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Cebu gov gets ultimatum DILG orders Garcia to fix in 3 days EO on optional mask use outdoors By Joel Zurbano and Macon Ramos-Araneta

NTERIOR Secretary Eduardo Año on Thursday gave the Cebu provincial government a three-day ultimatum or until this weekend to rectify its newly-passed ordinance that made wearing face masks in open and well-ventilated areas in the province optional amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

VOL. XXXVI • NO. 121 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P18 FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 2022 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

“We will be giving the Cebu provincial government, the governor (Gwen Garcia), and the councilors to amend, rectify, and adjust their ordinance and (provincial) EO to be consistent with the (presidential) EO 151 and Next page

NO RALLIES ALLOWED NEAR INAUGURATION SITES. A calesa

Estrella zaps claim price of rice possible at P20/k By Maricel V. Cruz INCOMING Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado Estrella III on Thursday shot down a suggestion by the outgoing DAR chief that the price of rice can be brought down to P20 a kilo as early as the second quarter of 2023 through a “mega farm” that would consolidate production. Estrella said farmers told him the farm gate price cannot be lower than P10, which would go up to P28 at the retail level.

passes by the historic National Museum of the Philippines on Thursday, June 16, 2022, which will be used in the oath-taking of President-elect Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. on June 30. Danny Pata

"I don’t think it is [possible] In the very near future, it’s not possible,” he said of the P20 target. Meanwhile, the chairman of the House of Representatives committee on ways and means expressed hope that the incoming administration will ensure that “marginal farmers” or small coconut farmers—who are not members of coconut farmer associations—will still be able to benefit from the P75-billion Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund,

NCR remains at low risk for COVID cases By Willie Casas

Red-tagging does not exist, poses no danger, says Badoy THERE is no danger to life when a person is tagged as a communist, National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) spokesperson Undersecretary Lorraine Marie Badoy said on Thursday. In a press conference, Badoy disagreed with Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, who earlier said that tagging an individual as a member of the CPP, its armed wing the NPA, or its political arm

GOWN FOR SUNDAY.

the National Democratic Front (NDF) is dangerous. She also claimed that red-tagging does not exist and is being “weaponized” by communists. “We also find it unfortunate that no less than a Justice Secretary seems ignorant that our Supreme Court has ruled, in Zarate vs. Aquino, that there is no danger to life, liberty, and security when you are

Davao-based designer Silverio Anglacer shares a sketch of the Filipiniana gown that Vice President-elect Sara Duterte-Carpio will wear during her inauguration on June 19.

THE Department of Health (DOH) on Thursday clarified that the National Capital Region (NCR) remains at a low risk classification forCOVID-19. In an advisory, the DOH said that while the number of cases in Metro Manila have grown over the last two weeks, its average daily attack rate (ADAR) is still less than one case per 100,000 population. Next page

No legal basis to arrest SUV driver—PNP AUTHORITIES said there is no legal basis to take into custody the driver of the sport-utility vehicle involved in last week's hit-and-run incident of a security guard directing traffic in Mandaluyong City due to the lack of a warrant of arrest. Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesperson Police Colonel Jean Fajardo explained that it is beyond the control of the PNP “should there be an out-of-court settleNext page ment between both parties."

43-month low: Peso weakens further vs. dollar By Julito G. Rada LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD. Manila Standard chairman emeritus and columnist Emil P. Jurado (2nd from left) receives a Journalism Lifetime Achievement Award from the Rotary Club of Manila on Thursday, June 16, 2022, at the Conrad Hotel in Pasay City. He is joined by RCM President Chito Zaldariaga (left), RCM Journalism Awards chairperson Dean Amado Valdez (2nd from right) and RCM President-elect Herminio Esguera. Danny Pata

THE peso on Thursday depreciated further to its lowest level against the US dollar in more than 43 months, following the US Federal Reserve’s move to hike the interest rate by 0.75 percentage point on Wednesday, the biggest rate increase since 1994. The peso closed at 53.47 per dollar,

WEAKER PESO. A money changer owner shows newly exchanged dollars from an overseas Filipino worker in Manila on Thursday, June 16, 2022. The exchange rate went down to P53.20 to a dollar. Danny Pata

News

FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 2022

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

PH wins seat in UN sea body The Philippine Mission to the UN said that the Philippines was able to secure the seat in the commission after getting 113 votes from a total of 164 states. “PH competed with eight other candidates under the APG (Asia-Pacific Group), and successfully reached the re-

quired majority of votes, with 113 votes from a total of 164 states parties present and voting, after four tough rounds of voting,” the Philippine Mission to the UN said. This paves the way for the Philippines’ maiden tour of duty as a member of the

commission, represented by Philippine candidate Deputy Administrator Efren Carandang. Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said Carandang is the “Philippines’ foremost authority on the technical intricacies of the law of the sea, which is to say that he is one of the very best in the world.” Carandang has served National Mapping and Resource Information Authority and its precursor agency for 38 years, leading two technical branches: the Hydrography Branch, and the Mapping and Geodesy Branch. He has extensive experience in hydrography and its ramifications in international maritime law. He was also part

Cebu...

cannot supersede Duterte’s EO 151, which mandates the use of face masks all over the country except in allowable circumstances. He emphasized that the country is still under a state of public health emergency and a state of calamity until September 12, 2022. “Cebu Province is still under Alert Level 2, and we have an uptick of cases. Now is not the time to be complacent. There should only be one policy across the country,” he said. Earlier, Sen. Sonny Angara proposed a dialogue between Garcia and all parties concerned on the wearing of face masks to avoid court cases. "This might reach the court, that’s why I am recommending a dialogue, that’s a reasonable way to move forward," said Angara, adding he thinks there is room for some dialogue between the parties. "I can understand where Governor Gwen is coming from because we're coming from a pandemic-hit Cebu province that's dependent on tourism," said Angara in a TV interview Wednesday night. "I understand the point of the governor in trying to come up with a proactive policy regarding the wearing of masks," added Angara. Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra earlier said Garcia could have appealed to the Inter-Agency Task Force to change its recommendations on face masks or allow Cebu to be a pilot test area for allowing maskless gatherings in open spaces. But Año said the PNP, which is under DILG’s supervision, will strictly enforce

the mandatory face mask rule imposed by the President in Cebu and that all police officers who refuse to follow orders from higher authorities will be relieved of duty. “We cannot play around with the laws of the land. Even with the passage of a provincial ordinance by Cebu province making the wearing of face masks optional, such ordinance is void and legally infirm and incapable of superseding EOs of the President of the Philippines,” he said. Año added that the Office of the President ordered the DILG to exhaust all legal remedies if the Cebu provincial government refused to comply with the mask mandate. “We emphasize that these EOs are superior to LGU ordinances. Local governments are merely agents of the national government and local sanggunians (councils) exercise only delegated powers conferred by the national government. We cannot allow a situation where LGUs prevail over the national government). Obviously, the delegate cannot exercise powers superior to its principal,” Año said. Citing data from DILG provincial office in Cebu, Año said at least 20 local government units in the province already have existing ordinances on mandatory wearing of face masks and observance of minimum public health standards (MPHS), including Alegria, Aloguinsan, Badia, Carmen, Compostela, Medellin, Talisay City, and Tuburan. He said the enforcement of the mask mandate is critical in ensuring that other

LGUs will not follow Cebu's act. “We do not want to set a precedent for other LGUs. We are still in apandemic and more transmissible variants are still arising, hence we must abide by the MPHS, including wearing face masks in order to finally defeat this pandemic,” he said. The Department of Health earlier rejected calls to lift the mask mandate, especially since several cases of the highly transmissible Omicron subvariant have been detected in the country. The Cebu provincial board earlier passed the ordinance on third and final reading in a special session on Tuesday, following Garcia's issuance of Executive Order No. 16 that the wearing of face masks shall be required only in closed and air-conditioned spaces. Garcia earlier said she does not recognize the resolution of the IATF on the mandatory wearing of face masks, claiming the task force’s guidelines “doesn’t carry the force of law, not enacted by Congress, nor is that an Order signed by the President.” But Año refuted this, saying local government officials may face charges if they violate the orders of the national government. Cebu was placed by the IATF under Alert Level 2 from June 16 to June 30. Under this COVID level, certain establishments and activities are allowed at 50% capacity indoors for fully vaccinated adults (and minors, even if unvaccinated), and 70% capacity outdoors.

concern is crop diversification and intercropping, which is the best way to make coconut farmers more profitable and productive, peso-per-peso,” Salceda said. Salceda said he hopes that the incoming Marcos administration will be open to “tweaking” the Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Plan, which was approved by President Duterte under Executive Order No. 172, s. 2022, which he signed June 8 this year. Albay, which Salceda represents, has 277,000 coconut farms, making the coconut sector one of the largest sources of employment in the province.

“I have recently had a consultation on the agriculture sector early this week with key agriculturists, including national scientists, agricultural economists, agriengineers, and others,” Salceda said, referring to discussions he has had during a UP Los Banos convocation, where he was keynote speaker this week. “We have come to the conclusion that the best way to lift coconut farmers out of poverty is to diversify their cropping, so that they are not so vulnerable to the price [cycles] of the sector. Estimates suggest that 50 percent of coconut farmers fall below the poverty line. More than double the national average. So, to lift

the coconut industry includes lifting the coconut farmers out of poverty.” In his keynote address, Salceda called for agricultural modernization and a “Second Agricultural Revolution” as “crisis-proofing” for the Philippines. During the forum, Salceda warned that a potential global economic crisis could come if the US decides to dramatically address inflation with monetary policies similar to those pursued during the early 1980s. Such measures to bring inflation down would be “calamitous” to the global economy. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

“We have had an existing social media blogger accreditation policy since 2017 when I was still with Asec. Mocha Uson. But we did not accredit any blogger because no one applied. We do not know if anyblogger will cover the coming inauguration,” Ablan, in an ABS-CBN report said. Badoy reiterated that progressive groups such as Kabataan, Alliance of Concerned Teachers, and Gabriela are communist fronts and are “top recruiters” of the youth “into violent extremism, protectors, and purveyors of terrorism.” NTF-Elcac will continue with its mandate until the “complete destruction” of CPP-NPA-NDF, Badoy said. Former members of the communist groups said their old comrades are planning to muddle the oath-taking ceremony of Marcos Jr. on June 30. In a media briefing, former rebels Orlando “Ka Warly” Baluyot, now chair of Tinang Samahang Nayon Multi-Purpose Cooperative, and Ka Pong Sibayan, a farmer from Hacienda Tinang in Concepcion, Tarlac said the communist groups have started organizing farmers in their province. They said aside from Hacienda Tinang, officials and members of CPP-NPA-NDF legal front organizations have also been meeting with farmers from nearby Hacienda Murcia and Barangay Central inside Hacienda Luisita. He said farmers from these areas are now organized by the front groups. Some members of left-leaning organizations are often seen coming to those areas as they want the people to fight the government, Baluyotadded He said aside from the areas in Tarlac that they have named, different front organizations are also busy mobilizing groups from various towns even using youth members in their propaganda. Meanwhile, former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile bared on Wednesday there is a conspiracy to pillory Marcos in an attempt to taint his reputation. Enrile said the information came from “credible” sources, saying certain groups from the United States and the Philippines areallegedly conniving to embarrass Marcos. Vito Barcelo and Joel Zurbano (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

43-month...

recently. “My previous estimate for the US dollar/peso exchange rate for end2022 was at 52.00-53.00, but recently adjusted higher to 52.50-53.50 and is still possible to adjust higher this estimate ifthere would be any further hawkish signals from the Fed/FOMC officials and would also be a function of the developments related to the Russia-Ukraine conflict,” Ricafort said. The peso breached the 53-perdollar level on June 10 as financial markets expected a more aggressive rate hike by the US Federal Reserve this week. In its latest macroeconomic assumptions, the inter-agency Development Budget Coordination Committee projected the peso-dollar exchange rate to range from 51 to 53 this year. From 2023 to 2025, the peso-dollar rate assumption was pegged at 50-53. The peso closed in 2021 at 50.999 against the US dollar, significantly weaker than the 48.023 on the last trading day of 2020.

By Rey E. Requejo

he Philippines has won a seat in the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, a body of the United Nations that deals with the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

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the guidelines in the implementation of the alert level system which is part of EO 151,” Año said in a press briefing in Camp Crame. “Maybe over the weekend, we will give them a chance to rectify this. After the weekend then we will do whatever is necessary,” he added. Those who violate the mandatory use of face masks in Cebu may be arrested by the police despite the executive order issued by Garcia, Año added in a radio interview. He reiterated that the national government will still implement the mandatory wearing of face masks amid the COVID-19 pandemic, thus law enforcers will follow suit. Ano stressed that the Cebu government has violated President Rodrigo Duterte’s Executive Order No. 151, series of 2021, regarding the Nationwide Implementation of the Alert Level System for COVID-19 Response. “Our police will continue to confront the violators and if they need to arrest those who really don’t want to follow, then the Philippine National Police will do that. We are consulting with the legal team on our next move to stop this practice which is not really appropriate,” the Interior secretary said. Año maintained that the ordinance passed by the Cebu provincial board

Estrella... From A1

which was created last year under Republic Act No. 11524. “There are two areas that are not very well-articulated in the Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Plan, which is the guiding blueprint for the use of the Coco Levy Trust Fund," Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, the panel's chairman, said. "One is marginal or small-scale farmers, who are the poorest of the poor, both nationwide and as a subsector of the coconut industry. The second area of

Red-tagging... From A1

identified as a member of the CPP-NPANDF,” she said. However, Badoy agreed with Guevarra that people should not be identified as a member of the CPP-NPA-NDF “if we do not have solid proof that they are.” This developed as Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano said the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA) may seek to “embarrass” President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. during his incoming term. “We could surmise that the CPP-NPA and its cohorts actually have the intent to cause embarrassment to President-elect Bongbong Marcos," he said. "Right from the start, these leftist groups always do this regardless of who sits as President,” he added. Año said the national government, the Philippine National Police (PNP), and the NTF-ELCAC were prepared for any scenario, considering that Marcos is set to hold his inauguration on June 30 at the National Museum of the Philippines. “We will not allow any group to conduct any various activities, much more to discredit the incoming administration. We will do it all within the legal bounds of the law,” the Interior secretary said. The PNP also said protest rallies will not be allowed in areas near the inauguration of Marcos Jr. and Vice Presidentelect Sara Duterte in Davao City this weekend. Police spokesperson Colonel Jean Fajardo said law enforcers expect demonstrations during the oath-taking of Duterte at the San Pedro Square in Davao on June 19, and of Marcos at the National Museum of the Philippines on June 30, GMA News reported. Protesters may only conduct their activities in designated areas, such as freedom parks, the official said. Malacañang meanwhile said it was “unsure” if bloggers would be allowed to cover Marcos Jr. Palace spokesperson Kristian Ablan said Malacañang had a policy on accrediting bloggers since 2017.

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weaker than the 53.435 a day ago. It was the local currency’s weakest level since the 53.535 on Oct. 31, 2018. Total volume traded reached $1.141 billion, down from $1.164 billion previously. Michael Ricafort, the chief economist of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., told Manila Standard the Fed’s move would lead to a stronger US dollar against global currencies. Ricafort said the appreciating US dollar has been observed “since the Fed started with its hawkish signals a year ago [June 2021], given widening interest rate differentials in favor of the US currency, especially against developed countries with still nearzero short-terminterest rates such as Japan.” Ricafort said the bigger 0.75 percent Fed rate hike was already priced in by the financial markets since last week and partly led to the stronger US dollar

of the Philippine delegation that successfully submitted the relevant charts or coordinates of the outer limits of the Philippines’ continental shelf with the International Seabed Authority (ISA). Carandang was also included in the team that made the Benham Rise, which is now officially called the Philippine Rise, submission in 2009. “This is the first time that the Philippines, an archipelagic state, will serve in the commission. (The) PH election promotes the principle of rotation, inclusion, and representation among UNCLOS states,” the Philippine Mission to the UN said. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

No... From A1

“To inform the public, the PNP has no legal grounds to take into custody the suspect considering that no warrant of arrest has been issued against him. He is also no longer subject to warrantless arrest because there’s already a considerable lapse of time from the time the incident happened,” Fajardo added. However, despite the lack of a warrant, Fajardo said Jose Antonio Sanvicente will still face charges and answer the accusations against him during a hearing on Friday, June 17, according to the suspect’s lawyer, Danilo Macalino. In a press conference, Sanvicente surrendered on Wednesday to the PNP and apologized to the victim, Christian Joseph Floralde, who was seriously injured. Macalino said Sanvicente failed to help the victim “out of panic.” A viral video showed that Floralde was run over by a white SUV as he was trying to direct traffic at the intersection of Julia Vargas Avenue and St. Francis Street in Mandaluyong City at around 4 p.m. on June 6. Complaints, including frustrated murder and abandonment of one's own victim, have been filed against the suspect. Sanvicente also denied that he is a drug user. He has yet to be advised to undergo a drug test, as the charges against him are only traffic-related, Macalino said.

