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Ayala Greenfield Interchange project breaks ground

AYALA CORP. Chairman Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, Ayala Land President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Meean Dy, Department of Transportation Undersecretary Andy Ortega, Calamba City Mayor Ross Rizal, Department of Public Works and Highways Director Pelita V. Galvez, Toll Regulatory Board Executive Director Alvin Carullo, Ayala Greenfield Development Corp. Chairman Joselito Campos, Jr., San Miguel Corp. Chairman and CEO Ramon S. Ang, and Ayala Corp. President and CEO Cezar Consing.

SAN MIGUEL Corp. (SMC) and Ayala Land, Inc., through Ayala Greenfield Development Corp., will commence construction of the Ayala Greenfield Interchange next month.

“We are not simply breaking ground on a new infrastructure project; we are laying the foundation for enhanced connectivity and growth, enriching the lives of the communities that we serve,” Ayala Land Chairman Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala said in a media release on Monday.

The two companies initiated the groundbreaking for the project on Monday.

The project is considered a critical infrastructure development aimed at enhancing connectivity and driving economic growth in Southern Luzon, according to Ayala Land.

Ayala Greenfield Development is a joint venture between Ayala Land and the Greenfield Group, the developer of the 550-hectare premier residential Greenfield Estates in Laguna.

Once completed, the Ayala Greenfield Interchange will connect South Luzon Expressway (SLEx) Toll Road 3 (TR3) to local roads while enhancing access to both SLEx and the STAR Tollway.

The interchange will also reduce travel time for travelers from Ayala Greenfield Estates, as it aims to provide direct access to AyalaLand Premier’s residential community, Ayala Land said.

The improved full-directional facility will enable seamless movement between SLEx and Sto. Tomas, Batangas, the company said, adding that it is also banking on the completion of SLEx Toll Road 4, which will cut travel time between Sto. Tomas, Batangas, and Lucena to 45 minutes from the usual three hours.

“We are proud to partner with Ayala on this project. This is part of SMC Infrastructure’s larger initiative to improve and expand our southern tollways network, particularly the South Luzon Expressway. By the end of the year, we expect to turn it into a 6×6-lane expressway. With this, we can better support and sustain the long-term growth of the Calabarzon region,” SMC President and Chief Executive Officer Ramon S. Ang said in a statement.

SMC is currently conducting the expansion of SLEx, which hit 70% completion as of August and is expected to be finished by the end of the year.

At the local bourse on Monday, shares in SMC ended 45 centavos, or 0.51% higher, at P88.95 apiece, while shares in Ayala Land gained 65 centavos, or 1.84%, to end at P36 each. — Ashley Erika O. Jose

Cine Europa adds Slovenia, Lithuania to film lineup

POSTERS of Cine Europa 2024’s films from Poland, Ukraine, Slovenia, and Lithuania

Guest country Ukraine to present two films

CINE EUROPA opens its 27th edition on Oct. 18 in Metro Manila, Baguio, Iloilo, Cebu, and Bacolod. It will screen European films for free until Oct. 27.

This year, the festival showcases 20 films presented by Alliance Française de Manille, the Goethe Institut, the Instituto Cervantes, the Philippine Italian Association, and various European Union (EU) member states.

“There are many Overseas Filipino Workers living in the EU, so a lot of Filipinos have family there or have visited European cities. I think sometimes they have this image of Europe being either wealthy or in war. These movies can show the many issues in Europe,” said Ana Isabel Sanchez-Ruiz, deputy head of the EU Delegation, at the press launch on Oct. 10.

“There are unemployed people, places where public services don’t work, people who feel they are not free or respected. Europe is diverse and there are all kinds of situations the Filipino public can learn about,” she added.

First-time participants in the festival are Slovenia and Lithuania, while Ukraine is the guest country with two films in the lineup.

Dragan Barbutovski, Chargé d’Affaires of the newly established Slovenian Embassy to the Philippines, said that “it was honor to join the festival and share cultures through film.

“We might be thousands of miles apart but, at the end of the day, we have the same passion for certain things, the same emotions. Those are what bring us together,” he said at the press launch.

Cine Europa’s five screening locations are the Shangri-La Plaza mall cinema in Metro Manila, the University of the Cordilleras in Baguio, the University of San Agustin in Iloilo, the University of the Philippines in Cebu, and the University of St. La Salle in Bacolod.

