Facebook Instagram Linkedin Twitter Youtube
Home Blog Page 1579

In Chile, coastal construction on sand dunes raises alarm as sinkholes multiply

STOCK PHOTO | Image by Julian Hacker from Pixabay

VIÑA DEL MAR, Chile – Residents of the gleaming apartment buildings built atop sand dunes that dot Chile’s Pacific coast are expressing mounting concerns for their safety after a series of sinkholes.

Three sinkholes have opened up this year near or directly under the buildings following heavy rainfall. The affected area is just north of the Chilean city of Viña del Mar, one of the South American country’s most popular tourist destinations famed for its picturesque rocky coastline.

One of the sinkholes filled a building parking garage with mud and dirt, practically burying several cars.

“As a family, we decided to leave,” said former resident Gabriel, who declined to provide his surname, pointing to the building where he used to live.

“Even if the view here is really pretty, there’s an imminent risk.”

The most recent sinkholes struck near buildings erected on sand dunes near the town of Concon, located on a marine terrace more than 100 feet (30 meters) above sea level and rich in wildlife. Some buildings suffered significant damage.

Local experts warn that Concon building projects are ill-advised.

“There shouldn’t be construction on the dunes because these are very fragile systems,” said Luis Ribba, a University of Chile geologist, adding that even sound foundations can fail in this environment.

Over the past three decades, a battle has played out over how much of the area should be off limits to development.

Only 12 hectares of the dunes were protected after officials granted the area nature-sanctuary status in 1994, out of a total area that spans 45 hectares.

The unprotected areas have seen some of the most heavily-criticized construction projects, even as new protections authorized in 2006 cover about 22 hectares. – Reuters

US pushing Netherlands, Japan to restrict more chipmaking equipment to China, source says

REUTERS/FLORENCE LO/ILLUSTRATION/FILE PHOTO

US official was headed to Japan after meeting with the Dutch government in an effort to push allies to further crack down on China’s ability to produce cutting-edge semiconductors, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.

Alan Estevez, the US export policy chief, was again trying to build on a 2023 agreement between the three countries to keep chipmaking equipment from China that could modernize its military.

The US first imposed sweeping restrictions in 2022 on shipments of advanced chips and chipmaking equipment to China from the likes of California-based Nvidia and Lam Research.

Last July, to align with US policy, Japan, home to chip equipment makers Nikon Corp. and Tokyo Electron, curbed exports of 23 types of equipment, from machines that deposit films on silicon wafers to devices that etch out the microscopic circuits.

Then the Dutch government began to regulate Netherlands-based ASML’s deep ultra violet (DUV) semiconductor equipment to China and the U.S. imposed restrictions on additional DUV machines to a handful of Chinese factories, claiming jurisdiction because ASML’s systems contain U.S. parts and components. ASML is the world’s top chip equipment maker.

Washington is now talking to allies about adding 11 more Chinese chipmaking factories to a restricted list, the person said. There are currently five factories on the list, the person said, including SMIC, China’s largest chipmaker.

The US also is saying it wants to control additional chipmaking equipment, the person said.

A spokesperson for the US Commerce Department declined comment.

US officials visited the Netherlands in April in a push to stop ASML from servicing certain equipment in China. Under US rules, American firms are barred from servicing equipment at advanced Chinese factories.

But the ASML servicing contracts are still in place, the person said, explaining that the Dutch government does not have the extraterritorial scope to cut them off.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Sanctioned Chinese telecoms giant Huawei last year came out with a phone powered by a sophisticated chip. The Huawei Mate 60 Pro was seen as a symbol of the China’s technological resurgence despite Washington’s efforts. – Reuters

Hundreds die of extreme heat on Muslim pilgrimage, reports say

STOCK PHOTO | Image by jakman1 from Pixabay

RIYADH/MINA – Hundreds of visitors have died during the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca amid scorching heat, according to press reports and foreign ministries.

At least 550 people have died on haj, diplomats told French outlet Agence France Presse (AFP) on Tuesday. Three hundred and twenty-three of the dead were Egyptians, most of whom perished due to heat-related illness, AFP reported, citing two Arab diplomats.

Reuters was not able to immediately verify those numbers.

Stampedes, tent fires and other accidents have caused hundreds of deaths during haj to Saudi Arabia in the past 30 years. The pilgrimage began on Friday.

Saudi state TV said temperatures rose on Monday as high as 51.8 degrees Celsius (125.2 Fahrenheit) in the shade at the Grand Mosque in Mecca.

