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SM Supermalls powers up sustainability efforts, installs e-Vehicle charging stations in NCR malls

From L-R, Porsche Managing Director Mr. William Angsiy, SM Engineering Design and Development President Mr. Hans Sy, Jr., PGA Cars Chairman Mr. Roberto Coyiuto III, SM Supermalls President Steven Tan, and Audi Managing Director, Mr. Christopher Chan.

SM Supermalls has deployed the first ever in-mall free charging stations in the Philippines for e-Vehicles (EV) at select SM malls as part of its efforts to create a safer, greener future for all.

The free EV charging stations were simultaneously launched today at SM Aura in Taguig City, SM North Edsa in Quezon City, SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City, and SM Megamall in Mandaluyong; with PGA Cars providing the car displays at the official launch event in SM Aura.

This initiative is part of SM Supermall’s push to support technological innovations for a more sustainable and eco-friendly future.

“SM Supermalls will remain true to our promise of creating a safe malling experience for our mallgoers, and part of that commitment is building a greener environment for everyone. We will always strive to ramp up our efforts to give back to our communities through our innovative projects in driving sustainability in our 79 malls nationwide. We want to urge everyone to consider more sustainable options in their everyday life, and shifting to e-Vehicles is a giant leap towards a greener future for all of us,” SM Supermalls President Steven T. Tan said.

SM Prime, through the leadership of Disaster Resilience Champion Mr. Hans Sy, has officially launched their EV Charging Stations at SM Aura, SM Mall of Asia, SM Megamall, and SM North EDSA. As part of the SM Green Movement initiative, the SM Group continues its commitment to helping make the planet greener through projects such as this. For the first 6 months, SM’s E-vehicle Charging Stations will be free of charge for all shoppers. From L-R, DOE Supervisor for the Energy Utilization Management Bureau Usec. Jesusito Sulit, DENR Field Operations for Luzon and Visayas Asec. Gilbert Gonzales, SM Engineering Design and Development President Mr. Hans Sy, Jr., DOST Administration and Legal Affairs Asec. Teodoro Gatchalian, SM Supermalls President Mr. Steven Tan, DTI Competitiveness and Innovation Usec. Rafaelita Aldaba, DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez, and DOTR I-ACT Chief Charlie Del Rosario.

The in-mall charging stations is conveniently located in SM AURA B1 Parking, SM Mall of Asia 3rd Level North Parking Building, SM Megamall B1 Parking Mega Fashion Hall, and SM North Edsa 3rd Level North Parking Tower, have two Wallbox Pulsar Plus 7.4KW AC chargers per mall. These chargers support e-Vehicle brands such as Audi, BMW, Fiat, Ford, GMC, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Volkswagen, and Hyundai, among others.

The official launch at SM Aura presented the EV charging stations, with PGA Cars providing the car displays featuring their electronic vehicles.

The launch of the EV charging stations in premier SM malls is a product of SM Supermalls’ continuous partnership with the Department of Energy, Department of Transportation, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Science and Technology, and Department of Trade and Industry in assisting the government accelerate its renewable energy and sustainability initiatives.

“SM Supermalls will continue our staunch support of the government’s new EV law and the National Renewable Energy Program to promote a more eco-friendly society for all Filipinos. We remain steadfast in our goal of increasing our share of renewable energy sources by 50 percent by the end of 2022,” Tan said.

E-vehicles are true zero emission vehicles that have electric motors instead of internal combustion engines. As of 2020, there are 12,965 registered EVs in the Philippines. SM Supermalls is one of the first mall chains to establish in-mall e-Vehicle charging sites in the country.

SM Supermalls is the first mall chain to establish in-mall e-Vehicle charging sites in the country. In 2018, SM North Edsa inaugurated its first EV charging station to service electric public transport routes and most recently these EV chargers have been updated.

SM Supermalls President Steven Tan expressed, “SM Supermalls will continue our staunch support of the government’s new EV law and the National Renewable Energy Program to promote a more eco-friendly society for all Filipinos. We remain steadfast in our goal of increasing our share of renewable energy sources by 50 percent by the end of 2022.”

In the coming months, expect that more fast chargers will be installed in other SM Malls nearest you.

The EV Charging Stations Project supports The SM Green Movement towards a greener planet. #smgreenmovement @smsupermalls. For more information, visit www.smsupermalls.com and follow @smsupermalls on all social media accounts.

 

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Marcos declines debate with top presidential rival

FACEBOOK.COM/BONGBONGMARCOS

PRESIDENTIAL frontrunner Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr.,  on Friday turned down his closest rival’s challenge to a debate, saying a face-off with Maria Leonor “Leni” G. Robredo will never happen and he prefers to communicate directly with the public.

Ms. Robredo, who narrowly beat Mr. Marcos in the 2016 vice presidential election, challenged the son and namesake of the late dictator to a debate “anytime, anywhere” so voters can scrutinize their characters and compare their visions. 

Mr. Marcos has attended just one of four presidential debates since campaigning for the May 9 election began, compared to Ms. Robredo’s three. 

Mr. Marcos led Ms. Robredo by 32 points in the latest survey in March and the two have a bitter rivalry, with Ms. Robredo’s affiliation firmly with the movement that toppled his late father in a 1986 “people power” uprising. 

“I am inviting Mr. Marcos to a debate to give the public a chance to face him and ask him about the controversies surrounding him,” Robredo said in a statement. 

“We owe it to the people and to our country.” 

Mr. Marcos’s spokesman, Victor D. Rodriguez, said “Bongbong,” as Mr. Marcos is commonly known, wanted to keep campaigning civil. 

