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Senate approves P5.024-trillion budget on 3rd reading

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THE SENATE on Wednesday approved on third and final reading the proposed P5.024-trillion national budget for 2022.

Senators unanimously passed the 2022 General Appropriations Bill (GAB), which was certified as urgent by President Rodrigo R. Duterte.

Senator Juan Edgardo M. Angara, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, said the bulk of next year’s budget will go to the government’s pandemic response, including benefits for healthcare workers, emergency hiring of health professionals, development of new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) treatments, among others.

“We cannot overemphasize this critical dimension of the budget enough… Especially now, in light of the recent news regarding the emergence of a new variant of concern — the so-called Omicron variant, believed to be even more virulent and contagious than Delta,” he said.

The Senate increased the Department of Health’s budget by 26% to P230 billion from the P182 billion approved by the House of Representatives.

Mr. Angara said the Senate also raised the budget for the Department of Education by P6.7 billion, for State Universities and Colleges by P26.56 billion, and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority by P1.46 billion.

The House of Representatives and the Senate will convene the Bicameral Conference Committee to reconcile conflicting provisions of the GAB. Congress leaders expect the national budget to be approved before Dec. 17, when Congress adjourns for the holidays. — AOT

Just in time for Christmas: Chef Tatung releases 2 new books

CHEF Myke ‘Tatung’ Sarthou holds two of his new books, Baking Simpol and Simpol Kitchen Secrets

EVERYTHING’s coming full circle from the boy from Cebu who wanted to write but ended up cooking.

Myke “Tatung” Sarthou, celebrity chef, started out with a career in writing in his Cebu hometown, but became a chef and restaurateur upon moving to Manila. Apparently though, one of his dreams in high school was to write a book —  he not only did that, but got an award for it, when his Philippine Cookery: From Heart to Platter won at the World Gourmand Awards in 2017.

The cookbooks and honors have not stopped.

During a press conference last week, he announced that Simpol the Cookbook, which he brewed during the pandemic along with his Simpol cooking chanel on YouTube (more than 600,000 subscribers, with views never dipping below 10,000) has been nominated in two categories for the World Gourmand Awards: for Easy Recipes at Home, and the Celebrity Chef category (his mother, who is based in Europe, will go to the awards in his stead).

He also has two new books, Simpol Kitchen Secrets and Baking Simpol — Kitchen Secrets was released earlier this week, while Baking Simpol will come out by the second week of December, just in time for the holidays. Both books will be available locally and abroad through Lazada, Shopee, Amazon US, Amazon Canada, Amazon SG, and eBay. The two titles are published under Vertikal Books, a boutique press specializing in the creative nonfiction genre, specifically culinary content. Vertikal Books is a segment under Vertikal Media, which Mr. Sarthou also co-founded. Vertikal Media will also create documentaries and mini-series about food.

Baking Simpol will contain innovative recipes like bibingka cheesecake, Tsok-Nut cake, and pichi-pichi with torched queso de bola topping (a cheesecake blended with one of the Philippines many kinds of rice cakes, a cake based on a popular local chocolate/peanut candy bar, and steamed cassava flour balls topped with Edam cheese).

He reminisced that before learning how to cook, he was first taught how to bake, talking about his mother’s one-egg cakes. That led to one of his first business ventures, taking orders for cakes from relatives and friends back in high school.

Meanwhile, Simpol Kitchen Secrets is a guidebook on cooking skills and techniques. “As long as you know the fundamentals, you understand how ingredients work, you can just cook anything without having to stick to a recipe,” he said during the press conference. “That’s what we tried to do with Kitchen Secrets: try to unlock how recipes are created from a perspective of a chef.”

Technique is sacred to Mr. Sarthou: flipping through his Philippine Cookery reveals a similar approach to cooking by concentrating on method. “The logic of doing that in that way is for us to understand how to cook more easily. Instead of starting with a recipe that’s very complicated, I start to talk about what you can do with the simplest.”

