Philippines News

In a world often defined by obstacles and limitations, the remarkable journey of a 10-year-old stands as a beacon of inspiration. At a young age, he discovered his passion for fashion and modeling, defying societal norms and overcoming adversities.

Xian Hinoguin, from San Antonio, Binabag, Bogo City, Cebu, is set to steal the spotlight at the upcoming Young Faces to Watch Cycle 2 (Manila Grand International Fashion Week) on July 27, 2023, at Carousel City, Manila. With dreams of becoming a model and the unwavering support of his parents, Lyn Mae and Raymond, Xian’s path to the fashion world began at the age of five, when he joined a local modeling competition and enrolled in RM Modeling agency. This decision marked a turning point in his life, as modeling became a transformative outlet for him.

While some fashion stars rely on designer labels and extravagant wardrobes, Xian’s style is a testament to his creativity and resourcefulness. With his mother as his dedicated stylist, Xian’s looks are curated from finds at thrift stores. His ability to transform pre-loved pieces into stylish ensembles showcases his unique fashion sensibility, proving that style knows no price tag.

Behind Xian’s unwavering passion for fashion lies the influence of his beloved grandmother. Her stories of elegance and grace have left an indelible mark on Xian’s aspirations. Through fashion, Xian pays homage to his grandmother’s timeless style while forging his own path in the industry.

“I’m determined to make up for my parents’ sacrifices and eagerly anticipate the day when I can take care of my cherished grandmother,” he said.

By embracing his unique journey, Xian inspires others to embrace their own individuality and chase their dreams relentlessly. His journey from a victim of bullying to a rising star in the fashion industry is a testament to the power of resilience and self-belief.

Xian’s journey wouldn’t have been possible without the support and guidance of RM Modelling agency. His career was significantly shaped by the agency, which provided him with the resources, instruction and guidance he needed to succeed as a young model.

As he prepares to grace the runway at the Runway Manila International Fashion Week, Xian’s triumph serves as an inspiration for individuals facing similar challenges and reminds us that embracing our dreams and nurturing our talents can lead us to extraordinary heights.

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

Transport groups are set to stage another strike starting on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s second State of the Nation Address, this amid continuing uncertainty for drivers and operators regarding the state's public utility vehicle modernization program.

Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama issued executive order (EO) “Oplan Panindot sa Palibot” early this year. News? Mayor Rama also issued EO “Oplan Disiplina” last year.

The “Oplan Panindot sa Palibot” was launched with the city’s First Lady Malou Rama leading the beautification campaign. She was assisted by Arlie Gesta, head of the Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CCENRO).

The latest instruction of Mayor Rama, according to the Cebu City Public Information Office, is for the Prevention, Restoration, Order, Beautification and Enhancement (Probe) to intensify its effort in removing the tarpaulins of private companies that are attached to poles and displayed in other prohibited places. Mayor Rama was quoted saying he does not want thoroughfares to become an “advertisement territory.”

Well, let us hope that these two “Oplans” would not be plans only or mere rhetoric from city officials but would really be put into action. In fact, these plans should have been the primary tools in Mayor Rama’s Singapore-like dream for Cebu City because we all know that discipline is wanting among residents and transients. Instead of initially begging the city council for a billion budget for his Singapore-like vision, cleanliness should have been the bigger issue.

As to why these plans were not put into action early in the term of Mayor Rama is something that we could not comprehend. If my memory serves me right, the past and present city administrations have done many ways or enticements, so to speak, on how to reduce the waste and get the attention and help of the residents but these have not gained momentum.

If the city ordinances or the laws on sanitation are not strictly enforced and those who hold power shall not interfere with the enforcement, whoever sits in City Hall could not do anything no matter how aggressive the campaign may be.

Without the strict implementation of the city ordinances and laws, particularly on cleanliness, the environmental and sanitation laws, discipline among the city residents would be hard to attain. Discipline will be hard to impose even if reusable or recyclable garbage would be exchanged with money instead of goods.

The leaders of Singapore made a name for their tiny nation by using the strong arm of the law in imposing discipline among its citizens and especially on the tourists or transients. I am not suggesting that Mayor Rama whip with a rattan stick those who dirty the city, just like what the Singaporean officials did in the early years in order to improve their nation’s status.

We are one nation that is not wanting in laws. Wikipedia’s 2018 records show that we have 10,967 to 11,166 laws, including executive orders. What is missing in us is the love and pride for our country.

Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 is a comprehensive law aimed at improving the solid waste management of the country through a “systematic, ecological, solid waste management program.” Sadly, it was only good for a few years after its implementation. Under this law, the local government units (LGUs), including the barangays, could be held administratively and criminally liable if they fail to implement the rules and regulations in the management of solid wastes.

Cebu City and other LGUs have failed to implement the segregation of wastes, which is mandatory under RA 9003. Worse, the LGUs do not have a sanitary landfill as required by this law.

Tomorrow marks the sixth anniversary of Liu Xiaobo's death. The 2010 Nobel Peace laureate died from complications of liver cancer on July 13, 2017, in a hospital in Liaoning province while guarded by state security forces.

One dissident at the time, the Vietnamese government is pursuing a campaign to systematically eliminate what's left of the country's human rights and democracy movement. By inexorably adding peaceful activists to the growing list of more than 150 Vietnamese political prisoners, Hanoi is violating international human

The last pending drug case against former Sen. Leila De Lima has been raffled off to a new court in Muntinlupa, after two judges inhibited from the proceedings in past weeks.

AN IMPROVED version of a rural health unit will soon rise in Carcar City to cater to the poor constituents in southern Cebu.

Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia, together with Senator Christopher “Bong” Go and Carcar City Mayor Patricio Barcenas, led the ceremonial groundbreaking of the Super Health Center on Wednesday, July 12, 2023.

The Super Health Center will have laboratory services, a pharmacy, birthing facilities, an outpatient center, dental service, a comprehensive PhilHealth outpatient department and other minor services.

“Senator Bong Go, ang imong mga proyekto kay mapahimuslan gyud sa atung mga ubos ug kabus nga mga ka-igsoonan, salamat kaayo,” Barcenas said in his speech live streamed through Sugbo News, the Capitol’s social media arm, on July 12.

(Senator Bong Go, your projects will surely benefit our underprivileged brethren, thank you very much)

“Gikan sa Malasakit (Center) karon naa nasad ta (Super) Health Center kay makatabang kini sa atung mga pobre nga molupyo sa atung syudad,” Barcenas added.

(From Malasakit, we now have Health Center that can help our poor constituents).

In his speech, Go said that the Super Health Center is a medium-type of Polyclinic, a facility that provides general and specialized treatment similar to a hospital.

“Mas gamay sa (Smaller than) ospital, mas daku sa (but bigger than a) rural health unit,” Go said, adding that this will help decongest the hospitals.

The project was first conceptualized in 2021 when Go observed that there was a need to improve the rural health units in fourth, fifth and sixth class municipalities while he was touring around the country.

“Ang mga buntis kay manganak nalang sa tricycle tungod sa kalayo sa ilahang mga ospital (Pregnant women deliver in tricycle due to the distance from the hospital). Kar

The culmination of the festival is greeting the "new" sun, which signifies the start of the new summer - and the new year!

Yakutian New Year

Dear readers,

Our website and social media accounts are under threat of being restricted or banned, due to the current circumstances. So, to keep up with our latest content, simply do the following: