Manila Standard - 2023 March 8 - Wednesday

Second of a six-part supplement to mark Women’s Month

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PUV strike over, trips resume

Manibela, Piston declare end of protest after Palace meeting

By Joyce Pañares, Rio N. Araja, Othel V. Campos, Vito Barcelo, Joel E. Zurbano and Darwin Amojelar

TRANSPORT groups Manibela and PISTON have ended what should have been a week-long nationwide transport strike after a meeting at the Palace on Tuesday.

Public utility vehicles will resume plying their routes today (Wednesday) following a two-day strike.

Manibela head Mar Valbuena and PISTON president Mody Floranda met yesterday with Palace officials, including Communications Secretary Cheloy Garafil, a former chairperson of the Land Transportation Franchising and

Regulatory Board.

“There will be no phaseout of jeepneys. The king of the road will remain,” Valbuena told Manila Standard in an interview.

He said this was based on the directive of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., as relayed by the Palace officials they met at the Office of the

Executive Secretary.

“For traditional jeepneys that are still road-worthy, they will remain on the road,” Valbuena said.

He said the Department of Transportation has also assured them that there will be a dialogue on the concerns of UV Express drivers and operators as well.

He said they were “satisfied” with the commitments they secured during the meeting.

The Department of Transportation through the LTFRB extended the deadline for public utility jeepney franchise consolidation from June 30 to Dec. 31.

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SOS sent out to curb oil spill, Boracay in peril

By Willie Casas, Maricel V. Cruz and Macon Ramos-Araneta

THE Philippine Coast Guard on Tuesday appealed for help to contain a massive oil spill from a sunken tanker in Oriental Mindoro, which continued to threaten the livelihood of thousands of fishermen and the health of residents along the coasts of several provinces. Japan and the United States, along with several private companies, expressing their willingness to extend assistance, PCG Admiral Artemio Manalo Abu said, after it held coordination meetings with various foreign embassies.

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reachrd Caluyan which is about 70 nautical miles away. Inset are two maps from the UP Marine Science Institute showing the trajectory of the oil spill from the sunken MT Princess Empress in Oriental Mindoro. The map on the upper right shows the oil spill could reach Cuyo Island by March 12. The map on the lower right marks the areas threated by the oil spill, Oriental Mindoro to Caluya Island in Northwestern Antique, and Cuyo Island in Palawan.

Teves’s

By Charles Dantes and Rey E. Requejo

Inflation slightly

By Julito G. Rada and Vince Lopez

INFLATION in February eased to 8.6 percent from a 14-year high of 8.7 percent in January mainly due to a decline in the transport index, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Tuesday. News of the slight decline in inflation came as the Palace announced the creation of an Economic Development

to

Group headed by Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, and co-chaired by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan. The February inflation was significantly higher than the 3 percent registered a year ago, and well over the target range of 2 percent to 4 percent.

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Pag-IBIG Fund defers contribution hike to help in pandemic recovery

THE Pag-IBIG Fund Board of Trustees has officially approved the postponement of the agency’s contribution hike in 2023, citing the continuing recovery of both workers and business owners from the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement, Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development Secretary Jose Rizalino L. Acuzar and the 11-member Pag-IBIG Fund Board of Trustees said they unanimously ap -

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TOP GUN ‘LAWIN.’ President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Is seen on board an FA-50PH fighter jet after a familiarization flight during the acceptance, turnover and blessing of the C-295 Medium Lift Aircraft acquired by the Philippine Air Force in a ceremony at the Clark Air Base in Pampanga on Tuesday March 7, 2023. Alfred Frias

Gov’t eyes new work hours from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

GOVERNMENT agencies may soon adjust their office hours to 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. from Mondays to Thursdays with work-from-home setups on Fridays, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said Tuesday.

In a Palace press conference, Diokno revealed that the Department of Energy

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By Charles Dantes, Vince Lopez, and Maricel Cruz

CHINESE vessels roaming near Pag-asa Island in the West Philippine Sea are not heeding the Philippine Coast Guard’s warnings to respect the country’s maritime borders, the latter’s spokesman said Tuesday. This developed as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. boarded a fighter jet and flew over a portion of the WPS, a Palace source told

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DIALOGUE. Photo shows Manibela head Mar Valbuena (2nd from left) and PISTON president Mody Floranda (2nd from right) after their meeting with Palace officials, including Communications Secretary Cheloy Garafil (right), a former chairperson of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board. Manibela Facebook page

WHO regional head risks ouster

THE World Health Organization’s executive board was on Monday debating firing a powerful regional director over accusations of abusive, racist behaviour, several sources said.

The WHO executive board called a special closed-door session to discuss the case of Japanese doctor Takeshi Kasai, the suspended head of the UN health agency’s Western Pacific region, according to two diplomatic sources who asked not to be named.

The WHO meeting, which will wrap up Tuesday, was officially scheduled to consider “the recommendation of the Regional Committee for the Western Pacific,” which was held in the regional headquarters in Manila last week, also behind closed-doors.

the Standard, even as he vowed to upgrade the country’s defense capabilities and improve the military’s maritime patrol capability.

The President yesterday led the ceremonial blessing of the Philippine Air Force’s new C-295 medium lift aircraft at Clark Air Base in Pampanga, then was seen in pictures in full flight gear aboard an FA-50PH fighter jet on the tarmac.

The flight took Mr. Marcos over an area called IMTA (Intensive Military Training Area)-1 Zambales Area in the West Philippine Sea, together with four other jet fighters, the Standard source said.

A separate source from the Presidential Security Group, however, said it was only a “familiarization flight.”

It was related to a capability demonstration made by the PAF to showcase the performance and ability of the country’s air fleet, the source added.

As of press time, the Presidential Communications Office has not confirmed if Mr. Marcos indeed flew over the WPS.

Upon alighting from the jet, the Air Force gave the President the call sign “Lawin” (eagle) and gave the President the Mach Buster, FA-50PH, and call sign badges for his flight suit.

Meanwhile, PCG Commodore Jay Tarriela said during a public briefing that the Coast Guard station in Pag-asa has been radioing the Chinese ships reminding them that the 12 nautical miles of waters off Pag-asa Island is part of the territorial sea of the Philippines.

Although the Coast Guard stresses that “we have sovereignty here,” the ships from China do not budge or respond to their repeated radio calls, Tarriela added.

The vessels seen wandering Philippine waters last Saturday “are still roving in our seas,” he said.

This was after the PCG reported the presence of a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy vessel, China Coast Guard vessel 5203, and 42 suspected Chinese maritime militia vessels.

Tensions has been rising in past weeks between the Philippines and China after a Chinese ship used a “high-powered” laser light on a PCG vessel that was on a rotation and resupply mission for the Philippine Navy.

Since the incident, the Philippines filed a diplomatic protest against China regarding the laser use, which the Defense Department and several lawmakers called “offensive and unsafe.”

At Clark Air Base, President Marcos noted the fact that the Philippines is an archipelago of 7,640 islands, which requires a wider range of air defense which was a challenge to the PAF.

While WHO has not revealed what recommendation was being considered, the diplomatic sources told AFP that the Manila meeting had called for Kasai to be dismissed.

“Up to the 11th hour they were giving him the option to resign,” but Kasai refused, one of the diplomatic sources said.

“The vote was very close, 13-11…

There were a lot of phone calls behind the scenes,” the source said, adding that Japan had tried to block a report on an investigation into the case from

being published.

A slew of accusations against Kasai emerged in January last year from staff past and present, in revelations first published by the Associated Press news agency.

Kasai, who denied the allegations, was accused of presiding over a “toxic atmosphere” at the WHO’s Western Pacific headquarters in Manila with a culture of “systemic bullying and public ridiculing.”

The staff, who wished to remain anonymous “for fear of retaliation,” accused him of making “derogatory remarks to staff of certain nationalities,” in particular local Filipinos.

He was also accused of mismanaging the Covid pandemic, abusing his power

strike was able to paralyze Metro Manila; Cebu, Angeles City, Pampanga; Malolos, Bulacan; Dagupan City, Pangasinan, and Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

to secure his re-election and nepotism.

A few days after the revelations emerged, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus acknowledged the organisation had been aware for several months of the concerns and had launched an investigation.

The UN agency has not revealed any details from the investigation, but did announce last August that Kasai had been put on leave and temporarily replaced by WHO number two Zsuzsanna Jakab.

Unlike other UN agencies, WHO’s regional directors are quite powerful with a lot of autonomy. They are elected by member states in the region they govern, before being confirmed by the full membership. AFP

gio Ortiz-Luis, likening it to the pandemic lockdowns.

The DOTr also said it is eyeing an additional budget from the national government to increase the equity subsidy for drivers by P100,000 to help them purchase new e-jeepneys for the PUV modernization program. This would bring the total subsidy to P260,000.

Valbuena earlier took a swipe at Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte for describing their protest action as “communist-inspired.”

“That would just be fine if you want to red-tag us, it is their right to voice (their opinion) but they must have the concrete evidence (to show),” he said.

Valbuena also contradicted government claims that the transport strike had a minimal effect.

He said the first day of the transport

“It was successful at 80 percent not only here in the National Capital Region but also in the provinces,” he said.

Manibela and other transport groups objected strongly to the phaseout of the traditional jeepneys and the mandatory consolidation of franchises under the government’s public utility vehicle (PUV) modernization program.

On Tuesday, the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) warned that economic losses may about to more than P1 billion a week if the strike intensifies.

“People are confined to their homes especially students due to lack of transportation while employers take to shuttling their workers, which is an added cost to them,” said ECOP president Ser-

ing to implement a four-day in-person work week while the work-from-home (WFH) scheme will be done every Friday, Diokno said.

(DOE) is planning to implement daylight saving time within its agency to save electricity and promote energy efficiency.

He said this will be part of the government’s short-term interventions to mitigate high inflation in the country.

Diokno said this proposal was presented before President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. during a Cabinet meeting at Malacañan Palace earlier in the day.

“We also presented to the President that it’s important to address energy because there are complaints that energy cost in the Philippines is expensive,” he said.

“One of the proposals to be carried out by the DOE is to implement adjusted office hours. They will start at 7 am and end at 4 pm so this is what you call daylight saving time,” he added.

The Energy department is also eye-

The Philippines first implemented daylight-saving scheme during the 1973 global oil crisis that led to severe power outages.

“We did this before during the energy crisis. I’m wondering why we did not do this sooner. We should have addressed this before. Because we cannot influence the prices of supply, but we can do something on the demand side,” he said.

Should the DOE experiment be successful, Diokno said the daylight-saving time and the four-day in-person work week plus one day WFH setup will be adopted in other government agencies as well.

Although the private sector will not be required to implement the same working hours, he said they might also be encouraged to do the same.

“We cannot mandate the office hours

“It’s very critical that the Department of Transportation (DoTR) address this issue,” he said, noting how disorganized the agency appeared.

He said that even the President admitted that the PUV modernization plan is still lacking finer points, which only strengthens the impression that the initial talks were not well considered.

ECOP said it sympathizes with the jeepney drivers who only depend on driving for their living expenses and called on the government not to limit its perspective on how to manage transportation issues, particularly on the phaseout of jeepneys.

Earlier, President Marcos said that while he sees the need to modernize PUVs, proper program implementation is necessary.

for the private, but mostly government agencies. But the private sector may follow suit. Going to work earlier is a good thing, right? You can avoid traffic. You go early and then you go back earlier also,” Diokno said.

The DOE also proposed to keep the default temperature setting of air-conditioning units at 25 degrees Celsius, he added.

“We will lower the default temperature, I don’t know the temperature here now, but we’re going to keep the default temperature setting to 25,” the Finance chief said.

Asked how much electricity would be saved from daylight-saving time and setting a lower temperature for air-conditioning units, Diokno said: “I cannot answer you that, but I’m sure it’s going to be substantial.”

During the Cabinet meeting, Diokno and other Cabinet members updated Marcos on the economic situation in the country.

“They learned that we are calling for help. We are inviting those who want to participate to help the Filipino people to address the oil spill. Support for the cleanup operations could be in the form of human resources,” Abu said.

The spillage has reached the provinces of Antique and Palawan and could reach Romblon, the PCG said.

It might even reach the world-famous Boracay Island, warned Sen. Francis Tolentino, as he questioned how the PCG would contain or stop the spread of oil.

In a privileged speech delivered Monday night, Tolentino said the PCG is the responsible agency to control the pollution in the country’s territorial waters.

Although the PCG already created the National Oil Spill Contingency Plan (NOSCP), due to its lack of resources, its actions to avert the spread of oil were limited, the senator said.

Meanwhile, the Department of Health on Tuesday issued guidance after several residents of Oriental Mindoro fell ill.

DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire, during a media forum, said vulnerable groups had to be relocated to a safer area.

“Among those who live within 100 meters (of the shore), the elderly and those with respiratory problems should be relocated. They should stay with relatives who live farther away,” Vergeire said.

“Those within 100 meters of the affected area cannot drink their water. They have to be supplied with safe water by the local government. Those within 100 meters cannot use just surgical masks. We should give them industrial masks,” she added.

Also, the chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources sought an inquiry into the sinking of Motor Tanker (MT) Princess Empress last February 28 in the waters off Naujan, Oriental Mindoro, spilling 800,000 liters of industrialized fuel.

Another vessel rescued the 20 crew members on board.

In filing House Resolution 829, Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr., the panel’s chairperson, wants his committee to investigate, in aid of legislation, the oil spill which has affected 10 municipalities in Oriental Mindoro.

“Additionally, the oil spill might affect 20,000 hectares of coral

governor gave information that could lead to the mastermind.

“We got material information from the arrested suspects that we could use to possibly identify the mastermind,” Fajardo said.

DOJ spokesperson Mico Clavano said the suspects made remarks alleging a middleman and a mastermind, but said these were still “premature.”

“There are some statements that lead up already to a middleman and a mastermind but these are statements that are too premature to even put a weight on because it is too early in the case. We have to really get back to the investigat-

National statistician and civil registrar general Dennis Mapa said in an online briefing that among the 13 commodity groups, “transport was the sole driver of the downtrend of the overall inflation during the month, recording a 9.0 percent inflation rate in February 2023 from 11.1 percent inflation in January 2023.”

Mapa cited the lower prices of diesel and gasoline for the month, which contributed to the decline in inflation in the transport index.

In contrast, nine commodity groups showed higher inflation rates which includes food and non-alcoholic beverages, 10.8 percent; alcoholic bev-

ing room,” he said.

“We trust that the NBI will be able to extract as much information as they can so we can complete the story,” Clavano added.

In an earlier video post on Facebook, Teves said he was abroad for stem cell treatment at the time of the attack and that he would not benefit from Degamo’s death.

“If I had a plan or the capability to do this, I would have done it before the elections. What could have been my motive for this? Neither my brother nor I would benefit from this,” Teves said.

