Manila Standard - 2023 January 21 - Saturday

PH walks a fine line—PBBM Increasing

US,

strain with China

THE Philippines has been working on ways to avoid being “trampled” by two competing superpowers — the United States and China — as the country walks a fine line between them, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. told two international newspapers.

Interviewed by the Wall Street Journal on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, the President said the Philippines is increasing its cooperation with the US and developing mechanisms to defuse tension with China amid the intense geopolitical rivalry in the Asia Pacific region.

The Philippines is in a very precarious

balancing act, considering its bilateral ties with the two countries, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) noted in a statement Friday, as China is one of the country’s largest trading partners, while the US and the Philippines have a longstanding defense treaty.

In a separate interview with the Financial Times, Mr. Marcos confirmed

Chinese Coast Guard drives off local fishermen

clusive

Mr. Marcos to keep MSMEs a big part of gov’t digitalization effort

PRESIDENT

(MSMEs)

rum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, Marcos told potential investors that MSMEs are at the center of his administration’s digitization efforts.

“We aim to empower and enable MSMEs to participate in the digital economy and thus significantly narrow the digital divide,” Marcos said.

Solon says proposed wealth fund ‘re-engineered’, eyes IPO launch

By Maricel V. Cruz

THE new version of the Maharlika Investment Fund pending approval in Congress dropped the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ other controversial sources of funding and is now eyeing an initial public offering (IPO), Albay 1st District Rep. Joey Salceda said on Friday.

In an interview with ANC, Salceda said he was tasked, along with some other lawmakers, “to rewrite and re-

engineer” the MIF, which went through revisions and was approved by the House of Representatives during the Christmas break.

Salceda, the House resident economist and chair of the ways and means committee, said the latest revisions were done “because we want [the MIF] to succeed, and this is the one actually sold by the President in Davos.”

He explained that they decided to

Michael Poa said Friday.

By Macon Ramos-Araneta and Maricel V. Cruz

THE Department of Education will examine the recommendations of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on the alleged purchase of overpriced laptops in 2021 in a bid to strengthen its procurement process, agency spokesperson

He also said DepEd is hoping to resolve the administrative proceedings against some of its officials involved in the controversial procurement within 20 to 30 days, “subject to additional pleadings or motions that may be filed by the parties.”

Next page

FACE TIME, SCREEN TIME.

BI personnel linked to human trafficking, revamp set

By

By Alena Mae S. Flores

THE Department of Energy said Friday domestic fuel pump prices are forecasted to go up by as much as P2.60 per liter next week amid optimism about oil demand recovery from China.

“For the four-day trading, there will be an increase in the prices of petroleum products on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023. The estimate excludes adjustments for biofuels costs and other

Willie Casas and Joel Zurbano

Palmero

READY

Dinagyang masks on

street in Iloilo City on Friday as the Dinagyang Festival, honoring the Sto. Nino, unwraps this weekend with a procession and fluvial parade. The festivity marks the devotion of Ilonggos to the Child Jesus icon since since it first arrive at the shores of the city in 1968. Norman Cruz

By Macon Ramos-Araneta and Vito Barcelo

THE Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Friday vowed to cleanse its ranks after

authorities found that three of its personnel were supposedly involved in human trafficking. The ongoing probe will cover those inside and outside the bureau, said BI

spokesperson Dana Sandoval, who acknowledged that their personnel could have direct links to syndicates in Cambodia and other Asian countries that re -

WEEKS after the Philippines reached an “agreement” with China, the Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) allegedly drove off Filipino fisherfolk from the Ayungin Shoal, part of the country’s ex-

economic zone (EEZ), with the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) saying Friday they would speak with the locals involved in the incident to get a “clear picture” of what transpired.

In a television report by Ian Cruz on GMA News’ “24 Oras,” a video showed a CCG vessel 5204 and a speed boat allegedly driving the fishermen away.

Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said micro, small, and medium enterprises

would be empowered and enabled to participate in the digital economy under his administration.

In his opening remarks during the Country Strategy Dialogue at the World Economic Fo -

The President said the Philippine government recognizes the importance of digitalization as a key driver for long-term development and the economic transformation of the post-pandemic global economy.

Ferdinand Marcos Jr. smiles to the crowd as Filipinos based in Switzerland take phone camera shots of the Chief Executive during his meet-and-greet with the PH community in Zurich on Friday. With him were First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and House Speaker Martin Romualdez (second and first from right) and Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno and Deputy House Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (first and second from left).

Solon: Onions to drop to P50/kilo

By Maricel V. Cruz and Macon Ramos-Araneta

ALAWMAKER on Friday said the price of onions will drop from the current high of P600 a kilo to only P50 a kilo, its “natural price,” as hoarders could not hold on to their stock forever and with the country’s harvest season for the prized vegetable coming.

“Everything will normalize. You can cut all my five fingers if it doesn’t go back P50,” said Rep. Joey Salceda, chairman of the House ways and means committee.

Interviewed on ANC’s Headstart, Salceda said cartels were behind the abnormally high prices of onions.

“There’s a mafia in control of the ports,” he said in a mix of English and

Filipino. “So, if you go to Subic, I can tell you there are at least about 50 containers filled with onions which are delivered little by little.”

“Essentially what they did was predatory pricing. They came in, brought the prices down, killed the local Filipino farmers, and now they control the supply,” he added.

To drive high prices down, the De -

partment of Agriculture (DA), headed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., has ordered the importation of 21,060 metric tons of onions, which will arrive on Jan. 27, ahead of the expected completion of the local harvest in February.

Senator Risa Hontiveros, meanwhile, called on the DA to immediately address the escalating cost of eggs before the government needs to import them as well.

The opposition senator also renewed her earlier call for the President to appoint a qualified Agriculture secretary who will be able to work full-time to tackle the sector’s deeply-seated problems.

Since the sugar shortage emerged, Hontiveros has been urging the Presi-

tries in the Asia Pacific are facing pressure to take sides as a result of intense geopolitical tension in the region.

dent, who serves concurrently as the head of the DA, to appoint a full-time secretary who can focus on the problems hounding the agency, particularly the continuing rise in the prices of agricultural products.

Hontiveros said the DA needs to swiftly address escalating egg prices before the market takes a turn for the worse, hurting low-income households that rely on eggs as their cheapest source of protein.

The shortage and high prices of eggs are attributed to the Luzon bird flu outbreak and increasing cost of feeds. She said the administration should consider alternative solutions to this crisis other than “go-to” importation because it will not work for eggs.

President taps Robinsons Land CEO as adviser

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has tapped Frederick Go, Robinsons Land President and Chief Executive Officer, as his Presidential Adviser on Investment and Economic Affairs.

In a statement on Friday, the Presidential Communications Office said Go will be assisted by Rafael Consing Jr., the chief finance officer of Razonowned International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) who also accepted his appointment on Thursday.

A nephew of the late billionaire tycoon John Gokongwei, Go graduated from Ateneo de Manila University where he served as editor of The Guidon.

The Ayungin Shoal is some 100 nautical miles off Palawan but is likewise near Mischief Reef, an area in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) reportedly occupied by China.

The PCG said the fisherfolk’s statements will be forwarded to the National Task Force-West Philippine Sea and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in case the country would file a diplomatic protest.

“It was wrong to drive them away. We will try to inquire further. Afterward, that is when we will give a conclusive statement on what happened,” said PCG Spokesperson Commodore Armand Balilo.

PCG Commandant Admiral Artemio Abu has already given instructions on the parameters of their interview with the fishermen, Balilo said, “but of course, we will seek guidance from the DFA.”

Owing to the natural resources at Ayungin, Balilo said military vessels and PCG units, including around the grounded ship BRP Sierra Madre, were stationed in the area to ensure security.

“Our BRP Teresa Magbanua (MRRV-9701) is there, and we have several 44-meter vessels on patrol. But you do know it’s a large area and we can’t always be around to protect the fishermen,” Balilo added.

On Monday, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he had an agreement with Chinese President Xi Jinping that China would allow Filipino fisherfolk to continue with their work in the highly contested waters.

This comes weeks after Mr. Marcos said that Xi, during a bilateral meeting in Beijing, had “promised that we would find a compromise and find a solution that will be beneficial so that our fishermen might be able to fish again in their natural fishing grounds.”

“It’s really an agreement. China will not stop our fishermen from fishing,” said Mr. Marcos in Davos, Switzerland, where he is attending the fiveday World Economic Forum.

he expected intensified military relations with the US, with more US troops and military assets rotating through the Philippines.

The President also said the discussion about defense cooperation with Japan is continuing, and that his government is trying to put together Australia, Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines.

Mr. Marcos ruled out, however, the reopening of the former US military bases in Clark and Subic, saying it was against the country’s Constitution to allow foreign bases on its soil.

The President cited an African proverb, which states: When elephants fight, the only one that gets trampled is the grass.

“We are the grass in this situation. We don’t want to get trampled,” the Chief Executive pointed out.

The Philippines is on the front line of regional tensions, the President said, noting that 150,000 Filipino nationals live in Taiwan and that its southern port city of Kaohsiung is 40 minutes away from the northernmost island of Batanes.

On Monday, Mr. Marcos said on Monday that countries in the Asia Pacific region should chart their own destiny away from the clutches of intense geopolitical rivalry, noting that there is unanimity among those nations not to embrace the Cold War mentality.

Speaking during a luncheon hosted for him and the Philippine Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) by the economic team in Davos, the President said coun-

This developed as US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will visit South Korea and the Philippines within a few weeks to step up cooperation with the two countries, a Pentagon spokesman said this week.

Austin will meet with senior government and military officials during the trip, which will be a “reaffirmation of our deep commitment to working in concert with allies and partners to chart our shared vision to preserve a free and open Indo-Pacific,” according to Pat Ryder, press secretary of the Defense Department.

The announcement made during a press briefing comes after the top foreign and defense officials of the United States and Japan held a meeting last week in Washington, Japan’s Kyodo News and Nikkei both reported.

Nikkei reported that the US and the Philippines are discussing holding a two-plus-two meeting of top diplomatic and defense officials by spring, the first between the allies in seven years.

Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez said last Friday that the two sides are looking toward a meeting in March. Another Nikkei source said it will likely take place by spring.

“More than ever, we want to make sure that there are teeth to it [the Mutual Defense Treaty], there’s meaning to it, by being ready for any eventuality that might happen in the future,” Romualdez was quoted by Nikkei as saying.

During the so-called two-plus-two

to P2.30 per liter.

“The main reason for the said increase is the recovery of the fuel demand in the world’s top oil importer, which is China,” Romero said.

meeting, Austin and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken along with their Japanese counterparts Yasukazu Hamada and Yoshimasa Hayashi agreed to bolster deterrence against China, North Korea, and Russia, Kyodo News reported.

Such US efforts to reinforce deterrence with its key allies in the Indo-Pacific region will also likely be discussed in South Korea and the Philippines, it added.

The Philippines is still in a territorial dispute with China in the West Philippine Sea, with the Asian giant claiming it almost in its entirety.

During his recent visit to China, President Marcos said he proposed to Chinese President Xi Jinping that an existing bilateral team responsible for tackling South China Sea incidents be upgraded to include senior officials on both sides with direct access to the countries’ respective heads of government.

Earlier this week, the President said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member economies are very well committed to the idea that they cannot return to the Cold War formula, in which they have to choose whether to be under the Soviet Union or the United States spheres of influence.

“No country grew wealthy without a very strong trade relationship, not only with one or two other countries but with the rest of the world…. We all desire, especially let us say around the South China Sea, we all desire a more multipolar [geopolitics],” Mr. Marcos said.

Vince Lopez

The oil firms increased the price of gasoline by P0.95 per liter and diesel by P0.50 per liter but cut the price of kerosene by P0.15 per liter.

He worked as a business reporter covering the stock market and the corporate sector for the Manila Times, then owned by the Gokongwei family, in the early 1990s.

In 1992, he joined Robinsons Land Corp., the property unit of the Gokongwei Group, and oversaw its expansion over the past three decades.

Go was named Enterprise Asia’s Entrepreneur of the Year during the Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Awards 2019. He also received the 2021 Prix d’Excellence Property Man of the Year for changing the game in the real estate industry.

On Thursday, ICTSI announced in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange that Consing was retiring from his role as Chief Financial Officer and Compliance Officer “with immediate effect.” Vince Lopez

cruited Filipinos.

She said the investigation would not stop at the three BI personnel who were removed from their post.

“We are looking into how many could be involved in this not just internally but also externally,” Sandoval said in a televised briefing.

She said a reshuffling of personnel was in the works and said “no mercy” would be shown to those proven to be involved in human trafficking.

Sandoval said any immigration officers found involved in these schemes would be removed, and their case would be handed over to the Department of Justice for the filing of cases against them.

Senator Risa Hontiveros said a Chinese mafia in Cambodia was supposedly recruiting Filipinos to become cryptocurrency scammers.

operating and administrative costs of the oil company,” DOE director for the Oil Industry Management Bureau Rodela Romero said.

She said gasoline might go up by P2.30 to P2.50 per liter, while diesel might increase by P1.90 to P2.10 per liter. Kerosene would also go up by P2.15

drop dividends from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and state-run banks as among MIF fund sources.

“I am not sure whether I should be revealing this, but right after Christmas, we were commissioned — me and three others — to rewrite, essentially re-engineer the Maharlika Investment Fund,” Salceda told ANC.

“Basically, it’s very new. It’s basically securitization of about P44.3 billion in annual dividends, these are real surpluses...These are dividends by GOCCs, by their nature, they are already surpluses,” Salceda said.

According to Salceda, the P44.3 billion shall be protected in 20 years, and that amount, at a certain discount rate, can reach P765.96 billion.

“After that, there will be an IPO (Initial public offering) so it won’t be a GOCC anymore. It will be a listed company in the

tending the WEF is to exchange ideas on how to help MSMEs.

Meanwhile, an oil industry source told the Standard diesel may go up by P1.90 to P2 per liter and gasoline by P2.50 to P2.60 per liter.

On Jan. 17, the oil companies implemented the third upward adjustment for the year 2023.

Philippine stock market,” Salceda said. Salceda said the government will own less than 50 percent of the MIF, and that the MIF fund will “be more privately led and guided by the government.”

He justified the move -- which came after a lot of revisions were already made before the House approved the MIF on the third and final reading last December 15 -- as “essential” in shepherding the law to passage after a Senate review and getting the foreign investors on board.

These resulted in total adjustments this year to stand at a net increase of P3.10 per liter for gasoline and P0.80 per liter for kerosene and diesel at a net decrease of P0.20 per liter.

The oil firms adjust pump prices every Tuesday to reflect the movement of prices in the world market on a weekly basis.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., at a breakfast meeting with chief executive officers on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos Switzerland earlier this week, said the proposed sovereign fund is expected to drive infrastructure in energy and agriculture.

The House of Representatives on Dec. 16, 2022 approved the MIF bill, which had earned the support of 90 percent or 282 out of the 312 members of the chamber who were officially named as co-authors of the measure.

Briones to the P2.4-billion overpriced laptop issue.

One of the victims supposedly reached out to her office to detail how they were promised call center jobs, only to be forced to dupe citizens from other countries of their life savings. She said she would conduct a hearing on the issue.

Hontiveros said Cambodia was a new hub of human trafficking, in which Filipino workers were forced to become cryptocurrency scammers.

The senator said immigration and airport terminal managers, among others, will be invited to the upcoming hearing of the Senate committee on women, children, family relations, and gender equality to tackle the incessant cases of outbound human trafficking of Filipinos.

“Our Senate committee will spare no effort to ensure that accountability be established and justice served,” Hontiveros said.

The President also told investors that the country’s CREATE Act or Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act provided much-needed relief for the country’s MSMEs through a reduction in the corporate income tax rate and said this would end investor uncertainty.

In his one-on-one dialogue with WEF President Børge Brende, President Marcos pointed out that his administration is concentrating on the MSMEs because they comprise a large part of the economy, similar to most Southeast Asian countries.

“And I think that’s where the growth is coming from,” Marcos said, noting that his government kept an eye on the country’s unemployment rate amid reports of a recession last year.

Meanwhile, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Alfredo Pascual said among his objectives in at-

“I’m here to talk with the investors, but one of my biggest goals is to exchange ideas on how to help small businesses, for example, the ones we call MSMEs,” Pascual said in an interview on Wednesday.

