Manila Standard - 2023 March 11 - Saturday

Guns found in Teves’ houses

Negros solon asks for more time abroad; Come home, Speaker tells him

By Charles Dantes, Maricel

V. Cruz, and Rey E. Requejo

POLICE on Friday raided houses belonging to Negros Oriental 3rd District Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr., who has been charged for three murders in 2019, and who has been linked to the March 4 assassination of Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo.

Police said they searched three residences in Barangay Malabugas, Bayawan City, and a resort home in Basay in compliance with warrants issued by a court.

Teves' lawyer, Ferdinand Topacio, and Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. confirmed in separate interviews the reports of the police raids.

“It’s not yet clear to us who or what they are looking for,” Topacio said.

Topacio confirmed the CIDG served search warrants on five houses. He said he has yet to talk to his client, who was in the United States.

3 more suspects in Adiong ambush nabbed in BARMM

THREE more suspects have been arrested over supposedly participating in the assassination try on Lanao del Sur Gov. Mamintal "Bombit" Adiong last month, the Philippine National Police said Friday.

Those arrested were identified as Pala wan Salem Macalbo, 34, a member of Gandawali Group; Nagac Dimatangkil Baratomo, 38; and Amirodin Dimanting kal Mandoc, 29. This was according to a report sent to

6

persons tagged in Salilig hazing want to give up

By Rio N. Araja

SIX more persons of interest in the hazing death of Adamson University student John Matthew Salilig want to surrender, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said Friday.

At the same time, Remulla said there was a conflict of interest because the Public Attorney’s Office said it would not help fraternity members linked to the hazing because the family of the victim had approached them first.

“We have to work it out that there should, of course, be a limit [to] the involvement of the PAO so they can also cater to the defendants in cases,” Remulla said. He said the defendants had a right to counsel.

“It’s a constitutional right,” he said.

Next page

Marcos to PNPA grads: Serve country with integrity, justice

By Vince Lopez

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos

Jr. on Friday urged the Philippine National Police Academy’s Masidtalak Class of 2023 to become agents of justice and serve with high moral integrity in protecting the people despite the current roadblocks which was on the path of new servicemen and women of the land.

“As the citizen’s peacekeeping force, be just, be morally upright, and commit yourself to protecting and defending the rights of our people notwithstanding the current challenges faced by the PNP organization,”

Mr. Marcos said in his speech during the 44th PNPA Commencement Exercises in Camp Mariano Castañeda in Silang, Cavite.

OVER THE SPRATLY ISLANDS—As a Philippine Coast Guard plane carrying journalists flew over the Spratly Islands in the hotly disputed South China Sea, a Chinese voice issued a stern command over the radio:

"Leave immediately." The order came from a radio operator

PNPA RITES. For the first time as Chief Executive, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. attends the 44th Commencement Exercises of the ‘Masidtalak’ (Reliable servants of the motherland with Honor and Wisdom whose Purpose is Peace) Class of 2023 of the Philippine National Police Academy on Friday in Cavite. PCO Photo

on a Chinese coastguard vessel 3,500 feet (1,000 meters) below -- one of dozens of ships seen prowling the waters. AFP was one of several media outlets given the rare opportunity on Thursday to fly over some of the dozens of tiny islands and reefs where the Philippines, China,

‘EDCA pact quenching thirst with poison’

By Rey E. Requejo

P1.20 hike in gas pump price seen; Meralco rates up

By Alena Mae S. Flores

PUMP prices may go up on Tuesday by up to P1.20 per liter for gasoline and P0.35 per liter for diesel based on the first four days of global oil trading data. The estimate by one industry source dovetailed with a statement from the director of the Oil Industry Management Bureau of the Department of Energy, Rodela Romero, who said they expect an increase in the prices of gasoline and diesel and a minimal rollback or no adjustment for kerosene.

WEAPONS CACHE. In these photos from the

PBBM wants poll reforms pushed

By Vince Lopez and Macon Ramos-Araneta

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday urged the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to immediately act on the several electoral reforms proposed during the preparatory consultations with various stakeholders.

“It is encouraging to know that prior to this summit, the preparatory consultations with various stakeholders in the public and private sectors were conducted nationwide,” the President said during hisspeech at the first-ever 2023 National Election Summit at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza in Pasay City.

Guns...

From A1

He said unverified reports said the raids were in connection with unlicensed firearms purportedly belonging to Teves. However, he said all firearms of the lawmaker were properly surrendered to proper precincts in accordance with the implementing rules and regulations on licensing and possession of firearms.

"Most of them were surrendered a month ago, I believe. The rest were surrendered recently," he said.

On Thursday, suspects in the killing of Degamo tagged “Cong Teves” as the mastermind behind the assassination.

The suspects said the person who hired them financed and served as themastermind behind the group that carried out the attack on Degamo. Eight other people died in the attack.

Rep. Teves is also facing three murder charges for his alleged involvement in the killing of Negros Oriental Board Member Miguel Dungog and two others in 2019.

The Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and Special Action Force, together with the 11th Infantry Battalion of the Philip-

3 more...

From A1 saying the killing was a homicide and not murder. It was a ruling described as a slap on the face of Aquino’s family, as it came a day shy of the second anniversary of the mayor's killing.

In the Adiong case, Macalbo was arrested based on the warrants of arrest for charges of murder and frustrated murder, issued by the Regional Trial Court Branch 10 of the 12th Judicial Region based in Marawi City.

PRO BAR included in its report the confiscated items recovered from the suspects—one Colt M16 rifle with serial number 9061355, one grenade, one Colt M16 magazine loaded with eight pieces of ammunition, and one rifle grenade.

China...

From A1 and several other nations have competing claims.

Beijing claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, including the Spratlys, ignoring an international ruling that its claims have no legal basis.

In the past decade, it has ripped up thousands of hectares of reef inthe archipelago to create militarized islands with runways, ports, and radar systems.

To assert its claims, hundreds of Chinese coastguards and othervessels patrol the waters, swarming reefs, harassing and attacking fishing and other boats.

They also try to expel non-Chinese planes from the airspace overhead.

"You have entered (the water around) a Chinese reef and constituted asecurity threat. To avoid misunderstanding, leave immediately," the Chinese radio operator said, in one of seven messages issued inChinese and English as the coastguard plane flew over a Philippine-occupied island and shoal.

The Philippine pilot responded that they were flying within his country's territory.

'Bullying behavior'

During the four-hour flight in the

P1.20...

From A1

Meanwhile, the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) said its customers would experience higher rates this month by P0.5453 per kWh, bringing the overall rate for a typical household to P11.4348 per kWh from P10.8895 per kWh in February.

Meralco said for residential customers consuming 200 kWh, the adjustment is equivalent to an increase of around P109 in their total electricity bill.

The increase is lower than previously forecast by Meralco of P0.62 perkWh but it would have been higher had the company decided not to defer the collection of a portion of the generation charge amounting to P0.40 per kWh for a total cost of P1.1 billion.

“From these pre-summit meetings, it has come to the attention that several reforms in the election process must be made,” he said.

“And given these findings, let us take these matters seriously as the outputs obtained from these activities are indisputably significant.

pine Army, reported finding several firearms, ammunition, and a hand grenade in their raids. They had licenses, which needed verification.

The Negros Oriental Police Office also announced on Friday that all permits to carry firearms outside of residence in the province have been suspended, with the exemption of the police, military, and other law enforcement agencies performing official duties.

This was connected to the hunt for the suspects in the assassination of Degamo.

Remulla said the criminal complaint against Teves in connection with the killings in 2019 would undergo due process.

"I think that a lot of other people are coming out with information about past cases but we have to process them properly. We have to look at the evidence. We have to look at the statements. We will look at them one by one,” he said.

He noted that it is mere speculation for now that the 2019 killings are related to online cockfighting.

Remulla recalled Degamo visiting him while his electoral protest was still pending.

“He was already complaining about the violence in Negros, but it was a general statement. There were no specifics,”

The trio of suspects are now under the custody of Kalilangan Municipal Police Station for documentation and proper disposition.

Aquino was shot at least 21 times in Barangay Lonoy on March 8 in whatwas described as an ambush, with his son, Mark, linking the incident to politics.

Police had initially described the incident as a shootout.

The policemen were allowed to bail for P120,000 each, as ordered in a resolution by Calbayog City RTC Branch 31 judge Maricar Lucero.

"It's so painful. It is insulting and infuriating. For our family, it is a big insult that we are grieving, while the accused are rejoicing," Mark told TeleRadyo in an interview.

The Aquino family's legal counsel, lawyer Alma Uy, said the NationalBureau of Investigation filed murder raps, which

Cessna Caravan, Philippine Coast Guard personnel identified nearly 20 Chinese vessels, including what they described as "maritime militia" boats, in waters around some of the nine islands and reefs occupied by the Philippines.

Seventeen boats reported by the Philippine Coast Guard to be Chinese maritime militia were also spotted near Sabina Shoal, which is claimed by Manila.

Fifteen Chinese boats were seen in the vicinity of Thitu (Pag-Asa), the largest Philippine-occupied island, which lies about 430 kilometers (267 miles) from the major Philippine island of Palawan and more than 900 kilometers from China's nearest major landmass of Hainan island.

The Philippine Coast Guard said that was down from 42 the previous week.

A Chinese navy ship was 15 kilometers from the island, while a coastguard vessel was half that distance away, according to estimates provided by the Philippine Coast Guard.

At Second Thomas Shoal, where Philippine marines are stationed in a derelict navy ship grounded to assert Manila's territorial claim in the waters, a Chinese coastguard vessel was about 11 kilometers away, the Philippine authorities said.

AFP (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

"At the end of the day, we have to help our consumers manage the cost, so we really had to find a way to make it easy for them somehow to make the overall cost of electricity less painful for them," Meralco spokesman Joe Zaldarriaga said.

Meralco's generation charge went up by P0.4636 to P7.3790 from P6.9154 per kWh the previous month due to higher supply costs, higher spot prices, and the impact of the San Miguel Corp. replacement contract.

“This month’s generation charge increase would have been significantly higher, but we took the initiative to cushion the impact in the bills of our customers by coordinating with some of our suppliers to defer collection of portions of their generation costs,” the head of Meralco’s regulatory management office, Jose Ronald Valles, said.

We must act on it decisively and enforce concrete measures to turn our plans into reality,” President Marcos added. This developed as Sen. Win Gatchalian urged the Comelec to quickly resolve election disqualification cases, including cases of nuisance candidates, in order not to compromise the integrity and safety of the electoral process. Gatchalian filed Senate Bill No. 1061, or An Act Providing an Additional Ground for Cancelling the Certificate of Candidacy of a Nuisance Candidate and Making the Acts of Nuisance Candidate an Election Offense. The bill would amend Sections 69,

he said. Teves has denied that he and his brother, Henry Pryde, whom Degamo unseated, had something to do with the governor’s slay.

Teves has yet to return from his personal trip to the United States, which was supposed to end March 9, according to the travel clearance he received from the House of Representatives.

Speaker Martin G. Romualdez on Friday advised Teves to return and face the allegations against him.

"I advise Representative Arnie Teves to come back to the country assoon as possible," Romualdez said as the House rejected his request for an extension to his expired travel clearance.

House Secretary General Reginald Velasco said the request was rejected because it lacked details, such as the country he was going to.

Meanwhile, the Department of National Defense and Armed Forces of the Philippines on Friday said a joint task force was deployed in Negros Oriental to tighten security and reinforce the hot pursuit operation against the remaining suspects involved in the fatal attack on Degamo.

In a press briefing, AFP Chief Gen.

the Department of Justice recommended.

But Judge Lucero said the policemen should face homicide raps,claiming that Aquino fought back against those firing the shots, according to Uy.

"In the ruling, the judge said Mayor Aquino fought back, which mitigated treachery. There is no longer any treachery because he was able to fight back, but it disregarded the fact that Mayor Aquino only fought because his driver was already dead, his security was wounded, and they were shot first," Uy told Teleradyo.

"The two were already dead and he was the only one left so he shot back out of self-defense in desperation to save himself," she added.

A PNP Information Office statement earlier said "the group of Mayor Aquino was alleged to have initiated the shootout when his close-in security fired at the unmarked vehicle of the IMEG-PDEU

‘EDCA...

From A1

$24-million (P1.32 billion) airstrip extension and rehabilitation project will break ground at the Basa Air Base in Pampanga— one of the existing EDCA sites in the country—on March 20.

In a GMA News interview with anchor Vicky Morales, Carlson said the airstrip extension is one of the biggest among the projects worth over $80 million (P4.4 billion) at the Philippine military facilities that US forces may access under the defense agreement.

"I can announce today that we are going to do a groundbreaking this month. On March 20th, we’re going to invite our US Secretary of the Air Force to do a groundbreaking on a $24-million project that will extend the Basa airstrip and rehabilitate that," Carlson said last night.

The envoy said the project was to make sure that the airstrip would be "useful so that when planes land they’re not negatively affected."

"Right now, a part of that airstrip is not usable because of the state of disrepair," Carlson said.

The Chinese Embassy made its statement after US Department of State Undersecretary Victoria Nuland claimed that the four additionalmilitary sites in the Philippines, to which American forces would

Valles said the deferred costs reduced this month’s generation ratesby P0.40 per kWh and will be billed on a staggered basis over the next two months or in April and May billing months, as coordinated with the Energy Regulatory Commission.

Meralco head of utility economics

Lawrence Fernandez said the deferred charges will be collected in the next two months without interest.

Fernandez said Meralco cannot say whether power rates will go up next month amid the deferred charges as there are other factors to consider.

"We cannot say if there would be an increase even with the P0.20 amortization," he said.

Fernandez said another distribution refund will be completed by May, which is equivalent to about P0.87 for residential customers.

261 (CC) and 264 of Batas Pambansa Blg. 881, otherwise known as the Omnibus Election Code of the Philippines.

The senator said the move could also potentially diffuse politicaltensions and deter bitter political conflicts in the country, citing the case of slain Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo.

The Comelec proclaimed Degamo as the winner of the 2022 Negros Oriental gubernatorial race in October last year, after the poll body transferred to him the votes obtained by the candidate “Ruel G. Degamo,” who was declared a nuisance candidate four months after the elections. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

Andres Centino said two brigades and six battalions of the Philippine Army were installed in the area with the addition of a 50-man light reaction company from Cotabato to track the suspects at large.

Centino said the troops were already stationed in the region—threebattalions in northern Negros, and another three in the southern part of the island.

At the same time, the AFP called for transition programs for its discharged personnel who have “dangerous skills that could be used for crimes.” Three of the suspects arrested for Degamo’s murder were former soldiers.

"We have taught these people the skill that is very dangerous if usedin crimes or in lawlessness. So I think it is also our responsibility to make sure this skill sets that they have learned will not be used against our own people," AFP spokesperson Col. Medel Aguilar told the ANC news channel.

The assassination of Degamo shocked the whole country as fully-armedmen charged into the residence of the governor before opening fire on Degamo, who was handing out assistance to poor families.

The killing of Degamo is part of a growing number of attacks on local elective officials since the start of 2023.

group that was traveling in the same direction along the road."

The PNP said its personnel involved in the shooting are from theIntegrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group, and Provincial DrugEnforcement Unit, who were conducting Red Teaming inspection in the area.

Samar 1st District Rep. Edgar Mary Sarmiento refuted the police report. He said the police were already waiting for Aquino's vehicle at Laboyao Bridge in Barangay Lonoy, Calbayog City before the shooting incident at 5:30 p.m.

The Aquino camp immediately filed a motion against the decisionallowing the policemen to post bail, as well as a motion for inhibition against Lucero.

"The judge inhibited yesterday, so a different judge would rule on the motion for consideration. The accused cannot post bail yet," Uy said.

have access under the EDCA, would not only help address security concerns in the region but also bring economic opportunities and jobs to their host communities.

Nuland also allegedly questioned how many of China’s promises had been converted to jobs and climate investments that benefited the Philippine people.

