuela City instituted an expropria tion case over 7,526 square meters of land for the expansion of the city’s Sitero High School, the Su preme Court (SC) ruled in favor of the land owners finally getting the right compensation for their property at P2,700 per square meter instead of only P30 pegged by the city government in 2013.

In a decision rendered last Sep tember 7 and made public last October 4, the SC sustained the rulings of both the regional trial court (RTC) and the Court of Ap

peals (CA) that the land owners, spouses William and Belen Gosiaco, should be paid P20,320,200 for their expropriated property.

The ruling came as the high tribu nal denied the petition filed by the Valenzuela City government through then Mayor Rexlon T. Gatchalian.

Acting on the expropriation pro ceedings, the RTC ruled that Valen zuela City has the right to institute the case and ordered the creation of a Board of Commissioners to deter mine just compensation.

The board recommended P400 per square meter or P3,010,400 as the fair market value of the Gosia co’s property.

During the Committee on Finance hearing on the proposed 2023 budget of the Department of the Interior and Lo cal Government (DILG) and its attached agencies, Pimentel was informed by BFP chief Louie Puracan that they have requested the Department of Budget and Management to allow them to use the BFP savings to buy firearms.

The savings, he said, came from the fund intended for the purchase of new firetrucks.

“So the policy question is, three more firetrucks or 2,000 plus firearms?” asked Pimentel. “I think for the BFP that should be a no-brainer because you know what you are supposed to do,” he said.

In the same hearing, Sen. JV Ejer

cito asked the BFP to prioritize the distribution of firetrucks to munici palities that still do not have fire sta tions and fire trucks.

He noted that there are cities and first-class municipalities that still re ceive new fire trucks from BFP even if they can afford to purchase their own trucks.

Experts to PBBM: Ensure transparent infra works

AFTER almost 100 days in office, experts from the academe, private sector, and advocacy groups are calling on the Marcos government to learn from the lessons of the Du terte administration’s Build, Build, Build program, and ensure a more consumer-friendly and transparent infrastructure program.

The experts made the call on Wednesday in a virtual roundta ble discussion organized by the Stratbase Albert del Rosario In stitute (ADRi) in partnership with consumer advocacy group Citizen Watch Philippines.

“Infrastructure development is important for long-term growth. It provides jobs for Filipinos, en sures income security, allows for increased production and distri bution, and stimulates spending

that keeps the economy running strong for the long term. Indeed, infrastructure development is in strumental in achieving long-term growth – one that future generations may enjoy,” Prof. Victor Andres Manhit, Stratbase ADR Institute president, said. Manhit said there is a need to drive-up investments for the country to move forward.

Dr. Epictetus Patalinghug , Uni versity of the Philippines- Virata School of Business professor emeri tus and Stratbase ADRi trustee and program convenor, Dr. Epictetus Patalinghug enumerated the chal lenges the previous administra tion faced that led to the inefficient implementation of the Duterte ad ministration’s Build, Build, Build (BBB) program.

MR. AND MS. CHINATOWN. Candidates for Mr. & Ms. Chinatown 2022 pose with CHiNOY TV president Alvin Kingson Tan (center left); OKBet’s vice president for Marketing and Business Development Robert Chen (center); and Ms. Chinatown Foundation chairperson Wilson Agbayani (center right). Filipino sportsbook OKBet is the pageant’s newest sponsor. The firm also organized the said event following the initial reveal on October 2 on various social media platforms. Each of the 16 contestants presented their advocacies to a live audience. This is the first time in two years that this event is being held after the entire country was placed on lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Roy Tomandao

CLEARING OPERATION.

Members of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Special Task Force towed illegally parked vehicles along the areas of Delpan and Parola in Manila during a clearing operation on Friday. Norman Cruz

French envoy: Mr. Marcos likely to visit France, but no date yet

By Rey E. Requejo

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is likely to visit France, but still no definite date yet when it will happen, according to the French ambassador to the Philippines.

Ambassador Michèle Boccoz could not say however, when Marcos will visit her country.

“It’s really too soon to say what’s going to happen. There are exchanges at the moment,” Boccoz said, during an interview with reporters at her residence.

“The teams are going to work on that; I cannot tell you more. Discussions are ongoing,” Boccoz said.

Marcos and French President Emmanuel Macron talked over the phone last Sept. 16.

The two leaders agreed to boost bilateral relations in terms of low-carbon energy, food security, defense, and human exchanges, the French Embassy in

Manila said.

Marcos and Macron also met on Sep. 21 at the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Boccoz did not say if there was an invitation that came from Macron during their meetings, but France is “very happy to welcome” Marcos Jr.

The envoy said the level of preparations for the event will vary depending on the type of visit. She said, there will be more preparation if it will be official visit, and not a working visit.

The envoy stressed that it needs even more preparations if it is going to be a state visit, she said.

Boccoz also said the Philippines and France have formed a task force to facilitate talks on expanded cooperation on security and energy, among others.

But she added that no date has been set for the meeting, although a mission from France is expected to fly to Manila once details have been finalized.

CTA orders recall of P2.229b tax levy on Pacquiaos

THECourt of Tax Appeals (CTA) has ordered the cancellation for lack of merit of the P2.229-billion tax assessment on former Senator Manny Pacquiao and his wife Jinkee.

The CTA special third division, in a decision promulgated on September 29, 2022, granted the Pacquiao couple’s petition for review of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) tax assessments for 2008 and 2009.

“In sum, the court finds that the subject assessment for deficiency income tax is

IN BRIEF

THE Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) on Friday broke ground for a new housing project in Barangay Nangka, Marikina City, the sixth of such ceremonies held in just two weeks under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino Program.

The project forms part of the 100 days accomplishments of the Marcos administration in the housing sector, according to DHSUD Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar.

The country’s need for at least 6.5 million homes is “definitely possible” under the national housing program, a brainchild of the President, he noted.

DHSUD is eyeing to build and dispense one million housing units every year or six million housing units within the six-year term of the Marcos administration.

“This will not be easy, but definitely possible, as we are already making significant strides in making this happen. This memorandum of understanding signing and groundbreaking ceremony for a land development and housing project is a concrete manifestation of that,” he said. Rio N. Araja

Sandigan fines ‘Euro general’ with P200k

A MISDEED in his past was still catching up with this so-called Euro general as the Sandiganbayan slapped him with a P200,000-fine for failure to declare his funds in excess of the $10,000 limit during his trip to Russia in 2008.

The anti-graft court found former police comptroller Eliseo dela Paz guilty of violating the $10,000-rule set by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

In a decision penned by Sandiganbayan Fourth Division chairman Associate Justice Frederick Musngi, Dela Paz was ordered to pay the P200,000-fine.

The decision also stated that Dela Paz’s bail bond, which he earlier posted for temporary liberty, will only be released after he pays the P200,000- fine.

Meanwhile, Dela Paz’s wife and co-accused Maria Fe was acquitted of the same charge “due to the prosecution’s failure to prove her guilt beyond reasonable doubt.”

Dela Paz and Maria Fe immediately left the building after the promulgation.

THE Department of Health (DOH) sustains its PinasLakas campaign to boost its vaccination program for primary series and booster doses against COVID-19 with a simultaneous launch of “Bakunahang Bayan” special vaccination days in different provinces on Friday.

DOH-Center for Health Development Soccsksargen Region, with the Rural Health Unit of San Isidro General Santos City, conducted a ceremonial vaccination of eligible population against COVID-19 in Barangay San Isidro, General Santos City.

DOH Davao Region headed by director Dr. Annabelle Yumang also vaccinated Davaoeños at the Tog’gan Center in Barangay. Carcor, New Corella, Davao del Norte and in Barangay Bangkal, Matanao, Davao del Sur.

The campaign was also launched in Western Visayas, with ceremonial vaccinations at the Bug-ang National High School headed by the Municipal Health Office of Toboso, Negros Occidental, and St. Vincent Ferrer Parish Shrine in La Castellana, led by the Provincial Health Office of Negros Occidental at La Castellana

Health Office.

void for violation of petitioners’ right to due process and for lack of sufficient factual basis,” the ruling stated.

The decision was penned by Justice Erlinda Uy, and concurred to by Associate Justices Ma. Belen Ringpis-Liban and Maria Rowena Modesto-San Pedro.

The court noted that in 2008 and

2009, Pacquiao’s professional earnings were sourced from the United States and the Philippines, not just by being a professional boxer but also as a product endorser with numerous commercials and television appearances.

In 2012, a formal demand letter was issued by the BIR against the Pacquiaos for alleged deficient income tax and value added tax (VAT) in the aggregate amount of P2.2 billion for 2008 and 2009, broken down as P766.889 million for 2008 and P1.433 billion for 2009.

The Pacquiaos filed their protest in the same year following the issuance

of the final assessment of the deficient income tax and VAT amounting to P2.261 billion.

The couple however decided not to contest the 2008 and 2009 VAT assessments as records showed they paid the deficiency in VAT assessments totaling P32.196 million.

In 2013, the BIR claimed that the petition for review was filed by the Pacquiaos beyond the 30-day period from their receipt of the final decision on disputed assessment. But in their reply, the couple stated, among others, that the BIR failed to establish that they actually received a

copy of the assessment.

The CTA upheld their argument on this issue. “No proof of service was presented by respondent to show that it was actually received by petitioners,” the court said.

The court also noted that the tax assessments against the Pacquiaos lacked sufficient basis, as they were principally based on news articles.

The news articles mentioned the payper-view hits of Pacquiao’s fights, as well as his estimated earnings therefrom.

“The court finds that the foregoing news articles are not sufficient basis for an assessment,” the court said.

PBBM’s first 100 days draw mixed reactions from solons

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

AS President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s marks his 100th day in office today (Oct. 8), some senators commended him, but the opposition expressed severe criticisms.

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian praised the President’s actions, such as what he called “right-sizing the government”, forming an impressive economic team, and abolishing agencies with overlapping functions.

Gatchalian also said the Chief Executive addressed concerns on agriculture “when he let the investigation run its course on issues hounding the sugar importation.”

He also lauded Marcos for bringing over P1 trillion after his business trips to the United States, Indonesia, and Singapore.

“This is just the start. We have a long way to go. But we need the help of each one to make a recovery easier,” Gatchalian added.

On the other hand, opposition Sen. Risa Hontiveros said up to this day, the tone of bold leadership and management in the midst of crises, just as we are facing now, has not been assumed by the President.

She said the President should have taken on the reins of governance but “he seems to have taken only a slack hold.”

“Is the President really at the helm? Or does he expect the ship to sail by itself?” Hontiveros asked.

After 100 days in his position, it would appear that Malacañang is scared to face the mirror, she noted.

The President’s lack of management skills and a topsy-turvy bureaucracy, are blockages in government functions, as shown by the non-handling of the sugar import fiasco in the middle of the recession, Hontiveros said.

In several agencies, she said there was no leadership.

She noted that two Cabinet officials and the COA chairman have already resigned.

And up to now, she said there are no Health secretary and Agriculture secretary to address the pandemic and food shortage.

The senator cited the most recent Pulse Asia survey which revealed that 42 percent of Filipinos disapprove of the President’s lack of urgency when it comes to controlling inflation, which the people believe is the most pressing issue today.

DPWH starts work on P23.9-b, 4-km Davao City to Samal Island bridge

By Vito Barcelo

THE Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has started the construction of the P23.9 billion Samal Island – Davao City Connector (SIDC) Project in Mindanao.

Meanwhile, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s infrastructure team will attend next week a forum organized by the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines (EJAP) and the MVP Group of Companies to discuss the plans and projects lined up by the government for the Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan said the 3.98-kilometer, 4-lane bridge will link Samal Island to Davao City, spanning the Pakiputan Strait.

Samal Island, reputedly the largest resort city in the Philippines, is two kilometers away from Davao City and could be reached by a ferry ride. The island boasts of pristine beaches and

remarkable snorkeling and diving sites, with luxury to budget resorts that make for the ultimate tropical getaway.

DPWH Undersecretary Emil Sadain together with Assistant Secretary Constante Llanes Jr. and project director Rodrigo Delos Reyes of the DPWH’s Unified Project Management OfficeBridges Management Cluster inspected the two ongoing drilling boreholes.

