Manila Standard - 2022 November 2 - Wednesday

‘Paeng’ damage balloons to P2b

DAMAGE to agriculture and infrastructure from severe tropical storm “Paeng” ballooned to over P2 billion, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said Tuesday, as its death toll has climbed to 112.

The NDRRMC said damage to agriculture was at almost P1.3 billion so far, with the Bicol Region the hardest hit with over P700 million in damage, followed by Western Visayas with P293 million, and Central Luzon with P233.7 million.

Damage to infrastructure was at P760 million. Bicol Region was again the hardest with P375 million in damage, followed by Central Visayas

with P272 million, and Northern Mindanao with P110 million.

Of the fatalities, 79 were already confirmed to be typhoon-related while 31 are yet to be validated. A total of 33 other people were still missing.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday said it was important to address climate change and flood control to avoid mass casualties during tropical cyclones.

All roads lead to cemeteries on Undas amid floods, rains

FILIPINOS clutching flowers and umbrellas poured into cemeteries across the Catholic-majority Philip pines Tuesday to pay tribute to their dead loved ones in person on All Saints' Day for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Among them were President Fer dinand R. Marcos Jr. and his family, who attended a Mass at the Libingan ng Mga Bayani in Taguig City for his father and namesake, former Presi dent Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr.

Based on the photos shared on Mr. Marcos' Instagram account, also in attendance were the First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos; sons Simon and Vincent; the President’s mother, Imelda; and younger sister,

Queenie weakens into mere LPA

By Rio N. Araja and Maricel V. Cruz

TROPICAL depression Queenie dis solved into a low-pressure area on Tuesday afternoon but would continue bringing rains

to parts of Mindanao, the state weather bureau said. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Ser vices Admin istration (PA GASA) said Queenie at 2 p.m. weakened into a remnant low, which according to the US National Next page

By Willie Casas

THE wave of infection of the Omicron XBB subvariant of the coronavirus may be ending now, as COVID-19 positivity rates in the National Capital Region (NCR) and other areas in Luzon are decreasing, OCTA Research fellow Dr. Guido David said Tuesday.

David said that among the factors that placed NCR and 72 other areas under Alert Level 1 from November 1 to November 15 is their high vaccination coverage.

This dovetails with the expressed hope of President Ferdinand R. Marcos last week when he enjoined Filipinos to get back to their normal lives before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

Mr. Marcos said it was crucial to

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

THE Department of Education said Tuesday it would follow a recent Palace order on the voluntary use of face masks in indoor spaces, effectively allowing students to remove their masks while attending in-person classes. "We will follow [Executive Order

No.] 7 and issue an amendatory [department order]," DepEd Spokesman Michael Poa said in response to a query on masking in classrooms. "Schools may immediately implement optional masking indoors," he added.

Meanwhile, the five-day full face-toface classes in public schools will push

P3.55

MARKING ‘UNDAS’. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his family hear mass at the grave of his father, former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., at the Libingan ng mga Bayani as he joined millions of Filipinos in paying respects to their departed loved ones on All Saints’ Day or ‘Undas’ on Tuesday. Presidential Photo

By Alena Mae S. Flores

OIL companies raised the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) or cooking gas by P3.50

to reflect the higher contract price of LPG in the world market.

Petron Corp., the country's biggest oil company, announced the price increase effective Nov. 1 in an advisory.

"AutoLPG prices will likewise increase by P1.96 per liter at the same time. These reflect the international contract price of LPG for the month of

STREAM OF UMBRELLAS.

Despite the drizzle, Filipinos couldn't stop themselves from entering the Manila North Cemetery to pay respects to their dearly departed on Tuesday, November 1. Danny Pata

Irene Araneta. This is the second time Mr. Marcos visited his father’s grave as the country’s 17th Chief Executive. Rain fell as thousands walked or took

CHOPPER TO GROUND. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. leads an aerial inspection over Maguindanao province, one of the hardest hit by Severe Tropical Storm "Paeng" over the weekend, after leading a situation briefing on the storm’s effects and handing out aid to residents of Datu Odin Sinsuat, where most of the fatalities were listed. Presidential photos

By Vince Lopez, Francisco Tuyay, Rio N. Araja, and Alena Mae Flores

DSWD: 3m Pinoys affected by Paeng

AT LEAST three million persons have been affected by Severe Tropical Storm “Paeng,” the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said Tuesday.

“Right now, we are currently moni toring our fellow Filipinos and based on our estimation, the affected individuals reached around three million in all re gions of our country affected by Paeng,” DSWD Assistant Secretary and spokes person Romel Lopez said in an interview with Super Radyo dzBB.

Meanwhile, Lopez said the depart ment has at least P186.4 million quick response fund and P82 million available

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Talking to Bangsamoro regional and local officials, Mr. Marcos noted that some areas that were not known to be flood-prone were among those heavily inundated during the storm.

He said this was undeniably the effect of climate change.

Mr. Marcos said tree planting should be part of the government's flood control efforts, as it "will really save lives."

He said that on an aerial survey of the damage wrought by Paeng, he noticed that the mountains had been denuded.

Several countries said they would help with relief and recovery efforts.

The US embassy said it helped trans port 10,000 family food packs from the Department of Social Welfare and Devel opment to Cotabato.

"An additional 25 trucks are mobiliz ing to deliver emergency food and relief supplies to families affected by the storm... We stand with our Filipino #FriendsPart nersAllies in this time of crisis," the US Embassy said in a Facebook post.

China said it donated the first batch of disaster relief materials to the Datu Odin Sinsuat, North Maguindanao Province, which was hit hard by floods brought on by Paeng.

The Chinese Embassy said it brought thousands of cases of distilled water, instant noodles, water containers, rice, toothbrushes, coffee,isopropyl alcohol, and anti-mosquito gels to the affected ar eas in Mindanao.

Japan's Foreign Minister Hayashi Yo shimasa said Tokyo was "ready to provide the maximum possible assistance to the Philippines."

Australian Ambassador to the Philip pines HK Yu also offered assistance.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, too, said his government was prepared to help.

The Philippine Red Cross on Tuesday said it welcomes donations to support its ongoing relief operations for families af fected by Paeng.

As of Monday, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs re ported that over P51 million worth of hu manitarian assistance has been provided to affected communities by government

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Hurricane Center no longer has the charac teristics required for a tropical cyclone.

Located 420 kilometers east of Hinatu an, Surigao del Sur at 4 p.m., the remnant low may dissipate in the next 12 hours, PAGASA added.

The weather disturbance is now fore cast to cause light to moderate with at times heavy rains over Caraga and Davao Oriental. Flooding and rain-induced land slides are possible, especially in areas

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show the world that the Philippines is slowly getting back on its feet.

“It is a good thing to remind people that the pandemic may have been difficult, the pandemic really put us through the wringer. But we are back,” he said in a speech in Bacolod City as he graced the culminating activity of the 43rd MassKara Festival.

“The pandemic is fading away. We are learning to manage it and now it is time for us to all go back to work, to all go back to our normal lives, to remind ourselves of all the opportunities that were before us before the pandemic…It is time for us to go back to all of those endeavors that we were undertaking before Covid hit,” the President added.

Meanwhile, the Philippines on Tuesday recorded 676 new COVID-19 infections, the lowest daily tally since June 28, when 576 cases were reported.

According to the Department of Health, active cases went down to 19,340 from 20,227 on Monday. The new infections pushed the nationwide tally to 4,005,157.

OCTA’s David, in a Super Radyo dzBB interview, said the positivity rate is decreasing in Metro Manila and other regions such as Calabarzon and Central

standby fund in its regional offices.

“Currently, we have a P186.4 million quick response fund, this is just at the central office. The available standby fund of the regional offices is still at P82 mil lion. Our prepositioned foodpacks are at around 46,441,” he said.

Lopez also noted at least 76,000 displaced families are staying in tem porary shelters in the National Capital Region (NCR), Cordillera Administra

and humanitarian partners.

As the storm left the Philippine area of responsibility Monday, some 865,000 residents were still displaced, with some of them taking shelter in 2,728 evacuation centers nationwide.

The storm damaged some 5,000 homes and destroyed around 1,000 houses, the NDRRMC reported. It said the damage to these houses was estimated at P12.41 million.

Some 294 areas lost power during the storm, but 140 of them now have electricity.

As of Tuesday, 160 areas were placed under a state of calamity, which allows the government to tap calamity funds, im pose a price freeze on basic commodities and offer zero-interest loans.

The state weather forecaster warned that a low-pressure area could bring more rains in parts of Mindanao still reeling from Paeng.

Provincial officials said 61 people were killed in Maguindanao—more than half of the death toll so far—and 17 were still missing.

The storm also affected 622,505 peo ple—or 124,501 families—in the prov ince.

In a situation briefing in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte, the President acknowledged that typhoon vic tims are asking for medicine, and he in structed the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to facilitate the distribution of medical kits.

“We will have to supply them with the medicines they need. That's one aspect we failed to focus on,” he said.

Urging swift action, Mr. Marcos noted that common ailments can be cured by non-prescription medicine. He said there should also be close coordination with military doctors and medical workers to ensure the immediate distribution of med ical supplies.

In response, DSWD Secretary Erwin Tulfo said the agency would begin dis tributing health kits to typhoon victims.

A total of 741,777 families or 2,418,249 people in 17 regions nationwide have so far been affected by Paeng, according to the situation report by NDRRMC on Tuesday.

About 329,299 families or 859,981 people are taking temporary shelter inside and outside evacuation centers.

During his visit to Maguindanao, Mr.

highly susceptible to these hazards.

PAGASA said the hoisting of tropical cyclone wind signals over the eastern por tion of Caraga and some areas in Eastern Visayas is unlikely.

In the next 24 hours, however, the for mer storm may cause moderate to rough seas over the eastern seaboard.

Meanwhile, Albay Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda warned that “floods and land slides could be the greatest enemy” as Queenie approached.

“The problem with having a new ty phoon so soon after a previous one is the soil has not regained its capacity to absorb

Luzon, the suburbs of the big city.

“That's a good sign that the XBB wave at least might be already ending,” he said. “We think that's what brought the surge recently and now it's going down.”

David earlier said that the XBB, a recombinant of two Omicron subvariants, might be the cause of the increase in COVID-19 cases in the NCR in September.

Metro Manila’s seven-day COVID-19 positivity rate, or the percentage of people who were found positive for COVID-19 among the total number of individuals tested, decreased to 10 percent on October 29, from 12.3 percent on October 22.

In the past two weeks, the National Capital Region had the highest number of new cases with 4,817, followed by Calabarzon with 2,977, Central Luzon with 1,736, Western Visayas with 1,665, and Davao Region with 1,158.

The DOH reported 1,544 more recoveries, raising the overall tally to 3,921,708. Thirty-five new fatalities were listed as the death toll increased to 64,109.

The bed occupancy rate in the country stood at 23.7% on Monday, with 6,739 occupied and 21,680 vacant beds. A total of 7,615 individuals were tested on Sunday, while 301 testing laboratories submitted data.

tive Region (CAR), Regions 1, 2, 3, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Regions 7, 8, 9, and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

The DSWD official said they were given help and financial assistance in cluding those outside evacuation centers.

Lopez said at least P69 million worth of assistance were already distributed, of which P65 million came from the DSWD and P3 million from several local govern ment units.

“We distributed at least P69 million worth of assistance, of which P65 million came from DSWD which were family food packs and cash assistance. And more than P3 million came from the LGUs. We

Marcos also distributed goods and finan cial assistance to the typhoon victims.

He also advised the Bangsamoro gov ernment to adopt the “standard package” being distributed by the DSWD to the ty phoon victims.

“If you’re going to make your own packs, let’s have it similar to the ones being distributed by the DSWD because that comes from long experience [and the agency knows] what are the needs of the victims of a calamity like this,” the Presi dent said.

He also urged the Bangsamoro gov ernment to coordinate with local govern ment units (LGUs).

Mr. Marcos also said it was vital to es tablish a district office of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) to en sure the immediate repair of damaged infrastructure.

This, he said, would enable the BARMM to effectively and efficiently re spond to emergencies.

Noticing bottlenecks in the distribu tion of relief, the President also stressed the importance of improving standard op erating procedures for assisting victims of natural disasters.

He also said there was no need to en sure that some people weren’t getting double their rations.

“So what if they receive two food packs? Give out everything,” he said in Filipino. “Will they get rich if they receive two food packs? They will not get rich.”

“There is no such thing as an excess of relief goods. No such thing,” he added. “We have to give everything that we have. It doesn’t matter if they have the ticket. Just give them relief goods because they have nothing to eat. That is something that we can improve on.”

After the situation briefing, Mr. Mar cos led the relief efforts for victims of Paeng that hit the BARMM.

He distributed the food packs and as sistance to the victims who are currently taking temporary shelter in one of the evacuation centers in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte.

In his speech, Mr. Marcos said con cerned government agencies would con tinue assisting to ensure the fast recovery of disaster victims.

water. Our inland bodies of water are still full. So, any strong rains, even if the typhoon doesn’t make landfall at all, could cause se rious flooding or landslides,” Salceda said.

At the same time, the chairman of the House committee on ways and means said "mobility assets and evacuation prepara tions should be the highest priority.”

“We already know what areas are like ly to flood. Paeng already gives us painful hindsight on that,” he said.

Salceda pointed out that some 500,000 people in the Bangsamoro region were af fected by flooding and heavy rains even if Paeng made landfall nowhere near the

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through today, November 2, despite the DepEd acknowledging there is still a shortage of classrooms and teachers.

Interviewed on Super Radyo dzBB, Poa admitted to the perennial problems that several schools face a day before the implementation of full in-person classes.

“We have to admit, and we cannot deny that there is a shortage of classrooms and school buildings. That is something that, of course, we couldn’t solve overnight,” he said.

“We also have a shortage of teachers. What we do is we transfer teachers from other schools to those that are in need, subject to the rules on transfer,” the spokesman added.

As this developed, Senator Win Gatchalian is urging the DepEd and Department of Health (DOH) to exhaust all measures to protect learners and teachers from COVID-19.

Gatchalian called on the DOH and the DepEd to ensure maximum vaccination coverage among teachers and learners, including and especially those, who are already eligible for their booster shots.

Earlier, the senator proposed schoolbased vaccination to promote the safe return of learners to schools.

He also pointed to the persisting challenge of vaccinating learners in the 5

also have received assistance from NGOs about P13,600,” he said.

Lopez said they prioritized giving help to those who lost their homes and family members due to Paeng.

Families who lost relatives due to Paeng received P10,000 assistance from the DSWD, he said.

“Usually the help we give to them is around P10,000. For example, for our fellow Muslims in BARMM who have relatives who died due to Paeng, they re ceived P10,000 outright.”

The DSWD also opened its office to receive donations for Paeng victims. The department said it is accepting cash and in-kind donations.

He said the government would also grant cash aid worth between P5,000 and P10,000 to help them rebuild their homes.

The Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor (PCUP), upon Mr. Marcos’ directive, vowed to attend to the needs of people who have been severely affected by the tropical cyclone.