“Economy and trade cannot flourish without a peaceful and stable regional environment," the Chinese Embassy in Manila said in its statement.

It said some Americans claim that the four additional EDCA militarysites would bring economic opportunities and jobs to their host communities yet discredit ChinaPhilippines economic cooperation at the same time.

“Such remarks are in total ignorance of the Philippine people’s pursuit of peace, cooperation, and development as well as China-Philippines helping each other in developing the economy, improving people’s livelihood, and increasing employment,” the embassy lamented.

“Creating economic opportunities and jobs through military cooperation is tantamount to quenching thirst with poison and gouging flesh toheal wounds. Such cooperation will seriously endanger regional peace and stability and drag the Philippines into the abyss of geopolitical strife and damage its economic development at the end of the day,” it said. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

6 persons...

From A1

“That’s why… the more paramount mandate of the PAO is to serve as counsel for poor litigants so the process will continue,” he added. On Feb. 28, the body of Salilig was found in a shallow grave in Imus, Cavite, 10 days after he was reported missing.

Police authorities have filed complaints for violation of the Anti-Hazing Law against six persons linked to the hazing death.

Meanwhile, the mother of another hazing victim of the Tau Gamma Phi fraternity sought the help of the PAO.

At a media briefing, PAO chief Persida Acosta presented MarycarhRabutazo, 42,

48% of Filipinos see economy improving–SWS

A RECENT national survey of the Social Weather Stations (SWS) revealed that around 48 percent of adult Filipinos believe that the country's economy will improve over the next 12 months.

The SWS survey, conducted from December 10 to 14, 2022, also showed that 33 percent of Filipinos said the economy will stay the same, while only 9 percent said it will worsen over the same period.

The December 2022 survey yielded an “excellent” Net Economic Optimism score of +40, which was 1 point below the excellent +41 in October 2022.

The Net Economic Optimism was highest in Metro Manila (+47), followed by Mindanao (+45), Balance Luzon, (+40), and the Visayas (+27).

"Net Economic Optimism tends to be higher among those with more years of formal education. It is higher among those who either graduated from college or took post-graduate studies," SWS said.

Meanwhile, the same survey found that 49 percent of Filipinos are optimistic that their quality of life will improve in the next 12 months, 37 percent said it will stay the same, 5 percent said it will worsen, while the remaining 8 percent did not give an answer.

The SWS noted that net economic optimism is higher among personal optimists.

Imee vs. Zubiri, RCEP issue fuels Senate coup talk

AMID rumors of a coup to overthrow and replace Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III said Friday nothing is needed to be stable in the Upper Chamber's highest post.

“There’s no guarantee of stability in the leadership. So, this is just done through personal relationships, then at the same time, the next step after establishing a personal relationship… least common denominator in governance," said Pimentel, a former Senate President himself. His advice to Zubiri? "Do not be too attached to the position. Any time, let it go. If one has a critical number, just give it, because that's the rules."

Meanwhile, Sen. Imee Marcos said while she has been over coups, she ought to respond to Zubiri's statement that she was to blame for the "delayed" ratification of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a priority measure of the Palace.

Aside from Zubiri’s alleged "low performance" as Senate President, reports said the delay in the passage of RCEP was also among the cause for his impending replacement as the chamber’s leader. Macon Ramos-Araneta (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

Marcos...

From A1

The President said public service must be devoid of prejudice, favoritism, or discrimination, for all Filipinos are entitled to equal rights and opportunities.

The Commander-in-Chief also congratulated the Masidtalak Class of 2023 for successfully completing its Cadetship Program despite the COVID-19 pandemic, lauding the PNPA for setting the highest standards in education, training, and research to produce competent and patriotic leaders.

“To our new graduates, remember that your diligence, perseverance, and commitment have led you to this moment, but know that this is only thebeginning of your ceaseless pursuit of honor, integrity, and service,” the President said.

Mr. Marcos also thanked all the parents and loved ones of the graduates for their support and sacrifice that enabled them to complete their cadetship program.

The President, who is an honorary member of PNPA’s Tagapagbuklod Class of 1989, commended the officers and personnel of the PNP, BFP, and BJMP for dedicating their lives in the fulfillment of their obligations, especially at the peak of the global health crisis. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

of Sta. Cruz, Laguna, who said her son Reymarc, 18, died after the hazing on March 20, 2022.

"This is another victim of hazing. The mother said her son left their house on March 19 last year just to visit his grandmother, but little did she know that he went to the initiation rites," Acosta said.

While a case of violation of the AntiHazing Act was filed against 12 fraternity members after their arrest, three others are still at large, Persida said.

Also on Friday, the 39-year-old mother of another hazing victim from the University of Cebu welcomed the recent surrender of four suspects.

"With this new development, we hope that the case will prosper," Leny Baguio told the Standard.

IN BRIEF

DA orders ban on pork from Singapore due to ASF

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) has ordered a temporary ban on pork products coming from Singapore. The DA said this is due to an outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) in the Southeast Asian country, ABS-CBN News reported.

A memorandum issued by DA Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban said the ban prohibits entry of domestic and wild pigs and their products, including pork skin and pork meat.

The memo stated that Singapore is not accredited to export any swine-related commodities but “there is a need to prevent the entry of any ASF-susceptible products originating from Singapore that might enter the country from hand-carried products.”

DA has imposed stricter measures against ASF, as new cases recorded in the country, ABS-CBN News further reported.

Lee: gov’t needs to look at jeepney drivers’ issues

AGRI Party-list Rep. Wilbert T. Lee underscored the importance of addressing the issues raised by jeepney drivers and operators on the implementation of the Public Utility Vehicle (PUV) Modernization Program.

During the House Committee on Transportation’s meeting yesterday, where the Department of Transportation (DOTr) presented the status of the implementation of the PUV modernization program, Lee pointed out that this should not be implemented hastily as this will result to loss of livelihood for many of our countrymen.

“The transport sector is not only a public service but most importantly, a source of livelihood. Napakarami nating kababayan ang umaasa sa kabuhayang ito,” Lee said.

Binay launches Makati ‘Tik-Talk’ help desk tack

By Joel E. Zurbano

THE Makati City government has launched a help desk program dubbed “Tik-Talk with Mayora Abby,” where Mayor Abigail Binay will be answering various questions and concerns of her constituents.

The latest project, according to Binay, is part of her administration’s program for transparency, accountability, and good governance.

Beginning March 27, the city chief executive will personally answer the queries of residents every last Monday of the month from 1 pm to 5 p.m. at Makatizen Hub on the third floor of SM Makati.

“The Help Desk is intended to serve

as a channel for residents to raise their questions, comments, and concerns about the city’s services, policies, and programs. We want to create a direct line of communication with Makatizens so that we can address their concerns more effectively,” Binay said.

Binay is confident that the Help Desk will be a game-changer in how the city government interacts with its residents.

“We want to show that we are here

PBBM names new officials to key agencies

for the people and that we are committed to serving them in the best way possible. I want to be able to address their concerns, provide solutions to their problems and make sure that their voices are heard,” she said.

The mayor also said the city will launch a new version of the Makatizen App soon to provide more features and services to residents. She added the Makatizen App will have a new user interface, making it easier for residents to navigate and access its various features and services.

In 2017, Makati launched the Makatizen App under a public-private partnership with Neo-Converge ICT Solutions, Inc. and Voyager Innovations to create a user-friendly app with multiple features.

QUAKE DRILLS.

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s plan to kick-start 194 high-impact projects worth P9 trillion “is the forward-thinking needed to erase the country’s infrastructure backlog,” House Deputy Speaker Ralph Recto said.

“That is grand vision on the infrastructure side that the nation needs,” Recto said.

As is the nature of grand projects, construction will be “multi-year, multi-administration” which means that “in curating projects, he doesn’t care if the next administration will inaugurate it for as long that it began during his term,” Recto said.

“This is a departure from the tendency that projects must bear ‘best before election’ completion dates, so when inaugurated, they can be milked for reelection purposes,” he said.

“When the planning cycle follows the election calendar, we are left with piecemeal construction. The tragic result is chop-chop development and progress in small increments. And the President rejects this model by adopting the NEDA list,” Recto said. Maricel V. Cruz

Malabon City Mayor Jeannie Sandoval and employees of the Malabon local government join in the nationwide earthquake drills. Norman Cruz

MALACAÑANG on Friday bared the latest appointments in several departments under the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.

Based on the list released by the Presidential Communications Office (PCO), the latest appointments were made in the Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), Department of Transportation (DOTr), Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), and the National Tobacco Administration (NTA).

Among the new appointees under the DA were Noel Padre as Assistant Secretary and Vener Dilig as Director III.

Meanwhile, Remelyn Recoter and Antonieta Arceo assumed the posts of Director IV and Director III, respectively, at the Agriculture Training Institute of the DA.

Mr. Marcos tapped Ma. Angela Ignacio and Froilan Tampinco as acting members of the board of directors of the Philippine National Oil Company Exploration Corp. for the energy sector.

For the DOJ, Marcos appointed Dennis Arvin Chan as Chief State Counsel.

Meanwhile, the President appointed Liza Alcera, Maria Bernardine Madamba, and Eric Dollete as Director III at the DMW.

Under the Clark International Airport Corp. of the DOTr, Marcos named Joshua Bingcang as acting president, chief executive officer, and board member, while Dante Francis Ang II, Monico Puentevella Jr., and Julius Raboca were also appointed as acting members of the board of directors.

Tolentino quizzes DOH on COVID-19 reporting, low vax numbers

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

SENATOR Francis Tolentino urged

the Department of Health (DOH) to revive its information drive to help address the vaccine hesitancy of the general population. During Thursday’s Senate Blue Ribbon Committee inquiry in connection with

the supposed non-disclosure agreement (NDA) provision enshrined in the vaccine procurement contracts by the government, Tolentino, the panel chair, asked officials from DOH on why there is no more regular daily briefing in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It seems nobody is making a report (on COVID). Before, we heard reports

every day,” Tolentino said. He then questioned DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergerie if they had stopped their reporting on COVID-19.

According to Tolentino, the decline in the vaccination rates these days could be attributed to the authorities’ poor handling of information drive to convince the general population to

have their respective booster shots amid some 44 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines that had been wasted—after the vaccines were left unused and expired past their shelf life.

“Can you attribute that to the decline now in number of vaccinations being done as well as the perceived vaccination hesitancy among the populace?” he asked.

Laguna to hold ANILAG festival after 3 years

By Roy Tomandao

LAGUNA—The local government has announced

the annual “Ani ng Laguna” (ANILAG) Festival which has been celebrated since 2004.

ANILAG has also been a Department of Tourism Hall of Famer in the Provincial Festival Category for being best in its class for three consecutive years.

After three years, the Provincial Government of Laguna under the leadership of Governor Ramil L. Hernandez will once again hold the ANILAG Festival, with Laguna’s First Lady and 2nd District Representative Ruth Mariano-Hernandez as cochair of the Love Laguna tourism campaign.

On March 11 to March 18, 2023, the ANILAG Festival will be held with more meaningful programs, with newer activities to catalyze a resurgent Laguna. After the economic devastation caused by the pandemic, Ramil said.

He said the provincial government made sure to employ new policies to generate and sustain the budding economic growth and the growing dynamism of Laguna.

The festival has been a regional crucible for economic investments, attracting traders and businesses. The number of communities, institutions, and sectors joining and participating in the programs and activities has been phenomenal, elevating Laguna into multi-cultural prominence.

But then COVID-19 happened, and, like most festivals in the world, the celebration of ANILAG Festival was relegated into the backseat of government programs, as the world fought desperately to stem the tide of the fast-spreading pandemic.

Beginning with the symbolic show of unyielding spiritual faith, with the Fluvial Parade/procession, the Festival will feature, for the first time, thirty united LGUs of Laguna with the opening of the Trade Fair Exhibit.

Recto: P9t infra projects to erase gov’t backlog

DEADLY HAZING CASE. Seven members of the Tau Gamma Phi fraternity allegedly involved in the hazing that led to the death of Adamson University student John Matthew Salilig arrived at the Department of Justice to attend a preliminary hearing on Friday. Danny Pata and Norman Cruz

ANILAG FESTIVAL. Laguna Governor Ramil Hernandez (2nd left); Laguna’s First Lady and 2nd District Representative Ruth Mariano-Hernandez, co-chair of the Love Laguna tourism campaign; and other officials during a press conference announcing the return of the “Ani ng Laguna” (ANILAG) Festival. Roy Tomandao

PBBM urges PH scientists to broaden their expertise

By Vince Lopez

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday called on Filipino scientists to continue broadening their field of expertise, underscoring the important role of science in battling the pandemic.

The President made the call at the Annual Scientific Conference and National Research Council of the Philippines held at the Philippine International Convention Center.

Mr. Marcos acknowledged the role of scientists in curbing the coronavirus and its adverse effects on society, especially on the discovery of the vaccine against COVID-19.

“It was science that helped us work through the pandemic. It was science that brought to us the cures that we were looking for. It was science that developed the vaccine. It was science that made us understand what we were facing, the unseen enemy of COVID,” the Chief Executive said in his speech.

“It was science who provided the answers and it will continue to be science as we are continuing down the path of high technology, and high technology and science once again

Mindoro oil spill has reached Palawan

THE oil spill from a sunken tanker in Mindoro has reached the shores of Taytay, Palawan, according to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Friday.

SOME 14,000 needy fisherfolk and other individuals affected by the oil spill in Oriental Mindoro are targeted as beneficiaries of the government’s cashfor-work to be implemented through the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

In another development, the PCG led a massive cleanup of the affected shorelies in Pola, Oriental Mindoro.

In a Facebook post, the PCG said they received information from Barangay Casian captain Norbert Lim and the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office of Taytay that traces of oil were seen on their coastline.

PCG checked on the area and confirmed that the oil were from the oil spill in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro.

After an assessment, clean-up was started to protect the residents from any health concerns. There is more than 159 nautical miles or 295 kilometers distance between shores of Barangay Casian in Taytay, Palawan and the water of Naujan, Oriental Mindoro.

Meanwhile, the Japanese government sent eight disaster response team personnel to aid in the clean-up of the oil spill incident in Mindoro, the Japanese Embassy in Manila said.

A courtesy call was requested by the Japan Disaster Relief Expert Team to the Philippine Coast Guard to address the needs for oil spill response operations for the sunken oil tanker in Oriental Mindoro.

It will be led by Nihei Daisuke, Minister of the Embassy of Japan in the Philippines.

The eight personnel of the Japanese disaster relief team is composed of two members of the embassy, five from the Japan Coast Guard and one from Japan International Cooperation Agency.

Additional equipment such as oil snares, oil blotters, and oil-proof working gloves

QC to host PH Earth Hour 2023

By Rio N. Araja

QUEZON City will host of the Philippines’

Earth Hour 2023 celebration on March 25 at the Quezon Memorial Circle in partnership with the World Wide Fund for Nature - Philippines (WWF-Philippines). The city will join over 7,000 cities in 193 countries to commemorate Earth Hour, which is considered one of the world’s largest grassroots environmental movements.

“Local government units, like Quezon City, play a big part in raising awareness about the threats of climate change among ourconstituents.

That’s why every environmental program and initiative we have established and are currently planning are inclusive and responsive to the circumstances of our people,” Mayor Joy Belmonte said.

On March 25 at exactly 8:30 p.m., the city government will switch off the lights of the pylon in Quezon Memorial Circle and other city government-run buildings for an hour.

IN BRIEF

Ouster of WHO regional director won’t affect PH

THE Department of Health (DOH) said on Thursday that the ouster of Takeshi Kasai as World Health Organization (WHO) Western Pacific regional director would not affect the country’s coordination with the United Nations agency. The DOH’s statement was made after the WHO terminated the contract of Kasai following staff accusations of abusive and racist behavior.

“The DOH assures the public that the recent event will not affect the country’s coordination with WHO,” the department said in a statement.

“The decision was collectively made by the member states of the region and its executive board members. Further, coordination mechanisms are in place no matter who is at the helm,” it added.

