Manila Standard - 2022 November 21 - Monday

Harris sets US ‘New Initiatives’

America’s VP here for talks on climate, security, trip to Palawan

By Rey E. Requejo

UNITED States Vice President

arrived in the Philippines on Sunday night and will launch what the US government described as “New Initiatives” covering climate action, energy security, and sustainable infrastructure to strengthen the alliance between the longtime treaty allies.

Harris attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders meeting in Bangkok, Thailand for US President Joe Biden and is set tohold bilateral talks with President Ferdinand

Climate change top of mind at APEC

CLIMATE change was on everyone's mind at the 29th Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Thailand, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Saturday night in arrival remarks at the Villamor Airbase.

“Every discussion that we had—you can talk about the economy, you can talk about geopolitics, you can talk about anything…You talk about fisheries, you

Speaker’s office, Tingog party-list aid flood victims

OFFICIALS of Speaker Martin G. Romualdez and Tingog Party-list's Offices on Sunday paid flood-hit Malalag town in Davao del Sur a visit to distribute relief goods to the victims of massive flooding due to continuous heavy rains.

The Office of the Speaker distributed on Sunday 1,300 relief packs for the victims while Tingog Party-list led by Reps.

Senator bares 31.1m vaccine doses wasted

ABOUT

Cayetano said they do not know the exact cost of the wasted vaccines because the price of these is covered by nondisclosure agreements.

‘LIBRENG SAKAY FUNDING IN NEXT YEAR’S BUDGET’

THE Department of Transportation's (DOTr) free ridership program could be extended to next year, as funding for it was included in the proposed 2023 budget, Senator Sonny Angara said Sunday.

Twitter in turmoil with exodus of key staff

SAN FRANCISCO—The future of Twitter seemed to hang in the balance Friday after its offices were locked down and key employees announced their departures in defiance of an ultimatum from new owner Elon Musk.

Fears grew that a fresh exodus would threaten the very existence of one of the world's most influential internet platforms, which serves as a key communication tool for the world's media, politicians, companies, activists, and celebrities.

BADJAO, AETA RESCUED FROM STREETS—DSWD

THE Department of Social Welfare and Development has started rescuing Badjao and Aeta people begging on the streets of Metro Manila and other big cities during the Christmas season.

Secretary Erwin Tulfo ordered the start

According to ex-employees and US media, hundreds of employees chose "no" to Musk's demand that they either be "extremely hardcore" or leave the company.

"So, my friends are gone, the vision is murky, there is a storm coming and no financial upside. What would you do?" tweeted Peter Clowes, who refused Musk's final warning.

Musk, also the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has come under fire for radical

PNP WARNS PUBLIC OVER RASH OF FAKE PESO BILLS

FORMER President and now Senior

a “very good impression” in his first participation at the 29th Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Bangkok, Thailand.

"He certainly made a very good impression on the leaders of the very important economies—and not only the very important economies but also the great economic thinkers of the world," Mrs. Arroyo said.

He personally invited Mrs. Arroyo to accompany him during the APEC Summit, noting that her experiences and insights were valuable.

“I say secret weapon because I’m the newbie here. I’m the new leader.

That’s why when we started the meeting and they’d see GMA, they’d say, ‘Ah my good friend! My good friend!' Then it would be easy to start talking to them,” Mr. Marcos said.

TINGOG

Technology

“This

House

Officials of Speaker Martin G. Romualdez and Tingog Party-list distribute relief goods to the victims of massive flooding due to continuous heavy rains in Davao del Sur. The Alagang Tingog led the distribution of assistance in Malalag, while the Alagang Tingog GenSan will hand out aid in Alabel, Sarangani today. Ver Noveno

Deputy Speaker Gloria MacapagalArroyo said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. made

The President earlier described Mrs. Arroyo as his "secret weapon" during

his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Bangkok.

Migrant Workers Secretary Susan

party-list Reps. Yedda Marie Romualdez and Jude Acidre have filed a bill seeking to establish the Philippine Online Library that will house digitized copies of all textbooks and reference books necessary for the public education of elementary and secondary students.

Bill (HB) No. 1582 or the proposed Philippine Online Library Act provides that the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Department of Information and Communication

(DICT) jointly manage the Online Library.

bill seeks to establish the Philippine Online Library and mandate the digitizing of all textbooks necessary for the public education of elementary and secondary students to ensure access to and availability of learning materials and references,” Romualdez and Acidre said on the measure which is now pending before the House Committee on Basic Education and Culture.

VEEP WELCOME. US Vice President Kamala Harris is welcomed by government officials upon her arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila on Sunday. Behind Harris is her husband, US Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff. Danny Pata

THE Philippine National Police (PNP) on Sunday reminded the public to remain vigilant against the proliferation of fake peso bills, especially during this Christmas season.

talk about governance, you talk about anything—and the subject of climate change will make itself felt,” Marcos said.

Kamala Harris

Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio at Malacanang on Monday. The US VP arrived in the country

‘Econ reforms make PH attractive’

KEY economic reforms make the Philippines an attractive destination for foreign investors, Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual said over the weekend.

In a meeting with Thai business lead ers in Bangkok, Pascual echoed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and said Thai busi nesses should seize the opportunity of in vesting in the Philippines and take advan tage of the country’s improved business climate.

“Friends, the Philippines is open for business… We have undertaken a number of reforms to make the Philippines even more attractive for investors and business

Harris...

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around 6:52 p.m. Sunday for her three-day visit.

According to the US Embassy, Har ris was welcomed by US Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson, US Embassy Philippines Deputy Chief of Mission Heather Variava, Philippine Am bassador to the US Jose Manuel Romual dez, Pasay City Mayor Imelda CalixtoRubiano, Pasay Rep. Antonio Calixto, and Reynold Munsayac, spokesperson of Vice President Duterte-Carpio.

Harris will meet with President Marcos Jr. and Duterte-Carpio today and visit Pal awan—the Philippine province closest to the territories in the disputed South China Sea—on Tuesday, November 22.

She would be the highest-ranking American official to visit the island adja cent to the contested Spratly Islands.

“The United States and the Philippines enjoy an alliance and partnership based on deep historical, economic, and cultural ties, and our shared democratic values.

The United States and the Philippines stand together as friends, partners, and allies,” said the statement released by the US Embassy in the Philippines Informa tion Office.

“Now and always, the US commitment to the defense of the Philippines is iron clad, and we are committed to strengthen

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“And so again, this is something that we all seem to have realized and we have come together to try to mitigate.”

Marcos said there would be a push by Asia Pacific countries to enforce climate agreements already in place.

Marcos arrived before 11 p.m. with First Lady Liza Marcos, former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, House Speak er Martin Romualdez, and some Cabinet members.

Vice President Sara Duterte and other officials welcomed him at Villamor Air

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Yedda Marie K. Romualdez and Jude Acidre gave 1,000 food packs last Friday and Saturday.

“In keeping with our commitment to pro vide relief and assistance, we immediately respond to help our people who are in des perate need of food and other basic necessi ties in times of calamities,” Acidre said.

The Alagang Tingog Digos spear headed the distribution of assistance in Malalag.

Since November 17, the groups have served rice porridge (lugaw) to affected residents. They also facilitated shelter as sistance to some residents whose houses were destroyed by the calamity.

On Monday, the Alagang Tingog Gen San is scheduled to distribute relief assis

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changes at the California-based firm, which he bought less than a month ago for $44 billion.

He had already fired half of Twitter's 7,500 staff, scrapped awork-from-home policy, and imposed long hours, all while his attempts to overhaul the company faced backlash and delays.

His stumbling attempts to revamp user verification with a controversial subscription service led to a slew of fake accounts and pranks and prompted major advertisers to step away from the platform.

On Friday, Musk appeared to be pressing on with his plans and reinstated previously banned accounts, including that of comedian Kathy Griffin, which had been taken down after she impersonated him on the site.

Musk did not immediately welcome back former US president Donald Trump, saying the "decision has not yet been

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Still, based on the data and informa tion provided by Department of Health (DOH) Officer-in-Charge Maria Rosario Vergerie, Cayetano said the wasted vac cines were 12 percent of the 250.58 mil lion doses given to the Philippines. But the DOH said this was within the

es,” Pascual said in his speech.

To ease foreign ownership restrictions and entice investors, the Trade chief said the government had amended the Public Service Act, the Foreign Investment Act, and the Retail Trade Liberalization Act.

“We’ve also enacted the Corporate Re covery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act or CREATE, which reduces corporate income tax and provides tier-specific in centives for foreign investors,” Pascual

ing our economic and investment relation ship,” it added.

Vice President Harris’s visit “reaf firms the bilateral alliance and will spur cooperation on a range of issues, includ ing advancing clean energy, addressing the climate crisis, promoting inclusive growth and innovation, increasing access to quality education and health resources, combating trafficking in persons, facing common security challenges, supporting freedom of the seas, and deepening peo ple-to-people ties,” it added.

Among the new initiatives Harris is expected to announce on behalf of the US is that the U.S Department of Energy, US Department of State, and the Philippine Department of Energy will establish an Energy Policy Dialogue.

“(This) is a high-level platform for the two nations to develop new forms of energy cooperation, including short and long-term energy planning, offshore wind develop ment, and grid stability and power transmis sion,” the embassy statement said.

Under the “Energy Policy Dialogue,” Harris will announce that Manila and Washington are initiating negotiations on a civil nuclear cooperation agreement (“123 agreement”) to support expanded cooperation on zero-emission energy and nonproliferation priorities.

“Once in force, this agreement will provide the legal basis for US exports of nuclear equipment and material to the Philippines,” it said.

base, where Marcos summarized the high lights of his four-day trip.

Supply chains, food supply, digitaliza tion, and women empowerment were also tackled during the meetings, Marcos said.

He said he found the meetings encour aging because most countries identified similar problems.

“It was a very useful and productive process because as I said, we have now a way forward for all of us members of APEC,” he said.

The President also said it was impor tant that he had one-on-one meetings with Asia-Pacific leaders in Bangkok.

“In a sense, one of the most important things at least for me—the reason I thought

tance in Alabel, Sarangani.

Last Monday, Speaker Romualdez turned his birthday celebration into an op portunity to help, raising P70.92 million in cash and pledges for disaster victims with the Navotas fire victims as the first benefi ciaries with P5 million and relief goods.

Earlier, the House of Representatives raised P49.2 million in cash contributions and pledges and in-kind donations such as blankets, food items, and toiletries from lawmakers and private entities for the Paeng relief drive.

A total of P120 million in cash donations were generated since the Paeng relief drive.

The House of Representatives ex pressed its “sincerest and profound grati tude and appreciation” to its members, volunteers, and private entities that helped in its fund drive through House Resolu tion (HR) No. 531 unanimously adopted by its members. Rio N. Araja

made" on the return of the ex-leader.

Trump was banned for inciting last year's attack on the Capitol by a mob seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 US election.

But hours later, Musk posted a poll to Twitter asking users to vote "yes" or "no" on whether to "Reinstate former President Trump," though there was no clear indication that he would adhere to the results of the ad hoc survey.

Musk has done similar polls in the past, asking followers last year if he should sell stock in his electric car company Tesla.

'Not super worried'

Fevered talk of the site's imminent demise was driving record-high engagement on Twitter, according to Musk.

In a tweet, the South African-born billionaire said: "Record numbers of users are logging in to see if Twitter is dead, ironically making it more alive than ever!"

Musk added that the "best people are staying, so I'm not super worried." AFP (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

allowable 30 percent wastage set by the World Health Organization.

Moreover, the Covax facility has com mitted to replacing 3.8 million expired doses.

The reasons for the wastage include the short shelf life of vaccines from the Covax facility, natural disasters, or de struction due to temperature, discolor ation, and particulate matter. Macon Ramos-Araneta

said.

This law also gives the President the ability to design support packages for highly desirable projects, he added.

The Trade chief also cited policies that seek to expand and diversify trade and in vestment and ensure competitiveness in the business sector.

“Partners, one of our goals is to de velop globally competitive and innovative industries that support inclusive and sus tainable growth.

For this, we’re also integrating trade, investment promotion and industry devel opment policies,” said the Trade secretary.

In the meeting, Thai industries ex pressed interest in investing in the Philip

“The United States is committed to working with the Philippines to increase energy security and deploying advanced nuclear reactor technology as quickly as safety and security conditions permit to meet the Philippines’ dire baseload power needs.”

“Such a deployment would support both energy security and climate goals, as well as support workers and businesses in both countries,” the embassy stressed.

The US also vowed to support the de velopment of a nickel and cobaltprocess ing facility in the Philippines, which will expand the production of refined nickel and cobalt in the Philippines by 20,000 metric tons per year.

The project will advance the sustain able development of critical minerals es sential to the technologies for the clean energy transition.

The US will also partner with the Phil ippines’ Energy Development Corporation (EDC) to develop a geothermal project in Mindanao that will expand access to clean energy, reduce emissions, diversify the Philippines’ energy mix, and bring down energy costs for consumers.

Under her so-called “Building the Project Pipeline,” Harris initiated the des ignation of an office of the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) in US Embassy in Manila to help US compa nies and financiers invest in the Philippine market, supporting the energy and infra structure needs of the Philippines and the

that I must attend these conferences is one, that I know now—I have spoken to, I have discussed many issues with all the leaders of our region, of the Asia Pacific,” he said.

“They now know me and they know what I’m about—we have discussed— they know what the Philippine position is on several issues.”

Among the bilateral meetings the President held were those with Chinese President Xi Jinping, French President Emmanuel Macron, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacida Ardern and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

One result of these meetings, Mr. Marcos said, was that Saudi Arabiaagreed to pay the

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Ople described Mr. Marcos’ first APEC as “highly successful.”

She said he developed a good rapport with other economic leaders he met, particularly Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince, describing their exchanges as “very relaxed, very uplifting.”

“You would see that both sides were excited to engage, especially when he spoke to the Crown Prince, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman of Saudi Arabia,” Ople said.

"The moment they sat down they seemed like friends who have reunited, telling stories, both forward-looking, both visionaries, and bothproud of Filipinos. That was their common ground,” she added.

Earlier, Speaker Martin Romualdez

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"The COVID-19 pandemic has manifested the significance of digital technology, especially in the lives of children, serving as an important tool for their education, socialization, expression, and inclusion. Schools shifted to online learning and offices and workplaces moved to remote work," they said.

“Thus, digitizing textbooks and references and the creation of this online library will match the pace of emerging technologies. This will enable the students to have an enhanced learning experience, ensure that they are skilled in using computers, and have equal access to the increasingly digitized world."

