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BSP: NO PRICE SHOCKS AMID COVID RECOVERY www.businessmirror.com.ph

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Friday, October 30, 2020 Vol. 16 No. 22

P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 22 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK

NET OUTFLOWS OF HOT MONEY SHOOT UP 238% IN END-SEPTEMBER

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A METRO Rail Transit 3 (MRT3) maintenance crew member waves to signal the driver as they conduct test runs of newly overhauled train cars, increasing the speed to 50 kph from 40 kph. With the new speed, operators plan to add more operational trains in the main line. NONOY LACZA

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By Bianca Cuaresma

In the recent Inflation Report Webcast, BSP Deputy Governor Francisco G. Dakila Jr. said inflation expectations over the policy horizon will continue to be manageable and within the set 2-percent to 4-percent target for this year, for 2021 and for 2022.

However, Dakila also bared that inflation could possibly fall below the 2-percent target toward the end of this year and in early 2022.

“There could be some months [when inflation could fall below 2

HE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) remains confident that inflation will not be included on the list of economic problems that the country will face during and after the pandemic, despite expectations that inflation will dip below target range toward the end of the year.

percent]. Actually we’re looking at December and January, where the inflation projection may go below the low end of the target range that is below 2 percent. It can be emphasized, however, that this is purely due to base effects,” Dakila said.

“This is something that is really very temporary. It is not something that should be a major basis for setting monetary policy,” he said.

Dakila continued to affirm that the BSP’s latest models

HORT-TERM foreign investors continued to pull their money out of Philippine investment vehicles in September, as foreign portfolio investments (FPI) continue to yield net outflows in the first nine months of 2020.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported on Thursday that FPIs to the country—or more popularly known as “hot money”—resulted in a $4.4-billion net outflow in the first nine months of the year. This is a 238-percent increase from last year’s net outflow of $1.3 billion.

FPIs are known as “hot” or “speculative” money because they are easily pulled in and out of the local platforms in the slight change of global and local sentiment.

This type of foreign investment is usually a measure of the global economy’s investing sentiment to the Philippines in shortterm prospects for yields, in contrast to foreign direct investments (FDI) which are investments placed in the Philippines in search for long-term yield.

The BSP said the hot money net outflow was still brought about by uncertainties due, among others, to the ongoing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the global economy and financial system, coupled with international and domestic developments such as geopolitical tensions, certain corporate governance issues and extended quarantine measures in select regions in the country.

The $4.4-billion total net outflow in the first three quarters of the year resulted from the $12.19-billion gross outflows of FPIs during the period, more than overwhelming the $7.7-billion gross inflows to the country during the period.

In the same period last year, the gross outflows were larger at $14.6 billion, but the gross inflows were also significantly more substantial at $13.2 billion.

See “Hot Money,” A2

See “BSP,” A2

Subsea pipeline key Malampaya draw for investors

By Lenie Lectura

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PIMENTEL: “Even if all of Malampaya’s resources eventually run out, the project’s pipeline could serve as the ‘toll road’ of all future gas that may be harvested from nearby reservoirs.” CONGRESS.GOV.PH

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n

EPUTY Speaker and Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny T. Pimentel revealed Thursday that the interests of prospective buyers of the 45-percent stake of Shell Exploration B.V. (SPEx) in the Malampaya gas project lie primarily in the 504-kilometer subsea pipeline.

“The interest is clearly in Malampaya’s existing infrastructure, mainly its underwater pipeline, which could be used to transfer all the offshore gas in the West

US 48.3690

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JAPAN 0.4638

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Philippine Sea to the onshore gas power plants in Batangas,” Pimentel said in a statement.

The Malampaya Deep Water Gas-to-Power project off the shores of Palawan is being operated by SPEx. It announced last month plans to divest its entire stake in the project as part of its portfolio rationalization efforts.

The sale includes the 504-kilometer, 24-inch diameter pipeline that delivers gas to the gas plants in Batangas, and the Sampaguita gas discovery in Recto Bank, formerly Reed Bank, some 250 kilo-

UK 62.8362

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HK 6.2410

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CHINA 7.1881

meters southwest of Malampaya.

Existing Malampaya consortium member Udenna Corp., with a 45-percent stake, wants to invoke its preemptive and consent rights over the stake sale. The Philippine National Oil Company-Exploration Corp. (PNOC-EC), which holds the remaining 10 percent, is being invited by UC to join in the latter’s takeover plan.

The group of Manuel V. Pangi­ linan is also interested.

“Even if all of Malampaya’s resources eventually run out, Continued on A2

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SINGAPORE 35.4377

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ISUZU Philippines Corporation (IPC) President Hajime Koso (second from left) and Isuzu Gencars Chairman D. Edgard A. Cabangon (left) hand out the turnover key to Fr. Anton Pascual, Executive Director of Caritas Manila, and Bishop Broderick Pabillo (right), Apostolic Administrator of Archdiocese of Manila, at the turnover ceremony held at Caritas Office in Pandacan, Manila, on Thursday (October 29). IPC donated one unit of Isuzu D-Max to be used by the Acquisition Team of Caritas Manila in picking up donations in cash or in kind from different parts of the country.

AUSTRALIA 34.0808

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EU 56.8287

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SAUDI ARABIA 12.8977

Source: BSP (October 29, 2020)

News BusinessMirror

A2 Friday, October 30, 2020

Use of RCEF for farmers’ support pushed by experts Continued from A9

However, economists prefer to be more specific when it comes to the review, saying it should also shed light on how lives of farmers changed, particularly in poor re­ gions.

Earlier, the Department of Ag­ riculture (DA) said it has only disbursed 8.35 percent, or about P1.252 billion, of its P15-billion RCEF, which includes a P5-billion carryover from last year, this year, based on its latest presentation.

Nonetheless, the DA vowed that the whole amount would be utilized this year, with rice farmers reaping benefits from the second year of the RTL-created RCEF.

In a news briefing last month, the DA presentation showed that it has obligated P5.618 billion, or about 37.45 percent, of the P15billion RCEF fund this year.

RCEF is a six-year P10-billion rice production development pro­ gram created under the RTL law, or Republic Act 11203, which de­ regulated the rice industry. The law mandates allocations of P5 billion for farm mechanization, P3 billion for inbred seed distribution, P1 bil­ lion for credit and P1 billion for ex­ tension.

However, the DA had a P5billion carryover this year since the amount, which was dedicated for farm mechanization, was un­ touched last year due to procure­ ment problems.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Naia Customs find 100 live BSP… tarantulas in rubber shoes Continued from A1

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By Recto L. Mercene

ORE than 100 live tarantulas, a hairy member of the spider family, were found concealed inside rubber shoes shipped through a courier and express-mail delivery service in its warehouse at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia).

The parcel was shipped by a certain “Michal Krolicki” from Poland to a consignee in General Trias, Cavite.

Customs operatives found the arachnids when they x-rayed the package, and saw suspicious im­ ages that demanded actual exami­ nation. That was when they found the live tarantulas in individual plastic vials.

The tarantulas were turned over to the Department of Envi­ ronment and Natural Resources Wildlife Traffic Monitoring Unit

(DENR WTMU) for proper han­ dling and care.

In 2019, Customs Naia inter­ cepted 757 live tarantulas con­ cealed inside oatmeal and cookie boxes and 87 live spiders inside white plastic canisters, both came from Poland.

Despite their creepy look on account of their hair, tarantulas are deemed largely harmless to humans though their bites could be painful. The venom is consid­ ered mild to humans, supposedly weaker than a typical bee’s, but in

DAKILA: “This is something that is really very temporary. It is not something that should be a major basis for setting monetary policy.” BSP.GOV.PH

THE spiders were found inside vials hidden in rubber shoes. PHOTO COURTESY OF NAIA CUSTOMS

some cases, the venom has caused serious injury to dogs.

Tarantulas are classified as endangered wildlife species, and illegal wildlife trading is penalized

with imprisonment of six months and one day to one year and a fine of P10,000 to P200,000 in accor­ dance with the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act.

DOLE ISSUES HOLIDAY PAY RULES FOR ‘UNDAS’ WEEKEND

ERC EXTENDING TILL YEAREND NO-DISCONNECTION POLICY Continued from A9

The power generators, Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Man­ agement Corporation (PSALM), National Power Corporation (NPC), National Transmission Cor­ poration (TransCo), National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), Independent Power Pro­ ducers (IPPs), Independent Power Producer Administrators (IPPAs) and the Market Operator (MO) shall extend the same 30-day grace period, staggered payment, and no-disconnection policy to the RES, DUs and other customers.

The DU must submit a power supply contract utilization report; record of payments received from customers; and record of payments made to suppliers, covering the grace period and installment peri­ ods as proof of their compliance to the ERC directive.

A consumer advocacy group hailed the announcement of ERC. However, the Power for People Coali­ tion (P4P) is disappointed that the relief is extended only to those who consume less than 200kWh. “The P4P extends its apprecia­ tion to the ERC for its advisory man­ dating no disconnections until the end of the year,” it said.

“Even if the advisory were ex­ tended to all victims of the Meralco bill shock, P4P stands firm that this relief is only temporary, until the ERC can resolve the underlying issues that allowed the bill shock to happen in the first place,” said the group.

P4P said it wants the ERC to im­ pose a moratorium on payments for the bill shock period until all bills during the ECQ period “have been examined for fairness, a more flex­ ible payment scheme applied for the bills, all pending refunds returned, reforms in Meralco billing practices carried out, and an independent au­ dit of Meralco has been conducted.”

For Meralco’s part, the utility firm said it would abide by the ERC order. “As we have stated in our ear­ lier pronouncement, we will follow the ERC directive.”

A MAINTENANCE worker at the Navotas Public Cemetery tends to apartment-type tombs in preparation for All Souls’ Day, traditionally a time when Filipinos troop to the cemeteries to visit their departed. This year, though, because of the pandemic, the practice was temporarily suspended by the government. NONOY LACZA

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NLY employees who will report during the long weekend will get addi­ tional pay, according to the De­ partment of Labor and Employ­ ment (DOLE).

In his Labor Advisory No. 29, Series of 2020, Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III said a “no work, no pay scheme” will be in effect dur­ ing the commemoration of All Saints’ Day (November 1) and

All Souls’ Day (November 2) this year.

This after President Duterte declared both events as a special nonworking holiday under Proc­ lamation 845.

Bello said employees who will be on duty during a special holiday will be entitled to an ad­ ditional 30 percent of their first eight hours of work.

If they will work overtime, they will get another 30 percent

of their hourly rate on the said day.

“For work done during spe­ cial day that also falls on his/her [worker] rest day, he/she shall be paid an additional 50 percent of his/her basic wage on the first eight hours of work,” Bello ex­ plained.

All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day are religious events com­ memorated by Christians world­ wide in honor of the saints and

their departed loved ones, re­ spectively.

Here in the Philippines, Fili­ pinos usually spend the holidays going to cemeteries or columbar­ ium to visit graves.

However, because of the nov­ el coronavirus disease pandemic, the practice was temporarily sus­ pended by the government this year, and all cemeteries nation­ wide are closed for this year.

Samuel P. Medenilla

Subsea pipeline key Malampaya draw for investors Continued from A1

the project’s pipeline could serve as the ‘toll road’ of all fu­ ture gas that may be harvested from nearby reservoirs,” Pimen­ tel pointed out.

PXP, JP Morgan

PIMENTEL’S statement comes af­ ter Pangilinan said his group is in talks with JPMorgan to assist PXP Energy Corp.

“We are looking at it. We’ve been talking to JPMorgan who has been advising Shell on their share sale in Malampaya,” Pangi­ linan said.

Pangilinan said PXP Energy could be used as the vehicle to ac­ quire the stake of SPEx.

The now 19-year-old Malampa­ ya gas-to-power project still gener­ ates up to 3,400 megawatts (MW) of

electricity for the Luzon grid.

However, Department of Energy officials previously told a congressional hearing that by 2024, Malampaya’s gas output would fall to just one-third of current capacity.

Four years from now, Malam­ paya’s diminishing gas reserves might be able to produce just 1,100 MW of electricity for Luzon.

Based on an independent as­ sessment by Weatherford Petro­ leum Consultants, the nearby Sampaguita field in Recto Bank “is estimated to contain 2.6 trillion cubic feet of in-place contingent resources and 5.5 trillion cubic feet of in-place prospective resources.”

The operator of the service contract that contains the Sampa­ guita gas discovery, Forum Energy Ltd., is controlled by PXP. There was no comment on

Thursday from the DOE and SPEx on this.

Senate hearing

SEN. Sherwin T. Gatchalian earlier called for a Senate inquiry on the issues surrounding the looming expiration of Service Contract (SC) 38 or the Malampaya Deep Wa­ ter Gas-To-Power Project given its critical role in the country’s energy security.

Gatchalian, along with Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III and Sen. Panfilo Lacson, filed Senate Resolution 533 citing the need for Congress to be apprised of the gov­ ernment’s plans for SC 38.

The solon wants to look into the compliance of the government and the consortium with Presiden­ tial Decree (PD) 87 or the Oil Ex­ ploration and Development Act of 1972, and the impending sale of

the 45-percent stake of SPEx. “We’re looking at the larger picture which is the energy se­ curity of the country. So we have to make sure that whoever takes over that portion of Shell should have the technical capability. They should be able to demonstrate that they can operate this rig compe­ tently with technical expertise and in the future, if ever that area has potential, they should be able to demonstrate that so they can explore and develop that area,” Gatchalian said.

Gatchalian cited Section 4 of PD 87 which states that the gov­ ernment may directly explore for and produce indigenous petroleum and may also indirectly undertake the same service contracts, pro­ vided that the contractor is techni­ cally competent and financially ca­ pable to undertake the operations.

forecast a steady inflation rate dur­ ing this pandemic and toward the expected recovery post-Covid in 2021 and 2022. For this year, the BSP’s inflation forecast remains at 2.3 percent. For 2021, inflation is expected to rise near the mid­ point of the target at 2.8 percent.

For 2022, Dakila said inflation is expected to hit 3 percent as econo­ mies are expected to recover.

“So you can see, the trajec­ tory for inflation is toward a move closer to the midpoint of the target as we go ahead, as we go forward.

This also reflects the expected re­ covery in demand as the economy,” he said.

The steady inflation numbers of the country despite disruptions in both the supply and demand chain due to the global pandemic is expected to give the BSP more “elbow room” to deploy monetary measures to prop up the economy into recovery mode.

The BSP has been aggressive in pumping the economy with stimulus to keep it running amid the disruptions caused by the glob­ al pandemic. Aside from easing regulatory restrictions, releasing billions in liquidity into the cash stream via the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) cuts and remittances to the national government, the BSP has cut its rates four times in the last eight months.

In February, their first meeting of the year, they cut their rates by 25 basis points as the threat of Co­ vid-19 emerges in other countries.

In March, just days after the first implementation of community quar­ antine in Luzon, the BSP cut its in­ terest rates by 50 basis points.

This was supplemented by an­ other 50-basis-point cut in an offschedule Monetary Board meeting in April, and another 50-basispoint cut in June. In its latest meet­ ing, meanwhile, the BSP moved to keep all interest rates unchanged.

“A continued pause at this juncture will enable the cumula­ tive 175-basis-point policy rate reduction thus far in 2020 to work its way fully through the economy.

The BSP remains committed to de­ ploying its full range of monetary instruments and regulatory re­ lief measures as needed in fulfill­ ment of its mandate to promote non-inflationary and sustainable growth,” the BSP said.

Hot money…

Continued from A1

In September alone, net out­ flows hit $494 million, resulting from the $1.1-billion gross out­ flows and $594-million gross in­ flows for the month. The Septem­ ber net outflow record is larger than the recorded net outflows of $127 million in August and the $231.7-million net outflows in Sep­ tember last year.

About 92.5 percent of invest­ ments registered were in listed se­ curities, mainly to holding firms, property companies, food, bev­ erage and tobacco firms, banks and retail companies, while the remaining 7.5 percent went to investments in Peso government securities.

Singapore, the United King­ dom, the United States, Luxem­ bourg and Switzerland were the top five investor countries for the month, with combined share to to­ tal at 82.6 percent.

Bianca Cuaresma

www.businessmirror.com.ph

The Nation BusinessMirror

Quinta agri, infra damage breaches ₧700-million mark, leaves 16 dead

By Rene Acosta @reneacostaBM

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YPHOON Quinta’s damage to agriculture and infrastructure has further increased, even as a big portion of Southern Luzon and the Bicol regions, and some areas in the Visayas, are still without power.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) also pegged the number of deaths to 16 with 22 injured and another four people still missing.

Based on the latest report of the NDRRMC, a damage with an estimated total worth of P737,129, 545 has been initially assessed on agriculture and infrastructure in Regions 1, 3, 5 and 6 and in Mimaropa and Calabarzon.

In Quezon alone, which is one of the badly hit provinces by the typhoon, Governor Danilo Suarez reported that at least P488 million

worth of crops have been damaged.

Several farm-to-market roads were also destroyed.

The NDRRMC said that Quinta, which pummeled a big area of Luzon and parts of the Visayas early this week, destroyed 29,528 houses and affected a population of more than 57,000 families in more than 1,000 barangays.

The typhoon also generated flooding and landslides until Thursday with at least 29 road sections and five bridges from the total 105 roads and 22 bridges that were affected are still closed to motorists.

Utility personnel are still working to restore power in most of the affected areas although electricity has been restored to a total of 61 out of the 213 municipalities that have earlier reported power outages.

T he NDR R MC said assessment, restoration and clearing works are continuing in the typhoon-hit areas.

House panel to probe graft in govt with BOC, BIR as initial ‘targets’

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OLLOWING the call of President Duterte to intensify anticorruption efforts in the government, the House Committee on Appropriations said on Thursday it has activated its oversight functions to probe anomalies and corruptions in agencies.

Rep. Eric Go Yap, chairman of appropriations committee, said first to be invited in their hearings are officials of the Bureau of Customs (BOC).

“We will exercise the oversight functions of the committee to see how these government agencies used their budget especially now that every peso is important due to the pandemic,” he added.

Yap said the oversight committee will conduct its hearing within two to three weeks, or while Congress is currently on a recess.

“We will prioritize tax [or revenue] collection agencies such as the Bureau of Customs. Corruption has long been said to be rampant in the BOC but Commissioner [Rey Leonardo] Guerrero has changed the image of the Bureau because of the reforms he started,” Yap said.