“DTI is here to help businesses grow from small micro-enterprises to giant industries and we are here to organize the environment, the so-called regulations, and other policies that businesses will follow, and also provide assistance directly like financing for small businesses,” he added.

Former president and Senior Deputy Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said Marcos’ participation in the WEF was a good move to sell the Philippines as an “excellent” investment destination.

Arroyo said Marcos did well in presenting his administration’s agenda for the Philippines’ economic recovery and growth to WEF participants, including political and business leaders. Vince Lopez

The Senate Blue Ribbon panel found that the laptops purchased for the Education department in 2021 were overpriced by almost P1 billion, and recommended the filing of charges against former and current officials of DepEd and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

In its 197-page report, however, the committee found no evidence linking former Education Secretary Leonor

It recommended abolishing the Procurement Service of the DBM, which purchased the laptops on behalf of the DepEd.

The report recommended the filing of administrative and criminal charges against the following:

* Former DepEd undersecretary Alain del Pascua, Undersecretary Analyn Sevilla, former assistant secretary Salvador Malana III, director Abram Abanil, former PS-DBM OIC director Lloyd Christopher Lao, former PS-DBM acting

Dizon urged spectators to wear their face masks in crowded areas and discouraged them from bringing many valuables.

director Jasonmer Uayan, BAC chairman Ulysses Mora, and other members of SBAC 1 and SBAC TWG secretariat and staff, for violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act; and

* Sevilla and former executive assistant Alec Ladanga for falsifying public documents.

“We at DepEd will of course look closely into the recommendations and see if there are things that we still have to adopt so we can strengthen the procurement process at DepEd,” Poa said in an interview on dzBB.

New Year Countdown Pyromusical to be viewed on Jones Bridge.

during the pre-pandemic period.

“We’ll use 3,200 police personnel on a 24-hour basis, the same as the previous celebrations. We are on a pre-pandemic level of preparation,” he said in a television interview.

In an advisory on Thursday, the Manila Public Information Office (MPIO) said the southbound side of Jones Bridge will be closed starting Saturday, January 21, at 7 p.m., while the northbound side will be closed at 10 p.m.

This is to give way to the Chinese

A portion of Banawe Street, from Cuenco Street to Quezon Avenue, will also be closed starting today, January 21, at 9 p.m., to January 22, at 9 p.m.

The public is advised to take alternate routes and to expect slower traffic due to the number of people who will join the festivities.

PH, Australia renew pact on reforms for judicial programs

By Rey E. Requejo

THE Philippines and Australia have renewed their partnership for the implementation of judicial reforms that would benefit the marginalized, particularly the most vulnerable like children.

Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Hae Kyong Yu and Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo reiterated their commitment during the former’s visit to the Supreme Court (SC) last Thursday, Jan. 19, the SC public information office (PIO) said in a press briefer.

Chief Justice Gesmudo expressed the gratitude of the judiciary for Australia’s support to projects like the organizational assessment and process mapping of the Judicial Integrity Board, the Ethics Caravan of the SubCommittee for the Revision of the Code of Professional Responsibility; and the business process mapping and reengineering, caseload and case carrying capacity analyses in the SC and Sandiganbayan.

Gesmundo also thanked Australia for supporting the Regional Consultations on Legal Education and the National Legal Aid Summit, in partnership with The Asia Foundation (TAF).

He said the other initiatives supported by the Australian government are in the areas of human trafficking and child online exploitation through the Association of Southeast Asian Nations-Australia Counter Trafficking Program and the SaferKidsPH Consortium.

In response, Yu declared that the Australian government is indeed committed to fighting terrorism, human trafficking and child online exploitation and abuse.

“The Australian government is always committed to working with you to counter terrorism and child online sexual exploitation. These areas are very important to us and I think we have achieved excellent results…Of course, none of this is possible without a fully functioning Judiciary,” Ambassador Yu said.

Ambassador Yu also commended the Philippine Judiciary “for always striving for innovation and improvement.”

She particularly lauded the SC’s use of technology and digital platforms to further improve the administration of justice.

She noted that the Australian courts could learn from the Philippine judiciary’s programs and projects “particularly access to courts in rural and remote areas.”

Sandigan denies ex-Pagcor chief’s plea to be cleared of malversation

By Maricel V. Cruz

THE Sandiganbayan has denied the plea for acquittal of former Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) chairperson Efraim Genuino for using a Supreme Court (SC) decision that tackled another issue not related to his criminal cases in his motion.

Genuino faces 19 graft and 20 malversation cases filed against him by the Ombudsman.

“Thus, the guilt or innocence of the accused

may only be determined by the court after a consideration of the totality of evidence submitted by the parties,” the court said in the resolution written by Division Chairperson and Presiding Justice Amparo-Cabotaje-Tang, with the concurrence of Associate Justices Bernelito Fernandez and Ronald Moreno.

In his manifestation and motion, Genuino said the high court held that the funds disbursed by PAGCOR for the purchase of “Baler” movie tickets came from the agency’s Operating Expense (OPEX) Fund which is separate and distinct from the 5 percent franchise tax and 50 percent share of the government.

The SC, he added, held that the OPEX Fund is part of PAGCOR’s private corporate funds and outside the audit jurisdiction of the Commission on Audit.

Genuino also noted the P26.7 million utilized for the tickets were within the powers of PAGCOR as

the transaction with BIDA Foundation was sociocivic in nature.

Even prosecution witnesses admitted that PAGCOR does not receive funding from the government and generates its own income revenue, which means that there was no undue injury to the government, Genuino said.

For the other cases, Genuino explained the funds used for their Corporate Social Responsibility project formed part of the the agency’s private corporate funds.

However, the Sandiganba an said that the SC decision tackled the jurisdiction of COA to audit PAGCOR funds which is not related to the criminal charges against him.

The court noted that the present cases, 19 graft and 20 malversation, stemmed from the criminal information filed by the Ombudsman in 2013 and not on the notices of disallowance issued by COA.

STO. NINO ARRIVAL.

IN BRIEF

AIRPORT authorities and local traffic enforcers on Friday apprehended colorum and illegally parked vehicles in Pasay City as part of the government’s road-clearing campaign to ease traffic.

Personnel of the Manila International Airport Authority – Landside Police Division spearheaded the clearing operations together with Pasay and Paranaque City traffic enforcers resulting in the apprehension of at least 10 cars, five electronic tricycles and a stalled delivery truck along Domestic Road near Terminal 4.

“This is a continuing multi-agency effort intended to address rampant violations of colorum and illegally parked vehicles at major thoroughfares leading to the four NAIA Terminals,” said MIAA chief information officer Connie Bungag.

Tulfo backs Magna Carta for

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

SENATOR Raffy Tulfo is pushing anew for government to properly compensate barangay tanods and other barangay officials.

In his proposed Senate Bill (SB) No. 1696 provides a Magna Carta for barangay workers, which he said, have been neglected for the longest time in terms of benefits, salaries, and allowances.

Tulfo said some of barangay tanods had been injured, had met accidents, and even offered their life due to the call of duty.

He also noted that some barangay health workers had also died while doing their mandated tasks during the COVID-19 pandemic.

House bill seeks to strengthen SBMA

A BILL has been filed in the House of Representatives strengthening the administration and operational governance of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) by amending provisions of Republic Act No. 7227.

At the same time, Bataan Rep. Geraldine Roman, principal author of House Bill 530, appealed to fellow legislators to support her bill which aims to revitalize the bases conversion development, amending for the purpose RA No. 7227, otherwise known as the “Bases Conversion and Development Act of 1992,” as amended.

Roman, chairperson of the House committee on women and gender equality, said it is high time to incorporate provisions to professionalize the SBMA Board of Directors and also to ensure and strengthen the public safety and security of the free-port zone.

In her proposed measure, amendments

were introduced to improve revenue collection and thereby increasing the shares of the Local Government Units (LGU) affected and the share of the national government.

Reallocation formulas as to the sharing received by the Province of Bataan and Pampanga from the two percent tax on gross income from all business enterprises within the free-port zone were introduced in her bill.

The bill contains sections designating additional seats to the Board of Directors of the SBMA of Local Government Units (LGU) and from Indigenous Peoples residing within Subic Bay Freeport Zone were incorporated.

Roman said amendments were taken into consideration during the 17th Congress on the basis of reaffirming the powers granted to the SBMA by RA 7227, as amended. Maricel V. Cruz

barangay workers

Tulfo’s bill impseeks a more extensive set of grants for the benefits, subsidies and compensation for barangay officials, personnel, and volunteer workers, including tanods and barangay health workers.

It seeks to remedy the ordeal encountered by barangay health workers by giving minimum and maximum salary rates.

Tulfo further said the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) is tasked to develop a standardized Position Classification and Compensation Scheme for barangay officials, personnel, and volunteer workers.

SB No. 1696 also requires that government workers be covered by the Govern-

ment Service Insurance System (GSIS) social insurance program, PhilHealth Insurance Program, and PagIBIG Fund.

Under the said measure, hazard allowance, as well as death and burial benefits, are also granted to public servants.

Tulfo’s bill, to be known as “Magna Carta for Barangay Officials, Personnel and Volunteer Workers,” likewise aims to provide preferential treatment for barangay officers in their conferment of civil service eligibility and in government appointments.

“It is imperative that we recognize the tireless effort and sacrifices of our barangay officials, personnel and volunteer workers by giving them their due,” the bills explanatory note read.

Villar promises continued support for Mindanao agri sector projects

SAYING that Mindanao supplies 40% of the country’s food requirements and contributes 30% to the national food trade, Sen. Cynthia A. Villar said she will continue to support programs to further boost growth in the agricultural sector in the region.

Villar said she had crafted and pushed for laws to improve the lives of farmers and stakeholders in the agri sector.

The senator, chairperson of the Senate committee on agriculture and food, was the guest speaker in the Kilusang Pagbabago (KP) 1st Regional Farmers Summit held at the Corpus Christi Gym, Macasanding, Cagayan De Oro City last January 19.

The KP’s 1st summit’s theme was “Unity of the Farmers are the new Challenge of the Future for Sustainable Development.”

During the summit, the senator spelled out the laws she authored and sponsored to help Mindanao, of which 1/3 of its land has been allocated to agriculture.

These laws are the following:

1. Hatchery Laws. During 16th Congress, 10 Multi-specie Marine Hatchery bills were

enacted into law and 7 of them are for provinces in Mindanao.

In the 17th and 18th Congresses, 31 Multispecie Marine Hatchery bills became a law and seven of them were for Mindanao.

2. RA No. 10659 or the Sugarcane Industry Development Act (SIDA).

3. RA No. 10816 or Farm Tourism Development Law, which created farm schools in every town in the Philippines. Today, there are 2,805 farm schools.

4- RA No. 10817 or An Act Instituting the Philippine Halal Export Development and Promotion Program.

5. RA 11511 or An Act Amending RA No.10068 or the Organic Agriculture Act of 2010, which make the certification of organic products cheaper and affordable to small farmers.

6. RA No. 11524 or Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund Act.

7- RA No. 115471 or An Act Declaring the City of Davao as the Chocolate Capital of the Philippines and the entire Davao Region (Region 11) the Cacao Capital of the Philippines. Macon Ramos-Araneta

On Jan 9, the MIAA, LGU’s, Interagency Council for Traffic, and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) have agreed to join hands to address rampant violations of colorum and illegally parked vehicles at the vicinity of the airport. MIAA general manager Cesar Chiong said the Task Force in close coordination with Airport Traffic Police Division, and other member agencies “shall continue to undertake more and frequent and spot operations to keep them out of the NAIA.”

“We thank the MMDA for their willingness to help us in solving this problem that has been hounding the airport complex for years,” Chiong said. Joel E. Zurbano

THE National Housing Authority (NHA) on Friday released P4.935 million under the Emergency Housing Assistance Program (EHAP) to victims of flash floods in Gingoog, Misamis Oriental.

NHA general manager Joeben Tai spearheaded the distribution of P4.935 million in financial assistance to the families to 987 families, whose houses were damaged and destroyed by the shear line weather disruption in December.

Each family received a P5,000 cash assistance, he said.

He ordered the release of the EHAP funds following the directive of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to all government agencies to immediately assist all affected families.

“The NHA, under my leadership and the Build Better and More Housing program, is relentlessly fulfilling its mandate to help improve and develop the standard of living of poor families, and those living in danger areas,” Tai said.

“We continue to do this to fulfill one of the wishes of our President to have a progressive and peaceful life for our fellow Filipinos by building resettlement sites and supporting those affected by calamities and disasters,” he added.

He said he hoped the small amount could help the victims start over.

NHA was able to release P2.39 billion in EHAP funds in 2022 alone, benefiting 250,997 calamity-victim families in rebuilding their houses. Rio N. Araja

THE United States government has donated vehicles to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency’s Inter-Agency Drug Interdiction Task Group for the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and Clark International Airport to go after drug traders and syndicates.

The US Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL) Affairs turned over the two units of Toyota Hilux Fleet vans at the NAIA Terminal 3 in Pasay City.

The ceremony was attended by ex-US ambassador to the Republic of Namibia Lisa Johnson, now the acting principal deputy assistant secretary of INL.

The INL has long supported the Philippine government’s anti-drug efforts through the donation of office facilities and equipment, vehicles, personal protective gear, chemical analysis equipment for the PDEA laboratory service, and drug detection equipment for the Airport Drug Interdiction Task Groups. Rio N. Araja

MIAA apprehends illegally-parked vehicles

NHA releases P4.9m for housing assistance

US donates vehicles to PDEA task group

Photo shows (left to right) USWAG ILONGGO Party List representative James Ang, Mayor Jerry Treñas, and Lone District Congresswoman Julienne Baronda carry images of the infant Jesus Christ after welcoming the arrival of the Sto. Nino de Cebu replica onboard a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) rescue boat in Iloilo City on January 20. Norman Cruz

DLSU FORUM. US Assistant Secretary for State East Asian and Paci c A airs Daniel Kritenbrink answers questions from students and faculty members of the Dela Salle University (DLSU) on the US government’s support for the Indo-Paci c region and opportunities for US exchange programs on Friday. Danny Pata

FATHER AND SON. A man together with his son sells ice cream along a beach resort in Laiya, Batangas. Manny Marcelo

ALBAY Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda has rejected a proposal to implement a socalled wealth tax, saying it would be counter-productive because the targeted taxpayers would simply flee the country and leave the Philippine government holding the proverbial empty bag.

Salceda, chairman of the powerful House Committee on Ways and Means, recommended instead a scheme to tax luxury goods such as jewelry and pricey signature bags, wines, pieces of arts, cars, private jets, yachts, mansions, etc.

Salceda warned that imposing a wealth tax would only scare away potential investors including billionaires who are already staying in the Philippines.

“If you tax them, they will run away. So what P200 billion are we talking about here? Perhaps, P200 billion somewhere in the Cayman Islands. I think it is very mobile, there is cryptocurrency. We have a bank secrecy law, one of the strictest in the world, so how can you find that P200 billion?” Salceda said in an ANC interview.

He cited as an example the world’s richest man, French luxury group LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault, who is being offered citizenships by several countries so that he would come and stay there.

“I can name you a lot of countries who want rich people to be their citizen. So it’s contrary. They want rich people to be in their neighborhood for most likely to spend their wealth there, buy villas there and probably invest too by sheer familiarity to their surroundings,” he said.

Salceda said the Philippines also offers long-term investor’s visas to foreign investors who spend as much as $200,000 in the country.

GSIS cops silver award for top ARTA rating

THE Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) has received the Silver Award from the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) for obtaining the highest rating of 92.8 percent or “Very Satisfactory” among 50 government agencies in the ARTA Report Card Survey (RCS) 2.0.

Meanwhile, the tate pension fund encourages members and pensioners to u date their contact information such as mobile numbers and email addresses in their GSIS records.

“We are honored to receive this recognition that affirmed our efforts to provide the most responsive customer experience to our members and pensioners. They can rest assured that GSIS will continue to find ways to make its services more convenient, seamless, and maginhawa,” said GSIS president and general manager Wick Veloso.

Inspected during the 2022 ARTA survey were the GSIS’s head office in Pasay City, and the GSIS branch offices in Cebu, General Santos, and Palawan.

