Manila Standard - 2022 May 19 - Thursday

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MON TULFO

FILOMENA SINGH

TULFO ARRESTED FOR LIBEL CHARGES NEWS / A4

CA'S SINGH NAMED NEW SC JUSTICE NEWS / A4

VOL. XXXVI • NO. 92 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P18 THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2022 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

PH in for a food crisis—Dar Agri chief warns it may start in few months but says govt ready for it

By Othel V. Campos

WINNERS ALL.

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The 12 winning senatorial candidates are proclaimed by the Commission on Elections en banc, sitting as the National Board of Canvassers, at the PICC in Pasay City on Wednesday, May 18, 2022. From left: Robin Padilla, Jinggoy Estrada, Joel Villanueva, Raffy Tulfo, Francis Escudero, Mark Villar, Sherwin Gatchalian, Alan Cayetano, Juan Miguel Zubiri, Loren Legarda, JV Ejercito and Risa Hontiveros. Danny Pata

GRICULTURE Secretary William Dar warned of a looming food crisis that could start in the second half of the year as input prices soar and there will be little to buy in the global market. “Many experts are saying there is indeed a looming crisis. But we’re prepared to handle this,” Dar said at a briefing Wednesday. “We have a directional plan to handle these big challenges.” The plan, he said, involves rebooting agriculture towards recovery and growth and developing a resilient industry under the Department of Agriculture’s 10-year strategic plan. The program is part of the transitional plan for farm and fisheries sectors, including a proposed P250 billion budget that the DA aims to forward to the transitional camp of presumptive president Ferdinand Marcos Jr. “We have the details of the P250 billion budget for next year. We are readying the documents, and anytime soon, in the next two weeks, we will seek an audience with the transition [team] of presidentelect Bongbong Marcos,” Dar said as he admitted offering to extend his service under the new administration. Next page

Marcos talks to Xi, sees ‘fruitful’ PH-China relations Finally, winning

By Rey E. Requejo

PRESUMPTIVE President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is optimistic the relations between China and the Philippines are bound for more fruitful and meaningful outcomes for both countries under his administration. Marcos made the assessment following a lengthy telephone

conversation on Wednesday with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who also conveyed his congratulations for practically winning the May 9 elections. Xi also assured him that China will respect and support his incoming administration’s independent foreign policy. Marcos said he and the Chinese leader had a preliminary discussion on how Philippines-China bilateral relations could move forward.

“Hindi ‘yung pang karaniwan na congratulations...Talagang marami kaming pinag-usapan. [It was not the usual congratulations… We really discussed a lot]. We talked about the way forward for the China-Philippine relationship. So, magandang maganda (truly beautiful), very substantial,” he added. Xi congratulated Marcos as the unofficial tallies of votes cast during the May 9 polls show the latter as the likely succes-

sor of President Rodrigo Duterte, whose administration forged friendlier relations with Beijing amid a lingering maritime dispute in the West Philippine Sea. In a Facebook post, the Chinese embassy said Xi stressed that the presumptive president’s father, the late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., has participated in and witnessed the development of ChinaPhilippines relations, calling Marcos a Next page

GMA pushes Romualdez’ bid for Speaker with full support By Maricel V. Cruz FORMER President and returning Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo personally conveyed to House Majority Leader and Leyte 1st District Rep. Martin Romualdez Wednesday her support for him to become Speaker in the incoming 19th Congress.

The two met in San Juan City to discuss challenges Congress and the nation in general would face in the years ahead. Romualdez, 58, is with the same political party of Arroyo, 75, who was Speaker in the 17th Congress. He expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the former president for her “words of support and encouragement.” Next page

senatorial bets get proclaimed

By Macon Ramos-Araneta ALL 12 winning senatorial candidates in the May 9 elections were proclaimed Wednesday by the Commission on Elections (Comelec), sitting as the National Board of Canvassers. The elected senators will all assume office on June 30 at 12:01 p.m. The Comelec en banc, composed of chairman Saidamen Pangarungan, and Commissioners George Garcia, Rey Bulay, Aimee Ferolino, Aimee Torrefranca-Neri, Marlon Casquejo, and Socorro Inting, took turns in presenting the certificates of proclamation to the elected senators at the proclamation rites at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City. Actor Robin Padilla, who ran under the ruling PDP-Laban, leads the senatorial Next page

DOH okays 2nd booster for elderly, frontliners By Willie Casas FULL SUPPORT. Former President and returning Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (center), House Majority Leader and Leyte Rep Martin Romualdez and Pampanga Vice Governor Lilia Pineda flash the thumbs up sign during a meeting in Greenhills San Juan. Arroyo reiterated her endorsement of Romualdez as House Speaker of the incoming 19th Congress. Ver Noveno

WEATHER It’s official: Wet season begins THE six-month wet season in this Southeast Asian republic has begun, the state weather agency said Wednesday. Using temperature and rainfall as bases, the climate of the country can be divided into two major seasons: (1) the rainy season, from June o November; and (2) the dry season, from December to May. Next page

HEALTH workers and the elderly may now receive a second booster against COVID-19, the Department of Health (DOH) said Wednesday. Messenger RNA vaccines such as

Pfizer and Moderna will be given at least four months after the administration of the first booster dose, following the recommendation of the Health Technology Assessment Council (HTAC), the DOH said in a statement. Health Undersecretary Maria

Rosario Vergeire noted that the second booster would protect health workers and senior citizens against all variants of COVID-19, including the recent Omicron subvariant BA.2.12.1. "Everyone eligible can get the

PH keeps 3rd spot with 3-gold haul By Riera U. Mallari HANO—Fil-American Kayla Richardson was crowned the fastest woman of the 31st Southeast Asian Games on another slow day for the Philippines on Wednesday. Richardson’s century dash win, to go with a gold in billiards and archery, nearly brought the Philippine campaign to a screeching halt, upping the Filipinos’ gold tally to just 37 at the third spot, with Indonesia and Singapore dangerously creeping in with 36 apiece at fourth and fifth spots, respectively. Host Vietnam has unofficially

dethroned the Philippines as overall champion with 124 golds, with Thailand a far runner-up with 48. A slow starter, Richardson, who was also the 100-meter champion during the 2015 Singapore games, picked up the pace halfway through the century dash finals and held steady to the finish, clocking 11.6 seconds to master Next page

ANOTHER GOLD. Johann Chua claims the gold in the men's 9-ball singles in the 31st Southeast Asian Games Wednesday, May 18, 2022, at the Ha Dong Gymnasium.

Next page

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News

THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2022

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Biz groups push for economic bills In letters sent to House and Senate leaders, the business groups and chambers commended legislators for the enactment of landmark legislation such as the Electric Vehicles and Charging Stations Act, and the amendments to the Public Service Act, Retail Trade Liberalization

Act, and Foreign Investments Act. The groups also called on Congress to pass additional achievable reforms in the remaining session days of the 18th Congress. In their letters to Congress, the groups urged legislators to pass the bills that have

passed the House and require counterpart action in the Senate. These are the Ease of Paying Taxes bill, Open Access in Data Transmission, Philippine Creative Industries, Promotion of Digital Payments, Tax Reform Package 3: Property Valuation and Assessment Reform, and Tax Reform Package 4: Passive Income and Financial Intermediary Taxation. The groups also looked forward to the ratification of the reconciled version of the bills that are currently under bicameral conference committee deliberation. These are the Philippine Transportation Safety Board Creation and Rural Agricultural and Fisheries Development Financing System Act.

PH...

ness fund will be given as a subsidy under the Rice Farmers Assistance Program. Beneficiaries from this program are farmers tilling two hectares or less. The DA is also considering a return of the Masaganang Ani program, a planting program for crops self-sufficiency particularly in vegetable production, introduced by the first Marcos Administration. Dar urged the public to help increase food production in the country by trying urban farming methods. “We must be prepared, each Filipino, if possible, let’s all plant, raise, fish, here

in urban areas. If there’s a way to increase the production of our farmers and fishers, let’s do it. We also have to do it, we, as citizens,” he said in a mix of Filipino and English. He said the next administration should put a premium on cushioning the impact of food scarcity in the global market as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The United Nations estimates that 1.7-billion people, the majority from developing economies, are expected to suffer greatly from “food insecurity, energy prices, and debt burdens.” “Given elevated levels of socioeco-

nomic stress following the COVID-19 crisis and unfolding impacts of climate change, just one of these channels is enough to trigger collapse – debt distress, food shortages, or blackouts. Of these 1.7 billion people, 553 million are already poor, and 215 million are already undernourished,” the UN Task Team for the Global Crisis Response Group said in its April 2022 report. The UN also noted that with the leading role of Russia and Ukraine in supplies of food, energy, and fertilizer, 107 economies will be affected, including 38 economies in Asia and the Pacific.

Z-18 anti-submarine and early-warning helicopters were also taking part in the drills—which China has not confirmed any details of—the Japanese ministry added. “It’s not clear whether ship-borne aircraft have taken part in night flight drills, but such training is more intense compared with previous drills that were disclosed to the public,” said Lu Li-shih, a former instructor at the Taiwanese Naval Academy, in the SCMP report. Marcos added he proposed to Xi that dealings between their two countries could be expanded, not only in terms of bilateral relations. “I told him that in my opinion, the way forward is to expand our relationship not only diplomatic, not only trade, but also in culture, even in education, even in knowledge, even in health to address whatever minor disagreements that we have right now,” Marcos explained. “I also told him we must not allow what conflicts or difficulties we have now between our two countries to become historically important,” he added. "If you do not know where you have come from, you cannot go far," Xi said, citing a Filipino saying, as he urged both

countries to carry forward the friendship of the two sides and stay true to their original aspiration. Marcos added: “(Xi) also said, I know the part that your family played in the opening of relationships. So I said the relationship between China and the Philippines is very, very important (not just) as a matter of foreign relations but also, there is an added facet because the opening of diplomatic relationships with People's Republic of China and the Philippines, as started by my father, should continue to grow.” Before the conversation ended, Marcos said both agreed to hold further bilateral talks to have a more comprehensive discussion of the issues. “We are both looking forward to having further dialogues. And he stressed that they should be bilateral. (Xi) said we should talk between ourselves, and not involve others,” he disclosed. On the Chinese naval exercises, SCMP reported that at least seven escort ships are accompanying the Liaoning – including a Type 055, the country’s most powerful and largest destroyer, three Type 052D destroyers, a supply ship and two other vessels – to form China’s biggest ever strike group formation.

“The ongoing large-scale training operation aims to test and develop training guidelines and a doctrine for ship-borne aircraft carrier deck operations, high-sea logistic support and other details, which will provide a reference point for the navy’s third aircraft carrier, the Type 003,” Taiwan’s Lu said. The third aircraft carrier is expected to launch later this year with a more advanced launch system than the Liaoning and its sister ship the Shandong, the Hong Kong-based Morning Post’s report added. “Except for the catapult take-off systems, all other operations on the new platform of the Type 003 will be very similar to the Liaoning,” Lu said. The Liaoning carrier group has been operating for more than 20 days – right at the limit for the Soviet-designed ship, analysts told SCMP. After high-frequency training in the first 10 days, aircraft on the Liaoning have reduced take-offs and landings to several sorties a day,” Macau-based military observer Antony Wong Tong said. “The Liaoning is just a training platform, yet on a real combat-ready carrier, pushing too hard will cause accidents,” he told the HK paper. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

shared by the voters in the May 9, 2022 polls that has recorded the highest voter turnout of 83.11 percent and lowest election-related violence of 16 incidents, so far. Of the 66,839,976 registered voters, 55,549,791 actually voted. “As we usher in a new set of leaders from the local government units up to the national positions, I am proud to say that the Commission on Elections has successfully defended the sovereign right of the people to the democratic process of elections,” the Comelec chairman said. The proclamation was based on the latest canvass report by the NBOC, wherein 172 out of 173 Certificates of Canvass (COCs) for senators and partylist groups from the automated election system, manual overseas voting, local absentee voting, persons deprived as liberty, and 63 barangays in the Bangsamoro region were canvassed. Lanao del Sur is still set to conduct its special elections on May 24 after a reported failure of elections. Pimentel said Wednesday that he is leaning towards joining Hontiveros, the lone opposition lawmaker, in the minority in the incoming 19th Congress. Hontiveros is the lone member of the opposition who got another term in the Senate. Minority Leader Franklin Drilon is retiring while detained Senator Leila de Lima failed to win re-election. Senator Francis Pangilinan, lost to Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte in the vicepresidential race. Pimentel said that being part of the minority does not always mean opposing the majority, but playing a part in improving legislation. Marcos, the eldest sister of presumptive president Ferdinand Marcos Jr., will face Legarda in a fight to be Senate President Pro Tempore, the second highest post in the Senate. The post is currently held by Senator Ralph Recto, whose term ends on June 30.

DOH...

Panel said the efficacy of messenger RNA booster shots such as Pfizer and Moderna against the Omicron COVID-19 variant decreases to 50 percent after three month. “Studies abroad also found that after the first booster or third dose, immunity wanes especially against the Omicron variant and subvariants. That's extremely important, especially for those who are not yet vaccinated. For those who are vaccinated, protection from two doses is not enough,” said Dr. Nina Gloriani in a televised press briefing. The Philippines has recently detected 17 cases of the highly transmissible BA.2.12.1, a sub-variant of the dominant BA.2. The bivalent vaccine being developed by Moderna, which contains the original Wuhan strain and the beta variant, shows promise against the Delta and Omicron variants, Gloriani said. “When given as a booster, it increases neutralizing antibodies 2 to 2.5 times compared with a booster containing the original strain," she said. “It also has good reactions against other variants--Delta and Omicron--because these have common mutations.”

In a statement, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration or PAGASA said the rainy season started over the western sections of Luzon and the Visayas. This is due to the presence of the frontal system and the occurrence of severe thunderstorms, which have brought widespread rain in many parts of the country, as well as the observance of the southwesterly wind flow during the past few days. PAGASA advised that intermittent

rains associated with the southwest monsoon or "habagat" would start to affect Metro Manila and western sections of the country. But monsoon breaks, or breaks in rainfall that can last for several days or weeks, may still happen. PAGASA also noted that the current La Niña phenomenon might still affect parts of the country, increasing the likelihood of above normal rainfall conditions in the coming months. PAGASA's declaration of the rainy season came a day after heavy rains pounded parts of Metro Manila, where nearly 13 million people live, causing heavy traffic during afternoon rush hours.

Richardson, after sharing a sweet embrace with sister Kyla and father Jeff. With the win, Kayla, redeemed herself from a bronze finish in the 200 meters, that was topped by Pereira three days ago. Her sister Kyla settled for the silver. Meanwhile, 20-year-old Abby Bidaure, competing in her second SEA Games, emerged as the heroine for Team Philippines, hitting the bull’s-eye in the final arrow of a shoot-off for a 10 with just 10 seconds left on the clock, leading the team to clinching a 26-25 win over the host squad.

