BusinessMirror February 21, 2023

How volatile is PHL exchange rate? Economists split

THE recent strengthening of the peso against the US dollar on Monday highlighted the volatility of the country’s exchange rate compared to a year ago, according to local economists.

T he peso strengthened against the dollar at P54.95 after only three days of closing at the P55 level. The peso opened at P55.31 to the dollar and traded at its strongest at P54.95 and its weakest at P55.32 to the greenback.

Unionbank Chief Economist Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion said year-todate, the peso-dollar exchange rate

has appreciated about 1.2 percent and depreciated about 1.2 percent for February.

“ You are very correct in saying that the USD-PHP has been quite volatile, especially this month. One dominant reason that I see for this USD-PHP short-run behavior has been the responses of the US Fed and offshore markets—fixed-income, equities and forex—toward inflation and inflation expectations,” Asuncion explained.

H owever, Ateneo de Manila University John Gokongwei School of Management Dean Luis F.

Dumlao said while the exchange rate has been “twice as volatile compared to the same month last year,” the volatility in the exchange rate was still normal

Dumlao said January was more volatile. In the last 12 months, volatility as measured by standard deviation was most volatile in June 2022 at 0.88 compared to 0.45 this February.

I expect it to be just as normal unless an unexpected significant event happens,” Dumlao said. “[These events include] geopolitical shocks, natural catastrophes, etc.”

M eanwhile, Asuncion said other factors that have affected the exchange rate include the response of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and local markets to investment sentiments from external markets as well as domestic inflation.

O ne factor affecting the external environment, Asuncion said, is the certainty of a recession. He said the question among experts is when the recession will happen and whether it will be a soft or a hard landing.

BusinessMirror

JAN BOP SURPLUS HITS $3.1B, A FIRST

T he country posted a BOP surplus of $3.1 billion in January 2023, a reversal from the $102-million BOP deficit recorded in the same month last year.

T he surplus in January was the highest surplus recorded by the country in more than two years or since December 2020.

“ The BOP surplus in January 2023 reflected inflows arising mainly from the National Government’s [NG] net foreign currency deposits with the BSP, which include proceeds from its issuance of ROP Global Bonds, and net income from the BSP’s investments abroad,” the BSP said.

R izal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) Chief Economist Michael Ricafort said this was also helped by the improvement in the government’s net income from investments abroad.

T his was due to the gains in the US/global financial markets during the month amid the China economic reopening narrative since December 2022.

He added that another factor was the recent narrowing of the trade deficit/net imports to the narrowest in nearly a year recently.

The prices of imported oil and other imported commodities also corrected low in recent months amid risk of US recession after aggressive Fed rate hikes earlier in 2022,” Ricafort said.

GIR back at $100B

MEANWHILE , this improvement in the BOP position led to an increase in the country’s Gross International Reserves (GIR) and led it back to the $100-billion level at the end of January.

T he GIR reached $100.7 billion as of end-January 2023 from $96.1 billion as of the end of December 2022.

T he latest GIR level, BSP said, represented a more than adequate external liquidity buffer equivalent to 7.6 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income.

PHL TO PARTICIPATE IN WORLD EXPO 2025–FRASCO

BusinessMirror

THE Philippines will be putting its best foot forward as it participates in the World Expo 2025 in Osaka, Kansai in Japan.

Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco made the announcement on Saturday, at the opening of the two-day Japan Fiesta 2023, underscoring the country’s desire to further strengthen its ties with Japan. The Philippines’s participation in the next world expo from April 13 to October 13, 2025, “will show the best of the Filipino people,” she stressed. The Philippines also participated

GCG backs giving 25% of MIF profit for the poor

THE Governance Commission for GOCC (GCG) on Monday backed the inclusion of a provision in the Senate’s version of the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) that would mandate allocating at least 25 percent of the net profits of the proposed sovereign wealth fund for poverty alleviation programs.

G CG reiterated that it supports Congress’s efforts in ensuring the country’s “economic transformation, growth and sustainability.”

“ The GCG, therefore, supports the inclusion of the provision in SB No. 1670 providing at least 25 percent of the net profits of the MIC [Maharlika Investment Corp.] to families living below the poverty threshold,” it said in a statement.

T he GCG also emphasized that the MIC, which shall oversee the management of the MIF, will be within its purview since it bears attributes of an ordinary Government-Owned or -Controlled Corp. (GOCC).

The Governance Commission noted that the MIC bears the attributes of a Government-Owned or -Controlled Corporation [GOCC] such as its charter, functions relating to public needs, and state ownership,” it said.

in the last World Expo, which was held in Dubai from October 1, 2021 to March 3, 2022.

Held at the Glorietta Activity Center and Palm Drive Activity Center in Makati, Japan Fiesta 2023 was organized by the Embassy of Japan, Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), Japan Foundation Manila, Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Philippines Inc. (JCCIP), and Japanese Association Manila Inc., collectively known as the Japanese Fiesta Council. Japan’s Ambassador to Manila Koshikawa Kazuhiko described the event as a “joyous celebration,” where visitors were able to have “an authentic experience of Japan right in the heart of Makati.”

He added, “I am delighted that Filipinos are becoming more interested in Japanese culture and using their ingenuity to make it their own, thus creating a unique blend of both our cultures.”

For her part, Frasco confessed to being a fan of Japan products, like many Filipinos. “I myself am a huge fan of sashimi, sake, and sakura. And through this Japan Fiesta, you’re giving our fellow Filipinos an opportunity to take a peek into the window of Japan, and hopefully, visit your beautiful country. This mutual relationship, we hope to be able to develop in the next few years through the help of our good Ambassador.”

THE country’s balance of payments (BOP) position improved and posted a surplus for the first time in nine months, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

No final decision on BuCor’s move to Masungi–Remulla

JUSTICE  Secretary

Remulla made the statement after the plan drew criticism from environmental advocates who claim that it will damage  the Upper Marikina watershed that has been under the protection of Masungi Georeserve

A ccording to local outbound travel agencies, Japan is one of the favorite tourist destinations of Filipinos, with over 600,000 visiting the country in 2019. In turn, there were 682,000 Japanese tourists in the Philippines that same year.  (See, “Revenge travelers unfazed by weak peso, bookings up,” in the BusinessMirror , November 7, 2022.)

Foundation for several decades already.     There should be no problem since we are proenvironment. There are people who are simply alarmist”, Remulla said in an interview with reporters.

In his visit to Tokyo in February, however, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. appealed to the Japanese government to lift its travel advisories against the Philippines. A Level 3 advisory was issued on November 1, 2019 instructing Japanese nationals to avoid visiting several provinces in Mindanao, likely as a result of the Jolo Cathedral bombing earlier that year. (See, “Boy

Bureau of Corrections Officerin-Charge Gregorio Catapang Jr. also assured the public  of a “environment-friendly” construction once the plan pushes through.

T he BuCor plans to transfer its headquarters and Corrections National Training Institute to the said location.    It also intends to build a residential area for its personnel and employees.

Its claim on the property is anchored on Proclamation 1158 issued by former President and now Senior Deputy Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, which set aside 270 hectares of the land as the new site of the NBP.     “

What is important is to ensure that Masungi is preserved, but the other areas that are idle can be used by the government,” Remulla said as he insisted that the title of Masungi belongs to the government.

band member is new ‘Tourism Ambassador’ for Philippines in Japan,” in the BusinessMirror , February 10, 2023.)

W ith the goal of strengthening the friendship of Japan and the Philippines, the Japan Fiesta Council gathered major airlines and travel agencies at Japan Fiesta 2023. Visitors were able to book their tickets, schedule their tours, and buy their travel essentials from the council’s partner airlines and agencies during the event. Filipinos still

416 more PDLs released as DOJ issues cap on bail bond for indigents

“ It’s the heritage of the Filipino people. It does not belong to one foundation at all but to all the Filipino people,” he said.

E arlier, Remulla defended BuCor’s plan, saying the choice of location was within its mandate to improve the country’s penal management system.

O n the other hand, Catapang said the BuCor will consult with all stakeholders, including environment advocates to explain their plan and also hear their arguments opposing the planned relocation of the BuCor’s headquarters and the setting up of a training center.

“We are very much willing to talk to all of them. We will sit down with them,” he said.   Catapang said he is also planning  to talk to the UP School of Urban and Regional Planning on how best to develop and preserve the area.

need a tourist visa to visit Japan, but no longer need to get a Covid test as long as they have received three doses of Japan-approved Covid-19 vaccine.

A lso present at Japan Fiesta 2023’s opening were JNTO Executive Director Makoto Watanabe, Japan Foundation Manila Director Ben Suzuki, and representatives of the JCCIP and Japanese Association Manila.

A side from travel booking options, visitors to Japan Fiesta 2023 were also able to get a taste of Japan at through kiosks offering Pocky snack, takoyaki (grilled balls with octopus chunks),  gyoza (pork-filled dumplings), and Japanese beer among others.

P roviding entertainment to the guests were performances by the Namahage Satokagura, composer and taiko player Leonard Eto, Taiko Drummers, all-female groups MNL48 and R RULES,  and cosplay group OtaCutE. Stars of the upcoming GMA series Voltes V: Legacy also made an appearance at the event.

ANOTHER batch of persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) totaling 416 were freed from the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP) in Muntinlupa and three other regional prisons on Monday as part of the government’s ongoing efforts to decongest penal facilities.

O ut of the 416 PDLs qualified for release, 83 were from the NBP’s maximum security prison, 104 from the minimum security prison, 12 from the medium security prison, six from its regional reception and diagnostic center, 22 from the Leyte Regional Prison in Abuyog, Southern Leyte, 43 from San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm in Zamboanga City, and 13 from Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm in Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla led the ceremony for the release of the PDLs, which has  reached 4,162 since June last year.

“ We will not stop releasing qualified PDLs as long as I am the Secretary of Justice,” Remulla assured as he vowed to institute other reforms in the Bureau of Corrections.

R emulla previously vowed to release up to 5,000 elderly and sick inmates and those who completed their maximum sentence by June 2023.

Cap on bail bond for indigents

MEANWHILE , the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday issued new guidelines on the recommendation of bail amount in criminal information.

T he guidelines, issued through Department Circular No. 011, are the DOJ’s newest measure to address  congestion in jail and detention facilities  in the country.

T he circular covers all cases undergoing inquest or preliminary investigation proceedings of indigents, except for crimes punishable by death, reclusion perpetua or life imprisonment.

T he new circular would slash in half any bail bond amount recom -

mended by the prosecutor based on the 2018 Bail Bond Guide in any case and would put a cap on the bail amount at P10,000 for indigents.

Specifically, Section 4 of the circular states, “In the event that, after the conduct of inquest or preliminary investigation proceedings, the investigating prosecutor finds probable cause with a reasonable certainty of conviction against the indigent respondent, he or she shall indicate in the criminal information only 50 percent of the recommended bail as stated in the 2018 Bail Bond Guide, or the amount of P10,000, whichever is lower. The fact of indigency of respondent, now the accused as found in the information, shall be indicated alongside the recommended bail.”

T he issuance of the circular was an offshoot of the recently concluded Justice Sector Coordinating Council dialogue held last January 27, 2023 where Remulla raised the perennial problem of overpopulation and congestion of jail and detention facilities.

C hief Justice Alexander Gesmundo and Department of the Interior and Local Government Undersecretary for Peace and Order Oscar Valenzuela were among those present during the dialogue.

D uring the dialogue, Remulla expressed his  frustration over weak cases being filed in court, causing the detention of individuals who are later released due to their eventual acquittal.

He noted that many of these individuals are detained for crimes that are bailable but are unable to afford the amount set by the court upon the recommendation of the prosecutor, thus, further contributing to the congestion problem in jails and detention facilities.  I n light of this, CJ Gesmundo proposed a revisiting of the existing 2018 Bail Bond Guide, which led to the DOJ’s issuance of the new circular.

“ The GCG also emphasized that the funding from Government Financial Institutions [GFIs] and GOCCs may affect their respective investment strategies and performance scorecards. These proposed investments must necessarily be within and allowed by their respective charters,” it added.

T he GCG said it remains “steadfast” in its mandate as the central advisory, oversight, and monitoring body for GCCs “to institutionalize transparency, accountability, financial viability, and responsiveness in corporate governance by monitoring and evaluating the performance of GOCCs.”

“Market players do pay attention to the interest rate differential between the US Fed and the BSP. It can impact investment decisions, therefore, impact currency inflows or outflows,” Asuncion said.

With the higher-than-expected inflation in January and the recovery of consumption spending, the BSP said it is possible for monetary authorities to further raise interest rates in the Monetary Board’s succeeding meetings.

L ast week, the MB increased the BSP’s overnight reverse repurchase facility by 50 basis points to 6 percent, effective February 17, 2023, a move that was widely expected.

T he BSP said the interest rates on the overnight deposit and lending facilities will be set to 5.5 percent and 6.5 percent, respectively. Cai U. Ordinario

B SP explained this ensures availability of foreign exchange to meet balance of payments financing needs, such as for payment of imports and debt service, in extreme conditions when there are no export earnings or foreign loans. It was also about 6.2 times the country’s short-term external debt based on original maturity and 4.1

times based on residual maturity.

T he BSP said short-term debt is based on residual maturity and refers to outstanding external debt with original maturity of one year or less, plus principal payments on medium- and longterm loans of the public and private sectors falling due within the next 12 months.

T he economists also said the main opposition to the RCEP’s ratification are “misplaced fears” that the agriculture sector would become less competitive than today.

FEF said the RCEP will only open up the Philippine market for 33 agricultural tariff lines equivalent to only 15 products that will “pose little to no threat to local produce.”

“ The agriculture sector’s noncompetitiveness today lies more on the protectionist and heavyhanded approach of the government in regulating agriculture over the years, and turning the situation around requires the reintroduction of free market principles, starting with freeing up the land market to allow greater consolidation and achievement of scaled economies in our agricultural production systems,” FEF said.

Other benefits from the RCEP, the local economists said, is access to a market of 2.3 billion people. This market already represents one-third

of the world’s population.

RCEP, FEF said, will also provide predictable and uniform rules for trade and investments. Ratifying the agreement, they said, would lead to the country’s participation in “seamless production networks” to boost jobs and investments.

T he trade deal also promises to improve commitments from participating countries to create job opportunities in professional and management services, accounting and legal services, auditing, architecture, game development, telecommunications, and transport.

F EF also said the single ruleof-origin framework to be implemented under RCEP will help enhance and accelerate participating countries’ activities in global value chains to facilitate foreign direct investments.

“ RCEP also creates a conducive environment for liberalizing services and digital transformation in areas such as e-commerce and telecommunications,” the FEF said.

Jesus Crispin

Remulla said on Monday there is no final decision yet on the planned relocation of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) headquarters to a 270-hectare section of the Masungi Georeserve, a protected forest area in Rizal province.

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SIM registration at 19.71% of 168 million total–DICT

FILIPINOS appears to be taking their own sweet time in registering their SIM cards that about two months before the deadline, the country has yet to register 80 percent of the total active SIMs.

At a news conference hosted by Globe Telecom Inc., National Telecommunications Commission (NTC)

Commissioner Ella Lopez said all of the telcos have successfully registered 33.3 million subscribers across the universe of mobile subscribers.

T his, she said, represents only 19.71 percent of the total 168 million mobile users in the Philippines.

We only have, ideally, until April 26 to generate as many successful SIM registration as possible,” she said. “Of course, we are hoping that the universe of SIM subscribers will register by April 26. We still have time that’s why we are encouraging everyone to register now. The NTC for its part has given a directive to regional offices to promote SIM registration.”

Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT)

Undersecretary Anna Mae Lamentillo called this a “lull” that the government has already anticipated.

We are almost halfway into the implementation of the SIM registration, and we have observed a slowdown in the number of registrants. Although we anticipated this lull, we are compelled to do more. We must use this as an opportunity to engage more end-users to participate. It is vital that we reinforce our strategies primarily through effective information and education campaigns,” she said.

T he government and the telcos are putting premium on providing assistance to subscribers in registering their mobile numbers. They have set up assistance booths in public places to promote SIM registration.

Lamentillo noted that the challenge for the government and the telcos is “administrative or informational.”

That’s why we are really pushing for digital inclusion,” she said, noting that the DICT has already tapped the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to assist it in going to areas that have high feature phone penetration.

Globe Consumer Mobile Business Head Darius Delgado said the company is rolling out assistance desks in “over 500 locations across the country from February 20 onwards to make it easier for customers to register their SIM cards.”

Lamentillo noted that the DICT has yet to decide if it will seek an extension of the deadline for SIM registration.

We are not yet looking at the possibility of an extension. Right now we are calling on telcos to intensify the efforts as far as SIM registration is concerned. We are still sticking with the April 26 deadline. All hands are on deck to ensure the registration of as many users as possible,” she said.

Under the SIM Registration Act, mobile users are required to register their SIMs to reduce the proliferation of criminal activity, including smishing and other mobile phone and online scams that have spread due to the anonymity of unregistered SIMs.

Marina sanctions illegal Chinese dredger linked to Manila Bay reclamation project

tivities of the Chinese dredgers that were found to be operating outside their approved areas of operation as against the issued Special Permit” from Marina.

NCWC is an inter-agency maritime surveillance and coordinated unit led by the Philippine Coast Guard. It is attached under the Office of the President through the Office of the Executive Secretary.

In a text message to the BusinessMirror , Marina National Capital Region Director Marc Anthony Pascua said the agency has conducted an investigation into the report submitted by the National Coast Watch Center (NCWC) and has taken action against the alleged perpetrators.

“ Those vessels were already investigated by the Marina. We have

already issued show-cause orders, and they were accordingly penalized. Further, these vessels have already settled their penalties,” he said.

T he NCWC earlier flagged Chinese vessels that allegedly conducted dredging and transport of reclamation sand to reclamation areas in Manila Bay.

T he report listed “suspicious ac-

Push for adoption of enhanced LSDF roadmap gains headway

THE new and enhanced Land Sector Development Framework and Roadmap (LSDF) 2019-2040 for efficient and effective land management in the country is getting the muchneeded boost.

N CWC also noted that Chinese dredgers were allegedly “operating without a dredging clearance” from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), “had no Environmental Compliance Certificate” from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Mines and Geosciences Bureau (DENR-MGB), “had no memorandum of agreement” between the DENR and the dredging company, “had no accreditation” from the DENR-MGB, “had no ore transport permit” from the

DENR-MGB, and “had no” Notice To Proceed for their operations.

T he NCWC also asserted that the Chinese dredgers allegedly failed to secure a “No Objection Clearance” from the Office of the National Security Adviser. It also flagged the said dredgers of “operating with false Automatic Identification System [AIS],” which essentially allows the authorities to properly monitor and record their exact movements inside Philippine territorial waters. A llegedly, they turned off their AIS during operation and while berthed, according to the NCWC. “ The Marina would also like to reiterate that vessels whose Special Permits have been revoked and have paid the corresponding penalties may nonetheless apply for another permit so long as they are going to comply with the requirements of the relevant Marina Circular,” Pascua said.

House panel OKs Con-con reso to amend ’87 Charter

project, the framework underwent rigorous consultations from government and nongovernment groups, academe, professional organizations, and communities to develop an evidence-based and inclusive framework.

sultation at the San Jose Del Monte City Convention Center in Barangay Sapang Palay Proper.

TRADE Secretary Alfredo E.

Pascual said the launch of the Strategic Trade Management Office (STMO) e-Licensing Platform is a significant stage in monitoring and controlling trade in strategic or military goods and dual-use items.

Today’s launch of the STMO eLicensing Platform is a significant stage in monitoring and controlling trade in the specified strategic goods,” the Department of Trade and Industry chief said during the official launch of the STMO e-licensing Platform on Monday.

Pascual also noted that with the launch of the said platform, “We aim to balance facilitating legitimate trade and maintaining international peace and security, and we want to trade in tools, while ensuring that these tools are not used as weapons.”

During the same event, Janice Sacedon-Dimayacyac, Director of the DTI’s Strategic Trade Management Office (DTI-STMO), presented the strategic goods, which are compiled under the National Strategic Goods List (NSGL).

In her presentation, Dimayacyac said strategic goods are “goods, software, technology that can be used in developing WMDs [weapons of mass destruction] and conventional arms.”

Based on the NGSL, which is contained in the implementing rules and regulations of Republic Act No. 10697 or the Strategic Trade Management Act (STMA) of 2015, military goods include guns, ammunition, missiles, armored vehicles, among others.

Meanwhile, per the NGSL, dualuse goods include drones/unmanned aerial vehicle (UAVs), digital converters, machine tools, and chemicals.

Dimayacyac said dual-use goods refer to items, software, and technology that have both civil and military applications or end-use.

Pascual underscored the importance of “efficiently managing the trade of strategic goods and maintaining peace and security.”

Pascual added the management of WMDs, as well as other arms proliferation challenges are part of the Philippines’s obligation to the international community in pursuing peace and security.