Done in coordination with the Civil Service Commission and the Philippine Statistics Authority, the ARTA-RCS 2.0 is a holistic tool that “measures the effectiveness of the Citizen’s Charter in reducing regulatory burdens and the impact of government programs in delivering efficient government service”.

Six jail guards file criminal raps vs. Bantag, 11 other BuCor execs

ing an asset of the BuCor.

The following day, the complainants said they were ordered transferred to the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City where Bantag allegedly assaulted them.

“Sa complaint nila si Bantag lang.

Labor group bats for P100 wage hike to meet poverty

By Vito Barcelo

THE labor group Partido Manggagawa (PM) is seeking a P100-across the board wage hike to address what they called rising incidence of hunger and poverty as indicated by the latest Social Weather Station (SWS) survey.

“A legislated P100 nationwide across-the-board wage hike is a key component of a set of solutions to worsening hunger and poverty in our country. Kailangan pa bang i-memorize yan,” PM chairman Rene Magtubo said. Magtubo said the only roadblock to a salary increase is employer resistance and government insensitivity.

“Their argument that wage hikes only benefit formal workers to the detriment of informal workers who are the vast majority is fake news. Research by the ILO and others find that minimum wage hikes have negligible effect on unemployment and instead have a lighthouse effect. Meaning, minimum wage hikes increase the wages even of the informally employed since it becomes socially unacceptable to pay lower salaries,” he explained.

The labor group made the statement on the heels of the latest SWS survey that showed hunger incidence in December 2022 rose to 11.8 percent which is equivalent to three million families, up from 11.3 percent in October 2022, or 2.89 million families experiencing involuntary hunger.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) earlier sacked Bantag as the suspected brains behind last year’s murder of broadcaster Percival Mabasa a.k.a. Percy Lapid.

The six jail guards accused Bantag and 11 other BuCor officials of alleged torture, grave threat, coercion, oral defamation, and obstruction of justice.

Cited as Bantag’s co-accused were, former BuCor deputy security officer Superintendent Ricardo Zulueta, former BuCor spokesman Gabriel Chaclag, jail guards Jayferson Bon-As, Victor Pascua, Bayani Allaga, Rose Marie Casion, Joel Arnold, Kanoy Lattot, Ave Akilit, Edgar Angeles Jr., and Michale Marzan.

The DOJ which took cognizance of the

charges, identified the complainants as Richie Canja, Lazaro Rafols, Jer Mojado, Eddie Jimenez, Roy Gacasa, and Asher Labrador.

GMA News reported that Zulueta’s counsel, Lauro Gaca an, said they cannot comment as they have yet to read the complaint.

Gacayan was quoted as saying he was am sorry he could not “comment on matters that we have not read.”

“Our clients have not received the complaints under oath,” Gacayan said.

Lawyer Mauricio Ulep, BuCor’s legal counsel, said the complainants were originally based at the Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm.. Canja claimed the respondents assaulted him and his companions on March 1, 2020 at the Iwahig facility for supposedly expos-

Pero nakipagcooperate ‘yung mga iba dahil wala silang ginawa. Hindi nila pinigilan si Bantag,” Ulep said.

In a separate interview, Canja said Bantag also allegedly threatened to harm their families.

“Okay lang sana kung kami ‘yun pero kung isama pa ‘yung pamilya namin, sasabihin nila pa sa amin na, ‘pu...ina ninyo, gusto ninyo pag dudukutin ko pa ‘yung mga pamilya ninyo at ‘yung mga asawa ninyo babarurutin ko sa harapan ninyo’,” Canja recalled.

The complainants also submitted a medical certificate dated December 13, 2022 to certify that Canja was treated on March 1, 2020 for multiple physical injuries secondary to mauling following an altercation with Bon-As.

The same SWS survey also showed that poverty incidence climbed to 51 percent from 49% percent, translating to 12.9 million families rating themselves as poor, an increase of 300,000 families from October to December 2022.

“It is definitely not rocket science to understand that increasing household incomes by raising the wages of family breadwinners will mitigate hunger and poverty. Wage hikes together with ayuda and forms of social protection like universal pensions and employment guarantees will radically decrease hunger and poverty in the face of a cost of living crisis expressed by runaway prices of onions, eggs and other essential necessities,” Magtubo said.

LYING DOWN PROTEST

Members

THE National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) on Friday said it has identified geographically isolated areas for the rollout of the “assisted SIM registration.”

Meanwhile, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said over 22 million SIMs have been registered as of Jan. 18.

NTC officer-in-charge Ella Blanca Lopez said an inter-agency ad hoc committee tasked to speed up the SIM Registration in remote areas has been formed.

During a meeting of the panel, the NTC presented to member agencies and the telephone companies (telcos) the list of remote

places as identified by the task force.

“A total of 45 remote areas within 15 regions of the country were identified,” Lopez said.

The NTC recommended a simultaneous roll-out of the SIM registration activities among the areas identified starting January 25, 2023, according to the NTC chief.

She said the telcos would check the operational feasibility of the plan, and expected to give the NTC a feedback on the matter on January 20, 2023.

Members of the Inter-Agency Ad Hoc Committee all agreed to provide assistance as telcos visit these remote areas for their SIM

registration efforts.

“Remote areas for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) will still be coordinated with the Bangsamoro Telecommunications Commission,” Lopez said.

Present during the meeting were representatives of the Department of Information and Communications Technology, Department of Interior and Local Government, Department of Education, Department of Public Works and Highways, Philippine Information Agency, Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police, and the Philippine Coast Guard.

TWG approves code for single ticket scheme

A MULTI-AGENCY technical working group (TWG) has approved the Metro Manila traffic code that will be used for the single ticketing system.

This was announced on Friday by San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora who also sits as chairman of the Metro Manila Council (MMC) which spearheads the single ticketing scheme.

“I will now schedule a meeting in the MMC to discuss the final form of the Metro Manila traffic code which was already presented yesterday and approved by the representatives including me,” Zamora said in a radio interview.

“I just want to clarify that it is approved only at the level of the TWG. So it will be elevated to the MMC and if there is no objection from the mayors, the process of implementation will start.)

According to Zamora, 20 common traffic violations with corresponding fines have been identified by the TWG.

In San Juan, he said the fine for disobedience of traffic signs will be lower with the implementation of the single ticketing system. From P2,000 to P4,000 up, the fine will be down to P 1,000 only.

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) will shoulder the expenses for the equipment needed for the new system, according to Zamora.

He said they are looking at the end of the first quarter for the roll out of the single ticketing system.

METRO Manila’s COVID-19 positivity rate has decreased to 2.9 percent as of January 18, independent OCTA Research Group reported Friday.

In a social media post, OCTA research fellow Dr. Guido David said the National Capital Region’s (NCR) COVID-19 positivity rate went down to 2.9 percent from 4.7 percent on January 11.

The positivity rate refers to the percentage of people who were found positive for COVID-19 among the total number of individuals tested.

The daily average of cases also dipped to 103 on January 19 from 166 on January 12, David said.

The average daily attack rate (ADAR) in the region decreased to 0.71 per 100,000 population, he said.

ADAR is the incidence showing the average number of new cases in a period per 100,000 people.

“Testing in the NCR has decreased to just 38 per day per 100k, the lowest since 2020,” David said.

David said the NCR’s hospital occupancy remained low at 24 percent, while the intensive care units (ICU) occupancy also remained low at 19 percent.

The Department of Health (DOH) on Thursday registered 251 new COVID-19 cases, while the active tally dropped to 10,863.

This was the fifth straight day that there were fewer than 300 COVID-19 cases.

The active tally also went down to 10,863 from 11,031 on Wednesday.

SUSPENDED Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) chief Gerald Bantag was mired in deeper legal woes after six jail guards from the Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm in Palawan formally filed criminal charges against him.

of militant groups stage a lying down protest to decry alleged worsening poverty and inequality amid faulty economic policies of the government that triggered in ation marked by soaring prices of basic commodities.

Manny Palmero

YEAR OF THE RABBIT STAMPS. The Philippine Postal Corp. launches commemorative  ’Year of the Rabbit’ stamps to mark the celebration of the Chinese Lunar New Year 2023. The collectible stamps are now available for sale to philatelists and the general public at the Philpost o ce in Lawton, Manila for P12 to P45 each. Danny Pata

TALK TO TROOPS. Newly-appointed Defense Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. (wearing barong) visits the Army headquarters in Fort Bonifacio and talks to unit commanders on Jan. 18, 2023. Galvez laid out the priorities that he set upon taking the helm of the country’s defense establishment early this month. Photo courtesy of Philippine Army

Security risks of EDCA under Marcos Jr. administration (Part 2)

By Rommel C. Banlaoi

SOME Southeast Asian countries have also expressed apprehensions strengthening American alliances in Asia with the increasing military presence in the Philippines through EDCA can foment greater geopolitical rivalries among competing major powers that can exacerbate regional security tensions leading to regional instabilities.

For example, when the US declared the formation of AUKUS (Australia, United Kingdom, US alliance system) in September 2021, Southeast Asian countries responded with serious apprehensions.

Indonesia, the de-facto leader in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, warned that AUKUS can intensify power projections in Asia, making the region as the fulcrum of major power competition.

Malaysia also expressed wariness that AUKUS can also trigger an Asian arms race.

If not handled astutely in accordance with clearly defined Philippine national security interests rather than parochial sectoral interests, EDCA can become our country’s source of security risk...

Singapore conveyed its neutral position but the Philippines welcomed AUKUS as a counter balance to China’s growing power in Asia.

Indeed, EDCA is an essential component of American alliances in Asia aiming to demonstrate to the whole world the US is a resident Indo-Pacific power.

The US regards the Indo-Pacific as vital to American security and prosperity.

The US Indo-Pacific Strategy released in February 2022 candidly declares that the US is determined to strengthen its “long-term position in and commitment to the Indo-Pacific” by focusing “on every corner of the region, from Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia, to South Asia and Oceania, including the Pacific Islands.”

This Strategy also asserts American determination to counter mounting challenges from the People’s Republic of China, to wit:

“This intensifying American focus is due in part to the fact that the Indo-Pacific faces mounting challenges, particularly from the PRC. The PRC is combining its economic, diplomatic, military, and technological might as it pursues a sphere of influence in the Indo-Pacific and seeks to become the world’s most influential power.

“The PRC’s coercion and aggression spans the globe, but it is most acute in the Indo-Pacific. From the economic coercion of Australia to the conflict along the Line of Actual Control with India to the growing pressure on Taiwan and bullying

of neighbors in the East and South China Seas, our allies and partners in the region bear much of the cost of the PRC’s harmful behavior.”

There is a clarity of American interests in implementing EDCA: to support the assertion of American global military leadership as the world’s foremost superpower and to counter all security threats from China as a challenger to American supremacy, particularly in the Taiwan Straits, the Korean Peninsula and the South China Sea.

Does the Philippine government under President Marcos Jr. rally behind the US to advance these interests?

Will EDCA really pursue Philippine national security interests?

It is imperative for the Philippine government to really conduct a serious re-examination and re-definition of Philippine national security interests in light of the evolving international and regional security landscape in the 21st century.

During the cold war, the Philippine government regarded its national interests as identical with the US.

In its aftermath, the Philippines terminated the Military Bases Agreement in 1991 because of the postcold war security situation leading to a redefinition of Philippine national interests by forging closer identification with the regional interest of Southeast Asian neighbors.

China’s occupation of the Mischief Reef in 1995 convinced the Philippine government to accommodate the return of the US by ratifying the VFA in 1999, especially in the context of the botched AFP modernization program.

China’s reclamation activities that began in 2013 in seven geographic features within the Kalayaan Island Group also compelled the Philippine government to sign the EDCA in 2014.

But increased US military facilities in the Philippines through EDCA can escalate the worsening US-China major power rivalry.

Keeping the American troops in Philippine territories even on rotational basis can raise the risk of dragging the Philippines in an armed conflict that it wants to avoid.

US military facilities in key strategic locations of the Philippines can also raise the possibility of the Philippines as a military target of American adversaries.

As candidly warned by a columnist and strategic analyst Ricardo Saludo, former head of the Presidential Management Staff in the administration of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, EDCA can weaponize the Philippines and wreck us.

If not handled astutely in accordance with clearly defined Philippine national security interests rather than parochial sectoral interests, EDCA can become our country’s source of security risk instead of a security provider under the Marcos Jr administration.

(Rommel C. Banlaoi, PhD, is the President of the Philippine Society for Intelligence and Security Studies, Chairman of the Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research and member of the Board of Directors of the China Southeast Asian Research Center on the South China Sea).

On Filipino basketball imports

IS THE exodus of topnotch Filipino players to cage leagues abroad a boon or bane to Philippine basketball?

In just a couple of years, former Gilas stars like brothers Kiefer and Thirdy Ravena, Dwight Ramos, Matthew Wright, Bobby Ray Parks, Jr., have taken their acts to the Japan Basketball League for better pay and career opportunities.

Some young stars, who could be future top picks in the Philippine Basketball Association rookie draft, have signed up with teams in the Korean Basketball League straight out of college.

Renz Abando of the Letran Knights, Justin Gutang of the College of St. Benilde, and Ronjay Abbarientos of Far Eastern University are some of the highest-paid imports in the fledgling Korean league.

Topping the list is the high-flying Abando who is reportedly set to receive P13.9 million for his first year with the Anyang KGC Ginseng Corporation.

Japan B-League reportedly pays higher, four times what the former PBA stars used to receive from their teams in Asia’s oldest basketball league.

Money is certainly a big factor, but for the young players it’s all about financial security in just a few years of playing healthy.

Add to the fact that these leagues outside the Philippines can offer more opportunities for growth, a new adventure, and probably

As a team, becoming one of the best in the world may have become a farfetched idea but we can still take pride in our kababayans displaying their skills on the world stage

more exposure to Europe prospects.

Juan Gomez de Liano is playing in Europe with a Lithuanian team and the way he’s displaying the Filipino brand of basketball, it’s not far-fetched that some teams may also employ Filipino imports soon.

The danger now for the Philippines, especially the PBA, is the impending dearth of stars during the annual draft as the top prospects are prompted to go overseas even before they complete their playing years in college.

While the Filipino players have committed themselves to put a clause to their contracts that they are allowed to play for the Philippine Team if their services are needed, it does not bode well for the longterm plan of the Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas.

With the top-notch playing overseas, it has become impossible for Gilas to form a more prepared national squad due to the short period of training before an international competition—at least in the current SBP setup.

The SBP must improve its program that suits the globalization of Filipino basketball or it could form its own young developmental that will have a longterm contract to represent the country in international competitions.

That was proven effective for the then NCC Team of the late Ron Jacobs -- starring Samboy Lim, Allan Caidic, and naturalized players Jeff Moore, Chip Engeland and Dennis Still.

As for the PBA, it needs to adapt itself to the changing landscape of global basketball.

The so-called international players who may go back and forth to play as imports and locally may be put on a separate list where the teams can conduct a separate selection process from the rookie draft.

Filipino basketball talents abound and have become the apple of the eye of growing pro leagues in Asia and Europe and that is a big opportunity to make Filipinos proud in the sport that has become a religion.

As a team, becoming one of the best in the world may have become a far-fetched idea but we can still take pride in our kababayans displaying their skills on the world stage.

And there’s nothing to worry about in our local basketball scene as we will never run out of quality players.

Misplaced optimism of BBM’s finance secretary

PEOPLE truly wonder what the President’s finance secretary is up to when he predicted a robust 6.5 percent economic growth for 2023.

Secretary Ben Diokno made his optimistic assessment of the nation’s economy barring unforeseen forces that could hamper growth. Otherwise, he said, the country could easily jump a 7.5 percent growth rate, taking into account the bustling manufacturing sector, the low record of unemployment, the stable and resilient banking system which are indicative of the country’s ability to buffer external headwinds, all indicating a resilient economy.

The desire of the President to make use of the country’s sovereign wealth fund, as usual, opened the door to new opportunities, all hoping to bring in capital and wealth by squeezing additional interest rate to an already tight market economy, this time risking the nation’’ hard-earned savings called Maharlika or sovereign wealth fund.

In both instances, despite the fanfare of BBM’s last visit to Beijing dubbed as “both historic and a reaffirmation of the friendship between the two countries,” many political observers rather see things quite differently.