“Bongbong Marcos’s Uniteam is guided by positive campaigning, no badmouthing. It sends its message and call for unity directly to the public,” he said in a statement. 

Mr. Marcos’s ducking of debates has been criticized by opponents and academic groups, who say the public is being denied the opportunity to see all candidates challenged and scrutinized.

Political analyst Earl Parreno said shunning debates was Mr. Marcos’s way of ensuring his “shallow knowledge of issues will not be exposed.”

Though incumbent leader Rodrigo R. Duterte’s daughter, Sara Duterte-Carpio, is Mr. Marcos’s running mate and his party has backed Mr. Marcos, the president himself has said he wants to be neutral and has not endorsed anyone.

More than 67 million Filipinos have registered to vote in the elections, which historically have a high turnout. 

Posts contested include the presidency, vice presidency, 12 senate seats, 300 lower house seats, and roughly 18,000 local positions. — Reuters

One woman is trying to prevent the revival of a Marcos dynasty

Vice President Leni Robredo’s campaign rally held in Pampanga on April 9. — VP LENI ROBREDO FB PAGE

WITH just weeks to go before the Philippines holds a presidential election, the lone female candidate is attracting some of the biggest pre-election crowds in decades as she seeks to pull a stunning upset against frontrunner Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr. 

Maria Leonor “Leni” G. Robredo, who became vice president in 2016 after defeating Mr. Marcos, has dispersed more than two million volunteers to go house-to-house and visit local markets to speak about her accomplishments and counter disinformation on social media that her campaign says comes from her opponents.

The question is whether the groundswell of support for Ms. Robredo is too little, too late: A poll in March found the 57-year-old lawyer was trailing by more than 30 percentage points to Marcos Jr., the only son of the late Philippine dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos. 

“Many are heckling us, saying we don’t have a chance to win. Do you believe that?” Ms. Robredo asked a crowd her campaign said exceeded 400,000 people during her birthday rally on April 23. “No!” cheered her supporters who came in droves to the gathering in Pasay City on the outskirts of the capital.

It’s not the first time Ms. Robredo has been in this position. In polls before the 2016 vice presidential race, Ms. Robredo trailed Mr. Marcos by six percentage points just a month before the vote and managed to defeat him by a slim margin, resulting in a lengthy legal battle. 

This time around she has a much steeper climb, thanks in part to Mr. Marcos’s running mate, Sara Duterte-Carpio. The daughter of President Rodrigo R. Duterte had been running first in presidential surveys before she decided to go for the No. 2 role. The formidable alliance combines the northern strongholds of the Marcos clan with the popularity of the Dutertes in the south. 

Ms. Robredo has sought to appeal to suburban voters wary of a return to the Marcos years. Her rise in politics has mirrored that of former president Corazon C. Aquino, who led the revolt against Marcos after her husband was assassinated by military escorts at the Manila international airport in 1983. Ms. Robredo took part in those protests, which she described as a “political awakening.”

She entered politics after her spouse, then a member of the cabinet of former President Benigno “Noynoy” S.C. Aquino III, died in a plane crash in 2012. In the 2016 race, Ms. Robredo used the color yellow in her campaign against Mr. Marcos, similar to what Corazon Aquino did years earlier while opposing his father. 

This time, however, Ms. Robredo is standing as a last-minute independent after the opposition failed to agree on a candidate. She chose pink as a campaign color, taking a cue from her supporters who used the color in social-media profiles when they saw her wear a bright pink ribbon to announce her candidacy in October.

The only woman among the 10 presidential contenders, Ms. Robredo is running on a platform that an honest and effective government will lead the Southeast Asian nation to inclusive prosperity. Rappler columnist Jamina Vesta Jugo said the choice of pink emphasizes Ms. Robredo’s “public femininity” in a political realm dominated by the “macho posturing” of Mr. Duterte’s administration. 

Mr. Marcos has stayed ahead in part due to social media posts and online commentary that say his father’s rule was a golden era and deny that atrocities were committed. A cautious speaker, he has largely focused on messages of unity in rallies, brought together by local politicians, and shunned presidential debates.

In contrast, Ms. Robredo has faced a barrage of disinformation on social media, forcing her to deny several times that she is having affairs. The latest attack against her as the vote draws near was a fake sex video of her eldest daughter. 

“Sexism is part of the arsenal of disinformation actors,” said Nicole Curato, a sociology professor at the University of Canberra. “These are meant to humiliate women who are active in politics. It also sends a signal to other women who wish to speak up and take part in politics.”

Ms. Robredo said she regrets ignoring online attacks earlier and has urged supporters to fight lies with truth and to knock on doors to woo the undecided. Her campaign says the biggest jumps in support comes whenever she attends rallies in the provinces and interacts with her volunteers on the ground, an unusual strategy in a nation where local politicians tend to organize voters. 

“We didn’t have the machinery, the air war,” campaign spokesman Barry Gutierrez said. “What we did have is a large, heavily invested volunteer army.”

Among those volunteers is 32-year-old Annie Maligaya, who leads a group of neighbors who banded together to campaign for Ms. Robredo, picking up the tab for transportation, meals and campaign materials.

“I’ve attended several webinars where we share tips on how to converse with people and convert them,” she said in Mandaluyong City in the capital region. “Do not let hecklers demoralize you, just focus. Reach out to as many as you can. And the suggestion is to keep the conversation as light as possible.” 

Rival campaigns have sought to downplay Ms. Robredo’s efforts. The camp of Manila City Mayor Francisco “Isko” M. Domagoso, who’s ranked third in the presidential contest, said Robredo is merely preaching to the choir during rallies. 

