FILIPINO Muslims gather at the rehabilitated Grand Mosque of Marawi on May 2 for the Eid’l Fitr congregation prayer, marking the end of fasting for the month-long Ramadan. The Islamic City of Marawi’s central areas were devastated in a five-month gun battle between government forces and Islamic State-linked groups that laid siege on the city in 2017.
JORDAN Poole scored 31 points on 12-for-20 shooting, Stephen Curry finished with 24 points and the visiting Golden State Warriors held on for a 117-116 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday afternoon in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinals series.
Poole and Curry drained five 3-pointers apiece as the Warriors recovered from a double-digit deficit in the first half as well as the surprise ejection of veteran forward Draymond Green. Andrew Wiggins finished with 17 points, and Klay Thompson scored 15 despite making only six of 19 shots from the field.
Ja Morant led the Grizzlies with 34 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds. Jaren Jackson, Jr. contributed 33 points and 10 rebounds, while De’Anthony Melton scored 14 off the bench.
The teams will meet for Game 2 on Tuesday night.
Neither team led by more than four points during the final five minutes, which featured four ties and two lead changes.
Golden State’s Gary Payton II made a layup to even the score at 114-114 with 1:35 remaining. Memphis quickly bounced back with an alley-oop dunk by Brandon Clarke that made it 116-114 in favor of the Grizzlies with 1:16 to go.
Thompson put Golden State on top for good on a 3-pointer with 36.6 seconds remaining.
Neither team scored the rest of the way. Thompson missed a pair of free throws that could have cushioned the Warriors’ lead, and Morant missed a driving scoop layup in the waning moments that could have won the game.
Green was ejected with 1:18 remaining in the first half for a flagrant-2 foul against Clarke. Replays showed that Green made contact with Clarke’s head while swiping down with his arm, and he grabbed Clarke’s collar during the process.
After the flagrant-2 ruling, Green ran around the court and waved his hands at the opposing crowd as boos rained down upon him. He finished with six points, four rebounds and three assists in 17 minutes.
The Warriors finished the third quarter with a 91-90 advantage.
Memphis led 61-55 at the half, and Golden State trailed 66-61 when Curry went off for seven consecutive points to put the Warriors on top. Curry drained a pair of step-back jump shots and a 3-pointer while Memphis battled to keep pace. — Reuters
US OPEN champion Emma Raducanu swept into the third round of the Madrid Open on Sunday with a 6-2, 6-1 demolition of Marta Kostyuk while Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo stunned four-times major champion Naomi Osaka 6-3, 6-1.
The 19-year-old Raducanu clinched 11 of the final 12 games against Ukrainian fellow teenager Kostyuk to win consecutive matches for only the second time in a tournament this season.
“I’m definitely very happy with my performance today. Marta is a great opponent, we played several times in the juniors and then once last year,” said Raducanu.
“I knew it was always going to be a really tough battle so I went out there trying to be really aggressive and it definitely paid off.”
The Briton broke Kostyuk in the opening game and controlled the match from the baseline while being rarely troubled on serve, a feature of her game that has often been a cause for concern since her triumph at Flushing Meadows last year.
Raducanu will face another Ukrainian, Anhelina Kalinina, in the next round of the clay-court event after the 25-year-old brushed aside world number nine Garbine Muguruza 6-3, 6-0.
Osaka struggled for rhythm and was dominated by Sorribes Tormo, who mixed her game up to devastating effect to notch up a second career victory over the Japanese former world number one.
There was another upset earlier in the day when unseeded Bianca Andreescu, who returned to action in Stuttgart only last month following a long-term injury, crushed Australian Open finalist Danielle Collins 6-1, 6-1 in just over an hour.
“I did not expect for it to go like that at all, but I stuck to my game plan and it worked so I’m very happy,” said Andreescu, who won the 2019 US Open but is now ranked 111th in the world.
Andreescu will take on Jessica Pegula next after the American defeated Kaia Kanepi 6-3, 6-3 while Russia’s Daria Kasatkina came from behind to knock out fourth seed Maria Sakkari 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 and set up a clash with Sorribes Tormo. — Reuters
GIANNIS Antetokounmpo had a triple-double and Jrue Holiday scored a game-high 25 points as the visiting Milwaukee Bucks beat the Boston Celtics 101-89 in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series on Sunday.