The geotechnical plan was prepared and designed by China Road and Bridge Corp. which will have a total of 97 boreholes - 63 for Davao onshore, 18 offshore, and 16 for Samal onshore.

The project has all the necessary permits and requirements from concerned local government units and national government agencies, and both the local government units of Island Garden City of Samal and Davao City have expressed no opposition on the current bridge alignment, Bonoan said.

San Miguel Corp. opens health clinic for needy women in Tondo

SAN Miguel Corp. (SMC) has opened a health clinic in Tondo, Manila meant to provide specialized healthcare for women from nearby poor communities, with the goal of reducing their risk of breast and cervical cancer — two of the most common diseases among Filipino women.

SMC president and chief executive officer Ramon S. Ang said this latest initiative will help arrest rising cases of reproductive health issues among women in urban poor communi-

ties, as part of the company’s increased focus and involvement on women’s issues, under its wider social development agenda.

The women’s health clinic will provide free medical services, including obstetrics and gynecologic (OB-GYN) ultrasound, general ultrasound, and medical consultation for pregnancies and female reproductive health to over

women members of its Better World Tondo community.

The clinic, located within SMC’s “Better World Tondo” community center, which

also functions as a feeding and learning facility and food bank, will also hold regular health education sessions that will teach women from urban poor communities about cancer prevention, pregnancy healthcare, and nutrition, among others.

“For many women in poor communities, the needs of the family takes precedence over their own health. Instead of paying for healthcare, they might as well just buy food, pay for the rent, or buy school supplies,” Ang said.

“This is the unfortunate situation in which women find themselves in every day. That is why they may often postpone the diagnosis of a serious health problem. With this clinic, we hope to be able to provide women with the proper health care they need,” he added.

He also said apart from giving them access to free and specialized medical care and equipment, we will also work with medical experts to continuously guide them on how to prevent serious illnesses through early detection.

DHSUD PUSHES HOUSING PROGRAM. Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar and Marikina City Mayor Marcelino Teodoro shake hands after sealing an accord for the Bagong Sibol Housing Project in Barangay Nangka, Marikina City. Manny Palmero

NEW LAKAS-CMD MEMBER. Speaker Martin Romualdez (second from left) poses with Echague, Isabela Mayor Francis Faustino Dy (second from right) who takes his oath as a new Lakas-CMD member Friday afternoon at the Manila Golf and Country Club in Makati City.Flanking them are Isabela Vice Gov. Faustino “Bojie” Dy III and Isabela 6th District Rep. Faustino “Inno” Dy V (right). Ver Noveno

DHSUD launches new project in Marikina City

DOH steps up COVID vax drive in the regions

TOURIST SERVICE CENTER IN BUKIDNON. Tourism Secretary Ma. Esperanza Christina Frasco leads the groundbreaking of the rst Tourist Service Center and Rest Area on Sayre Highway in Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon, She is accompanied by Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) chief Mark Lapid, Bukidnon Rep. Jose Manuel Alba, Vice Governor Clive Quino and Manolo Fortich Mayor Rogelio Quino. Danny Pata

Bombing of Nord Stream a clear act of sabotage

BEFORE Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines became operational, the collective West was already sounding the possibility that Germany would not be able to operate the pipelines.

US President Joe Biden has been warning Germany not to push through with the project that would give access to cheap Russian gas, and would constitute a threat to US security.

Members of the European Union must bear in mind that even before the pipeline started its construction, the Americans have vehemently op posed the project, insisting that the pipeline is a threat to its national security without stating that the real reason that Russia wants to break the an ticipated US monopoly in the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Western Europe.

The entry of Russia as an exporter of LNG could seriously threaten its supply notwithstand ing that its price offer of LNG is three times lower than the market value of LNG in Europe.

The steady supply of cheap LNG by Russia could endanger the alliance both on political and geostrategic grounds.

Aside from cheap LNG offered by Russia, Eu rope will be able to obtain a steady supply of the commodity with less fanfare from politics.

The completion of Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipe lines will not give assurance of continuous supply to the whole of the continent of Europe which the US has been trying to integrate since World War II.

Keeping an umbilical cord with Western Eu rope favors US geo-political interest of which only Europe could serve as link to the heartland of trans-Asia for the purpose of reconfiguring trade and economic development, extending all the way to the North to the English Channel down to the Mediterranean and onward to Africa.

The Road and Belt Initiative (BRI) of China is one that is designed to achieve universal transfor mation of the continents.

The Nord Stream 1 and 2 Pipelines Project is Russia’s contribution to what some would say as the universalization of development towards a shared community of the future.

If the BRI is designed to cement a permanent link with China, the Nord Stream 1 and 2 are Rus sia’s contribution to universalize development.

The immediate impact of these projects is that Russia will drastically reduce the cost of energy. Natural gas from Russia will provide an efficient and cheap source of heat to industries. The pipe lines are envisioned to stretch to boost industries.

Of course, oppositors will argue that tradi tional fuels such as oil and gas pose a danger to climate change.

This is true to nuclear energy and other alter native sources of energy, such as wind and solar energy just to satisfy the need of the environmen talists to lessen climate change.

But its production does not seem sufficient enough to quench the thirst of the industries.

The Russian proposal to supply Western Eu rope with natural gas has been woefully politi cized by the US for fear that the steady and cheap supply of LNG will diminish US stranglehold of the commodity.

It will weaken US alliance with NATO that serves as America’s dumping ground and outlet for the sale of weapons to Europe.

To cope with the dwindling of sale of weapons, it made compulsory to NATO members to spend not less than 2 percent of their GDP and this was approved by the NATO council with the top five US arms manufacturers assured of job orders.

This has resulted in an ever-increasing depen dence in the purchases of arms and weapons of some countries channeling their excess supply to overthrow legitimate governments in Latin Amer ica and Africa.

From the start, it is the US that has been weaponizing the alliance to give justification to NATO and impetus to US arms industries.

This explains why the US flatly rejected the suggestion by then Soviet Union in 1991 to dis band the NATO in exchange for disbanding of the Warsaw Pact.

The US refused because it has an agenda of wanting to dismember the whole of the Russian federation. Practically, the US scrapped all its treaties with the Soviet Union, the latest of which was the scrapping of the intermediate range bal listics.

The US has more reasons to prevent Russia from completing with its Nord Stream project to assure Europe a steady supply of natural gas.

It will greatly reduce Europe’s dependence of LNG, viz. ultimately causing the EU members to declare themselves separate like what UK did to bolt EU. EU will lose its unification over the whole of Europe.

But UK’s decision to bolt has proven to be a sham. Without EU, UK would not last economically.

It persists to be a member of NATO and allows it to dispose some of the weapons to Ukraine,

though officially, it is no longer an EU member but still enjoying the benefits given to a non-EU.

This is anomalous such that original EU and NATO members are questioning.

It was the US that has been using NATO as subaltern to justify the weaponization of the poli cy that today NATO has practically been reduced as colony to intervene in Europe.

For instance, when the US imposed trade sanction on Russia, and the latter retaliated by demanding that they should be paid in Russian ruble, it was forced to export LNG to countries that honor its currency.

The US then proceeded to accuse Russia of weaponizing its energy exports to EU.

Most important, it was Russia that initially foot the bill for the construction of the pipeline owning about 51 percent of the cost.

Despite the threat to prevent the Nord Stream project from operating, the US did not offer Eu rope anything like assistance or of giving a dis counted rate for their LNG.

To this day, and after the sabotage of the pipe line, the US has not offered any LNG to Europe except to deliver them through its own tankers at the same market price value, but three times the cost of Russia’s LNG.

It was the US that has been using NATO as subaltern to justify the weaponization of the policy that today NATO has practically been reduced as colony to intervene in Europe

Now that the pipeline has been rendered in operative, American propaganda keeps on trum peting to the whole world that the explosion was carried out by Russia to justify the demands to increase the price of LNG.

But who in the world would initiate such crimi nal act of blasting its own pipelines to throw away something that would cost them almost 5 billion Euros to build?

As state department secretary Anthony Blinken would put it, the sabotage of the two pipelines was a “great opportunity” to stop Russians from wea ponizing their export of LNG.

It is the US that has not contributed a centavo to make sure the project will operate. Russia, on the other hand, has made considerable contribu tion representing about 51 percent of the total cost.

The ugly result of the war in Ukraine was the offer by the US to carry on its LNG export to Eu rope.

Does the US still feel obligated to supply NATO members and get the priority in the supply of LNG? Or will they receive the same volume of LNG from the US?

Second and most dangerous, will Russia set idly to allow its own economy to suffer and need lessly waste millions of LNG as a result of that criminal act of economic sabotage instigated by the US?

Will Russia not do something to avenge its honor by not targeting those that owned and oper ated those vessels?

Is it not possible for Russia to use low-yield nuclear bombs to stop once and for all the harass ment of countries that import NLG gas from Rus sia?

The world should be warned that its so-called rules-based hypocrisy can no longer be tolerated by resorting to punitive action of retaliation to il legal trade sanction, sabotage and criminal acts of vandalism and other forms of unilateralism which is a semblance of arrogance committed without the approval of the UN Security Council.

(rpkapunan@gmail.com)

Nobel 2022 prize season under shadow of war in Ukraine

By Marc Preel, with PierreHenry Deshayes in Oslo

THIS week the world will celebrate peace and mankind’s do-gooders when the winners of the Nobel prizes are revealed in a string of daily announcements—as war rages in Ukraine.

Not since World War II has a conflict been waged between two countries so close to Stock holm and Oslo, where the prestigious awards for medicine, physics, chemistry, literature and peace have been announced since 1901, and the newer Economics Prize since 1969.

The highlight of the week’s announcements, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was scheduled to be revealed on October 7 in Oslo and would hold special significance this year, experts say.

“Most likely is a prize in support of some of those institutions that collect information on war crimes,” Swedish professor Peter Wallensteen, an expert on international affairs, told AFP. That could bode well for the International Criminal Court in The Hague, or the sleuths at Netherlands-based investigative journalism group Bellingcat.

The deadline for Peace Prize nominations was on January 31, prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but the five members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee can propose their own choices at their first meeting of the year, held at the end of February after the invasion.

The list of nominations is secret, but it is known that the names of 343 individuals or or ganizations have been submitted this year. Anti-Putin prize?

EDITORIAL

Resolution over persecution

IT LOOKS like most government people are becoming experts in persecution.

It happens in traffic where most law enforcers, if not all, would rather wait for motorists to commit violations than guide or direct traffic to prevent infrac tions.

If you are not familiar with today’s EDSA, some stretches like in the Munoz area lead to a left turn and a straight line.

The middle lane used to be safe to go straight ahead, but now, the middle lane beside the left lane is used for a left turn.

You will only know about it when you reach the point where one or two MMDA enforcers are waiting to apprehend the hapless “violators.”

It would have been helpful if an enforc er was positioned at the beginning of the split lane to direct traffic.

It’s no different in roads controlled by local enforcers of various cities in Metro Manila.

Agents of the enforcement department really go out of their way to find and persecute those who fail to apply for accreditation

You could see enforcers waiting at far corners, ready to apprehend unsuspecting motorists who commit violations either because road signs are unclear or are ob structed.

Is it because of accomplishments? Or it can be a cause of dispute that may force the motorist to “settle.”

Interestingly, it doesn’t only happen on the road.

The Department of Trade and Industry also has existing directives for establish ments, big or small, like the certification of repair shops.

Agents of the enforcement department really go out of their way to find and per secute those who fail to apply for accredi tation.

They file reports complete with pic tures until that owner gets summoned to explain why his small show should not be penalized.

The owner sent an email requesting guidance on how to proceed with the ac creditation. No reply from the DTI.

So much fuss for a minute infraction.

What the enforcement staff should have done was check and, in the absence of ac creditation, provided the form, guided the establishment on how to fulfill the regula tions, and get the problem solved without the government spending a lot on printing of papers and shipping expenses.

Well, the enforcers had boosted their stock in terms of accomplishment in the department. But is that the way to solve the problem nowadays?

