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Ed Sheeran fights appeal in ‘Thinking Out Loud’ copyright case

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ED SHEERAN’s hit song “Thinking Out Loud” was once again on the docket in a New York courtroom on Wednesday, as a US appeals court was asked to revive a copyright lawsuit claiming Mr. Sheeran illegally borrowed from Marvin Gaye’s classic “Let’s Get It On.”

A 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals panel questioned lawyers for Mr. Sheeran and plaintiff Structured Asset Sales over whether elements of Gaye’s song were copyrightable and how broadly a Manhattan federal court should have interpreted the copyright’s scope.

Mr. Sheeran previously defeated a separate copyright lawsuit over “Thinking Out Loud” brought by the heirs of “Let’s Get It On” co-writer Ed Townsend. Structured Asset Sales is owned by investment banker and “Bowie Bonds” creator David Pullman, which owns another part of Townsend’s interest in “Let’s Get It On.”

SAS sued Mr. Sheeran, his label Warner Music Group, and his music publisher Sony Music Publishing in 2018 after Townsend’s heirs filed their lawsuit. US District Judge Louis Stanton dismissed SAS’ case last year following a jury verdict for the singer-songwriter in the Townsend case.

Mr. Stanton determined that the combination of chord progression and “harmonic rhythm” in Gaye’s song was a “basic musical building block” that was too common to merit copyright protection. The 2nd Circuit panel on Wednesday appeared to agree with Mr. Stanton’s decision, but pondered how to gauge when a “selection and arrangement” of musical elements is copyrightable.

“So two elements isn’t enough,” US Circuit Judge Michael Park said to Sheeran’s attorney Donald Zakarin of Pryor Cashman. “How many do you need?”

Senior Circuit Judge Guido Calabresi said he could imagine a musician creating one element that is “so odd that you’d say this is genuinely original,” and he questioned the “numerosity” requirement for such copyrights mentioned in Mr. Stanton’s decision.

The court also considered SAS’ argument that Mr. Stanton improperly limited his analysis to the “deposit copy” of “Let’s Get It On” sheet music filed with the US Copyright Office, which lacks elements from the song that Sheeran allegedly copied.

SAS has filed another lawsuit against Sheeran based on its rights to Gaye’s recording. That case is currently on hold. — Reuters

Record rainfall in Dubai? Blame climate change not cloud seeding

REUTERS

THE sights coming out of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) this week range from surreal to apocalyptic: Rolls Royces and Aston Martins floating in flood water, a plane taxiing across a runway-cum-lake, furniture flying off the balcony of a high-rise apartment. But blaming weather modification for Tuesday’s downpours, which caused flash flooding and killed at least 18 people in neighboring Oman, is almost certainly wrong.

Reports suggest that almost six inches (15.2 cm) of rain fell on Dubai in 24 hours, about a year and a half’s worth of average annual precipitation. A 1-in-100-year rainfall event for the region – meaning weather with a 1% chance of happening every year – would produce about 2.4 inches in a day. So what happened this week was more than double that intensity.

The flooding is fairly easy to explain: Vulnerabilities are typically established in communities before the weather turns nasty. As a mostly dry region with intermittent rain showers in the winter months, the Middle East hasn’t designed its cities for high rainfall. When I was in Dubai for COP28, it felt like a concrete jungle, with huge asphalt highways, sprawling glass buildings and paved squares. Given the abundance of impermeable surfaces and insufficient drainage, all that rain had nowhere to go.

But what produced the downpour? Bloomberg News suggests a link between the precipitation and the UAE’s cloud-seeding efforts, which began in 2002 as an attempt to address water security issues. To increase rainfall, salt is released into existing clouds in warm weather, with the intention that larger droplets will form and eventually lead to rain. Ahmed Habib, a meteorologist, said that seeding planes were dispatched on Monday and Tuesday to take advantage of promising cloud formations. The National Center for Meteorology (NCM) later denied that it had carried out weather-modification techniques before the storms hit.

Weather-modifying technology has an air of mysticism about it. When China, which has invested billions in advanced weather control methods, said it cleared the skies for the 2008 Beijing Olympics by forcing rain to come early, few questioned it. But despite the investment of huge amounts of money into the technique, the jury is still out on how effective it can be. Researchers at the University of Colorado and the National Center for Atmospheric Research were able to demonstrate in a study called SNOWIE that cold-weather cloud seeding using silver iodide can create additional snow. But the mechanics, seeding agent, and clouds are completely different when trying to produce rain in warm weather.

