Seven Filipinos join Forbes’ list of ’30 Under 30’ Asian leaders

By Jenniffer B. Austria

SEVEN Filipinos were named among the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia Class of 2023, a list that features 300 of the most promising young entrepreneurs, leaders, and trailblazers from across Asia. Forbes Magazine said this year’s listees were able to transform various sectors including manufacturing, agriculture, and marketing by deploying artificial intelligence to streamline tasks, tackle financial literacy inclusion, and revamp craftsmanship-based and adaptive fashion.

“These outstanding young individuals are driven by their determination and desire for positive change,” Forbes Magazine said.

NEA exec says 100% power for Mindoro

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

NATIONAL Electrification Administration (NEA) Administrator Anthony Almeda said Occidental Mindoro, which had been suffering daily power outages lasting up to 20 hours, is no longer experiencing brownouts.

Almeda, during a Senate hearing, said that since April 28, the province has been “a hundred percent energized.”

Almeda said he asked the Occidental Mindoro Power Corporation (OMPC), the lone power supplier of the Occidental Mindoro Electric Cooperative, to run its 20-megawatt Samarica power plant sans a provisional authority.

“I saw that the plant is there, but it’s not being fired up because of an absence of a provisional authority from the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC),” he noted.

While OMPC owner Luis Manuel Banzon was initially “hesitant,” Almeda said Banzon later agreed after receiving the go-ahead from Department of Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla.

The NEA official said only two power plants in the OMPC have provisional authority from the ERC, and both only supply a total of 12 megawatts.

Senator Raffy Tulfo, who heads the Senate Energy Committee, during the hearing asked if this is a mere bandaid solution to the power crisis in Occidental Mindoro.

The Filipinos who made this year’s list include Aaron Villegas, the chief executive of Lista, a finance tracker app that helps individuals and small businesses in the Philippines manage their finances.

Founded in 2021, Lista claims to have over 1.6 million downloads. It also raised $5.8 million from various venture capital companies.

Expedock co-founders Rui Aguilan, King Alandy Dy, Jeff Tan, Jig Young were also honored in this year’s Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia.

Expedock is a fast-growing logistics tech company that uses artificial intelligence to automate key accounting workflows from data entry, auditing, and other financial reports.

Comelec spokesperson Rex Laudiangco said in an interview over DZBB. Individuals who are guilty of election offense may face six years imprisonment, a fine, perpetual disqualification from holding public office, and forfeiture of their right to suffrage and to run for public office, Laudianco said.

Earlier, the Comelec directed the constitution of Special Election Registration Boards (SERBs) to remove more than 400,000 double or multiple registrants which are identified through the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS).

The Comelec said it will soon file cases against those who were already caught having registered more than once. The process on which this action would be undertaken is currently being finalized at the En Banc level.

According to Comelec data, 91,912,429 voters are registered for the 2023 BSKE.

Meanwhile, Comelec said it has approved internet voting for overseas voters in the 2025 national and local elections (NLE).

“Internet voting is intended to achieve higher overseas voter turnout,” the poll body said.