...the Fil-Am 2nd NJ mayor

New Jersey borough elects 2nd Filipino American mayor

Don Tagala
ABS-CBN News | North America
07 November 2019

BERGENFIELD, New Jersey - Trump-style mudslinging from incumbent Republican Mayor Norman Schmelz did not stop Filipino-American candidate Arvin Amatorio from becoming the next mayor of Bergenfield, New Jersey on Tuesday's election.

Democratic council president Arvin Amatorio unseated Schmelz by at least 166 votes, making him the second Filipino-American to win as mayor of Bergenfield borough, home to more than 5,000 Filipinos.

"This is a great night for Bergenfield because of you... despite the malicious attack, despite the negativity that has been thrown to us we kept the fight positive," Amatorio told his supporters.

Just four days before the elections, Schmelz sent out a misleading press release using the words "alleges" and "guilty" in its title at the same time.

The said press release made it appear that Amatorio is guilty of violating a trafficking victims' protection act, when all there is was a motion to add his name in a lawsuit where he happened to be the immigration lawyer for the victim.

Another misleading accusation was that Amatorio allegedly did not attend a law school accredited by the American Bar Association, therefore he is not licensed to practice law in New Jersey.

"I’m very happy people did not believe those lies and it’s a vindication that all those things that were thrown against me are not true, people just didn’t believe that," he said.

Robert Rivas, who served as the first Filipino-American mayor of Bergenfield from 2000 to 2002, said he too was a victim of false accusations in his 2003 reelection bid. At that time, he was accused of favoring Filipinos and that he was going to bring Filipino police from the Philippines to patrol Bergenfield.

"We’ll have the good people remain in control not these racist, miserable, sad people who tried to win elections by tearing down the other side," Rivas said.

Another Filipino-American, Salvador Deauna, was also reelected councilman on Tuesday's elections with more than 3,000 votes.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy congratulated Amatorio for his victory through a post on Twitter.

Amatorio will begin his work as mayor in January.

...the PH GDP growth in Q3 2019

Philippine growth accelerates on public spending and rate cuts

But 6.2% expansion in Q3 means year-end pick up needed to hit 2019 growth target

CLIFF VENZON, Nikkei staff writer November 07, 2019 

MANILA -- The Philippine economy grew 6.2% in the third quarter, as government spending and lower interest rates contributed to a recovery from weak expansions in the first half of the year.

The expansion was faster than the median forecast in a Reuters survey of economists of 6%, and up from the previous quarter's pace of 5.5%. The data released Thursday puts growth for the first nine months of 2019 at 5.8% -- still below the government's 6%-7% target.

The data is a boost to the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte, as it seeks to safeguard the domestic economy from the impact of the U.S. -China trade war, which has dented the growth of other Southeast Asian countries. Indonesia, the largest economy in the region, announced a 5.02% expansion earlier this week.

Government spending, which jumped 9.6% was a big factor in the acceleration. President Rodrigo Duterte's 2019 budget was not signed until mid-April after congressional wrangling over pork barrel funds delayed its passage. This forced the government to operate based on the 2018 budget, crimping state spending by nearly 1 billion pesos (around $20 million) a day, according to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez.

On the supply side, services rose 6.9%, the industrial sector climbed 5.6%, while agriculture improved 3.1% despite an outbreak of African swine fever that killed tens of thousands of pigs.

The economy must grow 6.7% in the fourth quarter to achieve the full-year growth target. 

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said Thursday this was "very achievable."

"We have seen the economy surging and the momentum will continue for us to reach that," Pernia told reporters in Manila.

The Philippine economy historically sees faster growth in the final quarter, as remittances from 10 million overseas Filipino workers help power a Christmas spending splurge.

Yet, Pernia said external factors could imperil growth. "The trade war between the U.S. and China is the biggest threat not only to the Philippines, but to the whole global economy," he said.

The Philippine central bank has cut the benchmark interest rate by a total of 75 basis points to 4.0% this year amid stabilizing inflation. The central bank also reduced reserve requirements for banks by 400 basis points to 14% in an attempt to pump money into the financial system.

Central bank Benjamin Diokno has signaled that the monetary easing has ended, ahead of the next policy meeting on Nov. 14.

Asked to react to Diokno's stance, Finance Secretary Dominguez, who is also a member of the monetary board, said on Monday that rate cuts were "sufficient" and they "will do the job" for now.

...the World E-Sports Games SEA champion

PH still overall World Electronic Sports Games SEA champion


Gabriel Pe
Spin.ph
05 November 2019

THE PHILIPPINES  was names overall champion in the World Electronic Sports Games (WESG) Southeast Asia for the second year in a row, after getting three podium finishes out of four events.


TNC Predator repeated as regional champ for DOTA 2 after beating Vietnamese team 496 Gaming in a thrilling three-game title series,

The predominantly Filipino squad looked out of form in the opening match, losing key team fights in the late game and ultimately crumbling against their SEA rivals. Backs against the wall, TNC bounced back with a quick sub-30-minute Game 2 to set up a rubber match.

The winner-take-all appeared to be going in 496's favor, as the Viets picked off heroes in the early and mid-game. However, Kim "Gabbi" Villafuerte's Naga Siren was left unchecked and the reigning champions were able to turn the game around with crucial team fights.

TNC, which swept the group stage (4-0), pocketed 7,500 USD — about P379,000 — for coming out on top of the regionals and now have the chance to defend their title in the WESG Global Finals, which will happen March next year.

It was a different story for the country's StarCraft II representative in the upcoming SEA Games, though, as Caviar "EnDerr" Acampado failed to secure back-to-back WESG regional championships and fell to last year's runner-up, Tran "MeomaikA" Hong Phuc from Vietnam. Both players qualified for the global finals.

EnDerr, who netted $2,000 or about P100,000, managed to take the opener, but MeomaikA maintained composure to go all the way in the Zerg versus Zerg matchup.

Meanwhile, female CS:GO Team Amplify took home bronze and the same prize money as EnDerr.

The group of Kyung In "Tr1cks" Lee, Tiara "Alluka" Pleno, Pat "c0ffee" Lagua, Aya "Kuchii" Kashikawa, and Daisy "Dzai" Madulin lost to Indonesian squad Celeste in the semifinals, then beat Thailand's Mystery to finish third.

...the Japanese innovation investment in PH

Japanese firms to invest $215 million in Philippine innovation projects

Business Mirror
04 November 2019

Japanese firms are investing $215 million in new projects and expansions in the Philippines, as they seek to take advantage of the growing innovation environment here.

On the sidelines of a business forum in Tokyo, Trade Undersecretary Rafaelita M. Aldaba met with Japanese manufacturers to pitch investment opportunities in the Philippines. A total of $215 million worth of projects, most of which related to innovation, were secured during these meetings.

The projects include the opening of the first MOS Burger, Japan’s second-largest burger joint, by March of next year, and the interest of Assemblepoint to develop smart four-wheel electric vehicle using latest Internet of Things technologies.

Also, Satelight is eyeing to outsource animation work from the Philippines, while Kanepackage is planning to build a new factory. Further, Sumitomo Wiring presented during the meetings its expansion projects on wiring harness and components production.

Marubeni Corp. also shared its joint-venture project with two local firms to put up 30 primary care clinics and 10 cancer centers, as well as install five centralized laboratory testing hubs in strategic urban areas.

“There are many potential opportunities for the Philippines and Japan to deepen trade and investment partnership through innovation. I am delighted that the companies I met during this trip are making significant contributions in the areas of creating new industries, products and leapfrogging to Industry 4.0 by adopting smart manufacturing to transform our industries,” Aldaba said in a news statement issued on Monday.

Aside from those who committed to invest, there were investment intentions in infrastructure development, railways, electric vehicle public transport system, retail, manufacturing, logistics, warehousing, factory automation, construction and real estate.

Last week Aldaba presented the government’s Inclusive Innovation Industrial Strategy to over 600 Japanese investors at the Philippine-Japan Business Investment Forum organized by the Nikkei Business Publications Inc. Aldaba discussed the areas where Manila and Tokyo can collaborate under the i3s, which is geared toward improving the manufacturing, agriculture and services sectors of the country.

“In the context of these trade and investment trends between the Philippines and Japan, along with global developments, such as the entry of new technologies, we feel the need to focus our efforts on innovation to address the opportunities and challenges arising from Industry 4.0, but also from increasing global competition, United States-China trade war and regional economic integration,” Aldaba added.

Last year Japan is the country’s third-largest foreign source of investments. Based on records from the Philippine Statistics Authority, Japanese investments in 2018 declined 38.33 percent to P19.72 billion, from P31.98 billion in 2017.

...the Philippine coffee

Philippine coffee wins big in 5th int'l coffee contest in Milan

ABS-CBN News
04 November 2019

MANILA - Two Philippine coffee firms won top prizes at the 5th International Contest of Locally Roasted Coffees in Milan, Italy last month, the trade department said.

Mirabueno Coffee, harvested in Bukidnon, and SGD Bodega Coffee, grown in Sagada, bested 700 other producers from 25 countries for the Gourmet and Bronze prizes in separate categories. 

The competition aims to "recognize the excellence of some producers, too often forgotten in the midst of mass marketing," the Coffee Heritage Project (CHP) said in a statement.

"We hope that with this recognition, we are able to highlight Philippines coffee and the great work of Filipino coffee farmers like those behind Mirabueno Coffee and SGD Coffee, growing one of the finest coffees in the world to be the true artisans of the Philippines' coffee industry," CHP official Richard Watanabe said.

This marks the second time that the Philippines prevailed in the competition following the victory of the collaboration of Bana's Coffee from Sagada and the CHP in 2017.

Mirabueno Coffee and SGD Coffee are part of the CHP, a non-profit private initiative which takes "quality-focused approaches in coffee production," according to the Department of Trade and Industry.

“The coffee competition helps us showcase the broader work we do to reforest land with sustainable and ecological integration of coffee, the high returns and quality of life offered to coffee growers, and our endless pursuit of the next frontiers in coffee roasting and taste," CHP official Butch Acop said.

The Philippine Consul General's Office in Milan received the prizes on Oct. 21 on behalf of Acop, Watanabe, Raymund Mirabueno, Andrew and Mary Tomeg, Felipa Villicana, and Zo Lim.

...the Pinay farmer turned UN Nutrition Ambassador

This Pinay farmer Is Now A UN Nutrition 

Ambassador

Cheeky Albay
Cosmopolitan Philippines
03 November 2019

We first featured Cherrie D. Atilano earlier this year for her mission of “Making Farming Sexy”—encouraging young Filipinos, women especially, to go into farming like she has. But it wasn’t just that catchy slogan that got us hooked.

Cherrie’s inspiring story makes her life peg material: She grew up working on a sugarcane farm in Negros Occidental, graduated magna cum laude with a degree in agriculture from the Visayas State University, gave up a Fulbright scholarship in the US so she could stay in the Philippines and help local farmers, and founded AGREA, an award-winning Marinduque-based social enterprise which aims to help eradicate poverty for farming and fishing families, alleviate the effects of climate change, and help establish food security in the Philippines.

Impressed yet? There’s more. The 33-year-old Pinay has just been appointed by United Nations (UN) Secretary-General António Guterres as a Lead Group member of the UN’s Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement, the goal of which is to ensure a world free from malnutrition by 2030.

As a SUN Lead Group member - one of only 27 from around the world and only Southeast Asian on the list! - Cherrie is now a high-level ambassador for the UN , a role she will hold until 2021.

Below, Cherrie tells us how her trip to the UN Headquarters in New York went, how she'll serve as a newly-minted UN Nutrition ambassador, and how YOU can make your own mark like she has.

What she’s been up to since her last Cosmo interview:

"We launched AGREA programs in Siargao—both More Love for Women Farmers, which makes the island the first women-led agriculture island in the Philippines; and The Garden Classroom Program for public elementary schools, which will allow pupils to learn how to grow their own food, harvest organic vegetables for their feeding program, and love nature at the same time. We will be replicating the AGREA Farm School and Farm Business in the island by next year. 

I grew much wisdom, I must say. So many beautiful things have happened and most of them had me overcoming challenges and waking up every morning with so much hope."

How she and AGREA got the attention of the UN:

"AGREA received the UN Global Compact Agriculture Business Excellence Award in 2017. I also met some people in the UN when I spoke at the World Economic Forum’s New Vision for Agriculture event in Switzerland in 2014. I’ve also been invited several times to UN events in New York and Rome, and also to sustainability conferences around the world.

However, the main reason they chose me is my 21-year advocacy in agriculture, one I’ve had since I was young. As the SUN secretariat said to me, my movement of “Making Farming Sexy” should reach every corner of the world.

I also embody what it’s like to be a female leader in a male-dominated industry, I’m young, and I’m from the ASEAN, which has been called the next frontier."

About the SUN Movement:

"The principle of the SUN Movement is that everyone has the right to food and nutrition, and these two should go hand in hand. The movement addresses the problem of 149 million children who are suffering from malnutrition—which has devastating consequences for health, learning, future earning potential, economic development, resilience, and security. The mission is to work towards a world
free from malnutrition, in all forms, by 2030, nourishing people and planet together."

Her responsibilities as a SUN Movement Lead Group member:

"I support the 60 member countries and five Indian States as they pursue their goals to scale up nutrition. I will also provide strategic oversight on the movement, encouraging coherence and collective accountability for results. With this, I can influence in strengthening both policy and action in terms of solving malnutrition across the globe, while focusing and giving emphasis on our policy and efforts here in the Philippines and the ASEAN region."

What she’s excited to contribute to the SUN Movement:

"I made my commitment to secure nutrition by securing food sufficiency and security. I always make farming sexy by mentoring a lot of young people to venture into agriculture, empower women in agriculture to make sure proper nutrition starts from home, work on multi-stakeholder partnerships in making sure nutrition will be a serious business to lower stunted growth and boost our human capital productivity, and invest in impactful agri-foods."

How it feels to be one of 27 global leaders in the SUN Movement:

"It’s humbling. At the same time, I am so grateful for the privilege to be among them as they are amazing leaders whom I look up to. They created bold changes in their sphere of influence and inspired the world by their great accomplishments. They bring a wealth of experiences that I can learn from, and I am so fortunate to have that network of people I can collaborate with to expand my advocacy and work in the future. It is so good to brainstorm in a room full of intellectuals who are humble enough to solicit your ideas and open-minded enough to collaborate."

How her time at the UN Headquarters in New York went:

"It was the experience of a lifetime. For me, it was not about the special treatment, which was a bonus, but more of recognizing the fact that you are with a group of people who are so hardworking and passionate about creating positive changes in the world. New York during the UN General Assembly was a bustle of brains, hearts, and hands working together to make the world a better place to live in. You come out exhausted from all the events, but with a heart full of inspiration and a lot of concrete steps for taking action."

What she wishes more young Filipinos knew about nutrition and agriculture:

"Every day, 95 children in the Philippines die from malnutrition. 27 out of 1,000 Filipino children do not get past their fifth birthday. A third of Filipino children are stunted, or short for their age. Stunting after two years of age can be permanent, irreversible, and even fatal, according to UNICEF.

Additionally, the right food is not easily accessible, especially to our poor fellow men. We have 12 million hectares of underproductive lands, farmers are getting old, there is a declining interest among young people to go into agriculture, and our population is exponentially growing.

With all these, I think we have enough reasons to knock on the hearts of our young Filipinos and encourage them to help in boosting our agriculture sector. It will greatly help in establishing food sufficiency and security in the country, which could help in solving our malnutrition problem."

Her advice for other women who want to make a mark in their advocacies:

"Focus! I have been in this advocacy for 21 years, never disturbed by all other great opportunities. I was lucky to find my passion and purpose in agriculture.

Practice excellence and be authentic in what you choose to advocate. Immerse yourself in the community and have the humility to realize that at the end of the day, we are not superheroes who can solve all their problems; we are mere facilitators who can open opportunities for them or guide them in unleashing their potential so they can be the solutions to their own problems.

And at the end of every good job, the sweetest thing to do is pamper yourself. Self-love is a necessity."

...the 2019 WAGC World Finalist

Philippines finishes second overall in 2019 WAGC World Finals

Jean Russel V. David
Manila Times
03 November 2019

The Philippine team finished second overall in the recently concluded 2019 World Amateur Golfers Championship (WAGC) World Finals on October 19 to 26 in Sabah, Malaysia.

Team captain Joseph Uy together with WAGC team members Edsel Opulencia, Chucky Reyes, Fernando Reyes, and Rutsy Ramirez played hot on the last day, shocking heavy favorites that include New Zealand, Japan and Sweden to finish second.

The Philippines carded a total of 1,178 aggregate points banking on rounds of 300, 294, 289, and 295.

Malaysia notched 1,115 (284, 283, 289, 299) to bag the overall title while New Zealand came in at third with 1,182 (298, 294, 300, 290).

In the individual race, Uy of Forest Hills and Chucky of Valley Golf claimed the top honors in Division 2 and 3, respectively.

Skipper Uy scored 290 to beat Henry Gao of New Zealand and Mika Laaksonen of Finland, who had identical 294s.

Chucky, meanwhile, shot a 291 to win by two strokes against Kazuhito Miyawaki of Japan and Alexander Carlsson of Sweden, who had identical 293s.

Opulencia landed fifth with a 303 in Division 1 while Fernando Reyes had a 315 while Rutsy Ramirez scored 306 to settle at the 12th and seventh places in Divisions 4 and 5, respectively.

In the World Amateur Golfers Invitational finals, Division 3’s Ernest Platon and Division 5’s Vicky Herrera both emerged first placers.

Platon dominated his division with a 291 while Herrera outclassed her rivals with a strong 294.

Blake Go of Cebu City finished eighth with a 309 in Division 2.

The tandem of Go and Platon, on the other hand, finished fifth overall out of 75 teams in the 2-man play.