At a recent rally in Bataan province north of Metro Manila, an area where Mr. Marcos has received the endorsement of local politicians, some 65,000 people showed up at Ms. Robredo’s rally. “We will not surrender Bataan,” the crowd chanted, in reference to Filipino and American soldiers’ last stand in the province against the Japanese during World War II.

Still, it’s not clear if Ms. Robredo is reaching a broader audience despite the enthusiasm she’s generated, said Cleo Calimbahin, a political science professor at De La Salle University. 

“The concern is, will the momentum be enough to win the election? Can these crowds translate to votes?” she said. “I don’t think they have cracked the code.” — Bloomberg

‘Battle for Donbas’ critical for Russia, says British defense ministry

Army soldier figurines are displayed in front of the Ukrainian and Russian flag colors background in this illustration taken, Feb. 13, 2022. — REUTERS/DADO RUVIC/ILLUSTRATION

KYIV — The “Battle of Donbas” remains Russia’s main strategic focus in Ukraine, Britain’s defense ministry said on Friday, but it has suffered significant losses for limited territorial gains. 

Russia withdrew its forces from outside Kyiv last month after failing to take the capital in the initial stages of its Feb. 24 invasion and launched a massive attack in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region. 

Moscow regards winning the “Battle for Donbas” as crucial if it is to achieve its stated aim of securing control over the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, Britain’s defense ministry said. 

“Fighting has been particularly heavy around Lysychansk and Severodonetsk, with an attempted advance south from Izium towards Slovyansk,” the ministry said on Twitter. 

Due to strong Ukrainian resistance, Russian territorial gains have been limited and achieved at significant cost, the ministry added in the regular bulletin. Reuters could not immediately verify the report. 

Some of the fiercest fighting and bombardments have occurred in the south and east of Ukraine, with the southern port of Mariupol under siege for months and in ruins. Its remaining residents and Ukrainian forces are holed-up underground in the Azovstal steel works. 

Capturing Mariupol would link pro-Russian separatist territory with the Crimea region that Moscow annexed in 2014. 

Mariupol city council has said about 100,000 city residents were “in mortal danger” because of Russian shelling and unsanitary conditions. It said the shortage of drinking water and food was “catastrophic.”

A Ukrainian presidential adviser said this week that Russia was hitting the Azovstal steel plant with bunker-buster bombs. Reuters could not verify the details. 

Ukrainian commanders at Azovstal have vowed not to surrender. 

Ukraine’s general staff said on Friday that Russia was shelling Ukrainian positions along the line of contact in the south and east to prevent them regrouping. It said Azovstal remained cut off. 

KYIV STILL VULNERABLE 

Two Russian missiles struck Kyiv during a visit by the head of the United Nations on Thursday, Ukrainian officials said, highlighting concerns that the capital remains vulnerable. 

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the blasts “prove that we must not drop our vigilance. We must not think that the war is over.” 

Moscow’s assault in the east drew new US pledges of military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine on Thursday. 

Heeding repeated Ukrainian pleas for heavier weaponry, US President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., asked Congress for $33 billion to support Kyiv, a massive jump in funding that includes over $20 billion for weapons, ammunition and other military aid. 

“We need this bill to support Ukraine in its fight for freedom,” Mr. Biden said. “The cost of this fight — it’s not cheap — but caving to aggression is going to be more costly.” 

Russian President Vladimir Putin calls Moscow’s actions a “special military operation” to disarm Ukraine, defend Russian-speaking people from persecution and prevent the United States from using the country to threaten Russia. 

Ukraine dismisses Mr. Putin’s claims of persecution and says it is fighting an imperial-style land grab that has flattened Ukrainian cities, forced more than 5 million to flee abroad and killed thousands since the invasion started on Feb. 24. 

Washington, which together with its allies has placed sweeping sanctions on Moscow, hopes Ukrainian forces can not only repel Russia’s assault in the east but also weaken its military so that it can no longer menace neighbors. 

Russia regards NATO’s actions as tantamount to waging a “proxy war” against it, and has made a number of threats this week of unspecified retaliation. 

It cut gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria on Wednesday after they refused to pay in roubles, marking Moscow’s toughest response yet to Western economic sanctions. 

Russia has reported what it says have been a series of Ukrainian strikes on Russian regions that border Ukraine and has warned that such attacks risk significant escalation. 

Ukraine has not directly accepted responsibility for strikes inside Russia but says the incidents are payback. Russia has taken umbrage at statements by NATO member Britain that it is legitimate for Ukraine to target Russian logistics. 

“In the West, they are openly calling on Kyiv to attack Russia including with the use of weapons received from NATO countries,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters in Moscow. 

“I don’t advise you to test our patience further.” 

The US mission to the OSCE security body said the Kremlin might attempt “sham referenda” in southern and eastern areas it had captured since the Feb. 24 invasion, using “a well-worn playbook that steals from history’s darkest chapters”. 

“These falsified, illegitimate referenda will undoubtedly be accompanied by a wave of abuses against those who seek to oppose or undermine Moscow’s plans,” the US mission said. There was no immediate Russian comment. — Natalia Zinets/Reuters

Apple sees bigger supply problems after strong start to year 

Apple Inc.

OAKLAND, Calif. — Apple Inc. on Thursday forecast bigger problems as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdowns snarl production and demand in China, the war in Ukraine dents sales and growth slows in services, which the iPhone maker sees as its engine for expansion. 