Antetokounmpo finished with 24 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists. Holiday added nine rebounds, Bobby Portis put up a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds and Grayson Allen scored 11 points.
Jayson Tatum led Boston with 21 points and Al Horford added 12 points and 10 rebounds. Jaylen Brown scored 12 points on four-of-13 shooting and committed seven turnovers. Marcus Smart added 10 points despite playing though a shoulder stinger and a bruised thigh and Derrick White scored 10 for the Celtics, who lost for the first time in the playoffs after sweeping Brooklyn in the first round.
Game 2 will be Tuesday night in Boston.
The Celtics made 18 of 50 3-pointers, but just 10 of 34 2-pointers.
Portis made a 3-pointer to complete a 7-0 run that gave Milwaukee an 87-72 lead early in the fourth quarter.
Horford made a 3-pointer to pull the Celtics within 12, but Holiday made a 3-pointer and Antetokounmpo scored on a put-back dunk for a 94-78 lead midway through the quarter.
Grant Williams’ 3-pointer trimmed the lead to 96-84 with 3:50 remaining, but Holiday made two free throws and the Bucks maintained a double-digit lead.
Tatum made back-to-back 3-pointers to cut Boston’s deficit to 58-52 early in the third quarter.
Milwaukee extended the lead to 68-57 when Brook Lopez made a layup midway through the quarter.
Allen made three 3-pointers and Antetokounmpo scored the final eight points of a 25-14 run that gave the Bucks a 56-46 half time lead. — Reuters
LONDON — Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur both posted victories as the race for fourth place in the Premier League intensified on Sunday.
Tottenham returned to form as Son Heung-min scored twice and Harry Kane once in a 3-1 victory over Leicester City.
That briefly elevated Tottenham into fourth place, above Arsenal who responded impressively to win 2-1 at West Ham United with goals by defenders Rob Holding and Gabriel.
Arsenal’s third successive league win after three straight defeats moved them to 63 points from 34 games with Tottenham’s first win in three leaving them on 61 from 34.
Third-placed Chelsea are not totally assured of a top-four finish after they lost 1-0 at Everton — a vital result for the hosts in their bid to stave off relegation.
Striker Richarlison sealed victory at a rocking Goodison Park a minute into the second half after Cesar Azpilicueta gave up possession under pressure from the Brazilian forward.
Everton remain third from bottom but are only two points behind 17th-placed Leeds United having played a game less.
Chelsea have 66 points from 34 games.
Everton manager Frank Lampard, Chelsea’s record scorer and former manager, knew how big the win against his old club was.
“Today was a huge game for us and when you see the fans turn up before this game and what they did to this game — they were people of the match,” he said.
“Men, women and youngsters, all Everton crazy, they love this club and they pushed us over the line.
“We are still in the relegation zone, we have the extra game but we have to go with that same spirit in every match.”
Tottenham knew that only a win at home to Leicester would be good enough after losing to Brighton & Hove Albion and drawing with Brentford in their last two games — two dismal displays that put a huge dent in their top-four hopes.
They responded with a vibrant display capped by two goals for Son who is in the race for the Golden Boot award.
Son has scored 19 league goals this season, three fewer than top scorer Mohamed Salah of Liverpool.
Son’s corner allowed Kane to put Spurs ahead with a thumping header and he then made sure of the points with two quality finishes after the break, both assisted by Dejan Kulusevski.
“We got three points in an important moment of the season especially as in the next games we are going to face Liverpool and Arsenal,” Tottenham manager Antonio Conte said.
Arsenal are now sensing a first top-four finish since 2015-16 and manager Mikel Arteta praised his side’s ability to win ugly after grinding out the points at West Ham.
Holding headed in Bukayo Saka’s corner to break the deadlock in a tame first half but Jarrod Bowen’s deflected shot levelled it up before the break at the London Stadium.
Gabriel’s diving header earned Arsenal the win though.
“Massive win because we put ourselves in lots of problems with our decisions in possession,” Arteta said.
“But the team showed huge character not to give up and to do the right things. The way we defended it was phenomenal. From my point of view today we won ugly, but I’m extremely happy.”
