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THE F2 Logistics Cargo Movers seek to book its ticket to the semifinal round in the Premier Volleyball League Invitational Conference, as the team battles the Petro Gazz Angels on Thursday, July 13, 2023 at the Philsports Arena.

F2 Logistics, physically and emotionally exhausted following a steal of a classic five-set win over Choco Mucho late Tuesday, looks to find its second wind in time to battle a tough Angels squad at 12 noon.

“We have to recover more because our next game is on Thursday,” said F2 Logistics coach Regine Diego after steering her wards to a 21-25, 25-17, 17-25, 25-21, 18-16 decision over the Flying Titans that saw them fight back from 11-14 deficit in the decider to nab the win.

With a 3-0 card in the six-team Pool B, F2 Logistics needs one more victory to formalize its semis stint although the Cargo Movers are keen on sweeping their last two games to firm up their bid in the carry-over phase that will have two foreign guest squads from Vietnam and Japan.

Chery Tiggo and Gerflor kick off another four-game bill at 9:30 a.m. with Creamline (2-0) also going all-out to nail the first semis spot in Pool A against PLDT at 4 p.m., and Cignal likewise out to enhance its semis bid against ousted Farm Fresh in Pool B in the 6:30 p.m. nightcap. (JNP)

THE second batch of Yaw-Yan Summer Clinic will begin on Friday, July 14, 2023 at the Yaw-Yan Ardigma Gym, which is located on the fourth floor of Coast Pacific Downtown Center, in front of the University of Cebu main campus on Sanciangko Street, Cebu City.

With the theme “Say to life and say no to drugs,” the activity will include arnis/eskrima, boxing/fitness, mixed martial arts, Muay Thai, kickboxing, and Yaw-Yan fighting self defense.

Master Benigno “Ekin” Caniga Jr., the founder and chief executive officer of Yaw-Yan Ardigma and dubbed as the “Father of Cebu MMA,” will serve as the mentor.

Caniga urged everyone, especially the youth, to learn martial arts owing to their many benefits, which include stress reduction, muscular gain, improved cardiovascular health, flexibility, greater balance, and agility and reflexes.

In addition, it can help boost confidence/self esteem, increase in focus, memory improvement, peace/calmness of mind, building character, improve social skills and self defense, among others.

Yaw-Yan is a native Filipino martial art introduced by Grand Master Nap Fernandez in 1972 in Sta. Cruz, Manila.

Those who are interested in joining may call 0992-8111591. (ESL)

July 12, 2023 8:00 PM

The baby had been taken to hospital after displaying some uncontrollable movements.

July 12, 2023 7:45 PM

JAKARTA - The peace plans that Myanmar has established with Asean remain the basis of the bloc’s approach to the crisis there, and the region’s foreign ministers have stressed the importance that these plans are implemented.

ALL listed banking brands in the Philippines saw their brand values grow by at least four percent, thanks to the nation’s upbeat economic growth driven by strong domestic demand, brand valuation consultancy firm Brand Finance said.

The economy of the Philippines is projected to grow faster than expected this year as strong domestic demand propels the nation forward despite high inflation and tight fiscal conditions.

“With the rise of a young and tech-savvy consumer base and an underutilisation of digital technologies, there is a growing need to adopt digital financial services. As such, a digital revolution has swept through the nation’s banking sector with brands increasingly investing in digital banking platforms to upgrade customer experience,” Brand Finance said in its Philippines 20 2023, report ranking the nation’s top 20 brands in terms of brand value.

Consequently, banking brands in the Philippines saw their brand values head northwards, according to the report.

BDO led the charge as the most valuable banking brand (brand value up 49 percent to US$2.2 billion), followed by Bank of the Philippine Islands (brand value up eight percent to $1.3 billion) and Metrobank (brand value up by four percent to $1.1 billion).

New entrants

The sector also saw five new entrants that made the rankings this year – Union Bank of the Philippines (brand value at $557.28 million), Security Bank (brand value at $331.44 million), Chinabank (brand value at $278.29 million), RCBC (brand value at $246.02 million) and Philippine National Bank (brand value at $234.69 million).

PLDT is the most valuable brand in the Philippines in Brand Finance’s rankings this year, powered by a two percent increase in brand value to $2.6 billion. PLDT’s brand performance contributed to the brand capturing a higher market share of the fiber industry, which led to a 45 percent improvement in year-on-year revenue.

Globe Telecom held onto its stellar AAA brand strength rating, clinching the honor of being the Philippines’ strongest brand in its rankings. However, the telecoms brand recorded a two percent decrease in brand value to $2 billion and slipped one position to third place.

Jollibee is the fastest growing brand in its rankings, recording a meteoric rise in brand value by 53 percent to $1.6 billion.

“This year, we would like to congratulate PLDT, Globe Telecom and Jollibee for topping Brand Finance’s Top 20 Philippines brands rankings as our most valuable, strongest and fastest growing brand, respectively. We also see success in the nation’s banking sector, as banking brands’ investments to digitalise and improve customer experience have resulted in brand value growth across all brands in the sector,” said Alex Haigh, managing director for Asia Pacific at Brand Finance. (CSL with PR)

July 12, 2023 7:42 PM

India is replacing its ageing fleet of Russian-made platforms, as it keeps a wary eye on China.

THE Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) has greenlighted 102 ecozone projects across the country worth about P80.58 billion for the first semester of 2023, on track to achieving its investment targets for the year.

This total investment is 2.5 times bigger than the investment pledges approved for the same period last year under the Duterte administration.

“We remain optimistic that we will sustain our positive growth trajectory for the second half of the year, given the notable increase in our key performance indicators on investments, jobs and exports from a more aggressive whole-of-government approach in investment promotion,” Peza director general Tereso Panga said in a statement.

206 projects

He said Peza has generated P198.796 billion worth of investments from 206 projects from July 2022 to June 2023 under the new administration, actual direct jobs of 1,805,770 (cumulative), and actual direct exports of US$58.494 billion.

Among the 206 projects, 11 big-ticket projects with minimum P1 billion capital investment have also been approved and registered by Peza during this time. These big-ticket projects with total capital investments of P154.966 billion came from the following sectors: ecozone development (P119.259 billion), export manufacturing (P33.946 billion), and ecozone facilities (P1.761 billion).

Panga noted, “We continue to contribute to the overall positive performance of the administration and serve as a tool to constantly attract investments in the country and promote the Philippines as an investment haven in Asia.”

Foreign delegations

With this, Peza is ramping up its investment promotion and facilitation initiatives to bring in much-needed foreign direct investments to the country. This is ahead of the anticipated influx of investors to the country as Peza conducts follow-through on the outbound missions done by the administration.

“This June, Peza welcomed several French, Czech and Dongguan delegations to the Philippines and facilitated the learning visit and study tour of the Ugandan and Papua New Guinean delegation. Peza likewise received delegations from China, Taiwan and Japan in the first semester of the year,” Panga said. (CSL)

SALES of alcoholic beverages tend to increase every Father’s Day celebration in the Philippines, a new study suggests.

Data analytics platform Packworks, in collaboration with socio-cultural research firm Fourth Wall, analyzed grassroots sales volume data from over 200,000 sari-sari stores in the Philippines through its business intelligence tool Sari IQ and discovered that alcoholic beverages experienced a notable increase in sales during Father’s Day in both 2022 and 2023.

Packworks’ data show that in 2022, products related to comfort food preparations and alcohol saw the highest one-day rise in demand on Father’s Day. Aluminum foil enjoyed the biggest surge, with a whopping 772 percent, followed by rice with 216 percent. Powder soup mix had a 215 percent increase in sales, while flour was at 157 percent. Meanwhile, the demand for vodka doubled during the festivity.

This year, however, Filipino consumers didn’t shy away from celebrating the special day, with Chinese wine posting the highest growth in sales with 84 percent.

The Sari IQ data further revealed a more diverse range of products gaining traction. Food items like peanut butter spread and bread rolls experienced growth rates of 55 percent and 51 percent, while non-food products such as candles and razors grew substantially, at 75 percent and 44 percent, respectively.

“The Sari IQ data suggests that while food is becoming less prominent among ordinary customers’ demand, alcoholic beverages remain on top in their market baskets on Father’s Day. Furthermore, the findings shed light on the evolving nature of consumer preferences during Father’s Day, implying Filipinos are exploring and embracing a wider variety of products to enhance their celebrations,” said Arch Tesorero, advanced analytics and insights manager at Packworks.

Food inflation

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the inflation rate for food products in June 2022 is lower than at the same time in 2023. However, it remains high at 5.4 percent despite the steady decline in recent months.

