Manila Standard - 2022 December 10 - Saturday

PBBM out as MWF chairman

DOF chief to take post instead to keep wealth fund mgt. non-politicized

By Maricel V. Cruz and Julito G. Rada

LAWMAKERS

President

Friday

Earlier this week, lawmakers had already removed the Government Service Insurance Service (GSIS) and the Social Security System (SSS) as mandatory contributors to the fund, after their members and critics questioned the wisdom and constitutionality of investing workers’ pensions in what could be high-risk ventures.

On Friday, proponents of the bill took one step further after Senior Deputy Minority Leader Paul Daza said during a House hearing that the investment fund would be politicized if the President would chair the board of directors.

“It’s a no-win for the President to chair

such a board,” Daza said.

Responding to Daza’s point, House banks and financial intermediaries committee chairman Irwin Tieng said the authors of the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) bill would remove the President as chairman of the board and replace him with the secretary of Finance.

Tieng added that there would now be four independent directors rather than two in the 15-person board.

But Daza also said members of the board should not be appointed by the President.

"I think it would be better governance

PH

Big-time oil price rollback up next week

Byline Alena Flores

CONSUMERS can expect a big-time rollback of as much as P4 per liter by next week, an official from the Department of Energy said Friday.

Rodela Romero, Department of Energy director for the Oil Industry Management Bureau, said that based on the four-day

trading period, the oil firms are expected to cut kerosene prices by P3.80 to P4 per liter, gasoline by P1 to P1.30 per liter, and diesel by P3 to P3.30 per liter.

Romero said the continuing slowdown in demand from China contributed to the forecasted oil price rollback.

A report by Reuters said traders were unfazed by the closure of the Keystone

boosts air defense with two modern choppers

By Vince Lopez

blessing of two new T-129 ATAK helicopters in Malacañang.

The

consistently, perform its duties effectively and pro-

Customers

tect the nation vigorously and with pride.

Congratulating PAF for the acquisition of the new air assets, Mr. Marcos said he expects that the recently acquired state-ofthe-art helicopters will improve the Air

pipeline, which could affect supply. Reuters said markets are bearish over the economic slowdown, weak demand, and forecasts of more interest hikes.

On December 6, the country's oil firms cut pump prices by P1.95 per liter for gasoline, P1.90 per liter for diesel, and P1.65 per liter for kerosene.

DIES IN QATAR AT

THE

"Angelo Jimenez is the 22nd President of the University of the Philippines," said Tinig ng Plaridel, the official publication of the UP College of Mass Communication, on Facebook.

"Beginning in 2023, the former Duterte-appointed UP regent will serve a six-year term as chief officer of the nation's premier state university," it said.

Jimenez, a lawyer, will replace

Mr. Marcos to hold 10 bilateral talks during ASEAN-EU summit

By Rey E. Requejo and Vince Lopez

University of the Philippines Board of Regents has named former faculty regent Angelo Jimenez as the 22nd president of the country's 114-year-old premier state university.

MANILA Electric Co. (Meralco) on Friday confirmed higher power rates in December and January, but not as high as the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) estimated a day earlier.

of Meralco can expect

higher power rates after the company finishes paying off a P0.28 per kilowatthour refund and the company stops getting its electricity from San Miguel Corp., company spokesman Joe Zaldarriaga said.

Meralco announced on Friday an increase of P0.3297 per KWh for December, equivalent to an increase of around P66 for residential customers consuming 200 kWh.

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will hold bilateral talks with at least 10 heads of government from the European Union

starting Monday to bolster Philippine ties with the Western world, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Friday.

DFA Assistant Secretary for ASEAN Affairs Daniel Espiritu said the President, who leaves Sunday night, would hold

on

said they would remove the

as chairman of the board of the Maharlika Wealth Fund (MWF) as the proposed sovereign wealth fund continued to draw criticism from business groups and academics.

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday assured the Philippine Air Force (PAF) that he would fully support its vision to become world-class as he led the ceremonial

President expressed hope that the modernization will drive the Air Force to enhance its defense capabilities

TWIN CHOPPERS. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Friday leads the ceremonial blessing of two new T129 ATAK helicopters in Malacañang and assured that his administration will fully support the Philippine Air Force (PAF) in fulfilling its vision to become world-class.

Presidential Photo

‘Defer SSS, PhilHealth hikes in ‘23’

EMPLOYERS want the government to postpone the anticipated increase in contributions to the Social Security System (SSS) and Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) in 2023, saying businesses are just recovering from the effects of the pandemic.

The increase favors most SSS members, but some employers, such as the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP), are asking for its postponement, GMA News reported.

“Ninety percent of our enterprises are micro. But 50% of these shut down during the pandemic, a lot have not reopened. Others are discouraged

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in particular considering the political culture in the country, I would even be as bold to propose that the majority of the board should be independent directors and not be appointed by the President," Daza said.

In her opening statement, House appropriations panel senior vice chairperson Stella Quimbo said they have learned lessons from Malaysia's 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), which was mired in a corruption scandal, and cited a number of safeguards in the MIF bill.

These include the engagement of an internal and an external auditor aside from the Commission on Audit, the creation of a joint congressional oversight committee, regular reports to the President on the fund’s investment performance, setting up a risk management unit to ensure a “prudent balance” between risk and rewards, and setting a cap on administrative and operating expenses at 2 percent of its initial capitalization.

"This investment vehicle will ensure that the government is able to maximize returns to investments of funds that are not currently needed by GFIs and GOCCs,” she said, referring to government financial institutions and government owned and controlled corporations.

“These additional investment returns can be used to augment the national budget to fund our ever-growing needs as a nation."

Meanwhile, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Friday expressed readiness to provide P30 billion to P35 billion for the proposed MIF.

During a hearing of the House committee on appropriations on the proposed MIF Act, BSP Deputy Governor Francisco Dakila Jr. said the amount will come from BSP’s dividends.

After providing the initial contribution, Dakila said the BSP will only give 50 per-

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This is the fourth straight week of reduced gasoline, diesel, and kerosene prices amid the continued softening of world oil prices.

On Nov. 29, local oil firms also cut pump prices. They implemented a price rollback of P3.95 per liter for diesel for the sixth consecutive week and cut the price of gasoline by P0.85 per liter and

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The ERC said Thursday that electricity prices in the Meralco franchise area would go up by about P0.30 to P0.40 per kilowatt-hour, or an average increase of P80 per bill per 200 kWh, by January next year, but Meralco does not expect the full amount to be reflected by then.

Zaldarriaga said the P0.28 per KWh refund will end in December and will immediately have an impact on the January rates.

He said the suspension of Meralco’s 2019 power supply agreement with San Miguel would also likely raise electricity costs.

Zaldarriaga said other factors are also expected to have an impact on rates next month.

Meralco said the overall rate for a typical household to P10.2769 per kWh this December from the previous month’s P9.9472 per kWh.

Zaldarriaga said the increase is mainly due to the completion of a distributionrelated refund equivalent to P0.4669 per kWh for residential customers.

He said lower generation charges mitigated the increase this month, which went down by P0.1942 to P6.7975 from P6.9917 per kWh in November.

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outgoing UP President Danilo Concepcion, who will end his term in February 2023.

Others nominated by the board for the post were UP Diliman chancellor Fidel Nemenzo, former UP Los Baños chancellor Fernando Sanchez Jr., Catanduanes State University

to reopen (because of the planned rate hikes),” said Sergio Ortiz-Luis, ECOP President.

According to a 24 Oras report, the SSS contribution will be increased by one percent from 13% to 14% next year.

Meanwhile, PhilHealth's contribution will increase to 4.5% from 4%.

This came after Ortiz-Luis praised

cent of its dividends to the MWF because the other 50 percent will be allocated for the capitalization of the BSP.

He said the BSP is still building up its target capital in compliance with its amended charter.

Once the BSP is fully capitalized, Dakila said it will again provide 100 percent of its dividend for the MIF.

He added BSP’s international reserves would not be affected by its contribution to the MIF.

On Thursday, Quimbo said the initial funding for MWF could reach around P150 billion.

According to the House bill, the MIF will also be funded by state-run banks Land Bank of the Philippines with P50 billion and the Development Bank of the Philippines with P25 billion.

The House panel later amended the bill to raise DBP’s contribution to P50 billion.

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) and other government-owned gaming operations shall also contribute at least 10 percent of their gross revenues.

Other government financial institutions and government-owned and-controlled corporations may be authorized to contribute to the MIF based on their respective investment and risk management strategies.

The country’s economic managers on Friday expressed their strong support for the creation of the MIF as a vehicle to move forward the agenda for prosperity and achieve the economic goals of the government.

Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Felipe Medalla signed a joint statement released to the media.

“The establishment of a sovereign wealth fund is a tried and tested investment vehicle that has been used by governments in both first world and developing countries to achieve their economic

kerosene by P2.65 per liter.

On Nov. 22, oil companies also posted rollbacks of P0.40 per liter for gasoline, P2.15 for diesel, and P2.10 per liter for kerosene.

On Nov. 15, oil firms also cut diesel prices by P0.30 per liter but raised gasoline by P0.90 per liter and kerosene by P1.35 per liter.

A week earlier, the country's oil firms cut pump prices by as much as P1.95 per liter effective Tuesday to reflect the movement of prices in the world oil market.

Charges from Meralco's power supply agreements went down by P0.2079 per kWh as the First Natgas-San Gabriel plant went back online on Oct. 15 coming from a scheduled maintenance outage from Oct. 1 to 14.

The peso appreciation, which affected 38 percent of PSA costs that are dollar-denominated, also contributed to the reduction. Meralco sourced the majority or 52 percent of its power requirement from the PSAs for the November supply month.

Meralco said the P1.3985 per kWh reduction in Wholesale Electricity Spot Market charges due to the improved supply situation in the Luzon grid also brought down the generation charge.

The average daily capacity on outage remained at the 3,900-MW level but the reduction in both peak and average demand in the November supply month resulted in fewer impositions of the secondary price cap, which was triggered only 21 percent of the time in November versus October's 52 percent.

Meralco bought 7 percent of its supply from the WESM, the trading floor of electricity.

Meralco's Independent Power Producer charges, on the other hand, went up by P0.0545 per kWh. Alena Mae S. Flores (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

president Patrick Alain Azanza, former 1-Edukasyon representative Salvador Belaro Jr., and former UP Diliman vice chancellor for research and development Benito Pacheco.

Jimenez, an expert on Philippine overseas labor issues and global migration, served with distinction in the Department of Labor and Employment and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.

He received two presidential citations for his efforts in safeguarding overseas

the Marcos administration, saying the opening of the economy and the push of the government to create more job opportunities pushed the country’s employment rate to pick up.

Ortiz-Luis Jr. noted late Thursday that the recovery of the country’s micro industries helped fuel the growth of the economy.

Inflation remains manageable, the ECOP president said, and the country remains on the path to economic recovery.

"Well, I will not say it is out of control, it’s a little high but it’s manageable,” said Ortiz-Luis.

objectives,” they said.

Most recently, they said the model of the Indonesia Investment Authority has been a successful model of a sovereign wealth fund that was used to fund the country’s big-ticket infrastructure projects even amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

For Singapore, the investment gains from GIC, the central bank and state investor Temasek Holdings Pte have been the biggest contributors to the national budget since 2018, they said.

They added that the fund would help the government achieve its agenda for prosperity and inclusive and sustainable economic growth.

They said direct benefits of the MIF include increased investments in and funding of big-ticket infrastructure projects, high-return green and blue projects, and countryside development, including agriculture.

Intergenerational benefits include increased access of future generations to income from investments, such as potential earnings from extracted natural resources such as in mining.

Diokno on Friday said the GSIS and SSS, which were removed as funding sources for the Maharlika Fund, may opt to contribute in the future.

In a televised briefing, Diokno said the two agencies could still contribute to the fund in the future if they want bigger returns.

"They are looking for higher returns because right now most of their money is invested in treasury bills, they don’t earn that much," the Finance chief said.

"If they want higher return, they may decide to contribute but that is up to their respective boards of GSIS and SSS," he added.

During the House Committee on Appropriations hearing, MIF proponents formally removed the GSIS and the SSS as fund sources.

This was finalized when the panel led by chairman Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Elizaldy Co approved the funding provi-

Petron Corp., Chevron Philippines, Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, Seaoil Philippines, PetroGazz, PTT Philippines and Cleanfuel announced their respective price rollbacks, in line with forecasts made late last week.

"Petron will implement the following price rollbacks effective 6 a.m. on Dec 06: P1.95/liter for gasoline; P1.90/li for diesel and P1.65/li for kerosene. These reflect movements in the international oil market," the company said.

This is the third straight week of

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meetings with the leaders of Belgium, Estonia, Czech Republic, Spain, Denmark, Germany, Poland, Finland, the Netherlands and the European Union.Mr. Marcos will conduct these extensive meetings on the sidelines of his three-day participation at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-European Union Summit in Belgium starting December 12, Espiritu said.

“So, this will be a very busy trip for the President,” Espiritu said in a media briefing, adding he will be in Brussels from December 12 to 14.

With Belgium, Mr. Marcos is expected to discuss the country’s plans to expand cooperation in agriculture and renewable energy, the DFA official said.

According to Espiritu, the President’s meeting with Estonia, Czech Republic, and Denmark are also important since the Philippines have partnerships with them in the areas of cybersecurity, defense and maritime, respectively.

The 65-year-old Filipino leader will also meet with his Spanish counterpart, Pedro Sanchez Perez-Castejon, 15 years his junior, since Spain will be the next president of the EU council.

Spain just also acceded to the Treaty

Filipino workers or OFWs in Middle East flash points, including Kuwait and Iraq. He also served as labor attaché in Japan.

He served as a UP Regent from November 2017 to July 2021.

The Philippine Collegian, the University of the Philippines Diliman's official student paper, and other student groups, in a rare move, endorsed chancellor Nemenzo for the university president position.

UP Diliman Student Council

Based on the Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) preliminary results of its latest labor force survey released on Wednesday, the country’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.5 percent in October, lower than the 7.4 percent in October 2021 and 5 percent in September.

President Marcos had said he sees bright prospects for the country’s economy after the unemployment rate dipped in October.

The ECOP president, for his part, cited the need to intensify efforts to address skills mismatch and attract investments that will generate more jobs.

Vince Lopez

sion of the still unnumbered bill on the MIF.

Quimbo, one of the authors of the MIF bill, made the motion to amend the funding provision as contained in Section 9.

Opposition lawmakers welcomed the amendment to replace the President as chairman of the board that would serve to insulate the MIF from politics.

Meanwhile, the appropriations panel approved Quimbo’s proposal to exclude the General Appropriations Act (GAA) as one of the mandatory sources of funding for the MIF.