‘Incoming admin should address stunting problem’ By Macon Ramos-Araneta SENATOR Sherwin Gatchalian is urging the next administration to address stunting among Filipino children, which has long-term consequences on their growth and development. Gatchalian made this call Thursday as the outgoing Duterte administration seeks a $178.1 million loan from the World Bank to address Filipino children's stunted growth. The loan will fund a proposed multisectoral project that will be led by the Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). Citing the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF, Gatchalian emphasized that stunting affects the cognitive development of children which can be seen in their performance at school. The lawmaker recalled that nine out of 10 Filipino children aged 10 cannot read or understand a simple story. This translates to learning poverty of 90.5% According to a 2021 World Bank (WB) report entitled “Undernutrition in the Philippines: Scale, Scope, and Opportunities for Nutrition Policy and Programming,” around 30 percent of children in the Philippines under the age of five are stunted or are too short for one’s age. For Gatchalian, the incoming administration should ensure the effective implementation of Republic Act No. 11148 or the Kalusugan at Nutrisyon ng MagNanay Act, also known as the First 1,000 Days Law. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

NCR... From A1

The NCR would require at least 818 cases daily for two weeks to reach an ADAR of six cases per 100,000 population, which would put it at moderate risk for COVID-19, the DOH said. It also said the region's health care utilization rate remains at low risk. The DOH said infections are still expected at this stage of the pandemic, but most are asymptomatic, mild, or moderate. Earlier, the Inter-Agency Task Force of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) had approved recommendations to place the NCR and other areasunder Alert Level 1 from June 16 to June 30, despite the increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in the last few days. Some 11 areas in the NCR have recorded a continuous increase in COVID-19 cases, the DOH said Wednesday. These are the cities of Makati, Parañaque, San Juan, Mandaluyong, Muntinlupa, Las Piñas, Pasig, Manila, Quezon, Marikina, and Valenzuela. “Despite continued increase, cases remain low with average daily attack rates ranging from less than one case to up to three cases per 100,000 population among these areas,” the DOH said. Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the development was "not that significant," as it has not affected the admission rate in hospitals nor the number of severe and critical cases. On Wednesday, the chief of the Vaccine Expert Panel (VEP) said children aged five and below should be given COVID-19 vaccination as this will complete the immunization coverage of the country. During a briefing, VEP chief Dr. Nina Gloriani said “yes” when asked if she thinks those aged 5 and below should already be inoculated,given the reported rise in coronavirus infections. Gloriani’s remark was made after Pfizer and partner BioNTech recently completed the filing with the US drugs regulator seeking authorization for their COVID-19 vaccine in children under 5 years of age. This included data showing three lower-dose shots of the vaccine generated a strong immune response in children as young as 6 months of age. The DOH on Wednesday logged 256 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the nationwide caseload to 3,694,121. The country’s active case tally also increased from 3,130 on Tuesday to 3,211 on Wednesday, the DOH said. Among the top regions with cases in the recent two weeks were the National Capital Region (NCR) with 1,628, followed by Calabarzon with 478, Central Luzon with 265, Western Visayas with 241, and Central Visayas with 131. The DOH reported a total of 3,630,449 patients recovered from the viral disease. The Philippines’ death toll from COVID-19 remained at 60,461 with no new deaths recorded. The DOH said at least 5,201 beds were occupied, while 24,979 were vacant as the bed occupancy in the country slightly increased to 17.2 percent from the earlier 17 percent. The DOH also said a total of 18,807 individuals were tested, while 323 testing labs submitted data as of June 14. OCTA Research fellow Dr. Guido David said Wednesday's number of new cases was lower than the group's forecast 450 to 500. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

News

FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 2022

Maynilad set to give rebates due to unapproved tax rates By Rio N. Araja

AYNILAD Water Services Inc. will rebate its customers in the cities of Muntinlupa, Las Piñas, Malabon, Valenzuela, and Quezon City for its tax rates that had not been approved by the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS).

INSPECTION OF QC HOSPITAL. Quezon City District 1 (QCD1) Congressman-elect Arjo Atayde conduct an ocular inspection of the Quezon City General Hospital. Atayde consulted with the hospital’s officials on how to improve its facilities and services to better serve the people of QCD1.

Housing launches two more new projects in Nueva Ecija By Rio N. Araja THE Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development has launched two more shelter projects in Nueva Ecija that will serve as a new standard for future housing projects in the country. Secretary Eduardo del Rosario said the housing project in the towns of San Leonardo’s Barangay San Roque and Talavera’s Barangay Lomboy is a subdivision-like development of roads and drainage systems. The DHSUD through the private developers’ incentivized compliance to a balanced housing program provided land development assistance for the municipalities’ informal settler families living along danger zones and those who did not own lots. Del Rosario said the subdivision-like resettlement project is another promise fulfilled for the housing and urban development sector by the Duterte administration. “I am glad about the result of our cooperation and collaboration among the national government, local government unit, and the private sector that resulted in a very wonderful project,” he said. Barely two weeks before he steps down from his post, the housing czar said he is proud to be of service to his countrymen and even vowed that DHSUD would still continue providing quality and unwavering shelter-related assistance to Filipino families, especially the underserved. Over 100 ISFs stand to benefit from the resettlement project located in Talavera, while 60 housing units were already constructed in San Leonardo by the National Housing Authority.

NEW WALTER MART ENDORSER. GMA talent Alden Richard is introduced on Thursday as the new endorser of Walter Mart during the “More to Love at Walter Mart” event in Pasay City. Danny Pata

IN BRIEF Customs agents seize smuggled carrots worth P4 million from China GOVERNMENT agents assigned in Manila North Harbor have seized two smuggled shipments of carrots from China worth P4 million. A team from the Manila International Container Port – Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (MICP-CIIS) intercepted the shipments following information about the entry of misdeclared agricultural products from the mainland. MICP chief intelligence officer Alvin Enciso said their operation conducted on June 14 will not be possible without the information received by the CIIS. “The bureau apprehended a number of illegal shipments because of the intelligence from our reliable informants. This is why we need to empower and strengthen our intelligence-gathering to further solidify our fight against smuggling,” he said. Enciso’s team requested the issuance of a Special Stop order, which was then signed immediately by MICP District Collector Romy Allan Rosales, to examine the shipments. Upon examination of the boxes, Customs agents found carrots and not steamed buns that was declared as content of the shipments. Joel E. Zurbano

SC justice Singh tests positive for COVID; goes into self-quarantine SUPREME Court Associate Justice Maria Filomena Singh has tested positive for COVID-19, the SC Public Information Office said on Thursday.In a statement, the Court’s PIO said Singh, who is fully vaccinated and has already received her booster dose, is experiencing mild COVID-19 symptoms. The test came out on Wednesday, June 15. The SC said Singh will still be working while in isolation. Singh also informed her colleagues and staff so that they could take the necessary precautions. Meanwhile, those who were present during the SC En Banc on Tuesday, June 14, were already in self-quarantine and will be tested after the incubation period from exposure. The SC said no one was exhibiting symptoms as of press time. Rey E. Requejo

The MWSS-Regulatory Office, in a statement, said concerned customers of Maynilad “will receive minor corrections in their water bills in the form of rebates, as a result of Maynilad’s implementation of tax rates that are not in accordance with the rates approved by the MWSS Board of Trustees.” Last March, the MWSS-RO said that

following the passage of Maynilad’s and Manila Water Co. Inc.’s congressional franchises, the water services charges of the water distribution utilities shall no longer be subject to 12 percent VAT beginning March 21, 2022. Instead of VAT, water services of the water firms would be subject to two percent other percentage tax or national

franchise tax (NFT) and the actual rate of local franchise tax (LFT) implemented by local government units. The NFT and LFT shall be reflected as “government tax” in the customers’ water bills starting March 21. MWSS-RO said “it has come to the attention of the MWSS-RO that Maynilad has been charging customers in the aforementioned business areas the actual LFT rates of the relevant local government units instead of the rates approved by the MWSS BOT.” “The MWSS-RO recognizes that Maynilad implemented these rates in good faith, as the rates that it previously submitted to and approved by the MWSS BOT were outdated,” it added.

FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 2022

Hospital group nominates COVID adviser for DOH AN ORGANIZATION of private hospitals has recommended a government adviser on COVID-19 as the next Secretary of Health. President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has yet to name his Health chief. “Meron po kami nire-recommend. Hopefully siya po ang tanggapin ni President-elect Marcos. But of course, the final decision ay sa kanila pa rin po,” said Dr. Jose Rene de Grano, president of the Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines Inc. (PHAPi). “We recommended Dr. Ted Herbosa, adviser of the National Task Force against COVID-19.” De Grano disclosed. Herbosa was Department of Health (DOH) Undersecretary from 2010 until 2015, and executive vice president of the University of the Philippines (UP) from 2017 until 2021. Meanwhile, De Grano gave assurance that private hospitals are ready in the event of another COVID surge. Majority of admissions in private medical facilities are currently nonCOVID patients, he said. “Private hospitals are always ready for COVID cases. We don’t close our COVID wards.),” he said. “The problem will be when we will have many cases and we will have a shortage of healthcare workers especially the nurses,” De Grano added. More than one-half of private hospitals’ staff have left to go abroad to seek higher pay and benefits, he said. Private hospitals continue to talk with the DOH for health workers’ One COVID allowance, De Grano said. Willie Casas

News

‘HE DID IT ALL FOR ME.’ Speaking at the joint oath-taking of newly elected

local officials of Samar and Leyte provinces, Vice President-elect and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte discloses how House Majority Leader and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez’s (right), acting as her campaign manager, did everything for her triumphant political journey towards the May 9, 2022 elections. Ver Noveno

DOJ: Drug war ‘very successful’ By Rey E. Requejo

USTICE Secretary Menardo Guevarra described President Duterte’s war against illegal drugs as “very successful,” but admitted that the enforcers committed excesses in carrying out the operations.

At the same time, Guevarra said there was no need for the International Criminal Court (ICC) to intervene in the issue of abuses by the police in running after the drug traffickers, saying the Department of Justice (DOJ) has already initiated its own investigation and prosecution of the alleged excesses.

“There are really so many drug syndicates prosecuted because of this campaign,” Guevarra said, during the online “Kapihan sa Manila Bay” forum on Wednesday. There has been a reduction of illegal drugs in the streets, he added. “I think you will agree that people

now feel a bit safer being on the streets even at night,” he said. The Justice Secretary noted that the issue of excesses committed by law enforcers “has been brought to the attention of even international organizations like the UN (United Nations) Commission on Human Rights Council.” “So that is why the DOJ led a campaign for the abuses in the enforcement of the implementation of our campaign against illegal drugs can also be addressed,” Guevarra stressed. Because of this, it is no longer necessary for the ICC to investigate alleged crimes against humanity committed during the drug war of the Duterte ad-

ministration, he said. “That is what we are telling the ICC that domestic mechanisms are functioning,” he stressed. As a matter of fact, he added, a number of law enforcement officers even got convicted in the process. Should the ICC proceed with its investigation, Guevarra believes that the probe will not be focused on just Duterte. “The President himself is not the main target of the ICC. It’s really the alleged crime against humanity as manifested in the campaign against illegal drugs,” he explained. “To determine who were those responsible for that (alleged crime against humanity),” he said.

Solon echoes calls to suspend Phil Health premium increase By Maricel V. Cruz

DON’T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT.

AN OPPOSITION lawmaker on Thursday echoed the call of teachers to suspend the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) premium hike, saying the increase takes a toll on the meager salaries of teachers. “We strongly urge the suspension of the PhilHealth premium hike amid the soaring prices of basic goods, commodities and services,” Assistant Minority Leader and ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro said. She deplored that the premium increase has already caused the failure of payment of teachers’ loans with their salaries which were barely sufficient

Metro Manilans dutifully adhere to the “wear a mask rule” being enforced by Health and police authorities as the National Capital Region remains under Alert 1 of the COVID-19 pandemic. Norman Cruz

for their daily needs following the implementation of the premium adjustment last June 15. Castro’s Makabayan bloc filed Joint Resolution 34 in January 2021 mandating the immediate suspension of the increase in the PhilHealth premium rate amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “We hope that the incoming 19th Congress can find the urgency and prioritize the immediate suspension of the PhilHealth premium rate hike,” Castro added. She also appealed to the government to prioritize wage hikes for our workers instead of imposing increases in contributions, especially in agencies with massive corruption issues.

US hosts peace MSMEs take center stage in Marcos-Concepcion meeting conference with BARMM execs COTABATO CITY—Representatives of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) have joined a Bangsamoro peace conference hosted here Tuesday by the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), in partnership with the Strategic Communications and Capacity Building (SCCB) Project in the Philippines. Brian Harding, senior expert for USIP Southeast, said the peace process is an essential issue, not only for the people of the BARMM and the Philippines, but also for the rest of the world, including the United States. USIP was established by the U.S. Congress in 1984 as an independent federal institution devoted to the nonviolent prevention and mitigation of deadly conflict in other nations. It supports peace education and efforts in convening initiative on reconciliation, transitional justice, religion, peace-building, and other key issues. In a statement read for him by Minister Sha Elijah Dumama-Alba, BARMM chief minister Ahod Ebrahim underscored the importance of the USIP officials’ visit to BARMM, and their interest on the Bangsamoro narrative “brings fresh hopes to valuable peace engagements in the region.” “We are taking this opportunity to introduce examples of work which the USIP has done around the world to support peace and to see their experiences that would be valuable for the BARMM,” Harding said. Nash B, Maulana

PRESIDENT-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has vowed to make the empowerment of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) a priority of his administration. The pledge was made during a courtesy call of Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship and Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion on Wednesday to dis-

cuss with the incoming Chief Executive pressing issues affecting the country’s MSMEs, as well as health, economy, and the impact of the ongoing RussiaUkraine war on Philippine markets. During the meeting, Marcos and Conception agreed that the MSMEs are crucial in the country’s prosperity. The sector, which comprises 99.5 percent of

all business establishments in the Philippines, generates 62.6 percent of jobs for Filipinos. Marcos gave assurance that his administration will focus on the MSME sector. He also sought Concepcion’s suggestions on what the sector needs most as the country recovers from the pandemic. “Our MSMEs need access to money,

RECOGNITION TIME. Navotas

Mayor Toby Tiangco (third from left) receives a certificate of recognition from DOH-NCR director Gloria Balboa for his city’s success in the implementation of the Chikiting Bakunation program, having overshot its target for the inoculation of babies up to 23 months old. Andrew Rabulan

UPHSD bags honors in 2 global ranking systems THE University of Perpetual Help System DALTA (UPHSD) emerged with flying colors in two international ranking systems for higher educational institutions recently. UPHSD garnered five stars in three criteria of the 2022 QS Stars ranking systems. These criteria are online learning, employability and inclusiveness. The school also got four stars in academic devel-

opment and social responsibility, and three stars in teaching and internationalization. Overall, UPHSD was given three-star rating. Another international ranking system, the Applied Higher Education (AppliedHE) Private University Ranking: ASEAN 2022, placed UPHSD at 1st place among private higher education institutions under the internationalization criteria. UPHSD ranked 20th place overall.

market and mentorship opportunities,” Concepcion said, as he outlined the three elements that underpin the programs of the non-profit Go Negosyo, which he founded in 2005. He said funding would be especially crucial as the Russia-Ukraine crisis and the resulting inflation continue to exert pressure on the country’s entrepreneurs.