Confronting these challenges effectively is critical to protecting our country’s national security, foreign policy, international commitments, and most importantly, our people, our environment, and our allies. WMDs are weapons that can cause widespread damage to human and animal life, infrastructure, and the environment; they also evoke terror in the population. They can be nuclear and radiological, biological, or chemical,” Pascual explained.

T he STMO was granted IT infrastructure support from the United States Defense Threat Reduction Agency (US DTRA), through the Cooperative Threat Reduction Agreement (CTRA), between the United States and the Philippines, DTI said.

T he trade department noted that the e-Licensing Platform establishes a “one-stop shop” of all strategic trade-related services accessible 24/7 by all stakeholders.  With this, Pascual said, “It is expected that with this infrastructure, the awareness and compliance of industries with the STMA will significantly increase, which, in turn, will improve the Philippines’s implementation of its international obligations.”

For his part, Trade Undersecretary for Industry Development and Trade Policy Ceferino S. Rodolfo said, “With the use of technology, we are able to approach the twin objectives of ensuring security, while ensuring ease of doing business in a seamless and complementary or integrated manner.”

According to Pascual, the STMO is a bureau created under the administrative supervision of DTI. He noted the office services as the executive and technical agency in establishing a management system for the trade in strategic goods.

The STMO was established in 2017.

The trade chief noted the key milestones of the office in July 2020, when it started implementing and accepting export authorization applications up to the end of that year, noting that the export value for strategic goods amounted to $3.6 million.

T he following year or in 2021, Pascual said, there was a “big jump” when traded strategic goods climbed to $4.5 billion.

Together with the Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ANGOC) and German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)—Land Management Bureau successfully raised the pledges at the National Governance Summit held in Quezon City last month.

Lawmakers from the Senate, House of Representatives and national government agencies involved in land administration and management and various organizations attended the summit.

The enhanced LSDF—led by the Foundation for Economic Freedom (FEF) and supported by the DENR and GIZ—is a long-term strategic roadmap for the land sector that provides a relevant, responsive, holistic, and progressive approach in areas such as land administration, land information systems and management, land governance, and land valuation and market development.

In a statement, DENR Undersecretary for Legal and Administration Ernesto D. Adobo Jr. has emphasized the importance of “timely, evidence-based, and equitable policies and technology-driven” land governance amid the ever-growing population and the negative effects of climate change.

“Today, we will be looking at the improved LSDF with renewed excitement, as consultation and inputs from broader land agencies, local governments, the private sector and civil society groups have been incorporated, and its vision aligned with Ambisyon 2040,” Adobo said, referring to the framework that establishes national development goals and strategies for the next 20 years.

A nchored on the previous version of the LSDF 2010-2030, key land developments and policies, and rapid urbanization trends, the enhanced LSDF serves as a foundation to develop integrated policies for land administration and management reforms, and identify key areas of intervention and problems to be solved.

Funded under GIZ’s Responsible Land Governance in Mindanao

Lawmakers and government officials who expressed their commitment were La Union First District Rep. and House Committee on Agrarian Reform vice chairperson Francisco Paolo Ortega, Sen. Ana Theresia Navarro HontiverosBaraquel, Senator Raffy T. Tulfo, and Department of Finance-Bureau of Local Government Finance OIC Executive Director Ma. Pamela Quizon.

Land Registration Authority Administrator Gerardo Sirios, Department of Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado Estrella III, National Mapping and Resource Information Authority Undersecretary and Administrator Peter Tiangco, National Commission for Indigenous Peoples Chairman Allen Capuyan, Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr., South Cotabato Governor and League of Provinces of the Philippines president Reynaldo Tamayo Jr. also conveyed their support through their representatives.

In addition, representatives from the academe, farmers and fisherfolk groups, indigenous peoples, and the urban poor, including Roel Ravanera of Xavier Science Foundation and Institute of Land Governance, Ireneo Cerilla of Pambansang Kilusan ng mga Samahang Magsasaka, Ruperto Aleroza of Pambansang Katipunan ng mga Samahan sa Kanayunan, Giovanni Reyes of Bukluran, and Ruby Haddad of the Homeless People’s Federation Inc. expressed approval for the enhanced LSDF and called for more collaboration with land sector agencies.

FEF consultant Elmer Mercado said the updated version of the LSDF is broader and more comprehensive in scope as it also focuses on private land, valuation of ecological resources, alternative dispute resolution, and capacitybuilding of land agencies when it comes to technology.

I n the areas of Land Administration, Land Management and Governance, Land Information Systems and Management, and Land Valuation and Market Development, the enhanced LSDF aims to contribute to tenure security, protection of natural resources, climate change adaptation and mitigation, and resilience.

AFTER seven public consultations, the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments on Monday approved a Resolution of Both Houses calling for a Constitutional convention (Con-con) to amend the 1987 Constitution.

With 16 affirmative votes, three negative votes and one abstention, the committee approved the motion of San Jose del Monte Rep. Rida Robes to pass a joint resolution of both houses calling for a Con-con.

Under the proposal, a Con-con is hereby constituted to proposed amendments to the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines.

It shall be composed of delegates who shall be elected from every legislative district of the Philippines on October 30, 2023. Each legislative district shall have a delegate to the Con-con.

T he committee will resume its hearing on Wednesday to identify which provisions of the 1987 Constitution will be amended.

H ouse Committee on Constitutional Amendments chairman Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said the approval of the resolution was done after his committee conducted seven public consultations in Cagayan de Oro City for Mindanao, Iloilo City for the Visayas and Pampanga and San Jose del Monte in Bulacan for Luzon.

“ The 2 in-house public consultations dated January 26 and February 6 reveal that 65 percent of the resource persons are in favor of amending the Constitution, and 52 percent are for Con-con and 28 percent are economic reforms.

On the other hand in the outof-town public consultations, 93 percent of the reactors are in favor of amendment, 43 percent of them are for Con-con and 71 percent are for economic amendments,” he said.

We also asked the participants in these out-of-town public consultations to answer survey questionnaires on the 3 issues of necessity, mode and proposed amendments. The results show that 77 percent are in favor of amending with 41 percent for Con-con and 38 percent proposed economic amendments,” added Rodriguez.

R odriguez said for those who responded to the committee’s written request to give their views on the matter, 60 percent of those who responded are in favor of the amendment, 46 percent are for Con-con and 29 percent are for economic reforms.

Nearly 700 participants from various sectors attended the public con-

For her part, Robes, who chairs the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, said the consultation is important to get the views and feedback of the public on proposals to amend the 1987 Constitution which provisions, which according to her, are no longer attuned with the current times.

This public consultation is important to ensure that the public are informed about the amendments in the Constitution. Thirty-six years ago [since it was ratified] and a lot has changed and a lot needs to be fixed,” the lawmaker pointed out.

The purpose of the public consultation is to find out the concerns of the majority on the proposed constitutional reforms like how it will be done and what are these proposed reforms,” she added.

Zamboanga del Sur 1st District Rep. Divine Yu, vice chair of the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments, presided over the public consultation last Saturday.

Yu expressed hope that through the series of public consultations, the House will be able to gauge public sentiment on the following: whether or not it is necessary to amend the Constitution; if yes, the preferred mode of amendment; and what specific amendments would they like to propose.

Former National Security Adviser Clarita Carlos, one of the panelists, said it is imperative to change the basic law of the land because “we discovered that the conditions upon which the 1987 Constitution has been established have changed.”

Carlos, who now heads the Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department of the House of Representatives, said the Constitution is not as cast in stone but as open to change so that it stays abreast with new developments.

House Assistant Majority Leader and Leyte 4th District Rep. Richard Gomez said the amendments to the 36-year-old Charter, particularly its restrictive economic provisions, are “urgent and overdue.”

M arikina 2nd District Rep. Stella Quimbo, meanwhile, presented the adverse effects of the restrictive constitutional provisions on the lives of Filipinos and the possible benefits in making these provisions more open.  F ormer Supreme Court chief justice Reynato Puno on Monday proposed to the House Committee on Constitutional Amendment a “hybrid” Con-con in amending the 1987 Constitution.

THE Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) has imposed fines and sanctions against the Chinese dredgers that allegedly conducted “illegal activities” in Manila Bay and rivers in Zambales, a government official said.

DTI chief lauds STMO platform launch amid surge in ‘strategic’ goods export

Tuesday, February 21, 2023

House backs RCEP passage to boost investment outlook

THE leadership of the House of Representatives has expressed its full support for the immediate ratification by the Senate of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement.

In House Resolution 728, which supports the Senate’s ratification of RCEP, Speaker Martin Romualdez said by immediately ratifying the RCEP agreement, the Philippines can sooner benefit and take the advantages of this mega-trade deal that could attract more foreign investors, create more job opportunities, and curb unemployment and poverty rates in the country.

Joining Romualdez as authors of the measure were Majority Leader and Zamboanga City 2nd District Rep. Manuel Jose M. Dalipe, Senior Deputy Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte 1st District Rep. Ferdinand

Alexander A. Marcos, and Batangas 5th District Rep. Mario Vittorio

“Marvey” Mariño.

I n the resolution, lawmakers noted Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual’s statement that the tariff liberalization under the RCEP will make preferential market access easier for Philippine exporters, thereby allowing the country to capitalize on potential market gains.

T hey recalled that in November 15, 2021, the Philippines has signed the RCEP Agreement, a trade agreement that covers trade areas for goods, services and investments, sustainable growth, and business environment involving the 10 member-states of Asean and its five other free trade agreement (FTA) partners, namely, Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, and Republic of Korea.

“Due to various FTAs that the Philippines entered into in the AsiaPacific Region, there is overlapping of the numerous bilateral FTAs in-

volving different sectors, with varying levels of commitment for tariff reduction and conflicting technical trade rules,” the resolution read.

T he RCEP is expected to address this debacle.

According to Romualdez and the other authors, the benefits that the RCEP agreement will bring to the Philippines “far outweigh the risk, as it will promote greater openness, create a more business-friendly environment, encourage closer integration of economies, and provide a more stable and predictable rulesbased system of trade.”

Designed as the framework for economic and trade cooperation in the Asia-Pacific Region, the RCEP integrates and optimizes the economic and trade rules, including the changing digital landscape that affects intellectual property rights, trade facilitation measures, electronic commerce, and cross-border trade.

T he resolution noted that the

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has summarized the benefits in joining the RCEP Agreement in “4Cs.” These are Cheaper cost for sourcing key inputs for the manufacturing sector; Convenience for businesses in trading with key FTA partners; Competitiveness for Philippine industries; and Complementation of existing government programs.

T he authors said the RCEP agreement will encourage foreign investments in the Philippines “and allow greater participation in the areas of digital services, business process outsourcing industry, financial services, aerospace, shipbuilding, research and development, and many others.”

The recent state visits of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to Indonesia, Singapore and China not only generated billions of investment pledges but also expanded the economic opportunities of the Philippines by reinforcing foreign ties,” they said.

DA reconstitutes body for FME accreditation

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) has announced the reconstitution of two interagency bodies to fast-track the accreditation of foreign meat establishments (FMEs) that are allowed to export meat products to the country.

S enior Agriculture Undersecretary Domingo F. Panganiban issued twin Special Orders (SO) that reformed the Pre-Inspection Committee (PIC) and the Accreditation Review Body (ARB) for FME accreditation.

In the exigency of the service and in view of the change of leadership in the different offices of the DA and with the need to fast-track the processing of the application of

foreign countries for accreditation of their meat establishment the DA PIC for FME Accreditation,” Panganiban said in SO 161 series of 2023.

The PIC, which will be chaired by the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) Director, is tasked to plan and prepare the DA Inspection Missions (DAIM) that would conduct the physical inspections of the FMEs to be accredited in their respective countries.

T he PIC shall also draft the guidelines for the identification and training of FME inspectors, official procedures for inspection, and reportorial requirements, among others. The body shall submit regular progress reports to the Agriculture Secretary. Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

Infra projects to boost PHL tourist arrivals–DOTr chief

Building compliance into your business

buy from people, and they want to buy from people with a similar value system. This takes compliance beyond rules and regulations, incorporating ethics into business processes rather than imposing a rulebook, which may or may not be read.

Transformational change

I n a speech at the general membership meeting of the Philippine IATA Agents Travel Association (PIATA) on Wednesday, February 15, at the Dusit Thani Hotel, Transportation Secretary Jaime J. Bautista said, “ Improving and modernizing the country ’s trans- s s transportation system will be crucial to ensure tourists enjoy their travel and vacation experience.”

He added cited several projects aimed at attracting more international travelers and enhancing domestic tourism, such as the newly-opened passenger terminal at the Clark International Airport in Pampanga, the construction of the New Manila International Airport in Bulacan and Sangley Point International Airport in Cavite, and the improvements of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and Bicol International Airport. R ailway projects will also improve connectivity between tourism destinations in the northern and southern parts of the country, and thereby easing the traffic congestion issues in Metro Manila, he said. Construction is in full swing for projects like the North-South

Commuter Railway, Metro Manila Subway, Metro Rail Transit (MRT)Light Rail Transit (LRT) Common Station, MRT 7, LRT 1 Cavite Extension, Philippine National Railways’ (PNR) North and South Long-Haul Project, Subic-Clark Railway, and the Mindanao Railway.

Close ties with DOT

BAUTISTA underscored the close cooperation between the DOTr and the Department of Tourism (DOT) “towards boosting tourist arrivals.” This year, the DOT is targeting to increase foreign visitor arrivals to 4.8 million, from 2.65 million in 2022.

He added the DOTr is also improving the services of the Edsa Busway system to ease the mobility of commuters.

A lso, the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) is improving commercial and social-tourism ports to efficiently move passengers and goods, while lowering logistics costs and shipping fees. The PPA is an attached agency of DOTr.

T he PIATA has 110 member-outbound travel agencies, all of who are accredited by the International Air

Transport Association (IATA), an organization that oversees the development and implementation of global commercial aviation standards.

Mactan wins at Routes Asia 2023 MEANWHILE , the DOT has won the Destination category at the at the recent Routes Asia 2023 awards in Chiang Mai. The agency was cited for its “persistent efforts to partner with airports and airlines to reinstate discontinued routes and secure new air services. It has done this through marketing efforts locally and globally, regional travel exchanges and businessto-business meetings, joint campaigns, international roadshows, and familiarization tours for agents and media.” They bested the Japan National Tourism Organization, the Ministry of Tourism Indonesia, and the Singapore Tourism Board.

T he Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) was also named winner in the under 5 million passenger category, citing MCIA operator, GMR Megawide Cebu Airport Corp., for having “always taken a two-pronged approach to route development: airline marketing to create supply and destination marketing to ensure the sustainability of its airline partners’ presence and address the demand for air services.”

T he Official Airline Guide projects 16.1 million international air seats to the Philippines by year-end, just 21 percent less than the 20.5 million registered seats in 2019.

Routes Asia is a major event gathering the region’s airlines, airports, tourism authorities, and aviation stakeholders to help develop strategies and ensure future air service development across the region.

Higher pump prices for gas, diesel today

THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), through the Bureau of Philippine Standards (BPS), has prevented the sale and distribution of 600 pieces of substandard equal-leg steel angle bars worth P740,000 in Valenzuela City.

In a news statement released on Monday, the Philippines’s national standards body said the substandard steel products, were found “non-conforming” to the elongation requirement of Philippine National Standard (PNS) 657:2008 (Hot-Rolled Steel Sections-Equal-leg Angles-Specifications) as confirmed by third-party testing.  Elongation refers to the permanent extension in the gauge length of a steel bar which is measured after rupture,” the BPS said.

T he standards arm of DTI said it witnessed the destruction of the substandard equal-leg steel angle bars at the manufacturer’s warehouse in Valenzuela City on January 20.

Further, it said the substandard products were cut using an oxy-acetylene torch prior to transfer to the manufacturer’s smelting facility.

T he equal-leg steel angle bar is among the 111 products covered under the BPS’s Mandatory Product Certification Schemes.

Meanwhile, under the steel products, these are listed under mandatory certification: BI/GI steel pipes Black and Galvanized Longitudinally Welded Lightweight Steel Tubes; Deformed Steel Bars; EqualLeg Steel Angle Bars; Rerolled Steel Bars; Low Carbon Steel Wires and Steel Wire Nails.

OIL firms announced on Monday they will increase gasoline and diesel pump prices today, Tuesday. A n additional P0.90 per liter will be added to gasoline prices and P1.05 per liter for diesel. Meanwhile, kerosene prices will go down by P0.25 per liter.

Seaoil, Shell, Total, Unioil, Caltex, Petron, PTT, and Phoenix announced the price adjustment, which takes effect at 6 a.m. of Tuesday, February

21. Cleanfuel said it will implement the same amount at 4:01 p.m.

L ast February 14, oil companies implemented a per liter decrease of P2.20 for diesel and P2.50 for kerosene. No movement has been effected on the price of gasoline. These resulted to a year-to-date net decrease for diesel at P2.15/ liter and kerosene at P0.25/liter. Gasoline remains at a net increase of P5.10/liter. Movements in the world oil market affect local pump prices, oil firms said. Last week, Russia announced

FARMERS belonging to the Unyon ng Manggagawa sa Agrikultura and the Malayang Kilusang Samahang Magsasaka ng Tinang (Makisama-Tinang) denounced on Monday the Municipal Agrarian Reform Office (MARO) in Concepcion, Tarlac for allegedly defying the directive of Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado Estrella III to install agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) on their CARP-awarded lands.

T his after the MARO in Concepcion, Tarlac erected a tarpaulin billboard bearing a list of 237 “potential beneficiaries” last February 17, instructing them to participate in a validation activity at the Barangay Tinang Covered Court on February 20, 21, and 27.

This, they say, is contradictory to their official status as ARBs, as the list referred to the farmers as mere “claimants,” hence, reversing their validated status by the agency as early as 1996.

They said the announcement was made 10 days after Estrella himself, accompanied by Undersecretary Napoleon Galit of DAR’s legal affairs, held a dialogue with members of the Makisama-Tinang wherein the officials vowed to install the original ARBs who were already acknowledged and validated by DAR almost three decades ago within 45 days.

They said the revalidation ordered by the Concepcion, Tarlac MARO is subjecting the same ARBs to another round of validation that undermined the national office’s authority. They suspect that local officials of Concepcion

plans to cut crude production by 500,000 barrels per day after a price cap was imposed on Russian oil and oil products by the West.

T he Philippines does not directly import crude oil from Russia. It imports its finished products from China, South Korea, and Japan. These countries are the ones importing crude oil from Russia.

T he Department of Energy (DOE) said about 42 percent of the 5 million barrels per day of crude oil Russia exports is shipped to the Asia Pacific region.

are manipulating the DAR Concepcion, Tarlac process. UMA spokesman John Milton “Ka Butch” Lozande said a revalidation process had taken place as recently as June 20, almost two weeks after the alleged illegal arrest of 83 of their members. He said at least 178 of the original list of 236 ARBs should be installed on their land, insisting the legitimacy of their Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA).

“Why was MARO obscuring the fact that Tinang’s ARBs were already CLOA holders?” he asked.

UMA expressed hope that MARO’s action was not an act of retaliation by the local chief executive of Concepcion after the Ombudsman’s ruled that the complaint against the Concepcion police force, filed by the “Tinang 83” on July 26, was “sufficient in form and substance.”

Among the almost 30 police officers implicated was Police Lt. Col. Reynold Macabitas who had been seen receiving instructions from the mayor of Concepcion, on the day of the mass arrest, Lozande alleged.

“We respectfully urge Sec. Estrella to clarify DAR’s position on the matter, fast-track the installation of Tinang ARBs on their 200-hectare land, and look into why MARO officials have been throwing farmers under the bus in favor of Villanueva,” stated UMA acting chairperson Ariel “Ka Ayik” Casilao. “Please don’t let unscrupulous officials break the hearts of our farmers all over again.” Jonathan L. Mayuga

WHAT do ethics have to do with compliance?

Businesses have to have a clear vision of ethical standards and have to understand how compliance filters down throughout the company and how it impacts business performance.

Culture and ethics

THE ethical standards that the company wants to operate by must filter down efficiently within the organization. The culture should be founded on openness, humanism, collaboration, and should allow employees to speak up and raise problems which need solving. Compliance must be part of the business and be fully embedded in the overall business processes.

Compliance and commerce

COMPLIANCE officers have to understand the business that they’re in and the challenges faced by their colleagues. This way they can work with the team to design effective programs. This requires engaging with procurement or treasury teams to understand their decisionmaking process. They all bring a different perspective to the table, which allows compliance to get under the skin of the business and design solutions which are effective.

Perceptions of Compliance

COMPLIANCE has historically been about rules, about policy. But it is more than that today. It’s about behaviors, it’s about governance; most people want to do the right thing and the role of compliance is to show them what the right thing is. This could include considering cultural norms in different parts of the world or thinking two steps ahead of the situation and its implications.

Fundamentally, people want to

THE compliance world is unrecognizable from where it was even 10 to 15 years ago. The mood around the world and actions by different governments have transformed the corporate approach to ethics and the focus on sustainability, simplicity and effectiveness.

