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Team North stood firm under the rain and powered its way to a wire-to-wire triumph in the ICTSI North vs South Elite Junior PGT Championship yesterday.

After dominating the Four-ball format with an 8-4 win and grinding out a hard-fought 6 1/2- 5 1/2 victory in Foursomes, North proved it could also excel when the pressure was squarely on individual shoulders.

In the decisive Singles matches, they delivered yet again – claiming 11 of the 24 showdowns while halving two others – to power past the 24.5-point title threshold and seal a convincing 26 1/2-21 1/2 triumph at The Country Club.

North needed just 10 wins in the head-to-head battles to wrap up the title in this inaugural Ryder Cup-style finale.

South mounted a spirited comeback late, overcoming early setbacks to notch 11 victories and narrow the overall gap to 21-23 with several matches still to be played.

With the championship hanging in the balance, North’s Vito Sarines delivered.

Locked in a tense, all-square battle with South’s Ralph Batican, Sarines pulled off a stunning 20-yard chip-in on the treacherous 18th hole. The ball rolled into the cup, triggering a thunderous applause from the North camp and sealing a dramatic 2-up victory in the boys’ 11-14 division.

Sen. Bong Go visited the families affected by fire in Sampaloc, Manila on Wednesday and provided them with additional assistance to help them recover from their loss.

‘Material things can be bought, money can be earned, but life cannot be bought. A lost life is a life lost forever,’ Go said as he reminded the victims on the importance of prioritizing and valuing life more than material things.

Go, in coordination with the Manila city government, collaborated with the national government in providing help through the Emergency Housing Assistance Program – an initiative he supported to help families rebuild their destroyed houses.

As principal author of the Bureau of Fire Protection Modernization Act of 2021, Go also advocates for enhanced firefighting capabilities by modernizing BFP equipment, hiring more personnel and offering specialized training programs.

Go, also known as Mr. Malasakit, provided snacks, caps, fans, vitamins, shirts, basketballs and volleyballs to 286 affected families in Barangays 459 and 548.

As vice chair of the Senate committee on health and demography, Go encouraged everyone to visit any Malasakit Center whenever they need medical assistance.

In Manila, these centers are in Tondo Medical Center, Philippine General Hospital, Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital, Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center and San Lazaro Hospital.

The Senate has adopted a resolution urging President Marcos to revert the imported rice tariff rate from the current low 15 percent to 35 percent, in a bid to reduce farmers’ income losses to importation.

The resolution was adopted during the plenary session on Wednesday, and called on the executive to reinstate the ‘most favored nation’ tariff rate back to 35 percent.

Sen. Francis Pangilinan, a sponsor of the measure as chair of the Senate committee on agriculture, food and agrarian reform, said in his privilege speech that imported rice should be levied with the previous rate, ahead of the end of the 60-day rice importation ban earlier imposed by the President.

Pangilinan said it is time to raise the tariffs because of low world market prices at $376 per metric ton this year, from $700 per metric ton last year, and the threat of imported rice to the harvest of domestic farmers.

Bringing back the 35 percent tariff rate would strengthen domestic rice production, narrow the gap of farmgate prices and production cost and restore the government’s P27-billion revenue loss due to the lower rate.

The P27-billion could have been used to fund the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, which provides financial aid and equipment to farmers.

The move last year to lower the tariff rate from 35 percent to 15 percent resulted in a drop of farmgate price of palay to P7.66 per kilo, below the production cost of P13.51 per kilo, Pangilinan said.

‘The winner? Importers and traders who pocket the difference of P7 at less than P1 per kilo. Who lost? Palay farmers and consumers. The loser: government,’ Pangilinan said in Filipino.

During yesterday’s Senate hearing on the proposed budget of the Department of Economy, Planning and Development (DEPDev), Senate finance chair Sherwin Gatchalian asked about the executive’s plan to bring back the 35 percent tariff.

DEPDev Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said the agency ‘has been discussing with the President’ the issue of the low rice tariff rate despite a decrease in world prices and a drop in farmgate prices.

Balisacan said one option besides raising the tariff rate is giving price support to farmers, while moderating the increase in tariffs and not putting pressure on inflation.

SM City Santa Rosa IT Center is expected to boost Laguna’s standing as a preferred location for the IT-BPM sector, contributing to the expansion of investments outside Metro Manila, following its proclamation as an information technology economic zone.

SM Offices, a unit of integrated property developer SM Prime Holdings, has signed a registration agreement confirming the Presidential Proclamation of SM City Santa Rosa IT Center as an IT economic zone.

Proclamation 944, signed by President Marcos, officially designates a portion of SM City Santa Rosa as a special IT ecozone under PEZA.

SM Prime said the establishment of SM City Santa Rosa IT Center as an ecozone reinforces the shared goal of the company and PEZA to attract investments, generate employment and drive regional development across the country.

Accreditation as an IT ecozone under PEZA provides fiscal and non-fiscal incentives, including income tax holidays, tax and duty exemptions, streamlined import-export procedures and access to special non-immigrant visas.

The designation likewise ensures modern infrastructure and efficient government services, creating a strategic edge for registered IT enterprises in the country.

‘This partnership with PEZA underscores our dedication to providing world-class spaces for the IT-BPM industry. Santa Rosa is strategically located with access to talent, infrastructure and lifestyle amenities that will support long-term growth for companies and employees alike,’ SM Offices head Alexis Ortiga said.

