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Angels beat final-bound HD Spikers in four sets

THE POWER-HITTING Ms. Vander Weide sprayed a match-best 30 hits as the Angels improved to 2-1, the same output by the HD Spikers. — PVL

LINDSEY Vander Weide powered through a tired and weary Cignal and Petro Gazz essayed a 25-14, 25-21, 25-27, 25-19 victory yesterday to remain in finals contention in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Reinforced Conference at the PhilSports Arena.

The power-hitting Ms. Vander Weide sprayed a match-best 30 hits as the Angels improved to 2-1, the same output by the HD Spikers.

Cignal, however, had already booked the first slot to the best-of-three finals via its superior set ratio.

Petro Gazz seals the last spot to the finals if Creamline loses to Chery Tiggo in its game at press time.

It was another emphatic win by 2019 Reinforced Conference champions, who came into this game riding high on a 25-15, 25-17, 25-13 massacre of the Chery Tiggo Crossovers at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Sunday.

“It definitely feels good with these two big wins right before the finals,” said Ms. Vander Weide.

Ms. Vander Weide got the needed support including those from MJ Philips, who had 13 points including seven magnificent blocks, and Aiza Pontillas, who scattered 10 points.

It was, however, Ms. Vander Weide’s connection with setter Djanel Cheng that spelled the biggest difference.

“Me and Ms. Cheng were meshing tonight (yesterday) and this is the game I needed to score high and I’m glad it went well,” said Ms. Vander Weide.

Cignal was a shadow of its once glorious self after slaying heavy title favorite Creamline, 23-25, 25-23, 28-26, 25-18, also Sunday that pushed it on the cusp of making the PVL for the first time.

There was little energy left in tank for the HD Spikers as they dropped against the well-rested and energetic Angels, who had a quick straight set triumph in their last game.

Cignal showed some fight in the third set after Tai Bierria went on a spiking spree that saw it snatching the set and cutting its deficit to two sets to one.

It turned out its last hurrah as Vander Weidei reimposed her iron will and sealed the deal. — Joey Villar

Falcons eye outright Final Four berth against the Blue Eagles

ADAMSON UNIVERSITY FALCONS COACH NASH RACELA — PHILIPPINE STAR/ RUSSELL PALMA

Games Wednesday
(Smart Araneta Coliseum)
Women’s Final Four
9 a.m. — NU vs ADMU
11 a.m. — DLSU vs UST
Men’s elimination
2 p.m. — DLSU vs UST
4 p.m. — ADMU vs AdU

ADAMSON University (AdU) shoots for an outright ticket as the last passenger to the Final Four bus with no further complications when it attempts to pull the rug from under Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) in the final elimination playdate of the UAAP Season 85 men’s basketball tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Clinging at solo fourth spot with a 7-6 card for full game advantage over No. 5 De La Salle (6-7), a win by the Falcons at 4 p.m. would book them to a straight fight to the semifinals — without any detour or layover.

Otherwise, given a De La Salle victory in the first game at 2 p.m. against cellar dweller Santo Tomas (1-12), the Falcons would still have to go through a playoff for No. 4 with the Archers by virtue of a tie at 7-7.

Reigning champion University of the Philippines or UP (11-3), Ateneo (10-3) and National University or NU (9-5) were the first three teams to book their seats in the semis with the Fighting Maroons and the Blue Eagles clinching twice-to-beat advantages as sure top two finishers.

Ateneo actually sports a chance to finish at No. 1 over rival UP for strategic playoff positioning with a win against Adamson.

A victory by the Blue Eagles would also keep a small window of opportunity for their other rivals in the Green Archers to stay alive as long as they take care of business against the Growling Tigers -— turning the last playdate into a crucial one with huge implications for all concerned squads.

That possibility, however, only makes the Soaring Falcons extra motivated to crash the party and spoil a highly-anticipated Ateneo-La Salle collision in the Final Four.

“Well actually, a lot of people are counting us out already, because they want De La Salle to make it to the Final Four. I don’t know, maybe they’re anticipating Ateneo No. 1 and De La Salle No. 4 for the semis,” said Adamson mentor Nash Racela.

“I know how people think. We want to counter that. That’s actually our goal. Expectations and reality are always different so we’ll try our best. We’ll try our absolute best.”

Ateneo, for its part, will march into battle with only one goal regardless of an array of fates at stake in their hands.

“Playing Adamson today is a huge affair. It allows us to finish top of the table, and I don’t think many people would have expected that at the beginning or in the middle of the season. We will play to win. There’s only one way to play the game of basketball — play to win,” said Ateneo coach Tab Baldwin.