Shares were down 2.2% in late trade after executives laid out their glum outlook on a conference call. The news outweighed record profit and sales for Apple’s fiscal second quarter, which ended in March. 

Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri warned in an interview that the war in Ukraine, which led Apple to stop sales in Russia, would cut sales more deeply in the fiscal third quarter. 

He told analysts on the call that supply-chain issues would hurt sales in the quarter by $4 billion to $8 billion, “substantially larger” than the hit in the second quarter. 

Supply problems were focused on a corridor in Shanghai, China and reflected COVID disruptions and chip shortages, he added. The pandemic was also affecting demand in China, he said. 

Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said that almost all of the Chinese factories doing final assembly of Apple products had restarted after recent COVID shutdowns, but the company is not forecasting when the chips shortage, mostly affecting older products, would end. 

Mr. Cook said he hoped COVID issues would be “transitory” and “get better over time.” 

At least one analyst said the outlook lacked clarity. 

“We were all looking for just better guidance on what is really going on over there (China) … and that didn’t come out,” said Louis Navellier, chief investment officer for Navellier & Associates. 

Kim Caughey Forrest, Chief Investment Officer at Bokeh Capital Partners, said that ongoing demand remained a big question, despite Apple’s management of supply chain in the March quarter. 

Indeed, other high-profile tech companies also raised concerns. Amazon on Thursday posted a disappointing outlook as it was swamped by higher costs, sending its shares down 9% after the close, and Intel Corp. forecast a bleak quarter based on supply chain issues, and its stock fell 4%. 

Both companies, along with Apple, are part of the broader Nasdaq index, which has fallen nearly 19% this year as rising inflation drives investors elsewhere. 

MARCH QUARTER STRENGTH 

Apple’s overall fiscal second-quarter revenue was $97.3 billion, up 8.6% from last year and higher than analysts’ average estimate of $93.89 billion, according to Refinitiv data. 

Worldwide phone sales revenue was $50.6 billion, a 5.5% increase from a year ago, and services sales rose 17% to $19.8 billion, both ahead of analyst average forecasts. 

However, Mr. Maestri said that services growth would decelerate from the March quarter, while remaining in double-digits. He cited several factors, including more unfavorable currency exchange rates. 

Total profit was $25 billion, or $1.52 per share and easily topped analysts’ expectations of $23.2 billion and $1.43. 

Apple also raised its dividend 5% to $0.23 per share and the board approved a buyback for an added $90 billion in shares. 

Investors have been bracing for drops in consumer spending on tech gadgets and services as the war in Ukraine and other factors drive up the cost of oil, food and other staples. 

Mr. Cook shrugged off an analyst question on inflation and consumers. 

“We’re monitoring that closely. But right now, our main focus, frankly speaking, is on the supply side,” he said. 

Asked about rising inflation, Mr. Maestri said demand, particularly for iPhones, had been higher than the company had anticipated at the start of the quarter. But he noted inflation was affecting expenses. 

The pandemic, including the shift to hybrid work, has benefited other businesses. 

Apple said iPad sales fell 2% to $7.65 billion due to supply-chain constraints, while revenue from Mac computers, also facing supply-chain issues, rose 14.7% to $10.4 billion. 

Sales of wearables, home speakers and accessories rose 12% to $8.8 billion, and was the only unit to miss Wall Street targets. Mr. Maestri said Watch and AirPods sold well, and attributed the miss to seasonal variability in demand for other accessories. 

Apple said it now has 825 million paying subscribers across its at least seven subscription offerings, up by 40 million from 785 million last quarter. Its growth comes as rivals such as Netflix Inc. report subscriber losses. — Paresh Dave and Nivedita Balu/Reuters

As living costs surge, climate change takes a backseat in elections

Tacloban, Leyte, after Typhoon Haiyan struck in 2013. — Eoghan Rice/Trócaire/Caritas/Wikimedia Commons

KUALA LUMPUR/MANILA/RIO DE JANEIRO — In the seaside town of Palo in the central Philippines, George Christopher Daga has watched torrential rain pour for days during what is supposed to be a hot and dry April — just one of the unusual weather patterns he has faced in recent years. 

His home province of Leyte, where Palo is located, has been ground zero for the country’s most destructive weather events since 2013, when Typhoon Haiyan struck the Southeast Asian country, killing 6,300 people and flattening buildings. 

Yet another typhoon, Rai, left a trail of destruction in Leyte and nearby provinces in December, with more than 300 people killed and hundreds of thousands displaced. 

“The world is getting crazy. We don’t understand the weather these days,” Mr. Daga, 33, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. 

But Mr. Daga — who lost his job as a utility worker during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic — said climate change is not his top concern as Filipinos go to the polls on May 9 to elect a new president. 

The issue has hardly figured on the campaign trail in the disaster-prone Philippines — just one of several countries with elections this year where global warming has taken a backseat. 

As COVID-19 has exacerbated economic and social inequalities, jobs and livelihoods have dominated the election agenda among politicians vying for votes, analysts said. 

That is the case even in hard-hit countries like the Philippines, which sees an average of 20 tropical cyclones each year and is one of the nations most vulnerable to climate disasters. 

ECONOMY FIRST 

From heat to drought, climate change impacts are becoming more frequent and intense — but efforts to slash emissions and adapt to global warming are both lagging, the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned this month. 

Despite that, as countries from the Philippines to Lebanon and Brazil gear up for elections, climate change has not featured as a major issue. In other places, like France, green parties have not made advances in recent votes. 

One in a series of Philippine presidential debates this year focused for the first time on climate change, but otherwise the issue has received little attention in the campaigns. 