People need jobs. Small enterprises are encouraged to continue despite the diffi cult economy.

And this is the way concerned agencies run the show.

Fighting Badoy’s contempt of the judiciary

CPP-NPA. She also threatened to kill said judge because of political belief after junk ing the case, posting in Facebook, “So, if I kill this judge and I do so out of my political belief that all allies of the CPP NPA NDF must be killed because there is no difference in my mind between a member of the CPP NPA NDF and their friends, then please be lenient with me.”

LORRAINE Badoy, former spokesperson for NTF-ELCAC, will face the court after red-tagging Judge Marlo Magdoza-Malagar.

Badoy is notorious, together with NTFELCAC, for continuously and loudly redtagging progressives, marginalized groups, as well as ordinary citizens.

In fact, I have been personally red-tagged by Badoy herself. She mentioned that I am probably a communist based on my past work. At the core of my work as a lawyer are human rights, indigenous peoples, and climate justice. Do my values make me a communist?

Although Badoy is known for this, we should not normalize red-tagging and accept it as it is.

A lot of people have been endangered be cause of red-tagging—many have been im prisoned, forcibly disappeared, tortured, and killed because of this.

Red-tagging equates to a very dangerous threat. And so, it is only right to take it seri ously and respond accordingly.

This is precisely why there are already so many cases and complaints filed against Badoy.

They come from many different groups to respond to and fight against red-tagging.

Some of these groups are Ibon foundation (policy research group), Karapatan (human rights group), former Kabataan Represen tative Sarah Elago, activists and concerned citizens, progressive groups, Alliance of Health Workers, mother of a community pantry organizer, Maria Ressa, and a group of doctors.

A few weeks ago, Badoy added another red-tagging target on her list. She included Judge Magdozo-Malagar after the dismissal of the proscription case asking the Commu nist Party of the Philippines-New Peoples Army (CPP-NPA) be judicially declared as “terrorist.”

Badoy called the judge a defender of the

That could bode well for the International Criminal Court in The Hague, or the sleuths at Netherlandsbased investigative journalism group Bellingcat

“Some

Jailed

Last

in the name of freedom of information.

This week, the Supreme Court ordered Badoy to explain in 30 days why she should not be cited for contempt.

Red-tagging equates to a very dangerous threat. And so, it is only right to take it seriously and respond accordingly

She has to respond to four points: whether she posted about Judge Magdozo-Malagar’s decision, whether her post has caused more violent comments towards the judge, wheth er her post is clear violence directed towards the judge, and whether her harass-filled post against the judge is part of her constitution ally-protected speech.

Otherwise, the Court implied, she will be cited for contempt of the judiciary.

On the same day this show cause order was issued, the Movement Against Disinfor mation (MAD), of which I am the founding President, filed a petition to declare Badoy guilty of indirect contempt of court because of her social media post against Judge Mag dozo-Malagar.

The petition also sought imprisonment for 6 months and a fine of 30,000 pesos.

It is evident from these events that ev eryone can be a victim of red-tagging and, when this happens, it is very important to fight back.

In fact. Atty. Rico Domingo, one of the MAD petitioners, said it well, “Pag hindi

Other possible contenders this year, experts say, are anti-corruption group Transparency In ternational and Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, with other environmental activists such as Nisreen Elsaim of Sudan, Chibeze Eze kiel of Ghana and tireless British campaigner David Attenborough also potentially in the run ning.

While the world is currently facing a “secu rity crisis” in both Ukraine and Taiwan, it may nonetheless “be time for the committee to turn towards the environmental crisis”, suggested Dan Smith, director of the Stockholm Interna tional Peace Research Institute.

Typically less political is the Literature Prize—but could this year’s laureate also carry an anti-Kremlin message?

Russian author and outspoken Putin critic Ly udmila Ulitskaya, cited as a possible winner in recent years, could get the nod given the current political context, literary critics interviewed by AFP said.

American writer Joan Didion, British author Hilary Mantel and Spain’s Javier Marias have all previously been mentioned as possible win ners but they all died over the past year and they won’t succeed last year’s laureate, Tanzania’s Abdulrazak Gurnah.

The Swedish Academy, which selects the lit erature winner, has often chosen to put the spot light on little-known authors.

After two successive awards in this vein—in 2020 it went to US poet Louise Gluck—it re mains to be seen whether it will choose a more mainstream writer this year.

natin nai-stop ito, bukas mayroon na na mang babarilin. Mayroon na namang aambushin. We cannot just sit idly on this. We have to do something more forceful about this and that is why we are going to the Supreme Court.”

In our petition, we observed that Badoy’s misconduct and misbehavior called on the public to lose trust and confidence in the au thority of the judiciary and to disregard the dignity and integrity of the courts of law.

Her actions result in the inevitable dis crediting of the authority of the court magis trates, as well as of the entire administration of justice.

It is not only Judges and the rule of law that Badoy’s words and actions endanger. They also endanger many lawyers, human rights defenders, Lumad leaders, social ac tivists etc.

As mentioned, I have not been spared from the same as she has accused me of being a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines while admitting that she had no proof and even in the face of a Lumad informer, saying she didn’t know me and has never met me.

I do not hold a grudge against Badoy.

In fact I knew her late father, himself a great jurist and someone whose integrity and commitment to rule of law and justice could not be questioned.

But we have lost many lives because of red-tagging. Many citizens have been hurt; many have suffered. Therefore, Badoy’s ca sual red-tagging isn’t only rude, it is a lifethreatening act against those targeted.

It is terrifying to be red-tagged, but it is more terrifying to imagine what it would be like if we do not fight back.

The silence would be haunting. On a per sonal level, as a lawyer, I assure that I will help in the legal protection of those who are red-tagged. For others, their way of fighting might be joining mobilizations, writing, or teaching.

Our forms and roles will look different in this fight as ordinary citizens, but what’s most important is to be part of the fight. The whole nation must come together for this.

Website; tonylavina.com. Facebook: deantonylavs Twitter: tonylavs

US novelist Joyce Carol Oates, Japan’s Haruki Murakami, as well as Michel Houel lebecq and Annie Ernaux of France are popular authors often mentioned as possible winners.

“It’s harder than ever to guess given last year’s laureate Abdulrazak Gurnah... No one in the en tire world except the Academy’s members had thought of him”, Jonas Thente, literary critic for Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter, told AFP.

He and others said possible winners could include Hungary’s Laszlo Krasznahorkai, US writers Thomas Pynchon and Don DeLillo, and Norwegian playwright Jon Fosse.

‘Bioorthogonal’ chemistry

The Nobel season has opened with the an nouncement on Monday of the Medicine Prize, followed by Physics on Tuesday and Chemistry on Wednesday.

Literature follows on Thursday and Peace on Friday, with the Economics Prize -- the only one not created in Swedish inventor Al fred Nobel’s will—winding up the season on October 10. Breast cancer treatments, advances in prenatal biopsies and mRNA vaccines are seen as pos sible fields in contention for the Medicine Prize.

Revolutionary uses for light in the field of physics and the pioneers of “bioorthogonal” chemistry—which focuses on reactions in a liv ing system that do not upset its biochemistry— are seen as potential winners in those disciplines.

Each prize comes with a cheque for 10 mil lion Swedish kronor ($878,000), to be shared if there are several laureates in a discipline. AFP

Biden: Nuke ‘Armageddon’ threat back since Cold War

WASHINGTON—

US President Joe Biden said Thursday the world risks nuclear “Armageddon” for the first time since the Cold War and that he is trying to find Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “offramp” in the Ukraine conflict.

“We have not faced the prospect of Arma geddon since Kennedy and the Cuban mis sile crisis” in 1962, Biden said at a Demo cratic party fundraising event in New York.

Putin is “not joking” when he threatens to

use nuclear weapons to pursue his invasion of Ukraine, Biden said.

Biden made his unusually strong com ments about the risks created by Putin’s nu clear threats while speaking to party support ers at an event hosted in the Manhattan home of James Murdoch, son of newspaper mogul Rupert Murdoch.

Referring to the nuclear standoff triggered by the Soviet Union stationing missiles in Cuba, within easy range of the United States, Biden said that for the “first time since the Cuban mis sile crisis, we have a direct threat from the use of nuclear weapons if in fact things continue down the path they are going.”

Putin has made thinly veiled threats to use nuclear weapons if he feels he has run out of

options in his bid to seize swaths of Ukrai nian territory in the face of stiff resistance by Western-back Kyiv.

Experts say these would most likely be rela tively small, tactical strikes. But Biden warned that a tactical strike in a limited area would still risk triggering a wider conflagration.

“We’ve got a guy I know fairly well,” Biden said. Putin’s “not joking when he talks about potential use of tactical nuclear weapons or biological or chemical weapons, because his military is, you might say, sig nificantly underperforming.”

However, “I don’t think there’s any such thing as the ability to easily (use) a tactical nuclear weapon and not end up with Arma geddon,” Biden said. AFP

Families mourn Thai nursery dead a day before king’s visit

NA KLANG, Thailand—Weeping, grief-stricken families gath ered Friday outside a Thai nursery where an ex-policeman mur dered two dozen children in one of the kingdom’s worst mass killings.

King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Prime Minister Prayut ChanO-Cha will later visit survivors of the attack that left at least 36 people dead, including the attacker’s wife and child.

Around the small, low-slung building, where only two days ago scores of preschool children played, officials in white uniforms laid a large floral wreath on behalf of the king.

A line of heartbroken parents placed white roses on the steps of the nursery as the baking sun bore down.

Buarai Tanontong’s two three-year-old grandsons were among those killed at the nursery after the attacker burst in.

“I couldn’t sleep. I didn’t think that it would be my two grand sons,” she said, clutching her inconsolable daughter’s shoulder.

Overnight, coffins carrying the bodies of the victims arrived at a morgue in Udon Thani, the closest city to the rural district ripped apart by Thursday’s three-hour rampage.

The health ministry, police and provincial government officials gave a death toll of 36 plus the attacker on Friday, one less than that given by national police a day earlier. No explanation was given for the change.

Indian Himalayas avalanche: At least 19 confirmed dead

NEW DELHI, India -- At least 19 people are confirmed dead after an avalanche struck climbers in the Indian Himalayas, authorities said Friday, with bad weather hamper ing the fourth day of search and rescue efforts.

A group of climbing trainees and instructors were caught in Tuesday’s massive snowslide near the summit of Mount Draupadi ka Danda II in the northern state of Uttarakhand.

“Nineteen bodies have been recovered. 10 people are still missing,” state disaster agency spokesperson Ridhim Aggarwal told AFP.

“Rescue operations have re

sumed for the day but are sub ject to weather,” she added. “The weather is bad.”

Police, disaster authorities and the Indian air force have been mobilised to help with search ef forts, with 32 people successfully rescued from the mountain despite snow and rainfall.

An advance helicopter landing ground had been prepared near the site of the avalanche at 4,900 me tres (16,000 feet) above sea level, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police said Thursday.

Sunil Lalwani, one of the rescued trainee climbers, cred ited the instructors for saving many lives. AFP

IN BRIEF

Nobel Peace Prize under cloud of war

THE Nobel Peace Prize will be unveiled Friday (Saturday in Manila), with experts speculating it could go to critics of Vladimir Putin, cli mate activists or even no prize at all amid the war in Ukraine.

The climax of the Nobel season, the Peace Prize laureate will be announced at 11:00 am (0900 GMT) in Oslo, against the backdrop of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine which has plunged Europe into one of its worst crises since World War II.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee keeps the list of nominations a closely guarded secret, but it is known to have 343 names on it, includ ing 251 individuals and 92 organizations.

With Ukraine dominating headlines since the start of the year, some prize experts say it is doubtful the committee can ignore it.

“It is likely we will see a prize that in one way or another will point in the direction of Ukraine,” the director of the Peace Research Insti tute Oslo, Henrik Urdal, told Norwegian broadcaster NRK just hours before the announcement.

Japan sex bomb: Bag full of ‘adult goods’

TOKYO—A team of police explosives experts in Japan rushed to the scene of a suspicious package in a parking lot this week—only to find discarded sex toys inside.

