Manila Standard - 2023 January 16 - Monday

PBBM to bill PH potential at WEF

Pitch centers on enticing investment, promoting country as growth hub

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. hopes to drum up more investments in the Philippines and promote the country's readiness to play a leading role in the regional and global expansion plans of companies as he arrives in Davos, Switzerland today for the

The President is attending the Forum’s Country Strategy Dialogue, “where we are given the opportunity to promote the Philippines as leader and driver of growth and a gateway to the Asia-Pacific region —one that is open for business,” he said in his departure statement at the Maharlika Hall of Villamor Air Base in Pasay City on Sunday morning.

Mr. Marcos is also slated to speak in a special 30-minute “conversation” with the Forum attendees scheduled on January 18, Wednesday at 5 p.m. (midnight

27 people died amid heavy rains, flooding

AT least 27 people have died in heavy rains and flooding across the Philippines this month, authorities said Sunday, as forecasters warned of continued downpours in the disaster-prone country.

Calbayog City in Samar was the latest area to declare a state of calamity owing to extensive flooding, following eight cities and towns and a province

across the southern half of the country.

Heavy downpours and flooding have plagued the Visayas and Mindanao since Christmas weekend, forcing hundreds of thousands to flee their homes.

The forecast for this week isn’t any drier, as the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astro-

nomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said Southern Luzon including the National Capital Region, Visayas, and Mindanao will have cloudy skies until Friday, with rain showers and thunderstorms becoming frequent rains over Bicol region.

Since the start of the year, at least three storms

FLOOD RESCUE.

Firefighters

the Taft Fire Station of Taft, Samar assist motorists on Sunday stranded along the border of Barangay Malinao and Binalo-an due to flooding caused by heavy rains over the weekend. Calbayog City declared a state of calamity owing to the floods that have hit the Bicol Region, Visayas and Mindanao.

DA, Customs

to intensify intel sharing to curb agri smuggling

carried

Of

billion

Sinulog grand parade in Cebu draws 2m

devotees, revelers

sun—and

House hikes AFP budget to P45b

THE House of Representatives has increased this year’s budget for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) modernization program by P6 billion, raising the total new appropriations to P45 billion, Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel said Sunday.

“In all, there’s P45 billion for the AFPMP in the 2023 national budget– P27.5 billion in programmed appropriations plus P17.5 billion in unprogrammed appropriations,” he said.

“The P45 billion is P6 billion higher than the P39 billion in programmed and unprogrammed appropriations for the

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of Thursday, January 19, Manila time), according to the program posted on the WEF website.

Earlier the same day, the President will also be one of the speakers in the session titled “Moving Towards Nutrition Security” at 11:30 a.m.

The WEF will run from Jan. 15 to 20, as Mr. Marcos vowed to highlight the Philippines' economic gains and bring home more investment pledges.

He said his administration will be “ever ready to complement regional and global expansion plans of both foreign and Philippine-based enterprises anchored on the competent and well-educated Filipino workers, the managers, and professionals.”

Mr. Marcos also said he would look for potential partners who will back his administration’s ambitious plan to build more infrastructure and ensure food and energy security during the WEF in Davos.

“I will draw attention to our efforts at building resilient infrastructure that bolsters our effort to reinforce robust and resilient supply chains, ensures food security, including critical interlinkages with the health and nutrition, while furthering climate-friendly, clean-andgreen energy to power the Philippine economy,” the President said.

“Moreover, I will share our experience as a model for managing—with our global partners—the disruptive and transformative impact of COVID," the Chief Executive said.

He said the theme for this year’s WEF, “Cooperation in a Fragmented World,” is appropriate because the world came to a standstill because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mr. Marcos vowed to highlight steps being undertaken by the Philippines to “mend the fissures of such fragmentation” within the country and in partnership with other nations.

“Related to this is the need to collectively bolster and reinforce our postpandemic economic recovery efforts by addressing the challenges we face posed by rising food prices, the impact of conflict in other parts of the world, and the

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Bonzon "R.Bon" Gabriel – said she feels she has a “big responsibility” owing to her mixed heritage to share her multicultural background while empowering others to embrace their identities.

“My dad moved to America from the Philippines on a college scholarship with about $20 in his pocket. He wanted to pave a new life for himself. He met my mom in Texas, who is a country woman from Beaumont.

I'm a very proud Filipina Texan," Gabriel shared with ABC News' local affiliate in Houston.

“Growing up with two different cultures has made me the person I am because the family dynamic is so different on my mom and dad's side.

And it's really just made me a very open-minded person,” she added.

The 28-year-old Gabriel was the first multicultural participant to win the titles of Miss Texas USA and Miss USA.

“As the first Filipino-American Miss Universe, I can now be a voice, a larger voice for other girls and just show them that you need to embrace who you are. It’s so important. Embrace what makes you different,” she said.

“The Filipino blood is so strong. We are hardworking, we are fun, and we are determined. I am so proud to be a halfFilipina,” she added.

Gabriel graduated from the University of North Texas with a degree in fashion design and now works as a fashion designer creating eco-friendly clothing.

A dead ringer for Miss Asia Pacific 1993 Michelle Aldana, Gabriel received the crown from outgoing Miss Universe Harnaaz Sandhu.

She bested 82 contestants across the globe, including Miss Philippines Celeste Cortesi, who did not make the Top 16 semi-finalists’ list, ending a 12-year streak

AFPMP in 2022,” he added.

The Department of Budget and Management originally sought only P40 billion in programmed and unprogrammed appropriations for the AFPMP in 2023.

“We are confident the government will find the money needed to finance this year’s unprogrammed appropriations

continuing existential threat posed by climate change,” he said.

Mr. Marcos said his participation in the WEF Annual Meeting would give him a chance to exchange views on such pressing issues with other government leaders, policymakers, business executives and entrepreneurs, civic society advocates and academic experts.

“The Philippines is also being given a unique opportunity to highlight the significant economic gains we have achieved in the last part of the year as attested to by upward growth projections of the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank,” he said.

The President said he will also share the country’s experience as a model for managing the impact of COVID-19.

“I intend to share our efforts in saving both lives and livelihoods, as well as the people-centered next steps that we are taking to ensure that we are ready to meet the lingering effects of the pandemic and address the occurrence of the next one,” he said.

Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Undersecretary Carlos Sorreta earlier said Mr. Marcos will also make a "soft launch" of the Philippines' proposed sovereign wealth fund (SWF), otherwise known as the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF), which is crucial in boosting the Philippine investments and economic growth (see related story on A2 –Editors).

Mr. Marcos will be the only leader of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) who will attend the 2023 WEF Annual Meeting.

He is joined by a Philippine delegation composed of government officials and business leaders.

Mr. Marcos is attending the WEF Annual meeting upon the invitation of WEF founder and chair emeritus Klaus Schwab, who he met at the sidelines of both the ASEAN and APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) meetings in Phnom Penh and Bangkok, respectively in November last year.

This year’s annual meeting of the WEF is the forum’s first in-person gathering since 2020. Established in 1971, the forum serves as an international organization for public-private cooperation.

for the Philippines.

When asked the Top 3 final question, “If you win Miss Universe, how would you work to demonstrate this as an empowering and progressive organization?” Gabriel proudly voiced her advocacies which she pushes for through her passion for fashion.

“I would use it to be a transformational leader. As a very passionate designer, I’ve been sewing for 13 years. I use fashion as a force for good. In my industry, I’ve been cutting down on pollution through recycled materials when I make my clothing. I choose sewing classes for women that have survived human trafficking and domestic violence.

And I say that because it is so important to invest in others, invest in our community, and use your unique talent to make a difference.”

“We all have something special and when we plant those seeds to other people in our life, we transform them and we use that as a vehicle for change,” Gabriel said.

Gabriel said she hopes to visit the Philippines soon and bring her advocacy with her.

“My world just got turned upside down, but I absolutely would love to visit the Philippines. I was speaking with a friend a couple of months ago who’s in the Philippines – he’s a designer. I told him I would love to set up some sewing workshops and teach little girls how to sew.”

“It’s all about planting the seeds and giving them the creative opportunity. I really look forward to that and I hope I have the opportunity to do that in the Philippines hopefully within the next few months,” she added.

Miss Venezuela Amanda Dudamel, a fashion designer, and Miss Dominican Republic Andreina Martinez, a model and graduate with a degree in psychology, were named first and second runners-up, respectively.

Miss Puerto Rico Ashley Carino and Miss Curacao Gabriela Dos Santos rounded up the Top 5.

for the AFPMP,” Pimentel said.

Programmed appropriations have ready funding sources, whereas unprogrammed ones provide standby authority for the Department of National Defense to sign additional contracts for modernization projects, depending on available government funds, including borrowed money.

“We are forcefully supporting the AFPMP not only because the law requires us to, but also to counteract the persistent swarming of Chinese vessels around Pag-asa Island,” Pimentel said, referring to the largest Philippine-occupied landmass at the northeastern section of the disputed Spratly archipelago.

Also on Sunday, the Department of National Defense (DND) said it is look-

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have killed 27 people across the country, the civil defense office said in a report on Sunday.

In its latest bulletin issued Sunday morning, OCD reported more than 614,000 people—or over 151,000 families—were affected by the series of lowpressure areas and the shear line since Jan. 2.

Eleven people were reported injured and three are missing.

Another 112,000 people—or more than 31,000 families—were displaced by the flooding after being forced to flee their homes.

The affected and displaced population spanned 13 regions across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

The state weather forecaster warned Sunday of heavy rains over the Bicol peninsula and Quezon province in the southern tip of the main island of Luzon.

"Under these conditions, flooding and rain-induced landslides are likely in areas that are highly... susceptible to these hazards," PAGASA said in an advisory.

More than 83,000 people are sheltering in evacuation centers, according to the civil defense office, and over 1,200 houses have been damaged by floodwaters and heavy rains.

Agricultural damage was pegged at P258.3 million, while damage to infrastructure was estimated at around P171 million.

Some 1,281 houses were also damaged, the OCD said.

The government has extended assistance worth P31.6 million to affected residents.

The OCD added that local disaster authorities were also monitoring the situation, with search and rescue teams still deployed.

The two-week rains caused by a lowpressure area (LPA) in NorthernMindanao affected 59,000 individuals, left seven dead, and damaged more than P22 mil-

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Fajardo said most of the remaining resignations are expected to come from Visayas and Mindanao.

Earlier, PNP chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. said at least 10 police officials were allegedly involved in illegal drugs. He was not sure though if these officers have submitted their courtesy resignations.

Department of Interior and Local Government chief Abalos said Sunday top police officials who will be allowed to resign after submitting courtesy resignations and those who opted to retire early would still be thoroughly investigated.

“The process does not end upon the acceptance of courtesy resignation,” Abalos said in a statement.

Abalos said those who will be allowed to resign and retire are yet to undergo a rigorous investigation and monitoring.

“Don't let them think that once they retire, they will get through. No. There will be continued monitoring and case buildup against them,” he said.

A five-man committee will be created to investigate and assess the officials who were asked to resign and will make recommendations to the President.

Former police official and now Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong was earlier named as one of the members of the panel. The other four are yet to be an-

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About 1,700 police forces from the Cebu City Police Office helped secure the venue, augmented by security personnel from the Philippine Coast Guard, the Philippine Navy, the Bureau of Fire Protection, and the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) said about two million people came to the Queen City of the South to witness the

ing forward to a harmonious working relationship with new National Security Adviser Eduardo Año.

In a statement on Sunday, DND Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said hebelieves Año, who replaces Clarita Carlos in that position, will provide informed guidance to address various security concerns.

"Secretary Año will undoubtedly render his decisive, informed, and pragmatic guidance. The former Armed Forces of the Philippines chief-of-staff and Secretary of the DILG (Department of the Interior and Local Government) has also been a stalwart advocate of ourwhole-ofnation approach on national security, especially in addressing the armed conflict brought by insurgency and terrorism," Galvez said.

lion worth of properties.

In the initial report by the Region 10 Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC-10) on Sunday, 15,812 families experienced flooding.

In evacuation centers throughout the region, only 4,432 individuals or 1,227 families have remained as of Sunday out of the 31,353 individuals or 8,621 families who sought shelter within the twoweek period.

The LPA located northeast of Surigao del Norte will cause cloudy skies with scattered to widespread rain showers and thunderstorms over the Bicol Region, Eastern Visayas and Quezon on Sunday, PAGASA said in its weather forecast.

Flooding or landslides may result due to moderate to heavy with at times intense rains.

Metro Manila, Mindanao, the rest of Visayas, Mimaropa, the rest of Calabarzon, and Aurora will have cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms also due to the LPA. Moderate to heavy rains may lead to flooding or landslides.

At 3 a.m. on Sunday, the LPA was estimated to be located 80 kmnortheast of Surigao City, Surigao del Norte, or 125 km east of Maasin City, Southern Leyte.

The rest of Luzon will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms due to localized thunderstorms. During severe thunderstorms, flash floods or landslides may result.

Coastal waters will be moderate to rough in the seaboards of Northern Luzon, and light to moderate in the rest of the country.

PAGASA said the LPA has still a slim chance of developing into a tropical storm but is expected to bring cloudy skies with scattered to widespread rain showers and thunderstorms in Bicol Region, Eastern Visayas, and Quezon.

The Philippines is ranked among the most vulnerable nations to the impacts of climate change, and scientists have warned that storms are becoming more powerful as the world gets warmer. AFP with Rio N. Araja

nounced.

“What we are waiting for is the official announcement, the composition of the five-man committee that will conduct an examination of those who submitted courtesy resignations," Fajardo said in a radio interview.

Abalos is expected to announce soon the composition of the team and how the assessment would be done, she added.

“What Sec. Abalos said that the team is already there. We are also waiting on how are they going to assess those who submitted their resignation,” she said.

Abalos said the National Police Commission (Napolcom) would also review the names of police officers whose resignations will be accepted.

“That’s important to me, they should be thoroughly screened. I'd rather have one man who is guilty get off the hook than one innocent person dismissed,” Abalos said.

He assured though that the five-man committee and Napolcom will be guided by evidence at hand before making any decision.

“Our justice system is founded upon the principle that we protect the innocent and make sure that only the guilty are punished. That is our solemn duty, and we will not rest until this is carried out,” Abalos said.

Fajardo, meanwhile, said those officers who will be found to have links with illegal drug activities will face charges. But they can appeal the findings and secure other legal remedies.

Sinulog Grand Parade, including local and foreign tourists.

On Saturday, over three million people – residents and tourists alike– participated in the four-hour solemn foot procession for the feast of the Santo Niño De Cebu.

“It was generally people. It was the first time to have another Fiesta Señor, since in the past years we did not have it,” said CCPO director Col. Ireneo Dalogdog.

A grand fireworks display that lasted about 20 minutes capped Sunday’s dance showdown and parade.

‘MIF soft launch a ploy to push Senate approval’

SENATE

The President's allies in the House of Representatives have already approved the MIF, over the misgivings of business groups and academics.

