Manila Standard - 2022 December 5 - Monday

VP: Keep Xmas parties simple

Bans gift solicitations, reminds schools/DepEd offices of hard times

CHRISTMAS celebrations in public schools and offices of the Department of Education "should be simple yet meaningful, keeping in mind the true spirit of the season and the austerity called for by the difficult economic times," Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte-Carpio said in a recent order.

This was as the DepEd issued guide lines on Dec. 2 for the conduct of Christ mas parties in its offices and public schools, as Filipinos mark the Yuletide season with the loosest restrictions since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Public schools are set to take their Christmas break on Dec. 19, and resume classes on Jan. 4, 2023, giving teachers and students a little over two weeks to get their traditional yearend parties in.

Private schools, community learning centers, and state or local universities and colleges may choose to adopt the DepEd's

guidelines on Christmas parties, accord ing to the agency.

Last month, public schools nationwide returned to five days of face-to-face class es at full capacity, following two years of closures due to the health crisis.

According to the order, Christmas par ties must be voluntary and "not result to expenses that will become a burden on parents, students and DepEd personnel."

"No learner or DepEd personnel should be forced to contribute, participate or use their money for the celebration," it said.

COVID strains keep state of health crisis

By Willie Casas and Rio N. Araja

THE state of public health emergency has not yet been lifted since COVID-19 vari

ants are still a threat, infectious diseases expert Dr. Rontgene Solante said Sunday.

In an interview on radio dzBB, Solante said COVID-19 infections in the country are now “very stable” and even the hos

PBBM rolls out gift-giving in 40 sites across PH

In a speech during the “Balik Sigla, Balik Saya: Nationwide Gift-Giving Day,” the President said it was a tradition for the President to distribute gifts to children at the Palace as part of

Govt assures pork supply, cheaper onions

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said Sunday that sacks of white onions recently confiscated in Divisoria, Manila, would be sold in Kadiwa stalls at a cheaper price.

At the same time, the DA said there was more than sufficient supply of pork to meet the market demand this holiday season, noting that consumers preferred buying fresh meat and that only sellers of

frozen meat were hesitant to release their supplies in bulk.

In a Super Radyo dzBB interview, DA deputy spokesperson Rex Estoperez gave assurances there was no pork shortage, especially with the forthcoming Yuletide.

In the same interview, Estoperez said the onions, estimated to be worth P3.9 million, would have to undergo

an early Christmas celebration. “Christmas would not be complete if we would not see the smiles of our children, grandchildren and youth. That

Senate to go over wealth fund, House ensures further debates

By Macon Ramos-Araneta and Rio N. Araja

By Rey E. Requejo

THE Supreme Court on Sunday announced that the 2023 online and regionalized Bar examinations will be administered earlier in September for only three days instead of four and with only six core subjects instead of eight. The SC through Associate Justice

underscored the need to scrutinize and extensively debate the Maharlika fund that will come from contributions by state pension funds and state-owned lenders.

While he is not against the approval of the MWF, Estrada admitted he has many questions about it.

"First of all, where will they get the money? Second, is it safe or is it risky? If they’re going to get it from GSIS, SSS, are we going to risk the pensions of our pensioners?"

Meteor shower sparkles skies for two weeks

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STRONG ERUPTION. Mount Semeru spews smoke and ash in Lumajang, Indonesia on Sunday (see full story on World page B2). AFP

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. delighted children with gifts like backpacks and toys during a nationwide gift-giving event at the Malacañan Palace Grounds on Sunday.

BONANZA FOR KIDS. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and First Lady Louise Araneta-Marcos are surrounded by children as they lead the Balik Sigla, Bigay Saya: Nationwide Gift-Giving Day in cooperation with the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Health, PAGCOR, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, local government units, private organizations and volunteer groups across the country. Presidential Photo

SENATORS resume their scrutiny of the proposed Maharlika Wealth Fund on Monday even as its staunch advocate in the House of Representatives assured fellow lawmakers and critics that the proposed P275-billion sovereign wealth fund would go through a congressional examination.

Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada

HEAVENLY SIGHT. The Geminid meteor shower last year as captured by NASA photographer Jeff Dai.

last night, Filipino stargazers began to have a skygazing delight in areas where there was no drizzle with the Geminid meteor shower kicking off its two-week show which will peak on December 14 – the first of two this December.

OPEC+ not changing output levels

VIENNA—Major oil-producing countries led by Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed Sunday to maintain their current output levels in a climate of uncertainty and ahead of fresh sanctions against Moscow coming into force next week.

The representatives of the 13 members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) led by Riyadh, and their 10 allies headed by Moscow, decided to stick to their course agreed in October of a production cut of two million barrels per day until the end of 2023.

OPEC+ described its October decision to cut as one "which was purely driven by market considerations",

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health emergency is because of the threat of the variants of concern,” he said in Fili pino.

The state of public health emergency was declared in March 2020, the onset of the pandemic, by then-President Rodrigo Duterte.

The Philippines is also currently under a state of calamity due to the coronavirus outbreak after President Ferdinand Mar cos Jr. extended it until December 31, 2022.

The Department of Health (DOH) has been seeking the passage of a proposed measure that will serve as the basis for the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic even after the declaration of the state of calamity in the country expires.

Currently, the only variant of concern tagged by the World Health Organization (WHO) is Omicron B.1.1.529. However, the Philippines recently detected Omi cron BQ.1, a sublineage of the highly transmissible Omicron BA.5 subvariant.

There are 16 total recorded BQ.1 cases in the country as of Friday, according to the DOH.

Meanwhile, 4Ps Rep. Marcelino Libanan said Malacañang should des ignate a permanent DOH secretary to quickly modernize the country’s health care system and position the Philippines as a global medical hub, just like Singa pore.

“The Philippines has all the assets need ed, including highly trained physicians, nurses, medical technologists and pharma cists, to advance as an international medi cal center for foreign patients looking for world-class health care,” he said.

“In fact, Filipino health care profes sionals are also admired around the world as the most caring. We have to capitalize on this,” he added.

“We should aspire to be like Singa pore, which receives more than 160,000 foreign patients who undergo over 70 kinds of medical treatments or procedures every year,” he said.

“In fact, a growing number of wealthy Filipinos are already flying to Singapore just to seek medical treatment. This is not just about medical tourism. This is also about providing every Filipino, rich or poor, access to world-class medical treat ment services through our public health system,” he added.

The President has not yet nominated a DOH chief but named Vergeire asofficer in charge and extended the state of ca lamity due to continuing the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Friday, Vergeire said the DOH can provide the Commission on Audit (COA) with the documents related to the

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Estrada said he is also baffled why proponents of the fund are rushing its approval when senators have yet to iron out kinks and hold public debates to discuss it.

"Why are they rushing for its approval before going on vacation when we still have many questions about this MWF?” he said.

Estrada backed Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri’s position to have the matter studied carefully by a select group of senators and provide the upper chamber feedback on the essence of the MWF.

He noted that this will determine the pros and cons of MWF.

Meanwhile, Albay Rep. Joey Salceda said Senator Imee Marcos's proposals regarding the Maharlika fund would still go through deliberations in both the House and the Senate.

“I believe they have already constituted a study group on the matter,” he said.

“We can discuss the mix of assets that the fund will invest in, but some allocation

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phytosanitary inspection first before they could be sold at Kadiwa stalls.

“Before we release them, let’s see first if they’re safe or not,” he said in Filipino.

Estoperez said they have been checking the onion inventories in cold storage facilities since prices for the crop rose sharply.

However, he said the DA has not yet issued a certificate of necessity to import, despite earlier saying that the agency was

adding that it had been "the necessary and the right course of action towards stabilizing global oil markets", a statement said.

The next OPEC+ ministerial meeting is scheduled for 4 June 2023.

But the alliance said it was ready to "meet at any time and take immediate additional measures" to address market developments and support the oil market if necessary.

procurement of COVID-19 vaccines, as stated in the non-disclosure agreements (NDA) with the suppliers.

In a press conference, Vergeire said that these NDAs included exemptions that stated that “[if] it is required by law, if it’s required because of a process for auditing or investigation, we (DOH) can already share [the data].”

However, according to COA chairman Gamaliel Cordoba, former Health Secre tary Francisco Duque III had written to the state auditors saying that the DOH could not provide the documents due to the signed NDAs with suppliers.

During the hearing on his ad interim appointment, Cordoba said that the COA legal office position was that they were not bound by the NDAs.

He warned that COA may “have to is sue a notice of suspension and go through the process of notice of disallowance,” including the issuance of a subpoena to DOH, if they will not release the docu ments.

This was considering the special audit requested by the World Bank (WB) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on the loans they granted the Philippine government for the procurement of CO VID-19 vaccines—for which the COA chairman committed to ensuring a com plete audit.

DOH said they were the ones who sent the letter to the COA in September to re quest the special audit and chose COA to be its auditing firm in the agreements.

“Our funds that we have used for us to procure these vaccines came from the different loans with multilateral organiza tions. That's why we also asked for this special audit because the World Bank and thenADB were requiring an audit system for this amount of money we borrowed,” Vergeire said.

“The best agency that we can tap so that we can have an accurate auditing pro cess would be the COA,” she added.

Vergeire also reiterated the DOH’s commitment to cooperate with the audit process and stressed that their legal experts are already looking into the matter to ensure that there will be no violation of the NDAs with vac cine suppliers.

Senator Juan Edgardo Angara, who defended the proposed P13.1-billion bud get of the state audit agency for 2023, ear lier said there was P8.93 billion under the 2021 national budget allocated for vac cine procurement and almost P70 billion from foreign-assisted loans.

He added that there are other appropri ations for COVID-19 vaccines that were included in other laws.

On the other hand, Vergeire said that 44 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines were wasted due to expiration and opera tional wastage.

for foreign securities is necessary. It diversifies the portfolio and allows the Fund to take positions in potentially higher return investments. A fund that grows faster due to some exposure to high-return foreign investments is better than a smaller and severely constrained Fund exclusively investing in domestic investments,” Salceda said.

“That said, I would welcome a proposal to ensure that a certain percentage, at the minimum, of the Fund should be invested in domestic investments,” he added.

“On specifying which investments are allowed per GFI (government financial institution), this might not be possible under the current configuration. Pooling of funds is a key feature and advantage of the current proposal since it maximizes the impact that GFIs can make compared to what they can achieve on their own,” he added.

Estrada urged his colleagues to exercise caution, citing the case of Malaysia when its state-owned investment fund 1MDB, which was supposed to promote development, was channeled into the personal bank account of former Prime

considering the possible importation of onions to fill the market demand.

Estoperez said the current inventory of red onions is at around 13,000 metric tons, and they expect to harvest 5,000 metric tons more by the first week or second week of December.

Earlier, the Bureau of Customs (BoC) and the DA said they foiled attempts to smuggle into the country onions estimated at P30 million.

In a statement, the DA said some 100,000 kilos of yellow onions declared as bread pastries were discovered on Nov. 29 as the government continues

Spotlight on Russia

On Friday, the EU, G7 and Australia agreed a $60-per-barrel price cap on Russian oil, which will come into effect on Monday or soon after, alongside an EU embargo on maritime deliveries of Russian crude oil.

It will prevent seaborne shipments of Russian crude to the European Union, which account for two thirds of the bloc's oil imports from Russia, an attempt to deprive Moscow's war chest of billions of euros.

While Russia denounced on Saturday the incoming price cap, threatening to suspend deliveries to any country that adopted the measure, Ukraine suggested the cap should have been set even lower. For OPEC+, the big unknown in the

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No student should also be excluded from joining Christmas parties because they failed to give a contribution or gift, the agency added.

Old Christmas decorations "should be recycled. [The] purchase of new de

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Ramon Paul Hernando, chairman of the 2023 Bar examinations committee, said the exams will be held on Sept. 17, 20, and 24 in various testing centers nationwide.

“Commercials Law and Taxation Law have been conjoined to the close affinity between these two fields in legal practice, while Remedial Law and Legal and Judicial Ethics with Practical Exercises were fused together as these subjects complement each other in actual practice,” Hernando said.

Because of this, the subjects for examinations on Sept. 17, 2023 will be Political and Public International Law in the morning, and Commercial and Taxation Laws in the afternoon, from 8 a.m. to 12 noon and from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

On Sept. 20, 2023, the subjects covered are Civil Law in the morning and Labor Law and Social Legislation in the afternoon. On Sept. 24, 2023, Criminal Law and Remedial Law will be in the morning and Legal and Judicial Ethics with Practical Exercises in the afternoon.

The schedule of the 2023 Bar exams and the modifications were announced by Justice Hernando in his message during the third day of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP)-Northern Luzon Regional Convention last Dec. 3 in Cauayan City in Isabela.

Hernando said the early release of the Bar exams results would be complementary to an early conduct of the examinations.

“We will therefore have aspirants to the profession earning their J.D. (Juris Doctor) degree, taking the Bar exams, taking the oath and signing the roll of attorneys all in the same year,” he said.

The SC’s Public Information Office said Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo also attended the IBP’s convention in Cauayan City.

Gesmundo said the SC has decided to conduct all Bar exams online “in line with the Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations’ 2022-2027 (SPJI) drive towards running all of the judiciary’s adjudicative and administrative systems digitally.”

Minister Najib Razak.

“I’m not saying this will happen in the Philippines. But we need additional safety nets or safeguards if this will be approved," he said.

With only two weeks left before Congress goes on Christmas break and numerous questions that must be answered, Estrada expressed pessimism about whether the bill can be approved by the Senate.

“That is my opinion right now. Why the rush?"

If the Senate President will designate senators concerned, he said a timetable should be given to finish the study and scrutinize the MWF thoroughly.

The fund, Salceda said, could prioritize certain investments in agriculture, infrastructure, and health care.

On the demand for pension fund investments to be zero-risk, the government guarantee to GFI infusions in the form of preferred shares and convertible debts would make these investments zero-risk, Salceda said.

“Finally, on the concern about Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas investments in the

to investigate the perceived shortage of onions in the country.

The shipment of yellow onions was discovered on Nov. 29 as the government continues to look into the supposed Shortage of onions in the country.

