Manila Standard - 2023 November 15 - Wednesday

twitter.com/ MlaStandard

facebook.com/ ManilaStandardPH

instagram.com/ manilastandard

Missed your copy of Manila Standard? Call or text our Circulation

manilastandard.net Hotline at 0917-8848655 or email: circulation@manilastandard.net

For advertisement: email: advertise@manilastandard.net • 85646229

China ‘not taking what isn’t ours’ in WPS NEWS / A2

MMDA asks SC to allow no-contact apprehension NEWS / A3

COA dared to bare report on OVP confidential funds NEWS / A4 VOL. XXXVII • NO. 273 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P20 • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2023

De Lima blames it all on Rody Says she ‘can’t forgive’ yet ex-President for her years in prison

By Macon Ramos-Araneta, Charles Dantes and Rey E. Requejo

‘SOMEONE MUST BE BLAMED.’

These file photos show former Senator Leila de Lima (right) and former President Rodrigo Duterte, whom the former said Tuesday in a television interview she could not yet forgive for ‘orchestrating’ her nearly 7-year imprisonment on drug charges. De Lima was released on bail Monday.

F

ORMER Senator Leila de Lima said she has yet to forgive former President Rodrigo Duterte for what she said were trumped-up, politically motivated charges against her.

“I have been praying to God to give me, grant me the grace to forgive that man (Duterte), because I am not ready to forgive him at this point,” De Lima said.

De Lima —out on bail after almost seven years in prison -- said that she never lost hope while she was incacerated.

“I have to cling to hope. That’s the only thing left for you to hold on to,” she said.

“The taste of freedom is so precious, There’s no substitute for freedom, really,” she added De Lima’s legal team is already dis-

Marcos hails historic first assembly of Bangsamoro region lawmakers

cussing when to file cases against her political prosecutors.

“It cannot be that nobody is answerable, especially those who made a mockery of the justice system,” the senator’s spokesman, Dino de Leon, told ANC, quoting De Lima.

“Those people who authored this frame-up should be held to account.

Those who are engaged in political persecution should be held to account,” he said, again quoting the senator.

Next page

BARMM’S LAWMAKERS.

President Marcos (center) stands with lawmakers from across the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) as he graced the region’s first legislative general assembly on Tuesday in Davao City. RTVM screengrab

By Charles Dantes

(BARMM) yesterday.

Mr. Marcos, who was scheduled to PRESIDENT Marcos hailed the “his- leave for the US yesterday evening, told toric” first local legislative general Bangsamoro officials he “insisted” on atassembly of the Bangsamoro Autono- tending the gathering as it was “crucial to mous Region in Muslim Mindanao Next page

Rice prices should not exceed P48/kilo with bumper harvest—DA ‘Deal for Teves discussed with Timor-Leste’

By Othel Campos

day, assuring consumers of stable rice prices as the major cropping season RETAIL prices of locally milled rice comes to an end on a bumper harvest.

De Mesa said the palay buying price should not exceed P48 a kilo, Agriculture Asec. Arnel de Mesa said yester- remains stable at an average of P23 to

25/kilo farmgate price while the aver- should not exceed P48,” he said. age retail price for regular well milled De Mesa said the wet cropping seais at P42.80 and the prevailing price for son harvest is enough to sustain the afwell milled is at P45/kilo. fordability of locally-produced rice.

“As long as we have the stock, we Next page

By Rey E. Requejo

TWO SIDES OF CONFLICT.

Israel Ambassador to the Philippines Ilan Fluss holds a teddy bear (left photo) with a blindfold to symbolize the 33 children still held as hostages by Hamas in Gaza in a briefing on Tuesday, while pro-Palestinian groups (right photo) march to the US embassy in Manila to denounce the Israeli actions in the Gaza Strip. Danny Pata

Hamas ready to release 70 hostages for 5-day truce THE armed wing of the Palestinian group Hamas said on Monday it told Qatari mediators they were ready to release up to 70 women and children held in Gaza in return for a five-day truce

PBBM leaves for APEC meeting, to push WPS, Chinese incursions

By Charles Dantes PRESIDENT Marcos left for the US Tuesday evening for a three-day visit to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Summit in San Francisco and to visit Los Angeles and Hawaii.

In his APEC Summit participation, Mr. Marcos is expected to push for a discussion of the ongoing tension in the West Philippine Sea and China’s incursions in the country’s territorial waters.

According to the Department of For-

eign Affairs, the President is also looking forward to pushing for various national agendas, such as clean energy, the healthcare system, digital transformation, food security, and climate change.

The President will also lead a Philippine economic briefing and meetings with top US companies and will meet the Filipino communities in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Honolulu.

Mr. Marcos will also likely have a sideline meeting with US Vice President Kamala Harris, Philippine Ambassador Next page

with Israel. and 75 women held in Israeli prisons.

Abu Obeida, a spokesman for the “We informed the mediators we could group said: “Qatari mediation has led release the hostages if we obtained five efforts” to release 100 Israeli hostages days of truce... and passage of aid to all in return for 200 Palestinian children Next page

Court rules in favor of Marcoses anew

By Rey E. Requejo THE Supreme Court has sustained a 2012 decision of the Sandiganbayan dismissing the ill-gotten wealth case against the estate of the late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. and several alleged cronies, Next page

IMEE’S BIRTHDAY BASH. In these photos shared by Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro on his social media account, Senator Imee Marcos celebrates her birthday surrounded by family including her brother, President Marcos, and Vice President Sara Duterte (inset) on Monday night.

JUSTICE Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said Tuesday he had discussed with Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta the possibility of handing over fugitive former Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr., who is facing murder charges and was tagged a terrorist by the government, to the Philippines.

“I just told him that we will be filing the necessary information, the necessary letters, to his office to inform them formally of the charges pending against Mr. Teves,” Remulla said in revealing his meeting with the Pacific Island nation leader on Saturday.

“The duties of rendition are there and that under the United Nations agreement on terrorism, there is a duty for member-states to render unto the prosecuting country the body of any terrorist so that he may be held for trial,” he added.

Rendition refers to the transfer of persons from one jurisdiction to another, following prescribed legal proceedings.

Next page

NEWS

A2

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2023

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Marcos...

From A1

China ‘not taking what isn’t ours’

By Rey E. Requejo and Vince Lopez

C

HINA on Tuesday declared that it has no plans of taking “any inch” of another country’s territory despite its frequent incursions into the West Philippine Sea, even as it demanded that the United States not interfere in Beijing’s dispute with other countries.

Mao Ning, spokesperson of China’s Foreign Ministry, made the declaration amid a worsening row in the WPS, and as President Xi Jinping visits the United States, a key Philippine ally, for a summit meeting.

“China has made clear on multiple occasions the nature of the South China Sea issue and what our principled position is. China will neither take any inch of territory that is not ours nor give up

Rice...

From A1

De Lima...

From A1

“We have harvested about 90 percent of palay across the nation, bought at P22 per kilogram,” he said.

Local harvest may churn out yields of 3.063 million metric tons (MT) for November and December, according to DA estimates.

He said the possible movement in prices was prevalent in areas with remaining standing crops for harvest toward the end of the season.

“Based on data and information from the Philippine Rice Information System, it is generally a good harvest year for the Filipino rice farmers,” De Mesa said.

The national rice outlook for the year is estimated to breach the previous record to reach 20 million MT.

Former Senate president Franklin Drilon agreed.

“I strongly asserted that those who coerced witnesses into providing false testimony should be held accountable for the unjust imprisonment of former Senator Leila De Lima,” he said.

Drilon said former Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre, who the former corrections bureau chief Rafael Ragos accused of coercing him to testify against De Lima, could be accountable for the crime of subornation of perjury.

“We are very happy that the rule of law has prevailed but who will answer for the sufferings of Leila De Lima for the last seven years because of invented and unwarranted charges? Drilon said.

In an interview on ANC, De Leon criticized Duterte’s former spokesman, Harry Roque, for claiming that the expresident had nothing to do with the drug charges against De Lima.

“It is unfortunate that he is now peddling lies. He knows that these are lies, he knows that for a fact. Why does he know that for a fact? He has constantly heard Rodrigo Duterte say that ‘Leila de Lima, you are finished. Leila de Lima, you will rot in jail.’ And then all of a sudden here comes Harry Roque who used to be a defender of human rights who will claim that he has nothing to do with the cases against [De Lima],” De Leon said.

Duterte was the first to accuse De Lima of alleged links to drug syndicates by releasing an alleged “drug matrix” in 2016, which De Lima denied.

The Department of Justice, then under Aguirre, filed three separate drug

Hamas...

From A1 of our people throughout the Gaza Strip, but the enemy is procrastinating,” he said in an audio statement.

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US media “there could be” a deal to free hostages held in Gaza, but stopped short of providing any details.

Israeli officials say around 240 people, including foreigners, were taken hostage when Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip surged through the heavily militarized border with Israel on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians.

Among those captured were at least 30 minors, including some young children.

After the attack, Israel began an intensive bombing campaign in Gaza, which the Hamas government says has killed 11,240, also mostly civilians.

Political leaders and army chiefs in Israel have said there will be no ceasefire until the hostages are freed.

A total of 224 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and eight children have so far been repatriated back to the Philippines since Hamas terrorists launched their attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7.

On Monday, the seventh batch of OFWs from Israel composed of 39 adults and two children arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 via Etihad Airways flight EY424.

“There are 29 caregivers and 10 hotel workers in this group of returnees,” the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said in its Facebook post.

The Presidential Communications Office earlier announced that benefits and assistance given by the Philippine government to repatriated OFWs include a return ticket from Israel to Manila, $200 in financial assistance for their immediate needs, and hotel accommodation in Israel while waiting for their flight.

Upon arrival in Manila, they will also receive P50,000 from the Department of Migrant Workers, P50,000 from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, care kits and food packs from the National Reintegration Center for OFWs, initial physical and medical check-ups, and medical referral services if needed by the Department of Health; Psychosocial assessment and evaluation by the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the DOH, P20,000 financial assistance for individuals in crisis situations from the DSWD, and skills training vouchers and care kits from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.

‘Deal...

From A1 Teves has been charged with murder over the killing of former Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo and nine others in Pamplona town last March, and the killing of three others in the same province in 2019.

In September, a Manila City regional trial court issued arrest warrants against Teves and three others over the Pamplona killings, while courts in Negros also issued arrest warrants for the 2019 killings.

“It was on October 4 that the arrest warrant for the 2019 murders has been issued. So there are a lot actually a lot of outstanding warrants against Congressman Teves,” Remulla said.

Earlier reports indicated that Teves was hiding in Timor-Leste after having

Court...

From A1 led by business tycoon Lucio Tan. The ill-gotten wealth case filed by the Presidential Commission on Good Government covered Tan’s companies which Marcos and then First Lady Imelda allegedly granted concessions to or have interests in.

“It appears that none of the pieces of evidence relied upon by the Republic was successful in establishing the manner by which respondents allegedly acquired ill-gotten wealth. It was not shown, through these pieces of evidence, if and how respondents took undue advantage of their office, authority, influence, connections, or relationship,” the High Court said in an en banc decision written by Associate Justice Rodil Zalameda.

“Here, even if we apply the comprehensive definition of ill-gotten

achieving our goal of achieving peace and progress.”

“It is historic and it is a landmark day because it is a measure of the progress that we have made over so many decades as we have strived for peace.

We have made some false starts, we have come to some successes, but we have never come this far,” he said.

He also underscored the need for increased cooperation between the national and Bangsamoro governments following the establishment of seven intergovernmental mechanisms in BARMM. “The national and Bangsamoro governments will now have greater cooperation because of these offices that are now been established.

We will have greater cooperation, greater coordination, and we will converge towards the realization of our shared endeavors,” the President said.

“This is the beginning of the process of creating the institutions that we all know are necessary so that we are not dependent on one group, we are not dependent on certain individuals alone. We are dependent on the institutions that will continue to work no matter what happens in the political sphere,” he added.

The seven intergovernmental mechanisms that have been established and are now working in full swing are the Philippine CongressBangsamoro Parliament Forum (PCBPF); Intergovernmental Fiscal Policy Board (IFPB); Joint Body for the Zones of Joint Cooperation (JBZJC); Intergovernmental Infrastructure Development Board (IFPB); Intergovernmental Energy Board (IEB); and Bangsamoro Sustainable Development Board (BSDB); and the Council of Leaders.

Mr. Marcos assured the BARMM government of continued support to improve the socioeconomic condition of the Bangsamoro people.

any inch of territory that belongs to us,” Mao said.

The Chinese official stressed that Beijing is committed to settling whatever relevant dispute it has with other countries “through negotiation and consultation.”

However, she said Beijing will not “waver in our determination to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

China has disputed the Philippines’ territorial sovereignty over the West Philippine Sea, a part of the bigger South China Sea.

China is citing as basis its historic yet unilateral nine-dash line (now 10-dash line), while the Philippines’ claim to sovereignty is based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) that was ratified by both sides.

As the US continues to remind China that any armed attack on the Philippine assets in the waters would invoke its defense treaty with the Philippines, Mao said that it “needs to stop creating pretexts and interfering in the disputes between China and relevant countries over territorial and maritime rights and interests.”

cases against De Lima, accusing her of participating in the illegal drug trade inside the New Bilibid Prison.

A Muntinlupa court junked one of the three cases in February 2021.

She was then acquitted of conspiracy to commit illegal drug trading in May 2023, after a Muntinlupa court said the recantation by Ragos had created reasonable doubt.

That leaves one remaining case.

De Leon said De Lima’s years-long detention was the result of “the greatest frameup… subsidized by taxpayers’ money.”

Drilon called for a thorough examination of the procedures that led to the prosecution of De Lima and urged the Supreme Court to investigate the seven-year delay in her case.

Drilon underscored the need for amendments to the rules to prevent such delays from happening again.

Drilon explained the significance of the court granting bail, emphasizing that the denial of bail in a capital offense usually signifies strong evidence of guilt. In contrast, the grant of bail suggests that the evidence of guilt is weak, if not entirely lacking.

Drilon and De Lima both belong to the Liberal Party.

Senator Imee Marcos on Tuesday said her brother, President Marcos, had nothing to do with the case.

“Nobody can meddle in the judiciary.

Let’s protect their independence,” the senator said.

Senator Ronald dela Rosa, who was Duterte’s police chief before he became a senator, insisted that there was a basis to file the drug charges against De Lima.

“In fact, she was charged, she was issued a warrant of arrest by a court. It was a court that issued her arrest warrant.

So we cannot say there’s no basis,” Dela

Rosa said in an interview on radio dzBB. He also suggested that “the appreciation of the court” on De Lima’s case may have changed now that Rodrigo Duterte is no longer president.

He said while he didn’t agree with the court’s decision, he respected it.