But if they found anomalies, the lawmaker said, the committee is

ready to recommend a “zero budget” for the BOC in the upcoming bicameral conference committee for the 2021 national budget.

“Their time will come and in the upcoming Bicameral Conference for the 2021 National Budget, if we see the need to reduce or zero their budget we will do it because they [government agencies] do not deserve to receive funds from the coffers,” he said.

“We will assist [Justice] Secretary [Menardo] Guevarra and we will submit reports to the DOJ [Department of Justice] to assist with the President’s call [against corruption]. We will keep an eye on them until a case is filed with the [Office of] Ombudsman and someone is held accountable for corruption in the Bureau of Customs,” he added.

After the BOC, Yap said the committee will also invite officials of the Bureau of Internal Revenue for inquiries.

Earlier, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra admitted that he would be needing the entire government machinery to carry out President Duterte’s directive for him to lead the government’s bid to put an end to the massive graft and corruption activities in the government. Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Friday, October 30, 2020 A3

Schools teach by text message as Covid widens PHL digital divide

By Isabelle Lee Bloomberg News

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N March 10, when Philippine schools shut to slow the spread of Covid-19, April Garcia’s job was upended.

The 22-year-old had recently become a teacher at AHA! Learning Center, a private nonprofit school in Makati City, the Philippines’s financial hub. Instead of explaining words and math problems to first graders in her classroom, she suddenly had to find a way to reach about 80 students over the Internet—in a country with meager bandwidth and poor families with few devices to connect.

“It was overwhelming,” she said.

“How was I going to teach the kids?”

The pandemic has shut schools around the world, exacerbating a digital divide that leaves poorer children with less Internet access falling behind wealthier, more connected students. The Philippines is an extreme example. At least 60 percent of households have limited Internet access, according to the World Bank, and mobile Internet speeds are less than half the global average, Speedtest Global Index data show.

Two weeks after the shutdown, AHA decided to deliver lessons using a low-bandwidth version of Facebook Inc.’s Messenger because it’s free.

The problem is, the service strips out videos and photos. That left teaching via text as the best option for most poor families with kids at the

school, according to AHA founder Jaton Zulueta.

The students now follow an elaborate procedure just to keep up. First, they often have to borrow a smartphone and a Facebook account, usually from their parents.

Then, teachers send a series of questions via text on the Messenger app.

The kids work on the answers, scribbling notes and doing calculations on paper at home. Next, they copy and paste each question back into Messenger and type in their answers before clicking send.

“It was hard at first,” said Garcia. Some classes, such as math, are much more difficult when you can’t send graphs and other visual aids to explain problems. “I cannot see the kid, and when they have a question, they can get shy,” she added.

Seventh-grader John Limp Arucan, 12, said math has been especially tough to learn this way. JL, as he’s known, finds it particularly taxing to calculate answers on paper only to have to type them into his mother’s phone afterward. He said it was hard to learn without seeing the teacher’s face.

Garcia has turned math drills into games to reduce the burden. Several months ago, she started texting her students a daily math problem using emojis in place of numbers.

There’s another issue: Teachers use group texts to send out questions, so when one student answers, the whole class can see, increasing the

chance of copying and cheating, she said. “We decided to be more lenient with the deadlines,” she added, noting that most children do not own their own smartphones and have to wait for their parents to come home to borrow their device. “So we give the kids a whole day to answer the drills.”

Facebook has offered several ways for Filipinos to access its social network and other services for free over the years—part of a broader push to expand its user base and get more people connected to the Internet.

The free version of Messenger is one example. When people use this lowbandwidth option, they can send and receive text messages, emojis and digital stickers, but photos require a paid data plan or Wi-fi, according to a Facebook spokesman.

AHA! Learning Center specializes in providing extra coaching for students who are in the Philippine government school system. AHA was inundated with kids because government schools were shut for much of 2020.

When the public system finally reopened in October, remote learning was mandated and teachers began to experience similar problems. While some students can attend remote classes through online videoconferencing, many don’t have fast enough Internet service, according to teachers.

The situation is so bad that schools are distributing printed handouts to students’ homes. The

Cop denies complicity in ambush-slay Ex-govt counsel of Balaoan, La Union vice mayor, aide questions legality

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POLICEMAN who was among the suspects in the killing of Balaoan, La Union Vice Mayor Al-Fred Concepcion and one of his aides nearly two years ago in the province has pleaded not guilty to the charges during an arraignment before a local court.

SPO1 Dario Naval Cahigas, who was tagged in the ambush of Concepcion that also killed his aide, Mike Ulep, on November 14, 2018, disowned the charges during the arraignment at the sala of Regional Trial Court, Branch 34, Judge Asuncion Fikingas Mandia of Balaoan.

Concepcion’s daughter, Balaoan Mayor Aleli Concepcion, and three others, were also wounded during the ambush. The mayor was with her father when armed men sprayed bullets on their vehicle while on their way to the Balaoan Municipal Hall.

Cahigas is facing two counts of murder and four counts of attempted murder, which he all denied during the arraignment.

Concepcion’s daughter had earlier asked the policeman to divulge the identity of the mastermind and other conspirators in the crime.

“I hope and pray that Cahigas divulges what he knows about our

ambush and reveals the identity of his co-conspirators for his own peace of mind,” the mayor said in an earlier statement.

Reports said that if the policeman talks, several cases of the previous killings in the province could be solved.

Cahigas, who is assigned at the Regional Police Holding Assistance Service of the Police Regional Office 1, voluntarily surrendered on August 18, 2020 during the execution of warrant of arrest issued by Balaoan Regional Trial Court, Branch 34, Presiding Judge Marita Bernales Balloguing. Rene Acosta

Bill on onsite relocation of squatter Molecular lab in Munti all dwellers up for plenary deliberations set for opening next week

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HE House Committee on Housing and Urban Development has recently approved a substitute bill authorizing onsite relocation of thousands of informal settlers all over the country.

In a hearing last Wednesday, Cavite Rep. Strike Revilla, the panel chairman, said members of the committee approved the measure, which is a consolidation of several proposed laws, including Bill 4869 authored

by Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez.

The bill will be transmitted to the plenary for another round of deliberations.

Moreover, Rodriguez, citing a study by the University of Asia and the Pacific, said the country is projected to have a “housing need of 12.3 million by 2030.”

He said the same study found out that private developers are building homes mostly for the rich and the middle class, while the government was taking care of the housing needs of the poor.

“The housing and resettlement policy is primarily offsite reloca-

tion. The government builds houses for informal settler families in areas outside Metro Manila or in rural areas in Cagayan de Oro, where there is lack of employment, sustainable livelihood and social services,” he added.

Rodriguez said that many of those who had agreed to be relocated often return to Metro Manila, Cagayan de Oro and other urban centers for jobs, hospitalization and other services.

Under the consolidated bill approved by the housing committee, informal settler families and local government units (LGUs) would be extensively involved in the formulation of a resettlement plan for homeless citizens.

The bill said there would be sufficient consultations and hearings, where the affected families and civil-society organizations, would be asked to participate.

The measure added the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, in tandem with LGUs, would be in charge of providing basic services and livelihood for

kids read the material, try to answer the questions with help from family members, then drop the papers off at designated locations, typically their school. The government has also produced television and radio shows to explain assignments, and teachers try to call class members on the phone to help.

Gybel Agregado, a 21-year-old teacher at Pasong Tamo Elementary School in Quezon City just northeast of Manila, said many of her thirdgrade math students use the Facebook Messenger work-around that AHA relies on.

When she administered an exam early in October, she knew it would be a challenge. The test consisted of shapes, images and fractions—elements she couldn’t just type as a text.

Out of her 10 students, two had no access to smartphones, so she had to meet the kids in person to give them a printed version of the exam. Another five used the lowbandwidth version of Messenger that excludes videos and photos.

When it came time to hand in their completed tests, they had to borrow their neighbor’s data plan for a few minutes to upload the large file, or they saved money to pay for a onetime upload. Only three of Agregado’s students had enough full-time access to strong mobile data to easily submit their test over the Internet.

“It’s so hard to see someone struggle but have limited power to help,” she said.

relocated families.

The Mindanao lawmaker said the Constitution mandates the state to “undertake, in cooperation with the private sector, a continuing program of urban land reform and housing which will make available at affordable cost decent housing and basic services to underprivileged and homeless citizens in urban centers and resettlement areas.”

“Thus, the need for onsite, incity or near-city resettlement, which upholds the urban poor’s right to the city in order to comply with our Constitution’s mandate to give Filipinos affordable and decent housing,” he stressed.

Aside from Rodriguez and Revilla, the other authors of the consolidated bill are Representatives Jose Francisco Benitez of Negros Occidental, Jose Christopher Belmonte and Alfred Vargas of Quezon City, Ron Salo of Kabayan, Juan Fidel Nograles of Rizal, Jonh Marvin Nieto of Manila, Francis Gerald Abaya of Cavite, and Naealla Aguinaldo of Bahay.

Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

By Roderick L. Abad Contributor

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ITH a capacity to process 100 tests per hour, the local government unit (LGU) of Muntinlupa is set to open next week its own Molecular Laboratory at the Ospital ng Muntinlupa (OsMun) to help strengthen its local testing and Covid-19 response efforts.

OsMun director Dr. Edwin Dimatatac reported to Mayor Jaime Fresnedi and Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade the upcoming operation of the facility and the complete delivery of medical equipment by end of October.

During their recent virtual meeting, he said that test results in the laboratory could be available in six hours.

OsMun coordinates with the Department of Health (DOH) the facility’s accreditation in the operation of the new lab.

Tugade, for his part, vowed to assist Muntinlupa for this matter.

He added that Deputy Chief Implementer and Testing Czar Secretary Vince Dizon pledged to donate one

reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) machine to the laboratory upon its accreditation.

Theadditionalequipmentisexpected to double its testing capacity from 200 to 400 samples a day—nearly half the target of 500 to 900 samples daily with two RT-PCR machines.

All the personnel to be assigned in the molecular laboratory have been already trained by the DOH and Research Institute for Tropical Medicine.

Fresnedi said the construction of the lab will augment the city’s detection-isolation-treatment strategy in curbing the rapid spread of the illness.

Muntinlupa recorded a sharp decline of active cases from 768 cases in September 1 to 69 cases as of October 26. Recovery rate has also improved to 95.25 percent—an all-time high since the start of the pandemic.

Among the localities in Metro Manila, the city posted the lowest prevalence with a rate of 0.13. The number of cases over the total population is below the “acceptable” rate of 1.0. Doubling time as of October 26 has stood at 17.94 days.

of Bayanihan 2 law before SC

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PETITION has been filed before the Supreme Court seeking to enjoin the government from disbursing funds and exercising emergency powers under Republic Act 11494, or the Bayanihan to Recover As One Act (Bayanihan 2).

In his petition, former government corporate counsel Rudolf Philip Jurado argued that RA 11494 had already expired when Congress adjourned its regular session last October 12, 2020.

Thus, the exercise of President Duterte’s emergency powers and the government’s disbursement of funds pursuant to RA 11494 beyond October 12 has no legal basis.

“It is thus, high time for the High Court to enjoin the respondents and explain the effects if they continue to proceed carrying out the provisions of an already expired law,” he added.

Jurado asked the SC to declare as null and void all acts made by the respondents related to the provisions of RA 11494.

Named as respondents in his petition are Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, National Treasurer Rosalia de Leon, Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr., Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, Agriculture Secretary William Dar, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat, Education Secretary Leonor Briones, Agrarian Reform Secretary John Castriciones, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, Social Welfare Secretary Rolando Bautista, Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano, Public Works Secretar y Mark Villar, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) Director Isidro Lapeña, the Philippine Sports Commission, and the Professional Regulation Commission. Joel R. San Juan

Economy BusinessMirror

A4 Friday, October 30, 2020 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

DA rolls out ₧337-M livestock and poultry production initiative

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas @jearcalas

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HE Department of Agriculture (DA) said it is bankrolling P337 million worth of livestock and poultry production interventions to boost domestic output through clustered farming.

“With this initiative, we aim to help farm families recover from the loss of jobs and unemployment due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and those whose hogs and poultry stocks were depopulated due to the African swine fever or avian influenza [bird flu], respectively,” said Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar in a news statement.

Under the project, qualified beneficiaries will receive initial stocks of livestock and poultry animals for them to raise and propagate as source of food and sustainable income, according to the DA. “These include chicks for broiler production, or ready-to-lay pullets for table egg production, or freerange chicken, ducks, swine [for ASF free areas], goats, sheep, cattle, and carabao,” it added.

The DA said its expanded livestock and poultry production and livelihood project has an initial budget of P337 million and forms part of the national livestock program (NLP).

“To attain the project’s objectives, qualified beneficiaries are required

to group themselves into clusters with at least 15 members, or be a member of a farmers’ cooperative, association or peoples’ organization,” the DA said.

The DA said the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) has identified initial beneficiaries who will be clustered per area.

“Beneficiaries may start realizing gains as early as two months for those engaged in broiler production, and four to six months for those in chicken egg production, and raising of hogs, goats, and sheeps,” it said.

“Included, too, in the project guidelines is the provision of animal feed for three months to enable beneficiaries to nourish and fatten

their stocks into marketable weight or age,” it added.

The DA said farm tools, equipment, and machinery may also be given to selected beneficiaries.

The project beneficiaries per module may receive the following: Broiler production—100 chicks worth P15,000; Native chicken and egg production—40 hens, 10 roosters, feeds, and incubator, worth P55,000; Duck and balut production—40 ducks and 10 drakes, worth P35,000; Hog production—three piglets (weaners) and eight bags of feeds, worth P25,000; and Livestock production—three does and 1 buck, one cattle or one carabao, at least P30,000 up to P120,000.

PAFMI backs move to retain import ban on certain poultry products from Brazil

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HE Philippine Association of Feed Millers Inc. (PAFMI) has thrown its support behind the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) decision to retain the ban on certain Brazilian poultry products until authorities are satisfied with Brasilia’s measures to curb Covid-19 outbreaks in its meat-packing plants.

In a news statement, PAFMI said Brazil’s recent pronouncement to raise before the World Trade Organization (WTO) the Philippines import ban, which Brasilia noted was unjust and unfair, is “uncalled for.”

“PAFMI believes that Agriculture Secretary William Dar acted in the interest of the Filipino people in maintaining the ban, which was imposed due to reports that SARSCOVID2 particles were detected in samples of Brazilian meat exported to China,” the group said.

“With these reports reaching the DA, Secretary Dar has to take responsibility for ensuring that Filipino consumers are not exposed to products that may have organisms that pose a threat to consumer health and safety. The ban on Brazilian poultry products

is thus a just and fair action from the DA,” the group added.

PAFMI, the biggest and oldest association of feed millers in the country, which includes San Miguel Corp., Universal Robina Corp., and Pilmico Foods Corp., urged consumers and allied industries to support the DA’s position against the “very strong lobby” of Brazil.

“Every Filipino should support the DA for its courageous stand against a powerful country’s strong arm tactics,” it said.

“Brazil is the world’s biggest exporter of meat and poultry products.

With the Covid-19 pandemic still killing people worldwide, we should all rally behind the government as it strives to stem the tide of this deadly virus from killing more Filipinos and inflicting more damage to the economy,” it added.

Manila is standing its ground and is keeping the ban on Brazilian poultry products, except mechanically deboned meat (MDM), until it is satisfied with how Brasilia curbed the Covid-19 outbreaks in its meatexporting plants.

In a news statement on Monday,

the DA said it welcomes the action of the Government of Brazil to raise a dispute case against the Philippines at the WTO for maintaining the import ban, which it called an “unjustified and undue barrier.”

Dar said the Brazilian government has yet to comply with all the documents that the Department of Agriculture (DA) is requiring regarding the Covid-19 infections in Brazil’s Philippine-accredited foreign meat establishments (FMEs).

“Although we have maintained an open communication line with our Brazilian counterparts, the Department of Agriculture welcomes the initiative of Brazil to elevate the matter to the WTO,” Dar said.

“We have not yet lifted the ban on poultry, especially whole chicken, as the Brazilian government has yet to furnish the Philippines a report on the rates of SARS-CoV-2 infection in their respective foreign meat establishments, where our imports are sourced [from],” he added.

The DA said the additional reports that Brazil has yet to submit are part of the protocols of Good Manufactur-

ing Practices [GMP] that will be used for a “more in-depth risk analysis of the situation.”

“It is within the scope of the importing country to preemptively ban FMEs with apparent biosafety lapses until such time that the Philippines is satisfied with evidence of compliance and/or commitment by the FME concerned,” Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) Director Ronnie D. Domingo said.

Domingo, who is the country’s Chief Veterinary Officer, added that the Philippine government has been prompt in responding to the issue, citing Manila’s partial lifting of the ban on Brazilian poultry MDM after it received “partial documents” from Brazil.

“MDM goes directly to accredited local meat processing plants upon which the Philippine government can impose direct monitoring and regulation,” he added.

Nonetheless, Dar said, the country “has always been facilitative of trade and open to discussion on trade issues which may not be acceptable to a trading partner.”

Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

Palace defends ‘for later release’ tag on funding of some infra projects

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ALACAÑANG on Thursday defended the decision of Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to postpone the release of fund augmentation under the 2020 national budget, which were proposed, or approved, by lawmakers.

In an online news briefing, Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the move of DBM to tag funds as “for later release” (FLR) aims to allow the government to allocate more budget for its initiative related to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Among those affected by the FLR tagging by DBM, Roque said, are infrastructure projects.

He made the remark in response to the statement of Sen.Panfilo Lacson on the “pattern” of DBM in targeting congressional initiative funds to include in its list of FLR funds.

FLR funds, he noted, never gets released.

Lacson said this policy of DBM “diminishes” the power of the purse of Congress.

Roque allayed the concern of Lacson by assuring that the FLR funds will eventually be released by DBM. The government allocated over P200 billion earlier this year under the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act (Bayanihan 1) to respond to the effects of the novel coronavirus disease pandemic.

Last week, Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado reported the Bayanihan 1 funds are already fully utilized by concerned government offices.

The government has allotted another P165 billion for the Bayanihan to Recover as One (Bayanihan 2) to serve as the second tranche of its measures for the pandemic.