In a statement on Tuesday, PCUP chairperson Undersecretary Elpidio Jor dan Jr. said he has directed all the field operations offices of the commission to conduct quick response to affected urban poor families.

In other developments:

• The National Grid Corp. of the Phil ippines said Tuesday that power trans mission operations in Luzon are back to normal after it completed the restoration of lines affected by tropical storm Paeng. The NGCP also said it has normalized transmission services in the provinces of Benguet, Mountain Province, Panga sinan, Aurora, Nueva Ecija, Zambales, Laguna, Quezon, Batangas, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Albay, Sorsogon, Northern Samar, Samar, Leyte, Southern Leyte, Aklan, and Antique.

• The country's two largest telecom companies said they have restored their network services in Metro Manila and other areas after Paeng swept over several provinces. Globe has fully restored call, text, and data connectivity in all Metro Manila areas where service was affected by the storm. All services have also been fully restored in Laguna, Palawan, Mas bate, and Western Samar, the company said. PLDT and its wireless unit Smart Communications, Inc. said it has fully re stored network services in Leyte.

• The Department of Trade and Indus try (DTI) reminded business establish ments in areas under a state of calamity to adhere to the price freeze on basic neces sities.

• Manila Rep. Joel Chua said he op posed the idea of a year-long state of ca lamity due to Paeng. In contrast, Senate President Migz Zubiri said he believes that the President should declare a na tional state of calamity in the wake of Tropical Storm Paeng, echoing the call of the NDRRMC. Marcos has rejected the NDRRMC recommendation, saying there was no need to declare a national state of calamity. With Darwin Amojelar and Macon Ramos-Araneta

region. He noted that the same areas that were severely affected by flooding during Paeng, such as parts of Maguindanao del Norte and Cagayan, were also affected by above-average rains two weeks ago dur ing Typhoon Obet.

“These areas already experienced sig nificant rain just two weeks before Paeng. North Luzon has experienced more than 120 percent of the normal rainfall from Oct. 1-23, prior to Paeng. And similar ar eas were affected by rains associated with the typhoon. We must watch out for rain in those same areas,” he said.

to 11 age group.

Last week, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. approved the voluntary use of face masks in both indoor and outdoor areas despite the continued threat of COVID-19.

Under the order, the use of face masks will remain mandatory in healthcare facilities, medical transport vehicles, and all forms of public transportation.

Mask-wearing is also encouraged for the elderly, individuals with comorbidities, immunocompromised persons, pregnant women, unvaccinated individuals, and those experiencing COVID-19 symptoms.

The DepEd earlier ordered all public schools to return to full in-person classes from Wednesday following over two years of distance and blended learning due to the pandemic.

But the agency will allow a few exemptions, including schools that were recently affected by disasters.

"Exemptions are [also] within the authority of the regional directors," Poa told reporters.

The DepEd has refused to release data on COVID-19 cases in schools, leaving it up to local governments to publicize such figures.

Poa said the department, currently headed by Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte, will “try to work on it” in the coming months and years. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

China, Vietnam vow to ‘manage’ dispute on SCS

BEIJING—China and Vietnam agreed on Tuesday to "properly manage" territorial disputes in the South China Sea, rounding off a leaders' meeting in Beijing as part of a diplomatic blitz by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The socialist neighbors both maintain sweeping claims to sovereignty in much of the contested waterway, parts of which are also claimed by Taiwan, the Philip pines, Malaysia, and Brunei.

Trillions of dollars in ship-borne trade pass through the South China Sea each year, and naval vessels from the United States and other Western nations regu larly sail through it, though Beijing has ignored an international court ruling that its claims have no legal basis.

Xi and other Chinese leaders met with Vietnam's Communist Party General Sec retary Nguyen Phu Trong in Beijing, hold ing "an in-depth and candid exchange of views on maritime issues", according to a readout on Tuesday from Chinese state news agency Xinhua.

Beijing and Hanoi "agreed to properly handle maritime issues and contribute to long-term peace and stability in the re gion", the readout said.

They concurred that "it is crucial to properly manage differences to protect peace and stability in the South China Sea” and vowed to "actively negotiate transitional and temporary solutions that do not impact their respective positions".

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

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free motorized tricycle services to tombs scattered across sprawling graveyards in the capital Manila where many poor families live alongside the dead in shan ties or mausoleums.

Ahead of the Day of the Dead, a pow erful tropical storm unleashed landslides and flooding across the archipelago na tion, killing at least 110 people and leav ing dozens missing.

Among the tens of thousands of visitors to Manila North Cemetery was Leonardo Filamor, 58, who was paying his respects to a friend who died in 2017.

"Even a typhoon would not have stopped me from coming here," said Filamor, who left a card and a small bou quet of white flowers at the tomb.

Filamor said he was homeless and previously had not been able to afford the public transport fare to reach the cemetery.

"I'm really happy I had the money this time and got to be with him again," he said.

It was the first time since the pandem ic that cemeteries were open on Novem ber 1 for the ancient Christian tradition, which honors all saints and martyrs who died for the faith.

Millions of Filipinos normally go to cemeteries on the day to remember their dead relatives by praying, lighting can dles, and leaving flowers at gravesites.

People began lining up before dawn to enter graveyards in Manila.

Flower vendor Lucila Cleto said the weekend storm had dented sales and driven up the price of chrysanthemums and roses.

"I'm not expecting to earn much, just enough to get by," the 52-year-old told AFP as she sat under a tent among buck ets of bouquets and pots of flowers.

Cemeteries in the Philippines range from quiet fields of white crosses to dense "apartment" tombs stacked meters high.

While most people visit the graves of relatives or friends, others go to remem ber their beloved pets.

"My siblings and I have a huge age gap so I only had Tatsumi as my play mate growing up," said a 29-year-old woman, referring to her Japanese spitz dog buried under a tree near her grand parents' tomb.

"I was devastated when he died." AFP (See full story online at manilastan dard.net)

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November," the company said.

Petron, however, said a price freeze would be observed in areas in a state of calamity.

Phoenix LPG Phils., Inc. and Solane LPG announced similar price increases effective Nov. 2.

An 11-kilo tank of LPG sells from P797 to P1,000 in Metro Manila, based on the monitoring of the Department of Energy.

On Tuesday, the oil firms cut pump prices by P0.60 per liter for diesel and P0.25 per liter for gasoline and kerosene to reflect the movement of prices in the world oil market.

This is the second consecutive week of oil price rollback driven by concerns of an economic slowdown from China due to rising COVID-19 cases and mobility restrictions.

2022 Bar exams to proceed as scheduled this month—SC

By Rey E. Requejo

THE 2022 online and regionalized Bar examinations will proceed as scheduled in 14 local testing centers (LTCs) nationwide on Nov. 9, 13, 16 and 20, the Supreme Court (SC) announced on Tuesday.

Exactly 9,916 law graduates are expected to take this year’s Bar exams. It was reported that 159 applicants withdrew their approved applications for still unknown reasons.

“The 2022 Bar Exams will proceed on November 9, 13, 16 and 20 as originally scheduled and announced in Bar Bulletin No. 6, S. 2022,” SC spokesman Brian Ho

Salceda dismisses proposed reforms on SRA charter as ‘inconsequential’

By Maricel V. Cruz

ALBAY Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda on Tuesday dismissed the proposed amend ments Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) charter as “immaterial to actual sugar prices and supply.”

Salceda, chair of the House Com mittee on Ways and Means, made the observation as the SRA issued a memo randum circular seeking comments on the recommendations made by the Sen ate Blue Ribbon Committee following hearings on the sugar imports issue.

“The recommendations might or might not be good. Some of them make sense, although not urgently. But, I can definitively tell you that they will do nothing of immediate consequence to address ongoing sugar supply or price issues,” Salceda said.

The recommendations included “in corporating transparency and account ability” provisions in the process of is suing import permits and other critical issuances, including the SRA’s audit processes, procedures and public con sultations.

The proposal also called for expand ing the membership of the SRA board from two to eight, with the supposed additional members coming from the following sectors: industrial and house hold consumers, sugar industry work ers, sugar transportation sector workers, other relevant stakeholders.

Senator wants tutorial system for learning aid

A NATIONWIDE program for learning recovery and health care measures should be integrated into the country’s basic edu cation which will finally implement full face-to-face classes in public schools by Wednesday.

In a news release on Tuesday, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said his Senate Bill No. 155, or the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Act, will in clude well-systematized tutorial sessions and well-designed remediation plans.

It targets learners who did not enroll in School Year 2020-2021 when the pan demic began, are lagging academically, and are at or marginally above the mini mum level of mastery required in Lan guage, Mathematics, and Science.

He also asked the Department of Health (DOH) and Department of Education (DepEd) to make sure teachers and learn ers are protected against Covid-19 and other illnesses.

Data from the DOH National Vaccina tion Operations Center showed that as of August, only 26.94 percent of children aged 5 to 11 and 76.41 percent in the 12 to 17 group are fully vaccinated.

“Matapos ang mahigit dalawang taon ng paghihintay, sa wakas ay masasaksihan na natin ang pagbabalik ng lahat ng mga magaaral sa face-to-face classes. Kasabay nito, dapat nating tiyakin ang kanilang kaligtasan, pati na ng kanilang mga guro (After more than two years of waiting, we will now wit ness the return to face-to-face classes. We must ensure the safety of learners and teach ers),” said Gatchalian, chair of the Commit tee on Basic Education.

He called on the DOH and DepEd to ensure maximum vaccination coverage among teachers and learners aside from strict health protocols such as the installa tion of handwashing and adequate sanita tion facilities and school-based vaccina tion.

saka said on SC Twitter account.

The examination periods will be from 8 a.m. to noon and from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

In a previous bulletin issued by the SC’s Office of the Bar Confidant, the subjects covered on Nov. 9 are Political Law and In ternational Law, morning, and Labor Law, afternoon; Nov. 13, Criminal Law (and

practical exercises), morning, and Com mercial law, afternoon; Nov. 16, Civil Law I, morning, and Civil Law II (and practical exercises), afternoon; and Nov. 20, Reme dial Law I, morning, and Remedial Law II (with basic tax remedies) and Legal Ethics, afternoon.

The LTCs in the National Capital Region (NCR) are in the San Beda University, 638 Mendiola Street, San Miguel, Manila; De la Salle University, 2401 Taft Avenue, 1004 Manila; Manila Adventist College, 1975 Corner San Juan & Donada Streets, Pasay City; Ateneo Junior and High School Com plex, Ateneo de Manila University, Katipu nan Avenue, Loyola Heights, 1108 Quezon City; and the University of the Philippines

– Bonifacio Global City, 14th Drive, Uni versity Parkway District, Fort Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.

In Luzon the LTCs are in Saint Louis University, A. Bonifacio Street, 2600 Ba guio City; De la Salle Lipa, 1962 J.P. Laurel Highway, Lipa City, 4217 Batangas; and the University of Nueva Caceres, J. Her nandez Avenue, Naga City, Camarines Sur.

The LTCs in the Visayas are in Univer sity of Cebu, M. Cuenco Avenue, Banilad, Cebu City; University of San Carlos, Ho erdemann Law and Business Building, Pelaez Street, Cebu City; and in Dr. Vicente Orestes Romualdez Educational Founda tion, Calanipawan Road, Barangay Cala nipawan, Tacloban City.

Oct. 5 Abra quake left P85m damage to infrastructure, says NDRRMC

THE damage to infrastructure inflict ed by the magnitude 6.4 earthquake in Abra last Oct. 25 was estimated at close to P85 million, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Manage ment Council (NDRRMC) reported on Tuesday.

The NDRRMC also said about 13,500 houses were likewise damaged by the temblor.

According to the agency, at least 139 people were injured during the tremors, broken down as 38 in the Ilo cos Region and 101 in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR)

There were no reports of fatalities or missing persons due to the earthquake that registered a depth of 16 kilome ters, and was several parts of main land Luzon Island. Authorities said the earthquake triggered liquefaction, landslides, rockfalls, rockslides, and a road cut.

The NDRRMC said 251 infrastruc tures in Regions 1 and 2, as well as in CAR, were damaged, with an esti mated cost of P84.97 million.

These include health facilities like the Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical Center, the Paoay Ruins, the Malacanang of the North, as well as sever al churches, barangay halls, schools, roads and other government facilities.

Of the 13,446 damaged houses, 434 were totally wrecked.

NDRRMC records showed that only 23 families or 79 people remained in three evacuation centers (one in Re gion 1, and two in CAR). There are 398 other families or 1,203 people though who remain displaced but are seeking temporary shelter elsewhere.

Close to 115,000 people from Re gions 1, 2 and CAR were affected in total by the quake, the NDRRMC said.

The agency also said almost P2.4 million worth of assistance have been provided so far.

The Philippine Institute of Vol canology and Seismology recorded a total of 1,039 aftershocks of the quake ranging from magnitudes 1.3 to 4.8 have already been recorded as of Tuesday morning, with 23 felt.

Last July 27, Abra was also jolted by a powerful magnitude 7.0 earth quake quake, with the epicenter in Ta yum town. It left 11 people dead and 609 others injured.

Paranaque cops rescue kidnap victim, arrest four suspects

By Joel E. Zurbano

THE Paranaque City police have arrested a Chi nese national and three accomplices for the alleged abduction of a fellow Chinese in Paranaque City.

Nabbed were Qiang Wang, 34, and his three companions identified as Norvin Yusuff, 42; Jo seph Barbas, 45, and Niño Felisan, 30.

SURIGAO del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel wants the Philippine National Police Mar itime Group (PNP-MG)to deploy two of its newly acquired high-speed gunboats to the Pag-asa Island at the northeastern sec tion of the disputed Spratly archipelago.

“The police maritime group already has a new detachment of eight officers led by a major positioned in Pag-asa. We should reinforce them with a couple of gunboats to protect our waters there with seaborne patrols,” Pimentel said in a statement on Tuesday.

“For border protection against smug glers, we also want the Bureau of Customs Enforcement Group’s Water Patrol Division to deploy two of its newly procured fast pa trol boats to Pag-asa. They can function as an extension of the bureau’s Puerto Princesa City sub-station,” Pimentel said.

“We should populate Pag-asa with as many relevant agencies as possible, while

The operatives also rescued the 27-year old vic tim Chen Peng who was held in a van by suspects following the alleged abduction on Monday night along Bradco corner Macapagal Boulevard in Ba rangay Tambo.

Recovered from the suspects were one caliber 9mm pistol with eight live bullets and one gray Toyota HiAce van believed used to seize the victim.

encouraging more civilians, particularly fisherfolk, to live and work there,” Pi mentel added.

“The other countries that claim the Spratly archipelago either as a whole or in part are clearly increasing their visibil ity on the islands, reefs and shoals that they’ve occupied there. We should do the same,” Pimentel said.

Pag-asa has been occupied by the Philippines since 1970. The low-lying 37.2-hectare island lies some 480 kilome ters northwest of Puerto Princesa City.

Surrounded by shallow coral ranges, Pag-asa is the largest landmass of the Ka layaan Island Group in the West Philip pine Sea.