The DA monitoring has established that the price of red onions has peaked at over P300 a kilo.

Nevertheless, the DA said supply of the onions appeared sufficient.

Import documents indicated that the shipment "did not undergo any food safety regulations," the DA said.

“Smuggled agriculture products pose

oil equation is how heavily sanctions will hit Russian supply.

"Uncertainty on the impact on Russian oil production coming from the EU ban... and the G7 price cap and some easing of mobility restrictions in China likely supported the decision for a rollover," UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said.

An 'uncomfortable position' Moscow's threat to suspend deliveries to countries abiding by the price cap will put "some in a very uncomfortable position", said OANDA analyst Craig Erlam: "Choosing between losing access to cheap Russian crude or facing G7 sanctions". (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

cors are not encouraged," the DepEd said

Christmas parties can be organized within class hours as long as they do not interfere with the scheduled lesson plans, the department said.

The department also reminded person nel that "solicitations, whether in cash or in kind, are not allowed for Christmas parties or holiday celebrations."

“The high cost of litigation and lack of publicly-accessible information on the courts, judicial processes, and legal aid have hindered access to the courts by many,” he said.

“Thus, under our SPJI, we will enhance public access to information through the development and deployment of intelligent platforms for self-help services, public assistance, and public access to court-related information and services,” he said.

Gesmundo vowed that the judiciary will strengthen its legal aid initiatives by revitalizing the IBP’s legal aid program and reinforcing the Clinical Legal Education Program under Revised Rule 138-A, or the Law Student Practice Rule, of the Rules of Court.

“Towards this end, we launched, just five days ago, the National Summit on Legal Aid and just two days ago, the National Summit on Legal Education,” he said.

“Truly, we recognize that the Court has a duty to evolve with the times, and to adopt technological advancements that will improve its service to the public and the fulfillment of its constitutional duties.”

“While we are proud of the work we have done so far and the reforms we have already implemented and continue to implement, we know very well that it would still be a long and challenging journey ahead,” he added.

SC Senior Associate Justice Marvic and Associate Justice Mario V. Lopez also attended the IBP convention.

While in Cagayan, the SC-PIO said that Gesmundo and Hernando, together with Court of Appeals Associate Justice Raymond Reynold R. Lauigan, Court Administrator Raul B. Villanueva, Assistant Court Administrator Maria Regina Adoracion Filomena M. Ignacio, and Assistant Court Administrator and PIO Chief Brian Keith F. Hosaka met the judges and personnel of the Tuguegarao City Hall of Justice.

Gesmundo took time to talk with litigants who were waiting for their respective hearings and listened to their concerns and feedback about the courts.

form of foreign reserves, we have already amended the provision so that the BSP's required investments come from declared dividends, not foreign currency reserves from OFW and BPO remittances and income,” he said.

As House technical working group chairperson on the bill, he said he welcomed discussions on the bill.

“I am sure Senator Marcos will also be very active in discussions once the Senate begins hearings on the bill,” he said.

Former Supreme Court Justice Antonio Carpio had raised concerns about the fund's constitutionality, saying since the SSS and GSIS funds are personal contributions of their respective members who own the funds, the income of SSS and GSIS investible funds must benefit only their respective members.

“The income of the Maharlika [SWF] is for the benefit of all Filipinos, including nonSSS and non-GSIS members. The law cannot give the income from SSS and GSIS funds to non-members who did not contribute to the funds,” Carpio said in a statement. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

danger to the local agri-fisheries sector because "cargoes may be carriers of transboundary diseases," Agriculture Assistant Secretary James Layug said.

The farmers group Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) earlier said there was enough supply of pork for the holidays even as prices went up in several wet markets in Metro Manila.

Farmgate prices of live hogs are around P155 to P175 per kilo, according to the group.

But prices of pork products in several wet markets in Metro Manila spiked to P300 a kilo.

LRT-1 to reopen Roosevelt stop, adjusts hours

THE Light Rail Manila Corp. (LRMC) is set to reopen the Roosevelt Station and adjust the train service hours of the Light Rail Transit Line 1 today, Monday. LRMC said the reopening of the Roosevelt Station comes after two days of operational exercises to integrate the area under the Alstom signaling system, which prompted the suspension of operations from Baclaran to Balintawak.

“We are happy to announce that our team has completed all the necessary works to ensure that LRT1 is safe to be operated with the reintegration of Roosevelt Station,” LRMC Chief Operating Officer Rolando Paulino III said in a statement.

“The whole exercise of reintegrating Roosevelt was likewise a great display of teamwork and cooperation among our LRT1 employees and external partners,” he added over the weekend.

In the same statement, LRMC announced changes in the train service schedule of LRT1, with the last train leaving the Baclaran Station at 10 p.m. on weekdays, and at 9:30 p.m. on weekends and holidays.

The last train from Roosevelt will leave at 10:15 p.m. on weekdays, and 9:45 p.m. on weekends and holidays.

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The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said the Geminid meteor shower was expected to deliver 120 meteors per hour under clear sky conditions.

The Ursid meteor shower will chase the Geminid meteor shower from December 17 to 26. This can show around four meteors per hour when Ursa Minor is at its peak before dawn on December 23.

PAGASA said these showers would be visible to the naked eye. It is ideal to observe them in a remote and dark location away from the city lights and under clear sky conditions.

Weather experts say the best time to see anything in the night sky is when the sky is darkest and when the target is at its highest position in the sky. For meteor showers, this usually occurs between midnight and the very early hours of the morning.

“This (meteor shower) is produced by debris left behind by asteroid 3200 Phaethon,” PAGASA said. “Best time to observe is around 2 a.m. when its radiant, constellation Gemini, reaches its highest position in the sky.”

The Geminids are a prolific meteor shower caused by the object 3200 Phaethon, which is thought to be a Palladian asteroid with a "rock comet" orbit. This would make the Geminids, together with the Quadrantids, the only major meteor showers not originating from a comet.

The Geminid meteor shower, typically the strongest meteor shower of the year, is officially active in the night skies and producing shooting stars and fireballs. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

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is why this is a very, very happy day for me because it has been a long tradition of the Palace to hold a children’s party during Christmas),” he said.

Mr. Marcos said the annual event is held to ensure that all children across the country will have a happy Christmas celebration.

“So we can make sure that all children across the country celebrate Christmas and there’s a small party, gift-giving, games and all of that,” he added.

Mr. Marcos said the nationwide giftgiving event is being held simultaneously in 40 locations across the country.

Livestreams of the gift-giving in different locations were also broadcast via Zoom.

The President and his wife, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos were also serenaded by a children’s choir’s rendition of “O Holy Night” and “I Wish You a Merry Christmas”.

The gifts the children received at Malacañang were provided out of the generosity of private businesses as well government agencies that included the Office of the President, Department of Health, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation.

Mr. Marcos recalled how he once participated in the games in his youth, adding that the tradition began during his father’s time.

“That’s the stage where magicians performed. There weren’t any inflatables yet, just food and games. I’m just continuing the tradition that was begun in my father’s time. It was the funniest day, all the kids would come… I also used to play with other kids,” he said. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

DBM vows transparency via digital

WITH the digitalization efforts of the government underway, the public may soon be able to know in real time how the national budget is utilized and monitor the status of government projects.

The Department of Budget and Man agement made this statement during the recent held Pilipinas Conference 2022 which was organized by think tank Stratbase ADR Institute.

DBM Undersecretary Maria Franc esca Del Rosario, head of the Informa tion and Communications Technology Group, said digitalization will ensure transparency and accountability in government.

“We’re pushing for the Budget and Treasury Management System, which is a system that enables efficiency and transparency of the government’s fi nancial transactions. Ultimately, this data will be fed to a warehouse, where all the government agencies can open the data, get it real time. And the public will be able to know how the budget is being utilized,” Del Rosario explained.

“We’re also reviving Project DIME:

Digital Imaging Monitoring Evaluation, where the public will see, using satellites, how much of the projects have been com pleted. They’ll be able to know the utili zation and how long it will take to finish the project,” she added.

In her keynote speech, Budget Sec retary Amenah Pangandaman said, through digitalization, the government hopes to energize citizen participation in governance.

Sec. Pangandaman said the govern ment is in the process of establishing a Civil Society Organization (CSO) desk that will serve as the focal unit for all concerns related to public participation in the budget process, among others.

“The Philippine Open Government Partnership (PH-OGP) Initiative will fo cus on harnessing technologies that will help build the capacity of CSOs to prop erly monitor and evaluate national com mitments,” Pangandaman explained.

Stratbase President Professor Dindo Manhit also emphasized in his speech the importance of transparency in gov ernment to ordinary Filipinos.

“The Philippines is in a long emer gency where the many people remain to be in poverty and unemployed. Data shows that Filipinos are jobless, hungry, and poor. They are clamoring for transparency and governance,” Manhit said.

Tolentino: Probe on BFAR orders must continue

THE Senate must proceed with its in vestigation on the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) crack down on the illegal selling of pompano and salmon in wet markets despite the moratorium issued on Friday, Senator Francis Tolentino said on Sunday.

In a radio interview over DZBB, Tolen tino said the Senate committee on agricul ture must not only investigate the 23-yearold Fisheries Administrative Order No. 195 which the crackdown was based but also other issues confronting BFAR.

“All issues in BFAR should be looked into, especially its orders,” To lentino said.

“The sudden implementation of FAO No. 195 is surprising. It’s Christmas sea son and then it will only be limited to canning and processing. People deserve to eat pompano and salmon, so this law is very discriminatory,” he said.

Despite the moratorium issued against the implementation of the or der, Tolentino believed that it is about time BFAR should revise the order.

“Even if there is a moratorium, to avoid this in the future, we must know what basis they implemented it on. Why was it not revised, why did it coincide with the closed fishing season?,” he said.

Aside from FAO No. 195, he said BFAR should also explain why the im plementation of FAO 195, the closed fishing season, and the plan to import 25,000 metric tons of galunggong hap pened all at the same time.

Earlier, some senators have de scribed FAO 195 as anti-poor and dis criminatory and called for the imme diate review of the order adding that this is already outdated.

The order was first issued in 1999 but was only questioned this year.

It outlawed the sale of pink salmon and pompano in wet markets, to give fisherfolk the priority to sell their catch.

With Macon Ramos-Araneta

Filipina, two Nigerians arrested as PNP busts love scam syndicate in Las Piñas

THE Philippine National Police (PNP) on Sunday announced the arrest of three sus pects, including two Nigerian nationals, who were engaged in an online love scam, during operations in Las Piñas City on Saturday.

In a statement, PNP chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. identified the suspects as Lean na Veronica Padua, 23; Nigerians Precious Samuel and Ushahemva Ijirzua, both 23, who were arrested by PNP Anti-Cyber Crimes Group agents. They were nabbed during joint police operations of the Southern District AntiCybercrime Team and Las Piñas City police for violation of Article 315 of the Revised

Penal Code on swindling/estafa in relation to Section 5(a) and (b) and Section 6 of Re public Act 10175, also known as Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.

According to the report, the complainant is a 55-year-old female who allegedly was befriended by a certain “Philip Brian” in one social media site, and their online affairs con tinued using a smart mobile phone application.

The suspect managed to borrow money from the victim, amounting to PHP230,000 via a money transfer.

The investigation showed that after a few days, the suspect continued to ask for mon ey from the victim.

3 suspects in slay of policemen in Pampanga nabbed after chase

THREE suspects who shot and killed two members of the Philippine Na tional Police on Saturday in Mabala cat, Pampanga, were arrested during a pursuit operation.

PNP chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin identi fied the suspects as Jun Jun Espiritu Bal uyut, 44; Aries Espiritu Bagsic, 40; and Leslie Placiente, 30. They were arrested minutes after alleg edly killing Master Sgt. Sofronio Capitle Jr. and Staff Sgt. Dominador Gacusan Jr., both members of Mabalacat City Police Station (CPS)-Station Drug Enforcement

Unit (SDEU), on South Daang Bakal Road, Barangay Dau, Mabalacat City, around 3:30 a.m. Saturday.

Initial investigation said the two cops were about to board a motorcycle after an anti-narcotics operation around 3:30 a.m. when five armed men shot them.

Based on witnesses’ accounts, the suspects alighted from their motorcy cles and, at point-blank, shot the vic tims in the head.

Police immediately conducted a pursuit operation that led to the arrest of three of the five suspects.

SARDINE-MAKING SCHOOL. Students from Dipolog School of Fisheries in Olingan, Dipolog City

Danny Pata

MARIAN PARADE. Catholic devotees adorn images of the Virgin Mary with flowers and colorful dresses, then fill the streets of Intramuros (inset) during the 41st Intramuros Grand Marian Procession in Manila on Sunday. Norman Cruz and Danny Pata

Why Maharlika?

Estrada, controversy swirled about the risky investments allegedly incurred by the private employees’ pension fund.

NO, THE title is not about questioning the resurrection of the word “maharlika,” which at one time a former president thought of renaming the Philippines with.

Renaming the country is not exactly a bad idea, if we are to recall that our country is named after the crown prince Felipe who eventually became king of Spain, and under whose rule the empire’s power began to wane.

Having fought against our colonial masters, only to surrender as quickly to another, this time the US of A whose president, William McKinley believed it was their “manifest destiny” to colonize other countries to “educate” the natives into the American way of life, Philippines as country name evokes colonial subjugation.

In the case of Bolivia, they named ttheir country after the Libertador, Simon Bolivar whose struggle culminated in the independence of Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia from Spanish rule.

In our case, we are named after a colonial master whose beautiful language we have discarded for the language of a new imperialist. But enough of historical trivia that is not too trivial.

The House of Representatives seems all set to pass legislation creating a sovereign investment fund, and it is to be named Maharlika Sovereign Wealth Fund.

Patterned after those of Norway, and nearer to home, Singapore’s Temasek and Malaysia’s 1MDB, the fund hopes to pool surplus revenues (do we have any?) or idle funds of GFIs and GOCCs, in this case, initially from government employees’ pension funds (GSIS), or private sector employees’ (SSS) plus the supposedly agricultural-funding bank, Landbank, and the industrial development-supporting DBP.