Cloud seeding can only enhance whatever moisture is already in the sky. It can’t create rain from nothing. UAE officials say that the technique can increase rainfall rates by about 10% to 30% a year, meaning that even if it did happen earlier this week, a huge amount of rain was due to fall anyway.

Instead, as Friederike Otto, a climatologist and senior lecturer at Imperial College London’s Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment, said in an e-mailed statement to me: “When we talk about heavy rainfall, we need to talk about climate change.”

A warmer atmosphere can hold more water, meaning that rainfall around the world is becoming much heavier. The Middle East is no exception. A 2022 study published in the Review of Geophysics found that greenhouse gas emissions aren’t just leading to more severe heat waves and droughts in the region, but stronger torrential rain, with semi-arid and arid regions projected to see a 5% to 10% increase in the intensity of 1-in-30-year rainfall events by the end of the 21st century if emissions continue to be high. A study from scientists at the NCM published this year said that annual precipitation in the UAE will increase by as much as 30% across the country, with extreme precipitation becoming more frequent.

So it’s likely that this week’s destruction isn’t the result of us trying to play God with the weather, but comes instead from a different human-made creation: Climate change.

BLOOMBERG OPINION

Megaworld raises P500M in MREIT block sale

MEGAWORLDCORP.COM

TAN-led property developer Megaworld Corp. said it has finalized a P500-million transaction involving the sale of common shares in its real estate investment trust (REIT).

Megaworld sold 40.65 million common shares of MREIT, Inc. at a price of P12.30 each under a block sale arrangement, as disclosed in a regulatory filing on Thursday.

BDO Securities Corp. was tapped as the broker for the transaction.

“The proceeds from the block sale will be settled on April 22. The company will submit the required reinvestment plan detailing the use of proceeds from the block sale transaction,” Megaworld said.

MREIT’s portfolio consists of 18 office and commercial assets with an aggregate gross leasable area of 325,424 square meters.

Its properties include 1800 Eastwood Ave., 1880 Eastwood Ave., and E-Commerce Plaza in Eastwood City, One World Square, Two World Square, Three World Square, 8/10 Upper McKinley, 18/20 Upper McKinley, and World Finance Plaza in McKinley Hill.

Also included in the company’s portfolio are One Techno Place, Two Techno Place, Three Techno Place, One Global Center, Two Global Center, Festive Walk 1B, and Richmonde Tower in Iloilo Business Park, and One West Campus and Five West Campus in McKinley West.

Megaworld recorded a 29% increase in its 2023 attributable net income to P17.3 billion as its consolidated revenue jumped by 17% to P69.7 billion.

MREIT saw a 13% improvement in its distributable net income to P2.8 billion last year from P2.5 billion in 2022 as revenue surged by 14% to P4.2 billion.

On Thursday, Megaworld stocks were unchanged at P1.74 apiece while MREIT shares climbed by 0.31% or four centavos to P12.84 per share. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

UnionBank’s trust unit targets to grow assets under management

BW FILE PHOTO

THE STANDALONE trust corporation (SATC) of listed Union Bank of the Philippines, Inc. (UnionBank) is looking to grow its assets under management (AUMs) as it expands its retail client base and introduces new products.

“UnionBank Investment Management and Trust Corp. (UBIMTC) ranks as one of the top asset managers in the local trust industry and aims to increase its AUMs through product expansion and distribution channel growth,” it said in an e-mail.

UBIMTC currently caters mostly to mass-affluent and institutional clients, but operating as an SATC will allow the company to further expand to the retail sector, it said.

The trust firm began operating independently on March 1 after the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas approved its certificate of authority to operate on Nov. 14, 2023.

It was registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Oct. 11, 2023.

UBIMTC said it will launch new products and add distribution channels within and outside the UnionBank group to reach the retail segment.

The SATC also plans to launch funds with multi-currency and income-paying features.

The new funds will allow both individual and institutional customers to invest in local and global assets or funds, UBIMTC said.

“It also aims to utilize its new independence as a trust entity in acquiring additional distribution channels for retail funds,” UBIMTC said.

The company plans to add investment outlets that will include different asset classes, currencies, sectors, themes, and geographic locations, it said.

It could also diversify its investment portfolio to global stocks and bonds to enhance portfolio diversification, in addition to its continued investment in the Philippine market.

Expectations of robust Philippine economic growth in the coming years will spur public and private investments, which will help develop the country’s capital markets, it added.

“The continued development of the Philippine capital markets, leading to access for investors to a wider range of financial products and services, shall also be a significant catalyst in driving AUM growth,” UBIMTC said.

UBIMTC’s parent UnionBank saw its net income decrease by 28% year on year to P9.07 billion in 2023 due to one-time integration costs related to its acquisition of Citigroup Inc.’s consumer business in the Philippines.

