Manila Standard - 2022 October 11 - Tuesday

Diesel up by hefty P6.85/l

Gas P1.20/l, kerosene

oil price spike offsets 5-week rollbacks

By Alena Mae S. Flores

DOMESTIC pump prices went up by as much as P6.85 per liter effective today (Tuesday) a week after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies announced its decision to cut production to push up world oil prices.

Oil firms raised the price of diesel by P6.85 per liter, kerosene by P3.50 per liter, and gasoline by P1.20 per liter.

This week’s upward adjustment offset the rollbacks from the past five weeks, re

Bakers asking 10% price hike for Pinoy bread

By Othel V. Campos

BAKERS are asking the government for a 10-percent price hike for Pinoy Tasty and Pinoy Pandesal to cover in creases in flour prices alone, saying they are already selling “at a loss” and are expecting a five-percent decline in sales this year.

“What we are asking is only a 10-percent increase just to cover the doubling of flour prices. We haven’t even considered the increases in the price of other ingredients like sugar, yeast, salt and improvers,” Garde nia Bakeries Phils. Inc. president and former Philippine Baking Industry Group (Philbaking) President Simpli cio Umali said.

Duterte-installed OP staff extended on job till Dec. 31

By Vito Barcelo

MALACAÑANG has extended the term of officials and employees of the Office of the President (OP) who are coterminous with the Duterte admin istration until the end of 2022.

Under Memorandum Order No. 7 signed by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, the term extension for the OP appointees coterminous with the previous administration aimed “to prevent disruption in the delivery of government offices.”

SIGNED INTO LAW. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signs the Subscriber Indentity Module (SIM) Registration Act, the first law ever under his administration, at Malacanang on Monday.

Witnessing is House Speaker Martin Romualdez (3rd right) and (from left) Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva, Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, House Majority Leader Manuel Jose “Mannix” Dalipe, Tingog Party List Rep. Jude Acidre, House Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan, and Valenzuela Rep. Rex Gatchalian. Ver Noveno

sulting in a net decrease of P2 for diesel, P3.90 for gasoline, and P6.45 for kerosene.

This early, President Ferdinand Mar cos Jr. is proposing to source fuel from

Marcos inks SIM Law to curb online scams

By Vince Lopez and Macon Ramos-Araneta

THE Office of the Press Secretary (OPS) may “see some changes” in the coming

By Vito Barcelo, Vince Lopez, Maricel V. Cruz, and Macon Ramos-Araneta

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday signed into law the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) Card Registration Act, which aims to pro

mote accountability in the use of mobile phones.

The SIM Registration Act seeks to end crimes using phones, including text and online scams by regulating the sale and the use of SIMs by mandating registration to end-users. Under this measure, all public telecommu

nications entities (PTEs) or direct sellers will require the SIM card user to present a valid identification document with a photo. Information in the SIM card registration will be treated as confidential unless the subscriber

Speaker Romualdez vows House passage of 30 Palace priority bills

By Maricel V. Cruz, Macon Ramos-Araneta, and Vince Lopez

SPEAKER Martin G. Romualdez on Monday assured President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. that the House of Repre

sentatives would quickly pass 30 vital measures for job creation, health, and economic recovery to protect the coun try’s most vulnerable people.

Romualdez was referring to 30 out of the 32 bills approved or listed dur ing Monday’s meeting of the Legisla

operation

officer-in-charge

Garafil said on Monday.

formally meeting for the first time today on the operations of the

definitely

Health

Life

tive-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) as its common legis lative agenda (CLA).

It was the first time Mr. Marcos con vened the LEDAC.

“The House and the Senate will give these measures utmost priority. Presi

dent Marcos clearly spelled out a road map of governance in the next six years for economic recovery, with agriculture as the major engine for growth and em ployment,” Romualdez, who attended the LEDAC meeting in Malacañang, said.

By Macon Ramos-Araneta and Rey E. Requejo

THE head of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Custodial Center has been relieved after a detainee briefly took former Senator Leila de Lima hostage in a foiled escape attempt Sunday, PNP chief Police Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. said Monday.

At a press conference, Azurin said the relief of facility commander Lt. Colo. Patrick Ramillano was a standard operating procedure.

The PNP said three prisoners – al leged Abu Sayyaf Group members Arnel Cabintoy, Idang Susukan, and Feliciano Sulayao Jr. -- stabbed Police Cpl. Roger Agustin who was serving their food.

Cabintoy and Susukan were shot dead by a police officer while Sulayao was able to run and take De Lima hostage.

In her sworn statement, De Lima said Sulayao told her about their complaints, including being fed pork, which Mus lims are not allowed to eat.

PNP Custodial chief sacked, policy revamp eyed after hostage-taking

CHILD

20th anniversary with an exhibit honoring its donors and holding a birthday celebration for Mr. Hans T. Sy at the Music Hall of SM Mall of Asia. Through the initiative of philanthropist ‘Mother’ Ricky Reyes, CHILD Haus was able to help children with cancer

FLAG CEREMONY. Office of the Press Secretary (OPS) officer-in-charge Undersecretary Cheloy Velicaria-Garafil attends the flag ceremony at the Mabini Hall of Malacañang Palace on Monday, where earlier she talked with Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin (right photo). Valerie Escalera

other countries such as Russia to secure the country’s oil supply requirements, Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla.

“The President is, of course, en couraging us to source our oil supplies from the most competitive sources,” Lotilla said.

He said the Department of Energy is looking at contingencies in case supply is constrained from particu lar countries.

“As we have learned from Ukraine, there is the threat of war breaking out in some parts of the world, and this has to be taken into account as well by our downstream oil industry,” Lotilla said.

“Our downstream oil industry is in the hands of the private sector, but it al ways pays to encourage them to source from the most competitive sources, in cluding Russia,” the energy chief added.

He said the downstream oil indus try players are locked in long-term supply contracts.

“A number of them are locked in to long-term supply contracts, and there

fore they would have to consider wheth er the offers can be competitive offers that Russia or other sources would be able to offer stable supply in the long run,” he said.

OPEC+ announced a production cut of two million barrels per day starting next month to push up oil prices which dropped slightly above $80 per barrel from a high of $120 per barrel in the previous months due to global reces sion fears.

World oil prices remained below $100 per barrel as of Monday.

Meanwhile, Meralco on Monday

said electric rates will be lower this month as some of the component costs went down.

Residential customers consuming 200 kWh will see a decrease of almost P15 in their total electric bill.

The power distributor said the Feedin-Tariff Allowance (FIT-All) genera tion charge was lower by P0.0619 per kWh, which pulled the rates down for the month.

Generation charge also went down in September to P6.9192 from P6.9393 per kWh due to lower costs in supply contracts.

Bakers...

“When before we were at break-even, now we’re selling at a loss. The Pinoy bread brands are really subsidized by us. We kept telling ourselves that it is okay if we do not make a profit since this is a CSR [corporate social responsibility] project [but] some of our members are already losing money,” he added.

Pinoy Tasty and Pinoy Pandesal account for at least 20 percent of the mass market.

The Department of Trade and In dustry (DTI) is set to review within the week Philbaking’s petition to in crease the price of Pinoy Pandesal to P27.50 per bag of 10 from P23.50/bag and Pinoy Tasty to P42.50 per loaf from the current P38.50.

Philbaking members composed of Gardenia Bakeries, French Baker, Uncle George, Tiffany, Fortune Bake shop, and Marby have been selling budget breads for over a decade now.

Umali said the rising inflation rate due to increases in the price of inputs as well as power and fuel impacted the operations of commercial and com munity bakeries.

“More community bakeries have shut down due to their inability to compete. There was also a big bread company that acquired two smaller commercial bakeries,” he said.

“While the industry continues to be dynamic in the sense that there are many issues and opportunities happening simultaneously, the fact remains that we are very much chal lenged as of this time,” Umali added.

authorizes access to his information.

The measure also directs telecom munications companies to disclose the full name and address contained in the SIM card registration upon a duly is sued subpoena or order of a court.

Law enforcement agencies that in vestigate purported crimes commit ted through phones may also submit a written request to telecommunications providers to disclose the details of the SIM card holder.

The measure is the consolidation of the bills approved by the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Globe Telecom Inc. and Smart Communications Inc., the country’s two biggest telcos, previously ex pressed support for SIM card registra tion and vowed to assist the govern ment in deterring crimes committed electronically.

Mr. Marcos signed Republic Act No. (RA) 11934 also known as An Act Requiring the Registration of SIM Cards in a ceremony witnessed by Vice President Sara Duterte, lawmak ers, and other government officials at Malacañang Palace.

RA 11934 is the first law signed under the Marcos administration. It was signed two days after Mr. Marcos marked his first 100 days in office on Oct. 8. In a speech, Mr. Marcos thanked lawmakers from the Senate and House of Representatives for producing a “long overdue” measure seeking to re solve crimes using SIM cards.

He said the law would “set the im portant tone that it is our national poli cy to ensure that technology shall only be used to improve our people’s lives.”

RA 11934, which is a consolidation of House Bill No. 14 and Senate Bill No. 1310, requires Public Telecommu nication Entities (PTEs) or direct sell ers to demand end users of SIM cards to present a valid identification docu ment to validate their identities.

It also requires PTEs to submit a verified list of their authorized dealers and agents nationwide to the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) and an updated list of the same every quarter of each year.

The law mandates that all PTEs are required to maintain a SIM Card Registry of their subscribers, contain ing the information required under the new law.

In an interview, Information and Communications Technology Secre tary Ivan John Uy said the time frame for registering SIM cards will still be decided after consultation between the NTC and PTEs.

“I think the prescribed time has still to be set by NTC and with the con sultation with the telcos because they have to prepare the systems, they have to prepare their people in order to do this. But I think it’s easy, there are a lot of processes,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino.

Uy said PTEs may consider asking their subscribers to validate their SIM cards online the same way it is done with electronic wallets to avoid long lines in their physical stores.

Also adopted as the 31st and 32nd measures during LEDAC were The SIM Registration Act which was signed into law by President Marcos after Monday’s LEDAC meeting and The Postponement of Barangay & SK Elections, which was awaiting the Chief Executive’s signature as of press time Monday.

He said that more bills might be add ed to the list.

Also in attendance during the LEDAC meeting were House Major ity Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe, Reps. Stella Quimbo, House Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva, Senators Loren Legarda and Juan Edgardo Angara, and Cabinet secretaries.

Romualdez said the House also in voked and will continue to use Rule 10, Section 48 of its rules of procedure, which authorizes the committees to dis pose of priority measures already filed and approved on the third reading in the immediately preceding Congress.

“The House is in full support of the President’s entire legislative agenda, including the key priority measures for legislation he has asked Congress to consider. We will act on these with dis patch,” Romualdez said.

“With the guidance and support of

President Marcos Jr. and the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office, these prior ity measures will become laws, which the Filipino people can benefit from,” Romualdez said, adding that the 20 meas ures enumerated by the President in his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) were included in the 30 priority bills.

“I am proud to say that the mem bers of both houses of Congress have already filed bills on the 20 priority measures identified by President Mar cos,” Romualdez said.

The 20 priority measures enumerated by President Marcos in his SONA that were part of the total 32 CLA bills were the Valuation Reform Bill, Passive In come and Financial Intermediary Taxa tion Act (PIFITA), E-Governance Act, E-Government Act, Internet Transac tion Act, Government Financial Institu tions Unified Initiatives to Distressed Enterprises for Economic Recovery (GUIDE) bill; Medical Reserve Corps bill, National Disease Prevention Management Author ity bill, Virology Institute of the Philip pines bill, Unified System of Separation, Retirement and Pension bill, Department of Water Resources bill, National Land Use Act, Mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) and National Service Training Program, Budget Mod ernization bill, National Government Rightsizing Program; National Defense Act, Enactment of an Enabling Law for the Natural Gas

wish for a happy Christmas,” she said during a flag-raising ceremony on Mon day led by Bersamin.

Industry, Amendments to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act, Amend ments to the Build-Operate-Transfer Law, and the Condonation of Unpaid Amortization and Interests of Loans of Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries.

In addition to the 20 priority meas ures identified by President Marcos, Romualdez said the Senate and the House of Representatives have identi fied an additional 12 priority bills, in cluding the newly signed SIM Registra tion Act and the postponement of the barangay and SK elections as part of LEDAC’s CLA.

Romualdez said 10 out of the 12 ad ditional measures are as follows: The Establishment of Regional Specialty Hospitals, the Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers, Establishing the Negros Is land Region,

The New Philippine Passport Act, Waste-to-Energy Bill, The Apprentice ship Act, Providing Free Legal Assis tance for Military and Uniformed Per sonnel, The Magna Carta of Barangay Health Workers, The Creation of the Leyte Ecological Industrial Zone, and The Creation of the Eastern Visayas Development Authority.

Zubiri called the LEDAC a success in enabling the legislative and executive departments to synchronize their prior ity measures.

“It’s very timely that we had our first LEDAC right before the budget season,” he said.

tending the term of office of designated OICs of departments, agencies, and bu reaus until Dec. 31 this year unless a re placement has already been appointed.

During the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, bread sales dropped by 5 percent and 3 percent, respectively.

For this year, figures are expected to be down by 5 percent.

Umali, however, said there is poten tial to rebound in the next two years, estimating an 8 percent growth in 2023 and 11 percent in 2024.

“Because the public is beginning to start buying bread once again. And we are prepared to serve their indulgenc es despite the higher cost of raw mate rials. We are slowly getting back from where we used to be,” Umali said.

However, they can be replaced if their appointments are revoked, or if they have resigned, or if their replacements have been appointed.

Director Andrea Maila Ordanez of OP’s Human Resource department thanked Bersamin for signing the MO.

“It is really hard to be in that place of uncertainty especially this coming Christmas season where all of us only

Bersamin’s predecessor, Vic Rod riguez, signed Memorandum Circular No. 1 in July declaring certain posi tions in the executive department va cant, including all coterminous presi dential appointees.

MC 1 also designates as OIC the nextin-rank and most senior official in gov ernment departments, offices, agencies, and bureaus that have no appointed head.

In July, MC No. 3 was issued, ex

against Muslims.

He said these include the tendency to tag criminals as Muslims and serving food with pork to Muslim prisoners.

Meanwhile, Bersamin enjoined his fellow public servants to be true to their oaths of office.

“Public service becomes meaning less and empty if the public servant is not dedicated to this kind of intentional obeyance. We must endeavor to uphold the rule of law in every action that we take in the discharge of our duties and our responsibilities,” he said.

ing that some inmates were allegedly treated like animals and are still being served food with pork.

Regulatory Board to serve as OIC Press Secretary.

“It’s not important whether OIC or full-fledged Secretary... What’s im portant is the trust and confidence given by the President. He gave us the chance and trust to help in the OPS,” she said.

Garafil did not mention the extent of the changes in terms of new appoint ments in the OPS.

Meanwhile, during yesterday’s budget hearing at the Senate, Garafil appealed to the senators to return the P2.037 billion budget slashed from the proposed budget of the OPS for 2023.

Garafil said they are seeking a hike in the P1.16 billion budget allocation for next year to have enough funds to improve the conditions of the govern ment-owned television stations PTV 4 and IBC-13.

Sen. Raffy Tulfo, for his part, urged the leadership of PTV-4 to act on the “pitiful” condition of employees of the state-run broadcast channel.

Tulfo noted that since he worked with PTV-4 some two decades ago, employ ees have yet to get a salary raise.

