Message from GPCCI Executive Director Chris Zimmer

Dear Members, Partners and Friends,

 

It is my great pleasure to be in the Philippines as I assume my role as the new Executive Director of the German-Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GPCCI). For those who don’t know me, this is actually my second time working in the country. I have been in Asia with stints in the Philippines, Thailand, and South Korea for the airline industry. Most recently, I have represented the Lufthansa Group in Finland & the Baltic states. 

I am very proud to return to Manila. If I may humbly share, I have been one of the 30 founding members, when GPCCI was born in 2008. Therefore, it is a great honor to be managing the Chamber today and see how the organization has thrived over the years!

This is of course only possible because of your membership and our partner’s commitment. Thank you for your trust and cooperation. I am convinced that with the collective experience our network brings, working to strengthen the German-Philippine business community would be a breeze. I am confident that we can achieve our goals together alongside you, our dedicated Board of Directors, and staff.

I would also like to thank my predecessor, Dr. Martin Henkelmann, for his work in the Chamber which made the transition smooth for our management. 

I look very much forward to meeting and working with all of you! Please do not hesitate to contact me, you are cordially welcome to our office for an exchange or at the upcoming GPCCI events. We are happy to have some face-to-face activities in store for you!

Warm regards and mabuhay,

Chris Zimmer

DOST-PCIEERD showcaes new R&D projects to aid PH in the new normal

With the gradual decline of COVID-19 cases and nearing return to normal, the Department of Science and Technology - Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCIEERD) launched new innovations for this year’s Science and Innovation Budding Opportunities for Leverage (SIBOL) 2022.

DOST-PCIEERD is set to support 238 new projects this year with a total funding of more than PHP1.7 billion. At least 100 of these projects will be showcased this year.

Kicking off the first of 10 webinars, the first SIBOL on March 15, 2022 focused on health, governance, education and human security.

Filipino scientists and innovators presented these latest innovations in the field of nanotechnology, governance, education and human security:

●   AeroComp: Enhanced Lightweight Fiber-reinforced Composites Structures for Defense Applications by Eduardo Magdaluyo of the University of the Philippines Diliman - Department of Mining, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering. The project seeks to find a cost-effective alternative to ballistic protective materials used by the armed forces through the use of fiber-reinforced polymer.

●  Development of Platform for Short Range, Heavy Payload, Multi-Mission Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) by Engr. Arnaldo Gutierrez of Holy Angel University. The proposal aims to develop an unmanned aircraft system specializing in the transport of essential goods and supplies for emergency situations and in far flung areas.

●  Development and Institutionalization of DOST Foresight Framework and Protocol by Mia Barbara Aranas of the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology's (DOST-PCAARRD). The project aims to institutionalize a foresight framework protocol that would monitor and strategize incoming trends in science and emerging technologies.

● Establishment of AI Research Center for Community Development (AIRCoDE) by Joseph Onate of the Camarines Sur Polytechnic College. AIRCoDE seeks to establish an artificial intelligence research laboratory where AI enthusiasts, faculty and students can study and research about deep learning, computer vision, etc.

●  Establishment of Mindanao Natural (MinNa) Language Processing (LProc) Research and Development Laboratory by Kristine Mae Adlaon of the University of the Immaculate Conception. The proposed research facility aims to be the library of endangered languages in the Minaoan region. The project is centered on the production of ethnographies of indigenous peoples of the Philippines, whose’ languages are slowly dying out for fear of discrimination.

●   Project AutoLABS: RFID-based Automated Equipment Borrowing and Management System with Mobile App Reservation for School Laboratories by Davie Jone Niverca of Adamson University. Project AutoLABS is an automated logistics management system designed for the school setting.

●  Establishment of IoT Research Laboratory and Training Center by Engr. Mariciel Marcial-Teogangco of the University of the Perpetual Help System DALTA. The proposed research laboratory focuses on the Internet of Things which can provide the environment needed to simulate the implementation of IoT.

●  Proposed Installation Of AGT In BPSU Main Campus (As Laboratory facility of the Proposed Railway Engineering Program and Existing Engineering Programs) by Nelson Andres of the Bataan Peninsula State University. The proposal aims to run and operate the DOST-donated AGT coaches inside the BPSU campus. The project will also serve as a laboratory for the proposed railway engineering program of the university.