Some interpret his visit to Davos as sort of a cover to delude the Asian public from being identified as pro-US.

Some say Marcos junior wants to be identified with EU to dispel the suspicion that US has made a beachhead after BBM won against Duterte.

BBM’s appearance is most important and relevant, and, like his father, he made sure his presence would have an impact on the audience.

Marcos wanted to make sure his speech will not end up as run-of-the-mill but will stand out to be remembered by history.

At the Davos meeting of the World Economic Forum, Marcos calculated he will stand out as the most productive guest.

Many analyze his presence as one Asian leader identified as much closer to the European Union.

Second, to make his presence dramatic, his administration offered incentive to compensate their presence in that super-select annual elitist gathering.

For all his flamboyance that the Philippines will pursue a neutral course in the conduct of its foreign policy, many remain uneasy for the fact that the US already made a pronouncement of its intention to secure five more military bases in addition to the six military bases granted to it under EDCA.

Marcos wanted to make sure his speech will not end up as run-of-the-mill but will stand out to be remembered by history

According to the statement made by Lt. Gen. James Bierman, Commanding General of the Third Marine Expeditionary Force, he said the five military bases are in addition to the existing six bases under EDCA. This is an attempt to pre-empt a constitutional provision—the pronouncement already precludes us from rejecting such agreement although it is the Constitution that will have a final say whether or not to allow an expansion of those US military bases in the country.

A closer identification of the Philippines with EU could lessen an attempt by the country and the US to artificially preclude Europe as

spearheading the crusade to isolate China and to preposition themselves to any future invasion of Taiwan.

That way, the Philippines will not appear, if not substitute the US, as the leading antiChinese villain in the region.

On its existing relations with China, its patience is somewhat being tested.

There seems to be an inexhaustible patience by China on how we treat that country.

For instance, the delay in our ratification of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Program or RCEP.

Of course, China is watching every move we take.

It will always be a win-win situation for them.

As our agricultural export continues to suffer, we always find excuses to blame others for us like our inability to lower our export products.

We always blame why we have an inefficient irrigation system and woefully do not have a modern fertilizer plant to sustain our agricultural production to a competitive level. Another is the cancellation of joint oil exploration agreement between China and the Philippines.

The country could not implement the project considering the area is within the disputed waters.

In the meantime, other countries have carried out their joint exploration with China while the Philippine project remains in the drawing board —to our detriment.

Full text at www.manilastandard.net

By AFP correspondents with Shatha Yaish in Dubai

“TO BE, or not to be.”

On a stage in Yemen, William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” rings out in Arabic, a tragedy that resonates with an audience suffering from years of civil war.

In the government-controlled city of Aden, battered by the conflict, the first performance of a Shakespeare play in many years has resurrected hopes of a cultural revival.

“We are hungry for these kinds of events,” said Heba al-Bakri, watching one of a sold-out run of 10 shows.

“Our people are always distressed and exhausted, so we need this kind of entertainment.”

As the actors took their bows, applause roared out and the audience rose for a standing ovation.

The savage bloodshed, murder, revenge, power struggles and moral dilemmas told in the famous tragedy by the English playwright were written

over 400 years ago -- but on stage in Yemen today, the play holds power.

Yemen, the poorest country on the Arabian peninsula, has been at war since 2014 when Iran-backed Huthi rebels seized the capital Sanaa, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene the following year.

The country has been left in ruins, hundreds of thousands of people have died, and many more have been pushed to the brink of famine.

‘Dream realised’

Director Amr Gamal, founder of the Khaleej Aden Theatre Troupe, feared there might have been only “limited interest”, but is now planning a second round of shows after its success.

The three-hour performance has gripped the audience.

“They do not leave the room before the play ends”, said Gamal, who also directed the feature film “Ten Days Before the Wedding”, a love story which Yemen named as their official submission to the 2018 Oscars.

Yemen, renowned for its rich

Yemen, renowned for its rich cultural heritage, has a long history of performing Shakespeare in Arabic dating back over a century

cultural heritage, has a long history of performing Shakespeare in Arabic dating back over a century.

In this version, “Hamlet” was translated first into classical Arabic and then into Aden’s dialect to provide it with a unique Yemeni twist.

Including characters wearing traditional Yemeni dress, it has turned a centuries-old tale into a platform to reflect on the troubled times in the

country today.

“It is an old dream realised after years of work,” said assistant director Marwan Mafraq, noting the “lack of resources” in Yemen had led to a “very tight space” for artistic production.

Backed by the British Council, a cultural and educational organization, the play is being performed in a former government building dating to when the southern port city was a British colony.

For the past two years, the cast in Aden received support via video-link from Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London and the Volcano Theatre in Wales.

The British Council said the “Hamlet” production showed its commitment to “building the capacity of young Yemenis to creatively express themselves”.

‘Sow love and peace’

But putting on the play posed not only logistical challenges.

Nour Zaker, who plays the tragic character of Ophelia, said she had to both learn a challenging role on stage and overcome social taboos against

female actors in the conservative country.

“I faced many difficulties as a woman in Aden,” she said.

“My family did not object, but it was difficult because... society does not easily accept these things.”

But her audience -- which included women wearing the face-covering niqab veil, common in Yemen -- were receptive.

For those watching and those on stage, the hope is “Hamlet” may help start a wider revival.

“As artists, we always have the hope that there will be great cultural productions, theatrical or cinematographic, which highlight Yemeni culture,” said actor Omar Majalad, who plays Hamlet’s friend Guildenstern.

“We hope that there will be more attention given to art and music,” said university student Fadi Abdulmalik, after watching a performance.

“This will sow love and peace in Yemen.” AFP

Clashes in Lima as thousands rally against Peru government

LIMA—Thousands marched through Peru’s capital Thursday in a large antigovernment rally punctuated by clashes with police, while the death toll from over a month of violent protests climbed in the country’s southern regions.

Some of the Lima protesters, who are demanding the resignation of President Dina Boluarte and fresh elections, threw stones and bottles at officers in the city center, AFP reporters saw.

The police were forced to temporarily retreat before they dug in behind riot shields and began deploying tear gas. At least two people were injured.

One building near the central Plaza San Martin caught fire, though it was not immediately clear how.

Peru has been rocked by protests since the ouster of Boluarte’s predecessor, Pedro Castillo, in early December—though violent clashes have largely been isolated thus far to the country’s south and east.

In the southern city of Arequipa, some

1,000 protesters tried early Thursday to storm the airport, but were also repelled by police firing tear gas, local television showed.

Peru’s human rights ombudsman later announced that one person had been killed in Arequipa, adding to two other deaths resulting from clashes on Wednesday and raising the nationwide death toll to 45.

The demonstrators in Lima, who are mostly from Andean regions, set off from several points around the capital with the aim of reaching the heavilyguarded presidential palace by the end of Thursday.

“Dina listen, the people disown you,” they chanted, while others called for the president to be assassinated.

“We are here, fighting for our just cause. We want them to close Congress,” villager Ayda Aroni, who came from Ayacucho, 330 kilometers (205 miles) southeast of Lima, told AFP. AFP

AFTER FRESH ARMS PLEDGES

West allies to meet on Ukraine plans

FRANKFURT—Representatives from 50 countries are set to gather in Germany Friday to discuss support for the next stage of Ukraine’s war against Russia, one day after the United States and European allies announced substantial new arms shipments.

The Pentagon on Thursday released a long list of $2.5 billion worth of supplies for Ukrainian forces, including Bradley fighting vehicles, armoured personnel carriers, air defence systems, and tens of thousands of rockets and artillery rounds.

Britain announced it would send 600 Brimstone missiles, Denmark said it

would donate 19 French-made Caesar howitzers, and Sweden promised its Archer artillery system, a modern mobile howitzer requested by Kyiv for months.

The arms announcements came as defence and other officials from some 50 countries, including all 30 NATO members, prepared to meet in Ramstein, Germany to discuss what

France gripped by strikes, protests by over 1 million vs. pension reform

PARIS—More than a million people marched in France on Thursday to protest pension reforms, with some demonstrators clashing with police in Paris, as strikes disrupted public transport, schools and much of the civil service.

The interior ministry put the total number of protesters marching against President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to extend the retirement age at 1.2 million, including 80,000 in Paris.

The hard-left CGT union said there had been more than two million people at protests across France, and 400,000 in the capital alone.

Another day of action is planned for January 31.

Around the Bastille area of Paris, some demonstrators hurled bottles, bins and smoke grenades at police who responded with tear gas and charged to disperse the troublemakers, according to AFP journalists at the scene.

US Supreme Court fails to find source of abortion rule leak

WASHINGTON—The US Supreme Court said Thursday that an eightmonth investigation that questioned 100 possible suspects had failed to find the source of the stunning leak last year of its draft abortion ruling.

The unprecedented leak, which the court called “one of the worst breaches of trust in its history,” revealed it planned to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that had guaranteed a woman’s right to abortion.

The leak, which came seven weeks before the final decision was announced, sparked fury among pro- and anti-abortion activists, with both sides claiming that the court had succumbed to politics.

Most of the 100 were quickly eliminated as suspects, and a smaller group was examined, including court officials with apparent ties to Politico, the publication that revealed the draft.

Hacking of the court’s systems was ruled out, but investigators discovered that there was inadequate security on many of the printers in the court that could have permitted a copy to be printed without any record.

After multiple interviews of certain court employees, the court said “the team has to date been unable to identify a person responsible by a preponderance of the evidence.”

The court Thursday condemned the leak as an attack on its credibility. AFP

As the march wound down in the evening, groups of young protesters also clashed with security forces at the vast Nation plaza in eastern Paris, setting fire to several bicycles and smashing bus stops.

Police said 44 people were arrested on weapons or violence charges, mostly from among the radical “Black Blocs” group, who wore masks, helmets and black clothes. Officers managed to split off the group, who numbered around a thousand, from the main demonstration, said police.

Seventeen people were also arrested in Lyon, where 23,000 people protested, according to authorities.

The pensions plan, presented by Macron’s government last week, would raise the retirement age for most from 62— among the lowest in the EU—to 64 and would increase the years of contributions required for a full pension.AFP

further support they could offer the wartorn country.

Looking ahead to the German talks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday that Kyiv expected “strong decisions” and “a powerful military support package from the United States”.

No US, German tanks

The United States and Germany have so far stopped short of granting Zelensky’s requests for their most modern battle tanks, which the Kremlin warned would amount to an “extremely dangerous” escalation if sent by the West.

Germany has been cautious about pro-

viding heavy weapons for Ukraine, but Chancellor Olaf Scholz is facing mounting pressure within Europe to authorise exports of German-made Leopard tanks ahead of the Ramstein meeting.

At the annual World Economic Forum gathering in Davos, Scholz told US Congress members that Germany would supply heavy tanks to Ukraine if the United States sent tanks too, a senior US lawmaker told AFP Thursday.

But Berlin left the door open to letting allies supply Ukraine with the requested tanks, saying Thursday it would “become clear in the next few hours or tomorrow morning.” AFP

Race on in NZ to replace PM Jacinda Ardern

WELLINGTON—Jacinda Ardern’s shock resignation sparked a push on Friday for New Zealand to choose its first Maori prime minister, as a small pack of candidates emerged for the top job.

Ardern, a global figurehead for progressive politics, stunned New Zealand on Thursday by announcing her abrupt exit from office, less than three years after securing a second term in a landslide election win.

The 42-year-old—who steered the country through natural disasters, the Covid pandemic, and its worst-ever terror attack—said she no longer had “enough in the tank”.

Ardern resigned with no clear successor and her ruling Labour Party is now scrambling to settle on a replacement.

Labour members of parliament will try to elect the next prime minister on Sunday, with the winning candidate needing two-thirds of the vote.

If that does not happen, it will become a drawn-out contest involving rank-and-file party members and affiliated unions.

Chris Hipkins, 44, is the early frontrunner after Ardern’s deputy Grant Robertson swiftly ruled himself out of the race.

Other names in the mix are Justice Minister Kiri Allan, one of Labour’s senior Maori MPs, and Immigration Minister Michael Wood.

Meta told to make adult nudity policies more inclusive

SAN FRANCISCO—Meta was reviewing a call by its oversight board to make its policies on adult nudity more inclusive, a spokesperson said Thursday, after the tech giant removed two Instagram posts showing transgender and non-binary people with their chests bared.

Neither post violated Meta’s policies on adult nudity, and in a statement released earlier this week, the board said it had overturned the company’s decision to remove them.

A Meta spokesperson told AFP Thursday that the company welcomed the board’s move and had already restored the images, agreeing they should not

have been taken down.

But the board also seized the opportunity to call on Meta, which also owns Facebook, to make its broader policies on adult nudity more inclusive.

The current policy “prohibits images containing female nipples other than in specified circumstances, such as breastfeeding and gender confirmation surgery,” the oversight board wrote in its decision.

That policy, it continued, “is based on a binary view of gender and a distinction between male and female bodies,” and results in “greater barriers to expression for women, trans and gender non-binary people on its platforms.”

It called for Meta to evaluate its policies “so that all people are treated in a manner consistent with international human rights standards, without discrimination on the basis of sex or gender.”

The Meta spokesperson said the company was reviewing that request, which echoes calls made by activists for years.

“We are constantly evaluating our policies to help make our platforms safer for everyone,” the spokesperson said.

“We know more can be done to support the LGBTQ+ community, and that means working with experts and LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations on a range of issues and product improvements.” AFP

None of the three has so far confirmed they will contest the ballot.

Maori prime minister?

Allan, a former commercial lawyer who entered parliament in 2017, has been touted as possibly New Zealand’s first Maori prime minister.

She was forced to take leave from parliament in April 2021 after she was diagnosed with stage 3 cervical cancer but returned to work just three months later.

Labour’s 15-member Maori caucus is expected to have a significant say in picking the next leader.

About 17 percent of New Zealand’s population of five million identified as Maori in the country’s latest census. AFP

UN Mali mission ‘unsustainable’ sans surge of personnel, draft report says

UNITED NATIONS—The UN peacekeeping mission in Mali is “unsustainable” without more personnel, according to a draft UN report obtained by AFP, which suggests a possible withdrawal of troops if key conditions are not met.

The mission, known by its acronym MINUSMA, was created in 2013 to help stabilize a state threatened with collapse under a jihadist onslaught—but the security situation in the country has continued to worsen.

“The current situation is unsustainable,” writes Guterres in the document submitted to the UN Security Council.

“MINUSMA is a peacekeeping operation where there is no peace to keep.”

The mission has come under increased pressure since France, which had been a major military presence in Mali for nine years, pulled its last troops out of the country last August.

In addition, the expansion of MINUSMA’s mandate in 2019 to include Mali’s central regions without adding additional resources has “overstretched the Mission,” the report, commissioned by the Security Council last year, says.

“Not in a position to fully implement its mandate, it has been the object of increasing criticism from Malian authorities and the population,” it adds.

Guterres proposes three options to remedy the situation. AFP

PERU PROTEST. Demonstrators clash with riot police at the Añashuayco bridge in Arequipa, Peru, during a protest against the government of President Dina Boluarte and to demand her resignation on January 19. After weeks of unrest, thousands of protesters were expected to descend on Peru’s capital Lima, defying a state of emergency to express their anger with Boluarte, who called on the demonstrators to gather ‘peacefully and calmly.’ AFP

NOT THE RABBITS. Animal rights activists dressed up as rabbits carry signs that read ‘Ajinomoto Stop Animal Testing’ as they protest outside Ajinomoto headquarters in Kuala Lumpur on January 20, ahead of the Lunar New Year on January 22. They called for the end of the Japanese food company’s testing on rabbits, dogs, pigs, and other animals. AFP

SMOKING UP. Aerial picture of the Cotopaxi volcano releasing gas and ashes on January 19 in Ecuador. The Cotopaxi Volcano has been in reactivation since October 2022, according to a report from the Geophysical Institute of the National Polytechnic showing today an emission with low ash content. AFP

Stocks fall; Peso rises to 54.54 a dollar

STOCKS fell, but the peso closed higher Friday in a rocky week that saw recession fears return to the fore, offsetting growing hope that China’s emergence from zeroCovid will help boost the struggling global economy.