“For it to be high on the agenda of politicians, it has to be framed as a livelihood issue” focusing on losses of incomes, crops and property, said Jean Encinas Franco, a political scientist at the University of the Philippines. 

She said bigger efforts needed to be made to draw the “hidden” link between global warming and voters’ concerns on livelihood or hunger so climate change could be seen as a more pressing election issue. 

“In the end, candidates have to relate an issue to its potential to garner votes,” Ms. Franco said. 

In Lebanon, climate change and renewable energy have not risen as key issues ahead of the country’s May 15 parliamentary elections even though the nation has suffered severe power cuts since mid-2021. 

In Australia, the two main parties contesting the May 21 national elections have said they would continue to support coal exports, despite an increasing majority of Australians supporting a ban on new coal mines and wanting exports cut. 

‘LOW ON THE LIST’ 

Politicians who have shown how they can help people cope with COVID-19-related economic fallout and rising inflation have proved popular in recent elections, noted climate policy expert Danny Marks. 

“Although I think many voters throughout the globe care about climate change and the threats it poses, currently it is low on the list of their priorities,” said Mr. Marks, an assistant professor of environmental politics at Dublin City University. 

He cited the example of France’s Greens party which had a poor showing in this month’s presidential election, with its candidate Yannick Jadot eliminated in the first round of voting. 

By contrast, far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, who pivoted from her party’s anti-immigration policies to focus her campaign on the rising cost of living, came in second, behind President Emmanuel Macron. 

Mr. Marks urged politicians who care about climate change to highlight the immediate benefits of a green shift, such as renewable energy jobs and improvements to public health. 

In the Philippines, many people look to personalities and ties with candidates, rather than the issues, in casting their votes, political analysts say. 

Like most people in his province, Mr. Daga is supporting Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. — the son of the late dictator and a frontrunner in the presidential race — because his mother Imelda is a native of Leyte. 

“I will vote for Bongbong because he had helped us during Typhoon (Haiyan),” said Mr. Daga, shrugging off concerns that Marcos lacks clear plans on how to tackle climate change. 

‘REALLY SCARY’ 

In Brazil, where President Jair Bolsonaro is expected to face former leader Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in October’s elections, climate change and the environment are not major concerns for the electorate, opinion polls suggest. 

One, by consultancy Quaest this month, showed the economy was the biggest issue for nearly half of about 2,000 people surveyed, as the South American giant struggles with inflation, unemployment and low growth. 

Others polled cited healthcare and corruption as key concerns. Climate change did not make the list. 

“The economy and corruption — unfortunately those will be the main issues,” said Christiane Romeo, a professor of political science at Ibmec university in Rio de Janeiro. 

“I wouldn’t bet on the environment as an issue capable of bringing votes,” Ms. Romeo added. 

South Korean student Dayeon Lee said she hoped politicians in her country — and elsewhere — would listen to concerns about climate change. 

South Koreans elected opposition candidate Yoon Suk-yeol as the country’s new president in March, in an election dominated by debates on rising house prices and youth unemployment. 

“The climate crisis had not been given much attention in the March elections. It’s a shame,” said Ms. Lee, 19, who voted for the first time in the polls, from her home in the southeastern city of Daegu. 

“The crisis is getting more severe yet it seems like no one is paying attention. This is really scary.” — Beh Lih Yi, Manuel Mogato, and Fabio Teixeira/Thomson Reuters Foundation

Tourist favorite Thailand’s recovery lags on COVID rule changes

BANGKOK — When 23-year-old Norwegian Anastasia Johansen and her boyfriend were planning their first vacation in two years, they considered going to Thailand but chose nearby Vietnam instead, for its simpler entry rules on the coronavirus.

“The regulations to enter Thailand … were complicated to me and we had to pay for the hefty PCR test,” Ms. Johansen said.

Thailand, one of the world’s tourism destinations before the pandemic, was among the first nations in Asia to reopen its borders to vaccinated visitors last year with limited quarantine norms, hailed at the time as a model for re-opening.

But as regional peers have eased entry requirements, Thailand has clung to a cumbersome process.

“Whichever (country) offers easy, smooth, less complicated procedures wins my heart,” said Ms. Johansen.

Tourism professionals say Thailand’s complicated entry rules are now holding back recovery in an industry that contributed 12% of GDP before the pandemic.

Forward bookings for 2022 show Thailand reaching 25% of pre-pandemic levels, behind levels of 72% and 65% each for Singapore and the Philippines.

Many blame the Thailand Pass pre-entry approval system, which can take up to seven days, although the government recently vowed to streamline it.

“The red tape is killing us,” said Bill Barnett, the managing director of hospitality consultancy C9 Hotelworks.

“If you’re in Singapore and want to come to Thailand for the weekend, it’s not easy. Those short-term trips matter.”

American Kiran Stallone, who is visiting family in Thailand, said getting the Thailand Pass required proof of vaccination, insurance coverage of at least $20,000 and reservations at a qualified hotel, all submitted on a Thai government website.

“The government website was hard to navigate, and I had to seek outside help,” Ms. Stallone added.

Ms. Stallone said she was told to avoid some steps known to cause submission glitches that would delay her application.

The website does not allow users to save progress or return to previous pages and rejects PDF files.

A Facebook group on the Thailand Pass has ballooned to 90,000 members, with would-be travelers asking anxious questions about changing flights, new entry rules and some venting frustration over rejected applications.  Similar forums have also emerged on sites such as TripAdvisor.

YOU SHALL NOT PASS  

Thailand received 39.9 million visitors in 2019 when Bangkok, the capital, was named the world’s most visited city.