Meanwhile in women’s hoops Final Four action, six-time champion and No. 1 National University battles Ateneo at 9 a.m. while second-seeded De La Salle takes on University of Santo Tomas at 11 a.m. with hopes of maximizing their twice-to-beat bonus to arrange a quick finals date. — John Bryan Ulanday

It’s Blazers vs Letran in NCAA Season 98 Finals

COLLEGE of St. Benilde Blazers — NCAA/SYNERGY-GMA

CSB edges San Beda, 62-61; Letran outguns LPU 67-58

COLLEGE of St. Benilde’s (CSB) dream season is still on.

The Blazers added another first to its long list of breakthrough feats as they edged the San Beda Lions, 62-61, yesterday to secure a spot to the finals for the first time since making it that far exactly two decades ago in NCAA Season 98 at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.

After already setting foot to the Final Four for the first time in 22 years, CSB aims to write another historic chapter to its Cinderella story as it guns for a second title since its breakthrough crown in 2000.

“This year could be our year, I hope its going to be our destiny but of course, the finals will be tougher,” said CSB coach Charles Tiu. “I’m happy for the Benilde community because there has been a lot of heartbreaks, at least we’re back in the finals and achieved another goal.”

“Hopefully, we achieve one more,” he added.

Migz Oczon, who wasn’t even born yet when CSB last made the finals, was at the center of the CSB storm as the 22-year-old Davao City-born guard unleashed a game-high 17 points including a pristine eight-of-eight clip from the free throw line.

The last two charities, in fact, sealed the win as San Beda gunslinger James Kwekuteye’s potential game winning three-pointers clanked off the rim.

It made up for a horrendous shooting from the field where went three of 15 with all of his fieldgoals coming from beyond the arc.

But his Midas Touch from the line was enough to help the Blazers get them through the best-of-three finals.

“He’s put in the work, there was no doubt when he’s in the free throw line, I know he’s going to make it,” said Mr. Tiu. Oczon did.

It was a heartbreaker of a defeat for the Red Lions, who will not make the finals for the second straight season after making the finals 14 straight times starting in 2006. That stretch of excellence snared the once mighty San Beda dynasty an impressive 11 championships.

Now it could be CSB’s turn.

Letran trounced Lyceum of the Philippines (LPU), 67-58, to seal the other spot to the best-of-three finals starting on Dec. 4 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. — Joey Villar

The Scores:

First Game

CSB 62 — Oczon 17, Pasturan 16, Gozum 10, Nayve 8, Corteza 7, Sangco 4, Cullar 0, Carlos 0, Marcos 0, Lepalam 0, Lim 0.

San Beda 61 — Cortez 13, Kwekuteye 11, Bahio 9, Sanchez 8, Ynot 6, Cuntapay 4, Andrada 3, Cometa 3, Alfaro 2, Visser 2, Payosing 0.

Quarterscores: 19-14, 34-31, 54-48, 62-61

Second Game

Letran 67 — Yu 11, Caralipio 10, Sangalang 9, Paraiso 9, Javillonar 8, Reyson 7, Olivario 6, Monje 4, Go 3, Ariar 0, Guarinio 0

LPU 58 — Valdez 15, Guadaña 14, Bravo 6, Larupay 6, Montano 5, Umali 3, Penafiel 3, Navarro 2, Barba 2, Villegas 1, Vinoya 1, Cunanan 0

Quarterscores: 13-17; 30-28; 50-45; 67-58

Lakers, Pacers deal

Will they or won’t they? That’s the question on the minds of many a hoops fan in the face of the deal both the Lakers and Pacers appear to want — but remain unable — to consummate. On one side is the embattled Russell Westbrook, and on the other are vital cogs Miles Turner and Buddy Hield — with a swap of the assets seemingly profiting all concerned. Leverage — or, to be more precise, the constant jockeying for position to create one — is the biggest reason, but there can also be no discounting the state of flux with which objectives are being set.

Notably, the impetus to win isn’t as pronounced with the low-key Pacers as with the always-under-the-microscope Lakers. In fact, it can be argued that, given generational talent Victor Wembanyama’s availability in the 2023 rookie draft, there is cause for the blue and gold to go the other way. They most certainly don’t want to be stuck in the middle: not bad enough to be a factor in the sweepstakes for the 7’3” sensation, and yet not good enough to even cast moist eyes on the hardware.

Needless to say, that’s not the case with the Lakers. For one thing, they need to make the most of the twilight years of top dog LeBron James; for all the athleticism he has lost to age and injury, he remains a formidable force who can propel the purple and gold to success with ample and, more importantly, proper support. Whether Turner and Hield can provide exactly the type of assistance that he needs and that can thrive alongside him remains to be seen. On paper, though, they check all the boxes, providing long-range shooting with a greater degree of accuracy on offense and significant coverage on defense.

Perhaps the Lakers will be spurred to err on the side of caution in light of their recent run of victories. They might have had a light schedule that included three outings against the lowly Spurs, but they met expectations. And Westbrook, beyond the still-abhorrent statistics, looks to have found a niche as a sixth man. No doubt, they’re likewise compelled to tread lightly since any arrangement with the Pacers means letting go of their 2027 and 2029 first-round picks, adding to the of their inevitable rebuild once James retires.

