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(Nairobi) - The French fossil-fuel giant TotalEnergies' planned oil pipeline in East Africa has devastated thousands of people's livelihoods in Uganda and will exacerbate the global climate crisis, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. If completed, the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project will have dozens of well pads, hundreds of kilometers of r

Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta today met with Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Auckland.  

"Aotearoa New Zealand has a proud and longstanding nuclear free policy, and are strong supporters of the IAEA's work, including promoting the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons," Nanai

North Korea said the move creates a situation that brings a nuclear conflict closer to reality. It also claimed US reconnaissance planes recently violated its air space near the east coast.

July 10, 2023 6:55 AM

North Korea claimed US reconnaissance planes recently violated its airspace near the east coast.

July 10, 2023 6:35 AM

Authorities have ordered schools to be shut in New Delhi on Monday.

The second celebration of Matariki as a national public holiday this Friday is being marked by increasing public support for the event, Associate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Willow-Jean Prime said today

"This year, Matariki will be celebrated in new and traditional ways and at a level we haven't seen before," Willow Jean Prime

July 10, 2023 6:00 AM

The woman was viciously attacked by a man with a box cutter who had followed her into an alley.

July 10, 2023 6:00 AM

The woman was viciously attacked by a man with a box cutter who had followed her into an alley.

THE current water rate of the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) remains unchanged.

This is because the Local Water Utility Administration (LWUA) has yet to respond to MCWD’s proposal to increase the water tariff by 60 percent.

MCWD was initially set to implement the increase on July 1, 2023. However, pending the approval of LWUA, the government-owned and -controlled corporation (GOCC) cannot proceed with the rate changes.

Currently, MCWD charges P15.20 per cubic meter for the first 10 cubic meters in a month for residential consumers, with a minimum charge of P152. If the increase is granted, the minimum charge will be P243.

MCWD is also proposing a supplementary adjustment of 10 percent in 2024.

MCWD Chairman Jose Daluz III told SunStar Cebu on Sunday, July 9, that LWUA board has not yet convened to discuss MCWD’s application.

As long as there is no approval from LWUA, the water rate will remain unchanged.

However, Daluz said they anticipate a response from LWUA within two or three months.

The proposed increase aims to cover the expenses of MCWD’s ongoing and upcoming projects, which will enhance the water district’s services.

MCWD information officer Minerva Gerodias said that from 2015 to the present, MCWD has spent P2.1 billion on expansion and rehabilitation projects to improve service, as well as P12 billion on operational expenses.

Daluz expressed hope for a positive response from LWUA, explaining that MCWD’s purchase and procurement of water supply costs are increasing. He also said that MCWD’s expenses will further rise once the water desalination project begins, which is expected to be operational by October.

Gerodias said MCWD is a self-liquidating GOCC, and does not receive subsidies from the National Government.

It has been eight years since MCWD last implemented a water tariff increase, and the planned increase for 2020 was not implemented due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

MCWD claims to offer the cheapest water rates in the entire country.

MCWD supplies water to the cities of Cebu, Talisay, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu, as well as the towns of Cordova, Consolacion, Liloan and Compostela.

THE Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cebu’s (RCAC) proposal to establish new dioceses within its ecclesiastical jurisdiction has been approved by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) during its 126th plenary assembly.

Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma announced the development on “Sugbuswak,” the Archdiocese’s term for the creation of the new dioceses, in a short video clip posted on RCAC’s Facebook page on Sunday, July 9, 2023.

“Ang atong proposal bahin sa ‘Sugbuswak’ unanimously approved sa tanang mga obispo. Nalipay sila ning atong pangandoy,” he said.

(Our proposal regarding “Sugbuswak” was unanimously approved by all the bishops. They are pleased with our vision.)

The Diocese of Kalibo, Aklan is hosting the CBCP plenary assembly, which started on Saturday, July 8, and will end on Monday, July 10. During the said event,

Bishop Pablo Virgilio David of the Diocese of Kalookan was reelected to head the CBCP.

CBCP’s approval is just one of the requirements for Sugbuswak to prosper. After the CBCP’s approval, the Sugbuswak proposal will be forwarded to Rome for further approval.

“When we present it to Rome, it should be in a way that the many aspects of the division should already be well-prepared,” Palma said in an interview on Feb. 24, adding that the archdiocese must have an “adequate explanation” and “reason for the division.”

Palma expressed his hopes to SunStar Cebu last June 24 that the Vatican would grant approval for “Sugbuswak,” or the proposal to divide the largest archdiocese in the Philippines for better pastoral care.

By January, a detailed version of the archdiocese’s division plan is expected to be sent to the Vatican for examination and approval by the Pope.

The plan is to divide the archdiocese into three: the archdiocese as the mother church, one diocese in northern Cebu and one diocese in southern Cebu.

