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Emmy-winning TV producer-writer Norman Lear, 101

NORMAN LEAR (R) with Carroll O’Connor and Jean Stapleton during the filming of All in the Family, from the 2016 documentary Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You. — IMDB

PRODUCER-WRITER Norman Lear, whose groundbreaking hit comedies such as All in the Family and Maude addressed race, abortion, and other social issues rarely seen before on US television, died on Tuesday, at the age of 101, his family said.

Mr. Lear, one of the most influential people in television, died at his Los Angeles home of natural causes, “surrounded by his family as we told stories and sang songs until the very end,” the family said on Facebook on Wednesday.

Mr. Lear, who won six Emmy Awards for his work in television, was known for his campaigning for liberal causes, including voting rights, and worked well into his 90s.

In addition to All in the Family and Maude, Mr. Lear dominated American TV screens in the 1970s and ’80s with the situation comedies Sanford and Son, The Jeffersons, and the soap-opera spoof Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. At one point in the 1970s, Mr. Lear had eight shows on the air with an estimated 120 million viewers, Time magazine said.

By drawing material from social themes of the time, Mr. Lear’s shows made network executives nervous because they had depth and an air of controversy.

“For him to say that he didn’t have an impact on not only television but society is … a little too humble,” said Rob Reiner, who had a co-starring role on All in the Family before becoming a film director.

“I loved Norman Lear with all my heart,” Mr. Reiner said on the X social media platform after news of his death. “He was my second father.”

President Joseph R. Biden hailed Mr. Lear as a “transformational force in American culture.”

“Norman loved America and told our stories with heart, facing the good, the bad, and the truth of who we are as a nation striving to form a more perfect union,” he said in a statement.

Mr. Lear and production partner Bud Yorkin put All in the Family on the air in January 1971, and the show would go on to win four Emmys for best comedy in its nine seasons. It was based on a British show, Til Death Do Us Part, and gave US television one of its most memorable and controversial characters: Archie Bunker. Veteran actor Carroll O’Connor portrayed Archie as a crude, loud, blue-collar New Yorker who spouted racist, homophobic, and antisemitic comments. He was cast against a scatterbrained wife he called “Dingbat,” a liberal daughter and an even more liberal son-in-law he referred to as “Meathead,” played by Mr. Reiner.

All in the Family was the top-rated show on US television for five straight years, according to CBS, and TV Guide ranked it fourth on its list of television’s all-time greatest shows.

Born on July 27, 1922 in New Haven, Connecticut, Norman Milton Lear’s most lasting creation was partly based on fact. Many of the harsh words that came out of Archie’s mouth had first been spoken by Mr. Lear’s own father, Herman Lear, who went to prison for selling fake bonds, and frequently told his wife to “stifle” herself and called his son “the laziest white kid I ever saw.”

“I grew up in a family that lived at the top of its lungs and the ends of its nerves,” Mr. Lear told Esquire magazine.

Some critics said the Archie Bunker character put a laughing face on bigotry, but Mr. Lear said it only pointed to the complexity of humanity.

A year after All in the Family started, Mr. Lear aired Maude, a spin-off that starred Bea Arthur as Archie’s acerbic sister-in-law and political opposite. As with Bunker, the character was like none previously seen on American television. Maude was on her fourth husband, protested marijuana laws, and had an abortion before the US Supreme Court legalized the procedure nationwide. Her husband battled alcoholism, had two nervous breakdowns, and attempted suicide.

Black characters in US television in the 1970s were mostly limited to minor roles until Mr. Lear made them the focus of some of his shows.

Good Times centered on a working-class Black family living in a public housing project in Chicago. Many of the show’s episodes deal with the family’s efforts to pull their way out of the circumstances through hard work and study.

The Jeffersons, another All in the Family spin-off, featured an upwardly mobile Black couple who moved to Manhattan’s upscale Upper East Side, where most of their neighbors were white. The show’s lead character George was brash, ambitious, and unapologetic.

Mr. Lear’s other hits included Sanford and Son, a sitcom about a Black junkyard owner in a Los Angeles neighborhood.

While Mr. Lear was celebrated for his inclusion, some critics also said many of his depictions of Black characters tended to perpetuate stereotypes.

