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PH1 World secures P500-M financing for Bulacan project

REAL ESTATE company PH1 World Developers, Inc. has signed a P500-million loan deal with the Ayala-led Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) for its Northscapes housing project in San Jose del Monte City, Bulacan.

The loan will finance the development of Northscapes, a 4.6-hectare residential project launched in September last year, PH1 said in an e-mailed statement on Tuesday.

“This partnership with BPI will ensure that we will deliver on our promise and is a testament to the collaborative mindset of both our organizations to promote accessible green and modern living,” PH1 General Manager for Horizontal Developments Eric Gregor G. Tan said.

PH1 is the real estate unit of the listed engineering conglomerate Megawide Construction Corp. The loan will help accelerate PH1’s value creation drive, as it is expected to become a growth driver for Megawide in the next two years, according to the company.

PH1 President Gigi G. Alcantara said the loan supports the company’s goal of bringing energy-efficient communities to emerging locations such as San Jose del Monte City.

Northscapes will feature 338 housing units. The townhouses at Northscapes range from 53 square meters (sq.m.) to 70 sq.m., while the single-attached house models can have up to 95 sq.m. of space.

Megawide acquired PH1 from Citicore Holdings Investment, Inc. in July last year for P5.2 billion, as the conglomerate targets the below-middle-income and middle-income segments of the real estate market.

Other PH1 projects include Modan Lofts Ortigas Hills condo project in Taytay, My Ensō Lofts in Quezon City, The Hive Residences condo in Taytay, and the Northscapes housing development in Bulacan.

It also has a joint venture with Property Company of Friends, Inc. to build the One Lancaster Park condo project in Imus City, Cavite.

On Tuesday, Megawide stocks dropped by 0.69% or two centavos to P2.86 apiece. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Private initiatives fostering marriage inviolability: The Educhild Foundation, PAREF, the Riverbed Program

FREEPIK

(Part 4)

As we have seen in specific cases of private initiatives, organized by both secular and religious associations, programs that foster the right attitudes to marriage as an inviolable, lifetime institution can begin as early as the teenage years of the Filipino youth.

For this reason, the lecturers, case discussion leaders, and other resource persons are ordinarily taken from parents and educators, following the principle that in the inculcation of values and virtues, the first responsibility rests on the parents, then the teachers and only in the third place the students themselves.

A leading source of speakers for these programs is the Educhild Foundation which was founded by concerned parents some 50 years ago. Educhild stands for Education for the Upbringing of Children, based on the philosophical principle that the primary purpose of marriage is the procreation and education of children. The Educhild Foundation is the leading organization in the Philippines in the field of parenting. It is affiliated with the International Federation for Family Development (IFFD), a non-governmental organization that aims to provide training in parenting. IFFD has General Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council.

In the major regions of the country, parents from all walks of life volunteer, after getting the appropriate training from experts, to deliver parenting courses to fellow parents in a variety of topics. Among them are First Steps, offered to parents of children ages zero to three or those planning to have children, enabling them to maximize these years of early development. For parents with children aged four to seven years old, First Letters consists of sessions helping parents to start developing the personality of the children as they reach the age of reason. Then Middle Childhood parenting courses are for those couples with children eight to 12 years old, showing them how to build a foundational set of values that steer their children’s decisions and actions.

Much importance is given by Educhild Foundation to helping parents guide their teenage children on how to navigate the very difficult years of adolescence, especially considering the very challenging moral environment in these times of the so-called “woke” culture.

As life expectancy has significantly been prolonged, there is an increasing role of grandparents in the upbringing of their grandchildren. That is why the Educhild Foundation has started offering Grandparenting courses that help participants in the new phase of their relationship with their children and grandchildren.

In addition to these courses focusing on the appropriate upbringing of children and grandchildren, the Educhild Foundation — borrowing from the art of management to which a good number of parents belong — has been offering for some time now workshops on Family Visioning which are aimed at helping families set a desired future state for themselves and the common values and principles that will guide them toward that vision.

Other auxiliary courses aimed at strengthening the institution of marriage are Life Endeavors and Projects (LEAP), the Married Love Course, Beyond I Do and several courses in the vernacular for the families of farmers and factory workers called Pinoy Educhild and Gabay Pamilya.

