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Dining In/Out (11/16/23)

Gourmet Giving chefs offer special dinners for charity

INSPIRED by the idea of hapag — sharing a meal with people you love — Txoko Asador Restaurante executive chef Albert Mendoza developed a special menu for “Gourmet Giving Series: A Fine Dining Thanksgiving Experience for the Hapag Movement,” which launches this month as part of a holiday fundraiser for Filipino families who have little or none to share in their own “hapag.” The special menu will include a 10-course tasting menu featuring the best of Basque and Castilian cuisine, with wine pairing to boot. Mendoza’s Txoko Asador is among 12 top restaurants taking part in the Gourmet Giving Series, being held in partnership with the 23,300-strong Fine Dining Club Philippines Facebook community. The Gourmet Giving Series will hold special dinner events from Nov. 20 to 30 in support of the Hapag Movement, a Globe-led initiative that delivers supplemental feeding and sustainable livelihood training for Filipino families experiencing involuntary hunger. Txoco Asador’s special dinner will be held on Nov. 20 at P5,500 per person. Make reservations via 0956-047-3224. Meanwhile, the three restaurants of multi-awarded Filipino-British Chef Josh Boutwood are also participating in the series, starting on Nov. 23 at the Test Kitchen, with a six-course tasting menu available at P5,800 per person (call 0977-288-5751 for reservations), followed on Nov. 24 by Ember, which is offering a six-course tasting menu at P5,800 per head (call 0916-420-1600), and Helm on Nov. 25, with an eight-course tasting menu available for P6,900 (call 0915-909-8647 for reservations). To learn more about the Hapag Movement, visit
https://www.globe.com.ph/about-us/sustainability/globe-of-good.html#gref.

Limited-time holiday dishes offered at SaladStop!

SALADSTOP! unveils two limited-time offerings for the holidays: the White Christmas Salad and the Vegan Chocolate Pudding Loaf. SaladStop! is bringing back the White Christmas salad which is a mix of romaine, kale, chicken ham, walnut snow, sweet grapes, fresh green apples, crispy croutons, and a drizzle of creamy Queso de Bola dressing. Dig into a salad or wrap (P375) or opt for a White Chistmas Party Tray (P1,200 for salad tray, P2,300 for wrap tray) for larger gatherings and holiday feasts. Meanwhile, the Vegan Chocolate Pudding Loaf is available as a full loaf (P600) or a slice (P95). These seasonal offerings are available now until Jan. 2, 2024, at all SaladStop! stores. 

BDO partners with Bistro Group for promos

BDO UNIBANK has partnered with food and beverage company Bistro Group to make restaurant dining more affordable for BDO Credit Cardholders. A 50% dining discount awaits BDO Elite, Gold, and Classic Credit Cardholders for a minimum of P2,500 and a maximum of P6,000 food and beverage spend when dining at Italianni’s, TGIFridays, Texas Roadhouse, Watami, Modern Shanghai, Denny’s, Fish & Co., Buffalo Wild Wings, Hard Rock Café, Bulgogi Brothers, and Olive Garden on Fridays to Sundays, until Nov. 26. BDO Elite and Gold Credit Cardholders can also take advantage of a 50% dining discount for a minimum of P3,000 and a maximum of P10,000 food and beverage spend when dining at Las Flores, BCN by Las Flores, Tomatito, Rambla, and Rumba on Fridays to Sundays, until Nov. 26.  BDO Elite Credit Cardholders can also avail themselves of a 50% dining discount for a minimum of P5,000 and a maximum of P10,000 food and beverage spend when dining at the restaurants of renowned chef Josh Boutwood — Ember, Savage, and The Test Kitchen — every Friday and Saturday, until Nov. 25. They can also enjoy the same discounts when dining at Helm from Tuesday to Thursday, until Nov. 30. For more information on these restaurant dining deals, visit https://www.deals.bdo.com.ph/deal-welcome/2510.