Moviegoers can expect films of all genres, according to. Ms. Sanchez-Ruiz. “There is no particular theme, but we brought together a dynamic collection that offers unique stories reflecting the rich cultural tapestry of Europe.”

THE FILMS TO BE SHOWN ARE:
• Austria’s Mermaids Don’t Cry (2022), directed by Franziska Pflaum, is a fantasy dramedy that follows supermarket saleswoman Annika who dreams of acquiring a glamorous mermaid fin amid her chaotic life.

• Belgium’s Souvenir (2016), directed by Bavo Defurne, is a dramedy about a once-famous singer who returns to the stage after a young boxer encourages her to.

•  Cyprus’ The Man with the Answers (2021), directed by Stelios Kammitsis, is a road-trip drama that follows two men’s journey in the Italian countryside as one of them heads to Germany to find his estranged mother.

• Czech Republic’s She Came at Night (2023), directed by Jan Vejnar and Tomáš Pavlíček, is a horror film tinged with black humor that follows a couple whose lives are turned upside down when one of their mothers takes over their home.

• Denmark’s Long Story Short (2015), directed by May el-Toukhy and Maren Louise Käehne, is a dramedy about the tangled love lives of a group of friends told over the course of eight parties.

• Finland’s The Other Side of Hope (2017), directed by Aki Kaurismäki, is a drama about a Syrian refugee and a middle-aged Finnish salesman who discover humanity and kindness amidst adversity.

• France’s The Strange Case of Jacky Caillou (2022), directed by Lucas Delangle, is a French Alps-set drama where a young man who lives with his traditional healer grandmother hopes to perform a miracle of his own.

• Germany’s Sun and Concrete (2020), directed by David Wnendt, is a coming-of-age crime drama that follows a group of teens in Berlin who devise a high-stakes plan to escape poverty.

• Hungary’s Paw (2015), directed by Robert-Adrian Pejo, is a children’s film and family drama that follows the heartwarming journey of Zoli and his rescue dog Paw as they overcome various challenges.

• Ireland’s That They May Face the Rising Sun (2023), directed by Pat Collins, is a drama adapted from a novel by John McGahern which portrays a year in the life of a small Irish lakeside community in the 1970s.

• Italy’s Diabolik (2021), directed by Antonio and Marco Manetti, is a crime romance that follows the enigmatic superhero Diabolik and the alluring Eva Kant in 1960s Clerville, with Inspector Ginko as their foe.

• Lithuania’s Remember to Blink (2022), directed by Austėja Urbaitė, is a drama about a French couple that adopts Lithuanian children and hires a bilingual student to help them adapt, and the ensuing cultural tensions.

• Luxembourg’s Icarus (2022), directed by Carlo Vogele, is an animated film that intertwines Greek fables with Icarus at the center, as he encounters friends like the Minotaur and foes like King Minos.

• Poland’s Dangerous Gentlemen (2022), directed by Maciej Kawalski, is a crime comedy that follows four men in a mountain retreat as they wake up after a wild night of partying to find a dead man on their couch.

• Romania’s This World is My Arena (2023), directed by Tedy Necula, a biopic that follows the inspiring story of George Baltă, a paralyzed rugby player-turned-marathoner and motivational speaker.

• Slovenia’s The Man Without Guilt (2022), directed by Ivan Gergolet, a slowburn revenge drama about a widow whose husband died from asbestos exposure working as a caregiver for his former employer.

• Spain’s La Flota de Indias (2021), directed by Antonio Perez Molero, a documentary exploring the historical impact of the Spanish fleets that transformed the New World and fueled globalization over two centuries.

Sweden’s Tigers (2021), directed by Ronnie Sandahl, a drama that delves into the harsh world of professional soccer, where a young talent’s dreams turn into a nightmare of obsession and pressure.

• Ukraine’s Taste of Freedom (2024), directed by Alexander Berezan, a drama set in the vibrant streets of Lviv where a young cook pursues her dream of becoming a chef at a prestigious restaurant.

• Ukraine’s Another Franko (2021), directed by Igor Visnevsky, a historical drama centered on Peter Franko, the son of a renowned Ukrainian writer, whose life unfolds amid the events of World War II.

For more information and screening schedules, visit Cine Europa’s social media pages. — Brontë H. Lacsamana

FEU’s first-quarter net loss widens to P99.76M

FAR EASTERN UNIVERSITY FACEBOOK PAGE

LISTED educational institution Far Eastern University, Inc. (FEU) reported an attributable net loss of P99.76 million for the first quarter of its fiscal year ending May, widening from P73.09 million last year.