Still and all, the major issue which even the virtually ‘dead’ opposition will surely invoke against Maharlika is trust in fund management and distrust in government...

As the investment fund’s life continues, the authors, headed by no less than Speaker Martin Romualdez and presidential son Rep. Sandro A. Marcos, are also looking at excess funds of Pagcor, PCSO, and government shares in whatever mining and natural gas exploration activities there would be prospectively.

The opposition to the sovereign wealth fund comes from several factors, principal among which are (1) the use of pension funds, which in truth are not governmentowned, being fiduciary instruments gathered from contributions of the labor sector, both private and public; the possibility of graft and corruption in a massive scale, reminiscent of Najib Razak’s plunder of the 1MDB which has, in a rule of law system alien to our country, resulted in his imprisonment; and (3) the timing of the creation and its eventual operationalization at a time of more urgent needs, and a massive legacy debt amounting to 13.54 trillion pesos.

On the use of pension funds, one is reminded of the shortened actuarial life of the Social Security System, borne by leakages in collection on top of recently mandated increase of pensions.

In the shortened presidency of Joseph

By Fulya Ozerkan

The GSIS was likewise embroiled in fund management controversies in the past, such as its ownership of Philippine Airlines and the mismanagement thereof, although learning from such financial misadventures, successive GSIS administrators have improved the actuarial life of the fund, and given government employees better than fair shake.

The pension fund for military and uniformed personnel, through the now defunct RSBS, has become another sticking point in how government-appointed managers oversee such fiduciary monies.

With populist measures such as doubling of uniformed personnel salaries thus increasing pension requirements, one of the fiscal nightmares of the State is how to fund the same.

There is a proposal to get the GSIS to oversee the MUP system, but no sane GSIS manager would allow co-mingling of military pensions with its current fund.

Unless of course, Congress appropriates a separate financing support for these. Given our parlous finances, that is not easy.

So why touch 125 billion of GSIS, 50 billion each from SSS and Landbank, and 25 billion from DBP as initial funding for Maharlika SWF?

GSIS is presently liquid, true, but government pensioners and civil servant contributors will howl at the potential risk of improper fund management. SSS has shortened actuarial concerns.

At a time when agriculture and food security is our main problem, should not the Landbank concentrate on its raison d’etre, which is to assist agricultural production and help improve farmer incomes, insulate them from climate risks?

And how about these government institutions’ exposure to failed massive projects like Hanjin Shipyard which went under, and now given a new lease by littlefinanced Cerberus of the US?

And on the second front, if Najib could do what he did to 1MDB in such a short period, would the same not be replicated in a country like ours, where people are eversuspicious, and rightly so by experience, with government?

Finance Secretary Ben Diokno allays such fears by stating that Maharlika will be managed by competent private sector managers. Oh, come on, that is not enough to reassure our people.

And finally, why now?

We are saddled by a humongous 13.54 billion debt at a time when our budget deficit is also more than a trillion, industry is pummeled by high energy costs and supply chain problems, and agriculture by tripled fertilizer costs, higher inputs, and climate change effects. Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

Of course, taking a long view, one can invoke that advice attributed to Rothschild, that “the time to invest is when blood is spilling on the streets.”

There may be a bloody war in Ukraine, an economic war between the US and China so this may be the time to take bold risks with public money.

Except that private money can take huge risks and gamble even; government should not.

If such is the intent of its proponents, why not invest a small percentage of the Bangko Sentral-held foreign exchange reserves, which is around 94.1 billion US dollars?

That is supposed to support our trading requirements and defend the peso, if need be, apart from being one of the “healthy” factors that give us good ratings from Moody’s and S and P?

Five percent of 94.1 billion dollars is about equal to what Maharlika wants to get from our pension funds and other GFI’s. Deducting that from the BSP’s account should not affect our monetary health as much.

Still and all, the major issue which even the virtually “dead” opposition will surely invoke against Maharlika is trust in fund management and distrust in government, never mind the fact that Octa says now that the president and vice-president enjoy high trust and approval ratings.

EDITORIAL

The President’s approval/trust ratings

THIS comes as no surprise at all.

an overwhelming majority of Filipinos approve of and trust President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., based on the latest survey of the OCTA Research released last week, shows that his triumph in the May 9 general elections was no fluke.

OCTA’s Tugon ng Masa poll showed the chief executive registering an 86 percent trust rating and a 78 percent performance rating.

According to the survey, only 4 percent expressed distrust in the president, while 5 percent were not satisfied with his performance.

His trust rating ranged from 82 percent to 92 percent in the regions, with his highest trust rating in Mindanao at 92 percent, while he registered an 82 percent trust rating in the National Capital Region.

The Chief Executive’s trust ratings ranged from 78 percent to 90 percent among the social classes.

He obtained the highest boost from adult Filipinos belonging to Class E, or the “poorest of the poor,” registering 90 percent.

The chief executive’s performance ratings

We are glad that the administration’s economic team has been doing their job and managed to steer the economy back on track, with a 7.6 percent GDP growth in the third quarter

ranged from 74 percent to 85 percent, with the highest performance rating registered in Mindanao at 85 percent.

What the survey results tell us four months into the president’s term is that he has successfully navigated his first 100 days in office that political observers monitor as indicative of future

performance.

The latest OCTA survey results also validate what it earlier reported, that 85 percent of Filipino adults strongly agree that the country under the Marcos administration is headed in the right direction, with only 6 percent expressing disagreement.

President Marcos described the OCTA survey results as “very encouraging,” saying it is important for government policies and programs to be felt by Filipinos across all socioeconomic classes.

Indeed, the new administration has ample reason to be elated by the survey results. But we also need to emphasize that this is no time for complacency, given the enormous challenges it faces in the years ahead.

The biggest challenge at this point is to accelerate economic recovery even as the nation still has to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic. We are glad that the administration’s economic team has been doing their job and managed to steer the economy back on track, with a 7.6 percent GDP growth in the third quarter. This is better than what was achieved in the same period last year, and gives much hope that the year-end economic performance will reflect a sustained positive outcome in 2023.

Environment, Social, Governance, Resilience

survivability rate of over 80 percent.

IN THE COP27 summit in Egypt held last month, the United Nations Environment Program reported that the world is way off the mark on international commitments to reduce emissions by 30 to 45 percent by 2030 and planetary temperature is headed for a 2.8 degree rise instead of the 1.5 degree committed in Paris.

For the Philippines, a country that does not even count when it comes to green house gas emissions, this means we have to brace ourselves for more destructive and unpredictable weather patterns that will further aggravate the already challenging trek to economic recovery from the pandemic crisis.

As one of the most vulnerable countries threatened by the impact of climate change, we have no choice but to build up our resilience and disaster response.

This is a responsibility that will need the collective participation of the whole society, a multi-stakeholder collaboration for sustainability with the government and most especially the private sector taking the lead.

I had the honor of being the program host of the Pilipinas Conference 2022 session on “Bolstering Private Sector Initiatives: Promoting Investment-led, Sustainable, Resilient Economic Growth” where the Department of Education and Natural Resources Secretary Ma. Antonia “Toni” Yulo-Loyzaga recognized the critical role of the private sector and called for the adoption of climate and disaster resilience into core business value cycles through investment strategies, enterprise risk-management, and integrate what she called environment, social, governance, resilience programs.

Secretary Loyzaga expressed the need to confront the climate emergency through comprehensive risk management that emphasizes evidence-informed prevention to reinforce disaster risk recovery planning over emergency response and presented three action points.

First is to establish a national risk registry

that captures a multi-stakeholder horizon to ensure a shared understanding of risks to climate related and other hazards.

Second, a national natural resource geospatial base must be created.

And third will be to intersect these data as the basis for identifying scenario-based challenges to the goals of inclusive, resilient, and sustainable development and prioritizing strategies, laws, policies, and actions to respond to these situations.

The private sector being the driver of economic trajectory of which emissions is an unavoidable byproduct is in the best position to lead and mitigate the cause and build resilience to the consequences of climate change

Dr. Carlos Primo “CP” David, a Trustee and Program Convenor of the Stratbase ADR Institute and the Lead Convenor of the Philippine Business for Environmental Stewardship (PBEST) spoke on the value of ESG (environment, social, governance) to the common good and recognized that many companies have already have integrated these principles as a core deliverable.

He points out three private sector practices that government can learn from regarding ESG investments.

First is efficiency because of the nature of private enterprise to be viable to maximize profits citing the case of government’s national reforestation program which costs Php 44,000 per hectare with a 60 percent survivability rate compared to a leading geothermal power company’s reforestation program with lower cost of P30,000 and

Second is scale where private sector ESG investments of only 1-5 percent of total budget sees its real value contribution expanding as the company grows.

Third is leverage. Private companies are influencing its partners and linked businesses to impose the same ideals on its suppliers thereby magnifying ESG investments several times over.

The best practices shared by the private sector panelists on environmental stewardship and how we should work together in the context of transitioning towards sustained economic recovery were both encouraging and enlightening especially their insights on the right policy environment needed to expand ESG investments.

Mr. Guillermo “Bill” Luz, Chairperson of Liveable Cities Philippines suggested that in the digitization budget for 2023 that instead of procuring hardware, procurement of software services should be allowed, and to work with the private sector in maintaining and updating digital services.

Mr. Rene “Butch” Meily, President of Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation warned of the looming water crisis and said that there needs to be more incentives for new buildings to build water catchments.

Mr. Raymond Ravelo, First Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer of Meralco also suggested more fiscal incentives to develop more clean energy sources and investing in renewable energy technologies.

Mr. Gerard Brimo, Vice Chairman of the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines echoed the call to go beyond compliance and for consistent and stable policies to attract the large responsible mining companies to invest in the country’s mineral assets to meet the surging global demand for minerals essential to the growing digital economy.

Though climate change is a global threat that will need solutions on a planetary scale, being in the receiving end of the super typhoons generated by increasing temperatures will require urgent action from all sectors of our country.

The private sector being the driver of economic trajectory of which emissions is an unavoidable by-product is in the best position to lead and mitigate the cause and build resilience to the consequences of climate change.

Concern rises as new Turkish media law squeezes dissent

A NEW law gives Turkey fresh ammunition to censor the media and silence dissent ahead of elections in which President Recep Tayyip Erdogan plans to prolong his two decades in office, journalists and activists say.

Since 2014, when Erdogan became president, tens of thousands of people, from high-school teens to a former Miss Turkey have been prosecuted under a longstanding law that criminalizes insulting the president.

The law, passed in parliament in October, could see reporters and social media users jailed for up to three years for spreading what is branded “fake news.”

“Prosecution, investigation and threats are part of our daily life,” Gokhan Bicici, editor-in-chief of Istanbul-based independent news portal dokuz8NEWS, told AFP at his news portal’s headquarters on the Asian side of the Bosphorus.

“Being more careful, trying as much as possible not to be a target is the main concern of many journalists in Turkey today, including the most free ones.”

Press advocates say the new law could

allow authorities to shut down the internet, preventing the public from hearing about exiled Turkish mob boss Sedat Peker’s claims about the government’s alleged dirty affairs.

Or, they say, the government could restrict access to social media as they did after a November 13 bomb attack in Istanbul which killed six people and which authorities blamed on the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

Most Turkish newspapers and television channels run by allies toe the government line, but social networks and internetbased media remained largely free -- to the dismay of Erdogan.

Next June he faces his trickiest elections yet since becoming prime minister in 2003 and subsequently winning the presidency.

His ruling party’s approval ratings have dropped to historic lows amid astronomical inflation and a currency crisis.

‘Enormous control’

Digital rights expert Yaman Akdeniz said the law provides “broad and uncircumscribed discretion to authorities” in its potential widespread use ahead of the election.

“It is therefore no surprise that the first person to be investigated for this crime is

the leader of the main opposition party,” he told AFP.

Kemal Kilicdaroglu, a likely candidate for president in next year’s election, came under fire for accusing the government on Twitter over “an epidemic of methamphetamines” in Turkey.

Bicici says the government already had enough ammunition – from anti-terror to defamation laws -- to silence the free media.

Erdogan has defended the new law,

however, calling it an “urgent need” and likening “smear campaigns” on social networks to a “terrorist attack.”

Paradoxically, Erdogan himself has a social media account and urged his supporters to rally through Twitter after surviving a coup attempt in 2016.

The government maintains that the law fights disinformation and has started publishing a weekly “disinformation bulletin”.

Emma Sinclair-Webb of Human Rights Watch said the government “is equipping itself with powers to exert enormous control over social media.”

“The law puts the tech companies in a very difficult position: they either have to comply with the law and remove content or even hand over user data or they face enormous penalties,” she said.

Uneasy future Turkish journalists staged protests when the bill was debated in parliament.

“This law... will destroy the remaining bits of free speech,” said Gokhan Durmus, head of the Turkish Journalists’ Union.

Fatma Demirelli, director of the P24 press freedom group, pointed to “new arrests targeting a large number of journalists working for Kurdish media

outlets since this summer.”

“We are concerned that this new law... might further exacerbate the situation by pushing up the number of both prosecutions and imprisonments of journalists significantly,” she told AFP.

In October, nine journalists were remanded in custody accused of alleged ties to the PKK, which Ankara and its Western allies blacklist as a terror group.

Ergin Caglar, a journalist for the Mezopotamya news agency that was raided by police, said despite pressure “the free media has never bowed its head until today, and it will not after the censorship law and the arrests.”

Dokuz8NEWS reporter Fatos Erdogan said reporting is getting tougher, pointing out police barricades to AFP as she filmed a recent protest against the arrest of the head of the Turkish doctors’ union, Sebnem Korur Fincanci.

“I have a feeling there will be more pressure after the censorship law,” she said.

Erol Onderoglu of Reporters Without Borders who himself stands accused of terror-related charges, said the law “rejects all the qualities of journalism and having a dissident identity. AFP

Chin

Joyce Pangco Pañares

Rolando

In October, nine journalists were remanded in custody accused of alleged ties to the PKK, which Ankara and its Western allies blacklist as a terror group

IN BRIEF

Gatchalian: Consumer Act needs to be enhanced

AS CONSUMER spending acceler ates ahead of Christmas and New Year festivities, Senator Win Gatchalian is seeking to amend the Consumer Act of the Philippines (Republic Act No. 7394) to strengthen the rights of con sumers and enhance measures de signed to protect them.