Christmas at Solaire Resort Entertainment City

VISITORS can now enjoy the merry Christmas vibes all over Solaire Resort with different festive installations found around the property such as the Cadeaux small tree animation from Louis Vuitton, a Santa photo booth at Fresh presented by Coca-Cola, a carousel situated at the Atrium, and several entertainment stages for weekend activities to be held in the Shoppes at Solaire. Enjoy a specially curated menu for Christmas and New Year at the various dining outlets including Finestra, Yakumi, Red Lantern, and Waterside. Finestra is offering a six-course menu for Christmas and New Year’s Eve which includes Slow Cooked Veal, US Striploin, Australian Rib-eye, and more in the options. At Yakumi, guests can savor various set menus which feature Sake-steamed prawn, toro and unagi sushi, US Prime beef strip loin, Duck breast sous vide and other dishes. Red Lantern’s Christmas and New Year’s Eve Dinner Set Menu includes a wide variety of dishes including Wagyu beef tenderloin with egg yolk tart, Sous-vide smoky USDA beef tenderloin, and Wok fried prawn with sweet and spicy sauce. Waterside will be serving up Braised ginger prawn, sushi, Whole roast pork lechon, Crab agnolotti, Grilled Tajima wagyu rump, and more for their Christmas Eve, Christmas Brunch and Dinner, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day menu options. To complete the holiday experience at Solaire Resort, catch the scheduled performances from The Hitmakers, The Bloomfields, the Philippine Folk Orchestra, Jed Madela, Ballet Philippines, Aegis, and more artists for the entire month of December. Solaire is also offering Christmas hampers for gift giving, with a selection of six holiday hampers packed with gourmet treats. Meanwhile, British fragrance and lifestyle brand, Jo Malone London is set to open a physical Jo Malone London store at Solaire’s The Shoppes in December. To celebrate, macarons inspired by the brand’s hero fragrances have been developed. These will be presented in distinctive boxes designed exclusively for Solaire. Try the exclusive Afternoon Tea Menu offer, inspired by the fragrances of Jo Malone London, which includes savories and tea sandwiches, rosemary scones, and various sweets on the menu. Avail of Solaire’s festive room package by booking from Oct. 16 to Dec. 27 on stay dates from Dec. 1 to 29, 2023, with a blackout date of Dec. 24 included. Guests can enjoy a buffet breakfast for two persons at Fresh and in-room welcome amenities with welcome drinks and a P1,000 Solaire bonus peso. Every booking also gets an exclusive Christmas gift from Solaire such as complimentary breakfast for two kids, a complimentary upgrade to Sky Studio, or Happy Hour in Waterside for two persons. The promotion is exclusively accessible through Direct Bookings made via Room Reservations or Solaire’s official website and is valid for all days of the week. For more information and reservations, visit www.solaireresort.com/christmasmagic or call the hotline at 8888-8888.

Frotea expands with 4 new branches in Batangas, Cavite

FROTEA, the milk tea dessert brand, opened two branches in Ibaan and Rosario, Batangas last September, and will be launching two new locations in Bacoor, Cavite, in the first quarter of 2024. Frotea offers affordable milk tea flavors and desserts — like Dark Choco Ice which is Frotea’s take on the Korean dessert bingsu — for less than P100. As Frotea expands, so does its menu. Dark Choco Ice is among their newest desserts alongside fish waffles, another Korean-inspired treat, with a crunchy exterior and a sweet creamy filling; and soft-serve Panda ice cream, a velvety dessert best paired with popping bob. Guests can try a wide variety of flavors from their Classic, Cream Puff, Signature Oreo, and Ube series, or opt for a lighter treat with their Fruit Teas.

Mang Inasal offers free Chicken Inasal Pecho promo

MANG INASAL amps up its year-long 20th anniversary celebration with the #MangInasalAt20 Pecho Panalo Buy 2 Get 1 Promo. The special offer gives away free Pecho Large Solo (one rice) for every purchase of two Pecho Large Value Meals. It can be enjoyed via dine-in, takeout, or delivery on all Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays of November at all Mang Inasal stores nationwide. Visit www.manginasal.com for the latest news, https://manginasaldelivery.com.ph for delivery deals, and follow Mang Inasal on social media for updates.

Filipino cookbook in French released

HAILING from a French-Filipino family, author Myrani Miranda-Pesquet has released Une Bouchée des Philippines, a Filipino cookbook written in French. The book contains 50 recipes for breakfast, appetizers, main courses, and desserts/snacks, with each recipe accompanied by a photo. There are also tips, anecdotes and a collection of poems about key ingredients in Philippine cuisine. The recipes were chosen based on the availability of the ingredients in France. Une Bouchée des Philippines is available on Amazon on Kindle/ebook and paperback format, and at the Dédicaces bookstore in Paris, France.