The DOH also expressed confidence that the WHO “will continuously ensure the flow of collaborative programs and efforts towards improving our healthcare systems and the people’s welfare.”

Kasai, who denied the allegations, was accused of presiding over a “toxic atmosphere” in the Manila bureau 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.

The WHO executive board called a twoday, closed-door special session at its Geneva headquarters to discuss the case of Japanese doctor Kasai, who was suspended after allegations first surfaced in January 2022.

It said the executive board meeting was scheduled to consider “the recommendation of the regional committee,” which was held in the Western Pacific headquarters in Manila last week—also in private. The WHO’s Western Pacific region covers almost 1.9 billion people across 37 territories. Willie Casas

QCitizens and business owners are also encouraged to switch off their non-essential lights.

“The city’s participation in Earth Hour signifies our strong commitment to push for climate justice as we head towards advancing inclusive, ambitious, and evidence-based climate action to provide a livable and quality community for all,” Belmonte cited.

Before the switch off activity on the 25th, the city government through the QC Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability Department and the Gender and Development Council Office will host the Padyak ng Kababaihan para sa Kalikasan cycling event and a scavenger hunt for the youth.

Various non-government organizations and social enterprises with climate and environment advocacies will also set up booths around the premises of Liwasang Aurora. A pre-switch off program will also take place, where performances and messages of support from different NGOs and government agencies will be delivered.

also arrived together with the Japanese disaster relief team. The PCG briefed the volunteers about the risk associated with the oil spill and the proper attire to wear, and handling of the spillage.

The Philippine Army, the Philippine Maritime Group, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Provincial Health Office, and the volunteers supported the joint simultaneous oil spill shoreline clean-up at Barangays Tagumpay, Misong, Buhay na Tubig, and Calima in Pola.

Approximately 30 bags of oil debris were collected during the initiative. DSWD spokesperson Assistant Secretary Romel Lopez said the government will prioritize fisherfolk affected by the current fishing ban, Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) members, and other indigent individuals.

“Mag-start ito ng March 15. Ngayon nasa validation and verification tayo ng mga isinumite na pangalan na maaaring mapasama sa ating programa,” said Lopez at a televised public briefing.

Risa files bill on teenage pregnancy to mark IWD

SENATOR Risa Hontiveros has sponsored the Prevention of Adolescent Pregnancy Bill and the Gender Responsive and Inclusive Emergency Management Bill, in celebration of this year’s International Women’s Day (IWD).

“This IWD, we both acknowledge how far women have come and far we have yet to go. I am able to champion these bills today because of the women who have cleared the way so we can enjoy the opportunities we do,” he said.

In her sponsorship speech, the senator once again stressed the worrying trend of very young girls, ages 10-14, getting pregnant. In 2020, there were 2,113 cases of pregnancies in this age group and this number increased to 2,299 in 2021.

“The bill seeks to address the issue of adolescent pregnancy through various methods, such as the faithful implementation of comprehensive sexuality education, as well as the delivery of necessary sexual and reproductive information and services to young Filipinos when they need it, when they ask for it, and when they seek it,” Hontiveros said.

Under the proposed bill, young parents are eligible to receive services from their LGUs, like maternal health care services, post-natal family planning, parenting workshops, and psychosocial support, among others. In addition, the bill also seeks to strengthen the referral pathways in cases of sexual violence against adolescents by instituting mandated reportorial requirements when there are observed and identified signs of abuse.

To address the gender-differentiated needs of women and girls, Hontiveros also emphasized the call to pass the Gender Responsive and Inclusive Emergency Management Bill, as women continue to be disproportionately affected in times of emergencies.

“This bill arises at a critical time as we begin to see the end of Covid-19 policies in our country. Despite our country’s significant strides in closing the gender equality gap, the pandemic has brought to light the gendered issues that women and girls continue to face,” Hontiveros said during her sponsorship speech. Macon Ramos-Araneta

NGCP towers block Bicol Airport expansion—Salceda

ALBAY Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda has requested the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to include a P600-million to P700-million allotment for relocating National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) towers to allow the Bicol International Airport (BIA) to expand its runways in order to accommodate international flights.

Salceda, chair of the House Committee on Ways and Means, met with DOTr Secretary Jaime Bautista dat and other transport officials on the operations of the BIA.

“During this representation’s February 7 meeting with the honorable Secretary, the CAAP emphasized the need to relocate towers of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines that stand in the way of runway expansion to allow for international flights in the Bicol International Airport,” Salceda stated in a March 10, 2023

letter to Bautista.

“In view of this and the ongoing budget call, may I urgently request that the Department of Transportation include the estimated P600-700 million required to complete the relocation in its

budget request for the National Expenditure Plan (NEP),” Salceda added.

“This representation will fully endorse such a request by the DOTr with the economic managers and support its adoption by the House leadership in the House General Appropriations Bill (HGAB),” Salceda also assured transport officials.

Salceda bared that the reason international flights could not be accommodated currently as due to high tension wire, the runway is shorter. PAL wanted to locate some OWWA flights during the pandemic in BIA but could not due to the same restriction.

Salceda, as a former adviser to President Arroyo, requested the former President to fund the feasibility studies and preparatory works for the project in 2004 while he was Congressman, and later urged for its completion until the Duterte administration.

BIA is envisioned as the country’s most scenic gateway, and was supposed to take international flights this year if not for the technical issue. Maricel V. Cruz

will be providing the answers and that is why we look to you our eminent researchers, our eminent institutions for the different solutions that we are going to need to have to face this new world that the pandemic has left us,” he added.

“And so I encourage you all to continue broadening your fields of expertise, collaborate with all other experts, inspire Filipino youth especially to pursue fulfilling careers in science and technology,” Mr. Marcos said.

The President also pointed out that by integrating science and good governance, the Philippines can “build a future where our children can look back at our generation and say that we truly changed the 21st century and we did that change for the better.”

“Imagine what we can accomplish together once we light our path with the foundations of science: sustainable agricultural technology that will help our farmers; cities that will run on green energy; safe and affordable medicines for diseases that were once thought incurable, amongst many others successes that we have seen from the scientific field,” he said.

(It will start on March 15. We’re now validating and verifying the names submitted for the program.) “Maaari po natin itong i-extend kung talagang kakailanganin dahil ang mahalaga dito hangga’t di nagno-normalize ang situation ng ating mga kababayan ay naalalayan natin sila,” he added.

(We can also extend the program if needed. It is important for us to aid the residents until the situation in their area normalizes.)

Participants will receive P355 per day, the minimum wage in Mimaropa, according to the DSWD official. “Bukod sa cash-for-work program, mayroon din po tayong emergency cash transfer sa higit 1,000 na indibidwal para sa Agutaya, Palawan, na apektado rin ng nangyaring oil spill sa parte ng Naujan sa Oriental Mindoro,” he said.

(Apart from the cash-for-work program, we also conducted an emergency cash transfer to over 1,000 individuals in Agutaya, Palawan, who were affected by the oil spill off Naujan, Oriental Mindoro.)

Macon Ramos-Araneta

Remulla eyes law paying victims of WWII sex slavery

JUSTICE Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla on Friday said he will meet with the Senate and House of Representatives for the passage of a proposed law to indemnify victims of sexual slavery committed by the Japanese Army during World War II.

“We will have to talk to Congress, to the House Speaker, and to the Senate President about the legislation necessary to act on this matter about comfort women kasi hindi tayo nakapag-pass ng (because we have yet to pass a) legislation,” Remulla said in an ambush interview.

“Hindi natapos ‘yung trabaho before so we have to continue doing the job. Kasi that’s part of the international obligations that we have,” he added.

This came following observations by a United Nations committee that the Philippines violated the rights of comfort women by "failing to provide reparation, social support and recognition commensurate with the harm suffered.”

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) recommended that the complainants receive from "full reparation, including recognition and redress, an official apology and material and moral damages.”

Remulla also hoped they could address the issue soon, saying he does not want justice to be late.

“That’s history and something that is common, most known to us. And ang sense naman diyan syempre, you never want justice to be too late kasi ilan na lang ang nabubuhay sa kanila. Kaya sana mahabol pa natin,” he said. Remulla said he has a meeting with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday when asked if he has talked to the president about this.

MMDA sees safer, faster traffic flow with exclusive motorcycle lanes in use

THE Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) expects less road accidents and better traffic flow along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City following the dry run of the implementation of an “exclusive motorcycle lane.” Ang inaasahang epekto ng exclusive motorcycle lane sa Commonwealth Avenue ay sana unang-una, mabawasan ang road crash incidents, at pangalawa, maibsan ang daloy ng trapiko sa Commonwealth Ave,” MMDA spokesperson Melissa Carunungan said at a press briefing on Friday.

Citing data of the MMDA Traffic Engineer Center in 2022, Carunungan said around 154,369 motorcycles pass through Commonwealth Avenue every day.

“Our Traffic Engineer Center also logged a 46.10 percent increase in motorcycles passing along Commonwealth Avenue. In 2022, there were an average of five motorcycle related road crash incidents per day along Commonwealth Avenue,” Carunungan said.

The dry run for the exclusive motorcycle lane along Commonwealth started on March 9 and will continue until March 19. It will then be fully implemented on March 20.

Para po sa mga lalabag sa dry run, hindi pa pinagmumulta ang mga ito, kung hindi pinagsasabihan lang pagkatapos po ng dry run implementation at information campaign ang mga lalabag o ang mga lalabas sa kanilang exclusive lane ay kailangan magbayad ng P500,” she added.

Carunungan said the MMDA also addressed the concerns of motorists during the first day of the dry run.

Nakinig din po kami sa mga concerns ng mga motorista, isa sa mga concerns nila ay yung visibility ng traffic enforcers. Dahil doon inutos agad ng aming MMDA chairman Romando Artes na gumawa ng placard na pwedeng hawakan ng aming traffic enforcers para mas makita po ng mga dumadaan sa Commonwealth Avenue kung ano ang mga designated lanes para sa kanilang sasakyan,” she said.

NOW IN PALAWAN. Philippine Coast Guard personnel examine a beach in Barangay Casian, Taytay, Palawan – about 159 nautical miles or 295 kilometers away from the waters of Naujan, Oriental Mindoro where a tanker sank and spilled 800,000 liters of oil that is proving to be an environmental catastrophe. PCG Photos

3 YEARS UNDER COVID. The Coalition for People’s Right to Health and other health groups troop in front of the Department of Health in Sta. Cruz Manila during the 3rd year commemoration of the COVID-19 pandemic. The groups called for better approaches and response to future pandemics and protection of lives and not profits in rallies dubbed as ‘Week of Action for COVID-19’ on Friday. Danny Pata

MAKATI BLAZE. Firefighters extinguish a third-alarm fire at a residential area along Gen. Malvar Street in South Cembo, Makati City on Thursday night. A 4-year-old boy died in the fire that displaced about 20 families. Norman Cruz

The Samaritan woman

FOR the Gospel tomorrow, the Third Sunday of Lent, we will contemplate on the powerful encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well, one of the most transformative stories in the Bible.

In the gospel, we learn about a Samaritan woman who went to draw water from a well and encountered Jesus, tired and thirsty from his journey.

Despite their cultural differences and the longstanding animosity between Jews and Samaritans, Jesus engaged the woman in conversation and offered her living water, which would quench her thirst forever.

The woman was initially surprised that a Jewish man would speak to her, but Jesus did not judge or condemn her.

Instead, he revealed he was the Messiah, whom the Samaritans had been waiting for. The woman was amazed and went to tell others in her town about Jesus, leading many Samaritans to believe in him and be saved.

This story teaches us important lessons.

First, Jesus transcends cultural, racial, and social barriers and welcomes all people. Second, he does not judge or condemn us for our past mistakes or struggles but offers us forgiveness and transformation through his grace.

We all need to rediscover the importance and the sense of our Christian life, initiated in Baptism and, like the Samaritan woman, to witness to our brothers

Third, our testimonies can be powerful witnesses for Christ, as we share our encounters with him and lead others to salvation.

Pope Francis describes Jesus’ thirst as “not so much for water, but for the encounter with a parched soul.”

“Jesus needed to encounter the Samaritan woman in order to open her heart: he asks for a drink so as to bring to light her own thirst,” Francis continues.

The woman, according to the Pope, is moved by this encounter and asks Jesus questions that all of us should ask: “We, too, have many questions to ask, but we don’t have the courage to ask Jesus! Lent, dear brothers and sisters, is the opportune time to look within ourselves, to understand our truest spiritual needs, and to ask the Lord’s help in prayer.

The example of the Samaritan woman invites us to exclaim: ‘Jesus, give me a drink that will quench my thirst forever’.”

Indeed, Jesus’ yearning was not primarily for water, but for a meaningful encounter with a thirsty soul.

By Thibault Marchand

MORE than a year after the Ukrainian military flooded his village to halt Russia’s lightning march on Kyiv, Ivan Kukuruza’s basement is still submerged and his patience is running out.

Authorities sacrificed his hamlet of Demydiv, 35 kilometers north of Kyiv, last February by blowing up a nearby dam to bog down Russia’s invading army.

And while the last-ditch effort helped spare the capital a Russian takeover, the authorities’ clean-up efforts have proved much less ingenious and much less speedy.

“Just lower the water levels by half. Even then, no tank could pass through here,” Kukuruza, 69, told AFP.

Ukrainian officials have been reticent to intervene, fearing a new Russian assault from the Kremlin’s ally Belarus further north. That has left locals to their own devices, but with little to show for their efforts. For instance, the pumps that Kukuruza bought to drain his property broke because of cold winter weather.

And the 20,000 hryvnias ($540) he received as compensation has not

He sought out the Samaritan woman in to awaken her heart: by requesting a drink, he brought her own thirst to light.

This encounter deeply touched the woman, prompting her to ask Jesus several profound questions that we all carry within ourselves but often neglect.

Despite harboring many questions, we often lack the courage to ask Jesus.

However, during Lent, we have a valuable opportunity to reflect on our spiritual needs, seek understanding within ourselves, and ask the Lord for guidance through prayer.

Jesus offers us the living water that can satisfy our deepest thirst.

May we also be bold in sharing our faith and leading others to experience the transformative power of Jesus Christ. The Samaritan woman’s encounter with Jesus, where He asked her for a drink and engaged in a deep conversation, highlights the universal nature of Jesus’ mission to save all people.

Despite her difficult past, having had five husbands and belonging to a group that had strayed from the covenant with Yahweh, Jesus showed interest in her salvation.

Her story shows Jesus’ love and mercy extend to all people, regardless of their background or past mistakes.

Her conversion serves as an example of how anyone can receive Christ’s grace and be transformed by it.

In another of his sermons, Pope Francis said in this Gospel passage, we likewise find the impetus to “leave behind our water jar,” the symbol of everything that is seemingly important, but loses all its value before the “love of God.”

According to the Pope, “We all have one, or more than one! I ask you, and myself: “What is your interior water jar, the one that weighs you down, that distances you from God?.’ Let us set it aside a little and with our hearts; let us hear the voice of Jesus offering us another kind of water, another water that brings us close to the Lord.”

Indeed, we all need to rediscover the importance and the sense of our Christian life, initiated in Baptism and, like the Samaritan woman, to witness to our brothers.

Pope Francis proclaims we are all called to witness to the joy of the encounter with Jesus; “for every encounter with Jesus changes our life, and every encounter with Jesus also fills us with joy, the joy that comes from within. And the Lord is like this. And so we must tell of the marvelous things the Lord can do in our hearts when we have the courage to set aside our own water jar.”

The Samaritan woman’s example inspires us to cry out, “Jesus, grant me a drink that will satisfy my thirst eternally.”

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

ultimately changed the fact that his basement—whose shelves are lined with canned pickles—is still filled with halffrozen, stagnating water.

Despite the difficulty of living in waterlogged bog land, like many elderly residents of Ukrainian regions scarred by Russia’s invasion, Kukuruza says he isn’t going anywhere.

‘People suffered’

In fact, according to Demydiv’s Mayor Volodymyr Podkurganny, none of the dozens of residents of Demydiv and the surrounding area whose homes were damaged have accepted a government offer of resettlement.

