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Jaylen Brown leads way as Celtics even series with Bucks

JAYLEN Brown scored 30 points on 11-for-18 shooting, including 6 of 10 from beyond the arc, and the host Boston Celtics stormed to a 109-86 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night in Game 2 of their best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Jayson Tatum added 29 points and eight assists for the second-seeded Celtics, who avenged a 12-point loss two days earlier to even the series at 1-1. Grant Williams scored 21 off the bench.

Giannis Antetokounmpo led Milwaukee with 28 points but shot only 11 of 27 from the field, 1 of 4 from 3-point range and 5 of 9 from the free-throw line. Jrue Holiday scored 19 points and Bobby Portis and Pat Connaughton finished with 13 apiece.

The series will shift to Milwaukee for the next two games, starting with Game 3 on Saturday.

The Celtics connected on 20 of 43 (46.5%) of their 3-point attempts. By contrast, Milwaukee made only 3 of 18 (16.7%) from long distance.

The Bucks, who spent nearly the entire game trying to play catchup, trailed by 18 points early in the fourth quarter. But Milwaukee trimmed the deficit to 12 with 4:30 remaining after Antetokounmpo made two free throws following a foul by Al Horford.

Boston quickly squashed Milwaukee’s comeback attempt. Tatum made a 3-pointer to start a 13-4 run that put the Celtics on top by 21 points with 1:58 left.

Boston sprinted to a 65-40 lead by half time. Brown led all scorers with 25 points at the break.

The Celtics wasted no time in grabbing a double-digit lead. They seized an 18-3 advantage in the first 6:08 behind a jump shot, two free throws and two 3-pointers by Brown, one 3-pointer apiece by Tatum and Grant Williams, and a jump shot by Horford.

Milwaukee fell behind 27-12 before cutting the deficit to 11 at the end of the first quarter.

The Celtics took command again in the second quarter. Tatum sank two free throws to give Boston a 49-29 lead with 4:38 left in the half, and Brown’s 3-pointer in the final minute increased the advantage to 25 points at the break. — Reuters

Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro wins NBA Sixth Man of the Year

MIAMI Heat guard Tyler Herro won the 2022 National Basketball Association (NBA) Sixth Man of the Year Award, the league announced on Tuesday.

Herro won 96 of the 100 available first-place votes for 488 total points from a voting panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. Cleveland Cavaliers big man Kevin Love (three first-place votes, 214 points) finished second in voting and Phoenix Suns forward Cam Johnson (one first-place vote, 128 points) was third.

In his third NBA season, Herro averaged 20.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game with 39.9% shooting from 3-point range for Miami, which earned the No. 1 playoff seed in the Eastern Conference.

Herro comes off the bench but plays starters’ minutes. He averaged 32.6 minutes per game in 66 appearances but started just 10 games.

Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson, who won the award in 2021, finished fourth in voting.

Herro credited Lou Williams and Jamal Crawford, two three-time winners of the award, as inspirations.

“I feel like when I think of the Sixth Man award, it’s Lou Will or Jamal Crawford. Growing up, those are two guys that I grew up watching as a sixth man,” Herro said on TNT. “They paved the way for all of us. I just continue to keep it going and there will still be someone after me to win this award next year.” — Reuters

Wilcon Depot opens its milestone 75th store in Gapan City, Nueva Ecija

Wilcon Depot, the country's leading home improvement and building retailer, opened its 75th Milestone in Gapan Nueva Ecija on April 29, 2022. From L-R: FilHome Builders CEO James Bosch, United Architect of the Philippines Fellow Ar. Romeo David, Limson Marketing General Manager James Lim, LIXIL Philippines General Manager Hermie Limbo, Wilcon Depot President and CEO Lorraine Belo-Cincochan, Wilcon Depot SEVP-COO Rosemarie Bosch-Ong, Matimco President and CEO Charlie Liu and HCG VP for Sales and Marketing David Chang.

Wilcon Depot, the Philippines’ leading home improvement and construction supply retailer, successfully opened its 75th store nationwide, located at Purok Proper II, Santo Cristo Norte, Gapan City, Nueva Ecija, on April 29, 2022.

Wilcon Depot Gapan serves as the second store in Nueva Ecija after the company’s first entry into the province with the opening of Wilcon Depot Cabanatuan in 2017.

The new store opening is part of the retail giant’s ongoing #FlyingHighTo100 store expansion campaign. Being 25 stores away from its goal to have 100 store-network nationwide by 2025, barring any unexpected external factors, Wilcon will continuously bring big ideas to more local homeowners and builders and provide an unparalleled home shopping experience.

“Wilcon has truly come a long way since its humble beginnings, and it has been possible with the support of the Filipino families and communities who continue to put their trust in our products and service. I am humbled that we are slowly reaching our goals to serve every key city and locality across the country,” Wilcon Depot President and CEO Lorraine Belo-Cincochan said during the grand launch.

Gapanenses can now shop daily at Wilcon Depot Gapan from 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM. The newly-opened store features more than 7,000 square meters of selling space, offering thousands of high-quality local and international brands and vast product selections ranging from Tiles, Sanitarywares, Plumbing, Furniture, Home Interior, Building Materials, Hardware, Electrical, Appliances, and other DIY items.

Grand store opening celebration

Wilcon brings top-of-the-line products and home solutions with the highest quality standards, innovative, and sustainable features to all Novo Ecijanos.

The launching of Wilcon Depot Gapan branch started with a motorcade along the nearby barangays, and numerous valued suppliers and industry partners joined it.