OPS-Broadcast Media Services Usec. Ina Reformina admitted no sal ary adjustments were made in the past 15 years in PTV-4.

Headquarters Support Service Direc tor Police Col. Mark Pespes, who shot and killed Sulayao, denied the allegation. He was awarded a medal for heroism.

Azurin said De Lima has been trans ferred to PNP General Hospital for the meantime. The PNP is planning to transfer her to a different cell in the same facility.

Azurin also said changes would be made in the PNP Custodial Center per sonnel following Sunday’s hostage-tak ing incident.

Interviewed by GMA News, Azurin admitted there was a lapse, because the prisoners saw the police officer deliver ing food was alone and unarmed.

He also said they would study the setup at the Custodial Center to make detainees safer.

Senator Robinhood Padilla, a fol lower of Islam, said the PNP could play a big role in ending the discrimination

Padilla expressed his dismay over videos on social media where police re sponding to the hostage-taking referred to the perpetrators as Muslims.

He reiterated his call to the PNP lead ership to launch an education drive on the use of the word “Muslim.”

“While we are glad that Sen. de Lima is safe and we continue to pray for the recovery of the wounded policeman, I cannot but notice that some policemen referred to the hostage takers as Mus lims,” Padilla said.

The senator said he wants to let eve ryone know that Muslim is not used to describe a person, especially when re ferring to a criminal or terrorist.

“These people have names, why not identify them through their names in stead of their religion because religion has nothing to do with it,” he added.

Padilla expressed concern over De Lima’s reported statement indicat

Meanwhile, a group of human rights lawyers said De Lima should be allowed to post bail after she became a victim of hostage taking at the detention facility.

“Senator De Lima should be released on bail immediately. She is not a flight risk and given the state of the evidence, there is every reason to grant her provi sional liberty,” the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) said, in a statement.

De Lima has been detained at the PNP’s Custodial Center since 2017 on non-bailable illegal drugs charges filed against her before the Muntinlupa City Regional Trial Court.

The charges claimed that De Lima was involved in the alleged prolifera tion of illegal drugs trading at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City when she was the secretary of the Department of Justice.

She has denied these allegations, saying they were trumped up charges by the previous administration.

De Lima’s lawyer, Boni Tacardon, said they have not yet decided whether they will move for an extended home furlough for the former senator follow ing Sunday’s incident.

Tacardon said he was not able to dis cuss the matter with De Lima because a hearing set for Monday was reset to Oct. 24 – after Interior Secretary Ben hur Abalos, who met with the ex-sen ator after the incident, announced he tested positive for COVID-19 (see story on A4 – editors).

Tacardon said if De Lima would eventually agree to the proposal earlier disclosed by Senator Imee Marcos, then they are ready to file the necessary mo tion in court.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla has yet to issue a statement on the matter.

De Lima was last granted a furlough in June, but only to allow her to undergo a “major” surgery from June 19 to 25.

De Lima on Sunday said she rejected an offer by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., coursed through Abalos, to be trans ferred to another facility.

PNP aims to dig deeper in P6.7-b drug buy-bust

By Joel E. Zurbano

THE Philippine National Police (PNP) on Monday said it will dig deeper to know if more cops were involved in the illegal drugs trade following the arrest of an intelligence officer in a major buybust operation in Manila.

“We expect Sgt. (Rodolfo) Mayo to reveal or help us identify his other cohorts, if there were any,” PNP chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. told reporters at a press conference.

“We don’t care how far this investigation would go,” he added.

Mayo, an intelligence officer for the PNP Drug Enforcement Group, was arrested at the Quezon Bridge in Quiapo, Manila on Sunday after a drug suspect implicated him.

Over the weekend, authorities have confiscated some 990 kilograms of suspected shabu worth over P6.7 billion following a series of anti-drug operations in Manila.

Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos said the yield from the anti-illegal drug operation was probably the biggest haul in the country’s history.

PNP Drug Enforcement Group (PDEG) director Brig. Gen. Narcisco Domingo said Mayo expressed willingness to give information to the police.

Meanwhile, Customs Commissioner Yogi Filemon Ruiz on Monday commended his men from the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service - Manila International Container Port (CIIS-MICP) who were part of the antinarcotics operation in Manila that resulted in the seizure of more than P6.7 billion worth of illegal drugs.

The CIIS men assisted the Philippine National Police – Drug Enforcement Group (PDEG) over the weekend in the buy-bust operation at 1742 Jose Abad Santos Street, Barangay 252, in Tondo where one suspect was arrested and several pieces of evidence were seized.

Ruiz also lauded the PDEG and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) for what could be the biggest anti-illegal drug operation this year.

Group warns of effects of POGO closure

By Maricel V. Cruz

TOclose or not to close, that is the question.

As the acerbic debates on whether to shut down the controversial Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) rage on, an association of POGO service providers warned that more than 23,000 Filipino workers might lose their jobs if the government sealed the fate of the POGOs.

And while the Bureau of Immigration (BI) began processing the deportation of 48,000 unlicensed Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) foreign workers, Albay Rep. Joey Salceda urged the government to treat the affected alien workers like other foreigners overstaying in the country.

In a joint media briefing on Monday,

the Association of Service Providers and POGOs (ASPAP) appealed to government to carefully weigh the sector’s economic contributions including potential job losses before deciding on the fate of the online gaming sector.

Composed of 16 PAGCOR-licensed POGOs and 68 service providers, ASPAP members employ a total of 23,118 Filipi-

nos (direct hired – 11,776; indirect hired – 11,342) and 17,130 foreign nationals.

“We’re proud to say that our group employs more Pinoys than foreigners,” ASPAP representative lawyer. Michael Danganan said.

Since ASPAP represents less than onehalf of PAGCOR’s 35 POGO licensees, he said the number of Filipinos employed by the entire POGO sector “is definitely much higher.”

Sharing more details on ASPAP members’ operations, lawyer Paul Bongco said the group has 129 offices for customer relations service, IT support, live studio streaming, and functions. These offices occupy a total floor area of 407,841 square meters, mostly found in Parañaque, Makati, Cavite, Pasay, Pampanga, Manila and Mandaluyong.

ASPAP data showed about 31.4 percent

of their Filipino workers serve as team leaders or supervisors, administrative assistants, sport-book handlers, kitchen staff, security officers, finance assistants, accounting assistants, and 60 other jobs.

Bongco said ASPAP members share most Filipinos’ concerns over the reported rise in crime incidence in the POGO sector. He said, however, that it’s unfair to blame the whole industry for the illegal activities of a few.

He said ASPAP members want to do business quietly, take care of their employees, and pay their corresponding share in taxes.

“We thus appeal to our government—President [Ferdinand] Marcos and our senators in particular—not to look at the POGO sector as the enemy, but rather an ally in nation building,” Bongco said.

Gov. Teves defies Comelec order unseating him

By Rio N. Araja

CLAIMING “the situation in Negros Oriental is very fragile,” the camp of Governor Henry Pryde Teves on Monday asserted they are in control of the province despite the Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) nullification of his proclamation.

At a media briefing in Quezon City, Sara Manalo, Teves’ legal counsel, said she believed her client was still in office.

“The people are in disbelief and worried with what is happening in the province,” Manalo told reporters.

Ferdinand Topacio, another legal counsel, urged Teves to continue serving the Negrenses and not to step down since he already has taken his oath of office as governor.

He took a swipe at the Comelec for its supposed illegal move to unseat Teves, saying the poll body failed to have a quorum when it issued an order declaring a certain Grego Ruel Degamo a nuisance gubernatorial candidate.

NCRPO releases latest photo of suspect in Lapid murder

THE National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) on Monday released the latest photo of a suspect in the killing of broadcaster Percy Lapid last Oct. 3 in Las Piñas City.

The NCRPO also said the reward in exchange for information leading to the arrest of the suspects was increased to P1.5 million.

Lapid, host of the online broadcast program “Percy Lapid Fire” at DWBL 1242 and columnist for Hataw, was shot dead

by two men while on his way home in Barangay Talon Dos, Las Piñas.

NCRPO chief Brig. Gen. Jonnel Estomo said images of a potential suspect or person of interest was captured on CCTV cameras along Lapid’s routes moments before the murder.

Estomo also announced that the reward money being offered for information leading to the resolution of the case has been increased from P500,000 to P1.5 million.

The initial P500,000 reward came from

Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos, while the rest came from the victim’s friends and concerned citizens.

Meanwhile, the Philippine National Police (PNP) on Monday said it will provide security to members of the press who are receiving threats following the killing of Lapid.

In a press conference, PNP chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. advised media workers to report to the PNP if there were threats to their life because of their job.

“It would be better if you inform us so we can provide you security. If you have a suspect, at least we can conduct an investigation. And if security is needed, we will provide one for you,” Azurin said.

He also encouraged a discussion with the members of the press to determine the level of threat against mediamen.

According to Azurin, the PNP continues to gather information and review CCTV footage to solve the case of Lapid, whose real name was Percival Mabasa.

Tai opens talks with House leaders on NHA’s charter renewal by 2025

THE PCG IN ACTION.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) evacuates 103 passengers of a ferry boat that ran aground in the waters of Benoni Port, Camiguin Island after the vessel’s steering wheel failed to function. PCG photo

THE National Housing Authority (NHA) is exploring talks with lawmakers for the renewal of its corporate charter which is set to expire in 2025.

Concerns have been raised about the NHA’s abolition if its corporate term were not extended for another 50 years.

At a news conference at the NHA main office in Quezon City, NHA general manager Joeben Tai said that he has paid a courtesy call to leaders at the House of Representatives and discussed about the charter’s renewal.

During the agency’s 47th anniversary, Tai said he has met with Speaker Martin Romualdez and presidential son and Senior Deputy Majority Leader Rep. Sandro Mar-

PCUP cites housing plans of 3 Visayan provinces

UNDERSECRETARY Elpidio Jordan of the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor (PCUP) on Monday lauded the effort of the local officials of Iloilo, Negros Occidental, and Capiz to intensify their socialized housing program and to help the homeless.

“For the past several decades, the lack of decent housing remains a big concern that warrants government attention because the majority of our people cannot afford to have their own home. In this, we need a more integrated approach in addressing our housing needs and as part of government, the efforts to solve the housing problem must be intensified and coordinated with all government agencies involved,” Jordan said.

“Hopefully, the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, which was only created during the previous Duterte administration, can pave the way for the government to better address urbanization and its

challenges with greater efficiency and capacitate local government units to effectively respond to the growing needs of urban and rural poor dwellers,” he added.

Those living along the danger zone and those to be relocated would benefit from the socialized housing units of the local governments of Iloilo City, Iloilo; Bacolod City, Negros Occidental, and Roxas City, Capiz.

Jordan believes that the government must invest properly and strategically so that construction and housing, which are key engines of job creation, would get the attention it really needs.

“For our part in the PCUP, we are committed to fulfill the mandate given to us with regards to linking accredited urban poor organizations to the pertinent government agency, such as the DHSUD, that could help them solve their problems, which includes housing and livelihood,” he emphasized.

Rio N. Araja

cos on the NHA’s charter.

“I am too happy to break the news to all of you that the two respected House leaders did not hesitate to support the extension of the NHA’s corporate term,” Tai said.

The charter’s renewal is significant to enable the agency pursue its programs and projects, and services to provide the poor, especially the informal settler families, with quality and decent low-cost housing units in the next 50 years, he said.

He vowed to continuously collaborate and strengthen partnership with other concerned government agencies, local government units and even the private sector to better serve the marginalized sector of society. Rio N. Araja

There should be at least four Comelec commissioners present to have a quorum, Topacio said.

He questioned Degamo’s pending case for running four times, instead of three times as provided by law.

Only the proper court could decide Teves’ fate as the lawful governor of Negros Oriental, he said.

Manalo, however, assured the public that there will be no impediment of dayto-day transactions at the provincial hall.

“The governor is in active coordination with the Department of the Interior and Local Government regional office,” she said, reacting to reports that Secretary Benhur Abalos requested Teves to vacate his post.

She stressed that Teves “will respect whatever the decision of the High Court is.”

QC solon eyes at least 1 college grad per family

A NEOPHYTE legislator has filed a bill seeking to ensure that every Filipino family has at least one college graduate.

Rep. Patrick Michael Vargas of Quezon City fi led House Bill 4523 or the “One Family, One Graduate” Bill to empower the poorest of the poor families by providing educational support of up to P60,000 per academic year or P30,000 per semester to government scholars.

The amount would cover tuition and other school fees, academic and extracurricular expenses, textbook allowance, board and lodging, transportation, clothing, medical needs and other valid related education expenses and support services to complete the studentgrantee’s degree program.

“We must exert more efforts necessary to invest in our people, enabling them to fulfill their aspirations and break free from poverty through a support system that aims to provide at least one college graduate per family,” Vargas said.

HB 4523 establishes an expanded Student Grants-in-Program for Poverty (ESGP-PA) which would be exclusively granted to poor but deserving students belonging to indigent households, prioritizing beneficiaries of the government’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has reported that the program supports more than 800,000 families, classified as poor and near-poor based on the Standardized Targeting System and the poverty threshold issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority. Maricel V. Cruz

appointed Commission

Commissioners Nelson Celis and  Ernesto Ferdinand Maceda

take their oath before Comelec chairman  George Erwin Garcia (center) in ceremony held at the So tel Hotel in Pasay City. Norman Cruz

WINDFALL IN SAN JUAN CITY. Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora, and other city o cials engage in a grou e amid the Livelihood Assistance Grant spearhead by the Department of Social Welfare and Development which handed out P10,000 each to 300 lucky city residents, done at a gym of the San Juan Elementary School. Manny Palmero

House leader praises PBBM, VP for ‘stellar performance’

HOUSE Majority Leader Manuel “Mannix” Dalipe on Monday praised both President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte for their “stellar performance” in their first 100 days in office.

In a statement, Dalipe said the Marcos administration has exceeded expectations in its first three months.

“President Marcos’ order for a oneyear moratorium on land amortization and interest payments of agrarian reform beneficiaries is a strong reflection of his pro-poor and pro-people policies.

His state visits in Indonesia, Singapore, and the US showed our country’s renewed commitment to working closely with the international community in various areas of cooperation,” Dalipe said.

President Marcos and Vice President Duterte are also serving as concurrent chiefs of the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Education, respectively.

“The synergy and harmony among various branches of government also paved the way for swift legislative action on various measures which are earnestly sought by the President,”

Binay: Scrap ‘inconvenient’ One Health Pass for OFWs

By Macon Ramos-Araneta SENATOR

Nancy Binay has called for the lifting of the One Health Pass (OHP) for COVID-19 amid mounting complaints from travelers over the incon venience of the screening system.

Meanwhile, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secre tary Benjamin Abalos Jr. said he tested positive for COVID-19.

Abalos said he is currently at home in isolation and working remotely while strictly following recommended protocols. He has also ordered authori ties to conduct the necessary contract tracing.

On the One Health Pass requirement,

Comelec ready to move filing of

for BSK elections

THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Monday said it is ready to move the filing of Certificates of Candidacy (COC) for the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elec tions (BSKE) once a law postponing the same is enacted.

“In the filing of COCs, if it is signed, the Commission en banc will discuss this, if we will no long er continue with the COC filing by October 22. There may be problems in case they were able to file COC, which might create confusion,” Comelec chairperson George Erwin Garcia said in a press briefing after the oath-taking of newly appointed Commissioners Nelson Celis and Ernesto Ferdinand Maceda Jr. in Pasay City.