Police in central Japan’s Kakegawa received a call Wednesday morning about an unattended, silver briefcase in the parking lot of a municipal cemetery, a spokesman for the force told AFP Thursday.

The regional bomb squad was dispatched while officers blocked roads within roughly a 300-metre (1,000-foot) radius of the briefcase for more than three hours.

Local media sent a helicopter to capture the delicate and potentially risky work of the experts at the scene.

But after close examination, the team found “adult goods” inside the briefcase, the officer said, without elaborating further. AFP

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

FULL OF GRIEF. Sittipong Taothawong (left) comforts his wife Kanjana Buakumchan as she holds their child’s milk bottle and blanket while standing outside the nursery in Na Klang in Thailand’s northeastern Nong Bua Lam Phu province on October 7, the day after a former police officer killed at least 36 people in a mass shooting at the site. AFP

BURNT STATUES. This handout picture released by the Rapanui Municipality shows Moais—stone statues of the Rapa Nui culture— affected by a fire at the Rapa Nui National Park in Easter Island, Chile, on October 6, 2022. AFP

TOP GAINERS

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Market declines; BPI, Converge lead gainers

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VOLUME VALUE (PHP)

SMC 5,643,460 569,987,616

ICT 1,585,100 280,324,918

BPI 2,988,020 274,878,655

BDO 2,274,890 255,751,488

GTCAP 556,010 222,962,980

URC 1,739,470 192,678,870

JFC 791,050 184,010,484

SMPH 5,073,600 158,814,485

6,195,700 145,105,525

10,170,300 131,708,086

Credit Suisse announces $3-b debt buyback

ZURICH, Switzerland—Troubled

Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse, which has scrambled to ease fears about its financial health, announced plans on Friday to buy back up to three billion Swiss francs ($3 billion) of debt.

The bank’s shares plunged to new lows this week following a series of scandals.

The cost of buying insurance against Credit Suisse defaulting on debt has surged in recent days.

Credit Suisse chief executive Ul rich Koerner, who took the reins in August with the mammoth task of revitalizing the bank, sent an internal message to reassure staff last week.

The bank said in a statement on Friday that the debt buyback was “consistent with our proactive ap proach to managing our overall li ability composition and optimizing interest expense”.

That would allow the bank “to take advantage of market conditions to repurchase debt at attractive prices”.

Credit Suisse said it was making two cash tender offers for debt secu rities denominated in pounds, euros, and dollars’ worth up to $3 billion.

The offers expire on November 3 and 10.

Koerner is due to present “trans formation plans” for Credit Suisse on October 27.

The bank was rocked by the col lapse of the British financial firm Greensill, in which some $10 billion had been committed through four funds, and then by the implosion of the US fund Archegos, which cost it more than $5 billion.

In October, Credit Suisse was also fined $475 million by the US and British authorities over loans to stateowned companies in Mozambique.

The bank’s woes have fueled fears it could face a “Lehman moment” — referring to the collapse of the US investment giant that kicked off the 2008 global financial crisis.

But analysts say such a collapse is highly unlikely as the bank is “too big to fail”.

STOCKS fell Friday and the peso weakened against the US dollar as the optimism that coursed through trading floors earlier this week gave way to nervousness ahead of a massive US jobs report that could determine Federal Reserve rate hike plans.

The PSEi, the 30-company bench mark index of the Philippine Stock Ex change, lost 2 points to close at 5,932.19 as three of the six subsectors retreated.

The broader all-share index picked up a point to settle at 3,200.59 on a value turnover of P4.2 billion. Losers led gainers, 96 to 84, while 44 issues were unchanged.

Four of the 10 most active stocks ended in the green, led by Converge ICT Solu tions Inc. which climbed 4.8 percent to P13.00 and Bank of the Philippine Islands which rose 1.9 percent to P93.00.

Meanwhile, the peso retreated to 58.92 against the US dollar Friday from 58.65 Thursday amid thin trading amounting to $483 million.

Soft economic data out of Washing ton sent equities surging at the start of the week and dragged the greenback on hopes that the readings could allow the US central bank to slow its strict mon etary tightening program.

However, the uncertainty that has characterized the year so far has slowly returned and Wall Street’s three main in dexes ended Thursday with fresh losses, with sights firmly on the non-farm pay rolls figures.

Analysts expect the monthly report to show 250,000 posts were created in September, which would be the weakest

since late 2020 but still a healthy figure suggesting a strong labor market.

There is a fear that a result higher than expectations could spark another selloff across risk markets as investors bet on more bumper rate hikes.

Fed officials have consistently warned that they are determined to ramp up bor rowing costs to fight four-decade-high inflation, even at the expense of a reces sion—feeding worries among traders that the world economy is heading for such a scenario.

“The pivot party gang dialed down their new-found enthusiasm overnight after hawkish central bankers expressed concerns over sticky inflation,” said SPI Asset Management’s Stephen Innes.

He pointed out that other central banks, including in Europe and Canada, had also flagged further tough measures.

Still, OANDA’s Edward Moya added that a consumer price index report next week was also on traders’ radars. With AFP

Judge halts Twitter-Musk case litigation

NEW YORK, United States—A US judge on Thursday suspended litiga tion in the saga over Elon Musk’s pro posed $44-billion takeover of Twitter, giving the parties until Oct. 28 to final ize the on-again, off-again megadeal.

Delaware Judge Kathaleen Mc Cormick, ruling on a Musk request to freeze the case that had drawn a biting retort from Twitter, said a trial origi nally scheduled to begin in 11 days could be rescheduled for next month if a deal is not finalized.

“If the transaction does not close by 5 p.m. on Oct. 28, 2022, the parties are instructed to contact me by email that evening to obtain November 2022 trial dates,” McCormick said in the order.

The move buys time for a potential reconciliation between two parties that began squabbling as soon as Musk sealed an agreement in April to pur chase the influential social media site for $54.20 per share.

With an October 17 trial date on Twitter’s breach-of-contract suits against Musk looming, the unpredict able Tesla boss did an about-face on Tuesday, reviving his $44-billion take over plan on condition the Delaware court halt the lawsuit against him. Twitter said Tuesday it expects to close the buyout deal at the $54.20 price in a statement that did not ad dress Musk’s demands over freezing the litigation.

Legal briefs filed earlier Thursday shed further light on prickly pro ceedings characterized by mutual distrust.

“There is no need for an expedited trial to order Defendants to do what they are already doing and this action is now moot,” said a filing prepared by Musk’s attorneys that alluded to his latest offer.

“Yet, Twitter will not take yes for an answer. Astonishingly they have in sisted on pro ceeding with this litigation, recklessly put ting the deal at risk and gam bling with their stockholders’ interests.” AFP

Europe’s postcard from Prague: leaders together, one big gap

PRAGUE, Czech Republic—Leaders from across Europe, with one big gap, fea tured in the family photo of the newly es tablished European Political Community from its inaugural meeting in Prague on Thursday.

The absence of Russian President Vladi mir Putin highlights the deep divide be tween his country, which launched an in vasion of Ukraine in February, and the rest of the continent.

Belarusian strongman President Alex ander Lukashenko, Putin’s ally, was also missing in the photo and at the summit or ganized by the Czech government, which now holds the rotating EU presidency.

Given a rather unclear agenda, the family photo looked set to become a highlight of the meeting bringing together EU leaders alongside those of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Britain, Kosovo, Switzerland and Turkey.

French President Emmanuel Macron, the mastermind behind the initiative, said the project was designed to send a message of “unity” and “strategic intimacy”.

But rifts among the 44 leaders surfaced even as they posed at Prague Castle, the seat of the Czech presidency overlooking the city.

European Council head Charles Michel was on the left of Hungarian Prime Min ister Viktor Orban, seen as the bloc’s trou blemaker over his lax stance on corruption laws and close ties to Putin.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen mirrored him on the far right edge in the Gothic Vladislav Hall, making it clear that the EU and the new commu nity initiative were two different things.

Macron himself took centre stage be tween Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala and Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades in the front row.

To Fiala’s right, Azeri President Ilham Ali yev, slammed by the EU over his country’s clashes with Armenia, stood next to his ally Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, also seen as problematic by the bloc.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pash inyan, who met both Aliyev and Erdogan for talks earlier on Thursday, was tucked behind Erdogan in the second row.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, criticized for hesitating on sending modern weapons to Ukraine, was at the back in the third row.

British Prime Minister Liz Truss, a Brexit advocate, was also demoted to the far corner.

Vjosa Osmani, the president of EU hopeful Kosovo, came into the meeting hailing it as an opportunity to meet Euro pean peers “on an equal footing”.

But she might have been upset with the photo –as she was stuck on the back at the edge, largely shaded by the towering Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. AFP

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT THE ESTATE OF THE LATE RICARDO R. RODRIGUEZ AND MIRASOL E. RODRIGUEZ WAS EXTRAJUDICIALLY SETTLED BY HEIRS AS PER DOC. NO. 411; PAGE 84; BOOK NO. IX; SERIES OF 2022 BEFORE NOTARY PUBLIC ATTY. HOBERT N. LLUZ OF MAKATI CITY. (MS-OCT. 1/8/15,

Participants pose for a family photo as they attend the European Summit in Prague, Czech Republic, on Oct. 6, 2022. Leaders from over 40 countries meet in order to launch the “European Political Community”. AFP

CAR RECYCLING. In this photograph taken on Oct. 6, 2022 compressed car bodies are pictured, after removing the reusable parts, at the ‘Surplus Recyclage’ company in Gaillac, southwestern France. On the ‘Surplus Recyclage’ company’s parking lots on the outskirts of Gaillac, charred harvesters, wrecked cars and dented two-wheelers are waiting to be transported to the brand new hangars where they will be dismantled, emptied of reusable parts and, for some of them, put back on the road. AFP

Trust

Investments Group head and senior vice president Rafael Ayuste Jr., Transaction Banking Group head and executive vice president

Reyes, BDO Private Bank president Albert Yeo, BDO Capital

and Investment Banking Group head Eduardo Francisco, Treasury Group head and executive vice president Dalmacio Martin and BDO Securities president Jose Eduardo Quimpo

PLDT threatens to cut link with DITO

violations, Globe said.

By Darwin G. Amojelar

Manufacturing expanded 3.5% in August—PSA

By Julito G. Rada

MANUFACTURING grew faster in August, as the economy continued to recover from the global health crisis, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority show.

The PSA said the volume of pro duction index rose 3.5 percent in Au gust from a year ago, higher than the expansion of 2.4 percent in July.

“Out of the 22 industry divisions, 17 reported positive annual growths which was led by manufacture of ma chinery and equipment except electri cal with 78.0 percent annual growth rate. On the contrary, five industry di visions posted annual decreases with manufacture of electrical equipment exhibiting the fastest annual drop of -49.3 percent,” the PSA said.

Meanwhile, the value of production index continued to register a double digit growth at 11 percent in August, following July’s 10.6 percent.

“Contributory to the increase of VaPI were the annual growths exhib ited by 18 out of the 22 industry divi sions. Among these, the manufacture of machinery and equipment except electrical posted the highest annual growth rate of 77.4 percent in August 2022,” the PSA said.

The PSA said the average capacity utilization rate for the manufacturing sector slightly increased in August to 71.4 percent from 71.3 percent in July.

It said 20 of the 22 industry divi sions registered more than 60-percent average capacity utilization rates, led by manufacture of furniture (83.3 percent), computer, electronic and optical products (81.7 percent) and wearing apparel (79.3 percent).

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort earlier said elevated inflation and ris ing interest rates were two of the risk factors that could drag manufacturing growth.

Ricafort said these factors could, “increase borrowing and financing costs including for new investments and expansion for some manufacturers.”

He also cited the risk of recession in the US, the world’s biggest econ omy, that could slow down global trade and manufacturing.

Other risks are the continued lock downs in China which could affecgt global economic and manufacturing activities and the continued RussiaUkraine conflict that already led to relatively higher global commod ity prices and some disruption in the global supply chains.