The store opening celebration continued with a ribbon-cutting ceremony led by Wilcon Depot President & CEO Lorraine Belo-Cincochan and Wilcon Depot SEVP-COO Rosemarie Bosch-Ong together with industry partners.

“With the opening of every new store, it is our main goal to delight our customers. We also aim to provide a frictionless shopping experience both in-store and online. And to make shopping at Wilcon more convenient and satisfying, Wilcon offers exclusive store features that each one of you will surely enjoy!” Wilcon Depot SEVP-Chief Operating Officer Rosemarie Bosch-Ong said during the store opening celebration.

Wide product offering

Wilcon Depot Gapan offers limitless home and building products and solutions. Discover the various exclusive brands and in-house brands like GROHE and KOHLER Sanitarywares, FRANKE Kitchen Systems, POZZI Bathroom Solutions, Sanitarywares, Whirlpool Bathtubs, Ceramics, and Shower Enclosures, ARISTON Water Heaters, GEBERIT Monolith Puro, MACROAIR HVLS Fans, RUBI Tile Cutter, and REHAU Premium PPR pipes.

Premium quality Italian tile brands such as NOVABELL, ENERGIE KER, GARDENIA, IMOLA, HERBERIA, OPERA, CASTELVETRO, KERADOM, NAXOS, DOM, and VERSACE alongside with Spanish tile brands ALCALAGRES, GRESPANIA, ROCERSA, CIFRE, EMIGRES, KEROS, TESANY, ONIX, OSET, VITACER, GRUPO HALCON, MYR, ECO CERAMICA, and ETILES are showcased in their Tile Studio.

Asian tile brands are also available like ARTE, SOL, LOLA, HUANQIU, VERONA, PICASSO, ROMAN, MULIA, KIA, CHINA NATURAL GRANITE, BASEL, SAIGRES, and GEMMA.

HERITAGE and NOBIZZI Furniture and HEIM Home Interior, Furniture, and Decor are exhibited at the Home Living Showroom. The Appliance, Kitchen, Lighting section displays HAMDEN Kitchen Appliances, KAZE Ceiling Fans and Air conditioners, and ALPHALUX Lighting Solutions.

 

HOMEBASICS and INTERDESIGN Housewares, BIRKE faucets and Bathroom Accessories, SEFA Specialty Bathroom Faucets, Bathroom Accessories, Shower Heads, and Kitchen Organizers, SUNCRUST BBQ Grills, LANDJACK Bicycles, CROWN and PRUSSIA Kitchen Sink QUARTEX Quartz Kitchen Sink, ELECTRON Generators, DIRECT HARDWARE, TRUPER Tools, P.TECH Builder’s Aid and Quartz Stone, FOREST Wood Products, Woodland flooring, IGLOO and RUBBERMAID coolers, UNITED SOLUTIONS Outdoor trash bins, and SOLUTHERM PPR pipes and 304 stainless Steel Pipe Fittings are displayed in the DIY Section of the store.

Excellent customer shopping experience

Wilcon Depot Gapan also provides the utmost customer satisfaction. It has redefined the home and building shopping experience through its Design Hub, Home Living Showroom, Tile Studio, and Architects, Builders, Contractors, Designers, and Engineers (ABCDE) Lounge, including their value-added services such as ample free parking spaces, reliable delivery service, and tile cutting service.

For a bigger and better home shopping experience, valued customers can also shop online at Wilcon by visiting shop.wilcon.com.ph. Shop for all-around home needs and have your items delivered right to your doorsteps or choose to pick-up in store. Online store customers can conveniently pay with their credit card, debit card, BancNet, and GCash.

To ensure a safe and convenient shopping environment in all Wilcon stores, the company continuously prioritizes the implementation of safety protocols for the health and well-being of both employees and valued customers. Wilcon also offers Browse, Call, and Collect or Deliver, and Wilcon Virtual Tour services to complement the in-store shopping experience. In addition, Wilcon provides contactless payment options like bank transfers, GCash, PayMaya, Instapay, PesoNet, WeChat, and Alipay for customers’ convenience.

Wilcon makes loyalty more rewarding for their valued customers by offering exclusive perks and discounts. The Wilcon Loyalty Mobile App allows customers to earn and check their points and convert their purchases to rewards after signing up. The Wilcon Loyalty Mobile App is available for download at the Google Play Store and App Store for free.

Store expansion plans

Wilcon Depot now has 18 branches in Metro Manila and 57 stores in key cities and municipalities of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

The company continuously strives to improve and provide high-quality products and customer experience to its valued shoppers nationwide. The newly-launched store represents Wilcon’s relentless efforts and commitment to providing its valued customers a more convenient and better home shopping experience and fulfilling its aspiration to be part of every Filipino’s journey to build, improve, and refine homes for a more sustainable and comfortable life.

This year, Wilcon Depot plans to open ten (10) more retail stores nationwide.

Start building big ideas for your home and shop now at Wilcon Depot Gapan at Purok Proper II, Santo Cristo Norte, Gapan City, Nueva Ecija.

 

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Overturning Roe would set US against global wave on abortion rights

REUTERS

WHEN the US Supreme Court first legalized abortion in 1973, the country was among the global leaders on reproductive rights. Today, if Roe v. Wade is overturned, it will mean the US is moving in contrast to the recent wave of liberalizing abortion laws that has swept many countries around the world.

In the past 25 years, about 50 countries have increased legal access to abortion, including nations with significant Catholic populations and cultures. In Latin America, some of the region’s most-important economies have reduced restrictions in recent years: Argentina and Colombia legalized the procedure, while Mexico decriminalized it. Ireland repealed an amendment banning most abortions in 2018. Thailand began allowing first-trimester abortions in 2020. Many European nations, along with Canada and New Zealand, permit abortions up to about 23 or 24 weeks of pregnancy, the so-called fetal viability standard.

