WITH artificial intelligence tools threatening to replace Filipino workers in jobs and disrupting workplace, the Department of Information and Communication Technology said Thursday it is preparing for the potential effects of AI development.
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday unveiled a six-year plan to elevate the country’s export game to compete more effectively with its neighbors.
"The best are here in Asia. They are our competitors," President Marcos told reporters following the launch of the Philippine Export Development Plan in Taguig City.
"That is why we have to bring up our… export game a little bit and support our exporters so that they can compete in foreign markets. And that they are able to be not only suppliers but also industrial consumers of the products that are around the world,” he added.
In his speech during the event, Marcos stressed that the Philippines has been falling behind its ASEAN neighbors when it comes to trade.
"We still have to grapple with critical issues, such as a comparatively less-diversified export portfolio and trade barriers and fric-
tions," he said.
"I came across a rather eye-opening statistic... that 40 percent of all our exports are only one product. So the level of diversification is something that we have to look at and we have to improve in the coming years," Marcos said.
Despite this, the President said he was confident that the industry was headed for a bright future, with $49 billion worth of revenues still untapped.
Aside from the PEDP, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) would help the Philippines to boost its exports, Marcos said.
The RCEP, a free trade agreement among 15 countries, including the Philippines and its nine
FINANCE Secretary Benjamin Diokno on Thursday encouraged the Singaporebased business community to invest in the Philippines, including the upcoming Maharlika Investment Fund, and take part in the country’s high-growth momentum.
Diokno said during the Philippine Economic Briefing (PEB) in Singapore the opening up of some sectors for 100-percent foreign ownership could be an incentive for investors to invest in the Philippines.
“The private sector is welcome to invest in 194 infrastructure projects. If you want to come in, you can invest in those projects. You can also invest in the Maharlika Investment Fund,” Diokno said.
Diokno said learning from some of the strongest economies in the world,
ALBAY is considering permanently relocating residents who lie within the sixkilometer radius of Mayon Volcano’s permanent danger zone, Gov. Edcel Greco Lagman said Thursday.
“This perennial problem has to stop,” Lagman said in Filipino during a televised
briefing. “We experience this every three or four years. Permanent resettlement is really necessary. Let's move the residents to places beyond the danger zone.”
Lagman said, however, that a law needs to be enacted so that the government may legally relocate families living within the PDZ.
Despite government reminders that entry into Mayon’s PDZ is not allowed,
SRI LANKAN military doctors have removed what is now recorded as the world's largest kidney stone from a 62-year-old retired soldier, the army said Wednesday.
The stone removed from ex-sergeant Canistus Coonge weighed 801 grams, more than five times the weight of an average male kidney, the army said.
Coonge's kidney stone measured 13.37 centimeters (5.26 inches) long, compared to an average kidney which
DICT Secretary Ivan John Uy believes this can be addressed by teaching and training Filipinos to work with AI so they can adapt.
"People ask me, 'Will AI replace a person in his job?' The way I see it, no.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., in his speech during the International Trade Forum on Thursday, June 15, 2023, says dynamic innovation will be at the heart of the transformation and growth of the exports industry. Joey Razon
By Charles DantesOVER 22,000 cops will be deployed for the upcoming State of the Nation Address of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in July, the Philippine National Police said Thursday.
Maj. Gen. Edgar Alan Okubo, PNP National Capital Region Police Office Director, has been assigned to lead Task Force SONA to secure the event. Okubo said the deployment of personnel will be distributed to all possible routes Mr. Marcos may traverse going to the Batasang Pambansa Complex in Quezon City, and areas where rallies are expected.
A MAGNITUDE 6.3 earthquake hit Calatagan town in Batangas on Thursday morning with the tremor felt across Luzon, including Metro Manila, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said.
Although no major damage was reported from the quake as of press time, the temblor shook parts of the National Capital Region, including major transport systems, sending people streaming out of buildings weeks after the most recent national earthquake drill.
The runway at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport was closed for inspection, temporarily halting its operations, along with other airports and the railways crisscrossing the big city.
In a statement, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines said the building and equipment at San Jose Airport in Mindoro, across the sea from Batangas, did not sustain major damage.
The cracks found in two stations of
FEELING THE EARTH MOVE. Students and faculty members can be seen evacuating from Araullo High School along UN Avenue in Manila following a magnitude 6.3 earthquake that rocked Calatagan, Batangas, with tremors felt across the capital. Norman Cruz
THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources seeks to employ waste pickers from the informal sector and integrate them into an expanded producer responsibility (EPR) system for plastic packaging waste.
To ensure that no one is left behind as the country transitions toward a circular economy, DENR Secretary Antonia Loyzaga cited the need for a more holistic integration of the informal sector to the EPR system.
The informal waste sector in the Philippines include waste pickers at dumps
and communal waste collection points. The DENR chief cited the significant role of the sector in waste collection and management, and the potential contribution it could bring being the “backbone of the currently limited collection services and partly of recycling” in the country.
PNP to deploy 22,000 cops for SONA in July
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. intends to attend the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Dubai.
The United Arab Emirates government already invited Mr. Marcos to attend the conference that will take place at Expo City in Dubai from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12. The invitation was extended to the President when UAE Ambassador Mohamed Obaid Salem Alqataam Al-Zaabi paid him a courtesy visit at Malacañan
From A1 fellow member-states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), came into force on June 2. Free trade agreements between the Philippines and South Korea, the European Union, and the United States were also in the works, Marcos said.
“The reason we are doing this is we want to open markets so that the Philippines will be able to export to and import from. So it’s not one way, it’s straight,” President Marcos said.
“And that is the most important thing. But what we have to do is to allow ourselves the restructuring of some of the
From A1
including Singapore, the Philippines is now training its eyes on longer-term investments for the Filipino people.
“Just two weeks ago, the Philippine Congress approved the Maharlika Investment Fund bill creating the country’s first sovereign wealth fund. The Maharlika Investment Fund is designed to advance the Philippines’ long-term development goals through the effective inter-generational management of our government financial assets. This will be an important addition to our existing funding mechanisms, with the aim of promoting socio-economic development through investments in strategic, high-return, high-impact sectors, including infrastructure,” he said.
“We look forward to its enactment in the coming weeks and we are eager to explore co-financing opportunities with foreign investors, multilateral institutions and other sovereign wealth funds around the world,” Diokno said.
President Marcos has yet to sign the bill into law, which will also need its implementing rules and regulations.
Other members of the economic team that attended the briefing were Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman and National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio Balisacan.
“We invite you to become our partners… Now is the time to invest in the Philippines,” Pangandaman said in the panel discussion right after the economic briefing.
The economic team cited the compelling factors why foreign investors should consider the Philippines as an ideal investment destination.
They mentioned the structural reforms implemented in previous and present administrations, strong macroeconomic fundamentals that remained solid even during
From A1
the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) following the earthquake are “no cause for alarm,” the Department of Transportation said in a statement.
Phivolcs director Teresito Bacolcol said the earthquake possibly came from Manila Trench due to the depth of its tectonic origin. The agency did not issue any tsunami warning following the quake.
Meanwhile, Calatagan Mayor Peter Palacio said no significant damages were observed in their town, but tasked municipal engineers to check the town hall and other structures.
Classes in some schools in the town were suspended, but government offices remained open to the public, according to Palacio, who warned residents of Calatagan to watch out for aftershocks.
The US Geological Survey said the earthquake struck at a depth of 112 kilometres (77 miles) at around 10:00 am (0200 GMT) in waters off Calatagan town, about three hours' drive from the capital Manila.
The quake was caused by the movement of the Manila Trench, a major earthquake generator located offshore west of Luzon island, which is roughly parallel to the Philippine archipelago and is running
PNP...
From A1
“We have committed almost 22,000 personnel for that deployment, where rallies will be held, and likewise of course
Palace in Manila on Tuesday.
“The ambassador came to see me beforehand, the day before and we were talking about precisely COP 28, I hope to be able to attend because climate change is a primordial issue when it comes to the Philippines. I hope that we’ll be able to attend,” Mr. Marcos told reporters Thursday on the sidelines of the International
elements that are within the law, that are within the rules so that we can compete on an even basis,” he added.
Under the PEDP, the Philippines aims to become a leading exporter in electronics, information technology and business process management, minerals, agricultural and agri-based products, transport products, wearables, fashion accessories, and travel goods, chemicals, and home furnishings by 2028.
The following industries would also be developed with an eye toward exports: industrial, manufacturing, and transport; technology, media, and telecommunications; health and life sciences.
"It has become clearer to us what the evolving export landscape looks like now. Our role in the global marketplace is be-
the pandemic, the strong external position, a stable banking system, an easing inflation rate, sustained remittances from overseas Filipino workers that is one of the drivers of robust consumer spending, improving labor markets, and the young and talented Filipino workforce that could be the pillars of economic growth in the years to come.
Balisacan said the Philippine economy could even surpass its growth potential of around 6 percent annually. Just last year, gross domestic product (GDP) grew by a 46-year high of 7.6 percent, over the target range of 6.5 to 7.5 percent.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Dputy
Governor Francisco Dakila Jr. said the financial sector is one area that might interest foreign investors, especially after the liberalization of the banking industry a few years ago.
“At the start of the pandemic, there was a survey about the outlook on non-performing loans [in the Philippines]. Those surveyed saw it rising to about 8 percent due to the pandemic but that did not happen. NPL now is at 3.5 percent… Banks are very well capitalized and because of this, the Philippine financial sector is very attractive [to investors],” Dakila said.
The economic managers, however, acknowledged the persistent presence of risks that could stifle the further growth of the economy. These include elevated inflation, the El Nino phenomenon, slower global growth, as well as geopolitical tensions, especially the continuous war between Russia and Ukraine that has been affecting prices of global commodities.
This year, the government projected a 6 to 7 percent growth in GDP, anchored on robust and strong domestic demand.
Meanwhile, NEDA assured investors that the Philippine government would continue to prioritize infrastructure development, while also maximizing the benefits of a large consumer base and demographic dividend.
Balisacan underscored the impor-
from Taiwan to Occidental Mindoro, Phivolcs said.
Intensity 4 was felt in Manila, Mandaluyong, Quezon and Valenzuela cities; Bulacan’s Malolos; Batangas’ Batangas City, Ibaan, Lemery, Nasugbu and Talisay; Cavite’s cities of Dasmariñas and Tagaytay, and Rizal’s Tanay.
Intensity 3 was experienced in Pateros, the cities of Las Piñas, Makati, Marikina, Parañaque and Pasig; Bulacan’s Obando; Batangas’ Laurel; Cavite’s cities of Bacoor and Imus; Laguna’s cities of San Pablo and San Pedro, and Rizal’s San Mateo.
Caloocan, San Juan and Muntinlupa; La Union’s San Fernando City; Pangasinan’s Alaminos City and Bolinao; Bulacan’s Santa Maria, and Tarlac’s Bamban had intensity 2, while Bulacan’s San Jose del Monte City only felt intensity 1.
Calatagan police chief Emil Mendoza said he and his staff rushed outside following the tremor.
"It was a bit strong. We had to run outside," Mendoza told Agence France-Presse.
While there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, disaster authorities had been deployed to assess the earthquake's impact, Mendoza said.
Charles Dantes, Rio N. Araja, Joel E. Zurbano, Macon Ramos-Araneta, and AFP (See full story online at manilastandard.net)
our (police) reserves natin will come from different districts if we lack people there,” said Okubo.
PNP Chief Gen. Benjamin Acorda said the force has monitored no possible threat to SONA 2023 at the moment. "As of now we have not received re-
Trade Forum at the Shangri-La The Fort in Taguig City. The President said a visit to UAE will strengthen the Philippines’ ties with the Gulf state, acknowledging that many Filipinos are residing and working in the host country.
“Beyond the Conference of Parties is that we also want to fortify our ties with the UAE,” he said.
“And they have been very welcoming. They have treated our people very well. They have protected them and they have allowed them to make a living in the United Arab Emirates. So, that’s something that we hope to continue and even
coming more apparent," the President said.
Marcos said that with the signing of the Philippine Export Development Plan, the country formally begins the enforcement of the key strategies "to nurture the growth of our local export industry for the next six years, to transform it into a strong and highly competitive pillar of our economy."
"It is correct that the DTI views our export industry as an economic linchpin,” he said, referring to the Department of Trade and Industry. “Indeed, this distinct sector holds together what could appear to be disparate components of our economy, but make them work in such wellcoordinated and efficient manner so as to achieve a higher and practical objective.”
tance of funding and investing in the 194 “Build-Better-More” infrastructure flagship projects of the Marcos administration. He further encouraged businessmen to become invaluable partners in achieving development goals.
“The private sector is the Philippines’ engine of growth and innovation, and tapping into its financial muscle, as well as technical and managerial capacities will ultimately result in better public services, lower consumer prices, and improved quality of life for all Filipinos,” said Balisacan,
The nation’s chief economist also said President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. recognizes the immense potential of engaging the private sector. Thus, he has instructed the economic managers to pursue publicprivate partnerships (PPPs) as a means of financing the development of critical infrastructure in the country.
“The President has given the directive to promote PPPs as a mode of financing these IFPs and other high-impact projects in physical, digital, and social infrastructure. These include investments for transport and road projects, property development, health, water and sanitation, ICT, solid waste management, energy, and tourism,” Balisacan said.
Furthermore, the Marcos administration has committed to sustaining annual spending on infrastructure at around 5 to 6 percent of GDP from 2023 to 2028. This is equivalent to approximately $20 billion to $40 billion per year. Many of these projects will focus on fundamental infrastructure that serves as a growth driver, enabling economic opportunities and job generation.
During the fourth meeting of the NEDA Board, the government approved 194 IFPs worth about $148 billion or P8.3 trillion. Most of these projects focus on enhancing physical and digital connectivity, as well as managing water resources. More than half of the projects will be funded through official development as-
From A1
is about 10 to 12 centimeters long.
"The removal of the world's largest and heaviest kidney stone through a major surgery occurred on June 1 at the Colombo Army Hospital," the military said in a statement.
Coonge told the local Swarnavahini TV that he had abdominal pain since 2020 and oral medication had not helped.
"I was told to undergo surgery after a recent scan," he said. "I feel normal now."
The Sri Lankan case surpassed the
From A1
progress further,” Mr. Marcos added UAE is home to over 700,000 Filipinos, with 450,000 of them based in Dubai.
This year’s COP is expected to host over 70,000 delegates, including heads of state and world leaders to build consensus and facilitate progress on climate action among 198 countries, the European Union, and thousands of non-government organizations, companies, youth groups and other stakeholders.
As host, the UAE is focused on providing practical and positive solutions that drive progress for climate and the economy, as well as relief and support to vulnerable communities.
The country’s economic managers are thoroughly studying the best practices of other nations that have been successful in their free trade agreements for their exports, the President said.
He said learning from the successes of other countries will also be key to staying competitive in global export and trade.
Earlier this month, Marcos approved the plan, which aims to capitalize on export growth opportunities.
Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual said the export plan is in line with the administration's Philippine Development Plan, which Marcos approved in December last year.
The Philippine Development Plan aims to strengthen the country's economic and social transformation from 2023 to 2028.
sistance (ODA), while 30 percent will be financed through PPPs.
Balisacan said these projects will enable the government to achieve its goal of addressing both short-term challenges and long-term constraints to job creation and poverty reduction. These projects are aligned with the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028, which underscored the importance of infrastructure in addressing the obstacles to business investment and the creation of high-quality jobs.
The NEDA chief encouraged the business sector to finance these projects by highlighting the advantages of investing in the Philippines, which has a vast consumer base of 110 million people.
Balisacan also noted that the country has been included in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, which is the world’s largest free trade agreement. This agreement enables businesses access to more sources of inputs, thereby promoting economic growth.
“The country is more open to business now than ever before, and we look forward to working with you to create a more prosperous, inclusive, and resilient Philippines,” he said.
The PEB in Singapore was jointly organized by the BSP’s Investor Relations Group (BSP-IRG), Department of Finance (DOF), DBS Bank, and the Investment & Capital Corporation of the Philippines (ICCP).
It was attended by around 110 foreign investors from business and financial communities, including business chambers and the media.
“Beyond question, Singapore holds a special place in the Philippines’ growth story. This year, we celebrate 54 years of diplomatic relations, an enduring partnership characterized by strong political, economic, cultural, and people-to-people ties,” Diokno said. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)
largest kidney deposit previously recorded of 620 grams from a patient in Pakistan in 2008, according to Guinness World Records.
Officials announced the finding on Wednesday after Guinness World Records recognized it.
"The most important thing for us is that the kidney is functioning normally despite this stone," army surgeon K. Sutharshan said.
Stones are deposits made when minerals and salts crystallise in the kidney as it filters the blood.
Passing the stones can cause excruciating pain, requiring surgery if they are too big and get stuck. AFP
“Collection and sorting facilities from the informal sector may be transformed into formal activities and establishments. These can be duly registered and supported by the EPR system,” she said.
“The informal sector can also be integrated as business partners, such as non-government organization-supported microenterprises, franchises of formal waste management companies, operating local collection centers, and forming cooperatives and collectives. This social inclusion can be improved to develop alternative livelihoods and diversified livelihoods for our informal community,” she added.
The EPR Act of 2022 or Republic Act 11898 serves as the environmental policy approach and practice that requires producers to be environmentally responsible throughout the life cycle of a product, especially its post-consumer or end-of-life stage.
ports about it [threats] but as we have been saying, expect the worst and hope for the best," Acorda said in an interview.
Intel gathering has been ongoing in connection with the President's address, the second under his term, the PNP chief said.
THE Senate Committees on Tourism and Public Services will begin a joint probe on complaints against budget carrier Cebu Pacific on Wednesday, June 21.
The committees will look into "overbooking, offloading and booking glitches," in particular.
"Affected travelers and customers complained that Cebu Pacific has not provided immediate assistance or support regarding their concerns despite seeking help from the airline's customer service hotlines and in person help desk," said Senate Tourism Committee chairperson Sen. Nancy Binay.
"Being offloaded without alternative flight options or compensation not only has a direct impact on someone’s travel plans, but it also reflects how airlines treat customers and tourists,” Binay added.
She said the investigation will include whether authorities are strictly implementing the Air Passenger Bill of Rights.
From A1 thousands of people have to be evacuated every time the volcano becomes restive. Lagman called on the affected residents to be open to the possibility of eventually resettling to a safer place so as to not cause inconvenience every time the Mayon Volcano’s activities intensify.
Nearly 18,000 residents have been displaced by Mayon Volcano's continuing unrest, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said on Thursday.
NDRRMC said in its latest report that the majority of the 17,941 displaced people are staying in different evacuation centers.
The number of people affected by Mayon's activities has risen to 37,682 but no injury or death has been reported to the authorities.
Families within the extended danger zone were moved to safer areas as the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said there is still a chance for Mayon to have an explosive eruption.
In Phivolcs latest advisory, 306 rockfall events and two volcanic earthquakes were recorded from June 14 to June 15, while three pyroclastic density current events were also observed.
The volcano released 193 tons of sulfur dioxide on Wednesday as a fair crater glow and "very slow" effusion of lava from the volcano's summit were observed.
Plumes 700 meters tall were seen drifting in a northwestward direction.
Hazards such as rockfalls, landslides, avalanches, ballistic fragments, lava flows and lava fountaining, pyroclastic density currents, moderate-sized explosions, and lahar during heavy and prolonged rainfall may still occur.
While exhibiting a "quiet and gentle" eruption, Mayon Volcano may still have an explosive one, Phivolcs director Dr. Teresito Bacolcol said. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)
From A1
AI will not replace the person. What will replace the person is another person who knows how to use AI," he said in an ABSCBN report.
"That's why it's critical that we, by understanding how AI works, should learn how to leverage it, how to use it in order to empower our workforce and our people," the DICT chief said.
He also urged the government to regulate AI as the technology "lacks humanity."
While some will eventually lose jobs to AI-powered tools, some jobless Pinoys may eventually be employed thanks to the technology, so Uy said it is important to train "our own people, re-skill them, retool them so that they become adept at utilizing AI as a tool rather than being enslaved by AI."
Artificial intelligence is changing the way things are being done, the secretary said.
"This disruptive technology will have a significant effect on our labor force, on our workforce, and we need to build up our digital work force on how they will have to work with AI in the future and in order to secure our current status," Uy said.
"We have [security] templates that we follow during SONA and definitely we are prepared for this, depending on the intelligence reports that will come in, if there are adjustments to be done," he added.
Acorda said police will observe maximum tolerance in dealing with protesters.
He said the AI revolution "is progressing at a much faster, much bigger scale than anyone ever anticipated or dreamed of. AI is emotionless, it does not adhere to morality or ethics, it's pure logic and intelligence, and that is a cause of concern."
"Without proper regulation by government, it could become dangerous, it could become destructive as it evolves. And it's evolving very very fast," Uy added.
SINGAPORE—A political and geoeconomics analyst on Thursday said here that robust consumption and investments will drive the Philippine economic growth.
Stratbase Group chief executive officer and Bower Group Asia’s managing director Prof. Victor Andres Manhit made the statement during the second Philippine economic briefing here, with the theme “Unfolding New Chapters in the Philippines’ Growth Story”.
Manhit joined Philippine economic managers in Singapore as the private sector representative and as a reactor in a panel discussion. Singapore is one of the Philippines’ top sources of foreign direct investments (FDIs).
In his speech, Manhit noted that in 2022, the Philippines was one of the fastest growing emerging markets with a gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of 7.6 percent. He said the country’s GDP was projected to reach $1 trillion by 2033.
“Philippines has a huge consumer base of over 110 million and a population that is young, skilled, and educated. Private consumption buoyed by sustained income growth due to government and private sector investments will be key growth drivers to the growing Philippine economy,” Manhit said.
“Like never before, the Philippines is more open to business as it harnesses greater productivity especially in the manufacturing and agro-industry sector. A fully developed manufacturing sector can provide a stable and resilient economy, given its multiplier effect in increasing productivity, creating jobs, providing income, and spurring consumption,” he added.
THE Supreme Court (SC) has suspended a South Cotabato Regional Trial Court (RTC) judge for two years without pay for issuing an order enjoining the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from implementing its cease and desist (CDO) order against the officers and agents of Kapa-Community Ministry International, Inc. (KAPA) that was allegedly involved in a P50billion Ponzi investment scheme.
In a decision written by Associate Justice Antonio Kho Jr., the SC’s Second Division adopted the findings of the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA) with
certain modifications which found RTC Oscar Noel Jr. of General Santos City in South Cotabato, Branch 135 guilty of gross ignorance of the law, in connection
with the case filed by KAPA seeking to enjoin SEC from implementing the CDO.
The SEC filed an administrative complaint for gross ignorance of the law against Noel who issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) and eventually a writ of preliminary injunction (WPI) in 2019 in favor of KAPA.
The SEC asserted that it is a co-equal body of RTC, thus, the latter cannot interfere with or overturn its ruling.
The SEC cited Section 179 of Republic Act 11232, otherwise known as the “Revised Corporation Code of the Philippines (RCCP) which provides that “no court below the Court of Appeals
THE Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has started distributing to local government units the initial batch of hand-held devices to be used for the implementation of the single ticketing system (STS).
MMDA chairman Romando Artes said the initial issuance of the ticketing gadgets have already been delivered
and customized for use by five local government units (LGUs), namely the cities of San Juan, Quezon, Valenzuela, Parañaque, and Caloocan.
“There will be a soft launch on the first or second week of July. We will also invite the supplier as we want to address the possible flaws or glitches in the implementation of the STS,” Artes said during a press briefing at the MMDA head office in Pasig City
OPERATIVES of the Philippine National Police’s (PNP)
Anti-Cybercrime Group ( ACG) have arrested in San Jose del Monte City in Bulacan a Taiwanese and his two Filipino accomplices for allegedly selling some 7,000 previously registered subscriber identification module (SIM) cards.
The suspects were identified as Cheng Tsung Huang (alias “Rodney Serrano”), Rosemarie de Juan and Rodolfo de Juan Jr.
The ACG agents seized from the suspects 13 mobile phones, three iPad tablet units, 6,976 assorted SIM cards, and dubious documents.
ACG spokesperson Capt. Michelle Sabino said the raid was launched following intelligence information on the suspects’ activities which she said have been ongoing since August last year before the enactment of the SIM Card Registration Act.
Sabino asserted that the suspects were selling the pre-registered SIM cards to scammers who would then use them to carry out fraudulent activities.
“They buy SIM cards at P400, those that are registered, and verified digital wallets such as (virtual wallet) GCash. It can be used in a lot of scams like investment scams,” Sabino explained.
The ACG said registered SIM cards were mostly bought in the provinces.
on Thursday. The machines could print citation tickets, validate and authenticate driver’s licenses and vehicle registrations, check if the driver has incurred demerit points or if his/her license or the vehicle registration is suspended, canceled, or has an existing alarm, accept cashless payments of fines, among others.
This development on the STS was
PRIVATE sector employees in Navotas City are now be required to undergo annual drug tests as mandated by a newly enacted ordinance meant to create drug-free workplaces in the city.
The Navotas City council passed Ordinance No. 2023-23 requiring select businesses in Navotas to maintain
a safe and healthy environment, free from dangerous drugs.
Covered by the new city law were KTV bars, night clubs, super clubs, spa, massage parlors, disco houses, bars, and restaurants, as well as other business with five or more workers.
“We will continue to exert all efforts to keep both residents and workers in Navotas safe from the menace of illegal drugs” Mayor John Rey
Tiangco said. Under the ordinance, business establishments must increase awareness and education of their employees and clients about the effects of illegal substance. Business owners and employers must also require their officers and employees to undergo random drug testing and ensure that no prohibited drugs are brought or used in their workplace.
By Orlan Mauricio
BOCAUE, Bulacan—A stockpile of fireworks and pyrotechnics chemicals exploded early dawn Thursday in Barangay Bundukan here injuring 19 people and damaging residential houses within a 100-meter radius. The blast was so powerful that it
awakened residents in the nearby towns of Sta.Maria and Marilao.
Former Manila Standard proof-reader Ramon Lazaro, who resides at the Bocaue Poblacion, said they were about three barangays away from the epicenter of the blast and heard the “atomiclike” explosion. The blast caused a massive fire in the
residential area, and was put under control three hours later.
Bocaue municipal disaster risk reduction management officer Rodante Galvez said no casualties were reported in the conflagration, but four persons were taken to the Villanueva Hospital in Bocaue for medical treatments due to the wounds from the explosion.
shall have jurisdiction to issue a restraining order, preliminary injunction, or preliminary mandatory injunction in any case, dispute, or controversy that directly or indirectly interferes with the exercise of the powers, duties and responsibilities of the Commission that falls exclusively within its jurisdiction. Invoking the proviso, the SEC assailed the judge’s issuance of a TRO and WPI against the CDO, saying it constituted gross ignorance of the law. For his part, Judge Noel maintained that the charges against him were baseless and that SEC has itself to blame for its failure to defend its position before the court.
Metropolitan Manila Development Authority chairman Romando Artes and San Juan City Mayor and concurrent Metro Manila Counci president Francis Zamora discuss the final stages of the single ticketing system set for implementation in the National Capital Region starting July. The MMDA has released the first batch of hand-held devices for the initial execution of the program. (See related story) Manny Palmero
one of the topics discussed during the Metro Manila Council (MMC) meeting, also on Thursday. The MMC, composed of the 17 NCR mayor, is the governing board and policy-making body of the MMDA.
Present during the meeting were San Juan Mayor and MMC president Francis Zamora, Pasay Mayor Emi Calixto-Rubiano, and Malabon Mayor Jeannie Sandoval.
By Rio N. Araja
QUEZON City becomes the first local government unit to explore an innovative 15-minute city concept in building a livable, green, and sustainable community for Qcitizens.
“When we went to Paris (France) for the Plastic Treaty Forum, we were amazed by their 15-minute city sites as all the basic services for the people are within their reach. We want to replicate this setup here in Quezon City to make urban development people-centered and to further improve the quality of life of every QCitizen,» Mayor Joy Belmonte said.
The 15-minute city introduced by Sorbonne University professor Carlos Moreno is an urban model that ensures all essential services, such as healthcare, job opportunities, parks and open spaces, and education, are accessible to residents within a short walk or bike ride from their houses, Belmonte said.
It decentralizes the traditional city life services and brings them down to communities, thus boosting the local economy, cutting down car emissions, promoting urban biodiversity and inclusivity, and providing people with easy access to healthy food options and quality green spaces, she added.
EXPENSES for the board review of eligible nursing graduates will be shouldered by a private person or entity if they will work in a government hospital before going abroad, Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa disclosed on Thursday.
Once they pass the board exam, the licensed nurses have to sign a four-year return service agreement stipulating that they will serve government hospitals before they can go abroad, Herbosa said.
The DOH chief did not identify the source of the offer except to say it was a “private sector who approached him about the offer to help nursing graduates in their board review.
“The private sector approached me and told me they will give scholarships to nurses who did not pass the board exam if they are hired in that position,”
Herbosa said.
He said the bid jibed with the DOH’s plan to allow unlicensed nursing graduates to work in the government.
However, it is required that these nursing graduates should pass the board exam after a certain period of time.
Herbosa stressed that not all nursing graduates could afford the P25,000 tuition in review centers.
“How can a nursing graduate without a job afford to pay for a board review.
So how can the pass?” he noted.
“If I let them work as a nurse, not only will they help fill in the vacant position, but they will also surely pass the board exam in one or two tries,” the Secretary added.
To date, there are 4,500 vacant plantilla items for nurses in over 70 DOH hospitals. Macon Ramos-Araneta
CAMARINES Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte has proposed the pilot testing in a select group of provinces, cities, and towns full devolution of certain powers to local governments instead of implementing it nationwide all at once.
