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Semirara Mining and Power Corp. to hold Annual Meeting of Stockholders on May 4 via remote communication

NOTICE OF ANNUAL STOCKHOLDERS’ MEETING

Please be notified that the Annual Meeting of Stockholders of Semirara Mining and Power Corporation (“Corporation”) will be held on May 4, 2026, 1 Monday at 10:00 a.m. and will be conducted by remote communication at https://www.semirarampc.com/asm.

Agenda

  1. Call to Order and Proof of Notice of Meeting 
  2. Certification of Quorum 
  3. Chairman’s Message 
  4. Approval of Minutes of Previous Stockholders’ Meeting held on May 5, 2025 
  5. Presentation and Approval of President’s Report 
  6. Presentation and Approval of Audited Financial Statements for CY 2025
  7. Ratification of the Acts of the Board of Directors and Management from the Date of the Last Annual Stockholders’ Meeting up to the Date of this Meeting 
  8. Election of Directors for 2026-2027 
  9. Approval of Appointment of Independent External Auditor 
  10. Other Matters 
  11. Adjournment 

Record Date

Stockholders of record, as of March 17, 2026 will be entitled to notice of, and vote at the said annual meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof.

Registration and Voting

Stockholders may attend the meeting remotely by registering here beginning April 20 to April 28, 2026. Only stockholders of record as of March 17, 2026 will be entitled to vote at the said meeting. Stockholders may vote in absentia using the online voting portal at https://www.semirarampc.com/voting, or by appointing the Chairman of the meeting as their proxy. The voting portal will be accessible beginning April 20, 2026, until 12:00 noon of May 4, 2026.

The following documents are required to be transmitted by email to corporatesecretary@semirarampc.com upon registration:

CERTIFICATED SHARES:

1. Individual Stockholder
        a. Valid Government-Issued ID or passport
2. Corporate Stockholder
        b. Secretary’s Certificate designating its attorney-in-fact and proxy 

        c. Valid Government-Issued ID or passport of the representative

UNCERTIFICATED OR SCRIPLESS SHARES:

1. Individual Stockholder
         a. Broker’s Certification stating the stockholder’s name and the number of shares held
         b. Valid Government-Issued ID or passport
2. Corporate Stockholder
         a. Broker’s Certification stating the stockholder’s name and the number of shares held
         b. Secretary’s Certificate designating its attorney-in-fact and proxy
         c. Valid Government-Issued ID or passport of the representative

The requirements and procedure for electronic voting in absentia and participation by remote communication is set forth in Schedule 4 of the Definitive Information Statement published on the Company’s Website and on PSE Edge.

Stockholder Question

Questions may be sent prior to the meeting at corporatesecretary@semirarampc.com no later than April 28, 2026, which shall be limited to the items in the agenda. Some questions may be addressed while others will be replied to via email.

Proxy

Duly accomplished proxy forms must be submitted on or before 5:00 p.m. on April 24, 2026 to the Office of the Corporate Secretary at the 2nd Floor DMCI Plaza, 2281 Don Chino Roces Avenue, Makati City 1231, Philippines or by email at corporatesecretary@semirarampc.com. Validation of proxies is set on April 28, 2026, at 10:00 a.m.

Electronic copies of the Definitive Information Statement, Management Report, SEC Form 17A and other pertinent documents are available at the Company’s Website (https://www.semiraramining.com) and on the PSE Edge.

(Sgd.) JOHN R. SADULLO 

Corporate Secretary

For the Board of Directors

—————————————–

1 Should the date of the annual stockholders’ meeting (ASM) be declared a legal holiday, the ASM will be held on the next succeeding business day at 10:00 a.m. pursuant to Section 1, Article I of Corporation’s By-Laws, as amended.

