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Myanmar junta may enforce mandatory military service

MYANMAR’S ruling military plans to call up young people for mandatory service from April and require retired security personnel to serve, media reports cited a junta spokesman as saying, as the army struggles to crush an anti-junta insurgency.

The Southeast Asian country has been in turmoil since the military seized power from an elected government in a 2021 coup and plans by the junta to call up more people to fight point to the military being under growing pressure.

Last Saturday, Myanmar’s junta declared a law governing mandatory military service would be enforced for men aged 18 to 35 and women aged 18 to 27 for up to two years. On Tuesday, it said this would begin in April.

“We are working to implement the conscription after the new year holiday in April,” junta spokesperson Zaw Min Tun told BBC Burmese, referring to Myanmar’s most important holiday, known as Thingyan. He said medical checks would be conducted and each intake would number about 5,000.

Zaw Min Tun did not answer a phone call seeking comment, but state media MRTV also cited him as saying retired members of the security forces who had left within the past five years would also have to return to the army.

He did not specify how many would be called up nor the timing but said it would only include those “who were necessary.”

A law mandating conscription was introduced in 2010 but had not been enforced. Those who fail to comply with the draft face up to five years in prison, the legislation says.

The junta has not disclosed details about the military’s strength, but analysts and a diplomat in Southeast Asia have said that it faces challenges in recruiting soldiers and has resorted to deploying non-combat personnel to the frontline.

Since October, the Tatmadaw, as the military is known, has suffered personnel losses while battling a coordinated offensive by an alliance of three ethnic-minority insurgent groups, allied with pro-democracy fighters.

Plans to call up more ordinary citizens are providing additional impetus for some to consider fleeing the conflict-torn country, media reports and social media posts show.

“It is really bad for our generation,” said a 27-year-old company worker in Yangon who was trying to leave and declined to be named due to concerns about being targeted by authorities. — Reuters

Russia refits old tanks after losing 3,000 in Ukraine — research center

Army soldier figurines are displayed in front of the Ukrainian and Russian flag colors background in this illustration taken, Feb. 13, 2022. — REUTERS/DADO RUVIC/ILLUSTRATION

LONDON — Russia has lost more than 3,000 tanks in Ukraine — equivalent to its entire pre-war active inventory — but has enough lower-quality armored vehicles in storage for years of replacements, a leading research center said on Tuesday.

Ukraine has also suffered heavy losses since Russia invaded in February 2022, but Western military replenishments have allowed it to maintain inventories while upgrading quality, the International Institute for Strategic Studies said.

Even after the loss of so many tanks — including an estimated 1,120 in the past year — Russia still has about twice as many available for combat as Ukraine, according to the IISS’s annual Military Balance, a key research tool for defense analysts.

Henry Boyd, the institute’s senior fellow for military capability, said Russia had been roughly “breaking even” in terms of replacements. He estimated that it had put around 1,000 to 1,500 more tanks into service in the past year.

But of these, he said, 200 at most were newly built, and the large majority were refurbished older models.

“Moscow has been able to trade quality for quantity… by pulling thousands of older tanks out of storage at a rate that may, at times, have reached 90 tanks per month,” said the report.

Russia’s stored inventories meant Moscow “could potentially sustain around three more years of heavy losses and replenish tanks from stocks, even if at lower-technical standard, irrespective of its ability to produce new equipment”.

Russia’s Defense ministry declined to comment.

TOUGH CHOICES
Nearly two years into the conflict, Ukraine and its Western partners face very difficult choices, the report said.

IISS senior land warfare analyst Ben Barry said Ukraine had tried to shield some of its younger troops — the average age of its infantry soldiers is reported to be in the early 40s — but may struggle to continue to do so.

“They have deliberately protected their youth, but the extent to which they can do that in future is doubtful if they are going to sustain their frontline strength,” he said.

Ukraine, which failed to make progress in a counter-offensive last year and has just replaced its popular commander Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, is also in urgent need of new artillery supplies and air defense systems, while awaiting a major new US aid package that has been held up by Republican opposition.

“Western governments find themselves once again in a position where they must decide whether to furnish Kyiv with enough weapons to deliver a decisive blow, rather than merely enough not to lose,” IISS Director-General Bastian Giegerich said.

Russia, for its part, has placed its economy on a war footing and moved defense factories to round-the-clock production in three shifts.

“It’s an astounding figure,” said Singapore-based defense analyst Alexander Neill, referring to the estimate of 3,000 tanks lost.

“Some of those could have been older tanks, so one of the big questions is how many of its most advanced tanks does it have left for any major future offensives,” added Neill, an adjunct fellow at Hawaii’s Pacific Forum think-tank.

Given the losses sustained by both sides and the attritional character of the trench warfare, IISS experts said the current stalemate was likely to persist.

“Neither side can do a large-scale attack without incurring very heavy casualties, and that’s likely to continue for the foreseeable future,” IIIS land warfare analyst Barry said. — Reuters

Crack the code on this year’s business frontiers with ‘Business Trendspotting 2024’ webinar

The world has never been the same after the pandemic. The post-pandemic era today is marked by high-speed technological advancements and rapidly-evolving consumer behaviors, both of which serve as a detriment to long-running businesses and something to use as an edge over the competition.

Staying ahead means being able to predict which trends will shape the future of industries. For executives at the C-suite, this is not just about keeping pace; it’s about steering their organizations with foresight and agility.

After a challenging 2023 beset by skyrocketing inflation rates, a global tightening of monetary policies, lingering supply chain problems from the effects of COVID-19, as well as the impact of geopolitical strife and climate change, this year, more than ever, businesses need to develop strategies that ensure resilience, growth, and long-term sustainability.

Fortunately, lessons from the past can give an insight into how things will play out in the future. Digital technology, which has provided the means of alleviating much of the economic strain brought about by the pandemic, will prove integral in this new world.

In fact, nearly two-thirds of organizations are directly linking their digital road maps to overall corporate strategy, so much that digital technology investment is now expected to outpace growth up to nine times more than some Asian economies in 2024.

Meanwhile, artificial intelligence (AI), particularly generative AI powered by large language models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Bard, is predicted to be the top investment priority this year well ahead of other technologies.

BusinessWorld, in partnership with Beeline Now Consulting Services, Inc., will be holding its “Business Trendspotting 2024” online webinar this Feb. 22. This virtual forum aims to gather experts and government officials to provide companies the insight and foreknowledge required to delve into the dynamic landscape of business and IT trends shaping the Philippines in 2024.

The event, hosted online from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., will provide a concise yet comprehensive exploration of the latest business and IT trends specifically tailored for the Philippines.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Deputy Governor Francisco M. Dakila and University of Asia and the Pacific professor Bernardo M. Villegas will be providing keynote addresses on their outlook for the Philippines this 2024.

This is to be followed by a talk on “IDC FutureScape: Digital Business Predictions for 2024”, to be led by International Data Corp. Vice-President Linus Lai on the impact of digital technology on business in the next five years.

