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Startup seeks more funding for ‘smart’ healthcare backpacks

SOCIAL ENTERPRISE Rise Rural Philippines is tapping nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and nonprofit groups to help expand the reach of its solar-powered healthcare “smart backpacks.”

“We’re looking for partnerships with NGOs and nonprofits in order to reach more communities [with our smart backpacks],” Rise Rural Philippines Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Mark Virgil C. Jamer told BusinessWorld on the sidelines of the Youth Co:Lab Summit by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Citi Foundation last week.

Rise Rural Philippines was founded in 2022 by a group of undergraduate students and is known for its solar-powered “smart backpacks” that aim to improve healthcare access in the countryside.

Each “smart backpack” has a solar panel and battery, a compartment for medical tools and equipment, a patient information database, and a vaccine and medicine storage, Mr. Jamer said.

Partnering with NGOs and nonprofit groups would help it reduce the expenses to build its “smart backpack,” which costs around P16,000 each, according to the group.

The group has delivered two backpacks: one to the municipality of Tanay, Rizal in Luzon, and another to Siargao.

The organization aims to distribute one “smart backpack” in five Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDAs) this year, with its priority locations being in the Southern Tagalog region.

“These GIDAs don’t have access to electricity or if they have, it’s very challenging, and that affects healthcare access,” Mr. Jamer said. “If they don’t have reliable electricity, then these [healthcare] equipment and tools won’t work.”

“We want to partner with suppliers based in the Philippines because most of our materials are outsourced from other countries. So, that’s what our product development team has been working on — reaching out to companies that are working on solar solutions and stuff,” he added.

The group is also working on an advanced version the backpack, taking into consideration the different needs of rural healthcare units, Mr. Jamer said.

“When we were interviewing healthcare professionals and did different community immersions, we realized that these communities are very different in terms of what they need,” he said.

“Considering the differences in each community, we’re looking at a common denominator and then integrating that into the design of the bag so it can be used by any community in the Philippines,” Mr. Jamer added.

However, the delivery of backpacks has also been hampered by some local government units’ (LGUs) permitting processes and requirements, he said.

“When we were talking to one LGU, although they were very interested in accepting a proposal from us, they were requiring a lot of papers, which is something that I think startups, especially those that are youth-led and at a very early stage, won’t be able to like provide immediately,” Mr. Jamer said.

In the medium term, Rise Rural Philippines aims to deliver its smart backpacks to at least 10,000 GIDAs, he added. — B.M.D. Cruz

Coal power and the Meralco CSP

This week two groups attempted to advance their degrowth and blackout agenda with their nefarious lobbying. The London-based renewables lobby group Ember-Climate called out the Philippines’ and Indonesia’s high coal dependency and the self-styled “consumer group” Power for People Coalition (P4P) called out Meralco for securing cheap electricity sources for its consumers.

Good thing that our Department of Energy (DoE) is not falling for these groups’ agenda. See these recent reports in BusinessWorld: “Coal-fired plants can support PHL baseload needs until 2030 — DoE” (June 19), “Philippines’ dependency on coal-fired power surpasses China, Indonesia” (July 1), and, “Consumer group files petitions vs Meralco’s supply contracts” (July 3).

We go straight to the numbers.

I checked the coal consumption and “coal dependency” of major industrial economies and some ASEAN countries. In 2023, the Philippines had 70 terawatt-hours (TWh) of coal power generation while Germany had 128 TWh, Japan had 304 TWh, the US had 738 TWh, India had 1,471 TWh, and China had 5,754 TWh. Ember had not called out or bullied these countries — or South Korea and Australia — for their high coal use until last year.

Meanwhile, the Philippines’ coal/total generation ratio in 2023, was 58%, Indonesia’s was 62%, Poland’s was 60%, China’s was 61%, and India’s was 75%. But Ember has not called out Poland, China, and India — they cannot bully these countries, but they can bully Indonesia and the Philippines. The reason why Philippines has a ratio of 58% is because the denominator, our total power generation, is small.

Then I checked the economic performance of these countries, there is a trend: countries with a declining coal/total generation ratio of 30% or lower in 2023 had low average growth — Germany, the UK, the US, Canada, Japan, and Thailand. And those countries with coal/total generation ratios of 42% or higher have fast average GDP growth of 3% or higher — Turkey, Poland, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Australia is an exception with average growth of only 2.4% (see Table 1).