First-quarter revenue increased 6% to P616.1 million from P581.25 million as educational revenue surged on better enrollment during the midyear term, FEU said in a stock exchange disclosure on Monday.

However, operating expenses increased by 15% to P753.54 million due to accruals and the earlier timing of certain costs.

Operating loss rose by 80% to P137.44 million.

“First-quarter operations usually result in an operating loss due to the seasonality of tuition revenue recognition. This starts to normalize the following quarter at the onset of first-semester classes in the month of August,” FEU said.

FEU remains optimistic about maintaining a healthy financial position and sound academic operations for the 2024-2025 school year.

“Operationally, student enrollment grew 2%, with greater growth in basic education than in tertiary due to demographic dynamics. Efficiency through effective cost monitoring will remain to be the norm, yet all academic excellence and core student service initiatives are of high priority,” it said.

“Management continues to take a conservative outlook of the economy and a prudent stance in the implementation of investment and overall operational plans,” FEU added.

The company operates Far Eastern University in Manila and is the majority shareholder of East Asia Computer Center, Inc., FEU Alabang, Inc., Far Eastern College Silang, Inc., FEU High School, Inc., and Roosevelt College, Inc. 

On Monday, FEU shares dropped 8.4% or P66 to P720 per share. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Film Emilia Perez helped Selena Gomez and Zoe Saldana ‘feel’ and ‘reconnect’

IMDB

LONDON — Superstars Selena Gomez and Zoe Saldana say making the genre-bending movie Emilia Perez allowed them to tap into their emotions and talents.

Directed by French auteur Jacques Audiard, Emilia Perez merges the diverse genres of musicals, crime and comedy to tell the story of a Mexican cartel leader, played by Karla Sofia Gascon, who transitions from male to female and starts a non-profit dedicated to finding the bodies of disappeared people.

Ms. Gascon, a transgender actress, portrays both the male and female identities of Emilia Perez. Ms. Saldana takes on the role of the lawyer aiding Ms. Perez in her transition journey, while Ms. Gomez depicts the mother of Ms. Perez’s children.

Texas-born Ms. Gomez described the project as a “gift of patience and audaciousness.”

“I should be happy in my life. I should be passionate. I should be frustrated when it’s my time to feel frustrated. It allowed me to feel,” she said at the movie’s London Film Festival premiere on Friday.

Emilia Perez is presented in melodious Spanish and showcases the singing and dancing skills of its cast.

“It gave me an opportunity to reconnect with a part of me that I had so long ago said good-bye to,” said Ms. Saldana.

“As I made my introduction into acting, I sort of shed that skin of dancing, even though I was able to utilize the skills to sort of enhance a career in action genre-driven films. But I miss it. I will always be a dancer at heart,” the Avatar and Guardians of the Galaxy star said.

The film debuted at Cannes in May, where it was doubly honored, winning the festival’s jury prize and Saldana, Gascon, Gomez, and Adriana Paz sharing the best actress award. Oscar buzz has ensued.

“I’m grateful if this takes me all the way there. It would be a dream come true,” said Ms. Saldana, adding: “but I was raised by a woman that always compelled me to be proud of other women. And if I’m going to be cheering on another woman in my category, if I even make it to these categories, I’m going to be just as happy and just as proud.”

Emilia Perez streams on Netflix from Nov. 13. — Reuters

URC, Holcim partner with Obando gov’t for waste management

URC.COM.PH

UNIVERSAL ROBINA Corp. (URC) and cement producer Holcim Philippines, Inc. have partnered with the local government of Obando town in Bulacan for a waste management initiative.

URC, Holcim, and Obando officials recently signed a tripartite agreement to provide incentives for workers at the town’s material recovery facility (MRF) based on the volume of waste diverted.

“This new agreement, with Obando as a key partner, aims to further drive community-based waste diversion efforts. We hope to replicate it in other towns and cities to amplify the impact of what we set out to do three years ago,” URC President and Chief Executive Officer Irwin C. Lee said in an e-mailed statement on Monday.

As of writing, the MRF in Obando has collected and sorted 785 metric tons of plastic waste for co-processing.

The town’s MRF workers received rice sacks during the agreement’s signing ceremony in recognition of their role in the program.