The overturning of the landmark case would mean that the US would open the door for states to be as restrictive as they deem. While some blue states could serve as abortion havens, red states that have already made abortion access much more limited could bring down more curbs. In the absence of Roe, about two dozen US states have laws on the books that would outlaw the procedure in all or most cases, with others indicating they may move in a similar direction. That could leave some states even more restrictive than several countries in the Middle East, such as Turkey and Tunisia.

If Roe falls, “it would represent the most damaging setback to the rights of women in the history of our country,” Nancy Northup, president and chief executive officer of the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement on Monday.

Already, more than 40 million women between ages 13 and 44 live in states with restrictive abortion rights, costing those economies $105 billion annually by cutting labor force participation and earnings, according to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research.

“Although we think of America as one of the most liberal places, where people have the most rights, we’re seeing it become one of the most restrictive countries when it comes to abortion access,” Christian Nunes, president of the National Organization for Women, said in December.

About two dozen countries, including Egypt, Iraq, and the Philippines, ban abortion under any and all circumstances, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights. In some cases, women and doctors can face prison sentences, steep fines — or, in Iran — death.

But “we’re not seeing right now in the Middle East and North Africa a desire to make laws more punitive and more restrictive for women who need abortions and providers,” Leila Hessini, vice-president for the Global Fund for Women, told Israel’s Haaretz newspaper, adding “there is not the same level of fervor, violence and attacks on women and providers as in the US.”

“Very few” countries have regressed on abortion rights, according to a brief filed to the Supreme Court by a group of international legal scholars. A rollback of abortion laws would put the US on par with Poland and Nicaragua, they said. China is also moving in that direction: Last year the government released guidelines saying it would seek to limit “non-medical abortions” in a bid to reverse the disastrous effects of its one-child policy.

In the US, hundreds of protesters gathered in Washington late Monday after the report that the Supreme Court was on the verge of overturning the decision that enshrined abortion rights. And meanwhile, blue-state governors and politicians hailed their commitment to reproductive rights. President Joseph Biden urged the election of more lawmakers who support abortion rights. — Reuters

North Korea fires ballistic missile towards the sea off its east coast

KCNA VIA REUTERS

SEOUL — North Korea has fired a ballistic missile toward the sea off its east coast on Wednesday, South Korea’s military said, about a week after the North vowed to develop its nuclear forces “at the fastest possible speed.”

The launch, which marks the North’s 14th major weapons test this year, comes days before South Korea’s newly elected President Yoon Suk-yeol takes office on May 10.

South Korea’s military said it detected the launch about noon in the Sunan area of Pyongyang. Sunan is where North Korea last fired what it claimed to be Hwasong-17, a “new type” of intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), on March 24.

Japan’s Coast Guard also said that it had detected what appeared to be a ballistic missile fired from North Korea, and that the projectile had already landed.

Details of the projectile, including its flight range and altitude, were not immediately available.

The latest launch came less than three weeks after the North fired a new tactical guided weapon on April 16 aimed at boosting the country’s nuclear capabilities.

Pyongyang has recently stepped up its weapons tests, resuming long-range missile launches for first time since 2017 in March. Officials in Seoul and Washington say it may also be preparing for a new round of nuclear tests.

Last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pledged to speed up the development of his country’s nuclear arsenal while overseeing a huge military parade as denuclearization talks with the United States remain stalled.

“Our military is maintaining readiness posture while closely monitoring related activities for possible additional launches,” the South Korean military said in a statement. — Reuters

Pope seeks meeting with Putin over Ukraine

REUTERS

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis said in an interview published on Tuesday that he asked for a meeting in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin to try to stop the war in Ukraine but had not received a reply.

The pope also told Italy’s Corriere Della Sera newspaper that Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church, who has given the war his full-throated backing, “cannot become Putin’s altar boy”.

Pope Francis, who made an unprecedented visit to the Russian embassy when the war started, told the newspaper that about three weeks into the conflict, he asked the Vatican’s top diplomat to send a message to Mr. Putin.

The message was “that I was willing to go to Moscow. Certainly, it was necessary for the Kremlin leader to allow an opening. We have not yet received a response and we are still insisting”.

“I fear that Putin cannot, and does not, want to have this meeting at this time. But how can you not stop so much brutality? Twenty-five years ago, in Rwanda we lived through the same thing,” he was quoted as saying, appearing to equate the killings in Ukraine to the genocide in the African country in 1994.

Before the interview, Pope Francis, 85, had not specifically mentioned Russia or Mr. Putin publicly since the start of the conflict on Feb. 24. But he has left little doubt which side he has criticized, using terms such as unjustified aggression and invasion and lamenting atrocities against civilians.

The pope said that perhaps Mr. Putin reacted because of “NATO’s barking at Russia’s gate… I wouldn’t know if this provoked an ire but perhaps it facilitated it”.

Asked about a trip to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, which Pope Francis last month said was a possibility, the pope said he would not go for now.

“First, I have to go to Moscow, first I have to meet Putin … I do what I can. If Putin would only open a door,” he said.

STRAINED RELATIONS
The war in Ukraine has strained relations between the Vatican and the Russian Orthodox Church, and caused a split among Orthodox Christians around the world.

Reuters reported on April 11 that the Vatican was considering extending the pope’s trip to Lebanon on June 12-13 by a day so he could meet with Mr. Kirill on June 14 in Jerusalem. But Francis later decided against it.