He also clocks this up to linguistic differences around the country, as well as the international standards for teaching cooking. “For Filipino food to flourish is for us to create a parallel language for us to be able to align our understanding —  lahat tayo gagaling kung magkakaintindihan tayo (we will all improve if we all understand each other).” — Joseph L. Garcia

In the midst of difficult times, HSMA honors its own

THE VIRTUS awards by the Hotel Sales and Marketing Association (HSMA) Philippines continues to honor professionals and institutions in hospitality: a particularly difficult career during the last two years due to the pandemic disrupting that industry.

Ericka Joy Calamba, Hotel 101 Group’s Sales Executive for MICE, was awarded as Outstanding Sales and Marketing Associate. Robinsons Hotels and Resorts Group Director of Sales and Marketing Joy de Mesa was awarded Outstanding Sales and Marketing Leader, and Alexis John Aquino, former Marketing and Communications Manager of JPark Island Resort & Waterpark Mactan, Cebu, was awarded Outstanding Sales and Marketing Manager.

The Conrad Hotel Manila was awarded Outstanding Marketing Campaign for their Meetings To Go/Signature Takeaway campaign, which went beyond creating an effective marketing campaign that drove sales and brand equity and became a true innovation that pushed boundaries and helped move the industry forward — all within a limited budget.

HSMA also awarded special awards this year in recognition of the resiliency of their selected properties. Okada Manila earned this year’s Virtus Award for Most Resilient Business — Property.

According to Victor Galzote, Okada Manila director of corporate marketing and communications in a statement, Okada Manila won its award for “its three-pronged approach, which enabled us to reinvent our offerings based on consumer insights we’ve gathered, which, basically, show their need to experience a semblance of normalcy again.” Part of this approach was also to effectively maximize its participation in e-commerce channels through special monthly online sales on Lazada and Shopee, which served to supplement its direct and OTA bookings. A statement from the HSMA said, “These efforts, plus their proactive approach in enforcing strict safety standards, have also earned Okada Manila official verification under the Forbes Travel Guide/Sharecare Certification as compliant with all safety requirements.” At the time of certification, only 134 properties worldwide were certified, with 17 based in Asia, and only three in the Philippines.

A second award was given to the Chroma Hospitality Group (behind the Crimson chain and Azure), for Most Resilient — Hospitality Group Award. According to a statement, this is because of “their ability to keep occupancy rate up with their bubble initiatives.” This included their properties in Boracay where their tourist bubble provided livelihood to the tourism-dependent island. In Clark, their athlete bubble became home to the PBA in September 2020, catering even to the dietary needs of their clientele, like serving kosher meals for an Israeli team.

“The Virtus Awards have allowed the HSMA and its outstanding members to move on with a renewed confidence that the light is now getting brighter,” said Rose Libongco, Virtus chair, in a speech. “Encouraged by the upbeat outcome of HSMA projects, we are conscious of the next steps to keep going and building on achievements. We see it best to remain united and be ahead of the game, be strong and keep the momentum towards developing an emerging future.

“In this second year of the scourging pandemic, we are less scared, less tentative as we persevere to keep going against odds and make the difficult possible. Undaunted by the uncertainty, we choose to see the opportunities.” — JLG

Patricia Cornwell resurrects beloved Kay Scarpetta

BEST-SELLING crime novelist Patricia Cornwell thought she was done with writing books for good, until the coronavirus pandemic struck and with it, inspiration for a new novel featuring the US author’s much-loved character, medical examiner Kay Scarpetta.

Autopsy, published on Tuesday, is Cornwell’s 25th Scarpetta novel, a series she started in 1990 with Postmortem.

Ms. Cornwell believed she had finished Scarpetta’s story with 2016’s Chaos but when the world went into lockdown last year, she began to wonder what the fictional forensic pathologist would make of it all.

“I started thinking, what would Scarpetta say about all this? What would she do with this universe we live in now? …Because it’s not the same one that it was when I quit doing this five years ago,” the author said.

Autopsy takes Scarpetta back to where she started — Virginia — where she works as chief medical examiner and is confronted with a grueling murder case and a potential crime in outer space, a situation that Ms. Cornwell thoroughly researched.