MMDA rolls out free bike repair project THE Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) on Thursday rolled out a bike repair station at the ground level of EDSA-Quezon Ave. flyover for motorcycle riders and cyclists who needed emergency road assistance. The project, open to the public from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m., is equipped with basic repair and vulcanizing tools, and manned by trained MMDA personnel who will assist people whose bikes and motorcycles broke down on the road. The MMDA initially set up two repair stations, one along EDSA and another on Roxas Blvd. “The thrust of this project is to provide free space and assistance in cases where emergency repairs are needed rather than towing the vehicles outright. The only time the vehicle will be towed is when it is beyond repair,” said MMDA chair Romando Artes. Artes said the agency will put up more motorcycle and bicycle repair stations in different strategic locations all over Metro Manila where cyclists and motorcycle riders usually traverse and will eventually expand the project to cover four-wheel vehicles. Bonifacio Bosita of 1Rider party-list, who is also present during the event, expressed support for the project. “This will surely make the rider community happy since they now have a place to go to in case they need emergency repairs,” Bosita said. Joel E. Zurbano

Opinion Battle of Bessang Pass: Signal victory forgotten

JUNE 14 came and went, that date 77 years ago when 1395 brave and courageous members of the 121st Infantry of the USAFIP-NL (United States Army Forces in the Philippines-Northern Luzon) died in battling the retreating troops of the Japanese Imperial forces under General Tomoyuki Yamashita at Bessang Pass in the upland town of Cervantes in Ilocos Sur. It was a signal victory as recorded in the annals of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. I was told that a motley group of surviving members were present to commemorate the event at Cervantes, Ilocos Sur, where former President Fidel V. Ramos had a shrine built. It is really sad to remember the Battle of Bessang Pass which was truly a signal victory of the guerilla movement, composed mostly of Filipinos. History tells us that the victory of Bessang Pass led to the capture of Yamashita, known as the Tiger of Malaya, who retreated to the jungles of nearby Kalinga and Apayao, leading to his surrender on September 2, 1945. Yamashita was soon executed by hanging at Los Banos, Laguna on Feb. 23, 1946 for crimes against humanity in the rape of Manila when the Americans recaptured Manila from the Japanese occupying forces. After the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan surrendered on September 2, 1945. On board the USS Missouri. That’s history. But, going back to the victory of the Filipino guerilla movement in Northern Luzon, what was truly sad is that when the country commemorates the Araw of Kagitingan (Day of Valor ), not a mention of the signal victory of the Battle of Bessang Pass – or Gubat ti Paso Bessang in Ilocano – is mentioned. Only the defeats like the Battle of Bataan and Battle of Corregidor are cited. The Battle of Bessange Pass was fought from January 9, 1945 to June 15, 1945 in that area which served as a gateway to the Cordillera mountains and the Baguio, the country’s summer capital. It was part of the triangular defense of Yamashita in the north: the Balete Pass, Villaverde Trail and Bessang Pass, guarding the Ifugao-Benguet-Nieva Vizcaya borders. Its fall at the hands of the USAFIP-NL on June 14, 1945 paved the way for the entrapment of Yamashita’s forces in the Cordillera until the general’s surrender in September 1945. It is for this reason why some historians call our culture of remembering our defeats a “damaged culture.” when we commemorate defeats instead of victories. I remember the date June 14, 1945 because it was there where my eldest brother, Desiderio “Desi” P. Jurado, the late Court of Appeals justice, fought for his country, and was awarded a silver medal for bravery and courage beyond the call of duty. It’s truly ironic that when Araw ng Kagitingan is commemorated every year on April 9, there is no mention of the signal victory at the Battle of Bessang Pass. That silver medal of my late brother Desi holds a special niche in my family’s memory because our entire family had to go through the rigors of a family having a member of the guerilla movement. It was my late brother who led the assault at Bessang Pass that led to the capture and surrender of Yamashita and his Japanese Imperial Forces. ••• I have written my opposition to the plans of Press Secretary Trixie Cruz Angeles, the chief of the PCOO or Presidential Communications OPera-

tions Office, to accredit bloggers and vloggers, who are “glorified chismosos” on social media because I believe her move is the supreme insult against journalists like me, being in the profession for more than 70 years now. Clearly, Ms. Angeles is ignorant of what we, journalists, stand for and live for: the truth, objectivity, fairness and justice, contrary to what bloggers and vloggers like her stand for. The Press Secretary’s plan to accredit bloggers and vloggers to cover Malacanang and activities of the incoming President simply reveals her ignorance of what media is all about. To a journalist, to be accredited to be among the members of the Malacanang Press Corps, which is the No. 1 beat among all the beats a newsman is assigned to by a newspaper or radio and television network after a journalist has earned his spurs, should not be taken lightly.

It is for this reason why some historians call our culture of remembering our defeats a ‘damaged culture’ when we commemorate defeats instead of victories What Ms. Angeles is doing is a supreme insult to true-blooded journalists like me. I urge organizations of true-blooded journalists to protest what the Press Secretary-designate is doing since only the President can issue policy matters like accreditation to the Malacanang Press Corps. ••• The Rotary Club of Manila, the most prestigious and the oldest Rotary Club in Asia honored me yesterday with a “Life Achievement Award” at the Conrad Hotel. My eternal thanks to the RCM president Felix “Chito” Francisco Zaldarriaga and Amado Valdez, chairman of the RCM awards committee and to all the officers and directors of RCM and to ex-officio Jesus M. Pineda, my student in High School at the Ateneo de Manila in Loyola Heights. I like best what RCM said of me as a journalist: “The corridors of power were his hunting ground, his presence a sword of Democles to those with ill intentions. This opportunity allowed him to accumulate wisdom from those who thought along parallel lines with him and even those with the opposites. He mixed all these in one brew and imparted them to his students and younger journalists - the totality of his experiences his GIFT to them. His lifetime is his LEGACY to the world.” ••• I’ve covered Presidents of the Republic since Elpidio Quirino and I must say that the challenges that President-elect Bongbong Marcos finds confronting him have never been as great as the challenges he is being confronted with now. Come as they did with the COVID-19 pandemic still with us, the problems of high prices escalating and affecting every household as one of the domino effects of gasoline and oil prices worldwide, partly as a result of the Russia-Ukraine War, are something to be concerned about. For one thing, the question is, how long will the problem of high prices last? Now comes the big question. How will BBM resolve this problem affecting every household ? Another big problem high on the priority list of BBM are jobs.

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Social Protection Floor; Higher Education; Industrial Policy; Public Transportation; Electoral and Political Reforms; Local Governance; and Foreign Relations, that the incoming administration should consider for adoption. The Governance Agenda “seeks to advance sustainable, equitable, participatory, and innovationdriven national development.” It proposes policy alternatives arising from the disruption caused by the pandemic, on one hand, and the May 9 national elections, on the other. Its avowed goal is to harness UP’s “expertise, skills, and praxis to help shape the post-pandemic and political transition toward a transformative future for the Filipino people.” That’s well and good. The Agenda’s policy recommendations emphasize the “need for a high-capacity developmental and pragmatic state, an active citizenry, and an engaged academic community all working for the common good” with the State “exercising informed, purposeful, and democratic leadership, while local communities and the different sectors have access to and control over development resources largely to advance their own development.” But let’s focus at this point on one aspect of the agenda, which is electoral and political reforms, and tackle the rest in future columns. The UP academics contend that politics in the Philippines is highly personalistic, with candidates relying on popularity, patronage and fear in electoral

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EDITORIAL

UP’s proposed governance agenda

THE good news is that the University of the Philippines remains the top Philippine university based on the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings 2023 despite dropping 13 spots from the previous year to 412th. In 2016, the university was ranked within the 401-410 group. Ample proof that UP deserves the distinction as the top institution of higher education in the country is its capability to harness the collective wisdom of its teaching staff with advanced degrees to contribute to efforts to chart a new future for the country. My inbox recently yielded an email from the Office of the Chancellor of the University of the Philippines Diliman containing a document with the hashtag #PILIpiLUNAS2022 Governance Agenda: Pag-angat at Pagsulong Tungo sa Magandang Buhay at Bukas, created by the Task Force on a Blueprint for Building the Nation. It’s a comprehensive blueprint, covering Economic Recovery and Transformation; National

FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 2022

Worsening traffic jam HE traffic congestion in Metro Manila and elsewhere in the country will get worse even before it gets better.

Commuters in the capital region have a first-hand experience in the daily traffic grind, even with an economy that is not fully reopened. With a swelling population and a resurgent economy, Metro Manila will continue to see deteriorating traffic conditions. Vehicle purchases are increasing while the road network in the metropolis remains basically the same. The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority has foreseen heavier traffic in the coming months with the resumption of in-person classes. MMDA chair Romando Artes has noted that despite rising fuel prices, the daily traffic volume in Metro Manila has averaged 400,000, or just 5,000 short of the pre-pandemic level of 405,000.

The capital region registered the growing volume of vehicles despite the absence of regular public buses and workfrom-home arrangements. The rebound in vehicle sales is compounding the nightmare of commuters.

With a swelling population and a resurgent economy, Metro Manila will continue to see deteriorating traffic conditions Sales rose 19.5 percent in May from the same month last year as the economy starts recovering and consumers regain their confidence to invest. It can be safely assumed that at least half of the newly-purchased vehicles will find their way in the cities and towns of the capital region. The MMDA, meanwhile, estimates

that about half a million vehicles were added on the streets during the two-year pandemic period, with about 60 percent entering Metro Manila. The traffic mess requires long-term solutions. Mass transportation, especially commuter trains, will reduce the number of private vehicles plying EDSA and other major thoroughfares in the metropolis. It will be more convenient and timesaving to go on commuter trains than driving a car through the city, as what travelers experience in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore and other megalopolises in Asia. Policy makers have also thought of decentralizing Metro Manila because of road limitations. The traffic congestion will become worse if more workers are drawn into the capital region. Dispersing economic and commercial activities from Metro Manila to nearby provinces such as Rizal and Bulacan will put a stop to urban migration. The incoming policy makers will have their hands full in finding a way out of this traffic jam.

Food catastrophe IN MAY this year, agriculture officials of Thailand and Vietnam met to form a rice cartel and increase the price of their rice exports. Thailand is the world’s second largest rice exporter. Vietnam is third. Rice growers in both countries were trained in the Philippines how to plant rice. Now, Filipinos are buying from them. Talk about loving your neighbor. Thailand and Vietnam account for 10 percent of global rice production and for a quarter of rice exports. The two rice behemoths probably don’t need to form a rice cartel. Prices of nearly all food commodities are rising – no thanks to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the COVID pandemic, an unpredictable weather, and shortages created by the tripling of prices of inputs like fertilizer. Thailand and Vietnam are reportedly restricting their exports of rice. A recent The Economist magazine issue (May 21-27, 2022) predicts “The Coming Food Catastrophe.” According to The Economist, “Russia and Ukraine supply 28 percent of globally traded wheat, 29 percent of the barley, 15 percent of the maize and 75 percent of the sunflower oil. Russia and Ukraine contribute about half the cereals imported by Lebanon and Tunisia; for Libya and Egypt the figure is two-thirds. “Ukraine’s food exports provide the calories to feed 400m people. The war is disrupting these supplies because Ukraine has mined its waters to deter an assault, and Russia is blockading the port of Odessa.” Even before the invasion, notes The Economist, “the World Food Program had warned that 2022 would be a terrible year. China, the largest wheat producer, has said that, after rains delayed planting last year, this crop may be its worst-ever. “Now, in addition to the extreme temperatures in India, the world’s second-largest producer, a lack of rain threatens to sap yields in other breadbaskets, from America’s wheat belt to the Beauce region in northern France. The Horn of Africa is being rav-

contests. Apart from their failure to come up with a representative line-up of candidates and solid programmatic reforms, our political parties also fail to offer real and distinct policy options to their constituents.

UP academics contend that politics in the Philippines is highly personalistic, with candidates relying on popularity, patronage and fear in electoral contests The situation is not helped any, they are saying, by ambiguities in the fundamental law and in the Omnibus Election Code that tend to perpetuate patronage: “Even though free choice is the bedrock of any credible electoral process, it can still be seriously undermined by violence, patronage, and money politics.

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

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aged by its worst drought in four decades.” Welcome to the era of food shortages. It will be bad for the Filipino. On average, Filipino households spend 38 percent of their budget on food, the same ratio as sub-Saharan Africa. The poorest Filipino families spend as much as 55 percent of their income on food, including 15 percent for rice alone. With the global food shortage looming, expect hunger and poverty to worsen in the Philippines. The Global Hunger Index rates hunger in the Philippines as moderate. That is a lie.

Prices of nearly all food commodities are rising – no thanks to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the COVID pandemic, an unpredictable weather, and shortages created by the tripling of prices of inputs like fertilizer In the first quarter of 2022, according to the Social Weather Stations, 12.2 percent of families suffered involuntary hunger-- not being able to eat at least once in the past three months, up from 11.8 percent last year. There are 25 million families. Twelve percent of that is 3.1 million Filipinos or one of every eight Filipinos. The Ukraine war has worsened the food shortage. Here in the Philippines, UP economists think agriculture is not much of a problem. Not enough rice output? Well, draw from the country’s $106 billion dollar reserves to import rice. But what if you cannot buy any? You cannot make the poor eat cake, as Marie Antoinette famously suggested in 1789 during the French Revolution. She was guillotined. Here in the Philippines who will the people send “The winner-takes-all system strengthens personalistic politics and patronage rather than political parties as a determinant of political success. “Thus, rather than being mediators of public demands and interests, political parties are malleable organizations, shaped, and reshaped according to the individual candidates’ personal agenda during elections.” The authors noted congressional efforts to reform the electoral and party systems, such as sanctions against turncoatism, providing fund subsidies to parties, and introducing certain amendments to the Omnibus Election Code, but lamented that these efforts have not been sustainedand came to naught. The academics also noted the marked increase in the use of social media in elections and its growing importance in influencing election results. But instead of promoting transparency and accountability, social media campaigning has threatened the integrity of our elections in four ways: 1) micro-targeting of specific groups and sectors for disinformation; 2) use of deepfake videos of politicians; 3) the spread of false information that is unchecked and undetected within messenger apps; and 4) the prospect of foreign interference and influence. Given all this, the UP Governance Agenda suggests a raft of measures. One, revise the Omnibus Election Code to

to the gallows? The experts who advocate rice importation are all in the BBM Cabinet. In the meantime, The Economist reports: “The response by worried politicians could make a bad situation worse. Since the war started, 23 countries from Kazakhstan to Kuwait have declared severe restrictions on food exports that cover 10 percent of globally traded calories. More than one-fifth of all fertilizer exports are restricted. If trade stops, famine will ensue.” Thai rice, 5 percent broken, was priced at only $418 per ton in 2019, before the pandemic. It rose 19 percent to $496.80 per ton in 2020, and further to $528.30 in January-March 2021, before settling at $464 in May 2022. Now, Thailand has restricted export of its rice. Corn was priced at only $170 per ton in 2019. By May 2022, its price has risen to $464, up 102 percent. Aside from being a staple food in the Visayas and Mindanao, corn is also feeds for animals and a major ingredient in the manufacture of foods like coffee and chips. Wheat, which is made into flour for the lowly pandesal and high end cakes, was priced at $201.70 per ton in 2019. It was up 159 percent to $522.3 per ton in May 2022. The other variety rose in price to $650.7. Coffee Arabica has doubled in price to $5.85 per kilo from $2.88 in 2019. World sugar price was 28 cents per kilo in 2019. It reached 43 cents in May 2022, an increase of 53 percent. Coconut oil averaged $736 per ton in 2019. It rose146 percent to $1,813 in May 2022. As for fertilizers, urea in Eastern Europe averaged $245.30 per ton in 2019. It rose 188 percent to $707.5 in May 2022. The World Bank’s Food Index for low and middle income countries, with 2010 as base year, has jumped from 87 in the whole of 2019 by May 2022 to 159, up 83 percent. The World Bank’s Fertilizer Index stood at 81.4 points in the whole of 2019. By April 2022, it hit a peak of 255, up 213 percent. Fertilizer prices tripled in just two years. The atrocious prices of basic foods and the fertilizers used to increase their production indicate only one thing for the Filipino -- worsening malnutrition and hunger and widening poverty. biznewsasia@gmail.com streamline the electoral system and create a strong party system. Give voters the option to choose parties rather than individual candidates through a system of block voting. Conduct desynchronized national and local elections so as not to unduly burden the electorate with so many choices. And change the rules so that voters can choose the president and vice-president as a tandem or joint ticket. Two, Congress should ensure a degree of credibility and predictability in the outcomes of the legislative initiatives calling for electoral reforms. It is necessary to disincentivize patronage so that it does not diminish the exercise of the voters’ free choice. In terms of campaign spending, there should be sanctions on candidates who overspend and stricter regulations to monitor campaign expenses. And three, social media should be regulated. At present, the Comelec does not have the necessary regulatory tools in order to completely regulate and police social media. The poll body should be empowered by law to monitor social media spending. These measures are realistic and doable, from where we sit, but will the national leadership listen? (Email: ernhil@yahoo.com)

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FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 2022 TODAY mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Hunger crisis could swell already record global displacement—UN RUSSIA’S war in Ukraine has pushed global displacement numbers above 100 million for the first time, and the UN warns the resulting hunger crisis could force many more to flee their homes. Efforts to address the global food insecurity crisis, which has been dramatically aggravated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, is “of paramount importance... to prevent a larger number of people moving,” the United Nations refugee chief Filippo Grandi told reporters. “If you ask me how many... I don’t know, but it will be pretty big numbers.” Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, traditionally a breadbasket to the world, has sparked dramatic grain and fertilizer shortages, sent global prices soaring and put hundreds of millions of people at risk from hunger. “The impact, if this is not resolved quickly, would be devastating,” Grandi said. “It is already devastating.”