The PSE index, the 30-company benchmark of the Philippine Stock Exchange, lost 5 points, or 0.08 percent, to close at 7,056.62, as three of the six

US Treasury takes steps to avoid default on gov’t debt

WASHINGTON—The US Treasury began taking measures Thursday to prevent a default on government debt as Congress heads towards a high-stakes clash between Democrats and Republicans over raising the nation’s borrowing limit.

Such “extraordinary measures” can help reduce the amount of outstanding debt subject to the limit, currently set at $31.4 trillion, but the Treasury has warned that the tools would only help for a limited time— likely not longer than six months.

“I respectfully urge Congress to act promptly to protect the full faith and credit of the United States,” said Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in a letter to Congressional leadership Thursday.

She added there is “considerable uncertainty” on how long the measures can last before risking default.

“Failure to meet the government’s obligations would cause irreparable harm to the US economy, the livelihoods of all Americans, and global financial stability,” Yellen said last week.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon echoed that concern Thursday, saying, “we should never question the creditworthiness of the United States government.”

“That is sacrosanct,” he said in an interview with CNBC.

The world’s biggest economy is bracing for a drawn-out battle in Congress as Republicans threaten to block the usual annual rubberstamping of a rise in the so-called debt ceiling.

With new control over the US House after last year’s midterm elections, Republicans want Democratic President Joe Biden to agree to slash government spending, which they view as having risen to unsustainable heights. AFP

subsectors declined.

The broader all-share index also dropped 3 points, or 0.10 percent, to settle at 3,682.86 on a value turnover of P6.86 billion. Gainers led losers, 97 to 86, while 59 issues were unchanged.

Five of the 10 most active stocks ended in the green, led by GT Capital Holdings Inc. which rose 2.23 percent to P495.80 and Universal Robina Corp. which added 2.11 percent to finish at P145.00.

Meanwhile, the peso closed at 54.54 a dollar Friday, stronger than the previous trading day’s finish of 54.63.

Most Asian markets advanced Friday.

While falling US inflation has fanned speculation the Federal Reserve will further slow

its pace of interest rate hikes, several top bank officials have lined up to warn that still more needs to be done before they are satisfied prices are under control.

Vice Chair Lael Brainard on Thursday said policymakers would “stay the course” in lifting rates, adding they would need to “be sufficiently restrictive for some time.”

And New York Fed chief John Williams foresaw further increases to get inflation back to two percent, from its current 6.5 percent.

Meanwhile, a series of weak indicators suggesting the economy continues to slow have rattled nerves as traders shift their view from “bad news is good news” -- as it allows the Fed to slow its

rate hikes—to “bad news is bad news.”

An underwhelming earnings season so far has added to the sense of trepidation among investors, particularly in New York, where all three main indexes fell again Thursday.

However, the mood in Asia was more upbeat as traders prepared for an expected boost from China’s reopening after three years of painful lockdowns.

“Given the sizeable upside for regional trade supporting local economies... stocks in Asia are nudging up despite weakness in the US market as East versus West divergence continues,” said SPI Asset Management’s Stephen Innes. With AFP

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Japan inflation hit 4% in December on higher energy bills

TOKYO—Japan’s consumer prices rose 4 percent in December from a year earlier, a level not seen since December 1981, fueled in part by higher energy bills, government data showed Friday.

The acceleration came after a 3.7 percent increase in prices in November, and the data from the internal affairs ministry showed inflation for the 2022 calendar year stood at 2.3 percent.

The figures were released days after the Bank of Japan again opted to leave its ultra-easy monetary policy intact, bucking the trend set by other central banks that have hiked rates to tackle rising prices.

The December figure was well below the still sky-high levels that have sparked concern in the United States,

Britain, and elsewhere, but it far exceeds the BoJ’s longstanding inflation goal of two percent.

Even excluding volatile fresh food and energy prices, the figure for December was three percent.

Rises in electricity and gas bills, as well as telecommunication fees and price hikes for a range of processed foods, contributed to the December acceleration, the government data showed.

But the central bank has consistently said it believes the price increases seen over the last year are temporary and linked to exceptional events such as the war in Ukraine and spiking energy costs.

The BoJ is reluctant to end its easing program without clear signs that price rises are likely to be sustained, includ-

ing rising wages.

The spring season is the period when corporate Japan traditionally faces requests for wage increases, and the government has urged companies to hike persistently stagnant salaries.

BoJ under pressure

On Wednesday, the central bank said it expected inflation to hit 3.0 percent for fiscal 2022, up from the 2.9 percent it predicted in October.

But it forecasts inflation of only 1.6 percent for the following year, rising to 1.8 percent for fiscal 2024.

“We are not at a point where we can foresee that the two percent target can be achieved in a stable and sustainable manner,” BoJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said Wednesday. AFP

NASA, Boeing to jointly develop low-emission aircraft

WASHINGTON—The US space agency NASA is teaming up with aviation giant Boeing to develop a next-generation commercial aircraft that emits less carbon.

NASA, whose purview also includes aeronautical research, will invest $425 million over seven years in the “Sustainable Flight Demonstrator” project, while Boeing and its partners will spend an estimated $725 million.

The goal is to produce future commercial airliners that are “more fuel efficient, with benefits to the environment, the commercial aviation industry, and to passengers worldwide,” NASA chief Bill Nelson said.

“If we are successful, we may see these technologies in planes that the public takes to the skies in the 2030s,” Nelson said in a statement on Wednesday.

The agreement calls for NASA and Boeing to build, test, and fly a full-scale singleaisle demonstrator aircraft.

“The technologies demonstrated and tested as part of the SFD program will inform future designs and could lead to breakthrough aerodynamics and fuel efficiency gains,” Boeing said.

Boeing chief engineer Greg Hyslop said it “has the potential

to make a major contribution toward a sustainable future.”

Engineers will be seeking to design an aircraft with fuel consumption and emissions reductions of up to 30 percent relative to today’s most efficient single-aisle aircraft, NASA said.

The agency plans to complete SFD testing by the late 2020s so the technologies and design can be applied to the next generation of single-aisle aircraft.

Single-aisle aircraft are the most common in airline fleets and account for

nearly half of the worldwide aviation emissions, NASA said.

Boeing and NASA plan to flight-test an innovative wing known as the transonic truss-braced wing that creates less drag and results in the burning of less fuel.

The extra-long, thin wings are mounted on top of the fuselage and stabilized by diagonal struts.

NASA and Boeing said the development of the next-generation plane could help meet the White House and industry’s objective of net-zero carbon emissions from aviation by 2050. AFP

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fin-

Netflix also announced that co-founder Reed Hastings was standing down as CEO, ending a 25-year leadership that saw the company grow from a rent-by-mail DVD service to an entertainment juggernaut.

Hastings ceded control of Netflix to his two longtime associates Chief Operating Officer Greg Peters and Ted Sarandos, who has been the face of Netflix in Hollywood and had already been named co-CEO.

“It feels like yesterday was our IPO; we were covered in red envelopes,” Hastings said during an earnings call.

“Hopefully, some of you have held the stock for all 21 years.”

Netflix became a publicly traded company in early 2002 at an opening price of $15 a share.

Shares in the streaming television service were up nearly 7 percent to $337.31 in after-market trades that followed the release of the earnings figures.

The Netflix board has been discussing succession planning for many years, Hastings pointed out in a blog post, joking “even founders need to evolve!”

He said he would hold the new job of executive chairman, noting this was a role that tech giant founders often take, using Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Microsoft’s Bill Gates as examples.

The changing of the guard was announced as Netflix posted added subscribers that blew past even the most optimistic expectations.

The streaming giant said it enticed 7.7 million new members in three months, bringing Netflix membership around the world to 230 million people.

Netflix praised a successful slate of new content that included horror-themed comedy “Wednesday,” saying the “Addams Family” spinoff was the company’s third most popular series ever.

Royal tell-all documentary “Harry & Meghan” also scored, Netflix said, as well as “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” starring Daniel Craig.

“This is in stark contrast to the first half of the year. Creating the next biggest blockbuster drives subscribers,” said tech and media analyst Paolo Pescatore. AFP

Netflix subscribers soar to 230m, exceeding analysts’ expectations

SAN FRANCISCO—US streaming giant Netflix ended last year with more than 230 million global subscribers, it said Thursday, beating analysts’ expectations as hits such as “Wednesday” and “Harry & Meghan” enticed new viewers.

was a tough year, with a bumpy start but a brighter

ish,” the company said in a letter announcing bumper fourth-quarter earnings.

FRENCH PROTESTS. A demonstrator holds a sign during a rally called by French trade unions in Paris on Jan. 19, 2023. A day of strikes and protests kicked off in France on Jan. 19, 2023 set to disrupt transport and schooling across the country in a trial for the government as workers oppose a deeply unpopular pensions overhaul. AFP

Boeing Research & Technology chief technology officer, vice president and general manager Todd Citron speaks during a news conference to discuss the agency’s Sustainable Flight Demonstrator project ‘to develop technology and designs for a new generation of lower-emission single-aisle airliners’ at the James Webb Auditorium of NASA Headquarters on Jan. 18, 2023, in Washington, DC. AFP

Euronet acquires 500 BPI ATMs outside branches

By Jenniffer B. Austria

EURONET Worldwide Inc., a leading global financial technology solutions and payments provider, said Friday it acquired 500 non-branch automated teller machines of Bank of the Philippine Islands.

Euronet said in a statement the acquisition is part of the group’s strategy to expand its ATM network in Southeast Asia.

“The diversification of our ATM network outside of Europe where we already have a strong presence is an important element of our growth strategy,” said Euronet chairman and chief executive Michael Brown.

“This agreement positions us as a catalyst of ATM consolidation with our superior technology, operational services and extended presence globally. The new geographies we entered are already proving to be solid investments, and we will continue to be aggressive in seeking similar opportunities in all parts of the world,” Brown said.

The acquisition will more than double Euronet’s ATM footprint in the Philippines.

Under the agreement with BPI, Euronet will assume full responsibility for managing 300 of the acquired ATMs and integrating them with the company’s independent ATM deployment in the Philippines.

The remaining 200 ATMs will continue to be operated under the BPI brand with end-to-end operations outsourced to Euronet.

Euronet said BPI customers would not be charged to use these ATMs through a network participation arrangement.

“BPI’s partnership with Euronet reflects our strong commitment to continuously enhance the banking experience,” said BPI chief operating officer Ramon Jocson.

“Euronet’s global expertise in managing ATM operations ensures that our clients will continue to experience secure and convenient banking through our ATMs. We look forward to the many client-centric innovations that we can provide through Euronet in the future,” he said.

BPI will continue to own and operate more than 2,500 ATMs across the country.

British bank upgrades 2022 PH growth forecast to 7.1%

By Julito G. Rada

HONGKONG

and Shanghai Banking Corp. raised on Friday its 2022 gross domestic product growth forecast for the Philippines to 7.1 percent from the previous estimate of 6.9 percent following the improvement in the country’s employment and export figures.

HSBC said in a report it revised upward its fourth-quarter GDP growth projection to 5.5 percent from 4.9 percent.

“Consequently, this lifts our full-year

2022 growth forecast from 6.9 percent to 7.1 percent, which means growth will likely fall within the government’s 2022 growth target of 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent,” the bank said.

“The Philippine economy exhibited pockets of resilience in the final quarter of 2022. Exports performed well above expectations despite the global tech cool down and despite forward-looking indicators in the Philippines signaling exports to eventually fall,” it said.

It said jobs exhibited strong growth in the quarter. “More adults were available to rejoin the workforce to contribute to the economy, with kids finally back― physically―in school,” the bank said.

The British bank, however, maintained its view “that the Philippines will likely grow below trend in the next two years: 4.4 percent in 2023 and 5.2 percent in 2024,” as it cited the impact of higher interest rates and the possible easing in consumption, investment and even trade.

“But amidst the displays of resilience, cracks are getting larger, brought by the lagged effects of both high inflation [currently the highest in ASEAN] and high interest rates. Households have dipped into their savings in response to today’s higher cost of living. Thus, consumption should slow in 2023 as households readjust their purchases and start to build their savings back up,” it said.

History also shows that a high-interest environment will likely put a drag on growth by reining in both consumption and investment, it said.

The government is set to release the fourth-quarter and full-year 2022 GDP data on Jan. 26.

The economy expanded by 7.6 percent in the third quarter, faster than 7 percent a year ago, bucking the domestic and external headwinds such as the rising interest rates, elevated inflation and geopolitical tensions in Eastern Europe.

DENR FORUM.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources led by Secretary Ma. Antonia YuloLoyzaga (third from left) holds a multistakeholder forum, the second in a series in Iloilo City, as part of its effort to identify strategies and priority actions of the department. The forum served to enable inclusive dialog and share knowledge and experience on how different stakeholders can work together with the department and other national government agencies.

With Yulo-Loyzaga are (from left) Iloilo province Second District Rep. Michael Gorriceta, Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Trenas; Uswag Ilonggo Partylist Rep. Jojo Ang, Chamber of Mines of the Philippines chairman Mike Toledo, Arthaland Corp. director Enrique Gonzales and Metro Pacific Water president and chief executive Rogelio Singson.

By Alena Mae S. Flores

LOCAL company Linseed Field Power Corp. is on track to launching the commercial operations of its integrated liquefied natural gas import terminal in Barangay Ilijan, Batangas City in April, a Department of Energy official said Friday.

DOE director Rino Abad said Linseed maintained its target completion date at end-March and start of commercial operations at the start of April.

Abad said DOE was waiting for Linseed to submit its application for a permit to operate and maintain the facility.

He said DOE was expecting to receive

Senior ASEAN officials meet to assert region’s influence as growth epicenter

By Othel V. Campos

SENIOR economic officials of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations met in Indonesia with calls for unity and cooperation to assert the region’s influence on the global economy.

“ASEAN is now at the center of the global economy. As a single market and production base, economic activities have gravitated towards our region from research and development, product development, manufacturing, innovation, and even the development of creative and digital economy,” Department of Trade and Industry assistant secretary for trade policy group Allan Gepty said Friday.

The 10-member economic bloc convened senior officials on Jan. 16 to 17, 2023 in Semarang, Indonesia under the theme of “ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth.”

Indonesia takes on the chairmanship of ASEAN for 2023, with a focus on initiatives towards recovery, digital transformation and sustainability. The group will push for 16 priority economic deliverables that cut across the ASEAN Economic Community.

As country coordinator for Japan, the Philippines led the discussion at the special Senior Economic Officials

The meeting centered on the “Future Design and Action Plan of an Innovative Sustainable ASEAN-Japan Economic Partnership” and the privatesector led “ASEAN-Japan Co-Creation Vision” which aims to implement initiatives on supply chain resilience, MSME development, among others.

“For ASEAN and Japan, we have to ensure that our strong economic ties are further deepened and remain resilient amidst evolving economic and geo-political developments,” Gepty said.

The Future Design and Action Plan is envisioned to serve as the roadmap of ASEAN-Japan economic relations in the succeeding years to develop a society that is “safe, prosperous, and free through fair and mutually beneficial economic co-creation based on trust”.

Officials at the sidelines of the SEOM 1/54 meeting also convened the inaugural gathering of the focal group for global value chains, which serves as a platform to advance ASEAN’s work on GVCs and monitor and evaluate overall progress of ASEAN’s GVC-related work.

an operational update from Linseed in the next few weeks.

“We will conduct a final verification once they submit the permit to operate and maintain,” Abad said.

Linseed’s commercial operation target would be in the time for the arrival of San Miguel Corp.’s liquefied natural gas supply for the 1,200-megawatt Ilijan combined cycle power plant.

Linseed’s LNG terminal project was estimated to cost about P14.6 billion.

The terminal would utilize onshore regasification and storage utility supplemented with a floating storage unit.

The proposed project is adjacent to the existing Ilijan combined cycle power plant.

Linseed’s facility is intended to serve the Ilijan power plant and future projects of SMC Global Power Holdings Corp.

The DOE said it would keep a tight watch on the commercial operation of LNG facilities towards the first half, which would complement the Malampaya resource in northwest Palawan.

The DOE approved six applications for LNG import terminal projects as of December 2022.

“These LNG projects will supply the existing anchor markets of the Malampaya gas field to address the impending depletion of the country’s lone domestic source of natural gas,” the department said.

SEC approves CREIT’s P4.5-b ASEAN green bonds

THE Securities and Exchange Commission said Friday it approved the P4.5-billion ASEAN Green Bonds of Citicore Energy REIT Corp.

