Manila Standard - 2022 May 25 - Wednesday

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GOV’T ALLOTS RECORD P5.3-T BUDGET FOR BBM IN 2023

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GAME-CHANGER: SM CONVENTION CENTER CLARK FORMALLY OPENS NEWS / A4

VOL. XXXVI • NO. 98 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P18 WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2022 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

BBM, Sara’s proclamation set Congress to end canvassing today, declare new President, VP

By Rey E. Requejo, Macon Ramos-Araneta, and Maricel V. Cruz

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ONGRESS, sitting as National Board of Canvassers for president and vice president, expects to proclaim the winners of the May 9 elections on Wednesday afternoon in what it described as the fastest and “hitchless” counting ever.

As of 11 p.m. Tuesday, with 104 certificates of canvass (COCs) opened or 60 percent of the total representing over 39 million votes, presumptive president Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has nearly 23 million votes, while closest rival Vice President Leni Robredo's votes stood at 10.9 million. In the vice-presidential race, presumptive VP Sara Duterte-Carpio had 23.1 million votes compared to Senator Francis Pangilinan's 6.9 million and Senate President Vicente Sotto's 6 million votes.

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OFFICIAL COUNT BEGINS. Senate Secretary General Myra Marie Villarica (left) and House Secretary General Mark Llandro Mendoza lead the opening of the first ballot box, from Cambodia, during the official canvassing of votes for President and Vice President in the May 9 elections at the House of Representatives on Tuesday. Senate President Vicente Sotto III and House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco Ver Noveno led their respective contingents making up the National Board of Canvassers in a group photo before the ceremony (inset). Ver Noveno

Comelec poised to announce 63 party-list victors

Leni won’t challenge tallying, trusts integrity of result By Vito Barcelo

By Vito Barcelo THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) said it would proclaim the winning 63 party-list groups earning seats in the House of Representatives following the 2022 elections by May 26 or May 27. Poll spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco said the Comelec was just waiting for the results of the special elections in 12 barangays in Tubaran town, Lanao del Sur. “We are targeting to proclaim all of the 63 winning party-lists if the 1,900 remaining votes from Shanghai would not affect the results,” he said. Next page

DUE PROCESS. Lawyer Romulo Makalintal (left) explains a point on behalf of his client, Vice President Leni Robredo, at the House of Representatives on Tuesday, moments after House Majority Leader Martin Romualdez (center) and Senate President Vicente Sotto III lead the transfer of the Consolidation and Canvassing System (CCS) machine to the House Plenary Hall. HOR Photo

Gov’t allots record P5.3-t budget for BBM in ’23 or 22.1% of GDP By Julito G. Rada THE incoming administration of presumptive president Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. will have a full-year budget of P5.268 trillion to spend in 2023, Department of Budget and Management (DBM) officer-in-charge Tina Rose Marie Canda announced Tuesday. Canda revealed the proposed na-

tional budget in a virtual press briefing following the 181st meeting of the inter-agency Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) composed of the country's economic managers. The proposed budget next year is equivalent to 22.1% of the country’s gross domestic product, according to Canda, who chairs the DBCC and read Next page their joint statement.

COVID variants push cases up slightly By Willie Casas THE COVID-19 reproduction number of the National Capital Region (NCR) has slightly increased to 1.05, independent monitoring OCTA Research Group said Tuesday. The reproduction number refers to the number of people infected by one case.

A reproduction number that is below 1 indicates that the transmission of the virus is slowing down. Despite the increase, OCTA fellow Dr. Guido David assured the public this does not necessarily mean cases will surge. However, David noted the last two times the reproduction number increased Next page

THE camps of Vice President Leni Robredo and Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso on Tuesday declared no objection to the inclusion of the certificates of canvass in the National Board of Canvassers' (NBOC) official tallying of votes for president and vice president. Romulo Macalintal, Robredo’s election lawyer, mentioned her statement during a thanksgiving event on May 13, calling her supporters to accept the results of the May 9 polls and the decision of the majority. "She said we need to accept the majority’s decision. And so your honors, consistent with such pronouncements by Vice President Leni Robredo, and so as not to delay the proceedings of this board, we would like to make of record our continuing Next page

Duterte to meet Marcos for gov’t turnover—Palace By Vito Barcelo and Rey E. Requejo MALACAÑANG on Tuesday said President Rodrigo Duterte is expected to meet his successor in the coming weeks as Duterte’s transition team prepares for the turnover of power and responsibilities to the new administration under presumptive Next page

CONDOLENCES. Presumptive president Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (right) expresses his condolences to Senator Grace Poe, his former colleague in the chamber, on Tuesday at the wake of Poe’s mother—legendary actress Susan Roces —at the Heritage Memorial Park in Taguig City.

Lanao special elections smooth, Cavite may hold one THE special elections in Tubaran, Lanao del Sur proceeded smoothly as scheduled on Tuesday, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said. Comelec Commissioner George Gar-

cia said polling places in barangays Riantaran, Gadongan and Pagalamatan, in Tuburan town opened at 6:57 am, 7:02 am and 6:48 am, respectively. In related incidents, the Philippine Na-

tional Police said it had placed the entire municipality of Tubaran under full alert status as part of its security measures for the conduct of special elections in 12 of its barangays. Next page

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News

WEDNESDAY, 25, 2022

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Stay in PH to work, says Laguesma I NCOMING Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma said Tuesday he would "make a pitch" to encourage more workers to stay in the Philippines instead of seeking employment abroad under the administration of presumptive President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.

While salaries may be more competitive in other countries, the "separation of family, too much dependence on foreign remittance, spending more than what you are actually earning and not saving for the future" are among issues that have also risen due to overseas employment, said Laguesma. "I will make my pitch on local em-

ployment because while I see foreign employment as providing us needed foreign remittances, I also look at the social costs that go with it," he told ANC's Headstart. "My mission should be able to promote and create... more employment opportunities so that our workers will have the option really of choosing if they are staying with their families, maybe not

with very lucrative salaries, but enjoying and watching the growing up of their children," he added. In other developments, former Labor undersecretary and overseas Filipino worker advocate Susan "Toots" Ople confirmed she had accepted Marcos' offer to head the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW). Ople, daughter of Blas Ople—the labor secretary during the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Sr.—said she met with Marcos Jr. and Laguesma on Monday. "I’m coming in more so as a specialist in my field and also perhaps as someone who has a father for her idol throughout her life and would like to do justice to the

BBM,...

“We welcome the results of the random manual audit of votes that the Commission on Elections (Comelec) reported,” said Vic Rodriguez, the incoming executive secretary for the new administration. “We believe that the high accuracy rate proves that the recent elections were not marred by fraud as some sectors have been claiming. The... results should erase any doubt regarding the election results. The people have spoken, and they have chosen presumptive President-elect Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos to be the country’s 17th president.” The random manual audit of votes in the 2022 elections showed a 99.93 percent overall accuracy as of May 21, 2022, after 128 of the 757 randomly selected clustered polling precincts were checked. Comelec Commissioner George Garcia added that a 99.9 percent accuracy rate was reported for the presidential elections, 99.96 percent for the vicepresidential race, and 99.97 percent for senatorial and party-list polls. The random manual audit was led by the Comelec, poll watchdogs like LENTE (Legal Network for Truthful Elections), an association of certified public accountants, and the Philippine Statistics Authority. A random manual audit is conducted to check the performance of vote counting machines and to examine the ballots to validate accuracy. Rodriguez called on sectors trying to sow doubts about the results of the elections and to stop fanning divisiveness and animosity and instead allow the incoming administration to work productively. There were no breaks for senators and congressmen assigned to the official canvassing of votes for president and

vice president, as they hoped to proclaim the winners by Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning. "The earliest proclamation of the winning president and vice president would be Wednesday afternoon while the latest is Thursday morning," said Sotto, who ran as vice president as the running mate of Senator Panfilo Lacson. The Senate President said the lawyers of Marcos and Duterte were already given a timetable on the canvassing of votes and the proclamation. The two chambers of Congress officially convened as the National Board of Canvassers in a joint session on Tuesday. In the morning, lawmakers formed a joint committee to canvass the votes and adopted rules to be followed during the canvassing. Sotto said the first local certificate of canvass (COC) that the Senate received was from Malabon City, which was delivered to the Senate at 6:56 p.m. on May 10. The first overseas absentee voting COC came from the Philippine embassy in Cambodia and was delivered to the Senate on May 11 at 6:59 a.m., while the first COC received electronically was from San Juan City on May 9 at 10:28 p.m. Sotto and Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said they do not see any problem with the canvassing of votes. "We do not expect any serious objection unless the COC will have incomplete records or does not match what was electronically transmitted. Other than that, we don't see any serious objection," Sotto said. He noted that discrepancies in the canvassing would not necessarily stop the counting of votes. "It will be set aside so that the canvassing will continue and then later

on it will be taken up to find out how the discrepancy came [about]," Sotto said. Drilon also said the canvassing would go smoothly, given the electronically transmitted results that were backed by a paper trail. He also said there was no concern about the inclusion of Senator Imee Marcos in the Senate contingent even though her brother is among the candidates for president. “You can also raise the same concern about Senate President Tito Sotto. You can raise the same concern on Kiko Pangilinan,” Drilon said, noting that both ran for vice president in this year’s election. House Majority Leader and Leyte 1st District Rep. Martin G. Romualdez vowed that Congress, acting as the National Board of Canvassers, will uphold the integrity of the electoral process. Romualdez gave this guarantee even as the House of Representatives and Senate began the canvassing, or the official tabulation of votes cast for the positions of president and vice president, during the May 9 elections. On Tuesday morning, Romualdez was officially named chairman of the House contingent of the NBOC. Once begun, the canvassing of votes cast by eligible Filipinos will continue on a 24-hour basis until the winners of the presidential and vice-presidential race are proclaimed. The actual canvassing took place at the plenary hall of the House of Representatives. "As the chairperson of the House panel, I give the assurance that the meetings before this committee on the canvassing of votes will be characterized by accuracy, transparency, and expediency," Romualdez said.

of the 2022 presidential elections. Rizalina Lumbera, legal counsel of Domagoso, also said their camp has no objection to the inclusion of COCs in the canvassing. In a text message to reporters, Senate Majority Floor Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said the manifestations of the legal counsels of Robredo and Moreno would hasten their proceedings. "By tomorrow early afternoon, we should be done," Zubiri said. Based on the partial, unofficial tally, former senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. led the presidential race with 31,104,175 votes followed by Vice President Leni Robredo with 14,822,051 votes.

The vice-presidential race was topped by Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte with 31,561,948 votes, followed by Senator Francis Pangilinan with 9,232,883 votes. Malacañang lauded the move of the Vice President’s camp. “The decision of Robredo’s camp to hasten the canvassing of votes for the top two highest posts in the country is a positive development,” acting presidential spokesperson Martin Andanar said. House Majority Leader and Leyte 1st District Rep. Martin G. Romualdez also lauded and thanked Robredo for recognizing the integrity of the result of the May 9 elections. “I join my co-chair in expressing gratitude and appreciation on behalf of both

houses (of Congress) and the Filipino people for the graciousness of the Vice President and for the sportsman-like conduct of her counsel, in the person of attorney. Romy Macalintal,” Romualdez said. “Indeed, the (unity) theme of the UniTeam begins to prevail in the country. The healing has begun, let us unite as a nation for and by the Filipino people,” Romualdez said. On May 10, a day after the elections, Robredo told supporters in her home province of Camarines Sur to respect the results of the vote. The Vice President made the remarks at the Naga City Metropolitan Cathedral after a mass organized by her supporters for “unity and thanksgiving.”

the May 9 national and local elections because of high incidents of poll-related violence there. At the same time, despite the proposal for the postponement of the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections, Comelec is preparing for these two political exercises. During the Laging Handa public briefing Commissioner George Erwin Garcia said that the poll body is preparing for the village and SK elections set this December saying there is no such law signed yet stopping it. In keeping with its mandate, the Comelec is continuously preparing but Congress should make its decision fast on whether it will again pass a law postponing the two elections before the poll body can print the ballots, he said. Based on Comelec records, Tubaran has 11,557 registered voters for the 2022 national and local elections. The Comelec earlier postponed the proclamation of the winning party-list groups due to the pendency of the poll results in the Lanao del Sur special elections, as this could affect the outcome of the party-list race (see related story on A1 – Editors). Under the party-list law, a party-list group that gets at least 2 percent of the total number of votes cast in the party-list race will be entitled to at least one seat in the House of Representatives. Vito Barcelo (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

Duterte... president Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. Acting presidential spokesman Martin Andanar said the President had earlier created a transition committee that will work closely with the representative of the president-elect to ensure a proper and orderly transition of government. Andanar admitted that Duterte and his transition teams have not yet met with nor reached out to the camp of the next president. The President also has no comments about Marcos Jr.’s choices for his Cabinet, he added. Duterte, however, said he was hopeful the next administration would explore nuclear energy as an alternative source of power. In a prerecorded Talk to the People aired Monday night, Duterte said the next administration must study nuclear power because the Philippines, which depends on imported crude oil, is vulnerable to the effects of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. Duterte referred to the controversial Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) in Morong, Bataan, a project of former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. which was never used because of safety and

corruption issues. “You know oil is not infinite. Someday it will dry up. It will be good for any government to prepare the possibility of making the transition from oil to nuclear,” he added. In February, Duterte signed Executive Order No. 164, which would establish a nuclear energy program for the Philippines. The EO, which outlined the national government’s position on a nuclear energy program, accounts for economic, political, social, and environmental objectives. It also mandates the Department of Energy (DOE) to develop and implement the Nuclear Energy Program as part of the Philippine Energy Plan, and coordinate with and assist the Nuclear Energy Program-Inter-Agency Committee (NEPIAC) in performing its functions. Earlier, Marcos said he was looking into reviving the mothballed nuclear power plant. He said the BNPP was ordered shut "not because of any scientific reason" but "for politics." Marcos signaled his determination to adopt nuclear power Monday, holding talks with South Korea's envoy on possibly reviving the mothballed $2.2 billion plant built during his father's dictatorship. With AFP (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

continuing external risks, particularly the war in Eastern Europe and monetary policy normalization in the United States. The budget ceiling approved by the economic managers is higher than the P5.242-trillion pegged by the economic team in December 2021. The DBCC is composed of the heads of the National Economic and Development Authority, DBM, and Department

of Finance, as well as the governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). The other reason for the downward GDP revision for 2022 was the slowdown in China, the group said after its meeting. The economic team, according to Canda, set the cap P5.268-trillion cap for 2023 national budget due to higher projected revenue collections next year.

“As economic activity is expected to continuously pick up over the mediumterm, revenue projections were revised upward to P3.633 trillion (15.3% of GDP) for 2023,” the DBM chief said. Likewise, the economic managers pegged next year’s disbursements to reach P5.086 trillion or 21.3% of GDP. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

From A1

Lawmakers shall canvass a total of 173 COCs, then prepare a committee report to submit to Congress for approval, the office of the House Secretary General said in a statement. Once the report is approved, the winners would be summoned to the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City to be proclaimed, it added. The electronically transmitted COCs have been checked against the physically delivered COCs for discrepancies, and as of press time, no objections have been raised, the House office added. This developed as the camp of Marcos Jr. said the results of the random manual audit of votes showing a 99.93-percent accuracy of the digitally transmitted election results meant the people have indeed spoken and that their will should be respected. Legislators said the improvement in the automation system of the Commission on Elections resulted in a smooth-sailing canvass unlike in the past when questions on the accuracy of the count were raised several times, thus delaying the canvas. As a result of the speedy canvassing of votes, Congress expects to finish canvassing by noon today, and proclaim the winners in the afternoon, said Cavite Rep. Jesus Crispin Remulla. Remulla has been reelected but has been tapped by presumptive president Marcos Jr. as the Secretary of Justice, which the Cavite lawmaker said he accepted (see related story on A1 – Editors). Article VII, Section 4 of the 1987 Constitution tasks Congress to canvass votes for president and vice president, thus making the outcome of the elections final.