A 2024 study by the Journal of Travel and Medicine found that rising global temperatures may outpace strategies to deal with the heat. A 2019 study by Geophysical Research Letters said that as temperatures rise in arid Saudi Arabia due to climate change, pilgrims performing haj will face “extreme danger”.

Thirty-five Tunisian citizens have died during the haj, Tunisian news agency Tunis Afrique Presse said on Tuesday.

Many of those deaths were due to extreme heat, family members said on social media, as other families continued to search for missing relatives in Saudi hospitals.

The Jordanian foreign ministry said it had issued 41 burial permits for Jordanian pilgrims on Tuesday. Earlier, the ministry said at least six Jordanian citizens died of heat stroke during the haj.

Eleven Iranians have died and 24 were hospitalized during the pilgrimage, Iranian state news outlet IRINN said on Tuesday without giving the causes of death.

Three Senegalese citizens also died during haj, Agence de Presse Sénégalaise, said on Monday.

One hundred and forty-four Indonesian citizens died during the pilgrimage, Indonesian health ministry data showed on Tuesday. The data did not specify if any of the deaths were due to heat stroke.

 

PHYSICAL EXERTION

The haj is an annual pilgrimage that millions of Muslims make to Mecca to perform religious rites as taught by the Prophet Mohammad to his followers 14 centuries ago.

A Saudi health official, speaking to Reuters on Monday, before many of the reports of deaths were issued, said that authorities had not noticed any unusual fatalities among Muslim pilgrims amid the extremely high temperatures.

The ministry had so far treated more than 2,700 pilgrims who suffered from heat-related illness, he added.

“Haj is a difficult task, so you have to exert efforts and perform the rituals even in the conditions of heat and crowding,” an Egyptian pilgrim told Reuters on Sunday.

Pilgrims used umbrellas to protect themselves from the sun, as Saudi authorities warned pilgrims to stay hydrated and avoid being outdoors during the hottest hours between 11 a.m. (0800 GMT) and 3 p.m.

Haj, one of the largest mass gatherings in the world, is a once-in-a-lifetime duty for able-bodied Muslims who can afford it. It will end on Wednesday.

More than 1.8 million pilgrims were expected to take part this year, according to the Saudi General Authority for Statistics.

More IFPs to be fast-tracked — NEDA

Nearly 50 infrastructure flagship projects are expected to be fast-tracked as the government streamlines the permitting process. — PHILIPPINE STAR/MIGUEL DE GUZMAN

NEARLY 50 infrastructure flagship projects (IFPs) in the pipeline will be fast-tracked as the government streamlines the process of securing permits, licenses and other clearances, a National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) official said.

This comes after the government on Tuesday launched the implementing guidelines for Executive Order (EO) No. 59, which limits the number of permits or clearances required for IFPs and simplifies the permit approval process of government agencies.

“We have a number of projects in what we call pre-project implementation. These projects are not yet ready for approval, but they’re seeking all the clearances, detailed engineering designs, consultation, and so forth and so on,” NEDA Undersecretary Joseph J. Capuno told reporters on the sidelines of an event on Tuesday.

He said that between 35 and 50 projects are for pre-project implementation, covering the transport, irrigation, and agriculture sectors.

Out of the total count, 40 are projects under the Department of Transportation, six are under the Department of Public Works and Highways, one is under the National Irrigation Authority, and one is a project under the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority.

Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) Secretary Ernesto V. Perez said that under the EO guidelines, the number of agencies that would issue permits for IFPs has been reduced to about 18 from the current 30.

“Now with EO 59 directing all National Government agencies and local government units involved in issuing licenses, clearances, permits, certifications, and authorizations for IFPs… we have been able to reduce these from 30 to just about 12 or maximum of 18 government licensing agencies,” Mr. Perez said during the event.

NEDA and ARTA have yet to provide the complete list of agencies that would be tasked to issue permits for IFPs.

“By limiting the number of requirements, the LGUs (local government units) and the agencies now are compelled to observe this,” Mr. Perez said, noting that offices previously mandated different requirements that delayed the permit granting process.

Under the guidelines, licensing agencies must follow the 3-7-20 rule as stated in Republic Act (RA) No. 11032 or the Ease of Doing Business Law. This means simple transactions must be completed within three calendar days, complex transactions within seven days, and highly technical transactions within 20 days.