Who knows when — or if — the Lakers and Pacers finally agree on a mutually beneficial arrangement? Maybe they will, or maybe they won’t, but this much is true: The result of their encounter yesterday will have no bearing on their ultimate course of action.

 

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications, and business development.

China street protests highlight Xi’s coronavirus policy dilemma

SCREENSHOT VIA APEC

BEIJING — The rare street protests that erupted in cities across China over the weekend were a referendum against President Xi Jinping’s zero-COVID policy and the strongest public defiance during his political career, China analysts said.

Not since the protests of Tiananmen Square in 1989 have so many Chinese risked arrest and other repercussions to take to the streets over a single issue.

“During Xi Jinping’s 10 years in power, these are the most public and most widespread displays of anger by the citizenry against government policy,” said Bates Gill, a China expert with Asia Society.

Public dissatisfaction with Mr. Xi’s zero-COVID policy, expressed on social media or offline in the form of putting up posters in universities or by protesting, is Xi’s biggest domestic challenge since the 2019 protests in Hong Kong against an extradition bill.

Mr. Xi had claimed personal responsibility for leading the “war” against COVID-19, justified zero-COVID with a need to “put people above everything” and counted his “correct” COVID policy among his political achievements when he sought a precedent-breaking third term at the 20th Communist Party Congress in October.

Nearly three years into the pandemic, China says its policies are not geared towards having zero cases at all times but instead, are about “dynamically” taking action when cases surface.

Even though the protests are embarrassing for Mr. Xi, they come nowhere near to toppling him, analysts said, because he has full control of the party, military, security and propaganda machinery.

RESISTING LOCKDOWN
While some protesters chanted “Down with Xi Jinping, Down with Chinese Communist Party,” most other people only concerned themselves with resisting a lockdown of their residential compounds or exemption from frequent tests for the virus.

“Once these self-interests are met, most people will be appeased and will move on,” said Chen Daoyin, a former associate professor at Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, now a commentator based in Chile.

Students were not highly organized or led by a central figure, Chen said. Protests took place in Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Chengdu and Urumqi.

At the time of the Tiananmen protests and crackdown by Chinese authorities, the last occasion that demonstrations led to the replacement of the party’s general secretary, there were internal divisions amongst top party leaders about how to manage the crisis and what path to take China in future.

Not the case with Mr. Xi. With the Congress, Mr. Xi renewed his term as party leader and military commander-in-chief and placed his acolytes in all the important positions in the party. Leaders who have previously expressed contrarian views or governed in a different style from him were marginalized.

Although this authoritarian arrangement allowed Mr. Xi to be more powerful, it also contains vulnerabilities, as exposed by the protests, analysts said.

“By only surrounding himself with people who say the things he like to hear, Mr. Xi traps himself in an echo chamber, which could’ve led him to underestimate or be out of touch with how much people have suffered from his COVID policy,” said Lance Gore, a China expert at East Asian Institute in Singapore.

The protests magnify what has been a mounting predicament for Xi: how to walk back from a policy that was initially a point of pride but is becoming a growing liability.

If he were to bend to public pressure and roll back zero-COVID, he would appear weak, which might encourage people to take to the streets in future whenever they want change.

“If he lets go, it would mean that his past zero-COVID policy has completely failed and he would have to take responsibility for it. This makes him lose face,” said Teng Biao, Chinese human rights activist, lawyer and scholar.

It is not in Mr. Xi’s character to give in, the analysts said.

Mr. Xi has emphasized the need to prevent a “color revolution,” or anti-government protests, most recently when he spoke at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Uzbekistan in September. He has also lamented in a closed-door speech that the Soviet Communist Party collapsed because no one was “man enough” to rise to the challenge.

If he were to change course on his COVID-19 policy before China was prepared, it could lead to widespread illness, death, and an overwhelmed medical system, consequences that are hard to swallow.

But if he brazens through before finding a way to declare victory and dial back, he risks more anger from an increasingly fed-up citizenry while economic growth sputters.

Mr. Xi tried tweaking the zero-COVID policy with the release of “20 measures” last month, in an attempt to standardize prevention measures nationwide and make them friendlier to residents and to the economy.

But as Mr. Xi has not officially renounced the need to curb all outbreaks, many local authorities are still erring on the side of caution and implementing stricter lockdowns and quarantine rules than stipulated in the “20 measures”.

“At this stage they seem to be clueless,” said Willy Lam, a senior fellow at the Jamestown Foundation.