In the interview, Pope Francis said that when he had a 40-minute video conference with Mr. Kirill on March 16, the patriarch spent half of it reading from a sheet of paper “with all the justifications for the war”.

Moscow describes its action in Ukraine as a “special operation” to demilitarize and “denazify” its neighbor. Mr. Kirill, 75, sees the war as a bulwark against a West he considers decadent, particularly over the acceptance of homosexuality.

“We (the pope and Kirill) are pastors of the same people of God. That is why we have to seek paths of peace, to cease the fire of weapons. The patriarch cannot become Putin’s altar boy,” Pope Francis was quoted as saying.

The pope also said that when he met Viktor Orban on April 21, the Hungarian prime minister told him “the Russians have a plan, that everything will end on May 9,” referring to the anniversary of Russia’s liberation at the end of World War II.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said the anniversary would have no bearing on Moscow’s military operations in Ukraine. — Reuters

Code Your Future: Learn programming and kick-start your technology career

By Chelsey Keith P. Ignacio, Special Features Writer

Technologies have been increasingly adopted nowadays and would likely further expand in the future. This shows the value of technology professionals.

The information technology (IT) industry now has the highest salary in the country by specialization and position level, according to the Jobstreet Salary Report 2022. StackTrek offers an opportunity that it calls an “ambitious, all-hands-on-deck” initiative to help you kick-start your tech career.

In partnership with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), StackTrek’s Code Your Future seeks to get young people into coding and transform the next generation into tech professionals.

“No other subjects will open as many doors in the 21st century as programming. It is a type of knowledge that will transform your earning potential and change the economic outlook of your family,” StackTrek CEO Billy Yuen said. “So, Code Your Future is about helping people to understand the possibility of a tech career. And more importantly, we help to get them start to coding.”

DICT Undersecretary for Government Digital Broadcast Television and the Digitization of the Entertainment Industry Sector Arnold “Ali” Atienza believe the initiative could help people looking for jobs and even the country. “Rest assured, DICT is going to push for programs like this, which we know will help the country, will help our fellow Filipinos. And hopefully, we can flood the world market with Filipino programmers,” he said.

Code Your Future comprises a series of activities designed to support people, from non-coders to experienced developers, who want to have a successful career in technology.

The initiative includes online programming trainings that will educate non-coders or career shifters on how to write their first line of codes.

“You can learn from these coding trainings, and there is already a platform that you can use for this for free,” shared StackTrek’s Head of Growth Haifa Carina Baluyos. “There are also boot camps that anyone can avail, and it’s completely for free that the only requirement here is how committed are you to really learn and push through throughout the trainings.”

Programming graduates will also have support in preparing for their technical interviews as Code Your Future will also provide hands-on interview kits.

“Especially if you’re graduating students who will be applying for your first job, definitely you don’t have experience yet. So we will be guiding those talents in that area,” Ms. Baluyos assured.

“Apart from just being able to be good in public speaking or talking to interviewers, one of the critical parts here in the IT industry is how are they able to pass the technical examinations or assessments,” she added. “That’s one of the areas that we really want to focus on because a lot of the applicants, they usually fall in this area.”

Code Your Future will also help match talents with opportunities through online meet-and-greet, networking sessions, and career fairs with tech companies.

StackTrek piloted the Code Your Future initiative with a webinar on “Jumpstarting Your Tech Career” last April 29. The session covered tech career trends and steps to get started in programming. Total beginners also learned and were able to code their first program in 15 minutes.

StackTrek is a tech platform aiming to develop programming talent and connect them with career opportunities. It also brought the StackLeague, the largest online programming league in the country, partnered with some of the biggest tech companies including Accenture, AWS, Microsoft, and many more.

ESG investing

BW FILE PHOTO

Are we working on building a better world, a better society for the future? Are businesses focusing more on positive impacts rather than profit? Are capitalists directing more investments into businesses that promote and ensure sustainability? Are investors widely supporting ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) goals? And, are they making money from doing so?

A March 31 article in the Harvard Business Review titled “An Inconvenient Truth About ESG Investing” notes that, “Investing in sustainable funds that prioritize ESG goals is supposed to help improve the environmental and social sustainability of business practices. Unfortunately, close analysis suggests that it’s not only not making much difference to companies’ actual ESG performance, it may actually be directing capital into poor business performers.”

Author Sanjai Bhagat, Provost Professor of Finance at the University of Colorado, and author of Financial Crisis, Corporate Governance, and Bank Capital, published by Cambridge University Press, wrote, “to begin with, ESG funds certainly perform poorly in financial terms… That result might be expected, and it is possible that investors would be happy to sacrifice financial returns in exchange for better ESG performance. Unfortunately, ESG funds don’t seem to deliver better ESG performance either.

“As of December 2021, assets under management at global exchange-traded ‘sustainable’ funds that publicly set environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investment objectives amounted to more than $2.7 trillion; 81% were in European based funds, and 13% in US based funds. In the fourth quarter of 2021 alone, $143 billion in new capital flowed into these ESG funds. How have investors fared? Not that well, it seems,” Bhagat wrote.

Bhagat cited a recent Journal of Finance paper detailing the analysis by University of Chicago researchers of the “Morningstar sustainability ratings of more than 20,000 mutual funds representing over $8 trillion of investor savings.” He noted that while “the highest rated funds in terms of sustainability certainly attracted more capital than the lowest rated funds, none of the high sustainability funds outperformed any of the lowest rated funds.”

He also cited research work by Columbia University and London School of Economics that looked into the “ESG record of US companies in 147 ESG fund portfolios and that of US companies in 2,428 non-ESG portfolios.” Bhagat noted that “companies in the ESG portfolios had worse compliance record for both labor and environmental rules. They also found that companies added to ESG portfolios did not subsequently improve compliance with labor or environmental regulations.”