Leni... From A1

manifestation that we interpose no objection to the inclusion in the canvass of all the COC for president from the various provincial and city boards of canvassers found by this honorable board to be authentic and duly executed,” Macalintal said. He then told the NBOC that they will waive their presence during the proceedings to speed up the tallying of votes for president and vice president. Vic Rodriguez, legal counsel of presumptive president Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., thanked Robredo for her patriotism in recognizing the result

Lanao... From A1

Maj. Gen. Valeriano T. de Leon, PNP director for operations, said the action was aimed at preventing any armed groups or individuals from attempting to sabotage or influence the results of the special election for the more than 8,000 voters who were disenfranchised on May 9 for security reasons. Meanwhile, Comelec said it would conduct special polls in a district in Cavite province should the House of Representatives declare a vacancy in the 7th District of Cavite. “Whatever Congress decides, the Comelec is so prepared to conduct a special election in that particular district. We will wait for Congress. If Congress will say, we will fill up the position,” Comelec Commissioner George Garcia said. Rep. Jesus Crispin Remulla was reelected as Cavite 7th district representative during the May 9 elections but accepted the offer as justice chief post of presumptive president Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. However, the Comelec explained that Congress usually just appoints a caretaker so that the concerns of the district will be taken care of. The special election in Lanao del Sur was set for the province two weeks after

Gov’t... From A1

THE committee also said Tuesday it lowered its gross domestic product (GDP) growth estimate this year to 7 to 8 percent from the previous assumption of 7 to 9 percent. The DBCC said this accounts for the

From A1

legacy he left behind," Ople told ANC's Headstart. "I want to change the narrative of the OFW. Right now, they haven't left, and they're already thought of as a welfare case. I would like them to leave as dignified as possible. It’s an informed choice, not a rash decision. It’s an informed choice to make with the family," she continued. Meanwhile, Cavite 7th District Rep. Jesus Crispin "Boying" Remulla said he would study the statements of witnesses in the drug cases of Senator Leila De Lima who have recanted their testimonies against her, were he to be appointed Justice Secretary. Vito Barcelo (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

Monkeypox can be halted, says WHO, PH DOH GENEVA—The monkeypox outbreaks in non-endemic countries can be contained and human-to-human transmission of the virus stopped, the World Health Organization said Monday. Fewer than 200 confirmed and suspected cases had been recorded so far, the WHO's emerging disease lead Maria Van Kerkhove said. The Philippines, meanwhile, has adopted a four-door strategy in intensifying border control to prevent the entry of monkeypox into the country, the Department of Health said Monday. President Rodrigo R. Duterte also expressed hope that the monkeypox outbreak being reported mostly in Europe would not be as fatal as COVID-19, which eventually shut down the world for two years. "This is a containable situation, particularly in the countries where we are seeing these outbreaks that are happening across Europe, in North America as well," WHO’s Van Kerkhove told a live interaction on the UN health agency's social media channels. "We want to stop human-to-human transmission. We can do this in the non-endemic countries. We're in a situation where we can use public health tools of early identification, supported isolation of cases. We can stop human-to-human transmission." (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

Comelec... From A1

“The timetable is to proclaim on the 26th. We will complete all processes and we really are gunning for proclaiming the 63 seats with the hope that 1,991 registered voters in Shanghai will not affect the results and the results of Lanao del Sur will be sufficient to complete, not only the 63 seats, but also determine their standing,” Laudiangco said. Election Commissioner George Garcia said they wanted to hold a one-time proclamation of all winning party-list groups, thus they decided to wait for the results of the special elections in Lanao del Sur. “We would like to proclaim … those with guaranteed seats. They should have been proclaimed already,” Garcia said. Meanwhile, the Comelec said many party-lists had filed petitions to change their nominees. The petitions involved withdrawal, substitution, and death of nominees. "The intention of the Comelec is really to do a complete 63 seats," he said. Figures from the latest National Tally Sheet for party-lists show that six groups have so far met the 2 percent threshold – ACT-CIS (2,109,022 votes), 1-Rider Party-list (1,000,343 votes), Tingog (886,431 votes), 4Ps (836,294 votes), Ako Bicol (816,255 votes), and Sagip (779,542 votes).

COVID... From A1

to more than 1 was during the start of the surges caused by the more transmissible Omicron and Delta variants. “Over the next few weeks, the bestcase scenario is status quo, while the worst-case scenario, based on currently available data, is a weak surge in COVID-19 cases,” David said in a tweet. David earlier said the slight increase in COVID-19 cases in Metro Manila and other areas was caused by the more transmissible Omicron subvariants and not due to activities related to the May 9 elections. The country recently detected the Omicron subvariant BA.4 from a Filipino who flew in from the Middle East on May 4. A week ago, the country also detected the local transmission of the Omicron subvariant BA.2.12.1. Despite this, the country and most of its regions remain under the minimal risk case classification against COVID-19, according to the Department of Health. David said the average daily attack rate remained very low at 0.52 while the positivity rate was recorded at 1.2 percent still meeting the benchmark of the World Health Organization (WHO). David, in an interview on Super Radyo dzBB, said the good news is that the cases recorded are only experiencing mild symptoms. “Yes, that’s the good news. We also saw this in January. And because these subvariants are Omicron, the presentation of cases is still mild, especially if they are vaccinated,” he said. David urged the public to get vaccinated and for those eligible to get their boosters. In other developments: • Malacañang on Tuesday emphasized the government's milestones in combating the COVID-19 pandemic after a report said President Rodrigo Duterte issued false claims about the coronavirus during the peak of its spread. • All the three close contacts of the Philippines' first BA.4 case are asymptomatic, the DOH said Tuesday. • Even though the Philippines has exceeded its 70 percent vaccination rate, the government admitted the administration of booster shots remains a challenge.

News

WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2022

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IN BRIEF

MMDA GETS NEW HEAD OFFICE.

BI beefs up border stations in Mindanao

President Duterte addresses the inauguration of a new, state-ofthe-art 20-storey Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) headquarters in Ugong, Pasig City.

THE Bureau of Immigration (BI) plans to strengthen the country’s southern border by putting up more BI stations with complete communication and IT systems in Mindanao. Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said the Taganak station located near the Sulu Sea and the Bongao station located near the Celebes Sea, have been identified as priority areas in IT systems upgrade and infrastructure improvement. BI bay service section chief Alnazib Decampong reported that they have conducted on-site visits and studies and were ready with their recommendations for specific needs of the offices. Vito Barcelo

Navotas, Caloocan, V’zuela set off COVID 2nd booster shot

MMDA moves over to modern office in Pasig By Joel E. Zurbano THE Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has started transferring office materials and equipment to its new state-of-the-art and environmentfriendly head office building in Pasig City. President Duterte on Monday led the inauguration of the 20-story office building located in Barangay Ugong, marking a historic milestone for the agency. The MMDA will start operating in the new building by July in time for the incoming administration of presumptive President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. MMDA chair Romando Artes said the new headquarters of the agency was a manifestation of its commitment to strengthen and provide better services to Metro Manilans. “We started with an idea, and now we stand in the actual building of our lifetime dream – a stateof-the-art government facility, catering to the needs of our employees as well as the clients and partners of Metro Manila. We now have a safe, structurally sound, sustainable, and productive headquarters we can call home,” Artes said. The new building features facilities that would accommodate the different services and functions of the agency. It also has special features such as centralized data system, upgraded Metrobase Operations Center, and MMDA Corporate Auditorium. “With this new MMDA head office building, we intend to provide convenience to our stakeholders and ensure effective delivery of our services,” Artes said. The structure, with roof deck and helipad, will be certified by the Building for Ecologically Responsive Design Excellence (BERDE) with a one-star accreditation. BERDE is a tool to assess, measure, monitor, and certify performance of green building projects.

Group says online piracy robs PH economy blind

O

NLINE piracy is taking a heavy toll on the Philippine economy, with losses running up to billions of pesos and thousands of workers deprived of income opportunities.

The advocacy group CitizenWatch, in a statement, urged the government to act fast to combat the cyber pirates. “Many Filipinos have already lost their jobs due to piracy before the pandemic,” said lawyer Tim Abejo. “The lockdowns worsened their situation. It’s time the government stepped in through stronger legislation and better enforcement.” The economic consequences of online piracy have been tracked by numerous organizations. As early as 2010, copyright-based industries contributed 14.14 percent to Philippine employment. Such industries were also responsible for 7.34 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in the

same year, according to a 2014 study carried out by IPOPHL and commissioned by the World Intellectual Property. Ten years hence or in 2020, at the start of the pandemic-induced lockdowns, online content piracy was estimated to have translated to P1 billion in potential revenue losses to local video producers, distributors and aggregators in 2020, according to a study by Media Partners Asia. The same illegal online activities also deprived legal subscription video-ondemand (VOD) services of some P6.3 billion in 2020, according to a study that placed the Philippines in third place in terms of VOD piracy in Asia. “Rampant piracy in the country makes

investors reluctant to invest in Philippine content production,” Abejo said. “That is a sure way to kill not just a huge economic potential and the genuine spirit of creativity and innovation among our people,” he added. The Philippine movie industry, in particular, felt the blow through low admission in cinemas. The Film Development Council of the Philippines said that in 2017 – years before the pandemic struck – admission rate was only between 14 percent and 18 percent, out of a population of 104 million. The council also said the entire chain of workers in industries related to filmmaking were suffering from the ongoing copyright infringement and piracy. This included not only actors, producers and directors but all workers involved in the production of a film – composers, make-up artists, and crew.

SUSAN ROCES TO REUNITE WITH FPJ.

Workers prepare the final resting place for veteran actress Susan Roces who will be interred on Thursday, May 26, 2022 beside her late husband, movie icon Fernando Poe Jr, at the Manila North Cemetery. Danny Pata

Party-list lawmakers move to block PhilHealth premium rate hike THE Gabriela Women’s Party on Tuesday led the filing of a Joint resolution seeking to defer the PhilHealth premium hike set to take effect in June amid rising consumer prices. Citing the unabated price hikes affecting workers and still unresolved issues at the state insurance firm, Resolution 41 aims to block the im-

plementation of PhilHealth Advisory No. 2022-0010 imposing a fourpercent premium rate increase on all direct contributors. “Such premium rate hike will also equate to higher income deductions for wage and salary workers who are struggling with nonstop price hikes of basic goods and services,” the resolu-

tion stated. Assistant minority leader and Gabriela Rep. Arlene Brosas, along with other Makabayan lawmakers, sought to freeze the PhilHealth premium rate at the current 3.5 percent for the rest of 2022, effectively delaying the contribution schedule as provided under the Universal Health

Dismissed workers win case vs. coop By Brenda Jocson TUGUEGARAO City—Dismissed workers of a multi-purpose cooperative have won their case and might have the chance to be reinstated to their jobs in addition to substantial financial remunerations. The National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) Region 2 office here ruled in favor of the workers who asserted that they were unjustly terminated by the Tam An Banaue Multi-Purpose Cooperative. The employees also complained about alleged, illegal salary deductions and non-remittance of their premiums contributions for Social Security System, PAG-IBIG Fund, and Philhealth despite monthly deductions made from the salaries. Cited as respondents in the complaints were chief executive officer Jose Bulayo Tomas Jr, hu-

man resources chief Vivian Zia Pagaduan, and finance officer Noemi Tomas Limong of the Tam An Banaue Multi Purpose Cooperative. The workers also accused their employers of violating a Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) order prohibiting termination of employees and providing for flexible work arrangements amid the Covid-19 pandemic. In her five-page decision Labor arbiter Ma. Lourdez Baricaua ruled that the dismissals of Pepsi Altamirano, Jennie Camarillo and Roel Altamirano were invalid because they merely acted as signatories in a protest over the revocation of a patented title issued to board member Edgardo Balgos and his family by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and which was eventually bought by respondent cooperative.

Care (UHC) Act. The joint resolution, if adopted, will have the same effect of a law. “PhilHealth has a P79.9-billion subsidy under the 2022 budget, which it could tap to augment benefit payments instead of further squeezing Filipino workers with a higher monthly contribution,” Brosas said. Maricel V. Cruz

CALOOCAN City, Navotas City, and Valenzuela City have launched aggressive COVID-19 second booster shot drives eyeing 18 years old immunocomprised, senior citizens and healthcare workers as priority targets. Caloocan Mayor Oscar Malapitan said anybody who wants to get vaccinated can simply walk-in to the nearest vaccination site in the city. He stressed that the vaccinations are open to the residents of Caloocan and residents from other areas. Jun David

GSIS musters 100% solution of complaints MALACAÑANG has cited the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) for attaining 100 percent resolution rate of citizens’ concerns. This is the fifth consecutive year that the state pension fund received a perfect rating from the Office of the President through its 8888 Citizens’ Complaint Center. State pension fund Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) was recently lauded by Malacañang’s 8888 Citizens’ Complaint Center for attaining 100% resolution rate of citizens’ concerns. GSIS was reported to have resolved 299 citizen’s concerns as of March 2022. Last year, from January to December, a total of 1,104 concerns were similarly acted upon within the 72-hour turnaround time.

Ping wants lowranked soldiers to be recognized SENATOR Panfilo Lacson on Tuesday batted for equal recognition between commanders and low ranking soldiers in the 2019 rescue of Indonesian fishermen held hostage by the Abu Sayyaf terror group. “More than the commanders, the soldiers on the ground who risked their lives deserve to be honored,” the senator said. To realize his desire, Lacson pushed for the inclusion of more than 50 soldiers’ names in a resolution citing Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and former Armed Forces chief Gen. Cirilito Sobejana for the rescue of Indonesian fishermen from the Abu Sayyaf in December 2019. “Praise the commanders to high heavens if we must; just don’t forget the soldiers who literally risked their lives to make the feat happen,” Lacson said. Lacson, chair of the Senate Committee on National Defense and Security, proposed to amend the Senate resolution to include the names of more than 50 troopers who took part in the dangerous rescue mission, instead of being cited in supporting documents. Macon Ramos-Araneta

ROAD CLEARING OPERATIONS.

Elements of the MMDA Task Force Special Operations led by Col. Bong Nebrija conduct an unforgiving road clearing operation along Felix Huertas St., in Sta. Cruz Manila, resulting in more than 50 illegally parked cars towed away. Norman Cruz

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News

WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2022

Spare civilians, Duterte asks Putin A

MID concerns over the Russia-Ukraine war’s mounting death toll, President Rodrigo R. Duterte on Monday night urged his “friend” Russian President Vladimir Putin to take precautions to spare civilians from attacks.

In a prerecorded Talk to the People, Duterte requested the Russian Embassy in the Philippines to relay his message to Putin, saying that it is the Russian leader’s obligation to ensure the safety of the innocent. “I am not picking a quarrel with anybody. I said Putin is a friend of mine. But… it is your moral obligation to see to it na (that) the civilians, the innocent

ones, children, the elderly, mga babae (the women) … They are too vulnerable and don’t know how to hide, they just stay in their homes,” he said. Putin, he said, could at the very least give civilians a “warning” to vacate their homes and transfer to “safer grounds.” Duterte described how Putin’s military is handling the war as a “ruckus” and appealed to him to “control” his soldiers.

“The way they are handling the war every day, pati ‘yung mga civilian, binobomba…Putin kaibigan ko man siya (even the civilians are being bombed…Putin is my friend). You are in control of everything. Anyway, you really started the ruckus there. Higpitan mo ang mga sundalo mo. Nagwawala eh (Control your soldiers. They’re running amuck),” he added. He said the problem of inflated oil prices will not be solved until the Russia-Ukraine war ends. Meanwhile, Duterte clarified he is not condemning Putin but merely “sharing his sentiment.” “I am not condemning President

Putin. I am just sharing my sentiment which is also the sentiment of every human being na nandito sa kuwartong ito (in this room). It’s not the way how to fight a war,” he added. Despite comparisons made between him and Putin, he said he was different because he pitied the innocent for being dragged into the war. “A lot of people are saying that Putin and I are the same because we kill people. I want Filipinos to know that I really kill. I said this before. But I kill criminals. I do not kill children and elderly. What is happening in Russia and America is different from what is happening here,” he said.