CREIT will offer P3 billion worth of fixed-rate bonds with an oversubscription option for another P1.5 billion.

CREIT said the net proceeds from the bond offering would be used for the acquisition of solar rooftops system for lease, a solar power operator and properties that would be leased to solar power developers and operators.

The bonds will be offered at face value from Jan. 30 to Feb. 3, in time for listing at the Philippine Dealing and Exchange Corp. by Feb. 10, according to the latest timetable submitted to the SEC.

Citicore Energy CREIT tapped PNB Capital and Investment Corp. and SB Capital Investment Corp. as the joint issue managers, joint lead underwriters and joint bookrunners for the offering.

CREIT debuted in the Philippine Stock Exchange in February as the first energythemed real estate investment trust.

Jenniffer B. Austria

14 groups express interest in Casecnan hydroplant

STATE-RUN Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. said Friday the sale of the 165-megawatt Casecnan hydroelectric power plant in Nueva Ecija drew the interest of 14 prospective bidders.

PSALM moved the bid submission deadline for the privatization of the CHEPP to March 28 from Feb. 24, 2023.

PSALM rescheduled the second pre-bid conference to Jan. 25 from Jan. 11 and the deadline of submission of bidders’ comments to Jan. 27 from Jan. 13.

The company held the first pre-bid conference on Nov. 22, allowing bidders to ask questions and request clarification on concerns relative to the requirements in the bidding procedures.

The agency also moved the deadline for submission of request to bid through consortium/joint venture to Jan. 24 from Jan. 17 and the issuance of notice to the approved consortia to Jan. 31 from Jan. 26.

Alena Mae S. Flores

Converge CEO donates 3-hectare lot to alma mater

GIVING back to the institution that honed him to become the successful businessman he is today, Converge ICT Solutions Inc. co-founder and chief executive Dennis Anthony Uy donated three hectares of land to his alma mater Chevalier School in Angeles City, Pampanga, underscoring the value of education just like what his late father used to advocate for.

“Chevalier, and of course my father, taught me what true service is all about. It is devoting time, resources and energy to improve the lives of others. This is why I am donating a 3-hectare property in Angeles for the use of Chevalier School Inc. This school will be located within the grounds of the Tech City, and will be named in honor of my father, Chun Ching Wong Uy,” Uy said in his acceptance speech during the Chevalier awarding ceremony.

Uy was recognized as Chevalier’s outstanding alumnus for making significant contributions, not only for the good of the community but the whole country at large, and for his achievements that help bring distinction to his former school.

Uy thanked the institution and has attributed his successes in business and in life to the teachings brought to him by the Angeles-based high school.

“It was this school that taught me the value of serving others. Something that my father, who recently passed, also taught me. My father also valued education and he thought highly of the Chevalier School,” he said.

2GO VAN. 2GO Group Inc., a pioneer in less than container load reefers in the Philippines and a subsidiary of SM Investments Corp., begins the New Year with the arrival of its new mixed temperature vans—the first in the country to boost the safe and secure transport of goods critical to spurring economic activity. Managed by subsidiary 2GO Special Containers and Value-Added Services Inc., each van has multiple temperature settings, which allows it to store and transport both frozen and chilled food items at the same time, freeing up slots in vessels.

2 DOTr undersecretaries ask Marina to probe Manila Bay vessel

land transportation, rail system and infrastructure.

The Samahan ng

rinong Pilipino

Dec.

DOTr

cy’s service directors on the issue.

This followed DOTr Undersecretary for maritime Elmer Franciso’s verbal instructions to conduct verification on the

Aplasca assured that OTS would strengthen its partnership with Marina in compliance with the requirements of the International Ship and Port FacilityCode and OTS issuance for a safe and secured maritime transportation system in the country.

OTS is the single authority responsible for the security of the transportation systems of the country, including, but not limited to civil aviation, sea transport and maritime infrastructure,

jority

Filipinos.

The group said the vessels were supposed to be under a bareboat charter or temporarily under Philippine flag arrangement, but they continued to employ Chinese crew which is not allowed under the law.

DOE expects Linseed Field Power’s LNG terminal to open in April

Meeting-Ministry of Economy, Trade and Investment on Jan. 16, 2023 to discuss the celebration of the 50th anniversary of ASEAN-Japan economic relations this year.

By Darwin G. Amojelar

THE Office for Transport Security, an attached agency of the Department of Transportation, asked the Maritime Industry Authority for a meeting to probe the operations of a vessel in Manila Bay for allegedly carrying Chinese crew.

Undersecretary and OTS administrator Ma. O Aplasca in a letter dated Jan. 18 called for a meeting with Marina administrator Hernani Fabia and the agen-

vessel of Spectrum Marine and Shipmanagement Inc. which allegedly has “Chinese crew” operating within coastal waters of Manila Bay.

Nagkaka-isang Ma-

earlier alleged in a letter dated

18, 2022 to Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma and Migrant Workers Secretary Susan Ople that ma-

of the crew members of foreign vessels operating in Manila Bay are not

Brownlee, 5 college standouts head Gilas Pilipinas newcomers

By Peter Atencio

NATURALIZED Filipino Justin Brownlee and five collegiate standouts will be among the new faces making up the Gilas Pilipinas national men’s basketball pool for the final window of the 2023 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.

While Brownlee is a sure choice to make the roster, college stars Mason Amos, Jerom Lastimosa Schonny Winston, Kevin Quiambao, and Francis “Lebron” Lopez are among the 23 players seeking to make the final cut.

The 6’7” Amos, who is currently a high school senior in Brisbane, Australia, is not new with the Gilas program, having played with the National Youth team during the 2022 FIBA Under-18 Asian Championship.

He averaged 24.3 points to go with 5.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.0 steals during

his FIBA Under-18 days.

Lastimosa is a 5’11” guard out of Adamson University. He didn’t push through with his stint in the Korean Basketball League after club team Jeonju KCC Aegis discontinued its plans to get him.

Winston is a prolific guard of the De La Salle University Green Archers and a teammate of Quiambao.

On the other hand, Lopez is a mainstay of the Ateneo Blue Eagles and has always been invited to join the Gilas pool for the past two years.

Brownlee was granted Filipino citizenship when President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. signed Republic Act 11937 into law on January 12, 2023, so that the resident Ginebra import can join the Gilas Pilipinas team.

Philippine Basketball Association cagers and Brownlee’s teammates Scottie Thompson, Jamie Malonzo and Japeth Aguilar of recent Commissioner’s Cup champion Ginebra are also in the roster of candidates for Window 6.

Also listed are June Mar Fajardo and CJ Perez of San Miguel Beer, Roger Pogoy and Calvin Oftana of TNT, Chris Newsome and Raymond Almazan of Meralco, and Arvin Tolentino of Northport.

Angelo Kouame of Ateneo is also listed with Kai Sotto of Adelaide, Kiefer Ravena of Shiga, Thirdy Ravena of San-En, Dwight Ramos of Hokkaido, Ray Parks of Nagoya, Carl Tamayo of Ryukyu, and Jordan Heading of Nagasaki.

PAGCOR remits over P250 million to PSC

FILIPINO athletes training for the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia in May can now shift to high gear in their preparation for the biennial meet after the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation turned over on January 19, a total of P256.38 million in remittances to the Philippine Sports Commission.

Said amount represents PAGCOR’s mandated contributions to the government sports body for the months of November (P124.45 million) and December (P131.93 million) last year.

PAGCOR chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco personally handed the state-run gaming firm’s remittances to newly-appointed PSC chairman Richard Bachmann in a simple turnover ceremony held at the PAGCOR Executive Office in Malate, Manila.

“With the amount that we remitted, we hope to contribute significantly to the training of our national athletes for various international competitions and to the further development of Philippine sports. Our future remittances will be bigger as our operations are slowly easing back to normalcy,” Tengco said.

Bachmann, on the other hand, expressed extreme gratitude to the state-run gaming firm for its latest remittances to the PSC, saying they would be very beneficial especially to the players representing the

SUPPORT for the Army Navy Club200 200/50 Endurance Race—the Philippines’ biggest motorsports event of 2023 slated on Feb. 11 at the Clark International Speedway—has snowballed in recent weeks.

BMW Motorrad and Ducati lead the list of corporate backers in the novel motorcycle event, which features three riders sharing one transponder and riding duties in 50 thrilling laps of approximately 200 kilometers.

“It’s going to be an adrenaline-pumping racing action on the racetrack and a festival of brands throwing their support behind this motorsports spectacle, the first of it kind in the Philippines,” said Bobby Unson, President of the Club 200.

Aside from Ducati and BMW Motorrad, the endurance race is also presented by Pirelli, KTM, Angkas, Evo Helmets, APRILIA, Juan Life, Hotel 101 and Merry Mart, and powered by Wheeltek, Triumph, Harley Davidson of Manila and Motoworld, with Manila Bulletin and C! Magazine as media partners.

To level the playing field among regular everyday riders and weekend enthusiasts, Club 200 is excluding competitive racers currently riding in the National Superbike Series.

“It doesn’t get any better than this. This is every-

one’s chance to live out their lifelong dreams of riding it out at a racetrack of international standards against the best riders outside of the national series,” Red Romero, past president and one of the founding members of the organizing Club 200.

Registration is ongoing and will last until raceday.

In order to register, interested riders may pay the entry fee (Individual P7,500 /Team P21,000) at the Club200 Riders Association Inc.’s Unionbank, Magallanes Paseo Branch’s account no. 001470007566.

After payment, send a message to the event’s Facebook page (Army Navy Club 200 Endurance Relay Race) https://www.facebook.com/profile. php?id=100084886190715 and the copy of proof of payment (screen shot or photo of deposit slip).

Once the organizer receives a copy of proof of payment, it will send participant an Online Registration Form. Fill up the form, send back and receive confirmation.

Finally, DM your photo with white background.

During raceday, slated in the morning are the 50Lap Endurance Relay Race for Adventure Class open to 400cc-1300cc with 17-19-21 inch Front Wheels and 2/3/4 Cylinder Engines for the Adventure Class.

Mid-day event is the 5-Lap Race for the First Ever Boxer Cup, featuring the BMW R Ninety

country in the Cambodia SEAG.

“This is definitely a big help to us as there are already a lot of requests coming from the NSAs (National Sports Associations) for equipment that they need for the training of their athletes for the coming SEA Games. Wala na tayong problema sa pondo pagdating dito,” Bachmann noted.

Besides remitting its mandated shares to PSC, PAGCOR also hands cash grants to athletes and coaches who win in international competitions under the National Athletes and Coaches Benefits and Incentives Act.

The agency played a vital role in the successful staging of the 30th SEAG in 2019 by donating P842.50 million to the PSC for the rehabilitation of major sports facilities utilized for the Games. Among these sports facilities were the Rizal Memorial Coliseum and Ninoy Aquino Stadium inside the historic Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Malate, Manila and the Philsports Complex Multipurpose Arena in Pasig City.

The state-run gaming firm also made financial contribution to the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee for the hosting of the biennial meet.

Vosotros back as TNT wins 3x3 title

TNT lost no time regaining its lofty perch on top of the PBA 3x3, trouncing Barangay Ginebra, 20-14, to rule Leg 2 of the Third Conferense Season 2 Friday at Robinsons Place Antipolo.

Almond Vosotros heralded his comeback from a week-long break by again leading the Tropang Giga’s charge, topscoring for 11 points and four rebounds as the telecommunications franchise won its sixth leg title for the season worth another P100,000.

The grand slam-seeking team also got valuable contributions from Chris Exciminiano, big man Lervin Flores and and new acquisition Luis Villegas, who had three points each in the rousing win.

The Tropang Giga is being coached by Mau Belen.

The Kings received the runner up purse of P50,000 as they couldn’t complete a Cinderalla finish that saw them foiled Purefoods in the quarterfinals, 13-11, and Cavitex in the semis, 21-15.

Kim Aurin led Ginebra with nine points.

Without Vosotros in the opening leg, the Tropang Giga made it as far as the semifinals, and then lost to Cavitex Braves in the battle for third place.

But with its top gunner back at the helm, TNT meant business in the playoffs right away, whipping Blackwater in the quarterfinals, 2113, and then bundled out Meralco in the semis, 20-18.

Meralco salvaged third place with a 20-17 victory over Cavitex.

Alfred Batino had seven points and five rebounds for the Bolts, who pocketed P30,000.

The scores TNT (20) – Vosotros11, Flores 3, Exciminiano 3, Villegas 3. Ginebra (14) – Aurin 9, Cu 3, Gumaru 2, Salcedo 0.

‘New-look’ NU braces for tough title-retention bid

WITH a virtually new, young roster, National University isn’t expecting too much on its chances in the Spikers’ Turf Open Conference unfolding Sunday at the Paco Arena in Manila, but is keen on making the most of its stint against the best teams in the fold.

“I think we will be the youngest team that will compete since our top players won’t be able to play due to their commitment to the UAAP,” said Dong dela Cruz, assistant coach of NU, which will now carry Archipelago Builders banner.

Behind the likes of star spiker Nico Almendras and top playmaker Joshua Retanar, the Bulldogs bucked the odds and stunned the seasoned Cignal HD Spikers to clinch the 2022 Spikers’ Turf crown then out-dueled the UST side to claim the V-League Collegiate Challenge title.

Almendras and Retanar, however, along with the other aces, won’t be around to anchor the team’s title-retention bid since the Sports Visionorganized tournament will be held alongside with the UAAP men’s volley set to open in February.

“But we’re ready to compete against the best teams,” said Dela Cruz, who will be pinning his hopes on holdovers Mac Bandola, Ahmad Abdul, libero Marco Maclang and setter Joseph Bello and newcomers Jan Abanilla, Joelbert Doromal, John Estrada, Edgar Florescan, Zulrich Gonzalez, Michael Hernandez, Bryan Jaleco, Leo Ordiales, Rhoy Parce and Rwenzmel Taguibolos.

Cignal and newcomer Imus and Cotabato are tipped to contend for the crown in the tournament, which drew 11 teams, including Sta. Rosa, PGJC-Navy, Army, Air Force VNS Volley Club, Iloilo and Vanguard Volleyball.

The Bulldogs will open their title retention drive on Wednesday against Vanguard Volleyball at 6 p.m. Imus and Santa Rosa kick off hostilities tomorrow at 4 p.m. while Navy and Army tangle in the 6 p.m. main game.

Riera U. Mallari, Editor;

Randy M. Caluag, Assistant Editor

TNT players take a group photo after winning Leg 2 of the Third Conference Season 2 Friday at Robinsons Place Antipolo.

READY TO RACE. Dino Santos (4th from left), COO of Adventure Cycle Philippines/KTM BGC, is shown after signing a sponsorship agreement for the Army Navy Club 200 Endurance Race. Santos is with (from left) past Club 200 presidents Miguel Bichara and Patrick de Leon, current president Bob Unson and Chuck Montecillo of KTM BGC. Motorcycles, while the premier Sportbike/Sport Naked 50 Lap Endurance Race will ensue after.

Justin Brownlee

PAGCOR chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco (left) turns over to PSC chairman Richard Bachmann the checks amounting to P256.38 million, representing the state-run gaming rm’s remittances to the government sports body for the months of November and December 2022.

A gem in the offing in Panglao

Alturas Group eyes a sustainable island-community

PANGLAO, Bohol

—The  first hotel in Panglao Shores – a 50-hectare mixed-use estate that will have six hotels and resorts, as well as a residential and retail area —is currently being built in Bohol island.

Scheduled for completion by the  first quarter of 2024, the development is being undertaken by the tourism arm of Alturas Group of Companies.

Panglao Shores’ first hotel will have 188 room keys. It will be an expansion of South Palms Resort Panglao which currently has 78 rooms and villas.