Teves’ brother Pryde was unseated by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) after a recount, which paved the way for Degamo to sit as provincial governor.

erages and tobacco, 11.0 percent; clothing and footwear, 4.8 percent; furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance, 6.2 percent; health, 4.0 percent; information and communication, 0.8 percent; recreation, sport and culture, 4.4 percent; restaurants and accommodation services, 8.1 percent; and personal care, and miscellaneous goods and services, 5.3 percent.

Mapa said food inflation at the national level slowed down to 11.1 percent in February 2023, from 11.2 percent in January 2023. In February 2022, food inflation rate was at only 1.1 percent.

Mapa said the dip in food inflation was brought about by the lower year-on-year growth in the index of vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking

Teves, however, has yet to comment on the three counts of multiple murder raps filed against him and three other people by PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and four surviving family members of the victims in the 2019 attack.

Levito Baligod, lawyer of the complainant, said there are eight more counts of murder that will be filed in the near future.

Baligod also confirmed that witnesses have come forward and are ready to testify against Teves. One of the witnesses said that he was part of the “assassination team” financed by Teves, Baligod said.

Included in the complaints were the alleged secretary of Teves, identified as “Hannah Mae,” Richard Quadra, Jasper

bananas and pulses.

The 8.6 percent registered in February was within the central bank’s forecast range of 8.5 percent to 9.3 percent of the month.

Balisacan said the government will need to recalibrate its strategies to alleviate the impact of higher commodity prices on consumers.

“We must rethink our strategies to combat rising food prices. The country’s current high inflation is largely driven by domestic, supply-side constraints,’ Balisacan said.

He said agricultural imports were ill-timed and food supplies have been inadequate. He said the solution is to get to the root of the problem, including fixing the bottlenecks along all segments of the agricultural value chain.

Tanatan, Alex Mayagma, and Rolando

Pinili also known as “Inday.”

Asked about the timing of cases, Baligod said that they have been building the cases for a long time and it was just a coincidence that another assassination has occurred.

The complaint stated that the victims who were all shot in the head were identified as Miguel Lopez Dungog, a former board member of the 3rd District of Negros Oriental; Lester Pialgao Bato; and Pacito Retes Libron.

Dungog was killed on March 25, 2019 in front of Siliman Medical Center in Dumaguete City, while Bato was gunned down on May 26, 2019 in Sitio Labugon in Barangay Nagbo-alao in Basay municipality.

Libron was shot dead on June 23, 2019

proved the recommendation of the Pag-IBIG Fund Management to defer the hike in the monthly contributions of its members in 2023.

This affirms pronouncements made by the agency earlier this year and moves the implementation by one year to January 2024.

The deferment also applies to the share of their employers, Pag-IBIG said.

“We recognize that many of our members and employers are still in the midst of recovering from financial challenges arising from the effects of the pandemic on the economy,” Acuzar stated.

“After consulting with our stakeholders, we have officially approved the deferment of the increase of PagIBIG members’ monthly contributions for another year.”

“This is in line with the call of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to alleviate the financial burden of our fellow Filipinos due to the prevailing socio-economic challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Acuzar said.

In 2019, Pag-IBIG officials approved the increase of its members’ monthly contributions after obtaining the concurrence of stakeholders to implement a planned contribution increase in 2021.

in Bgy. Malabugas in Bayawan City.

The PNP-CIDG reported to PNP Chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. that last Saturday, a 46-year-old confessed “hitman” personally appeared before the CIDG headquarters in Camp Crame to give his sworn statements regarding the three murder cases.

The witness, who is now under police protection, claimed he was part of a group of motorcycle-riding gunmen who killed Dungog. The man said he drove one of the three getaway motorcycles used by the killers.

In his sworn statement, the witness said it was Teves who ordered the killing of Dungog and that it was the latter’s secretary who gave them P50,000 as part of their “operational expenses” for the hit job.

Breaking Barriers and Building Bridges: The Women Party-List Representatives

By Peter Paul Duran

WOMEN’S Month celebration is a time to honor the contributions of women in society and to recognize the challenges they face. Women have played important roles in shaping history and advancing human rights, but they continue to be underrepresented in many areas, including politics.

Today, March 8 is celebrated as International Women’s Day, a global observance that recognizes the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. It also serves as a call to action for gender equality and women’s rights. The focus of International Women’s Day 2023 is “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality,” according to UN Women.

The world observes 2023 to acknowledge women and girls who promote technology and digital

education. IWD 2023 focuses on addressing the digital gender gap’s impact on economic and social inequalities and protecting women’s rights in digital spaces.

In the Philippines, party-list representatives are elected through a proportional representation system. The party-list system aims to give voice to marginalized sectors that may not be represented by traditional political parties. Each party-list organization must secure at least 2% of the total votes cast in order to

secure a seat in the House of Representatives.

In the second part of our Empowering Voices special feature series, we train our sights on the 10 women party-list representatives of the 19th Congress, who are working to advocate for the rights of women and other marginalized groups in the Philippines.

The 10 women party-list representatives of the 19th Congress are Claudine Diana D. Bautista-Lim of Dumper Philippines Taxi Drivers Association, Arlene D. Brosas of Gabriela Women’s Party, France L. Castro of Act Teachers Party-List, Angelica Natasha Co of Barangay Health Wellness Party, Bernadette “BH” Herrera of BH Bagong Henerasyon, Yedda Marie K. Romualdez of Tingog Sinirangan, Irene Gay F. Saulog of Kalinga-Advocacy for Social Empowerment and Nation-Building Through Easing Poverty, Shernee A. Tan-Tambut of Kusug Tausug, Jocelyn P. Tulfo of Anti-Crime and Terrorism Community Involvement and Support, and Anna Marie Villaraza-Suarez of Alliance Of Organizations, Networks & Associations of the Philippines, Inc. Each

of these women comes from a unique background and advocates for different causes, but they are united in their commitment to creating a more equitable society. These women party-list representatives have made significant contributions to society through their advocacy work and their legislative initiatives. For example, Arlene Brosas authored a bill that seeks to provide free legal assistance to victims of gender-based violence, while France Castro has pushed for legislation that would increase teachers’ salaries and benefits. Angelica Natasha Co has raised awareness about the importance of mental health, while Bernadette “BH” Herrera has championed the rights of microentrepreneurs and small business owners.

Yedda Marie K. Romualdez has been instrumental in securing disaster relief for her constituents in Eastern Visayas, while Shernee A. Tan-Tambut has worked to protect the rights of Muslim women in the BARMM. These are just a few examples of the many accomplishments of these

women party-list representatives. Women in politics face a number of challenges, including discrimination, gender bias, and sexism. However, the women party-list representatives of the 19th Congress have shown resilience in the face of these challenges. For example, they have formed alliances with other women legislators to push for genderresponsive policies, and they have worked to raise awareness about the importance of women’s representation in politics. They have also served as role models for other women who aspire to enter politics.

The women party-list representatives of the 19th Congress are making important contributions to society and advancing the cause of gender equality in the Philippines. However, much work remains to be done to ensure that women have equal representation in politics and that their rights are protected. We can all play a role in supporting women candidates and advocating for policies that promote gender equality.

The women of the House Setting examples through their party-lists

By Patricia taculao

THE House of Representatives also includes party-lists in their ranks. Party-Lists system was instituted in the 1987 Constitution to enable under-represented sectors to participate in the law-making process.

In the 19th Congress, ten lady legislators elected party-list representatives set the bar high in allowing various sectors to raise their concerns towards a better future for all.

HON. CLAUDINE DIANA D. BAUTISTA-LIM

Dumper Philippines Taxi Drivers Association, Inc. (DUMPER PTDA)

“As a female leader in a male-dominated transport sector, I remain firm in providing women with a strong voice in crafting legislation to improve our public transportation system. A woman's leadership brings novel, innovative, and practical solutions. Leading with a mother's touch, my plans are aimed at the holistic development of the sector. As a mother myself, I hope I can inspire others so that they can be nurturing mothers to our families and an effective leader for the Filipino people.”

Born and raised in Davao City, Bautista-Lim comes from a political family, being the daughter of incumbent Davao Occidental Representative Claude Bautista. Her interest in public service manifested when she ran and won as Sangguniang Kabataan Federation President in Davao del Sur at 15. She became active in women’s issues when Davao Occidental officially became a province in 2013.

Eventually, Bautista-Lim became the first nominee for the DUMPER-PTDA party-list, becoming a rookie representative in 2019, when the party began. The party-list is a political organization that advocates for drivers’ welfare and protection. It also represents the transportation sector and commuters.

As the head of the DUMPER-PTDA party-list, Bautista-Lim supported the Magna Carta for Public Transportation Drivers Bill to “institutionalize insurance and subsidies for drivers in the public transport sector.

HON. ARLENE D. BROSAS

Gabriela Women’s Party (GABRIELA)

“As the sole representative of marginalized women in Congress, it is important to create pro-people legislation that will uplift vulnerable women from abuse and exploitation. Future women leaders must always put the people’s interests at the core of their principles, and use their platform to amplify the calls of the marginalized sectors.”

Since the 17th Congress, Brosas has led the Gabriela Women’s Party. She is an educator and advocate of women’s and children’s protection and welfare, making her the ideal person to represent the party-list.

GABRIELA is a sectoral party founded on October 28, 2000. It aims to promote “the rights and welfare of marginalized and under-represented Filipino women through participation in the country’s electoral system and governing institutions.”

Throughout her tenure as Congresswoman, Brosas became the principal author of the Expanded Maternity Leave Law, the Occupational Safety and Health Law, the Magna Carta for Day Care Workers, the Additional benefits for Solo Parents, the AntiElectronic Violence Against Women (EVAW) Law, the Amendments to Strengthen the Anti-Rape Law, and the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Expression (SOGIE) Equality Bill, among others.

HON. FRANCE L. CASTRO Act Teachers Party-List (ACT TEACHERS)

“As the genuine representative of teachers in the country, I will use my voice to advance the rights and welfare of all education stakeholders for better access to quality education, decent salaries and wages for teachers and education support personnel, and adequate benefits for all. 80% of teachers are women. Salaries of teachers have not been able to cope with the rising prices of basic goods to provide for their families.”

As the representative of the Act Teachers PartyList, Castro has years of teaching experience to support her claims in the House of Representatives. She furthers the group’s commitment to providing Filipino educators a voice in Congress while shaping the minds and values of the children and youth.

Some of Castro’s efforts in furthering her advocacy for education include the Republic Act (RA) 10931 or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, which grants free tuition to state universities and college students.

Other than education, Castro also champions the welfare of Filipino workers. She is one of the principal authors of several house bills, including lowering the optional retirement age of public school teachers and other government employees from 60 to 65, increasing the minimum salaries of public school teachers and government employees, and the Teachers’ Protection Act.

HON. ANGELICA NATASHA CO

Barangay Health Wellness Party (BHW)

“Along with advocating for policy changes at the legislative level, I am committed to using my platform as a role model for young girls who are aspiring leaders themselves one day. At its core, my mission is to ensure that the next generation of women receive all the necessary tools, resources and opportunities they need to succeed and contribute positively to our society by creating and supporting laws that promote equal opportunity for employment, education and health care among others while also serving as a mentor to future female leaders.”

Barangays are the smallest administrative division in the Philippines. More often than not, these units serve as the first line of defense for every Filipino. Representing them in the 19th Congress is Co, the first nominee congresswoman for the Barangay Health and Wellness Party-List.

The group represents healthcare workers, barangay nutrition scholars (BNS), barangay sanitary inspectors (BSIs), and barangay service point officers (BSPOs) in Congress. Moreover, BHW provides medical, educational, and burial assistance to barangay health workers and their families, among other aids.

With Co as their head, she advocated for the welfare of barangay members by being one of the principal authors of the Public Health Emergency Benefits and Allowances for Health Care Workers Act or the Republic Act (RA) 11712. She also proposed the Magna Carta of Barangay Health Workers.

HON. BERNADETTE ‘BH‘ HERRERA-DY Bagong Henerasyon (BH)

“I can use my voice and platform to advance women’s causes by introducing and sponsoring legislation that addresses issues such as gender pay gap, reproductive rights, and sexual harassment, as well as sponsoring legislation that promote gender equality and women’s empowerment.”

Herrera-Dy is no stranger to the proceedings in the House of Representatives. The lawmaker and women and children’s welfare advocate has been using her platform to promote the interest of her constituents.

The party-list holds relevance to Herrera-Dy because she established the Bagong Henerasyon Foundation Inc. in 2001 before it became a partylist group in 2009. Coinciding with its name, BH represents the youth, women, and Filipinos in need.

During her tenure in the House of Congress, Herrera-Dy sponsored several Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) workshops that granted beneficiaries National Certificates (NC) II and III to help Filipinos pursue a better future and contribute to society.

HON. YEDDA MARIE K. ROMUALDEZ Tingog Sinirangan (TINGOG)

“Tingog Partylist has always been committed on being our constituent’s voice in Congress. We have authored and sponsored multiple bills forwarding the women’s agenda, including the Expanded Maternity

Leave, the Gender Responsive and Inclusive Pandemic Management Act, the act creating the National Museur for Filipino Women, and the act providing for Stronger Protection Against Rape and Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, among many others. As a women and children’s rights advocate, we also participated and delivered a speech during the commemoration of the National Consciousness Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. As the party-list representative of Tingog Sinirangan, Romualdez leads the group in achieving its goal of providing local families nationwide, particularly in Eastern Visayas, access to quality education, healthcare, and job opportunities. Tingog began in 2012, but the Commission on Elections formally recognized it in 2015. It first ran in the 2016 national and local elections.

Romualdez served as the party-list representative in the 18th Congress and again for the 19th. During the lady legislator’s terms, Tingog provided more than 42,000 collegiate and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) scholarship grants and distributed computer equipment to schools and students. Other initiatives under her include medical missions, government internship programs, Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD), livelihood assistance projects with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), and community outreaches, to name a few.

HON. IRENE GAY SAULOG Kalinga-Advocacy for Social Empowerment and Nation-Building Through Easing Poverty, Inc. (KALINGA)

“As the Kalinga Party-list Representative to the 19th Congress, I shall consistently advocate and continuously support all the measures that would strengthen the role of women in nation-building. I will make sure that my stand in any discussion and decision shall be in favor of elevating the stature of women, I will ensure as well that my voice will be instrumental to overcome any form of oppression and would add value for women empowerment. As a lady legislator, I commit to a brand of leadership that would inspire other women and the next generation who would stand for equality among all human regardless of gender, race, ethnicity and orientation.”

Saulog advocates for the education and welfare of Filipino families with more than two decades of experience in the academe as a teacher and school administrator. She heads the Kalinga Party-list, representing the urban poor and the education sector. The group aims to provide Filipino families with equal health services, education, housing, and livelihood opportunities.