Mr. Lear produced a string of other hit shows, including Diff’rent Strokes, Fernwood 2 Night, and the All in the Family spin-off Archie Bunker’s Place. But Mr. Lear also had flops such as All That Glitters, Sunday Dinner, and another All in the Family spin-off, Gloria.

Mr. Lear dropped out of college during World War II to join the Army and flew 52 combat missions in B-17 bombers. He went to Los Angeles in 1950 with the intention of being a publicist but began writing for TV stars such as Danny Thomas, Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin, and Andy Williams.

Mr. Lear shifted focus in 1981 and founded the liberal activist group People for the American Way to boost voting rights and fight right-wing extremism. He also established the Norman Lear Center at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School of Communication.

In 2001, he and a partner purchased an original copy of the American Declaration of Independence and sent it on a three-year tour of US schools, libraries, and events.

He rebooted his 1970s TV series One Day at a Time to focus on a Cuban American family in 2017, and three years later he earned his sixth Emmy for a live special broadcast of All in the Family and Good Times.

In February 2021, Mr. Lear received the Carol Burnett Award, a lifetime achievement award, at the Golden Globe Awards ceremony, for his contributions to television.

Mr. Lear, who was convinced that laughter had lengthened his own life, used humor to enrich the lives of others, his online obituary said.

“I’ve never been in a situation in my life, however tragic, where I didn’t see comedy,” Mr. Lear said in the 2016 documentary, Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You.

Mr. Lear is survived by his third wife, Lyn, and his six children. A private service for his immediate family will be held. — Reuters

BSP may cut rates slower than Fed by next year

BW FILE PHOTO

METROPOLITAN Bank & Trust Co. (Metrobank) expects the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to cut benchmark rates next year at a slower pace compared with the US Federal Reserve to keep both inflation and the exchange rate stable.

“Aside from the BSP being data-dependent, I think they will also look at what the Fed is doing. It’s all about rate differentials — it could impact our local currency. Our thinking is that the Fed will be cutting rates at a faster pace than the Philippines,” Metrobank Deputy Head of Investments Ma. Cristina B. Gabaldon told reporters at an event on Wednesday.

“You don’t want to also keep rates high when inflation is already slowing. There’s that point where you [could] slow the economy too much,” Metrobank First Vice-President and Head of the Institutional Investors Coverage Division Ruben L. Zamora said at the same event.

The BSP has raised benchmark interest rates by a cumulative 450 basis points (bps) since May 2022 to help bring down its inflation, with its policy rate now at a 16-year high of 6.5%. The Monetary Board will hold its last policy meeting for the year on Dec. 14.

Meanwhile, the US central bank has hiked rates by a cumulative 525 bps to the 5.25%-5.5% range since it began its tightening cycle in March 2022.

The Federal Open Market Committee will next meet on Dec. 12-13 to review policy.

Mr. Zamora said the BSP is unlikely to rush to cut rates as it takes time for tightening moves to make their way through the economy. Slowing inflation also gives the central bank room to keep rates steady, he added.

Headline inflation eased to 4.1% in November from 4.9% in October and 8% in the same period last year. Year to date, inflation averaged 6.2%, faster than 5.6% in the same period last year and still well above the central bank’s 2-4% target.

Keeping its policy rate higher than the Fed’s own target rate would support the peso, but this could put stress on exports, Mr. Zamora added.

“Inflation is on one end, but we also don’t want to be the strongest Asian currency. [Exports] are a big driver for us,” he said.

On Thursday, the local unit closed at P55.30 per dollar, strengthening by less than a centavo from its P55.305 finish on Wednesday, Bankers Association of the Philippines data showed. This was the peso’s strongest close since its P55.19-per-dollar finish on Aug. 2.

Year to date, the local currency has gained 45 centavos from its P55.755 close on Dec. 29, 2022.

Meanwhile, Metrobank sees Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) growing by 6-7% next year driven by increased government spending, Mr. Zamora added. The government targets GDP growth of 6.5-8% in 2024.

The Philippine economy expanded by 5.9% in the third quarter, bringing the nine-month average to 5.5%, still below the government’s 6-7% goal for the year. — AMCS

The Philippines is battling a resurgent Islamic State threat

PHILIPPINE STAR/KRIZ JOHN ROSALES

WHEN THE BLAST ripped through the gymnasium of the Mindanao State University in Marawi, it was packed with worshippers, many of them students deep in prayer during Sunday Mass. The timing of the attack was significant — around 7 a.m. on the First Sunday of Advent, the start of the traditional four-week preparation for Christmas which holds special meaning for the majority-Roman Catholic nation.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. swiftly condemned the assault as “heinous acts perpetrated by foreign terrorists.” Islamic State has since claimed responsibility on its Telegram channel, and while authorities say they’re still investigating, they have launched a “massive manhunt” to find the suspects. The bombing killed four people, and at least 50 were injured, according to the Philippine military.