His comments came as he presented the UNHCR refugee agency’s annual report on global displacement, showing that a record 89.3 million people were displaced at the end of 2021 – more than doubling in a decade. But since Russia launched its fullscale invasion on February 24, as many as 14 million Ukrainians may have fled within their own war-ravaged country or across borders as refugees, pushing global displacement past the grim 100-million mark for the first time. “Every year of the last decade, the numbers have climbed,” Grandi said. “Either the international community comes together to take action to address this human tragedy, resolve conflicts and find lasting solutions, or this terrible trend will continue.” The UN agency found that at the end of 2021, a record 27.1 million people were living as refugees, while the number of asylum seekers rose 11 percent to 4.6 million. AFP

BATTLEGROUND. Ukrainian

servicemen fire with a French selfpropelled 155 mm/52-calibre gun Caesar towards Russian positions at a front line in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas. Ukraine pleaded with Western governments on June 15, 2022 to decide quickly on sending heavy weapons to shore up its faltering defenses, as Russia said it would evacuate civilians from a frontline chemical plant. AFP

FIRST VISIT SINCE RUSSIAN INVASION OF UKRAINE

Macron, Scholz, Draghi arrive in Kyiv

RENCH President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi arrived in Kyiv on Thursday for their first visit to Ukraine since the Russian invasion. The leaders arrived on a special train from Poland, with AFP images showing them descending onto a platform in the Ukrainian capital. It is their first trip to Ukraine since

the Russian invasion of the country launched on February 24. Macron said they will meet President Volodymyr Zelensky and go to “a war site where massacres have been committed.” The French leader has called alleged Russian atrocities in towns near Kyiv “war crimes.” “This is a message of European unity addressed to Ukrainian men and women, of support,” Macron said as he descended from the train. He said he came “to talk about both the present and the future since the coming weeks, we know, will be very difficult.”

DEED OF EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENT OF THE ESTATES OF SPOUSES SAMUEL M. CELI AND CONSOLACION F. CELI Notice is hereby given that the estate of the late Spouses Samuel M. Celi and Consolacion F. Celi (“Deed”) who died on May 4, 1997 and June 21, 2009 respectively at their residential address at 26 South Lawin cor. San Pablo Sts., Brgy. Phil-Am, Quezon City, Metro Manila have been extra-judicially settled among heirs on August 6, 2020 before Notary Public Atty. Jan Rurik D. Padiernos as per Doc. No. 508; Page No. 102; Book No. 3; Series of 2020.

(MStandard-June 10, 17 & 24, 2022)

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES NATIONAL CAPITAL JUDICIAL REGION REGIONAL TRIAL COURT BRANCH 230, QUEZON CITY ATLANTICA REALTY & DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION REPRESENTED BY MA. LINDA MAGNO, Plaintiff, -versus-

CASE NO. R-QZN-19-18096-CV

NAPOLEON GONZALES DELOS SANTOS II, Defendant. x--------------------------------------------------x ORDER In today’s hearing for monitoring, the plaintiff is represented by Atty. Ricardo C. Pilares, Jr., who informed the Court of the filing before the OCC of a Motion for Service of Publication in a Newspaper of General Circulation on 20 April 2022 and he gave the Court an advance copy of the same. The same shall now form part of the records of this case. Finding the same to be well taken, the Motion is hereby GRANTED. Let Summons be served by publication. In the meantime, set this case for monitoring on 30 June 2022 at 1:30 in the afternoon, in court, at Rm. 707 7th Floor, Hall of Justice, Annex Bldg., Quezon City Hall Compound, Diliman, Quezon City. SO ORDERED. In open court, 21 April 2022. (Sgd.) MARIA GILDA T. LOJA-PANGILINAN Presiding Judge REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES NATIONAL CAPITAL JUDICIAL REGION REGIONAL TRIAL COURT BRANCH 230, QUEZON CITY ATLANTICA REALTY & DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION REPRESENTED BY MA. LINDA MAGNO, Plaintiff, -versus-

CASE NO. R-QZN-19-18096-CV For: Rescission of Contract Recovery of Possession and Damage

NAPOLEON GONZALES DELOS SANTOS II, Defendant. x--------------------------------------------------x SUMMONS To: NAPOLEON GONZALES DELOS SANTOS II Unit 4 Trafalgar Villas Townhomes, # 15 F, Dela Rosa Street, Loyola Heights, Quezon City GREETINGS: You are hereby required within fifteen (15) days after service of this summons upon you to file with this Court and serve on the plaintiff your answer to the complaint, copy of which is attached, together with the annexes. You are reminded of the provision in the IBP-OCA Memorandum on Policy Guidelines dated 12 March 2002, to observe restraint in filing a motion to dismiss and instead allege the grounds thereof as defenses in the answer. If you fail to file answer within the time fixed, the plaintiff will take judgment by default and may be granted the reliefs applied for in the complaint. WITNESS my hand under the seal of the Court, this 5th December 2019. (Sgd.) ATTY. GENELOU L. SAMPAGA Branch Clerk of Court (MStandard-June 10, 17 & 24, 2022)

Scholz pledged enduring backing for Ukraine. “We want to show not only solidarity, but also assure that the help that we’re organizing—financial, humanitarian, but also, when it comes to weapons— will continue,” Scholz told Bild daily. “And that we will continue it as long as it is necessary for Ukraine’s fight” against Moscow, he said. The visit comes as Ukraine is pushing to be given official candidate status to join the European Union. The trio had travelled onboard a special train that left Poland in the early hours of Thursday. German media said they

had met “in the night” in Poland’s southeastern city of Rzeszow, which has an international airport. They arrived separately and met on board shortly after the train’s departure. The French leader had just finished a visit to Moldova, one of Ukraine’s neighbors. Romanian leader Klaus Iohannis is due to join his French, German and Italian counterparts in Kyiv later on Thursday. Other Western leaders have also visited Kyiv in recent weeks, after the Russian army retreated from its advance on the Ukrainian capital at the start of the invasion. AFP

YouTube Shorts touts 1.5-b users, taking on TikTok YOUTUBE said that more than 1.5 billion people monthly tune into its Shorts video service, which competes with global sensation TikTok. Alphabet-owned YouTube and Facebook-parent Meta both added short-form video sharing formats to their services after TikTok – which late last year said it topped a billion users – became the rage. YouTube Shorts went live less than two years ago, adding videos of no longer than 60 seconds to the mix of offerings on the platform. “Shorts has really taken off and are now being watched by over 1.5 billion logged-in users every month,” said YouTube chief product officer Neal Mohan. “We know the product will continue to be an integral part of the YouTube experience moving forward.” YouTube last year launched a $100 million fund to “reward creators” whose video clips attract audiences to the online stage. YouTube has also put the Silicon Valley tech titan’s advertising skills to work helping creators generate income from content on the platform, which brought in billions of dollars in revenue in 2021. AFP

SECURITY PREPARATIONS. Indonesian soldiers from Military Command IX Udayana take part in a security drill in preparation for the G20 summit to be held in November on the resort island of Bali on June 16, 2022. AFP

Suspect confesses to burying bodies of 2 men missing in Brazilian Amazon ONE of two men arrested over the disappearance of a British journalist and an Indigenous expert in the Brazilian Amazon confessed to having buried the pair in the jungle, federal police said Wednesday after human remains were found. Dom Phillips and his guide Bruno Pereira went missing June 5 in a remote part of the Amazon that is rife with environmental crimes including illegal mining, fishing and logging, as well as drug trafficking. Police did not specify whether the suspect, Amarildo da Costa de Oliveira, also confessed to killing the pair, saying only that he admitted to having participated in the episode and “recounted in detail the crime that was committed and indicated

the place where he buried the bodies.” Eduardo Alexandre Fontes, head of federal police in Brazil’s Amazonas state, told a press conference that Oliveira said the two men were fatally shot. The location where the remains were found was “very difficult to reach,” the police officer said in Manaus, the largest city in the Amazon. “Excavations have been carried out on site. The excavations will continue, but human remains have already been found. “As soon as we have been able to verify with the help of expertise that it is indeed the remains of Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira, they will be returned to the families.” AFP

US-led coalition: Senior IS official detained in Syria A SENIOR official from the socalled Islamic State group was captured in a raid in Syria on Thursday, the US-led coalition fighting the militants said. The official—who was not named —is an “experienced bomb maker and facilitator” and one of IS’ top leaders in Syria, the coalition said. “The mission was meticulously planned to minimize the risk of collateral damage, particularly any potential harm to civilians,” it said in a statement. “There were no civilians harmed during the operation nor any damage to coalition aircraft or assets.” After losing their last territory following a military onslaught backed by the US-led coalition in March 2019, the remnants of IS in Syria mostly retreated into desert hideouts. They have since used such hideouts to ambush Kurdish-led forces and Syrian government troops while continuing to mount attacks in Iraq. The militant group’s former leader, Abu Ibrahim al-Qurashi, was killed in early February when he detonated a bomb to avoid capture during a US raid in northwest Syria, the White House and US defense officials said. The group has vowed to avenge the killing, with a spokesman recently calling on supporters to resume attacks in Europe, taking advantage of the “available opportunity” of “the crusaders fighting each other”—referring to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. His demise was the biggest setback to IS since his predecessor, the better-known Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was killed about 15 kilometers (nine miles) away during a US commando raid in 2019. Little is known about new leader Abu Hasan al-Hashemi al-Qurashi, the jihadist group’s third chief since its inception. AFP

Watergate: The president-toppling scandal triggered by piece of tape IT ALL began when a vigilant night watchman noticed a piece of tape on a door of the building where the Democratic National Committee’s headquarters was located in Washington in June 1972. Calling the police, he triggered the Watergate scandal that would topple the presidency of Richard Nixon, the only US leader ever to resign. The tape, it turned out, was placed during a break-in by five men who had been tasked by officials with ties to the White House with placing microphones and taking pictures of documents to find compromising information on Nixon’s opponents. The night of June 16-17, 24-year-old security guard Frank Wills was making the rounds at the Watergate building complex when he noticed the tape on a door that prevented it from locking. At first, he didn’t worry, removing it and continuing working. But when he returned, so had the tape, leading him to suspect a break-in had occurred. Wills—who plays himself for a few seconds at the beginning of the film “All the President’s Men” that chronicles the saga—immediately called the police. “Found tape on door. Call police to make a inspection,” he wrote in a building security officer’s log, which has been preserved by the US National Archives. AFP

FRESH LOCKDOWN. A health worker, wearing personal protective equipment

(PPE), pulls a cart inside a residential area under lockdown due to COVID-19 restrictions in Beijing on June 16, 2022. AFP

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

Business

FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 2022 || extrastory2000@gmail.com

Ministers extend talks to save WTO agreements

PSEi June 16, 2022

TOP GAINERS

LAST % PRICE CHANGE CHANGE

KPPI

3.1

0.5

19.23%

2 3

DWC WEB

1.78 4.8

0.19 0.5

11.95% 11.63%

4 5 6 7

WIN ALHI STR VMC

0.29 6.67 3.69 2.76

0.03 0.67 0.33 0.23

11.54% 11.17% 9.82% 9.09%

FCG

0.57

0.04

7.55%

9 10

MED TUGS

0.31 0.95

0.02 0.06

6.90% 6.74%

TOP LOSERS 1 MACAY 2 LSC

LAST PRICE CHANGE 3.05 -1.27 0.44 -0.17

% CHANGE -29.40% -27.87%

3 4

PBC MFC

16 860.5

-2.7 -142.5

-14.44% -14.21%

MVC

4.4

-0.64

-12.70%

6 7

DIZ MB

3.8 0.34

-0.49 -0.04

-11.42% -10.53%

8 9 10

SOC UPM OPM

0.5 0.006 0.011

-0.05 -0.0006 -0.001

-9.09% -9.09% -8.33%

MOST ACTIVE

1 ICT 2 SMPH

VOLUME 6,302,540 18,890,700

VALUE (PHP) 1,164,223,047 712,068,660

3 4 5

SM ALI CNVRG

401,920 11,302,500 11,493,300

323,510,620 320,856,270 244,936,705

6 7 8 9 10

BPI BDO URC AEV AC

2,275,570 1,557,210 1,738,880 2,864,800 206,540

212,611,267 192,151,811 168,042,315 140,695,540 131,644,825

CHINA INITIATIVE. This aerial photo taken on June 16, 2022 shows a general view of Carnelian Tower (left) and condominiums at Forest City, a development project launched under China’s Belt and Road Initiative, in Gelang Patah in Malaysia’s Johor state. AFP

Stocks bounce back; SM Prime, AEV climb

TOCKS bounced back Thursday tracking a strong performance on Wall Street as the US central bank move signaled it is intent on fighting runaway prices.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index advanced 73.59 points, or 1.2 percent, to 6,393.01 on a value turnover of P5.6 billion. Losers, however, edged gainers, 107 to 103, while 48 issues were unchanged. SM Prime Holdings Inc. of the Sy Group, the biggest operator of shopping malls, climbed 3.8 percent to P37.90, while Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. of the Aboitiz Group rose 3.7 percent to P50. Bank of the Philippine Islands of the Ayala Group, the third-largest lender in terms of assets, increased 3.4 percent to P96, while Universal Robina Corp. of the Gokongwei Group, the biggest snack food maker, advanced 3 percent to P96.80. The rest of Asian equity markets, meanwhile, mostly fell Thursday and the dollar advanced as an early rally fueled by a “dovish” Federal Reserve interest rate hike gave way to the prospect of an extended period of tight monetary policy. The 0.75 percentage point increase—the biggest in nearly 28 years—had been expected after data Friday showed infla-

tion at its highest since 1981, as the Ukraine war supply chain snarls sent energy and food costs spiraling. Powell said it was “essential” to lower inflation, and policymakers “have both the tools we need and the resolve it will take to restore price stability on behalf of American families.” He stressed that the goal is to achieve that without derailing the US economy but acknowledged there was always a risk of going too far. In his post-meeting news conference, he told reporters the move was “an unusually large one” but he did not expect “moves of this size to be common.” While the lift was bigger than the 50 basis points flagged before Friday’s figures, it was welcomed as a sign the Fed was on the case and helped push down Treasury yields—a key guide to future rate expectations. The 75 basis points hike “is a solid showing that will, all else being equal, serve to improve Fed credibility and leave monetary policy slightly less behind the inflationary curve,” said BMO Capital Markets strategists Benjamin Jeffery and Ian Lyngen. However, after chasing higher in the first few hours of the day, Asia lost momentum in the afternoon. Tokyo, Singapore, Seoul, Wellington and Jakarta held up, but Shanghai, Sydney, Taipei, Mumbai and Bangkok were all in negative territory. With AFP

How do interest rates affect consumers and the real economy? PARIS, France—Faced with the highest inflation in four decades, central banks in the United States, eurozone and UK are hiking interest rates in order to contain inflation. The reversal in monetary policy will have a tangible impact on the real economy for consumers as well as businesses in these countries, and elsewhere including countries with economies in much more fragile condition. The US Federal Reserve announced the most aggressive interest rate increase in nearly 30 years, raising the benchmark borrowing rate by 0.75 percentage points on Wednesday. And the Bank of England was expected on Thursday to raise its key interest rate for a fifth straight time. Higher borrowing costs Higher central bank interest rates affect the cost of borrowing for banks, which then pass those costs onto businesses, consumers and even governments. That means higher borrowing costs, such as for buying a house. “Mortgage rates are already rising, that is likely to accelerate,” said Eric Dor, head of economic studies at France’s IESEG School of Management. Higher borrowing costs eventually slow borrowing and thus economic activity. This should eventually slow inflation, which is the objective of

US Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference following a meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) at the headquarters of the Federal Reserve on June 15, 2022 in Washington, DC. Powell announced that the Federal Reserve is raising interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point, the highest rate hike in 28 years. AFP

central banks in raising interest rates. Those who have to borrow face higher costs, but those with fixed rates on long-term loans (as is the case for mortgage loans in many countries) stand to benefit as the value of the repayments has diminished in real terms. Savers celebrate Those who have savings also stand to gain from rising interest rates. However most savings rates still propose rates considerably lower than the inflation rate.