CHR lauds PCOO for move to keep gov’t FOI policy THE Commission on Human Rights on Tuesday welcomed the recommendation of the Presidential Communications Operations Office to the incoming secretary of the agency to retain President Rodrigo Duterte’s Executive Order No. 2 or Freedom of Information policy. Acting deputy presidential spokesperson Undersecretary Kris Ablan said the Presidential Communications Group, consisting of agencies, such as the Philippine Information Agency, Philippine News Agency, Radio Philippines Network, People’s Television Network and Bureau Communications Office, have already prepared their transition report for the incoming officials for endorsement. One initiative the CHR wishes the next administration would continue is the Freedom of Information program, which acts as a transparency mechanism of the executive branch. It said the right to information as enshrined in Section 7, Article III of the Constitution states that citizens can have access to “official records, and to documents and papers pertaining to official acts, transactions or decisions as well as to government research data used as basis for policy development” on all subjects and issues of public concern. Rio N. Araja

READY FOR FLAG DAY. In preparation for the upcoming celebration of the National Flag Day on May 28, a worker adds finishing touches to the Philippine tricolor at a store in Manila on Monday. National Flag Day is celebrated to commemorate the day when the first Philippine flag was used during the victory in the Battle of Alapan in Imus, Cavite in 1898. Norman Cruz

Palace mourns with kin of ferry blaze fatalities MALACAÑANG on Tuesday offered sympathies to the families of the seven victims who died after a ferry carrying 134 passengers and crew members caught fire near the coast of Real, Quezon on Monday. The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said the fatalities were identified as Viola Impreso, 47; Marivic Samareta, 61; Edna Balanac, 64; Mina Enciso, 57; Charito Escareces, 57; Crisanto Debelles, 51; and Andy Tejares, 54. Among those who perished is the captain’s mother, the PCG said. “Malacañang is extending condolences to families who lost their loved ones from the tragedy that took place near the port of Real in the province of Quezon where a fire broke out on a vessel),” Acting Palace spokesperson Martin Andanar said in a Palace press briefing. He also assured the public that an investigation is ongoing to determine the cause of the fire. PCG spokesperson Commodore Armando Balilo said the fast craft vessel MV Mercraft 2 caught fire around 6:30 a.m. on Monday as it carried passengers and crew from Polillo Island to Real. Balilo added that the PCG has custody of the captain of the vessel. In a radio interview, Balilo said “we have custody of the captain of the fast craft. We will start asking questions today to make it clear the exact site the vessel caught fire. The investigation will begin tomorrow.” The boat captain was identified as John Lerry Escareces. The Department of Transportation and Maritime Industry Authority will also reportedly conduct parallel investigations. Investigators have yet to determine the cause of fire, but initial investigation revealed it started from the engine room of the vessel. Balilo said that based on initial inquiries, there were witnesses who said that they heard an explosion from the engine room. The fire was declared under control at around 9:33 a.m. while all passengers and crew of the vessel were accounted for by 11:30 a.m.

Rody wants ‘positive commitment’ of other nations on climate change By Vito Barcelo PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte said he wanted to attend the next world meeting about climate change and to call for accountability of countries that continue to contribute to the worsening climate change crisis. In his televised Talk to the People aired Tuesday, Duterte expressed disappointment in countries that do not com-

ply with climate-related agreements. “Unless there is a sanction, nothing will happen. That’s why we need to take revenge, but we cannot do anything,” he said. The Bonn Climate Change Conference will be held from June 6 to 16 in Germany. Duterte made the remarks after Climate Change Commission vice-chair Robert Borje discussed how climate change continues to threaten natural re-

sources and negatively impact smaller countries like the Philippines. “I will personally go there. What do you want? if they maintain their attitude towards this challenging huge task, then we will always be shattered by --. I said they are starting to reduce the carbon footprint. They should do it,” the President said. “The problem with these countries is that they see the damage of the worsening climate change, but what they only

do is to give a meager cash assistance as an atonement maybe for their failure to help planet Earth,” he said, adding that “we don’t need that.” Duterte said what is needed is the “positive commitment” of these countries “to improve their carbon emissions” because the waters in the Pacific Rim continue to get warmer while the Arctic and the Antarctic ice are melting. And it’s the poor countries that suffer its effects.”

OVP ending Bayanihan E-Konsulta, social aid works By Rio N. Araja

PRIZED COLLECTIBLE. A movie teaser cut out on a publication of the 1969 film

‘Perlas ng Silangan’ starring action king Fernando Poe Jr. and his wife Susan Roces is seen at the Collectors and Pickers Convention at a mall in Binondo, Manila. Roces, regarded as the ‘Queen of Philippine Movies,’ passed away on May 20, Friday evening at the age of 80 due to cardiac arrest. Danny Pata

BAYANIHAN E-Konsulta, the Office of the Vice President’s free online consultation program started at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, will operate only until May 31 as part of the transition process toward the next administration. “We thank wholeheartedly all who volunteered to be able to reach our fellowmen who needed medical assistance amid the COVID-19 pandemic,” Vice President Leni Robredo said in a statement Tuesday. Her office also said it is closing down

its social services assistance program by June 1. “In preparation for the incoming administration, the OVP will stop its medical at burial assistance on June 1, 2022,” the OVP said. “We express our heartfelt gratitude for your trust. It is an honor to be of service to you,” it added. “We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all those who participated in this volunteer effort for us to be able to provide urgent medical help to our fellow Filipinos amid the COVID-19 pandemic,” the OVP said.

At least 42 doctors signed up as volunteers to do free teleconsultations, with three of them working at Bayanihan E-Konsulta on full-time status to supervise the project’s triage system. In addition, the project received 1,974 sign-ups for non-medical volunteers. As this developed, the OVP also announced it is folding up its medical and burial assistance program by next Wednesday. “As part of our preparation for the entry of the new administration, the OVP won’t be accepting applications for medical and burial assistance starting June 1.”

Game changer: SMX Convention Center Clark formally opens in Pampanga By Joyce Pangco Pañares SM HOTELS and Conventions Corp. (SMHCC) yesterday opened SMX Convention Center Clark, described as a game changer in the events industry for Central Luzon with its gross leasable space of more than 4,000 sq. m. “This is truly a welcome addition to what we have here in Clark. We cannot put claim to being the destination of choice if we don’t have a convention center big enough to host local and international events, including MICE [meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions],” said Clark Development Corp. vice president Dennis Legaspi. “SMX Convention Center’s presence in this vibrant district of the North solidifies SMHCC’s unprecedented growth and optimism as Clark Freeport is poised to become the preferred MICE and tourism destination in the Asia-Pacific region by 2030,” said SMHCC Executive Vice President Peggy Angeles. Clark is fast becoming a preferred destination for the MICE sector, driven by its improving connectivity and growing hospitality industry. As of last year, Clark’s tourist ar-

FINALLY OPEN. (From left) SMX Convention Center Clark Senior Branch Manager Miguel Morato; SCMC President Steven Tan; SMHCC Executive Vice President Peggy Angeles; Board member-elect Win Garbo, representing Mabalacat City Mayor Cris Garbo; SMHCC President Elizabeth Sy; SMHCC Senior Vice President for Operations Walid Wafik; CDC chairman Ed Pamintuan; and Department of Tourism Region 3 Division Chief Ronsan Pelariza.

rival has neared pre-pandemic levels at 640,353 compared to 721,567 in 2019. This year, as of end April, tourist arrival has reached 141,228, data from the Department of Tourism showed. “The idea of coming to the north came around because of the continuous

demand of organizers,” said SMHCC Senior Vice President for Operations Walid Wafik. Wafik said organizers are keen on hybrid events where a limited number of participants would do face-to-face meetings while others would join virtually.

SMX Clark is the second stand-alone convention center after SMX Manila, with two level event venues and a mezzanine floor for offices. Conveniently located adjacent to Park Inn by Radisson Clark and the flourishing SM City Clark development, the new MICE icon has three trade halls, three function rooms, and 14 smaller meeting rooms. “SMX Convention Center Clark is the most accessible venue outside of Metro Manila. This is really a game changer,” said Ann Olalo, general manager of Park Inn by Radisson Clark. The convention center is located within a 16-minute drive from the airport via Manuel Roxas highway and approximately a 20-minute drive via Gil Puyat Clark East Perimeter Road. Established in 2008, SMHCC is one of the

largest integrated property developers in Southeast Asia. Its portfolio covers nine hotel properties with a combined inventory of more than 2,200 rooms and over 41,000 sq. m. of leasable convention space. According to Angeles, an even bigger convention center will be built in Cebu within the next four years. “It will be even bigger than SMX Manila with 23,000 of leasable space. Cebu will also have an even bigger Mall of Asia complex and an arena that is larger by a thousand seats. There will also be two hotels – one threestar and one four-star,” she said. SMHCC Executive Vice President Peggy Angeles delivers her welcome remarks during the opening of SMX Convention Center Clark.

Opinion Did ‘magic’ happen in the counting?

FREE, fair and credible elections are a hallmark of a democracy. And while it’s just a matter of time before the 17-million lead of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. over his closest rival, Vice President Leni Robredo, in the presidential race is validated by Congress acting as the National Board of Canvassers, questions remain in the minds of some experts over the results nearly three weeks after the May 9 political exercise. A reader, Engr. Alex G. Serrano, sent me an email in response to my May 20 column “Dissecting the data”. Here it is, with minor edits for clarity. Thank you for bringing up something unusual about the recent elections, that I believe is starting to be drowned out by the “landslide” win of Bongbong Marcos Jr. I totally agree with what you wrote in your column based on the opinion of an anonymous expert based in France, as follows. “The consistent 68:32 relationship between the votes for Marcos Jr. and Robredo gives an almost perfect linear equation that is absolutely incredible in any electoral context.

This is the greatest irony.

“Since election results come in successively from various geographical regions, these should reflect variable voting bias (e.g., Marcos Jr. would have much higher results than Robredo in Ilocos and vice-versa in Robredo’s home province) and therefore vary noticeably in both directions.” To further explain to you my views on the questionable majority victory of BBM na bukang-bibig ni Atty. Vic Rodriguez and continuously making headlines not only here in the Philippines but disgustingly, also abroad, please allow me to share with you my comments on Facebook regarding the subject. In my opinion, the Law of Large Numbers can be used to explain the convergence of the ratio of the votes of Leni to that of BBM to a value of 47 percent towards the end. But for me it is impossible to achieve the 47 percent at around half of the votes counted then remain constant throughout the 19 transmissions from 8:02 PM to 1:32 AM. Where is the convergence? Definitely for me it looks pre-programmed

and requires investigation by experts! My conclusion about the mention of the Law of Large Numbers is that it is being used to try to justify the unjustifiable, by sounding scientific! First of all, I do believe that from the moment Sara agreed to be his VP, BBM had already practically won. But I sincerely believe that all the operations of the BBM camp, from the surveys to the vigorous campaigns, with the help of billions of campaign funds and consequently the support of trapos and enabler- journalists, the vote-buying and outright tampering through programming etc. were all geared towards achieving a majority president-elect with over 50 percent of the votes. They were all-out in trying to achieve this, I believe, to drown out whatever questions there will be on the credibility of the elections as well as to counter any serious DQ challenges, by loudly proclaiming that the people have spoken, let us have unity and move on! And as a dutiful citizen, after BBM’s inauguration, I will go along with “Unity” and “Move On” with my own life. But in all honesty, I will be doing so with a heavy heart! I also believe, however, that they made a big mistake or probably even a blunder with their “Magical 47%”! At dahil masyadong halata, palagay ko may pumalpak! But before the inauguration and oath-taking of BBM, I would like to express the ff: I sincerely believe that, with the big help from Sara’s sliding down to VP to be his running mate, BBM really won. But I also have that strong feeling that he cheated not just to win, but to win big, very big. This was for: Propaganda addressed to the millions of his “critics”. Propaganda against disqualification cases (now with the Supreme Court), by proclaiming out loudly that the people have spoken. And probably, most disgusting of all, propaganda addressed to the world, announcing that the son of the Dictator Marcos, who robbed our country blind, is now loved by the majority of us Filipinos. Remember these are all propaganda achieved with the use of billions of pesos coming from “we know not where”. To me that is the greatest irony in the last elections! Engr. Serrano is by no means the last of the skeptics. A Facebook post by someone who said he is part of Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP), the same political party that Marcos Jr. used as his vehicle for the May 9 polls, also expressed grave misgivings over the poll results. We failed to find it on Facebook when we tried to retrieve it after a while, but it had to do as well with the same 68-32 pattern in the poll results that other statistics experts had pointed out as early as May 10. Email: ernhil@yahoo.com

with the ideology and practices of their governing bodies and those who hold political power” – in this case, as felt by Robredo supporters -- well as the direct losses sustained by persons “as a result of political policies, ideologies, and oppression enacted and/or empowered at the sociopolitical levels” – such as those negatively affected by the Duterte administration and the previous Marcos regime. Another researcher suggested that the way to deal with and move on after trauma is to properly mourn it and confront traumatic emotions and memories. Kakampinks are finding and creating their own healing spaces and processes, and the best example of this is Robredo herself, who last week announced the creation of the Angat Buhay NGO, that continues the philanthropic work of the Angat Buhay Foundation that she started in the Office of the Vice-President. Many are processing their political grief online through their social media posts, that can be seen to evolve or cycle through the grief stages. A person may write an angry post, then a sad one, later a hopeful one. Some have formed online spaces where persons and communities can congregate, share their trauma, and find ways to deal with the current situation. This reflection, that takes place on both the individual and collective levels, enables the traumatized community to acknowledge and slowly accept their loss, and work through the emotions they feel, among them fear, anxiety, humiliation, and anger. Sharing different perspectives and opinions in addition to knowledge and facts may help many understand the rise of populism in the country, starting with the election of Rodrigo Duterte as president in 2016. Others are looking at the role social media has played in enabling the spread of disinformation and revision of history in recent years. Expect this recent election campaign and its outcomes to be a popular topic for communication and media studies researchers for a long time to come. The outpouring of emotion from many opposition supporters has also led many

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EDITORIAL

Dealing with political grief

THE outcome of the 2022 elections left opposition supporters who campaigned and voted for presidential candidate Vice President Leni Robredo in shock and dismay, not only because of her and most of her slate’s loss at the polls but also because of suspected anomalies related to the voting process and the negative impacts they believe will follow a Ferdinand Marcos Jr.-Sara Duterte leadership. The Leni supporters are dubbed “kakampinks,” from the Filipino word ‘kakampi’ (ally) and pink, the color of the campaign, and from the use of the pink rose to symbolize Robredo and the entire movement. Many of them are now going through the stages of grief, described as “DABDA” – denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Individuals may go through each of these stages in a linear fashion, experience some or all at once, or skip others. In other words, grieving is a personal process that everyone undergoes in their own way due to the impact of internal and external factors. In particular, what opposition supporters are now experiencing may be termed ‘political grief.’ While grief is often thought of as an individual’s response to loss, the concept of grief may also be extended to encompass the emotion felt collectively on a sociopolitical level. This “collective grief may occur when the loss relates to a group where commonly shared assumptions are shattered,” wrote grief researcher Darcy Harris in 2021. Here, she adds, the “origin of the loss is in the overarching social and political structures.” Further quoting Harris, the concept of political grief also covers the “sense of assault” experienced by those who “struggle

WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2022

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Endless sea disasters

ORE than four years ago, the government ordered an investigation into the sinking of a passenger ship that capsized between the waters of Dinahican Point, Quezon and Polilio Island on Dec. 21, 2017. Five people were killed while hundreds of disaster survivors were pulled from the rough seas. Transport Secretary Arthur Tugade ordered a swift investigation into the incident. “We want this latest incident of sea mishap to be investigated as quickly as possible so we can immediately implement safety nets and preventive measures,” Tugade said at the time. “Ensuring the safety and security of travelers must be our priority.” Sadly, we do not know the results of the

It was a dismal tale of human error, collusion, corruption, bad seamanship, poor seaworthiness and bad management. investigation into the sinking of the passenger ship MV Mercraft 3, or to what extent the company was held accountable for the loss of lives, and what new safety measures were put in place as a result of the tragedy. What we do know is that the same company is again in the news, after its high-speed ferry, the MV Mercraft 2, carrying 134 people, caught fire before reaching the port of Real in Quezon province on May 23. Five women and two men had died, while 120 passengers had been rescued, with 23 of them treated for injuries, the coast guard said in a statement. In a pattern we have become familiar with, the authorities will no doubt announce

yet another investigation into the latest maritime tragedy. Just as predictably, we will not know the results of this investigation, and the disaster will fade from memory until more passengers’ lives are lost or put at risk again because of serious defects in our sea transportation system. The Philippines gained notoriety for being the site of the world’s worst peacetime maritime tragedy, the collision, fire and sinking of the cargo ferry Doña Paz in 1987, which resulted in 4,386 deaths. At the time of its sinking, the 24-year-old ship, previously known as Don Sulpicio, had already been gutted by fire, re-conditioned, re-named and returned to service. It was a dismal tale of human error, collusion, corruption, bad seamanship, poor seaworthiness and bad management. How many of these factors were at play in the burning of the MV Mercraft 2? Will we ever find out? If ensuring the safety and security of travelers is truly the government’s top priority, it should show as much enthusiasm in ferreting out the truth and acting on its findings swiftly as it does in launching investigations.