The southern part of the archipelago is no stranger to this kind of violence, but over the last few years there had been relative calm in an area that was once a stronghold of Islamic State-led terrorists. Now, there are concerns that the group is gaining new momentum. The Philippines must crack down on any nascent threats, while simultaneously working on understanding and addressing long-standing resentments among Muslims in Mindanao.

The alternative would be a return to the brutality of the past. In 2017, Marawi was the scene of a five-month battle between the Philippines military and Islamic State-led fighters. It was a grueling urban conflict, with militants aiming to turn Marawi into the capital of a Southeast Asian province of their Muslim caliphate. After months of fighting, the Philippines regained control of the city, backed by American and Australian airstrikes and surveillance. Two senior IS leaders were also killed. By some estimates, 400,000 people were displaced, and since then, Marawi has been in the slow process of restoration and recovery. The central government has reached peace accommodations with different, more mainstream separatist and sectarian groups that include elections, but the most extreme elements surface periodically.  It’s too early to say how much traction they’ll gain this time.

“The blast in Mindanao State University is part of the ISIS followers attempt to recapture Marawi,” Rommel Banlaoi, chairman of the Manila-based Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research told me. “The aim is to start up a new round of violence to establish the Islamic State in the Philippines.”

This is not a new goal. Islamic State has always capitalized on the long history of armed struggle in the predominantly Muslim region to achieve autonomy or more from the Catholic majority Philippines. But the Hamas attack on Oct. 7 that killed 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals and took as many as 240 hostage, may be driving a new security threat. As Israel’s military response pushed the claimed civilian death toll in Gaza above 15,900, and with images of dead and injured children flooding their timelines, Muslims across Asia have attended rallies and sermons in support of Palestinians. While there has been no direct link announced between the violence in Gaza and the Marawi bombing, the situation is one that IS militants have been able to exploit in their attempts to find new recruits.

There’s also the added element of internal rivalry between terror groups, as they advance longer-range agendas, Greg Barton, chair in Global Islamic Politics at the Melbourne-based Deakin University told me. “The Islamic State, which has historically criticized Hamas for not being hardline enough, may feel under pressure to put itself back in the spotlight.”

Heavily damaged in the five months of fighting and occupation six years ago, Marawi is now slowly being rebuilt, but thousands of people have yet to return to their homes or their old lives. The glacial pace at which the reconstruction of the city has been moving has only added to decades of failure to make good on promises to improve the chronically poor region. Separatism was nothing new, but by 2017, the Philippines was seen as a prime target for Islamic extremism helped by the presence of already active Islamist militant groups. Understanding and addressing the inherent resentment among this community is key to fixing long-standing grouses that could erupt into fresh tensions.

Sidney Jones, director of the Jakarta-based Institute for Policy Analysis Conflict, predicted the lasting appeal of ISIS in the Philippines in 2019, urging the nation to move beyond military operations aimed at killing known extremist leaders, which only produces a new generation bent on vengeance.

The administration, then led by the hard-nosed Rodrigo Duterte, may have changed, but the problems for Marcos Jr. remain the same. One solution would involve reintegrating American assistance into fighting terror networks, a practice that existed for several years after 9/11, with US special forces supporting counterterrorism units in the Philippines. The US is estimated to have spent some $3.9 billion to try to eliminate the terror threat on the archipelago. It then began winding down its operations in 2015, although the Americans have come back to help periodically over the years. Given the current situation in Gaza and Ukraine, and potentially Taiwan, it is unlikely Washington has the capacity to meaningfully help Manila to ward off future militant threats.

The Philippines could learn from Indonesia’s success in fighting terror by separating the military from counterterrorism activities. A number of ambitious plots were thwarted by the country’s special police unit Densus 88 (Special Detachment 88), as this report notes,* including an attempted attack on the tourist island of Bali and a plot to bomb the presidential palace.