8990 calls for protection of homebuyers’ rights

HOME builder 8990 Housing Development Corp., a unit of 8990 Holdings Inc., said Friday it supports the complaint filed by a group of Vista Real Classica homeowners in Quezon City against Sta. Lucia Re alty & Development Inc. before the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development. 8990 said it is the “rightful owner” of the Que zon City property in question which Sta. Lucia Re alty developed into a portion of Vista Real Clas sica and sold to about 19 homebuyers.

“We would like to correct the notion that we are already evicting the affected homeowners of Vista Real Classica. Right now, while we already have the legal standing to exercise our ownership and possessory rights, we understand the homeowners of Vista Real Classica are also victims like us. We are one with them in making sure their rights as buyers of Sta. Lucia are also protected,” said Atty. Hazel Helmuth.

Evangeline Puzon, who sold the property to 8990, was declared by the court to be the lawful owner of Lot 116 with an area of 109,038 square meters located at Old Balara, Quezon City in its April 18, 2016 decision.

“We are saddened by this whole situation and remain one with the affected homeowners of Vista Real Classica, who like us, are victims of this highly unfortunate predicament. Rest assured that we will be exercising our rights as owners of the property while also considering their interest,” said 8990 Holdings president and chief executive Anthony Vincent Sotto.

Cebu Pacific launches Davao-Siargao route

CEBU Pacific announced a new connection from Davao to Siargao, bringing the total domestic routes from Davao to eight.

Cebu Pacific said that on Nov. 7, it would begin direct flights from Davao to Siargao thrice weekly, or every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. CEB also flies direct to seven other Philippine destina tions including Bacolod, Bohol, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Iloilo, Manila and Zamboanga.

“We are delighted to continue with our rampup outside Metro Manila as we acknowledge the increasing demand for travel. As the airline that proudly operates the widest domestic network, this new route supports our promise to making travel accessible for everyJuan,” said CEB chief commercial officer Xander Lao.

PLDT

Inc. on Friday warned it would terminate its service agreement with DITO Telecommunications Corp. for the latter’s alleged failure to settle arrears amounting to more than P400 million.

PLDT, the country’s largest telecom company, said it served a notice of ma terial breach and demand for payment on DITO “for refusing to pay P429.72 million worth of contracted services which the company has fully performed and delivered, relating to the building and provisioning of transmission facili ties that DITO required and is using for the delivery of telecommunication ser vices to subscribers”.

“DITO has 30 days from receipt of

the notice of material breach or until Nov. 4, 2022, to remedy the breach and pay the P429.7 million owed to PLDT, otherwise PLDT will exercise all of its rights under the law and con tract to protect its interests, including suspension or termination of the par ties’ service agreement,” the company said.

PLDT’s wireless unit Smart Commu nications and DITO signed an intercon nection agreement in February 2021 to allow inter-network calls between their respective subscribers.

Representatives from DITO were un available for comments as of press time Globe Telecom earlier said that DITO also owed P622 million in bypass com pensation for interconnection viola tions. Globe said there were “fraudu lent calls” made using DITO’s network to Globe which bypassed “proper voice traffic channels”.

Globe said that as the aggrieved party, it was entitled to bypass compensation as stipulated in the agreement. DITO refused to compensate Globe for such

DITO filed a complaint with the Phil ippine Competition Commission in Au gust against Globe and Smart for anticompetitive behavior.

DITO alleged that Smart and Globe blocked about 70 percent to 80 percent of calls made by its subscribers to the rival networks.

DITO chief administrative officer Adel Tamano said Section 15 (C) of the Philippine Competition Act deems there is abuse of dominant position when a dominant entity makes a “transaction subject to acceptance by the other par ties of other obligations which, by their nature or according to commercial us age, have no connection with the trans action.”

Smart described DITO’s filing of the complaint with the PCC as forumshopping.

Smart said DITO “failed to prevent its network from being misused for fraud, with DITO SIMs masking internation al calls as domestic, resulting in huge monetary losses for Smart.”

PSE INDEX

CEB announced a P188 sale for the said flight until Oct. 16. Travel period is from Nov. 7, 2022 to January 31, 2023.

EJAP, MVP Group host forum on infrastructure

THE Economic Journalists Association of the Philip pines and the MVP Group of Companies are hosting a hybrid forum with the Marcos administration’s in frastructure team on Oct. 10 at the Philippine Interna tional Convention Center in Pasay City.

The EJAP-MVP Group Infrastructure Forum, with the theme “The Road Ahead: Priorities for the Next 6 Years”, will discuss the administra tion’s near and medium-term plans to build and improve the country’s infrastructure, which is tagged as the economy’s backbone.

Information and Communications Technology Secretary Ivan John Uy will share initiatives on building the country’s digital infrastructure that will make government processes and services more efficient.

Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista will discuss key projects for land, sea and air trans portation sectors as the country returns to normal while Energy Secretary Raphael Perpetuo Lotil la’s speech will shed light on the agency’s efforts to power the economic recovery by encouraging more investments in the energy sector.

Public-Private Partnership Center of the Philip pines executive director Ma. Cynthia Hernandez will share insights on high-impact and sustainable infrastructure projects that aim to spread the eco nomic growth to emerging cities and provinces.

CLI raises P5b from fixed-rate bond offering

By Jenniffer B. Austria

CEBU Landmasters Inc. on Friday listed P5 billion worth of fixed-rate bonds on the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. Cebu Landmasters issued the maid en bonds in three tenors: Series A with a maturity of 3.5 years and a coupon rate of 6.4222 percent; Series B with a maturity of 5.5 years and a coupon rate of 6.9884 percent; and Series C with a maturity of seven years and a coupon rate of 7.3649 percent.

The bonds represent the initial tranche from the company’s P15billion debt securities program ap proved by the Securities and Ex change Commission this year.

PNR resumes rail operations between Calamba and Lucena

By Darwin G. Amojelar

THE Philippine National Railways said Friday it resumed its service be tween Calamba City in Laguna prov ince and Lucena City in Quezon prov ince.

It said the reopened line would lead to a shorter travel time from Lucena to San Pablo and Calamba, and vice versa. The morning trip from Lucena station leaves at 4:50 a.m., while the last trip from Calamba is at 6:30 p.m.

Running time from Lucena to Calamba is about two hours and 33 minutes, while the running time from

Lucena to San Pablo is one hour and 32 minutes.

The minimum fare from Lucena to San Pablo is P15, while the ticket from Lucena to Calamba is priced at P20.

The Department of Transportation said the reopened line would have nine flag makeshift stops at Pansol, Masili, Los Banos, College, IRRI, Tia ong (Lalig), Candelaria, Lutucan and Sariaya. Meanwhile, the main stations are located in Lucena, San Pablo and Calamba.

Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said the project would not only provide opportunities for tour

ism, but also faster travel time options for passengers between the two south ern Luzon provinces.

Bautista said it would contribute to a more vibrant tourism and provide con venient transport services to passengers in Laguna and Quezon provinces.

“This railway will offer safe, af fordable, convenient, and comfortable transport to Filipinos, while accelerat ing the country’s economic rebound,” he said.

The PNR at its peak years had the most extensive network of railways in the country, operating from Dagupan to Naga.

Distribution utilities asked to contract more renewable energy amid fluctuation of oil prices

By Alena Mae S. Flores

SENATOR Sherwin Gatchalian on Wednesday asked distribution facilities to contract more renewable energy for the benefit consumers amid the prevail ing global energy risks.

“This is a significant increase in uti lization and should prompt distribution utilities to consider contracting more renewable energy to deter fuel passthrough amid wild fluctuations in fuel

prices,” Gatchalian said. Gatchalian made the call after the Department of Energy decided to in crease the percentage of the utilization of RE for on-grid areas to 2.5 percent from 1 percent.

The increase in RE utilization will take effect next year under Department Circular No. 2022-09-0030, which pre scribes the adjusted annual percentage increment for all participants of the Renewable Portfolio Standards for on-

grid areas. Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla signed the circular on Sept. 23.

The RPS is a policy mechanism un der Republic Act No. 9513 or the Re newable Energy Act of 2008, which encourages electricity suppliers, par ticularly the distribution utilities, to source or produce a specified fraction of their power supply from eligible re newable energy resources.

The increase is also a mechanism de signed to provide a guaranteed market

for renewable energy.

Gatchalian, vice chairman of the Sen ate committee on energy, said the de velopment of RE resources is central to the DOE’s sustainable energy agenda.

RE accounted for 22.40 percent of the country’s energy mix in 2021, with coal-based power plants ac counting for 58.48 percent. Oil-based and natural gas power plants contrib uted 1.52 percent and 17.60 percent, respectively.

CLI earmarked the fresh capital to support core residential business segments in the Visayas and Mind anao.

“CLI’s growth has been closely tied with serving the strong under served demand for middle-class housing in VisMin. We will continue to lean on that strength as we build out sustainable and vibrant town ships in the region. We will further count on these communities of the future to propel the firm further,” CLI chairman and chief executive Jose Soberano III said.

“As new airports and other major infrastructure come onstream to un lock VisMin’s vast potentials, CLI’s developments and estates will serve as catalysts for sustained growth and development,” he said.

BPI Capital Corp. and China Bank Capital Corp. were the joint issue managers, joint lead underwriters and joint bookrunners.

PNB Capital and Investment Corp., RCBC Capital Corp. and SB Capital Investment Corp. acted as co-lead underwriters.

CLI’s net income has registered a compounded annual growth rate of 27.78 percent since its listing in 2017.

The company said that from P767 million and 28 projects in 2016, it posted a net income of P2.6 billion and over 100 projects in 16 key cities in 2021.

BELLE’S ADVOCACY. Belle Corp. president and

executive Jackson Ongsip

leads the

Sports

Pagunsan wins playoff, Riviera title in wild finish

SILANG, Cavite—Juvic Pagunsan put an epic ending to a wild ICTSI Riviera Championship with a delicate par-putt from pin-length high on the first playoff hole as he foiled Tony Lascuña and regained the crown he emphatically won in stormy conditions at the Langer course here three years ago.

Pagunsan set up the title-clinching putt with a brilliant blast from the frontside bunker of No. 18, the ball bouncing on the front of the green before resting some eight feet short of the cup. But he slightly gained the upperhand as Lascuna, who overshot his approach on the tough finishing par-4 hole the way he did in regulation, chipped past the target, leaving him a longer putt to return.

He missed as the ball swerved to the right and Pagunsan gently and confidently stroked his putt that rolled straight before disappearing into the cup, punching the air with full-fisted glee to celebrate his unlikely return to the top podium of a premier Philippine Golf Tour leg.

“Mahirap this week, hindi ko alam talaga kung papano laruin ang Riviera. Me time na malakas ang hangin, minsan mahina naman. Yung greens, unpredictable din,” said Pagunsan, who rallied with a two-under 34 at the back of the par-71 to salvage a 71 and force a playoff at five-over 289 as Lascuna missed clinching it outright with a costly double-bogey miscue on the 18th for a 69.

“Nagkataon lang na pinagbigyan ako na makahabol kasi nung umpisa pa lang, behind na

ako ng 3- or 4-shots down. Sa last day, 4 down pa din,” he added.

But a backside rebound after a wobbly two-over frontside 37 put the former Asian Tour No. 1 back in the hunt and his birdie on the par-3 No. 17 for the second straight day proved crucial to his comeback bid.

“Key ‘yung birdie ko sa No. 17, tapos nakita ko si Mr. Lascuna na na-double bogey sa last hole. So, yun, nabigyan lang talaga ako ng chance,” added Lascuna, who also thanked ICTSI for keeping the pros busy with its series of tournaments in post-pandemic.

The victory was worth P360,000 for the smoothswinging Pagunsan, who bucked lack of practice after hitting town Monday following a stint on the Japan Golf Tour with Angelo Que last Sunday.

Lascuna took home P236,000 while Zanieboy Gialon carded a 73 and grabbed solo third at 290 worth P136,000.

It was indeed a wild, wild finish to a tournament that has all the trimmings of such ending – with a stellar cast and on a wind-swept course that repels anything less than accurate shots.