The 2022 BSKE filing period is set from Oct. 22 to 29. The poll body chief noted that their only purpose for a possible halt in the ballot print ing is to change the date of the polls.

“In the printing of the ballot, if we stop, the only purpose is to make a new template. To reflect the new date of BSKE,” he said.

Early this month, the Comelec started the printing of close to 92 million ballots, which consist of 67,061,585 ballots for village voters, and 24,457,363 ballots for youth vot ers.

Both the Senate and the House of Representatives already ratified the measure postponing the Dec. 5 BSKE to the last Monday of October 2023. The bill is awaiting the signa ture of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. before it becomes a law.

The Comelec meanwhile said its seven-man en banc is now complete with the appointment of Commis sioners Ernesto Ferdinand P. Mace da, Jr. and Nelson J. Celis, who took their respective Oaths of Office on Monday.

Garcia welcomed the new mem bers of the poll body who will com plete the seven-member en banc composed of himself along with Commissioners Socorro Inting, Marlon Casquejo, Aimee Ferolino, and Rey Bulay. Vito Barcelo

Binay said this is no longer practical and has become burdensome, particularly for OFWs and balikbayans. The senator said that OFWs have been complaining that the process of verifying the OHP has led to long lines in the country’s air ports.

Binay also said when it comes to tour ism, “we might be turning away poten tial guests because of this added bureau cratic layer whose effectiveness isn’t

even guaranteed.”

Binay, chair of the Senate commit tee on tourism said that the Department of Tourism and other agencies should look into simplifying the processes that visitors have to undergo as the tourism industry looks to recover from the pan demic.

She added that besides the risk of data breaches, the OHP has also been the subject of scams, with the government repeatedly issuing warnings against websites demanding payment to issue fake passes.

In a related development, the seven-day COVID-19 positiv ity rate in the National Capital Region (NCR) went down to 17.9 percent from the previous 19.1 percent, the independ ent monitoring OCTA Research Group said Monday.

OCTA fellow Dr. Guido David said that NCR’s positivity rate dipped to 17.9 percent on October 8, from its peak of 19.1 percent on October 1. The NCR’s reproduction number also slightly de creased from 1.10 on September 29 to 0.99 on October 6.

The reproduction rate refers to the number of people infected by one case. A reproduction number that is below 1 indicates that the transmission of the vi rus is slowing down.

Senator Jinggoy Estrada meanwhile said the Senate’s prioritization of the proposed creations of the disease con trol and virology institutes will set in motion deliberations on the bills that seek to improve the country’s health care system and prepare it for future health crises.

Willie Casas, Joel E. Zurbano

Marilao town mayor dies in car mishap in Clark Freeport

By Orlan L. Mauricio

MALOLOS CITY – Marilao town Mayor Ricardo Silvestre was killed in a freak car accident after his white Land Cruiser rammed a steel post on the opposite side of the road along Prince Balagtas Avenue inside the Clark Freeport Zone in Mabala cat, Pampanga.

A police report from the Mabalacat Police Station identi fied the mayor’s driver-bodyguard as SSgt. Rodel Alcantara, 48, of 1819 Catmon, Sta. Maria, Bulacan.

Silvestre was in the backseat with his secretary identified as Karen Bonifacio, staff at the mayor’s office, at the time of the accident.

Police theorized that the mayor was not wearing a seat belt at the time of impact. The driver could have also fallen asleep, police said.

Paramedics who were first on the accident scene tried to revive the mayor and brought him to The Medical City hos pital inside Clark but he was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.

Bonifacio was brought to the Angeles University Founda tion hospital in Angeles City for a medical examination but was released several hours later.

Alcantara survived the crash impact but sus tained life-threatening injuries. He was initially brought to The Medical City Clark but later transferred to the Ace Doctor’s medical center in Malolos where he is now presently confined in stable condition.

Details are sketchy, but the mayor’s SUV was report edly speeding and swerved before hitting the said lamp post. The severe impact wrecked the bullet-proof SUV’s engine, while the post’s concrete foundation was com pletely uprooted.

Silvestre, 65, is serving his second term as mayor. His body now lies in state at his residence in Estrella Homes, Phase 4, Brgy. Patubig, Marilao. Internment is tentatively set by the family Tuesday next week, Oct. 20 at the Loma de Gato cemetery.

Review contingency plans, national disaster council urges Albay LGUs

LOCAL

said NDRRMC spokesperson Assistant Secretary Raffy Alejan dro.

“We have to ensure that all our responders and LGUs are ready so we can react in case the situation in Mayon elevates or shows further activities,” Alejandro, quoted by a GMA News report, said. “So we need to revisit the contingency plan, stock pile resources, and of course conduct early assessment while the alert level is still at Alert Level 2 only.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) earlier raised the alert status of Mayon Volcano due to an increasing level of unrest.

Albay province was placed under Alert Level 2 because Mon has been observed to have “current unrest driven by shal low magmatic processes that could eventually lead to phreatic eruptions or even precede hazardous magmatic eruption.”

Dalipe said.

Earlier, Dalipe noted that the swift passage of vital measures including the approval on third and final reading of the proposed P5.268-trillion General Appropriation Bill (GAB) for only 23 session days is a reflection of a united House of Representatives, under Speaker Martin Romualdez, that supports the legislative agenda of Mr. Marcos.

Meanwhile, the first 100 days of Duterte saw the opening of face-toface classes and has been managed exceptionally well, Dalipe said.

“This is no small feat considering the complexity of the preparations that are needed to ensure the safety of students as the Covid-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic remains a threat,” he added.

Dalipe even noticed that DepEd under Duterte also responded well in handling the controversy over the overpriced laptops by immediately ordering an investigation.

He added that in just 100 days, Duterte has shown that she is an excellent leader and a reliable partner of the President.

IN BRIEF

Sandigan sentences Datu Ampatuan to 128 years

FORMER mayor Datu Sajid Islam Ampatuan of Shariff Saydona Mustapha, Maguindanao has been sentenced to at least 128 years in prison for multiple counts of graft and mal versation

The Sandiganbayan’s First Division found Ampatuan guilty beyond reasonable doubt on four counts of graft and four counts of com plex crime of malversation through falsifica tion of public documents to make it appear that P79 million worth of government funds were used to buy food supplies such as sar dines, brown sugar, and dried fish from three different suppliers even though no such pur chase was made, GMA News reported. Ampatuan was also perpetually disquali fied from running for or occupying public of fice and ordered to pay around P79 million. Ampatuan, who attended his promulgation virtually, is currently one of the Sangguniang Bayan (Municipal Council) members of Shar iff Saydona Mustapha, Maguindanao.

Lawyer Glenn Nuestro, Ampatuan’s coun sel, said they will file a motion for reconsider ation over the multiple convictions and moved to post a bail for the accused’s continued pro visional liberty, the GMA News report said.

Lawmakers welcome US reps to bilateral talks

PHILIPPINE lawmakers on Sunday night welcomed a two-man congressional delega tion from the United States signifying the con tinuing effort from both countries to bolster their long-standing bilateral relations.

Sen. Imee Marcos and Reps. Rachel Are nas, Stella Quimbo, and Tsuyoshi Anthony Horibata met with the bipartisan US con gressional delegation composed of Rep. Seth Moulton (Massachusetts-Democrat) and Mike Waltz (Florida-Republican) at the West Room of Manila Golf and Country Club.

The visit of the US lawmakers, who are both members of the US House Committee on Armed Services, occurred as 2,550 US Marines and their 630 Filipino counterparts kicked off the first stage of their two-week joint military exercises.

The PH-US congressional delegations meeting took place on the heels of the Sep tember 22, 2022 bilateral meeting between President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. and US Presi dent Joe Biden on the sidelines of the 77th ses sion of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

During the bilateral meeting, President Biden reaffirmed the commitment of the US to the defense of the Philippines.

They also discussed the situation in the South China Sea and underscored their sup port for freedom of navigation and overflight and the peaceful resolution of disputes. Marcos and Biden also discussed op portunities to expand bilateral coopera tion on a wide range of issues, including energy security, climate action, and infra structure, as well as the Ukraine-Russia war and its implications for energy prices and food security, among others.

The visit of the US lawmakers, who are both members of the US House Committee on Armed Services, occurred as 2,550 US Marines and their 630 Filipino counterparts kicked off the first stage of their two-week joint military exercises. Maricel V. Cruz

Gatchalian bats for mental health centers in schools

SENATOR Win Gatchalian is reiterating his push to institutionalize mental health services in public and private schools nationwide amid the celebration of World Mental Health Day on October 10.

Considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and prolonged school closures, Gatch alian, chair of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, emphasized the need to ensure that recovery efforts include psychosocial support for both learners and teachers.

Gatchalian’s Basic Education Mental Health and Well-Being Promotion Act (Senate Bill No. 379) aims to institutionalize the Mental Health and Well-Being Program to provide mental health services, emotional, developmental and preventive programs, and other support services.

Under the proposed measure, the Depart ment of Education (DepEd) will be mandated to establish and maintain a Mental Health and Well-Being Center in every public school. These centers will deliver mental and well-being ser vices to address the mental, emotional, and developmental needs of learners, teachers, and non-teaching personnel. The DepEd will also ensure that these centers are established and maintained in all private schools.

Due to the bad effects of the pandemic in our students and teachers, now is the time they need more the aervices and programs to take care of their mental health. Macon Ramos-Araneta

DEFECTIVE SCALES. Authorities pose in front of confiscated defective weighing scales. Tabaco City Mayor Krisel Lagman-Luistro ordered the confiscation of the items which coincided with the celebration of National Consumer Welfare Month this October.

CAR CRASH. Marilao town Mayor Ricardo Silvestre (inset) was killed in a freak car accident after his white Land Cruiser ( plate CAP 3127) rammed a steel post on the opposite side of the road along Prince Balagtas Avenue inside the Clark Freeport Zone in Mabalacat, Pampanga.

COURTESY CALL. Kingdom of Thailand Ambassador to the Philippines Tull Traisorat pays a courtesy call on Speaker Martin G. Romualdez Monday afternoon at Speaker’s office in Manila. (inset) Romualdez and Presidential Management Staff Secretary Zenaida Angpin walk with President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. before the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council meeting in Malacañang Palace Monday morning. Ver Noveno

Toledo best choice for Press Secretary

REPORTS have it that three names are being considered as the next Press Secretary.

Without belittling the credentials and qualifi cations of the other names being mentioned, as a journalist of over 75 years, I believe President Marcos Jr. will have to choose the best, namely former Press Secretary Mike Toledo, who is now senior Vice President of the Manuel V. Pan gilinan Group of Companies.

I know quite well the credentials of Toledo as the press secretary of then President Joseph “Erap” Estrada.

Mike is a well respected member of the me dia and friend to all being also the press relations official of the MVP Group of Companies, and now the chairman of the Chamber of Mines.

BBM should be made aware that a Press Sec retary who works for the President must have respectability and credibility, which are essen tial for the post.

I said in my past column that the President so far had chosen the best and the brightest to be members of his Cabinet.

With Mike Toledo as press secretary, I say that if BBM must be credited for anything dur ing his first 100 days, it’s the fact that his Cabi net is so far, so good.

With Mike Toledo as press secretary, media will credit BBM for appointing one of media’s competent, credible and well-respected press secretary.

***

The findings of poll surveyors Pulse Asia and PUBLiCUS Asia that inflation and high prices remain the most concern of the majority of Fili pinos – precisely the main target of BBM in his administration.

Next to high prices, which are driving and boosting inflation, is the need for higher wages of all workers, government and the private sector.

Pulse Asia in fact found that 7 out of 10 Fili pinos are worried about high prices and inflation which contribute to higher prices of all basic commodities, and the need, my gulay, to in crease wages of all workers follows.

And that’s precisely what the Marcos admin istration is targeting.

Poverty and job creation follow these con cerns in the poll survey.

Crime and criminality were likewise men tioned as the most concern of Filipinos, and the need to address graft and corruption follows.

Crime and criminality as well as better law enforcement are also on the agenda of the Mar cos administration.

According to the PUBLiCUS Asia Survey , “ ….Vice President Sara Duterte is the most trusted government official with a 66 percent approval rating followed by Marcos who gar nered 62 percent; Senate President Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri in third with 50 percent; followed by House Speaker Martin Romualdez with 46 percent and Supreme Court Chief Justice Alex ander Gesmundo with 41 percent.

They had the same rankings in the trust rat ings with Duterte getting 62 percent, Marcos 58 percent, Zubiri 41 percent, Romualdez 39 per cent and Gesmundo 35 percent.”

What I find interesting in these poll surveys is PUBLiCUS’ finding the Marcos administration is precisely in the right direction with 51 percent of the citizenry hopeful.

It is noteworthy the Marcos administration is on the “right path.”

***

It is well that critics of President Marcos Jr. and his administration were heard criticizing Bongbong Marcos’ on what he does and says.

That’s the core of democracy under which we live. There must be assent and dissent, other wise it will be tyranny.

But, Santa Banana, when critics nitpick every word uttered by the President or in his policy speeches, we immediately know that some crit ics have little knowledge of BBM.

Take for instance his weekend trip, with the First Lady and their son, a member of the House of Representatives, to Singapore, upon invita tion of the Singapore Prime Minister, to watch the F1 Grand Prix.

When newly-appointed Executive Secretary and former Supreme Court Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin, replying to questions, said BBM and his family rode a Gulf-stream jet plane of the armed forces, and critics’ chasers – on who spent for the weekend stay of the First family and the tickets, costing a million pesos for the F1 Grand Prix – were “irrelevant.”

Indeed, they are truly irrelevant since the President can always ride on that Gulf-stream jet plane together with his family as AFP Com mander-in-Chief, upon invitation of the Singa pore Prime Minister.

Bongbong was not the only Chief of State who was invited, an invitation which BBM took advantage of if only to follow through with his invitation for Singapore investors to come to the Philippines, which obviously prompted the President to say the weekend’s Singapore trip was productive.

Personally, as a journalist for over 75 years, I believe in dissent in a democracy.

For it’s dissent that makes a democracy vi brant and alive. Without dissent, there can only be tyranny.

But, if the opposition and critics of the Mar cos Administration nitpick and make an issue of “irrelevant” things, I can only conclude that the “yellows” and critics of the Marcos administra tion, my gulay, have become mere noises and trying very hard to get noticed.

In the vernacular, it is called “kulang sa pansin.”

***

If the Marcos administration is truly intent on “rightsizing” the bureaucracy to generate some funds, it would do well to begin with the MTRCB or the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board, whose function is to rate what kind of movies and television pro grams the public can watch or should not watch.

The MTRCB was created by then President Ferdinand E. Marcos, BBM’s father, when com munication technology was not as it is today.

Now, with a flick of finger you can access any movie or television show worldwide. That was the time many decades ago when there was a need for censorship.

Now, as I said, with a flick of a finger, you can watch a movie shown by any network like HBO, Netflix or any kind of network, which shows nudity, sex films, violence and even xrated movies.

I have a smart tv with Netflix, with movies beyond the watchful eyes of MTRCB. censors.

The well-known Game of Thrones, shown on HBO, had full nudity and sex scenes. Santa Banana, how could the MTRCB censor it? No way, Jose, as they say.