Another solution that has been floated is implementing the controversial 2020 Anti-Terrorism Law more effectively. Passed under Duterte’s administration, the law allows warrantless detention and wiretapping of suspected terrorists, which was criticized at the time by the country’s human rights commission. Better still, as Jones points out in her report, would be “finding a non-military strategy aimed at addressing the causes of radicalization and preventing the regeneration of militant groups.”

None of this is easy, but it is all the more urgent in the face of rising resentment over the continued suffering in Gaza. It is an explosive issue and one that is ripe for exploitation by terror networks looking to find fresh recruits. Manila must be on guard.

BLOOMBERG OPINION

* www.iseas.edu.sg

Everything Everywhere and other A24 movies heading to HBO and Max

MICHELLE YEOH in a scene of her acclaimed and Oscar-winning performance from Everything Everywhere All at Once. — IMDB

LOS ANGELES — Oscar-winning film Everything Everywhere All at Once and other movies from independent studio A24 will become available on Warner Bros. Discovery’s Cinemax and Max under a deal announced on Wednesday.

The agreement provides the company with dozens of films to attract subscribers to the HBO and Cinemax premium cable channels and the Max streaming service.

Customers will have access to more than 100 films from A24 over the course of the multi-year agreement, Warner Bros said in a statement. They include Everything Everywhere, an offbeat family drama that won this year’s Academy Award for best picture.

Other recent films will head exclusively to the Warner Bros Discovery networks after their theatrical runs. They include Priscilla about the wife of Elvis Presley and The Iron Claw, a wrestling biopic starring Zac Efron and Jeremy Allen White.

Financial terms were not disclosed. — Reuters

Actors ratify three-year contract, ending Hollywood’s labor turmoil

VENTI VIEWS-UNSPLASH

LOS ANGELES — Members of the SAG-AFTRA actors union approved a three-year contract with major studios on Tuesday, formally ending six months of Hollywood labor disputes that halted film and television production.

SAG-AFTRA said 78% of those who voted supported the deal with Netflix Inc., Walt Disney Co. and other members of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).

Just 38% of eligible SAG-AFTRA members cast a ballot, the union said in a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter. SAG-AFTRA represents roughly 160,000 actors and other media professionals.

The new contract provides for pay raises and streaming bonuses that union leaders said amounted to more than $1 billion over three years. It also includes guardrails around the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in filmmaking, though some actors complained that the AI protections were not sufficient.

“This is a golden age for SAG-AFTRA, and our union has never been more powerful,” the union’s president, The Nanny actress Fran Drescher, said in a statement.

SAG-AFTRA members walked off the job in July and reached a tentative agreement with major studios in November. Actors started returning to work immediately after the preliminary deal.

Film and television writers also went on strike this year, walking out ahead of the actors union. After a five-month walkout, the writers approved a new contract in October with 99% of the vote.

Some actors had objected to AI provisions in the contract. The deal requires studios to obtain permission from celebrities to use their digital likenesses and to pay them for the use. Critics argued that the language allows creation of “synthetic performers” that could eliminate the need for many human actors.

The dual strikes shut down a large swath of film and TV production, halted late-night talk shows and forced broadcast networks to fill their fall schedules with repeats and reality shows. Major movies including Dune: Part Two and Marvel’s Thunderbolts also were delayed.

Hollywood studios welcomed the contract ratification, saying the agreement offered “historic gains and protections.”

“With this vote, the industry and the jobs it supports will be able to return in full force,” the AMPTP said in a statement.

SAG-AFTRA noted that other Hollywood unions representing crew members, musicians, and drivers will start negotiations on new contracts next year.

“They will be able to use our groundbreaking gains as leverage in their own bargaining efforts,” SAG-AFTRA said. — Reuters

Buying trend for healthy consumer products to continue, says Kantar

THE PURCHASE of healthier fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) is seen continuing despite rising prices, marketing data and analytics company Kantar said in an online briefing on Thursday.

Marie-Anne Lezoraine, managing director for Kantar Philippines Worldpanel Division, said that she expects the buying trend to continue, “but it is something that shoppers have to balance on a daily basis.”

“What we found is that during the pandemic, people have become much more aware [of] the role of nutrition in immunity. We saw that it had an impact on what people were purchasing,” Ms. Lezoraine said.

Kantar reported that 72% of Filipino consumers are seen prioritizing the purchase of healthier FMCG products.