Besides Pag-asa, the Kalayaan Island Group also includes the islets of Likas, Parola, Lawak, Kota, Patag and Panata, and Balagtas Reef, Ayungin Shoal and Rizal Shoal.

The raiders acted on a complaint by the victim’s sister Wang Ting who personally reported to Tam bo Police Sub-Station 2 that his younger brother was being held by four men onboard a van with license plate No. IAD 774.

The Tambo sub-station quickly formed a team and conducted the rescue operation which resulted in the arrest of the suspects.

Asteroid to cross Earth’s orbit, ‘but collision unlikely’

AN INTERNATIONAL team of astronomers on Monday an nounced the discovery of a large asteroid whose orbit crosses that of the Earth, creating a small chance far in the future of a catastrophic collision.

The 1.5 kilometer- (0.9 mile-) wide asteroid, named 2022 AP7, was discovered in area notoriously difficult to spot objects due to the glare from the Sun. It was found along with two other near-Earth asteroids us ing a high-tech instrument on the Victor M. Blanco telescope

in Chile that was originally de veloped to study dark matter.

“2022 AP7 crosses Earth’s orbit, which makes it a po tentially hazardous asteroid, but it currently does not now or anytime in the future have a trajectory that will have it collide with the Earth,” said lead author of the findings, astronomer Scott Sheppard of the Carnegie Institution for Science.

The potential threat comes from the fact that like any orbiting object, its trajectory will be slowly modified due

to myriad gravitational forces, notably by planets. Forecasts are therefore difficult on the very long term.

The newly-discovered aster oid is “the largest object that is potentially hazardous to Earth to be discovered in the last eight years,” said NOIRLab, a US-funded research group that operates multiple obser vatories.

2022 AP7 takes five years to circle the Sun under its cur rent orbit, which at its closest point to Earth remain several million kilometers away. AFP

PCG IN ACTION. Elements of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Western Visayas district load relief goods on a truck for delivery to victims of typhoon Paeng in Capiz.

OOPS, WE’LL HAVE THAT ONE. Manila policemen diligently search the bags of all people entering the Manila North Cemetery for banned articles such as knives and other sharp objects, paints, cigarettes and liquors, maybe even lighters. Danny Pata

of

Day. Norman Cruz

DELOS SANTOS

Lawmaker says animals should be included in rescue efforts

HOUSE Deputy Majority Leader Representative Alfred delos Santos said he is seeking the rescue of live stock and work animals be made part of disaster response government pol icy and operations.

“The government lacks guidelines on this. There should be efforts to evacuate livestock and work animals because families and enterprises es pecially in the provinces will depend on these animals post-disaster for their livelihood,” delos Santos said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Some provinces help evacuate animals such as farm carabaos and chickens but this would be on a lim ited scale. Our House Bill 1915 (Ani mal Calamity Rescue Act) seeks to have formal animal and livestock res cue measures in place nationwide,” he added.

Delos Santos said he foresees local agriculture and environment officers having “key roles, mobilize local res idents and enterprises, and designate temporary holding areas for rescued animals.”

“If mayors and governors work with the constituents on rescuing an imals, it can be feasibly done. They could find ways to evacuate both people and animals. They just have to prepare for it,” he said.

DEPARTMENT of Budget and Manage ment (DBM) Secretary Amenah Pan gandaman on Tuesday expressed opti mism that the observance of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day would inspire Filipinos to lead a “better” life.

Pangandaman, in her message, hoped that the occasion would enlighten every one to “live harmoniously with others” and become “selfless.”

“May we use this solemn time to strengthen the bond we share with our loved ones and grow stronger in our faith in our Creator even as we lead better lives as responsible members of our re spective communities,” she said.

Pangandaman also called on her fel low Filipinos to honor the lives of their

Police,

shootout

DUMAGUETE CITY—A brief ex change of gunfire erupted on Tuesday between policemen and the Com munist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) rebels in Barangay Trinidad, Guihulngan City in Negros Oriental amid pursuit oper ations by the 62nd Infantry Battalion (62IB) of the Philippine Army since the weekend.

Lt. Col. Romeo Cubo, Guihulngan police chief, told the Philippine News Agency that police officers of the Pro vincial Mobile Force Company (PMFC) were about to have lunch at their post when they were suddenly fired upon from a distance by unidentified armed men believed to be NPA rebels.

Police also reported that the shoot ing incident occurred at 12:20 p.m. in Barangay Trinidad after the alleged NPA members allegedly harassed and opened fire on PMFC members.

“Around 12:30 p.m. today, a PMFC per sonnel answered the call of nature when gunshots rang out, about ten rounds, and so immediately our troops returned fire to defend themselves,” Cubo said in mixed English and Cebuano.

The police is on high alert in the area following the recent encounters

clash

between the 62nd Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army and the NPA in Guihulngan City over the last five days, the police chief said.

The exchange of gunfire lasted briefly, Cubo said, and no one was re ported hurt in the incident.

Contrary to social media posts, the police chief also said they have not re ceived any reports of residents evacu ating to safer ground.

This is the latest skirmish between the NPA and government security forces since Oct. 29 in several parts of Guihulngan City.

The first encounter took place in Barangay Planas on Saturday after noon and was followed by another one about six hours later in Barangay Bue navista between the 62IB troops and more or less 20 NPA members of the Central Negros 1, Komiteng RehiyonNegros, Cebu, Bohol, and Siquijor (KR-NCBS).

The bodies of two NPA casualties were recovered near the second en counter site in Sitio Ilihan, Barangay Buenavista in the days that followed, along with a couple of firearms, a hand grenade, personal belongings, and subversive documents.

‘Reviving death penaltywon’t lower crime rates’

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

SENATOR Alan Peter

Cayetano has rejected the idea of the death penalty as a way to lower crime rates in the Philip pines, saying the country’s justice system must be made efficient first and ensure that culprits are caught to begin with.

Cayetano said more than imposing the “harshest penalty” for murderers; illegal drug users and pushers; and plunderers, he wants a justice system that addresses

departed loved ones and light a candle for their souls.

She likewise urged them to take a mo ment of silence to pray for the victims of the Severe Tropical Storm Paeng.

“We are called during this period to reflect on the meaning and purpose of our endeavors as we navigate through life with prayerful devotion,” Panganda man said.

“Let us join hands in prayer and con tinuously seek guidance in our various pursuits towards a more empowered per sonal and professional lives,” she added.

Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 are declared special non-working holidays to allow Filipi nos to have a longer weekend and spend more time with their families.

Quezon City last won the SGLG in 2019 before its temporary suspension due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.

Of the 17 local government units (LGUs) in the National Capital Region (NCR), five passed the DILG criteria —Muntinlupa, Caloocan, Mandalu yong, Navotas, and QC.

There are 350 SGLG awardees this year, consisting of 18 provinces, 60 cities and 272 municipalities.

Zamboanga health office conducts medical aid in storm aftermath

ZAMBOANGA CITY—The City Health Office provided vitamins and prophylaxis to the different health districts for distribu tion to residents and evacuees to lower the risk of acquiring leptospirosis and other diseases associated with flooding and bad weather.

Dr. Dulce Miravite, city health officer, said in a statement Tuesday prophylaxis for leptospirosis was also distributed to agencies that responded and assisted in rescue operations during the flash floods in the onslaught of Severe Tropi

cal Storm Paeng.

Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease that affects humans and animals. The risk of acquiring the disease is high when people swim or wade in flood waters that might be contaminated with animal urine.

Miravite said her office, through the 16 health districts, has intensified anti-lepto spirosis advocacy to increase awareness on preventive and control measures.

She said her office has recorded a num ber of leptospirosis cases since January.

Meanwhile, she said they have de ployed Quick Response Teams (QRTs) to evacuation centers to conduct situation assessments and ensure the well-being of those displaced in the aftermath of Paeng.

One of the QRT teams conducted an assessment at the gymnasium of Baran gay Ayala where 535 families with 2,140 individuals are temporarily housed. Miravite said included in the assess ment are the water supply, sanitation and hygiene, and other concerns.

crimes right away and is capable of ar resting the real culprit shortly after.

Citing Singapore as an example, he urged law enforcers and justice officials to be more aggressive in hunting down criminals by strengthening police intel ligence and investigation capacities.

The senator said the certainty of ar rest is more effective in preventing crimes than the death penalty, as re vealed by multiple studies in penology, law and order, and crime.

Cayetano’s statement comes on the heels of the ongoing probe on the mur der of veteran radio broadcaster Per cival “Percy Lapid” Mabasa more than three weeks ago, which is now in a mire as various names of persons-of-interest surface.

The senator urged police and justice officials managing Lapid’s slay case to

limit the information they release to the public while the investigation is still in progress, and to deliver “more action” instead.

On the issue that some crimes are be ing planned and executed from within prison walls, Cayetano repeated his plea that inmates should be encour aged to report such acts to authorities, as it undermines the function of correc tional facilities as a space for one-time criminals to change and atone for their crimes.

Cayetano, who was accompanied by his wife Mayor Lani Cayetano, along with Taguig 1st District Rep. Ricardo “Ading” Cruz, visited and gave dona tions to the city’s persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) as well as officials and staff of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) stationed there.

Philippines, China partnership on Davao durian exports begins

THE partnership between the Philippines and China on the export of durian from Davao has started.

In a statement Tuesday, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) said officials from the Port of Davao and Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian recently visited a durian farm to discuss ways to help industry players in the export process for the product and boost overall agricultural export to China.

Port of Davao District Collector Erastus Sandino Austria also met with members of the Durian Industry Association of Davao on Oct. 28.

He assured the farmers that the bureau is ready to help growers to remove technicalities as barriers

Overall, the DILG assessed 81 prov inces, 146 cities, and 1,488 municipalities.

“We are humbled and honored by the DILG’s recognition. This would inspire the city government to work even harder to further improve our governance and enhance the delivery of services to our constituents,” QC Mayor Joy Belmonte said in a news release on Tuesday.

The SGLG, established by virtue of Republic Act 11292, is an award, incen tive and recognition-based program for LGUs nationwide to continually pro gress and improve their performance

to making Filipino agriculture accessible worldwide.

The talks at the Belviz Durian Farm in Calinan, Davao City, were also part of the program of the Chinese Embassy to open their country as a market for Mindanaogrown fruit.

Davao is known to be the durian capital of the Philippines for being the main grower of the pungent fruit.

Under the guidance of Commissioner Yogi Filemon Ruiz, the BOC-Davao will continue to ease business conduct to encourage foreign investors to transact with the port.

This is aligned with the eightpoint economic plan of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.

in the areas of financial administration; disaster preparedness; social protection and sensitivity program; health compli ance and responsiveness; programs for sustainable education; business friendli ness and competitiveness; safety, peace and order; environmental management, tourism, heritage development, culture and arts; and youth development.

“The SGLG puts premium on integrity and good performance to institutionalize good governance reforms in the continu ing pursuit for meaningful local autonomy and development,” the DILG said.

THE 2022 Seal of Good Local Gov ernance (SGLG) from the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) gave the Quezon City govern ment another reason to work harder for its constituents.

Pangandaman: ‘Pray for typhoon Paeng victims’ QC LGU secures seal of good governance from DILG

ASSISTANCE FOR TYPHOON VICTIMS. Employees of the House of Representatives load 150 boxes (1,500 packs) of relief goods, 80 bundles of bottled water, 20 sacks of rice, one box of multivitamins, and one box of Vitamin C for Severe Tropical Storm Paeng victims to some areas in Camarines Norte. The House of Representatives is on its third day of relief operations initiated by Speaker Martin G. Romualdez. (Inset) Soldiers at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City assist in the unloading of relief goods from the House of Representatives for distribution to families affected by Severe Tropical Storm Paeng. The Philippine Air Force (PAF) will bring the relief goods to some areas in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Ver Noveno

CAYETANO

RAINY UNDAS. Thousands of Filipinos, using their umbrellas against the rain, enter the Manila North and South Cemetery on November 1 to visit their departed loved ones in observance of All Saints’ Day. Norman Cruz

CANDLES FOR THE DEPARTED. A man lights candles and offers flowers at the tomb of his son submerged in floodwaters at the Manila South Cemetery in Makati City on Tuesday. Danny Pata

Opinion

and poverty

But, if passed, it will have an adverse impact on individuals who live and/or work in the met ropolitan areas.

A huge number of those who will be adversely affected by this bill would be the working class for which owning a private vehicle is not a lux ury but a necessity in a country like ours with a grossly inadequate public transportation system.

WE’RE not surprised at all that the lingering COVID-19 pandemic has led to some 2.3 million Filipinos joining the ranks of the poor. That’s because thousands of small local busi nesses had been shuttered by the most stringent lockdowns at the onset of the pandemic in 2020.

The pandemic also temporarily stopped the deployment of overseas Filipino workers, while hundreds of thousands of them lost their jobs and returned home due to the global recession.

According to the Family Income and Expen diture survey for 2021 of the Philippine Statistics Authority, the poverty rate had worsened to 18.8 percent from 16.7 percent in 2018.

This means 19.99 million Filipinos who are living below the poverty line, or those making less than P12,030 a month for a family of five.

In 2018, the last time the survey was made, there were 17.67 million Filipinos living below the poverty threshold of P10,481 a month. The poverty rate was worse in 2015 at 23.5 percent, or the equivalent of 23.68 million poor Filipinos.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said the COVID-19 pandemic caused income and employment losses that led to the rise in poverty incidence.

Restrictions on mobility and low earning ca pacity of poor households due to limited access to regular and productive jobs made the lives of Filipinos difficult, he said.

But he hastened to add that the government is “prepared to face these challenges head-on,” poverty reduction efforts focusing on three main areas: full reopening of the economy; more in vestments in human capital, social development, and social protection; as well as transformation of the production sectors to generate more and quality jobs and competitive products.

Sen. Grace Poe asserts that social protection programs and services must effectively reach and empower the poor. Improving employment op portunities for Filipinos is therefore critical, par ticularly in the agriculture sector, as the pandemic forced many companies to close down.

The reality is that despite recent employment gains due to the reopening of more economic sectors, the Philippines’ latest jobless rate in June of 6 percent, equivalent to 2.99 million Filipinos, was still the second-worst in emerging Asia.

The administration’s economic managers should prioritize the full reopening of the econ omy to steer it back to its previous high-growth path anchored on accelerated job creation.

No to ‘No Garage, No Registration Act’

The Automobile Association Philippines (AAP) is on the right track in opposing the pas sage of House Bill 31, better known as the No Garage, No Registration Act. This is an updated version of the No Garage, No Car Act of 2016 and the Proof of Parking Space Act filed in 2019.

HB 31 seeks to curb the number of private vehicles on the road and thus address traffic con gestion.

Apart from this, it will negatively affect the automotive industry which provides jobs for many Filipinos and has been a major contributor to economic growth.

The AAP urges the government to look in stead at long-term sustainable solutions that would benefit everyone instead of stopgap mea sures that would inconvenience a large segment of the population.

We agree with the AAP that immediate solutions are required to solve the problem of horrendous traffic congestion in Metro Manila

For the group, the best solution is to ramp up efforts to build an integrated, efficient mass trans portation system that moves people, not just cars. If countries around the world have accomplished this, why not the Philippines, they ask.