Mr. Lai is a member of the Asia/Pacific Software and Services Research Group, with more than 20 years of IT experience in the region. Based in Sydney, Australia, he has experience in several cloud, software, and services programs in Asia/Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ), which covers a wide range of technology and services markets across 13 countries.

In this role, he is responsible for providing insights and analyses in enterprise adoption, integration, and management of these solutions. This includes sourcing strategies, vendor selection, and identifying emerging trends in business and technology solutions across technology buyers in the region.

Mr. Lai is a a founding member of IDC Asia/Pacific’s Emerging Technology Advisory Council and is a recipient of numerous awards for country, regional, and quality research contributions.

After the talk, Mr. Villegas and Mr. Lai will be joined by the country manager of Amazon Web Services (AWS) Philippines, Jerry J. Bongco, for a panel discussion answering the most pressing questions for businesses aiming to thrive online, moderated by One News anchor Danie Laurel.

A seasoned IT business leader, Mr. Bongco has over 30 years of experience in telecommunications, information technology, and cloud computing fields. He has worked closely with Philippine conglomerates; enterprise, mid-market, and small business customers; and iconic brands to deliver digital transformation goals and outcomes.

As AWS Philippines’ country manager (April 2023 – present), Mr. Bongco is responsible for bringing to life the company’s mission — “To be the most trusted, customer-centric company that empowers the Philippines to innovate” — with a long-term orientated strategy to accelerate cloud adoption and digitalization in the country. He leads a team of passionate professionals who enable and empower Philippine businesses across various sizes and types to innovate and become world-class by leveraging and harnessing the power of the AWS Cloud.

Digital transformation continues to redefine how businesses interact with their customers and how work is done. Don’t miss out on this exclusive opportunity to learn how to utilize business and tech trends to give your business a competitive edge this 2024. Click here to sign up for free now!

 

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

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Gov’t raises P213B from retail bonds

By Aaron Michael C. Sy, Reporter

THE GOVERNMENT on Tuesday raised an initial P212.719 billion from its auction of the retail Treasury bonds (RTBs), the third under the Marcos administration and the 30th overall.

Meanwhile, the government is also looking to tap the offshore bond market this year to raise about $600 million, Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto said on Tuesday.

Tenders for the RTBs at the rate-setting auction reached P272.708 billion, or more than nine times the P30 billion on offer.

The five-year retail bonds fetched a coupon rate of 6.25%. This was 12.5 basis points (bps) higher than the 6.125% quoted for the five-and-a-half-year RTBs offered in February 2023.

The RTBs’ coupon was also 11.46 bps higher than the 6.1354% quoted for the five-year debt papers at the secondary market before the auction, based on the PHP Bloomberg Valuation Reference Rates published on the Philippine Dealing System’s website.

The papers were awarded at rates ranging from 5.875% to 6.25%, bringing the average to 6.156%.

Following the initial amount borrowed at Tuesday’s auction, the government has now raised a total of P5.1 trillion through RTBs since the debt instrument was introduced in the country in 2001, BTr Officer-in-Charge Sharon P. Almanza said in a speech at a launch event for the bonds on Tuesday, with retail papers accounting for a third of outstanding government securities.

The final amount raised from the 30th tranche of RTBs could reach P400 billion amid the strong demand seen from investors at the rate-setting auction and with the government also doing an exchange offer for three- and five-year retail bonds due to mature next month, Ms. Almanza said at a briefing following the event.

The BTr is offering a bond exchange option for holders of RTB 03-11, maturing on March 9, 2024, and RTB 05-12, maturing on March 12, 2024.

The Treasury is looking to raise P600 billion of its P1.8-trillion domestic borrowing program this quarter, she added.

The coupon rate fetched for the five-year RTBs was lower than expected, Ms. Almanza noted.

Meanwhile, the government is looking at borrowing “more or less” $600 million offshore, Mr. Recto said on the sidelines of Tuesday’s event, with the “timing to be determined by the Treasury.”

Ms. Almanza likewise said the Treasury has prepared the regulatory requirements for the planned offshore issuance.

“It’s just a matter of execution and when the timing’s right,” she added.

Analysts said the RTBs saw strong demand from investors looking for higher returns.

“Attractive yields drove demand, with investors lining up to lock in rates north of 6%. Rates are even more attractive, given the outlook for rates to eventually go down before the end of the year,” ING Bank N.V. Manila Senior Economist Nicholas Antonio T. Mapa said in a Viber message.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Eli M. Remolona, Jr. earlier said the central bank is unlikely to cut rates in the first half but could consider easing in the second semester once inflation is firmly within its 2-4% target band.

The Monetary Board raised borrowing costs by 450 bps from May 2022 to October 2023, bringing the policy rate to a 16-year high of 6.5%. It has since kept benchmark rates steady for two straight meetings and is expected to do the same for a third consecutive time at this week’s review.

The high demand seen for the RTBs came as players wanted to reinvest their funds, with P700 billion in government securities maturing next month, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a Viber message.

The rate was also attractive enough for investors, he said, adding that the government could raise a total of P500 billion from this tranche of retail bonds.

The public offer period for the RTBs and submission of bond exchange offers began on Tuesday and is scheduled to end on Feb. 23, unless closed earlier by the Treasury. The new retail bonds will be issued and settled on Feb. 28.

The RTBs will be sold in minimum denominations of P5,000 and in multiples of P5,000 thereafter, with a maximum investment amount of P500,000, while each exchange offer will have a minimum amount of P5,000 in multiples of P0.01.

The issue managers for the RTBs are the Development Bank of the Philippines, Land Bank of the Philippines, BDO Capital & Investment Corp., BPI Capital Corp., China Banking Corp., PNB Capital and Investment Corp., and Metropolitan Bank & Trust Company.

They are also part of the authorized selling agents for the papers, along with Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd.; Asia United Bank Corp.; BDO Unibank, Inc., Citibank N.A., CTBC Bank (Philippines) Corp., East West Banking Corp., First Metro Investment Corp., ING Bank N.V., Maybank Philippines, Inc.; Bank of Commerce; Philippine Bank of Communications; Philippine National Bank; Rizal Commercial Banking Corp.; Security Bank Corp.; Standard Chartered Bank; Sterling Bank of Asia, Inc.; The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp. Ltd.; and Union Bank of the Philippines, Inc.

The government’s borrowing program for this year is set at P2.4 trillion, with P1.85 trillion to be raised from the domestic market and P606.85 billion from foreign sources.

These borrowings are meant to help fund the government’s budget deficit, which is capped at 5.1% of gross domestic product this year or P1.39 trillion.

Philippines needs to have more ‘guardrails’ against systemic risks

MATHIEU STERN-UNSPLASH

By Keisha B. Ta-asan, Reporter

THE FINANCIAL Stability Coordination Council (FSCC) is looking to put in place “added guardrails” to help mitigate systemic issues, its chair said, amid the market’s growing appetite for “risky” investments on the back of an improving economic outlook.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Eli M. Remolona, Jr., who also chairs the FSCC, said the government must balance fueling the positive market outlook this year and taking a cautious stance against systemic risks.