UnionBank’s shares climbed by 30 centavos or 0.73% to end at P41.50 apiece on Thursday. — A.M.C. Sy

UK union law ruled to be in breach of human rights

REUTERS

LONDON — British trade union law breaches workers’ human rights as it does not protect them from sanctions short of dismissal for taking part in industrial action, the United Kingdom’s (UK) Supreme Court ruled.

Fiona Mercer, a care worker and trade unionist from the northwest of England, took legal action against her employer after she was suspended in 2019 during planned strike action, which prevented her from talking to her colleagues.

In 2022, the Court of Appeal in London ruled British trade union law may be incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) but nonetheless dismissed her case after an intervention by the British government.

But on Wednesday, after a nearly five-year legal battle, the UK’s highest court upheld Mercer’s appeal in a landmark decision on trade union rights.

Workers who are dismissed for taking part in lawful strike action are protected in UK trade union law and can bring a lawsuit for unfair dismissal, the Supreme Court said.

However, employees who face disciplinary action short of dismissal have no express protection, which the Supreme Court ruled put the UK in breach of the ECHR.

“The right of an employer to impose any sanction at all short of dismissal for participation in lawful industrial action nullifies the right to take lawful strike action,” Judge Ingrid Simler said in the ruling. She added that the current state of the law “encourages and legitimizes unfair and unreasonable conduct by employers.”

Wednesday’s landmark decision follows a protracted period of industrial action by workers in many industries, who have gone on strike to improve their pay and conditions.  — Reuters

Rebel Moon sequel offers more action, backstory of warriors

A scene from Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver.

LONDON — Zack Snyder says Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver shows his full vision for the franchise.

The second installment of the sci-fi adventure picks up from where Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire, released four months earlier, left off.

It sees Sofia Boutella’s character Kora and a group of rebel warriors team up with the people of Veldt, a peaceful farming moon, to ward off an attack from the tyrannical Motherworld and its resurrected, ruthless military leader Atticus Noble (Ed Skrein).

“I always knew that this was going to be like half a movie. Our whole idea was to get the movies out right next to each other so people could have the complete experience. And I think that’s what we’re really hoping for with this is that people get a chance to see the entire thing,” Mr. Snyder said as he premiered the film in London on Tuesday.

Part Two also sees actors Djimonn Hounsou and Bae Doona reprising their roles as General Titus and Nemesis and Anthony Hopkins lending his voice to Jimmy the sentient robot.

The movie delves into the backstories of the warriors, laying out their motives to join the rebellion.

“It’s going to be a lot more action and you get to go deeper with the characters and find out more about their pasts and what drew them to fight for this cause,” said Ms. Boutella.

Mr. Snyder, known for films including Watchmen, 300, Justice League, and Man of Steel, directed, co-wrote and produced the movie, as well as serving as its cinematographer.

Director’s cuts of the two films are expected in August, Mr. Snyder said, adding that he and writers Shay Hatten and Kurt Johnstad had also continued developing the story.

“That has been a real big adventure, for Shay and Kurt and I,” he said.

“But then also, we’ve been working super hard on the director’s cuts. Normally when I do a director’s cut, it’s in response to a cut that I was forced to make, where this was really from the beginning designed as a separate movie,” said Mr. Snyder.

“We shot a whole bunch of additional stuff and it was really fun to just actually make another movie. So it’s been four movies, it’s a little tiring.” he said.

Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver starts streaming on Netflix on April 19. — Reuters

The Archetype of Wholeness

JAYSHREE SHARMA-UNSPLASH

The squaring of the circle is one of the many archetypal motifs which form the basic patterns of our dreams and fantasies, Carl Gustav Jung wrote in his book, Mandalas.

It is distinguished by the fact that the mandala is one of the most important of motifs from a functional point of view. It is called the “archetype of wholeness.”

In this context, we can compare mandalas, mirrors, and photographs.

Photographs and mirrors give us reflections of what is outside our sphere of awareness or point of view. They are aids to connect ourselves and our loved ones.

“Mandala art operates in a similar manner but instead of giving us reflections of the outside world, mandalas can help us see what is going on within our heart and soul.” (Quotes and excerpts from Coastal Pathways, Volume 3, No. 6, July, 1991)

We often carry photos of our loved ones in our cellphones or wallets. At the office, and at home, we have some framed photos of the important people in our lives — family and friends.

This practice has a deep psychological reason. We feel a sense of support and rootedness, especially in times of uncertainty, anxiety, loneliness and distress. The pictures remind us of their love and how their presence makes us feel.