An agency’s failure to act within the given timeline means an IFP application will be deemed approved, according to EO guidelines.

Mr. Capuno also clarified that EO 59 only covers the permitting process for IFPs. The 120-day approval limit for IFPs pending at the NEDA Investment Coordination Committee and the NEDA Board will still be covered under RA 11966 or the Public-Private Partnership Code.

The guidelines will also allow the use of electronic or digital signatures, and limit the number of signatories required on documents, NEDA Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said in a speech delivered by Mr. Capuno at Tuesday’s event.

The rules also allow the simultaneous processing of applications through the submission of an Affidavit of Undertaking. It also requires the automatic approval or renewal of documents if licensing agencies do not act within the prescribed time.

IFP licensing and related agencies are also required to automate and computerize their database and adopt an online or electronic submission portal to ensure seamless data sharing and faster permitting process.

All government offices and LGUs are also required to set up one-stop shops for IFPs, according to EO guidelines.

Under EO 59, the only local permits or clearances required for flagship projects include the environmental compliance certificate or certificate of non-coverage from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources; building or occupancy permit issued by a municipal official; excavation permit from the local government unit (LGU), and clearances from the National Commission for Culture and Arts, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, Department of Public Works and Highways, and the Bases Conversion and Development Authority as applicable.

The Marcos administration has identified 185 IFPs with a total value of P9.54 trillion.

Mr. Balisacan said three IFPs have been completed since the beginning of the Marcos administration.

The Samar Pacific Coastal Road Project and the Integrated Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation Measures in Pampanga Bay Project were completed in 2023. The Flood Risk Improvement and Management Project for the Cagayan de Oro River was finished earlier this year.

“We look forward to completing more projects in 2024 and beyond as we accelerate the rollout of our IFPs,” he added.

The National Government aims to spend 5.6% of gross domestic product on infrastructure projects until 2028. — B.M.D.Cruz

PHL competitiveness still lags in Asia-Pacific

The Philippine flag is raised at the Rizal Monument in Manila, June 11, 2024. — PHILIPPINE STAR/EDD GUMBAN

By Justine Irish D. Tabile, Reporter

THE PHILIPPINES saw its ranking in an annual global competitiveness report remain unchanged and continued to be one of the laggards in the Asia-Pacific region amid a drop in business efficiency.

In its 2024 World Competitiveness Ranking (WCR) by the Switzerland-based International Institute for Management Development (IMD), the Philippines ranked 52nd out of 67 economies, unchanged from last year.

It also marked the seventh year that the Philippines remained in 13th place out of the 14 Asia-Pacific economies included in the report.

Philippines remains Asia's laggard in competitiveness ranking

Singapore topped this year’s list, followed by Switzerland, Denmark, Ireland and Hong Kong.

This year, the index expanded its scope to include Ghana, Nigeria and Puerto Rico. In 2023, there were only 64 economies covered by the index.

IMD ranked the economies using 336 indicators spread across four competitiveness factors: economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency, and infrastructure.

José Caballero, senior economist at the IMD World Competitiveness Center, said that the factors that have diminished the Philippines’ competitiveness this year are related to government and business efficiency.

Mr. Caballero said that the country saw a decline in measures of business legislation such as the protection of foreign investors (65th), the transparency of public sector contracts (56th), the impact of state-owned enterprises (46th), and new business density (62nd).

Asian Institute of Management (AIM) Rizalino S. Navarro Policy Center for Competitiveness Executive Director Jamil Paolo S. Francisco said the Philippines remained in 52nd place despite a decline in two factors — business efficiency and infrastructure.

The Philippines fell three spots to 43rd on business efficiency this year from 40th in 2023. Significant declines were seen in labor market, finance, management practices, and attitudes and values.

“The drop in business efficiency is particularly worrisome because this was a factor that the Philippines performed relatively well at 10 years ago, and we have observed a steady decline in this factor since 2019,” Mr. Francisco said in an e-mailed statement.

For the infrastructure factor, the Philippines slipped three places to 61st in 2024 from 58th last year. This as challenges persist in basic infrastructure, technological infrastructure and education.

Mr. Francisco said that the country’s drop in the infrastructure factor was a concern, as this has been the Philippines’ weakest area for a very long time.

“This is also worrisome because this means we are really lagging behind in terms of providing the physical, human, technological, and social infrastructure needed by private enterprises to generate employment and create business value,” he added.

The Philippines maintained its 40th rank on economic performance, while it climbed three spots to 49th on government efficiency.

Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman George T. Barcelon said the country should address basic and transport infrastructure in order to be competitive.

“When you want to be competitive, especially in the industry and service side, you need to have some of the basic infrastructure, such as availability of quality and affordable power,” Mr. Barcelon said in a phone interview.

“The other one is the availability of mobility or connectivity like roads, seaports, airports, and main corridors for the agriculture sector, which we don’t have,” he added.

The government should also address the decline in the skills of the country’s workforce.

“We are not giving them the proper tools… The technology that’s required now for higher value-added jobs requires more, such as in information technology and in the fourth industrial revolution,” Mr. Barcelon said. “There are some shortcomings in that. But that can be easily addressed if we beef up more specific or targeted skill sets for certain industries.”

According to IMD, the Philippines was less competitive in the areas of business legislation (60th), basic infrastructure (62nd), and education (63rd).

“In 2024, the Philippines faces significant challenges, including revitalizing economic dynamism and growth trajectory, managing inflation expectations, building sustainable physical, social, and technological infrastructure to improve productivity and reduce vulnerabilities, and addressing territorial disputes in the West Philippine Sea to mitigate economic disruptions,” the AIM center said.

Meanwhile, the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) views the country’s unchanged competitiveness ranking as both good news and a challenge.

“Infrastructure is a major consideration, so we all understand our rank, knowing the need to improve our infrastructure, which the administration of President Marcos is working on,” said MAP President Rene D. Almendras in a Viber message.

“The other consideration is labor productivity, which is a function of the education and development of the Filipino workforce,” he added.

Meanwhile, the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) and the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) are hopeful that the country will improve its ranking next year as the government ramps up its infrastructure projects.

“With the strict implementation of this Executive Order No. 59 as well as related government programs, we expect our ranking to improve next year,” ARTA Secretary Ernesto V. Perez said.

On Tuesday, ARTA launched the implementing guidelines of EO 59, which aim to streamline the permitting process for the government’s infrastructure flagship projects.

“Hopefully, with the full implementation of EO 59, we could notch a bit higher in the next round. In addition to permitting and processes, I think what is also included are right-of-way (ROW) issues,” said NEDA Undersecretary Joseph J. Capuno.

He said that these issues could be addressed by the ROW bill, which is one of the priority bills of Frederick D. Go, the special assistant to the President in charge of investment and economic affairs.

For Foundation for Economic Freedom President Calixto V. Chikiamco, the Philippines will be able to achieve a better ranking in the world competitiveness index if it removes protectionism, especially in relation to agricultural products.

“Protecting the agriculture sector signals no need to improve competitiveness and productivity,” said Mr. Chikiamco in a Viber message.

He added that the country must forge more bilateral free trade agreements, amend the Labor Code, improve education, and reduce bureaucratic regulations, especially in the grant of mining concessions.

According to IMD’s Mr. Caballero, economies that reach high levels of competitiveness have focused on strengthening their public and private institutions, entrepreneurship, and innovative capabilities.

For the Philippines, he said that the country must strengthen its education system to “facilitate the effectiveness of talent development,” as it will also ensure alignment between the country’s available talent and socioeconomic objectives.

In the report, the country ranked 55th in total public expenditure on education, 60th in the quality of primary education, and 63rd in secondary education in terms of pupil-teacher ratio.

“Furthermore, the Philippines’ performance in research and development is feeble,” he added, citing that the country ranked deficiently in all measures of expenditure and the total number of researchers and personnel.

BSP warns banks vs use of automated data-scraping tools

The central bank has warned financial institutions against the use of software robotics and other data-scraping tools in handling sensitive customer data. — IMAGO/WESTLIGHT VIA REUTERS CONNECT

THE BANGKO SENTRAL ng Pilipinas (BSP) has warned its supervised institutions against the use of robotic process automation (RPA) and other scraping methods in handling “sensitive” data.

In a memorandum, the BSP said the use of these technologies have “merits as an internal data collection automation tool” but can hurt the integrity of the financial system.

“The use of RPA and other data-scraping methods, specifically to collect personally identifiable information (PII) and use it in gaining access to financial accounts and/or facilitating financial transaction, is seen to pose significant risks that may undermine consumer trust in financial service providers and compromise the integrity of the financial system,” it said in a memorandum.

Also known as software robotics, RPA employs “intelligent automatic technologies” to perform tasks usually done by human workers such as filling in forms and extracting data.