A green aerocity MASSIVE, green and future-ready. That is how San Miguel Corp. and architect and urban planner Felino “Jun” Palafox Jr. describes the P740-billion Aerocity in Bulakan town, Bulacan province of the Philippines’ largest diversified conglomerate. Aerocity sits on a 2,500-hectare chunk of land in Bulakan town near Manila Bay. “Aerocity is envisioned as the pace-setter and model for green urbanism in the country,” says Jun Palafox. SMC President and Chief Executive Officer Ramon S. Ang says that the designs, prepared by Palafox Associates reflect the vision of a modern Philippine city that provides built-in solutions to various socio-economic, environmental, and climate issues, and correct the mistakes seen in many urban developments of Metro Manila The centerpiece of SMC Aerocity is the New Manila International Airport (NMIA). “It is a game-changer,” enthuses Ang. Ang says SMC is fully committed to completing Aerocity. It will be fully SMCfunded, with no guarantees or subsidies from the government. It seeks to boost the post-pandemic economy and improve the lives of more Filipinos by boosting various industries and creating millions of quality jobs nationwide. NMIA initially will service 35 million passengers a year with four runways, beginning late 2026 at the earliest. It will expand its capacity to 100 million passengers a year with six runways as demand picks up. The Asia Pacific is the most dynamic and among the fastest-growing regions for world tourism. In 2019, before the pandemic, arrivals reached 360 million, up 71 percent from 210 million in 2010, thanks to sustained growth in the ten years up to 2019, giving rise to a strong middle class with an aggressive penchant for travel. With COVID easing up, travel is perking up again. In the Philippines, domestic travel has proved stronger than international tourism. NMIA is the largest single project ever undertaken by any Philippine company. The incoming Bongbong Marcos administration should adopt it as its own centerpiece project as well. NMIA will deliver something no other local project can deliver—one million jobs during its construction period which will be in phases.

“Collective grief may occur when the loss relates to a group where commonly shared assumptions are shattered,” wrote grief researcher Darcy Harris. of them to express their feelings through art. There are at least two projects that have called for literary and visual works on the theme of the recent elections. Just as Robredo inspired writers, musicians, painters, and many other artists to create art related to the principles and values she

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With over a million direct and indirect jobs, NMIA will surely boost the local economies of Bulacan and its neighboring provinces and raise the country’s profile and competitiveness as an investment and tourist destination. The project includes components such as airfield facilities, terminal building, airport and airline support facilities, access roads, parking facilities, utilities, airport city, and other ancillary facilities. NMIA will easily be accessible from Metro Manila and Luzon provinces via a master planned infrastructure network. SMC is the Philippines’ largest toll road builder, with about 80 percent of the market. Land development works have already commenced. Master planner Jun Palafox Jr.is to masterplan the airport-driven city concept. “The designs presented to us by Arch. Palafox and his team will be close to actual,” assures Ang. “There will probably be some adjustments but in terms of the overall concept, design, and the features, this is it,” says SMC president and CEO. Relates RSA: “It’s very fortunate that when we sat down with Architect Jun Palafox for this project, we had the same vision that the airport and aerocity projects should be sustainably built, geared towards the future, and address social and environmental concerns

that have beset our existing cities, including the country’s major financial districts. With Architect Palafox’s help, all of this can be done,” he added. Ang points out that the Aerocity addresses many of the problems in Metro Manila today. NMIA is designed, and will be built, with sustainability in mind. It will be properly zoned, with areas dedicated to agriculture and food production, logistics, health and wellness, aeronautics, finance, science and technology, commerce, residences, education, tourism, entertainment, recreation, and government among others. NMIA will utilize renewable energy, and will accommodate both traditional and alternative modes of transportation, as well as promote active and healthier lifestyles, Ang says. The airport city design adopts green architectural and green urbanism guidelines over and above the country’s building and zoning codes, and follows structural codes of other countries similarly situated in earthquake zones like the Philippines. The Aerocity project will have ample open spaces and utilize the latest in digital infrastructure. It will also feature easily accessible public transport systems, including mass transit systems, bicycle highways, as well as a waterfront area with landscaped walkways and promenades. “While we need to fast-track the completion of this airport and aerocity to help ease travel congestion and aid in the country’s recovery with more jobs and opportunities for more Filipinos, we are mindful that we need to do this the right way and with a vision for a sustainable future. That is why we tapped Architect Palafox for this project,” he added. A veteran urban planner, Palafox has advocated and implemented some 1,700 projects that integrate the best practices in green, sustainable, and disaster-resilient architecture in about 45 countries worldwide. Palafox has said that the country needs 100 new cities by the year 2050. He says the Bulacan Aerocity is a model and pacesetter for future green and sustainable cities. Prior to actual development, SMC committed to restore and rehabilitate the existing mangrove forest cover at the Bulakan coastal areas by planting some 190,000 mangroves, develop and enhance natural habitats of marine and bird species, and clean the rivers surrounding the airport project to help mitigate perennial flooding in the province. biznewsasia@gmail.com

stands for and that many in the opposition share and espouse, so also artists are now creating works that reflect their anger, grief, and sorrow over the turn of events. While many Marcos-Duterte supporters mock the grief of the kakampinks, and gloat and brag about the victory of their candidates, there seems to be little genuine joy and happiness coming from their side. Their snide remarks and petty and mean posts are now being turned into memes and art, as inspiration may come from anywhere. The creation of these memes is also a way for people to deal with their political grief. Expect more to emerge if public discourse on the country’s current situation continues to remain heated and cantankerous. *** The Carlos Palanca Foundation, Inc., the sponsor and organizer of the 70th Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature, is reminding aspiring Palanca awardees to submit their entries before the deadline on May 31.

The event was put on hiatus for the first two years of the pandemic. This year’s comeback edition of the country’s longestrunning and most prestigious literary contest is accepting entries in all of its 22 categories, including the Novel and Nobela categories, offered only every other year. In the Kabataan Division – Kabataan Essay and and Kabataan Sanaysay, the topics are, respectively: “Life in the Midst of the Pandemic and Coping in the New Normal” and “Buhay sa Gitna ng Pandemya at Pagharap sa ‘New Normal.’” Participants may submit only one entry per category. Contest rules and official entry forms are available at Palanca Awards’ official website, www.palancaawards.com.ph. Entries must be submitted online only. For inquiries, contact the CPMA office at info@palancaawards.com.ph or at (632) 8843-8277 / (632) 8478-7996. Ask for Ms. Leslie Layoso or Ms. Susan Castillo. *** FB and Twitter: @DrJennyO

Ang sees his Aerocity as part of the longterm solution to air traffic congestion in the country’s capital. Metro Manila’s economic growth has long hamstrung economic growth and compounded many transportation-related problems. Vows RSA: “NMIA will provide safe, convenient, reliable, and efficient air transport services.” It is in response to the Philippines’ urgent need for a new international gateway with sufficient capacity to serve present and future demand. It is positioned to serve Metro Manila as well as its neighboring regions of Central Luzon and the CALABARZON region in southern Luzon.

“It is envisioned as the pace-setter and model for green urbanism in the country,” says Jun Palafox.

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Quad summit seeks to counter China T

HE leaders of Japan, India, Australia and the United States meet in Tokyo on Tuesday seeking common ground on countering China’s growing regional economic and military clout.

The summit of the so-called Quad grouping takes place with Beijing beefing up its military and carrying out exercises and maneuvers around disputed territory, including Taiwan. On Monday, US President Joe Biden warned China it was “flirting with danger” as it steps up military activity around the self-ruled island, which Beijing considers part of its territory. Biden said Washington would be ready to intervene militarily to defend Taiwan, prompting China to warn the United States it was “playing with fire” and not to underestimate the country’s “firm resolve, staunch will and strong ability.” Japan too has gradually upped its rhetoric on Beijing’s military moves, cautioning China against attempts to “unilaterally change the status quo by force.” Tokyo is partnering with Washington to monitor Chinese naval activity, and is particularly concerned about movement around the disputed territory that Japan calls the Senkaku islands and Beijing the Diaoyu islands. Against this backdrop, Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will welcome Biden, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australia’s newly elected Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Among some of the four, there are hopes that the loose alliance is being transformed into a more formidable bloc capable of presenting a unified front to Beijing. “The Quad is showing the world that cooperation among democracies can get big things done,” Biden said Monday after talks with Kishida. But that unity is complicated by divisions with India – the only Quad member that has not condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Biden and his allies have linked a strong response to Moscow’s war to Beijing’s regional ambitions, insisting sanctions on Russia are a deterrent to other powers considering unilateral military action. That has made India’s pointed refusal to pick sides in the conflict all the more delicate a subject. And India is likely to push for a softer overall tone to any joint Quad statement, shying away from the more muscular language employed by Washington, Canberra and Tokyo in recent months. Past statements have focused on calling for a “free and open Indo-Pacific” and warnings against “unilateral” moves in the region – without directly naming China. “The Quad gives the impression that it is focused on ways to counter China. But India will likely take a neutral stance,” Kazuhiro Maeshima, a professor of US politics at Tokyo’s Sophia University, told AFP. “In order not to pressure India, [Japan and the US] might focus on things like the economy and climate change,” he added. The meeting will be something of a diplomatic trial by fire for Australia’s Albanese, who flew to Tokyo within hours of being officially inaugurated as prime minister. AFP

IN BRIEF 2 killed, 120 hurt in UAE gas blast TWO people were killed and 120 injured in a gas cylinder explosion in a restaurant in the United Arab Emirates capital Abu Dhabi, police said. Initial reports “showed that 64 people sustained minor injuries, 56 others were moderately wounded, and two people died,” police tweeted. The blast on Monday set off a fire that damaged the facades of six buildings and a number of stores before being brought under control, they added. Four of the damaged buildings were “safely” evacuated, with efforts underway to find their residents temporary housing “until the buildings are completely secured,” the police said. Pictures released by Abu Dhabi police showed first responders tending to a person on a gurney, and debris and broken glass strewn across the pavement. A witness told The National newspaper that he heard two explosions around lunchtime. “The first sound was small and people started calling the fire and police,” said the man, who was not identified. “Then soon, there was a big blast. It was a really big sound. The windows shook and, in some offices, the windows shattered.” The authorities gave no indication of foul play. However, the UAE has been on heightened alert since a Yemen rebel drone and missile attack killed three oil workers in Abu Dhabi on January 17. AFP

Argentine president pays fine for ‘dinner’

STRONGER TOGETHER. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, US President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announce the Quad Fellowship, a scholarship program that will bring together American, Japanese, Australian and Indian masters and doctoral students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to study in the United States, during the Quad Leaders’ Summit at Kantei in Tokyo on May 24, 2022. AFP

Russia intensifies offensive as war enters 4th month

RUSSIAN forces on Tuesday stepped up their offensive on the last pocket of resistance around Lugansk in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, as the conflict entered its fourth month. Since Moscow’s invasion in late February, Western support has helped Ukraine hold off its neighbor’s advances in many areas—including the capital Kyiv—but Russia is now focused on securing and expanding its gains in Donbas and the southern coast. “The coming weeks of the war will be difficult, and we must be aware of that,” Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday in his nightly address after regional leaders and residents reported heavy bombardments. “The most difficult fighting situation today is in Donbas,” Zelensky said, singling out the worst-hit towns of Bakhmut, Popasna and Severodonetsk. The governor of Lugansk, in Donbas, said that Russia has sent thou-

sands of troops to capture his entire region and that Severodonetsk was under massive attack, warning residents that it was too late to evacuate. “At this point I will not say: get out, evacuate. Now I will say: stay in a shelter,” Sergiy Gaidai said on Telegram. “Because such a density of shelling will not allow us to calmly gather people and come for them.” Residents of Bakhmut, a crucial junction that serves as a command center for much of the Ukrainian war effort, told AFP of the aerial onslaught they had suffered. “I looked up from my prayers and heard a frightening sound,” 82-yearold Maria Mayashlapak said next to the splintered remains of her home. “Every day I pray to God asking to avoid injuries. God heard me. God is watching over me.” Zelensky said in his address that Russia has carried out nearly 1,500 missile strikes and over 3,000 air-

strikes against Ukraine in the first three months of the war. The president earlier warned elites gathered at the World Economic Forum in Davos—from which Russians have been barred this year – that slow-walking military aid was causing unnecessary deaths as Ukrainians are “paying dearly for freedom and independence.” He said that 87 people had been killed in a Russian attack earlier this month on a military base in the north, in what would be one of the largest single recorded strikes of the war. Western countries have sent huge amounts of weapons and cash to Ukraine to help it repel Russia’s assault, and punished Moscow with unprecedented economic sanctions. But Zelensky said via video link that tens of thousands of lives would have been saved if Kyiv had received “100 percent of our needs at once back in February,” when Russia invaded. AFP

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MASS TESTING. China has persisted with its zero-COVID policy, imposing hard lockdowns and movement restrictions on several cities to deal with an Omicron-fueled surge. AFP

ARGENTINA’S President Alberto Fernandez and the first lady on Monday paid a fine of three million pesos (about $24,000), in the form of a charitable donation, in return for legal proceedings against them being dropped over a birthday dinner during the pandemic lockdown that caused a scandal. A federal judge approved the president’s “economic compensation” proposal, in which he will pay 1.6 million pesos to a prestigious vaccine research institute, the Malbran Institute. His partner, Fabiola Yanez, offered a donation of 1.4 million, which was also approved. Prosecutors opened an investigation last year over suspected breaches of health protocols by the center-left leader, after leaked photos showed a birthday dinner for the first lady being hosted in July 2020 at the Quinta de Olivos, an official residence of the president in the Buenos Aires suburbs. At that time, the capital was subject to a strict COVID-19 lockdown, with a ban on all gatherings – even for funerals. A contrite Fernandez, himself a professor of criminal law, had pleaded that it was “not a malicious act, but recklessness and negligence,” calling it an “error, a slippage” in the context of a “pandemic management maelstrom.” The prosecutors symbolically fixed the reparations at the cost of a respiratory machine and a stay in intensive care. AFP

Biden: US ‘strategic ambiguity’ policy on Taiwan unchanged PRESIDENT Joe Biden on Tuesday said Washington’s “strategic ambiguity” policy for Taiwan remains in place, a day after his comment about readiness to defend the island against a Chinese invasion suggested a change. “No,” Biden told reporters in Tokyo when asked if the policy was now dead. “The policy has not changed at all. I stated that when I made my statement yesterday.” Biden’s latest declaration followed similar insistence from top US officials that a decades-old approach to Taiwan remains in place. This includes arming the democratic island for its own defense, while acknowledging China’s legal sovereignty and expressing “strategic ambiguity” on whether American troops would ever intervene. The reassurances follow the president’s answer to a question at a press conference in Tokyo on Monday where he said “yes,” when asked if Washington would be willing to get involved militarily in Taiwan’s defense. Taiwan, which is self-ruled and has a thriving trade relationship with the United States, welcomed Biden’s apparent expansion of the US commitment, while China reacted angrily, saying Washington was “playing with fire.” Biden is visiting Tokyo for meetings with leaders from the Quad group, which also includes Australia, India and Japan. He earlier went to South Korea as part of a trip reinforcing key US trade and military alliances in Asia. AFP

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Samsung bares plan to invest $356b, generate 80,000 new jobs SEOUL, South Korea—Samsung Group on Tuesday unveiled a massive 450-trillion won ($356 billion) investment blueprint for the next five years aimed at making it a frontrunner in a wide range of sectors from semiconductors to biologics. The new figure is an increase of more than a third over its investments spent over the past five years. The tech giant is South Korea’s largest conglomerate and its overall turnover is equivalent to a fifth of the national gross domestic product. Samsung Electronics, its flagship subsidiary, is the world’s biggest smartphone maker. The investment plan would bring “long-term growth in strategic businesses and help strengthen the global industrial ecosystem of crucial technology,” Samsung said in a statement. The 80,000 new jobs would be created “primarily in core businesses including semiconductors and biopharmaceuticals” through 2026. It also noted the investment would “bring forward the mass production of chips based on the 3-nanometer process,” the latest technology to further shrink down the size of semiconductors and boost computing power. It will also invest heavily in biopharmaceuticals with its affiliates Samsung Biologics and Samsung Bioepis in the field. The new plan represents a 36-percent increase in investment over its total investments over the past five years. Of the 450 trillion won Samsung plans to spend over the next five years, it will commit 360 trillion won to South Korea. The announcement comes after US President Joe Biden toured Samsung Electronics’ massive Pyeongtaek semiconductor factory on Friday, underscoring the South Korean giant’s role in securing global supply chains of microchips, on his first Asia trip as US leader. South Korea and the United States need to work to “keep our supply chains resilient, reliable and secure,” Biden said, calling semiconductors manufactured there as “a wonder of innovation” and crucial to the global economy. AFP

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Stock market tumbles; Ayala issues, BDO drop S TOCKS slumped Tuesday along with the rest of Asian markets on concerns over the impact of China’s COVID-19 restrictions on the world’s second-largest economy as investment banks slashed their forecasts.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index sank 110.4 points, or 1.6 percent, to 6,577.45 on a value turnover of P20.2 billion. Losers overwhelmed gainers, 120 to 63, with 54 issues unchanged. Conglomerate Ayala Corp. of the Ayala Group dropped 2.9 percent to P660, while unit and major property developer Ayala Land Inc. declined 2.8 percent to P27.70. BDO Unibank Inc. of the Sy Group, the biggest lender in terms of assets, fell 2.6 percent to P123.50, while PLDT Inc. of Indonesia’s Salim Group, the largest telecommunications firm, decreased 2.2 percent to P1,916.