“Indeed, financial market participants often make risky investments based on rosy scenarios. The more widely shared the scenario, the more dangerous it is,” he said in his remarks at the release of the 2023 Financial Stability Report on Tuesday.

“If something goes wrong, these scenarios sometimes lead to mass panic. There is a rush for the exits, causing massive investments to collapse,” he said.

The FSCC in its report said the Philippine financial market is “squarely in Risk-On territory” since November last year, where stakeholders are open to taking more risks, increasing demand for liquidity.

Risk-on and risk-off are used to describe the attitude and appetite of investors towards taking risks during different economic scenarios.

“The Risk-On situation provides a window to put in place added guardrails that may be useful for future use,” Mr. Remolona said. “No market is entirely reflecting positive signs, just as there is no market that is absolutely without positives.”

These guardrails can be policy tools such as bank capital instruments, borrower-based measures, and liquidity-related tools, the FSCC said.

The Philippine financial system must guard itself against disruptions, Mr. Remolona said.

“This is not an onus exclusively for the macroprudential authority. This requires collective action, which starts with a better understanding of the pluses and minuses in the market and the possible channels of contagion,” he said.

Risks may arise from both local and foreign markets, the BSP chief said, and turn out to be contagious, leading to wider disruptions.

“The macroprudential policy issue is determining the extent to which liquidity fuels more risk-taking today, sustaining momentum without endangering longer-term inflationary and growth prospects,” the FSCC noted.

DEEPER MARKETS
Meanwhile, Mr. Remolona reiterated that he wants to help deepen the domestic capital market by developing a credible benchmark yield curve, making the corporate bond market more accessible to lower-rated issuers, and make the Philippines a part of global equity indices.

“I think if we can deliver on those three things, it will help us with two things. One, it will help us with the transmission mechanism (of monetary policy changes),” he said.

The BSP’s target reverse repurchase rate currently stands at 6.5%, the highest in 16 years, after the Monetary Board hiked borrowing costs by 450 basis points from May 2022 to October 2023.

“Second, there’s a spare tire idea. We’re too heavily dependent on our banking system. If something goes wrong, there are no alternative sources of financing. In other countries, the corporate bond market is the alternative source in financing,” he said.

In its report, the FSCC said banks have long been the major funding source for the Philippine economy.

“But bank loans must price credit risk and liquidity risk because the money they lent out is itself borrowed from the public. Provisioning takes the conservative view by adjusting the size of the balance sheet, but it does not rectify the liquidity gap should a loan account become payment-impaired,” it said.

Thus, deepening the country’s capital markets is crucial, the FSCC said.

“Several initiatives have already been put in place. We look forward to more initiatives and, in particular, our attention is to provide corporates from different credit backgrounds with access to this market,” it added.

Based on FSCC data, market capitalization was at P13.1 trillion at the end of 2023, slightly lower than the P13.3 trillion recorded at end-2022.

The FSCC is an interagency council composed of the officials of the BSP, the Department of Finance, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Insurance Commission, and the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp.

The council’s Executive Committee is chaired by the BSP chief and is composed of the top officials of member agencies.

Filipinos seek divorce for another shot at love

PEXELS

By Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson, Reporter

MARIE O. RIVERA, a 35-year-old legal intake specialist, wants to end her almost two-decade marriage but can’t due to the lengthy and costly legal process in the Philippines.

“Not everyone is lucky enough to be in a marriage that’s ideal and will surely last a lifetime,” she said in a Facebook Messenger chat. “While everyone dreams of marrying their Prince Charming, there are people like me who thought they had met their knight in shining armor only to find out he was actually a devil in disguise.”

There is no divorce in the Philippines, but marriages can be ended in the predominantly Catholic nation through annulment. Couples can get legally separated, but they can’t remarry.

Ms. Rivera eloped at 16 and got married four years later. She got separated after six years, taking her two kids with her.

“I was too young and naive. I thought he was the one, but he turned out to be a monster. I have been beaten, abused physically, mentally, emotionally, name it. I almost died in his own hands.”

She remains married to him because getting their union annulled is too expensive.

“Annulment is the answer but sadly, I don’t have hundreds of thousands of pesos,” Ms. Rivera said. “Annulment is expensive, while legal separation won’t let you find love again.”

A recent survey by the OCTA Research Group showed that 51% of Filipinos frown at legalizing divorce. The Philippines and Vatican City are the only countries left in the world without a divorce law.

A House of Representatives committee in March approved a divorce bill, while a Senate body approved a counterpart measure in September — the closest the Philippines has come to passing the measure since the Family Code was enacted in 1987.

Under the measure, spouses may seek absolute divorce based on several grounds, including five years of separation whether continuous or broken, rape by a spouse before or after marriage and irreconcilable differences.

AJ Alfafara, co-founder of Divorce Pilipinas Coalition, said a divorce law honors human and civil rights. “It is vital for our mental health and for the future of our children to have options that can save them from violence or traumatic relationships that were sealed by a legal document.”

Oliver M. Zorilla, a lawyer, said divorce could be easier than annulment.

“The nullity of marriage is based on psychological incapacity, which supposedly is a medical condition,” he said by telephone. “Divorce is an agreement of the parties. It’s shorter and faster. It’s also cheaper.”

Under the Family Code of 1987, a marriage may be annulled if it was solemnized without parental consent or either spouse was incompetent or forced to wed. The inability of a spouse to consummate the marriage and contracting a sexually transmitted disease are also grounds.

In 2021, the Philippine Supreme Court ruled that psychological incapacity need not be proven through the testimony of a psychologist or psychiatrist.

‘ANTI-FAMILY’
Advocates like Ms. Alfafara said Filipinos should be educated about the benefits of divorce.

“We can help debunk and destigmatize divorce by posting stories about it,” she said. “People should understand that divorce is a solution.”

“If they legislate divorce, politicians need the support of the Catholic Church and the people,” Mr. Zorilla added.

An article by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women said the right to divorce not only requires a change of laws, but also a change of mindset toward gender equality.

“A predominantly Christian nation, the Philippines faces significant pushback against divorce bills,” it said. “Anti-divorce advocates are wary of the practice of trivializing the institution of marriage and see it as anti-family and detrimental to children.”

Timothy Laws, a board adviser of Alliance for the Family Foundation Philippines, Inc., is one of those people.

“Legalization of divorce would have a much greater effect on the Filipino family and society than is commonly recognized,” he said in an e-mail. “Legalized divorce works to abolish marriage as it has been understood historically, and particularly in our society.”

Spouses could easily end their marriage with little to no warning, similar to what’s happening in western countries, Mr. Laws said. “The possibility that either of the spouses can initiate the breakup at any time does not make marriage more attractive to people who consider entering it,” he added.