“On the one hand, Xi Jinping and his faction seemed to be all powerful. But at the same time, … we see a total absence of response from the new administration.” — Reuters

German government defends plan to ease citizenship rules

People relax aboard a tourist vessel on the river Spree during a sunny day in Berlin, Germany, April 4, 2018. — REUTERS

BERLIN — Germany’s government on Monday defended a plan to make it easier for people to apply for citizenship, countering complaints from within the ruling coalition and the opposition that it might encourage illegal immigration.

The government has said it wants to boost immigration and training to tackle a skills shortage weighing on Europe’s largest economy at a time of weakening growth, and when an aging population is piling pressure on the public pension system.

A position paper obtained by Reuters — and earlier reported on by the German news site t-online — shows the government wants to do that in part by significantly reducing the income threshold for migration and introducing a points system.

“Anyone who lives and works here on a permanent basis should also be able to vote and be elected, they should be part of our country with all the rights and duties that go with it,” Chancellor Olaf Scholz said at a televised immigration forum.

“And this should be completely independent of origin, skin color or religious affiliation,” he added.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, from Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD), has outlined plans to cut the maximum number of years a person must wait before becoming a citizen from eight to five, and lift restrictions on dual nationality.

German language requirements for citizenship would also be eased for members of the so-called Gastarbeiter generation, many of them Turkish, who came to Germany in the 1950s and 1960s as migrant workers.

Mr. Scholz further said that Germany, echoing a policy in other countries, would introduce a “transparent, unbureaucratic” immigration points system to allow foreigners who have the right qualifications to apply for work.

It would also be made easier to study or obtain qualifications in Germany, he said.

Mr. Scholz defended allowing immigrants to hold dual citizenship, arguing that “belonging and identity are not a zero-sum game.”

The draft legislation will be discussed by cabinet on Wednesday, Mr. Scholz said, after which it must be put to lawmakers in the Bundestag, the lower house of parliament.

The secretary-general of the FDP, the junior partner in coalition with the SPD and environmentalist Greens, has spoken out against the plan. In an interview with the Rheinische Post, Bijan Djir-Sarai questioned its timing while decrying a lack of progress on deportations and combating illegal migration.

Ms. Faeser played down differences in the coalition and said that all parties had signed up to the plan in their coalition agreement. The legal changes could take effect in the summer of 2023, she added. — Reuters

Toyota’s October global vehicle production up 23%

REUTERS

TOKYO — Toyota Motor Corp. reported on Tuesday a 23% rise in October global vehicle output, beating its own target for a third month in a row, as the industry strives to get past persistent chip shortages that have hobbled production.

The Japanese automaker produced 771,382 vehicles globally in October, above a downgraded target of 750,000 units and up 23% from the same month a year earlier.

But growth slowed from record monthly output of more than 887,000 cars manufactured in September, and Toyota continues to face supply chain disruptions as China battles nationwide coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreaks and implements restrictions and lockdowns.

The company said on Tuesday it was adjusting some operations in China due to COVID lockdowns.

Earlier this month Toyota cut its annual output target, as it battles surging material costs and a persistent chip shortage.

A Toyota executive in charge of purchasing said at the time that the global auto chip shortage would continue, as chipmakers have prioritized supplies for electronics goods, while natural disasters, COVID lockdowns and factory disruptions have slowed a recovery in auto chip supplies.

Toyota expects to produce 9.2 million vehicles this fiscal year ending March 2023, down from the previous forecast of 9.7 million but still ahead of last financial year’s production of about 8.6 million units. — Reuters

S&P Global lowers 2023 growth forecast for emerging markets

REUTERS

S&P GLOBAL RATINGS lowered its 2023 growth forecast for emerging economies on Tuesday, citing persistent pressures from the Russia-Ukraine conflict, a lingering COVID-19 pandemic and tight monetary policy conditions.

The ratings agency now projects real gross domestic product growth of 3.8% next year, down from its previous forecast of a 4.1% expansion.

“The downward revision to growth comes from all EMs (emerging markets) excluding China and Saudi Arabia, with most economies poised to expand below their longer-run trend rates,” it said, adding that forecasts for 2024 and 2025 remain broadly unchanged, averaging at 4.3%.

While inflation in emerging markets have passed the peak or are peaking soon on the back of declining food and fuel inflation, it is still poised to remain above central banks’ targets in many economies, forcing monetary policies to stay restrictive, the agency warned.

“But the deceleration in inflation — coupled with a worsening growth outlook — could bring policy easing onto the agenda in several EMs, especially in Latin America, by the middle of next year,” S&P said. — Reuters

Hope for coconut farmers: What the President can do

DIANA KULENIUK-UNSPLASH

(Part 2)

The 3.5 million coconut farmers all over the Philippines can benefit significantly if the Lionheart Farms model can be replicated all over the Philippines in those 62 provinces growing this crop that has so much potential for product diversification.