The hawkeyes battled back with a 5749 win in the fourth frame after trailing 1-2 in the first three, forcing a shoot-off that came down to Abby’s winning shot. In billiards, Johann Chua, 29, pounced on two stunning miscues by reigning US Open champion Carlo Biado en route to a 9-6 victory to become the new 9-ball billiards champion here. The 9-ball gold was the second for Pinoy cue artists here, with Rubilen Amit winning the women’s side of the event last Tuesday, beating Jessica Chan of

Singapore, 7-2, for her ninth gold medal in the biennial event. Gilas Pilipinas expectedly whipped Singapore, 88-37, at the Than Tri Gymnasium for its third straight win, while the Gilas women trounced rival Thailand, 97-81, for its second straight triumph. Teen tennis sensation Alex Eala beat Malaysian Jo Leen Saw in straight sets at the Hanata Tu Son courts in Bac Ninh and also advanced to the semifinals of the mixed doubles in tandem with Treat Huey. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

By Othel V. Campos and Maricel V. Cruz

S

EVEN business groups and six foreign chambers called on the House and Senate to pass the remaining priority economic reform bills as Congress approaches the last two weeks of the 18th Congress.

From A1

To alleviate the effects of fuel spikes, Dar said the DA has doubled the fuel subsidy allotted to farmers and fishermen to P1.1 billion. The subsidy will benefit corn farmers as well as the fishing communities. Another cash transfer scheme that the DA is enforcing comes from excess tariff from the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) that says that anything beyond the P10 billion for the rice competitive-

Marcos... From A1

"builder, supporter, and promoter of the China-Philippines friendship." The Chinese leader "urged both countries to carry forward the friendship of the two sides and stay true to their original aspiration," it added. "President Xi said the two countries should also grasp the general trend, write a grand story on the China-Philippines friendship in the new era and follow through the blueprint for bilateral friendly cooperation, so as to usher in an even brighter future for the bilateral ties," the embassy said. This developed as the South China Morning post reported that ongoing drills involving China’s Liaoning aircraft carrier “offer pointers to how training plans for future carrier strike groups will develop,” according to military analysts. The SCMP reported that the Japanese defense ministry released details of the exercises in the Philippine Sea this month and said the carrier’s J-15 fighters had carried out about 200 sorties during the first 10 days of the exercise, which began late last month.

Finally... From A1

race with 26,612,434 votes based on the latest partial and official vote count by the NBOC. Padilla was followed by Antique Rep. Loren Legarda and broadcaster Raffy Tulfo who obtained 24,264,969 and 23,396,954, respectively. Reelectionist Senator Sherwin Gatchalian clinched the 4th spot with 20,602,655 votes. The other senators in the "Magic 12" were: Sorsogon Gov. Francis "Chiz" Escudero, 20,271,458; former Public Works secretary Mark Villar, 19,475,592; Taguig Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano, 19,295,314; Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, 18,734,336; Senator Joel Villanueva, 18,486,034; former senator JV Ejercito, 15,841,858; Senator Risa Hontiveros, 15,420,807; and former senator Jinggoy Estrada, 15,108,625. Three of the winning senators, Padilla, Tulfo and Villar, are newcomers. Four are re-electionists—Gatchalian, Zubiri, Villanueva and Hontiveros, and five— Legarda, Escudero, Cayetano, Ejercito and Estrada--are returning to the Senate. They will join the remaining senators in the Senate whose six-year terms end on June 30, 2025. They are Senators Cynthia Villar, Pia Cayetano, Nancy Binay, Grace Poe, Imee Marcos, Sonny Angara, Aquilino Pimentel III, Christopher Go, Francis Tolentino, Ronald dela Rosa, Lito Lapid and Bong Revilla. Other former senators who ran but lost are former Department of Information and Communications Secretary Gregorio Honasan and Antonio Trillanes IV. Re-electionists Sen. Leila de Lima and Richard Gordon failed in their bid to seek a fresh mandate. In his speech, Pangarungan noted that the glory of the winning candidates was

PH keeps... From A1

an 8-runner field that included 200-m queen, Singapore’s Shanti Pereira, who placed runner-up with a time of 11.62. Kayla’s time was even better than her 11.76 in Singapore. “I can’t complain. I’m so grateful. It took me a lot to get here. I thank God for getting me here,” said a teary-eyed

From A1

second booster jab done at the LGU vaccination sites nearest you. They are safe, effective, and free of charge,” Vergeire said. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last month amended the emergency use authorization (EUA) of COVID-19 vaccines to include another additional dose for vulnerable sectors. The government initially rolled out the second booster to immunocompromised persons following HTAC's recommendation and has so far administered it to 30,912 members of the vulnerable sector, said Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje. As of Monday, some 68 million or 76.29 percent of the eligible 90 million population in the country have been fully vaccinated against the respiratory disease, the DOH said. Of those with primary doses, 13.6 million have received their booster shots. The government’s Vaccine Expert

It’s... From A1

In the letter sent to the Senate, the business groups and chambers also strongly encouraged ratification of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. Signatories to the letters were business groups Bankers Association of the Philippines, Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines, IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines, Makati Business Club, Management Association of the Philippines, Philippine Association of Multinational Companies Regional Headquarters, Inc. and Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation, Inc. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

Marcos camp urges critics to end animosity By Rey E. Requejo, Maricel V. Cruz and Macon Ramos-Araneta THE camp of presumptive President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Wednesday again urged petitioners in two disqualification cases filed against the runaway winner in the May 9 presidential race to “stop pursuing their agenda of divisiveness and animosity.” Lawyer Victor Rodriguez, spokesman and chief of staff of Marcos, said they should instead learn to respect the will of the majority who voted for the presumptive 17th President and his running mate Sara Duterte-Carpio in the recent national and local elections. “I appeal to those who keep on pursuing this divisiveness, the people have spoken. The Filipino people have spoken, and an overwhelming majority has voted President-elect Bongbong Marcos and Vice President-elect Inday Sara Duterte into office as President and Vice President. Learn to respect the will of the Filipino people,” he said. Earlier, in a 75-page petition, the Supreme Court was asked to overturn the resolution of the Commission on Elections dismissing the disqualification case against Marcos Jr. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

Ex-Maguindanao solon Jimmy Matalam dies, 84 By Nash Maulana COTABATO CITY—Former Maguindanao lawmaker Datu Guimid “Jimmy” Matalam died early morning on Tuesday, an immediate member of his family said. He was 84. Sarah Matalam, daughter of the former congressman, said her father died peacefully at past midnight. Of late, the older Matalam had been rarely seen in public because of lingering illness, his relatives have said. As member of the first post-Martial law Congress, Matalam was best remembered as one of two principal sponsors of the consolidated bills on the creation of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). The other lawmaker-sponsor was Congressman Pablo Garcia Sr., who chaired the House Committee on Local Government, while Matalam was the chair of the Committee on Muslim Affairs. The measure had been passed into law as RA 6734, the Philippines’ first autonomous region law, from Matalam’s draft and from another draft bill written by then Maguindanao First District Congressman Michael Mastura. Matalam had been two-term Maguindanao Congressman of the Second District of Maguindanao (1987-1992; 2001-2004), Speaker of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao-Regional Legislative Assembly (ARMM-RLA) from 1993 to1996; ARMM Vice-Governor (1996-2001); ARMM Department of Agrarian Reform Regional Secretary (1992-1993), ARMM Department of the Interior and Local Government Regional Secretary (1996-2001).

GMA... From A1

“Thank you ma’am. Coming from our President Emeritus in Lakas-CMD, it means a lot to me,” Romualdez, who is also Lakas-CMD president, said. Romualdez said he was counting on the former president for advice in shepherding the House of Representatives. Arroyo’s expression of support followed a similar pronouncement from incumbent Speaker Lord Allan Velasco during their meeting in Makati. On Tuesday, Velasco, 44, said: "I believe that his election as Speaker of the 19th Congress will ensure that the legislative agenda of the incoming administration will be pursued and completed. Majority Leader Romualdez has my support and friendship." Former Marikina City Rep. Miro Quimbo, incoming Party-list Foundation Coalition Inc. president and Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Zaldy Co, senior Deputy Majority Leader and Cavite Rep. Jesus Crispin Remulla, and Ako Bicol partylist Rep. Alfredo Garbin also attended the Makati meeting. Velasco thanked Romualdez, whom he described as “a steady partner and ally,” for helping him shepherd the House in the outgoing 18th Congress. On Monday, Nacionalista Party stalwarts also paid a courtesy call on Romualdez to formalize their support for him to be the Speaker in the next Congress. Arroyo's support boosts a torrent of endorsements for Romualdez from major political groups in the larger chamber of Congress, including his own party.

News

THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2022

Duterte enacts law banning financial fraud

TRAFFIC JAM AS USUAL.

It is not normal in Metro Manila without the usual traffic jams, particularly along EDSA as can be seen in this bumperto-bumper traffic situation on a stretch of the historic thoroughfare in Quezon City. Manny Palmero

Pharmally stirs debate in Senate S

ENATORS Richard Gordon and Franklin Drilon refuted on Wednesday Senate President Vicente Sotto III’s announcement that Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp. executives Mohit Dargani and Lincoln Ong would be released by June 3.

“No, (what Sotto said) is not true. They will be released at the end of the (18th) Congress,” Gordon said. Drilon echoed Gordon’s statement. “The power to detain them for contempt expires when the 18th Congress adjourns on June 30, 2022. The 3rd Regular Session of the 18th Congress adjourns on June 3,” he said. “Note that it is the 3rd Regular Ses-

sion that adjourns on June 3. But the 18th Congress itself adjourns and closes on June 30,” Drilon explained. According to Sotto, the two executives of Pharmally will be freed from Senate custody on June 3, 2022, in time for the sine die adjournment of the Senate. Asked about Gordon and Drilon’s statements, Sotto said; “Ask the Supreme Court when the end of Congress

is. To me, we end upon ‘adjournment sine die’ as the title connotes.” “The way it looks, the Senate no longer functions after June 3. But if they want June 30, it is up to them. Better ask (for) the SC interpretation,” he added. Ferdinand Topacio, Dargani and Ong’s lawyer, earlier thanked Sotto for his announcement, saying his clients were innocent. “It is our fervent prayer that notwithstanding the release of our clients, the Supreme Court resolve our two pending petitions before it in a manner that will further limit the scope of the pow-

ers of the Legislature, by striking a happy balance between preserving its prerogatives as a lawmaking body, and ensuring that the exercise of such will not outrun the bounds of reason and result in sheer oppression,” Topacio said. Gordon, chair of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, cited Dargani and Ong for contempt and had them detained for their refusal or failure to submit to the committee financial records of Pharmally on its more than P10-billion contract to deliver 2019 coronavirus medical supplies to the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management.

PRESIDENT Duterte has signed into law a measure imposing stiff penalties on persons found guilty of investment fraud, notably the so-called Ponzi schemes and boiler room operations. Republic Act No. 11765, also called the Financial Products and Services Consumer Protection Law, which defines “investment fraud” as any form of deceptive solicitation of investments from the public. Under this law, investment fraud covers Ponzi schemes and other plots of deception involving the promise and offer of profits or returns on investments or contributions solicited from the victims. The new law also covers boiler room operations and the offering or selling of dubious investment schemes without the required license or permit from the pertinent agencies particularly the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Financial product or service, on the other hand, refers to products or services developed or marketed by a financial service provider which may include savings, deposits, credit, insurance, preneed and health maintenance organization products, securities, investments, payments, remittances and other similar products and services. This also includes digital financial products or services which pertain to a broad range of financial services accessed and delivered through digital channels. Under the new law signed last May 6, any person found guilty of committing investment fraud will face a jail time of one to five years or pay a fine of P50,000 to P2 million, or both. Officers and employees of erring corporations or juridical entities would also face the same punishments.

PNP launches crackdown on e-sabong

RTWPB affirms wage hikes in NCR, W. Visayas By Vito Barcelo WORKERS in Metro Manila and Western Visayas will start receiving their wage hike starting June 3, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said. The DOLE made the announcement after the wage increase orders for the two regions were affirmed by the National Wages and Productivity Commission. The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) of Metro Manila granted a raise of P33, bringing the new minimum wage rate to P570 for workers in the non-agriculture sector, and P533 for those in agriculture-based industries. The RTWPB of Western Visayas also approved the P55 for workers in companies with more than 10 employees, and P110 in companies with 10 or less employees. The Western Visayas wage board likewise granted an increase of P95 for workers in the agriculture sector, raising their daily minimum pay to P410. Meanwhile, minimum wage earners in the Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, and Caraga regions will soon get higher pay after their respective Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards (RTWPBs) have ordered the minimum wage adjustments.

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DRIVE-THRU BOOSTER SHOT. Without getting off his car, a motorist gets his dose of booster shot of COVID-19 vaccine at a

government drive-thru site in the Quirino grandstand in Manila. The Department of Health says the new Omicron sub-variant is now in Metro Manila, Puerto Princesa City in Palawan, and in Western Visayas. Norman Cruz

DENR keeps keen eyes on mining in S. Cotabato

By Rio N. Araja

THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on Wednesday vowed to strictly monitor the Tampakan copper-gold project on its environmental protection and rehabilitation obligations once it resumes operations in South Cotabato. DENR Secretary Jim Sampulna cited the amendment of the Environment

Code of South Cotabato, particularly on the lifting of the open-pit mining ban, which was approved on third and final reading by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of South Cotabato last May 16. The move gave the Sagittarius Mines Inc. the green light to proceed with the development of the area and eventually commercial extraction of minerals. The mining firm is the proponent of the Tampakan copper-gold project.

“The environment will not be sacrificed. We will see to it that the soonto-commence Tampakan copper-gold project will be strictly monitored in compliance with applicable mining and environmental laws, rules, and regulations,” Sampulna said. “We will also require SMI to invest in equipment and manpower to ensure mitigation in case of any adverse impacts from the mining operation,” he added.

THE Philippine National Police (PNP) has ordered unit commanders to intensify their crackdown against the online cockfighting or “e-sabong” operations. PNP director for operations Maj. Gen. Valeriano De Leon issued the order amid reports that e-sabong which had been suspended by President Duterte continues to operate. “The operation of e-sabong was suspended by President Duterte, effective May 3, 2022. Therefore, we should not permit guerrilla-style activities of esabong by unscrupulous individuals and groups,” De Leon said. He said they must ensure that no PNP personnel are engaged in e-sabong operations, either as players or as collectors of protection money. On May 16, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) said e-sabong sites were still running, despite President Duterte’s order. Lawyer Jose Tria, vice president of PAGCOR’s e-Gaming Licensing and Regulation, said they monitored the following online sabong websites: pinassabong.live; pclive1.com; sabong-express.net; phbetting.live; goperya.com; phbet44.bet; phbet.bet; phbetr.bet. De Leon said they are coordinating with PAGCOR to find other e-sabong websites that were still operating. Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año warned that those who continue the online cockfighting operations would be arrested.

Rody sends condolences on UAE leader’s death

PRESIDENT Duterte has extended condolences to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) government and its people over the death of UAE President and His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. “The President conveys the Filipino nation’s solidarity with the UAE in this period of great loss and bereave-

ment,” Malacañang said in a statement issued on Wednesday. Duterte, who described the late leader as a “bold visionary” said Sheikh Khalifa’s leadership “was crucial” for the oil-rich Gulf State as it continued its economic transformation and pursued deeper relations with the global community. The President also said that His High-

ness Sheikh Khalifa will long be remembered even beyond the UAE for his legacy of leadership, wisdom and benevolence. Duterte’s sympathy message was personally conveyed to United Arab Emirates President His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan through his Special Envoy, Secretary Robert E.A. Borje. Vito Barcelo

Taguig youths earn money while on vacation THE Taguig City government held its 2nd Special Program for the Employment of Students (SPES) orientation for a second batch of 520 beneficiaries last Tuesday. Mayor Lino Edgardo Cayetano said the city’s Public Employment Service Office (PESO) spearheaded the SPES,

an annual work appreciation program that encourages the youth to turn their idle time into productive hours so they can generate income for schoolrelated expenses. PESO personnel conducted its first SPES orientation last April 19, with 500 beneficiaries.