“It is important that consumers are empowered to make well-informed decisions as they choose products and services for themselves and their loved ones as this will also empower legitimate enterprises to grow their businesses,” Gatchalian said in a news release on Sunday.

AFP holds face-to-face summit for ROTC

THE Armed Forces of the Philip pines (AFP) on Saturday conducted a nationwide face-to-face and online summit for officers and cadets of the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) program.

The event was held at Tejeros Hall at Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City with AFP chief-of-staff Lt. Gen. Bartolome Vicente Bacarro as the guest of honor and speaker.

Groundbreaking held for Limay General Hospital

BATAAN officials led the ground breaking on Friday afternoon of the P400-million Limay General Hospi tal in Limay, Bataan.

“This hospital is a dream for Li may officials, a dream for Mayor Nelson David and Vice Mayor Richie David, to provide the hospi tal needs of residents of Limay and nearby towns”, said Bataan 2nd dis trict Congressman Abet Garcia.

“We have already secured the need ed funding of P400 million, which will come from the provincial govern ment, Limay LGU, and DPWH. We believe the DPWH will see to it that within a year, we already have a wellconstructed Limay General Hospital,” Garcia said. Butch Gunio

Lawmaker sees a strong basis for EPIRA plan

By Rio N. Araja

CAMARINES Sur Rep. LRay Villa fuerte said he finds a stronger argu ment for Congress to back President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s plan to amend the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) to ensure adequate and cheaper power for consumers.

“Only a makeover of EPIRA, which allows even inefficient or mismanaged power suppliers — like a number of electric cooperatives (ECs) — to keep their monopolies over their respective places of operation, could bring about true free market competition in these franchise areas — and clear the way to stable and more affordable electric ity plus better customer services for household, commercial and industrial consumers,” he said.

During a Commission on Appoint ments committee hearing on Energy Secretary Raphael Perpetuo Lotilla, Villafuerte said he was able to draw out from the energy official “an ac knowledgment that both the EPIRA Law of 2001 and the subsequent Mi crogrid Systems Act of 2022 have not led to the entry of enough power dis tribution utilities or microgrid service providers in many areas underserved by the existing franchise holders or in those mostly faraway communities with no electricity at all.”

Hike allowance of village workers—Tingog solons

render to their constituents,” they added.

By Rio N. Araja

They filed House Bill No. 2349 seek ing to raise the allowances of village officials, grant honoraria and other ben efits to the workers, and give watchmen who have served for at least one year compensation and benefits.

“Under Republic Act No. 7160, oth erwise known as the Local Government Code of 1991, as amended, barangay offi cials are compensated in the form of hon

orarium at an amount not less than P1,000 per month for the Punong Barangay and P600 per month for each Sangguniang Barangay member, Barangay Treasurer and Barangay Secretary,” they said.

“As the Act was enacted decades ago, such compensations are no longer in ac cordance with the regional minimum wage level. Further, excluded therein are barangay tanods despite the services they

The proposed measure shall provide a compensation package commensurate with the work and services the barangay officials extend to their constituents and to encourage and professionalize the re cruitment of barangay officials.

HB 2349 bats to amend Section 393 of the Local Government Code by increas ing the minimum honoraria or allow ances that could be given to barangay officials, including barangay watchmen and members of Lupong Tagapamayapa.

It shall increase the minimum allow ance of Punong Barangay from P1,000 to P3,500 per month, and the P600 allowance of Sangguniang Barangay members, barangay treasurer, secre tary and watchmen to be increased to P2,500 per month.

PASKUHAN VILLAGE GIFT-GIVING.

Malabon City Mayor Jeannie Sandoval, together with Malabon Chamber of Commerce and Industries president Benjamin Chua, led the gift-giving ceremonies during the inauguration of “Paskuhan Village,” the city’s first outdoor Christmas market.

The Paskuhan Village aims to help micro, small, and medium enterprises showcase their products.

PAL to begin Cebu-Borongan flights Dec. 19

By Ronald O. Reyes

FLAG carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) said it is all set for its maiden flight from Cebu City to the Borongan City Airport on December 19, after it recently signed a memorandum of agreement with the city government.

“The entire Philippine Airlines fam ily shares the excitement of the people of Eastern Samar over the new PAL service between Cebu and Borongan,” Captain Stanley Ng, PAL president and chief operating officer, said.

PAL will operate Cebu-Borongan flights twice a week, every Mondays and Fridays.

According to Ng, PAL is looking for ward to welcoming more business and leisure travelers from around the country and the world to Borongan “so that they may discover spectacular surfing haven and the home of vast natural treasures.”

Borongan Mayor Jose Ivan Dayan Agda said “we are very happy with this partnership. With these direct flights, it will be more convenient for Boronganons to travel to and from our beloved city.”

“Many travelers have long lamented how inconvenient it is to travel to our city. Hopefully, these flights will cre ate more business and tourism oppor tunities for Borongan,” Agda said.

Currently, travelers to the capital of Eastern Samar province have to land at the DZR Airport in Tacloban City, then they would travel 5 hours to 6 hours by land to reach Borongan.

The other option is to travel by land from Manila, which takes around two days.

“One of the main reasons why many of our fellow Boronganons who have been living elsewhere do not come and visit our city is because of the travel required to go here,” Rupert Ambil, city information of ficer-in-charge and head of Borongan City Flight Operations said.

MIAA executive denies involvement in human smuggling syndicate

also

In

Solano, qouted by the ABS-CBN News report, added that her family is contemplating filing cyberlibel charges against editors of the media organiza tion who published the story and as well as the writer.

Bungag added that Solano was also not sacked but was promoted as ad ministrative department head and that Solano had nothing to with any illegal operations of human smugglers.

DFA chief lauds PH role in human rights

By Rey E. Requejo

DEPARTMENT of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Enrique Manalo on Sunday lauded the Phil ippines’ role in protecting the rights of overseas Filipinos, even as he noted the importance of mul ti-sectoral cooperation in advancing human rights on a global scale.

In his video message for the National Human Rights Consciousness Week 2022 and the 74th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Hu man Rights, Manalo said he is honored to be among “fellow champions and defenders of hu man rights.”

“The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) with its mission to promote and protect Philippine interest in the global community has been at the forefront of advancing the welfare of overseas Fili

pinos and pursuing opportunities or constructive cooperation on human rights with various interna tional partners,” Manalo said.

The country’s top diplomat cited the Philippines and United Nations Joint Program on Human Rights (UNJP) as it “aptly reflects our theme on the role of human rights advancement in building strong foundation for peace, justice, environment, development, and solidarity.”

Manalo stressed that at the core of the UNJP is “inclusivity” because “it brings together the government, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), civil society, and a number of UN and oth er international partners.”

According to Manalo, the goal of the UNJP at strengthening the human rights work of national institutions, as well as “supporting domestic pro cesses through technical cooperation.”

TINGOG party-list Representatives Yedda Marie Romualdez and Jude Acidre on Sunday said the increase in allowances of barangay officials and the grant of honoraria and benefits to barangay workers and watchmen should be prioritized to professionalize the recruitment in local government units.

Edelyn Solano, a senior executive of the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) (MIAA) denied reports link ing her to a human smuggling syndicate operating at the the airport

an ABS-CBN News report, Solano said she was “shocked” when her daughter asked her about it as it was the first time she has heard of such reports mentioning her name.

Solano was allegedly removed from her position and was allegedly await ing the result of an investigation after a Senate inquiry revealed that victims of human smuggling used airport ac cess passes to escape detection by Im migration officers.

Solano said she has been working for many years in the MIAA and has not been involved in any wrongdoing. She

said the media entity and reporter who filed the alleged smuggling story should have contacted the MIAA’s me dia affairs for verification.

MIAA spokesperson Consuelo Bungag meanwhile formally wrote a letter to the editor of the media or ganization that the information in the story was not true.

BELENISMO SA TARLAC. Doña Isabel CojuangcoSuntay and her daughter Isa of the Tarlac Heritage Foundation Inc. led the awarding ceremonies of Belenismo sa Tarlac. The first prize for the Grand Municipal Category was given to the Municipality of Moncada. Lino Santos

Norman Cruz

PASIG RIVER REHABILITATION. Department of Education UnderSecretary Kris Alan (black) teaches a visitor how to row along Pasig River in Makati City on Sunday during a campaign to revive the river. Proponents of the project are also opposing the construction of the Pasig River Expressway or PAREX. Danny Pata

Stocks expected to consolidate

Pilipinas’ move in its meeting this month.

By Jenniffer B. Austria

November inflation data and the results of the upcoming policy meeting.

Online brokerage firm 2TradeAsia.com said the inflation report would be a key fac tor in determining the Bangko Sentral ng

The BSP last week said November inflation could go from a range of 7.4 percent to 8.2 percent, driven by higher power rates and increases in the prices of agricultural products stemming from the damage caused by typhoon Paeng and higher prices of cooking gas.

BSP governor Felipe M. Medalla also hint ed about a possible increase of 25 to 50 basis points in the benchmark rate this month.

Analyst said that aside from the No vember inflation data, the BSP’s move would also depend on the US Federal Reserve’s action.

“Shorter trading weeks are coming

ABB to pay $315m to Africa to settle US bribery charges

NEW YORK—Swedish-Swiss industrial company ABB agreed to pay $315 million to settle US criminal charges that it bribed state-owned Eskom of South Af rica over government contracts, the Department of Justice an nounced Friday.

Two affiliates of ABB each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act as part of a three-year deferred prosecution agreement, the US agency said of a settlement that was coordinated with govern ment authorities in Switzerland, Germany, and South Africa.

The issue concerns a troubled project near Johannesburg with the Kusile power station, the fourth largest coal-fired genera tor in the world, which has been fraught with allegations of graft.

South Africa’s struggling power

utility Eskom commissioned the plant in 2007.

In October, eight people, in cluding former Eskom CEO Matshela Koko, were arrested on corruption charges linked to the ABB work.

Between 2014 and 2017, ABB, through its subsidiaries, secured “multiple” government contracts, siphoning illicit pay ments through subcontractors associated with an official at Es kom, South Africa’s state-owned power company, the DOJ said.

“ABB worked with these subcontractors despite their poor qualifications and lack of experience,” the DOJ said in a news release. “In return, ABB received improper advantages in its efforts to obtain work with Eskom, including, among other benefits, confidential and inter nal Eskom information.” AFP

Route C-19

ahead, leaving benchmark index an op portunity to consolidate over the Yule,” 2TradeAsia.com said.

“Finding the correct play for 2023 is going to be the crux of most trades in the next few weeks. Monitor possible spikes in volume as funds find rationality over this wall of worry,” it said.

The PSE index, the 30-company bellwether of the Philippine Stock Ex change, dropped 1.78 percent last week to close at 6,489.65, while the broader all-share index slipped 0.95 percent to end the week at 3,419.65.

Global stock markets were mixed Fri day after strong US jobs data raised con

cerns that the Fed may continue to aggres sively hike interest rates to tame inflation.

US government data showed that the world’s biggest economy added 263,000 jobs in November, with the unemploy ment rate remaining at 3.7 percent. Government figures also indicated a bigger jump in hourly wages than ana lysts had benchmarked.

Indices in New York initially tumbled on the release as markets feared it would extend the period of ultra-aggressive Federal Reserve interest rate hikes to counter inflation. But markets recovered throughout the day, with the S&P 500 ending down 0.1 percent. With AFP

Russia denounces oil price cap agreed by EU, G7 countries

KYIV, Ukraine—Russia on Saturday denounced a $60 price cap on its oil agreed by the EU, G7 and Australia, even as Ukraine suggested it was not tough enough and might have to be revisited.

“We will not accept this price cap,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told domestic news agencies, adding that Russia, the world’s second-larg est crude exporter, was “analyzing” the move.

The $60 oil price cap will come into effect on Monday or soon after, alongside an EU embargo on mari time deliveries of Russian crude oil.

The embargo will prevent sea borne shipments of Russian crude to the European Union, which ac count for two-thirds of the bloc’s oil imports from Russia, potentially de priving Russia’s war chest of billions of euros.

But while Kyiv welcomed the price cap earlier Saturday, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address that the level set was not “serious” as it would not do enough damage to the Russian economy.

Standard

“Russia has already caused huge losses to all countries of the world by deliberately destabilizing the energy market,” he argued in his nightly ad dress, describing the decision on the price cap as “a weak position.”

It is “only a matter of time when stronger tools will have to be used”, Zelensky added.

The G7 nations—Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States—along with Australia have already said they are prepared to adjust the price ceiling if neces sary. AFP

JAN CELINE SANTIAGUEL

Green LiGht

WHEN the pandemic started in 2020, people wished to stay home, have their classes suspended or have employers announce remote work. These were some of the things people would consider luxury three years ago. However, in the serenity of the night, our lives were routed to a different path. The initial 15 days of stay at home brought on by the pandemic became one month, then one year, until we lost count of how many days we have been staying at home. As an employee, shifting to a remote setup was complex. Most companies were not work-from-home ready, and the resources employees could take home were limited. I remember I could not work for two weeks as our company did not have enough laptops for us to use to deliver our responsibilities. Additionally, only some had an internet connection at home. Therefore, the sudden shift in work arrangements became a dilemma for me. I had no choice but to get an internet connection, increasing my expenses due to the monthly internet bill.

But the most challenging part of my work-from-home experience is that I only live in a studio apartment. I did not have a dedicated workstation or chair equipped for more than eight hours of sitting. I could vividly recall what I looked like during those times, my back to the wall and my laptop on a pillow placed on my lap. In just a month with this setup, I’ve experienced severe back pains. The worst part is that I could not go to any hospitals to have my back checked.

I stayed in this setup for around six months, and when I could not take the pain anymore, I consulted a doctor and found out that working more than eight hours a day without the appropriate equipment caused my scoliosis.

In our session with an ergonomics expert, Dr. Jenifer Gutierrez, she stressed the importance of a workplace equipped with our basic working needs, such as the ergo chairs, tables appropriate for our heights, stands to make our laptops eye level, etc. But what struck me the most was when she mentioned that we have the right to receive at least the essential equipment we need to work comfortably. The thing going on in my mind is, “should I ask my employer for an ergo chair?” “should I request a new working table?” and “why did I only find out about this now?”