A strong rally on Wall Street, where the Dow closed 2.0 percent higher, did not carry over to Asia, and Beijing’s announcement of a fresh raft of measures to stimulate the economy did little to calm nerves. The package announced on Monday includes more than 140 billion yuan ($21 billion) in additional tax rebates, bringing the total amount of tax relief this year to 2.64 trillion yuan, Xinhua news agency reported following a meeting of the State Council chaired by Premier Li Keqiang. China’s economy has taken a hit from Beijing’s zero-COVID approach to the pandemic, which has resulted in lengthy lockdowns of major cities and mass testing of millions of people. Prolonged virus lockdowns have constricted supply chains, dampened demand and stalled manufacturing. Concerns over the economic fallout from China’s dogged pursuit of a zeroCOVID approach and its knock-on impact on supply chains and the wider global economy spooked investors, with Asian markets well into the red on Tuesday. Tokyo lost 0.9 percent and Shanghai

closed 2.4 percent lower while Hong Kong slipped 1.8 percent. Seoul dropped 1.6 percent, while Taipei, Sydney, Singapore, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur were all lower. Jakarta was the sole Asian market in the green. Investment banks UBS Group and JPMorgan Chase cut their China economic growth forecasts due to the impact of the coronavirus strategy. UBS on Tuesday cut its 2022 GDP growth forecast to 3.0 percent from 4.2 percent while JPMorgan on Monday trimmed its forecast to 3.7 percent from 4.3 percent, Bloomberg News reported. “The lingering restrictions and lack of clarity on an exit strategy from the current COVID policy will likely dampen corporate and consumer confidence and hinder the release of pent-up demand,” UBS economists including Tao Wang wrote in a research note, according to Bloomberg. China has targeted full-year growth of around 5.5 percent, but data published in April showed that first-quarter growth slowed to 4.8 percent after its economy lost steam in the latter half of last year. With AFP

PSEi May 24, 2022

TOP GAINERS

1 MBC

LAST % PRICE CHANGE CHANGE 9.8 2.26 29.97%

2

LFM

24.05

3.55

17.32%

3 4

ROX EURO

1.23 1.08

0.08 0.07

6.96% 6.93%

5 6

PNX CPM

9.89 2.8

0.59 0.11

6.34% 4.09%

7 8

EVER LODE

0.26 0.61

0.01 0.02

4.00% 3.39%

9 10

NI MAH

0.94 0.95

0.03 0.03

3.30% 3.26%

TOP LOSERS 1 LSC 2 ABSP

LAST PRICE CHANGE 0.62 -0.18 9.32 -1.06

% CHANGE -22.50% -10.21%

3 4

ALCO MG

0.53 0.12

-0.05 -0.009

-8.62% -6.98%

5 6

X DIZ

0.285 4.4

-0.02 -0.3

-6.56% -6.38%

7 8 9

MHC RCI BHI

0.34 0.56 0.096

-0.02 -0.03 -0.005

-5.56% -5.08% -4.95%

10

BSC

0.4

-0.02

-4.76%

MOST ACTIVE

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Aerial view of the San Juan vineyard, owned by Hector Espindola, in San Pedro de Atacama, Chile, on May 17, 2022. The Ayllu cooperative produces wine with grapes grown at almost 3,000 meters of altitude, with negative temperatures at night and exorbitant radiation during the day, in the arid soils of the Atacama desert. AFP

‘It is kind of complicated’: Growing grapes in the world’s driest desert By Albert Peña SAN PEDRO DE ATACAMA, Chile—In the middle of Chile’s Atacama desert, the driest in the world, Hector Espindola has an unexpected job: he runs a vineyard. Nearly 2,500 meters (8,000 feet) above sea level, his small Bosque Viejo farm produces muscat grapes—and another of a unique “criollo,” or local, variety—in the shadow of quince, pear and fig trees irrigated by a stream fed by melting Andean snow. Espindola, 71, farms in an oasis in the Toconao region in Chile’s extreme north—some 1,500 kilometers (932 miles) from the vineyards at the center of the world’s longest country that have made it one of the world’s top 10 wine exporters. But growing grapes in the desert is no easy task. Espindola contends with extreme daynight temperature fluctuations and extreme solar radiation on top of wind and frost. “You have to be dedicated. I water here at night... at three in the morning, eleven at night,” he told AFP while caressing his vines, dry and brown two months after the harvest. “You have to be careful because here the heat, the climate is no joke,” he said. “Sometimes it is windy and production is lost, sometimes the frost comes early. It is kind of complicated.” For her sons Espindola sends his crop to the Ayllu cooperative which since 2017 has received grapes from 18 small vineyards around Toconao. In 2021, the cooperative received 16 tons of grapes for a

yield of 12,000 bottles. The harvest was better in 2022 with more than 20 tons of grapes—enough for 15,000 bottles but still just a drop, at about one percent, of Chile’s annual production. Most contributors to the cooperative are members of indigenous communities who were previously individual, small-scale producers. One of them, 67-year-old Cecilia Cruz, grows syrah and pinot noir grapes at an altitude of about 3,600 meters outside the village of Socaire—Chile’s highest vineyard. “I feel special... to have this vineyard here and to produce wine at this altitude,” she said amid the vines that still sport a few bunches of wrinkled, dried grapes. AFP

1 CNVRG

VOLUME 46,513,100

VALUE (PHP) 1,211,790,250

2 3

BDO SMPH

4,675,480 10,573,900

583,312,377 399,312,515

4

ICT

1,598,990

336,130,126

5 6

ALI MONDE

10,817,100 16,304,900

302,910,850 260,332,378

7 8

AC GLO

380,230 84,925

252,440,985 214,976,380

9

TEL

107,020

207,443,220

10

SGP

13,049,400

169,360,468

Manila

Standard

TODAY

NOTICE AND AGENDA OF THE ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS TO ALL STOCKHOLDERS: NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “Annual Meeting”) of Alliance Global Group, Inc. (the “Company”) will be held on 16 June 2022 at 9:00 a.m. to be conducted virtually, through the link https://www.allianceglobalinc. com/asm2022 that can be accessed through the Company’s website, with the following agenda: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Call to Order Certification of Notice and Quorum Approval of the Minutes of the Annual Meeting of Stockholders held on 17 June 2021 Report of Management for Year 2021 Appointment of Independent Auditors Ratification of Acts of the Board of Directors, Board Committees, and Officers Election of Directors Other matters Adjournment

Stockholders of record as of 19 May 2022 will be entitled to notice of, and to vote at, the Annual Meeting. As provided under Sections 23 and 57 of the Revised Corporation Code and the Company’s Amended By-Laws, the Company will hold the Annual Meeting via remote communication, and allow the stockholders to cast their votes by remote communication or in absentia, or by proxy. To participate in the Annual Meeting, stockholders must register from 9:00 a.m. of 26 May 2022 until 5:00 p.m. of 09 June 2022. The procedure for participation via remote communication and in absentia are contained in the Information Statement. Stockholders who wish to appoint proxies may submit proxy instruments until 5:00 p.m. of 09 June 2022, to the Office of the Corporate Secretary at the 9th Floor, Eastwood Global Plaza, Palm Tree Avenue, Eastwood City CyberPark, Bagumbayan, Quezon City or by email to corporatesecretary@allianceglobalinc.com. Validation of proxies shall be held on 13 June 2022. A sample proxy form will be enclosed in the Information Statement for your convenience. The Information Statement and other pertinent documents and information on the Annual Meeting are available through the Company’s website. For any clarifications, please contact the Office of the Corporate Secretary via email at corporatesecretary@ allianceglobalinc.com. Taguig City, Metro Manila, Philippines, 04 May 2022. (SGD.) ALAN B. QUINTANA Corporate Secretary CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

MS-MAY 24 & 25, 2022)

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

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Business

PSE INDEX CLOSING Tuesday, May 24, 2022

-110.4 PTS. 6,577.45

TOTAL VOLUME

1,539,089,161

TOTAL TRADES TOTAL VALUE (IN PHP) ADVANCES DECLINES

98,713 20,200,206,921.60 63 120

UNCHANGED

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F oreign E xchange R ate Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas • TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2022

Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

52.2500

Japan

Yen

0.007819

0.4085

UK

Pound

1.259000

65.7828

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.127402

6.6568

Switzerland

Franc

1.035411

54.1002

Canada

Dollar

0.783208

40.9226

Singapore

Dollar

0.728385

38.0581

Australia

Dollar

0.710700

37.1341

Bahrain

Dinar

2.652661

138.6015

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266596

13.9296

Brunei

Dollar

0.725742

37.9200

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000068

0.0036

Thailand

Baht

0.029308

1.5313

UAE

Dirham

0.272287

14.2270

Euro

Euro

1.069300

55.8709

Korea

Won

0.000795

0.0415

China

Yuan

0.150403

7.8586

India

Rupee

0.012900

0.6740

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.227946

11.9102

New Zealand

Dollar

0.647000

33.8058

Taiwan

Dollar

0.033918

1.7722 Source: BSP

Converge gets P6.5-b shares of Coherent Cloud in buyback deal By Darwin G. Amojelar CONVERGE ICT Solutions Inc. said Tuesday it acquired a 3.5-percent share of the company from Coherent Cloud Investments B.V., a company managed by Warburg Pincus, for P6.5 billion. Converge said in a disclosure to the stock exchange it bought 259.72 million pre-transaction outstanding shares from Coherent. The buyback was concurrent with the accelerated book-build offering by Coherent Cloud, which witnessed strong demand from international and local investors. The price per share of the ABO and the buyback was pegged at P25 per share. “The share buyback highlights the confidence of the founders and management team in Converge ICT’s long-term, sustainable growth potential and value creation as well as the company’s confidence in its continued ability to capture the vast market opportunity,” Converge ICT founder and chief executive Dennis Anthony Uy said. Converge’s public float will increase to over P30 percent upon completion of the ABO and the buyback from about 20 percent at the time of IPO in 2020. Coherent Cloud will also distribute within 30 days its remaining shares in Converge ICT to certain parties as part of the arrangements. Saurabh Agarwal, managing director of Warburg Pincus, will continue to remain on Converge ICT’s board following the completion of the transaction. “Warburg Pincus invested in Converge ICT several years ago to partner with Dennis and Grace in fulfilling their vision of building a business focused on providing high-speed fixed broadband to millions of unserved and underserved households and businesses across the Philippines,” Agarwal said.

CENTURY Pacific Food Inc. expects net income to grow by mid-to-high single digit this year, slower than the 20-percent expansion posted in 2021, over rising costs, a top executive said Tuesday. CNPF executive chairman Christopher Po said in an investor forum hosted by the Philippine Stock Exchange while revenues were expected to grow by low double-digit, the company anticipated a 15-percent to 20-percent increase in costs over rising prices of raw materials and fuel. Po said the company passed on to consumers the increase in costs, but the price adjustments were implemented gradually or in tranches so as not to shock customers. He said revenues were expected to remain resilient as the company’s main products, which are canned tuna and canned meats, are considered essential items in Filipino households. CNPF registered a net income of P1.4 billion in the first quarter, up 10 percent

ACEN Australia starts work on battery project

ACEN Australia (formerly UPC/AC Renewables), a unit of conglomerate Ayala Corp., announced Tuesday the start work on its 50-megawatt one-hour battery that will be connected to its New England Solar Farm project in Uralla, New South Wales, Australia. At the recent ground-breaking ceremony, officials of ACEN Australia and ACEN Corp. said the construction of the Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) that will be critical in addressing the intermittency of renewable energy. “The company is pleased to be expanding its renewable energy portfolio and contributing to Australia’s transition to a clean energy future. ACEN has been a partner of UPC Renewables since 2018 and we are immensely proud of the work already achieved on the New England Solar project by the team,” said ACEN Corp. chief executive officer Eric Francia in a statement. Francia said the UPC\AC Renewables name and brand are changing to ACEN Australia. In March, ACEN increased its ownership in UPC/AC Renewables to 80 percent, which will increase to 100 percent by early 2023. Alena Mae S. Flores

31 GOCCs account for P9.4b of assets

MANILA WATER AWARD. Manila Water Company Inc. becomes the first water company from the Philippines and from any developing country to be given the distinction as Water Company of the Year in the highly-coveted 2022 Global Water Awards at the La Quinta De Jarama in Madrid, Spain during the 2022 Global Water Summit. Accepting the trophy on behalf of Manila Water is president and chief executive Jocot de Dios (third from left). The Global Water Awards, established by Global Water Intelligence in 2006, recognizes the most important achievements in the international water industry within several categories, and reward those initiatives in the water, wastewater and desalination sectors that are moving the industry forward through improved operating performance, innovative technology adoption and sustainable financial models.

PH economic fundamentals remain strong, says Diokno By Julito G. Rada

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ANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno said Tuesday the country’s economic fundamentals remain strong after years of implementing structural reforms,

“The Philippine economy is much stronger now than before. Right now, our foreign debt is 30 percent foreign and 70 percent domestic, and we have hefty gross international reserves,” Diokno said during the Citi 2022 Virtual Macro Forum. Diokno said the country’s strong fundamentals were built through decades of continued implementation of structural reforms and sound macroeconomic management. He said it was important to strengthen economic fundamentals during periods of relative stability to develop buffers during

times of crises. “Economies with strong fundamentals tend to handle crises better.” Diokno cited the Philippines as a good example of an economy with sound fundamentals when the COVID-19 health crisis struck. He said the economy entered the pandemic with healthy external accounts and hefty gross international reserves, which helped maintain relative order in the financial markets amid the crisis. Diokno also said ensuring full economic recovery and maintaining longterm economic potential would require the implementation of recent economic reforms, such as the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises law and the amendments to the Foreign Investments Act, Public Services Act and Retail Trade Liberalization Act. The Citi 2022 Virtual Macro Forum is a series of roundtable discussions with financial market participants structured around the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings. The pandemic caused a 9.6-percent GDP contraction in the Philippines in 2020, its worst performance since

World War 2, because of the impact of the pandemic. The economy rebounded in 2021 with a growth of 5.7 percent, as the government gradually reopened its borders and business sectors amid the continuing massive vaccination program that boosted business and consumer confidence. Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that the recovery continued on the first quarter this year with an expansion of 8.3 percent, a sharp reversal of the 3.8-percent contraction a year ago. Diokno earlier said the second-quarter growth might be stronger in the absence of COVID-19 surge during the period. The government earlier projected a GDP growth of 7 percent to 9 percent this year. The BSP governor cited the country’s solid external position, strong banking system, manageable inflation environment, stable currency, investment grade ratings from global credit rating agencies, declining unemployment rate and sustained inflows of overseas Filipino remittances as the country’s strengths going forward.