“The inflationary difference could have adversely affected the demand for comfort food, as it discouraged people from purchasing them. This could explain the fragmentation of the top demanded product on Father’s Day,” Fourth Wall’s research director John Brylle Bae explained.

Bae also pointed out that beyond the effects brought by inflation, Filipino fathers’ ties to alcohol are rooted in cultural upbringing.

“In our culture, drinking is strongly associated with macho culture, and in the Filipino context, it is seen as a measure of one’s manliness. Therefore, regardless of economic changes, one can expect that any Filipino festivity that ‘celebrates’ a man will likely include ‘inuman,’ and, thus, alcoholic beverages.”

The Sari IQ tool utilizes data analytics to understand and predict consumer behavior across product categories and locations nationwide, enabling retailers and multinational brands to make data-driven decisions that boost sales for sari-sari store owners and expand their product offerings to a larger customer base. (CSL with PR)

THE Gilas Women Under-16 basketball squad asserted their dominance over an overmatched Maldives team, demolishing the latter by an incredible 122 points, 144-22, in the 2023 FIBA U16 Asian Championship Division B on Tuesday in Amman, Jordan.

The Gilas Women scored 19 unanswered points to set the tone for the lopsided match. When the first period ended, the Gilas Women were already ahead, 41-5.

Sophia Canindo almost matched the entire output of Maldives, tallying 21 points to go with four boards, six assists, and an astounding 12 steals. Navaeh Smith and Christina Lapasaran added 16 markers apiece.

So dominant was the Philippines that they led by as much as 125. The Gilas Women also took advantage of Maldives’ loose ball handling by forcing them into a whopping 73 turnovers.

The Gilas will try to book their spot in the next round when they battle Jordan in their next game. (JNP)

Jasmine Loo, formerly a legal counsel to the 1MDB fund, was said to have fled Malaysia before the 2018 general election.

AROUND 1,910 job vacancies will be available in the upcoming job fair to be conducted by the Department of Manpower Development and Placement (DMDP) on July 15, 2023 for nearby barangays in Cebu City.

DMDP has coordinated with Barangay Tejero for the one-day job fair, which will run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Barangay Tejero Sports Complex.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, July 11, DMDP said that 12 employers will be participating in the event.

The top listed positions to be offered are service crew, health care associates, travel specialists, and retail associates, all of which have 200 vacant positions, as well as call center agents with 300 vacancies.

The job fair is not only exclusive to residents of Barangay Tejero but is also open for those living in nearby barangays in Cebu City.

Rialyn P. Abilay-Apas, Barangay Tejero secretary and one of the coordinators, said: “So si DMDP jud ang nag initiate ani and then gipili lang ang barangay (Tejero) as venue sa mao nga job fair kay gi clustered mani siya with the nearby barangays such as sa Carreta, Tinago, San Roque, Lorega and then included pud siguro ang Day-as.”

(DMDP initiated this and chose the barangay (Tejero) as the venue for the job fair because the villages were clustered into Carreta, Tinago, San Roque, Lorega, and Day-as.)

She said on-the-spot hiring is possible on Saturday, July 15, so applicants were advised to bring all the necessary documents.

The barangay also provides other services like free printing of required documents such as resumes or biodata.

Tejero Barangay Captain Hermogenes Galang Jr. is hoping there will be more jobseekers on Saturday, stressing that Barangay Tejero is closer, making it more convenient and accessible for them. (Kimberly Goc-ong, CNU Intern)

July 12, 2023 7:13 PM

The Washington-based political exile says the bounty for her arrest means returning home is impossible now.

The Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas, together with the governors of the different local government units (LGUs) of the Visayan Region, declare our full and unwavering support to the Department of Tourism’s (DOT’s) rebranding of the Philippine tourism campaign.

It is our firm belief that the DOT, under the leadership of Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco, poses no other interest than to bolster the tourism framework of the country despite the setbacks and adjustments that we, as a nation, unfortunately had to encounter during the pandemic. We are confident that as soon as this matter fades into insignificance, the superior intentions of the good Secretary and her commitment to developing and promoting the Philippines to the world will prevail.

