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Develop vaccines for all animal influenza strains, says incoming WHO chief scientist

LONDON — Governments should invest in vaccines for all strains of influenza virus that exist in the animal kingdom as an insurance policy in case of an outbreak in humans, the incoming chief scientist at the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday.

Countries ranging from the United States and Britain to France and Japan have suffered record losses of poultry in outbreaks of avian flu in the past year.

The recent spread to mammals of H5N1 — commonly known as bird flu — needed to be monitored, but the risk to humans remained low, the WHO said earlier this month.

Incoming WHO chief scientist Jeremy Farrar said he would like to see the pharmaceutical industry at least conduct some clinical trials for all influenza strains such that the world would not have to start from scratch to initiate global manufacturing should the need arise.

“My concern that we’re in slow motion watching something which may never happen,” he added in a media briefing. “But if it were to happen, would we look back on what we’re doing at the moment and say, why didn’t we do more?”

Mr. Farrar is a clinical scientist who most recently served as the director of the Wellcome Trust. He was appointed as the WHO’s chief scientist in December, and will formally join the agency later this year. — Reuters

Philippines corners biggest share of Kia’s regional sales

KIA PHILIPPINES recorded the most sales among the car brand’s distributors in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, as the local automotive industry continues its recovery.

In a statement late Monday, Kia Philippines said the milestone was announced during a recent thanksgiving event for its local dealer groups such as Gateway Motors, Wheels, Inc., Iconic Dealerships, Inc., Traders of the Laus Group, Grand Canyon. Autohub Group, Wheeltek, and Prime Legacy.

“Kia Philippines achieved the highest growth rate in the APAC region, as well as being the number one independent distributor in retail sales in 2022 in this part of the world. Overall customer satisfaction has the highest improvement as well in the region, based on surveys conducted by Kia APAC,” the South Korean car brand said.

“For 2022, Kia Philippines achieved a record-breaking 34% sales increase as compared to 2021,” it added.

Data from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) and Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) showed that Kia Philippines sold 5,012 units in 2022, up 34% from 3,748 units sold in 2021.

As of 2022, Kia Philippines has 42 dealerships with more to come amid ongoing nationwide network expansion. Relaunched in 2019, it is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ayala Corp.

Aside from the dealer thanksgiving event, Kia Philippines also celebrated its 4th anniversary as a subsidiary of Ayala Corp.

“Soon, all 42 Kia dealerships nationwide will have refreshed exteriors, and by next year all will share Kia’s revamped interior design aesthetic,” the car manufacturer said.

Meanwhile, Bank of the Philippine Islands’ Lead Economist Emilio S. Neri, Jr. said that local vehicle sales are expected to sustain their growth in 2023 due to fewer international and domestic travel restrictions, easier access to consumer credit, a lower unemployment rate that increases purchasing power and consumer credit scores, slower inflation, and a more stable foreign exchange environment.

In 2022, CAMPI-TMA members sold 352,596 units, exceeding its sales target of 336,000 units, and approaching the 369,941 units sold in 2019. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Arts&Culture (02/22/23)

A SCREENSHOT from The Polifirm Collection of International Contemporary Art at the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde Design —FACEBOOK.COM/BENILDECAMPUSART/

Free film screenings at the CCP

CINEMA Under the Stars returns for its first screening for 2023, scheduled at the CCP Annex Parking area on Feb. 24 at 5 p.m. The two featured films are Cinemalaya finalists: 1st Ko Si Third by Real Florido is a 2014 Cinemalaya finalist under the New Breed Category. The film shows how a 65-year-old retiree, Cory, rediscovers the joy and pain of first love when she bumps into her first love named Third. On their ‘first’ date, Cory brings with her love letters she wrote but never gave to Third. She is now ready to hand them over to her first love. Sigwa by Joel Lamangan is 2010 Cinemalaya finalist under the Director’s Showcase. The film spans 40 years of social unrest, told through the eyes of Dolly, who is a Fil-Am junior correspondent of a US magazine. She is sent to the Philippines in 1970 to cover student activism in Manila. After being arrested and deported in 1975, the third year of Martial Law, she returns to look for her daughter. The child supposedly died 35 years ago but she has been told, is still alive after all. The story is revealed fragment by fragment, as she surprises her former activist collectives with her unannounced presence. Meanwhile, the CCP Arthouse Cinema: Of Love and Revolutions presents a back-to-back film screening of Sigwa by Joel Lamangan and Lingkis by Yvonne Elizabeth Salazar and Isabel Margarita Valenzuela, on Feb. 24, 1 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. via Zoom.