President Marcos earlier ordered certain government agencies to review the mechanics and implementation of the MandanasGarcia ruling before he issues an Executive Order to implement further devolution in compliance with the Supreme Court (SC) decision that mandates a bigger national revenue share for local governments.
The SC issued the landmark Mandanas-Garcia ruling in 2018.
PHILIPPINE Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez on Thursday said there is still no green light from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to grant the request made by US government to let Afghan nationals stay in the Philippines while waiting for their Special Immigrant Visa from the US.
Mr. Marcos’ approval will be anchored on the assessment of pros and cons by concerned agencies, including the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the national security cluster, Romualdez added.
Romualdez said Washington made the request in October last year.
However, the Filipino diplomat stressed that until now, there is still no decision from Malacanang, which proves that the government is taking a thorough process before approving it.
“In November, when Vice President Kamala Harris went to the Philippines... the vice president actually asked the President if he had received their request. And I think the President said yes, and I think something to the effect that the President said that he would look into it,” Romualdez said, in an interview with CNN Philippines.
According to him, this only indicates that the government is not making any haste decision.
Romualdez also said US request was merely a request and not a demand. It was not also a secret, contrary to some claims that are trying to “mislead the people,” he added.
In a proposal sent to Malacanang, Villafuerte said, “Implementing further devolution initially in pilot provinces, cities, and municipalities, rather than doing it in one fell swoop, will help the Palace get a clearer picture of how this plan would actually work—and where it wouldn’t—across the country before carrying it out on a nationwide scale.”
“Pilot-testing it, in support of the
SC’s Mandanas-Garcia ruling, would enable the national government to see how further devolution could—and would—be beneficial to everyone, given President Marcos’s own view that a one-size-fits-all approach to decentralization wouldn’t work,” Villafuerte said.
He added that pilot-testing the further devolution plan would help the national government “avoid the pitfalls that had mired the decentralization of agriculture and health functions to local governments in 1992, in keeping with the autonomy provisions of the Local Government Code of 1991.”
“For the government to guarantee the seamless full devolution of certain powers to local governments on the
watch of President Marcos we need to steer clear of the omissions in the implementation of the LGC of 1991 that messed up the transition to greater political and fiscal autonomy for local governments,” Villafuerte said.
“And the national government could do this by first implementing further devolution on a pilot basis in selected localities,” he said.
Villafuerte lauded the plan of Mr. Marcos to issue an EO by December 2023 calling for even greater local autonomy, which the President aspires to remain true to the spirit and intent of the SC’s Mandanas-Garcia ruling on the higher local government share of national tax collections.
DEPARTMENT of Health (DOH)
Secretary Teodoro J. Herbosa has urged medical professionals to detect more cases of tuberculosis (TB) following a “marching order” from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to reduce the number of TB cases in the country.
Herbosa also assured medical professionals that they will be provided with the necessary logistical support.
The new DOH chief visited the TB DOTS facility in Koronadal City on Thursday and was accompanied by Field Implementation and Coordination Team (FICT) - Mindanao Undersecretary Abdullah Dumama, Jr.; DOH CHD SOCCSKSARGEN
Regional Director Aristedes Tan; South Cotabato 2nd District Representative Cong. Peter Miguel; Koranadal City Mayor Eliordo Ogena; and other local officials.
During the visit, Herbosa stated that as a clinician and a health professional, he understands the difficulty of reducing tuberculosis cases.
He also recommended using telemedicine to treat cases in place of TB DOTS so that patients wouldn’t have to leave their homes.
Herbosa also called on health personnel to work with local authorities to follow up on patients who missed followup appointments or didn’t finish their medication because they would later develop multi-drug resistance.
Local government officials of Koronadal City gave the guarantee to Herbosa that they will further strengthen actions to reduce new cases.
CAGAYAN de Oro City Rep. Rufus
Rodriguez on Thursday urged the Senate to pass the Early Voting Bill once Congress opens its second regular session next month.
He made the appeal in reaction to the plan of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to pilot test early voting for vulnerable sectors for the Oct. 30, 2023 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections.
“I suggest that our beloved senators make the approval of our House
Bill No. 7576 allowing early voting for senior citizens, persons with disability, pregnant women, and other vulnerable sector members their top priority shortly after we reconvene in July,” he said. He said the House led by Speaker Martin Romualdez is supporting the proposed law that would “provide voting convenience to members of our population who need it.”
“It is important that Congress approves the bill soon so it could be sent to the President for signing into law ahead of the October grassroots elec-
tions,” he said. He added that if the measure is enacted into law in early August, that would give the Comelec about three months to prepare for and conduct an information campaign on early voting.
Rodriguez pointed out that while he commends the Comelec for planning to pilot-test advance voting, it would be better if the poll body does it with a mandate from Congress to obviate any legal issues. The Comelec has not yet announced when it would conduct the pilot-test.
SENATOR Raffy Tulfo said his proposed amendment to include migrant workers’ right to have “access to relevant labor protection information” in the Draft Conclusions of the Committee on Labour Protection of the International Labor Organization (ILO) is gaining support from employers and workers’ groups.
He said his proposal will achieve universal and effective labor protection for all workers.
“This is in line with ILO’s advocacy in this 111th Conference which gets the support of Japan,” Tulfo said.
He defended his amendment before representatives of different countries and shared that said amendment is rooted in his personal experience in his program “Wanted
sa Radyo” wherein the relatives of seafarers who asked for help regarding their missing relatives complained that shipowners and authorities of the country investigating the case would not share vital information to them.
Tulfo said his proposal was passed after Japan and workers and employers groups gave it a thumbs up.
Likewise, Tulfo opposed the recom-
DEPUTY Speaker and Las Pinas
Rep. CamilleVillar said implementing a policy on bodyworn cameras could improve transparency and accountability expected of frontline law enforcement officers.
Villar, author of House Bill 8352, also cited “positive” reasons to push for the comprehensive use of body cameras and police dashcams as recorded footage would provide objective evidence of law enforcement actions, could be used as val-
uable evidence in investigations, and could hold officers accountable for their actions.
“This bill seeks to formalize a body-work camera and dash cam policy for all law enforcement officers with the authority to conduct searches and make arrests in order to promote transparency in law enforcement operations and pave the way for speedy investigations in cases of dispute,” Villar said.
“This policy will also prevent law enforcers from excessive use of force in the execution of their duties,” added the ranking House member.
By Nash B. Maulana
THE United States government announced new grants worth over P20 million ($370,000) for higher education institutions (HEIs) in the Philippines working on innovative programs to improve the lives of Filipino out-of-school youth.
A statement issued by the U.S. Embassy in Manila said the grant is administered through the U.S. Agency for International Development (US -
AID) Opportunity 2.0 Program
Under the USAID Opportunity 2.0 Program, the U.S. government provides two types of grants: the “O2 GAIN Grants,” and the O2-ASPIRE Grants. USAID Opportunity 2.0 Program is designed to address local development priorities for out-ofschool youth. On the other hand, 02-ASPIRE Grants will support partnerships between Philippine and U.S. HEIs on out-of-school youth advancement, the Embassy statement released in early June, said.
mended amendment by an employers’ group to remove limits on employees’ working hours.
Tulfo, Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Migrant Workers and Vice Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Labor, did not accept said group’s move to soften the policy on working hours and overtime by merely regulating it instead of providing clear limits and standards.
By Macon Ramos-AranetaSEN. Cynthia Villar urged the public to work together and support the country’s food and beverage industry. During the opening ceremony of the 17th Manila Food and Beverage Expo 2023 held at the World Trade Center in Pasay City, she also urged support for the agricultural sector to further promote local produce.
At present, she said the food and beverage industry has become highly diversified, covering a wide spectrum of manufacturing practices. This includes small-scale, traditional, family-run operations that are highly labor-intensive to large-scale, capital-intensive enterprises employing advanced mechanized industrial processes. “Numerous food industries rely on local agriculture, produce, or fishing, while others rely on imports to meet their production needs,” Villar, chairperson of the Senate agriculture and food committee, said.
The food system, she said, operates as a complex network interconnecting farmers with various industries.
ONE of the most common legal problems encountered in the Philippines is an error of entry in the birth certificate.
The errors can occur in the first name, middle name, surname, citizenship, sex of the person, birth month, birth year, or in the name of a parent.
Entries may also be canceled and corrected for: (a) marriage; (b) deaths; (c) judgments of annulment of marriage; (e) judgments for nullity of marriage; (f) legitimations; (g) adoptions; (h) acknowledgments of natural children; (i) naturalization; (j) election, loss or recovery of citizenship; or (k) judicial determination of filiation, among others (see Section 2, Rule 108, Rules of Court).
However, knowing what to correct, rectify, or cancel in an official government record is only the first step.
The person wanting to change or cancel the entry must know the proper legal remedy to avail (himself of) to avoid wasting his or her time and resources; this will also limit the unnecessary filing of actions in courts.
In 2001, Republic Act 9048 vested the civil registrar with primary jurisdiction over the correction of certain clerical or typographical errors and changes of first name.
Examples are: misspelled first name from Frank to Franco, change of first name from Michael to Michelle, or change from Kristoffersonfordham to Kristoffer because it is hard to pronounce.
More than a decade later, “Republic Act 10172 expanded the coverage of the summary administrative procedure provided under Republic Act 9048 to include clerical corrections in the day and/or month in the date of birth, or in the sex of the person, where it is patently clear that there was a clerical or typographical error or mistake in the entry” (Santos v. Republic, et al., G.R. 250520, May 5, 2021).
The Supreme Court, in the case of Bartolome v. Republic, summarized the rules:
The person wanting to change or cancel the entry must know the proper legal remedy to avail (himself of) to avoid wasting his or her time and resources; this will also limit the unnecessary filing of actions in courts
“1. A person seeking 1) to change his or her first name, 2) to correct clerical or typographical errors in the civil register, 3) to change/correct the day and/or month of his or her date of birth, and/or 4) to change/correct his or her sex, where it is patently clear that there was a clerical or typographical error or mistake, must first file a verified petition with the local civil registry office of the city or municipality where the record being sought to be corrected or changed is kept, in accordance with the administrative proceeding provided under R.A. 9048 in relation to R.A. 10172.
2. A person seeking 1) to change his or her surname or 2) to change both his or her first name and surname may file a petition for change of name under Rule 103, provided that the jurisprudential grounds discussed in Republic v. Hernandez are present.
3. A person seeking substantial cancellations or corrections of entries in the civil registry may file a petition for cancellation or correction of entries under Rule 108… [R]ule 108 now applies only to substantial changes and corrections in entries in the civil register” (G.R. 243288, August 28, 2019).
It must be underscored that a “person may only avail (himself) of the appropriate judicial remedies under Rule 103 or Rule 108 [in the entries referred to as number 1 above] after the petition in the administrative proceedings is filed and later denied” (G.R. 243288, August 28, 2019).
In the Bartolome case, Ruben Bartolome filed a petition for change of name under Rule 103 of the Rules of Court seeking to correct the name “Feliciano Bartholome” as appearing in his birth certificate to “Ruben [Cruz] Bartolome.”
He claimed he had been using the name “Ruben [Cruz] Bartolome” since his childhood. The issue to be resolved by the Supreme Court was “[w]hether the change/correction sought in petitioner’s first name, middle name, and surname, as appearing in his birth certificate, from ‘Feliciano Bartholome’ to ‘Ruben Cruz Bartolome’ should be filed under R.A. 9048, Rule 103, or Rule 108 of the Rules” (G.R. 243288,
By Melandrew T. VelascoTHE Philippines, being an archipelago, faces challenges in terms of connectivity – not only digital but also physical through infrastructure and transport.
Matching the growth of infrastructure is needed to maximize economic development.
In the past post-EDSA administrations, the infrastructure program had been carried out either through the regular infrastructure program, with government allocating budget to finance the infrastructure projects or through public-private partnership.
Public-private partnership enables private corporations to invest in and build projects where government does not have the financial capability and managerial expertise to undertake. These projects are built without cost to government.
During the term of President Rodrigo Duterte, the government embarked on a massive infrastructure program—Build, Build, Build— with many projects under the PPP.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. is continuing the program that his predecessor started. Under his Build, Better, More (BBM) program, more infrastructure projects will be undertaken in partnership with the private sector.
WITH the recent appointment of a new chief at the Department of Health, expectations are high it will now be able to institute the much-needed reforms in the health sector in the post-COVID-19 period.
August 28, 2019).
“In Republic v. Sali, the Court held that a change of therein respondent Lorena Omapas Sali’s first name from ‘Dorothy’ to ‘Lorena’ was primarily administrative in nature and should be filed under the procedure provided in R.A. 9048.
“Hence, the change of first name from ‘Feliciano’ to ‘Ruben’ should have been filed with the local civil registry pursuant to Republic Act 9048” (cited in G.R. 243288, August 28, 2019).
“In Republic v. Gallo, the Court unequivocally held that a prayer to enter a person’s middle name is a mere clerical error, which may be corrected by referring to existing records.”
Thus, Bartolome’s prayer that his middle name, ‘Cruz’ be entered, is a mere clerical correction and must be undertaken through the administrative proceeding provided under Republic Act 9048 (G.R. 243288, August 28, 2019).
“As regards petitioner’s (Bartolome) misspelled surname, it bears noting that in 1988 and prior to the enactment of R.A. 9048 as amended, the Court, in Labayo-Rowe v. Republic, held that a correction in the spelling of therein petitioner’s surname from “Labayo/Labayu” to “Labayo” was a mere clerical error that could be corrected through a summary proceeding under Rule 108” (G.R. 243288, August 28, 2019).
“In Labayo-Rowe, the Court defined clerical errors as ‘those harmless and innocuous changes such as the correction of names clearly misspelled, occupation of parents, errors that are visible to the eye or obvious to the understanding, errors made by a clerk or transcriber, or a mistake in copying or writing’” (G.R. 243288, August 28, 2019).
“It can be readily seen that this jurisprudential definition was expressly incorporated into R.A. 9048, which, as already discussed, expressly removed the correction of clerical or typographical errors from the ambit of Rule 108 of the Rules of Court…
“[T]he Court categorically holds that typographical or clerical errors in a person’s surname must likewise be corrected through the administrative proceeding…”(G.R. 243288, August 28, 2019).
“As herein petitioner’s allegedly misspelled surname, ‘Bartholome’ may be readily corrected by merely referring to the existing records of the civil registrar, such as the surnames of petitioner’s parents and immediate family members, the petition should have been filed under R.A. 9048 and not under Rule 103 of the Rules” (G.R. 243288, August 28, 2019).
“In sum, … if the prayer to administratively change petitioner’s first name is denied, the same may be brought under Rule 103 of the Rules of Court.
“If the prayers to administratively correct petitioner’s middle name and surname are denied, the same may be brought under Rule 108 of the Rules of Court” (G.R. 243288, August 28, 2019).