Samuel P. Medenilla

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Slow use of pandemic funds weighs on PHL growth outlook

By Siegfrid Alegado & Andreo Calonzo Bloomberg News

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HE slow deployment of pandemic relief funds in the Philippines is coming under scrutiny as delays risk impeding recovery for one of Asia’s worsthit economies.

More than a month after President Duterte signed a P165 billion, $3.4 billion, relief bill, only P4.4 billion have been released, according to the budget department. About one-third of the funds are mired in bureaucratic approvals, while the rest have yet to be requested by government agencies.

“Expediency is key right now to have a positive impact on economic recovery,” said Michael Ricafort, an economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. in Manila. “There’s a need to speed up the disbursement and rollout.”

Elsewhere in Southeast Asia, Indonesia and Thailand have also faced stimulus bottlenecks. But in the Philippines, which suffered a record 16.5-percent contraction in the second quarter amid one of the region’s highest coronavirus case counts, the money earmarked for pandemic relief mostly comes from reallocated funds already in this year’s budget.

Slow government spending has been a perennial issue in the Philippines, where red tape and lawsuits among private contractors have delayed projects in the past.

While Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado said funds for the first pandemic relief package, passed in March, have now been released, the government has conceded it was slow to utilize the money for projects, including income support and cash aid.

To speed things up, President Duterte has allowed the budget department to release relief funds without his final approval, spokesman Harr y Roque said Tuesday. Avisado said his department is working toward faster disbursement but needs supporting documents from other agencies to ensure that allocations are justified.

The government’s budget deficit for January-September stood at P879.2 billion, less than the nearly P1.3-trillion deficit program, government data show. The lag in spending is due to the fact that the second pandemic relief law is “still to be implemented,” the Treasury said on October 23.

Reasons for the delay include:

Some tourism projects remain in the pre-qualification stage;

Projects under a P24-billion agriculture program lack documentation and are still up for review; and

Some agencies have yet to submit special budget requests that include a financial plan, other documents related to monthly disbursements, or project justifications.

With the second pandemic relief law set to lapse in mid-December, urgency to spend is mounting. Fitch Ratings said in August that near-term growth prospects were deteriorating and state finances may be further pressured if the recovery stalls and more fiscal stimulus is required.

“After months of delays and protecting fiscal metrics, a protracted downturn in economic activity may actually lead to what the government had hoped to avoid in the first place: a credit downgrade,” said Nicholas Mapa, economist at ING Groep NV in Manila.

House Bill proposes rights, benefits for agri workers

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie

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N a bid to improve their plight amid the pandemic, a lawmaker is pushing for the institutionalization of the rights and benefits of agriculture workers.

In House Bill 7133, or the Magna Carta for Workers in the Agricultural Development, Ang Probinsyano Party-list Rep. Alfred Delos Santos said the proposal aims to address the gaps in the agriculture sector, which has the highest poverty incidence at 34 percent based on data from the Philippine Statistics Authority.

Citing the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, Delos Santos also said 40 percent of underemployed workers come from agricultural sector.

According to the lawmaker, the bill provides measures which are oriented primarily toward the professionalization of those in agricultural development sectors, the protection and enforcement of their rights, and the institutional-

izations of the various benefits to be granted to them.

“It is sad to think that the Philippines as an agricultural country, our farmers are experiencing poverty and underemployment. It is the main source of livelihood and food for a lot of Filipinos pero sila po ang naghihirap at walang makain,” Delos Santos said.

Delos Santos added that the importance of the agriculture sector was further highlighted in the face of the public health crisis due to Covid-19.

“We can solve this if more of our countrymen enter the agricultural sector. And we can assure this by providing the necessary rights and benefits to those involved and interested in pursuing a career in agriculture,” he said.

Delos Santos said his proposed measure will address the needs of the farmers and the support to boost the sector, as he lamented the low contribution of agriculture to the gross domestic product (GDP) over the years.

DOLE presents options for workers on ‘floating status’

By Samuel P. Medenilla @sam_medenilla

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ORKERS on extended “floating status” could still look for a new job without losing their current employment, according to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

Labor Undersecretary Benjo M. Benavidez issued the clarification amid concerns raised by labor groups how unpaid floated workers will make ends

meet until they are rehired by their companies.

“They can have alternative employment without losing their employment with their present employer,” Benavidez said in a Viber message.

The labor official was referring to the provision of Department Order (DO) 215, Series of 2020, which was signed

by Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III last week.

The new issuance extended the a llowable si x-month per iod for

employers to “suspend the employment,” or to “float” their workers by another six months in case of declaration of “war, pandemic and similar national emergencies.”

In consideration of the need for alternative source of income of the affected workers, DOLE stated floated workers “shall not lose employment if they find alternative employment during the extended suspension period of their status except in cases of written, unequivocal and voluntary resignation.”

DO 215, which will take effect 15 days after publication, also required companies to give priority to retrenched employees in rehiring.

A safeguard implemented by DOLE to prevent companies from abusing the extension was the requirement for employers to discuss with their workers on who will be affected before the extended floating status could be implemented.

Likewise, it should also be reported to DOLE’s regional offices 10 days prior to its effectivity.

World Banking BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Angel R. Calso

FBI warns ransomware assault threatens US health-care system

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OSTON—Federal agencies warned that cybercriminals are unleashing a wave of data-scrambling extortion attempts against the US health-care system designed to lock up hospital information systems, which could hurt patient care just as nationwide cases of Covid-19 are spiking.

In a joint alert on Wednesday, the FBI and two federal agencies warned that they had “credible information of an increased and imminent cybercrime threat to US hospitals and health-care providers.” The alert said malicious groups are targeting the sector with attacks that produce “data theft and disruption of health-care services.”

The cyberattacks involve ransomware, which scrambles data into gibberish that can only be unlocked with software keys provided once targets pay up. Independent security experts say it has already hobbled at least five US hospitals this week, and could potentially impact hundreds more.

The offensive by a Russianspeaking criminal gang coincides with the US presidential election, although there is no immediate indication they were motivated by anything but profit. “We are experiencing the most significant cyber security threat we’ve ever seen in the United States,” Charles Carmakal, chief technical officer of the cybersecurity firm Mandiant, said in a statement.

Alex Holden, CEO of Hold Security, which has been closely tracking the ransomware in question for more than a year, agreed that the unfolding offensive is unprecedented in magnitude for the US given its timing in the heat of a contentious presidential election and the worst global pandemic in a century.

The federal alert was co-authored by the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health and Human Services.

The cybercriminals launching the attacks use a strain of ransomware known as Ryuk, which is seeded through a network of zombie computers called Trickbot that Microsoft began trying to counter earlier in October. US Cyber Command has also reportedly taken action against Trickbot.

While Microsoft has had considerable success knocking its command-and-control servers offline through legal action, analysts say criminals have still been finding ways to spread Ryuk.

The US has seen a plague of ransomware over the past 18 months or so, with major cities from Baltimore to Atlanta hit and local governments and schools hit especially hard.

In September, a ransomware attack hobbled all 250 US facilities of the hospital chain Universal Health Services, forcing doctors and nurses to rely on paper and pencil for record keeping and slowing lab work. Employees described chaotic conditions impeding patient care, including mounting emergency room waits and the failure of wireless vital-signs monitoring equipment.

Also in September, the first

known fatality related to ransomware occurred in Duesseldorf, Germany, when an IT system failure forced a critically ill patient to be routed to a hospital in another city.

Holden said he alerted federal law enforcement on Friday after monitoring infection attempts at a number of hospitals, some of which may have beaten back infections. The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

He said the group was demanding ransoms well above $10 million per target and that criminals involved on the dark web were discussing plans to try to infect more than 400 hospitals, clinics and other medical facilities.

“One of the comments from the bad guys is that they are expecting to cause panic and, no, they are not hitting election systems,” Holden said. “They are hitting where it hurts even more and they know it.” US officials have repeatedly expressed concern about major ransomware attacks affecting the presidential election, even if the criminals are motivated chiefly by profit.

Mandiant’s Carmakal identified the criminal gang as UNC1878, saying “it is deliberately targeting and disrupting US hospitals, forcing them to divert patients to other health-care providers” and producing prolonged delays in critical care.

He called the eastern European group “one of most brazen, heartless, and disruptive threat actors I’ve observed over my career.”

While no one has proven suspected ties between the Russian government and gangs that use the Trickbot platform, Holden said he has “no doubt that the Russian government is aware of this operation — of terrorism, really.” He said dozens of different criminal groups use Ryuk, paying its architects a cut.

Dmitri Alperovitch, co-founder and former chief technical officer of the cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike, said there are “certainly lot of connections between Russian cyber criminals and the state,” with Kremlin-employed hackers sometimes moonlighting as cyber criminals.

Neither Holden nor Carmakal would identify the affected hospitals. Four health-care institutions have been reported hit by ransomware so far this week, three belonging to the St. Lawrence County Health System in upstate New York and the Sky Lakes Medical Center in Klamath Falls, Oregon.

Sky Lakes acknowledged the ransomware attack in an online statement, saying it had no evidence that patient information was compromised. It said emergency and urgent care “remain available” The St. Lawrence system did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment.

Increasingly, ransomware criminals are stealing data from their targets before encrypting networks, using it for extortion. They often sow the malware weeks before activating it, waiting for moments when they believe they can extract the highest payments, said Brett Callow, an analyst at the cybersecurity firm Emsisoft. AP

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India’s coronavirus cases cross 8 million, behind US

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EW DELHI—India’s confirmed coronavirus caseload surpassed 8 million on Thursday with daily infections dipping to the lowest level this week, as concerns grew over a major Hindu festival season and winter setting in.

India’s trajectory is moving toward the worst hit country, the United States, which has over 8.8 million cases.

The Health Ministr y reported another 49,881 infections and 517 fatalities in the past 24 hours, raising the death toll to 120,527.

Life in India is edging back to pre-virus levels with shops, businesses, subway trains and movie theaters reopening and the country’s third-largest state of Bihar with a population of about 122 million people holding elections.

But health experts warn that mask and distancing fatigue is

setting in and can lead to a fresh wave of infections.

India saw a steep rise in cases in July and added more than 2 million in August and another 3 million in September. But it is seeing a slower pace of coronavirus spread since mid-September, when daily infections touched a record of 97,894 with the highest number of deaths at 1,275. According to the Health Ministry, more than 7.3 million Indians have recovered from Covid-19.

Dr. T. Jacob John, a retired virologist, said that in most parts of India the infection curve was never flattened and the number of

Boris Johnson pressured on fresh lockdown as virus at ‘critical stage’

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he policy response to coronavirus in England isn’t succeeding in controlling the spread of the disease, scientists warned, adding pressure on UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to introduce another national lockdown.

Infections are doubling every nine days and an estimated 960,000 people are carrying the virus in England on any one day, according to the latest findings from Imperial College London and Ipsos Mori, which is conducting one of the country’s largest studies of the disease. The reproduction rate of the virus—a measure of how many people on average are infected by a single carrier—has risen to 1.6, compared to 1.2 when the last figures were published October 9.

“Our results suggest strongly that one or more of the policies themselves, the timing of tier advancement, or levels of compliance, have not been sufficient to date to achieve control of the second wave of Covid-19,” the scientists said in their report, led by Steven Riley, professor of infectious disease dynamics at Imperial. “The second wave of the epidemic in England has now reached a critical stage.”

The stark results of the Imperial study come as Johnson faces growing calls to impose even tighter social restrictions in the fight against the virus, as deaths and cases climb once again. Elsewhere in Europe, governments are already taking action: France has announced a new month-long nationwide lockdown and Germany has imposed its toughest rules since the spring.

“It would be wrong of us to ignore what’s going on in other European countries,” Justice

Secretary Robert Buckland said on ITV’s “Peston” on Wednesday night, when asked about the prospect of introducing a national lockdown. “Let us hope we don’t have to do that, but I do think we are in this for the long-haul.”

The Imperial findings cohere with new modeling by the government’s emergenc y scientific committee SAGE, which suggests the U.K. is on course for a prolonged winter peak in the pandemic where there will be more deaths than last spring.

So far Johnson has resisted a second national lockdown, preferring a localized approach where regions with the highest infection rates face tougher social distancing rules, including a ban on household mixing and closing pubs that don’t sell meals.

Nottinghamshire was the latest area to move into the government’s highest level of restrictions on Wednesday, joining the likes of Greater Manchester, South Yorkshire and Merseyside.

The U.K.’s national coronavirus deaths and cases continue to rise: 310 new deaths from Covid-19 were reported on Wednesday, following the 367 on Tuesday, which was the highest daily total since May. The number of daily positive cases rose by 24,701, compared to 22,885 the day before.

“The high prevalence already reached and the rapid acceleration mean that inevitably there will be large numbers of hospitalizations and deaths,” the scientists said in the Imperial report.

“Whether via regional or national measures, it is now time-critical to control the virus.”

Bloomberg News

S. Korea’s top court upholds 17-year jail term on ex-leader

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EOUL, South Korea—South Korea’s top court upheld a 17-year sentence imposed on former President Lee Myung-bak for a range of corruption crimes in a final ruling on Thursday that will send him back to prison.

Lee has been convicted of taking bribes worth millions of dollars from big companies including Samsung, embezzling corporate funds of a company that he owned and misusing official funds of South Korea’s spy agency. The crimes occurred before and during his 20082013 presidency.

The Supreme Court also confirmed a lower court ruling that ordered Lee to pay 13 billion won ($10.9 million) in fines and forfeit another 5.78 billion won ($4.6 million) for his crimes, court officials said. Thursday’s ruling is final and cannot be appealed.

Lee was initially sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2018. He was bailed out of jail several months later but was taken back into custody in February

Friday, October 30, 2020

In this March 14, 2018 file photo, former South Korean President Lee Myung-bak arrives for questioning over bribery allegations at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office in Seoul, South Korea. South Korea’s top court on, October 29, upheld a 17-year prison term imposed on ex-President Lee over a range of high-profile corruption charges, a ruling that will send him back to jail again. Kim Hong-Ji/Pool via AP

this year, after an appellate court handed down a 17-year term and canceled his bail. He was released again six days later after he appealed that ruling on his bail cancellation.

Lee was expected to return to prison later Thursday, according to the Supreme Court.

Lee, 78, was South Korea’s first-ever president with a business background and once symbolized the country’s economic rise. He began his business career with an entry-level job at Hyundai Group’s construction arm in the mid-1960s, before he rose to CEO of 10 companies under Hyundai Group and led the group’s rapid rise at a time when South Korea’s economy grew explosively after the 19501953 Korean War. Lee’s corruption case erupted after his successor and fellow conser vative Park Geun-hye was ousted and sent to jail over a separate 2016-2017 scandal. The back-to-back scandals badly wounded conservatives in South Korea and deepened a national divide. AP

people who are now susceptible to the virus had decreased.

He warned that the ongoing festival season was likely to increase the speed of the viral spread, resulting in localized outbreaks where people gathered without masks and didn’t adhere to social distancing.

Even as new cases are on a decline nationwide, the Indian capital appears to be heading toward another surge in infections. It reported its worst day with 4,853 cases on Wednesday, after falling to less than 1,000 new cases per day last month.

“I am shocked, but not surprised,” said Arvind Kumar, a New Delhi doctor. “There seems to be a sense of complacency in adhering to mask and distancing norms.”

Kumar warned that the rising air pollution during winter months in the capital could have “a deleterious effect on the incidence (of virus) and

the mortality rate.”

Winters have become a time of health woes in New Delhi, with a toxic haze obscuring the sky and blocking sunlight. Pollution levels soar to severe levels, which worsen respiratory illnesses.

Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of Brown Universit y’s School of Public Health and a leading infectious disease expert, said a research has shown that a combination of cooler and drier air spreads the virus more efficiently.

“In drier air, those droplets tend to be smaller and can linger in the air,” Jha said.

India, with a population of 1.4 billion, aims to provide a coronavirus vaccine to 250 million people by July 2021. The government said it was planning to receive 450 million to 500 million vaccine doses and would ensure “equitable access.” AP

A6

Friday, October 30, 2020 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

We must be doing something right

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N spite of all the fierce criticisms of the administration’s response to the pandemic, we must be doing something right if the situation in Europe is any indication.

The comparisons to the outbreak and containment in Vietnam and Thailand are valid only if the on-the-ground reality there is taken into consideration. Vietnam mobilized its 5.5 million military (including its reserve forces) to isolate every village and “barangay” the moment a suspected case was discovered. Thailand deployed its 1 million medical force volunteers to monitor and advise the population while reporting suspected cases to health authorities. Each volunteer was responsible for several families.

Currently, the Philippines has recorded the 20th most cases and the 25th most deaths globally. We rank 96th on deaths per 1 million population at 65, and 116th on cases per 1 million population at 3,409. The global average is 151 and 5,741, respectively.

The number of cases and the trend of increasing or decreasing infections are important because of the immediate and potential stress on the health-care system. For September 21st here is the hospitalization data for the National Capital Region.

There were 4,584 beds—707 ICU and 3,877 isolation units—dedicated for Covid patients. The “occupancy” percentage was 64.92 percent or 459 patients for ICU and 55.35 percent or 2,146 for isolation. Those numbers represent the “serious cases.”

On October 26, there were 4,653 beds—736 ICU and 3,917 for isolation. However, the usage dropped to 50.14 percent for ICU or 369 patients, and 45.32 percent for isolation beds or 1,775 patients. In that six-week period, the number of patients in ICU fell by 20 percent and isolation patients came down by 17 percent.

We are not safe yet, but at least the trend is moving in our favor.

The greater global story, though, is Europe—France and Germany, in particular. In the past 14 days, Germany has reported 129,654 new cases. The United Kingdom has seen 282,655 new cases. France has reported an astounding 442,223 new infections. Russia, Spain, and Italy have all seen 200,000 new cases. Overall, Europe is reporting more than 1.3 million new cases.

Germany had been reporting less than 1,000 daily cases in midSeptember, which spiked to more than 14,700 on October 24. A lockdown has been put back in place. Masks are mandatory and bars and restaurants in hotspots will be closed, and restaurants will be limited to takeaway. Sounds familiar?

“French President Emmanuel Macron has announced a second national lockdown until at least the end of November. Mr. Macron said that under the new measures, starting on Friday, people would only be allowed to leave home for essential work or medical reasons. Non-essential businesses, such as restaurants and bars, will close.” Sounds familiar?

More lockdowns are now in force. Switzerland tightened nationwide restrictions that will close clubs starting Thursday, stop in-person university attendance next week, and limit other social activities. “In Spain, another former hotspot that flattened its curve with a three-month lockdown earlier this year, new restrictions were announced Saturday.