“The way I describe it is absolutely accurate. I have an astronaut who lived up on the space station and I worked with him on talking about what fluids do up there. How would you handle this? I mean, how does NASA deal?” she said.

Ms. Cornwell’s research took her to places most people would never get to visit, including the Secret Service headquarters in Washington and the White House.

Despite having thought she was done with writing, Ms. Cornwell said she is already penning Scarpetta’s next story, a tough murder trial.

“She’s taken five years away and it’s like she sent me back to graduate school. She said, ‘You know what? Go hang out at NASA. Go hang out with smart people. Go learn something new. You’re driving me nuts’.” — Reuters

Adele to return to live shows in Las Vegas next year

VOGUE TAIWAN/ EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG

LOS ANGELES —  Adele on Tuesday announced a series of concerts in Las Vegas starting in January in what will be her first live performances since 2017.

The British singer will perform two shows each weekend from Jan. 21 to April 16 at Caesars Palace Hotel in the desert city.

“See you at Caesars in Vegasss,” the singer tweeted, announcing her Weekends with Adele shows.

The shows follow the bumper release earlier this month of Adele’s new album 30 which debuted at No. 1 in 30 nations and is already the top selling album of 2021 in the United States, Billboard reported.

Adele had previously announced she will play two concerts at London’’ Hyde Park in July 2022 but has not announced a full scale tour.

Concert residencies in Las Vegas have become a major attraction in the recent years for musicians who do not wish to travel extensively on traditional tours. Celine Dion, Katy Perry, Carrie Underwood, Usher, Barry Manilow, and Shania Twain are among the top acts already playing there, or who have announced multiple dates in the next few months. —  Reuters

Megaworld to build P5-billion ‘sustainable’ hotel in Palawan

MEGAWORLD Corp. is developing a P5-billion “sustainable” boutique hotel and shophouse district in its 462-hectare eco-tourism township in Palawan, Paragua Coastown.

In a disclosure to the exchange on Wednesday, the listed property developer said it will be offering 240 lots in its Mercato Shophouse District and Porto Hotel District.

“Our eco-tourism township offers businesses and entrepreneurs such as hotel owners, restaurateurs, coffee shop and bar operators, and retail shop owners to own land in San Vicente, particularly inside our master-planned beachside development,” Megaworld Head of Sales and Marketing JR Abustan said. 

The Mercato Shophouse District and the Porto Hotel District will be offering lots with sizes ranging from 250 square meters (sq.m.) to 599 sq.m. for shophouses, while lots for boutique hotels will range from 450 sq.m. to 1,199 sq.m. The districts will be designed to be interconnected.

Megaworld said it is expecting to generate sales of up to P5 billion from the districts.

It will have “expansive sidewalks,” bridges, and it will also be surrounded by landscaped parks and gardens. An esplanade along the creek will also be featured and guests may access a Mangrove Reserve Park through a bridge.

“This district that we are developing in Kemdeng will have close access to the coastline of Long Beach Area of San Vicente, which has been designated as a Tourism Enterprise Zone of the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA),” Mr. Abustan said.

Megaworld noted that TIEZA’s Tourism Enterprise Zones are granted incentives, such as tax holidays.

The district will have access to the San Vicente Town Proper and the San Vicente Airport through the municipal and coastal roads traversing through the township.

Meanwhile, Megaworld said the first area of Paragua Coastown in Kemdeng will feature mixed-use developments, medical and wellness facilities, a church, and other leisure and institutional amenities.

It is also planning to develop several town barangays that “will mostly have access to Long Beach,” which is said to have the country’s longest beach line and the second largest in Southeast Asia.

“We will definitely have unique residential and recreational offerings inside Paragua Coastown,” Mr. Abustan said.

Megaworld has earmarked P40 billion to develop the township within the next 10 to 15 years.

“What we are building here will hopefully help San Vicente become the most popular eco-tourism spot in Palawan and the entire country. But of course, we give utmost importance to sustainable real estate because this is what everyone will be looking for when they decide to invest in Palawan,” Mr. Abustan said.

