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The challenging dynamics of our Independence

A MAN sells Philippine flags of various sizes to motorists plying the southbound lane of EDSA in Quezon City, few days before the celebration of the 126th Philippine Independence on June 12. — PHILIPPINE STAR/ MIGUEL DE GUZMAN

Today’s commemoration of Independence Day will no doubt be the occasion of a recounting of our forebears’ valiant efforts to gain freedom at various points in our history.

There will be a retelling of the measures, big and small, that they took to assert our independence and champion the welfare of our fellowmen. They first went against colonizers, and then fellow Filipinos with vested interests, and, of late, social ills and other banes of modern life.

Indeed, we owe the freedoms we now enjoy — even take for granted — to the known and unknown heroes who stood up for their principles. They risked many things including their own lives.

But we know too well that independence is not an absolute, terminal state. Even though it has been achieved, there is no guarantee that it will not be threatened or cannot be lost again. Often, once the euphoria over its achievement subsides, the constant threats against that precious independence show themselves in ways that are either insidious or menacing. Thus, preserving independence is now a duty that belongs to the current generation who must do everything they can to protect it.

This resonates loud and clear today, given what the Philippines is facing in the West Philippine Sea. China, our giant neighbor to the West, has been unrelenting in its aggressive acts, making a mockery of international law and, in fact, basic decency, in the conduct of its affairs against us.

President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. stated at the recent Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore: “Our efforts stand in stark contrast to assertive actions that aim to propagate excessive and baseless claims through force, intimidation, and deception. In the West Philippine Sea, we are on the frontlines of efforts to assert the integrity of the UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) as a Constitution of the Oceans. We have defined our territory and maritime zones in a manner befitting a responsible and law-abiding member of the international community.”

And indeed, our government has made an appropriate response given this threat to our sovereignty and territorial integrity. We have adopted the Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept (CADC) that marks a shift in our defense strategy, from internal security to the enhancement of our external defense capabilities.

According to Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, the shift is important because adopting this strategy is about “developing the country’s capability to protect and secure our entire territory and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in order to ensure that our people, and all the generations of Filipinos to come, shall freely reap and enjoy the bounties of the natural resources that are rightfully ours within our domain.”

At a recent forum organized by the Stratbase Institute, in cooperation with the Australian Embassy, Professor Renato De Castro, Trustee and Program Convenor, also talked about the CADC. He said that its long-term goal is to guarantee the unimpeded and peaceful exploration and exploitation of all the natural resources within the country’s EEZ for Philippine nationals, corporations, and others authorized by the Philippine government.

The events taking place in the West Philippine Sea affect both maritime security and economic security, two concepts that cannot be separated from each other because they are intimately linked. It is an issue of maritime security because the locality involved falls right within the Philippines’ exclusive zone. It is thus crystal clear that China is intruding into Philippine space that has been established and affirmed by our 2016 victory before the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

At the same time, economic security is also being threatened. Just recently, China declared a unilateral fishing ban in the South China Sea, which includes the West Philippine Sea. The ban is supposed to last four months, from May 1 to Sept. 16. This seriously affects Filipinos who directly source their livelihood from the resources within our EEZ. These waters serve as fishing grounds that feed the families of Filipinos in coastal areas every day. Further, the West Philippine Sea holds a big promise for energy security because it is believed to contain natural gas and oil reserves, which can power the economy. And then, scientists have found substantial damage to our coral reefs and other marine resources. Lastly, as a maritime route, the West Philippine Sea facilitates trade and commerce not only for the Philippines but for the entire area.

Economic security is a cornerstone of well-being, providing people with some degree of predictability to plan and invest in their future and that of their children, according to the United Nations. In this sense, such threats to Philippine sovereignty and economy are a major cause for alarm, because they compromise not only the present but the future, and not only of the marine environment but the people as well.

It is here that our collaboration with like-minded countries becomes crucial. The Philippines cannot achieve an apt response to such threats alone. Enhanced cooperation with nations who share our values, such as Australia, is crucial. These partnerships are strategically necessary, especially in times when important tenets of international law like sovereignty and territorial integrity are being blatantly disregarded.