“The provision shall be deleted in toto,” said Quimbo.

Quimbo, in her sponsorship speech before the panel, reiterated the importance of the MIF amid the current socio-economic landscape.

She noted that instead of imposing an additional tax burden to the people, the establishment of the MIF provides an alternative source of revenue that can be used to fund critical government projects.

“That is precisely the goal of a sovereign wealth fund. The bill creates an investment vehicle that will pool surplus funds of the government and ensures that it will be managed professionally and transparently,” Quimbo said.

Quimbo also reiterated that the bill has sufficient safeguards to ensure the viability of the fund and prevent abuse.

The main authors of the unnumbered bill are House Speaker and Leyte 1st District Rep. Martin G. Romualdez, Majority Leader and Zamboanga City 2nd district Rep. Mannix Dalipe, committee on accounts chairperson and Tingog Party-list Rep. Yedda Marie K. Romualdez, Deputy Majority Leader and Tingog Party-list Rep. Jude Acidre, committee on banks and financial intermediaries chairman and Manila 5th district Rep. Irwin Tieng, committee on ways and means chairman and Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Salceda, and Quimbo.

reduced gasoline, diesel, and kerosene prices amid the continued softening of world oil prices.

Unioil Petroleum Philippines announced that fuel prices would likely go down next week, December 6 to 12.

“Diesel should go down by P1.90 to P2.00 per liter. Gasoline should go down by P1.80 to P1.90 per liter,” Unioil said in its advisory.

An oil industry source also told the Standard kerosene was slated to slide down by P1.60 per liter.

of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, which the Philippines is part of.

Since the Philippines is the current coordinator between the ASEAN and the EU, Mr. Marcos will sit down with the EU leader to talk about “preparations and the way forward” in the relations between the two regional blocs, Espiritu said.

This might include the pending free trade agreement particularly between the Philippines and the EU, he added.

The DFA official said he hoped Mr. Marcos’ first participation at the summit between the two regional blocs “will redound to a lot of benefits for the Filipino people, not only for ASEAN.”

Espiritu also said the President’s first participation at the ASEAN-EU Summit was expected to generate billions of investments for the Philippines as well as hundreds of new jobs for the Filipinos.

According to him, Mr. Marcos would be “very busy” during his trip to Belgium next week as he is set to deliver speeches, hold bilateral talks with fellow leaders and more importantly, pitch for investments from European companies at the sidelines of the ASEAN-European Union Summit.

Among companies he will talk with are consumer goods producer Unilever, shipbuilder Ocea, and energy provider Acciona. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

Chairperson Latrell Felix earlier said the selection of the next UP president was "crucial" because it would "reflect how the university will proceed in the next six years."

The University of the Philippines is the country’s national university. The premier institution of higher learning was established in 1908 and is now a university system composed of eight constituent universities located in 17 campuses all over the archipelago.

DOH wants data before declaring HFMD outbreak

By Willie Casas

THE declaration of a hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) outbreak should be backed by scientific data, the Department of Health (DOH) said Friday.

This developed as more than 132,000 persons received their first booster against COVID-19 during the 3-day "Bakunahang Bayan," the DOH announced.

At the press briefing, DOH officerin-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said the HFMD outbreak tag will also be triggered if the cases of the illness are no longer manageable.

Vergeire was asked if there is a need to declare an outbreak for the HFMD amid the reported cases in the past weeks.

Vergeire said that local government units (LGUs) can always declare an outbreak provided that there is scientific evidence based on the surveillance data.

“For us to consider and trigger a declaration of an outbreak, surveillance data would support and say it has risen for the past five years. But another consideration would be, is it manageable?” she said.

“Can the local government still be able and has the capacity to manage the cases and prevent further transmission? If they see the local governments can manage, they are coping and they are able to cope up with further transmission of the illness,” she added.

"We were able to vaccinate first COVID-19 booster doses to 132,770 individuals nationwide," Vergeire added in a press briefing.

Vaccination coverage among the 5 to 11 age group has also increased to 49.3 percent. The government's target for this group is 10.8 million.

"For our 5-11 years old, we were able to vaccinate an additional 33,239," Vergeire said.

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Force’s operational readiness and responsiveness and empower it to fulfill its mandate to the country and the people.

The President also appreciated the contribution of the government of Turkey and the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) for being reliable partners of the Philippine government in modernizing the country’s Air Force.

At the same time, Mr. Marcos expressed gratitude to the PAF and the Armed Forces of the Philippines for their invaluable contribution to the nation’s external defense, internal security operations, as well as disaster relief and response operations.

Last March, PAF received the two T129 along with unspecific logistics support equipment under a $269 million government-to-government contract with Turkey that was signed in July 2020.

The Philippines has six helicopters on order under the multimillion-dollar contract, which is part of the Horizon 2 phase of the AFP modernization program.

The T-129 helicopters are manufactured by Turkish Aerospace Industries and are based on the AgustaWestland A129 Mangusta design.

The new assets will complement a pair of refurbished Bell AH-1S HueyCobra attack helicopters from Jordan, along with armed light observation and transport helicopters in PAF’s inventory.

Earlier, the Western Command (Wescom) task forces said they successfully conducted another series of "gas-oil platform takedown" exercises that aim to assess the capabilities of these units in protecting the vital Malampaya Natural Gas to Power Project platform.

The drills took place on Dec, 4 to 5, it added. During the exercise, activities such as vertical insertion, non-compliant visits, board, search, and seizure were conducted.

The units and assets that participated in the exercise included two multi-purpose attack craft, BA-483 and BA-484, special operation teams, an unmanned aerial system (UAS), a Navy AW-109 "Power", and an Air Force W-3A "Sokol" helicopter.

"This year’s iteration of the GOPLAT exercise was highlighted with the use of high-angle sniping on an AW-109 Navy helicopter and the use of UAS for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance," it added.

As of 2020, the Commission on Higher Education has declared 41 units of the university as Centers of Excellence, while five units have been declared as Centers of Development.

The Board of Regents is the highest governing body in the UP System.

Its members are drawn from both the university and the private and public sectors, and is currently chaired by Commission on Higher Education chairman Prospero de Vera.

OFW dies in Qatar World Cup—DFA

THE Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) confirmed on Thursday night the death of a still unidentified male Filipino national while working at a resort in Mesaieed, Qatar.

Meanwhile, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) has criticized the authorities of Qatar and the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) over their “callous” response about the death of the overseas Filipino worker (OFW) during the ongoing World Cup.

The DFA said an investigation is underway and the Philippine Embassy in Doha is coordinating with legal authori-

OCD confers awards to 16 B’moro LGUs

By Nash B. Maulana

THE Office of Civil Defense (OCD) has awarded 16 local government units (LGUs) across the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) for excellence in disaster preparedness.

In a ceremony in Cotabato City on December 2, the National Disaster Reduction and Risk Management (NDRRM) and the OCD-BARMM awarded the 16 LGUs for top-level disaster preparedness, as recognized during the 22nd Gawad KALASAG (Kalamidad at Sakuna Labanan, Sariling Galing ang Kaligtasan) Seals Awards

Gawad KALASAG Seals Awards honor local DRRM councils and offices, government response teams, civil society organizations (CSOs), volunteer organizations and individuals for exemplary contributions in the field of DRRM and climate change adaptation.

Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. congratulated the honorees, recognizing them for significant efforts while emphasizing the actions to be taken before, during and after the disaster.

Bangsamoro Civil Defense regional director Hamid Bayao underscored OCD-BARMM’s role and mandates in providing responsive, efficient and effective services related to research, planning, programming, project development and policy formulation of DRRM’s projects and activities.

ties regarding the facts of the case.

“They will remain in contact with the next of kin of the deceased as they work for the earliest repatriation of his remains,” DFA Deputy Assistant Secretary Gonar Musor told reporters in a text message. “Out of respect to the family, we are not providing more details at this time.”

Meanwhile, the government, through the embassy, sent its thoughts and

prayers to the family.

Local reports said the man died while doing repairs at the resort reportedly being used as a training base for the Saudi Arabia national team during the World Cup.

Online sports publication The Athletic reported that the victim slipped off a ramp while walking alongside a forklift and fell headfirst against the concrete.

“The tragic death of a Filipino migrant worker, Alex, his surname unknown, at a World Cup site in Qatar should have been treated humanely,” the HRW said in a statement.

“But FIFA and Qatari authorities re-

sponded callously to media questions about his death, returning the spotlight to their disregard for the deaths of thousands of migrant workers in the years leading up to the tournament,” it added, citing instances where Qatar World Cup chief executive Nasser al-Khater and FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura allegedly made callous remarks.

The HRW also called out the Qatari Supreme Committee for its supposed quick denial that the Filipino worker’s death was under its jurisdiction even though at the time of the accident the worker was repairing FIFA infrastructure.

SSS, banks ink accord on UMID ATM Pay Cards

THE Social Security System (SSS) on Friday announced that it has entered into agreement with banks for the issuance of UMID (Unified Multi-Purpose ID) ATM Pay Cards.

With the UMID ATM Pay Cards, SSS members will enjoy the advantages of having a disbursement account for their benefits, loans, and refunds, and access to the participating banks’ available ATMs and online & mobile platforms to make their banking transactions apart from having a valid governmentissued ID.

“The UMID ATM Pay Card Program aims to promote the accurate and timely payment of SSS benefits and loans to rightful recipients. It is a step towards the national government, the SSS, and its partners’ shared goals of greater financial inclusion and payments digitalization,” SSS president and chief executive officer Michael Regino said.

“Currently, SSS is offering UMID ATM Pay Cards that are linked to a regular savings account, with the Union Bank of the Philippines (UBP) as the first participating bank,” he added.

UBP has made ready an initial one million UMID ATM Cards for those who have not been issued the UMID cards. Rio N. Araja

GAA allocates P750m each to 4 big hospitals

By Maricel V. Cruz

FOUR ‘legacy specialty hospitals’ of the government will get about P750 million each to enable them to start construction of new buildings next year.

The chairman of the House of Representatives’ appropriations committee, Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Elizaldy Co, said the legislative bicameral conference committee approved the grant of the amount in the 2023 General Appropriations Act (GAA) budget to the Philippine General Hospital, the Philippine Cancer Institute of the PGH, the National Kidney and Transplant Institute, and the Philippine Children’s Medical Center.

The projects involve the acquisition of various specialized medical facilities.

Co said the guidance of Speaker Martin Romualdez was key in ironing out the details of the 2023 budget.

He noted that the 2023 budget also included P540 million total for 20 dialysis centers and a provision expanding coverage of medical referrals by congressmen and senators to include private hospitals through a voucher system.

Imee favors equal sharing of property between same-sex partners

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

SENATOR Imee Marcos has affirmed her support for greater legal protection of the LGBTQI+ community, ahead of the observance of World Human Rights Day on Saturday, Dec. 10.

Marcos believes that granting property rights to same-sex couples should not be stymied by the ongoing moral and

religious debate over legalizing samesex unions in the country.

“The acquisition, ownership, and use of property is a guaranteed right of all citizens, but same-sex couples are not adequately protected by existing laws,” the senator noted.

Marcos has filed Senate Bill 1532, “Instituting a Property Regime for Same Sex Partners,” that ensures each

Bill imposes P5-m fine on hospitals asking deposits

DAVAO

on Friday pushed for the passage of a bill imposing P5 million penalty on health care providers that demand deposits on patients seeking hospital confinement.

Duterte filed House Bill (HB) 3046 to amend the Anti-Hospital Deposit Law which provides that the present

fine of P 1 million, which he said “is too low and the penalty should be increased to deter the practice.”

HB 3046 also mandates the establishment of a government hotline where the public can immediately call to seek immediate assistance regarding violations of the law.

Together with Benguet Rep. Eric Yap

and ACT-CIS party-list Reps. Edvic Yap and Jeffrey Soriano, Duterte said the current set of penalties imposed under Republic Act (RA) 10932 on erring employees and officials of medical facilities should be increased further, as “there is still a significant number of reports of hospitals violating the Anti-Hospital Deposit Law.” Maricel V. Cruz

Balibago lass wins Mutya Ning Angeles pageant

By Butch Gunio

ANGELES City has a new queen. She is Joanne Marie Thornley of Barangay Balibago who took home the Mutya Ning Angeles (MNA) 2022 crown, plus P1 million in cash and other prizes.

Coming in as 1st Runner-Up was Dynara Maurer also of Balibago; followed by Janet Phoemela David of Lourdes Sur as 2nd runner-up; Maricar Tanhueco of Pandan, 3rd runner-up; and Myrna Esguerra of Anunas, 4th runner-up.

The runners-up received ₱200,000,

₱150,000, ₱100,000 and ₱50,000, respectively, as well as other prizes.

The grandest and most prestigious MNA 2022 pageant finally concluded at the Grand Palazzo Royale on Dec. 8, 2022 as part of the celebration of Angeles City’s 193rd founding anniversary.

partner a just share of properties when a partner dies or becomes disabled, or when a relationship is ended by mutual agreement or abandonment.

According to the bill, same-sex partners will be deemed co-owners of property they have acquired, even in the absence of a written agreement if they have lived together for at least a year.

Co-ownership will also cover in -

come derived from the shared properties, but written consent of both partners will be required if the said properties are sold, leased, or disposed of in any manner.

Excluded from co-ownership are properties inherited by either partner, as well as gifts or donations given by members of a partner’s immediate family.

City Rep. Paolo Duterte

CHRISTMAS-THEMED PROTEST. Members of the Manila Public School Teachers Association (MPSTA) and the Alliance of Concerned teachers (ACT-NCR) Union stage a Christmas-themed protest on Mendiola Street in Sampaloc, Manila to press the release of their financial benefits before Christmas, as well as salary increase. Norman Cruz

BLOODLETTING. Quezon City Police District director Brig. Gen. Nicolas Torre III and some of his men participate in a blood donation project organized by the Office of the president of the University of the Philippines, PAUW-UP Chapter, and Nowhere To Subitup foundation Inc. at the UP Law Center, Palma Hall in UP Diliman, Quezon City. The event is dubbed “Maroon  Love for Christmas.’’ Manny Palmero

COP VS. FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION.

A Manila policeman tries to stop a cultural group from holding their own version of protest demonstration in front of the Department of Justice along Padre Faura Street in Ermita district to commemorate what they call “Bloody Sunday” on March 7, 2021 where five activist were killed and dozens others arrested.

Danny Pata

High Court issues protection order for activists’ kin

By Rey E. Requejo

A TEMPORARY protection order (TPO) has been issued by the Supreme Court (SC) for two activists and community organizers who have been reported missing since last July 3 and allegedly in the custody of either the police or the military.

In a Writ of Amparo issued last Nov. 29 and made public on Friday, the SC also issued TPO for the families of Ma.