He added, “A recent European Corporate Governance Institute paper compared the ESG scores of companies invested in by 684 US institutional investors that signed the United Nation’s Principles of Responsible Investment (PRI) and 6,481 institutional investors that did not sign the PRI during 2013–2017. They did not detect any improvement in the ESG scores of companies held by PRI signatory funds subsequent to their signing. Furthermore, the financial returns were lower and the risk higher for the PRI signatories.”

While Bhagat’s assertion is backed by studies, these were mainly concentrated on US investors and US companies. In this line, his article does not necessarily reflect the ESG picture worldwide. However, the study results are enough to make one ponder whether “ESG investing” is actually delivering positive results, particularly in wealthier nations. Is capital truly moving away from so-called “dirty” industries?

It will be interesting to see a similar analysis on ESG investing covering Philippine companies and investors. One wonders what such analysis can reveal about business and investor sentiment on ESG investing and how invested funds have fared in the last five years. Also, is the focus on ESG making investing less profitable? Or, as Bhagat asked, “Why are ESG funds doing so badly?”

“Part of the explanation may simply be that an express focus on ESG is redundant: in competitive labor markets and product markets, corporate managers trying to maximize long-term shareholder value should of their own accord pay attention to employee, customer, community, and environmental interests. On this basis, setting ESG targets may actually distort decision making,” he wrote.

“There’s also some evidence that companies publicly embrace ESG as a cover for poor business performance,” he said. “Funds investing in companies that publicly embrace ESG sacrifice financial returns without gaining much, if anything, in terms of actually furthering ESG interests.”

Bhagat cited a recent paper by Ryan Flugum of the University of Northern Iowa and Matthew Souther of the University of South Carolina that noted, “when managers underperformed the earnings expectations (set by analysts following their company), they often publicly talked about their focus on ESG. But when they exceeded earnings expectations, they made few, if any, public statements related to ESG. Hence, sustainable fund managers who direct their investments to companies publicly embracing ESG principles may be over-investing in financially underperforming companies.”

This leaves one with the bad impression, correctly or otherwise, that companies’ commitment to ESG goals is just lip service. Pretty much like NATO, I guess, which is defined by some as “No Action, Talk Only.” And while Philippine law requires particularly listed companies to report on their ESG commitments and initiatives, I am uncertain whether such a requirement actually matter to the investing public. Moreover, do such regulations actually encourage ESG investments?

Locally, there seems to be confidence that ESG investing works. Paul Chester See, Assurance Partner at PwC Philippines, noted, “Initially, the ESG factors were only used by investors to determine potential investments. Nowadays, ESG gains more recognition among investors because it raises public awareness on the environmental and social influence of companies. Investors want to know that a company is creating long-term value. They are looking for businesses that have sustainable paths and a sustainable strategy that considers these factors. In fact, sustainability itself will become a license to operate for most businesses.”

In an article posted on the PwC Philippines website, he added that investors and business owners perceived “ESG as a form of social responsibility — a broader obligation to society as they reinforce a more sustainable future for the world. Environmental, social, and governance concerns may seem new to local business but this year [2021] proves that we need to embrace it now more than ever. ESG will continue to be essential even in the post-pandemic world as it amplifies a company’s resiliency to unforeseen global or local crises.”

Despite the US experience, however, perhaps there is hope yet for ESG investing in the Philippines. As BusinessWorld reported previously, local investor interest in ESG actually grew even during the pandemic. For one, BDO Unibank, Inc.’s sustainability themed unit investment trust fund (UITF) saw its assets under management (AUM) grow to almost P100 million by end-2020, from P75.2 million in 2019, and just about P55.5 million when the fund started in 2016.

“While the fund is still small, it has the potential to grow in size and importance as more investors are consciously looking for companies that protect the environment, are socially responsible, and practice good governance in a sustainable manner,” BDO said of the growth. The UITF’s returns were at 13.95% and 19.9% in the second half and the fourth quarter of 2020, respectively.

Of course, a P100-million fund like this is just a drop in the bucket for BDO. But it will be interesting to see how other locally managed ESG-connected investment funds have been faring since 2021. Are they just as successful? Also, are local investors willing to receive lower profits in favor of building a better world? And, will the incoming administration continue in the next six years the policy and regulatory push favoring the growth of local ESG investing?

 

Marvin Tort is a former managing editor of BusinessWorld, and a former chairman of the Philippine Press Council

matort@yahoo.com

One’s vote reflects one’s values

BW FILE PHOTO

Monday, May 9, 2022, Filipinos all over the world will elect the 17th president of the Philippines, the vice-president, 12 senators, hundreds of district representatives and party-list congressmen, more than a thousand mayors and vice-mayors. Councilors, hundreds of board members, and more than 80 governors and vice-governors. That’s a few days from now, Thursday, May 5, and that’s quite a number of candidates whose qualifications and track record one has to evaluate and assess.

The first time we voted was in 1969: Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. was running for reelection against the Liberal Party candidate, Sergio Osmena, Jr.

Marcos’s running mate, Vice-President Fernando Lopez, was running against Genaro Magsaysay, younger brother of the late President Ramon Magsaysay. Marcos’s Nacionalista Party (NP) senatorial slate in the 1967 midterm senatorial, congressional and local elections, had run roughshod over the decimated Liberal Party (LP). Only Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, Jr., former governor of Tarlac, who ran what was then considered by Philippine election standards, a scientific, technological, and highly mobile campaign featuring one of the then most modern Bell Jet helicopters. Ninoy finished second and, together with Gaudencio Antonino’s widow, Magnolia Welborn, survived the NP onslaught.