Section 4 of the proposed measure requires DepEd to ensure access to the digitized copies of textbooks by providing computers, laptops, orappropriate wherewithal to all primary and secondary public schools nationwide.

Similarly, to ensure access to digitized

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of the rescue operation last Nov. 18 in the National Capital Region alone on 100 Badjaos from Mindanao.

He assured that the indigenous people would not only be sent back to their

pines in a wide range of areas that include infrastructure, transportation, tourism, and food security.

Kriengkrai Thiennukul, Federation of Thai Industries chairman, said through stronger partnerships between the Philip pines and Thailand, the two countries can help each other in bolstering economic growth.

“We are ready to support… investing in food security and infrastructure such as transportation and promoting tourism with the Philippines to enhance the busi ness sector for mutual expansion between the two countries in the future,” Thien nukul said. Vince Lopez (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

broader Indo-Pacific region.

“This office will ensure that USTDA’s current pipeline of bankable projects reaches financial close and that new proj ect opportunities are identified in partner ship with the Asian Development Bank, US development finance institutions, pri vate banks, and other country partners in the region,” it said.

“Partnering more strategically with re gional financiers will ensure high-quality infrastructure projects are financed and implemented using US technology and expertise, creating mutual benefit among the Philippines, the United States, and the broader Indo-Pacific Region,” it stated.

Harris will also launch the “Indo-Pacif ic Smart and Secure Ports Development” where the United States will help build partner capacity to identify and mitigate cybersecurity risks in critical seaport in frastructure.

It will also promote the use of trusted vendors for the installation and mainte nance of digital and automated port infra structure, as ports modernize and become “smarter” and “greener.”

To enhance existing defense coopera tion between the two countries, the US has allocated over $82 million towards the implementation of the 2014 Enhanced De fense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), which is anchored on the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty and 1999 Visiting Forces Agreement. (See full story online at ma nilastandard.net)

unclaimed salaries of overseas Filipinos who lost their jobs during the pandemic.

Meanwhile, Camarines Sur Rep. Lray Villafuerte on Sunday said the President's advocacy of urgent climate action on the international stage has cast him as a champion or point person for high-risk de veloping economies that, like the Philip pines, are seeking financial and technical aid from wealthy nations that have grown richer from their largely unchecked green house gas emissions, which are responsi ble for for fast-rising global temperatures.

He noted that in his engagements at the just-concluded 29th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, “Mr. Marcos had

said President Marcos shone as a savvy international relations leader promoting the Philippines during the APEC Summit.

He said the President’s efforts to promote the Philippines as an investment hub and advance its regional interests during the APEC Summit are a resounding success, based on what transpired during the event.

Mr. Marcos, he said, was not only able to effectively articulate the Philippine position on pressing global issues but he also established warm relations with fellow heads of state, particularly during the bilateral meetings held on the sidelines of the APEC meeting.

“The points the President has raised during the various APEC sessions resonated with other leaders of member economies and attuned with the common objective to revitalize the Asia-Pacific region as the main engine of global economic recovery and growth,” Romualdez said.

copies of textbooks, the DICT shall provide fast and reliable internet access to each primary and secondary public school.

“In order to offset expenses related to the procurement of computers, laptops, or appropriate wherewithal necessary for the immediate execution of the provisions of this Act, national government agencies, government-owned and controlled corporations, and other government financial institutions which shall procure new computers shall endorse their old units to the Department of Information and Communications Technology to check if the computers can still be used for the intent of this Act and afterward shall be given to the Department of Education for deployment to primary and secondary public schools nationwide."

Romualdez and Acidre proposed an initial P500 million in funding for the program, while an annual P100 million was proposed to be included in the annual budget of DepEd to make sure that the equipment and internet connection of public schools for the purpose of measure will be maintained.

provinces, but that the government would also provide them with livelihood.

“In the past, we only give food, a ferry ticket and small amount of money, and we will let them go home,” the DSWD chief said.

“You do not solve their problem. The problem is, they do not have food and the job or livelihood in their place. That’s why

Senate to ratify regional trade pact—DTI chief

The Senate is poised to ratify the Re gional Comprehensive Economic Part nership (RCEP) by December, Trade Sec retary Alfredo Pascual said.

Pascual, in an interview with GMA News at the sidelines of the recently concluded APEC Summit in Bangkok, expressed confidence thefree trade agree ment (FTA) will finally hurdle the Senate after years of negotiations.

“We hope to see the ratification of RCEP by the Senate by the end of the year, hopefully,” he said.

Based on its forecast, the DTI ex pects the regional agreement to boost the country’s exports by 10.47 percent, and to bring the real gross domestic product (GDP) up by 2.02 percent.

Last week the Management Associa tion of the Philippines (MAP) urged the Senate to ratify the trade deal, saying that the country “cannot afford” not to be part of the accord.

“We have already lost 10 months of [our] ability to compete on [an] equal footing with our ASEAN and Asian partners already in RCEP in attracting foreign investments as they capitalize on the shift by a number of MNCs (multinational companies) to seek alternative locations for their manufacturing sites,” the MAP said. (See full story on line at manilastandard.net)

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In a radio dzBB interview, the lawmaker said: “I know that will continue. Libreng Sakay was included in the budget. They also added...

The head for that is Senator Grace Poe.”

“She’s really focused on the financial aid to the jeepney drivers, the operators of PUVs, and tricycle drivers. All of them will receive help—the fuel vouchers, the Libreng Sakay. These are some programs that really help ordinary citizens,” said Angara, who chairs the Senate finance panel.

In August, Department of Transportation (DOTr) Mark Steven Pastor saidthe DOTr requested P12 billion for the continuation of the program in 2023 that provides free rides to commuters and incentivizes public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers and operators who participated in the initiative.

However, he said it was not included in the National Expenditure Program (NEP).

Budget Undersecretary for Media Affairs, Community Relations, and Internal Audit Goddes Libiran then explained that the service contracting program is a non-recurring or one-time expenditure item.

The Libreng Sakay program of the DOTr and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) was launched in late 2020 under Republic Act No. 11494 or the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act to help commuters and those in the public transport sector affected by the pandemic.

Under the service contracting program, PUV operators and drivers who participated in the government’s free ridership program will receive a one-time payout and weekly payments based on the number of kilometers traveled per week, whether they have passengers or not.

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PNP spokesperson Police Col. Jean Fajardo said crimes against property like theft and robbery, as well as fraud and deceit, usually increase during the holiday season.

“The PNP reminds the public to be careful with their transactions when they shop in markets and malls, especially this time when many overseas Filipinos return home with remittances,” she said.

“Particularly, we remind the public to have their money exchange transaction in authorized money changers,” she added.

Earlier, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas advised people to use the “Feel-Look-Tilt” method to check the security features of the New Generation Currency (NGC) banknotes.

With Christmas Day just around the corner, Fajardo further asked people to buy gifts and supplies as early as now to avoid the holiday shopping rush. She also reminded the people to only buy from legitimate sellers, even in online shops.

“Let's avoid waiting for the Christmas rush. Shop earlier and don't get mixed up with the crowd. Money switching usually happens when there are many people,” she said.

they keep on going back to the NCR or other highly urbanized cities to beg,” he added.

Each IP family that would be rescued by the DSWD shall receive P10,000, which they could use to start a business upon return to their home, and that each family would also be given food packs, family, and hygiene kits. Rio N. Araja

IN BRIEF

More than 12K nursing grads take US exams

A TOTAL of 12,399 nursing gradu ates from the Philippines took the U.S. licensure examination for the first time from January to September this year, in hopes of practicing their pro fession in America, Quezon City Rep. Marvin Rillo said on Sunday.

“The nine-month figures already surpassed the 9,788 Filipino nursing graduates that took the U.S. admissi bility exam for the first time, without counting repeaters, in the whole 12 months of 2021,” Rillo, vice chair person of the House committee on higher and technical education, said.

“Superb pay is the biggest factor driving Filipino nurses to migrate to America. Our nurses also want to live and work in America because there is no language barrier, and they identify with the Western culture,”

Scrap entry restrictions, V’fuerte urges LGUs

CA M ARINES Sur Rep. LRay Vil lafuerte is urging local executives to support the Marcos administration’s efforts to quickly return the country to normalcy by ditching whatever en try restrictions on inbound travellers they might still have in place in their respective localities to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

“Keeping the strict restrictions on the entry of travelers or tourists up to now defeats the purpose of Executive Order No. 7, which President Marcos had is sued to further relax anti-COVID health and travel protocols nationwide as part of accelerated government efforts to fully open the economy and rev up the once flourishing tourism sector into an engine of post-pandemic high growth,” he said. Rio N. Araja

500 indigents get cash aid in Angeles City

ANGELES CITY—Five hundred in digent Angeleños recently received ₱3,000 each in assistance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

Mayor Carmelo Lazatin, Jr. led the distribution with Senator Imee Mar cos, who participated in the cash as sistance distribution.

A total of 1,000 indigent benefi ciaries in the city are set to receive the cash assistance and the second batch of indigent residents will be scheduled to receive the assistance.

Solon bats for resilient plans to boost agri

By Rio N. Araja

AGRI party-list Rep. Wilbert Lee on Sun day said boosting climate-resilient prac tices in Philippine agriculture would help in strengthening regional food security.

He issued the statement after Presi dent Ferdinand Marcos Jr.called on world leaders to boost food security in the East Asian region in his interven tion during the 17th East Asia Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

“In light of President Marcos’ call to strengthen regional food security, we must also, therefore, strengthen the Department of Agriculture’s Adapta tion and Mitigation Initiative (AMIA) in Agriculture and the Systems-wide Cli mate Change Office (DA-SWCCO) to boost the adoption of climate-resilient agriculture in the country,” he stressed.

The AMIA and DA-SWCCO should be given adequate legislative and budgetary support to help in commu nity-level research and development interventions, particularly in the 17 pilot sites of the program, Lee said.

SAFETY LESSONS.

MMDA General Manager Romando Artes teaches children how to use a footbridge during a mural unveiling for the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims at a children’s park in Manila on Sunday.

The public interest law group ImagineLaw on Sunday urged the government to save 1,670 children’s lives yearly by preventing road accidents in the Philippines. Danny Pata

Gatchalian to gov’t: sustain crackdown on online abuse

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

AMID the global celebration of World Children’s Day

Sunday, Senator Win Gatchalian is urging the government to sustain the momentum of its crackdown on online sexual abuse and exploitation of children (OSAEC).

Gatchalian said the government is now better equipped to combat OSAEC and other forms of child trafficking and abuse with the passage of two relevant laws-the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2022 (Republic Act No. 11862); and the Anti-Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children (OSAEC) and Anti-Child Sexual Abuse or Exploita tion Materials (CSAEM) Act (Republic Act No. 11930).

A recent study entitled “Disrupting

Harm in the Philippines: Evidence on Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse,” said that 20% of internet-using children aged 12-17 were victims of grave instances of online sexual exploi tation and abuse during the past year.

The study surveyed 950 children.

When these findings are scaled to the population, up to 2 million children were subjected to these harms last year.

According to the study, the experiences of victims include being blackmailed

to engage in sexual activities or being coerced to engage in sexual activities through promises of money and gifts.

Gatchalian also recalled how the COVID-19 pandemic increased chil dren’s exposure to OSAEC.

In 2021, the Department of Justice (DOJ) reported that it has received more than 2.8 million reports on on line sexual exploitation of children (OSEC), more than twice the nearly 1.3 million reports for 2020.

The DOJ also reported that last year, it launched investigations on 268 OSEC cases, almost four times the 73 cases handled in 2020.

During these past months, Gatchal ian said lawmakers have passed im portant laws to boost the fight against abuses in children.

FOR SALE.

Aetas living inside the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) display their harvest of crabs, sea shells, and other farm products to passing motorists. The SBMA has allowed the selling of products to help the livelihood of Aetas.

HIGANTES FESTIVAL.

Giant figures made of paper mache parade along Quezon Avenue in Angono, Rizal for the Higantes Festival on Sunday. The annual feast honors St. Clement, the patron saint of fisherfolk. Inset shows Vice President Sara Duterte, who graced the event in Rizal, considered the “Art Capital” of the Philippines.

Certify more PH seafarers, Poe tells gov’t

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

SEN. Grace Poe said the Philippines still has time to work on the shortcom ings in the training and certification of Filipino seafarers.

“The mere fact that they (European Union) have been accommodating and have not given us a definitive timeline, I know they appreciate the process we are undertaking at the moment,” Poe said during the plenary deliberations of the Senate on the budget of the De partment of Transportation.

Based on Poe’s proposed budget amendment earlier, the Senate in creased the Maritime Industry Au thority’s allocation for “monitoring and enforcement of maritime laws and regulations” by P56.7 million or from P20,947,000 based on the 2023 National Expenditure Program to P80,693,000 to ensure the country’s compliance with international mari time standards.

At present, the European Union (EU) has not disqualified Filipino seafar ers from their shipping lines and the Philippines’ accreditation has not been revoked. However, the EU has identi fied areas that the country will need to take corrective action such as education, training and certification, among others.

“We are still accredited but we need to work on this because if not, the em ployment of 49,461 Filipino marine officers will be in jeopardy and the employment of almost 600,000 certif icated Filipino seafarers, including of ficers, will also be affected,” Poe said.

Poe said the EU is giving the country the opportunity to address its deficiencies.

“We were not given a real timeline. What is important for the EU is that they see an effort to comply and it is an ongoing process,” Poe said.

House panel to probe allegations vs. senior citizens commission

to act on its mandate to protect the wel fare of senior citizens.

In

“Dalawang taon na ang nakakalipas nang mabuo ang NCSC ngunit wala pa rin nangyayari sa dapat na paglilipat ng mga responsibilidad sa NCSC mula sa Department of Social Welfare and De velopment,” Ordanes said. The solon confirmed that they have re

ceived complaints from senior citizens, their organizations, and even from NCSC people.

“May mga sumbong at reklamo ng conflict of interest, grave abuse of dis cretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction, and negligence in the per formance of duty,” he added.

He cited complaints that Quijano and Commissioner. Rey Mansilungan were

favoring some organizations like the Sen ior Citizens Welfare Association of the Phils (SCWAP) and didn’t give attention to DSWD-accredited Federation of Senior Citi zens Association of the Philippines (FSCAP).

In his speech, Ordanes challenged Quijano to resign from his post to allow others who are “willing to protect the welfare of senior citizens.”

PBBM hailed on ‘green’ program

By Rio N. Araja

ALBAY Rep. Joey Salceda, ways and means chairman, on Sunday welcomed the effort of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to diversify the country’s energy port folio by engaging in talks with French President Emmanuel Macron on possible partnership in nuclear energy.