“Let’s start the year by hitting the ground running and planting the seeds of innovation.  We hope that through the SIBOL launches, we can inspire researchers to hope for a brighter Philippines,” DOST-PCIEERD Executive Director Dr. Enrico C. Paringit said.

SIBOL is the annual showcase of Filipino ingenuity and creativity in science and technology as they present their innovations thru a series of webinars hosted by DOST-PCIEERD. Last year, 11 SIBOL webinars were held, showcasing 149 research projects by our local scientists and researchers, and attended by 2,686 participants via Zoom.

TERMINATION OF THE NORTHEAST MONSOON

The recent analyses indicate retreat of the High Pressure Area (HPA) over Siberia, thereby weakening of the associated northeasterly winds and decreasing sea level pressure in the country. Moreover, the wind pattern has generally shifted from northeasterlies to easterlies over most parts of the country as a result of the advancing HPA over the Northwestern Pacific.These signify the termination of the Northeast Monsoon (Amihan) and the start of the dry season and warmer conditions. Furthermore, the day-to-day rainfall distribution across the country will be influenced mostly by easterlies and localized thunderstorms.

The public is advised to take precautionary measures to minimize heat stress and optimize the daily use of water for personal and domestic consumption.

PAGASA will continue to monitor the day-to-day weather and climate situation of the country. For more information, you may reach us through the following telephone numbers: Weather Division, 82840800 loc. 805; CAD-CLIMPS, 82840800 loc. 906 or through  email: pagasa.climps@gmail.com.

Philippine - Israel Sign Joint Declaration For the Development of Dairy Sector in the PH

The Embassy of Israel in the Philippines and the Israel Economic Commercial Mission to the Philippines, in cooperation with the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the National Dairy Authority (NDA), signed the joint declaration for mutual relationship and assistance in developing the dairy sector in the Philippines. DA Secretary William Dar and Israel Ambassador to the Philippines Ilan Fluss signed the said joint declaration.

In his opening remarks, Ambassador Ilan Fluss shared, “We aim to introduce smart and precision agriculture while using Israeli technology adjusted to local conditions to address the local challenges. Signing the joint declaration is a strong signal that MASHAV, Israel’s agency for development cooperation, will be happy to support the Philippines through technical assistance and capacity building programs especially in the dairy industry.”

The signing was followed by a virtual event entitled, “Philippine - Israel Dairy Business Forum: Ramping Up the Milk Production to Meet Local Demands.”

According to Mr. Tomer Heyvi, Head of the Economic Mission of Israel, the event aimed to share best practices from Israel's advanced dairy industry, to discuss the challenges of the sector in the Philippines, and to introduce leading technologies to increase farm productivity.

“Israel is a model to us. The Philippine government is eager to learn from Israel’s best dairy practices, we want to know more about the technologies. We have also watched with great interest the progress of the joint - dairy projects between Israel and Vietnam, and we wish to learn as much in the Philippines. I trust the joint declaration is only the first step to continuing mutual relationship and assistance,” Department of Agriculture Secretary William Dar said.

Deputy Administrator Dr. Farrell Benjelix C. Magtoto of the National Dairy Authority shared that the proposed 2020-2025 Dairy Road Map - One DAiry Revolution will increase the herd and improve productivity to provide milk for Filipino children and bolster against the war of malnutrition and poverty.

Ms. Ariane Blancia, Commercial Officer and Sector Lead for Agrotechnologies gave an overview about Israel’s dairy industry. She shared that 1.5 billion liters of cow milk were produced in 2020, and that Kibbutz and the Moshav account for 83% of the country’s dairy and other agricultural produce. “There are many reasons why Israeli Holstein cow is a world leader in milk yields, but the real answer lies actually in the combination of the unique method of production and quotas, heat stress management, breeding among others that are used in Israel to manage and improve the dairy herd,” Ms. Blancia said.