A total of 2000 beneficiaries are expected to participate in the orientation, with two more batches of beneficiaries to come. The SPES orientation aims to introduce to beneficiaries the jobs covered by the program and the responsibilities that come with being a SPES beneficiary.

REVIVING DQ PLEA VS. PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENT MARCOS.

Lawyer Howard Calleja and former congressman Satur Ocampo, along with members of CARMMA and martial law victims, talk with reporters after filing their appeal at the Supreme Court on the dismissed disqualification case against Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. Norman Cruz

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Cops arrest Mon Tulfo in Manila for libel charges

News

THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2022

By Willie Casas

ROBIN AND BONG. Senator Bong Go raises the hand of senator-elect and actor Robin Padilla during the proclamation of the 12 winning senators in the May 9 elections. Padilla garnered the most votes in the Senate race.

Ople still undecided on DMW post S

USAN “Toots” Ople, former Labor undersecretary, is still in the process of “discernment and consultations” on whether if she will accept the offer of presumptive president Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to lead the Department of Migrant Workers.

Ople confirmed that she was offered the post under the Marcos administration. “We met last Friday, and it was a warm, and inspiring meeting. He (BBM) spoke about the need to get the new department up and running, and for it to care for our OFWs and also develop programs for their families especially the children of migrant workers,” Ople, in a GMA News report said. “Given his kind offer for me to return

to public service, I am now in a process of discernment and consultations – because I am aware of the enormity of the task and the challenges involved.” A doctors group meanwhile said the next head of the Department of Health (DOH) should be someone who is “practicing.” “Well I think we need somebody who really knows, who really has the knowledge when it comes to healthcare, so he has to be practicing,” Philippine Col-

lege of Physicians (PCP) president Dr. Maricar Limpin said in an interview with ANC’s “Rundown.” Limpin likewise said the Philippines’ next health secretary should have a strong public health background. “Also, he or she should also know something about health promotion. You know health promotion has been left on the background and because we are so poor or are so weak on health promotion, we see a lot of health problems arising. And we cannot also do anything about you know, one of the highest cause of mortality in the country which is noncommunicable diseases,” she said. Limpin said she hopes the next ad-

ministration will be able to end the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. She also said the government must address the exodus of nurses from the country and ensure the proper implementation of the Universal Healthcare Law. “Because this is already long overdue, our people [need] to get what they deserve,” she said. Marcos has yet to name his preferred Health secretary. Presumptive vice president Sara Duterte-Carpio has agreed to lead the Department of Education, while Marcos’ campaign manager Benhur Abalos will lead the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG). With Willie Casas

NEWSPAPER columnist, radio broadcaster and former special envoy for public diplomacy to China Ramon “Mon” Tulfo was arrested for libel charges on Wednesday, Manila Police District (MPD) director Police Brigadier General Leo Francisco said. Tulfo was arrested around 10:30 a.m. and brought to the office of the Special Mayor’s Reaction Team (SMART) at the Manila City Hall, Francisco said. According to the MPD public information office (PIO), it was the SMART personnel who arrested Tulfo. “Personnel...led by PMaj. Edward Samonte...under the supervision of PLtCol. Rosalino Ibay Jr...served the warrant of arrest of the above-named accused for Violation of...(the) Cybercrime Prevention Acts of 2012 (cyber libel) with criminal case no. R-MNL19-00760-CR, issued by Hon. Maria Victoria A. Soriano-Villadolid, presiding judge of RTC Br 24, Manila,” the MPD stated. The name of the complainant was not disclose, the MPD said. The MPD also said Lean Cruz, counsel of the complainant, approached the MPD and sought assistance for Tulfo’s arrest. Tulfo was informed of his Constitutional and charges against him but he opted to remain silent. Tulfo previously faced other libel charges. In March 2020, he surrendered to authorities after two regional trial court judges ordered his arrest for libel. In 2019, former justice secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II also accused Tulfo of defamation for alleging that the former received a cut from the “pastillas” bribery scheme at Manila’s airport. “(The) accused is currently detained to this office, prior to the return of warrant to court of origin,” the MPD added.

Martial law data revisions ‘unlikely,’ Palace official says REVISIONS on data regarding Martial Law posted on the Malacañang website are unlikely, a communications official said. Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Undersecretary Kristian Ablan said “whatever we have will stay,” when asked in a radio interview about the possibility of revising history written on the government website. “I don’t think so. Again I say that in the Office of the President and the PCOO we have very strong institutions,” Ablan, in the radio interview, said. The Presidential Museum and Library (PML) administration earlier said the official website of Malacañang, which also stores repositories of the PML, was temporarily inaccessible due to updates in its content. The PML released this statement

following concerns that historical records, including those of the Martial Law regime, have been deleted from its website. “Please be informed that, contrary to reports that it has been deleted, the website malacanang.gov.ph is merely suspended following measures to update the content therein and improve its security features,” the PML said on its official Facebook page. The museum administration also assured that all historical records are intact. “Rest assured that the contents of the said website have not been compromised and will be made available to the public at the soonest possible time. Thank you,” it added. The PML is in charge of preserving, managing, and promoting the history and heritage of the Philippine presidency.

ARRESTED. Veteran journalist Mon Tulfo has been placed in the custody of the Special Mayor’s Reaction Team (SMART) of the MPDManila City Hall after he was arrested by police over a cyber libel complaint. Danny Pata

Comelec officials cite ‘historic’ May 9 elections with 83% voter turnout Rody appoints

Singh as new SC justice

COURT of Appeals Justice Maria Filomena Singh is the newest Supreme Court justice. Singh will be President Rodrigo Duterte’s last appointee to the high court before Duterte steps down in June. Singh will take over the post vacated by retired Associate Justice Estela Perlas-Bernabe who retired on May 14. Singh is said to be one of the longest-serving Supreme Court justices before her mandatory retirement in 2036. She is the sister of Department of Health spokesperson Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire. Singh’s track record shows she has been with the CA since 2014, and prior to this post, she was a Quezon City RTC judge for seven years and QC Metropolitan Trial Court judge for five years. She practiced law for 10 years before joining the Judiciary. For her academic background, Singh has degrees from UP (BA English major in Imaginative Writing, cum laude), Ateneo de Manila University (Juris Doctor, second honors), and American University Washington College of Law (LLM). She also currently teaches evidence and special proceedings at the UP Diliman Law school.

A HISTORIC 83 percent of the more than 65 million voters participated in the May 9 elections, Commission on Elections (Comelec) Education and Information Division Director James Jimenez said. In a Twitter post, Jimenez said the country “made history during the May 9 national and local elections” with the highest turn-out in the automated elec-

tion history in the country. Comelec chair Saidamen Pangarungan during his speech at the proclamation of winning senators on Wednesday acknowledged Filipino voters “who waited patiently in line during the May 9 elections to ensure they will exercise their right to suffrage.” Pangarungan also said Eleksyon 2022 has the “highest voter turnouts

in recent history.” “The glory does not belong solely to the winners of the elections. It also belongs to the voters who stood patiently in line to cast their votes in an election with one of the highest voter turnouts in recent history,” Pangarungan in a GMA News report said. The 83 percent voter turnout in May reportedly surpassed the 81.95 percent rate

SENATE CANVASSING.

The Senate has received a total of 150 Certificates of Canvass (COCs) for President and Vice President as of Wednesday. The figure represents 86.71 percent of the 173 COCs expected to be delivered to the upper chamber.

Customs warns public on clearance fee scam By Joel E. Zurbano THE public has been warned of a syndicate engaged in a scheme using social media accounts of agency personnel to collect payments for shipments. “The public is advised that certain unscrupulous individuals are grabbing social media pictures of B0C-NAIA personnel and using the names of NAIA officials demanding sums of money as clear-

ance Fees for the release of shipments,” the Customs NAIA stated in its advisory. It also stated that the bureau does not collect any fees or charges through G-cash or money remittance services. “Payment of Customs duties and taxes is through Authorized Agent Banks or Customs Cashiers and given with corresponding official receipt for the payments made,” it added.

during the 2016 presidential elections. The Comelec earlier proclaimed the 12 winning senators Wednesday, as earlier planned. The Comelec said the special elections in certain areas will no longer affect the “Magic 12.” The Comelec also said the National Board of Canvassers has already released the official list of the 12 senators-elect.

Ecleo welcomes law for marine hatchery By Maricel V. Cruz REP. Alan Ecleo of Dinagat Islands welcomed the enactment of Republic Act 11736 that establishes a Multispecies Marine Hatchery in the Municipality of Basilisa, Province of Dinagat Islands. “President Duterte has once again shown that he is still not finished creating meaningful change for the country, especially the People of Dinagat Islands,” Ecleo, the principal author of RA 11736, said “This will certainly aid in the recovery of our economy as we build back from the devastation of Typhoon Odette and the economic impact of the COVID19 pandemic,” he added. RA 11736 was among the several measures filed on marine hatchery that was enacted on April 27, 2022. “Our vision is to make the Marine Hatchery and Fish Farming an economic centerpiece which would provide consistent income among the fishermen of Dinagat Islands, helping eradicate poverty in the Province of Dinagat Islands,” Ecleo, who was re-elected as representative of Dinagat Islands’ lone district after a landslide victory, stressed.

Opinion National unity cannot be reaped if not sown

THE Bible teaches Christians that one reaps what one sows. This piece of biblical sagacity is merely an iteration of a fact of natural life, viz., that that which you sow is what you will reap. One cannot sow one thing and expect to reap another; that’s not natural. From the 2016 electoral season to the electoral season that ended recently, presidential candidate Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his supporters have been trying mighty hard to prove Nature wrong, sowing one thing and expecting to reap something else. Marcos & Co. think that they can pull off their contra-Nature campaign strategy.

Let’s go back to the Bible. For six years – 2016 to 2022 - the Marcos political machine has been trying to destroy Vice President Leni Robredo, who defeated Marcos Jr. in the 2016 vice presidential race. Mr. Marcos’ vast array of trolls has been throwing everything at the vice president except the proverbial kitchen sink. The trolls have maligned, insulted, verbally disfigured and in every way hurt Robredo, her official standing and her candidacy. Marcos’ Leni-destruction apparatus

BY the time Pakistani schoolboy Saeed Ali arrived at hospital in one of the world’s hottest cities, his body was shutting down from heatstroke. The 12-year-old collapsed after walking home from school under the burning sun, his day spent sweltering in a classroom with no fans. “A rickshaw driver had to carry my son here. He couldn’t even walk,” the boy’s mother Shaheela Jamali told AFP from his bedside. Jacobabad in Pakistan’s arid Sindh province is in the grip of the latest heatwave to hit South Asia -– peaking at 51 degrees Celsius (124 Fahrenheit) at the weekend. Canals in the city -- a vital source of irrigation for nearby farms -- have run dry, with a smattering of stagnant water barely visible around strewn rubbish. Experts say the searing weather is in line with projections for global warming. The city is on the “front line of climate change”, said its deputy commissioner Abdul Hafeez Siyal. “The overall quality of life here is suffering.” Most of the one million people in Jacobabad and surrounding villages live in acute poverty, with water shortages and power cuts compromising their ability to beat the heat. It leaves residents facing desperate dilemmas. Doctors said Saeed was in a critical condition, but his mother—driven by a desire to escape poverty—said he would return to school next week. “We don’t want them to grow up to be laborers,” Jamali told AFP, her son listless and tearful at her side. Heatstroke—when the body becomes so overheated it can no longer cool itself —can cause symptoms from lightheadedness and nausea to organ swelling, unconsciousness, and even death. Nurse Bashir Ahmed, who treated Saeed at a new heatstroke clinic run by local NGO Community Development Foundation, said the number of patients arriving in a serious condition was rising. “Previously, the heat would be at its peak in June and July, but now it’s arriving in May,” Ahmed said. Laborers forced to toil in the sun are among the most vulnerable. Brick kiln workers ply their trade alongside furnaces that can reach up to 1,000 degrees Celsius. “The severe heat makes us feel like throwing up sometimes, but if I can’t work, I can’t earn,” said Rasheed Rind, who started on the site as a child. ‘Water mafias’

has gone beyond the Vice President herself. Her immediate family, consisting of three daughters, also became targets of the Marcos trolls’ vile operations during this year’s campaign. The latest pre-election assault on the young Robredo family was the attack on one of the daughters. In so doing, the Marcos trolls crossed the red line drawn by the nation’s second-highest official. Yet throughout this year’s electoral season, Marcos Jr. , his running mate Sara Duterte and their entire apparatus incomprehensibly campaigned on the theme of unity. A perfect perversion of the New Testament admonition to throw back bread when stones are being thrown at you. “Unity” was proclaimed by the UniTeam in their rallies and campaign materials while their trolls were simultaneously savaging VP Leni. Now with the election results favoring them, Marcos Jr. and Sara Duterte want the nation to unite. The UniTeam may not realize it – or, if it does, it does not really care – but the trolls’ unrelenting attacks on her have hurt VP Leni very deeply. The nation’s second-highest official is a sensitive person and all the false and vile things that have been thrown at her for six years on social media have taken their toll on her and her family. Political candidates are not supposed to be onion-skinned, but the Marcos Jr. electoral apparatus – especially the trolls – have way exceeded the bounds of decency and fairness. Robredo and her millions of volunteers uniting with Marcos, Duterte and the UniTeam? Not gonna happen. For that, Mr. Marcos has only himself to blame. Back to the Bible. One can reap only what one has sown. If you sowed disunity, you cannot reap unity.

Life in Jacobabad is dominated by attempts to cope with the heat. “It’s like fire burning all around. What we need the most is electricity and water,” said blacksmith Shafi Mohammad. Power shortages mean only six hours of electricity a day in rural areas and 12 in the city. Access to drinking water is unreliable and unaffordable due to scarcity across Pakistan and major infrastructure problems. Khairun Nissa gave birth during the heatwave, her last days of pregnancy spent wilting under a single ceiling fan shared between her family of 13. Her two-day-old son now occupies her spot under its feeble breeze. “Of course I’m worried about him in this heat, but I know God will provide for us,” said Nissa. Outside their three-room brick home, where the stench of rotting rubbish and stagnant water hangs in the air, a government-installed water tap runs dry. But local “water mafias” are filling the supply gap. They have tapped into government reserves to funnel water to their own distribution points where cans are filled and transported by donkey cart to be sold at 20 rupees (25 cents) per 20 liters. “If our water plants weren’t here, there would be major difficulties for the people of Jacobabad,” said Zafar Ullah Lashari, who operates an unlicensed, unregulated water supply. ‘Nothing we can do’ In a farming village on the outskirts of the city, women wake up at 3am to pump drinking water all day from a well –- but it is never enough. “We prefer our cattle to have clean drinking water first, because our livelihood depends on them,” said Abdul Sattar, who raises buffaloes for milk and sale at market. There is no compromise on this, even when children suffer skin conditions and diarrhea. “It is a difficult choice but if the cattle die, how would the children eat?” he said. Pakistan is the eighth most vulnerable country to extreme weather caused by climate change, according to the Global Climate Risk Index compiled by environmental NGO Germanwatch. Floods, droughts and cyclones in recent years have killed and displaced thousands, destroyed livelihoods and damaged infrastructure. Many people choose to leave Jacobabad in the hottest months, leaving some villages half empty. Sharaf Khatoon shares a makeshift camp in the city with up to 100 people

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EDITORIAL

Extreme temperatures compound poverty in Pakistan’s hottest city By Emma Clark and Ashraf Khan

THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2022

Alter-egos

N

O MATTER how an incoming leader claims to be ready for the daunting job he faces, and how he insists on hitting the ground running, a crucial part of the transition process is the choice of Cabinet members. These are his alter egos, whose words, decisions and actions will be construed as his, as well.