The United States on Tuesday welcomed the release of De Lima on bail and urged the Philippines to resolve her remaining drug case.

In a statement, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller urged the Philippines to resolve De Lima’s remaining case “in a manner that is consistent with its international human rights obligations and commitments.”

On Monday, after almost seven years in detention, the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 206 granted bail for De Lima on the remaining drug case.

“The US welcomes former Philippine Senator Leila de Lima’s release on bail after nearly seven years in detention on politically motivated drug charges. Senator De Lima’s release follows her acquittal in two out of three cases,” Miller said, as shared by the US Embassy in a post on the social media platform X. The former senator previously said that she has no regrets despite her long detention, adding that she will work on “complete vindication.”

“I will further work for complete vindication, because this case hasn’t yet ended. I want people to know the truth of my innocence. I want the people to know how it happened. I want people to know who was behind it,” she said.

In her remaining case, De Lima and others are accused of conspiring with each other to commit illegal drug trading by allegedly using New Bilibid Prison inmates to sell and trade illegal drugs.

tried and failed to seek a special asylum status there.

According to Remulla, Ramos-Horta – who came to Manila on a two-day official visit last week -- told him that he would wait for the letters.

The Justice Secretary believed Ramos-Horta would act upon “favorably” since the Timor-Leste leader supposedly asked “about the judicial system, about how things are decided, about how we look upon situations.”

“Many situations were brought to me by the good President and I was able to answer properly. In fact, he has extended an invitation to my office to go to Timor-Leste to speak about the justice system, the criminal justice system, the relationship of law enforcement and other things that will be good for a new country to be able to take note of, very early in its inception,” he said.

Hailing the Philippines’ legal traditions as one of the longest and oldest in

Southeast Asia and at par with the rest of the world, Remulla said Timor-Leste, as a new country, could learn a few things from the country’s legal system.

Meanwhile, Remulla noted that former senator Manny Pacquiao frequently visits Timor-Leste and was seen in the company of Teves at one point.

“Teves was seen welcoming Pacquiao in Timor-Leste one time. I have no other reports on that matter but his name was mentioned among those prominent Filipinos who goes to TimorLeste,” he said.

“I don’t know what he does there or what he envisions to be his role there but his name was mentioned as among the frequent visitors in Timor-Leste.

And I would like to find out from the good senator if there is anything we can do to help him also since we are furthering our relations with TimorLeste,” he added.

to the US Jose Romualdez said.

“There is a request from the office of VP Kamala for a sideline meeting with PBBM,” Romualdez said.

He said there are “no plans on this trip” for a pull-aside meeting with US President Joe Biden.

From Los Angeles, Mr. Marcos will fly to Hawaii to visit the US Indo-Pacific Command.

“It adds a layer to the cooperation that we are trying to establish with like-minded states in order to promote what we have been advocating all along – a rules-based order especially in the maritime areas,” said DFA Undersecretary for Multilateral Affairs and International Economic Relations Charles Jose.

The President will also be visiting the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies for a roundtable discussion, added Jose.

This will be Mr. Marcos’ third trip to the US -- first in September 2022 to attend the United Nations General Assembly and the second in May this year for an official visit that included a bilateral meeting with Biden.

Meanwhile, Sabin Aboitiz, president and CEO of the Aboitiz Group and a member of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) Philippines, reported on the country’s progress on the Climate Risk Scenarios project.

wealth, the pieces of evidence relied upon by the Republic failed to establish all its elements. Notably, some of these pieces of evidence are even of doubtful admissibility.”

The Marcos estate was represented by the former First Lady Imelda, son and now President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and daughters Imee Marcos and Irene Araneta.

Besides Tan, also named as respondents were his family members and business associates.

Tan’s companies covered by the case include Shareholdings, Inc, Asia Brewery, Allied Bank, Fortune Tobacco, Maranaw Hotels, Virginia Tobacco Redrying Plant, Northern Tobacco Redrying Plant, Foremost Farms, Sipalay Trading, Himmel Industries, Grandspan Development Corp. (Grandspan), Basic Holdings Corp, Progressive Farms, Inc., Manufacturing Services and Trade Corp., Allied Leasing & Finance Corp., Jew-

el Holdings, Inc., Iris Holdings and Development Corp., and Virgo Holdings and Development Corp.

The PCCG alleged that the sale of the controlling interest of the Development Bank of the Philippines in Century Park Sheraton Hotel (Century Park), owned

by Maranaw Hotels and Resorts Corp., to Sipalay Trading Corporation, a company controlled by Tan, has caused losses amounting to millions of pesos to DBP. The properties that the government was seeking to recover include two aircraft and shares of stocks from the respondent-corporations and Century Park.

In denying the appeal of the PCGG, the High Court ruled that the evidence presented by the agency failed to establish that the assets and properties covered by the complaint were illegally obtained.

Among the pieces of evidence presented by the PCGG in support of its case were Imelda’s amended answer,

Tan’s written disclosure, Marcos Jr’s testimony, and voluminous documentary evidence found by the PCGG during their investigations.

The tribunal, however, noted that in Imelda’s amended answer, she merely stated that Marcos Sr. had 60 percent beneficial ownership in Tan’s companies, which beneficial interests were held in trust by the business tycoon and his associates who were stockholders of the said companies.

“There is nothing, however, in said amended answer that would even suggest that undue advantage of office, authority, influence, connections, or relationship was employed to facilitate the acquisition by Marcos of his 60 percent beneficial ownership in respondent Tan’s companies,” the SC said.

On Tan’s written disclosure, the Court said this cannot be admitted as evidence due to the failure of the prosecution to present him as a witness to authenticate the document.

PBBM...

From A1

NEWS

A3 WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2023

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Driver’s license backlog to reach 4.6m by yearend

WPS EXHIBIT. A baby touches one of the photos in an exhibit titled ‘Not One Inch Exhibit: Our Sea, Our Hope’ at the Activity Center of Robinson Galleria in Quezon City on Tuesday. The exhibit showcases photos, videos, and narratives on the West Philippine Sea in line with the President’s statement that the Philippines will not lose an inch of its territory, organizers said. Manny Palmero

MMDA asks Supreme Court to lift TRO on no contact policy

By Joel E. Zurbano

T

HE Metropolitan Manila Development Authority has asked the Supreme Court to lift the temporary restraining order (TRO) on the No Contact Apprehension Policy or NCAP. MMDA chairman Romando Artes said the number of accidents has increased since NCAP was suspended in August last year.

“We really need this kind of technology (NCAP) to monitor and Im-

plement traffic rules and regulations on Metro Manila roads,” Artes said.

From January to July this year, a total of 44,493 vehicles were involved in accidents in Metro Manila.

Of the number, 32,800 incidents resulted in damage to property, 168 were fatal, and 11,525 resulted in injuries.

Reports from the MMDA Traffic Engineering Center showed that four-wheelers were the most commonly involved vehicles in accidents, comprising about 45,000 of the total.

NCAP utilizes closed-circuit television cameras to capture videos and images to apprehend vehicles violating traffic laws, rules, and

regulations.

With the no contact policy, the MMDA and local government units can enforce traffic rules using traffic management technology, including advanced camera systems powered by computer vision artificial intelligence.

The Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order against the NCAP in August 2022 based on a consolidated case arising from separate petitions filed by four transport groups.

THE Land Transportation Office will have a backlog of 4.6 million for driver’s licenses by the end of the year and 13 million for motorcycle plates until 2025, Senator Grace Poe said.

“The good news is by Nov. 15, there are no more backlogs for motor vehicles [plates], but until 2025 there will still be motorcycle plates backlog to the tune of around 13 million,” she said.

Poe made the disclosure during the Senate plenary deliberations on the Department of Transportation’s proposed budget for 2024.

“For the driver’s license, as of Oct 18, 2023, the backlog is 2.4 million cards and is projected to increase to 3.9 million by December 2023,” she added.

The LTO is expecting 4.6 million card supplies next year, which will result in a decrease of the backlog to 2 million, Poe said.

“Considering the projected annual requirement of 6.6 million cards based on average license card issuance of about 550,000 cards per month, this results in a projected deficit of 2 million cards in 2024,” the senator said.

Macon Ramos-Araneta

PH to roll out e-visa to India—DFA THE Department of Foreign Affairs is preparing to roll out the e-visa to India after expanding the system’s beta testing on all its seven foreign service posts in China.

“Further to the President’s policy directive on the implementation of the evisa system, the DFA is preparing to expand e-Visa operations to India before the end of the year in view of reciprocity in visa policies and the economic potential of the Indian tourism market,” DFA spokesperson Ma. Teresita Daza said.

Latest data from the Department of Tourism showed India ranked 12th among top foreign visitors in 2023, with 58,504 recorded as of October 2023.

Indian Ambassador to the Philippines Shambhu Kumaran earlier this month asked President Marcos to allow the extension of e-visas for Indian nationals

who are staying in the Philippines.

The DFA earlier soft-launched the Philippine e-visa system, starting with Chinese tourists in Shanghai, China in August.

Daza said the operations of the system have since been expanded to all seven Philippine FSPs in China under beta testing parameters.

“Under the said parameters, walk-in and remote e-Visa applicants are assisted by Post’s personnel to address inquiries and technical issues in navigating the system,” she said.

From Aug. 24 to Nov. 6, all Philippine embassies and consulates in China issued a total of 1,739 Philippine evisas.

“The DFA gathered that the e-visa applicants can navigate the e-visa system with general ease, and received the necessary support for minor technical difficulties,” Daza said.

Yamsuan confident national summit to declog PH jails

TIEZA golf course plan getting in way of VisMin power grid—solon

A PARTY-LIST lawmaker lauded a Supreme Court (SC)-led national summit next month that would address the chronic congestion in the country’s jails.

Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan of Bicol Saro party-list group also underscored the need to unify the fragmented correctional system as an effective longterm solution to this perennial problem.

As a former assistant secretary of the Interior Department, Yamsuan said he is optimistic that the upcoming National Jail Decongestion Summit organized by the SC in coordination with the Justice Sector Coordinating Council (JSCC) would yield fresh policies and programs meant to address overcrowding in the country’s jails and detention centers.

“This commendable effort is a significant step in tackling the pervasive issue of jail congestion. We are confident that the summit would be able to come up with ways to reduce backlogs and speed up the disposition of cases to help address the overpopulation in our jails and prisons,” Yamsuan said.

“At the same time, we hope that the participants in the summit would also consider the long-term solution of integrating the country’s fragmented correctional system. We have been pushing for this reform through our measure that seeks to create the Department of Corrections and Jail Management (DCJM),” added Yamsuan.

Maricel V. Cruz

CAGAYAN de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez has lamented that a plan by a government agency to develop a golf course in Cebu stands in the way of linking the Visayas and Mindanao power grids.

“I am urging the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) to withdraw its petition before the Supreme Court opposing the construction of a power line that would lead to the Visayas-Mindanao interconnection,” he said.

He said TIEZA is opposed to the Cebu-

FOR CHILDREN. The city government of San Juan and the Council for Welfare of Children (CWC) sign a memorandum of understanding on Tuesday to boost the city’s programs for kids. Present (from left) are Meanard Ilagan, Project Development Officer, Makabata Helpline CWC; CWC Executive Director and Undersecretary Angelo M. Tapales; San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora; and City Social Welfare and Development Officer Portia Esquillo. Manny Palmero

Magdugo line because two tower sites are located within its property, which it plans to convert into a golf course.

“This agency has misplaced priorities.

It regards a golf course as more important than the power interconnection of Visayas and Mindanao, which will unlock enormous development potentials in these two large islands, in addition to energizing many urban and rural communities,” he said.

Rodriguez appealed to the Department of Tourism, to which TIEZA is attached, to compel TIEZA to withdraw

its petition before the Supreme Court.

Once the complaint is withdrawn, the high court should lift the temporary restraining order (TRO) it issued against the construction of the Cebu power line, he said.

According to the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP), they have until the end of this year to interconnect the Visayas and Mindanao power grids.

However, NGCP, the operator of the country’s transmission lines, said the Supreme Court TRO would delay the interconnection.

It said the Cebu-Magdugo line is a component of the Cebu-Negros-Pangay backbone project, which it added was crucial to the operation of the 450-megawatt Mindanao-Visayas interconnection project.

Rodriguez said TIEZA and the Supreme Court should allow these projects to proceed and be completed “because these would result in reliable power supply in Visayas and Mindanao.”

“Who knows, these may even lead to lower electricity costs in our communities,” he said. Maricel V. Cruz

Man behind fake socmed account of NCRPO chief caught in Olongapo

ROBOTICS FAIR. An exhibitor demonstrates his entry before other students participating at the opening of the 2023 Robotics Fair and Exhibit yesterday at the Colegio de Muntinlupa in Sucat, Muntinlupa City. The fair will last until Nov. 16.

Joseph Muego

THE National Capital Region Police Office has arrested the man behind the several fake social media accounts of NCRPO director Brig. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. and other prominent individuals.

A composite team from the Regional Special Operations Group - Intelligence Division, Anti-Terrorism Squad-Regional Intelligence Division, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), and Olongapo City Forensic Unit arrested Darrel John Green, 36, in Barangay Barreto, Olongapo City, on Nov. 11.

Authorities discovered that aside from the name of Nartatez, Green was also using the identities of various police officials and prominent personalities, includ-

ing Quezon City Police District director Brig. Gen. Redrico Maranan, and former Pasay City police station commander Froilan Uy to solicit money.

Green, whom the police described as “notorious,” also has a standing warrant of arrest for robbery and three warrants for qualified theft.

“Through the relentless efforts of intelligence and research team, the suspect behind these fraud accounts who tried to solicit monetary amounts from several personalities through social media was successfully identified, tracked and located in Olongapo City which led to his eventual arrest,” said Nartatez in a statement. Joel E. Zurbano

NEWS

A4

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2023

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Probers believe Camilon hurt by cop-lover

NEW LAKAS MEMBERS. Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez (3rd from left) administers the oath of membership to the Lakas-CMD party on Monday night to Pasay City Rep. Antonino G. Calixto (center), Cebu 2nd District Rep. Eduardo Roa Rama Jr. (4th right), Parañaque City 1st District Rep. Edwin L. Olivares (3rd right), and Zamboanga del Norte 2nd District Rep. Glona G. Labadlabad (2nd right). Witnessing are Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio “Dong” D. Gonzales Jr. of Pampanga, Deputy Speaker Antonio T. Albano of Isabela (left), House Majority Leader Manuel Jose M. Dalipe of amboanga City (2nd left), and Agusan Del Norte Rep. Jose Aquino (right). Ver Noveno

Solon dares COA to bare report on OVP use of confidential funds

By Maricel V. Cruz

A

SSISTANT Minority Leader Rep. Arlene Brosas on Tuesday called on the Commission on Audit (COA) to release its audit report on the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) confidential fund expenses.