And he sees both sides of the story.

“The original goal was to keep Kyiv, to defend Kyiv,” he told AFP during a recent interview.

The Ukrainian military did just that by detonating explosives planted on a barrier at a huge reservoir near Kyiv, sending millions of liters of water into the nearby Irpin river that overflowed its banks.

It took two attempts—one on the second day of the invasion, February 25, and a second effort two days later—to destroy the dam and make crossing the river nearly

Nutrition for national athletes

AMONG the immediate priorities of the new Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) administration is the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia slated for May.

PSC chairman Richard Bachmann, upon assuming the role as chief sportsman of the government, vowed the athletes will be his prime customers.

“I’m here to serve the athletes and serve sports, nothing else” Bachmann said. His immediate plans consist of four focusinterests: have a better system for timely release of athletes’ allowances, improvement of training facilities, provision of meals for athletes, and take care of the PSC back-of-house.

Bachmann has been making rounds to personally meet the athletes and coaches in their training venues as well as those billeted at the PSC facilities in Philsports in Pasig and the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila.

“For me, to serve the athletes well, kailangan ko silang makilala. So I told myself that I need to go around and meet these athletes. I don’t want to

be that chairman who’s stuck in the office. I want to go and meet them.”

Aside from the ceremonial routines, the PSC board, that includes commissioners Olivia “Bong” Coo, Walter Torres and Edward Hayco, should start doing decisive action related to the biennial meet which is less than two months away.

With all the members of the new PSC board coming with genuine sports pedigree, there is great expectation the athletes are indeed in good hands

Bachmann has given assurances the sports agency’s focus is to ensure their (national athletes) needs are all taken care of to help them perform well. He noted nutrition is very vital to the

preparation of the athletes.

The athletes are now in the thick of preparation and they need good meals and supplementation to perform at high peak in training.

The cafeterias at the PSC-managed Philsports and RMSC, however, are not yet operational and there is no announcement yet as to when they will be opened for the athletes.

For combat sports athletes that maintain desired weight, foods with high nutritional value are so significant that if these promised nutritious meals come late, they would not be of good use anymore. They should not have been mentioned in the press releases. Combat athletes in boxing, wushu, wrestling and other martial arts are going on a strict diet two to three weeks before the fight, especially those who are cutting weight. So far, credit goes to the National Sports Associations for providing every need of their athletes—food and supplements, training gears, etc.

The new PSC leadership has a big shoe to fill as the previous administration of chairman Butch Ramirez proved successful in the last two SEA Games and Olympics in Tokyo where the Philippines won its first ever gold medal courtesy of weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz. With all the members of the new PSC board coming with genuine sports pedigree, there is great expectation the athletes are indeed in good hands.

Zelensky’s gambit to China’s peace formula

ZELENSKY makes a gambit to China’s offer for peace in Ukraine.

Note that Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky’s planned visit to Beijing came a week after he accepted China’s 12-point proposal. His acceptance was immediately preceded by an announcement that he would be visiting Beijing.

The announcement did not disclose if he accepted any of the 12-point peace plan.

Some suspect, the announcement was intended to follow up the US warning to China not to supply Russia with lethal weapons.

Besides, it is also possible that Zelensky has his own formula but fearful not to disclose nor antagonize the contributors who today stand as the greatest contributors to the war-machine that saw the bloodiest war in Europe since the Second World War.

The position taken by Zelensky did not demand the absolute withdrawal of Russian troops to the 1991 level nor said he would unconditionally accept the 12-point peace-plan suggested by China.

Some could sense the formula was meant to hinder China’s suggestion.

In fact, Ukraine’s offer was without substance like a suggestion that, as precondition for peace, Ukraine would unilaterally demand the withdrawal of Russian troops from the territories it occupied last February 24, 2021.

Had Ukraine included this, which incidentally was not included in the 12-point formula by China, that would have put Zelensky in an awkward position. He would not dare ask China for an official visit to secretly convey his condition to Russia. It became clear Zelensky’s purpose was to make sure the US will keep open the financial pipeline open to carry on the war against Russia. A demand from the US or from Ukraine would be drowned out once Zelensky start demanding arms from the collective west —arms and financial contribution without qualification and limitation including the supply of cluster bombs prohibited by international law.

Surprisingly, the decision of the Philippines to shift our foreign policy began when it voted against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

The Philippines, with the rest of the 142 UN members, voted to condemn Russia. It seems the Philippines embarked itself on a totally different policy initiated by Marcos Sr. in the 70s.

The move bought Ukrainian troops just enough time to regroup and beat back Moscow’s forces caught in the heaving bog around the river

impossible for the Russian troops pushing for Kyiv.

The move bought Ukrainian troops just enough time to regroup and beat back Moscow’s forces caught in the heaving bog around the river.

Officials in Kyiv are lobbying for the waterway to be recognized as a “hero river” —a reference to Soviet-era “hero cities” that held out against Nazi Germany’s invasion. While the strategy worked, Podkurganny

We voted to condemn Russia on October 12, 2021 for violating the sovereignty of an independent state, unmindful that the country’s principal sponsor in the Security Council had a string of record of bullying and attacking countries like Iraq, Serbia, Libya, Syria, Afghanistan, and assassinating leaders in Iran. We did not even take into account that our vote would have a far-flung effect on our energy requirements like our need for natural gas or consider our claim in the South China Sea, and of the pressing issue of joint oil exploration with China in the Reed Bank and Recto Bank.

Now that countless lives have been lost and blood spilled, it would be very difficult for Ukraine and China to agree on some kind of concessions without suspecting such would amount to a sell-out

All these were affected because China stood in defense of Russia, it having a strategic alliance with that country.

As one would put it, the Philippines has been engaged in some kind of wishy-washy diplomacy.

For instance, when Marcos Sr. first opened diplomatic ties with the then Soviet Union in 1974, it was his recognition that the country stood as leader of the Cold War.

(Editor’s Note: As part of Marcos’ foreign policy, the Philippines sent missions to the Soviet Union, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Romania, East Germany and Bulgaria. Formal diplomatic relations between the two countries were established on June 2, 1976.)

When First Lady Imelda Marcos brought

recognizes that there is another side of the story—the one where the victory came at a cost.

“There were consequences for the population. Two hundred households were flooded. It’s clear that people suffered from this,” he said. And it’s clear to him that this suffering is continuing as locals plead with Podkurganny to act.

“I could show you the piles of letters I got, asking me to do something about it,” he added.

Yet, not everyone wants action.

Environmental activists say that leaving things as they are could have huge benefits for the region, which was a originally a vast wetland that was drained during Soviet times.

The Irpin river, they say, is only now coming back to life.

“Vegetation and real wildlife have come back over the past year,” says Oleksiy Vasylyuk, a biologist and founder of the Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group (UNCG).

“The best thing to do would be to let the valley remain as flooded as possible and let nature recover,” he said.

with her two statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Moscow as gesture for peace and friendship, that marked a new era in Manila-Moscow relations.

The Russians are far more civil and diplomatic to accept the gift despite the fact that the Soviet Union was a professed atheistic country because of its ideology.

Some say it was a face-saving move made by Zelensky.

He is so desperate to save his troops from being trapped in what Russia would term as cauldron building up in Bakhmut.

NATO could not even upgrade the arms to supply the alliance to save it from inevitable downfall and he comes acting as emissary for the US and NATO.

On the other hand, China exhibited a high level of diplomacy by not mentioning it could have outrightly derailed Zelensky’s proposal.

Zelensky failed to take the cue that China purposely did not include his 12-point proposal of Russian withdrawal from Crimea, Lugansk and Donetsk regions which means China impliedly recognize the realities in these territories now occupied by Russia.

Ukraine cannot just demand that Russia withdraw from these territories.

Probably that demand could have been raised before concessionary proposals were agreed to by Russia in the Minsk agreement as pointed out by military analyst Colonel MacGregor.

But as it is, the Minsk agreement is now water under the bridge after the NATO leaders admitted it was a mere ruse to allow Ukraine to buy time to rebuild its forces.

Now that countless lives have been lost and blood spilled, it would be very difficult for Ukraine and China to agree on some kind of concessions without suspecting such would amount to a sell-out.

Any party that may attempt to pick up this line taken by Zelensky is likely to fail much that one party could equivocally be interpreted as having achieved some kind of victory over the other. (rpkapunan@gmail.com)

‘Paradise again’

For Valentina Osipova, it was painfully clear that the flora and fauna of her home had changed dramatically.

Standing in her now-barren garden that used to produce berries and cauliflower, the animated 77-year-old recounted how last summer beavers took up residence there instead.

“Beavers! They were sunbathing! We actually became friends in the end,” the retired language professor said.

The quiet idyl of her modest home, connected to the outside world by a dirt lane, has been replaced by the drone of motorized pumps straining to dry out her corner of the world.

But still she has hope for the future.

“When all the water is pumped out and our land is returned to its former state, it will be paradise again,” Osipova said.

Kukuruza agrees.

And he believes that, while the rising waters played their part in holding back Russian forces, they cannot ultimately take credit.

“The Ukrainian people rose and stopped them,” he said. “It’s not the water that did that.” AFP

‘Just lower the water!’ Flood fatigue in the village that halted Russia

Rare hypersonic missile strikes kill 9 across Ukraine

KYIV – Nine people were killed across Ukraine on Thursday, as Russia unleashed a barrage of highprecision missile and other attacks that triggered a wave of power cuts, including at Europe's biggest nuclear power plant.

The blackout at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant prompted the UN nuclear agency's chief to issue a dire warning that next time "luck will run out", while President Volodymyr Zelensky called on the West to impose sanctions on Russia's atomic industry.

Russia said the strikes, involving rare hypersonic missiles, were retaliation for a border incursion earlier this month.

Moscow also cast doubt over the extension of a vital UN-brokered grain deal which helped ease a global food crisis caused by the invasion, saying it would discuss its renewal with the UN on Monday. A total of 81 missiles were launched, Zelensky

said, killing five people in the western Lviv province, and one person in the eastern city of Dnipro.

At least three other people were killed in a separate shelling attack on a bus stop in the southern city of Kherson, according to Ukrainian officials.

Washington called the missile strikes "brutal and unjustified".

Zelensky said the attacks were "another attempt by a terrorist-state to fight against civilization," and vowed that Ukraine will not be defeated.

"Our state and our people will never be in chains," Zelensky said in his daily address to the nation. "Neither missiles nor atrocities will help Russia achieve this."

In a phone call with European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen, Zelensky called on the West to boost economic pressure on Russia. In his evening statement he also called for sanctions on Russia's nuclear industry following the Zaporizhzhia blackout.

"A terrorist state cannot be left with any opportunity to use any nuclear facilities anywhere in the world for terror," Zelensky said. AFP

China’s Xi handed historic third term as president

BEIJING – Xi Jinping was handed a third term as Chinese president on Friday, capping a rise that has seen him become the country's most powerful leader in generations.

His appointment by China's rubber-stamp parliament comes after Xi locked in another five years as head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in October.

Since then, the 69-year-old has weathered widespread protests over his zero-Covid policy and the deaths of countless people after its abandonment.

But those issues have been avoided at this week's National People's Congress (NPC), a carefully choreographed event that is also set to appoint Xi ally Li Qiang as the new premier.

On Friday, delegates handed Xi a third term as president and re-appointed him head of the country's Central Military Commission in a unanimous vote.

Beijing's Great Hall of the People, a cavernous state building on the edge of Tiananmen Square, was adorned with crimson carpets and banners

for the landmark vote, with a military band providing background music.

A digital monitor on the edge of the stage proclaimed the final tally – all 2,952 votes had been cast in favor of giving Xi another term in office.

The announcement was followed by delegates' fervent declarations of allegiance to the Chinese constitution, in a demonstration of loyalty and unanimity.

Xi held up his right fist and placed his left hand on a red, leather-bound copy of China's constitution.

In an oath beamed live on state television, he vowed to "build a prosperous, strong, democratic, civilized, harmonious and great modern socialist country".

China's close ally Russia swiftly offered Xi its "sincere congratulations" on his re-election.

"Russia highly values your personal contribution toward the strengthening of ties... and strategic cooperation between our nations,"

President Vladimir Putin said in a letter to his "dear friend" Xi.

- Remarkable rise -

Xi's re-election is the culmination of a remarkable rise in which he has gone from being a little-known party apparatchik to the leader of a rising global power. His coronation sets him up to become communist China's longest-serving president, and means Xi could rule well into his seventies if no challenger emerges.

Xi's bold ambitions for the country have translated into a domineering leadership style, with decisions reinforced by loyalists that have risen to top government positions during his decade at the helm.

And having taken power during a time when the CCP's sway seemed to be wavering, he has worked hard to reverse trends that had threatened to weaken its centrality to Chinese society.

"The relentless Xi Jinping agenda of asserting party control over everything that moves is alive and well," said Kevin Rudd, a former Australian prime minister and an expert on China, during a recent Asia Society forum. AFP

OATH-TAKING.

Newly-elected vice chairpersons and secretary general of the National People’s Congress take an oath led by Li Hongzhong (front) after being elected during the third plenary session of the National People’s Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 10. AFP

Shooting at Jehovah’s Witness center probed

HAMBURG – German police were investigating on Friday a shooting at a Jehovah's Witnesses center in Hamburg that killed several people, with the gunman believed to be among the dead.

Police have not given a death toll, but multiple local media outlets reported that the shooting on Thursday evening had left seven dead and eight seriously injured.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz condemned the "brutal act of violence" and said his thoughts were with the victims and their loved ones.

The Jehovah's Witnesses in Germany association said it was "deeply saddened by the horrific attack on its members" after a religious service at the Kingdom Hall in Hamburg. The first emergency calls were made around 2015 GMT after shots rang out at the building in the city's northern district of Gross Borstel, a police spokesman at the scene said.

Police tweeted that "several people were seriously injured, some even fatally" in the incident. "At the moment there is no reliable information on the motive of the crime," police said, urging people not to speculate.

An alarm for "extreme danger" in the area was sounded using a catastrophe warning app, but Germany's Federal Office for Civil Protection lifted it shortly after 3:00 am local time.

Hamburg police tweeted early Friday: "The police measures in the surrounding area are gradually being discontinued. Investigations into the background of the crime are continuing."

The port city's mayor, Peter Tschentscher, expressed shock at the shooting on Twitter.

Hamburg police are due to hold a press conference at midday.

They have asked witnesses to come forward and upload any pictures or videos they may have to a special website.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said investigators were "working flat-out to determine the background" to the attack.

- Bible study group -

The attack took place at the Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Hall building, a nondescript, three-storey building where members had gathered for a religious service.

There are about 175,000 people in Germany, including 3,800 in Hamburg, who are Jehovah's Witnesses, a US Christian

movement set up in the late 19th century that preaches non-violence and is known fordoorto-door evangelism.

The first officers at the scene found several lifeless bodies and seriously wounded people, police said. Hamburger Abendblatt reported that 17 unhurt people, who had been at the event, were being attended to by the fire brigade.

Officers heard a shot in the "upper part of the building" before finding a body in the area where it rang out, police said.

"We have no indications of a perpetrator on the run," said a police spokesman.

The spokesman added that the person uncovered in the upper part of the building was "possibly" the attacker.

In a tweet early on Friday, Hamburg police also said they assumed the body found belonged to the perpetrator.

- Hit by attacks -

Germany has been rocked by several attacks in recent years, both by jihadists and far-right extremists.

Among the deadliest committed by Islamist extremists was a truck rampage at a Berlin Christmas market in December 2016 that killed 12 people. AFP

Mexican cartel ‘sorry’ for murder, kidnapping of Americans

MATAMOROS, Mexico – A Mexican drug cartel accused of kidnapping four Americans and murdering two of them has said the killers acted alone and will be handed over to authorities, local media reported on Thursday.