Elena “Cha” Cortez Pampoza of Anakpawis and Elgene “Leleng” Mungcal of Gabriela Women’s Partylist.

Pampoza and Mungcal were last seen at Winfare Supermarket in Moncada, Tarlac last July 3.

The issuance of TPO came after the petition for a Writ of Amparo was filed last Nov. 4 on their behalf by Azase Galang, daughter of Pampoza. A copy of the petition was not available as of posting.

In granting the TPO, the SC barred the military and police officials “from going within a radius of one (1) kilometer of petitioners (Pampoza and Mungcal) and their immediate families.”

A Writ of Amparo “is a remedy available to any person whose right to life, liberty and security is violated or threatened with violation by an unlawful act or omission of a public official or employee, or of a private individual or entity.”

Among those named respondents in the petition were Lt. Gen. Bartolome Vicente Bacarro, in his capacity as Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines; Maj. Gen. Romulo Manuel, in his capacity as the Deputy Chief-of-Staff for Intelligence (J-2) of the AFP; Lt. Gen. Ernesto Torres, Jr., in his capacity as the Commander of the Northern Luzon Command (NOLCOM); PGen. Rodolfo Azurin, in his capacity as the Director General/Chief of the Philippine National Police; and PBGen. Cesar R. Pasiwen, in his capacity as the Acting Regional Director of Police Regional Office 3 (PRO3) with an area of responsibility over Central Luzon.

Taguig suspends support after PDEA agents’ arrest

By Joel E. Zurbano

THE Taguig City government is withdrawing its support to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) following the arrest of a ranking official and two officers of the agency in drug dealing.

On Wednesday, the Southern Police District announced the arrest of PDEA Southern District Office (PDEA-SDO) chief Enrique Lucero and agents Anthony Vic Alabastro and Jaireh Llaguno in a buy-bust operation conducted in their office in Upper Bicutan, Taguig.

Seized from the suspects were a total of 1.3 kilos of shabu worth more than P9 million, four firearms, a digital weighing scale, and the cash and boodle money used in the police operation Tuesday night.

“The City is temporarily suspending its support to and coordination with PDEA pending the outcome of the criminal investigation. The City insists that those involved should be held accountable,” Mayor Laarni Cayetano said.

She said her administration also “condemns in an unequivocal manner the illegal drug activities of PDEASDO chief, two PDEA agents, and one driver who were arrested in an operation conducted at the city-owned build-

ing which serves as PDEA office. It is a betrayal of the highest order.”

Cayetano said in 2018, the city escalated its support to PDEA’s mandate by turning over for its use a newlyconstructed building. She added the city government expected the agency to collaborate closely with the city’s police and anti-drug abuse council.

“The criminal participation of drug enforcers in illicit drug activities, using facilities provided by the city, is repugnant and inexcusable. The involvement of PDEA officers in the criminal activities they are supposed to stop has forced the city to reconsider its decision,” she said.

The local government also demanded that the building used by PDEA be returned, saying it will be “repurposed for a worthy public use.”

5.9 quake hit Samar, Phivolcs report says

THE Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) reported that a magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck the waters off Northern Samar on Friday.

The tectonic tremor, located 105 kilometers northeast of Mapanas town, hit at 2:33 p.m, the agency said, adding that with a depth of 38 kilometers, the quake could spawn aftershocks, Phivolcs’ initial bulletin said.

Phivolcs said it recorded the following instrumental Intensities. Intensity IIIMapanas and Palapag, Northern Samar; Intensity II - Rosario and San Roque, Northern Samar; Prieto Diaz and Bulusan, Sorsogo; Intensity I - Legazpi City and Tabaco, Albay; Mercedes and Daet, Camarines Norte; Pili, Camarines Sur; Hernani and Can-Avid, Eastern Samar; Hilongos, Dulag, Kananga, Abuyog, Alangalang and Baybay, Leyte

DBP approves loan for modern Batangas PUJs

STATE -owned Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) has granted a P152.1-million credit assistance to a Batangas-based transport cooperative for the acquisition of 85 modern public utility jeepneys (PUJs) to promote sustainable transport system in the province, a top official said.

DBP president and CEO Emmanuel G. Herbosa said that the loan to Batangas Transport Cooperative (BATRASCO) under the bank’s Program Assistance to Support Alternative Driving Approaches (PASADA) would finance the cooperative’s first batch of modernized public utility vehicles (PUVs) that would be deployed in six towns of Batangas which ranks as the 7th most populous province in the country.

BuCor, CHR sign pact on human rights officers

THE Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) and the Commission on Human Rights will designate human rights officers in jail facilities to monitor the condition of persons deprived of liberty (PDL)s.

In a ceremony on Friday, the BuCor and the CHR signed a memorandum of agreement to align the Bureau’s programs, policies, and practices with the human rights standards.

Under the MOA, the BuCor and CHR have agreed to take the following measures: designate at least one Human Rights Officer in every security compound of each BuCor prison facility; develop and implement a special training course for the HROs and other officers and personnel of BuCor to substantially orient/re-orient them of human rights norms, standards, and principles, as well as on the role of BuCor in the prevention of violations and protection of the rights of the PDL.

Parents deny DOJ statement on PAO support

PARENTS of children whose death was linked to the Dengvaxia vaccine on Friday rejected an insinuation that the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) has abandoned them in the criminal complaints filed against former health secretary Janette Garin and 30 other respondents.

After entrapment, LTO advises public to stop transacting with fixers

By Rio N. Araja

THE Land Transportation Office (LTO) on Friday urged the public to stop transacting with fixers after the LTO apprehended four suspected fixers.

“We will continue to step on the pedal, so to speak, with regard to our

anti-fixing and anti-red tape activities throughout the country. I said I will deal with fixers without letup with the help of our regional offices to help stamp them out from the LTO’s grounds. We have no room for them there,” LTO chief and Transportation Assistant Secretary Jose Arturo Tugade said.

P20M smuggled veggies seized

By Othel V. Campos

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) Inspectorate and Enforcement Office (I&E) alerted the Bureau of Customs (BOC) of three container vans of suspicious contents, in line with the anti-smuggling campaign of the national government.

The BOC, in cooperation with the DA I&E, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), and the Chamber of Customs Brokers Inc. (CCBI) inspected the said shipments at the Port of Subic.

During the joint intelligence work

of BOC and DA representatives, the BOC confiscated some P20 million worth of agricultural produce.

Seized shipments include a container load of frozen carrots, and red and white onions that were misdeclared as frozen lobster balls and crab sticks.

After a thorough examination and inventory, the Port of Subic announced it will issue warrants of seizure and detention (WSD) against the consignees of the confiscated produce.

The DA said it is preparing charges against the people responsible for violating the Food Safety Act of 2013 and the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act of 2016.

He said LTO Region 3 director Eduardo de Guzman received a complaint of fixing activities at the field offices in Bocaue and Sta. Maria, Bulacan, prompting him to order a simultaneous entrapment operation on Dec. 7 to wipe out the illicit activity.

Upon handing of the agreed amount to

In

pect

a

At a media briefing in Quezon City, Sumachen Dominguez, president of Samahan ng mga Magulang, Anak at Biktima ng Dengvaxia, hit the Department of Justice (DOJ) over its “widely circulated falsified” joint statement with PAO.

“It is impossible that PAO would negotiate with DOJ that there is no conflict of interest in the resolution of the reckless imprudence resulting in homicide complaints under the supervision of Undersecretary Jesse Hermogenes Andres, who heads the National Prosecution Service,” she said. Rio N. Araja

(Pandan); and 4th runner-up  Myrna Esguerra (Anunas). (Story on A3) Butch Gunio

the four fixers, LTO Region 3 operatives, with the assistance of the police, immediately arrested the four individuals, all of whom are residents of Bulacan.

Camarines Sur,

37-year-old sus-

was arrested on a complaint alleging that the suspect was a fixer operating near the LTO Naga City district office.

CHRISTMAS VILLAGE.

Tabaco City Mayor Krisel LagmanLuistro poses with cosplayers at the opening of the Karangahan Christmas Village on December 8. Norman Cruz

TOYM HONOREES. In this ABS-CBN photo, The Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) awards presented 21 finalists before selecting its 10 honorees for its 2022 awards.  Health Undersecretary Beverly Lorraine Ho and comics artist Manuel Luis “Manix” Abrera were among the 10 TOYM for 2022.

MUTYA NING ANGELES. Winners of the Mutya Ning Angeles 2022 pose for a group photo. Barangay Balibago’s Joanne Marie Thornley took home the crown and P1 million in cash and prizes shot. Other winners include 1st  runner-up Dyanara Maurer (Balibago); 2nd runner-up Janet Phoemela David (Lourdes Sur); 3rd runner-up  Maricar Tanhueco

EDITORIAL US bases for lease?

The US had dilly-dallied the handing of US servicemen who committed offenses in this country, arguing that the US was prohibited from handing over its own servicemen to a foreign country.

Moral obligations to fans

ONE thing certain about the use of the bases, whether they are intended to be rented out to the US, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan or Australia, is its main objective which is principally for our defense.

This remains the bone of contention when the Philippines renegotiated with the US for the stay of its military bases during the time of the Marcos administration then.

As the former First Lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos admitted, it was the hardheadedness of the Marcos administration by inserting so many demands by the US for the use of the bases.

On the issue of rent for the use of the bases, this was extensively discussed during the Carter administration, using the phrase “doing their best efforts to pay the promised rent,” and enabled the country to obtain a $500 million in “economic assistance.”

The issue of jurisdiction over the use of foreign military bases remains pivotal whether to allow them in the territory.

It is crucial to our own survival, especially in our era when at any time the country can be wittingly or unwittingly be plunged in a nuclear war without its consent.

This gives many political analysts the reason why countries would never lease out a portion of their territory to a foreign power.

Having foreign military bases in their territory rented out is contrary to the concepts of sovereignty and independence.

Once rent is demanded, the country automatically loses its own bargaining leverage to determine its fate such that payment of rent partakes losing its own jurisdiction over the use of those bases.

Demanding rental for the use of the bases becomes much complicated for the Philippines as our ambassador might think, for the following reasons:

THAT video of volleyball players who did not acknowledge the fans who greeted them while they were walking to a waiting vehicle went viral and drew backlash online.

Several media figures, including Kim Atienza, called out the player for the snub.

They said, in sum: “As public personalities, (yes athletes are also public figures), we have a choice to inspire and show gratitude to fans who passionately support us or we can choose to stay private and give them the cold shoulder.

First, when the Philippines was given the choice of independence in exchange for the bases, the country in truth did not have a choice.

We accepted the stay of the bases beyond the scheduled grant of Philippine independence.

We were only given two options, which is to accept their demand or to allow their stay without fanfare.

The stay of the US bases was already written in our Constitution by the delegates that drafted the 1935 Constitution.

It was not only the bases that the US ensured to remain in our Constitution but also made sure that US economic dominance was retained beyond the grant of our independence.

The ratification of the Bell Trade Act saw a remarkable split in Philippine politics and opened a rebellion by the Hukbalahap movement. The idea of rent came about during the renegotiation in the 1960s.

The concept of rent came about at a time when the US was already economically saddled with economic problems like expenditure caused by its involvement in the Vietnam War and the festering trade deficit with Japan.

The issue of wanting to keep the US bases in the country remained far-fetched from the minds of our nationalist leaders.

It was only during the Marcos administration when the idea of jurisdiction over the bases was re-enforced to justify the demand for payment similar to the payment made to Germany, UK, and Japan.

Nonetheless, the US managed to retain their jurisdiction over the US military bases by giving the ceremonial title of base commander to Filipinos and allowing the Philippine flag to be raised inside the two sprawling US bases at Clark Air Base and at Subic Naval Base.

In regard to our jurisdiction over criminal offenses committed by servicemen, the issue remained unresolved.

First, the demand for rental and not just about economic assistance partakes of a new treaty, like securing the ratification and approval by the Senate of said treaty, not through an executive agreement that circumvents the process mandated by our constitution.

Second, complying with the rent as demanded becomes a two-way affair as the Philippines would practically require the Philippines to beg from the US Congress to legislate an amount to pay their rental obligation.

There is always the anxiety the US will renege on its promise depending on the current economic situation in the US.

Third, seeking rental could override the use and previous agreements we entered into with the US like the issue of criminal jurisdiction, labor agreements, and payment of duties on imported items by US personnel.

Fourth, the grant of rent to US bases is to abrogate our inherent right to defend ourselves as an independent and sovereign state, foremost of which is our right to defend ourselves and in securing our territorial integrity.

Fifth, the lessee state is given the right to determine its own foreign policy direction including the use and how to operate those rented bases. The idea of determining what is important to us is rather silly and outlandish.

Sixth, it is much sillier to imagine that the Philippines could have the bases rented out, say to Taiwan, if it is important to our own security.

Such a phrase is illogical because no country would first seek the advice of other states on matters of securing our security.

It is not for other countries to determine whether it wants to go to war based on its status as lessee.

Maybe ambassador Romualdez has in mind the idea of short-cutting our agreement with the US that for years has been reluctant to pay the rent in the guise that we are not supposed to pay rent to secure our freedom and liberty.

(rpkapunan@gmail.com)

A fair trade? Griner swap for jailed arms dealer raises eyebrows

By Shaun Tandon

BRITTNEY Griner’s release from a prison ordeal in Russia sparked an outpouring of joy -- but also raised tough questions for Joe Biden: was the US president right to trade a notorious arms dealer for the basketball star jailed on minor drug charges?

The rival Republican Party quickly attacked Biden whose spokeswoman said he made no apologies for freeing Griner, a 32-year-old Olympic gold medalist and LGBTQ trailblazer who was locked up after being found with small quantities of cannabis oil in vape cartridges.

Bout, the inspiration for the movie “Lord of War” who was accused of arming rebels in some of the world’s bloodiest conflicts, was handed 25 years in prison in 2012.

Judge Shira A. Scheindlin, who sentenced him in a federal court in New York, said there was no equivalence between the two cases but welcomed the exchange for Griner.

“I think Viktor Bout has served sufficient time, frankly, for the crimes of which he was convicted,” Scheindlin, now in private practice, told AFP.

She said she was required to hand down a minimum sentence she considered excessive because Bout was convicted on terrorism charges.

Bout was detained in Thailand in 2008 in a US sting for allegedly trying to sell arms to Colombia’s FARC rebels -- an operation Scheindlin described as Bout having been “roped in.”

United

“This team should be advised that catering to fans is a responsibility, otherwise, stay out of the public eye and play privately. What an irritating yet sad sight. I hope they are advised by their sponsors to act properly in public.”

However, the commercial team sponsor of the players, instead of apologizing, immediately went to the defense of their players.