Acting Deputy Ambassador Johanna Stratton of the Australian Embassy in the Philippines highlighted this as well. During the forum, she said “the Philippines knows more than most that adherence to UNCLOS is fundamental to a secure and stable maritime domain. It provides a comprehensive legal framework for all activities in the oceans and seas.”

As we celebrate Independence Day today, may we remember that freedom and independence are not just vague concepts or big words. They have actual tangible expressions. True freedom means having the right to fully utilize resources that are rightfully ours.

Maritime and economic security, and the elimination of threats to our independence, are ongoing struggles that only get more complex and complicated every day. This is a challenge that we must not give up on.

 

Victor Andres  “Dindo” C. Manhit is the president of the Stratbase ADR Institute.

UBX partners with MediCard to streamline payment collection

UNION BANK of the Philippines, Inc.’s (UnionBank)  open finance platform UBX has partnered with MediCard Philippines, Inc. (MediCard) for payment collection, it said on Tuesday.

Under the partnership, MediCard will use UBX’s end-to-end payment gateway BUx and the transact-now-pay-later solution Splix to provide members with flexible payment options, UBX said in a statement.

MediCard members will be able to pay for their coverage via online banking, credit or debit cards, e-wallets, and over-the-counter channels. BUx has a network of over 50,000 touchpoints, including pawnshops, department stores, and rural banks.

Meanwhile, Splix will let members pay through an insure now, pay later mechanism, allowing them to manage their finances better, UBX said.

The partnership aims to make acquiring health coverage products more convenient and enhance customer experience, it added.

“Our collaboration with MediCard represents a significant milestone in our journey of including everyone into the financial landscape. By leveraging each of our strengths — UBX’s innovative open finance solutions and MediCard’s wide network of healthcare partners and affiliates — we are helping make healthcare more accessible and less intimidating to Filipinos,” UBX President John Januszczak said.

“Our strategic alliance with UBX allows us to accelerate our goal of bridging the healthcare gap in the Philippines. With UBX’s innovative digital solutions and our extensive HMO (Health Maintenance Organization) expertise, we are poised to make significant strides in making healthcare more accessible, convenient, and affordable for all Filipinos,” MediCard Chief Executive Officer Julian Mengual said.

UBX’s parent UnionBank’s attributable net income dropped by 43.84% year on year to P1.98 billion in the first quarter due to one-time integration costs related to its acquisition of Citigroup, Inc.’s consumer business in the Philippines.

Meanwhile, MediCard recorded a net loss of P235.93 million in the first quarter, data from the Insurance Commission showed. — AMCS

Philippine Merchandise Trade Performance (April 2024)

THE PHILIPPINES’ trade deficit narrowed year on year in April but posted the widest level in five months, as exports and imports posted double-digit growth, the statistics agency said on Tuesday. Read the full story.

Philippine Merchandise Trade Performance (April 2024)

CA extends freeze order on MFT Group bank accounts

THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said the freeze order on the bank, investment, and insurance accounts of Maria Francesca Tan (MFT) Group of Companies, Inc. has been extended by the Court of Appeals (CA) for six months.

 The CA promulgated a resolution on May 30 granting the extension of the freeze order over the MFT Group’s accounts until Nov. 9, the SEC said in an e-mailed statement on Tuesday.

The freeze order on the MFT Group’s accounts, previously covering a 20-day period, was initially issued on May 13. It covers 138 bank accounts, four securities accounts, and four insurance accounts.

 “The CA noted that the freeze order will give the government the necessary time to prepare its case and file the appropriate charges without worrying about the possible dissipation of the assets that could be related to suspected illegal activities,” the SEC said.

 The freeze order was issued after the MFT Group was found to be soliciting investments from the public without the necessary licenses from the SEC.

SEC investigations showed that the MFT Group promised guaranteed returns ranging from 12% to 18% of the amount invested, which was considered as interest income.