This connection keeps our values clear and helps us cope with the subroutines of survival in our daily life.

Mirrors provide a reflection of how we look to the social (outside) world. The persona is important so we wear the appropriate clothes or try to look the best we can. We peek at the mirror to feel secure before we face others. Some people tend to look in the mirror too often. (The reason may be vanity or narcissism, but that is another topic.)

For the inner world, we use the mandala which means “circle” in Sanskrit. The circle signifies wholeness. Thus, in painting a circle, one experiences a sense of completeness.

Mandala art is a form of self-expression, personal growth, and spiritual transformation. The mandala has circles drawn, sketched or painted in a circular frame.

In Tibetan Buddhism, mandala art has existed for thousands of years. The Navajo sand artists use the mandala in healing rites. The Medicine Wheel was used by native people as a connective force between earth energies and nature.

Mandala art connects our inner self with the meaning of important life experiences. It is necessary to learn how to create and interpret them.

To illustrate, there is a central point or focus within the symbol that radiates a symmetrical design. Within each of us is a center. Everything is related to it because it is a source of energy and power.

Research reveals that every spiritual and religious system known to man shows that the inner center is a reality. The Romans worshipped it as the genius within. The Greeks called it the inner daemon. Christian religions speak about the soul and the Christ within. Psychologists use the term “Higher Self.”

By working with our imagination, we can see into the inner self. When we play with images and symbols, we expand our state of awareness and perceive the inner energies beyond the rational and intellectual.

In Jungian psychology, we learn that we all have a multitude of drives and desires, hopes and fears. We have wounds and abilities. All these must be acknowledged for our personal growth. We must reach “the synthesis of our biological, personal and spiritual potentials.”

Mandala art provides us with a mirror to see the dynamic forces that operate within us.

“Most mandalas have an intuitive, irrational character and through their symbolical content, exert a retroactive influence on the unconscious. They therefore possess a magical significance, like icons, whose possible efficacy was never consciously felt.”

We may have experienced ourselves as “a fragmented collection of subpersonalities and warring elements in opposition to one another (father vs. professional, body vs. mind, emotions vs., reason, sexuality vs. spirituality.)”

There is a process by which we can see how these parts fit together: “This is a critical point of view and when we begin to take all of ourselves into account, when we begin to honor and balance the dynamic forces within us, we can act in the world in ways that honor our essential wholeness, get our needs met and allow us to share with others the very best within us.”

To create a mandala, one draws a circle and fills it spontaneously like a doodle. The drawing emerges in an unpredictable way. Or one can fill it with intricate images that appear in our meditation or when we use visualization techniques. The objects can be ordinary scenes or things that fascinate us from nature —flowers, shells, butterflies, to name a few. We can view our completed mandala with curiosity and wonder.

We learn how to decipher the symbols, objects, colors and other elements. Their interaction gives us a broader understanding of our self. The completed mandala is a “wholistic snapshot” of what is going on within us and our present reality.

 

Maria Victoria Rufino is an artist, writer and businesswoman. She is president and executive producer of Maverick Productions.

mavrufino@gmail.com

Converge targets free public internet at more airports after NAIA

INTERNET service provider Converge ICT Solutions, Inc. announced on Thursday that it has finished setting up free public WiFi in the terminals of Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

“There will be several more in the offing for our free public WiFi program for the rest of the year,” Converge Chief Executive Officer Dennis Anthony H. Uy said in a statement.

The company said that registered users accessing the free public WiFi in NAIA Terminals 1 and 2 would have access to “fiber-fast internet” for two hours upon logging onto the Converge network.

Converge subscribers with a GoFiber account have an additional six hours of free internet access for up to five devices if they enter their GoFiber account number on the login page.

The company said that it has activated approximately 105 access points throughout the two terminals.

Converge launched its free WiFi service in NAIA Terminals 3 and 4 last year.

In addition to NAIA, Converge announced that it will establish free public internet connectivity at other domestic and international gateways.

These include Francisco Bangoy International Airport, Mactan-Cebu International Airport, Bacolod-Silay Airport, Iloilo International Airport, Laoag International Airport, Pagadian Airport, Tacloban Airport, and Zamboanga International Airport. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera

Meta oversight board reviews handling of AI-created celebrity porn

Meta

NEW YORK — Meta Platforms’ Oversight Board is reviewing the company’s handling of two sexually explicit artificial intelligence (AI)-generated images of female celebrities that circulated on its Facebook and Instagram services, the board said on Tuesday.