With Mike Toledo as press secretary, media will credit BBM for appointing one of media’s competent, credible and wellrespected press secretary

Thus it would do well for the Marcos admin istration to abolish the MTRCB since it is totally useless and irrelevant. It serves only as a hump ing ground for political proteges. Nowhere in the world are movies and television shows cen sored and rated as they are in the Philippines.

My gulay, did you know that the MTRCB is composed of 30 members getting paid for noth ing since censorship is a thing of the past?

My gulay, it is really hilarious that the MTRCB even classifies news programs as PG (Parent Guidance is needed) when everyday news is essential for everybody in the country with the Right to Know.

My gulay, on this alone, abolish the MTRCB for being totally irrelevant and outdated.

***

I cannot understand why the Marcos admin istration is hesitating to create a Department of Disaster Resilience with many disasters and calamities already happening like earthquakes, super-typhoons, landslides and floods, devasta tion to agriculture, infrastructure, livelihood and resulting in the loss of lives, when the Marcos administration easily created the DMW or De partment of Migrant Workers for the benefit of millions of OFWs worldwide.

A study has shown that the Philippines is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world.

This is why we urgently need a department like the DDR, precisely to attend to all the disas ters and calamities.

Lest I be misunderstood, yes, we need the Department of Migrant Workers for the benefit of millions of OFWs who have been called “our new heroes.”

All I am saying is that I cannot understand all the hesitancy in enacting that bill, long pending in the Senate. that would create the DDR which is crucial and imperative for a country like the Philippines.

I also commend Senator Bong Go for push ing for the enactment of the long pending bill in the Senate creating the DDR.

FILIPINOS got a big scare yesterday when news came out that former senator Leila de Lima was held hostage inside her detention cell at camp Crame.

That three desperate criminals were able to take a high-profile inmate like De Lima inside a supposedly secure facility is beyond me.

No wonder the rumor mills are again churning like crazy because of the incident. Was it an attempt to silence De Lima or were her jailers too lackadaisical with their job?

Senator Risa Hontiveros, who visited De Lima af ter the incident, condemned the incident, (and rightly so) tagging it as “unjust, barbaric, and despicable.”

Whether it was a lapse in security or because of some sinister design, someone must be held to ac count.

That the former senator has been unjustly incar cerated, falsely charged with fabricated crimes, and now had to go through the harrowing experience of being the victim of a life-threatening, if avoidable, incident speaks a mouthful about what is wrong with our institutions.

How much mental and psychological torture can a person take?

For sure, the former lady senator is made of much sterner stuff -- her record speaks for itself.

Surely, she had gone through the wringer that will break most – the false accusations, character assas sination, every imaginable ordeal, and now this – be ing held hostage in a supposedly secure place like the main PNP headquarters at Camp Crame?

It is most fortunate that she came out alive in this new ordeal with barely a scratch.

Yet, more than any physical scars, the mental suf

Treated as confidential

EYOND an anxious blink, Filipinos may soon start initiating the verification process to complete details of their identity used to register their respective Subscriber Identity Module (SIM).

Before noon Monday, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., at the Ceremonial Hall of Malacanang with lawmakers in attendance led by House Speaker Martin Romualdez, signed into law the consolidated measure –approved by the House of Representatives and the Senate – seeking the registration of SIM, aimed at promoting accountability in its use.

We support the SIM Registration Act which seeks to end crimes using the platform including text and online scams by regulating the sale of SIMs through mandating registration for end-users.

An extension of 120 days can be given upon a valid written request to the Department of Information and Communications Technology.

During the registration, users will be asked to fill out a form that will contain their information and present a copy of a valid government ID with a photo.

Meanwhile, data of existing postpaid subscribers will be included in the SIM Register since they have to submit that upon subscription.

For their part, PTEs or public telecommu nications entities are given 30 days to submit a list of authorized sellers or dealers to the

Information in the SIM card registration is confidential unless the subscriber authorizes access to his information

National Telecommunications Commission, which should be updated quarterly.

Under the law, all PTEs or direct sellers shall require the SIM card user to present a valid identification document with a photo.

Information in the SIM card registration is confidential unless the subscriber authorizes access to his information.

The measure directs telecommunication companies to disclose the registered full name and address upon a duly issued subpoena or order from a court.

Law enforcement agencies investigating

crimes committed through mobile phones, meanwhile, may also write a request to the firms to obtain the information of the registered SIM card owner.

Office of the Press Secretary officer-incharge Cheloy Garafil has underlined the SIM Card Registration Act aims to provide “accountability in the use of SIM cards and aid law enforcers to track perpetrators of crimes committed through phones.”

It will also “significantly boost government initiatives against scams committed through text and online messages, which have become more prevalent this year.”

The National Privacy Commission also said the SIM Registration Act, when implemented, will “prevent the proliferation of various and evolving electronic communication-aided criminal activities” being committed in anonymity.

A SIM card carries a unique telephone number and stores some personal data. Without it, phone calls cannot be made, text messages cannot be sent and transactions using eCommerce phone apps cannot be established.

We agree with the NPC in its call for ways to prevent data breaches since the mandatory SIM card registration would “entail a massive collection of personal data” which necessitates a technology-neutral approach and to future-proof the legislated law which “respects the rights and freedoms of the data subjects.”

The first step has been made in this zone of crime prevention.

‘Damned if you do, damned if you don’t!’

Others were those ignored and left helpless by red-tape in seeking aid at government agen cies.

There were also those victims of injustice by the rich and powerful and abuses by persons of authority.

Through the years of providing public assis tance in my private capacity, it never occurred to me to run for elective office.

I CANNOT blame some government officials who say public service is a “thankless job.”

Now, I understand but, still, I do not share the same sentiment.

If you’re doing such a good job, there are those who perceive your impressive perfor mance as preparation for plans to run for politi cal office in the near future.

Yet once you miss out on your assigned task, the same people would not waste time to blame the appointing authority for choosing you, an “inept public servant.”

As Eleanor Roosevelt is often quoted as saying, “Do what you feel in your heart to be right, for you’ll be criticized anyway. You’ll be damned if you do and damned if you don’t.”

In June following the elections, I was truly elated by the honor of being named to the Of ficial Family of President Ferdinand “Bong bong” Marcos, Jr. (PBBM).

For over 30 years, I have continuously ren dered my own brand of public service as did my brothers, extending various forms of as sistance to people from all walks of life who found their way to my little Quezon City office.

I was overjoyed by the President’s offer for me to be the Secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) which I readily accepted as “a challenge.”

Actually, I saw it as an opportunity to serve on a national scale with the enormous govern ment resources.

I could reach out and help more people than I ever did at the Erwin Tulfo Action Center which I maintained alongside my broadcast journalism career.

In our own small way, my indefatigable staff and I have helped tens of thousands of fellow Filipinos, mostly poor who could hardly put food on the table.

We have focused on streamlining DSWD’s assistance programs such as Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), distributing educational assistance to students returning to face-toface classes

I enjoyed and I thrived on working for vari ous national daily newspapers, radio and tele vision networks in which field I have a natural talent.

Having reached the peak of my career in my prime, I just did not see any elective office or any Cabinet post as being more glamorous or “more powerful” than being a field reporter, news anchor, a commentator and a columnist.

Unfortunately, some losers see it in a totally different light, as talks are rife in social media about me possibly running for senator in 2025 or 2028.

There is nothing farther from my mind than vying for elective post in the next elections

which to me is just another contrived issue to create intrigue within PBBM administration.

In fact, I rejected an invitation from a major political party to be included in their senatorial slate despite my impressive showing in surveys on senatoriables in 2016 elections.

The Anti-Crime and Terrorism through Community Involvement and Support (ACTCIS) Partylist asked me to be their first nomi nee in the 2019 mid-term elections which I declined.

In the May 2022 polls, the ACT-CIS again wanted me to be their first nominee but I cour teously refused just the same.

Also in the last elections, a Quezon City group offered to support me to run for QC’s second district House seat; I similarly begged off in favor of my nephew Ralph Tulfo, who won the post.

I simply do not see myself engaged in poli tics or legislative work at the Senate or Con gress, following the footsteps of my brother Senator Raffy Tulfo.

“Idol Raffy” himself did not see a shift to politics until recent years when he real ized he can push his agenda for reforms, particularly in the areas of family laws, anti-crime and anti-poverty laws as an “in dependent voice” in the Higher Chamber.

Well, I am privileged to get things done my own way at DSWD, thanks to PBBM’s trust and confidence.

Our first 100 days have been devoted mostly to relief operations which were hectic, frantic, and at times chaotic amid successive calamities that hit the country’s various regions.

We have focused on streamlining DSWD’s assistance programs such as Pantawid Pamily ang Pilipino Program (4Ps), distributing educa tional assistance to students returning to faceto-face classes.

In cooperation with the Public Attorney’s Office, we are going after deadbeat fathers and mothers who abandoned and neglected their children.

We are extremely busy at DSWD to help the PBBM leadership to break the cycle of poverty, and I simply have no time for politics.

The least the government can do now is to take steps to ensure her safety, conduct a thorough investigation on the matter, and expedite the resolution of the remaining cases

fering and distress will be more telling in cases like this.

The least the government can do now

steps to ensure her safety, conduct a thorough

tigation on the matter, and expedite the

the remaining cases.

This responsibility now falls squarely on the lap of the new administration of President Marcos, Jr.

indictment, not only against the

That De Lima remains in detention is a

the

the

but

of our

In

She

“I

my mind that on top of this ordeal, I also had to survive the knife of a fellow detainee (reportedly an Islamic extremist) who took me hostage in a desperate attempt to make known their grievances to the public.

“After being told by the hostage-taker that since his two other companions were already dead, he’s certain he would also be killed and he might just as well also kill me, I consider what happened to me as a near-death experience.

“If not for the timely intervention of the PNP secu rity force, I don’t think I would have come out alive since the hostage-taker was already determined to die and take me with him.

“I am now safe and sound except for the lingering pain on my chest where the hostage-taker constantly

pressed the point of his knife while holding me hos tage.

“Please also pray for the injured police officer who, like me, was the other but more unfortunate vic tim of this incident.

“While I have survived with only a knife mark and some considerable distress, he is still fighting for his life. Let us all pray for his quick recovery.

“While I am still trying to recover psychologically and emotionally from this harrowing experience, I am sure of one thing that I learned from it. Being so near death has only made me value life even more.

“Thank you for all your prayers. Most of all, I thank the Lord for being by my side during those ter rible moments, and for saving my life today.”

Now, those are gracious words.

I hope the Marcos Jr government would be just as gracious and allow her release on bail.

That can be done simply by withdrawing the pros ecution’s objections to the pending petitions. Better still, it could simply withdraw those charges which they know have no basis.

The safety of Senator Leila De Lima is now in the hands of President Bongbong Marcos.

Ninoy Aquino died in the custody of his father’s military. Does he really want another tragedy to be blamed on his government?

Facebook: deantonylavs

Website; tonylavina.com.

Twitter: tonylavs

De Lima’s safety is Marcos’ responsibility

Venezuela landslide leaves 25 dead, 50-plus missing

LAS TEJERÍAS, Venezuela—A land slide in Venezuela has left at least 25 people dead and more than 50 missing after a river overflowed, officials said Sunday, in the latest deadly disaster caused by heavy rains to hit the country.

Houses and businesses were destroyed in the Saturday night deluge, which left the town of Las Tejerias covered with mud and debris, including felled trees, household items and mangled cars.

“We are seeing very significant dam age here, human losses,” Vice President Delcy Rodriguez told local media at the scene.

Malaysia PM calls snap elections, one year ahead of sked

KUALA LUMPUR -- Malaysia’s prime minister dissolved parliament Monday to clear the way for snap elections in a bid to restore political stability as the country emerges from the ravages of COVID-19 and a multibillion-dollar corruption scandal.

Elections could be held within weeks following Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s announcement.

Polls were not due until September next year, but Ismail faced intense pressure from within his United Ma lays National Organisation (UMNO) party to dissolve parliament and secure a strong mandate in early elections.

It held a slim majority in the justdissolved parliament.

“Yesterday I met the king ... and I sought his permission to dissolve the parliament. And the king agreed to my request to dissolve parliament today,” Ismail said in a televised address to the nation following his audience with Sul tan Abdullah.

“I hope the people will use their votes wisely to vote for stability, eco nomic growth and harmony in the country,” he said, referring to the main ly Muslim but multi-racial Southeast Asian nation.

No date has been given for the elec tion, but under the constitution polls must be held within 60 days following the dissolution of parliament.

The dissolution came days after the government unveiled a populist bud get that included a few billion dollars’ worth of cash handouts and a cut in personal income taxes. AFP

Interior Minister Remigio Ceballos said at least 25 people had died in the di saster as he gave an updated toll on gov ernment television VTV late Sunday.

“Unfortunately, so far we have 25 peo ple who were recovered dead,” he said. “We also have 52 missing,” he said, add ing that search efforts were continuing.

Dozens of people have died in recent months in the crisis-hit South American nation as a result of historically high levels of rain.

“The village is lost. Las Tejerias is lost,” 55-year-old resident Carmen Me lendez, who has lived her whole life in

the town 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the capital, Caracas, told AFP.

Around a thousand people had joined the rescue efforts, Interior and Justice Minister Remigio Ceballos told AFP, as he worked at the site.

Residents dug through the remains of battered homes looking for loved ones, while search teams arrived with dogs hop ing to find survivors trapped in the rubble.

A butcher shop that had closed due to the pandemic and which was due to reopen Monday was buried in muddy sediment that caked the refrigerators and everything else inside. AFP

Hurricane Julia slams Nicaragua, menaces Central American areas

BLUEFIELDS, Nicaragua—Hurricane

Julia raked across Nicaragua Sunday, lashing the country with winds and heavy rain and bringing potentially life-threat ening flash flooding and mudslides to much of Central America and southern Mexico.

Maximum sustained winds were esti mated at 85 miles (140 kilometers) per hour when the storm made landfall near the Laguna de Perlas area at 0715 GMT, the country’s weather agency said.

By midday, the fifth Atlantic hurricane of the season had weakened to a tropical storm with top sustained winds of nearly 60 miles per hour as it churned westward across Nicaragua, unleashing a dangerous storm surge along the coast, damaging homes in the country’s interior and leav ing some towns incommunicado.

“It’s still raining, water has surrounded us, we have been without power and wa ter since early morning, several houses are without roofs and many trees are down on the road,” Julio Hernandez, a resident of Rio Blanco, in central Nicara gua, told AFP.

The country was on high alert, with civ il defense brigades helping to clear fallen trees from roads and watch for flooding in coastal towns and mountain villages. No fatalities have been reported.

But the US National Hurricane Center warned that Julia, whose center passed over the Central American isthmus into the eastern Pacific ocean Sunday night, was still packing a punch, not just for Ni caragua but for neighboring countries.

“Heavy rainfall with a risk of lifethreatening flash floods and mudslides to continue across Central America and southern Mexico through Tuesday,” the NHC said.

Maintaining its tropical storm strength, Julia is forecast to produce five to 10 inches (12.7 to 25.4 centimeters) of rain in Nicara gua and El Salvador, with isolated pockets receiving as much as 15 inches.