That year, Singapore and the Philippines recorded 19.1 million and 8.26 million arrivals respectively.

Thailand aims to attract 5 million to 10 million visitors this year, but critics call its Thailand Pass system an unnecessary obstacle.

“It’s uncompetitive for Thailand and complicated for travelers … who lose all flexibility,” hotel tycoon William Heinecke, chairman of Minor International Pcl, told Reuters.

An approved Thailand Pass can only be used one week before or after the date indicated.

The tourism council also said the system’s requirement of individually filed documentation made it tougher for tour operators to bring in groups.

Thailand’s coronavirus taskforce spokesperson, Taweesin Visanuyothin, said tourist arrivals have been increasing as measures were relaxed and recognized that domestic infections outnumbered those from abroad.

However, Thailand’s staggered approach to relaxing the rules has also caused confusion.  Entry for vaccinated tourists with limited quarantine resumed in February after a brief suspension over the Omicron variant.

At the time, travelers had to take at least three COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests; one each before departure, on arrival and on the fifth day of their stay.

In March, that final test was replaced with a rapid antigen test and insurance coverage was dropped to $20,000 from $50,000. In April, the pre-departure PCR test was scrapped.

From next month, insurance of $10,000 is required but tests for vaccinated travelers and advance hotel bookings have been dropped. — Chayut Setboonsarng/Reuters 

US economy shrinks in first quarter; trade, inventories mask underlying strength

UNSPLASH

WASHINGTON — The US economy unexpectedly contracted in the first quarter amid a resurgence in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases and a drop in pandemic relief money from the government, but the decline in output is misleading as domestic demand remained strong.

The first decrease in gross domestic product since the short and sharp pandemic recession nearly two years ago, reported by the Commerce Department on Thursday, was mostly driven by a wider trade deficit as imports surged, and a slowdown in the pace of inventory accumulation.

A measure of domestic demand accelerated from the fourth quarter’s rate, allaying fears of either stagflation or a recession. The Federal Reserve is expected to hike interest rates by 50 basis points next Wednesday. The US central bank raised its policy interest rate by 25 basis points in March, and is soon likely to start trimming its asset holdings.

“The economy is still showing some resilience, but the first-quarter GDP report signals the start of more moderate growth this year and next, largely in response to higher interest rates,” said Sal Guatieri, a senior economist at BMO Capital Markets in Toronto. “Despite the contraction, the Fed has little choice but to hike aggressively in May to corral inflation.”

Gross domestic product (GDP) fell at a 1.4% annualized rate last quarter, the government said in its advance GDP estimate. The economy grew at a robust 6.9% pace in the fourth quarter. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast GDP growth rising at a 1.1% rate. Estimates ranged from as low as a 1.4% rate of contraction to as high as a 2.6% growth pace.

The economy also took a hit from supply-chain challenges, worker shortages and rampant inflation. Last quarter’s decline is a head fake as GDP remains 2.8% above its level in the fourth quarter of 2019 and the economy grew 3.6% on a year-on-year basis. Further, 1.7 million jobs were created in the first quarter and manufacturing output grew at a 5% pace.

“It is nonsense that real GDP declined,” said Conrad DeQuadros, senior economic advisor at Brean Capital in New York.

But the mismatch hints at weaker productivity last quarter.

Front-loading by businesses fearful of shortages because of the Russia-Ukraine war contributed to a surge in imports. Exports tumbled, leading to a sharp widening of the trade deficit, which chopped 3.20 percentage points from GDP growth, the most since the third quarter of 2020. Trade has now been a drag on growth for seven straight quarters.

Businesses have turned to imports to satisfy demand, with local manufacturers lacking the capacity to boost production. Business inventories increased at a $158.7 billion pace, slowing from the robust $193.2 billion rate in the October-December quarter. Inventory investment cut 0.84 percentage point from GDP growth.

Stocks on Wall Street were higher as investors shrugged off the drop in GDP. The dollar rose against a basket of currencies. U.S. Treasury prices fell.

STRONG DEMAND 

Growth in consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of US economic activity picked up at a rate of 2.7% from the fourth-quarter’s 2.5% pace, despite taking a hit from the winter wave of coronavirus cases, driven by the Omicron variant.

The loss of pandemic money to households from the government was partially offset by rising wages amid a tightening labor market. Government spending fell for a second straight quarter.

Strengthening labor market conditions were reinforced by a separate report from the Labor Department on Thursday showing initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 180,000 for the week ended April 23. With a near record 11.3 million job openings at the end of February, employers are desperately hanging on to their workers.

Even with food and gasoline prices soaring, there is no sign yet of consumers pulling back. The government’s measure of inflation in the economy surged at a 7.8% rate, the fastest in 41 years, after increasing at a 7.0% pace in the fourth quarter. Inflation by all measures has overshot the Fed’s 2% target.

At least $2 trillion in excess savings accumulated during the pandemic are providing a cushion against inflation.

Workers shortages saw businesses boosting investment, with spending on equipment increasing at a 15.3% rate last quarter. They mostly bought computers and industrial machinery.

That combined with solid consumer spending to hoist final sales to private domestic purchasers at a 3.7% rate. This measure of domestic demand, which excludes trade, inventories and government spending, increased at a 2.6% rate in the fourth-quarter. Final sales to private domestic purchasers account for roughly 85% of aggregate spending.

The housing market notched another second straight quarterly gain, but with the 30-year fixed mortgage shooting above 5%, the outlook is uncertain.

