Lambanog is World's Second Best Spirit

 Lambanog Voted World's Second Best Spirit

Story by Tarra Quismundo and the SPOT.ph team
23 March 2024

It’s the stuff of kanto or roadside drinking sessions, best paired with videoke or tales of heartbreak retold. 

The Philippines’ humble Lambanog, also known as coconut wine or Philippine vodka, has been voted the second-best spirit in the world on a list by TasteAtlas, a global catalogue of food and drinks. 

 

The liquor, mostly produced in coconut-rich Quezon province, south of Metro Manila, came next only to Scotland’s Speyside Scotch, named after its place of origin, Speyside, home of the world’s most famous scotch distilleries. 

On TasteAtlas’ list of "Top 79 Spirits in the World," Lambanog bested other well-known drinks, including Mexico’s Tequila and Mezcal, Korea’s Soju, and the London Dry Gin.

"Lambanog is traditionally enjoyed neat, usually as a shot, but it also blends well in cocktails and mixed drinks. In the past, it was frequently produced by farmers, similar to a local version of moonshine, but recently it has mostly shifted to factory production, and its quality has significantly improved," TasteAtlas said. 

Lambanog is made with naturally fermented coconut sap and has a high alcohol content at a mininum 30%, according to the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA). It used to be known as the "poor man’s drink," owing to its relative affordability with prices ranging from P37 to P120 per liter, the PCA said. 

The colorless yet potent drink is produced predominantly in Southern Luzon, which has an abundance of coconut, but there are also registered producers in the SOCCSKSARGEN and CARAGA regions in Mindanao. It had earlier gained notoriety for being unsafe supposedly due to a high methanol content, but Lambanog has turned around its reputation and is now being exported to overseas markets, the coconut agency said in a post in misconceptions about the local drink. 

The liquor has won awards in China, Europe, and the United States, proving that "genuine lambanog is a great drink and not poisonous," the PCA said. Other than its pure form, the drink comes in various flavors, among them mango, pineapple, cherry, and even bubblegum. 

Lambanog’s TasteAtlas feat has stoked Filipino pride, with Pinoys leaving emojis of the Philippine flag, medals and trophies on the TasteAtlas post on Facebook. Commenters from other parts of the world begged to disagree, naming their own best bets. 

"Bourbon at #44 could be thought of as farcical," said one commenter. This drew an agreement from another commenter who said: "This whole thing is farcical. I think this was written by an 11-year-old." 

TasteAtlas said its food rankings are based on audience votes, "with a series of mechanisms that recognize real users and that ignore bot, nationalist or local patriotic ratings, and give additional value to the ratings of users that the system recognizes as knowledgeable." 

It recorded 6,125 ratings for the Top 79 Spirits of the World list, among them 4,266 "were recognized by the system as legitimate." 

It said its rankings "should not be seen as the final global conclusion about food" and instead are meant to "promote excellent local foods, instill pride in traditional dishes, and arouse curiosity about dishes you haven’t tried."

Philippines Has the Highest Number of Female Executives

The Philippines Has the Highest Number of Female Executives in the World

Story by Esquire Philippines

19 May 2024

It's no secret that the Philippines has, err, some issues when it comes to gender equality and equity. Whether it's because of conservatism or just a lack of opportunities, women continue to struggle to find their place in the corporate hierarchy.

But apparently, the country still remains one of the more progressive places for female leaders. So much so that it had been ranked by the UK-based global accounting firm Grant Thornton first out of 28 countries in the percentage of women in senior positions.

Grant Thornton analyzed interview responses from companies in Asia, Europe, and America last year. This encompassed 4,891 medium-sized companies, with 90 percent of these businesses employing 50 to 2,500 workers. Top executives are defined as those in key executive positions, from the board down to various departments.

According to a survey conducted by the global accounting group, about 43 percent of top executives in the country were women. Compared to our neighbors in Southeast Asia, such as Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, were ranked third, seventh, and 10th respectively.

As a matter of fact, Filipino companies have actually ranked higher in these surveys over the past couple of years. In 2022, the country was fourth on the list. Meanwhile, from 2020 to 2021, the Philippines placed first, too.