Hours earlier in Bluefields, Nicaragua, one of the main coastal towns buffeted by the storm, fishermen had been busy safe guarding their boats as people rushed to buy groceries and withdraw money from ATMs. AFP

TAIPEI—Taiwan’s leader warned Bei jing on Monday that the island would never give up its democratic way of life in a national day speech in which she drew parallels with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The self-ruled democracy’s 23 mil lion people live under the constant threat of invasion by China’s Com munist Party, and Moscow’s war in Ukraine has deepened fears that Beijing

might attempt something similar with the island.

In her speech, President Tsai Ing-wen compared Moscow’s invasion to Bei jing’s goal of one day taking control of Taiwan -- which it has vowed to do, by force if necessary.

“We absolutely cannot ignore the challenge that these military expan sions pose to the free and democratic world order,” she said.

USING IRAN-MADE DRONES

Russian missile strikes hit Kyiv, south, west cities

KYIV—President

Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure during strikes on several Ukrainian cities on Monday, including using Iran-made drones.

“This morning is difficult. We are dealing with terrorists. Dozens of mis siles and Iranian Shaheds. They have two targets. Energy facilities through out the country... They want panic and chaos, they want to destroy our energy system,” Zelensky said in a video ad dress on social media, adding that “the second target is people”.

The head of the Ukrainian mili tary said Monday that Russian forces launched at least 75 missiles at Ukraine on Monday, with fatal strikes targeting the capital Kyiv, and cities in the south and west.

“The terrorist country, Russia, has carried out massive missile and air strikes on the territory of Ukraine, also using attack drones. In the morning, the aggressor launched 75 missiles. 41 of them were shot down by our air de fence,” General Valeriy Zaluzhny said on social media.

Missile strikes on “many” Ukrainian cities including the capital Kyiv left people dead and wounded on Monday, the country’s presidency said, a day af ter Moscow blamed Ukraine for an ex plosion on a bridge connecting Crimea to Russia.

“Ukraine is under missile attack. There is information about strikes in many cit ies of our country,” Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the president’s office, said

on social media, calling on the population to “stay in shelters.”

In Kyiv, AFP reporters heard several loud explosions starting at around 8:15 am local time (0515 GMT)—during Monday morning rush hour.

Russia’s last strike on Kyiv took place on June 26.

One AFP journalist in the city said one of the projectiles landed near a chil dren’s playground, and that smoke was rising from a large crater at the impact site.

Several trees and benches nearby were charred from the blast, while sev eral ambulances had arrived in the area.

“The capital is under Russian terror ists’ attack!” Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitsch ko said on social media, adding that the strikes had hit the city center.

“If there is no urgent need, it is better not to go to the city today. I am also ask ing the residents of the suburbs about this—do not go to the capital today.”

Videos posted on social media showed black smoke rising above sev eral areas in the city.

“Air raid sirens are not subsiding around Ukraine... Unfortunately, there are dead and wounded. Please do not leave the shelters,” President Volody myr Zelensky said on social media, ac cusing Russia of wanting to “wipe us from the face of the Earth.” AFP

“The destruction of Taiwan’s democ racy and freedom would be a grave de feat for the world’s democracies,” she added.

Taiwan and China split at the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949.

China’s President Xi Jinping has ramped up diplomatic, economic and military pressure on Taipei in recent years and is a key ally of Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Xi, China’s most authoritarian leader in a generation, is on the cusp of secur ing a third term later this month and has made taking Taiwan a key plank of his landmark “national rejuvenation” proj ect.

But Tsai said becoming part of China was not acceptable to people in Tai wan, which has become a progressive democracy with a distinct Taiwanese identity. AFP

SEOUL—North Korea’s recent missile tests involved “tactical nuclear” drills to simulate hitting the South and were overseen by leader Kim Jong Un in re sponse to US-led joint military exercises in the region, state media said Monday.

Kim made acquiring tactical nukes —smaller, lighter weapons designed for battlefield use—a top priority at a key party congress in January 2021, and this year vowed to develop North Korea’s nuclear forces at the fastest possible speed.

The country revised its nuclear laws last month to allow pre-emptive strikes, with Kim declaring North Korea an “ir reversible” nuclear power—effectively ending the possibility of negotiations over its arsenal.

Since then, Seoul, Tokyo and Washington have ramped up com bined military exercises, including deploying a nuclear-powered US air craft carrier to the area twice, infu riating Pyongyang, which sees such

drills as rehearsals for invasion.

In response, North Korea “decided to organize military drills under the simu lation of an actual war” that gamed out hitting South Korea’s ports, airports and military command facilities, KCNA said.

North Korean army units involved in “the operation of tactical nukes staged military drills from September 25 to Oc tober 9 in order to check and assess the war deterrent and nuclear counterattack capability,” the report said.

Kim “guided the military drills on the spot,” it said, adding he had dismissed the idea of restarting talks, saying North Korea “felt no necessity to do so”.

The report also said that North Ko rea’s October 4 missile launch, which flew over Japan and prompted rare evac uation warnings, involved a “new-type ground-to-ground intermediate-range ballistic missile”.

That test aimed to “send more powerful and clear warning to the enemies.” AFP

Taiwan leader: ‘No compromise’ on freedom, democracy in national day talk

North Korea: Recent missile tests were ‘tactical nuclear’ drills directed by Kim

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

MUDDY SEARCH. Residents help rescuers to dig up mud from destroyed homes as they search for victims or survivors of a landslide during heavy rains in Las Tejerias, Aragua state, Venezuela, on October 9. A landslide in central Venezuela left at least 25 people dead and more than 50 missing after heavy rains caused a river to overflow, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said Sunday. AFP

FACE PAINT. A demonstrator with an Iranian flag and red hands painted on her face attends a rally in support of Iranian protests in Paris on October 9, following the death of Iranian woman Mahsa Amini in Iran. NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR) has counted 95 deaths in the repression of protests following the death of Amini, 22, who died in custody on September 16. AFP

Second Australia-based Singtel subsidiary hacked

SINGAPORE—Hackers have attacked a second subsidiary of Singapore Tele communications Ltd (Singtel), the com pany said Monday, raising questions about whether the Southeast Asian tele com giant was being targeted.

In a filing with the Singapore Exchange, Singtel included a statement from Dialog, an Australia-based IT services consulting company it acquired in April, confirm ing that “an unauthorised third party may have accessed company data”.

Dialog said “fewer than 20” of its cli ents and about 1,000 current and former employees may have been affected.

The unauthorized access was detect ed on September 10, and on October 7 it was discovered that “a very small sample of Dialog’s data, including some employee personal information, was published on the Dark Web”, the company said.

Optus, Australia’s second-biggest

telecom firm and also a Singtel subsid iary, revealed last month that informa tion on up to 9.8 million of its custom ers—more than a third of the country’s population—may have been compro mised in a massive cyberattack.

The Optus breach, one of the largest hacks in Australia’s history, led to the theft of customers’ names, birth dates, phone numbers, addresses, driver’s li cence information and passport num bers, the company said.

It was unclear whether the Singtel Group, which also has major invest ments in India, Indonesia, the Philip pines and Thailand, was being specifi cally targeted.

The company said in its SGX filing that Dialog’s systems were “completely independent” and that “there is no evi dence there is any link between this in cident and the recent event experienced by Optus.” AFP

Market sinks; Converge, Ayala lead losers

TOP GAINERS

5.99 1.08 22.00%

1.47 0.25 20.49%

1.67 0.27 19.29%

50 7.05 16.41%

5.32 0.62 13.19%

0.9 0.09 11.11%

0.11 0.009 8.91%

8.49 0.49 6.13%

0.9 0.05 5.88%

2.54 0.12 4.96%

TOP LOSERS

% PRICE CHANGE CHANGE

BCP 33.2 -14.1 -29.81%

4.02 -1.58 -28.21%

0.275 -0.04 -12.70%

3.8 -0.5 -11.63%

40 -4.95 -11.01%

1.87 -0.23 -10.95%

2.65 -0.32 -10.77%

102.1 -11.9 -10.44%

-0.019 -9.79%

-0.12 -9.09%

MOST ACTIVE

1,576,270 146,447,676

6,030,400 138,828,060

200,040 122,834,140

1,065,410 118,132,198

2,753,700 110,620,965

3,541,300 110,380,940

5,164,300 102,234,718

7,771,700 97,148,562

519,330 91,872,015

232,440 90,872,760

STOCKS

fell amid thin trading Monday as forecast-beating US jobs data fanned expectations for another big Federal Reserve interest rate hike, while traders are now focusing on an upcoming inflation report.

The PSEi, the 30-company benchmark index of the Philippine Stock Exchange, lost 99 points, or 1.7 per cent, to close at 5,832.58, as all six subsectors ended in the red.

The broader all-share index also tumbled 51 points, or 1.6 percent, to settle at 3,149.10 on a value turnover of P2.5 billion.

Losers outnumbered gainers, 158 to 36, while 37 is sues were unchanged.

Nine of the 10 most active stocks declined, led by Converge ICT Solutions Inc. which retreated 6.2 per cent to P12.20 and Ayala Corp. which fell 3.2 percent to P610.00.

Meanwhile, most Asian markets also ended lower Tuesday. A brief rally across trading floors last week gave way to gloom as investors grow increasingly worried that central bank efforts to tame runaway pric es will plunge the global economy into recession.

Adding to the stress is the upcoming corporate earnings season, which many fear will show that companies are feel ing the pain of tightening monetary poli cies, and fresh China-US tensions.

All three main indexes tumbled Friday—with the Nasdaq off almost four percent—following news that a net 263,000 US jobs were created in September.

While that was down from August it was more than expected and showed that the labour market remained robust and highlighted the tough job Fed officials face in their battle against four-decade-high inflation.

With the spotlight on a consumer price index reading later in the week, policymakers continue to take a hawk ish tone, warning they will not ease up on their rate hikes even if that means causing a recession. With AFP

Indian woman pilot blazes trail in aviation

NOIDA, India - India has the world’s highest rate of women pilots, but when Zoya Agarwal said she dreamed of conquering the skies, her mother cried and told her to wait for a “suitable boy” to marry instead.

Agarwal has enjoyed an illustrious career since gaining her wings in 2004, including her inauguration last year, with an all-woman crew, of the longest non-stop Indian commer cial flight.

After helming the 17-hour San Francisco to Bangalore route, Agarwal was feted on na tional television during India’s Republic Day celebrations, and later became a spokesperson for the UN agency for women.

Her achievements are as impressive as they once seemed unlikely. When she settled on her dream, she had no role models in her network and no sense that women had access to a career in the flight deck.

“I didn’t even have the right to such a crazy thought as that of becoming a pilot,” she tells AFP at her family’s home outside New Delhi, a few hours before her departure to New York.

“I was born in an era where the girls in In dia were expected to get married, have children and look after their families,” she adds.

“And I was not there to do any of those things. I always wanted to spread my wings and fly away.”

It took years for Agarwal to persuade her “very, very conservative” parents that she wanted to pursue a life beyond the horizons of an arranged marriage to “a suitable boy”.

“My mum cried the first time I told her I wanted to be a pilot,” Agarwal says. “She won dered, ‘why did God give us a dysfunctional daughter?’”

Agarwal had to pay for her university stud ies using her meager savings, gifted to her on festive occasions throughout her childhood and stored in a piggy bank in her bedroom.

At night she did her homework on the roadside, under the light of streetlamps, because frequent power cuts left her family’s home in darkness.

She still managed to top her classes and her parents, impressed by her determination after years of trying to dissuade her, surprised her by agreeing to pay for her flight training.

Agarwal—who sports a tattoo with the words “Born to Fly” on her shoulder blade— was one of a “small handful” of women pilots when she began flying with Air India, the na tional carrier. AFP

French energy giant offers to advance pay talks to end fuel strike

PARIS, France—France’s TotalEnergies said Sunday it would advance annual pay talks with unions if they dropped a blockade of fuel depots and refineries that has slashed petrol supplies across the country.

Vehicle owners have faced increasingly long waits to fill up after two weeks of strikes by workers demanding higher wages in re sponse to soaring prices.

“I haven’t been able to work for two days now,” complained 60-year-old taxi driver Thierry.

He had “gone round the whole of Paris” to find fuel and had already been waiting for three hours at a filling station in the capital for fuel tankers to turn up, he said.

Like other major oil companies, TotalE nergies has seen its profits soar as energy prices skyrocket during the war in Ukraine.

Government officials have been pressing the company to settle the standoff.

TotalEnergies runs a network of around 3,500 filling stations in France, nearly a third of the total. Most of them are low on fuel or even empty for some kinds of petrol.

“If the depot blockades end and with the agreement of all labor representatives, the company proposes to move forward the an nual salary negotiations from November to October,” TotalEnergies said.

The discussions would define “how em ployees will benefit from TotalEnergies’ ex ceptional results before the end of this year, taking into account this year’s inflation”.

Relief on the way: ministers

On Sunday, the CGT union branch at the company—which is leading the strikes at TotalEnergies and at rival Esso-ExxonMo

bil -- said the industrial action would con tinue, but that it was open to talks as soon as Monday.

“If we do start talks, it will be based on our demands—a 10-percent salary hike... retro active for the year 2022,” branch coordinator Eric Sellini told AFP.

Currently, three of Total’s refineries are blocked, including its largest, in Norman dy, and a fuel depot near Flandres in the north.

Management at Esso-ExxonMobil said it would hold talks with the unions represent ing its staff Monday, expressing confidence it could reach a rapid settlement.

The government has already dipped into strategic stockpiles in a bid to bring relief, and exceptionally fuel tankers are being al lowed to make deliveries Sunday.

AFP

Standard

Captain Zoya Agarwal speaks during an interview with AFP, in Greater Noida. India has the world’s highest rate of women pilots but when Zoya Agarwal said she dreamed of conquering the skies, her mother cried and told her to wait for a ‘suitable boy’ to marry instead. AFP

FRENCH DISH. Members of the jury look at a prepared dish during the ‘oeuf en meurette’ 4th world championship, at the Chateau du Clos de Vougeot, eastern France, on Oct. 9, 2022. AFP

Peso retreats to 59 a dollar on Fed hike signals

By Julito G. Rada

THE peso on Monday matched an all-time low of 59 against the US dollar in a span of one week on continued hawkish signals from US Federal Reserve officials of another huge rate hike.

Bankers Association of the Phil ippines data showed that the peso lost eight centavos to close at 59 a dollar, down from 58.92 on Friday. Trading volume reached $402 million, down from $483.35 million previously.

The first time the peso closed at the record-low of 59 per US dollar was on Oct. 3.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort said the peso was weaker on recent upward correction of the US dollar against major global currencies “after continued hawk ish signals from Fed officials” and the better-than-expected US em ployment data that could support further Fed rate hikes.

“The latest increase in the US dollar/peso exchange rate was also partly due to higher global crude oil prices correcting higher to new 1-month highs [but still among 7.5-month lows], after OPEC+ cut oil production output by -2 million barrels per day [the most since 2020],” he said.

Ricafort said the offsetting fac tor for the peso was the latest $2-billion global bond sale by the national government whose pro ceeds could add to the gross inter national reserves and balance of payments.

Latest Bangko Sentral ng Pili pinas data showed that the GIR declined to a new two-year low of $95 billion.

The peso has depreciated by P8 or 15.7 percent from 50.999 in end-2021.

BSP Governor Felipe Medalla had said local monetary authori ties would not allow excessive movements in the peso-dollar ex change rate.

Business

PH, China agree to restart talks on P276-b railway loan

By Darwin G. Amojelar

Clark eyes construction of two specialty hospitals

TWO specialty hospitals plan to open facilities in Clark Freeport Zone, Clark Development Corp. said Monday.