ERC chief eyes conversion of coal plants into LNG hubs By Alena Mae S. Flores THE next administration should convert coal-fired power plants into natural gas facilities as part of the country’s thrust towards a low-carbon scenario, the chief energy regulator said Tuesday. Energy Regulatory Commission chairperson Agnes Devanadera cited roposals to repurpose existing coal plants into natural gas facilities in other countries. “Maybe the DOE [Department of Energy], together with existing coal plant owners come up with a policy and possible cost projections for such conversion,” Devanadera said. About 41 percent of the Philippines’ installed power generation capacity comes from coal. Devanadera said the DOE already issued a moratorium on the acceptance of new coal projects as the country moves

towards an RE-dominated supply mix. “Note, however, that there are still coal investments that are underway and possibly at construction stage already at this point. For those coal projects whose actual construction has not yet started, maybe we can ask the proponent to study the possible conversion of their project to natural gas project,” she said. Devanadera said there is a need to come out with a way forward for coal, “to avoid stranded assets, to maximize investments and lastly to avoid disincentivizing old investors who put up coal plants when the country needed them the most.” “We should repurpose, otherwise, we will be having stranded assets and that’s not good for investors, investment policy and consumers because we require that they be maintained well,” she said.

Energy stakeholders said while the push for RE continued to gain momentum, coal still has an important role to play in the local energy sector. “We believe that coal will still play a very critical role in the energy transition of a developing country like the Philippines. Currently, it still remains to be the most reliable yet cost-efficient source of energy,” Aboitiz Power Corp. president Emmanuel Rubio said in February. “As we said, we will see a lot of demand as the country recovers from the past two years and coal will definitely be an integral part of this recovery. Having said that, we strongly believe that the shift to clean and renewable energy to drive decarbonization has to be in step with our economic growth, and more importantly, considering the impact of the pandemic, economic recovery,” he said.

Rising costs to pare Century Pacific’s profit growth By Jenniffer B. Austria

IN BRIEF

from the same period last year. First-quarter revenues also climbed 10 percent to P14.7 billion on strong performance of branded food segment, which is composed of marine, meat, milk and other emerging businesses. Po said that in the face of staggering price increases, the company implemented measures to manage cost pressures such as hedging and managing sales mix to sell more high-margin products. He said the company would also launch fewer product innovations this year to manage expenses. Po expressed confidence the purchasing power of consumers would catch up with the increasing prices of basic commodities to sustain demand. He said despite the challenging business environment, the company is expected to perform strongly over the next five years. “Our goal has been to grow the company two times the GDP [gross domestic product growth] which will double the size of the company over the next five years,” Po said.

HEALTHCARE VENTURE. The Equicom Group, the company behind Maxicare Healthcare Corp., the leading health maintenance organization in the Philippines, and JE Holdings Inc., a privately-held investment company of the Gokongwei family, announce a strategic partnership that will allow Maxicare to revolutionize its mission of helping Filipinos live their best lives.JE Holdings will become a co-equal shareholder of Maxicare along the Equicom Group. Signing the agreement are (from left) Maxicare president and chief executive Sean Argos, JE Holdings chairman and president Lance Gokongwei, Equicom Group chairman Antonio Go, Equicom Group vice chairman Rene Buenaventura and Maxicare chairman Rolando Macasaet Jr.

THIRTY one or less than a third of the Philippines’ 108 government-owned and -controlled corporations accounted for P9.37 trillion of the total assets of all GOCCs amounting to P10.3 trillion in 2020, latest Department of Finance data show. Engaged in a broad range of activities from insurance and financing to charity work and gaming, these 31 GOCCs also had most or P14.89 trillion of the P15.37-trillion total liabilities of the government corporate sector in 2020, the DOF’s Corporate Affairs Group said in a report to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III. “These amounts translate (into) 91 percent and 97 percent of the total assets and liabilities of the government corporate sector (in 2020). They are the major drivers of the financial and fiscal health of the government corporate sector. These assets also account for about half of the country’s gross domestic product of [P17.94 trillion] for the same period,” said the report of Undersecretary Antonette Tionko. Julito G. Rada

PLDT joins ATRAM’s growth fund portfolio

PLDT Inc. has been included in the ATR Asset Management (ATRAM) Philippine Sustainable Development and Growth Fund, the only telecommunications firm in the fund’s top three holdings. Following the fund’s annual review on its second year, PLDT was added to the fund’s holdings with a weight of 7 percent following Century Pacific Food Inc. with a weight of 7.4 percent. “We are very pleased with our inclusion in ATRAM’s sustainability-based equity investment portfolio as it recognizes the PLDT Group’s long-term commitment to sustainable business practices. While much still needs to be done, this affirms that our efforts and plans to address environmental, social and governance issues are directed towards areas that matter. Even as we ramp up initiatives to ensure the best customer experience and pursue improvement in our profitability, we are doing so without forgetting our responsibility as a steward of the planet for the next generation,” said Melissa Vergel de Dios, first vice president and chief sustainability officer at PLDT. Darwin G. Amojelar

BPO firm Inspiro tapping Microsoft for new solutions By Othel V. Campos BUSINESS process outsourcing company Inspiro said Tuesday it teamed up with Microsoft Philippines to create innovative solutions, transform employee and customer experience, and open new lines of business. “Our digital roadmap is driven by evolving client requirements, the changing technological landscape, and the need to stay ahead of the competition. We look to Microsoft for guidance and support to fast-track implementation of our roadmap, keeping our clients and our CX agents at the core of our digital transformation,” said Inspiro president and chief executive Yuji Hamamoto. Inspiro’s investments in digital transformation aim to elevate its services and establish its Philippine operations a center of excellence for the industry, being one of the country’s leading BPO players. The partnership will enable Inspiro to gain access to Microsoft’s industryleading technology innovations, services and expertise, transforming and co-developing solutions to improve customer engagement, employee empowerment, operational optimization, and product transformation—all part of Inspiro’s three-year digital transformation program. Inspiro has been operating in the Philippines for 20 years with centers in Luzon and Visayas, powered by a workforce of over 14,000 people delivering value-driven customer experience solutions to global brands and multinationals. Its initial efforts aim to deploy platform solutions to provide CX agents with greater flexibility, better internal collaboration and improved performance. “The BPO industry is a key economic driver for the Philippines, one that has put our nation on the global stage, providing people and businesses all over the world with critical services and over 1.3 million Filipinos with jobs,” said Microsoft Philippines chief executive Peter Maquera.

Sports

Participants take part in the closing ceremony of the 31st SEA Games in Hanoi. AFP

Gilas prospect Tuffin to join NZ team instead in FIBA qualifiers By Peter Atencio

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ORMER Far Eastern University standout Ken Tuffin is suiting up for the New Zealand Basketball men’s basketball team in the third window of the 2023 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers. Tuffin, who is currently part of the Wellington Saints in the New Zealand-National Basketball League, is set to see action for the Tall Blacks, when they take on the Gilas Pilipinas national squad Philippines in Auckland on June 30 in the third window of the FIBA qualifiers for the ‘23 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the Philippines, Indonesia and Japan from August 25 to September 10 next year. The 25-year-old Tuffin was supposed to be part of the Gilas pool during Tab Baldwin’s

time as coach. But Tuffin was not able to return to the Philippines during the Asia Cup Qualifiers because of COVID-19 quarantine restrictions. Instead, the 6’4” Tuffin, who averaged 7.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in four losses of the Saints this season, will be among the 13 New Zealand players. Also included in the roster are Dion Prewster, Jayden Bezzant, Taylor Britt, Joe Cook-Green, Hyrum Harris, Ethan Rusbatch, Tai Wynard, Taane Samuel, Richie Rodger, Taki Fahrensohn, and Benjamin Gold. Coach Pero Cameron is also expected to have Tuffin play for the Tall Blacks, which will have its roster picked from pool of 33 players for the coming FIBA Asia Cup, which will also be held in Jakarta, Indonesia from July 12 to 24. New Zealand’s roster also has guards Corey Webster, Dion Prewster, Ethan Rusbatch, Flynn Cameron, Jarrod Kenny, Jayden Bezzant, Joe Cook-Green, Kruz Perrott-Hunt, Richie Rodger, Shea Ili, Taine Murray, Taylor Britt.

Ken Tuffin

Ramirez: PH SEAG finish nothing to be ashamed of PHILIPPINE Sports Commission chairman William “Butch” Ramirez on Tuesday said that the country’s overall performance in the just concluded 31st Vietnam Southeast Asian Games was nothing to be ashamed of, a good finish, in fact, considering the challenges Filipino bets had to face in the buildup to the meet. “Our performance in bringing home 52 gold, 70 silver, and 104 bronze medals in placing fourth overall in the medal standings was a good finish despite the various challenges our national athletes had to face amid the COVID-19 pandemic before competing in Vietnam,” Ramirez stressed. “It would have been a very good finish had we converted 50 percent of our silvers (to gold) and bronzes (to silver),” noted the PSC chief, who has been daily monitoring closely the progress of the country’s standard-bearers in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi and surrounding provinces. He pointed out that funding training programs to develop elite athletes for international competition was expensive. “You need money for coaches, both local and foreign, airfare, transportation and hotel for international exposure to season them, plus the logistical support like proper nutrition, sports psychology, and medicine for athletes discovered abroad or locally,” Ramirez explained. As someone who began his stint in the PSC as a commissioner in 1998, then as chairman for the

PSC chairman William Ramirez

first time from 2005 to 2009, and then as chairman again from 2016 to the present, he said that shortterm programs to nurture top athletes were at least four years while 12 years so they could be truly world-class, as long as they start young. The prime example, Ramirez said, was weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, who was a wildcard entry at 17 in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, then won a silver in the 2016 Rio Games before finally delivering the country’s first gold

medal in the Tokyo edition last year when she was 30 years old. The PSC honcho also reminded everyone that the government’s sports agency was not only to support national athletes but also to implement a genuine grassroots sports program in the countryside in cooperation with the Department of Education and local government units. “The PSC will never achieve its grassroots goals without our partners in the DepEd and LGUs.” At the same time, Ramirez renewed his commitment and support “to our private partners, the Philippine Olympic Committee and the National Sports Association,” in promoting and nurturing athletes for international play. He said while the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. has given the PSC’s high remittances before the pandemic, “the PSC still has to get the five percent of its gross income as required by Republic Act 6847 that created the government sports agency. “This gross income needs to be remitted by PAGCOR to the PSC so we can fund these two fundamental purposes the government sports agency was created for.” The PSC chairman likewise said the Philippine Sports Institute needs adequate government funds to pursue its goals of updating the country’s know-how in sports medicine and technology, including the improved sports rehabilitation facilities, in keeping abreast with the rest of the world.

Avaricio takes control with 2-under 70

LAUREL, Batangas—Denied of a three-peat bid at Mount Malarayat, Chanelle Avaricio looked to make another title run on the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour, firing a solid two-under 70 and wresting a one-shot lead over Sunshine Baraquiel and amateur Mafy Singson in the ICTSI Splendido Taal Challenge here yesterday. Putting premium on driving and ball control on the softened Splendido Taal Golf Club layout, the Hallow Ridge and Caliraya legs winner snapped a par-game with a birdie on No. 7 then hit two solid shots on the closing par-4 hole and drilled in a six-footer to complete a pair of 35s. That proved to be the best as Baraquiel struggled on the unpredictable

surface after hitting all greens and Singson went on a roller-coaster ride after an eagle on the par-5 second. “I played steady with two birdies and no bogeys,” said Avaricio, who lost by three to Chihiro Ikeda in the ICTSI Mount Malarayat leg in Lipa City, Batangas two weeks ago. “It’s the same thing for tomorrow (today), work on positioning and hope the putts would drop,” she added. Baraquiel also had a tough time wrestling with her putter, ending up with 36 putts for a four-birdie against one double bogey and a bogey card and a 38-33. “I hit all 18 greens, an achievement for me. But my putting needs some work,” said the Midlands leg winner last year. “Basically, I need

to focus on my numbers, hit the fairways and greens and hope to hole in more putts.” Singson, member of the team that snatched the bronze in the ju st- concluded SEA Games in Vietnam, was all poised for a strong start after hitting a solid drive on the par-5 second hole then hacking her second shot from 190 yards to within five feet for eagle. But the many-time low amateur winner went on an up-and-down round the rest of the way, draining four birdies but fumbling with three bogeys and a double bogey on the par-3 No. 9.

Chanelle Avaricio blasts her way to the lead with a bogey-free card. Manny Marcelo

Riera U. Mallari, Editor; Randy M. Caluag, Assistant Editor WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2022

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Party time as virus-delayed SEA Games closes in Hanoi HANOI—The SEA Games in Vietnam’s capital Hanoi came to a noisy and colourful close on Monday after more than two weeks of competition in everything from athletics to football and eSports. The closing ceremony, held in an indoor sports complex and a joyful mix of dancing, music and pageantry, brought the curtain down on a Games which started six months late because of Covid. Nearly 5,000 athletes from 11 countries fought for Southeast Asian pride, with hosts Vietnam easily topping the medals table with 205 golds, followed by Thailand and Indonesia in distant second and third. The closing gala, at a venue with a capacity of about 3,000, was markedly smaller than the opening ceremony when tens of thousands crammed into the My Dinh stadium. But it did not disappoint as men in white military garb came out onto a stage holding the flags of the 11 nations. Heavy rain fell outside. Hailing the biennial competition a success, Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh declared the Games closed and the mantle was handed over to Cambodia, which will stage the 32nd edition about a year from now. “The torch of peace and development in Southeast Asia will continue to shine,” he said. Athletes from the countries did not parade before the audience during the ceremony. Record-breakers When the Games finally got under way earlier this month, Singapore emerged again as SEA swim kings with 21 golds in the pool. Malaysia swept all eight golds in the diving, in what was a generally disappointing Games for the country, coming a lowly sixth in the medals table with 39 gold. East Timor won three silvers and two bronze to prop up the table. Stars of the future were made and some bolstered their already global reputation. Thailand’s 16-year-old Puripol Boonson shattered the 200m Games record and also clinched the 100m gold as he became the region’s new sprint king on the track. Reigning Olympic champions Panipak Wongpattanakit from Thailand defended her taekwondo crown, as did Filipino Hidilyn Diaz in women’s weightlifting. AFP

AFF Cup gets new backer; Azkals seeks new coach THERE will be a new title sponsor for the ASEAN Football Federation Championship, which is also known as AFF Cup, It will now be known as the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2022 when it kicks off on Dec. 14. The change came after Mitsubishi Electric Group replaced Japanese automobile company Suzuki, which held the naming rights from for the competition for 14 years. Competitions have been organized every two years since 1996, except for 2007, and 2020, after was postponed to 2021 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Mitsubishi Electric is known as global leader in integrated electronics and electrical equipment . “As the world starts to re-open after two difficult years, we are excited to become the title sponsor of the AFF Championship and support AFF’s vision in bringing this unique event to the next level,” said Kunihiko Seki, Corporate Executive and Chief Representative Asia Pacific Region of Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, after meeting with AFF officials during the closing days of the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi, Vietnam. Philippine Football Federation chief Mariano “Nonong” Araneta attended the meeting. The Philippine Azkals is expected to compete again, but this time a new coach will handle the team. Scott Cooper has stepped down as head coach of the men’s national team, and the PFF is looking for a new one. Peter Atencio

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Sports

WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2022

Nueva Ecija 5 routs Mindoro; Valenzuela nails 3rd win

PPS junior tennis tilt resumes in Kabacan A SLEW of youngsters aiming to go big-time someday kicked off its drive in Cotabato Tuesday with three legs on tap, starting with the PPS-PEPP Kabacan national agegroup tennis tournament at the Kabacan hard courts. Jillian Manangking and Seth Ramirez head the chase in the girls’ 16- and 18-and-under divisions while Joaquin Palo and Herald Aton banner the boys’ field in the premier class of the Group 2 tournament marking the return of the country’s longest-running junior circuit in Mindanao. The Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala tour, put up by president/CEO Bobby Castro, is coming off a successful run in the south with tournaments held in Labason, Sindangan, Liloy and Dipolog in Zamboanga del Norte, in Miranding, Misamis Oriental, in Oroquieta in Misamis Occidental following the Bacolod and Iloilo swing in the Visayas. The circuit, presented by Dunlop and sanctioned by the Unified Tennis Philippines and UTR (Universal Tennis Rating), took a break last week to give way to the Fr. Suarez Open men’s singles which Johnny Arcilla ruled in Malabon. Kidapawan will host the next stop on May 28-31 while the Pigcawayan leg will be held on June 1-5. For details and registration, contact event organizer and sports program development director Bobby Mangunay at 0915-4046464. Meantime, fierce action is expected in the boys’ 16-U play with a full-packed roster of 32 players disputing the crown, led by top seed RJ Saldivar and No. 2 Jose Palo with the latter bannering the 14-U class, another 32-player draw, along with Gian Ramirez, Shaun Globasa and Alex Uy. Ruan Diaz and Emward Rayray, Jannah Mamak and Dhea Cua are the marked players in the girls’ 14-U category while Noelle Quilban and Rayray and Carl Duarte and Juiius Otoc are the top two seeds in the 12-U division.

Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics blocks the shot of Victor Oladipo of the Miami Heat during Game 4 of the 2022 NBA Playoffs Eastern Conference Finals at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. AFP

Tatum stars as Celtics whip Heat to tie series B

OSTON—Jayson Tatum rediscovered his scoring touch with 31 points as the Boston Celtics thrashed the Miami Heat 102-82 to level their NBA Eastern Conference finals series on Monday. Two days after dropping their opening home game of the best-of-seven finals, Boston came roaring back at the TD Garden with a one-sided game four blowout that squares the series at 2-2. Tatum also finished with eight rebounds and five assists, with support coming from Payton Pritchard (14 points) and Derrick White (13). Jaylen Brown and Robert Williams added 12 points apiece. Al Horford led a hard-nosed Boston defensive effort with 13 rebounds and four blocks. Victor Oladipo led the scoring for Miami with 23 points from the bench. None of Miami’s starting line-up made double figures, making a paltry 18 points in total. “We just came and redeemed ourselves,” Tatum said. “We knew this was a game that we really needed, to protect home court. After the last game we were just ready to play, to get back out here and play better.

“It’s been a back and forth series so far. It’s best of three now, we’ll just go away now for game five and get ready.” Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said his team had never been able to recover from a poor start. “They came out and jumped on us,” Spoelstra said. “I think more than anything our offense hurt us at the beginning. We just weren’t purposeful. “But we’re not making any excuses. They outplayed us tonight for sure. We never could get any kind of a grip on the game.” - Highs and lows Spoelstra insisted that his team would mount a response in game five. “This is part of the playoffs. There’s a lot of extreme highs and extreme lows, and a lot of emotion,” said Spoelstra. “You just have to stay the course and stay together. “And it’s a great series. You have to embrace that.”

Defense/Sporting Arms Show returns in July UNDER a new leadership, but with the same vision and mission as its predecessor, the Association of Firearms and Ammunition Dealers of the Philippines, Inc. picks up from where it left off with the holding of the 28th Defense and Sporting Arms Show on July 14 to 18 at the Megatrade Hall of the SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City. Newly elected AFAD officers, led by its president Hagen Alexander Topacio, announced the return of the country’s most anticipated and biggest showcase of world-class, locally-made and imported firearms, ammunitions, and paraphernalia during a media conference on Tuesday at the MilkyWay Restaurant in Makati City. “After almost three years of absence in the observance of health and safety protocol due to the pandemic, we’re now back with better and much bigger activities and programs involving our members and affiliated organizations,” said Topacio in a press statement read by Board member Edwin Ańo. The many-time member of the Philippine Trap Shooting Team missed the media conference as he just arrived from a successful silver-medal finish in the just concluded 31st Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi, Vietnam. The University of the Philippines graduate in Public Administration was elected as the new president of AFAD, replacing his younger brother Alaric,

AFAD directors Edwin Ańo (left), Imelda Reyes (center) and Duke De Leon express optimism that the Sporting Arms Show will boost the industry and strengthen the program for responsible gun ownership.

who successfully organized the last two legs of the Arm Show in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country and the rest of the world. “The COVID-19 pandemic really shot down businesses, but unlike others, the firearms industry did not suffer a downtrend. But the Filipino resiliency is remarkable as we recovered fast and the economic situation is slowly getting back on its feet. On the sporting side, the activities are far better than the others since shooting is an outdoor event,” said Ańo, who was joined by fellow newly elected officers Imelda Reyes and Duke De Leon. Ańo revealed that AFAD extends invitations to Senator Ronald ‘Bato’ Dela Rosa, newly elected Senator Robin Padilla, a known gun enthusiast, and Philippine National Police Officer-

in-Charge Police Lieutenant General Vicente D Danao Jr., as special guests in the opening program set at 10 a.m. He added that enthusiasts could also learn during the fiveday show as they have lined up seminars and educational programs on self-defense, responsible gun ownership, firearms safety handling, regulation policy on gun ownership and other exciting activities. De Leon, for his part, reiterated that AFAD is working hard to put up an entertaining yet educational sporting arms show for the public and responsible gun owners. “Through the years, AFAD is a partner of the government in abating the proliferation of ‘loose firearms’. We can educate the public in the process to be responsible gun owners,” said Topacio.

The game was effectively won in the first two quarters as Boston punished a strangely subdued start by Miami to race into a 29-11 lead in the first quarter. Tatum, who had been restricted to just 10 points in Saturday’s game three defeat, was back to his sharp-shooting best with 12 points in the first quarter alone. With Miami’s offense unable to penetrate a Boston defense bolstered by the return of Williams, the Celtics kept the pressure on in the second quarter, extending the lead to 27 points at one stage. There was no better illustration of Miami’s offensive impotence than the firsthalf points haul of their starting line-up. With Jimmy Butler contributing just six points, the Heat’s starters totalled 10 points in the first half, with only Oladipo’s 18 points off the bench preventing a total humiliation. Miami made just 11-of-40 attempts from the field in the first half, a shooting percentage of just 27.5 percent. Any hopes Miami had of mounting a second-half fightback were quickly snuffed out in the third quarter. Boston outscored the Heat 12-4 immediately after the interval to pull clear by a whopping 32 points with the lead at 69-37. AFP

NUEVA Ecija showed its might while Valenzuela continued its climb in the MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) fourth season on Monday at the Bahayang Pag-Asa Sports Complex in Valenzuela City. Living up to pre-season predictions that it’s going to be the team to beat, the Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards routed the Mindoro Tamaraws, 98-68, in the opener. Valenzuela XUR Homes Realty Inc. followed suit with a 66-48 drubbing of undermanned Marikina in the nightcap. It was the third straight victory for Valenzuela after yielding to Sarangani (77-73) in the April 25 season-opener in Batangas City. Boasting a star-studded roster, Nueva Ecija took some time to find its rhythm, settling for a 39-37 halftime lead over Mindoro. But once the Rice Vanguards got their offense going, the Tamaraws couldn’t respond and trailed by as many as 34 points (98-64) en route to their third straight defeat. John Bryon Villarias led Nueva Ecija with 22 points and 6 rebounds, followed by MichaelMabulac and Michael Juico with 13 points and 9 rebounds each. Homegrown Bobby Balucanag added 10 points and 12 rebounds, while Pamboy Raymundo chipped in 11 points and 4 rebounds for Nueva Ecija, now being mentored by multi-titled Jerson Cabiltes. With Balucanag, Mabulac, Juico and Taganas crashing the boards, the Rice Vanguards posted a huge 72-45 edge in rebounds that they converted to 34 second-chance points against only 8 for the Tamaraws. Daniel Bayla tallied 17 points and 11 rebounds for Mindoro, but no other Tamaraw was able to score twin digits. Top gunner Rodel Vaygan was held to 6 points while former Ginebra guard Tey Teodoro could only contribute 4 points and 4 rebounds. The MPBL holds a doubleheader at the Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center in San Fernando, Pampanga for the first time on Tuesday. Zamboanga, which carries a 1-0 card, clashes with Makati (1-1) at 7 p.m. while debuting Pampanga tackles Manila (0-1) at 9 p.m.

Hot finish lifts Tabuena past Mondilla LAUREL, Batangas—Far from reaching peak bucked an opening-hole bogey with five birdies in form, Miguel Tabuena still flourished and got to the next 14 on his way to a 68. “The greens were a little bit faster than we were the top with a scorching finish, birdying the last three holes to shoot a six-under 66 and get past in practice. So, it took a little time to get used to Clyde Mondilla at the start of the ICTSI Splendido that. But after that, I hit the ball really well and didn’t get into too much trouble,” said van der Valk, Taal Championship here yesterday. Mondilla, in an earlier flight, took command ma- who edged Mondilla by one to snatch the Country jority of the way with a seven-under card after 14 Club Invitational crown in 2020. In control of the field, Tabuena expects to holes before settling for a 67 on a couple of late mishaps at Splendido Taal Golf Club as the field played do have complete control of his game in topreferred lies due to wet course following days of rain. day’s second round in an attempt to build a big Tabuena, who beat Mondilla on the second cushion heading to the last 36 holes of the event playoff hole to claim the ICTSI Luisita crown organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. “Nothing will change, same game plan,” he said. last March, also made a run of four birdies in a “Let’s see what happens.” five-hole stretch from No. 7 but Tony Lascuña also wants to make things happen reeled back with a wet bogey on after putting himself in early contention in the 72the 13th before closing out with hole championship put up by ICTSI with a blistering run of birdies for a five birdies against two bogeys for a 34-32 that put him on a very fa69 and a share of fourth with Art Armiliar place. bole and Dino Villanueva while Eric “I didn’t really hit my best. I got Gallardo fired a solid 70 to join to a very slow start and didn’t Joenard Rates, Reymon Jaraula birdie the early holes. But I got and top amateur Ryan Monsalve it going on No. 8 and was able at seventh. to make some grounds (after the “I’m good and I like my chances,” bogey) by birdying the last three said the multi-titled Lascuna, also holes,” said the two-time Philipout to make up for his tied for 15th pine Open champion Tabuena, place finish at Caliraya. also a two-time winner here at Ira Alido fought back from a Splendido. three-over card after five holes Mondilla, who marked his with four birdies in the last 10 as he runner-up finishes at Luisita saved a 71 for a share of 11th with and Caliraya with final round Ferdie Aunzo, Jerson Balasabas, rallies, had set his title drive in Paul Echavez, Rolando Marabe Jr. motion in the P2 million event and amateur Perry Bucay. with a fiery start but lost his moMatching par 72s were mentum at the finish, bogeying legend Frankie Miñoza, Dan Nos. 15 and 18 for a 33-34. Cruz, Rico Depilo, Albin “I had a solid frontside, hit all Engino, Rene Menor, Sean Rathe fairways and even missed mos and Alfredo Repato. three birdie chances inside five Michael Bibat hit a threefeet. But I lost my feel and mobirdie run from No. 2 but made mentum in the last four holes” a quadruple bogey on the par-5 rued the 2019 Philippine Open 11th on a wild drive and a couple champion at The Country Club, of errant iron shots, ending up who overshot the par-4 15th with a 74, the same output put and failed to return a long parin by Zanieboy Gialon, who putt then came up short of the dominated the Caliraya Springs closing hole, another par-4, and Championship last month but missed a six-footer for par. struggled with poor putting A slew of fancied bets kept and fumbled with three bogeys the duo within sight, including Miguel Tabuena approaches hole against a lone birdie. Dutch Guido Van der Valk, who no. 10. Manny Marcelo

Entertainment

Nickie Wang,, Editor Patricia Taculao, Editorial Assistant E-mail: lifeandshow.manilastandard@gmail.com WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2022

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It’s ‘K-Cannes’ as South Korean entries entice film fest Lee Jung-Jae, hunting for the Palme d’Or with ‘Hunt’

SOUTH Korean movies are making a strong showing at the Cannes Film Festival, riding on a wave of enthusiasm for series like Squid Game and movies like Parasite, and catering to a taste for sophisticated intrigue and polished action. “It feels like a golden age for South Korean productions,” said Lee

Jung-jae, the superstar actor in Netflix’s Squid Game, whose debut as a director, Hunt, has screened out of competition at Cannes. “And that’s just the beginning,” he told AFP. The Hollywood Reporter called Hunt, which tells the story of two South Korean secret agents who compete with each other to unmask a North Korean

mole, a “twisty espionage thriller,” while The Wrap noted an abundance of “double agents, buried secrets and lots of broken arms”. In the running for the coveted Palme d’Or, meanwhile, is Decision to Leave by director Park Chan-wook, who told AFP his country’s turbulent postwar history had shaped the collective personality of South Koreans,

and made for interesting film production. “We went through extreme situations and that has changed our character,” he said. “That goes for both the film-going public and filmmakers. We don’t have a tranquil or zen character, we’re temperamental and that’s reflected in our films and series.” AFP, full story on manilastandard.net

Tom Cruise, fighter jets, and adrenaline rush A scene from ‘Top Gun: Maverick’

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’M not entirely sure if I have already seen Top Gun, the 1986 film that starred “America’s last great action star,” Tom Cruise. Thus, it’s going to be quite difficult to compare it with the sequel. Though much has been said about Top Gun: Maverick, a film released thirty-six years after the original film became one of the most era-defining movies of the 1980s, it’s good to note that it was shot without CGI. So, expect some raw action. In the aviation drama, Cruise returns to the iconic role that catapulted him to global superstardom. Prior to watching the action film at the newly-opened Director’s Club at SM North Edsa, I was told that the film is “worthy of the long wait.” In the original story, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Cruise) redeems himself in the eyes of his fellow naval aviators and saves the day in a decisive mission. After being a brave but inconsistent pilot, Maverick proves that he can be a team player by harnessing his talents to serve the rescue mission. In the sequel, Maverick is described as one of the Navy’s top aviators with more than thirty years of experience. Sure, he’s still inconsistent (still ranks as captain despite being in the service for more than three decades) and probably a little stubborn as shown in the opening sequence where he flies a new jet,

without his superior’s permission, and pushes it beyond its limits (whatever happens to the plane after that is for you to find out). “As a punishment,” Maverick is ordered to return to Top Gun, the elite pilottraining school, to train a detachment of Top Gun graduates for a specialized mission (a dangerous initiative of the United States) – to liquidate a uranium-enriching facility. There he meets Lt. Bradley Bradshaw (Miles Teller), call sign: “Rooster,” the son of Maverick’s late friend and Radar Intercept Officer Lt. Nick Bradshaw, aka “Goose.” The action centers on the jets and the pilots maneuvering up in the air as they practice to perfectly execute the plan – to reach and hit

very clear, to paint a picture where Tom Cruise is still the best in this genre. And that despite his age, he can still give younger actors a run for their money. And that’s quite visible in the film the entire time. Directed by Joseph Kosinski, Top Gun: Maverick also stars Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Glen Powell, Lewis Pullman, Charles Parnell, Bashir Salahuddin, Monica Barbaro, Jay Ellis, Danny Ramirez, Greg Tarzan Davis, Ed Harris, and Filipino-Canadian Manny Jacinto. The film is written by Ehren Kruger and Eric Warren Singer and Christopher McQuarrie, based on the characters created by Jim Cash and Jack Epps, Jr. Top Gun: Maverick unspools in local cinemas today.

the target (the uranium facility). The stunt is repeated a few times (because practice makes perfect) in the film but each sequence gives a different adrenaline rush. It’s amazing that despite no CGIs, the execution of the aerial stunts is similar to what you see in video games, thus losing your breath in the process is just normal. The drama, on the other hand, lies in the uncertain future that is confronted by the ghosts of Maverick’s past. He is drawn into a confrontation with his own deepest fears, culminating in a mission that demands the ultimate sacrifice from those who will be chosen to execute Tom Cruise reprises his role as Pete “Maverick” the mission. Mitchell in the ‘Top Gun’ sequel One of the film’s agendas is

Xian Lim finds joy portraying ‘Legal Wives’ now on Netflix Philippines out-of-the-box character in ‘False Positive’ XIAN Lim feels very happy with the consistent high ratings of False Positive, his maiden full-length show for the Kapuso network where he shares stellar billing with Glaiza de Castro. He also feels blessed that the viewers are enjoying the concept of a man being pregnant, and is hopeful that they will also support the program until the end. The talented artist is grateful to his new mother studio for assigning him the show, for giving him the opportunity to breathe life into an out-of-the-box character. “It feels great to bring something light for the audiences where they can just sit back and enjoy. In every work that I do, I always step back and analyze what I could have done differently to improve the scene. Being part of this drama-comedyfantasy series is truly a huge honor,” he admits. It can be remembered that Love.Die. Repeat should’ve been his first project for GMA but taping was put on hold because of the pregnancy of its female lead Jennylyn Mercado. “As of now, we haven’t received word yet from the production team as to the resumption of the taping, but I’m looking forward to continue work there. For one, it’s another unique concept which the Kapuso viewers will surely enjoy,” he says on the latest development of the series. Many say that moving to GMA was a wise career move on his part. When he left Star Magic in 2018 and went to ‘False Vi v a

Positive’ star Xian Lim

Artists Agency, many of his fans feared that his career will be greatly affected. But as it turned out, he was able to do TV projects for another network, and apart from this, he finished shooting a number of films like Yorme: The Isko Domagoso Story, Untrue, Bahay na Pula, and Love the Way You Lie. “I strongly believe that artists should be able to perform on all available platforms. There will be exclusivity among networks, managers, and artists, but that is the business side of the game. I have no clue on how to play that. As an artist, all I want is a canvas to paint on and express my medium whether it be a television series or movies,” Xian relates. Speaking of movies, the actor is preparing for a new film which he would direct and would be streamed in Viva Max. “I have a directorial project with them and we will begin shooting next month. It’s a story about second chances. It belongs to the fantasy-comedy-drama genre. The final line-up of the cast members is yet to be announced,” ends Xian. ••• Paolo Contis admits that when Bubble Gang announced that it would reduce its cast members, he feared that he might be one of the casualties. “Of course, I also felt nervous,” he starts. “As an old adage goes, in this business, nobody is indispensable. I felt relieved that I was retained. I’m thankful for that!” Many ask what his next big project with GMA is after the top-rating primetime soap I Left My Heart in Sorsogon. At this point, Bubble Gang is the only show he’s got. “Well, as for me, comedy remains to be my priority, the reason why ‘Bubble Gang’ suits me. But of course, when the management gave me I Left My Heart in Sorsogon, I accepted. If there’s another good project that they will give me, I’ll be very grateful!” Paolo trusts the Kapuso network that much. “ Whatever their decision is, I will just follow. In the first place, I’m not the type who will ask for projects. I don’t follow up on what my next assignment is. For now, I have ‘Bubble Gang’ and at times, I also appear in All-Out Sundays. We’ll see after this as to what their plans for me are. To reiterate, I don’t want to ask or beg for projects. I’m just waiting for what they think I deserve to do,” he says.