The appointments will be critical.

are being floated. And while the chief executive himself might have landed the job via popular mandate, these alter egos would only stand on the trust and confidence given them by the appointing power. And yet, the implications of their actions will be grave and far-reaching. Trust and confidence must be Less than two months before the new administration is sworn based on many things besides perin, names of actual and poten- sonal relationships. Proven comtial appointees to various agen- petence in the specific field, expecies of the national government rience, knowledge of the nuances

and most of all personal integrity must all be considered. Our country has not yet completely recovered from the COVID-19 health crisis and the economic consequences it carried. Moreover, there are the long-standing problems that have plagued us even before the pandemic. The challenge, then, is to pick the right person for the job – capable and trustworthy, competent and honest. Good choices will help the new administration hit the ground running; unenlightened appointments will only serve to make the job difficult not only for the incoming leader, but more importantly to the long-suffering people of our land.

Starting things the right way

WHEN it became apparent that a massive victory was at hand, BBM issued a statement to the whole world that he should not be judged based on the history of his family. He should only be judged solely on what he will do as the president of this country. It was a fair plea and indeed, everyone should perhaps take a back seat and wait to see what he will be doing the moment he is sworn into office. After all, there is some kind of tradition that a newly elected president is given a 100day honeymoon period before everyone goes back to the salt mine. Another thing that he said was when it comes to appointments to government positions, qualifications and competence will be the sole basis for appointment. Previous political affiliations whether an individual was against his family or close to the family will not come into play in the matter of selection. These are encouraging words coming from him. It means that everyone will be given a fair shake and that anyone who is qualified and competent can be chosen for important government positions. For his first appointment, he selected his running mate and presumptive Vice President Sara Duterte Carpio to be the Secretary of Education which is the biggest government agency in the country. The second was the choice of his campaign manager Benjamin Abalos for the important position of DILG Secretary. Two have also been asked to join the cabinet while the rest that we are

Residents face desperate dilemmas. surviving on a few meager rupees that male family members earn through menial labor. They usually relocate the camp in the hottest months, 300 kilometers away to Quetta, where temperatures are up to 20 degrees Celsius cooler. But this year they will leave late, struggling to save the money for the journey. “We have headaches, unusual heartbeats, skin problems, but there is nothing we can do about it,” said Khatoon. Professor Nausheen H. Anwar, who studies urban planning in hot cities, said authorities need to look beyond emergency responses and think long term. “Taking heat waves seriously is important, but sustained chronic heat exposure is particularly critical,” she said. “It’s exacerbated in places like Jacobabad by the degradation of infrastructure and access to water and electricity which compromises people’s capacity to cope.”

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

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hearing are pure speculations until officially announced by the transition team. The landslide victory triggered the pouring of congratulatory messages from many countries. The United States and China wasted no time in sending their greetings and congratulations to BBM and the country for the successful conduct of the elections. The US President even made a personal call to BBM to offer his personal congratulations and offered to work together to strengthen common interests between the two countries. These are all positive developments. Even the European Union sent greetings, not to mention Australia, Russia and Japan. The swiftness of the count seems to have satisfied international observers to the validity of the results and the realization of the geopolitical importance of this election.

A healthy democracy needs a genuine opposition. What the entire business community is now waiting to the point of nervousness is for the new economic team to be named. I would think that the transition team is being extremely careful in this regard considering the implications if the wrong choices are made. This will probably be the last ones to be announced together with the security team and the executive secretary. I suspect and so does everyone else that Vic Rodriguez will get the job. I have it from a good source that BBM together with his close advisers are meeting constantly in their desire to make the right de‘Battlefield’ Along a dried up canal filled with rubbish, hundreds of boys and a handful of girls in Jacobabad pour into a school for their end-of-year exams. They gather around a hand pump to gulp down water, exhausted even before the day begins. “The biggest issue we face is not having basic facilities—that’s why we experience more difficulties,” said headteacher Rashid Ahmed Khalhoro. “We try to keep the children’s morale high but the heat impacts their mental and physical health.” With extreme temperatures arriving earlier in the year, he appealed to the government to bring forward summer vacations, which normally begin in June. A few classrooms have fans, though most do not. When the electricity is cut just an hour into the school day, everyone swelters in semi-darkness. Some rooms become so unbearable that children are moved into corridors, with youngsters frequently fainting. “We suffocate in the heat. We sweat profusely and our clothes get drenched,” said 15-year-old Ali Raza. The boys told AFP they suffered from

cisions on the people they will appoint so that they can hit the ground running when they take over the reins of government. It’s not only in the executive department that there are many activities going on but the legislative branch as well. The selection on who will be the Senate President and Speaker of the House are so crucial because of the legislative agenda of the incoming president. In the Senate, it is a choice between Senators Cynthia Villar and Miguel Zubiri while in the House, majority leader Martin Romualdez seems to be the lone contender and looking like it is already a done deal. If it happens, he will be the second Romualdez to become Speaker of the House. The first was Daniel Romualdez who was also from Leyte and a relative. The opposition in Congress appears to have been decimated in the election. If there are those who won, they are probably thinking whether it is better to join the so-called super majority. After all, the kind of party system that we have in this country is such that it is easy for politicians to transfer allegiance for the sake of their constituents as they would often say. I n the Senate, it is only Senator Risa Hontiveros who was able to make it back among the opposition reelectionists. Their problem now is whether they will be able to form a credible and viable opposition in both chambers. If it happens that there will be no opposition in Congress to speak of, where will the opposition come from? A healthy democracy needs a genuine opposition if we want our government to be labeled as a true democracy. Let us hope not from the streets because that can be counterproductive. It is always better that the opposition should come from elected politicians so that discourse can be kept civil and not settle issues in the streets. headaches and frequent diarrhea but refused to skip lessons. Khalhoro said his students are determined to break out of poverty and find jobs where they can escape the heat. “They are prepared as though they are on a battlefield, with the motivation that they must achieve something.” AFP

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Finns, Swedes poised to join NATO as trial begins in Kyiv K

YIV―Ukraine was seeking to evacuate the last soldiers holed up at the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol on Wednesday, its president said, as the first war crimes trial of a Russian soldier since the invasion began was set to get under way in Kyiv.

On the international stage, Finland and Sweden were expected to formally submit a joint application to join the NATO military alliance, a historic reversal of their traditional policy of nonalignment. As the war nears its third month, Azovstal has become emblematic of the fierce Ukrainian resistance that has repelled the Russian invasion far more effectively than most initially expected, and forced President Vladimir Putin to recalibrate his military aims from taking the capital Kyiv to focussing on the east of the country. A unit of soldiers had been holding out in the Mariupol plant’s underground maze of tunnels, stalling Russia’s progress through surrounding territory, but on Tuesday Moscow said more than 260 had now surrendered. Kyiv’s defence ministry said it would do “everything necessary” to rescue the undisclosed number of personnel still in the steelworks, but admitted there was no military option available. “The evacuation mission continues, it is overseen by our military and intelligence,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address.

“The most influential international mediators are involved.” His adviser Oleksiy Arestovich said ‘JAA’ MEANS ‘YES’. A board shows the results of the vote of the plenary session at the Finnish parliament about the NATO they would not comment further while membership bid in Helsinki, Finland, on May 17. Lawmakers in Finland voted overwhelmingly in favour of joining NATO as a deterrent the operation was ongoing, in an inter- against Russian aggression, with 188 of 200 members of parliament voting in favor. AFP view with local television. “Everything is too fragile there and one careless word can destroy everything,” he said. Those who have left Azovstal were ROME―Thirty years ago, the Sicilian weekend. baptisms and confirmations. taken into Russian captivity, includmafia killed judge Giovanni Falcone At a look-out point on the hill above, ‘Mafia massacre’ ing 51 who were heavily wounded, the with a bomb so powerful it was regis- a mobster nicknamed “The Pig” pressed Falcone posed a real threat to the Russian defence ministry said. tered by experts monitoring volcanic the remote control button as the judge’s Cosa Nostra, an organised crime group The ministry, which published tremors from Etna on the other side of three-car convoy passed. made famous by “The Godfather” trilimages showing soldiers on the island. The blast ripped through the asphalt, ogy and which boasted access to the stretchers, said the injured were The explosion, which ripped through shredding bodies and metal, and fling- highest levels of Italian power. transported to a hospital in the a stretch of motorway near Palermo at ing the lead car several hundred metres. It was he who gathered evidence eastern Donetsk region controlled 5:56 pm on May 23, 1992 sent shockThe three policemen on board were from the first mafia informants for a waves across Italy, but also signalled killed instantly. groundbreaking trial in which hundreds by pro-Kremlin rebels. the start of the mafia’s decline. Falcone, whose wife was sitting be- of mobsters were convicted in 1987. The defence ministry in Kyiv said Anti-mafia prosecuting magistrate side him, had slowed seconds before And at the time of the attack, he headit was hoping for an “exchange proceFalcone, his wife, and three members the explosion and the car slammed into ed the justice ministry’s criminal affairs dure... to repatriate these Ukrainian heof his police escort were killed. a concrete guard rail. department in Rome and was working roes as quickly as possible”. The mob used a skateboard to place a His chauffeur, who was sitting in the on a package of anti-mafia laws. But their fate was unclear, with Krem500-kilogramme (1,100-pound) charge back, survived, as did the three agents His murder woke the nation up. The lin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refusing of TNT and ammonium nitrate in a tun- in the convoy’s rear. Repubblica daily attacked the “mafia to say whether they would be treated as nel under the motorway which linked A “garden of memory” now stands massacre” in its headline the next day, criminals or prisoners of war. the airport to the centre of Palermo. on the site of the attack. Oil from olive with a photo of the famous mustachioed Putin “guaranteed that they would be Falcone, driving a white Fiat Cro- trees that grow there is used by Sicilian magistrate, while thousands of people treated according to the relevant interma, was returning from Rome for the churches for anointing children during in Palermo protested in the streets.AFP national laws,” Peskov said.AFP

Italy marks 30 years since slay of anti-mafia judge

UN: More than 100,000 people missing in drug-marred Mexico

QUEEN’S STATION. Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II (right) visits Paddington Station in London on May 17 o mark the completion of London’s Crossrail project, ahead of the opening of the new ‘Elizabeth Line’ rail service next week. AFP

MEXICO CITY ― More than 100,000 people are now listed as missing in violence-wracked Mexico, a grim milestone that the United Nations rights chief on Tuesday called “a tragedy of enormous proportions.” Rights groups appealed for urgent action to tackle disappearances that have skyrocketed during years of spiraling drug-related violence. The National Registry of Missing Persons, which has been tracking disappearances since 1964, said that as of Monday, the whereabouts of 100,099 people were unknown. About 75 percent are men. The Movement for Our Disappeared warned that the figure was “certainly well below the number” of actual cases, calling for the government to deal with the crisis “in a comprehensive and immediate manner.” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet

Last-minute drama roils US primaries in new Trump test Manila WASHINGTON―A tattooed, hoodStandard ie-wearing frontrunner suffering an TODAY 11th-hour stroke and a far-right firebrand surging into contention: the US state of Pennsylvania votes Tuesday in a midterm primary marked by more than its share of last-minute drama. With key races across multiple states it is the most consequential day yet of a scorched-earth primary season -- and will provide the latest test of Donald Trump’s continuing sway over his Republican Party. Hopefuls in North Carolina, Oregon, Kentucky and Idaho are vying to be their party’s representative in November’s congressional and state ballots, but all eyes are on the Senate contest in the swing state of Pennsylvania. For months the Republican race looked like a toss-up between hedge

fund tycoon David McCormick and TV surgeon Mehmet Oz, who has former president Trump’s endorsement -like a string of successful candidates in the contests to date. But the Pennsylvania race has been rocked in the final days by a comefrom-behind surge from an insurgent contender, Kathy Barnette, who has drawn practically level with her bigspending rivals. Barnette had been so far behind that the early frontrunners spent little time digging into her background until recent days, when a series of anti-Islam and homophobic statements were uncovered. Oz, who would be the first Muslim Republican senator if elected, zeroed in on a 2015 social media post in which Barnette said that “pedophilia is a cornerstone of Islam.” AFP

said the disappearances represented a “human tragedy of enormous proportions.” “No effort should be spared to put an end to these human rights violations and abuses of extraordinary breadth, and to vindicate victims’ rights to truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-repetition,” she added. Only 35 of the disappearances recorded have led to convictions -- a “staggering rate of impunity” that is “mostly attributable to the lack of effective investigations,” Bachelet’s office said. The UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances and the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances described the situation as “heart-breaking.” Enforced disappearances are a daily occurrence in Mexico, “reflecting a chronic pattern of impunity,” they added. AFP

Conservatives tipped to lose in nail-biter Aussie polls

SYDNEY―Australians punch drunk after three crisis-ridden CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK years of fire, flood and plague will go to the polls on Saturday, in a tight race narrowly tipped to end a decade of conservative rule. Opinion polls have consistently shown centre-left Labor ahead, suggesting a government led by veteran party lawmaker Anthony Albanese that would be more climate-friendly and less antagonistic toward China. But pugilistic Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who leads a conservative coalition, appears to be rapidly closing the gap as election day approaches. The often-acrimonious campaign has been marked by fears about soaring prices, divisions over Morrison’s leadership and anxiousness about tougher days to come. The last three years have seen Australia’s once-envied way of life upended by back-to-back bushfires, droughts, the Covid-19 pandemic and several “once-in-a-century” floods. Australians—usually some of the world’s most optimistic voters—have grown markedly more dissatisfied with their lives, more pessimistic about their future and more turned off by traditional political parties, according to polling by EMBATTLED. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison Ipsos. speaks at the Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce luncheon For many Aussies, their unofficial mantra of gung-ho opti- as he campaigns in Melbourne on May 18 ahead on the May 21 CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK mism—“she’ll be right”—suddenly seems a bit wrong. AFP general election. AFP

Manila

NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC Standard

Hong Kong triad party raid nets police over HK$1m in COVID fines

Notice is TODAY hereby given to the public that an EXTRA-JUDICIAL SETTLEMENT OF ESTATE WITH WAIVER AND RENUNCIATION OF RIGHTS of the late ALFREDO B. VILLAMOR, who died last September 10, 2021 at Quezon City was made and executed by and among his heirs as part of Doc. No. 430, pages 86, Book no. 15, series of 2022 before Notary Public Atty. Ramero S. Osorio Jr. (MS-MAY 19,26 & JUN. 2, 2022)

(MS-MAY 12/19/26, 2022)