Semirara Mining and Power Corporation has a dividend policy that ensures a minimum of 20% of net profit after taxes starting from the period ending December 31, 2005. However, the Board of Directors has the option to declare more than 20% if there is excess cash, and less than 20% if there is insufficient cash available. The corporation declared a regular cash dividend of P1.25/share and a special cash dividend of P.75/share on March 24, 2025, with a Record Date of April 8, payable on April 23, 2025. It also declared a special cash dividend of P1.25/share on October 20, with a Record Date of November 4 payable on November 20, 2025.

 

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Queer poetry as exploration of desire and identity

IT IS vital to explore the queer experience, no matter how intimate, according to filmmaker, film historian, and author Nick Deocampo. In 1983, his pioneering documentary, Oliver, captured the reality of a gay nightclub performer — and now his brand-new poetry books come full circle to expound on the nuances of queer identity.

The four-volume poetry collection, Shards of Desire, gives a rounded view of Mr. Deocampo’s own experiences growing up gay and coming to terms with the complexities of it over the decades. Each volume was written with different themes and poetic styles in mind, every poem paired with a photograph.

At the March 23 launch of the books, Cine Adarna’s outdoor lobby at the University of the Philippines Diliman was filled with students, teachers, lovers of film, and members of the queer community, and it was to them that Mr. Deocampo dedicated his work.

“I was an adolescent growing up in Catholic Iloilo, in what I would like to think was a harsh environment for somebody who was growing up as a homosexual,” he said in his speech. “I had as my companions the likes of Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, Gerald Manley Hopkins — many sensibilities that ended up shaping a queer sensibility.

“So much harshness happened in the surroundings, and I only quietly wrote this for 50 years. I hope these volumes can be your companions as well,” he explained.

Out of 150 poems, 80 were chosen to be published in the four-volume collection. Distinct from Mr. Deocampo’s academic writing, its contents reveal his thoughts at their most personal and intimate.

EXPERIMENTATION
Shards of Desire is divided into four, drawing from different influences and styles.

The first, Ariel and the Grand Design of the Universe, is a collection of poems that go all the way back to the author’s young adulthood in 1974 in Iloilo and then in 1977 in his move to Manila. There, he met a man named Ariel, a relationship he writes about in stark detail through the poems.

The second volume, The Night at Rue du Dragon, covers his lifestyle in the 1980s in Paris, where Mr. Deocampo studied film and fell in love with a young Black man whom he met inside a movie house.

The third volume, Phaedrus Poems, is the most experimental, he said. “It’s based on classic Greek literature combined with the Japanese haiku syllabic structure,” he said. “I wrote it to show a love affair between two males.”

The final one is The Icarus Complex, which talks about the relationship between Daedalus and Icarus.

Jose Paolo Sibal, president of the collection’s publisher, CentralBooks, Inc., said in a statement read out at the launch that the poetry is powerful due to its “honesty and courage.”

“In Shards of Desire, Professor Deocampo turns to poetry, to explore deeply personal and resonant truths. This collection becomes a space where fragments of being queer and expressing it with honesty and courage give voice to experiences that are at once intimate and universal,” he said.

Each volume is priced at P580. To place an order, visit CentralBooks’ website and social media pages. — Brontë H. Lacsamana

LT Group, Inc. discloses Annual Stockholders’ Meeting on May 6 via Zoom

 

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Bond yields mixed as war keeps market on edge

BW FILE PHOTO

THE GOVERNMENT borrowed its target amount via its dual-tranche Treasury bond (T-bond) offer on Tuesday as investors sought to place their excess cash in safer assets with higher returns as the Middle East war rages on.

The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) raised P40 billion as planned via its dual-tenor T-bond offer as total bids for both tenors reached P65.982 billion, higher than the offered volume and the P27.118 billion in tenders seen on March 24.

Broken down, the Treasury raised P21.277 billion from the reissued seven-year bonds, within its P20 billion to P30 billion target as bids totaled P40.503 billion.

This brought the outstanding volume for this bond series to P271 billion, the BTr said in a statement.

