PCC chair Arsenio Balisacan is Marcos’ pick for next Socioeconomic Planning chief

Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) Chairman Arsenio Balisacan speaks during an interview at Vertis North Corporate Center in Quezon City on April 10, 2019. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File


MANILA (UPDATE) – Presidential frontrunner Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Jr on Monday said he has nominated Philippine Competition Commission chairperson Arsenio Balisacan to head the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

Marcos said he worked with Balisacan “extensively” when he was still a governor.

Balisacan will replace outgoing NEDA director-general and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua.

“I also tapped an old friend, who also was formerly in this position. Arci Balisacan who is our former NEDA and I’ve asked him to return to NEDA,” Marcos said.

“We have very similar thinking in that regard, kaya malakas ang loob ko. I know he’s very competent, I know his policies are policies that will be to the betterment of our country,” he added.

Balisacan said he has accepted Marcos’ offer.

“Upon the invitation of presumptive President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., I have decided to help meet the challenges of the economy as Secretary of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) in this important period of our economic history,” Balisacan said in a statement.

Balisacan was a former NEDA director-general and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary from 2012 to 2016.

“In returning to a post I have previously held, we rely on experience and judicious reckoning of socioeconomic issues to build stronger foundations for a more robust, more inclusive, and more resilient Philippine economy,” the incumbent PCC chair said.

He said he looks forward to working with the economic team and the private sector to bring back the country to its pre-pandemic high-growth trajectory, deliver rapid poverty reduction, and reduce socioeconomic inequality.

Balisacan served as Board Chairman of the Philippine Institute for Development Studies and as the first Board Chairperson of the Philippines Statistics Authority and the Public-Private Partnership Center of the Philippines, according to the PCC.

He also teaches development economics at the University of the Philippines.

Balisacan has a PhD in Economics from the University of Hawaii, MS n Agriculture from the University of the Philippines Los Baños and BS in Agriculture from the Mariano Marcos State University.

Marcos asked the public for “a few more days” to announce other nominees that would complete his economic team.

Source: https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/05/23/22/pcc-chair-balisacan-is-marcos-pick-for-next-neda-chief

CA’s Maria Filomena Singh is new Supreme Court justice

By CNN Philippines Staff



Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 18) — President Rodrigo has appointed Court of Appeals Justice Maria Filomena Singh as the newest Supreme Court justice on Wednesday.

Singh will be Duterte’s last appointee to the high court before he steps down as chief executive in June.

She will take over the post vacated by retired Associate Justice Estela Perlas-Bernabe who retired on May 14.

Singh graduated from the University of the Philippines with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English, before earning her Juris Doctor degree from the Ateneo de Manila University School of Law.

A statement from the Supreme Court said she obtained her Master of Laws in International Legal Studies at the Washington College of Law of the American University in Washington, D.C.

She was appointed as an associate justice to the Court of Appeals in 2014.

Singh will take her oath on May 18 and will become one of the longest serving Supreme Court justices before her mandatory retirement in 2036.

CNN Philippines’ Anjo Alimario contributed to this report.

Source: https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2022/5/18/maria-filomena-singh-supreme-court-justice.html

3 graduates share top spot in Civil Engineer Licensure Exam

THE Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) welcomed the 5,836 new civil engineers who passed the May 2022 Civil Engineer Licensure Examination out of the 13,781 who took it.

Three examinees — Arianne Joyce Dameg of the University of the Philippines Diliman, Archigine Labrador of the University of Saint Louis-Tuguegarao, and Jameson Glen Lim of Xavier University — shared the top spot, scoring 93.95 percent.

Meanwhile, the top-performing schools for the Civil Engineer Licensure Exam with 50 or more examinees and with at least an 80 percent passing rate were the University of the Philippines Los Baños (95 percent, 76 of 80 examinees passed), University of the Philippines Diliman (94.57 percent, 87 of 92 examinees passed), De La Salle University-Manila (89.47 percent, 119 of 133 examinees passed), University of Santo Tomas (85.94 percent, 165 of 192 examinees passed), University of San Carlos (85.39 percent, 76 of 89 examinees passed), and Ateneo de Davao University (82.93 percent, 68 of 82 examinees passed).

The list of successful examinees may be viewed on the PRC website at prc.gov.ph.

“The result of examination with respect to one examinee was withheld as per Board Resolution 3 dated May 11, 2022, and one examinee was withheld pending the final determination of his liabilities under the rules and regulations,” the commission noted.
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Results of the examination were released five days after the last day of examination held in Manila, Baguio, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Koronadal, Legazpi, Lucena, Pagadian, Pampanga, Rosales, Tacloban, Tuguegarao and Zamboanga.