An example of her accomplishments as partylist head includes the implementation of the Department of Labor and Employment – Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (DOLE-TUPAD), established amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Another is the Department of Social Welfare and Development – Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (DSWD-AICS) to help improve the lives of those in vulnerable and marginalized sectors of society.

The lady legislator is also one of the principal authors of House Bill 5512, the Republic Act (RA) 11642, or the Domestic Administrative Adoption and Child Care Act, making the adoption process accessible and less expensive.

HON.

livelihood training, and other government programs which have to reach a quality and standard that the citizens of the Province of Sulu deserve. In turn, the aim for ultimate peace and sustainable development would allow me to focus on programs that would serve as a launchpad to create productive members of the community, especially the empowerment of women and children alike in the region.”

Representing a particular group is no easy feat, let alone an ethnic tribe. As the young daughter of Sulu Governor Abdusakur Tan, a Chinese-Muslim, she shares a passion for uplifting Sulu and its communities. She spearheaded some infrastructure projects under Kusug Tausug.

Kusug Tausug seeks to represent the Tausug indigenous people and other marginalized sectors in the Philippines. As the representative since 2016, Tan-Tambut presents projects like scholarships, training programs, and health assistance, which she shares with communities outside Sulu, including Metro Manila.

Tan-Tambut gained significant knowledge and experience in her years as a party-list representative. She hopes to launch and popularize Tausug culture in the Philippines and, hopefully, overseas through its rich traditions and practices that highlight what the group embodies.

HON. JOCELYN P. TULFO

Anti-Crime and Terrorism Community Involvement and Support, Inc. (ACT-CIS)

“My goal as a woman legislator is to empower more women, regardless of their age, to reach their full potential, achieve their dreams and give recognition to their contributions to society. As a representative of ACT-CIS partylist, I aim for the enactment of legislative measures that will promote inclusivity, gender equality, reduction of poverty, protection, and support to crime victims, provide affordable and accessible education, health, and social services to all Filipinos, especially those in the vulnerable sector and our OFWs.”

Since crime and its reduction is given priority in most, if not all, communities in the Philippines, Tulfo plays a significant role in leading the charge to protect her constituents against such criminality. Her concern extends to Filipinos living inside and outside the Philippines, making her a staunch supporter of OFWs (Overseas Filipino Workers).

As a representative in Congress, some of Tulfo’s achievements include being the principal author of several house bills, including instituting policies for the protection and welfare of caregivers, providing enhanced protection, security, and benefits for media workers, and providing monthly subsidies for indigent persons with disability, among others.

The lady solon is also one of the supporters of creating a government agency dedicated to OFWs and their concerns.

HON. ANNA MARIE VILLARAZA-SUAREZ

Alliance Of Organizations, Networks & Associations of the Philippines, Inc. (ALONA)

It’s widely known that the family is the first community that shapes an individual’s growth and development. Hence, it’s relevant for Filipino families to have a voice in the government. That responsibility falls on the shoulders of VillarazaSuarez. She first assumed office during the 17th Congress and continues to uphold her duty for the 19th.

ALONA aims to uplift the lives of everyday Filipino families through various projects of interest.

SHERNEE A. TAN-TAMBUT (Kusug Tausug)

“As a House Member, I’m proactive in the Kusug Tausug Party-list’s quest to resolve various conflicts such as terrorism and general safety which have caused multiple incidents of unrest among the citizens of the Province of Sulu, under the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). I am fervent and unwavering in Kusug Tausug’s end goal of attaining long-term peace, balance, and structure in the Province because it would be a monumental step towards Sulu’s progression as to infrastructure,

During her early tenure in Congress, she filed House Bill 899, which institutionalizes the Q1K program in Quezon. It focuses on the significance of food and nutrition, health and sanitation, and social care from the start of pregnancy until the next two years of the child’s development. It now serves as a model of the national government’s F1K program implemented by the National Nutrition Council, which is about the Early Childhood Care and Development Intervention package from day 1 of the mother’s pregnancy up to 2 years.

Wanted: A just transition for the jeepney sector (1)

With the increasing demand for vehicles in the post-COVID world, especially in low-income and developing countries, and without any vehicle demand reduction through public transportation reform or a shift to more sustainable vehicle options, the reliance of the transport sector on fossil fuel and non-renewable energy sources is alarming globally.

THE impending weeklong jeepney strike on March 6 to 12 has resurfaced the heated and spirited debate on the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) and the issues that come with it.

Among these issues are the lack of available financial support and safety nets for jeepney modernization and the decreased accessibility of public transport caused by the consolidation of franchises and fleet management.

Embracing equity

WE STAND with 3.905 billion women, of the world’s 8.06 billion total population, as they celebrate today International Women’s Day 2023.

2028, which aims for “deep economic and social transformation to reinvigorate job creation and accelerate poverty reduction by steering the economy back on a high-growth path.”

From the point of view of climate change mitigation, carbon emissions must be minimized, if not net-zero, in order to prevent irreversible global warming that leads to extreme climate and slow onset events.

Themed ‘DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality’ it seeks to start a conversation on not just ensuring equal opportunities but, more essentially, equity.

The plan also highlights that growth must be inclusive, building an environment that provides equal opportunities to all Filipinos and equipping them with skills to participate fully in an innovative and globally competitive economy.

Does climate action really have to be at odds with livelihood and economic security of those affected by the shift?

While the program started in 2017 under the Duterte administration, the COVID-19 pandemic has postponed the government’s push for its implementation.

Yet now, more than ever, the PUVMP is apparently gaining traction under the present administration.

The government has enacted the Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act or EVIDA.

Private sector investment and interest have signaled the viability of electric vehicles in the Philippines, not only for private but also for public transportation.

Electric mobility has been taking space in the development agenda of international organizations and international financial institutions.

Government policy and private sector outlook, and even the international agenda, have adapted.

However, small scale operators, drivers, and those dependent on the traditional jeepney industry (whether manufacturing, assembly, maintenance, and other related support services) have obviously not (owing to the heavy losses from the pandemic and high fuel prices in the past year), and will continue to be left behind should the PUVMP be implemented in its current form.

Electric vehicles and the climate

The transport sector remains to be one of the fastest growing greenhouse gas emitting sectors.

According to the United Nations Environment Programme, “[t]o achieve a cleaner transport sector, a combination of measures needs to be implemented world-wide: better-designed cities; safe and comfortable walking and cycling facilities; more public transport; and cleaner and more efficient on-road fleets, including electric vehicles.”

One of the ways to achieve this is through the shift to electric mobility.

While there are demand generation strategies and incentives to increase electric vehicle market for Philippine households and consumers, in the Philippine public transport parlance, it is what we know as jeepney modernization or PUVMP. However, it begs the question, does climate action really have to be at odds with livelihood and economic security of those affected by the shift?

Just transition in jeepney modernization

In climate change policy and action, the concept of just transition directly tackles the question posed above.

Just transition, briefly put, refers to the following concern. In the shift from a largely fossil fuel-dependent society to a sustainable society with ready access to renewable energy sources and technologies, workers and frontline communities who depend on fossil fueldependent industries must not inequitably carry the burden and costs of such shift.

Otherwise stated, just transition asks: “How must the costs of the shift to a sustainable society be equitably shared across stakeholders?”

(Tony La Viña teaches law and is Associate Director for climate policy in the Manila Observatory; Kaloi Zarate, a public transport sector policy reform advocate, is a former three-term member of the House of Representatives, and Deputy Minority Leader, of the 18thCongress; while Jayvy Gamboa is a policy and legal research associate at the Manila Observatory with a research interest on just transition, particularly on labor law and regulation).

(Editor’s Note: This is adapted from an article co-written by Tony La Viña with Kaloi Zarate and Jyvy Gamboa.)

Barred from the streets, Cubans mark Women’s Day online

By Leticia Pineda

TAKING to the streets to make your voice heard on International Women’s Day is a right taken for granted in most countries.

Not in Cuba.

Three activists who sought to obtain permission for demonstrations in different parts of the communist-run island were arrested on January 13, interrogated, and had their phones checked, according to the Red Feminina women’s group.

The right to assembly and protest is recognized in Cuba’s new constitution, adopted in 2019. But in the absence of a rulebook, anti-government marches are generally banned.

The Federation of Cuban Women (FMC) does organize activities, mostly in businesses and schools, but it is linked to the government.

And the younger generation wants more.

“Demonstrating publicly to demand transformative policies from a gender point of view, is the focus worldwide every March 8, except in Cuba,” Red Femina wrote on Twitter on February 20, inviting Cubans instead to join a “Virtual March.”

‘No impunity’

Other groups such as “I believe you” and “Alas Tensas,” were created in 2019 to monitor gender-based violence, shortly after the arrival on the island in 2018 of Internet services on mobile phones.

The Internet “is our only place of struggle. We cannot have a physical space because that’s banned in our country,” journalist and feminism activist Kianay Anandra, 24, told AFP.

“I believe you” told AFP by email that they were working on a call for a “state of emergency on gender violence.”

But the collective turned down a request for an in-person interview given the “singular

risks of the repressive Cuban context.”

In the first two months of this year, these two groups counted 15 femicides on the communist island, which has a population of about 11 million.

That is compared to just over 30 in all of each of the previous three years.

Since 2016, there have been no official figures on gender-based violence and femicide was not included as a separate crime in the new criminal code, adopted in 2022, despite calls from activist groups.

This global holiday, a focal point in the women’s rights movement, brings attention to issues like gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against women.

Women human rights defenders and feminist movements use the transformative power of digital technology to connect, mobilize, and drive social change.

The word “WE” stands for “Women and Everyone” which emphasizes the role of women themselves and everyone in the pursuit of gender equality.

It also stands for “Women’s Empowerment,” which can only be achieved when agencies, mechanisms, institutions, private partners, and dutybearers from the national to the local level provide women equal rights and opportunities, and women take these opportunities to further themselves. With women and everyone in synergy, This year’s celebration marks, in the Philippines, a juncture in the

violence and abuse against women

advancement of women’s rights as it launches a new recurring theme from this year to 2028:

“Women Empowerment” sparks a renewed commitment to the advocacy and banks on the gains achieved during the 2016-2022 theme “WE Make CHANGE Work for Women,” which stressed the need for compassionate and harmonized networks towards gender equality and women’s empowerment or GEWE.

The recurring theme also aligns with the Philippine Development Plan 2023-

Land deal void from the start?

WHAT do we make of the report that the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), the government’s official counsel, has declared the land occupied by a mall and condominium project of a taipan in the National Capital Region is still part of a “military reservation” and therefore owned by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)? If the report is accurate, that can only mean one thing: the property in question remains government property and therefore cannot be used for profit by any private or commercial entity.

The OSG likewise affirmed the findings of the Land Registration Authority (LRA) that the land titles used by the taipan for his publicly-listed company’s commercial development are of “dubious origin.”

In so doing, the OSG also declared as void the transaction entered into by the taipan with a local government unit in Metro Manila over the conversion and development of the prime “military reservation.”

How did this controversial land deal come about?

The prime property, we’re told, used to be one of the military garrisons used by the Americans in the early 1900s.

As early as May 1905, then US President Theodore Roosevelt declared the prime property, along with Fort Santiago, Estado Mayor and Malate Barracks, as military reservations.

In December 1956, the US government turned over the property, along with other military reservations, to the Philippine government, which later allowed the use of the property to a Metro Manila city solely for the construction of schools and a police station.

In April 2006, the LGU entered into a commercial joint venture with the taipan’s PSE-listed company for the conversion of the property into what is now a well-known mall and condominium project.

The taipan also converted another prime area in the military-owned property into a lucrative and posh hotel and condominium project. The taipan is said to have fostered very close ties with past and present politicians with his wide circle of connections.

With the recent disclosure by the government’s official counsel, will this taipan be able to wiggle out of this controversy using his wealth, connections and resources?

Observers say this might only be the tip

of the iceberg. Has the controversial land deal been replicated in other land development projects in Metro Manila and various other parts of our country?

Do these projects also involve government-owned lands?

With the recent disclosure by the government’s official counsel, will this taipan be able to wiggle out of this controversy using his wealth, connections and resources?”

With the taipan’s broad interests in various fields—hotels, malls, media and prime real estate development both here and abroad—observers are beginning to wonder if the controversial land deal could well taint his meteoric rise in Philippine business circles over the years. No end to the drug menace

Don’t look now, but it looks like the previous administration’s bloody war on drugs has not solved the problem, with authorities confiscating some P592 million worth of illegal drugs in January this year.

A recent report by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) showed illegal drugs seized included “shabu” or crystal meth worth P403.4 million; cocaine powder worth P15.9 million; ecstasy tablets worth P19.9 million; kush worth P19.8 million, and marijuana in the form of dried leaves, bricks, plants, and stalks worth “millions.”

The agency said 4,499 drug personalities were arrested and 7,720 drug cases were filed in January alone.

But there’s also positive news. To date, 64.1 percent or 26,952 of the 42,046 barangays nationwide have already been declared “drug-free.”

The report indicated that authorities have increased their surveillance and monitoring of the nation’s airports and seaports, as well as mail and parcel services, to stop the importation of illegal drugs, prohibited precursors, and vital chemicals.

Thus, we begin this new era of the National Women’s Month Celebration, high in the hope and ambition that “WE are all for Gender Equality, WE are all for an inclusive society.”

Gender equality is the first half of the GEWE advocacy, and it is the ultimate goal when we advance the rights of women.

In the Global Gender Gap Report, at the current rate of progress, with the global gender gap being closed by only 68.1 percent, it will take 132 years to reach gender equality worldwide, a stark difference from the figure of 99.5 years in the 2020 report.

Hence, this means that none of us, or most likely many of our children, will see gender parity in our lifetimes.

But not all hope is gone, officials underline, because our right for gender equality today is for a better and more inclusive tomorrow, although not in the next generations.

While at this, we recall an opinion piece in the New York Times in 2017 by former Colombian president Cesar Gaviria entitled “President Duterte Is Repeating My Mistakes”.

We quote pertinent portions of the commentary to give readers another perspective on how the war on drugs in this country can be won.

One, “illegal drugs are a matter of national security, but the war against them cannot be won by armed forces and law enforcement agencies alone. Throwing more soldiers and police at the drug users is not just a waste of money but also can actually make the problem worse. Locking up nonviolent offenders and drug users almost always backfires, instead strengthening organized crime.”

Two, Gaviria said, his government and every administration since “threw everything at the problem—from fumigating crops to jailing every drug pusher in sight. Not only did we fail to eradicate drug production, trafficking and consumption in Colombia, but we also pushed drugs and crime into neighboring countries. And we created new problems. Tens of thousands of people were slaughtered in our antidrug crusade.

“Many of our brightest politicians, judges, police officers and journalists were assassinated. At the same time, the vast funds earned by drug cartels were spent to corrupt our executive, judicial and legislative branches of government.