The papers, which have a remaining life of three years and one month, fetched an average rate of 6.298%, with bids ranging from 6.15% to 6.34%.

This was 34.4 basis points (bps) higher than the 5.954% fetched for the series’ last award on Nov. 26, 2024 but was 20.2 bps below the 6.5% coupon for the issue.

The average yield was also 3.9 bps lower than the 6.337% fetched for the same bond series but was 5.7 bps higher than the 6.241% quoted for the three-year bond, the benchmark tenor closest to the remaining life of the issue, at the secondary market before Tuesday’s auction, based on PHP Bloomberg Valuation Service (BVAL) Reference Rates data provided by the BTr.

For the reissued 25-year T-bonds, the government raised P18.623 billion via the tenor, below the P20 billion to P30 billion goal, as tenders reached P25.479 billion.

This brought the total oustanding volume for the bond series to P121.7 billion, the Treasury said.

The notes, which have a remaining life of eight years and seven months, were awarded at an average rate of 6.747%, with bid yields at 6.65% to 6.8%.

The average rate of the issue fell by 44.2 bps from the 7.189% fetched for the series’ last award on Dec. 9, 2022 and was 250.3 bps below its 9.25% coupon.

This was likewise 5.7 bps lower than the 6.804% fetched for the same bond series but was 0.8 bp above the 6.739% quoted for the eight-year bond at the secondary market before Tuesday’s auction, PHP BVAL Reference Rates data showed.

Demand for the T-bonds was driven by a maturing security on Wednesday, a trader said by phone.

“Players are still looking for somewhere to place their funds. The market is on wait-and-see mode on Trump’s deadline for Iran,” the trader said.

The BTr partially awarded the 25-year note as demand was weak, with investors hesitant about locking in their funds in longer tenors and asking for higher yields as the war in the Middle East poses risks to the economy, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a Viber message.

He added that the reissued seven-year bonds fetched higher rates following the release of inflation data for March.

The consumer price index (CPI) quickened to 4.1% in March from 2.4% in February and 1.8% in the same month last year, the government reported on Tuesday.

This was the quickest pace in nearly two years or since the 4.4% in July 2024, which was also the last time that the monthly print breached the BSP’s 2%-4% target.

March inflation was also above the 3.8% median estimate in a BusinessWorld poll of 18 analysts and the central bank’s own 3.1%-3.9% forecast for the month.

This brought the three-month average to 2.8%. The BSP sees inflation averaging 5.1% this year as it expects the conflict’s impact on oil prices to affect food, utilities, and transportation costs.

Iran and Israel traded attacks as Tehran refused to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and accept a ceasefire deal ahead of a Tuesday night deadline from US President Donald J. Trump to agree to his demands or get “taken out,” Reuters reported.

Still, markets held on to some hopes for de-escalation as they mulled the potential impact of the conflict on inflation, economic growth and central bank interest rates.

Government bonds worldwide came under pressure soon after the war started on February 28, with yields jumping higher as inflation expectations surged on spiking energy prices.

The BTr wants to borrow P248 billion from the domestic market this month, or P140 billion via Treasury bills and P108 billion through T-bonds.

The government borrows from local and foreign sources to help fund its budget deficit, which is capped at P1.6 trillion or 5.3% of gross domestic product this year. — A.M.C. Sy with Reuters

Max’s Group, Inc. to conduct Annual Stockholders’ Meeting on May 12 via videoconference

 

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Del Monte Pacific reshuffles PHL unit leadership as Alejandro steps down

DELMONTEPACIFIC.COM

DEL MONTE PACIFIC LTD. (DMPL) said it will reshuffle leadership at its Philippine unit effective April 29, with Luis F. Alejandro stepping down as group chief operating officer and president of Del Monte Philippines, Inc. (DMPI).

In a disclosure on Tuesday, the company said Mr. Alejandro will instead serve as senior adviser to the chief executive officer during the transition period.