West Ham can no longer finish in the top four but all their focus is now on next week’s Europa League semifinal second leg away to Eintracht Frankfurt, having lost the opener 2-1. — Reuters
This presidential election season has become one of the most interesting I’ve ever experienced. So many elements have come into play. More polling firms have been conducting surveys to predict the election outcome. Other firms are doing online sentiment analysis, or tracking Google searches to out-predict the surveys. It will be good to see which of these predictions will turn out to be correct come election day.
The presidential debates have taken a bizarre turn, with the survey frontrunner Bongbong Marcos, Jr. refusing to participate. It’s a testimony to the strange new world we live in that a politician who claims that he wants to lead the country refuses to answer questions in front of the public.
Supporters of Marcos and Vice-President Leni Robredo, locked in an asymmetric contest, extoll the traits of their respective candidates. The Marcos camp has taken a commanding survey lead through social media strategy. In contrast, the Robredo camp uses a house-to-house ground game to try to convert many of the undecided to their side. If for nothing else, the Robredo strategy shows that a people-based presidential campaign is possible, and the billions in financial support traditionally expected from big contributors may not be necessary after all.
Still, I worry that in the end, whoever wins will not matter for what ails the country. Focusing on candidate personalities instead of issues and programs has mired our nation more deeply into what some analysts call teleserye (television soap opera) politics. Moreover, framing the election in terms of the leading candidates as bida (protagonist) and kontrabida (antagonist) tends to distract us from thinking about the needed changes in our social structures and cultural systems. Unfortunately, we have fallen into this trap repeatedly during the past elections.
Persistent poverty, growing inequality, and pervasive corruption stunt our country’s social and economic development. Despite anyone’s wishful thinking, these will not magically disappear just because of a new occupant in Malacañang. Social structures and cultural values make these problems very sticky.
Social structures refer to the positions and powers that people have in our society, the relationships of these positions with each other, and the rules and resources that apply to these positions and relationships. The main aspects of our social structures that need to change include the short-term contractual employment of workers, the control of major corporations by elite families with minimal competition, the control of local governments by political dynasties, and the patronage relationship of citizens with elected leaders. No matter who the next president will be, not much socio-economic progress can happen under these social structures.
What about the cultural system? This comprises ideas, beliefs, and values relating to governance handed down from generation to generation. Some problematic cultural beliefs among our people include: “The welfare of one’s family is more important than the common good.” “The rich and the powerful deserve more privileges.” “Corruption is necessary to facilitate dealings with government.” The worst cultural belief is, “Elected leaders will solve our problems with minimal participation from us as citizens.” This lack of civic commitment and participation from the people prevents any social change from happening despite whoever gets elected.
While the above social structures and cultural systems are givens in our society, we must change them through the president’s leadership and our concerted action. Over the next six years, the president will need to build and mobilize a coalition of supportive legislators, civil society organizations, and citizens to effect fundamental changes. For example, the bill ensuring workers’ security of tenure has to be restudied, possibly amended, and refiled. Moreover, our educational systems should instill in people’s minds that wealthy Filipinos should share the fruits of economic development, and that government should punish the corrupt. The next president will also have to regularly communicate with and unify the people in order to inspire higher citizen engagement levels than ever.
So, which candidate will do what it takes to effect these changes? We have to answer this crucial question come May 9. It is time to end teleserye politics. Unquestioning loyalty to a candidate without considering the socio-cultural context is short-sighted and self-defeating. A gifted president alone cannot make democracy produce development; engaged citizens supported by favorable social structures and culture are necessary, too.
Dr. Benito “Ben” L. Teehankee is the Jose L. Cuisia, Sr. professor of Business Ethics and Head of the Business for Human Development Network at De La Salle University.
In the book Five Stages of Small Business Growth, researchers Neil C. Churchill and Virginia L. Lewis go in-depth into the growth framework that all small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) normally go through. It describes the common scenarios and challenges companies face at each stage, and what steps they can take to move on to the next phase.
The Survival Stage is the second phase of this framework. In this stage, an SME has grown past the phase of merely existing in their industry. It has customers and the ability to consistently deliver goods and services. The company structure is still basic, with the owner still making most decisions despite having a business manager. System development, or the use of technology and automation in the company, is minimal.