A new state of emergency has been imposed.”

The difference may be that in the Philippines we locked down almost completely, and slowly, very slowly, reopened with a targeted precision of what businesses could operate. We may have avoided any sort of “second wave” infections.

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Majah-Leah V. Ravagoa, Raul V. Fabella, Karl Robert L. Jandoc, Renzi G. Frias and J. Kathleen P. Magadia

EAGLE WATCH First of 2 parts

S

ince March 2020, the country and the rest of the world have been hit by the unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic. The lower economic growth trajectory (ADB, 2020; World Bank, 2020) means that electricity demand targets are reduced. The outlook for new investments in generation is especially bleak given the current excess capacity (Ravago and Roumasset, 2020). If and when the economy picks-up, the country may again face a problem of attracting sufficient investment in generation.

Addressing the recovery of energy demand becomes more challenging as production levels from Malampaya gas field, the country’s indigenous natural gas field, are expected to decline starting 2022. Without a replacement energy source, a looming energy crisis is foreseen as the Philippines stand to lose over 3,400 MW from existing gas plants, responsible for about 29 percent of Luzon’s power generation (DOE, 2020). Importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) is seen as the immediate solution to prepare for the eventual depletion of Malampaya.

One sizable group of energy users is the collection of firms in the Special Economic Zones (SEZs). Due to the specialized facilities and technology,

energy demand and intensity of firms in SEZs are recognizably greater than firms in non-SEZs. Despite this, most SEZs rely on grid electricity. In a JICA study (2011), grid electricity accounted for almost 83 percent of total fuel used among 82 establishments surveyed along the Batangas-Manila (BatMan 1) gas pipeline. Majority of the establishments preferred sourcing their power from Meralco (largest distribution utility in the country) because it is reliable and it provides special discounted rates to big users of electricity.

The production process in many of the firms in the SEZs includes heating, which currently uses more expensive and less environment-friendly diesel

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or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as fuel. Thus, LNG is a potential costcompetitive and cleaner substitute for energy sources used in both heating process and electricity requirements of firms in SEZs. With the foregoing, we endeavored to determine the likelihood of firms to switch to natural gas and determine the profile of power and fuel use among firms in manufacturing and agro-industrial SEZs. There are a number of studies on interfuel substitution discussing the factors that influence likelihood of switching to another lower carbon energy source. Serletis et al. (2009) showed that high-income countries have larger interfuel substitution potential compared to middle- and low-income economies. At the same time, they highlighted that much of interfuel substitution depends on the structure of economy than the level of economic development. Compared to residential and electricity generation sectors, the industrial and transportation sectors exhibited a higher potential of substitution between energy inputs.

There is likewise a need for a higher change in prices relative to users such as residential, commercial and industrial to encourage switching toward a lower carbon alternative.

We conducted a primary survey among SEZ manufacturing and agroindustrial firms located in Luzon and Visayas. Given the importance of manufacturing in the structural transformation of an economy (whether from agriculture to industry or to service), it is vital to determine systems and practices

Is the DENR true to its duties?

T. Anthony C. Cabangon

BusinessMirror is published daily by the Philippine Business Daily Mirror

MEMBER OF

Switching to natural gas: Evidence from Philippine manufacturing firms

B

rothers and sisters, if the white sand beach in Manila Bay wasn’t really washed away by the over-pouring rain during these past few days, as insisted by DENR Undersecretary Benny Antiporda, he was overwhelmed by his emotions that urged him to call scientists and experts from the University of the Philippines as bayaran or sellouts.

In a statement, the UP Institute of Biology mentioned that it’s preferable to plant mangroves in some parts of Manila Bay. We know that schools of fish use mangroves as their breeding ground, which is also important for other animals such as migratory birds and our fellowmen that rely on fishing for their livelihood. Experts added that even if these projects won’t be able to address the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the immense funding used in the controversial dumping of the powdered dolomite in one small part of Manila Bay could have been used

for solutions against the pollution in Manila Bay according to science that is effective and sustainable.

Before this, the UP Marine Science Institute explained that dolomite sand won’t help in cleaning Manila Bay. What must be given priority by the government is the improvement of the quality of the water through the use of wastewater treatment plants, cleaning waterways, and prohibiting waste dumping or reclamations surrounding Manila Bay. This is a great task that the government and the communities must do together.

Usec. Antiporda viewed these suggestions from those at UP to be criticisms, and he couldn’t stop calling the experts as sellouts. At first, officials held out that he would not apologize, but in the end in a TV interview, he took back what he said. As people with a high standard of intellect, the experts from UP professionally accepted Usec. Antiporda’s apology.

But let us not allow this issue involving DENR to turn away our attention from the agency’s inadequacy and irresponsibility in fulfilling its duties to preserve our environment.

Greater than the dolomite beach issue in Manila Bay, there are larger projects that would severely devastate nature. If DENR truly cares for our environment, why would it allow the construction of a 2,500-hectare airport in Bulacan stretching through the waters of Manila Bay? Why do they seem to be silent in the building of the Kaliwa Dam placed in the waterways of the natural wildlife park sanctuary in Sierra Madre? Why did it lift the suspension of mining companies halted by the late former DENR secretary Gina Lopez because of their destructive acts against mountains and forests? Why did it allow the acquisition of black sand

that improve productivity and efficiency.

Our survey was sent to 61 manufacturing and agro-industrial SEZs with a total of 1,613 operating firms. We obtained a total of 115 firm-respondents. These firms are from 24 SEZs out of the 61 SEZ we targeted. Out of the 115 firmrespondents, a considerable number are from SEZs located in Laguna at 64 percent, followed by firm-respondents in Batangas at 10 percent. The rest are from Cavite, Cebu, Pampanga, Benguet, Bulacan and Metro Manila.

We implemented various probability tests to determine which firm characteristics increase the likelihood of firms to switch to natural gas. Our survey results show that crucial to increasing the probability of switching to natural gas as a primary fuel are the following: (i) the extent of knowledge about natural gas; (ii) its cost competitiveness vis-àvis alternatives; (iii) whether firms use energy-intensive activities in its production process (particularly, heating), (iv) the type of ecozone firms are in, and (v) the firm’s current electricity provider.

These results are telling us that energy-intensive manufacturing firms with more expensive fuel sources are more likely to switch.

Ravago from Department of Economics, Ateneo de Manila University; Fabella and Jandoc from School of Economics, University of the Philippines; Frias from School of Statistics, University of the Philippines; and Magadia from Gas Policy Development Project.

Continued next week

from the shores of a town in Negros Occidental that can ruin the marine resources in the area?

In the Catholic social teaching Caritas in Veritate, Pope Benedict XVI said that God bless all with nature, and with its use, we fulfill our duties for the poor, for generations to come, and for all mankind. But if our use of nature leads to abuse, whose interests do we prioritize?

If those who can help in preserving nature only listen to those who wish to profit from the destruction of the environment instead of the experts and communities, are they not betraying us by not performing their duties?

Brothers and sisters, like what is said in the letter of St. Paul to the Romans, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature— have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”

Make it a habit to listen to Radio Veritas 846 Ang Radyo ng Simbahan in the AM band, or through live streaming at www.veritas846.ph, and follow its Twitter and Instagram accounts @veritasph, and YouTube at veritas846.ph. For your comments, e-mail veritas846pr@gmail.com.

Opinion

BusinessMirror

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‘Our independent foreign policy applies to all’ Keynote address of Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. at the Virtual Conference of the Asia Society on October 27, 2020.

Part two

I

N his address before the UN General Assembly, President Duterte made it clear: how we address Covid-19 will define our future. For the Philippines, he said, that means putting people at the core of our global response. Hence his priorities: save lives, halt the contagion, keep the economy afloat; let it sink a bit to spare more lives. And reach out to countries developing vaccines.

From the outset President Duterte took decisive action, imposing the longest strictest lockdown anywhere, with interventions defined by responsiveness and quick adaptability to a varying new normal.

He set up an Inter-Agency Task

Force. And it got the usual complaints: “The rules keep changing, no consistency; call that a plan?”

They sounded like New Yorkers.

But that is because the Task Force meets daily and reacts promptly to new data. It’s been with us like

everywhere else except South Korea—boy, those people are really smart: we’re making things up as we go along, and when something works long enough, we call it a work in progress. The only plans that don’t change are Memorial Plans but you still get to pick tombstone.

By and large the public cooperated; the fear factor kicked in and increasingly entrenched itself. The economy took a beating so we relaxed a bit; but people still stayed home. At best they brave exposure to earn a living. Commerce was in ICU. Health care is an issue immune to political misunderstanding and misinterpretation unless the plan is to wipe them out by letting the disease take its course. But herd immunity

was never in the cards for the President. Now liberals will tell you, the herd elected him. That’s why liberals never win. For him the overriding aim is to save lives; he won’t hear the alternatives. The herd responded: in the latest survey he got 91 percent approval rating.

The liberal opposition dropped into a depression as the economy plunged into recession. But strong economic fundamentals and sufficient fiscal space generated by 3 administrations including the present put us in a strong position to take the beating.

The pandemic inadvertently hastened our shift to a digital economy.

That is regarded as good. The slogan is we’ll build back better.

Digital payments stepping-stones A matter of mourning to the next normal Tito Genova Valiente

annotations

Sonny M. Angara

Better Days

T

he Next Normal will no doubt require a radical rethinking of how we approach interactions services, including how we make and receive payments. Digital payment systems offer the best approach for streamlining financial transactions, and will make it easier for us to keep a safe distance from others.

In the World Bank’s 2020 Philippines Digital Economy Report, we ranked 36th out of 100 emerging startup ecosystems, thanks to our market reach, talent, experience, and vibrant financial tech and ecommerce sub sectors. As of July this year, we already have 103 payment system operators registered with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), and we are already using instruments such as credit transfers and card payments online.

However, we will have to institute some major changes for us to fully take advantage of the benefits of integrated online financial services.

Even as we seem to be using digital payments more these days, it’s estimated that only 1 percent of 2.5 billion payment transactions a month are done online—and this is already considering that there has been a 27 percent to 30 percent overall growth in digital payments.

One major issue is that relatively few Filipinos own a bank account. According to the BSP, about 37 percent of cities and municipalities in the country do not have banking offices, and that 81.3 percent of households in Metro Manila have not a single bank account among its family members. Without a home account, it will be difficult to use online financial tools and services.

Our lack of a National ID is another factor, as a unified ID system will make it easier for banks to confirm and authenticate financial transactions and fulfill their KYC (“Know Your Customer”) requirements.

Thankfully, registrations are now underway for the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys).

Membership of banks and our financial institutions in payment networks like InstaPay and PESONet should also be encouraged. More people also have to be made aware of, and know how to use, digital payment systems. Payment instruments are also limited for now to batch payments and low-value credit transfers.

Regulations and guidelines for privacy and security concerns should also be formulated, to minimize fraud and other crimes.

Finally, there is the large elephant in the room: our problems with connectivity, owing to our inadequate IT and telecommunications infrastructure. For digital payments to really take off, we have to make sure that we can handle the bandwidth.

Filipino consumers only experience about 16.76 Mbps download speeds, much lower than the global average of 32.01 Mbps. Regionally, 3G and

4G download speeds are at 13.26 Mbps, while the Philippines is only as 7 Mbps.

These concerns are part of why I filed SB 1764, the Use of Digital Payments Act of 2020. The measure seeks to put into law the following: account-based digital disbursements for government offices, such as those for distribution of emergency funds and other similar payments to recipients; adoption of digital payment systems, like QR codes; guidelines for payment system providers, including accreditation and authorization based on RA 11127, the National Payments Act; interoperability among all digital payment systems and providers; and that local government units should incentivize the shift to digital payment systems, particularly for local business entities. The expansion and improvement of the country’s telecommunication infrastructure is also addressed in the measure, by defining which departments have to work with each other to give Filipinos faster speeds and larger bandwidth.

The private sector can also help with improving digital payment systems. For instance, ING Bank and UNICEF have launched an initiative, “Fintech for Impact” where they chose to invest in and provide mentorship to five businesses with digital solutions aiming to empower the youth and families. These include Agrabah, which connects farmers and fisherfolk directly with buyers and financial services; BeamAndGo, a remittance platform; Educ4All which connects students to loan services, and will offer courses on financial management; Reach52 which is expanding their apps set to provide microinsurance, healthcare services, and livelihood opportunities for women; and Saphron, which will provide microinsurance agents with tools to collect accurate data with a new AI-enabled platform.

Digital payments systems are building blocks for upgrading the economy. They can maximize production and efficiency through cashless and integrated transactions.

They will keep our country globally competitive in the era to come.

Most urgently, they can keep us safe, making it easier to enforce Covid-19 health guidelines during quarantine.

Sen. Sonny Angara has been in public service for 16 years—nine years as Representative of the Lone District of Aurora, and seven as Senator. He has authored and sponsored more than 200 laws. He is currently serving his second term in the Senate.

E-mail: sensonnyangara@yahoo.com| Facebook, Twitter & Instagram: @sonnyangara

T

he news is out: cemeteries and memorial parks will be closed to living human beings. Finally, the resting place for the Dead will be exclusively owned by those who have gone ahead of us.

In the early days following the lockdown, I saw people lingering a bit longer in memorial parks. I was one of them, visiting my own parents, grandparents, a dear aunt, and a brother. Always, when I plan to be there, there is always a heaviness in my heart because I know the proximity of their graves will seal once more the thought they are gone. But, always, always, when I get there, that thud on my chest dissipates and those tombstones turn into the friendliest of memories.

Those slabs, those concrete we clean, even wipe with our own handkerchiefs to signify these stone structures are the most delicate of the repositories, are there for us. They are our guide to an ever-expanding map of people who are not here anymore.

They are not for the dead; they are for the living.

The language for Death is also the language of Life. These vocabularies related to people passing on are also the cognitive terms for those who are left behind. Thus, when a person dies, not even one’s love or vow

to remember that person can erase the fact that what we are mourning for are the remains of that person.

The obituaries are very clear about death: the ones written about those who are dead by the time the literature about them is released constitute the declaration regarding another person being gone. No one writes or speaks a eulogy with the thought that the person for whom the outpouring of emotions and intellections is effected will come back again.

The certainty of death more than makes up for the insecurity and random beauty of life. Shouldn’t we be happy then about Death?

We cannot be celebrating death as it happens, but in memorial parks and in cemeteries, the Filipinos certainly have put into good practice the theology that Death is merely transitory. And in that fissure of the illusion called life, we can remember our loved ones and have fun.

But as we have opted to declare the places for remembering the Dead and the Sainted on those days meant for

What happened in 2016?

Manny F. Dooc

TELLTALES

D

espite what all the polls were saying, Hillary Rodham Clinton lost to Donald J. Trump in the presidential election of 2016. Every pollster in town was saying that Hillary would clobber Trump with a wide margin. An overwhelming number never thought that the reality TV star could win the US presidency, but they were all proven wrong. In fact, Hillary got 2.87 million more votes than Trump did but Hillary lost in the Electoral College. It was the fifth time in US history in which the winning president lost the popular vote. Trump got 304 electoral votes while Hillary received 227. A winner needs at least 270 electoral votes to win.

The 2016 election was a divisive and negative contest—the type of political combat best suited for Trump. The campaign was characterized by Trump’s inflammatory and reckless statements, and a battery of lies issued to create controversy and capture media coverage and the public imagination. It was a battle between one who had practically spent all her adult life in politics and public service and an opponent who had not run for any public office nor served in any government post, appointive or elective. The result was the triumph of a promise to make America great again over a prodigious talent and experience offered by the loser. Trump’s victory in 2016 was the greatest upset since Harry Truman defeated Thomas Dewey in 1947. And this makes us wonder if the

strategy quoted from the former First Lady while campaigning for Hillary in 2016 paid off: “When they go low, we go high.”

“What Happened?” This was the title of the book written by Hillary in 2017, which serves as her personal memoir of her ill-fated 2016 campaign. Hillary was an extraordinary woman who had broken the highest ceiling in American politics by becoming the first female candidate for president nominated by a major political party. She has outstanding credentials having served as the First Lady for 8 years, Secretary of State under President Barack Obama and a US Senator of New York. And she was the frontrunner by any measure favored by every pollster to clinch the presidency.

Hillary attended Wellesley although

Friday, October 30, 2020

A7

I don’t believe it. We will never build as well as we were complaining about, like needing scores of workers for tasks cheaper and faster done by a few computers and selfdriven machines. The bad old days gave us more jobs and more prosperity than I can imagine recovering anytime soon, if ever. That’s why, minus the pandemic, we’d never have gone so far digital as we have just to keep going. The song’s right: things will never be as good as the way they were.

It is no secret: our economy runs in large part on Filipino migrant workers’ remittances; some 10 million of them. Their contributions are why we survived the Mexican Debt Crisis, the Asian Crisis, and the Global Finan-

cial Crisis when Wall Street held up the world. And now the pandemic.

But migrant workers are among the worst hit by it.

Our seafarers, who make up 30 percent of global maritime labor found themselves dead in the water in empty cruise ships or laid off as cargo shipping dropped. The President has been bringing them home; 200,000; another hundred thousand still out there. We want them home for Christmas.

Our health care workers have suffered. For many countries they are indispensable; reputed for their expertise, efficiency, compassion and genuine care for patients.

them, we shall be missing the celebratory artefacts we all have gotten used to. And they are an interesting lot.

We will not be listening to radio programs blaring about OPLAN Kaluluwa. I am overthinking perhaps but, for the first rare time, the mass media has hit a jackpot with their articulation of the Day of the Dead.

Indeed, those graves and niches carry bodies, most of them rotting but we’d rather not think of them that way.

The days from the end of October till the first week of November are for the Unseen, the Ghost.

In rural Philippines, there used to be “Pangaluluwa,” our own version of trick or treat although in a more adult version. Slippers, which are precious commodities in farming communities or villages are lost, only to reappear in unlikely places, like atop the dung heap of the carabao; bamboo stairs detachable of course as they are attached to the house by way of rattan vines are stolen! And sometimes never returned. The more enterprising “ghost” steals eggs or even the hen that lays the eggs.