He said to shift away from fossil fuels remains the country’s most important step toward cheaper, more stable, and more dependable energy supply.

“The lesson that must be learned from COVID-19, as it should have been from the Global Financial Crisis, is that countries shift or revert towards dirty energy after crises be cause they see it as cheap, only to later on see

their prices spike up above pre-crisis levels That always happens,” he said.

“So, President Marcos’s efforts to di versify our energy portfolio respond to the most urgent national needs for clean and cheap energy and for climate change mitigation,” he added.

Salceda earlier called Marcos Jr.the coun try’s first “renewable energy President.”

“He is the first President to have been elect ed on a strong platform of renewable energy. That platform and its iconography of wind mills was the main symbol of the campaign, as well, and evoked themes of forward-thinking and innovation. President Marcos has been staying true to that, so far, with the liber alization of RE generation. He is on track to achieve much more,” he stressed.

THE House Committee on Public Ac counts and Committee on Senior Citizens will investigate the allegations of Senior Citizens Partylist Representative Rodolfo ‘Ompong’ Ordanes against the National Commission of Senior Citizens (NCSC).

his privilege speech, Ordanes questioned the inability of the NCSC headed by Chairman Franklin Quijano

(PNA photo by Joey O. Razon)

Joseph Muego

‘Inmates deserve proper burial’

AN OFFICIAL of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on Sunday called for the proper burial of the remains of persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) who died inside the New Bilibid Prison.

Deceased inmates should also be given respect and dignity, CBCP-Epis copal Commission on Prison Pastoral Care Executive Secretary Fr. Nezelle Lirio told ABS-CBN News.

“The body houses the soul that God has given us. When God created us, it imbued us with the dignity of the hu man person. Therefore, respecting a person and respecting his body should be present,” Lirio said.

At least 176 bodies of dead prisoners were still at a funeral parlor in Muntinlupa City accredited by the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor), the Department of Justice said.

The unclaimed cadavers were discov ered after authorities investigated the death of Jun Villamor, a prisoner at the Bilibid who was identified as one of the middlemen in the Oct. 3 murder of broad caster Percival “Percy Lapid” Mabasa.

Forensic pathologist Dr. Raquel Fortun

CA warns unscrupulous health institutions over Philhealth use

By Rey E. Requejo

THE Court of Appeals has pushes healthcare institutions not to resort to unscrupulous methods just to avail of the benefits the state-owned Phil ippine Health Insurance Corp. (Phil health) provides.

In an 11-page decision, the CA’s Fifth Division through Associate Justice Al fonso Ruiz II made the call even as it enjoined the Philhealth members and its officials “to act with prudence and without any corrupt motives” in per forming their duties.

“Medical practitioners should also not allow themselves to be drawn into this unethical practice,” the CA lamented.

This came after the appellate court

Public

denied the petitioner filed by Dr. Al berto Castro seeking to set aside the April 11, 2019 decision of the Phil health board.

It affirmed the October 26, 2018 decision of the arbitration office of PHIC finding him guilty of 17 counts of administrative offense of breach of warranties of accreditation under Republic Act 7875 or the National Health Insurance Act.

“The present pandemic already highlighted the anomalies, flaws, and limitations of our public health sys tem. Philhealth’s financial resources, and that our nation as a whole, are al ready stretched to its limit. The present situation should inspire us to rise above ourselves and focus on our nation’s sur vival as a whole,” the CA observed.

said some 120 bodies there are already “mummified” or in a state of decompo sition. Seeing the dire condition of the remains, Fortun said the system needed to be changed for the dignity of the dead.

“The dead are pitiful. Come on, give them dignity. We can learn a lot from this. My question is, why do prisoners die? Why a lot of them? Compared to other institu tions, this is not a good record,” Fortun said. The DOJ said it is now communicat ing with the families of the deceased inmates before the bodies undergo au topsy with spokesperson Jose Dominic “Mico” Clavano IV saying some fami lies have started to come forward to claim the remains of their loved ones.

Unclaimed bodies that will not undergo autopsy will be buried within the prem ises of the state penitentiary, he said.

Bodies for autopsy will be kept until the examination is finished, while those not for autopsy can be released, Clava no told ABS-CBN News.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Re mulla earlier ordered the autopsy of the remains following the report that 2 to 3 people die every day at Bilibid.

Based on the BuCor list, most of the inmates died allegedly due to acute myocardial infarction or heart attack, pneumonia, and cardiorespiratory ar rest, or the sudden loss of breathing and heart function.

Customs sees P100-b surplus revenue by Dec.

THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) ex pects a P100-billion surplus by De cember, as it already surpassed its full-year collection target for 2022, it said in a statement Sunday.

This came after the Bureau an nounced earlier in the week it already collected P745.50 billion as of Novem ber 11, exceeding its collection target of P721.52 billion for the entire year by P23.98 billion or 3.27%.

“What we have been collecting since last Monday until now is the Bureau’s surplus collection performance,” BOC spokesperson Arnaldo dela Torre Jr. said in a Super Radyo dzBB interview.

“This is a good message for our countrymen that we will not stop. Even though the target for November and December has been reached, we will still aim to surpass the assigned revenue collection target,” he added.

The BOC expects to gather total revenue of P800 billion to P900 bil lion by yearend, Dela Torre said. He attributed the Bureau’s feat to the con sistent performance of their collection districts since January this year.

CSC eyes licensure exams online, regionalized like SC’s Bar exams

from

“In line with our vision to transition

By Rio N. Araja

Rey E. Requejo

During the celebration of the Na tional Consciousness Week Against Counterfeit Medicines, Acosta said the “authenticity, safety and efficacy are all valued in life, and that the FDA agrees to this.”

“I and the entire PAO are sincerely supporting FDA,” she said.

“We will not allow fake medicines.

PAO is with you in your fight,” Acosta added.

She lauded FDA director general Dr. Samuel Zacate for waging “a vic torious fight.”

Meanwhile, the PAO said it will study the actual demand to set the proper deployment of its personnel to the Office of the Vice President’s cen tral and satellite offices.

“Two may do, it can be MWF [Mon day, Wednesday, Friday] or TTHS [Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday] or dai ly, we will study the bulk of demand in the satellite offices of our beloved vice president,” Acosta said.

Manila Zoo reopens its doors to public today

THE

In

Located on M. Adriatico Street in Malate, Manila Zoo will be open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tickets may be

CSC-PPT [Civil

DAR vows to use ODA to aid poor in 57 areas

THE Department of Agrarian Reform on Sunday vowed to intensify war against poverty in settlement areas through the Official Development Funds (ODA).

ODA is a government financial aid that promotes and specifically targets the economic development and wel fare of developing countries, of which the Philippines is among them.

Secretary Conrado Estrella III said they would im plement programs and projects to alleviate poverty, develop agribusiness, generate employment, and promote peace and order in settlement areas to be funded under the ODA.

He created a project development team tasked to find out which among the identified 57 settlement areas in the country need assistance to improve their living conditions.

The team, to be headed by Dr. Ma. Cristina Dag dag, would undertake the preparation and packaging of project proposals that could provide various support services, including training, market links, credit assis tance, farm-to-market roads, bridges, irrigation, and potable water systems. Rio N. Araja

Manila Zoo is set to reopen its doors to the public today, Monday.

a video, the Manila Public Information Office gave a glimpse of what to expect from the renovated tourist attraction.

bought through https://www.manilazoo.ph.

Also

Casas

THE Civil Service Commission may soon adopt the Supreme Court’s online and regionalized conduct of licensure examinations for aspiring lawyers for its civil service examinees, effectively

CSC Chairperson Karlo A. B. Nograles personally observed the conduct of the Bar examinations at the testing center at the Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City on Sunday, November 20, the last day of the four-day Bar tests.

Nograles had earlier sent a letter to Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmun do and requested permission for CSC

delegations to observe the conduct of the online and regionalized Bar exami nations.

The letter was endorsed by Gesmun do to SC Associate Justice Alfredo Ben jamin Caguioa, the chairperson of the examinations committee for the 2022 Bar exams.

the conventional pen-and paper examinations, the Commission plans to introduce digitalized and localized examinations for the

Service Examinations – Pen and Paper Test] sustaining the momentum of the digital shift pioneered by the Supreme Court…,” Nograles said in his letter.

PUBLIC Attorney’s Office chief Per sida Acosta supports the Food and Drug Administration campaign to go after fake medicines and illegal drug manufacturers.

BELENISMO SHOW. Aeta children perform a celebration dance (inset) before a huge Belen at the municipality of San Clemente, Tarlac during the judging of the 2022 Belenismo sa Tarlac belen-making competition on Saturday. Around 31 belens from various towns of Tarlac were judged reflecting the principal characters of the manger scene: Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, and at least one version of the prayer before the belen. Lino Santos

JUST FOR SHOW. Reenactors from the Republica Reenactment Group depict a fight between Philippines and Spanish forces during the 1896 Revolution at Rizal Park in Manila on Sunday. Danny Pata

CHRISTMAS CEREMONY. San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora (right) and Vice Mayor Warren Villa join Rockwell executives in the Christmas Lighting Ceremony at the Santolan Town Plaza on November 16. From left are Ellen Almodiel, Executive Vice President and CFO; Villa; Valerie Soliven, Executive Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer; and Beaver Lopez, Vice President. Manny Palmero

EDITORIAL

Bringing down high prices

EvEryman

By Edwin Lim

IF YOU google “vintage cigarette ads” you might be surprised at what you’d see.

“MORE DOCTORS SMOKE CAMELS THAN ANY OTHER CIGARETTE,” declares one (yes, in all caps!).

“20,679 Physicians say ‘Luckies are less irritating,’” says another, adding the reason is “it’s toasted” (whatever that means).

These two ads feature photos of what look like doctors holding either lit cigarettes or packs of them, but another one stands out because it shows a photo of a baby with the supposed quote: “Gee, Dad, you always get the best of everything… even Marlboro!”

If still alive, that baby would be in their 70s now, and I wonder what they think about being in an ad that got it so wrong on so many levels.

Hindsight is 20/20, of course, and perhaps the dangers of smoking were not as well known among the general population.

But these dangers were certainly well known in the the tobacco industry, because as early as the 1950s studies were showing the adverse effects of smoking on the human body. The industry was already deceiving the people in the mid20th century — using doctors (or actors dressed up as actors) and even babies in the grand ruse.

Today the tobacco industry is doing the same deception, albeit in less obvious ways.

One tactic it employs is to host “scientific forums” where health professionals are invited to listen to fellow health professionals talk about the benefits no longer of cigarettes (whose dangers are well known now) but of this relatively new product called vape and its variations like heated tobacco.

As in the 1950s ads, these products are called “less harmful” and even beneficial because they can supposedly wean smokers off cigarettes.

Recently, Senator Pia Cayetano riled against such forums and asked her colleagues in the Senate to join her in clamping down on them.

One particular forum caught her ire because it was billed as an “oncologyfocused event” in its invitation to doctors and other health professionals.

The not-so-subliminal message being communicated is that vape and heated

tobacco are not unhealthy and may be beneficial in the context of cancer.

That’s a load of BS, of course, because nicotine and the 70 other chemicals in cigarettes (including formaldehyde, lead, arsenic, and even radioactive elements such as polonium-210) are harmful to the body no matter how they are delivered.

The visibly angry Senator Pia pointed out that while the government is still trying to find funds to pay healthcare workers who worked in the frontlines and risked their lives during the COVID-19 pandemic, it also allows tobacco companies to hold such seminars “in the guise of being scientific forums.”

Guarding the people’s health is also our job as a people, and we must call out tobacco companies for continuing to spread fake information about vape and similar products

“They make health claims without the permission of the FDA (Food and Drug Administration),” she said.

“They can’t be allowed to use doctors and false information to deceive the people, especially the youth,” she added.

This is, of course, the FDA’s job (as lobbied by Senator Pia to be included in the Vape Law or RA 11900 which lapsed into law last July), and it must be made to answer for the forums that are being held right under its nose.

But guarding the people’s health is also our job as a people, and we must call out tobacco companies for continuing to spread fake information about vape and similar products.

We don’t want to be laughed at by future generations in the same way we ridicule people for believing that smoking is good 50 years ago.

(Edwin Lim is a health worker who advocates reforms in public health and sin tax).

‘European California’ Portugal woos Americans seeking better life

By Thomas Cabral

NATHAN Hadlock moved to Portugal to escape the violence and lack of social welfare he saw in the United States, while still enjoying the sun and sea he had loved in California.

“Lisbon checked all the boxes,” the 40-year-old American entrepreneur told AFP.

It even has a suspension bridge that is almost a dead ringer for San Francisco’s Golden Gate.

“My partner and I were looking to slow life down and enjoy things more. And so we made a list of the top 10 places in the world and Lisbon quickly made it to the top.”

The couple, who started a family when they moved to the Portuguese capital in 2020, were drawn by the weather, the good food, the cheaper lifestyle and the ease of traveling to other parts of Europe.

They also wanted to escape the darker sides of US society.

“One of the main reasons (US) investors are looking to move here, is their kids’ safety. They often say, ‘I don’t want my kid to go to school and get shot,’” Hadlock insisted.

“And that’s a real thing in the United States that just no one here in Europe has to experience.”

Jen Wittman, who uprooted from the Golden State to Lisbon during the pandemic with her husband and teenage son, said the United States was “really kind of falling apart at the seams”.

“The George Floyd incident and the pandemic, the political division, the racism... Everything was just getting overwhelming in America.”

Having a European social net made a big difference too.

“America is terrible with health care. And it’s terrible if you’re a retiree and you have a health condition. Essentially in America you can be bankrupted by an illness,” the 47-year-old said.

At around 7,000, the number of US citizens living in Portugal remains tiny compared to the 42,000 British expats who had made the country their home.

But while the influx of Brits — the largest expat community from western Europe — has begun to tail off, incomers from the States have doubled since 2018.

This year Americans are jostling with the Chinese for top spot among overseas investors lured by Portugal’s “golden visas” – residents permits issued for foreigners prepared to buy property or transfer capital to the Iberian country.

But most come on a D7 visa, which demands they have a regular “passive income” from pensions, rents or investments.

The group calls itself Red Bridge, in a nod to the red suspension bridges spanning San Francisco Bay and the Tagus estuary

‘Different mentality’

Joana Mendoca, a lawyer for migration consultancy Global Citizen Solutions, speaks “almost every day” to US clients.

“Some come because they’re digital nomads and want to work from home by the sea,” she said.

“There are also entire families, who dream of one day getting their children into European universities.