The top 10 countries with the most number of companies with women as executives are as follows:

1| Philippines (43.1 percent)

2| South Africa (42 percent)

3| Thailand (41.0 percent)

4| Turkey (41.0 percent)

5| Nigeria (40.6 percent)

6| Spain (40.3 percent)

7| Malaysia (39.6 percent)

8| Australia (39.6 percent)

9| France (37.9 percent)

10| Indonesia (37.4 percent)

The firm said that part of the accelerated shift toward a more inclusive management system can be attributed to the pandemic, as well. For four consecutive years, the share of women in management roles has risen to 33 percent.

To put things in perspective, women had only occupied less than 20% of senior management positions in 2004. Last year, they made up more than a third of these positions. While the progress has been incredible over the past decade, the percentage of female CEOs nevertheless dropped from 28 percent to 19 percent just last year.

Philippines to host 2025 FIVB Men's World Championship

 Philippines wins bid to host 2025 FIVB Men's World Championship

GMA News Online 
20 March 2024

The Philippines is set to host the 2025 FIVB Men's World Championship.
The FIVB made the announcement on Wednesday as the country became the successful bidder.

"This prestigious event will not only inspire a new generation of athletes but will also help to encourage increased participation in sport at all levels in the country and wider region," FIVB President Dr. Ary S. Graça said in a statement on Volleyball World's report.

"We are confident that the Philippines, supported by our innovative Volleyball Empowerment programme, will host an extraordinary World Championship that will leave a lasting legacy and help to cultivate an even brighter future for our sport globally," Graça added.

Philippine National Volleyball Federation president Ramon 'Tats' Suzara said the country is ready to host the championship.

“For this, I am ready, our team is ready, the Philippines is ready to boldly face the challenge and to fulfil the dream, as we work collectively to serve volleyball. If you love volleyball, then you will surely love the Philippines. See you all in 2025," Suzara said in the report.

The Philippines formally launched its bid in February, banking on the success of the country's hosting of the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) in 2022 and 2023.

The said VNL tours were held in the Smart Araneta Coliseum and Mall of Asia Arena, which will also be eyed as venues for the hosting of the World Championship.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News

The World Happiness Report placed Philippines 5th spot in Asia

 This is the happiest country in Asia, according to the World Happiness Report

Story by Ernestine Siu
CNBC
20 March 2024

Singapore is the happiest country in Asia for the second year in a row, according to the 2024 World Happiness Report released Wednesday.

The city-state ranked 30 out of the 143 places surveyed for the study.

Topping the list this year is Finland, followed closely by Denmark and Iceland.

The World Happiness Report is a joint effort from some of the world's leading researchers and wellbeing scientists. The happiness ranking in this study is supported by data from the Gallup World Poll which measures individuals' average life evaluations, taken over three years from 2021 to 2023.

The top 10 happiness rankings in Asia:

1. Singapore
2. Taiwan
3. Japan
4. South Korea
5. Philippines
6. Vietnam
7. Thailand
8. Malaysia
9. China
10. Mongolia

Experts also analyzed data in six key factors: GDP per capita, healthy life expectancy, social support, freedom, generosity and perception of corruption. Their research into these areas provided deeper insight and potential explanations for the subjective quality of life ratings people gave.

"These factors help to explain the differences across nations, while the rankings themselves are based only on the answers people give when asked to rate their own lives," according to a statement by the World Happiness Report.

The data gathered for the six factors came from organizations like the World Bank, the World Health Organization and the Gallup World Poll.

"Singapore did very well in terms of GDP per capita, one of the highest rankings in our dataset," Shun Wang, co-author and editor of the 2024 World Happiness Report told CNBC Make It.

"That means Singapore's government is really clean and their people really have a very low perception of corruption ... even lower, you know, than Denmark or Norway," Wang added.

Denmark and Norway ranked 2nd and 7th, respectively, on this year's report.

Additionally, Singapore "does particularly well on generating healthy life expectancy, so long lives and healthy lives," according to Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, Director of the Wellbeing Research Centre at Oxford University and editor of the 2024 World Happiness Report.

Despite this, Singapore ranks lower in terms of its perceived social support, freedom to make life choices, and generosity.