BusinessWorld sought comment from the MFT Group regarding the extended freeze order but has yet to receive a response as of the deadline. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

See British theater on film

THE CULTURAL Center of the Philippines’ National Theatre Live (CCP NTL) returns with a new lineup of world-class stage plays filmed live from Britain’s stages.

Through the partnership of the CCP with National Theatre Live and Ayala Malls, the second season of CCP NTL will premiere at Ayala Malls Cinemas in Greenbelt, Makati, at Vertis North in Quezon City, and at the Ayala Center in Cebu from June 25 to May 27. The award-winning plays Vanya, Dear England, The Motive and Cue, and Nye will grace the big screens in the Philippines. Meanwhile, crowd favorites from the first season — Fleabag, King Lear, Frankenstein, and Hamlet — will make their comeback.

Vanya is a one-man adaptation featuring Andrew Scott which will premiering on June 25 at the Ayala Malls Cinemas in Greenbelt, Makati.

Returning on June 25 at Ayala Vertis North and Ayala Center Cebu is Fleabag, a rip-roaring look at a woman’s life. Written and performed by Phoebe Waller-Bridge and directed by Vicky Jones, the hilarious, award-winning play that inspired the BBC’s hit TV series with the same title was filmed live on stage in London’s West End in 2019.

On July 30, James Graham’s Dear England arrives at the Ayala Malls Cinemas in Greenbelt, Makati. With the worst track record for penalties in the world, Gareth Southgate knows he needs to open his mind and face up to the years of hurt, to take the team and country back to the promised land.

The contemporary retelling of Shakespeare’s tender, violent, moving and shocking play King Lear will be re-screened on July 30 at Ayala Vertis North and Ayala Center Cebu. Considered by many to be the greatest tragedy ever written, King Lear sees two aging fathers — one a King and another, his courtier — reject the children who truly love them. Their blindness unleashes a tornado of pitiless ambition and treachery, as family and state are plunged into a violent power struggle with bitter ends. The play is directed by Jonathan Munby and stars Sir Ian McKellen.

In Jack Thorne’s The Motive and Cue, audiences are offered a glimpse into the politics of a rehearsal room and the relationship between art and celebrity. Coming to Ayala Malls Cinemas in Greenbelt, Makati on Aug. 27, the play revolves around Richard Burton, then newly married to Elizabeth Taylor, who is going to play the title role in an experimental new Broadway production of Hamlet under John Gielgud’s exacting direction. But as rehearsals progress, two ages of theater collide and the collaboration between actor and director soon threatens to unravel.

Theater lovers at Ayala Vertis North and Ayala Center Cebu will have the chance to see Vanya on Aug. 27.

Directed by Academy Award-winner Danny Boyle, with adaptation by Nick Dear, Frankenstein will return to the Ayala Malls Cinemas in Greenbelt, Makati on Sept. 24. The thrilling, deeply disturbing Mary Shelley classic tackles scientific responsibility, parental neglect, cognitive development and the nature of good and evil. Captured live on stage in 2011, the sold-out production stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller, alternating between the roles of Victor Frankenstein and his creation. For the Sept. 24 scereening, Mr. Miller will be playing as the Creature.

The Motive and Cue will be shown at Ayala Vertis North and Ayala Center Cebu on Sept. 24.

Come Oct. 30, Fleabag will return to the Ayala Malls Cinemas in Greenbelt, Makati for the third time. Frankenstein, this time with Benedict Cumberbatch as the Creature, will premiere at Ayala Vertis North and Ayala Center Cebu on the same day.

Witness Nye’s mind-bending life journey on Nov. 26 at the Ayala Malls Cinemas in Greenbelt, Makati. In Tim Price’s opus, Aneurin “Nye” Bevan confronted death in the eye, as he recollects his deepest memories from his childhood to mining underground, and his fights with Churchill.

Benedict Cumberbatch plays the title role of yet another great Shakespearean tragedy, Hamlet, premiering on Nov. 26, at Ayala Vertis North and Ayala Center Cebu. The play is directed by Lyndsey Turner.