“And there are retired people who sell everything in the States so they can enjoy a good retirement in Portugal.”

Mendoca said Americans had “a different mentality” from other foreign investors, who were drawn to Portugal essentially by residency permits and tax exemptions.

“They really want to come and live here and adopt a different lifestyle,” she said, even though the introduction of the golden visa scheme in 2012 has contributed to an unwelcome surge in property prices.

WHEN then presidential candidate Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said at one point during the campaign that if elected, he would bring down the price of rice to P20 per kilogram, critics scoffed at the idea and dismissed it outright as well-nigh impossible.

Why? Because at the time the gov ernment was already importing rice from such countries as Vietnam and Thailand since domestic rice of pro duction had fallen sharply, partly due to the 20 or so typhoons that hit the country every year.

The lifting of tariffs on rice imports was intended to bring down rice prices, but local rice farmers objected to the rice tariffication law as they claimed this would drive them deeper into poverty.

Last week, however, President Marcos inched closer to his campaign pledge to make rice prices affordable to ordinary Filipinos by inaugurating the return of the Kadiwa stores which were first rolled out during the term of his father Ferdi nand Sr.

The Kadiwa sa Pasko stores will sell cheaper goods like rice at P25 per kilo

gram to help communities this coming Christmas season.

Marcos vowed to sustain the Kadiwa program well beyond Christmas by continuing to buy products directly from farmers while shouldering costs for transportation and other expenses so that it would not be passed on to consumers

The President explained that the Kadiwa ng Pasko stores are able to offer cheaper prices for rice and other produce because farmers are given assistance or other expenses are shouldered by the government to help them sell these at a lower price, or the government gets from the buffer stock of the National Food Au thority.

The Kadiwa sa Pasko stores will sell rice at a price similar to the cost of buy ing the staple food, that’s why rice can be

retailed at only P25 per kilogram.

“We are nearing my dream of hav ing rice at P20 per kilogram—we’ll get there, but we need to do a lot,” Marcos said.

According to the president, there is a need to widen the reach of the Kadiwa stores: to shield people from rising prices of goods brought by external factors.

The program was brought back during the Duterte administration, but unfortu nately was not able to reach nationwide coverage as the COVID-19 pandemic brought it to a standstill.

Amid high inflation, the national gov ernment is trying to bring down prices of basic goods and services.

Marcos vowed to sustain the Kadiwa program well beyond Christmas by con tinuing to buy products directly from farmers while shouldering costs for transportation and other expenses so that it would not be passed on to consumers.

As of now, the Kadiwa stores operate only in selected local government units, but the plan is to broaden its reach.

As the concurrent Secretary of Agri culture, the President, having seen the potential of the program to help Filipinos cope with high inflation, wants to make it a national program.

And why not, if it will alleviate the burden on the shoulders of our people, particularly those living on the edge of poverty?

Pilipinas Conference 2022 – Day 1

the Ateneo School of Government is the session moderator.

“ONWARD to New Beginnings: Sustaining and Improving Philippine Development” is the theme of the Pilipinas Conference 2022 organized by the Stratbase ADR Institute which starts today after two years of going virtual, coming back as a live event.

Philippine and international thought leaders from the government, the academe, civil society, and top industry movers come together for two days of comprehensive analyses and strategies in addressing the most critical issues now confronting the country in the context of evolving threats of new COVID 19 variants and the geopolitical disturbances causing economic shock waves in the world economy.

Six months after the people elected President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and a new set of leaders into office, people want to see and feel the President’s call, and promise for unity.

It is therefore important to engage the new administration in setting a united roadmap with all sectors aligned in vision, objectives, priorities, and how we can optimize our human and natural resources to achieve results at the shortest timeline.

Now on its 7th year, the conference sessions will tackle the challenges in governance, security, and the economy. Three key areas of development that the Marcos Jr. administration must focus on with urgency.

The topic of first session is on “Governance and the Private Sector: Carving Paths to Inclusive Development.” Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman’s keynote address will talk about “Open Government and Digitization Efforts of the Department of Budget and Management.”

In the panel of speakers are Dr. Francisco Magno, Trustee and Program Convenor, Stratbase ADR Institute discussing the value of e-Governance in Philippine development; Dr. Philip Arnold Tuaño, Dean, Ateneo School of Government will talk about areas for citizen participation and engagement with Government; political and economic columnist, Mr. Andrew Masigan will explore reforms needed in economic and political institutions.

Dr. Ronald Mendoza, Former Dean of

Hadlock started off as a digital nomad in Portugal. Now he works for an investment fund that buys up land for olive and almond groves in the rolling hills of the Alentejo. The region south of Lisbon reminds him of California’s Napa and Sonoma valleys.

‘Surf and good wine’

In Lisbon, Hadlock runs get-togethers to develop business ties between California and Portugal. The group calls itself Red Bridge, in a nod to the red suspension bridges spanning San Francisco Bay and the Tagus estuary.

Jonathan Littman, one of the members, still lives in California but is learning

The second session of Day 1 which I have been given the honor of hosting and moderating is on “Bolstering Private Sector Initiatives: Promoting Investmentled, Sustainable, Resilient Economic Growth.”

Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Ma. Antonia “Toni” YuloLoyzaga will give her keynote address on Engaging the Private Sector in Managing the Country’s Environment and Natural Resources.

Six months after the people elected President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and a new set of leaders into office, people want to see and feel the President’s call, and promise for unity

We shall hear the perspectives and best practices of the private sector and how responsible stewardship of the environment should be everybody’s business from sustainability advocates Mr. Guillermo “Bill” Luz, Chairperson, Liveable Cities Philippines; Mr. Rene “Butch” Meily President, Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation; Mr. Gerard Brimo, Vice Chairman, Chamber of Mines of the Philippines; and Mr. Raymond Ravelo, First Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer of Meralco.

Geopolitical issues will be the focus of the afternoon sessions where experts will give their deep analyses and recommendations on “Fostering Multilateral Cooperation in Addressing Maritime Security Challenges in the Indo-Pacific.”

Foreign Undersecretary for Civilian Security and Consular Affairs Jesus Gary Domingo will talk about Upholding Civilian Security in a Rules-Based International Order and Coast Guard Rear Admiral Roy A. Echeverria’s topic will

Portuguese.

He got to know Portuguese start-ups in Silicon Valley when Lisbon started organizing yearly international web summits in 2016.

“We sort of see this as the California of Europe,” he said.

“The surfing, the coast... We both have great wine. We both have a love of seafood and healthy cuisine. We both can be a little laid back.”

Like her compatriots, Wittman and her family left the States to escape a “divisiveness” that Hadlock said is “pulling the US apart” and is palpable “as soon as

discuss how the government is addressing transnational crimes.

From the academe, Dr. Charmaine Misalucha-Willoughby, Associate Professor, International Studies Department of the De La Salle University – Manila will reveal the “Threats of Gray Zone Operations to National Security.”

Mr. Richard Heydarian, Non-Resident Fellow, Stratbase ADR Institute and Senior Lecturer, UP Asian Center will point out the strategic importance of forming alliances to achieve civil maritime security.

Civil Maritime Strategies for the need for inter-agency cooperation in implementing civil maritime strategies will be discussed by USec. Edmund Tayao, the Executive Director of the National Coast Watch Council Secretariat.

The second session on the geopolitical theme is on “The Future of the US-PH Alliance: Prospects for Peace and Security in the Indo-Pacific Region.”

Rear Admiral Rommel Jude Ong (Ret.), Professor of Praxis, Ateneo School of Government, proposes to pursue defense cooperation with like-minded States in the Indo-Pacific.

Col. Raymond Powell, US Air Force (Ret.) and US Army Officer, Major Angela Smith, both from the Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation, in the Stanford University, will discuss how to leverage publicly available data to deter intrusions into Philippine waters.

Dr. Renato de Castro, Trustee and Stratbase ADRi Program Convenor and Professor of De La Salle University – Manila will explore “The Future of the US-PH Alliance under the Marcos Administration” while Amb. Laura del Rosario, MA, M.Ed., the President of Miriam College, and former DFA Undersecretary, will delve into the strengthening of US-Philippine economic diplomacy.

The open forum will start with messages from US Ambassador MaryKay Carlson of the US Embassy in the Philippines and Ambasaador Jose Manuel “Babe” Romualdez, Philippine Ambassador to the US.

This is just day one. I’ll be featuring day two in my next column.

The insights from this extraordinary roster of speakers will have a direct impact on all of us.

I highly recommend that you follow the Pilipinas Conference at the Stratbase ADRi Facebook page.

you get off the plane.”

But Portugal was not their first choice.

“We tried to move to Italy but they were not accepting American visa applicants at all,” she recalled. “And so, we were like, ‘Who in Europe will take Americans?’ And it was Croatia and Portugal.”

She and her husband run their own digital marketing company and have no plans to move back.

“It’s safe. It’s inclusive. We feel safe walking around, we feel safe at night. We do things that we could never do in America without being in constant fear,” she said. AFP

Rolando

Trump’s Twitter account reappears after Musk poll

DONALD Trump’s Twitter account was reinstated Saturday after the platform’s new owner Elon Musk ran a poll in which a narrow majority of voters supported the move, days after the former US president announced another White House bid.

Trump was banned from the platform early last year for his role in the January 6 attack on the US Capitol by a mob of his supporters seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

“The people have spoken. Trump will be reinstated,” Musk tweeted, shortly after the 24-hour poll ended.

“Vox Populi, Vox Dei,” he added, repeating a Latin adage he posted Friday meaning “the voice of the people

is the voice of God.”

More than 15 million people—out of 237 million daily Twitter users —voted on whether to reinstate the controversial profile, with 51.8 percent in favor and 48.2 percent against.

Trump, who had more than 88 million users when his account was suspended, reveled in using Twitter as a mouthpiece during his presidency, posting policy announcements, attacking political rivals and communicating with supporters.

Musk’s poll asked for a simple “yes” or “no” response to the statement “Reinstate former President Trump,” which the billionaire Twitter boss posted Friday. AFP

FUND FOR CLIMATE DAMAGES SET

COP27 summit strikes landmark deal

AFRAUGHT

The two-week talks, which at times ap peared to teeter on the brink of collapse, delivered a major breakthrough on a fund for climate “loss and damage.”

Pakistani climate minister Sherry Rehman said COP27 “responded to the

voices of the vulnerable, the damaged and the lost of the whole world.”

“We have struggled for 30 years on this path, and today in Sharm el-Sheikh this journey has achieved its first positive milestone,” she said.

Tired delegates applauded when the loss and damage fund was adopted as the sun came up Sunday following days of marathon negotiations over the proposal.

But jubilation over that achievement was countered by stern warnings.

UN chief Antonio Guterres said the UN climate talks had “taken an important step towards justice” with the loss and dam age fund, but fallen short in pushing for the urgent carbon-cutting needed to tackle global warming.

“Our planet is still in the emergency

room. We need to drastically reduce emis sions now and this is an issue this COP did not address,” Guterres said.

A final COP27 statement covering the broad array of the world’s efforts to grap ple with a warming planet held the line on the aspirational goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius from preindustrial levels.

It also included language on renewable energy for the first time, while reiterat ing previous calls to accelerate “efforts towards the phasedown of unabated coal power and phase-out of inefficient fossil

fuel subsidies.”

But that failed to go much further than a similar decision from last year’s meeting in Glasgow on key issues around cutting planet-heating pollution.

In a scolding intervention as the talks went into Sunday morning, European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans said the EU was “disappointed” with a lack of ambition on reducing emissions.

“What we have in front of us is not enough of a step forward for people and planet,” he said. AFP

Muhyiddin emerges as top contender for Malaysia PM

MALAYSIA’S Muhyiddin Yassin is a low-profile political insider but after clinching an alliance with an Islamist party he has emerged as a top contender to become the country’s next prime minister.

Muhyiddin was Malaysia’s shortest-serving leader when he re signed last year from his first stint as premier, but it is now possible for him to get the numbers needed to win Saturday’s election, which had no outright winner.

He heads the Perikatan Nasional (National Alliance) coalition, which did not win a majority in Saturday’s election but is now in talks to form the next government.

Those talks will be helped by Muhyiddin’s alliance with the Ma laysian Islamic Party, or PAS, which backs a hardline interpretation of Islamic law.

Following the collapse of a reformist alliance that had swept to power at landmark polls in 2018, Muhyiddin became prime minister for the first time in March 2020, outmaneuvering his more charis matic rivals Mahathir Mohamad and Anwar Ibrahim.

being informed that the information he would provide would eventually constitute as permanent record in the civil registry, petitioner Roman Herrera registered the name of the child as Janine Romina Herrera and wrote as date of birth “Nov-16-98”. He also indicated thereon the name of the child’s mother as “Janelyn C. Rubrico”. Unknown to petitioner spouses, the said form eventually became the official Report of Birth of Janine Romina Herrera, which was forwarded by the Jeddah Consulate to the DFA in the Philippines, and transmitted by the DFA to the then National Statistics Office (NSO). Believing that their daughter’s name was that indicated on her KSA Birth Certificate, petitioners Janelyn Herrera and Roman Herrera have always filled out documents in relation to their daughter using the name “Romina Casuncad Herrera”. Petitioner Roman Herrera did not bring up the forma he filled out for her daughter, indicating the name “Janine Romina Herrera”, thinking that it was just an informal document that the Jeddah Consulate requested them to fill out for records purposes. Since petitioner Janine Romina Herrera’s childhood, and until the present, she has always used the name “Romina C. Herrera” or “Romina Casuncad Herrera” in school and other official records. She has always been known by the people around her by such name.

When petitioner Janelyn Herrera requested for an NSO Copy of petitioner Janine Romina’s birth certificate, when the latter was about to graduate in high school in 2014, she was surprised and shocked to know that it was the Report of Birth filed with the Consulate General in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and not the KSA Birth Certificate which was forwarded to the then NSO, and that there were errors in the same. At that point, petitioners realized that while all petitioner Janine Romina Herrera’s records indicate the name Romina C. Herrera, the Report of Birth, which forms part of the official records of the PSA (then NSO), still indicates the name “Janine Romina Herrera”. Petitioners thus pray that the following entries in the Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) copy of petitioner Janine Romina Herrera’s Report of Birth be corrected, as follows:

Entry From To

First NameJanine RominaRomina

is further ordered to present the original copies of the annexes of the petition during the hearing.

SO ORDERED.

China: 1st COVID death since May

CHINA reported its first death from COVID-19 in six months on Sunday as it contends with a rising outbreak despite stringent measures to eliminate infections.

The last major economy still welded to stamping out COVID flare-ups, China has enforced lockdowns, mass testing and quarantines even as the rest of the world adjusts to living with the virus.