The entrepreneurial spirit of the witching hours extends to women, shrouded in black,—the scariest sight a childhood can ever be traumatized by—as they mourn and moan in front of the gates of homes, their voices uncannily sounding similar to the tones of the cranky novenapraying old women in the church, only this time their keening seems to come from the bowels of the devil’s lair. They ask for donation, pleading the cases of the souls in Purgatory, never mind those in Hell.

Lately in more urbanized memorial parks, the days for remembering the dead have taken a more capitalist and absurdist turn. Hotdog stands outnumber the stalls selling candles; pizza seems to be the favored delicacy for memorializing. In our city, somebody had started a rock concert beneath a gazebo and it had always been like that—a local rendering of the Oktoberfest with a touch of a deranged costume ball.

I shall miss this time our increasing obsession with Halloween. Last year, I encountered an afternoon procession of little children from a local nursery—most were wearing blinking red horns. As the frisky little ones needed coordinating, the parents were there also, in regular dresses and irregular faces made up to look cracked and bleeding. At the head of this carnivalesque approach to Death was the teacher costumed as the Nun from Hell. In another period, that teacher would have been hanged for witchcraft.

It was last week, in anticipation of the grand lockdown for remembering, that I visited the memorial park where most of my loved ones are interred. I knew what to pray: short prayers and the usual wish to grant them eternal rest while allowing the perpetual light to shine upon them.

There were candles as far as the eye could see and small groups huddled against each other. Above us, the clouds were gray, darkening even with streaks of light—wise, wonderful epitaphs to life, not death.

she passed the admission tests in all other elitist schools where she applied for like Vassar and Radcliffe. Compare this with Trump’s school record who according to his own niece, Mary L. Trump, in her explosive book entitled “Too Much and Never Enough,” Trump cheated on his SAT to get into college.

During Hillary’s time, the Ivy League colleges such as Yale, Dartmouth, Princeton and others did not accept women so she enrolled in Wellesley. She was a star student at Wellesley whose motto, “Non ministrari sed ministrare,” Hillary had wholeheartedly embraced. This means that Wellesley students should not be passive and be ministered unto, they were to minister. All her life was guided by this principle. While in college, her true interest was political science, aside from getting straight A’s in all her subjects. She was active in politics both in and out of the campus. In her senior year, she was elected as the President of the student government. She campaigned for Barry Goldwater for President in 1964—yes, she was a Republican in her younger days. A contemporary, Eleanor Dean Acheson, the granddaughter of former Secretary of State Dean Acheson and a member of a clan whose family members are staunched Democrats, was astonished when she found out about Hillary’s political leanings. Acheson incredibly exclaimed, “How could somebody that intelligent and “with it” be a Republican? Maybe it would have been prudent had she remained a Republican.

Bill Clinton, after meeting and knowing Hillary in Yale where they both took up law had exclaimed: “She’s the greatest thing on two legs.” Even then, Clinton

has a wrong appreciation of women.

Trump was a populist outsider when he first ran for the presidency and his pledge to drain the Washington swamp strongly appealed to the voters. But after almost one term in office, Trump cannot use the same ploy. He is now the incumbent and he cannot distance himself from the mess in Washington.

Either he has created them or he was nowhere to provide his leadership that a nation in crisis acutely needs. Now, as a reelectionist, Trump cannot disown what’s wrong with America, and grab credit for what’s right. Joe Biden is a Washington veteran who has served the US Congress and the White House for over half a century. Biden knows every trick of the political game. Foreign interference in the election just what the Russian had done in 2016, which favored the Trump campaign, would be duly flagged, and hopefully plugged, under Biden. And there would be no FBI reopening of the damned e-mail investigation barely 11 days before the election, which had eventually caused Hillary the election. In short, there are lessons learned from 2016 and the Biden campaign is not that stupid to ignore them.

After her defeat in 2016, Hillary was invited by her Alma Mater, Wellesley, to give the commencement address for the 2017 graduates. Her simple advice to the graduates was: “Don’t let the bastards get you down. Stay true to yourself and your values. Most of all, keep going.” The Americans have been bastardized these last 4 years. Now they have the chance to oust the bastards from office. Don’t let it happen again.

See “Locsin,” A8

E-mail: titovaliente@yahoo.com

News

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A4 Friday, October 30, 2020 A8

PHL, US affirm defense ties in security engagement meet

OFFICIALS of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, led by Chief of Staff, Gen. Gilbert Gapay (center left), and the United States Indo-Pacific Command, led by Admiral Philip Davison (center right), convene the virtual Mutual Defense Board-Security Engagement Board Meeting on Thursday (October 29, 2020). During the meeting, military leaders of the two countries discussed the impact of the pandemic on the activities and other international engagements slated for 2021, including the annual “Balikatan” exercises. PHOTO COURTESY OF AFP PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE

T

HE Philippines and the United States reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening their defense alliance.

This came as Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff, Gen. Gilbert Gapay, and US Indo-Pacific Command commander, Admiral Philip Davidson, on Thursday convened the Mutual Defense Board-Security Engagement Board (MDB-SEB) Meeting, which was held virtually for the first time due to the pandemic.

“We view the alliance as a strong and resilient partnership that needs to be responsive to the ever-changing security

environment,” Gapay said.

The MDB-SEB Meeting is being held annually between the AFP and the US Indo-Pacific Command to discuss security cooperation activities and a strategic vision for the alliance, anchored on the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty.

“The United States and the Philippines remain steadfast a l l ies i n ou r pu rsu it of re gional peace and stability. Our close cooperation ensures our forces are interoperable and a formidable force for stability throughout the region, while further strengthening the ties that make us such close friends,

allies, and partners,” Davidson said.

During the meeting, military leaders of both countries discussed the impact of the Covid-19 health crisis on the activities and other international engagements slated for 2021, including the annual “Balikatan” exercises.

Gapay said the AFP envisioned the alliance with the US to continue with mutually beneficial activities that would result in greater interoperability between the two militaries.

“Our alliance should continue to provide the mechanism to further enhance our already robust defense cooperation by pursuing capability building initiatives for our interoperability,” he added.

Gapay also noted the importance of using Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement locations and other resources to ensure an effective response to different mission areas.

Also discussed was the possible use of mitigating actions to prevent the transmission of Covid-19, including the use of training bubbles and the scaling down of exercises.

However, he said events must conform to health and safety protocols, should the pandemic persist. PNA

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Philippine casino sees ‘thrill’ factor luring Asian gamblers

By Ian Sayson

Bloomberg News

P

H Resorts Group Inc. expects its $465-million Emerald Bay casino in central Philippines to break even within seven years from its opening late next year.

The casino that’s being built on Mactan island in Cebu province is counting on a “strong recovery” in the local market and a gradual return of international high rollers a year from now, Chief Operating Officer Jose Angel Sueiro said. He expects the nation’s gaming industry to surpass pre-pandemic levels in 2022, counting on a vaccine to aid recovery.

“Human emotions, they don’t change,” Sueiro said in an interview.

“People who love the thrill of being

Locsin. . .

in the casino, that particular feeling to be on the tables and the slot machines, will keep coming.”

PH Resorts, owned by businessman Dennis Uy, is on a 10-day trading suspension until November 4. after a share sale on October 28 that raised P756 million, or $15.6 million.

A “unique” location by the beach and facilities on par with casinos in Manila and Macau should entice players, Sueiro said, adding that 50 million people living in central and southern Philippines are an immediate potential market.

“A seven-year break even period is a bit long, but this takes into account its smaller gaming capacity and that it’s opening in phases,” Rachelle Cruz, an analyst at AP Securities Inc., said. “International travel will also take time to recover.”

Seeking high rollers

ACCESS to local players is critical as the casino builds a rolodex of mass premium and VIP clients, who will provide half of Emerald Bay’s income, Sueiro said. Talks are already under way with as many as 10 junket operators across Asia, with Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Malaysia among markets being eyed to diversify its international base away from China’s gamblers.

The Cebu casino could track the 20-percent annual growth in Manila’s gaming revenue in the past decade, Sueiro said, which was driven by the opening of four integrated casino resorts. Casinos are “resilient” and it’s not a gamble to say the market will bounce back from the pandemic.

continued from a7

In the US alone, there are 156,000 Filipino nurses and doctors. In the UK, tens of thousands; Her Majesty awarded one to honor them all. We have asked host countries not to exclude them from their Covid-19 safety nets. They have responded well. It’s a good world after all.

Only science can take us out of this darkness; votive candles don’t have the candle power. But prayer without the frills helps. At the UN, President Duterte said, “When the world finds that vaccine...it should be made available to all, rich and poor nations alike.

It must be considered a global public good.” Universal access is imperative, and not conditioned on requiring any people, class or country to submit to another’s will as the price of cure. That’s the only decent thing to do.”

To Asean I said: cures and vaccines will come from outside: Russia, China, the US, the UK; not from within the region. So focus on building up capacity to make and distribute when they’re ready. Preparing for future pandemics is good to keep in mind; but until this one is licked let’s stick to that.

When I spoke with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in August, I told him that the President’s highest priority is ensuring access to a safe and effective vaccine, once available. He said, “Right.” A few hours later, my ambassador in Washington called that Pfizer/Moderna got in touch.

I’m in talks with Astra-Xeneca. In Yennan last week, Wang Yi said to me that President Xi is good for his word, “the Philippines has priority of priorities.” It’s almost ready. A former Congress colleague of mine has taken it. We’re all watching him for adverse effects; but he’s a congressman and therefore indestructible. Except for me. My doctor says I’m too old, not to risk it. What happened to “the most vulnerable first.” I thought the rush was to save my age group. What are we now, Eskimos?

I have increasingly been asked where the Philippines stands in the Thucydides Trap. True, no other country probably feels the significant impact of the rivalry between the two superpowers more than the Philippines, the US being its only defense treaty ally and China, its biggest neighbor and top economic partner—with the US second. Great.

I echo my remarks at Asia Society last year: An independent foreign policy means getting off your knees and on your feet—and standing up for your country.

And never be used by others to fight their quarrels. The end of that is always you as everyone’s enemy; and you hanging from a limb with one hand while holding an empty bag with the other.

That is the prospect the Philippines seeks to avoid in all the Western anxiety over the South China Sea. Our independent foreign policy applies to all, and certainly with China as well. The President steadfastly steered Philippines-China relations along two tracks: the track of good

relations to realize the manifold promise of economic cooperation with a rising China; and the track of firm, unshirking resolve to protect every inch of our sovereignty and sovereign rights under the UNCLOS, as clarified and affirmed by the 2016 arbitral award. At the UN, the President affirmed that the Arbitral Award is now part of international law, beyond compromise and beyond the reach of passing administrations to dilute, diminish or abandon. And he firmly rejected attempts to undermine it.

The Philippines depends on one thing only, okay, two: itself and international law, of which UNCLOS and the 2016 Arbitral Award are a part.

The Philippines won the Award with zero help from anybody and with great hindrance from most. It welcomes international support for the Award— better late than never; but in no way does the Philippines acknowledge that support as adding an iota to the legal stature of the Award.

That said, I think all the protagonists in the South China Sea share our steadfast commitment to peace and stability especially in this pandemic which, alone, is more than any or all of us can handle.

In that August phone call, I thanked Secretary Pompeo for his statements affirming support for Southeast Asian coastal states’ maritime claims, in our case, outright rights, in the South China Sea. I appreciated the United States’ articulation of the 2016 Arbitral Award as final and binding, its call for compliance, and its recognition of the Award as authoritative interpretation of UNCLOS. That is a great leap over the period of a year. I recall that in my remarks last year, I observed that the US position is always shy of supporting the arbitral award by insisting only on unrestricted freedom of navigation.

The United States is essential to maintaining stability in the AsiaPacific. It is the only hegemon in history who can be trusted to do the job without ulterior motive other than keeping its lead—to do that job. A power imperial in its scale, without an iota of empire in its mind. Notably, when we put a brake to the abrogation of the Philippines-US Visiting Forces Agreement, it was welcomed not only by the US government and the private sector but also by all the protagonists in the South China Sea without exception.

This is recognition that the presence of US forces, by VFA or another arrangement, is key to keeping stability in the region; even for those— to borrow from Snow borrowing from Pascal—on The Other Side of the River.

At the Asean-US Post Ministerial Conference I listened with great interest and increasing confidence in our safety and sovereignty, to Secretary Pompeo lay out the US strategy to keep the peace through a powerful and permanent, no longer intermittent presence in Southeast Asia. Er-

nest Hemingway’s advice for effective writing is to show it, not tell it. Talk’s cheap; action commits. Works in diplomacy as well.

To be sure, this strategy raises tensions and that’s unnerving. But even worse than unnerving is losing your nerve because, out of a misplaced complacency, we end up getting a wake-up call from the interloper himself already in our living room, helping himself to the bar, and asking you if you have peanuts to go with the drink.

That’s when the tension becomes so unbearable it results in either of two things. Either giving the interloper the keys to the house. Or trying to throw him out which is sure to be hard going.

That is because no one self-respecting, however small and seemingly weak, will ever give up what is essential to its being: territory. Because territory is the body of a nation even as courage is its soul. No courage, no soul.

In saying this I mark out no power in particular but anyone, even among us in Asean who takes what is ours and, because of our treaty, what is yours.

Each of us must stand firm and uncompromising in our national interests; in the firm and well warranted belief that none will care for another’s interest until the latter shows it can take care of itself. We can agree to disagree on that score. But we all agree that there is no other way but to settle the score.

Despite Covid-19, and perhaps even because of Covid-19, China’s ascendancy is beyond cavil, not just in Asia-Pacific but worldwide. Graham Allison has added to the Thucydides Trap a report that China is now the No. 1 economy in the world. I said that here last year, and I say it again.

China has done more by its economies of scale to democratize consumption worldwide with products that would otherwise be limited to the better-off few. As Dave Chapelle quipped, “Take the jobs back home? You wanna pay $9,800 for an iPhone?”

China is accused of imperialist ambition, as evidenced by the Belt and Road Initiative. But in Brussels I said that if European imperialism had adopted the methods of so-called Chinese imperialism—by throwing huge development projects at its prey—European empires would still be around.

The question remains the same: do we allow the reefs, with the conflicts they generate, to get in the way of eating off that buffet? The answer is a quiet but firm no. We’re finding ways to keep our cake and have the other one too.

That said, Gandhi said, consistency is the bugbear of small minds. Some of my views, and perhaps the very angle from which those views come, may change after I finish reading General McMaster’s Battlegrounds, The Fight to Defend the Free World. I had the honor to meet and listen to him in the White House; he is arguably the best military mind since Harry Summers’ On Strategy; both equally lucid and crystal in their presentations.

Thank you.

News

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Use of RCEF for farmers’ support pushed by experts

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By Cai U. Ordinario

@caiordinario

ITH only two years left before its mandatory review, economists believe the P10-billion Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) can already be used to finance the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA).

The RCEF is a fund dedicated to improving farmers’ competitiveness through the provision of certified seeds, mechanization, expansion of credit access, and delivery of extension services. The mandatory review of the RCEF is part of the implementing rules and regulation (IRR) of the Rice Trade Liberalization (RTL) law, according to Director Nieva T. Natural of the

Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment Staff (ANRES) of the National Economic and Development Authority.

University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) Center for Food and Agribusiness Executive Director Rolando T. Dy told BusinessMirror that the RSBSA’s budget allocation was only P200 million, but the World Bank estimated that it

should be P1.7 billion to P2 billion. The funding from RCEF can finance the support given to farmers through the RSBSA. “That should be funded because that is the basis of the direct voucher for seeds and fertilizer and even calamity support,” Dy said. “This provides for a better, faster funds flow,” he added, partly in Filipino.

Dy said the other components of RCEF should also be examined and funded. While P5 billion of the funds were allocated for mechanization such as tractors and harvesters, which are “big-ticket” items, other attachments of farm mechanization should also be financed.

He added that other possible improvements is that RCEF-certified seeds should be the choice of farmers. Dy said this means farmers have the choice to use either inbred or hybrid seeds.

Apart from these, Ateneo Eagle Watch Senior Fellow Leonardo A. Lanzona Jr. said the review should also shed light on how the fund had improved the lives of farmers, par-

PAGCOR 9-MONTH NET INCOME PLUNGES 97.3% ON LOCKDOWN

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TATE-RUN Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) saw its net income from January to September plunging by 97.3 percent year-on-year especially due to the shutdown of gaming operations in mid-March to contain the spread of Covid-19 in the country.

Based on its statement of comprehensive income, Pagcor’s net income for the nine-month period dropped to P132.67 million this year from P4.97 billion a year ago.

The country’s gaming regulator suffered a 60-percent decline in its income from gaming operations to P22.33 billion as of end of third quarter from P55.767 billion in 2019.

Net of gaming taxes and contributions, its total gaming income for the same period amounted to P16.074 billion, or 45.26 percent lower compared to P29.364 billion in 2019.

On the other hand, Pagcor’s total expenses also fell by 34.74 percent to P15.914 billion during the period from last year’s P24.384 billion.

In September, it was reported that Pagcor’s monthly income from regulatory fees declined by almost half to P600 million, as only 32 out of 60 Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (Pogos) were allowed to resume

operations on a 30-percent capacity, while 111 out of 218 accredited Pogo service providers were given the clearance to operate again.

In June, two Pogos—SC World Development Group Ltd., a unit of Macau’s gambling giant SunCity Group, and Don Tencess Asian Services Solutions Inc—were also identified by Pagcor to have signified their intention to exit the country, and officially asked for cancellation of their offshore gaming licenses, according to reports.

Aside from them, Pagcor said earlier 13 other service providers were reported to have also closed down their operations. More are seen to follow suit due to stringent tax rules from the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the impact of movement restrictions amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

The government had allowed the partial resumption of operations of Pogos in May in an attempt to raise some revenues while several parts of the country remain under lockdown.

However, Pogos which are not tax-compliant were prohibited from resuming their operations.

However, Pogos are insisting that they are not liable to pay the 5-percent franchise tax since they are an offshore business. Bernadette D. Nicolas

Villar, Pacquiao still richest senators; De Lima poorest

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ENATOR Cynthia Villar, reporting her net worth at over P3.8 billion with no liabilities, retained her ranking as the richest member of the Senate “billionaires and millionaires club” based on the senators’ mandatory filing of annual statements of assets and liabilities for the year 2019.

Listed as the second richest member of the club was Senator Emmanuel Pacquiao, declaring his net worth at P3.172 billion. The boxing icon reported P356 million in liabilities. Coming in third was Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto, declaring his net worth at P567.4 million.