For the past three years, URC and Holcim, through waste management unit Geocycle, have been processing waste plastic from URC’s operations for proper and secured treatment through cement kiln co-processing.

Nonrecyclable plastics are converted into alternative fuels for the cement kiln used to produce cement at Holcim’s plant in Misamis Oriental.

Meanwhile, Holcim Chief Sustainability Officer Samuel O. Manlosa, Jr. said the waste management agreement supports Holcim’s sustainability plans.

“This supports our goals to accelerate decarbonization and circularity of operations by reducing reliance on conventional fuels and virgin raw materials and make a positive impact on communities,” he said. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

A model state for women in business

LINKEDIN SALES SOLUTIONS-UNSPLASH

I met Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) back in July 2017 for the Delhi Dialogue 9 where I represented women in business, in particular, the ASEAN Women Entrepreneur Network (AWEN). I was accompanied by Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chair George Barcelon and Filipino India Business Council President Johnny Chotrani. It was my first visit to Delhi and I met FICCI’s women’s wing called the FICCI Ladies Organization (FICCI-FLO). We established the India-ASEAN Women Business Forum which was made official by the then Minister of External Affairs, the late Sushma Swaraj. India’s chair was Vinita Bimbhet while I became ASEAN chair of the Forum.

After this summit, I invited the FICCI-FLO ladies to the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit (ABIS) 2017 in Manila where they met then Vice-President Leni Robredo and the late former President Fidel V. Ramos, among other important people in the conference.

FICCI-FLO, as if by tradition, invited us back to Delhi and organized events introducing us to their other members and then setting up the ASEAN Business Forum along with a textile show in January 2018. The Delhi Dialogue 10 happened again in July 2018 where we discussed India-ASEAN maritime cooperation.

Even during the pandemic, we kept in touch with our FICCI-FLO friends, and soon it was time for another visit with our Philippine Women’s Economic Network (www.philwen.org) trustees and colleagues, and members of our other women organizations belonging to our coalition. This time, we chose to visit Hyderabad to visit their industrial parks, and Delhi again, where the FICCI headquarters are located.

I cannot help but provide a background of my previous visits because it would set the tone for our efforts to visit different cities or different states in this vast sub-continent that is home to 1.43 billion inhabitants. Every province has its own character and is almost like another country.

In Telengana province where Hyderabad is located, the industrial parks are successful in shortening supply chains because of the political will of the Secretariat or local government. They also have the infrastructure support and manpower complement for any business set-up, making them a haven for investors in technology, pharmaceuticals, and other manufacturing industries. What was most relevant to our delegation — of course composed of 100% women leaders and entrepreneurs — was the FLO Industrial Park for women-led businesses. The property was sold to FLO for only 50% of market value. And more profits are made with a business environment conducive to sustainability as manpower and power rates are also lower here than in other states.

The government also allows for “ease of doing business” by having a penalty system for its civil servants who are found to be the “cause of delay.” Once discovered, the one who caused the delay is penalized with a salary deduction equivalent to the number of days he or she delayed the business process (registration, permits, etc.). How can they do this? It is the law. How I wish we can do this in our country. I am sure it will speed up our local and national civil servants.

Furthermore, the Telengana government readily provides manpower that is skilled or reskilled, depending on what skill an investor may need (e.g., manufacturing equipment operators, skilled technicians, etc.) for his or her business. There is a Telengana Academy for Skills and Knowledge (similar to our Technical Education and Skills Development Authority or TESDA) who train and provide skilled workers to all investors’ businesses. They regularly upgrade their syllabus and offer training in Machine learning, 3D printing, Robotics, and anything on Industry 4.0. TESDA can do this, right?

The repeat investors are at a high 24% compared to other states in India. They have managed to attract $50 billion in investments over the last 10 years! While other provinces have conversion rates for investment interest of 45-50%, Telengana has a conversion rate of 85%, making it the most popular place to invest and do business. They claim to have an innovation ecosystem and they even match prices with other states.

Jayesh Ranjan, the Secretary or Chief Minister for IT, Electronics, and Commerce, takes pride in the fact that 40% of vaccines and 40% of pharmaceuticals from India are manufactured in his state. That is a testament to the efficiency of their system and the success of their investors.