“The Board views this transition as part of the company’s continuing focus on leadership continuity, operating discipline, and long-term value creation,” DMPL said.

Mr. Alejandro has been with the DMPL Group for 20 years in senior leadership roles. During that time, he led efforts to expand the Del Monte brand in the local market and S&W overseas, while helping manage DMPI’s operations and business performance.

As senior adviser to the chief executive officer, he will support leadership continuity and oversee the transfer of knowledge, particularly on legacy processes, technical matters, and critical operational functions.

The company said the transition forms part of the group’s succession plan.

Angie Go-Flaminiano will take over as president and chief operating officer of DMPI effective the same day. She will report to Chief Executive Officer Joselito D. Campos, Jr. and will join the unit’s board.

She previously served as marketing head at DMPI and held senior roles at NutriAsia, Inc. and Procter & Gamble. She most recently served as president and chief operating officer of NutriAsia.

“Under her leadership, NutriAsia was recognized as a certified Great Place to Work, reflecting a leadership environment where strong performance expectations are balanced with people development and employee engagement,” the company said.

“A certified public accountant by training, Angie combines financial grounding with deep marketing and brand building experience across multiple consumer categories,” it added.

At the local bourse on Tuesday, shares in DMPL rose 1.54% to close at P5.93 each. — Alexandria Grace C. Magno

Arts & Culture (04/08/26)

International visual artists blend art, science

A ROSTER of international multidisciplinary artists from Japan, Indonesia, and the Philippines explore the interconnections of art and science in the exhibit Poets of Physics. Presented by the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design, the show is named for artist David Medalla’s description of himself: that of “a poet who celebrates physics.” His body of work ranges from kinetic art to painting, sculpture, installation, and performance art. One of his famous works is the Cloud Canyons, an auto-creative instrument that continuously generates foam and bubbles to produce ever-changing sculptural forms. The exhibit features his compositions alongside those of Aki Sasamoto (Japan), Bagus Pandega (Indonesia), Fischli and Weiss (Switzerland), and Ian Carlo Jaucian (Philippines). Poets of Physics runs until April 12 at MCAD, located at the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde’s Design + Arts Campus along Dominga St., Malate, Manila.

Carlos Celdran’s drawings on exhibit

STORYTELLER, artist, and tireless interpreter of Manila’s layered histories, Carlos Celdran will be honored in an exhibition centered on his drawings. Since he died in 2019, he has been posthumously celebrated for his practice that merged performance, history, and the public space, especially his immersive walking tours of Manila complete with costume, storytelling, and satire. Mr. Celdran’s training in the visual arts will be under the spotlight this time, with Archivo 1984’s selection of Celdran’s drawings, including rarely seen and previously unexhibited works. It runs from April 11 to 22 at Archivo 1984, located on the 5th floor of Karrivin Plaza, Chino Roces Ext., in Makati City. The opening reception will be on April 11, 3 to 7 p.m.

PETA Plus to stage Endo adaptation

AT THE PETA Theater Center in Quezon City, the Cinemalaya film Endo will return in a new form, nearly two decades after its debut at the local independent film festival. Originally written and directed by Jade Castro as a story about love in the face of contractual labor, this stage version of the film has been adapted by Liza Magtoto and will be directed by Melvin Lee. It takes place in the context of today’s gig economy, breathing new life into the material. The show runs from April 10 to May 10.

Encore Theater stages plays by Floy Quintos

THIS MONTH, Encore Theater will be staging Miranda & Yolanda, a twin bill of one-act plays by the late theater stalwart Floy Quintos. Running from April 11 to May 3 at the Power Mac Center’s Blackbox Theater in Ayala Malls Circuit, it is composed of two plays: Evening at the Opera and Ang Kalungkutan ng mga Reyna, both of which focus on women in positions of power. They are directed by Dexter M. Santos. Tickets are available via Ticket2Me.