Pimentel said the “soft launch” of the Maharlika Fund in Davos was more than a marketing strategy.

"It's a move to tie the hands of Congress, particularly the Senate, on the controversial measure,” he said in a statement on Sunday.

The opposition leader is also worried that “the move would only put pressure on the Senate to enact the measure swiftly” at the expense of more pressing legislation.

Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Undersecretary Carlos Sorreta earlier said Marcos will make a "soft launch" of the Philippines' proposed sovereign wealth fund (SWF), which is crucial in boosting the Philippine investments and economic growth.

The House of Representatives on Dec. 15 approved on the third and final reading House Bill 6608 or the MIF bill after being certified as urgent by the President.

Under the proposed measure, the MIF will be financed through pooled funds from state-owned financial institutions and state pension funds. Macon Ramos-Araneta

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agricultural products, most of which came from China.

“The last shipment we confiscated, on paper they declared the content to be fish balls, but it turned out to be onions,” he said.

He said Customs and DA held a series of meetings and agreed to coordinate closer even at just the stage of accrediting consignees to hasten the validation and clarification of permits issued by the Agriculture Department.

“We will also strengthen our intelligence and enforcement capabilities, especially in profiling to support our risk management,” dela Torre added.

He said the DA provided focal persons to rapidly validate issued permits.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who sits as the concurrent Agriculture Secretary, earlier vowed to run after persons involved in agricultural smuggling.

Over the weekend, the BOC-Port of Batangas seized the vessel MV Sunward for alleged sugar smuggling. The vessel was found to be carrying 4,000 metric tons of Thailand white refined sugar without any import permit.

Meanwhile, at least 10 flight crew members of flag carrier Philippine Airlines may face sanctions after they were caught bringing in undeclared fruits and vegetables, including onions, from Riyadh and Dubai, the Bureau of Plant Industry said. The BPI said the crew members were unable to present import and phytosanitary permits needed to bring in agricultural items.

PAL said it was already investigating the incident.

"We are investigating the incident involving ten crew members who were found to be carrying undeclared vegetables and fruits in their baggage after flying in from Riyadh and Dubai last January 10," PAL spokesperson Ma. Cielo Villaluna said in a statement.

"Philippine Airlines does not condone any violation of customs regulations. We will impose the appropriate disciplinary sanctions subject to the results of the investigations," she added.

Joel E. Zurbano

In Tondo, Manila, and Bago Bantay, Quezon City, residents filled the streets for festivities to honor the Santo Niño.

A mass was celebrated at the Santo Niño de Tondo Parish at Sunday midnight, followed by a motorcade at 4 a.m.

In Bago Bantay, a grand procession marked the celebration Saturday evening, with devotees seen carrying the image of the Child Jesus.

Another procession was held Sunday morning followed by the fiesta Mass presided over by Bishop Honesto Ongtioco.

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‘Court decision to impact PH-China oil exploration’

China, and Vietnam may have also dimmed the prospect of a similar deal between Manila and Beijing.

He noted that the Court ruling on the Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU) indicated that any activity whether it is on the pre-exploration or in the main exploration is already considered an “exploration.”

“And if you are going to explore, develop and utilize resources under our exclusive economic zone, also within our territorial jurisdiction, it should be under full control and supervision of the state which is the Philippines. So meaning any activity there, our government should be the one revising and it should be under our local laws and constitution,” Gatchalian explained.

He said the SC sets up parameters for any joint exploration that will be undertaken by other countries, and not just China. “But it’s just a parameter and it will now guide the potential joint exploration that is being discussed between the Philippines and China,” he also said.

The senator likewise divulged that personally, he is not so optimistic that the country can move forward with this joint exploration with China.

Gatchalian also said the Philippines can pursue other partnerships with another country that would be able to abide by the SC decision.

“If you look at Malampaya, it is run by Europeans and Americans. And the Malampaya project is being governed by PD 87, which is the oil and gas, local oil and gas law of the country and it’s also compliant to our constitution. So yes, we can, but the West Philippines issue is much more complex because China is claiming it, and that becomes an uncertain factor in terms of how to move forward with oil and gas exploration.” Macon Ramos-Araneta

CAAP chief advised to inhibit himself from NAIA glitch probe

SEN. Grace Poe on Sunday asked Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) director general Manuel Antonio Tamayo to inhibit himself from the ongoing investigation of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) air traffi c fi asco to ensure an impartial scrutiny of the incident.

Saying that CAAP cannot be investigating itself, Poe hopes an independent body will be formed to look into the incident.

“Definitely, Captain Tamayo cannot sit there and all those under him,” Poe said in a radio interview Sunday.

Poe also said Department of Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista can

perhaps lead the investigation.

The senator said former CAAP director general William Hotchkiss and a representative from the country’s association of civil aviation engineers could be included in the independent body that will look into the air traffic fiasco.

Senator Francis Tolentino meanwhile

Court sets promulgation in Evangelista homicide case

ELEVEN years after the death of Venson Evangelista, the son of Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) president Arsenio Evangelista, the Quezon City Regional Trial Court has set the promulgation of a judgment of the carnapping with homicide case filed against members of a crime syndicate for Feb. 3 at 9 a.m.

Branch 215 Judge Rafael Hipolito, in a Nov. 4, 2022 order, directed the participation of respondents Roger Dominguez and Jayson Miranda “from their remote location” at the Quezon City Jail Annex in Bicutan, Taguig City, and Rolando Talban at the National Bilibid Prisons in Muntinlupa City on promulgation day via the VCH platform.

Talban, who was known to be a member of the Dominguez carnapping group, earlier

admitted to taking part in the plot of abduction and killing of Evangelista.

On Jan. 13, 2011, a supposed buyer, who pretended to be a transvestite, and a mechanic went to Evangelista’s showroom in Cubao, Quezon City to inquire about a second-hand Toyota Land Cruiser. Venson allowed the two suspects to test drive the vehicle.

Days later, authorities confirmed that the burned boy of Venson was found in Barangay Buliran, Cabanatuan City in Nueva Ecija.

“January 13 is the 11th death anniversary of Venson. Missing him so much,” the VACC chief said told the Manila Standard. “Let’s hope and pray that justice will be served.”

Hipolito also directed the lawyers of Dominguez and Miranda, Oscar Karaan and Eric Fuentes, respectively, to participate from their remote locations.

urged the leadership of the CAAP to take advantage of a specific treaty that would help modernize the country’s existing air traffic control system.

Tolentino was referring to the 1944 ChicagoConvention on International Civil Aviation (ICAO), particularly under Article 70, in which signatory countries including the Philippines—may seek assistance from the ICAO council to fully finance the upgrade of existing air navigation facilities, without paying a single centavo.

He noted that the country’s transportation officials only need to prove to the international body that existing facilities “are not reasonably adequate for the safe, regular, efficient, and economical operation of international air

services, present or contemplated,” as stated in Article 69 of the 1944 pact.

Earlier, the CAAP said it has launched an internal investigation into the New Year’s Day technical glitch at the NAIA which canceled flights and stranded thousands of passengers. Asked if the CAAP head should resign or take a leave, Poe said that the fate of Tamayo is up to the DOTr chief.

The Senate public services committee led by Poe earlier held an inquiry on the incident, but the panel could not yet make a conclusion.

While the investigation is ongoing, she said she expects the work to continue in the airport’s air traffic equipment to avert a repeat of the fiasco and ensure passengers’ safety and convenience.

Coast guard files case against 4 in PCG scam

THE Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Friday filed charges against four individuals who allegedly recruited 480 Bataan residents to become members of the PCG Auxiliary (PCGA), the civilian volunteer arm of the agency.

PCG Bataan Station Commander Jonathan Serote accompanied by some 50 victims filed the complaint at the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office against Renante Nase, Reniel Nase, Julius Valerio, and Henric David belonging to a group 101st Balangay PCGA Inc.

The PCG Bataan Station commander said they charged the respondents of cases of estafa, usurpation of authority, and unlawful use of logos and insignias.

Serote said the group 101st Balangay PCGA Incorporated with an address in Quezon City is not authorized by the PCG to recruit for the PCG Auxiliary.

“The PCG filed the complaint so as to prevent this kind of scheme of unscrupulous individuals using the name of the agency to victimize,” he said.

Serote said the “recruits” were promised to receive benefits from cooperatives to be formed and other sources.”

He added each of them shelled out at least P18,000 for transportation and food allowance, uniforms, and other expenses for months of training.

Antonio Allecera and Melchor Castilar, jobless from Mariveles town, who both appeared during the filing of cases, said they were among the first batch who were recruited in August last year.

Caloocan gov’t rehabilitates 588 in drug program

rehabilitation program. He also praised their perseverance to change for the better and wished them to use their second chance in life significantly.

Malapitan also praise those who completed the rehabilitation program and cited their desire to turn over a new leaf and set themselves free from the use of illegal drugs.

Caloocan Anti-Drug Abuse Office (CADAO) officer-in-charge, Wilmilson

Amoyo said the city government will do its best to help identify users and help them recover through the rehabilitation program. He likewise mentioned that CADAO also conducts trainings to increase the knowledge and abilities of the clients under the said program ensuring that they are ready and has the capacity to earn a living.

Amoyo further said another batch of individuals will undergo the local gov-

ernment’s program this year to help them recover and have a fresh start. He also declared that the city government will not waver in its efforts and will strive to improve their services.

“Ngayong taon magsisimula ang panibagong batch ng ating mga kababayan na sasailalim sa ating mga programa at serbisyo upang matulungan natin silang magkaroon ng magandang hinaharap,” Malapitan said.

BI agents nab Canadian man carrying multiple visa

BUREAU of Immigration (BI) officers intercepted a Canadian man possessing multiple travel documents, including a Philippine passport.

According to a report from Travel Control and Enforcement Unit (TCEU) acting head Ann Camille Mina, the 49year-old man was referred by primary inspectors after attempting to depart for Taiwan via an Eva Air flight at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 in Pasay City.

The foreign-looking man presented a Philippine passport but raised the officer’s suspicion after he could not speak Filipino or any Philippine dialect. He also was unable to answer basic

questions about his identity.

Verification in the BI’s database revealed that the suspect had multiple travels in the country using a Canadian and a Hong Kong passport and is a holder of a permanent residence visa.

Upon interview, he later admitted that it was his lawyer who processed his birth certificate for the application for his passport.

BI officers said his passport and birth certificate could have been fraudulently acquired.

The suspect was later turned over to the BI’s Legal Division for the inquest and charging with violation of the Philippine Immigration Act.

They had undergone training in formation, drills, and water rescue in Morong. Allecera said they later found out the recruitment was a scam.

Former Marikina jail warden is new BJMP spox

THE Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) announced on Sunday that it has a new spokesperson.

Jail Chief Inspector Jayrex Joseph Bustinera was appointed as the new BJMP spokesperson, replacing Jail Superintendent Xavier Solda who was assigned to BJMP Region 9.

Before his appointment as spokesperson, Bustinera headed the Community Relations Service Office of BJMP national headquarters and chief of staff of the Center for Jail Excellence and Strategy Management.

He received his degree in Public Safety from the Philippine National Police Academy Class of 2008 and Master in Development Management at the Asian Institute of Management in 2016.

His most recent assignment was warden of Marikina City Jail – Male Dormitory where he pioneered the “Barangayanihan Initiative,” a BJMP community-based aftercare program for persons deprived of liberty and their families.

Solon pushes ‘agri-scouting’ for elementary, JHS students

KABAYAN party-list Rep. Ron Salo is batting for the passage of a bill mandating schools in the elementary and junior high school levels to conduct programs and activities to encourage the students to have an inclination toward agriculture, fisheries, forest and marine conservation and management, and ecology.

House Bill No. 6769, also known as the Agri-Scouting Act, aims to empower the youth to learn the importance of agriculture, fisheries, forest and marine conservation and management, and ecology, Salo said.

The measure aims to take a proactive stance in environment conservation and climate change resiliency, discover the fundamental concepts of proper food nutrition, and be acquainted with modern farming, fisheries, and food production methods.

“It is our aspiration that the learning process would instill in their young minds a sense of wonder that leads to awareness and initiative and a desire to engage in agriculture, fisheries, forest and marine conservation and management, and ecology. It is hoped that this will contribute to our collec-

tive aspiration of achieving food selfsufficiency,” he said.

The Philippines, primarily an agricultural country, should put a premium in the development of the agricultural sector since it is directly affecting the economy and the quality of life of the people, Salo said.

However, the lawmaker lamented that the country has a low food productivity despite its abundant natural resources, with Salo saying it is “quite concerning” and has now “become a national issue.”

To illustrate, he said that in the 2020 report on the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World prepared by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the Philippines recorded the highest number of food insecure people in Southeast Asia in 2017 to 2019, with 59 million Filipinos suffering from moderate to severe lack of consistent access to food.

“These findings were even recorded before the pandemic,” he said.

Salo said the inspiration behind the bill is the success of the Boy and Girl Scouts movement in the Philippines since 1938. Rio N. Araja

Congress vows more attention to needs of poor

THE 19th Congress under the leadership of Speaker Martin Romualdez will pay more attention to the needs of the poor, Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Elizaldy Co on Sunday said.

To help and uplift the poor is the priority of the 19th Congress, Co stressed.

“At the opening of the 19th Congress since last July, Speaker Romualdez has told me that we will focus on how to help our poor fellowmen improve their lives since this is what the Marcos Jr. administration wants,” he said.

“For this reason, the Speaker has allocated billions of pesos in the 2023 national budget for social services of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Labor and Employment, and Department of Health,” he added.

Co is the House appropriations committee chairperson.

He said the billion-peso budget is already enough to help those in the marginalized sector, particularly the poor, through DSWD’s Assistance for Individuals in Crisis Situation, DOLE’s Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged Workers (TUPAD) and DOH’s Medical Assistance to Indigent Patients (MAIP).

The House of Representatives is fully aware of the hardships of the Filipino people

amid the COVID-19 pandemic, he noted.

“If one does not the job, there is DOLE’s TUPAD. If one needs food, medicine, or transportation fare, one can approach DSWD,” Co said.

One does not even have to worry if one could pay for one’s hospitalization, as they can go to the DOH, he cited.

“Speaker Romualdez wants this Congress to focus on the needs of our poor. He wants to ensure that these people have someone to lean on when they need the assistance, and that the government is there to give to extend help,” he said.

Previously, Speaker Romualdez and Tingog Party-list Reps. Yedda Marie Romualdez and Jude Acidre again joined hands in extending aid to families stricken by recent floods in Mindanao—this time in Davao del Norte.

Staff members from the offices of the said House leaders turned over P1 million in cash aid and more than 1,600 food packs Monday to the affected barangays of Tagum City, and the towns of New Corella, Asuncion, Kapalong, Carmen and Braulio E. Dujali.

P17.7-b budget for tourism road infra program

CONGRESS has earmarked P17.7 billion to bankroll the national government’s Tourism Road Infrastructure Program (TRIP) for 2023, Quezon City Rep. Marvin Rillo on Sunday said Sunday.