Ranked fourth richest member of the club was Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri with net worth listed at P203.66 million, followed by Senator Bong Revilla with net worth at P176.36 million.

At the bottom of the list as the “poorest” member of the Senate is detained Senator Leila de Lima, with declared net worth amounting to P8.32 million, following Senator Risa Hontiveros with P16-million net worth.

Based on their 2019 SALNs, the members

of the chamber reported their wealth thus: Sen. Cynthia Villar– P3,814,091,438; Sen. Manny Pacquiao–P3,172,524,957; Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto- P567,438,429; Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri–P203,667,746; Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr.–P176,363,262; Sen. Sonny Angara–P142,212,659; Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon:–102,259,501; Sen. Grace Poe–P97,631,508; Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian–P95,404,344; Sen. Pia Cayetano–P82,774,150; Senate President Vicente Sotto–P77,772,861; Sen. Richard Gordon–P71,207,733; Sen. Lito Lapid–P70,948,600; Sen. Francis Tolentino–P61,172,000; Sen. Nancy Binay –P60,318,928; Sen. Panfilo Lacson– P48,959,138; Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III–P36,308,400; Sen. Imee Marcos–P34,020,467; Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa–P33,025,241; Sen. Joel Villanueva–P30,249,305; Sen. Francis Pangilinan–P19,975,821; Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go–P18,391,012; Sen. Risa Hontiveros–P16,050,112; Sen. Leila de Lima– P8,323,470. Butch Fernandez

ticularly those in poorer regions. “[The review should] look more on how it affected the poorer regions and how to retain farmers to produce non-traditional but lucrative products. They key is to transition them towards creating surplus and exploring their products,” Lanzona said.

Former University of the Philippines School of Economics Dean Ramon L. Clarete offered a laundry list of areas to focus on when it comes to the RCEF. This list includes the productivity of rice farmers and their incomes, as well as the mechanization of rice farms.

Clarete added there should also be focus on efforts to reduce postharvest losses; attain higher marketing and logistics efficiency; and higher milling conversion rate.

Natural said in a recent forum hosted by Action for Economic Reforms (AER) that the RCEF should be evaluated according to how well it has fared in meeting its objectives.

Continued on A2

Friday, October 30, 2020 A9

ERC EXTENDING TILL YEAR-END NO-DISCONNECTION POLICY

By Lenie Lectura

T

@llectura

HE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) ordered distribution utilities (DUs) on Thursday to observe a no-disconnection policy until end-2020 for the nonpaying customers whose monthly consumption is less than 200 kilowatt hour (kWh).

“DUs are directed not to implement any disconnection on account of nonpayment of bills until December 31, 2020, for consumers with monthly consumption not higher than twice the ERCapproved maximum lifeline consumption level,” the commission said late Thursday.

The approved maximum lifeline level is 100kWh. Thus, those consuming 200kWh below will be entitled to the no-disconnection until end-December this year.

However, electricity customers who have the ability to pay are encouraged to settle their bills within the original due date to help manage the cash flow in the energy supply chain and ensure the continuous supply of electricity, the ERC said.

The DUs are urged to offer less onerous payment terms to encourage early payment.

For all other customers, DUs

and Retail Electricity Suppliers (RES) are directed to implement a minimum of 30-day grace period on all payments falling due within the period of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) and modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ ) without incurring interests, penalties and other charges.

Any unpaid balance after the lapse of the 30-day grace period shall be payable in three equal monthly installments without incurring interests, penalties, and other charges.

Government offices, government agencies, government-owned and -controlled corporations, and other government instrumentalities are not covered by the 30-day grace period and installment payment arrangement.

The DUs and RES must inform their customers of the latest ERC billing advisory through a bill insert.

In addition to the bill insert, DUs and RES shall inform their customers through any other available means but shall not be limited to: announcements through social media, radio station announcements, posting in bulletin boards of local government units, and/or posting in the DUs’/RES’ web site.

Continued on A2

BusinessMirror

A10 Friday, October 30, 2020 Republic of the Philippines

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT Regional Office No. IV-A 4th Flr. Andenson Bldg. II, Brgy. Parian, Calamba City Telefax No.: (049) 545-7362

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LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Ms. JIALI BIAN / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

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LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. KAOBO DING / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

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LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. DIANCHU HUANG / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

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LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. BIAO CHENG / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

39

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. YANFENG LIAO / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

40

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. ZHIPENG ZHONG / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

41

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. YIFAN YANG / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

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LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. YINGFEI CHEN / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

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LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. LEI SHI / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

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LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. CHAIN PIN CHAN / Burmese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

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LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Ms. CHUNFENG LIU / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

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LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Ms. MEIJU ZHANG / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

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LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. LE CHEN / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

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LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. LONG LI / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

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LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Ms. XUERU WANG / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

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LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. TAN DING / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

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LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. LEI ZENG / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

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LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. ZHIQIANG WANG / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

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LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. XIAOJIAN MAO / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

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LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. ZELONG HUANG / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

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LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. XINGCHUN HE / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

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LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Ms. XINGHUA LI / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

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LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. WEIXING WANG / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

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LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. BAIYI CHEN / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

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LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. FULIN SHENG / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

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LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. HUAYUN WU / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

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LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. JIAYONG GUO / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

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LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. WEI LI / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

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LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. YONGSHENG XU / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

October 30, 2020

NOTICE OF FILING OF APPLICATION FOR ALIEN EMPLOYMENT PERMIT (AEP) Notice is hereby given that the following employers have filed with this Regional Office application/s for Alien Employment Permit/s.

Name and Address of Company/Employer

Name and Citizenship of Foreign National

Position and Brief Description of Functions

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. FENG JIANG / Chinese

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. CHAOYONG TU / Chinese

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. WENKE ZHONG / Chinese

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. HAIJIE LAN / Chinese

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. JINRONG YOU / Chinese

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. MENG SHEN / Chinese

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. BIAO ZHANG / Chinese

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. HAIYUAN ZENG / Chinese

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. WENCHENG ZHANG / Chinese

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. JIAWEI CHEN / Chinese

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. KEVIN CHIENG SHAO FU / Malaysian

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. PEIMIN LI / Chinese

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. ZHITAO LIU / Chinese

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. ZEFENG LUO / Chinese

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. HAODONG WANG / Chinese

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. KYAW AUNG SEIN / Burmese

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. WUJIU WANG / Chinese

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. KENNY NGIAN SHENG HANG / Malaysian

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. QUANLE WANG / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. CHEN MA / Chinese

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. HO JIA JIA / Malaysian

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. YOUCHANG LIN / Nationality Chinese

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Ms. XIAOYANG CHEN / Nationality Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

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LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. JUNJIE ZHANG / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

25

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. ZHENGCHEN HUO / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

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Mr. ENQI ZHOU / Chinese

Mr. XINJIANG OUYANG / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

26

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

65

Mr. JINLONG HE / Chinese

Mr. ZHENG WU / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

27

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

66

Mr. FENG HAN / Chinese

Mr. YI YANG / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

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LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

67

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. YUNQI GAO / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

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LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. JINQUAN GU / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

68

Mr. YADONG ZHANG / Chinese

Mr. BIAO CAI / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

30

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

69

Mr. NAIWEN XU / Chinese

Mr. YING YANG / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

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LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

70

Mr. YIWU WANG / Chinese

Mr. ZIHUI LIU / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

32

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

71

Mr. MINGQIN WANG / Chinese

Mr. BO WANG / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

33

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

72

Mr. XIAOMING CHEN / Chinese

Mr. KUN XU / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

34

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

73

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. ZHENGYU HE / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

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Friday, October 30, 2020 A11

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LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. JIAJIE CHEN / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

112

LS PHIL, MFG. INC. CEZ, Rosario, Cavite

Mr. KWON HYUNG LEE / Korean

75

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. JINHAO ZENG / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

113

NATOCO PAINT PHILIPPINES, INC. FPIP-SEZ, Tanauan City, Batangas

Mr. KOKI ATSUMI / Japanese

General Manager and Treasurer

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LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. BAITAO LU / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

XIANG SHAN MANUFACTURING 114 CORPORATION Maguyam, Silang, Cavite

Mr. CHIEN-TAI CHEN / Taiwanese

Assistant Production Manager

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LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. KAIWEI LENG / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

Mr. JIAWU QIN / Chinese

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LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Ms. ZHENYING ZENG / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

BOJIE MANUFACTURING CORPORATION 115 FCIE, SEZ, Langkaan, Dasmariñas City, Cavite

Chinese Customer Service Representative

Mr. WEIXING CAO / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

Mr. LINGYU KONG / Chinese

79

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 116 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Chinese Customer Service Representative

Mr. JIANJUN CHEN / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

Mr. SHAOPING FANG / Chinese

80

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 117 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. WANMING JIANG / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

Mr. HISASHI KIKUMA / Japanese

81

BROTHER INDUSTRIES (PHILIPPINES), INC. 118 FPIP, Brgy. Ulango, Tanauan City, Batangas

Assistant Manager (Purchasing Production Control Department)

Mr. RIFEI HE / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

Mr. TAKAHIRO NAKAMURA / Japanese

Senior General Manager

82

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

PHILIPPINES TRC INC. 119 Lima Technology Center, Lipa City, Batangas

83

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. CHANGLIN LIU / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

HON-KWANG ELECTRIC (PHILIPPINES), 120 INC. LTI, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. XIAN-MING CHEN / Chinese

Ms. RU CHAI / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

Mr. GUANBAO LAI / Chinese

84

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

HON-KWANG ELECTRIC (PHILIPPINES), 121 INC. LTI, Biñan City, Laguna

85

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Ms. XIAOCHUN ZHONG / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

86

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. WEIQIANG MAO / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

87

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. YANGRI SHEN/ Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

88

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. ZHIMING SONG / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

89

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. ZHONG HUANG / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

90

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. WANLI JIANG / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

91

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. JIANDONG WANG / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

92

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Ms. XIA ZHANG / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

93

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Ms. LEI LI / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

94

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. YINGHU ZI / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

95

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. PENG LI / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

96

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. DONG LI / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

97

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. JIE XIONG / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

98

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. FEI LI / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

99

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. ONG KOK SIANG / Malaysian

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

Ms. YANPING LIU / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

Mr. ZHAOKENG QIU / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

Ms. HLYO INN SENG / Burmese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY 103 SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Ms. YOUQIN ZHANG / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY 104 SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. XIANGXIANG ZHAO / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY 105 SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. WANTAO QIN / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY 106 SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Ms. MENG LI / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY 107 SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. HUANGHE XU / Chinese

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY 108 SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

President and Chairman

Deputy Section Chief of Warehouse In-Charge

Production Consultant

Technical Support

PORTLAND NORTH ASIA PHILIPPINES, INC. 122 Room 3 Diversion Rd. Bolbok, Batangas City, Batangas

Mr. LEE HIENG YONG / Malaysian

Director

AMERICAN POWER CONVERSION 123 CORPORATION (A.P.C.) B.V PEZA, CEZ, Rosario, Cavite

Mr. AMIN MAMDOUH / French

Industrial Performance Leader

OGURA CLUTCH PHILIPPINES, INC. 124 LISP 2, Brgy. La Mesa , Calamba City, Laguna

Mr. SEISUKE FUSEJIMA / Japanese

Chief Technical Adviser

PHILIPPINE NAGANO SEIKO, INC. 125 PTC-SEZ, Carmona, Cavite

Mr. NAOKI HIRAMATSU / Japanese

General Manager-Quality Assurance

MAY. EXPORTS PHILS. INC 126 Calamba Premier Int’l Park Brgy. Batino, Calamba City, Laguna

Mr. RAJMAL PALIKKANDY RAFEEQUE / Indian

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 127 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. SHUHENG ZHOU / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 128 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. XUEFENG WEI / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 129 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. LIN CHEN / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 130 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. WEIDONG FU / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 131 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Ms. JING XIAO / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 132 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. JIANLIN ZHOU / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 133 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. TIANYOU YANG / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 134 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. SHUWEI ZHOU / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 135 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. JIAWEI KANG / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 136 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. GUANGWEI ZENG / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 137 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. XUEDANG LI / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 138 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Ms. WENJUN TAO / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 139 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Ms. SUJIN FAN / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 140 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. HUI YANG / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 141 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. LIANG YU / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 142 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. WEITAO LI / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 143 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Ms. YUE NI / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 144 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Ms. XIAOYU CHEN / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

Ms. LI CHEN / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 145 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Ms. ZHENGJU LI / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY 109 SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. JIAN LIU / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 146 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. DANFENG LI / Chinese

Mandarin Customer Service Representative

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY 110 SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. ERFENG ZHAO / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

147

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

JAPAN EXCELLENT TECHNOLOGY & 148 SYSTEMS, INC. PEZA, CEPZ, Rosario, Cavite

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY 100 SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY 101 SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY 102 SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY 111 SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. ZHENG LIANG / Chinese

TECNIMONT PHILIPPINES INC. Brgy. Simlong , Batangas City, Batangas

General Manager/ Treasurer

Mr. SACHIN DWARKANATH ANAOKAR / Indian

Specialist and Deputy General Manager for Civil Department

Mr. TAKASHI SASAKI / Japanese

Executive Vice President

BusinessMirror

A12 Friday, October 30, 2020

Name and Address of Company/Employer YAMAHA MOTOR PHILIPPINES, INC. 149 Lima Technology Center, Malvar, Batangas

Name and Citizenship of Foreign National

Position and Brief Description of Functions

Name and Address of Company/Employer

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Name and Citizenship of Foreign National

Position and Brief Description of Functions

Mr. YUTA NOMOTO / Japanese

Logistics Adviser

185

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. ZONGFEI WANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

Vice President for Operations

186

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. TIANQI WANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

Chinese Customer Service Representative

187

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. YANGJIE CHEN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

Myanmari Customer Service Representative

188

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. XING ZHAO / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

150

DS INNERWEAR PHILIPPINES CORP. Parian, Calamba City, Laguna

Mr. YOUNG LOK OH / Korean

151

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. BAOWEI SUN / Chinese

152

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. TUN KYI / Burmese

153

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. ZHICHAO GUAN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

189

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. JIE LI / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

154

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. XIAOSHAN PENG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

190

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. XIANGHUA JIANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

155

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. ZHAOFEI YU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

191

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Ms. MIN KONG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

156

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. DINGQIAN QIAO / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

192

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. JINLEI YANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

157

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. SHOUYU GUO / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

193

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Ms. LILI LIU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

158

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. CHENGWEI GUO / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

194

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. JIFENG MIAO / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. 159 Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. QINGGANG WEI / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

195

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. YUANXIN CHEN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. 160 Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. NINGJIE ZHANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

196

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. HENG XIONG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

197

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Ms. CHENGYAO LI / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

198

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Ms. YAJIE PENG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

199

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. CHEN QI / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

200

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. DONGDONG WANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

201

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. DONG LIU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

161

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Ms. TINGTING LI / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. YUANYE TIAN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

163

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. BAORUI LIU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

164

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. GUANGYUN LI / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

165

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Ms. PEIPEI LI / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

202

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. LEI XIE / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

166

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. LONGFA LIN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

203

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. YANHENG WANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

167

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Ms. JINHONG ZHANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

204

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. WEIJIAN SHI / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

168

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. ZENGRONG ZHU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

205

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Ms. YANQING LIU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

169

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. BO YU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

206

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. JIALONG ZHANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

170

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. KAIDONG LIU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

207

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Ms. YUANYUAN ZHOU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. 171 Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. CHAO CHEN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

208

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. CHENGXIANG LEI / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. 172 Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Ms. JIAQI JIN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

209

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. SHENG WANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

162

173

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. FENG LI / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

210

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. JIANG PENG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

174

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. NING WANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

211

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. JUNCHAO LI / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

175

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. CHAOFENG LOU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

212

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Ms. HAN YIN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

176

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. XIAOWEI LIU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

213

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. LEI WANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

177

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Ms. FEIYAN CHEN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

214

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. YIMING SHI / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. SHUAIQI YUAN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

215

Mr. WEIWEI LIU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

Ms. YUHONG CHEN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

179

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

180

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. DEDI ZHANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

216

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. NING LI / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

181

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. HANG YU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

217

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. XIANFENG PI / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

182

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. QINGCHEN MA / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

218

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Ms. WEI QUAN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

183

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. LONG YANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

219

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Ms. YANG CHI / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

184

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. JIANZHONG WU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

220

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. HAOQIANG ZHANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

178

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Friday, October 30, 2020 A13

221

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. GANWEN LU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

255

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. HONGFENG YUAN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

222

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. WEIDONG LIU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

256

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Ms. YUE MA / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

223

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. LI CHEN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

257

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. HONGWEI WANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

224

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. MING LIANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

258

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. JIAN LI / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

225

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Ms. PENGRUI GU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

259

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. RUI LI / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

226

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. KEBAO HE / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

260

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. JIANMIN JIN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

227

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. YUTAO GUO / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

261

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Ms. XUEMIN LI / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

228

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Ms. XINXIN LI / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

262

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. FEI HE / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

229

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. XIAODONG LI / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

263

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. ZHIHUAN LIANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

230

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. ZHENZHONG HUANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

264

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. TONGYANG NING / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

Ms. LIFANG ZHU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

265

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. GUANGSEN ZHANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

266

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Ms. LIYING WANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

267

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. HAIMENG WANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

268

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. ANPEI GUAN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

269

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. SHAOCONG ZHONG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

270

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. HAO DONG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

271

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Ms. XUE LI / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

272

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Ms. HANGLI FANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

273

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. YONGWEI SUN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

274

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. YONGJIA LI / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

275

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. HAOLIANG DU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

276

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. JINHU GAO / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

277

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. HAOYANG SUN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

278

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. HUI CHEN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

279

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. HEJIAN LIANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

280

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. QIANG WU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. HUI YU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. 231 Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite 232

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. XIONGWEI QIN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

233

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. BICHENG WEN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. 234 Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. MINGLEI YANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Ms. JUNQIAO LIU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

236

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. BIN GAO / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

237

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. HAILONG ZHAO / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

235

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. WEIKANG ZHENG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

239

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. YALONG TANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

240

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. HAOJIE HOU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

238

241

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Ms. DIDI NING / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

242

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. ZEGUO WU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

243

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. HONGGANG CHEN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