For their food hub, for example, they located it close to agricultural sources, such as farms. That truly makes sense and makes me wonder why we cannot have a garlic processing plant near where the garlic is grown, for example. Or why not locate tomato processing plant nearer the farms than making the produce travel for four hours or more. Telengana is a good benchmark for our roadmap writers for every business investment in all our industries. As it is, Telengana has 14 sectors with industrial parks — the one for Life Sciences is called Genome Valley and has 200 companies in it. They have parks for Aerospace, Textiles, Food, and of course the special FLO Industrial Park for women-led companies where we had the chance to visit Polmon and Paneluxe.

Our visit to Hyderabad was an eye-opener and its practices can inspire our local governments to adopt the same for a better investment climate. Though our power rates are highest in the region, we can explore renewable energy sources for reduced power costs and we can coordinate with TESDA for the needed manpower skills.  And while our command of English is already an advantage, investors still have to be assured of “ease of doing business” as well as real estate price breaks.

Among the many things we learned from our visit is to encourage young women and girls to learn jobs or skills in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM).  Women-led businesses can also affiliate with Philwen as we are a coalition of CEOs, Board Directors, entrepreneurs, and other professionals who help a business thrive (lawyers, accountants, etc.). A network of women, like Philwen, just like FICCI-FLO, can give women workers new job opportunities, especially in Non-Traditional Trades.

That is a perfect state for women in business.

 

Chit U. Juan is co-vice chair of the Environment Committee of the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP). She is also the president of the Philippine Coffee Board, Inc. and Slow Food Manila (www.slowfood.com).

map@map.org.ph

pujuan29@gmail.com

Giorgio Armani, 90, says he plans to retire within ‘two or three years’

GIORGIO ARMANI — EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG

ROME — Giorgio Armani, the founder of the eponymous Italian fashion brand, said in an interview published on Sunday that he plans to retire within the next two or three years.

Mr. Armani is 90 years old and has so far been tight-lipped about the succession plans for the company he founded in 1975 and still firmly controls.

“I can still give myself two or three years as head of the company. Not more, it would be negative,” he told Italy’s Corriere della Sera newspaper.

Mr. Armani said he has restless nights in which he dreams of a future in which “I no longer have to be the one who says ‘Yes’ or ‘No’.”

He added he has received “slightly more insistent” approaches from potential outside investors in his company, “but for the moment I do not see any openings.”

With no children to pass it on to, there has been speculation about the long-term future of Mr. Armani’s empire and whether, in an industry dominated by luxury conglomerates such as LVMH and Kering, it will be able to maintain the independence he treasures.

In the interview with Corriere della Sera, Mr. Armani said he had “built a kind of structure, a project, a protocol” to govern his succession, without elaborating.

Last year, Reuters reported on a document held by a notary in Milan which sets out the future governing principles for those who will inherit the group, and on another that details issues including protecting jobs at the firm.

Mr. Armani’s heirs are expected to include his sister, three other family members working in the company, long-term collaborator and partner Pantaleo Dell’Orco and a charitable foundation. — Reuters

GCash extends scan-to-pay services to more countries

ELECTRONIC WALLET giant GCash is expanding its scan-to-pay services and other cross-border mobile payment and digitalization solutions to more countries.

“We want to make sure every Filipino can maximize their GCash account wherever they are across the world,”  GCash said in a media release on Monday.

“We are glad to strengthen our long-standing partnership with Alipay+ and expand GCash’s capabilities and services to more destinations in Asia and all over the globe,” it added.

GCash users can now make cashless transactions through its expanded partnership with Alipay+, a cross-border mobile payment and digitalization solution operated by Ant International.

With the expanded partnership, users can utilize its scan-to-pay feature in China, Hong Kong, Macau, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), bringing the total markets to 45, GCash said.

GCash’s scan-to-pay features allow transactions with no service fee and low foreign exchange rates, it said.

GCash expects to exceed the valuation of its parent company Globe Telecom, Inc.

G-Xchange, Inc., which operates GCash, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Globe Fintech Innovations, Inc. (Mynt).

In July, Mynt secured fresh investments from Ayala Corp. and Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, more than doubling its valuation to $5 billion from $2 billion in the 2021 funding round.

The company is also considering listing overseas while it is taking a “wait-and-see” stance on its initial public offering locally. — Ashley Erika O. Jose

Yields on Treasury bills rise before BSP meeting

BW FILE PHOTO

THE GOVERNMENT fully awarded the Treasury bills (T-bills) it offered on Monday amid strong demand and even as yields climbed across all tenors as investors sought to lock in higher returns ahead of an expected Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) rate cut this week.