“The fresh funding for the TRIP in the 2023 General Appropriations Law will be spent to construct or upgrade roads leading to declared tourism destinations,” he said.

“We are counting on the tourism sector’s recovery from the pandemic to create new employment and livelihood opportunities for Filipinos, especially in the provinces,” he added. Rillo is House tourism committee vice chairperson and appropriations committee member.

“This is why we are investing additional money to improve road access to

tourist attractions,” he said.

The TRIP funding is used to develop roads and bridges in priority areas in support of the National Tourism Development Plan.

Rillo said that before Congress adjourned last month, the House of Representatives approved on third and final reading 34 bills seeking to declare an even number of sites as new tourism destinations.

In Luzon, the approved new tourism sites include the Wawa Dam in Rodriguez, Rizal; Polillo Group of Islands in Mauban, Quezon; Pilis Falls in Samal, Bataan; Naruron Falls in Dupax del Norte, Nueva Vizcaya, and Fuyot

Springs National Park in Ilagan, Isabela. In the Visayas, they included the Lulugayan Falls in Calbiga, Samar; Sohoton Caves and Natural Bridge Park in Basey, Samar; Ulot River in Paranas, also in Samar; Islas de Gigantes in Carles, Iloilo, and Tambaliza Island in Concepcion, also in Iloilo. While in Mindanao, they include the Pinandagatan and Managong Falls, both in Sibagat, Agusan del Sur; Bega Falls in Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur; Lake Himbang in Talacogon, also in Agusan del Sur, and Mighty Cave Park in Tagoloan, Lanao del Norte. Rio N. Araja

BPLOs closer to mandatory LGU position

QUEZON City Mayor Joy Belmonte has rejected retroactive taxation in the resumption of real-estate taxes in 2023 based on the 2017 schedule of the fair market value (FMV) of land.

After a five-year pause, the city government is issuing the FMVs for various classes of real property as defined in Ordinance No. SP-2556, which was passed in 2016 and was applied until 2017.

“Here is the good news. The mayor has instructed us not to collect back taxes from 2018 to 2022,” city treasurer Edgar Villanueva said.

Belmonte confirmed Villanueva’s announcement and told the Manila Standard: “Yes. We will no longer collect the back taxes for those years.”

Villanueva clarified that the adjustment based on the FMV is not a new increase, just a reversion to the rate that was used five years ago.

Meanwhile, taxpayers who would pay their annual taxes in advance could avail of a 20-percent discount, and those who would settle through installment basis shall get a 10-percent discount.

“That is only in Quezon City,” Villanueva said. Rio N. Araja

The mayor said he received reports that water and electrical facilities, as well as the sewage treatment plant or STP, in the city’s garbage transfer station were disabled by the previous contractor, which prevented the processing of trash when the new contractor took over on January 1.

“These are very serious allegations, and we will send the previous contractor a

letter asking for an explanation,” he said.

“Nevertheless, we are happy to announce that despite that glitch, our garbage collection has already returned to normal and there are no more pileups in major and secondary streets, and even inside subdivisions and communities,” Olivarez said.

He thanked the city’s 16 barangay chairpersons for their support and cooperation, which he said was instrumental in the immediate resolution of the problem in a matter of days.

“We really appreciate the help of our barangay officials because they went above and beyond their mandates to en-

sure that our communities are clean and our constituents safe and healthy,” he added.

The city experienced some garbage pileups around Christmas time as the former contractor reportedly started pulling out personnel and trucks, as evidenced by reports and complaints received by the City Environment and Natural Resources Office or CENRO at that time.

The pileups worsened around New Year when people traditionally prepare more food, which generated more trash. By this time, the former contractor had reportedly stopped collecting trash altogether.

“By institutionalizing the position of the BPLO officer, we are also creating efficiency in local government in the delivery of frontline services, like the issuance of business permits and licenses, as well as ensures and promotes ease of doing business,” he said.

Gatchalian, House committee on local government chairperson, authored House Bill 3831 that was consolidated in the substitute bill that his panel recently approved.

The appointment of a BPLO officer would subsequently “institutionalize the Business Permit and Licensing Office as a revenue generating office that will further capacitate LGUs,” the measure stated.

Under the HB 3831, there would be an intensified effort from both national and local governments to reduce red tape and expedite business and non-business transactions in government, resulting in a “more vibrant and thriving economic atmosphere conducive to growth and confidence.”

“The growth at every level of government shall ultimately translate into an increase in decent employment opportunities for all, and efficient delivery of government services which will benefit the nation as a whole,” Gatchalian said. Rio N.

THE Department of Interior and Local Government has given the Quezon City government a perfect score for its efforts to combat human trafficking, and violence against women and children (VAWC).

Maria Lourdes Agustin, DILGNational Capital Region director, informed Mayor Joy Belmonte that the city government has earned an overall score of 100 percent or equivalent adjectival rating of IDEAL following an audit conducted by its Regional lnterAgency Monitoring Team (RIMT) for Performance Year 2021.

The local government garnered a perfect score based on the following criteria -- Organization (10 percent), Meetings (10 percent), Policies, Plan and Budget (40 percent), and Accomplishments (40 percent).

Agustin lauded the Quezon City committee on anti-trafficking and VAWC for participating in the 2022 Local Committees on Anti-Trafficking and Violence Against Women and their Children (LCAT-VAWC) functionality assessment.

“RIMT commends the committee for its accomplishments and for introducing ideas or innovations which added value to the implementation of programs on anti-trafficking and violence against women and children,” she said.

“We hope that these assessment results and recommendations will serve as guides in determining the next steps and areas for improvement that must be taken into consideration in order for the Committee to level-up its performance,” Agustin added. Rio N. Araja

Olivarez sets probe on ‘malicious’ garbage contractor Mayor Joy says QC not getting FMV back taxes Quezon City gets perfect VAWC score

EDITORIAL Using

to

a message to the Senate

the temperature is not as cold this winter, if the main message he carries is the Maharlika?

One reason, I submit, is that the message is beamed towards our 24 senators.

Nasabi na ng mahal na pangulo sa buong mundo, before the world’s economic elite.

Pass it into law, otherwise, the Senate would embarrass the president, and, by inference, the country, before the world’s movers and shakers.

After 10 years, K-12 doesn’t look A-1

IF WE’RE to believe the World Bank, Philippine education is in serious crisis.

Across the three assessments, poor learning results were observed among students in the Philippines, with more than 80 percent of them falling below minimum levels of proficiency expected for the respective grades.

THE president is now in Davos for the World Economic Forum, that annual gathering of politicians, businessmen, civil society leaders and academicians whose avowed purpose is to seek some form of consensus on approaching the many problems of the world economy.

Founded by Klaus Schwab, this forum of the elite is arguably described as the principal apostle of the gospel of globalization.

For five days in uber-expensive Davos perched at the “top of the world,” policy makers and country movers and shakers are able to interact and present their “best foot forward” and impress their global audience about their country’s business potentials.

In a press briefing at Malacanang the other day, DFA Undersecretary Carlos Sorreta told media the president wants to present or “soft launch” our HoR-approved Maharlika Wealth Fund to the elite global audience, and thereby promote the country as an investment destination through that MWF.

So that was why Maharlika had to be rushed before the Christmas recess of Congress?

Unfortunately, it was too complicated a legislative proposal that invited a lot of controversy, and only the HoR was cajoled into passing Maharlika “without reading.”

And whether the world’s big investors will be attracted to invest in our country because of the Fund is quite a dicey proposition.

But one cannot stop the pinklawans and the speculationdriven chismosos from asking whether the MWF is a convenient vehicle to ‘wash’ hidden wealth

First, after pension funds from GSIS and SSS were rightly excised from the Fund, initial capitalization has been pruned to roughly 1.5 billion dollars (75 billion pesos or US$ 1.3 B coming from the Landbank and DBP and the rest, contingent on BSP and Pagcor “profits”), a sum that is perhaps mind boggling to our hoi polloi but puny to the Davos crowd.

Why, that’s only about a 10th of the cumulative insertions in the 2023 GAA where congressional discretion in disbursements, otherwise known as pork barrel, is hidden.

Some lucky guy in remote, snow-swept Maine won 1.35 billion dollars last Friday in the US lottery.

Maybe GSIS President Wick Veloso, whose expertise in bonds and treasuries was well rewarded by HSBC, could inveigle this lucky Maine guy to invest in Maharlika?

Second, the world is awash not with cash but with debt and so many problems that even globalization is becoming passe, as more and more economies are looking inward, focusing on their own domestic crises, looking inward rather than outward.

Third, after many of the huge sovereign wealth funds lost hundreds of billions in the last two years, even more than a trillion collectively, our hastily-presented and yet un-legislated MWF will be “out-of-fashion” and therefore hardly noticed.

Premises considered, why would the president travel to uber-expensive Davos from yesterday till the weekend where, thankfully for his health,

How each of our 24 “independent republics” participate in the committee hearings all the way to the plenary will now not only be a gauge of the president’s political clout, which at this time is a given (so expect Maharlika to pass into law), but will give political observers tea leaves with which to read the 2025 and 2028 political exercises. ***

Someone from media asked an irreverent question out of the blue from USec Sorreta when he discussed the “soft launch” of Maharlika and the president’s 8th foreign trip.

Would our president be flying to Davos to talk to Swiss bankers about other foreign deposits allegedly stashed away by the Ferdinand I presidency?

Sorreta, ever the diplomat, dodged the naughty question and refused to comment.

But one cannot stop the pinklawans and the speculation-driven chismosos from asking whether the MWF is a convenient vehicle to “wash” hidden wealth.

In which case, and if ever, wouldn’t it be good if those monies so water our investment-parched soil like manna from wherever, regardless of its provenance?

Beggars cannot choose. And as the saying ascribed to the Roman emperor Vespasian, when he wanted to tax lavatories stated, “pecunia non olet” or “money has no smell.”

Once upon a not-too-long time ago, huge gold-plated banks and financial institutions were investigated for “washing” billions of dollars from drug cartels.

But the banks still remain, and the sheen of their “other people’s gold” has regained its luster.

The rich, as F. Scott Fitzgerald famously said, “are different from you and me.”

Their secret lies in using OPM, or other people’s money to their optimum advantage, although in our benighted isles, the cronies and the oligarchs use OPM to their maximum advantage, not necessarily its optimum utility. Ask the economic managers what the difference is. ***

Take that foul-smelling “king” of fruits, the highly prized and pricey durian.

The DA spokesperson, wanting perhaps to win “pogi” points with his boss, the secretary who also happens to be president, chimed that among the windfall benefits of the latest trip to Beijing was an agreement to import fruits worth 2 billion dollars annually from our country, including durian.

The optics was as if the 2 billion dollars was for durian, when in truth it was also for bananas (a slowly wilting Philippine export product because of the high incidence of “fusarium wilt,” a.k.a. the Panama disease) and pineapples.

Forthwith, our DA tells us they will go full blast on durian production, without saying that, first, current durian produce cannot even supply local demand, such that they have become very pricey; and, second, that it takes five years to coax the durian tree to bear fruits.

Export our current durian produce and you will have Davaoenos like PRRD and ES Medialdea crying foul.

And we’re not talking onions yet, a big bunch of which Isko Moreno, in his maiden Iskovery Night YouTube and Facebook show, gave Coco Martin as his grand prize for reading tongue twisting statements.

Maybe because his staff could not buy real onions at the time of the taping, Isko presented Coco with a kilo of shallots or sibuyas Tagalog.

Watch the newest Isko Moreno show, which is aired at 11 every Friday night, and of course thereafter through the socmed platforms.

Very entertaining and light hearted, balm for these stressful days of high inflation, high underemployment, and low incomes.

That’s because one in every four Grade 5 students does not have the reading and mathematics skills for Grade 2 or 3, and four in every five 15-year-old students do not understand basic mathematical concepts such as fractions and decimals that should be mastered by fifth graders.

The international funding institution’s conclusion is based on three different multi-country assessments it conducted in 2018 and 2019.

The Philippines took part in the Program for International Student Assessment for the first time in 2018, which assessed achievement and application of key knowledge and skills of 15-year-old students in reading, mathematics, and science.

We then joined the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study in 2019 after a break of 16 years to gauge proficiency in math and science in our fourth and eight grades.

And we linked up with the first cycle of the Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics also in 2019 to evaluate reading, writing, and mathematical literacy of our Grade 5 pupils.

A Pulse Asia Survey last year showed that 44 percent of 1,200 respondents were unhappy with the current K-12 program system...

In all three assessments, the Philippines performed more poorly than nearly all other participating countries, ranking at or near the bottom in each learning area assessed.

The country was last in reading and second to last in science and mathematics among 79 countries in the first assessment.

We ranked last in both mathematics and science among 58 countries in the Grade 4 assessment. And our Grade 5 students

were among the bottom half of the six countries in reading, mathematics, and writing literacy.

All this led the World Bank to conclude that “more than 80 percent of children do not know what they should know” in school.

That’s a damning assessment of our basic education program that’s enough to make our previous education officials hang their heads in shame for gross and inexcusable incompetence.

But there’s hope in the horizon.

The Department of Education is expected to present a revised Kinder to Grade 12 (K-12) curriculum to Malacañang by the end of this month to beat a July deadline earlier set by the Palace.

The reforms in the K-12 program are expected to include plans for inclusive learning, support for teachers, and an improved curriculum.

All this should be able to achieve the original goal of the program 10 years ago: prepare graduates for tertiary education, middle-level skills development, employment, and entrepreneurship.

A Pulse Asia Survey last year showed that 44 percent of 1,200 respondents were unhappy with the current K-12 program system, or 16 percentage points higher compared to the results of a similar survey done in September 2019.

Let’s see if, this time, DepEd can really hack it.

Ratify RCEP ASAP

local companies to break into the markets of participating countries.

So, it is not just the manufacturing industry that will be given a boost.

Our rich pool of talented human resources in the technical and creatives industries, which is already well recognized and sought after all over the world, is a great and renewable asset that will no longer be limited to local demand.

There are two schools of thought debating on the merits and risks of participating in RCEP.

They fear that the country is not ready to compete with foreign manufacturers that can flood the market with cheaper goods and kill domestic enterprises unable to compete because of high cost of inputs, labor, and operations.

The readiness of a largely unmodernized agriculture sector is also a clear and present concern.

The Philippine Institute for Development Studies 2021 discussion paper says that “not implementing the agreement will have a cost to the country.”

After

RCEP in November 2020.

It envisions closer integration of economies in a business-friendly environment and a stable, rules-based system of trade.

The Philippines has deferred ratification because of safeguard concerns particularly in the troubled agriculture sector.

According to the November 2022 data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, the country’s total external trade, exports and imports, grew to US$17.88 billion, a 3.6 percent growth compared to 2021.

However, imports account for 60.3 percent while only 39.7 percent were exports.

This dominance of imports resulted in a trade deficit of US$3.68 billion.