Fidel Concepcion emerged the surprise first round leader, yielded it to Guido Van der Valk in the next before regaining it in moving day Saturday. The Dutchman, however, wrested control early in the final round, fended off a slew of threats that came from at least five aces before wilting under extreme pressure, leading to a pair of double bogeys in the stretch.

Bolts break loose in 4th, send Dyip to 20th straight setback

By Peter Atencio

THE Meralco Bolts banked on a barrage of triples in the first six minutes of the fourth quarter to put away the Terrafirma Dyip, 105-92, on Friday in the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioners’ Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.

The Bolts knocked down four of 10 three-point attempts halfway in the closing period and this proved enough to hand Meralco its first win following two consecutive setbacks.

The trio of import Johnny O’Bryant, Allein Maliksi and Bong Quinto took charge with O’Bryant firing a game-high 31 points and 11 rebounds for the Bolts.

Quinto had 17 points with Aaron Black, leading the Bolts’ big assault with two triples, with the first finding its mark in the remaining 11:11, allowing the Meralco to move up by six, 82-76.

O’Bryant struck with the Bolts’ second trey during their decisive attack and they w ent on to enjoy a nine-point spread, 89-80.

Bombers grab share of lead; Lions rebound

THE Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers found their range in their last two minutes to whip the Lyceum of the Philippines Pirates, 63-57, on Friday in the 98th National Collegiate Athletic Association men’s basketball tournament at the FilOil-EcoOil Arena in San Juan.

Marvin Dionisio, who led with 15 points and 10 rebounds, did some heavy lifting during the final period as JRU jumped to a share of the top spot with the College of St. Benilde Blazers with its sixth win in seven outings.

The 6’4” Dionisio hit five points, pulled off a rebound and foiled Lyceum’s final attempt in the remaining two minutes to help keep the Pirates at bay with their fifth consecutive victory.

Dionisio, who banged in 11 points in the fourth, stepped up after the Heavy Bombers forced a 56-all deadlock in the last 2:15 on Joshua Guiab’s putback.

A three-point play from Dionisio off Shaun Umali’s blocking foul, in the last 1:45, pushed JRU in front, 5956.

After Umali split his free throws in the next play, William Sy’s rebound play in the 26.8 second mark sent JRU

to a four-point edge off John Amores’ basket, 61-57.

Sy tallied 10 points and had eight rebounds for JRU, while Amores made eight points.

Dionisio’s two charities with 11 seconds left the finalized the count, sending the Pirates to second spot with their 5-2 win-loss slate.

“This game was a matter of playing as a unit, and playing together. Wala kaming problema sa aming tinatakbo. This is a game of streaks,” said JRU coach Louie Gonzales after JRU came back from 45-54 deficit in the last seven minutes.

Earlier, the San Beda Red Lions struck down the Arellano Chiefs, 96-61, to move up to third position with their 5-2 slate.

JB Bahio and James Kwekuteye scored 13 points for the Red Lions, who were never in trouble after posting a 29-9 first quarter advantage “’Yung loss namin sa JRU was really a humbling experience for all of us,” said coach Yuri Escueta as the Lions’ bounced back from their 80-83 defeat to the Heavy Bombers last Tuesday. Peter Atencio

Back-to-back threes from Quinto an d Allein Maliksi in the final 5:52 lifted Meralco to a 14-point edge, 96-82.

“They had a good game while facing two top teams (Ginebra and Northport). In this game, they were moving the ball and playing good defense. They attacked the pick and roll, and shared the ball,” said assistant coach Luigi Trillo.

Chris Banchero sank 12 markers, seven assists, and five boards for the Bolts.

Lester Prosper made a game-high 35 points and hauled in 18 rebounds for the Dyip, which dropped their fourth straight game this season.

It was the Dyip’s 20th straight loss in three conferences.

Big field ready for Vermosa IRONKIDS

YOUNG triathletes get another chance to strut their wares in their side of endurance racing as they take center stage in the Vermosa IRONKIDS Philippines firing off on Sunday, Oct. 9 at the Vermosa Sports Hub in Cavite.

Cebu hosted the IRONKIDS’ return to local triathlon calendar last August after a two-year hiatus due to pandemic with the upcoming swim-bike-run event drawing hundreds of youngsters in the metropolis and elsewhere. It is aimed at providing a well-balanced lifestyle for the kids of today, who are used to staying indoors with gadgets and the internet as companions.

“Youth sports are essential because they teach not only valuable skills and discipline but also develop the kids’ mental health,” said Princess Galura, general manager of the organizing the IRONMAN Group/Sunrise Events, Inc. “Since the IRONKIDS launch, the program has honed, molded and inspired children from 6 to 14 to become pro triathletes in the future.”

The IRONKIDS triathlon is a 100m swim, 5-km bike ride and 1-km run for kids seven to 10 years old while those vying in the 10-14 bracket will dispute top honors in a 200-m swim, 10-km bike ride and 2-km run setup.

The event, also a perfect venue for families to bond, is divided by gender and single-year age groups.

As a side event to the pro triathlon, the IRONKIDS has helped the sport gain a wider following in the country as it not only encourages kids to go out and play but promotes an active lifestyle among Filipino children as well.

“We at Vermosa are thrilled to be part of this sporting endeavor also aimed at diverting the children’s attention from the virtual world of computers and hand-held electronic devices,” said Jay Teodoro, Chief Operating Officer for Ayala Land.

Tara Borlain and Wacky Baniqued, two of the prominent names to have come out of the IRONKIDS program, have acknowledged the lessons they learned from participating in past races.

Pague repels Enriquez, claims Buglasan Open crown

JOSE Maria Pague outdueled doubles partner Norman Enriquez in a gripping first set skirmish then used a strong start in the next to carve out a 7-6(3), 6-4 decision and capture the Buglasan Festival National Open tennis crown at the Praxevilla hard courts in Dumaguete City last Wednesday.

Pague proved steadier than Enriquez in a back-and-forth clash in the opening frame, pulling through in the tiebreak after a break-break exchange that tied them at 6. The Zamboanga find then broke Enriquez in the second game of the second set then fought off the latter’s fightback to complete the victory worth P15,000.

It was a rousing win for Pague, who gained inspiration and motivation from his semifinal setback to seasoned and eventual winner Johnny Arcilla in the recent Puerto Princesa Open.

Meanwhile, Mcleen Gomera and Kimi Brodeth set out as the top picks in the premier 18-and-under side as action in the PPS-PEPP Dumaguete City national age-group championships, part of the country’s longest talent-search put up by Palawan Pawnshop president/CEO Bobby Castro, got under way yesterday (Friday), also at the Praxevilla courts.

For details, contact Bobby Mangunay at 0915-4046464.

Pague completed his big week as he and Enriquez survived Stephen Guia and Roy Tan, 6-3, 5-7, 10-3, in the semis then crushed Mclean Barraquias and Kenneth Banico, 6-2, 6-3, to nail the doubles title worth P10,000 in the week-long event held in conjunction with Negros Oriental’s premier festival celebrations.

Earlier, Pague scored a 4-2(ret.) win over Roy Tan in the quarters then domi-

nated John Tomacruz, 6-2, 6-2, while Enriquez ripped Jess Tayron, 4-0, 4-1, then turned back Barraquias, 6-4, 7-5, in the tournament backed by ProtekTODO, PalawanPay, the Unified Tennis Philippines and UTR (Universal Tennis Rating).

In the finals, Pague broke Enriquez right in the first game but the latter broke back in the fourth and the sixth to wrest control at 4-2. But Pague countered with his own break in the seventh then exchanged breaks again in the 11th and 12th games to send the match to a tiebreaker, which Pague, however, dominated.

Pague sustained his form in the next set and went 3-up but Enriquez refused to give up, taking the next two games before the former fought back and grabbed the next two. Enriquez stayed in the hunt by holding serve in the eighth and breaking Pague in the next but the latter struck back with his own break feat in the 10th to wrap up the fierce encounter.

Jose Maria Pague (left) hoists his trophy after edging doubles partner Norman Enriquez for the Buglasan Open title.

Juvic Pagunsan displays his ICTSI Riviera Classic trophy. Manny Marcelo

JB Bahio leads the Red Lions with 13 points.

Meralco’s Johnny O’Bryant

Wilcon Depot launches 80th store in Oriental Mindoro

THE Philippines’ giant home retailer recently opened its first branch in Oriental Mindoro province and the 42nd location in the Luzon region.

The 80th milestone store in Calapan City is the company’s 7th store to open this year.

The store has a total area of over 7,000 square meters carrying the wide product selection that Wilcon offers ranging from Tiles, Sanitarywares, Plumbing, Furniture, Home Interior, Building Materials, Hardware, Electrical, Appliances, and other DIY items.

Shoppers can visit Wilcon Depot Calapan at Sityo Highway Putingtubig, Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro.

The store has a Design Hub, Home Living Showroom, Tile Studio, and Architects, Builders, Contractors, Designers, and Engineers (ABCDE) Lounge.

Disaster-resilient housing takes center stage

THE Base Innovation Center (BIC), Base Bahay Foundation, Inc.’s (Base’s) international hub for alternative building technology research, recently gave local media a tour of its research and testing facility for sustainable and disasterresilient construction technologies.

From its Base Innovation Center in Makati, head of technology Luis Felipe Lopez Munoz explained how Base is leading the charge on research and innovation surrounding the use of bamboo for the affordable housing sector, and, eventually, the construction industry at large. Since its inauguration in early 2021, Base has been studying how bamboo can be further optimized for use in mainstream construction.

“As leaders in the field of sustainable housing technologies, we recognize that we play a pivotal role in ensuring that every Filipino has access to a home,” said Base Bahay general manager Dr. Pablo Jorillo, referencing the country’s housing backlog as he points out bamboo’s abundance. “We hope to unlock more partnerships that will help us provide homes for more Filipino families.”

10,000 cement bamboo houses targeted by 2024 Committed to a vision of “building sustainable foundations for the future”, some 1,500 homes all over the country have been built by partners for various beneficiaries using Base’s CementBamboo Frame Technology (CBFT). These have been certified by the Accreditation of Innovative Technologies for Housing (AITECH) and the National Housing Authority, with over 300 civil engineers and architects trained in its use. Base targets to build 10,000 cement bamboo houses by 2024 in response to

the growing need for socialized homes in disaster-prone areas, particularly in Luzon and the Visayas.

Said Munoz: “a key part of our commitment to promoting sustainable housing technologies is constant innovation. Our vision is to be the global reference for bamboo and sustainable construction in order to help countries find alternative construction methods.”

The center houses a Universal Testing Machine, a Bamboo Wall Panel Reaction Frame, fabrication tables, and a model house, where new materials and building techniques are tested. Augmented reality is used to adopt and scale new technology for use in construction.

Institutionalizing the use of bamboo

Resulting data will guide the development of a local structural code for bamboo, aligned with the Philippine National Standard (PNS) 22157 and the proposed International Organization for Standardization’s ISO 22156. The former determines the specific testing procedures for obtained bamboo culms, while the latter is meant to institutionalize the use of bamboo in structural design.

This year, the BIC is working with ETH Zurich and UP (University of the Philippines) on lifecycle and thermal comfort of cementbamboo frame homes. Coventry University and Foundation University are piloting the application of bamboo grading and testing new bamboo connections.

Other ongoing research projects include the UST’s (University of Sto. Thomas) and MAPUA University’s characterization of different species of bamboo and testing of bamboo shear wall panels, and DLSU’s (De La Salle University) study of bamboo fiber geopolymer wall.

ALI

ON GCASH APP VIA GLIFE. GCash, in partnership with Ayala Land Inc.(ALI), recently

Ayala properties on GLife along with its four key brands: Ayala Land Premier, Alveo, Avida and Amaia. Using the GLife feature, the

feature on the GCash app, Filipino home buyers and property seekers can now easily browse Ayala Land’s property listings and submit an inquiry without leaving the comforts of their homes. Property seekers can now easily view property listings by

the GCash app and tapping “GLife” on the dashboard. Once on GLife, tap the “Real Estate” category, and from there, users

from Ayala Land developments, check out properties nationwide and select their preferred

can

the GCash app for

on Google Play and the App Store.