Data scraping involves a computer program extracting data from a human-readable output.

The central bank said that BSP-supervised financial institutions (BSFIs) use customer data to drive competitive advantages and market opportunities.

“However, improper and/or unauthorized access and handling of customer data, particularly involving financial information, may expose BSFIs to customer complaints and data privacy concerns,” it added.

The BSP emphasized the need for responsible data handling in the financial system.

“The proper handling and protection of PII and other sensitive data serve as cornerstones of customer privacy and represent critical components in the prevention of fraud, identity theft, and other financial crimes,” it said.

UK cybersecurity firm NCC Group earlier said that the finance and industrial sectors in the Philippines are among the top targets for cyberattacks in the country.

The BSP said financial institutions, as personal information controllers of their customers’ data, are responsible for compliance with the Data Privacy Act of 2012 (DPA).

It also noted that BSFIs must adhere to requirements set by the National Privacy Commission.

“These requirements may pertain to the right to data portability, the procedures for obtaining and managing consent, data access methods, and data-sharing arrangements.”

The BSP called on its supervised institutions to “employ robust risk management systems and implement adequate safeguards in handling PII and other sensitive data, including those covered under outsourcing arrangements.”

“These include ensuring compliance with relevant laws and pertinent BSP regulations on financial consumer protection, data privacy and data protection, anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT), cybersecurity, outsourcing, and open finance, among others.”

Moody’s data showed that from 2018 to 2023, the Philippines was among the top five countries in Southeast Asia with money laundering activity events added over the five-year period.

From 2022 to 2023, the number of money laundering events in the country rose by 45%.

“BSFIs should also regularly review and update their policies and practices to reflect the evolving data governance standards and requirements,” the BSP added.

The central bank has been finding ways to improve the banking industry’s cyber resilience against digital attacks, as well as enhancing its monitoring capabilities.

Sought for comment, Economist Intelligence Unit Industry Manager and Lead Analyst for Financial Services Swarup Gupta said that the BSP memorandum is timely given the rise in the adoption of these practices by financial service companies. 

“The comments highlight the current lack of public scrutiny as to how organizations collect and preserve data, especially markers of personally identifiable information,” he said in an e-mail.

“Adherence to international standards, such as the ISO norms, regarding the collection and storage of data by corporations are the need of the hour and regulatory bodies need to hold organizations responsible to these norms,” he added.

Mr. Gupta said that the central bank should release specific rules and regulations on these kinds of practices.

“We should see the emergence of a data ombudsman, which adjudicates on data related issues, within fast digitalizing economies across the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region as well as the passage of laws which define individual data rights in the near future.” — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson

Filipino students among the worst in creative thinking — new OECD study

Students attend a class at the Commonwealth High School, in Quezon City, Metro Manila, April 18, 2024. — REUTERS

FIFTEEN-YEAR-OLD students in the Philippines are among the worst in creative thinking, according to the latest study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The Philippines ranked 63rd out of 64 countries in a 2022 global assessment by the OECD that ranked 15-year-old students worldwide in producing and evaluating original ideas that would translate into effective solutions.

In the 2022 Programme on International Student Assessment (PISA) Volume III published late on Tuesday, the Philippines’ mean score in creative thinking score stood at 14, which was way below the global average of 33.

The Philippines’ score was only better than Albania which had a score of 13.

Singapore topped the list with a score of 41, followed by South Korea and Canada which both scored 38.

The rest of the top 10 included Australia (37),  New Zealand (36), Estonia (36), Finland (36), Denmark (35), Latvia (35) and Belgium (35).

The OECD study was conducted in 2022 with about 690,000 15-year-old students from 66 countries.

“Many countries and economies score at similar levels in creative thinking. Small differences that are not statistically significant or practically meaningful should not be considered,” the OECD said in the assessment.

The OECD said one in four students in the Philippines, Morocco and Saudi Arabia said they found learning new things boring.

Students from the Philippines also did not provide a response for over a fifth of all items in written problem-solving tasks in the assessment.

OECD said that less than three for every 100 students in the top five performing countries of Singapore, South Korea, Canada, Australia and New Zealand performed around or below the average of the weakest performing countries or the Dominican Republic, Uzbekistan, the Philippines and Albania.

In PISA’s 2022 assessment for student performance in mathematics, reading and science, Filipino students were among the world’s weakest in those subjects, ranking 77th out of 81 countries and performing worse than the global average in all categories.