If there are large corporate groups that are now considering getting into palm oil production, especially in Mindanao, there is even more reason for those contemplating large-scale corporate farming to invest in coconuts to take advantage of the growing demand worldwide for the numerous food products that can be manufactured from this crop such as coconut water, coconut milk, coconut sugar, organic shredded coconut, virgin coconut oil (VCO), coco jam, and many others, not to mention the non-food derivatives like coconut charcoal, coir, and husks for biothermal uses.

A few other models of small coconut farmers being organized by a large corporate enterprise to grow coconuts and process them into high-value food products are Cardinal Agri Products in Brookes Point, Palawan, not far from Lionheart Farms, and Axelum Resources Corp. in Medina, Misamis Oriental. These two agribusiness enterprises coming out with high-value food products from coconut have differing ways of working with small coconut farmers. The ultimate result is that they are able to consolidate the products of thousands of small farmers and help them improve productivity at the farm level and transform their coconuts into different food items that fetch more value than copra or coconut oil.

An example of a high-value product is Axelum’s Fiesta Coconut Cream, the thick creamy white liquid extracted from fresh and finely selected coconuts, which is then UHT-processed to preserve the freshness and natural flavor of newly squeezed coconut milk. It is packed in 25-liter aseptic bags in a carton and 200-liter aseptic bags in a drum. It comes on two variants: stabilized and stabilizer-free, to address the needs of food manufacturers such as those in the beverage, ice cream and frozen dessert sectors.

Unfortunately, the examples of Lionheart Farm, Axelum, and Cardinal Agri Products are exceptions to the rule. Attempts to consolidate small holdings into larger units have been hampered by so much red tape and bureaucracy, especially from the Department of Agrarian Reform that seems to be oblivious of the fact that the CARP (Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program) Law already expired more than eight years ago.

There is still the compulsion to continue fragmenting lands rather than facilitating their consolidations to help attain economies of scale, especially in the coconut industry.

In this regard, let me summarize again the findings and conclusion of a doctoral dissertation that was presented to the University of Navarre a few years back by Dr. Ramon de Vera, an accomplished agribusiness entrepreneur and banker. In his thesis, he analyzed the reasons for the failure of the CARP to improve the lot of small farmers. Dr. De Vera was deeply involved in Mindanao, in corporate farming of such products as bananas and pineapples, where the Philippines became one of the largest exporters of these fruits in the ASEAN. He was very familiar with successful farming systems in such high-value crops as bananas, pineapples, and sugar in large plantations around Davao and Bukidnon, among others.

In his thesis, Dr. De Vera demonstrated that effective and profitable farming often requires some economy of scale that will also allow for comparatively smaller investments in community infrastructure, such as housing, schools, clinics, power and water, and leisure parks. He especially cites the outstanding examples in Malaysia of the Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA) which developed more than 800,000 hectares of community plantation with farmers who attained higher standards of living in record time. FELDA as a business enterprise was so profitable that it used to be the third largest IPO listed company in the world, next only at some point in the past to Alibaba and Facebook. A similar initiative called the Federal Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority (FELCRA) grouped together small Malaysian farmers and established community farming centers, focusing on productivity that, in turn, resulted in higher levels of farmers’ incomes. In fact, during the peak of the FELDA/FELCRA implementation during the leadership of former Prime Minister Mahathir, Malaysia reduced its rural poverty from 62% to 11%.

Here we have a clue to how we can attain a 9% poverty incidence by the end of the present Administration, as targeted by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA). Today, Malaysia’s poverty incidence is close to zero percent, thanks to an optimum combination of industrialization and rural/agricultural development which was attained, among other factors, by land consolidation.

Learning from the experiences of the two Southeast Asian countries most successful in reducing rural poverty — Malaysia and Thailand — Dr. De Vera came out with the following very relevant recommendations, borne out of both his research and professional experience as an agribusiness entrepreneur:

1. Create incentives for investments and loans into agribusiness. Now that Foreign Direct Investments have been significantly liberalized through the amendment of the Public Service Act and the Foreign Investments Law, there should be a concerted effort to replicate the success story of Lionheart Farms that is owned and operated by a foreign business man.

It is fortunate at this time that the President is also the Secretary of Agriculture. He can focus much of his effort to attract foreign investors to large-scale investments in agribusiness, replicating our success stories with the likes of Del Monte and Dole in the past. Actually, I find it providential that the President chose to be Secretary of Agriculture. Increasing agricultural productivity requires very close coordination among several government departments like the Department of Agriculture, (DA) the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG). More often than not, these departments act as islands and have very little coordination with their respective policies and programs.

The big challenge of farm consolidation needed for us to follow the example of Malaysia cited above would need the close cooperation among those departments. The DA will identify the crops in which economies of scale are indispensable for high farm productivity, such as coconut, palm oil, mangoes, sugar, cacao, coffee, avocado, and many other high-value fruit trees. The DAR will have to make sure that its policies do not go against the ease of consolidating small farms. The DENR will be needed to identify public lands that can be leased to foreign direct investors who may want to be the government’s partner in implementing the FELDA solution to grow certain crops using the nucleus estate approach that worked so well in palm oil and rubber in Malaysia.