Relating this to Philippine trade balance of goods from 2011 to 2021, Online platform Statista data show the country has been in negative territory.

The RCEP is an opportunity to reverse the trend of increasing trade deficit as participation will enable our export manufacturers to gain access to a wider market.

This will encourage more investments in manufacturing and develop the stronger position for the sector to access the trading universe of the RCEP.

The enhanced trade framework of RCEP covers a wide range of sectors such as trade in goods, services, and intellectual property, and eliminates trade barriers thereby creating opportunities for

The strong proponents from economic thinkers, the government like NEDA, the DTI, the private sector, international business groups, and President Marcos Jr’s economic team all see that delaying involvement in the RCEP will be a policy blunder that will result in the country missing out on the new export and employment potential of 15 participating economies.

To put this potential in a global perspective, according to 2020 data from the World Bank, ITC Trade Map, and UNCTAD World Investment Report, the economies of RCEP has a total population of 2.3 billion people and produced a total of US$25.8 trillion or 29 percent of the global total Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

It captured 29 percent of total trade amounting to US$10.1 trillion.

These countries attracted 47 percent of Global foreign direct investments and 33 percent of global inward FDI.

The critics of RCEP, on the other hand, are taking the protectionist path, fearing that the reduction of tariffs will further increase imports and lead to even higher trade deficit.

The paper recommends that Philippine businesses should reduce trade costs and that innovation is important.

“Support for private sector innovation and exploration of new products and new markets should be optimized. Sectoral and geographical orientation of Philippine trade shows there is a concentration of Philippine exports and there is a need to improve the variation of Philippine exports.”

Meanwhile, given the recent economic liberalization reforms in the Philippines such as the amendments to the Public Service Act, the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area upgrade provides yet another valuable opportunity for the Philippines to demonstrate to the business community across the region that it is open to investment.

Being part of RCEP will need a paradigm shift that would take on a more open, aggressive, can do, state of mind that would drive all sectors to pursue the opportunities presented by the many advantages of a more accessible market in the Asia Pacific region which for the first time will establish a simplified, unified, trade regime.

RCEP already went into force on January 1, 2022 for 10 original signatories: Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Japan, Laos, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Republic of Korea followed on February 1, 2022, Malaysia on March 18, 2022, and Indonesia on January 2, 2023.

Hopefully, the Philippines will ratify RCEP ASAP.

From battlefield to glampsite: The story of Saudi’s Khaybar

A SAUDI town best known for a fierce battle between the Prophet Mohammed and Jewish tribes is remodeling itself as an upscale tourist draw in line with the kingdom’s rebranding efforts.

Situated in an oasis amid a volcanic field north of Medina, the settlement of Khaybar was once home to thousands of Jews, who were defeated in a decisive seventh-century battle with the Prophet’s army as Islam expanded across the Arabian Peninsula.

The chant “Khaybar, Khaybar, o Jews, the army of Mohammed will return” can still sometimes be heard at present-day antiIsrael demonstrations, drawing objections from groups such as the Anti-Defamation League, which says it “can be perceived as a threat of armed violence.”

Recently, Saudi Arabia inaugurated a new visitors’ center in Khaybar, which takes a longer view of the area’s history by highlighting references in ancient texts to its conquest by Babylonian-era King Nabonidus.

At the center, displays avoid mentioning the seventh-century battle and tourists can arrange hikes to nearby volcanoes, strolls

through

dry stone walls that served as animal traps.

The project is part of a broader push in the conservative Sunni Muslim country, which only began issuing tourism visas in 2019, to attract some 30 million foreign visitors annually by the end of the decade, up from four million last year.

Khaybar tour guide Enass al-Sharif said it was important to shine a light on features of the area that go beyond its significance to Islam.

“Khaybar has a strong relationship with religion and it has a close relationship with the Prophet,” she told AFP.

However, “it also has a strong relationship with history and civilization. All these things were collected in one place, which is why it is attracting many tourists.”

‘Quantum leap’

Archaeologists believe Khaybar has been inhabited for over 200,000 years, and it once served as a vital stop along the so-called Incense Route that linked it to Medina to the south, and the desert city of Al-Ula to the north.

But in the 1970s, the Saudi government began pushing residents to leave the old settlements for new structures with modern

Saudi Arabia has inaugurated a new visitors’ center in Khaybar, which takes a longer view of the area’s history by highlighting references in ancient texts to its conquest by Babylonian-era King Nabonidus

plumbing and electricity.

“We wanted some civilization and development... so we left,” recalled Saifi al-Shilali, a Khaybar native who was in his early 20s when his family moved away. Since then, the old settlements have been

abandoned, and Shilali, now in his 60s, is among those who have been agitating for a revival.

The transformation of Khaybar into a potential tourism draw “is something we have been waiting for for a long time,” he told AFP.

“With my interest in research in Khaybar and in tourism... we have been waiting for this moment, so we consider it a quantum leap.”

Like other Saudi attractions such as AlUla, a budding arts hub located among ancient Nabataean tombs, Khaybar is largely geared toward well-heeled travelers.

The Khaybar Volcano Camp promises an “exclusive stay” that “takes glamping to another level”, with 10 rooms surrounded by imposing mountains.

The focus lies squarely on the setting rather than the historical events that took place there.

The camp even features a reiki energy healing master named Chamuel who conducts sound meditation sessions, inviting guests to enter “your own magical garden, a place beyond time and space.”

Unsolved mysteries

All the while, an archaeological survey

and excavation project continues to unearth new details about human activity in the area as well as how its climate has evolved.

The project, backed by the French government and expected to last through the end of 2024, has already yielded a deeper understanding of neolithic campsites, canals and rock art.

Among the most intriguing finds are the “pendant tombs,” rock formations that when viewed from above resemble a pendant hanging from a chain.

The story behind them “remains a mystery,” according to the visitors’ center, though archaeologists believe they date back 5,000 years.

Khaybar residents like Shilali are eager to learn more about the people who constructed them as part of rounding out a picture of the region’s past—including the Prophet Mohammed’s seventh-century victory, but also everything else.

“I think we are supposed to shed light on Khaybar as a historical region whose roots go back to prehistoric periods, including the Jewish period,” he said.

“I believe that the history should be known in its true form, without any exaggerations.” AFP

Hopefully, the Philippines will ratify RCEP ASAP

Peru declares state of emergency in Lima

PERU’S government late Saturday declared a state of emergency in the capital Lima and three other regions due to protests against President Dina Boluarte that have claimed at least 42 lives in recent weeks.

The measure, in force for 30 days, authorizes the army to intervene to maintain order and suspends several constitutional rights such as freedom of movement and assembly, according to a decree published in the official gazette.

In addition to the capital, the state of emergency covers the regions of Cusco and Puno and the port of Callao, adjacent to Lima.

More than 100 roadblocks blocked traffic across Peru on Saturday, mainly in the south, which has been the epicenter of the protests, and also around Lima.

Authorities have, however, reopened Cusco international airport, which is vital to Peru’s tourism sector.

Ukraine: Key infrastructure hit, 14 killed in fresh Russian strikes

UKRAINE said Russia had unleashed a fresh barrage of missiles Saturday, killing at least 14 people, as Britain became the first Western country to offer it the heavy tanks it has long been seeking.

The British move drew a swift reaction from Moscow, which warned it would only “intensify” the conflict.

Moldova, meanwhile, said debris from the latest Russian missiles had landed on its territory and condemned the attacks.

Ukraine also insisted Saturday that the fighting in Soledar was continuing, a day after Russia’s claim that it had captured the ravaged eastern town following a long battle.

Victory there would be a rare achievement for Moscow after a series of military setbacks.

Ukrainian officials denounced the latest wave of deadly Russian missile strikes across the country, as the country celebrated the Old New Year, a popular holiday in Ukraine.

At least 14 people, including a 15-year-old girl, were killed and 64 wounded when an apartment building was hit in the eastern city of Dnipro, Dnipropetrovsk governor Valentyn Reznichenko said on messaging app Telegram.

Seven children were among the wounded, the youngest three years old, he added.

So far 38 people had been pulled from the rubble and the search operation was continuing, he said.

Rescuers were also working through the night to free a woman trapped under the rubble of a destroyed house in Dnipro after hearing her voice, the state emergency service said.

The strike on the Dnipro apartment block destroyed dozens of flats, leaving between 100 and 200 people homeless while around 1,700 were without electricity and heating, the deputy head of presidency Kyrylo Tymoshenko said. AFP

AT LEAST 67 people were confirmed dead Sunday when a plane with 72 on board crashed in Nepal, police said, in the Himalayan country’s deadliest aviation disaster in three decades.

“Thirty-one (bodies) have been taken to hospitals,” police official AK Chhetri told AFP, adding that 36 other bodies were still in the 300-meter (600-foot) gorge the aircraft plunged into.

This was partially confirmed by the army, with a spokesman saying 29 bodies had been retrieved and that there were 33 more at the site in Pokhara in central Nepal.

The mass anti-government demonstrations first broke out in early December, after then-president Pedro Castillo was ousted from office for attempting to dissolve Congress and rule by decree, seeking to prevent an impeachment vote against him.

Castillo’s supporters have marched and barricaded streets around the South American country demanding new elections and the removal of current leader Boluarte.

President Boluarte, who is from the same leftwing party as Castillo, has insisted she will not step down.

Peru has faced political instability in recent years, with Boluarte, 60, the sixth person to hold the presidency in five years.

Castillo, who was being investigated in several fraud cases during his tenure, has been remanded in custody for 18 months, charged with rebellion. AFP

More classified documents found at Biden family home

FIVE additional pages of classified material have been found at Joe Biden’s family home in Delaware, the White House said in a new twist in a politically sensitive affair for the president.

It was the latest in a series of revelations about the apparently improper storage of papers dating from Biden’s time as Barack Obama’s vice president. Biden has said he had no intention of keeping any classified documents.

White House lawyer Richard Sauber said the latest papers were found after

he visited the home Thursday to oversee the transfer to the Justice Department of a first batch of documents found a day earlier in a room next to the home’s garage.

Biden’s personal lawyers searching the garage at the home in Wilmington, Delaware—where the 80-year-old president often spends weekends – had found a document marked classified in the garage itself.

As these attorneys lacked the necessary security clearance to read it, they notified the Justice Department, Sauber said in a statement.

A 1978 law obliges US presidents and vice presidents to hand over their emails, letters, and other official documents to the National Archives.

Sauber said he does have the

necessary security clearance, so he then went to the Delaware house to check out the situation for himself. That is when he found the other five pages, he said.

He said all documents were “immediately and voluntarily” handed to the Justice Department.

Critics of Biden have seized on the steady series of revelations to argue that he has not been transparent and forthcoming.

Others papers had been found on November 2 at Biden’s former office at a Washington think tank, where he had offices after leaving the Obama White House.

The president’s attorneys had also found “a small number of documents,” potentially confidential, on December

20 in the Wilmington garage, and alerted the Justice Department.

Amid rising furor over the discoveries in Washington, US Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday named Robert Hur as an independent prosecutor to investigate Biden’s handling of classified documents.

The issue is an unwelcome distraction for Biden as he prepares to announce whether he will seek a second term.

The disclosures have prompted comparisons to the case of former president Donald Trump, who is also being investigated by a special counsel for storing hundreds of classified materials at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and allegedly obstructing government efforts to retrieve them. AFP

IN BRIEF

Pakistan provincial assembly dissolved

THE provincial assembly in Pakistan’s most populous province, Punjab, was dissolved late Saturday, in a move orchestrated by former prime minister Imran Khan as part of a bid to force early general elections.

The country has been gripped by political instability since Khan was ousted in a no-confidence vote and replaced last April by a shaky coalition led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

The South Asian nation is also battling a severe economic crisis. It is drowning in debt, facing galloping inflation and dwindling foreign exchange reserves as the economy tries to claw to recovery from last year’s devastating monsoon floods.

Punjab Governor Baligh Ur Rehman on Saturday signed a letter ordering the appointment of a caretaker chief minister, replacing Khan’s coalition partner Chaudhry Pervez Elahi’s government.

Elahi had advised the governor to dissolve the assembly earlier this week, with Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party seeking a provincial election.

Khan’s party continues to command popularity, and is expected to also dissolve the provincial assembly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where it holds power in a coalition government.

At least 67 killed in Nepal plane crash

“The aircraft crashed into a gorge so it is difficult to bring the bodies Search and rescue is ongoing. No survivors have been found yet,” army spokesman Krishna Prasad Bhandari told AFP.

One local official said that some survivors had been taken to hospital—but this was not confirmed by either the airline Yeti Airlines or others.

Yeti spokesman Sudarshan Bartaula told AFP that among those on board —68 passengers and four crew—were 15 foreigners including five Indians, four Russians and two Koreans. The rest were Nepalis.

The flight from Kathmandu slammed into the gorge and smashed to pieces between Pokhara’s domestic and brand new international airport on Sunday shortly before 11:00 am (0515 GMT).

After the crash, rescue workers were hosing down parts of the wreckage of the ATR 72 twin-engine turboprop while smoke drifted out of a ravine as hundreds of people watched.

The area was strewn with what appeared to be parts of the aircraft, including seats.

Footage shared on social media, which appeared to be shot just after the crash,

showed raging flames on the ground and black smoke billowing into the sky from debris strewn across the crash site.

AFP was unable to immediately verify the footage.

Another unverified clip shared online showed a plane flying at a low altitude over a residential area banking sharply to the left, followed by a loud explosion.

Pokhara’s international airport, which opened on January 1 is meant to gradually replace the old one, established in 1958. The city is a gateway to religious pilgrims and international trekkers. AFP

Fresh elections to the Punjab assembly —which governs vital services for roughly half of Pakistan’s 220 million citizens—must now be held within 90 days. AFP

Super-resistant mosquitoes in Asia pose growing threat

MOSQUITOES that transmit dengue and other viruses have evolved growing resistance to insecticides in parts of Asia, and novel ways to control them are desperately needed, new research warns.

Health authorities commonly fog mosquito-infested areas with clouds of insecticide, and resistance has long been a concern, but the scale of the problem was not well understood.

A MYANMAR-China border crossing vital to trade has partially reopened, an official said Sunday, after years of a pandemic-prompted closure.

Covid-19 shuttered the Muse-Ruili checkpoint—among the Southeast Asian nation’s busiest—in April 2020.

One of Muse town’s border gates opened Saturday at 7:00 am (1230 GMT), according to an official in Myanmar’s northern Shan state.

Six trucks made the short relay trip at the Mang Wein crossing, said U Min Thein, vice-chairman of the Muse Rice Commodity Exchange.

“China only allowed us to export food and drink at the moment,” U Min

Thein told AFP Sunday.

But he said they were not permitted to send over economic mainstays—including rice, broken rice, beans and watermelons.

For those, traders had to use the Kyinsankyawt border gate outside Muse, he said.

The Kyinsankyawt checkpoint partially reopened under similar circumstances in May last year, according to state media.