Currency values and trade Higher rates are affecting the value of currencies. The dollar has been gaining in value against the euro as the US Federal Reserve has already begun raising interest rates, while the European Central Bank will only begin doing so in July. The strong dollar will make imports cheaper for US consumers, but will likely hurt US exports which will be more expensive for foreign buyers. This could dampen employment.

Its the inverse for the eurozone and Britain, who have seen the value of their currencies weaken against the dollar. Imports are more expensive, especially oil priced in dollars. Exports are boosted as they are cheaper in dollars. A boom in exports could help support employment. Emerging problems US interest rates also affect borrowing rates for many emerging market countries who borrow on international markets. Lenders demand higher returns than those they can receive from safer investments in the United States. This can quickly crimp many emerging market governments, which are already facing stiff increases in energy and food import costs thanks to the pandemic and Ukraine war. They can see the amount of lending available to them shrink as investors choose to park their money in US investments. “For countries already in difficulty, like Turkey and Brazil and even more Argentina or Sri Lanka, this is very unwelcome as it raises the price of everything and causes a flow of capital towards the United States in particular” which makes financing their debt and economic activity more difficult and expensive, said Dor. Market disruptions and economic crises cannot be excluded. AFP

US Fed raises borrowing cost by 75 basis points—biggest hike since 1994 WASHINGTON, United States—The US Federal Reserve announced the most aggressive interest rate increase in nearly 30 years on Wednesday, and said it is prepared to do so again next month in an all-out battle to drive down surging inflation. The super-sized 0.75-percentagepoint hike came with the Fed under intense pressure to curb soaring gas and food prices that have left millions of Americans struggling to make ends meet and sent President Joe Biden’s approval ratings plunging. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said it

was “essential” to lower inflation, and policymakers “have both the tools we need and the resolve it will take to restore price stability on behalf of American families.” He stressed that the goal is to achieve that without derailing the US economy, but acknowledged there is always a risk of going too far. The Fed’s policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee raised the benchmark borrowing rate to a range of 1.5-1.75 percent, up from zero at the start of the year. It was the first 75-basis-point in-

crease since November 1994. Powell told reporters the move was “an unusually large one,” but he does not expect “moves of this size to be common.” However, “from the perspective of today, either a 50-basis-point or a 75-basis-point increase seems most likely at our next meeting,” he said. “It is essential that we bring inflation down if we are to have a sustained period of strong labor market conditions that benefit all.” Biden has endorsed the Fed’s effort and is hoping for success as his Dem-

ocrats face the possibility of losing control of Congress in key midterm elections in November. He has blamed opposition Republicans for blocking bills meant to help lower costs and ease supply constraints. White House economic adviser Brian Deese told Fox News “the most constructive steps that Congress and the executive branch can take to help support what the Fed is trying to do are to lower the cost that families face directly and to lower the federal deficit.” AFP

GENEVA, Switzerland—Ministers were frantically haggling through the night into Thursday at the World Trade Organization in a bid to salvage deals on food security, fishing and combating COVID-19. The global trade body’s 164 members added on an extra fifth day of talks to try to break the deadlock gripping the WTO headquarters in Geneva. But despite relaxing their original Wednesday deadline, countries were trading concessions through the early morning hours to cobble together a wide-ranging set of results. Countries have hit a brick wall trying to secure each separate deal on its own merits, so are now making tit-fortat offers in an attempt to keep them all afloat. “They’re looking at a broad package: what can be achieved, trade-offs in different areas,” a Geneva trade official told reporters. “It’s basically, ‘what can I get here, (in exchange) for this’,” the official said. “We’re into the real bargaining part of the meeting. This is where all the action is happening and hopefully where some deals are going to be struck.” US Trade Representative Katherine Tai was seen heading in and out of the late-night talks, while a giant tray of sandwiches was brought in to keep the deal-makers going. “It’s going to go all night. Everything. People look tired,” the Genevabased trade official told AFP, adding: “They’re negotiating, which is good news.” He said the talks had run out of juice—but only fruit juice, rather than energy. The WTO is hoping to prove it still has a role to play in tackling big global challenges. WTO chief Ngozi OkonjoIweala, who took over in March 2021, has hinged her leadership on breathing new life into the sclerotic organization. AFP

Migrants sent $605b home in 2021, more by mobiles—UN ROME, Italy—Migrant workers sent home an estimated $605 billion to low- and middle-income countries last year, a UN study said Thursday, boosted by an increase in payments sent via mobile phones. Global remittances rose 8.6 percent compared to 2020 and are projected to grow to $630 billion in 2022, according to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Such payments are a major source of income for many low-income households, with around 800 million family members expected to benefit in 2022. Between now and 2030, global remittances will amount to $5.4 trillion, the equivalent of twice the GDP of Africa in 2021, IFAD has estimated. “Remittances lift people out of poverty, put food on the table, pay for education, cover health expenses, allow housing investments and many other family goals beyond consumption,” IFAD president Gilbert Houngbo said. However, the report warned that the upward trend would likely slow this year as inflation erodes wages, and as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Many countries in central Asia depend on remittances from Russia, with payments accounting for as much as 30 percent of their GDP, said the report. But the decline in the value of the ruble and the economic impact of sanctions has triggered a “sharp decline in transfers,” IFAD said. Most of the money sent home by migrant workers is transferred through bricks-and-mortar institutions with clients paying cash, but the coronavirus pandemic saw a important shift towards digital. With lockdowns and border closures making physical services more difficult to access, mobile phone payments jumped by 48 percent in 2021. They still only accounted for three percent of the global total, but Pedro De Vasconcelos, manager of the Financing Facility for Remittances at IFAD, said the trend is set. AFP

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

B4 FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 2022

Alliance Global to increase 2022 capex by a third to P45b this year By Jenniffer B. Austria ALLIANCE Global Group Inc., the holding company of tycoon Andrew Tan, said Thursday it will allocate P60 billion in capital expenditures this year, up 33 percent from P45 billion it spent last year to support the expansion of its real estate business. AGI chief executive Kevin Tan said during the annual shareholders’ meeting property unit Megaworld Corp. would spend P50 billion with the launch of four township projects covering 500 hectares in Metro Manila, Calabarzon and Mindanao. Megaworld would also launch 14 other projects with a total sales value of P30 billion, he said. Hospitality unit Travellers International Holdings Inc. earmarked P4 billion in capital expenditures this year. Tan expressed hope that Travellers would return to profitability this year amid easing quarantine restriction and increasing mobility which would boost its gaming and non-gaming revenues. He said the group plans to add 2,600 hotel rooms from 2022 to 2023. AGI now has 6,900 hotel rooms across its portfolio. “The tourism sector is a renewed bright spot as it rebounds from the standstill brought about by the pandemic. We continue to bet big on its recovery,” Tan said. Liquor firm Emperador Inc., which is aggressively expanding its whisky and brandy businesses and its presence overseas, will spend P3 billion this year. AGI earmarked the remaining P3 billion for the store rollout of Golden Arches Development Corp., which is the local franchise holder of fast-food chain McDonald’s. GADC plans to open 45 new stores in 2022. Tan said AGI was expected to sustain its growth momentum this year as the domestic economy continues to recover from the pandemic.

iSON taps US equity firm to fund rollout of cell towers in PH By Darwin G. Amojelar TELECOMMUNICATIONS infrastructure sharing company iSON Tower Ltd. Inc. said Thursday it teamed up with Peppertree Capital Management Inc., a US-based private equity firm, to fund the rollout of more cell towers in the Philippines. “We are delighted to join hands with a fund of Peppertree’s caliber and look forward to bring to bear our collective strength and experience to establish world-class operations in the country, enable connectivity for Filipino communities and accelerate our growth in the region,” said iSON Tower founder and chairman Vivek Gupta in a statement. “Asia, and more so Philippines, undoubtedly continues to be a highgrowth market. With a market potential of 50,000 tower assets in the coming years, Philippines’ telecom sector has a promising future and is currently a focal point for us,” he said. The company seeks to expand nextgeneration connectivity solutions and bridge the digital divide in the nation. Rajiv Jaitly, chief executive of iSON Tower, said, “increasing the pace of rollouts of digital infrastructure has been underscored by the pandemic. We see ourselves benefitting from our association with Peppertree and their knowledge of the telecom infrastructure ecosystem. “ “And together with Peppertree Capital as our investor, we look forward to strengthening this ecosystem in Philippines and supporting DICT’s vision of the country to be a digitally enabled and connected nation,” Jaitly said. “We have known iSON’s management for years, and look forward working with them and supporting their efforts in bringing 5G connectivity to The Philippines,” said Howard Mandel, co-president of Peppertree Capital.

Business Aggressive BSP rate hike now likely after Fed move By Julito G. Rada

CONOMISTS expect the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to raise the benchmark policy rate by 50 basis points to 2.75 percent in its meeting next week after the US Federal Reserve adjusted its rate by 0.75 percentage point on Wednesday, the biggest increase since 1994.

Bank of the Philippine Islands said in a report Thursday that hiking the policy rate gradually in contrast to what the Fed was doing “might exacerbate the headwinds affecting the Philippine economy.” “We now expect a 50 bp hike from the BSP in its June meeting given the latest move of the Fed... A very narrow gap between US and local interest rates will

likely exert more pressure on the peso, which will eventually translate to more inflation,” the bank said. BPI said consumer prices would likely be more sensitive to exchange rate movements as the economy was becoming more reliant on imported products like oil, rice and pork. “A higher inflation print in the future may force the BSP to do bigger rate hikes and even inter-meeting rate hikes that may cause volatility in the markets,” the bank said. BPI said the gross international reserves would also become more vulnerable if the BSP would not hike rates more aggressively. “We expect a substantial decline in foreign reserves in this scenario as the BSP will have to sell dollars in order to temper the depreciation caused by the narrowing interest rate differentials,” it said. BPI said that if this happened, the country’s credit rating might be put at risk as the country’s strong external position is one of the reasons why rating

agencies did not downgrade the Philippines, especially during the pandemic. It said it would become more challenging for the government to manage its finances if the credit rating was downgraded. “With GDP growth at 8 percent and unemployment rate below 6 percent, the economy has enough cushion to absorb the rate hikes. Historical experience has shown that the economy can grow by at least 6 percent in an environment where the policy rate is around 3 to 4 percent,” it said. Michael Ricafort, chief economist of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., said aside from having a high chance of a 50bps hike in policy rate on the June 23 meeting of the Monetary Board, “more local policy rate hikes for the rest of the year” could be expected. Ricafort said this is “partly to maintain a comfortable interest rate differential with the US, to account for the comfortable spreads/interest rate differentials/risk premium—a dilemma faced by many other countries/central banks around the world”.

PSE INDEX CLOSING Thursday, June 16, 2021

73.59 PTS. 6,393.01

TOTAL VOLUME TOTAL TRADES TOTAL VALUE (IN PHP) ADVANCES DECLINES UNCHANGED

647,168,894 68,669 5,603,544,827.76 103 107 48

F oreign E xchange R ate Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas • THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 2021

Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

53.3700

Japan

Yen

0.007472

0.3988

Pound

1.217100

64.9566

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.127393

6.7990

Switzerland

Franc

1.005834

53.6814

Canada

Dollar

0.776096

41.4202

Singapore

Dollar

0.721293

38.4954

Australia

Dollar

0.700600

37.3910

Bahrain

Dinar

2.653153

141.5988

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266532

14.2248

Brunei

Dollar

0.718701

38.3571

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000068

0.0036

Thailand

Baht

0.028777

1.5358

UAE

Dirham

0.272287

14.5320

Euro

1.044700

55.7556

Korea

Won

0.000782

0.0417

China

Yuan

0.148903

7.9470

India

Rupee

0.012796

0.6829

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.226655

12.0966

New Zealand

Dollar

0.628400

33.5377

Taiwan

Dollar

0.033809

1.8044 Source: BSP

IN BRIEF

GSIS releases P221b in loans to members STATE-RUN Government Service Insurance System said Thursday it released P221 billion in loans to 1.38 million active members and pensioners nationwide from January 2021 to May 15, 2022. It said of the amount, P165 billion were multi-purpose loans that benefitted 468,872 borrowers. The loans aim to help active members, particularly those who reached their borrowing limit and were unable to pay their loans. MPL consolidates members’ existing loans and waives surcharges on in-default loan accounts. GSIS launched in April this year the enhanced MPL program called MPL Plus. Under the program, members may apply for up to 14 times their basic monthly salary, but not exceeding P5 million, depending on premium payments. The loan has a low interest rate of 7 percent, with its term extended up to 10 years. Under the Computer Loan program, GSIS disbursed P7.6 billion in gross proceeds to 253,481 borrowers. It is a loan window that grants P30,000 assistance to GSIS members for the purchase of a computer unit for their work-from-home arrangement or their children’s online classes. The computer loan is payable in three years with 6-percent annual interest. Julito G. Rada

Vivant to invest P30b in three years

NEW BSP OFFICIAL. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno (left) administers the oath of office to BSP Deputy Governor Bernadette Romulo-Puyat in a ceremony at the BSP head office in Manila. Puyat will oversee the Program Management Office for the new BSP complex in New Clark City, BSP regional operations and advocacies on financial inclusion and economic and financial learning. The central bank’s fifth deputy governor will also sit as vice chair of the Philippine International Convention Center board of directors and as alternate of the BSP Governor in select governing boards.

BOI approves P118.5-m poultry project in South Cotabato By Othel V. Campos THE Board of Investments said Thursday it approved the P118.5-million poultry farm project of RCB Poultry Farm in South Cotabato province. It said the project which has a capacity to produce 3.36 million kilograms of broiler chicken annually would help lessen the risk of chicken supply disruption and manage meat inflation. “This innovative broiler chicken farm project has proven that we in the Board of Investments have offered relentless support to the country’s poultry sector. We are making headways happen already, as we will continuous-

ly pursue our goal of attracting more investments,” said Trade Secretary and BOI chairman Ramon Lopez. The farm is expected help address possible threats of supply disruption if Region 12 and its nearby regions would be affected by Avian Influenza or bird flu, according to the agency. RCB will use state-of-the-art technology for poultry growing to provide the optimal poultry farming environment. The technology will assure the growth and health of broiler chicken and may help save costs for feeds, water and energy. Once operational, the farm will increase South Cotabato’s poultry output by 1.21 percent to 2.71 percent and re-

duce the need for chicken imports. RCB plans to operate the farm on a broiler chicken contract growing agreement with a large food corporation. The Department of Agriculture saw no expected shortage of chicken meat this year, with domestic output reaching at least 1.34 million metric tons to achieve 90-percent local self-sufficiency. Based on supply utilization accounts on livestock and poultry of the Philippine Statistics Authority, chicken meat is considered one of the basic commodities of Filipinos and is the second most-consumed meat-type after pork.