The members of the Board of Civil Engineering who gave the licensure examination were Chairman Engr. Praxedes Bernardo, and Members Engr. Pericles Dakay and Engr. Romeo Estañero.

PRC reminded successful examinees to register online from June 8 to 19, 13 to 17, and 20 to 21 for the issuance of their Professional Identification Card (ID) and Certificate of Registration. They are also to personally register and sign in the Roster of Registered Professionals.

According to the commission, the date and venue for the oath taking of new civil engineers will be announced at a later date.

BDO Capital head named Alpha Southeast Asia’s 1st Filipino Achievement Awardee

Eduardo Francisco.

MANILA, Philippines — Alpha Southeast Asia recently honored Eduardo Francisco, president of BDO Capital & Investment Corp., with the Achievement Award for Contribution to Local Capital Market during its 15th Annual Best Deal & Solution Awards 2021.

Francisco is the first Filipino recipient and only the third awardee in 15 years. He succeeds Dato’ Lee Kok Kwan, former deputy CEO of CIMB Group, and Seohan Soo, former CEO of AmInvestment Bank BHD.

“The awards outcome this year is especially momentous, considering the challenging operating environment for corporate, commercial and investment banks—as well as financial media companies,” said Alpha Southeast Asia.

The Hong Kong-based financial publication cited the investment banker’s noteworthy career that has already spanned for decades. Under Francisco’s leadership, BDO Capital, a wholly owned subsidiary of BDO Unibank, has proven itself an industry trailblazer.

During the 10-year period between the Asian financial crisis in 1998 and the global credit crisis in 2008, BDO Capital helped raised a total of $22 billion in equity offerings and debt issues for both government and private institutions. Later on, BDO Capital helped raised $180 billion for Philippine-based issuers and borrowers.

Alpha Southeast Asia also noted the bank’s excellence in public, private, and sovereign-led deals. BDO Capital has marked key milestones of leading companies including the IPOs of Monde Nissin, SM Investment Corp, Aboitiz Power, Alliance Global, Vista Land, and Synergy Grip & Development, as well as most of the corporate bond offerings of the leading listed companies in the country, and the bond issuance of SMC Global Power, Manila North Tollways and South Luzon Tollways.

Francisco played a pivotal role in introducing the first Retail Treasury bond (RTB) in the Philippines. Today, Filipinos can invest in RTBs for as low as $100 or P5,000. Since the launch of RTBs about 20 years ago, there have been over 23 issuances. RTBs can now also be accessed through an online platform for investors’ convenience.

Francisco also had an active role in establishing REITs in the Philippines against a background of tax and regulatory issues. Today, there are at least five REITs offerings in the country amid the pandemic. He also led the first dollar preferred share listed in the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) for Del Monte and was involved in most of the perpetual preferred offerings in the country.

The BDO leader holds a MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of the Philippines. Outside of BDO, he helps the PSE, the Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP), and the Philippine Dealing & Exchange (PDEX) with their product launches and rule changes from time to time.

Francisco is a recipient of the Financial Management Excellence from the University of the Philippines and the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the UP College of Business Administration. He was honored by BizNewsAsia as one of the Nation Builders and was an Asia Leaders Awards’ Mentor of the Year finalist.

Source: https://www.philstar.com/business/2022/05/06/2178986/bdo-capital-head-named-alpha-southeast-asias-1st-filipino-achievement-awardee

UPLB grad tops April 2022 electrical engineer board exam

The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) announced Thursday that 3,029 out of 5,567 examinees passed the electrical engineer licensure examination given last April.

Rob Christian Magdayo Caduyac of University of the Philippines Los Baños received the highest rating at 91.70 percent.

Bienvenido Barrameda To Jr. of Malayan Colleges Laguna placed second (90.05 percent) while Jasper Biboso Gementiza of Northwest Samar State University in Calbayog was third (89.55).



A total of 1,717 out of 3,712 examinees, meanwhile, passed the master electrician licensure examination.

Rodriner Casugbo Billones of Capiz State University Main Campus topped the exams with a rating of 93 percent.



View the roll of successful examinees for the electical engineer and master electrician licensure examinations here.

Meanwhile, a total of 55 passed the technical evaluation for the upgrading as professional electrical engineers.