On Sunday, municipal officials announced an 87-year-old man had died in Beijing as the Na tional Health Commission said it had recorded more than 24,000 infections throughout the country in the previous 24 hours.

While the tally is relatively low compared with other countries, the recent surge is notable in China after months of few cases being announced.

On November 11, Beijing abruptly declared its most sig nificant easing of coronavirus controls to date, including a re duction of quarantine times for

international arrivals.

But the limited relaxation did not desert the “zero-COVID” ap proach, even as it has wrecked massive social and economic consequences.

But the 75-year-old former interior minister quit the top office in August 2021 after only 17 months on the job as bitter infighting engulfed his coalition, and public anger swelled over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. AFP KING Charles I’s execution vest and 20,000 human remains are among the objects that need to be packed up as the Museum of London makes a daunting £250 million ($260 million) move.

According to state-run CCTV, Saturday’s COVID-19 death –the first announced since May –involved a mild case, but the el derly man’s condition worsened after a bacterial infection.

Beijing, where 621 daily cases were reported Sunday, has con fined some residents to their homes and ordered others to quarantine centers.

Unlike during previous out breaks in the capital however, officials appear to be refraining from imposing harsher restric tions on a public exhausted by exceptionally strict COVID-19 measures.

In southern manufacturing hub Guangzhou, one of the hotspots of the current outbreak, protesters furious over a renewed lockdown clashed with police last week. AFP

The museum tells the story of one of the world’s great cities through more than six million artefacts – the largest urban history collection in the world.

But it has long been hampered by its location, tucked away among the glass towers of London’s ever-ex panding financial center, The City.

When the building was unveiled in 1976, The Times newspaper reported that “Her Majesty, the Queen is open ing the Museum of London today, if she can find the entrance.”

“We’ve been struggling with that,” admitted the museum’s director of content, Finbarr Whooley.

The museum is preparing to move to a giant disused market building in the capital’s “cultural mile,” with the formidable three-year task of relocat ing the items set to begin on Decem ber 5.

“When you think about moving your own house, you think about packing up and moving and the stress of that. You just take this and put it on steroids,” Whooley told AFP.

Gina

Quezon City, Philippines, October 11, 2022. (MStandard - Nov. 21, 28, 2022 & Dec. 5, 2022)

“Some of those objects will be tiny, some of them will be monumental, literally.

“But they will all need to be indi vidually packed, individually num bered, recorded, and then moved very carefully. We are approaching it with military precision.” AFP

UN COP27 summit wrapped up Sunday with a landmark deal on funding to help vulnerable countries cope with devastating climate impacts – and deep disappointment over a failure to push further ambition on cutting emissions.

(Sgd.) KATHLEEN ROSARIO D. DELA CRUZESPINOSA Presiding Judge

WATERLESS. A worker uses a tractor to level the ground at a dried-up portion of a riverbed as a part of preparations ahead of the Hindu Magh mela festival on the banks of river Ganges in Prayagraj, India. AFP

FRONTRUNNER. File photo taken on March 9, 2020 of Malaysia’s then-prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin. AFP

MOVING OUT. File photo shows two men walking past the entrance of the Museum of London. AFP

IN BRIEF

CebuPac expands network to meet growing demand

CEBU Pacific said over the weekend it continues to boost its domestic and inter national networks following the easing of travel protocols to meet growing demand.

“We know that many are raring to travel again to their favorite local and foreign destinations, so we are very excited to mount these additional flights as we ap proach the holiday season,” Cebu Pacific chief commercial officer Xander Lao said.

The domestic destinations with addi tional flights starting Dec. 1 include Cebu to Dumaguete, Legazpi, Surigao, Pagadian and Tacloban.

Cebu Pacific also widens its internation al footprint as it adds more flights to Bru nei, Jakarta, Seoul, Taipei and Hong Kong.

The low-cost airline flies to 34 domestic and 19 international destinations. It contin ues to implement a multi-layered approach to safety, while it operates with a 100-per cent fully-vaccinated crew, 97 percent of whom have been boosted to ensure every Juan flies safely and conveniently on Cebu Pacific.

Darwin G.Amojelar

MRSGI turns around to post P400-m income

METRO Retail Stores Group Inc. reported a net income of P400.7 million in the first nine months, a reversal of the P306.4-mil lion net loss it incurred in the same period last year on the back of pent-up domestic demand and full economic reopening.

MRSGI said in a disclosure to the stock exchange Friday nine-month revenues went up by 24.8 percent to P26.7 billion from P21.4 billion in 2021 despite the global headwinds such as soaring inflation, rising interest rates and weakening peso, Third-quarter net income hit P181.7 million, a turnaround from a net loss of P124.5 million a year ago. Net sales posted a 21.5-percent increase to P9.1 billion as store traffic continued to pick up.

“The sustained strong performance of Metro Retail supports our aim to achieve full recovery in 2022 and lay the founda tion for sustainable growth in the coming years,” MRSGI president and chief operat ing officer Manuel Alberto said.

The company said that with the recov ery in discretionary spending of consum ers, its general merchandise business im proved over the nine-month period by 58.6 percent from the same months last year, while food retail increased 15.9 percent.

Jenniffer B. Austria

Senator wants to speed up electric pole relocation

SENATOR Sherwin Gatchalian asked the Department of Public Works and High ways and the National Electrification Ad ministration to fast-track the relocation of more than 57,000 electric poles in the mid dle of road widening projects nationwide.

“The recurring failure to address the issue practically defeats the purpose of such road-widening projects,” Gatchalian said over the weekend. He said the issue should be resolved soon as it could cause accidents to motorists.

Based on NEA records, a total of 85,526 electric poles were identified for reloca tion. Out the total, only 28,431 poles were relocated so far, translating into an accom plishment rate of only 33.24 percent.

The balance of 57,095 poles had to be relocated since end-October, including 23,339 in Luzon, 16,067 in the Visayas and 17,689 in Mindanao.

The entire pole relocation project re quires a budget of P5.548 billion, with P1.114 billion already released.

Alena Mae S. Flores

Economist expects BOP to sustain recovery in Q4

By Julito G. Rada

THE country’s balance of payments will likely further improve in November and December on higher seasonal inflows of remittances and business process outsourcing revenues, an economist said over the weekend.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort said in a report the factors for the improved BOP position would include increased remittances, revenues from business process outsourcing, tourism receipts and contributions from offshore gaming operations.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas re ported on Friday that the BOP in Octo ber posted a surplus for the first time in seven months at $711 million, following a deficit of $2.3 billion in September.

This trimmed the year-to-date defi cit to $7.11 billion from $7.83-billion shortfall as of end-September 2022.

“For the coming months, especially in November to December, BOP data could still improve with the improve ment in the country’s structural inflows in terms of the seasonal increase in OFW remittances, BPO revenues, ex port revenues, foreign tourism receipts, POGO revenues, among others, in view of the holiday season,” Ricafort said.

Cash remittances coursed through banks grew by 3.8 percent to $2.84 bil lion in September from $2.74 billion re corded in the same month last year.

This brought cash remittances in the

first nine months to $23.83 billion, up 3.1 percent from $23.12 billion regis tered a year ago.

Ricafort said these could be offset by the country’s trade deficit as the econ omy reopened further towards greater normalcy and some foreign debt pay ments scheduled in the fourth quarter.

“The continued decline in the prices of global crude oil [among the lowest since the latter part of January 2022 or before the Russia-Ukraine conflict started on February 24, 2022] and also the decline in other global commodities could help reduce the country’s trade deficit,” he said.

He said global crude oil and wheat prices already erased all their increase since the Russia-Ukraine war started amid risk of recession in the US, the world’s largest economy, and the con tinuing lockdowns in China.

1.00000057.4510 Japan Yen 0.0071340.4099 UKPound1.18660068.1714 Hong KongDollar0.1277817.3411 SwitzerlandFranc1.05097260.3794 CanadaDollar0.75041343.1120 SingaporeDollar0.72764341.8038 AustraliaDollar0.66810038.3830

BahrainDinar2.653576152.4506

Saudi Arabia Rial 0.26609915.2877

BruneiDollar0.72500541.6523 IndonesiaRupiah0.0000640.0037 Thailand Baht 0.0279251.6043 UAE Dirham0.27227915.6427 EuroEuro 1.03640059.5422 Korea Won 0.0007450.0428 ChinaYuan0.1397608.0294 IndiaRupee0.0122680.7048 MalaysiaRinggit0.21978012.6266 New Zealand Dollar 0.61260035.1945 TaiwanDollar0.0321391.8464

By Julito

DPWH plans to bid out extension, operations of Metro Cebu Expressway

By Darwin G. Amojelar

THE Department of Public Works and Highways plans to bid out the extension and operations and maintenance of Metro Cebu Expressway next year, a top official said over the weekend.

“We’re now doing some portions [of Metro Cebu Expressway] using local funds. Hopefully, once it is approved by NEDA, we’re tendering for private sector the extension and operations and mainte nance,” Public Works Undersecretary Ma ria Catalina Cabral said.

Cabral said the department would submit the project documents to NEDA by the first quarter of 2023.

The proposed MCE project is a north-

south bypass road along the hills of Metro Cebu. The arterial toll road is expected to serve as another north-south backbone highway providing a seamless traffic flow from Naga City to Danao City and traversing the slopes of the mountain range of Cebu province.

It is expected to address traffic congestion in Metro Cebu especially its urban core and the central business district.

The DPWH said the project would reduce travel time between Naga City and Consolacion from 1.5 hours to 30 minutes and between Naga City and Danao City from three hours to 50 minutes.

The agency said the indicative project cost of MCE is about P94.07 billion.

COCA-COLA TRAINING.

More than 1,500 microentrepreneurs from Davao del Norte receive certificates of completion for finishing the iSTAR Program implemented by CocaCola Philippines, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and Tagum City Council of Women Foundation Inc. These micro-retailers are now more equipped with training and access to financial resources, which can help empower them to scale up their businesses. iSTAR is the digitized adaptation of the SariSari Store Training and Access to Resources Program—a longstanding partnership program of Coca-Cola Philippines, TESDA and Tagum City Council of Women Foundation.

NEA asks 11 electric co-ops to join launch of Mindanao spot market

By Alena Mae S. Flores

THE National Electrification Administra tion asked Mindanao electric cooperatives to complete their requirements to partici pate in the launch of the region’s electricity spot market next month.

“This refers to the target ‘Go Live Oper ation’ by December 2022 of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market, which signifies the commencement of its commercial opera tion in Mindanao,” NEA said in a memo randum.

“To successfully push through with this activity, the completion of the registration

requirements of all the prospective partici pants is mandatory,” the agency said.

Data from the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines, WESM operator, showed that as of Oct. 3, 17 of the 28 prospective participants’ ECs already registered with the company.

Eleven ECs were still undergoing as sessments for completion of requirements or had not yet applied.

“NEA enjoins the 11 ECs to provide a status update on their pending WESM re quirements for completion. This will en able NEA to extend the appropriate assis tance that may be needed by the concerned

ECs,” NEA said.

Mindanao Development Authority deputy executive director Romeo Mon tenegro said WESM Mindanao was ex pected to unlock advantages such as having market-driven electricity price, transparency of dispatch, power sourc ing flexibility for grid-connected electric cooperatives and market viability for re newable energy players.

Meanwhile, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appointed Antonio Mariano Almeda as the new NEA administrator. Almeda will assume office on Nov. 21, replacing Emmanuel Juaneza.

MCE is one of the priority projects of the DPWH under the public-privatepartnership program.

Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway Corp. president and general manager Allan Alfon earlier said the company was interested in the Metro Cebu Expressway Project.

CCLEC has completed the P33-billion Cebu Cordova Expressway—an 8.5 km. bridge linking Cebu City, the municipality of Cordova and outlying towns of Cebu province.

CCLEX has two lanes in each direction that will provide a safe, quick and scenic passage to around 50,000 vehicles daily, easing the traffic in two old bridges―the Marcelo Fernan Bridge and the MandaueMactan Bridge.

DOTr

THE Department of Transportation and Ayala Land Inc. on Friday inaugurated the One Ayala Terminal—a new bus stop in Makati to serve nearly one million work ers who commute to the city on a daily basis.

One Ayala, a transit-oriented devel opment at the corner of Ayala Ave. and EDSA, will serve as the Ayala stop of the EDSA Busway—a dedicated median lane for buses initiated by the DOTr and the Metropolitan Manila Development Au thority.

The DOTr teamed up with Ayala Land to facilitate the transfer of the Ayala stop from its former location at the curbside of EDSA starting November 19. The EDSA Busway Ayala stop is one of the most uti lized stops and the transfer will greatly benefit thousands of commuters.

“As we open the One Ayala EDSA Bus way Station, commuters—employees, workers and students alike—are provided comfort, convenience and safety a notch higher. Which is why I would like to ex press my gratitude to Ayala Land Inc. for supporting the interests of our commuters through this modern facility as a sign of our commitment to reforming our public transport infrastructure,” Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said.

The new One Ayala intermodal termi nal is set to redefine the commuter expe rience. The entrance is right along Ayala Ave., making it conveniently accessible

San Miguel, AEV get SEC nod on P90-b bond sale

Ayala Land unveils P9.8-b development plan for Lipa estate

By Jenniffer B. Austria

By Jenniffer B. Austria

PROPERTY developer Ayala Land Inc. plans to spend P9.8 billion over the next 15 years to develop its newly-launched estate in Lipa City, Batangas, a top executive said Friday.

THE Securities and Exchange Com mission said Friday it approved the planned retail bond offerings of con glomerates San Miguel Corp. and Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. worth P90 billion.

ALI president and chief executive Bernard Vincent Dy said during the project launch the 92-hectare mixeduse development called Areza was envisioned to be the new downtown of Lipa City.

The estate will have a mix of resi dential and commercial uses, com plementing facilities such as a food terminal, a public market and retail areas, he said.

Documents submitted to and ap proved by the SEC showed that San Miguel would offer P40 billion of fixed-rate bonds, with an oversub scription option for another P20 bil lion. The offer will consist of Series L bonds due 2028, Series M bonds due 2029 and Series N bonds due 2029.

Areza is ALI’s first masterplanned estate in Batangas and its 48th across the country.

San Miguel plans to use the proceeds to refinance dollar-denominated obliga tions and peso-denominated debt. The bonds will be offered at face value and will be listed on the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp.

Dy said Lipa City Hall is the es tate’s first locator, with its new build ing expected to be completed by 2025. The new Lipa City Hall, which sits on a five-hectare donated proper ty, was designed by renowned archi tectural firm Budji Royale.