Choco Mucho team’s statement

The

“He himself wasn’t a terrorist. He was a businessman arms dealer. And there are arms dealers in every country including the United States of America.”

‘One or none’

But Scheindlin said she wished Bout were freed not only for Griner but for Paul Whelan, a former Marine detained in 2018 on espionage accusations.

Although both Whelan and the US government deny the spying allegations, Scheindlin argued that trading him for Bout would have made “a little more sense” given the severity of the charges he faces.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who raised the prisoner swap in rare direct contact with his Russian counterpart in the midst of the Ukraine war, said that Russia treated the two cases differently as it saw Whelan “through the lens of sham espionage charges.”

“This was not a choice about which American to bring home. The choice

A simple glance or nod of acknowledgment, wave, or hello could have made a difference

said in part: “Unfortunately, what is not included in the viral clip are other videos online showing the players acknowledging and talking to fans, and accommodating selfies and videos with them while trying to have their break.

“While we acknowledge that our team could have handled that particular encounter in the video better, we denounce malicious posts that put our players, our team, and our company in a bad light.

“Posting these innuendoes only brings negativity to our volleyball community and put the well-being of our athletes at risk.”

A simple glance or nod of acknowledgment, wave, or hello could have made a difference.

It may not be illegal to ignore the fans but as a public figure, it is morally wrong, to disregard or worse, play snub.

It’s called moral responsibility to fans.

Then, the absence of an apology?

When mistakes are committed, a simple public apology would have been the choice, if only to show the team’s appreciation to sports fans. But there was none of it.

As they say, to apologize is the hardest thing to do. Bruce Lee, acknowledged as the greatest martial artist of all time, once said: “Mistakes are always forgivable if one has the courage to admit them.”

Basketball icon Sonny Jaworksi was one of the most well-loved and admired players by basketball fans.

He was always the last one to leave the arena after every game, to accommodate requests from fans for photo ops and autographs.

He went to far-flung areas to accommodate requests from fans who were either hospitalized or celebrating birthdays.

No wonder, his Filipino fans voted him to become senator, becoming one of only a few former professional athletes to be elected into a high position in the government office.

Well, admittedly, these Gen-X sports celebrities are not Jaworski. And they will never be one.

Joyful hope in the face of suffering

temporary. What we need to focus more on is how to achieve for us an eternal glory that far outweighs every ounce of pain and suffering.

TODAY is the third Sunday of Advent. This is the day we celebrate Gaudete Sunday, a day of joy, not just joy but joyful hope. As a people of hope, we await the coming of our Savior, not in despair or dejection, but with a joyful heart full of hope.

Because we know that even though the end is not in sight, but with the Great I Am on our side, the end will surely be a wonderful, glorious sight.

So, we rejoice, we praise, and we give thanks to God even in the midst of adversities and suffering.

If we look through the scriptures, we see that God sustains his people in every famine, every economic downturn, every plague, and every disease the people went through because they cried out for his mercy and, put their trust in him.

And God answers his people’s prayers because our God is a faithful God when we put our trust in him.

It is easy to say that we trust God when everything’s according to our plan.

But it’s a whole lot different when things are not so good.

In times such as this, the more we must trust God means and allow him to do what he wants to do, and make him succeed on his own terms.

And in his way and in his time not on our terms or in our way or in our timing.

To trust God is to say I will let God do what he wants to do even if it means carrying my own cross, without bitterness, and without fear of the outcome.

For God reigns in me, and he knows what is best for my own salvation.

Our troubles are fleeting and

was, in this instance, one or none,” Blinken told reporters.

Will Pomeranz, the director of the Wilson Center’s Kennan Institute, said Russia would see a victory in freeing Bout.

“It demonstrates that the Russian state always has the back of their security services and that they will leave no one behind, even as it means long and protracted negotiation,” he said.

He said that while Griner’s arrest was consistent with Russia’s strict drug laws, President Vladimir Putin “clearly had leverage” after Biden publicly put a priority on freeing Griner, whose plight has drawn wide interest in the United States.

Pomeranz expected a difficult task ahead to free Whelan.

“Paul Whelan’s best chance to get out of Russia was being part of the Brittney Griner swap,” he said.

We are then called to focus not on what is seen but on what is unseen for in it lies our fate for all eternity. What is seen is temporary but what is

Saint Teresa of Avila left us a rich legacy of teachings on why followers of Christ must learn to embrace suffering with joyful hope

unseen is eternal.

Sometimes when you’re following Jesus, he leads you right into the center of a storm. Remember in the New Testament. There are two times when the disciples found themselves in a storm in a boat. They thought they were going to die both times.

But if they had not been in those storms, they would never have discovered truths about Jesus.

There were things that the disciples saw about Jesus they would never have seen except by going through the storms. Surely, our normal tendency when it comes to storms is to go around it when we see it coming up on the horizon and to find a way to avoid it altogether. Yet, we often do not realize it – going through suffering is necessary for salvation.

As the Holy Scripture says -- For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far

Incentive to adversaries?

Republican Senator Marco Rubio, while welcoming Griner’s release, said the deal showed Putin “how detaining high-profile Americans on relatively minor charges can both distract American officials and cause them to release truly bad individuals who belong behind bars.”

Republican Representative Nicole Malliotakis, pointing to Bout’s record, said Biden should have secured the release of both Whelan and Griner, writing on Twitter, “A US Marine is left behind in another bad deal made by Biden.”

But the United States has repeatedly shown a willingness to carry out deals criticized as disproportionate to free citizens in response to public opinion.

Other democracies have made similar decisions: in one of the most striking examples, Israel in 2011 freed more

outweighs them all.

On suffering, St. Thomas Becket reminds “x x x how our fathers worked out their salvation; remember the sufferings through which the Church has grown, and the storms the ship of Peter has weathered because it has Christ on board. Remember how the crown was attained by those whose sufferings gave new radiance to their faith. The whole company of saints bears witness to the unfailing truth that without real effort no one wins the crown.”

Sometimes God wants to lead you straight into the middle of a storm all because the Lord has his way in the whirlwind and in the storm and so you follow him into the middle of it, full of trust and in complete surrender.

Oftentimes, we are called to make a leap of fate, yet full of confidence and faith that God will be at the receiving end waiting to catch us on the way down, absolutely confident of God’s saving power.

Saint Teresa of Avila left us a rich legacy of teachings on why followers of Christ must learn to embrace suffering with joyful hope.

For this Doctor of the Church, suffering can serve as an active form of prayer, if we allow it.

According to Teresa, “It shouldn’t be thought that he who suffers isn’t praying, for he is offering this to God. And often he is praying much more than the one who is breaking his head in solitude, thinking that if he has squeezed out some tears he is thereby praying.”

In the end, it is this very same cross that will lead us to eternal glory. This advent season, let us, therefore, pray for perseverance and strength from Christ to embrace our sufferings and learn to carry our everyday crosses in the spirit of joyful hope.

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

than 1,000 prisoners in exchange for the release of a single soldier, Gilad Shalit, by the Palestinian militant group Hamas. The United States has set a government policy of not paying ransoms for its citizens, hoping to avoid incentives for hostage-taking.

In a possible sign of the public mood, an American football player, Micah Parsons, voiced anger on Twitter that the United States “left a Marine” but backtracked and apologized after a deluge of criticism and said he was “extremely happy” for Griner.

Paul Rieckhoff, a veterans advocate and commentator, said that Whelan should be released “full stop” but said Griner was “at unique risk in Russian prison” as a Black and LGBTQ woman.

“When she gets home, I have no doubt she’ll be out in front leading the fight for the release of Paul Whelan. And we should all join her.” AFP

It is not for other countries to determine whether it wants to go to war based on its status as

Putin: More hits on Ukraine grid

MOSCOW—President

He instead blamed Ukraine for initiating a trend of attacking civilian infrastructure, pointing to a blast on a key bridge between the Russian mainland and the annexed Crimean peninsula that he recently visited.

“There’s a lot of noise about our strikes on the energy infrastructure of a neighbouring country. This will not interfere with our combat missions,” Putin said at a military awards ceremony

in the Kremlin.

Weeks of Russian missile barrages across Ukraine have crippled key infrastructure at a critical time, as temperatures drop ahead of long winter months that already have brought suffering to Ukrainians lacking water, heating and gas.

He presented the strikes as a response to the explosion in October on the Kerch bridge and also accused Kyiv of blowing up power lines from the Kursk nu-

US Congress passes bill to protect same-sex marriage, Biden to sign

WASHINGTON—The US Congress on Thursday passed landmark legislation to protect same-sex marriage under federal law, and President Joe Biden has vowed to quickly sign the measure.

The vote in the House of Representatives saw 39 Republicans join a united Democratic majority in a rare show of bipartisanship, provoking loud cheers on the floor less than 10 days after the Senate passed the same bill.

“Today, Congress took a critical step to ensure that Americans have the right to marry the person they love,” Biden said in a statement.

He said the bipartisan vote would “give peace of mind to millions of LGBTQI+ and interracial couples who are now guaranteed the rights and protections to which they and their children are entitled.”

The conservative-led Supreme Court in June overturned longstanding abor-

tion rights, prompting lawmakers of both parties to move to prevent the court from taking away same-sex marriage rights, as some feared it might do.

The House had earlier approved legislation similar to the Senate’s, but needed Thursday’s vote to reconcile minor differences.

Biden has dubbed marriage equality one of his legislative priorities and has said he will “promptly and proudly” sign the bill into law.

Democrats and others saluted the historic vote.

“I began my career fighting for LGBTQ communities,” outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tweeted on Thursday, “and now, one of the final bills that I will sign as Speaker will ensure the federal government never again stands in the way of marrying the person you love.” AFP

clear power plant and for not supplying water to Donetsk in eastern Ukraine.

“Yes, we do that,” Putin said of the strikes on the Ukraine grid. “But who started it?”

Ukrainian energy operator Ukrenergo said Thursday that it was still reeling from the latest bout of strikes that came this week and was suffering a “significant deficit”.

for Crimea

‘Risks’

“The situation is complicated by weather conditions,” it added, saying snow, frost and wind were putting pressure on infrastructure.

Putin’s promise to keep attacking the grid came as the Kremlin conceded that

the Crimean peninsula was vulnerable to Ukrainian attacks after officials said they had shot down a drone near a key naval base.

“There are certainly risks because the Ukrainian side continues its policy of organising terrorist attacks,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

“But, on the other hand, information we get indicates that effective countermeasures are being taken,” he added.

The Moscow-appointed governor of Crimea Sergei Aksyonov said last month that Russia was strengthening fortifications on the peninsula in the wake of attacks. AFP

China’s Xi meets Arab leaders on ‘milestone’ trip

The meetings come on the third and final day of Xi’s first visit to Saudi Arabia since 2016 and only his third overseas trip since the coronavirus pandemic began.

On Thursday, he met with King Salman and Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, announcing deals on everything from hydrogen energy to housing, although few details were released.

Friday’s agenda was expected to include a summit with the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council as well as a broader China-Arab summit.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah alSisi and Tunisian President Kais Saied were among the heads of state who arrived on Thursday, with leaders from Qatar, Lebanon, Iraq and elsewhere also planning to attend.

“China looks forward to working with Saudi Arabia and Arab countries to make the two summits milestone events in the history of China-Arab relations and China-GCC relations,” Xi said on Thursday in remarks carried by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

The Gulf countries, strategic partners of Washington, are bolstering ties with China as part of an eastward turn that involves diversifying their fossil fuel-reliant economies.

Meanwhile China is trying to widen its sphere of influence, notably through its Belt and Road Initiative, in which it is providing funding for infrastructure projects around the world. AFP

Prince Harry slams press, family over ‘feeding frenzy’

LONDON—Prince Harry slammed the media “feeding frenzy” over his relationship with Meghan in an explosive Netflix docuseries launched Thursday and criticised Britain’s royal family for failing to protect her and his mother Diana.

MOSCOW—Viktor

“Don’t worry, everything is OK, I love you very much,” he told his mother Raisa in comments broadcast by state television. He spoke to his family when his plane made a refuelling stop in Russia.

In footage broadcast on state television, Bout was shown boarding a plane during the swap with the United States, a smile on his face.

Aboard the plane, a nurse took his temperature and checked his blood pressure.

Dubbed the “Merchant of Death”, Bout was released Thursday in a prisoner swap in Abu Dhabi involving American basketball star Brittney Griner.

He was met by his family when he arrived in Moscow, in footage shown by state news channel Rossiya 24.

“They simply woke me up in the middle of the night and told me to pack my things. There was no clear information beforehand,” he said.

“I got here, that’s the most important thing.”

The 55-year-old Bout, who was accused of arming rebels in some of the world’s bloodiest conflicts, was arrested in a US sting operation in Thailand in 2008, extradited to the United States and sentenced in 2012 to 25 years in prison. AFP

The family has been braced for the first three episodes of the six-part series “Harry & Meghan”.

While it was largely spared during the first episodes, it was still on the end of accusations of “unconscious” racial bias and that it did not help Meghan or Diana after her 1992 separation from Harry’s father Charles, who is now king.

“To see another woman in my life who I love go through this feeding frenzy, that’s hard,” said Harry. “It is basically the hunter versus the prey.”

And speaking of his mother, who died in a Paris car crash in 1997, Harry, 38, said: “The moment that she divorced, the moment she left the institution, then she was by herself... she was completely exposed to this.”

Meghan also took aim at the family for failing to counter negative press reports about her.

“It was horrible, but I continued to hold the line, like say nothing,” she said. AFP

17 going on 16: South Koreans to get younger on paper

SEOUL—Where in the world can you shave a year or two off your age? South Korea -- which has just passed a set of bills to abandon its traditional system of calculating ages.

The current system, widely known as “the Korean age”, recognises people as a year old at birth and also adds a year to their age every January 1 -- rather than on their birth date.

But on Thursday, Seoul’s National Assembly passed bills requiring the use of the international age-counting system for official documents. It will be implemented by June next year.

The decision was made to “resolve the social confusion caused by the mixed use of age calculations and the resulting side effects”, the National Assembly said in a statement.

Besides the Korean age system, the country also has another method mostly used to determine the legal drinking and smoking age -- it counts one’s age from zero at birth and a year is added on January 1. AFP

Bout, a notorious arms dealer who was released as a result of a US prisoner swap, arrived in Russia on Thursday, state television said.

Vladimir Putin vowed Thursday to keep battering Ukraine’s energy grid despite an outcry against the systematic attacks that have plunged millions into the cold and dark as winter sets in.

RIYADH—Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet Arab leaders in the Saudi capital on Friday for summits he has described as “milestone events” at a time of economic uncertainty and geopolitical realignment.