Making it more difficult for people to own cars will only lead to more scenes of stranded commuters taking over more than half of the main roads or endless queues at bus carousel sta tions and at MRT and LRT stations.

The AAP suggests that government should strictly enforce existing traffic regulations, such as the No Parking Zone.

By identifying heavy traffic areas and strictly implementing the law against illegal parking through heavy fines on violators, the government can instill discipline not just among private car owners, but among all road users.

To complement this, the AAP suggests that LGUs should provide public parking space or al low pay parking during certain hours on streets that are not heavily congested with traffic.

Building car park buildings on empty govern ment-owned lots is another possible solution as LGUs could derive more income from parking fees.

The stark reality is that Metro Manila and other highly urbanized areas lack enough space to build more roads.

The national government should therefore put more effort in decongesting urban areas for a more sustainable and healthier environment.

We agree with the AAP that immediate solu tions are required to solve the problem of horren dous traffic congestion in Metro Manila.

However, long-term solutions are just as im portant. Requiring all car owners to have their own garages is patently anti-poor and anti-dem ocratic.

(Email: ernhil@yahoo.com)

By Camille Bas-Wohlert

A CRIMINAL conviction and being ousted from parliament has not been enough to stop former immigration minister Inger Stojberg from returning to the political scene as a champion of the anti-immigration right in Denmark.

Stojberg is known in particular for spearhead ing a law enabling the confiscation of jewelry and valuables from migrants in order to “pay” for their stay.

Now she is back on the political scene with her new party, the Denmark Democrats, which are polling at around eight percent ahead of the elections on November 1.

Stojberg says she wants to give a voice to the ordinary people, those “forgotten” by the elites in Copenhagen.

“Inger,” as she is known to her supporters, is frequently met by cheering crowds, from village squares to supermarket car parks.

Her platform is one of less centralization, less influence from Europe -- and fewer immigrants.

The 49-year-old, her copper hair made up into a neat bun, is “quite charismatic,” Kasper Han sen, a professor at Copenhagen University, told AFP.

“And she’s very good at kind of speaking, like everybody understands her,” Hansen added.

Most often she travels with her black labrador “Ludvig”, listed on the party’s website as a can didate -- though in an imaginary canine constitu ency.

For Lars Bregnbak, a member of her party running for a seat in parliament, her success is due to her frankness. People can identify with her, he said.

“She is an ordinary person. She has both feet on the ground.”

Danish values

She says she is a passionate defender of “Dan ish values.”

Last December however, Stojberg was found guilty of flouting her ministerial duties when

she ordered the separation of asylum-seeking couples when the woman was under 18 -- a measure she said was designed to combat forced marriages.

She has argued she has been “punished for trying to protect the girls.”

Her order was judged to be in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights, and a special court sentenced her to two months in prison, to be served at home with an electronic bracelet.

She posted images on social media of her posing with a cake to celebrate the 50th amendment restricting the rights of immigrants

A member of parliament for 20 years, her fel low deputies voted to expel her from the Folket ing (Denmark’s parliament) following her sen tence.

But she immediately hinted at a return to poli tics, suggesting the affair would not be her “last word.”

As a member of the Liberal Party, she has served as minister in three different capacities: for gender equality (2009-2010); then employ ment (2010-2011); and finally for immigration and integration (2015-2019).

It was in the final position that she drastically tightened the Scandinavian country immigration policy.

She posted images on social media of her pos ing with a cake to celebrate the 50th amendment restricting the rights of immigrants.

She published newspaper ads in the Middle East to discourage prospective migrants, and

EDITORIAL

Standing high above the tragedies

THE Philippines, from Batanes to Tawi Tawi, has been wobbling piteously since last weekend after Tropical Storm Paeng (international name Nalgae) hit land and left a swath of destruction and damage in this typhoon-prone country of 114 million.

Relief and rescue officials are still out there on the ground while the sun continues to squint through the November clouds, with of ficials counting the numbers of those killed – more than a hundred – and missing as well as damage to infrastructure and agricultural crops in the billions of pesos.

Last weekend, Paeng’s feroc ity was straight away seen in Cat anduanes with strong winds and heavy rains that induced flooding, landslides and eventual displace ment in other regions of this coun try.

The country was still trying to stretch its limbs from the remorse less jarring by Typhoon Karding, which affected 1.5 million people in Metro Manila, Cordillera and Calabarzon regions when Paeng lashed the whole of the country, not to mention the synchronous

strong earth shocks in the north.

In the Bangsamoro Autono mous Region in Muslim Mindan ao (BARMM) alone, over 78,000 households were reported affected by flooding and rain-induced land slides.

We share the concern raised by UNICEF for children and fami lies affected in the BARMM Re gion and other areas of the country needing water, sanitation and hy giene, health and nutrition, educa tion and protection.

Perhaps it is time we revisited people’s readiness to convey and receive advance warnings of impending storms and floods...

We know that UNICEF in the Philippines is closely monitoring the situation with its UN partners and is coordinating assessments with national and local authorities.

Indeed, as UNICEF Represen tative Oyunsaikhan Dendevnorov said:“The rights of children are under threat with each typhoon that inundates their communities.

“Children are the least respon sible for extreme weather events, and yet they are the ones being displaced, in mental distress and cut-off from schools and hospitals.

Communities in the Philippines

are simply not safe enough.”

We know too that UNICEF and the Department of Social Welfare and Development as well as the local government units have prepositioned emergency supplies for families to respond to affected people’s needs for safe drinking water, sanitation, hygiene, medical supplies, nutrition, education, and child protection.

Perhaps it is time we revisited people’s readiness to convey and receive advance warnings of im pending storms and floods which will not only give people the op portunity to be proactive in pre venting damage to their property but save lives in this country which averages 21 typhoons a year.

Initiatives like this flood early warning system and dike monitoring which should be set up posthaste to address the manner in which natural disasters, such as flooding, can be accurately assessed and when (and how often) warnings should be com municated.

State-of-the-art global forecast systems and early warning mecha nisms are being fine-tuned, to cre ate an operational tool for decision makers, including national and re gional water authorities, water re source managers, hydropower com panies, civil protection and first line responders, as well as international humanitarian aid organizations.

We need not wait for the next weather tragedy.

With fake news free as a bird, apple-pie gatekeepers needed

But one may ask: What is news really?

And many suggesting going beyond the hack neyed “when a dog bites a man that is not news, but when a man bites a dog that is news.”

By Honor Blanco Cabie

FAKE news, a neologism often used to refer to fabricated news, has had push recency by politi cians against media, people against bloggers, and even observers against the traditional mainstream media.

This development has brought some media content analysts to ask: “How did we get here and where have all the credible and sober news gatekeepers gone?”

Before all else, many have been overwhelmed by the surging idea of fake news without really being able to see the lean meat, as it were, from the gaudy, too-too hide.

With the onslaught of online media, particu larly what have been dished out as social media feeds, things read have been given the go-ahead in appearance to be true.

But, more often than not, that is not correct. Neither true.

Fake news, or hoax news, which has existed since ages back recently got to the social media platforms and traditional media columns and air time.

In 2017, accusations and counter-claims of “fake news” flared up almost daily by politicians at the media, by bloggers at fellow bloggers, or by people at bloggers, or by media against each other.

Filipinos, including but not limited to politi cians, hit the cue and joined in the overloaded discussion.

One expert in this category is Forrest Stroud, an experienced professional covering technol ogy, business software and website design, who hit the head of fake news as that which refers “to false information or propaganda published under the guise of being authentic news.”

He adds: “Fake news websites and channels push their fake news content in an attempt to mis lead consumers of the content and spread misinfor mation via social networks and word of mouth.”

called on Danes to report businesses where em ployees did not speak Danish to the authorities in order to track down illegal immigrants.

‘Morally right’

In June, she founded the Denmark Democrats, whose name echoes that of the Sweden Demo crats, in neighboring Sweden, who also champion restrictive immigration policies.

Despite being expelled from parliament, there are no legal obstacles to her return, and in meet ings with voters, her sentence is often seen as a

For what that means really is: something must – and this is not excluding other substantive chunks – be a new information about recent or even buried developments, new and correct in formation about specific and timely events.

Industry observers raise the requisite for heavy-duty and erudite gatekeepers who have minds and eyes that can spot fake news and reduce them to a newsroom halt

Correct in that it does not attempt to mislead but merely provides informative and educational material.

This means news presented must have the quality of being sufficiently interesting, synony mous to newsworthy, to be reported in news bul letins.

In the eyes of newsroom seniors, something is newsworthy if material can generate as much revenue, how many people will be affected, did the event reported happen very recently, is there significant new information previously unknown, was the even nearby geographically, was the event highly unusual, does it make for an entertaining story, or is anyone prominent in volved?

News items and journalism, according to old industry hands, can be divided in different ways although there are patently gray areas, with dis tinctions including between hard news and soft news, breaking news, news analysis, and enter

badge of honor.

“Ten percent of the voting population thinks that what she did was morally right, even if it is illegal,” political scientist Robert Klemmensen told AFP.

In a country where the far right entered parlia ment in 1998, her message is not all that contro versial as “Danes are mostly on the right, against immigration and multiculturalism,” Klemmensen noted.

For instance, the confiscation of jewelry from

prise or investigative reporting.

Many say news coverage traditionally begins with the five Ws – who, what, where, when, why – and, one academic adds, the 6th W or the whence – and the one H – how – with the aca demic adding another H, the hence.

In democracies, news organizations in print and broadcast are often expected to shoot for objectivity in that reporters cover both sides in a controversy and try to eliminate bias.

Some note government interests, as in news agencies run by the government – like the Philip pine News Agency, Bernama of Malaysia, Anta ra of Indonesia, Xinhua of China, among others –where anti-government statements, photographs and insinuations are not allowed.

Observers are not saying these agencies are throwing fake news. That is not so.

Time was when news gatherers got their news from trusted sources and that journalists and me dia outlets were required to follow strict codes of conduct and practice.

But the internet has allowed a whole new way to publish, share and consume information and news with hardly any regulation or editorial stan dards.

Observers note that many people now get news from social media sites and networks and almost always it has become hard to tell whether the stories are credible or not.

There has been an information overload and a general lack of understanding about how the internet works by people has also contributed to a great extent to an increase in fake news or hoax stories.

An expert in digital media, Liverpool-based Simeon Yates, has put it aptly that the economics of social media “favor gossip, novelty, speed and ‘shareability.’”

With the internet and social media making it very easy for anyone to publish content on a web site, blog or social media profile, industry observ ers raise the requisite for heavy-duty and erudite gatekeepers who have minds and eyes that can spot fake news and reduce them to a newsroom halt.

Beat that.

migrants made headlines outside Denmark, but was less of an issue on the home front.

With her Denmark Democrats, Stojberg is competing for votes with two far-right parties, the New Right and notably the Danish People’s Party, which has historically been the leading force on anti-immigration.

Between them, the three parties, which are campaigning to unseat the Social Democrat gov ernment, have the support of some 15 percent of voters, according to polls. AFP

G. Estabillo

EvEryman

DEADLY

POLICE ADMIT

Crowd surge response was ‘insufficient’

SOUTH

Korea’s police chief said Tuesday that officers had received multiple urgent reports of danger ahead of a deadly crowd crush at a Halloween event but their handling of them was “insufficient.”

At least 156 mostly young people were killed, and scores more injured, in a deadly crowd surge late Saturday at the first post-pandemic Halloween party in Seoul’s popular Itaewon nightlife district.

An estimated 100,000 people had flocked to the area, but because it was not an “official” event with a designated organizer, neither the police nor local authorities were actively managing the crowd.

“There were multiple reports to the po lice indicating the seriousness at the site just before the accident occurred,” na tional police chief Yoon Hee-keun said.

Police knew “a large crowd had gath ered even before the accident occurred, urgently indicating the danger,” he said, acknowledging the way this information was handled had been “insufficient.”

Seoul’s interior minister on Tuesday became the first top official to make a clear apology to the public for the disas ter, one of the worst ever in the country’s history.

er happen again.

South Korea is typically strong on crowd control, with protest rallies often so heavily policed that officers can out number participants.

But police deployed only 137 officers to Itaewon for Halloween, while 6,500 officers were present at a protest across town attended by about 25,000 people, local reports said.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-ye ol said Tuesday the country needed to ur gently improve its system for managing large crowds in the wake of the disaster.

“The safety of the people is important, whether or not there is an event organiz er,” he told a Cabinet meeting.

He called for the country to develop “cutting-edge digital capabilities” to im prove crowd management – but critics claim such tools already exist and were not deployed in Itaewon.

Seoul’s City Hall has a real-time monitor ing system that uses mobile phone data to predict crowd size, but it was not employed Saturday night, local media reported.

Lebanon faces power vacuum without president

Aoun’s 2016 win.

“I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere apologies to the public as the minister in charge of the people’s safety for this accident,” Lee Sang-min said before bowing his head before lawmakers and cameras.

Itaewon’s district authorities also did not deploy any safety patrols, with of ficials saying the Halloween event was considered “a phenomenon” rather than “a festival,” which would have required an official plan for crowd control.

ALREADY mired in political and eco nomic crises, Lebanon is now also with out a president after Michael Aoun’s mandate expired without a successor.

is hereby given that

Valle

PRODUCERS RURAL

He promised to investigate what had caused the crowd crush and ensure a disaster on this scale could nev

On the night, tens of thousands of people thronged a narrow alleyway, with eye-witnesses describing how, with no police or crowd control in sight, confused partygoers pushed and shoved, crushing those trapped in the lane.

Analysts say this was easily avoidable, even with only a small number of police officers. AFP

Aoun’s six-year term that came to a close on Sunday was marred by mass protests, a painful economic downturn and the August 2020 mega-explosion of ammonium ni trate that killed hundreds and laid waste to swathes of the capital Beirut.

Today, headed by a caretaker govern ment, Lebanon is unable to enact the re forms needed to access billions of dollars from international lenders to help save an economy in free-fall since late 2019.

In Lebanon, power is divided among the country’s main sects – none of whom hold a clear majority.

Why is there no president?

Aoun left the presidential palace Sun day, a day before the end of his term, cheered on by a few thousand supporters.

In Lebanon, lawmakers vote in parlia ment for president.

Parliament has held four rounds of vot ing since last month, with no candidate garnering enough support to succeed Aoun.

Some lawmakers accuse the powerful Iran-backed Shiite Hezbollah movement and its allies of obstructing the vote to ne gotiate with other blocs.

They adopted a similar tactic in the last election by boycotting the vote in parlia ment – a move that left Lebanon without a president for more than two years, until

Without a dominant party in parlia ment, decisions like electing a president, naming a Prime Minister or forming a government can take months or even years of political horse-trading, some times even leading to violence.

Who rules the country?

The president’s powers fall to the Council of Ministers if he leaves office without a successor.

Aoun signed on Sunday a decree formal izing the resignation of premier Najib Mi kati’s government, in a caretaker role since legislative elections in May.