Only the President can wield the necessary executive power to put these agencies together, to find ways and means of removing the many legal and administrative obstacles that are standing in the way of farm consolidation.

In my opinion, the President should continue to be Secretary of Agriculture for as long as necessary for him to shepherd these different departments to have a united approach towards tackling the key problem of reaching economies of scale to increase agricultural productivity. In fact, as an extreme measure, he may even consider abolishing the DAR and assigning to a division of the Agriculture department the responsibility of helping the farmer beneficiaries make certain decisions towards farm consolidation, whether by forming cooperatives or being part of a nucleus estate approach.

(To be continued.)

 

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

bernardo.villegas@uap.asia

Strong links, genuine partnerships: Day 2 of the Pilipinas Conference

VARDAN PAPIKYAN-UNSPLASH

Day 2 of The Stratbase ADR Institute’s Pilipinas Conference was equally insightful as Day 1. On this day, the discussions centered on how the government can most effectively collaborate with the private sector in bringing about economic recovery, and sustained and inclusive development.

Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno opened the session on Nov. 22 by commending the strength and resilience shown by the business community during the dark days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He then said that effective public-private coordination holds the key to a host of desirable economic activities.

“We cannot achieve any of this alone,” he said, referring to the government’s goal of creating more high quality and green jobs, and investing in infrastructure, digitalization, and human capital development.

It is not just Secretary Diokno saying this. The Filipino people themselves have spoken on the matter. A Stratbase-commissioned Pulse Asia survey, conducted in September, showed that almost nine in 10 Filipinos agree that the private sector plays a crucial role in accelerating economic growth, and that the government and the private sector should engage in partnership to sustain the country’s recovery.

And because of people’s awareness of the crucial role of the private sector, it follows that 89% of respondents, with 62% strongly agreeing, are convinced that the government and the private sector should be partners in economic recovery.

Respondents believe there are several ways in which the private sector can help boost the Philippine economy, the most prominent of which are creating jobs (69%), helping uplift the lives of Filipinos out of poverty (65%), expanding livelihood opportunities (49%), and improving healthcare systems (37%).

Other areas of cooperation identified in the survey were improving the quality of and access to digital services (27% nationwide), managing natural resources and taking care of the environment (19%), developing public infrastructure (16%) and improving the quality of education (12%).

A highlight of the second day was a forum participated in by chief executives of some of the country’s leading corporations. The business leaders shared their insights on what they thought were priority areas that the government should focus on if the Philippines were to shift from a consumption-driven economy to an investment-driven economy.

The CEOs said they wanted to see a policy environment where the rules are clear and consistent.

“Money is the most cowardly of objects,” said Makati Business Club Treasurer and former Sun Life Philippines CEO and Country Head Rizalina Mantaring. “So, if you’re investing billions into the country, you have to be certain that rules won’t suddenly change. Sanctity of contracts, transparency, and rule of law are important for encouraging people to invest in the country.”

“We need to find a way to get all the information in a way that is clear, transparent, and that gives companies the certainty in order to run their business efficiently,” said ICTSI Executive Vice-President and Chief Risk Officer Christian Razon Gonzales.

Cosette Canilao, Aboitiz InfraCapital President and CEO, said it was important for the government to come out with real, transparent, and predictable qualifications so that the private sector can submit real unsolicited proposals.

The captains of industry also agreed that the manufacturing sector holds a lot of promise for the Philippine economy — but that it would be a big challenge.

“Manufacturing is a long-term investment for the country,” said PLDT President and CEO Alfredo “Al” Panlilio.

Ayala Corp. President and CEO Cezar “Bong” Consing said the Philippines can refer to the experiences of Japan, China, and Korea in transferring resources devoted to consumption toward investment.

“I think it’s about time we adopted a production mindset,” said Philippine Women’s Economic Network Founding Chair and President Ma. Aurora Geotina-Garcia. “There’s been a lot of focus on services because of the talent that we have and the strong characteristics of our citizens, but I think we should look more seriously at producing more for local consumption,” she said.

Ms. Geotina-Garcia added that MSMEs are a big recipient of the manufacturing sector “so we have to have the objective of really including them in the value chain.”

Equally important are investments in human capital development — both in basic education and in the existing workforce.

Ms. Mantaring talked about their goal of redefining the K to 12 program so that schools produce graduates with skills aligned with the demands of industry, specifically in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) areas. Technology companies are willing to engage in enriching people’s skills, Mr. Panlilio said. Mr. Consing suggested that a good approach would be firms competing for graduating seniors in a bid to hire and develop them, instead of graduates competing for choice spots in firms.