The board, which is funded by the social media giant but operates independently from it, will use the two examples to assess the overall effectiveness of Meta’s policies and enforcement practices around pornographic fakes created using artificial intelligence, it said in a blog post.

It provided descriptions of the images in question but did not name the famous women depicted in them in order to “prevent further harm,” a board spokesperson said.

Advances in AI technology have made fabricated images, audio clips and videos virtually indistinguishable from real human-created content, resulting in a spate of sexual fakes proliferating online, mostly depicting women and girls.

In an especially high-profile case earlier this year, Elon Musk-owned social media platform X briefly blocked users from searching for all images of US pop star Taylor Swift after struggling to control the spread of fake explicit images of her.

Some industry executives have called for legislation to criminalize the creation of harmful “deep fakes” and require that tech companies prevent such uses of their products.

According to the Oversight Board’s descriptions of its cases, one involves an AI-generated image of a nude woman resembling a public figure from India, posted by an account on Instagram that only shares AI-generated images of Indian women.

The other image, the board said, appeared in a Facebook group for sharing AI creations and featured an AI-generated depiction of a nude woman resembling “an American public figure” with a man groping her breast.

Meta removed the image depicting the American woman for violating its bullying and harassment policy, which bars “derogatory sexualized photoshops or drawings,” but initially left up the one featuring the Indian woman and only reversed course after the board selected it for review.

In a separate post, Meta acknowledged the cases and pledged to implement the board’s decisions. — Reuters

Crafting and evaluating balanced measures

It’s the quarterly earnings season. Publicly traded companies provide quarterly reports of their unaudited financial statements, such as balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow statements, highlighting key measures such as gross revenue, net income, cost-to-income ratio, and others depending on the industry of the reporting company. Analysts and investors then judge these results from these companies as either “beating expectations,” “met expectations,” or “missed expectations.”

But to know more about a company’s performance and its future potential, it is not enough to understand their lagging measures, i.e. historical data such as balance sheets and income statements. Rather, there’s a need to evaluate leading measures that provide future indications, and the efficiency and effectiveness, and quantitative and qualitative aspects of the measures.

Warren Buffett’s investment approach provides a real-world example of how leading and lagging indicators, efficiency and effectiveness, and qualitative and quantitative aspects play crucial roles in decision-making and performance evaluation. As co-founder, chair, and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, he has amassed a personal fortune of more than $60 billion by defying prevailing investment trends, making him widely known the most successful investor of the 20th century.

Buffett’s investment strategy emphasizes the importance of both leading and lagging indicators in assessing the intrinsic value of a company. Lagging indicators, such as past financial performance and historical data, provide valuable insights into a company’s stability and track record. For example, Buffett meticulously analyzes financial statements, earnings reports, and key performance metrics to assess a company’s profitability, growth potential, and financial health.

At the same time, Buffett also considers leading indicators to anticipate future trends and opportunities. He evaluates factors such as industry dynamics, competitive positioning, and management quality to gauge a company’s long-term prospects. By monitoring leading indicators, Buffett can identify businesses with sustainable competitive advantages and robust growth potential, even before those strengths are fully reflected in lagging financial metrics.

Efficiency and effectiveness are central to Buffett’s investment philosophy. Buffett seeks companies that demonstrate both efficiency in their operations and effectiveness in achieving their strategic objectives. He looks for businesses with efficient cost structures, strong cash flow generation, and prudent capital allocation practices. By focusing on companies with a track record of efficient resource utilization and effective execution, Buffett aims to invest in businesses capable of delivering sustainable long-term returns.

Moreover, Buffett’s approach incorporates both qualitative and quantitative analysis to evaluate investment opportunities comprehensively. While quantitative measures like financial ratios and performance metrics provide objective data points for analysis, Buffett also emphasizes the importance of qualitative factors such as management quality, brand reputation, and competitive positioning. Buffett famously refers to these qualitative factors as the “moat” that protects a company’s business from competitors and enables long-term success.

By integrating qualitative and quantitative measures, Buffett seeks to develop a holistic understanding of a company’s intrinsic value and competitive advantages. He looks for businesses with durable competitive moats, talented and trustworthy management teams, and a long-term orientation towards value creation. By considering both the quantitative metrics and qualitative factors, Buffett aims to identify investment opportunities that offer a favorable risk-reward profile and long-term growth potential.

In summary, Warren Buffett’s investment approach illustrates the importance of crafting and evaluating measures in terms of leading and lagging indicators, efficiency and effectiveness, and qualitative and quantitative aspects. Crafting and evaluating measures in an organization are essential for driving performance, guiding decision-making, and achieving long-term success. By considering dimensions such as leading and lagging indicators, efficiency and effectiveness, and qualitative and quantitative aspects, organizations can develop a comprehensive understanding of their performance and make informed strategic choices. By striking the right balance between these dimensions and integrating them into their performance measurement frameworks, organizations can drive sustainable growth, innovation, and value creation.

