Facebook says it removes accounts which targeted Vietnamese activists

December 2, 2021 | 1:25 pm

Facebook has removed a network of accounts from its platform which it said targeted Vietnamese activists who were critical of the country’s government, an official at Facebook’s parent company Meta said on Wednesday.

In July, the company removed a Vietnamese Facebook group called “E47” which mobilized its members to report posts they did not like to Facebook, in an effort to have them taken down.

The latest action was taken against a separate group, according to David Agranovich, Facebook’s head of global threat disruption.

“What we saw was a network of accounts in Vietnam that was engaged in this kind of coordinated targeting of activists, and other people who publicly criticized the Vietnamese government,” Mr. Agranovich told Reuters.

The attackers used Facebook accounts to submit “hundreds or thousands of reports” against their targets using Facebook’s built-in reporting tools, Mr. Agranovich said of the network, which was also detailed in a report released by Facebook on Wednesday.

“Many of the operators would use fake accounts, which they would use to pose as their targets, and then they would report the target’s real account as an impersonating account,” he added.

Some of the accounts were openly offering the taking down of other Facebook accounts as a commercial service, according to Agranovich.

“They essentially advertise this kind of abusive reporting service in their actual bios,” he said.

Unlike in neighboring China, Facebook is not blocked in Vietnam, where it has around 70 million users and is the country’s main platform for e-commerce.

It has also become the main platform for political dissent, however, putting Facebook and the government in a constant tussle over the removal of content deemed to be “anti-state.”

Vietnam’s foreign ministry, which handles enquiries to the government from foreign media, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. — James Pearson/Reuters

US Army keen to expand Southeast Asia access amid China worries

December 2, 2021 | 1:21 pm

Balikatan-2018-www.c7f.navy.mil — C7F.NAVY.MIL

WASHINGTON — The US Army is keen to expand its access and basing arrangements in Southeast Asia as part of a strategy to deter China, the secretary of the army said on Wednesday.

Christine Wormuth told a Washington think tank such a posture shift was in the interests of both the United States and its allies and partners in the region, but there was a need to be “realistic about what is possible”

She said positioning US military equipment in Asia had been heavily oriented towards Northeast Asia.

“There is very much a desire to be able to expand our access and basing arrangements more into Southeast Asia, because if we were able to do that, we would have a more dispersed posture that would give us much more flexibility,” she told the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

“It is very much in our interests and in the interest of our allies and partners, to explore how we can shift that posture over time,” she said, while adding:

“But my own view is that we need to be realistic about what is possible and as we look at the operational challenges we need to have realistic assumptions about the locations from where we might be able to operate.”

Ms. Wormuth spoke at a time when the Biden administration has been stepping up engagement with Southeast Asia, a region it sees as central to its strategy of competition with an ever more assertive and militarily expanding China.

The top US diplomat for East Asia, Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Kritenbrink, is currently in Southeast Asia in the latest visit by a senior US official.

Ms. Wormuth did not say where the army is interested in expanding its access, but said progress with the Philippines in renewing an agreement allowing the rotational presence of US troops had been very important.

She said a key part of an ongoing Pentagon force posture review was looking for more opportunities to pre-position equipment.

She said it was important to work collectively to avoid war in Asia and the best strategy was strong deterrence to ensure that Chinese leader Xi Jinping “to the extent that he might think about trying to forcibly reunify with Taiwan will decide that … today is not the day to do that.”

Among the roles for the army was in “long-range fires,” including hypersonic weapons it plans to start fielding, Ms. Wormuth said.

She stressed concerns about possible misunderstandings that could lead to conflict and the need to avoid “second Cold War framing” and to maintain lines of communication with Beijing.

“We really need to have channels where we can have dialogue with the Chinese government … That’s something I worry about,” she said. — Idrees Ali and David Brunnstrom/Reuters

Philippines says COVID variants highlight need for local vaccine development

December 2, 2021 | 11:50 am

MANILA – New coronavirus variants highlight the need for countries to do their own research and development on COVID-19 vaccines, said a senior Philippines trade official, adding that people will only be safe once the whole world is vaccinated.