The move exacerbates a months-long power struggle that has paralyzed the government. AFP

US judge blocks publishing giant’s $2b mega-merger

RIZZA DISTAJO-DE LEON, Petitioner.

x--------------------------------------------x ORDER

This is a verified Petition for Probate of Last Will and Testament of the Late Corazon P. Palacio filed by petitioner Rizza Distajo-De Leon through counsel on August 8, 2022. The petitioner alleges that she is one of the heirs named in the Last Will and Testament of Corazon P. Palacio, deceased, who died in Brgy. Soledad, Sta. Rosa, Nueva Ecija, on March 1, 2022; that the said Last Will and Testament is in the form of a Holographic Will which was written in the handwriting of the decedent, the original copy of which will be presented to the Honorable Court at the time of its probate; that the decedent is an inhabitant/resident of the Philippines and a resident of 131 Batanes St., Galas, Brgy. San Isidro, Quezon City at the time of her death; that she, who is named as one of the heirs in the will, is legally qualified to act as executor thereof, and hereby consents and agrees to accept said trust; that the following persons, of all ages, have been named in the said will as devisees of the deceased, to wit:

Names: Address: Digna Bedana-Mauro Soledad, Sta. Rosa, Nueva Ecija Roberto Palacio 131-B Batanes St., Galas, Brgy. San Isidro, Quezon City Rizza Distajo-De Leon 912 Panay St., Sampaloc, Manila Evelyn Patricio-Lado 131-B Batanes St., Galas, Brgy. San Isidro, Quezon City

The petitioner further alleges that the properties left by the decedent consist of real and personal properties, the gross value of which is approximately Php 4,076.164.81 brokendown as follows, to wit:

Personal Properties (Savings Account) Php 4,946,244.81

Real Properties: Php 2,129,920.00

Gross Estate: Php 4,076,164.81

Moreover, the Petitioner alleges that the testator, at the time of the execution of her said Last Will and Testament on June 16, 1997, was fifty-seven (57) years old, of sound and disposing mind, and not acting under duress, fraud

and was in every respect capacitated to dispose of his estate by will.

The petitioner thus prays that after due hearing, judgment be rendered admitting the above-mentioned Last Will and Testament of the testator to probate and issuing the letters testamentary (or of administration) to herein petitioner and that she will be allowed to serve as such without a bond.

Wherefore, finding the verified petition to be sufficient in form and substance, the same is set for hearing on November 25, 2022 at 8:30 in the morning, Session Hall of Branch 223 of this Court at which date and time, petitioner and counsel are directed to appear to substantiate the allegations of the petition and for any interest persons to appear and show cause why the petition should not be granted.

Let a copy of this Order be published at the expense of the petitioner in a newspaper of general circulation to be selected by raffle pursuant to Section 3 of Rule 76 of the Rules of Court, once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks prior to the date of hearing.

Let a copy of this Order be furnished the Office of the Solicitor General and Office of the City Prosecutor of Quezon City, who are directed to file their opposition to the petition within fifteen (15) days from the last date of the publication of this Order.

The petitioner is hereby directed to furnish the said offices with a copy of the petition and its annexes within five (5) days from the receipt of this Order and manifest to this Court her compliance herewith.

SO ORDERED. Quezon City, Philippines, August 30, 2022.

HON. CARIDAD M. WALSE-LUTERO

POPE Francis will become the first pontiff in history to visit Bahrain, in a trip this week that is hoped will cement ties with Is lam but is also marked by accu sations of human rights abuses in the Gulf state.

The Thursday-to-Sunday visit – the 39th international trip of Francis’ papacy – comes three years after his historic trip to the United Arab Emirates in 2019, where he signed a MuslimChristian manifesto for peace.

But some human rights groups now hope Francis will press Bahrain’s Sunni leader, King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khal ifa, to halt repression against Shiite Muslims, though the rights record of neighbor Qa tar has drawn more attention in recent months ahead of the World Cup.

The Argentine pontiff, 85, has made outreach to Muslim com munities a priority during his papacy, visiting Middle Eastern countries including Egypt in 2017 and Iraq last year while pledging interfaith dialogue with leading Muslim clerics.

On Friday, Francis plans to meet with Sunni Islam’s high est authority, Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, the grand imam of Cairo’s prestigious Al-Azhar mosque and center of Islamic learning, at Sakhir Palace in the center of the country. AFP

THE world’s largest iPhone factory in central China told staff Tuesday it would quadruple their bonuses if they remained at the plant after scores of workers fled a COVID outbreak at the facility.

China is the last major economy com mitted to a zero-COVID strategy, persist ing with snap lockdowns, mass testing and lengthy quarantines in a bid to stamp out emerging outbreaks.

But new variants have tested local of ficials’ ability to snuff out flare-ups faster than they can spread, causing much of the country to live under an ever-chang ing mosaic of COVID curbs.

Taiwanese tech giant Foxconn’s plant in Zhengzhou has been under lockdown since mid-October, with the company saying it is testing employ

ees daily and keeping them in a closed loop.

But complaints from workers circulat ing on Chinese social media have alleged poor working conditions and inadequate virus protection for employees who are not infected.

“I only took a handbag, three packets of instant noodles, four bottles of milk, two bottles of water and some bread,” an escaped Foxconn worker named Li Yan who walked for three hours after leav ing the facility told the state-run China Newsweek.

Videos shared online over the weekend showed Foxconn employees fleeing the company’s campus and returning to their hometowns on foot, in a bid to avoid CO VID travel restrictions. AFP

A FEDERAL judge on Monday blocked publishing giant Penguin Random House from acquiring its competitor Simon & Schuster, sid ing with the US Justice Department which had argued against the megamerger.

The deal, worth $2.2 billion, had been announced in November 2020 and would have brought together two of the five largest American publish ers.

US District Court Judge Florence Pan, in her ruling, said the govern ment had convincingly shown that the merger would substantially lessen competition “in the market for the US publishing rights to anticipated topselling books.”

Pan said her full reasoning for the decision would be issued under seal, as it relied on confidential business information.

The Justice Department hailed the decision, which comes only a week before crucial midterm elections in which Democratic President Joe Biden has tried to paint his party as defending consumers’ interests.

The Justice Department under Biden has been more aggressive than his predecessors in attempting to block mergers, with mixed success so far.

“Today’s decision protects vital competition for books and is a vic tory for authors, readers, and the free exchange of ideas,” said Assistant At torney General Jonathan Kanter in a statement. AFP

TOKYO began issuing partnership certificates to same-sex couples who live and work in the capital on Tuesday, a long-awaited move in a country without marriage equality.

The certificates allow LGBTQ partners to be treated as married couples for a range of public services in areas such as housing, medicine and welfare.

More than 200 smaller local authorities in Japan have already made moves to recognize same-sex partnerships since Tokyo’s Shibuya district pioneered the system in 2015.

While the status does not carry the same legal rights as marriage, it represents a welcome change for couples like Miki and Katie, who have long had no of ficial proof of their relationship.

“My biggest fear has been that we would be treated as strangers in an emer gency,” Miki told AFP at home in Tokyo, where photos of the Japanese 36-yearold with her American girlfriend Katie, 31, adorn the fridge.

Without a partnership certificate, the couple, who asked to be referred to by their first names, used to tuck a note inside their wallets with the other’s contact details.

“But these were insubstantial, and we felt official documents certified by the local government would be more effective,” Miki said as their grey-and-white cat frolicked in a rainbow necktie. AFP

Pope’s first visit to Bahrain to boost Islam ties

China iPhone factory under lockdown quadruples bonus for workers who stay

‘Huge step for LGBTQ rights’: Tokyo recognizes same-sex relationships

IN MEMORY OF 156 FATALITIES. Shoes retrieved by police from the scene of a fatal Halloween crowd surge that killed at least 156 mostly young people in the Itaewon district are displayed at a gymnasium for relatives of victims to collect in Seoul on November 1, 2022. AFP

EVERYONE GETS SWABBED. Residents wait in line during COVID-19 tests of the entire population in Macau on November 1, 2022. AFP

RECOGNITION AT LAST. Mamiko Moda (left) and her partner Satoko Nagamura with their son holds a same-sex partnership certificate as they pose for a photograph after a press conference at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building on November 1, 2022. Tokyo began issuing partnership certificates to same-sex couples who live and work in the capital. AFP

Aboitiz, MGen eye Casecnan hydro plant

ABOITIZ Power Corp. and Meralco PowerGen Corp. will study the privatization of the 165-megawatt Casecnan hydropower plant which is scheduled early next year, company executives said Tuesday.

State-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. issued the invitation to bid for the privatization of the Casecnan plant in Nueva Ecija province.

“We have always expressed our interest to participate in the privatization of PSALM assets if it fits our portfolio. For Casecnan, our intention is for our joint venture with Scatec, SN Aboitiz to review and participate,” ,” Aboitiz Power president Emmanuel Rubio said.

Meralco PowerGen president and chief executive Jaime Azurin said they would also study the Casecnan plant privatization. “We are going to look at it,” Azurin said.

PSALM asked interested parties to submit letters of interest by 5 p.m. on Nov. 18. Only interested parties that submitted an LOI will be allowed to participate in the bidding. Alena Mae S. Flores

Senator asked to support motorcycle taxi measure

MOVE It asked Senator Robin Padilla to champion a measure legalizing the motorcycle taxi business to give jobs to thousands of motorcycle owners and provide more versatile public transport, especially during heavy traffic.

Move It chairman Francis Juan said motorcycle taxis – which are illegal under existing laws but operating temporarily for data gathering to guide Congress on the bill’s details – could have saved the day for thousands of commuters stranded by typhoon Paeng a few days ago.

“The gridlock caused by Paeng immobilized jeepneys and buses. Commuters were helpless in the rain for hours without a ride. If the motorcycle taxis have been fully mobilized and legalized, there would have been more of them to serve the commuters,” he said.

Juan said motorcycle taxis could transport passengers through traffic and, in normal situations, to destinations not served sufficiently by public transport such as Bonifacio Global City from EDSA and inner roads.

There should be a mix of modes of transport to give commuters a choice, he said. Darwin G. Amojelar

PSA forecasts higher rice, corn harvests in Q3

RICE and corn production in the third quarter would likely be higher than in the same period last year, based on crop standing as of Aug. 1, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.

Palay production was estimated to go up by 2.2 percent in the third quarter to 3.83 million metric tons from 3.75 million MT a year ago. The updated palay production estimate was, however, lower by 0.4 percent than the 3.85 million MT estimate as of July 1.

The estimated harvest area may have expanded by 1.7 percent to 928,2000 hectares from 912,660 hectares in the same period of 2021, while yield per hectare was seen increasing 0.5 percent to 4.13 MT from 4.11 MT a year ago, it said.

Corn production also likely increased 3.3 percent in the third quarter to 2.37 million MT from the actual estimate of 2.29 million MT in the same period last year. The updated corn production estimate was also higher by 1.2 percent than 2.34 million MT as predicted in July.

STI Education’s income jumps 300% to P414m

By Jenniffer B. Austria

STI Education Systems Holdings Inc., owner of one of the country’s largest network of schools, said Tuesday net income surged by more than 300 percent in fiscal year ending June 2022 on significant increase in enrollment.

STI’s fiscal year starts July 1 of each year and ends June 30 of the following year in line with the academic calen dars of public and private education institutions.

STI said in a financial report filed with the stock exchange profit reached P414 million as of end-June, up from P102.8 million recorded in the same period last year.

Gross revenues in the fiscal year also rose 28 percent to P2.67 billion from P2.08 billion a year ago.

Tuition and other school fees in creased 29.5 percent to P2.437 billion from P1.882 billion as enrollees for the school year 2021-2022 jumped 18 percent to 82,629 from 70,223 in the previous school year.

It said the number of new students also went up by 75 percent to 22,142 from 12,679 in the school year 20202021.

Revenues from educational services and royalty fees went up by 17 percent on the back of a 13-percent increase in enrollees of franchised schools.

STI has a network of 63 schools spread across Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao. It operates 60 STI-branded colleges and three STI-branded educa tion centers.

Shell completes sale of 45% stake in Malampaya project

By Alena Mae S. Flores

will continue to own a 45-percent operat ing interest and maintain operatorship of the Malampaya gas field.

PSE INDEX CLOSING

Friday, October

-77.15 PTS.

6,153.43

1.000000

1.157100

SHELL

Petroleum N.V. said Tuesday it completed the sale of its entire shareholding in Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. to Malampaya Energy XP Pte Ltd., a subsidiary of Prime Infrastructure Capital Inc. led by businessman Enrique Razon Jr.

Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. or Spex is the operator with a 45-per cent stake in the Malampaya natural gas project northwest off Palawan. The Department of Energy earlier approved the transaction between Shell and Prime Infra which it found to be technically, financially and legally qualified as the operator of the gas-to-power project.

Shell said the sale and control trans fer of Spex to Prime Infra became effec tive Nov. 1. This followed the receipt of consent from the joint venture partners and regulatory approvals.

“Since operations began in 2002, the Malampaya gas field has supplied an

important part of the Philippines’ ener gy demand through the dedicated work of our partners and staff, past and pres ent,” said Shell upstream director Zoe Yujnovich.

Spex received its license to operate in the Philippines in 1990. It then became the operator of Malampaya to explore and develop Service Contract 38 off shore northwest of Palawan.

“This sale supports our strategy to create a resilient and competitive up stream portfolio,” he said.

Spex staff will continue their employ ment under the new ownership.

Under Prime Infra’s ownership, Spex

The other SC 38 consortium members are UC38 LLC, a subsidiary of Udenna Corp. and PNOC Exploration Corp., representing the government’s interest. They own 45 percent and 10 percent participating interests in the country’s biggest natural gas-producing field, re spectively.

Shell said the deal would have no impact on its other businesses in the Philippines.

“The Philippines remains an important country for Shell after over a century of successful operations. Shell will contin ue to pursue opportunities in the Philip pines where it can leverage its global ex pertise in line with its Powering Progress strategy,” the company said.

Shell signed an agreement to sell inter est in Malampaya in May 2021.

Prime Infra signed a share purchase agreement acquiring MEXP, the legal enti ty which had previously signed a deal with Shell to acquire SPEX in July.

0.127402

1.008878

0.737028

0.709522

0.645300

2.652661

0.266276

0.707014

0.000064

0.026434

Economist sees sustained growth of money supply, bank loans in Q4

By Julito G. Rada

DOMESTIC liquidity, or the money supply circulating in the financial system, and bank loans are expected to grow faster in the coming months as the economy continues to recover from the impact of the global health crisis, an economist said Tuesday.

Latest data from the Bangko Sen tral ng Pilipinas showed that bank loans expanded by 13.4 percent in September from a year ago, faster than 12.2 percent in August, on sus tained demand for credit.

Domestic liquidity or M3 grew slower by 5.0 percent year-on-year to about P15.4 trillion in Septem ber from the 6.7-percent expansion in August. Data showed that on a month-on-month seasonally-adjust ed basis, M3 decreased by 0.2 per cent.

Gov’t regulations expected to increase demand for flexible workspaces

By Othel V. Campos

A PROPERTY consultancy firm asked real estate developers to work closely with flexible workspace operators while highlighting the projects’ sustainable features.