Gaudencio Antonino perished in a helicopter crash on Nov. 13, 1967, a day before the midterm elections. Magnolia took over the candidacy of Gaudencio Sr. and was elected senator in place of her husband.

Ninoy’s 1967 senatorial candidacy was under a cloud of doubt because he would not yet be 35 years old, the minimum age requirement to run for the Senate, by election day, Nov. 14, 1967. Ninoy’s 35th birthday was on Nov. 27. The Supreme Court later ruled that the word “elections” includes the days up to the proclamation of the winners. Winners were proclaimed in December 1967 thus paving the way for Ninoy to be the youngest senator at that time.

Ninoy had known that there were serious legal issues against his senatorial candidacy. All of the legal luminaries he consulted said so, including those from within the LP which, however, had run out of viable candidates. But Ninoy wanted to run and even volunteered to be Secretary-General of the then badly-decimated LP: there were then 15 NP senators against seven LP lawmakers in the upper chamber. Ninoy was ready to invest in the senatorial race, even if he was knocked out by the age issue, for the 1969 elections and was already looking forward to the 1973 presidential race.

It was therefore with great alarm that Ninoy met the news of Antonino’s death. He felt that people could mistake him for Antonino: “Aquino” and “Antonino” could lead to confusion among voters. In addition, both were known to be campaigning on helicopters. Ninoy felt voters might be so confused that he was the “Antonino” who died in a helicopter crash and any vote for him would just go to waste. It is to the credit of Ninoy’s information infrastructure to have acted so swiftly to counteract the negative effects of the Antonino tragedy during those days when there were no computers, cell phones, or social media to speak of. It merely reemphasized how media savvy the ex-Korean war journalist was.

Marcos’s and the NP’s messaging during the 1967 senatorial campaign was dominated by the so-called “RR and S” — Rice, Roads and Schools.

I got my second chance to vote in the 1971 senatorial elections. It was the last before Marcos declared Martial Law. Marcos and his NP almost completely dominated the 1967 polls, but 1971 was an entirely different story. The LP rode high on the emotional impact of the Plaza Miranda bombing and the message that Marcos lacked effective control of both law and order and the then-emerging insurgency situation, and won six of the eight senatorial seats being contested in 1971.

The LP was holding its miting de avance (a major rally) on the evening of August 21, 1971, at Plaza Miranda, the traditional stronghold of free speech, when three grenades tossed onto the LP stage exploded in rapid succession. The grenade attack caused the deaths of nine people including news reporters and photographers and injured close to a hundred, most of whom were LP members. The explosion almost wiped out the LP hierarchy which included party president Gerardo Roxas and his wife, Judy Araneta, Senator Jovito Salonga, and LP officials of the city of Manila including Ramon Bagatsing, Sr.

The grenade attack, which Marcos and his propagandists tried to pin on the Communists, was the main campaign message of the LP which continued to portray Marcos as a violent man who had no use for democratic processes.

The LP senatorial slate went by the acronym KIMMPOSS for Eva Estrada Kalaw, Eddie Ilarde, Monching Mitra, Gene Magsaysay, Salipada Pendatun, Sonny Osmeña, Melanio Singson, and Jovito Salonga. If memory serves me right, everyone in the slate but Pendatun and Singson was injured in the blast. Kalaw, Ilarde, Mitra, Magsaysay, Osmeña, and Salonga were injured and won. Only Alejandro Almendras and Ernie Maceda from the NP made it to the Senate in 1971.

Shortly after the Plaza Miranda grenade explosions, Marcos suspended the writ of the habeas corpus, the suspension of which could be used in order not to “present the body” of an imprisoned or detained person who has not been charged with any crime.

The 1971 elections were the last under the 1935 Constitution before Marcos imposed Martial Rule. He had barangay assemblies held to approve the 1973 Martial Law Constitution. No secret balloting was held. Citizens were just ordered to raise their hands to approve the constitution.

It was not until 1978 that some form of elections for regional representatives to the National Parliament, or Batasang Pambansa, were held. Except for the National Capital Region (NCR) or Metro Manila, and some parts of northern Mindanao, there was no viable or genuine opposition. Marcos created the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL). He then had his wife Imelda, the governor of Metro Manila and head of the Ministry of Human Settlements, head the 21-person KBL lineup for the NCR. Ninoy led the Lakas ng Bayan (LABAN) team and campaigned from his prison cell. Ninoy’s campaign included a prime-time interview on the government station moderated by the late Ronnie Nathanielsz whose pro-government bias became increasingly obvious as the night wore on. The night before the elections, a spontaneous noise barrage occurred which served as some kind of forecast of the possible outcome of the elections.

As expected, however, the elections, which were marred by violence, suppression of LABAN and its supporters and campaigners, turned out in favor of KBL: the party won all 21 seats with Imelda taking the top spot.

The 1978 elections did not have the elements of a democratic election: there was no freedom of assembly (LABAN rallies were harassed or requests for the group’s gatherings were either denied or altogether ignored); there was no freedom of speech; and the obvious bias of the Commission on Elections for the party in power delivered mortal blows against democracy.

There were, of course, other elections under Marcos, culminating in the snap presidential election in 1986. The whole world knows what happened and what the final outcome was.

As we all go to the polls on May 9, it may be worth reflecting on the statement of Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo of the Diocese of Kidapawan that “one’s vote reflects one’s values.”

 

Philip Ella Juico’s areas of interest include the protection and promotion of democracy, free markets, sustainable development, social responsibility and sports as a tool for social development. He obtained his doctorate in business at De La Salle University. Dr. Juico served as secretary of Agrarian Reform during the Corazon C. Aquino administration.