XI IN SAUDI. This handout picture provided by the Saudi Royal Palace shows Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (right) welcoming Chinese President Xi Jinping in the capital Riyadh on December 8. Xi met the powerful crown prince on an Arab outreach visit

JUST A DRILL. Kuwaiti and French army forces take part in a joint drill code-named “Pearl of the West”, held at al-Udaira shooting range, 95 km northwest of Kuwait City, on December 8. AFP

HUGO’S EYES. A woman wearing glasses depicting the eyes of the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s eyes, takes part in a march to commemorate his last public appearance before his death, in what they call “the day of loyalty and love for commander Hugo Chavez” in Caracas on December 8. AFP

Market rises; ICTSI, SMIC lead gainers

STOCKS rose Friday as traders continue to weigh concerns about rising interest rates and a possible recession against optimism of China’s economic reopening.

The PSE index, the 30-company benchmark, climbed 54 points, or 0.8 percent, to close at 6,580.12, as four of the six subsectors advanced.

The broader all-share index also picked up 11 points, or 0.3 percent, to settle at 3,437.40, on a value turnover of

Global economic chiefs hail China’s decision reversing zero-COVID policy

HUANGSHAN, China—Global economic leaders on Friday hailed China’s move away from its hardline zero-Covid policy, with the IMF chief saying the “decisive actions” would help revive growth both in the country and globally.

The relaxation would help to shore up a world economy struggling with the impact of the pandemic, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the head of the World Trade Organization said after the conference in the eastern city of Huangshan, hosted by outgoing Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.

Beijing on Wednesday announced a loosening of its zero-tolerance approach to coronavirus outbreaks, ending large-scale lockdowns and allowing some positive cases to isolate at home following widespread protests against the restrictions.

The decision indicated that the world’s second-largest economy is finally shifting towards living with Covid after years of grinding curbs stifled growth.

“We welcome very much the decisive actions taken by the Chinese authorities... to recalibrate the Covid policies so as to create a better impetus for the revival of growth in China,” Kristalina Georgieva said at a press briefing with the heads of other major economic institutions.

The effort to boost vaccination rates and anti-viral treatments “is very good for the Chinese people, but also important for Asia and the rest of the world”, Georgieva added.

“China’s performance matters (not just) to China—it matters to the world economy as well.”

Global recovery

The global economy has been rocked this year, with Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine adding to a stuttering postpandemic recovery and a cost-of-living crisis in many countries. AFP

P6.1 billion. Gainers led losers, 92 to 84, while 47 issues were unchanged.

Five of the 10 most active stocks ended in the green, led by International Container Terminal Services Inc. which jumped 6.8 percent to P203.00. SM Investments Corp. gained 2.2 percent to P930.00, while PLDT Inc. added 1.8 percent to finish at P1,730.00.

Meanwhile, most Asian markets also recovered. With few Thursday catalysts to work with, traders were setting their sights on the release of two key US inflation reports―on Friday and Monday―and the Federal Reserve’s final policy meeting of the year.

In light of data signaling almost a year

of interest rate hikes was beginning to impact prices, the US central bank is widely expected to announce a 50 basis point lift at the gathering, compared with the previous four straight 75-point increases.

But there remains some concern that the world’s top economy remains resilient and the jobs market too strong, meaning the Fed might have to keep tightening monetary policy longer than had been hoped.

That uncertainty has weighed on US markets, which have endured a tough December so far, and analysts warned of further pain.

“We think the worst is yet to come,” Gary Schlossberg, at Wells Fargo Invest-

ment Institute, told Bloomberg Television.

“We’re looking for a moderate recession next year, which means a moderate decline in corporate profits is our target for the year.”

The mood was slightly better in Asia, particularly Hong Kong, where investor sentiment has been buoyed by China’s decision to shift away from its nearly three-year zero-Covid strategy of lockdowns and mass testing that has battered the economy.

After widespread protests across the country, leaders have decided to loosen their grip, fanning excitement that growth will pick up as activity returns to normal. With AFP

TOP GAINERS

LAST % PRICE CHANGE CHANGE

1 LBC 18.96 2.36 14.22%

2 OPM 0.011 0.001 10.00%

3 EVER 0.28 0.025 9.80%

4 BKR 1.51 0.11 7.86%

5 PX 2.94 0.2 7.30%

6 ICT 203 13 6.84%

7 PXP 6.8 0.38 5.92%

8 UPM 0.0055 0.0003 5.77%

9 ABSP 8.46 0.46 5.75%

10 MFIN 2.55 0.12 4.94%

TOP LOSERS

LAST % PRICE CHANGE CHANGE

1 MJC 1.46 -0.38 -20.65%

2 CAB 32.4 -7.6 -19.00%

3 ZHI 0.134 -0.02 -12.99%

4 ALHI 5.2 -0.73 -12.31%

5 SSI 1.49 -0.14 -8.59%

6 FEU 547 -46 -7.76%

7 VMC 2.58 -0.21 -7.53%

8 PRIM 2.1 -0.15 -6.67%

US sues to block Microsoft’s $69-b buyout of Activision

WASHINGTON, United States—The US Federal Trade Commission on Thursday sued to block Microsoft’s $69-billion buyout of gaming giant Activision Blizzard, maker of the blockbuster “Call of Duty” title, over concerns that it would stifle competition.

The lawsuit marks one of the biggestever interventions by the US government to stop consolidation in the tech industry and raises significant doubts on the future of the transaction.

“Today, we seek to stop Microsoft from gaining control over a leading independent game studio and using it to harm competition in multiple dynamic and fast-growing gaming markets,” said Holly Vedova, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition.

The move by Washington follows an intervention by the European Union, which opened an in-depth probe into the transaction over its concerns that the deal would see Activision Blizzard’s popular games become exclusive to Microsoft, the maker of the Xbox console.

Britain has also announced an “in-depth investigation” into Microsoft’s planned takeover of Activision, which also produces the mobile game “Candy Crush.”

In January, Microsoft—which also makes its own games to be played on PCs and mobile devices—announced the takeover that would create the world’s third-biggest gaming company by revenue.

The FTC said Microsoft had a proven history of buying up smaller gaming companies only to make the games exclusive to Microsoft—and thus inaccessible to rivals such as Nintendo or Sony.

This would be a significant change for Activision, that currently has a strategy of offering its games on a variety of platforms.

Microsoft had earlier this week made moves to satisfy concerns by announcing that it would bring the “Call of Duty” franchise to Nintendo Switch, a rival of Xbox. This followed an earlier decision to make “Call of Duty” available on Sony’s PlayStation.

“We continue to believe that this deal

will expand competition and create more opportunities for gamers and game developers,” said Microsoft President Brad Smith in a statement.

“While we believe in giving peace a chance, we have complete confidence in our case and welcome the opportunity to present our case in court.”

Bobby Kotick, the head of Activision Blizzard, told company staff that though the lawsuit “sounds alarming...I want to reinforce my confidence that this deal will close.”

The allegations “don’t align with the facts, and we believe we’ll win this challenge,” he said.

The FTC is led by Lina Khan, who had been an advocate of breaking up the biggest tech firms before she was nominated by President Joe Biden to the job.

Last year, the FTC refiled a lawsuit accusing Facebook of maintaining an illegal monopoly in social networking, reviving the case two months after it was dismissed by a federal judge.AFP

Iceland’s new show featuring real lava a hit

By Jeremie Richard REYKJAVIK,

The flow,

This is the Lava Show, Iceland’s latest

attraction,

uses reheated lava from a real eruption of the island’s Katla volcano more than 100 years ago.

The heat emanating from the molten rock is tangible, so much so that some of the spectators shuffle in their seats to remove their coats.

“This is the show where you get to experience real molten lava flowing inside of a building, intentionally,” the Lava Show’s Scottish host Iain MacKinnon joked.

The molten liquid sizzled as it hit blocks of ice, crackling like the sound of breaking glass as it cooled.

“It was really beautiful,” Jasmine Luong, a 28-year-old Australian tourist from Melbourne told AFP.

“I can see why a lot of people would be drawn to [an eruption], but obviously you wouldn’t be able to go near it in a normal natural setting,” she added.

“This is a lot safer.”

There is the same “wow effect” that people get at an eruption site, MacKinnon said.

Hundreds of thousands of curious onlookers have flocked to watch the hypnotizing jets of lava at Iceland’s Mount Fagradalsfjall after two eruptions over the last year just 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Reykjavik.

But not all Icelandic eruptions are safe.

While the lava used in the show retains a hint of sulphur, the dangerous toxic gases that normally emanate from an eruption have dissipated since the rock

has been reheated and melted down so many times.

More than 600 kilos (1,320 pounds) of tephra—the rocks ejected from Katla, one of Iceland’s most dangerous volcanoes, when it last erupted in 1918—are used in the Lava Show.

“We heat that up to its melting point, which is around 1,100 degrees Celsius (2,000 Fahrenheit) and then we pour it into the room,” said the show’s founder Julius Jonsson.

In an adjoining room, a large furnace has been modified to suit the show’s needs.

Jonsson’s company has run a version of the production in the seafront village of Vik

in south Iceland since 2018, but the Reykjavik show only opened last month.

He came up with the idea of a lava show when he was standing atop a glacier watching lava flow from Fimmvorduhals, a small eruption that preceded the massive Eyjafjallajokull one in 2010, whose ash cloud disrupted air traffic and stranded more than 10 million travelers.

Known as the land of fire and ice, Iceland has 33 volcanic systems currently considered active, the highest number in Europe. It has an eruption every five years on average.

“We thought it would be wonderful for Iceland if lava would always be flowing,” Jonsson said. AFP

9 LR 2.67 -0.15 -5.32%

10 HOUSE 9.22 -0.51 -5.24%

MOST ACTIVE

VOLUME VALUE (PHP)

11 SMPH 18,731,000 650,630,175

2 BDO 4,372,900 560,779,273

3 ICT 2,812,130 549,401,260

4 SM 338,250 314,138,920

5 ALI 10,260,200 299,715,980

6 JFC 1,102,240 259,624,156

7 TEL 150,575 256,163,510

8 URC 1,667,150 226,877,052

9 GLO 91,750 198,514,730

10 ACEN 25,381,600 184,376,962

Musk faces legal onslaught from former Twitter workers

time required by law.

‘Blunt disregard’ Musk’s disdain for working from home is also being resisted, with employees with disabilities or health concerns seeing orders to come back to the office as discriminatory.

The social media giant is facing a growing number of cases over the terms of those terminations -and even a complaint to the city of San Francisco that Musk has

converted office space into bedrooms so that workers can sleep on site.

“It’s very concerning that the richest man in the world thinks that he can walk all over employee rights and doesn’t have to follow the law. We intend to hold him accountable,” said lawyer Shannon Liss-Riordan.

Liss-Riordan is leading one such case against Twitter -- at its core, it argues that some employees are not receiving the severance and compensation promised to them prior to Musk’s takeover.

These assurances, which included bonuses and stock options, were made to keep employees at Twitter, guaranteeing an exit package as the arrival of the mercurial Musk loomed.

Other cases are taking Musk to task over his brash ultimatum that staff either sign up to his vision for the company and embrace a “hardcore” work ethic or take three months of their salary and quit.

This, lawyers allege, was a disguised layoff plan that ignored California law by denying workers the compensation and 60-day warning

“There was a blunt disregard for personal conditions such as relevant medical issues. All this was done while Elon Musk was abusing us in public on Twitter,” said a former senior employee at Twitter, Amir Shevat.

Shevat and other employees are represented by Lisa Bloom, a high-profile attorney in Los Angeles who has represented disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.

Bloom is handling arbitration claims since many Twitter employees signed away their right to fight their plight in court when they joined the company.

“We will continue to file these claims, one by one, bombarding Twitter with claims,” Bloom told a press conference on Monday.

“We are prepared to bring hundreds if not thousands of individual arbitrations to make sure that the employees get what they’re owed,” she said.

This, experts said, could cost Twitter and Musk dearly.

Twitter “could quickly resolve the matter by paying the ex-employees whatever they are entitled to under the law,” said Eric Goldman, a law professor at Santa Clara University.

“Or it could play hardball and make them work for it, which could take years,” he said.AFP

SAN FRANCISCO, United States—The purge initiated by Elon Musk at Twitter when he took over the company left more than half of its 7,500 employees on the sidelines, and now many of them are taking the SpaceX and Tesla tycoon to court.

illegally

5G APPLICATION.

People watch a presentation at a 5G booth, demonstrating the 5G application industries, organized by Asia Silicon Valley Development Agency at the Huashan 1914 Creative Park in Taipei on Dec. 9, 2022. AFP

Real molten lava coming from tephra that erupted in 1918 from Katla Volcano in southern Iceland glows in front of the public at the Lava Show showroom in Reykjavik’s city center, Iceland, on Dec. 1, 2022. In what is being touted as a world first, spectators in Iceland can watch up close as real molten lava flows, from the comfort of an armchair in a Reykjavik performance hall. AFP

Iceland—In a dark auditorium in Reykjavik, bubbling orange lava flows down a slide to within inches of awestruck visitors.

contained on both sides by black sand, lights up the room like a sunrise.

tourist

that

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TaiwanDollar0.0326541.8159 Source: BSP

Smart says new promos to lift mobile data growth

SMART Communications Inc. said Friday it expects to sustain the growth of its mobile data business after the rollout of new promos.

“We continue to leverage our network leadership and superiority, as we continue to roll out new promos that will address the needs and wants of our Smart and TNT customers,” said Smart senior vice president and head of Consumer Business GroupIndividual Francis Flores.

Flores said the individual wireless business is seen to benefit from higher mobility and upcoming holiday spending, as well as the growing popularity of streaming and user-generated content such as those from Tiktok.

The company posted mobile data revenues of P49.97 million in the first nine months of 2022, up 40 percent year-on-year, as revenues continued to grow through the pandemic. The figure is on the back of an increase in active data users on Smart’s mobile network, which hit 41.6 million in the fi rst nine months of the year, up 4 percent on year, and boosted by value-packed offers for customers of Smart Prepaid, Smart Postpaid, Smart Bro, and TNT.

Average monthly mobile data usage per subscriber in the fi rst nine months rose to 8.8GB, while total mobile data traffic during the period grew 30 percent year-on-year to 3,163 petabytes. These increases drove data and broadband to contribute 84 percent to the revenues of PLDT’s Individual Wireless segment.

Underpinning Smart’s ability to deliver digital and mobile services are PLDT and Smart’s integrated fixed and mobile networks.