On Saturday, U Min Thein said, China exported construction and industrial equipment, electrical appliances, medical devices, consumer and household goods, as well as food products. AFP

Japanese scientist Shinji Kasai and his team examined mosquitos from several countries in Asia as well as Ghana and found a series of mutations had made some virtually impervious to popular pyrethroid-based chemicals like permethrin.

“In Cambodia, more than 90 percent of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes have the combination of mutations that results in an extremely high level of resistance,” Kasai told AFP.

He found some mosquito strains had 1,000-fold resistance, compared to the 100-fold seen previously.

That meant insecticide levels that would normally kill almost 100 percent of mosquitoes in a sample killed only around seven percent of the insects.

Even a dose 10 times stronger killed just 30 percent of the super-resistant mosquitoes. AFP

Major Myanmar-China border crossing partially reopens after COVID closure

SEC approves P5.40-b IPO of Upson

secondary shares and 98.684 million over-allotment shares.

dex rising by more than 20 percent from October.

with high-growth potential this year.

THE

Commission approved the P5.40-billion initial public offering of gadget retailer Upson International Corp.

Based on its latest regulatory filing, Upson will sell up to 986.842 million shares at an offer price of P5.50 apiece.

The offering consists of 789.472 million primary shares, 98.684 million

The offer period will be from Feb. 22 to 28, subject to regulatory approvals. Listing date was tentatively set on March 7.

Upson announced in September that it was delaying its planned maiden share offering to the first quarter of 2023 because of the volatile market conditions.

Stocks, however, began to surge in October on expectations the US Federal Reserve would gradually temper its interest rate hikes.

Analysts said that in the Philippines, the stock market entered the bull market on Friday, with the benchmark PSE in-

Upson, which offers retail products through stores like Octagon Computer Superstore, Micro Valley and Gadget King, said it would use the proceeds from the IPO to expand its store network and widen its geographic reach.

It said that from 200 branches as of end September 2022, it was planning to add 250 branches over the next five years.

This will double its total retail space to about 50,000 square meters by 2027 from 24,687.20 sq. m. as of end-September 2022.

It plans to open 50 new stores in cities

Upson said to support its aggressive store expansion, it would also build nine additional warehouses and distribution facilities and strengthen its delivery fleet.

“We plan to explore acquisition opportunities to deepen our marketleading position and enhance our competitiveness. We will consider acquisition targets based on synergy potential and financial performance,” Upson said.

Upson reported a net income of P237.4 million in the first nine months of 2022, up 69 percent from the same period last year.

China

woes

growth seen at 2.7%, lowest in 4 decades, on COVID, real property

BEIJING—China’s economic growth for 2022 is expected to have been among its weakest in four decades after the twin crises of the pandemic and property woes, analysts said ahead of Tuesday’s GDP announcement.

Ten experts interviewed by AFP forecast an average 2.7 percent yearon-year rise in gross domestic product for the world’s second-largest economy, a sharp plunge from China’s 2021 growth of more than 8 percent.

It could also be China’s slowest pace since a 1.6 contraction in 1976 -- the year Mao Zedong died -- and excluding 2020 after the Covid-19 virus emerged in Wuhan in late 2019.

Beijing had set itself a growth target of around 5.5 percent for 2022, but this was undermined by the government’s “zero-Covid” policy, which put the brakes on manufacturing activity and consumption.

Strict lockdowns, quarantines, and compulsory mass testing prompted abrupt closures of manufacturing facilities and businesses in major hubs -- like Zhengzhou, home of the world’s biggest iPhone factory -- and sent reverberations across the global supply chain.

Beijing abruptly loosened pandemic restrictions in early December after three years of enforcing some of the harshest Covid measures in the world.

China is battling a surge in Covid cases that has overwhelmed its hospitals and medical staff.

This is likely to reflect in 2022’s fourth-quarter growth, which will also be announced on Tuesday alongside a series of other indicators such as retail, industrial production, and employment. AFP

Tesla slashes e-vehicle prices up to 20% in US, Europe

NEW YORK—Tesla on Friday announced it will cut the price of its bestselling electric vehicle models up to 20 percent in Europe and the United States, launching a price war as more rivals hit the market.

Shares in the Elon Musk-led company have plummeted for more than a year and fell as much as 4.5 percent in early trading on Friday, before recovering some lost ground.

“It’s no secret that demand for Tesla is starting to see some cracks in this global slowdown for 2023,” said analyst Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities.

However, Ives said the price cut was the “right move” and “a clear shot across the bow at European automakers and US stalwarts (GM and Ford) that

Looking into beginnings of sustainable businesses

SCROLLING through the Aim2Flourish website, I saw the emergence of the different solutions implemented by businesses, reflecting the variety of solutions people enact in pursuit of the Sustainability Development Goals. The businesses featured in this website “celebrate business innovations for global good,” thus becoming a placeholder for achievements and inspirations for future business leaders.

As a part of my Sustainability Management (ACMSUST) class requirement, I was given the unexpected opportunity to contribute to the body of knowledge on this website. Although intimidating at first, I was fueled with excitement to see which direction to head towards and which company our group would choose to feature.

Hence, we searched from the list of our contacts. As many businesses emerged at the height of the pandemic, we scouted our contacts who had many unique innovations integrated into their business model. From these back-and-forth conversations with my groupmates, we finally settled on an enterprise established by the sibling of one of my very own groupmates.

Aunt Flo Beauty provides sustainable menstrual product alternatives (i.e., Menstrual Cups and Reusable Menstrual Pads) to empower women’s flows. The company was founded by a sustainability advocate, Erika Ang, in 2019. Although this product was seen in the international market, the Philippines was not up to date with these innovations.

Erika became the first mover, and Aunt Flo Beauty became one of the biggest brands to sell such products across the country. However, what the company offered to the market was not only their sustainable products but also a message for a community they’ve consequently built.

Tesla is not going to play nice in the sandbox.”

Tesla has already lowered prices twice in China in recent months and offered rare promotions in North America late last year.

According to social media posts, the price cut in China caused disgruntled Tesla owners to swarm showrooms angry that they had missed the second round of discounts.

In 2022, the group delivered a record 1.31 million electric vehicles, a 40 percent year-on-year jump.

But that was still lower than Musk’s long-term goal of boosting deliveries by an average of 50 percent a year.

Investors are concerned that sales will slow down due to the economic down-

turn as well as rising interest rates that make it more expensive to borrow money to buy a car.

Observers also point to the arrival of multiple competitors in the electric vehicle market, with major auto builders now offering a line-up of models, including in the luxury segment long dominated by Tesla.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the discount now enables buyers of Tesla’s US-made Model Y to benefit from a US tax incentive by putting the vehicle below a $55,000 cap.

The $7,500 tax credit on US-made EV cars, part of US President Joe Biden’s climate plan, has been harshly criticized as protectionist by European governments and manufacturers. AFP

ATNB 0.38 0.03 8.57% 4 BRN 0.79 0.06 8.22% 5 NI 0.8 0.06 8.11% 6 ARA 1.11 0.08 7.77% 7 URC 149.8 9.5 6.77% 8 BPI 110 6.9 6.69%

9 OM 0.32 0.02 6.67% 10 IMI 5.12 0.31 6.44%

TOP LOSERS

LAST

1 KPHB 4.35 -1.81 -29.38%

2 PRC 5.56 -2.31 -29.35%

3 I 0.76 -0.16 -17.39%

4 ROX 0.78 -0.1 -11.36%

5 OPMB 0.01 -0.001 -9.09%

6 CHP 0.72 -0.06 -7.69%

7 CAT 9.7 -0.8 -7.62%

8 MFIN 2.1 -0.14 -6.25%

9 NOW 2.44 -0.16 -6.15% 10 X 0.255 -0.015 -5.56%

MOST ACTIVE

VOLUME VALUE (PHP)

1 ALI 22,706,800 700,966,640

2 SM 686,140 622,484,685

3 BDO 5,248,510 614,987,965

4 ICT 2,754,850 575,700,870

JFC 1,754,470 429,877,872

BPI 3,752,330 402,251,589

TEL 245,745 350,370,555

URC 2,400,670 347,951,580

MONDE 24,613,800 337,021,242

AP 7,986,000 301,154,445

Argentina’s inflation hit 31-year high at 94.8%

BUENOS AIRES—Argentina

Looking at their Facebook Page, you can already tell that their posts do not solely focus on their product offerings, but also on empowering Filipino mothers and young women. Talking about menstruation is still quite a taboo in the country, but Aunt Flo’s presence makes women more comfortable in their bodies as they come to even the owner for advice.

We scheduled an interview with her to learn more about the background and the inspiration behind her brand. In our 30-minute conversation, I saw how she has grown into a sustainable business entrepreneur. Looking beyond just the profit, Erika looks for ways to integrate more ways to be sustainable while serving her customers. And after three years of operations, she still has loyal customers who openly vlog about her products.

The impact that she created moved the hearts of many and, of course, helped people save the Earth by reducing the disposable menstrual pads. The small conscious choices escalate to making a more significant mark than any individual can hope to imagine. And through inspirational figures like Erika, we wrote our Aim2Flourish article to have more women and future business leaders inspired by her path.

Visit our Aim2Flourish site, https:// aim2flourish.com/innovations/giving-periods-agreener-flow, to read Erika’s story.

The author is a B.S. Applied Corporate Management student at the Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business, DLSU. She can be reached at jeanelle_m_rodriguez@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.

registered inflation of 94.8 percent in 2022, its highest annual figure since 1991, the Indec national statistics institute said on Thursday.

Latin America’s third-largest economy has one of the highest inflation rates in the world. But December’s monthly figure of 5.1 percent continued a general downward trend since a peak of 7.4 percent in July.

The annual figure, nonetheless, was a huge jump on the 50.9 percent inflation from 2021.

The government has set a 2023 inflation target of 60 percent.

For most Argentines, going to the supermarket is a disheartening experience.

“You stand in front of the shelves and analyze prices as if you were picking out jewelry,” said Julian Rattano, 66, a retired chemist.

Prices for daily staples rose monthly, even weekly, last year. A liter of milk rose 320 percent in 2022 while cooking oil shot up 456 percent and a kilo of sugar soared 490 percent, the Abeceb consultancy says.

Price rises were steepest in clothing and footwear, at more than 120 percent, and hotels and restaurants, where they jumped a little under 109 percent.

It was bad news for the government just nine months out from a general election.

These are the worst yearly figures since Argentina recorded an inflation rate of more than 171 percent in 1991, during the presidency of Carlos Menem.

In

Argentina has been grappling with an economic crisis for years, registering double-digit inflation in each of the last 12 years.

Causes of inflation are multiple, including persistent deficit spending, constant devaluation and external factors like the war in Ukraine that affected energy and grain prices.

A result is a bakedin expectation of “systematic increases of prices, tariffs, salaries, rents... according to expectations that are not always solid, sometimes based on fantasy or rumor about future inflation,” economist Ricardo Aronskind told AFP.

In a bid to slow inflation, the center-left government of President Alberto Fernandez last month reached an agreement with

which place and on which date and time, all interested persons must appear and file their opposition/s to the petition.

Let a copy of this order be published once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation throughout the Philippines.

Further, let copies of the order, together with the petition and its annexes be served upon the Office of the Solicitor General, Office of the Prosecutor of Quezon City, Local Civil Registry of Quezon City, and the Philippine Statistics Authority.

SO ORDERED. Quezon City, November 2, 2022.

IN BRIEF

Insurance body

orders

closure of 2 companies

THE Insurance Commission said over the weekend it issued cease-and-desist orders against two companies for allegedly conducting unlicensed business activities.

The commission affirmed the orders against Mortuaries’ Cooperation Internment Assistance Group Inc. issued on March 11, 2020.

The commission denied MCIA Group’s request for reconsideration of the initial order.

It also issued the same order against Future Life Care Memorial Services Co. on Oct. 17, 2022. The cease and desist orders were prompted by various complaints against MCIA Group and Future Life.

The IC said after thorough investigation by its Regulation, Enforcement and Prosecution Division, both companies were found to be engaging in activities akin to pre-need and/or insurance business without the requisite certificate of authority issued by the IC.

“For protection and peace of mind, the public is strongly advised to transact only with duly licensed pre-need and insurance companies and licensed intermediaries,” said Insurance Commissioner Dennis Funa in a statement. Julito G. Rada

PLDT blacklists 5.5m domains used in hoax

PLDT Group said over the weekend it blacklisted 5.5 million domains being used in phishing, spam and hoax activities and blocked more than 17 billion attempts to open malicious domains in 2022.

Smart said it also prevented 433 million “SMShing” messages from reaching customers in the same time frame. These messages often come with links to phishing sites that harvest customers’ personal data.

Smart said it also blocked more than 400,000 mobile numbers involved in the illegal activities.

Cyber Security Operations Group also fended off 182 million cyber-attacks and data breach incidents. PLDT and Smart’s threat intelligence sources enabled CSOG to amass 123 million indicators of compromise in its database that it also uses for cyber-attack correlation.

“The SIM Card Registration Law will help curb fraud and cybercrime as it will make it harder for criminals to buy SIMs anonymously.

To expand on the government’s effort, PLDT and Smart cyberwarriors are working 24/7 in blocking scams and fraudulent messages, as well as mobile accounts being used in criminal activities,” said Angel Redoble, first vice president and chief information security officer at PLDT and Smart. Darwin G. Amojelar

PSE index seen topping 7,000 as market enters bull territory

THE Philippine Stock Exchange index is expected to test the 7,000 level this week, after the market entered the bull territory on Friday.

A bull market means that stock prices sustained an increase of more than 20 percent from the recent lows. The PSEi, the 30-company benchmark, climbed 22 percent to 6,951.54 as of Jan. 13 from 5,699.30 on Oct. 3, 2022.

Analysts said investors sentiment turned positive after the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas signaled an imminent end to its monetary tightening cycle.

The reopening of China and the

strengthening of the peso against the dollar also contributed to general optimism, as these factors would help boost the domestic economy and corporate earnings.

The peso closed at 54.89 against the dollar Friday, stronger than 55.29 on Thursday.

“Market sentiment leans toward optimism as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas noted that the pressure to match the US Federal Reserve’s increases will be much lower,” online brokerage firm UTrade Inc. research analyst Neil Andrew Maderaje said.

Maderaje said the lower US Consumer Price Index in December also raised hopes that central banks could once again slow interest rate hikes on their policy meetings through the year.

First Metro Investments Corp. head of research Cristina Ulang said the local market would likely hit 7,500 this year

amid the reopening of China and return of foreign funds.

The PSEi jumped 4.25 percent last week to close at 6,951.54. The broader all-share index also advanced by 3.55 percent to settle at 3,637.62.

Global stocks mostly rose Friday, extending a positive start to 2023, as Wall Street shrugged off early loses following mixed bank earnings and Europe cheered betterthan-expected German economic data.

Major US indices opened the day lower following results from JPMorgan Chase and other large banks that signaled expectations for a “mild” recession this year.