A study case highlighting Dairy Fresh Asia’s project in Vietnam was shared by Mr. Gonen Harel, its Co-founder and Chief Dairy Expert and Mr. Ran Leitman its Co-founder and CEO. He mentioned that this year, they hope to build a demo farm that can help change the dairy industry and its scale in the Philippines by training the local workforce and blending it with Israeli technologies that have proven its success in Vietnam.

Dr. William Medrano, Undersecretary for Livestock of DA, shared in his closing remarks, “I totally agree with Ambassador Fluss that we really need to encourage all (Israeli) companies to come to the Philippines and establish their local entity, link with local partners, and interested investors to develop local milk industry. And with all the presentations I have watched, these are all technologies that can be adopted in the Philippines.”

Mr. Yoray Ofek, President of the Israel Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines, mentioned in his recorded video that the presentations of the Israeli technologies are very informative and the webinar serves as an opportunity to start the collaboration between the dairy farms in the Philippines and Israeli companies.

Israeli companies with leading dairy technologies in herd management, breeding and artificial insemination, milk equipment, and complementary technology also presented during the event.

These Women of Blockchain from the Philippines are Innovating and Breaking the Bias

Blockchain is a remarkable technology. From the span of 2018 – when we were just imagining the potential of Blockchain to reinvent commerce and the economy – to the current year of 2022 where you can see a global market change as economies and the commercial side of business are now expanding rapidly into the Blockchain sector. The technology has given us new and exciting market opportunities from Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) to the Metaverse and the decentralization & digitalization of finance as the world is making shifts into Cryptocurrencies and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC).

The Philippines is recognized as an emerging hub for Blockchain-related technologies as Filipinos have been more than just early-adopters; they are a leading market segment when it comes to Blockchain startups, NFT ownerships, Gamers to Play to Earn Blockchain Games and Crypto Traders. And today, we bring you the women who are innovating, thriving and leading the way for women everywhere in the Blockchain and Decentralized space.

We bring you the Philippine Women Innovators in Blockchain 2022

1. Gail Cruz-Macapagal – Country Director / Certified Blockchain Expert, DynaQuest

VP & Board of Trustee, Health Information Management Association of the Philippines (HIMAP), 100 Most Influential Filipino Women on LinkedIn 202

2. Ann Cuisia – CEO & President, digiCOOP Technology Service Cooperative, Director, Blockchain, Cloud Security Alliance of the Philippines, Former IT Advisor, Office of the President, CEO and Founder, Traxion Pay Inc, Traxion Tech Inc, Independent Director, PSSLAI

3. Marites Allen – Philippine Feng Shui Queen, Investor / Shareholder, Kaloscope, President and CEO House of Allen, ULFS Inc. / Frigga Charmed Life, WOFS Philippines Inc, Wonderkin UK, Wonderkin Philippines

4. Emmy Lou Versoza-Delfin – Director, ICT Industry Development Bureau (IIDB) and Supervising Director, Information and Strategic Communication Division, Department of Information and Communications Technology ( DICT 

5. Marife C. Ramirez - Business Marketing & Development / Certified Blockchain Expert, DynaQuest

6. Tracy Li - Technical Project Manager, HaloDao, Board of Trustee, BlockDevs Asia

7. Janice Ariño – CEO & Founder, Service Economy Applications, Inc.FILIPAY/FILIPCOIN/FILIPWORKS

8. Myrtle Anne Ramos – Founder & CEO, Blocktides, Co-Founder & CEO, Placewar, Official Influencer, CoinMarketCap

9. Jemimah Keziah H. Morales - Co-Founder, Director for Community Management Department and Brand Building Department and Community Manager & Marketing Consultant, Blockchain Network Philippines (BNP)

10. Chiin Gandia – Consultant, Emfarsis, Co-host, BitPinas Webcast

For the women in the list, they are leaders and are excelling with the technology that has been a prime catalyst for the global business disruption as Blockchain is changing our supply chains, our commerce and our lifestyle. These innovations started from the handful of Blockchain consortia and with their respective use cases to demonstrate how the technology is reinventing both fundamentals and process of industries. From healthcare, to agriculture, to finance and to commercially driven solutions, Blockchain innovation have since gone global --- through local initiatives stemming from the private and local government sector

Blockchain: A Growing Disruptive Movement in the Philippines

For Ann Cuisia, Blockchain is a fundamental technology that will reinvent the ecosystem of finance, business and commercial infrastructures. Starting with her initiatives in Traxion, to her numerous R&D use cases contributions under DigiCoop, a platform that aims to unite and streamline technology adoption for Philippine enterprises --- that will allow startups, cooperatives and the small & medium+ businesses to navigate the changing technology ecosystem. 