Megaworld shares at the stock market declined 3.5% or 11 centavos to close at P3.03 each on Wednesday. — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte

Unbeaten Team Dasma advances to semifinals

TEAM DASMA MONARCHS — PNVF

Manileño secures semis berth in beating Basilan

By John Bryan Ulanday

LIPA CITY — Unbeaten Team Dasma Monarchs advanced to the semifinals after walloping the Sabong International Spikers with a 25-20, 25-21, 25-23 win at the end of the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) Champions League preliminaries yesterday at the Aquamarine Recreational Center Gym here.

Madzlan Gampong starred with 12 markers, Mark Frederick Calado (11) and Jayvee Sumagaysay (9) chipped in solid contributions as the Monarchs swept Pool B with a 3-0 card.

“We achieved our short-term goal of finishing on top of Pool B entering the semis but it’s still a long away ahead,” said coach Norman Miguel.

Dasma will face off against VNS Manileño Spikers, who secured the second spot in Pool A behind unbeaten Go For Gold-Air Force following a 25-17, 25-22, 25-23 win over Basilan Steel Spikers in the second game.

John Benedict San Andres (13) and Rwenzmel Taguibolos (10) led the way as Manileño finished at 1-1 in Pool A after a narrow five-setter loss to Air Force in the opener.

“It’s a do-or-die match for us so I just told our team to handle the pressure and stick to the system. Thankfully, we did,” said Manileño coach Ralph Ocampo, bracing for a tall order in the Final Four against unblemished Dasma.

Razzel Palisoc put up 12 markers for the Steel Spikers in a losing cause as they got dragged down to the classification stage with a winless 0-2 campaign.

Also in the semis is Pool A top-seed Go For Gold-Air Force (2-0), who will face the No. 2 team from Pool B.

MRT Negros (1-1) and Global Remit, (0-2) were still clashing as of press time with Sabong International (1-2) waiting at the sidelines to determine the last semis qualifier from Pool B.

The PNVF Champions League is backed by  Rebisco, Pitmaster Foundation, Inc., Top Speed, 1Pacman Partylist, Philippine Sports Commission and Philippine Olympic Committee as platinum sponsors; F2 Logistics, Asics, PLDT, MVP Sports Foundation and Mikasa as gold sponsors; and BCDA, Philippine Red Cross, Lipa City, Davis Paint and Emerald PVC Pipes, Fittings and Doors as silver sponsors with PNVF godfather, Taguig Rep. Alan Peter S. Cayetano, chairman of the Champions League, giving his full support.

Gucci heirs say House of Gucci portrays family as ‘thugs’

FLORENCE, Italy, —  The heirs of Aldo Gucci, the man who transformed the Florentine label into a global phenomenon, are not happy at the way their family is portrayed in Ridley Scott’s House of Gucci film, which stars Lady Gaga, Adam Driver and Al Pacino.

The film, which opened last week in cinemas worldwide, centers on the murder of family scion Maurizio Gucci, who was gunned down in 1995 in the hall of his elegant Milan office by a hitman hired by his estranged wife, Patrizia Reggiani.

Jeremy Irons, who plays patriarch Rodolfo Gucci, said in an interview with Reuters this month the story was irresistible, calling it “bold, and brazen and blingy, Italian.”

The descendants of Aldo Gucci, son of company founder Guccio Gucci, begged to disagree.

“Despite the claim that the work seeks to tell the ‘true story’ of the family… the film conveys a narrative that is anything but accurate,” they said in a statement. “The film’s production did not bother to consult the heirs before describing Aldo Gucci — president of the company for 30 years — and the members of the Gucci family as thugs who were ignorant and insensitive to the world around them.

“This is extremely painful from a human point of view and an insult to the legacy on which the brand is built today.”

The family took particular issue with what they said was the film’s representation of Reggiani, played by Lady Gaga, “as a victim trying to survive in a masculine and chauvinistic corporate culture.”

“This could not be further from the truth. In the 70 years of history in which Gucci was a family business, it was always inclusive. Indeed, precisely in the 1980s — the historical context in which the film is set — there were several women in top positions, and not only family members.”