But markets reversed course in the middle of the session, a sign “the weakness was seen as a buying opportunity,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare, who noted the bank forecasts did not imply a deep downturn.

1.220400 67.3368

0.128064 7.0661

1.078167 59.4889

Dollar 0.756716 41.7526

0.697200 38.4687

2.653364 146.4020

0.266262 14.6913

0.753864 41.5952

0.000065 0.0036

0.030184 1.6654

0.272294 15.0241

1.085000 59.8660

0.000807 0.0445

0.148677 8.2034

Rupee 0.012330 0.6803

Ringgit 0.229516 12.6638

New Zealand Dollar 0.639400 35.2795

Taiwan Dollar 0.032971 1.8192 Source: BSP

Silang LGU asks developer to show building permits

THE local government of Silang town in Cavite province said the structures built by Uneco Land Corp. in the parcel of land that is critical to the completion of the Silang (Aguinaldo) Interchange of Cavite-Laguna Expressway have no permits from the municipality.

Uneco Land “has no record found on file regarding issuance of building permit, fencing permit and other permits issued by our office,” according to the Office of the Local Building Official of the municipality of Silang.

“The structures are found illegal. They don’t get permits from us. So, in the first place, they should not be built there. We already have issued notices to them for compliance, yet they still have failed to do so,” Mayor Kevin Anarna said.

“The thrust of our government is for Silang to become the ‘Horticulture Capital of the Philippines’. So that property [of Uneco] must be dedicated for like a garden only. Having a ranch there is prohibited,” he said.

The undelivered ROW of about 450 meters of land owned by Uneco affects the progress of continuous works, including construction of drainage and bridge, excavation and roadway earthworks and installation of fence and coco net.

violations

IPOPHL to clamp down on piracy, IP

THE Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines said over the weekend it will curb counterfeiting and piracy activities flagged by the European Commission in its latest Counterfeit and Piracy Watch List.

“Clamping down on IP violating activities will be proof of good governance and a strong will to implement the laws of the land,” said IPOPHL director-general Rowel Barba. He asked local government units to fully enforce the IP Code of 1997 and the Department of Interior and Local Government’s intellectual property-related issuances.

Among the DILG issuances is Memorandum Circular 2020-124 which mandates local offices to issue an ordinance that will allow the cancellation of business permits and other LGU-issued operational licenses of IP-violating shops.

The DILG also released Memorandum Circular 2022-055, which directs local offices to adopt their own Anti-Counterfeit and AntiPiracy Policies to promote IP respect in the workplace.

The EC Watch List, published in December 2022, cited the markets of Baclaran and Divisoria, the Greenhills Shopping Center and the Cartimar Shopping Center as hotspots for selling fake and pirated goods. Othel V. Campos

ERC welcomes business groups’ support for reasonably-priced power

THE Energy Regulatory Commission welcomed over the weekend the support of business groups such as the Makati Business Club towards ensuring adequate, sustainable and reasonablypriced electricity.

“The ERC values the initiatives of stakeholders to participate in measures to ensure energy security in the country.

Collaborative efforts between the regulator and stakeholders will draw the best ideas for policy-making and enforcement that will be beneficial to the Filipino people,” ERC chairperson Monalisa Dimalanta said.

MBC, in a meeting last week, offered its assistance to ERC in increasing con-

sumer awareness and energy literacy and enforcement and optimizing information technology to achieve ERC’s digital transformation program.

The discussion focused on the review of the secondary price cap mechanism which is designed to moderate spikes but may be curtailing new investment, the rules on open access which is meant to allow consumers to choose their supplier but has not gained much ground and rules on renewable energy and storage batteries.

MBC expressed support for the ERC’s efforts to secure adequate and affordable electricity supply by pursuing transparent, accountable and investment-friendly policies.

The group said it would support the

government’s efforts to prepare the public for higher prices while improving energy efficiency.

“Amid all the challenges in the sector, it is a confidence booster that our energy officials are all knowledgeable and professional with a high sense of urgency,” MBC chairman Edgar Chua said.

MBC also expressed support for the constant collaboration between ERC, the Department of Energy, National Transmission Co. (and industry players to find solutions to the many challenges in the sector.

The ERC’s priorities include completing its review of distribution utilities’ generation charges and releasing the results of the power supply agreement caravan by the first half.

Group

Only 64 percent of the segment was finished so far.

The Department of Public Works and Highways earlier said Uneco was demanding P50 million to P60 million in compensation for the property, higher than the P16-million valuation of the agency.

“We are very willing to help MPCALA and the national government to fast track the opening of the CALAX Silang (Aguinaldo) Interchange,” said Anarna.

The target opening date of the subsection of the tolled highway has been moved several times, with the latest target in first quarter of 2023.

The fifth of the eight segments of the 45-kilometer expressway spans 3.9 km, with 2×2 lanes from Silang East Interchange to Aguinaldo Highway. Upon completion, this will serve more motorists, including 298,000 Silang residents, given the reduced traffic situation.

rural electric co-ops backs

The Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association, which has evolved into a party-list political entity, said NEA administrator Mariano Antonio Almeda

“The service of energizing and distributing power to the public within its franchise area carried out by electric cooperatives should not be afflicted with self-interest nor politicized,” PHILRECA party-list Rep. Presley De Jesus said in a statement.

Conception: Privatization of NAIA operations needed to prepare for growth of PH tourism

PRIVATIZING the operations of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport anticipates the potential growth of tourism, which is a major driver of the economy, Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion said over the weekend.

This follows confirmation that the government is planning to privatize the operations of the country’s main gateway.

“I am glad that [Department of Transportation] Secretary Bautista supports the privatization of NAIA,” said Con-

cepcion.

“Our airports create the first impression of our country, and since tourism has one of the biggest potential for growing our economy, any improvement made here will redound to so many benefits,” he said.

Bautista earlier confirmed that the government was planning to privatize the operations of NAIA. He said the airport already exceeded its rated capacity and that it needed to be improved and

modernized.

Concepcion said the lockdown had created financial problems for MSMEs in the tourism sector, and that efforts should now focus on helping the sector.

“In my meeting with [Department of Tourism] Secretary Frasco, we discussed how we can help our MSMEs prepare for the tourism boom. We still have, by far, the best beaches and one of the most welcoming people in the

world,” he said.

He said the biggest help for the sector could come from making it easy for people who fly in and out of the NAIA.

“The airport experience must be improved, not just for the tourists but also for the OFWs who have only a few days to spend with their families here,” he said. “An efficient airport will also ensure they will be able to make it back in time to their employers and keep their jobs,” he said.

“The current NEA sdministrator demonstrates integrity, dedication and determination in serving the Ecs and MCOs. Moving forward, we hope that in the process of selecting and appointing BENECO’s heneral manager, NEA and all concerned stakeholders would strictly abide by the established rules and regulations in order to maintain the peaceful and competitive service of the cooperative to its MCOs,” De Jesus said.

The NEA, in a resolution issued earlier this week, ordered the removal of BENECO’s directors. The agency also recalled the probationary appointment of lawyer Ana Maria Paz Rafael as the general manager of BENECO “effective immediately.”

BENECO’s rating regressed to category C from AAA category in the 2019 NEA electric cooperatives overall performance assessment, the NEA said.

The NEA alleged the sacked directors “unduly received benefits and allowances, availed of and mismanaged substantial loans to the detriment of BENECO, as well as amended the terms of payment for several of its service providers without the required approval of NEA, among others.”

of

NEA’s move to oust BENECO board

Ginebra: Dragon slayer, Commissioner’s Cup king

SCOTTIE Thompson and Japeth Aguilar gave Justine Brownlee a lift as an energized Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Gin Kings exploded in the second quarter and posted a 114-99 swamping of the Bay Area Dragons before a record crowd in Game 7 on Sunday of the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup finals.

The trio strung up six triples, which allowed the fired-up Gin Kings to break the game wide open as they nailed their 15th league crown at the end of their best-ofseven finals series with the Dragons at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan.

Brownlee showed the way with 34 points, eight rebounds and 12 assists for the Gin Kings, who became the league’s winningest team in the league’s 47-year history.

Jamie Malonzo, who struck with 13 points in the third period, tallied 22 points and 17 boards, while Thompson and Aguilar, who shot 10 points in the second canto during Ginebra’s blistering charge, scattered 18 and

14 points, respectively, for the Gin Kings. Their efforts paved the way for the big performance for the Gin Kings, who broke their tie with Magnolia and Alaska Milk in terms of the number of championships won in the PBA.

“From the tipoff, when the ball went up, you can feel the energy of the crowd, and you can see the way it affected the players. This game is for all of you,” said Cone as members of Gin Kings celebrated their title conquest by smoking cigars as they acknowledged a mammoth and record crowd of 54,589, who watched the winner-take-all finals.

Brownlee’s big game came just two days since formally becoming a Philippine local, after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed into law his naturalization status.

The huge turnout broke the previous alltime high of 54,086, who trooped to the Philippine Arena in Game 7 of the 2017 Governors’ Cup, where the Gin Kings played against the Meralco Bolts.

Three consecutive treys from Brownlee, Thompson and Aguilar found their marks in the last 8:32, highlighting a 12-4 blast, which came as soon as the Dragons threatened, 27-31. The Gin Kings went on to enjoy a 42-32 edge after that.

Two more treys from Brownlee and LA Tenorio saw Ginebra moving away by 20, 59-39, with 49 ticks left in the first half.

Aguilar then slammed a dunk at the end of the first half, handing Ginebra one of their biggest edges at 22, 61-39.

Jamie Malonzo banged in 13 points in the third and his two freebies in the final 4:44 of the third sent the Gin Kings up by 27 points for the first time, 82-55.

Tenorio’s back-to-back three-pointers in the final 1:19 of the third later allowed the Gin Kings to keep distancing themselves

with a second 27-point spread, 95-68.

It was the biggest lead registered in the series so far, as it surpassed the 20-point edge of the Dragons near the end of Game 2. Ginebra’s Game 7 win is now considered as the most lopsided, since the San Miguel Beermen pulled off a 119-97 triumph over the TNT Tropang in this season’s Philippine Cup.

The Dragons, who could have become the first guest team to win a PBA crown since Nicholas Stoodley of the United States did it in the 1980 Invitationals, got 29 points from Myles Powell, while Hayden Blankley fired 25.

For coach Tim Cone, this will be his 25th overall PBA crown as a coach, and seventh for the Gin Kings.

The scores:

Ginebra 114- Brownlee 34, Malonzo 22, Thompson 18, Aguilar 14, Standhardinger 12, Tenorio 10, Pringle 3, Gray 1, Dillinger 0, Pinto 0. Bay Area 99—Powell 29, Blankley 25, Liu 17, Lam 13, Yang 10, Zhu 5, Ewing 0, Si 0, Ju 0, Liang 0.

Quarterscores: 27-21, 61-39, 95-74, 114-99.

Brodeth, Baisa score ‘double’ in PPS Iloilo tilt

KIMI Brodeth came away with an expected twotitle romp but unranked Vince Baisa stirred up play in the boys’ division, matching the former’s ‘double’ feat in the PPS-PEPP Iloilo City national juniors tennis championships at LaPaz Plaza courts over the weekend.

Brodeth, coming off a win in the season’s leadoff Masters Top 8 tournament in Negros Occidental last week, sustained her form and lived up to her top billing, mastering No. 2 Jana Diaz with a pair of 6-2, 6-1 victories in the 16-and 18-U finals of the Group I event held in conjunction with the Dinagyang Festival celebrations.

The 15-year-old student at Saint Paul’s Ormoc Foundation, Inc. credited her surge to her coach Dong Velez and his program, saying: “Since he handled and trained us (with younger brother Kenzo) way back in 2020, we were able to produce good results, not only in tournaments but also in academics.”

Young math achievers bring glory to PH

Skyler Ycaruz O. Flores, Zac Andre E. De Lara, Jenelle Nyka G. Lee, Princess Abbey Cziarah A. Aquino, Arwin Peter C. Castro, Evan Justin E. Panergo, Matt Raymond Ayento, Matthew Charles C. Carpio, and Rey Stephen Chua.

Leading the gold medalists are three World Champions who topped the scores in their respective grade levels, namely, Alexandra Brianne Gochian (St. Jude Catholic School) from the Senior Secondary Group, Harvey James Dolar (Philippine Science High School – Main Campus) from the Secondary 3 Group, and Mateo Inigo Espocia (Genesis Christian Academy) from Primary 5. Completing the elite pool of World gold medalists are Caiser Charleton Chua So, Skyler Ioan B. Uy, Linaiah Amethyst O. Flores, Lourd Grey M. Latido, Liam Spark Peña Palarca, Lineth Mikaela B. Muldez, Agatha Maria Eden O. Nunag,

The Philippines, represented this year by 178 delegates from kinder to senior high school, also tallied 52 silver and 67 bronze medals.

WIMO participation is strictly by invitation to the gold medalists in the final rounds of each of these three international math competitions: Hong Kong International Mathematical Olympiad, Thailand International Mathematical Olympiad, and the Guangdong Greater Bay Area Mathematical Olympiad.

Fourteen countries qualified in this year’s WIMO including Australia, Hongkong, Bulgaria, Iran, Philippines, Indo-

But Baisa stole the spotlight in the week-long tournament sponsored by Mayor Jerry Trenas and executive assistant for Youth and Sports Rudiver Jungco, Sr., shocking top seed Ariel Cabaral with a 6-0, 6-0 rout in the quarterfinals, trampling France Dilao, 6-3, 6-1, in the semis then beating No. 3 Reign Maravilla, 6-4, 6-2, to snare the 16-U trophy.

The Puerto Princesa City, Palawan find then shut out Cabaral for the second straight time in 18-U second round, also repeated over Dilao, 6-2, 6-1, then clipping top seed Vince Serna, 6-2, 6-1, to share MVP honors with Brodeth in the country’s longest talent-search put up by Palawan Pawnshop president/CEO Bobby Castro.

Other winners in the event presented by Dunlop were Joy Ansay and Tristan Licayan (14-U), and Ma. Caroliean Fiel and local bet Anthony Castigador (12U). Fiel also topped the 10-unisex category via a 4-1, 2-4, 10-6 decision over Francisco de Juan III.

Gonzaga’s clutch plays steer SMB to 3x3 title

NEW acquisition Tonino Gonzaga made his presence felt right away for San Miguel Beer, delivering clutch baskets down the stretch for a huge 21-17 come-from-behind win over Pioneer Elastoseal to bag the Leg 1 championship of the PBA 3x3 Third Conference Season 2 Sunday at Robinson’s Novaliches.

Gonzaga, who previously played for Meralco, scored three straight deuces to rally the Beermen and claim the P100,000 prize money.

The veteran guard finished with nine points and seven rebounds, while burly Ken Bono added eight and six rebounds.

Dariel Bayla and Leo De Vera round up the scoring for the Beermen, coached by Boycie Zamar.

The Elastoseal got a combined 13 points from new recruits Kenneth Mocon and Denice Villamor as the team settled for the P50,000 runner up purse.