Jollibee stores light up the holiday season

JOLLIBEE opened their nationwide Joyful Christmas Stores on Nov. 9 with simultaneous events in Manila at Jollibee Bonifacio Global City (BGC) Triangle Drive, in Davao at Jollibee Quimpo, and in Cebu at Jollibee General Maxilom through a ceremonial lighting of the stores with a giant socket and plug. This officially commenced the lighting of 10 flagship Jollibee stores across the country, with another 100 stores with their own merry light displays. For Luzon and Visayas stores, the brand partnered with Coca Cola Philippines. Drop by any of these branches to experience the magic of a Jollibee Christmas: BGC Triangle Drive, Madrigal, North Fairview, Baras, Katipunan, and 9th Ave., all in Mega Manila; Binalonan, Pangasinan; Tagaytay Rotonda; General Maxilom DT Cebu; and Davao Quimpo DT.

Tonik expands partnership with Genesys

TONIK DIGITAL Bank, Inc. (Tonik) has expanded its partnership with global cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) services provider Genesys to improve its customer service.

Under the partnership, Tonik will use Genesys’ Cloud CX platform to connect with customers across multiple channels, use AI for product inquiries, and improve security and product marketability, the digital lender said in a statement on Tuesday.   

“Our values are aligned with Genesys — it is about customer centricity and providing empathetic experience across all customer touchpoints. Our quest to build the next-generation financial platform and bring about an innovative culture to the banking system has made remarkable progress. The Tonik-Genesys partnership will continue to explore more automation opportunities to enable us to deliver exceptional customer, employee experience, and drive efficiencies,” Tonik Group Chief Operations Officer Tomasz Borowski said.

The partnership will help Tonik achieve its aim of expanding its loan portfolio for 2024 through creating “an all-digital touchpoint process” through its mobile app, the online bank said.

The digital lender and Genesys are planning the implementation of voicebots and unified bots for phones, web chat, mobile messaging, and smart speakers.   

“Our partnership with Tonik demonstrates our commitment to helping organizations scale personalized, end-to-end experiences through our Genesys Cloud CX platform. Beyond offering quality products and solutions, enhanced customer experience is a key differentiator in the digital financial servicing business,” Genesys Vice-President and Asia General Manager Simhua Lui said.

Tonik previously used Cloud CX to adjust to a hybrid work setup, using the Genesys Workforce Engagement Management tool to give employees a single platform and performance dashboards for training, educational resources, and other activities, it said.

“Furthermore, the platform also made it easier for Tonik to automate and scale within minutes, even without IT support,” it added.

There was a 60% decrease in customer wait time when they used Genesys’ platform, as well as zero downtime and disruption, Tonik said.

Tonik is one of the six Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas-licensed digital banks in the country. — AMCS

As inflation cools, Fed seen cutting rates in May

REUTERS

COOLING INFLATION will allow the US Federal Reserve to forgo any more interest rate hikes and indeed to start cutting rates by May, traders bet on Tuesday, after a US government report showed consumer prices for October were unchanged compared with the prior month.

The report, which showed the consumer price index (CPI) rose just 3.2% from a year earlier, after rising 3.7% in September, “looked pretty good,” Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Austan Goolsbee said at the Detroit Economic Club.

And while he said he wants to see further progress, particularly on housing inflation, the drop in CPI inflation from around 6.3% in January looks on track to be the fastest one-year peacetime decline in more than 40 years, he said.

Mr. Goolsbee didn’t update his view on the appropriate rate path on Tuesday, though even before Tuesday’s data he was not among Fed policy makers advocating for further policy tightening.

Prices of futures contracts that settle to the Fed’s target rate were pricing in only about a 5% chance the Fed will raise its policy rate any higher than the current 5.25% to 5.5% range, down from 28% prior to the Labor department report.

Core inflation, which excludes energy and food, rose 4% from a year earlier, the slowest pace in more than two years, the report showed. While still well above the Fed’s 2% target, the trend downward may give Fed policy makers more confidence that policy is tight enough to do the job.

“You can say goodbye to the rate hiking era,” said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management.

JPMorgan economist Michael Feroli, in a note to clients, said already low odds of a December rate hike have been further diminished by the CPI data, and he noted the numbers could also affect central bank forecasts due for release at the next Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.

Mr. Feroli said with data pointing to fourth-quarter inflation moving under where the Fed thought it would be at the September FOMC and unemployment a touch higher, “it may be tough for them to justify offsetting a dovish hold with more hawkish dots.”

At the September Fed meeting Fed officials had penciled in one more increase in the federal funds rate, an increase they are now quite unlikely to deliver.

Meanwhile, the Fed is now seen as more likely than not to deliver its first rate cut in May, and end 2024 with the short-term benchmark rate a full percentage point lower than today, based on rate futures pricing.

The Fed last raised rates in July, but Fed Chair Jerome H. Powell as recently as last week said he would not hesitate to raise rates further should it be needed to beat inflation back.