In the case of Santos v. Republic et al., Luigi Santos, son of Bong Revilla with another woman, “prays that he be allowed to change his surname from ‘Santos’ to ‘Revilla’ to ‘avoid confusion, x x x to show [his] sincere and genuine desire to associate himself to (sic) [Bong] Revilla[,] Jr. and to the Revillas, x x x to show that he accepts and embraces his true identity, and to show his true and genuine love to his biological father” (G.R. 250520, May 05, 2021). The Supreme Court held “that petitioner correctly availed himself of the remedy under Rule 103 to change his surname from “Santos” to “Revilla.”
Contrary to the findings of the CA, Rule 108 is inapplicable as petitioner does not allege or identify any erroneous entry that requires substantial rectification or cancellation” (G.R. 250520, May 05, 2021).
“In the instant case, it is apparent that petitioner does not seek to correct any clerical or substantial error in his birth certificate or to effect any changes in his status as an adopted child of Patrick Santos.
“As such, neither Rule 108 nor R.A. 9048 as amended applies… [t]hus, he properly availed himself of… Rule 103 since he ‘seeks to alter the designation by which he is known and called in the community’” (G.R. 250520, May 5, 2021).
While the legal procedure was correct, there is “no basis to allow petitioner to change his (surname) to ‘Revilla’ simply because he is, biologically, the son of Bong Revilla and wants to associate himself with the Revilla family.”
Besides, the “adoption [of Luigi Santos by Patrick Santos] severs all legal ties between the adoptee and his or her biological parents” (G.R. 250520, May 5, 2021).
It is evident “[t]he State has an interest in the names borne by individuals and entities for purposes of identification. A change of name is a privilege, not a right [and for this reason] [p]etitions for change of name are controlled by statutes” (Silverio v. Republic cited in G.R. 243288, August 28, 2019).
Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa faces a raft of challenges in his new post.
There’s the ‘brain drain’ in the health sector, with hospitals experiencing an acute shortage of nurses in recent years as many of them would rather seek greener pastures in the four corners of the world to feed their families.
Can we blame our nurses from leaving the country to work abroad where they can earn much better pay and help their families face a brighter future?
Over at the Senate, one suggestion is for the DOH to ask Congress for salary upgrades for nurses to make them stay in the country.
The Philippine Nursing Practice Act of 2022, filed last October, seeks to provide better compensation and training to local nurses.
Secretary Herbosa said he wants the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) to relax licensing rules and make employment easier for fresh graduates.
The problem, he noted, is the Civil Service Commission (CSC) allows only licensed nurses to
work in the health sector in government.
Hence, he suggests the PRC should issue temporary three-year licenses to nursing graduates so they can work in government. Congress has approved the Regional Specialty Centers Act that seeks to establish medical specialty centers in each region within the next five years. Three regions are being prioritized, and the specialty centers will cater to patients with heart,
SPEAKER Martin Romualdez is on the right track in focusing his time and energy—and that of the House of Representatives—on what’s needed at this time, which is to push forward the priority legislative agenda of the Marcos administration. Romualdez should not be distracted by toxic politics of division and discord. The only correct path at this point is the politics of unity and consensus. Here, Romualdez should demonstrate high statesmanship and be able to reconcile conflicting interests with as much finesse as he can muster. The House cannot afford to be divided into political factions each with its own agenda. We can understand our lawmakers will have to do what is necessary to consolidate their political forces at the barangay level and help their political allies win in the forthcoming barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections or BSKE.
Then there will be members of Congress who will run for reelection in 2025 and likewise have to devote time to building up their electoral machineries and to form alliances and coalitions at the district level to ensure victory in the 2025 polls.
Apart from these, the 2028 national election offers yet another opportunity for politicians to aspire for higher office, including the Senate, the vice presidency and of course, the highest elective post, which is the presidency.
But, as we said, this is not the right time for Congress to be kept busy by political maneuvering and backroom wheeling-anddealing when there is a real need to focus on legislation that will usher in sweeping reforms in Philippine society, particularly in the post-COVID 19 period.
There’s much work to be done.
The job of Congress is to pass laws of both local and national application that will benefit the country as a whole.
Speaker Romualdez has reported that as of last month, the Lower Chamber of Congress has passed 31 of 42 the priority bills identified by the Marcos Jr. administration.
“We are proud of our collective accomplishment — 31 out of 42 and counting. We have achieved a significant part of our goal in less than a year of session,” he pointed out.
The approved bills by Congress under the Romualdez leadership show the institution has been hard at work on important measures.
House Bill 8078 will give flesh to the President’s Building Better More program. It is all-encompassing program covering
not only infrastructure such as roads, bridges and expressways, but also energy, water resources, information and communication technology, agri-fisheries, food logistics, and socially oriented structures such as school buildings and other educational facilities.
Another significant piece of legislation is the National Land Use Act (HB 8162), which seeks to optimize the proper use of land.
Other measures approved by the House are the E-Governance/E-Government bill, the creation of the Negros Island region, the Passive Income and Financial Intermediary Taxation Act, as well as measures creating the Philippine Center for Disease Prevention and Control, the Medical Reserve Corps and the Virology Institute of the Philippines.
The House also passed measures that
The approved bills by Congress under the Romualdez leadership show the institution has been hard at work on important measures
with Senate concurrence would become the Philippine Passport Act, the Internet transactions/E-Commerce Law, the Wasteto-Energy Act, the Apprenticeship Act, amendments to the Build-Operate-Transfer Law, and a law providing for free legal assistance for police and soldiers.
Also approved were bills outlining the rights of seafarers and barangay health workers, as well as those creating the Eastern Visayas Development Authority and the Leyte Ecological Industrial Zone.
The House also passed the Government Financial Institutions Unified Initiatives to Distressed Enterprises for Economic Recovery bill, the real property valuation reform bill, the measure proposing to set up the National Citizens Service Training Program, and the national rightsizing program bill.
Priority measures awaiting secondreading approval are the proposed National Employment Action Plan, an enabling law for the natural gas industry, and the
One of the private entities actively involved in the government infrastructure program through the PPP is San Miguel Corporation led by its visionary President and CEO Ramon S. Ang.
In February this year, SMC signed a joint venture agreement and toll concession agreement with the provincial government of Cavite to undertake the Cavite-Batangas Expressway (CBEX) Project. The CBEX Project involves the financing, construction, operation and maintenance of a 27.06–kilometer toll road.
The road will traverse through the municipalities of Silang, Amadeo, City of Tagatay, Indang, Mendez and Alfonso in Cavite, and Nasugbu, Batangas. The project cost is P27 billion. It will be implemented at no cost to the Cavite Provincial Government with a concession period of 35 years.
Cavite is one of the most progressive provinces in the country.
It is site of several industrial export processing zones.
Batangas also has a vibrant economy. Aside from industrial parks, it hosts an international seaport of entry, one of the largest in the country.
The two provinces are also favorite destinations of both local and foreign tourists.
Once completed, the CBEX will improve
connectivity between Metro Manila and the provinces that comprise CALABARZON: Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon and lessen road congestion.
Early this month, another proposal by SMC subsidiary San Miguel Holdings, Corp. was approved by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) board.
The proposal involves the extension of the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway.
It was reported the entire evaluation and approval process for the TPLEX Extension Project was the fastest approval for a publicprivate partnership (PPP) proposal as it was
submitted to the Investment Coordination Committee on March 17, 2023.
The TPLEX Extension Project is a four-lane extension highway costing P23.4 billion.
It will connect the Ilocos Region, Central Luzon and Metro Manila.
The entire project will be completed by 2028.
However, by 2026 the first segment from Rosario to Tubao, La Union is expected to be operational.
It will be implemented through PPP under the Department of Public Works and Highways.
The unsolicited proposal of SMC would be subject to a Swiss challenge.
Accoding to RSA, SMC, through its subsidiaries, has undertaken government infrastructure projects under the PPP to help improve the country’s connectivity.
These include the completed Skyway Stage 3, and the ongoing MRT 7 and the New Manila International Airport in Bulacan.
The latter will decongest the NAIA with its four parallel runways, a world class terminal and interlinked infrastructure network.
The New Manila International Airport project is the largest investment in infrastructure by a Philippine company at P740-billion. It was also procured through an unsolicited proposal. Transportation infrastructure is important to increase economic competitiveness.
lung and kidney diseases. This is a step in the right direction.
While health experts have given assurance of enough health care workers to be deployed to the specialty centers, the budget of local government units and low salaries remain an issue.
The stark reality is that at the local government level, the salary grade is much lower compared to that of the national government.
Health advocates are also asking the DOH to fully implement the government’s policy on noncommunicable diseases (NCDs).
The Healthy Philippines Alliance (HPA) expects the new DOH leadership to tackle NCDs as part of universal health care.
The group believes even with the leadership change, the DOH has to ensure continuity and uninterrupted implementation of the multiple strategies to prevent and control NCDs and its chief risk factors, namely tobacco use, alcohol drinking, unhealthy diet and physical inactivity.
In the Philippines, NCDs such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, chronic respiratory disease and diabetes account for 70 percent of total deaths.
In 2022, ischemic heart disease was the leading cause of death, killing 114,500 Filipinos, while cancers came in second with more than 63,300 deaths, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.
Is the new Secretary of Health up to the task of ensuring health of all? We really hope so.
Philippine Ecosystem and Natural Capital Accounting System bill.
Measures proposing to create a Water Resources department, as well as amendments to the Electric Power Industry Act and the Anti-Agricultural Smuggling Act are currently being evaluated at committee level or by technical working groups. Priority bills signed into law included the SIM Registration Act and the measure amending the fixed terms of Armed Forces of the Philippines chiefs of staff and other senior officers.
Meanwhile, the proposed Maharlika Investment Fund bill has been approved by the Senate after the President certified it as urgent . These measures, according to Speaker Romualdez, “aim to support the President’s vision of keeping the economy on the high growth path and generating more jobs and income opportunities for our people.”
More than this, however, the legislative output of the House of Representatives in the past year not only demonstrates the competent leadership of Speaker Romualdez, but also the capability of the chamber to rise to the challenge and make it truly a catalyst of change in the country’s political, economic and social spheres.
(Email: ernhil@yahoo.com)
(www.manilastandard.net)
It is an important component in the supply chain. It makes movement of goods from manufacturers to consumers easier. It links farms to markets and urban centers to rural areas.
It also facilitates the movement of people for business transactions, tourism and recreation, and stimulate the development of new growth centers.
The government recognizes the importance of infrastructure development.
According to Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan there are 194 infrastructure flagship projects of which 68 are ongoing; 25 have been approved for implementation; nine are waiting government approval; and, the remaining projects are either in the process of project preparation or pre-project preparation.
Some of the projects were started during President Duterte’s term (2016-2022) but will be completed under President Marcos, Jr. Hopefully, more players from the private sector will take up the challenge and follow RSA’s lead of helping improve our country’s connectivity through infrastructure development.
(The author, book author and publisher, is president and chief executive officer of Media Touchstone Ventures, Inc. and also the president and executive director of the Million Trees Foundation Inc., a non-government outfit advocating tree-planting and environmental protection.)
AN AUSTRALIAN lawmaker on Thursday detailed allegations that she had been sexually “assaulted” in parliament, stating the building was “not a safe place” for women to work.
In a tearful Senate address, independent Lidia Thorpe said she had been subjected to “sexual comments,” cornered in a stairwell, “inappropriately touched” and “propositioned” by “powerful men.”
Thorpe had on Wednesday accused a fellow senator of “sexually assaulting” her, before being forced to withdraw the remark under threat of parliamentary sanction.
On Thursday, Thorpe restated the core of her allegations against conservative David Van, who has strenuously denied the claims.
Van said he was “shattered and battered” by the allegations, telling local media they were “utterly untrue.”
Van’s Liberal Party suspended him Thursday over the claims.
While the allegations were protected from Australia’s severe defamation laws, Thorpe said that Van had engaged lawyers in the matter and she had to restate her case to navigate parliamentary rules.
Saying that “sexual assault” meant different things to different people, Thorpe described her experiences in the crucible of Australian democracy.
“What I experienced was being followed, aggressively propositioned and inappropriately touched,” she said.
“I was afraid to walk out of the office door. I would open the door slightly and check the coast was clear before stepping out,” she told lawmakers.
THE US military can develop and operate out of bases in Papua New Guinea, according to a landmark security pact that is part of Washington’s efforts to outflank China in the Pacific.
The full text of the deal was tabled in Papua New Guinea’s parliament on Wednesday evening and obtained by AFP, shedding light on details that have been closely guarded since the pact was inked in May.
With Papua New Guinea’s agreement, the United States will be able to station troops and vessels at six key ports and airports, including Lombrum Naval Base on Manus
Island and facilities in the capital
Port Moresby.
Washington would have “unimpeded access” to the sites to “preposition equipment, supplies and materiel,” and have “exclusive use” of some base zones, where development and “construction activities” could be carried out.
The agreement opens the door to Washington establishing a new mili-
tary footprint in the western Pacific, at a time of growing rivalry with Beijing.
Access to Lombrum could be used to reinforce US facilities on Guam to the north, which could be key in the event of a conflict over Taiwan.
Prime Minister James Marape has been forced to defend the deal against a wave of protests and criticism, with some opponents questioning whether Papua New Guinea was signing away its sovereignty.
“We have allowed our military to be eroded in the last 48 years,” he told parliament on Wednesday evening.
“Sovereignty is defined by the robustness and strength of your military.”
BORIS JOHNSON deliberately misled MPs over COVID lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street when he was prime minister, a UK parliament committee ruled on Thursday.
The cross-party Privileges Committee said Johnson, 58, would have been suspended as an MP for 90 days for “repeated contempt (of parliament) and for seeking to undermine the parliamentary process.”
But he avoided any formal sanction by his peers in the House of Commons by resigning as an MP last week.
In his resignation statement last Friday, Johnson pre-empted publication of the committee’s conclusions, claiming a political stitch-up, even though the body has a majority from his own party.
He was unrepentant again on Thursday, accusing the committee
of being “anti-democratic... to bring about what is intended to be the final knife-thrust in a protracted political assassination.” Calling it “beneath contempt”, he said it was “for the people of this to decide who sits in parliament, not Harriet Harman,” the veteran opposition Labour MP who chaired the sevenperson committee. The committee’s longawaited 106-page report was even more critical than expected, particularly in relation to the sanction it would have recommended.
MPs ordinarily have to vote on the committee’s recommendations, with any suspension over 10 days potentially trigger-
ing a “recall” by-election in the offender’s constituency.
Johnson hung on to his Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat in outer northwest London at the last general election in December 2019, at which his Conservative party won a landslide. AFP
Rich in natural resources and close to key shipping routes, Papua New Guinea increasingly finds itself at the centre of a diplomatic tug-of-war between Washington and Beijing.
Former prime minister Peter O’Neill said the agreement painted a target on Papua New Guinea’s back.
“America is doing it for the protection of their own national interest, we all understand the geopolitics happening within our region,” he said.
US President Joe Biden had been due to visit Papua New Guinea to sign the deal last month, a trip that was derailed by a budget tussle in the US Congress. AFP
WITH his corporate suits, fussy hairstyle and penchant for glitzy decor, the Big Mac-munching former president of the United States isn’t everyone’s idea of a counterculture revolutionary.