Pioneer led 17-15 when Gonzaga suddenly found his range and scored six straight points to win it for San Miguel.

Earlier, Cavitex claimed a podium finish after a close 16-14 win over TNT.

Jorey Napoles had five points and seven rebounds for the Braves, who claimed P30,000 in placing third.

The unlikely finals between San Miguel and Pioneer was set up after the two teams pulled the rug from under their highly-fancied semifinal opponents.

Bono powered his way for the Beermen with 12 points and eight rebounds in a 21-17 victory over TNT, while the Elastoseal got a big lift from former Barangay Ginebra stalwart Villamor as they beat out Cavitex, 18-16.

In the quarterfinals, the Beermen downed Purefoods Titans, 21-12, the Elastoseal turned back Barangay Ginebra Kings, 18-16, Tropang Giga defeated J&T Express, 21-12, and the Braves escaped past Meralco Bolts, 15-10.

Malixi duels Davis, Ito at Annika golf

RIANNE Malixi hopes to get going early as she slugs it out with world amateur No. 10 Anna Davis of the US and Japanese Nika Ito at the start of the AJGA (American Junior Golf Association) Annika Invitational Sunday at the Eagle Creek Golf Club in Orlando, Florida.

American Yana Wilson, winner of the 2022 US Girls’ Junior title who nipped Davis in sudden death to reign here last year, banners the elite cast, a mix of 12-to-19 years old rising stars and leading players in the ranks, including Rolex AJGA No. 1 player Gianna Clemente, Katie Li, Sara Im, Alice Zhao, Thanana Kotchasanmanee and 2021 champion Avery Zweig.

Malixi, who won two AJGA crowns last year, including a playoff win in the Thunderbird All-Star, expects to measure up with the best in the fold in driving and iron game and hopes her putting will click in all three days of the championship.

“I just have to keep on knocking on doors and wait for the putts to drop,” said Malixi, whose campaign is backed by ICTSI.

In her last seven overseas tournaments in 2022, Malixi posted four runner-up finishes, going into the final round of each event in strong contention. But shaky putting stymied her title cracks, including in the Thailand Amateur Open and the Malaysian Amateur Open, although she nailed one championship in the Thai Junior World Championship.

She also finished second in the Citrus Golf Trail, which she led in the third round before yielding the crown to Kotchasanmanee three weeks ago.

nesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, India, Myanmar, Cambodia, Azerbaijan, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.

A panel of international experts prepared the WIMO test questions covering standard math topics such

as logical thinking, arithmetic, number theory, geometry, and combinatronics. WIMO is sponsored by the WIMO Foundation and is presented in the Philippines by the Math Olympiads Training League, Inc.

Malixi is coming off a 12th place finish in the Orlando International but the world No. 151 is confident of putting up a strong showing, including a start she hopes would fuel another title drive.

Jaguars rise from 27-point deficit to nip Chargers

MIAMI—The Jacksonville Jaguars pulled off a remarkable playoff comeback, fighting back from 27 points down to beat the Los Angeles Chargers 31-30 while rookie quarterback Brock Purdy led the San Francisco 49ers past the Seattle Seahawks 41-23 in the NFL playoffs on Saturday.

A last second, 36-yard field goal from Riley Patterson completed an astonishing turnaround from the Jaguars, who had trailed 27-0 late in the second quarter of the AFC wildcard clash.

It was the third-biggest comeback in NFL playoff history and came after Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence endured a nightmare first half, throwing four interceptions.

“They couldn’t have written a better script,” Lawrence said. “We are never out of the fight.”

The game had all the hallmarks of a blowout as the Chargers took advantage of Jacksonville’s turnovers, with a pair of rushing touchdowns in the first quarter from Austin Ekeler.

Asante Samuel had grabbed three of the picks for the Chargers, who extended their advantage to 27-0 with Gerald Everett collecting a nine yard touchdown pass from Justin Herbert and Cameron Dicker converting a 23-yard field goal.

“I was breaking, not a good record in the first quarter, I had a couple of interceptions, we were not looking good offensively but we just kept believing in one another,” Lawrence said.

The Jags gave themselves some hope just before the interval with Lawrence finding Evan Engram with a nine yard touchdown pass, but there was no sign of what was to come.

Jacksonville began the second half with a 14-play, 89-yard drive which ended with Lawrence finding Marvin Jones in the corner of the end zone.

After a Cameron Dicker 50-yard field goal for the Chargers, Lawrence threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to Zay Jones.

With 5:25 left in the fourth, Lawrence connected with Christian Kirk and then reached across the line for a two-point conversion. AFP

Djokovic to Kyrgios: 5 men to watch at Australian Open

MELBOURNE—Nine-time Melbourne champion Novak Djokovic returns after being banned from last year’s Australian Open while Rafael Nadal is defending champion.

World number one Carlos Alcaraz is out injured however and the great Roger Federer is another missing following his retirement.

AFP Sport highlights five men to watch when the first Grand Slam of the year begins on Monday: Novak Djokovic

The Serb is back at Melbourne Park for the first time since winning his ninth title in 2021 and says he “likes his chances”. He was kicked out of the country ahead of the tournament last year over his Covid vaccination stance.

The 21-time Grand Slam winner also missed the US Open for the same reason, but won Wimbledon and is heavy favourite at his most successful major despite a niggling hamstring injury.

Now 35, the former world number one finished a troubled 2022 with a recordequalling sixth ATP Tour Finals crown and began the new year in irrepressible form, winning his 92nd career title at the Adelaide International.

“I know when I’m healthy and playing my best, on this court (Rod Laver Arena) I have chances really against anybody,” he said. Rafael Nadal

The 36-year-old Spaniard made the most of Djokovic’s absence to win the title in 2022, outlasting Daniil Medvedev over five sets in a more than five-hour

Volleyball player out of her comfort zone

championship.

Among the players who transferred is Ponggay Gaston as she packed her bags from the very popular Choco Mucho team that features players from Ponggay’s college alma mater Ateneo de Manila, to Chery Tiggo—a move that surprised many fans.

“I want to grow out of my comfort zone and a change will be good to see how far I can go in my career. Chery Tiggo was the most persistent team in recruiting me that I felt they really need me,” explained the pretty daughter of former PBA player Fritz Gaston, who helped her 25-year-old daughter in negotiations with her new team.

“It was a good move on her part and I believe everything will work out well for her. She can obviously play volleyball and as a former athlete myself, I can understand her frustration over not being able to show her skills as she has always been a fighter on the court. The fact she was inked to a three-year contract shows her new team intends to utilize her to the fullest,” said the elder Gaston.

She expects to play the same role as an open spiker, but added “I intend to bring positive vibes to the team and inspire my teammates to work hard. I hope to play as long as I can. I know not everyone is given the chance to be a professional athlete.”

Looking at volleyball in the country, she says “it is a growing community here, players are more competitive and the league is doing its best to improve as a whole and I am grateful the game has grown so much

Tigers cool off Koolers; Gozum lifts Pampanga in debut game

thriller.

He made history in the process -- the first man to achieve 21 Grand Slam singles crowns, making it 22 when he won a 14th French Open title.

But injuries hampered his season and he withdrew from Wimbledon after winning his quarter-final and exited in the last 16 at the US Open.

Now a father, Nadal struggled to find his best form at the ATP Finals in November and lost both of his matches at the recent United Cup, to Cameron Norrie and Alex de Minaur.

He is top seed in the absence of Alcaraz and insisted “my personal momentum is not bad, I tell you. I am good and happy.”

Daniil Medvedev

The 26-year-old Russian was unable to match his run to the Melbourne final at the French or US Opens last year and never had a chance at Wimbledon after being banned due to the Ukraine war.

He did win two titles and spent 16 weeks as world number one.

But it was an underwhelming year in the eyes of the 2021 US Open champion, who has slipped to eight in the rankings.

He began 2023 at the Adelaide International, where he was beaten by Djokovic in the semi-finals.

“Every time I play them (Djokovic and

Rafael Nadal), before the match the only thought is I have to win,” he said.

Stefanos Tsitsipas

The world number four burst onto the scene at the Australian Open in 2019 when as a 20-year-old he dethroned defending champion Federer in the last 16.

He went on to reach the semi-finals that year and again in 2021 and 2022, highlighting the consistency that has made him a mainstay of the world’s top 10 for nearly four years.

The Greek star won the ATP Masters 1000 title in Monte Carlo last year along with another on the grass of Mallorca.

But a Grand Slam crown remains elusive with his runner-up showing at Roland Garros in 2021 his best result at a major.

He began the new season on the Greek team at the United Cup, winning all four matches including the scalps of Matteo Berrettini and Grigor Dimitrov.

Nick Kyrgios

Love him or hate him, Kyrgios is a showman and nowhere more so than on home turf in Melbourne, drawing huge and rowdy crowds.

While his frequent tantrums have long overshadowed his talent, the enigmatic Australian had a stellar 2022, making a barnstorming run to a first Grand Slam singles final at Wimbledon, losing to Djokovic.

He has never gone past the Australian Open quarter-finals and his build-up has been hampered by an ankle injury, but the unpredictable Kyrgios is an outside chance if he can handle the pressure and keep his cool. AFP

Kankaloo-Caloocan,

67-61

Former PBA big man Larry Rodriguez showed the way for the Tigers with 13 points and eight rebounds, while Keith Agovida added nine markers, six boards, and two assists.

The victory allowed Davao Occidental to stretch its unbeaten run and score a fitting follow-up to an 81-79 escape over Quezon City last week for a 7-0 mark in the cage wars presented by Winzir and co-presented by SCD Cosmetics and Dumper partylist, and supported by NET 25, Adcon, Wcube Solutions Inc., MDC, Unisol, Don Benitos, and Finn Cotton, with PBA and Gilas Pilipinas great Marc Pingris serving as Commissioner.

The Koolers saw their five-game winning streak— including a 10780 drubbing of Bagong CabuyaoHomelab Nation last Monday— come to a screeching halt and fell to 5-2, still good for fifth.

In other games, Will Gozum had a successful Pampanga Royce Hotel debut, helping waylay the Beacons 72-65 to rise to 6-0 for second.

The reigning NCAA Most Valuable Player played 12 minutes for seven points and two rebounds. Former Ateneo Blue Eagle BJ Andrade led the balanced attack for the Sandro Soriano-mentored squad with nine points, two steals, two rebounds, and two assists.

Nueva Ecija also snapped a three-game losing slide with a thrilling 72-71 escape over the erstwhile unscathed Pampanga G Lanterns.

Gabby Espinas paced Caloocan with a double-double of 22 points, three caroms, and three dimes, while Paul Sanga got 12 and seven.

and I can make a career out of it. Earning while doing what I love is the best.”

She has not counted out playing for the country and if given the chance, she is more than willing to do so.

Currently at her peak now, Ponggay can certainly contribute to the national team.

Actor Gerald Anderson brings act to Ballout Season 2

Celebrity baller Gerald Anderson has thrown his name into the mix as he plays for KalosPhTh3rd Floor starting January 21.

A solid basketball player himself, Anderson used to play in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League, seeing action for the Marikina Shoemasters, the Imus Bandera, Gen San Warriors and Boracay Islanders.

This time, he’s bringing his act to Ballout, which will become bigger and better in its second season.

Aside from Anderson’s KalosPh team, other teams seeing action are school-based teams AMA University and University of Makati, Philippine Navy Sealions-Go For Gold, Antipolo City, Xen-

Ballout will have a new champion

in

coming tournament as San Mateo, the defending champion, has begged off from participating.

AMA University was the runner-up in the inaugural staging, while UMak also made a deep run to the playoffs.

Aside from Anderson and the new teams, a new key member was also added in the organization as former PBA player Ronald Magtulis has been tapped as head of basketball operations.

Magtulis played for Barangay Ginebra for three years and also saw action for Purefoods and Coca-Cola.

Entertainment

E-mail: lifeandshow.manilastandard@gmail.com

MONDAY, JANUARY 16, 2023 C3

‘Maria Clara at Ibarra’, ‘Voltes V: Legacy’ stars get warm welcome from Sinulog fans

MARIA Clara at Ibarra and Voltes V: Legacy stars headed to the Queen City of the South to join in the celebration of the muchanticipated return of the annual Sinulog Festival.

On Friday (January 13), the cast of the hit historical portal fantasy series Maria Clara at Ibarra – Julie Anne San Jose, Juancho Triviño, David Licauco, and Andrea Torres – treated their fans to an exciting Kapuso Mall Show at Ayala Center Cebu.

Maria Clara (Julie), Padre Salvi (Juancho), Fidel (David), and Sisa (Andrea) took a break from the world of Noli Me Tangere as they give thanks to their fans for making Maria Clara at Ibarra a huge success.

On Saturday (January 14), the stars of the much-anticipated live-action adaptation of Voltes V: Legacy celebrated this year’s Sinulog festivities with back-to-back Kapuso Mall Shows. Miguel Tanfelix, Ysabel Ortega, Radson Flores, Matt Lozano, and Raphael Landicho performed for their fans at Ayala Malls Central Bloc and at the Robinsons Galleria Cebu.

The following day (January 15), Miguel, Ysabel, Radson, Matt, and Raphael further brightened the Sinulog Grand Parade as they board the Kapuso Float.

Viewers, on the other hand, got a frontrow view of the Sinulog Festival Grand Parade at SRP, Cebu City via the Pit Senyor! The GMA Regional TV Special Coverage aired on GMA’s Central and Eastern Visayas channels.

Netizens were able to watch the livestream of Pit Senyor: The GMA Regional TV Special Coverage on GMA Regional TV’s Facebook page and Twitter account (@gmaregionaltv) as well as its official website www.gmaregionaltv.com.

“GMA Network via GMA Regional TV is excited to take part in the much-awaited return of Cebu’s Sinulog Festival,” said First Vice President and Head of GMA Regional TV and Synergy, and Acting Head of GMA Integrated News Oliver Victor B. Amoroso.

“To highlight the Kapuso Network’s support of this celebrated Philippine festival, we are happy to bring with us the cast of the hit primetime show Maria Clara at Ibarra and the stars of the much-anticipated series Voltes V: Legacy. GMA Regional TV is also taking the Sinulog Festival closer to Filipinos wherever they may be via Pit Senyor!, The GMA Regional TV Special Coverage,” Amoroso ended.

PARADIGM SHIFT

Eduard Bañez gets to live his dream under international talent management

“Under Paradigm, I have been informed that I get representation and other sponsorships. It thrills me that I am also included in what they describe as metaverse space representation which happens to be a first of its kind,” the rising star carries on:

Now that the Filipino star has Paradigm to manage his career, what Bañez is most gung ho about is “the massive boost in my artistic endeavor.”

be made public.”

Bañez ultimately wants to embrace the opportunities available for Filipino artists fully.

Bela Padilla, Marco Gumabao reunite as co-stars in Viva’s pre-Valentine offering

BELA Padilla, Marco Gumabao, and Rhen Escaño star in the Pinoy adaptation of the Korean blockbuster, Spellbound, which serves as Viva’s preValentine offering.