CDC president and chief executive Agnes Devanadera said there were initial talks with the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. on the possible funding of the facilities.

“CDC has initially coordinated the possible funding of the project with PAGCOR, through its chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco and its president and COO Juanito Sañosa, Jr. We are likewise looking into having the original design of the two specialty hospitals imple mented in Clark, coordinating with the archi tect and planner of the said buildings,” she said.

CDC said the project would support the national government’s and Department of Health’s Philippine Health Facility Develop ment Plan.

The PHFDP prioritizes the development of specialty medical centers on neonatal, heart, lung, kidney and cancer. Othel V. Campos

Office space demand reaches 488,000 sqm

THE

government expects to finalize a loan agreement with China to finance three flagship railway projects initiated by the Duterte administration amounting to P276 billion by the first quarter of 2023, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said Monday.

Bautista told the participants of the 2022 EJAP Infrastructure Forum in Pasay City that he had met with China Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian who agreed to restart nego tiations for the funding of PNR South Long-Haul Project, Subic-Clark Rail way and Mindanao Railway Project.

Bautista said while the availability of the Chinese loan for the three rail way projects expired on June 30, the Department of Finance resumed talks with Beijing on the renewal of the loan agreement.

“We are expecting that we should be able to finalize the loan by early next

year, then we can start working [on] the projects,” Bautista said.

“We have already worked on the technical aspects of the projects. It’s a matter of getting the contractor and finalizing the contract with them,” he said.

The three PNR rail projects are the among biggest components of the Duterte administration’s “Build, Build, Build” program, along with the Metro Manila Subway Project funded by Ja pan and the Malolos-Clark Railway and South Commuter Railway financed by the Asian Development Bank.

The DoTr in January 2022 signed

a P142-billion contract with Chinese companies to build the first 380 kilome ters of the Philippine National Railway Bicol Project from Banlic, Calamba to Daraga, Albay.

The agency through former Transpor tation Secretary Arthur Tugade signed the design-build contract with the joint venture of China Railway Group Ltd., China Railway No. 3 Engineering Group Co. Ltd. and China Railway En gineering Consulting Group Co. Ltd. The agreement covers the design, con struction and electromechanical works of the project.

The first 380 kilometers of PNR Bicol will span 39 cities and municipalities, four provinces and two regions. It will involve the construction of 23 stations, 230 bridges, 10 passenger tunnels and a 70-hectare depot in San Pablo, Laguna.

Meanwhile, the P83-billion Mind anao Railway Project: Tagum-DavaoDigos segment is expected to reduce travel time from Tagum City, Davao del Norte to Digos City, Davao del Sur from 3.5 hours to 1.3 hours once it starts op erations.

THE slowdown in the economies of the United States and Europe may benefit the Philippine office space market which offers lower cost and a large pool of talent, a real estate broker age service firm Leechiu Property Consultants Inc. said Monday.

LPC chief executive David Leechiu said in a briefing the live requirements for office space reached 488,000 square meters―a tes tament of how much work are coming to the Philippines because of the global economic slowdown.

LPC said the live requirements in different stages of negotiations with developers were the highest since the second quarter of 2019.

LPC expects these negotiations to be final ized over the next six months.

Leechiu said the property sector, particu larly the office, residential and retail sectors, would also benefit from the continued presence of Philippine online gaming operations.

POGOs occupy 1 million sq. m. of office space, down from a peak of 1.7 million sq. m. in 2019. Jenniffer B. Austria

Over 500 brands join

Franchise Asia PH Expo

A RECORD number of attendees is expected at this year’s Franchise Asia Philippines Expo as more than 500 local and foreign franchisers present their proven business concepts from Oct. 14 to 16 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.

The three-day International Franchise Expo, organized by the Philippine Franchise Associa tion, returns to the physical stage since 2019 to rekindle Filipinos’ entrepreneurial spirit with the theme Live.Love.Franchise.

“We are witnessing the renaissance of entre preneurship in the country as proven by recordbreaking attendance at the two physical expos that the PFA conducted this year in Xavier School and Cebu. This gives us confidence that the International Franchise Expo at the SMX Convention Center will also attract huge crowds and spur anew the creation of business and job opportunities for our fellow Filipinos just as it has always done,” PFA president Sam Christopher Lim said.

“This will be one of the most exciting Fran chise Asia Expo ever. The past two years has brought in a lot of new and exciting Franchise concepts that’s why almost half of the exhibi tors this year are first time exhibitors. And about 1/5 of the brands are from international markets such as Taiwan, Korea, Australia the US and more,” Lim said.

Arthaland plans to raise P3b from green bond sale

Foreign direct investments decline to 14-month low

NET inflows of foreign direct in vestments declined to a 14-month low on increased global and local market volatilities, elevated infla tion and rising interest rates, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipi nas show.

FDIs posted $460 million in net inflows in July, bringing the cumu lative net inflows to $5.1 billion in the first seven months.

These levels were lower than the comparable net inflows of $1.3 billion in July 2021 and $5.8 billion in the seven-month period last year.

“All major FDI components yielded lower net inflows in Janu ary to July 2022 as foreign inves tors remained cautious amid con tinued adverse global conditions,”

the BSP said.

“In July 2022, FDI net inflows decreased due largely to the lower non-residents’ net investments in debt instruments of their local affil iates. This decrease more than off set the growth in their net invest ments in equity capital,” it said.

Equity capital infusions came mainly from Singapore, Japan and the United States. These were in vested largely in the construction, manufacturing and real estate in dustries.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort said the lower FDIs were “partly weighed by higher infla tion and interest rates/borrowing costs/financing costs that are drags to new investments/FDIs globally and locally; as well as some wait-

and-see attitude by foreign/global investors as the new administration assumed,” he said.

Net FDI inflows reached a record $10.5 billion in 2021, breaching the previous high of $10.3 billion in 2017.

The 2021 level represented a 54.2-percent increase from $6.8 billion in 2020. It also surpassed the $8-billion net inflow target set by the BSP.

FDIs include investment by a non-resident direct investor in a resident enterprise, whose equity capital in the latter is at least 10 percent, and investment made by a non-resident subsidiary/associate in its resident direct investor.

The BSP FDI statistics are dis tinct from the investment data of other government sources.

Lotilla asks energy companies to learn lessons from SMC-Meralco supply deals

By Alena Mae S. Flores

THE Department of Energy said Mon day the power industry should learn from the fixed-rate contract signed by Manila Electric Co. and San Miguel Corp. that led to challenges because of the volatile fuel prices.

“This particular case is a learning ex perience for everyone, and as far as the DOE and the ERC jurisdictions are con cerned, we want to make a clear distinc tion of the policy rule of DOE and the regulatory aspects for the ERC,” Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla said during the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines Infrastructure Forum in Pasay City.

Lotilla said a fixed rate contract for ten years “was a policy or a condition that was entered into by the parties,” referring to Meralco’s and SMC’s 2019 power sup ply agreement.

“It’s a learning experience for every body that if we provide for a fixed rate contract, then there must be other terms and conditions that will make the con tract implementable, notwithstanding the highly volatile prices in the commodities market,” he said.

SMC and Meralco asked the Energy Regulatory Commission for a temporary rate hike under the 2019 fixed-rate 10year PSA because of the unprecedented increase in coal prices and Malampaya gas constraints.

The ERC denied the petition, saying the grounds invoked by the applicants did not fall within the “change in circumstances” definition as contemplated in the PSAs.

Lotilla said the two major private pow er companies, “will be intelligently ana lyzing the TOR [terms of reference] of the contracts that they have entered into and that moving forward, we will both be ben efiting from the lessons learned.”

By Jenniffer B. Austria

BOUTIQUE property developer Ar thaland Corp. said Monday it plans to raise P3 billion from the issuance of ASEAN Green Bonds.

Arthaland said in a disclosure to the stock exchange its board of di rectors approved the issuance of the remaining P3-billion bonds from its P6-billion bond shelf registration program.

It did not provide other details for the bond offering including the time table and the use of proceeds.

ASEAN Green Bonds are financing instruments whose proceeds will be exclusively used to fund or refinance new or existing projects that should provide clear environmental benefits.

Among the eligible green projects are those involving renewable en ergy, energy efficiency, pollution pre vention and control, environmentally sustainable management of living natural resources and land use, clean transportation, climate change adap tation and green buildings.

The Securities and Exchange Com mission approved Arthaland’s shelf registration for ASEAN Green Bonds worth P6 billion in 2019.

The company issued in 2020 the initial tranche of P3 billion which was used to fund two green projects―Ar thaland Century Pacific Tower and Savya Financial Center.

The bonds were listed on the Phil ippine Dealing & Exchange Corp.

Arthaland Corp. earlier said it planned to launch two residential projects in 2022 as part of the plan to grow its portfolio by five times in five years.

Arthaland president Jaime Gonza lez said the company would launch a sustainable luxury residential devel opment in Makati called Eluria.

Eluria, located in Legazpi Village, will be Arthaland’s pioneer develop ment in the major central business district.

INFRASTRUCTURE FORUM. The Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines, together with PLDT Inc. and Metro Pacific Investments Corp., holds the 2022 Infrastructure Forum at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City. Leading the event are (from left) Transportation undersecretary for railways Timothy John Batan, EJAP vice president for internal Neil Jerome Morales, MPIC vice president for public relations and corporate communication Melody Del Rosario, BDO Capital & Investment Corp. president Eduardo Francisco, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista, Department of Information and Communication Technology assistant secretary Philip Varilla and EJAP president Cai Ordinario.

Phoenix guard Tio is Cignal top cager

PHOENIX finally spread its wings and soared to a breakthrough win in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup, thanks to a career outing from spitfire rookie guard Tyler Tio.

Picking up from where he left off the previous game against guest team Bay Area Dragons where he posted a league career-best, Tio notched his gears higher and lifted the Fuel Masters to a huge 11197 win over erstwhile unbeaten NLEX.

The former Blue Eagle lit it up the scoreboard with a new career-high 26 points on 5-of-10 mark from downtown to go along with seven assists (also a career-high) and a rebound in 33 minutes of play as Phoenix rose from the ashes to barge into the win column after four tries.

His stellar play included an 18-point eruption in the second half, where the Fuel Masters ripped the game wide open to hand NLEX its first defeat, thus earning him the Cignal Play–PBA Press Corps Player of the Week for the period Oct. 5-9.

Tio, the no. 14th pick in the last draft, credited his mentor Topex Robinson for the trust and confidence given him in only his second conference in the league.

“He has been giving me confidence since Day 1. That is huge for a player. Sometimes, all you need is confidence and opportunity. Coach Topex gave that and I just want to repay the trust that he gave me,” said Tio, who finished with 21 points in the team’s 101-91 loss to the Dragons the last time.

More than that, it’s the way Tio and the rest of the Fuel Masters conducted themselves in taking care of business amid the uncertainties hounding their mother company, Phoenix Petroleum.

“We just focused on what we can control as a team. And I think the outside noise, there is nothing we can do about it,” he said. “As professionals, we just tell ourselves and our teammates to do our jobs and that was what we did.”

Tio was the unanimous choice for the weekly award though his teammate Javee Mocon, Barangay Ginebra’s Jamie Malonzo and Magnolia’s Calvin Abueva were also considered for the weekly honor being handed out by the group covering the PBA beat.

Other players nominated for the citation were Blackwater’s Baser Amer, Mike Ayonayon and Troy Rosario, Magnolia’s Paul Lee, Meralco’s Allein Maliksi, Bong Quinto, and Aaron Black, Ginebra’s Christian Standhardinger and Scottie Thompson, RR Pogoy of TNT, and San Miguel’s June Mar Fajardo and CJ Perez.

Pumaren: Win over La Salle nothing if not sustained

THE La Salle Green Archers’ historic 8378 win over the Ateneo Blue Eagles won’t mean much if they don’t stretch their winning run any further.

Green Archers coach Derrick Pumaren said this after they got past their archrivals on Sunday in the 85th University Athletic Association of the Philippines men’s basketball tournament at the Araneta Coliseum.

And this means that the Taft Avenuebased Archers will have to shoot for another win when they deal with the University of the East in their next match on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

“This win means nothing if we don’t take care of business against UE. This win means nothing. We cannot be too happy about this win, but I know we’re happy in seven games, eight games finally,” said Pumaren.

Their winning streak has been stretched to two and the Green Archers now share second spot with the Blue Eagles and the National University Bulldogs with a 2-1 win-loss record, behind the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons, who are unbeaten after three games.

“La Salle has won against Ateneo, but that is not the championship, that is not what we’re her for. The season is still early, there’s nothing really need to celebrate about,” added Pumaren, as La Salle marked its first victory over Ateneo in five years.

Their next encounter with the UE Warriors, according to Pumaren, is important, because this will give them more momentum to stay on top.

“We just have to really focus, and stay on track; and we take care of business of UE, and don’t underestimate them. We know that they’re a strong now compared to the last season,” said Pumaren.

Meanwhile, Ateneo coach Tab Baldwin felt that lack of composure led to their downfall. Peter Atencio

Sports

Gavina, Canaleta joining Suns in Taiwan T1 League

By Peter Atencio

ASSISTANT

coach Chris Gavina is leaving the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in the Philippine Basketball Association to sign up with last season’s finalist, the Taichung Wagor Suns, in the Taiwan’s T1 League.

Gavina becomes the third head coach of the Wagor Suns, following brief stints by Alberto Garcia and Spanish national youth cage mentor Lurgi Caminos.

It will now be the 43-year-old Gavina’s responsibility to help bring the Suns back

into the finals.

Last season, the Suns bowed to the Kaohsiung Aquas in their best-of-seven finals’ series.

Gavina was the head coach of the Elasto Painters last year, before Yeng Guiao came aboard this season in the PBA.

He will have Gilas Pilipinas national men’s cager, the returning Jordan Heading as one of his players and another Fil ipino import KG Canaleta, a free agent signing.

Tony Bishop, who was the Meralco Bolts’ import last season in the PBA, is also in the Suns’ roster.

Heading played last season in the T1 with an average of 19.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.2 steals per game.

The 6’2” Heading is returning after his

stint with Japan B.League club Nagasaki during the off-season.

Recently, ex-University of the Philippines Fig hting Maroons’ standout Ricci Rivero suited up for the Taoyuan Pilots, to become the first-ever Southeast Asian player in the professional P. LEAGUE+.

According to reports, the T1 League now has around eight Southeast Asian players, mostly from the Philippines and Thailand.

Confusion taking gloss off Verstappen’s F1 feat

SUZUKA—Max Verstappen said the confusion at the end of the Japanese Grand Prix that saw him declared Formula One world champion was “quite funny”, but an impending cost-cap ruling could wipe the smiles off faces in the Red Bull garage.

The 25-year-old Dutchman became the second youngest double world champion on Sunday, after Sebastian Vettel, when Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was given a time penalty relegating him to third place at Suzuka.

The news emerged as Verstappen was giving his post-race TV interview, but even then there was uncertainty as to whether reduced championship points would be awarded because the winner had completed only 29 of 53 laps because of bad weather.

After it was confirmed that full points had been given, it left Verstappen 113 clear of his teammate Sergio Perez and 114 ahead of Leclerc, with a maximum of 112 available in the season’s final four races.

“This is crazy,” said Verstappen. “I didn’t know that I was world

champion, there was a lot of confusion, but I thought it was quite funny.