Brosas of the militant Gabriela partylist made the call as the COA has committed to finish the audit of the confidential fund today, Nov. 15.

“We believe that the Filipino people have the right to know how public funds are being utilized, especially when it involves significant amounts such as the OVP’s P125 million corruption-prone confidential funds transferred from the Office of the President and spent within just 11 days in 2022,” Brosas stressed.

“It is crucial that the full audit report of all government agencies be made available to the public. We need transparency and accountability in the handling of public funds to ensure that they aroused for their intended purpose and not for personal gain,” she added.

The lawmaker noted that the issue on confidential and intelligence funds hasbeen “rightfully criticized by the public for years as it escapes genuine audit and public scrutiny, creating a loophole that

allows those handling them to evade accountability to the Filipino people.

“We urge the government to address this issue and ensure the responsible utilization of public funds. It is crucial that confidential funds undergo the same audit procedures implemented in any other government expenses,” Brosas said.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has posted clean audits in recent years, according to the COA. “For 2022 and prior years, no Notice of Suspension, Notice of Disallowance, and Notice of Charge was issued,” the COA report stated.

COA issues a notice of suspension when there are transaction discrepancies on compliance with requirements, “which may result in pecuniary loss to the government.

The COA, on the other hand, issues a

notice of disallowance when the use of public funds is deemed illegal.

The House under the leadership of Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez has instituted belt-tightening measures to ensure cost-efficient operations.

Citing a COA report issued on July 6, House Secretary General Reginald Velasco has asserted that the chamber’s use of public funds under Romualdez’s stewardship has been above-board.

The Speaker’s Office has credited the cooperation of the lawmakers and the legislative staff in the implementation of the belt-tightening measures, thus the House was able to reduce its spending.

Former President Rodrigo Duterte earlier cited alleged irregularities in House spending and criticized the chamber’s “extraordinary and miscellaneous expenses.”

DOH probing extent of vax data breach THE Department of Health (DOH) has yet to determine the extent of the possible breach into the country’s COVID-19 vaccination data following the hacking of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) database.

Meanwhile, the Department of Education (DepEd), in partnership with the DOH, vowed to collaborate in addressing health issues directly affecting school-aged children.

Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa confirmed receiving reports that the COVID-19 vaccination data from the Philippines’ deposited with the WHO might have been “compromised and breached.”

“In response, the DOH is currently in close coordination with the WHO and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to ascertain the veracity of this report, as well as to determine the extent of any possible data breaches, and the appropriate interventions, should there be any,” Herbosa told the GMA News.

MISSING beauty queen Catherine Camilon was allegedly hurt by the police officer who has been tagged as one of the suspects in the crime, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) said on Tuesday.

Citing Camilon’s sister Chin-Chin, CIDG 4A chief Col. Jacinto Malinao Jr. said the suspect, Maj. Allan de Castro, supposedly hurt Camilon when she told the cop’s wife that he had an affair.

“Based on the statement of Cath’s sister, Chin, she was told that the police major physically hurt Cath because he was drunk and Cath told the wife of the police major about an affair,” Malinao told GMA News Online in a message.

Kidnapping and serious illegal detention complaints have been filed against De Castro, his driver and bodyguard Jeffrey Magpantay, and two John Does over the beauty queen’s disappearance.

Investigators have also started questioning the family members and a friend of Camilon to determine the possible motive behind her disappearance.

Malinao said the testimonies of Camilon’s mother, her sister Chin-Chin, and her friend, a certain ‘Vanessa’, confirmed that the victim was supposed to meet with her boyfriend, Maj. de Castro in Batangas City on the day of her disappearance on Oct. 12.

Malinao said they were able to obtain screenshots of the exchange of messages of de Castro and Camilon which will be part of the evidence against the suspect.

According to the CIDG, there was information that Camilon was planning to break up with De Castro and this might be the reason why the two allegedly met on the day the beauty queen disappeared.

However, Malinao said De Castro did not admit anything about the supposed meet-up and claimed that he was at the Batangas Police Provincial Office (PPO) on the night Camilon went missing.

Vince Lopez

Wage hikes approved in 3 regions

By Vito Barcelo

FAMOUS DOGS ON STAMPS. A Philippine Postal Corp. (PHLPost) staffer shows collectible stamps featuring dogs

owned by historical figures such as Dr. Jose Rizal and Marcelo H. Del Pilar, in the book ‘Dogs in Philippine History’ authored by Ian Christopher B. Alfonso. The stamps were launched at the SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City on Tuesday, as PHLPost said they ‘awaken our understanding and treatment of dogs as they unfold with the history of our country’. Danny Pata

SOME 150,500 minimum wage earners in the Cordilleras, Bicol, and Eastern Visayas are expected to directly benefit from the wage hikes ordered by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards (RTWPBs) and approved by the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC),” the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said.

The wage orders will be published on Nov. 15 and will take effect on Dec. 1.

On the other hand, an estimated 521,600 full-time wage and salary workers earning above the minimum wage may also indirectly benefit as a result of upward adjustments at the enterprise level arising from wage distortion corrections, the DOLE said in a statement.

The three RTWPBs have also issued wage orders for the domestic helpers or kasambahay.

The new wage orders are expected to benefit around 162,970 domestic workers, about 21 percent of whom are on live-in arrangements.

In the Bicol Region, all minimum wage workers in private establishments will receive a P30-increase, bring the daily minimum wage in the region to ₱395.

Ombudsman set to probe passport issue ‘motu propio’

By Macon Ramos-Araneta THE Office of the Ombudsman will investigate on its own the issuance of Philippine passports to foreign nationals.

With only P1 million confidential intelligence fund, Ombudsman Samuel Martires also said they will use “charm and smiles” and will resort to being “Marites” (colloquial for gossips) in their investigation, but will have info

gathered verified.

Despite the absence of any complaint, Martires noted that his office can act motu proprio in conducting a probe on the passport issue.

Also targeted in the inquiry are foreigners holding tax identification numbers and other documents that should be exclusively issued to Filipino citizens.

“We will see this to know who were

involved. We have to distinguish the jurisdiction of the DOJ (Department of Justice),” Martires said.

This early, the Ombudsman already sees there was a violation of the AntiGraft and Corrupt Practices Act. In the deliberation of the proposed Ombudsman budget for 2024, the issue concerning the arrest of 10 foreigners who were in possession of a Philippine passport surfaced.

Push treaties to bring convicted OFWs home— Chiz SENATOR Francis Escudero has asked the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) to pursue treaties that would allow convicted Filipinos abroad to serve their prison term in the Philippines.

In his interpellation during the 2024 proposed budget of the DMW, Escudero stressed the need to prioritize this undertaking in the DMW agenda “in the spirit of giving second chances” for our

convicted countrymen or even those classified as “detention prisoners.”

To date, the DMW said there are some 1,254 overseas Filipino workers (OFWS) in prison broken down as follows: 293 in Asia-Pacific,; 7 in Europe; and 954 in the Middle East.

“I remember when there was a Spanish national in the Philippines who was imprisoned for allegedly killing some-

one in Cebu, and the very first thing Spain did was to negotiate and try to enter into a treaty with the Philippines with respect to prisoner exchange,” Escudero said.

The senator was referring to case of Francisco Larrañaga in Cebu involving the abduction of sisters Marijoy and Jacqueline Chiong on July 16, 1997 outside Ayala Center. Macon Ramos-Araneta

HEALTH BUDGET PROTEST. Health workers, nurses, doctors and other organizations under the Coalition for Health Budget Increase (CHBI) protest in front of the Senate building in Manila to exhort senators to restore the P10 billion in cuts it made on the Department of Health budget, specifically the P1.7 billion in cuts to specialty hospitals and P2 billion to the Philippine General Hospital. Danny Pata

BUSINESS

B1 WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2023

extrastory2000@gmail.com

PH gets $400-m loan from ADB to raise revenues

By Julito G. Rada

FINANCE MINISTERS. Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno represents the Philippines at the 30th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Finance Ministers’ Meeting in San Francisco, California on Nov. 13, 2023, chaired by United States Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen. With the theme ‘Creating a Resilient and Sustainable Future for All’ the finance ministers’ meeting aims to discuss important economic issues such as action plans on strengthening financial resilience, advancing fiscal reforms, trends in sustainable finance and digital assets and the global and regional economic and financial outlook.

3 conglomerates post robust profit growth

By Jenniffer B. Austria CONGLOMERATES Ayala Corp., GT Capital Holdings Inc. and JG Summit Holdings Inc. posted robust profits in the first nine months of 2023 on strong contribution from core businesses.

Ayala said in a disclosure to the stock exchange its nine-month net income reached P32.2 billion, up 34.7 percent from a year ago despite the economic headwinds and geopolitical tension in the Middle East.

“Despite macroeconomic and geopolitical headwinds, our outlook remains intact as we look to end the year with profits exceeding pre-COVID levels.

We continue to build on our solid 9M results and rationalize our portfolio wherever it makes sense to do so,” Ayala president and chief executive Cezar Consing said.

GT Capital Holdings Inc. (GTCAP) of the Ty family said net income from January to September this year surged 54 percent to P23.09 billion from P14.95 billion in the previous year.

Core net income also increased 105 percent to P23.25 billion.

Its core net income was driven by Metropolitan Bank & Trust Company (Metrobank) which posted a record net income of P31.8 billion, representing a 36 percent year-on-year increase and Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) which realized a profit of P10.9 billion, up 159 percent compared to the previous year.

JG Summit Holdings Inc. of the Gokongwei Group reported a combined profit of P15.4 billion in the first nine months, a turnaround from the P900million net loss it logged in the same period last year.

JG Summit said the positive nine-

month performance was due to the turnaround of its air transport operations plus margin gains in real estate and food businesses.

Nine-month revenues increased by 16 percent year-on-year to P251.3 billion.

“We continued to sustain the topline growth and margin expansion with good operating results in the third quarter from our business units,” JG Summit president and chief executive officer Lance Gokongwei said.

“We, however, remain cognizant of both macro and industry challenges that our strategic business units continue to face, especially with the recent volatility in fuel costs and foreign exchange rates, and elevated borrowing costs.

With this in mind, we carry through with our initiatives to improve efficiency and profitability, while pursuing growth,” he said.

T

HE Asian Development Bank (ADB) said Tuesday it approved a $400 million (P22.4 billion) loan to help the Philippines achieve its mediumterm fiscal strategy and finance its post-pandemic economic recovery through a stronger focus on revenue mobilization, including modernizing tax administration, systems and processes.

It said the Domestic Resource Mobilization (DRM) Program Subprogram 1 is the bank’s first policy-based loan dedicated to DRM reform.

It aims to address the country’s need to tackle discrepancies in tax policy frameworks to boost tax compliance, reduce tax avoidance and raise more revenues from activities and products that have a major impact on the environment or contribute to climate change.

“The program recognizes that DRM reforms necessitate not only raising revenue, but also designing a revenue system that fosters inclusiveness, encourages good governance, promotes investments and job creation, reduces inequality, and tackles climate change,” said ADB senior economist for public finance Aekapol Chongvilaivan in a statement.

“ADB supports the government’s DRM program, which will result in a higher tax-to-gross domestic product [GDP] ratio and ensure sustainable financing for the country as it sets out to achieve its goals under the Philippine Development Plan [PDP] 2023‒2028,” Chongvilaivan said.

The Philippines wants to raise its tax-to-GDP ratio from 15.0 percent of GDP in 2020 to at least 15.9 percent by 2026, as stated in the PDP 2023–2028, to slowly narrow the gap with the 17.6 percent average ratio of its Asia and Pacific neighbors.

Among the reforms pursued by the government in line with the DRM program is the Digital Transformation Initiative of the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

The project aims to modernize key taxpayers’ services, including online tax registration, return filing and payment.

This can potentially increase the ratio of actual tax revenues to tax potential, from 75 percent in 2020 to at least 85 percent by 2026, according to the ADB. The DRM Program helped the government implement various international tax standards under the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)/G20 Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting and the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information to address international tax avoidance.

Grab delivery riders optimistic on new earning model • Following the implementation of the effort-based model, leaders from the Grab rider community have reported a stable to slight increase in their earnings • For its part, Grab is firm against misinformation discrediting the company and the new earning model LEADERS from the Grab delivery-partner community expressed their cautious optimism about the newly introduced effort-based model. Over the past two weeks since the launch of the restructured earning model, the community leaders have noted that their average income has either remained at par or has incrementally improved.

The rider leaders highlight how the new effort-based model is addressing their existing concerns by incorporating pick-up distance and the merchant waiting time in their earnings computation.

“Natutuwa ako na ngayon, nasasama na sa computation ang waiting time tsaka ‘yung effort, kumbaga, papunta sa merchant.

‘Yung kita ko, napansin ko hindi bumababa kumpara sa dati, minsan tumataas pa,” shares Jerry from the Grab deliverypartner community.

Continued Assessment and Observation The initial results of the Metro Manila implementation of the effort-based model attest to its efficacy. Following this, rider leaders are pushing for continued collaboration with Grab to assess and calibrate the earning model in response to emerging trends and the ever-evolving macroeconomic landscape. “Totoong maganda ang paunang resulta ng bagong earning model ni Grab. Ngunit, dahil itong bagong model ay

Grab delivery-partners actively participate in a series of forums and town halls, engaging in discussion with Grab as the platform introduces the effort-based earning model.

leadership. “Aktibo talaga akong sumasama sa mga forum ni Grab, lalo na pag alam kong maapektuhan ‘yung aming kita. Natutuwa ako na may ganoong klaseng opportunity para kami mismo makapagbahagi ng aming opinyon sa liderato ng Grab.”

Mon also appreciates that Grab has made feedback and dispute mechanisms available for its delivery-partners. In light of the effort-based model launch, Mon shared that Grab activated a new help portal for riders to file reports around concerns like fare computation and actual merchant waiting time. This is crucial in ensuring that the riders’ Two-Way Communication The rider leaders have expressed earnings calculations adhere to the their community’s gratitude for model.

Grab’s proactive approach in Trust in the Platform fostering open dialogues with the The rider leaders have recognized rider community. Among them industry colleagues’ is Mon, who underscores the their significance of actively participating apprehension, acknowledging that in Grab’s forums and discussion changes can often be overwhelming. platforms to facilitate a constructive Bong, however, is confident that exchange of ideas with the company’s as Grab continues to to reach out, nagsisimula pa lamang, sinisigurado namin ang bawat miyembro ng aming komunidad na patuloy tayong makikipag-dayalogo kay Grab upang mas mapabuti ang mga programa tulad ng effort-based model,” notes John, a rider from Gen T Valenzuela Tambayan” In a separate statement, Grab has committed to closely monitoring the outcomes of the new earning model.