“We do not believe that military hardware, repressive policing and bigger prisons are the answer. Real reductions in drug supply and demand will come through improving public health and safety, strengthening anticorruption measures—especially those that combat money laundering—and investing in sustainable development.

“We also believe that the smartest pathway to tackling drugs is decriminalizing consumption and ensuring that governments regulate certain drugs... Extrajudicial killings and vigilantism are the wrong ways to go...”

(Email: ernhil@yahoo.com)

The groups try to ensure the names and faces of victims that were murdered or disappeared are not forgotten.

“I want my daughter to appear, alive or dead, however she is, that justice be done,” Isis Rodriguez told AFP about her daughter, Madeleisis Rosales, who disappeared in central Havana in May 2021, aged 16.

The groups also highlighted the case of 17-year-old Leydi Bacallao, who was killed with a machete by her 49-year-old ex-partner in mid-February.

The crime, which outraged Cuban society, occurred inside a police station in

the east, where she had gone to denounce her aggressor. That murder generated such outrage that it even provoked a rare reaction from the FMC. “There will be no impunity. We must deepen actions” to avoid these events, Teresa Boue, secretary general of the FMC, said on Twitter.

Gender law needed

Even so, Anandra believes it is “undeniable” that the 1959 triumph of Fidel Castro’s revolution opened “a big door” for

women in Cuba.

Cuba was the first Latin American country to legalize abortion in 1965, women have long been highly active in all areas of public life, while the country has one of the highest rates of female legislative participation (53.4 percent) in the world.

But the State needs to “renew itself” in the battle for women’s rights, said Anandra, who is critical of the lack of details in the government’s program for the advancement of women, which was launched in 2021.

Yanelys Nunez, a member of Alas Tensas, says the government is holding women back.

“When you impede the free right of association you are not enabling emancipatory spaces,” said the 33-year-old Cuban, exiled in Madrid since 2018 as a result of her activism.

Red Feminina demands on its website “a gender law,” which would require official records and generate public policies against gender-based violence.

That would be the only way to enact “effective” policies, the group argues. AFP

This global holiday, a focal point in the women’s rights movement, brings attention to issues like gender equality, reproductive rights, and

Red Feminina demands on its website

‘a gender law,’ which would require official records and generate public policies against gender-based violence

BuCor postpones building plans in Masungi

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

THE Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) has opted to defer for six months up to one year the construction of buildings--including the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP)--on BuCor’s land inside the Masungi Georeserve.

During a Senate Committee on Tourism hearing, BuCor Acting Director General Gregorio Catapang Jr. said they will first conduct a study on the possible impact on the environment of the construction of the said buildings on the reserve, which is an ecotourism and conservation site in Tanay, Rizal.

Catapang said it was only the past two weeks when they learned that BuCor owns land in Masungi based on Presidential Proclamation 1158.

“Most importantly, the 270 hectares of land awarded to BuCor pursuant to Presidential Proclamation No. 1158 as the site of the New Bilibid Prison will no longer push through, including the plan to relocate its national headquarters to this site will be held in abeyance pending further studies to be undertaken taking into consideration the impact on the environment with the construction of BuCor facilities in the area,” Catapang told the Senate panel chaired by Sen. Nancy Binay.

Catapang said he also wants to talk to urban and environmental planners to ensure no ecosystem will be destroyed in the area.

He assured that the BuCor will not push through with their plan if studies will show the construction of facilities will destroy Masungi.

“If it’s not worth it, we will not pursue (the construction). What I will do if the are is not really for BuCor is put rainforest rangers and agro forest teams that can help conserve the ecosystem in the area,” the official said.

IN BRIEF

Comelec overturns

DQ bid vs. Mamba

THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) has overturned the decision on the petition for disqualification against Cagayan Governor Manuel Mamba.

The Comelec en banc noted that the petition has to be dismissed as it was filed after Mamba was already proclaimed as the duly elected governor of Cagayan.

“It follows from the foregoing discussion that the subject petition must be dismissed outright for being filed out of time and for being the wrong remedy for having been filed after respondent’s proclamation,” the 18-page decision released on Monday said.

“We resolve to dismiss the subject petition for lack of jurisdiction,” the poll body added.

House leaders vow to protect seafarers

THE leadership of the House of Representatives led by Speaker Martin G. Romualdez has vowed to protect the rights and interests of Filipino seafarers.

“Our seafarers are our unsung heroes. Almost 400,000 of them are on board merchant shipping vessels around the world at any given time. They are not only a source of income for the country through their remittances but also a source of pride,” Romualdez said.

Romualdez made the statement after the lower house approved on third and final reading House Bill (HB) 7325, titled “Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers” by a 304-4 vote.

Maricel V. Cruz

PH records 43 rabies cases from Jan.-Feb.

THE Philippines has reported 43 cases of rabies, all fatalities, from January 1 to February 18, the Department of Health (DOH) said.

The latest figure is lower by 4 percent compared with the same period in 2022, the DOH said.

“The 43 cases are not actually rabies cases. These are animal bite cases,” DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a press briefing Tuesday.

“Usually, animal bites would come from the owners. ‘Yung mismong pets nila sa bahay malaki ang naitatala natin na mga numero na nakakagat din ‘yung mga may-ari.”

Data from the DOH’s epidemiology bureau showed that rabies had a case fatality rate of 100 percent.

Willie Casas

House panel orders subpoenas against ‘Sibuyas Queen,’ others

By Maricel V. Cruz

THE House committee on agriculture and food on Tuesday ordered the issuance of subpoenas against suspected “Sibuyas

Queen” Lilia Cruz, alias Leah Cruz for the latter’s failure to attend the congressional hearing for the second time.

The committee, chaired by Quezon

Rep. Mark Enverga, also issued a subpoena against Cruz’s fellow resource person Ernesto Francisco of YOM Trading to compel their presence to the congres-

TECHNICAL DIVER. A technical diver prepares to dive inside a 2,200-millimeter steel pipe located seven meters underground to repair a major leak on Maynilad’s primary line in Makati City.

Danny Pata

sional investigation on what legislators believe to be an artificial shortage of the commodity that led to high prices during the Christmas season of 2022.

During the continuation of the panel’s inquiry on the agricultural hoarding issue on Tuesday (March 7), Enverga said told the committee that Cruz and Francisco were absent in Tuesday’s hearing as they had to appear before the Sandiganbayan.

Cruz, a self-described agri-preneur who is implicated in the spike of onion (sibuyas) prices during the previous quar-

ter, failed twice to attend the committee hearing.

Even if Enverga found Cruz and Francisco’s excuse “valid,” he said the committee believes they still have to be compelled to attend the congressional inquiry on the matter.

Marikina Rep. Stella Quimbo said that the subpoena should force the two resource persons to cooperate and attend the hearing.

Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr also agreed that Cruz has to appear before

DOTr commits to stronger measures to protect travelers

By Maricel V. Cruz

SPEAKER Martin G. Romualdez bared

Tuesday that the Office of Transportation Security (OTS) under the Department of Transportation (DOTr) has committed to implementing stronger measures to ensure protection for tourists and travelers against abusive government personnel in all airports in the country.

Romualdez made the announcement following a meeting late

Monday afternoon at the House of Representatives with transportation officials that include DOTr Sec. Jaime Bautista, Office of Transportation Security (OTS) Ad -

ministrator Usec. Ma. O Ranada Aplasca, and Manila International Airport Authority Gen. Manager Cesar Chiong. Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co, chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, also attended the meeting. To provide another layer of safeguard, Romualdez said it was also agreed during the meeting that select personnel of the Philippine Coast Guard will be assigned to accompany airport screening personnel on duty.

During the meeting, Romualdez reiterated his disappointment over recent unfortunate incidents at the airport, including one involving personnel of

Hontiveros: Suspend DA’s Panganiban

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

SEN. Risa Hontiveros Monday called for the preventive suspension and investigation of Department of Agriculture (DA) Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban.

Hontiveros said she is calling the investigation of Panganiban “for his continuing help to create a powerful sugar cartel.”

She also rebuked Panganiban for extolling about the supposed cartel.

“That he is not under suspension and investigation only means one thing: his superiors see nothing wrong with him openly violating existing laws and usurping the powers and mandate of

the OTS caught stealing from a Thai tourist, which he described as “embarrassing and alarming”.

“We cannot let this embarrassing incident fester and continue to discourage tourists from visiting our very beautiful country. But the OTS has recognized that there is indeed a problem and that it needs to be addressed at the soonest possible time,” he said.

Among others, Romualdez said the OTS has proposed the use of body cameras to monitor in real-time the activities of the airport security personnel, as well as immigration officers, on duty.

the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA),” Hontiveros said.

The opposition senator questioned where Panganiban got the courage to say that this matter should just be ignored. “Did he have the blessings of Malacanang to tell those calling out to follow the law to just be silent?” she asked.

She also said Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, former Supreme Court Chief Justice, should explain to the entire country why Panganiban has not been subjected to any investigation. She said she also wants to know why Malacanang did not junk or overturn the questionable and illegal order of the DA.

Congress. It was Barzaga, a noted lawyer, who asked the panel to instruct Cruz to explain in writing why she should not be held in contempt for snubbing the congressional hearing.

Contempt of the Congress may be penalized by indefinite detention at the premises of the House of Representatives.

Speaker Martin G. Romualdez meanwhile welcomed the decision of the committee to cite in contempt Cruz and other

Arroyo to Pinays: Unite, strive for empowerment

By Maricel V. Cruz

SENIOR Deputy Speaker Glo -

ria Macapagal Arroyo on Tuesday called on Filipinas to “work harder to break the remaining myths that relegate women to being second-class individuals”, and to “band together to push for women’s economic empowerment, particularly for those from the rural and urban poor sectors.”

Arroyo also urged Filipinos to support the year-long activities of the Philippine Commission on Women.”

In a message for Women’s Day 2023, the former President recalled that Filipino women have been enjoying rights such as the right to equal education opportunities; suffrage and the right to own property long before women’s empowerment was recognized as a global issue.

She said our women’s rights were firmed up by the passage of the Women in Development and Nation Building Act and further reinforced by Republic Act 9710, the Magna Carta for Women, which she signed into law in August, 2009.

The implementation of these two landmark laws resulted in the country’s having achieved 6th place in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap annual ranking for the years 2006 to 2008.

The Magna Carta for Women created the PCW mandated to review and coordinate all measures for women empowerment at all levels. This Magna Carta bill had waited ten years for congressional action before it was passed in August, 2009, with some push from the Arroyo administration.

TRANSWOMEN PAGEANT. In collaboration with the Department of Tourism, 25 transgender women candidates for “Miss International Queen Philippines 2023” tour historical spots in Intramuros, Manila on March 7. The pageant aims to promote local tourism on a global scale. Norman Cruz

ALBAY BEAUTY. Tabaco City Mayor Krisel Lagman-Luistro welcomes Jeanne Isabelle Bilasano, who will represent Albay in the upcoming Binibining Pilipinas 2023 pageant. Bilasano was crowned “Mutya ng Tabak” in 2017. Norman Cruz

Senators: Expel student-members of unrecognized frats

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

SENATORS have sought the expulsion of student-members of fraternities not recognized by their schools.

The lawmakers were also mulling holding the schools and their officials accountable in case of death of a student due to fraternity hazing.

Sen. Francis Tolentino, chairman of the Committee on Justice and Human Rights presided at yesterday’s hearing on the fatal hazing of John Matthew Salilig, and engineering student of Adamson University.

Tolentino called for the suspension of the accreditation of schools where a student would die of hazing.

In a media briefing after the joint committee hearing with the public order committee chaired by Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, Tolentino said schools could expel fraternity members on reasonable grounds, adding it is the schools’ right although there was no enabling law about it.

During the hearing, Dela Rosa insisted that the best thing to avoid the existence of unrecognized fraternities in schools is to kick out or expel fraternity members.

“Since you consider them as outlawed, kick them out, expel- that’s the best thing. But you don’t want it due to tuition fees being paid to you,” Dela Rosa told lawyer Ana Abad, one of the representatives of Adamson University on Taft Avenue, Manila.

2 earthquakes jolt Davao de Oro, adjacent provinces

TWO earthquakes jolted Davao de Oro province and nearby environs on Tuesday afternoon.

The first temblor occurred at 2:02 p.m. with a magnitude of 5.9, followed by a magnitude 5.6 at 4:47 p.m.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) located the epicenter of the first earthquake at eight kilometers southeast of New Bataan town, while the epicenter of the second temblor was placed at 11 kilometers of the same town.

Phivolcs initially reported the first tremor’s magnitude at 6.2, but later downgraded it to 5.9.

It also later updated the quake’s epicenter from Maragusan town to New Bataan.

The tectonic quake was felt at a “strong” Intensity 5 in Maco, Maragusan, Nabunturan, New Bataan, and Pantukan in Davao de Oro.

ANOTHER FACE OF INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY. In conjunction with the observance of International Women’s Day, members of the militant Amihan National Federation of Peasant Women, the Tanggol Magsasaka, and the Free Our Sisters -Southern Tagalog chapter stage

Senators pooled P2.5-m donation for earthquake victims in Turkey

SENATORS on Tuesday disclosed they donated P2.5 million to Turkey earthquake victims.

The lawmakers also passed a resolution expressing the chambers’ sympathy and condolences to the people of Turkey and Syria in the wake of the massive February earthquakes which have so far claimed over 50,000 lives.

Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri led the ceremonial turnover of the cash donation for quake victims in Turkey.

Turkish Ambassador Niyazi Evren Akyol received a copy of the resolution and the facsimile check for the financial assistance.

Philippine Red Cross chairman former Senator Richard Gordon was also present during the turnover ceremony.

“I thank all of my colleagues in the

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES REGIONAL TRIAL COURT NATIONAL CAPITAL JUDICIAL REGION BRANCH 306-QUEZON CITY rtc1qzn306@judiciary.gov.ph

was reported and recorded in the Philippine Statistics Authority. His parents then got separated and eventually divorced each other. His mother got married again to Oliver Klaus Blodowski who later on legally adopted the petitioner as his child.

Petitioner now prays for the judicial recognition of the Order of Adoption issued by the German Court pursuant to Section 48, Rule 39 of the Rules of Court and the subsequent correction of entries in his Report of Birth.

WHEREFORE, finding the petition to be sufficient in form and substance, let this case be set for hearing on April 19, 2023 at 1:30 in the afternoon before this Court located at

Senate for pooling together a total of 2.5 million pesos at P100,000 each Senator for a donation to the Turkish Red Crescent, coursed through the Philippine Red Cross,” Zubiri said.

“And we thank Senator Richard Gordon for facilitating the donation.”

The donation was entirely privately funded, with all twenty-four Senators dipping into their own pockets to make a contribution.

“The Philippines being a disaster-prone country, we have some idea of the tragedy that Turkey and Syria are facing, and so we wanted to help out, in our own way,” Zubiri said.