Luigi Reyes; Ayala Land president and CEO Bobby Dy and GCash

Ren-Ren Reyes.

FEDERAL LAND INC. CELEBRATES GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY. Federal Land recently commemorated its 50th anniversary, titled Shine Forward, which brought together over 500 executives, partners, and employees at The Grand Hyatt Manila in BGC. The occasion honored the late Group Chairman Emeritus Dr. George S.K. Ty, and also commended employees who dedicated 10, 15, 20, and 25 years of loyal service to the company. Shown in photo are the Federal Land employees at the celebration event .

ALVEO Land Corp. bagged the Developer of the Year for Luzon while Visayas and Mindanao’s Developer of the Year went to AboitizLand Inc. at the recent Lamudi’s The Outlook 2022: Philippine Real Estate Awards. Luzon’s Boutique Developer of the Year was awarded to Landco Pacific Corporation. Primeworld Land Holdings, Inc. won the Boutique Developer of the Year for Visayas and Mindanao. May Rodriguez, President of Subdivision and Housing Developers Association (SHDA) and Chief Operating Officer of BellaVita Land Corp., was adjudged The Outlook 2022: Philippine Real Estate Awards’ Personality of the Year. At the awards

night, held at Shangri-La The Fort in BGC, Taguig, were (From left to right: John Richard Sotelo (RLC Residences), Krizia Lagunda (Avida Land), Jeannie Dela Vega (Avida Land), Tess Tatco (Avida Land), Lex Lavin (Pueblo de Panay Inc.), May Rodriguez (BellaVita Land Corp.),

David Rafael (AboitizLand, Inc.), Beverly Dayanan (Contempo Property Holdings, Inc.), Jerry Rubis (Suntrust Properties, Inc.),

Anurag Verma (Lamudi Philippines country head), Barbie Go (Casas + Architects, Inc.), Haydee Gopez (Vista Residences), Gerard Peneflor (Landco Pacific Corporation), Sherwin Uy (Primeworld Land Holdings, Inc.), Filinvest, Aries Cajucom (Alveo Land).

IN RESPONSE to the rising demand in reliable and fl exible mobility options, leading mobility company Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) announced that it is further expanding the possibilities for its customers by strengthening its used vehicle program.

Now called “T-Sure, Toyota Quality Pre-owned Cars” (T-Sure), the program offers an alternative to consumers who are looking for worry-free car purchase options without compromising quality, value, safety, and excellent service.

Previously known as Toyota Certified Used Vehicle (TCUV), T-Sure will now be the brand that will be used in Toyota dealerships that will be offering quality used cars to their clientele.

TMP senior vice president for marketing Masatoshi Toiya explained the name change saying, “the “T” stands for Toyota and “Sure” denotes trustworthiness. This new brand name sends a strong message that customers can have peace of mind in transacting with a T-Sure dealer, whether he is trading in an old vehicle or buying a pre-owned car.”

After 10 years of running its used vehicle program, TMP saw it fit to further drive growth by improving the operational efficiency of the Toyota dealer network and addressing the concerns that used car customers are encountering.

Major improvements made include the expansion of T-Sure dealer outlets nationwide which can offer trade-in deals and selling of pre-owned cars. All outlets are now accepting trade-ins, while T-Sure Retail outlets have increased to twenty-nine (29) outlets as of September 2022. TMP targets to end the year with thirty-three (33) T-Sure Retail Dealers.

T-Sure improved its product offerings, with its three (3) types of products at varied price points to better fit customers’ needs and budget: Toyota Certified Elite, T-Sure’s premium product with 1-year warranty on engine and transmission, which can be claimed at any Toyota outlet nationwide; Toyota Value Plus, with 3-month warranty on engine and transmission, which can be claimed at selling dealer only; and Toyota Value Lite, without warranty but went through the same stringent standard process of vehicle check to ensure its quality when driven out the dealer.

Customers are also assured of fair pricing

Toyota launches revamped used vehicle program: T-Sure

much-improved affordable package for all T-Sure vehicles, now with longer payment terms and expanded coverage up to 9-year old vehicles. In addition, competitive packages from Toyota Insure and After Sales Service, tailor-fit to the needs of pre-owned car customers, may be available on top of the purchased T-Sure unit.

As part of its business strategy, TMP aims to expand its customer base through the T-Sure Program by rewarding customer loyalty with the best deal when they sell or trade-in their vehicle and by capturing customers who need quality preowned vehicles.

As of this writing, there are twenty-nine (29) Toyota outlets offering T-Sure vehicles. For Luzon and Metro Manila, these are Toyota Alabang, Toyota Bacoor, Toyota Balintawak, Toyota Bataan, Toyota Batangas, Toyota Bicutan, Toyota Calamba, Toyota Calapan, Toyota Dagupan, Toyota Global City, Toyota Makati, Toyota Manila Bay, Toyota Pasig, Toyota Pasong Tamo, Toyota Plaridel, Toyota Quezon Avenue, Toyota San Pablo, Toyota Santa Rosa, Toyota Silang, and Toyota Taytay, Rizal.

For Visayas and Mindanao, authorized T-Sure retail outlets are Toyota Cagayan de Oro, Toyota Cebu City, Toyota Iloilo, Toyota Lapu-Lapu, Toyota Mabolo, Toyota Mandaue North and South, Toyota Tacloban, and Toyota Talisay.

Aside from offering Toyota Quality pre-owned cars, dealers also source vehicles from current Toyota customers who wish to upgrade by trading in or selling their vehicle. Customers may now visit any Toyota outlet nationwide to do so. The customer’s vehicle for selling or trade in will be assessed by highly skilled and accredited assessors. The results of which will be shared for transparency to guarantee that the Toyota owner gets the fair value of their vehicle.

For more information, you may inquire at your nearest T-Sure Dealer or visit TMP’s website at toyota.com.ph/t-sure to know more about the program. You may also visit our other social media accounts - Toyota Motor Philippines on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, @ToyotaMotorPH on Twitter, Toyota PH on Viber.

Next generation Ford vehicles conquer Davao City

UP to tomorrow (October 9), Davaoenos may enjoy over P2 million worth of cash discounts and prizes await those purchasing a Ford vehicle, with cash discount of as much as P100,000

Ford Philippines continues to expand the reach of its Ford Island Conquest test drive event nationwide with its current stop in Davao City.

Following its successful runs in Metro Manila and Luzon, the Ford Island Conquest makes its next stop at the Annex Event Center of SM City Davao to give customers access to a next-generation test drive experience of Ford vehicles.

The 3-day event - which started yesterdayfeatures a dynamic display and on-road test drive, allowing customers to see and experience the segment-leading features and capabilities of Ford vehicles led by the next-generation Ford Ranger and Everest which were both launched last July.

Up to P100,000 cash discount up for grabs

Customers who will make a reservation at the 3-day event are entitled to pick a prize when they reserve the next-generation Ranger and Everest, as well as the Territory, Mustang, and Explorer.

Over P2 million worth of cash discounts and prizes are up for grabs for customers, with a cash discount of as much as P100,000. Other prizes include cash discounts of P10,000, P20,000, P30,000, 3-year Scheduled Service Plan (SSP), various premium Ford merchandise, and next-gen Ranger and Everest accessories packs.

Customers who will avail of a financing program through partner banks BPI or EastWest for the next-gen Ranger and Everest, Territory, Mustang, and Explorer will also get an additional P15,000 cash discount.

“We invite Davaoeños to visit SM City Davao this weekend as the Ford Island Conquest is a fun event for the whole family to enjoy too,” adds Breen.

The Ford Island Conquest in SM City Davao will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., with the test drive activity open until 6:00 p.m. Customers who are going to test drive the vehicles are also advised to wear the appropriate footwear.

The event is open to the public and admission is free. Visit www.ford.com.ph/events/ford-islandconquest/ or check out Ford’s social media channels for more details.

Regular, timely oil change for your cars essential

DIRTY oil in the engine can affect performance and compromise overall safety.

Your car needs basic care for it to perform well all the time and last longer in service.

As a responsible and caring vehicle owner, you must always aim to keep it in the best condition to ensure overall safety when you are out on the road.

Keeping the car properly lubricated is one of the vital requirements for its maintenance. Thus, changing engine oil must be on the top of the list when maintaining the vehicle’s well-being. A good, clean, and effective oil product is a necessity for keeping a good and reliable car performance.

The oil-change procedure is very crucial and must be properly and strictly scheduled. It is without any doubt the most significant routine for car maintenance. You must know when to change your car’s engine oil

to avoid incurring possible issues that may compromise the health of your engine and all other parts under the hood. It will also be advantageous to consider an oil-change service as an opportunity for

The ordeals of an everyday Filipino commuter

Those with vehicles who are scrimping due to the high cost of gasoline/ diesel and parking fees, and also to avoid the monstrous traffic in the metropolis, are now choosing mass transportation rather than bring them to their work.

a routine check of the vehicle as a whole.

The quick and hassle-free service must be done in a regular interval—every three to six months or every time you reach a mileage specified in your car’s manual or as prescribed by an auto-mechanic expert.

Whether you are driving a brand new or an aging car, oil-change must be performed as often as needed or required. Here are the top reasons why you must not skip or delay a routine or necessary oil change.

Regular and timely oil change keeps the engine clean.

Dirt and other unlikely particles can inevitably accumulate in the engine over time. In a tropical country like the Philippines, dry and dusty roads tend to bring even more unwanted particles under the hood and ultimately into the engine. Thus, sludge can be produced. This is why

vulnerable ones and those who have to endure the most from this transport problem.

Our transport problem is not an isolated one. This is also being experienced by commuters in many major cities in the world. We have seen how the commuters in India, Japan, Thailand, US and many others grappled with their everyday commute using public transports.

changing the engine oil regularly is helpful.

Complement that with replacement of the filters to make sure dirt particles are kept out before those bring about possible damages.

Routine oil change prolongs engine life.

Oil to your engine is what blood is to the human body.

Proper lubrication protects the engine and most of its significant parts from the inevitable wear and tear. However, after some time, oil becomes dirty. This is why it needs to be replaced routinely. Again, when the engine is kept clean, its lifespan is prolonged. You can count more years with your reliable buddy.

Maintain a good gas mileage by regularly changing engine oil.

the streets below. If only they can shorten the intervals of arrivals of trains in various stations and also monitor them to foresee the influx at peak times, these problematic long lines of train commuters could soon be mended at the very least.

All-in, low down deals from Hino this holiday season

IN support of small enterprises and to help jumpstart business activity in time for the holiday season, Hino Motors Philippines (HMP) has launched the Hino Light Duty Deals All-In, Low Down Promo which runs until October 31, 2022.

Through this program, customers have easy, flexible ways to own a brand-new Hino truck with amazing deals as low as P69,000 for the 414i with aluminum van or dropside cargo body and P79,000 for the 514 Auto also with dropside cargo body. Prices are based on 15% down payment through finance lease under Hino Financing by Toyota Financial Services.

The promo is available for the entire Hino 300 Series lineup comprising 15 models starting from 3.8 up to 8.5 tons Gross Vehicle Weight. This ensures there is a Hino truck to match a wide range of business needs. Mounted with Hino-manufactured standard

THE long lines of commuters in almost all stations of LRT and MRT and bus stations along EDSA are growing longer and longer every day - and to think that we are getting closer to the so-called Christmas rush.

Many of us have experienced how to fall in line just to board a rail or a bus, and it is really an ordeal one has to endure in order to go from one place to another - or simply go to and from the office.

However, there is a big price to pay. While you can save on transport costs, you need to endure the long lines in order to board a public transport or barge your way to the cramped spaces inside; before you can reach your office or your appointment, expect crumpled or sweaty clothes. Additionally, carrying large and unnecessary baggage is very hard and not advisable.

The biggest problem is for those seniors who could hardly walk a mile, walk up the high stairs, or simply stand for a long time aboard the train or bus. They are the most

Yet one key strategy being implemented in most of them is the quick reactions by the operators of these trains or buses to every situation at hand. During rush hours, trains are being released almost one after the other in order to transport the large volume of people to their destinations as quickly as possible. So are the buses that you seldom see during non-rush hours.