Several Mexican news outlets published a letter allegedly issued by the Gulf Cartel, in which the organization said it “strongly condemns” and “apologizes” for the kidnappings and murders, which were carried out without the authorization of the group’s leaders. The four Americans had driven into northern Mexico in a white minivan last week before they were shot at and abducted by gunmen in the border town of Matamoros.

another was unharmed. A Mexican bystander was also killed in the gunfire.

Mexican authorities had suggested that the abduction was the result of a “mix-up” rather than a targeted attack. The victims visited Mexico because one of them was planning to have cosmetic surgery, a Mexican official said. Alongside Thursday’s letter, local media also published a photograph that shows the handwritten note placed next to five men lying face down with their hands bound.

Mexican authorities have not confirmed whether these men were the ones suspected of the murders and kidnappings, or if they have been handed over to authorities.

The prosecutor’s office reported the arrest of one suspect, who it said had been guarding the kidnapped Americans.

The two survivors were returned to the United States via a land border crossing between Matamoros and Brownsville, Texas. The bodies of the two dead Americans were repatriated on Thursday, authorities said. AFP

MAJURO, Marshall Islands – Micronesia's president has accused China of bribery, harassment and "political warfare", in an explosive letter to his country's legislature obtained by AFP on Friday.

"Simply put, we are witnessing political warfare in our country," outgoing leader David Panuelo warned lawmakers, detailing allegations of Chinese espionage, coercion of government officials and "direct threats" against his personal safety.

Panuelo has previously voiced concerns about Beijing's growing power in the South Pacific, most notably opposing a security deal that could allow Chinese troops to be deployed to the region.

But his letter went much further, warning the incoming government about a barrage of threats that he believes risk making the sparsely populated island federation a vassal state.

China, he said, had "demonstrated a keen capability to undermine our sovereignty, rejects our values, and uses our elected and senior officials for their own purposes".

Among the dramatic allegations, Panuelo claims his own cabinet colleagues transmitted recordings of bilateral meetings directly to China.

"We are bribed to be complicit, and bribed to be silent. That's a heavy word, but it's an accurate description regardless," he said.

"What else do you call it when an elected

official is given an envelope filled with money after a meal at the PRC embassy or after an inauguration?" he said, using the initials of China's formal name, the People's Republic of China. He also said he was personally followed by "two Chinese men" while attending a meeting in Fiji last July.

Panuelo claimed that both were embassy officials and that one was later identified as an "intelligence officer" with the Chinese military.

"To be clear: I have had direct threats against my personal safety from PRC officials acting in an official capacity," he added, also claiming he had to change his phone number because of "incessant" calls from China's ambassador trying to persuade him to accept Chinese Covid-19 vaccines.

Panuelo also revealed he had been in discussions with Taiwan's foreign minister about an agreement allowing his country to distance itself from Chinese funding and support – with Taiwan offering to pick up the tab for major projects currently bankrolled by China.

The 58-year-old statesman lost his reelection bid earlier this week, signaling an end to his four-year term as leader – with his successor expected to be elected by the congress in May.

Panuelo urged lawmakers to pass legislation to protect the country against money laundering and promote political integrity. AFP

Popular but facing opposition, Francis marks 10 years as Pope

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis marks

10 years as head of the Catholic Church on Monday, hugely popular but facing internal dissent after a decade of reform, even if he has left basic doctrine intact.

When he appeared at the balcony of St Peter's Basilica on March 13, 2013 in his plain white papal robes, the newly elected Jorge Bergoglio immediately prese nted an image of a different kind of papacy.

The smiling, outspoken Jesuit was in sharp contrast to his reserved, intellectual predecessor Benedict XVI, who shocked the world by becoming the first pope since the Middle Ages to resign.

And Francis had a plan – to reform the governance of the Church plagued by inertia, clean up its murky finances and turn its focus outwards.

While he has not deviated from some staunch Catholic beliefs – he has called abortion murder and homosexuality a sin –he has shown a more compassionate and less dogmatic approach, including condemning the persecution of gay people.

"No more demonization of homosexuality, debates on extramarital relations or the contraceptive pill... all that has been taken off the table," noted Italian Vaticanist Marco Politi.

Instead, the 86-year-old pontiff – who is seemingly never happier than when among his flock – has emphasized social justice, interreligious dialogue, the environment, and the rights of refugees.

"The pope has engaged the Church on issues that are at the heart of Western democracies, such as the environment, education, law," added Roberto Regoli, professor at the Pontifical Gregorian University.

- Huge crowds -

In the face of the ongoing sexual abuse scandal that has rocked the Church worldwide, the pope's reforms have included new obligations to report clerical child abuse and its cover-up.

On the international stage, he has sought to forge alliances around the world, most notably between the Vatican and China, Muslim countries, and the Russian Orthodox Church.

However, ties with the latter have been strained by the war in Ukraine, while little has come out of Francis' offers to broker peace between Kyiv and Moscow.

Despite his advancing age and health problems – he was hospitalized in 2021 for colon surgery, and now uses a wheelchair due to knee trouble – Francis continues to travel widely. AFP

...But Micronesia’s president hits Chinese ‘bribery, warfare’

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

MISSILE MAYHEM. Police experts and residents carry an unidentified body following a Russian strike in the village of Velyka Vilshanytsia, some 50km from Lviv, on March 9. The largest Russian strikes on Ukraine in weeks killed at least six people and caused power outages across the war-battered nation on March 9. AFP

Market declines; SM Prime, Meralco up

PSEi March 10, 2023

TOP GAINERS

STOCKS fell for a second day following a rout on Wall Street with banks taking a hefty hit after signs of trouble at a regional US lender sparked concerns about the wider sector.

The PSE index, the 30-company benchmark of the Philippine Stock Exchange, lost 19 points, or 0.29 percent, to close at 6,589.88, as three of the six subsectors declined.

The broader all-share index also shed

TOP LOSERS

MOST ACTIVE

8 points, or 0.25 percent, to settle at 3,540.39, on a value turnover of P8.77 billion. Losers outmatched gainers, 119 to 57, while 45 issues were unchanged. Four of the 10 most active stocks ended in the green, led by SM Prime Holdings Inc. which climbed 2.15 percent to P35.70 and Manila Electric Co. which rose 1.91 percent to P320.00.

Meanwhile, most Asian markets also sank Friday. The sell-off comes as traders nervously await the release of US jobs data later in the day, with many fearing a forecast-beating figure could press the Federal Reserve to ramp up borrowing costs more than previously thought.

US lenders were sent into a tailspin

Thursday after SVB Financial Group, which specializes in venture-capital financing, announced a stock offering and offloaded securities to raise much-needed cash as it struggles with falling deposits.

The firm’s shares collapsed 60 percent in New York as it said it lost $1.8 billion following the sales.

In a bid to prevent a run on the bank, SVB CEO Greg Becker asked clients to stay calm during a conference call Thursday, Bloomberg News reported, citing someone familiar with the matter.

The news came as crypto banking giant Silvergate said it planned to close as the sector faces more turmoil.

Major US banks suffered hefty losses, with Wall Street titans including JP

Morgan, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup all deep in the red.

Data showing more people than expected made jobless claims last week—indicating a softening of the labor market — was unable to soothe investor worries, and all three main indexes were deep in the red by the close of trade in New York. US Treasury yields sank as investors flocked to the safety of government bonds.

While higher borrowing costs can be beneficial for banks, many that took out loans and made other investments during the period of ultra-low rates have seen their value erased as the Fed tightens monetary policy to fight inflation. With AFP

UK’s high-speed railway faces two-year delay

LONDON—The UK government on Thursday announced a two-year delay to the construction of part of the HS2 high-speed railway connecting London with cities in the north of England.

The part of the line running into central London would also be delayed, as part of cost-saving measures, Transport Minister Mark Harper said.

The project, which is being built in stages, is set to cost more than £100 billion funded mostly by the state, and will take years to build.

Former prime minister Boris Johnson heralded HS2 as a key infrastructure project aimed at helping drive Britain’s post-Brexit economy.

Johnson however was forced to scale back his HS2 plans for northern England amid soaring costs in 2021.

According to Harper, construction of the Birmingham to Crewe leg of HS2 in central England would now be put back by two years. That part of the line had been due to be extended between 2030 and 2034.

In a written ministerial statement, Harper insisted the government was still “committed” to delivering the high-speed rail link between Birmingham and Crewe.

But he said there had been “significant inflationary pressure and increased project costs” resulting in the delay.

As a result of delayed work on the line going into the capital’s center, passengers will initially have to complete their journey on the Underground network.

London mayor Sadiq Khan condemned the decision to delay the completion of the line into Euston in central London.

“Hundreds of millions of pounds have been spent regenerating the Euston area, and homes and businesses have been demolished to make way for HS2, causing huge disruption for zero reward,” he said. AFP

DOHA, Qatar—Just $1.4 billion in new loans and grants were promised at a UN summit devoted to the world’s poorest nations where UN leader Antonio Guterres had appealed for massive aid, officials said Thursday.

A top UN envoy warned at the end of the five-day Least Developed Countries meeting that these countries are falling “far behind” in reaching development goals.

Guterres started the summit by saying the 46 poorest states need a $500 billion a year stimulus to reach the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs), a blueprint to end poverty and boost health and education by 2030.

The Doha meetings saw Saudi Arabia offer $800 million in loans to LDCs.

Germany said it would make an extra $210 million of financing available and the European Union announced investment agreements worth $135 million.

Qatar said it would give $60 million for UN projects and Canada $59 million for vitamin supplements and conservation efforts in LDCs.

Other smaller initiatives were agreed upon, leaving the total well short of the figure sought by Guterres.

UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said the SDGs apply to all countries, rich and poor alike, but if they “do not deliver to the least developed countries, they do not deliver. It is as simple as that.”

She told a press conference at the end of the summit: “After the turbulent years of the Covid-19 pandemic and the cost of living crisis, these countries are falling far behind” in meeting the SDGs.

The poor states’ progress toward the targets was “below the global average,” Mohammed said. “Risks are growing rather than diminishing.”

But Mohammed said an action plan

adopted ahead of the summit could be an “accelerator” to help get back on course.

The plan includes initiatives to set up a food stock for poor countries, more help to attract investment, and for states that will leave the LDC category.

Referring to Guterres’ appeal for cash and to reform the financial system, Mohammed said the UN was “urging all countries to do everything in their power to do everything to support this stimulus, particularly in the G20,” a reference to a grouping of the world’s major developed and emerging economies.

No leader from the world’s biggest economies attended the Doha summit.

Mohammed said other major UN meetings this year on the SDGs, climate and water resources “must be opportunities to deliver” for poor states.

The G20 has not yet said how it will help at those summits. AFP

NEW YORK—The four largest US banks saw their stock prices lose a cumulative $52 billion on Thursday, as the financial sector digested reported trouble at SVB Financial, a major Silicon Valley-focused lender.

Shares of SVB Financial plummeted 60 percent on Thursday and continued to fall in after-hours trading, following an announcement the prior evening that it had lost $1.8 billion in sales of securities to raise funds.

That massive drop rippled through the financial sector, with biggest US bank JPMorgan Chase ending the day down 5.4 percent.

Bank of America and Wells Fargo both fell 6.2 percent, while Citigroup was down 4.1 percent.

Alexander Yokum, an analyst with CFRA Research, said SVB’s problems can be attributed to its heavy involvement with venture capital and private equity.

As interest rates have climbed, “those industries have really struggled,” Yokum said. Their increased withdrawals of funds have subsequently forced SBV to seek more liquidity.

Wells Fargo’s Mike Mayo echoed that view, saying that the core issue at SVB “is a lack of funding diversification,” with most deposits coming from venture capital.

The situation at the Silicon Valleybased firm is not fully indicative of the banking industry, but the struggle “affects sentiment,” he added.

S&P has downgraded the company’s debt rating by one notch, saying SVB is likely to face even more withdrawals.

SVB’s disclosure came on top of an announcement the same day that crypto banking titan Silvergate plans to shut down in the face of cryptocurrency market turmoil.AFP

From disaster to destination: Fukushima woos tourists with snow

By Harumi Ozawa

BANDAI, Japan—Tourist Benjamin Tuffy’s family spent their winter holidays in Japan’s picture-perfect snow. But they weren’t at the country’s famed ski resorts in Hokkaido or Nagano—they picked Fukushima.

It’s a choice officials hope is becoming increasingly popular as they market the region’s snow resorts and try to shed the stigma that lingers more than a decade after the 2011 nuclear disaster.

Fukushima’s ski industry was already struggling with warm winters and a decline in domestic visitors when a tsunami triggered the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.

Officials worked hard to attract foreign visitors despite the disaster, but then the pandemic struck and border closures kept tourists away for more than two years.

Tourism resumed normally in October, and Fukushima is again aggressively promoting its attractions, including at industry expos in Sydney and Melbourne.

Tuffy, a 40-year-old Australian, chose the region’s Bandai Resort for a holiday along with his wife and two children.

He told AFP that the resort’s location, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the coast, had helped assuage any concerns.

“You have some distance, you’ve got mountains and you’ve got range, you’ve got a lot of clean air and clean life over here,” he said as he removed his snowboarding gear.

“We are aware, but we’re not concerned. It was more like understanding the situation.”

It has been 12 years since the three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant went into meltdown after an earthquake-triggered tsunami that left 18,500 dead or missing. Evacuation orders were once in place for a

20-kilometre (12-mile) radius around the plant, but most of the prefecture was never affected by radiation.

And after extensive decontamination, just 2.4 percent of the region remains off-limits.

But “Fukushima’s popularity remains low among foreign tourists, 43rd among 47 prefectures in Japan”, said Go Morimoto, managing director of the Bandai Resort.

‘Unlikely’ tourism comeback

In pre-Covid 2019, nearly 50 percent of inbound tourists visited Tokyo, 30 percent went to Kyoto and eight percent visited far northern Hokkaido, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization.

Just 0.3 percent went to Fukushima, which is only 90 minutes from Tokyo by bullet train.

The US investment fund that once owned the Bandai Resort decided to sell in 2015, convinced “it was simply unlikely that tourism would make a comeback”, Morimoto said.

Still, inspired by the success of snow destinations like Nagano’s Hakuba and Niseko in Hokkaido, Fukushima has tried to promote its plentiful white stuff.

“Japan’s powder snow, popularly known as ‘Japow’ is a world-class tourism resource,” said Morimoto.

“Niseko and Hakuba have benefitted from it, but Fukushima, not so much, despite the potential.”

It was the main draw for Anne Cathcart, 68, on her third trip to Fukushima. But she acknowledged some reservations before her first visit. AFP

US banks under pressure after trouble at SVB

Poor states’ summit promised just $1.4 billion in aid—UN

LOGISTICS CONFERENCE. German logistics group Deutsche Post DHL chief finance officer Melanie Kreis (right) and designated chief executive Tobias Meyer attend the company’s annual press conference at the DHL Innovation Center in Troisdorf, western Germany, on March 9, 2023. AFP

This photo taken on Feb. 15, 2023 shows people gathering with snowboards at the Alts Bandai Snow Park & Resort in Bandai Town, Fukushima prefecture. Fukushima’s ski industry was alreadystruggling with warm winters and a decline in domestic visitors when a tsunami triggered the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. AFP

BUSINESS

Japan agency affirms PH credit rating of ‘A-’

By Julito G. Rada

JAPAN Credit Rating Agency affirmed on Friday the Philippines’ investment-grade credit rating of ‘A-’, with a stable outlook despite global uncertainties and a high-inflation environment.

The affirmation confirmed the country’s strong macroeconomic fundamentals, as evidenced by the strong growth performance in 2022 at 7.6 percent that exceeded the 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent growth assumption of the Development Budget Coordination Committee.

Labor and employment conditions continued to improve in the Philippines,

IN BRIEF

JTI lauds IPOPHL win, calls for sustained fight vs. IP crime

JTI Philippines called for a more sustained response against rampant violations of the intellectual property rights of legitimate businesses as it lauded the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines for its recent win in prosecuting IP crimes.