“We hope that our humble contributions, taken together, are able to offer some comfort and relief to the victims in this most difficult time.”

Macon-Ramos-Araneta

US hosts workshop on regional maritime sanctions in Manila

By Rey E. Requejo

THE United States government hosted recently a workshop in Manila for Customs, Coast Guard, and legal officials from the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Taiwan to strengthen regional cooperation in enforcing international maritime sanctions.

The event, held on Feb. 28 to March 2 under the auspices of the US Embassy’s Export Control and Border Security (EXBS) Program and the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, trained participants on the impact of sanctions on key stakeholders; regional examples of sanctionsevasion; challenges to the enforcement of sanctions; and models for implementing relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions.

The delegates also participated in tabletop exercises where they applied skills in investigating and preventing sanctions evasion.

“Through this workshop, participants developed closer working relationships to jointly address sanctions evasion activities in the region,” the US Embassy in Manila said in a statement.

“This event is a great opportunity for the delegates to meet and share each nation’s response to maritime sanctions evasion activities. The workshop and relationships developed will provide contacts for future collaboration and cooperation,” EXBS Regional Advisor Ransom Avilla said at the workshop’s opening ceremony.

U.S. State Department’s Export Control and Border Security (EXBS) Program, which is under the Export Control Cooperation Office of the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation, seeks to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, destabilizing and irresponsible transfers of conventional arms and illegal exports of strategic goods by building an effective national strategic trade control system worldwide.

The tremor was also felt at a “moderately strong” Intensity 4 in Monkayo, Davao de Oro; Tagum, Davao del Norte; and Bislig, Surigao del Sur. This intensity feels like the passing of a heavy truck that may rattle doors and windows, said Phivolcs.

It said the following intensities were also observed.

Intensity 3 - Santa Cruz, Davao del Sur; City of Davao; City of Mati, Davao Oriental Intensity 2 - City of Cagayan De Oro; Antipas, Carmen, and City of Kidapawan, Cotabato; Columbio, Sultan Kudarat Intensity 1 - Aleosan, Cotabato; Esperanza, Lutayan, and President Quirino, Sultan Kudarat

An employee in the Maragusan disaster office told Agence France Presse (AFP) that authorities were checking reports of a landslide on a national highway. We have not received any reports of other damage or casualties, but we are checking the villages around the town,” he added, declining to give his name.

“Things shook at the office but there was no damage.”

Intensity 4 was felt in Monkayo, Davao de Oro and in Tagum City in Davao del Norte, while Intensity 3 was felt in Davao City, and in San Isidro, Sto. Tomas and Panabo City in Davao del Norte. AFP

IN BRIEF

Basilan unveils peace monument in Sumisip

THE Basilan provincial government has, unveiled a Kasanyangan peace monument in Barangay Mahatallang in Sumisip town.

Top national and local officials led the March 4 event held at the Sampinit Complex, an area which even battle-hardened soldiers feared to tread in this once strife-torn town.

The unveiling of the monument was among the highlights of the week-long celebration of Basilan’s 49th founding anniversary.

Decommissioned firearms were used as a testament to the people’s commitment to reject armed violence struggle in favor of peace and progress.

The decommissioned firearms were collected through the efforts of the Small Arms and Light Weapons of the Joint Normalization Committee, a peace mechanism that was created under the Normalization Track of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB). Bobby Lagsa

Sandigan sends ex-mayor to jail over SUV deal

THE Sandiganbayan has convicted a former mayor in Bulacan province for graft over the purchase of a P1.2million sports utility vehicle (SUV) from a local distributor in 2014. In a 35-page decision penned by Associate Justice Ronald Moreno, the anti-graft court sentenced Baliwag ex-Mayor Carolina Dellosa to a prison term ranging from six to eight years with perpetual disqualification to hold public office.

Dellosa was accused of unlawfully approving the purchase of a P1.2 million sports utility vehicle from a local distributor in 2014 through direct procurement, or without going through public bidding as required by RA 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act.

The Sandiganbayan said Dellosa approved the purchase even if a specified brand name was made by the bids and awards committee (BAC), in violation of the law. Maricel V. Cruz

a protest rally at the main gate of Camp Aguinaldo, headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Department of National Defense, to denounce alleged abuses and human rights violations committed by the military against women in the countryside. Manny Palmero

China’s Xi slams ‘suppression’ led by US – media

PRESIDENT Xi Jinping condemned the US-led "suppression of China" in a speech to delegates at an annual congress in Beijing, state media reported.

"Western countries led by the United States have implemented allround containment, encirclement and suppression of China, which has brought unprecedented severe challenges to our country's development," Xi said, news agency Xinhua reported late Monday.

The 69-year-old leader, who is gearing up to start a third consecutive presidential term, said the past five years have been riddled with a new set of hurdles that threaten to weigh down China's economic rise.

Xi added that China must "have the courage to fight as the country faces

profound and complex changes in both the domestic and international landscape," according to a readout of the speech to delegates at the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

Beijing and Washington have butted heads in recent years over trade,human rights and other issues, but relations soured even further lastmonth when the US shot down a Chinese balloon it said was being used for surveillance – a claim strenuously denied by Beijing.

Top American officials have also repeatedly warned that China may invade Taiwan in the coming years, pointing to Beijing's increasingly assertive military moves around the self-ruled island, which it sees as its own territory and has vowed to bring under its control.

ROCKET FAILURE. Japan’s next generation ‘H3’ rocket, carrying the advanced optical satellite ‘Daichi 3’ leaves the launch pad at the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima, southwestern Japan on March 7, 2023. The rocket

The balloon incident caused US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to postpone a diplomatic trip to Beijing for a meeting that would have focused on a range of hot-button issues. AFP JAPAN'S second attempt to launch its nextgeneration H3 rocket failed after liftoff on Tuesday, with the space agency issuing a destruct command after concluding the mission could not succeed.

The failure is a blow for Japan's space agency JAXA, which has billed the rocket as a flexible and cost-effective new flagship.

But the first launch was delayed by several years, and then failed on a first attempt last month when the solid rocket boosters did not ignite.

Tuesday's launch from the Tanegashima Space Center in southwestern Japan initially appeared to be a success, with the rocket lifting

off at 10:37am (0137GMT).

The first stage separation appeared to go as planned, but soon afterwards, signs of trouble emerged.

"It seems that the velocity is coming down," announcers on the JAXA live feed said while the rocket was about 300 kilometers above ground.

The command centre then announced:

"The second stage engine ignition has not been confirmed yet, we continue to confirm the situation."

The live feed was then briefly halted, with a message reading "We are currently checking the status. Please wait." AFP

North Korea warned Tuesday that it would be a "clear declaration of war" if its missiles were shot down during their test launches over the Pacific Ocean.

The United States and South Korea have ramped up defence cooperation, including joint drills, in the face of growing threats from nucleararmed Pyongyang, which has conducted a wave of banned weapons tests in recent months.

LANDSLIDE AFTERMATH. This handout photo taken and released on March 7, 2023 by the Natuna ministry of communication and information local office shows a rescue team inspecting the damages following landslides in Natuna islands in Indonesia. AFP

BRIEF

World’s

A CANADIAN girl and boy born over four months premature and not expected to survive have celebrated their first birthday with a Guinness World Records nod as the world’s most premature twins.

Adiah and Adrial Nadarajah were born on March 4, 2022 at the gestational age of 22 weeks, or 126 days early – breaking by one day the previous record set in 2018 by American twins.

Weighing just 330 grams (0.72 lbs.) and 420 grams (0.92 lbs.), respectively, they are also the lightest twins at birth ever, Guinness World Records (GWR) said on its website.

Citing the babies’ parents, the reference book for records of human achievements and natural world extremes said the twins were given “zero percent chance of survival” by doctors when they arrived.

“When I went into labour, the babies were

North Korea has said its nuclear weapons and missile programs are for self-defence, and has bristled over US-South Korea military exercises, describing them as

rehearsals for an invasion.

"It will be regarded as a clear declaration of war against the DPRK, in case such military response as interception takes place against our tests of strategic weapons," Kim Yo Jong, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's powerful sister, said in a statement, using North Korea's official name.

"The Pacific Ocean does not belong to the dominium of the US or Japan."

North Korea is "always on standby to take appropriate, quick and overwhelming action at any time," added her statement, published by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

This month, the US and South Korean militaries will hold their largest joint drills in five years.

Ahead of those exercises, named Freedom Shield and scheduled for at least 10 days starting March 13, the allies held air drills this week featuring a nuclear-capable US B-52 heavy bomber.

In a separate statement on Tuesday, North Korea's foreign ministry accused the United States of "intentionally" ramping up tensions.

"The recent joint air drill... clearly shows that the US scheme to use nuclear weapons against the DPRK is being carried forward at the level of an actual war," it said in a statement published by KCNA.

"We express deep regret over the irresponsible and worrying muscle-flexing of the US and South Korea." Last year, Pyongyang declared itself an "irreversible" nuclear power and fired a record-breaking number of missiles. AFP

PRIME Minister Justin Trudeau announced the appointment of an independent special rapporteur to probe alleged Chinese interference in Canada's last two federal elections.

In recent weeks a series of reports in the Canadian media, based on intelligence leaks, have detailed alleged attempts by Beijing to interfere in those elections.

That allegedly involved secret financing or involvement in the campaign of certain candidates during voting in 2019 and 2021.

China has firmly denied the charges, calling them "defamatory."

The new rapporteur, who will be named in the coming days, will be responsible for making "expert recommendations on combating interference and strengthening our democracy" said Trudeau, adding that he had also appointed two committees to investigate foreign interference.

This announcement came after opposition parties had been calling for days for an independent public inquiry into the issue. One of the first tasks of the special rapporteur will be to advise the government on the next steps to take, including a possible public inquiry.

Trudeau said his government would abide by the rapporteur's recommendations, "which could include a formal inquiry or some other independent review process."

The prime minister also instructed members of the parliamentary committee on national security and intelligence to launch a new, specialized investigation into foreign interference in Canada's elections.

denied all life-sustaining measures at the hospital I was admitted to and almost left to die,” their mother, Shakina Rajendram, told GWR.

Most hospitals do not attempt to save babies born before 24-26 weeks.

But these two are alive and kicking.

A photo of the twins sitting on a couch next to their GWR framed certificate shows Adiah looking surprised with her mouth wide open, while her brother Adrial appears pensive. AFP

Brazil’s Bolsonaro faces probes over jewelry

BRAZIL’S justice minister asked federal police

Monday to investigate reports ex-president Jair Bolsonaro tried to illegally import jewelry worth $3.2 million gifted by Saudi Arabia, as tax officials probe a second present of jewels.

The far-right former president has faced mounting questions over the jewels since newspaper Estado de Sao Paulo reported Friday that customs officers blocked an aide to his former mines and energy minister, Bento Albuquerque, from bringing them into Brazil without paying the required import duty after an official trip in October 2021.

According to the newspaper, Bolsonaro administration officials intervened at least eight times to try to convince customs officers to release the diamond jewels – a necklace, a ring, a watch and a pair of earrings from Swiss luxury house Chopard – that had been given to the president’s wife.

Bolsonaro denies wrongdoing.

“They’re accusing me over a gift I neither requested nor received. AFP

Hong Kong trans activist’s fight for a normal life

IDENTIFIED as “female” on his Hong Kong ID, trans activist Henry Tse waged an arduous legal battle to have his real gender recognised.

Six years later, he won the case to change his gender marker to “male” at the city’s top court – a victory he hopes will help make life easier for Hong Kong’s trans community as a whole. “I had no choice,” Tse told AFP of his lawsuit, which he fought alongside another trans man identified as Q by the court.

“(My) ID card says ‘female,’ which is clearly different from my real gender identity, it’s wrong. Carrying such a card, even if all other information on it is correct... people won’t believe it is me.”

Frequently facing rejection and humiliation when trying to complete simple tasks like checking into a hotel or going to the gym, all he wanted was

a “normal life.”

Tse knew his fight for recognition would be tough, but he never imagined it would be so long.

Q told AFP the win felt like “accomplishing mission impossible.”

“We just want the same rights that everyone else has, and to fight for our dignity,” he said.

Until now, trans adults in Hong Kong could only change their IDs by proving they had had an operation to alter their genitalia.

In its February 6 verdict, the Court of Final Appeal found requiring transgender people to undergo surgery to change their IDs unconstitutional, saying it imposed “an unacceptably harsh burden” on Tse and Q. Following Tse and Q’s victory, the government’s Security Bureau said it would “seek legal advice on follow-up actions.” AFP

Japan’s next-gen H3 rocket fails, agency issues destruct command Canada probes alleged Chinese poll interference

North Korea warns US against intercepting missiles during tests

failed after liftoff, with the space agency issuing a destruct command after concluding the mission could not succeed. AFP

most premature babies mark 1st birthday

1ST BIRTHDAY. Photo shows the twins sitting on a couch next to their Guinness World Record framed certificate. From GWR

SAUDI JEWELS. A set of diamond jewels – a necklace, a ring, a watch and a pair of earrings – that had been given to the wife of then Brazil president Jair Bolsonaro.

Henry Tse

BUSINESS

Gov’t debt soars to all-time high of P13.7t

By Julito G. Rada

THE government’s outstanding debt ballooned to an all-time high of P13.70 trillion as of end-January this year from P13.42 trillion in December 2022 as the government borrowed more money to finance the budget deficit, the Bureau of the Treasury said Tuesday.

From end-December 2022, NG’s total outstanding debt increased by P279.63 billion or 2.1 percent due to the net availment of domestic and external debt,” the Treasury said in a statement.

It also jumped by P1.67 trillion, or 13.9 percent, from P12.03 trillion regis-

IN BRIEF

DOTr woos Italian trade mission to invest in PH

THE chief of the Department of Transportation on Tuesday enticed Italian businessmen to invest in big transport projects that make the country a profitable investment hub and promising gateway to the Asian region.

Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista pitched several big-ticket infrastructure projects where Italian businessmen could commit their investments and resources. He asked the Italian delegation to discover the vast transport infrastructure potential in the Philippines.

“This trade mission comes when the Philippines is positioning itself as a lucrative investment destination and an auspicious gateway to Asia,” said Bautista during the Italian Trade Mission in Manila. Bautista said the trade mission reopens rich opportunities, not just for businesses, but also investment prospects for transportation infrastructure projects while enhancing connectivity and mobility that would hasten and boost economic growth.

“A lot of airport, railway, seaport, and road infrastructure projects have been initiated and we are on track to complete them within the coming years,” Bautista told the delegation.

Darwin G. Amojelar

BOI approves P980-m canned sardines facility

THE Board of Investments approved the P980-million zero-waste sardines manufacturing facility of Mega Prime Food Inc. in Sto. Tomas Batangas in support of the government’s directive for food security that will allow Filipinos access to affordable and nutritious food options.