GMA Network’s top-rating family drama Legal Wives captivates the hearts of more viewers as it debuts on Netflix Philippines. The groundbreaking program, which aired in July last year, is the seventh GMA content on the popular video streaming platform. Legal Wives joins the growing list of Kapuso titles that viewers can bingewatch on Netflix Philippines including

Descendants of the Sun, I Can See You, Love of my Life, Owe My Love, Heartful Café, and Family History. The original series features a casting coup top-billed by Dennis Trillo as Ismael Makadatu, an honorable man from a welloff Mranaw family who will equally love three women out of obligation, dedication, and compassion; Alice Dixson as Amirah Alonte, the virtuous and pious daughter of

Dennis Trillo (right) and Bianca Umali in ‘Legal Wives’

a sultan and Ismael’s first wife; Andrea Torres as Diane San Luis, Ismael’s second wife who is a feisty modern Catholic woman who will go to great lengths to fight for herself and Ismael’s love; and Bianca Umali as Farrah Valeandong, a smart and innocent lady who becomes Ismael’s third wife in hopes of saving her family’s reputation. Set in Lanao Del Sur, the story begins with a Mranaw man named Ismael (Dennis) from the affluent and noble family of Makadatu. Although a devout Muslim and a muezzin (sever of the mosque), Ismael falls for Diane (Andrea), a dentist who is part of the Catholic minority in their province, and whom he keeps from his family as she is considered a non-believer. In a sudden turn of events, Ismael gets entangled in a clan feud which leads to his marriage to his brother’s widow, Amirah (Alice). Ismael follows the disheartened Diane in Manila and tries to woo her unbeknownst to his parents. Just when the two are starting to build a happy marriage, Ismael is met with another conflict. Upon his return to their province, his friend who he is greatly indebted to - seeks his help in saving their family’s reputation by marrying Farrah (Bianca), his daughter who is involved in a scandal. All scenes, creative processes, and executions for the series are with the guidance of Muslim Consultants Sohaimen Agal, Imam Mohammad Miphantao, Imam Abu amen Abdullah, and Ustadh Alinor Pansar; Islamic Script Editor Salem Guimba; and Costume and Muslim Language Consultant Princess Nurfathma Egypa Balindong. Legal Wives, under the helm of Zig Dulay, premiered on Netflix Philippines on May 20.

Westlife to bring ‘The Wild Dreams’ tour to Manila WESTLIFE is bringing The Wild Dreams Tour to the Araneta Coliseum on February 20, 2023. The concert is in support of the band’s latest album, Wild Dreams which celebrates its greatest hits. Following its record-breaking 2019 reunion tour The Twenty Tour, which saw Shane, Nicky, Mark, and Kian perform before 600,000 fans across 27 countries. The new tour will see the global pop kings perform songs from the new album plus all their wellloved hits including “Swear It Again,” “Flying Without Wings,” “If I Let You Go,” “My Love,” “Uptown Girl,” “A World Of Our Own,” “Unbreakable,” “Mandy,” and “You Raised Me Up.”

Westlife has sold over 55 million records worldwide and is the only band to have its first seven singles enter the UK chart at No.1. The group also has the most singles of any artist to debut at No.1 in the UK. Overall, the band has had an incredible 14 No.1 singles, behind only Elvis Presley and The Beatles. Westlife has had 33 No.1 albums worldwide. As a live act, it has sold 5 million concert tickets worldwide. Presented by Wilbros Live. Tickets to Westlife: The Wild Dreams Tour in Manila will be on-sale beginning June 4 at 10:00 a.m. via TicketNet.com. ph and at all TicketNet outlets nationwide.

‘Westlife: The Wild Dreams Tour’ celebrates the group’s latest hits

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

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WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2022

Life

Finally, a home for the artists A one-night auction features several artworks from more than 80 artists

‘Maria Makiling Sa Kuwento Ni Rizal’ is another painting for sale during the one-night auction

A

VISUAL manifesto is rising on a 200-square-meter lot in Metro Tagaytay. Dubbed as a tiny two-storey with big dreams, the structure is a testament by artists for artists who will finally have their forever home, a yearning that incubated 74 years ago since the inception of the Art Association of the Philippines (AAP).

After collecting a sining. Malaki po few million pesos, ang utang na loob the “Kanlungan ko sa AAP dahil dito Boys” who got ko nakilala ang mga their chops through Tao na nagbigay the Kanlungan sa akin ng lakad ng Sining or Art ng loob na ipakita Haven in Rizal Park ang aking talento contracted rent-free sa pagguhit. Kung with the National ano man narating Parks Development ng aking sining ay Committee from malaking bahagi 2002 to 2014 in Artists can find a haven for their art in AAP nito ay mula sa exchange for 12 Home AAP.” paintings yearly. The park house Fidel Sarmiento who has been AAP screeched to a halt in 2014 when the president from 2002 to 2008, then from NPDC under a new chief refused to renew 2010 until the present, proudly rattled their contract reasoning office conversion. off artists such as the celebrated Randalf “And as fate would have it, a few months Dilla, Robert Fernandez, Mark Louie after their park home was padlocked, a Gonzales, Emmanuel Balboa, Averil huge tree fell on the roof and blocked its Paras, Joseph Villamar, and more whose entrance,” related Sarmiento. careers gestated at Kanlungan. With the padlock etched in his mind, Famed Joseph A. Villamar of the Saturday Sarmiento vowed to build a permanent Group, declared: “Ang AAP po ang naging AAP house “to avoid being at the mercy daan ko upang makapasok sa mundo ng of any government official.” Inspired by

the two successful fundraisers garnering some P10 million called Artabang 1 for Ondoy victims and Artabang 2 for Ormoc victims, Sarmiento once again asked his good friend, Michael Dino, Secretary for the Visayas, Duterte administration, to host anew Artabang, a third edition benefiting the AAP Home. AAP Secretary Margaret Lim, a Hall of Famer watercolorist, said, “We asked 80 plus artists to donate their paintings for a one-night auction on Dec. 19, 2019, raising P4.5 million.” Together with other AAP officers – Roger Santos, Monette Alvarez, Angelito Florendo, and Veronica Olan – Sarmiento and Lim “scoured Metro Manila since COVID started, even up to Tanay where a misstep deeply scarred my right knee. We ended up with this P1.8 million 200 sqm lot in Barangay Ulat, Silang , Metro Tagaytay,” Lim said. “There are quite a few galleries in Tagaytay, so we decided it was the right location with our small budget.” She added: “Groundbreaking was done

Filamer Christian Univ Silak Dance Company performing a traditional folk dance

By Patricia Taculao

Vibrant blues and greens are used in the artists’interpretation of water

He added that water also symbolizes life and its fragility as typhoons, rising sea levels, and the WATER is one of the natural elements that can risk of tsunamis are just a few natural dangers sustain life. Clean water is drunk to keep people from the surrounding waters that remind people dehydrated and healthy. Meanwhile, other daily in the Philippines about their fragility. Despite these risks, Veron also calls on activities, like washing and bathing, also require water to be efficient. And yet there’s still so much mankind’s duties to protect the waters and prepare for its threats to mitigate their impact on society. that water offers to humanity. Curated by Spanish artist and Those looking for a serene curator César Caballero, “Ebb getaway from the busy city often and Flow: Return to Nature” look for bodies of water, such as features artworks by Louis seas and rivers. They find peace in Dumont of Belgium, Réne watching the water ebb and flow Reiter of Germany, Caballero, from the shore. However, water Henri Etéve of France, Viviana can also be powerful, as evident Riccelli of Italy, Radha in the numerous storms that Makitalo of Finland, Jeanette passed through the Philippines. Kamphuis of Sweden, father This beauty and power of and daughter tandem Ramon water are what European and A piece by Filipina artist and Romina Diaz of Italy and the Filipino artists hope to show Romina Diaz Philippines, and Philippine artists the public through the Ebb and Fara Manuel Nolasco, Kizel Flow: Return to Nature exhibit at the Yuchengco Museum in Makati. They Cotiw-an, and Ann Pamintuan. Most of the artworks on exhibit highlight the collaborated for their advocacy to nurture water through their masterfully crafted paintings and natural beauty of water as artists used precise brushstrokes and vibrant colors to capture the depths sculptures. Ebb and Flow: Return to Nature is also a part of water in its many forms. Some paintings had of the Viva Europa cultural program to celebrate other elements like sunsets and marine wildlife to Europe Day and the founding of the European further emphasize the water’s beauty. On the other hand, other pieces on display Union (EU). It also symbolizes the prosperous cultural partnership between the European Union also feature the dangers of water as some artists also depict powerful storms and their impact on and the Philippines. Luc Véron, EU ambassador to the Philippines, humanity, much like the Typhoon Yolanda in 2013, even described the exhibit’s title as an invitation which devastated the province of Tacloban, Leyte. The exhibit also coincides with the EU Green to meditation. “An invitation to meditate on life. No life Week from May 30 to June 5 and the lead-up without water. Yet, as we sailors know very well, to the United Nation’s Ocean’s Conference in water is indomitable. Our planet is blue, yet man Lisbon from June 27 to July 1. cannot conquer the ocean. We are just its humble Ebb and Flow: Return to Nature is open to the servants,” Véron said during the opening of the public until May 31. exhibit last May 19, Wednesday.

Acrylic painting ‘Once Upon A Time’

March this year. We have already spent P1 million on the steel bars. The weekly payroll and materials are fast draining our budget. We really need more help. An artist committed to donate 10 cement bags, and another 20 bags. Still, another got a congressman to donate a refrigerator.” AAP members number 8,000 with 2,000 active. The two-storey structure with roof deck is designed by Sarmiento, who took up architecture at Mapua in 1978. The contractor/engineer is also pro bono from his high school classmate, John Morales. “The Kanlungan became a school field trip destination, an on-the-job training for nearby schools from Feati, St Paul’s, Technological University of the Philippines…We will continue to have painting workshops for artists of all levels,” said Sarmiento, who

transfers knowledge of various painting techniques. One recipient is Jane Ebarle, Faber Castell Phils. Manager. To this day, Ebarle thanks AAP for her success in the art world and the marketing field. In return, she generously supports AAP endeavors, donating materials to Sarmiento’s seminars in prisons, home for the aged, schools in the provinces, and Metro Manila. Founded in 1948 by Purita Kalaw Ledesma, the AAP boasts international luminaries in its roster – National Artists Vicente Manansalan, Jose Joya, Ang Kiukok, Jerry Navarro, Frederico Aguilar Alcuaz , Botong Francisco, including living legend BenCab. The current members are painstakingly painting stroke by stroke, color by color, the biggest canvas, their legacy, the AAP Home. AAP Home accepts donations. For account details: Art Association of the Philippines, Inc.; Account No. 122-1241812, Chinabank, SM Megamall Branch.

Art in the workplace

Marvel in the beauty and power of water at Yuchengco Museum

Artists also show traditions and memories associated with water through their artwork

The Art Association of the Philippines Home in Tagaytay

“YOU write well.” Hearing that simple phrase from my elementary teacher somehow sealed my fate as a writer. Something bloomed in my young heart, even though my young mind couldn’t even fathom what entails good writing. I couldn’t really remember what I had written or if I really did well on my writing exercise back then. It could have been a lip service to a young student, but I had never forgotten those encouraging words. Through the years, I met mentors who have had profound impacts on my life beyond the four walls of the classroom. There were high school teachers who trained me in photojournalism and supported me as I competed in campus journalism contests. Back in college, our professor would check our seat works in a Journalism class and correct our grammar and syntax using red pen. “Namumulaklak,” as to how we described it back then. But that’s how we learned to write news. What educators do and say have ripple effects. They can change lives and make a big difference. They can create an environment where critical thinking is developed, nationalism is strengthened, and being humane is celebrated. In a time when so many are criticizing teachers and tearing down this noble profession, it pays to show appreciation to people who dedicate themselves to teaching

Sumpaw Mansaka does a dance ritual performance

and guiding children as they grow and learn. The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), initiated by its Cultural Exchange Department (CED), paid tribute to 100 teachers from different parts of Mindanao through the Art in the Workplace (AIWP) program. The program has three legs – the Mindanao leg held in Tagum City on May 15. It also launched its Visayas and Luzon legs to honor our fishermen in Roxas City, Capiz on May 22, and farmers in Munoz City, Nueva Ecija on May 27, respectively. The program highlighted the valuable contributions of these sectors in alleviating the living conditions in the local communities, especially during the pandemic. “We are all here celebrating the nobility of Filipino workers. Lahat tayo ay may mga gawaing kailangang tuparin para sa ating kabuhayan, pamilya, at pamayanan. All of us are workers who spend our time and efforts to fullfill a good mission,” said CED head Chinggay Bernardo. “There is beauty, creativity, and goodness in every human being. And these are the very reasons why we are able to work, survive, and succeed in life. We use our creativity in all aspects of life. We are all artists and cultural workers in so many different ways,” she added. Through the participation and collaboration of local artists and support from various local organizations, Art in the Workplace (AIWP) or Sining sa Tanggapan brings to various government institutions and public workplaces the country’s most prominent performing groups and individuals for a special cultural experience and creative presentations. For its Mindanao leg, performers included QACS Choir, Sumpaw Mansaka Ensemble/

Teatro Ambahanon pays tribute to teachers

Tagum City National Comprehensive High School Rondalla, Teatro Ambahanon, singer Ayegee Paredes, with virtual performances from the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, and Silliman University Dance Troupe. Fishermen enjoyed a cultural show featuring Panay Rondalla, Capiz University Main Campus Chorale, Kanta Capiz Cultural Ensemble, Filamer Christian University Silak Dance Company, and a virtual poetry reading by Nonie Buencamino performing excerpts of Amado Hernandez’s poem Bayani. Since it was first launched in 2012, AIWP has already reached over 5,000 audiences in 20 public offices and workplaces nationwide and featured 343 local artists. In 2020, the program had to be deferred due to the pandemic. It was revived in 2021 with an online edition that paid tribute to our frontliners. For 2022, the CED plans to organize and mount a hybrid edition. It is mobilizing the Kaisa Sa Sining network to engage wider participation and reach. “As vital as arts and culture are, [the contribution of our teachers, farmers, and fishermen] to our nation’s development is equally important as well. Your dedication and passion for your work make us proud to be Filipinos. Our individual efforts have a cumulative effect on the success of our country,” said Alma Uy, Tagum City Women Council, and Musikahan sa Tagum Foundation, Inc. chairperson/president. Truly, sometimes one just needs to hear some encouraging words to dream big, and most of the time, words of appreciation can go a long way and can brighten someone’s day. So, dear readers, you did well today!

Kaisa ng Sining regional partners in Mindanao