Currently, Grab is complementing the effort-based model with guaranteed minimum fares and holistic incentive programs to ensure earning viability for riders.

educate and obtain riders’ feedback regarding the new effort-based model, riders will gain a clearer understanding of its advantages and how it aligns with the current market and economic conditions— ultimately ensuring the platform’s sustainability. Bong shares, “Sa tagal ko na sa Grab, bilang isa sa mga pioneers noong 2018, marami na akong nakitang pagbabago.

Natural lang na may mga tanong at kaunting kalituhan sa umpisa ng mga ganitong bagong patakaran, pero meron na kong kumpiyansa sa mga pinapatupad ni Grab dahil nakita ko kung paano ito nakakatulong sa aming mga riders, tulad na lamang nitong effort-based pricing. Sana sa mga kapwa kong delivery riders, intindihin nating maigi ang mga ganitong klase ng panukala bago magpadala sa ating emosyon at saloobin ng mga ibang tao, lalo na ‘yung mga wala naman talaga sa ating hanay.”

Bong highlights that the rider community acknowledges that

Grab remains to offer the most competitive earning model versus other delivery platforms in the Philippines. In the same forum with Grab, leaders from various deliverypartner communities recognized the company’s commitment to optimizing the earnings potential of its delivery-partners to enable them to earn substantially above the minimum wage.

Battling Misinformation For its part, Grab Philippines emphasized its firm stance against the misinformation being propagated to malign Grab and the new earning model to the delivery-partners. Grab is committed to imposing sanctions on entities that disseminate false information both within and outside the Grab delivery-partner community.

Delivery-partners are instead encouraged to approach any rider leader to clarify their questions and check relevant content shared via the Grab driver app.

BUSINESS Power, water businesses Shell’s profit eases to P2b lift MPIC’s income to P16.1b on lower sales B2

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2023

extrastory2000@gmail.com RODERICK T. DELA CRUZ, Editor ALENA MAE S. FLORES, Asst. Editor

By Jenniffer B. Austria

NFRASTRUCTURE conglomerate Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) said Tuesday it posted a net income of P16.1 billion in the first nine months of 2023, up 22 percent from P13.1 billion in the same period last year.

By Alena Mae S. Flores

I

SHELL Pilipinas Corp. said Tuesday its net profit declined 53.4 percent in the first nine months to P2.054 billion from P4.406 billion in the same period last year on lower petroleum sales.

Net sales declined by about 10.8 percent from P213.252 billion to P190.264 billion as a result of lower pump prices brought on by a general decline in oil prices globally, it said.

Shell Pilipinas, however, posted a turnaround in the third quarter with a net income of P1.93 billion, after suffering a net loss of P3.358 billion in the same period last year.

The company said it sustained overall volume growth, increase in premium product penetration and reverse inventory loss.

“We are excited about the growth of our non-fuels retail business, helping to increase foot traffic and diversify our portfolio. This growth is driven by our strong brand recognition, our convenient locations, our innovative product offerings for fuel and non-fuel retail customers, and of course, our retailers and forecourt service champions,” Shell Pilipinas president and chief executive Lorelie Quiambao-Osial said.

Shell Pilipinas delivered 30 new mobility sites in the third quarter, combined with targeted mobility-related activities, driving growth across various sectors of the business.

Fuel volume was up by 7 percent, credited to successful marketing promotions and loyalty offers facilitated through the Shell Go+ app.

MPIC said in a statement the strong nine-month results were driven by strong contribution from power and water business and one-time gain from acquisition of Landco Pacific Corp.

Core net income also rose 37 percent to P16.2 billion from P11.8 billion a

year earlier.

Power business accounted for the largest share at P13.8 billion or 69 percent of net operating income, while toll roads and water contributed P4.1 billion and P3.5 billion, respectively.

“Our consistently strong performance

Manila

TODAY

HEAD OFFICE: PBCOM Tower, 6795 Ayala Avenue corner V.A. Rufino Street, 1226 Makati City Customer Care: (02) 8777-2266 or 1-800-10-777-2266 (Domestic Toll Free) *Email: customercare@pbcom.com.ph*Website: www.pbcom.com.ph

BALANCE SHEET (Head Office and Branches) As of September 30, 2023

As of June 30, 2023

ASSETS Cash and Cash Items Due from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Due from Other Banks Financial Assets at Fair Value through Profit or Loss Available-for-Sale Financial Assets - Net Held-to-Maturity (HTM) Financial Assets - Net Loans and Receivables - Net Interbank Loans Receivables Loans and Receivables - Others Loans and Receivables Arising from RA/CA/PR/SLB General Loan Loss Provision Other Financial Assets Equity Investment in Subsidiaries, Associates and Joint Ventures - Net Bank Premises, Furniture, Fixture & Equipment - Net Real and Other Properties Acquired - Net Other Assets - Net

P

TOTAL ASSETS

1,191,311,403.50 10,651,754,320.68 1,178,412,007.82 14,421,214.99 9,481,693,276.14 28,481,493,553.43 83,486,408,991.41 250,000,000.00 79,086,105,491.49 5,000,000,000.00 849,696,500.08 691,527,858.42 22,274,136.31 1,365,492,980.86 907,583,194.78 5,405,768,033.49

P 142,878,140,971.83

P

1,292,226,638.80 8,747,924,921.39 1,106,702,724.90 1,077,975,873.56 8,870,515,481.88 28,357,223,179.96 76,647,439,210.40 77,480,793,503.14 833,354,292.74 879,470,522.07 20,948,269.81 1,363,644,864.92 915,899,817.05 5,498,529,086.34 P134,778,500,591.08

LIABILITIES Financial Liabilities at Fair Value through Profit or Loss Deposit Liabilities Bills Payable: BSP (Rediscounting and Other Advances) Interbank Loans Payable Other Deposit Substitutes Due to Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Other Financial Liabilities Other Liabilities

P

105,979,865,374.55 14,877,825,209.59 690,215,000.00 14,187,610,209.59 1,601,108,788.17 2,499,140,360.53

P

97,660,836,024.91 13,642,064,646.69 2,900,400,000.00 10,741,664,646.69 3,341,495,124.04 2,341,830,022.21

TOTAL LIABILITIES

P 124,957,939,732.84

P

116,986,225,817.85

P

14,278,374,781.56 2,404,992,625.10 1,108,907,366.57

STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY Capital Stock Other Capital Accounts Retained Earnings

P

TOTAL STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

P

17,920,201,238.99

P

17,792,274,773.23

TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

P

142,878,140,971.83

P

134,778,500,591.08

14,278,374,781.56 2,532,919,090.86 1,108,907,366.57

CONTINGENT ACCOUNTS

TOTAL CONTINGENT ACCOUNTS

P

1,458,366,659.64 929,537,173.25 2,046,666,824.53 882,400.00 4,129,510,187.03 11,954,961,466.21 1,385,940,781.27 10,569,020,684.94 363,847,230.31

P

1,490,078,167.01 334,324,022.36 1,319,747,418.15 780,000.00 1,774,722,601.70 11,540,011,566.39 1,379,620,592.58 10,160,390,973.81 199,677,368.94

P

20,883,771,940.97

P

16,659,341,144.55

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Gross total loan portfolio (TLP) 86,311,037,355.52 Specific allowance for credit losses on the TLP 1,974,931,864.03 Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) a. Gross NPLs 2,208,385,845.32 b. Ratio of gross NPLs to gross TLP (%) 2.56% c. Net NPLs 780,771,154.14 d. Ratio of Net NPLs to gross TLP (%) 0.90% e. Ratio of total allowance for credit losses to gross NPLs (%) 127.90% f. Ratio of specific allowance for credit losses on the gross TLP to gross NPLs (%) 89.43% Classified Loans & Other Risk Assets, gross of allowance for credit losses 14,546,938,424.92 DOSRI Loans and receivables, gross allowance of credit losses 5,524,964.99 Ratio of DOSRI loans and receivables, gross of allowance for credit losses, to gross TLP (%) 0.01% Gross non-performing DOSRI loans and receivables Ratio of gross non-performing DOSRI loans and receivables to TLP (%) 0.00% Percent Compliance with Magna Carta (%) 2.03% a. 8% for Micro and Small Enterprises b. 2% for Medium Enterprises 3.61% Return on Equity (ROE) (%) 9.74% Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) on Solo Basis as prescribed under existing regulations a. Total CAR (%) 17.17% b. Tier 1 Ratio (%) 14.70% c. Common Equity Tier 1 Ratio (%) 1/ 14.70% 1/ Common Equity Tier 1 Ratio (%) is only applicable to all Universal and Commercial Banks and their subsidiary banks.

BASEL III Leverage Ratio Report, as prescribed under existing regulations a. Capital Measure 15,543,604,284.18 b. Exposure Measure 145,611,969,665.38 c. Basel III Leverage Ratio 10.67% BASEL III Liquidity Coverage Ratio Report, as prescribed under existing regulations a. Total Stock of High-Quality Liquid Assets 36,202,866,005.74 b. Total Net Cash Outflows 22,186,165,829.65 c. Basel III Liquidity Coverage Ratio 163.18% REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES) City of Makati ) S.S.

79,475,184,742.93 1,994,391,239.79 2,217,392,091.46 2.79% 780,334,860.65 0.98% 127.53% 89.94% 14,368,116,613.94 5,728,391.09 0.01% 0.00% 1.96% 3.79% 10.85% 17.27% 14.79% 14.79% 15,417,412,689.30 137,010,505,412.40 11.25% 33,484,795,502.30 22,645,275,986.37 147.87%

We, Arlene M. Datu and Patricia May T. Siy, of the above-mentioned bank do solemnly swear that all matters set forth in the above balance sheet are true and correct to the best of our knowledge and belief.

(SGD.) ARLENE M. DATU (SGD.) PATRICIA MAY T. SIY Comptroller, SVP President & CEO SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this 31 day of October, 2023 at City of Makati, affiants exhibiting their SSS nos. 0356633451 and 0373099955, respectively. st

Doc. No. 108 Page No. 23 Book No. XLIII Series of 2023

Cebu Pacific, Bulgaria Air eye wet lease deal

By Darwin G. Amojelar

CEBU Pacific said Tuesday said it is eyeing a wet lease agreement with a charter company of Bulgaria Air amid the rising number of grounded aircraft because of engine issues.

The airline unit of the Gokongwei Group said it is seriously considering a short-term wet lease to mitigate the impact of aircraft engine issues on its passengers.

A wet lease is an arrangement where one airline provides an aircraft, complete crew, maintenance and insurance to another airline.

Cebu Pacific said it expected to receive before the end of 2023 proposals from aircraft manufacturers.

It earlier issued request for proposals (RFP) to both Airbus and Boeing for 100 to 150 narrowbody jets, which represent the largest ever commitment of any airline into the Philippine aviation industry.

“We’ve taken all these initiatives to uphold our commitment METROBANK LOAN. ACEN Corp. signs a P5-billion loan deal with Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. to fund its aggressive to delivering affordable, safe, renewable energy expansion. Attending the signing ceremony are (from left) ACEN head of corporate finance Marty and dependable flights,” Cebu Syquia, ACEN treasurer Cecile Cruzabra, ACEN chief finance officer and chief compliance officer Cora Dizon, Metrobank Pacific chief executive Michael institutional banking sector head Mylene Caparas, Metrobank head of corporate banking Anthony Yap and Metrobank Szucs said. head of large corporates Ddvision Marilen Trinidad.

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

Standard

Financial Standby Letters of Credit Commercial Letters of Credit Trade Related Guarantees Commitments Spot Foreign Exchange Contracts Trust Department Accounts Trust and Other Fiduciary Accounts Agency Accounts Others

reflects significant volume increases for our core businesses on power, toll roads, and water, bolstered by favorable tariff adjustments and savings resulting from operational efficiencies,” said MPIC chairman, president and chief executive Manuel Pangilinan.

“We are also realizing the fruits of strategic investments in the power generation business, and we expect this to continue to be a driver of growth in the future,” he said.

Consolidated core net income of Manila Electric Co. increased 53 percent to P30 billion, driven by the significant growth in contribution from the power generation business.

(SGD.) ATTY. GERVACIO B. ORTIZ JR. NOTARY PUBLIC City of Makati until December 31, 2024 IBP no. 05729 - Lifetime Member MCLE Compliance No. No. VII - 0022734 Appointment no. M-39 -(2023-2024) PTR no. 9563522 Jan. 3, 2023 Makati City Roll no. 40091 101 Urban Ave., Campos Rueda Bldg. Brgy. Pio del Pilar, Makati

City Member: Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation Maximum Deposit Insurance for each Deposit P500,000.00

GREEN LIGHT

Mae-Vel Lombos

Wanted: More Women in the Workplace

EVEN at an early age, I’ve always considered my mother as the only 34.5 percent of women participated in the labor force, commost prominent voice in our family. She has always been vocal about pared to 54.8 percent of their male counterparts. the importance of studying, working hard, and fending for ourselves I myself have witnessed how their partners forbade some of my when needed. But one lesson embedded itself in my mind more than female relatives to work and make a career for themselves. They any other. She was always keen on letting my sisters and me know were instead told to stay home and guide their children. In time, I that we should work hard so that our future partners would not be realized that no matter how advanced our technology is or how fast able to dictate how we should live our lives. we can solve problems, there will still be societal issues that we turn There were times when I resented her hard lessons. I’d always a blind eye to. No matter how much we deny it, most of us are still thought that no one could live without having to depend on others, at products of a patriarchal society and think that the value of work is least some of the time. But it was only after I graduated from college based on gender. that I understood why she insisted on this directive.

The value of work differs for every individual. Some people think I saw how cruel business people can be to womof work as nothing more than a means to earn monen. My male bosses would tell me that they didn’t ey. But work can contribute to an employee’s selfthink I worked as hard as my male co-workers esteem and provide him or her with an identity (“I did -- not because I didn’t know how to do the job am a farmer, a manager, a business owner, etc.”).

Work can like they did, but because they didn’t get to talk to One of the major requirements for the MBA contribute to me often and had “male” conversations with me. subject Lasallian Business Leadership, Ethics, and an employee’s Even my female co-workers would say bad things Corporate Social Responsibility at De La Salle Uniabout me because they considered me “too stiff” versity is a service-learning activity that can help self-esteem and or too much of a “b*tch.” a partner organization address societal dilemmas. provide him or her As reported by the Philippine Statistics AuthorSanta Rosa Livelihood Organization Inc. (SLOI) is ity (PSA) and as stated on the National Economic the partner organization assigned to our class. This with an identity. and Development Authority website, the labor non-governmental organization gives stay-at-home force participation rate of women is consistently mothers the opportunity to learn things outside the lower than that of men. In the PSA 2020 report, comfort of their homes and the responsibilities of their chores. Through the training and skills that SLOI provides, mothers can aspire to be business owners while still performing their marital and parental duties.