281

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. 244 Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Ms. GUIQING CHEN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

ATLANTIC GULF & PACIFIC COMPANY OF MANILA, INCORPORATED 282 AG&P-SEZ, Brgy. San Roque, Bauan, Batangas

245

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. ZHICHAO YANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

246

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Ms. HUAZHEN CHEN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

247

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. ZHILIN JIAO / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

248

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Ms. SHIQI LING / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

249

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. XUEJUN RUAN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

250

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. HAIYANG QU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

251

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. SHUNYI CHANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

252

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. PENG YANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

253

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. HUILIN WANG / Chinese

254

MOA CLOUDZONE CORP. Brgy. Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite

Mr. XULIANG CHEN / Chinese

Mr. DIVAN SMIT / South African

Test Pack Coordinator

283

SANAC PHILIPPINES INC. FCIE, Langkaan, Dasmariñas City, Cavite

Mr. TAKURO KATO / Japanese

284

CRONICS INC. Brgy. Batino, Calamba City, Laguna

Mr. JONGSUNG PARK / Korean

Manufacturing General Manager

Mr. DAE SUNG KIM / Korean

Vice President/P1 Plant

Mr. KENZO FUJITA / Japanese

General Manager

Ms. NATSUMI MAKI / Japanese

Sales Consultant

AMKOR TECHNOLOGY PHILIPPINES, 285 INC. LEPZ, Biñan City, Laguna 286

YUTAKA FINEPACK PHILIPPINES CORP. Brgy. Don Jose, Santa Rosa City, Laguna

PHILIPPINE ADVANCED PROCESSING 287 TECHNOLOGY, INC. CEPZA, Rosario, Cavite 288

TECHNOL EIGHT PHILS. CORP. Laguna Technopark, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. MASASAKU SAWA / Japanese

Sales Manager

Vice PresidentManufacturing & Engineering/ Treasurer

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 289 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Ms. JHEN-RONG DU Taiwanese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 290 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. XUANJIE LIN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 291 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. TAO LIU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

Chinese Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 292 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Ms. YULING ZHANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

BusinessMirror

A14 Friday, October 30, 2020

www.businessmirror.com.ph

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 293 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. DAOBIN WANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

HYS METAL PLASTIC AND 327 ELECTRONICS (PHILIPPINES), INC. LTC, Lipa City, Batangas

Ms. YUANBO WU / Chinese

Product Engineer/ Consultant

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 294 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. FEIYU JIANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

Mr. LONGHUI LYU / Chinese

Officer in Charge

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 295 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

NANO SMART MATERIAL PHILIPPINES, INC. 328 CEZ-FCIE, Brgy. Langkaan, Dasmariñas City, Cavite

Mr. CHENGYOU LU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

PHILIPPINE IRIS CO., INC. 329 LISP 1, Bgry. Diezmo, Cabuyao, Laguna

Mr. TOMOAKI TAKAHASHI / Japanese

Factory Manager/ Treasurer

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 296 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Ms. XUAN LI / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

CANON BUSINESS MACHINES 330 (PHILIPPINES), INC. FPIP, Tanauan City, Batangas

Mr. MITSURU NODATE / Japanese

Manufacturing Division 1 General Manager

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 297 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Ms. JUANJUAN YANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

AMKOR TECHNOLOGY PHILIPPINES, 331 INC. LEPZ, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. JONGWON SEO / Korean

Director/P1 Engineering

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 298 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. CHENGNAN LU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY 332 SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. WENYAN FANG / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 299 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. SHAOPING FANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY 333 SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Ms. ZHAOYI MA / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 300 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. QINBIAO LIU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY 334 SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Ms. YUQING ZHANG / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 301 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. FENG XUE / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY 335 SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. XUWEN HU / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 302 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Ms. SHENGLI DENG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY 336 SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Ms. WANQIONG CHEN / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 303 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. GUANYU HUANG / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY 337 SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. YONGGUI HAN / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 304 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. QIANYI FU / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY 338 SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Ms. QIONG ZHANG / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 305 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. ZHEN DING / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY 339 SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. CHAOZHONG HU / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 306 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. JUN LI / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

Mr. YASUHIRO SUZUKI / Japanese

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 307 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. WEI CHEN / Chinese

Chinese Customer Service Representative

BROTHER INDUSTRIES (PHILIPPINES), INC. 340 FPIP, Brgy. Ulango, Tanauan City, Batangas MAY. EXPORTS PHILS. INC 341 Calamba Premier Int’l Park Brgy. Batino, Calamba City, Laguna

Mr. RAJMAL PALIKKANDY / RAFEEQUE Indian

CAVITE BIOFUEL PRODUCERS INC. 342 Cavite Biofuel Ecozone Sitio Lobo, Magallanes, Cavite

Mr. BODH NARAYAN / NEUPANE Nepalese

Nutrition Specialist

HON-KWANG ELECTRIC (PHILIPPINES), 343 INC. LTI, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. CHIEN-YU CHEN / Taiwanese

Vice President

AMERICAN POWER CONVERSION 344 CORPORATION (A.P.C.) B.V PEZA, CEZ, Rosario, Cavite

Ms. JOANNA AUGUSTIAN / Indian

AMKOR TECHNOLOGY PHILIPPINES, 345 INC. LEPZ, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. JONGWON SEO / Korean

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY 308 SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. JIEFENG LIN / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY 309 SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. RICHENG WANG / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY 310 SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. XIONG YANG / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY 311 SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. MINGYOU WEI / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY 312 SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. HONGMING ZHOU / Chinese

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY 313 SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. XINRONG LIAO / Chinese

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY 314 SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. PENGCHAO YAO / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY 315 SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. JUNRONG ZENG / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY 316 SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. SHENGFENG ZENG / Chinese

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY 317 SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. JIEPING OUYANG / Chinese

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY 318 SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. XINJIN SU / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY 319 SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Ms. ZHENZHEN WEI / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY 320 SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. DONG LIU / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY 321 SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. JIAMING MA / Chinese

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY 322 SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. GUOQI WEI / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY 323 SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. JINCAI XU / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY 324 SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. RONGTAO ZHAI / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY 325 SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Ms. LIRONG LIU / Chinese

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

Mr. HANS-JURGEN BOMBA / Deutsch

Regional Manager

326

HARD DISCOUNT PHILIPPINES, INC. B7, Southwoods Industrial Park, Carmona, Cavite

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

Chinese Speaking Customer Service Representative

346

MEINAN PHILIPPINES INC. SEPZ, LTI, Biñan City, Laguna

Adviser (Administration Department)

Mr. KENICHI NUMATA / Japanese

Board of Director

Mr. GUANGNING HUA Chinese

SHOWA ALUMINUM MANUFACTURING PHILS. CORP. 348 FCIE, Brgy. Langkaan, Dasmariñas City, Cavite

Mr. SHIGEO MARUGASA / Japanese

HITACHI CABLE PHILIPPINES, INC. 349 Lima Technology Center, Lipa City, Batangas

Mr. HIROYUKI FURUKAWA / Japanese

SMART WIN TECHNOLOGY, INC. 350 4-12F Southwoods Tower 2, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. YIFEI LIN / Chinese

IM DIGITAL PHIL INC. FPIP, Santo Tomas, Batangas

Regional Category Manager Director/P1 Engineering

TDK PHILIPPINES CORPORATION 347 SEPZ, Laguna Technopark, Biñan City, Laguna

351

General Manager/ Treasurer

Manager for Corporate Engineering Department President and Chairman of the Board

Vice President/Director Chinese Customer Service Representative

Mr. JONG MIN CHO / Korean

CM Purchasing Assistant Manager

BOJIE MANUFACTURING CORPORATION 352 FCIE, SEZ, Langkaan, Dasmariñas City, Cavite

Mr. SHI-XIN CHEN / Taiwanese

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY 353 SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. YANBING XU / Chinese

Customer Service Representative (Chinese)

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY 354 SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. FEI CHI / Chinese

Customer Service Representative (Chinese)

LANCE EXPERT TECHNOLOGY 355 SOLUTIONS, INC. Brgy. San Francisco, Biñan City, Laguna

Mr. YANPING LU / Chinese

Customer Service Representative (Chinese)

Sales Representative Nationality

Any person in the Philippines who is competent, able and willing to perform the services for which the foreign national is desired may file an objection at the DOLE Regional Office within 30 days from the date of publication.

Please inform the DOLE Regional Office if you have an information of any criminal offense committed by the foreign nationals.

HENRY JOHN S. JALBUENA Regional Director

To avail of free job referral, placement, and employment guidance services, visit the nearest Public Employment Service Offices (PESO) or log on at http://www.philjobnet.gov.ph AEP20201007403

Companies BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Friday, October 30, 2020

B1

San Miguel preferred share sale yields ₧20B

C

By VG Cabuag

@villygc

onglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) raised some P20 billion from the sale of its series 2-J preferred shares, which were listed at the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) on Thursday.

A total of 266.66 million preferred shares were sold to the retail, institutional and trading participants of the PSE, the company said.

Shares were priced at P75 apiece each with a dividend rate of 4.75 percent per annum.

The preferred share issuance is the initial tranche under the conglomerate's shelf registration of up to 533.33 million series 2 preferred shares with the Securities and Exchange Com-

mission to be sold within a period of three years.

Proceeds of the issuance will be used by the conglomerate for investments in projects of existing businesses, mainly its Bulacan airport and Mass Rail Transit 7.

To be built on a 2,400-hectare property in Bulakan, Bulacan, just north of Metro Manila, the $15-billion airport complex will have four runways, eight taxiways and three

Robinsons Retail income declines in Jan-Sept

R

Drugstores, an essential format, registered a positive SSSG of 3.5 percent in January to September. However, it was at -3 percent in the third quarter coming from a high base last year, due to a drop in sales of prescription flu and antibacterial medicines.

“Our third quarter 2020 financials give us some optimism that the worst may have passed for RRHI and the retail sector. Compared to second quarter, we saw significant improvements in our results across the majority of our formats. We are hopeful that the uplift continues for the rest of the year,” Robina Gokongwei Pe, the company's president and CEO said.

“Covid-19’s impact on people, businesses, and the overall economy is still very much felt and apparent, and our year-on-year numbers remain down. Yet we are

seeing signs of recovery amidst an age of social distancing and safety precautions, and all of us are adapting to this new dynamic in retail. Through any disruption, we are committed to bringing the best products and services that we can to our customers."

The balance sheet of Robinsons Retail was still at a net cash position of over P26.4 billion as of end-September. The company also spent a total of P1.3 billion in capital expenditures during the period.

Excluding the franchised stores of The Generics Pharmacy, Robinsons Retail ended September with a total of 1,853 stores comprising of 263 supermarkets, 49 department stores, 223 do-it-yourself stores, 481 convenience stores, 521 drugstores and 316 specialty stores. VG Cabuag

obinsons Retail Holdings Inc. (RRHI) on Thursday said its income in January to September fell 19 percent to P2.59 billion from last year’s P3.23 billion as some of its nonessential stores continued to record lower sales despite the lifting of lockdown.

Sales fell 5 percent to P109.57 billion from last year’s P116.15 billion. The company said the temporary reversion to the much stricter modified enhanced community quarantine in Metro Manila and nearby provinces from August 4 to 18 also affected its discretionary formats and limited transportation and consumer mobility.

For the third quarter alone, Robinsons Retail income was down 31 percent to P836 million from last year's P1.21 billion.

Sales, meanwhile, fell 11 percent

to P34.61 billion from last year's P38.94 billion.

“Although they remain cautious, customers and businesses are adjusting to the ‘new normal’ with safety measures implemented in stores. At same time, consumers are also exploring alternative channels to purchase goods from virtual platforms, such as Viber communities and social-media marketplaces, which are now collectively referred to as social commerce,” the company said.

Blended same store sales growth (SSSG) in January to September was at -6.4 percent and -11.7 percent in the third quarter alone.

Supermarket SSSG was 11.5 percent for the three quarters and 2.1 percent in the third quarter, which was partly attributed to weaker consumer spending given the overall decline in disposable income.

Solar PHL eyes foray into realestate sector

IMI sees signs of recovery despite loss

S

OLAR Philippines on Thursday said it will soon venture into the real estate sector to take the company to the next level.

“First, we are starting a new company to focus on investments in provincial real-estate, while enabling Solar Philippines to focus on developing projects that are symbiotic with this real estate,” company founder Leandro Leviste said in a statement.

His announcement came after the Department of Energy’s declaration of a moratorium on new coal projects. Leviste said this signals the company’s new strategic direction.

“Second, we are bringing onboard professional management to lead Solar Philippines in this new chapter, as a step towards becoming a more widely-held public company.

Third, we now strongly believe in the value of partnerships. While we once focused on competing with others in the power industry, we are now collaborating with several local and foreign partners, harnessing their strengths across all our projects to take solar in the Philippines to the next level,” he said.

Leviste did not provide details.

The company, he added, is optimistic with these changes set to happen soon. “We are more optimistic than ever that we and our partners can deliver a portfolio of projects that will make the Philippines a leader in the global energy transition.”

Solar Philippines has been increasingly focused on forging partnerships in recent years.

In December 2018, it partnered with Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) for its 63 megawatt (MW) Solar Farm in Batangas. This is KEPCO’s first renewable energy project in Southeast Asia.

In June 2020, Solar Philippines inked a partnership with the Razon Group’s Prime Infra to develop a pipeline of projects, representing the largest solar joint venture established in the country. This includes completing the Tarlac 200 MW Solar Farm, the country’s largest solar project to date.

According to the Department of Energy website, Solar Philippines is developing projects with a total capacity of over 10 gigawatts in over a dozen provinces. The company has indicated that it will make further disclosures on these developments at the appropriate time. Lenie Lectura

A

yala-led Integrated Micro-Electronics Inc. (IMI) said it posted a net loss of $11.9 million in January to September, much deeper than last year’s loss of $4.03 million, but the company said its performance will soon improve as its operations are returning to normal.

Revenues were down 16 percent to $789 million from last year's $939.57 million.

For the third quarter alone, the company booked revenue of $312 million, slightly higher from last year's $303.87 million, but still lower compared with $342.7 million in 2018.

Increased utilization of fixed overhead and improved manufacturing efficiency led to a significant expansion in gross profit margin from 6.4 percent in the first half to 9.7 percent in the third quarter.

It posted a net income of $9.6 million in the third quarter, but that included $2.4 million one-

off gain. For the third quarter last year, the company incurred a loss of $8.75 million.

“IMI’s diverse expertise across multiple business segments, along with our wide geographical footprint, has allowed us to rebound from the pandemic stronger and faster than market expectations.

With the industry’s global bounceback only beginning, there is still work to be done but our core longterm strategies have positioned us well to take advantage of opportunities that the ‘new normal’ brings,” Arthur Tan, IMI’s president and CEO, said.

IMI’s wholly-owned businesses improved to $239 million of revenue in the third quarter, a 30-percent increase from the first half average. As United States-China trade tensions slowed down the strong performance of the telecom sector in the first half, the return of automotive and industrial demand compensated for the decline. The

company also continues to gain business in the medical sector as demand for healthcare solutions rises.

IMI’s non-wholly owned subsidiaries, Via Optronics and STI Ltd., continued their strong performance with $74 million in combined revenue in the third quarter, a 35-percent improvement from the first half average. The subsidiaries are buoyed by demand from segments that establish support for the new normal: consumer mobile devices for study-from-home and work-from-home arrangements, along with ventilators and other medical products as countries continue the fight against coronavirus.

“As we had expected, the third quarter of 2020 marked the beginning of IMI’s rebound. With industry forecasts showing sustainable improvement, IMI’s commitment to disciplined execution will keep us on this path towards greater profitable growth,” Tan said. VG Cabuag

Cebu Pacific: Booking options for travels until Dec. 31

B

udget carrier Cebu Pacific said it extended the coverage of its flexible booking options for passengers traveling until December 31.

“We continue to listen to our passengers so we may also continuously review and improve our processes to better address everyjuan’s concerns.

As such, we are pleased to share that we have extended our options to cover flights until end of this year, to give our passengers more flexibility when it comes to scheduling their travels,” said Candice Iyog, CEB VP for Marketing & Customer Experience.

The airline also said the Travel Fund, valid for two years, can be used to book flights up to 12 months ahead, given that transactions are done before the fund expires. This means customers can use their Travel Funds to book trips potentially until 2023.

This virtual wallet will consist of the full cost of the ticket, and can be used not only for flights, but even for purchasing ancillaries, such as baggage allowance and seat blocking.

“This option is a great alternative for passengers who do not have fixed travel dates yet. Customers with existing Travel Funds should not fret as the 2-year validity will be applied retroactively, or from the date the fund was created,” the airline said.

Cebu Pacific said customers will still be able to avail of unlimited rebooking of their flights, without paying any rebooking or change fees. Those who wish to postpone travel plans may opt to rebook their flights as many times as possible, allowing passengers to better manage their plans, considering the fluidity of the situation.

“Those with cancelled flights will continue to have the following options: placing the full cost of the ticket in a Travel Fund valid for two years; rebooking flights with no limit or availing of a full refund,” it said.

Passengers were encouraged to choose their options and manage their bookings online through the “Manage Booking” portal in the Cebu Pacific website. Passengers were instructed to log-in to their Getgo account, if appli-

cable; or enter the Booking Reference to access the booking online and easily make desired changes. Bookings can be modified up to two hours before the flight.

“Rest assured we remain optimistic for the industry, and look forward to the day #EveryJuanWillFlyAgain," Iyog said.

Passengers now have the ability to easily update their contact information and addresses through the same portal. Those who booked their Cebu Pacific flights via travel agencies must coordinate requests through their respective agents, the airline said.

The airline said it continues to implement enhanced biosecurity preventive measures in accordance global aviation standards to keep passengers and staff safe. These include contactless procedures, thorough cleaning and disinfection protocols for all aircraft and facilities, mandatory wearing of masks and face shields for passengers and crew, as well as rapid antibody testing for Cebu Pacific frontliners. Recto L. Mercene

passenger terminals. It also has provisions for future expansion to sport six runways and to accommodate 200 million passengers per year.

“We are very happy with the outcome of this offering. There’s a lot of optimism riding on a recovery in 2021 and while there is still some reason for caution, investors are confident enough that we can deliver on our commitment to build back better and pursue projects that are crucial

to the recovery and future growth of our country,” San Miguel President and COO Ramon S. Ang said.