But try telling that to the clientele at the Versailles Cuban restaurant Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood, where Donald Trump strutted between booths Tuesday telling tales of his latest run-in with the government like he was a modern-day Che Guevara.
“These accusations against Donald Trump are a political tool to hurt the Republicans and him,” Cuban-born Elizabeth Gonzalez tells AFP, echoing the views of many diners who have seen political repression up close in Latin America.
On Wednesday, the Versailles was still buzzing a day after Trump’s impromptu visit on his way back from his arrest and processing at the downtown federal courthouse on charges of mishandling classified secrets.
It was the second indictment in a little over two months for the 77-yearold Trump, who coincidentally was born exactly 18 years after the Latin American revolutionary icon Ernesto “Che” Guevara. In April, Trump appeared in a Manhattan court over accusations that he lied about paying off a porn star who was shopping tawdry tales of extracurricular sex.
“What is happening is copied from Latin American countries. It’s being transferred to us here,” Gonzalez said, reflecting on Trump’s mounting legal woes. AFP
This is to inform the public that MR. HERMAN NICOLAS whose picture appears above, is no longer affiliated with the Doña Remedios Trinidad Romualdez Medical Foundation, Inc. (DRTRMFI) and the Dr. V. Orestes Romualdez Educational Foundation, Inc. (DVOREFI), Tacloban City, as Head of Alumni Affairs and School Director of DVOREFI Training and Competency Assessment Center (TESDA Programs) effective June 8, 2023 Henceforth, all dealings and representations effective the date indicated herein are of his own and do not and will not bind the institution or its officers in whatever form and manner.
At DRTRMFI and DVOREFI, we remain steadfast in our commitment to delivering quality education in Region VIII. We continue to be dedicated to upholding the highest standards of quality, competence, and integrity.
STOCKS rose Thursday after the US Federal Reserve decided against hiking interest rates, while China’s central bank cut borrowing costs to kickstart the struggling economy.
The PSE index, the 30-company benchmark of the Philippine Stock Exchange, rose 27 points, or 0.43 percent, to close at 6,461.42, as three of the six subsectors advanced.
The broader all-shares index also picked up 7 points, or 0.20 percent, to settle at 3,444.07, on a value turnover of P6.1 billion. Gainers edged losers, 93 to 91, while 31 issues were unchanged. Five of the 10 most active stocks ended in the green, led by SM Prime Holdings Inc. which rose 2 percent to P33.15 and SM Investments Corp. which gained 1.32 percent to P922.00.
Most Asian markets also rose Thursday. After 10 straight increases since early 2022, US monetary policymakers stood pat at their latest meeting “to assess additional information and its implications for monetary policy”. However, they signaled more increas-
es were likely later in the year as inflation was still double the bank’s target rate and the jobs market remained tight.
The move to hold rates at 5.0 to 5.25 percent came a day after figures showed prices jumped 4.0 percent last month, the slowest pace since March 2021.
The reading added to hopes the Fed could guide the economy to a soft landing and eased worries it could tip into recession.
However, bank boss Jerome Powell said: “Looking ahead, nearly all committee participants view it as likely that some further rate increases will be appropriate this year to bring inflation down to two percent over time.”
Edward Moya at OANDA said poli-
BERLIN, Germany—German industrial giant Siemens said Thursday it would build a new high-tech factory in Singapore and expand another in China as part of a two-billion-euro ($2.1 billion) investment plan to build up its manufacturing capacity.
Siemens said it would invest around 200 million euros in the Singapore factory that would focus on industrial automation, and “set a new standard for connectivity”.
Aimed at serving the Southeast Asian markets, the new installation is expected to create over 400 jobs.
Business daily Handelsblatt reported that Siemens had originally planned to set up the factory in China but finally turned to Singapore to reduce its reli-
ance on the Asian giant.
Nevertheless, China is far from left out in the latest investment plans.
Siemens said it would expand its digital factory in Chengdu, China, investing 140 million euros and bring 400 new posts.
A new digital R&D center will also be set up in Shenzhen.
“Many of Siemens’ Chinese customers are early adopters of new technologies especially in digitalization and high-tech manufacturing,” it said in a statement.
“This is why Siemens also announced the investment in a new digital R&D Innovation Center in Shenzhen to speed up development of motion control systems with digitalization and power,” it added.
Details on further investments in Europe and the United States across the globe are expected to follow, said Siemens.
The group’s announcement came a day after the German government published its first National Security Strategy that took aim at China for acting against Berlin’s interests and values.
During the press conference presenting the blueprint, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock revealed that in talks with German companies, she had warned that lessons had to be learnt from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Berlin could not bail out huge industrial groups with deep ties with China should a crisis erupt with Beijing, she added. AFP
JAKARTA, Indonesia—TikTok’s chief executive said Thursday the company would pour billions of dollars into Southeast Asia in the coming years, as a report showed its nascent venture into online shopping is paying off.
The popular video-sharing app’s e-commerce affiliate has gained a substantial market share in the region just a year after its launch.
“We’re going to invest billions of dollars in Indonesia and Southeast Asia over the next few years,” Shou Zi Chew told a forum in Indonesian capital Jakarta.
“From a humble team of about 100 people, we now have nearly 8,000 employees in Southeast Asia.”
Chew said 125 million Indonesians comprised the majority of the app’s 325 million Southeast Asian users every month and more than two million sell their wares on TikTok Shop in Indonesia, the region’s biggest economy and most populous nation.
Users sell a range of tech, fashion, homemade products and other goods on the platform.
Chew’s comments came as Singapore-based consultancy Momentum Works released a report Thursday detailing how TikTok Shop capitalized on legions of users to expand its business in 2022 after testing the waters in Indonesia a year earlier.
While it lagged older rivals Shopee and Lazada, TikTok Shop posted the fastest growth rate, expanding its gross merchandise value—the total value of goods sold, including cancelled, returned and refunded orders—sevenfold to $4.4 billion
last year from just $600,000 in 2021.
“You can think of it as TikTok already having a captive audience coming onboard for entertainment trying different means to convert them and their attention into purchase and GMV,” Weihan Chen, head of insights at Momentum Works, told AFP.
From Indonesia, TikTok Shop “aggressively expanded into five additional Southeast Asian markets, many of which boasted large populations of TikTok users” and invested to improve its e-commerce capabilities, Chen added.
TikTok is owned by Chinese technology giant ByteDance.
‘Game changer’
Overall, the GMV of the region’s nine top e-commerce platforms was valued at almost $100 billion in 2022, up 14 percent on-year, led by Singapore-based Shopee and Lazada, a subsidiary of China’s Alibaba Group.
Shopee, a unit of Singapore’s Sea Ltd, accounted for $47.9 billion of that, a 13 percent increase, the report said.
Lazada was at a distant second with $20.1 billion, down from $21 billion in 2021.
Indonesia remains Southeast Asia’s largest e-commerce market, accounting for 52 percent of the region’s total GMV.
The return of online shopping after Covid-19 restrictions were lifted led to a moderation in e-commerce sales, but it is expected to continue growing, the report said.
It noted that the region may benefit from Chinese brands and manufacturing firms expanding into other countries as they reduce reliance on the US market and escape rising competition at home.
“That might be a real game changer for Southeast Asia’s e-commerce landscape, which has for a long time suffered from a lack of variety of goods,” it said. AFP
cymakers were “concerned that wage pressures will remain as the labour market remains very tight”.
“With the US banking system remaining resilient and robust job gains, the Fed needs to deliver more tightening and that is why the dot plots [officials’ projections] are pricing in two more small rate hikes.”
The news got a mixed reception on Wall Street, with the Dow finishing lower but the S&P 500 and Nasdaq rising modestly.
“The skip was expected, but I think markets are left a little confused on the dot plot and Powell’s commentary,” said Brendan McKenna of Wells Fargo. With AFP
BEIJING—China’s central bank cut a key interest rate and pumped billions into financial markets Thursday, as fresh data showed the world’s secondlargest economy was flagging.
The moves are the most significant by leaders to try to invigorate growth after indicators in recent months showed a hoped-for strong recovery following years of Covid lockdown- induced slowing was quickly running out of steam.
China’s efforts contrast with those in the United States and other Western countries, which have been forced into a series of interest rate hikes while reducing money supply to tame inflation.
Officials lowered the medium-term lending facility (MLF) rate—the interest for one-year loans to financial institutions—10 basis points to 2.65 percent, the People’s Bank of China said in a statement.
The PBOC also said it was offering 237 billion yuan ($33 billion) of funds to banks through the mediumterm lending facility, “to maintain reasonable and sufficient liquidity in the banking system.”
The announcement comes two days after unveiling a surprise cut in a shortterm interest rate this week, which analysts said reflected growing concern about the state of the economy among Chinese policymakers.
The MLF rate guides the benchmark lending rate for households, businesses and mortgages, which is set to be announced next week.
A lower MLF rate reduces commercial banks’ financing costs, in turn encouraging them to lend more and potentially boosting domestic consumption. A number of lackluster economic indicators in recent weeks have signaled the country’s post Covid recovery is running out of steam. AFP
REMITTANCES posted the fastest growth in four months amid the continued reopening of the domestic economy and as Filipinos working overseas sent home more money in time for vacation and Holy Week-related spending.
Latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on Thursday showed that cash remittances coursed through banks went up 3.7 percent in April to $2.48 billion from $2.40 billion a year ago. This was the fastest growth since December 2022 when inflows rose 5.8 percent.
“The expansion in cash remittances in April 2023 was due to the growth in receipts from land- and sea-based workers,” the BSP said in a statement. This brought cash remittances in the first four months to $10.49 billion, or 3.2 percent higher than the year-ago level of $10.17 billion.
THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas ordered Bank of the Philippine Islands to pay a penalty of P1 million for its failure to comply with Section 10 of Republic Act 8791 or The General Banking Law of 2000 on the disposal of treasury shares related to its merger with BPI Family Savings Bank Inc. The imposition of the penalty was contained in a letter from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on June 13, 2023.
“BSP imposed a monetary penalty on BPI amounting to P1,000,000.00 for failure to comply with Section 10 of Republic Act No. 8791 [The General Banking Law of 2000] on the disposal of treasury shares, arising from its merger with BPI Family within the six-month statutory period,” BPI said in a disclosure to the stock exchange Thursday.
BPI said that on Sept. 29, 2022 it announced that the proposed amendment to its articles of incorporation to decrease its authorized capital stock by retiring the treasury shares would no longer be pursued.
BPI made the disclosure after BSP did not favorably endorse the bank’s request to dispose of treasury shares arising from its merger with BPI Family Savings Bank Inc. through retirement of said shares.
This was in view of BSP’s opinion that retirement of treasury shares could not be considered as sale or disposition of shares in accordance with Section 10 of RA 8791.
BPI eventually informed the BSP of the approval of the declaration of property dividends as BPI’s mode for disposal of the treasury shares, which, however, would only be completed after obtaining regulatory approvals.
This was the second time this year
BPI was fined by regulators. In February 2023, BPI was fined P30 million for its failure to get regulatory confirmation for its stock purchase and option plan in 2013.
The Securities and Exchange Commission granted the request of BPI to reduce the penalty to P30 million from the previous assessment of P135 million.
BPI remained one of the country’s strongest banks in terms of assets. In the first three months of 2023, it posted a net income of P12.1 billion, up 52 percent year-on-year driven by average asset base expansion, margin growth and lower provisions.
Julito G. RadaThe BSP said higher remittances from the United States, Singapore and Saudi Arabia contributed mainly to the increase in remittances in the four-month period. The US posted the highest share of overall remittances during the period, followed by Singapore, Saudi Arabia and Japan.
“This may have to do with increased OFW remittances sent back home in April 2023 in time to finance holidayrelated spending during the Holy Week, considered the next biggest after the Christmas holiday season,” said Michael Ricafort, chief economist of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Ricafort said more people traveled to go back to their respective provinces for
Holdings Inc. ex-
pressed optimism about the business prospects of TV5 Network Inc. as the television network managed to cut losses and prepares to launch a new noontime variety show to be headlined by the former hosts of “Eat Bulaga”.
MediaQuest chairman Manuel Pangilinan said TV5’s losses were “declining.” When asked about the possibility of breaking even for TV5, Pangilinan said, “there’s always a miracle.” Pangilinan earlier predicted that TV5 would break even in 2019 after a series of manpower reduction in 2015 and the abolition of its entertainment shows in 2016.
ALLIANCE Global Group Inc., the listed holding company of billionaire Andrew Tan, is looking to expand its integrated resort and casino venture outside Metro Manila amid the strong recovery of the domestic tourism and gaming business.
“We are looking at some key tourism hubs all over the Philippines as potential expansion sites for our integrated resort business,” AGI chief executive Kevin Andrew Tan said during the company’s annual stockholders meeting Thursday.
AGI through unit Travellers International Hotel Group Inc. operates two integrated resorts and casino—the Newport World Resorts in Pasay City and Manila Bayshore in Paranaque City.
AGI is also taking full ownership
of NWR after buying out joint venture partner Genting Hong Kong’s 40-percent sake in the resort and casino business.
AGI is making an aggressive expansion plan on expectations that domestic tourism and gaming industry would recover as international travel rebounds.
TIHGI returned to profitability with net income hitting P1.1 billion in 2022 as gross gaming revenues reached a record P31.8 billion, driven by sustained VIP business and improvement in mass segment.
Non-gaming revenues hit P5.3 billion, up 86 percent from P2.9 billion a year earlier on the back of higher hotel occupancy and increased MICE ( meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions) activities.
He said MediaQuest was in talks with ABS-CBN Corp. for the possible transfer of It’s Showtime to another time slot to give way to the new show of Tito and Vic Sotto, Joey de Leon and other hosts of the original “Eat Bulaga” to TV5.
“We are in discussion with ABS -CBN because their block time arrangement with us expires on June 30. So it depends also. I don’t have an idea when TVJ [Tito, Vic and Joey] will be ready with the new format for them,” Pangilinan said.
It’s Showtime is the longest-running daily noontime variety show of ABS-CBN.
“We’re open to their schedule and we’re coordinating with ABS-CBN. I believe that TV5 is committed to TVJ for the noontime slot, so it’s either them
or Showtime unless ABS-CBN is willing to move to another time slot which we are prepared to give to them. But it’s up to them, not up to us,” he said.
MediaQuest earlier signed an agreement with the former hosts of “Eat Bulaga” to produce content for TV5 and other platforms.
The announcement came after the Sotto brothers, de Leon and other hosts of the original “Eat Bulaga” resigned from production company TAPE Inc. controlled by the Jalosjos family.
MediaQuest acquired ABC Development Corp. and its blocktimer MPB Primedia Inc. from a joint consortium led by businessman Antonio Cojuangco Jr. and Malaysia-based broadcaster Media Prima Berhad in 2010.
GRAB SCHOLARS.