Source: https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/05/22/uplb-grad-tops-april-2022-electrical-engineer-board-exam

Kriz Gazmen named new head of ABS-CBN Films

by Manila Bulletin Entertainment

Kriz Gazmen, Olivia Lamasan

ABS-CBN announced the appointment of Kriz Anthony Gazmen as the new head of ABS-CBN Film Productions Inc. effective May 1, succeeding Olivia Lamasan who will continue to serve as a consultant of the company known for its film brands Star Cinema and Black Sheep Productions.

Before this appointment, Kriz served as the business unit head of Black Sheep. His creativity, innovation, and business savviness were instrumental to the successful establishment of the young film brand in 2018, introducing a new wave of storytelling in hit movies such as “Exes Baggage” (2018) and “Alone/Together” (2019).

He joined ABS-CBN Films as a creative producer for Star Cinema in 2007 and steadily took on bigger roles eventually becoming creative director in 2015. His notable projects include “I Love You Goodbye” (2009), “No Other Woman” (2011), “One More Try” (2012), “The Trial” (2014), and “Etiquette for Mistresses” (2015).

Kriz graduated with a Cum Laude distinction from the University of the Philippines – Diliman with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Film and Audio-Visual Communication.

In his new role, Kriz will usher in a fresh era of storytelling as ABS-CBN Films continues to explore novel approaches in content creation and platform migration in order to reach more audiences.

Meanwhile, Olive will be a consultant for content, partnerships, and talent management via RISE Artists Studio.

The award-winning filmmaker fondly called ‘Inang’ in the industry has been with ABS-CBN for over 34 years, with unforgettable cinematic milestones under her direction including “Sana Maulit Muli” (1995), “Madrasta” (1996), “Milan” (2004), “In the Name of Love” (2011), “The Mistress” (2012), “Starting Over Again” (2014), and “Barcelona: A Love Untold” (2017). She also helped shape the ABS-CBN drama landscape on television as a creator of game-changing hits “Maalaala Mo Kaya,” “Pangako Sa’Yo,” “Forevermore,” and a lot more.

Amid the many challenges brought by the pandemic, Olive steered ABS-CBN Films towards new ventures and partnerships, making its well-loved content available across different platforms while maintaining its position as a reliable producer of inspiring Filipino stories.

Source: https://mb.com.ph/2022/04/29/kriz-gazmen-named-new-head-of-abs-cbn-films/

UP wins IABC Gold Quill for “Stop Covid Deaths”

Written by UP Media and Public Relations Office

When the COVID-19 pandemic began to rampage in early 2020, there were no experts on the disease nor any well-established treatments. Any knowledge gained came at a great price as doctors, and other medical professionals were among the first to fall to the new, highly infectious viral disease.

The Philippines alone lost nearly two dozen medical specialists to COVID, a devastating blow to a country where health workers were already in short supply. Add to this the skyrocketing incidence of burnout among Philippine health workers as the pandemic raged on, as well as the government’s relatively weak COVID-19 response compared to the rest of ASEAN, and it becomes apparent that the country’s healthcare system’s recovery from the pandemic remains an uphill battle.

Early on, the University of the Philippines (UP), the country’s national university, saw the urgent and continuing need for the exchange of accurate information about and on-the-ground experiences with COVID-19 among doctors, nurses, health workers, scientists, government officials, private healthcare representatives, and other frontliners.

UP was then determined to ensure that the Philippine healthcare sector provides the best possible care for COVID-19 patients and national and local pandemic response. The general public also needed resources for science-based information about COVID-19 to counter the parallel epidemic of fake news and misinformation.

By tapping into its community of the country’s top experts in multiple fields and disciplines, UP organized the “Stop COVID Deaths” webinar series early into the pandemic. This series is a collaborative work with the UP Manila National Institutes of Health (UPM-NIH) and National Telehealth Center (UPM-NTC), and the UP Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH), with TVUP handling the Zoom-based program, including its livestreaming.



These informative, educational webinars are held every Friday at noon over the TVUP YouTube channel and through the University’s Twitter account and TVUP’s Facebook page, making them free and openly accessible to anyone. UP has produced 96 “Stop COVID Deaths” webinars. They are still available for viewing on the TVUP YouTube channel. The latest round expands the discussion beyond COVID-19 and other infectious diseases significantly impacting the Philippine population, such as measles.

2022 Gold Quill Award of Merit

The university’s significant educational and public service initiative—now into its third year—has recently earned international recognition when the UP “Stop COVID Deaths” webinars won a 2022 Gold Quill Award of Merit from the US-based International Association of Business Communicators (IABC).

According to its official website, IABC’s Gold Quill Awards have recognized and awarded excellence in strategic communication worldwide. It is the only awards program that globally honors communicators’ dedication, innovation, and passion. Since 2008, organizers have screened more than 4,451 projects.