Colliers Philippines, in its latest of fice space report, forecasts increased de mand for flexible workspaces because of changes in the work-from-home reg ulations of the government.

“Our forecast for a gradual market recovery in view of market headwinds like the increased WFH [work-fromhome setup] allowed under the Board of Investments should compel developers and tenants to zero in on opportunities,” Colliers said.

The firm recommended that flexible

workspace operators expand to capture demand from smaller space require ments and hybrid work models such as hub-and-spoke.

Data showed that as of third quarter, flexible workspace vacancy in Metro Manila was at 20 percent, down from 38 percent in the second quarter.

Colliers said office transactions in the first nine months climbed 72 percent year-on-year—an indication of improved leasing activities in Metro Manila as the market sustains its recovery.

Outsourcing and traditional firms continued to lead office space absorp tion within and outside Metro Manila. A further correction in rents is expect ed by yearend before bottoming out in 2023, it said.

Outsourcing firms dominated deals in the third quarter. Colliers said it was expecting a net absorption at 140,000 square meters by the end of the year, compared to −273,300 sq. m. net takeup in 2021.

Colliers advised tenants to continue implementing “flight-to-quality” by tak ing advantage of newer buildings offer ing discounted rates and incentivizing employees to return to the office.

It said vacancy increases would con tinue to be supply-driven, with Quezon City and Fort Bonifacio dominating new completion. Vacancy in the third quarter was at 17.7 percent.

“By the end of 2022, we see vacancy rising to 19.5 percent due to new supply as well as muted pre-leasing in upcom ing buildings,” Colliers said.

“For the coming months, bank loans and M3 growth could still fundamentally accelerate amid mea sures to further reopen the economy towards greater normalcy,” Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort said in a report.

Ricafort said these measures in cluded the proposed nationwide Alert Level 1 and the resumption of in-person schooling. The govern ment aims to have 100 percent of public schools conducting physical classes by November, while blended learning is still allowed for private schools.

He said these measures were con sistent with the government’s 8-point agenda to mitigate the adverse eco nomic effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine for more than eight months or since Feb. 24, 2022.

“[These] would help further in crease economic activities as well as the demand for loans/credit…,” Ricafort said.

By Darwin G. Amojelar

AIRASIA Philippines said Tuesday the volume of passengers it flew in the third quarter climbed 574 percent from a year ago on more relaxed domestic and in ternational travel restrictions.

The budget airline said the number of passengers it carried from July to Sep tember reached 1.22 million, up from 180,971 passengers it served in the same period last year.

Load factor improved by 12 percent age points to 89 percent in the third quarter from 77 percent a year earlier.

“International flights delivered a healthy load factor at 76 percent while domestic flights remained very strong at 90 percent,” AirAsia Philippines said.

It said the available seat kilometers, which measures an airline’s passenger capacity, increased by 455 percent yearon-year, while the number of flights flown surged 486 percent.

AirAsia Philippines said it flew to 25 airports, with 40 percent international destinations in the third quarter.

The company said it was expecting the 100-percent return of its 2019 fleet by end of the year, allowing it to in crease flight frequency and capacity to pre-March 2020 level.

The airline flies more than 90 times a day to 16 domestic and seven interna tional destinations.

AirAsia Philippines is set to reopen its Taipei, Taiwan and Osaka flights in November.

TRADE Secretary Fred Pascual pushed for the renewal of preferential tariff en joyed by Filipino exporters under the Eu ropean Union’s Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus.

GSP+ is an incentive arrangement that grants the Philippines zero tariffs on 6,274 products or 66 percent of all EU tariff lines. This preferential trade is maintained, while the country upholds its commitments under the GSP+ select 27 international conventions on human

rights, labor, good governance and envi ronment.

Pascual delivered a strong message of commitment to the EU-PH partnership in trade and investment before the EU Parliament Committee on International Trade on Oct. 27. He presented in the Eu ropean Parliament in Brussels during the critical stage of the monitoring process for the renewal of the Philippines GSP+ preferential status.

Manifesting willingness to work close

ly with the EU, Pascual underscored EUGSP+ support in improving bilateral rela tions and socio-economic development in the Philippines and the policies and pro grams of the Marcos administration that reaffirms the country’s compliance with international conventions.

“The Philippines is an attractive invest ment destination given its solid macro economic fundamentals, enabling policy environment and young and trainable workforce. With a stable and predictable

political regime, our country is well-posi tioned in the Indo-Pacific to become a re gional hub for manufacturing, innovation, training, and education,” he said.

The trade chief recognized the EU as one of its top partners in trade and invest ment, attributing the EU-GSP+ as an en abling factor to attain this.

He said that since the Philippines’ suc cessful application to the GSP+ in 2014, the country had benefited from increased market access to the EU.

AirAsia PH says volume of passengers climbed 574% to 1.22m in third quarter

DTI pushes for renewal of preferential tariff enjoyed by exporters under EU’s GSP+

SM CITY SORSOGON OPENING. SM City Sorsogon, SM Prime Holdings Inc.’s 81st supermall and the fourth in the Bicol

region, opens to the public on Oct. 28. The 40,000-square-meter mall will serve shoppers in beautiful and bustling Sorsogon City and be a catalyst for employment and business opportunities in the area. Leading the opening ceremony are (from left) SM Engineering Design and Development president Hans Sy Jr., SM Supermalls president Steven Tan, Sorsogon First District Rep. Dette Escudero, Senator Chiz Escudero, Most Rev. Jose Allan Dialogo, Vice-Gov. Krunimar Escudero, Sorsogon City Mayor Ester Hamor, 2nd District Rep. Manuel Wowo Fortes, Vice-Mayor Eric Dioneda, SM Prime president Jeffrey Lim and Super Value Inc. executive director Herson Sy.

P&G’S AWARD. Procter & Gamble Philippines is recognized as the Top Employer of The Year at the 2022 Asia CEO Awards. The award is given to a company that achieved both employer and enterprise success through talent management excellence. P&G is known to highly invest in talent and leadership development. The company stands apart with its meaningful careers leading billion-dollar global brands, providing international exposure and assignments and coupling these with hands-on mentorship from the best business leaders locally, regionally and globally.

Sports

scores

points in KBL debut

RHENZ Abando made his de but of Anyang KGC, which pulled off a 70-68 triumph over of Suwon KT Sonicboom in the 2022-23 Korean Basketball League tournament at the Goy ang Gymnasium.

Abando, who recently recov ered from a hip injury, scored six points and grabbed four rebounds for Anyang as they moved ahead in the solo lead with their 6-1 win-loss slate.

Omari Spellman banged in 21 points, while Park Jihoon and Yang Heejong added 10 points apiece for Anyang.

Ha Yoongi had 19 points for Sonicboom, which has a 1-5 card.

Earlier, RJ Abarrientos and Ulsan Hyundai Mobis fell to Changwon LG, bowing 68-79, at Changwon Gymnasium.

Abarrientos was held to just nine points with five assists and four rebounds.

Japanese mentor heaps praise on Yulo’s all-around dominance

By Randy Caluag

JAPANESE coach Kugimiya Munehiro said Filipino ace gymnast Carlos Edriel Yulo has blossomed into an all-around performer, further boosting his chances to win multiple medals in the World Championships, and possibly in the Olympics.

“He is getting progress as (an) allrounder,” said Munehiro in describ ing his Filipino ward’s performance in the qualifying round of the World Artistic Gymnastics Championship in Liverpool, England late Monday night.

Relying heavily on his top-notch performance in his pet floor exer cise event, the 22-year-old Manileno qualified in four of six events in the medal round that will start on Nov. 5 (PH time).

“We will try our best in the fi

nals,” added the Japanese mentor, who molded Yulo into a world-class athlete.

Yulo dominated the medal rounds of the all-around exercise, floor ex ercise, vault and parallel bars. He topped the floor exercise with a score of 15. 266, was second in the vault (14.849) and fourth in parallel bars (15.3). They were enough to put him at third place in the all-around behind Japanese Wataru Tanigawa, who toscored with 84.731 points and Daiki Hashimoto (84.665).

He placed 10th in the rings (914.066), 31st in the horizontal bar and 102nd in the pommel horse (11.766).

Yulo was in his best shape at the

floor – as what he showed during practice—as he got the approval of the judges with the best score in both difficulty (6.4 points) and ex ecution (8.866). It was in the floor exercise where Yulo won his first world title in Stuttgart, Germany three years ago.

The all-round finals take place on Friday (Saturday PH time), with Yulo vying against 23 other com petitors. He will return to the floor for the medal round on Saturday and the vault and parallel bars on Sunday. Yulo is looking for a backto-back gold medal finish in the vault, which he topped last year in the World Championship held at Kitakyushu, Japan.

1st-time vault routine scares Caloy

By Peter Atencio

FILIPINO gymnastics’ star Carlos “Caloy” Yulo looked amazing as he impressed the judges in the men’s qualifying events of the 2022 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships on Monday evening (Tuesday morning in Manila) in Liverpool.

But did you know that he was ex tremely frightened doing his routine in one of his favorite events – the vault, where he is reigning champion?

“Vault is really scary. That’s my first time doing the Ri Se Gwang -handspring on, pike off -- so that’s re ally big for me,” said the 22-year-old Yulo.

The 4’11” Yulo posted a score of 14.849 on the vault to qualify, after using a variant of the Ri Se Gwang

move, which consists of a front hand spring double-piked salto with a half twist.

“There are still areas that aren’t perfect. Every movement still has a deduction but I’ll try my best. My goal is to show my gymnastics to the world,” said Yulo.

Yulo was flawless in the floor exer cise with a tournament-leading score of 15. 266, placed second in the vault and emerged fourth in parallel bars (15.3). His scores in these three events put him at third place and in the fi nals of the all-around behind Japanese Wataru Tanigawa, who topscored with 84.731 points and Daiki Hashimoto (84.665) – both Tokyo Olympic med alists.

“It gave me confidence to compete in the finals and p-bars, I’m really glad

I made it to the finals,” added Yulo.

A fifth finals stint is possible in the rings, where he placed 10th, good for a reserve slot. It was topped by British bet Courtney Tullock, Zhou Jingyuan of China and Adem Asil of Turkey.

“Today, I didn’t lose to myself and I’m really grateful for that,” said Yulo, who bucked pain in his wrists.

“My wrists are painful and I cannot really put 100% in. It happens but it’s all right, there’s nothing to be nega tive about – just move on. I switched my focus to the things I can still do,” he said.

Yulo then vowed to be better in the finals.

“I’m going to try to beat what I did today. I’m going to be more aggres sive, added Yulo, who is coached Jap anese Munehiro Kugimiya.

Premier mobile sportsbook site SportsPlus officially launched

THERE’S nothing quite like being an avid sports fan. Regardless of your game of choice—be it basketball, soc cer, volleyball, boxing, or any other spectator sport—there is an unmistak able thrill from following the struggles and successes of world-class athletes. In many ways, fans share in the losses and victories of their favorite teams and athletes from around the world, creating a communal experience un like any other.

Now, this experience gets richer and more immersive than ever with SportsPlus, the premier mobile sportsbook site that offers a conve nient and seamless experience for users all across the country so that they, too, can “Win the Game.”

Officially launched on Novem ber 2, SportsPlus capitalizes on the world-renowned passion Filipinos have for their favorite sports—and hopes to drive this passion towards an experience that is more exciting than ever. By offering competitive odds, SportsPlus allows fans to feel the same surge of excitement over their victories being tied to the re sults of each game.

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SportsPlus is made simple, as well, with the site’s integration of GCash’s services. Cashing in and out is as simple as channeling funds to and from your GCash e-wallet. Thus, the payout experience is es sentially done in real-time, allow ing users to play and win whenever they choose.

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Lee Jaedo was the highest scorer for the Sakers with 18 points.

The Sakers hiked their slate to 3-3, with Assem Marei hit ting a double-double as well with 14 points and 13 rebounds.

Justin Knox paced the Phoe bus with 17 points and nine re bounds.

Ulsan dropped to a 4-2 re cord to tie with Wonju DB and Goyang for second.

Meanwhile, SJ Belangel shot six triples and tallied 25 points for the Daegu KOGAS Pegasus in their 92-83 beating of Goy ang at the Goyang Gymnasium.

Belangel’s showing raise Daegu’s standing to 2-4.

Peter Atencio

23 squads vie in PNVF Champions League

TWENTY-THREE teams—all local government unit (LGU) based—are seeing action in the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) Champions League that kicks off this Satur day (November 5) and ends two Sundays later (November 13) at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.

“This year’s Champions League is all about the LGUs so we expect more exciting matches ahead,” said PNVF president Ramon “Tats” Suzara as he thanked Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chair man Noli Eala for supporting the annual event that the PNVF start ed in 2021 in a bubble environment in Lipa City.

“It’s going to be a battle of pride for these LGUs. It’s going to be more competitive than last year,” Suzara said. “This year’s tourna ment is also be part of the selection for the national teams next year.”

The 23 teams—15 men and eighth women—were drawn to their respective pools in a virtual proceeding supervised by PNVF Don Caringal on Sunday.

The men’s Pool A is composed of the PGJC Navy Sea Lions, Bas ilan-Tennun Spikers, Cignal HD Spikers, VNS-Quezon City Grif fins and AIP-University of Bagu io-Benguet Province Cardinals.

Pool B is made up of the Aklan Ati-Atihans, Imus City- AJAA Spikers, National University (NU)-Pasay City Bulldogs, One Bulacan Republicans and PikitNorth Cotabato AMC G Spikers.

In Pool C are the University of the East (UE)-Cherrylume Red Warriors, Baguio City Highland ers, Bacolod City Tarags, Sta. Rosa City Lions and Army-Taguig City Troopers.

In women’s action, Pool A is composed of the University of Batangas-Batangas City Lady Brahmans, ICC-Caloocan City Lady Bluehawks, KMS-Quezon City Lady Vikings and Imus CityAJAA Lady Spikers.

Pool B in the women’s side is made up of last year’s first runnerup CPS-Antipolo City, Davao City Lady Agilas, UE Manila-Cherry lume Lady Red Warriors and To modachi Bulacan Bulakenyas. Team Dasma (men) and F2 Lo gistics (women) won the last year’s Champions League inaugurals.

diverse array of sport offerings— from the NBA and UFC to Premier League and NFL—Pinoy sports fans are sure to have a fun and “sulit” sportsbook experience with SportsPlus. More than that, the PAGCORaccredited service has designed SportsPlus for maximum ease of use. Registration is quick and sim

ple, enabling all users—who must be at least 21 years old—to immedi ately enjoy the site’s benefits. With rapid registration, faster KYC, and strong data privacy, SportsPlus us ers can enjoy the game to its fullest without worrying about any bumps or buffers.

SportsPlus hopes to drive the shared Filipino passion of sports towards a more excit ing experience than ever before.

Carlos Yulo shows his expertise in the parallel bars during the World Artistic Gymnastics Championship in Liverpool, England. Jat Tenorio

Carlos Yulo’s ‘scary’ vault show Jat Tenorio

MY childhood summertime was usually spent attending catechism class every Saturday.