West Gallery opens new exhibitions in April

THE APRIL exhibitions of West Gallery have been unveiled to the public. They are: Raffy T. Napay’s Puno, David Ryan Viray’s To the Author of the Last Page, August Lyle Espino’s The room you can’t carry with you everywhere, Meety Mity’s Where da grass greens grow, and Oca Villamel’s A Song Without End. The five exhibitions run until May 2 at West Gallery, located along West Avenue in Quezon City.

Día del Libro to return in Makati

OVER at Makati’s Ayala Triangle Gardens, a celebration of books will again be mounted this month. The commemoration of Día del Libro will be packed with activities on April 25, from poetry reading to story-telling sessions, as well as free Spanish language classes, music performances, and gastronomic experiences. Aside from the mainstays like the crowd-pleasing Escribe el Quijote (Write Don Quijote) and book signings, the Spanish collective Atrapavientos will spice things up this year. As specialists in children’s literature, they will offer a workshop on creative writing to local students. Día del Libro takes place on April 25, from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m., at Ayala Triangle in Makati City.

Veniccio.com to present Chopin competition laureate

ON May 2 at the Ayala Museum, Veniccio.com and MA Piano Academy are set to mount Kate Liu in Recital, a concert featuring world-class pianist Kate Liu. The concert marks Ms. Liu’s Philippine debut, where she will perform the piano works of Chopin, Schumann, and Brahms. It comes after her recent victory at the 17th International Chopin Competition, where she established herself as one of the foremost interpreters of Chopin. After winning the competition’s 3rd prize, she was also awarded on Polish radio as the audience’s favorite, winning the Best Mazurka Prize. Tickets for her show in the Philippines range in price from P2,500 to P10,000 and are available via Veniccio.com.

Assessing the first half of the Marcos Jr. administration: Investments

PHILIPPINE STAR/NOEL PABALATE

(Part 3)

As regards the sectors of the economy that attracted foreign direct investments (FDIs) during the three most recent administrations (Aquino, Duterte, and Marcos Jr.), the Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino administration brought in the greatest number of enterprises in the service industry, with manufacturing recovering slowly by the end of the period.

Financial and insurance activities likewise recorded large inflows, especially in 2014 as confidence in the capital market improved and the banking sector was liberalized. A drop in the interest rate to a low of 4% encouraged more investments in general. A marked increase in real estate investments reflected the continuing growth of the business process outsourcing – information technology (BPO-IT) industry and increased urban development.

The FDI inflow during this administration had a distinct bias in favor of services and finance rather than infrastructure. The manufacturing moment was real but not yet entrenched.

FDI during the Duterte administration was highly volatile and project driven, with sharp swings that reflected infrastructure bets, regulatory uncertainty, and the negative effects of the COVID-19 epidemic. Electricity and energy in general marked a structural break with P1.39 trillion reflecting power-related investments aligned with the administration’s infrastructure program (Build, Build, Build). Inflows into transport and storage increased but remained modest. Information and communication spiked in 2019, driven by telecom and digital infrastructure investments.

At the beginning of the Marcos Jr. administration, FDI was showing a recovery and some rebalancing, with manufacturing emerging as the strongest and most consistent driver, rising steadily and reaching P1.4 trillion in 2024 — the clearest signal of a renewed interest in industry.

Real estate rebounded strongly in 2022-2023, supporting construction and services as the economy opened after months of lockdown. Transportation and storage inflows stabilized, suggesting a recovery in logistics and mobility. Health and social work initiatives surged in 2023, reflecting post-pandemic restructuring and private healthcare investment.

To its credit, the Marcos Jr. administration built on the strong foundations set during the previous two administrations in further strengthening the two saving sectors of the Philippine economy, OFW remittances and the IT-BPM sector. Even amid global volatility, OFW remittances remained a critical stabilizing force for the Philippine economy. In 2024, remittances reached $38.2 billion. The persistence of remittance inflows — particularly during periods of elevated domestic inflation — suggests a countercyclical role, as overseas workers support household consumption and cushion real income pressures at home.

