Manila Standard - 2023 January 9 - Monday

AFP reassures troops united

Denies reports of mass resignation, says ’business as usual’ in camps

THE Armed Forces of the Philippines sought to reassure the public on Sunday that the military remained united, stable, and in high spirits despite its change in command and rumors of resignations in its ranks.

In a new statement, the AFP said the change of command to returning military chief Gen. Andres Centino from outgoing chief of staff Lt. Gen. Bartolome Bacarro went “smoothly.”

Military spokesperson Col. Medel Aguilar also told ABS-CBN News it is “business as usual” in camps across the country, adding there was no truth to reports soldiers and other officials were resigning en masse.

By Wille Casas and Vince Lopez

TENS of thousands of Catholic faithful walked through the streets of Manila early Sunday in reverence of a historic statue of Jesus Christ, which is believed to have miraculous powers.

The "walk of faith," which church officials estimated attracted some 88,000 people, began after a midnight mass for the so-called Black Nazarene statue.

Earlier, President Ferdinand Next page

By Honor Blanco Cabie

THE annual Traslacion, first held on January 9, 2015, has been suspended for the third straight year in 2023 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has infected and killed scores of thousands in this largely Catholic country since March 2020.

\The Traslacion—from the Spanish to mean transfer—was replaced nonetheless by a 3-kilometer “Walk of Faith” from the bayside Quirino

Palawan

RESIDENTS of Bataraza and Rizal towns in Palawan province said they heard an explosion and felt a tremor when an unidentified object fell from the sky on Saturday night.

This came about 10 days after the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines issued a notice to airmen (NOTAM)

informing them about the closure of several area navigation (RNAV) routes over the province in anticipation of possible debris drops from the rocket launch by China.

A Super Radyo report on Sunday said that the falling object, which looked like a meteor to the residents, was seen at around 7 p.m. Saturday.

Customs seizes P13.8m in shabu

THE Bureau of Customs on Sunday seized P13.8 million worth of methamphetamine hydrochloride or "shabu" from Bangkok, Thailand.

The illegal drugs arrived on Jan. 2 in a parcel labeled as containing

NCR top cops pass surprise drug testing

ABOUT 72 senior officials of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) tested negative in surprise drug tests on Sunday amid a call to cleanse the police force of officers involved in the illegal drug trade.

They are part of about 429 senior officers ranked colonel to general who were asked by Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos, on the direction of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., to tender courtesy resignations in a bid to cleanse the force of “ninja cops” or protectors of the narcotics business.

The latest policemen to obey the command were officers in Eastern Visayas, as

"microserver double stairless ceramic." Physical examination of the parcel led to the discovery of four pieces of 3-liter stainless sports jugs containing substances wrapped in plastic and aluminum foil.

PBBM: PH to nurture China ties ‘more than in past years’

By Rey E. Requejo

“We will continue to protect the relationship between the Philippines and China, more than we have done in recent decades,” Marcos said in Filipino on a video posted online.

“For the interest of our country, and the

residents report blasts, tremors from ‘meteor’ from sky

THE Philippines will nurture its relationship with China more than it did in the past decades, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Saturday night, a few days after flying home from his state visit there.

Traslacion still ‘holy, majestic’ without icon

WATCHING FROM AFAR. Workers dismantling the Manila COVID-19 Field Hospital at the Quirino Grandstand in Rizal Park watch with amusement the ongoing activities of the Feast of the Black Nazarene on Sunday. Danny Pata

SEA OF DEVOTEES. The Quirino Grandstand and the streets around it are filled with an estimated 38,000 devotees of the Black Nazarene after Quiapo Church officials led them to the site early Sunday for the Walk of Faith. The event replaces the traditional Traslacion, but the faithful still brought with them replicas of the image of Jesus Christ (inset). Norman Cruz

ALL CLEAN. Some of the 72 police generals and colonels serving in the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) show off their certificates of clean urine tests after the surprise drug tests conducted on them on Sunday.

China lifts quarantine for travelers

CHINA lifted quarantine requirements for inbound travelers on Sunday, ending almost three years of self-imposed isolation even as the country battles a surge in COVID-19-19 cases.

The first people to arrive expressed relief at not having to undergo the grueling quarantines that were a fixture of life in zeroCOVID China.

And in Hong Kong, where the border with mainland China was re-opened after years of closure, more than 400,000 people were set to travel north in the coming eight weeks.

Philippine Ambassador to China Jaime FlorCruz said that Filipinos in China remain in good condition, despite the surge in COVID-19 cases following Beijing’s recent

AFP...

From A1

AFP Public Affairs Office chief Col.

Jorry Baclor backed Aguilar’s statement, saying in a text message: “Morale of soldiers remain(s) very high, wala naman nagbago (nothing has changed).”

On Saturday, both the military and the police denied destabilization rumors following the Armed Forces’ change in command and the Philippine National Police (PNP) going on heightened alert status, purportedly for the AFP’s command turnover, which was later overturned.

The military also belied stories circulating that the police was preparing to respond to destabilization threats in Camp Aguinaldo.

This included reports of helicopters landing and taking off from Malacanang on Saturday night, which neither the PNP nor the Office of the Press Secretary commented on as of press time.

Police spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo told reporters on Saturday the PNP was placed on full alert for the AFP’s command turnover but rescinded it back to a heightened alert.

NCR...

From A1

all officers – colonel, provincial directors, and city directors – resigned as a courtesy “to assure that Region 8 has an honest, dutiful police force,” Police Regional Director Brig. Gen. Rommel Marbil said in a television interview.

Marbil did not specify how many senior officers under him also filed courtesy resignations.

In a statement, the NCRPO said the urine samples taken on Sunday from the third-level officers, including its top cop Police Maj. Gen. Jonnel Estomo, all came back negative in the surprise test. This was after 69 of them filed their courtesy resignations last Friday as requested by Abalos.

Police officers in Central Visayas also

Translacion...

From A1

grandstand to the minor basilica in Quiapo, home to the 17th century lifesized image of the Black Nazarene, built by the Franciscans in 1586 using bamboo and nipa materials and has survived two major fires and the 1945 bombing of the capital in World War II.

Parallel to the suspension, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., himself a Catholic, declared January 9 a special non-working day in Manila to allow devotees to join the Feast of the Black Nazarene activities.

Church officials, who decided on the replacement on January 8, have said "Even without our traditional procession, the Walk of Faith will be added to our schedule of activities in the early morning of January 8."

Fr. Earl Allyson Valdez, attached priest of the Quiapo Church where the miraculous holy image of Jesus of Nazarene is enthroned, has said the "Walk" involves devotees who will walk from the Quirino Grandstand to Quiapo Church without the image of the Black Nazarene.

"It will be well and organized like a holy and majestic procession with physical distance, the image of the Black Nazarene will not be there, but the attendees are invited to bring candles and small images of the Black Nazarene," Valdez said.

The Basilica and the local government of Manila have also agreed on the strict enforcement of the wearing of masks by every attendee.

On January 9, 2015, the first Traslación was held when the sacred image was

PBBM:...

From A1

welfare of the people, that's the foundation of our policy in dealing with all countries, not just China,” he added.

“As the economy of the world and the global economy changes, it will present to us many new opportunities and I believe that if we face those challenges together, and if we take advantage of the opportunities together, it would certainly be of mutual benefit to our two

decision to drop health protocols.

FlorCruz said while some Filipinos caught the virus, none of them were in severe or critical condition.

According to him, many of Filipinos, including those staying in Shanghai earlier infected with COVID-19 have already recovered and went back to their jobs.

“Many of them already went back to their jobs. Those in Shanghai, reports reached me that they are okay, although many of them got sick but they have since

The amassing of mobile trucks and tanks at the police national headquarters Camp Crame and increased police visibility in checkpoints across the country were part of police preparations for major religious festivities, including the Feast of the Black Nazarene today, Fajardo added (see related story on A1 – Editors).

The Philippine Army, where Centino served, said Sunday it was looking forward to the support from their erstwhile commanding general upon his return.

“We are confident that Gen. Centino, who earlier led the AFP from November 2021 to August 2022, will support the Philippine Army in attaining its vision of becoming a world-class land force that is a source of national pride by 2028. The organization is assured of its strides in its modernization thrusts,” the Army statement read.

The other branches of the AFP also welcomed the return of Centino, who took over from Bacarro just four months after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appointed the latter, a Medal of Valor awardee, to head the Armed Forces.

The Philippine Navy “will continue to fulfill its mandate to support the mission of the AFP in protecting and securing our

heeded the call of Abalos, who as secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government supervises the 227,000-strong national police force, on the same day as their Metro Manila counterparts.

Policemen from other regions have yet to turn in their courtesy resignations, as only about one-fourth of 429 PNP senior officers have done so as of Sunday.

The latest count shows the PNP organization has 293 colonels, 108 brigadier generals, 19 major generals, eight lieutenant generals, and one full general, PNP Chief Rodolfo Azurin Jr.

Meanwhile, the umbrella group of all local government leagues threw its support behind the campaign of Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. to rid the PNP of high-ranking officials involved in the illegal drug trade.

In expressing its support, the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines

solemnly transferred from the old church to the new and unfinished church building.

The Traslacion reenacts the “solemn transfer” of the Black Nazarene statue from a church in Intramuros to Quiapo Church in 1767, according to the Quiapo Church website.

The wooden statue—carved by an anonymous Mexican artist in the 16th century—was brought to the Philippines in 1606, 85 years after the islands were discovered for Europe by Portuguese navigator Fernando Magallanes or Ferdinand Magellan, who sailed under the Spanish flag and brought Christianity to the archipelago.

The icon, renowned in the Philippines, is considered by many Filipino Catholics to be miraculous; mere touching it is reputed to cure disease.

The Quiapo Church, in the heart of the capital, is along Quezon Boulevard, was built by the Franciscans in 1586 using bamboo and nipa materials.

Alex Irasga, adviser of Quiapo Church, reminded the people that kissing the image of the Black Nazarene was prohibited during the “pagpupugay" (viewing or touching) at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila which started last weekend.

“Kissing of the image is not allowed, but they can touch the image or wipe it with their towel or handkerchief,” he said.

Church personnel were near the image to ensure that no one would kiss the image during the entire event.

The “pagpupugay” started at 1 a.m. of Jan. 7 until the feast day today.

There were three lanes, separating males, females and persons with disabilities, senior citizens and the pregnant. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

countries,” he said.

During his state visit to China, the two countries signed 14 agreements in the fields of tourism, agriculture, infrastructure, information and communications technology, trade, and maritime cooperation.

Marcos noted that these agreements were first discussed during his first face-to-face meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Thailand in November 2022.

recovered,” the ambassador said.

Beijing last month began a dramatic dismantling of a hardline zero-COVID-19 strategy that had enforced mandatory quarantines and punishing lockdowns.

The policy had a huge impact on the world's second-biggest economy and generated resentment throughout society that led to nationwide protests just before it was eased.

At Shanghai's Pudong International Airport, a woman surnamed Pang told AFP Sunday she was thrilled with the ease of travel.

"I think it's really good that the policy has changed now, it's really humane," she told AFP.

"It's a necessary step, I think. COVID-19 has become normalized now and after this

country and our people,” its statement read.

The Philippine Air Force said it “remains loyal to our flag and our Constitution, and as a force provider, we will stay committed in our mandate to support the mission of the AFP in securing and defending our country and people.”

However, House Deputy Minority Leader and party-list lawmaker Rep. France Castro on Sunday expressed concern over rumored internal conflicts in the military that could possibly lead to coups and more human rights violations.

She pointed to Republic Act No. 11709, which fixes to three years the term and tenure of “key officers” in the AFP, including the chief of staff and commanders of the three branches, as the source of conflict.

“It seems that the law is creating tensions or divisions within the military, as some members may feel that they have been passed over for promotion or that the selection process was not fair," the ACT Teachers representative said in a statement.

“Some military officers are strongly lobbying for it to be repealed or at least amended by Congress. So political favors are expected to be owed when that happens.”

An amendment to the 2022 law, which now seeks to limit the three-year-term

(ULAP) said drug abuse is a complex problem that has evolved into a chronic health disorder that is taking a heavy toll on families and communities.

ULAP president Quirino Province Gov. Dax Cua praised Abalos for calling on all police generals and colonels to submit their courtesy resignations as the first part of a shakeup at the PNP.

“It takes courage and humility to ask what he asked of our police, knowing that he might gain enemies in the process," Cua said in a mix of English and Filipino. "This is an issue that transcends personal and career reasons. Our country is asking us to make sacrifices to solve the drug menace that is preying on our countrymen.”

Cua also commended PNP chief Azurin for leading the initiative to cleanse the ranks of rogue cops.

Earlier, the Metro Manila Council (MMC), the Metropolitan Manila Devel-

88,000...

From A1

Marcos Jr. enjoined Filipino Catholics to celebrate with “a safe, meaningful and solemn observance” the Feast of the Black Nazarene of Quiapo today and called on devotees to remember the established national culture and traditions of overcoming issues and tribulations.

"I am one with all Filipino Catholics in the Philippines in celebrating the Feast of the Black Nazarene. Today we mark the arrival of the image of Nuestro Padre Señor Jesus de Nazareno from its original location in Intramuros to its current home in Quiapo, Manila," the President said in his message relayed by the Office of the Press Secretary.

"As the Catholic faithful expresses their devotion to the Black Nazarene, let us also remember its deep rootedness in our Filipino culture of overcoming the great trials and tribulations in our midst.

Indeed, it is through our faith that we can conquer the storms that loom ahead of us and bring forth a life filled with grace and steadfastness." Mr. Marcos added.

Filipinos must take the event as a “symbolic movement” of the earthly journey of every pilgrim in finding the new meaning of the "passion and sufferings" of every individual, he added.

"Let us take this highly anticipated religious tradition as a symbolic movement of our collective earthly journey, finding new meaning in our passions and sufferings as a people," the President said.

Mr. Marcos also said people must look and connect themselves with the image of Jesus Christ and make it the “center

“During this state visit, we continued the discussions we began,” the President said.

He said many of their meetings went overtime because he did not want to waste the opportunity to discuss all matters of concern while he was in China.

He said Xi agreed that they complete their discussions so that their respective ministers and officials would know what to do based on their agreements.

Philippine Ambassador to China Jaime FlorCruz said the 14 agreements signed by the President during his state

hurdle everything will be smooth," she said.

Chinese people rushed to plan trips abroad after officials last month announced that quarantine would be dropped, sending inquiries on popular travel websites soaring.

But the expected surge in visitors has led more than a dozen countries to impose mandatory COVID-19 tests on travelers from the world's most populous nation as it battles its worst-ever outbreak.

China has called travel curbs imposed by other countries "unacceptable", despite its continuing to largely block foreign tourists and international students from travelling to the country. AFP with Rey Requejo (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

only to the military’s most senior officials, passed the third reading in the House at the end of last year.

"That is the sad state of the AFP today that officers are wrangling among themselves to get to the top rank and get a bigger piece of the pie while their soldiers are committing human rights violations left and right," Castro added.

In his speech at the AFP change of command ceremony on Saturday, Centino called on members of the military to refrain from “squabbling” over interpretations of the law.

He said the law only seeks to strengthen the Armed Forces and pave the way for selecting the most “competent, capable, and deserving” military leaders.

“The AFP assures everyone that everything is normal,” its statement read.

“As a professional organization, the whole AFP is united behind the leadership of Gen. Centino as it continues to perform its mission of protecting the people and defending territorial integrity and national sovereignty,” the military said.

Aguilar added Centino has yet to meet with the AFP’s key leaders to give his marching orders. Francisco Tuyay and Vince Lopez

opment Authority's policy-making body composed of the 17 mayors of the National Capital Region, issued a resolution expressing support for Abalos' move.

MMC president and San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora said reforms are necessary to regain the trust and respect of the people for the PNP as well as to recognize the hard work and sacrifice of the police force in achieving a drug-free Philippines.