Mega Sardines dominates the local canned sardines market with a 26-percent share. The new facility is designed to boost output by 20 percent to address increasing demand in Luzon, which accounts for 80 percent of total demand.

“This innovation by Mega Prime Foods Inc. supports the government’s overall direction to host clean and sustainable manufacturing practices in the country. The project is also expected to generate more business and employment opportunities for Filipinos, especially those situated in the Southern Tagalog area,” said Trade Secretary and BOI chairman Alfredo Pascual.

The facility is a state-of-the-art semi-automated sardines canning manufacturing plant with a zero-waste fish meal facility, cold storage and warehouse. The whole plant will operate using an energy-efficient power source to minimize carbon emissions.

Othel V. Campos

NPC signs MOU for RE projects in SPUG areas

STATE-OWNED National Power Corp. said Tuesday it signed a memorandum of understanding with APTI Renewable Energy Corp. to promote and identify priorities for biofuel and bio-mass hybrid power projects in the Small Power Utilities Group areas.

APTI REC is a subsidiary of Asian Pyrochem Technologies Inc., an authorized export and import channel of Indonesia and the Philippines under a government-to-government energy program through PT PP Persero TBK and state-owned Philippine National Oil Co. NPC president and chief executive Fernando Martin Roxas said the MOU, signed on Monday, is part of the corporation’s sustainability agenda and gradually minimizes dependence on fossil fuels.

“The MOU will allow us to access APTI REC’s technology on the use of biofuel or palm oil as an alternative fuel. Together, we shall also collaborate to build a prototype bioenergy renewable energy power plant that uses palm oil and develop an integrated logistical and technical system for the production of biofuel and biomass,” Roxas said.

APTI REC president and chief executive Harley Luis Leaño expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership. “We are happy to share our knowledge and experiences and to have found an ally in championing renewable energy in Napocor. This partnership will not only pursue energy development but will also help alleviate poverty in the countryside,” said Leaño. Alena Mae S. Flores

tered in January 2022. The government incurred a budget deficit of P1.6 trillion in 2022, representing 7.3 percent of the gross domestic product.

Data showed that of the total debt stock, 31.5 percent came from other countries and 68.5 percent represented

domestic borrowings.

Domestic debt rose 1.9 percent to P9.38 trillion in January from the end-December 2022 level following the net availment of domestic financing amounting to P179.16 billion, which offset the P2.61-billion effect of local currency appreciation against the US dollar on foreign denominated onshore securities.

Domestic debt also went up by more than P1 trillion, or 1.2 percent, from P8.37 trillion a year earlier.

Foreign debt amounted to P4.31 trillion in January, P103.08 billion or 2.4 percent higher from the previous month.

It also jumped by P651 billion, or 17.8 percent, from P3.66 trillion a year ago.

“The increase in NG’s external obligation for January was brought on by the P186.56 billion net availment of foreign loans and P10.36 billion impact of third-currency adjustments against the US dollar. However, peso appreciation reduced the peso value of foreign currency denominated debt by P93.84 billion,” the Treasury said.

Michael Ricafort, chief economist of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., said the higher government borrowings in January resumed after the seasonal lull during the holidays in December.

“For the coming months, new record high for the outstanding national government in peso terms is still possible, in view of the recent peso RTB issuance

in February 2023 and the upcoming US dollar-denominated ROP bond issuance in 2Q 2023,” Ricafort said. Total national government guaranteed obligations decreased by P5.21 billion or 1.3 percent month-on-month to P393.84 billion as of end-January 2023.

The Treasury said the lower level of guaranteed debt was due to the net repayment of both domestic and external guarantees amounting to P1.12 billion and P0.21 billion, respectively. The peso appreciation against the US dollar trimmed the amount by P4.31 billion, which more than offset the net appreciation of thirdcurrency denominated guarantees against the greenback amounting P0.42 billion.

Custodian says PICOP loses P800m worth of machineries to ‘robbers’

By Othel V. Campos

THE custodian of the defunct Philippine Industries Corporation of the Philippines is seeking assistance from the Department of Trade and Industry to help recover some, if not all, the back pays, benefits and capitalization lost because of alleged looting and other illegal activities surrounding the proposed rehabilitation program.

Court-appointed rehabilitation receiver Francisco Buencamino said about P800 million worth of machineries and equipment were forcibly taken out by “robbers”.

“I wrote to DTI for them to be aware that there is the possibility of loss of investor confidence in the general investments climate in the country, as far as

foreign investments is concerned,” he said, adding that a foreign entity invested to transform the old paper mill in Mindanao into a modern and functional paper manufacturing facility. He said of the looted machineries and equipment, about P500 million equipment represented capital investment shared by a third party foreign investor, which was supposed to modernize the paper mill as part of the rehabilitation plan for PICOP.

“This has been covered into scrap metal and materials by robbers. They scrapped everything from crushers to digesters, and they even took out the air-conditioning system. We had the plan laid out and it’s been two years that we’re trying to speed up the rehabilitation of the paper plant,”

Globe Group president and chief executive Ernest Cu talks about the company’s purpose-driven approach to empowering people through digitalization on the sidelines of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Globe is accelerating its pivot from a traditional telecommunications company to a full-fledged tech enterprise, always on the lookout for the next big problem to solve towards digital enablement and transformation. The shift from telco to techco began when Globe became the number one mobile operator in the country in 2016. The success prompted the organization to expand its vision and place greater emphasis on digital solutions.

PHINMA bullish on construction, property and education businesses

By Jenniffer B. Austria

CONGLOMERATE PHINMA Corp. is bullish on the prospects of its construction, property and education businesses in 2023 amid the full reopening of the economy and improving macroeconomic conditions.

PHINMA said in a disclosure to the stock exchange it expected construction materials and property units to recover in terms of profit this year as global supply chains and foreign exchange rates continued to stabilize and input costs decreased.

The company said the profitability of subsidiary PHINMA Education Holdings Inc. would also improve as school opening schedules normalized.

PHINMA Education is expanding capacity in anticipation of continuing enrollment growth, it said.

The conglomerate said PHINMA Education became the country’s largest private education network in terms of student population as it registered 124,501 enrollees for school year 2022-23, up 30 percent from the previous school year.

PHINMA Education owns nine colleges and universities nationwide.

PHINMA said it expected its hotel business to post a strong recovery as occupancy rates and average daily rates continued to improve with leisure and business travel gaining momentum.

PHINMA reported a consolidated income of P1.5 billion in 2022, down

18 percent year-on-year on higher raw materials costs driven by global supply chain disruptions, a strong US dollar and increased education costs due to a revision in school opening schedules. Consolidated revenues climbed 10 percent year-on-year to P17.7 billion.

PHINMA Construction Materials Group posted a net income of P494.9 million in 2022, down 45 percent from P902 million a year ago.

PHINMA Education also registered a 24.5-percent decline in net income in 2022 to P633 million from P839 million in 2021, due to a revision in the school opening schedules, reflecting nine months of regular semester for 2022, compared to eleven months in 2021.

Buencamino said. He noted the lack of support from the host community and from the local police force.

Buencamino said Land Bank of the Philippines also had exposure of P2 billion.

“I’ve written a separate letter to LandBank president Cecille Borromeo asking why the bank has not given a pffft of what has happened and what is happening to PICOP, which was the biggest and only integrated forest and paper mill in the country,” Buencamino said.

Buencamino said he would not allow the facility to be foreclosed and then liquidated. “How about the 12,000 shareholders, 8,000 employees, 2,500 claimants and other creditors who should also have their share,” he said.

PSE INDEX CLOSING

By Alena Mae S. Flores

ABOITIZ Equity Ventures Inc. said

Tuesday net income reached P24.8 billion in 2022, or 9 percent lower than P27.3 billion it booked in 2021.

AEV said in a disclosure to the stock exchange it recognized non-recurring gains of P3.5 billion last year on foreign exchange gains from the US dollar cash revaluation and liquid financial instruments, compared to the P527 million in non-recurring gains in 2021.

The conglomerate said that without these one-off gains, core net income in 2022 reached P21.3 billion, a 21 percent decline year-on-year.

“As we closed another transformative year for the Aboitiz Group, our techglomerate continues to take shape, not just in our financial reports, but also in the major culture shifts taking place within our organization. We will continue to focus our energy and resources on strategic innovation and, more importantly, on people and talent,” said Aboitiz Group president and chief executive Sabin Aboitiz.

Consolidated net income in the fourth quarter went down by 55 percent to P3.5 billion from P7.8 billion in the same period in 2021.

AEV signed a strategic partnership with JERA Asia Private Limited for Aboitiz Power Corp. in 2021 as part of its transformation strategy.

By Darwin G. Amojelar

PLDT Group is eyeing the use of drones to inspect cellular sites in Metro Manila to pave the way for more efficient and environment-friendly network operations. PLDT Inc. and Smart Communications Inc. successfully completed a proof of concept for drone-aided digital inspection of cellular sites. The PoC, conducted in a number of Smart towers in Quezon City, Valenzuela and Caloocan, was held with vHive and counterpart Amdocs using drone technology to capture multiple cell sites’

information and produce “digital twins” of these network towers.

The use of autonomous drone technology in capturing network tower information is expected to later replace the time-consuming, dangerous and manual task of climbing each and every tower to gather and record data.

Turning the drone-captured images into a digital twin of the tower with the aid of artificial intelligence and machine learning will also enable Smart to build a single source of field-based truth across the entire Smart network and will facilitate faster and data-driven decisionmaking.

SUPPORT FOR FARMERS. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (standing, center) witnesses the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Department of Trade and Industry represented by Secretary Alfredo Pascual (seated, third from left) and the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship Foundation Inc. Go Negosyo represented by Joey Concepcion (seated, second from right) for the implementation of the Kapatid Angat Lahat Agri Program at Malacañang. Go Negosyo created KALAP, guided by the principle of 3Ms—mentorship, market, money—to foster the transformation of major agriculture commodities and industries and create a conducive business environment in the Philippines.

GLOBE’S PIVOT.

Embracing equal opportunities for women

By Patricia taculao

IN 2022, the World Economic Forum released gender gap rankings, which disclosed the number of women participating in the labor force. The Philippines ranked 19th out of 146 countries, indicating progress in bridging the gender disparity in society.

But the country still has a long way to go before achieving equity.

For decades, women, an often marginalized and underestimated community, fought to have their voices heard and land a well-deserved position in every industry.

Every March 8, which is International Women’s Month, women call for gender equality, allowing them to access rights, responsibilities, and opportunities regardless of

gender. Yet this 2023, the annual and global celebration focuses on championing gender equity.

Gender equity refers to equal treatment in acquiring and exercising rights, benefits, obligations, and opportunities. Despite these struggles, millions of women across the globe continue to set an example of how they’re more than their genders.

Among them is Bianca Gonzalez, a Filipina television host who captured the audience’s hearts with charm, wit, and grace. Bianca is a staunch advocate of progressive values—one of them being women’s empowerment—which she highlights on her social media platforms. She is also one of the five female cofounders of She Talks Asia, a women empowerment platform that holds workshops and creates online narratives around sharing women’s stories and sparking necessary conversations.

As one of the five female co-founders of She Talks Asia, which began in 2017, Bianca played a vital role in building a community of over 34,000 tribe members and raised over P2.5 million to provide scholarships for girls.

She Talks Asia is also responsible for raising and addressing relevant issues. Some include biases against women, negotiating your worth at work, the multihyphenate path, mental health, and wellness, violence against women and children, women making the first move, ageism, body positivity, and healing.

Bianca admits that the Philippines has yet to achieve gender equality within its communities but remains optimistic that it’s possible if everyone works together.

“We’ve had two female Presidents, two female Vice Presidents, and our current VP is a woman; there are powerful women holding C Suite and leadership positions in different sectors, but there is a long way to go in truly achieving equality,” she said.

She adds that there’s much discrimination in hiring wives and mothers in the workforce, and “unpaid care work lies largely in the hands of women, and women still face harassment and microaggressions, whether in the workplace, in public spaces, and even at home.”

“It will really take all stakeholders, public and private, committing to creating and implementing policies that can protect and support women, and it will take work in our individual homes in raising the next generation of women and men to finally, achieve equality,” Bianca said.

Filipino actress Chesca Kramer shares similar sentiments on the relevance of raising the next generation of men and women to achieve equality. As a mother of three, she sets an example of how her children can become model citizens, who treat each other respectfully and without bias.

“The hand that rocks the cradle is a powerful force to raise good citizens that will be future pillars of our community and essential to building a good nation. Knowing that gives me the power to raise my children to be good citizens. That is what empowers me as a woman,” she said.

Chesca embraces her womanhood as much as possible, proven by her projects and how she guides her family. She’s a beacon in their household on how to be confident, strong, and elegant.

“The essence of being a woman to me is one who thinks wisely, speaks faithfully, and behaves gracefully. She celebrates her womanhood and is confident of her own strength as a woman. Her light shines in every corner of her home. Her wisdom abounds and her nurturing gift blesses her family,” she said.

Another woman of action in her own way is Shawntel Nieto, the president of Sustainable PH, a registered NGO which catalyzes the sustainability movement in the country. Shawntel is passionate about public service and other movements. Her goal is to provide every Filipino the decent living conditions and opportunities they all deserve to have as a people.

“Through my work in our One Cainta Food Program, I have provided over 700,000 people with food, education support, vocational training, and livelihood support. Through my work within SustainablePH and SustainaRumble, I have strived to advance the practice of sustainability in the Philippines and in so doing create more just, equitable, and sustainable institutions, policies, and systems in the country,” she said.

Her work also helps people improve people’s living conditions today while also working to ensure that on a systems level, progress is made to continuously raise the overall quality and standard of people’s living conditions and opportunities, by default.

“Under our One Cainta Food Program, we are currently looking at providing women with digital livelihood opportunities. This will allow them to work and add on to their household’s average income while still having the time and geographical flexibility needed to fulfill their roles as homemakers and mothers,” she added.

Bianca, Chesca, and Shawntel are only three of the millions of women, who live their lives with confidence and truth as they set the bar on how womanhood is something to celebrate, not underestimate.

People across the globe, specifically women and allies, are having meaningful conversations on why equal opportunities aren’t enough and even if they are, the circumstances aren’t always fair to women. This year, they stand in solidarity with women as they take the necessary steps to embrace equity.

International Women’s Day is a time full of activities across the globe, physical and virtual, to help spread the message. All are welcome to participate and share in the movement of fighting for equality and equity without gender discrimination and other prejudice.

Although IWD is an annual celebration held every March 8, the fight for women’s rights and empowerment is an every day fight that requires the efforts of every stakeholder in society to create a progressive world that offers people equal and fair treatment in the opportunities they receive.

Hapag Movement raises P13.5 million in donations to fight involuntary hunger, Globe reiterates call for support

GLOBE’S Hapag Movement has raised over P13.5 million worth of donations to combat involuntary hunger in the country since its launch in 2022, as the digital solutions platform urged customers anew to support the advocacy as millions of Filipino families still struggle to afford proper meals.