After brainstorming, following SLOI’s social media activities, and listening to SLOI’s officers speak about their programs, my group mates and I decided to help them be equipped with more solid credibility and knowledge to reach more women and guide them in their endeavors. Instead of throwing money at a problem, we asked help from the Philippine Society for Talent Development (PSTD), a “network of human resource development (HRD) practitioners and workplace learning and performance (WLP) professionals in the Philippines providing training and communication expertise and solutions to clients in business, government, and nonprofit organizations.” Through a Zoom seminar and a face-to-face workshop over two days, three PSTD resource persons will give about fifteen participants an overview of training and development and teach them presentation dynamics and facilitation skills. This two-day program will happen this week, and my five group mates (two of whom are male) and I are excited to observe how the SLOI officers can better help the stay-at-home mothers become more than partners and mothers.

Based on my own experience and what I have observed in the five companies I have worked with, I know that piles of laundry can block a woman’s journey toward building a career, crying kids, poverty, and a lack of people who believe in her ability, among others.

But my generation of business practitioners sees how things can improve. This week, we will help create identities. And I know that I will make my mother proud.

—“—

Mae-Vel Lombos is an MBA freshman at the Ramon V. Del Rosario College of Business of De La Salle University. She wrote this reflection paper for her class on Lasallian Business Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Social Responsibility. She can be reached at mae-vel_lombos@dlsu.edu.ph.

The views expressed above are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official position of DLSU, its faculty, and its administrators.

B3

WORLD

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2023

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Rights group hits Cambodia over ‘forced evictions’

HELPLESS, NOT HOPELESS. An installation featuring mock shrouded bodies of children is set up in Palestine square in Iran’s capital Tehran on Monday, in support of Palestinians amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas in the Gaza Strip. AFP

Israeli tanks at gates of Gaza hospital

W

ITH tanks massed at the gates of Gaza’s largest hospital, US President Joe Biden pressed Israeli allies to protect civilians, who on Tuesday were trapped inside with dwindling supplies of fuel and water.

After days of heavy air strikes around Gaza City’s Al-Shifa hospital, witnesses said tanks and armored vehicles were metres from the gate of the besieged facility, which has become a focal point of the five-week-old war.

The United Nations believes that thousands, and perhaps more than 10,000 people -- patients, staff, and the displaced -- may be inside and unable to escape because of fierce fighting nearby.

Amid reports of incubated babies dying for lack of electricity and patients facing sniper fire, a surgeon working for Doctors

Without Borders said the situation inside the hospital had become “very bad”.

“We don’t have electricity. There’s no water in the hospital. There’s no food,” said the doctor, who was not named by his organization. “It is inhuman.”

Israel accuses Hamas fighters of using tunnels under the hospital as a command “node”, effectively engaging the sick and injured as human shields. It is a charge that Hamas denies.

Israel says it is not targeting the hospital, but has vowed to rout any and all Hamas fighters -- retribution for the at-

tacks of October 7, which killed an estimated 1,200 people, mostly Israeli civilians.

US President Biden called on Israel to use “less intrusive action relative to the hospital”, some of his most pointed comments on Israeli operations to date.

“The hospital must be protected,” he told reporters in the Oval Office.

Israel Defense Forces spokesman Peter Lerner on Tuesday insisted Al-Shifa was “central in Hamas’s command and control capabilities”, but said his troops were currently “stand-offish.”

“The idea is to try to evacuate the people, evacuate as many as possible,” he said.

Underscoring the role that global public opinion is playing in the war, both sides have repeatedly given vastly different accounts of events.

Lerner put the number of people inside the hospital at “a few hundred”, while the Hamas government’s deputy health minister Youssef Abu Rish, who is present in the hospital, said about 20,000 displaced people had sought refuge there.

Hamas’s brutal attacks of October 7 and Israel’s massive response have sparked protests around the world, with hundreds of thousands of people taking to the streets in the Middle East, Europe and beyond.

Israel’s supporters insist it must protect citizens after the worst attack in the country’s 75-year history -- an attack that brought painful echoes of past pogroms against the Jewish people.

Israelis also stress the need to recover an estimated 240 hostages taken by Hamas when they stormed across the militarised border from Gaza. AFP

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – Rights group Amnesty International on Tuesday accused Cambodia of breaking international law through the eviction of 10,000 families from around the Angkor Wat temple complex.

Phnom Penh has over the past year increased the relocation of families living within the sprawling UNESCO world heritage site to a new community being built on former rice paddies 25 kilometers away since last year.

Officials have long maintained that families are moving voluntarily, but in a report released Tuesday Amnesty says many are receiving “direct and subtle threats” to move.

“They must immediately cease forcibly evicting people and violating international human rights law,” said Montse Ferrer of Amnesty.

Cambodian government spokesman Pen Bona said the report was “not right”, insisting that the relocation of villagers was done on a “voluntary” basis and in line with UNESCO rules.

UNESCO said it was “deeply concerned” by the report, which comes on the eve of a regular intergovernmental conference on Angkor at the culture body’s headquarters in Paris.

The temple complex dating back to the ninth century is Cambodia’s top tourist attraction, and pre-pandemic drew more than two million foreigners every year.

The tourists spawned a microeconomy of stallholders, food and souvenir sellers and beggars, and the local population exploded from an estimated 20,000 in the early 1990s to about 120,000 by 2013.

Cambodian authorities say they are acting to protect the ruins by moving squatters whose informal settlements are damaging the local environment by producing rubbish and overusing water resources. AFP

Indian rescuers battle for third day to free 40 trapped tunnel workers DEHRADUN, India – More than a hundred rescuers in northern India struggled for a third day on Tuesday to save workers trapped underground after the road tunnel they were building collapsed.

Excavators have been removing debris since Sunday morning from the site in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand to create an escape tunnel for the 40 workers, who are all alive.

“Our biggest breakthrough is that we have established contact and there is a supply of oxygen and food,” Uttarkashi district’s top civil servant Abhishek Ruhela told AFP on Tuesday.

“Whatever is necessary for their survival is being done.”

Oxygen was being pumped into the tunnel and small food items such as dry fruit were being provided to the workers, he added.

The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) said Tuesday rescuers had spoken to the trapped workers via radio.

Ranjit Kumar Sinha, a senior disaster management official, told reporters at the site he was hopeful workers could be freed by Wednesday, adding that there was enough oxygen where they were trapped “for about five to six days.”

Construction worker Hemant Nayak told AFP that he had been in the tunnel early on Sunday when the roof caved in, but he had been on the right side of the collapse and escaped.

Small amounts of dirt had been falling into the tunnel, but “everyone took it lightly,” he said.

“Then suddenly a huge amount of debris came and the tunnel was closed,” he added. AFP

RACE AGAINST TIME. Rescue workers gather near the site after a tunnel collapsed in the Uttarkashi district of India’s Uttarakhand state on Monday. They said they had made contact with 40 workers trapped for over 24 hours after the road tunnel they were building collapsed. AFP

N. Korea condemns G7 statement on nuke program SEOUL – North Korea on Tuesday slammed a joint statement by G7 foreign ministers that criticized the country’s nuclear program, arguing the grouping of rich democracies should be “dismantled immediately”.

In a statement issued last week, the top diplomats of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain, the United States and the European Union reiterated their longstanding call for the “complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”

The G7 foreign ministers also demanded that Pyongyang abandon its nuclear weapons, and strongly con-

demned recent arms transfers from North Korea to Russia, asking the two countries to “immediately cease all such activities”.

North Korea last year declared itself an “irreversible” nuclear power and has repeatedly said it will never give up its nuclear programme, which the regime views as essential for its survival.

Jo Chol Su, a high-ranking official at Pyongyang’s foreign ministry, said he “resolutely” rejects and “most strongly” condemns the recent G7 statement, calling it “groundless”.

He said members of the G7, especially the United States, have “disgraceful

Manila

Standard

TODAY NOTICE

Notice is hereby given that TRI-CONTI ELEMENTS CORPORATION is applying for registration with the Board of Investments (BOI) as Renewable Energy Developer of Wind Energy Resources (75.6 MW Aklan Wind Power Project) in Brgys. Gibon, Laserna, Haban Tagororoc and Libe and Rizal in Nabas; and Brgy. Caticlan in Malay, Aklan to avail of the incentives under R.A. No. 9513, otherwise known as the Renewable Energy Act of 2008.

Any person with valid objection/s on the above-mentioned project may file his/her objection in writing, under oath, with the BOI within three (3) days from the date of this publication.

(SGD.) RAQUEL B. ECHAGUE Director Resource-Based Industries Service

WAR SIGNS.

Policemen hand over a wounded man to employees of Ukrainian Emergency Service on a road outside in Avdiivka, Donetsk region, on Monday amid the Russian invasion in Ukraine.

Russian attacks on Ukraine’s southern region of Kherson on Monday killed three civilians and injured at least 12, including a twomonth-old child, officials said. AFP

records by doing considerable harm to international peace and security”, and that the group “has lost the justification for its existence”.

The “G7, the remnant of the Cold War, should be dismantled immediately,” Jo said, according to Pyongyang’s state-run Korean Central News Agency.

He accused the group of being a “peace strangler, confrontation maniac and nuclear war merchant”.

Historic allies Russia and North Korea are both under international sanctions -- the former for its invasion of Ukraine and the latter for its nuclear weapons and missile programs. AFP

Japan women prisoners suffer serious abuse, says rights group TOKYO – Handcuffs during pregnan- prisoned women are breastfeeding, cy, separation from newborn babies, holding, bathing, or changing the and insufficient care for elderly in- baby’s diapers,” according to the mates are among the abuses suffered report. by women incarcerated in Japan, HuIt also said that “appropriate medical measures are taken for prisoners.” man Rights Watch said Tuesday.

Female inmates are sometimes When contacted by AFP, the justice shackled during labour and imme- ministry was not immediately availdiately after birth, the international able for comment.

NGO alleged in a new report, based According to HRW, new mothers on interviews with nearly 60 formerly also often have their babies taken jailed women. away from them soon after birth.

“Many women imprisoned in Japan Japan’s ministry of justice denied some of the claims, saying that suffer serious human rights abuse and CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK restraints are “not used when im- mistreatment,” the rights group said. AFP

Anxious Icelandic residents get brief return to volcano-risk hometown GEINDAVIK, Iceland – From Christmas gifts to sheep, residents forced from an Icelandic town damaged by hundreds of earthquakes in recent days were able to briefly return on Monday to retrieve their belongings, authorities said.

The southwestern town of Grindavik -- home to around 4,000 people -- was evacuated in the early hours of Saturday after magma shifting under the Earth’s crust caused hundreds of earthquakes in what experts warned could be a precursor to a volcanic eruption.

The seismic activity damaged roads and buildings in the town situated 40 kilome-

ters southwest of the capital Reykjavik, an AFP journalist saw.

“Many roads are just wrecked. It’s like a maze that you have to drive through,” Johannes Daoi Johannesson, 34, told AFP on returning to the town.

“I was basically here just to empty my house as much as I could and take the essentials,” he said, along with “something for the kids, Christmas presents.”

After waiting for hours in their cars, residents could enter their homes for just a few minutes to collect their valuables, with Icelandic police and civil protection vehicles on standby. AFP

B4

OPINION

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2023

mst.daydesk@gmail.com HONOR BLANCO CABIE, Editor

EDITORIAL

Let’s kiss off the plastic

Open Thoughts Orlando Oxales

T

Investment-driven growth will drive economic security ECONOMIC security is still and has been the urgent national concern of Filipinos for too many decades and administrations.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development defines economic security as vulnerability to economic loss, focusing on the consequences such as income loss.

It also includes access to basic needs infrastructure like health, education, dwelling, information, and social protection – elements that actually fall in the scope of primary responsibilities of government.

In one of the sessions of the Philippine Economic Society’s 61st Annual Meeting and Conference hosted by the Stratbase ADR Institute held recently, economic experts discussed how the government and private sector can create an investmentdriven growth by boosting the manufacturing sectors’ potential as a strong pillar for job generation and livelihood opportunities that will be required for its service and supply chain.

survey of Stratbase which probed into related economic subjects. The first question was on the public’s perception on which countries or organizations Filipinos think should the Marcos administration strengthen its economic relations.

The United States, as expected and consistently is the top choice at 74 percent, followed by Japan (55 percent), Australia (46 percent), Canada, (40 percent) and the European Union (26 percent).

Only one out of four (19 percent) chose China.

Higher is Great Britain/United Kingdom which got 21 percent while 4 percent chose India.

The second question asked in the Stratbase survey is whether respondent agree or disagree with the statement, “The private sector plays an instrumental role in ensuring economic security in which individuals enjoy a stable source of income and are consistently able to meet their basic needs.”

A clear majority, 70 percent, expressed their agreement with the statement.

Dr. Holmes remarked virtually no one disagreed while about 24 percent were ambivalent The third question asked respondents on their opinion on “which ways the private sector can help in attaining economic recovery.”

The insights from six of 10 of the respondents revealed the private sector will be instrumental in making goods that are more affordable and accessible to Filipino consumers (64 percent), creating jobs (60 percent), and expanding livelihood opportunities (58 percent).

Dr Holmes pointed out that these are actually consistent with the top three of the most urgent national concerns that Filipinos have been as asking the government to address.

In his statement during the forum, Stratbase ADR Institute President Prof. Victor Andres “Dindo” Manhit emphasized the importance of investments in unlocking the Philippines’ economic potential.

He advocated partnering with economic allies and focusing on sectors with high potential can lead to investment-led growth, resulting in a resilient, prosperous, and sustainable future for Filipinos.

He also believes that this approach will generate better quality jobs and employment opportunities.

To secure the economic future of Filipinos, it’s crucial for government to introduce policy changes that tackle regulatory barriers and fitting incentives to speed up priority investments, particularly those linked to manufacturing, infrastructure that are domestic-oriented and can decrease import dependence thereby invigorating local industries as the new engines of our economy.

—“—

These are telling figures that reflect a sense of economic insecurity of Filipinos Pulse Asia President, Dr. Ronald Holmes presented the results of their latest survey conducted in September from 1,200 nationwide respondents wherein he reported that 48 percent of Filipinos or approximately half felt that “the national economy has deteriorated in the past year.”

Of these respondents, a significant majority, 74 percent, said they “strongly feel” their own life deteriorated.

This negative sentiment was expressed across the economic class but was most pronounced in Class E where 83 percent or eight out of 10 said their life has gotten worse.

These are telling figures that reflect a sense of economic insecurity of Filipinos vis-a-vis their perception of the nation’s current economic situation.

He also cited the results of the Social Weather Stations 2023 third quarter survey which similarly found the sentiment that 48 percent of Filipino families felt poor, a two percent increase from the last quarter.

Twenty-seven percent feel they are at the borderline and 255 feel they are not poor.