Buffett’s approach serves as a valuable example of how organizations can use comprehensive performance measurement frameworks to make informed decisions and drive success. He identifies investment opportunities with strong fundamentals, sustainable competitive advantages, and the potential for long-term value creation.

The views expressed herein are his own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of his office as well as FINEX.

 

Reynaldo C. Lugtu, Jr. is the Founder and CEO of Hungry Workhorse, a digital, culture, and customer experience transformation consulting firm. He is a fellow at the US-based Institute for Digital Transformation. He is the Chair of the Digital Transformation IT Governance Committee of FINEX Academy. He teaches strategic management and digital transformation in the MBA Program of De La Salle University. The author may be e-mailed at rey.lugtu@hungryworkhorse.com

Sabbaticals for non-academics

A long-time junior supervisor is applying to take a sabbatical to review for the bar examination. Unfortunately, we don’t have any such policy for sabbaticals. Please help. — White Flower

A sabbatical, a common practice in academia, is a prolonged absence from work averaging one to two years to do research, write a book, or to take up a post-graduate program in other countries, among other things.

Would this kind of leave, even without pay, redound to the benefit of organizations outside of academia? Though some narrow-minded managers might think not, it should be beneficial to the company wishing to motivate and retain hardworking, key personnel for the long haul.

This includes improving the competency of the management team.

This must be studied carefully by those in non-academic organizations as it can open the floodgates for similar requests in the future, not necessarily limited to employees reviewing for a government licensure examination, but for some other purposes.

The human resource (HR) department should take the lead in studying the matter by benchmarking with major companies to discover how and why the sabbaticals are beneficial. The obvious benefit may include employee loyalty.

Loyalty, especially coming from honest people, is an important virtue. It promotes long-term trust and professional friendship in the workplace. All this can be strengthened if you have a dynamic management development program (MDP) that includes sabbaticals for highly qualified people.

CONSIDERATIONS
All this talk about sabbaticals must be administered under a formal MDP as a component of succession planning and business continuity policy. Think carefully about it. Some of the factors to consider are:

Length of service. Years of service are an important indicator of employee loyalty. In that case, sabbatical applicants must have completed at least 10 years of uninterrupted service, with certain exceptions, as in the case of those winning free fellowships from foreign institutions, which are hard to come by.

Excellent performance. Length of service must be accompanied by above-average work performance. Seniority and merit must go hand-in-hand. In case of conflict, merit must come first, especially if the applicant has demonstrated consistent performance for at least three years preceding the proposed leave.

No violations of company policy. Sabbatical applicants must not have violated even the less serious rules, such as tardiness, over the past three years. Being in good standing is desirable everywhere. However, if tardiness is the only issue with the applicant, then management must decide based on the employee’s total value to the organization.

Without pay. Generally, all such leaves are without pay, except that an employee may use their remaining leave credits. A further exception is when the scholarship is sponsored by the organization sending junior executives to business school in the hope that they would benefit from the experience.

Age requirement. Leave applicants must not be more than 40 to 45 years old. This is to ensure that such employees have the capacity to stay for a considerable time for things like technology transfer before retirement. This requirement is imperative to prevent people who are nearing retirement to benefit from such leave.

Leave duration. It depends on the purpose. If the employee’s intention is to review and take the bar examination, then four to six months is reasonable. If it is to complete a fast-track MBA, then one year is enough. However, foreign scholarships usually last to an average of one to two years.

Employment status. An employee on sabbatical is considered an employee in good standing. However, the employee’s absence may adversely affect their seniority rights when computing retirement benefits. In the case of an employee taking the bar examination, this means a deduction of four to six months from separation or retirement pay.

Employment contract. It is necessary to have a contract that spells out the conditions and limitations of the sabbatical leave, like in case of mergers or consolidations that may adversely affect the job security of those on sabbatical. For those on company-funded scholarships, employees on leave may be subject to payment of damages before resigning.

OPEN MIND
In conclusion, management must keep an open mind in exploring the advantages of a sabbaticals. If such leave is beneficial for academia, then, how much more if it’s to be applied to non-academic settings. So, rather than tearing your hair out trying while coming to a decision, why not welcome options that could bring in new ideas that lead to success?

Don’t judge a practice just because it’s not usually done in your industry. Don’t cling to Jurassic ways of doing things. Have an open mind. The best that can happen is lucking into a eureka moment or two.