Once an SME generates enough revenue to break even and grow in size, it’s on its way to the third stage: Success Stage.
In the Success Stage, the SME has generated above-average revenue to upgrade their current assets, such as tools and equipment. Its workforce is also growing significantly, with more managers taking over minor business decisions. At this point, SME owners have the luxury of deciding whether to expand, maintain the company’s stable profits, or disengage from the company while keeping the business more or less at the status quo.
HOW TO ADVANCE FROM SURVIVAL TO SUCCESS
Advancing towards the Success Stage seems either like a tremendous task or a lucky break, especially when you are an SME owner on the survival stage for a while. The key is to look at aspects of the business to focus and improve on, eventually setting you apart from competitors.
Here’s two business aspects that are crucial for SMEs to focus on:
• Delivering great customer service
While a company’s goal is to earn profit, its purpose is to get and keep customers, according to Harvard Business School Professor Theodore Levitt in his book, The Marketing Imagination. You essentially depend on your customers for a living, and building success means understanding customers and appreciating what they want.
Great service can satisfy your customers. But without consistency, they won’t become loyal customers — which is what SMEs should aspire for. When customers consistently get what they expect, they repeat transactions and give good feedback. With online reviews being such an important deciding factor for consumers nowadays, a bad review can be detrimental to your sales and reputation.
Consistently excellent service is key to keeping current customers attracting new ones. When customers become voluntary ambassadors of your brand, you know you’re doing things right.
• Finding good investors
The right investor won’t just be a reliable source of funds for your business, but will also provide guidance and business expertise whenever you need it.
Consider your business goal and how an investor would make them easier to achieve. Would you need solely financing, business expertise, or a mix of both? Decide where and how much your investor will be involved in your business, since that will affect your decisions and direction in the long run.
So, what should you look for in a potential business investor? First, their funding capacity: their ability to fund and the diversity of their portfolio. Diverse, recent investments show you how strong an investor’s financial game is. When they have numerous, diverse investments, it means they’re not solely dependent on you to make bank. A quick Google search can let you know the deals your potential investor has done, how many investments they make yearly, and what they specialize in when it comes to investing.
Second is the investor’s assets and resources. The right investor can help you manage your capital, infrastructure, and more. As industry experts, they can offer connections, expertise, and guidance on crucial business decisions. According to Crack the Funding Code by Judy Robinett, the survival rate for most tech companies is at 20%; but up to 80% of those who undergo mentoring programs can survive.
Lastly, you want investors who recognize your business value and its potential in the future, and who are genuinely invested in your vision for the long haul. Pick recognized stable investors who are ready to invest in your business for the next five years or more.
Choosing the right investor is finding a good balance in their ability to fund, their assets and resources, and a genuine belief in your business potential. Ultimately, the right investor will drive you in the right direction and offer you the tools you need to succeed.
The idea of taking your business to the Success Stage can be a long road, fraught with factors that are sometimes out of your control as a business owner. However, by taking small steps to build a strong network of repeat customers and an even stronger source of funding to keep improving your business, you can slowly but surely make your way up from survival mode to the success you’ve always wanted.
(This article reflects the personal opinion of the author and does not reflect the official stand of the Management Association of the Philippines or MAP.)
Benedict S. Carandang is member of the MAP, and is vice-president for External Relations of First Circle. First Circle is a multi-awarded finance company that offers select high-performing SMEs free funding to grow their business to 10 times their current potential. Under First Circle’s Growth Partners Program, SMEs can have a zero-interest, always-available funding line for the next five years that is equivalent to 10% of their annual sales. In addition, SMEs can have exclusive access to current and future First Circle products, such as B2B payments, Corporate Cards, FX and cross-border remittances, and a B2B marketplace. Qualified SMEs will also have a dedicated business consultant to help them along their journey to the Success Stage — all in exchange for a 25% passive stake in their business. This article is co-written with Ian Benetua, a regular contributor to First Circle’s Resource Center.
The Presidential and local elections next week generate not only political heat and drama but also climate and energy drama from some sectors that are warning of “power outages during elections amid coal plant shutdowns.”