Ate Helen, our catechism teacher, would teach us about Christian values and read bible verses to us.

We would sing children’s songs and play fun games.

Sometimes we would have merienda, prepared by Lola Pilar who also owned the place where the classes were held.

My childhood friends and I would always look forward to having pan de sal (with palaman) and paired with black gulaman

At the end of the summer, just before we return to school, we would have a recital, a performance of sorts.

I remember spending the weekdays practicing how to balance several bangas on my head. Ate Helen taught us how to make dikin, a circular pad used when car rying the banga. We made it using card board, then wrapped textiles around it.

Balancing several bangas on our little heads had been challenging. I can’t even remember how many I broke just to learn the dance steps for the banga dance.

As a kid, I didn’t know the cultural importance, or the history behind the dance. All I knew then was that it was a fun thing to do with my friends.

Later on, as I was exposed to different cultures, I gained a deep understanding and appreciation for the banga dance. Apart from the dance technique, one has to master, the dance demonstrates how the Cordilleran women would fetch water supply from the river and bring them back up the mountains where they live, toddling through rice pad dies and rocky paths.

It is a reflection of the skill and strength of women, as well as their grace and agility as they carry heavy clay pots filled to the brim with water.

In elementary days, I remember dancing the Bulaklakan with a bamboo floral arch and wearing colorful Balint awak. In my second year in high school, we performed an Igorot dance during

DANCING

BY GLAIZA LEE

THE CULTURES

our school’s foundation day.

While those performances became good memories, in hindsight, it would give more meaning if we knew the sig nificance of the dances, instead of learn ing just the movements.

“We don’t want our Philippine dances and songs to be just relegated as mere entertainment. They are more than that.

At the core of these dances are the his torical, socio-religious, and cultural backgrounds of the indigenous com munity where they originate. Our indig enous dances are our spiritual and social expressions. They speak of our national identity as Filipino people,” said CCP president Margie Moran-Floirendo during the recent launch of TA(Y)O: Daloy ng Katauhan, Indak ng Pagka kakilanlan instructional videos on Phil ippine folk and indigenous dances.

TA(Y)O features nine Philippine folk and indigenous dances from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Each video explains the significance of the dance, the music, and the costume, with dance instruction and performance.

“I noticed that there are only a few digitized resources that educators, such as myself, can use to teach our students

She added: “We poured our hearts into creating these videos because we believe that it is our responsibility as Filipino people to preserve and promote our culture to the young generations. We hope that through these creatively-done videos we will be able to spark inter est and develop an appreciation for our Philippine folk dances among the young Filipinos.”

The Luzon dances will premiere on line on November 13, Visayas dances on November 20, and Mindanao dances on November 27.

Featured dances include Tumahik of Horses and Men of Yakan; Dumendingan: A Bountiful Harvest, Kambadak-badak: Radiance of the Beautiful Maiden Pan aad: Saot kay San Roque, Pastores Tomas Opus: A Tradition in Transition Sayaw Kay San Antonio de Padua: Weaving Faith and Resiliency Futageh: A War rior’s Strength, Bagul: Spirit of Playful ness, and Tarok: A Second Life

The videos were directed by Stephen Ramos Biadoma (UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe), Percival Carel (Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group), and Rafael Froilan TA(Y)O collaborated with local dance groups and cultural communities, includ ing the Philippine Barangay Folk Dance

The team behind ‘Ta(y)o’ with National Artist Alice Reyes, CCP AED head Eva Mari Salvador, CCP trustee Nikki Junia, segment directors Percival Carel and Rafael Froilan, overall director Stephen Ramos Biadoma, Benhur Abulencia (dance director, Hinugyaw Cultural Dance Troupe), Dr. Randyll Villones (president, Phil Folk Dance Society), Odysso Oyales (dance director, Melengas Dance Ensemble), Irish Obusan of ROFG, and Dr. Lordinio Vergara

Troupe, ROFG with Clarendon College Ampud Performing Group Hanunuo Tribe (MANGYAN) of Oriental Mindoro, Ifugao Intangible Heritage and Per forming Arts Group, Agdahanay Folk loric Group PNU Visayas Makawiwili Dance Troupe, DVFGMNHS Mahid aiton Dance Troupe, Koronadal Hinu gyaw Cultural Dance Troupe, Melen gas Dance Ensemble, and Kamasahan Yakan Community Dance Company

The CCP has always been committed to the dissemination, preservation, and promotion of folk and indigenous arts by conducting cultural research, mount ing showcases, and festivals, and orga nizing workshops.

IT IS quite an unusual combination: two vastly different exhibitions tied together by Fundacion Sanso’s art scholarship program and the legacy of Presidential Medal of Merit Juvenal Sanso

The first is a peculiar exhibition of sculptural interpretations of San so’s skull paintings which he popularized in the 1960s. Entitled Past Expressing after a 1960 ink painting of a skull wreathed with flowers by Sanso, the exhibition is of jazzed-up resin casts of a clay sculpture interpretation of the painting by young sculptor Pepe Mendoza com missioned by Fundacion Sanso for the purpose of raising funds for its scholarship program for art students of Bulacan State University.

The roster of artists who were invited for this exhibition is an ex citing mix of established and emerging artists who gave a variety of responses to the call of Fundacion Sanso. Agnes Arellano, Richard Buxani, Jonathan Dangue, Janos Delacruz, Louie Ignacio, Ken neth Montegrande, Francis Nacion, Roel Obemio, Marge Organo and Melissa Yeung Yap, all responded by painting over the resin casts. While Michael Cacnio, Anton Del Castillo, Kristine Lim, Jomike Tejido, and the very young artist Teo (the son of Michael Cacnio) all responded in a sculptural manner.

Toym Imao’s sculptural interpretation, Birth of Athena is a radical re interpretation of the skull emerging from a sculpted head. These works, which are currently exhibited at Fundacion Sanso, will be made available for purchase through Art Lounge Manila, to bolster the funding for the scholarship and grants programs of Fundacion Sanso, which connects it to the second exhibition called Pamana sa Panahon ng Pagbabago Pamana sa Panahon ng Pagbabago features works by the cur rent batch of scholars of Fundacion Sanso at the Bulacan State Uni versity. The exhibit, which was structured as a competition, is Fun dacion Sanso’s way of introducing this new batch of scholars to art practitioners, gallerists, and collectors, who will eventually be involved in the growth of these budding artists. Noreen Alfonso, Jack De Castro, Geofrey Allan Diezma, John Niño S. Esguerra, Charles Andrei Espiritu, Kent Francis Macapagal, John Miguel St. Montemayor, Marc Louie Punongbayan, and Miguel Vol untad created works inspired by the idea of the intangible heritage that should be passed on to the younger generations, particularly in a world adapting to vast social changes in response to COVID-19. The scholarship program, which was formalized in 2019, has had 22 scholars in its roster of beneficiaries. Other programs by Fundacion Sanso are a curatorial grant, microgrants for artists in collaboration with Linangan Art Residency and the Cultural Center of the Philip pines 13 Artists Awards, and an upcoming thesis production grant in spired by the late artist-professor Leo Abaya for Fine Arts students at the University of the Philippines which is in collaboration with the Imao and Alcuaz families.

Both exhibitions run until November 12, 2022. Fundacion Sanso is open Monday to Saturday, except holidays, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The museum is at 32 V.Cruz St., Brgy Sta. Lucia, San Juan City, Metro Manila. Admission is free.

There were fun and festive with parols in natural ma terials—raffia, abaca, and burlap—crafted by local ar tisans. There are also foldable lanterns perfect for gifts overseas, and tabletop abaca cone trees and topiaries for smaller spaces. Handmade capiz ornaments in angel, star, and tree shapes were among the best-sellers.

Kultura’s favorite Pinoy Santa made a comeback wear ing traditional Filipino attire with new designs—bibing ka and puto bumbong, coconuts, and even a boodle fight.

Kultura’s Christmas Market was also a treasure trove of gift ideas: inabel bed runners, blankets, and throws from Ilocos; table napkins handpainted by local artisans; and handwoven blankets and bath towels from Bicol. Foodies will love the local liquor; teas in pandan, lemon ginger, and tanglad flavors; and gourmet coffee and chocolate.

Shoppers can also enjoy services like embroidered monograms to customize gifts and special gift wrapping with sustainable sinamay bags and pandan gift boxes.

The best part is that you can now discover the best of local craftsmanship for a uniquely Filipino celebration at all Kultura outlets nationwide.

Discover and delight in local artistry at www.kultur afilipino.com Stay updated with new arrivals, sales, and more by following us on IG @kulturafilipino and FB @ kulturaPH/

KULTURA Christmas Market, a showcase of the store’s décor, gifts, and more, recently opened its doors to mall goers at the Atrium East, Level 2 of the Podium.

With a towering Christmas tree made of homespun baskets as its centerpiece, it was also an exciting pre view of what’s in store for shoppers in all Kultura outlets nationwide.

Raffia parols handcrafted by local artisans are some of the Kultura Christmas Market bestsellers

The Pinoy Santas are finally here with local Christmas-themed traditions like puto-bumbong, bibingka, coconut, street foods, and pinoy boodle fight

The Kultura Christmas Market’s creative centerpiece,  a towering tree made from homespun baskets, welcomes H.E Philippine Ambassador to the UAE Hjayceelyn ‘Joy’ Quintana, Asian Development Bank’s Roquena Domingo and Plannet’s President Haydee Domingo, shown here with SM’s Millie Dizon Market at The Podium

Toym Imo’s ‘The Birth of Athena’ (2022) on mixed media

‘Neighborhood’ (2022) by Charles Andrei Espiritu, acrylic on canvas, 11x13 inches

John Miguel St. Montemayor’s ‘QuaranTeams’ (2022), acrylic on canvas, 14x16 inches

For inquiries, please email funda cionsanso@gmail.com or check out the institution’s Facebook and Instagram pages.

Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group’s live performance of Patores Tomas Oppus

The UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe performing during the ‘Ta(y)o’ launch at CCP Main Theater Lobby

‘Ta(y)o’ features nine Philippine folk and indigenous dances from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao

about Philippine folk dances. This obser vation became the basis behind Ta(y)o,” shared CCP trustee Nikki Junia

QC honors exemplary individuals, institutions in 20th MLQ Gawad Parangal

ELEVEN exceptional QCitizens and institutions who brought honor and pride to the city and the nation received the prestigious 20th Manuel L. Quezon Gawad Parangal as part of the city’s 83rd Founding Anniversary.

With the theme, “Sama-samang Pagbangon sa Bagong Panahon,” this year’s Gawad Parangal recognizes individuals and organizations who exhibited excellence in their respective fields – empowering their fellow QCitizens and contributing to the development of the city.

Mayor Joy Belmonte and Vice Mayor Gian Sotto led the awarding ceremony which was held at the EVM Convention Center on Thursday night.

“Ang pagpupugay na ito ay hindi lamang pagkilala sa mga natatanging hiyas ng ating lahi. Sabi nga ni Presidente Quezon, ang inyong tagumpay ay hindi lamang tagumpay ng ating bayan, kundi maituturing na yaman ng diwa ng buong sangkatauhan. I dare say that the accomplishments that we are celebrating today are real treasures of the human spirit,” Mayor Joy Belmonte said.

Among this year’s awardees are:

Former Secretary of the Interior and Local Government Eduardo Año for his tenacity as a retired general for the Philippine Army, as well as for being one of the leaders of the National Task Force Against COVID-19. He is also known for his leadership to suppress lawless violence during the Marawi Seige, and is credited for the neutralization of countless terrorists and communists.

Dr. J Prospero De Vera, Chairperson of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), for being an exemplary academician who championed quality education by mobilizing stakeholders to give the Filipino Youth broader opportunities. He is also one of the persons who lobbied for the enactment and implementation of the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education.

Ana Rosa S. Almario, who currently serves as the Vice President of the Adarna House and School Director of Raya School, a progressive Elementary School in QC, for being a staunch advocate of progressive education, literature and of all things Filipino. Her passion to protect and perpetuate the Filipino language has become the iconic bridge that connects future generations to their rich cultural inheritance.

Ditta Sandico-Ong, a visionary fashion designer who embraces sustainable and environmentally-friendly production processes that creatively transform indigenous fibers, such as banana, pineapple and abaca into fashion art forms, designing wraps that follow the movements of the body.

Antonio Joselito Lambino II, Managing Director for Strategic Communications at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, for genuine and sincere public service that improved the country’s financial position thereby uplifting

the quality of life of the Filipino people.

Sonia Malasarte-Roco for her vigilant and tireless crusade to promote education, social, cultural and environmental causes. She co-founded “Our School,” a center for childhood education at the Ateneo Psychology Department. She also co-founded the Metro Manila Community Orchestra, a 50-piece community-based orchestra composed of young musicians whose age range is between 11-28 years old.

Ms Therese Clarence “Reese” Fernandez-Ruiz, a known advocate of an eco-ethical lifestyle. She is a Filipino social entrepreneur and President and Founding Partner of Rags2Riches, a social enterprise established in 2007 that empowers Quezon City-based artisans through fashion and home products that follow the principles of environmental and ethical production through which she has also helped to alleviate poverty in Payatas, Quezon City.

Alfredo Macam-Yao showed QCitizens how an entrepreneurial spirit can ignite a passion to build a business empire, but how it can just as easily rekindle hope in those who may feel weighed down by difficult circumstances. He is the founder of Zest-O, Macay Holdings, Inc. and Philippine Business Bank (PSE: PBB).

Danny Buenafe, the News Bureau Chief of ABS-CBN Europe and ABSCBN Middle East, for his commitment to bringing the truth, professionalism, and journalistic ethics in this era of fake news and disiinformation. He uses his voice to keep the public informed, enlightened, and vigilant.

World Vision, the largest non-profit organization that is committed to protecting and caring for indigent and vulnerable Filipino children. In Quezon City, World Vision has a sponsorship program for 2,000 children in Barangay Sauyo. They provide school supplies and the other educational needs of these children. Aside from this, World Vision also has a partnership with the Quezon City Government for the Project Against Child Exploitation (Project ACE) that addresses the worst forms of child labor, including online sexual exploitation of children, and violations of acceptable conditions of work for children.

Estrel’s Caramel Cake, a cake shop that makes the most delectable desserts. It was established in Manila in 1946 by the late Estrella Ylagan. In the 70’s, it found a permanent home in Quezon City and since then they have been making homemade caramel cakes, which are among the best in the world.

Vice Mayor Gian Sotto also praised the awardees for “continuously reflecting God’s goodness through their acts of service.”

“To our esteemed awardees, I would like to commend you for reaching this far. The length and excellence of your service to the city makes you worthy of receiving this prestigious Manuel Luis Quezon Gawad Parangal,” the vice mayor said. (Photos by Manny Palmero)

Message

My warmest greetings to the awardees of the 20th Manuel Luis Quezon Gawad Parangal and all our QCitizens as we celebrate our city’s 83rd Founding Anniversary.

In recent years, we have faced a number of challenges that nobody in the world could ever envision, testing our abilities and our faith. But as servant leaders who vowed allegiance to our people, we proved our resilience and adapted to the changes brought about by the new normal.