In developing the potential of the Philippines as a destination for Blockchain, the government and its agencies must be proactive and maintain a cutting-edge initiative in the Blockchain and emerging technology scene. Emmy Lou Versoza-Delfin is among the supporters of the many initiatives done for nascent and frontier technology under the DICT, IIDB and NICP, that aims to bring awareness, workshops, initiatives, and a national-regional roadmap for the development of new technologies across the Philippine regions. Emmy is recognized as among the ambassadors of technology for the regional ICT development efforts. As decentralization dictates, game-changing and catalyst projects for frontier technology may as well stem from various local efforts that originate from Philippine provinces.

Putting the Philippines in the Blockchain roadmap need not always start within the country. Marites Allen, known as the Feng-Shui Queen of the Philippines and among the most recognized Feng-Shui masters in the world, is also well-versed in the sustainability and efficiency of harnessed nascent technology for the enterprise. The British-Filipino entrepreneur manages several of her businesses in the manufacturing and commercial side of things across the United Kingdom and the Philippines. One of the tenets of Feng-Shui is the harmonization of elements and with that virtue, Marites is keen on keeping her enterprises well-managed, responsible and sustainable. In her venture to Blockchain, she is a senior executive adviser to Kaloscope, an upcoming NFT Metaverse platform that will bring an interactive and fully-immersive metaverse experience

Philippines, a Growing Blockchain Hub and Regional Presence

For the country to become a global destination for Blockchain and the Decentralized industry, the country and its collective Blockchain industry must be consistent and prominent across the world’s biggest and most prestigious Blockchain events. Myrtle Anne Ramos, the Founder & CEO, Blocktides, makes sure that the country is more than represented, that the spotlight also shines for the Philippine Blockchain and Cryptocurrency scene, as it is among the world’s most vibrant and fastest rising consumer sector when it comes to the Decentralized industry. Myrtle’s network and publishing reach is among the industry’s widest – able to tap into adjacent media on all about Blockchain and the Decentralized Venture Capitals, as she handles the organization, promotion, and PR of the world’s largest Blockchain events and networks. 

In the private sector where many solutions providers reside, Philippine-based companies have also embarked on their Blockchain ventures – from development, consulting and other program-based services. Among the handful of companies who transitioned successfully were DynaQuest Technology Services inc., now, an award-winning Blockchain solutions provider and Gail Cruz-Macapagal, DynaQuest Country Director and a recognized Certified Blockchain Expert, heads the project management, operations, and client/investor management of the company. She has worked with the company partners who are focused on sustainable development with frontier technology. Gail is also an in-demand speaker for women’s empowerment forums, women-centric technology events and Blockchain seminars. 

In bringing technological disruption across the Philippine enterprise and business scene, technology and solutions providers are rolling out efficiency and unifying solutions to transform industries. Leading the charge of disruptive innovation into the public transportation sector is Janice Ariño and the company that she founded, Service Economy Applications. At a time prior to the pandemic where fiat based transactions were still the norm, Service Economy Applications launched FILIPAY, an automated payment collection system alongside FILIPWORKS that enabled paperless fleet management. Not long after, Janice and her company launched FILIPCOIN, the country’s first decentralized network for transportation that was based on Ethereum and is recognized by the Binance Smart Chain Network.

With the rapid growth of Blockchain, the technical capacity in engineering and designing the future of decentralized architecture is becoming among the most desirable careers for men and women. One of the most respected in the industry’s technical development is Tracy Li, currently the Technical Project Manager at HaloDAO, decentralized application (Dapps), an automated market built for optimised swaps of Stablecoins and digital assets over the network. Tracy is also among the board of trustees at BlockDevs Asia.