The report also said that an estimated 99% of Filipino shoppers see being healthy as important, while 97% say that buying health products is important for the family.

“Purchase power, inflation, and affordability of products will be a key consideration,” she added.

For November, headline inflation slowed to 4.1% from 4.9% last month and 8% in the same period last year, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.

Ms. Lezoraine added that residents of the National Capital Region were seen purchasing more, by 84%, healthier food compared with those in Mindanao at 55%.

She said health remains a priority for most Filipino shoppers despite inflation or global uncertainties.

“What comes through is that… [it] is the reflection of a personal concern for the family… or it is an impact of the pandemic,” she added.

Kantar also reported that socioeconomic status does not seem to make a big impact on families’ consistency in purchasing healthy grocery items.

About 77% of the upper class (ABC) were seen buying healthier products often, followed closely by class D (70%) and class E (75%).

Kantar’s study gathered 1,200 respondents from February to April. “Filipino shoppers have expressed their desire to choose healthy and to buy healthy. Knowing why health is important and how shoppers define healthy grocery items will help brands develop or expand product lines to cater to these motivations and shopping practice,” Ms. Lezoraine said. — Adrian H. Halili

Peso may stay at P55 level

BW FILE PHOTO

MUFG Global Markets Research sees the peso staying at the P55-per-dollar level until the end of 2024 amid easing inflation, a narrowing trade deficit and faster economic growth last quarter.

“We now forecast the peso-dollar rate at P55.40 in three months and P55 in 12 months. This continues to imply some underperformance against other Asian FX (foreign exchange),” it said in a report on Thursday.

It previously saw the peso trading at the P57 level until next year.

MUFG Global Markets Research now sees the peso ending the second quarter of 2024 at P55.30 and the third quarter at P55.20.

On Thursday, the local unit closed at P55.30 per dollar, strengthening by less than a centavo from its P55.305 finish on Wednesday, Bankers Association of the Philippines data showed.

Year to date, the local currency strengthened by 45 centavos from its P55.755 close on Dec. 29, 2022.

“On the domestic front, we saw a few positive developments. First, inflation is trending downwards with lower food prices, albeit still sticky and subject to the vagaries of supply-side shocks,” MUFG Global Markets Research said.

Headline inflation slowed to 4.1% in November from 4.9% in October and 8% in the same period last year.

Year to date, inflation averaged 6.2%, faster than 5.6% in the same period in 2022 and above the central bank’s 2-4% target.

MUFG Global Markets Research added that its outlook for the peso is supported by a narrowing trade deficit amid lower oil prices, weak capital goods imports, and modest rebound in electronics exports.

Still, the trade deficit is “expected to remain large at 3% of GDP (gross domestic product) although narrowing from above 4% previously, with a pickup in infrastructure imports offsetting lower oil prices,” it said.

The trade gap shrank by 27% year on year to $3.51 billion in September from the $4.83-billion deficit recorded in the same month last year. It was also smaller than the revised $4.13-billion deficit in August.

The faster GDP growth seen in the third quarter also supported its outlook for a stronger peso, MUFG Global Markets Research said.

The Philippine economy grew by 5.9% in the third quarter, faster than 4.3% in the second quarter and 7.7% a year earlier. Year to date, GDP growth averaged 5.5%, below the government’s 6-7% target for the year. — AMCS

Safeguarding local communities against disasters

PHILIPPINE STAR/EDD GUMBAN

IN THE PAST DECADES, climate change has increased the frequency and intensity of natural hazards across the globe. Consequently, its impacts have also exacerbated the Philippines’ vulnerability to disaster risks. Estimates gathered by the World Bank show that 60% of the country’s land area and 74% of its population are exposed to flooding, earthquakes, droughts, and other hazards. In 2021 and 2022, damage due to extreme events and disasters cost the country $1.12 billion and $545.7 million affecting 3.63 million and 3.47 million families, respectively, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.

In every region or province, the impacts of disasters and climate change vary across communities. Location, particularly the proximity to volcanoes, rivers, and seas, is one determining factor. The cost of disasters to this country is a massive burden on peoples’ security and well-being. Local governments and communities bear the heaviest brunt, repeatedly hitting hardest at the poor and most vulnerable.

No less than the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at COP28 has underscored the urgency for climate action. This year, 2023, has been the hottest on record. The climate crisis needs accelerated response, funding, stronger partnerships, and commitments translated into concrete results, focusing on the most vulnerable.