India’s heatwaves are testing the limits of human survival

CROWDED New Delhi street — WIKIPEDIA/UNSPLASH

NEW DELHI feels like it is on fire. The heat comes off the road in blistering waves, and the water that flows from the cold tap is too hot to touch. Daytime temperatures have hit 44° Celsius (111° Fahrenheit) and often do not fall below 30° in the night. A giant landfill on the outskirts of the capital spontaneously combusted a week ago, and the 17-story high dump that contains millions of tons of garbage continues to smolder, worsening the city’s already dangerously polluted air.

Daily power outages driven by a surge in demand for electricity have resulted in blackouts as long as eight hours in some parts of India, while coal stocks — the fuel that accounts for 70% of the country’s electricity generation — are running low, prompting warnings of a fresh power crisis. The northern wheat crop is scorched. It was the hottest March in 122 years. Spring just didn’t happen, and those extreme temperatures continued into April and May (though they are predicted to ease this week). Still, it’s not until June that the monsoon is expected to arrive and provide any kind of relief.

What’s most alarming about this heatwave is that it’s not so much a one-time ordeal as a taste of things to come as the effects of global warming push India and its neighbors to levels where the climate is a core threat to human health.

The most worrying weather measurement is not the heat typically reported in forecasts but the wet-bulb temperature, which combines heat and humidity to indicate how much evaporation can be absorbed into the air. At wet-bulb temperatures above 35° Celsius, we become unable to reduce our temperature via sweating and will suffer potentially fatal heatstroke after only a few hours, even with shade and water. Similar effects can result for those working outdoors when wet bulb temperatures exceed 32°, and measures as low as 28° caused tens of thousands of deaths in the European and Russian heatwaves of 2003 and 2010.

Humidity falls as temperature rises, so such events were once thought to be extraordinarily rare. One 2018 study concluded that the most severe temperatures of close to 35° “almost never occur in the current climate.” In fact, closer analysis of data from weather stations done in 2020 suggests they’re already happening relatively frequently, particularly in the heavily populated belt from the Persian Gulf through Pakistan and northwest India.

Just 12% of India’s 1.4 billion citizens have access to air conditioning, which means hundreds of millions of people are simply unable to cool themselves when their bodies reach the point of heatstroke. It’s a situation mirrored in neighboring Pakistan, which is experiencing similarly catastrophic heatwave conditions. Daily wage earners, who toil in the fields, work in factories and construction, sweep streets, and build roads, have no escape.

Multiple regions of India have already been edging close to critical wet-bulb temperatures over the past week, according to government data, though the maximum humidities haven’t necessarily been occurring at the same time as the peak temperatures. In the eastern Odisha state, peak temperatures and humidities in parts of the capital Bhubaneswar on Sunday would have produced wet-bulb temperatures of 36.6° Celsius if they happened at the same time, the data show. Kolkata, a city larger than Los Angeles or London, also saw conditions last Friday that would have hit 35° Celsius if simultaneous.

The risk is that, even if the most hazardous levels are avoided in the current heatwave, each hot season is a fresh roll of the dice on whether a freak event will occur that will lead to vast numbers of deaths. The odds lengthen with each passing year. The world is currently in the grip of a La Niña climate cycle, which typically brings cooler summer weather to India. When that next flips to El Niño, the risks will ramp higher still.

That the government hasn’t declared a national disaster and rolled out an appropriate response will come as no surprise to those who lived through the nation’s deadly COVID-19 epidemic.

India does have a “National Action Plan on Heat Related Illnesses,” and the federal government on May 1 issued an advisory to states urging them to ensure hospitals were ready to deal with an expected surge in demand. But given that the India Meteorological department (which started collecting nationwide records in 1901) has been raising the alarm with heat wave warnings on April 25, it all feels a little underdone. Recommended measures such as whitewashing roofs to cool building interiors would be insufficient to deal with a major heatwave. Advice to ensure secure power supply to health centers won’t help if heat and the load from millions of air conditioners cause the power grid to fall over when it’s most needed.

A year ago, India was reeling from a deadly COVID-19 wave as citizens took to social media to beg for oxygen and hospitals turned away critically ill people gasping for breath while the underfunded health system collapsed under the weight of decades of government neglect. The World Health Organization estimates at least 4 million Indians died in that carnage, way beyond the official figure of just under 524,000 fatalities. (The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi disputes that finding, even though it has been replicated by other experts.)

We’ll never know, as the majority of deaths aren’t recorded in the world’s largest democracy. So many of those who expire from the heat, dying on the baking pavements they sleep on or in the unbearably hot slums on the city’s fringes, will similarly go uncounted. That means governments, state and federal, will never properly plan for heatwaves, nor will they invest in the infrastructure and systems needed to provide relief and help reduce the intensity of these climate change-driven disasters. With a warming planet and the increasing intensity of extreme weather events, that has to change.

BLOOMBERG OPINION

The only survey that counts

SHUBHAM DHAGE-UNSPLASH

IN A FEW DAYS, all the guessing and strategizing over momentum, regional gains and losses, and the effect of endorsements and press conferences will be over. The previous surveys using a miniscule sample (sometimes as small as 1,200 respondents) will be replaced by the actual voting population of 62 million. There will be no more undecided voters, only absentees. And the frontrunner in this case will be assuming office by the end of June.

Here are the possible reactions to the mandate of the people.

Given the history of elections, we do not expect any concession speeches — “The people have spoken, and we bow to their wisdom and retire to private life as we thank all those who supported us.” More likely there will be a protest lodged with allegations of cheating (“widespread” is the preferred adjective) and suppression of votes — the dead were not allowed to vote.