It was also amazing to hear that many employers invested in employee welfare during the pandemic. The pandemic took a toll on many businesses, and it was a heart-warming fact to hear that despite the sudden decrease in operation and decline in sales, there are still leaders who did not let their employees suffer the heat of the pandemic.

As I ponder the situation I had during the pandemic, I could not help but think how lucky these employees to belong to a pro-employee organization are. At the end of the session, I promised myself that I would become the leader I wished I had. Just because I did not have access to these benefits does not mean my subordinates should suffer the way I did. I will begin by broadening my understanding that only some have access to things that would make a situation bearable. Therefore, as a young leader, I will instill in my mind the importance of assessing, listening and understanding the needs of my team. This way, my subordinates and I can stay healthy and enjoy our work while optimizing our efforts to help our company achieve its goals.

“Hopefully, as companies give more attention to the importance of work-life balance, more and more people will be in a better position to decide and act more holistically on what’s important to them,” according to economist Mohamed El-Erian.

The author is an MBA student at the Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business, DLSU. She can be reached at jan_ santiaguel@dlsu.edu.ph.

The views expressed above are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official position of DLSU, its faculty, and its administrators.

SHARE prices are expected to consolidate in this shortened trading week as investors await the release of

LONDON SHOPPING.  Shoppers walk past stores on Carnaby Street in central London on Dec. 3, 2022, in the run-up to Christmas. AFP

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Villar Group to start building $1-b Las Piñas casino in 2023

By Jenniffer B. Austria

of project launches.

“We have not done this before. We have not launched this scale,” Villar said.

He said nearly all Vista Land’s businesses including retail, office and property development were back to prepandemic levels.

Villar said in an interview with reporters he would convert Vista Mall Global South mall, which sits on a 80-hectare property, into a casino with hotels.

The group will initially develop nine hectares where the mall, which has 18,000 square meters of gross floor area, is located.

Villar said he was looking at the Las Vegas model where the casino would have other attractions like theme park, theatres, restaurants, retail, hotels, condotels and non-gaming components.

The group is now in talks with potential foreign partners for the venture, he said.

He said the planned casino would be adjacent to the international airport just like the four other integrated resort and

casinos in the government-sponsored Entertainment City in Paranaque.

The casino industry was one of the hardest-hit sectors during the pandemic following the closure of international borders and the implement of quarantine restrictions. With the easing mobility this year, the gaming industry began to slowly recover, but has yet to get close to pre-pandemic levels as China, the country’s second top source market for tourists, continued to implement strict border controls because of its zeroCovid policy.

Villar said that aside from the casino, he is also bullish on the real estate sector, as his listed property Vista Land & Lifecapes Inc. is set to launch 41 projects next year. This would be an all-time high for the company in terms

Villar said that on his broadcast business under AllTV, the group was looking to enhance its reach by setting up digital signal nationwide to increase its viewership. This will be done by building its own antennas and other facilities, while leasing facilities from ABS-CBN Corp.

He said the group wanted to increase its reach before launching new programs.

AllTV occupies the Channel 2 analog free-to-air slot and the digital Channel 16, which were formerly owned by ABS-CBN. It is also available on SkyCable Channel 35, Cignal TV Channel 35, G-Sat Channel 32, Planet Cable Channel 2 and other cable affiliates nationwide.

The Villar Group has seven companies listed on the PSE, making Villar one of the richest men in the Philippines.

By Julito G. Rada

THE peso is expected to appreciate further against the US dollar in the coming days amid the seasonal surge in remittances during the holiday season, coupled with the expected smaller rate hike by the US Federal Reserve this month, an economist said over the weekend.

The peso on Friday posted a nearly four-month high of 55.74 against the greenback, its strongest level since it settled at 55.61 on Aug. 12, 2022.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort said in a report that aside from the sustained strength of remittances, the other catalyst for the peso going forward would be the recent signals that local policy rates could partly or fully match the expected rate hike by the Fed on Dec. 14.

Cash remittances rose in September, as global economies that host Filipino overseas workers further reopened, resulting in sustained inflows in the lead-up to the holiday season.

Remittances coursed through banks grew by 3.8 percent to $2.84 billion in September from $2.74 billion 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 in the same period last year.

Ricafort said the policy actions of local monetary authorities would “help support and stabilize the peso exchange rate and also help ease overall inflation.”

He said the US dollar corrected lower recently against other currencies amid the improved risk appetite in the US and other financial markets.

He said that since the start of the year, the peso declined by P4.741 or 9.3 percent from 50.999 at the last trading day of 2021. He said the local unit’s year-to-date performance was still similar to other regional currencies such as the Chinese yuan, Indonesian rupiah, Indian rupee, Malaysian ringgit and the Thai baht.

By Alena Mae S. Flores

SAN Miguel Corp. said Sunday power unit San Miguel Global Power Corp. offered to make the entire capacity of its 1,200-megawatt Ilijan natural gas plant available to Manila Electric Co. for a fraction of its capital cost.

SMC said the move would help keep electricity prices as low as possible for consumers while ensuring a steady power supply in the coming months.

SMC president Ramon Ang said the offer, covering the full capacity of the Ilijan plant that historically accounted for 10 percent to 12 percent of Luzon’s net dependable capacity, would only cost Meralco a minimal P1 per kilowatt-hour in capital recovery fee, or half of its capital cost on the facility.

This means that the power costs for households from the facility would be much lower compared to prevailing prices from coal power generation.

Ang said SMCGP, through subsidiary South Premiere Power Corp., had initial discussions with Meralco, as both firms were committed to helping consumers weather rising commodity prices, including power.

“As we have said in the past, we will continue to look for ways to help make sure consumers will still have some protection from the effects of skyrocketing global fuel prices. This is one of the best and most direct ways we can show solidarity with our people in this time of crisis,” said Ang.

“Because of unforeseen global events such as the Russia-Ukraine war, fuel prices are at unprecedented highs, and supply is tight. We are in a crisis, and this is a shared burden by all Filipinos― power consumers, the power sector, government. By immediately foregoing returns, we continue to carry our share of the burden while getting just enough to make sure plant operations continue andremain sustainable,” he said.

Ang said to help address fuel constraints, SMCGP was also offering to help source the fuel for the Ilijan facility ―whether from its allocation of Malampaya gas or liquid fuel—which Meralco would pay for.

Ang said SMCGP was also willing to work with Meralco in using its 70 petajoules banked gas it acquired from Philippine National Oil Company at a cost much lower than the prevailing cost of coal power generation.

He said this would give Meralco the flexibility to manage power generation costs and ensure an adequate power supply.

Ang said the company also expected the completion of an LNG terminal facility it tolled by March 2023, according to most recent construction updates.

The company contracted the facility to receive, store and re-gasify commercial LNG, but pandemic restrictions and the Russia-Ukraine war delayed the project.

THE Luzon grid faces a “challenging” situation next year as the power supply is expected to remain tight and electricity prices are forecasted to go up, an industry executive said over the weekend.

“I think 2023 is most challenging, more than 2024. Because [in] 2023, LNG is not ready. 2024, we are ready, so no brownout, but prices may be higher...That’s my read,” Semirara Mining & Power Corp. chairman Isidro Consunji said.

He said there would be power shortage in case a power plant would go offline in the middle of the dry months. Historically, demand goes up during the dry months as most establishments and households switch on their air-conditioning units more frequently.

“There may not be enough... [supply]. We have to watch the [electricity] prices,” said Consunji, whose company is involved

in coal mining and power generation.

“The highest price is not April and June, April and May. It’s June and July,” Consunji said.

SMPC subsidiary SEM-Calaca Power Corp. owns and operates the 600-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Calaca, Batangas, which it acquired from the government.

Southwest Luzon Power Generation Corp. owns a 300-MW coal plant within the Calaca facility in Batangas.

Grid operator National Grid Corp. of the Philippines placed the Luzon grid on red and yellow alert for several hours on Nov. 28 and Dec. 1 because of thin power reserves.

Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla said the Department of Energy was preparing contingency measures as it expected supply to be tight during the dry months. Alena Mae S. Flores

LRT-1

Roosevelt station set to reopen Monday

PRIVATE operator Light Rail Manila Corp. said Monday it will reopen for commercial operation Light Rail Transit Line-1 Roosevelt Station after it completed the necessary readiness tests, trial runs, station maintenance works and operational exercises to integrate the Roosevelt area under the line’s brand-new Alstom signaling system.

The operational exercises conducted on Dec. 3 and Dec. 4, which resulted in the temporary suspension of LRT-1 operations from Baclaran to Balintawak on those days, were confirmed ac ceptable after a rigorous assessment of the team, it said.

The full line of LRT-1 will be operational again with 20 stations with the reopening of LRT-1 Roo sevelt Station.

“We are happy to announce that our team has completed all the necessary works to ensure that LRT-1 is safe to be operated with the reintegration of Roosevelt Station. We at LRMC consider this a great milestone because we know how impor tant this station is for many commuters, especially those residing in the north. The whole exercise of reintegrating Roosevelt was likewise a great display of teamwork and cooperation among our LRT-1 employees and external partners,” LRMC chief operating officer Rolando Paulino III said. Darwin G. Amojelar

Villar’s PREIT raises P2.4b from initial public offering

PREMIERE Island Power REIT Corp., the power and infrastructure REIT platform of the Villar family, said its P2.4-billion initial public offering was fully subscribed at the end of the offer period as it offers an attractive dividend yield.

PREIT said it sold the entire 1.4 billion offer shares, including the 210 million in over-allot ment shares at P1.50 apiece. Company sources attributed strong demand for the IPO to the attrac tive dividend yield.

PREIT projected an annualized dividend yield of 9.25 percent for 2022 and 9.56 percent in 2023, the highest among real estate investment trust companies listed on the Philippine Stock Ex change. REITs are companies that own or finance income-producing real estate across a range of property sectors.

PREIT chief executive TJ Mendoza said dur ing the recent investors’ briefing the company would use the proceeds from the IPO to buy sites for planned power projects. PREIT has an initial portfolio of land, buildings and power plants with 21.3-megawatt capacity and an appraised value of P8.67 billion. Jenniffer B. Austria

PLDT rolls out fiber Internet in Romblon

PLDT Inc. said over the weekend it rolled out its fiber-to-the-home services in Romblon, the capi tal town of Romblon province, to provide faster broadband Internet for residents and tourists.

“Our continued fiber rollout in islands like Romblon is part of our overall thrust to ensure improved customer experience for Filipinos, no matter where they may be in the country,” PLDT Network head Eric Santiago said.

“With our fiber already in Romblon, we are enhancing the experience of residents and tour ists alike, enabling remote work set-ups at the beach, connecting businesses, resorts, and hotels, and empowering local enterprises and livelihoods with speeds that are at par with those experienced in urban areas,” he said.

PLDT first fired up its fiber optic links connect ing the three main islands of Romblon province— Romblon, Sibuyan and Tablas—last year. Wire less subsidiary Smart Communications Inc. also rolled out LTE across its sites in Romblon and activated 5G base stations in the municipalities of Odiongan, Ferrol, Alcantara, Calatrava, Looc, San Andres and Santa Maria.

“Fiber connectivity in our town will not only enhance the internet experience of our residents but will also boost our town’s tourism goals and our LGU’s digitalization initiatives,” said Romblon Mayor Gerard Montojo. Darwin G. Amojelar

By Darwin G. Amojelar

THE Department of Public Works and Highways said the opening of the CALAX Silang (Aguinaldo) Interchange in Cavite province is “feasible” by the first quarter of 2023.

“Slightly we’re affected by ROW [right of way] issues at trial courts, especially at Silang. But there’s a meeting at site with LGU [local government unit] that will assist us to settle such,” DPWH Public-Private Partnership Service director Alex Bote said.

The Silang (Aguinaldo) Interchange is the fifth of the eight segments of the 45-kilometer Cavite-Laguna Expressway. The 2x2 interchange spans 3.9 km from Silang East Interchange to Aguinaldo Highway. About 64 percent of Calax Silang (Aguinaldo) Interchange subsection of the CALAX project was completed so far.

MPCALA Holdings Inc. earlier said that the target date for the opening of the subsection had been moved several times, with the latest being December 2022.

It said a critical portion for the completion of the interchange is the undelivered ROW of about 450 meters of land owned by a private corporation.

Silang Mayor Kevin Anarna earlier said he was willing to help MHI to resolve the ROW issues to speed up the completion of CALAX.

Bote expressed optimism the CALAX would be completed by the first quarter despite the unresolved ROW issue. “Still, the target of completion up to Aguinaldo is feasible by first quarter next year,” he said.

Upon completion, the CALAX Silang (Aguinaldo) Interchange will serve more motorists given the reduced traffic situation. Average daily traffic is now at 33,000 vehicles from Mamplasan to Silang Ease interchange.

This is expected to increase to 40,000 once the Silang (Aguinaldo) Interchange is opened.

SMC offers Ilijan plant’s capacity to Meralco at P1 per kWh

BILLIONAIRE Manuel Villar is betting on the recovery of the gaming business as he plans to start developing a $1-billion integrated resort and casino in Las Pinas City next year.

Economist sees peso gaining more strength vs dollar

Luzon grid faces ‘challenging’ power supply situation next year—Semirara

Silang Interchange opening ‘feasible’ by Q1, says DPWH

REALTOR COURSE. The country’s first batch of Accredited Buyers’ Representative designation course offering in Manila receive their certificates during the meet and greet of International Realtor Members held jointly by the Chamber of Real Estate & Builders’ Associations Inc. and the Chicago-based National Association of Realtors. CREBA national president Noel Toti Cariño (second row, fourth from right) represents the Philippine real estate sector as 2022 NAR international director. CREBA is the exclusive NAR cooperating association tasked to promote and safeguard the NAR brand and Code of Ethics among real estate professionals in the Philippines.