“The first championship was very emotional and this time it feels very different, it feels even more beautiful because of the season we’ve had.”

However teams will discover later on Monday whether they complied with Formula One’s 2021 cost cap, which could be bad news for Red Bull.

The governing body FIA introduced the budget limit of $145 million to make racing more competitive.

Over the Singapore Grand Prix weekend earlier this month, speculation swirled around the paddock that two of the 10 teams on the grid had breached their budget limit. Rumours were that one of them was Red Bull.

The FIA views any overspend to be a serious matter and has a range of punishments available up to a maximum penalty of expulsion from the championship for a serious breach of the cap, potentially even threatening Verstappen’s title wins.

Mercedes team principal Toto

Wolff told Sky Sports F1 that the breaches were “an open secret in the paddock”. Angry Red Bull boss Christian Horner branded the claims it was his team as “fictitious”.

Terrifying tractor Horner’s fury opened up a war of words between the teams in Singapore, but they came together in Japan to unite in condemnation of a terrifying incident in the rain that took the gloss off Verstappen’s glory.

Pierre Gasly narrowly missed hitting a tractor crane on the track in atrocious visibility, on the same circuit where Jules Bianchi suffered a fatal accident in similar circumstances eight years earlier.

Gasly said he “would be dead right now” if he had hit the vehicle, which was deployed to recover Carlos Sainz’s crashed Ferrari.

“We lost Jules eight years ago in similar conditions,” said AlphaTauri’s Gasly. “I don’t understand how, in similar conditions, we can see a crane—not even in the gravel, on the racing line.” AFP

Obiena: No place like home

By Randy Caluag

FILIPINO pole vault star EJ Obiena said his vacation in his home country has enabled him to reconnect and boost his team that will work on his Olympic dreams.

“There is no place like home. And for me that means The Philippines,” said Obiena, who is currently the world’s no. 3 after a productive season that saw him win 12 gold medals in international competition.

“After a three-year hiatus, I have spent now 3

weeks rediscovering home. Reconnecting with family and supporters. Revisiting with institutions of my youth that helped shape me to be who I am today. It’s been wonderful.”

During his the last three weeks, he has met with family, friends and sports officials, who have supported his rollercoaster journey.

One of the most emotional was the visit to his alma mater Chiang Kai Shek College, where he spent his early education until high school.

School officials and its alumni pooled resources to hand him gifts and vowed to support him all the way in his quest for honors in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The University of Sto. Tomas, a

beneficiary of his sterling achievements in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines, has also bestowed him with honors during his visit.

Obiena also held a meet-and-greet event with his fans at a Makati mall with the support of his apparel sponsor.

He also met with prospective private backers.

“Pursuing these opportunities is important to me. I have long advocated a great presence of private sector support for athletes. This has a dual-benefit. It not only brings more funding to needy athletes; but it also helps ease the burden on the Filipino taxpayer.”

Obiena will head back to France where he will train for his goal to break the sixmeter barrier.

Tyler Tio’s stellar play included an 18-point eruption in the second half of Phoenix’s game against NLEX as the Fuel Masters ripped the game wide open to hand the Road Warriors their first defeat, thus earning him the Cignal Play–PBA Press Corps Player of the Week for the period Oct. 5-9.

Red Bull Racing’s Dutch driver Max Verstappen poses on the podium with the trophy following his victory at the Formula One Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, Mie prefecture. AFP

Chris Gavina

Ernest John Obiena

4 teams strut wares in PVL Reinforced

Hey big spenders: Qatar woos the rich with luxury World Cup

PETRO Gazz finally gets the chance to showcase its wares three years after upstaging a highly fancied Creamline in the Premier Volleyball League Reinforced Conference finals, upbeat of its chances for a repeat on a souped-up roster and a new head coach.Rald Ricafort said the Angels have recovered from a spate of injuries that hounded their campaign in the last conference, ready to do battle against the best of the best, led by the powerhouse, intact Cool Smashers on a team anchored by American outside hitter Lindsey Vander Weide.

“It’s been a long time (since the 2019 finals). In those three years, we have changed rosters three times. But we’ll still try to get the championship,” said Ricafort, adding they have a full roster and are free of any injuries with former UP stalwart Marian Buitre beefing up the squad bannered by Myla Pablo, Grethcel Soltones, Jonah Sabete, Aiza Pontillas, and MJ Phillips.

Petro Gazz, however, drew a tough opponent in Choco Mucho, which is also raring to get going with Maddie Madayag back in harness after being sidelined by an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear in her left knee last year.

With Uzbek-Azerbaijani Odina Aliyeva backstopping their campaign, the young Flying Titans also expect to soar and make an early impression in the single round robin elims of the season-ending conference of the league organized by Sports Vision and supported by Bingo Plus, Mikasa, and KUMU back at the Philsports Arena in Pasig today (Tuesday).

Ushering in another explosive twogame bill is the F2 Logistics-Chery Tiggo face-off at 2:30 p.m. with the former also itching to mark its muchanticipated comeback with a win over the Crossovers.

The Cargo Movers debuted with a not-so-impressive sixth-place finish in the Open Conference but took a leave of absence in the recent Invitational conference. But with a healthy crew and a winning mindset, they expect to dish out a solid game to kick off their own title campaign.

DUBAI—With

deluxe match packages selling for thousands of dollars and five-star hotels doing a brisk trade, a sheen of glamour coats Qatar’s World Cup despite football’s working-class roots.

A penchant for luxury in the energyrich Gulf state, which has one of the world’s highest GDPs per head, has rubbed off on an unusually high-end edition of a tournament for the masses.

If you’re able to spring $4,950 for a VIP ticket to a group game, you can enjoy drinks, a six-course meal and entertainment at a lounge overlooking the halfway line at Lusail Stadium, north of Doha.

Those with bottomless budgets in the resource-rich region have attractive accommodation options too, with one third-party site offering $4,000-a-night hotel rooms and $26,000 for a “head of state” suite— with a 30-night minimum stay.

Things are a little different for ordinary fans.

Cheaper options include a steel bed in a shared room in the semi-desert near the capital at $84 a night, or accommodation on docked cruise ships from $179 to $800.

Stadium crowds will include Qatar’s migrant labourers, who were offered some tickets at 40 riyals ($11) to watch a sport whose players and core supporters are traditionally blue-collar.

According to Ronan Evain, executive director of Football Supporters Europe, the onus on “premium” experiences has left some fans cold.

“It’s clear that there’s a focus on a type of premium tourism, but the vast majority that go to a World Cup are middleclass,” Evain told AFP.

“They’re not the sort of people who

can afford to stay on a cruise liner at $5,000 a week.”

‘Solution is to cancel’

The hordes of ticketless fans that usually descend on a World Cup will be reduced in number, as only ticket holders and up to three guests each can enter Qatar during the November 20 - December 18 tournament.

Many supporters will stay elsewhere in the Gulf and board the estimated 100-200 World Cup shuttle flights a day from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman.

Even those options do not come cheap.

In Dubai, an hour’s flight away and expected to be a major destination, an official World Cup package costs $1,500 for four nights in a shared room, including one return flight to Doha but no match tickets.

The Qatar World Cup is at least compact, with all eight stadiums in and around Doha—eradicating the crosscountry travel needed at previous editions such as Brazil 2014 or Russia 2018.

“The problem with the World Cup in Qatar is that there are very few alternatives,” said Evain.

“At a World Cup in Brazil or Russia, you can take a train, hire a car, stay 200 kilometres (120 miles) away or come just for the day of the match. AFP

PSA’s online forum tackles Champions League of PNVF

THE Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum talks volleyball in its online edition Tuesday with P0 hilippine National Volleyball Federation President Ramon ‘Tats’ Suzara expounding on next month’s Champions League.

The second CL under the PNVF is scheduled November 5 to 12 at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City with 16 local government unit (LGU) based teams— eight men and eight women— participating.

The PNVF CL 2021 Champions League in Lipa City saw team Dasma Monarchs and F2 Logistics winning the men’s and women’s titles, respectively.

Tuesday’s session of the weekly Forum presented by San Miguel Corporation, MILO, Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee, Amelie Hotel Manila, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation starts at 10:30 a.m.

PSA President Rey Lachica of Tempo is inviting sports enthusiasts to the forum that is livestreamed via the PSA Facebook page fb.com/ PhilippineSportswritersAssociation and aired on a delayed basis over Radyo Pilipinas 2, which also shares it on its official Facebook page.

Guntayon axed as Team Gravity picks up steam

TEAM Gravity is starting to turn the tide in “Globe Presents ONE Warrior Series Philippines.” The squad finally had its first winning run after four episodes on the show.

The group, which is coached by former ONE Flyweight World Champion Geje “Gravity” Eustaquio, saw no eliminations this week because it was Team Passion’s JM Guntayon who was given the axe following three sizzling elimination sparring matches.

“I felt like I was the one that was going to be eliminated,” Guntayon said. “I really prepared myself. I miss my family. There’s a sense of loss after dropping out of the competition, but I guess that’s my weakness. I don’t like being away from my loved ones.”

Guntayon, who finished Ely Fernandez via rear-naked choke in the previous episode, was pitted against good friend McLeary Ornido, and

Team Gravity’s youngster surprised him with his tenacity.

Ornido quickly shot for a takedown and then took Guntayon’s back. Guntayon then found himself in a precarious position as Ornido attempted a choke—the same position that he finished Fernandez with— and he had no other choice but to tap.

It was tough for the two close friends to battle it out, but that’s the name of the game.

“In my time here, I got really close with McLeary. It’s hard that it was him that I was pitted against. I felt bad every time I hit him. They might not get my reasoning, but I’ve always been this way,” he said.

The other Circle elimination showdowns also lived up to the hype.

Team Passion’s Norman Agcopra displayed his power when he knocked down Adonis Sevilleno in the first

round of their sparring showdown. Sevilleno recovered, however, and made a fight out of it in the second canto.

New Team Gravity member Ariel Lampacan also showcased his impressive striking against the equally impressive Jun Montilla in a back-andforth sparring affair.

Jackie Buntan Visits Warriors

The warriors got a surprise visit from Filipino-American ONE strawweight Muay Thai star Jackie Buntan, who helped them out with their striking.

Buntan comes from the fabled Boxing Works camp in California under the famous striking coach Bryan Popejoy. She also gets to work with two-sport World Champion Janet “JT” Todd on a regular basis, making her a goldmine of knowledge when it comes to “the art of eight limbs.”

“Her technique is high caliber. Even

Team Passion’s JM Guntayon though it looks simple and basic, when she does it, she really executes it at a high level,” Joevincent So said.

“Globe Presents ONE Warrior Series Philippines” continues every Sun-

day night on GTV, the ONE Super App, and watch.onefc.com. Weekly replays air on Tap Go, ONE Championship Philippines Facebook, and ONE Championship’s official YouTube channel.

Krejcikova stuns Swiatek to claim Ostrava title

OSTRAVA, Czech Republic—Barbora Krejcikova clinched a second successive WTA title with a stunning come-from-behind victory over world number one Iga Swiatek in the Ostrava final on Sunday.

The world number 23 triumphed 5-7, 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 to add the Czech trophy to her victory in Tallinn last weekend.

Krejcikova’s success snapped French and US Open champion Swiatek’s 10-final win streak and gave the 26-year-old home player a fifth career singles title.

“It was a big match. We played amazingly. We gave an amazing show to the fans, so I’m really happy with that and with the way I have performed,” said Krejcikova.

“It’s a huge victory ... It’s one of the one of the biggest match that I ever played. The atmosphere was just very energetic and very unbelievable for both sides. It’s really one of the top matches that I think I ever played in my life.”

Swiatek, who had racked up her 60th win of the season on Saturday, went into Sunday’s final having won both

her previous meetings with Krejcikova.

The 21-year-old Pole won in straight sets on the hard courts of Miami last year before a three-set victory on the clay of Rome two months later.

On Sunday, 2021 French Open champion Krejcikova took the tough route to victory having trailed 5-1 in the opening set before battling back to claim the match in three hours and 16 minutes.

For Swiatek, it was just her second career defeat in 12 finals, and first in three years but she had been two points from an eighth title of the season with Krejcikova serving at 30-30 in the 12th game of the second set.

“I was just telling myself to keep going,” said Krejcikova.

“She’s a great champion. She’s a great player, so I was expecting that she’s not going to give it to me easy. So I was just like, ‘Okay, keep going. It’s going to be fine.

“You’re going to get your chance. You’re going to make it,’ so that was my inner voice.”

AFP

Czech Republic’s Barbora Krejcikova (left) celebrates after winning the WTA

tennis match against Poland’s Iga Swiatek (right) in Ostrava, Czech

‘Smile’ grins its way to the top of box office

PARAMOUNT executives kept on their faces Sunday, as the deceptively named horror film topped North America’s box office for a second weekend, scaring up an estimated $17.6 million, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations said.

Sosie Bacon , daughter of actors Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick, stars as a therapist whose

grasp on reality starts to slip after she witnesses a gruesome event involving a patient.

Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, Sony’s new live-action/computer-animated musical comedy, placed second at $11.5 million on a slow weekend. Analyst David A. Gross called that a “weak opening” despite good reviews.

With a budget of just $50 million, he added, “the film was not designed to be in the league of the big Disney/Pixar/Illumination family juggernauts.” It stars Javier

Pandemic movie ‘Broken Blooms’ hauls multiple accolades in international fests

INDEPENDENT

film Broken Blooms, top-billed by Jeric Gonzales and Therese Malvar, continues to wave the Philippine flag on the international stage after scooping 14 awards and recognition in international film festivals this year.

Directed by Louie Ignacio, the film also stars Jaclyn Jose, Royce Cabrera, Normal Balbuena, Mimi Juareza, and Lou Veloso. It had its world premiere in the Directors’ Week competition program of the Oporto International Film Festival in Portugal in April.

A few weeks later, the film, the maiden offering of Engr. Benjamin Austria’s Bentria Productions, won a Gold Remi at the Houston International Film Festival in Texas. Then in May, lead actor Gonzales won his first international acting award at the Harlem International Film Festival in New York.

Two film festivals in India gave recognition to the film written by Ralston Gonzales Jover. The Mokho International Film Festival recognized Gonzales (Best Actor in an Indie film), Malvar (Best Actress in an Indie film), and director Ignacio (Special Jury for Director). It also bagged the Best Narrative Feature Film plum.

Outstanding Achievements for Best Actor was bestowed on Gonzales at Tagore International Film Festival. Jose won Best Actress, while the film walked home with Best Narrative Feature award, Critics’ Choice for Best Director (Ignacio), and Best Cinematography (TM Malones).

Gonzales won his fourth Best Actor trophy from the Montelupo Fiorentino International Independent Film Festival in Italy in July. And Just last weekend, the 8th Brasilia International Film Festival in Brazil gave Broken Blooms the Special Jury Award.

“It was a 40-hour flight going to Brazil but we decided to be there to represent the country and tell the world our story,” Ignacio told the press during a thanksgiving press conference held at the Manila Hotel’s Café Ilang-Ilang over the weekend.

According to the director, the film tackles a relationship that bloomed during the pandemic – Jeremy (Jeric) and Cynthia (Teri) were wed at the beginning of the pandemic.

“In their poor community, life is filled with so many

noted.