Closing the 2024 CCP NTL’s lineup, Hamlet will return to the Ayala Malls Cinemas in Greenbelt, Makati on Dec. 17. Dear England will premiere on the same day at Ayala Vertis North and Ayala Center Cebu.

Digitally filmed in high-definition quality, the NTL films their plays in front of live theater audiences, but optimized for the big screen and made accessible to theater fans across the globe.

All screenings will be at 6 p.m. The regular ticket price is ₱300 in Makati and Cebu, and ₱350 in Vertis North, while the special ticket price for students is ₱150. This new season also brings bundles and subscriptions for dedicated NTL fans. Groups can avail of the Barkada Pass for ₱1,200 which includes five tickets for the price of four, while students can avail of the Barkada Pass Student bundle at ₱600. Subscriptions for the full season cost ₱2,500 while the half season subscription is ₱1,500, allowing audiences 30% and 20% discounts respectively. Tickets can be purchased at sureseats.com.

Tech investors should want more than startup unicorns

ORIGINAL PHOTO BY PER LOOV-UNSPLASH

By Parmy Olson

IT’S BEEN A DECADE since the term “unicorn” was coined by Silicon Valley venture capitalist Aileen Lee to describe startups that reached a $1-billion valuation. The name quickly became coveted. Yet today, unicorns aren’t so rare. Having reached a peak in the heady, liquid days of 2021, the number of startup unicorns being created globally is now in decline, to 95 last year from 621 in 2021, according to market intelligence firm CB Insights, thanks in part to higher interest rates and greater scrutiny from investors.

In some ways, that has been a healthy correction. As the rise of generative AI threatens to create more froth in the market once again, though, investors should maintain their focus on startups that have strong fundamentals as well as long-term promise. Here’s a new name for firms that fit the bill: thoroughbreds.

These are companies bringing in at least $100 million in revenue annually, according to Saul Klein, founder of London venture capital firm LocalGlobe, who is pushing for a change in the investing lexicon. Startups that have at least $25 million in annual turnover are “colts,” he adds.

He isn’t the first to try and steer the conversation back toward more rational investing with a creature-related metaphor. Others have proposed dragons or centaurs, though Mr. Klein wants to avoid mythical beasts. “It’s not just about hope and promise, but hope and promise times fundamentals,” he says. The last few decades have shown that new tech can reshape industries and boast exponential growth, hence why venture capital has become one of the best-performing asset classes over the past decade, according to Morgan Stanley.

But the “unicorn” label has spun out of control, with startups sometimes resorting to desperate measures to achieve its coveted status as quickly as possible. Some would engage in multiple fundraising rounds over short periods to hit the magical $1-billion threshold, while others pivoted to trends like blockchain or AI to capitalize on market hype. WeWork famously touted unrealistic growth targets as its valuation soared past “decacorn.”

Europe is a good place to shift the focus to revenue thanks to its transparency requirements. The region’s startups still lag Silicon Valley in their ability to acquire higher, later-stage funding, making it harder to scale up to become the next Microsoft Corp. or Alphabet, Inc. But local VC firms already prioritize sustainable business models over valuation metrics, in part because they can see the numbers. Unlike their US counterparts, European startups are subject to more stringent regulations requiring financial disclosures.

Although it’s almost impossible to find out revenue figures for US companies like San Francisco-based Scale.ai (which just raised $1 billion at a $14-billion valuation) or its neighbor Anthropic (which is said to be worth between $15 billion and $20 billion), you can easily get them for any two-person private firm in the UK, since all registered businesses must file annual financial statements with Companies House, the government’s registrar.

Until now, European institutional investors have taken that approach too far, shying away from putting their money into new tech that held great promise. When the AI lab DeepMind was getting off the ground, its founders struggled to find backers who would put more than £30,000 ($38,000) into the enterprise and had to fly to Silicon Valley to get the millions they needed from the likes of Peter Thiel and Elon Musk instead. (Eventually, Google bought DeepMind for $650 million.)