Tuesday’s data lessens the pressure for further tightening, but US central bankers aren’t likely to take a victory lap yet, according to Nationwide Chief Economist Kathy Bostjancic.

“The Fed for now will maintain its tightening bias, erring on the side of caution,” she wrote. — Reuters

Repower Energy launches 8th run-of-river hydropower plant

Repower Energy Development Corp. (REDC) has started the commissioning phase of its 1.4-megawatt (MW) run-of-river hydropower plant in Quezon province, the company said on Wednesday.

In a media release on Wednesday, REDC, the pure hydropower subsidiary of Pure Energy Holdings Corp., said its newest hydropower plant is expected to have an annual generation of 8 gigawatts-hour.

The plant is operated by an affiliate, Blue Energy Holdings and Management Corp.

“We are proud to have finally completed this meaningful project that certainly benefits our stakeholders, despite the challenges encountered. We thank our many partners for the support in making this project a reality,” Blue Energy President and Chief  Executive Officer Christopher John A.D. Tiu said.

The hydropower plant is the company’s eighth run-of-river hydropower plant. It is located between the operating Upper Labayat and Tibag plants.

The three hydropower plants are connected via a 69-kilovolt transmission line, which is in turn linked to the power grid operated by the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines.

REDC President Eric Peter Y. Roxas said 2023 “has been truly a period of aggressive expansion to provide clean energy to under-electrified communities in provinces.”

He said the hydropower plant in Brgy. Labayat “is a testament to the success we are currently experiencing.”

“We look forward to continuing enhancing our services to the key markets we operate in so that we can uplift our stakeholders’ standards of living,” he added.

In June, REDC commissioned its 5.8-MW Tibag project, which is the seventh run-of-river hydropower plant in its portfolio.

REDC is currently constructing a 4.5 MW hydropower plant in Quezon and a 20 MW plant in Bukidnon. Both plants are targeted to start operations by the fourth quarter of 2025.

The company said that it has three more hydropower projects in the pipeline located in Northern Luzon that will start construction in 2024. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera

Robinsons Antipolo’s extension means more eats

SITUATED along Antipolo’s sweeping Sumulong Highway, Robinsons Antipolo has stood in its spot since 2014. Last year, it doubled its retail space by adding an extension. Last week, it threw a lunch with over 20 of its participating restaurant tenants stuffing media guests full.

On Nov. 9, Robinsons Antipolo took offerings from each of its tenants and served it at the Buffeast, a massive buffet set up by the mall’s Christmas tree. Participating vendors included familiar favorites like Nono’s, Manam, Tong Yang, Botejyu, Ramen Nagi, Prime Steakhouse, BLK 513, JCO, Tiger Sugar, Serenitea, Mary Grace, Teresita’s by Razon’s, Shakey’s, Peri Peri, Hapchan, Ineng’s BBQ, Gerry’s Grill, and Classic Savory. Noticeable among these tenants were local Antipolo haunts that have found new homes in the mall: these include Theo and Miguel (serving Asian fusion), Marisons (modern Filipino), and Romeo’s (classic Filipino; we recommend their callos).

Roseann Villegas, Robinsons Land Corp. Director for Corporate Public Relations, discussed the mall’s architecture with BusinessWorld. Asked if each mall’s design is specific to its location, Ms. Villegas said, “We try to blend where we are. If you notice, there’s a lot of open spaces, and you can see the (greenery) from inside.”

The mix of tenants for the Buffeast (as in the eastern part of Luzon where Rizal province is) is to emphasize the stores in the extension, she said. With the extension, there are now over 400 partners within the mall, including the cinema and the food courts at the top level. Of note is the presence of local businesses in the mall, giving a boost to micro, small, medium enterprises  (MSMEs) in the area. Ms. Villegas said, however, “We’re here to help regardless if it’s small, medium, or national brands. We’re here to serve our mallers, and that’s the best way to keep them happy.” She also pointed out the fact that the mall is pet-friendly, noting that they were one of the first malls to implement pet-friendly policies (and we saw at least three dogs during the mall walkthrough).