Blockchain Cooperations and the Bigger Picture

The world’s leading Blockchain nations have something similar in feature: their innovation is aligned with the economic and regulatory bodies set by their governments and have a working ecosystem consisting of both public and private partners to develop Blockchain solutions and roll out their Decentralized economies to connect with other decentralized economies. In the Philippines, aligning government, private and economical goals is among the priorities of Jemimah Keziah H. Morales as she serves an important role across the Blockchain-centric organization that she heads: she is the Co-Founder of Blockchain Network Philippines, as she is also the Director of the organization’s Community Management Department and Brand Building Department. To date, Keziah has worked with over 100+ Cryptocurrency and several Blockchain companies under the Blockchain Network Philippines as a community manager, strategist, and advisor.

The success of Blockchain technology and its derivative and yet disruptive products must also be nurtured and its information and innovative capacities be made accessible to the public. Despite her schedule as the consultant of strategic firm, Emfarsis – that focuses on Blockchain, Cryptocurrency and Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT), Chiin Gandia is passionate about the potential of the play to earn Blockchain & NFT games. Having produced the well-received documentary "Play-to-Earn: NFT Gaming in the Philippines”, and  as a consultant to Yield Guild Games and the Blockchain Game Alliance. In helping to bring awareness to Play to Earn games that Blockchain brings, Chiin is a co-host on the popular Crypto and Blockchain Gaming webcast of BitPinas.

As more and more Philippine based solutions providers are creating new solutions to the Blockchain and Decentralized commerce, it is giving a chance for women to jumpstart their journey into Blockchain. Marife C. Ramirez, the Business Marketing & Development of DynaQuest, was once fairly new to Blockchain but she did not let it faze her as she earnestly studied and passed a Blockchain skills and knowledge online course. Today, Faye Ramirez can chalk up her resume and contributions to the efforts of DynaQuest and partners in their projects ranging from economic development use cases, NFT support services and Blockchain education curriculum development as Faye was a significant contributor in terms of managing the deliverables and the quality assurance of performance-based metrics.

As we celebrate women’s month, we must make the time to appreciate the women who are excelling, being role models and being leaders and innovators in the frontier technology space of Blockchain. That technology past the point of being promising and is now a catalyst for global economic and commercial transformation. With the disruption and transformation, these women are more than just thriving – they are embarking on new frontiers, redefining businesses and financial ecosystems with the transformative cause and effect of Blockchain. And lastly, they are here to inspire women, empower them to make the first step into the Blockchain space as they should believe that they can and they will be able to make innovative contributions to better our economies and industries. All they need to do is dream big, believe in themselves and take the first step. In #BreakingTheBias the most important step is to make the first step and to show everyone that you can.

Educating Kids on Nutrition – The Fun Way Through the Food Hunt Adventure Game

Good food habits should start while young.

A study by Peralta in 2016 showed that educating kids on good nutrition at an early age promotes healthy eating habits that will most likely be practiced for a lifetime.

Teaching nutrition at an early age through interactive games and activities is an effective way to help children learn about healthy eating while having fun at the same time. 

Due to the lingering pandemic, online games are “in” among young children, with strict parental supervision on screen time, and even among adults, 

Children are still not allowed to go out and are getting restless being confined in their homes for almost a year now. Thus, one activity to lessen boredom among children is playing online games. 

Taking advantage of this trend, the Department of Science and Technology’s Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI) developed and launched on November 25, 2020 the “Food Hunt Adventure” mobile game that is integrated into the iFNRI, the Institute’s umbrella of online information and services. 

 

 The Food Hunt Adventure mobile game aims to increase awareness on healthy eating and Pinggang Pinoy among pre-school and school-aged children 6-9 years old. 

The mobile game has the following modules in the game menu:

The first module in the game menu is the Story Mode that shows the different stages of the game that include the Kitchen, Backyard, Grocery and Market. 

The second module is the Arcade Mode which include mini-games such as FoodDrop and SpellaFood.

For Food Drop, the point system indicates that for every successful catch of healthy food item, the player will gain one (1) point, while catching less healthy food items will reduce time by 20 seconds. 

For SpellaFood, the player guesses the name of the food item shown in the screen. There are Easy, Moderate and Hard levels in this game. Each level has a time limit of five (5) minutes. 