The estimated number of self-rated poor based on the SWS data of the same period is 13.2 million. That would be approaching the estimated population of the Metro Manila area.

Also shared was the commissioned

Pop Goes The World Jenny Ortuoste

41st National Book Award finalists THE National Book Development Board and the Manila Critics Circle recently announced the finalists of the 41st National Book Awards.

The NBA is an annual prize that honors the most outstanding book titles written, designed, and published in the Philippines.

For this cycle, 235 titles were submitted in 34 categories in seven languages: Filipino, English, Bikol, Binisaya, Hiligaynon, Tausug, and Waray.

Due to the pandemic, there was a hiatus of a couple of years in handing out the awards. The winners of the 40th cycle (for books published in 2021) received their awards in May 2023, while the 41st cycle (for books published in 2022) awarding ceremony will be held in February 2024.

The 41st National Book Awards coincides with the Philippines’ two-year preparation for its Guest of Honor stint in 2025 at the world’s biggest book fair, the Frankfurter Buchmesse.

This is a historic development because the Philippines is only the second Southeast Asian country to be awarded the honor after Indonesia.

Some of the finalists of the 41st National Book Awards: · Novel in English: The Collaborators: A Novel (Katrina Tuvera), Yñiga: A Novel

(Glenn Diaz) · Novel in Filipino: Andrea: Oyayi sa Daluyong (Rom Factolerin), El Arbol de la Alegria: Southern Quartet (RM TopacioAplaon), Ang Bangin sa Ilalim ng Ating mga Paa (Ronald Vivo Jr.), and Ubusán ng Bida (Klaro de Asis) · Short Fiction in English: Armor: Stories (John Bengan), Laut: Stories (Sigrid Marianne Gayangos), A Playlist for the End of the World (Gabriela Lee), Seek Ye Whore and Other Stories (Yvette Tan), Song of the Mango and Other New Myths (Vida Cruz-Borja). · Short Fiction in Filipino: ; (Ano) (Zero A.D.), Ang Buang ng Bayan: Mga Maikling Kuwento (Rowena P. Festin), Ang Kompedio ng mga Imposibleng Bagay (Carlo Paulo Pacolor), Pangontra (Allan N. Derain), Tatlong Larawan at iba pang Maikling Kwento (U.Z. Eliserio) · Non-Fiction Prose in English: Brief Histories: Essays (Don Jaucian); Even Ducks Get Liver Cancer and Other Medical Misadventures (Wilfredo Liangco), The Holy Wife: Stories of Extraordinary Love (Ting Pantoja-Mañalac), Lost Graves, Found Lives: A History and Memoir (Agapito Labalan del Rosario & Rosario Cruz-Lucero), Rodolfo Biazon: Soldier, Solon, Statesman (Eric Ramos).

ManilaStandard

Published Monday to Sunday by Philippine Manila Standard Publishing Inc. at 6/F Universal Re Building, 106 Paseo de Roxas, corner Perea St., Legaspi Village, Makati City.

Telephone numbers 8-5646225 and 8-5646229 (connecting all departments), (Editorial) 832-5554, (Advertising) 832-5550. P.O. Box 2933, Manila Central Post Office, Manila. Website: www.manilastandard.net

ONLINE

can be accessed at: manilastandard.net

MEMBER

PPI

Philippine Press Institute The National Association of Philippine Newspapers

HIS year, the Philippines passed a critical national law that advances the legal framework to combat further plastic pollution.

over what should be included in the pact.

Some 175 countries agreed last year to conclude by 2024 a UN treaty to address the plastic blighting oceans, floating in the atmosphere, and infiltrating the bodies of animals and humans.

—“—

Titled the “Extended Producer Responsibility” law, the legislation requires mandatory EPR for businesses with assets worth over ₱100 million.

Not many know the Philippines dominates global ocean plastic pollution chart at 36 percent, with an international study showing the Philippines is the world’s leading contributor to plastic pollution in the oceans, with an average of 3.30 kilograms per person per year.

According to the 2021 report of the World Bank Organization, the Philippines generates a staggering 2.7 million tons of plastic waste annually and 20 percent of which winds up in the ocean, much of it in the form of unrecyclable, single-use sachets.

This scenario cries out yet once more for urgent attention as the latest negotiations towards a global treaty to combat plastic pollution opened in Nairobi this week, with tensions expected as nations tussle

As in the UN negotiations on climate and biodiversity, financing is a key point of tension in the plastic talks Around 60 so-called “high ambition” nations have called for binding rules to reduce the use and production of plastic, which is made from fossil fuels, a measure supported by many environment groups.

It is not a position shared by many plastic-producing economies, including the United States, which have long preferred to focus on recycling, innovation and better waste management.

The draft presenting the various ways

About Town

Ernesto M. Hilario

Responsible mining in Eastern Samar

THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources is taking a step in the right direction through its efforts to transform mining into a more responsible and globally competitive industry that upholds environmental laws and mining regulations, minimizes environmental risks and promotes mine safety.

For its part, the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines has been laying the groundwork for further improving their environmental, social and governance performance through the Towards Sustainable Mining initiative, the global standard for miners to manage environmental and social risks and adopt best practices in sustainable mining.

These shared goals by the national government and the private sector to produce minerals or metals in the most environmentally and socially responsible way possible, however, will not be attained without the full support of local government units, particularly those whose communities host the mine sites.

Eastern Samar is actually leading the way in making mining corporations abide by the provisions of state-issued mining agreements and comply with pertinent laws and local ordinances on environmental and social protection despite the absence of any regulatory power under the Philippine Mining Act of 1995.

In a recent dialogue with miners, Gov. Ben Evardone ordered a comprehensive review of the performance and compliance of the mining firms operating in historic Homonhon Island off the municipality of Guiuan.

He warned them he would formally ask the DENR to suspend or cancel their Mineral Production Sharing Agreements if an ongoing audit would prove they have violated provisions of their mining accords and pertinent laws on protecting the environment and advancing the welfare of min-

ing workers and the people in their hostvillages.

Evardone emphasized to the miners he had the moral obligation as a public servant to make sure their enterprises are in full compliance with the law.

He also asked them what social and community development programs they have thus far carried out or plan to implement from hereon in their respective concession areas.

Among those present at the governor’s dialogue with the mining operators were officials of Hinatuan Mining Corp., which has a mining concession in nearby Manicani Island, also in Guiuan.

· Non-Fiction Prose in Filipino: Mga Anting-Anting sa Sabong (Bobby V. Villagracia), Distrungka (Emmanuel T. Barrameda), Kumusta, 2020? Alaala ng Isang Alay (Vim Nadera), Pasasaan (Jesus Aman Calvario), Saglit: Alaala’t Muni (Rofel G. Brion).

Kalandrakas Part 1, 1890-1945: Stories and Storytellers of/on Regions in Mindanao, 1890-1990 and Kalandrakas Part 2, 19461990: Stories and Storytellers of/on Regions in Mindanao, 1890-1990 (Ricardo M. De Ungria (Ed.); The Lives of a Filipino Student: Anthology of Personal Essays on High School in the Philippines (Tolentino, Delos Reyes, and Jarin, Eds.). · Anthology in Filipino: Himaya: Panitikan ng Pagbabanyuhay (Joyce L. Arriola, Ed.), Kung Bakit Walang Demonyo sa Malabog (Abdon M. Balde Jr.), Mga Nagwaging Akda: Gawad Bienvenido Lumbera NCLA National Literary Contest 2022 (Niles Jordan D. Breis and Merdeka de la Cruz Morales, Eds.), Plus/+ at Iba Plus, Maramihan: New Philippine Nonfiction on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identities (Rolando B. Tolentino and Chuckberry J. Pascual, Eds.); Rurok: Comics & Art Anthology (Paolo Herras, Ed.) · Poetry in English: All My Distances Point to Home (King Llanza), The Broken Places: Poems (Teddy Griarte Espela), Coming Home to the Island: Poems (Arlene J. Yandug), Mass at the Edge of Morning (Simeon Dumdum Jr.), What Comes After:

—“—

The National Book Awards is a prestigious literary recognition that celebrates outstanding contributions to Philippine literature · Anthology in English: Deck the Halls Volume One: A Christmas-Themed Crime Fiction Anthology (Manalang et. al.); Growing Up Filipino 3: New Stories for Young Adults (Cecilia Manguerra Brainard, Ed.);

Former Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno Anita F. Grefal Baldwin R. Felipe Edgar M. Valmorida

—“—

Evardone wants to collect the tax arrears from all the miners Evardone pointed out although Hinatuan has yet to operate anew in Manicani, it has been complying fully with its obligations to both the national government and the Eastern Samar provincial and municipal governments.

Eastern Samar is fortunate that Evardone’s steadfast commitment to responsible mining plus environmental and social protection has the full backing of the heads of the concerned agencies in the region.

Provincial officials have noted that, like the governor, these regional executives— DENR-Region VIII executive director Lormelyn Estrada Claudio, MGB regional director Glenn Marcelo Noble and EMB regional director Wilson Trajeco—have all been pushing the miners to comply with all the relevant laws on mining, environmental protection and social welfare of mining

Board Member & Chief Legal Adviser Treasury Manager Head—Ad Solutions Circulation Manager

forward will form the basis for the highstakes deliberations at the UN Environment Program headquarters in Nairobi.

With more than 2,000 delegates registered, and advocates from environmental and plastic groups also in the room, the negotiations are expected to get heated as the details are hammered out.

Hundreds of climate campaigners, waving placards reading “Plastic crisis = climate crisis,” marched the other day in Nairobi calling for the talks to focus on cutting the amount of plastic produced.

We agree with Kenyan President William Ruto who described plastic pollution as “an existential threat to life, to humanity and everything in between.”

“To deal with plastic pollution, humanity must change. We must change the way we consume, the way we produce, and how we dispose (of) our waste.”

The meeting to debate the future of plastic comes just before crucial climate talks in the oil-rich United Arab Emirates later this month, where discussions over fossil fuels and their planet-heating emissions are due to dominate the agenda.

As in the UN negotiations on climate and biodiversity, financing is a key point of tension in the plastic talks.

workers and the residents of the host-communities.

During the dialogue with miners, Evardone publicly thanked Noble for ensuring the presence of the top executives of the mining companies in that meeting.

Evardone hoped the meeting would clear the way to a better working relationship among the Office of the Governor, Guiuan Mayor Annaliza Gonzales-Kwan, DENRMGB and DENR-EMB officials and the mining companies.

Evardone and the MGB regional director told the miners to follow Hinatuan’s example in using the template of the Bureau of Local Government Finance in submitting their accurate sworn declaration—for tax assessment purposes—on all equipment and machineries they actually have in their mine sites.

Evardone said he prefers “responsible mining,” which “strictly observes all mining, environmental and social protection laws.” If the mining companies cannot comply with all of these, he said, DENR should stop their operations.

Two kinds of taxes are levied on miners.

One is the excise tax on the production and sale of extracted minerals, which is collected by the Bureau of Internal Revenue; and the Real Property Tax, which is supposed to be collected by the LGUs. Evardone wants to collect the tax arrears from all the miners because, he said, “the due share of local governments is a big help to realize development projects, such as road concreting, water supply, and school buildings.”

Through his intercession, the province will receive, hopefully by next year, its share of excise taxes that can be used for various economic and social development projects that would benefit Estehanons and uplift their quality of life in the years ahead.

(Email: ernhil@yahoo.com)

Poems (Eliza Victoria) · Poetry in Filipino: Ang Kartograpiya ng Pagguho: Mga Tula (Ralph Fonte), Mga Luwa at Iba Pang Tula (Jose A. Badillo), Pasalubong (Maria Rilkë Arguelles), Sa Ika-ilang Sirkulo ng Impyerno (Miguel Paolo Celestial), Sa Pagitan ng mga Emerhensiya (Rosmon Tuazon) See the full list of finalists at the National Book Development Board (NBDB) Facebook page. The winners will be announced on December 8.

The National Book Awards is a prestigious literary recognition that celebrates outstanding contributions to Philippine literature. Founded by the MCC in 1981, the awards honor remarkable works across various categories, including fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and graphic literature.

These awards acknowledge the diverse voices that enrich the country’s literary landscape, fostering a deeper appreciation for Filipino authors and their creative endeavors and encouraging the production of more quality literature. * * FB and Twitter: @DrJennyO / Email: writerjennyo@gmail.com

Rolando G. Estabillo Publisher Chin Wong Joyce Pangco Pañares Jimbo Owen Gulle

Associate Editor Managing Editor News Editor

Emil P. Jurado

Honor Blanco Cabie Opinion Editor Lino M. Santos Chief Photographer

Chairman Emeritus, Editorial Board

C1

SPORTS

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2023

RIERA U. MALLARI, Editor RANDY M. CALUAG, Asst. Editor

Tropang Giga maul Katibays to reclaim PBA 3x3 title

The TNT Tropang Giga celebrate their title run in Leg 5 of the PBA 3x3 Second Conference at the Ayala Mall Fairview Terraces.

Sy-Tancontian bags another bronze in world sambo meet

By Randy Caluag

YDNEY Sy-Tancontian again made the Philippine flag flying proudly in the world stage following another bronze-medal finish in the women’s sports sambo +80 kg of the 2023 World Sambo Championship in Yerevan, Armenia.

S

Sydney defeated a Romanian foe in their quarterfinal for a sure bronze medal, but suffered a closely fought match against Abenova Arailym of Kazakstan in the semifinals, no thanks to an infraction and point deduction that cost her the match and a final slot.

Arailym eventually won the gold after beating Kusanova Shanara, who fought under the banner of the International Sambo Federation.

“We strategized his bronze-medal match against Romania to win the bout. I expected her (Sydney) to enter the finals. But she encountered an error in her quarterfinals match, and she was given a penalty point in the last 50

seconds of the bout with Kazakhstan,” said Paolo Tancontian, president of the Pilipinas Sambo Federation.

The win preserved Sydney’s reputation as the highest-rated Sambo athlete in the country. She also bagged the bronze in the 2020 World Sambo Championships in Novi Sad, Serbia.

Sydney’s brother Chino won his first bout against the current African Continental Champion from Egypt, but lost by two points against a Kazakh bet in the next round of his event in the men’s sport sambo -98 kg Phnom Penh SEA Games’ kun bokator bronze medalist Godwin Langbayan, the third athlete making up the

UE Warrior Momowei suspended for a game

Tolentino turning into NorthPort’s main man

Precious Momowei

PRECIOUS Momowei of Universiy of the East was slapped a one-game suspension after committing his second unsportsmanlike foul of the season during the Warriors’ game against the De La Salle University Archers last Sunday.

He will serve the suspension on Wednesday, during the Red Warriors’ game against the Ateneo Blue Eagles.

Momowei received an unsportsmanlike foul at the 6:43 mark of the second quarter during the Red Warriors’ game against the Green Archers.