Smart as of end-September had deployed 77,200 base stations nationwide, including 7,300 5G base stations and close to 40,000 4G/ LTE base stations. Smart’s network covers about 97 percent of the population with 3G, LTE and 5G. Darwin G. Amojelar

Philex extends Padcal mine operation to 2027

By Jenni er B. Austria

GOLD and copper firm

Philex Mining Corp. said Friday it will extend the operation of its underground mine in Padcal, Benguet until the end of 2027 after it identified additional mineable reserves.

“After the completion of confi rmatory drillings on the ore body, technical studies on the mining methodology and Tailings Storage Facility No. 3 have successfully identifi ed additional mineable reserves in its Padcal mine that are feasible for mining up to Dec. 31, 2027,” Philex said in a disclosure

to the stock change.

Padcal, where copper and gold have been extracted since 1958, is scheduled to cease operation by the end of 2024 after several extensions of its mine life.

Philex said that based on latest technical studies as of end-October, Padcal’s remaining mineable reserves were estimated to be 42 million tons with an average gold and copper grades of 0.22 grams per ton and 0.17 percent, respectively.

The total recoverable gold is estimated to be 233,000 ounces, while the total recoverable copper is estimated to be 127.4 million pounds.

The new estimate includes remaining reserves from the previously declared mineable reserves as of Dec. 31,2021 aggregating to 29.4 million tons, with an average gold and copper grades of 0.23 g/t and 0.18 percent, respectively.

Philex said the new extension of the life of Padcal to 2027 would provide the continuous employment of 1,838 Padcal employees and sustain the necessary assistance given to the social development of the host and neighboring communities.

Philex said with the mine life extension, Padcal’s operations would overlap with Silangan mine’s start of commercial operations.

Philex earlier said it planned to launch its long-delayed Silangan project in Surigao del Norte for commercial operation in the fi rst quarter of 2025, with an initial development cost of $224 million.

Silangan is estimated to be capable of producing 2,000 tons of copper and gold ore per day in the first few years of operations, which will be ramped up gradually in the succeeding years.

NEW BANKNOTES.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (right) receives from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Felipe Medalla the rst set of banknotes bearing their names and signatures in a ceremony held in Malacañang. The banknotes with the specimen signatures of the 17th president and the sixth governor of the BSP include the following denominations: 20-, 50-, 100-, 500and 1000-Piso. In accordance with existing procedures, the banknotes will be gradually released through authorized agent banks starting December 2022.

ERC rejects omnibus motion filed by NGCP to delay rate reset

By Alena Mae S. Flores

THE Energy Regulatory Commission said Friday it denied the omnibus motion filed by the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines to hold the rate reset until further public consultations were conducted.

“The rate reset is expected to result in a reduction of transmission charges by NGCP. We want the consumers to enjoy this benefit without further delay considering the improved investment environment since 2010 when the last reset was conducted,” ERC chairperson Monalisa Dimalanta said.

The reset is a regulatory exercise to check whether the allowed revenues of NGCP, which were approved seven

years ago, are still valid and reflective of the current costs.

NGCP wanted to hold the reset process until it clarified specific provisions of the amended RTWR.

“We received the ERC’s latest order. Offhand, there seem to be a few points of disagreement which will have a substantive impact on proceedings. We are still exploring our options. We are optimistic that the ERC will be fair in its treatment of all energy industry players,” NGCP spokesperson Cynthia Perez-Alabanza said.

NGCP filed the omnibus motion on Oct. 27, 2022, which claimed that the amended RTWR for the Fourth Regulatory Period were included in haste and without public consultation, thus violat-

ing due process requirements.

The ERC said it would review the expenditure items of NGCP and other parameters to ensure that only eligible and reasonable costs were being passed on to consumers. It said it could no longer afford to delay the rate reset process.

“For NGCP, we also would want to give certainty to their allowable revenues since they have just been given only interim or provisional revenues because of the absence of the reset,” Dimalanta said.

The regulator promulgated Resolution No. 08, Series of 2022, or the Amended Rules for Setting Transmission Wheeling Rates on Sept. 28, 2022, which triggered the rate reset process of the transmission system concessionaire.

DTI recognizes 16 export companies

SIXTEEN top-performing companies received recognition during the Exporters’ Night at the Marriott Hotel in Pasay City on Dec. 6, 2022. They received the awards from the Department of Trade and Industry’s Export Marketing Bureau, together with the Export Development Council and Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc.

The panel of jurors awarded the winners based on track record, recent export performance and service delivery innovation. These exporters maintained their competitiveness and supported Philippine export earnings amidst persistent global challenges.

“We take pride in the achievements of Philippine exporters, especially amidst uncertainties in the global economy. They continue to be a source of inspiration in the exporting community, including to aspiring exporters, and important drivers of the country’s economic growth,” said Trade secretary Alfredo Pascual.

Top sectoral awardees included Cebu Mitsumi Inc. for electronics; SR Metals for minerals; Sanyo Denki for electricals; Stepan Philippines Quaternaries Inc. for chemicals; Nanbu Philippines for construction materials; Rosario Fasteners for metal manufactures; Durus Industries for housewares; Snapsnax Ventures for processed food; Oleo Fats Inc. for oils, fats and waxes; and Shoreline Crab Phils. Inc. for marine. Othel V. Campos

Forest Lake gets P245-m loan from ATR Group

FOREST Lake Memorial Services Corp., the country’s leading total memorial care provider, secured a P245-million loan from ATR Asset Management Group to support the expansion of its memorial and death care services across the country.

Forest Lake opened 34 memorial parks nationwide and continues its expansion across different communities in the Philippines. Since 1997, Forest Lake has revolutionized death care that goes beyond offering memorial lots for sale by providing complete memorial care, and grief therapy for their clients.

“For over 25 years, Forest Lake continues to fulfill its vision of building a better place for generations to immortalize memories of their loved ones and celebrate the living. This loan opens up vast opportunities for sustainable growth for Forest Lake, especially now that we are expanding our services across different regions in the Philippines,” said Alfred XerezBurgos III, managing director for operations, sales and marketing of Forest Lake Development Inc. and president and chief executive of Forest Lake Memorial Services Corp.

Teleperformance to hire 1,000 in General Santos

TELEPERFORMANCE, the global leader in outsourced customer experience management services, is continuing its ountryside expansion by hiring more agents in General Santos City next year.

TP launched its second Cloud Campus microsite on Pioneer Ave., marking another milestone that also signaled the opening of TP’s 24th business site in the Philippines. Teleperformance is the first global business process outsourcing company to open in the area.

The Cloud Campus microsite is a physical site dedicated to supporting TP’s revolutionary work-from-home solution, the TP Cloud Campus, which connects home-based communication experts to their Teleperformance team via Cloud Campus hubs that include high-tech features to keep staff involved while retaining efficient operations.

The site will open more jobs for residents in South Cotabato, allowing them to work closer to home. TP also hopes to contribute to the capability building and economic growth of the province.

By Darwin G. Amojelar

GLOBE Telecom Inc., the country’s leading digital platform, said Friday it reduced capital expenditures for next year by 30 percent, returning to its prepandemic level of spending.

Globe, a unit of conglomerate Ayala Corp., said the board approved a $1.3-billion capex budget for 2023, down from $1.9 billion this year.

Globe’s move aims to optimize capex spending in the next few years by focusing on maximizing the utilization of fiber assets and taking advantage of the arrangements made with tower companies to boost tower construction.

“Our aim to deliver fi rst world connectivity to the Philippines, combined with the accelerated digitalization brought about by the pandemic, have driven the company to invest significant capex into both the mobile and broadband network for the past few years,” said Globe president and chief executive Ernest Cu.

“After investing heavily on our builds and rollouts, we now have a significant backbone for our network, which allows us to shift our focus towards capital efficiency and optimization, beginning with 2023’s $1.3 billion guidance, with

the target of eventually bringing this down to $1 billion by 2024,” he said.

The company’ significant capex investments also fortified the network, allowing for resilient performance during the pandemic and sustained revenue growth in 2022 despite challenging market conditions.

Globe as of end-September this year has deployed close to 1.4 million fiberto-the homes lines, built 1,064 new cell sites, upgraded over 10.6 thousand mobile sites to LTE, and installed 1,887 new 5G sites nationwide.

Globe’s network rollout momentum continues and remains on track to surpass last year’s new cell site builds of 1,407.

The company posted a net income of P26.5 billion in the first three months of 2022, up 48 percent from P18 billion in the same period last year.

Core net income, which excludes the impact of non-recurring charges and foreign exchange and mark-tomarket charges, stood at P16 billion.

Normalized core net income was flat year-on-year.

Consolidated service revenue hit a record P118 billion, up 3 percent yearon-year, led by corporate data and mobile services, supplemented by the sustaining growth from non-telco services.

Luxembourg-based firm to bring satellite technology to PH in 2023

By Lee Gabriel Seril

LUXEMBOURG-BASED communications network provider SES S.A. said Wednesday it will bring its advanced satellite technology to the Philippines next year to improve internet connectivity in rural areas.

Rob Marabut, SES Philippines director for business development, said in a media briefing the company’s O3b mPower’s “fiber-like service”, built on the use of

medium earth orbit satellite systems, could bring 1 gigabit of capacity to any site especially during natural disasters.

“For any large calamity that hits the country, we can essentially resurrect that site within a few months or even less because of the large capacity we can bring,” Marabut said.

“One gigabit on a 5G cell site is phenomenal. It can essentially bring a lot of capacity not just into a village, but into multiple villages in a certain

area,” he said.

Datareportal’s 2022 report showed that 35.77 million people or 32 percent of the Philippine population remained without access to the internet as of January 2022. Marabut said the service would help mobile network operators Globe, Smart and DITO in deploying 4G and 5G signals to remote areas in the country to give more people access to various services such as e-banking and provide social inclusion opportunities.

Globe Telecom lowers 2023 capex budget by 30% to $1.3b from $1.9b

Ray S. Eñano (on leave), Editor Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor business@manilastandard.net extrastory2000@gmail.com

CHEVRON-QPP DEAL. Executives from Chevron Philippines Inc., marketer of Caltex fuels and lubricants, and Quezon Power Philippines Limited Co. renew their partnership for the supply of diesel to the latter’s 460-megawatt power plant in Mauban, Quezon. Signing the agreement (are from left) Jaime Zuluaga, B2B fuels and lubricants manager of Chevron Philippines Inc.; Frank Thiel, managing director of QPP; Billy Liu, country chairman of Chevron Philippines Inc.; and Willie Jocson, commercial director of QPP.

Dragons torch Elasto Painters to claim 1st seat in semifinals

By Peter Atencio

HAYDEN Blankley knocked in 47 points and 10 rebounds for the Bay Area Dragons as they put away the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 126-96, on Friday to become the first team to reach the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioners’ Cup semifinals at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.

Blankley sank 11 of his total points in the first half to help the Dragons take a 60-44 lead.

He then went into overdrive the rest of the way to give the visiting Bay Area the win that clinched

for it the first seat in the next round.

Blankley’s charities in the last 4:25 handed the Dragons a 34-point edge, 84-51.

Bay Area coach Brian Goorjian said Blankley made the difference in this game.

“It’s different playing with a guard, as opposed to playing with a big guy,” said Goorjian.

Blankley’s big game came following the return of Andrew Nicholson, who struck with 32 points on 57-percent shooting from the floor, to go with eight rebounds.

Rey Nambatac made 19 points for the ousted Elasto Painters.

Goorjian is now keenly awaiting the result of the San Miguel Beer-Converge playoffs.

He believes that his team will be meeting the Beermen in the semifinals.

Bay Area converted 46 out of its 83 attempts from the field, including 21-of-41 from the threepoint line.

Griner’s release from Russia delights sports world

loved one.

Griner, arrested in February on drug charges, was traded for arms dealer Viktor Bout in a prisoner swap carried out at an airport in Abu Dhabi.

Supporters of the 32-year-old WNBA

and Olympic superstar center expressed joy and relief.

“I was shocked. I cried. Honestly, I cried,” said Dawn Staley, who coached Griner last year on the US team that won gold in Tokyo. “This is the moment we’ve all been praying for.

“My prayers will continue for her strength and her family’s strength, that she can possibly get back to the Brittney Griner we have known her to be.”

Griner is an eight-time WNBA AllStar and two-time scoring champion who sparked the Phoenix Mercury to the league title in 2014.

“Miraculously, mercifully, the count of days detained has ended at 294 and our friend, our sister is headed back home where she belongs,” the Mercury and NBA Phoenix Suns said in a joint statement.

“The emotions for our organization, just like for our fans and so many across the world, are those of joyous celebration, deep gratitude, grief for the time lost, and sincere hope for all families still awaiting the return of a

“BG’s strength in this process, her unwavering belief that resolution would come and the hope she displayed every day is what kept all of us believing this

day would come.”

NBA stars Chris Paul, Trae Young and Kyrie Irving were among those who tweeted their joy at Griner’s release. AFP

Rondina, Gonzaga make it to quarterfinals

SUBIC—Sisi Rondina and Jovelyn Gonzaga didn’t only eliminate opponents from Canada and the Czech Republic. More importantly, they beat the pressure to win at home as they earned a quarterfinal-round seat in the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Futures at the Subic Bay Sand Court on Friday.

“We just enjoyed the game,” the 26-year-old Rondina, perhaps the country’s most popular beach volleyballer, said. “We did our job—like I focused more on defense and Jov [Gonzaga] on blocks.”

Rondina and Gonzaga, pairing for the first time in a major international competition, beat the taller Darby Dunn and Olivia Grace Furlan of Canada, 21-19, 21-18, in their morning match of the main draw.

They came back two hours later at noon to dispose of Czechs Valerie Dvornikova and Anna Pospisilova, 21-14, 21-16, to keep the country’s campaign alive in the event organized by the Philippine National Volleyball Federation.

“We made adjustments and we approached our assignments one match at a time,” said the former University of Santo Tomas ace Rondina, owner of back-to-back Southeast Asian Games bronze medals with Bernadeth Pons.

Rondina was paired with Gonzaga as Pons rehabs from a shoulder injury. Pons was in the stands cheering the five Philippine teams competing in the event supported by the Philippine Sports Commission, PLDT Home and Rebisco and also backed by Akari, F2 Logistics, Asics, SBMA, Philippine Olympic Committee, Smart Giga Play, Cignal Play, OneSports, OneSports+, Senoh and Mikasa.

For Gonzaga, the pressure came from both the home fans and playing alongside Rondina, where expectations are high for her to level up.

“It was tough because I’m playing with Sisi and the pressure is there for me to step up,” said Gonzaga, an Army personnel who was tabbed to back up Rondina only two weeks ago.

Gonzaga had to level up late in their match against the Czechs when cramps struck Rondina. Fortunately, the match was almost in the bag before she could be immobilized.