LEAP is a program for single young professionals providing principles for decision making in the different areas of life, including the decision to marry. The Married Love Course is designed for married couples who want to strengthen their marriage, deepen their personal growth, enhance their knowledge of family life, and reflect upon true and everlasting love. Beyond I Do is a fun-filled weekend of rediscovery aimed at reinvigorating and enriching the marital bond.

Another foundation established almost a half century ago is called Parents for Education Foundation or PAREF. As can be read on its website, PAREF was founded in 1976 by a group of parents who gathered to address the challenge of the integral education of their children with the twin thrust of academic excellence and sound character formation.

Inspired by the teachings of St. Josemaria Escriva, Founder of Opus Dei, these founding parents had the strong belief that the proper education of their children is best realized through the integral formation first of parents, and secondly of teachers — the two most important agents of child education.

It is no surprise that PAREF found a great deal of synergy with the Educhild Foundation.

In no time at all, PAREF started to establish grade and high schools which adopted the educational philosophy of Parents First, then Teachers Second, and Pupils being the ultimate beneficiaries in the Third place. Since the first school for girls, called Woodrose, was established in 1979, today PAREF is a big family with 13 schools, having graduated more than 8,000 students, most of whom are already engaged in the world of work equipped with the values and virtues that were inculcated in them through the educational philosophy of “Parents First.”

Needless to say, the philosophy behind PAREF is that of the inviolability of marriage as a social institution and the family as the basic foundation of society, as enunciated in the Philippine Constitution of 1987.

All the schools of PAREF aim to give their students complete human, intellectual, cultural, moral, spiritual, aesthetic, and physical formation in an atmosphere of personal freedom and responsibility. All academic courses in the PAREF schools follow the curricula required by the Philippine Government. The schools profess and honor the values and ideals of the Filipino culture.

The religious instruction is based on the Teaching Authority of the Catholic Church. The formation offered by the PAREF schools consists of:

a. Demanding and whole-person academic program.

b. The mentoring system as the distinctive feature of personal formation and collaboration with the parents.

c. Imparting broad humanistic and cultural formation.

d. Encouraging the practice of human virtues towards the development of personal maturity, leading each person to achieve perfection in his work according to his or her ability.

There are also private initiatives sponsored by the business community. An example is the Riverbed Program supported by some members of the business community of Pampanga.

The program is addressed to some segments of the student body of the Pampanga High School, such as the club presidents, special classes in the physical sciences, specific student organizations, etc. The objectives of the Program are to form the youth as persons, responsible students, and patriotic citizens. It helps these students to make good and responsible day-to-day decisions in family and family life; friendships and social responsibility; love, courtship and marriage; and teenage lifestyle.

Each student has a personal mentor. In addition, there are four regular workshop forums in the year on current moral social issues (e.g., family structures, sexuality and sexuality education; social media and teenage lifestyle; faith and Filipino values; and special sessions on provincial and national history and culture.

(To be continued.)

 

Bernardo M. Villegas has a Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard, is professor emeritus at the University of Asia and the Pacific, and a visiting professor at the IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain. He was a member of the 1986 Constitutional Commission.

bernardo.villegas@uap.asia

American artist Feuerman aims to inspire with her Diver sculpture

INSTAGRAM.COM/CAROLEFEUERMAN

PARIS — American artist Carole Feuerman, renowned for her super-realist sculptures of swimmers and divers, has a larger-than-life work on exhibit center stage at the Olympics in Paris.

Her sculpture The Diver, made in 2011 of bronze with a black patina and a polished bronze cap, was selected out of thousands of applicants to be exhibited at the Eiffel Tower for the duration of the Olympics and Paralympics.

The mayor of Paris was familiar with Ms. Feuerman’s work, already having seen the work on display years earlier at a Parisian intersection.

“This is a perfect piece for the Olympics,” Ms. Feuerman said, explaining that she was inspired many years ago by diver Gareg Louganis when they met at the Swimming Hall of Fame.

“When I watched him dive, I knew I had to make a sculpture of a diver in that position, in that beautiful curve.”

The sculpture, which weighs approximately 1,200 pounds, almost didn’t make it to Paris. It is one of an edition of only three, the first of which Ms. Feuerman’s gallery sold, apparently unaware of its Olympic destiny.

Luckily, Ms. Feuerman had already started on a second one, and the foundry hurried to finish it. But it got held up in customs and missed its flight. They managed to get it on the next flight out, and two days later it was installed directly in front of the Eiffel Tower.

“The Olympics is the sport of perseverance, of integrity, trust, honesty and striving to achieve the impossible,” she said, “and I really believe that it fits in with that theme and that spirit.”