“Beyond preparing students for the labor market, creative thinking in education contributes to students’ holistic development — it supports learning, problem solving and metacognitive skills through exploration and discovery, helping students to interpret information in personally meaningful ways,” the OECD said.

“Creative thinking helps prepare young people to adapt to a rapidly changing world that demands flexible and innovative workers.” — John Victor D. Ordoñez

SM Prime bolsters MSME growth and boom in the Philippines

SM Supermalls continues its commitment to empower and enrich the growth of local Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) by building a thriving ecosystem of entrepreneurship and innovation.

“MSMEs are our local partners in generating value across all the communities we operate in,” said Steven Tan, President of SM Supermalls. “With 99.59% of the local economy composed of MSMEs, the persistence and vibrancy of local trade as well as the generation of jobs on the micro, small, and medium scale hinges on their success.”

In line with this, SM Supermalls continues to implement various programs and plan opportunities for MSMEs to grow their customer base through the vast network of SM malls in the country. With 67% of its tenants being MSMEs, these programs empower entrepreneurs by providing them with accessible and affordable prime retail spaces in SM’s high-foot traffic malls, as well as helpful packages to support their growth.

Marketplace for Success

Various local products sold by SM for MSMEs’ purveyors

“Because SM has been an established brand for over three decades, perhaps people have forgotten that we started out as a small enterprise ourselves,” said Tan. “Our own experience emphasizes the value in supporting our MSMEs and has given us valuable insight we can use to further support this crucial sector in line with the government’s efforts.”

Last May, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) introduced the fourth iteration of the national MSME Development Plan geared to reduce operational costs and eliminate barriers for new entrepreneurs. Through the plan’s implementation, the DTI hopes to grow the number of registered MSMEs, improve their contribution to the larger local economy, and support continual job creation.

The “SM for MSMEs” program supports budding entrepreneurs in overcoming three key challenges they usually face — access to a diverse group of customers, the high cost of traditional operational requirements like rent, and competition with established brands for attention and patronage. Serving as a marketplace for entrepreneurs facing difficulties finding the right venue and market, SM aims to be the incubator of the country’s next big brands.

“SM for MSMEs offer scalable packages to businesses in the communities around SM malls — for as low as P500 per day, small-scale businesses can rent a booth in SM’s high-foot traffic venues during regular exhibits and special events. The program currently has 633 purveyors nationwide, providing an affordable and strategic platform for entrepreneurs to sell their products and reach the right market.

Other Programs of SM for MSMEs

SM initiated its “StartUp Package” in 2021 to assist MSMEs in opening their first brick-and-mortar stores. The package provides startup-friendly rental rates within SM malls along with the free usage of kiosks and carts. Marketing assistance is also provided through free exposure in SM online assets and ad spaces within the malls with valuable mentorship from its experts on operations and marketing. SM also offers financial assistance with BDO network bank. This program is currently running across five malls with 30 purveyors as of writing. Earlier this year, 44 StartUp Market purveyors successfully transitioned to SM tenants.

Supporting Farmers in our Rural Communities

The SM Sunday Market currently runs in 23 SM malls.

On top of these, SM helps support rural communities through opportunities for fair trade that also preserve its cultural heritage. The SM Sunday Market bazaar has been running since last year across 23 active and participating SM malls. Among its 135 purveyors are graduates of SM Foundation’s Kabalikat sa Kabuhayan program farmers who are local food and produce suppliers.

“Throughout SM’s decades of growth, we are familiar with the work and effort it takes to build a business from the ground up. Thus, with these programs SM aims to be a catalyst for the success of local MSMEs through support and tailored offers that further foster economic vitality and social well-being across all communities we operate in,” said Tan. “Because of the success we’ve been met with, not just on our own operations but with the programs and efforts we have initiated, we continue to pay it forward by supporting this crucial, underserved sector in the local economy.”

 

Spotlight is BusinessWorld’s sponsored section that allows advertisers to amplify their brand and connect with BusinessWorld’s audience by publishing their stories on the BusinessWorld Web site. For more information, send an email to online@bworldonline.com.

Join us on Viber at https://bit.ly/3hv6bLA to get more updates and subscribe to BusinessWorld’s titles and get exclusive content through www.bworld-x.com.

Medical Doctors, Inc. to conduct virtual Annual Meeting of Stockholders on July 16

 

 

Spotlight is BusinessWorld’s sponsored section that allows advertisers to amplify their brand and connect with BusinessWorld’s audience by publishing their stories on the BusinessWorld Web site. For more information, send an email to online@bworldonline.com.