While concerns remain that the Fed could aggressively tighten monetary policy and tip the economy into recession, most economists are not convinced, pointing to the strong domestic demand and signs that inflation may have peaked.

Consumer spending last quarter was driven by services. The shift in demand from goods is likely to help ease pressure on supply chains, though the coronavirus-related lockdowns in China pose a risk.

“The US economy is not anywhere close to recession,” said Gus Faucher, chief economist at PNC Financial in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. “Underlying demand remains strong, and the labor market is in excellent shape. Growth will resume in the second quarter.” — Lucia Mutikani/Reuters

Shift to a modern, sustainable workplace with Lenovo Device as a Service (DaaS)

IT solutions and services that support organizations in a post-pandemic work-from-anywhere setup are integral to business continuity and growth. Lenovo, one of the world’s largest PC makers, offers a new way to provide the latest devices to customers via the Lenovo Device as a Service (DaaS) model.

Available through Integrated Computer Systems, Inc. (ICS), a Lenovo Platinum Partner and leading provider of IT solutions in the Philippines for over four decades, Lenovo DaaS lets businesses support their work-from-anywhere employees while staying within their budget and not compromising productivity.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses have increasingly turned to IT services to enable employees to work from anywhere remotely. Research shows that IT consumers want to pay for exactly what they want, when they want it.

With Lenovo Device as a Service (DaaS), organizations of all sizes can now experience a customized modern IT environment with the top-of-the-line technology from across a full range of Lenovo products, including devices and support and lifecycle services alike.

The solution has introduced a new way for business owners to procure end-user technology that simplifies their organizations’ IT management–from mitigating the costs of providing hardware devices for the team, bundling it with a variety of software and services, to offering a single, predictable periodic fee.

Lenovo DaaS enables organizations to transition to a user-driven, digital environment by helping customers strategize a device catalog that matches the right solutions to the right users. The experts at Lenovo work closely with organizations via Lenovo Premier Support, assisting them in handling configuration tasks, deploying the new devices to employees and resolving technical issues with the convenience of having one point of contact. This ensures operational and cost effectiveness.

IT expenses often take up a significant portion of an organization’s operating budget. DaaS and the bundled software and services it offers with hardware, let organizations strategically outsource costly individual IT requirements or completely eliminate the entire PC support lifecycle from their workload, reducing the burden on internal teams and more importantly, on the organization’s profitability. Tracking and reporting dashboards that provide details on asset tracking usage, software installation, and outages can be added as a part of the service.

Lenovo DaaS also provides options to quickly scale up or down based on the current operating environment and business needs. Whether growing or downsizing, organizations can pay for exactly what they need, when they need it. With Lenovo services, obsolete hardware can easily be disposed of, letting businesses avoid accelerated depreciation schedules and financial losses related to poor liquidation values at the end of the unit’s lifecycle.

Lenovo DaaS pushes service delivery boundaries and continues to set new standards for IT support. The business of PC-buying is changing. DaaS is the future.

For more information, contact info@ics.com.ph or visit ics.com.ph.

 

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RCBC participates in PHL’s first ETF deal

ACEN Leadership Team headed by Chairman Fernando Zobel de Ayala, President & CEO Eric Francia, CFO Maria Corazon Dizon, SLTEC CEO Miguel de Jesus, and SLTEC President & COO Miguel Angelo Fernandez are joined by RCBC Capital Corp. President & CEO Jose Luis Gomez, BPI Capital Corp. President Rhoda Huang, RCBC President & CEO Eugene S. Acevedo, and BPI Executive Vice-President and Head of Corporate Banking John-C Syquia.

The Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) has participated in the first Energy Transition Financing (ETF) deal in the Philippines for an early decommissioning of a coal-fired power plant while re-investing funds in renewable energy.

This month, the RCBC Corporate Banking Group and RCBC Capital Corp. signed financing agreements relating to the ETF for South Luzon Thermal Energy Corp. (SLTEC) of AC Energy Corp. (ACEN), a subsidiary of the Ayala Corp.

“In 2020, RCBC ceased funding new coal power plants while redirecting resources towards renewable energy projects, and our participation in this ETF deal is part of that commitment,” RCBC President and Chief Executive Officer Eugene S. Acevedo said.

As part of the ETF deal, ACEN signed an amended and restated omnibus loan and security agreement for SLTEC’s 2×135-megawatt (MW) power plant in Calaca, Batangas with RCBC as one of the lenders.

In a regulatory filing, ACEN explained that the loan facility of up to P13.7 billion is intended to refinance SLTEC’s outstanding P9.8-billion loan facility, fund the partial redemption of capital in SLTEC held by ACEN, and finance other transaction-related expenses. In turn, ACEN will use the proceeds of the equity redemption to reinvest in renewable energy projects.

Through this mechanism, ACEN’s power plant would be decommissioned by 2040, or 15 years ahead of the plant’s technical life.

ACEN explained that the concept of this deal with RCBC and another bank adopts the principles of the Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM) being piloted by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in South and Southeast Asia.

The ETM aims to use public, private, and philanthropic financing to provide low-cost capital to coal-fired power plants to accelerate their retirement and help jump-start reliable and affordable clean energy.

RCBC has been implementing its Environmental and Social Management System since 2011 under the guidance of the International Finance Corp. (IFC). This collaboration has continued for more than a decade now.

“With the IFC’s guidance, RCBC gained access to the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF) and 2 Degree Investing Initiative (2DII) for the use of the Paris Agreement Capital Transition Assessment (PACTA) methodology. The PCAF and 2DII’s PACTA methodologies will enable RCBC to build a low-carbon and climate-resilient lending portfolio. The recent ETF with ACEN complements this objective,” Mr. Acevedo said.