Robinsons Antipolo is being billed as a foodie destination, as implied in the event’s name. But that is not unusual — “Robinsons Malls are really known to be foodie malls,” said Ms. Villegas, citing the restaurants in Robinsons Magnolia and Galleria as examples. “We’d like to be remembered for celebrations, for gatherings.” — Joseph L. Garcia

Philippines improves in Anti-Money Laundering Index

The Philippines placed 53rd out of 152 jurisdictions with an overall score of 5.64 (out of 10) in the 2023 edition of the Basel Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Index by nonprofit organization Basel Institute on Governance. The index ranks a jurisdiction based on its risks of money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF) and its capacity to counter them. The Philippines’ ranking improved from the 2022 index where it ranked 45th out of 128 jurisdictions. Its score was above the 5.31 global average and the 5.47 average in East Asia and the Pacific.

PHL improves in Anti-Money Laundering Index

China claims world’s fastest internet with 1.2-terabit-per-second network

NATHANA REBOUCAS-UNSPLASH

HUAWEI Technologies Co. and China Mobile Ltd. have built a 3,000-kilometer  (1,860-mile) internet network linking Beijing to the south, which the country is touting as its latest technological breakthrough.

The two firms teamed up with Tsinghua University and research provider Cernet.com Corp. to build what they claim is the world’s first internet network to achieve a “stable and reliable” bandwidth of 1.2 terabits per second, several times faster than typical speeds around the world. Trials began July 31 and it’s since passed various tests verifying that milestone, the university said in a statement.

Tsinghua, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s alma mater, is plugging the project as an industry-first built entirely on homegrown technology, and credits Huawei prominently in its statement. The Chinese firm in August made waves when it released a 5G smartphone with a sophisticated made-in-China processor, inspiring celebration in Chinese state and social media. That event also spurred debate in Washington about whether the Biden administration has gone far enough in attempts to contain Chinese technological achievement.

The network “is operated based on China’s domestically-owned key technologies,” the official Xinhua News Agency said in a report carried on Tsinghua’s website.

Bloomberg News hasn’t verified the authenticity of those claims. In February, Nokia — Huawei’s global rival — announced it’s achieved 1.2 terabits a second over what it called “metro distances” of about 118 kilometers on an optical network in Europe. — Bloomberg

Energizing growth via grid ‘demonopolization’ and ‘declimatism’ policies

(Part 5 of a series)

As discussed in this column last Tuesday, the Philippines was the fastest-growing among the top 40 largest economies in the world in Q1-Q3 of 2023. We need to sustain this growth as economies that heavily pivoted to decarbonization and “climatism” (the belief that human use of fossil fuels destroys the Earth’s climate) are either crawling (below 1% growth) or contracting, especially the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, and Sweden.

This piece will cover two energy topics: pricing and revenues of the only remaining private monopoly nationwide, the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP), and the endless push for more intermittent wind and solar power due to the “climatism” lobby.

ERC REVIEW OF NGCP REVENUES
Last week, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) released the preliminary results of its ongoing review of the performance of the NGCP for the Fourth Regulatory Period (4th RP) 2016-2022. The ERC ruled that the total allowable revenues for Phase 1 of 4th RP is P183.49 billion, or an average of P36.7 billion/year. This is way below the NGCP’s claims of P387.80 billion for Phase 1, or an average of P77.56 billion/year, which is larger than the interim Maximum Annual Revenue (iMAR) of P51.47 billion for 2020 initially granted by ERC to the NGCP in a March 2022 issuance.

In simple terms, with the huge difference between the ERC-approved annual revenues and the NGCP claims of annual revenues, the NGCP is possibly over-charging its customers — say, instead of collecting only P0.50/kwh in transmission charges, it is collecting something like P0.80/kwh or higher. So the consumers are worse off, while the NGCP and friends are better off.

The ERC has disallowed many expenses that the NGCP has passed on to consumers such as, for 2016-2020, P1.46 billion for public relations and corporate social responsibility (CSR); P943 million for COVID prevention donations, P800 million for representation and entertainment, etc.

See these reports in BusinessWorld: “ERC caps NGCP allowable revenue at P36.7B annually, well below amount sought by grid” (Nov. 8), and “NGCP says expenses disallowed by ERC are ‘legitimate business costs’” (Nov. 9).

The NGCP’s mandate is to provide Filipinos “safe, efficient, and affordable electricity,” meaning a secure and stable grid so that households and enterprises can avoid blackouts and high electricity prices. A beautiful and direct mandate that it should stick to it. If the NGCP wants to donate to COVID prevention, or do CSR on, say, “climate catastrophe” prevention, these are outside its mandate and should not be billed to customers. It can dig from its huge annual profit (see the Table on this page) to finance these non-mandated functions and expenses.

I again checked the BusinessWorld Top 1000 Corporations, which uses financial statements submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission yearly. I computed the net income/gross revenue ratio, then compared the ERC-approved vs. NGCP-claimed revenues.