Top guns sail thru in Zentro Open

JOHNNY Arcilla and Jose Maria Pague fashioned out a pair of lopsided victories to lead the charge of the big guns in the early going of the Zentro Open National Open Championships at the Zentro Tennis and Recreational courts in Apalit, Pampanga last Thursday.

Time Cargo pulls away by 15 against Forest Hills

BAGUIO—Time Cargo Logistics, through the steady play of Derek Ramsay, scored 115 points as it pulled away by 15 against Forest Hills in the Am-A division after the third round of the 72nd Fil-Am Men’s Invitational.

Ramsay opened with two birdies to negate a bogey on the fourth and already had 19 at the turn. He made 17 coming home to lead the way with 36 points for the day. David Guangko contributed 27 and Rusty Bayani and Renie Floro each added 26 as Time Cargo tallied 297.

Forest Hills got 29 from general manager Raymond Bunquin, 26 from JB Gosiaco, 25 from Edgar Lee and 22 from Ronnie Littaua for 102 and 282 aggregate.

X1R-Tipsy Pig-Mizuno moved up to third with 269. Marvin Caparros, the

PR

Camp

(95-323)

(105317). Eight points adrift was Uragun-1 (96-315).

Kumpadres virtually locked in for the title by scoring 94 points in the third round for a commanding 54-point lead with one round to go in the Fil-C division.

Ronald Busto of Isabela made an ace at the 18th hole of Camp John Hay Golf Club and won a brand new Vespa S125. He used a 7-wood and Titleist ProV1 ball. Flightmates were Dexter Midon and Joselito Santos.

The top-seeded Arcilla, chasing a follow-up to his victory in last week’s Brookside Open and fourth win in the season about to end, trampled young John Sonsona, 6-1, 6-0, after drawing a bye to move into the third round of the Group A tournament against Joseph Tiamzon, who crushed Calvin Canlas, 6-2, 6-2.

The 10-time PCA Open champion Arcilla, who also lorded it over the field in Puerto Princesa and in Pintaflores Festival, is also shooting for a second straight doubles crown, this time with Nilo Ledama after teaming up with Ronard Joven last week.

The No. 2 Pague, on the other hand, overpowered junior campaigner Marc Jarata, 6-1, 6-1, for a third round clash with Jeric Accion, who bundled out Christian Llavore, 6-3, 6-2, in the lower half of the 64-player draw of the event serving as part of the PPS-PEPP circuit put up by Palawan Pawnshop president/CEO Bobby Castro.

Third ranked Vicente Anasta and No. 4 Charles Kinaadman likewise eased past Hans Asistio, 6-1, 6-3, and Mateo Rivas, 6-1, 6-1, respectively, while fifth seed Eric Jed Olivarez also served notice of his title bid by blasting Marco Macalintal, 6-0, 6-1, in the week-long tournament sponsored by Newtech Mega Transport Solutions, Hacienda Galea, People’s General Insurance, Corp., Subic Truckboy International and Dingalan Fireworks.

Riera U. Mallari, Editor;

Randy M. Caluag, Assistant Editor

WASHINGTON—Brittney Griner’s former coaches and teammates as well as a host of elite athletes on Thursday celebrated the US basketball star’s release from a Russian prison after 10 months of captivity.

Brittney Griner AFP

BLU BOYS BACK. The Blu Boys are home after their stint in the Men’s Softball World Cup in New Zealand, where they nished in the Top 10 despite being the lowest-ranked team in the eld of quali ers at 21st. The Cebuana Lhuillier- backed team posted backto-back shutout victories over Denmark and South Africa in their last two games. Softball president Jean Henri Lhuillier lauded the team for its performance.

manager for Mercedes-Benz, led with 31 and got ample support from Raymond Co 26, JB Garcia 26 and Neil Arce 23.

John Hay Golf Club

remains on top in Fil-A, but its lead was cut to only six by Summit Point

Derek Ramsay and his caddy carefully read the ninth green of Camp John Hay Golf Club.

Bay Area’s Hayden Blankley: Lights out scorer

Sta. Lucia Land eyes strong finish in 2022

STA. Lucia Land Inc. (SLI) saw its earnings in the first nine months of the year exceed its full 2021 net income, amid a stronger demand for its residential projects.

The publicly listed company recently revealed that its net income grew by 55.53 percent to P2.87 billion as of end September, compared to the P1.845 billion it recorded in the same period last year.

For full year 2021, the property developer posted what was then its record high net income of P2.84 billion, despite the challenges posed by the pandemic.

Gross revenues meanwhile rose by 30.7 percent to P7.5 billion as of end September this year.

According to Exequiel Robles, SLI president, this performance can be attributed to the rising demand for

REAL ESTATE TRENDS SPEAKER FETED.

CREBA national president Noel Toti M. Cariño presents a plaque of appreciation to Cushman & Wake eld Philippines research, advisory and consulting chief Claro M. Cordero at the International Realtor Members (IRM) meet and greet held jointly by the Chamber of Real Estate & Builders’ Associations Inc. and the Chicago-based National Association of Realtors (NAR). Cordero spoke on real estate trends and the outlook of 2023.

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.

residential properties that offer wide open spaces, farms, beachfront lots, access to world class golf courses and other themed communities during the pandemic.

BOUNCING BACK FROM ADVERSITY

Speaking to Manila Standard, Robles expressed confidence that the real estate industry, the horizontal development sector at least, has bounced back from the economic effects of the pandemic

He credits this to the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), who make up a big part of their market. Steady payments and new business from this sector have provided this local developer relatively calm waters over the past three years despite the initial wave of unemployed OFWs coming home in 2020-2021.

While 2020-2022 were years of survival and eventual return to normal for Sta.

Lucia Realty, Robles hopes that 2023 will then be a year of growth for the company and the country.

“In my opinion, by the year 2023, we

will recover,” he declared. “But this depends on the support of the government. It is the government that gives out support like making it easier to obtain permits. Its rules and regulations should really help us developers and other industries affected by the pandemic to recover.”

Nevertheless, Robles looks forward to the year with much optimism.

“But of course, we can’t predict luck,” he pointed out. “In 2020, a volcano erupted. This was followed by the pandemic. There were typhoons. You can’t really tell what’s going to happen. But we [Filipinos] are used to these things. No matter how many crises come our way, we would still keep going.”

EXPANDING IN THE PROVINCES, FRINGE AREAS

“We’ve seen a considerable growth in demand for our projects, because majority of our developments offer farms, beachfront lots, lakes, and access to world class golf courses, among others,” added David Dela Cruz, chief financial officer

of SLI.

He outlined that Sta. Lucia Land and the entire Sta. Lucia Group currently have a diverse portfolio comprising over 300 developed projects in 70 cities and 11 regions—from as far north as Pangasinan to as far south as Zamboanga.

“These projects are located in high growth areas, city centers and even in the fringe areas, enabling the Sta. Lucia Group to help spur economic activities, generate jobs, provide quality homes, and fuel growth even in the countryside,” he pointed out.

De la Cruz said the company is poised to sustain its growth momentum beyond the pandemic as it continues to pursue aggressive expansion plans, strategic landbanking activities, joint ventures, and portfolio diversification.

This year, SLI entered joint ventures and acquisition agreements covering a total of 276.64 hectares in seven provinces namely Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Bulacan,

ON

Pangasinan, Pampanga and South Cotabato, he revealed.

Over the short-term, SLI will continue to focus on provincial growth areas as it has long been betting big on towns and fringe areas that hold potential, he averred.

“The potential of fringe areas and provinces is strengthened by the government’s massive infrastructure program, which aims to boost connectivity and bring inclusive growth to more areas across the country,” he explained. .

For 2023, De la Cruz said SLI plans to further expand its presence in 18 provinces, where it already has a strong footprint. These include Bulacan, Pangasinan, Bataan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Zambales, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon, Palawan, Iloilo, Bacolod, Cebu, Zamboanga, South Cotabato, and Davao.

“To support our expansion projects and landbanking activities, we plan to beef up our capital spending by at least 8 percent in 2023,” he said.

Filipino finalists in World Architecture Festival 2022

GROHE, a founding partner of WAF and a global brand for bathroom solutions and kitchen fittings, expressed support for the local designers, some of whom previous winners of WAF, namely BAAD Studio, last year’s WAFX special prize winner WTA Architecture and Design Studio, Highly Commended recipient BUDJI+ROYAL Architecture+Design, Jorge Yulo Architects and Associates, and HANDS Design Studio.

Three design firms also made their WAF shortlist debut this year: Studio Fuerzo, DST Design+Build, and Davao-based BERSABARC Design Studio.

Award categories

“GROHE looks forward to WAF where the talent of Filipino designers and architects will be on full display for the world to see,” said Hermie Limbo, LIXIL country general manager.

WAF award categories are Completed Buildings, Future Projects, and Landscape.

Aside from the WAF awards, there will also be special prizes, such as the WAFX Award, among others. The WAFX Award celebrates cutting-edge design approaches to address major world issues, such as the climate emergency.

Vying for the Completed Buildings award, under the House & Villa, Urban/ Suburban category, are Jorge Yulo Architects and Associates with their entry, “Equilateral House,” and BUDJI+ROYAL Architecture+Design with “Pandemic House.”

For the House & Villa, Rural/Coastal category, BAAD Studio submitted, “The Mendoza Farmhouse.”

For the New and Old category, Studio Fuerzo’s entry is the “New Provincialate House,” while under the Hotel and Leisure category, HANDS Design

HELPING CURB THE HOUSING BACKLOG.

Laguna-based property developer P.A. Alvarez Properties and Development Corporation (P.A. Properties) is a partner of the government in its e orts to curb the country’s housing backlog that is now at 6.5 million units. The company has developed over 180 hectares of land and has built more than 20,000 housing and condominium units in over 40 communities in Laguna, Batangas, Cavite, Bulacan, Pampanga and Metro Manila. Since 2017, the company teamed up with Japanese property developer Hankyu Hanshin Properties Corporation (HHPC) in 2017 to build ve joint venture companies and developed Idesia, which are a series of township projects located in Dasmariñas, Cavite; Lipa, Batangas; Cabuyao, Laguna, and San Jose del Monte, Bulacan.

P.A. Properties has adapted fast and e cient construction technology, which makes it possible to construct single storey units in 45 days and two-storey units in 60 days.

TEN projects by 8 Filipino designers and architects have been shortlisted as finalists in this year’s World Architects Festival (WAF), one of the world’s most prestigious annual festival and awards ceremony in the architecture and development industry.

Studio’s entry is “Casa Tropica.” In the Future Projects award shortlist, under the Civic and Community category is BAAD Studio’s “Pilgrim’s Shelter.” For Competition Entries, there are BERSABARC’s “Hexarion Martian Colony” and WTA Architecture and Design Studio’s “BSP Security Plant Complex.” WTA Architecture and Design Studio also submitted “Batangas Forest City” (Shown in photo) for the Masterplanning category. Rounding out the finalists is DST Design + Build’s “The Tree House Project” (Inset photo) in the House category.

Launched in 2008, the World Architecture Festival is the world’s largest annual international architectural event and includes panel discussions and talks by leading global architectural thinkers and industry personalities.

MAKE OURS CEBU. Pueblo de Oro Development Corporation (PDO), the property development arm of the ICCP Group, remains optimistic about the real estate market in the Visayas province of Cebu, citing recent economic developments in the region and in the country. “After Metro Manila, Cebu is well prepared to capture and bene t from the housing demand,” opined Ronald Allan Uy, PDO vice president and general manager for Visayas Operations. PDO has developed over 40 hectares in the province, including the 27.4-hectare Pueblo de Oro Townscapes Mactan in Lapu-Lapu City. The company has spent over P400 million for its new projects within the township in 2022 alone, which includes the 3.7-hectare Park Place II subdivision and a three-level commercial strip. The company has invested a grand total of P2 billion for the Townscapes Mactan community to-date. ‘As part of our expansion plans, Pueblo de Oro has a pipeline of projects that are in the conceptual and planning stages for future development,’ said Uy.

BETTING

THE FUTURE. (From left to right): David Dela Cruz, chief nancial o cer, Sta. Lucia Land; Vicente Santos, chairman; Exequiel D. Robles, president; Bea Alonzo, Sta. Lucia Land brand Ambassador

Motoring

HINO Motors Philippines stirs up the country’s commercial vehicle industry with the launch of their newest and lightest truck line, the AllNew Hino 200 Series. Featuring the 315 and 415 models, these trucks are the ideal entry-level option for entrepreneurs seeking reliable transport for their business.

With gross vehicle weight of 3,490 and 3,800 kilograms respectively, these trucks are optimized for loading while having the right features to tackle corners and narrow streets.

Being one of the largest vehicles in the N1 category, the 315 model maximizes business efficiency as it falls within B2 driver’s license restriction. Such category accommodates operating vehicles up to 3,500 kilograms GVW for the carriage of goods. With this, business owners are able to address operational disruptions from the lack of drivers for vehicles requiring higher license restrictions.

Powered by the Toyota 1GD-FTV engine, the All-New Hino 200 Series generates 144 PS output and pulls up to 300 Nm of torque. That’s best-inclass engine performance while offering better fuel efficiency at 2,755cc displacement. And with a trusted name for quality, business owners are assured of smooth operations minus the hassle of downtime.

With a 4.7-meter turning radius, doing quick turns and navigating city streets are no longer an issue, while a rear chassis height of 705 millimeters makes loading and unloading of cargo more convenient. This means quicker drop-offs and overall efficient operations.

The All-New Hino 200 Series is developed for micro, small to mediumsized enterprises (MSME), providing them with a transport solution that is durable, hauls at truck-load capacity, while having optimum maneuverability - a usual challenge for fullsized commercial vehicles. And with features like SRS airbags, Anti-lock

Convenient functionality: The Hino 200 Series

Braking System (ABS) and Vehicle Stability Control (VSC)

owners have added layers of protection to keep the driver, vehicle and cargo safe during each trip.

Putting premium on driver’s welfare, the All-New Hino 200 Series is equipped with ergonomic seats along with double wishbone front suspensions that make driving more comfortable through rough roads and long distances. A stabilizer also helps with maneuverability, improving overall handling while reducing vehicle roll that contributes to driver fatigue. The interiors also feature generous cabin space with amenities for extra storage.

Through Hino’s Total Support,

truck

of

brand and its network of dealerships. By understanding the customer’s needs, Hino can tailor products and services to fit specific operations, all while ensuring maximized uptime and reducing operating costs.

In the business of mobility, the AllNew Hino 200 Series is a smart investment to start or upgrade your game. The time is now. Magsimula ka.

Visit hino.com.ph to know more about Hino’s latest updates. Exciting announcements are also available at Hino Motors Philippines’ official Facebook and Instagram pages.