So Ember-Climate is happy that the decarbonizing UK and Germany are suffering degrowth, with GDP performances in 2023 and Q1 2024 of only 0.1% and 0.3% respectively for the UK, and -0.3% and -0.2% respectively for Germany, so long as they keep reducing their use of coal and nuclear energy while raising their wind-solar capacities. And they want the Philippines, Indonesia, and other developing countries to be bullied into following the UK and German model. Shame.

Next, P4P petitioned the Energy Regulatory Commission to reject Meralco’s two successful competitive selection processes (CSP) that will give Meralco consumers cheaper electricity. They think that the P7/kWh generation charge is wrong and must be rejected because P8.45/kWh or higher is good and must be entertained and passed on to the consumers? What an idiotic way of thinking. (see Table 2.)

Meralco Vice-President and Head of Corporate Communications Joe R. Zaldarriaga correctly argued that “The CSPs involve an open and competitive process with the ultimate goal to secure the lowest bid from qualified generation companies, with no preferential treatment. Thus, the allegations that contracts emanating from CSPs are anti-competitive have no basis.”

P4P and allied organizations are confused, and I consider them to be fake consumer groups. Here are two reasons why.

One, it was a price competitive selection process, not an environmental or ecological selection process.

Two, average electricity consumers like me have two basic needs or demands — that there be enough electricity to avoid blackouts and that this be had at a competitive price. We want to save our gadgets and appliances from damage due to power fluctuations, save the food in our refrigerators, save our eyes from darkness, save our bodies from the inconvenience of not having an electric fan or aircon, save our house and office from potential fires due to the prolonged use of candles, and save our jobs via cheaper electricity running 24/7.

The idea that we have to save the planet is far out because planet Earth has been around for some 4.6 billion years and it had undergone endless natural warming-cooling cycles, El Niño-La Niña cycles, wet-dry season cycles, winter-spring-summer-fall cycles, water evaporation-condensation cycles, and so on.

Our planet never needed a savior, yesterday, today, or tomorrow. Besides, people have option to go off-grid if they want to and use only wind-solar-biomass. There is no need to impose such a lifestyle on everyone else by demonizing coal power and forcing the use of intermittent energy.

 

Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr. is the president of Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr. Research Consultancy Services, and Minimal Government Thinkers. He is an international fellow of the Tholos Foundation.

minimalgovernment@gmail.com

Megawide eyes bids for 2 major bridge projects — Saavedra

MEGAWIDE Construction Corp. is eyeing participation in the bidding for two major bridge projects to bolster its project portfolio, its chairman said on Wednesday.

The company plans to join the government bidding processes for the Bataan-Cavite Interlink bridge project and the fourth Cebu-Mactan bridge project, Megawide Chairman Edgar B. Saavedra said during the company’s virtual annual stockholders’ meeting.

“For the long term, we also expect other infrastructure projects to be bid out in addition to the Metro Manila Subway project, such as the Bataan-Cavite bridge and the fourth Cebu-Mactan bridge,” he said.

The Bataan-Cavite Interlink bridge project spans 32.15 kilometers. The bridge is expected to cut travel time from Mariveles, Bataan to Naic, Cavite to 1.5 hours from five hours. The first phase of the project is expected to require funding of $350 million.

In May, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank approved a $1.14-billion loan to fund the construction of the Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge.

On the other hand, the fourth Cebu-Mactan bridge is a P76.4-billion project that spans 3.3-kilometers that will connect Barangay Ibo in Lapu-Lapu City to Mandaue City. 

Mr. Saavedra said that Megawide is also interested in the contract package (CP) 105 of the Metro Manila Subway project.

“We have submitted one bid for the Metro Manila Subway system project, specifically CP 105, which was submitted four or five months ago. We expect the bid to open in the third quarter according to the schedule. If successful, this would add another infrastructure package to the company’s portfolio in the short term,” he said.

CP 105 includes the underground stations in Kalayaan Avenue and Bonifacio Global City. Megawide previously bagged the contract for CP 104, which covers the Ortigas to Shaw Boulevard segment of the subway.

 “All of these projects, depending on the schedule of the government, if they will be bidding these out within the year, the group will be participating on these bids,” Mr. Saavedra added.

 Megawide aims to maintain an annual order book valued at P40 billion to P45 billion, equivalent to two to three years of revenue.

For the first quarter, Megawide recorded P183.4 million in consolidated net income, a turnaround from the P7.4-million net loss last year. Consolidated revenue increased by 19% to P5.2 billion. 