Blackouts during elections because of coal-plant shutdowns — this is nice scare mongering to attract public attention. This is part of the overall plan to endlessly demonize coal power plants (which contributed 57% of total power generation in the Philippines in 2020) so that the agenda of pushing intermittent renewables plus gas will be hastened.
Last Friday, April 29, I attended the media briefing of the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP) and among the topics discussed was the power supply-demand projection for the second and third quarters of 2022, more specifically on election week.
IEMOP noted that during election day in 2019, peak power supply in the Luzon grid was 10,706 MW and peak demand that day was 8,962 MW, for a comfortable margin of 1,744 MW. And during election day in 2016, peak supply in the Luzon grid was 10,329 MW while peak demand that day was 7,721 MW, thus there was a wide margin of 2,608 MW.
The market operator listed the scheduled (maintenance) shutdowns until September, and made four supply-demand projections under four assumptions. For purposes of brevity, I will show only the most pessimistic assumption or scenario: Typical monthly offers with no additional capacities, and 1,000 MW in unplanned outage. The result for next week is a comfortable margin of 2,381 MW, minus the reserve requirement 1,722 MW and still having a net margin of 659 MW (Table 1).
So there. The assumptions are tilted towards the pessimistic scenario to widen the buffer for reserves. And still there are no blackouts foreseen. The public should be wary of scare mongering to further demonize coal, invite blackout economics, and push climate and business agendas.
INTERCONNECTIONS
Related to stabilizing power supply in the country, the Philippine Independent Power Producers Association, Inc. (PIPPA) was reported in some news outlets as urging the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) to hasten the greater interconnection of power supply and demand areas via providing more sufficient transmission lines and assets.
PIPPA said there are 1,000+ MW of stranded capacity in Bataan and Quezon due to transmission line limitations; another 1,000+ MW of power surplus in Mindanao that cannot be exported to the Visayas and Luzon; and hundreds of MW of mostly renewables stranded capacity in Cebu, Negros, and Panay as the inter-island transmission lines are not fully operational or remain not expanded. Good reminders, PIPPA.
NUCLEAR POWER
Last Saturday, April 30, I gave a talk — “If Leni wins, or if BBM wins, how will their policies affect our lives and businesses?” — for personnel and officers of China Bank Savings (CBS). I thanked Jo Fernandez for the invitation. My presentation was mostly quantitative, which complemented the bank’s prior session on non-partisan voter education, on what to expect and do during election day itself.
While my talk was mostly about economics, I devoted two slides comparing the energy policies of Vice-President Leni Robredo, Bongbong Marcos, Jr. (BBM), and Isko Moreno. All of them are in favor of more renewables, and while Robredo and Moreno are either non-supportive of or oppose nuclear power, Marcos is explicitly supportive of developing nuclear power.
In a previous column, I noted that the BBM-Sara team is engaged in deception and dishonesty in promoting the “golden age” of Ferdinand Marcos’ Martial Law years and the “good economic management” of the current administration (see https://www.bworldonline.com/opinion/2022/03/21/437319/a-campaign-of-disinformation/, March 21). But I must give credit to BBM for supporting nuclear power development in the country.
Nuclear power has the highest energy density of all energy sources, hundreds or thousand times higher than fossil fuels coal-gas-oil, and much higher than geothermal and hydro, more so intermittent renewables solar-wind.
If the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP), a huge 620-MW plant, was allowed to operate in 1984 or 1985, the Philippines and South Korea would have been “nuke classmates.” In 2020, our total power generation from all sources was 101 TWH (terawatt-hour) — comparable to Korea’s 103 TWH from nuke power alone in 1999.
I showed a table on comparative nuclear power generation in my talk at CBS. I expanded it here in Table 2 to show their share to total generation. France, Belgium, Sweden, and Taiwan were the most nuclear-intensive users in the 1980s. France was 77% reliant on nuclear power in 2000 and 67% in 2020. France is the biggest electricity exporter in the European Union and seems to have no recorded nuclear accident, which is the main concern of many anti-nuke groups.
The next administration should seriously consider developing nuclear power, at least small modular reactors (SMRs) that can be put up and dispatched in big island-provinces like Bohol, Mindoro, Masbate, and Palawan.