Ms. Feuerman has been making her art for more than 60 years. “In my own struggles and striving to persevere, I came up with the themes from the heart to do my own stories.”

In 2011, she founded the Carole A. Feuerman Sculpture Foundation, which fosters innovative artistic expression and the creative process by organizing fine art exhibitions that showcase the work of under-represented artists.

“I just want to be an inspiration for athletes and for young people to never give up.” — Reuters

​Igloo launches digital platform for sales intermediaries in PHL

INSURANCE TECHNOLOGY firm Igloo on Tuesday has launched digital insurance sales intermediary Ignite in the Philippines, it said on Tuesday.

“We understand that insurance is still very relationship-based in the Philippines and most insurance sales here are being facilitated in person by insurance intermediaries and brokers. The lack of technology integration or a consistent platformized approach has posed multiple challenges — most of the process is being conducted via a single insurance intermediary, single product, single insurer, leading to limited ability to earning more and referring more product,” Igloo Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Raunak Mehta said in a statement.

“By launching Ignite in the Philippines, Igloo is on a mission to help boost the efficiency and productivity of nearly 271,000 active life and nonlife insurance intermediaries in the country,” he added.

Ignite is meant to enhance sales processes, streamline client management, and improve customer service, Igloo said.

The digital platform was initially launched in Vietnam in 2022 and then in Indonesia the following year. It features 42 products across nine categories, including travel, pet, and motor protection plans from leading insurers.

Ignite features a user-centric interface for browsing, a quote system that allows for premium calculations and quote generation, secure payment processing, and team and data management tools for manual reporting and analysis.

Users can also track and report referral fees in real time directly to their bank accounts.

“Through Ignite, we are addressing these pain points by consolidating product offerings from multiple insurance companies, helping them digitalize their processes, and providing a secure all-in-one platform for all they may need as insurance intermediaries,” Mr. Mehta said.

“We see Ignite as a key product in furthering the region’s insurance penetration,” Mr. Mehta said. “Despite rapid digitization, agents remain crucial in Southeast Asia’s insurance sales. Ignite provides them with the tools and skills they need to succeed. We’re also looking to improve the app with new product offerings and features. We’ve received very positive feedback from insurers across multiple markets, especially about Ignite’s partner onboarding, management, and performance functionality, which benefits both general and life insurance sales.”

Igloo will also be launching iLearn, which will give agents access to training to improve their insurance product knowledge, technical skills, sales strategies, and customer handling skills.

To increase partner recruitment, it will also launch a microsite to provide a centralized platform for potential partners. — AMCS

Robinsons Retail Q2 net income up 36.2% on higher sales

LISTED Robinsons Retail Holdings, Inc. (RRHI) grew its attributable net income by 36.2% to P1.72 billion in the second quarter  (Q2) from P1.26 billion last year, driven by higher net sales.

Second-quarter net sales increased by 3.1% to P47.82 billion from P46.39 billion in 2023, RRHI said in a statement to the stock exchange on Tuesday.

Core net earnings for the April to June period rose by 15.3% to P1.46 billion, while operating income increased by 7.3% to P2.21 billion.

For the first half of the year, RRHI’s attributable net income surged by 3.8 times to P6.8 billion from P1.8 billion a year ago, following a one-time gain from the merger between Bank of the Philippine Islands and Robinsons Bank Corp. in the first quarter.

Net sales during the first six months grew by 3% to P93.71 billion from P90.98 billion in 2023.

“The standout segments in terms of revenue growth for the quarter were food, drugstores, and department stores,” RRHI said.

“Blended same store sales growth (SSSG) in the second quarter still rose by 0.5% even with persistent inflation while first half blended SSSG registered at 0.7%,” it added.

Core net earnings increased by 12.1% to P2.65 billion, while operating income rose by 5.5% to P4.1 billion.

“Operating income continued to accelerate relative to the top line, attributed to improvements in the sales mix, higher vendor support, and optimized costs,” RRHI said.

Robina Y. Gokongwei-Pe, president and chief executive officer (CEO), said that the company is optimistic about maintaining its earnings momentum through the latter part of 2024, driven by accelerated store openings.

She noted that the easing inflationary pressures are expected to positively impact consumer spending.

“We continue to generate earnings growth by focusing on controllable factors such as opening stores in strategic locations, enhancing our merchandise mix, and streamlining costs,” she said.