Alongside remittances, the IT-BPM sector has served as a second major external earnings pillar. Prior to the pandemic, the industry grew at a steady 3-6% annually. Post-pandemic growth accelerated to 9-10%, driven by digital demand for e-commerce, healthcare, and financial services. By 2023, the second year in the term of President Marcos Jr., industry revenues reached $35.5 billion, generating 130,000 new jobs and bringing employment to 1.7 million. In 2024, industry revenues reached $38 billion. Before the end of the Marcos Jr. administration, earnings from the IT-BPO sector will surpass the $40-billion mark.

Despite the seemingly good start, the Marcos Jr. administration has done poorly in attracting FDIs. While ASEAN neighbors like Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia are attracting FDI flows of $15-$30 billion annually, the Philippines’ figures remain below $10 billion, suffering a disastrous drop of 50% in 2025 as a result of the flood control corruption scandal.

The Philippines can foster more FDIs in the immediate term by addressing governance lapses. The recent flood control scandal demonstrated that governance issues are significant in foreign investors’ willingness to put in equity capital in the country’s businesses. A stable and effective rule of law can rally investor’s appetite and attract more of the investments already pouring into the ASEAN region. On this front, the Marcos Jr. administration should devote the rest of its term to strengthening the rule of law and thus fostering transformative economic growth.

While a good number of improvements in the Philippine investment climate have materialized (e.g., greater openness to foreign investments, higher investments in infrastructure, greater emphasis on technical skills in human resource development), the country remains a laggard in investment-led growth. Compared to its peers, especially in the ASEAN, the Philippines has been registering a low of 20-23% investment-to-GDP ratio, much lower than the 25-30% average in East Asia. This has led to lackluster economic growth (from its potential of 8-10% growth) in the post-pandemic period, resulting in a slow offtake of higher value-added industries compared to its neighbors.

As the experience in 2025 showed, there must be greater political will to improve the quality of governance.

 

Bernardo M. Villegas has a Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard, is professor emeritus at the University of Asia and the Pacific, and a visiting professor at the IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain. He was a member of the 1986 Constitutional Commission.

bernardo.villegas@uap.asia

Peso tumbles as dollar gains before Trump’s Iran deadline

BW FILE PHOTO

THE PESO tumbled against the dollar on Tuesday due to renewed market uncertainty as markets monitor developments in the Middle East conflict amid a looming deadline for a deal from US President Donald J. Trump.

The local unit slid by 28 centavos to end at P60.33 against the greenback from its P60.05 finish on Monday, data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines showed.

The currency opened Tuesday’s trading session weaker at P60.18 per dollar. Its intraday high was at P60.08, while its weakest showing was its closing level of P60.33.

Dollars traded went down to $1.68 billion from $1.867 billion on Monday.

The dollar-peso closed higher on uncertainty over a resolution to the conflict in the Middle East ahead of Mr. Trump’s Tuesday deadline, the first trader said in a phone interview.

The dollar stood just shy of recent highs on Tuesday as traders counted down to a US-imposed deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping or face attacks on its infrastructure, Reuters reported.

War in the Middle East and the closure of the chokepoint in the Persian Gulf have sent energy prices soaring and driven investors to dollars as the most effective safe haven, pushing the greenback higher, especially in Asia.

Hope for some sort of deal or breakthrough held off further dollar buying over Easter, but markets were jittery and there were few sellers of dollars ahead of Mr. Trump’s 8 p.m. Eastern Time (0000 GMT) deadline. The US dollar index edged 0.05% up at 100.03. It hit 100.64 last week, its highest since May 2025.

Iran and Israel traded attacks on Tuesday as Tehran refused to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Israel said it completed a wave of airstrikes targeting Iranian government infrastructure. Defenses intercepted Iranian missiles in Israel and Saudi Arabia.