ALI is investing an initial P3.1 bil lion on the first phase of the develop ment.

San Miguel engaged BDO Capi tal & Investment Corp., China Bank Capital Corp., PNB Capital and In vestment Corp., Bank of Commerce, BPI Capital Corp., SB Capital Invest ment Corp., RCBC Capital Corp., Asia United Bank Corp. and Philip pine Commercial Capital Inc. as the joint lead underwriters and bookrun ners for the offer.

ALI project development head Jay Teodoro said the company would initially sell commercial lots in the property, with sizes ranging from 500 to 1,000 square meters at P60,000 per sq. m. The commercial area will en compass 15 hectares.

Meanwhile, the corporate regulator also approved the P30-billion bond shelf registration program of AEV.

ALI also plans to develop a small retail area with 1,500 sq. m. of leas able space.

The property firm said Areza would showcase the natural features of the property in its design.

AEV will offer an initial tranche of P550 million, together with P7.45 bil lion of fixed-rate bonds comprising the fourth and final tranche of its debt securities program approved in 2019. The company will also offer up to P12 billion of bonds from the 2022 program as part of the oversubscrip tion option.

AEV said it would use the proceeds to partially finance the acquisition of GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corp. by wholly-owned subsidiary Aboitiz InfraCapital. It will also use a portion to refinance maturing debt.

The Aboitiz Group intends to issue the bonds in the fourth quarter.

“In line with the Ayala Group’s thrust towards sustainability, the es tate will be centered on connectivity and convenience of the various com ponents, as well as green and open spaces. Areza’s masterplan will in clude outdoor spaces conducive for exercise, pedestrianization and inter action,” ALI said.

Areza is strategically located along key infrastructure projects for faster and convenient access. These include the recently opened Manila-Batangas By-Pass Road, the Diversion Road connecting Balete Road to Mataas na Kahoy and the STAR tollway.

AEV tapped BDO Capital, BPI Capital, China Bank Capital and First Metro Investment Corp. as the joint issue managers, joint lead underwriters and joint bookrunners for the offer.

to those coming from the Makati central business district.

“A large percentage of the daytime population of Makati are commuters, and this is why we give utmost importance to having well-designed public transporta tion facilities. Being an inclusive city, we would like to ensure that we provide the proper transport infrastructure to serve all members of our community,” ALI presi dent and chief executive Bobby Dy said.

The bus stop is part of transport hub, offering three terminals that serve southbound buses, PUVs and modern jeepneys that could accommodate over 300,000 passengers daily, according to Ayala Land.

Each of the three bays of the One Ayala EDSA Busway station can simultaneously accommodate nine buses on queue, total ing 27 buses. The facility is also equipped with restrooms, ample queuing area, seats for PWDs, senior citizens and pregnant women and bike racks.

Passengers headed northbound will have access to the station through the McKinley-Ayala Footbridge which is di rectly connected to the 2nd Floor of One Ayala Ave.

One Ayala is an iconic addition to the Makati skyline that serves a unique pur pose. Aside from the terminal, the mixeduse development has a BPO and retail component and will have a hotel upon its completion.

Darwin G. Amojelar

opens One Ayala Terminal in Makati to serve bus passengers

PAL PRESIDENT’S FLIGHT. Captain Stanley history as the first Philippine Airlines president to serve presidential flight. He piloted the flight both ways—the flight PR001 and Nov. 13 PR001 Phmom Penh -Manila. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos delegation to Phnom Penh for the ASEAN 2022 Summit. to serve as the top executive of the flag carrier since PAL presidency after an 18-year career in the airline.

DOTR-MERALCO COOPERATION. Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista (fifth from left) and Manila Electric Company president and chief executive Ray Espinosa (6th from left) lead DOTr and Meralco officials in a strategic meeting to advance the government’s infrastructure development efforts. Espinosa affirmed the power distributor’s assistance through continuing pole relocation and energization activities in support of the DOTr’s ongoing and planned transportation projects geared towards greatly benefiting the public.

TNT claims another PBA 3x3 cage title

TNT completed a fightback against Cavitex to pull off a hard-earned 21-17 win and claim another leg championship in the PBA 3x3 on Sunday at Robinsons Place Novaliches.

Almond Vosotros again proved to be the man of the hour for the Tropang Giga, sparking a telling 12-4 run that turned around the finals of Leg 3 in their favor.

The streak-shooting guard was like a man possessed, accounting for all of the team’s output during that critical run in a virtual one-man scoring show.

Vosotros, the three-time scoring champion of the standalone tournament, went berserk and put together 12 straight points in a five-minute stretch as TNT wiped out a 13-9 Cavitex lead.

He finished with a game-high 15 points including the game-winning deuce with still 2:40 to play amid a wild celebration from the TNT side led by coach Mau Belen, and players Lervin Flores Gryann Mendoza, and Rey Mark Acuno.

The latest win was worth P100,000 for the telecommunications franchise as it won its second leg crown this conference. Initially, it claimed Leg 1, but lost Leg 2 to J&T Express last week.

Blazers boost bid for NCAA top seed; Amores apologizes

By Peter Atencio

CONTROVERSIAL player John Amores has personally apologized to the College of Saint Benilde Blazers, who defeated the Arellano University Chiefs, 83-73, on Sunday in the 9th National Collegiate Athletic Association men’s basketball tournament at the FilOil-EcoOil Arena.

Amores visited the team’s practice on Saturday and personally asked for forgiveness from CSB players Mark Sangco, Taine Davis, Jimboy Pasturan, Miguel Oczon and the rest of the Blazers.

The peace offering from Amores came 11 days after he went berserk during a CSB-JRU game and punched four players, bringing down two in

Pasturan and Davis.

Coach Charles Tiu gave Amores permission to visit the scrimmages following a call from the embattled JRU cager.

On Sunday, an upbeat Blazers saw Robi Nayve hitting a gamehigh 17 points as St. Benilde won a third straight match to improve to 13-4 and a share of the

lead with Letran.

The win put the Blazers in contention for the top seeding in the Final Four and they can earn it if they beat the Knights in their coming encounter on Tuesday.

Cade Flores had 17 points for Arellano U, which dropped to 7-10.

Tiu said the team appreciated and respected Amores’ move to personally apologize to the CSB players and not through social media.

Amores is currently suspended indefinitely by the league and has been removed from the JRU athletics program. He also has two court cases of assault, filed against him by Pasturan and Davis in San Juan.

Meanwhile, Jessie Sumoda sank only six points, but won the game for the San Sebastian Stags, who escaped with a

Sumoda’s

After

Cosejo

the last six

a layup

while Sumoda split his

shots in the three-second mark to hand the Stags a five-point cushion in the remaining time.

With still a game to go in their schedule, the Stags are looking forward to a fifth-place finish this season with their 8-9 win-loss card.

Ichie Altamirano banged in a gamehigh 18 points and pulled in seven rebounds for the Stags, who picked up their second straight victory.

Nat Cosejo shot 15 points for EAC, which fell to 2-15 with a game left in its calendar.

Ateneo enters V-League women’s finals

ATENEO de Manila University barged into the finals of the 2022 V-League Women’s Collegiate Challenge after sweeping University of the Philippines, 25-21, 25-21, 25-20, in the semifinals at the Paco Arena on Sunday afternoon.

Lyann De Guzman paced the Blue Eagles with 15 points built on 13 attacks while AC Miner and Faith Nisperos added 12 and 11 points, respectively.

Vanie Gandler had an all-around game, contributing 10 points, 10 excellent receptions, and seven excellent digs in the victory.

Taks Fujimoto dished out 16 excellent sets to go along with two points while Roma Doromal collected nine receptions

and eight digs.

Ateneo will take on the winner of the College of St. Benilde-Adamson University semifinals match-up in the finals.

“I’m happy kasi back to back games kami. I’m happy na may resiliency sila with what they are doing. It may not be a perfect run but I’m happy na may resiliency yung team and I’m happy na nagpeperform yung mga leaders and yung mga kinukuha sa bench knows their roles,” said Blue Eagles head coach Oliver Almadro.

Nina Ytang led the Fighting Maroons, who were relegated to the battle for bronze, with eight points on seven at-

The Tropang Giga also haven’t missed the leg finals this conference, and the last six dating back to the First Conference.

The loss was a sorry one for Cavitex, which controlled the early goings of the match, and led by four before Vosotros suddenly caught fire.

Bong Galanza and rookie Sherwin Concepcion each had five points to show the way for the Braves, who bagged the P50,000 runner up purse.

Meanwhile, Meralco salvaged some measure of pride by taking third place in its battle against Barangay Ginebra, 17-15.

The podium finish worth P30,000, was the first for the Bolts since Leg 4 of the First Conference where they also copped third place.

It also heralded the comeback of the franchise among the contenders in the halfcourt game after failing to advance in the playoffs the last two legs this conference.

Earlier in the semis, TNT eliminated Meralco, 20-19, while Cavitex clobbered Barangay Ginebra, 21-10, to arrange their finals showdown.

During the quarterfinals, the Tropang Giga downed NorthPort to advance, 2118, the Bolts edged Platinum Karaoke, 15-14, Cavitex booted out Leg 2 champion J&T Express, 20-18, and the Kings beat Terrafirma 3x3, 18-15.

National

“We need to be at our peak in that respect, in that part of the game, every single time we go across the field and we know you know we had some great leaders out there,” said Stajcic in a statement.

Stajcic believes the team learned valuable lessons after the Filipinas, the reigning AFF champions, fought La Roja Femenina to a 1-1 draw in Viña Del Mar last Saturday. They then absorbed a 0-1 defeat to the Chileans in their rematch at the Estadio de la Pintana.

NOVEMBER marks the start of the FIFA World Cup, football’s highly anticipated event that only comes once every four years. For 2022, the big ticket sports tournament shall happen in Qatar, with a 64-game series that commenced on November 20 until the finals on December 18.

Despite the time difference between the Philippines and Qatar, Filipino football fans are excitedly sorting out their schedules to enjoy the games regardless of the time of day.

Now, these same fans can up the ante with the thrill of sportsbooking. To spice up their FIFA World Cup viewing this month, SportsPlus is

the way to go.

SportsPlus is a premier mobile sportsbook site that offers competitive odds to adults—aged 21 and up—looking to get into online gaming. With SportsPlus, FIFA enthusiasts can now put their money where their mouth is and try their luck at betting on the results of the upcoming World Cup matches.

This is easier than ever as SportsPlus offers a user-friendly mobile interface to all bettors. No need for downloading additional apps; one may simply access the site on any standard mobile internet browser such as Chrome, Firefox, or Safari.

SportsPlus is also PAGCORaccredited, which means that they

are equipped to handle the delicate business of sportsbooking. As such, SportsPlus ensures responsible gaming in this exciting time for fans.

The sportsbook site also offers convenience via its integration of GCash functionality. Users can cash in and cash out through their preexisting GCash accounts. SportsPlus also has a 24/7 customer service feature to assist users any time of the day.

With football season now in full swing, it can only get more fun with SportsPlus.

Gaming for 21 years old and above only. Keep it fun. Game responsibly.

To register, visit https://bit.ly/ sportsplusph now!

The contest saw a questionable red card on midfielder Sara Eggesvik early in the second half.

“It has a first half that lacked some crucial elements, but a second half that showed all the requirements that you need in terms of desire and intensity and motivation moving forward,” said Stajcic.

The Australian coach said the Philippine side has never played against a South American opponent before, and this was an excellent opportunity for the team.

“It’s the hotbed of football and it has been for a very long time and for us to go down a player, probably a bit unfortunately, but that happens in a game of football sometimes and the way we responded and rebounded after that moment is one of the most encouraging things I have ever seen from this team for a long time,” added Stajcic.

THE Philippine national women’s football team needs to be in peak form whenever they enter the football pitch.

coach Alen Stajcic said this after the Filipinas wrapped up their first trip to South America with a draw and a narrow defeat to Chile in two friendly matches in preparation for their games in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in August.

Riera

Mallari,

Randy M. Caluag, Assistant

‘PH needs to be in peak form everytime’

62-59 beating of the Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals.

rebound and followup shot off teammate Ameer Aguilar’s miss in the last 1:40 handed the Stags a 61-57 cushion.

Art

converted

in

seconds,

charity

TNT’s Lervin Flores wiggles out of the double-team put up by Cavitex’s Dominick Fajardo and Sherwin Concepcion in the PBA 3x3 on Sunday at Robinsons Place Novaliches.

PNVF hosts world beach pro tourney

THE Philippines will field three pairs in each of the men and women divisions of the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Futures—the third major international tournament that that Philippine National Volleyball Federation is hosting this year.

Jude Garcia and Krung Arbasto, Ranran Abdilla and Jaron Requinton, and James Buytrago and Pol Salvador are campaigning in the men’s contest of the Futures that puts together the world’s best beach volleyball teams at the Subic Bay Sand Court from December 8 to 11.

The veteran pairs of Dij Rodriguez and Gen Eslapor, Sisi Rondina and Jovelyn Gonzaga and the young tandem of Grydelle Matibag and Khylem Progella are seeing action in the women’s competition.

PNVF President Ramon “Tats” Suzara said all Philippine pairs are entered in the 16-team main draw composed of two squads from Japan, Thailand, Singapore, Lithuania, Israel and Italy.

Suzara also said that 13 women’s teams—seven from Japan, two from South Korea, the Czech Republic, Singapore, Canada and France—will be battling for the four remaining main draw slots in the qualification round on December 8.

Fourteen pairs—four from the Czech Republic, three from Japan, two each from Thailand and Australia, New Zealand, Austria and Israel—will go through the qualifiers for the last four slots in the men’s main draw also on December 8.

The main draw is from December 9 to 11. Tournament format is the modified pool play which will be followed by single elimination rounds.

The Futures is one of three tiers of the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour besides the Challenge and Elite 16.

NU completes perfect Super League title run

NATIONAL University punctuated its supremacy with a straight-sets domination of De La Salle University, 25-23, 25-20, 25-20, in the winnertake-all final to annex the Shakey’s Super League Collegiate pre-season championship title at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum Saturday night.

Tournament Most Valuable Player

Alyssa Solomon led the Lady Bulldogs’ assault as they asserted their mastery over the Lady Spikers to complete an 8-game sweep of the tournament supported by the Philippine Sports Commission, Commission on Higher Education, Team Rebel Sports, Mikasa, F2 Logistics, United Auctioneers, Cherrylume, Eurotel, UPLive, Dr. J Rubbing Alcohol, Toby’s Sports and Nature’s Spring.