"Singapore is punching below its weight," said De Neve. "Given all the objective indicators about Singapore, you'd expect Singapore to be in the top 20 of the World Happiness Report."

"I would love to challenge the Singaporean government and the people of Singapore to find ways to leverage the extraordinary city-state that they've created into ways of improving quality of life as people experience it," De Neve said.

CNBC reached out to the Singapore government for comment, but did not immediately hear back.

Myanmar, Cambodia, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are among Asia's least happy countries, according to the report.

India, the world's most populous nation, came in at 126th out of 143 places surveyed.

WEF: The Philippines could become a $2-trillion economy in the next decade

 WEF bullish on PH economic prospects

Manila Times
Story by Niña Myka Pauline Arceo, Kristina Maralit
20 March 2024

The Philippines could become a $2-trillion economy in the next decade given the country's continued growth and provided that proper groundwork is done, a visiting World Economic Forum (WEF) official said.

"We are very bullish on the Philippines provided that reforms do continue," WEF President Borge Brende said in a briefing in Malacañang on Tuesday.

"I think that this can be in the coming decade a two-trillion US dollar economy if there are better investments in education, infrastructure and also able to draw on the great competence of the people of the Philippines," he added.

World Economic Forum President Børge Brende joined by the country's government economic leaders Finance Secretary Ralph Recto, Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Frederick Go, and National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan answer the media during the press conference on the World Economic Forum (WEF) Country Roundtable in Malacanan Palace, Manila on Tuesday, March 19, 2024. PPA POOL PHOTOS (Noel B. Pabalate)

The country must achieve at least 7.0- to 8.0-percent growth in order for this to be attainable, Brende continued.

The Philippines is currently far from hitting the trillion-dollar level, with gross domestic product valued at $475.95 billion as of 2024 according to the International Monetary Fund.

Growth last year was a below-target 5.6 percent but was still one of the highest in the region. The government is targeting 6.5- to 7.5-percent growth for 2024 and 6.5 to 8.0 percent up to 2028.

Amid ongoing global headwinds that could put the growth goals at risk, Brende indicated that the country remained on investors' radars.

"[T]he participants here that I've spoken to say that they're going in with investments in the Philippines... [because] I think there is a stable and sound fiscal policy," he said.

"Of course, there are also some geopolitical challenges that the region is faced with, but it's also an opportunity for the Philippines to get increased investment, especially in the manufacturing area, because there is diversification of the supply chains," he added.

"There are also opportunities when it comes to the knowledge base economy ... productivity can be increased by 30 percent in the coming decade."

The WEF, in partnership with the government, held a country roundtable in Manila on Tuesday. The event, which brought together global executives and local public and private sector officials for discussions about the country's growth prospects, was said to be the first high-level WEF event in the Asia-Pacific since the pandemic.

"The timing of our gathering could not have been more auspicious. These are very exciting times for the Philippines, and we want you to witness firsthand our promising growth story and become part of it," Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said in a welcome dinner on Monday.

Brende, in a statement issued by the Finance department, was said to have declared the country's prospects as "very, very promising."

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., in a speech on Tuesday, noted that the country's potentials were previously highlighted when it hosted the 23rd World Economic Forum on East Asia 10 years ago.

"Discussions back then centered on the glowing promise and potential of the Philippines as the strongest-performing Southeast Asian economy in 2014," he said.

"Ten years later, we bear witness to the full fruition of that vision. Today, against the great odds, the Philippine economy shines as the brightest spot in the fastest-growing region in the world.

He cited government efforts to sustain the growth momentum, including over P9 trillion worth of infrastructure projects and reforms aimed at improving the ease of doing business in the country.

"We aim to cover every front at every point of your investment journey," Marcos told the roundtable participants.

He also pointed to investment opportunities in the country's first sovereign wealth fund, the Maharlika Investment Fund, and increased efforts to build trade and economic ties across the region.

"[A]ll this is a mere glimpse into the world of opportunities lying in wait here in one of the fastest-growing economies in this part of the world," Marcos said.

"Clearly, the Philippines is in a prime position to enter into a sustained period of robust economic expansion over the next couple of years."