 

Bring Rey Elbo’s “Expanded PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act) Problem-solving Program” to your management team. Contact him via Facebook, LinkedIn, X or email elbonomics@gmail.com or via https://reyelbo.com

Of disadvantageous treaties, sedition, and espionage

FREEPIK

The past weeks saw a flurry of activities by Filipinos irresponsible enough to seek to undermine current government policy in relation to the defense of the West Philippine Sea. Quite expectedly, various measures have been proposed from various quarters (from the filing of slander or libel cases to the holding of congressional investigations) to address such doings or goings on.

Nevertheless, it is also true that we already have an array of legal measures that can be readily employed to directly deal with such circumstances, corresponding ultimately to the defense of the national territory and sovereignty.

OF DISADVANTAGEOUS ‘GENTLEMEN’S AGREEMENTS’
To start, in evaluating any supposed “gentleman’s agreement” entered into by the previous administration, one should immediately consider the “Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act” (RA 3019), which penalizes any individual that persuades or influences “another public officer to perform an act constituting a violation of rules and regulations duly promulgated by competent authority or an offense in connection with the official duties of the latter, or allowing himself to be persuaded, induced, or influenced to commit such violation or offense.”

Related to the foregoing, it is also a crime to “enter, on behalf of the Government, into any contract or transaction manifestly and grossly disadvantageous to the same, whether or not the public officer profited or will profit thereby.” This is regardless of the intentions of the public officer concerned; in other words, what is of significance is the effect such an agreement has on the country.

Thus, for “manifestly and grossly disadvantageous” contracts (and a treaty, such as a verbal international agreement, is essentially a contract), a punishment of imprisonment of up to 15 years, perpetual disqualification from public office, and confiscation in favor of the Government of any unexplained wealth manifestly out of proportion to his lawful income, awaits those officials that entered into such contracts.

OF SEDITION AND REBELLION
There have also been calls for the military to disobey or otherwise withdraw support from the President, the Commander-in-Chief. Add to these calls for certain islands or territory to break away from the Republic. In this regard, the provisions of the Revised Penal Code (Arts. 134-142) are relevant:

“The penalty of up to 12 years imprisonment can be imposed upon any person who, without taking arms or being in open hostility against the Government, shall incite others to the crime of coup d’état, the latter defined as a swift attack accompanied by violence, intimidation, threat, strategy or stealth, directed against duly constituted authorities of the Republic of the Philippines or for the purpose of seizing or diminishing state power.

“The penalty of up to six years imprisonment can be imposed upon any person who, without taking any direct part in the crime of sedition, should incite others to the accomplishment of any of the acts which constitute sedition, by means of speeches, proclamations, writings, emblems, cartoons, banners, or other representations tending to the same end, or upon any person or persons who shall utter seditious words or speeches, write, publish, or circulate scurrilous libels against the Government (of the United States or the Government of the Commonwealth) of the Philippines, or any of the duly constituted authorities thereof, or which tend to disturb or obstruct any lawful officer in executing the functions of his office, or which tend to instigate others to cabal and meet together for unlawful purposes, or which suggest or incite rebellious conspiracies or riots, or which lead or tend to stir up the people against the lawful authorities or to disturb the peace of the community, the safety and order of the Government, or who shall knowingly conceal such evil practices.”

To argue that such seditious or rebellious statements are protected by the constitutional provisions on free speech is ridiculous. The Supreme Court has long been consistently clear that certain speech can and should be regulated. Child pornography is one, falsely shouting “fire” in a crowded theater is another. There have been various standards laid down by the Supreme Court to determine if certain speech should be silenced: clear and present danger, and the balancing of interests test. There are, made relatively recently, laws against joking about bombs at airports or spreading disinformation about the coronavirus.

We thus need to recognize confidently that, whether it be Philippine or international law, the right to free speech is not absolute. There are inherent limitations to it, of which blasphemy, libel, threats, sedition, and — quite definitely — treason are the obvious examples.

In a similar vein, therefore, that those propagandizing in favor of a foreign hostile country to the detriment or damage of the national security of the Philippines, BP 39 or the “Act Regulating the Activities and Requiring the Registration of Foreign Agents in the Philippines” can be utilized.