Last week, RRHI announced that Ms. Pe will step down as company president and CEO effective Jan. 1 next year. She will be replaced by Stanley C. Co, who currently serves as chief operating officer.

In turn, Ms. Pe will become RRHI’s chairman, replacing her brother Lance Y. Gokongwei, who will step down as chairman and member of the board to become board adviser.

As of end-June, RRHI has 2,401 stores consisting of 755 food stores, 1,082 drugstores, 49 department stores, 224 DIY stores, and 291 specialty stores. It also has over 2,100 franchised stores of The Generics Pharmacy.

RRHI stocks dropped by 1.1% or 40 centavos to P36 per share on Tuesday. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

If it’s bad business, it’s bad for the Philippines

FORMER PHILIPPINE PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte (right) and Chinese President Xi pose for a photo at Malacañang on Nov. 20, 2018 after a bilateral meeting. — PHILSTARLIFE.COM-MALACANANG HANDOUT PHOTO

Our organization, the Stratbase ADR Institute, received an award from the prestigious Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), one of the four core institutes of the National Endowment for Democracy in Washington, DC. We were recognized for our research, advocacy, and strategic communication on four infrastructure projects entered into by the Philippines, during the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte, under the Belt and Road Initiative of China.

We conducted the studies in 2020 and 2021, and these triggered the review and re-evaluation of the said projects. We highlighted the risks associated with unreliable investments in Philippine infrastructure and raised public awareness on their adverse implications on the economy and on society.

The Philippines’ location and geographic make-up is no doubt a crucial factor to other countries’ interest. Approximately a third of global maritime trade passes through the Malacca Strait, South China Sea, and West Philippine Sea which makes these waterways vital to the economy of the Indo-Pacific region. These sea lanes are critical as they serve as a conduit for energy supplies and goods between major economies in East Asia and the rest of the world. The West Philippine Sea serves as a home to submarine cables that connect the Philippines to global digital networks.

Barely weeks after he took office, then-President Rodrigo Duterte visited China and reported that his trip was “highly successful,” with China pledging $24 billion in loans and grants, mostly for infrastructure projects. And when Chinese President Xi Jinping made a state visit to the Philippines in 2018, 29 agreements were signed.

Only four of these pledges and agreements actually materialized.

Our studies found that all of them were infirm and economically disadvantageous to the communities that would be affected, and to the national economy in general.

We determined that the Chico River Pump Irrigation Project was a sweetheart deal, with defects in the consultation process, the lack of prior approval of the Monetary Board, and the pre-selection of the Chinese contractor. The Philippines stands to lose if it gets entangled in a legal battle with China in the event of a default. There are serious environmental degradation issues, from possible flooding to the risk of disturbing the biodiversity in the area.

Environmental issues also hound the Kaliwa Dam Project, touted to solve an impending water crisis, with challenges to the biodiversity of the area and to the way of life of the indigenous peoples. Political issues include the fairness of the loan agreement, the adherence to the rule of law, and to transparency and accountability. There are onerous provisions like the waiver of sovereign immunity, the confidentiality clause, and the arbitration terms. There are doubts about the deal’s compliance with internationally accepted competitive bidding processes. Our Commission on Audit said that the process appears rigged to favor the eventual winning contractor. It is apparent that this transaction tries to circumvent rules and put the rule of law at risk.

Duterte touted Dito Telecommunity as the would-be third major player in the telecommunication industry. But some legal technicalities immediately put Dito at a great advantage over competitors, who had to pay substantial, non-refundable fees in case they wanted to pursue legal remedies. Duterte told courts and government agencies not to interfere in the process. Cronyism was apparent in how tenaciously the government defended the consortium that included a friend and campaign contributor of the President. The consortium also threatened national security and the individual privacy of citizens.

The Safe Philippines Project, a network of CCTVs that has facial and vehicular recognition, was initially presented as an anti-crime tool. Again, security and privacy issues were crucial in this deal, given China’s behavior in the West Philippine Sea. Ironically, the Safe Project fails to make the country safe.

The Philippines has currently withdrawn from the Belt and Road Initiative and the current administration has been careful to consider other partners aside from China. After all, despite their pledges, the Chinese have not followed through on their promises and in fact, foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in 2022 came from other countries such as Japan (35.06%), Singapore (28.81%), and the United States (14.68%), with a measly 0.92% coming from China. The following year’s figures were more illustrative, with FDI from Japan growing to 51%, the US 13%, and Singapore 12%. FDI from China dropped further to 0.18%.