These are huge differences, P26 billion to P41 billion/year. That implies that the transmission charge that we pay is perhaps double what it should be. If proven to be correct, that is a stronger reason to demonopolize grid transmission. Monopoly very often leads to abuse of power. At the very least, the NGCP should cut its transmission charge by removing all expenses unrelated to its mandate which are billed to the consumers nationwide.

‘DECLIMATISM’ OF ECONOMIC AND ENERGY POLICIES
I have to present some updated data (among other existing scientific data) that show that there are no such things as “sea ice melting fast and drowning islands,” or “storms are getting stronger, more frequent,” or the classic “unprecedented global warming.”

The four charts on this page, clockwise from top left, show the amount of Arctic sea ice from 1978 to November 2023, the Antarctica ice levels in the same period, global paleoclimate data over the last 4,000 years, and the monthly count of global tropical storms from 1971 to August 2023.

The Arctic and Antarctica in natural sea ice melt-grow cycle. Global storms high-low storms cycle. And there is a global warming-cooling cycle over every few decades or even centuries, like the “Little ice age” cooling between the Medieval warm period and Modern warm period.

Global warming has many precedents since planet Earth was born some 4.5 billion years ago and thus, the term “unprecedented” warming is false and dishonest. And all these are natural cycles: a warming-cooling climate cycle, an ice melt-grow cycle, high-low storms cycle, water evaporation-condensation cycle, the El Niño-La Niña cycle, wet-dry season cycle, and so on.

All are nature-made cycles, not “man-made catastrophes” that will require more government/UN “solutions” like reducing or killing fossil fuel plants and pivoting to intermittent, unreliable wind-solar power, new reliance on batteries, and additional energy costs. There is no climate crisis, no climate emergency, to justify these deindustrialization, degrowth policies.

CONGRATULATIONS
On a side note, I want to congratulate my sister’s office — the Alas Oplas & Co. CPAs (AOC) — on their 33rd anniversary this week. Marycris Oplas is the CEO and founding partner of AOC, an independent member of BKR International. She is the first woman, and the first person from the Asia-Pacific region to be the Chairperson of BKR International, a top 10 global accounting association with over 145 member firms in 585 cities across 81 countries. Before that, she was the Chairperson of BKR in the Asia-Pacific region, then Vice-Chair of BKR worldwide.

We are five siblings in the family, she is the third and I am the fourth, and she is the only one among us five who did not work in government (I worked at the House of Representatives from 1991-1999), and she has been the single longest supporter of Minimal Government Thinkers for nearly two decades now. By the way, my think tank advocates less or limited government, not zero government. Congratulations, AOC. Congratulations, ‘tol.

 

Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr. is the president of Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr. Research Consultancy Services, and Minimal Government Thinkers. He is an international fellow of the Tholos Foundation.

minimalgovernment@gmail.com

CBDCs to boost financial inclusion, cross-border payments — IMF

SINGAPORE — The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has underscored the importance of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) in expanding financial inclusion and improving cross-border payments.

“Adoption of CBDCs is nowhere close. But about 60% of countries are exploring them in some form today. CBDCs can replace cash which is costly to distribute in island economies,” IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said in a speech at the Singapore Fintech Festival 2023 on Wednesday.

“They can offer resilience in more advanced economies. And they can improve financial inclusion where few hold bank accounts,” she added.

Ms. Georgieva noted that progress has been made in exploring CBDCs and developing related regulations. However, there is “much more space for innovation and so much uncertainty over use cases,” she said

“The public sector should keep preparing to deploy CBDCs and related payment platforms in the future,” she added.

To ensure the efficient deployment of CBDCs, Ms. Georgieva said policies and private sector participation will be crucial.

“Country authorities wishing to introduce CBDCs may need to think a little more like entrepreneurs. Communication strategies, and incentives for distribution, integration, and adoption, are as important as design considerations,” she said.

Artificial intelligence (AI) could also support the promotion of CBDCs.

“It could improve financial inclusion by providing rapid, accurate credit scoring based on various data. It could provide personalized support to people with low financial literacy,” Ms. Georgieva said.

“To be sure, we need to protect personal privacy and data security, and avoid embedded biases so we don’t perpetuate inequality but aim to reduce it. Managed prudently, AI could help,” she added.

CBDCs can also help facilitate cross-border payments, which are often costly and slow, she said.

“Efficient cross-border payments allow for capital to get more quickly to where it is needed. Small businesses can grow beyond borders, and households can receive needed funds from abroad.”