Learning nutrition is fun through the Food Hunt Adventure Game. Let us enjoy and learn through this innovative mobile game by DOST-FNRI!

Boosting confidence

In a meeting I had early this week with the private sector and the experts from OCTA Research, it was clear that we still have work to do in encouraging people to come out and rejoin the economy.

One word kept coming up: confidence. It appears that some of our countrymen are still afraid they might catch COVID once they step out of their homes. I suppose two years of conditioning has done its work. Who can forget the horror stories of people dying in the hospital parking lot while waiting to be admitted. Or of perfectly healthy people dying within a few days of catching COVID. These stories are so visceral they stick with us longer than is healthy for us.

But now it’s been months – more than a year, actually – since the first COVID vaccine was administered in the Philippines. There are now almost 64 million Filipinos vaccinated, and many have acquired immunity through exposure. So why are some of our countrymen still behaving as if nothing’s moved forward?

OCTA Research shared that in one survey asking Filipinos what they thought were the effective methods of avoiding COVID, the number two answer was to “stay at home”. This might have been true back in April or May 2020, but it’s already March 2022! A lot of things have changed since then, and we now know more about COVID and, more importantly, we already have vaccines and antiviral drugs that can help, even if you do catch the disease.

Nevertheless, our friends from the private sector tell us that business has picked up, but not for all, unfortunately. Weekend sales are up, but weekday customers are still staying away. What this means is that families are going out, but we are still missing the office crowd, which is an important segment for many businesses. This just goes to prove that encouraging on-site work can do so much to return our economy to health.

Schools, however, will have the biggest beneficial effect, both on our economy and in inspiring confidence all around. Reopening schools will have a vast multiplier effect, not just in spurring economic activity, but in signaling to people that things are back to normal.

Then there’s the issue of masks. It’s a non-issue in the Philippines, thankfully. But while it has helped in reducing our cases of respiratory diseases like tuberculosis and pneumonia in the last two years, facemasks communicate that something is not quite normal; their removal, therefore, will be an important signal. It has been proposed that we should make the removal of facemasks an incentive for when we’ve reached an acceptable level of vaccination. In which case, we achieve both a semblance of normalcy and a higher vaccination rate.

Of course, we still have to be careful. I understand that the speed at which we are opening up the economy is making some people very nervous. That’s why I believe the continuation of the campaign to vaccinate and booster is important. Once we reinforce the message that vaccines work and that there is a way to sustain immunity, we can perhaps inspire more confidence.

Government’s next steps and, equally, continuity with the incoming administration, will also be crucial. I cannot stress enough the importance of consistent policy. It will be key in how well and how fast we recover.

Confidence is contagious. If we show confidence that we are able to keep things under control and manage another increase in new cases, then we, in turn, inspire confidence in others.

We can encourage the hesitant to step outside their homes and enjoy life again. We can push our small entrepreneurs to take that risk and reopen their businesses knowing that the situation is better than before.

It’s also important to build the confidence of banks. They have to be reassured that the money they lend out can be repaid, and they have to see proof that businesses will stay open and earn enough to pay back the loans. In extension, we have to show our foreign creditors that the Philippines is not going to take this sheltering in place. We have to build their confidence that we can pay back our national debt, enough to be able to borrow again when needed.

But I do understand that the skyrocketing price of fuel and basic commodities has put a damper on things. It would not be fair to ask people to go out and spend when rising prices are making even the basics beyond reach.

I have been asked if I think a wage increase would be feasible at this time, and I shared that it would be more helpful to first create more jobs so that everyone gets to earn a living. I believe we have to be careful with these decisions because the situation in Russia and the Ukraine is so volatile. Inflation or stagflation, it could go either way, so, again, we have to be careful.

It’s impossible to predict whether the conflict in Europe will end abruptly or drag on for much, much longer. It’s not like the COVID outbreak, which at least we have some element of control over. With the war and the resulting rise in prices, we can only mitigate the effects. Hopefully, those of us who can help liven up the economy will be able to generate more jobs so our kababayans will have enough to weather this storm. We have very little choice in the matter. Our economy must not become a victim of war and pestilence.