JTI Philippines general manager John Freda, in lauding IPOPHL, said: “At JTI, we are very pleased to see such IP adjudication in action and coordination amongst the relevant parties, notably IPOPHIL.”

“We all need to work together to permanently close the door on opportunities for criminal networks to sell their unregulated products, which undermine legitimate businesses and lead to lost tax revenue since cigarette smuggling deprives government of between P30 billion to P60 billion pesos annually in the Philippines,” said Freda.

The latest case filed and prosecuted by IPOPHL was resolved after years of proceedings and culminated in the destruction of over P20 million of counterfeit Winston cigarettes in a waste management facility in Porac, Pampanga.

Freda said the collaboration of government agencies as shown in the latest case should be further strengthened considering that illegal trade serves to not only rob state coffers but often finances other criminal activities. “Moreover, illegal trade is a complex problem, and not the victimless crime it is perceived to be. Proceeds from illegal tobacco sales often finance much larger criminal activities such as corruption, the smuggling of drugs and weapons, human trafficking and terrorism,” he said.

KPMG: CEOs optimistic amid challenging outlook

THE KPMG 2022 CEO Outlook Survey – where

1,325 global CEOs provided insights into their 3-year outlook on the business and economic landscapes—found that despite geopolitical and economic challenges, global economic confidence over the next three years has rebounded from early 2022, rising to 71 percent.

CEOs are prepared to weather current geopolitical and economic challenges while still anticipating long-term global growth. They have learned to become more agile to navigate the unpredictable—realigning their workforces, untangling supply chain disruptions and adapting to geopolitical and economic impacts. As the possibility of recession looms, many are already prepared with a deep focus on planning and agility. This includes leveraging on technology and balancing it with talent strategy.

While it is unsurprising that the economic climate is now a top concern for business, over these past few years, business leaders have learned to navigate the unpredictable factors surrounding them. In line with recognizing geopolitical and economic impacts, there are opportunities to be found in this fog of uncertainty brought on by the promise of technology, talent, economic outlook, and ESG.

The cyber environment is evolving quickly with 77 percent of CEOs seeing information security as a strategic function and a potential source of competitive advantage. CEOs are changing how they support and attract talent, and their efforts are buoyed by a focus on their people and experimenting with different workflows.

“Companies are also growing and learning to deal with these challenges head-on. They know the work that must be done and the need for speed and agility in these uncertain times,” KPMG in the Philippines vice chairman and chief operating officer and head of advisory Emmanuel Bonoan said.

Robinsons Land posts record profit of P9.75b

ROBINSONS Land Corp., the property arm of the Gokongwei Group, said Friday net income hit a record high of P9.75 billion in 2022, up 21 percent from 2021 level, fueled by higher residential sales and robust rental income from malls and office projects.

RLC said consolidated sales also jumped 25 percent year-on-year to P45.5 billion on higher sales recognition of residential projects, success

with generally steady and low unemployment and underemployment rates since the end of 2022.

A credit rating of ‘A-‘ with a stable outlook indicates lower credit risk and entails better access to the international bond market and favorable interest rates. It also increases investor confidence in the country that may lead to

more foreign direct investments.

JCR noted the country’s resilient banking system, which remains “healthy on stronger payment capacity and improving employment situation.”

The national government’s outstanding debt settled at 60.9 percent of gross domestic product in 2022, lower than the 61.8-percent target under the Medium-Term Fiscal Framework.

The Bureau of the Treasury’s latest cash operations report showed that the government’s budget deficit narrowed to 7.3 percent of GDP in 2022 from 8.6 percent in 2021. The latest fiscal outturn was also better than the MTFF target for 2022 at 7.6 percent.

“The Marcos administration is committed to maintaining sound macroeconomic fundamentals and achieving its fiscal targets by continuing the course of sound fiscal management. The country’s recent structural reforms will also enable the country to withstand the pandemic shocks and map a route to recovery,” Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said in a statement.

He said the government would continuously implement reforms to foster investment-led growth to help broaden opportunities for quality employment and further enhance productivity.

He said the government is adopting a whole-of-government approach to tackle the elevated inflation. The Bang-

ko Sentral ng Pilipinas said it is ready to take all necessary policy actions to bring inflation to within the target range of 2 percent to 4 percent over the medium term.

Fiscal authorities are also taking a comprehensive approach to address the short-term uptick in inflation, while pursuing medium- to long-term measures to stabilize food inflation.

Under the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028, the government aims to steer the country towards a path that promotes inclusive growth, provides equal opportunities to Filipinos and enables them to participate in an innovative and globally competitive economy.

PSE INDEX CLOSING

Friday, March 10, 2023 -19.39 PTS.

6,589.88

THREE-PEAT. PLDT Inc. and Smart Communications Inc. score a three-peat at the just concluded 58th Anvil Awards, bagging the coveted Company of Year distinction for the third straight year. This honor is awarded to an organization for garnering the greatest number of accumulated points based on the value of each Anvil trophy received. At the first face-to-face ceremony of the Anvil Awards post-pandemic, PLDT and Smart received major awards—a total of 9 golds and 15 silvers—for initiatives in the areas of brand and corporate communications, cybersecurity, data privacy, employee engagement and stakeholder management. The group also won the prestigious Grand Anvil and Platinum Anvils for ‘Madiskarte Moms PH’ and ‘An Election Campaign: Usap Tayo,’ respectively.

Foreign direct

NET inflows of foreign direct investments amounted to $9.2 billion in 2022, down by 23.2 percent from from the record $12 billion registered in 2021. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said the 2022 figure surpassed the $8.5-billion target for the year.

“By component, non-residents’ net investments in debt instruments and equity capital dropped while reinvestment of earnings slightly increased,” the BSP said in a statement.

“Notwithstanding the country’s sustained growth momentum, FDI net inflows decreased in 2022 due to the extended global slowdown and high inflation, which adversely affected investor decisions,” it said.

It said that in December, net FDIs declined by 76.2 percent to a three-month

INTERNATIONAL ALLIANCE.

low of $634 million from $2.7 billion a year earlier.

“The decline in FDI during the reference month was due largely to base effect, particularly given the significantly larger net placements of equity capital in December 2021. Non-residents’ net investments in debt instruments likewise declined in December 2022 while reinvestment of earnings remained broadly stable,” it said.

It said bulk of the equity capital placements came from Singapore, Germany and Japan which were channeled mostly to the manufacturing and real estate industries in December.

Michael Ricafort, chief economist of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., said the slowdown in the net FDI data “might also have to do with higher

short-term interest rates and the peak in long-term interest rates in the US, globally and locally around OctoberNovember 2022.”

He said increased borrowing and financing costs and the risk of recession in the US had impacted investments.

“For the coming months, net FDIs could still sustain among the highest since the pandemic started, as the economy reopened towards greater normalcy, [the] Philippine economy [is] still expected to have one of the fastest growth rates in the region, the country’s attractive demographics, economic reopening of China since December 2022, [and] investment commitments obtained by the new administration from overseas visits/trips in recent months,” Ricafort said. Julito G. Rada

By Jenniffer B. Austria

CONGLOMERATE Ayala Corp. said

Friday core net income climbed 18 percent in 2022 to P27.7 billion from a year ago, as the reopening of the domestic economy pushed up earnings of banking and property businesses. Consolidated revenues went up 18.5 percent to P216.2 billion from P182.5 billion in 2021.

tenant concessions, resurgence of foot traffic in stores and improved consumer spending during the holiday season. Jenniffer B. Austria

State-owned National Home Mortgage Finance Corp. strengthens its partnership with its ASEAN counterparts through the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Cagamas Berhad of Malaysia and the Mongolian Mortgage Corp. Attending the signing ceremony in Sentosa, Singapore are (from left) ISMMA chairman Oscar Mgaya, Cagamas Berhad of Malaysia president and chief executive Datuk Chung Chee Leong, NHMFC President Renato de Leon Tobias, Mongolian Mortgage Corp. chief executive Gantulga Badamkhatan and European Mortgage Federation and European Covered Bond Council secretarygeneral Luca Bertalot.

Think tank asks ERC to reject power supply deals above SMC price

By Alena Mae S. Flores

AN INFRASTRUCTURE think tank

on Friday asked the Energy Regulatory Commission to thumb down any emergency power supply agreement in the Manila Electric Co. franchise area which is higher than the rejected San Miguel Corp. and Meralco price proposal of P6.0691 per kilowatt-hour. Infrawatch PH convenor Terry Ridon said the ERC-rejected price proposal was around 34.8 percent higher than the original 2019 power supply agreement, but the recently lapsed second EPSA with the Aboitiz Group was 89.4 percent higher than the terminated PSA at P8.5250 per kWh.

“To allow the continuation of such exorbitant rates in prospective EPSAs amounts to criminal negligence of the commission’s duty to ensure the least cost of electricity to consumers,” Ridon said.

Meralco executed a second EPSA with Aboitiz-controlled GNPower Dinginin Ltd. for 300 megawatts of baseload capacity covering the period Feb. 3 to Feb. 25, 2023 for P8.5250 per kWh.

This was higher than the first EPSA which carried a fixed price of P5.95 per kilowatt-hour in January. Meralco and GNPower were negotiating for a third EPSA which did not materialize.

“GNPower Dinginin did not offer to extend the emergency supply agreement with Meralco, but Meralco sought other

offers from other suppliers and these have been submitted to the DOE [Department of Energy] for its consideration and approval,” Meralco head of utility economics Lawrence Fernandez said.

Ridon said global coal prices had dropped around 60 percent from last year’s highs.

“The rejected price proposal was made at a time of unprecedented coal prices, selling as high as $457.8 per ton. The price of coal today hovers merely at around $180 per ton. As such, any rate higher than the rejected price proposal should be outrightly rejected by the ERC, not only because it their duty to enforce the least cost, but also because the current market environment cannot serve as a basis for higher rates,” Ridon said.

FORMER Supreme Court Justice and now

Marinduque Governor Presbitero Velasco Jr. lauded an upcoming desalination project designed to ultimately bring an end to the province’s decades-old problem of inadequate potable water supply.

Velasco was referring to a recently concluded bidding and awarding between Marinduque Water District and Pasig Citybased Peak Off-Grid, Innovations and Solutions Inc. for the setting up of modern facilities designed to deliver 29,200 cubic meters of drinkable water daily to meet the province’s demand for personal, household and irrigation purposes.

The facilities boast of uninterruptible supply of potable water using Finnish desalina-

“Our full-year results demonstrate the strength and diversification of our portfolio. If 2022 was marked by revenge spending on the part of consumers, 2023 may well see the resurgence of the economy as a whole. With strengthening macro, our businesses should get back to or exceed pre-pandemic levels in 2023,” Ayala president and chief executive Cezar Consing said Friday in a statement to the stock exchange.

Banking unit Bank of the Philippine Island reported a net income of P39.6 billion in 2022, up 66 percent year-onyear on higher interest and non-interest income, lower provisions and the gain from a property sale.

Property arm Ayala Land Inc.’s net income jumped 52 percent year-on-year to P18.6 billion on stronger commercial lot sales and the doubling of revenues from commercial leasing and hotels and resorts.

Globe Telecom Inc. also registered a 46-percent increase in net income to P34.6 billion mainly from higher data service revenues and gains from the partial sale of its data center business and a portion of its tower assets.

Net income of ACEN Corp. more than doubled year-on-year to P13.1 billion mainly because of a revaluation gain from its accelerated acquisition of UPC Australia, supported by contributions from new domestic and international plants.

tion technology running on pure solar-power.

Velasco, along with Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco, vice-governor Lynn Angeles and Finnish Ambassador to the Philippines Juha Markus Pyykkö witnessed the awarding ceremony on Mar. 10, 2023 at Marco Polo Hotel on Ortigas Ave., Pasig City.

“I am pleased that this unique Finnish technology is offering solutions to the challenges of the people of Marinduque. Finland’s water expertise is world-class,” said Pyykkö.

Velasco said the event is “a game changer” for his constituents who have been grappling with acute potable water supply shortage over the decades.

investments reached $9.2b in 2022

Ayala books 18% core net income growth to P27.7b

Marinduque lauds desalination project, sees end to potable water supply woes

Roderick T. dela Cruz, Editor Alena Mae S. Flores, Assistant Editor business@manilastandard.net extrastory2000@gmail.com

Folayang, Team Lakay part ways

AFTER nearly two decades together, Eduard “Landslide” Folayang and Team Lakay have officially parted ways.

In a statement released by the two-time ONE Lightweight World Champion, he revealed that he has said his goodbyes to the team he helped form and has called home for the past 16 years, a squad where he experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows with.

“For the last 16 years of my professional career as a mixed martial artist, I was in the company of brave and talented individuals in Team Lakay. This stable was a large element in what I have become in our beloved sport,” he said in his statement.

“But as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. Sadly, and with a heavy heart, my journey with Team Lakay has reached its final stretch.”

Folayang shared that the move is vital to his career, believing that a new environment will be crucial as he tries to end his struggles inside the ONE circle.

There’s still no word as to where the 39-year-old will land, but one thing’s for sure, he won’t be donning the signature red shorts the next time fans see him in the Circle.

“I believe there are still a few things I must accomplish in what remains in my active years as a competitor,” he said.

“The profession I have chosen re-

quires me to learn, evolve, and grow. In order for me to achieve this, I must step out of the confines of my comfort zone and discover new ways to nurture my development as a martial artist.”

Together with head coach Mark Sangiao, Folayang jump-started the mixed martial movement in the Philippines— turning a small wushu club that shared a space with a butcher shop in the market

in Baguio City to the Team Lakay that we know of today, one of the biggest and most recognizable squads in Asia. Under the team, Folayang did the unthinkable, knocking out Japanese MMA legend Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki in 2016 to win the ONE Lightweight World Title, a feat he repeated two years later when he beat Amir Khan for the strap yet again. It was also in 2018 where the team’s suc-

cess was at its peak. Aside from Folayang, the team held three other ONE World Titles in the form of strawweight king Joshua Pacio, flyweight titleist Geje Eustaquio, and bantamweight champion Kevin Belingon.

It’s a memory that Folayang will cherish forever.

“Words will not suffice to aptly impart how grateful I am for our camaraderie that has led to our achievements and

GAB assures support to PH’s world esports tourney hosting

By Randy Caluag

THE Philippine Esports Organization and the Games and Amusement Board are joining hands to further boost the esports industry in the country.

“There were a lot of discussions and the GAB also assured us of support when we host the biggest esports competition in the world this year,” PESO secretary general Joebert Yu told Manila Standard.

Yu and his group paid GAB chairman Richard Clarin a visit at his GAB office in Makati, where the topic included easing up the policy on drug testing on athletes for the country’s hosting of the M5 World Championship in December 2023 this year.

Yu said some athletes coming from countries where cannabis, known locally as marijuana, will still be allowed to compete even if they tested positive for the said substance that is prohibited in the Philippines.

“May mga top players kasi na galing sa mga bansang Europa na legal ang marijuana. So medyo pinag-uusapan natin pa rin sila, accommodate sila even ma-test sila na positive for its use,” said Yu.

It will be the first time the country plays host to the world championship, which was first held at Axiata Arena in Malaysia, topped by Indonesia’s EVOS Legends. The next one, the M2 World Championship, and M3 were both held in Singapore. The M4 World Championship was held in Indonesia.

“PESO has a lot of big plans in lifting the country’s already excellent esports scene to new stellar heights, including bringing the biggest esports events into the country,” said PESO Director Mar-

lon Marcelo.

PESO is currently busy preparing the national team for the esports competition in the Southeast Asian Games set in May in Cambodia.

In the previous SEA Games in Vietnam, the Philippine esports team bagged two gold medals with victories in the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and League of Legends: Wild Rift events.

Big PFL tiff: Dynamic Herb tries to close in on Kaya

DYNAMIC Herb Cebu looks to close the gap on Kaya FC-Iloilo as the Gentle Giants take on the Azkals Development Team in the Philippines Football League, presented by Qatar Airways, on Saturday at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.