It didn’t help that European investors were cajoled into doing their patriotic duty by “supporting” the local tech ecosystems — think French President Emmanuel Macron targeting 25 unicorns by 2025. “Investors were reasonably saying, ‘For what?’” says Mr. Klein. “These science projects? This is people’s retirement savings. We’re not charities.” To turn the tide, it might help for institutional investors to see the broad number of thoroughbreds across the country and the wider European region.

British investors, for one, are poised to make bigger bets now that its domestic pension providers — who manage assets worth about $3 trillion — have pledged to assign 5% of their default funds to “unlisted equities” by 2030, providing a boost to the country’s tech sector. They would do well to turn their attention to the 118 startups in the UK that are bringing in more than $100 million in revenue, according to market intelligence firm Dealroom.io.

Startups themselves should also resist unicorn envy. In the long run, success can become as mythical as the name. — Bloomberg Opinion

Tokyo’s government Tinder is actually a good idea

ROMEO A-UNSPLASH

THE TOKYO government’s plan to launch its own dating app has attracted mockery online and praise from Elon Musk (which these days often only increases the ridicule).

The announcement, which coincided with the release of latest fertility figures for 2023 that showed a record low, is intended to boost the number of marriages in the capital. In terms of fixing entrenched fertility trends, this idea might not be The One. But don’t swipe left just yet.

The world has at last awakened to the notion that when it comes to the fertility problem, Japan is not an outlier, but a forerunner. But its head start also makes clear that there’s precious little government policy or funding can do to reverse the underlying trend for fewer babies that is now becoming entrenched in almost every developed society. Official efforts seem best spent on the margins, helping those who want to get married or have children but lack the means or opportunity. That population can be significant. In Japan, marriages and childbirth are closely correlated; around two-thirds of women say being wedded is a pre-requisite to having kids, compared to more than 80% in some European countries who said the opposite, according to an international survey by the Nippon Foundation. One likely factor for the fall in the fertility rate in 2023 was the drop in marriages during the pandemic, as couples postponed plans to wed, or failed to meet at all. The rates of unmarried Japanese have been rising across every age group. More than 90% of women aged 30-34 were married in 1980, versus 65% now. A Tokyo survey found that two-thirds of those who weren’t married wanted to wed one day; but nearly 70% of people weren’t making any particular effort to find a partner, such as using dating apps.

Like other social woes, there’s a role for governments to help fix this. Of course, Japan has plenty of dating apps already, from the likes of Pairs or With, which aim to help people find long-term relationships, to the more familiar foreign-owned services aimed at flings, such as Tinder.

Governments don’t have the same conflict of interest as commercial dating apps, where a successful relationship removes you from the dating pool, eliminates you as a customer, and forces companies to spend more on at-tracting new users to replace you. That’s one reason the apps are losing steam, with the market cap of Tinder and Bumble-owner Match Group, Inc. (which also owns the operator of Japan’s Pairs) down more than 80% from its peak.

And while many outside the country expressed surprise that among the requirements for the official app were proof of salary and family registers, this is far from unusual. Other apps, such as Tokyo Calendar Date (a spin-off from a popular magazine promoting high-end lifestyles) in fact make such verification a USP, to help avoid scammers and other time-wasters.

Tokyo’s app is far from the first government involvement in the dating scene — it’s merely one for the digital age. For decades, local authorities across the country have been involved in promoting marriage, from running introductions to holding dating events. Ishikawa prefecture, located some 300 kilometers northwest of Tokyo, is one such example and says that to date it has paired 1,266 couples through its marriage promotion department. In many ways, the government is taking the once-common role of matchmaker. In the prewar era, arranged marriages known as o-miai were how most couples paired off. A go-between, or nakoudo, often a relative but sometimes just a neighborhood glad-hander, would review the backgrounds of eligible singles and make arrangements for meetups of likely matches and their families. The practice has been steadily falling out of popularity since the end of World War II, replaced by so-called marriages of love, where the partners choose each other. But that system is under threat, too: Workplaces were once the most common venues to meet potential future partners, but as elsewhere, a new era of social norms post-MeToo has made the office increasingly off-limits.