Contributions to the cause accelerated during Globe’s on-ground events including the annual 917 GDay celebration in September 2022, with customers’ donations of their Rewards points, which the company matched to send urgent help to those in need. These were complemented by company-initiated donations, corporate partner donations, and by engaging their customer base through various activities.

“As millions of Filipinos still grapple with hunger, Globe believes that addressing this

concern is necessary for the country to achieve full and inclusive recovery from the impact of the pandemic. We are very thankful to our customers for participating and being part of the movement,” said Globe Chief Sustainability and Corporate Communications Officer, Yoly Crisanto.

During their annual 917 celebration in September, Globe matched all Rewards points redeemed from September 17 to 30 with an equivalent donation to the Hapag Movement. They also engaged their customers in several events throughout last year including the Tay New Fan Meet in Manila, Reach 4 The Stars Fan Meet with Thai actors and Globe endorsers Bright, Win, Dew, and Nani, G Battle Zone, G Music Fest, AcadArena’s CONQuest, Gariath Concepts’ Electronic Sports and Gaming Summit (ESGS), Head in the Clouds Manila, and many others.

The total amount of donations also comprises internal employee engagements from Globe including:

Purpose Tree—Globe’s annual Christmas fundraising effort

Gift Local—the company’s annual Christmas bazaar, done in partnership with ChatGenie, an e-commerce solution supported by Globe Business, and in collaboration with some of their key clients, including Lumi Candles, Big AL’s, Daniel Baker, and many others

Volunteer activities

Globe also has a growing list of partners to raise funds for the Hapag Movement including: Amdocs, Globe’s long-time vendor partner who’s pledged to monetarily contribute US $12,000 to the cause and mobilize their employees to join the movement by initiating an internal fundraising program;

KUMU, the largest social entertainment app in the Philippines, also engaged their content creators and viewers to donate to the cause. They raised a total of 1.9M+ diamonds on the platform during the Hapag Movement Benefit Concert held last December 21, 2022, which drew 10,599 viewers. SMAC (SM Advantage Card), who, together with its sister brands within the SM Group, helped raise funds through customer engagements last Christmas season. The Rotary Club of Makati Central Business District, Ayala Coop, and KonsultaMD’s network of doctors who committed a significant amount to support the advocacy.

Collectively, all their efforts will contribute to reaching the program’s long-term goal of supporting 100,000 families in four years through supplemental feeding and livelihood programs of mobilization partners Ayala Foundation, Caritas Philippines, Tzu Chi Foundation Philippines, and World Vision Philippines.

According to the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey, taken from December 10 to 14, 2022, 3 million families reported experiencing involuntary hunger, an increase from 2.9 million in the previous quarter.

The Hapag Movement is a united fight against involuntary hunger through technology led by Globe and carried out with its partners, the Ayala Foundation, Tzu Chi Foundation Philippines, Caritas Philippines and World Vision.

It aims to rally Filipinos behind a collective effort to feed the hungry, as involuntary hunger persisted among millions of families, especially at the height of the pandemic.

This is part of Globe’s commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly UN SDG No. 9, which highlights the roles of infrastructure and innovation as crucial drivers of economic growth and development.

Those who would like to send support may donate via the New GlobeOne app using Globe Rewards points. Just follow these steps:

Donations may also be made using GCash.

Donations may also be sent via credit card on the Globe of Good website.

Diaz receives 4th PSA Athlete of Year award

WEIGHTLIFTING superstar Hidilyn

Diaz underscored the hard work, dedication and sacrifice needed to hone her athletic skills to an elite level during her coronation on Monday as the Philippine Sportswriters Association Athlete of the Year at the Diamond Hotel in Manila.

“Nagbunga ang lahat ng sacrifices, juggling ko sa studies, an athlete at sa military, and as a wife of my husband Julius Naranjo,” said the weightlifting standout, who was cited Athlete of the Year for the fourth time for her golden treble at the world weightlifting championships in Bogota, Colombia last December.

“It shows that if you really want something, you work hard for it and inspired by those who believe in you and support you, can achieve great things in life,” said Diaz, who is set to graduate this year from College of St. Benilde with a degree in Bachelor of Science in Busi-

Keon: Best coaches, facilities, exposure make great athletes

By Peter Atencio

FINDING the best Filipino athletes here and abroad and giving them the best coaches, facilities and exposure made the late track star Lydia De Vega one of the great legends of her time.

Former Project Gintong Alay director Michael Keon, who is now the current mayor of Laoag City, said this as De Vega-Mercado was elevated to the Philippine Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame on Monday night at the Diamond Hotel in Manila.

“It was the coaching. It was the

support that the athletes got. We had the best equipment. We tried to have the best facilities and the best exposure,” said Keon as he reminisced on the days of Gintong Alay, which was launched in 1979 and disbanded in 1986.

The 68-year-old Keon talked about

the Gintong Alay’s glory days and De Vega’s rise as a track superstar, a week after accepting his new role as one of the Philippine Sports Commission’s top advisers.

De Vega was once part of Project Gintong Alay, which took care of around 20 elite national athletes during its time.

Keon’s part with the PSC was discussed and accepted when PSC chairman Richard Bachmann visited Laoag City, while visiting Northern Luzon in the first week of March.

“He came to see me last week. He asked me for advise. It was a good meeting,” added Keon, who added

that they came to an agreement that he will provide sound inputs to Bachmann and PSC from time to time.

Bachmann said talks with Keon were very fruitful.

“We talked about finding athletes, who can join the national team and represent the country. He agrees with having Fil-foreigners. But for the local athletes, we have to find them,” said Bachmann. Keon also emphasized to Bachmann the need for great facilities.

Bachmann felt that such inputs from Keon made sense, and he will take action on this.

Fil-Am skaters set to dominate world figure skating

FILIPINO skaters have made history, breaking the five-year dry spell of the Philippines in prestigious skating competitions.

Fil-Am Short Track Speed Skater, Peter Groseclose, secured the Philippines a spot in the 2024 Winter Youth Olympics to be held in South Korea.

The 15-year-old skater qualified through his standing at the recently concluded World Junior Short Track Speed Skating Championships held in Dresden, Germany on Jan 27-29, 2023.

This is a great milestone for Groseclose the despite it being his first season competing internationally. He clinched a spot and landed among the 36 finalists among over 70 competitors and 30+ countries represented in the event.

Also, this is the country’s third time joining the quadrennial meet, with the first in 2012 by figure skater Michael Christian Martinez and in 2020 by short track speed skater Julian Macaraeg, making it the first back-to-back appearance by PH ice skaters in the WYOG.

Groseclose started training at the young age of 7 as he was inspired by his older sister who figure skated.

Meanwhile, figure skating duo Isabella Gamez and Alexander Korovin are set to compete in the 2023 ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Saitama, Japan 20-26, 2023.

Gamez and Korovin are the first

Philippine and South East Asian pair figure skaters to qualify at the World Figure Skating Championships. They secured their spot after they qualified in their free skate scores at the Metro Trophee Metropole competition in Nice, France last October 2022, and their short program scores in the Challenge Cup held in Tilburg, Netherlands on February 26, 2023.

The last time the Philippines was represented in the World Championships was in 2017 by Martinez.

The pair aims to qualify for the next Winter Olympics happening in 2026 in Milano, Cortina.

“We would like to congratulate our homegrown talents who have all glided their way to the world championships. These two major wins are definitely one for the books as once again, we will be able to show the world how talented Filipino skaters are. And we at SM Supermalls will always be proud that you have brought pride to the country,” said Joseph V. Silva, AVP for Operations for SM Lifestyle Inc. Sports & Leisure Centers.

SM Skating is the only ice skating rink in the Philippines and is home to the Philippine National Team of Ice Sports in partnership with the Philippine Skating Union. All SM Skating branches (SM Mall of Asia, SM Megamall, and SM Seaside Cebu) boast state-

rentals, assist coaches, and basic to advanced lessons. Join the fun and fulfill your ice skating dreams when you visit SM Supermalls’

skating rinks! To know more about the exciting deals and promos at the rink, visit www.smsupermalls.com and follow @smskating on social media.

ness Administration, major in Business Management.

“Nagbubunga na rin po ‘yung pagsisikap ng seven years at ga-graduate na rin ako,” said the athlete, who became an athletic scholar of the school after bagging a silver medal in the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, beaming.

Now no longer a spring chicken at 32, Diaz said her aspiration of appearing in a fifth straight Olympics and bringing more honor for the country is far from over.

“Sa mga nagsasabi it’s too late to start, hindi ako naniniwala diyan. Age is just a number. Ang importante du’n is that we love what we are doing. For our fellow athletes, we are doing this for love of our country and for our sports,” she underscored.

She twitted her critics that she was over the hill, saying: “Sa mga nagbabash sa aking, mas na-challenge ako kaya okay lang.”

Morant facing police probe over gun video

LOS ANGELES—Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant is facing a police investigation over a video posted on social media in which he appeared to brandish a firearm, police in Colorado said on Monday.

The Glendale Police Department confirmed it was investigating the circumstances surrounding Morant’s video, which led to the NBA star being suspended and facing possible sanction from the league.

“The Glendale Police Department is aware of the incident circulating on the internet involving an NBA player at a nightclub with a what appears to be a gun in the early morning hours of March 4, 2023,” captain Jamie Dillon said in a statement emailed to AFP.

“We have confirmed the incident took place at a bar in Glendale and we are investigating the matter.

“The Glendale Police Department does not comment on ongoing investigations.” It is not against the law to carry a firearm in Colorado although it is illegal to possess a gun while under the influence of alcohol.

In the video posted on Instagram Live early on Saturday, Morant could be seen holding a handgun.

The 23-year-old later deleted both his Instagram and Twitter accounts.

The NBA has launched an investigation into the matter while the Grizzlies said on Saturday Morant would not be selected for at least two games.

Morant later issued an apology saying he planned to “take some time away to get help and work on learning better methods of dealing with stress and my overall well-being.”

Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said on Sunday there was no timeline for Morant’s return to the team. AFP

PH hosts ASEAN taekwondo championship

THE Philippine Taekwondo Association is proud to announce the country’s hosting of the 2023 16th ASEAN Taekwondo Championships slated March 10 to 12 at the Ayala Malls, Manila Bay in Parañaque City.

The country’s best and brightest stars are expected to don the national colors in the tournament serving as a pre-Southeast Asian Games showdown.

“More or less, ‘yung mga SEAG athletes ang ipadadala rito. This event has been a tradition in our

Asean Taekwondo Federation, family that is why it is held on the same calendar year of the SEA Games,” said PTA Secretary General Raul Samson. Around 383 athletes, officials and international referees from the eight member countries have confirmed their participation, such as Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam and Laos.

The biennial event is supported by SMART/MVP Sports Foundation, Philippine Sports Commission and

Philippine Olympic Committee.

The PTA just recently concluded its national selection for members of the team for the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia on May 6 to 17. Among big names selected are Tokyo Olympian Kurt Barbosa and fellow World Championships (Mexico) campaigners and 2019 Manila Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Dave Cea (-74kg), Laila Delo (-67kg), Baby Jessica Canabal (-53kg), Joseph Chua (63kg), and Alfritz Arevalo (-68kg).

A taekwondo jin (right) from the Philippines successfully lands a kick to his Thailand opponent during the event’s last edition.

Weightlifting superstar Hidilyn Diaz (third from left) receives her fourth Philippine Sportswriters Association Athlete of the Year trophy from (from left) PSA president Rey Lachica, Philippine Olympic Committee president Rep. Abraham Tolentino and Philippine Sports Commission chairman Richard Bachmann.

Ja Morant AFP

Figure skating duo Isabella Gamez and Alexander Korovin are set to compete in the 2023 ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Saitama, Japan on March 20 to 26.

Techno violinist Princess Ibañez

MANILA Polo Club celebrates the end of the 2023 polo season with Symphony at the Terrace, a grand open-air concert on March 30 at 7:00 p.m at the East Terrace & Enrique Zobel Field of Manila Polo.

Seasoned concert producer Eddie Yap, who is MPC past president, is staging this special event for Manila Polo in the style of grand arena concerts in Europe, with music from the most famous classical symphonic compositions by master composers and songs from popular choruses, operas, operettas, and waltzes and ballet, now part of international music and dances. Revel in the performances of the Philippine

Grand open-air concert punctuates 2023 polo season

The Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra

Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by maestro Hermenegildo Ranera, top classical singers Rachelle Gerodias, Byeong In Park, Arman Ferrer, Bianca Aguila, Nomher Nival, Quorista,

Waltzers Ensemble MPC Polo Riders & Equestrians, techno violinist Princess Ibañez, and Ballet Manila principal dancer Abigail Oliveiro SM, SteelAsia, UnionBank,

Camera starts rolling for new slasher film

SHOWBIZ newbie

Kristoff Garcia plays the lead role in Alvin Yapan’s latest project, Talahib, a movie produced by Feast Foundation.

Talahib , according to Yapan, tackles the problems of forgiveness, and the legacy of violence is passed on from parents to their children.

“In Talahib , I’m just returning to the horror genre only that this time, I wanted it to be a bit fun pero hindi mo naisasacrifce yung quality ,” Yapan told the press during a recent set visit.

“The story is about a band of friends

among the bleeding grasses of the talahiban which seems to have a mind of its own.

To keep Joyce alive, Bong together with his police partner, PInsp. Roman, will encounter a mysterious character in Stephen, caught loitering in the talahiban . Bong thinks Stephen is only pretending to be mentally deranged to avoid suspicion. But as it turns out,

Megawide,

Director Alvin Yapan says‘Talahib’ tackles the problems of forgiveness, and the legacy of violence passed on from parents to children who went to ‘talahiban’ for a spirit quest. They will have a horrific encounter with the ghost killer as they try to arrive at a solution for the frequent killings,’ the filmmaker added.

The ghost killer, according to Yapan, preys upon hapless victims who happen to pass by this talahiban in an abandoned subdivision. Their bodies are always found asphyxiated before being disposed of in the same talahiban

The story is told from the point of view of PO2 Bong, the police investigator. He does not believe in ghost killers; even though at one point he will have a close encounter with the killer, shooting him at close range, and slashing through the wild grass that bleeds. However, Bong will begin to reassess his belief when he encounters a band of friends, all in their 20s or early 30s, conducting a spirit quest at the talahiban , or so they say.

The leader of the group is Mario. He is joined by Vernie, Paul, Patrick, Ria, and Joyce. As it turns out, this band of friends is the children of a group of parents who killed the ghost killer (who used to be a hired assassin) and buried his body in the talahiban of that subdivision. Now, to stop the violence, the band of friends is trying to exhume the body. But the ghost killer, intent on continuing his killings even in the afterlife, will not let them. He enjoys killing too much. The band of friends will be killed off by the ghost killer one by one, leaving only Joyce behind. The movie will be mostly chasing scenes

Stephen is the son of a real estate mogul who used to hire the killer, to do assassination jobs for him. Stephen will become key to the origin story of the ghost killer.