Navigating change

THE new tranche of Russian sanctions issued by the US Government are a prime example of the kind of challenges compliance professionals are faced with. This has been a learning curve for everybody from procurement to supply chain teams. Similarly, the pandemic has necessitated having compliance at the front and center of the business. We won’t know the answer to every question, but we need to know where to get the answer and get the answer quickly.

Technology

A LOT of thought goes into technology and the tools compliance might need to operate on excel or on paper. There are systems in place to monitor learning, due diligence, digital document signing, integrations and interactions between systems, and a whole host of other effective platforms.

The Future of Compliance

THE role of compliance is to drive corporate activity forward in an ethical way. The days when it was a competitive disadvantage to abide by compliance are over. It will now be a competitive advantage! Compliance will no longer be about reading external rules and procedures but will be about learnt behaviors. Children and adults alike learn most through doing and that’s what the future of compliance will be guided by. I hope you enjoyed this “excursion” on compliance, ethics, and integrity in doing successful business.

Feedback would be appreciated; contact me at hjschumacher59@gmail.com

BIG-TICKET infrastructure projects of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) may be the key to reviving the country’s tourism industry and boost economic benefits of those in the provinces.

seizes ₧740K worth of substandard steel angle bars

‘Revalidation’ of Concepcion, Tarlac potential ARB list sparks controversy

target resolver group and route tickets, do remote trouble shooting, install/uninstall applications for incidents raised by customers.

Basic Qualification: The position will require candidates to take calls using any of the 6 languages to support our clients with their IT-related incidents and request. Some of the roles and responsibilities for the role include perform initial triage for IT issues raised by customers log, track, and update incidents, attempt first time fix resolution for known issues, identify target resolver group and route tickets, do remote trouble shooting, install/uninstall applications for incidents raised by customers.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 -

mission and long term goals.

Basic Qualification: Proven experience as mandarin safety officer, familiarity, knowledge and awareness on machinery and heavy equipment use by company. Demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plan.

Basic Qualification: Proven experience as mandarin safety officer, familiarity, knowledge and awareness on machinery and heavy equipment use by company. Demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plan.

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mission and

ZHANG, DENENG Mandarin Chief Radio Officer Brief Job Description: The mandarin chief radio officer will be a strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goals.

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BAO, ZHENGSHI Mandarin Cruise Director Brief Job Description: The mandarin cruise director will be a strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goals.

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The mandarin deck officer will be a strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goals.

LIANG, JUNHUA Mandarin Deck Officer

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The mandarin deck radio officer will be a strategist and a leader able to steer the company to the most profitable direction while also implementing its vision, mission and long term goals.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Proven experience as mandarin safety officer, familiarity, knowledge and awareness on machinery and heavy equipment use by company. Demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plan.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification: Proven experience as mandarin safety officer, familiarity, knowledge and awareness on machinery and heavy equipment use by company. Demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plan.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification:

Proven experience as mandarin safety officer, familiarity, knowledge and awareness on machinery and heavy equipment use by company. Demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plan.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Basic Qualification:

Proven experience as mandarin safety officer, familiarity, knowledge and awareness on machinery and heavy equipment use by company. Demonstrable experience in developing strategic business plan.

Salary Range: Php 30,000 - Php 59,999

Iran nuclear inspectors detect uranium enriched to 84% purity

INTERNATIONAL atomic monitors in Iran

last week detected uranium enriched to levels just below that needed for a nuclear weapon, according to two senior diplomats, underscoring the risk that the country’s unrestrained atomic activities could prompt a new crisis.

The International Atomic Energy Agency is trying to clarify how Iran accumulated uranium enriched to 84 percent purity—the highest level found by inspectors in the country to date, and a concentration just 6 percent below what’s needed for a weapon.

Iran had previously told the IAEA that its centrifuges were configured to enrich uranium to a 60 percent level of purity.

Inspectors need to determine whether Iran intentionally produced the material, or whether the concentration was an unintended accumulation within the network of pipes connecting the hundreds of fast-spinning centrifuges used to separate the isotopes. It’s the second time this month that monitors have detected suspicious enrichment-related activities.

A senior Iranian nuclear official denied Iran had enriched uranium beyond 60 percent purity “so far” and dismissed the development as “a smear and a distortion of the facts.”

“The existence of uranium particles above 60 percent does not mean the same thing as enrichment above 60 percent,” Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran told the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency.

The IAEA responded on Sunday and said it is discussing with Iran the results of the agency’s recent verification activities and will inform its board of directors as appropriate, according to a tweet citing IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi.

The development comes as Iran is increasingly isolated from the West and nuclear talks with world powers remain suspended. The country

has also faced widespread condemnation for its deadly crackdown on major protests and the US and European Union have tightened sanctions on Iran over its military support for Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Earlier on Sunday, Israel blamed Iran for a February 10 attack on an oil tanker in the Arabian Sea. The incident came about a fortnight after a drone strike on a weapons depot near Iran’s city of Isfahan that Tehran blamed on Israel.

The IAEA is preparing its quarterly Iran safeguards report ahead of a March 6 Board of Governors meeting in Vienna, where the Persian Gulf nation’s nuclear work will figure prominently on the agenda.

Ir an hasn’t submitted required forms declaring its intention to raise uranium enrichment levels at two facilities near the towns of Natanz and Fordow, according to one diplomat.

Even if the detected material was mistakenly accumulated because of technical difficulties in operating the centrifuge cascades—something that has happened before—it underscores the danger of Iran’s decision to produce highly enriched uranium, the other diplomat said.

T he IAEA has repeatedly said levels even at just 60 percent are technically indistinguishable from the level needed for a nuclear weapon. Most nuclear power reactors use material enriched to 5 percent purity.

A nuclear deal bet ween Iran and world powers unraveled after then-President Donald Trump withdrew the US in 2018 and reimposed sanctions. In response, Iranian officials expanded the country’s nuclear program. Tehran denies it’s seeking to build atomic warheads but concerns it might develop the technology to do so propelled years of diplomacy that led to the deal with world powers.

Grossi called the atomic deal an “empty shell” last month and said Iran has sufficient nuclear material for several weapons, should it make the political decision to move forward.

Bloomberg News

Sunak gears up for biggest political test with Brexit deal

RISHI SUNAK is gearing up for the biggest political test of his premiership as he prepares to unveil a deal with the European Union that risks a standoff with Northern Ireland unionists and members of his own party.

A solution t o the impasse in Northern Ireland would enable the UK to reset relations with the EU, its biggest trading partner, more than the three years after Britain formally left the bloc. The prime minister also hopes to persuade the Democratic Unionist Party to drop its veto on the formation of Northern Ireland’s power-sharing executive. They’ve blocked its functioning for more than a year in protest at the so-called protocol, the portion of the Brexit deal governing the region’s unique place in the EU and UK’s trading markets.

Though the timing of a final agreement remains fluid, plans have been drawn up for an announcement as soon as this week. Sunak oversaw a diplomatic flurry in recent days, holding meetings with parties in Northern Ireland and with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to lay the groundwork.

D espite newspaper reports of a Monday announcement, it’s now likely to be pushed back by at least a day as Sunak continues to engage with the EU and the DUP, a senior government official said.

Sunak’s approach toward his own Tory MPs switched course over the weekend. Having kept even most ministers in the dark about the status of a deal so far, government whips began contacting MPs on Saturday for their views on the shape of a final agreement. They echoed Sunak’s words at the Munich Security Conference, telling MPs that progress had been made but more work was required.

That sparked the revival of old Brexit debates in WhatsApp group chats of Tory MPs over the weekend, with the role of the European Court of Justice in Northern Ireland at the forefront of their minds.

Though Sunak has secured 90 percent of his demands in the talks with the EU, he’s been unable to convince the bloc that the ECJ should have no role in Northern Ireland, people close to the UK side said. The EU, for its part, has assured

N. Korea makes fresh threats, US bombers fly after ICBM test

member states that the integrity of the single market and the ECJ will be respected.

Former party leader Iain Duncan Smith wrote in the Telegraph on Saturday that “so long as EU law and regulations apply to Northern Ireland, leaving the province outside the UK’s own single market and the remit of exclusively UK law, the DUP cannot go back into the Assembly.”

Johnson intervenes

MEANWHILE , former premier Boris Johnson continues to be a thorn in Sunak’s side.

H e believes Sunak would be making a great mistake if he drops the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill—legislation Johnson and Liz Truss introduced to allow ministers to unilaterally rewrite the bulk of the protocol—a person close to him said. Until Johnson has seen the text of a deal he can’t come to a judgment on the terms of the agreement, the person said.

Government minister Penny Mordaunt told Sky News on Sunday that Johnson’s intervention wasn’t “completely unhelpful” and said the DUP’s seven tests for an agreement to get their seal of approval, is the bar that the government’s deal “has to get over.”

The use of the bill would depend on the kind of deal struck and the government already has the powers needed to implement a negotiated agreement, a senior government official said.

Brexit purists

MEANWHILE the DUP remains in close communication with the European Research Group of hardline Brexit Tory MPs. Though some have privately conceded they don’t have the power to block any new agreement, the ERG plans to meet Tuesday, the outcome of which could undermine Sunak’s ability to gain the DUP’s endorsement.

S unak may have to proceed without the support of some Northern Ireland unionists and Tory Brexiteers, though he hopes to win others round. A government official told Bloomberg there were three possible outcomes: that the DUP agrees to a deal and it proceeds unopposed; a more likely scenario in which some DUP and ERG MPs oppose an agreement but can’t block it; and one in which Sunak attempts further negotiations, largely for show. With assistance from Alex Wickham and Joe Mayes/Bloomberg

The United States responded by flying long-range supersonic bombers in a show of force later Sunday for separate joint exercises with South Korean and Japanese warplanes.

Saturday’s ICBM test, the North’s first missile test since January 1, signals its leader Kim Jong Un is using his rivals’ drills as a chance to expand his country’s nuclear arsenal to get the upper hand in future dealings with the United States. An expert says North Korea may seek to hold regular operational exercises involving its ICBMs.

North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said its launch of the Hwasong-15 ICBM was organized “suddenly” without prior notice at Kim’s direct order.

KCNA said the launch was designed to verify the weapon’s reliability and the combat readiness of the country’s nuclear force. It said the missile was fired at a high angle and reached a maximum altitude of about 5,770 kilometers (3,585 miles), flying a distance of about 990 kilometers (615 miles) for 67 minutes before accurately hitting a pre-set area in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.

The steep-angle launch was apparently to avoid neighboring countries. The flight details reported by North Korea, which roughly matched the launch information previously assessed by its neighbors, show the weapon is theoretically capable of reaching the mainland US if fired at a standard trajectory.

The Hwasong-15 launch demonstrated the North’s “powerful physical nuclear deterrent” and its efforts to “turn its capacity of fatal nuclear counterattack on the hostile forces” into an extremely

strong one that cannot be countered, KCNA said.

Whether North Korea has a functioning nuclear-tipped ICBM is still a source of outside debate, as some experts say the North hasn’t mastered a way to protect warheads from the severe conditions of atmospheric reentry. The North says it has acquired such a technology.

The Hwasong-15 is one of North Korea’s three existing ICBMs, all of which use liquid propellants that require pre-launch injections and cannot remain fueled for extended periods. The North is pushing to build a solid-fueled ICBM, which would be more mobile and harder to detect before its launch.

“Kim Jong Un has likely determined that the technical reliability of the country’s liquid propellant ICBM force has been sufficiently tested and evaluated to now allow for regular operational exercises of this kind,” said Ankit Panda, an expert with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Chang Young-keun, a missile expert at Korea Aerospace University in South Korea, said that North Korea appeared to have launched an upgraded version of the Hwasong-15 ICBM. Chang said the information provided by North Korea showed the missile will likely have a longer potential range than the standard Hwasong-15.

Later Sunday, US B-1B bombers and other aircraft separately trained with South Korean and Japanese fighter jets over and near the Korean Peninsula. A South Korean military statement said Sunday’s training reaffirmed Washington’s “iron-clad” security commitment to South Korea.

North Korea is sensitive to the

deployment of US B-1B bombers, which are capable of carrying a huge payload of conventional weapons.

The North’s launch came a day after it vowed an “unprecedentedly” strong response over a series of military drills that Seoul and Washington plan in coming weeks.

In a statement Sunday, Kim

Yo Jong, the influential sister of Kim Jong Un, accused South Korea and the US of “openly showing their dangerous greed and attempt to gain the military upper hand and predominant position in the Korean Peninsula.”

“I warn that we will watch every movement of the enemy and take corresponding and very powerful and overwhelming counteraction against its every move hostile to us,” she said.

North Korea has steadfastly slammed regular South KoreaUS military drills as an invasion rehearsal though the allies say their exercises are defensive in nature.

“By now, we know that any action taken by the US and South Korea—however justified from the vantage point of defense and deterrence against [North Korea’s] reckless behavior—will be construed and protested as an act of hostility by North Korea,” said Soo Kim, a security analyst at the California-based RAND Corporation. “There will always be fodder for [Kim Jong Un’s] weapons provocations.”

“With nuclear weapons in tow and having mastered the art of coercion and bullying, Kim does not need ‘self-defense.’ But pitting the US and South Korea as the aggressors allows Kim to

justify his weapons development,” Soo Kim said.

US National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said the US will take all necessary measures to ensure the security of the American homeland and South Korea and Japan. South Korea’s presidential National Security Council said it will seek to strengthen its “overwhelming response capacity” against potential North Korean aggression based on the military alliance with the United States.

The South Korean and US militaries plan to hold a tabletop exercise this week to hone a joint response to a potential use of nuclear weapons by North Korea. The allies are also to conduct another joint computer simulated exercise and field training in March.

The foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan, meeting on the sidelines of a security conference in Germany on Saturday, agreed to boost a trilateral cooperation involving the United States and exchanged in-depth views on the issue of Japan’s colonial-era mobilization of forced Korean laborers—a key sticking point in efforts to improve their ties, according to Seoul’s Foreign Ministry.

South Korea and Japan are both key US allies but often spat over issues stemming from Tokyo’s 1910-1945 colonial occupation of the Korean Peninsula. But North Korea’s recent missile testing spree is pushing the two countries to explore how to reinforce their security cooperation.

The Associated Press writer Yuri Kageyama in Tokyo contributed to this report

Heavy rains leave 36 dead in Brazil; Carnival canceled

SÃO PAULO—Heavy rain caused flooding and landslides that have killed 36 people in Brazil’s north Sao Paulo state, officials said Sunday, and the fatalities could rise.

São Paulo state government said in a statement that 35 died in the city of São Sebastiao and a 7-year-old girl was killed in neighboring Ubatuba.

The cities of São Sebastiao, Ubatuba, Ilhabela and Bertioga, some of the hardest hit and now under state of calamity, canceled their Carnival festivities as rescue teams struggle to find missing, injured and feared dead in the rubble.

“Our rescue teams are not managing to get to several locations; it is a chaotic situation,” said Felipe Augusto, the mayor of São Sebastiao. Later, he added there are dozens of people missing and that 50

houses collapsed in the city due to the landslides.

Augusto posted on social media several videos of widespread destruction in his city, including one of baby being rescued by locals lined up on a flooded street.

Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on Twitter he will visit the region Monday.

São Paulo state government said in a statement that precipitation in the region has surpassed 600 millimeters (23.6 inches) in one day, one of the highest amounts ever in Brazil in such a short period.

Bertioga alone had 687 millimeters during that period, the state government said.

Gov. Tarcisio de Freitas said in a statement he requested support from the army, which sent two airplanes and rescue teams to the region.

TV footage showed houses flooded with only the roof visible. Residents are using small boats to

carry items and people to higher positions. A road that connects Rio de Janeiro to the port city of Santos was blocked by landslides and floodwaters.

SEOUL, South Korea—North Korea said Sunday its latest intercontinental ballistic missile test was meant to further bolster its “fatal” nuclear attack capacity and threatened additional powerful steps over upcoming military drills between the United States and South Korea.

‘90 seconds to total global

catastrophe’

‘Iknow not with what weapons world war III will be fought, but world war IV will be fought with sticks and stones”—Albert Einstein. The world Economic Forum said the risks of a Third world war are enormous. “If we add in all the means and methods of warfare—conventional, nuclear, cyber, drones, and so on —we have the military potential to destroy ourselves entirely.”

Almost 78 years after World War II ended, are we on the verge of another world war?

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned last week that as the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine approaches, the world is facing a convergence of challenges “unlike any in our lifetimes,” and this could lead to a wider war.

“One month ago, we turned the calendar on a new year. But just days ago, another clock turned—the so-called Doomsday clock. Atomic scientists, including Albert Einstein, created that symbolic clock 76 years ago. Year after year, experts have measured humanity’s proximity to midnight—in other words, to self-destruction,” Guterres said.

He added: “In 2023, they surveyed the state of the world—with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the runaway climate catastrophe, rising nuclear threats that are undermining global norms and institutions. And they came to a clear conclusion. The Doomsday Clock is now 90 seconds to midnight, which means 90 seconds to total global catastrophe. This is the closest the clock has ever stood to humanity’s darkest hour—and closer than even during the height of the Cold War. In truth, the Doomsday Clock is a global alarm clock. We need to wake up—and get to work.”

Guterres lamented that “wars grind on. The climate crisis burns on. Extreme wealth and extreme poverty rage on. The gulf between the haves and have nots is cleaving societies, countries and our wider world, and epic geopolitical divisions are undermining global solidarity and trust.”

“This path is a dead end. We need a course correction. The UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights point the way out of this dead end. They are a source of solutions and a source of hope. Let us draw from that source, let us draw from that hope, and act decisively before it’s too late. Time is short. And the clock is ticking,” Guterres said.

He added: “It is also time to bring disarmament and arms control back to the center—reducing strategic threats from nuclear arms and working for their ultimate elimination. Nuclear-armed countries must renounce the first use of these unconscionable weapons. In fact, they must renounce any use, anytime, anywhere. The so-called “tactical” use of nuclear weapons is an absurdity. We are at the highest risk in decades of a nuclear war that could start by accident or design. We need to end the threat posed by 13,000 nuclear weapons held in arsenals around the world.”

The secretary-general said the world must work harder for peace, not only in Ukraine but in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict “where the twostate solution is growing more distant by the day,” in Afghanistan where the rights of women and girls “are being trampled and deadly terrorist attacks continue,” and in Africa’s Sahel region where security is deteriorating “at an alarming rate.”

He also called for intensified peace efforts in Myanmar to stop the violence and repression, in Haiti where gangs are holding the country hostage, “and elsewhere around the world for the two billion people who live in countries affected by conflict and humanitarian crises.”

“The good news is that we know how to turn things around—on climate, on finance, on conflict resolution, on and on. And we know that the costs of inaction far exceed the costs of action. But the strategic vision—the long-term thinking and commitment—is missing. We need to change the mindset of decision making,” Guterres said.

“My message today comes down to this: Don’t focus solely on what may happen to you today—and dither. Look at what will happen to all of us tomorrow—and act.”

State visit to Japan

STATE visits should not be frowned upon. They are the strongest expression of friendly bilateral relations between two nations and characterized by official public ceremonies. They are an affirmation of the decades-old bonds between two sovereign states from which relations are cemented and developed further.

The state visit of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to Japan from February 8 to 12, which I joined as part of the high-level private sector delegation, is a smashing success, based on the numerous commercial deals and defense and political arrangements signed between the two Asian nations. I want to focus on the financial and investment deals forged during Mr. Marcos’s visit to Japan. The list is quite long but I will cite some of them based on their immediate impact on Philippine economic growth and job creation.

The Philippines and Japan signed 34 investment agreements worth about $13 billion, comprising of closed deals and prospective ones.

The Philippines can expect more investment deals and pledges in the

The Philippines and Japan signed 34 investment agreements worth about $13 billion, comprising of closed deals and prospective ones. The Philippines can expect more investment deals and pledges in the coming months, depending on the results of discussions from a large business forum during the President’s state visit that gathered 80 Filipino businessmen and 300 Japanese companies.

commercial and investment agreements. Investment pledges include those in manufacturing, infrastructure development, energy, transportation, health care and renewable energy. They followed the first meeting between President Marcos and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo.

coming months, depending on the results of discussions from a large business forum during the President’s state visit that gathered 80 Filipino businessmen and 300 Japanese companies.

Japanese investments aside, Tokyo is the Philippines’s biggest source of cheap official development assistance funds. Mr. Marcos’s official visit resulted in the signing of several loan agreements and extensions for Philippine infrastructure projects, including a $3-billion exchange of notes to finance major commuter rail projects.

The official funding covers the construction of the North-South Commuter Railway and its extension, also known as the Clark-Calamba Railway, a 147-kilometer stretch that is now under construction. This in-

frastructure project is a game changer that will bolster our economic expansion in the near future. It aims to improve connectivity within the Greater Manila Area and integrate Luzon’s railway network.

The Philippine railway network is probably one of the most underdeveloped in Asia—an anomaly in a modernizing economy as reflected in daily traffic jams in the metropolis.