According to Hope Marie R. Uy, managing director of Panglao Shores and South Palms Resort, the project will also have 37,000 square meters (sq.m.) of commercial space, over 1,000

She

FOR A

EXPERIENCE. Ovialand Inc. was recently cited by the Department of Education’s division in San Pablo, Laguna for promoting quality, accessible, inclusive, and liberating basic education to students. The award was given in recognition of the developer’s initiative to help schools in San Pablo enhance the quality of their services to students. The company also repaired four classrooms at Soledad Elementary School and donated four Smart TVs to San Vicente Integrated High School. (Shown in photo). ‘We are pleased to be recognized by DepEd for our initiatives enabling students to receive a better learning experience,’ said Pammy Olivares-Vital, President and CEO of Ovialand. ‘For Ovialand, delivering the promise of premier family living is not just about ensuring our clients get the homes they deserve—it is also about helping the communities around us grow and develop.’ Ovialand has previously helped schools provide a better learning and teaching environment for students and teachers alike. In Candelaria, Quezon, the company worked together with its business partner Kyushu Yaesu Inc. to build new buildings for Masin Elementary School.

achieve

“Definitely

Sustainability from the get-go

The community estate aims to mirror the sustainability agenda and circular

in its existing property called South Farm Panglao-Bohol, where waste is recycled.

Bill Barnett, managing director of the estate’s lead consultant C9 Hotelworks, said that being sustainable is not only a conscientious choice but also helps reduce costs.

“If I have an energy-efficient hotel, my hotel will have lower operating costs,” Barnett said.

“Although you have to continue to invest in the technology, there is a return. The return is not only doing the good thing but there’s also an economic model on the return of investment,” he added.

Uy added that having a solar-powered hotel is achievable as the group already tried it in one of its farms.

“We have livestock farms located in Bohol and one of these farms is solarpowered so we already have a success

story, “ she declared. She added that the whole estate will incorporate international building standards and materials.

Smart technologies on tap Panglao Shores will also make use of smart technologies, electric transport and water treatment, reduce waste, and will eliminate single-use plastics.

The Alturas group plans to finish the whole project in two phases within 10 years. The initial phase includes all initial infrastructure needs like roads, as well as the  first hotel.

“In our timetable, we are hoping that we are able to establish this project in 10 years,” Uy said. “Early next year we are opening our  first resort, and phase two is coming up with the commercial zone and hopefully by 2033 we’re all up.”

Panglao Shores is a  flagship project under the Tourism Infrastructure & Enterprise Zone Authority which aims to deliver economic and social benefits to their destinations. It will be under Panglao Bay Premiere Parks and Resorts Corp., a subsidiary of Alturas Group.

Manila through a digital lens, clearly

TORRE Lorenzo Development Corporation (TLDC) recently launched a digital mural art contest in partnership with the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB). The project seeks to highlight Manila City’s cultural character in its newest co-living residences, lyf.

Lyf, managed by The Ascott Limited, features co-living accommodations designed for the next generation travelers. Its units are complemented with IG-worthy modern, and fresh interiors to give guests an avenue for socials, work, and creativity Guests can indulge in innovative shared spaces for collaboration such as the lounge, social kitchen, laundromat, fitness gym, and swimming pool.

“As the first lyf property to open in Manila, we’d like it to reflect the city’s soul and unique character,” said Cathy Casares-Ko, TLDC’s Chief Operations Officer (Shown in photo with DLS-CSB Vice Chancellor for Academics Angelo Lacson).

“Whether it is through the colors of the Manila Bay sunset, the texture of Intramuros’ cobbled streets, or the dynamism of the city’s food scene – lyf ’s walls are envisioned to exhibit Manila’s vibrant colors and life,” she explained.

Platform for talent, creativity TLDC has been building developments that are accessible to the country’s top universities, including DLS-CSB. “TLDC’s partnership with DLS-CSB is significant to us because our developments have been home

to many DLS-CSB students, who continued to stay on as they pursued their professions,” said Casares-Ko. “It’s an opportunity to recognize the talent and creativity of the school’s students and alumni. We believe they have a very competent program in terms of digital visual communication having exposed their students to various storytelling, art forms, and media.”

For DLS-CSB, the partnership is a chance for students and alumni to bring creative concepts to life. “For our students and alumni, it’s an opportunity to inspire and motivate their audience through their art. We  want their work to be able to spur creativity, encourage collaboration, and inspiration among the

future  residents of lyf. We hope that our audience discover Manila City’s old and new charm through art,” said Angelo Lacson, DLS-CSB’s Vice Chancellor for Academics.

Dubbed as Manila Digital Mural Art Contest, the art competition is open to DLS-CSB’s Multimedia Arts alumni and students. Winners will receive cash prizes and winning murals will be displayed on lyf ’s shared spaces including the Connect Lounge, Coffee Kiosk, Social Lounge, Private Working Pods, and Roof Deck located at Torre Lorenzo Malate along Malvar St. corner Vasquez St. in Malate.

For more information, e-mail multimediaarts@benilde.edu.ph

leading SMEs

residential units, 27-sq.m. communal area, international convention center farmers market and community green spaces, international medical facility, among others.

acknowledged that the development will seek to help Bohol

its goal of attracting more meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions.

we need a bigger communal area for events and conferences as we have that here yet in Bohol,” she said.

economy

HOW GREEN IS MY ISLAND.

International eco-building standards and materials have been incorporated throughout Panglao Shores. These include high-performance glass, natural ventilation and solar harvesting, along with smart technologies, electric transport, water treatment, waste reduction, and the removal of all single-use plastics.

VIBRANT HUB. At the heart of Panglao Shores is the Town Square Retail Mall & Night Market, an indoor-outdoor hub of shopping, dining and entertainment with live performance areas, garden walkways and courtyards.

GOING

BETTER LEARNING

East is dedicated to promoting a healthy and active lifestyle.,” he declared. “We want to continue providing an avenue for runners, individuals starting to get active, and even their pets, to have a friendly and enjoyable race experience through the next Run Ortigas.” The 16-hectare master-planned estate of Ortigas Land is home to the commercial spot and pet haven, Tiendesitas. Apart from this, Ortigas Land also offers office spaces such as The Glaston Tower and Silver City which benefit from the short distance to the residential tower Maple at Verdant Towers.

REAL estate logistics company

AyalaLand Logistics Holdings Corp. (ALLHC), was recently picked as one of Asia’s leading SMEs at the Asia

Corporate Excellence and Sustainability Awards (ACES) 2022. The ACES Awards recognizes inspiring enterprises in Asia in the domains of leadership and sustainability.

ALLHC was named winner of the

leadership award following a stringent evaluation and selection process among small & medium enterprises (with a minimum annual turnover of US$ 10 million) in Asia. The award is presented to companies that “have a sustainable business model, strong customer base, innovative product offering, growing revenue and profits, and the flexibility to respond to rapid changes in the industry and customer demand.” “This award underpins the organization’s growth efforts while staying true to our mission of being co-catalysts for progress and development,” said ALLHC Chief Operating Officer Patrick C. Avila.

Previous winners of the title were Berjayapak Sdn. Bhd. of Malaysia in 2020 and Cyclect Electrical Engineering PTE LTD of Singapore in 2019.

ALLC, one of Asia’s

By Milo Rivera

SHELL is proud to partner some of the top motorsport teams in some of the world’s most competitive championships - from spearheading innovation to instilling technical prowess, their access to racing is second to none. The sport continuously serves as their ultimate test bed for their products, challenging them to perform in some of the most extreme conditions thus ensuring customers nothing but the very best. And given their rich motorsport history, there’s no doubt that victories have become a culture for the leading oil and gas company.

No exception to their prowess is the Shell Helix DC Racing Rallye Team, who proved to be a cut above the rest throughout last year’s Philippine Rallycross Series. The 9-round championship saw the team’s ace drivers, father-and-son duo of Paul and Paolo Santos and three-time “Slalom King” Dr. Peewee Mendiola, dominating almost all rounds of Groups 2, 3, 4, and the Open categories en route to claiming overall championships and “Driver of the Year” honors at the end of the 2022 Philippine racing season.

It was a year-long dog fight between teammates Santos (Paul) and Mendiola for the Groups 2, 3, & 4 crown. Although each individual duel was nothing short of an intense battle for the top step of the podium, the team’s ability to have both of their drivers be at a position to consistently fight for wins was the main takeaway of the season. 2022 eventually saw Paul Santos not just claim the Group 3 & 4 championship, but was also named the Rallycross “Driver of the Year” of the Automobile Association Philippines (AAP). Mendiola, on the other hand, was titled the Golden Wheel Ral-

PH RALLYE RACING success serves as a testament to Shell’s powering progress

race went by. Special mention goes out to Dax Santiano of TS Tuning and our boys, who constantly kept the car well-maintained and prepared to face the challenges of rally racing, we wouldn’t have been able to accomplish anything without them. And of course, big big thanks to Shell for supporting us throughout the entire season”, said the very jubilant lead driver.

Mendiola, on the other hand, dedicated his victories to someone more than meaningful to his life on and off the race track.

“These wins are dedicated to a very good friend of mine - Ding Clemente - who not just helped our team a lot before his demise, but was a key figure in my growth as a race car driver too. This win is definitely his as well”, said the former three-time Slalom champion who admits that it was always difficult balancing his passion for the sport and his profession as a renowned ophthalmologist. “Praise God for continuously blessing me with the ability to still win races, even at this stage of my life, and to the whole Shell Rallye Team for the opportunity and support. It’s always been tough juggling time between getting the right preparations for the car and being a doctor. Although at the end of it all, I’m glad everything paid off very well. I’d like to give special mention to Arthur Pasao and Dax Santiano for keeping our cars in tip top condition and being able to get through the rigors of this type of racing”, he added.

In addition to the triumphs of both Paul and Doc Peewee, young ace driver Paolo Santos also proved his worth in the field of rallycross after emerging as the undisputed king of the Open category - winning almost all rounds of the year in just his first season of racing on dirt. Being no stranger to the sport after successful stints in circuit racing, the 2019 Golden Wheel “Driver of the Year” and 2019 Philippine GT Champion admits that it was a challenging transition from asphalt to gravel. “In addition to this being my first year back since the pandemic hit, the abrupt change in racing characteristics given this move to rallycross was the main challenge for me entering the series. Yet with the help of the whole team I was able to get my groove back as quickly as possible”, said the young Santos.

With the continuous backing of Shell throughout the team’s motorsport endeavors, more success is definitely within their grasp as another year of racing is about to commence. “It’s absolutely great to be back and endless thanks go out to Shell and everyone behind our team for helping me bag the Open Championship. This is definitely an amazing start for us as we aim for more wins this 2023”, added Paolo who speaks on behalf of the team as they set their sights on another successful Rallycross season, as well as a go at the 2023 Rallysprint series.

Engineered and built for the global market, the EMPOW and all new GS8 help realize GAC MOTOR’s vision of becoming a first-class brand with international influence and excellent quality. Both global vehicles embody GAC MOTOR’s core qualities of modern design, fine craftsmanship, superior build quality, and cutting-edge technology.

The launch breathes excitement into the GAC MOTOR lineup in the Philippines, which includes the compact GS3 SUV, the fun-todrive GS4 SUV, and the versatile GN6 MPV. It also highlights the brand’s strong commitment to deliver world-class vehicles to more Filipinos, supported by an expanded network of showrooms and service centers across the nation.

The event was spearheaded by Jorge Belzunce, Astara managing director for Southern Europe and the Philippines; Raoul Picello, Astara Philippines managing director; and Jun Cajayon, GAC MOTOR Philippines brand head.

Introducing the EMPOW: A Unique and Sporty Sedan Set to Conquer The EMPOW represents a bold new era for GAC MOTOR: an era of far greater confidence in its brand identity, international strategy and in-house technology.

Bold and original, the EMPOW’s exterior is characterized by futuristic lines and a sleek, muscle car-esque silhouette that gives the EMPOW an aggressive stance. The sculpted form and attentiongrabbing design elements define its sporty profile, while its interiors, driving performance and technology are engineered to thrill the senses.

“The EMPOW is most ideal for customers who want a sports sedan that looks as great as it drives. It provides the performance advantage without compromise at a price point that is well within reach. The EMPOW is, without a doubt, a vehicle that makes a strong statement on the road,” said Jun Cajayon, brand head of GAC MOTOR Philippines.

Design details like the oversized front grille, beautiful 18-inch alloy wheels and quad exhausts at the rear give the car a distinctly muscular appearance. Sharp, angular design details such as the eye-catching automatic LED headlights, LED daytime running lights and extended rear lights add to its overall visual appeal on the road.

The sporty design is continued in the interior with vibrant supercar-style colored leather panels, fighter-jet inspired seats, and carbon fiber materials. Two screens – a 7-inch digital instrument panel and a 10.25-inch infotainment display with Apple CarPlay support – complete the look of the EMPOW’s futuristic and sleek front console.

The experience inside the vehicle is further enhanced by a power sunroof, a leather

The All-New GS8: Bringing power and prestige to Filipino travelers The GS8, a full-size seven-seater SUV and one of GAC MOTOR’s most successful nameplates, has been upgraded to bring prestige to premium buyers. The brand’s flagship SUV combines form and function with its bold and futuristic design style, surging power and pioneering smart configurations.

“The all-new GS8 builds on its success as GAC MOTOR’s flagship SUV with its complete package of style, quality, reliability and safety. It has been masterfully-designed to exude confidence on the road, making it the perfect match for customers seeking distinction and refinement in their SUV,” said Cajayon.

NLEX Connector: Faster, more effective mobility ahead

THE NLEX Connector continues to gain the support of various stakeholders after they were given a tour of the first five kilometers of the project. They experienced firsthand the safe and convenient journey that the motoring public will get from the new expressway.

Officials from national and local governments, plus some select transport groups, media, infra and lifestyle vloggers, travel enthusiasts, and motorists recently toured the NLEX Connector España section between Caloocan and España interchanges, making them anticipate the opening of the new road.

Now 94 percent complete, the road is expected to enhance the accessibility between airports and seaports as well as boost the supply chain and logistics sector as it traverses C3 Road, Blumentritt, Dimasalang, España Blvd., R. Magsaysay Blvd., up to the vicinity of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) in Sta. Mesa, Manila.

NLEX President and General Manager J. Luigi L. Bautista said the team is making sure that construction activities are within schedule so the road may be opened for public use.

A public-private partnership project

To date, stone mastic asphalt and pavement markings have already been applied and light posts have been installed on the said expressway segment. Installation of other safety features and integration of traffic management devices with the existing system of NLEX are also underway.

WHEN the very first Lexus RX debuted in 1998 nothing like it had ever existed before. It was the very first luxury SUV. In 2005, this model broke boundaries once again with the RX 400h. This was the world’s first hybrid luxury SUV. History has shown that each iteration of the RX is a breakthrough in performance, engineering, and luxury. Now in its 5th generation, this still holds true.

The all-new Lexus RX is the result of Lexus’s engineers anticipating the demands of this rapidly changing, environment-conscious, and forward-thinking world. This is omotenashi, or anticipatory hospitality, at its finest. The new look, upgraded features, and electrified powertrains will forge a new path to craft a more powerful, stylish, and sustainable Lexus RX.

DESIGN

Moving towards electrification, the designers undertook the challenge of incorporating the new ‘spindle body’ design identity into the new RX, achieved through stronger integration of the grille. This expresses a sense of the car’s electrified power and low center of gravity. More compact, sharper headlights, air intakes and a wider track (+15mm) consolidate the stable, confident look.

To achieve a bolder stance, the designers created a sleeker front-to-rear posture, extending the bonnet, lengthening the wheelbase by 60mm and lowering the roofline by 10mm. Lending the car a coupe-like feel, the signature black rear pillar (Lexus’s ‘floating roof’) is now more threedimensional in appearance, while the sweeping character line and large 21-inch wheels heighten the dynamic feel.

The triple LED headlights are sleeker, sharper and more horizontal in alignment. The design is accentuated by L-shaped daytime running lights. At the rear, the single-line Lexus signature tail lights underline the RX shape, while the wider track (+45mm) emboldens the stance and road presence. The introduction of the “LEXUS” badging on the tailgate creates a clean and contemporary look.

There is both ample luggage space and five luxury seats with excellent legroom. An increased couple distance (1010mm, +10mm compared to the previous model), new seat designs and more intelligent packaging have made the cabin feel more spacious. The luggage compartment has been made easier to access with a 30mm reduction in the loading height and is 50mm longer, thanks to intelligent tailgate design. The longer length and rear seats which split-fold 40:20:40 help accommodate bulkier items. A new e-latch system electronically controls the door release operation, making it smoother and more convenient.