“I play Stephen in the movie, and he’s a very interesting character. He’s from an influential family and yet he experiences something horrific,” Garcia said. “It’s also an honor to be given this type of role to portray because it’s a bid different from the previous projects I had. And I’m taking this opportunity to showcase my talent as an actor.”

Joining Garcia in the movie are Joem Bascon, Jess Mendoza, Kristof Garcia, Gillian Vicencio, Sue Prado, Kate Alejandrino, Angeli Sanoy, Iyo

‘Haulout’ is 25-minute film on how climate change affects the natural world that features

Oscar short docs race showcases booming art form

WHEN marine biologist Maxim Chakilev flings open the door of his ramshackle Siberian hut in the Oscar-nominated short documentary Haulout to find 100,000 honking and heaving walruses, the effect is breathtakingly cinematic.

For almost two minutes, the screen is crowded with jostling animals, their guttural snorts filling the soundtrack and putting the viewer right in the middle of an astonishing natural spectacle.

The scene, the centerpiece of a 25-minute film on how climate change affects the natural world, illustrates how short documentaries have exploded as an art form – and why big guns like The New Yorker and Netflix are getting involved.

“Video is a very powerful medium, and right now, this is how many people get their information about the world,” Soo-Jeong Kang, executive director of programming and development at The New Yorker, told AFP

“Traditional media companies are increasingly

recognizing this as both a way to reach new audiences and as a profound storytelling platform.”

The almost language-free Haulout, produced by brother-sister team Maxim Arbugaev and Evgenia Arbugaeva, who spent three months living in Chakilev’s rudimentary hut, is exactly the kind of top-notch content that dovetails with The New Yorker’s high-brow fiction and deepdive reporting, Kang said.

“It’s a pure cinematic experience, where you don’t need a spoken word to know what that story is about... an extension of that intersection between art and great journalism.”

Haulout is competing for the Academy Award for best documentary short film against four other nominees, and the range of those contenders demonstrate the breadth of format audiences are increasingly embracing. Read full story on manilastandard.net, AFP

Mavy and Kyline navigate online dating world in new digital series

of modern dating, can two friends find their way to meet their respective matches?

What if the one they’re looking for is just right

beside them all along?

Taking their undeniable onscreen chemistry to online platforms, Sparkle Sweethearts Mavy Kyline Alcantara are set to make hearts flutter again as they headline Zero – an original digital series produced by GMA Public Affairs.

deliveries, riding apps, and even sa love, instant na via mobile dating apps. It’s a thrilling roller coaster ride getting to know different people and knowing the possibility of finding that one true love. But sometimes in reality that one person you want to share your heart with might just be zero kilometers away from you,” says Mavy.

Kyline adds that viewers will also be on a rollercoaster ride.

Set to launch this March 10 on various GMA Network online platforms and GMA Public Affairs’ YouTube channel and Facebook pages, Zero Kilometers Away is a six-part narrative series about a young man and a young woman trying to navigate the harsh, creepy, and more often than not, hilarious realities of the online

Legaspi and the not, dating world. primetime series laughter in

Following the success of their team-up in the I Left My Heart in Sorsogon the MavLine couple is back to spread love and Zero Kilometers Away as Ardi and Gwen. As childhood best friends, the two have been each other’s confidante. Now that they are about to finish school, Gwen is having a major FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) as she longs to be in a romantic relationship. Ever reliable, Ardi encourages her to try online

reliable, Ardi encourages her to try online and “matches” side by side, will they one” might zero

“[There will be] Paasa moments, ‘Magiging sila na ba?’ Or paasa in a way na, ‘Sana naman maging sila na.’ O ‘Lalayo ba ‘to?’, ‘Mami-meet ba siya?’, ‘Magiging sila ba ng mga meet niya?’” she shares.

Making Ardi and Gwen’s life extra colorful are the special roles played by Kara David, Kuya Kim Atienza, Drew Arellano, Iya Arellano, Sparkle artists Caitlyn Stave, Raheel Bhyria, and Kaloy Tingcungco, TikTok sensation Rosmar Tan, Jerome Pamulaklakin, and Gigi Locsin. More Kapuso personalities are expected to appear in each episode.

Written by Mario Banzon and directed by Maikel Cardoz, Zero Kilometers Away streams on the GMA Portal, GMA Public Affairs’ YouTube channel, and GMA-owned Facebook pages.

Sparkle Sweethearts Kyline Alcantara (left) and Mavy Legaspi headline the digital series ‘Zero Kilometers Away’

Zs can relate to Ardi and Gwen’s love.

What follows is a series of online dating adventures and misadventures where they meet people from all walks – and quirks – of life. Yet as Ardi and Gwen navigate their different “matches” side by realize that “the already be there – just kilometers away? As two of the country’s most followed celebrities on social media, Mavy and Kyline believe that a lot of Gen Zs can relate to Ardi and Gwen’s Makakarelate dito yung mga naghahanap ng true love. In this day and age, everything’s super quick and at the tip of our fingers – like food

United Auctioneers, and Manila Standard are sponsors, with Musicartes as the production management team. For inquiries, call Manila Polo Club 88170951/57/59/61.

The cast and crew of the upcoming slasher film

Kristoff Garcia plays the lead role in ‘Talahib’

Garcia (left) with ‘Talahib’ co-star Gillian Vicencio

Canlas, Yam Mercado, and , among others.

Visual artist Kristine Lim honors women in ‘Redemption of Eve’ exhibit

WOMEN are honored and celebrated this month in Intramuros, Manila as the art exhibit and art installation of visual artist and Philippine Navy Ambassador, Kristine Lim, entitled The Redemption of Eve (Ang Hustisya Ni Eba), was unveiled on March 1.

The event

Councilor

Ferrous

The

Unity in diversity

PANAGHIUSA (unity/ oneness): Indigenous

Peoples-Moro Arts Fest and Forum opened recently in Koronadal City. It was jointly undertaken by the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) through its Cultural Exchange Department (CED) and the Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Colleges Marbel Inc. (RMMCMI).

Panaghiusa is one of the CCP Kaisa sa Sining (KSS) Mindanao Collaborative projects for 2023 which was planned during the KSS Regional Caucus and Dialogue held last June 11 to 13, 2022 in Koronadal City. The key representatives of the KSS Mindanao crafted action plans to prioritize and implement attainable cultural and artistic programs and projects that would benefit the community.

Panaghiusa highlights the various experiences, voices, and expressions through exchanges of ideas and knowledge, performances, and interactions. It is in the purview of the Mindanao IPs and the Moros themselves, so settlers understand and appreciate IP – Moro’s right to selfdetermination and sovereignty.

As advocates of IP-Moro culture, Mindanaoan artists and cultural formators converge to let their voices be heard and take the necessary actions to make an impact in the lives and future of the IPMoros in Mindanao. Datu Victorino Saway of the Talaandig community, Nestor Horfilla of Davao City, and other prominent leaders of various cultural communities and organizations led the open discussions and strategic planning on priority concerns of the IPs and Moros to include food security, women leadership, disaster risk reduction, resiliency building, and cultural appropriation, among other activities.

The activities were aptly titled Kastulen (conversations), Hegefan

Panaghiusa is one of the CCP Kaisa sa Sining (KSS) Mindanao Collaborative projects for 2023 (performances), Pagana (traditional cooking), Kalyak (valuable material)).

A total of 20 cultural communities were represented in the 2-day fest and forum: Manobo, Talaandig, Daraghuyan, Tagolwanen, Blaan, Iranun, Tboli, Arumanen, Sama, Tausug, Sangir, Maguindanao, Teduray, Maranaw, Subanen, Yakan, Kagan, Higaonon, and Mamanwa.

Special performances were also lined up and showcased the rich and colorful dances, music, and rituals of some of the groups with the special participation of the Hinugyaw Dance Troupe, Bayang Barrios, Carlito Amalla, Helobung Cultural Dance Troupe, and the Marbel Youth Choir. The Pagana cooking demos featured the traditional cuisine of the Maranaws,

Sama, Tboli, and Subanen. A General Santos City artist, educator, and curator built an exhibition titled Tawid: Shifts in Gender Roles in Traditional Visual Arts. The exhibit featured the Iranun Art of Binalodan Inaul, an enduring expression but threatened as there was only a small community of weavers who produce these Cultural Resources. It is Ikat dyeing technique) on weft thread. Works by A. Garcia and Daudl were exhibited and had a balod (tieying of the patterns) demonstration.

GSIS opens 2023 national art tilt

STATE pension fund Government Service Insurance System is inviting artists nationwide to join the 2023 GSIS National Art Competition.

“We want to showcase the creativity and passion of our Filipino artists and provide opportunities for them to be recognized in the local and international scene,” GSIS President and General Manager Wick Veloso said.

The contest, which is now in its 18th year, is one of the biggest and longest-running art competitions in the country.

Filipino artists who are at least 18 years of age (as of May 3, 2023) may join the competition. They may submit one entry in each of the following categories: representational; nonrepresentational (or abstract), and sculpture. This year, the contest has an open theme to give artists the freedom to conceptualize their artworks.

The officers and artists of the Art Associa-

tion of the Philippines who are assisting in the competition are disqualified from joining the contest.

Entries must be original, created in 2023, and have not been exhibited, revised, or awarded a prize in previous competitions.

The submission period is based on a priority schedule from May 2 to 6, from 8:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. only. Artists with surnames starting with A to F must submit their entries on May 2; G to L, May 3; M to Q, May 4; and R to Z, May 5. Group submission via courier is on May 6.

The prizes for the first, second, and third place winners in all categories are P300,000, P200,000, and P100,000, respectively. There will be five honorable mentions in each category who will receive P25,000 each.

The finalists will be uploaded to the GSIS website on May 19, while the winners will be announced on June 16.

The winning artworks will be part of

artistic outreach collective Artist on a Mission, Kristine Lim, and her works will be used as the Women’s Month cover and will be featured in Liwayway Magazine. The actual artworks for the magazine are on view at Fort Santiago, Intramuros, Manila for the whole month of March at iMake History Fortress LEGO Education Center, Fort Santiago, Intramuros, Manila. The exhibit runs until March 31. Liwayway is the leading Tagalog magazine published in the Philippines since 1922. It is the first and oldest Tagalog magazine in the country. It contains Tagalog serialized novels, short stories, poetry, serialized comics, essays, news features, entertainment news and articles, and many others. Liwayway plays an integral role in the history of the country as it has always been upholding the Philippines’ literature, arts, and culture up to this day.

The Redemption of Eve is presented by the Department of Tourism - Philippines, Intramuros Administration, and Art Lounge Manila; in partnership with Naval Reserve Command, 22nd Naval Group Reserve, Nfr-Ncr, Naval Reserve Center National Capital Region, NRPAU - Naval Reserve Public Affairs Unit, JCI Quezon City Capitol; in cooperation with Sustainable PH, OM Philippines, and Artists On A Mission.

Japanese film festival unreels at SM Cinemas

FILM enthusiasts in provincial areas had a glimpse of the latest Japanese film works. The Japan Foundation, Manila, in partnership with SM Cinema, brought back the on-site screenings of the Japanese Film Festival (JFF) with its award-winning and must-see fulllength films simultaneously screened at SM City Baguio, SM Seaside City Cebu, and SM City Davao.

During the opening ceremony at SM City Davao, The Japan Foundation, Manila Director Ben Suzuki welcomed guests with a video message, while Hon. Ishikawa Yoshihisa, Consul General of Japan in Davao, and Engr. Jonathan Nick D. Santos, Assistant Vice President for Mindanao of SM Supermalls officially opened the film festival at SM City Davao with a toast.

Guests at SM City Davao opening ceremony witnessed the drama/thriller film In The Wake directed by Zeze Takahisa. The film follows a series of baffling serial killings where the victims were tied up and left to starve. Tone Satoh Takeru) who was just released from prison after serving his sentence surfaces as a suspect but detective Tomashiro (Abe Hiroshi) cannot nail down a conclusive proof.

Blue Thermal by Tachibana Masaki; drama films Blue by Keisuke Yoshida, and So The Baton Is Passed by Maeda Tetsu, In Anime Supremacy! by Yoshino Kohei, and Every Day A Good Day by Omori Tatsushi; Drama/Suspense film Intolerance by director Keisuke Yoshida; and Drama/Thriller film Lesson in Murder by Shiraishi Kazuya

Cinemagoers from Baguio, Cebu, and Davao also had the opportunity to watch other Japanese Film Festival offerings.

These included animated films Belle by Hosoda Mamoru and Inu-Oh by Yuasa Masaaki; Drama/Youth/Animation film

the GSIS art collec tion and displayed in the GSIS Museo ng Sining in Pasay City.

were tied up and left to starve. Tone (Satoh who produce these Cultural (resist Moamar Jala (tieying colleccompeFacebook page; email art-

For the official entry forms, compe tition guidelines, and other details, interested participants may visit the GSIS website or the GSIS Museo ng Sining Facebook page; email art competition@gsis.gov.ph or gsisartcompetition@ gmail.com; or call (02) 8859-0395, (02) 84793588, or 0915-1351752.

GSIS President and General Manager Wick Veloso

Launched in 1997, the Japanese Film Festival (JFF), formerly known and appreciated in the Philippines as EIGASAI, is presented and run by the Japan Foundation, Manila. Since then, it has grown to become one of the largest film festivals featuring a wide variety of cinematic delights from drama, anime, and mystery to recently released films. JFF also brings guests from Japan for special talks and discussions.

The Japanese Film Festival is one of the exciting cultural events at SM Cinemas.

Kristine posing with reserved officers of the Philippine Navy

Philippine Navy Ambassador Kristine Lim (second from right) with Manila Councilor Uno Lim

The artworks are on view at Fort Santiago, Intramuros, Manila

‘In The Wake’ by Zeze Takahisa follows a series of baffling serial killings where the victims were tied up and left to starve

Harriett Astodillo of the Mantonosa Film Festival Staff together with

Honorable Ishikawa Yoshihisa, Consul General of Japan in Davao (right) and Engineer Jonathan Nick D. Santos, Assistant Vice President for Mindanao of SM Supermalls toast to signify the opening of the Japanese Film Festival

was graced by Manila

Uno Lim, MGen Joseph

Cuison PN (M), together with John Arcilla, senior tourism officer of Intramuros Administration, Patrick Maglinao, JCI president, Johannes Chua, editor of Liwayway, Gemmalyn Crosby, Mon Coloma, guest artist from Australia, and Pastor Monique Lopez Ong. Joining them also were Philippine Navy officers and personnel, women from PNOWHA, JCI QC Capitol Officers.

masterpieces of religious and