Azurin, his entire command group, and other police officers with the ranks of colonels and generals have tendered their courtesy resignations following Abalos' appeal on Wednesday to address alleged links of the PNP top brass to illegal drugs.

In November last year, the DILG led the simultaneous launch of the government anti-drug program Buhay Ingatan, Droga’y Ayawan (BIDA). Francisco Tuyay (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

of existence” around love, hope and compassion to others.

"May the image of Jesus Christ inspire us to center our existence around love, hope, and compassion as we open up ourselves to others in the world during these extraordinary times." he said.

"Together, let us embody these values as we write a new chapter in our nation's narratives so we can altogether live in an era of peace and prosperity for all, the President added.

Many Filipinos believe touching or getting close to the statue can lead to the healing of otherwise incurable ailments and other good fortune.

Evangeline Rugas, 59, was among the worshippers attending the open-air mass where a replica of the icon has been on display.

She was "praying for a miracle" for her 5-year-old nephew who suffers from seizures and cannot walk.

"Nothing is impossible for the Black Nazarene," Rugas said as she sat on a plastic sheet laid on the ground.

The original wooden statue was brought to the Philippines in the early 1600s when the nation was a Spanish colony.

Many Filipinos believe it got its dark color after surviving a fire aboard a ship en route from Mexico.

This year's parade replaced the traditional frenzied procession, which used to involve hundreds of thousands of believers thronging a life-sized statue as it was pulled through the streets on a float.

One of the biggest displays of Catholic devotion in the Philippines, it was cancelled for two years in a row due to COVID-19. With AFP (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

visit would bring tangible projects and benefits to the country.

“How can we ensure that these pledges will materialize? It is not easy because we need to make a follow through and that’s important. The pledges, first of all, came from the higher-ups, so it’s not only the Chinese companies that signed them. This time I can assume that the pledges and memorandums of understanding are sanctioned by higher officials,” FlorCruz said in a new forum over the weekend.

Dumarpa joins CHR as new Commissioner

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) welcomes the appointment of lawyer Faydah Dumarpa as its new commissioner, but the institution still needs two more officials for its leadership to be complete.

In a statement released on Sunday, the CHR said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed Dumarpa’s appointment papers last Dec. 28, which was transmitted to the agency last Jan. 5

Dumarpa will serve until 2029 along with CHR chairperson Richard Palpal-latoc and Commissioner Beda Espres, who were appointed by Mr. Marcos last September.

“CHR looks forward to her future contributions in the policy, protection, promotion, and prevention work of the Commission,” it said.

“Similarly, we welcome the gender balance that Commissioner Dumarpa brings to CEB VI (Sixth Commission en banc). Her overall multidisciplinary perspective comes as a great benefit to the ever-flourishing landscape of human rights,” it added.

The Lanao del Sur native served as deputy executive director for administrative and financial service in the National Nutrition Council in 2021. She then became a director for administrative and financial group in the procurement service of the Department of Budget and Management in September 2022.

Customs..

From A1

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) confirmed that the substance was crystal meth.

The seizure of the shipment led to the arrest of two claimants from Pasay City, both women, after a joint delivery operation was conducted by PDEA, Bureau of Customs-Port of Clark, and Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

This developed as the government called on senior police officials to tender their courtesy resignations in a bid to cleanse the force of “ninja cops” or those involved in illegal drugs (see related story on A1 – Editors).

Just the day before, more than P1.5 million worth of illegal drugs were seized from a couple during an antidrug operation in Subic town, Zambales province on Saturday.

In his report, Colonel Fitz Macariola, director of Zambales Police Provincial Office, said the arrested couple was identified as Joemmeir John and Angelica Leapart, presently residing in Sitio Bukid, Barangay Calapacuan in Subic.

Macariola said seized from the suspects were 14 pieces of heat-sealed transparent plastic sachets containing suspected shabu weighing some 227.2 grams with an estimated street value of P1,544,960, drug paraphernalia, a sling bag and P3,000 marked money.

He added that Joemmeir John is a member of the Naldi Drug Group and is at the 'top priority target regional level' of the Philippine National Police.

The arrested couple will be charged with violation of Sections 5, 11, and 26b under Article II of Republic Act No. 9165 (Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002) in the Provincial Prosecutor's Office in Olongapo City. With Butch Gunio

Palawan...

From A1

Eddie Bonsato from Bataraza Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) said he saw the falling object which was shaped like a ball. After 15 minutes, he said they heard an explosion and felt the ground shaking.

Rizal MDRRMO’s Anthony Lorenzo said they were still gathering information about it, as they only received reports about the incident from local officials around 9 p.m. Saturday.

Late last month, the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) and the CAAP urged the public to take precautionary measures due the expected falling debris from China’s rocket launch on December 29.

Based on the Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) to CAAP, the expected fall of unburneddebris was projected to fall within a drop zone area located within the vicinity of Recto bank, approximately 137 kilometers from Ayungin Shoal and 200 kilometers from Quezon, Palawan.

PhilSA said the expected unburned debris include rocket boosters and payload fairing. The debris may also possibly float around the area and wash toward nearby coasts, the agency added.

Manila recently filed a diplomatic protest against Beijing after a Chinese coastguard vessel in November "forcefully" took control of debris from a Chinese rocket retrieved by a Philippine navy vessel off Pag-asa or Thitu Island. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

Lawmaker wants PNPA cadets to enjoy benefits

CADETS of the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) must be considered as government employees and be granted similar salaries, benefits and privileges to serve as a motivation for individual efficiency and organizational effectiveness of the primary law enforcement agency,

Ramon Revilla Jr. said.

Revilla, in filing Senate Bill No. 1596 or the proposed PNPA Cadet Act, said with the intensive training that cadets undergo to become full-fledged enforcers of the law, it is fitting to promote their general welfare.

“By granting them benefits that boost their morale, it will pave the way for the improved performance of their duties and responsibilities,” read the measure’s explanatory note.

Established on Aug. 26, 1977, the PNPA is the premiere law enforcement academy of the country.

Graduates earn a Bachelor of Science in Public Safety degree and don the rank of Lieutenant as the serve under the Philippine National Police, Bureau of Jail

Management and Penology or Bureau of Fire Protection.

Under the bill, the cadets are considered employees of the national government and shall have salaries not higher than that of a PNP Lieutenant but not lower than that of a Master Sergeant.

They shall likewise receive benefits and privileges in conformity with other existing laws, renewable every academic year until they graduate.

In case of disability, sickness or even death during training, PNPA cadets will have the same benefits as regular PNP personnel.

In case of suspension or turning back, the temporary appointment shall be renewed upon re-entry as approved by the National Police Commission.

Upon graduation, a PNPA graduate must render an uninterrupted eight years of service within the PNP.

In case of resignation or abscondence before the completion of the eight-year obligation, the cadet must reimburse the total amount of the program.

Estrada seeks higher pension for veterans with disabilities

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

EXPRESSING disgust at the meager disability pension of veterans, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada is hoping his bill that seeks to increase the amount will finally make headway in the current 19th Congress.

Estrada said Senate Bill No. 1480 seeks to upgrade the 28-year-old existing law on the disability pension of veterans.

He said the measly P1,000 to P1,700 monthly pension for military veterans and their dependents under the existing provisions of RA 6948 is contemptible given the high cost of living today.

“This time, I’m optimistic that this measure will gain the support of my colleagues in both Houses and correct the grave injustice to our disabled veterans by providing them the dignity, respect, and care that they truly deserve,” the senator said.

Following his sponsorship of the bill last November 22, Estrada said it

DMW teams up with PAO to assist OFWs in distress

DMW

is now in the period of interpellation in the Senate.

“I’m hoping to steer its approval before we adjourn sine die,” he said.

Estrada said he has also started the public hearing on the proposed Reservist Employment Act or Senate Bill No. 1228 under the labor committee.

The proposed measure intends to provide the same level of protection and support to members of the reserve force in recognition of their important contribution to nation-building and in honor of their selflessness in offering their precious time, skills, and service to the country.

Reservists provide the base for the expansion of the Armed Forces of

the Philippines in the event of war, invasion, or rebellion, and assist in relief and rescue during disasters or calamities.

Estrada also filed Senate Bill No. 1601, or the proposed Act Further Strengthening Professionalism and Promoting the Continuity of Policies and Modernization Initiatives in the AFP.

The measure seeks to limit the three-year fixed term for AFP officials.

“The lower house version had been approved on third and final reading and I expect this to be taken up by the Senate as well as it had been certified as urgent by the President last December 9,” he said.

Paid seven-day bereavement leave sought

By Rio Araja

QUEZON City Rep. Marvin Rillo is batting for the passage of new legislation that would grant a fully paid week-long bereavement leave benefit to all employees in the event of an immediate family member’s death.

Under House Bill No. 4340, private and public sector employees would be entitled to seven days of paid bereavement leave following the death of a spouse, biological or adoptive parent or child, or a full or halfblood brother or sister.

“The death of a loved one creates considerable physical, emotional and psychological burden on employees, who deserve a break from work to grieve and attend to funeral arrangements,” Rillo said.

By Rio N. Araja

THE Public Attorney’s Office and Department of Migrant Workers have partnered to help distressed overseas Filipino workers.

PAO chief Persida Rueda-Acosta assured government assistance for distressed OFWs as well the legal spouses and even partners of OFWs who have abandoned child support.

“Migrant Workers Secretary Susan Ople acts swiftly on complaints… We cannot afford to ignore our OFWs,” Acosta said.

“PAO and DMW are just here to help our migrant workers in their problems. We need to assist them,” she said.

Earlier, the DMW pushed for a law that would institutionalize the coverage of OFWs in the legal assistance fund of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

Bernard Olalia said while OFWs can avail themselves of the fund, this is only through a department order from the DFA.

“While there is a DO from the DFA to address these forms of assistance, the reality is there is no permanency for a DO. If the secretary changes, they might overturn the DO, but if we change the law, we will be able to institutionalize this assistance and further enhance the protection of our OFWs,” Olalia told lawmakers at the House of Representatives last month.

“This is the reality our OFWs face –they often come home feeling helpless, and, in most cases, compliant recruitment agencies are implicated. The only way to counteract this is to provide for a fund that can give assurance to our OFWs, while they are still in destination countries, to file the necessary, appropriate legal remedies,” he added.

Malasakit Centers released P14.6b in gov’t aid in ‘22

ABOUT P14.6 billion in government assistance have been received by 1.4 million patient beneficiaries from the Malasakit Center program in 2022.

The Department of Health (DOH) said since the first Malasakit Center was established in February 2018 up to the present, the program has made it more accessible for poor and indigent Filipinos to avail of medical assistance from the government.

DOH’s Medical Assistance for Indigent Patients (MAIP) Program alone, which can also be availed in any of the Malasakit Centers, has helped 7,481,333 patients with a total budget of P50.8 billion.

Senator and chairman of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography Christopher “Bong” Go hailed the DOH report.

SUPPORT FOR INTERNAL CLEANSING.

“To

The health department also said that efforts are being made to broaden the scope of assistance available in Malasakit Centers to include, among other things, outpatient drug benefits.

It also stated that PhilHealth, the country’s state-run health insurer, is strengthening its financing strategies to prevent patients from having to pay out-of-pocket costs. Macon Ramos-Araneta

“The paid bereavement leave, once enacted, will go a long way in cultivating a truly compassionate workplace for every Filipino,” he added.

The lawmaker said his measure “is in accordance with the right of employees to humane conditions of work, and consistent with the duty of the State to afford full protection to labor.”

Under the bill, the bereavement leave would be in addition to all paid leave benefits currently enjoyed by employees.

Employers would be prohibited from using the bereavement leave to reduce existing leave rights established by laws, decrees, executive orders, or any contract, agreement, or policy.

Employees who avail of bereavement leave would also be assured of security of tenure.

“Availment of the leave shall not be considered a misconduct or any form of unsatisfactory performance, nor can it be used as reason for demotion, suspension or termination from employment.”

Under the bill, employers who fail to grant the bereavement leave benefit would face punishment by a maximum fine of P20,000 or up to 30 days in prison.

By Butch Gunio

The

Lazatin’s

BAI-accreditation of the city’s dog and cat pound that will allow the City Veterinary Office to accredit backyard breeders.

Calaguas said the welfare of the animals is assured with the new facility.

“Dahil sa nalalapit na pagbubukas ng ating Dog Pound, mas marami tayong hayop na maalagaan at matutulungan,” Calaguas said.

Undersecretary

The Malasakit Center is a one-stop shop where poor and indigent patients can conveniently apply for medical assistance from the DOH, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.

date, we have 153 Malasakit Centers nationwide since 2018 and this became a law in 2019,” Go said.

ANGELES City Mayor Carmelo Lazatin Jr. will open the newly-constructed Angeles City Dog and Cat Pound on February 15 to accommodate more stray animals and ensure their welfare.

new city dog and cat pound will be the first no-kill and Bureau of Animal Industry-certified refuge of animals in Pampanga province, according to Lazatin.

Chief Adviser IC Calaguas and Executive Assistant Reina Manuel, both animal lovers and rescuers, vowed to push for the

Members of the Police Regional O ceCalabarzon, led by regional director Brig. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr., express support to the e orts of Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos Jr. to cleanse the ranks of the police force.

Roy Tomandao

BREAKING GROUND. Tabaco City Mayor Krisel Lagman-Luistro graces the Tabak Masonic Lodge #436 ground breaking ceremony in Barangay San Lorenzo— the 2nd Masonic Lodge in Albay province. Also in attendance were Most Worshipful Johnny Pimentel, Grand Master of Free and Accepted Masons of the Philippines; Very Worshipful Noel Rosal; and Worshipful Regino Evasco, Worshipful Master of Tabak #436. Norman Cruz

Senator

Angeles City to open first no-kill cat and dog pound

AS FRESH AS IT GETS. A farm worker arranges freshly-harvested cabbages into a basket in Barangay Paoay in Atok, Benguet. Joseph Muego

Housing czar warns against unauthorized agents, fixers

DEPARTMENT of Human Settlements and Urban Development Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar has cautioned the public to inquire details of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino Program only from proper government channels.

The public reminder is a proactive measure by DHSUD to ensure that those interested to avail of the program are well-informed by proper authorities and are not misled by unauthorized groups or individuals, he said.

“Let me stress that no private individuals or groups are authorized to act on behalf of DHSUD with regards to Pambansang Pabahay,” Acuzar said.

“We are ready to take appropriate action to any report of such unscrupulous act,” he added.

The public may inquire details about the program only from local government units and the department’s key shelter agencies —the Home Development Mutual Fund or Pag-IBIG Fund, Social Housing Finance Corp., National Home Mortgage Finance Corp., and National Housing Authority.

“Let us all together help one another in reaching the dream of every Filipino family to have a decent, safe and affordable house,” the housing chief said.

DHSUD has already signed 49 memoranda of understanding with various LGUs since the launch of Pambansang Pabahay last September.

Acuzar is optimistic that the program would go full blast this year while expecting the commencement of actual construction within the first semester of 2023.

DHSUD is tasked to build one million houses annually in the next six years to address the country’s housing backlog pegged at more than 6.5 million units. Rio N. Araja

Senator: President should have a ‘bastonero’ at Agri

SENATOR Sherwin Gatchalian on Sunday said he sees no need to appoint a new secretary of the Department of Agriculture which is headed concurrently by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.

He, however, said it is important that the President has someone who would be his “bastonero” or a secondin-command in the department who knows how Mr. Marcos thinks as DA chief.

“The important thing is that there is a second in command, that our president has a ‘bastonero’ for the DA to move. It is important that this second-in-

command really knows what to do and knows what the president has in mind,” he said.

“I agree that the President should stay as DA Secretary,” Gatchalian added.

He said having Mr. Marcos as Agriculture chief has become a symbol of the administration’s campaign to ensure food security.

“That is symbolic, that the highest

official of the country is giving the direction to the DA,” Gatchalian said.

Meanwhile, Gatchalian said he supports the creation of a task force that would go after traders who are into smuggling and hoarding of agricultural produce.

He said the DA and the National Bureau of Investigation could be the lead agencies of this task force.