The family, which no longer has any relationship with the Gucci brand, now part of French luxury giant Kering, said it reserved the right “to take any action necessary to protect the name, image and dignity of themselves and their loved ones.” — Reuters

Travel, supply chain concerns remain high — business group

COMPANIES involved in German-Philippine business relations have a positive outlook for the next 12 months, but concerns about travel restrictions, supply chain and logistics remain high, latest data from the German-Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GPCCI) showed.

According to a GPPCI survey conducted from Sept. 24 to Oct. 15 this year, more than half (57%) expressed a positive outlook for the next 12 months, compared with 47% during the same period last year.

“The lesser numbers in the daily active [coronavirus] cases… and the graduation of major areas to a more liberal alert level presents a promising outlook for our survey respondents,” GPCCI Executive Director Christopher Zimmer said in a statement.

“We also welcome the recently adjusted travel-related quarantine measures for fully-vaccinated individuals,” he added.

Philippine health authorities on Monday said that the country remains at low risk from the coronavirus, but it started tightening border controls anew to prevent an outbreak of a new variant first detected in South Africa.

The country has already suspended inbound flights from South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, and Italy over the Omicron variant, which authorities said has a large number of mutations. The travel ban will take effect until mid-December.

The surveyed companies said they still experience the impacts of travel restrictions (85% versus 86% in the previous year) and the problems in the supply chain and logistics (55% from 43% last year).

“An interesting amount of potential to ramp up the Philippine economy can be observed in the coming days as certain economic reform measures such as the Amendments to the Retail Trade Liberalization Act and Foreign Investments Act are seen to be signed into law,” GPCCI President Stefan Schmitz said.

“Therefore, we ask that the Philippine government to immediately look at how we can resolve existing concerns of companies so they will be able to help the recovery of the country’s economy even before 2022,” he added.

Lack of demand (55% from 64% in the previous year) is still considered to be the top risk, followed by the economic policy framework (51% from 58%).

GPCCI said 74 firms involved in German-Philippine business relations participated in the survey, with 24% coming from the manufacturing and construction sector, 30% from trade, and 46% from services. — Arjay L. Balinbin

Author apologizes to man wrongly convicted of her rape

LOS ANGELES —  Best-selling author Alice Sebold on Tuesday issued a public apology to a man who was wrongfully convicted of raping her 40 years ago in an attack that inspired her 1999 memoir Lucky.

Anthony Broadwater, who spent 16 years in prison, was exonerated by a court in New York last week after the case was re-opened. He was convicted in 1982 after Ms. Sebold, then a university student, mistakenly identified him as the man who attacked her five months previously.

Ms. Sebold said in a statement on the Medium website that she was “sorry to Anthony Broadwater and I deeply regret what you have been through.””

Ms. Sebold, who went on to write the best-seller The Lovely Bones, said that as a “traumatized 18 year-old” she had put her faith in the US legal system.

“I am grateful that Mr. Broadwater has finally been vindicated, but the fact remains that 40 years ago, he became another young Black man brutalized by our flawed legal system. I will forever be sorry for what was done to him,” Ms. Sebold wrote. “I will continue to struggle with the role that I unwittingly played within a system that sent an innocent man to jail,” she added.

The rape and the subsequent trauma formed the basis of Ms. Sebold’s first book Lucky, which launched her career. — Reuters

PHL national junior chess championship kicks off Dec. 3

COMPETITIVE face-to-face chess action will make its much awaited return after a two-year hiatus as the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) stages the grand finals of the 2021 Philippine National Juniors Championship unfurling tomorrow at the Philippine Academy for Chess Excellence (PACE) building in Mindanao Ave., Quezon City.

FIDE Master Alekhine Nouri, 15, will lead the way in the boys’ division while Vic Glysen Derotas, 20, will have a chance to defend the girls’ crown after she ruled this same event last held over the board at the Alphaland in Makati two years ago.