The tourism industry has been one of the pillars of the Philippine economy. Our setbacks and impediments may have hindered our growth, however, the DOT’s agenda has been nothing more than to augment and elevate the losses in order to aid in the re-construction of our country’s tourism industry’s economy. We encourage everyone to be one in the mission and vision of the DOT—to be our beloved country’s envoy of goodwill, our country’s ambassadors of showing many integral ways of how and why we love the Philippines!

THE dentist who sustained eye injuries after being attacked by two men inside his clinic on Queens Road in Barangay Kamputhaw, Cebu City last Thursday, July 6, 2023, is now making a recovery.

Colonel Ireneo Dalogdog, chief of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), stated that although the victim, Dr. Charles Pactol Sia, 41, can see with both eyes, one of them needs to be monitored owing to blurry vision.

Dalogdog said the CCPO will continue to coordinate with Sia and give him security as he is recovering in the hospital.

Dr. Sia was struck with a gun and had a blunt object thrust into his eyes by the assailants.

"Ang iyang physical condition is stable na, ang iyang duha ka mata makakita na pero dili pa gyud niya mabuka as in buka at least malipay ta nga makakita na sya ug ok na gyud ang iyang sitwasyon," according to Dalogdog.

(His physical condition is now stable, his two eyes can see but he can't open them yet, at least we are happy that he can see and his situation is okay).

The two men whom Sia identified as responsible for the incident are now under close observation by the CCPO so they can't flee and can be quickly apprehended once an arrest warrant will be issued against them.

Last Friday, July 7, the culprits were charged with serious physical injury and grave threats.

Dalogdog said they have a strong evidence to pin down the perpetrators.

The first information that surfaced claimed that one of the suspects was the supposed lover of the woman who Dr. Sia had sued for failing to repay the large sum of money that she had borrowed from the victim.

The woman's partner, who was reported to be working in a hospital as a nurse, became enraged after learning about the lawsuit.(AYB, TPT)

July 12, 2023 7:05 PM

Tomato prices have soared to 200 rupees per kg in some parts of India, from about 30 to 40 rupees.

One analyst believes the launch was a warning to the US over spy planes flying near the North’s waters, and the impending arrival of an American nuclear submarine in the South.

BANTAYAN airport’s runway will be expanded in order to accommodate bigger commercial planes, an airport official said on Wednesday, July 12, 2023.

Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) General Manager Julius Neri confirmed to SunStar Cebu that the Cebu Provincial Government supports the extension of Bantayan airport’s runway from 1.2 kilometers to 1.5 kilometers.

The runway extension would approximately take less than a year, longer if needed for the upgrade to go smoothly, Neri said.

"We are going to work on it as fast as possible. Our engineering group will have to study the specifics for the extension, they'll have to measure, fill, everything that needs to be done to make sure that it is compliant with the standard," he said.

The runway extension is still in the planning stage and a tripartite agreement will be signed in August between the Cebu Provincial Government, MCIAA and GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corporation, Sugbo News, the Cebu Capitol media arm, reported on Tuesday, July 11, 2023.

Neri has not specified as to when will be the start of the construction works.

In a meeting with Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia on July 11, Neri said that the current runway can only accommodate smaller planes and extension will be needed for bigger planes from commercialized airlines to land on the airport.

Garcia promised to acquire more properties around the airport’s premises for the planned extension, which currently sits on the lot owned by the Cebu Provincial Government.

Once the runway is finished and cleared as operational, major airlines, including Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines, will be able to operate in the airport.

As of Wednesday, July 12, there are currently no airlines operating at the Bantayan airport. Only Air Juan had operated in before the pandemic.

Neri said Air Juan has expressed interest in restarting its operations in the airport.

Commercialization

The Bantayan airport is currently categorized as a community airport, Neri said.

To transform the airport into a commercial one, Neri said that firefighting and medical facilities will be added in the future, adding that they are also eyeing to add more facilities that would comply with requirements for the airport's commercialization.

International flights are still a long way to be incorporated in the airport, but Neri saw it as a possibility.

"It's not in our plans within the immediate future, but there's definitely a possibility. Once the airport is finally highly commercialized and is compliant with international standards, then international flights are a go," he said. (Miguel Angelu Lumen, CNU Intern)

July 12, 2023 6:30 PM

This is the medical union's first strike in 19 years.

July 12, 2023 6:20 PM

The city is Japan’s second-largest market, after mainland China, for agricultural and fisheries exports.

Philippine censors said they were convinced the "cartoonish" map did not depict the nine-dash line.