Both Dynamic Herb and ADT battled to a scoreless draw in September last year. The league awarded a 3-0 forfeit win for Cebu due to ADT’s unavailability to travel to Cebu for their match in October.

Cebu is currently in second place with 28 points, eight points behind Kaya FC Iloilo, although the Gentle Giants have played two matches less. ADT is in fourth with 21 points.

Kaya also faces a stern test on Sunday against Stallion Laguna at Biñan Football Stadium.

Over at the Imus Grandstand, Mendiola FC 1991 hopes to repeat over Maharlika Manila in a clash of bottom teams.

Kaya is coming off a comfortable 5-0 win over Maharlika Manila FC last weekend with five goal scorers in Daizo Horikoshi, Dylan Nobiraki, Jhan Melliza, Eric Giganto, and Tamon Horikosh.

Stallion, meanwhile, denied Dynamic Herb Cebu maximum points with a 1-1 draw thanks to new signing Miguel Mendoza’s late equalizer But Stallion will miss the services of goalkeeper Patrick Deyto, who was sent off in the match against Cebu after an altercation with the referee.

Mendiola has won its last two outings against Maharlika Manila, 1-0 and 3-0 respectively.

CPS, De La Salle-Lipa lead semis cast in PNVF U18

IT will be California Precision Sports against De La Salle-Lipa and Maryhill College against Gracel Christian College Foundation in the semifinals of the Philippine National Volleyball Federation U-18 Championships.

CPS of Antipolo City blasted Angeles City of Pampanga, 25-12, 25-14, behind the impressive net defense of 14-year-old ninth grader Mhonniecka Joyce Soliven in the quarterfinals Friday at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.

De La Salle Lipa, on the other hand, beat Santo Niño de Praga Academy of Trece Martirez City, 25-14, 25-19, to ar-

range the semifinal showdown with CPS at 10 a.m. on Saturday.

Maryhill College kept Lucena City’s flag afloat following a 25-15, 25-20 beating of Bethel Academy of General Trias City in the other quarterfinal match of the tournament organized by the PNVF headed by Ramon “Tats” Suzara.

Grace Christian College Foundation did the same for Taguig City with its 2513, 25-16 victory over Santa Rosa City also on Friday in the competition supported by the Philippine Olympic Committee, Philippine Sports Commission,

PLDT, Rebisco and Akari.

The Maryhill College-Grace Christian semifinal is set 12:30 p.m. Saturday.

The quarterfinal matches—including the boys, which were played later Friday—saw the PNVF using a Video Challenge equipment. The Iltalian-made Genius Sports equipment will also be used in the semifinals and finals on Sunday.

“It’s the players’ solid familiarity with each other and the chemistry developed playing together for six years,” CPS coach Dr. Obet Estrella Vital said. “I expect a close match each set because Angeles City has a strong lineup.”

victories inside the Circle, as well as the heartbreaks that have driven us to keep going in pursuit of our ultimate goal. I will forever cherish every moment like a precious treasure,” he said.

“I extend my sincere and heartfelt gratitude to Team Lakay. I wish no less than the best for Coach Mark and everyone under his wing. This is not a goodbye, but so long for now.”

Quezon tackles

Negros; Bataan faces Rizal in MPBL opener

NEWCOMERS Quezon Huskers and Negros Muscovados test their mettle when they clash in the nightcap of a doubleheader kicking off the OKBetMPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) Fifth Season on Saturday at the Quezon Convention Center in Lucena City.

The Bataan Risers and the Rizal Golden Coolers opened up hostilities at 6 p.m., to be followed by the Quezon-Negros tussle at 8 p.m.

Bent on making ripples on their first year in the country’s biggest regional league, the Huskers will be fielding a strong roster led by reigning NCAA MVP Will Gozum, Jeric Teng and Mark Pangilinan.

The Muscovados, who have built their team earlier than the host squad, hope to draw power from Paolo Javelona and Jason Melano in their first official game in the 30-team league founded by Manny Pacquiao.

Bataan has also strengthened its lineup with the acquisition of Yves Sazon and Jamil Gabawan while Rizal remains solid with a squad led by former national player Troy Mallillin.

The opening ceremonies, including the parade of the competing teams and their muses, start at 4 p.m.

Aside from Pacquiao, expected to grace the occasion are Quezon Huskers co-owners Rep. Keith Micah Tan and San Andres Mayor Ralph Edward Lim and Quezon Gov. Helen Tan.

Also in attendance will be MPBL Commissioner Kenneth Duremdes and officials of title sponsor OKBet.

The teams, including powerhouses Nueva Ecija and Zamboanga, have been split into the North and South divisions for this season which will wind up in December.

Joining Nueva Ecija, the reigning national champion, in the North division are Bataan, Bulacan, Caloocan, Makati, Manila, Marikina, Pampanga, Paranaque, Pasay, Pasig, Quezon City, Rizal, San Juan and

Kaya’s Daizo Horikoshi lines up for a shot against Maharlika Manila.

Maryhill College of Lucena

Esports official with GAB chairman Richard Clarin (4th from left).

Two-time ONE Lightweight World Champion Eduard Folayang is shown with his former Lakay teammates.

HORIZON Land, the smart-value brand of GT Capital’s real estate development arm Federal Land, is addressing the increasing demand for pocket-friendly properties within Metro Manila, with the pre-launch of Quantum Residences’ final tower.

Quantum Residences is a three-tower, high-rise residential condominium located near the intersection of Taft Avenue and Gil Puyat Ave. in Pasay City. Its transitoriented location complemented by an array of nearby malls, hospitals, schools, and universities puts its residents just a ride away from life’s essentials. Smartly-designed units start at P4.4 million.

“Quantum Residences ticks all the right boxes when Filipinos look for a home that is worth putting their hardearned money into,” declared John Frederick Cabato, general manager of Horizon Land (shown in photo with sales group head Margarita SaenzResurreccion and Urban Planning and Design group head Gilbert Berba). “The location is strategic and accessible, the units are instinctive and well-planned, the amenities are fun and practical—these are the makings of a home that residents will thrive in.”

Safe halfway home for students

Quantum Residences is a safe and convenient address for students with its 24/7 security, smart keycard doorlock security system, CCTV surveillance system, and expert property management services. A mix

Ticking the right boxes in search for the right home

of student-oriented amenities such as the study lounge, conference room, and two function rooms can host solo study sessions or group activities. For a little fun, there’s a hobby room, game room, ktv room, and a rooftop skylounge.

A decent condo around Taft and Buendia can set renters back by an average of Php 18,000 to Php 20,000 a month while a 24-sqm studio unit in Quantum Residences’ Amber Tower starts only at some P16,000 a month.

CPMI TO SERVICE PHIRST PROJECTS. Residents of PHirst developments can now enjoy professional property management care of property and facilities management company Century Properties Management Inc. (CPMI). CPMI offers various services, including administration and customer services, repairs, maintenance, billing, and collection. Previously only focusing on high-rise residential buildings and office spaces, CPMI is now branching out to large horizontal developments, starting with servicing five locations of PHirst Park Homes—namely Tanza, Lipa, San Pablo, Calamba, and Pandi.  CPMI, a subsidiary of real estate developer Century Properties Group Inc., expects additional projects this year, and aims to service all PHirst projects in the upcoming years. Established in February 1989 by Jose E. B. Antonio, CPMI was among the first to provide professional property and facilities management services in the country.

Smart investment for young professionals Working from home at Quantum Residences will be a breeze with fiberoptic ready connections, USB outlets in all units and around the common areas, and a meeting room for a nice virtual set-up. Other amenities include a jogging path, pocket garden, multipurpose court, gym, and a 20-meter lap pool.

The 1-bedroom units ranging from 28-sqm to 39-sqm from P18,500 a

month are designed to have your home essentials while still leaving space for other passions or business pursuits. Most units have balconies as well, perfect for a vertical garden or a mini-outdoor nook with the surrounding skylines as a backdrop.

Convenience at your doorstep Quantum Residences’ first two towers, the Aqua and Amethyst Towers, have enjoyed brisk sales as more buyers see high investment potential in modern and affordable developments located in

prime areas.

Currently, the Amber Tower, the last tower of Quantum Residences is at its preselling stage and is set to launch by the first quarter of this year. It is one of the developments in the area with the most competitive price points to address the growing demand for affordable properties in the metro located in truly prime locations.

“We believe that Quantum Residences’ positive reception will continue through to our last tower—Amber,” said Cabato.

FUTURE-READY RESIDENTIAL PROJECTS IN DAVAO. Real estate developer Damosa Land recently showcased the next investment hotspot in Davao City with its residential properties, Bridgeport and Ameria. The two developments uphold different characteristics of Mindanao through their premium lot offerings, anchored on the region’s natural landscape and agriculture. Bridgeport —a 13-hectare master-planned development—features Samal Island’s serene beauty through its low-density condominiums, exclusive marina, and diverse community. Over to the other side of Davao Del Norte, Ameria is a residential subdivision offering wide open spaces. The development offers its future residents an opportunity to take part in agriculture through backyard farming and other naturecentric activities. “We continuously find more ways to innovate through real estate; we hope to offer investments that showcase Davao to the country and to the world,” said Damosa Land president Ricardo “Cary’’ Lagdameo (shown in photo receiving awards including Best Eco-Friendly Housing Development for Ameria and Highly Commended for Waterfront Condominium and Mixed-Use Development for Bridgeport at the Philippine Property Awards late last year).

Filinvest bags sustainable real estate awards

TWO Filinvest Alabang Inc (FAI) projects were awarded gold recognitions at the recently held Property and Real Estate Excellence Awards organized by the Philippine chapter of the Paris-based International Real Estate Federation (FIABCI). Filinvest City, FAI’s flagship township in Alabang took home the Gold

award under Sustainable Development category while Filigree’s Botanika Nature Residences, its luxury condominium, bagged Gold under Residential Mid-Rise category.

Shares “Our ultimate goal is to make all of our developments really experiential and engaging, supporting healthier and more fulfilled lifestyles,

with Filinvest City and Botanika serving as our flagship projects,” said Catherine Ilagan, FAI president and COO.

Botanika Nature Residences, in particular (shown in photo), combines aesthetics and functionality while embedding energy efficiency into its design sets it different from other upscale residential buildings.

Female Lebanese mechanic

breaks into male-dominated profession with passion, wisdom

By Dana Halawi

Women’s Day Feature

BEIRUT—Perla

Shalhoub, a 22-yearold Lebanese woman, welcomes tens of customers daily in her car repair garage in Sarba, a village near the city of Nabatieh in southern Lebanon.

Perla said that her passion for engines, in addition to the country’s economic crisis and high unemployment rate, has led her to pursue a profession that is unconventional for most Lebanese women.

“When I started working in the garage, I felt a bit embarrassed. I was worried that customers might not trust my skills, because I could notice the surprise and caution on their faces,” said Perla while changing the brakes on a car. But as time passed, she gradually earned the trust of car owners with her expertise.

Perla’s father founded the garage 25 years ago. She said she had always enjoyed watching her father work on cars and had discovered at an early age that she had a knack for the machinery, just like her father.

At the age of 22, Perla has already worked as a full-time mechanic for four years. She said she didn’t believe that women face any insurmountable disadvantages in this trade as the key to fixing a car is to diagnose the malfunction, which requires experience and up-

Maserati begins shakedown runs ahead of 2023 GT season

MODENA, ITALY—Maserati is back.

The Autodromo Varano de’ Melegari was the setting for the track debut of the highperformance GT2, the car that epitomizes the House of the Trident’s return to racing.

The shakedown at the Parma circuit is the precursor to a series of events marking the run-up to the official unveiling of the car at the end of June in Belgium, at the 24 Hours of Spa.

Maserati is ready to reawaken the memories that saw it feature in the exciting GT championships, with a hungry new car designed to evoke the exploits of its forerunner, the glorious and victorious MC12.

The Trident’s history in motorsport is a story of successes spanning almost a century, of a unique and distinctive DNA, and of a passion being rekindled by the brand’s link with the potent legacy from the past and its drive towards the future, in which racing is an essential component.

Maserati GT2 is speed, elegance, style and innovation - incarnate. A car designed to be a masterpiece of performance: extraordinary and breathtaking between the kerbs, created to celebrate Maserati’s return to the circuits. A new chapter began in late 2022 with the announcement of its participation in the 2023 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, complemented by its inclusion in the GT2 European Series, as part of the strategy developed to bring the Trident back on track.

to-date knowledge instead of mere physical strength.

To become better at her job, Perla got herself enrolled in a mechanical engineering program at the Lebanese International University.

Modern automobiles are equipped with more and more advanced electronic devices, said the young lady, adding that mechanics need to keep up with the latest trends in the field.

take advantage of car owners and force them to buy new spare parts at times of financial difficulties,” she said.

The female mechanic also noted that more women visit her car workshop as they feel reassured when dealing with her.

“I feel women are reassured when coming to my garage because they see the great respect I show them and the responsibility with which I work with cars,” Perla said.

While working as a female mechanic isn’t easy as the profession is overwhelmingly male-dominated, Perla believes the car repair business could be an excellent opportunity for unemployed young women seeking work amid the current crisis.

“I hope my success can motivate more girls to choose ‘unconventional’ professions,” she said, smiling proudly in her blue work uniform that has been stained with oil and grease.

Conceived and designed by Maserati engineering in tandem with the Centro Stile Maserati, to ensure the aesthetic quality standards typical of Maserati GT2 inherits the extraordinary 463kW/630CV Nettuno V6 engine from the Maserati MC20, taking it to a higher level.

splitter and rear wing (adjustable); it has quick-release removable bodywork for optimized component replacement; the chassis features high torsional and bending stiffness.

The power steering is full-electric. All suspension components of the car are specific racing components – there will be adjustable shock absorbers and adjustable anti roll bars in both the front and rear. Likewise, electronics.

The 6-speed sequential racing gearbox and steering wheel paddle shift with electrical rotary gearshift actuator evoke adrenaline-fuelled emotions.

The carbon fiber dashboard and the 10” display integrated into the dashboard result in a futuristic, intuitive cabin, complemented in the bodywork by the Maserati Corse-specific painting and livery option (Blu Infinito).

A gem of mechanics and engineering, the spearhead of innovative technical solutions, with futuristic, minimalist and sculptural interiors referring to the extreme lines of the body, the Maserati GT2 is dedicated to the racing teams and gentleman drivers due to take part in the GT2 Championships.

The Trident single-seater with covered wheels is the result of a winning synergy between Maserati men and women and the avant-garde design and style that has always distinguished the creations of the Italian brand, complemented by its unmistakable flair of luxury, even when the road becomes a track. The fierce GT2 is therefore getting ready to explore new horizons, to consolidate and define Maserati’s racing future in the world of motorsport.

Andrea Bertolini, Maserati test driver, commented:

“Training courses are essential in light of the rapid and complex updates that international car manufacturers introduce to their new and advanced productions,” she said.

Another factor that contributes to her success on the job is her honesty.

Perla stated that she has always tried to repair cars at the lowest possible cost and has never attempted to make more money by deceiving her customers and manipulating them into agreeing to more expensive options.

“It bothers me to see widespread fraud in this profession as some garages

Catch the Lexus LF-30 concept car at Mitsukoshi BGC

LEXUS at Mitsukoshi is the luxury car brand’s space dedicated to the brand’s electrified vehicles in Mitsukoshi BGC. This new Lexus hub, located within the premium Japanese department store, embodies the brand’s commitment to ‘omoteneshi’—or unique Japanese hospitality. The space— which has been crafted to express Filipino artistry through native materials and modern interior design—also represents a combination of the best that the Philippines and Japan offer.

Because Lexus at Mitsukoshi is also the home of Lexus Electrified vehicles, it is here where the brand’s heritage, sensibilities, and future design inspirations will be showcased.

It is in this setting that the renowned LF-30 Concept will be on display for a limited time.

The future is predicted by concept cars. They take the form of bold and brave design ideas and propel the imagination into the future and expand a brand’s horizons—often through unexpected means and with a creative energy that makes the seemingly impossible possible. Mobility is the inspiration, and Lexus remains committed to producing cars that tackle the needs of today—while exploring the future of the Lexus brand.