CEBU-BASED publicly-listed company Vivant Corp. plans to invest P30 billion on renewable energy and infrastructure in the next three to five years. Vivant chief executive Arlo Sarmiento said during the annual stockholders’ meeting the company would invest P25 billion, or the bulk of the capital expenditures, on renewable energy investments. The company is developing nearly 600 megawatts of RE projects. These include solar (212 MW), wind (196 MW), solar rooftop (129 MW) and hybrid power projects (62 MW). “The total cost of all these RE projects is approximately P25 billion,” Sarmiento said. Vivant president Emil Garcia said the company would undertake most RE projects on its own. “There may be one or two projects that we’ll be looking at partnerships, especially the wind projects since these are more technically challenging,” he said. Alena Mae S. Flores

Real estate players bullish on prospects REAL estate practitioners expressed optimism on the growth prospects of the housing and real estate industry under the incoming Marcos administration. This is the general sentiments of speakers during the first day of the two-day 26th National Convention online of the National Real Estate Association, jointly conducted with the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development which opened June 16. The government agency speakers said the housing infrastructure is ready for transition, with its 2040 housing roadmap and plan. Private housing research and consultants also expressed the potential opportunities in the housing market, which could be realized in tandem with the economic policies and programs of the new administration. The convention, which will run until June 17, features 17 speakers with presentations on various housing topics and issues. DHSUD Secretary Eduardo Del Rosario delivered a welcome message during the opening rites.

DOF denies double taxation on power sector FINANCE Secretary Carlos Dominguez III denied Thursday that the power sector suffers from double taxation with the imposition of value-added tax on generation charge. Dominguez issued the statement in response to the proposal of Energy Regulatory Commission chairperson Agnes Devanaderal to the next administration to remove the 12-percent VAT imposed on the generation charge, saying the levy should be applied only on the distribution charge to avoid the supposed double taxation. “There is no double taxation in the electric power industry. Because the EPIRA [Electric Power Industry Reform Act] law has unbundled the pricing at each stage of electricity production, the VAT is imposed separately in each stage of the production,” Dominguez said. “But at the end of the day, if you look at the total bill, the entire electricity service is charged 12-percent VAT on the

side of the consumer,” he said. Dominguez said for double taxation to exist, two taxes should be imposed on the same subject matter, for the same purpose, by the same taxing authority, within the same jurisdiction during the same taxing period and they must be of the same kind or character. The EPIRA law requires that the pricing of electricity be disintegrated or unbundled. “With this unbundled pricing mechanism, VAT is imposed on every level of the value chain and not integrated vertically like other sectors,” Dominguez said. He said this means “the VAT paid on the distribution charge only accounts for the value-added in distributing the electricity and does not include the generation and transmission of power.” Dominguez said like any producer of goods or services, the VAT paid on inputs can be offset against the output VAT imposed on the sale of electricity to consumers. Julito G. Rada

BEST INVESTMENT HOUSE. BDO Capital & Investment Corp., the investment banking arm of BDO Uniban Inc., wins the Investment House of the Year Award for the 5th straight year at the Investment House Association of the Philippines Awards. BDO Capital is acknowledged for consistent excellence in delivering best-inclass investment banking services across various product lines in the Philippine capital markets. BDO Capital has also been recognized internationally as the Best Investment Bank in the Philippines by various prestigious publications, such as Finance Asia, Alpha Southeast Asia, The Asset, Asian Banking and Finance, Asiamoney and Global Finance.

Sports

Trollano basket lifts Road Warriors

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

FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 2022

By Peter Atencio DON Trollano weaved past Glenn Khobuntin and scored the winning basket with a split second left, sending the NLEX Road Warriors past the defending champion TNT Tropang Giga, 90-89, in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo on Thursday. Trollano, who only had 11 points, found his opening after he turned to Khobuntin’s right flank and hit a jumper with 3/10ths of a second left. This handed the Road Warriors the win following a 92-100 setback to the San Miguel Beermen on Friday last week. Calvin Oftana knocked in a gamehigh 20 points for the Road Warriors, who moved to a share of third with NorthPort Batang Pier with the same 2-1 win-loss card. The play called for the 6’3” Trollano to make the pass to Kevin Alas, who would then find Oftana for the final attempt. But the play never happened after Trollano got stuck with Khobuntin’s harassment in the shaded lane. Road Warriors’ coach Yeng Guiao said they had difficulty confronting the Tropang Giga with crunch time players Jayson Castro and RR Pogoy disrupting their plays in the final minute of action. “What we did in practice, we just did differently. It worked for us. Hindi maalis sa kultura ng TNT na pagkakaroon ng mga crunch time players like RR and Jayson. We just focused on playing defense,” said Guiao. Pogoy unloaded 28 points for the Tropang Giga, who fell behind at 2-2. Kevin Alas shot 16 points for NLEX, with his three charities in the last 1:33 pushing the Road Warriors in front, 88-87.

Grey stars as Canada rips Belgium for 1st win CANADA recorded its first victory in the Philippine leg following a 2522, 25-21, 22-25, 25-22 conquest of Belgium in the Volleyball Nations League Thursday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Alexa Grey had 24 points, including the match-winner, and collected 10 digs, while Kiera Van Ryk had two service aces to finish with 22 points to go with 11 digs as the Canadians rose to 3-3 win-loss record. The event is backed by Mikasa, Ganten, Gerflor and Senoh as global sponsors and global suppliers, PLDT Home as presenting partner, Rebisco, MG Philippines, TOP Speed Insurance, Asics and Maynilad as official sponsors, Havas Ortega, The Look Company, Summit Outdoor Media, The Philippine Star, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Marketing Media Ventures, Strong Media Advertising Solutions. 91.5 Win Radio, Philippine Olympic Committee, Philippine Sports Commission, City of Taguig, Quezon City and F2 Logistics as official suppliers. Bouncing back from last Monday’s straight-set defeat to Thailand, Canada produced a better effort this time, especially on its attacking game. “I was really excited on what our team did today. I thought we did our gameplan and this a big win and big three points for us moving forward in the tournament and I’m just proud of the way we really battled today,” said Grey. “I think all of us had a little bit of a better game. I felt more confident going into this game. We came out today wanted to win and we showed that today,” she added. Hilary Howe and Emily Maglio also played big for the Canadians with 14 and 12 points, respectively. The Belgians suffered their fifth loss in six matches. Britt Herbots, who led Belgium in getting a lifeline in the third set, had 29 points, including four blocks, and seven digs, while captain Celine Van Gestel contributed 16 points and 11 digs. Canada will face World No. 3 China at 3 p.m. on Friday, while Belgum plays Poland at 3 p.m. on Saturday at the Big Dome.

Jayson Castro of TNT splits the defense of two NLEX defenders in a PBA Philippine Cup game won by the Road Warriors, 90-89.

Sotto works out with Kings; coach Alapag wishes him luck By Randy Caluag

OMING off an injury, Filipino pride Kai Sotto has started working out again, this time with the Sacramento Kings, where former former Gilas and TNT player Jimmy Alapag works as an assistant coach of their Sacramento G- League team, the Stockton Kings.

A week before the much-awaited NBA Draft, which will be held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, Sotto and Alapag met during the workout with the team. On his Social media Instagram account, Alapag posted his photo with the 20-year-old Sotto with the caption “Great to see Kai here in Sacramento! Best of luck on your journey to the NBA! The entire country and I are rooting for you!!

Keep working!” Will the Alapag factor work for Sotto? He can be a potential project for Alapag for the Kings, though. Joining Sotto in the workout were Jacob Gilyard, Fatts Russel, Yoan Makoundou, Karlo Matkovic, and Yannick Nzosa, according to the social media post of the Kings. Reports have it that the potential Top 10 picks in the coming NBA draft have already visited the Kings.

Sotto was also accommodated in their guest list. The Sacramento Kings own the fourth overall top pick in the said draft. Sotto has worked out with several NBA teams, including the Orlando Magic, Atlanta Hawks, Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, and most recently with the Cleveland Cavaliers before sustaining a slight ankle injury. Before he enlisted for the NBA draft, he saw action for the Adelaide 36ers in the Australian National Basketball League, where he averaged 7.6 points on 51 percent field goals, 4.5 rebounds, and 0.7 blocks per 15.2 minutes in 23 games. Sotto is bidding to become the first homegrown, pure-blooded Filipino to play in the NBA.

Kai Sotto and Jimmy Alapag, assistant coach of Sacramento’s squad in the NBA Development League

ASICS Rock ‘n’ Roll run all set for Sunday blast THE ASICS Rock ‘n’ Roll Running Series is taking place this Sunday (June 19), marking the first time the series is held in Asia. Known for lining up race routes with live bands and cheer teams, the event is ready to welcome close to 5,000 regular or leisure runners and weekend racers to the rousing night race. The centerpiece 42K event drew 1,316 entries while the 10K run will feature 1,273 participants. Runners can look forward to performances such as DJ Bling One, Moranos band and Kahilom Drumbeaters, among others, for a block-party atmosphere, bringing fun to the run

unique to each Rock ‘n’ Roll Running series that is held in various countries around the world. “We are excited to add the City of Manila to the Rock ‘n’ Roll Running Series as the first new host city in Southeast Asia,” said Princess Galura, general manager of the organizing The IRONMAN Group. The world’s largest running series, backed by ASICS as title sponsor for the Manila edition, Gatorade as official hydration partner and Alaska, Lightwater, Regent and Sante, will fire off the 21K and 42K events at 5 p.m. while the 10K and 5K races will be flagged off at 5 a.m., both at Rizal Park.

Meanwhile, a virtual presscon will be held at 3 p.m. today (Friday) via facebook live. For details, visit www.facebook.com/RockNRollMNL. As part of the host city’s founding anniversary celebrations, the event, supported by the Philippine Star, One Sports, Cignal and Sportograf. com as media partners, will also showcase Manila’s famous sights and landmarks. “We are very happy and excited to host the series in the streets of Manila. We are proud to be the first city in the Philippines and in Asia to stage the event, which also marks the conclusion of the city’s 450th founding

anniversary on June 24,” said Manila Mayor Isko Moreno. To guarantee the safe conduct of the event, precautionary measures have been put in place with the host city allowing only participants with Covid-19 vaccination cards while those unvaccinated are required to present their 48hour antigen results. The races will fire off in front of the Rizal Park and will pass through streets, buildings, churches and parks, including the National Museum, the Manila City Hall, the Walled City of Intramuros and the Kartilya ng Katipunan, among others. It will also feature the famous Manila Bay sunset.

Avaricio loses momentum, but keeps safe lead despite 75

Tournament leader Chanelle Avaricio wiggles out of a bunker going to hole no. 7. Manny Marcelo

LUBAO, Pampanga—Chanelle Avaricio checked an early stumble with a big backside charge but lost her momentum at the finish, bogeying two of the last three holes to hobble with a three-over 75 but still stayed four strokes clear of Chihiro Ikeda in a topsyturvy second round of the ICTSI Pradera Verde Ladies Classic yesterday. Avaricio turned from near-flawless to flawed with three bogeys in the first seven holes while fighting off a bout with heartburn, enabling Ikeda to rally from seven down and threaten to within one with a three-birdie roll after six holes in another scorching day here. But Avaricio, who posted a Tour record of eightunder 64 in a sterling start Wednesday, pounced on Ikeda’s bogey slips linking both nines of the wellmaintained Pradera layout and recovered from another miscue on No. 11 with birdies on Nos. 12 and 15, only to falter with bogeys on Nos. 16 on a three-putt miscue and 18 on a failed bid off the bunker. But that hardly mattered as Ikeda also bogeyed the 16th and ended up with a 72 while erstwhile secondrunning Pamela Mariano limped with a 75 marred by three bogeys in the last eight holes, enabling Avaricio to go into the final round of the P750,000 championship put up by ICTSI virtually unscathed. With a five-under 139 total, Avaricio kept Ikeda, who pooled a 143, at bay as she moved 18 holes away from extending her impressive run of exploits on the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour where she won twice and posted a couple of runner-up efforts in the last four legs.

“I struggled at the front, mostly on my to-thegreen shots and unlike yesterday (Wednesday), my putts weren’t dropping,” said Avaricio, who, despite the three-over card, still zeroed in on a third championship this year after edging Princess Superal in sudden death at Hallow Ridge and repelling Ikeda by one at Caliraya Springs. The former Alabama State U product placed second to Ikeda at Mt. Malarayat and shared runner-up honors with Sunshine Baraquiel and Harmie Constantino at Splendido Taal, won by amateur Mafy Singson. “I think I need to work on my irons,” added Avaricio, who, however, decided to hit the range early today (Friday) due to exhaustion given the hot conditions in the first two days of the event organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. But Ikeda remains confident of pulling off a big comeback although she will need another strong start and a stronger finish to stop Avaricio from posting another triumph and firming up her lead for the Order of Merit title chase. “I hope to get my driving a little bit steadier tomorrow and make the putts,” said Ikeda, putting herself back in contention despite a wrist injury that has hampered her campaign in the last few tournaments. Sarah Ababa, seeking to end a long title spell after a breakthrough win at Sherwood Hills in 2015, shot four birdies against the same number of bogeys, her second straight 72 pulling her abreast with Mariano at 144, five strokes adrift of Avaricio.

Sports

FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 2022

OSTON—Boston’s backs are against the wall heading into game six of the NBA Finals, but Celtics star Jaylen Brown vowed they won’t back down against the Golden State Warriors. “We’re looking forward to the challenge,” Brown said Wednesday. “We’ve got to embrace it. Ain’t no other way around it. Last game on our home floor to kind of embody our whole season. “We’re looking to give it everything we’ve got. We are not scared. We do not fear the Golden State Warriors. We want to come out and play the best version of basketball that we can.” The Warriors moved one win away from their fourth title in eight years with a 104-94 victory in game five in San Francisco on Monday. Warriors star Stephen Curry had a rare off-night but former No. 1 draft pick Andrew Wiggins came up big on both ends of the court, pouring in 26 points, grabbing 13 rebounds and coming up with two steals and a block as Golden State took a 3-2 series lead. The Celtics, meanwhile coughed up 18 turnovers, something they can’t afford to do on Thursday if they want to force a decisive game seven back in California. Brown said Boston’s rocky start to the season will stand the team in good stead now as they try to bounce back from two straight defeats. “Everything has been a learning ex-

Celtics’ Brown defiant: We look forward to challenge Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics walks off the court during Game Four of the 2022 NBA Finals at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. AFP

USGA boss sees LIV players having harder path to US Open

PSC’s Rise Up! Shape Up!’ shares fitness tips for elderly THE Philippine Sports Commission, in line with its mandate, encourages people of all ages to be active, get fit and have fun through sports and other physical activities. Following the previous episode focused on kids, PSC’s web series ‘Rise Up! Shape Up!’ dedicates its June 18 episode this time to seniors and the elderly to help them achieve a healthy and active lifestyle. Featured in the episode are 4-time World Champion Filipino Bowler, Bong Coo, and Philippine Gymnastics Association of the Philippines president Cynthia Carrion. Both will share tips on aging gracefully, staying fit, and living a healthy lifestyle. UP Diliman Associate Professor Dr. Maria Luisa Guinto will also be discussing the psychological aspects of aging, while Adventist Hospital-Santiago City Geriatrician Dr. Florosita Reyes will share tips on health care for the elderly. PSC Women in Sports Oversight Commissioner Comm. Celia H. Kiram stresses the importance of a fit and healthy lifestyle especially when one gets older. “As we age, our bodies change. But we can help our bodies ease into aging through exercise and a healthy diet.” She added that the elderly must also ensure their overall well-being and take into consideration mental and emotional wellness. The ‘Rise Up, Shape Up’ episode will be hosted by Bam Mogato, a certified fitness instructor of the American Council on Exercise. Mogato also joined the board of jurors during the Zumbarangay Dance Challenge organized by the PSC-Women in Sports last year.