“The peso weakened after Philippine inflation for March was recorded above the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) target inflation range,” the second trader said in an e-mail.

Headline inflation quickened to 4.1% in March from 2.4% in February and 1.8% in the same month last year, the government reported on Tuesday.

This was the fastest monthly pace in nearly two years or since the 4.4% in July 2024, which was also the last time that the headline print breached the BSP’s 2%-4% annual target.

March inflation was also higher than the 3.8% median estimate in a BusinessWorld poll of 18 analysts and the central bank’s 3.1%-3.9% forecast for the month.

For Wednesday, the first trader sees the peso moving between P60 and P60.50 per dollar, while the second trader said it could range from P60.20 to P60.45. — A.M.C. Sy with Reuters

Philippine inflation hits 20-month high of 4.1% in March

FASTER PRICE INCREASES in fuel, electricity and food including rice, drove Philippine inflation past the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) target for the first time in nearly two years, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported. Read the full story.

DICT won’t ban Roblox after safety commitments

PLAY.GOOGLE.COM

THE Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said it will not ban access to Roblox in the Philippines after the platform committed to strengthen its safety measures.

“Roblox laid out and explained stricter safeguards on its platform, including tighter monitoring, reporting mechanisms, and age-appropriate content controls,” DICT said in a statement on Tuesday.

The DICT, together with the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC), said it will focus on strengthening security across digital platforms instead of imposing a ban or restricting access to Roblox.

Roblox has committed to conducting an information campaign to guide users on online safety and proper use of the platform, the DICT said. It added that parental control features include screen time monitoring, blocking inappropriate content, and selecting age-appropriate content.

Roblox is an online gaming platform that allows users to interact within a virtual environment and engage with other players.

The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), along with the DICT and the CICC, had earlier convened over safety concerns following complaints that Roblox’s open, user-generated setup had been exploited, exposing children to potential risks, including violent extremism.

“Digital Pinoys welcomes the reforms agreed upon by Roblox, the DICT, and the CICC as a necessary step toward strengthening child safety and accountability on the platform,” Ronald B. Gustilo, a national campaigner for the Digital Pinoys group, said in a Viber message on Tuesday.

He said measures such as stricter age verification, content moderation, and stronger law enforcement coordination could help build a more robust framework to protect users, particularly minors, from online risks. — Ashley Erika O. Jose

Netflix debuts new Playground gaming app for kids

NETFLIX.COM

NETFLIX doubled down on its gaming efforts on Monday, launching a new app called “Netflix Playground” that would feature games built around popular children’s characters and shows such as Peppa Pig and Sesame Street.

Analysts say the streaming giant’s gaming efforts have yet to emerge as a major growth driver. One of the main challenges, analysts believe, is Netflix’s relatively limited portfolio of iconic intellectual property compared with rivals such as Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns franchises, including DC Comics.

Some of the most popular games from Netflix include Rockstar Games’ GTA: San Andreas, and those based on its own hit shows such as Squid Game: Unleashed.

The streaming giant said the new features aim to be a “curated space where parents know kids are entertained, engaged and enriched.”

The move is also aimed at deepening engagement with families, a segment where children’s content has traditionally been seen as helping reduce churn because parents are less likely to cancel.

“Emphasizing kids programs will make Netflix stickier for households with children,” Emarketer senior analyst Ross Benes said.

The new app will help Netflix “compete in the one area where it has a deficiency compared to Disney+, which is children’s programming,” he added.

The new app is designed for children eight years old and younger and is included in all levels of Netflix membership.

Each game will be playable offline, including Playtime With Peppa Pig, Dr. Seuss’s Horton!, and Sesame Street.

In addition to parental controls, the platform ensures no ads, in-app purchases, or extra fees.

“Netflix Playground” is available for download in the Philippines, the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. The company will launch globally towards the end of this month. — Reuters

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