Expensive legal fees are also not a valid reason to legalize divorce, Mr. Laws said. “If legal separation is too difficult and too expensive, the remedy is to make it less difficult and less expensive, rather than to tear apart the existing structure of our society by legalizing divorce.”

The same applies to annulment, he added.

He also cited the effects of divorce on children’s physical and mental being, their education, employment and predisposition to crime, addiction and violence. Divorce “perpetuates harm through generations,” Mr. Laws said.

Kenneth Joseph Onda, an Order of Augustinian Recollects priest, said the Catholic Church views divorce as a “grave offense against natural law.”

“I am against divorce because it is not just a mistake but a grievous sin against God’s commandment,” he said in a Viber message.

Still, Mr. Onda said a wife should leave her abusive husband to protect herself. “We don’t advise that a woman should stay in such an abusive situation and wait for her husband to kill her.”

A study by the Philippine Statistics Authority last year showed that 17.5% of Filipino women aged 15 to 49 years have experienced some form of physical, sexual and emotional violence from their partners.

Religious arguments against divorce gloss over the reality of violence in marriages, Jayeel S. Cornelio, a sociologist and professor of development studies at the Ateneo de Manila University, said in an e-mail.

He also said much of the debate about divorce is religious, noting that it is religious lawmakers in Congress who are up in arms over it.

“They argue that divorce is not consistent with our collective faith and Filipino culture.,” he said. “That is where the tension lies.”

“The religious discourse speaks on behalf of a majority based on the predominant religion and idealized Filipino culture. But the same majority, statistics would show, is open to divorce. So, something has to give,” he added.

A poll by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) in 2018 showed that 53% of Filipino adults support the legalization of divorce.

Ms. Rivera, the legal specialist, said divorce would help her get another shot at love.

“Your life should not stop with you being married to the wrong person,” she said. “I hope everyone gets a second chance at marriage — to be with the person who will appreciate and love you.”

 

Fed officials eye ‘broadening’ disinflation as new rate-cut test

BW FILE PHOTO

SOME US Federal Reserve officials, who were surprised by inflation’s rapid descent in 2023, seem to be setting a new bar for interest rate cuts: a broader pullback in price pressures.

Last week, both Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin and Boston Fed President Susan Collins indicated they not only want the decline in inflation to continue — like many other officials have said — but also to broaden more meaningfully to housing and other services, given the recent slowing was driven more by goods.

“Are they making a new benchmark, changing the goalposts? It sure seems like it,” said Michael Skordeles, head of US economics for Truist Advisory Services. “They have found enough rationale to put the stake in the ground to be patient.”

Policy makers have left rates unchanged since July, and Fed Chair Jerome H. Powell has already said that a rate cut next month is unlikely as officials seek greater confidence that inflation is headed back to their 2% target. Waiting for a significant broadening in disinflation could push out the timing of the first rate reduction even further.

The remarkable improvement in inflation seen in recent months — and confirmed in revisions out Friday — largely reflects a reversal in energy prices, healing supply chains and lower costs for things like used cars and clothing. Services inflation has also eased, helped by moderating wage gains amid an influx of workers into the labor market, but progress has been slower.

Consumer prices for goods, excluding food and fuel, increased just 0.2% in 2023. Meanwhile, the consumer price index for services excluding energy climbed 5.3%.

“I am hopeful but still looking for more conviction that the slowing of inflation is broadening and sustainable,” Mr. Barkin said in a speech last week. On Bloomberg Television, Mr. Barkin said he’d like to see that trend “continue and broaden” as policy makers get a “few more months” of data.

Fed officials were set to receive a fresh read on inflation Tuesday with the release of the consumer price index (CPI), which was estimated to have retreated in January to below 3% for the first time in nearly three years. The Fed’s preferred gauge of underlying inflation was up 1.9% in December on a six-month annualized basis, actually below the Fed’s 2% target.

“It appears that they’re concerned that too much of the disinflation is coming from declines in goods prices, which may not persist,” said Michael Gapen, head of US economics at Bank of America.

Parsing the data in different ways underscores why some officials may be more cautious about the inflation outlook.

A measure of inflation created by the Dallas Fed that eliminates the sharpest price changes showed a 3.3% annual gain in December, notably above the 2.6% advance in the government’s personal consumption expenditures price index.

The Atlanta Fed’s consumer price index for costs that are sticky — or those that don’t change often — increased a lofty 4.6% in the past year, nearly double the pre-pandemic average. This metric is often seen as a gauge of businesses’ inflation expectations.

“Expecting all indicators to be well aligned is too high a bar, but seeing sustained, broadening signs of progress should provide the necessary confidence I would need to begin a methodical adjustment to our policy stance,” Ms. Collins said last week.

Mr. Powell said in January that while his target is aggregate inflation, it’s a reasonable assumption that over time goods disinflation will flatten out, and “that would mean the services sectors would have to contribute more.”

REVISED PICTURE
The annual CPI revisions released Friday confirmed the inflation progress made at the end of last year, relieving a concern Fed Governor Christopher Waller had previously flagged. Economists also noted a brighter picture for so-called supercore services, which exclude energy and housing.

Mr. Powell and his colleagues have cited the importance of such a measure to assess the nation’s inflation trajectory, though they compute it based on a separate index.

“We found the confirmation of the existing disinflation narrative — and the stronger disinflation momentum in core services, especially housing rents — quite significant,” economists led by Bloomberg Economics’ Anna Wong wrote in a note. That will give “policy makers greater confidence about the progress on disinflation.”

Some officials worry premature easing, if followed by another round of accelerating inflation and then a hike in rates, could hurt public confidence and unmoor inflation expectations. Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic has said that a reversal would be the worst outcome for policy.

“You could have a reacceleration in inflation — that’s the risk,” said Diane Swonk, chief economist at KPMG LLP. “They’re hedging and they feel that they have latitude to hedge against that risk given how strong the economy is.” — Bloomberg

A cornerstone of sustainable urbanization in the Philippines

Sustainable cities and communities are one of the most significant goals that the United Nations pushes for in its Sustainable Development Goals. Growing urban populations have put a strain on natural resources all over the world, and have hastened the need for affordable housing, basic services, infrastructure, employment, and land.

The Philippines exemplifies this problem perfectly. Habitat for Humanity identifies the lack of adequate housing as a glaring example of inequality in the country, with the massive housing backlog standing at 6.5 million units. If left unaddressed, the deficit could balloon to 22 million units by 2040, according to the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD). In Metro Manila alone, over 4 million Filipinos live in poor housing conditions, made worse by the recent COVID-19 pandemic and constant natural disasters.

Fortunately, there is cause of hope. As the DHSUD marks its fifth anniversary, the organization has expressed its optimism in reaching key milestones towards its goals this year, particularly after in the implementation of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino (4PH) Program.

Last December, DHSUD Secretary Jose Rizalino L. Acuzar cited the P13-billion revolving credit lines recently approved by the Home Development Mutual Fund or the Pag-IBIG Fund that would allow the development and construction of more than 11,000 housing units by the National Housing Authority (NHA) and Social Housing Finance Corp. (SHFC) in attainment of the 4PH program.