And back to coal. The United Kingdom and Germany were 60% coal power-reliant until 1985. By 2020, it was down to 24% in Germany and only 2% in the UK. Big and poor countries China and India reach up to 78% coal use and this is one of the major contributors to their having lifted hundreds of millions of their people from poverty — by having cheap, stable, dispatchable energy for businesses and households.
There is no “man-made” climate crisis that necessitates demonizing and abandoning fossil fuels. There is only natural or “nature-made” climate change, a warming-cooling cycle that characterized our planet’s climate since 4.6 billion years ago. Thus, the government should not distort our power supply-demand dynamics via more politics and energy rationing. Government should not impose more carbon taxes or oil taxes. We should have cheap, competitively priced, stable, and dispatchable on-demand energy.
Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr. is the president of Minimal Government Thinkers.
EUROPEAN UNION sanctions on Russian oil are inching closer, with Germany, the bloc’s biggest economy, saying that it won’t oppose an embargo. But what is actually considered “Russian oil”?
Putting restrictions on Russian crude is one thing. Trying to stop the sale of Russian refined products is much more complicated, in part because it’s not clear what can, or should be, included.
For crude, it is (relatively) straightforward. Sanctions should be applied to crude pumped out of oil fields in Russia, from which the government derives revenue in the form of export duties and mineral extraction tax.
The one area of uncertainty is CPC Blend crude, which is shipped from a terminal on Russia’s Black Sea coast — close to, but entirely separate from, the country’s main export port in the region at Novorossiysk. The blend contains some molecules of Russian origin, and purchasers have been named and shamed by organizations tracking shipments of “Russian” crude.
But the situation isn’t that simple. At the export terminal, CPC Blend comprises approximately 90% crude from Kazakhstan and 10% that comes from fields in the Russian sector of the Caspian Sea, which are operated by the Russian oil company Lukoil PJSC.
While it might be technically feasible for the Russian molecules to be separated prior to export, as the US Treasury initially suggested in its guidance on Russian oil sanctions, this isn’t going to happen. The Russian operators of the export terminal aren’t going to segregate molecules from Russian oil fields just to make it easier for buyers to avoid them. That would appear to make it a candidate for sanctions.
But the CPC pipeline carries about 80% of Kazakhstan’s crude exports, and there are no realistic alternatives for more than a small fraction of that volume. So, the choice is clear: Ban CPC exports and cripple the economy of Kazakhstan, while inflicting little pain on Russia. Or, accept that Moscow will continue to export a small amount of crude via the CPC system.
The US Treasury updated its guidance in mid-March, noting that CPC crude “is marketed and loaded with a certificate of origin verifying that the crude is of Kazakh origin” and that “US persons may reasonably rely upon a certificate of origin.”
So Russian crude will continue to leak onto the market, just as supplies do now from Iran and Venezuela, with some countries willing to keep buying despite sanctions. Steps could be taken to limit and gradually reduce those flows over time, by granting waivers to buyers who demonstrate that they are reducing their purchases of Russian crude. This was done with considerable success during the Obama-era sanctions on Iranian oil. Yes, there will be some smuggling and blending of Russian crude with other grades in shady ship-to-ship transfers, but no system is going to be perfect.
Refined products are even more complicated.
Fuels produced in Russian refineries are an easy target. The US ban on imports is already hitting Russian refineries that have few other outlets for selling fuel oil and vacuum gas oil and no way to avoid making them. The build-up of unsold product has forced them to cut throughput as they run out of storage space.
But what about, for example, diesel fuel produced in an Indian refinery that has started to import Russian crude alongside deliveries from traditional suppliers in the Middle East? How should those refined products be classified? Moscow won’t see tax receipts from the diesel sales — it has already collected them from the original crude cargo. But if such sales are permitted, there’s no economic incentive for Indian refiners to stop buying Russian crude. And their purchases have soared since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
The cost of shipping crude from western Russia to India and China is much greater than making deliveries to Europe, necessitating steep discounts to offset higher shipping costs and many more vessels, with voyages to Asia taking at least four times as long as trips to Europe.
Oil market dynamics, where diesel fuel is already in short supply and prices have risen to record highs, may make it very difficult to sanction products refined from Russian crude outside of Russia. Maybe that’s just something we have to live with, as the screws are tightened on Russia’s crude flows. Sanctions aren’t a failure even if they only reduce, rather than halt, Russia’s oil exports.