DAEJIN’S SUPPORT. As part of its commitment to protect the environment, South Korean firm Daejin Advanced Materials Phils. Inc., a Philippine Economic Zone Authority-registered company at Light Industry and Science Park III, signs a memorandum of understanding with the City of Sto. Tomas, Batangas in support of the LGU’s campaign on solid waste management. Attending the signing ceremony are (from left) DAMPI president Jong Min Cho, chief executive Sung Joon Yoo, Sto. Tomas Mayor Arth Jun Marasigan and Vice Mayor Catherine Perez.

Rivera-Co partnership dominates Formula V1 4HR Endurance Race

TOP-CLASS racing action under the scorching heat was witnessed at the Clark International Speedway during the recently held 2022 Formula V1 Challenge 4HR endurance race.

Coinciding with the Petron Bonifacio Cup Endurance challenge, the seasonender of the Formula V1 Championship proved to be one of the most crucial race weekends of the year as overall titles and a race seat to Japan were still up for grabs.

Fresh from his hat-trick of a sweep dur ing the sprint rounds just a month prior, Milo Rivera of Edgesport Racing Team, entered the endurance weekend with just an 18-point lead over closest rival, John Dizon of Obengers Racing Team in the PRO Class.

Given that the four-hour showdown served as a X4 points multiplier, Rivera’s championship lead was still very much reachable.

On the other hand, Bryan Co, who is GITI Racing’s top driver this season, was 3rd in the AM class standings prior to last weekend. Since the endurance race re quired a PRO and an AM driver to merge forces to compete, Rivera and Co teamed up to solidify their respective champion ship campaigns.

Under the merged GITI – Edgesport Racing Team, Rivera and Co drew first blood as they claimed pole position with a qualifying time of 2:10.623 – just shy

of a second faster than Joaquin Garrido and co-driver Oliver Aquino of OTR –Obengers Racing who qualified second (2:11.546), with the Obengers Racing tan dem John Dizon and Julian Tang qualify ing third (2:13.130).

With the grid advantage for the start, the #41 GITI-Edgesport race car did not look back as it made an exemplary launch off the line with the Manila Standard Mo toring editor Rivera behind the wheel.

“The first task of the race was to defi nitely get a good start; we wanted to dic tate the pace from the get go. I told my self to just make sure I exited turn one with the lead, then we can build on from there,” said Rivera, who did just that.

Proving that his pole position lap time was no fluke, Rivera immediately started building a gap that kept increasing to as much as 10 seconds as the laps went on.

To complement the gap Rivera had built early on, flawless fuel stops and driver changes were made throughout the race thanks to the top expertise of the Edgesport racing crew.

“Because of how seamless our strate gies and executions were, a lot of weight was taken off me. I just had to do my thing

and take care of the car once I was called to replace Milo during the driver chang es,” said Co who took over the wheel at the 90th minute mark of the race.

At that point, the tandem was only leading the Obengers race car of Dizon and Tang by only 30 seconds, but Co was unfazed by the situation as he delivered consistent lap times to avoid the others from closing in.

In addition, a perfectly timed pitstop during a safety car situation at two-thirds racing distance proved to be the crucial mo ment of the race as Co immediately dove into the pits for refueling and a final driver change, bringing the Petron and Frontrow sponsored driver Rivera back in control.

Rejoining the field, Rivera continued his push, overlapping his main competi tors during his stint. With less than an hour to go in the race, all Rivera had to after his final refueling stop was to nurse the car home as he had already built a two-lap lead over everyone else.

The “perfect weekend” was capped off with Rivera taking the checkered flag for GITI – Edgesport Racing, completing 96 laps after four hours.

The Obengers racing pair of Dizon and Tang finished second, completing 94 laps, with Garrido and Aquino clinching 3rd with 91 laps after suffering mechani cal issues mid race.

The endurance race win served as a huge bounce back for Co as he climbed his way to bag the AM Class overall

championship.

Meanwhile, the win also marked a full season sweep for Rivera as not only did he clinch the PRO class championship, but also the 2022 For mula V1 Challenge overall crown –setting history as the only siblings to each win the coveted title after his younger brother Estefano claiming the championship last 2019.

“Motorsports will forever be a team sport. Without the endless efforts of all those behind us, starting and finishing the race wouldn’t even be possible. Mara ming salamat to everyone at GITI - Edge sport Racing Team for not just helping me cross the checkered flag this season, but for also winning it all! Countless thanks also go out to all those who’ve made this season a very fruitful and memorable one. It’s time to call it a season, but I can’t wait for what 2023 has in store,” shared Rivera on his social media account.

As part of their awards as champions in their respective classes, Rivera and Co have each earned a ticket to race in Japan next year using the same open-wheel Vita race cars.

“It’s such a blessing for me to even race abroad as this will be my first time. I will definitely cherish this win and the experi ence I’ll be having come next year. Thank you so much to GITI Tires Philippines for the endless support and I hope that suc cesses like this would continue on from here,” added a jubilant Bryan Co.

Knights frustrate Blazers, near NCAA title

By Peter Atencio

LETRAN turned on the heat in the fourth quarter, where College of St. Benilde wilted under pressure, allowing the Knights to pull off an 81-75 win on Sunday in Game 1 of the 98th National Collegiate Athletic Association men’s basketball finals at the Araneta Coliseum.

Five Blazers succumbed to cramps and injuries as the Knights moved out of range in the payoff period en route to the win that moved the team to within a win shy of ruling the league for the third straight season.

Louie Sangalang banged in a game-high 24 points and hauled in 10 rebounds for the Knights, who now have the momentum to sweep their best-of-three finals’ series in Game 2

on Sunday.

“Composure is the key word here. The veterans played steady,” said Knights’ coach Bonnie Tan, now that Letran is nearing their 20th men’s crown.

Tan stressed the experience in playing in a championship setting held the team together.

Blazers’ cager Migs Corteza was the first to go after hurting his knee during a rebound play as CSB held a 65-62 edge with 2:16 remaining in the third.

Top MVP candidate Will Gozum kept the Blazers on top with a 67-66 edge in the last 46 seconds of the third, but another key player, Mark Sangco went out on a hurt left knee.

As the Knights took a 9-2 run and snatched the lead, 75-69, in the final 5:39, Gozum was sent out on a cramped

Wide open race for Fil-Am Fil-Championship title

BAGUIO—An exciting news came 72nd Fil-Am Men’s Invitational’s way as six teams with equal talent and skills entered the FilChampionship division, thus, making this year’s chase for the premier title at the Baguio Country Club and Camp John Hay Golf Club courses wide open.

Manila Southwoods will parade a formidable cast of national team members Carl Corpuz, Kristoffer Arevalo and Aidric Chan and, together with Gabriel Manotoc and Jeff Jung, the Carmona, Cavite-based squad is the clear favorite to defend the crown.

The Januarius Team may be a newcomer, but its players Raymund Sangil, Marco Olives, RJ Rizada,

Terence Macatangay and Kirby Lachica have had Fil-Am experience in the past. Playing captain Paolo Cagalingan is optimistic of a good showing given the extensive knowledge they have.

Forest Hills is another team with potential. Its core is a mix of young and veteran golfers especially with jungolfers Edison Tabalin and longhitteer Joshua Buenaventura in the roster. Gus Pachieco, Iñigo Raymundo and Jose Rodelio Mangulabnan are there provide familiarity and scoring.

After leading Southwoods to the Seniors’ title, Jun Jun Plana is playing again in the regular for Time Cargo Logistics, which last year took home the Am-Championship tiara. With Plana is Manfred Guangko, the reliable

Gary Sales, Justin Tambuntin and playing manager Ruel Cabral.

The Stehmeier Brothers King and Ace, two players with vast Fil-Am experience as well, will spearhead the X1R-Tipsy Pig-Mizuno charge, alongside Joaquin Tolentino, Feliciano Baron and Gab Macalagium.

The Mendoza brothers, Rep. Mark Llandro and Michael headline the Riviera-Batangas Barakos. They have a solid group with Erik Escalona, Eric Gozo, Gerald Katigbak and Rudy Amata.

SPES Team will be bannered by Bayani Garcia, Marvin Mendoza, Justin Limjap, Peter Tyler Po, Herman Bascon, Matt Merndoza and Chiyo Raymundo.

right ankle, along with Robi Nayve, who twisted his own ankle.

The Knights never relinquished the lead from then on as they drew 16 points from King Carilipio.

Gozum and Corteza still went on to carry the Blazers with 18 points apiece.

The Knights hardly minded the absence of Kobe Monje, who was disqualified in the second quarter due to an unsportsmanlike foul on Macoy Marcos. Brent Paraiso also fouled out with 3:49 remaining, but it hardly mattered as Letran was up by seven, 7669.

“It was really frustrating, to be really honest. We felt we were in the game. We felt we were making our run, we had the lead, and then everybody cramps up,” said CSB coach Charles Tiu.

La Salle vs NU for women’s cage tiara

SECOND seed De La Salle Univer sity set a date with six-time defending champion National University in the UAAP Season 85 women’s basketball finals after staving off third-ranked University of Santo Tomas in the rub ber match, 74-69, Sunday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.

Game 1 of the best-of-three Finals between the Lady Archers and the Lady Bulldogs will be on Wednesday, 11 a.m., at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

La Salle stopped the historic 108game winning streak of NU last Novem ber 23 with a 61-57 stunner in overtime.

This is also the first finals’ appear ance for the Lady Archers since Season 79, when they bowed to the Lady Bull dogs.

“I’d like to give credit to UST they played one hell of a series against us but we were the better team this time around. We made the proper adjustments on what they are doing on their previous games,” said La Salle coach Cholo Vil lanueva, whose squad dropped Game 1, 57-68, last November 30.

With UST down by seven with 2:14 left in the game, Joylyn Pangilinan and Rocel Dionisio willed the Growling Ti gresses back to knot the game at 69 with 47 seconds to go.

But that would be the last UST would see the ball drop in the basket as Pang ilinan, Tacky Tacatac, and Eka Soriano missed crucial field goals and free throw attempts.

On the other hand, Kreecie Binaohan first gave La Salle back the lead with two conversions from the line with 31.2 ticks left before Pangilinan and Tacatac missed their three-pointer and putback attempts, respectively.

UAAP’s cheer dance competition set Dec. 10

THE most colorful and liveliest event in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines, the Cheerdance Competition, will take place on December 10 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

All eight competing squads, namely the Adamson Pep Squad, the Ateneo Blue Eagles, the DLSU Animo Squad, the FEU Cheering Squad, the NU Pep Squad, the UE Pep Squad, the UP Pep Squad, and UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe are ready to light it up once more in the second Cheerdance Competition of the year.

“The Cheerdance Competition is the event where we cheer for the individuals who rally our varsity teams on a daily ba sis. It’s a very special event that everyone in the UAAP community looks forward to. And as what we have seen during the halftime of our men’s basketball games, all teams are ready to have their one shin ing moment on December 10,” said UAAP Season 85 President Fr. Aldrin Suan, CM.

The order of performances was drawn last month with season-host Adamson tak ing stage first. It will be followed by UE, UST, DLSU, and Ateneo, Defending champion FEU will be the sixth squad to perform while NU and UP will close out the show.

“We are very pleased that last season’s Cheerdance Competition was a success despite the restrictions and limitations im posed for the safety of all. The love and support of the students, fans and alumni for all eight school squads remain strong, and we at Cignal are happy to once again be able to bring the second CDC this year to fans inside their homes or wherever they may be right at the palm of their hands,” says Robert P. Galang, President and CEO of Cignal TV.

The Januarius Team, one of the new additions to this year’s Fil-Am Golf, is preparing for the tournament, which starts December 6. Members of Team A are RJ Rizada, Paolo Cagalingan, Ray Sangil, Kirby Lachica, Terence Macatangay, and Ivan Avena; for Team B, Blair Carabuena, Jake Ong, Jett Manuel, Noel Estrella, Jens Knuttle, and JJ Atencio. Coaches are Gerald Rosales and Kevin Lachica. The teams are powered by Januarius Holdings, GolfX, Greyson Golf and STATS Apparel.

Milo Rivera (right) stands on his racing machine after the 2022 Formula V1 Challenge 4HR endurance race victory. Left panel shows Rivera, Bryan Co and their team.

Knights’ coach Bonnie Tan

Dela Cruz wins crown; Eustaquio is low gross king

PETE dela Cruz scored 44 points to win the overall championship crown while Jude Eustaquio had a 70 for the low gross title in the 18th Chairman’s Cup of the Forest Hills Golf and Country Club in Antipolo.

Rhoame Rivera shot 42 points to beat Kulas Toribio’s 41 in Class A in the tournament that was part of Forest Hills’ 25th anniversary month.

Jerome Ngo made 42 and won by count back over Rolly Carandang in Class B. Joel Mutia (44 points) and James Alba (44 points) triumphed in Classes C and D respectively.

No one from the more than 400 play ers won the hole-in-one prizes staked by Cherry Auto Phils., The Turf Co., J-Ten Sports, Hoher, Get Go Golf Cart and Silicon Computers and Telecoms.

Other winners were Kathy Uy (Ladies 1), Jocelyn Tiu (Ladies 2), Romy Avila (Seniors 1), Cesar Crisostomo (Seniors 2) and Matet Salivio (sponsors).

Escala Tagaytay, Cherrylume/Mile age Asia, Megaforce Security and EVA Airways were platinum sponsors and Golforce Inc. and Hon. Michael John Duavit were gold sponsors.Silver sponsors include ANC/Suzuki, Forest Hills Ladies Circle, Metro Rail Transit Dev. Co., Peerless Products and SJKGuahan.

Agrexplore, Aqua Haus, Bryan Isaiah Trading, Hydrotech Irriga tion, Interconnect Systems, Kuysen, Line Craft Builders, Waterworld, Pascual Consumer Health Care, An delein Land, Mancare Health Sys tems, Asian Eye Institute, Marrero Acop Clinic, Egress and Ingress En terprises, Gotobox Express, G&W Clubshares, GS Equipment, Umma son Kimchi & Korean Restaurant, Diamond Hotel, Holiday Inn Suites, Seda Vertis North, Filhomes Build ers, Beverly Place, Camp John Hay, Edgepro Trading, Luisita Golf, Ma nila Southwoods, Pradera Verde, Sherwood Hills, Splendido Taal, The Manor at Camp John Hay and Word text Systems are supporters.