I am pleased to learn that the Department of Transportation through Secretary Jaime Bautista and Japan International Cooperation Agency agreed to plan three to four more underground railway systems in Metro Manila that will extend all the way to Cavite province.

President Marcos’s state visit, as I have mentioned earlier, led to many

To name a few, the business agreements include a wiring harness manufacturing expansion project with Asti Corp.; a printer manufacturing expansion project with Brother Industries Ltd.; a hotel construction project with DoubleDragon Corp. and Iwata Chizaki Inc.; and a factory expansion project with Japan Tobacco Inc.

Also included in the list are a new factory for auto parts with Kurabe Industrial Co, Ltd.; energy, transportation, health care and afforestation projects with Marubeni Corp.; an automobile manufacturing expansion project and a commitment renewal to meet production targets with Mitsubishi Motors Corp. Mitsubishi Corp., one of Japan’s sogo sosha, expressed interest in Philippine infrastructure, transportation, commercial and residential real estate development and mass housing projects in the Philippines.

My own Villar Group is expanding its partnership with Mitsubishi Estate Corp., among the 35 letters See “Villar,” A11

The middle class OuTSIDE THE BOX

For an economy to be successful, the government and society in general must encourage and facilitate upward economic mobility, the ability of an individual to move up through the economic classes ideally to the top of earners and wealth holders.

Opportunities for education are critical. The taxation system must give a break to those who make less income. Likewise, creativity and innovation must also, if not rewarded, at least not hobbled by government rules and regulation.

The society must also view “winners” as role models and not looked down upon as people who “got lucky” or with “crab mentality.” Can every child grow up to be the president of the nation or a multi-billion-peso enterprise owner? No, but every child must be trained and given as many tools as possible to reach as far as hard-work, smart-work, and ambition can carry that person.

Why is upward mobility imperative? It is that there is one group

that is the engine of the economic bus that carries all the rest down the road to prosperity.

When the Bureau of Customs talks about meeting its revenue targets, who paid for it? The Middle Class. Who “bought” the more than “P455 million in humanitarian and development aid to Visayas and Mindanao that Philippine Red Cross Chairman Richard J. Gordon reported.” The Middle Class. Who was responsible for “car sales post double-digit growth in January, tracking economic recovery?” And who created that economic recovery? The Middle Class.

It is The Middle Class that operates, manages, and is then the customers of companies owned by the

When the Bureau of Customs talks about meeting its revenue targets, who paid for it? The Middle Class. Who “bought” the more than “P455 million in humanitarian and development aid to Visayas and Mindanao that Philippine Red Cross Chairman Richard J. Gordon reported.” The Middle Class. Who was responsible for “car sales post doubledigit growth in January, tracking economic recovery?” And who created that economic recovery? The Middle Class.

“oligarchs.” It is The Middle Class whose taxes provided the pandemic “ayuda.”

The Middle Class is not first defined by income because that varies from country to country. It is defined by what a family can afford and then by how much income that requires. Home ownership is first.

According to a 2020 survey, about 60 percent of households in the Philippines occupied housing units they owned (2019 Annual Poverty Indicators Survey). However, less than 50 percent own a car. Other factors include being able

to provide a college education for the children, retirement security, and enough healthcare insurance coverage. According to the data from the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), the income to be called rich for an average household of five is a monthly net income of P182,000 and up. This benchmark increases as the economy and inflation goes up. In 2020, to be part of The Middle Class a family needed at least P63,700 and that number is definitely higher today. The latest Family Income and Expenditure Survey by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) shows that majority (58.4 percent) of Filipinos belong to the low-income class, while the middle class comprises around 40 percent of the population. Only 1.4 percent of Filipinos are in the highincome class.

Spending is a factor. Low-income families spend more than 50 percent on food. Middle income spends twice as much as low-income on education and healthcare. While inflation affects everyone, to the middle class, it has a much bigger implication. When the cost of living or tax increases, they feel the brunt of thee increases. In

Pinoy Marino Rights

IN the guise of protecting mariners, the inclusion of an escrow provision in the proposed Magna Carta for Filipino Seafarers is unconstitutional and anti-labor.

The inclusion of said escrow provision will go beyond the benevolent objective of the Magna Carta at the expense of curtailing seafarers’ rights.

The employers and manning agencies again proposed the provision, which in essence aimed to amend the Labor Code that will have significant impact on the “immediately final and executory” nature of decisions issued by National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) and the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB).

They stressed that such move is necessary to ensure the restitution of monetary awards in case the appropriate appellate court annuls or partially or totally reverses the monetary judgment award. The proceeds shall remain in escrow until such time the finality of the decision issued by the appropriate appellate court is obtained.

The provision is a mere dilatory tactic in the execution of the seafarers’ monetary awards and violates the constitutional guarantee on equal protection.

The opportunities of artificial intelligence in tax

atty. Jomel n. Manaig

Tax Law foR Business

The beginning of 2023 brought some very significant events to my humble career. Among the most high profile is attending the induction ceremony of the new officers of the Management Association of the Philippines. I had the opportunity to rub elbows with some industry titans and leaders. It was a real treat for a young professional such as myself. Yes, yes. I said young so please just indulge me.

The constitutional right of equal protection shall mean that all persons or things similarly situated should be treated alike, both as to rights conferred and responsibilities imposed.

and not all of the people without violating the equal protection clause. The classification must, as an indispensable requisite, not be arbitrary.

To be valid, it must conform to the following: (1) based on substantial distinctions; (2) germane to the purposes of the law; (3) not be limited to existing conditions only and (4) apply equally to all members of the class.(People v. Cayat, GR L-45987, May 5, 1939).

If passed into law with said provision, the Magna Carta will partake of the nature of class legislation because it singles out seafarer claims from other labor claims, both local and overseas.

There lies no substantial distinction between the claims a seafarer and any other laborers.

In that ceremony, I was very fortunate to meet a gentleman that I may describe as a “logistics guru”—a veritable pundit in his field. In our tête-à-tête, he put forward a very interesting question: “How do you think the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) would affect your profession or field?”

It may sound cliché, but I thought the timing of the question was a bit serendipitous. As a way of enriching knowledge, I was reading on developments in AI the past few months or so. In the news the past couple of weeks was the introduction of ChatGPT, an AI chatbot that has gained notoriety due to its believable responses and answers. Before that, there was the AI program developed by Midjourney, which generates images based only on text inputs and descriptions.

ChatGPT was able to answer exam questions from a law school in Minnesota and got a passing grade. On the other hand, Midjourney was able

For the BIR, using AI to analyze inputs (also known as machine learning) in tax returns and processing the resulting data could make analysis more effortless and would contribute to a more efficient tax examination. AI may also be designed in such a way that analysis could take into account certain circumstances attendant in a particular transaction.

that even with the world’s most advanced AI, it still boils down to the quality of information being entered into the system.

to create stunning images just from a few words typed in a keyboard and with absolutely no brushstroke. It just shows the power of AI. So, going back to our logistics savant’s question, how would it affect my field? Specifically, how do I think it will affect tax?

Short for a long answer, AI can make tax administration more accurate. For the BIR, using AI to analyze inputs (also known as machine learning) in tax returns and processing the resulting data could make analysis more effortless and would contribute to a more efficient tax examination. AI may also be designed in such a way that analysis could take into account certain circumstances attendant in a particular transaction.

AI may also assist the BIR in strategic decision-making. Sound data-analytics can direct the BIR’s efforts and limited resources to certain high-risk transactions and taxpayers thereby increasing the

likelihood of actually unearthing inaccuracies in tax reporting and even tax fraud. This is a better alternative to letters of authority being issued left and right to taxpayers that are compliant when it comes to tax reporting.

Transfer pricing is an area of tax that the competent use of AI would be beneficial. AI may be used to perform the process of comparison with comparable entities or transactions instead of having it done manually.

For taxpayers, AI may be used to simplify the various rules and regulations and help organizations flag doubtful transactions or tax treatments. It would raise the compliance level of the taxpayers and avoid looming tax exposures.

With all the benefits of AI, does it mean that tax professionals like me may lose their jobs in the near future? Fortunately, that may not be the case.

It should be noted that the use of technology is not something new in tax administration. Both the BIR and taxpayers have been using AI, in one form or another, in their processes. However, we should all remember

To illustrate, the current version of ChatGPT is only trained on data through September 2021. In other words, ChatGPT is still unable to respond or give answers to questions requiring information that came about later than September 2021. For the Midjourney AI, the quality of the image would depend on how well the description is worded. If the writer is not that eloquent in describing what she envisions, then the Midjourney AI may find it more difficult to create the desired image.Applying AI limitations to tax, if declarations made by taxpayers are inaccurate, reliance by the BIR on those declarations in their assessments would always be problematic. On the other hand, if the BIR would rely on these faulty declarations, then it is not maximizing its efforts and the taxpayer would simply provide detailed explanations as a defense.

For now, fellow tax professionals, we may still heave a collectively sigh of relief. Our jobs seem to be secure… for the time being.

The author is a junior partner of Du-Baladad and Associates Law Offices (BDB Law), a memberfirm of WTS Global.

The article is for general information only and is not intended, nor should be construed as a substitute for tax, legal or financial advice on any specific matter. Applicability of this article to any actual or particular tax or legal issue should be supported therefore by a professional study or advice. If you have any comments or questions concerning the article, you may e-mail the author at jomel.manaig@ bdblaw.com.ph or call 8403-2001 local 380.

US-China meeting only worsens tensions over balloon, Russia

The provision makes a rash generalization that cases filed by lawyers in the seafaring practice are merely after financial gain, and not to protect the seafarer’s rights, all based on an unsubstantiated and likewise unfair generalization that all such lawyers are ambulance chasers.

There is an invalid classification that runs counter to the Constitutional provision, which provides that “no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor shall any person be denied the equal protection of the laws.” (Article II, Section 1).

The constitutional right of equal protection shall mean that all persons or things similarly situated should be treated alike, both as to rights conferred and responsibilities imposed.

Class legislation denies rights to one which are accorded to others, or inflicts upon one individual a more severe penalty than is imposed upon another in like case offending. ( Executive Secretary v. Court of Appeals, GR 131719, May 25, 2004)

The Supreme Court elucidated upon the concept of equal protection of the laws in the case of Nuñez v. Sandiganbayan, (197 Phil. 407): “xxx that the laws operate equally and uniformly on all persons under similar circumstances or that all persons must be treated in the same manner, the conditions not being different, both in the privileges conferred and the liabilities imposed. Favoritism and undue preference cannot be allowed. For the principle is that equal protection and security shall be given to every person under circumstances which, if not identical, are analogous. If law be looked upon in terms of burden or charges, those that fall within a class should be treated in the same fashion, whatever restrictions cast on some in the group equally binding on the rest.”

Legislative bodies are allowed to classify the subjects of legislation. If the classification is reasonable, the law may operate only on some

Continued from A10

of intent and agreement signed during the productive trip. MEC in 2022 entered the Philippine residential market through a partnership with the Villar Group. We have formed a 60:40 joint venture that will develop a mixed-use, high-rise condominium along the Taft University Belt—home to 100,000 col-

In the same vein, the provision should highlight the fact that the act of ambulance chasing transcends other fields of practice, and is not solely found in the seafaring practice.

The provision is unduly oppressive, unreasonable, and is repugnant to the Constitution.

It undermines the Constitutional mandate to protect the rights of OFWs and to promote their welfare when it deprives seafarers an avenue to receive the fruits of their legal battle.

Gabriela party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas sought the deletion of escrow provision, claiming that it places primacy on the discretion of employers in determining the contested and uncontested amount.

“This is a big red flag. This overturns the hard-fought battle of seafarers for their claims. The ruling of the NLRC commissioners should suffice for the awarding of benefits and claims. Why should we let seafarers suffer for any potential error in judgment by the commissioners?”

Brosas explained.

The escrow provision will downplay the seafarers’ rights guaranteed by the constitution instead of protecting their rights and promoting their welfare.

Atty. Gorecho heads the seafarers’ division of the Sapalo Velez Bundang Bulilan law offices. For comments, e-mail info@sapalovelez.com, or call 0917-5025808 or 0908-8665786.

legiate and post-graduate students, faculty members and administrative personnel, and with at least 13 universities and colleges over a four-kilometer stretch.

Agriculture and tourism investments are also among the agreements covered by the state visit.

Japan’s prime minister supported the President’s priority agenda to maintain the competitiveness of Philippine agriculture and achieve food security, while increasing

The US and China came to Germany last weekend looking to patch up a new rift opened by the uproar over a Chinese balloon. But a meeting between their top diplomats showed how difficult it will be to compromise.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken and China’s State Councilor Wang Yi traded barbs on everything from the balloon and Taiwan to North Korea and Russia in their first meeting since the high-altitude craft traversed the US and provoked an acrimonious round of finger pointing.

The top US diplomat also said China was weighing whether to give Russia weapons for its war in Ukraine, a move that would ratchet up tension even further.

It all underscored how, for all the claims from President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping about their desire to steady ties, neither side seems capable of doing so. What was meant to pave the way for a Blinken trip to Beijing—he canceled a visit once the balloon was spotted—only seemed to make prospects more remote. And while Biden said last week he would speak with Xi to defuse tensions, there was no indication of when that might happen.

“The relationship is becoming more brittle,” said Kori Schake, director of foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute who has previously worked in the US State Department and Pentagon. “If China mirrors to Russia the assistance the West is providing Ukraine, it will cement the RussoChinese alliance and also Western perceptions of China as a malevolent international force.”

The rest of the world is watching. Leaders from places like Brazil and

farm productivity and farmers’ income.

To sum it up, the results of President Marcos’s Japan’s state visit are encouraging for Philippine business and the ordinary Filipino. It is an occasion for our chief executive to pitch first-hand the Philippine economic success story to foreign investors.

For comments, send e-mail to mbv_secretariat@vistaland.com.ph or visit www.mannyvillar. com.ph

Singapore have warned about the military and economic spillovers of a prolonged clash between the world’s two biggest economies— and expressed their unwillingness to choose between them.

Blinken sought to offer assurances, saying the US is “not looking for a new Cold War” after Wang had said the “Cold War mentality is back.”

The rocky meeting and sharp rhetoric around it demonstrated just how sour the US-China relationship is, and how both sides appear willing to squabble over petty issues. In its readout of the talks, China refused even to call it a meeting, referring to it as an “informal contact” and arguing that the two only spoke because the US made a request.

In keeping with an aggressive counter-messaging campaign the administration rolled out before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Blinken quickly did interviews with Sunday morning shows back home. He made sure Americans turning on their television sets Sunday morning heard the warning about the growing Russia-China partnership.

“We are very concerned that China is considering providing lethal support to Russia in its aggression against Ukraine,” Blinken told NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “And I made clear that that would have serious consequences in our relationship.”

China’s Wang rejected what he called the US’s “finger-pointing” when it comes to Russia, and said

Continued from A10

turn, it will push lower most of the population from the lower end of the socioeconomic spectrum because The Middle Class is the economic driver.

Hinder or damage The Middle Class, you destroy the economy, and that is what is happening in the West.

China would release a new peace proposal for Ukraine in the coming days that would be in keeping with previous efforts by Xi. Wang, who was set to fly to Moscow for meetings with top Russian officials after his stay in Munich, also met Ukraine’s foreign minister and condemned attacks on nuclear power stations.

“We oppose attacks on nuclear power stations, attacks on civilian nuclear facilities,” Wang said. “We have to work to prevent nuclear proliferation and nuclear disasters.”

‘Almost hysterical’

BU T the US appeared in no mood to consider that plan, especially given its accusation of China’s deepening ties with Russia. For months the US had warned China against providing more support to President Vladimir Putin.

What the world heard from Blinken about China’s role “underscores that we’re going to have to really up our diplomatic game,” Fiona Hill, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “A lot of other countries just don’t buy that there’s as big an issue as we see with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”

Blinken had been caught off guard earlier Saturday after Wang lashed

What’s unclear is whether the latest squabble on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference represented some healthy venting that they can now get past, or yet another signal that the US and China remain stuck in a cycle of recriminations that is only going to push them closer to conflict. Villar.

They are facing a move to Neofeudalism, “the rebirth of policies reminiscent of those which were present in feudal societies. Such aspects include unequal legal rights, dominance of societies by small powerful elite groups, and relations of lordship and serfdom between those elite and the people.”

“The net result of hyper-globalization and hyper-financialization is the crumbling of the middle class, which has seen its share of wealth

out at the US during a speech, calling Biden’s decision to shoot down the balloon over American airspace and the heightened state of alert “incomprehensible and almost hysterical.”

The US said the balloon over the US was part of a fleet of spy devices directed by China’s People’s Liberation Army. China countered that the craft was a harmless weather balloon that had blown off course and claimed the US had flown similar airships over China—claims the White House has rejected.

‘Better than nothing’

W H AT ’S unclear is whether the latest squabble on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference represented some healthy venting that they can now get past, or yet another signal that the US and China remain stuck in a cycle of recriminations that is only going to push them closer to conflict.

There are areas where the two sides would benefit from cooperation, such as climate change and nuclear proliferation.

In a readout from the meeting, State Department spokesman Ned Price said Blinken had condemned a new intercontinental ballistic missile launch by North Korea “and emphasized the need for responsible powers to respond to such significant international challenges”—diplomatic language for the US demand that China exert its influence and curb such launches.

“A meeting is always better than nothing,” said Henry Wang Huiyao, founder of the Center for China a nd Globalization, a policy research group in Beijing. “Both sides appeared to be tough—they both have domestic audiences to cater to.” With assistance from Jing Li / Bloomberg.

and income eroded for the past 45 years, a trend that accelerated in the past 20 years,” says Charles Hugh Smith. Protect The Middle Class and you protect the economy. Grow The Middle Class and you grow the economy, and then everyone benefits.

Escrow provision in the pending Magna Carta for Filipino Seafarers is unconstitutional and anti-labor

A12 Tuesday, February 21, 2023

RCEP is vital in race for market access–Neda, FEF

THE National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) and local economists from the Foundation for Economic Freedom (FEF) expressed their staunch support for the ratification of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP).

T he Neda believes the RCEP could fast-track the country’s economic recovery from the pandemic and increase its access to non-traditional markets that would not only grow the country’s export revenues but also attract new investments.

F EF, for its part, believes delaying the ratification of the trade part will prevent the Philippines from maximizing opportunities to recover from the pandemic and generate more jobs. The FEF said out of the 15 signatory states, the Philippines is the only country that has yet to ratify RCEP. “ We, in Neda, consider RCEP to be a

vehicle that would drive our economy’s sustained growth through regional and global trade as well as through greater investment in strategic sectors. Being part of RCEP will further enhance our market access, placing us at par with other RCEP-participating countries and the world’s largest economies such as China, Japan, and Korea, among others,” Neda Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said. “ Several consultations with concerned stakeholders and studies on the subject affirm that joining RCEP would unlikely lead to a surge in agricultural imports. In any case, with or without RCEP, the government strives for a

competitive and resilient agriculture sector,” Balisacan said.

B ased on the 2021 trade data from the International Trade Center, Neda said under the RCEP, only 15 agricultural commodity groups corresponding to 33 tariff lines will have lower tariff rates compared to some ASEAN+1 FTAs.

T his is equivalent to only 1.9 percent of the total 1,718 agricultural lines and only 0.8 percent of the total agricultural imports. Of these 33 tariff lines, 17 are raw materials, 8 are intermediate products, while only 8 are final goods.

T he remaining agricultural tariff lines will have equal or higher rates compared to other ASEAN+1 FTAs, or are excluded from import tariff concessions under the RCEP.

“Joining RCEP will enhance our market access for key agri-based exports, as partner countries agreed to lower tariff rates on Philippine exports. Non-participation or delayed RCEP ratification may result in foregone opportunities. We aim to promote greater openness, create a business-friendly environment, and provide a more stable and predictable system of trade,” Balisacan said.

LABOR GROUP TO GOVT: DEFER TRAIN FARE HIKES

T he Philippines currently exports a number of products for which concessions were secured (e.g., preserved pineapples, pineapple juice, chocolate) and securing better market access for these products through RCEP opens the possibility to further widen the market base in these countries.

GDP, poverty reduction

MEANWHILE , FEF reiterated that the RCEP can contribute 1.93 percent to real GDP and reduce poverty by 3.62 percent in 2030. It will also improve the country’s trade balance by $128.2 million.

We urge the government to build on the country’s momentum to increase trade and investment opportunities in support of our country’s post-pandemic recovery and development by ratifying the RCEP,” the FEF said.

Further delaying our participation in the free trade bloc means missing out on opportunities to increase trade and investments, which in turn can create opportunities that will benefit many Filipino businesses and generate jobs,” it added.

ALABOR group has called on the government to provide transportation subsidies for workers amid the proposed “ill-timed” train fare hikes.

I n a statement, the Federation of Free Workers (FFW) said an increase in the fares of the Metro Manila Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) and the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Lines 1 and 2 will impose an additional financial burden on workers.

We are calling on the government to prioritize the welfare of workers by providing them with non-wage benefits such as health and housing assistance, as well as transportation subsidies,” FFW National Vice President Jun Ramirez said.