Join us on Viber at https://bit.ly/3hv6bLA to get more updates and subscribe to BusinessWorld’s titles and get exclusive content through www.bworld-x.com.

How nature inspires multiple forms of art

RICO LASCANO'S Quietude series at Conrad Manila's Gallery C.

Ross Capili, Rico Lascano convey their sense of wonder

“WE always hope to bring something new to the art scene,” declared Nestor O. Jardin, curator of Conrad Manila’s “Of Art and Wine” series of art exhibits, now on its 30th iteration.

“I know the art styles of Ross Capili and Rico Lascano very well, so I put together a concept that would harmonize them. They are very different, but their communality is the subject matter: how to deal with nature.”

Mr. Capili’s complex mixed media designs depict the rhythm of rain and wind and the vibrant crescendo of colors in bloom. Meanwhile, Mr. Lascano’s minimalist paintings perceive nature as serene and tranquil, inviting viewers to reflect and ponder.

By staging “Interchange,” their ongoing exhibition at Conrad Manila, their contrasting styles converge to convey a sense of wonder inspired by nature. “This is actually my third stint here at Gallery C for the Of Art and Wine series. It’s an experience, putting up a show here, and I always feel that it’s an honor to do so,” said Mr. Capili in his opening speech.

At the launch on May 28, he detailed the amount of planning that went into presenting the two sets of work in a cohesive exhibit, from how they hung on the wall to the way their art was spaced from each other.

He added that appreciating nature is not the only thing one can get from their works, however.

“You can enjoy our paintings, sure. But I am also inviting you to look closely and be disturbed, especially with how we treat nature now,” Mr. Capili said.

His works New Earth Moon and New Earth Sun, for example, show an explosion of acrylic colors on canvas. The colorful brushstrokes of flowers, oceans, and mountains are centered by a stainless sphere — a different color for each work, some black and some gold.

Another take on the dynamism of nature is the Night Sky Tatoo series that depicts butterflies amid leaves, again centered by a silvery or golden orb.

“Nature is something you can’t ignore. You have to respect it,” said Mr. Capili.

For Mr. Lascano, it is best to conceive of nature through the lens of Zen Buddhism, a philosophy he was drawn to even in his early days as an art student.

“I gravitate towards minimalism. I aim for my works to be calming, so as much as possible I remove all unnecessary elements to arrive at a contemplative space,” he said.

His works Quietude I and Quietude II show this perfectly. Acrylic waves of white or blue are etched gently on paper, forming abstract images of the ocean or of mountains.

“It’s like three stages of emptying yourself. The world is chaotic. I want to remove all the stresses of life when I paint. That’s how I arrived at this work,” said Mr. Lascano.

“Of Art and Wine: Interchange” is on view at Gallery C of Conrad Manila until Aug. 3. — Brontë H. Lacsamana

Confounding family dynamics: VLF’s most cohesive set yet

THE VIRGIN LAB FEST (VLF) returns each year to showcase untried and untested one-act plays onstage. Now on its 19th year, the festival takes on narratives that deal with the complex layers of human experience.

This year’s theme is “Pintog,” meaning burst, signifying how VLF can now reap the bursting fruits of their labor. At the Tanghalang Ignacio Gimenez (the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Blackbox Theater), avid festivalgoers pile in, looking forward to the new offerings this year.

“We want to thank you all for visiting this theater as always, to check out the boundless talent that VLF has to offer,” said co-festival director Marco Viaña at the technical dress rehearsals on June 9.

“Higit sa lahat, sana magiliw ang panonood niyo (Most of all, we hope you enjoy the show),” he said.

The curtain opened that night on the complex, family-centered Set B (the plays are grouped into five different sets). Titled Bingit, a word that translates to the brink, audiences were noticeably at the edge of their seats from tension and anticipation.

Sentenaryo by playwright Herlyn Alegre and director Ian Segarra sets the tone perfectly, following a family that fights over the centenarian birthday money of their dying patriarch.

Its strength is the comical take on what would happen were the old man to die before they receive the money. The shenanigans that ensue as the family pretend that he is still alive are an interesting “representation of the current milieu” that mistreats its senior citizens, according to Ms. Alegre.

Director Mr. Segarra said at the rehearsals that it is a physical comedy. “We were able to play with how the actors’ bodies interact with each other in the space of the house,” he explained.