Private collection of contemporary art on view at SDA

THE CENTER for Campus Art presents its first exhibit for 2023, “#artnow,” a mix of paintings, drawings, sculptures, and figures from the Poliform collection of international contemporary art that will be installed at the 12F Gallery of Benilde’s School of Design and Art (SDA) campus. The exhibit runs until May 5, 2023. The collection is on loan from businessman Tim Tan, one of the owners of Poliform, a leading distributor of Italian furniture and lighting in the country. Among those chosen from the collection is the collab between art and design icons Takashi Murakami and the late Virgil Abloh, an intriguing Tracey Emin in neon, George Condo’s example of Psychological Cubism, a beguiling portrait of a woman preparing for a party by young artist Grace Weaver, and a mysterious figure in purple by Czech artist Vojtech Kovarik.  For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/BenildeCampusArt/.

‘Manila: Born from the waters’ exhibit

INSTITUTO Cervantes de Manila will hold an exhibit by Spanish artist Teresa Esteban, titled “Manila: Born from the waters,” in its center in Intramuros (calle Real, Plaza San Luis, Intramuros, Manila). The exhibit will be open every day starting Feb. 23 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. until April 16, 2023 (except for Holy Thursday until Easter Sunday). Based on historical documents and maps, Spanish artist Teresa Esteban attempts to make a graphic and aesthetic analysis of the urban evolution of Manila, to tell the story of the Philippine capital from its beginnings in Intramuros to the current city. The exhibit, which consists of 27 works, aims to show the evolution of the city, the different worlds and the history that led it to be the mega city it is now, full of activity. Teresa Esteban is a sculptor by profession. In 2001, while living in Italy as a scholar of the Spanish Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Rome, she expanded her artistic expression to include architecture and urbanism. This exhibit is open to all and is free of charge. “Manila: Born from the waters” is organized by Instituto Cervantes in collaboration with the Embassy of Spain in the Philippines — AECID. For further information, send an email to cenmni@cervantes.es or follow them on social media (www.facebook.com/InstitutoCervantesManila/).

GoTyme sees sustained customer growth

GOTYME BANK expects its customer base to continue growing amid increased demand for digital financial services and as it leverages partnerships.

GoTyme Bank President and Chief Executive Officer Nate Clarke said their users have reached 250,000 since they started operating in late October 2022, better than their expectations.

“We’re ahead of schedule. The demand has been growing, it’s been faster. We’re actually in the process now of reforecasting,” Mr. Clarke said in an event earlier this month.

“About four months ago, I shared that we were shooting for just over 5 million [users] in the first three years of operations. But with the way things are going, I think we could beat that,” he said.

The digital bank is also aiming to reach 10 million users in the first five years after its launch.

Mr. Clarke said the bank might be able to onboard 250,000 users a month once it starts ramping up promotions.

“We haven’t even started marketing yet. You haven’t seen us on billboards or on TV. So, in the second half of the year or the middle of the year, we’re gonna start to really go, and then maybe we’ll be at 250,000 a month,” he said.

The digital bank’s recent partnership with Cebu Pacific will also help with its growth, GoTyme Co-CEO and Chief Commercial Officer Albert Raymund O. Tinio added.

“In terms of our subscribers, we started off three months ago with very conservative expectations. But now, it’s gone beyond that,” he said.

“I think this (partnership with Cebu Pacific), together with our desire to get to the grass roots and democratize [travel], it’s going to exponentially help us grow as GoTyme bank and ultimately contribute to our mission of unlocking every Pinoy’s potential,” he added.

The digital bank launched its travel rewards partnership with Cebu Pacific and Go Rewards earlier this month.

GoTyme Bank is a partnership between the Gokongwei Group, which holds a 60% stake, and Singapore-based digital banking group Tyme, which has 40%.