HONG KONG―A raid on a Hong Kong triad leader’s birthday party resulted in police issuing more than HK$1 million ($127,388) in fines for breaching the city’s strict coronavirus rules, local media and official reports revealed Monday. Saturday night saw one of the largest mass fines to date when anti-triad offi-

cers raided a seafood restaurant where some 219 people had gathered—ten times more than the current cap on 20 people per banquet. A police incident report said all present were issued a spot fine after an intelligence-led operation conducted by the district’s anti-triad unit. Local media dubbed the raid a “mil-

lion dollar banquet” because spot fines are HK$5,000 and the total number would have been HK$1,095,000 ($140,000). Hong Kong has imposed strict social distancing rules as its hews to a lighter version of China’s zero-Covid strategy. Spot fines have become a fixture of Hong Kong during the pandemic with

teams of officers patrolling the streets to enforce rules that are often changing and at times contradictory. Last month the police revealed to lawmakers that they had issued nearly HK$90 million ($11.5 million) in fines to more than 21,600 people for breaching the Covid rules in the first 11 months of the last financial year. AFP

Manila

Standard Minamahal TODAY naming Presidente Rodrigo Roa Duterte; KAMI po ay lubos na nagpapasalamat sa inyong political will na isulong ang PUJ Modernization and Free Rides Program. Dahil sa mga programang ito, napaganda namin ang aming serbisyo sa aming pasahero - air conditioned na mga sasakyan at mas disiplinadong driver. Naitaas namin ang kita ng bawat miyembro/empleyado. Ang mga tsuper namin ay umaabot ang kita ng higit sa P1,000 kada raw, at may benepisyo pa silang Philhealth, SSS at Pagibig. Napababa namin ang mga gastusin dahil sa pagpapatupad ng fleet management system, automated fare collection system at GPS system. Marami pang pagpapaganda ang maaari sanang magawa para mahikayat pa ang publiko sumakay sa aming mga behikulo sa halip na gumamit ng pribadong sasakyan na nakakadagdag lang sa bigat ng daloy ng trapiko. Kumpyansa naman po kami na ipagpapatuloy ng susunod na adminstrasyon ang PUJ Modernization at Free Rides Program. Maraming pagsubok ang dinaanan ng industriya ng transportasyon gaya ng patuloy na pagtaas ng presyo krudo, pagtaas ng mga bilihin, trapiko at lock down dahil sa pandemiya. Kung hindi dahil sa PUJ Modernization at Free Rides Program, malamang nagsarado na kami. Kaya’t sa pagkakataong ito, nais namin, kaming mga grupo na unang sumabak sa modernization at free rides, na taus pusong magpasalamat sa inyo Mahal na Pangulong Rodrigo Roa Duterte kay DOTr Sec. Art Tugade, at ang mga iba pang opisyales ng DOTr at attached agencies, sa lahat ng inyong tulong at pagmamalasakit sa amin. Asahan ninyo na ipagpapatuloy namin ang inyong mga programa para sa ikagaganda ng aming serbisyo publiko. Pagpalain po kayo ng Diyos.

RONNIE GONSALEZ General Manager, Road Tsc.

EMMANUEL M. BUTRON Vice Chairman, A. Roces Transport Service Coop., Inc.

NOLI M. ROQUE Chairman of Novaliches Malinta Jeepney Transport Service Cooperative

FERNANDO C. QUITALIG, JR. Chairman, Alabang TSC

JACQUELINE REYES General Manager, Metro East and East Tsc.

EDMUNDO B. CADAVONA Chairman of Pandacan TSMPC

ARIELITO A. DORINGO General Manager, A. Doringo Transport Service Cooperative

ARTEMIO O. BELUAN JR. Chainnan, Mandaluyong Transport Service Cooperative

EDDIE FRIAL San Juan Rosario Transport Service Cooperative

RAMIL B. PADRIGO Chairman. Cubao Rosario Sta. Lucia Transport Service Cooperative (CURODA TSC)

JAMES ARIEL ABORBO Vice Chairman,997 STSC

GINA DELA CRUZ Chairwoman, DCM Transport Service Corp

MELVIN DELA CRUZ Chairman, Basicano TSMPC

ATTY. VIGOR D. MENDOZA II Chairman, Kilusang Pagbabago sa Industriya ng Transportasyon “KAPlT”

ELVIN CALADO Smart-Coop

GREG G. PUA JR Corporate Secretary, BEEP group of companies

ESTELA BUENSUCESO Chairman, Libra Jeepney Operator Transport Cooperative

ROBERTO “KA OBET” L. MARTIN Chairman, PASANG MASDA

WILMALYN FALCINAYA Ops Manager, E Sakay Inc

FREDDIE P. HERNANDEZ Chairman, Taguig Transport Service Cooperative

GINA DELA CRUZ President, Don Transport Service Corp

ROBERT C. OCHOA Chairperson, San Dionisio TSC

ERNESTO SAW JR. South Metro Transport Cooperative

MARLYN DC.RAMOS Chairwoman, Malabon Jeepney Transport Service Cooperative (MAJETSCO)

EMELITA A. PILOTES Chairperson, NOVABLUM Transport Cooperative

(PAID ADVERTISEMENT)

Business

Ray S. Eñano, Editor Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor business@manilastandard.net extrastory2000@gmail.com

B4

THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2022

PSE INDEX CLOSING Wednesday, May 18, 2022

132.94 PTS. 6,727.60

1,596,491,015 110,423

TOTAL TRADES TOTAL VALUE (IN PHP) ADVANCES DECLINES

7,749,146,484.57 134 60

UNCHANGED

45

F oreign E xchange R ate Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas • WEDNESDAY, MAY 18, 2022

Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

52.4480

Japan

Yen

0.007730

0.4054

UK

Pound

1.249600

65.5390

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.127402

6.6820

Switzerland

Franc

1.007151

52.8231

Canada

Dollar

0.780823

40.9526

Singapore

Dollar

0.722491

37.8932

Australia

Dollar

0.703000

36.8709

Bahrain

Dinar

2.653083

139.1489

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266603

13.9828

Brunei

Dollar

0.719891

37.7568

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000068

0.0036

Thailand

Baht

0.028969

1.5194

UAE

Dirham

0.272287

14.2809

Euro

Euro

1.055200

55.3431

Korea

Won

0.000790

0.0414

China

Yuan

0.148421

7.7844

India

Rupee

0.012911

0.6772

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.227894

11.9526

New Zealand

Dollar

0.636100

33.3622

Taiwan

Dollar

0.033842

1.7749 Source: BSP

SSI Group, Gucci establish P350-m partnership in PH SSI Group Inc. (SSI) has entered into a P350-million joint venture partnership with G Distribution B.V. (Gucci) in a bid accelerate the growth of the Gucci brand in the Philippines. SSI said in a disclosure to the stock exchange Wednesday wholly-owned unit Store Specialists Inc. and GUCCI are forming a joint venture company to be called Luxury Goods Philippines Inc. (LGPI), which will develop the Gucci brand in the Philippines. LGPI will have an initial capitalization of P350 million, with SSI owning 25 percent and Gucci holding the balance of 75 percent. “The joint venture between SSI and Gucci further strengthens the cooperation between Gucci and SSI, and is expected to further accelerate the growth of the Gucci brand in the Philippines and enable operating efficiencies, as Gucci and SSI transition from a franchisor-franchisee relationship, to joint venture partners,” said SSI. LGPI is expected to beging operations on June 1, 2022, and will own and operate Gucci stores in the Philippines. The SSI Group is the country’s leading specialty retailers, with an established brand portfolio that includes some of the world’s most recognized international brands. SSI in the first quarter of the year recorded net income of P68 million, a reversal of the P99-million loss posted in the same period last year. First-quarter net sales rose 28 percent year-on-year to P4.5 billion as the group continued to see a recovery from the COVID pandemic. E-commerce sales climbed 21 percent year-on-year and currently account for 9.4 percent of the total firstquarter revenues. “During the 1st quarter of 2022, the group continued to benefit from the resilience of our core customer base, the uniqueness of our brand portfolio, and the strength of our primary mall locations,” said SSI president Anthony Huang. “Despite possible headwinds in 2022 in the form of higher inflation and a weaker peso, we continue to be confident that SSI has the resources and expertise necessary to manage volatile market conditions,” he said. Jenniffer B. Austria

GDP growth expected to remain intact at 6.2% By Othel V. Campos

M

ACQUARIE Bank of Australia said the Philippine economic growth in 2022 will remain intact at 6.2 percent under the new government, as the reopening of the economy and post-election activities will likely see consumption return. Wealth management director for Macquarie Bank Martin Lakos said during the Australia-Philippines Economic Outlook event organized by the Australia Philippine Business Council that a Marcos presidency would unlikely impact foreign investment. “The Philippines has been growing at an average of more than 6 percent prior to the pandemic, and we expect this growth to be intact in 2022 but higher energy and food prices are impacting inflation,” he said. “We forecast the BSP [Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas] shedding its dovish stance in 2022, when the economy reopens in full and when Philippine currency and inflation concerns become

more pressing. We thus expect policy rates to rise to 2.5 percent in the second quarter of 2022 and further see an upside risk to this forecast,” Lakos said. The gross domestic product expanded by 8.3 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, exceeding the pre-pandemic first-quarter level, according to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority. “There’s a lot going for investors looking for long-term opportunities in the Philippines post-pandemic and postelections. We have a large domestic market of 110 million people with rising middle income and excellent trade options both within Asia and beyond,” said Philippine Trade Representative to Australia Alma Argayoso.

Meanwhile, the BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno said the Russia-Ukraine conflict could affect the inflation trajectory in the Philippines. Diokno said in an online briefing that monetary authorities remained vigilant against inflationary pressures coming from the continuing war in Eastern Europe. “While spillovers from the UkraineRussia conflict will likely be limited given our lack of close economic linkage with the two countries, its impact through the commodities channel could pose upside risks to domestic inflation,” Diokno said. He said to mitigate the impact of the conflict, the BSP supports the timely implementation of direct non-monetary measures by the government. These fiscal policy measures include the recommendations of the Economic Development Cluster to shift to Alert Level 1 to increase domestic economic activity; increase the fuel subsidy program; reduce tariff rates for rice, corn, swine, and coal until end of the year; and provide targeted fertilizer vouchers to farmers, among others. With Julito G. Rada

Megaworld says it has no unpaid taxes with the BIR By Jenniffer B. Austria MEGAWORLD Corp. of tycoon Andrew Tan, the biggest lessor of office spaces, said Wednesday that it has no outstanding or unpaid taxes that justify an action against the company. “Records with the BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue) will confirm that Megaworld has no outstanding or unpaid past tax liabilities needing any enforcement action,” said Megaworld in a statement. The property firm said it is being being regularly audited by the Large Taxpayers Service of the BIR head office. It noted that all its tax returns up to taxable year 2020 have been examined, and that all previous deficiency assessments have already been paid for by the company and duly cleared by the BIR head office. Megaworld also said it has not received any closure order duly approved by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue. “There was an initial disagreement with the BIR Regional Office 8-B after we raised some issues with regard to their jurisdiction on conducting tax audit of some of our properties, but the matter has been clarified and resolved yesterday,” Megaworld said. On pending tax audits, Megaworld vowed to fully cooperate with tax authorities in accordance with their mandate to collect badly needed revenues for the government. The BIR on Tuesday announced a media briefing on the planned closure order against the property developer. The planned briefing, however, was suspended after representatives from Megaworld expressed their full cooperation with all the requirements of the BIR.

IN BRIEF 7 German firms keen on cold chain sector

URC AWARD. Universal Robina Corp.’s subsidiary in Thailand receives the Good Environmental Governance Award 2021 from the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand. Attending the awarding ceremony are (from left) Wattawut Ueaphumirat, Integrated Supply Chain Director, URC (Thailand) Co. Ltd., and environment health and safety manager Witoon Ekpiriyamont.

Pag-IBIG Fund financed 5,411 homes for low-wage earners in four months PAG-IBIG Fund financed 5,411 socialized homes for minimum-wage and lowincome members in the first four months, top executives said Wednesday. Socialized home loans made up 18 percent of the 29,310 units funded by the agency from January to April. In terms of amount, socialized home loans represented 7 percent, or P2.35 billion of the record P31.97 billion home loans released by the agency for the period. “Socialized housing is designed especially for minimum and low-wage workers. With Pag-IBIG Fund’s Affordable Housing Program, we make sure that all our members, particularly those from the low-income sector, are given the opportunity to own a home,” said Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development Secretary Eduardo del Rosario. “This is the essence of the BALAI [Building Adequate, Livable, Affordable and Inclusive] Filipino Communities Program of the government’s housing sector towards providing decent shelter for every Filipino family,” said del Rosario, who is also the chairperson of the 11-member Pag-IBIG Fund board of trustees. The Pag-IBIG Fund’s Affordable Housing Program is for members from the low-

income and minimum-wage sectors who earn up to P15,000 a month in the National Capital Region and up to P12,000 per month outside the NCR. Under the AHP, borrowers enjoy a subsidized rate of 3 percent per annum for home loans of up to P580,000 for socialized subdivision projects, and up to P750,000 socialized condominium projects. Pag-IBIG Fund chief executive Acmad Rizaldy Moti said the AHP’s 3-percent rate remained the lowest in the market—a rate that the agency provided for low-income members since May 2017 and is able to offer due to its tax-exempt status as prescribed under Republic Act No. 9679 or the Home Development Mutual Fund Law of 2009. “Because of our Charter, Pag-IBIG Fund is able to provide the lowest rates for the home loans of minimum and low-wage workers. We first offered our subsidized 3% rate in May 2017 to help more members realize their dreams of owning a home. And, until now, that special rate still stands. Aside from keeping our interest rates low, we also keep the insurance premiums at a minimum, so that our borrowers would only need to pay a low monthly amortization of P2,445.30 for a socialized home loan of up to P580,000,” Moti said.

BDO ASSISTANCE.

BDO Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of BDO Unibank Inc., continues its efforts to help improve the health and well-being of Filipinos by rehabilitating five rural health units in Agusan del Sur, Iloilo, Quezon and Zamboanga. The initiative enabled health workers to provide primary healthcare services more efficiently to more than 280,000 people. BDO Foundation completed the rehabilitation of Maasin Rural Health Unit and Birthing Facility in Iloilo, Mampang Health Center in Zamboanga City and Infanta Municipal Health Office in Quezon. It also renovated two rural health units in Agusan del Sur.