In the story, Bela plays Yuri, a beautiful woman who has become a ghost magnet since she survived a vehicular accident in high school. The ghosts’ constant presence in her life also causes fear to people near and dear to her. Her family even left her.

Yuri is convinced that she’s better off alone given her situation. But a certain magician might just change her mind.

Marco, on the other hand, plays Victor, a street magician, who is actually a non-pro in magic yet is able to attract the audience through his charm. When Victor sees Yuri among the crowd, she winds up being the inspiration for his horror magic show which becomes an instant hit. Finally, Victor gets his big break to become a stage magician. He gets Yuri to play as a spectre in his show. And then one thing leads to another.

Rhen plays Krissy, the most prominent ghost in Yuri’s life. She was Yuri’s best friend who died in a vehicular accident.

As she follows Yuri all around, she’ll witness the blossoming friendship between Yuri and Victor. Not happy about it, Krissy makes herself known as the unfriendly ghost.

Spellbound, a remake of the 2011 Korean blockbuster movie of the same title, is the first onscreen tandem of

Bela

Bela shared in an interview that this is the first time that she’s portraying a character that is close to her personality. She admits to being fearful when it comes to ghosts,

In the case of the first-rate young master, his career goes through an exciting metamorphosis now that he is under the careful guidance of Paradigm Talent Agency.

Paradigm Talent Agency is an American full-service entertainment agency with offices in Los Angeles, New York, London, Chicago, Toronto, Monterey, Nashville, Berkeley, and Austin. It has more than 200 agents representing clients in television, music performances, motion picture, theatre, book publishing, digital, commercial/ voiceover, content finance, media rights, brand partnerships, and more. Some of its most exclusive clients are author Stephen King, actors Sydney Sweeney, Antonio Banderas, and Brian Cox, directors James Wan and Malcolm D. Lee, and musicians Coldplay, Tiffany Young, Billie Eilish, Halsey, and Ed Sheeran Sam Gores is its Chairman and CEO.

“To say that I am ecstatic to be represented by one of the biggest and most powerful agencies, which is Paradigm, feels great. I am immensely grateful for their trust in my capabilities as a talent,” Bañez opens up about this latest career upgrade.

“I am in the entertainment industry because I am passionate about sharing my talent. I want to inspire all the dreamers out there that with talent, determination, and passion, great things become a reality,” he says.

“It is not every day that a Filipino artist gets to be living his dream. I am not here for the fame or glamour part. I am here to showcase and highlight the world-class talent of a Filipino. The time is right and ripe now,” he adds.

Eduard is tickled pink with the fact that Paradigm’s major mantra is: “Our artists are by far the best.” He eagerly anticipates the fresh branding and grooming, the training and workshops to further hone his abilities, and the projects that are coming his way.

Speaking of projects, can he already share some of them? Bañez’s quick reply via our interview: “I do not want to preempt anything. What I can assure you is that they are taking good care of me, they not only welcome me but make me feel like family. The present thrills me, enjoying and cherishing every minute of all the sessions, and training. The future is bright. And in the proper time, it will

“We have the best actors, singers, dancers, and all sorts of performing artists. We have the likes of Lea Salonga and the rest of the great musical theater actors. Dolly de Leon’s recognition and the history she carves are well deserved. There is so much that Filipinos can offer because we have the passion and heart for it. I am just happy to be in a team where my passion and heart will be maximized.”

Bañez plans to visit Manila soon. He misses his friends and all the people he considers dear.

‘The Last of Us’—a new test for video game adaptations

HOWEVER

But the dystopian, zombie-filled HBO series The Last of Us, premiering in the United States on Sunday and the following day elsewhere, could be about to break the curse.

The series has already won a slew of positive reviews, with a score of 97 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, and is on track to be the streaming world’s first success of 2023, 10 years after The Last of Us game first debuted on PlayStation.

Game creator Neil Druckmann , along with Chernobyl screenwriter Craig Mazin , helped develop the narrative for television.

The story remains faithful to the original Naughty Dog title, following the unlikely duo of demoralized smuggler Joel and spirited teenager Ellie, whom he must protect as the planet’s potential last hope against a fastmoving zombie fungus.

The nine-episode season – in which Joel is played by Narcos and Mandalorian star Pedro Pascal and Game of Thrones actress Bella Ramsey portrays Ellie – is set in a post-apocalyptic America ruled by a military dictatorship.

The stakes of the series’ success are high for HBO Max, which just raised its US

Young stars hit musical milestones

THE year 2022 had been a breakthrough period for many Kapamilya artists who achieved millions of streams for their feel-good, heartwarming, and inspiring music.

Star

all-

a

States.

Janine

P-pop sibling groups BGYO and BINI likewise delighted their followers ACEs and BLOOMs as they dropped their respective sophomore albums in 2022. BGYO’s Be Us already achieved over 3 million plays on Spotify alone. BINI meanwhile made headlines with Feel Good, released in September followed by the Feel Good live album showcase in

subscription fee from $14.99 to $15.99 for an ad-free monthly package.

HBO “clearly remains the gold standard for original series, but its parent company (Warner Bros. Discovery) is at a crossroads in terms of how much it’s willing to spend on projects,” said John Cassillo, an analyst with TVREV.

Adaptations of blockbuster video games tend not to do well when they are turned into movies or television series.

On a list drawn up by Box Office Mojo, only five films in this genre have surpassed $400 million in earnings. The top one, Warcraft (2016) – which took in $439 million worldwide – doesn’t figure in the top 250 on the overall box office list.

Other rare successes include Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) starring Angelina Jolie and more recently Netflix’s Emmy-winning animated series Arcane, set in the League of Legends universe.

In the case of The Last of Us, he explained, “the post-apocalyptic story taps into a popular genre even outside of gaming, and HBO has a long-standing track record succeeding with dramatic series.”

Many more video game adaptations are in the pipeline, including a new Super Mario Bros film, a third installment in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, and a Gran Turismo movie, as well as a Netflix animated series based on Tomb Raider AFP

Idyllic sanctuary for Olive Ridley Sea Turtles

FLAUNTING breathtaking vistas, a plethora of recreational opportunities, and posh residential enclaves, Hamilo Coast is, without a doubt, an oasis for city-weary urbanites. But what makes the 40-hectare prime leisure resort community truly a sanctuary is its commitment to nurture nature, above all else.

Since the year 2007, Costa Del Hamilo, Inc. (CDHI), developer of Hamilo Coast and World Wide Fund for Nature Philippines (WWF) have been working on key areas for sustainability— coastal resource management, ridge-to-reef management, solid waste management, mangrove reforestation, the use of renewable energy sources, and environmental awareness.

Hamilo Coast has, in fact, declared three of its coves—namely Pico de Loro, Etayo, and Santelmo—as Marine Protected Areas (MPA). This act serves to further safeguard ecosystems for marine life; protect threatened and endangered species and preserve their habitats; and cultivate marine resources, among others.

For instance, Hamilo Coast has manifested its readiness to take care of Olive Ridley Sea turtles that has made the development its nesting ground. Olive Ridley Sea turtles, so-called for their olive-green color, are known for their heart-shaped shells and are considered to be among the world’s smallest sea turtles.The females of the species return to the same beach they hatched on to spawn or lay their own eggs, and bury them in sand

nests to incubate for 45 to 72 days.

To keep these eggs safe and undisturbed, Hamilo Coast estate personnel install nest cages and monitor these regularly, following the guidelines of World Wide Fund for Nature Philippines (WWF). With nest cages protecting the eggs from predators, their chances for survival significantly rise.

In just a few weeks, these eggs will crack, and hatchlings will emerge within three to seven days to reach the surface and race towards the ocean.

M. Bolalin, CDHI Assistant Vice President for Estate Management and

Operations asserts: “Protecting the turtles is just one of several measures we take to make Hamilo Coast a safe haven, not just for its residents and guests but also for marine wildlife.”

Bolalin likewise affirms that, after all, a majestic and sustainable sanctuary has always been part of Costa del Hamilo’s vision for Hamilo Coast.

Just recently, turtle hatchlings were released to the ocean by the SM Leisure Resort Residences team in Pico de Loro Cove. New nest cages were also installed

Sinulog’s new star

AFTER a three-year hiatus, yesterday’s Sinulog festivities marked its return this year with a full-scale celebration still anchored in faith and gratitude. With the events and activities that led to yesterday’s grand and colorful street dancing, Cebu’s rich and vibrant culture and heritage took center stage. But everybody took notice of one amazing addition to the much awaited event.

NUSTAR Resort and Casino’s “Island of New Celebrations” launched the country’s first and biggest 3D LED billboard, the only one in the Visayas and Mindanao. Measuring 619.32 square meters, this gigantic electronic display is captivating, iconic, entertaining, and adventurous, much to the delight of all those who watched the Sinulog parade at Cebu’s South Road Properties.

Also known as “jumbotron” or “jumbovision,” this video display uses largescreen technology (video wall). The original technology was developed in the early

It

LED

Combining

one of CDHI’s ways of establishing sustainable practices. In partnership with WWF, CDHI has been expanding and enhancing the scope of its sustainability program as part of a longterm strategic framework in the Hamilo Coast development.

As a result, Hamilo Coast is a recipient of the Longest Sustainability Partner award from the World Wide Fund (WWF) for Nature Philippines. The recognition now further inspires it to embrace sustainable tourism and develop its area without compromising the quality of water and wildlife in the vicinity.

have in the Philippine tourism industry,” Bolalin seaside developments in the country to

“Our sustainability efforts, in partnership with WWF, have created a positive impact in the Philippine tourism industry,” Bolalin relates. “We hope to continue encouraging seaside developments in the country to prioritize the conservation and protection of our beautiful marine resources.”

sustainability

For more information on Hamilo Coast and its sustainability efforts, you may check out the Hamilo Coast official Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/hamilocoastph), website (www.hamilocoast.com), and Instagram (@hamilocoastph).

3D technology on massive LED screens, 3D billboards require precise calculations and creativity. They can produce a threedimensional visual of just about anything, from a movie trailer to a sneaker ad. This technology works on the principle of “forced perspective,” which is a technique that uses an object’s scale and the audience’s vantage point to make something appear larger, smaller, nearer, or far from the spectator.

Through 3D technology, two images taken from different angles are combined and put into a single clip. That is how the viewers’ left and right eyes see the subject from different points, and the brain recognizes the visuals in three-dimensional depth. In order to achieve this illusion, curved displays with two faces are usually employed.

NUSTAR’s billboard definitely played a big role at the Sinulog Grand Parade as both the participants and those watching from the sidelines were awed by the larger-thanlife colorful images displayed continuously while the festivities were ongoing. It certainly was the best way to welcome back the Sinulog Festival, which has been sorely missed not only by local tourists but also by those from abroad who make it a point to take part in the country’s biggest and most colorful celebration.

NUSTAR Resort and Casino is the flagship project of Universal Hotels and Resorts, Inc. (UHRI), a privately owned corporation of the Gokongwei Group focused primarily on gaming and integrated resort developments across the Philippines. More information on NUSTAR’s offerings may be obtained from www.nustar.ph or through email contactus@nustar.ph.

Homegrown co ee chain brand expands in the Middle East

BO’S Coffee has gotten everything going with its expansion to new store locations here and abroad with its operations well-organized, defined and ready for a post-pandemic world.

A significant driver in the coffee shop industry is growth in the form of domestic and international expansions. With leading global coffee shops opening new stores in cities around the world, Bo’s Coffee responded to this challenge when it opened its first ever international store in Bin Omran, Qatar in 2018, making a significant entry into the Middle East.

A further critical growth driver are collaborations and partnerships. Bo’s Coffee realized this benefit when it reached out to Filipino artisan brands like Anthill Fabrics, Tsaa Laya, Kalsada Coffee, Theo & Philo, and more recently, cacao brand, Cacaomistry, to put in the spotlight. Bo’s Coffee has long been a proponent of Philippine Coffee, putting a spotlight on local coffee traders and farmers and carefully selecting social enterprises to collaborate with to develop word-class products.

Bringing this passion along in the international scene for geographical expansion, Bo’s Coffee partnered with UAE’s Al Mulla Group. These alliances allow for exponential growth, putting the Filipino forward in the quest to elevate Philippine Coffee and the unique brand of Filipino hospitality here and abroad.

Local Stores Expansion Stores depend greatly on customer traffic who not only drink coffee but also invest a significant amount of personal time so most often, these stores are located in areas with convenient access for pedestrians or drivers. Bo’s Coffee continues to expand locally

This expansion included new drive-thru stores, a channel that’s significantly growing.

Bo’s Coffee has opened its Banilad Town Center drive-thru store way back in 2011 before other coffee shop drive-thrus even began sprouting locally. The quick and the convenient appeal of coffee drive-thru has become more apparent during the pandemic, that’s why Bo’s Coffee continues to place new drive-thru locations today to offer a more convenient way of getting a cup of Philippine Coffee. Following the opening of stores in the fast-growing Malolos City district earlier this year, Bo’s Coffee continues to open more drive-thrus that let you park, order, stretch and relax as you enjoy your homegrown favorites.

Store format and size vary by location. Bo’s Coffee has strategically been opening locations

Bo’s

Expanding

Daily

catering to a younger set of avid coffee fans, Bo’s Coffee began offering an aggressive online and kiosk format under Daily by Bo’s Coffee brand focusing on brand vitalization, product innovation and consistency, accelerated

brand development, and operational effectiveness.

Daily by Bo’s Coffee opened four new stores this year forging a strong identity as a coffee destination.

A Growing International Footprint Post-pandemic, coffee industry is seen to bring in healthy gains with a significant momentum to global growth, and who are able to take advantage of forming partnerships will remain flexible enough to pivot around what comes next in the global coffee market and enjoy its continued growth.

the unique brand of Filipino hospitality in the spotlight.

One thing that Dubai does exceptionally well is its cafe scene. Al Mulla and Bo’s Coffee just opened the perfect cafe vibe for an after-shopping coffee break, a fancy remote working place, or simply a hang-out hub to enjoy the city buzz.

Opening about fifty stores across the seven emirates over the next decade, Al Mulla is already set to open the second Bo’s Coffee in the city at Sahara Centre in Sharjah soon.

Coffee shops like Bo’s Coffee may have had setbacks due to the global pandemic that disrupted the industry with supply issues, changing consumer habits and new norms, but today, the coffee world is seeing a new light that the cafe culture is more resilient than ever and Bo’s Coffee’s growth will continue to put Philippine Coffee in the spotlight and the Filipino forward.

Bo’s

With the local coffee industry growing in value, Bo’s Coffee reached an all new high with the Middle East as the first region Bo’s Coffee is seeking to expand internationally. Partnering with Dubai-based Al Mulla Group. Opening its first store in Dubai’s most prominent shopping mall, The BurJuman Mall, the Philippines’ homegrown brew brings Philippine Coffee and