Can the government find a niche here? Authorities already operate side-by-side with the private sector in providing many public goods, with the Tokyo government both competing and complementing companies in providing bus and subway services or private and public education. From preschool to the grave, the government is deeply involved in your life. Should it not also be part of perhaps your biggest decision? Besides, the ¥300 million ($1.9 million) Tokyo will spend on its marriage support division this year, which includes the app, is but a fraction of its $3.6 billion total support for childbirth and child-rearing across the capital of 14 million people.

Whatever the outcome, it’s worth watching as awareness grows that falling fertility isn’t isolated to East Asian nations, and can’t simply be legislated away. Skepticism around Tokyo’s latest attempt to make more couples might be jus-tified — and let’s face it, it probably won’t work out. Then again, most relationships don’t. But they’re still worth trying.

 

BLOOMBERG OPINION

MB orders closure of rural bank, revokes money changer’s license

THE BANGKO SENTRAL ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) policy-setting body has banned a rural bank from doing business in the country.

In a circular letter dated June 6, the BSP said the Monetary Board (MB) has decided to prohibit Rural Bank of Cuyo (Palawan), Inc. from doing business in the Philippines pursuant to Section 30 of Republic Act (RA) No. 7653 or the New Central Bank Act, as amended.

Section 30 of the New Central Bank Act is focused on proceedings regarding receivership and liquidation.

“The Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) has been designated as receiver  with a directive to proceed with the takeover and liquidation of the aforementioned rural bank in accordance with Section 12 (a) of RA No. 3591 (PDIC Charter), as amended,” it said.

In a separate press release, the PDIC said that it took over the bank on June 10.

The agency said that “all valid deposits and claims will be paid up to the maximum deposit insurance coverage of P500,000 per depositor.”

Meanwhile, those with valid deposits with balances of P500,000 and below and have no outstanding obligations are not required to file deposit insurance claims.

“Borrowers are likewise reminded to continue paying their loan obligations with the closed Rural Bank of Cuyo (Palawan), Inc. and to transact only with designated PDIC representatives,” the state deposit insurer added.

Rural Bank of Cuyo’s head office is located in Cuyo, Palawan. It also has a branch lite unit in Subic Bay, Zambales.

The PDIC said latest records show the bank had 1,758 deposit accounts as of March 31.

The rural lender’s total deposit liabilities stood at P123.4 million, of which the bulk (78.7%) were insured deposits.

As of March 27, the bank was on the list of the Anti-Money Laundering Council-registered BSP-supervised entities, the PDIC added.

Meanwhile, the BSP, in a separate circular letter dated June 10, said the MB has canceled the license of a money changer.

The Monetary Board “approved the cancellation of the BSP registration of Foreignex, Inc. to operate as a money changer/foreign exchange dealer,” according to the central bank’s circular letter.

The central bank said this came on the basis of a “gross violation” of the provisions and requirements of the Manual of Regulation for Non-Bank Financial Institutions (MORNBFI).

It also cited a violation of deed of undertaking executed pursuant to Section 901-N of the MORNBFI. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson

Auto Sales (May 2024)

PHILIPPINE AUTOMOTIVE SALES rose by an annual 5.5% in May, amid “good consumer demand,” according to an industry group. Read the full story.

Auto Sales (May 2024)

Pedro Roxas steps down from SPNEC board

LISTED SP New Energy Corp. (SPNEC) said Pedro Emilio O. Roxas has resigned as the company’s independent director.

Mr. Roxas vacated his post due to “personal reasons,” SPNEC said in a stock exchange disclosure on Tuesday.

The resignation was approved by the company’s board during a regular meeting on June 10. SPNEC did not provide further details on Mr. Roxas’ resignation.

Mr. Roxas is the chairman of listed companies Roxas Holdings, Inc. (RHI) and Roxas and Co., Inc. (RCI). He joined SPNEC’s board after Manuel V. Pangilinan took over SPNEC in December last year following the completion of a P15.9-billion investment.