Palma said in an interview last July that Carcar City is being considered as the center of the planned diocese in the south.

The cities of Danao and Bogo are being considered as the center of the planned diocese in the north, he said.

Palma said there is a need to split the archdiocese because some of the faithful have to travel long distances to reach their respective parishes.

The Sugbuswak plan, he said, aims “to serve more people, especially the far-flung areas and islands in the province.”

Sugbuswak is a combination of several words: Sugbu, the native name of Cebu; “sugwak,” meaning to spurt, and “buswak,” meaning to bloom. / AML, KAL

ONLY 287 land titles were awarded to 204 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) from Cebu Province.

The awarding ceremony was held at Uypitching Multipurpose Hall, Valencia, Negros Oriental on Friday July 7, 2023, the same day President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed into law Republic Act 11593, or the New Agrarian Emancipation Act, which condones all unpaid amortizations, including interests and surcharges, for awarded lands under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law and other agrarian reform laws.

A total of 32,441 land titles were awarded to over 23,000 ARBs, including those from Cebu Province.

In Cebu, the titles for ARBs cover a total of 265,481 hectares, spread across eight local government units: Barili, Bogo City, Carcar City, Carmen, Catmon, Danao City, Medellin and Tabogon.

According to data from the Department of Agrarian Reform, the breakdown of ARBs, titles and land area in hectares for each municipality and city is as follows: Barili -- 29 ARBs, 66 titles, 4.3328 hectares; Bogo City -- nine ARBs, 12 titles, 6.8877 hectares; Carcar City -- 16 ARBs, 17 titles, 3.5162 hectares; Carmen -- 10 ARBs, 11 titles, 25.1472 hectares; Catmon -- 45 ARBs, 23 titles, 31.4758 hectares; Medellin -- 40 ARBs, 82 titles, 95.1784 hectares; and Tabogon -- five ARBs, five titles, four hectares.

Seventy-one electronic land titles (e-titles) under the Support Parcelization of Lands for Individual Tilting project were given to 50 ARBs in Danao City, covering 50.0109 hectares of land.

A CHAMPION of Cebuano arts and culture, one of the pillars of the Sinulog Festival, and a great friend.

This is how some officials in Cebu City described Ricky Ballesteros, a former executive director of the Sinulog Foundation Inc. (SFI) and renowned sports organizer who passed away on Saturday, July 8, 2023. He was 57.

According to reports, Ballesteros suffered a cardiac arrest while riding an elevator at a mall in Barangay Apas, Cebu City.

City Councilor Joel Garganera said on Sunday, July 9, that Ballesteros’ contributions to Cebu’s culture, arts and sports are well-known to many.

“May he be in office or not, his heart is embedded there,” said Garganera, who considered Ballesteros as a friend.

Garganera recalled that for the last three decades, conversations or meetings with Ballesteros were always “light and fun.”

Promoter of culture

Councilor Jocelyn Pesquera, who also chairs the Cebu City Tourism Commission, expressed gratitude for Ballesteros’ efforts in promoting Cebu’s culture to foreign countries, particularly to South Koreans.

“He was so passionate about promoting our culture, especially the Sinulog. We lost one of the people who constantly promote Cebu to the South Koreans,” said Pesquera in a text message to SunStar Cebu.

For his part, incumbent SFI executive director Elmer “Jojo” Labella said he admired Ballesteros and described him as a versatile man, acknowledging his instrumental role in the success of the Sinulog celebrations, including the workshops and seminars.

“He was a very close friend, so supportive of me when I was appointed as the new SFI executive director,” said Labella in a text message.

Ballesteros, a political science graduate from the University of the Visayas, was manager of the Cebu City Sports Center (CCSC) from 2001 to 2019. Ballesteros was also executive director of the SFI at the time.

Sinulog Festival

Ballesteros’ contributions and leadership elevated the Sinulog festival to become one of the largest and most prominent in the Philippines and Asia.

In a 2016 interview with SunStar Cebu, Ballesteros emphasized the importance of evaluating each Sinulog event and striving for improvements annually.

Under his guidance, various contests were introduced to enrich the Sinulog celebration, including the festival queen contest, street dancing category, free interpretation category, Sinulog-based category, and competitions such as the Sinulog photo contest, Sinulog Idol, Sinulog dance crew contest, DJ-mixing competition, music video contest, Sinulog documentary and short film festival, as well as the higante and puppeteer contests.

Throughout his tenure, Ballesteros embraced the consistent theme of “one beat, one dance, one vision” for the Sinulog festival.

Unsolved

His 18-year stint as CCSC manager was marred by the theft of P1.7 million in SFI and CCSC funds from a vault in the sports center’s office on Jan. 16, 2012, a day after the Sinulog Grand Parade. The crime remains unsolved.