The Philippines is looking to work with its trading partners on this as vaccine demand is unlikely to wane anytime soon, said Allan Gepty, assistant secretary at the Department of Trade and Industry in an interview at the Reuters Next conference.

The new COVID-19 variants highlight that “we have to continue doing our respective research and development in this area because there is a truism that Öno one is safe unless everyone is safe,” said Gepty.

“The Philippines is more than willing to work with other trading partners on research and development.”

His comments come as the world is battling the new Omicron variant, which has underscored the danger of low vaccination rates in some emerging countries as their affluent counterparts move to give boosters to their population.

Gepty said the demand for vaccines will “always be there”, which is why “we have to be concerned with the manufacturing aspect”.

While the Philippines struggled to secure vaccine supplies at the start of the pandemic, it has since build up its inventory through imports and donations, with a massive three-day vaccination drive taking place this week. The Philippines does not currently manufacture any COVID-19 vaccines.

The Philippines suffered among the worst COVID-19 outbreaks in Asia. With only close to 33% of the country’s population fully inoculated so far, its vaccination rate is lagging those of its regional peers.

The Southeast Asian nation also wants the World Trade Organization (WTO) to come up with “concrete actions” on both trade and public health issues, Gepty said, without elaborating.

A trade response to the pandemic is on the radar of the WTO, which had to postpone its first ministerial meeting in four years due to the global alarm over Omicron.

Gepty said the Philippines has the capability to become involved in vaccine manufacturing but there are issues that need to be addressed, such as enforcing trade rules and ensuring the smooth flow of raw materials for vaccines.

“We have to take into account the supply chain and also the access to various raw materials,” he said. “That’s why on the trade aspect it is very important that the flow of these essential goods, the raw materials, among others, must not be hampered.” — Reuters

November PMI jumps to 8-month high

December 2, 2021 | 12:34 am

By Jenina P. Ibañez, Senior Reporter

PHILIPPINE MANUFACTURING activity rose to an eight-month high in November, as new orders increased for the first time since March, IHS Markit said on Wednesday.

The Philippines Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 51.7 last month from 51 in October, the highest since the 52.2 in March.

A reading above 50 indicates improving conditions for the manufacturing sector versus the previous month, and below the threshold means deterioration.

“Latest PMI data continued to signal a recovery in operating conditions in the Philippines with the headline figure at an eight-month high. Supporting this was an expansion in new orders, which was the first uptick since the end of the opening quarter of the year,” Shreeya Patel, economist at IHS Markit, said.

This also signaled the third straight month of growth after the PMI slid to 46.4 in August as factories and businesses shut due to the two-week strict pandemic lockdown in the capital.

PMI is the weighted average of five sub-indices: new orders (30%), output (25%), employment (20%), suppliers’ delivery times (15%) and stocks of purchases (10%).

IHS Markit said Philippine manufacturers saw new orders jump for the first time since March, thanks to higher client numbers, rising footfall, and improved customer demand.

“The rate of growth was subdued in the context of the series history, however,” IHS Markit said.

Output declined for an eighth straight month, but IHS Markit said it was only “fractional.” However, businesses flagged delays in receiving inputs, while material and staff shortages hampered capacity.

“Traffic issues, port congestions and difficulties sourcing materials influenced another deterioration in vendor performance during November. The extent to which lead times lengthened was marked, but eased during the month,” IHS Markit said.

The workforce headcount also fell at the softest pace in four months, as businesses found it hard to find skilled replacements after voluntary resignations.

As new orders went up, companies increased buying activity on expectations that demand will continue to improve.

“Stockpiling and efforts to boost production were a key theme in the latest release, but supply-side issues and the lack of availability of raw materials weighed on production,” Ms. Patel said.

Philippine manufacturers are confident that output will continue to improve, with optimism rising to a 21-month high.

“That said, although sentiment was higher than the average for 2021 so far, it was below the long-run series average suggesting concerns regarding the pandemic still persist,” IHS Markit said.

Ms. Patel also flagged the “low” vaccination rate as one of the sector’s “largest threats.”

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said easing lockdown restrictions have allowed for the reopening of more sectors.