It is one of the six entities that secured licenses to operate as digital banks from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in 2021, with the others being Tonik Digital Bank, Inc., Maya Bank, Overseas Filipino Bank, UNObank, and UnionDigital.

The BSP has said it will not accept new applications for all-online lenders for two or three years as it needs to boost its capacity to regulate these banks and also promote competition in the sector.

Digital lenders are expected to help the central bank reach its goal to bring 70% of Filipino adults into the formal financial system and have 50% of payments done online by the end of this year. — A.M.C. Sy

Innovation to address unmet medical needs

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has demonstrated the impact of the biopharmaceutical industry’s performance in the area of innovation. Within a year, for example, a COVID-19 vaccine was developed, and the succeeding months showed biopharmaceutical companies scale up manufacturing for wider vaccines’ reach. Important treatment innovations for mild, moderate and severe cases were also developed and made available. As a result of these, millions of lives were saved.

The 11th annual Pharmaceutical Innovation and Invention Index (PII) listed the biopharmaceutical companies that are leading the way when it comes to invention and innovation in search for medicines and vaccines to address unmet medical needs.

The PII explained that not every act of invention is one of innovation. It defined innovation as the long-term realization of the value of an invention, and a foundation for future growth. A pharmaceutical invention means little if it can’t be leveraged in a way that provides value to patients and the public and the society as whole.

Among the companies that figured in the latest report were Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Merck & Co., Takeda, Roche, and Sanofi. Also in the list were GlaxoSmithKline, Moderna, Novo Nordisk, Bayer, Astellas, Boehringer Ingelheim, Eisai, Merck KGaA, Otsuka, and Novartis. These companies have developed, manufactured and made available vaccines and treatments for COVID-19, while at the same making headways in non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular, chronic respiratory illnesses, diabetes and cancer among others. Some of them also focused on the so-called rare diseases, or conditions that affect only a few in the population.

In the Novartis Annual Results Press Conference held this month, the Swiss company’s CEO Vas Narasimhan said that fewer than 10% of diseases known to affect humans are currently treatable. Globally, people also live an average of 10 years with a disease or disability. Yet new treatments broadly still reach only a fraction of eligible patients, and manageable conditions like heart disease cause millions of avoidable deaths each year.

In 2022, Novartis invested $10 billion in R&D; secured 23 approvals in the United States, European Union, China and Japan for new medicines and new indications for existing medicines. It is also conducting 44 ongoing Phase III programs in its development pipeline.

Meanwhile, it reached 54.6 million patients through access programs predominantly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Novartis Innovative Medicines and Novartis Global Health reached 290 million patients, while an additional 453 million patients were reached with its generic arm.

“Our performance in 2022 showed that we are making progress in addressing society’s greatest disease burdens,” Mr. Narasimhan said. “Our focus on cardiovascular diseases, for example, gives countries and healthcare systems solutions to address the world’s leading cause of death and disability.”

Novartis also reached R&D milestones in 2022. A positive Phase III readout was seen for an investigational first-in-class, oral medicine for the treatment of a rare and deadly disease in which the innate immune system destroys red blood cells.

As biopharmaceutical companies continue innovating for patients, the company is aware that millions around the world are still without proper access to healthcare. “Translating the latest science into lasting progress requires us to work with healthcare systems and other stakeholders to advance access for underserved patients in LMICs, while also tackling access barriers in some of the wealthiest countries in the world,” Mr. Narasimhan said.   

With this, Novartis was the first to sign up as a partner for the Access to Oncology Medicines (ATOM) Coalition, a global partnership launched by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) in 2022, The goal of this partnership is to increase access to quality-assured essential cancer medicines in low- and lower middle-income countries (LMICs),  and to help countries develop the capacity for their proper use. In the Philippines, the company implements various patient support programs to help patients gain access to innovative medicines for a number of diseases.

The PII said that an invention is all about ringing ideas or technologies together in a novel way to create something that did not exist before. On the other hand, innovation is the return on invention or the creation of meaningful value from invention.