“This (approved credit lines) will not only sustain the positive momentum we have gained in the nationwide implementation of Pambansang Pabahay, but equally important, it will further bolster private sector confidence,” Mr. Acuzar said.

“We expect more private partners, especially financial institutions, developers and contractors to actively participate in the program this coming year,” he added. “I am confident that 2024 will be a milestone year for our President’s Pambansang Pabahay. Slowly but surely, we are now reaping the fruits of our labor.”

According to Mr. Acuzar, the President’s Executive Orders 34 and 35 have given the DHSUD a significant boost in its efforts to fulfill its mandate, especially in the areas of sustainable housing, human settlements, and urban development.

Both the “Pambansang Pabahay” and the Inter-agency Council for the Pasig River Urban Development (IAC-PRUD), which is also headed by DHSUD, were established by Executive Order 34 and 35, respectively. The former mandated that all government agencies and instrumentalities, including those that are owned or controlled by the government, submit an inventory of the available lands.

Aside from spearheading the “Pambansang Pabahay,” the DHSUD heads the formulating of urbanization policies, regulating the housing and real estate industries, assisting homeowners and communities, and providing technical advice in the country.

From January to November last year, the DHSUD has granted 642 projects licenses to sell (LS), with 489 of those licenses being new and 153 being amended. In all, there are 123,985 dwelling units and 256,834 commercial spaces. Because it mandates that these developments adhere to the specified requirements, the issuing of LS safeguards homeowners from unscrupulous developers and transactions.

Furthermore, in order to guarantee the safety of purchasers with accredited sellers, 15,839 real estate dealers, brokers, and salespeople were registered.

Concerning city planning, the agency reported 754 LGUs that have gained approval for Comprehensive Land Use Plans (CLUP) for resilient and environmentally friendly communities. In addition, it checked 108 zoning ordinances, provincial physical framework plans, and CLUPs for conformity with urban planning and land use standards.

In addition, as of October 2023, a total of 24,571 homeowners associations (HOAs), 224 federations, and 29 confederations are under surveillance nationwide.

Young agency’s storied journey

Photo from pco.gov.ph

Established on Feb. 14, 2019 through Republic Act No. 11201, the DHSUD emerged as a pivotal institution tasked with streamlining and integrating the functions of various predecessor organizations.

Prior to its inception, the landscape of housing governance in the Philippines was characterized by the presence of multiple agencies, each playing a crucial role in addressing different facets of the country’s housing and urban development challenges.

The DHSUD also exercises oversight functions on its attached agencies or key shelter agencies: the NHA, which acts as the country’s primary shelter production arm; the Home Development Mutual Fund or Pag-IBIG Fund, which focuses on national savings program and affordable shelter financing for Filipino workers; the SHFC, which undertakes social housing programs catering to the formal and informal settlers belonging to the low-income bracket; and the National Home Mortgage Finance Corp., which ensures the availability of affordable housing loans to finance homebuyers through secondary market for home mortgages.

The consolidation of these diverse entities under the DHSUD marked a significant turning point in Philippine housing and urban development governance. With a unified mandate and streamlined organizational structure, the DHSUD has been poised to take on the multifaceted challenges of housing provision, land use regulation, and urban planning with renewed vigor and effectiveness.

Its mandate extends to formulating and implementing policies, plans, programs, and projects for housing and urban development, ensuring the availability of affordable and decent housing, and promoting sustainable urban development while addressing the housing needs of low-income families and marginalized sectors.

It has three bureaus that primarily perform policy development, regulatory functions and advisory roles. The first of which, the Environmental, Land Use and Urban Planning and Development Bureau, performs human settlements planning-related functions including formulation of planning guidelines, national urban development policies and programs, technical assistance to relevant stakeholders and land use monitoring.

Photo from pna.gov.ph

The Housing and Real Estate Development Regulation Bureau regulates the development of subdivision and condominium and other real estate projects, including the practice of real estate service by brokers and salespersons, through the formulation, promulgation and imposition of administrative fines and penalties, pursuant to Presidential Decree 957 and Batas Pambansa 220.

Meanwhile, the Homeowners Association and Community Development Bureau, formulates policies and programs to be implemented by the regional offices, monitors proper implementation of the approved policies and programs, and capacitates regional offices in empowering the HOAs within their respective jurisdictions.

The department’s operations are complemented by one technical service, the Public Housing and Human Settlements Service, and seven support services. It also has 16 regional offices strategically located around the country to cater to the needs in the localities.

Over the past five years, the DHSUD has been at the forefront of formulating innovative strategies and initiatives to tackle the country’s housing backlog and urbanization challenges. Through collaborative efforts with government agencies, local government units, private sector stakeholders, and international organizations, DHSUD has made significant strides in advancing its objectives.

Driven by dynamism, integrity, a commitment to service excellence, a unified purpose, and unwavering dedication, the DHSUD strides purposefully towards its vision of ensuring every Filipino family has access to adequate and affordable housing, fostering inclusive human settlements, and creating well-planned communities. — Bjorn Biel M. Beltran

Swiping right to forever: A Tinder success story

DESIGNED BY FREEPIK

IT’S A STORY for the times: Boy and Baby Duque (real names of the couple withheld for reasons of privacy) married each other last January in a conventional ceremony, surrounded by their conventional families, after having met quite unconventionally [at least in certain circles] on the dating app Tinder.

“For me, it was an accident. I didn’t believe in it. It was taboo for me,” said Mr. Duque in a mix of English and Filipino in an interview with BusinessWorld not a month after their wedding. In December 2015, during a Christmas party, Mr. Duque’s friends, after learning that he had been single for almost a year, downloaded the app onto his phone. “[For] me, [it was] just meeting new people,” said Ms. Duque. She said that she just spent her time going to work and going home. “I wanted to date.”

While online dating through websites had been quite a thing in the 1990s and 2000s, it had yet to meet the mainstream. With the proliferation of smartphones in the 2010s, so did dating apps, and suddenly, everybody with a smartphone had a way to date with a device that they always brought within their pockets. Tinder itself was launched in 2012, and according to an e-mail from the dating app, the app has been downloaded more than 530 million times. In a nutshell, Tinder works with a user seeing a single profile on their screen, the user then swipes right (“Like”) on their screen if they like what they see, or swipes left (“Nope”) to move on to the next profile. Should two users swipe right on each other (meaning they both like each other), the app allows both to send messages to each other within the app. The next steps are completely up to both the users.

THE RIGHT SWIPES
“Congratulations on your friends’ marriage — at Tinder, that’s what we call a swipe story,” said a representative from Tinder in an e-mail to BusinessWorld.