Megawide stocks fell by 0.34% or one centavo, closing at P2.94 per share. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Term deposit yields mixed on peso, easing bets

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YIELDS on the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) term deposits were mixed on Wednesday due to the continued weakness of the peso and bets of a policy rate cut as early as next month.

Demand for the BSP’s term deposit facility (TDF) reached P321.657 billion on Wednesday, higher than the P230-billion offer and the P207.107 billion in bids for the P200 billion auctioned off last week.

Broken down, bids for the seven-day papers amounted to P159.459 billion, above the P120 billion auctioned off by the BSP as well as the P116.409 billion in tenders seen in the previous week for P90 billion on the auction block.

Banks asked for yields ranging from 6.495% to 6.525%, a much narrower band compared with the 6.275% to 6.5275% seen a week ago. This caused the average rate of the one-week term deposits to inch up by 0.9 basis point (bp) to 6.5154% from 6.5145% previously.

Meanwhile, the 14-day term deposits attracted tenders amounting to P162.198 billion, higher than the P110-billion offer and the P90.698 billion in bids recorded a week ago for the P110-billion offering.

Accepted rates for the tenor ranged from 6.5245% to 6.575%, a slightly wider and lower margin versus the 6.55% to 6.595% seen last week. This caused the average rate of the two-week papers to drop by 0.28 bp to 6.5681% from 6.5709% in the prior auction.

The BSP has not auctioned off 28-day term deposits for more than three years to give way to its weekly offerings of securities with the same tenor.

The term deposits and the 28-day bills are used by the BSP to mop up excess liquidity in the financial system and to better guide market rates.

TDF yield movements were mixed on Wednesday after the peso recently fell to 20-month lows, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a Viber message.

On June 26, the local unit closed at P58.86 against the greenback, its worst finish since its P58.87-a-dollar close on Oct. 24, 2022.

The peso has been trading at the P58-per-dollar level since May and has been inching closer to its record low of P59 in recent weeks as safe-haven demand and monetary easing bets have boosted the dollar versus most emerging-market currencies.

The central bank has said it occasionally intervenes in the foreign exchange market to ensure the peso does not depreciate sharply.

BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona, Jr. has also said that the impact of a weak peso on inflation is minimal.

Mr. Ricafort added that TDF yields mostly moved sideways amid policy rate cut bets due to expectations of slower Philippine inflation following the approval of an executive order that slashes the tariffs on rice imports.

President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. approved Executive Order No. 62, which reduces the tariff on rice imports to 15% from 35% previously. This is widely expected to help bring down rice prices and rein in inflation.

Mr. Remolona last week said the Monetary Board is “on track” and “somewhat more likely than before” to slash rates at its Aug. 15 policy meeting as he expects the consumer price index (CPI) to further ease this semester with the implementation of lower tariffs on rice.

The BSP could cut rates by 25 bps in the third quarter and by another 25 bps in the fourth quarter, he added.

The Monetary Board’s Aug. 15 review is its only meeting in the third quarter. Meanwhile, its last two reviews for the year will be held in the fourth quarter and are scheduled on Oct. 17 and Dec. 19.

An August cut would be the first for the BSP in over three years, which last slashed borrowing costs by 25 bps in November 2020 to bring the policy rate to a record low of 2% during the pandemic.

The Philippine Statistics Authority will release June CPI data on Friday (July 5). A BusinessWorld poll of 14 analysts yielded a median estimate of 3.9% for June inflation, within the BSP’s 3.4-4.2% forecast for the month.

Headline inflation averaged 3.5% for the first five months, well within the central bank’s 2-4% goal for the year. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson

Dining In/Out (07/04/24)