Mr. Nouri, the youngest Filipino to claim the FM title when he was seven years old, will be gunning to become the national juniors king with hopes of following the footsteps of former winners like Banjo Barcenilla, Mark Paragua, Nerlson Mariano II and Darwin Laylo, who all ended being Grandmasters (GM).

Mr. Nouri’s first foe is Jeremiah Luis Cruz set at 4 p.m. of this event backed by NCFP President Butch Pichay, Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman William Ramirez, Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) President Abraham Tolentino and Chess Movement, Inc. chairman Dr. Ariel Potot.

Also earning finals spots via online qualifying tournaments were Karlycris Clarito, Jr., Khent Darylle Delig, Adrian Othniel Yulo, Jarvey Labanda, Christian Marcelo Olaybal, Israelito Rilloraza, Johnmari Joseph Lu and Ronald Canino.

Ms. Derotas, for her part, will have Ma. Eliza Villa, Rinoa Mariel Sadey, Mhage Gerriahlou Sebastian, Bea Mendoza, Jarel Renz Lacambra, Lexi Grace Hernandez, Precious Eve Ferrer, Ruelle Canino and Darlyn Villanueva as challengers.

NCFP chief operating officer GM Jayson Gonzales, who said they would implement strict protocols, said this marked the first time they will hold face-to-face tournaments of this magnitude after Philippine chess took a backseat and gave way for online play due to the pandemic.

“The winner of the juniors will be one of the official entries in the Asian and World Juniors or the Philippine National Championships next year,” said GM Mr. Gonzales. — Joey Villar

Yields on BSP’s term deposits inch up

YIELDS ON THE central bank’s term deposits ended higher on Wednesday after the government’s retail Treasury bond (RTB) offering and as the US Federal Reserve said it is open to a quicker tapering of its asset purchases.

Total bids for the term deposit facility (TDF) of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) amounted to P467.818 billion on Wednesday, lower than the P480-billion offer and P614.309 billion in tenders seen a week earlier.

Broken down, the eight-day term deposits fetched bids amounting to P181.141 billion, slightly higher than the P180 billion auctioned off by the BSP but much lower than the P258.252 billion in tenders recorded a week ago.

Accepted rates for the papers were from 1.71% to 2.19%, wider than the 1.7149% to 1.74% band recorded in the previous auction. This caused the average rate of the one-week deposits to rise by 2.7 basis points (bps) to 1.7599% from 1.7329% previously.

Meanwhile, bids for the 14-day term deposits amounted to P286.677 billion, also lower than the P300-billion offering and the P356.057 billion in tenders logged on Nov. 24.

Banks asked for yields ranging from 1.745% to 2.19%, wider than the 1.73% to 1.99 margin a week ago. With this, the average rate of the two-week papers increased by 4.31 bps to 1.8226% from 1.7795%.

The BSP has not auctioned 28-day term deposits for more than a year to give way to its weekly offering of bills with the same tenor.

The central bank uses the TDF and its short-term securities to gather excess liquidity in the financial system and guide market rates.

“The results of the auction continue to reflect normal market conditions, supported by ample liquidity in the financial system, amid the ongoing issuance of the retail Treasury bonds which will be settled this Thursday,” BSP Deputy Governor Francisco G. Dakila, Jr. said in a statement.

The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) on Monday said it raised P360 billion through its offering of 5.5-year RTBs that ended last week. The government raised P330.5 billion in fresh funds while the remaining P29.5 billion was from the bond exchange program.

Proceeds from the issuance will be used to fund government pandemic-response and economic recovery programs, the BTr said.

TDF yields also inched higher due to cautious sentiment amid hawkish signals from the Fed regarding the pace of the reduction of its bond purchases, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome H. Powell on Tuesday said they have witnessed elevated inflation pressures, strong labor market data which was not paired with better labor supply, as well as strong spending since their last policy review in November, Reuters reported.

“We are actually at our next meeting in a couple of weeks going to have a discussion about accelerating that taper by a few months,” Mr. Powell told members of the Senate Banking Committee, as reported by Reuters.

The Federal Open Market Committee will have its last policy review this year on Dec. 14 to 15. — Luz Wendy T. Noble with Reuters

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