The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) raised P20 billion as planned from the T-bills it auctioned off on Monday as total bids reached P51.735 billion, more than twice as much as the amount on offer. This was also higher than the P38.5 billion in tenders seen the previous week.

Broken down, the Treasury borrowed P6.5 billion as programmed from the 91-day T-bills as tenders for the tenor reached P21.415 billion. The three-month paper was quoted at an average rate of 5.444%, 3 basis points (bps) higher than the 5.414% recorded last week, with bids ranging from 5.4% to 5.5%.

The government also made a full P6.5-billion award of the 182-day securities, with bids reaching P11.92 billion. The average rate of the six-month T-bill stood at 5.668%, up by 19.4 bps from the 5.474% fetched last week, with accepted bid yields at 5.48% to 5.8%

Lastly, the Treasury raised P7 billion as planned via the 364-day debt papers as demand for the tenor totaled P18.4 billion. The average rate of the one-year debt went up by 8.3 bps to 5.623% from the 5.54% quoted last week, with accepted rates ranging from 5.6% to 5.674%.

At the secondary market before the auction, the 91-, 182-, and 364-day T-bills were quoted at 5.0431%, 5.4469%, and 5.6166%, respectively, based on PHP Bloomberg Valuation Service (BVAL) Reference Rates data provided by the Treasury.

“The higher tendered T-bill rates today reflected the mixed market expectations on the BSP policy decision this week. In anticipation of this rate cut, investors rushed to secure better short-term rates,” a trader said in an e-mail on Monday.

The BSP will likely cut benchmark interest rates by 25 bps for a second straight meeting on Wednesday to continue its easing cycle amid an improving inflation outlook, analysts said.

A BusinessWorld poll conducted last week showed that 16 out of 19 analysts expect the Monetary Board to reduce borrowing costs by 25 bps at its policy meeting on Oct. 16 to bring the target reverse repurchase rate to 6% from the current 6.25%.

On the other hand, two analysts expect the BSP to cut by a bigger 50 bps this week, while one sees the BSP keeping rates unchanged.

The Monetary Board began its easing cycle with a 25-bp cut in August, marking the first time it reduced borrowing costs in nearly four years.

Analysts said slowing inflation strengthens the case for another rate cut this week.

Philippine headline inflation sharply slowed to 1.9% year on year in September from 3.3% in August and 6.1% a year ago.

This was below the central bank’s 2%-2.8% forecast for the month. It was also the slowest in over four years or since the 1.6% in May 2020.

For the first nine months, inflation averaged 3.4%, matching the central bank’s full-year forecast and also falling within its 2-4% annual target.

BSP Governor Eli M. Remolona, Jr. earlier said the Monetary Board could slash benchmark rates by a total of 50 bps this quarter via two 25-bp cuts at its last two meetings for the year.

“T-bill average auction yields again corrected higher for the second straight week and are now unusually higher than the comparable PHP BVAL yields amid a weaker peso exchange rate,” Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a Viber message.

The peso closed at P57.205 per dollar on Friday, strengthening by 15.5 centavos from its P57.36 finish on Thursday, Bankers Association of the Philippines data showed. However, week on week, the peso sank by 91 centavos from its P56.295 finish on Oct. 4.

The dollar index was just above 103 and closing in on last week’s peak, its highest since mid-August, on the back of traders reducing bets on further jumbo rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve at its remaining meetings this year, Reuters reported.

Traders have priced out any chance of a 50-bp rate cut from the Fed in November after data last week showed consumer prices rose slightly more than expected in September and recent economic releases have also underscored strength in the labour market.

Mr. Ricafort added that the repricing of Fed rate cut bets also caused T-bill yields to rise on Monday.

On Tuesday, the Treasury will offer P15 billion in reissued 10-year Treasury bonds (T-bonds) with a remaining life of six years and nine months.

The BTr is looking to raise P145 billion from the domestic market this month, or P100 billion via T-bills and P45 billion through T-bonds.

The government borrows from local and foreign sources to help fund its budget deficit, which is capped at P1.48 trillion or 5.6% of gross domestic product this year. — A.M.C. Sy with Reuters

It’s getting harder to study fake news

JORGE FRANGANILLO-UNSPLASH

RESEARCHERS who study misinformation are confronting a new problem: public scorn. And it’s not just in the form of online trolling. These scientists are losing funding, watching their research centers close down, and getting barraged with subpoenas.