Following the raucous laughter from the first play was the tension of Divine Family by playwright Dip Mariposque and director Roobak Valle. This one is set in a house where estranged family members must live under one roof during the pandemic.

Each of the sibling characters in the play gradually reveal their secrets, some humorous and some scandalous, truly bringing viewers to loud reactions as the family is forced to confront their realities.

“As a regular patron of VLF, I usually have a strong critical eye, but I had to give that up and simply enjoy writing this play,” Mr. Mariposque told BusinessWorld after the rehearsals. “It’s a relief to let the material breathe and be interpreted by the director, and now the audience.”

Personal relationships, dysfunctional dynamics, and siblings on the edge of their sanity made the play a toxic highlight of the set. Its theme, generational trauma, rang true and disturbed audiences well into the intermission.

Finally, Identité by playwright Jhudiel Clare Sosa and director Me-Ann Espinosa served as a powerful finish for the set. It centers on a traditional Filipino mother and her young, headstrong daughter learning to discover herself through her sexuality.

Like the other two, it generated a great number of laughs but delivered equally hard emotional punches. It’s a story of “women empowerment” and how simply having a choice can make or break a woman, according to Ms. Sosa.

“It’s a play that opens an important conversation,” she said at rehearsals.

Surely relatable for daughters who have complex relationships with their mothers, its strength lies in the extreme push-and-pull between the two leads regarding identity and perception — the comic twist best left unspoiled.

VLF 19’s Set B, “Bingit,” is perhaps the most cohesive set brought to VLF’s stage in its recent years. The energy sustained from one play to the next, each full of heart whether they tackle the treatment of senior citizens, the realities of generational trauma, or tough discussions around female empowerment.

Aside from this set of revisited plays seen by BusinessWorld, 12 other new one-act plays from both veteran and upcoming playwrights are being staged until June 30 at the CCP Blackbox Theater. Shows are at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.

The other four sets are: Dilema (Set A), Pu-Tim (Set C), Di-Tiyak (Set D), and Sagad (Set E) — plus two sets of staged readings.

For more information, contact the CCP Box Office or visit the social media accounts of the CCP, Tanghalang Pilipino, The Writers’ Bloc, and Virgin Labfest. — Brontë H. Lacsamana

Bellwether Basel art fair gives lift to sluggish global market

COURTESY OF ART BASEL

ZURICH — Art dealers, collectors and gallery owners from around the world wrapped up several multi-million dollar deals in brisk trade at an annual art fair in the Swiss city of Basel last week, despite a slowdown in the global art market.

Deals at the fair — widely seen as a barometer of global art demand — included the $20-million purchase of a painting by 20th-century American artist Joan Mitchell on the opening day and the sale of a drawing by fellow abstract expressionist Arshile Gorky for $16 million.

The global art market shrank 4% to $65 billion last year, according to the 2024 UBS Global Art Market Report, and the value of sales in the latest New York auction season fell more than 20%.

Against that backdrop, organizers of the Basel fair said sales at the event had come as a relief to gallery owners.

“There’s an exhale collectively for many in the halls about where the market is,” said Noah Horowitz, chief executive of Art Basel, adding that buyers remained more sensitive to pricing than during boom years.

“Great art and ambitious art will … continue to sell,” he said. “But I think it’s a fool’s errand to try to crystal ball gaze with so many factors, economically, geopolitically … in the world right now.”

Many gallery owners said sales had exceeded their expectations.

Isabella Kairis Icoz, a partner at Lehmann Maupin, a gallery with branches in New York, Seoul, London, and Milan, said they had sold 15 works with collectors and museums on the first day.

“I came in slightly cautious … but Basel has been a true testament to its resilience,” Ms. Icoz said, adding that the gallery had seen particularly strong interest from European private collectors.

James Koch, partner at the Hauser & Wirth gallery which was showing works from the secondary market and pieces by contemporary artists, said he had seen a number of young and informed European collectors buying.

“Not only the ones with the larger budgets but also people starting to collect,” he said.

Two scenarios typically emerge in the art market in times of global economic and political uncertainty, said Clare McAndrew, author of the Art Market Report.

“Buyers can hold back, which they did last year, or they can start to anchor on safe works, which is what they might do this year,” she said. — Reuters

1...1,5781,5791,580...12,741Page 1,579 of 12,741
© 2024 BusinessWorld Publishing.
All rights reserved.
Read our privacy guidelines
Facebook Instagram Linkedin Twitter Youtube