Solomon, who also grabbed the Best Opposite Spiker award, finished with 14 points she collected from 10 kills, three aces and a kill block for NU.

Second Best Outside Bella Belen and Ces Robles added 10 and nine markers, respectively, for the Lady Bulldogs in this all-to—play competition featuring all 10 teams from the NCAA and eight UAAP squads.

From their starters to its bench mob

led by promising rookie Vangie Alinsug and reserve setter Joyme Cagande, NUS’ depth and firepower proved to be too much for the Lady Spikers, who played sans veterans Jolina Dela Cruz, libero Justine Jazareno and Matet Espina following their stint in the UAAP Season 85 beach volleyball tournament.

Myrle Escanlar and Erin Pangilinan combined for 11 points for NU, which won its second straight crown after a 16-0 sweep of UAAP Season 84 women’s volleyball tournament capped by a dominating best-of-three finals series domination of La Salle five months ago that ended a 65-year title drought.

“All the hard work and sacrifices of the team paid off,” said Lady Bulldogs coach Karl Dimaculangan. “But even after winning another title, it won’t stop us from constantly seeking ways to improve in every game and every tourna-

ment we participate in.”

NU built a 16-5 lead in the second set after a narrow escape in the opening frame.

La Salle trimmed it down 22-19 after rookie Angel Canino scored an ace followed by Alleiah Malaluan’s attack only for the Lady Spikers to yield the frame after three consecutive miscues.

The Lady Bulldogs then recovered from a 15-17 deficit in the third frame, blasting five straight points to take a 20-17 advantage to keep the Lady Spikers at bay.

La Salle stopped its bleeding but another 5-2 run by NU capped by Solomon’s soft hit off a broken play sealed the championship for the Lady Bulldogs.

Canino, who bagged the 1st Outside Spiker award, was the lone La Salle player in double figures with 14 points. First Best Middle Blocker winner Thea Gagate added eight markers while Leila Cruz and Malaluan had seven markers each for the Lady Spikers.

Meanwhile, NU’s Sheena Toring was named 2nd Best Middle Blocker, Louie Romero of bronze medalist Adamson University got the Best Setter recognition while Detdet Pepito won Best Libero to wrap up the list of the individual awards.

Eagles nail 3rd straight UAAP win

ATENEO pulled off an impressive comeback to demoralize Far Eastern University, 71-65, and keep in pace with the top two teams in the UAAP Season 85 Men’s Basketball Tournament, Sunday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.

With the win, Ateneo extended its winning streak to three games and improved to an 8-3 record. The Katipunan school is also assured a playoff for the Final Four.

“That win was just heart and some decent execution in the fourth quarter,” said Blue Eagles mentor Tab Baldwin. “Up until then, we were pretty bad really in most aspects of the game.”

Down by as much as 20-39 at the 2:39 mark of the second quarter thanks to a Xyrus Torres three, the Blue Eagles executed a blistering rally that was capped off by a Paul Garcia three to lead 56-55 at the 8:34 mark of the final period.

The Tamaraws then were able to level the ballgame off an L-Jay Gonzales basket at 65-65 with 1:22 remaining in the contest. Angelo Kouame then converted two free throws to give Ateneo the lead at 67-65 with 1:03 to go.

FEU then failed to convert in three straight possessions, which allowed Forthsky Padrigao and Dave Ildefonso to sink four unanswered charities to seal the win.

Kouame led Ateneo with 20 points, 14 rebounds, three assists, and one block. Padrigao followed with 13 points, six assists, and five rebounds. Ildefonso had eight points, nine rebounds, and two assists as well.

The Blue Eagles’ bench mob was hugely productive with 16 points compared to the Tamaraws’ five. Ateneo also had 14 second-chance points against FEU’s seven.

“I feel very blessed and I thank the Lord that we got the win in the end,” added Baldwin. “That takes us a little bit closer to where we want to go.”

On the other hand, FEU fell to a 4-8 record behind three consecutive defeats.

FIFA chief blasts ‘hypocrisy’ of Western nations on eve of World Cup

DOHA—FIFA president Gianni Infantino blasted the “hypocrisy” of Western critics of Qatar’s human rights record on Saturday, making a passionate defence of the World Cup in the Gulf state on the eve of the kick-off.

The build-up to the tournament has been dominated by concerns over Qatar’s treatment of migrant workers, women and the LGBTQ community, to the visible annoyance of organizb vers.

Qatar officials say their country has been the target of “racism” and “double standards” and they point to the reforms on working conditions and safety that have been hailed as groundbreaking in the region.

Football itself again took a back seat on Saturday, with the focus firmly on offfield politics just 24 hours before hosts Qatar were due to open the tournament against Ecuador.

Infantino, speaking at his opening press

conference of the tournament in Doha, had harsh words for critics of Qatar.

“This moral lesson-giving—one-sided —is just hypocrisy,” said the global football supremo.

“I don’t want to give you any lessons of life, but what is going on here is profoundly, profoundly unjust.”

Infantino’s remarks drew a stinging response from rights group Amnesty International, which accused the FIFA chief of “brushing aside legitimate criticism.”

“Gianni Infantino is dismissing the enormous price paid by migrant workers to make his flagship tournament possible —as well as FIFA’s responsibility for it,” Amnesty said.

“Demands for equality, dignity and compensation cannot be treated as some sort of culture war.”

Another issue that has dominated the build-up to the tournament is the sale of beer in the Islamic state, which severely

restricts alcohol consumption.

Organizers on Friday performed a dramatic U-turn, banning beer sales around stadiums just 48 hours before kickoff.

Infantino made light of the last-minute change on Saturday.

“I think personally if for three hours a day you cannot drink a beer, you will survive,” he said.

Elsewhere on Saturday, there were hints of another brewing controversy over the decision of several players—including England captain Harry Kane and German skipper Manuel Neuer—to wear a “OneLove” armband to promote diversity and inclusion.

The move raises the prospect of disciplinary action from FIFA, who on Saturda y revealed plans to make their own alternative armbands available to teams. The FIFA armbands will feature a different social campaign for each round.

AFP

Diamante, Obebe named COPA’s Most Outstanding Swimmers

ees in the tournament co-presented by the Samahang Manlalangoy ng Pilipinas and supported by the Philippine Sports Commission, under chairman Noli Eala, Speedo and Milo.

Manila.

The 11-year-old Diamante, the pride of the RSS Dolphins Swim Team, claimed her fourth gold medal after winning the girls’ 11-yr-old Individual medley, clocking 3:09.99, while Obebe matched the effort after dominating the same event in the 12-yr-old class with a time of 2:51.27 to become the meet’s multi-gold medal winners.

Counting their performances in the past three legs of the Reunion Series, Diamante and Obebe were adjudged as MOS award-

“Bonus na po ito sa akin. Hindi ko naman po target ito basta sinusunod ko lang ang sinasabi ni coach. Nagpapasalamat po ako sa mga taong tumutulong sa akin, gayundin po sa COPA na patuloy na nagbibigay sa amin ng maayos na mga tournament,” said Diamante.

Obebe of the Aquanights Team echoed Diamante’s statement as she extended her gratitude to private individuals, who backed her passion and always supported her young swimming career.

Both are part of the National Capital Region swimming team, which will participate in the PSC’s Batang Pinoy National Finals on Dec. 17 to 25 in Vigan, Ilocos Norte.

COPA secretary general and tournament director Chito

tional

trophies and certificate to the winners.

“We’re very thankful to all swimmers and to all club managers, who have joined our tournament. We assure everyone, even non-COPA teams that they can easily play in the coming tournament next month,” said Rivera.

Other winners in the four-day, two-weekend tournament were Danna Santiago in the Class C girls’ 200M (3:35.81); Kisses Libat of Green Blaster in the girls’ 11 class B 100m back (1:27.55); Victoria Vitog of the Aquanights (1:53.88); Jhoey Gallaro of Swim Kings in the 14-yr class B (29.58); Xian Espinas of the Naawan Watersharks, class C (32.06) and Anjolie Novillas of the Ral Rosario Swim ( 32.31 15).

NICOLE Diamante and Pauline Obebe clinched their fourth gold medals each in their respective classes to formalize their claim as the Most Outstanding Swimmers of the Congress of Philippine Aquatics, Inc. Reunion Challenge National Finals on Sunday at the Teofilo Yldefonso swimming pool inside the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Malate,

Rivera joined former na-

coach Richard Luna in awarding of the medals,

The NU Lady Bulldogs celebrate their championship sweep of the Shakey’s Super League Collegiate pre-season championship at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.

Members of the RSS Dolphins Swimming Club, led by MOS awardee Nicole Diamante (center), show their medals after the awarding ceremony of COPA’s Reunion Challenge National Finals.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino attends a press conference at the Qatar National Convention Center in Doha, ahead of the Qatar 2022 World Cup football tournament. Infantino hit back at Western critics of Qatar’s human rights record, blasting their “hypocrisy”. AFP

Dij Rodriguez and Gen Eslapor

Angelo Kouame

Super American Circus in Manila this Yuletide season

Christmas, the world-famous Super American Circus is performing in the Philippines from December 21 until January 8, at the Newport Performing Arts Theater, Newport World Resorts in Pasay City.

The announcement was made public on November 8 at the newly-opened Century Seafood Restaurant, Century Park Hotel, Pablo Ocampo St., Malate, Families are in for a two-hour treat with what is dubbed as the biggest ensemble of live one-ring circus today. The Super American Circus puts together an incredible array of performers whose acts earned standing ovations all over the Some of them were winners the prestigious class search

Talent American

Circus is a modern one-ring circus that will showcase acts that will excite and delight Filipino family members and barkadas of all ages. Witness thrilling acts like the motorcycle team in the Globe of Danger, the amazing Sky Wheel, the High Flying Motorcycle, life challenging aerialists, beautiful aerial ballerinas, and amazing jugglers that will happily keep you hanging on the edge of your seats.

The Super American Circus is produced by Global Entertainment Productions. Its president and CEO Cornell “Tuffy” Nicholas is also the show’s ringmaster.

Tuffy comes from a family with extensive circus history. His father “Count Nicholas” was the lead ringmaster extraordinaire of the traveling Ringling Brothers circus. Tuffy was actually born on the Sarasota stop of the Ringling Brothers Traveling Circus. The Nicholas’s raised their three children on-the-road and Tuffy grew up amongst some of the world’s most famous performers and celebrities. Under the careful eye of the Count, he became a great performer mastering a variety of different acts and skills. He made his first appearance as an honorary ringmaster on a

main-street float alongside his proud father at the ripe old age of 3. For more than 35 years now, Nicholas has been a successful producer and promoter of circuses, concerts, festivals and sporting events around the world.

As president and CEO since 2000, he has produced over 5,000 performances around the World – Moscow State Circus, Modern American Circus, International All-Star Circus are just a few of Nicholas’s productions.

In 2005 he produced Cirque Hawaii, a multi-million-dollar, state of the art, permanent theatrical spectacular, that showcased the award-winning talent of over 35 performers from around the world and thrilled Hawaiian audiences.

An incredible show like Super American Circus deserves an equally incredible venue. The Newport Performing Arts Theater is located at the center of Newport World Resorts, Newport Boulevard, Newport City, Pasay (across NAIA Terminal 3). A regular venue for patrons of the Philippine theater arts, the Newport Performing Arts Theater has been the venue of choice for a host of major concerts,

plays, musicals, exclusive productions, and more. TV audiences may also recognize the Newport Performing Arts Theater as the venue of the highly popular reality television singing competition, The Voice of the Philippines

The Newport Performing Arts Theater was designed by prominent Hong Kong-based interior design expert Joseph Sy, which won him the coveted 2011 Perspective Awards-Certificate of Excellence and the 2011 Asia Pacific Interior Design Silver Award. The Newport Performing Arts Theater also earned the distinction of being BroadwayWorld Philippines’ Best Theatrical Venue for 2011, and was one of the top six contenders in the Leisure and Entertainment class of the Asia Pacific Interior Design Awards.

The Super American Circus production in the Philippines is made possible in partnership with Newport World Resorts and SGE Productions.

The Super American Circus will have performances at 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. beginning December 21. Tickets are available at SM Tickets in these prices: P5,000, P4,000, P2,000, and P1,000.

The many wonders of Angeline Quinto

ANGELINE Quintos is a living proof that dreams do come true. She is so relatable which is why her adoring public continues to grow exponentially.

Before she became the grand winner of Star Power: Sharon’s Search For The Next Female Pop Superstar some 11 years, she had her first brush of recognition and curiosity with her short stint as a singing contestant in the short-lived This Iz It. In the musical variety program then, Quinto wowed with her Regine Velasquez covers.

A decade since that television exposure, Quinto still carries the distinction of being dubbed as the “Philippines’ Queen of Teleserye and Movie Theme Songs” and reigning still as the “Power Diva” of the local music industry for her singing prowess and belting ability. Without a doubt, she is a certified Filipina popular music superstar.

Recently, Quinto who has earned her niche as one of the most important and most bankable musical artists of her generation, showed her gratitude to her legion of fans via the concert, 10Q, with the rhythm and blues Filipino trio con brio Bugoy Drilon, Daryl Ong, and Michael Pangilinan collectively called as BuDaKel at the Newport Performing Arts Theater.

The cavernous venue was packed and the eager crowd enjoyed their repertoire of contemporary ditties and song choices that highlighted the strengths of Quinto and her three gentlemen guest performers.

THE Society of Philippine Entertainment

Editors (SPEEd) marks another milestone as it celebrates the fifth edition of the annual EDDYS (Entertainment Editors’ Choice), an inperson event happening on November 27 at the historic Metropolitan Theatre (MET) in Manila.

Highlight of the film event, hosted by King of Talk Boy Abunda and directed by Ice Seguerra, is the recognition of 10 movie icons who have made indelible marks in the entertainment industry through their outstanding bodies of work.

This year’s Icon Awards will be conferred upon Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto, Joey de Leon, Phillip Salvador, Roi Vinzon, Helen Gamboa, Divina Valencia, Elizabeth Oropesa, Sharon Cuneta, and Alma Moreno They join the ranks of previous

awardees who have been recognized for their undying efforts and dedication to elevate local film artistry.

Meanwhile, actress Gretchen Barretto, TV host Kris Aquino actor and Quezon City 5th district Representative Alfred Vargas , GMA Kapuso Foundation, and ABS-CBN Sagip Kapamilya are the recipients of this year’s Isah V. Red Award. This award is presented in honor and memory of SPEEd’s founding president, Isah V. Red . It is given to personalities and organizations to honor their humanitarian efforts toward alleviating the conditions of people adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year’s special awardees have been named as the following: entertainment reporter Mario Dumaual for the Joe Quirino Award; former entertainment editor Eric Ramos for the Manny Pichel Award; Rein Entertainment for the Rising Producers’ Circle; and Viva Films as Producer of the Year.