 

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AI platform to solve the pain of recruitment manual work launched

Recruiting and hiring talent is one of the most important HR functions. Currently, employer demand for workers remains high in the Philippines and is fueling the trend known as the Great Resignation in our side of the world. This means recruiters are making ends meet to ensure quality talent are properly identified and promptly hired before the competition.

But this is easier said than done given an average recruiter spends at least three to five hours every working day for CV or resume screening as well as initially interviewing applicants. This is the most manually intensive portion of the process. The time utilized at this phase by recruiters could have been applied to other priorities.

This insight inspired MetroCity AI to develop a recruitment platform that solves the pain of long hours spent on CV screening and initial virtual interviews. Companies can make use of the asynchronous video interview (AVI) functionality in the platform to invite applicants to record themselves on camera as they answer questions related to culture-fit, behavior, and skills provided by the company.

The submitted applicant videos are then processed by the platform. The applicants with answers that align with the company continues on to the next steps. Since it uses AI, the platform further refines the answers and profiles that would pass the screening process resulting to a more robust screening system unique to a company as it processes more applicants.

The platform also has a CV screening function that can match unprocessed CVs to the job opportunities in the company. Once matched, it will send an invite to the pre-screened applicants to take the asynchronous video interview at their own time.

Just this month, MetroCity AI released a Freemium package for companies to take advantage on. This means, companies can utilize the platform absolutely free.

MetroCity AI is part of the Batch 10 startups of UP Diliman’s UPSCALE Incubation Program. They are one of the recipients of the Accenture startup grant via UP Engineering Research and Development Foundation, Inc. (UPERDFI) and UPSCALE Innovation Hub.

For more information and to sign-up for a freemium account, visit www.metrocity.ai or e-mail the founders at hello@metrocity.ai.

The Huddle Room unveils its future; laddering up as the first growth agency in the country

The Huddle Room after more than 2 years of remote working, come together as one at Sofitel Hotel, Pasay City. Prepped with their best comeback to office outfit, they formally kicked off their ninth year anniversary as a prelude to its decade of existence in 2023. They unveiled its future as an agency, that stood up for nine years as a start-up shop that turned as a standout with multiple recognitions, achievements and wins. The Huddle Room strengthened its grip on a growth mindset which is poised for a go, get and grow attitude. It officially announced its growth leadership team to further boost its organization as the premiere Growth Agency in the country. The launch culminated with a dinner by the bay spiced up by food carts and unlimited booze to graze the night.

Growth Story: Friends before Partners

The Huddle Room’s growth story started with an affirmation of partnership. Talking to the founders headed by Dimples Cruz and ably supported by Eugene Manalo, Julia Garcia, Pat Dizon and Reena Robles, as said before, they always root back on why they started? “We started as 6 friends dreaming of an agency but only 5 of us eventually grew the agency when we forged our commitment to fuel growth of our services”.

A Bond that Grows through time

Armed with unwavering integrity and sheer hard work – a bond forged the 5 of them to overcome challenges. Recounting on how they forged that bond, from a tiny room they have now The Huddle Room. “We were housed in a small room because we were the pitch team…hindi kami umuuwi, but we were very happy in that tiny room… dun nabuo friendship namin” (Reena Robles)

Reena Robles

Growth fueled by Determination

When they started, their skills were sharpened by courage – like learning from 0 on digital. They really embraced growing their skills. They were unfazed with whatever challenges along the way. “ When we started, everyone said we would fail. It’s not always rosy, but one thing is for sure, all for one, one for all” (Dimples Cruz).

Dimples Cruz

Change for growth

Even if they are getting old, these five founders are always on the go to be the sole authors of a new chapter in their story. “Kahit 9 years na tayo, I am happy to hear that everyone is open to change, to do new things” (Julia Garcia)

Julia Garcia

Growth from Within

While they are continuously coping with external changes and challenges, the 5 founders do not forget that growth should start from within. “We are built to create organic growth. Even if we started as media, we slowly grew our clients business alongside growing our business as well.” (Eugene Manalo)

Eugene Manalo

Growing a New Path

While they recognize that they were molded by great mentors and leaders, they acknowledge the need to change and make some balancing acts and embrace changing the rules. “Everyday is a delicate balancing of act of making the company grow but at the same time finding how our people will enjoy their work and grow with us”. (Pat Dizon)

Pat Dizon

These stories of embracing changes and realizing to take a new path with determination and courage led to the essence and purpose of The Huddle Room – to advocate growth. Witnessing the growth of their people, partners and brands is what delights, excites and gives their work meaning.

Country’s Premiere Growth Agency

Inspired by our growth story, The Huddle Room is committed to help everyone find your own growth path and will do everything to enrich and empower everyone’s journey towards optimum and holistic growth – for oneself, organization and things we all value.

As the country’s pioneering growth agency, THR believes that everyone would grow with them as an indispensable partner, to clients, raw and diverse talents all over the country. This belief is anchored on the very foundation of the agency built from trust.

  • The unquestionable principles and ethics of the founders.
  • Customized integrated growth strategic approach
  • Their edge through an agile and growth mindset and
  • A commitment to build lasting relationships.

In an industry, crowded with creative, media and digital agencies, THR is proud to take the higher ground. We are a GROWTH AGENCY. Because this is our greatest desire – for everyone to grow with us.

Learn more about The Huddle Room so you can grow with us too. www.huddleroom.com.ph / ask@huddleroom.com.ph / www.facebook.com/TheHuddleRoomPH

 

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