From specific examples on how pharmaceutical inventions have reached, saved and improve patients’ lives, it is clear that these innovations have been addressing unmet medical needs for the benefit of patients and the society as a whole.

 

Teodoro B. Padilla is the executive director of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines, which represents the biopharmaceutical medicine and vaccine industry in the country. Its members are in the forefront of research and development efforts for COVID-19 and other diseases that affect Filipinos.

iPeople sees ‘good year’ as enrollment figures grow

LISTED education company iPeople, Inc. performed well in 2022 on the back of the country’s economic recovery and growth in its enrollment numbers, a company official said.

“I think in general, our enrollment growth has been quite strong. 2022 was a good year. Our total enrollment has grown by double-digits,” iPeople President Alfredo I. Ayala told reporters on the sidelines of a recent press conference in Makati City.

In 2021, the company recorded a consolidated net income of P663.79 million, up 174.1% from P242.17 million in 2020. It has yet to disclose its financial report for 2022.

“I think our total new enrollment growth is about 15%. That is the best leading indicator,” he said, referring to the freshmen coming in.

“That is across the whole group. We’re pretty happy with the way that both the economy has recovered plus because we’ve really embraced blended learning, we’ve been able to grow,” he added.

iPeople said in a previous stock exchange disclosure that the higher net income for 2021 was due to the stronger operating results of schools amid higher revenues, lower expenses, and lower income taxes after the approval of Republic Act No. 11534 or the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act.

Meanwhile, Mr. Ayala said the company is focusing on its collaboration with Arizona State University (ASU) signed in 2022, which is expected to bring more signups to Mapua schools this year.

The collaboration gives various opportunities for the students to learn from ASU and other educational institutions across the world as Mapua schools also became members of the ASU-Cintana Alliance. iPeople joined the global network consisting of 15 of some of the most innovative higher education institutions in the Americas, Europe, and Asia.

“We also launched last year Mapua Malayan Digital College. It is a unit of Mapua Malayan Colleges Laguna. 100% of the classes are online, plus there are learning hubs in Ayala Malls. Technology allows not just access but the reduction of cost,” Mr. Ayala said.

iPeople is under Ayala Corp. and the Yuchengcos’ House of Investments, with a stake of 33.5% and 51%, respectively.

The company owns seven educational institutions, namely: Mapua University, Mapua Malayan Colleges Laguna, Mapua Malayan Colleges Mindanao, and Malayan High School of Science in Manila operating under Malayan Education System, Inc.; University of Nueva Caceres in Bicol; National Teachers College; and APEC Schools.

On Tuesday, iPeople shares dropped seven centavos or 0.93% to close at P7.42 each at the local stock exchange. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

All Quiet on the Western Front triumphs at BAFTA Awards

A STILL from the film All Quiet on the Western Front

LONDON, Feb. 19 — A German remake of anti-war classic All Quiet on the Western Front was the big winner at the British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) on Sunday, triumphing in the key categories at the ceremony seen as an indicator for next month’s Oscars.

Based on the 1928 novel by German author Erich Maria Remarque about the horrors of World War I from the perspective of a young German soldier, the Netflix drama had led nominations, with 14 nods, making it one of the most recognized films not in the English language in BAFTA’s history.

It won seven awards overall: best film, adapted screenplay, film not in the English language, director for Edward Berger, cinematography, sound and original score.

“German language film, we’ve been blessed with so many nominations and winning this is just incredible,” producer Malte Grunert said in his acceptance speech for best film.

“All Quiet on the Western Front tells a story of a young man who, poisoned by right-wing political nationalist propaganda, goes to war thinking it’s an adventure, and war is anything but an adventure. That is one of the messages of Remarque’s seminal novel and when we started embarking on this… that seemed a relevant message even 100 years after the book was published.”

Austin Butler won the leading actor prize for his portrayal of Elvis Presley in Elvis. He thanked the Presley family in his acceptance speech.

“I hope I’ve made you proud, this means the world to me,” he said.

Cate Blanchett won the leading actress prize for her portrayal of a gay conductor of a Berlin orchestra whose career comes tumbling down due to an abuse scandal in Tár, an undertaking she described as “very dangerous and career-ending potentially”.