Preparation will always be key THE Philippines’ bid to return to the biggest football tournament in Asia next year ended in a 4-0 beatdown against group B winner Palestine last Tuesday in Ulaanbaatar. While a draw is the best we hoped for against the higher-ranked Palestinian side, the heavy defeat crushed the Azkals and the hopes of many that the team will advance to the tournament proper. It also exposed the team’s weaknesses, like a porous defense, the lack of communication in the pitch, our inability to adjust against bigger, better opponents, and that vaunted Azkal bite was missing the whole game. After the Palestinian scored their first two goals in the first half, the team simply lost the will to fight back. Which to me is the most disappointing of all. The team just watched Palestine humiliate them on the pitch. The first three goals were made by unmarked scorers. I thought the Azkals had a slim, but fighting chance coming from the morale-boosting win against Mongolia in the previous game.

perience,” Brown said of a season that saw the Celtics languishing under .500 at the halfway point. “We wear everything that we learned this year as a badge of honor,” Brown said. “We don’t let it hang over our heads. We bounce back. We’ve been able to respond well all year.” Teammate Marcus Smart, the defensive player of the year, echoed those sentiments. “We’ve kind of been forced to play with our backs against the wall,” Smart said. “We got real used to it where it’s kind of part of us, in our nature now. It’s nothing new to us. It’s another game. It’s another tough game.” Smart said it won’t take a revolutionary plan to stop Curry and Co, but an attention to detail. “We all know deep in this run and in this game when you are going up against some of the greats, the margin of error is very small,” he said. While the Celtics are chasing a record-setting 18th NBA title for the franchise, none of the current players had appeared in the Finals before. Nevertheless, Brown said there’s no doubt among the Celtics that they can force game seven. “We have all the belief in ourselves,” he said. “We’re going to come out and leave it all out there. That’s the whole intent.” AFP

BROOKLINE—US Golf Association chief executive Mike Whan said Wednesday he could foresee Saudibacked LIV Golf players having a harder time getting into future US Opens, but nothing has been decided. On the eve of the 122nd US Open at The Country Club in Brookline, where stars from both the US PGA Tour and upstart LIV Golf will compete, Whan said he was sad over the sport’s split but wouldn’t be drawn into possible future major bans. “The question was could you envision a day where it would be harder for some folks doing different things to get into a US Open? I could,” Whan said. “Do I know what that day looks like? No, I don’t.” The PGA Tour imposed an indefinite suspension on 17 current or former members who played the LIV Golf opener last week in England, including US stars Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson. “It got our attention,” Whan said of the bans. But the USGA, without speaking to PGA commissioner Jay Monahan, decided last week to stay with pre-determined qualifying standards for this week’s US Open, choosing not to ban rebels chasing record prize money in the LIV Golf series. “We had to make some tough decisions that not everybody agrees with,” Whan said. “I understand if people want to play a

But regrettably, Palestine deserved to win. Indonesia and Malaysia likewise deserved to advance in the tournament proper after winning their respective last games. “Where do we go from here? We need to reassess everything. Maybe I’ll use the tagline that we use in U.P. -- there’s nowhere to go but up. But no, I think plain and simple, we failed. There are no excuses for that. We all have to man up to our own shortcomings,” Dan Palami, the Azkals’ team manager, told The Designated Kit Man. Palami maintained that when he said everything, he meant everything -- from the players, coaching staff and even the management team. He explained that if the team needs to improve and get better, the Azkals need to improve as a whole organization. “Admittedly, I wasn’t involved too much in the preparations because of some business dealings that I had to conclude. But we all have our responsibilities and we have to own up to our shortcomings. We apologize to the fans who have supported us and who had high expectations. We are very sorry to disappoint them. And sorry to all stakeholders too,” he added. Of course, there were so many reasons why we lost. Lack of preparation, no team chemistry, Gerrit Holtmann arrived late, it was the coaching staff’s fault, the Philippine Football Federation is also at fault, too, the team management is to blame, Schrock is not in the team, Thomas Dooley was outcoached and other explanations. These reasons and many more were already pointed out by so-called football experts in many online forums. Even during the livestreaming of the Azkals’ games, there

Adri Arnaus of Spain and his caddie Xabi Gorospe pose for a photo on the driving range during a practice round prior to the 122nd U.S. Open Championship at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts. AFP

heck of a lot less golf and get paid more money, and that’s a choice and that’s great. What that means to the future of the game? I think to be determined.” In justifying not banning LIV Golf players, Whan noted 30 PGA players were allowed to compete at an DP World Tour event with the same Saudi backers earlier this year. “We did sit down and have a long conversation,” Whan said. “Did where somebody else play and what promoter they played it with disqualify them for this event? We decided no.”

were so many people bashing the team. And most of them, sadly, were Filipino fans. We are probably the only country that bashes openly our team most of the time, online and in other platforms, with our opponents’ fans, especially when the Azkals are down. Personally, the failed campaign boils down to one very important reason: preparation. Even if we hire the likes of Carlo Ancelloti, Pep Guardiola and even Zinadine Zidane, but only have less that two weeks to prepare and with an incomplete lineup, we can’t really expect to win against squads, which have been playing together for quite some time, and have elevated their games when playing for flag and country until the final whistle. Palami says in an ideal world, the Azkals should have enough time to prepare, but this will never happen and they need to adjust to this reality. “There will never be enough time for preparations. Because that’s how FIFA international breaks work. Unlike before where most of the players that we have are not with professional clubs, we have time to go on camps. Now, the FIFA international dates are restrictive in terms of getting the team together for a longer period of time. So we have to admit this and have to work on these conditions and stop dreaming about long preparation times,” he explained. He also acknowledged the need to have players, who are in the country form the core of the Azkals. “If the players are good and they are playing for top level clubs, then we can only get them during FIFA international breaks, which is the maximum of 10 days including the game. We need to scout more players

Even if majors allow LIV players, there are no world ranking points for LIV Golf events, so LIV players figure to fade from eligibility without access from prior triumphs. Whan, a member of the world rankings board, said LIV Golf has made no submission seeking such points, but notes how it has evolved over time. “What we’re talking about was different two years ago and it was different two months ago than it is today,” he said. “Everybody... we work with

and bring them here, which is basically the essence of the Azkals Development Team. It allows players to experience professional club football and get them together so that we have a core of players who are based domestically,” Palami added. Palami is also hopeful that a longer domestic season will happen soon to give localbased Azkals more time to prepare, play more games and in the process, remain fit and improve further on their skills. Prior to the Ulaanbaatar qualifiers, there were only a handful of games in the country due to the pandemic in more than two years. “The domestic league plays a big role in terms of player preparation and team preparation. That is critical. It is unfortunate that in the past three years we’ve only had a limited number of games for teams. But that’s not anybody’s fault because we have to abide by government regulations. But hopefully with the lifting of restrictions and with more freedom to move around,” he added. Despite the failure to qualify, Palami has one good takeaway in the Mongolia campaign. “One of the reasons was to give experience to the younger and new players. The average age of the players has dropped a lot. We are looking at a promising set of talents that could be with the team for the next five to six years,” he said. But then again, Palami’s words may not mean a lot to those who immediately called for drastic action not only against the team but to the whole Philippine Football Federation as well. Well, say what you want against Dooley, the PFF or even Palami. You will be probably right and even feel entitled to do so. Because it is very easy and badass to blame anyone, espe-

Belangel to play in Korean cage league By Peter Atencio DEAGU Korea Gas Corporation has reinforced its roster in the Korean Basketball League by signing Ateneo Blue Eagle cager Sam Josef Belange l to a two-year contract. The 22-year-old Belangel, who still has two playing years left in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines, is in Korea with the Gilas Pilipinas national men’s basketball team An official of KOGAS said they originally wanted to get Philippine Basketball Association standout Robert Bolick, but team officials opted for Belangel instead in compliance with the rules under the Asian Quota system. Under the rules, both parents must be Filipino nationals and this left Bolick out of the picture, said KOGAS director Yoo Yoo-hoon in a statement released to the Korean media. KOGAS officials hinted that more negotiations to have Filipino pro players in the PBA and others leagues in the Philippines are already going on. Gilas is set to have a tuneup with the Korean national team in Anyang this Friday and Saturday and they won’t be joined by Belangel and Angelo Kouame, who are bothered by injuries. The 5’10” Belangel is nursing an ankle injury, while Kouame is dealing with a meniscal sprain and a partial ACL tear, according to officials of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas. Belangel, who started playing for the Blue Eagles in Season 81, averaged 10.26 points, 2.65 rebounds and three assists on his final year. Yoo said they will consider a third season for Belangel once he is done with his first two years with the club. “At first (Belangel) wanted a three-year contract. The potential is high, but it is not entirely without risk. Whether you can adapt to KBL is important. Unlike domestic players, Belangel also includes additional expenses such as accommodation. We talked about this and negotiated a salary. He is playing for the national team and going abroad, so we agreed accordingly. It is difficult to say an exact salary at the moment because another club is negotiating (with a Filipino player),” added Yoo. Yoo said they are open to making Belangel available to play for Gilas in the future. need to take a long-term view of this and see where these things go.” The USGA will re-examine its qualifying criteria for next year as well. ‘You can’t buy history’ “I’m saddened by what’s happening in the professional game, mostly as a fan because I like watching the best players in the world come together and play, and this is going to fracture that,” Whan said. “It looks like it’s good for a few folks playing the game, but I’m struggling with how this is good for the game. AFP cially for some so called “fans” who are only there when it is convenient and “uso” because the bandwagon is there once again. I may even agree with some of the arguments but the bottomline is: we really need to prepare for major tournaments with or without international FIFA breaks. We can’t just assemble a team in 10 or 15 days and expect better results come tournament time. We have to resolve the hard truth of having players based overseas, to come in the country and be with the team for some reasonable time before any major competitions. We simply can’t have a team assembled in June only to compete in a tournament in June. This has to go. Preparation will always be the key, whether in football or in life. That being said, loving the national team is not easy. Just like loving this country of ours. It is very difficult and honestly the “this is only the country or team that we got crap” reason is no longer applicable. The team failed to return to the Asian Cup, yup as bright as a June afternoon here in the metropolis, but is this enough reason to abandon the team and the country in general? Of course not, we need to plod on. Criticize the team when needed and is called for? Do so any time. Show tough love when appropriate? Yes by all means. Be outraged when the team falters? It is reasonable. We can also grieve for now. But please never abandon the team. If you are a true Azkals fan, you know what to do. Stay safe. Stay happy peeps! For comments or questions, you can reach The Designated Kit Man at erel_cabatbat@ yahoo.com or follow his account at Twitter: @erelcabatbat

Entertainment

Nickie Wang,, Editor Patricia Taculao, Editorial Assistant E-mail: lifeandshow.manilastandard@gmail.com FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 2022

XOXO returns to spotlight with soulful ‘My Miracle’ MEMBERS of the girl group XOXO showcase the different sides of their vocal prowess via“My Miracle,” their latest single under GMA Music. The song, which talks about finding hope through inspiration, amid the hardships encountered along the way, drops today on different streaming platforms available worldwide. Composed of Riel Lomadilla, Dani Ozaraga, Mel Caluag, and Lyra Micolob, the group can’t deny their joy and excitement as they make

a comeback with a brand-new single. “Mixed emotions ang nararamdaman namin ngayon, siyempre we are very happy that we are back on track. May pressure rin na kaunti kasi we see that the P-pop world is really booming, we want to show more of XOXO,” said Dani. “We rehearsed together since wala nang lock-in taping yung iba. Nagtry rin kami mag-vlog para may aabangan sila [XOldier] sa aming Youtube channel.” Meanwhile, Mel shares how

different their new song is, “‘My Miracle’ is a ballad. We get to feel the emotions in the song since it’s quite slow. We harmonize as one because of our different types of voice.” She added that this is a song of hope, “Kahit anong nangyari these past few years, kailangan natin bumangon dahil palaging may positive things sa mga darkness side na nangyayari sa buhay natin.” The group looks forward to releasing more songs this year. “We have plans for that. Our followers

have something to look forward to from us,” shared Lyra. Meanwhile, Riel reveals that they also wish to collaborate with other singers. “As a group and as individuals, we have artists that we look up to and we would love to work with but so far it has been a dream of ours to work with an amazing rap artist like Gloc-9 if given a chance,” Riel said. “My Miracle” is composed by Lolito Go, and produced by Paulo XOXO members (from left) Riel Lomadilla, Dani Ozaraga, Agudelo under GMA Music. Mel Caluag, and Lyra Micolob

‘Palengke Queen’ named National Artist T

‘Palengke Queen’ starring Nora Aunor

Iconic actress Nora Aunor receives the elusive National Artist title

HE greatness of Nora Aunor as an actor is finally elevated into the pantheon of Filipino national artists, an honor that’s been a long time coming. Conferred by Malacañang National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts, Aunor was overjoyed with emotions and expressed heartfelt gratitude to everyone, including President Rodrigo Duterte, who relented and signed her conferment, along with seven other new National Artists, after rejecting her in 2018. Of the hundreds of highly-acclaimed films that the 69-year-old Aunor made, one particular gem of a scene would remain as my favorite, the iconic “My brother is not a pig” scene in the 1976 Lupita Kashiwahara’s Minsan Isang Gamu-Gamu, which also won Famas best picture. It’s probably the most powerful and electrifying acting scene ever recorded in Philippine cinema.

The only movie in which Aunor played a pageant winner is in 1982’s Armando Reyes/Freddie Sarrol comedy Palengke Queen. Testament to Aunor’s stature and caliber as an artist is her singular honor of being helmed by the country’s national artists-film directors Gerardo de Leon, Lamberto Avellana, Ysmael Bernal, and Lino Brocka. ••• Miss Earth PH’s choice for cell nutrition Healthy and wellness company Avita Philippines marked its 8th anniversary recently attended by Miss Philippines Earth 2021 Veronica Michaela Meneses and Miss Philippines Earth Eco-Tourism 2021 Sofia Galve, and other local celebrities. Avita’s made-in-Switzerland Celergen cell nutrition products help to slow down aging, speed up recovery, improve immunity and prevent degenerative diseases. Formulated with marine DNA cellular extracts to support and maintain healthy cellular repair and regeneration for overall well-being, Celergen is as effective as injectable cell therapy at a fraction of the cost and in the convenience of your home. “We’ve been successful in transforming Filipino’s lives for the last eight years, sustained by the “word of mouth” of each and every person who has tried our products. We intend to take our health and entrepreneurial advocacy to a higher level by tapping more healthconscious Filipinos,” said wellness advocate Jinnie Uy, CEO/national stockist of Avita Philippines.

FDCP, DOH advocate healthy lifestyle through nationwide film fest The Healthy Pilipinas Short Film Festival aims to promote a healthier country

THE Film Development Council of the Philippines and the Department of Health (DOH) have partnered to launch the Healthy Pilipinas Short Film Festival (HPSFF) with the aim of promoting a healthier country, happening on June 24 at Shangri-La Plaza Red Carpet, Ortigas. Online screenings will also follow and will run from June 25 to 26. The Festival was presented by the FDCP and DOH to the members of the press during a virtual meet-up on June 7. Healthy Pilipinas is a communication campaign spearheaded by the DOH which aims to encourage positive health habits among Filipinos, especially toward the prevention and mitigation of the spread of diseases. The national health department engaged with the FDCP beginning in 2021 to launch the HPSFF in recognition of the effectiveness and impact of short films in reaching a wider audience. FDCP Chairperson and CEO Liza Diño welcomed guests to the press launch, “Who would have thought that FDCP and DOH would champion together both of their advocacies in a way that is very relatable and very engaging to our audience. It’s amazing how being in lockdown has spurted creativity even in isolation.” “The film community stayed active with writing, story development, and preparing for the time that shoots and filming will be allowed again. We excitedly took this on as health has become a paramount concern for every person globally. It is the right time to harness the power of cinema and social media to communicate something relevant,” Diño added. During her opening speech, Dra. Beverly Ho, DOH Concurrent Director of Health Promotion Bureau shared, “We’re happy that this partnership was born because FDCP does

the things we are unable to do, they help us raise awareness on the 7 Healthy Habits and of course, with the added benefit of featuring our homegrown talents in the film industry. We are very much excited about this initiative.” Six filmmakers from around the country and the regions were tapped to produce a film of not more than 17 minutes each presenting a different health issue. The six trusted filmmakers hail from Pampanga, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Zamboanga, and Metro Manila. This joint endeavor will promote not only healthy living for Filipinos but will also celebrate local filmmaking talents. The filmmakers shared anecdotes of their experiences in creating their short films. Keith Deligero claims, “Ang intensyon ng FDCP ay ilabas ang boses ng filmmakers, it did not feel like work.” His film, Brand X, is an animation that talks about the theme, “Be Clean, Live Sustainably.” “As a regional filmmaker, opportunities are not that many. FDCP has been making a lot of efforts to give us a spotlight, to share the spotlight with us,” Carlo Catu, director of Ang Paboritong Pinggan ni Nanay added. Sheron Dayoc, director of Life on Moon, described the thought process in coming up with his film, “The real challenge was how do we come up with a short film that wouldn’t sound preachy, how do we show it in a more simplified way in presenting a new perspective.” The official in-person opening ceremony of the event and the world premiere of the six films will be on June 24, followed by online back-to-back screenings with talkback sessions opening for the public on June 25 to 26. Other films included in the festival are Child’s Play by Julienne Ilagan, Llegada by Ryanne Murcia and Zurich Chan, and Dito Ka Lang by Ice Seguerra.