The LF-30 is a distilled version of Lexus’s DNA of craftsmanship and cuttingedge technology. This concept model also

commemorated 30 years of Lexus. When it was first unveiled at the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show, it proudly demonstrated the future of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) with new technologies and features—many of which are already available in the current crop of Lexus electrified vehicles today. Its styling displayed the advanced image expected of a battery electric vehicle, yet with artistic qualities that result in a futuristic form.

The LF-30 showcases features like Advanced Posture control, which offers complete independent control of the front and rear drive wheels and allows appropriate provision of front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive, and allwheel drive, depending on the driving situation; a Steer-by-Wire System, which eliminates a mechanical connection to allow more flexible turning control and more precise steering feel aligned with the driver’s intention (and also contributes to a greater sense of openness as the steering controller can be shifted forward and out of the way during

While women in Lebanon comprised 52.6 percent of the working-age population, less than 30 percent have been actively engaged in the labor market, according to a study released by the United Nations Development Programme in 2021.

The study added that gender stereotyping still influences women’s choices regarding their professions, as nine out of 10 women are employed in the services sector, while women’s work in manufacturing and agriculture is still minimal.

Lebanon has been suffering from the worst financial crisis in its history, leading to the collapse of the local currency and a rise in the unemployment rate to exceed 82 percent. Xinhua News

The most appealing technical specifications include the all-new patented MTC (Maserati Twin Combustion) technology based on F1 engines, the ultra-light carbon fiber central monocoque – an excellent solution to have a good weight-power ratio – and the lightweight full composite bodywork, where the aerodynamic features are exploited to the limit to improve the vertical load but at the same time ensuring the best efficiency in terms of drag. Much attention has been given to the development of the correct balance of the aerodynamic load, whereas the bottom has been developed specifically to work best in synergy with the front

“The first few days are always quite unique, even more so for me when I was fortunate enough to bring Maserati to success at the GT1 World Championships, where I won four titles. We are now about to get back on track with yet another wonderful car. We’ve done lots of trial runs and early feedback is positive. Getting back behind the wheel of a GT was really exciting, and I could see everyone involved was very enthusiastic and motivated. We’ve focused on developing a product that not only stands up to its competitors but is also an ideal car for our gentleman drivers in terms of handling, comfort and performance. We want them to experience a unique feeling in this car. In the last few months, we’ve been working intensively in the simulator, courtesy of the commitment of a fantastic team. I’d like to thank them, and the most positive aspect is that to follow these first few days, we’re making it all a reality to the very greatest extent. We have an intense series of test days ahead of us, to get us ready to get back on track.”

GrabShare continues expansion in Metro Manila

GRAB Philippines officially brings GrabShare to more cities in Metro Manila. The carpooling service — which had its pilot run in Makati, BGC, Manila and select areas in Ortigas in 2022—is now also available in Mandaluyong, Pasig, San Juan, Pateros, and select areas in Paranaque and Quezon City.

GrabShare makes the same convenience and reliability of GrabCar more accessible and affordable for the Filipino commuter. With GrabShare, passengers can enjoy as much as 30 percent lower fares on Grab. The service’s passenger-matching feature was also further optimized to ensure that the party is headed in the same direction to avoid surprise detours, hence improving overall shared-ride duration.

autonomous driving); Wireless Charging, which offers an even more convenient way of charging a BEV; the use of sustainable materials; and the “Tazuna” cockpit, Lexus’s fundamental humancentered philosophy for the interior which employs next-generation interfaces, such as gesture control and enhanced presentation of vehicle information through AR (augmented reality).

The arrival of the LF-30 is indeed a special event, and Lexus would like to invite everyone to see why this concept vehicle has turned heads, quickened heartbeats, and served as a catalyst for the Lexus electrified lineup. The “Lexus Electrified” vision targets a fundamental leap in vehicle performance, handling, control, and driver enjoyment—even as mobility within our society continues to change with autonomous driving and vehicle electrification.

Visit Lexus Mitsukoshi from March 10 to April 29 for a glimpse of the future of BEVs, and a preview of what is in store from Lexus Philippines.

Grab Philippines Senior Director for

Strategy and Operations Ronald Roda shares:

“Every Filipino deserves unfettered access to safe, reliable, and more affordable means of transportation, and we are fully committed to help make that a reality for everyone. We are optimistic that as we expand GrabShare’s service areas to more cities in Metro Manila, we are staying true to our commitment – continuing to play an active role in providing a better mobility experience for everyone.”

The leading super app is also working on bringing GrabShare to cities outside of Metro Manila. With the growing availability of the service, Grab Philippines reminds its passengers to continue practicing health and safety protocols while on the road. This includes the wearing of face masks and regular hand sanitation.

“

I hope my success can motivate more girls to choose ‘unconventional’ professions ”

the brand, the Andrea Bertolini, Maserati

another wonderful car. We’ve done

SAP introduces SAP Datasphere to simplify customers’ data landscape

WALLDORF, Germany—SAP

SE (NYSE: SAP)

today announced key data innovations and partnerships that give customers access to mission-critical data, enabling faster time to insights and better business decision-making.

SAP announced SAP® Datasphere solution, the next generation of its data management portfolio, which give customers easy access to business-ready data across the data landscape.

SAP also introduced strategic partnerships with industry-leading data and AI companies—Collibra NV, Confluent Inc., Databricks Inc. and DataRobot Inc.—to enrich SAP Datasphere and allow organizations to create a unified data architecture that securely combines SAP software data and non-SAP data.

Until today, accessing and using data located in disparate systems and locations—across cloud providers, data vendors and on-premise systems—has been a complex challenge. Customers have had to extract data from original sources and export it to a central location, losing critical business context along the way and recapturing it only through ongoing, dedicated IT projects and manual effort. With today’s announcements, SAP Datasphere helps eliminate this hidden data tax, enabling customers to build a business data fabric architecture that quickly delivers meaningful data with business context and logic intact.

“With SAP customers generating 87% of total global commerce, SAP data is among a company’s most valuable business assets and is contained in the most important functions of an organization, from manufacturing to supply chains, finance, human resources and more,” said Juergen Mueller, Chief Technology Officer and member of the Executive Board of SAP SE. “We want to help our customers take the next step to

easily and confidently integrate SAP data with non-SAP data from third-party applications and platforms, unlocking entirely new insights and knowledge to bring digital transformation to another level.”

SAP Datasphere

Available today, SAP Datasphere is the next generation of the SAP Data Warehouse Cloud solution. It enables data professionals to deliver scalable access to mission-critical business data.

With a unified experience for data integration, data cataloging, semantic modeling, data warehousing, data federation and data virtualization, SAP Datasphere enables data professionals to help distribute mission-critical business data—with business context and logic preserved— across their organization’s data landscape.

SAP Datasphere is built on SAP Busi-

Yokohama hosts World Pokémon Championships

IN celebration of Pokémon Day, the Pokémon Company is pleased to present an overview of all the latest Pokémon news announced at Pokémon Presents on Feb. 27, 2023.

The 2023 Pokémon World Championships will take place at the Pacifico Yokohama from Aug. 11 to 13. Participants will battle in the Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet video games, the Pokémon Trading Card Game, Pokémon GO, and Pokémon UNITE for the title of World Champion.

Pokémon Trading Card Game

This product was collaboratively developed by three parties: the design firm nendo, Creatures Inc., and The Pokémon Company. It’s a set of products featuring originally designed battling accessories and three preconstructed decks so the Pokémon TCG can be universally enjoyed. This product will be offered to players through lottery-based sales on Pokémon Center Online starting in the late February 2023.

Pokémon Trading Card Game Classic

The concept for Pokémon Trading Card Game Classic is TCG that can

be universally enjoyed at any time.

Merit

1: All items needed for battling have been redesigned from scratch.

Merit 2: You can play for a long time with unique regulations.

Sales plan

Pokémon Trading Card Game Classic will be released in four languages: Japanese, English, Korean, and Traditional Chinese. Their respective sales methods will differ, but in Japan, we plan to do lottery-based sales starting in late February.

Pokémon Unite

The Legendary Pokémon Zacian joined the fray on February 26, for the Pokémon Day!

Zacian is an All-Rounder that specializes in melee attacks. Zacian’s Unite Move, Sovereign Sword, consumes Aeos energy it’s carrying in order to unleash a powerful attack to a wider area. Players will be able to knock out multiple opponents at once or deliver a concentrated attack to a single target. Using the right attack for the right situation can give the player the upper hand in battle.

Announcing the Adventure in Zacian’s Weald event, in which players can get Zacian’s Unite license!

ness Technology Platform (SAP BTP), which includes strong enterprise security capabilities, such as database security, encryption and governance.

No additional steps or migrations are required for existing customers of SAP Data Warehouse Cloud, who will benefit from new SAP Datasphere functionality in their product environment.

New functionality includes data cataloging that automatically discovers, manages and governs data; simplified data replication to deliver data and its constant updates in real-time; and enhanced data modeling that preserves the rich business context of data in SAP applications.

Additional application integration capabilities that link data and metadata from cloud solutions from SAP to SAP Datasphere are planned.

Messer Americas, a leading industrial and medical gas company in North and South America, needed simple and secure access to data from SAP and non-SAP solutions within the company to strengthen data-driven decision-making and free up IT resources to focus on other strategic tasks. With SAP Datasphere, Messer Americas was able to build a modern data architecture that maintained the context of its enterprise data.

“SAP Datasphere simplifies our data landscape, giving us more confidence in the data we’re working with every day so we can better deliver on the needs of the business,” said David Johnston, Chief Information Officer, Messer Americas. “We are able to react faster to emergent changes in supply and demand, resulting in better inventory management, improved customer service and optimiza-

tion of our supply chain.”

Strategic Partnerships

SAP and its new open-data partners will help hundreds of millions of users across the world make informed business-critical decisions rooted in massive amounts of data. SAP’s strategic partners provide the unique strengths of their ecosystems and enable customers to combine all their data like never before.

“Everybody wants access to SAP data, so leveraging partnerships among tech suppliers is absolutely necessary for a comprehensive data strategy,” said Dan Vesset, group vice president of data and analytics market research, IDC. “Organizations today live in a world where a multi-cloud, multivendor and off- and on-premise data landscape is the norm. SAP is taking a new approach by partnering with a select group of leading partners, treating third-party data as a first-class citizen to better meet the needs of customers.”

Initial partners include:

Collibra plans to have a tailored integration with SAP, enabling customers to achieve an enterprise governance strategy by building a complete data catalog with lineage across their entire data landscape—both SAP and nonSAP data. Collibra makes trusted data discoverable across any organization.

Confluent plans to connect its data streaming platform, empowering companies to unlock valuable business data and connect it with external applications in real time. Confluent’s cloud-native offering is the foundational platform for data in motion—permitting the uninhibited flow of real-time data from various sources across an organization.

Databricks customers can integrate their Data Lakehouse with SAP software so data can be shared with semantics preserved, helping customers simplify their data landscape.

DataRobot enables customers to leverage multimodal automated machine learning capabilities on top of SAP Datasphere and bring it directly into their business data fabric on whichever cloud platform it resides.

For more information, visit the Announcement Blog. Follow SAP on Twitter at @SAPNews.

Global e-cigar brand RELX sets industry standards for quality

EXPERTS at RELX International, the leading electronic cigarette company, are seeing wider adoption of e-cigarettes among adult vapers and smokers as better alternative. The group underscored the importance of reliable vapor products and quality testing standards for consumers’ best interests. It is boosting its capability to ensure that it is providing its consumers with products that meet international quality and reliability standards.

“Quality is our key priority. Only products that meet our high-quality standards are delivered to retailers and customers,” said Di Yang, RELX International General Manager. The company maintains rigorous testing and quality standards that follow government standards in markets it operates and standards for e-cigarette products.

As part of its unrelenting focus on quality and the ‘Super Smooth’ brand promise, RELX has set up five laboratories in China over the course of five years to create the best products and vaping experience that set the bar for the quality, reliable and product experience for the industry. To meet global standards, all RELX’s products go through several stringent steps for quality control. At every stage of production and development, the process involves 58 inspection procedures, 18 rigorous quality control measures, and more than 200 tests to ensure consistency and reliability.

What’s in your e-liquid

RELX pays close attention to the high-value ingredients that make up its e-liquids. Other e-liquids in the market, particularly counterfeit ones and modified vaping devices, do not conform to regulated standards or list of ingredients that do not match contents on their packaging. Aside from quality, honesty and transparency are important to determine if a product is good or not.

To guarantee consumers’ safety, RELX has made use of ingredients from the food sector including vegetable glycerin and propylene glycol. Vegetable glycerin is commonly used in baking

ONWARD PH, opened its 6th store last Feb. 11 at the 3rd Floor Mindanao wing, Ayala Malls TriNomaThe new store offers audio, video, home entertainment, and smart automation.

It features a wide selection of highend products from well-known brands and a staff with a combined 40 years of experience to assist customers with their needs.

OnWard offers audio-video and home entertainment products from reputable brands, such as earbuds, headphones, portable speakers, and professional speakers from AKG, Avermedia, Infinity, Harman Kardon, Hue, JBL, JLab, Q Acoustics, Sennheiser, Sony, and Sennheiser. With OnWard’s smart automation devices such as Gryphon, SiMPNiC,

RELX pays close attention to the high-value ingredients that make up its e-liquids.

and is used in e-liquids to achieve a thicker consistency. Propylene glycol on the other hand, which is commonly used to make bread, is utilized to keep the e-liquid stable in different environments. Bioscience laboratory

RELX has also established an exclusive e-cigarette bioscience laboratory which aims to provide insights on the effects of e-cigarettes. The bioscience laboratory, located in Shenzhen, China, is conducting research on the evaluation and comprehensive impact of vapor products. The laboratory aims to provide global insights into the areas that require more long-term research such as the actual harm reduction elements of e-cigarettes and other potential effects of vaping.

OnWard PH now in Trinoma

Vimar, and Yale, it is easy to create a smart environment. Designed for anyone with an active lifestyle. With JBL Quantum headphones, you can experience hyper-accurate, immersive sound that displays every detail of your surroundings. The proprietary, cutting-edge software in JBL audio headsets makes you feel like you’re right in the middle of the action.

Designed with mobility and portability in mind, these portable speakers and headphones allow you to carry your music with you wherever you go. Enjoy high-quality sound anywhere, even when it’s as loud as you want it.

Get the most out of life with speakers that are designed for your active lifestyle.

Whether you’re at the gym or at the pool, these Bluetooth-enabled speakers will keep you connected to your favorite tracks, podcasts, and other audio content. Entertainment with your family & Friends.

Bring your family gatherings and time with friends to the next level!

With legendary JBL performance and JBL’s signature karaoke tuning, which gives you the best vocal and bass performance for your KTV experience, it can help you have more exciting and fun times with your family and friends.

Enjoy a cinematic experience at the comfort of your own home.

Home theater is one of the most important investments you can make. With OnWard’s extensive selection

of home speakers, you can transform your living room into a cinematic experience that’s sure to impress.

OnWard is the ideal forward-thinking solution for all your audio, video, and home automation needs, as it offers the most advanced audio and video systems and smart home solutions. Whether you are wanting to enhance your home theater and audio system or increase your house’s security, it is worth dropping by the store since their well-trained product specialists will help you maximize your investment.

OnWard provides expert advice on which products will best meet your needs and budget. It is also offering installation services for all products, so that your purchased items will be set up correctly.

SAP announced SAP® Datasphere solution, the next generation of its data management portfolio, which give customers easy access to business-ready data across the data landscape.

Shown here are (from left) Mussolini Saluta (Harman International Singapore PTE LTD.-Philippine Rep. O ce), Gina Delgado (OnWard), Leila (Metrobank), Jenny Sy (OnWard), Donna Aguilloso (Ayala Malls Trinoma), Ivan Lee (Sony Philippines, Inc.)