Chocolate at Solaire

CELEBRATE Chocolate Month at Solaire Resort Entertainment City with new chocolate creations ranging from cakes to pastries and savory bites, available for a limited time only. At Finestra, a chocolate-filled Sunday brunch awaits with tiramisu tartlets, creamy coffee chocolate Zucotto cake, orange and gianduja cake, Amarena and white chocolate maritozzo panna, and rich Torta Barozzi with Disaronno cream. Diners can enjoy milk or white chocolate nitrogen gelato made in front of them and have this Italian staple with decadent toppers or a homemade biscotti. At Yakumi, diners can explore innovative chocolate flavors sourced from Japan. Begin Sunday brunch with the seafood and meat teppanyaki station or opt for a personalized hotpot experience with sukiyaki or shabu-shabu. This can end with Japanese-inspired chocolate cocktails and diners can enjoy a premium upgrade of free-flowing Junmai Daiginjo Sake. End brunch on a sweet note with a dessert bento featuring Nama Cocoa, a lusciously smooth ganache known for its pure and fresh ingredients. At Fresh, the buffet features an exclusive chocolate dessert bar. While Japanese, Mediterranean, Italian, Filipino, and Chinese cuisine are up for grabs at the buffet, the dessert bar will have Solaire’s signature chocolate cake, white chocolate, rose and pistachio tart, dark chocolate and coffee cake with orange, and chocolate jelly and mango verrines. Meanwhile, there’s a Chocolate Afternoon Tea experience at Oasis Garden Cafe, where visitors can have the Fondant Baulois, or a chocolate cherry club sandwich, cocoa scones, or caramelized milk chocolate mousse with peanut powder and orange gel. For something savory after a sweet-filled afternoon, there are the Foie gras chocolate macaron with cranberry jelly, chipotle pulled chicken taco, or Yuzu marinated king fish tartlet with black truffle. For lighter bites, indulge in dainty tea sandwiches including chicken mousse, croissant with pistachio crumbs, or smoked salmon on bagel bread with cream cheese and salmon roe. For more information, call 8888-8888 or e-mail restaurantevents@solaireresort.com.

Madcafe opens in Mindanao

QUEZON City-based Madcafe has opened a branch in Cagayan de Oro. Madcafe Mindanao, an Encanto-themed café, is the latest venture of Gila Salvador-Arellano. The restaurant has a pork-free and alcohol-free menu to accommodate the Muslim traditions of the community. Their menu includes its signature Sunrise Steak Bowl, Smoked Bangus, Beef Rendang, and Plant-based Sisig. It offers an extensive range of coffee-based drinks, milk tea offerings, and themed drinks like Pepa’s Blend and Isabella Frappe. Among the cafe’s facilities are a play area and a prayer room, creating a welcoming atmosphere for families. Madcafe Mindanao is at Masterson’s Ave., Upper Balulang, Cagayan de Oro.

Chowking offers P99 meals

CHOWKING’S Mix & Match: Lucky Combos means enjoying Chowking favorites for P99. Until Aug. 31, diners can savor a variety of options while on a budget. They can choose from Chowking’s Mix & Match Combos, pairing main dishes like Chao Fan, Chunky Asado Siopao, Pancit Canton, or Wonton Mami with their choice of sides, from Halo-Halo Supreme (small), three-piece Buchi, Chicharap, Kangkong with Bagoong, or a Medium Drink — all for P99. The promo is available daily, all day, for dine-in and takeout only.

CoComelon is now on Jollibee toys

JOLLIBEE Kids Meal’s latest educational toys feature characters from the hit children’s show CoComelon, namely CoComelon, JJ, Tomtom, and Yoyo. Colorful pictures and letter cards help children discover new words with CoComelon’s Word Quest, and they can learn numbers and basic equations with Tomtom’s Math Stamp. They can get creative with Yoyo’s Color Surprise, and play with JJ’s Shape Toss. Each CoComelon playset is available with the purchase of any of these items: a Yumburger with Drink (P120), Yumburger Solo (P95), one-piece Chickenjoy with Drink (P162), one-piece Chickenjoy Solo (P137), a Burger Steak with Drink (P140), a Burger Steak (P115), Jolly Spaghetti with Drink (P140), Jolly Spaghetti Solo (P115), four-piece Chicken Nuggets with Drink (P115), and four-piece Chicken Nuggets Solo (P140). The promo is available until Aug. 31.