Tom Hanks plays the shady manager in ‘Elvis’ movie

PEOPLE

…are talking about

Members of Avita Philippines and winners of Miss Philippines 2021 8th anniversary event

...are not talking about

Juan Karlos “JK” Labajo

Amid all the (messy) celebrity break-ups, JK Labajo and Maureen Wroblewtiz broke the trend and announced their split maturely. The former lovebirds remain friends despite their break-up, setting an example that their mutual love and respect for each other didn’t end just because their relationship did. Nonetheless, it’s sad to see them part ways but sometimes, letting go is the only way to move forward.

Nadine Lustre and James Reid

The MEGA Ball is one of the events of the season. This year, former flames Nadine and James stole the show with their appearances. Much like their other red carpet appearances some years before their split, the two wore flattering outfits true to their styles. JaDine fans, on the other hand, were ecstatic to see their favorite (former) love team together, even if it’s just for pictures on the event’s red carpet.

Flow G

If there’s any truth to the allegations of Flow G cheating on his partner, Angelica Yap, many of his fans will be disappointed. Screenshots of a conversation between the former ExBattalion member and an unknown individual are circulating online. Although Flow G and his partner haven’t commented on the issue as of writing, netizens are left disgusted at the revelation. Maybe birds of a feather do flock together.

Mo Twister

With Father’s Day around the corner, it leaves a bad taste in one’s mouth when actress Bunny Paras divulged Mo Twister didn’t exert any effort to support their child, Moira, who’s diagnosed with Friedreich ataxia, causing impaired movement. As Moira’s father, Mo should also give her the time, energy, and resources to aid in her growth. After all, according to his Instagram bio, he’s a “Family guy first.”

OSCAR-WINNER a very disciplined Tom Hanks stars man, a wicked smart as Elvis Presley’s businessman and enigmatic manager, a dime-squeezing Colonel Tom Parker skinflint, but also a in Warner Bros.’ pioneer in a big type Elvis, an epic, bigof show business that screen spectacle from did not exist until visionary, OscarElvis Presley came along. He knew nominated filmmaker instantaneously that Baz Luhrmann that Elvis was a unique explores the life and artist, he saw his grand music of Elvis Presley potential and knew (Austin Butler). As told by Parker, that if he didn’t make the film delves into a ton of money off the complex dynamic him, somebody else between the two would.” spanning over 20 (From left) Austin Butler, Baz Luhrmann, and As Luhrmann years, from Presley’s Tom Hanks reveals in the film, rise to fame to his money was a key unprecedented stardom, against the backdrop motivator and, as such, Parker was also possibly of the evolving cultural landscape and loss of the first person to see the financial potential innocence in America. beyond the music: merchandising. “He sees how “While this story is called ‘Elvis,’ it’s also this boy, Elvis, has an effect on an audience, an Colonel Tom Parker’s story—the telling of effect like he’s never seen before and certainly it at least; he’s our way in, our narrator, and an beyond anything he’s seen on the carnival filmmaker notes. “To unreliable one at that,” states writer/director/ circuit,” the it’s the greatest carnival producer Luhrmann, whose extensive research Tom Parker, witnessed, and he must into the music icon Elvis aided in his discovery of act he’s ever the strange partnership behind the artist’s public have it.” success and personal struggles. In cinemas across Luhrmann recruited Tom Hanks to play the the Philippines role of Parker, stating, “I’d never worked with starting June Tom previously, but I just told him the story and 22, Elvis is before I even got to the video I’d brought along distributed to show him what I had in mind, he said, ‘Well, if worldwide you want me I’m your guy.’ What a gift!” by Warner Hanks has said of the real-life Parker, “He B r o s . was both a genius and a scoundrel. He was Pictures.

Kim Kardashian accused of damaging Marilyn Monroe dress at Met Gala THE private museum that owns an iconic dress worn by Marilyn Monroe allowed it to be “permanently damaged” when it lent it to reality star Kim Kardashian for her appearance at the Met Gala extravaganza last month, a Monroe memorabilia collector alleged Wednesday. A platinum blonde Kardashian shined but also stirred controversy when she donned the stunning skintight gown Monroe wore in 1962 to sing “Happy Birthday, Mr President” to John F Kennedy. Scott Fortner, a collector who runs a website dedicated entirely to Monroe, released before and after photos this week of the crystal-studded cream

gown. The after shots were taken by a friend of Fortner, who saw the dress on display Sunday at curiosity museum Ripley’s Believe It or Not! in Los Angeles, which owns the dress and had allowed Kardashian to wear it. The comparison shots seem to show small tears in the fabric near hooks that fastened the dress together as well as missing crystals and others hanging by a thread. The alleged damage to the gown, which Ripley’s bought at auction for a record $4.8 million, has drawn widespread criticism on social media in

recent days. In an update published to his Instagram account on Wednesday, Fortner specified that “I blame Ripley’s, as they allowed the dress to be worn.” “I feel that any and every celebrity offered a chance to wear this garment very likely would jump at the opportunity,” he said. “There’s a reason someone would want to wear it. Kim K. just happened to be the one who got to do it.” “It’s now permanently damaged, and likely would have been damaged regardless of who wore it,” Fortner said. Asked by AFP about the accusations, Ripley’s

did not respond Wednesday afternoon. In early May, Ripley’s trumpeted the opportunity for Kardashian to wear the dress. “Great care was taken to preserve this piece of history. With input from garment conservationists, appraisers, archivists, and insurance, the garment´s condition was top priority,” the company said. Kardashian, who reportedly went on a major diet to be able to squeeze into the legendary garment, did not respond to the allegations on her social networks. AFP

Kim Kardashian wearing Marilyn Monroe’s iconic dress on the Met Gala red carpet

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

FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 2022

Life

The hotel provides the ideal backdrop to any dream wedding because of its idyllic location

Couples can book their dream wedding at Conrad Manila

Inspired Beginnings A bespoke wedding experience at Conrad Manila packages, and some of the wedding industry’s premier and promising names. The two-day event, happening on June 19 and 20, features over 100 dream makers including Philippine Association of Wedding Planners (PAWP), Weddings & Events Professional Association of the Philippines (WEPAP), Gideon Hermosa, Michael Ruiz, Teddy Manuel, Amanda Tirol, Christine Ong-Te of COTE, Kiss the Girl Events, Maxine Covar, Kim Torres, among others. Conrad Manila’s Event Management Team ensures that the “We are excited to welcome couples and provide couple’s needs are metdown to the last wedding detail them with a well-curated wedding experience to celebrate their special day,” shares Linda Pecoraro, hotel general manager, adding, “It is only fitting that those CONRAD Manila is all set to welcome would-be couples who have shared their loved for one another, especially to “Inspired Beginnings,” the 4th installment of its muchthrough the challenges of the last two years, are able to turn awaited wedding showcase that highlights the hotel’s their dream wedding into reality amid style and luxury here iconic pillar-less ballrooms and event spaces, tailored

at Conrad Manila.” On Day One, guests are treated to a Wedding Fashion Exhibit wherein the country’s top designers showcase their latest creations and provide an intimate detail on their designs and influences. On Day Two, couples are invited to learn more about Hybrid Weddings through a Live Stream showcase aired on Conrad Manila’s official social media pages. Couples who book and confirm their wedding during the Inspired Beginnings event may take advantage of special rates and even get a chance to bring home sweet surprises courtesy of the hotel and the Inspired Beginnings suppliers. Terms and conditions apply. Recognized as the premier haven for smart luxury by Manila Bay, Conrad Manila features pillar-less ballrooms with high ceilings, flexible event spaces for more intimate celebrations, and a spacious outdoor garden all designed

Of fairy tale princesses and magic of a father’s love

A father’s love is enough to inspire their children to dream big and survive any challenges in life

ROWING up, my little girl version was offered surprise and wonder by a lot of fairy tales. How help suddenly pops up for princesses when needed and how messy situations turn out to be enchanting left me in awe. The whimsical stories, I realized, led me to find magic in my own life.

The Sultan (right) puts his daughter’s happiness above societal rules

Maurice (left) embraces Belle’s personality even if the townsfolk find her odd

King Triton (left) only wishes for Ariel’s safety and practices tough love on her

I am under no delusion. The only thing the popular princesses and I have in common is the presence of loving fathers in our lives. This is something I have observed through the years. Their love is enough to fuel us to dream big and survive any hardship, pain, or strife. Remember The Little Mermaid’s Ariel and King Triton, Aladdin’s Jasmine and the Sultan, and Beauty and the Beast’s Belle and Maurice? These three take up the top spots in my fairy tale daddy-anddaughter list. They are a reminder that there is no need to rub a lamp nor wave a magic wand. The magic of a father’s love can be experienced firsthand. Let me recount the times. King Triton and Ariel Tough love was what it took for the little mermaid to change her ways. While her obsession to become a full human drove Ariel to leave home and face challenges, she had a father to run back to and experience mercy and grace after realizing her mistakes. Love softens even

the disciplinarian’s heart. Jasmine and the Sultan At their core, parents naturally look out for their child’s happiness despite societal pressures. How the Sultan bent his rules and changed the law so Jasmine can end up with a commoner is proof that love is considerate and inclusive. Belle and Maurice The brilliant yet misunderstood Maurice shows us that all it takes is love to raise a kind, intelligent, and strong-willed daughter. He embraced Belle for who she is, that she was able to love herself and remain confident in the midst of everyone’s judgments. Love empowers. While a sparkly tiara or a magic carpet ride is nice to have, these would never be enough to trade for a father’s transformative kind of love. Happy Father’s Day to my Papa and other fathers out there! For your random thoughts, e-mail the author at randomrepublika@gmail.com.

to cater to any requirement. With its idyllic and strategic location near the Metro’s grandest churches, the picturesque Manila Bay, and being at the heart of the Mall of Asia Complex, the hotel provides the ideal backdrop to any dream wedding. The hotel’s dedicated Events Management team ensures that guests’ needs are met, and every detail is impeccably executed—from wedding preparations to menu packages such as Divine and Prosperity. Conrad Manila’s Executive Chef Warren Brown and Executive Chinese Chef Eng Yew Khor see to it that the newlyweds and their guests indulge in an epicurean fete worthy of the momentous occasion. To learn more about weddings at Conrad Manila, call +63 2 8833 9999 or log on to www.conradmanila.com. You may also view the hotel’s wedding packages through www. weddingsathilton.com.

Sumptuous food from The European Diner in Uptown Mall, BGC

Dine out without hurting your wallet with foodpanda’s newest program By Patricia Taculao WHEN the COVID-19 pandemic started in 2020, outdoor activities were strictly prohibited to prevent the further spread of the virus. Filipinos, stuck indoors for their safety, resorted to food delivery services to satisfy their cravings. Still, nothing beats the experience of eating out with friends and loved ones to enjoy good food and create new memories. Two years later, as the COVID-19 restrictions are becoming lax, people are returning to their old habits of enjoying outdoor activities. Eating out is at the top of the list as many restaurants reopened their doors to more diners. In hopes of helping diners make the most of their dining experience without breaking their banks, foodpanda launched its dine-in program exclusive to pandapro members. pandapro is foodpanda’s allin-one subscription program on the app, launched in 2020, where users pay a small amount monthly to enjoy exclusive discounts and benefits from foodpanda, like free deliveries, food discounts, and vouchers. “We are launching the dine-in program on foodpanda as a part of pandapro’s endeavor to go beyond food delivery and also to engage with our customers better. We have opened up an allnew dining program for our pandapro subscribers,” said foodpanda’s Director of Commercials, Hardik Batra. Through the new dine-in program, pandapro subscribers will experience more than just limitless and exclusive offers on the app but also save several pesos on their bill every time they dine out. All subscribers are entitled to a ﬂat discount on the total bill value in partner restaurants, which in most cases is about 25 percent off, for all regular menu items and is applicable on both food and drinks. foodpanda’s dine-in program is also easy to avail and only takes five steps. First, pandapro members need to open their app and secure their pandapro

(From left) #pandaproClub ambassadors David Guison, Jessa Velasquez, Gab Pangilinan, Kianna Dy, and Mikyle Quizon

subscription. The next step is to click on the “dine-in” option and search for the restaurant they’re dining in. Once the partner store is selected, pandapro members must confirm their purchase with the restaurant staff before swiping and redeeming their order before enjoying their discounted meal. “I think with the launch of dine-in, we are finally able to bring pandapro subscribers to the pandapro Club,” Batra added. pandapro Club is what they’re calling all the subscribers who stayed with foodpanda throughout the pandemic by availing its food delivery services across the country. Last April 26, foodpanda treated its pandapro Club members to a dine-in event with its partner vendor, The European Diner (TED, in Bonifacio Global City (BGC). TED is among the thousands of restaurants that foodpanda partnered with across the country to provide subscribers with a variety of cuisines. Guests went around the venue to build connections with other members of the pandapro Club and bond over their mutual love for food while dining in style—one of the many perks of being a pandapro subscriber. In the coming months, foodpanda aims to enrich every dine-in experience through discounts from their restaurant partners and by hosting more exclusive events for their pandapro Club subscribers to enjoy.

Ten years of stylish and comfortable wear JAPANESE global apparel retailer Uniqlo is thanking Filipinos for supporting LifeWear in time for its 10th anniversary in the Philippines. To celebrate this special occasion, the brand is giving its loyal shoppers exciting launches and promotions throughout the month of June. “We are very grateful to the Filipinos for welcoming us when we arrived here in 2012. We are very honored to be part of our customers’ everyday lives, providing them with our LifeWear clothing for their ever-changing lifestyles and needs— essentially giving life to our LifeWear brand,” says Masato Kusumoto, Uniqlo Philippines Chief Operating Officer. Uniqlo also marks its first decade in the Philippines with a special collection

of local brands that have brought joy and shaped Filipinos’ lives and culture. Launched on June 10, shoppers can now purchase The Brands UT Pilipinas clothes featuring a collaboration with San Miguel Pale Pilsen, Selecta, Jollibee, and National Book Store. This season, Uniqlo also launches special collections featuring Final Fantasy, Gundam, Doraemon, Pokémon, LEGO DUPLO, and Mickey & Friends. It also introduces special collaborations with the Museum of Modern Art, Magnum Photos, and automakers as part of its The Brands Cars collection. Lastly, winning designs from the UT Grand Prix (UTGP), a design competition that uses t-shirts as a creative medium, would also be made available. The theme of this year’s competition was Peanuts.

Throughout the month of June, customers are treated to in-store displays that showcase Uniqlo’s extensive lineup of UT at select Uniqlo stores across the Philippines. Display collections include RPJ x Peanuts, Pixar, MFA x Harrington, Mickey & Friends, Spy x Family, and City Logo. To complete the celebration and The San Miguel Booth During The 10TH mission to improve the lives of their Anniversary UTCON customers through LifeWear clothing, a Uniqlo pop-up store at the SM Mall of Asia will be opened for a limited time at Level 3, South Main Mall. For more updates, please visit www. uniqlo.com/ph/en/spl/ut-collection and UNIQLO Philippines’ website at uniqlo. com/ph and download the UNIQLO APP via Google Play Store or Apple Store.

UNIQLO’S UT Collaboration Shirts with four local brands, namely, San Miguel, Jollibee, Selecta, and National Book Store

Pia Wurtzbach (second from left) with Geraldine Sia (leftmost) and Mr. Masato Kusumoto (second from right)