Cavitex Braves get back at Platinum, win 3x3 title

CAVITEX exacted revenge against Platinum Karaoke, scoring a wire-to-wire 2113 win to clinch a leg title in the PBA 3x3 Second Conference Season 2 Sunday at Robinsons Place Novaliches.

The Braves set the tone of the Leg 5 finals early on behind the guns of Dominick Fajardo and Chester Sald ua, who alternated giving the team a 10-2 lead with just four minutes gone by in the game.

Platinum never recovered from the slow start as the Braves never let up

and coasted to their first champion ship this conference worth P100,000.

Fajardo led Cavitex with nine points, Saldua added seven, and Jo rey Napoles five, including the gameclinching deuce with still plenty of time to spare.

Tzaddy Rangel completed the championship quartet of the Braves coached by Emman Monfort.

The win avenged the Braves’ close 13-12 loss to Platinum Karaoke in the Leg 4 finals a week ago. It also ended the team’s pair of runner-up finishes in the previous two legs.

Platinum Karaoke got four points each from Raphael Banal, Yutien Andrada, and Yves Sazon, while top gun Terrence Tumalip was held to a single point on 1-of-5 shooting from

the field.

For placing second, Platinum Kara oke received P50,000.

Pioneer Elastoseal, meanwhile, clinched a podium finish for the first time this season by beating Barangay Ginebra in the battle for third place, 17-14.

The Katibays went home with P30,000 in their best finish so far since placing fourth in Leg 5 of the First Conference.

On the way to the top, Cavitex dis posed Blackwater in the quarterfinals, 16-12, and eliminated Pioneer Elasto seal, 22-14, in the semis.

Platinum on the other hand, dis posed Meralco (17-15) and Barangay Ginebra (21-11) to arrange the rematch against the Braves

Blu Boys make it to World Cup Top 10

THE Blu Boys may have missed the bus to the Super Round of the recently concluded men’s softball World Cup, but they gave the coun try a reason to celebrate with their Top 10 finish.

Without a win in their first five games, featuring a close 0-1 set back to eventual third placer Unit ed States, and then bowing, 1-3, to Cuba, the Cebuana Lhuillier-backed Blu Boys posted back-to-back vic tories later on, shutting down high er-ranked Denmark, 8-0, before blanking South Africa, 4-0, for a respectable finish.

Denmark is ranked 10th, while South Africa is at 11th.

The Philippines was the lowestranked qualifier at 21st among the 12 teams that played in the competi tion and its performance should im prove its ranking.

Canada and Australia will contest the championship, with the USA finishing off defending champion Argentina, 2-0, for third place.

“Our participation here was a good opportunity for the boys to test themselves against the world’s best teams. I am very elated with their performance particularly their games against Denmark and South Africa. A Top 10 fin ish in a team sport in any world competition is always something to be proud of,” said ASAPHIL president Jean Henri Lhuillier, the long-time backer of softball in the country.

Lhuillier then extended his con gratulations to the team.

“Hats off to the boys for giving it their best and to ASAPHIL for mak ing it happen. I want to make special mention of our pitcher Leo Barredo, he played at par with the top pitchers in the world,” Lhuillier said.

Foreign teams arrive for Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Futures

A TWO-ATHLETE squad from Latvia arrived on Sunday and joined Team Sin gapore as early birds for the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Futures which opens with the qualification round on Thursday at the Subic Bay Sand Court.

Martins Plavins and Mihails Samoilovs set foot in Subic and were expected to try the Subic courts later in the day with the Singaporeans also beefing up their preparations for exhi bition matches against the Philippine teams on Monday.

Two teams each from Japan and Australia and one from the Czech Republic are due on Monday, as well as technical officials from the Asian Volleyball Confederation and Inter national Volleyball Federation led by technical delegate Barry Wedmaier of Australia.

Twelve athletes each from Thailand and Japan are expected on Tuesday for the Futures tournament supported by the Philippine Sports Commission, PLDT Home and Rebisco and also backed by Akari, F2 Logistics, Asics,

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, Philippine Olympic Committee, Smart Giga Play, Cignal Play, OneSports, OneSports+, Senoh and Mikasa.

“It will be a busy start of the week as the teams arriving in bulk,” said Ramon “Tats” Suzara, president of the organizing Philippine National Volley ball Federation.

The Philippine pairs—now coached by Brazilian Joao Luciano Kiodai—of Dij Rodriguez and Gen Eslapor, Sisi Rondina and Jovelyn Gonzaga and Grydelle Matibag and Khylem Progella will test their mettle against Singa pore’s Cecilia Hui Chin Soh, Kai Yun Alicia Tan, Eliza Hui Hui Chong, Zhao Rong Phua, Hui Ying Ang and Yan Ting Cheryl Ng.

The 16-team main draw will be from December 9 to 11. The Subic beach volleyball event is the third interna tional tournament hosted this year by the PNVF after the Volleyball Nations League at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last June and the AVC Women’s Cup at the PhilSports Arena last August.

in Subic

The

Arcilla scores twinkill in Brookside Open

in the event presented by Dunlop.

Down 0-3 in the next frame, Kinaadman, who stopped Arcilla in the semis then went on to cap ture the Gov. Jubahib Cup crown last September, broke back in the fourth then held serve to pull within one game. But Arcilla, 42, banked on his experience to frustrate Kinaadman, battling back from 0-30 down in the sixth game and forcing a deuce before winning the next two points to barely escape for a 4-2 lead.

Teaming up with Ronard Joven, Arcilla completed a sweep in the week-long event, sponsored by Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala, Rep. Jack Du avit, BHTC president Allan del Castillo, Ret. PNP Dir. Gen. Oscar Calderon, Ret. Gen. Louizo Ticman and Se lective Security Services, claiming the doubles crown on a 6-4, 6-0 victory over Kinaadman and Jose Maria Pague last Friday.

The durable Arcilla, who foiled No. 3 Vicente Anas ta, 6-1, 1-6, 6-2, in the semis, also broke Kinaadman in the seventh game of the first set in shutout fashion while holding serve four times to seize control of the title clash

The fourth-ranked Kinaadman, who bundled out sec ond seed Pague, 1-6, 6-4, 6-1, in the Final Four, also pulled through in a deuce game in the next but Arcilla dominated the next to keep his rival at bay before the duo traded serves, paving the way for the latter’s victory in one-hour and 27 minutes in the event which served as part of the PPS-PEPP circuit put up by Palawan Pawnshop president/CEO Bobby Castro.

Next up is the Zentro Open on Dec. 6-12 in Apalit, Pampanga while the season-ending Dagitab Open will be held Dec. 15-22 in Naga, Cebu.

For details, contact event organizer Bobby Mangunay at 09154046464.

JOHNNY Arcilla rode on a pair of fiery starts to over whelm Charles Kinaadman, 6-2, 6-4, and capture the singles crown in the Brookside Open National Tennis Championships at the Brookside Hills courts in Cainta, Rizal late Saturday.

Davis Cup veteran broke Kinaadman in the opening game of each set, cruising to victory in the first then thwarting his 24-year-old rival in the next to fashion out the straight-set win in a big follow-up to his title exploits in Puerto Princesa and San Carlos, Negros Occidental.

Johnny Arcilla

THE national women’s team, with Brazilian coach Joao Luciano Kiodai (fifth from left) are deep in training at the Subic Bay Sand Court. They are (from left) strength and conditioning coach John Paulo Agir, Dij Rodriguez, Sisi Rondina, coach Paul Jan Doloiras, assistant coach Romnick Rico, Gen Eslapor, Bernadeth Pons, Jovelyn Gonzaga and team manager Rosemarie Molit-Prochina.

The Cavite Braves take a photo of themselves after winning a leg title in the PBA 3x3 Second Conference Season 2 Sunday at Robinsons Place Novaliches.

By Patricia Taculao

THE entertainment industry recognizes Buboy Villar for his versatility as an actor. Although he’s mostly known for his work in comedic pieces, Buboy can also adapt well to dramatic ones. Who could forget his performance as the young Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao , a former senator and boxing legend, in Kid Kulafu ?

Yet if there’s one thing that Buboy has yet to experience on the silver screen, it’s sharing the spotlight with a love team. His upcoming movie, Ang Kwento Ni Makoy , changed that. In the movie, he stars alongside Bella Thompson, bringing life to the character of Ched Herrera, an author who believes that it’s best to live alone. Ched contracts COVID-19 during its peak and find herself confined in a hospital.

Buboy Villar shares the screen with first love team partner

Ched’s outlook will cause attending nurses to find her difficult—until she meets Makoy, played by Buboy. Eventually, the pair will develop a strong bond as they navigate through the challenges of life amid a pandemic.

Their on-screen pairing was a good decision as Bella and Buboy bring a certain level of kilig that’s pure and light-hearted.

Hindi ako makapaniwala na may kinikilig sa akin ,” Buboy said during the film’s special screening at the Gateway Cinema last November 22, Tuesday. The role became relevant for Buboy as he admits to finding his costar beautiful and how her character brought joy to him.

Iba ang saya na ibinibigay sa akin ni Ched kapag ako si Makoy. Iba ang kilig ko pag nandiyan si Ched, espesyal si Ched sa akin ,” the former child actor said.

Meanwhile, Bella is grateful for the opportunity to land a leading role in Ang Kwento ni Makoy . She’s currently under GMA Sparkle and has several other projects in the Kapuso network.

Besides bringing butterflies to

Senator Bong Revilla visits

Paeng-ravaged Maguindanao

them to move forward, and somehow give them hope,” Revilla said.

viewers’ stomachs with his pairing with Bella, Buboy also pays homage to nurses with Ang Kwento ni Makoy. His character is immensely optimistic even when everything around him seems bleak. Buboy effectively combines two genres, comedy and drama.

“When we were conceptualizing the story of Makoy, it was very, very difficult on our part because we were doing and shooting this at the height of COVID,” said Director HJCP

He added that some shots were difficult to film because of health restrictions. Nonetheless, they created an emotional story about a simple person to show the struggle of Philippine nurses to the public.

One aspect of the movie that left an impression on the cast and crew (not to mention the audience), it’s how one person can stay kind despite unfair treatment from those around him.

Huwag nating hayaan ang mga taong nagsa- sacrifice o kasiyahan, maliit man o malaki. Hindi naman habangbuhay, lahat may hangganan ,” Buboy encouraged.

Ang

Upon the arrival of the actor and

he was welcomed by Governor Bai Ainee Sinsuat, Mayor Lester Sinsuat , and former Governor Teng Mangudadatu . They also joined Revilla during the distribution of relief packs and cash assistance to thousands of victims in the province.

After leading the relief operation in Barangay Kushong, Revilla immediately proceeded to Barangay Dinaig Proper to conduct another aid distribution.

“Most of the people in the area have suffered from depression because of their situation. We visited them to encourage

Guns N’ Roses sues online gun shop for appropriating name

US rock band Guns N’ Roses has sued a company that runs an online gun store named Texas Guns and Roses, charging in federal court that the business appropriated its name unjustly.

In a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles, attorneys for the band said a corporation that runs the online shop was conning consumers into believing the business had something to do with the rock band.

Guns N’ Roses “quite reasonably does not want to be associated with Defendant, a firearms and weapons retailer,” the lawsuit, filed Thursday, says.

Additionally, the band claimed, the gun dealer “espouses political views related to the regulation and control of firearms and weapons on the Website that may be polarizing to many US consumers.”

Guns N’ Roses, formed in 1984, is one of the most successful bands of all time and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2012. Its members are Axl Rose , Saul “Slash” Hudson, and Michael “Duff” McKagan

The lawsuit identified Jersey Village Florist LLC as the owner and operator of Texas Guns and Roses, which it said sells firearms and ammunition, scopes, body armor, and metal safes, among other items.

The online business is registered at a Houston address and obtained its Texas registry listing in 2016 without Guns N’ Roses’ “approval, license, or consent,” according to the suit.

Lawyers for the rock group are seeking a jury trial and a court order barring the use of the website name as well as unspecified punitive damages. AFP

TWO motion pictures, Call Me Papi and Ang Kwento ni Makoy are showing in cinemas this week. To those who love Pinoy movies in general, and Filipino men in particular, it is imperative that you catch, watch and give these movie offerings your precious time and hardearned money because they present novel ways of the whys and wherefores of the most misunderstood yet loved beings called men.

In the Alvin Yapan written and directed Call Me Papi from FEAST Foundation and VIVA Films, we get to meet a quintuple of working-class men namely Sonny ( Enzo Pineda) who got busted for having an affair with a married woman, a gym instructor, crashes in with his friend Lito (Royce Cabrera) along with three other working guys: Ben (Albie Casino), Mario ( Lharby Policarpio), and Roy (Aaron Concepcion ).

They all share and reside in an apartment. As the movie unfolds, we get to see their differences, dreams, likes and feelings, lies and secrets, truths they hold dear and sacred, and heartbreaks and realization come to light.

This movie works because the group of men in the cast, not only look but are authentic in their display of male bravado, concern, friendship, and emotions.

For more information, like

page of

Why men are from Mars

The jokes they share are not sickening and politically incorrect. They accept facts on sexuality with no tinge of bigotry. The fondness and care they have never borders on the bromantic. They argue and fight, with emotions flaring and in rage but once their testosterone cools down, they are back to being brothers. What is refreshing about this barkadahan in this movie, is how it showcased that men can be supportive of each other and that, come hell or high water, have each other’s back.

Pineda is the most gorgeous onscreen and as Sonny, he screams thirst trap, especially with his lean and mean body on display. Casino gives a new spin to being a crybaby and hopeless romantic Policarpio and Cabrera are masters in the playingfor-truth category as Mario and Lito. They even share great screen chemistry. Concepcion is the baby and the next big leading man thanks to the innocence and sincerity that he infused into his man/boy portrayal of Roy.