H e  said the government can get funding for the subsidies from rents and advertisements within MRT and LRT facilities.

T he labor leader issued the statement after the operators of LRT-1 proposed a fare increase of P17 to P44 from the current P11 to P30, while the LRT-2 management is considering adjusting their rates to P14 to P33 for store value tickets and  P15 to P35 in single value tickets.

Meanwhile, MRT-3 is considering a fare hike of P4 to P6.

T he higher fares are meant to help the MRT and LRT management offset their loses during the pandemic.

F FW rejected the planned fare hike since it will further make it harder for workers to cope with the rising cost of living.

Workers have already sacrificed so much during this pandemic. They have lost jobs, taken pay cuts, and faced numerous challenges to their livelihoods. We urge government to find a way to support the transportation system without putting more financial burden on workers,” Ramirez said.

House

panel approves substitute bill on VAT refund for tourists

THE House Committee on Ways and Means on Monday approved the substitute bill for the VAT refund for outbound tourists.

A lbay Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda, the panel chairman, said this proposal was already approved in principle by the President when it was brought up by the Private Sector Advisory Council.

I expect between P10 billion and 40 billion in increased sales from local suppliers [for the first year of its implementation].

That has the same nature, consequence, and character as exports. And we don’t even have to compete with other exporters. The audience is already captured,” Salceda said.

Save for India and Cambodia, we are the last major Asian country without an operative VAT refund system for tourists. That hurts our competitiveness for tourists with, say, Vietnam and Thailand, which now receive more tourists than we do,” said the lawmaker.

Salceda principally authored the measure along with Senior Vice Chairperson Mikaella Suansing, who chaired the technical working group drafting amendments to the original draft.

T he proposal added a new Section to the National Internal Revenue Code, which allows outbound tourists to refund goods to be taken out of the country, with a per transaction value of at least P3,000. These goods must be purchased from accredited suppliers.

“A VAT refund, as global studies show, increases the propensity to spend. Generally, for every P1 refunded, the tourist spends an additional P1.5,” said Salceda “ That will create an additional 20,000 to 80,000 jobs, and will also improve our gross international reserves,” Salceda added.

T he measure also allows the VAT refund system to be administered by a service provider, as is the prac -

tice in most jurisdictions. Under the bill, a tourist refers to a foreign passport holder who is a non-resident individual not engaged in trade or business in the Philippines.

Boost domestic tourism

SALCEDA also urged the Department of Tourism, represented in the hearings by Undersecretary Shereen Gail Pamintuan, to consider amendments to the Tourism Act or Republic Act No. 9593, to allow the Department of Tourism to grant promotional incentives for domestic tourists, particularly in the meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions sector.

“ I understand that it is the MICES sector that is the bulk tourism sector of the country. So, when you incentivize the MICES sector, you incentivize tourists wholesale,” Salceda added.

I am requesting the DOT to look into a more expansive definition of incentives for the domestic tourism sector,” Salceda urged.

E arlier, Salceda said the Philippines remains one of the few major Asia-Pacific tourist destinations without a working VAT tourist refund mechanism.

“

Only India and Cambodia are the other countries in the top 15 tourist destinations in Asia-Pacific with this gap in procedure. This reduces the country’s competitiveness among its peers and neighboring countries,” Salceda said.

T he Philippines recorded 2.65 million (2.02 million foreign tourists and 628,445 Filipinos overseas) visitors from February to December 2022.

T his figure is higher than the 2021 tourist arrivals of 163,879 but still significantly lower than the prepandemic level of 8.26 million.

T his year, the Department of Tourism (DOT) targets to welcome 4.8 million visitors, which could generate P2.58 trillion in revenue.

Labor reports 200 more breaches to ILO

OVER 200 additional alleged labor rights violations were included in the updated report sent by local labor groups to the International Labour Organization (ILO).

T his was on top of the 380 cases in the preliminary Joint Report of Trade Unions to the ILO High Level Tripartite Mission (HLTM) submitted by organized labor to the mission last month.

Under the final version of the report, the number of trade unionists killings documented by the Philippine affiliates of the Council of Global Unions rose from 16 to 68.

Most of the fatalities are agricultural workers.

T he report also contains details on 3 cases of forced disappearances; 41 cases of arrests and detention;

111 workers arrested during strikes and protest actions; 90 cases of forced disaffiliation, state interference with the right to self-organization, through threats, harassment and intimidation; and 58 cases of red-tagging/terrorist tagging.

A lso included in the report are 127 cases of intimidation/threats/ harassment of union leaders and members; and 19 cases of “other non-union activities.”

“After much Internal vetting and verification of all reports, we are pleased to submit through your office, the final version of the Joint Report of the Philippine Trade Unions to  the ILO High Level Tripartite Mission to the Philippines,” FFW president Sonny Matula said in his letter, which he sent to the ILO Regional Office in Bangkok last Friday.

He said they decided to update their report after they secured supporting documents for the additional cases as well as edit some of its other parts.

Report impact

FFW Vice President Julius Cainglet said the final version of the report is unlikely to affect the existing recommendations of the ILO-HLTM.

But it can emphasize the extent of FOA (Freedom of Association) violations which would only reaffirm the conclusions already made,” Cainglet told BusinessMirror in a SMS.

A mong the recommendations was the review of the anti-insurgency campaign of the government to ensure that such campaign will not undermine FOA and the creation of mechanisms that will investigate

past violations of FOA among others.

C ainglet said the ILO-HLTM proposal will also lead to an overhaul of the FOA roadmap, which was drafted by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

If there is any roadmap towards the realization of full recognition of FOA, it has to be anchored on the ILO HLTM recommendation,” Cainglet said.

T he ILO-HTLM report was initially expected to come out with its report by the end of the month, but it was later moved to March.

T he HLTM is a fact-finding body, which was deployed by ILO’s Committee on the Application of Standards to look into the reported string of killings of trade unionists and mass violations of FOA in the country. Samuel P. Medenilla

Companies

Tuesday, February 21, 2023

MPIC to produce popular veggies in Bulacan facility

MPAV is carrying out the project in partnership with Israel firm LR Group and its affiliate Innovative Agriculture (Agro) Industry Ltd. The project involves technologies in urban farming, such as hydroponics, and drip irrigation systems, which require 90 percent less water, 90 percent less land and 90-99 percent less fertilizers and pesticides.

Metro Manila. The vision behind these investments is an agriculturally independent Philippines. We want to help build a nation that’s capable of feeding all of its people,” Pangilinan said.

B1

Metro Pacific Agro Ventures Inc. (MPAV) President and CEO

Jovy I. Hernandez said only 15 hectares of the 22-hectare facility in San Rafael, Bulacan will operate in a year’s time. The remaining area will be used for more greenhouses.

“I think there’s one thing that you will see consistent—our investments as part of this is technology.

We’re bringing something new,” Hernandez told reporters on the sidelines of the ceremony to kick off the construction of the facility.

“Growing our own produce is a step in developing our country’s capability in terms of food sustainability. Partnering with IAI and the LR Group, moves us towards a future where ideally, food security is the norm, not just an aspiration.”

The technology, the company said, also ensures year-round production, consistent quality and predictable output. MPAV said it can produce 1.6 million tons of vegetables through these modern farming methods.

MPIC Chairman and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan said the company will employ hydroponics, which has been around for some time.

“We’ll make sure the prices (of vegetables) will be affordable. We’ll make sure that we will increase the supply of vegetables in

“I am proud that Israeli technologies and expertise are being introduced to the Philippines and will contribute to the country’s food security and agricultural productivity. This is just the beginning of Israel and the Philippines’s agriadventure on agriventures,” Israel Ambassador Ilan Fluss said.

Hernandez said the greenhouses will produce green and leafy vegetables, peppers, zucchinis and eggplant. Sales of these vegetables, he said, reach some P65 billion in Metro Manila alone.

He also said the company will explore ways to expand the facility in other parts of the country.

MPAV has a target spend of P5 billion through 2027.

Malls lift SM Prime 2022 income

SM Prime Holdings Inc. said its net income in 2022 rose 38 percent to P30.1 billion from P21.8 billion in 2021 on the recovery of its malls.

Consolidated revenues rose 29 percent to P105.8 billion from the previous year’s P82.3 billion.

“We are pleased to report that we ended 2022 on a positive note despite the challenges faced for the most of the year, owing to the robust consumer spending particularly in the last quarter,” Jeffrey Lim, SM Prime president, said.

“We will continue to monitor this trend and watch out for impact of movements in the inflation and interest rates, including impact on our supply chain. Meanwhile, we are poised to build on the growth momentum and proceed to expand our footprint in key areas in the country.”

SM Prime’s domestic mall business now accounts for 47 percent of the company’s consolidated revenues. It registered P49.8 billion in revenues in 2022, more than double the P24.1 billion in the previous year.

With the resumption of full rental fees in the second half of 2022, SM Prime’s local mall rental income went up by 92 percent to P44.1 billion from P23 billion in 2021.

With the notable development in the entertainment industry, SM Prime’s cinema, event ticket sales, and other revenues recorded P5.7 billion, higher than the previous year’s P1.1 billion.

In 2022, SM Prime expanded certain malls and opened four new malls in the Philippines namely Roxas in Capiz, Tanza in Cavite, Sorsogon in Bicol and Tuguegarao in Cagayan.

As of end-December, SM Prime

has 82 malls in the Philippines, consisting of 58 malls in the provincial areas, and 24 malls in Metro Manila.

SM Prime’s residential business group, led by SM Development Corp., posted P40.1 billion in revenues last year, lower by 12 percent than the P45.9 billion registered in 2021. SMDC’s reservation sales reached P102 billion in 2022, slightly higher than the previous year’s P98.9 billion. This translates to an 18 percent increase in unit sales of more than 21,000 in 2022 from almost 18,000 in the previous year.

SMDC launched three new residential developments in different provincial cities of the Philippines in 2022. These include Vail Residences in Cagayan de Oro, Now Residences in Pampanga and Zeal Residences in General Trias, Cavite.

Revenues of SM Prime’s office and hotel and convention center businesses, which account for 10 percent of the company’s consolidated revenues, grew 59 percent to P10.5 billion in 2022 from P6.6 billion in 2021.

The company’s office business segment registered P6.1 billion in revenues for last year, 22 percent higher than P5 billion in 2021. Meanwhile, SM Prime’s hotel and convention center business segment reported P4.3 billion in revenues for the period, almost triple the P1.6billion revenue in 2021.

SM Prime launched FourE-Com Center in 2022, which is located at the Mall of Asia Complex in Pasay City, as well as the SMX Clark Convention Center in Pampanga, which is nestled alongside SM City Clark and Park Inn Radisson Clark. VG Cabuag

IBULAO Mini Hydro Corp.

(IMHC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of renewable energy (RE) firm Alternergy Holdings Corp. (Alternergy), has secured a water permit from the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) for its hydro power project in Ifugao.

“The award of the water permit is a significant milestone in the development of our Ibulao 2 Run-of-River (ROR) Hydro Power Project, which forms part of our portfolio of projects in Ifugao,” said IMHC President and Director of Alternergy Eduardo Martinez Miranda.

He noted that Alternergy’s 17.4 MW Asin-Hungduan and Ibulao1 projects in the municipality of Kiangan are currently in full swing construction while the 6.8MW Lamut project in the municipalities of Lamut and Asipulo is shovel-ready for construction.

The Ibulao 2 ROR Hydro Project involves the development, construction and operation of 7.4MW hydropower project to be built in Bryg. Bolog in the Municipality of Kiangan and Brgy. Caba in the Municipality of Lagawe. It will harness a portion of the flow of water from the Ibulao River to convert to reliable, clean and

environment-friendly renewable power.

Following the issuance of the water permit, Miranda said further permitting activities will be pursued, particularly the consent of the indigenous peoples.

“In the coming months, we will commence the conduct of the activities to obtain the Free and Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) of our host indigenous cultural communities. This a long and tedious process but we already gained experience from our other projects. We are confident in due course we will have the consent of the communities.”

The Ibulao 2 ROR hydro project is part of the Alternergy’s expansion plans in the next five years. Alternergy aims to develop up to 1,370 MW of additional wind, offshore wind, solar and run-of-river hydro projects.

Part of the proceeds from Alternergy’s upcoming initial public offering (IPO) will be used to fund predevelopment activities of projects in the pipeline including the Ibulao 2 ROR hydro project. Alternergy is offering up to 1.150 billion in primary shares representing 30.11 percent of ALTER’s economic ownership, at an offer price of up to P1.48 per offer share. The offer period starts on March 13. It will list on the Philippine Stock Exchange on March 24.

BUDGET carrier AirAsia Philippines is targeting to restore “most” of its international destinations in the first quarter, after reinstating some flights to China and its territories.

Steve Dailisan, who heads the communications and public affairs office of AirAsia Philippines, said the group is expecting to “close the first quarter of 2023 with most of its international destinations reinstated.”

“Our international recovery is almost complete with the relaunching of the remaining China routes next month. It is also the perfect time to welcome spring in the most preferred tourist destinations among Filipinos such as Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. We can’t wait to safely fly our guests from all over East Asia, and couple their trips with bestvalue deals,” he said.

Already, AirAsia Philippines has reopened flights to Macau, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou, on top of the now active Hong Kong, Osaka, Tokyo, Taipei, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, and Seoul routes. Dailisan added that the budget carrier is “ piggybacking on the high inbound and outbound traffic” at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA). Lorenz S. Marasigan

CONVERGE ICT Solutions

Inc. announced its readiness to cater to both residents and businesses in Boracay by the end of the first quarter.

The company, together with the Boracay IT Association (BITA), said they intend to elevate further the island’s reputation through the company’s wide range of businessgrade connectivity solutions.

“We are excited to finally bring our world-class fiber broadband to Boracay, itself a world-class tourist destination. We are here to serve the connectivity needs of both local and foreign tourists, as we know internet connection is a value-adding service to any tourist hot spot. With this, hopefully we can meaningfully contribute to Boracay’s tourist-driven economy,” said Dennis Anthony Uy, chief executive officer and cofounder of Converge.

Converge Chief Operations Officer Jesus C. Romero said that under its “Go Deep, Go National” strategy, the company will widen its fiber footprint nationwide to reach the unserved and underserved markets.

“Boracay is an amazing place for memories and adventure, and we

hope to make it the absolute paradise that it already is by providing its residents, visitors, and businesses a consistent, hassle-free, and seamless connectivity experience through our world-class, awardwinning products and services.”

The hospitality industry will be the main recipient of the telco firm’s products and services for constant business productivity which aim to help companies boost profit and earn customer loyalty.

The company, likewise, hopes to provide service to a new breed of free-spirited island-hopping entrepreneurs aptly called “Digital Nomads.” Considered independent, high-value entrepreneurial tourists, they work remotely in hotels, cafés, coworking spaces, and temporary housing, relying heavily on a high-speed and stable internet connection to do their trades.

Converge believes that recognizing the shift in the tides of doing business in Boracay will not only encourage economic growth on the island but also in the country.

According to Converge Regional General Manager for VisMin Mike Maquiran, Boracay is considered as the premiere travel destination in the Philippines and was rec-

ognized as the top island in Asia at the 2022 Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards and is in Time Magazine’s 50 World’s Greatest Places of 2022.

“We often hear about its beauty and the diverse set of businesses present on the island, but we are also aware that connectivity within the island needs improvement,” he said. “One of the foremost needs of the modern traveler is having a stable and fast internet connection, while businesses require a reliable and better partner in connectivity.

We are confident that our products and services will help cement the island’s luxurious reputation.”

The fiber internet service provider has already provided connectivity in the island with the staging of the ASEAN ICT summit in Shangri-La Boracay last February 9 and 10, per Converge Senior Brand and Marketing Communications Specialist Gretchen Tenebro.

In an email interview with her on Monday, she told the BusinessMirror that Boracay is just the first stop of their long journey to bring their products closer to Filipinos and foreign visitors nationwide, especially in tourist sites that mostly need them. Roderick L. Abad

DAVAO City—The Davao Light and Power Co., a unit of the Aboitiz Group, said its customers should expect a lower electricity bill for February due to the availability of cheaper hydro power and coal.

Households which average a monthly electricity consumption of 200 kilowatt-hours (kWh) would see a decrease of P185.94 “this month of February as compared to their previous month’s billing.”

“This is because of the P0.93 decrease in the overall power rate due mainly to higher availability of cheaper hydropower supply from NPC/PSALM and decreasing fuel rates of coal suppliers,” the company said.

The generation rate was at P6.79 per kilowatt-hour for February which was a P0.85 decrease from last month, it added. “This brings the total power rate down to P11.52 from P12.45 in January.”

Power rates as reflected in Davao Light monthly bills are divided into 4 major components: generation and transmission, distribution, subsidies and other charges, and government

charges and taxes.

“Generation and transmission charges are pass-through charges that Davao Light collects and pays to power suppliers and the transmission operator, respectively.”

Davao Light only charges the customers for distribution, which remains at an average of P1.4257 per kilowatt-hour as approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC). This rate has not increased since 2013.

The company sources more than 50 percent of its power requirements from non-renewable sources such as coal while nearly 50 percent comes from renewable sources such as hydropower.

Davao Light said it will maintain “a well-balanced” power mix to provide its customers with reliable power at the most reasonable cost.

The company is the third largest privately-owned electric distribution utility in the country in terms of customer size and annual kWh sales. Its franchise area covers the cities of Davao and Panabo and the municipalities of Carmen, Dujali, and Sto. Tomas in Davao del Norte, with a population of approximately 2.23 million and a total area of 3,561 sq. kms.

Conglomerate metro Pacific Investments Corp. (mPIC) said its unit will spend anywhere between P800 million and P1 billion on “the Philippines’s largest greenhouse facility” in Bulacan which will churn out popular vegetables for metro manila.

Investors sought higher yields for Treasuries

THE government was unable to raise the total P15-billion target amount from the sale of Treasury bills (T-bills), marking the second week of mixed auction results as investors sought higher yields in the aftermath of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) 50-basis point (bps) rate hike.

The T-bills auction on Monday saw mixed results with the Bureau of the Treasury’s (BTr) auction committee only awarding in full the P5-billion 364-day tenor debt papers.

The committee awarded P3.55 billion in 91-day T-bills and P4.5 billion in 182-day tenor, bringing the total amount raised by the national government that day to P13.050 billion.

Nonetheless, the T-bills auction remained oversubscribed with the total amount offered reaching P30.318, more than double the target amount of P15 billion.

“Rate increases [an] aftermath

of [the] BSP’s 50-bps rate hikes and upward revision to average inflation for 2023 to 6.1 percent,” National Treasurer Rosalia V. De Leon told reporters after the auction.

“Committees decided to keep rates aligned with secondary level; thus, partial awards for 91-day and 182-day T-bills,” De Leon added.

The average rates for each T-bills tenor were as follows: 4.413 percent for 91-day, 5.060 percent for 182day, and 5.455 percent for 364-day.

The rates were slightly higher than the secondary market benchmark rates at 4.477 percent for 91day tenor, 4.994 for 182-day, and 5.348 percent for 364-day.

The Monetary Board delivered a 50 bps rate hike last week, increasing the BSP’s overnight reverse repurchase facility by 50 basis points to 6 percent. (Related story: https://businessmirror. com.ph/2023/02/17/monetaryboard-deals-50-bps-rate-hikemore-in-future/)

The BSP said the interest rates on the overnight deposit and lending facilities will be set to 5.5 percent and 6.5 percent, respectively.

With the latest increase in policy rates, interest rates are now the highest since August 2008 when it increased to 6 percent from 5.75 percent. In July 2007, inter-

est rates were also at 6 percent, but this was a decrease from 7.5 percent.

Last week, the national government snapped its 4-week streak of full awards by the Treasury on auctions of T-bills as it was only able to raise P14.6 billion from its P15 billion programmed amount. The government seeks to borrow P200 billion in February from the domestic market through the auction of T-bills and Treasury bonds. (Related story: https://businessmirror.com. ph/2023/01/25/governmenteyes-to-borrow-p200b-viadebt-mart/)

The secret price of exclusivity and limited supplies

AR e you familiar with the saying in psychology that we want something we cannot have?

The economics theory of the law of supply and demand states that demand will fall if supply is abundant, whereas demand will rise if supply is limited.

People perceive immense value in something to which is beyond their reach. Thus, they are more swayed to respond if something is exclusive, prohibited, or limited.

Our curiosity is a compelling force that drives us to act irrationally. The more mysterious it is, the higher the likelihood we want to participate in it.

rosemarie Gases

personal finance

eLeCTRONIC transaction platforms can help reduce nonperforming loans (NPLs) and prevent them from undermining bank lending and the recovery in developing countries, according to experts from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

In an Asian Development Blog, ADB e conomic Research and Regional Cooperation Department Director for Regional Cooperation and Integration Cyn-Young Park and e a st Asia Department Finance Sector Specialist Peter Rosenkranz said NPLs in Asia’s developing countries were “persistently high.”

Park and Rosenkranz said NPLs held by banks in Asia totaled $794 billion at the end of 2021, according to official figures. This increased from $766 billion in 2020 and $692 billion in 2019.

“To avoid rising non performing loan ratios, diminishing bank lending capacity and worsening economic performance, it is important to strengthen the way nonperforming loans are repaid or resolved,” the authors said.

Potential policy support, the ADB experts said, could lead to the establishment of a nonperforming loan transaction platform in the region—or a network thereof—that features common standards.

“Setting regional standards to support cross-border transactions could maximize the reach of the nonperforming loan transaction platform and enhance its effectiveness,” they said.

Park and Rosenkranz said etransaction platforms can reduce impediments when resolving or repaying NPLs. Some of the known impediments include a limited number of active investors and scarce information around market prices and volumes.

The authors also said the institutional environment plays an important role, with poor legal framework legislation, weak collateral enforcement and insolvency proceedings adding to the market imperfections. These impediments create gaps,

Park and Rosenkranz said, between the price investors are willing to pay and the price banks are willing to accept for NPLs.

e - transaction platforms for nonperforming loans can address some of these market impediments more efficiently. Such platforms would create an online marketplace, bringing together buyers and sellers in the digital space, and help information flows,” Park and Rosenkranz said.

The authors explained that etransaction platforms can improve information flows since sellers would have more knowledge about the value of assets being sold.

This can be done, the ADB experts said, through data review, validation, and warehousing functions. Standardized NPL data templates, they said, can help enhance granularity, quality, transparency, and comparability of NPL information accessed by potential investors.

Park and Rosenkranz also said e-transaction platforms can also make resolving NPLs more efficient and less costly. They said anecdotal evidence estimates that e-platform operators could offer a 55 percent to 90 percent reduction in processing time.

“Small investors could also find it easier to join this marketplace, helping broaden the investor base. Pricing mechanisms can also be facilitated through e-platforms, improving pricing efficiency,” they said.

The ADB experts also said etransaction platforms can attract foreign investors. There are etrading platforms in the european Union that facilitate both domestic and cross-border trades of nonperforming loans.

However, the authors said, existing nonperforming loan markets in Asia remain dominated by domestic players. There are legal impediments such as restrictions of foreign ownership.

The authors said there is a need to create the enabling legal framework and infrastructure to use e-transaction platforms in resolving NPLs.

This type of promotional tactic is extensively used in a number of ways: “members only,” “limited edition,” “introductory price,” “3-day sale,” “only 3 rooms left,” “limited seats only,” and “until supplies last.” ex perts have revealed that human beings hate the feeling of missing a good bargain. And while some merchants are aware that such customers are highly price-sensitive, they dissuade them from buying in a normal situation—items carry its regular price and there’s no time limit to purchase these.

Sometimes the pitch “limited supply” is legitimate; typically it’s not. Who knows? e x clusivity or the scarcity of supply propels the sellers to dictate a premium price on their goods or services. (Onions, anyone?)

The best example of this is the tactic used by the late Bernie Madoff,

the securities fraudster who was said to have operated the largest Ponzi scheme in the world. To get access to this secret fund manager to manage your money and invest it, you will have to know someone who knows someone who knows him. Do you see how exclusive it is? And once you get the opportunity to speak to him, he will steer you to take your money with you initially and find someone else to manage your funds if you are not convinced of his investing prowess in the securities markets. He posed to his investors as if he was not interested in their money primarily. It took decades for regulators to unravel what his investment company was: a Ponzi scheme. This cunning and manipulative scheme made his victims crave more to be admitted into his investment company. This cognitive bias is called psychological reactance. It refers to a person’s unpleasant motivational reaction when their concept of freedom is threatened or eliminated.

Microfinance NGO bags loan from Citibank PHL

THe Citibank N.A. Philippine Branch (Citi PHL) announced it has extended a $20-million loan (nearly P1.1 billion at current exchange rates), to ASA Philippines Foundation Inc. to help support women entrepreneurs. Through the loan, ASA will provide financial assistance to low-income women for entrepreneurial ventures in the Philippines. The loan aims to support nearly 70,000 women entrepreneurs in the Philippines.

The loan extended to ASA Philippines is part of Citi’s global commitment to provide $1-trillion towards sustainable finance by 2030, a statement from the lender said. It has committed to investing in opportunities for 15 million households, including 10 million women by 2025.

“It is inspiring to meet these hardworking Filipino women who have shared their personal stories of triumph over adversity. Amid their many hardships, they have a ready smile and have welcomed us all with warm hospitality,” Citi PHL Corporate Bank Head Fernando Fleury said.

“They have overcome many challenges and have even managed to grow their business in a tough economic environment. We are happy to support their entrepreneurial efforts through this landmark social facility loan,” Fleury added.

Citi PHL first partnered with ASA in 2010 with a loan of $1 million. With the $20 million in 2022, ASA will be able to provide their client base, composed of 20 million clients, the means to establish or improve their own mi-

croenterprises.

All of ASA’s clients are women micro-entrepreneurs and majority or 71 percent are married and are between 31 years to 50 years of age.

Through their respective microenterprises, these women are able to support their families, as well as their communities.

“Our mission is to deliver the highest value for money, client-responsive microfinance as well as supplementary products and services to the poor through the enterprising women of each Filipino family,” ASA Philippines President and C eO Kamrul Hasan Tarafder said.

In 2019, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) recorded a total of 630,688 business name registrations (new and renewal) of which 55.8 percent or 352,181 were women-owned, according to Citi PHL. When the pandemic hit in 2020, the lender said the majority of these businesses were adversely affected and needed help.

ASA Philippines is a non-stock, non-profit microfinance organization that offers financial services such as microloans and microsavings.

It is a microfinance NGO accredited by the Microfinance NGO Regulatory Council (MNRC) that serves more than 2 million entrepreneurially poor women across the country.

As part of its client community services, ASA Philippines offers additional programs, such as business development, scholarships for the children of deserving borrowers, disaster relief, burial assistance and other health care services. Cai U. Ordinario

When dealers create an illusion of scarcity, it boosts the demand for their goods or services as the buyers’ behavior is unconsciously stimulated by their fear of losing or what we call as the loss aversion bias.

In their book “Marketing” (7th edition, 2003), Roger Kerin, et al. defined ethics as the moral principles and values administering the actions and decisions of an individual or group.

For that reason, if business strategies, such as the scarcity principle, are employed to influence the buying decisions of the public unwittingly, would it be considered an unethical practice of doing business?

In Robert B. Cialdini’s book, “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion,” he described the scarcity principle as those opportunities seem more valuable to us when their availability is limited.

Why do you think some manufacturers or sellers limit the number of productions of their goods in order to serve only a few of their customers? Don’t they want to sell more? The answer to that question lies in the cognitive biases discussed and the theory of the law of supply and demand.

The same principle applies to collectible items such as art pieces, vintage cars, old coins, etc. The perceived value of those items is formed in the collectors’ minds, their desire for ownership. The rarer it is, the better for them, and they are more than willing to pay a premium so as to have it.

In addition, the “deadline tactic” is also applied here in which the opportunity is offered on a time limit, which makes this tactic even more effective. Because time and stocks are limited, customers find themselves grabbing the chance thinking there will be no other time to act but now.

So, the next time you like to shop for a limited-edition item or join an exclusive club, before you part with your money, sincerely ask yourself this question: “Do I really need this, or am I slyly persuaded to buy or join in this?”

If your answer is the latter, it will be better for you to walk away from the establishment and save that hard-earned money for your big financial goals—like securing your and your family’s financial future.

Rosemarie Gases is a registered financial planner of RFP Philippines. To learn more about personal-financial planning, attend the 100th RFP program this March 2023. To inquire, e-mail info@ rfp.ph or text <name><e-mail> <RFP> at 09176248110.

‘Bayanihan’ spirit aided biz to flourish, poll bares

‘PANDeMIC businesses” or those put up during the lockdowns and succeeding months later were able to survive and even flourish thanks to Filipinos’ bayanihan spirit, according to a study released by the Manufacturers Life Insurance Co. Philippines Inc. (Manulife PHL).

Manulife PHL’s study revealed that four in 10 Filipinos surveyed established micro-scale and small-sized businesses during the pandemic. These businesses gained significant community support.

More than half or 65 percent of respondents said they patronized local small and micro businesses during the pandemic.

“The pandemic emphasized the vital role of micro and small businesses in sustaining our local and national economies, especially in times of crisis. Manulife aims to help Filipino entrepreneurs to protect their businesses by securing their most valued asset—their employees,” Manulife PHL President and CeO Rahul Hora said.

Filipino consumer patronage has been positive, as 65 percent of those surveyed said they availed themselves of products and services from local small and microenterprises, and 32 percent doing so more than once a week.

Further, some 51 percent said they are very likely to continue their patronage of small businesses. The “Bayanihan” (cooperation) spirit was seen as a strong motivator, with respondents saying that they bought from micro and small businesses to support the local economy (66 percent) or their local community (63 percent).

“This enthusiastic reception from the community has led Filipino business owners to continue operating postpandemic, as well as to invest in various

financial products—with life insurance a top consideration—to mitigate risks and absorb potential economic shocks,” Manulife said.

Manulife said micro and small businesses are those having P3 million to P15 million and 10 to 100 employees, while micro businesses are those with less than P3 million and less than 10 employees.

The study found that 41 percent of respondents started businesses during the pandemic and up to 50 percent said they are very likely to continue their operations in the new normal.

Their primary reasons for venturing into business during the pandemic were to earn income (43 percent), to maintain financial stability (34 percent), and to provide convenience and accessibility to people (8 percent).

Manulife said the nature of their new ventures is uniquely reflective of market needs during the pandemic, with most business owners engaged in food preparation and processing (41 percent), retail (30 percent), or delivery of essential goods and services (24 percent).

These new business owners, meanwhile, became more conscious about preparing for financial challenges or crises, encouraging them to seek to buy life protection and security for themselves, and indicating their openness to consider financially protecting their employees.

Among the respondents, life insurance (40 percent) emerged as the top financial product they bought in the last 12 months.

This was followed by medical/health/ accident insurance (36 percent) and nonlife insurance (17 percent). Moreover, 41 percent of respondents said they intend to buy life insurance in the next 12 months. Cai U. Ordinario

‘Electronic transaction platforms to cut NPLs’

Advice from art collectors: ‘Open your eyes, close your ears’

teleconference.

Ramos considers his taste in art collection “still developing.” He treats his eyes like a muscle, constantly exercising it to spot if an artwork is any good, and what makes it as such.

Jimenez-Ong also campaigned for the importance of education and continuous exposure to art for collectors. She frequents exhibit openings and constantly talks to artists and gallerists to pick their brains.

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS

DAY: Elliot Page, 36; Jennifer Love Hewitt, 44; William Baldwin, 60; Kelsey Grammer, 68.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Dream on, but don’t lose sight of reality. Truth matters; offering false information will cost you emotionally. Let your uniqueness shine through. You’ll find a cost-efficient way to forge ahead. Expand your awareness and spread joy to those you meet along the way. A balance between work and play will help you build strong relationships that influence how things unfold throughout the year. Your numbers are 2, 13, 24, 26, 33, 35, 41.

discussion, “Passions & Points-of-View: A Collectors

Talk,” alongside Anton Ramos and Carmen Jimenez-Ong, with moderator Sandra Palou.

PHOTO FROM ARTFAIRPHILIPPINES.COM

WHEN prominent music figure Anton Ramos first dabbled into art collection, a friend told him that it’s imperative for any serious collector to do his or her homework.

Ramos, who is also the chairman and COO of National Book Store and founder of Art Bar, took the advice. He dove into the vibrant rabbit hole of art learning, reading books, watching YouTube videos, talking to gallery owners and travelling abroad to visit important museums.

“While it is important to develop an informed opinion, there’s a flipside to that,” said Ramos, now a collector for 13 years. “If you just use your ears, what you’re hearing might just be the art market. And that means you might just be buying a work because the price is going up, or your friend has the same work, or it’s a hot artist. This is why you need to cover your ears and use your eyes.”

Ramos was sharing his experience and learnings as an art collector on Sunday at The Link in Makati City. Part of Art Fair Philippines’s ArtFairPH/Talks session, it was titled “Passions & Points-of-View: A Collectors Talk.” With him onstage was moderator Sandra Palou, former curator of the Metropolitan Museum of Manila, alongside other collectors Carmen Jimenez-Ong and Bryan Villanueva who joined via

London, Athens could share Parthenon Marbles in deal

LONDON—The chair of the British Museum said Thursday that the UK and Greece are working on a deal that would see his institution’s Parthenon Marbles displayed in both London and Athens.

George Osborne said talks with the Greek government had been “constructive.”

“I think there is a way forward where these sculptures...could be seen both in London and in Athens, and that will be a win-win for Greece and for us,” he told the BBC.

The antiquities, also known as the Elgin Marbles, mostly consist of the remnants of a frieze that ran around the outer walls of the Parthenon temple on the Acropolis in Athens.

Carved in the 5th century BC, they were taken in the early 19th century by British diplomat Lord Elgin and ended up in the British Museum, which for decades rebuffed Greek demands for their return.

Athens argues the sculptures were taken illegally when Greece was under Ottoman Turkish occupation and should be returned

for permanent display beside the other surviving Parthenon sculptures that are in the Greek capital’s Acropolis Museum.

The British Museum insists it will not break up its collection, but there has been a change of tone recently as museums around the world seek to address concerns about the way ancient artifacts were acquired during periods of imperial domination and colonial expansion.

The museum has said it wants a “Parthenon partnership” with Greece.

Osborne, a former UK Treasury chief, said he was “reasonably optimistic” about striking a deal, but cautioned that “it may well not come to anything.”

“It’s a very hard problem to solve but I think there is a way forward,” he said.

In December, Pope Francis said he would send back to Greece three smaller fragments of sculptures from the Parthenon that the Vatican Museums have held for two centuries. AP

“I think the collection of art is also a very emotional response,” she said. “What we collect reflects who we are or what resonates with us at the time.”

Meanwhile, the incomparable feeling that art evokes remains hard to describe for Villanueva. What began 19 years ago as an attempt to fill out their apartment with art pieces after his wife “gave away to the movers [his] second-hand IKEA furniture” has become what he describes as a “passion and a lifelong journey.” Villanueva understands that motivation for art collection may vary. Some might be in it for prestige, others for investment. Whatever the case may be, he said that it’s important to buy art that makes the buyer happy.

“Don’t buy art just because other people are buying it. Just because you may like the artist or because that artist is very in demand, doesn’t mean you have to buy any of his or her artwork,” he said. “But then, at times, you will find something that grabs you, something that speaks to you. If it doesn’t break your bank, just go for it.”

“Just do it,” Jimenez-Ong added, alluding to the tagline of a global sports apparel brand. “What’s the worst that can happen [if you start collecting art]? You support Filipino artists, you support the Philippine economy, you have something that resonates with you hung on your wall. It’s win, win, win.” ■

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Assess your situation and subsequent move. Don’t share too much information until you have sorted out the pros, cons and possibility of putting your plans in motion. Reevaluate your relationships and consider who is an excellent candidate to work alongside. ★★★

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Stubbornness and hesitation will be your downfalls. Verify information and head for the finish line. Your vision, hands-on help and openness will win favors and encourage someone with something to contribute to support your effort. ★★★★

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Do what you do best, and don’t let jealousy or emotional manipulation point you in the wrong direction. Take a moment to evaluate how you can help others and still reach the goals you set for yourself. Keep sensitive issues to yourself. ★★

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Don’t take on too much, or you’ll miss out on something special. Coordinate your plans to include people and activities offering a different perspective on life, love and happiness. Take the path that promises the lifestyle you desire. ★★★★★

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Play to win, be the entertainment and let your charm dazzle someone you want to impress. Be open about your intentions. Offer your skills to help round out a group addressing a concern you share. Personal growth and romance are apparent. ★★★

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Traveling or attending a conference will encourage you to try something you’ve been afraid to pursue. Don’t let fear of failure hold you back. Embrace challenges with open arms, and focus on changes that deliver personal happiness. ★★★

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Time spent with colleagues, clients or classmates will lead to fresh insight and intelligent solutions. Start a discussion addressing expectations, and hash out what you are willing to do and how much. ★★★

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Listen to complaints and find solutions. Compromising and finding unique ways to get along with others will make your life easier. Get involved in the creative process that goes along with any plans you want to incorporate into your everyday routine. ★★★

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Tell it like it is, or someone will correct you. Look on the bright side, but don’t lose sight of your responsibilities. Use intelligence to create a financially sound plan to attract support and partners.

A DIPTYCH exhibition, Viva España/Long Live América straddles between two different locations in Metropolitan Iloilo chosen for their historical, cultural and political affinities.

Viva España will be presented at Museo Iloilo (built 1971) located in the capital city. It is the first government-sponsored museum outside Metro Manila.

It houses an outstanding collection of Iloilo’s cultural heritage, but what makes Museo Iloilo significant is its around 300 pieces of religious artefacts and figures from home altars of old, prominent and devout Catholic families in the province.

The Ilonggos’ generous donations of Catholic material culture firmly and eloquently attest to the influence of 400 years of Spanish rule in the Philippines on the Visayan region

and its people.

On October 5, 1889, Maria Christina, then Queen Regent of Spain, raised the status of the town to the Royal City of the South due to Iloilo’s economic development during the 18th and 19th centuries. In 1896, the Queen Regent named Iloilo “La Muy Noble Ciudad,” or “The Most Noble City”, in appreciation of the Ilonggos’ allegiance to Spain, and their chivalry to defend the “Queen City of the South” against the surge of the Philippine Revolution.

This section of the diptych is an attempt to “colonize” the space of the museum, retaining some selected pieces from its collection, and intervene in its present narrative.

Viva España/Long Live América is on view until February 28 at Museo Iloilo and Kri8 Art Space.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Consider the past and what you must do to improve your life. A home improvement project or changing your lifestyle or living arrangements will set you on a positive path. Trust and believe in yourself instead of bending to someone’s demand. ★★★★

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Offer hands-on help, but don’t give away money you cannot afford to donate. Reach out to someone you lost touch with and pick up where you left off. Doing so will change how you move forward and where or how you live. ★★★

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Stick to the truth, and ask questions to avoid making mistakes. Get the facts, and make safe decisions that won’t jeopardize your position or longterm goals. Adjust your spending to stay within budget.

BIRTHDAY BABY:

You are expressive, sensitive and bold. You are original and active.

‘tech

‘VIVA ESPAÑA/LONG LIVE AMÉRICA’ BY NORBERTO ROLDAN

Show BusinessMirror

‘All Quiet’ wins 7 BAFTAs, including best film, at UK awards

LONDON—Antiwar German movie All

Quiet on the Western Front won seven prizes, including best picture, at the British Academy Film Awards on Sunday, building the somber drama’s momentum as awards season rolls toward its climax at next month’s Oscars.

Irish tragicomedy The Banshees of Inisherin and rock biopic Elvis took four prizes each.

All Quiet, a visceral depiction of life and death in the World War I trenches based on Erich Maria Remarque’s classic novel, won Edward Berger the best director award. Its other trophies included adapted screenplay, cinematography, best score, best sound and best film not in English.

Austin Butler was a surprise best actor winner for Elvis. Baz Lurhmann’s flamboyant musical also won trophies for casting, costume design and hair and makeup. Cate Blanchett won the best actress prize for orchestral drama Tár

Martin McDonagh’s Banshees, the bleakly comic story of a friendship gone sour, was named best British film.

“Best what award?” joked McDonagh of the film, which was shot in Ireland with a largely Irish cast and crew. It has British funding, and McDonagh was born in Britain to Irish parents. Banshees also won for McDonagh’s original screenplay, and awards for Kerry Condon as best supporting actress and Barry Keoghan for best supporting actor.

The prizes—officially the EE BAFTA Film Awards—are Britain’s equivalent of Hollywood’s Academy Awards and will be watched closely for hints of who may win at the Oscars on March 12.

Madcap metaverse romp Everything Everywhere All at Once, the Academy Awards front-runner, was the

night’s big loser, winning just one prize from its 10 BAFTA nominations, for editing.

Actor Richard E. Grant was a suave and selfdeprecating host—with support from TV presenter Alison Hammond—for the ceremony at London’s Royal Festival Hall, where the UK’s movie academy heralded its strides to become more diverse but said there was more to be done.

Grant joked in his opening monologue about the infamous altercation between Will Smith and Chris Rock at last year’s Oscars.

“Nobody on my watch gets slapped tonight,” he said. “Except on the back.”

Guests and presenters walking the red carpet on the south bank of the River Thames included Colin Farrell, Ana de Armas, Eddie Redmayne, Brian Cox, Florence Pugh, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Cynthia Erivo, Julianne Moore and Lily James.

Heir to the throne Prince William, who is president of Britain’s film and television academy, was in the audience alongside his wife, Kate. William wore a tuxedo with black velvet jacket, while Kate dressed in a floor-length Alexander McQueen dress that she also wore to the 2019 BAFTAs.

Helen Mirren paid tribute to William’s grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, who died in September. Mirren, who portrayed the late monarch onscreen in The Queen and onstage in The Audience, called Elizabeth “the nation’s leading lady.”

Britain’s film academy introduced changes to increase the awards’ diversity in 2020, when no women were nominated as best director for the seventh year running and all 20 nominees in the lead and supporting performer categories were white.

This year there were 11 female directors up for awards across all categories, including documentary and animated films. But just one of the main best-director nominees was female: Gina Prince-

Piolo Pascual to debut in musical theater

same play that went on a school tour.

“It was titled Kanser, and I was fascinated by it. I was telling myself then that I wanted to do something like that, and perhaps my subconscious mind heard that and kept the wish alive, albeit hidden, just waiting for the elements of the universe to conspire to one day make it a reality,” he shared.

Even with the change of title, Ibarra remains the same musical, a retelling Jose Rizal’s classic novel Noli Me Tàngere and a reworking of Jomar Fleras’s Kanser which won big at the 1979 playwriting competition of the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

MOST Filipinos probably think that a star of Piolo

Pascual’s magnitude has done everything out there, and has played every role possible that can be flexed from his oftentimes enviable acting muscles. But the artist in him continues to evolve through time, explore endless possibilities and surprise us.

Pascual has officially announced that he will star in a musical theater production, and he is more than eager and excited to delve deep into his character, Crisostomo Ibarra, the central figure in Ibarra, The Musical, set to hit the live performance circuit sometime in June at the GSIS Theater in Pasay City.

“It’s my debut in musical theater, an acting avenue that has always been of interest to me. It’s like something ingrained in my mind for a very long time, just waiting to unravel in the most natural of circumstances, and at the most perfect time. I said yes immediately when the project was presented to me,” he told us in a recent chat.

Pascual was in high school when he watched the

The narrative of this specific production will be from the perspective of Pascual’s character, Crisostomo Ibarra.

“It’s a very strong character, and very relevant even up to this day and age, when we are constantly reminded how important it is to have a voice and to take up space. Ibarra can hopefully be a representation of the Filipino in each of us, of what we have, our dreams and aspirations, and what we continue to assert and fight for.”

Another reason why Pascual feels good about the project is that part of the proceeds from the initial 10 shows that he will be part of will go to a good cause, benefitting the feeding programs of Rise Against Hunger Philippines.

Pascual will be setting aside three months of his busy schedule to focus on the musical. He has to take to heart the libretto of Fleras, the choreography of Paul Morales and the music of Joed Balsamo. When rehearsals start, Pascual has to work very closely with director Frannie Zamora and the entire Ibarra

Bythewood for The Woman King.

BAFTA chairman Krishnendu Majumdar said the academy’s soul-searching had been “a necessary and humbling process.” He said the “vital work of levelling the playing field” would continue. Blanchett said it had been “an extraordinary year for female performers. To be counted among them is really special.” It was a strong year for Irish actors at the BAFTAs, with Deryl McCormack up for the BAFTA Rising Star award—though he lost out to Emma Mackey—and Condon, Keoghan, Farrell and Brendan Gleeson all getting acting nominations for Banshees.

McCormack hailed the event as “the Irish BAFTAs.”

“It is a small country, but to see the talent that comes out of it is quite amazing,” he said.

The harsh world outside showbiz intruded on the awards when Bulgarian journalist Christo Grozev, who works for investigative website Bellingcat, said he was not allowed to attend the awards because of a risk to public security. He features in Navalny, a film about jailed Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny that won the best documentary BAFTA.

Navalny producer Odessa Rae dedicated the award to Grozev, “our Bulgarian nerd with a laptop, who could not be with us tonight because his life is under threat by the Russian government and Vladimir Putin.”

Jamie Lee Curtis, a supporting actress nominee for Everything Everywhere, said the chance awards season provides to celebrate cinema was more important than who wins.

“It’s a moment of celebration in the midst of everything,” Curtis told The Associated Press on the red carpet. “It’s hard out there. Everywhere. All at once. All the time.”

n The Associated Press writer Hilary Fox contributed to this report.

AFTER several months of consistent social-media trends and positive feedback from viewers, GMA Network’s groundbreaking masterpiece Maria Clara at Ibarra ends its journey inside the novels of Dr. Jose Rizal.

The program is bannered by 2016 Fantasporto International Best Actress winner Barbie Forteza as Klay, multimedia star Julie Anne San Jose as Maria Clara, heartthrob David Licauco as Fidel, and multiawarded Dennis Trillo as Crisostomo/Simoun.

As the show nears its finale, Simoun is decided to carry out his plan of vengeance. His bomb plot will take place at the wedding reception of Juanito Pelaez and Paulita Gomez. Simoun brings a lamp as a gift to the newlyweds, but inside it is an explosive to spark rebellion.

Who will join Simoun on his revenge plan? Will Klay be able to interfere with his plot and save him instead from danger?

Meanwhile, what will happen to the love story of Klay and Fidel? Will Klay stay inside the novel, or will Fidel come and join her to the modern world?

Fans of Maria Clara at Ibarra are definitely missing the show already and could not help but express their love for the story and characters.

According to netizens on GMA Drama Facebook page: “Minahal namin nang sobra-sobra ang Maria Clara at Ibarra. Pero tulad ni Klay, need na rin naming tanggapin na may katapusan ang lahat. Maraming salamat po GMA sa pinakamakabuluhang show na ito. Best Filipino TV series of all time!”

Viewers also commented: “Nakakalungkot. I do not skip a single episode of this. Very engaging and educational at the same time. Sana after this, ’yung iba namang literary masterpieces penned by local authors ang ma-feature. Kudos to GMA for a job well done!

Lahat ng cast deserve talaga ang awards dahil sa sobrang husay umarte!”

team that will make sure Pascual’s musical theater debut, which will coincide with the 125th anniversary of Philippine independence from Spain, will be a rousing success.

The finale week of Maria Clara at Ibarra unfolds from February 20 to 24, 8 pm, on GMA, and at 9:40 pm on GTV. Viewers abroad can also catch the program via GMA Pinoy TV.

‘Maria Clara at ibarra’ airs finale on February 24

Cebu Pacific uses actual plane to announce new partnership

Jean Henri Lhuiilier Reaffirms Commitment to Philippine Softball and Tennis Development

JEAN Henri Lhuillier, a long-time Philippine Sports Patron vowed to continue supporting tennis and softball in the country. Lhuillier, current president of the Amateur Softball Association of the Philippines (ASAPHIL) as well as the Unified Tennis Philippines (UTP), is elated with the progress of the programs of both sports association and is excited with their plans for the year.

“I am very upbeat for this year especially for our softball national teams as well as our top tennis players. There are lots of international tournaments lined up for them and I’m confident they will perform well and continue putting the Philippines in the softball and tennis maps”, said Lhuillier, ASAPHIL and UTP President.

Lhuillier has been the main supporter of the both the RP Blu Boys and Blu Girls, multi-gold medalists in Southeast Asian Games and consistent podium finishers in Asian Level. Lhuillier is also the man behind top tennis players former world number 17

Treat Huey; doubles specialist and currently ranked 136 Ruben Gonzales; and, former Australian Juniors doubles champion Francis Casey Alcantara, personally funding their international competitions for several years now.

The RP Blu Girls are currently deep in training for the upcoming Women’s Softball Asia Cup to be held in South Korea from April 2 to 8. They are also expected to contend for a

medal together with the Blu Boys in the Asian Games on September. Cebuana Lhuillier Sports Ambassadors Huey, Gonzales and Alcantara are all currently representing the country’s colors in the ATP and ITF doubles competitions. All them won several titles in ITF doubles tournaments in 2022 and all are just outside the elite world’s top 100 doubles players.

Lhuillier is not only focusing on the elite athletes. Through ASAPHIL and UTP, Lhuillier spearheads grassroots development thru hundreds of age-group tennis competitions, open tournaments and even club tournaments thru the help of sponsors Cebuana Lhuillier, Palawan Pawnshop, UNILAB, Mr. Freeze, PhilCare, Navegar, DFNN, Madison Galeries, Asia Traders Corp and Chris Sports, to discover fresh tennis talents. ASAPHIL, on the other hand, is excited to bring back national competitions to continuously hone local talents in preparation for international competitions in the years to come.

IF you think you’ve seen it all, think again. It's the year 2023 and it's hardly ever surprising when new tech arises, but GoTyme Bank went all out for their “Rewards Boosted” launch event held at Palacio de Memoria in Paranaque on February 9, 2023. Let's just say they went big—which is the right word to describe GoTyme Bank's exciting partnership with Cebu Pacific and Go Rewards.

GoTyme Bank used an experimental technology called 3D mapping video, which maps video footage onto surfaces like buildings, runways, water, and airplanes, turning them into astonishing displays. For this launch, they used an actual airplane! The result: 80 seconds of pure entertainment—a showstopping display like we’ve never seen before!

Here's what some of the guests have to say about the stunning display.

“I was in awe seeing the 3D mapping technology done in a plane. As it was creative and well-thought, this signifies where we are headed—more innovations ahead. With GoTyme, Cebu

Pacific, and Go Rewards making travel more accessible and fun, especially coming after the two-year pause because of the pandemic, I am excited to experience the world again," shared Mela Habijan, Miss Trans Global 2020.

Video creator Miss Nate shared, “Definitely something I haven’t seen before! We’ve seen the plane at Palacio before but this totally caught us off guard. Such a fun and refreshing way to spice up the atmosphere of the place and the event. I look forward to seeing more of it.”

So what does GoTyme Bank’s, Go Rewards’, and Cebu Pacific’s team-up mean for you? Go Rewards members earn points each time they book Cebu Pacific flights—but when you use your GoTyme Bank Visa Debit Card or Virtual Card to book your flight, you get to earn even more Go Rewards points which you can use to book future flights. If you stack enough points, you can actually book flights for free and even purchase flight add-ons. Talk about a rewards boost!

Now, a flight booked with Cebu Pacific and GoTyme Bank means more

travels, more rewards, and more bang for your buck. But most importantly, you get to experience a rich and colorful life by exploring different cultures, provinces, and countries. This new rewards program is a permanent feature and not just a promo so every Juan has all the time in the world to take advantage of this boosted rewards system from GoTyme Bank. In case you don’t have a GoTyme Bank account or a Go Rewards account yet, take this as a sign to open one so you don’t miss out on this rewarding points system!

This year, start creating travel memories with your favorite people once again! Download the GoTyme Bank app now on iOS or Android, or open an account at any of its kiosks nationwide, and use it to pay for your Cebu Pacific flights. #GoTymeBank #RewardsBooster #PreferredMOPforGG #GokongweiGroup Follow GoTyme's official website, Facebook, and Instagram for more information.

CDC to showcase investment opportunities in Clark at 2nd Subic/Clark Business Conference in Makati

AFTER the success of the Central Visayas Business Conference and the 1st Clark Business Conference, the Regional Development Series continues with the 2nd edition of the SUBIC/CLARK BUSINESS CONFERENCE (SCBC) to be held

Angeles Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MACCII) and the Pampanga Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PAMCHAM), and other European chambers including the Spanish Chamber, the German Chamber, the French Chamber, the Dutch Chamber, the British Chamber, the Nordic Chamber and Advantage Austria.

This SCBC conference aims to showcase investment opportunities, discover the insights of local businesses, and analyze trends in the Subic/ Clark area. It is envisioned to further connect businesses based in the region that venture in creative industries, advanced technology and innovation, sustainable business practices, real estate, infrastructure, aerospace, renewable energy, and manufacturing industries among others to parts of the world as a hub for global corporations and investors. The event will feature a prominent set of speakers and panelists from the government, local government units (LGUs), the local business community, and foreign investors and organizations.

Key speakers include Trade and Industry Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual and the President of the Clark Development Corporation, Atty. Agnes VST Devanadera and Tarlac Governor Susan Yap. The main focus for discussion include topics such as developments and investment opportunities for Tarlac thanks to New Clark City, economic updates and developments , government support for the growing area, and urban development programs among others.

BSP green lights use of GCash by Filipinos with International SIMs for easier financial transactions

Under the beta launch, only the first 1,000 users from Japan, Australia, and Italy can access GCash with an international SIM card. Once they’re fully verified, Filipinos overseas regardless of their SIM card can begin signing up for GCash and support their families back home by sending money for free (GCash-toGCash), paying for bills on time, and instantly buying them load credits with just a few taps on the app.

GCASH, the Philippines’ number one finance app, can now be used abroad with international SIM cards, making the e-wallet the first and only in the country to do so.

That’s after it got the approval from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to start the beta launch of GCash Overseas, which allows Filipinos in Japan, Australia, and Italy to sign up for GCash even without a Philippine SIM.

“We continue to make a difference in Filipinos' lives by making financial services easier and more accessible to our now 76 million-strong registered users. With around 10 million Filipinos living abroad, we want them to also be able to take advantage of GCash services even as they use international SIMs. As more people put their trust in GCash, we strive to remove more barriers and create a better experience for all,” said Martha Sazon, GCash president and CEO.

The beta mode will run for a limited time only and the full launch is expected later this year. GCash has also been doubling down on its international expansion thanks to its partnership with global payments platform, Alipay+. Aside from GCash Overseas, it can now be used to pay in select merchants across countries like Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, and Qatar as well as top European destinations like the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Italy.

GCash offers its users a wide variety of accessible financial products and services, such as Send Money, Buy Load, and Pay Bills. Likewise, users can explore other innovative financial services to jumpstart their journey towards their financial goals through GSave, GInsure, and GInvest.

To learn more about GCash Overseas, visit https://www.gcash.com/profile/overseas#

Manila Water to spend P833 million this year for service expansion projects in Rizal province

MANILA Water’s mission to deliver world-class services tailored to the needs of the communities it serves continues, as the company boosts the implementation of its service expansion program this year particularly for Rizal Province.

Manila Water is set to spend P833 million for projects slated for implementation this year in Rizal Province which include 23 mainline extension and individualization projects.

Eleven mainline extension projects will be done in several municipalities in Rizal, namely: five projects in Baras; four in Rodriguez, in Metro Royale Homes, Amityville, Emmaus Compound and along Marang Road; and two projects in Binangonan located in Sitio Balatik and Sitio Wawa.

In Antipolo City, ten mainline extension projects are set to be completed this year which include two projects in Sitio Tanza and Tolosa Ville; another two projects in Barangay Calawis; additional two projects in Cabading and Heroes Ville; one project in Sitio Painuman and Sitio Kalakad; one project in Pedra Blanca Homes and Sitio Culasisi; a project in Boso-Boso, and a mainline extension and individualization project in Queenstock Heights.

Individualization projects will also be done in Town and Country Executive Village in Antipolo and Aurora Subdivision in Angono.

Once these projects are completed, they are expected to bring better water quality, pressure, and supply to a total of 45,205 families in Rizal.

Under the company’s P181 billion Service Improvement Plan for 2023-2027, Manila Water will invest a total capital expenditure of

P2.8 billion for its service expansion program. Priorities for service expansion include the underserved and still-unserved areas as well as marginalized communities in its service area particularly in booming Rizal Province.

Despite challenges in terrain, Manila Water continuously reaches out to its customers, extending its water network and constructing new facilities even in the highest and farthest parts of Rizal to provide water access to its new customers, and better service for their existing customers.

Putin’s Ukraine gamble seen as biggest threat to his rule

Biden’s test: Sustaining unity as Ukraine war enters Year 2

WASHINGTON—One year ago, President Joe Biden was bracing for the worst as Russia massed troops in preparation to invade Ukraine.

As many in the West and even in Ukraine doubted Russian President Vladimir Putin’s intentions, the White House was adamant: War was coming and Kyiv was woefully outgunned.

In Washington, Biden’s aides prepared contingency plans and even drafts of what the president would say should Ukraine’s capital quickly fall to Russian forces—a scenario deemed likely by most US officials. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, was offered help getting out of his country if he wanted it.

Yet as Russia’s invasion reaches the one-year mark, the city stands and Ukraine has beaten even its own expectations, buoyed by a US-led alliance that has agreed to equip Ukrainian forces with tanks, advanced air defense systems, and more, while keeping the Kyiv government afloat with tens of billions of dollars in direct assistance.

For Biden, Ukraine was an unexpected crisis, but one that fits squarely into his larger foreign policy outlook that the United States and like-minded allies are in the midst of a generational conflict to demonstrate that liberal democracies such as the US can out-deliver autocracies.

In the estimation of the White House, the war transformed what had been Biden’s rhetorical warnings—a staple of his 2020 campaign speeches—into an urgent call to action.

Now, as Biden prepares to travel to Poland to mark the anniversary of the war, he faces a legacy-defining moment.

“President Biden’s task is to make the case for sustained free world support for Ukraine,” said Daniel Fried, a US ambassador to Poland during the Clinton administration and now a distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council. “This is an important trip. And really, Biden can define the role of the free world in turning back tyranny.”

Biden administration officials are quick to direct primary credit for Ukraine’s staying power to the courage of its armed forces, with a supporting role to the Russian military’s ineptitude. But they also believe that without their early warnings and the massive support they orchestrated, Ukraine would have been all but wiped off the map by now.

Sustaining Ukraine’s fight, while keeping the war from escalating into a potentially catastrophic wider conflict with NATO, will go down as one of Biden’s enduring foreign policy accomplishments, they argue.

In Poland, Biden is set to meet with allies to reassure them of the US commitment to the region and to helping Ukraine “as long as it takes.” It’s a pledge that is met with skepticism both at home and abroad as the invasion enters its second year, and as Putin shows no signs of retreating from an invasion that has left more than 100,000 of his own forces killed or wounded, along with tens of thousands of Ukrainian service members and civilians—and millions of refugees.

Biden’s job now is, in part, to persuade Americans—and a worldwide audience—that it’s more important than ever to stay in the fight, while cautioning that an endgame is unlikely to come quickly.

His visit to Poland is an opportunity to make the case to “countries that repudiate archaic notions of imperial conquest and wars of aggression about the need to continue to support Ukraine and oppose Russia,” said John Sullivan, who stepped down as the US ambassador to Moscow in September. “We always preach, we are seeking to protect a rules-based international order. It’s completely done if Russia gets away with this.”

The US resolve to stand up to Russia is also being tested by domestic concerns and economic uncertainty.

Forty-eight percent of the US public say they favor the US providing weapons to Ukraine, with 29 percent opposed and 22 percent saying they’re neither in favor nor opposed, according to a poll published this past week by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. It’s evidence of slipping support since May 2022, less than three months into the war, when 60 percent of US adults said they were in favor of sending Ukraine weapons.

Further, Americans are about evenly divided on sending government funds directly to Ukraine, with 37 percent in favor and 38 percent opposed, with 23 percent saying neither, according to the AP-NORC poll.

This month, 11 House Republicans introduced what they called the “Ukraine fatigue” resolution urging Biden to end military and financial aid to Ukraine, while pushing Ukraine and Russia to come to a peace agreement. Meanwhile, the more traditionalist national security wing of the GOP, including just-announced 2024 presidential candidate Nikki Haley, a former UN envoy, has critiqued the pace of US assistance, pressing for the quicker transfer of more advanced weaponry.

“Don’t look at Twitter, look at people in power,” Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell told the Munich Security Conference on Friday. “We are committed to helping Ukraine.”

But Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, said he wants the president and his administration to impress on allies the need to share the burden as Americans grow weary of current levels of US spending to assist Ukraine and Baltic allies.

Sullivan said he hears from Alaskans, “Hey, senator, why are we spending all this? And how come the Europeans aren’t?”

The US has provided more economic and military aid than any country since the start of the war, but European nations and other allies have collectively committed tens of billions of dollars to back Ukraine and have taken in millions of refugees fleeing the conflict.

From the beginning of his administration, Biden has argued the world is at a crucial moment pitting autocracies against democracies.

The argument was originally framed with China in mind as America’s greatest economic and military adversary, and with Biden looking to reorient US foreign policy toward the Pacific. The pivot toward Asia is an effort that each of his recent predecessors tried and failed to complete as war and foreign policy crises elsewhere shifted their attention.

With that goal, Biden sought to quickly end the US military’s presence in Afghanistan seven months into his term. The end to America’s longest war was darkened by a chaotic withdrawal as 13 US troops and 169 Afghan civilians looking to flee the country were killed by a bombing near Kabul’s international airport carried out by the Islamic State group’s Afghanistan affiliate.

AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report

That lesson, cited in the most recent biography of the Russian president, seems to be guiding him as his invasion of Ukraine suffers setbacks and stalemates. The Kremlin strongman, who started the war on February 24, 2022, and could end it in a minute, appears to be determined to prevail, ruthlessly and at all costs.

Stoking his countrymen this month on the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Stalingrad that turned around Moscow’s fortunes in World War II, he said: “The willingness to go beyond for the sake of the Motherland and the truth, to do the impossible, has always been and remains in the blood, in the character of our multiethnic people.”

But so far, Putin’s gamble in invading his smaller and weaker neighbor seems to have backfired spectacularly and created the biggest threat to his more than twodecade-long rule.

History and modern roadblocks

HE began the “special military operation” in the name of Ukraine’s demilitarization and “denazification,” seeking to protect ethnic Russians, prevent Kyiv’s Nato membership and to keep it in Russia’s “sphere of influence.” While he claims Ukraine and the West provoked the invasion, they say just the opposite—that it was an illegal and brazen act of aggression against a country with a democratically elected government and a Jewish president whose relatives were killed in the Holocaust.

Putin laid the foundation for the invasion with a 5,000-word essay in 2021, in which he questioned Ukraine’s legitimacy as a nation. That was only the latest chapter in a long obsession with the country and a determination to correct what he believes was a historical mistake of letting it slip from Moscow’s orbit. He reached back three centuries, to Peter the Great, to support his quest to reconquer rightful Russian territory.

But rectifying history soon hit modern roadblocks.

“Literally everything that he set out to do has gone disastrously wrong,” said British journalist Philip Short, who published his biography, “Putin,” last year.

Despite armed interventions in Chechnya, Syria and Georgia, Putin overestimated his military and underestimated Ukrainian resistance and Western support. Russian media try to boost his authority with images of a bare-chested Putin riding a horse, shooting at a military firing range and dressing down government officials on TV, but the war has exposed his shortcomings and the weakness of his military, intelligence services and some economic sectors.

Ukrainian forces have liberated more than half the territory Russia seized. The war has killed

tens of thousands on both sides, caused widespread destruction, and induced not only Ukraine but also Sweden and Finland to seek Nato membership. It has increased the security threat to Russia and scuttled decades of Russia’s integration with the West, bringing international isolation.

Increasingly, Putin seems to be improvising in a conflict much longer and more difficult than he expected. For example, he’s threatened to use nuclear weapons, and then backed off. The strategy is familiar from his lifelong passion, judo: “You must be flexible. Sometimes you can give way to others if that is the way leading to victory,” Putin recounted in flattering 2015-2017 interviews with American director Oliver Stone.

In Putin’s view, an aggressive West wants to crush Russia. His narrative, along with increasingly repressive measures to stifle domestic dissent, has galvanized patriotic support among many of his countrymen. But it runs up against an inefficient, top-down power structure inherited from the Soviet Union, against the interconnected world’s porous borders, and against the sacrifices Russians are suffering firsthand.

Erratic but determined leader IN interviews with The Associated Press, Short, other analysts and a former Kremlin insider describe the 70-year-old Putin as an erratic, weakened leader, rigid and outdated in his thinking, who overreached and is in denial about the difficulties.

They say he seems concerned about waning, though still strong, domestic public opinion—albeit from unreliable polls. Mostly isolated due to Covid-19 concerns and his personal security, Putin speaks with a small set of advisers, but they appear reluctant to provide honest assessments.

Observers see a long, grinding war that Putin is determined to win, with his way out hard to predict.

“It’s not Putin that rules Russia. It’s circumstances which rule Putin,” said Tatiana Stanovaya, senior fellow of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Short believes the Kremlin leader “has painted himself into a corner.… He will be looking for ways to push ahead, but I don’t think he’s found them.” Giving up is unlikely, Short said, recalling that “his character was always to double down and fight harder.”

Fiona Hill, who served in the past three US administrations and is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, believes Putin wanted to win quickly in Ukraine, install a new president in Kyiv and force it to join Belarus in a Slavic union with Russia. A successor would run Russia, she said, with Putin

elevating himself to lead the larger alliance.

But now, according to Stanovaya, “It feels like there is not any hopes that the conflict can be solved any other way than militarily. And this is scary.”

What’s ahead

ANALYSTS see several scenarios for Putin, depending on battlefield developments. The scenarios, not mutually exclusive, range from what could be his biggest nightmare—a coup or uprisings like those he saw as a KGB agent in East Germany in 1989, in the USSR in 1991 or Ukraine in 2004 and 2014—to winning reelection next year. That would extend what is already the longest rule of any Kremlin leader since Josef Stalin.

Dmitry Oreshkin, a political analyst and professor at Free University in Riga, Latvia, said Putin could revise his goals in Ukraine, declaring he achieved them by establishing a land corridor from Russia to Crimea and taking over the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the east. Then he could announce, “We punished them. We showed them who is the boss in the house. We have defeated all Nato countries,” Oreshkin added.

But Kyiv has shown no willingness to cede territory, and for Putin to sell this as a victory, Orsehkin believes “he needs to convince himself that he defeated Ukraine. And he understands better than anyone that, in fact, he lost.”

As military setbacks mount, Russians are withdrawing morally and psychologically, and thinking, “Yes, we see that something is wrong in the war, but we do not want to know,” according to Oreshkin.

Such tuning out, along with economic hardships, could blow back on Putin, he said, perhaps this spring, as Russians ask, “You promised victory, so where is it?”

Former Putin speechwriter Abbas Gallyamov said the Russian president doesn’t admit mistakes or defeats, and “desperately needs a victory just to prove the point that he’s a strongman.”

Even some in the military are turning critical, he said.

“When he becomes hated by

more than half—and we’re driving in this direction—the chances for a coup, elite coup, military coup, will increase,” Gallyamov said, giving a timeline of 2024 “plus a couple of years.”

Stanovaya and Short believe no uprising is imminent.

“Even if people are suffering, and they can be discontented and angry, there is no way to make it political,” Stanovaya said.

Gallyamov sees a way out for Putin if he can gain recognition of “new territories, plus a declaration of Nato that it stops expansion, for example, or Ukrainian introduction into their constitution of their neutral status...or their declaration that Russian will be the second official language.”

Death or succession

ANOTHER possibility is Putin dying in office, but CIA Director William Burns is skeptical.

“There are lots of rumors about President Putin’s health, and as far as we can tell, he’s entirely too healthy,” Burns, a former US ambassador to Moscow, told the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado in July.

Short said Putin has established such tight security controls and rival power centers that he’s more likely to suffer “a totally unanticipated heart attack than to be overthrown by the people around him.”

He and Hill believe Putin will eventually look for a successor. Gallyamov lists “technocrats” such as Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin and Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin as possibilities. Hill said Dmitry Medvedev, whom Putin tapped as president from 20082012, “seems to be auditioning for that role again.”

For the moment, Putin remains very much in charge. In his authorized 2000 biography, he noted:

“There are always a lot of mistakes made in war.... You have to take a pragmatic attitude. And you have to keep thinking of victory.”

When a reporter asked him in December if his “special military operation” in Ukraine has been taking too long, Putin replied with a Russian idiom about big goals being achieved incrementally: “The hen pecks grain by grain.”

VLADIMIR PUTIN says he learned from his boyhood brawls in his native St. Petersburg: “If you want to win a fight, you have to carry it through to the end, as if it were the most decisive battle of your life.”

Sports BusinessMirror

B8 Tuesday, FeBruary 21, 2023 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph sports@businessmirror.com.ph

PSA HAILS QUEEN ELMA

ATHLETICS icon Elma Muros-Posadas gets to share the limelight for the third time in Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Annual Awards Night history when she is bestowed a Lifetime Achievement Award on March 6 at the grand ballroom of the Diamond Hotel.

Named Athlete of the Year twice in 1993 and 1995, Muros-Podas fully deserves the Lifetime Achievement Award from the country’s oldest media organization—a look at her Wikipedia page indicates dozens upon dozens of her achievements in track

and field even long after she retired on a rainy night in Kuala Lumpur when she won the heptathlon gold medal in the 2001 Southeast Asian Games.

Muros-Posadas is one of several awardees led by Athlete of the Year in the Awards Night presented by San Miguel Corp. The 56-year-old Muros-Posadas is the

Pagdanganan ready for tough duel against Thai, Taiwanese aces

BIANCA PAGDANGANAN provides the star power to a top-notch field in the Anvaya Cove Ladies International beginning Wednesday in Morong and she’s delighted with her return to the local golf scene after a long absence and thrilled to bits about competing in her first pro tournament in the country.

“I’m excited and looking forward to playing my first professional event in the Philippines,” said Pagdanganan, who led the country’s sweep in the individual and team gold medals in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games at Luisita Golf and Country Club in Tarlac before launching her pro career in the Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour in 2020.

With her immense power and talent, the Tokyo Olympian made an immediate impact in the world’s premier circuit, posting a joint ninth finish in a Major—the Women’s PGA Championship—while emerging one the Tour’s longest hitters. She made the cut nine times in 10 events, kept her card in 2021 and finished tied for 10th in the LPGA Q-Series for Tour membership in 2022.

The University of Arizona product, however, struggled in the past season and fell short of her bid in the Q-Series, relegating her to the Epson Tour, which starts next month in Florida.

And for the 25-year-old ace, the road back to the LPGA Tour begins at home as she spearheads the local challenge against a host of aces from Taiwan, the $100,000 championship sponsored by the International Container Terminal Services Inc., being co-sanctioned by Taiwan LPGA Tour, led by No. 1 Ya-Chun Chang.

“I’m eager to be playing competitive again and to be able to play in front of a home crowd,” she added.

For one, Pagdanganan is bracing for a showdown with Chang, who joined the Arizona Wildcats for the 2018-19 season when the former played out her senior year.

“Chang was my teammate in college and am good friends with her,” said Pagdanganan. “It’s always a pleasure playing with top players from each country as it brings out the best in us.”

With Thailand’s No. 2 PK Kongkraphan standing at the forefront of the country’s perennial rivals’ charge, Pagdanganan and the rest of the locals, including Chanelle Avaricio, Harmie Constantino and Chihiro Ikeda, indeed face a daunting test in the 54-hole championship organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc. and which kicks off the new Ladies Professional Golf Tour season.

“I haven’t played with a lot of them in a while, so I’m looking forward to being in the same field as them,” said Pagdanganan when asked of her thoughts on playing with the locals in a premier championship. “There’s so much talent in Philippine women’s golf.”

Daniella Uy is likewise making a return of sort after campaigning in the US circuit after nailing her first LPGT win at Riviera two years ago, while the likes of Marvi Monsalve, Gretchen Villacencio, Pamela Mariano, Sarah Ababa, Rev Alcantara and Yvon Bisera hope to come out strong and fuel their respective bids for a breakthrough victory.

legendary “Long Jump and Hurdles Queen” of the SEA Games, having won 15 gold medals on the track and on the field, a SEA Games athletics record she shares with Myanmar’s Jennifer Tin Lay.

She joins an elite list of Lifetime Achievement Awardees among them Efren “Bata” Reyes, Carlos “Caloy” Loyzaga, Filomeno “Boy” Codinera, Virgilio “Baby” Dalupan, Ramon Fernandez and Robert Jaworski.

Presented by the Philippine Sports Commission and Cignal TV, the gala night

is also backed by the Philippine Olympic Committee, Tagaytay City Mayor Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, Milo, Smart, MVP Sports Foundation, Rain or Shine, 1Pacman Rep. Mikee Romero, Philippine Basketball Association, OKBet and the International Container Terminal Services Inc.

Married to national coach George “Jojo” Posadas and mother to Klarrizze and George Michael Jr., Muros-Posadas was a product of the Project: Gintong Alay and made an indelible mark for having reigned supreme in long jump in seven SEA Games editions.

The pride of Magdiwang in Romblon also won medals in the Asian Games and the Asian championships highlighted by her long jump bronze medal at the 1994 Hiroshima Asiad. She’s also a two-time Olympian—1984 Los Angeles and 1996 Atlanta—and competed at the world championships four times and world indoor championships five times. Muros-Posadas’ life story was the inspiration behind the 2011 award-winning movie “Thelma” starred by Maja Salvador where the athletics great portrayed the role of an athletics coach.

Four Seniors rookies picked to boost respective squads

THE Philippine Airlines (PAL) Interclub starts its reboot in Cebu on Wednesday with the Seniors action—a division usually reserved for players who are calculating and reserved.

This year could be the exception as the 72-hole championship for those 55 years old and above will see four new faces who are used to the aggressive play that could ultimately spell the difference for their respective teams.

Marty Ilagan, who once entertained thoughts of turning pro; Ronnie Littaua, who spearheaded the Forest Hills men’s team for a long time; Carl Almario, a former pro who has innate knowledge of the two courses to be used this week; and Jun Jun Plana, who until the start of the pandemic anchored the highly-successful Manila Southwoods men’s program, will be making their seniors debuts and loom as players to watch.

Ilagan and Littaua have come in to infuse youth

to the talent-laden Luisita squad, while Almario joins an already loaded Cebu Country Club lineup that put the home squad in the mix as title contender in what is regarded as the country’s unofficial club team championship.

Plana, meanwhile, will ditch the old stabilizer role he used to play at Southwoods as he becomes the Carmona-based squad’s tip of the sword in trying to foil another Canlubang-Luisita fight for the title.

“They could provide the big difference,” Cangolf mainstay Tommy Manotoc said of the new faces in

Gilas intensifies preparations

THE national men’s basketball team intensified preparations with twice-a-day practice sessions on Tuesday and Monday for the games against Lebanon and Jordan in the sixth and last window of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) World Cup Asian Qualifiers.

“We need to fast track everything especially that our players from Japan have just arrived last week, and it’s just a matter of days [before the games],” national team deputy coach Jong Uichico told BusinessMirror on Monday. “It’s their first time to practice with the local-based players here.”

Gilas Pilipinas faces Lebanon at 6 p.m. on Friday and Jordan also 6 p.m. on Monday both at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan.

The Philippines is 5-3 won-lost in Group E behind Lebanon (7-1) and New Zealand (6-2) but is already qualified along with Japan (5-5 Group F) in the August 25-September 10 FIBA World Cup as co-hosts.

Japan B.League players Kiefer and Thirdy Ravena, Dwight Ramos, Jordan Heading and Bobby Ray Parks Jr. joined practice only last Thursday at the Meralco Gym, according to Uichico.

They again practised Monday with almost a full team led by naturalized player Justin Brownlee, CJ Perez, Calvin Oftana, Scottie Thompson, June Mar Fajardo, Kelly Williams, Raymond Almazan, Jamie Malonzo, Chris Newsome, Arvin Tolentino, Kevin Quiambao, Francis Lopez, Mason Amos, Dechon Winston and Jerom Lastimosa.

Head coach Chot Reyes is expected to name his 12 players on Thursday.

“We have to be faster and more accurate, to be more efficient than Lebanon and Jordan to have a better chance of winning,” San Miguel Beer’s Perez said in a separate interview. “I’m hoping to be selected.”

Japeth Aguilar (knee) and naturalized center Ange Kouame (knee) are down with injuries while 7-foot-3 Kai Sotto is unavailable because of his commitments overseas.

Table tennis selection tilt up

PUERTO PRINCESA City is hosting the five-day Philippine Table Tennis Federation Inc. (PTTF) National Selection that starts Wednesday at the Puerto Princesa City Sports Complex.

About 80 participants in the men’s and women’s division will vie for slots on the national team to the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia from May 5 to 12.

PTTF officials thanked Puerto Princesa City Mayor Lucilo Bayron and sports director Atty. Rocky Austria for hosting the competition as they expressed plans of making the city a table tennis hub.

“The best players from all over the country will battle it out in Puerto Princesa to determine who will represent the country in the 2023 SEA Games,” PTTF president Ting Ledesma said. “We thank Mayor Baron for his love for our sport and on his plan to turn the city into a table tennis center.”

Ledesma also the PTTF plans to organize an international competition in Puerto Princesa City after the national selection tournament.

“Puerto Princesa will witness something special,” PTTF secretary general Pong Ducanes said. “All of the country’s top players will converge here

their division. “They are longer than (the old players), that’s for sure. And with the tournament playing forward tees, we could expect fireworks.”

Canlubang is the defending champion and is the only team in the Championship division which didn’t tinker with its lineup that also has the steady Abe Rosal and the seasoned Rolly Viray.

“I have no expectations,” Ilagan, a Tarlac native, said. “I will just go out there and help my team the best way I can.”

Alta Vista and Club Filipino will host the tournament, with a number of the veterans seeing the title to be decided in the Danao City layout that has so many blind holes that local knowledge will be key.

The annual event, considered the country’s unofficial national team championship, was shelved for two years due to the coronavirus pandemic.

PACQUIAO VS BROOK?

IS boxing icon Manny Pacquiao fighting again for a swan song that could provide a fitting closure to his legendary career?

“We did talk to him [former senator Pacquiao] about Kell Brook and he was, you know, happy and excited to come back and fight,” International matchmaker MP Promotions President Sean Gibbons said.

Ezekiel “Kell” Brook, 36, was the International Boxing Federation welterweight champion from 2014-17 and is supposed to fight fellow Briton Conor Benn, who tested positive for doping last year.

“So you know if Conor Benn couldn’t get cleared and there is some way to do Kell Brook, I think that’s a fun fight,”Gibbons said.“I think both of them have great names and they’re both former champions and they put their time in, and I think it is still the fight fans would like to see.”

Pacquiao’s last professional fight was a loss to Cuban Yordenis Ugas on August 21, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada, for the World Boxing Association welterweight crown.

The 44-year-old eight-division world champion announced his retirement on September 29, 2021 to focus on his campaign for the presidency.

Pacquiao returned to the ring last December 11 and won an exhibition fight against South Korea’s DK Yoo, a self-defense instructor and martial artist practitioner but who’s more of an internet personality.

Pacquiao retired with a 62-8-2 win-loss-draw record with 39 knockouts to Brook’s 40-3-0 with 28 knockouts. Josef Ramos

THE 43rd edition of the Queen Sirikit Cup—the official AsiaPacific Amateur Ladies Golf Team Championship—tees off Tuesday with Manila Southwoods Golf and Country Club chairman Robert John Sobrepeña expressing excitement over the four-day competition.

“On behalf of the Manila Southwoods Board, I am very happy to host the Queen Sirikit Cup,” said Sobrepeña as he also acknowledged the Women’s Golf Association of the Philippines for choosing Manila Southwoods as host venue.

Sobrepeña on Monday led the opening ceremony that featured Queen Sirikit Cup secretary-general and co-founder Rae-Vadee Suwan, Thailand Amabassador to the Philippines Tull Traisora, R&A Asia Pacific Assistant Director Nick Shan and National Golf Association of the Philippines secretary-general Valeriano “Bones” Floro.

Sobrepeña said that now is the perfect time to have major tournaments for ladies and support women’s golf as a whole.

“Manila Southwoods has always been supportive of international amateur events,” he said. “Last year we had the Nomura Cup for men, now we have this. I believe that the Asian women have a lot of chance of competing at the highest level.”

Twelve teams are vying in the tournament with the Philippines facing challenges from China, Korea, Chinese Taipei, New Zealand, India, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and defending champion Japan.

Mafy Singson, Lois Kaye Go and Rianne Malixi will try to nail the country’s first championship in the annual tournament that was shelved during the pandemic and played last year in Singapore.

The competition will be at Manila Southwoods’s premier layout Masters designed by Jack Nicklaus.

VIncEnT JUIcO

@VJuico, Instagram vpjp_j, vince.juico@gmail.com

SPORTS WITHOUT BORDERS

Gold Coast hoops

THE Gold Coast located in Queensland (Australia) is a major tourist destination—the city is known for its climate, world-class surfing beaches, high-rise buildings, theme parks, nightlife and rainforest hinterland.

According to Gold Coast Basketball Association (GCBA) general manager Joel Mciness, it’s a great place to raise a family and not just to raise a family, the GCBA, since 1959, has been involved in youth sports specifically youth basketball.

Joel was a guest in my program Sports For All and we discussed youth sports, mental health among kids, basic fundamentals and adjustments, changes and pivots before and after the pandemic.

I asked about any distinction between GCBA youth basketball and the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) in the US and Mcinnes said that the AAU has more games in a day and there’s travel involved.

According to their website, goldcoastbasketball.com.au: “The year was 1959, when a small group of young men gathered at the Rotary Hall in Southport and formed the first official Basketball competition on the Gold Coast. It was named the Gold Coast Amateur Basketball Association.

“In 1989, participants of Gold Coast Basketball were eagerly looking forward to the opening of Carrara Stadium and the launch of the Cougars/Rollers NBL [National Basketball League] franchise.

“In the Gold Coast competition alone this season, we have had over 150 Senior Teams and more than 100 Junior Teams participate. If we include the ‘Miniballers’, aged 5 to 11, who are involved in programs at Southport, Nerang, Robina, Burleigh, Reedy Creek, Palm Beach and Banora Point, we have approximately 2000 players involved from 5 to 80 years of age.”

The people who came before Joel and the rest of the people behind GCBA must have done something right for the league to exist for the last 63 years, and as a whole, Australia isn’t No. 3 in the world in basketball behind the US and Spain for nothing.

It’s because of the infrastructure and systems in place not just in the Gold Coast, but also in the other states in Australia.

The league has a holistic program for juniors and seniors with emphasis on basic fundamentals and playing the game the right way.

For the juniors it’s having fun and developing and nurturing their love for the game. For the seniors, it can get a little serious and competitive with the goal of an active lifestyle and keeping and staying fit.