“Manufacturing also got a boost in view of the preparations in terms of high production for the Christmas holiday season, which accounts for a significant share of yearly sales for many businesses/industries, including those in the manufacturing sector,” he said in a Viber message.

“Further measures to reopen the economy into the Christmas holiday season and in preparations for the May 2022 elections in terms of election-related spending and increased infrastructure spending would also benefit the local manufacturing sector, going forward.”

ASEAN PMI SLIPS
In a separate report, IHS Markit said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) PMI slipped to 52.3 in November from 53.6 a month earlier, but was still in expansion territory.

“The PMI remained above the 50.0 mark to signal another improvement in manufacturing conditions, buoyed by further increase in factory production, with the rate of output growth easing only slightly from October’s survey record,” IHS Markit economist Lewis Cooper said.

Indonesia recorded the highest growth in the region with 53.9, followed by Malaysia (52.3), and Vietnam (52.2).

The Philippine PMI reading was the fourth highest in the region, while Thailand’s PMI stood at 50.6. Only Myanmar stayed below the 50 mark at 46.7, but the rate of contraction was the slowest since January.

“Overall, the latest data provide some promising signs, with the ASEAN manufacturing sector continuing to recover, and rates of growth in output and new work sticking close to their recent peaks,” Mr. Cooper said.

Nat’l Government debt swells to P11.97 trillion

December 2, 2021 | 12:33 am

THE NATIONAL Government’s outstanding debt swelled to P11.97 trillion as of the end of October as it offered more domestic securities, preliminary data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) showed.

The end-October debt level was 19.38% higher year on year and edged up by 0.46% from September.

BTr in a statement on Wednesday said the debt increase was “primarily due to the net issuance of domestic securities.”

Government debt rose by 22.2% since the start of the year, or the equivalent of P2.18 trillion over the 10-month period.

The 10-month debt figure is also higher than the P11.73-trillion government target for the year.

Domestic borrowing accounted for 70.7% of the total, while the rest was sourced from foreign creditors.

Broken down, domestic debt at the end of October went up by 0.96% to P8.47 trillion from September. Domestic debt stock grew by 19.65% year on year.

Outstanding government securities jumped by 1.03% to P7.93 trillion from the end-September level. This also surged by 21.3% from the same period last year.

The government still owes the P540 billion it borrowed from the central bank to continue funding the country’s pandemic response.

Meanwhile, external debt declined by 0.74% to P3.5 trillion month on month, but jumped by 18.74% from October 2020.

“For October, the lower figure for external debt was attributed to the impact of local and foreign currency exchange rate adjustments amounting to P22.68 billion and P8.45 billion respectively,” BTr said.

“This more than offset the net availment of external obligations amounting to P4.96 billion.”

Broken down, foreign debt consisted of P1.53 trillion in loans, declining by 0.82% since end-September.

Government securities also slipped by 0.68% to P1.97 trillion in October.

This included P1.54 trillion in dollar notes, P237 billion in euro bonds, P86 billion in yen paper, P19.75 billion in yuan notes and P85.6 billion in peso global bonds.

The National Government’s total guaranteed debt slipped by 1.48% to P426.46 billion in end-October from a month earlier, and 4.77% from a year ago.

“The lower level of guaranteed debt was due to the net redemption of domestic and external guarantees amounting to P1.24 billion and P0.08 billion, respectively,” the Treasury said.

“Currency adjustment on both local- and third-currency denominated guarantees also trimmed P1.28 billion and P2.25 billion, respectively.”

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said foreign debts declined month on month as the stronger peso exchange rate in the latter part of October reduced the level of foreign borrowings when converted to pesos.

He said in a Viber message that a narrower budget deficit could have led to a reduced need for additional borrowings, which would improve fiscal performance and debt management.

“As a result, the growth in outstanding debt slowed both on a month-on-month and year-on-year basis, as the economy further reopened from lockdowns and towards greater normalcy, which increases government tax revenue collections and reduces government expenditures.” — Jenina P. Ibañez

New coronavirus variants may cloud PHL recovery outlook, BSP chief says

December 2, 2021 | 12:32 am

MOTORISTS experience heavy traffic along Commonwealth in Quezon City on Wednesday. — PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS

BANGKO SENTRAL ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin E. Diokno on Wednesday said economic activity is improving but the emergence of new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) variants may cloud the pace of recovery.