Professional chefs vie for national title in pasta tilt

BARILLA for Professionals, one of the leading global providers of high-quality food service products, gathered expert cooks at the Philippine finals of the 2024 Pasta Championship Asia. The national tilt was organized in collaboration with the Werdenberg International Corp., distributor of imported foods and wines and equipment products from different countries, and Chefs in Progress, the professional culinary organization of the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) School of Hotel, Restaurant, and Institution Management (SHRIM). Held at the Angelo King International Center, the participants, mostly from hotels and restaurants, were challenged to present their distinct and original creations which highlight pasta as the focal element of the dish. Out of the seven contenders, chef Joana Paula Tiglao of Manila Marriott Hotel was hailed as the national champion. Ms. Tiglao, whose specialties and experience range from cafeteria and fine dining, to banquet and buffet, nabbed the top prize with a personal recipe of Vegan Spaghetti Bolognese. The competition served as an avenue for gastronomic innovations: Spaghetti Caldereta by The Bistro Group Corporate Head RND Chef Raul Bolledo, Jr., Spaghetti Moringa Pesto with Prawns by Tartufo Ristorante Deputy Head Chef Danilo Cartujano, and Seafood Saffron Spaghetti by The Alley by Vikings Executive Sous-Chef Danier Tupas. Completing the line-up were Camarona Truffle Shrimp and Crab Fat Carbonara by Jab’s Park Café Restaurant Bar Chef de cuisine Karl Vincent Manlapaz, Nduja Ala Vongole by Mama Lou’s Italian Kitchen Corporate Chef and Benilde Culinary Arts alumnus Carlo Luis Carlos, and Tomato, Olives, and Artichoke Pasta by The Palms Country Club Jalyzza Ogayon. Judges included Barilla Group Asia, Africa, Australia, and New Zealand Regional Executive Chef Andrea Tranchero, Werdenberg’s Chief Operating Officer Othmar Frei, and Benilde Culinary Arts Chairperson and Les Toques Blanches Philippines Chefs Association Director for Memberships Margarita Marty. Ms. Tiglao will represent the Philippines in the regional stage of the 2024 Pasta Championship Asia against fellow national winners from Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, China, India, Vietnam, and South Korea. The grand finals will be held in October in Manila. For more information about the 2024 Pasta Asia Championship, visit chefcompetition2024.barillagroup.com/.

Canvas student app now available offline

INSTRUCTURE Holdings, Inc. has launched an offline access feature for its student mobile application Canvas Learning Management System (LMS), making it accessible to learners with limited Internet access.

Instructure said in a statement last week that the feature allows users to download content on their devices and access it anytime and anywhere, regardless of service availability.

Through this feature, educational institutions can let their students access content and vital course information outside the classroom, “fostering a more equitable experience” for all learners.

“The LMS is the single most important tool a student uses outside the classroom to learn and engage with course content,” Instructure Chief Product Officer Shiren Vijiasingam said.

Providing offline access to course content offers learners more flexibility in how and where they choose to learn, supporting Instructure’s mission to make education more accessible and equitable, he added.

While real-time communication is not possible when using the offline mode, the platform will automatically update with changes to course content once they go online.

The feature also has interactive in-app navigation and lets users download content on the multiple devices, allowing them to have access to educational materials on shared devices, the company said.

“The availability of this feature can be customized at the institution level, allowing for a tailored user experience,” Instructure added. — A.R.A. Inosante

Young adults more financially literate vs other age groups, BSP study shows

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YOUNG ADULTS have higher financial literacy compared to other age groups, highlighting the need to educate more individuals and households across different ages, economic classes, and levels of educational attainment to allow them to be financially resilient and improve overall welfare, according to a Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) discussion paper.

The paper said young adults “display higher financial literacy than the middle-aged and senior cohorts.”

“Looking at the financial literacy index (FLI) scores for different demographic and economic factors and categories, we find that among the age cohorts, the young adult group recorded the highest financial literacy,” it said.

“We found that age and the life cycle matter in people’s financial behavior. Depending on the life stage they are in, people tend to exhibit more short-term or long-term behaviors,” it added.

The BSP’s 2021 Financial Inclusion Survey showed that only 2% percent of Filipinos were able to correctly answer all the six basic financial literacy questions.

“Equipping individuals and households with the necessary knowledge, skills, and ability to make informed financial decisions is crucial in ensuring their financial resilience and well-being. These, in turn, would lead to higher overall welfare,” the paper said.

“At the macro level, financial literacy can contribute to a more efficient allocation of financial resources in the economy and to greater financial stability. Financial literacy is also considered an essential component of financial inclusion.”

The study showed females have “slightly lower financial aptitude and overall financial literacy” versus males.

“Income and education are both positively related to financial literacy with the latter having a higher coefficient indicating that respondents with at least high school education have higher financial knowledge and skills,” it added.

The study showed that those with higher financial literacy are “less likely to spend less than or equal to their income.”

“Middle-aged individuals and senior age persons likewise appear to be less likely to spend within their income compared to young adults.”

Those with better financial aptitude scores are more likely to pay their loans on time, the paper said.

“Middle-aged persons are also less likely to have a loan- to-income ratio of less than one compared to the young adult group… In terms of loan payment, individuals with higher financial attitude scores are more likely to pay on time,” it added.

It was also found that individuals that are likely to have retirement or pension plans were those with higher financial aptitude and are middle-aged or seniors.