But help comes from within. Local government units, community leaders, and civic groups serve as frontliners for response efforts, providing basic needs and the means to bring families to safety. Communities are the champions of one another. With their firm handle of the social, political, and environmental realities that will impact their safety and wellbeing, local actors know how to rise above calamities. However, they can only do so much when the threat of disasters persists.

The Strengthening Institutions and Empowering Localities against Disasters and Climate Change or SHIELD Program recognizes the agency and the innate resilience of local actors.

With support from the Government of Australia and implemented by a consortium of partners with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in the lead, SHIELD targets to harness the potential of the most vulnerable provinces and regions to ensure their ability to respond to and rebuild from disasters at the needed breadth and scale. Through multi-stakeholder partnerships, SHIELD aims to combine indigenous knowledge and on-the-ground evidence with national-level capabilities and the science of risk-informed decision making.

Interventions to build local resilience under SHIELD will benefit from guidance and expertise from national agencies, with the Department of the Interior and Local Government as the lead agency providing strategic direction and coordination assistance to the focus local government units (LGUs). The Department of Science and Technology will capacitate communities to generate disaster risk information to inform their development planning, while the Office of the Civil Defense will provide recommendations based on policies and protocols for disaster preparedness.

One of its envisioned outcomes is helping its partner LGUs build capabilities to better assess and manage risks within their localities, and eventually, unlock available resources from both local and international climate financing facilities such as the Green Climate Fund and the country’s very own People’s Survival Fund. Efforts will also be pursued towards innovative private sector financing, such as green bonds and microinsurance solutions.

Through its partners from government, civil society, and the international community, the initiative seeks to link local governments to access supplementary funding for innovative and evidence-based response to emergencies such as early warning systems, improve the promotion of industries that create green jobs such as ecotourism, and prepare bankable proposals for disaster risk reduction and management activities.

Through its consortium partners, SHIELD is also providing micro, small, and medium enterprises with knowledge on value chain analyses and business planning to ensure they continue to operate and earn even during disasters.

Resilience is everyone’s business — and it is built upon strong partnerships and empowered communities. By combining their collective strengths, forging strategic partnerships, and building a solid evidence base to translate their innate capacities to action, communities have the power to lead one another towards progress that towers over vulnerabilities and, hence, excludes no one.

 

Dr. Selva Ramachandran is the UNDP Philippines resident representative.

Blackpink agency shares skyrocket after K-Pop stars renew deals

YG ENTERTAINMENT, INC. said all four members of Blackpink renewed their contracts with the K-pop agency, dispelling concerns over the band’s continuation after their terms expired in August.

Shares in the Seoul-based artist promoter finished 26% higher on Wednesday, their biggest daily jump since a first-day pop when it went public in 2011. YG Plus, its content production affiliate, shot up 24%. Blackpink plans a new album and a world tour with YG, the agency said in a statement. Wednesday’s gain puts the agency — now the smallest among the four major Korean music labels — at $857 million in market value.

Other K-pop stocks also rose after the news. BTS label Hybe Co., the biggest K-pop stock with about $7.2 billion in market cap, rose 7.3% while smaller JYP Entertainment Corp. also advanced.

Blackpink, a four-member K-pop band that debuted in 2016, became the world’s most popular girl group with their songs setting records on the Billboard charts with hits like “Shut Down” and “Pink Venom.” The band became the first K-pop headliner at Coachella and their biggest global tour was sold out this year.

“We are more than thrilled to finally make an official statement that YG will continue the intimate relationship with Blackpink,” YG Entertainment founder Yang Hyun-Suk said in the statement. “As the group represents YG and K-pop itself, they will certainly endeavor to shine brilliantly in the global music market.”

The news ends months of uncertainty around YG’s hold on some of its highest-earning artists. Before the announcement, YG’s shares plunged almost 50% from its May peak amid rumors that Blackpink member Lisa might leave the group. Top artists’ contracts are a source of price volatility for K-pop agencies, which rely heavily on a handful of key artists for revenue.

YG did not disclose the details of each member’s contract, including whether it will retain management of side gigs such as solo projects, luxury brand promotions, or acting for Hollywood studios.