Meanwhile, the trade between the Philippines and China is severely skewed to Chinese imports.

What our study revealed is that our country almost fell prey to China’s economic maneuvers under the guise of assistance. We must be careful and see economic statecraft for what it is — an evolving security risk to our country and our people.

We at Stratbase will continue to develop more strategically instructive studies, push for sound business and governance practices, and advocate for people’s awareness of economic decisions’ consequences on their way of life.

 

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

Rome’s first highway added to UNESCO World Heritage list

WHC.UNESCO.ORG

ROME — The Appian Way, the ancient Romans’ first highway and a tourist attraction in modern Rome, has been added to the United Nations’ (UN) cultural heritage list.

Known as the Regina Viarum or Queen of Roads, it connected the capital of the early Roman state to the south-eastern town of Brindisi. It is the 60th Italian site to be recognized by the UN culture agency UNESCO, which announced its decision on the social platform X on Saturday.

The road is named after Appius Claudius Caecus, the Roman censor who began and completed the first section as a military road to the south in 312 BC.

Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano said the move acknowledged the “universal value of an extraordinary work of engineering that has been essential for centuries for commercial, social and cultural exchanges with the Mediterranean and the East.” — Reuters

Tonik posts strong end-June results

TONIK Digital Bank, Inc. reached an annualized revenue run rate of $19 million (about P1.114 billion) as of end-June, driven by higher loan income, it said on Tuesday.

This puts the digital lender on track to reach profitability by next year, Tonik said in a statement.

“While metrics such as deposits, number of transactions, or customer count are important, these are all loss-generating activities, and therefore they do not capture the essence of a profitability strategy of a digital bank. At the end of the day, a bank needs to become profitable, and in a market like the Philippines, that is only possible through aggressively solving for unit profitability and growth on mass market consumer lending and credit inclusion segment,” Tonik Founder and Chief Executive Officer Greg Krasnov said.

“Our exceptional 1H 2024 results are a strong validation of our team’s revolutionary efforts to make mass market consumer lending in the Philippines profitable and massively scalable within the framework of a regulated deposit-taking bank institution and on the basis of a digital-first platform. We’re leading the way in digital banking, and we’re proud to be making a real difference in people’s lives,” he added.

Tonik’s lending income grew by 78% year on year, it said.

Its loan production more than doubled, growing by 133% year on year at end-June.

“This exceptional production growth led to Tonik’s loan portfolio, expanding by 94% in the twelve months ending June 2024,” Tonik said.

Mr. Krasnov previously said Tonik expects to triple its loan disbursements this year.

The lender said its end-June performance has resulted in the onboarding of over 1.5 million customers to date.

The digital bank noted that its consumer loan portfolio growth outpaced the sector’s 10% average. It also surpassed the 18% growth in the broader banking sector’s consumer loans, it added.

“Loans for household consumption account for only 14% of the total loan portfolio of the banking sector in the Philippines and are at the lowest level in relation to GDP (gross domestic product) compared to most other Southeast Asian countries. This market supply dislocation represents a $50-billion credit inclusion market, and a multibillion-dollar balance sheet opportunity for Tonik as the first mover in this sector,” the lender said.

Tonik has raised over $160 million for funding since it launched in March 2021.

It is one of the six digital banks licensed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to operate in the country. — AMCS

Cebu-based startup creates app to fix wage delays

CEBU-BASED financial technology startup GoodApps, Inc. got more than P3 million in funding support from the Department of Science and Technology (DoST) for its Payday Today app, which aims to address salary delays.

The app allows employees to avail themselves of the so-called earned wage access (EWA) program, a benefit service that democratizes payroll by letting employees choose when they want to get paid of their accrued daily wages before the end of the pay cycle.

The app allows workers to transfer their money to any bank or e-wallet via the mobile app, which is available on both Android and iOS.

Payday Today, which offers zero cost for companies and zero interest for employees, has had more than 100,000 downloads on the Google Play app.

“No more petsa de peligro for employees with this earned wage access technology,” Caesar T. Michelena, Payday Today project leader, said in a statement released by the DoST-Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD) last week.

“When their cash runs out, they can get their money anytime while their payday is still a few days away,” he added.

Mr. Michelena said the app aims to address salary delays, which force some workers to apply for high-interest loans.