“Economic activity is vastly improving. Yet, the overall momentum of the economic recovery remains foggy as long as a big part of the population remains unvaccinated and there is still a possible emergence of more virulent variants,” Mr. Diokno said in a speech at a virtual forum organized by the Joint Foreign Chambers of the Philippines on Wednesday.

According to the Department of Health, 36.4 million Filipinos have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Nov. 30. The Philippines aims to fully vaccinate 54 million people by the end of the year. While 96% or 9.4 million of Metro Manila’s target population is now fully vaccinated, the vaccination rates in poorer regions remain very low.

Third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) went up by an annual 7.1%, slower than the revised 12% growth in the second quarter after the government placed strict restrictions in Metro Manila to curb the Delta-driven surge in COVID-19 cases. Year to date, GDP grew by 4.9%, the upper end of the government’s 4-5% target.

“The BSP is committed to an accommodative monetary policy stance supportive of infusing liquidity in the financial system and recovery of the economy, Mr. Diokno said.

McKinsey & Co. Philippines Acting Managing Partner Jon Canto said in the same forum that the Philippine economy could return to pre-pandemic levels by late next year or early 2023, depending on the level of vaccination against COVID-19 and the spread of new variants.

“The fearless forecast at the moment, looking at where we stand today in the third quarter is that if on the positive side we get to a muted recovery, we could go back — from a GDP (gross domestic product) perspective — to pre-COVID levels by the third quarter of next year,” he said.

“If the virus and the new variants then take longer hold, that could extend to probably the first quarter of 2023.”

The consumer goods segment is growing in terms of essentials like food and health products, which is mostly driven by the higher end of the market, Mr. Canto said.

Industrial manufacturing could rebound due to a global demand in exports, but supply chain bottlenecks will likely hamper this growth.

Mr. Canto said retail trade initially benefited from consumer stockpiling, but “tingi” retail — or selling products in smaller portions than the usual retail — is coming back.

Pent-up construction demand will continue, with real estate growth likely driven by the residential sector catering to wealthy and overseas Filipino worker segments.

Business process outsourcing and remittances could continue to drive growth, the McKinsey executive said, while the energy sector will continue to expand as demand from residential and industrial customers improve.

“We need to find a way to develop the baseload capacity,” Mr. Canto said.

McKinsey identified five trends that could support Philippine economic growth in the next few years, including manufacturing hub advancement and green infrastructure investments.

Preparing companies for digital technologies, reskilling employees, and building high-value food industries will also boost growth, Mr. Canto said.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua earlier said pre-pandemic nominal GDP level would be achieved by 2022, “even as early as the first quarter.”

However, Citigroup Hong Kong Chief Economist for Asia Johanna Chua said at the same forum that it is not enough for the Philippines to go back to pre-COVID levels of output.

“If you go back to pre-COVID levels of output in 2022, India and Indonesia are already going to get back to that this year. China already got back to that last year,” she said.

“Can we even get back to pre-COVID levels of trend growth? The last five years prior to COVID, Philippines was going on average about 6.6%, can we get back there?”

Meanwhile, Albay Representative Jose Ma. Clemente S. Salceda, who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee, said he expects the Philippines to be the fastest-growing ASEAN economy in 2022.

He said the young median age of the country’s labor force support economic recovery.

“This is the single biggest strength of the Philippines that has always been missed out in most of the forecasts of any outlook about the Philippines,” he said. — Jenina P. Ibañez with L.W.T.Noble

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

December 2, 2021 | 12:31 am

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

December 2, 2021 | 12:09 am

Chef Tatung with 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

December 2, 2021 | 12:08 am

1 of 6

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

December 2, 2021 | 12:07 am

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 25^th 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

December 2, 2021 | 12:06 am

Adele_for_Vogue — 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

December 2, 2021 | 12:05 am

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