“Dating apps have become a bonafide stepping stone into the dating pool for many singles. Not only are the majority of people under 30 using dating apps according to our data, but over half (55%) have been — and 37% know someone who has been — in a serious relationship with someone they met on Tinder. According to local survey data from the Philippines, a majority (73%) of Filipino Gen Zs are either currently using dating apps or have used dating apps in the past,” said Papri Dev, VP APAC Communications for Tinder, in an e-mail to BusinessWorld.

“The most important factor that can help our members improve their match potential on Tinder is using the app. We prioritize potential matches who are active, and active at the same time. We don’t want to waste people’s time showing profiles of inactive members. We want our members to have meaningful connections, conversations and ultimately meet in real life — and there’s nothing better than matching and immediately striking up a conversation. Using the app regularly helps members be more front and center, see more profiles and make more matches. This is the most important part of our algorithm — and it’s totally in our members’ control,” said Ms. Dev.

Another dating app, one that hit phones in 2014, was Bumble. While it worked similarly to Tinder, it had a novel feature: “On Bumble women must make the first move and initiate the conversation in heterosexual matches (a match made between a man and a woman). This is part of our unique approach to encourage respectful interactions within our community. In same-gender matches, or matches with non-binary people, either person can make the first move,” said Lucille McCart, APAC Communications Director of Bumble in an e-mail to BusinessWorld.

“You select your settings that will inform who you see and who sees you — the basic ones are the gender you are looking to date (men, women, non-binary people or everyone), age and distance. There are also Advanced Filters available as part of our Premium subscriptions that allow more selective members to filter by height; star sign; education; whether the potential matches smoke, drink alcohol or exercise; religion etc.,” she added.

“Aside from current location and gender, it’s just age, distance and gender preferences to start. Proximity is a key factor — it’s always fun meeting someone in the same neighborhood and that’s why we consider a potential match’s distance from a member’s current location,” said Ms. Dev. “For those who want to share more, Tinder factors in interests and lifestyle descriptions members add to their profiles. We also use anonymized cues from photos to help tailor recommendations — we suggest profiles with similar photos to ones members have Liked before, and show their profiles to more people who have Liked members with photos similar to their own. And of course, Likes and Nopes are obviously key pieces of insight into what members like. We are constantly honing the potential matches members see based on how often their profile — and all profiles in their area — are Liked or Noped.”

On that note, the Duque couple told BusinessWorld why they swiped right on each other. “Well, of course, one, maganda (she’s beautiful). We’re not going to lie. Very nice smile,” said Mr. Duque. He also said that he liked what he saw on Ms. Duque’s Tinder bio: she liked basketball and invited potential matches to watch basketball games with her. “Maganda personality (she also had a nice personality).” Ms. Duque said that it was also her now-husband’s smile (and her preference for men with East Asian features) that made her swipe right. “Buti na lang maganda iyong smile ko (thank goodness I have a great smile),” Mr. Duque joked.

The priest during their wedding recalled that Ms. Duque expressed a preference for Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) and University of the Philippines (UP) graduates, while Mr. Duque graduated from the University of Sto. Tomas (UST). “We wouldn’t have met, to be perfectly honest,” Ms. Duque said when asked if things would have been different if they had met outside the app. “We were moving in the same circles, but I don’t think we would have bumped into each other,” she said in a mix of English and Filipino. “I come from a strict, conservative family,” she said. “You didn’t get the opportunity to go out as much,” her husband interjected. Ms. Duque balked at her husband’s assessment, but he added, “Hindi lang naman ikaw eh. Dito sa Philippines, maraming ganiyan (It’s not just you. Here in the Philippines, there are a lot of families like that).”

“It would have been really hard to meet her, actually,” said Mr. Duque. Ms. Duque says in a mix of English and Filipino, “I think that’s common with people using apps. It’s special when you meet someone, because normally you wouldn’t have met them, ever.”

Mr. Duque said that he asked for her phone number just after a night of talking while on the app — and deleted the app immediately after transferring their conversation to instant messaging app Viber. During a trip to Sagada with friends and family, Mr. Duque found himself waiting for her messages. “How do you explain that feeling? You just want to receive a message from that person. I hadn’t met her physically,” he said. On top of mountains, surrounded by some of the people he loved the most, “Ang nasa isip ko pa rin, siya (the only thing in my mind was her).

“Even if I wouldn’t admit it to myself that time, but right now, when I think back on it, most probably, I’d already fallen for her… that’s just the start of it. Of course, over the course of the years, it grew. Of course, when we met… but doon pa lang, alam ko na eh (but even then, I knew).” For her part, Ms. Duque said that she knew she loved him when, “Gusto mo ibigay iyong same level of happiness sa kaniya, kasi nabibigay niya iyon sa akin (You want to give the same level of happiness he gives you, because he gave that same level of happiness to me).”

HOW DO PEOPLE FALL IN LOVE?
Geoffrey Mercado, a Part-Time Lecturer at ADMU and International Baccalaureate Psychology Teacher, tried to explain what Mr. Duque, and so many other poets and singers have tried to do over the centuries: how do people fall in love?

“Specifically, how we fall in love is a biological and intuitive process. From an evolutionary perspective, attraction is necessary for survival and reproduction. Therefore, our bodies are built to be attracted to someone, preferably someone who has a compatible immune system makeup so that our offspring can have a well-prepared immune system,” he said, citing Hakkarainen et al.’s 2021 paper, “MHC Class II Heterozygosity Associated With Attractiveness of Men and Women.” From Donatella Marazziti et al.’s 2017 case report “Serotonin and Love: Supporting Evidence From a Patient Suffering From Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder,” Mr. Mercado gleans that, “In fact, a person who has fallen in love with someone shows the brain chemistry of someone who has a diagnosis of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). In other words, the intrusive thoughts of a beloved and the compulsion to act on these thoughts of someone who’s in love are similar to the symptoms being suffered by patients seeking treatment for OCD. There might, indeed, be some truth in the phrase “You’re MADLY in love.’”

Mr. Mercado cites other hypotheses, including one from the study “Perceived, not actual, similarity predicts initial attraction in a live romantic context: Evidence from the speed-dating paradigm” by Natasha Tidwell, et. al in 2013. “From a cognitive perspective, there is a similarity-liking hypothesis that has the most empirical support. How this explanation goes is that we find those who are similar to us to be much more attractive than those who are opposite. The idea is that similarity provides predictability and familiarity, and that leads to feelings of safety and security. However, it’s not actual similarity that leads to attraction but a perception of it,” he said.

“To put these two perspectives together, it looks like our mind and body work together to find us someone — anyone — to connect with. Now, the research on attraction might give the impression that the reasons we fall for people are shallow and silly, but the consoling fact is that we don’t have to end up with those whom we initially found attractive,” he added. “Attraction is a universal process, and it follows the same patterns even if the attraction is towards someone we see on a screen.”

A TINDER SUCCESS STORY
In light of what both Duques said about giving each other the same level of happiness, as well as allowing their love to grow through the years (the Duque couple met on the app in 2015, met in face-to-face in 2016, and married in 2024), Mr. Mercado gave a few thoughts on what makes relationships successful.