“The DA should lead the task force because they have the data. And the NBI should come in here, so they could charge the people who are hoarding. Because for me, what they are doing is economic sabotage,” he said.

Solon wants NBI to help in airport probe

By Rio N. Araja

4Ps party-list Rep. Marcelino Libanan on Sunday said Congress must seek the help of the National Bureau of Investigation cybercrime experts when conducting inquiries into critical system disasters, such as the New Year’s Day navigation system crash at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport that caused a massive flight disruption.

He cited the need “to leave no stone unturned” during investigations.

“If we want to be thorough in our investigation of unexpected critical system breakdowns, we have to call in a panel of specialists, including experts from the NBI’s cybercrime division, if only to rule out potential cyberattacks, sabotage, or other kinds of malicious activity,” he said.

“In the future, for example, if the national power grid system unexpectedly crashes and triggers a massive blackout, we should also bring in NBI experts, among other resource persons, to help in the investigation,” he added.

Libanan urged the NBI “to build up its staff proficiency and operational readiness” to launch its own investigations into critical system breakdowns.

“This way, Congress does not have to investigate every critical system crash,” he said.

The NBI should brace aggressively for the future, considering that cyberattacks clearly pose a growing threat, he said.

The House of Representatives committee on transportation is set to conduct an inquiry on Jan. 10 into the sudden failure of NAIA’s air traffic system that caused at least 282 flights to be cancelled, diverted, or delayed, and displaced over 56,000 passengers.

The incident set off further flight disorders in the succeeding days as airlines scrambled to launch recovery flights for affected passengers.

Release ‘ayuda’ ASAP amid high in ation—solon

“AYUDA” funds in the latest budget could cushion the impact of elevated inflation, Bagong Henerasyon party-list Rep. Bernadette Herrera said on Sunday. She said the annualized inflation shot up to 5.8 percent as the December inflation rate rose to 8.1,

“One concern I have is that the elevated inflation will erode the purchasing power of the entire 2023 budget. If inflation stays elevated above 7 percent monthly, that would mean the newly-enacted 2023 budget would lose about 7 percent of its purchasing power or by approximately P368 billion,” she said.

She said the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas expects “upside risks continue to dominate the inflation outlook up to 2023 while remaining broadly balanced in 2024.”

“The expected upside risks to inflation over the policy horizon stem mainly from elevated international food prices due to high fertilizer prices and supply chain constraints,” she said.

On the domestic front, trade restrictions, increased prices of fruits and vegetables due to weather disturbances, higher sugar prices, pending petitions for transport fare hikes, as well as potential wage adjustments in 2023 could push inflation upwards, the BSP said.

2 bettors hit P142m Grand Lotto jackpot

TWO bettors will split the Grand Lotto 6/55 jackpot prize of P142,580,483 drawn on Saturday after tly guessing the winning combination 44-13-19-3327-39.

The winning tickets were bought in Calamba City, Laguna and Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental, according to the Philippine Charity

Sweepstakes Office.

They have one year to claim their checks at the PCSO main office in Mandaluyong City upon presentation of the winning tickets and two identification cards.

Lotto winnings of over P10,000 are subject to a 20-percent tax.

The 6/55 Mega Lotto is drawn every

Navotas lines up 117th anniversary events

THE City Government of Navotas has prepared a series of activities to commemorate its 117th founding anniversary on January 16.

The Navotas Day celebration with the theme, “Angat All, Saya All sa Pakikipagkapwa,” will kick off its festivities with Misa ng Pasasalamat and Pistang Kristyano today (Monday, January 9).

Kalye Fiesta, a banchetto-style night market, will likewise open at the Navotas Citywalk and Amphitheater. On January 10, Navotas will hold the Araw ng Mangingisda, featuring competitions on boat racing and net mending, distribution of NavoBangka, and awarding of the Top 10 Most Outstanding Fisherfolk. Navotas will also give recognition to the Top 20 Taxpayers in Business and Realty on January 13.

“We invite everyone to join our celebration. While the past years have been challenging for all of us, we remain thankful for the blessings, protection, and guidance we received from the Almighty,” Mayor John Rey Tiangco said.

Also included in the Navotas Day lineup of activities are Zumba and Health Caravan for Lolo and Lola, Funbike and Funbikers’ Race, and OpenAir Martial Arts Exhibition.

There will also be simultaneous clean-up activity, distribution of cash aid to solo parents, mega job fair, and financial literacy webinars.

To cap off the celebration, the city government will distribute 5-kilo packs of rice to residents on January 16-21. Jun David

Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday. The PCSO is urging the public to patronize its games to generate more funds for health programs, medical assistance and services and charities.

Through mandatory contributions, the agency also provides funds to government institutions.

The 2023 budget has billions for ayuda and other forms of assistance for poor and low-income families, Herrera said.

“I appeal to the agencies in charge of these funds to disburse most of the funds before the election spending ban that will come with the Barangay and SK Elections in October this year. Releasing these funds will cushion the impact of inflation not just for the poor and low-income families, but also for the small businesses they work for and interact with,” she added.

FIRST AID. Rescue volunteers carry a woman on a plastic stretcher after she fainted in the middle of the thick crowd of Catholic devotees during a mass celebrating the Feast of the Black Nazarene on January 8, 2023. Norman Cruz

Rio N. Araja

SECURITY PROTOCOL. Members of the Manila Police District Special Weapon and Tactics (MPD-SWAT) secure a long line of Catholic devotees leading to a replica of the Black Nazarene for the ‘Pagpupugay’ or traditional touching of the image on the eve of the Feast of the Black Nazarene at the Quirino Grandstand on January 8, 2023. Norman Cruz

MARITIME PATROL. The Philippine Coast Guard deploys personnel and assets to secure critical areas and waters in Manila for events leading to today’s Feast of the Black Nazarene. PCG Photos

HAVING begun the new year with that yet strangely explained air control systems fiasco, we got further “strange” news in the first week of the year.

There was DILG Secretary Benhur Abalos asking all PNP officials from full colonels up to the Director General to submit courtesy resignations, in order, he said, to weed out those involved in the drug menace.

Since the PNP has become a civilian security force, as directed by the 1987 Constitution which effectively dissolved the Philippine Constabulary, its employees are covered by civil service laws. What happens to those who invoke the mantle of civil service security of tenure and do not submit courtesy resignations?

Will they simply be shamed into being accused in the public eye of involvement in drug syndicates?

Former President Duterte accused five high PNP officials and tagged them as “narco-generals,” yet to date, none have been charged in court, but the ignominy of presidential accusation has effectively tarred them and their families into the level of ostracism.

So is the call for “voluntary” resignation a softer way of pressuring police officialdom than PRRD’s narcotagging, even as everybody’s record of involvement is reviewed by a committee yet to be composed?

Strange though not unprecedented as the move is, many have speculated that it was timed to cover up for the January first airport fiasco.

That speculation is unfounded, as Abalos, a lawyer, is not expected to make such major announcements without deliberate study.

Yet, Abalos has succeeded in putting all the star and near-star ranked PNP officials in a bind, even as the public awaits with bated breath who the new “narco-generals and narco-colonels” are.

Government should consider publicprivate partnerships in the agricultural sector to address both resource paucity and management efficiency

*** Not to be outdone, Malacanang announced the return of four-star general Andres Centino to his post as AFP Chief of Staff, vice three-star general Bartolome Bacarro who was appointed in August, a few months before his retirement age in the military, to replace Centino.

The AFP re-appointment was presumably done to conform with the provisions of RA 11709 which provided for three-year tenures for the CSAFP and flag officers. The law seeks to correct the longtime practice of short-stint, revolving-door top commanders who just warm their seats in the post while awaiting retirement.

Strange though is the fact that the “replaced” Centino was nominated to be our next ambassador to India, and already waits for the Commission on Appointments to give their nihil obstat.

“Bigay-bawi” though it may be called, it is a corrective measure as Bacarro’s appointment roiled the system provided for by the new law. One then asks why CSW, or complete staff work, PFVR’s favorite admonition, seems to be absent in the hallowed halls of Malacanang.

ES Bersamin in his remarks during the turnover promised Bacarro an extension of his “public life” though. Ambassador-designate to New Delhi, perhaps?

***

Still, the palace came up last week with a very good appointment—that of former GSIS CEO Rolando L. Macasaet to head the Social Security System.

Macasaet, a native of Zamboanga City with paternal roots in Batangas, holds a singular distinction, having been appointed to helm both the GSIS by two successive presidents at that, testament to his good managerial ability and effective financial management.

The Commission on Audit reported last year that GSIS topped the incomes of all other government financial institutions.

GSIS under Macasaet earned P350.85 billion, followed by SSS at P254.41 billion, surpassing even the Bangko Sentral’s 118.15 billion pesos.

In terms of service to members, Macasaet offered low interest loans to GSIS members to enable them to pay off their long-standing debts to lending companies which charged 24-36 percent annual interest rates, even higher, and transferred these to GSIS at 7 percent interest.

Cognizant of members’ needs during the pandemic, GSIS released P320 billion to help civil servants, of which P7 billion was in the form of loans to members to purchase laptops for their children who had to attend on-line classes.

Rolly has been given a more challenging post, with SSS’ actuarial life shortened, and the demands of retirees pressing down on its lowered financial ability.

For starters, we suggest that he goes after employers who fail to remit, or short-change their employees of their social service contributions. That has been a sticking thumb in SSS operations.

Reforming the pension fund system of our work force is a challenge that I am optimistic Rolly will be equal to. Congratulations! ***

Quick response is the hallmark of sensitive public service.

It is quite refreshing to note that the Department of Agrarian Reform under Conrado Estrella III has been commended by Malacanang for its 100 percent swift action to all 451 concerns brought to its attention under the Citizens Complaint Center.

This is a welcome departure from bureaucratic “dedma” where citizens’ concerns are given the Mona Lisa treatment by bureaucrats -- “they just lie there, and they die there.”

Conrad does his lolo, Tata Condring who was FM’s one and only agrarian reform secretary, proud, even in the after-life.

Nice beginnings too after a problematic 2022. ***

From the private sector, Ramos S. Ang is an example of a businessman who cares, and quickly responds to public concerns.

Having been hooked on the skyway San Miguel built and opened last year, I noticed a vehicular choke point, especially during rush hours, on the northbound Quezon Avenue exit, which I always travel on.

Apparently, there is a similar choke point in the Araneta Ave. junction with Maria Clara, both in QC, which motorists have complained about. And another in the Sales Road junction with the NAIA expressway exit, this time in Paranaque.

Unmindful of the extra cost to a PPP project which has yet to get its return on investment, Ang immediately ordered the addition of one more lane from Magallanes to NAIA Expressway to address the perennially heavy flow of vehicles.

RSA’s PPP projects are not just very useful, as in the NAIA Expressway which cuts travel time for passengers rushing to the airport, and was finished in record construction time, but premium is always put on efficient service and a rare private sector sensitivity to the public it serves. ***

RSA’s quick action brings me to another wish list, this time with regard to the hugely problematic Department of Agriculture.

Government should consider public-private partnerships in the agricultural sector to address both resource paucity and management efficiency, especially as regards agrarian reform beneficiaries and other small farmers and fisherfolk.

It may require tweaking the 2018 RTL which effectively castrated the NFA and converted the agency into nothing more than a public warehouse.

Most if not all ARB’s with small plots of 2 or 3 hectares have neither wherewithal nor management knowhow which are needed to improve productivity and increase their incomes.

DAR and DA could consolidate small plots into larger fields with appropriate economies of scale, then partner with the private sector who can provide financing of inputs, mechanization, and management expertise, on loan to farmers, to be amortized or paidup when government, through the National Food Authority or Food Terminal Inc., buys their produce.

Meanwhile, for starters, NFA could serve the rice consumption needs of all civil servants, whether national or local, using the palay purchased from the farmers’ cooperatives tied-up with the private sector’s CSR initiative.

The same PPP template for palay and rice can be replicated in cold-storage and other post-harvest systems to serve our fishermen and vegetable farmers, through a revitalized FTI.

And yes, that should include growers of onions, the astronomical price of which cries to the highest heavens for consumer relief, and over which the DA, with its useless SRP and its habitual lack of foresight, has surrendered to its usual villains -- the “cartels.”

Meanwhile, a Chinoy friend told me that in the public markets of Guangzhou, a kilo of onions sells for 3.20 renminbi, or about 26 pesos. Compare that to 650 pesos here, and cry.

mail matter

Support from basketball to football

PATRIOTISM is the best legacy one can offer for his country.

Ramon Ang and Manny Pangilinan, the principal supporters of basketball, together with the heads of colleges and universities through the PBA, UAAP and NCAA, can become better patriots if they can further innovate and realign their support from basketball to football.

In basketball, height is a great advantage— which Filipinos do not have in abundance.

Not so in football where the ball is played on the ground where agility compensates for lack of height.

Football is the number 1 sport in the world with the highest paid athletes.

Yes, innovate now and Filipino footballers may yet become our next overseas foreign workers or, better, overseas professional athletes (OPA).

Football generates billions of US dollars for the world economy. A World Cup game is watched by

about 400 million people worldwide.

The importance of football is also felt beyond sports – well into geopolitics. Some say that one reason why Saudi Arabia refused to junk the petrodollar in favor of the Chinese yuan is because of its determination to host the 2030 World Cup which the United States can undermine.

On this, Saudi Arabia has engaged, among others, the services of the two top football players of the world—Leonel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo —to clinch hosting the World Cup.

ATTY. JAMES M. IMBONG

Former President Pampanga Football Association Km. 75, MacArthur Highway Sindalan, San Fernando, Pampanga pampangafootballassociation@gmail.com

EDITORIAL

Rich harvest from China visit

IT WAS only in November last year that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. first met Chinese President Xi Jinping, at the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Bangkok.

There, the Chinese leader invited President Marcos to go to Beijing for a state visit in early January.

The visit did take place from January 3 to 5. And the two leaders certainly brought bilateral relations to a new and higher level, as the brief visit yielded a bountiful harvest of agreements that will boost our efforts to revive our economy.

The Philippines secured fresh loans from China totaling $201.8 million for key infrastructure projects of the Marcos administration, including bridges and flood control systems.

China also agreed to make available about $218 million in additional funds for future projects. The additional funding brought to $1.06 billion Beijing’s loan commitments for Manila’s ongoing projects.

The state visit likewise yielded some $22.8 billion worth of investment pledges from China. These include $1.72 billion for agribusiness, $7.32 billion for strategic industries (electric

vehicles, mineral processing), and $13.76 billion for renewable energy.

The Philippines also signed an agreement on economic and technical cooperation with the China International Development Cooperation Agency.

A ‘new chapter’ in bilateral relations anchored on mutual interests is now being written, with immense beneficial results for Philippine economic development in the years ahead

The agreement earmarks 1.5 billion renminbi— equivalent to about $217.7 million or P12.2 billion —for “projects to be agreed (on) between China and the Philippines based on the development plan and specific needs of the Philippine government.” Beijing and Manila signed 12 other cooperation

documents, including a memorandum of agreement on digital and information and communications technology; a joint action plan on agricultural and fisheries during the period 2023-2025; an MOU on electronic commerce; and a protocol of phytosanitary requirements for the export to China of fresh durian from the Philippines.

The two sides also agreed to tackle other bilateral issues.

One is an agreement on the establishment of a direct communication mechanism on maritime issues between the respective ministries of foreign affairs of both countries.

This is aimed at avoiding any miscommunication or misunderstanding between the two countries on South China Sea concerns.

President Xi Jinping assured President Marcos that China is committed to “find a compromise and find a solution” for Filipino fishermen to resume fishing in their traditional fishing grounds in the West Philippine Sea.

President Xi also informed our Chief Executive that China is ready to resume oil and gas talks and manage maritime issues in a cordial manner.

This is significant as it indicates willingness on the part of Beijing to negotiate contentious issues in the South China Sea.

All this tells us that, as President Marcos said before leaving Manila for Beijing last January 3, a “new chapter” in bilateral relations anchored on mutual interests is now being written, with immense beneficial results for Philippine economic development in the years ahead.