US company buys S. Cotabato feed mill, raises output GLOBAL animal nutrition company ADM announced Tuesday the acquisition of a feed mill in Polomolok, South Cotabato from South Sunrays Milling Corp. The Illinois-based firm said it is diversifying by opening a wide range of leading-edge products to meet the demand for innovative and highquality items in the animal nutrition market. “Around the globe, ADM is expanding its ability to meet growing customer demand for high-quality, responsibly-produced animal nutrition products, and we look forward to bringing our expertise and production capabilities closer to even more customers in the Philippines,” said ADM Asia Pacific president Gerald Wilflingseder. He said the acquisition would add to the company’s regional production capacity, “enabling us to enhance our wide range of leading-edge solutions to better support our customers’ dynamic needs in a timely manner, while providing further opportunities to offer new product solutions in the Philippines and across the region.” The South Cotabato mill, along with ADM feed production facilities in Cebu and Bulacan, are expected to support increasing demand for pet food, complete feed, aquaculture and premix solutions, he said. The investments will also support economic development through the creation of more than 100 new jobs, the company said. “We are excited to combine our global expertise with deep local insights to unlock greater value for our customers in the Philippines and across the region,” said ADM managing director for animal nutrition Lorenzo Mapua.Othel V. Campos

AT LEAST seven German companies are looking for investment opportunities in the Philippines or local partnerships in the cold chain sector. The German-Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GPCCI) held a webinar Tuesday as part of promoting energyefficient technologies by German companies interested in the Philippine market. “This business mission presents another opportunity for German businesses to explore the Philippine market and pursue partnerships that will strengthen its bilateral economic relations,” said GPCCI executive director Christopher Zimmer. He said the seven German companies, namely C4CONSULT Effizienz-Netzwerk, Eeaser GmbH, INDYON GmbH, Ingenieurbüro Meyer-Olbersleben, Hörmann Beijing Trading Co., Ltd., MIG mbH, Material Innovative Gesselschaft and SolarNext AG, were all keen on investing in cold chain facilities and storages given the proper incentives. The German firms, he, added, were encouraged by the interest shown by participating Philippine companies looking for potential business opportunities with Germany. Othel V. Campos

First Gen investing $550m for expansion

CLEAN energy leader First Gen Corp. is looking at a capital expenditure of $550 million this year, with the bulk to be spent on expansion. First Gen is preparing an expansion program by developing more wind and solar power projects. Emmanuel Antonio Singson, First Gen executive vice president and chief finance officer, said the company expected to spend about $550 million in capex this year, mainly driven by Energy Development Corp., the First Gen LNG terminal project and the Aya pumped storage hydro project. “First Gen is also planning to significantly expand its wind and solar portfolio over the coming years. The demand for wind and solar will not just come from grid operator serving large urban areas; it will also come from off-grid communities with little or no access to 24/7 electricity, households looking to cut their carbon emissions, and contestable customers operating commercial and industrial establishments,” said First Gen chairman Federico Lopez during a stockholders’ meeting Wednesday. Singson said First Gen subsidiary EDC would continue to have a high capex this year. EDC plans to spend approximately $260 million to fund its growth initiatives, drilling programs and upgrades. Alena Mae S. Flores

GMA Network expects higher income in 2022

GMA Network Inc. on Wednesday said it expects a higher net income in 2022 on the back of higher advertising revenues. Felipe L. Gozon, the network’s chairman, told stockholders the profit guidance for this year is expected to reach P8.2 billion, higher than the net profit of P7.57 billion in 2021. The company earlier reported total consolidated revenues of P22.45 billion last year, up 16 percent from P19.34 billion in 2020. Gozon also said the company has allotted P2 billion in capital expenditures (capex) to expand its digital transmission nationwide. “In 2021, we devoted our attention to fortifying our technology and content. We made substantial investments in commissioning 14 new stations so more Filipino homes can enjoy digital TV viewing, which brings our signal distribution network to 92 stations nationwide,” Gozon said. Darwin G. Amojelar

Gilas PH pummels Singapore for 3rd win By Randy Caluag

Sports

PLAYING true to form, Gilas Pilipinas pummeled Singapore, 88-37, for its third straight win in the 31st Southeast Asian Games at Thanh Tri Gymnasium on Wednesday. Coming off a 100-32 thrashing of Cambodia the day before, the Filipinos were unstoppable from the tipoff as they poured 13 points while limiting the Singaporeans to a single point in the opening minutes. And they never looked back from there, with the 14th basketball gold coming within their grasp. Young star Francis Lebron Lopez again rose to the occasion with 18 points anchored on a perfect 7-of-7 shooting. The 19-year-old Lopez topscored for Gilas in the 68-point blowout win against Cambodia. RR Pogoy led with 19 points and Junemar Fajardo had 8 points on top of 11 rebounds. The Philippines goes for its 4th straight win as it battles host Vietnam next on Thursday. It has been dominant run for Gilas since scraping past a gritty Thailand side, 76-73, at the start of the men’s 5x5 basketball tournament on May 16. Meanwhile, the Philippine women’s squad whipped rival Thailand 97-81, for its second straight win. Afril Bernardino showed the way with 20 points and 16 rebounds as the Gilas women’s squad took the lead in the roundrobin tournament where the top placer wins the gold. Four consecutive threes from Fil-Am rookie Stefanie Berberabe, Chack Cabinbin, Janine Pontejos, and Gabi Bade, another US-based player making her SEA Games debut, sparked a big charge that turned a 27-25 lead into a 39-27 bubble in the second period. “I’m just so happy again. They really worked hard and competed at the start. Sabi ko nga sa inyo, let’s just continue what we are doing. Wala naman tayong dapat baguhin. Sana dere-derecho lang,” said coach Pat Aquino.

H

ANOI—She was just chillin’ in the heats, but blazin’ in the finals.

Kayla Richardson: Tears of joy

Kayla Richardson crowned herself the fastest woman in the 31st SEA Games for the second time in seven years in a smoldering show at the century dash that brought athletics’ centerpiece crown back in her hands. The 26-year-old Richardson was the 100-m queen of the 2015 Singapore games, but somehow faded into the backseat when she yielded the spotlight to Kristina Knott in recent years. Knott became the darling of Philippine athletics in the 2019 edition, when she won two golds in the 4x100 mixed relay and the 200 meters. Knott, who eventually qualified in the Tokyo Olympics, however, had

to skip the Hanoi games due to plantar fasciitis in her foot, leaving the spotlight to teammates Kayla and Kyla Richardson. At the My Dinh National Stadium here, Kayla made sure the limelight was hers. A slow starter, Richardson picked up the pace halfway through the 100-meter finals and held steady to the finish, clocking 11.6 seconds to master an 8-runner field that included 200-m queen, Singapore’s Shanti Pereira, who placed runnerup with a time of 11.62. Thailand’s Supanich Poolkerd finished third in 11.66 seconds. Kayla’s time was even better than her 11.76 in Singapore. “I can’t complain. I’m so grateful. It took me a lot to get here. I thank God for getting me here,” said a teary-eyed Richardson, after sharing a sweet embrace with sister Kyla and father Jeff. Richardson only placed second in the heats with a 12.02 time, but it was a ploy to reserve strength for the race that mattered most. “I was just chillin’,” said Richardson with a laugh. “I was just trying to get to the finals.”

With the win, Kayla, redeemed herself from a bronze finish in the 200 meters, topped by Pereira. Her sister Kyla settled for the silver. Kayla’s feat was the fifth gold for the athletics’ contingent in the biennial meet, to go with Eric Cray’s 5th straight title in the 400-m hurdles, Ernest John Obiena’s record-smashing performance in pole vault, William Morrison’s shotput triumph and Clinton Kingsley Bautista’s new national record of 13.78 seconds in the 110m hurdles that broke his own 13.97 set during the 2019 SEA Games. Meanwhile, Cray, barely 24 hours after winning the 400-m hurdles and a seventh gold overall in the biennial meet, failed to advance to the 100-meter finals, but the 33-year-old runner vowed to make it to the Olympics this time, which will be held in Paris two years from now. In other results Tuesday, Sarah Dequinan bagged the silver medal in the heptahlon with 5381 points; even as Robyn Brown secured the bronze by clocking 56.44 seconds in the Women’s 400m Hurdles.

Consistency is Yulo’s aim at Doha tournament By Peter Atencio CARLOS Yulo wants to be more consistent as he prepares for his next challenge after completing a five-gold haul in the men’s artistic gymnastics competition in the 31st Southeast Asian Games. Being more steady in his routines will allow him to perform even better in the ninth Asian Senior Gymnastics Championships set in the Doha, Qatar on June 15. “I need to be more consistent,” said Yulo on Zoom, a day before he headed back to Japan with his coach Kunehiro Kugimiya. The 22-year-old Yulo won as expected in the apparatus on the final day of competitions, aside from getting the golds in the vault and in the horizontal bars.

Rianne Malixi

Yulo said he had his performance in the World Championships in mind while he was in Vietnam. While in the world championships in Kitakyushu, Japan, Yulo earned the gold in a new category, the vault, to go with a silver in the parallel bars and a fifth-place finish in his pet event, the floor exercise. “My performance there was not that bad. I made very rare mistakes during competition,” added Yulo, who also had silver-medal finishes in the men’s team event and parallel bars in the SEA Games. If he does well, Yulo said he will once again have a shot at the World Championships later this year in Liverpool. “I am preparing for that. Doha will be a qualifier for me,” added Yulo. In the biennial meet, Yulo said he

Carlos Yulo

welcomes the addition of medals from Finnegan won a gold team and vault, Fil-Am bet Aleah Finnegan in the wom- and added silver medal in the balance en’s division. beam.

Malixi hands bronze medal to PH campaign YOUNG Rianne Malixi delivered in style, coming through with a spectacular chip-in birdie on the fourth playoff hole to beat Singapore’s Suanne Loh and hand the country the bronze medal in women’s golf team match play in the SEA Games at the Heron Lake Golf course in Vinh Phuc, Vietnam yesterday. Malixi’s heroics came after she muffed a five-foot downhill birdie putt on No. 1, the third playoff hole, giving Loh, whose own chip hit the cup but lipped out, and Team Singapore another crack at the hotly-disputed medal. Both players overshot the par-5 No. 9, where they matched par twice in the playoff, but the ICTSI-backed Malixi hit a perfect chip shot, the ball landing before the green then rolling from left to right before dropping to the cup.

THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2022

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Gilas Women’s Team’s Clare Castro is hacked from behind by a Thai defender during an inside play in the basketball competitions of the 31 Southeast Asian Games at the Thanh Tri Gymnasium on Wednesday.

Richardson crowned SEAG fastest woman a 2nd time By Riera U. Mallari

Riera U. Mallari, Editor; Randy M. Caluag, Assistant Editor

Undaunted, Loh also hit a solid chipshot, the ball heading straight to the hole but swerved to the left, sending Maixi and Team Phl to jubilation and reducing the Singaporean lass to tears. That chip saved the week for the Filipino golfers, who could finish no higher than fourth in women’s individual play courtesy of Lois Kaye Go with Malixi ending up joint ninth behind eighth placer and ICTSI teammate Mafy Singson and 15th in the men’s side through Jed Dy. The men’s squad, which included Jet Hernandez, Gab Manotoc and Kristoffer Arevalo, also absorbed a 0-3 beating from Indonesia in the men’s team quarterfinal match play. Earlier, Malixi upstaged individual silver medalist Aloysa Mabutas, 3&2, to force a playoff for the bronze after Go

yielded a 4&3 result to Loh. Malixi took the first two holes against Mabutas, surrendered the next but held sway all throughout their tight duel, going 2-up again by taking No. 15. A solid tee-shot on the par-3 16th set up another birdie chance from six feet and the rising Filipina star delivered, draining in a downhill putt to clinch the victory. She pumped her fist then gave Mabutas, whose parents are Filipino migrants, the customary hug before celebrating with her team. It was a big windup for Malixi, who groped for form in individual competitions and in the first round of team match play, dropping a 2&1 setback to Thai gold medalist Natthakritta Vongtaveelap in their semis duel but came into the bronze medal match brimming with confidence, win-

Chua stuns US Open king Biado for 9-ball gold HANOI—Johann Chua pounced on two stunning miscues by reigning US Open champion Carlo Biado en route to a 9-6 victory and crowned himself the new 9-ball billiards champion Wednesday in the 31st Southeast Asian Games here. The 9-ball gold was the second for Pinoy cue artists here, with Rubilen Amit winning the women’s side of the event last Tuesday, beating Jessica Chan of Singapore 7-2, for her ninth gold medal in the biennial event. Biado was favored to rule the allFilipino finals but uncharacteristically missed easy shots in the 12th and 15th racks, to the horror of the big crowd at the Ha Dong District Sporting Hall. Trailing 5-6 in the 12th, Biado, 39, failed to pocket the 9-ball, smiling after his miscue. He also failed to sink the 8-ball three racks later, with Chua gamely taking over both times to win his first SEA Games gold. Biado, who failed in his bid to reclaim the title he won in the 2017 Games, raised the hand of Chua after the match, gamely accepting his defeat for the silver medal. “Sobra and kaba ko. First time ko lumaban sa finals dito sa SEA Games. Hindi ako maka-get over. Iba talaga pag flag and country,” said Chua, 29, who fell on his knees after the winning shot and gave Biado, his roommate here, a big bear hug. He then waved to the crowd. “Nu’ng sumablay si Carlo, sabi ko sa sarili ko, akin na ito. Sobra ang nginig ng kamay ko. Pero gustonggusto ko makuha ‘yung gold. The best ka, God,” said the new SEA Games champion. “Nag-bibiruan nga kami kagabi sa kwarto ni Carlo, sabi ko babalian na kita at pag humilik ka gigilitan na kita sa leeg. Sobra close kami niyan. Masaya na kasi kami kasi sure gold nga para sa Pilipinas,” he said. Biado seemed to have the 15th rack all wrapped up until he missed a shot on the 9-ball that any other player of his caliber could sink a million times. ning the first two holes against Mabutas. In contrast, Go struggled against Loh in their side of the match play. The member of the bronze medal team in the 2019 SEAG in Tarlac never recovered after trailing on No. 3, giving up another hole on the sixth. She took No. 8 but yielded the 10th and gave up three straight holes from No. 13. Meanwhile, Malaysia staked its claim as the new force in men’s amateur golf in the region, breaking the vaunted Thailand side with a 2&1 victory on Rhaasrikanesh Kanavathi’s equally stirring chip-in for birdie on the 18th for a 1-up triumph over Pongsapak Laopakdee and a 2-1 victory for the team gold. Ervin Chang held off Weerawish Narkprachar, 2&1, while fancied Ratchanon Chantananuwat earlier nipped Marcus Lim, 1-up, to split the first two matches with Kanavathi’s last-hole brilliance likewise preserving Chang’s gold medal sweep.

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Sports

THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2022

Batangas rips Pasig; Makati blasts Mindoro THE Batangas City Embassy Chill Athletics pounded the Pasig Sta. Lucia Realtors underneath and prevailed, 67-60, late Tuesday in the MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) 4th Season at the Batangas City Coliseum. With Cedric Ablaza, John Ambulodto and Jeckster Apinan combining for 30 rebounds, Batangas ruled the boards, 65-42, paving the way for more second chance (18-9) and fastbreak points (11-4) that turned out to be pivotal in the Athletics’ second straight win in as many starts. Ablaza wound up with 12 points and 12 rebounds, Ambulodto 12 and 10 and Apinan 10 and 8 for Batangas, which is trying to regain glory since becoming the MPBL’s inaugural champion in the 2018 Rajah Cup. The debuting Realtors got 18 points from Jason Melano, 17 from Carlo Lastimosa and 10 from Aldeo Luceno. Batangas, now being mentored by Cholo Villanueva, pulled away at 65-49 before cruising to victory and proving its 76-56 dumping of Imus in the MPBL opener on April 25 was no fluke. Levi Hernandez chipped in 9 points and 4 rebounds for Batangas Embassy Chill, formerly Batangas Tanduay. Earlier, Makati subdued Mindoro, 82-78, to level its slate at 1-1. Homegrown Carlos Morales and Kobe Bryant Pableo, Costudio Lastra and Mark Lester Santamaria pooled their efforts in the fourth quarter as the Makati MNL Kingpins repulse the Mindoro Tamaraws, who led for the last time at 77-75 on a triple by homegrown star Rodel Vaygan. Sta. Maria answered with a triple and Pableo drove in to push Makati ahead, 80-77, with only 45 seconds left. Makati, which lost to Valenzuela City (52-56) on May 3, got clobbered off the boards, 39-63, but still found a way to hand the Tamaraws their second straight loss. Larry Arpia paced Makati with 17 points and 9 rebounds, followed by Sta. Maria and Sarmiento with 12 points each and Morales with 11.

Djokovic ready for Alcaraz, Rafa challenge at French tilt P ARIS—Novak Djokovic admits he will be fired up by the fiasco of his high-profile deportation from Australia when he targets a record-equalling 21st major on his Grand Slam return at the French Open.

World number one Djokovic captured a second Roland Garros title in 2021 followed by a sixth Wimbledon to move to 20 majors alongside Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. However, his unseemly exit from Melbourne following his refusal to be vaccinated opened the door for Nadal to claim a second Australian Open and 21st Grand Slam crown. “It’s something that I never faced before,” said Djokovic, who turns 35 on Sunday, the opening day of the French Open. “The amount of pressure and everything that I was feeling in the first few months of the year, as much as I’ve felt pressure in my life and my career, that was something really on a whole different level.” Djokovic has played only five tournaments in 2022 but arrives in Paris buoyed

by a sixth Italian Open title, becoming just the fifth man to win 1,000 career matches in the process. It was his 38th Masters triumph, two more than Nadal at the top of the alltime list. He did not drop a set in Rome as he finished a memorable week with a final victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas, the man he defeated from two sets down in the 2021 French Open title match. With 13-time French Open champion Nadal suffering a recurrence of a foot injury, another Spaniard is likely to be Djokovic’s biggest headache in Paris. Carlos Alcaraz, just 19, has rocketed to six in the world on the back of four titles —three on clay—in 2022. ‘Special’ Alcaraz He won a second Masters title in Madrid, sweeping Nadal, Djokovic and third-ranked Alexander Zverev

on the way. “He definitely is special,” admitted Djokovic of Alcaraz who also claimed the prestigious Miami Masters earlier in the year. Alcaraz was ranked 97 this time last year. He was only two when Nadal won the first of his 13 French Opens in 2005 but he made his mark at the 2021 tournament where he came through qualifying to reach the third round. Djokovic has been responsible for two of only three losses suffered by Nadal in Paris. One of those came in a bruising semifinal 12 months ago, the most recent clash of the pair’s epic 58-match rivalry. Nadal comes into Paris with major question marks over his ability to lift a 14th title. A rib injury in March was followed by the re-emergence in Rome of his chronic foot injury where he limped to defeat in the last-16. The 35-year-old Spaniard is due to practice at Roland Garros for the first time on Wednesday where he will have his own doctor on hand to assess his fitness.

‘Living with injury’ “I am a player living with an injury; it is nothing new,” said Nadal, now ranked fifth in the world. “Since I came back, the foot has been tough. It’s tough for me to be able to practice the proper way.” Russian world number two Daniil Medvedev, who gave up a two-sets lead to lose to Nadal in the Australian Open final, only returned to action in Geneva this week after undergoing a hernia operation. The US Open champion has 13 titles to his name but has yet to master the draining demands of clay. At Roland Garros, he was winless in his first four visits before managing to stop the rot with a quarter-final run in 2021. Medvedev is likely to use the ban on Russian players at Wimbledon this year as fuel for a surprise title tilt. Greek world number four Tsitsipas has enjoyed a solid clay season. He defended his Monte Carlo title before making the last-eight in Barcelona and semi-finals in Madrid. AFP

Hot-headed Indian wrestler gets lifetime ban for punching ref

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic celebrates winning the first set against Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime during their quarter finals match at the ATP Rome Open tennis tournament. AFP

No.1 Scheffler still has major hunger after Masters win TULSA—Top-ranked Masters champion Scottie Scheffler doesn’t feel any different in his first major start as a major winner, just hungry to keep his hot streak going at the PGA Championship. The 25-year-old American has won four times in his past eight starts and will be paired alongside two other reigning major champions when the showdown at Southern Hills starts Thursday. Scheffler will play the first two rounds alongside reigning US Open champion Jon Rahm and Collin Morikawa, last year’s British Open winner, in a traditional PGA feature threesome. “I don’t feel any different,” Scheffler said. “When I show up to tournaments, it’s a little bit different. There’s more people hollering at me when I’m playing a practice round. But I kind of stay in my own little bubble. “I want to win this tournament as bad as any other one. For me not much changes.” A lot, however, has changed about his place in golf. When the year began, Scheffler was still chasing his first US PGA Tour victory. He won his first PGA title in February at the Phoenix Open, his second in March at Bay Hill and his third at the WGC Match Play before capturing the green jacket at Augusta National to claim the world number one ranking. But, Scheffler notes, the green jacket is in his closet at home this week and that ultimate ranking, while

Scottie Scheffler of the United States speaks at a press conference during a practice round prior to the start of the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma. AFP

“a tremendous honor”, won’t gain him a stroke on the PGA field. “I don’t get any extra shots this week,” he said. “It’s nice to have the ranking, but at the end of the day when I show up at a tournament, I don’t have any advantages

over the field.” Scheffler will try to become the first golfer since Jack Nicklaus to win the Masters and PGA Championship in the same year. “My game feels like it’s in a good spot,” Scheffler said. “I’ve been on a pretty good run here recently. “You’ve got to have really faith in all aspects of your game. You can’t really be protecting against anything because you’ve got to put it all on display.” That said, he hasn’t pondered a “Scheffler Slam” or even a major beyond this week. “I haven’t thought about that,” he said. “Looking at the British Open or the next tournament is not going to help me play good here. “I don’t really get too high or low. Living in the moment is usually what works best for me. Staying in my own lane and doing my own thing.” That said, Scheffler doesn’t know how he will feel during the event, but he says he has his usual sense of hunger to win this week despite his recent glut of success. “We’ll see how it feels during the round,” Scheffler said. “It took me a while to win the first one and I guess I’ve been on a stretch now. “But being in contention and winning golf tournaments is the most fun. The more nerves you feel, that’s the more fun stuff for me.” AFP

NEW DELHI—An Indian wrestler has been banned for life after punching a referee as tempers boiled over in a sweltering New Delhi arena with no airconditioning during an intense heatwave. Satender Malik was sweating it out in the 125kg (175 pound) class during trials on Tuesday for this year’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham when the referee ruled in favour of his opponent. Seething with anger and covered in sweat, Malik stormed across the mat, shouted expletives at referee Jagbir Singh and punched him in the face. “Never before has such a thing happened,” Vinod Tomar, an official with the Wrestling Federation of India, told AFP. “He not only hit the referee but also threatened to kill him. “A police complaint has been made and we have banned him for life,” said Tomar, who confirmed that air-conditioning was not working causing temperatures to soar to 41C (106F). Vishal Kalliraman, who also lost a close bout, punched holes in the dry walls of the wrestling hall in a fit of rage which caused police to be called. Referee Singh said he was shocked by the sudden assault. “I feel deeply hurt that he hurled abuses at me and hit me in front of everyone for just doing my duty,” Singh was quoted as saying by the Indian Express daily. An intense heatwave is sweeping through northern India and Pakistan, with temperatures hitting 49 Celsius (120 Fahrenheit) in parts of the capital Delhi on Sunday. While heatwaves are common across India in May and June, summer arrived early this year with the hot t e st March since records began. AFP

Archers contribute 1st gold to PH campaign HANOI—Archery contributed its first gold to the Philippine campaign in the 31st Southeast Asian Games here on Wednesday, nipping top seed Vietnam 26-25 in a thrilling shoot-off for the women’s team recurve title at the Hanoi National Training Center. Abby Bidaure, 20, emerged as the heroine for Team Philippines, hitting the bullseye in the final arrow of the shoot-off for a 10 with just 10 seconds left on the clock, eliciting loud cheers from other members of the team who gingerly watched the thrilling show-

down from behind. The winning team, which included Bidaure’s sister, Pia, and Phoebe Amistoso, battled back with a 57-49 win in the fourth frame after trailing 1-2 in the first three, forcing a shoot-off that came down to Abbu’s winning shot. “Basta ang sinasabi lang po namin, amin na to, kaya na namin, kasi ‘yun lang din po ‘yung ginagawa namin sa practice. Pagkatapos naming mag-shoot, nag-uusap kaming tatlo, ang sinasabi lang po namin, magmemedal po kami ngayong SEA

Games,” said Pia, 23, like Abby born in Dumaguete. Pia, who won her first SEA Games gold in her third try, expected Abby to hit the bull’s-eye and make the difference in the tightly-fought contest, saying: “Inaantay ko na lang talagang dumilim ‘yung gitna (bull’s-eye), kasi ang laki ng tiwala namin kay Abby na last shooter. Ang laki ng tiwala namin na maipapasok niya kahit 10 seconds na lang ‘yung naiiwan” on the clock. “Of course, very happy, kasi ito ‘yung first gold namin, team pa!

May trust na kasi ako sa aming tatlo, nu’ng praktis pa, maganda na ‘yung aming shooting. Sobrang confident ko nu’ng papunta kami dito,” said Amistoso. The archery squad gets a chance to shoot for its second gold Thursday when it battles Malaysia in the finals of the compound bow mixed team event. Shooting a perfect last end, the team of Paul dela Cruz and Jennifer Jing Chan came from behind to edge Thailand 155-154 in the semis last Tuesday while the Malaysians beat Vietnam 154-152.

Team Philippines’ Pia Bidaure, Abby Bidaure and Phoebe Amistoso raise their hands in triumph after winning the gold in the women’s recurve archery competitions at the 31st SEA Games in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Entertainment

Nickie Wang, Editor nickie.standard@gmail.com THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2022

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Martin Nievera reignites passion for singing with new uplifting song

Prime balladeer Martin Nievera

VERY WANG

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NICKIE WANG

S ONE of the most prolific songwriters and record producers in the country, Jonathan Manalo marks his 20th year in the business with an allstar compilation album, a reimagination of his hits that have become part of every Filipino’s OPM playlist.

FORTY years into a storied showbiz career, prime balladeer Martin Nievera is as busy as ever and has written a new song to boot. In his usual upbeat self, Martin exclaims, “I’ve been great! Trying to keep busy, trying to keep sane.” And when asked how he keeps himself positive, he jokingly answers, “These are the times that we are not supposed to be positive remember? We’re supposed to be negative!” And just like that, he jumps right into storyteller mode. “The old meaning of ‘positive’ is what I wanted to bring back,” Martin claims. “I’m one of those singers who sings about

the ‘sad’ love songs, the ‘I can’t make it’ love songs, the ‘I want you back’ type of songs. This time, I wanted to finally have a song that was positive.” Enter “Smile Again.” For this, Martin found inspiration in the situation we’ve all been in the past two years. “I think If I were to speak for everybody, what everyone’s been going through, in their quiet time, and believe me we’ve had a lot of those, they’re thinking of happier days that once was, and happier days that are to come, sana!” Martin said about the genesis of his new song, “there are dreamers like myself who can put himself out of a negative situation and find something good in it all. Like

being able to do the things I haven’t been able to do before or to appreciate the life that I have now. So, when Homer Flores sent me the melody and the music…” He said that he got the inspiration for his lyrics, from singing a particular classic. “I’ve always ended a show (during those shows online during the pandemic) with the (Charlie Chaplin) song ‘Smile.’ A serious song, written by a comedian reminding everybody that there will be happier days to come.” Stating that he wanted something similar that inspired the same feeling, Martin thought of the title “Smile Again” and “After I had that title, everything was easy.” “I just wrote all of the beautiful thoughts that come to my mind and thinking in third

person, I thought of how other people can relate to this song and (that’s how) I realized the words that I chose. I think everyone can relate to that, everyone wants some reason, big or small, to smile again.” And just like that, Martin has written his first ballad after a long while. And what a wonderful sounding new song it is that he has brought – a big, piano-driven, feelgood ballad that can sit nicely alongside his greatest hits. A relaxed little tune that, in Martin’s own words, is the type that can “heal and inspire.” “I remembered that I was supposed to be the guy you run to, to feel a certain emotion. I realized again my love for singing,” he concludes.

Songs that encapsulate Jonathan Manalo’s 20 years in music business

Speaking to Manila Standard Entertainment, Manalo shared the process of selecting the songs that will be included in the upcoming double-album entitled Lyric & Beat. “It’s a tedious process. We have selected 20 familiar songs that I’m very proud that they’ve become part of my body of work. Ito yung mga songs na sibayan ako ng tao na kumanta. There are songs like ‘Patuloy Ang Pangarap’ of Angeline Quinto na naging contest piece,”Manalo, known for his moniker Mr. Music, started. “The titles we selected were either signature songs or songs that will complement the voice of participating artists. It’s a celebration of music. That’s the umbrella theme of the album,” ABSCBN Music’s Creative Director went on. To date, Manalo has released more than 300 recordings of his compositions, some of his notable Pop hits are, Pinoy Big Brother’s theme “Pinoy Ako”, Gary Valenciano’s “Ililigtas Ka

Jonathan Manalo celebrates 20 years in the industry with an all-star compilation album

Niya,” Ice Seguerra’s “Para Lang Sa’ Yo”, Itchyworms’s “Kabataang Pinoy”, and Piolo Pascual and Sarah Geronimo’s “Paano Ba Ang Magmahal.” He has produced and released more than 200 albums for various artists with 75 Multiplatinum and 100 Gold PARI Certifications. He is the creative mind behind key albums and full discographies of artists like Erik Santos, Kyla, Charice, Piolo Pascual, Juris, Toni Gonzaga, Jed Madela,

Jonathan Manalo is a multi-awarded songwriter who produced numerous songs for TV shows and movies

Jonathan Malalo aka Mr. Music

KZ Tandingan, Inigo Pascual, Yeng Constantino, and Moira De La Torre. He has also produced more than 100 soundtracks and theme songs for TV and movie, most recently of which is the theme song for the breakout series He’s Into Her interpreted by BGYO. the single was awarded the Best National Song by Asian Academy Creative Awards. Last year, Manalo was awarded by the National Commission for Culture and the

Arts as one of the Ten Outstanding Music Artists of the last decade. Despite being a multi-awarded songwriter (he’s a recipient of more than 200 awards and nominations from Awit Awards, Katha Music Awards, Star Awards For Music, Metro Manila Film Festival, Catholic Mass Media Awards, New York Festivals, Walk On Water Awards, and many more), Manalo had encountered many rejections before getting his first

“Yes” that paved the way to his success. “I had received so many ‘Nos’ in my life. I still get a few rejections until now. But the first ‘Yes’ that I got that changed my life was Himig Handog Song Fest,” he stated. He was the grand prize winner of the 2001 Himig Handog Song Fest for the song “Tara Tena” and also a winner of the 2003 Metropop Song Festival by GMA 7. Manalo’s message to those who aspire to be like him: “Don’t lose the fire. It’s your passion that’s going to keep you consistently fired up to become the best that you can be. Equip yourself, learn everything that you can to hone your craft.” He also said that success is attributed to this equation - 50 percent talent and 50 percent character. Manalo rose from the ranks and started from the bottom like everyone else. He remained consistent and his staying power can be attributed he said to one’s strength of character. When asked what is up next for him, Manalo was so excited to announce his co-ownership of the Academy Of Rock Philippines franchise in the country together with its founder, Singaporean businesswoman Priscila Teo-Lim, visual artist Kristine Lim, Record Producer Rox Santos, businessman Junior Gan and actors Encong Dee and Joshua Garcia. Lastly, he is currently planning for his anniversary concert this October and a special collaboration project with Kristine Lim, a first-of-its-kind music and art fusion project.

GTV further boosts Learning Philippine history through documentaries signal reception in PH

The awardwnning documentary 'Iyallatiw' portrays the old traditional burials songs in Paoay and the struggles of Manglualos to pass the tradition

By Patricia Taculao

GTV, the second most-watched channel in the Philippines – next only to GMA7 – continues GMA Network’s pursuit of reaching every Filipino household as it further expands its coverage after completing all its analog station upgrades across the country. The GTV Iloilo station, which covers the Western Visayas region, is the ninth and final analog TV station upgraded for GMA Network’s second free-to-air channel. With a clearer and more vibrant GTV signal, Kapuso viewers in Iloilo including Alimodian, Barotac Nuevo, Cabatuan, Dingle, Dumangas, Guimbal, Iloilo City, Leganes, Leon, Mina, New Lucena, Oton, Pavia, Pototan, San Miguel, Santa Barbara, Tigbauan, and Zarraga, as well as Guimaras covering Jordan and Buenavista, can now enjoy high-quality TV viewing experience while watching the colorful line-up of GTV programs. Since GTV’s launch in 2021, the Network has been non-stop in its efforts to expand and improve its signal in key areas within and outside Mega Manila. These stations include Tandang Sora, Mt. Sto. Tomas, Mt. Banoy, Naga, and Legazpi in Luzon; Tacloban and Iloilo in Visayas; and General Santos and Zamboanga in Mindanao. Boosted by its signal improvements, GTV likewise continues to be the second top channel in the country next to flagship station GMA. From Nielsen’s January to April 2022

Chef and food explorer JR Royal (left) with special guest, Matteo Guidicelli, in one of the episodes of 'Farm to Table,' a lifestyle show on GTV

TV audience measurement data, GTV recorded an average of 11.6 percent people audience share across all dayparts in Total Philippines. It has further widened its gap from its closest competitor TV5 with 10.4 percent, while A2Z had 5.4 percent. GTV’s line-up of programs complements GMA’s programming which consists of world-class news and public affairs as well as entertainment shows, which cater to both the young and young-at-heart. Currently, GTV has a total of 27 stations located in key areas in the Philippines. Viewers can also catch GTV on digital TV receivers GMA Affordabox and GMA Now. For the latest updates, visit its official website, www.gtv.ph.

I’VE always had a fascination for documentaries. Something is compelling about listening to the soothing voices of the narrators, the in-depth research that brings crucial information to light, and the meticulous storytelling that weaves facts into a cohesive timeline. For years, I’ve spent hours watching documentaries produced by both local and international filmmakers to feed my curiosity about current issues, myths, and the truth behind history. These hourslong features provide more than just entertainment—they also encourage critical thinking and stir emotions in their viewers. The Philippines is abundant with documentaries that highlight our history and culture, some of them even decades old. The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) launched the DaangDokyu website last May 4, Wednesday, to preserve these feature films and give the Filipinos a platform to watch locally-produced documentaries and learn more about their heritage. DaangDokyu is an initiative from The Filipino Documentary Society and a recipient of the CCP’s Innovation Grant in 2021. “In 2020, Daang Dokyu, a festival of Philippine documentaries of 45 films produced from 1913 to the present, was viewed by hundreds of thousands with responses of subscriptions, attesting to the thirst for truth and the need for historical knowledge and diverse perspectives,” said CCP Board of Trustee Atty. Lorna Kapunan during the on-site launch of DaangDokyu.

‘The Kingmaker’ by Laura Greenfield

She added that during a period of rampant historical revisionism, establishing the DaangDokyu website is a necessity to preserve and spread the truth. “Our documentaries trace our story. Documentaries have had a long history in the country, parallel to the story of the nation. Documentaries have been made in and about in the Philippines,” said Jewel Maranan, a documentary filmmaker and co-founder of The Filipino Documentary Society. DaangDokyu also has international documentaries in its database for viewers to enjoy. Some titles already on the website include The Kingmaker by Lauren Greenfield, Tundong Magiliw by Maranan, and Yanbu by Aleia Garcia. Maranan added they’ll continuously add more documentaries, both new and old, to the DaangDokyu’s website database. As a documentary filmmaker herself, Maranan knows how challenging documentary-making can be. Yet despite a digitally-driven world, where people consume their media in mere minutes, she remains hopeful because the past

DaangDokyu festival proved there’s still a demand for documentaries. She said that people don’t need to be encouraged to watch documentaries. Instead, they need access to view the feature films they desire, just like what DaangDokyu is doing presently. The website also serves as an educational platform where viewers can tap into the information from documentaries as references for a myriad of topics. With the number of documentaries that have yet to be added to the website’s database, DaangDokyu also welcomes other documentary filmmakers to have their films featured on the website by sending its information to the team. Giving Filipinos access to both local and international documentaries preserves the truth about history and appreciates the efforts of documentary filmmakers who poured their time, resources, and creativity into a feature film that educates and inspires its viewers. Visit www.daangdokyu.ph for more information.

Cannes Filmfest officially opens, celebrates 75th anniversary Julianne Moore at the Cannes Film Festival

By Patricia Taculao THE Cannes Film Festival in France is in full swing, celebrating its 75th year with a selection of notable Hollywood names, newcomers, and previous Palme d’Or winners. American actress Julianne Moore officially announced its commencement on May 17, Tuesday. It opened with a zombie film, Final Cut,

by French filmmaker Michel Hazanavicius. Some Hollywood heavyweights gracing the event include Tom Cruise for Top Gun Maverick, a first for him in three decades, and actor Forest Whitaker, who will receive the festival’s Honorary Palme D’Or for lifetime achievement. Director David Cronenberg also returns to horror films with Crimes of the Future, starring

Viggo Mortensen, Kristen Stewart, and Lea Seydoux. There will also be a strong showing of Asian and Ukrainian films, despite the absence of China and the ban on Russia. The Cannes Film Festival runs until May 28 after two years of disruption due to the pandemic. It was canceled in 2020 and moved to July last year, following strict health protocols.

Life

Nickie Wang, Editor Patricia Taculao, Editorial Assistant E-mail: lifeandshow.manilastandard@gmail.com

C4

THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2022

Sofia holding a Sooper Beaute soap

A young celebrity mom’s blooming secret ACTRESS Sofia Andres admits that she’s been loving motherhood. Since giving birth to Zoe in November 2019, her life has become centered around her little bundle of joy and the effort of making sure that the tyke one would have a lovely childhood. The 23-year-old actress also shares that since giving birth, she hasn’t fully decided on getting back to work. Not that projects have become limited after she became a mom, but it was her conscious decision to focus all her energies on nurturing her child. “I don’t want to leave her. I get sad whenever I would go out and do something or if I would have to be gone for a few days for my showbiz engagements. I begin to miss her as soon as I step out of the house,” she shared with Manila Standard Lifestyle in an interview. “That’s why I’m kind of only accommodate projects that will not take much of my time away from my daughter,” she added. Though Sofia has a few projects in the pipeline, she’s glad that at the moment, endorsing products has been one of the ways that allow her to work and still have quality and quantity time with Zoey. “Sofia has come of age and embraced motherhood at its fullest,” said Sooper Beaute founder and general manager Jessica “Aica” Palma. “With a blossoming career, rapidly-rising followers, and a

Sofia Andres (right) with daughter Zoe

growing business on the side, there’s no doubt that she is a woman of limitless beauty!” The young actress was the first muse of Sooper Beaute in 2016 when she was only 16. “We found it easy to decide to make her our muse once again as we transition to the New Sooper Beaute because Sofia has grown into a versatile woman. Aside from being an actress, she’s a mother, a painter, and a fashion inspiration,” said

Sofia embraces her nurturing side as a mother

Palma. A personal care products company making an impact in the beauty and skincare industry in the Philippines, Sooper Beaute re-introduced the Kapamilya actress as its endorser at the company’s media launch of its “Breakthrough and Bloom” campaign recently. This new branding initiative was conceptualized during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic

when everyone experienced major changes in their lives. “Now that we’ve learned to live with these new changes, we’ve discovered new interests, new talents, and a new mindset,” said Palma who ended her statement by saying that Sofia perfectly embodies what the campaign stands for since she’s blooming and is able to maintain her vibrant and youthful look despite the challenge of being a mom and a celebrity. Nickie Wang

Discovering a beauty and wellness

online hub that gives back to the community Water does more than quench one’s thirst

JOB WELL DONE

Drink up

BY JOBA BOTANA

Five ways to tell you’re dehydrated

T CAN be quite difficult to look for products you need at home and for yourself, especially if what you look for are sustainable and sworn by aficionados. In other words, these items must have been tried and tested to give excellent results, and at the same time, the makers or brands are well on their way towards sustainability.

ON A scorching hot summer day, there is nothing like a tall glass of cold water to soothe a parched throat and quench your thirst. But water does more than that. “The human body is made up of 60 percent water. Practically all of the body’s major systems rely on water to function,” says Mari Joanne Joson, MD, General Medicine consultant at Makati Medical Center (MakatiMed). “Among the things that water does for our body are; regulate its temperature; moisten tissues in the eyes, nose, and mouth; lubricate joints; transport nutrients and oxygen to our cells; and flush out waste products in the liver and kidneys.” Because we use and lose water constantly—when we sweat, when we poop, pee, and when we breathe, we lose around 1600 ml of water per day—it is important to keep replenishing our body’s supply. “When patients ask me how much water they should drink in a day, I tell them to remember the 8x8 rule, that’s eight 8-ounce glasses, or about 2 liters or half a gallon a day.” Dr. Joson explains. Feeling thirsty is the easiest way to tell if you’re dehydrated, or lose more fluid than you take in. But it is not always the case, she points out. “Some people may already be dehydrated yet not feel thirsty at all. This is why health experts suggest taking sips of fluid throughout the day, especially if you are active or have been under the sun for hours.” Dr. Joson also states that “People can also get dehydrated when in front of their computers when working from home, especially if they work in places without natural ventilation.” Other than thirst, how else will you know you’re dehydrated? Dr. Joson cites. Here are five symptoms: Your pee is dark yellow. “Normally, urine is a light yellow hue. The more hydrated you are, the lighter the shade,” says Dr. Joson. “When you have not had much to drink, your kidneys retain as much fluid as possible, causing your urine to be more concentrated, and thus darker in color. But a dark or brownish shade of urine can also be a symptom of many things—from taking certain medications to having hepatitis, gallstones, or cirrhosis. If the dark color persists despite drinking fluids, let your doctor know.” You’re peeing less. According to Dr. Joson, depending on your age, medical condition, what medicines you take, and how much you drink, you pee anywhere from 4 to 10 times a day. You’re tired. “A body low in fluids makes one feel fatigued,” she says. “Again, small sips of water or a drink can make a big difference in your energy level.” You’re dizzy. Feeling lightheaded? You are probably dehydrated. “The lack of fluids decreases the volume of your blood, which in turn lowers your blood pressure and limits the amount of blood in your brain. This results in dizziness. Also, dehydration is linked to an increase in your blood pressure due to the action of your vasopressin hormone; the first hormone your brain releases when dehydrated.” Dr. Joson points out. Your mouth, lips, and eyes are dry. “Here is more proof of fluid’s crucial role to our body,” says Dr. Joson. “Dehydration affects your salivary glands, and when you do not produce enough saliva, your mouth and lips get dry. Same with the eyes: When you are dehydrated, you do not make enough tears to lubricate your eyes, giving you painful dry eyes.” Thankfully, drinking enough water corrects these conditions. Of course, there are other ways to stay hydrated besides bringing a tumbler of water with you. Eat fruits and vegetables. “Fresh fruits and vegetables are made up mostly of water, and they are healthy and tasty alternatives to plain water.” Sip some soup. “If you are not into drinking water during a meal, get your fluid intake through a cup or bowl of soup.” Drink other fluids. “Coffee, tea, juice, sports drinks, and sodas are made of water too. You can have them, but do not overdo it as they are packed with sugar, caffeine, and calories and can actually worsen dehydration.” “Dehydration, while easy to fix in mild cases, can also lead to serious conditions like heatstroke, seizure due to electrolyte loss, kidney failure, and even coma,” says Dr. Joson. “Make sure you are hydrated even if you are not thirsty, and especially when you stay under the sun a lot, sweat due to physical activity, and cannot keep your fluids in due to illness.”

I

These were in the minds of a group of OPI, a vegan nail polish brand is a favorite. It’s free of animal derived ingredients and by products, non-GMO, friends when they founded Beauty Scout, an vegan, and cruelty-free online destination for well-curated products good for you and your skin, and good for the from a slew of brands. The products, which environment,” Romero added. come in special set boxes and subscriptions of What’s admirable about this is that at the core choice items, range from beauty and skincare; of the business is the team’s brand value of giving to health and wellness; home and living; as back to the community via their initiative dubbed well as rituals. “Scout For A Cause,” where if one buys an item, Recently, I was invited to an exclusive prea percentage of the proceed goes to their chosen view of its latest offerings -- from internationorganizations: Bright Faces, iCanServe, STEPS ally acclaimed cult brands to proudly made Scholarship Foundation, and Voice of the Free. local brands in beauty and wellness – which Now I don’t know about you but it’s a plus were showcased to the founders’ friends from factor to me when a business has an advocacy, the media including select influencers or consuch as giving back to the planet and to the tent creators. At the intimate gathering, I got community. the chance to speak with one of the founders of Apart from beauty, home, wellness, and Beauty Scout, Rochelle Romero who also acts skincare products, Beauty Scout has recently as the Marketing and Merchandise director. added an exclusive offering, the ‘3 Day Healthy “The founders of Beauty Scout, myself inMeal Plan’ prepared by Wildflour in addition cluded, are beauty aficionados who love to to its bread assortments on the site called the travel the world not only to discover the beauty Hokkaido Milk Buns. of every place we visit, but also to search for Chocolatier Christian Valdes of the CMV excellent products we can use ourselves and Txokolat, which is known to offer locally made share with everyone through Beauty Scout,” The author (right) experiencing OPI vegan nail polish artisanal chocolates prepared by the Chocolatshe said. “We are proud of each brand we put in swear by them. We don’t just test a product and ier Man himself, brought in some of their deBeauty Scout because we have tried and test- offer it online. As much as possible, we want lightful bestsellers such as the Sofia Strawbered them, we use them ourselves, and we can the products to be natural and sustainable – ries for the guests to try. OPI, a vegan nail polish brand was one of the favorite stations at the gathering as several guests got to experience some of their best-selling vegan nail polish collections. The ‘ ‘Nature Strong by OPI,” first natural origin nail lacquer had me excited when I was told that it could last up to seven days wear and shine. I love that it is free of animal-derived ingredients and by-products, non-GMO, vegan, has not been tested on animals and is cruelty-free. Its packaging is made with 20 percent post-consumer recycled materials. You can really tell I like this brand, and yes, I am so into nail polish. Beauty aficionados who have the means and time can easily put up an online destination for the products they love, but when they do it not only for the money but also for a community, you know that it’s a job well done. If you want to give Beauty Scout a chance, you can shop through their Personal Concierge service by calling 0906-3461-388. You may also shop through their website at www.beautyscout.ph or follow @beautyscoutph on FaceBeauty Scout also offers health and wellness brands that the founders tried and tested to be good for book and Instagram. the health