In September, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas announced the distributed ledger technology for its wholesale CBDC pilot called Project Agila.

Meanwhile, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. said at the same event that the government is committed to digitalizing the banking sector to make financial services more inclusive to Filipinos.

“The Philippines is likewise cementing its position as a hub for digital innovation and entrepreneurship, with a dynamic startup scene that holds immense promise,” Mr. Marcos said in his keynote speech delivered via hologram.

Mr. Marcos noted the importance of ensuring finance remains inclusive despite rapid digitalization.

“That is why we are putting great emphasis on the digitalization of all cash flows—regardless of amount or scale—so that Filipinos can start building a digital profile,” he added.

“The Philippines — with its innovative spirit and openness to collaboration — is eager to work with you in seizing all the opportunities that lie ahead. The Philippines also remains ready to adapt new technologies to respond to the demands of our regional and global challenges,” he added.

FINTECH AGREEMENT SIGNED
Meanwhile, FinTech Alliance.ph and the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) signed a memorandum of understanding on Wednesday at the event to help enhance fintech policies and improve trade between the two countries.

Under the agreement, initiatives will be organized to ramp up financial services that will lead to “enhanced commercial opportunities.”

“The partnership will also foster information sharing on emerging market trends and developments, including the use of new technologies to improve the fintech ecosystem in their respective markets,” the Australian Embassy in the Philippines said in a press release.

“It will also provide a framework for the Philippines to look more closely at Australia’s experience in open banking. At the same time, Australian fintech firms can learn more about the rapid development of the Philippines digital economy,” it added. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson

Civility in the workplace

HEADWAY-UNSPLASH

MAYBE courtesy and the effort to be mild-mannered and gracious with colleagues and subordinates had been a liability in the past — He’s just too nice… he can’t crack the whip on the laggards.

Nasty Bosses (How to Deal with Them without Stooping to Their Level), a 2004 book by Jay Carter, dismisses the value of ferocity and meanness as necessary management attributes. A tough boss with his sarcastic remarks is no longer the model for a corporate leader.

A Ted Talk by Cristine Porath (2016) on “Mastering Civility” has also espoused the importance of civility in the workplace. The virtues of listening intently to subordinates and greeting colleagues in the corridor are being promoted. Having a softer voice and more encouraging comments (you did your best) are becoming the norm.

No longer is the superior known for his sarcasm when a presenter reads her slides (We can also read) considered fascinating. He is seen as merely dysfunctional at a meeting. (He must have bowel problems.)

Is civility in the workplace becoming the new norm?

Surveys on how employees feel about their company (and its leaders) contribute to a new metric called the “civility index.” This metric focuses on interpersonal behavior in the organization and what needs to be done to achieve a kinder and gentler corporate culture. (Is your boss supportive and encouraging, even when you make mistakes?)

One can tell a company’s civility level by observing the traits of its executives who emulate the CEO. Seldom does a mild-mannered and polite CEO surround himself with those who snarl at the executive lounge waiters who take too long to deliver their orders.

As for an organization of peers, like a legislative body or political party, the character traits tend to be disparate and individualistic. There is really no CEO to emulate, except perhaps the Chief Executive. The last one was a mean-spirited leader with late-night tirades addressed to anyone on his path. He encouraged a feisty culture even in his spokesman who emulated him with a perpetual snarl.

Parliamentary rules in the legislative bodies, aimed at upholding courtesy even in debates, seems incapable of reining in boorish behavior, like walkouts and even death threats addressed to its members. Politics has its own rules which tramples courtesy like a wet rag to wipe one’s dirty shoes off. Media attention and quotable bombs are the norm.

Civility in politics is a matter of convenience, as alliances tend to be temporary and driven by need.

The Economist once featured a discourse on the erosion of courtesy in the world. (This does not include terrorist attacks and invasions.) The magazine surmises that it is the spread of English with its informal approach and devaluation of endearments that has accelerated this decline of civility, in terms of honorifics and respectfulness. While Spanish, for instance, differentiates addressing an older person or stranger with “usted” versus the intimate and familiar “tu,” English only uses “you” to level the playing field. “Thou” in English is only used for commandments.

The national language even has more honorifics, like elder brother (kuya) and even distant relatives (Tita). The vernacular though is just as rich with expletives, which we will not have to list down here.

Is the informality of English as the global language further driven by online communications, also using English?

Social media, with its chat format, has dispensed with courtesy altogether, allowing young and old, experts and amateurs, celebrities and fans, to be equal. Everyone offers unsolicited advice on acceptable behavior — take his money and run. The removal of deference and distance from the chat culture has dispensed with the rituals of civility.