Speed up the Phil ID system

and stable broadband connectivity as essential tools for sustainable economic growth.

A secure and trusted national identification system is a key element of digital transactions.

IT’S BEEN over four years since the Philippine Identification System Act (Republic Act 11055) was enacted into law to establish a single national ID to rule them all for all Filipinos and resident aliens.

The national ID is envisioned to be the valid proof of identity that will simplifying all public and private transactions.

To quote the PhilSys website, the PhilD will provide proof of identity “as a means of simplifying public and private transactions, and shall be a social and economic platform that promotes seamless social service delivery and strengthens financial inclusion for both public and private services.”

Last month, I received what’s supposed to be a temporary national ID which is a paper print out to be cut out and plastic laminated to look like an ID card.

It has my photo, name, and QR code on the front side and some basic information on the back side. There are also instructions on how to authenticate –which I assume is for the party where one presents it for identification.

I couldn’t help but chuckle a bit as the size will definitely not fit into my wallet or card holder and how easy it would be to scan and change the name and photo and make counterfeits that might be used for fraud.

But I guess that’s what the authentications instructions are for.

I haven’t tried presenting it as I haven’t encountered any identification check asking for it. Nowadays, security checks look for the vaccination certification and the usual valid company or government-issued ID.

What would be more functional is a mobile version announced to be operational early this 2023, hopefully.

As a convenor of consumer advocacy group CitizenWatch Philippines, we have been strong proponents of systemic digital transformation long before the pandemic shock forced us all to embrace the power of digital technologies and access to fast

Verification of one’s identity is fundamental in the fulfillment of any transaction whether you are the buyer or seller.

For financial institutions, to know your customer (KYC) is part of the strict rules and procedures required by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

call and SMS message traceable to the individual subscriber.

According the NTC only 11,219,722 SIM cards registered as of January 2, 2023. Had the PhilID been already operational, this may have already been done by now.

The most important but not so well understood challenge in rolling out the PhilID is that it is not the physical card to replace all the valid IDs we need to lug around but the database and digital verification system that will enable each point of transaction to immediately authenticate a person’s identity.

With the advancements and low cost of biometric authentication technologies, a physical card won’t really be needed.

How I’d love to one day walk up to a retail establishment’s cashier, be biometrically scanned, greeted by my name, and complete my purchase via e-payment app in less than a minute.

Imagine that kind of efficiency happening when applying for government permits, licenses, paying taxes, and how fast front line services would be.

Imagine how PhilID can be integrated in an e-health database and eliminate the hassle of filling out the same forms again and your health data linked with Philhealth and other medical insurance.

As e-commerce and social media platforms have made it easy to do peer-to-peer transactions online there is a risk of being victimized by scammers peddling falsely represented goods.

I’ve been a victim a couple of times and have learned to do some due diligence digging into seller ratings and reviews before committing to buy.

With a national ID integrated in the virtual marketplace, there will be strong trust between online merchant and consumers which sets up a booming e-commerce ecosystem.

Law enforcement will also be enhanced as only criminal elements will want their identities concealed and will be isolated from the ecosystem.

Speaking of addressing online scams, the enforcement of the SIM Registration Act which aims to address this problem will also be facilitated by linking each SIM to a user’s PhilID, making each

This technology is not new and is already being used by consumers in their smart phones and laptops where identification is verified and transactions fulfilled with one-time pins (OTP), and authentication codes in less than a minute.

Biometrics can be an alternative mode or added layer for secure transactions.

However, for all these great benefits to happen, there must be broadband connectivity at all points of transaction.

This again raises the urgency to expand and upgrade the country’s digital infrastructure to a truly nationwide level and at least at par with global standards.

This is a serious readiness gap that will need more aggressive public-private partnerships with the digital and telecommunications industry.

Invasion of Ukraine revives nuclear warfare nightmare

By Cecile Feuillatre

BANISHED from public consciousness for decades, the nightmare of nuclear warfare has surged back to prominence with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, highlighting the erosion of the Cold War global security architecture.

With Moscow on the back foot in its offensive, the military stalemate has raised fears Russia could resort to its nuclear arsenal to achieve a breakthrough.

Russia, along with Britain, China, France and the United States, are the five recognized nuclear weapons powers and permanent UN Security Council members.

“It’s the first time a nuclear power has used its status to wage a conventional war under the shadow cast by nuclear weapons,” said Camille Grand, a former NATO deputy secretary-general.

“One might have imagined that rogue states would adopt such an attitude, but suddenly it’s one of the two major nuclear powers, a member of the UN Security Council,” he told AFP, insisting the actual use of the weapons remains “improbable.”

For now, the moral and strategic nuclear “taboo” that emerged after the US bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II in 1945 still holds.

But rhetoric has escalated massively.

Russian TV broadcasts since the invasion of Ukraine have repeatedly discussed nuclear strikes on Western cities like Paris or New York.

One former Russian diplomat, asking not to be named, warned that if President Vladimir Putin felt Russia’s existence threatened, “he will press the button.”

The year’s events have been a harsh wake-up call for Europe, which spent decades in a state of relative ease in terms of nuclear security, enjoying the so-called Cold War “peace dividend.”

Across the Atlantic, US President Joe Biden warned in October of a potential “Armageddon” hanging over the world.

‘Disarmament ‘in ruins’

“The most spectacular event of the past half century is one that did not occur,” Nobel-winning economist and strategy expert Thomas Schelling wrote in 2007.

With Moscow on the back foot in its offensive, the military stalemate has raised fears Russia could resort to its nuclear arsenal to achieve a breakthrough

But the framework that kept world leaders’ fingers off the button after 1945 had been crumbling for years before Putin’s order to invade.

In 2002, the United States quit the critical Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty it had signed with the Soviet Union in 1972, which maintained the nuclear balance of power.

Other important agreements fell away in the years that followed, including the IntermediateRange Nuclear Forces Treaty that Washington dropped in 2019, blaming Russia for not complying.

“Regarding disarmament, it’s all in ruins, apart from New Start,” Grand said, referring to the Barack Obama-era agreement with Russia to reduce numbers of warheads, missiles, bombers and launchers.

‘Very dangerous crisis’ India, North Korea and Pakistan, along with the five recognized powers, also have nuclear weapons, while Israel is widely assumed to do so while having never officially acknowledged it.

North Korea sharply stepped up missile testing this year, continuing its pursuit of an independent nuclear deterrent that began when it quit the NonProliferation Treaty in 2003.

Washington, Seoul and Tokyo all believe a seventh nuclear weapons test by Pyongyang is imminent.

The isolated dictatorship announced in September a new nuclear doctrine, making clear that it would never give up the weapons and that they could be used pre-emptively.

“We’re going to see a very dangerous crisis in Asia,” Chung Min Lee, a researcher at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, recently told a Paris conference.

Non-nuclear countries in the region fear that the protection provided by the US nuclear umbrella is fraying.

“If you imagine extended deterrence as a water balloon, today the water balloon has some critical holes and water is seeping out,” he added.

China’s nuclear arsenal is also growing, with Pentagon estimates putting it at 1,000 warheads -roughly on par with US bombs – within a decade.

And in the Middle East, the struggle to revive the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, hobbled by its brutal repression of recent protests at home, has revived fears that Tehran could soon be a “threshold state” on the brink of building a bomb. AFP

Chin Wong/Ray S. Eñano Associate Editors

Joyce

Rolando

For all these great benefits to happen, there must be broadband connectivity at all points of transaction

Migrants, drugs on agenda as Biden heads to Mexico

MEXICO CITY—US President Joe Biden will seek Mexico’s help tackling illegal flows of migrants and drugs, particularly deadly opioids, during a visit beginning Sunday for a North American leaders’ summit.

Aiming to tame criticism over what he has called a “broken” immigration system, Biden will stop off in Texas for his first trip to a border overwhelmed by record numbers of migrants and asylum-seekers.

The issue is almost certain to top the agenda when Biden meets Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Monday, a day before Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joins them for the so-called “Three Amigos” summit.

Another priority for Biden is stepping up joint efforts to fight trafficking of fentanyl and other drugs behind an addiction crisis in the United States.

“Mexico is extremely relevant and important in dealing with both acute issues, which have become political vulnerabilities for Biden,” Michael Shifter, a senior fellow at the InterAmerican Dialogue think tank, told AFP.

On Thursday, Washington announced that up to 30,000 qualifying migrants a month would be allowed into the United States from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela if they arrive by plane.

The quota will be restricted to those who already have a US sponsor, while those attempting to cross the border illegally will be expelled in coordination with Mexico.

The International Rescue Committee humanitarian group warned that the new measures “will only push more asylum-seekers into dangerous situations, the likes of which have already been seen in the form of mass kidnappings across northern Mexico.”

Flows of migrants fleeing violence and poverty in their countries are a major challenge for Mexico, whose border has become a revolving door for people trying to cross to the United States. AFP

Iran hangs 2 more men for Amini protests

PARIS—Iran drew international condemnation on Saturday as it executed two men for killing a paramilitary force member in November during unprecedented protests sparked by Mahsa Amini’s death in custody.

The latest hangings double the number of executions to four over the nationwide unrest, which has escalated since midSeptember into calls for an end to Iran’s clerical regime.

They also come in defiance of a campaign by international rights groups for the lives of the two men to be spared.

Judicial news agency Mizan Online reported that “Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Seyed Mohammad Hosseini, the main perpetrators of the crime that led to the martyrdom of Ruhollah Ajamian, were hanged this morning.”

Prosecutors said the 27-year-old mili-

tiaman was stripped naked and killed by a group of mourners who had been paying tribute to a slain protester, Hadis Najafi.

The UN human rights office condemned the executions, which it said followed “unfair trials based on forced confessions”.

Washington said it condemned them “in the strongest terms”.

“These executions are a key component of the regime’s effort to suppress protests,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said.

The European Union said it was “appalled” by the use of the death penalty against civilian protesters.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the executions “strengthen us in our desire to raise the pressure further on Tehran with the EU”.

Iranian authorities have arrested thou-

sands in their crackdown on the wave of demonstrations that began after the September 16 death of Iranian Kurdish woman Amini, 22, following her arrest for allegedly breaching Iran’s dress code for women.

Two other men were put to death in December, sparking global outrage and new Western sanctions against Iran. Mohsen Shekari and Majidreza Rahnavard, both 23, had been convicted of separate attacks on security forces.

‘Sham trials’

The slain Ajamian belonged to the Basij paramilitary force, linked to the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

He died in Karaj, west of Tehran, on November 3 after being attacked with “knives, stones, fists, kicks” and dragged along a street, a judiciary spokesman said at the time.AFP

Ceasefire ends but fighting rages despite Orthodox Christmas rites

KYIV—Ukrainians and Russians marked Orthodox Christmas on Saturday, as the 36-hour ceasefire ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin ran its course with little sign the fighting had eased.

War-scarred cities in eastern Ukraine saw no significant let-up in the combat. AFP journalists in the town of Chasiv Yar south of the frontline city of Bakhmut heard heavy artillery fire throughout much of Saturday morning.

The Russian defence ministry insisted its forces were observing the unilateral ceasefire, which ended at 11:00 pm in

Kyiv (2100 GMT). But they also said they had repelled attacks in eastern Ukraine and killed dozens of Ukrainian soldiers Friday.

Ukrainian authorities said only three people had been killed on Friday.

In Moscow, the 70-year-old Putin stood alone at a service at a Kremlin church, the Cathedral of the Annunciation, to mark Orthodox Christmas.

In Kyiv, hundreds of worshippers attended a service at the 11th-century Kyiv Pechersk Lavra as Metropolitan Epifaniy, head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, led a liturgy in the pro-Western country’s most significant Orthodox monastery.

President Volodymyr Zelensky, in his evening address, said he was happy to see so many people attend the service on

a day that “has already become historic for Ukraine, for the spiritual independence of our people”.

On the Orthodox Holy Day, “the world was once again able to see how false any words of any level coming from Moscow are,” he added.

“They said something about an alleged ceasefire... But the reality is Russian shells that again hit Bakhmut and other Ukrainian positions.”

Ukraine had previously dismissed the ceasefire—due to last until the end of Saturday (2100 GMT)—as a tactic by Russia to gain time to regroup its forces.

Putin’s order to stop fighting came days after Moscow suffered its heaviest casualties in a single attack yet, with Ukrainian strikes killing at least 89 troops in the eastern town of Makiivka.

‘Truly historic event’ Ukrainian worshippers hailed the Kyiv mass.

“We’ve waited for this shrine for a long time,” Veronika Martyniuk told AFP outside the church.

“This is a truly historic event, which I think every Ukrainian has been waiting for. Especially after the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion,” said the 19-year-old head of a choir from the western city of Ivano-Frankivsk.

Security was tight: Worshippers had their passports checked and entered through metal detectors.

In the battered town of Chasiv Yar in eastern Ukraine, worshippers gathered in the basement shelter of an apartment building instead of their church down the street, wary of possible shelling. AFP

IN BRIEF

French pols honor Charlie Hebdo attack victims; Iran rages over new cartoons

PARIS—French politicians paid tribute Saturday to Charlie Hebdo staff and other victims of the January 2015 Islamist attacks, days after the satirical weekly’s latest edition sparked outrage in Iran.

French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted the names of all 17 victims of a spate of attacks eight years ago in and around Paris, including the 12 people killed at the offices of Charlie Hebdo.

“We will never forget you,” he added, with a cartoon by the well-known French cartoonist Plantu below.

Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne also

marked the anniversary of the attacks, which also involved a deadly siege at a kosher supermarket.

“In the face of Islamist terrorism, the Republic remains standing,” she tweeted. “For their families, for our values, for our liberty: we do not forget.”

And Culture Minister Rima Abdul Malak tweeted: “Satire, irreverence, the republican tradition of press cartoons are intrinsic to our democracy. We continue to defend them.”

The tributes came days after Tehran reacted furiously to cartoons mock-

ing Iran’s leadership in the latest issue of Charlie Hebdo, which appeared on Wednesday.

The magazine had invited cartoonists to depict Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the context of ongoing demonstrations against his theocratic regime, by women in particular.

The graphic front cover sought to highlight the fight for women’s rights, while others were sexually explicit and insulting towards Khamenei and fellow clerics.

Many cartoons pointed to the authorities’ use of capital punishment as a tactic

to quell the protests. Tehran’s anger

In response, Iran summoned France’s ambassador and called on the government to hold “the authors of such hatred” to account.

On Thursday, it said it was closing the Tehran-based French Institute for Research (IFRI).

“France has no right to insult the sanctities of other Muslim countries and nations under the pretext of freedom of expression,” foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said. AFP

LONDON—UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Saturday called for “bold and radical” action to reform the crisis-hit state healthcare system as he held emergency talks with health leaders.

After years of underfinancing, the NHS state-funded health service is struggling to meet the demand for emergency medical care during a particularly difficult winter with high rates of coronavirus and flu.

Hospital and ambulance staff have launched rare strike action—in the case of the nurses, for the first time in 100 years —with many members of the public sympathetic to their cause.

Nurses are calling for a salary hike to

reflect inflation soaring above 10 percent.

After being accused of inaction, Sunak was hosting England’s chief medical officer Chris Witty, and NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard at Downing Street on Saturday.

The meeting came ahead of talks planned between government officials and union leaders on Monday, aimed at ending the strikes.

“During the pandemic we had to bring boldness and radicalism to how we did things in order to get through,” the prime minister was quoted as saying by Downing Street.

“I think we need that same bold and radical approach now.” AFP

Israelis

protest

new Netanyahu regime

TEL AVIV—Thousands of Israelis protested on Saturday against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new government, regarded as the most right-wing in Israeli history, an AFP correspondent said.

Protesters brandished signs with slogans including “Democracy in danger” and “Together against fascism and apartheid” in the coastal city of Tel Aviv. Some waved Israeli and rainbow flags while others held a large banner reading “crime minister”—a slogan widely used by Israelis during regular demonstrations against Netanyahu in past years.