Grab Philippines and PHINMA Education announce the first batch of GrabScholars-- six outstanding students from Greater Metro Manila and Iloilo City who have been awarded full-ride college scholarships. Co-facilitated with online human-skills school BagoSphere, the initiative aims to empower disadvantaged Filipinos through inclusive education, fostering upward socioeconomic mobility. Shown during the announcement are (from left) BagoSphere project specialist Arvee Buenaventura; Grab Philippines country marketing head J-Anne Aruta; GrabScholars John Lloyd Villa, Mary Flor Valerie Rull, Cesario Cabuello III, Adrian Ortega; and Gloria Tutanes and Reigner Dawn Sanchez of PHINMA Education.
the long holiday weekend. He said the relatively high inflation also compelled OFWs to send more money to their relatives in the country. Inflation peaked at 8.7 percent in January 2023 but eased to 8.6 percent in February, 7.6 percent in March and 6.6 percent in April. Despite the successive slowdowns, inflation remained elevated over the target range of 2 to 4 percent. Personal remittances, which include non-cash items, rose 3.8 percent in April to $2.77 billion from $2.67 billion a year earlier, bringing the cumulative four-month tally to $11.68 billion, up 3.2 percent from $11.32 billion a year ago.
ZAMBOANGA City Electric Cooperative said Thursday the substantial improvements in power stability and lower rates in Zamboanga over the past five years resulted in significant growth for the region’s business and tourism sectors.
“We’ve been working diligently to improve the infrastructure and grid management in Zamboanga for the last five years. It’s great to see that our efforts have translated into positive effects to businesses and tourism in the province,” Zamcelco chief management officer Rommel Agan said.
Zamcelco’s residential power rates have been on a decline for the past several months. Zamcelco rates went down to P11.3119 per kilowatthour in May from P12.309 per kWh in April.
“Since the start of WESM [Wholesale Electricity Spot Market] Mindanao in January, we stopped nominating from embedded genco with the highest cost,” Agan said.
Zamcelco’s customer base reached 125,145, posting a steady increase since 2017.
Agan said that Zamcelco’s efforts to ensure a stable, reliable and affordable electricity supply has created a solid foundation for businesses and the tourism industry to thrive.
Alena Mae S. Flores
First Gen announces management changes
FIRST Gen Corp. of the Lopez Group on Thursday announced management changes with the resignation of some senior executives.
First Gen said in a disclosure to the stock exchange Richard Tantoco would step down as executive vice president effective July 1, 2023 because of medical reasons. Tantoco will remain a member of the board of directors of First Gen, the country’s clean energy leader whose portfolio includes geothermal, hydro, wind, solar and liquefied natural gas.
Tantoco will also step down as president of First Gen subsidiary Energy Development Corp. effective the same date but will remain a member of the EDC board of directors.
Federico Lopez will transition from his role as EDC chairman and chief executive to being solely chairman of the board effective July 1, 2023.
Joaquin Quintos IV tendered his resignation as director of EDC to focus on his duties and responsibilities under the Lopez Group’s healthcare industry, in particular Asian Eye Institute Inc., PiHealth Inc. and the recently-acquired The Medical Services of America (Philippines) Inc.
The remaining directors elected chief operating officer Jerome Cainglet as president and COO and the appointment of Francis Giles Puno, a member of the board of EDC, as vice chairman and chief executive. Alena Mae S. Flores LandBank cuts Instapay transfer fee
State-run Land Bank of the Philippines said it will reduce its transaction rates for fund transfer via InstaPay starting June 15 in line with the government’s financial inclusion campaign. LandBank president and chief executive Lynette Ortiz said in a statement all fund transfer transactions, regardless of the amount, would now be subject to a fixed transaction fee of P15 from the previous rate of P25.
“By lowering the fund transfer rate, more customers will benefit from the convenience and efficiency of our products,” Ortiz said.
“This is part of our commitment to provide accessible and affordable digital banking solutions, and to help expand financial inclusion,” Ortiz said.
Digital fund transfer is facilitated by the LandBank Mobile Banking App and iAccess for retail clients, and weAccess for Corporate Accounts. For the first three months of 2023, the three digital platforms have facilitated transactions amounting to a total of P265.7 billion. Julito G. Rada
PUBLICLY-LISTED Vivant Corp. is looking at investing P37 billion in renewable energy and water sectors.
Vivant is investing P21 billion in renewable energy projects, making up more than 75 percent of total capital expenditures up to 2030.
Vivant Infracore Holdings Inc―which manages the Vivant Group’s investments in water solutions―plans to invest about P16 billion in several greenfield and brownfield opportunities in water resource utilization and wastewater engineering over the next five years.
Vivant chief executive Arlo A.G. Sarmiento said Vivant aimed to further strengthen its initiatives under the ESG framework to ensure the sustainability of its
business endeavors and its communities as it celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.
“As we look back at the challenges and achievements that propelled us to continue to improve everyday living for the past 20 years, we put ESG at the forefront of our strategy to achieve long-term sustainable profits,” said Sarmiento.
Meanwhile, Vivant Energy is committed to playing a meaningful role in energy transformation and accelerating growth and improvement of power services in the country, Vivant president Emil Andre Garcia said during the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting.
He said the company was looking at wind and solar technologies to contribute to surpassing the company’s RE targets.
Garcia cited Vivant’s recent acquisition of San Ildefonso Alternative Energy Corp.
which would develop a 22-megawatt solar power plant in Bulacan province. Another fully-owned subsidiary, COREnergy, contributes to the RE target by growing its rooftop solar business from 2 MW to 6 MW in 2022.
COREnergy, a retail company that offers total energy solutions to commercial and industrial establishments, aims to add 18MW of solar rooftop generation capacity by the end of the year.
Vivant’s subsidiary Vivant Energy’s recent acquisition of the shareholding of Gigawatt Power Inc. in several power generation facilities supports the group’s commitment to contribute to the social and economic development in the countryside by providing stable and reliable power primarily in SPUG or offgrid areas.
EXPECTATIONS will be high for world no. 3 pole
vaulter Ernest John “EJ” Obiena, even as the national men’s 4x400 meter relay team faces big challenges in the 2023 Asian Athletics Championship in Pattaya, Thailand next month.
The relay squad of Umajesty Williams, William Ramirez, Michael del Prado and Joyme Sequita is preparing to come up with faster times and possibly go for a Philippine national record during their stint in the Asian meet.
“It’s understood that EJ is going to shine here. He will be unbeatable. But for the relay team, this will be a test for
them,” said national athletics’ coach Jojo Posadas. Williams, Del Prado, Ramirez and Sequita won the gold medal in the recent Southeast Asian Games in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and came close to the national mark with their time of three minutes and 7.22 seconds.
Posadas said it will be the aim of the four to surpass the Philippine
record, which Marlon Pagalilavan, Romeo Gido, Honesto Larce and Isidro Del Prado accomplished in the 1995 SEA Games, where they clocked 3:06.58.
Finishing well in the individual events will also be the goal of Williams and Ramirez, who have also been doing well in the 400-meter distance.
Obiena is expected to make an impact when he competes in Pattaya after he cleared the height of 6.0 meters to earn the gold medal in the Bergen Jump Challenge in Norway over the weekend.
In the process, the 27-year-old Obiena became the 24th pole vaulter to make the rare feat, which he achieved in one attempt during the meet.
Obiena is in a buildup of his own
as he aims for a stint in the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024.
Also listed in the Pattaya meet are women’s relay specialists Maureen Schrijvers, Robyn Brown, Bernalyn Bejoy and Jessel Lumapas.
Sonny Wagdos will see action in the men’s 5000- and 10000-meter runs, while John Cabang Tolentino will compete in the men’s 110-meter hurdles with Clinton Bautista.
SEA Games’ eight-time gold medalist Eric Cray is competing in the men’s 400-meter hurdles.
Janry Ubas (high jump), William Morrison (shotput), Aries Toledo (decathlon) and Arlan Arbois (10,000 meters) are also listed, with John Mike Lera (decathlon) and Genna Malapit (javelin throw).
LOS ANGELES—The 123rd US Open tees off on Thursday at Los Angeles Country Club with global golf gripped by suspense worthy of a Hollywood script.
LACC’s par-70 North Course, a jewel that club members have largely preferred to keep to themselves, is hosting the US Open for the first time, 75 years after the championship was last held in Los Angeles at Riviera Country Club.
The course’s coming out party has been overshadowed by last week’s stunning announcement that the PGA Tour and DP World Tour would join forces with the Saudi backers of LIV Golf, the upstart circuit whose launch roiled the global game.
The world’s top players arrived in Los Angeles still reeling from the news and with details yet to be revealed wondering what it meant for their professional futures.
Masters champion Jon Rahm spoke of a feeling of “betrayal” by PGA Tour officials and a sense of being in limbo.
“There’s definitely a lot of curious players,” said LIV golfer Cameron Smith, the reigning British Open champion from Australia.
“Once the balls go in the air, the athletes take the narrative back,” US Golf association chief executive Mike Whan confidently predicted.
A field of 156 is led by world number one Scottie Scheffler, second-ranked Rahm and last month’s PGA Championship winner Brooks Koepka.
They’ll be getting to grips with a course whose wide fairways look deceptively welcoming for a US Open, but which will require creativity in navigating the scrubby barrancas and patchy bermuda rough on the undulating layout.
Blind shots are not uncommon, while the five par-threes will offer anything from a near 300-yard tee shot at the 11th to one of around 80 yards at the 15th.
The multiple teeing options add just one more layer of uncertainty on a course that few in the field have played competitively.
“I feel like the front nine is a bit easier than the back,” said Scheffler, who was on the US team that beat Britain and Ireland at Los Angeles Country Club in the 2018 Walker Cup amateur matches.
“There’s definitely some opportunity
on the front ... 13 through 18, there’s really not much to say. There’s just a lot of long, hard, difficult holes.”
Scheffler, the 2022 Masters champion, has been widely tipped to lift a second major title this week, despite
his struggles on the greens in his most recent PGA Tour starts.
Rahm, the 2021 US Open winner whose Masters triumph in April was one of his four wins this year, also has
Turn to C2
ON the brink of elimination, Rianne Malixi cashed in on nearideal conditions in the morning wave, birdying the first three holes on her way to a 69 and a joint 40th finish at the close of the 36-hole stroke play elims in The Women’s Amateur at the Prince’s Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent in southeast England Wednesday. Beth Coulter birdied two of the last four holes to shoot a 70 and become the first Irish leading qualifier in one of the world’s premier amateur events since Paula Grant in 2017. The 19-year-old Coulter, who recently finished her Freshman season at Arizona State U, clinched the low medal honors and the top seed-
ing with a 139 total, besting four others, including world No. 1 Ingrid Lindbland by three.
But needing to rebound strong to revive her chances after a windblown 79 Tuesday in the first half of the 36-hole stroke play elims that dropped her to tied 100th, the ICTSIbacked Malixi did just that, draining a 12-foot birdie putt on the first hole, gaining another stroke from four feet on the par-5 No. 2 then hacking a solid tee shot to within five feet for another feat on the third.
Though she blasted a shot that hit the tip of the bunker and bounced back to the fairway for bogey on No. 4, Malixi quickly recovered the stroke with a long birdie putt on the
next, another par-3. She did yield another shot on the sixth after missing the green then hit a wild drive on the par-5 No. 8 that led to a lost ball and a doublebogey. But those miscues failed to dampen her spirit as she toughened up at the backside, nearly chipping in for eagle on the par-5 No. 12 for a tap-in birdie. She missed her chance on the next but came through with back-to-back birdies from No. 14 to crash into the Top 64. Malixi, 16, muffed another birdie chance on No. 16 but closed out with a couple of par-saves off superb chip shots to preserve a three-under card before conditions turned from calm to windy in the afternoon.
MONTREAL—Refreshed by a Mediterranean break since winning in Spain, defending world champion Max Verstappen will be seeking to continue his dominant run and stretch his title-race lead in this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix.
The Red Bull driver, who won in Montreal last year, has reeled off successive victories in Miami, Monte Carlo and Barcelona to move 53 points clear of nearest rival and team-mate Sergio Perez in the drivers’ championship.
He has also led every lap since lap 48 in Florida, a total of 154, the longest unbroken run since 2012 when four-time champion Sebastian Vettel was equally supreme for the Milton Keynes-based team.
Another win, in Sunday’s 70-lap contest on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, a high-speed semi-street track on the Ile Notre-Dame in the St Lawrence river, would be the team’s 100th in Formula One – and 24th in 27 outings.
Only four other teams have scored a century of Grands Prix wins – Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes and Williams –and few individuals have relished such a coincidence of invincibility for man and machine.
Two-time champion Alberto Ascari of Italy led a record 305 laps between the 1952 Belgian Grand Prix and the Dutch event in in 1953, a streak that three-time champion Ayrton Senna in 1988, with 264 consecutive laps in front, tried to match.
Briton Nigel Mansell, champion in 1987, and Vettel, are the only other drivers to have passed 200 laps as leader.
“This track is unique,” said the 25-year-old Verstappen. “You get to ride some old-school kerbs and the scenery is quite cool too. The car set-up has to be a balance between straight-line and running well over the kerbs well.” AFP
MARINERONG Pilipino-San Beda rode on a strong first half to beat Wangs Basketball@27 Striker Letran, 79-65, in the deciding Game 3 of their semifinal duel and advance to the finals of the 2023 PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
The Red Lions outhustled the Knights in a game that surprisingly appeared so easy for San Beda as Letran struggled for its rhythm all game.
Their second straight win in the best of three series sent the Red Lions to a title showdown against defending champion EcoOil La Salle. The best-of-three series starts on Tuesday.
San Beda was all business from the get go and was in complete control from the time it took a huge 46-39 advantage at the end of the first half.
The Knights, who took Game 1 in overtime, never got the chance to take the lead and were disappointing on both ends.
Letran shot 10 of 29 in the first, while committing 12 turnovers that translated into 20 big points for San Beda.
James Piyosing topscored for San Beda with 23 points, including a 3-point shot that gave the Red Lions a commanding 53-36 advantage midway in the third.
Damie Cuntapay chipped in 11 points and Yukien Andrada added 10 for San Beda, which shot 45 percent from the field as compared to Letran’s 34 percent. The Red Lions also outrebounded the Knights, 47-36.
Kurt Reyson showed the way for Letran with 19 points, but shot just 4 of 19 from the field. Vince Cuajao had 13 and Neil Guano added 10.
BEIJING—Messi
mania gripped Beijing ahead of a sell-out friendly on Thursday evening between world champions Argentina and Australia in the Chinese capital.
All eyes were on Lionel Messi, arguably the greatest footballer of all time and who lifted the World Cup for Argentina in December.
Hundreds of Chinese fans waving Argentinian flags and wearing Messi jerseys have massed outside the team’s luxury hotel ever since their idol touched down on Saturday.
Crowds have lined heavily guarded streets hoping to catch a glimpse of the 35-year-old each time the team go for training.
The man himself has kept a low profile, but that has done little to dampen enthusiasm.
One daring fan recounted his tale of spending the night inside the Four Seasons hotel in a bid to get a close encounter with Messi and his teammates.