“Thus, any person who acts or agrees to act as political consultant, public relations counsel, publicity agent, information representative, or as agent, servant, representative, or attorney for a foreign principal or for any domestic organization subsidized directly or indirectly in whole or in part by a foreign principal shall be considered a ‘foreign agent,’ and is thus is required to file with the Department of Justice a true and a complete registration statement, under oath, including details on address, name of the foreign principal, copy of the contract/s of employment, details of compensation to be paid, if any, and the form and manner of such compensation, a detailed statement of every activity which the registrant is performing or is assuming or purporting or has agreed to perform for himself or any other person than a foreign principal and which requires his registration, and if the registrant be a partnership, association, or corporation, a true and complete copy of its charter, articles of incorporation, association, constitution, and by-laws and any other instruments relating to its organizations, powers and purposes.

“It shall be illegal for any foreign agent to transmit, convey, or otherwise furnish to any agency or official of the government for or in the interest of a foreign principal any political propaganda, or to request from any agency or official for or in the interest of such foreign principal any information or advice pertaining to any political or public interests, policies or relations of foreign country or of a political party or pertaining to the foreign or domestic policies of the Philippines, unless the propaganda being issued or the request being made is prefaced or accompanied by a true and accurate statement to the effect that such person is registered as a foreign agent.

“In this regard, ‘political activity’ refers to political propaganda or any other activity which seeks in any reasonable degree to prevail upon, indoctrinate, convert, induce, persuade, or in any other way influence any agency or official of the Philippine Government, or any section of the public within the Philippines with respect to the domestic or foreign policies of the Philippines, or with respect to the political or public interests, policies, or relations of a foreign government or a foreign political party.”

DOMESTIC ESPIONAGE
Then there is Commonwealth Act No. 616, “An Act to Punish Espionage and Other Offenses Against the National Security.” This covers instances of a person sharing confidential information that could negatively affect the security of the country, either by sharing it with foreign countries, unduly sharing it with the public in a manner that undermines the national security policy of the government, or otherwise expressing or doing something with the goal of causing demoralization within the military.

Thus, it is illegal for anyone “lawfully or unlawfully having possession of, access to, control over, or being entrusted with any document, writing, code book, signal book, sketch, photograph, photographic negative, blue print, plan, map, model, instrument, appliance, or note relating to the national defense, willfully communicates or transmits or attempts to communicate or transmit the same to any person not entitled to receive it.”

Furthermore, anyone “entrusted with or having lawful possession or control of any document, writing, code book, signal book, sketch, photograph, photographic negative, blue print, plan, map, model, note or information, relating to the national defense, through gross negligence permits the same to be removed from its proper place of custody or delivered to anyone in violation of this trust or to be lost, stolen, abstracted, or destroyed, shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than 10 years.”

More importantly, “anyone with the intent or reason to believe that it is to be used to the injury of the Philippines or of the United States or to the advantage of a foreign nation, communicates, delivers, or transmits, or attempts to, or aids or induces another to, communicate, deliver, or transmit to any foreign government, or any faction or party or military or naval force within a foreign country, whether recognized or unrecognized by the Philippines or by the United States, or to any representative, officer, agent, employee, subject, or citizen thereof, either directly or indirectly, any document, writing, code book, signal book, sketch, photograph, photographic negative, blue print, plan, map, model, instrument, appliance, or information relating to the national defense, shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than 20 years, if the offense is committed in time of peace, or by death or imprisonment for not more than 30 years, if it is in time of war.”

It shall also be “unlawful for any person, with intent to interfere with, impair, or influence the loyalty, morale, or discipline of the military, naval, or air forces of the Philippines: (a) to advise, counsel, urge, or in any manner cause insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, or refusal of duty by any member of the military, naval, or air forces of the Philippines; or (b) to distribute any written or printed matter which advises, counsels, or urges insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, or refusal of duty by any member of the military, naval, or air forces of the Philippines. The violation of this section shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than 10 years.”

Those undermining Philippine national security by harboring or concealing violators of CA 616 shall be punished by imprisonment of up to 10 years.

NOT ALL SPEECH IS FREE
As stated here previously, the issue is not the expression of mere differing opinions regarding territorial claims or foreign policy. That is rightly covered by free speech protection.

But when a citizen or local organization declares (impliedly or expressly) allegiance or support to a foreign country or receives funding, endowments, or substantial gifts (e.g., travel, education, promises of employment) from a foreign government (or its agent), with the express or implied purpose of exerting efforts or engaging in speech or activities against the Constitution, Philippine democratic values and principles, and declared State security policy (e.g., upholding the Arbitral Ruling on the West Philippine Sea), then such clearly should be punished by law.

 

Jemy Gatdula read international law at the University of Cambridge. He is the dean of the Institute of Law of the University of Asia and the Pacific, and is a Philippine Judicial Academy lecturer for constitutional philosophy and jurisprudence.

https://www.facebook.com/jigatdula/

Twitter  @jemygatdula

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