“Long-term relationships are considered successful when they are deliberately maintained by both partners,” he said. “Most people find it surprising that they have to put in the work when they’ve met ‘the love of their life,’ thinking that love should come ‘easy’ when it’s ‘true.’ If it takes work, then it somehow shatters their expectation that true love should be a happily ever after. Yet, as the research will tell us, true love has more to do with choosing to stay with someone, especially when the love chemicals formed during the attraction stage have now stabilized. The love becomes true as a consequence of the relationship rather than a prerequisite for it.”

Also important is self-disclosure within a relationship, app-generated or otherwise. In this case and many others, honesty turns out to be the best policy, as the old adage (frequently forgotten in these times) goes. “Self-disclosure is the act of revealing personal, and sometimes damning, information about ourselves to a select few,” said Mr. Mercado. “The idea is that our relationship is considered ‘close’ when we have access to information about the other person that’s close to the center of who they are. Think about it: we have a ‘close’ circle of friends because only they know our deepest and darkest secrets. Similarly, relationships maintain their status when couples regularly disclose intimate information about each other,” he said. “Self-disclosure is about sharing information that has the potential to break the relationship, but having hope that it won’t. This style of communication, as you can see, is a necessary first step for the other maintenance behaviors to occur. We can’t know how the other wants to be loved if we can’t confront the possibility that we’re not doing enough.”

This same behavior is what the Duques think they did right, which is how and why they ended up with each other. Ms. Duque said, “I think we were honest with each other, that we wanted to date each other.” Mr. Duque said, “We were honest about everything.”

“Users should be true to themselves when they’re using the app,” Mr. Duque said. “People should embrace more of what is real about themselves,” he added.

Cool profiles might get more swipes, but he said that maybe, while authentic profiles may get less swipes and therefore, less chances of approval and attraction from another user, “You know that that person appreciates who you are.”

Mr. Mercado says, “Attraction is just the initiation stage of the relationship. Who we talk down the aisle towards, who we raise kids with… who continues to choose us despite all of our flaws is still well within our reach… it’s a set of skills anyone and everyone should spend time learning. I believe that relationships, or how to foster them, should be part of the curriculum in schools because, eventually, relationships are what we will spend most of our lives searching for and maintaining. In the end, I think that relationships should inspire us to become better people, not bitter people, and it shouldn’t matter how and where we find them. What matters is that we recognize that what’s worth keeping is worth working for.”

Ms. Duque reflects on how meeting her husband on Tinder has changed her mind about how love works. “It’s a real leap of faith. It was taboo at that time for most people, but you did it for yourself, because you wanted to try something new… and then you find someone who changed your life.”

How to safely use dating apps

FREEPIK

OF COURSE, like all the aspects of our lives lived online, online dating comes with a risk. A famous case of an online dating disaster involves Simon Leviev, a psuedonym used by Shimon Hayut, recorded in the 2022 documentary The Tinder Swindler. There, it details how Mr. Leviev defrauded a number of women financially after meeting them on Tinder to fund an expensive lifestyle that he would then use in turn to lure even more women.

“Tinder has significantly invested in Trust & Safety (T&S) product development over the last few years and has brought our total T&S feature suite to 20 innovations. Most recently, we released new advancements to user warnings to boost in-app good behavior, cover areas of authenticity, respect, and inclusivity, which aim to provide additional guidance to users and inform them of inappropriate behavior, offering them an immediate opportunity to change their actions moving forward,” said Papri Dev, VP APAC Communications for Tinder

“We’ve also introduced developments to our ‘Does This Bother You?’ and ‘Are You Sure?’ features (widening the categorization of hate speech, sexual exploitation, and harassment), given our members more control in-app with the launch of ‘Incognito Mode’ and ‘Block Profile,’ as well as made upgrades to member reporting. We also upgraded our Photo Verification process by asking members to take a selfie video, a better way for them to prove who they are,” said Ms. Dev.

Ms. Dev also gave a list of things one shouldn’t do on Tinder to ensure safety:

Never send money or share financial information, even if the person claims to be in an emergency.

Never share personal information, such as your social security number, home or work address, or details about your daily routine (e.g., that you go to a certain gym every Monday) with people you don’t know.

Keep conversations on the Tinder platform while you’re getting to know someone. Because exchanges on Tinder are subject to our Safe Message Filters, users with bad intentions often try to move the conversation to text, messaging apps, e-mail, or phone right away.

Be wary of long distance and overseas relationships. Watch out for scammers who claim to be from your country but stuck somewhere else, especially if they ask for financial help to return home.

Be wary of anyone who will not meet in person or talk on a phone/video call — they may not be who they say they are.

Report all suspicious and offensive behavior. You know when someone’s crossed the line and when they do, we want to know about it. Block and report anyone that violates our terms.

For Bumble’s part, Lucille McCart, APAC Communications Director of Bumble, says, “At Bumble safety is our number one priority, and it is of critical importance to us to make sure that we are creating a safe, trustworthy environment where people can make respectful and kind connections. As such we have developed a suite of safety tools, features and policies that help make Bumble a place where people want to date, including: Photo Verification — this uses AI technology to ensure that people are who they say they are; Private Detector — again, an AI powered tool that automatically detects and blurs unsolicited lewd images shared through the app; Block and Report — a robust tool that allows members to report bad behavior whenever and wherever they see it so that our Member Safety team can take action.

“We have also recently introduced policies to address body shaming, cyberflashing and, most recently, updated the Community Guidelines to prohibit any attempts to artificially influence connections, matching, conversations, or engagement through the use of automation or scripting,” she said.

Ms. McCart said that Bumble took the latest steps to tackle scams, spam and fake profiles, with the introduction of the Deception Detector, which was officially launched on Safer Internet Day on Feb. 6. “This latest feature uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to assess the authenticity of profiles and connections, so singles can spend less time playing detective and more time focused on meaningful connections. Bumble saw reports of spam, scam, and fake accounts reduced by 45%, and of those accounts identified as spam/scam profiles, Bumble, Inc.’s testing showed that Deception Detector™ supported in blocking 95% of these accounts automatically. This automated and AI-based technology is used in conjunction with dedicated human support to prioritize a safe and empowering community,” she said.

“While we take extensive measures to promote safety on our platform, we also encourage our community to be proactive in safeguarding their own well-being by trusting their instincts, meeting in public places for initial meetings, taking their time to get to know someone, and promptly reporting any concerns or suspicious behavior using our in-app tools. By fostering a culture of respect and accountability, everyone can help maintain a safe and inclusive community where everyone can confidently pursue meaningful, kind connections,” she said. — JL Garcia

What to expect at Art Fair PH

LONG hoped for projects are finally coming to realization as Art Fair Philippines opens its 11th edition on Feb. 16. It will run until Feb. 18 at The Link car park in Makati City.

This is the second time it will be held onsite since the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted its regular schedule.