THE LEXUS DRIVING SIGNATURE

Each RX model delivers the Lexus Driving Signature to provide superior comfort and linear, direct responsiveness, giving all drivers

control and confidence at all times. The new RX uses Lexus’s GA-K platform. The rear has been completely redesigned to extend the wheelbase and accommodate additional cross members and suspension braces that increase rigidity. This increased rigidity has allowed the suspension to be more accurately tuned, improving both performance and comfort.

DIRECT4 communicates a better feel between the road and steering wheel and delivers improved handling stability and driving dynamics at high speed. This is paired with Dynamic Rear Steering for an even more exhilarating (and more secure) driving experience.

Adaptive Variable Suspension (AVS)—available on the RX 350h Premier and RX 500h F Sport—provides independent damping control at each wheel, giving a more comfortable ride on uneven surfaces, higher damping force when turning and flat ride stability.

POWERFUL YET EFFICIENT HYBRID DRIVETRAINS

The RX 350h hybrid electric is positioned as an efficient alternative to lower displacement diesel and petrol powertrains. It comes equipped with a new 2.5-liter in-line 4 petrol engine achieving better fuel-economy, while also contributing to reducing the vehicle weight.

It uses a completely new parallel hybrid architecture, featuring a turbocharged 2.4-liter turbo petrol engine and six-speed transmission, integrated front motor and power control unit, hybrid battery and a compact 103ps rear e-axle. Total system output is 371 ps with 550Nm of torque, giving 0-100 km/h acceleration in 6.2 seconds.

LEXUS SAFETY SYSTEM+

The all-new RX benefits from next-level active safety and driver assistance systems featured in the latest generation of Lexus Safety System+ with upgraded functions and increased scope for accident risk detection and prevention.

The improvements include further expansion of the Pre-Collision System’s ability to detect motorcycles and other objects in the car’s path.

Enhancements have been made to the Adaptive Cruise Control so that it now more quickly recognizes traffic cutting in front and, in conjunction with upgrades to Lane Trace Assist, follows a more natural line through bends.

VARIANTS AND PRICING

The Lexus RX is available in three variants, each with a hybrid drivetrain. The RX 350h Executive (P5,058,000); RX 350h Premier(P6,188,000); and RX 500h F-Sport (P6,668,000). Lexus has undertaken a complete reinvention of the RX large luxury SUV, building on the model’s great heritage and breaking new design and technology boundaries to increase the breadth of its capabilities and its appeal to an even wider customer base.

Pilipinas Shell, SUN Mobility to bring advanced battery swapping tech for electric mobility

PILIPINAS Shell Petroleum Corporation announced that it has recently signed a strategic agreement with SUN Mobility — a leading provider of energy infrastructure and services for electric vehicles (EVs). The partnership will explore the pilot deployment of SUN Mobility’s advanced battery-swapping

technology in the Philippines for 2 and 3-wheel electric vehicles.

The partnership supports the recently passed Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act (EVIDA) that aims to promote sustainable electric transportation in the country. The partners aim to accelerate the adoption of

electric vehicles in the Philippines by providing a practical and economical solution with zero tailpipe emissions. For this pilot project, select Shell Mobility stations will soon deploy Swap Points™ that leverage state-of-the-art interoperable battery-swapping technology by SUN Mobility consisting of Smart Batteries,

Quick Interchange Stations, and Smart Network (cloud-based IoT backend software). This will allow 2 and 3-wheel electric vehicles to swap batteries at select Shell mobility stations in less than two minutes and provide a cost-effective solution with significant range. The pilot is expected to launch within the first half of 2023.

Last July 2022, Pilipinas Shell, through its retailer, launched the Philippines’ first Ultrarapid EV charging station along the Philippines Expressways, at Shell SLEX Mamplasan Laguna. The Ultra-rapid 180kW charger is capable of charging an EV to optimal battery levels in less than 30 minutes of charging time.

lycross awardee after bagging the Group 2 crown.

Santos, being the head honcho of the team,

gave high praises to the group for an amazing season of racing. “I’m extremely grateful and proud of my team for not just allow-

ing me to take home another championship worth cherishing, but for also enabling one another to reach for greater heights as each

GAC MOTOR Philippines accelerates into 2023 with the back-to-back launch of the EMPOW and all new GS8 held last Wednesday at the Rockwell Plant in Makati City, marking the brand’s first public event under new distributor Astara Philippines.

between Metro Pacific Tollways led-NLEX Corporation and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), the NLEX Connector is seen to alleviate traffic in the metro by diverting trucks from heavily congested roads of the capital and providing easier access to several areas including the University Belt.

Time to forge new paths with All-New Lexus RX

Tech & Gadgets

HONOR raises bar for superior display experiences; priced at P16,990 only

HONOR, the leading global provider of smart devices, officially announced today the launch of the first-ever premium budget phone, the HONOR X9a 5G.

The latest addition to the HONOR X Series delivers best-in-class visuals and performance with a 120Hz all-round Premium OLED Curved Display, high-capacity durable battery and the Qualcomm® Snapdragon® 695 5G Mobile Platform, all engineered to fit in a pocket-sized body.

Available at an affordable price, the HONOR X9a 5G is set to make technology more accessible with reliable manufacturing to users around the world. The HONOR X9a 5G finally arrives in the Philippines at Php 16,990.

“We are committed to delivering a best-in-class experience for our global customers through continuous technological innovation”, said Stephen Cheng, Vice President for Marketing. “Packed with substantial upgrades, the HONOR X9a 5G offers our latest smartphone solutions including an exceptional display and compelling design features without the premium price tag, setting a new standard for the industry’s affordable category.”

Pricing and Availability

Designed for a style conscious audience, the HONOR X9a 5G is available in two stunning colors: Titanium Silver and Emerald Green. Starting from January 20 to February 3, the HONOR X9a 5G will be available to purchase via all HONOR kiosks and partner online stores—Lazada (http:// bit.ly/3XHFPIC), Shopee (http://bit.ly/3XzEfrS), Tiktok Shop (http://bit.ly/3kfHhTS), and Home Credit.

Get FREE HONOR Earbuds X3 Lite

HONOR fans can finally avail the HONOR X9a 5G via Home Credit, for as low as P661 per month with insurance, Php 765 without insurance, and on a 0% interest installment payment.

HONOR X9a 5G is priced at P16,990 with FREE HONOR Earbuds X3 Lite worth P3,999.

An All-round Display for a Remarkable Viewing Experience

The HONOR X9a 5G’s 6.67-inch OLED Curved Display supports a resolution of 2400x1080 pixels and displays up to 1.07 billion colors to reproduce images with incredible levels of detail and vibrancy. Coupled with ultra-slim bezels which lead to a remarkable 93% screen-to-body ratio and the durable Curved Tempered Glass, the class-leading display on the HONOR X9a 5G offers an immersive viewing experience, whether in entertainment, work or study scenarios.

In games where quick reflexes are required, users will appreciate the responsiveness of the HONOR X9a 5G’s display, which supports up to a 120Hz refresh rate and a 300Hz touch sampling rate, allowing the device to almost instantly register and react to user inputs. Holding the device with one hand, the HONOR X9a 5G offers an innovative mistouch prevention enabled by AI technology to prevent unnecessary hassle caused by accidental inputs.

Certified by TÜV Rheinland for low blue light emissions, the HONOR X9a 5G is easy on the eyes, and features industry-leading 1920Hz PWM Dimming technology to reduce screen flickering, further alleviating eye fatigue stemming from prolonged use.

Exceptionally Slim Design and a Long-lasting Battery in One Device

In line with the X Series’ mission to improve accessibility of HONOR’s technology, the HONOR X9a 5G also inherits the

SG-based Gigacover sustains PH growth, inks pact with EU-based MAPFRE Insurance

SINGAPORE-BASED insurtech company Gigacover recently announced a milestone partnership with Spanish insurer MAPFRE Insurance to improve 360 protection for Filipino individuals and businesses.

Following increased reports of challenged platform workers in transportation and logistics, Gigacover’s collaboration with the global insurance provider also underscores the need to improve coverage for underserved delivery riders.

“Seeing recent developments in providing adequate protection for platform workers across the region, we work hand in hand with insurance partners like MAPFRE to develop more products and services that would encourage better working conditions in the sector,” said Amerson Lin, co-founder and CEO at Gigacover. “True to our mission of protecting the underserved, we are confident that this partnership will help us secure our communities further.”

The partnership will generally highlight Personal Accident and Income Protection coverage for Filipino workers to provide them with safety nets while on the job.

Leading 360 Protection for Platform Workers

According to the Fairwork Philippines Ratings 2022 report, there are only a few platforms in the country that provide personal accident insurance for delivery riders. The report also shows that there are no companies that provide sick pay benefits commensurate with the rider’s earnings during the first three months of employment.

“Speaking to our partners in transportation and logistics, we also understand how valuable daily wages are for delivery riders,” said Lin. “These unfair work conditions highlight the importance of providing earnings protection for our gig workers, which secures their wages during sick days.”

Gigacover’s Income Protection Insurance has protected over 30,000 workers through partnerships with gig platforms such as Pick-A-Roo, EXOAsia, and a 300,000-strong freelance online community. In support of the Philippine government’s call to improve protection for gig workers, Gigacover will continue to find more solutions to improve its offerings.

Sustaining Growth and Extending 360 Protection to Niche Sectors

design as the iconic flagship Magic Series camera lock-up, featuring a circular Matrix Star Ring at the back which captivates the viewers as it captures them. Arranged along the Matrix Star Ring, the powerful Triple Camera system—comprising a 64MP Ultra-clear Main Camera, a 5MP Wide Angle Camera and a 2MP Macro Camera—allows users to capture their daily lives in photos and videos that can be shared with friends and family at the touch of a button.

Despite being just 7.9mm thin and 175gin weight, the HONOR X9a 5G features an ultra-large 5100mAh battery to support up to 29 hours of YouTube Music listening, 24 hours of YouTube streaming, 19 hours of TikTok browsing, up to 21 hours of social media exploring or 11 hours of gaming on a single charge, perfect for users who prefer to remain active throughout the day without having to worry about running out of power. With just 30 minutes of charging, the HONOR X9a 5G delivers 12.5 hours of video streaming, sparing users the worry over low battery.

Smooth Mobile Experience with HONOR RAM Turbo Featuring the latest Qualcomm® Snapdragon® 695 5G Mobile Platform, the HONOR X9a 5G delivers robust performance across productivity and entertainment apps. The user experience is further enhanced by HONOR RAM Turbo, which enables the smartphone to use a section of the storage as RAM to keep more apps active for more efficient multitasking.

Running the Android 12-based Magic UI 6.1 operating system, the HONOR X9a 5G comes with an Anti-aging Engine that minimizes performance degradation over time to ensure a consistent, smart user experience. Featuring HONOR Share and Multi-screen Collaboration, the HONOR X9a 5G enables speedy file transfers and efficient multi-tasking across HONOR devices including smartphones, laptops and tablets, bringing users unparalleled productivity.

Kaspersky named SPARK Matrix leader for Managed Security Services

KASPERSKY announced that its comprehensive Managed Security Services offering has received top accolades from Quadrant Knowledge Solutions for its parameters of service excellence and its customer impact.

The 2022 Quadrant Knowledge Solutions SPARK Matrix™: Managed Security Services is a detailed analysis of global market dynamics, major trends, vendor landscape, and competitive positioning. The study provides competitive analysis and ranking of the leading MSS providers in the form of the SPARK Matrix. It also offers strategic information so that users can evaluate the capabilities of different providers, their competitive differentiation, and their market position.

According to Rohan Paul, Analyst at Quadrant Knowledge Solutions, “Kaspersky takes an integrated approach to MSS and includes technologies and services required to implement a complete cycle of protection against targeted attacks including preparation, detection and investigation, data analysis and automated protection. Kaspersky leverages its patented threat intelligence platform and in-house team of researchers and analysts to provide threat intelligence services and support its MSS offering.

“The company offers a wide range of products and services to help enterprises respond to different types of security incidents, with individual offerings tailored to different business sizes and types. Kaspersky’s global presence and access to large amounts of data from different countries help the company achieve high detection rates and accuracy in its security services. Kaspersky has received strong ratings across service excellence and customer impact and has been positioned as a leader in the SPARK Matrix™: Managed Security Services, 2022,” says Paul.

“Managed security services alongside traditional on premise security approaches gives businesses confidence of being backed by the global vendor’s team standing by in even very complicated situations. Despite a possible gap of experience or knowledge of the customer’s cyber security personnel the professionals who deliver managed security services are usually able to detect a complex threat propagation having external vision and objective telemetry for automated analysis. This is particularly important because functionalities such as threat hunting, proper attributing and responding, need to be constantly enhanced in line with the changes and implications of the latest threat vectors,” comments Veniamin Levtsov, VP, Center of Corporate Business Expertise at Kaspersky.

Following a successful year, which yielded a 10x growth in active policies from the start of 2022, Gigacover is now in a position to offer more products and services geared towards the recent challenges experienced by other vulner-

able sectors. Gigacover is currently speaking to insurance partners to address challenges experienced by Filipinos suffering from mental health disorders, farmers going through financial troubles, and students going through post-graduation pressures.

“Companies do not always have sufficient internal resources to meet such demand instantly, so we are supporting a rising appetite for the service model in cyber security as a long-term market trend. That’s why we especially appreciate that QKS positioned our managed security services as the highest value proposition in terms of technology and service,” adds Levtsov.

SmarTrade and ATFX to guide more Filipinos navigate online trading in 2023

AS many Filipinos march forward to a post-pandemic world, industries now bear a more positive outlook of the New Year, and 2023 can be an opportune time to build your generational wealth.

For this reason, SmarTrade, a financial consulting firm, and its partner, globally-acclaimed broker, ATFX, gear up for more activities to bring free financial education to more Filipinos in the country.

Already in its 5th year in the Philippines, SmarTrade provides free learning sessions and one-on-one coaching and consulting on online trading that cater to all levels of traders—from beginners to seasoned professionals. These online and face-to-face events have reached more than 40,000 Filipinos all over the country and provided foundational knowledge on how to trade online.

ATFX supplements this initiative with its trading platform that allows investors to trade online with confi-

dence at their own convenience.

Online trading has significantly grown over the years and will continue to expand the trading market in this age.

With this outlook, SmarTrade will continue to advocate educating more Filipinos on how they can learn about online trading and make it a viable source of income. In the pipeline for 2023 are seminars, roadshows, as well as partnerships with various organizations to reach more people across the nation.

Aside from the business goals of this partnership, SmarTrade and ATFX also work together in several nation-building programs in service to the Filipino communities. These included disaster relief programs and environmental conservation efforts, among others.

“The last five years were a testament to a fruitful and productive partnership with ATFX in bringing numerous opportunities to the Filipino community in terms of wealth-building and sound financial management,” notes Joyce

Mayo, President & CEO of SmarTrade. “SmarTrade and ATFX have worked together in the pursuit of common goals and we are more than excited of what the next five or ten years will bring.”

“We are delighted that many people now realize the importance of sound financial management. Working with SmarTrade the past years has been a journey of learning, discovery, and growth, and we at ATFX are happy to have been a part of it. We believe our journey continues to be full of new experiences and ideas. We are excited to see what lies ahead for the Filipino people,” says Jeff Hsu, CEO for Southeast Asia of ATFX. This 2023 will be another year for SmarTrade and ATFX to push forward with their advocacies of uplifting the Filipino family by giving them another source of income in their path toward financial independence.

For more information about SmarTrade and its services, visit www. smartradeph.com

Packing a superior curved display and a long-lasting battery in a compact design, the HONOR X9a 5G delivers incredible visuals all-day long

The partnership will generally highlight Personal Accident and Income Protection coverage for Filipino workers to provide them with safety nets while on the job.

SmarTrade and ATFX celebrate half a decade of fruitful partnership during SmarTrade’s 5th anniversary gala. In photo are Journey Zeng-Cheng, ATFX Southeast Asia Business Development Manager; Martin Lam, ATFX Chief Analyst of Asia Pacific; Weems Chan, ATFX Global Head of Marketing and Branding; Jeffrey Siu, ATFX Chief Operating Officer; Jeff Hsu, ATFX CEO for Southeast Asia, with his wife and son; Joyce Mayo, SmarTrade President and CEO; and Kat Salagan, SmarTrade Marketing Director.