The winning camp will be in transition mode after a gracious acceptance speech (when most of the votes have been counted) — we reach out to all colors and unite today to work together for the good of the country we love. There will be 6,000 positions that need to be filled. The incumbent team (let’s not call them lame ducks) will roll out the red carpet, headed by the Secretary of Finance, and reach out to the winner’s transition team to propose the priorities that need to be attended to.

Campaign strategists and political analysts will descend on media and give their “20-20 hindsight perspective” on what happened and how the losers lost (that Easter press conference didn’t help) and how the winner won. They will imply that they were the ones who shifted the paradigm and tweaked the strategy for the winning formula — it’s not about what you are against but what you are for. Negative campaigning works only in the short term. And the trolls this time were not effective.

A speechwriting group is formed by the winner, maybe with transferees from other camps, excluding spokespersons whose profiles are too high to make a credible move. Past inaugural speeches are scanned for a slogan or a battle cry to adopt. Okay, “no more wang-wang” has been taken. So has the “New Society.”

As for the supporters, some CV’s will find their way to the desks of the transition team — (Can I be appointed as country director for ADB?) There is little modesty in these job applications. With hints of early support for the winner — I changed my wardrobe early for the preferred color. Chronology is important in declaring allegiance. (There were only five people in the room when I joined the volunteers.)

The frenzy of activities can be characterized as a migration pattern.

Like the Berlin Wall when it came down and pieces of it sold as souvenirs to tourists (such as me), the pieces sold could have been rebuilt to make a second even longer wall. And so too will the declared “supporters.” Of course, even the most high-profile members of the losing group such as governors and mayors that openly campaigned for the losing side will quickly change colors (literally) and turn their coats. Their motives are sincere — we want to unite behind the leader/winner. The country does not need to be divided. And so, the migration starts… and doesn’t stop.

And what about the true believers?

Not all supporters are on tiptoes, waiting to be kissed with an appointment. Some sincerely gave their time, talent, and treasure because they believed. And they may simply move back to their retirement or whatever they were doing before the campaigns started — like taking foreign trips and smelling the flowers.

Every election, especially for the top position changes the country for better or for worse.

The behavior and values of the newly elected leader are closely watched and become the personification of the country and how its citizens and even the world view it. It is the new brand in the global shelf of products.

Will the new leader be bringing out the best in us with values of simplicity, integrity, and a booming economy providing ease of doing business in this country?

She will not disappoint.

 

Tony Samson is chairman and CEO of TOUCH xda

ar.samson@yahoo.com

Health snack brand offers mental resilience program too 

Tough Banana, a local health snack brand, has branched out to also start offering a mental resilience program customizable for individuals, schools, and companies.  

“Everyone experiences life challenges at different stages in their lives,” said Eric L. Dimar, a psychologist and registered guidance counsellor with DMR Psychological Services. Mr. Dimar co-developed the Tough Banana resilience program with its co-founder, Cherry S. Kho.  

“The information that we share is something anyone at any point in their life can use,” he added in an e-mail. “The earlier we realize these things, the better it is in the long run.”  

A free Zoom webinar on May 6 (https://bit.ly/ToughBanana-Resilience) has been organized for those who wish to know more about the program.  

Tough Banana started as a snack in 2019, Ms. Kho said.  

“But then we felt it would be more powerful to integrate the physical and mental — as both need each other to be more valuable and useful,” she added in the same e-mail. “Also, resilience is something that is so natural for Filipinos to capitalize on.”  

Divided into four parts, the program’s first session introduces the concept and value of resilience. It also serves as a baseline measure for determining the training’s effectiveness. Subsequent sessions focus on growth mindset, mental toughness, and how to turn frustration to motivation.  

Modules are also available for subjects such as team communication and trust building.  

A total of 40 employees from two company clients have thus far completed the program since its inception in November 2021.  

Resilience is bouncing back to one’s “normal” after adversity, according to Mr. Dimar. It is responding to situations with calmer centeredness. 

“There are people who are naturally resilient. The program can help build on that,” Ms. Kho told BusinessWorld. On the other hand, “there are people who are easily affected by unforeseen life events. This program can help them become more resilient.”  

The snack, meanwhile – whose main ingredient is bananas – likewise symbolizes hardiness.  

“Saba banana  is a resilient plant that doesn’t require much care and can grow essentially anywhere,” Ms. Kho said.  

Several studies have shown the connection between a healthy diet and mental wellness. Among the particular nutrients found in bananas is potassium, which supports heart health, and fiber, which helps manage blood sugar levels.  

COMPANY SUPPORT
PhilCare, a health maintenance organization, gleaned from its 2021 survey that the major causes of work-related stress are: 1.) getting exposed to COVID-19 at work (52%), and, 2.) taking care of both personal and family needs while at work (45.7%).  

To combat stress, PhilCare suggests that companies implement a clear strategy on how to respond to the economic impact of the pandemic. It also suggests setting clear guidelines on how to promote employee safety and wellness. 

Providing their staff with mental health support goes beyond the requirements of Republic Act Number 11036 (the 2018 Mental Health Act) and Order No. 208-20 (the Department of Labor and Employment’s guidelines for mental health policies), said the co-developers of Tough Banana’s resilience program.  

“People are a company’s number one resources. Taking care of their people in a holistic manner – financial, inspirational, physical, and mental – should always be the case,” Ms. Kho said in the same e-mail. Life will not always be easy, which is why it is “important that we ready ourselves [for] when tough times come. — Patricia Mirasol

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