The CEOs agreed that a bright point these days is the government’s willingness to engage the private sector. Mr. Panlilio cited the greater number of opportunities for the private sector to dialogue with the government, as shown by, for instance, the creation of the Private Sector Advisory Council.

There is now a better venue for collaboration, Ms. Canilao said, with a frank discourse on creating an enabling environment for investments.

Trade and Industry Undersecretary Alfredo Pascual closed the conference by saying that the government creates long-term value by building relationships with and among stakeholders, linking knowledge and skills, capital and resources, and the all-important market players to each other.

As for the Stratbase Group, this is, we hope, the value we provide, our humble contribution: bringing people together, providing the platform for interaction, provoking thought, sparking conversations, and translating all these into actionable policy recommendations, which we hope helps make a difference in people’s lives.

There is no single sector that can and should drive the nation’s affairs. There are no formulaic solutions or quick fixes. We acknowledge the complexity of what we are up against, the diversity yet interwovenness of our interests, but also the singularity of our aspirations — a better, more secure life for Filipinos, where they will not only survive, but flourish.

 

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

Back in the audit arena

KELLY SIKKEMA-UNSPLASH 

As we all know, a huge portion of our government coffers are derived from taxation. The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) is the agency mandated by law to enforce tax laws, assess, and collect national taxes.

According to the BIR Collection Statistics, approximately P600 billion was collected from July to September. However, last October, there was a reported deficit of about P16 billion below its target collection. Some believe that this deficit is attributable to the suspension of issuances of the Letters of Authority (LOAs) and Mission Orders (MOs), which, to a certain extent, have immobilized revenue officers from exercising their authority to audit, assess, and collect taxes.

To recall, on May 30, a Circular was issued suspending all field audits and field operations of the BIR covered by LOAs and MOs. The Circular also instructed no further issuances of LOAs and MOs. While there was an order to lift the suspension released in August, the guidelines issued were limited to outstanding LOAs and Audit Notices.

Then, just last Friday, our newly appointed BIR Commissioner issued Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 148-2022 lifting the suspension and now authorizes all revenue officers to resume the conduct of all forms of business visitation in execution of LOAs or MOs and their issuances. Thus, all field audits, field operations, or any form of business visitation and execution of LOAs or MOs can already be conducted, and new LOAs/MOs can be further issued.

LETTER OF AUTHORITY
As the name implies, this serves as the official document issued by the BIR to notify the taxpayer of its authority to examine the latter’s books of accounts and other accounting records for a certain tax type and for a particular taxable period.

The LOA is a very important document, and its presentation is a prerequisite to satisfy the due process rights of a taxpayer. It goes without saying that absent a valid LOA, the entire assessment is null and void. When served with a LOA, a taxpayer must observe the following to ensure its validity:

1. It must be issued by the proper approving official;

2. The names of the assigned Revenue Officers must be clearly indicated in the LOA;

3. The tax type/s covered by the audit shall be reflected on it;

4. It must cover only one taxable year, except in tax fraud cases authorized by the Commissioner;

5. It must not contain any manually written character, notation, or erasure; and,

6. It must be served to the taxpayer within 30 days from the issuance thereof.

With the failure to observe any of the foregoing requisites, the taxpayer has all the right to refuse its service or question its validity at any stage of the assessment.

MISSION ORDER
On the other hand, a Mission Order, unlike a LOA, only gives the revenue officers a more general authority and limits their power to conduct inventory-taking to determine tax liabilities, and to place any taxpayer under surveillance if there is a reason to believe that the latter is not paying the proper taxes.

The BIR defines the following types of surveillance they may conduct, provided they are armed with an MO:

1. Covert Surveillance — this is the surreptitious and undercover observation of the business operations of a taxpayer for a certain period and is carried out before inventory-taking of documents;

2. Overt Surveillance — inventory-taking is conducted first before the monitoring of the business activities of the taxpayer; and,

3. Short-Duration Surveillance (Tax Compliance Check) — a target taxpayer is under observation to check compliance with the registration requirements.

However, note that overt surveillance shall only be conducted for at least 10 days and not more than 30 days, unless otherwise extended in writing.

Indubitably, the conduct of field work will help revenue officers easily access and understand the business operations of taxpayers. Meanwhile, the taxpayers should be given more direct opportunities to explain their side.

It is with high hopes for the government, especially for the newly minted Commissioner, to reach its target collections for 2022, amounting to P2.438 trillion. Indeed, the new administration cannot sit back without using its power of enforcement. To be sure, the BIR officials, in going back into the audit arena, will not just give them more teeth, but also more eyes for them to “actually see” what is happening on the field.

It was not long ago that a new administration was welcomed by our country. In the first year of administration, this government is still heavily indebted, recuperating from the COVID-19 onslaught, facing rising inflation rates, worsening traffic conditions, and a huge population with low employment opportunities, among others. It is certainly not an ideal situation to succeed to, and this will be a tough road. To ensure sufficient funding, this government is thus expected to streamline its enforcement of taxation laws through the audit arena — since this will certainly help improve the tax collection efficiencies and ultimately increase the government’s revenue.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author. This article is for general information and educational purposes, and not offered as, and does not constitute, legal advice or legal opinion.