Play Video

Still, Blackpink’s contract renewal resolves one of the main questions that’s weighed on K-pop stocks and sparked stock selloffs, according to Suh Bokyung, a senior analyst at Sanford C Bernstein. “This serves as a signal that investors can have an upbeat outlook on the K-pop industry in 2024.” — Bloomberg

NLEX Corp. seeks toll fee hike from regulator after interchange completion

NLEX Corp., a unit of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC), has applied for an increase in toll fee after the completion of the Magsaysay Interchange, its president said.

“We already filed the petition. It is being evaluated by the TRB (Toll Regulatory Board). It will take the same process [and] the same evaluation so that they can determine whether the fractional toll is reasonable,” NLEX Corp. President and General Manager J. Luigi L. Bautista told reporters on the sidelines of a forum last week.

The company opened the NLEX Connector section 2, beginning from España Boulevard to Magsaysay Section on Oct. 28, data from the company’s website showed.

Currently, the tollway company retains the current discounted rate of P86 for the NLEX Connector, Mr. Bautista said. Once approved, the toll fee will increase to P120, he added.

BusinessWorld sought comments from TRB on the status of the application but it has yet to respond as of press time.

The opening of the additional 1.8-kilometer four-lane NLEX Connector helped ease traffic congestion by cutting the travel time from C3 Road in Caloocan to Magsaysay Boulevard in Manila to eight minutes.

Overall, the NLEX Connector has three interchanges in C3 Road/5th Avenue in Caloocan, España and Magsaysay Boulevard in Manila.

MPTC is the tollways unit of Metro Pacific Investments Corp., one of three key Philippine units of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT Inc.

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

Hospitals may harness AI to deal with nurse shortage

PHILIPPINE STAR/ MIGUEL DE GUZMAN

By Beatriz Marie D. Cruz, Reporter

TAIPEI — Artificial intelligence (AI) could help hospitals manage the shortage of nurses in the Philippines, a hospital industry executive said.

“Temporarily, that may be one of the solutions for the lack of nurses. (If) you don’t have night staff to provide information, for instance, you can use AI,” Jose Rene D. de Grano, president of the Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines, Inc., told BusinessWorld on the sidelines of the Healthcare+ Expo in Taipei.

Mr. De Grano said he toured a hospital in Taiwan with one nurse attending to up to 20 patients, who usually require nurse staffing of three to five, with the help of AI.

Possible AI applications include answering inquiries and dispensing medication, he said. The real-time monitoring of multiple patients can also be performed with the aid of Radio Frequency Identification systems.

At the Expo, ASUSTek Computer, Inc. (ASUSTek) demonstrated its health tracker watch, known as VivoWatch, which it plans to distribute more extensively across global markets next year as a tool to help healthcare professionals track patient activity and make diagnoses, according to ASUSTek Associate Vice-President for Product Marketing Pei-Wen Hsu.

“Before, when you go to the doctors, doctors always ask you, oh, do you sleep well? Did you take medicine? But if you have this data that can connect through the cloud, the doctor can check the data and to compare it to the chart at the hospital,” Ms. Hsu told BusinessWorld, also on the sidelines of the expo.

The new VivoWatch integrates electrocardiogram (ECG) sensors to help diagnose certain heart conditions, as well as Photoplethysmography (PPG), which detects blood volume changes.

ASUSTek is also promoting its speech recognition transcription application, Agility, to help healthcare professionals record checkups with patients faster.

“For example, I’m the patient and the doctor has a question for me. The speech recognition function can record what I’m saying,” Ms. Hsu said.

Citing the Taiwan government’s New Southbound Policy, ASUSTek is considering future market expansion in the Philippines, according to Ms. Hsu.

NURSE MIGRATION
Philippine hospitals have now fully accepted the inevitability of nurse migration, Mr. De Grano said.

“That is the thinking of the new generation of nurses… they still want to go out,” he said in Filipino. “We’re not against that because it will improve our economy… and the quality of life of our nurses.”

Jose P. Santiago, Jr., incoming president of the Philippine Hospital Association, said nurses are also attracted to countries with strong education systems for the sake of their children.

“I have interviewed several nurses, mostly single mothers… they want to leave because they want to provide a better education to their kids. They also consider their families when they migrate,” he told BusinessWorld separately.

Mr. Santiago said that a healthy working environment, subsidized post-graduate schooling, competitive salary, incentives, and training could help nurses stay in the Philippines.