EWA gives employees access to their earned pay before the scheduled payday. GoodApps charges a P50 fixed fee for every transaction on its app, according to the PCIEERD.

DoST-PCIEERD said Payday Today supports other transactions such as bill payments, online payments and subscription services. 

It added that the project team also developed a web portal for employers and funders, allowing them to transfer credit, add users, increase or decrease credits and release vouchers.

Among the partner-companies are Sun Savings Bank, Inc., Bonita Trading, Inc., The Pack Solution, Inc., ASPAC Bank, Software Alliance, Inc., Savoy Hotel Boracay and Belmont Hotel Boracay.

The app was developed with funds from the DoST-PCIEERD under its Startup Grant Fund.

Science and Technology Secretary Renato U. Solidum, Jr. said the startup’s app is in line with the agency’s mantra of delivering solutions to improve Filipinos’ lives.

“This project is a testament to our commitment to provide solutions and open opportunities by assisting our workforce become better financial stewards,” he said in the statement.

DoST-PCIEERD Executive Director Dr. Enrico C. Paringit said the Council would be “relentless” in pursuing ideas and talents that can help the plight of Filipinos.

“As we work towards being the Nexus of Innovation, we welcome fresh solutions to the lasting problems of our citizens,” he added. — Aubrey Rose A. Inosante

Globe says cybersecurity, AI integration will lead operational advances

BW FILE PHOTO

GLOBE Telecom, Inc. said it will continue its focus on integrating cybersecurity measures and artificial intelligence (AI) into the company’s operations.

“I think one that is really emerging is cybersecurity. It is not as much of a buzzword now as it was before, especially with the recent things that have been happening,” said KD D. Dizon, vice-president and head of Globe Business, the telco’s corporate arm.

Ms. Dizon said cybersecurity will remain a primary focus for the company’s operations, alongside the utilization of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence.

“It is nice to see that companies are taking a more proactive stance on cybersecurity. It is very important for businesses to provide that in their operations,” she said.

Since 2015, Globe said it has invested more than $90 million in cybersecurity, including a $20 million investment for the development and upgrading of its security operations center.

Ms. Dizon said utilizing technologies allows the company to advance its network while also maintaining its sustainability goals.

Separately on Tuesday, Globe’s electronic wallet platform GCash said it is further broadening its network by making PayPal USD, the stablecoin of digital payment platform PayPal, available on its platform.

“This allows users and freelancers to easily send PYUSD tokens at low transaction fees to GCrypto, the in-app feature of GCash,” GCash said in a media release.

PayPal USD is a stablecoin which are types of cryptocurrency backed by dollar deposits, US Treasuries, and other similar cash equivalents, PayPal said.

“Crypto, unlike centralized currencies, is digital, secure, and available for everyone. These factors are also what made GCash preferable to many Filipinos, making us the largest digital ecosystem in the country,” GCash Vice-President and Head of New Business Winsley Bangit said.

At the local bourse, shares in Globe gained P18 or 0.85% to end at P2,126 apiece. — Ashley Erika O. Jose

Believe Trump when he says he won’t give up power

RAWPIXEL.COM

DONALD TRUMP revisited one of his favorite mantras on Friday night: He would like to be president for life.

“Christians, get out and vote, just this time. You won’t have to do it anymore,” he told a religious group at a Florida event. “You got to get out and vote. In four years, you don’t have to vote again. We’ll have it fixed so good, you’re not going to have to vote.”

The Trump campaign insisted the remarks had nothing to do with thrones and scepters. Steven Cheung, a spokesman, said that Trump “was talking about uniting this country and bringing prosperity to every American, as opposed to the divisive political environment that has sowed so much division and even resulted in an assassination attempt.”

That’s quite an interpretive stretch, even for a Republican Party claiming at its recent Milwaukee convention that it planned to focus on unity. Senator Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican, had a different take. He told a Sunday talk show that Trump was “obviously making a joke.” Republican Governor Chris Sununu of New Hampshire, a Trump critic turned apologist, said the remarks were merely hyperbole and “a classic Trumpism.” Trump just meant to say that he will fix the country, not rig elections, he added. Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, allowed that all Trump intended to convey was that he’s “gonna right this ship called America and pass it on to the next generation.”