 

Ma. Karisha Mae C. Orcullo is an associate of the Tax department of the Angara Abello Concepcion Regala Cruz Law Offices.

kcorcullo@accralaw.com

02-8830-8000

Creative AI is generating some messy problems

XU HAIWEI-UNSPLASH
XU HAIWEI-UNSPLASH

A TENSE SCENE in the 2004 movie iRobot shows the character played by Will Smith arguing with an android about humanity’s creative prowess. “Can a robot write a symphony?” he asks, rhetorically. “Can a robot turn a canvas into a beautiful masterpiece?”

“Can you?” the robot answers.

Machines wouldn’t need the snarky reply in our current reality. The answer would simply be “yes.”

In the last few years, artificial-intelligence systems have shifted from being able to process content — recognizing faces or reading and transcribing text — to creating digital paintings or writing essays. The digital artist Beeple was shocked in August when several Twitter users generated their own versions of one of his paintings with AI-powered tools. Similar software can create music and even videos. The broad term describing all this is “generative AI,” and as this latest lurch into our digital future becomes part of our present, some familiar tech industry challenges like copyright and social harm are already reemerging.

We’ll probably look back on 2022 as the year generative AI exploded into mainstream attention, as image-generating systems from OpenAI and the open-source startup Stability AI were released to the public, prompting a flood of fantastical images on social media. The breakthroughs are still coming thick and fast. Last week, researchers at Meta Platforms, Inc. announced an AI system that could successfully negotiate with humans and generate dialogue in a strategy game called Diplomacy. Venture capital investment in the field grew to $1.3 billion in deals this year, according to data from research firm Pitchbook, even as it contracted for other areas in tech. (Deal volume grew almost 500% in 2021.)

Companies that sell AI systems for generating text and images will be among the first to make money, says Sonya Huang, a partner at Sequoia Capital who published a “map” of generative AI companies that went viral this month. An especially lucrative field will be gaming, already the largest category for consumer digital spending.

“What if gaming was generated by anything your brain could imagine, and the game just develops as you go?” asks Huang. Most generative AI startups are building on top of a few popular AI models that they either pay to access, or get for free. OpenAI, the artificial intelligence research company co-founded by Elon Musk and mostly funded by Microsoft Corp., sells access to its image generator DALL-E 2 and its automatic text writer GPT-3. (Its forthcoming iteration of the latter, known as GPT-4, is reputed by its developers to be freakishly proficient at mimicking human jokes, poetry, and other forms of writing.)

But these advancements won’t carry on unfettered, and one of the thorniest problems to be resolved is copyright. Typing in “a dragon in the style of Greg Rutkowski” will churn out artwork that looks like it could have come from the forenamed digital artist who creates fantasy landscapes. Rutkowski gets no financial benefit for that, even if the generated image is used for a commercial purpose, something the artist has publicly complained about.

Popular image generators like DALL-E 2 and Stable Diffusion are shielded by America’s fair use doctrine, which hinges on free expression as a defense for using copyrighted work. Their AI systems are trained on millions of images including Rutkowski’s, so in theory they benefit from a direct exploitation of the original work. But copyright lawyers and technologists are split on whether artists will ever be compensated.

In theory, AI firms could eventually copy the licensing model used by music-streaming services, but AI decisions are typically inscrutable — how would they track usage? One path might be to compensate artists when their name comes up in a prompt, but it would be up to the AI companies to set up that infrastructure and police its use. Ratcheting up the pressure is a class action lawsuit against Microsoft Corp., Github, Inc. and OpenAI over copyright involving a code-generating tool called Copilot, a case that could set a precedent for the broader generative AI field.

Then there’s content itself. If AI is quickly generating more information than humanly possible — including, inevitably, porn — what happens when some of it is harmful or misleading? Facebook and Twitter have actually improved their ability to clean up misinformation on their sites in the last two years, but they could face a much greater challenge from text-generating tools — like OpenAI’s — that set their efforts back. The issue was recently underscored by a new tool from Facebook parent Meta itself.

Earlier this month Meta unveiled Galactica, a language system specializing in science that could write research papers and Wikipedia articles. Within three days, Meta shut it down. Early testers found it was generating nonsense that sounded dangerously realistic, including instructions on how to make napalm in a bathtub and Wikipedia entries on the benefits of being white or how bears live in space. The eerie effect was facts mixed in so finely with hogwash that it was hard to tell the difference between the two. Political and health-related misinformation is hard enough to track when it’s written by humans. What happens when it is generated by machines that sound increasingly like people?

That could turn out to be the biggest mess of all.

BLOOMBERG OPINION

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