J&T Express, FastEasy to speed up spare parts distribution in Mindanao thru FOTON PH

IN ITS bid to improve spare parts supply chain and delivery lead time in Southern Philippines, FOTON Motor Philippines, Inc. inked a partnership agreement with PH Global Jet Express Inc. (J&T Express) and FastEasy Inc. for its Mindanao spare parts distribution.

For years, it has been a continuous undertaking of the automotive brand to secure efficient aftersales service to every customer. “It has become one of our biggest goals to speed up the distribution of spare parts to our Mindanao dealerships and customers,” said FOTON Philippines President Erroll Dueñas during an inking ceremony. A renewed partnership with the logistics company J&T Express Philippines, and warehouse management business FastEasy Inc., will usher the vision of FOTON Philippines to remain in its commitment to provide expedited customer service in Mindanao spare parts hub, situated in Davao City. This will also cater nationwide especially in nearby regions of the bustling city.

that has already established a firm position in the Philippine market. It places itself as a dependable logistics company covering the shipping needs of the e-commerce industry.

FastEasy Inc., a distinguished warehouse management company, will be responsible for housing a sufficient stock of FOTON spare parts in Mindanao and shall handle its day-to-day warehouse operations to facilitate faster distribution of items to the customers and dealerships in the region.

“With you, I have full confidence that FOTON Motors is inching closer to the fulfillment of such an important objective (speed up the distribution of spare parts) for Mindanao,” President Dueñas addressed attendees of the event.

YOU may choose to “own” your dream Lexus with different mileage options and packages to suit your lifestyle.

Have you always wanted to drive home a Lexus without the burden of having to purchase one in full? Now you can with KINTO One, a full-service vehicle lease package which gives those who dream of having a Lexus the chance to have one with a hasslefree, worry-free ‘usership’ experience.

KINTO One provides valuefor-money with its all-inclusive, monthly payment packages which covers periodic maintenance, normal wear and tear parts replacement, annual comprehensive insurance, annual registration, and exclusive KINTO concierge service.

You may choose to “own” your dream Lexus for 36 months (3 years) or 48 months (4 years) with different mileage options

and packages to suit your lifestyle starting at Php 70,964 a month.

Now, luxury meets convenience as Lexus joins the lineup of the vehicles that are available through the breakthrough KINTO One service. Customers can experience and enjoy the luxury of Lexus with the convenience of a full-service lease. The freedom to enjoy the Lexus brand has never been so convenient.

Here are the Lexus models available through KINTO One:

–The Lexus ES midsize sedan (starting at Php 81,994/month)

–The Lexus IS sport sedan (starting at Php 72,974/month)

–The Lexus NX luxury crossover (starting at Php 70,964/ month)

Whether it is hassle-free personal transportation or the privilege of driving a new car every three or four years, KINTO One is the mobility service of the next generation.

THERE are times when you just feel like hitting the road, whether to unwind by taking in new sights or simply out of spontaneity. Designed for those moments are PCX160 for a next level of experience and The All-New ADV160 for a discovery of new ex citement, two feature-rich scooters that come alive in practical yet power ful style.

Get ready to turn heads as you cruise city streets or country roads with these eye-catching rides from Honda. The form also comes with a lot of functions that puts a premium on performance and comfortable riding.

Let’s break down what makes PCX160 and The All-New ADV160 perfect for those with on-the-go lifestyle.

Timeless Style and Substance.

In terms of style, you can never go wrong with these two exceptionallydesigned scooters. It all comes down to the type of personality you want to project while you’re on the road.

If elegance and superiority fit your style, PCX160 features a sophisticated collection of lines and curves, includ ing the way how the LED headlight, position light and tail lights run across the body. Its wheel design and digital meter panel are likewise developed with superiority in mind.

On the other hand, The All-New ADV160 exudes a more impos ing character. Its enhanced All LED Headlights and Turn Signals makes it a stand out and safe from dusk until dawn. Moreover, its handsome and regal appeal boasts of a higher windscreen, lower seat height as its lighting features a prominent “X” pattern for some design flair.

J&T Express Philippines is a trusted logistics and express delivery brand

performance

advanced feature that prevents the slipping of the rear tires, especially on wet and slippery roads. Also, Wavy Disk Brakes with Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) to prevent wheel locking and increase stability in case of sudden braking.

There are other innovations as well for superior convenience that allows you to focus on your adventures. For one, the PCX160 and The All-New ADV160 present a USB charging port to keep your phone battery loaded for much-needed navigation during long rides.

*To know more about FOTON Philippines, visit www.foton.com.ph/, and their social media pages at www. facebook.com/FOTONPhilippines/ (Facebook) and instagram.com/ fotonphilippines/ (Instagram), or reach them at 0999 999 9998 (sales hotline) or 0999-999-9996 (EC Genuine Parts hotline). and expowerbreak what All-New -

The rides are likewise equipped with new technologies. An Anti-Theft Alarm security system is a security feature for theft attempts with a sound that notifies the owner or people nearby and the Answer-Back System through the Honda Smart Key System makes it easier for you to find your motorcycle in a parking location.

secu and of includwheel impos-

on

While these scooters are undoubtedly distinct in their own right, both are equally stunning whether stationary or speeding.

Superb specifications and features at all angles.

Speaking of speeding, the PCX160 and The All-New ADV160 offer powerful driving

Safe, secure, and stable.

Ride with ease knowing that both coveted models come packed with Honda Selectable Torque Control, an

Meanwhile, the Idling Stop System (ISS) reduces fuel consumption by automatically switching the engine off at traffic lights and other brief stops, reducing wasteful fuel consumption.

The ideal two-wheel ride for onthe-go lifestyle or the ultimate transportation during weekend trips, you’re guaranteed to take back your life on the road without the worries. PCX160 ABS variant comes in two premium colors, namely, the Asteroid Black Metallic and the Pearl Fadeless White, with a suggested retail price of PHP151,900, while the CBS variant is PHP133,900. On the other hand, The All-New ADV160 is available in three variants: Matte Gunpowder Black Metallic, Matte Solar Red Metallic, and Matte Pearl Crater White with a suggested retail price of PHP164,900.

For more information about all things Honda, visit www.hondaph. com. Stay updated on Honda’s newest products and promos by following Honda Philippines, Inc. on Facebook and Instagram (@hondaph_mc), or contacting (02)-8581-6700 to 6799, and 0917-884-6632.

as options,

owners whether established or just beginning in their business enjoy the same level

assistance from the

InLife wins UN award for Narrowing Gender Gap thru public engagement

INSULAR Life (InLife) has been selected as the 2nd runner up in the Community Engagement and Partnerships category at the recently held 2022 Regional Asia-Pacific Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) Awards.

The country’s largest Filipino life insurance company received the award “for exemplary practice embracing the women’s empowerment principles in Asia-Pacific.” This regional award follows the recognition given to InLife, through its InLife Sheroes Advocacy and Movement, as the Champion of the 2022 Philippines WEPs Awards’ Community Engagement and Partnerships category.

InLife Executive Chairperson Nina D. Aguas thanked the UN Women 2022 Asia-Pacific WEPs Awards for the recognition, and the InLife Sheroes’ partner institutions for sharing the advocacy to uplift the lives of women.

“When women are empowered to live their lives accordingly, families, societies and countries will thrive. We thank the many wonderful organizations and business institutions that joined us in the InLife Sheroes Advocacy and Movement. Together, we are giving better opportunities to more women to reach their dreams and fulfill their purpose,” she said during the 2022 Regional ceremony of the Asia-Pacific WEPs Awards which was presented by UN Women, with the additional support of the Government of Australia.

Since its inception in 2019, the InLife Sheroes through its four pillars on Financial Literacy, Health and Wellness, Women-specific Solutions, and Connection to Business and Social Networks, has reached more than 7.6 million Filipinos. In 2021, the InLife Sheroes contributed to the growing share of women policyholders with 61% of InLife policies sold to women. InLife’s wholly-owned subsidiary Insular Health Care, meanwhile, has sold more than 73,000 policies to women, ensuring protection for more Filipino women.

The UN Women 2022 Asia-Pacific WEPs Awards recognized innovations in the private sector that promote gender equality in seven categories: Leadership Commitment, Youth Leadership, Gender-Inclusive Workplace, Gender-Responsive Marketplace, Community Engagement and Partnerships, Transparency and Reporting, and SME Champions. The Community Engagement and Partnerships category recognizes businesses that promote gender equality through community-based initiatives and collaborations with nongovernment organizations, civil society, and international organizations. It also honors efforts in advancing systemic change towards gender inclusivity through partnerships.

Tech & Gadgets

UN chief: World must help navigate social media pitfalls

GENEVA—The international community, not individual businessmen like Twitter chief

Federico Villegas, an Argentinian ambassador who has served as president of the United Nations’ top rights body this year, insisted it is vital that the council provide guidance on the rights implications of new technologies and social media use.

“Who is going to navigate the grey line between social media as a tool for good and a tool for the bad?” Villegas asked during a meeting with reporters in Geneva.

The ambassador, who will address the 47-member council one last time as president on Friday when it meets to elect his successor for 2023, compared social media to nuclear energy.

“Nuclear energy is amazing for energy and peaceful use,” he said, “but you can also get an atom bomb.”

Social media meanwhile provides “empowerment of people for accessing information, for expressing themselves, but also hate speech, cyber-bullying,” he said.

It is important to determine where the grey line goes and how to ensure we end up on the right side of it, he said.

“Who will decide this? Elon Musk?” Villegas asked, pointing to the new Twitter boss’s recent decision to kick

rapper Kanye West—now known as Ye—off the platform “for incitement to violence” over a posted picture showing a swastika interlaced with a Star of David.

The outgoing council president stressed that he had not followed the details of that case and did not take a position on whether expelling West from Twitter was the right decision. But, he asked, should “it be up to a private businessman to decide what is dangerous for inciting violence and hate?”

He pointed to how a Belgian journalist helped spread propaganda over Mille Collines radio inciting to hatred and violence in the lead-up to the Rwanda genocide.

The station urged ethnic Hutus to kill rival Tutsi

TikTok in uencers lead launch of INSPI’s

“cockroaches” during the 1994 slaughter in which 800,000 people were killed.

“What if this person had a Twitter account in ‘93? Elon Musk will have cancelled or not?” Villegas asked.

There was a need, he said, for the international community, through its highest human rights body, to together decide how best to grapple with such issues.

Vintage Collection

TIKTOK influencers, affiliates and media people partied on during the “Let’s Roll with INSPI” event that launched INSPI Philippines’ Retro Vintage Collection at the Fisher Roller Disco, Quezon Avenue recently.

Aside from more than 100 invited influencers, the party was led by INSPI resident DJ, the king of TikTok mash ups, Kuya Magik. There was truly a blast of music, beats, and dances inside the skate rink, where everyone grooved and enjoyed.

The INSPI Vintage Collection was launched through their ambassadors--five of the well-known TikTok Influencers in the country today, namely, Dior Veneracion, Vanessa Alvarez, Micaella Alkobi Flores, Chierald Tan, and Jayzie Bonifacio.

But that was not the best part, because everybody was amazed when the Dzen House members joined the captivating event, thanks to Kuya Magik.

This was followed by the stunning per-

formances of local artists Young Weezy, Wing, Mitch Raymundo, Gat Putch, King Murph, and INSPI’s very own I-Bear.

Also spotted during the event were exPBB housemate, Apey Obera, who owned the stage along with P-pop Generation member, Sofia Loreen, and son of the Sexbomb dancer Izzy, Andrei Trazona.

All those who showed up in the event were seen rocking the INSPI Originals, INSPI Bear, and the New Vintage Collection. Everyone made an extra effort to pull off their looks in which INSPI awarded the fashionistas of the night.

In releasing the Retro Vintage Collection, INSPI was inspired by the Y2K Fashion, Roller Skates, the 90s, and other trendy fashion designs.

For more info, check out any of the links below.

Shopee: https://shp.ee/jw38zuq

Lazada: https://bit.ly/3FWikC0

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Maya puts PH in global stage in Google Think FinTech 2022

LEADING digital bank and finance app Maya took the global stage at the recently held Google Think Fintech 2022 in Dubai as only Southeast Asian Fintech player featured in the prestigious event.

Maya Chief Marketing Officer Pepe Torres spoke at the tech giant’s exclusive fintech conference for emerging markets around the world. He shared how helping address the pent-up demand for digital financial services which offer superior customer experiences enabled the company to spearhead fintech adoption in the secondfastest growing economy in the region.

“The pandemic led to the acceleration of a wide range of apps in the Philippines. But post-pandemic, customers have been left with a messy financial experience with their money scattered across e-wallet, banking, and investments. We don’t just have the unbanked; we now also have the unhappily banked. We saw an opportunity to simplify all this complexity for the customer by transforming into an all-in-one banking app that’s supervised by the BSP. And based on the market’s response, we’re confident that Maya is on

the right track,” Torres said.

Since rebranding in April 2022, Maya has been redefining the fintech landscape in the Philippines. It leaped forward from pure payments play as the first and only integrated financial solutions platform to become the leading digital bank in the Philippines.

Maya’s ability to innovate at the speed of digital has propelled its phenomenal growth, acquiring over 1 million new bank customers and posting more than P10 billion in deposit balance five months after its launch.

According to Torres, boldness was a key attribute in making Maya the topof-mind brand seizing the opportunity to serve the larger market of the unhappily banked and unbanked Filipinos.

The digital banking app continues to innovate with industry-high daily interest payouts to encourage customers to save, a feature to boost your interest rate by paying for essentials using the app, creating Personal Goals sub-accounts for specific goals that customers want to save for, and hyper-personalized experiences with @

usernames which enables customers to send money to a customer’s chosen username instead of a mobile no or QR code. These features aim to empower Filipinos to make bolder choices in their lives through better money management.

Torres also highlighted the importance of translating such a bold move into equally groundbreaking and memorable branding and marketing executions. “We invested in a bold design identity that doesn’t just communicate our transformation into an all-inone digital bank, but also helps our customers to have a more delightful relationship with money,” explained Torres.

Maya’s presence at the Google Think Fintech 2022 puts the spotlight on the Philippines as a hotbed for fintech innovation and world-class talent. The event provided insights into how the country’s financial inclusion journey is moving forward from access through e-wallet account ownership to deeper financial services adoption with seamless digital banking.

Maya has been changing the game for financial services with its integrated ecosystem approach with embedded

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digital banking that uniquely positions it among e-wallets, banks, and fintech players in the Philippines. Today, Maya is the only fintech brand serving all segments of consumers and

enterprises with the leading all-in-one digital banking app, the leading enterprise payment processing business, and the most extensive on-ground agent network, Maya Centers.

Maya Chief Marketing Officer Pepe Torres speaks at the tech giant’s exclusive fintech conference.