Given the rapid changes to news, social media, and information sharing, you’d think there’d be more support for studying how people learn about the world. Instead, critics are wrongly conflating their work with censorship.

In the New York Post, for example, a story hammered a group of psychologists as concocting “fake science” to justify censorship. It’s easy to see why their paper, published last week in the journal Nature, hit a nerve. The researchers found that conservatives shared more information from low-quality news sites on social media than liberals did.

While the idea of news quality sounds subjective and prone to bias, the scientists didn’t make that judgment themselves. The researchers asked three groups to weigh in: professional fact checkers, a politically mixed group of laypeople, and a group of Republicans. Each group determined what was a high-quality source (a news organization that mostly gets it right, but can sometimes make mistakes) or a low-quality one (a publisher that tends to make things up out of whole cloth). After each group determined what counted as low-quality news, the team looked at who typically shared that type of news. Each time, they found that extreme partisans on both sides were more likely to share this misleading content. And each time, those on the far right contributed more garbage to the information effluent.

The study doesn’t justify censorship of conservative views, although it does offer an explanation as to why right-wing social media accounts are more likely to be suspended. It shouldn’t be attacked just because it’s offending people. That flies in the face of the spirit of free inquiry.

Edward Tenner, a historian and lecturer on technology and culture, explained to me that the pushback against the paper could be what’s known as reactance — a tendency for people, when told they’re wrong, to double down. Stirring up antipathy is always going to be an occupational hazard for people who study misinformation, rumors, pseudoscience, and quackery.

Adding to that is the problem that many people don’t mind lies — they only abhor lies spread by their political opponents. In a recent article in The Ohio Capital Journal, Minjae Kim, an assistant professor of management at Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University, called this acceptance of certain lies “moral flexibility.” Citing recent research he collaborated on, he wrote that some supporters of former President Donald Trump recognized that Joe Biden won the 2020 election, but justified Trump’s claims to the contrary because they believed “the political system is illegitimate and stacked against their interests.”

And people on the left didn’t seem upset with President Biden’s erroneous 2021 claims that people vaccinated against COVID couldn’t spread the disease to others. That had been the hope, of course, but the Delta variant had already shown that not to be the case. Partisans may have considered Biden’s statement acceptable, though, reasoning that because the vaccines had the power to save lives, the details didn’t matter.

Tenner considers the relevance here of the Italian saying, “Se non è vero, è ben trovato” — even if it is not true, it is a good fabrication, or good story. That’s attributed to 16th century philosopher Giordano Bruno who had some forward-thinking ideas … and was burned at the stake.

The expression might describe the way JD Vance reacted to Donald Trump’s statement that immigrants in Ohio were eating cats and dogs. There were no documented incidents of such activity, but Vance attempted justify the rumor by saying that it called attention to problems surrounding immigration.

These kinds of wild stories are the very type social media algorithms tend to amplify with the help of foreign intelligence agencies and automated “bot” accounts. Yet there are ways to moderate the information stream other than taking things down.

“Part of the research that we’re doing right now is to develop models so that we can evaluate intended and unintended consequence of different moderation schemes,” said Filippo Menczer, a professor of informatics and computer science at Indiana University. But he said these efforts have gotten much harder due to political attacks. Meta and X have also restricted data access to many researchers.

Instead of deleting posts or “shadow banning” users who express non-mainstream views, social media companies can fight incorrect or disputed information with additional information. In dynamic areas such as science and medicine, moderation should be transparent because fact-checkers have mistaken legitimate minority opinion and insightful dissent for misinformation. In some tests, the crowdsourcing-based “community notes” feature on X helped diffuse medical misinformation.

Picking fights with scientists won’t make our information problems disappear. A more consistent view for those who are pro-free speech and anti-censorship would be to embrace free inquiry into our information ecosystems — and to applaud those who scrutinize the algorithms that influence what we think and how we vote.

BLOOMBERG OPINION

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ sex trafficking trial set for May

Sean “Diddy” Combs on the talk show Late Night with Seth Myers. — IMDB

NEW YORK — Sean “Diddy” Combs will stand trial on federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges starting on May 5, a US judge decided during a hearing on Thursday, and the jailed hip-hop mogul blew kisses to his family in the courtroom afterward.