“Additionally, they are more likely to have insurance and other plans… We observe that many Filipino adults engage in savings, borrowing, and investment activities, but only a small number have pension plans and savings. These are also mostly the mandatory retirement plans for public and private sector employees,” it added.

The paper found there is still a need to enhance current financial education programs.

“Designing financial programs and interventions that aim at increasing financial literacy is important for developing and reinforcing positive financial behaviors. In the Philippines, significant strides have been made towards increasing and improving financial education,” it said.

“Given that the Philippines’ demographic is shifting toward an aging population, there is a need to increase and intensify financial education programs emphasizing retirement planning and saving. These programs could help Filipino adults remain financially resilient even in their retirement years.” — L.M.J.C. Jocson

Gokongwei Brothers Foundation, Khan Academy team up to support PHL education

THE PHILANTHROPIC ARM of the Gokongwei Group has partnered with the Philippine counterpart of nonprofit educational organization Khan Academy on Wednesday to help improve the country’s education sector.

Gokongwei Brothers Foundation (GBF) will provide investment support and thought partnership to Khan Academy Philippines, which seeks to reach one million learners by the end of 2026.

“Our partnership with GBF is both a thought partnership because they have been in the education space for 30 years, as well as investment support,” Khan Academy Philippines Chief Executive Officer Geraldine Acuña-Sunshine said during the partnership’s launch event in Pasig City.   

“They provided a very important investment for us to get started. Going forward, we will need a lot of partners because the education crisis is huge. We’re really calling on other non-governmental organizations to support us, like in the telecommunications and gadget space,” she added.

Founded by financial analyst Sal Khan in 2008, Khan Academy offers a global education technology platform.

Khan Academy Philippines is the first international franchisee of Khan Academy. It aims to localize the platform’s content and align it with the Department of Education’s (DepEd) curriculum.

For school year 2024-2025, Khan Academy Philippines aims to expand to more schools across the country and to include more DepEd-aligned elementary Math courses.

It also eyes to introduce its artificial intelligence-powered teaching assistant, Khanmigo, and propose teacher certification courses for approval by the National Educators Academy of the Philippines.

“GBF in its 30 years of service, has had significant strides in improving access to quality education for both learners and educations. We see Khan Academy as an integral part of our plan to reach more learners to provide free quality education for all,” GBF Managing Director Lisa Gokongwei-Cheng said.

In August last year, Khan Academy Philippines was launched in 34 schools (30 public and four private) across Quezon City, Mandaluyong, Manila, Marikina, Makati, Pasig, Pasay, Las Piñas, and Dumaguete City.

The pilot launch for school year 2023-2024 included 71 Math teachers, 3,250 students, and 600 parents. It started with training Math teachers on how to use Khan Academy’s platform as teaching aid, strategies on growth mindset, mastery learning, and student progress monitoring.

Participating schools used various techniques such as dedicated “Khan Academy time” in their schedules, dedicated Wi-Fi use for the platform, and providing one device per student at a time for better learning experience. Parents were also oriented and included in the process to ensure that they could support their children’s use of the platform.

“Our expansion plans are hinged on partnerships with schools and companies like the Gokongwei Group and the GBF who share our vision of a better future through education,” Ms. Acuña-Sunshine said.

GBF is the largest private sector provider of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) scholarships in the country. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Green travel essentials now found at SM

INCORPORATING sustainable practices when traveling is easy with SM Green Finds, products that are eco-friendly and which are marked with the Green Finds badge for easy identification in the store.

For a comfortable flight, there are Travel Blue pillows which are made of eco-friendly materials. For travelers who prefer to bring their own towels, SM Home offers quick-drying Hosh bamboo travel towels which are not only eco-friendly but are also lightweight and compact for easy packing.

Over at Kultura, there eco-friendly, lightweight shopping totes in different prints and sizes for lugging around souvenirs. There is also a line of katsa (cheesecloth) bags and sustainable bags made of upcycled denim. A raffia belt bag makes wandering around on holiday easy while being fashionable at the same time.

The Supplies Station inside SM Store also has its own sustainable bags like a katsa tote bag and Eco Jute Bags that come in different sizes. These are not only sustainable but are easy on the budget as well.

For those who prefer to bring their own reuseable tumblers and utensils, check out Kultura’s line of bamboo products. Bamboo is durable, biodegradable and stylish. Kultura also has a line of bamboo eye wear.