 Meanwhile, SPNEC’s board also approved the filing of listing applications with the Philippine Stock Exchange covering 40.07 billion common shares.

 SPNEC was founded by businessman Leandro Antonio L. Leviste but is now controlled by the Pangilinan group through MGen Renewable Energy, Inc.

 On May 16, RHI, First Pacific Natural Resources Holdings BV, First Agri Holdings Corp., and Leviste-led Countryside Investments Holdings Corp. signed a nonbinding term sheet covering a plan to invest P5 billion for an initial 71.6% stake in RHI.

 Hong Kong-based First Pacific has three key Philippine units consisting of Metro Pacific Investments Corp., Philex Mining Corp., and PLDT Inc. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has an interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Vatican arrests ex-employee over sale of missing Bernini manuscript

VATICAN CITY — Vatican police arrested a former employee for allegedly trying to sell to the city-state a 17th-century manuscript by Italian Baroque master Gian Lorenzo Bernini that had previously disappeared from archives, a Vatican spokesman said.

Experts said the 18-page document, with gilded miniatures, contains the first details of the decorative features in the canopy of St. Peter’s Basilica designed by sculptor and architect Bernini.

Gian Lorenzo Bernini is considered the leading master of Italian Baroque architecture in the 17th century and among his masterpieces is the colonnade that surrounds St. Peter’s Square.

The suspect, who was arrested on May 27 on charges of attempted extortion, had worked for the Fabric of St. Peter, the institution responsible for the conservation and maintenance of St. Peter’s Basilica.

He remains in custody at the Vatican and has been questioned twice in recent days, the spokesman added. Vatican prosecutors will decide this week whether he will be formally indicted.

Prosecutors launched the investigation after a complaint from the Fabric and arrested the man when he brought the manuscript back to the Vatican offering it for 120,000 ($130,716).

The news was first reported by Italian daily Domani, which identified the suspect as a former Fabric head of communications and said he allegedly tried to sell the manuscript to Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, the archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica.

Domani said the missing manuscript was back in the Vatican’s possession. — Reuters

AI startup Perplexity says news summary tool has ‘rough edges’

FREEPIK

PERPLEXITY AI, a startup building a real-time artificial intelligence (AI)-powered search engine to complete with Alphabet, Inc.’s Google, has launched a new feature that repackages some news outlets’ work with minimal attribution — an issue the company’s founder said it’s working to address.

In a post on X on Friday, a Forbes reporter pointed out similarities between a Perplexity news summary and a Forbes article. “You scraped and repurposed investigative reporting gathered over months, fleshed it out with re-blogs of the same story by other outlets and do not even bother to name us in your regurgitated post,” wrote Forbes editor John Paczkowski.

In response, Perplexity Chief Executive Officer Aravind Srinivas said the issues were because the company’s “Perplexity Pages” feature, which offers summarized information about topics of the day in a magazine-like layout, is still new and has “rough edges.”

“The pages and discover features will improve,” he wrote, “and we agree with the feedback you’ve shared that it should be a lot easier to find the contributing sources and highlight them more prominently.” Mr. Srinivas also stressed that Perplexity’s main search product cites sources more noticeably.

Forbes reported on the issue on Friday, citing examples from its own reporting as well as CNBC and Bloomberg. In several cases, Perplexity used exclusive reporting, including from paywalled publisher sites, only referencing the outlets with a small, footnoted link that users have to click to see.

“The common feedback is that the sources are not very visibly clear, so more prominently highlighting them makes a lot of sense,” Mr. Srinivas told Bloomberg. “But people should also remember that it’s a new feature, released two weeks ago, and our core product is really prominent about sources. That shows our intention in general.”

The incident marks the latest example of increasing tension between media publishers and generative AI companies, which journalists accuse of improperly citing work without attribution or compensation.

Perplexity AI is a fast-growing startup in the competitive generative AI market. In April, the company raised $63 million in a new funding round that values it at over $1 billion, more than double its valuation three months earlier.

The company has distinguished itself from other AI chatbots by providing more real-time information. — Bloomberg News