“I first hid in the janitor’s closet, then went up to the team’s floor through the fire escape staircase,” the man, surnamed Lin, told AFP.
He was questioned by hotel security before being released.
Another fan, Li Weihua, said that he had flown from his home city of Shenzhen in southern China, heading straight to the hotel.
Members of the Argentina football team including forward Lionel Messi (left) leave the hotel where they are staying in for a training session in Beijing on June 12, 2023. Argentina will play a friendly football match against Australia on June 15 at Beijing’s newly-renovated 68,000-capacity Workers’ Stadium. AFP
He does not even have a ticket for the match at the 68,000-capacity Workers’ Stadium, which was quickly sold out.
“I just want to feel the environment,” said the 29-year-old, who had never been to Beijing before now.
Huang Yongming, 17, from the
northeastern city of Changchun, was more successful in getting a highly coveted ticket.
“I spent around 3,000 yuan ($419) for a ticket,” Huang told AFP. “I know it’s expensive, but I thought that if I didn’t take the opportunity, I would regret it.”
JET Ramos and Alessandra Castaneda lead a pack of Filipino endurance racers in the World Championship in Nice, France and Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, respectively, following strong finishes in the justconcluded Century Tuna IRONMAN Philippines in Subic. Ramos and Castaneda emerged the top local performers in the third staging of the grueling 3.8km swim, 180km bike and 42km run race in wet, windy conditions last Sunday, earning not just a chance to compete with the world’s best but also $1,000 each, courtesy of Century Pacific Food COO and EVP Greg Banzon. Ramos, of Baguio Benguet Triathlon, timed 10:20:34 to finish fifth in the men’s side topped by Dutch Eric van der Linden while Castaneda, of Chery Auto PH Tri Team, clocked 12:17:46 to likewise post a fifth-place effort in her side of the event ruled by Japanese Chigusa Yamashita and organized by The IRONMAN Group/ Sunrise Events, Inc.
A smattering of fans had already started to gather at the stadium, even with the 8:00 pm (1200 GMT) kickoff several hours away and the sun beating down.
Messi is set to join Inter Miami after two years at Paris Saint-Germain. AFP
JONATHAN Manalili delivered in the clutch, carrying Farm Fresh-Letran to a thrilling 90-88 win over gallant Mandaluyong Namayan in the NCR Leg of the Manila Bankers Life-Pilipinas Super League 18-Under tournament on Wednesday at San Andres Gymnasium.
With 9.5 seconds left and the game knotted at 88all, Manalili, the 16th-ranked high school prospect by the National Basketball Training Center, received the ball from the top of the key, swooped to the lane and knocked down a high-arching layup as time expired to seal the Milkers’ fourth straight win.
Manalili wound up with 11 points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
Farm Fresh-Letran is now the only unbeaten team in the NCR Leg of this tournament co-presented by SCD and Dumper party-list, and supported by J Project Clothings, MDC, Bluesky Advertising, NET 25, Wcube Solutions Inc., Hotel SOGO, and Converge.
NCAA Season 98 Juniors Basketball Finals MVP
Andy Gemao led the way for the Milkers with 32 points, seven rebounds, and two steals as De La Salle Zobel’s Kieffer Alas was held down to just four points. Still, it was a tough stand by the Tigre, who rallied from nine points down before tying that game at 88all with 10 seconds left in the contest.
Shawn Antazo led Mandaluyong Namayan with 23 points and eight rebounds while James Corpuz and Axell Cue finished with 13 and 12 markers, respectively.
ALONG with Head Coach Hans Michael Weiss, several Azkals are also returning to the national team after a while.
These players include Martin Steuble, Daisuke Sato, Dylan de Bruycker and of course, Patrick Deyto.
Deyto, who had a four-month spell with Stallion Laguna FC in the domestic league, is finalizing his contract to play with a Southeast Asian team, while being in the national training pool for the tune-up games against Nepal and Chinese Taipei.
Deyto and The Designated Kit Man got acquainted first when he manned the sticks for Global Cebu FC in the old domestic league before packing his bags and cleats to Thailand. He told me that he is quite happy to be called again to play for the country’s three stars and the sun after missing out on the national team since 2019. Four years later, he is back in the Azkals’ fold.
A calmer, more focused and probably more mature Patrick is joining the team.
“I was called three times since 2019, but I wasn’t able to go due to personal and other issues which were beyond my control, such as the club’s decision. It is not
Mandaluyong fell to an even 3-3 slate, dimming their chances of advancing to the final four of this 10-team leg.
Not to be outshone was Pampanga Pradera Theme Park, who romped Quezon, 97-75, in the sole Luzon leg game of the day held at the same venue.
De La Salle University freshman Rhyle Melencio produced 23 points and seven rebounds to power Pampanga Pradera to a clean 5-0 slate to clinch a final four berth.
The Far Eastern University-Diliman duo of Dwyne Miranda and Veejay Pre supported Melencio with the former scoring 22 points on five triples while the latter added 15 points and seven rebounds.
John Rex Villanueva was the high-point man for Quezon, who fell to 2-1 for a share of third, with 20 points.
In other NCR leg games, New Era University scored its first win in five games to keep its playoff hopes alive after an 87-79 win over Taytay while 521 Trading-Mapua eliminated Magnificent Manila from contention with a 90-88 escape.
Nicolo Mulingtapang led the Red Robins to a 2-1 record, dropping 29 points and seven rebounds in the win.
The New Era Hunters, meanwhile, had five players score in double-digits, led by Ricardo Aganon’s 15 points.
Taytay fell to an even 2-2 record while Manila dropped its fifth straight game in as many outings.
easy to be away and I’m so happy that I’m
here without any conflicts or problems,”
Deyto said.
After moving to Thailand, Patrick got married to Natasha and now doting parents to precocious daughter, Yara. For Partrick, who was so passionate about football during his younger days, these wonderful changes have made him realize that there is more to life than just getting the Ws and keeping clean slates.
“Family pa rin ang important. Win, lose or draw after the game, I can see my family there. I can carry my daughter and it gives me a good feeling regardless of the result. Even my perspective has changed. The priorities have changed. There is something bigger than myself,” he explained.
Deyto has undergone major adulting moments in his stay in Thailand. Foremost of which was when his former club decided to change its coach. He said that it is normal for new coaches to bring his players in the club, to include his goalkeeper -- a development that led Deyto to take the number 2 spot in manning the post. Unlike the younger Deyto, he took the changes in stride, willingly taking the “demotion” just for the sake of the team. He gave it a try for a few weeks, but when his club offered to release him with pay of course, he took the opportunity as calmly as possible, or to be more specific, as professionally as he can.
Deyto said he was confident that he will get a new team soon after moving from his former club. But then again, his expectations didn’t materialize either because the season is still ongoing or that every team already has its own goalkeeper. His agent even told him that it would be easier to find a club before the start of the new season.
Instead of sulking or ranting, Deyto decided to go home.
“I was actually planning to rest because I have been playing in Thailand for four years. I played a lot of games in
Thailand. I was tired mentally and physically. So I planned to rest for six months but if I want to play in Thailand in the new season, I need to play. I need to be fit,” Deyto said. Fortunately, Deyto had two options when he returned to the country. He eventually chose to play for Stallion Laguna FC until the end of the domestic season with the end goal to find a new team abroad by June.
“Sabi ko while I’m here I can help the team. I can guide the younger players and let’s see what will happen,” he said.
The last four months have been good to Deyto. He was able to play again in the Philippines Football League and reconnected with his former teammates, friends and even the game officials. He had fun during his stay. But he is happier now that he got another call up to be part of the training pool for the tuneup games against Nepal and Chinese Taipei.
“I can guarantee that I will train 100%. If I get to play, I will give my 100% and I will enjoy it because you know, sometimes we take things for granted. And when it is no longer there, you really want to become a part of the team that represents your country in international competitions. This is also an opportunity for me to be with my old teammates whom I haven’t seen in a long time. Gusto ko lang talaga to go there and enjoy,” he added.
While the Azkals have a new coach and there are so many new faces in the team, Deyto remains optimistic that the current squad is capable of making the country proud, of making the die-hard Azkals’ fans rally behind the team once more.
“Sana this is the one that will kick start Philippine football again because believe it not, Azkals playing abroad are hoping that the Philippines Football League will come back to what it was before,” Deyto said.
He maintained that this is among the most fervent wishes of players called in every national training camp. Deyto said
every Azkal would like to see the domestic league, sooner than later, to rise once more, with more teams competing, simply because the country deserves to have a strong, competitive and sustainable football league.
Deyto says there is a big possibility that he might be leaving after the friendlies to join his new team if things fall according to plan. But for the moment, Deyto is taking the tune-up games against Nepal and Chinese Taipei very seriously. He also vowed to enjoy them as well.
“It is still different to play at home in front of your family, friends and of course, the fans,” he added.
Speaking of playing, The Designated Kit Man would like to believe that former Azkals team captain Stephan Schrock has “unretired” and has been called back for national duties once more.
Schroecky, who played his last game for the Azkals in January this year, is among those invited and in fact was present during the training of the national team at the Rizal Memorial Stadium for the past several days now. And from what I heard, El Capitan is showing that he is not taking the opportunity to play once more for the flag and country for granted.
Good luck bro!
On a personal note, let’s rally behind the Azkals, not only against Nepal and Chinese Taipei, but in their future games as well as they embark for bigger campaigns by November this year. This is the time to feel optimistic, to be hopeful once again, no matter what the doubters and so-called keyboard warriors would want us to believe.
A true fan will always support the Azkals, especially when it is no longer convenient or “uso” to do so.
Stay safe. Stay happy peeps!
For comments or questions, you can reach The Designated Kit Man at erel_ cabatbat@yahoo.com or follow his account at Twitter: @erelcabatbat
Twenty-five others will join Ramos in the men’s world tilt on Sept. 10 to be held for the first time in Nice, France, which firms up the city’s claim as the No. 1 triathlon venue in Europe, including Alex Isip, Emmanuel Mondero, Jon Sunga, Mike Gonda, Elmer Santiago, Abe Tayag, Erwin Rommel Espinoza, Joffrey Ano, Paolo Leaño, Cyril Bermudo, Wayne Mark Elep; Raoul Franco Ramos, Conrad Legaspi, Kristoffer Crisostomo, Jaako Ramos, Karl Reformina, Ramoncito Gonzales, Renel Bricenio, Daniel Valdez, Eigen Rara, Ralph Bautista, JK Salcedo, Mervin Santiago, Jem Clemente and Reuven Alzaga.
Also vying in the Kona championship set Oct. 14 are Geraldine Abuan, Leilani Tan, Vanj Endaya, Melissa Racela, Nylah Bautista, Etta Mai Farrell, April Lañas, Joann Caralian, Maria Catleya Deveza, Chloe Jane Ong, Jennifer Tan Uy and Sarah Marie Eraña-Leaño.
The 39 local bets make up the record cast ever to see action in world triathlon championship, feat uring the world’s top triathletes and leading age-group campaigners from all over.
From C1
competitive experience at LACC, where he played in the prestigious 2013 Pacific-12 collegiate championship.
American Max Homa, a six-time PGA Tour winner who has underachieved in the majors, set the course record of 61 in winning that PAC-12 title, but Rahm said anyone expecting to see that score this week will be disappointed.
“That’s not happening right now,” Rahm said. “You’ll see a lot of birdies, and I think you also see some high numbers come out of nowhere. Gnarly oasis
Hemmed in by the magnificent homes of Beverly Hills—including the Playboy Mansion—the course is “this natural, gnarly oasis, rural oasis in this urban metropolis—the entertainment capital of the world,” said John Bodenhamer, the USGA’s chief championships officer. Koepka isn’t concerned about his lack of familiarity with the course. The American isn’t short on confidence after winning his fifth major at the PGA Championship—where he became the first LIV golfer to win a major.
“I’m pretty sure I know what it takes to compete in majors,” said Koepka, who could add a third US Open title to those he won in 2017 and 2018.
Koepka will tee off at 1:54 pm (2054 GMT) Thursday alongside 2011 US Open champion Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland and 2021 Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama of Japan.
Scheffler goes off at 8:13 am alongside Homa and two-time major winner Collin Morikawa. Rahm tees off on the 10th hole at 8:24 with fifth-ranked Viktor Hovland of Norway and sixth-ranked American Xander Schauffele.
Defending champion Matt Fitzpatrick of England will play the first two rounds alongside Smith and American Sam Bennett, who turned pro after earning low amateur honors at the Masters. AFP
SHERYN Regis is going “all out” this pride month with a concert that marks her 20th year in the business.
Known for her powerful voice and captivating performances, Sheryn has made the decision to be true to herself and share her journey with the world. This courageous step reflects her commitment to living an honest and genuine life, embracing her own identity, and embracing the freedom that comes with self-acceptance.
“In the concert, I’m going to share a lot of things with the audience – things that I’m going to share for the first time,” Sheryn, who came out as lesbian in 2021, told the press in a recent media conference for the concert aptly called All Out
While she may not have clinched the grand title in the competition, Sheryn felt like she already has, as she was immediately inundated with numerous TV offers, product commercial endorsements, and concerts in the Philippines and in different parts of the world.
By coming out and sharing her personal truth, Sheryn has become an inspiration for others who may be going through a similar journey. Her openness and vulnerability create a safe space for individuals to express their own authenticity and find the strength to be true to themselves.
“That’s what I really wanted to do, I want to inspire others not to come out of the closet – everyone has his or her own timing – but to celebrate their personal truth,” she explained.
A gifted soprano and a singer-songwriter often acclaimed for her range and technical ability, Sheryn first appeared in Philippine television’s longest-running noontime show Eat Bulaga on its “Sing it Bulaga” segment back in 2002 where she became a winner.
– things that I’m going to share for the first time,” Sheryn, who came in to in after advancing from the she only
In 2005, she secured a place as a grand finalist in ABS-CBN’S reality singing competition Star in a Million after advancing from the elimination rounds. Dubbed the “Power Belter,” she was the judges’ favorite and laced consistently in the top performances every week, eventually reaching the Grand Champion Night on January 3, 2004. She won the Texter’s Choice Award but placed only as a runner-up after singing Wendy Moten’s “Come On in Out of the Rain”, which eventually became her signature song.
Sandara Park
It’s been years since Sandara left the Philippines to try her luck as a K-pop idol in the girl group 2ne1. But whenever possible, Sandara returns to the country to star in shows or bask in the local environment. One thing’s for sure, her star has yet to fade as Filipinos of all ages continue to recognize her undeniable talent and warm personality. The continuous attention also baffles Sandara, but it just adds to her charm as an individual and idol.
Leren Mae Bautista Ricci Rivero and Andrea Brillantes’ split has been greasing the rumor mill for days.
And as every celebrity breakup goes, people are looking for the reason behind the end of a relationship. The public speculated Ricci was cheating on Andrea with beauty queen-turnedpolitician Leren Mae, who denied any romantic involvement with the basketball player. Instead, they just met for a “recent outreach activity.” No one may know for sure yet as the former couple asked for respect as they keep mum about the developments.