Following his November 1 election win, Netanyahu took office late last month at the head of a coalition with extreme-right and ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties, some of whose officials now head key ministries. It includes a politician who late last year admitted tax evasion and a clutch of far-right personalities, including one who once kept a portrait in his home of a man who massacred scores of Palestinian worshippers.

Netanyahu, 73, who himself is fighting corruption charges in court, had already served as premier longer than anyone in Israeli history, leading the country from 19961999 and 2009-2021.

“My grandparents came to Israel to build here something amazing... We don’t want to feel that our democracy is disappearing, that the Supreme Court will be destroyed,” said a lawyer among the protesters who gave his name only as Assaf. AFP

17 killed, 22 injured in China road mishap

BEIJING—Seventeen people were killed and 22 were injured Sunday in a road traffic accident in eastern China’s Jiangxi province, state media reported.

“The accident caused 17 deaths, 22 people were injured, (and) the injured have been sent to the hospital,” state broadcaster CCTV reported, citing local authorities.

The “major road traffic accident” took place just before 1:00 am (1700 GMT) in Nanchang County, it reported.

“The cause of the accident is under indepth investigation,” CCTV added.

Local news outlet Jimu, affiliated with the state-owned Hubei Daily Media Group, reported the accident took place when a truck hit a funeral procession.

People had been carrying out a roadside offering to the dead before planning to head to the crematorium Sunday morning, a local woman surnamed Deng told the outlet.

They were hit by a truck, the report said, with most of the dead and injured being funeral attendees.

Another local man, surnamed Gong, told the outlet his wife had been killed in the accident and that they had been attending the funeral.

The truck had suddenly crashed into the back of the line, tearing through the group before finally reaching the hearse, he said.

Around an hour after news of the accident emerged, Nanchang County traffic police issued travel tips to drivers saying the area was experiencing “foggy weather”.

“Driving visibility is poor, there is low visibility, which can easily cause traffic accidents,” it said. AFP

UK PM Sunak calls for ‘radical’ action to resolve lingering healthcare crisis

KURDISH TRIBUTE. A woman holds a Daf during a tribute march in the memory of three Kurdish activists, who were murdered in January 2013, in Marseille, on January 7. The unsolved murder of activists Leyla Soylemez, Sakine Cansiz and Fidan Dogan in Paris has been an open wound for their community, with lingering frustration over France’s failure to bring those responsible to justice. AFP

CHRISTMAS IN PALESTINE. A priest leads the Orthodox Christmas mass at the Church of Saint Porphyrius in Gaza City, Palestine on January 7. AFP

MINE SECURITY. A Taliban security personnel sits on a hilltop during rescue operations for miners trapped after a gold mine collapsed in Yawan District of Badakhshan province, Afghanistan, on January 7. AFP

Global food prices reached record high in 2022—UN data

PARIS—World food prices fell for a ninth month in a row in December but hit their highest level on record for the full year in 2022, UN data showed Friday.

Food prices soared to a monthly record high in March after Russia invaded agricultural powerhouse Ukraine, a major supplier of wheat and cooking oil to the world.

But prices have dropped since then, with more relief brought by a deal brokered by Turkey and the United Nations in July that lifted a Russian naval blockade on Ukrainian grain exports.

The Food and Agriculture Organization said Friday its price index, which tracks the monthly change in international prices of a basket of food commodities, fell to 132.4 points in December, a 1.9 percent

International fusion project faces delays amid modifications

SAINT-PAUL-LES-DURANCE, France—An international project in nuclear fusion may face “years” of delays, its boss has told AFP, weeks after scientists in the United States announced a breakthrough in their own quest for the coveted goal.

The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor project seeks to prove the feasibility of fusion as a large-scale and carbon-free source of energy.

Installed at a site in southern France, the decades-old initiative has a long history of technical challenges and cost overruns.

Fusion entails forcing together the nuclei of light atomic elements in a super-heated plasma, held by powerful magnetic forces in a doughnut-shaped chamber called a tokamak.

The idea is that fusing the particles together from isotopes of hydrogen— which can be extracted from seawater—will create a safer and almost inexhaustible form of energy compared with splitting atoms from uranium or plutonium.

ITER’S previously-stated goal was to create the plasma by 2025.

But that deadline will have to be postponed, Pietro Barabaschi—who in September became the project’s director-general—told AFP during a visit to the facility.

The date “wasn’t realistic in the first place,” even before two major problems surfaced, Barabaschi said.

One problem, he said, was the wrong sizes for the joints of blocks to be welded together for the installation’s 19-by11-meter (62-by-36-feet) chamber.

The second was traces of corrosion in a thermal shield designed to protect the outside world from the enormous heat created during nuclear fusion.

Fixing the problems “is not a question of weeks, but months, even years,” Barabaschi said.

A new timetable is to be worked out by the end of this year, he said, including some modifications to contain the expected cost overrun and to meet the French nuclear safety agency’s security requirements.

Barabaschi said he hoped ITER would be able to make up for the delays as it prepares to enter the full phase, currently scheduled for 2035.

On December 13, US researchers working separately from ITER announced an important technical breakthrough.

Scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California said they had used the world’s largest laser to create, for the first time, a fusion reaction generating more energy than it took to produce. AFP

drop from November.

It was also one percent lower than in December 2021.

But the index was 14.3 percent higher overall in 2022 compared to the previous year as it reached an all-time high of 143.7 points.

“Calmer food commodity prices are welcome after two very volatile years,” FAO chief economist Maximo Torero said in a statement.

“It is important to remain vigilant and keep a strong focus on mitigating global food insecurity given that world food prices remain at elevated levels,” he said.

Torero said many staples are near record highs, with prices of rice rising and “still many risks associated with future supplies.”

World prices of maize were 24.8 per-

cent higher on average in 2022 than in 2021, according to the FAO. Wheat was 15.6 percent more expensive.

But maize prices fell in December, mostly due to “strong competition” from Brazil, the FAO said.

Wheat was also down for the month “as ongoing harvests in the southern hemisphere boosted supplies and competition among exporters remained strong.”

The FAO’s vegetable oil price index reached a new record high in 2022 but fell 6.7 percent month-on-month in December to its lowest level since February 2021.

Dairy and meat prices hit their highest levels since 1990, the agency said. While meat prices fell 1.2 percent in December, those of dairy rose 1.1 percent for the month. AFP

Market likely to continue consolidation

By Jenniffer B. Austria

Online brokerage firm UTrade Inc. said the slowdown in global economy remained a major concern among investors as interest rates would likely be raised again over soaring inflation.

The Philippine Statistics Authority said Thursday inflation climbed to a 14-year high of 8.1 percent in December from 8 percent in November on faster increases in the prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages.

Analysts said that as global central banks would likely raise interest rates over the short term, the further tightening could affect the growth of the global economy.

“Investors are confronted with the fact that while macro inflation drivers may have peaked in December due to pill forces related to seasonally higher demand, supply drivers remain pressured and ultimately still supportive of more hawkish action from central banks,” online brokerage firm 2TradeAsia.com said.

“Pending unique disruptions to supply chains, the next few quarters should be characterized by moderate inflation and increasing consumer confidence as spending behavior readjusts to new suggested retail prices,” it said.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index rose 1.55 percent last week to close at 6,667.00 on Friday, as investors returned to the market after the holiday season.

European and US stocks also advanced Friday and the dollar fell as investors digested key American jobs data that dampened expectations of more aggressive Federal Reserve interest rate hikes.

After firm gains in Europe, major indices in New York shook off early weakness and finished firmly higher, with the Dow piling on more than two percent.

The much-anticipated monthly government jobs report was solid, with the United States economy adding a better-than-expected 223,000 jobs in December as unemployment dipped to 3.5 percent.

But analysts pointed to a tempering of wage growth, which was up 4.6 percent on a 12-month basis through December, compared with a 4.8 percent reading for the prior month.

That was followed by a surprisingly poor services sector report from the Institute for Supply Management.

The report showed the first contraction since spring of 2020, with the business activity index and new orders index both plunging.

“We’re still in a ‘bad news is good news’ type of market reaction,” said Nick Reece, a vice president at Merk Investments. “I’m not sure if that dynamic is going to last forever.”

With AFP

US job gains robust in December as wage growth slows

WASHINGTON—US job gains exceeded expectations in December while unemployment ticked down, a closely-watched government report said Friday, in a sign the labor market remains hotter than hoped by policymakers seeking to lower inflation.

While a strong labor market may fuel optimism that the world’s biggest economy can stave off a major downturn despite an aggressive series of interest rate hikes, it is also an area of concern for the Federal Reserve as high wages can feed into inflation.

But in an encouraging sign for the Fed, the latest data showed a tempering of wage growth.

Last month, average hourly earnings rose less than anticipated by 0.3 percent to $32.82, while November’s jump was revised lower, the Labor

Department said.

Overall, employers added 223,000 workers, down from the revised 256,000 figure in November, though still higher than analysts expected.

While unemployment is typically expected to edge up as interest rates rise, the jobless rate dipped to 3.5 percent as participation moved higher.

Unemployment has hovered between 3.5 percent and 3.7 percent in recent months, and the latest figure is the lowest since February 2020.

President Joe Biden touted the fall in joblessness while striking an optimistic note on broader efforts to combat inflation.

“This moderation in job growth is appropriate, and we should expect it to continue in the months ahead, even as we maintain resilience in our labor market recovery,” Biden said in a statement.

“We still have work to do to bring down inflation... But we are moving in the right direction,” he added.

Vacancies

In December, “notable job gains occurred in leisure and hospitality, health care, construction, and social assistance,” the Labor Department said.

But it added that employment in leisure and hospitality still remains below its prepandemic level. AFP

new business in 1999 in China, then still emerging as an economic giant.

Alibaba was the result, an ecommerce behemoth founded from his bedroom in the eastern city of Hangzhou that started an online shopping revolution and grew into a fintech titan.

The company changed the shopping habits of hundreds of millions of Chinese people and catapulted Ma to international stardom.

“The first time I used the internet, I touched on the keyboard and I find, ‘Well, this is something I believe, it is something that is going to change the world and change China’,” Ma once told CNN.

In 2014, Alibaba listed in New York in a world-record $25 billion offering.

Ant is still the world’s largest digital payments platform, with hundreds of millions of monthly users on its Alipay app.

By Matthew Walsh

BEIJING, China—Jack Ma, the unconventional billionaire founder of tech giant Alibaba and the totem of China’s entrepreneurial brilliance, has stepped out of the limelight since a Communist Party crackdown that chopped back his empire.

The most recognizable face in Asian business, Ma has seen his fortune fall by around half to an estimated $25 billion after authorities pulled what would then have been the world’s biggest-ever IPO in 2020.

Chinese regulators torched the planned listing of Ma’s Ant Group in Hong Kong and Shanghai, and the following year hit Alibaba with a record $2.75 billion fine for alleged unfair practices.

A reshuffle of Ant’s shareholding structure will now see Ma cede control of the fintech giant he founded in 2014.

He will hold just 6.2 percent of the

voting rights as the company moves to ensure “no shareholder, alone or jointly with other parties, will have control over Ant Group,” the firm said in a statement Saturday.

It is the latest humbling of China’s former poster boy for enterprise, who in recent years has retreated from the public eye he once so relished.

A Communist Party member, Ma’s rags-to-riches backstory came to embody a self-confident generation of Chinese entrepreneurs ready to shake up the world.

Charismatic, diminutive, and fast-talking, Ma was cash-strapped and working as an English teacher when someone showed him the internet on a 1990s trip to the United States—and he was hooked.

He toyed with several internet-related projects before convincing a group of friends to give him $60,000 to start a

But any future listing appears a long way off, with fears persisting that its personal finance products reach too deeply into the pockets of ordinary Chinese. Crossed the line?

Ma long enjoyed an image as the benevolent and unconventional billionaire.

Sometimes referred to in China as “Father Ma,” he was praised for his self-deprecation—he recounts being rejected by Harvard “10 times.”

He is also known for lighting up company events with songand-dance appearances as Lady Gaga, Snow White and Michael Jackson.

As his fortune grew, Ma rebranded as a philanthropist in 2019, retiring from the business to focus on giving.AFP

Regulators ground Jack Ma for alleged unfair practices

SHARE prices are expected to consolidate within a narrow range this week as worries about global economic slowdown will likely temper any market gains, analysts said over the weekend.

KITE FESTIVAL. A kite maker (left) displays kites in his shop ahead of the Lohri harvest festival, which falls on Jan. 13 and is marked in northern India with celebrations involving the flying and battling of kites in Amritsar on Jan. 6, 2023. AFP

This file photo taken on Oct. 20, 2021 shows Jack Ma, co-founder and former executive chairman of Chinese Alibaba Group pictured in Santa Ponsa, on the island of Mallorca. China’s Ant Group said on Jan. 7, 2023 that it would adjust its shareholding structure so that its billionaire founder Jack Ma would no longer hold control over the fintech giant. AFP

IN BRIEF

SEC warns investors against BCR, Cstmine

THE Securities and Exchange Commission flagged two firms―BCR Rising Trade Inc/ BIT Cryptorising Marketing Consultancy and Cstmine.com for allegedly engaging in illegal investment schemes.

It posted separate advisories on its website that BCR Rising/BIT Cryptorising and Cstmine. com were not licensed to sell investment contracts and securities to the public.

The regulator said it issued an advisory against BCR Rising/BIT Cryptorising after seeing social media posts of individuals and marketing teams of the company who were actively soliciting investments from the public.

It said BCR Rising/BIT Cryptorising lures the public to invest between P1,000 to P300,000 and earn 15 percent a week or up to 60 percent in 30 days with additional 20 percent as partner reward.

It said Cstime. com was reportedly engaged in unauthorized investment taking in the guise of crypto-mining. The SEC that based on information it gathered, Cstmine. com was offering prospective investors a guaranteed profit with the machine they lease or own. The potential profit will depend on the time the initial investment was deposited.

Jenniffer B. Austria

DITO remains committed to universal connectivity

DITO Telecom executives led by chief executive Dennis Uy outlined the accomplishments of the country’s third major telecommunications player in support of the goals of the Marcos administration.

Uy said in a report DITO constructed 6,328 integrated sites, laid out 28,000 kilometers of self-built and purchased backbone for fiber and surpassed yearly government audits for both speed and population coverage since 2020.

He said the strength of the DITO network could be clearly seen in the latest independent audit where DITO clocked average broadband speeds of 71.77 megabits per second for 4G and 801.19 Mbps for 5G and with population coverage of more than 74-percent.

“Our simplified, award-winning network architecture that considered cost-effective solutions using the latest innovations to anticipate future network evolution has future-proofed the DITO network. DITO has provided the Filipino people with an attractive alternative to spur competition and ignite positive change,” Uy said. Darwin G. Amojelar

Eramen bags presidential mineral industry awards

ERAMEN Minerals Inc. bagged the prestigious Presidential Mineral Industry Environmental Award in the Surface Mining Category and 1st runner-up in the Best Mining Forest in the Metallic Category at the 68th Annual National Mine Safety and Environment Conference held at the CAP John Hay Trade and Cultural Center in Baguio City on Nov. 18, 2022.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau recognized Eramen for its exceptional commitment, initiative and innovation in environmental protection, safety and health management and social development. In 2021, Eramen launched the Mine Environment Modernization program to enhance its environmental protection and natural resource management. One of the projects under the MEMO program was the development of a new 1-hectare forest nursery with a capacity to grow 500,000 seedlings.

The new nursery is also the location of Eramen’s Forestry Research Laboratory, aimed to boost the cultivation of high-quality seedlings, particularly the Mindoro Pines, using in vitro germination.

The program also included silvicultural training and a waste-to-nutrient project that captures biological macro-elements, such as nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus, and beneficial micro-elements to produce cytokinin enhancers for seedlings.

Eramen has planted over 510,000 trees covering more than 657 hectares, including minedout sites, buffer zones, NGP, and DENR-Eramen bamboo plantation program areas.

SEWERAGE PROJECT.