Broken Blooms is set to join more international film festivals and will have a local screening before the year ends. Ignacio and the producer of the film hope that the recognition it earned overseas would help create buzz to inform local audiences that Broken Blooms is a must-watch.

“More than the box office performance of the film, we wanted the audience to see how brilliant the cast is. As a director, it’s my trophy na yung mga actors ko ay nabibigyan ng award,” Ignacio expressed with great pride.

Ignacio shared that motivating the lead actor to “give his best” was no easy task. But he shared some nuggets of wisdom with Gonzales to see his launching movie as a vehicle to showcase his acting flair.

“I constantly told him that as an actor, it’s better to grow old in the industry with acting awards tucked under his belt,” Ignacio stated.

Another new arrival, 20th Century’s comedy thriller Amsterdam , took in just $6.5 million for third place, suffering from poor reviews despite what Gross called “an impressive collection of talent in front of and behind the camera.”

Directed by David O. Russell ( Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle ), its all-star cast includes Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, Chris Rock, Taylor Swift, Matthias

Schoenaerts, Rami Malek, and Robert De Niro in a tale about the mysterious murder of a US senator.

In fourth, down one spot from last weekend, was Sony’s historyinspired The Woman King , at $5.3 million. Viola Davis stars as the leader of an all-female army of African warriors.

And in fifth was Don’t Worry Darling from Warner Bros., at $3.5 million. The psychological horror film slipped from second last weekend. AFP

Three’s company at Winford Manila

WINFORD Manila Resort & Casino (WMRC) proudly serves up a triple treat for OPM fans with Orange & Lemons performing live tonight and on October 25 and November 8 and 22; Mitoy Yonting and The Draybers on October 12, 19, and 26; and Rey Valera for one night only on October 15 at WMRC’s Hippodrome Bar & Lounge, 8:00 p.m.

Rock to the melodies of Orange & Lemons, the indie alternative band behind songs like “Hanggang Kailan (Umuwi Ka Na Baby)” and “Yakap Sa Dilim,” as current band members Clem Castro, JM del Mundo, Ace del Mundo, and Jared Nerona take the stage to perform some of their latest and greatest hits.

Sing along to your favorite rock anthems as Mitoy Yonting and The Draybers, whose members include Mylo Yonting on rhythm guitar and vocals, Edwin Garcia on keyboard, Jerome “Lucky” Reformany on bass, Jude Santos on drums, Cesar Uy Salazar on lead guitar, and Ronald Allan Batingan on guitar perform songs like “Drayber,” “Bulag,” and “Pinaikot-ikot,” plus renditions of classics by Queen Air Supply, and Journey

Last but not least, take a walk down memory lane with award-winning singer-songwriter Rey Valera as he belts out some of his most well-loved compositions like “Kahit Maputi na ang Buhok Ko,” “Kung Kailangan Mo Ako,” “Maging Sino Ka Man,” and “Pangako,” among many others.

difficulties. But solidarity and warmth among members are evident. And that is what makes the film universal, that is what makes the film resonate with audiences across the globe,” Ignacio

“Jaclyn Jose is already an established and seasoned actor. We already know the capacity of Therese as a dramatic actor. With Jeric, I told him that if he would give his best in this film, I promise that I will help him win an award,” the directed ended.

General admission to these live concert experiences is free, with VIP seating near the stage available for a P500 cover charge (P1,000 for Rey Valera), inclusive of food and drink. Hippodrome Bar & Lounge is located on the second floor of the 22-story resort and welcomes all fully-vaccinated guests aged 21 years and above.

Visit www.winfordmanila. com for more information or follow Winford Manila Resort & Casino on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for the latest updates on special events and promotions.

IN THE new GMA historical portal fantasy series Maria Clara at Ibarra , David Licauco plays the role of Felix, something which posed a huge challenge for him.

“During the first few days of taping, I found it difficult to deliver my lines because it is deep and pure Tagalog. I also have to utter Spanish lines. It’s good that eventually, as days went by, I got used to it already. It was far easier after that,” the 28-year-old David admits.

Even off-cam, the actor is proud that he is well-versed in Filipino now.

“When I speak, there’s a big difference now. In fact, when I’m at home and I’m conversing with my friends, they notice that my Tagalog has changed.”

When it comes to his portrayal of Fidel, he gives credit to his co-stars who are kind

enough to guide him on set.

“Acting-wise, I can say it is okay. All of my co-stars in the project are kind, supportive, and cooperative. The writers also did a good job when it comes to the development of my character. So, generally, it is fine.”

Does he see some shades of himself in Fidel?

“Well, perhaps, our common denominator is that we’re both businessmen. That’s Fidel’s character description. In real life, I also have a couple of businesses. So, we’re similar in that aspect,” he shares.

“Fidel is also a good friend to Ibarra in the story so I would like to think that I’m also a good friend to my chums,” he adds.

David is proud to be part of a talented cast that includes Dennis Trillo, Andrea Torres, Barbie Forteza, Julie Ann San

“I really hope that the viewers will enjoy and support our offering,” he ends.

•

• • Jasmine Curtis-Smith nixes rumors that she and her boyfriend of seven years Jeff Ortega have already parted ways. In fact, they both attended an industry function together recently.

“It’s not true that we broke up,” she starts. “Actually, I got surprised where it came from. I’m not saying that we don’t have problems. We’re just like any other normal couple. Perhaps, people insinuated during the time when I was promoting The World between Us when I would say I wasn’t in a good head space. I couldn’t share that I was undergoing something then. I was afraid that if I would share it, people would have different interpretations. So, I opted to just keep quiet.”

Considering the number of years that they’re together, do we hear wedding bells in the offing?

“Well, we talk about it but we haven’t set a definite date yet. But as I see it, we will end up there. Considering all the emotional investment you’ve given to the relationship, I think it’s nice to feel that you’re leading somewhere. You can see the reward for everything that you’ve been working for together in all these times, right?”

Interestingly, what’s her dream wedding?

“Before, I like the beach, sand, and sunset. But now, I guess, it can be anywhere, long as he will be happy. And our respective families would be there,” states Jasmine.

Nickie

Bardem, Shawn Mendes , and Constance Wu

Jose, and Rocco Nacino, with Tirso Cruz III, Juancho Triviño, Manilyn Reynes, Ces Quesada, Juan Rodrigo, Lou Veloso, Gilleth Sandico, and Dennis Padilla

David Licauco transitions from beefcake to hunky playboy in historical fantasy

David Licauco as Felix in ‘Maria Clara at Ibarra’

Mitoy Yonting and The Draybers promise to put on a show with their line-up of rock anthems

Indie alternative band Orange and Lemons will perform some renditions from international bands along with their hit songs

Rey Valera will take the audience on a trip down memory lane as he belts some of his well-loved compositions

The cast of ‘Broken Blooms’ on set with Director Louie Ignacio (second from left)

Some of the cast and production team of ‘Broken Blooms’

From left: Therese Malvar, Director Louie Ignacio, and Norman Balbuena

‘Broken Blooms’ follow the story of newlyweds played by Jeric Gonzles (center) and Therese Malvar (third from right)

Louie Ignacio shows off the film’s recognition from Brasilia International Film Festival

‘Hot Babe’ finds niche in the automotive industry

By Patricia Taculao

RACHEL

Villanueva is no stranger to business ventures outside her showbiz career. One of her most successful efforts is her breakthrough in the automobile industry. She’s the president of Autoflare, a trade-in partner for the local car dealer Automotive Icon.

As a trade-in partner, the former mem ber of Viva Hot Habes deals with selling pre-owned cars while preserving their quality. She can proudly claim that she sold numerous cars throughout her ca reer since Automotive Icon President and CEO Dexter G. Co served as her mentor.

The former Viva Hot Babes learned

iConic Drive 2022 features various types of vehicle that meet consumer’s preferences

several things during her encounters with secondhand vehicles. Since these already experienced wear and tear at some point, she makes it a habit to consult experts to learn more about the car’s condition be fore putting them up for sale.

Fortunately, her partnership with Auto motive Icon allows her to contact reliable experts to address her concerns with the units.

Her dedication to quality makes her a trusted personality in the automotive in dustry and teaches consumers to become more vigilant about their purchases, espe cially with cars. Compared to showbiz, Rachel finds the automobile industry more exciting.

Rachel launched her ca reer in 2005. A year later, she left the industry to work at MercedesBenz Alabang. Within two months, she sold 30 aging units and found a newfound love for automobiles.

Selling cars gave

her the opportunity and leverage to start her business.

During her early years, Co taught Ra chel the value of prioritizing their clients. Both their companies treat their clients comfortably and always consider their preferences when buying vehicles.

Co, who’s well-versed in dealing with luxury brands, has his fair share of knowl edge and experience with customers look ing for new cars. He always suggests they find one that suits their lifestyle.

First, they should determine what type of vehicle aptly meets their daily needs, whether it’s a large or small car. He added that they should also consider the size of their family before committing to a par ticular vehicle.

To further bring vehicle deals, Automo tive Icon opened iConic Drive 2022 at Ala bang Town Center last October 6, Thursday. Luxury vehicle brands like Mercedes-Benz, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Peugeot, Maz da, Morris Garages, and GAC Motor take the spotlight to entice car enthusiasts or as piring vehicle owners.

Interested buyers can discuss sales and

related topics with brand representatives present on-site.

iConic Drive 2022 features luxury, premium, and mainstream passenger ve hicles to pick-ups, SUVs, and light com mercial vehicles, as well as dedicated mobility, financial, and parts and services brands.

Gracing the event was influencer Ra mon Bautista, who also shares an affinity for vehicles.

Other attendees of the iConic Drive 2022 ribbon-cutting ceremony include Automotive Icon Vice President for Op erations Cris Bofill, Mercedes-Benz Ala bang Sales Manager Mikey Cuyugan Mazda Alabang Sales Manager Destry Lachaona, Morris Garage Alabang Sales Manager Beth Flores, Peugeot Alabang Sales Manager Roger Ramirez, GAC Motor Alabang Jake Flores, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram Alabang Sales Manager Jon Semana, Mazda and GAC Motor Alabang After Sales Manager Ed die Jubilag, and Mercedes-Benz, Chrys ler, Dodge, Morris Garage, and Peugeot After Sales Manager Romy Garcia

SUPERMARKET and Savemore Market recently treated customers to a day filled with fun, promos, and excit ing prizes during the first-ever “Treat Yourself Day” at the SM Megamall event center.

The highlight of the event was the introduction of the Treat Yourself Ambassadors, who reminded us that no matter how busy we are in life, we should never forget to take a break and treat ourselves from time to time.

The Treat Yourself ambassadors, volleyball star and celebrity host Car mela Tunay, online sensation and ce lebrity cooking mama Hazel Cheffy, fitness influencer and volleyball star Rachel Anne Daquis, and lifestyle and beauty influencer Angel Dei Per alta shared tips on beauty, wellness, cooking, and lifestyle. They also raf fled off special prizes from their very own collections to lucky shoppers.

Beauty guru Angel Dei Peralta is a travel vlogger, lifestyle, and beauty in fluencer, and owner of Savvy swimsuit brand. She revealed to shoppers how she meditates before going to sleep and early in the morning to change her mindset and perspective.

“Cooking Ina” and Treat Yourself ambassador for good food, Hazel

Cheffy is a video con tent creator who domi nated Tiktok with her fierce cooking style. A master of ASMR cook ing and shopping, she features easy-to-make recipes perfect for any household. Of ten accompanied by her daughter Aya a.k.a “Cook ing Anak”. Chef Hazel loves to treat herself to buffets and cook any dishes that her daughter Aya would crave.

Fitness influ encer Rachel Anne Daquis is a certi fied pilates teacher and one of the hottest fitness stars on so cial media. She is a female professional volleyball player who first caught the spotlight as a rising spiker when she played for the FEU Tamaraws in the UAAP. Rewarding yourself and

sharing your time with others is what makes Rachel happy.

Since Rachel stays with her teammates at a dorm, she would treat her team mates by buying food and snacks so the whole team can enjoy themselves to gether.

Volleyball star and celebrity host Carmela Tunay agrees that giving yourself a break after a hard work is really impor tant. A health and wellness ambassador along with Ra chel Anne, she treats herself to facials, massages, and indulging her favorite drinks. Carmela believes that there should be a balance between working hard and taking care of oneself.

Treat Yourself’s discount of fers are also available in all SM Super market and Savemore Market stores nationwide.

By Tet Defensor

PARLON proudly took part in the “Colli sion Conference 2022” at Enercare Centre, Toronto, Canada, the go-to platform for beauty and wellness services in the Philip pines. The conference is North America’s biggest startup event bringing together For tune 500 companies, groundbreaking start ups, and world-class speakers.

During the event, Parlon founders Claire Ongcangco and Miko Cornejo together with Marga Romero, the company’s head of growth and partnerships, shared how the app helped salons and wellness centers in the Philippines adapt to the digital world and maximize the power of technology.

Parlon was launched in 2019 as a listing online platform to help customers book ap pointments for salons and wellness centers.

“The idea originated from my own pain point of not finding service menus of salons online,” Ongcangco says.

She remembers parking the idea for a while until the pandemic happened and everything closed. In time salons were allowed but not at full capacity. The app couldn’t come at a better time when the business owners needed assistance to book clients while following the health protocols efficiently.

Collision Conference 2022 gathered over 35,000 attendees from 130 countries. Out of the 1,557 startups that joined, the company was one of five beauty startups at the conference. Apart from Parlon, the only participant from the Philippines was 4Gives’ which aims to empower the un banked and the financially excluded by providing access to revolving credit

The international conference was an op portunity for Parlon, to share its initiatives for helping salons and wellness centers in the Philippines adapt to the digital world

and maximize the power of technology, es pecially during the pandemic. Because of the app, salons, spas, and wellness centers were able to resume operations, allowing clients to book appointments online, and giving establishments ample time to ob serve the prescribed health protocols.

According to Romero, the experience at the Collision Conference was most enriching.

“[I was] very grateful and amazed to meet and connect with entrepreneurs and founders who shared the same intention for the tech⁠—not just to focus on the solution, but empathy for those experiencing the problem,” she says.

Romero added that the team plans to take the platform to various international tech conferences.

“I want Parlon to be able to ignite that same feeling when beauty enthusiasts any where in the world come across our booth. I still dream of the day we are able to ship and scale a global platform for beauty and well ness that is 100 percent Filipino-engineered.”

Parlon was also part of the Tech In Asia Conference Start-up Factory at the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.

“I am always excited for every opportu nity where we can showcase our great Fili pino talent. Parlon has been a game-chang er in the beauty and wellness space in the Philippines. It’s just a matter of time before this Parlon magic will be experienced by people in Southeast Asia and eventually, the rest of the world,” Ongcangco shares.

The conference was held at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore with participants onsite and online, making it the first-ever hybrid Tech in Asia Conference. It gathered tech founders, investors, executives, and talents for two days full of insights, connections, opportunities, and the tools needed to over come business challenges.

The attendees of iConic Drive 2022

Automotive Icon President Dexter Co giving his opening remarks

From left Angel Dei Peralta, Hazel Cheffy, and Rachel Anne Daquis play the prize catcher game at the Treat Yourself Day at SM Megamall A’s event center

Rachel Anne

Volleyball star and celebrity host Carmela Tunay

Claire Ongcangco (left) and Marga Romero in Toronto for Collision tech conference

Parlon founders Claire Ongcangco and Miko Cornejo together with Marga Romero, the company’s head of growth and partnerships