“Many of these projects are things we’ve been wanting to do for previous editions that we were not able to realize but are now finding the right time to come to fruition,” Art Fair Philippines’ Geraldine “Dindin” Araneta told BusinessWorld at the launch back in January.

10 DAYS OF ART
Kicking things off is “10 Days of Art,” a display of public art in various locations throughout the city, which began on Feb. 9.

Installations include visual artist Derek Tumala’s A Warm Orange-Colored Liquid, mounted at the fountain area of Ayala Tower One. It is based on his research at the Manila Observatory and is “his biggest and most ambitious project to date,” according to Art Fair Philippines’ Trickie Lopa.

“It will tackle the issue of climate change, so he is going to be using solar panels to harness solar energy for this piece,” she said.

Over at the Tower Two Green Wall in Ayala Triangle Gardens is motion graphics artist Isaiah Cacnio’s digital projection Prismatic Embra ce, providing color to the greenery and turning it into a unique spot for pictures.

Ms. Lopa explained: “We had Isaiah for Art in the Park in 2023 in the evening and it was such a popular section that we asked him to do something that will last for 10 days in a bigger venue.”

A few steps away is Leeroy New’s sculpture made of discarded plastic bottles. Even Legazpi underpass just outside Ayala Triangle has art on its walls, in the form of Fotomoto PH photography that passersby can see.

To get a map of the Art Walk all throughout Makati, go to 10daysofart.com.

ARTFAIRPH/PROJECTS
A highlight of the fair proper is the ArtFairPH/Projects section.

Exhibition designer and theater director Ed Lacson conceptualized a “contiguous space” that presents works by renowned Filipino artists such as Jonathan Ching, Jigger Cruz, Gean Brix Garcia, and the late Rod Paras-Perez, along with artists from other countries. The space will also feature a group of muralists mentored by Alfredo Esquillo, Jr. and Renato Habulan.

“ArtFairPH/Projects will be located on the 7th floor. The layout will immediately feel different from the gallery floors, and will encourage a sense of discovery. For the first time, we will have quite a few foreign artists presenting for Projects,” Art Fair Philippines’ Lisa Periquet said at the launch.

Another must-visit is “Pambabae,” an exhibit and reappraisal of overlooked Filipino women modernists. Ivi Avellana Cosio, Ileana Lee, Nelfa Querubin, Evelyn Collantes, Phyllis Zaballero, and Lilian Hwang, largely overshadowed by their male contemporaries, now have their time in the spotlight.

Their works from 1969 to 1989 represent “an explosion of creativity that was significant in the development of Philippine modern art.”

“The quality of the work from this period was outstanding. We are opening people’s eyes to art that has remained under the radar,” said Ms. Periquet.

For the 10th anniversary of the Karen H. Montinola (KHM) Selection, there will be a retrospective exhibit featuring the 10 recipients of the annual KHM grant: Pio Abad (2014), Mike Adrao (2015), Mac Valdezco (2016), Mark Valenzuela (2017), Alvin Zafra (2018), Liv Vinluan (2019), Carlo Villafuerte (2021), Melvin Guirhem (2022), and Faye Abantao (2023).

RESIDENCIES, DIGITAL
Also exhibited are works reflecting the experiences of the 2024 residency artists: Mark Salvatus at the Manila Observatory in Quezon City; Anna Miguel Cervantes at the Linangan Art Residency in Alfonso, Cavite; Jett Ilagan at Emerging Islands in San Juan, La Union; Julian Tapales at Butanding Barrio in Puerto Princesa, Palawan; and Renz Baluyot at Orange Project in Bacolod, Negros Occidental. Two foreign residency artists are Iseult Perrault and Petr Hajdyla.

This year, ArtFairPH/Digital returns for its second year, bringing in Daata founder David Gryn who will talk about the digital art scene and present his video artwork Best Dressed Chicken (Manila Version). Milo Creese’s AI work, A Complicated Dance, and George Roxby Smith’s video series, Just Breathe, will also be seen at the fair.

Web3 artist community CryptoArt PH will have its own exhibition showcasing the talent of Filipino artists that use non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and blockchain technology.

PHOTO, FILM
The ArtFairPH/Photo section, curated by Sandra Palomar, has FotomotoPH as the sole exhibitor. The Manila-based organization is dedicated to promoting Philippine photography.

Meanwhile, taking the form of a hangout and speakeasy for people to talk about movies and the film scene over beer and music is NO SHOWING. This is a project for the ArtFairPH/Film section which is curated by filmmaker Moira Lang and co-presented by Archivo Gallery and Club Kino.

“Different sets of filmmakers will come in every two hours to changing music and topics. With so many things happening in an art fair setup, this is the chance to sit down and converse,” Ms. Araneta said of the project.

A regular day pass to the fair is P750. Tickets for students with valid IDs, senior citizens, and PWDs are P500. Makati students and teachers with valid IDs get a discounted price of P300 per ticket. Entrance is free for Globe Platinum subscribers and certain BPI credit cardholders. For more information, visit the Art Fair Philippines website and follow Art Fair Philippines on Instagram (@artfairph) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/artfairph).

SteelAsia says IPO plans still in the pipeline

STEELMAKER SteelAsia Manufacturing Corp. said that conducting an initial public offering (IPO) is still under consideration and remains part of the company’s strategic plans for the future.

The company’s IPO could happen in the next five years, SteelAsia Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Benjamin O. Yao told BusinessWorld on the sidelines of a launch event in Makati City last week.

“Right now, it’s at the back of our mind. But we’re focused now on expansion first,” he said.

“We are not saying that we are not pushing for the IPO. It’s just that our priority now is on the execution of our projects. We are still open to it,” he added.

In 2019, SteelAsia announced that it was aiming to go public within the next two years to generate funds for the company’s expansion efforts.

“I think everybody is waiting for the (interest) rates to go down. I think that will recover. It’s a matter of time,” Mr. Yao said.

Mr. Yao said that SteelAsia is aiming to achieve over 10% revenue growth this year, led by the company’s infrastructure projects.

He said that the company’s performance was “good” in 2023 but “almost the same as in 2022” due to the effect of the pandemic.

“We are busy with infrastructure projects like the subway and railway… We have many expansions like I-beam, H-beam, sheet pile… Our expansion is all for import substitution,” Mr. Yao said.

“The market is there but it is just waiting for us to make it happen in the next two to three years,” he added.

He also said that the company’s industrial-scale melt shop in Lemery, Batangas, has experienced delays and is now expected to commence operations in early 2025.

SteelAsia had previously announced that the 600,000-ton melt shop was scheduled to start operations this year.

“It will now be early 2025. The delay is due to the usual permits and other factors, including the availability of high-voltage power, which is necessary for steel production. But these issues have already been addressed,” Mr. Yao said.

The company’s melt shop will utilize local scrap metal to produce high-grade billets, which serve as raw materials for constructing buildings, ports, and ships.

SteelAsia has six plants in the country, two of which are in Bulacan, and one each in Cagayan de Oro, Davao, Cebu, and Batangas. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

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