The EDDYS is considered a game changer in the history of movie awards in the Philippines. Since its inception in 2017, it has easily positioned itself as a significant element of the film industry. Relatively new in recognizing deserving craftsmen, actors, writers, and directors, it instantly became one

of the most distinguished film awards due to its large diversity among the chosen titles.

The SPEEd is made up of entertainment editors of newspapers and top tabloids circulated daily nationwide.

The non-profit organization established in 2015 is led by People’s Journal ’s Eugene Asis , as president.

“It means so much to me and all the members of SPEEd that we will be holding The EDDYS again after the pandemic put all our lives on hold, including, of course, the creativity of the Philippine Movie Industry. Despite the delay and difficulties of filming in the last year, it is all the more important to recognize the hard work of our artists as we reignite the spirit of the industry to rise up and return with blazing passion,” says Asis.

The EDDYS is returning as an in-person film event after holding the previous awarding ceremony online.

The 5th EDDYS is presented by SPEED and Fire and Ice Media and Productions in partnership with Globe and in collaboration with Beautederm, National Commision for Culture and the Arts, Metropolitan Theater. Nathan Studios, Rep. Arjo Atayde Councilor Alfred Vargas Tanduay are sponsors. The event is supported by Live Stream Manila, Rep. Geraldine Roman, Foundation, and JFV Rice Mill. The auditing firm of Juancho Robles, Chan Robles & Company, CPAs, serves as vote auditor.

My top pick for unforgettable number Quinto was her divas medley, a tribute to her beloved idols, specifically Jaya, Zsa Zsa Padilla, Velasquez, and Sharon Cuneta. What makes this portion a remarkable one was the song choices, they were the not so recognizable anthems of her idols and it showcased her range, vocal calisthenics and the ability to tell the story behind the lyrics of songs.

Another significant moment was her performance of “Till I Met You,” a Kuh Ledesma classic made as a theme song for a James Reid-Nadine Lustre for the fans and kilig movie based on a Wattpad story.

The most impressive and truly pulling the heart strings segment of the night, was Quinto sharing the stage with “Tawag ng Tanghalan” first season runner up Sam Mangubat and Idol Philippines sophomore edition Victor Khimo as they sang Quinto’s most iconic ditty, the song especially written for her by Jonathan Manalo, “Patuloy Ang Pangarap.”

It was like a passing of the torch moment, with the Power Diva, anointing the two singers as worthy of a place, love and support in the highly competitive Filipino singing industry. With her blessing, plus the duo shared the spotlight and center stage with her as they sang Quinto’s dreamer’s hymn, as an spectator, you give them the most thunderous applause.

Adding more feels to the 10Q shindig are the song numbers of Drilon, Ong, and Pangilinan. The trio had their individual times to shine, did cover versions and their hit songs that make you appreciate their different styles, authority on stage and their command of their extra special quality that they unleash every time they sing.

Amongst the three, Drilon lorded the stage and when he did his signature hit, “Paano Nga Kaya,” it had more achy breaky component to it. Ong slayed with “Stay”, complete with all the nuance and texture especially with the questioning lyrical parts, “Why did you have to leave me? When you said that love would conquer all. Why did you have to leave me? When you said that dreaming was as good as reality.” And Pangilinan’’s top 40 choices hits the heart big time.

Undoubtedly, 10Q’s queen of the night was Angeline Quinto. Brave song choices that demonstrated her abilities and maturity as a singer. Emotional commitment and truthfulness are not only apparent but felt in songs, especially the ballads. And confidence, thanks to a decade filled with tribulations and triumphs that makes her sing with passion that stirs the soul and emotions.

Thank you Angeline Quinto for the songs that you sing and the joy and feels they give to all.

-

2020). Apart from the major recognition,

also won the Best TV Ad (Public Service) award for its PSA

featuring

“It’s

Meanwhile, Knowledge Channel’s “Ready, Set, Read!”, a video series aimed to improve English reading competencies among Filipino elementary students, received a

special citation for the Best Children and Youth Program award.

In observance of the International Social Communication Day, established to stress the importance of mass media and to instill a sense of responsibility in communicators, the Catholic Mass Media Awards is an annual ceremony that pays tribute to organizations that promote values-filled content through print, broadcast, and social media.

ABS-CBN’s tradition in creating values-filled Christmas and Summer Station IDs for Filipinos all over the world marked a milestone as the company was named a Hall of Famer for winning six Best Station ID awards through the years at the 44th Catholic Mass Media Awards (CMMA). Six Kapamilya

were recognized by the CMMA in the years 2010 (“Bro, Ikaw ang Star ng Pasko”

Filipino Olympic medalists titled “Sa Likod ng Medalya.”

Okay Not To Be Okay,” written and sung by Angela Ken and co-written by ABS-CBN Music creative director Jonathan Manalo bagged the Best Secular Song award.

January

Manila.

all world. them were winners of the prestigious worldtalent America’s Got The Super

Families are in for a two-hour treat with what is dubbed as the biggest ensemble of live one-ring circus

Aerialists

From left: Khimo, Angeline Quinto, and Sam Mangubat

Angeline Quinto proves that dreams do come true as she slowly achieved many milestones in her career

Former entertainment editor Eric Ramos takes home the Manny Pichel Award Entertainment reporter Mario Dumaual wins the Joe Quirino Award

CABEL, a culinary gem nestled right next to the Philippines’ seat of power, officially opened its doors on October 28 to food enthusiasts seeking their fill of classic Filipino cuisine.

Cabel

Manila’s newest heritage restaurant celebrates

heirloom dishes

Located beside the Malacañang Palace in San Miguel Manila, Cabel serves iconic Filipino dishes within the halls of the Roces mansion built in the 1930s. The restaurant’s menu cele brates Philippine gastronomic heritage with its diverse collection of meals served at Filipino tables across the ar chipelago.

Cabel draws its inspiration from heir loom recipes from the founding family’s matriarch Oswalda Alcantara-Cabel, who regularly hosted local and interna tional dignitaries in her hometown Jolo, Sulu Province during her years of public service with her Ilocos Norte- native hus band Dr. Heracleo Lopez-Cabel from the 1950s – 1980s.

Among the specialties frequently served by the Cabels to their guests that are now offered in the family’s restau rant are the classic Tausug dishes Kol ma, Tiyula, Piyanggang, and Pompano Sambal. Cabel has likewise incorpo rated other popular Filipino dishes into their fare, including sumptuous serv ings of Adobo, Lumpiang Shanghai, Pancit, Pinakbet, Tinolang Manok, Humba, Bistek, Kare-Kare, and Kansi among many others.

Complementing Cabel’s heritage cuisine are the interiors of the Roces

mansion, a 600square-meter an cestral house in a 1,000-squaremeter lot. Built during the Com monwealth era, the Roces mansion was home to the national artist for literature Alejan dro Roces and es teemed publisher and journalist Don Joaquin “Chino” Roces

With a capacity of 200 people, Cabel is an ideal venue for dining, be it for business or pleasure. The restaurant’s banquet halls on the ground and second floors offer privacy for inti mate gatherings, while its main dining hall is perfect for casual meals.

The restaurant’s walls on the mezza nine area feature printouts of the Roces family’s newspapers La Vanguardia and The Manila Times that relive a bygone era. The hardwood floors on the second floor and machuca tiles on the ground floor, and high ceilings elicit the man sion’s illustrious history and grandeur. At the helm of Cabel is Juan Carlos

Cabel Moreno, who has ventured into restaurant management after 12 years in the airline industry. Prior to Cabel, King, as he is fondly called, helped manage a Mindanao-inspired restaurant, Palm Grill, in Quezon City established by his brother Jose Miguel. Working behind the scenes is King’s mother Melissa Ca bel Moreno, the youngest of seven chil dren of Heracleo and Oswalda Cabel, who has been in the restaurant business for over 20 years.

Cabel evokes nostalgia both in its food and interiors, bringing back the comfort of home- cooked meals well-loved by

Filipinos and a welcoming treat for those in pursuit of experiencing authentic and delicious Filipino dishes. Dining at Cabel relives the founding family’s passion for good food and hospitality.

Experience Cabel at 1147 Jose Lau rel Street, San Miguel, Manila. Walk-ins and reservations are welcome between 9 AM and 10 PM. For reservations, call +63967-209-4768 / +63915-214-8565, or email at Bycabel.ph@gmail.com. Reservations can likewise be made via Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/ bycabel.ph) and Instagram @bycabel.ph (https://tinyurl.com/4zy59pnv).

‘Traces of Infinity’ by the sea

to collectively educate and elevate the inner be ing, Impy is a determined messenger for living in harmony with nature and knowing our place in the greater scheme of things. She looks forward to the youth taking on a more active role in giving our world a brighter future.

IF AN escape to a forest sanctuary that is a few steps away from the vibrant beach scene is what investors and residents are on the lookout for, then the Premier Dis trict in Landco BeachTowns Club Laiya, San Juan, Batangas, perfectly fits the bill.

Offering a gated resort and lush forest community for those who value a serene environment and a broader scenic view of Laiya’s mountains and greenery, The Premier District is the master-planned residential development within the 24-hectare Club Laiya – a popular destination among leisure seek ers and tourists, that is about a two-hour drive from Metro Manila.

The residential area in the Laiya re sort setting is a little more inland yet within walking distance to and from the beach.

Property owners and investors who avail of this gated commu nity’s 250 lots with an average size of 300 sqm. each will enjoy a peaceful and serene environment with mountain views; have exclusive access to its swimming pool with an area exclusive for lot owners; mini parks where children and the entire family can play and have bonding mo ments; and urbanized forest trail around its entire perimeter.

The Premier District will also fea ture sports and multi-purpose facilities. There will be a roving transport that will bring residents and guests to Club Lai ya’s Seaside District.

Unlike other residential develop ments, Landco allows lot owners of the Premier District to build their dream beach home which can double as a bed and breakfast, vacation rental or unique homes that can be signed up for popular travel apps like AirBNB.

Moreover, the road network is config ured in such a way that there are several cul-de-sacs, making access to the lots in these areas very private and exclusive.

Fully paid and amortizing lot owners of the Premier District will also have special discounts to Club Laiya’s lei sure facilities managed by Millennial Resorts. There are the Laiya Beach Club with lap and infinity pools; 33 Cocoons, cylindrical sleeping pods complete with modern amenities and popular among tourists; soon-to-be-available Camp eristi, modern “glamper vans” right next to the beach; Capt. Barbozza restaurant and bar; and soon-to-rise The Isle event space.

Club Laiya is an ecofriendly development.

It is Leadership in Ener gy and Environmental Design (LEED) regis tered for the properties’ sustainability program.

There’s double-piped water management, where wastewater is treated and piped back for car washing, water ing plants, and other uses. Environmental conservation efforts and livelihood projects for the local community are undertaken.

The Premier Dis trict is the latest prop erty development launched by Landco, the premier real estate developer that is rec ognized by Lamudi’s Outlook 2022 Real Estate Awards with the Grand Award of Best Boutique Developer in Luzon and recently by the 2022 Pan Finance International Award as the Most Sustain able Luxury Real Estate Developer in the Philippines.

Renowned for pioneering premium landscapes for more than three decades and now, as a subsidiary of Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC) with its Chairman Manny V. Pangilinan, Landco strengthens its commitment to deliver out standing new lifestyle products and ex periences that revolutionize resort living through Landco BeachTowns.

For more information about Landco Pacific Corporation, its BeachTowns Club Laiya and the Premier District, visit their website or Facebook page

I ALWAYS look forward to Conrad Manila’s “Of Art and Wine” series of exhibits because the featured art mas terpieces are not just attractive, they also banner the creativity of our art ists. So, when I heard that my friend, Impy Pilapil’s artistic creations, would be the hotel’s next feature, I was excitedly looking forward to it.

The hotel exhibit’s 21st install ment, named Traces of Infinity fea tures Impy’s personal collection of 17 mixed media works, sculptures made of wood, steel, metal, stone and marble which she produced from 1994 to 2020. Taking a close look at each of these masterpieces, one can easily see her mastery over the elements, creative artistic ap proaches and her compelling the matic messages.

An award-winning sculptor, Impy Pilapil’s iconic and profound body of work is sought after by art collec tors and cultural institutions. Earn ing her tertiary degree from the Uni versity of the Philippines and her Art diplomas from the Accademia Itali ana in Rome and the Pratt Graphics Center in New York, she uses her masterpieces to present a silent yet larger-than-life persona, graced with a technical sophistication.

An advocate for Art as a medium

Impy is not new to Conrad Manila. One of the hotel’s major art dis plays, located at the 3rd floor, is Splendor , the towering hand-blown glass pebbles, glass and stain less sculpture which she carefully handcrafted in time for the hotel’s opening date. She also did Celeste Yule , a 14-foot Christmas tree made

of stainless steel rods, wave-shaped metal and gleaming orbs, which dominated the hotel lobby for every body to be awed by.

One can easily see why she is the favorite of Conrad Manila---the el egance of her artworks seamlessly complement the hotel’s art program which aims to further inspire its guests’ overall experience.

Sharing her inspiration for this particular collection, Impy declared that her “personal quest has always been to find true meaning and pur pose through Art, whether it begins from within the pages of a fantasy novel or the wonders of the natu ral and higher worlds.” She quips, “Wherever it may lead, I will always find traces.”

Leading the exhibit’s opening cer emony were Elizabeth Sy, Presi dent, SM Hotels and Conventions Corp. (SMHCC); Peggy Angeles Executive Vice-President, SMHCC; Fabio Barto, the new General Manager of Conrad Manila; and, of course, Impy Pilapil.

During the event, which was also sponsored by Philippine Wine Mer chants, Impy also launched Saturn the first volume of her career auto biography.

Traces of Infinity is open to the public until January 7 at Conrad Ma nila’s C Gallery on the 3rd level. In quiries on the artworks and on Con rad Manila’s offerings may be made through (632) 8833-9999 or conrad manila@conradhotels.com

For feedback, I’m at bobzozob rado@gmail.com

Nickie

Chicken piyanggan

The first floor dining area of Cabel features cozy yet sophisticated furnishings

Cabel

Tiyula Itum

Pampano with Sambal sauce

The ribbon-cutting ceremony with (from left) Conrad Manila GM Fabio Berto, Guest of Honor Gianna Montinola, Impy Pilapil, SMHCC President Elizabeth T. Sy, and SMHCC Executive Vice President Peggy Angeles