The other movie’s alpha is Buboy Villar playing the dramatic lead in this film directed by Direk HJCP and

What makes the movie a great watch, without a doubt, Villar’s career-defining portrayal of Makoy. He is all heart here. How he faces the physical and emotional demands of a nurse during the pandemic, and how he brings the many emotions on screen, is worthy of a future nomination, if not an award for best actor. With Villar, his character’s compassion for others is honest to goodness. He even employed his charm offensive and Thompson’s character was the happy recipient of it. Villar’s portrayal of Makoy is on the level of an earth angel personified.

Both cinematic offerings highlighted the fact that there are more to men than their bananas and dangling eggs, brawn, ego, machismo, and pride. Truly they are not from Mars since these movies remind us that they have their share of all the feels as well and what they value - honesty, friendship, family, love, and the beauty and surprises of life – are all for real.

Call Me Papi and Ang Kwento ni Makoy , are opening in cinemas nationwide this December 7.

Uniquely Pinoy Christmas content on YouTube

GMA Public Affairs is set to make the Yuletide season extra special as it presents an original series called “Pinoy Christmas In Our Hearts” in collaboration with YouTube.

Anchoring on Filipinos’ beloved Christmas traditions such as noche buena, simbang gabi, and caroling among others, the four-part series will feature OFW YouTube content creators who are coming home for the first time since the pandemic. Mainstream creators and celebrities including Ninong Ry Small Laude, and Jessica Soho will also join the series to share uniquely Pinoy Christmas content on YouTube that viewers will surely relate to.

“GMA Public Affairs champions innovation by creating and sharing stories that resonate with Filipinos wherever they may be. With each story, a connection is made and a message is conveyed. ‘Pinoy Christmas In Our Hearts’ is a way for us to inspire our fellow Kapuso this Christmas season

“YouTube

Each

SENATOR Ramon Bong Revilla, Jr. inspected each of the ruined infrastructures in Barangay Kushong, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte caused by Severe Tropical Storm Paeng, including what is called the ‘ground zero’ where many houses were torn down.

lawmaker,

produced by Masaya Studio Inc.

Makoy serves as a beacon of hope and inspiration, telling everyone to use their one hand to help themselves and the other to help others in need.

Kwento ni Makoy opens in cinemas nationwide this December 7.

and follow the official Facebook

Ang Kwento ni Makoy at https://www. facebook.com/KuwentoniMakoy or visit Masaya Studio’s official website at www. masayastudio.com

and we are so grateful that the Filipinos’ favorite online platform YouTube continues to support us in these creative and meaningful endeavors,” shared Nessa Valdellon, First Vice President of GMA Public Affairs.

is all about bringing people and communities together through the shared language of video. We are proud to collaborate with GMA Public Affairs in bringing ‘Pinoy Christmas In Our Hearts’ on YouTube. With this series, we hope that more Filipinos can watch uplifting content online that speaks to the importance of being with our family and loved ones, especially this holiday

season,” said Siddharth Srinivasan, Head of YouTube Content Partnerships for Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

The project comes on the heels of GMA Public Affairs crossing the 20-million-subscriber milestone on YouTube just last month. Currently, the channel has amassed 12.7 billion views since 2009. It likewise recorded 1.1 billion hours of watched videos as of this writing.

of the four episodes of Pinoy Christmas In Our Hearts drops weekly starting this month on the GMA Public Affairs YouTube channel.

Buboy Villar plays the fun and kind nurse Makoy in ‘Ang Kwento ni Makoy’

Buboy (right) feels inspired whenever he acts alongside Bella Thompson’s character, Ched

Director HJCP dedicates the movie to frontliners

Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. smiling as he meets locals from Maguindanao

The Senator giving food packs to residents in Maguindanao

The cast of ‘Call Me Papi’

GMA Public Affairs announces collaboration with YouTube

Discerning Filipinos’ top ‘destination estate’ for the holidays

THIS time of the year is what Filipinos consider the happiest. Spending the holidays away from the stressful vibe of the big city, and finding peace and serenity in the countryside, easily comes to mind. Surely none proffers this prospect more delightfully than Tagaytay Highlands, the country’s go-to holiday destination south of the metro.

The premier mountain resort community is primed to let its residents, their families, and their guests enjoy a relaxing holiday break. Whether ensconced in cozy log cab ins or in luxurious, close-to-nature dwell ings located in the Highlands’ exclusive resi dential enclaves, grownups and children will look out, not on smog-shrouded cityscapes but on stunning vistas of tranquil Taal Lake, the legendary Mount Makiling, and Can lubang Valley shimmering in the horizon.

In support of women

I BUMPED into a longtime friend from the travel industry, Rita Dy, who has already retired from her Sin gapore Airlines Marketing chores and is now enjoying herself doing things at her own leisurely pace and style.

However, that day we saw each other, she was bubbling with enthusiasm over her lat est preoccupation, through her involvement as Public Relations and Communications District Chair of Zonta International District 17, which covers our country, Thailand, Hong Kong, Ma cau, Singapore, and Malaysia.

She is now very active in her club’s campaign to raise awareness of and increase actions to end violence against women around the world. I am pleased to know that this initiative takes place in Zonta Clubs and districts all over the world every biennium, pushing forth a more inclusive, unified, and impact ful campaign.

Every Novem ber 25 to Decem ber 10, all the 1100 Zonta Clubs in 63 countries mount their respective “16 Days of Activ ism” Campaign. Here in the Philippines, these are commemorated in all four Zonta areas – Metro Manila (north and south), its environs, Northern Luzon and Visayas.

to display, until this Saturday, eco-friendly products and se cret kitchens from the Bicol region, Laguna, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Samar, Muntin lupa, and Makati City. This is ongoing at Alabang’s Fes tival Mall and was officially opened on November 25, with Muntinlupa City Mayor Rozzano Biazon cutting the ceremonial ribbon, together with Zonta’s Area 5 Director Lourdes Wallace and other officers of the club.

Also scheduled for this coming Saturday is the culmination of the club’s “16 Days of Activ ism” through a Liberty Walk from the Makati Fire Station in Bangkal Street to the Ayala Tri angle. Rita and her co-Zonta Club officers are inviting concerned citizens who are in support of their advocacy to join this fun activity.

YOUR MONDAY CHUCKLE

Various activities have been lined up, like Walks, Motorcade, Photo Competi tions, Tarpaulins, Awards, Seminars, and Produce Exhibits, all with the cooperation of local government units throughout the country. These are staged simultaneously throughout the “16 Days of Activism.”

Here in Metro Manila, Area 1 had a wellparticipated motorcade on November 27 from Marikina City Hall winding around the vari ous streets in the city. Twenty clubs in Area 5 launched the Zonta Earth Store which continues

I’ve known my friend, Rita, throughout my many decades of work in the air line industry and I know that, when she puts her mind and heart into something she be lieves in, it will always lead to tre mendous success. Of course, we also have to thank the dedicated efforts of three other Zonta ladies who are just as involved in this commendable movement – Olivia Ferry, the only Filipina and Asian to serve as Zon ta International President; Lia Bautista Zonta International District 17 Governor Biennium; and Lourdes Wallace, Zonta International District 17 Area 5 Director.

No doubt, after this “16 Days of Activism,” we will hear, loud and clear, the world say ing NO to Violence Against Women, thanks to Zonta International’s praiseworthy efforts.

For feedback, I’m at bobzozobrado@gmail.com

Festive Club events also await discerning homeowners who look forward to a memo rable holiday season at Tagaytay Highlands. Children can whoop it up at their very own ‘Christmas Party for Kids’ to be held at The Sports Center Hall on December 17. On December 27 to 31, individuals and fami lies can shop to their hearts’ content at the Christmas Bazaar to be set up in the High lands Golf Parking Area.

To welcome the year with a bang, Tagaytay Highlands will have a New Year’s Eve Count down at The Sports Center Hall on December 31.

Several Chapel events will likewise be in full swing, such as the Four Sundays of Advent Eucharistic Celebrations on Novem ber 27, December 4, 11, and 18; the Renewal of Consecration of Tagaytay City to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on December 3; the Lighting of the beautiful Tagaytay Highlands Christmas Tree on December 3; and the Feast of the Immaculate Conception Mass on December 8.

Of course, the Filipino tradition of Simbang Gabi will be celebrated in the Highlands from December 15 to 23, and the much-awaited Christmas Day will be ushered in with masses on December 24 and December 25.

To wrap up the year 2022 with gratitude, members of the mountain resort community can go to mass on December 30, for the Feast of the Holy Family. The chapel will also welcome the year 2023 with masses on New Years’ Eve (De cember 31) and New Year’s Day (January 1).

Filipinos heading to Tagaytay Highlands for a joyful and cheery time will be happy to know that the development has been award ed the Safety Seal of the City Government of Tagaytay for providing safety and secu rity to its residents, guests, and staff.

Tagaytay Highlands’ developer, Highlands Prime Inc., a subsidiary of SM Prime Holdings, has also been named by the Department of Hu man Settlements and Urban Development as one of CALABARZON’s 2021 Outstanding Devel opers for Open Market Projects.

Tagaytay Highlands’ highly competent property management team ensures that all facilities and personnel will continue to ad here to safety protocols and sanitation pro cedures like hand sanitation, disinfection, wearing of face masks, and social distanc ing in public spaces.

Finally, the Highlands’ property manage ment commits to remain efficient in deliv ering quick crisis responses during adverse natural and high-risk events.

Tagaytay Highlands is an exclusive mountain resort exclusive to its club members, homeown ers, and their guests, featuring a holistic leisure environment that defines a luxurious lifestyle set amidst breathtaking views of nature.

For inquiries and other information, inter ested buyers may access Tagaytay High lands’ Facebook ( https://www.facebook. com/Tagaytayhighlands); Instagram (@ tagaytayhighlandsofficial); and website, www.tagaytayhighlands.com

Tips and reminders for travelers this December

AFTER two years of stop-and-go travel due to COVID-19 pandem ic lockdowns, we are now ready to re-embrace Christmas and New Year with our families and friends. It’s time to meet them and cel ebrate the holidays with cheers. But air travel should not be chaotic. Here are a few friendly reminders to make the travel experience for traveller less stressful this holiday season: Be on time at the airport, beat the road traffic Cebu Pacific and Cebgo passengers must allot time for traffic going to the airport. Passengers must be at the Ninoy Aquino In ternational Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 and 4 at least three hours before departure for domestic flights, and three hours for interna tional flights. Passengers traveling to Dubai are allowed to check in as early as seven hours before departure.

Check in online

Long lines may be avoided at the airport by checking in via the of ficial CEB mobile app or via the Manage Booking section of the CEB website. Both options are available from seven days up to one (1) hour before the scheduled time of departure for domestic flights; and up to four hours before the scheduled departure for international fliers.

Check flight information

All check-in counters close one hour before the scheduled time of departure to ensure there is ample time for all necessary pre-flight procedures. We encourage passengers to immediately proceed to their respective boarding gates. Boarding commences 45 minutes before the scheduled departure.

Updated flight information may be viewed at https://www.cebu pacificair.com/flight-status

Self-tag luggage for select domestic destinations

Guests flying out of select domestic destinations (Manila, Davao, Clark, Cagayan de Oro, General Santos, Bohol, Iloilo, and Zamboanga) are reminded to self-tag their check-in luggage prior to proceeding to counters for bag drops, in line with the airline’s contactless flight procedures.

Single hand carry and exemptions

Passengers must bring only one carry-on bag for a more con venient flight experience. The carry-on bag must not exceed 7kg in weight and can fit in the overhead bins or under the seat.

CEB has exempted items that are allowed to be carried aside of the single hand-carried bag:

• Gadgets or food items that cannot be checked in;

• Items purchased inside the airport (requires proof of receipt);

• Assistive or medical items such as walking canes, and foldable walkers;

• Baby food and necessities for passengers traveling with infants;

• Or a small bag that can fit under the seat

Checked baggage policy

Passengers are encouraged to purchase prepaid baggage with their tickets during initial booking on the CEB website and mobile app. CEB has implemented a per piece baggage policy that applies to all passen gers with checked baggage. A passenger may choose either a 20kg or a 32kg check-in baggage, or a maximum of the two options.

Any excess in size, weight, and pieces are subject to oversized baggage fees, excess baggage fees, and/or extra bag fees.

Check The Airport Terminal assignment of your flight

Passengers must check their itineraries and boarding pass before proceeding to their designated airport terminal. Cebu Pacific’s 5J flights arrive at and depart from the NAIA Terminal 3, while Cebgo (DG) flights to and from Manila operate from the NAIA Terminal 4 at Domestic Road, Pasay City.

Bring a copy of your LGU vaccination card for domestic, and

VaxCertPH for international travel

Travel document requirements may change

Guests must also update contact details on their bookings so they will be notified of pre-flight reminders and flight changes.

Pack your patience and keep your cool.

It is frustrating when hassles happen at the airport or on your flight. Stay calm and have a positive perspective. It’s Christmas, after all! Keep your stress response under control and maintain that joyful attitude. Cebu Pacific on-ground personnel will assist you. CEB continues to implement a multi-layered approach to safety while it operates with a 100 percent fully vaccinated crew, 95 per cent of whom have been boosted – all to ensure every traveler flies safely and conveniently on Cebu Pacific.

Visit www.cebupacificair.com for more information.

“Looking at the way some people live, they should consider purchasing eternal Fire Insurance”

Old traditions die hard in this Yuletide

destination. Resident families like to turn the holidays into a multi-sensory experi ence. As glittery lights and colorful orna ments spread holiday cheer, one enjoys the aroma of ham, pasta, and cakes wafting from the kitchen. And as in typical Filipino gatherings, the sound of laughter and merri ment is music to one’s ears.

Tagaytay Highlands continues to top discerning Filipinos’ wish lists as it lines up special holiday festivities for its residents, their families, and their guests.

Lia Bautista, Zonta International District 17 Governor Biennium

Rita Dy, PR and Communications District

Chair of Zonta International District 17

Lourdes Wallace, Zonta International District 17 Area 5 Director

Olivia Ferry, the only Filipina and Asian to serve as Zonta International President

Travel to the airport hours before the flight to avoid traffic and for a smoother check-in

Avoid long check-in lines by doing the task online

Tagaytay Highlands promises its guests a joyful and cheery time

Tagaytay Highlands is an exclusive mountain resort that features a holistic leisure environment