PEZA director general Tereso Panga, for his part, said the proclamation of SM City Santa Rosa as an IT center opens new doors for job creation and investment opportunities in the countryside.

‘PEZA stands ready to handhold locators seeking to set up operations in the Philippines as we advance our country’s role as one of the leading global IT-BPM hubs in Asia,’ Panga said.

SM Offices supports the IT-BPM industry through PEZA-accredited developments such as its E-Com Centers at the Mall of Asia Complex and SM North EDSA Towers in Quezon City.

SM Prime said the addition of SM City Santa Rosa IT Center extends SM Offices’ reach to provincial growth corridors.

Media and Information Literacy (MIL) is vital to nation-building. It empowers Filipinos to make informed decisions by fostering critical thinking, strengthening media awareness and encouraging responsible digital use.

This call was echoed last Oct. 1 when United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and MediaQuest’s THINKaMuna campaign representatives came together for a small but meaningful gathering. The event underscored their shared commitment, with discussions centering on projects to push MIL forward in the Philippines.

‘Most young people today turn to social media as their first source of news,’ said UNESCO Jakarta director Maki Katsuno-Hayashikawa. ‘With AI making it harder to tell what’s fake from what’s true, it’s even more important for all generations to think critically and share information responsibly.’

They are making this happen in several ways.

Explainer videos

The UNESCO-THINKaMuna partnership has rolled out three of six digital episodes so far: Cognitive Biases in July, Critical Thinking in August and Tech Addiction in September. Each is short, visually appealing and easy to understand, perfect for audiences with short attention spans.

‘Most MIL materials are very academic because they were made for schools,’ shared MediaQuest corporate communications consultant Ramon Isberto.

‘We want ours to be different – playful and something people can casually talk about in their neighborhoods.’

This approach has brought the digital episodes closer to audiences, helping them reach nearly five million views.

‘In the Philippines, MediaQuest is our first media partner piloting media literacy in different ways and integrating it,’ added UNESCO Jakarta program specialist Ana Lomtadze. ‘Our mission is really about reaching out in new, innovative ways and showing audiences how and why they should discern information and check their sources.’

Taking MIL to classrooms

While UNESCO provides guidance, Katsuno-Hayashikawa noted that implementation depends on local, on-the-ground initiatives.

THINKaMuna recognizes this, which is why they are distributing 1,000 MIL journals to schools across the country.

‘A substantial percentage of grade school and high school students are not functional readers – they can read, but don’t fully understand what they’re reading,’ explained Isberto.

To address this, the journals are filled with visuals to ensure the message comes across. Workshops for senior journalists and the MILCON 2025 are also in the works to complete the offline component of the collaboration.

‘Society exists because we communicate and learn from each other,’ Isberto concluded. ‘Today, media and information literacy is our way of continuing that conversation.’

Sen. Francis Escudero yesterday slammed as ‘political retribution’ the ethics complaint filed against him at the Senate over his P30-million campaign donation from flood control contractor Lawrence Lubiano of Centerways Construction and Development.

Escudero was referring to a complaint filed against him by lawyer Eldridge Marvin Aceron for accepting campaign funds from Lubiano for his Senate comeback bid in the 2022 elections.

The former Senate president pointed out the timing of the complaint days after he delivered a plenary speech naming his counterpart, former speaker Martin Romualdez’s role in the alleged kickbacks scheme from flood control projects.?Escudero himself is accused by former Department of Public Works and Highways undersecretary Roberto Bernardo of receiving P160 million in kickbacks, an allegation Escudero denied.

‘I am not surprised anymore. This is what I pay for naming Martin Romualdez, and for uncovering the truth. This is just part of the harassment from his minions,’ the senator posted on social media in Filipino.

‘This isn’t about ethics. This is political retribution. This complaint is still part of their script and a desperate smokescreen. I will expose it for the politically motivated sham that it is,’ he added, using the hashtags ‘#SelectiveJustice’ and ‘#LabananAngScriptNiMartin.’

According to Aceron’s ethics complaint, Lubiano’s Centerways – one of the top 15 flood control contractors flagged by President Marcos – bagged 112 contracts worth P16.67 billion in Escudero’s turf, Sorsogon, from 2021 to 2025.

Escudero served as Sorsogon governor from 2019 to 2022.

Aceron alleged Centerways secured only 12 contracts worth P720 million in 2021, but this ‘escalated dramatically’ to P15.9 billion worth of contracts from 2022 to 2025, or after the P30-million donation to Escudero.

‘The sheer number, aggregate value and geographic concentration of these projects, coinciding with the P30-million donation, underscore the appearance of impropriety and raise serious doubts about the independence of public procurement from political influence,’ the 21-page complaint read.

‘This stark before-and-after contrast strengthens the inference that the donation and the subsequent flow of contracts in the Senator’s bailiwick are linked in both timing and magnitude,’ it added.

Sen. JV Ejercito, who chairs the ethics committee, confirmed the verified complaint against Escudero, but said he has yet to convene the committee since his designation last week.

Ejercito said he will still ‘see if there is still a need’ to tackle the complaint, with the Independent Commission for Infrastructure already tackling Escudero’s alleged role in the controversy.