As one of the awardees for 2022, the UP “Stop COVID Deaths” series won an Award of Merit under the Communication Management Division of the Gold Quill Awards in the “COVID-19 Response and Recovery Management and Communication” category. Its co-winners in its category include projects by the Region of Peel and the Vancouver Coastal Health (Canada), and the London Health Sciences Centre (UK).

According to a letter from the IABC Awards Committee sent to UP Vice President for Public Affairs Elena Pernia, “Our Gold Quill Blue Ribbon Panel evaluators assessed your entry against the IABC Gold Quill Award criteria and IABC’s Seven-point Scale of Excellence. Your work met this high standard—a great accomplishment!”

“Through this work, you’ve managed to create a movement that has had a major impact on your country not only as it relates to how information is shared amongst frontline medical workers but also in the access that the public has to information that is highly relevant and important to Filipinos,” the IABC Gold Quill jury commented in its assessment of the webinar series.

“In a time where many people and organizations were overwhelmed, this project stands out as one that demonstrates how effective and impactful simple, clear and consistent communication can be,” it added.

Other winners from the Philippines are ABS-CBN for excellence in communication award for the web for its “Act as if you have the virus” campaign and recognition of merit in communication skills for its Kapamilya Himig Handog event, Christian Kyle Pascual of the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde earned the award of merit in audio-visual communication skills for the presentation “Turtales: Telling the Tales of Endangered Marine Turtles,” the Megaworld Foundation garnered an award for excellence in communication skills in social media for its “Mega Summer Ventures Version 2.0” and Meralco for excellence in communication skills in publications award for its 2020 Corporate Reports and award of merit in communication skills in social media for its Meralco Corporate Partners Viber Community.

Everyone is invited to attend this week’s UP “Stop COVID Deaths” webinar titled “Batang Biglang Hindi Makalakad: Siryosohin Natin ang Tigdas”, to be held on April 29, 2022, from 12 to 2 p.m.

With reports from Jo. Florendo B. Lontoc

Source: https://up.edu.ph/up-wins-iabc-gold-quill-for-stop-covid-deaths/

Upsilon Sigma Phi congratulates Fellow Glenn S. Lubuguin 2015 for being appointed as the Vice President for Planning and Development of Wesleyan University Philippines



The Upsilon Sigma Phi congratulates Fellow Glenn S. Lubuguin 2015 for being appointed as the Vice President for Planning and Development of Wesleyan University Philippines.

The Wesleyan University Philippines is the only autonomous private higher education institution in Nueva Ecija and one of the largest universities in Region III.

He will also concurrently serve as Executive Director, Office of the University President and Director of the Center for Nueva Ecija Studies.

Congratulations, Brod!

#UpsilonSigmaPhi
#CelebratingExcellence

Source: Upsilon Sigma Phi Facebook post

Tan-Mabilog is new IPO head

Mr. Carlson Alelis



Ms. Gerthrode Charlotte Tan-Mabilog of the Division of Professional Education, University of the Philippines Visayas (ProfEd-UPV) is the new director of the Information and Publications Office (IPO), effective April 8, 2022.

Tan-Mabilog finished her bachelor’s degree in Broadcast Communication/Management and master’s in Education Major in English as a Second Language at UPV in 2001 and 2012, respectively.

She has extensive experience in the media industry, being a news anchor for Ratsada 24 Oras, formerly Ratsada and 24 Oras Western Visayas, GMA TV-6’s afternoon public affairs and news program, from the early 2000’s until 2015.

She also served as a field reporter, executive producer, and supervising producer for the said program. From 2012 to 2015, she was program manager for GMA Bacolod ’s public affairs program Isyu Subong and GMA Cagayan de Oro’s daily newscast 24 Oras Northern Mindanao.

Prior to her working at UPV, Tan-Mabilog had served in various capacities as part of the academe.

She was the former vice president and chief operations officer of Alphacrest Academy and Big Heart Development School based in Iloilo City.

Likewise, she taught English in the high school and senior high school levels of Alphacrest Academy. She also served as a lecturer of the University of San Agustin’s Mass Communication program.

Tan-Mabilog is a fellow of the 16th Lopez Jaena Journalism Workshop in UP Diliman.

She is also a trainer, motivational speaker, book lover, movie enthusiast, mental health advocate, and writer, among others.

She replaced Prof. Julie Prescott of the Division of Humanities as director of IPO.

Tan-Mabilog’s appointment is effective from April 8 to December 31, 2022.

Source: https://www.upv.edu.ph/index.php/news/tan-mabilog-is-new-ipo-head