Manila Water Company Inc. is constructing the P2.5-billion Hinulugang Taktak Sewerage System Project, which includes a 16-millionliter-per-day sewage treatment plant and four-kilometer combined sewer network, in Antipolo City. About 30 percent of the Hinulugang Taktak STP was finished, with work on a pumping station, a force main network and a gravity network already underway.

The construction is expected to be completed by December 2025.

Private firm seeks P60m for CALAX right-of-way

By Darwin G. Amojelar

THE Department of Public Works and Highways said Sunday it is open to resolving the dispute with developer Uneco Land Corp. which owns a 450-meter lot that is crucial for the completion of the Silang (Aguinaldo) Interchange as a part of the Cavite Laguna Expressway project.

DPWH public-private partnership service director Alex Bote said, however, Uneco was asking for P50 million to P60 million in compensation for the right-of-way which was much higher than the P16-million appraisal by the agency.

“Per our latest estimate, it’s just P16 million,” Bote said.

He said if Uneco would insist on the P60-million compensation, the agency would have no problem with the value as long as it was approved by the court.

“We’re okay to bring this matter to the court. It should be placed under just compensation. The government will still pay for it, if the court decides that it’s really P60 million,” he said.

Bote said the DPWH requested the court to issue and reinstate the agency’s power of writ of possession while awaiting for the final compensation to Uneco.

MPCALA Holdings Inc., the builder and operator of the project, earlier said one critical portion for the completion

of the CALAX Silang (Aguinaldo) Interchange was the undelivered ROW of about 450 meters of land owned by Uneco.

The Silang (Aguinaldo) Interchange is the fifth of the eight segments of CALAX that spans 3.9 kilometers. The 2x2 lane interchange was 64.8-percent completed.

The ROW issue with Uneco prevented continuous works, including construction of drainage and bridge, excavation and roadway earthworks and installation of fence and coco net.

The pending legal issues moved the target date of the interchange’s opening several times, with the latest being December 2022.

“We’re still hoping that we can complete. For example, we can settle the issue within the month, definitely February or March of 2023. Aguinaldo [interchange] will be operational,” Bote said.

5,465,008,799.85

1.191000 66.5745

1.068262 59.7137

0.736974 41.1954

Dollar 0.743384 41.5537 Australia Dollar 0.674900 37.7256 Bahrain Dinar 2.652520 148.2706

Rial 0.266099 14.8744 Brunei Dollar 0.740631 41.3998 Indonesia Rupiah 0.000064 0.0036

Baht 0.029399 1.6433

Dirham 0.272287 15.2203

Euro 1.052400 58.8271

Won 0.000785 0.0439

Yuan 0.145307 8.1224 India Rupee 0.012111 0.6770 Malaysia Ringgit 0.228050 12.7475 New Zealand Dollar 0.622800 34.8133 Taiwan Dollar 0.032571 1.8207 Source: BSP

GIR climbed to 4-month high of $96b in December

By Julito G. Rada

THE gross international reserves, which mirror the country’s external strength, climbed to a four-month high of $96 billion in December, supported by strong remittance inflows during the holiday season, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas showed over the weekend.

It increased from $95.1 billion registered in November on the back of the BSP’s foreign exchange operations and higher value of gold holdings. It also surpassed the BSP projection of $93 billion for 2022.

“The month-on-month increase in the GIR level reflected mainly the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ net foreign exchange operations, the upward valuation adjustments in the value of BSP’s gold holdings due to the increase in the price of gold in the international market and net income from the BSP’s investments abroad,” the BSP said.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort said the GIR could have also picked up further in December because of the seasonal increase in the country’s structural US dollar inflows, especially in view of increased holiday-related spending in December, such as OFW remittances, BPO revenues and record-high exports in recent months.

Filipino exporters asked to prepare for EU emission regulation

By Othel V. Campos

AN INTERNATIONAL agency advised Filipino companies exporting iron and steel, aluminum, cement and fertilizers to the European Union to prepare for the implementation of a new regulation that will account for carbon emission in traded goods.

Aaron Cosbey of International Trade Center said a clutch of emission-intensive trade-exposed goods, including electricity, would be covered under the EU Commission proposal on the carbon border adjustment mechanism.

CBAM is a key part of EU’s climate action and promotes the import of goods

by non-EU businesses that fulfill the high climate standards applicable in the 27 EU member states.

The European Parliament and the Council of the EU reached a provisional agreement to implement CBAM starting Oct. 1, 2023. The scope will be extended to hydrogen and several downstream products.

“CBAM is a border measure designed to make it such that foreign producers of certain goods face the same carbon costs that are faced by EU producers,” Cosbey said.

Cosbey said that under CBAM, producers should register their operations in an EU-maintained central database

with basic information. He said ITC needed to commission an accredited verifier to assess each installation’s greenhouse gas-intensity for specific goods and provide this information to authorized declarants or importers.

ITC is an agency under the World Trade Organization and the United Nations.

“Submitting the resulting data is technically the importer’s responsibility but in practice, importers will demand these data from producers,” he said.

He said that importers, or declarants, needed to apply for an authorization to import CBAM-covered goods before importing.

“For the coming months, the country’s GIR could still be supported by the continued growth in the country’s structural inflows from OFW remittances, BPO revenues, exports [though offset by imports], foreign tourism revenues as well as continued foreign investment inflows,” Ricafort said.

The reserves, however, declined by 11.8 percent or $12.8 billion from $108.8 billion in December 2021 because of the weaker peso against the US dollar in most part of the year.

Records showed that on an annual basis, the end-2021 GIR was the lowest since the $87.8 billion posted in 2019.

“The decline in the GIR somewhat correlated with the relatively weaker peso in earlier months of 2022,” Ricafort said in a report.

EDC gets clearance to conduct system impact study on 6 wind power projects

By Alena Mae S. Flores

THE Department of Energy issued clearance to six wind power projects of the Lopez Group’s Energy Development Corp. to conduct a system impact study.

The six projects have a combined capacity of 2,680 megawatts and comprised the bulk of the projects endorsed by the DOE to National Grid Corp. of the Philippines in December 2022 for the grid impact study.

Four of the proposed EDC wind projects are in the Visayas, while two are in north Luzon.

P60-billion Batangas power plant set to start construction in August

BATANGAS Clean Energy Inc. plans to start the construction of the P60-billion 1,100-megawatt combined-cycle gas turbine power plant in Batangas province in August this year.

BCE, a joint venture of Ayala Group’s ENEX Energy Corp. and US-based Blackstone Inc. portfolio company-Gen X Energy LLC, said in documents submitted to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources the project would rank among one of the largest industrial investments in the area.

ENEX, formerly ACE Enexor Inc., is a subsidiary of ACEN Corp. It acquired a 50-percent stake in BCE in 2021.

The project will source natural gas from a nearby liquified natural gas import facility and is scheduled to enter construction in 2023. It is expected to start commercial operations in the second half of 2026 and operate for 50 years or longer.

The project will rise on 24 hectares of onshore land and 15 hectares of foreshore area in Barangay Libjo and Barangay

Malitam, Batangas City.

BCE said it is pursuing the project in the wake of the need for new power generation capacity to come online by as early as 2025.

It said the power plant would have the flexibility to burn up to 50 percent (by volume) clean hydrogen as a supplemental fuel when hydrogen becomes commercially available and supply five to 10 percent of Luzon grid’s power requirements.

Alena Mae S. Flores

The Visayas projects include the 998-MW Iloilo-Guimaras offshore wind power project in offshore Iloilo, Negros Occidental and Guimaras and onshore Iloilo; the 100-MW Guimaras onshore wind power project in Buenavista, San Lorenzo, Sibunag and New Valencia, Guimaras; the 768 MW Guimaras-Negros Occidental offshore wind power project in onshore and offshore of Negros Occidental and offshore of Guimaras; and the 582-MW Guimaras 1 offshore wind power project in Guimaras.

The remaining projects are the 90MW Pasuquin wind power project in

Pasuquin, Ilocos Norte; and the 144MW Ilocos Norte wind power project in Burgos and Pasuquin, Ilocos Norte.

EDC is First Gen Corp.’s renewable energy subsidiary, with over 1,480 MW of installed capacity, accounting for 20 percent of the country’s total installed RE capacity.

Its 1,185.40-MW geothermal portfolio accounts for 62 percent of the country’s total installed geothermal capacity, making the Philippines the third largest geothermal producer in the world.

Meanwhile, the DOE also issued clearances to conduct grid impact study on Upgrade Energy Philippines Inc.’s 56.77 MW Cabangan solar project in Baragany Mabanglit, Cabangan, Zambales; Orion Pacific Prime Energy Inc.’s 1,200-MW Quezon combinedcycle power plant in Barangay Laurel, Tagkawayan, Quezon; 3 Barracuda Energy Corp.’s 650-MW Bugallon solar power project in Bugallon, Pangasinan; and Iloilo 1 Renewable Energy Corp.’s 54-MW wind project in Batad and San Dionisio in Iloilo province.

The DOE said it continued to receive strong interest in renewable energy development.

FACTORY TOUR. Trade Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo (standing, ninth from left) leads the Philippine business delegation in a site visit to the wafer fab facility of Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. The visit happened at the sidelines of the three-day State Visit of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in the People’s Republic of China, arranged through FiberHome, a major Chinese networking and telecommunication equipment provider and a sister company of SMIC.

Bills’ Hamlin: The love has been overwhelming

LOS ANGELES—Buffalo Bills

safety Damar Hamlin said Saturday the love shown to him after his cardiac arrest in an NFL game has been “overwhelming” as players and coaches continued to show support for the hospitalized player.

Saturday’s game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Las Vegas Raiders had just kicked off when Hamlin posted his first social media comments since his frightening collapse in Monday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

“When you put real love out into the world it comes back to you 3x’s as much,” the 24-year-old wrote on his Instagram account.

“The Love has been overwhelming, but I’m thankful for every single person that prayed for me and reached out.

“We brung the world back together behind this. If you know me you know this only gone make me stronger. On a long road, keep praying for me! #3strong” he added.

NFL players, coaches and fans again showed their support for Hamlin before Saturday’s ChiefsRaiders game, the first action in the league since Monday’s game was abandoned in the wake of Hamlin’s medical emergency.

Players and coaching staff at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium, wore tee-shirts with ‘Love for 3 Damar’ while Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes wore a hoodie with the slogan ‘Hamlin Strong’ on the back and an image of the player.

Hamlin collapsed after taking a hard hit to the chest while tackling Bengals receiver Tee Higgins during the first quarter of the nationally televised game in Cincinnati on Monday.

He was resuscitated on the field and hospitalized in critical condition at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center (UCMC).

The sobering scenes sparked vigils on his behalf in both Buffalo and Cincinnati. Fans across the country donated millions of dollars to Hamlin’s charity GoFundMe. AFP

Kings frustrate undermanned Dragons to close in on crown

By Peter Atencio

THE Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Gin Kings stood their ground and repulsed the Bay Area Dragons’ late comeback using Stanley Pringle’s hot hands, pulling off a 101-91 win Sunday night in Game 5 of their best-of-seven finals’ series in the 2022-2023 Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The undermanned Dragons tried to come back from 18 points in the final period, but Pringle found his range again, with two triples made inside the final two minutes putting a stop to their opponent’s last-ditch bid to catch up.

Pringle proved to be a key factor with his outside shots the whole evening as he went on to tally 20 points, including six big three-pointers.

Import Justine Brownlee led the Gin Kings with 37 points and eight boards,

but was held to just seven in the last period by the Dragons, who played without injured import Andrew Nicholson again, along with another key player Glen Yang.

A left ankle injury sustained in Game 4 kept the Dragons from fielding in Yang, one of their starting point guards.

“We were certainly surprised when Glen Yang did not play. We did not know that this is going to happen until they announced the starting lineup.

And even without Nicholson, they played the way they did,” said Gin Kings’ coach Tim Cone.

A total of 21,823 fans watched as the Gin Kings took a 3-2 lead in their championship showdown, and perhaps, also gained the momentum to finish their title clash on Wednesday with another victory.

The big number of spectators was the second all-time high in a PBA finals’ game at the MOA Arena, next only to the 23,616 who attended Game 7 of the San Miguel Beer-Alaska Finals in the 2016 Philippine Cup.

Japeth Aguilar finished the contest with a 12 points for the Gin Kings, who are close to winning another crown since 2018.

Ginebra moved ahead by 18 points in the third quarter, off three treys in the period, with Pringle knocking in two, including one in the 2:06 mark handing them a 76-58 spread.

But Kobey Lam made eight of his 16 points in the fourth, with his driving layup, charity, and triple in the last 4:58

PH fencers settle for 2 silvers, bronze

FILIPINO fencers, led by Noelito Jose Jr., settled for two silvers and two bronze medals at the end of the team competitions of the ongoing Southeast Asian Fencing Federation Championships in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Members of the national squad had podium finishes in the men’s team epee, the women’s team foil, women’s team epee and the men’s team sabre events.

Jose scored two wins and a draw for Team Philippines as they repulsed

Indonesia, 45-32, in semifinals of the team epee.

But the Filipinos took a 42-45 setback in the battle for the gold medal with Vietnam to settle for the silver.

The tournament gave Filipino fencers an idea how tough the opposition will be in the coming Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia, as many of their rivals in the biennial meet are competing.

Vietnam, which won the team silver in the biennial meet the last

Taguig Generals complete NBL title sweep

TAGUIG defeated La Union, 94-92, on Saturday at the San Juan gym in La Union to sweep the National Basketball LeaguePilipinas Chairman’s Cup finals series.

The Generals overcame a 20-point deficit on the road to take their second championship in the regional league for homegrown talents.

Taguig captured Game 1 of the best-ofthree finals series with a 113-108 victory at the Hagonoy Sports Complex.

Mike Sampurna produced 19 points, five rebounds and three assists on his way to the finals MVP to lead the Generals comeback after they trailed 57-37 early in the third quarter.

Jonats Lontoc provided 14 points and five rebounds, and Fidel Castro had 12 points and hit two triples during the Generals rally that also saw their second stringers stepping up by chipping in 45 bench points.

Noel Santos had 11 points and 12 rebounds, and scored the go-ahead lay-up with 32.8 seconds to bring Taguig’s lead to 93-92 which

time, drew crucial points from Nguyen Phoc Dec with his 5-3 triumph over Jose.

Earlier, Jose led the Philippines’ effort against Indonesia with a 5-3 subduing of Ody Tasmara and a 5-2 beating of Anggie Williamsah.

The Philippines banked on a crucial triumph posted by Alexa Larrazabal to get past Indonesia, 45-41, the women’s team epee semifinals.

Larrazabal’s 5-1 stopping of Indonesia’s Niehlah Rohadatul, put

the Filipinas against Vietnam in the finals, where the Philippines settled for another silver following a 24-36 loss.

SEA Games medallist Vu Thi Hong and Nguyen Oanh turned back Princess Abilon on separate occasions to help hand Vietnam the team triumph.

allowing the Dragons to come to within 81-89.

The Dragons, headed by Hayden Blankley, who finished with 29 points, even threatened to within five at 86-91 off his two charities in the final 2:01.

But a pair of treys from Pringle in the two-minute and 1:32 marks quashed the Dragons’ efforts as the Kings stormed to a 97-86 lead.

Cone commended Brian Goorjian’s coaching of making the necessary adjustments given their situation.

“That’s really great coaching, hanging tough. It’s a tough group. When we get leads, they don’t panic,” added Cone. The Scores:

GINEBRA 101 – Brownlee 37, Pringle 20, J.Aguilar 12, Tenorio 8, Malonzo 7, Thompson 7, Standhardinger 5, Pinto 3, Gray 2, Mariano 0 BAY AREA 91 – Blankley 29, Lam 16, Zheng 15, Liu 10, Ewing 9, Song 5, Reid 2, Ju 2, QUARTERS: 23-24, 54-43, 76-62, 101-91

Davis stops Garcia, keeps ‘regular’ WBA lightweight title

WASHINGTON—American Gervonta Davis took his record to 28-0 with 26 knockouts on Saturday when he stopped previously unbeaten Hector Luis Garcia in a World Boxing Association lightweight fight.

Davis retained his WBA “regular” world title in the division, in which American Devin Haney is recognized as the WBA’s “super” world champion.

Unbeaten Haney also holds the WBC, IBF and WBO belts, which he defended with a dominant victory over Australian George Kambosos in Melbourne in October.

Saturday’s bout at the Capital One arena in Washington saw Dominican Garcia push Davis in the early going.

But Davis began to assert himself in the middle rounds.

At the end of the eighth—after a brief timeout because of an altercation in the crowd at ringside—Davis found Garcia with a punishing left.

Garcia didn’t answer the bell for the ninth. He was heard saying “I can’t see” in his corner and referee Earl Brown officially stopped the fight seconds into the ninth.

Taguig of head coach Bing Victoria captured its second league crown after taking the 2019 title.

“It’s long overdue,” said Victoria. “Tagal naming pinaghirapan. Sinuklian ng nasa itaas ‘yung paghihirap namin. We don’t have holidays.

namin.”

La Union dropped Game 2 on its way to settling for a second place finish for the third time in the league.

Erven Silverie had 20 points,

“I’m never surprised,” Davis said of his reaction to Garcia’s refusal to answer the bell for the ninth round.

“When I caught him, I knew he was hurt, he was hurt bad.

“He’s a fighter, so he didn’t want to show it.”

Garcia, the WBA super featherweight champion from the Dominican Republic, fell to 16-1 with 10 knockouts. AFP

Filipino fencers, with Andre Agatep and Thomas Cabrera leading the way, also took the bronze medal in the team’s men’s sabre.

Peter Atencio

Riera U. Mallari,

Randy M. Caluag, Assistant

The Taguig Generals hoist their NBL championship trophy

Scottie Thompson of Ginebra splits the defense of two Bay Area defenders in Game 5 of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals won by the Gin Kings, 101-91, to take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series

Damar Hamlin (AFP)

the ballclub maintained until the final buzzer.

Tinrabaho talaga namin ito. Christmas, New Year, walang off. Sobrang thankful ako na nagbunga ‘yung pinaghirapan

and Jap Pambid had 18 points for the PAOwer after he received the MVP trophy before Game 2. Pambid also took home the Mythical Five along with teammates Silverie and Billy Boado, Dan Natividad of Taguig, and RV Jumaquio of Bulacan.

Christian Necio of Bulacan claimed the Sportsmanship Award.

Medvedev: I can beat Novak, Rafa

ADELAIDE—Daniil Medvedev heads to Melbourne and the Australian Open still believing he has the weapons to beat “best in the world” Novak Djokovic despite being outplayed by the Serbian star in Adelaide.

The Russian, a losing finalist at the last two Australian Opens, crashed 6-3, 6-4 to a dominant Djokovic on Friday evening in the Adelaide International semi-finals.

Despite the defeat, he said he felt “really great” and was in a good place heading into the opening Grand Slam of the year after an under-performing 2022, where he dropped to seventh in the world rankings.

“Novak is different league - 21 Slams. That’s all we have to say. But generally positive and I need to stay positive because the first Slam is coming,” he said after the defeat.

“You have to believe in yourself,” he added. “I honestly say that before

every match.

“Every time I play them (Djokovic and Rafael Nadal), before the match the only thought is I have to win, I have to try my best to win.

“I managed to do it. Rafa I think I beat only once, but still I managed to do it. I had some tough matches against him. Against Novak I won a Slam.”

Since defeating Djokovic for the 2021 US Open title, Medvedev has been beaten three times by the Serb, who is back in Australia after missing last year’s Australian Open because of his vaccination status.

Medvedev almost beat Nadal at Melbourne Park last year in an epic final before going down in five sets.

While Djokovic and Nadal pose a serious threat to Medvedev’s quest for a second Grand Slam title, he got a boost last week when world number one Carlos Alcaraz pulled out injured. AFP

Sabalenka sends Aussie Open warning with Adelaide triumph

ADELAIDE —Aryna Sabalenka fired an Australian Open warning shot Sunday by winning her first title since 2021 at the Adelaide International, beating rising Czech teenager Linda Noskova 6-3, 7-6 (7/4).

The world number five ended a slump of three consecutive defeats in WTA finals with victory in one hour and 43 minutes in torrid 36 Celsius (96.8 Fahrenheit) conditions at Memorial Drive.

The Belarusian double-faulted on the first of three match points but sent over a serve winner on the second to wrap up the afternoon.

Second seed Sabalenka, a holder of 10

titles, added one more to her career total as she put her experience to good use, ending the week without losing a set.

She last lifted a trophy at the Madrid Masters in May 2021.

“Congratulations to this young lady (Noskova) on an amazing week,” Sabalenka said at the victory ceremony.

“I think you have an amazing future. It’s 100 percent that we will have more

finals together.

“Thanks to my team for being here today, for everything,” she added. “It’s been an amazing week and I enjoyed every second.”

World number 102 Noskova, the 2021 Roland Garros junior champion, will rise towards the top 50 with her run to her maiden final, upsetting world number two Ons Jabeur and veteran Victoria Azarenka along the way.

At 18, she was the youngest finalist at a WTA 500 event since Caroline Wozniacki at New Haven in 2007.

The victory capped an impressive start to 2023 for Sabalenka, who continued the strong late-season form that saw her make the decider at the WTA Finals. AFP

Mahomes breaks record as Chiefs nail AFC top seed; Jaguars take AFC South

drive - Mahomes finding Justin Watson with a 67 yard pass deep left before a trademark two yard shovel pass to Jerick McKinnon for the touchdown.

A two yard rush from Ronald Jones at the start of the second quarter put the Chiefs 14-3 up and looking in firm command of the game.

After a clever wildcat play for a Kadarius Toney touchdown was ruled out for holding, Toney then compensated by rushing for an 11 yard touchdown on the next play

The Chiefs’ innovative offensive plays featured an unusual move before the penalized wildcat touchdown with the players spinning in a circle, a move Mahomes said was dubbed the “Snowglobe”.

“We enjoy it, we draw up these plays all the time and coach Reid lets us have rein to add our own flair,” he said.

‘Win and you’re in’

Cocolife Tigers boost roster with entry of Cruz

THE powerhouse Davao Occidental Tigers Cocolife boosted their muscle in the paint by acquiring the services of PBA journeyman Jervy Cruz.

He will don the Tigers’ jersey in their next game in the Pilipinas Super League Pro Second Conference Dumper Cup.

Team manager Ray Alao confirmed the team’s prized catch Saturday night at the San Andres Gym in Malate Manila after their thrilling victory against Quezon City Beacons, 81-79, to remain unbeaten in six games.

Cruz was present and watched the game at the sidelines as an indication that he will join the Tigers’ roar in their future games.

“Once a Tiger, always a Tiger,” said Alao of Cruz, a former University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers’ slotman of coach Pido Jarencio.

Cruz played for NorthPort Batang Pier, Barangay Ginebra and then Rain or Shine in the PBA.

most total

in an NFL

as the

regular season with a 14-3 record and are looking for their third Super Bowl appearance in four seasons.

Isiah Pacheco’s one yard rush in the fourth made it 31-6, but the Raiders reduced the deficit with quarterback Jarrett Stidham connecting with Hunter Renfrow with an 11 yard touchdown pass.

The Jaguars made the post-season after Josh Allen ran in a fourth quarter touchdown from 37 yards after scooping up a fumble recovery forced by Rayshawn Jenkins on Titans quarterback Josh Dobbs.

The erstwhile free agent will be back in action at the Tigers’ den of the Davao Occidental of the Bautista clan. The team is also supported by Cocolife Pres. Atty. Jose Martin Loon, SVP Joseph Ronquillo, VP Rowena Asnan and EVP Franz Joie Araque.

with a 31-13 win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday while the Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Tennessee Titans 20-16 to clinch the AFC South title.

the AFC

The top seed spot ensures a first round bye for the Chiefs, who end the

Mahomes passed for 202 yards and rushed for 29 giving him 5,608 total yards for the season. That took him past the previous record of 5,562 yards set by former New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees in 2011.

Kansas City scored on their first

But it was a convincing win for Andy Reid’s side, who will now enjoy a week off before beginning their post-season push.

“Its important, its like winning a playoff game,” Mahomes said of securing the bye.

The game was a straightforward “win and you’re in” clash for the AFC South division title and was a gruelling battle for much of the game.

The inexperienced Dobbs, making just his second start after a five-year career as a back-up, had been well protected by the Titans who relied heavily on the run with Derrick Henry putting up 109 rushing yards. AFP

Tigers edge Beacons; Pampanga Royce, Citystars win

DEFENDING champion Davao Occidental-Cocolife held off a furious fourth quarter fightback by Quezon City, carving out an 81-79 decision last Saturday night for its sixth straight win and kept the solo lead in the Manila Bankers Life-Pilipinas Super League Pro Division Second Conference Dumper Cup at the San Andres Gym in Manila.

Beacons forward Raffy Octobre could not complete what could have been a heroic effort in the endgame, missing a three-point try before Jam Jamon also muffed a jumper at the buzzer.

Octobre boomed in a triple that shoved QC to within 79-81 with 15 seconds to go.

Former PBA cager John Wilson totaled 16 points, to go with seven rebounds and two assists for the Tigers, while Marco Balagtas chipped in 11 markers and eight boards.

Billy Robles also had 10 and five

for Davao Occidental, which remained untouchable with a 6-0 mark in the tilt presented by Winzir and co-presented by SCD Cosmetics and Dumper partylist, and supported by NET 25, Adcon, Wcube Solutions Inc., MDC, Unisol, Don Benitos, and Finn Cotton.

The Tigers pulled off a similarly hardearned 78-76 triumph over Nueva Ecija last Dec. 17.

The Beacons absorbed their third loss in a row, counting a 59-83 defeat to the Pampanga G Lanterns last Dec. 29 for a 1-4 slate.

In other games, Pampanga Royce mangled the Slashers 82-61 for a 5-0 card, while Manila improved to 4-3 following an 89-79 victory over Cagayan de OroPSP.

Jamon paced QC with 24 points and five caroms, while Germy Mahinay and Aaron Jeruta got 14 and 11 markers, respectively.

The 6’3” Cruz will man the paint on both ends, along with veteran slotman Larry Rodriguez, Keith Agovida and Gab Dagangon to boost the roster of the team, which also has shooter John Wilson, Kyt Jimenez, Marco Balagtas, Rob Celis, returning Billy Ray Robles and other reliable Tigers of coach Arvin Bonleon.

The Davao Occidental Tigers Cocolife lead the elimination round, 6-0, in the league organized by PSL president Rocky Chan, along with VP Alao and commissioner Marc Pingris and presented by Winzir and Dumper Party List.

Pampanga Royce is in close second, 5-0, while the Pampanga Lanterns and San Juan Kings are catching up with identical 3-0 markers.

The Santa Rosa Laguna Lions and Batang Kankaloo are both 4-1, followed by Koponang Lakan ng Bulacan (3-2), Manila City Stars (4-3), Bicol Spicy Oragon (2-3), Boracay Islanders and Nueva Ecija Slashers (2-4), while 1Munti Emeralds, Quezon City Beacons and Cabuyao Home Lab Nation are 1-4. The ARS Warriors and Cagayan de Oro PSP have only a win to show in six outings.

MIAMI—Kansas City quarterback

Patrick Mahomes set a record for

yards

season

Chiefs secured

top seed

ALL HANDS ON DECK. Philippine Olympic Committee president Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino (left) and newly appointed Philippine Sports Commission chairman Richard “Dickie” Bachmann vow to go hands-on in sports especially for the athletes’ Paris 2024 Olympics’ journey. The two leaders met for the first time over dinner at the China Blue at Conrad Manila on Saturday.

Belarusian tennis player Aryna Sabalenka celebrates after winning the final of the WTA Adelaide International tournament against Czech Linda Noskova in Adelaide. AFP

Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs throws a pass against the Las Vegas Raiders during the second half of the game at Allegiant Stadium on in Las Vegas, Nevada. AFP

John Wilson

lifeandshow.manilastandard@gmail.com

Thai Blackpink fans in frenzy over Bangkok concert

WHEN Blackpink mega-star Lisa takes to the stage in Bangkok Saturday, seeing the Thai-born K-pop sensation dance in the flesh will be a life-defining moment for many local superfans.

Lalisa Manobal, 25, who hails from Buriram province in northeastern Thailand, last performed on home turf in 2019 with her South Korean girl band.

With speculation rife over the group’s future, Thai Blink fans – as they call themselves – are anxious to see a potential last hurrah.

Outside of Suphachalasai National Stadium, at least a thousand early bird fans – many decked out in pink and black clothes – started gathering around

noon to buy merchandise, take selfies and participate in dance flash mobs with a giant blue bear mascot.

Formed in 2016, Blackpink – made up of Lisa, two South Korean members Kim Jisoo and Jennie Kim, and New Zealand-born Australian-raised Roseanne “Rose” Park – has helped to raise K-pop’s global profile with tens of millions of fans.

Meanwhile, in an announcement by concert producer Live Nation in November, the quartet will be staging a two-night show at the Philippine Arena on March 25 and 26. The group is returning to Manila as part of the Asian leg of their Born Pink World Tour AFP

LEADING broadcast company GMA Network has announced the roster of television shows and films that will banner its channels and platforms in 2023.

All set to make history on national television is the much-anticipated liveaction adaptation of Voltes V: Legacy top-billed by Miguel Tanfelix, Ysabel Ortega, Radson Flores, Matt Lozano, and Raphael Landicho

Another epic series is on the way via Mga Lihim ni Urduja starring Kylie Padilla, Gabbi Garcia, and Sanya Lopez

Stay tuned as Sofia Pablo and Allen Ansay bring kilig in LUV IS: Caught In His Arms together with the Sparkada boys, Sean Lucas, Vince Maristela, Raheel Bhyria, and Michael Sager.

Also airing this 2023 is LUV IS: Love at First Read, a collaboration of GMA Network and Wattpad WEBTOON Studios featuring Kyline Alcantara and Mavy Legaspi Watch Ashley Ortega and Xian Lim team up for the first time and show off their figure skating skills in Hearts on Ice Ready to give inspiration, thrill, and exceptional concepts are Lady Boxer, Love Before Sunrise, Royal Blood, and Love, Die, Repeat.

A bolder slate of GMA Afternoon Prime is sure to keep viewers glued to the screen. First on the list is the remake of the 1980 film Underage, headlined by Lexi Gonzales, Hailey Mendes, and Elijah Alejo together with Sunshine Cruz and Snooky Serna. It follows the story of three sisters who embark on a journey to clear their names after being accused of murder.

Meanwhile, Herlene Budol is ready to spread charm in Magandang Dilag together with Benjamin Alves, Rob Gomez, Christopher de Leon, Sandy Andolong, Chanda Romero, Al Tantay, Maxine Medina, Adrian Alandy, Bianca Manalo, and Pam Prinster. The series revolves around an heiress who was deceived by her greedy husband and friends. She eventually finds the strength to rise again, exact revenge on those who caused her misfortunes, and ultimately get the love and happiness she deserves.

Another intriguing program comes to light via The Seed of Love starring Glaiza de Castro, Mike Tan, and Valerie Concepcion. It tackles the

GMA Network unveils 2023 titles and program lineup

Golden Globes return after Hollywood boycott

THE Golden Globes—long known as Hollywood’s favorite party, but rocked by recent scandals – will attempt to stage a celebrity-filled comeback Tuesday, as films from Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans to Top Gun and Avatar sequels compete for top honors.

The Globes traditionally play a key role in kick-starting the movie awards season, but were taken off air last year amid controversy over ethical lapses and a lack of diversity in the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which organizes the Beverly Hills gala.

This year, following efforts to reform the HFPA – which previously had no Black members – NBC will broadcast the 80th Golden Globe Awards on a one-off basis, and invitations have been dispatched to Tinseltown’s brightest stars.

Comedian Jerrod Carmichael will host the ceremony, and Quentin Tarantino is among the night’s presenters.

But many top nominees have not yet confirmed their attendance, and Deadline awards columnist Pete Hammond expects this year’s Globes to be “different” from the glitzy, hard-partying, champagne-soaked bashes seen before Covid and industry boycotts interrupted the merrymaking.

story of a couple who undergoes in-vitro fertilization.

Carla Abellana, Gabby Concepcion and Beauty Gonzalez join forces in Stolen Life. A woman’s life is stolen from her when her cousin, who is a wanted criminal, uses astral projection to switch physical bodies with her. Jailed for her cousin’s crime, she will try to reclaim her life and family.

Arabella, on the other hand, is headlined by Shayne Sava, Althea Ablan, Camille Prats, Wendell Ramos, Klea Pineda, Alfred Vargas, and Faye Lorenzo. Ara comes home to her loving mother, Roselle, and they build a strong relationship. But not until discovering that they are not blood-related and the real daughter, Bella, returns.

A feisty little person and a rookie lawyer named Atty. Mataas has big dreams of fighting for the little guys. One day, she is

tasked to defend an alleged rapist against a young woman who turns out to be her half-sister from her estranged father.

Yasmien Kurdi, Rocco Nacino, and Jak Roberto banner The Missing Husband. A woman’s husband goes missing after he gets into financial trouble. As she journeys to find him, she discovers things that will put their marriage to the ultimate test, especially when she realizes that he disappeared on purpose.

Mechanical Heart highlights the story of a little girl who has a heart problem and meets a little boy who rescues her from her drunk father. Years later, they meet again, and the girl tries to navigate through senior high school with a mechanical heart. Will it last long enough for her to find true love?

Meanwhile, The King of Talk is back home to give the hottest showbiz news via Fast Talk with Boy Abunda

MMFF Musings

AND just like that, the holiday spectacle that was the annual Metro Manila Film Festival is over. Awards have been bestowed and official box office grosses are better. People are bullish that Filipino films are back to bring the crowds inside the cinemas.

Audiences flock to their favorite fares despite the steep cost of tickets. Yes, the cinema-watching peeps proved that they support locally-made motion pictures if they want to.

What are the more prominent indicators of this past film festival? Nadine Lustre is a certified superstar is a fact. With her Mikhail Red directed movie topping the box-office race and bringing home most MMFF trophies, Lustre was the Queen.

Was Deleter a superlative film? It was a case of you loved it like it was the best horror movie this season or you hate it to bits because it had a mediocre narrative and the “hello darkness my old friend overall movie” look was yawn-inducing and not spooky.

Vice Ganda’s box office hold and reign did not last long. This is the second year that the Unkabogable Star became

The Vice Ganda clique downplayed

disappointing box office outcome of

latest starter. This is a clear indicator that the star power of the comedian is fast diminishing and the comfortable templates he used to employ are no longer bringing results.

People want to be jolted and Nanahimik Ang Gabi provided that plus camera angles to die for, cinematography that

screamed menacing, and conflicts that are boiling and rising. Add the superb acting from the best actor Ian Veneracion and best supporting actor Mon Confiado this suspense thriller had winner written all over the motion picture. Also, saying that Heaven Peralejo was robbed of her best actress trophy is an understatement.

This movie showed that suspense thriller as a genre offers scarier and heart-pounding moments. And artists giving life to characters that are not their usual personas, bring not only trophies but admiration and respect from the audiences.

Loving the craft and infusing it with passion, truthfulness, and vulnerability, are what Veneracion, Confiado, and

Following the success of its first season, the no. 1 game show in the country, Family Feud, returns for a second season with Dingdong Dantes.

The weekend is about to get livelier with new shows every Saturday and Sunday.

Join in the fun and good vibes via Sparkle University and Battle of the Judges John Lloyd Cruz is also back to make the audience laugh and fall in love more with the new season of Happy ToGetHer The Voice Generations is the latest spin-off of The Voice franchise, where viewers get to see the country’s greatest performers from different generations showcase their talents.

Prepare for heart-pounding performances with the return of the award-winning and all-original Filipino singing competition, The Clash 2023 Read full story on manilastandard.net

Peralejo presented in their movie.

The people’s best picture Family Matters proved that though awards are like icing on one’s cake, the proof of its deliciousness is still on the eating, and in this case, the viewing.

People loved the family drama and no amount of awards night snub can change the reality that of all the films in competition, Family Matters was the only one that was artistically excellent, a truthful depiction of a modern-day Pinoy family, and what you see on the silver screen did not alienate, polarize, and was authentic and organic in its presentation of contemporary Filipino families.

What sells always is a well-directed movie with a well-written script and actors who gave all their characters the emotional truths. Family Matters indicates that we are ready for hones to goodness drama that pulls the heartstrings and highlights the importance and relevance of families.

The MMFF films also showed why Dimples Romana and Jake Cuenca are two of the better actors in local showbiz these days. Seasoned thespians like Noel Trinidad and Liza Lorena are forever delightful to watch and must be treated with a lot of love and respect.

In this year’s edition of MMFF, hope springs eternal because of youngbloods like Sean de Guzman, Tiffany Grey, and Ian Pangilinan, yes youth is not wasted on them because they are a talented lot.

Another observation is, cinema folks seemed to have avoided historical and political dramas this season. Bone one thing’s for sure, they forked out money from their pockets to spend on movies they like. And I hope this would continue from now on.

“They are going to be muted. There’s no after-parties to go to. There’s none of that. They’re not spending big bucks, the studios, on all of this,” Hammond told AFP Those who walk the red carpet will be peppered with questions from journalists like “Do you feel comfortable being here?” and “Are you satisfied they’ve made all the changes?” he predicted. AFP

Noli de Castro returns to ‘TV Patrol’

De Castro will be anchoring live from the Quirino Grandstand

the latest news and updates on the celebration of the ‘Nazareno 2023’.

“Magkita-kita tayo sa Lunes Live ho ako sa Quirino Grandstand para sa TV Patrol,” Noli said in his TeleRadyo program Kabayan on Friday, January 6.”

De Castro joins TV Patrol anchors Henry Omaga-Diaz, Karen Davila, and Bernadette Sembrano in delivering the news to Filipinos anywhere in the world. He will also continue hosting his public service show Kabayan and the morning newscast TeleRadyo Balita with Joyce Balancio on TeleRadyo.

TV Patrol airs on weekdays at 6:30 pm while TV Patrol Weekend airs on weekends at 6:00 p.m. with Alvin Elchico and Zen Hernandez. It is available on A2Z, Kapamilya Channel, Kapamilya Online Live, iWantTFC, youtube. com/ABSCBNNews, news.abscbn.com/live, and other ABS-CBN News

Nickie Wang Editor Patricia Taculao, Editorial Assistant

SEASONED broadcast journalist Noli de Castro marks his comeback as news anchor of TV Patrol starting today.

for

digital platforms.

Kabogable, a truth not easy to accept.

Also, Ivana Alawi, Viceral’s co-star who happens to have astronomical digits in terms of followers and subscribers on her YouTube, obviously wasn’t able to translate her online prowess into making Partners in Crime the pelicula numero uno

the

his

Tom Cruise's 'Top Gun: Maverick' is vying for best film drama at the Golden Globes

International K-pop sensation Blackpink

The cast of ‘Family Matters’

Veteran news anchor Noli de Castro

Ruru Madrid as Lolong

Dingdong Dantes in ‘Family Feud’

The leading ladies of ‘Mga Lihim ni Urduja’

The muchawaited live-action adaptation of ‘Voltes V: Legacy’

Puerto Princesa beckons

NOT too long ago, Puerto Princesa Mayor Lucilo Bayron came to town to share with us new developments in his city and why these should be of interest to potential investors. As a tourism stakeholder, I was more interested in finding out what other attractions there are in the city and in the province that we could package and offer to our domestic and international visitors, aside from the world-famous Puerto Princesa Underground River, El Nido, and Coron.

It was a day of revelations, as the good mayor showed on screen, much to our delight, attractive destinations that would certainly be a magnet for fun-loving leisure travelers and investors, places that none of us in the audience have ever heard of or known about.

Approximately an hour away from the city center is the Acacia Nature Park, an inspiring work of nature that evokes a sense of serenity and joy. The park has a beautiful Tree Tunnel, which is actually a 1.2-kilometer paved walkway lined on both sides by 50-year-old acacia trees, with its branches and leaves forming a verdant canopy over the walkway. The Mayor plans to put up glamping accommodations, restaurants, souvenir shops, trekking, bike trails, and a view deck at this new visitors’ attraction.

There is also the Tagbarungis Eco-Beach Park, also an hour away from downtown Puerto Princesa, which is a 52-hectare government property identified for multiple use. It has a 2-kilometer white sand beach entirely shaded by coconut trees. To match up with the growing popularity of this sun-sea-and-sand destination, Mayor Bayron envisions a medium-sized hotel in that location, offering sports and marine facilities and amenities that will further highlight the pristine, clear waters of the area.

At the heart of Puerto Princesa Bay is the City Baywalk, with a long promenade lined with palm trees and cycling lanes where one can have a breathtaking view of the golden sunset. This is adjacent to the Heritage Core District where the famous Plaza Cuartel, Governor’s Residence, and the Cathedral are located.

Another city-owned beach, the Tagkawayan Beach, is also approximately an hour away from downtown. Right now, the city government is not promoting this to the public, to preserve its quaint peace and tranquility, but its white sand beach and spectacular sunsets will certainly be tourist magnets once the area is developed. Investors might just want to put up cabañas and tent facilities in the area, to accommodate the expected surge of visitors once marketing promotions are made.

There are many other new developments in Puerto Princesa which, certainly, sparked the interest of the overflow crowd at Conrad Manila’s ballroom. Envisioned to become a new lifestyle urban destination in the city is the Cuyito Bayfront which will have a world-class cruise port towards making Puerto Princesa the Cruise Capital of the country. This 9.9-hectare site will have an 8-meter wide promenade with center islands for safe pedestrian flow and ease of traffic. It will also have a Biodiversity Museum, a 5000-capac-

The call of Midlands West

THERE’S something auspicious about the new year at Tagaytay Highlands. With the world now teetering on the brink of a new beginning, the country’s most exclusive leisure-residential mountain resort is breaking the grounds for what is touted to be the top destination estate’s next premium enclave after the Highlands, Midlands, and Greenlands. Here, a truly holistic way of life centered on sustainability is set to take root as an unprecedented lifestyle concept – Midlands West.

The Midlands deconstructed For over 20 years, the Midlands has been a sought-after region of world-class themed residences and services known for its recreational lifestyle, and inspired by architecture and culture from different countries with panoramic views of Taal Lake and Mt. Makiling. Each neighborhood is sculpted following the natural landscape, creating functional and aesthetic green spaces.

Tucked 1,000 to 1,500 feet above sea level between the Highlands and Greenlands, the Midlands’ internationally themed residential enclave also features wide spaces. It makes for a bird sanctuary offering bird watchers and enthusiasts a welcome respite from work and an avenue for their passion.

The Midlands is also home to the competitive 27-hole championship Tagaytay Midlands Golf Course that is at par with international golf courses while surrounded by sweeping nature vistas.

Midlands West’s concept principles

Today, complementing the Midlands’ characteristically fun lifestyle, Tagaytay Highlands is set to reveal its newest district, Midlands West. This 320-hectare mixed-use enclave will provide amenities, facilities, parks, and open spaces founded on the mountain resort’s inherent values of ecocentrism, sustainability, health and wellness, and luxury mountain living. These distinct design pillars are Midlands West’s answer to the changing demands of the times. Based on a recent global

sustainability report, Filipinos have become more eco-conscious while favoring responsibly progressive developments that warrant the enhanced quality of life not only in the present but also for future generations.

Ecocentrism

In this eco-centric community, the environment and its residents will thrive together while protecting the surrounding environs and natural terrain. Its holistic design aims to incorporate the natural landscape in its future communities to ensure that its master plan will highlight nature as a distinctive feature.

For future residents, this means getting the most out of nature from every angle to enjoy 360-degree view opportunities of Taal Lake, the Batangas scenery, Mt. Makiling, and Banahaw. And with holistic wellness in mind, leveraging its generous green open spaces will allow one to enjoy the beauty of nature while encouraging outdoor activities to promote healthy wellbeing.

Sustainability Midlands West will integrate sustainable features as part of the lifestyle to promote green living. This it hopes to achieve by employing ef-

ule prior to their return to home base. There were many other sites that the good mayor showed us and those who are interested to know more about these may contact cmoofficial13@gmail.com

It was a very informative and inspiring forum on Puerto Princesa’s current and future attractions and business opportunities. I congratulate Mayor Lucilo Bayron for sharing with us the tourist gems of his city and his exciting plans on how to make the city even more attractive than it already is. ----------O----------

YOUR MONDAY CHUCKLE: GRAMMAR TEACHER: Do you know the importance of a period? PUPIL: Yes, Ma’am. Once my sister said she missed one, Mom fainted, Dad had a heart attack, and our Driver ran away! ----------O----------

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

ficient solid waste management and water conservation practices as well as rain gardens and drought-tolerant plants across all future residential projects. Likewise, inspired by its values of simplicity, functionality, and comfort, the type of architecture in Midlands West will be very organic. This means fos-

as

tering a strong connection with nature by utilizing natural light and ventilation and pushing for innovative use of repurposed and eco-friendly materials.

Health and wellness

At the heart of this new Midlands cluster envisioned to be human-centric

Luxury mountain living

Coming home to Midlands West will embody the prestige of being part of an exclusive mountain resort community.

This means living in an incomparable natural environment that assures the same quality and stature as existing residential projects in Tagaytay Highlands.

Filipinos welcoming the new year at Tagaytay Highlands will be happy to know that the development has been awarded the Safety Seal of the City Government of Tagaytay for providing safety and security to its residents, guests, and staff.

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

Tagaytay Highlands’ highly competent property management team ensures that all facilities and personnel will continue to adhere to safety protocols and sanitation procedures like hand sanitation, disinfection, wearing of face masks, and social distancing in public spaces.

Finally, the Highlands’ property management commits to remain efficient in delivering quick crisis responses during adverse natural and high-risk events.

Amidst the golden countryside and verdant mountains, Midlands West aspires to ingrain a culture of health and wellness in the communities that it will build – a culture that will further encourage and inspire its future residents in their pursuit of holistic and sustainable living.

Nickie

ity Convention Center, hotels, and al fresco dining, making it a must-see destination for any visitor to the city.

Of course, for business travelers to the city, there will soon be a modern Business Park behind the City Coliseum which will have corporate buildings, commercial spaces and multi-level street parking. The area’s proximity to the airport makes it convenient for business travelers who may have a busy sched-

The beautiful Tree Tunnel at Acacia Nature Park (Photo courtesy of I Love Palawan)

The breathtaking Tagkawayan Beach definitely has what it takes to become a top tourist draw (Photo courtesy of Palawan Daily News)

The Puerto Princesa Baywalk is perfect for leisurely strolls with the magnificent sunset in the background (Photo courtesy of Beata Palfalvi)

At Tagaytay Highlands, Midlands West will be the setting for eco-centric living where discerning mindsets will blend seamlessly with the best of nature to keep the body, mind, and spirit whole and at peace with nature

well, holistic health, wellness, and nature will converge. Putting at the forefront of its mission the welfare of individuals, its prime location will allow residents and their families to be enveloped in nature’s splendor while enjoying a sundry of outdoor experiences ranging from passive and active activities to extreme adventures. All these coming together toward integrating the mind, body, and soul into the built environment.

As Tagaytay Highlands continues to transition to the dawning of a new age, Midlands West is poised to adopt an eco-centric living concept for one to experience health and wellness in an incomparable mountain resort

Midlands West will boast of a prime location featuring a sustainable living concept that will ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing

As Tagaytay Highlands’ newest residential district, Midlands West will have the natural environment and its residents thriving together to nurture life the way nature intended in which health and wellness will flourish