Banshees, about two feuding friends on an island off the coast of Ireland, won outstanding British film, both supporting acting categories for Kerry Condon and Barry Keoghan as well as original screenplay.

Navalny, about jailed Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny, won the documentary category. Filmmakers dedicated the award to the Navalny family and Bulgarian investigative journalist Christo Grozev.

The journalist, whom Russia put on a wanted list in December, said on Friday he had been “banned by British police from attending” the BAFTAs for security reasons.

In response, London police said they did not and could not ban anyone from attending a private event. Decisions on attendance were for event organizers, it said.

Sandy Powell became the first costume designer to get the BAFTA Fellowship, the highest honor bestowed by the Academy.

The BAFTAs also remembered Britain’s late Queen Elizabeth, who died in September. Actress Helen Mirren, who won both a BAFTA and an Oscar for her portrayal of Elizabeth in 2006 film The Queen, led a tribute. -— Reuters

Manila ranks 36th in 45-city Prime Global Cities Index

Manila’s prime residential prices dropped by 1.6% year on year in the fourth quarter of 2022 according to the latest edition of the Prime Global Cities Index by real estate consultancy firm Knight Frank. Placing 36th out of 45 cities, the Philippine capital stood ahead of Hong Kong (37th), Seoul (39th), and Shenzhen (40th).

Manila ranks 36<sup>th</sup> in 45-city Prime Global Cities Index

How PSEi member stocks performed — February 21, 2023

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Tuesday, February 21, 2023.

Shares rise on bargain hunting, financial results

BW FILE PHOTO

PHILIPPINE SHARES rebounded on Tuesday on bargain hunting as more listed companies released their financial reports for 2022 and ahead of the release of the minutes of the US Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) went up by 56.84 points or 0.84% to end at 6,800.96 on Tuesday, while the broader all shares index gained 13.86 points or 0.38% to close at 3,621.61.

“Stocks rebounded from key support levels as the 2022 earnings reporting season kicked in. However, volume was thin as traders await the release of the US Fed minutes, which will lay out the Fed’s plan for US monetary policy,” AB Capital Securities, Inc. Vice-President Jovis L. Vistan said in a Viber message.

Mr. Vistan said trading volume was thin as traders remain cautious on the next move of the US central bank.

Minutes of the Fed’s Jan. 31 to Feb. 1 meeting will be released on Wednesday. At that review, the US central bank raised its target interest rate by 25 basis points to a range between 4.5% and 4.75%.

Some Fed officials recently said they would support a bigger rate hike at their March 21-22 meeting following the release of data showing sticky US consumer inflation.

“The local stock market gauge corrected higher after generally better corporate sales and earnings results recently as the economy reopened towards greater normalcy,” Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a Viber message.

“The local market has rebounded after hitting bottom yesterday, as investors take advantage of oversold levels to buy stocks,” Timson Securities, Inc. Head of Online Trading Marc Kebinson L. Lood said in a Viber message on Tuesday.

Philstocks Financial, Inc. Research Analyst Claire T. Alviar said in a Viber message that stocks rose as investors bought bargains after the market’s recent decline.

Almost all sectoral indices closed higher on Tuesday except for services, which declined by 16.58 points or 0.97% to 1,683.99.

Meanwhile, financials climbed by 28.49 points or 1.57% to 1,840.24; holding firms went up by 83.20 points or 1.28% to 6,540.54; mining and oil added 137.65 points or 1.24% to end at 11,228.63; property gained 17.59 points or 0.59% to 2,962.19; and industrials rose by 11.75 points or 0.12% to end the session at 9,738.29.

Value turnover went up to P3.52 billion on Tuesday with 611.20 million shares changing hands from the P3.3 billion with 483.44 million issues traded on Monday.

Decliners outnumbered advancers, 94 versus 79, while 50 names closed unchanged.

Net foreign selling went up to P150.30 million on Tuesday from P43.79 million on Monday.

AB Capital Securities’ Mr. Vistan placed the PSEi’s immediate support at 6,740 and resistance at 6,840. — A.E.O. Jose

Peso weakens ahead of key US economic data

THE PESO weakened against the greenback on Tuesday due to the dollar’s strength ahead of key US data and geopolitical concerns.