During the hearing before US District Judge Arun Subramanian in Manhattan federal court, Combs’ lawyer Marc Agnifilo also raised concerns about what he termed improper leaks by federal agents about the case. Prosecutor Emily Johnson called the claim baseless.

Mr. Combs, 54, pleaded not guilty on Sept. 17 to a three-count indictment charging him with using his business empire — including record label Bad Boy Entertainment — to transport women and male sex workers across state lines to take part in recorded sexual performances called “Freak Offs.”

Thursday’s hearing marked the third court appearance for Mr. Combs since his September arrest.

Wearing tan prison garb, Mr. Combs stood and blew kisses toward his family members seated in the courtroom’s audience after the hearing ended. His mother and children attended the hearing, defense lawyer Anthony Ricco said in court. Mr. Combs was then led out a side door by members of the US Marshals Service.

Ms. Johnson told the court the prosecution’s case at the trial will last at least three weeks. Mr. Combs’ defense case will last around one week, Mr. Agnifilo said.

Mr. Combs has been jailed at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since his arrest. The Manhattan-based 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday denied his request to be immediately released while he appeals another judge’s decision to deny him bail. A three-judge 2nd Circuit panel will hear that appeal at a later date.

The rapper and producer faces a sentence of up to life in prison and a minimum of 15 years if convicted of the three counts he faces: racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution.

Prosecutors said Mr. Combs enticed women by giving them drugs such as ketamine and ecstasy, financial support or promises of career support, or a romantic relationship. Mr. Combs then used the surreptitious recordings of the sex acts as “collateral” to ensure that the women would remain silent, and sometimes displayed weapons to intimidate abuse victims and witnesses, prosecutors said.

The indictment contained no allegation that Combs himself directly engaged in unwanted sexual contact with women, though he was accused of physically assaulting them. Mr. Agnifilo has called the sexual activity described by prosecutors consensual.

In a court filing on Wednesday night, Mr. Agnifilo asked Subramanian to impose a “gag order” prohibiting prosecutors and federal agents from disclosing evidence to the media. Mr. Agnifilo cited what he called unlawful leaks that included a videotape showing Mr. Combs striking and dragging a woman in 2016.

At the hearing, Ms. Johnson called the defense request an attempt to “exclude a damning piece of evidence.” She said prosecutors would have no problem affirming their obligations not to disclose confidential evidence to the press, but said the defense should be bound by that as well.

Ms. Johnson also raised concerns about Mr. Agnifilo’s statement in a September interview with entertainment news outlet TMZ calling the case a “takedown of a successful Black man.” She said the comment amounted to an accusation that the government was “engaging in a racist prosecution.”

“Statements of this sort seriously risk a fair trial in this case,” Ms. Johnson said.

Mr. Subramanian asked Mr. Agnifilo to propose an order that would govern public statements by both sides. — Reuters

PLDT teams up with Hong Kong-based HGC to boost data center connectivity

EPLDT.COM

PLDT Inc., through its unit VITRO, Inc., has tapped HGC Global Communications Ltd. to help enhance data center connectivity in the Philippines, the Pangilinan-led telecommunications company said on Monday.

“This strategic partnership will unlock new possibilities for VITRO and further expand our reach through HGC’s global network,” VITRO Chief Commercial Officer Gary F. Ignacio said in a statement.

Headquartered in Hong Kong, HGC is a fully-fledged fixed-line operator and ICT service provider.

The tie-up between HGC and VITRO — a subsidiary of ePLDT, Inc. — aims to provide digital infrastructure to meet the growing demand for faster and more efficient data center connectivity.

The partnership will also expand HGC’s services to VITRO Sta. Rosa, ePLDT’s 11th data center, by providing connectivity and telecommunications services to hyperscalers and enterprises co-locating at VITRO Sta. Rosa.

“This partnership creates an ecosystem that will enable HGC to further expand its data center connectivity and reinforce its position in the Philippines’ rapidly growing technology and digital infrastructure landscape,” the company said.

To date, PLDT, through its subsidiary ePLDT, has 11 data centers, including the 50-megawatt hyperscale data center in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

In August, its parent firm said that it hopes to conclude the sale of ePLDT to a new foreign entity for more than $1 billion after dropping its negotiation with Japan’s Nippon Telegraph and Telephone.

At the local bourse on Monday, shares in PLDT fell by P8, or 0.53%, to close at P1,502 apiece.

Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Ashley Erika O. Jose

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