Don’t forget to pack clean beauty essentials on a trip. SM Beauty carries Luxe Organix Cica Soothing Gel — for easing sunburn — that comes with easy to carry refill packs. For ease when cleaning up there is Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water (for makeup removal) and Watsons Antibacterial Biodegradable Cleansing Wipes that is free from alcohol, parabens, silicon and mineral oil. These are 100% plant-based wipes which are eco-friendly, convenient, and disposable.

For travelling with a baby or toddler, the Baby Company also has green travel essentials like bibs, a milk pump, and organic juices under the Only Organic brand. Meanwhile, Toy Kingdom carries the SES brand of toys that are 100% carbon neutral, and Melissa and Doug branded toys, which are sustainably packaged and also 100% carbon neutral.

Keep older kids busy on the plane, train, or automobile with a box of Crayola. As a company, Crayola invests in 100% renewable energy, enough to make over three billion crayons, 700 million markers, and 120 million jars of paint a year.

SM Green Finds is one of the key programs under the SM Green Movement, a group-wide Sustainability initiative aimed to encourage multi-stakeholder collaboration to create a shift in mindset and behavior toward a better and improved quality of life for every Filipino, anchored on three pillars: Green Planet, Green Culture, and Green Living.

A matter of luck

FREEPIK

THERE are just some people who believe in good fortune and avoiding its negative version. Even in house construction there are rules on the location of the doors and the windows and how to deflect bad vibes. Does the flow of the wind really bring good chi?

In personal grooming, these beliefs in supernatural forces, not necessarily religious, prevail. How else can one explain a cultivated goatee allowed to grow uncut and comprising of not more than five strands of hair? It has nothing to do with good grooming. (Yes, these eccentrics have fortunes to hang on too.)

Trying to get a lucky strike or avoid misfortune is a lifelong goal. Some prefer training and attending seminars, or “upskilling” — the more I practice, the luckier I get. Others prefer to consult fortune tellers who even advertise on billboards at bus stops.

From ancient times, priests and conjurers tried to predict the outcome of battles and looked for signs on the best time to embark on a major invasion or coup. The Romans routinely checked the entrails of birds on the best time for a triumph, the parade of a victor returning from battle. Still, a charioteer accompanying the victorious general was obliged to whisper to the victor’s ear that “this too shall pass” — sic transit gloria.

Do people really postpone construction when beset by stern warnings of “impediments in initiating a new project”? When does the “ghost month” start and end? When the warnings are defied and ill fortune befalls the project like the collapse of a wall, the unfortunate builder may well regret not heeding his astrological consultant.

Reading one’s good fortune in the coming year creates its own problems. The false sense of security can lead to smug arrogance that challenges the gods (or the writers of the horoscope) to back up their promise.

The idea that a certain group of people sharing an accident of birth dates will undergo a common fate is hard to swallow. Still, horoscope readers tend to be personalized and see the prediction as intended only for them. “Someone above you who has consistently derailed your career progress will be summarily dismissed for fraud. He will be screaming your name as the whistleblower as he is dragged out by his glued toupee.” Interpretations can point to a difficult boss being pirated by the competition and no longer able to inflict pain on you. It can be a romantic rival who decides to migrate to Canada… or a neighbor who always blocks your driveway with his SUV finally constructing his own garage rather than parking on the street.

Phrasings for fortune telling are intentionally vague to allow for multiple interpretations. Few readings are specific enough to allow only a single meaning — the SOB who had been hounding you all of last year will be stricken by bird flu and live in excruciating pain for 12 days in July before swooning in a narcoleptic fit and being cremated by mistake while still alive. Only the telltale tear among the ashes will indicate the dreadful mistake.

Fortune hunting is not always about gold-diggers. It can mean searching for the best reading of the future. Anyway, most astrological pieces tend to be optimistic. You can go through different glossy magazines in the beauty parlor for metrosexuals and glance through the various entries for a fire dog in the year of the fire pig next year. The worst reading (all your dreams will come true in the first semester, and then you will wake up) can be discarded.

Is it best to rely on a volatile fate which bodes neither good nor bad fortune? Life presents its own strokes of fate (like having an umbrella when it rains). It seems best to be surprised by unexpected events without benefit of anticipation. Still, life’s little speed bumps can be unusually bone-rattling.

Anticipation of bad luck can be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Indecision and wavering before taking the plunge may result in unfortunate results. Explaining away any development as a matter of luck can distort analysis of what really happened, or what needs to be done about it.

As the stoic Epictetus puts it, “You can’t control what happens to you, only how you react to it.” So maybe we should pray for equanimity… when good fortune strikes — how long will it last?