Perhaps. But the great unknown is how much time Trump truly wants to spend righting this ship called America — and when he’ll ever be ready to pass it on to the next generation should he return to the Oval Office. The wisest course is to recognize that he has repeatedly said over the last several years that he wants to occupy the White House for more than two terms. If Republicans gain control of both chambers of Congress in November and eventually secure support from at least 38 states, they could toy with the Constitution and repeal the 22nd Amendment, which limits presidents to two terms.

Trump has never wanted to surrender power. After all, he and his allies unsuccessfully waged dozens of legal challenges to the results of the 2020 presidential election. They created slates of fake electors to undermine the Electoral College tally, and Trump personally pressured state officials to dispute the results. He also fomented an insurrection at the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to try to overturn the election more baldly and brazenly. He continues to perpetrate the lie that that election was rigged against him. And he has said in the past that eight years in the White House might not satisfy him.

“He’s now president for life. President for life,” Trump said of Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2018. “And look, he was able to do that. I think it’s great. Maybe we’ll have to give that a shot someday.” In 2019, he fantasized about remaining president “at least for 10 or 14 years.” That same year he also took to Twitter to share that his supporters “would demand that I stay longer” than two terms in office. He floated the idea of three terms again when he was campaigning in 2020.

The American Conservative, a publication founded by former Republican strategist and presidential contender Patrick Buchanan and others, bills itself “as a challenge to the GOP Beltway conservative establishment.” Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation effort engineered by Trump advisers and supporters that offers a possible policy road map if Trump returns to the White House, also counts the American Conservative as a member of its advisory board.

Earlier this year, the American Conservative published a widely circulated article arguing that the 22nd Amendment “is an arbitrary restraint on presidents who serve nonconsecutive terms — and on democracy itself.” Trump supporters are particularly poorly served by term limits, the piece said, before advocating for “Trump 2028!”

A couple of months after the article was published, Trump asked a National Rifle Association gathering how long he should stay in office: “You know, FDR 16 years — almost 16 years — he was four terms. I don’t know, are we going to be considered three term? Or two term?” Some attendees shouted back: “Three.”

Trump has suggested that he would respect the Constitution. In a lengthy interview with Time magazine earlier this year, he said he had no intention of trying to overturn the 22nd Amendment. “I wouldn’t be in favor of a challenge. Not for me,” he said. “I wouldn’t be in favor of it at all. I intend to serve four years and do a great job.”

So who should we believe, the Trump who showed up for the Time interview or the Trump who routinely tried to subvert the Constitution during his presidency? I’d bet on the latter. At his core, Trump is an outlaw and an authoritarian.

To be sure, Congress may remain divided after November. And corralling dozens of states to force through a repeal of the 22nd Amendment would also be an uphill task. But Trump has spent decades finding his way around rules and the law. Uphill tasks are unlikely to slow him down.

Trump has told us before that he wants an extended stay in the White House and he said it again on Friday night. We should take him at his word. Given the opportunity to sit on a throne, he’ll act on it.

BLOOMBERG OPINION

Brancusi’s Romanian outdoor sculptures added to UNESCO World Heritage list

ENDLESS COLUMN in Targu Jiu, Romania — WHC.UNESCO.ORG

BUCHAREST — UNESCO added a series of outdoor sculptures by Romanian modernist master Constantin Brancusi to its list of world heritage sites on Saturday, celebrating their place as one of the most notable examples of 20th-century public art.

Mr. Brancusi created the open-air collection that includes the Endless Column and the Gate of the Kiss in the small south-western Romanian town of Targu Jiu in 1937-1938 as a tribute to fallen World War I soldiers.

The five sculptural installations aligned on a 1.5-km-long axis along Targu Jiu’s central Avenue of Heroes are among the few Brancusi works located in Romania.

“The granted recognition forces us to protect the monumental ensemble, to keep it intact for future generations and for humanity’s cultural memory,” Romanian Culture Minister Raluca Turcan said.

Constantin Brancusi was born in the small village of Hobita near the Carpathian Mountains, but lived in Paris for most of his life.

He arrived in Paris in 1904 after an 18-month walk and eventually worked under Auguste Rodin. He left Mr. Rodin’s studio in 1907 saying “nothing grows under big trees” and became one of the most influential artists of the 20th century.

He bequeathed his studio and some of his art to the French state after his death in 1957. He had wanted to leave his art to Romania, but the then communist government declined the offer.

In 2023, the western Romanian city of Timisoara staged the first retrospective exhibit of Brancusi works to be held in his home country in more than 50 years. A separate comprehensive Brancusi exhibit ended this month at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, France. — Reuters

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