Together, we discovered more of our capabilities to improve our means and make our local government closer to our citizens.

More challenges will come our way, but with hard work and dedication we stand firm and stronger as ever as a city. With the steadfast support and contribution of all stakeholders, we continue to serve, doing all we can and giving our best for every QCitizen. Together we continue to make what seems impossible, possible.

As highlighted by the theme of our founding anniversary this year, I strongly believe that nothing is insurmountable if we all play our parts and contribute as best as we can. It is only through working together that we can do things differently and with excellence. Our efforts will surely produce results, as well as hope and inspiration to our people.

Such selfless acts of service are best exemplified by the roster of exceptional individuals and institutions we honor with our city’s most prestigious award, the Manuel Luis Quezon Gawad Parangal Award. Our awardees have proven their worth in the various fields, including arts and culture, social sciences, science and technology, business, media and entertainment, education, and government service.

They are the epitome of excellence and selflessness. They all possess extraordinary zeal to serve the people and the communities even during these challenging times.

And we, in Quezon City, are truly proud of them.

Let each one of us continue to uphold what is right and best for our beloved city. May we all be inspired to work and serve as role models who embrace greatness not just for our QCitizens, but for the whole Filipino nation. Maligayang ika-83 taong pagkakatatag sa ating minamahal na lungsod at mabuhay tayong lahat!

INSTITUTION CATEGORY

SECRETARY EDUARDO MANAHAN

AMBASSADOR ALFREDO MACAM YAO

that

DR. J PROSPERO “POPOY” DE VERA For his outstanding contributions in improving the quality of education and providing more and better learning opportunities for the Filipino youth.

MS. DITTA SANDICO-ONG For her outstanding contribution in Filipino fashion and overwhelming advocacy for sustainability and cultural heritage.

MR. ANTONIO JOSELITO LAMBINO II For outstanding achievements and contributions in the improvement of the country's economy and the overall betterment of the quality of life of his countrymen.

MS. SONIA MALASARTE- ROCO For outstanding achievements and contributions in improving the plight of fellow citizens and communities.

MS. THERESE CLARENCE “REESE” FERNANDEZ-RUIZ For her dedication to help empower Philippine- based artisans, her valuable contributions in improving the quality of life of the people and for the environmental ethic principles which she follows.

MS. ANA ROSA S. ALMARIO For being a staunch advocate of progressive education, literature and of all things Filipino

MR. DANNY BUENAFE

For his outstanding contributions in the field of broadcasting and his commitment to accuracy and truth in news reporting.

WORLD VISION For their strong commitment to the plight of children and to those in need.

ESTREL'S CARAMEL CAKE For their unwavering dedication to tradition which allows them to produce the most delectable desserts and the most identifiable form of Filipino artisanship.

MA. JOSEFINA G. BELMONTE City Mayor

punctuates memorable year with first EP P-POP GROUP

AS THE boundaries of P-Pop continue to expand, Alamat sets itself apart by using the tropes of Western pop music and Kpop to create a distinct audiovisual brand of music that is heavily influenced by the sights and sounds of the Philippines, both modern and ancient.

As one of the hottest Pinoy pop boybands in the scene right now, Alamat stands out for its use of iconic Filipino symbolisms and themes as its stylistic take-off point. Similarly, the group’s modern pop sound is lyrically peppered with rootsy Pinoy motifs.

And its effort to raise the Philippine flag on the global stage, the group – composed of Taneo, Mo, Jao, Tomas, R-Ji, Valfer, Gami, and Alas – has been lauded for championing Pinoy roots and culture through their music. There were several nods, too, including Best P-pop Group with nominations at the 2022 Awit Awards and several pop culture media outlets.

Speaking to Manila Standard Entertainment during the launch of Pasulong, the group’s debut EP, Alamat members talked about how they stay grounded and true to their core.

“As Alamat, it always keeps us grounded when we acknowledge our roots as Filipinos. From the very start we always say na huwag nating hubarin yung sariling atin. Part of our mission is to introduce our culture to the youth through music because it helps us explore and learn how rich our culture is,” the group said.

Training the spotlight on Filipino ‘winners’ and their success stories

Puregold rings in its twenty-fifth year in the retail industry with one important goal: to highlight life “Panalo Stories” of its customers— Filipinos across the country.

Puregold begins by telling the tales of triumph of six sought-after personalities in the fields of entertainment, music, and sports.

The supermarket retail chain announced its partnership with these endorsers through a campaign called “Nasa Iyo ang Panalo.”

Featuring videos that reveal the journeys these individuals took to get to where they are right now, it singularly conveys an important message: that all Filipinos can win in life, too.

Vincent Co, President of Puregold Price Club, Inc., says, “Our success would not have been possible without our customers, who have been with us all these years. As we look forward to our 25th year, we aim to show our appreciation through inspiring Panalo Stories, in the hope that Filipinos will see how success is possible for them as well.”

Puregold’s “Nasa Iyo ang Panalo” tells the story of Justin de Dios, popularly known as “Justin,” the sub-vocalist and creative lead of Filipino boy band SB19. A singer, rapper, and actor, Justin once doubted that he could achieve recognition for his musical talent, but with sheer determination, he has become a shining star in Philippine Pop.

May panahong walang gustong makinig sa’kin; mga panahong gusto ko nang sumuko.

Pero hindi ako nagpatalo,” he shares in his Puregold video, which has already garnered 3.9 million views to date, a testament to how many people listen to and believe in him now.

A beautiful face with stellar talent, as we have seen in the many teleseryes that she has starred in, Francine Diaz reveals a life that was filled with struggle. In her “Nasa Iyo ang Panalo” video, she gives us a glimpse of how much she has been through. “May mga iniyakan, pero mas marami akong nilabanan. Ang pagpursigi ko, walang cut dahil alam kong nasa akin ang panalo.”

With her family as Francine’s inspiration, the young breadwinner worked hard to become who

The Extended Play launch held at the Tektite Auditorium on October 28 also served as the group’s “showcase.” The boys performed their songs “Aswang,” “Maharani,” and “Hala” together with P-Pop Generation.

For the EP’s carrier single, the boys naturally draw inspiration from local lore as they do on the R&B-flavored dance track “Aswang.” The track is produced by Swedish music producers but is given a distinct Pinoy flavor through its theme and lyrics. Ninuno Media head and director Jason Paul Laxamana wrote the Tagalog lyrics for “Aswang.”

Then there’s the funky-sounding danceclub track “Gayuma” which ups the party atmosphere of “Pasulong” as Alamat sonically fleshes out this Curseboxx-arranged track.

Also giving Pasulong more music heft is ace songwriter Thyro Alfaro who writes and produces the equal parts R&B-inflected bop and love song track titled “Maharani.”

A highlight on the six-track EP is the festive and rousing new original titled “Hala.” Funky and surging, this song weaves traditional folk melodies and march cadences with electrifying modern dance-

pop. This original is a collaborative effort between Alas, Jao, Taneo, R Ji, Mo and Tomas, and Laxamana.

Completing the EP are previously released singles “ILY ILY” featuring Lyca Gairanod and the NEXXFRIDAY produced, Jin Chan-written tune “Say You Love Me.”

“Our worries have turned into excitement after completing our first EP,” Tomas said. Naalala ko pa datiyung checklist ni Direk Jason (that we needed to accomplish), sabi ko saisip ko ‘kaya baitong matapos sa ganito kaikli na time?’ Natapos din at kaya naman pala basta may tiwala at nagtutulungankaming Alamat and with (the support of our fandom) Magiliws.”

“Every song is memorable. But I can say that the actual recording is something I won’t forget. We were given the freedom to add to our harmonies and napaglaruan namin yung mga ideas, especially on ‘Maharani’ which we added a lot of harmonies,” Tomas noted.

To which Taneo agrees. “I would say ‘Maharani’ resonates with me the most since it’s a song that greatly represents what our sound is like, which is a fusion of the traditional Filipino and the modern. It’s a

unique sound and a song that I personally enjoy.”

For Jao, a high point in their creative journey in Pasulong was when “Taneo and I were given an opportunity to choreograph one of the songs (“Gayuma”) which was written by Mo, Taneo, and Alas. That and being involved in songwriting for some of the songs is a fun experience. We are also happy to be executing ideas with our creative director and being involved overall with the artistry in Alamat.”

For inspiration, R Ji cited, “Our families even though we’re away from them. Everything that we do, we do for them to make them proud. That’s why we always give our best when it comes to our craft. Since we’re here, we’re going to push ourselves to the limit to become the best versions of ourselves. And that includes being the best performers that we can be.”

“I found brotherhood and a different kind of brotherly love in this group. Not to mention our one common denominator, love for music,” states Mo. “It brought us closer, that even if we have different tastes, we have one goal — to leave a mark on people from all walks of life

when it comes to genre, style, and sound. And of course, we also aim to spread all regional languages in the mainstream. In addition, I believe that our love for music has made this group stronger because music was, and still is, a big influence and importance in our lives.”

And what’s the message that Alamat wants to put across with Pasulong?

“If there’s one thing, it’s that we never give up on something we believe in,” Alas said, adding that it’s not the group’s style to take things for granted. “We know success is very difficult (to achieve). You need to sacrifice everything for it, but it’s more difficult to regret when the opportunities (that come our way) are gone.”

“In this EP, we are encouraging our audience to broaden their minds and appreciate the different genres and sounds we made an offer,” Mo chipped in.

“We also want to inspire those who aspire to be like us the same way they inspire us,” R Ji concludes. “(It’s about) hard work and we want to show everyone, that you can be proud of your hometown origins. We’re proudly ‘Tatak Pinoy’ and that’s what being in Alamat is all about.”

By Patricia Taculao

In their video, the soon-to-be first-time parents profess how their love is their biggest victory, and how their partnership has led them to believe that they will win every battle they may face. “Hindi mo kailangang maging magisa,” the couple discloses. “May kasama kang sasalubong sa kahit anong ibigay ng tadhana.”

Conquering Tiktok, arguably the most popular social media platform of this generation, influencer, actress, and “Reyna Batangueña of the Tiktokverse” Queenay Mercado, also has a success story to share.

Now with over 12 million followers on Tiktok, Queenay, through her videos, took pride in her beginnings, which catapulted her into virality. Still, Queenay remains true to her roots.

As she says in her “Nasa Iyo ang Panalo” video, Isang maliit na boses mula sa malayo . . . ipinagmalaki ko at ipinarating sa buong bansa, at sa ibang parte ng mundo.”

With another inspiring tale of hard work and perseverance, pole vaulter and record-holder EJ Obiena completes the six successful individuals featured in “Nasa Iyo ang Panalo”.

EJ’s grit and determination led him to his status as the highly esteemed athlete he is today.

He continues to compete and bring success not just to himself, but also to the Philippines. He says in his video, “Sugod lang hanggang tuktok, dahil kahit anong mangyari, alam kong nasa akin ang panalo.”

Puregold customers and followers of its digital channels can watch for more “Panalo Stories” from these personalities, and from ordinary Filipinos, as the retailer celebrates its 25th year.

As Vincent affirms, “Puregold is honored to have this opportunity to encourage Filipinos to take hold of their destinies and begin their journeys towards their greatest aspirations. We hope that ‘Nasa Iyo ang Panalo’ communicates a very clear message: ‘Success— Panalo is in each and every one of us’.”

For more updates, like @puregold. shopping on Facebook, follow @puregold_ph on Instagram and Twitter, and subscribe to Puregold Channel on YouTube.

ENTERTAINMENT has come a long way over the years. From traditional platforms, it adapted to an online space that became more accessible to the public anytime, anywhere. While many companies are transitioning online, KROMA Entertainment Inc. opted to combine traditional media with digital elements. Now known as a “tradigital” entertainment company, KROMA launched several projects that left a significant mark in the industry.

“We love using the word ‘tradigital’ because we employ the rigor of traditional media, and we extend it to the digital experience,” said KROMA Chief Executive Officer Ian Monsod during the KROMA Overload trade event last October 24, Monday.

In just six months after KROMA’s launch, the company, through its brands: ANIMA, Kroma PubCo, LiveMNL, NYMA, PIE, Paradise Rising, and Secret Menu, made relevant contributions to film, music, and content creation.

ANIMA, an entertainment production studio based in Manila, is known for releasing several critically-acclaimed films like LSS Hintayan ng Langit, and OTJ: The Series. And as a new year draws near, ANIMA has a lot in store for its viewers, further emphasizing Filipino talent on the silver screen through an exciting movie lineup for 2023.

First on the list is Nego King Philippines, a local adaptation of the popular Korean series of the same title. Audiences will see Filipino host Sam YG’s negotiating skills to secure a special deal with well-known brands.

The film studio is also venturing toward other film genres to cater to the public’s preferences with its upcoming releases. ANIMA plans to release romantic films, such as Reset U/I, starring Enchong Dee and Alexa Ilacad, and Missed Connections starring Miles Ocampo Kelvin

content and experiences related to music, sports, and sneaker culture.

PARADISE RISING, KROMA’s music label partnership with 88rising, successfully represented Filipino creativity on the global music stage.

Filipino-Australian singer Ylona Garcia brought over 300 million streams across audio and video platforms for her songs, including “Entertain Me,” which she co-wrote. The track is the official theme song for NEON, the first Filipino agent of Riot Games’ Valorant. She will perform alongside other Asian talents like Joji, NIKI Rich Brian Jackson Wang, and more at the Head In The Clouds Music & Arts Festival on December 9, Friday, and December 10, 2022, Saturday, at the SM Festival Grounds Parañaque City. “There is so much more to come with KROMA. We are committed as ever to inspire and entertain the world with the best of Filipino creativity, through the most innovative means, to bring Filipino talent to the world stage,” Monsod said.

KROMA has sprinted in the entertainment industry since its official launch, proving that time shouldn’t be a roadblock to producing quality content that supports and emphasizes Filipino talent for everyone to see.

P-pop boy group Alamat creates a distinct audiovisual brand by using the elements of Filipino music, both ancient and modern

In their first EP, Alamat encourages listeners to broaden their minds and appreciate the different genres and sounds they produced ALAMAT

Monsod proudly

Royce Cabrera, and Maris Racal Yet the film industry isn’t the only entertainment sector the ANIMA plans to develop with their plans. Kroma PubCo also announced the launch of Complex Philippines in 2023. As one of the most recognizable media brands for youth culture in the United States, there is much to

forward to when it comes to

Highlighting Filipino talent on the world stage

In every initiative, KROMA always puts the skills and creativity of Filipinos at the center.

Justin de Dios, one of the faces of Puregold’s ‘Nasa Iyo ang Panalo’ videos, is now a big name in Philippine Pop

she is today—a gifted actress with fans who adore her, as well as projects and endorsements lined up for her to take.

Also featured in Puregold’s “Nasa Iyo ang Panalo” is celebrity couple Luis Manzano and Jessy Mendiola, both big names in the local entertainment industry even before their paths crossed.

Queenay Mercado, Tiktok celebrity, influencer, and actress, shows how proud and thankful she

she

from in her Puregold video