His first unsportsmanlike foul occurred on October 15, 2023, during the Red Warriors’ first-round game against the Adamson Soaring Falcons. The incident took place with 7:38 left in the game.

Sydney Sy (extreme right) with the medalists in the women’s sports sambo +80 kg category. Sambo Pilipinas FB

team in the World Championship, also “Overall, I am happy with the perlost a close match against a Belarus formance of our athletes in this edition opponent in the preliminary round of of the World SAMBO Championship,” the -71kg Combat Sambo. added Tancontian.

NORTHPORT is slowly becoming an Arvin Tolentino team.

Without Robert Bolick and Arwind Santos, Tolentino has now taken the mantle of leadership for the Batang Pier, who are off to a fast start in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup. The fourth-year wingman was in the forefront of Northport’s 2-0 record early in the season, including resetting his career-high in a 113-103 win over Rain or Shine on Sunday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.

Tolentino, 28, torched the Elasto Painters for a new career-best 35 points including 5-of-12 shooting from three-point range in leading the Batang Pier to the rousing win.

He capped his heroics with a one-handed slam dunk off Gabe Norwood to take the fight out of the rallying Elasto Painters.

In two games, Tolentino, whose previous ca-

reer-high was 31 points, averaged 25.5 points and shot 37.5 percent from three-point range in a performance that earned for him the season’s first PBA Press Corps Player of the Week honor for the period Nov. 8-12.

Ironically, Tolentino both set his PBA careerhighs on the same date of Nov. 12 and on the same playing venue in Antipolo.

In Northport’s debut game against Terrafirma, the Gilas Pilipinas stalwart led the Batang Pier’s locals with 16 points in a 108-103 victory.

Two teams which are off to a similar 2-0 starts in Magnolia and Meralco also have players who were nominated for the weekly honor being handed out by the men and women covering the PBA beat.

Chris Newsome and Cliff Hodge of the Bolts and Hotshots Paul Lee and Mark Barroca crowded out Tolentino for the Player of the Week plum.

TNT lost no time reclaiming glory it lost a week ago.

With vengeance in their eyes, the Tropang Giga ruled Leg 5 of the PBA 3x3 Second Conference on Tuesday as they scored an emphatic 21-13 win over Pioneer Elastoseal at the Ayala Mall Fairview Terraces.

Almond Vosotros and Co. needed less than 10 minutes to finish off the Katibays and the championship match in bagging the P100,000 prize money.

TNT went on a 9-3 run to turn around a tight game into a 14-7 lead and never looked back.

Vosotros nailed a deuce at the 1:43 mark to clinch TNT’s fourth title in five legs of the conference.

Chester Saldua, Samboy De Leon, and Vosotros finished with six points each, while Ping Exciminiano added three in a balancedscoring for the Tropang Giga of coach Mau Belen.

Earlier, TNT had its payback against Leg 4 ruler MCFASolver by eliminating the guest team in the semifinals, 21-18.

Pioneer Elastoseal, which claimed the runner up purse of P50,000, meanwhile made it to the finals behind an 18-16 win over Northport in an unlikely semifinals match up.

MCFASolver later, copped third place by beating Northport, 21-15.

The Tech Centrale won P30,000.

The scores Third place MCFASolver (21) – Ramirez 11, Vigil 6, Tumalip 4, Andrada 0.

Northport (15) – Capacio 8, Alabanza 4, Sobrevega 2, Zamora 1.

Finals TNT (21) – Vosotros 6, Saldua 6, De Leon 6, Exciminiano 3.

Pioneer Elastoseal (13) – Baltazar 4, Morido 4, Villamor 3, Mocon 2.

Arvin Tolentino

Lascuña, Constantino eye match play repeat

Tony Lascuña

IN A shift from stroke play battles, the country’s leading pros and rising stars go head-tohead in the ICTSI The Country Club Match Play Invitational which gets going on Nov. 21 at the challenging TCC layout in Laguna.

The four-day championship will showcase those who excelled in the recently-concluded 10-leg Philippine Golf Tour and Ladies PGT with Tony Lascuña and Harmie Constantino poised to defend their titles after posting contrasting victories in the inaugural knockout format event at the Villamor Golf Club in Pasay last year.

The multi-titled Lascuña secured the men’s crown with a convincing 4&3 victory over Keanu Jahns while Constantino staged a comeback, clinching the women’s trophy on the 19th hole against top amateur Rianne Malixi.

But the road to back-to-back championships

won’t be easy for Lascuña and Constantino as they face formidable challenges from the Top 32 in the PGT Order of Merit rankings and the Top 16 players in the LPGT money list, respectively.

The Country Club, renowned for its length, hazards and challenging holes, especially in the presence of the wind, will also test the skills of the elite cast in both the PGT and LPGT. Action kicks off on Nov. 21 with the Round of 32 in the P2 million men’s competition and the Round of 16 in the P1.5 women’s tournament with the winners moving to the next round on Nov. 22 featuring the PGT Round of 16 and LPGT’s quarterfinal phase.

The PGT survivors will then face off in the morning quarterfinals on Nov. 23 and then in the semis in the afternoon together with the LPGT with the victors disputing the titles on the Nov. 24.

C2

SPORTS

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2023

Cignal, PGJC Navy spikers seize Olivarez, Pague head top spots in PNVF Challenge Cup chase in Iloilo Open

TOP seed Jose Maria Pague seeks redemption from a last finals trip slip while Eric Olivarez fuels his own drive for another major crown as the first MITF National Open Tennis Championships unwraps Wednesday at the Metropolis courts in Iloilo City.

Thirty other bidders made up of the country’s top guns and emerging stars are in the 32-player men’s singles draw, all primed for a week-long test of power, styles and endurance in the first Open championship hosted by the city renowned for its historic churches and traditional fabrics.

Both determined to make a mark in pursuit of the top P60,000 prize, Pague faces David Aligaen while the No. 2 Olivarez tangles with Elemar Sealza in the lower half of the draw.

Pague fell short to AJ Lim, Jr. in the finals of Gov. Franklin Bautista Open in Davao Occidental last month while Olivarez yielded to Pague in the semis the last time out.

In other key opening day matches, No. 3 Josshua Kinaadman, who teamed up with Olivarez to win the Bautista Open doubles title, clashes with Litz de Juan, and fourth ranked Vicente Anasta tests Benedict Santiago’s mettle.

No. 5 Eric Tangub collides with Ralph Javero, sixth seed Nilo Ledama trades shots with Khenz Justiniani, No. 7 Alexis Acabo mixes it up with Austin Egaran while eighth ranked Noel Salupado takes on Andre Alcantara.

Also on tap in the event are the men’s, women’s and mixed Open doubles, the Legends men’s doubles for 40s, 50s and 60s and women’s doubles 30s and the grand slam juniors boys and girls competitions.

Gomez quits as PH fencing group chief

By Peter Atencio CONGRESSMAN Richard Gomez (8th district, Leyte) stepped down as president of the Philippine Fencing Association on Friday, giving way to a new set of officers considered “old hands” of the sport.

Former secretary general and exnational team member Rene Gacuma took over as the new head of the association when he was elected new PFA president.

Gacuma, who is one of the original members of the national team in the 1980s, comes aboard in place of Gomez, who has been leading the governing body for fencing in the country since 2015.

The 62-year-old Gacuma takes over a sport that is currently rising up on local soil, and with various clubs opening in Metro Manila and in parts of the country, taking the initiative with self-funded development programs put in place.

During Gomez’s time and with Gacuma coming in, numerous member clubs have come forward and continued to take the lead in helping talented fencers earn medals for the Philippines.

Games on Wednesday 8 a.m. – Volida Volleyball Club vs Savouge Aesthetics (men’s) 10 a.m. – JRU vs Marikina (men’s) 12 p.m. – PGJC Navy vs Angatleta-Orion, Bataan (men’s) 2 p.m. – Cignal vs Kuya JM-Davao City (men’s) 4 p.m. – Davao City vs JRU (women’s) 6 p.m. – La Salle-Dasma vs LPU-Batangas (women’s)

C

IGNAL and PGJC Navy rolled past their separate opponents to seize the lead in their respective pools in the Philippine National Volleyball Federation Challenge Cup men’s division on Tuesday at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila.

The Sealions cruised to a 25-20, 25-11-, 25-18 win over 3B Marikina City while the HD Spikers ran away with a 25-15, 25-14, 25-16 win over the University of Batangas.

PGJC Navy previously drubbed Plaridel, Quezon with a 25-18, 25-23, 25-10 win for a 2-0 record in Pool C of the PNVF Challenge Cup supported by the Philippine Sports Commission headed by chairman Richard Bachmann, PLDT, Rebisco, Akari, Foton and CBPI. Cignal was not to be left behind in posting a similar 2-0 start in Pool A of the 20-team men’s division. The HD Spikers scored a 25-21, 25-16, 25-22 debut win over Savouge Aesthetics last week.

In the other match, VNS Asereht also bagged their second win in as many games after clobbering Rizal Technological University-Basilan, 25-23, 25-15, 2523, to claim the lead in Pool B.

VNS scored its first win against the University of the East, 25-18,19-25 25-21,25-20, last week as the PNVF, headed by Ramon “Tats” Suzara, unveiled the new Challenge Cup in lieu of the old Champions League.

With little to no break, Cignal and PGJC Navy will plunge back into action right away on Wednesday against different counterparts anew in a bid to shore up their playoff drives.

Cignal takes on Kuya JM-Davao City at 2 p.m. after the duel between PGJC Navy and Angatleta-Orion, Bataan at 12 p.m.

Other games in the men’s division feature the Volida Volleyball Club and Savouge Aesthetics at 8 a.m. and Jose Rizal U against Marikina at 10 a.m.

In the 16-team women’s play, Davao City battles JRU at 4 p.m. as La Salle-Dasma and Lyceum of the Philippines University-Batangas clash at 6 p.m. to cap a six-game bill.

JP Bugaoan of Cignal attempts a spike during men’s action at the PNVF Challenge Cup on Tuesday at the Rizal Memorial Sports Coliseum.

Paco Academy dominates table tennis tourney THE Paco Citizen Academy Foundation swept four individual events, while dominating three out of four team competitions at stake to claim the overall championship in the 21st Filipino Chinese Amateur Athletic Federation Inter-Scholastics Table Tennis Championship this weekend at Robinson’s Otis in Paco, Manila.

Inspired by the presence of their senior schoolmate, Keith Rhynn Cruz, who won the Under-19 class at the recently concluded World Table Tennis Youth Contender Championship in Palawan, the PCAF netters, except for the girls’ elementary class, stepped up to record the impressive success in the tournament organized

by FCAAF and presented by the Table Tennis Association for National Development (TATAND) and Robinson’s Mall.

Khevin Cruz, younger brother of Keith Rhynn, who is currently the Philippine women’s no. 1, defeated Jahrzali Rivera in the all-

Paco finals of the boys’ singles elementary class.

The 12-year-old Khevin also won a silver medal at the World Youth in the 11-under division last year.

Cruz won his second gold medal en route to being named Most Valuable

Player after helping the PCAF boys’ elementary squad, which also consisted of Qeshaun Lau Crisostomo, Jharzali Rivera, and Efraim Jan Lau winning the gold medal against Xavier School San Juan, composed of Jaylem Cole Ting, Seth Matthew Peran

FCAAF president Natalie Sia (left) and TATAND honorary president Charlie Lim pose with members of the Paco Academy boy’s elementary champion, led by 2022 Word Youth silver medalist Khevin Cruz (third from left).

Wee, Johann David Chan-Lim, and Keyang Thomas Yang.

“The tournament is part of the FCAAF celebration of its 35th founding anniversary. For over three decades, we established a strong grassroots’ sports program through promotions, event organizing and assistance not just for table tennis, but for other 17 sports disciplines under the FCAAF supervision,” said PCAAF president Natalie Sia, who led the awarding of medals and prizes for the winners, along with FCAAF Chairman of the Table Tennis Committee and TATAND honorary presidents Charlie Lim, Wilson Tan and Joey Sy. The PCAF boys high school team of Cayl Brent Chavez, Marcus Jnash Chavez, and Jairus Rae Angeles beat St. Stephen High School, composed of Denzel Andrei Tan, Reigl Jude Emmanuel Yap, Justine Surewin Sy, Reily Jude Emmanuel Yap, and Liam Anderson Tiu.

Bacoor trounces Batangas, nears South Division crown

James Kwekuteye hits a jumper for the Bacoor Strikers.

THE Bacoor Strikers struck hard from all fronts and routed the Batangas City Embassy Chill Athletics, 89-68, on Monday in Game 1 of the MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) Fifth Season South Division Finals at the Strike Gymnasium in Bacoor City.

Powered by James Kwekuteye, Jhan McHale Nermal and Yvan Ludovice, who drilled in back-to-back triples, the Strikers recovered from a 6-10 deficit to surge ahead after the first quarter, 27-18, and never let up to move within a win of clinching their first crown in the 29-team league.

Kwekuteye posted 25 points, laced by 6 triples, 4 steals and 3 rebounds to earn best player honors. The former San Beda star was supported by Nermal with 14 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks, and

veteran Mark Yee with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists. Ludovice contributed 9 points, all from rainbow territory, 4 rebounds and 4 assists.

The Strikers drilled in four straight triples, two by Kwekuteye and one each

by Ludovice and Aaron Jeruta, to break the game apart, 45-26, late in the second quarter.

Batangas’ Cedric Ablaza buried a triple, but the Strikers countered with a 6-point cluster for a 51-29 bulge at halftime.

Jhaymo Eguilos, a former key player for Batangas, capped a 6-point run with two free throws to shove Bacoor to its biggest spread, 64-37, with 3 minutes and 10 seconds to go in the third quarter.

The Strikers canned 14 triples against only 10 for the Athletics.

Although their offense clicked, Strikers Coach Alex Angeles believes it emanated from their defense.

“Our defense serves as our fuel. We just fed whoever is hot,” said Angeles, during the post-game interview also attended by Kwekuteye and Bacoor team owner Dennis Abella.

Batangas got 15 points, 13 rebounds and 3 steals from Jeckster Apinan and 11 points plus 4 rebounds from Levi Hernandez.

On Friday, Bacoor will try to cut short the best-of-three series in Game 2 at the Batangas City Coliseum.

The Pampanga Giant Lanterns seek the North Division crown against the San Juan Knights at 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday at the FilOIl Flying V Arena in San Juan.

C3

SHOWBIZ

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2023

lifeandshow.manilastandard@gmail.com NICKIE WANG, Editor ANGELICA VILLANUEVA, Writer

Nik Makino charts

new artistic course, moves beyond ‘Neneng B’ era Very Wang

Nickie Wang

R

APPER and OPM artist Nik Makino has redirected his attention to creating songs that delve into the themes of life, love, and personal experiences. As he embarks on a different musical journey, stepping away from the “Neneng B” era, Makino invites his audience to join him on this exciting new chapter.