Here in Manila, rail trains have the same long intervals in arriving to the stations even it is already considered as “rush hour” as stations are already teeming with commuters, resulting to long lines down to

Too many buses need not be on the long stretches of EDSA all day long. You can still see many of them clogging the bus stops waiting for a trickle of commuters during non-rush hours. They need to be taken off the streets and put into wise use or locations. They should get out and serve the growing commuters on the road at least one to two hours before the “rush hours” to avoid the big volume of commuters by that time. It should really be a proactive drive rather than a reactive rush.

If only our transport officials could come up with and act on additional solutions that don’t even need “rocket scientists,” you, and maybe all of us, would choose to “go public” in all our everyday commuting lives.

aluminum van, dropside cargo and multipurpose van bodies, this promo guarantees Hino quality, durability and reliability from the chassis to the rear body.

Hino Light Duty Deals packages come with FREE 1-year Comprehensive Insurance with Acts of Nature coverage under Standard Insurance, FREE 3 years LTO Registration and FREE Lease Processing.

This promotion offers the perfect opportunity for MSMEs and all entrepreneurs to level up their business with a trusted partner in transport. And with Hino’s Total Support, business owners can rest easy, knowing they’ve got a dependable ally backing them up from choosing the right vehicle to match their business, up to the necessary care and maintenance to keep it running.

Head to the nearest Hino dealership or visit www.hino.com.ph for the complete promo details. Exciting announcements are also available at Hino Motors Philippines’ official Facebook and Instagram pages.

because TMP uses a T-Sure Used Car app with a built-in pricing tool showing real-time price range of various models, depending on quality level

and local market pricing. To help customers in their budget, they may also avail of an affordable financing scheme through TFSPH, which offers a

Tech & Gadgets

Galaxy Z Flip4: Statement phone for the daring, affluent

By Maria Michaela Nabaza

SAMSUNG recently added another smartphone to its cuttingedge Galaxy Z series. With the new Galaxy Z Flip4, Samsung has once again demonstrated its commitment to producing mobile innovations that go beyond possibilities while remaining accessible. The Galaxy Z Flip4’s official prices are at P58,990 for 8GB, P62,990 for 256GB, and P69,990 for 512GB.

Pricey? Not for the affluent who dare to be different and want to recompense themselves for their tough daily grind.

Designed to slay

Hate bringing bulky bags or any bag at all when going out? Then, the compact full-sized Galaxy Z Flip4 is the perfect smartphone for you. This smartphone measures 165.2 x 71.9 x 6.9 (HxWxD, mm) and only 94.9 x 71.9 x 15.9-17.1 (HxWxD, mm) when folded. Now, you can just slip your phone right into your pocket.

The Galaxy Z Flip4 is water-resistant and can be submerged for up to 30 minutes in 1.5 meters of water. Featuring a 6.7-inch Infinity Flex Display, this smartphone provides a stunning view and can withstand more than 200,000 folds. The Galaxy Z Flip4 is one of Samsung’s toughest foldable yet, with exclusive Corning® Gorilla® Glass Victus®+. Armor Aluminum, Samsung’s toughest alu-

minum frame, protects its hinge.

This sublime foldable smartphone is available in Bora Purple, Graphite, Pink Gold, and Blue.

Step up your photography

The Galaxy Z Flip4 features Nightography on the Rear Camera, and you can easily flex your exciting nightlife. Its enhanced OIS and VDIS keep recordings smooth, even when moving, while the Super Night Solution minimizes noise. In addition, this smartphone is equipped

with a 12MP Ultra Wide Camera, a 12MP Wide Camera, and a 10MP Selfie Camera, all of which produce vibrant and sharp colors.

The Galaxy Z Flip4’s Rear Camera allows you to take selfies without opening your phone, while the Cover Screen displays a real-time photo preview. Finally, experience taking detailed photos hands-free with the FlexCam feature.

Battery to power through the day

A long-lasting 3,700mAh (typical)

battery powers this smartphone with an upgraded 4nm processor. You can plug it in for Super Fast Charging or bypass the cord with its Fast Wireless Charging 2.0. With the Wireless PowerShare feature, you can now share a charge with your friend.

With Galaxy Z Flip4’s impressive battery features and power to spare, why not catch up with your friends through a video call on Google Meet?

Go on a movie night with Galaxy Z Flip4 and enjoy synced videos through Live sharing.

Personalized and useful cover screen

Change up your customizable 1.9-inch Cover Screen using your photos or videos. You can even put your style on display by using your own AR emoji to personalize the clock face of your Galaxy Z Flip4.

Meanwhile, you can also control your phone by tapping and swiping on the Cover Screen.

There is no need to open your phone and navigate the Main Screen. The Quick Settings allows you to respond to text messages and add widgets to keep apps close at hand.

Connected power of Samsung Galaxy Transitioning from your old phone to your new phone can sometimes be a hassle. However, its Smart Switch feature makes the transition between your phone to Galaxy Z Flip4 simple. You can safely transfer data from your old phone and enjoy this smartphone’s seamless system.

The Galazy Z Flip4 is a statement phone for the elite and successful people. It is both a validation of reward for all of their hard work, and frankly, who can argue with that?

Japan-a iliated telco InfiniVAN now ISO 9001:2015 Certified

TELECOMMUNICATIONS and digital solutions provider InfiniVAN, Inc. a subsidiary of Tokyo Stock Exchange-listed IPS, Inc., has been awarded the International Organization for Standardization Certification ISO 9001:2015 for its Quality Management System (QMS) that secures the quality and reliability of services to its clients or customers.

ISO 9001:2015 is defined as the international standard that specifies requirements for a quality management system. The breakthrough is part of the company’s consistent commitment to be recognized as a company that redefines the standards of quality and service in the telco industry.

After management consulting and training firm FCU Solutions, Inc. conducted an Appreciation Workshop for ISO 9001:2015 at InfiniVAN, Inc. in November 2021, the company was inspired to take on the standard certification. This meant it would work towards and commit to provide products and services that meet customer and other related requirements, develop and implement a Quality Policy to fulfill its objectives, demonstrate leadership and commitment to the QMS, reduce the risks in the implementing processes and improve the performance of the QMS.

“We moved towards ISO certification because we aim to be the benchmark for telecommunications and digital solutions and prove it too. With the ISO certification, our customers will be assured of the

quality of our service and our commitment to continually improve on our offerings. It will demonstrate our mission and vision towards continuous and sustainable improvement,” said Engr. Edgardo A. Opulencia, InfiniVAN’s COO. Engr. Opulencia added that the ISO certification is a milestone and a great achievement for the company as a whole as it prepares and continuously

improves Infinivan’s conformities, processes, and operations. With it, InfiniVAN’s top management commits to ensure adequate resources and support to help the company achieve its goals.

InfiniVAN, Inc. ‘s services and coverage areas can be found at www.infinivan.com. For more info, please call (02) 7-368-5232 or send an email to info@infinivan.com.

Smart opens iPhone 14 pre-order with o ers starting at Plan 999

SMART, the Philippines’ fastest and best mobile network, has opened the pre-order for the iPhone 14 from Oct. 7 to 14.

Touted as the most advanced iPhone lineup ever, the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max all come with a durable and sophisticated design, superfast 5G, impressive camera upgrades, and vital new safety capabilities powered by A16 Bionic, the fastest chip ever in a smartphone.

“We are excited to finally bring the much-awaited iPhone 14 to our subscribers with our best offers so they can make the most of its advanced features and take their mobile experience to the next level powered by Smart, the Philippines’ fastest and best mobile network,” said Francis E. Flores, SVP and Head of Consumer Wireless Business-Individual at Smart.

Get the iPhone 14 starting at Plan 999

The all-new iPhone 14 is best experienced on Smart Signature Device Plan 999, which comes with monthly 5 GB open access data, Unli AllNet Calls and Texts, 50 minutes PLDT Calls, and a Data Rollover feature, which means all unused data allocation from the previous month will be carried over to the following month.

Under this plan, customers can get the iPhone 14 for only P1,100 per month with a 17,800 Down Payment and a contract period of 24 months.

Customers who are interested in getting the other iPhone 14 variants may avail of the Smart Signature Device Plan 1999, which comes with monthly 15 GB open access data, Unli AllNet Calls and Texts, and 150 minutes PLDT Calls.

With this plan, customers can get the iPhone 14 Plus (128GB) for P1,100 per month with 11,300 one-time cashout; the iPhone 14 Pro (128GB) for P1,300 per month with a one-time cashout of P13,500; or iPhone 14 Pro Max (128GB) for P1,500 per month with a one-time cashout of P15,600.

Recontracting subscribers also have the option to do full monthly amortization with no down payment, with more exciting offers be announced via Smart’s official social media channels in the coming weeks.

Get a complimentary iPhone 14 Pro with Smart Infinity Plan 5000 or 8000

On the other hand, customers who want the luxury postpaid experience offered by Smart Infinity may pre-order the iPhone 14 Pro (256GB) as a complimentary device with the Smart Infinity Plan 5000 and 8000 starting from Oct. 7 to 13.

The Infinity Plan 5000 and 8000 comes with Unlimited Data, Unlimited AllNet Texts, and Unli AllNet Calls to mobile and landline, and for Plan 8000, a monthly consumable allowance of P2,400. In addition, Infinity members also get exclusive access to a Personal Relationship Manager, the Infinity Dedicated Hotline, Infinity Worldwide Concierge and lifestyle perks and privileges from well-curated brand partners to suit their interests and needs. For more information on the Smart Infinity mobile plans, visit www.smart.com.ph/Infinity.

Ingram Micro PH celebrates 13th anniversary; bolsters Best Workplace journey

INGRAM Micro, a global technology and supply chain company, celebrated 13 years in the Philippines in its first hybrid event called 13est Workplace Ever 13th Anniversary Celebration, recently held at the Hilton Manila Grand Ballroom. The event was a commemoration of more than a decade of Filipino excellence and continued commitment to helping companies “Realize the Promise of Technology.” It also marked three straight years of recognition as one of the Best Workplaces in the Philippines by Great Place to Work®.

“This year’s anniversary celebration was extra special as it was the first time we were able to celebrate with our employees in a hybrid setting since the start of the pandemic,” shared Eric de Pedro, vice president, Global Business Services and Philippines Country Leader. “It was amazing to see the joy and energy of our employees being together in the same room and bonding in a way that is totally different from just celebrating with teammates across

the laptop screen. All of us were affected by the pandemic in many ways, and as we slowly shift to Better Normal, we want to treat our employees to experiences we know they will appreciate.”

The variety show-themed, monthlong celebration began in May and culminated with the hybrid anniversary celebration in

Bamboo rocks the Ingram Micro celebration

pose, and collaboration,” Eric quipped. “Through meaningful actions, instead of just day to day transactions, we are able to foster trust and genuine care that goes beyond the screen. We look forward to creating more new shared experiences, in the office and at home.”

As a global leader in technology and cloud solutions and the business helping power the world’s biggest technology brands, Ingram Micro has the ability to serve 90% of the global population, with sales in 200 countries covering 6 continents. The momentum continues as Ingram Micro accelerates its efforts on business transformation and digitalization, and the Manila facility plays a pivotal role in its unrelenting growth.

In addition, the Manila center recently held a four-day Career Carnival recruitment event in early July at The Peninsula Hotel, Makati City. The festival, themed recruitment expo, gathered more than 1,000 applicants from all over the Greater Manila area and neighboring provinces.

Galaxy Z Flip4

In niVAN, Inc.’s process owners during the successful recommendation for the ISO 90012015 Certi cation Audit

Detailed photoVibrant, sharp colors

Ingram Micro PH execs o er a toast June. Hosted by Robi Domingo, employees enjoyed exciting prizes and were treated to performances by Unique Salonga and OPM legend Bamboo Mañalac. Ingram Micro Philippines also launched its campaign called

Greatness Anywhere, to promote their commitment to being a Great Place to Work® amidst the workplace revolution brought on by the impact of COVID-19.

embrace a Better Normal mindset, our evolving workplace is defined by balancing safety, flexibility, pur-