Revelations of past intimacies and the presentation of an undiscovered progeny of a dead celebrity can crowd out the debate on confidential funds.

Empathy is an ability to understand and consider how another person feels. This form of “fellow feeling” is the basis of civility. The concern for another person’s sensibilities precludes a brusque approach.

Even good news, like a promotion or salary increase, can be undermined as a motivator by how it is communicated — here, stop whining already. On the other hand, bad news, like a doctor’s diagnosis of a dreaded disease, is softened with compassion. Sometimes even false hopes (we’ll see if this approach will work) allow a person to graciously accept fate.

Civility makes one a more pleasant companion in life… specially on its short stops.

 

Tony Samson is chairman and CEO of TOUCH xda

ar.samson@yahoo.com

Eight super healthy leafy greens — and why you should eat them

LEAFY GREENS are a great way to improve your health as they possess many vital nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. As a nutritionist, I would highly recommend getting more of the following salad leaves in your diet.

Spinach is easy to get all year round, and is chock full of iron, calcium, potassium, and vitamins B6, C, and K. It is also a good source of antioxidants, which can reduce the risk of many diseases, including heart disease and certain cancers.

It’s best eaten uncooked, as part of a salad, as cooking tends to destroy the naturally occurring polyphenols and flavanols in the leaves. Certain polyphenols and flavonoids may reduce the chance of developing certain cancers, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease.

Kale has a unique taste that can vary somewhat depending on its variety and how it’s prepared. If you can handle bitter taste, kale is packed with important micronutrients such as calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper, manganese, and selenium. It is also a good source of vitamins, including vitamins A, B, E, C, and K.

Avoid blanching and boiling kale as it can reduce the amount of water-soluble minerals, vitamins and phytochemicals in the leaves. Kale can be eaten uncooked in salads.

A cup of uncooked kale (21 grams) is just nine calories.

My third choice is Swiss chard, which has a slightly sweet flavor, and has good amounts of vitamins A and C. And even a small amount of Swiss chard (around 175 grams) can fulfil your daily requirement of vitamin K — which is important for blood clotting and healthy bones.

Swiss chard, which comes in a variety of colors, also has essential minerals such as iron, copper, potassium, and calcium.

Collard greens are a good source of lutein, which is important for eye health. They are full of vitamins A and C and minerals such as calcium, iron, zinc, copper, and selenium, and are a good source of fiber. As with spinach, you can get this all year round.

If you’re in the mood for a leafy green with a fresh, tangy, slightly bitter and peppery taste, consider adding rocket to your plate. It’s been consumed by humans since at least Roman times, and is a popular topping on pizzas.

Rocket, also known as arugula and eruca, is packed with nitrates — which studies have shown can boost performance in sports. Rocket is also rich in vitamins K and C, and calcium and polyphenols.

The crunchy and mild-tasting romaine lettuce is full of nutrient-rich goodies. It is a good source of vitamins and minerals, including vitamins A, K, C, and folate (a B vitamin that is especially important during pregnancy). These nutrients are essential for maintaining overall health and supporting a healthy immune system.

Romaine, also known as cos lettuce, is a source of fiber too, which is known to reduce your risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and bowel cancer.

If you enjoy a bit of spice and want to incorporate a leafy green with a distinct flavor into your meals, watercress is a great choice. It not only adds a burst of taste but also provides a rich source of vitamins A and C and antioxidants. Research suggests that watercress could be a therapeutic agent in oral cancer.

If you’re looking for a leafy green with a gentle flavor and satisfying texture, bok choy is a great choice. This variety of Chinese white cabbage can be used in stir-fries, soups, salads, or simply sautéed as a side dish.

It is rich in fiber as well as various vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. This leafy green can help maintain bone health, immunity, vision, heart health, blood pressure and possibly prevent certain types of cancer.

I prefer to have a balanced diet and adding these leafy greens can help me stay healthy, improve my immunity, and reduce the risk of various chronic diseases. They are also low in calories, making them a good choice for those who want to manage their weight. So enjoy them in salads, smoothies, soups, or as a side dish with your favorite meals. — The Conversation via Reuters Connect

Swrajit Sarkar is a senior lecturer in Nutrition at the City University of London.

Overseas Filipinos’ cash remittances

CASH REMITTANCES from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) jumped by 2.6% in September amid steady demand for healthcare and maritime workers abroad. Read the full story.

Overseas Filipinos' cash remittances

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