Makino and pal Mayo Marte recently hosted a “listening party” at Sine Pop in Quezon City, unveiling several unreleased songs for fans and industry friends.

The duo, who dropped tracks like “Shot Puno,” “Solid,” “Ngayong Gabi,” “Hindi Ko na Kaya,” “Alak,” and “Alaala” under Believe Music Philippines, believe in the connective power of music. They emphasize that artists can achieve much when using their talents for a more significant purpose.

“I met Mayo in 2018 through Instagram. I messaged him asking if we could collaborate on a song because I listened to his song on YouTube. He immediately said yes. That’s where our friendship began,” shared Makino.

Marte added, “We both love music. It feels great that we understand each other as artists.”

They started collaborating in 2019 with the release of “TSD,” the pair plans to collaborate again.

Makino, with 880k followers and a million streams on platforms like Spotify, describes his unreleased songs as a reflection of his life journey and ongoing self-reinvention.

“The concept of these unreleased songs is the story of my life — everything I’ve been through in life and love. And I’m still in the process of reinventing myself and how to grow.

It’s also a form of self-reflection,” he told Manila Standard Entertainment.

Marte, known for the hit song “Bahala Na” with 2.4 million views on YouTube, focuses on relationships as the major theme of his upcoming EP, drawing inspiration from personal experiences.

“The major theme of the EP is relationships — from the beginning to the end — how one gets hurt and how to move on.

It is based on the experiences of people I know,” he said.

Thanking their career mentors John David Laylo, Phatrick Cruz, and Waheed Al Jarallah, Makino and Marte hope to inspire more young artists and remind them to make songs that matter.

Makino shared: “[I am] a father to a beautiful child. A good husband. Provider for the family. This is what I wished for during times when I had nothing, so I need to protect it.

There are so many young people who also want to achieve what I have, so I am super thankful. Even if I lose my voice, I will still sing.”

Marte said in turn: “The one who taught me was my Dad. Even when I was young, I was already musically inclined. I started making music in college. I didn’t finish college because I pursued music. Now that I’m here, I want to represent Ilonggos and make them proud.”

Shticks

Joseph Peter Gonzales

Why Ruru Madrid prioritizes viewer enjoyment over competition ACTOR Ruru Madrid admits that he does feel pressure with his new prime-time offering, Black Rider, competing with Coco Martin’s FPJ’s Batang Quiapo in the ratings game.

Acknowledging the existing pressure, he emphasizes a focus beyond competition. Ruru underscores the priority of delivering high-quality entertainment to viewers, highlighting his goal to entertain rather than succumb to competitive pressures.

“For me, more than anything else, my focus is directed on the viewers’ enjoyment. As an actor, my goal is to entertain,” Ruru says.

Looking back at his past encounter with Coco, his show Lolong was recognized for surpassing FPJ Ang Probinsyano before its conclusion.

Despite its success, he modestly downplays claims that Lolong was the reason for the latter’s end, attributing it to fortuitous timing in their respective runs.

“Actually, I feel shy whenever people say that Lolong was the reason why FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano ended. They aired for seven years. Perhaps, it was just a case of good timing that when they decided to end their run, it was my show that was their competition.”

Speaking of Coco, the two of them met each other at the meeting called

by Sen. Robin Padilla recently to talk about the Eddie Garcia Bill.

“Yes, we saw each other during the event. I approached him, introduced myself, and told him that it was a huge honor on my part to formally meet him. He was very kind as he said that he should be the one to feel honored meeting me and revealed Ruru that he watches my shows in GMA. He Madrid acknowledged all the efforts I exert in is the every program I make and encouraged ‘Black me to just continue,” he states.

Rider’ *** Samantha Lopez has only good words for Love. Die. Repeat female lead Jennylyn Mercado now that their taping is back into full swing. The production had to stop taping in September 2021 because Jen became pregnant with her daughter with Dennis Trillo.

“In my first role as a mother to an adult child, working with Jen is an honor,” she states.

The seasoned actress praises Jen for her kindness, generosity, and dedication to acting, emphasizing her down-to-earth nature despite fame. As their bond grows during filming, Jennylyn affectionately calls her Mommy, and they share a passion for Pilates.

Samantha commends Jennylyn’s remarkable ability to portray emotionally intense scenes effortlessly, expressing admiration for her competence as an actress.

Vivamax Chairman and CEO Vic Del Rosario Jr. (left) and Jason Kim of Jaye Entertainment

Vivamax makes waves in Busan VIVAMAX, the Philippines’ top streaming platform, scored big at the Busan International Film Festival held recently in Busan, South Korea.

The delegation headed by Chairman and CEO Vic Del Rosario and President and COO Vincent Del Rosario, was able to close multi-picture deals with Korean and Japanese distribution companies during the Festival.

South Korean distribution outfits Lumixmedia, WithLion, and Jaye Entertainment acquired more than 40 original Vivamax titles for distribution in their territory, while, the Japanese distribution company, Nettai Museum, acquired 24 titles.

With over 60 original titles of locally produced films sold to Asian distributors and others in the foreign

Rapper and OPM artist Nik Makino

Nik (left) together with pal, Mayo, treats guests to some unreleased songs at a listening party

market this year, the Vivamax haul is one of the largest ever in Philippine entertainment history.

This feat also focuses attention on the works of fast-rising young directors and established auteurs whom Vivamax has supported and nurtured these past two years like Lawrence Fajardo, Roman Perez, Jr. Bobby Bonifacio, Jr. Yam Laranas, Topel Lee, and Brilliante Mendoza among others.

Among the most saleable titles from the Vivamax catalog are Mahjong Nights starring Angeli Khang, Sean de Guzman, Mickey Ferriols, and Jay Manalo and directed by Fajardo; Tayuan directed by Lee and also starring Khang with Stephanie Raz, Chester Grecia, and Francine Garcia; Pamasahe directed by Perez, Jr. and starring Azi Acosta, Mark Anthony Fernandez, and Felix Rocco; and Palitan directed by Mendoza and starring Cara Gonzales, Jela Cuenca, and Luis Hontiveros.

Established in early 2021 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Vivamax easily gained loyal patronage and created impressive traction with a steady schedule of releasing one new original title weekly and one new series every two weeks. This is aside from content from its vast and varied library of over 2000 classics from Viva Films and acquired titles.

Vivamax now has over 7 million subscribers from all over the world, including Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and North America.

‘The Marvels’ faces box office setback with lowest debut ever NEW superhero film The Marvels is making history, and not in a good way: its estimated $47 million North American take over the weekend marks the lowest debut ever for a movie from Disney’s normally money-cranking Marvel Cinematic Universe.

“This opening is an unprecedented Marvel box office collapse,” said analyst David A. Gross Gross.

Second superhero episodes normally outperform the originals, he said, but this one is down 67 percent from its predecessor, Captain Marvel, and has a long way to go to recoup its $220 million production cost.

It’s unclear, analysts said, whether this is a clear signal of moviegoers’ superhero fatigue after so many successful blockbusters.

The Marvels, a complicated sci-fi yarn about quantum entanglement, “jump points” and holes in space, also stars Teyonah Parris and Iman Vellani.

In second for the weekend was

Five Nights at Freddy’s from Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Productions, with estimated ticket sales of $9 million, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported Sunday.

AMC Theaters’ Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour again performed well: the superstar’s concert film earned $5.9 million as it placed third for the weekend.

Its total domestic haul in five weeks is now $172.5 million.

In fourth was A24’s Priscilla Priscilla, biopic at $4.8 million, nearly level with last weekend’s $5 million take. The Sofia Coppoladirected film charts the rocky relationship Elvis between Priscilla and Presley, from their first meeting, when she was just 14 and he was a 24-year-old star,

to their acrimonious split.

And in fifth, at $4.7 million, was Martin Scorsese’s history-based epic Killers of the Flower Moon. The Paramount drama stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, and Lily Gladstone. AFP From left: Iman Vellani, Brie Larson, and Teyona Parris in a scene from ‘The Marvels’

C4

LIFE

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2023

lifeandshow.manilastandard@gmail.com NICKIE WANG, Editor ANGELICA VILLANUEVA, Writer

Discover BTS’ journey to stardom through James Jean’s collection of exhibits BTS fans can get to have an unprecedented insight into the world of their beloved artists Visitors also have the chance to see BTS’ memorial exhibition, featuring a treasure trove of iconic artifacts and memorabilia from the group’s illustrious career

Delving into the creative realms of BTS and James Jean

A

CCLAIMED artist James Jean and internationally renowned 21st-century pop icons BTS (RM, Jin, SUGA, J-hope, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook) have joined forces to create an extraordinary collection of exhibits.

Following its phenomenal success in South Korea and a captivating showcase in Frankfurt, the <[Hybe Insight] BTS X James Jean: Seven Phases Exhibition> now goes to Manila. This highly anticipated event invites art and music enthusiasts to embark on an immersive journey through the unique and harmonious worlds crafted by these exceptional artists.

Spanning two dedicated exhibition areas, the <[Hybe Insight] BTS X James Jean: Seven Phases Exhibition> offers an exclusive opportunity to

delve into the creative realms of BTS and James Jean.

The first zone unveils a remarkable series of 31 paintings by James Jean, each capturing the essence of a BTS member. These exceptional artworks provide a window into the individuality and artistic spirit of each member, offering viewers an intimate connection with their favorite artists.

Through Jean’s masterful strokes and vibrant colors, visitors will gain a deeper understanding of the personalities and artistic sensibilities of BTS, creating an unparalleled visual dialogue between the artist and his subjects.

The second zone of the exhibition, on the other hand, transports visitors to a captivating BTS memorial exhibition, featuring a treasure trove of iconic artifacts and memorabilia from the group’s illustrious career.

Among the highlights are the actual audio

ARMYs can also buy BTS merch before leaving the area

Glazing Life Glaiza Lee

ISANG Dosenang Sapatos started with a “what if” story that children’s book author Dr. Luis Gatmaitan thought of when he met a patient who was physically challenged, having only one leg.

“May patient ako na may disability, putol ‘yung isang paa. I thought - what if the father of the child is a shoemaker? In reality, the father was a government employer,” shared Tito Doc as the author was fondly called.

He further explored the thought and imagined that being a shoemaker, the father would want to create shoes for his child but what if the child has no feet at all.

“Paano niya i-imagine ang lumalaking sukat ng paa nung kanyang anak?” Gatmaitan contemplated.

And so Isang Dosenang Sapatos was conceived.

The story revolves around a father who wants a ballerina for a daughter but his child has no feet.

Wincess Jem Yana

equipment used by each BTS member during their tours, such as microphones and in-ear monitors, coveted trophies that bear witness to their remarkable achievements, and exclusive wardrobes worn in music videos and stage performances. Notably, the awe-inspiring DIOR outfit, known for its breathtaking design and symbolizing the group’s fashion-forward persona, will be on display, captivating visitors with its significance and beauty.

This is an unparalleled opportunity for art lovers and BTS fans to gain unprecedented insight into the world of their beloved artists. It will offer a truly immersive experience, allowing admirers to explore the captivating and harmonious synergy between BTS and James Jean. The exhibition will take place at SM Megamall, located on the 4th floor of Building A. To commemorate this extraordinary experience, visitors will have the opportunity to acquire exclusive merchandise, including postcards and photo cards featuring the group.

These cherished mementos will serve as reminders of the captivating journey through the worlds of music and art that the exhibition provides. <[Hybe Insight] BTS X James Jean: Seven Phases Exhibition> runs until December 3 at the fourth floor of Building A, SM Megamall, Mandaluyong City.

Gain a deeper understanding of the personalities and artistic sensibilities of BTS with Jean’s masterful strokes

Shoes made with love “I want to put the spotlight on children with disabilities. Most of the time, they were just on the margins. For once, sila ang nasa center. Anumang forms of disabilities, whether it’s physical learning, or emotional, maraming klase ng disabilities, and Susie (the main character) embodies all these different forms of disabilities,” shared Gatmaitan.

With its heart-warming story and endearing characters, the Palanca-award-winning storybook has been adapted to different plays, including that of Tanghalang Pilipino.

On November 17, the Tanghalang Pilipino premieres a re-staging of Sandosenang Sapatos.

TP first staged the musical in 2013, directed by Tuxqs Rutaquio. The story was adapted for the stage by Palanca awardee Layeta Bucoy, and the music is by Jed Balsamo and Noel Cabangon.

TP artistic director Fernando “Tata Nanding” Josef decided to adapt the story into a play after

reading a copy of the children’s book at the CCP Library. He was touched by the story, as he is from Marikina and his parents were into shoemaking.

The musical is different from the original source in that it is told from the point of view of Susie, the main character, rather than her sister Karina.

Layeta Bucoy felt that there was more to Susie’s story than meets the eye, and she wanted to explore her struggles as a child growing up without feet.

Doc Luis Gatmaitan, the author of the children’s book, admitted that he did not explore Susie’s character in his book and did not share her struggles. He is happy to see the different interpretations of his story, and he is glad that the characters are coming to life on stage.

Another difference is the Diwata ng Sapatos.

In the storybook, it was just mentioned by Karina.

But in the play, it became three-dimensional.

“Shoes were personified in the musical. Sa story, they were just shoes displayed on their boxes,” shared the author.

This holiday, catch this heart-touching story of familial love. This musical beautifully illustrates the importance of cherishing our loved ones, especially those with unique needs, and puts the spotlight on inner strengths.

“There are people who are physically disabled but emotionally whole. There are those who are whole physically, but emotionally disabled. Susie was the former. Binuo siya ng pagmamahal ng kanyang tatay, nanay, at kapatid,” concluded Gatmaitan.

Sandosenang Sapatos runs until December Felicity Kyle Napuli 3. Get your tickets at TicketWorld.

Marc Tomas will lead an Ikebana-Sogetsu flower arrangement workshop designed for beginners

Explore the art of Ikebana SUNSHINE Place invites enthusiasts to delve into the world of the Ikebana-Sogetsu flower arrangement with an introductory workshop designed for beginners.

Renowned expert Marc Tomas, former President of Ikebana International Manila Chapter 108 and member of Sogetsu Potential Manila Chapter, will lead the workshop, drawing on his extensive experience in Ikebana instruction at Sunshine Place since 2017.

The workshop, scheduled for November 4, 11, 18, and 25 from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., will cover fundamental Ikebana techniques, including the upright Moribana style, basic slanting with Variation #4 incorporating movements, basic Nagiri Style, and the artful combination of Moribana and Nagiri Arrangements.

To ensure a personalized experience, the in-person workshop has limited slots available. For more information and registration, interested individuals can call 0917) 515-5656 or email operations@ sunshineplaceph.com.