The local currency closed at P55.085 versus the greenback on Tuesday, declining by 13.5 centavos from Monday’s P54.95 finish, Bankers Association of the Philippines data showed.

The peso opened Tuesday’s trading session slightly stronger at P54.94 per dollar. Its intraday best was at P54.91, while its weakest showing was at P55.10 against the greenback.

Dollars traded rose to $1.035 billion on Tuesday from $717.4 million on Monday.

“The peso depreciated amid geopolitical concerns on the Russia-Ukraine conflict after US President Biden made a surprise visit to Kyiv,” a trader said in an e-mail.

US President Joseph R. Biden on Monday made a surprise visit to Kyiv to send a message of “enduring support” for Ukraine and announce further military aid for the army of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Reuters reported.

The State department announced a further $460 million in US aid to Ukraine, including $450 million worth of artillery ammunition, anti-armor systems and air defense radars, and $10 million for energy infrastructure.

The dollar’s strength against other major currencies also dragged down the local unit, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a Viber message.

The dollar hovered around its highest in six weeks, ahead of data this week that could offer direction on future interest rates, Reuters reported.

Strong US labor data and sticky inflation have raised US rate expectations and supported the dollar’s rally this month, and Tuesday’s European and US manufacturing data and Friday’s core personal consumption expenditures price index will guide the US Federal Reserve’s next steps.

After a quiet Monday during the Presidents’ Day holiday in the United States, the dollar stood at 134.65 yen, up 0.3% and was up 0.2% against the euro at $1.0665.

The US dollar index is on track for a fourth week of gains and is up about 1.7% through February so far, but has steadied around 104, down from a six-week high of 104.67 hit on Friday.

The US central bank hiked its fed funds rate by 25 basis points (bps) to a range between 4.5% and 4.75% at its Jan. 31 to Feb. 1 meeting. This brought cumulative increases since March 2022 to 450 bps.

The Fed’s next policy review is on March 21-22.

The peso might continue to weaken moving forward as the market awaits the release of the minutes of the Fed’s policy meeting on Wednesday, the trader said.

The trader sees the peso moving from P55 to P55.25 on Wednesday, while Mr. Ricafort expects it to trade between P54.95 and P55.15 per dollar. — A.M.C. Sy with Reuters

Kaliwa Dam construction progress hits 22%

A MAN arrives at a shallow part of Agos River, where the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System is planning to build a dam. — PHILSTAR FILE PHOTO / EFIGENIO TOLEDO IV

THE Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) said on Tuesday that the Kaliwa Dam in Rizal and Quezon provinces is now 22% complete.

“(Including) detailed engineering design… the Kaliwa Dam is now 22% complete,” Leonor C. Cleofas, MWSS administrator, told reporters.

Ms. Cleofas said that MWSS hopes to complete the Kaliwa Dam, which will serve as the new source of water for Metro Manila, by the end of 2026, with operations commencing by 2027. 

Last year, the MWSS said a memorandum of agreement was concluded with the indigenous peoples around the Kaliwa river, a waterway in Rizal and Quezon provinces.

The Dumagat-Remontado indigenous peoples who have an ancestral domain claim, received a P160-million “disturbance fee” for the construction of the dam.

“It was a recognition that they are the owners of the ancestral domain; again, there is no transfer of ownership. Their ownership for the land is being recognized through the disturbance fee,” Josefina R. Agusti, regional hearing officer of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples Calabarzon, told reporters.

She said P80 million each was distributed to Tanay Dumagat-Remontado Ancestral Domain Development, Inc. and to Pinagtaanan ne Dumagat-Remontado de General Nakar, the two IP organizations will also receive a share of the revenue, known as the “benefit share,” once the dam starts operations. 

“After the awarding of P80 million, of course we will be expecting their yearly benefit share which is P36 million for General Nakar, Quezon. For Tanay, Rizal, that is another P10 million per year,” Ms. Agusti said.

The Kaliwa Dam is a bulk water supply project which is a component of the New Centennial Water Source program of the MWSS. It is expected to supply 600 million liters per day of water.  — Ashley Erika O. Jose

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