Toni Gonzaga
She has gone in and out of public scrutiny for her recent actions and political affiliations, from trending nearly every week to getting some downtime.
Nowadays, she’s more focused on nurturing the newest member of their family. The actress-host has gone through some ups and downs in her career recently, but Toni deserves some downtime to enjoy motherhood all over again. Maybe when she returns, she’ll return to the trending list again.
Joey de Leon
After the dust has settled on the Eat Bulaga! fiasco between its hosts and TAPE, Joey has come forth with more information about why the incident happened in the first place. He shared how TAPE wanted to remove some Dabarkads hosts from the show and how GMA hasn’t reached out to the trio (composed of Tito Sotto Vic Sotto, and Joey). On the other hand, people are more focused on nitpicking the new Eat Bulaga! hosts as they await TVJ and Dabarkads’ show on TV5.
To date, she has recorded five solo albums Come In Out of the Rain, What I Do Best, The Modern Jukebox Collection, Starting Over Again, and SHE with Platinum and Gold Awards, as well as numerous collaborations with different Filipino artists.
Sheryn had her first concert, Higher Note, at the Music Museum, followed by several concerts in the Philippines and abroad. However, in 2010, as part of her career move, she migrated to the United States with her family and settled in Houston, Texas, where she continues her colorful singing career, as a concert regular and a theatre actress.
Female power belter Sheryn Regis is marking her 20th in the industry with her ’All Out’ concert
This year, Sheryn celebrates her 20th anniversary in the music industry performing her greatest hits live in a concert series in the Philippines, Canada, and USA. Featuring the songs that she sang from teleserye songs, songs from her five studio albums under Star Records and Star Music, and the songs that she sang in Star in a Million
The concert series will begin on July 8 at Music Museum with her stellar guest performers Ima Castro, Dianne dela Fuente, MMJ Magno, MissTres, and JMRTN of REtroSPECT. Visit 6ckets visit www.6cketworld.com.ph for more details.
GMA Integrated News reinforces its commitment to being the “News Authority ng Filipino” with the official launch of GMA Integrated News Weather Center and the announcement of its new weather presenters in a contract signing held on June 13.
The new weather presenters are Maureen Schrijvers, Katrina Son, Amor Larrosa, and Anjo Pertierra. They will deliver the latest and important weather updates in various GMA newscasts, namely 24 Oras, Saksi, Balitanghali, State of the Nation, Unang Hirit, Dapat Alam Mo!, and 24 Oras Weekend.
In his message during the event, GMA Chairman and CEO Atty. Felipe L. Gozon commended GMA Integrated News for its dedication to innovate while staying true to the tenets of journalism.
“In the span of six months, GMA Integrated News has evolved into a dynamic multi-platform mega news organization with the integration of GMA News Manila, GMA Regional TV, GMA News Online, and Super Radyo DZBB – strengthening its position as the ‘News Authority ng Filipino’,” Atty. Gozon said.
He further underscored the importance of delivering weather updates – a responsibility that GMA Network takes on as the country’s leading media organization. He likewise welcomed the new weather presenters who will be part of the GMA Integrated News Weather Center.
The unveiling of the improved GMA Integrated News Weather Center was led by Senior Vice President and Head of GMA Integrated News, Regional TV, and Synergy Oliver Victor Amoroso
GMA Integrated News introduces its new weather presenters
(from left)
Maureen Schrijvers, Katrina Son, Amor Larrosa, and Anjo Pertierra during a contract signing
Joining him in the contract signing were GMA Network Senior Vice President for Programming, Talent Management, Worldwide, and Support Group, and President and CEO of GMA Network Films, Inc. Atty. Annette Gozon-Valdes ; First Vice President for Public Affairs Nessa Valdellon ; and Virtual Playground CEO Charlie Dy and General Manager Mark Salamat
As GMA Integrated News broadens its scope in delivering credible weather news and updates, the multi-
MY GOOD friend Owen Formento, whom I have worked with in some publicity work arrangements, recently asked if I could spare some time to watch a music video for a song by This Band which he directed. Of course, I did. Their name, if I may share, reminds me of a little joke a former bandmate once cracked while we were thinking about what to call our own group and couldn’t settle for one. He mused we call ourselves “This Band Called.” With that, you can just imagine how it made me feel the first time I encountered a reallife recording act with the name This Band.
As a music scene observer, it’s nice that a musical group that may have run out of ideas on the day they had to give themselves a proper name is making a serious run with regard to their musical showcase and fan base. As of this writing, they’re enjoying nearly a million monthly listeners on Spotify, and close to two million followers. Their breakthrough hit, “Kahit Ayaw Mo Na,” already generated more than a hundred million streams.
The song that Owen and his team at Mugshots Digital Media TV provided a music video for is the title track from their album “Huwag Matakot,” released back in 2020. The video uploaded on Viva Records YouTube channel last April is the result of a location shooting in Zambales province.
This Band’s ‘Huwag
platform mega news organization proudly welcomed its new weather presenters who will be the faces of GMA Integrated News Weather Center.
A proud Sparkle GMA artist who has, under her belt, the distinction of being a Philippine National athlete and a SEA Games Silver medalist, Maureen Schrijvers is set to deliver weather news and updates in the Network’s flagship newscast 24 Oras
Set to give viewers the latest weather updates as the day begins is Anjo Pertierra for the long-running morning show, Unang Hirit. Anjo is a professional volleyball player who later on became a sportscaster. He now challenges himself anew as he gears up to deliver weather news and updates.
Katrina Son, on the other hand, is no stranger to news, being one of GMA Integrated News’ senior correspondents. Katrina further shows another facet of her broadcast journalism skills as the weather presenter in GTV’s midday newscast, Balitanghali
Meanwhile, from working behind the camera as GMA Integrated News weather producer, Amor Larrosa takes a new role as weather presenter in GMA’s late-night newscast Saksi and GTV’s State of the Nation During the launch of the GMA Integrated News Weather Center new presenters, the immersive features of the network’s weather news hub. Also in attendance were Vice President for Public Affairs Arlene Carnay, Vice President for Sparkle Artist Center Joy Marcelo, and Asst. VP for Corporate Communications, Jojo Aquio
of masquerade masks, which as a form of voicing one’s opinions free of judgment, goes in line with the track’s messaging. This Band expressed that the song “serves as some much-needed motivation to keep going through life despite all its obstacles.”
The track is reflective of today’s woke generation’s tendency to tightly embrace emotional lyrics —often borne out of melancholia —to pump their spirits up. For what it’s worth, today’s youth, both musicians and listeners, care much more about the power of lyrics. We often hear comments that praise a song’s key message or lines more than anything. That simply works and so we have hugot as an overused word on social media.
On an even brighter note, a Huwag Matakot Director’s Cut clip was also uploaded on YouTube last month, reflecting the fun that team Mugshots and This Band had during the shoot.
Matakot” video should be
Owen, himself a musician and recording artist (check Beat Per Machine), shared his mindset as he led a bunch of like-minded individuals, along with members of This Band. “Lahat ng ito actually nagumpisa sa isang passionate na musikero na nais gamitin ang sining ng pelikula, kaakibat ang gigil ng isang banda na maihayag ang importanteng inspirasyon sa mga kababayan natin, gamit naman ang larangan ng pagkanta.” The ‘‘Huwag Matakot” video noted for the use
“Thankful ako sa bandang ito. Simula sa pitching pa lang ng concept hanggang sa masagawa ang shoot, ang tiwala nila at ‘yung chemistry among everyone involved hindi nawala,” Owen pointed out.
The group’s other popular singles are “Hindi Na Nga,” “Di Na Babalik,” “Nang Iwan,” and “No Label.”
This Band is composed of Andrea Manzano (vocals), Euwie Loria (rhythm), John Macaranas (drums), Miccael Galvan (bass), Melvin Carson (keyboardist), and Raymat Gubat (lead guitarist). Here’s to the group getting more breaks and staying together longer. The last thing we’d want to read is a headline that had long been prepared: This Band disbands. Wordplay is good, yeah, but keeping the music playing is better.
THE month of June brings all sorts of celebrations—from massive Pride Marches to highlighting meaningful and empowering stories of expression and individuality.
SM Beauty, the country’s leading beauty retailer, understands that Pride is colorful and unique to every person, and is shining a light on the importance of support, love, and equality.
On June 10, SM Beauty launched its “Create Beauty With Pride” campaign at the SM Mega Fashion Hall, giving guests and attendees a special opportunity to celebrate their individuality and to express how they feel and want to be seen.
SM Beauty chooses to celebrate diversity in beauty. And with its extensive range of cosmetics and hair products, the retailer is ready to cater to diverse needs and preferences,
whether exploring or established.
“At SM Beauty, everyone can create beauty and express themselves however they want to. We empower Filipinos to really celebrate themselves by providing them with a wide range of beauty products and tools to feel confident and beautiful,” says Sharon Decapia , SAVP for Marketing of Watsons and SM Beauty.
Armed with products that everyone needs to fully embrace who they are, SM Beauty invites everyone to create beauty without boundaries.
The “Create Beauty With Pride” launch started with a Beauty Parade, followed by an opening number by Femme MNL. Meanwhile, an advocacy talk from Yanyan Araña , Program Manager of Love Yourself, reminded people of the importance of proper self-expression, getting the right support, and finding self-confi dence.
Those in attendance at the event were able to join different activities highlighting this year’s thrust. A Beauty Lounge was available for attendees to try out the different SM Beauty products, as well as a Beauty Vendo Machine where SMAC members could try their luck and score product samples!
The festivities concluded with a performance from Drag Race Philippines’ Season 1 queens, Precious Paula Nicole and Brigiding dancing and lip-syncing to “This is Me” which had all SM Beauty guests dancing and singing along!
Participating brands included Kiehls, The Body Shop, Laneige,
Procrastination is an emotionmanagement issue that people need to address sooner than later
Glow,
Stop labeling yourself as a procrastinator. Words are so powerful and the messages we repeatedly tell ourselves slowly form part of our reality. I was reminded of this when I listened to an episode of The Mel Robbins Podcast Robbins is a host, motivational speaker, and book author. She said, “You are not a procrastinator. You have the habit of procrastinating.” She also said that once we realize that procrastination is a broken pattern of behavior, we know that we can still reverse it. We should not make procrastination a part of our identities.
moment. Being aware of that, it is no surprise we choose to scroll through Instagram and TikTok than dive into our work emails or school homework.
Forgive yourself. We are human and prone to make mistakes or fall off track when trying to form a habit. Procrastination is not a permanent part of our being, it is a coping mechanism. Based on Pychyl’s research, students who forgave themselves after procrastinating for an exam were less likely to procrastinate on studying for the next exam. When we take a moment to forgive ourselves, we set ourselves up for success in our next attempt.
Make it an awesome experience for dad at SM Cinema Imax while watching the ‘Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse’
MAKE this Father’s Day an “AweSM Dad’s Day Cinema Date.” Treat your dad to the ultimate cinema experience by watching The Little Mermaid, Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse, and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts as all three movies explore different aspects of fatherhood.
In The Little Mermaid , King Triton’s protective nature and love for his daughter Ariel are central to the story. In Spider-Man , the character of Peter Parker’s relationship with his Uncle Ben and his later interactions with his mentor figure, Tony Stark (Iron Man), highlight the importance of fatherly guidance and responsibility, while in Transformers , the father-son relationship between Sam Witwicky and his father adds emotional depth to the story, emphasizing the bond between fathers and their children.
Let your imagination take you on the globetrotting adventure at SM IMAX with a full view of every action-packed scene. Feel the thrill with IMAX digital surround sound system that makes every scene sound exciting. Comfortable seats are waiting for you and your thrill-seeking movie buddies. Best paired with Snack Time’s all-time favorite Popcorn and drinks, your movie experience will surely be fun and exciting.
The Little Mermaid, Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse, and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts are now showing in 3D and 2D formats at SM Cinema branches nationwide. Secure your tickets today for the best Father’s Day experience at SM Cinema.
One day, I saw this quote on a T-shirt, and it resonated with me. If you are like me, you must have found yourself trying to find hacks for crushing procrastination I have lost count of the self-help books and magazine articles I have read in an attempt to finally solve my longstanding struggle with delaying or putting things off.
In my case, I am a living irony as I am one to never be late for an appointment (unless there is an unforeseen circumstance that is beyond my control) but also one to wait until the last minute when working on a creative project. I do not remember missing deadlines in school or at work but I cannot begin to describe the amount of stress I subjected myself to meet some of them. It was recently when I got into graduate school that I forced myself to finally beat procrastination or I might find myself in a downward spiral.
In the course of my yearning for a solution, an insight stood out –procrastination is an emotion-management issue. There is so much to unpack and I would like to share the things I learned along the way, in my years of trial and error. I did not procrastinate on working on this piece so I can say that the following tips I am about to summarize work. Here they are:
Stop beating yourself up. In the process, I realized that the guilt of putting things off and finding myself in a stressful situation is worsened by my internal blame game. As Robbins shared, we must remind ourselves that we are not lazy and we do not lack willpower or discipline. We are struggling with emotions here. What is important is we recognize our reality for us to get to the bottom of things.
Manage your stress. Procrastination, based on research, is triggered by stress. It has nothing to do with what we have to do but more with avoiding the stress and negative emotions we have to deal with the moment we do the things we need to do. Dr. Timothy Pychyl, a psychology expert who studied procrastination for two decades, confirmed that procrastination is rooted in emotions. He defined the concept as the subconscious desire to feel good at the
Acknowledge the cycle. The moment we accept the cycle we constantly find ourselves trapped in, that is when we can take action. Tools and techniques are available online and one powerful trick is the five-second rule by Robbins which says you have to move within five seconds when you want to do something or take action, right before your brain talks you out of it and comes up with excuses that cause delay.
As a work in progress, what helped me a lot is productivity coach and positive psychology practitioner Sharon Danzger’s tip to break down tasks into small chunks. Robbins also supported this by saying that when we do the smallest and easiest task to jumpstart an activity we wish to be doing, we are more likely to create momentum and finish it. This reminds me of what theologian Desmond Tutu once said, “There is only one way to eat an elephant: a bite at a time.”
There is no better time to put that saying to the test than now.
If you wish to learn more about beating procrastination and activating productivity , check out The Mel Robbins podcast on Spotify or enroll in Sharon Danzger’s course on udemy. com
(Super-Productive: Exceptional Focus and Productivity).
For your random thoughts, e-mail the author at randomrepublika@gmail.com
“I will stop procrastinating tomorrow.”
Words are so powerful and the messages we repeatedly tell ourselves slowly form part of our reality.Celebrity couple Karylle (left) and Yael Yuzon (center) posing with Bumblebee and Optimus Prime at the Gala Premier of ‘Transformers: Rise of The Beasts’ at SM Cinema IMAX Theater in SM Megamall Teen stars Paul Salas (left) and Mikee Quintos enjoying the Gala Premier at SM Cinema IMAX at SM Megamall for the exclusive screening of ‘Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts’