Mr. De Grano noted that Cambridge-based Occupational English Test is set to conduct free English proficiency training in hospitals and medical schools especially for nurses who want to work in the United Kingdom.

“We agreed… we’ll (pursue such arrangements) in order to persuade our nurses to stay a while before they leave the country,” he said.

The Commission on Higher Education last year lifted the moratorium on universities and colleges seeking to open new nursing programs.

“We’re now really looking forward for better supply of nurses,” Mr. Santiago said.

Big dreams start with small steps: Colgate spreads the power of smiles, building a brighter future for the Philippines

Princess Espera with Colgate Maximum Cavity Protection

“Ang pangarap ko po paglaki ko ay maging nurse para po matulungan ko po ang mga tao para mabalik ko yung mga ngiti nila (When I grow up, I want to become a nurse so I can help people get their smiles back),” shares eleven-year-old Princess B. Espera who hails from Sorsogon Province. She is one of the millions of children who have been impacted by the Bright Smiles Bright Futures (BSBF)® program, which helped to inspire Princess’ professional aspirations and the path she wishes to follow in the future.

The program’s efforts to teach Filipino children the value of proper oral hygiene had a big impact on Princess. She began feeling more confident in expressing herself and socializing with her fellow classmates. Her dream to become a nurse was inspired by the program’s dedication to children’s smiles and their overall well-being. Princess also credits two incredible women, her mother Mary Grace Espera and her school nurse Dra. Olbez, who both serve as her role models and supporters in pursuing her dream.

Mary Grace Espera, together with her daughter, Princess Espera

Princess’s mother, Mary Grace Espera, instilled in her a degree of discipline when it comes to oral health. “Lagi kong tinuturo si Princess na magsipilyo para laging mapanatili ang malinis na ngipin. Importante ‘yan para healthy yung bibig niya (I always taught her to keep her teeth clean. It’s important that her mouth is healthy),” says Mary Grace Espera.

Dr. Wilma P. Olbez providing free dental services during the Bright Smiles Bright Futures event.

Princess recalls another important figure in her decision to be a nurse, Dr. Wilma P. Olbez. She was moved by Dr. Olbez’s commitment to assisting her classmates in maintaining good oral health.

“Naturuan po kami ng tamang pagsisipilyo at tamang oral hygiene sa ngipin. At lagi rin pong chine-check ang aming mga ngipin kada po may free vacant time si Doktora Olbez (Thanks to her, we learned how to properly brush our teeth and maintain good oral hygiene. And whenever she has free time, she always checks our teeth),” says Princess fondly.

Dr. Olbez believes it is crucial to teach children about the importance of oral health to improve overall well-being, as recent studies from the Department of Education reveal cavities are the main reason why kids miss school, significantly impacting their ability to learn.

Colgate continues to prove its commitment to ensuring a healthier and brighter future for children worldwide through their BSBF program, a global initiative dedicated to protecting the oral health of young children. In the Philippines, the program has reached 37,000 public schools and 700 daycare centers in 319 cities and municipalities over the course of 25 years, benefiting 40 million children nationwide.

Recently, Colgate returned to Sorsogon Province, one of the many long-standing partners of the BSBF program in the Philippines. Through the partnership, the province has been able to raise the number of orally fit children since 2015 — from a previous rate of 12%, the numbers have continued to rise, which is now at an 80% rate in 2022, according to the Field Health Service Information System report.

With this continuous partnership, Princess and numerous schoolchildren in Sorsogon are able to learn about the importance of a healthy smile in numerous facets of life.

“Hindi nakakatakot ang pagsipilyo ng ngipin! Ang Bright Smiles Bright Futures program ay nakatulong sa akin na mapagtanto na ang pagngiti ay nagdulot sa akin ng higit na kumpiyansa na ituloy ang aking mga pangarap. Sabay-sabay tayong ngumiti para sa magandang kinabukasan! (Brushing your teeth shouldn’t be scary! The Bright Smiles Bright Futures program helped me realize that smiling makes me more confident to pursue my dreams. Let’s all smile together for a better future!),” urged Princess.

A simple smile holds so much power, as it can reflect one’s self-perception, confidence, and quality of life. Through Colgate’s Bright Smiles Bright Futures (BSBF)® Program, Princess is among the millions of kids who can now confidently wear healthier and brighter smiles.

 

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