 

Tony Samson is chairman and CEO of TOUCH xda

ar.samson@yahoo.com

How the Philippines can protect itself from a rising tide of ransomware attacks

MARKUS SPISK-UNSPLASH

By Scott Hesford

RECENTLY, the Department of Information and Communications Technology announced that the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) and the Department of Science and Technology suffered cyberattacks, which were confirmed as ransomware attacks. Faced with an increasing number of sophisticated cyberattacks, government agencies in the Philippines are racing to strengthen their security measures to protect their core systems and data.

Many of the cybercriminals behind these attacks are using leaked ransomware builders. Their goal appears to be to cause disruption of core government services and, in turn, problems for citizens.

There are a range of ransomware builders in use, including Vice Society, Clop, AlphV, and LockBit. Interestingly, the notes received by victims of many of the ransomware attacks appear to have been copied from the original LockBit template and do not include contact details.

This indicates that cybercriminals have little interest in actually extracting ransom payments, but are instead focused purely on causing disruption and losses. In many cases, attackers are also posting details of their successes on discussion boards and social media sites in an effort to gain notoriety.

Outside the Philippines, LockBit is also proving to be a popular option for cybercriminals. During the past 12 months alone, notable victims have included The Royal Mail (UK), Hospital for Sick Children (Canada), Managed Care of North America (US), and Center Hospital Sud Francilien (France).

THE ORIGINS OF LOCKBIT
Since first being discovered in 2019, LockBit has grown to become one of the most successful cybercrime operations in the world. In 2022, it was estimated to account for 44% of all ransomware campaigns.

LockBit operates as a ransomware-as-a-service operator. This means it focuses on delivering ransomware attack capabilities for a fee to criminals who lack the technical knowledge to undertake attacks alone.

LockBit attacks also regularly use a “double extortion” technique, where data is stolen before it is encrypted on a victim’s systems. This allows the attacker to threaten to publish the data on the Internet if the ransom is not paid.

TACTICS AND TECHNIQUES
Ransomware attacks make use of a range of different tactics to successfully penetrate a victim’s IT infrastructure. These include:

• Privilege escalation: This approach often makes use of local administrator privileges to abuse elevation control mechanisms. LockBit is regularly observed performing user account control bypass techniques.

• Defensive evasion: To evade detection, LockBit regularly disables security tools and clears Windows Event logs. These actions require the attacker to have at least local administrator privileges on the endpoint and the ability to execute code.

• Credential access: LockBit attackers sometimes use OS Credential Dumping tools, such as ExtPassword and LostMyPassword, to access the credentials of other users accessing an endpoint device. This allows them to capture the credentials of potentially privileged domain users and escalate their access.

• Lateral movement: LockBit attackers sometimes use administrator accounts and SMB (Server Message Block) to achieve lateral movement within an IT infrastructure.

DEFENDING AGAINST LOCKBIT ATTACKS
To avoid falling victim to a LockBit-powered ransomware attack, organizations need to focus on a number of security fundamentals. Together, they can significantly enhance existing protective measures. They include:

• Keep software patched: Keeping operating systems and application software up to date is vital, particularly for public-facing systems. Known software vulnerabilities often provide attackers a way to execute code on a victim’s systems.

• Enforce a policy of least privilege: Ransomware attackers rely on gaining access to accounts with admin access rights. By using an endpoint privilege management tool, local admin rights can be removed without affecting user experience.

• Apply controlled access: It’s important to move towards zero trust architectures and away from VPN and RDP solutions that provide attackers with broad access to an organization’s network. Focus on giving users only the access they need in a way that is controlled and auditable. Multifactor authentication is also highly recommended.

• Control execution: Application control is a well-established defense against a significant number of threats. While it may appear to be a daunting task when combined with privilege management, it can be very achievable.

AN ONGOING THREAT
Ransomware attacks based on LockBit present an alarming threat to many other organizations in the Philippines. The criminal group’s innovative approach to ransomware combined with a small army of technically skilled affiliates makes it dangerous.

For this reason, it is vital to ensure that the security measures organizations have in place can withstand such attacks. Threats need to be quickly identified and prevented from progressing through an IT infrastructure.

LockBit is going to remain a feature of the cybersecurity landscape in the Philippines for an extended period. Taking the necessary protection steps now will reduce the chances of falling victim to these kinds of cyberattacks in the future.

 

Scott Hesford is the director of Solutions Engineering for Asia-Pacific and Japan at BeyondTrust.

PSEi member stocks performed — July 3, 2024

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Wednesday, July 3, 2024.

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