He was SFI executive director for 15 years until his resignation in 2018, following allegations by then Cebu City mayor Tomas Osmeña of mishandling of SFI funds, which Ballesteros denied.

Ballesteros cited personal reasons for his resignation from the SFI, saying he was not getting any younger.

Other endeavors

Following his resignation, Ballesteros served as the president of the Korea Philippines Festival Cultural Exchange Association.

He brought the Sinulog to other countries, including South Korea, where the Sinulog won multiple times, most notably at the Daegu Powerful Festival.

Ballesteros was also known as a race organizer.

Ballesteros’ remains will lie at Our Lady of China Chapel, Sacred Heart Church on D. Jakosalem St. starting at 6 p.m. on Sunday.

Interment will take place at the Cebu Memorial Park in Barangay Banilad, Cebu City on Thursday, July 13. (JJL, JGS, CTL, FVQ)

A FORMER senator has voiced his concerns over alleged plans to move the 40-foot statue of Lapulapu, also known as the “Sentinel of Freedom,” located at the Rizal Park in Ermita, Manila.

Richard Gordon, chairman and chief executive officer of the Philippine Red Cross, is appealing to Filipinos, especially Cebuanos, to oppose this alleged initiative by the National Museum of the Philippines (NMP).

Gordon said in an online conference Sunday, July 9, 2023, that he had written a letter dated July 6 to NMP Director General Jeremy Barns, questioning the plan to move the monument, and telling him that the monument represents the bravery of Filipinos and must be protected.

“Without stating the obvious, I feel passionate about this issue. This is not merely about a monument and its location. It is about continuing to honor our country’s first known patriot and freedom fighter. It is about recognizing his example of fortitude, bravery and integrity, especially in these times of foreign and political bullying,” a portion of Gordon’s letter reads.

Gordon said that Barns met with Juan Sajid Imao, the sculptor of the monument, to inform him of NMP’s plans to relocate the monument to Orosa St. in Malate, Manila.

Unveiling

In February 2004, Lapulapu’s monument was unveiled at Rizal Park despite the objection from the National Historical Institute (now the National Historical Commission of the Philippines), which said the place is only for heroes who died there.

After the NHI objected, the late Raul del Mar (then representative of Cebu City’s North District) and Nerissa Soon-Ruiz (then representative of Cebu’s 6th District) filed a resolution urging former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to allow the monument to be erected there. It was not known whether that resolution prompted Arroyo to order to go ahead with the unveiling.

When he was still the tourism secretary in the Arroyo administration, Gordon brought up the idea of putting a Lapulapu statue at Rizal Park. He had already left his tourism post when the monument was unveiled.

The monument, which depicts Lapulapu standing guard, is a gift from South Korea to the Filipino people through the Korean Freedom League headed by its chairperson Kwon Jung-dal, a retired army general.

‘Unlawful’

According to Gordon, since the monument is located at Rizal Park, which is a heritage site, the NMP’s initiative violates Republic Act 10066, which aims to provide for the protection and preservation of the Philippine Cultural Heritage.

Gordon said the law took steps to preserve historic structures that are over 50 years old. It has been 68 years since the park was officially named Rizal Park in 1955.

Although Section 9 of the law enables the NMP to create a master plan for Rizal Park, Gordon argued that it is not exempt from the law.

Gordon said the dismantling, clearing and hauling works in the site have already removed the concrete steps of the Lapulapu monument.

“You can see the Lapulapu monument. It is standing there alone, they have already demolished the steps. It is all dust now,” he said while presenting the video to reporters.

Gordon expressed that he does not mind if the monument is renovated or improved as long as it remains in the same spot.

Calls for support

Gordon is asking the Filipino people, particularly those from Cebuano-speaking regions, to oppose the initiative to move the monument.

“I hope that people from Cebu, Leyte, Samar and Bohol, and folks in Mindanao, also in Luzon, to join us,” he said.

He believes that having the Lapulapu monument at Rizal Park is fitting since the hero represents the people from Visayas and Mindanao, while Rizal’s monument represents the people from Luzon.

“These should be known by the Cebuanos and other people. I do not have any other agenda here but to respect our history,” he added.

Only repair

Barns, in a letter sent to Gordon on June 30, said the monument will undergo repair after a technical assessment and consultation with the sculptor. It was discovered that the monument requires structural repairs related to its internal frame and foundation.

However, Gordon said that NMP’s plans regarding the monument remains unclear, whether they intend to tear it down, relocate it, or simply repair it.

Gordon said NMP had previously orchestrated the demolition of the giant geographical map of the country, known as the “Relief Map,” also located at the park, without public knowledge.

The removal of the “Relief Map” sparked controversy as it was initially said to undergo renovation but was ultimately demolished.

HOMEGROWN Prince Retail Group has collaborated with Relex Solutions, a market-leading supply chain and retail planning firm, to automate demand forecasting for its more than 70 supermarket stores nationwide.

The company said in a statement that its technological investment will strengthen its position to strategically expand its reach in remote areas across the Philippines.

Stefano Scandelli, an official at Relex Solutions, said that its “collaboration with Prince Retail is a great opportunity to show how Filipino companies can take advantage of automation and AI to realize further growth.”

“We are committed to helping more local retailers digitally transform their supply chains to remain relevant in today’s digital economy,” said Scandelli, senior vice president for Europe, Middle East and Africa and Asia Pacific.

Partnership

Prince Retail and Relex established their partnership at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, during which the access to essentials was crucial.

However, accessing retail channels in rural communities in the Philippines has always been challenging due to regional infrastructure hurdles, according to the company.

Prince Retail said its mission is to close this accessibility gap, adding that the pandemic’s emphasis on the problem only pushed it to finding means to reach and serve more marginalized people.

At the time, Prince Retail said it also faced persistent supply chain challenges that, if not resolved, posed a severe threat to the business’s financial viability.

Demand forecasting was an entirely manual process, leaving teams with significant risks for errors when internal variables and local developments such as lockdowns, shortages of raw materials, or adverse weather conditions occurred, it said.

Maintaining a steady and accurate inventory flow and optimizing operational costs in preparation for expansion was taxing, as almost every Prince Retail store was about 100 kilometers from the nearest port, the company said.

Prince Retail said implementing the Relex unified retail planning solution has enabled it to maximize their resources, streamline operational costs and processes, and improve service levels, even in the most far-flung stores.

The retailer said its forecasting and allocation teams can easily input and view inventory information on a single platform, including intricacies and constraints unique to a specific vendor or store. The result significantly reduces discrepancies brought by disparate, manual forecasting methods, it said.

Powered by AI

The platform, powered by artificial intelligence (AI), automates the complex and time-consuming decisions of calculating forecasts based on user data and harnesses machine learning to optimize predictions.

“Automating our demand forecasting helped us increase our availability by at least 10 percent, enabling us to flourish and deliver a better customer experience despite the uncertainties brought by the pandemic,” shared Rina Janine Go, chief merchandising, marketing and distribution officer at Prince Retail Group of Companies.

“The use of AI greatly supported us to improve our decision-making with data-driven insights that ultimately catalysed our growth and enabled us to serve our customers better than ever before. It helped us seamlessly expand, even with an online channel and other initiatives to reach more customers who were struggling with where to buy their essential necessities,” she added.

In 2021, the corporate group’s subsidiary, Prince Hypermart, partnered with the B2B application “My Suki” to launch an e-commerce app catering to the growing number of digital customers, particularly the large base of resellers who source their goods from Prince. The unified tool for demand forecasting allowed the retailer to seamlessly integrate inventory for both online and offline channels in real time.

Prince Retail said it is one of the organizations that quickly pivoted to digital when the pandemic occurred, advocating digital transformation for other homegrown businesses due to its positive impact on stakeholders.

“Agile digital transformation helped us to streamline our forecasting, better serve our existing customers, and even reach more of the market through our online shopping app — all contributing to the increased confidence and trust in our retail stores,” Go said.

“I believe it’s also equally important to recognize that investing in technological tools that enable us to move away from manual operations increases the digital skills of Filipino workers, which are essential to be future-ready,” Go said. (PR)

A multinational firm announcing an audit of a small factory in a remote location isn't usually headline news. But it was when Volkswagen's chief executive, Oliver Blume, stated that the firm intends to pursue an "independent audit" of its plant in Xinjiang, the region of China where authorities have committed

The lack of an in-depth study on the use of mother tongue-based education to improve learning outcomes, especially in linguistically diverse settings, has led Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian to describe the Philippines as the “de facto” experiment for the language program.

A two-week trip to China concluded recently for a Philippine media delegation, during which they had the opportunity to witness and experience China's ancient civilization, the history of the Communist Party of China, and Chinese-style modernization.

The journalists experienced Baidu's driverless car on normal roads in Beijing and expressed their surprise.

They said that they were a little scared at the b

Aside from procuring state-of-the-art equipment, the government will continue to prioritize the retooling and retraining of the military to improve its readiness in the modern battlefield, President Marcos said.

Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos said justice will be served for slain former Negros Oriental governor Roel Degamo and nine other victims despite the move of 10 accused gunmen in the so-called Pamplona massacre to recant their statements naming suspended Negros Oriental 3rd District Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr. as the mastermind of the March 4 attack.

The three-member Makabayan bloc is seeking an inquiry into the Department of Tourism (DOT)’s recent blunder in its “Love the Philippines” campaign.