BLOOMBERG OPINION
Initiative, the culturally-driven global communications agency within Mediabrands, has launched a 200 for 2M donation drive for Ukraine, in particular children of Ukraine who are affected by the ongoing conflict.
“Through this simple collective effort we hope to help give Ukrainian children a chance to start their lives again,” says Melody Laogan, Initiative Managing Partner. Co-Managing Partner Paul Atienza adds, “We want to illuminate the way and be a force of positive change in the industry with this humble effort.”
In observance of Women’s Month in March, Initiative Philippines helped to shine a spotlight on women who took a heroic stand through their own individual efforts to help put an end to the conflict and instill peace in Ukraine.
This April, Initiative puts the spotlight on the children who have been most at risk; wrenched from the comfort and security of their homes and rendered totally defenseless by this conflict. To date, an estimated 3.6 million people have now fled the violence in Ukraine, half of this number are estimated to be children; many of whom now exposed to sub-zero temperatures, injury, hunger, and trauma.
The plight of the children of Ukraine moved Initiative Philippines to create 200 for 2M, a campaign to raise donations for Save the Children, the chosen charity. Armed with the agency’s promise of Cultural Velocity, Nori Villaruel, Initiative’s resident strategist, says, “With the Filipinos culture of pakikipagkapwa and sudden rise of usage of online banking apps and e-wallets, we thought that giving at least PHP 200 can already help at least 2 million Ukrainian children.”
The agency’s relief efforts are posted organically in its employees’ social media accounts, together with key LED sites donated by select OOH media partners, Summit Media, Kaddish Advertising, and City Advertising Ventures, as a way to help in the cause. With the agency also seeking help from its client partners, the donations as of April 27, 2022 have reached over PHP 35,000.
For those who wish to donate, you may do so here:
GCash: 0917-815-5509 (Melody Laogan)
BDO Account Number: 011290034115 (Melody Laogan)
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VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis on Sunday paid tribute to journalists who have died or been jailed in the line of duty, defending a free press and praising those in the media who courageously report on “humanity’s wounds”.
Speaking to thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square for his weekly address and blessing, Pope Francis noted that May 3 will be the United Nations World Press Freedom Day.
“I render homage to journalists who pay in person for this right,” he said, citing statistics that 47 journalists were killed and more than 350 jailed last year.
He did give the source of the statistics. UNESCO, the U.N. organization that sponsors World Press Freedom Day, said earlier this year that 55 journalists and media workers were killed in 2021.
“A special thanks to those who, with courage, keep us informed about humanity’s wounds,” the pope said.
Last month Francis honored journalists killed covering the Russia-Ukraine war, saying he hoped God would reward them for serving the common good.
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists says it has confirmed that at least seven journalists have died while covering the war in Ukraine and is investigating whether others were killed because of their work.
Reporters Without Borders, which is based in Paris, says it has documented a number of attacks directly targeting journalists wearing “Press” arm bands in Ukraine. — Reuters
In early September 2021, college students Alfred Someros and Karl Ruelan were playing Mobile Legends and communicating with fellow gamers through their Crypto Discussions channel on Discord.
From conversations about online gaming, their online community shifted to conversations on non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and the cryptocurrency market. The same community was the beginning of their online educational movement in the digital world.
Mr. Someros, a sports science student with a background in organizational management, and Mr. Ruelan, a mechanical engineering student at the University of the Philippines-Diliman, began their research and enriched their knowledge on financial literacy, the beginnings and developments of NFTs, and the cryptocurrency market.
The weeknights of online gaming led to their first unofficial podcast on NFTs through Discord with 30 to 50 listeners.
The online community grew to become the Bored Punks of Society, a Filipino NFT movement focusing on educating investors on the fundamentals of the digital world. They have financial advisers in their team to share their expertise in financial literacy with their online community.
According to the Bored Punks of Society website, the group’s objective is “to educate and welcome people to the beauty of cryptocurrencies, metaverse, and investing through our weekly community discussions, unlimited reliable resources, and educational podcasts with certified financial advisors, Bored Punk educators, and influential people in the space.”
“Our focus is to educate people…,” said Bored Punks’ lead director Mr. Ruelan in English and Filipino, during a presentation at the Brasserie on 3 at Conrad Manila in March. “We saw a chance to help people who are interested in the world of crypto. Many get into it blindly without proper knowledge, so they lose [money]. We want to help them explore.”
Mr. Someros, Bored Punks’ chief marketing officer, said, “We wanted to help other Filipinos learn about NFTs and how casual gamers can actually go on a much deeper level and engage others to earn a respectable living. From what is still considered a ‘gray area’ for us Filipinos, we want to help create more success stories for others by breaking it down for the everyday person.”
During their online discussions, Messrs. Someros and Reulan would host sessions with avatars.
When participants expressed interested in owning an avatar to identify as a member of the community, the Bored Punks of Society offered its first 7,640 Avatar-based NFTs for approximately P2,500 each on the OpenSea marketplace. The NFTs sold for 25 matic (a cryptocurrency) each, and sold out a month after their release. They were also able to resell their NFTs for over P510,000.
The earnings from the initial sale were used as seed money to further build their online community, a website, and invest in equipment for their podcast.
WHAT IS AN NFT?
NFTs are one-of-a-kind digital assets (which may be a drawing, meme, animated GIF, video, etc.) purchased online through cryptocurrency. Its record of ownership is stored in a digital ledger called a blockchain.
To create NFTs, artists make limited copies by “minting” them on various NFT platforms including SuperRare, Nifty Gateway, Rarible, and Foundation.
According to research by Finder.com published in November 2021, 32% of Filipino internet users currently own an NFT. In an online survey of over 28,000 people across 20 countries to compare NFT ownership, Finder.com recorded that the Philippines takes the top spot for NFT adoption.
“However, while 32% of the 1,507 Filipino Internet users surveyed said they currently own NFTs, an additional 9.5% said they plan to acquire some. This means NFT adoption in the Philippines could soon hit 41.5%,” said Finder.com.
NFTs seem to attract older people, according to its survey: “People ages 65 and over are the most likely to have NFTs in the Philippines (40.7%). At the other end of the spectrum are people ages 18 to 24 (22.4%).”
Still, most people do not know about NFTs.
“While NFT adoption is forecast to increase around the world in future, a large number of people still don’t know what NFTs are,” said the Finder.com report. “Japan has the highest percentage of people who said they don’t know what NFTs are (90%), followed by Germany (83%) and the United Kingdom (79%). On the other end of the spectrum, the Philippines recorded the lowest percentage at 49%, followed by Nigeria (52%) and Thailand (53%).”
HOW TO GET STARTED
Messrs. Someros and Reulan demonstrated the basic steps to enter the NFT market:
First, one needs to download the app of a cryptocurrency wallet (in their case the Metamask wallet). Then, the user has to create a new wallet (equivalent to an account) with a password, and a unique recovery phrase of 12 words (which are to be encoded to secure the wallet). The user will need cryptocurrencies which can be purchased using a credit card through Coinbase, Kraken, eToro, and even PayPal.
Once the user has secured a wallet address, they can browse through various marketplaces such as Rarible, Foundation, and OpenSea.
Mr. Someros, however, emphasized that the NFT environment is a double-edged sword.
“Be careful where you put your money at, always buy with a burner wallet (an extra wallet. Not one with all your assets), and always check the roadmap, project’s community, and its legitimacy,” Mr. Someros said.
Since it started the online movement in September of last year, the group now reaches 20,000 members through its Bored Punks Podcast.
The group’s podcast airs on Saturday, 8 p.m., through Facebook, Apple Music, and Spotify.
“We were quite surprised by the number of people that wanted to learn about cryptocurrency or blockchain and [who have been] supporting the project ever since,” Mr. Someros said in a subsequent conversation via Messenger chat in April.
Messrs. Someros and Reulan are currently finalizing the Bored Punks DNA with an updated version of their roadmap for the group.
“[It is] mainly focused on maximizing education, physical-digital adaptation, and technological innovation on blockchain that can further sustain, onboard, and educate our fellow kababayan,” he said.
For more information, visit Bored Punks of Society at boredpunksofsociety.com, and their official social media pages on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. — Michelle Anne P. Soliman