BDO Capital and Investment Corp., BPI Capital Corp., China Bank Capital Corp., Philippine Commercial Capital Inc., PNB Capital and Investment Corp., RCBC Capital Corp. and SB Capital Corp. acted as joint issue managers, joint underwriters and bookrunners for the preferred share issuance.

New Subic firm to produce face masks, protective gear

The Taiwanese-owned Subic Bay Gateway Park in this photo will welcome another business locator. Henry Empeño

By Henry Empeño Correspondent

S

ubic Bay Freeport—The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) has greenlighted the establishment here of a manufacturing facility for face masks and other personal protective equipment (PPEs) to help address a continuing demand for health safety gear amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the newly-formed Taiwanese company Mask Secure King Inc. (MSK) will help increase the country’s production capacity for medical consumables, an industry sorely lacking in adequate players even before the pandemic.

Eisma said MSK has committed $500,000 for the manufacturing project and will employ 35 workers during its first year of operation.

The firm, which is under the umbrella of Taiwanese construction and engineering giant MSK Group Work Inc., will do business under the trade name “Secure Masks and Protective Gears.”

She added that MSK will set up a manufacturing facility here at the Subic Bay Gateway Park II where it has leased a 1,860-square-meter building space from the Taiwanese real estate developer Xantheng Subic International Corp.

According to the SBMA Business and Investment Department for Manufacturing and Maritime (BIDMM), the Subic agency approved MSK’s proposal early this month after it filed for a Certificate of Registration and Tax Exemption (CRTE).

The firm’s registered business activity focuses on the manufacture of medical devices, medical tools and equipment, medical consumable products, and personal protective gears and equipment.

Among the PPEs MSK will produce are disposable medical masks, gloves, foot and eye protection devices, protective hearing devices like earplugs and muffs, hard hats, respirators, and full body suits.

BID-MM Manager Karen Magno said the SBMA has already endorsed to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) the purchase by MSK of mask machines from Taiwan, as well as the importation of nonwoven mask materials for its Subic manufacturing operations.

MSK will be the first Subic-registered company to engage in the manufacture of health and safety products and personal protective gears, Magno said.

Another firm, which had since relocated to Bataan, previously produced in Subic only hospital textiles and garments.

Eisma said the operation of MSK will boost local production of N95 medical masks, PPE coveralls, as well as ventilators which had no known local producer prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.

At the same time, she said it will bolster the growing confidence of Taiwanese manufacturers in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone and further enlarge MSK’s development footprint here.

The SBMA chief noted that the MSK Group had begun a P2-billion luxury residential project here in 2017 while Xantheng followed it up with a P15-billion green industrial park development project last year.

She said Taiwanese investors, particularly the MSK Group, have been thriving here and continuously supporting and contributing to the development of the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

“This manufacturing project by MSK will be another welcome addition to our list of timely business projects here in Subic,” Eisma added.

B2

Companies BusinessMirror

Friday, October 30, 2020

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

October 29, 2020

Net Foreign Stocks Bid Ask Open High Low Close Volume Value Trade (Peso) Buy (Sell) FINANCIALs

ASIA UNITED BDO UNIBANK BANK PH ISLANDS CHINABANK EAST WEST BANK METROBANK PB BANK PHIL NATL BANK PSBANK RCBC SECURITY BANK UNION BANK BRIGHT KINDLE COL FINANCIAL FERRONOUX HLDG FILIPINO FUND IREMIT MEDCO HLDG MANULIFE NTL REINSURANCE PHIL STOCK EXCH SUN LIFE VANTAGE

44.1 89 71.95 21.6 9.42 41.7 9.51 27.3 53.15 17.3 96.5 55.15 0.76 27.5 3.49 7 1.2 0.295 765 0.57 161 1890 1.03

45 89.6 72 21.65 9.5 41.75 9.74 27.35 53.2 17.5 96.6 55.3 0.79 28 3.6 7.94 1.21 0.31 775 0.59 166 1930 1.06

45 90.8 73.4 21.7 9.5 42.9 9.74 27.1 53 17.3 98.4 55.2 0.75 27.95 3.6 6.99 1.17 0.305 765 0.56 172 1935 1.03

45 91 73.5 21.7 9.54 42.95 9.75 27.35 53.15 17.8 98.4 55.3 0.75 28 3.6 6.99 1.25 0.305 765 0.6 172 1935 1.03

44.1 89 71.55 21.6 9.11 41.7 9.6 26.75 53 16.82 96.45 54.55 0.75 27.95 3.6 6.99 1.17 0.295 765 0.56 166 1935 1.03

44.1 89 72 21.6 9.42 41.7 9.6 27.35 53.15 17.5 96.5 55.3 0.75 28 3.6 6.99 1.21 0.3 765 0.57 166 1935 1.03

1100 4685960 2823100 23200 632300 3645200 18300 180400 4960 51000 1108990 4240 9000 25000 3000 200 536000 690000 80 91000 1400 10 16000

48790 421360823.5 203680599 501820 5937026 152940110 176843 4889590 263101.5 883786 107372480 233652 6750 698870 10800 1398 644040 207400 61200 52560 233510 19350 16480

-198643960.5 -84277757.5 23760 -503022 21592145 180815 34200 -43597500 -90517.5 7650 4010 -0 16480

INDUSTRIAL AC ENERGY 3.68 3.69 3.8 3.84 3.68 3.68 24191000 90540110 ALSONS CONS 1.33 1.34 1.4 1.42 1.31 1.34 8732000 12006130 ABOITIZ POWER 26.25 26.3 27.45 27.45 26.3 26.3 1532700 40845925 BASIC ENERGY 0.23 0.232 0.238 0.238 0.225 0.23 5520000 1272650 FIRST GEN 28.8 28.9 29 29 27.65 28.8 1184100 33912820 FIRST PHIL HLDG 63.05 63.2 62.9 63.95 62.8 63.2 198430 12554292 MERALCO 294 295 293 295 290 294 295810 86820244 MANILA WATER 14.2 14.22 14.12 14.3 14.1 14.22 538900 7655634 PETRON 3.11 3.12 3.16 3.16 3.11 3.11 1751000 5469100 PETROENERGY 3.3 3.4 3.4 3.4 3.3 3.3 122000 403350 PHX PETROLEUM 12.98 13 12.9 13.1 12.58 13 163600 2105450 PILIPINAS SHELL 16.5 16.54 16.94 16.94 16.5 16.5 380100 6351010 SPC POWER 10.78 10.8 10.94 10.94 10.8 10.8 254400 2762106 VIVANT 13.02 14.18 14.18 14.18 14.18 14.18 100 1418 AGRINURTURE 7.9 8.03 7.85 8.03 7.8 8.03 149100 1180799 AXELUM 2.8 2.84 2.8 2.84 2.77 2.84 409000 1143860 CNTRL AZUCARERA 11.02 11.2 11.2 11.2 11.02 11.2 5900 65540 CENTURY FOOD 16.4 16.5 16.78 16.78 16.26 16.5 2321400 38452450 DEL MONTE 5.01 5.08 5.08 5.1 4.9 5.08 54000 268840 DNL INDUS 6.13 6.14 6.18 6.18 6.05 6.13 6693600 41004308 EMPERADOR 9.99 10 10 10.02 9.8 10 2335700 23297917 SMC FOODANDBEV 64.5 65 64.8 65 64.5 65 25750 1666043.5 ALLIANCE SELECT 0.63 0.64 0.64 0.64 0.63 0.63 333000 213020 FRUITAS HLDG 1.21 1.22 1.21 1.23 1.2 1.22 7444000 9025760 GINEBRA 46.2 46.6 47 47 46 46.55 7300 338230 JOLLIBEE 172.5 172.6 173.5 173.5 171.6 172.5 637430 109875138 LIBERTY FLOUR 35.75 44.95 35.65 35.65 35.65 35.65 100 3565 MACAY HLDG 7.54 7.94 7.6 7.94 7.54 7.94 13300 100782 MAXS GROUP 5.76 5.77 5.99 5.99 5.65 5.76 615100 3580118 MG HLDG 0.139 0.144 0.14 0.14 0.14 0.14 340000 47600 SHAKEYS PIZZA 6.7 6.76 6.7 6.77 6.56 6.76 521600 3495487 ROXAS AND CO 1.24 1.25 1.24 1.27 1.21 1.24 8738000 10820040 RFM CORP 4.69 4.95 4.7 4.7 4.69 4.69 5000 23490 ROXAS HLDG 1.83 1.89 1.83 1.83 1.83 1.83 12000 21960 SWIFT FOODS 0.108 0.11 0.105 0.105 0.105 0.105 10000 1050 UNIV ROBINA 135.2 137.2 139 139.2 135.2 135.2 640880 87624149 VITARICH 0.78 0.79 0.8 0.8 0.78 0.78 2501000 1961570 VICTORIAS 2.2 2.34 2.23 2.23 2.23 2.23 1000 2230 CONCRETE A 51.65 53.7 54 54 51.65 51.65 970 52107.5 CONCRETE B 51.45 55.5 55.4 55.6 53 55.5 630 33696 CEMEX HLDG 1.57 1.58 1.58 1.62 1.57 1.58 12900000 20476230 DAVINCI CAPITAL 4.35 4.38 4.5 4.5 4.38 4.38 19000 84420 EAGLE CEMENT 14.9 14.98 14.8 14.98 14.48 14.98 308000 4527278 EEI CORP 7.22 7.26 7.4 7.4 7.19 7.26 687800 4981946 HOLCIM 5.66 5.67 5.75 5.76 5.59 5.66 1030000 5848934 MEGAWIDE 7.39 7.42 7.3 7.48 7.15 7.4 2510400 18397882 PHINMA 8.11 8.25 8.16 8.25 8.16 8.25 2400 19593 TKC METALS 0.75 0.78 0.78 0.81 0.75 0.75 247000 191200 VULCAN INDL 0.78 0.79 0.78 0.78 0.77 0.78 244000 188660 CHEMPHIL 120.8 159.8 120.8 120.8 120.8 120.8 20 2416 CROWN ASIA 1.97 2.02 2.02 2.02 2.02 2.02 2000 4040 EUROMED 1.9 1.91 1.94 1.94 1.87 1.91 325000 616710 PRYCE CORP 4.11 4.23 4.1 4.1 4.1 4.1 5000 20500 CONCEPCION 21 21.25 21.2 21.25 21 21 7300 154760 GREENERGY 2.31 2.33 2.37 2.37 2.22 2.33 16348000 37577710 INTEGRATED MICR 6.75 6.78 6.41 6.8 6.2 6.78 1435000 9380499 IONICS 1.05 1.06 0.98 1.11 0.97 1.05 7620000 7931520 PANASONIC 5 5.2 5.14 5.2 5.14 5.2 24400 125525 SFA SEMICON 1.55 1.56 1.46 1.55 1.46 1.55 8193000 12414820 CIRTEK HLDG 5.28 5.29 5.33 5.4 5.26 5.29 2706400 14360291

-13146280 -12221070 18040 3503710 -6625523 17443190 -546004 -343750 -148030 1180054 12012 -2181 -5600 -15429100 -50800 -4296445 -785827 -762572 30360 -10090 -8294242 -27684 1123797 -2294770 -15259652 -1080400 -1960698 -577315 -305966 134862 1632 377130 22390 -731570 -256900 -214406

HOLDING & FRIMS ABACORE CAPITAL 0.48 0.485 0.48 0.485 0.475 0.485 3740000 1791600 ASIABEST GROUP 8.02 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.02 8.39 21600 178530 AYALA CORP 745 746.5 750 755 741 745 276150 206103530 ABOITIZ EQUITY 42.1 42.25 44.5 44.5 42.1 42.1 1408500 60643130 ALLIANCE GLOBAL 7.89 7.9 8 8.1 7.88 7.9 8371000 66578441 AYALA LAND LOG 2.74 2.77 2.81 2.81 2.65 2.74 2353000 6422840 ANSCOR 6.25 6.54 6.56 6.56 6.54 6.54 31000 203308 ANGLO PHIL HLDG 0.62 0.63 0.63 0.63 0.62 0.63 91000 56680 ATN HLDG A 0.9 0.92 0.92 0.92 0.87 0.92 7772000 7004460 ATN HLDG B 0.91 0.93 0.92 0.92 0.91 0.91 900000 827000 COSCO CAPITAL 5.13 5.14 5.16 5.16 5.1 5.14 693200 3558805 DMCI HLDG 4.4 4.43 4.43 4.44 4.28 4.4 10437000 45736910 FILINVEST DEV 8.91 9.11 9 9.3 8.9 8.9 11500 103586 FORUM PACIFIC 0.199 0.216 0.199 0.217 0.199 0.2 180000 36080 GT CAPITAL 422.8 423.2 425 425 421 422.8 213140 90138294 HOUSE OF INV 3.23 3.33 3.23 3.45 3.23 3.33 28000 92540 JG SUMMIT 61.95 62.5 62.45 63.95 61.75 61.95 1560250 97718450.5 KEPPEL HLDG A 4.86 5.1 4.8 4.8 4.8 4.8 2000 9600 LODESTAR 0.73 0.75 0.75 0.76 0.73 0.73 374000 274810 LOPEZ HLDG 2.56 2.58 2.58 2.58 2.53 2.58 1600000 4095390 LT GROUP 11.8 11.96 11.92 11.96 11.5 11.96 7132300 83710006 MABUHAY HLDG 0.48 0.495 0.485 0.5 0.48 0.5 66000 32015 METRO PAC INV 4 4.01 3.98 4 3.96 4 49222000 196000010 PACIFICA HLDG 3.12 3.49 3.25 3.25 3.08 3.08 5000 15740 PRIME MEDIA 0.81 0.82 0.83 0.87 0.82 0.82 1814000 1515600 SOLID GROUP 1 1.01 0.99 1.01 0.99 1.01 182000 181620 SM INVESTMENTS 948 950 964.5 965 942.5 950 279920 266656495 SAN MIGUEL CORP 100.9 101 102 102.7 101 101 152030 15407143 SOC RESOURCES 0.65 0.67 0.67 0.67 0.64 0.66 151000 101110 TOP FRONTIER 123 124 125.1 125.1 124 124 300 37222

-287600 -75955155 -19095505 -10456348 1831210 -17004 153640 128096 2703100 -1846 -18884474 -30330 16221012.5 -2696510 -52936180 -120498290 -35700 64000 100218260 585879 -0

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.57 0.6 0.59 0.6 0.57 0.6 2764000 1630600 AYALA LAND 32.2 32.3 33.3 33.35 32.15 32.2 11837400 384081935 ARANETA PROP 1.06 1.08 1.05 1.1 1.05 1.06 328000 346030 AREIT RT 25.6 25.65 25.7 25.7 25.6 25.65 302200 7747220 BELLE CORP 1.42 1.43 1.43 1.43 1.41 1.41 437000 619880 A BROWN 0.8 0.81 0.8 0.81 0.79 0.8 2542000 2028310 CITYLAND DEVT 0.77 0.78 0.77 0.78 0.77 0.78 40000 31170 CROWN EQUITIES 0.134 0.136 0.136 0.136 0.132 0.136 2730000 364440 CEBU HLDG 5.8 5.9 5.8 5.8 5.8 5.8 3600 20880 CEB LANDMASTERS 4.56 4.58 4.6 4.6 4.53 4.58 278000 1268960 CENTURY PROP 0.36 0.365 0.37 0.37 0.36 0.36 2040000 739350 CYBER BAY 0.37 0.375 0.385 0.385 0.375 0.375 360000 136650 DOUBLEDRAGON 13.98 14 14.4 14.4 13.9 14 954100 13422894 DM WENCESLAO 5.3 5.39 5.25 5.3 5.23 5.3 112900 592931 EMPIRE EAST 0.285 0.295 0.285 0.3 0.28 0.295 2900000 845650 EVER GOTESCO 0.087 0.091 0.087 0.087 0.087 0.087 10000 870 FILINVEST LAND 0.97 0.98 0.97 0.98 0.95 0.98 19716000 19029640 GLOBAL ESTATE 0.75 0.76 0.76 0.76 0.75 0.75 12000 9080 8990 HLDG 7.55 7.69 7.25 7.55 7 7.55 250600 1838396 PHIL INFRADEV 1.5 1.51 1.54 1.56 1.49 1.51 4547000 6937030 KEPPEL PROP 2.92 3.28 2.92 2.92 2.92 2.92 2000 5840 CITY AND LAND 0.69 0.7 0.71 0.71 0.71 0.71 1000 710 MEGAWORLD 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.06 3.01 3.03 20371000 61871370 MRC ALLIED 0.41 0.415 0.41 0.425 0.405 0.41 114410000 47522200 PRIMEX CORP 1.2 1.21 1.2 1.24 1.2 1.21 271000 327520 ROBINSONS LAND 15.32 15.36 15.7 15.7 14.74 15.36 6271000 96297088 ROCKWELL 1.53 1.54 1.55 1.6 1.53 1.53 663000 1034780 SHANG PROP 2.67 2.69 2.69 2.69 2.66 2.66 25000 66600 STA LUCIA LAND 1.88 1.9 1.89 1.92 1.89 1.92 6000 11370 SM PRIME HLDG 32.5 32.8 32 32.8 31.6 32.8 8708000 280476645 VISTAMALLS 3.96 4.05 4.05 4.05 4 4.05 8000 32200 SUNTRUST HOME 1.23 1.24 1.23 1.24 1.22 1.23 398000 488440 PTFC REDEV CORP 40.05 50.45 40.05 40.05 40.05 40.05 300 12015 VISTA LAND 3.41 3.42 3.4 3.44 3.36 3.41 1997000 6780450

117000 20308395 -356640 141360 10400 1540 -662730 10800 -9044428 4004430 320 -13938770 17250 -17949046 410500 -32874460 -1825500

SERVICES ABS CBN 11.3 11.32 11.4 11.54 11.24 11.32 170900 1935630 GMA NETWORK 5.07 5.1 5.1 5.14 5.05 5.1 438400 2234370 MANILA BULLETIN 0.4 0.415 0.395 0.415 0.395 0.415 60000 23900 MLA BRDCASTING 10.8 11 11 11 11 11 1000 11000 GLOBE TELECOM 2056 2060 2060 2098 2054 2060 43425 89580630 PLDT 1330 1333 1330 1348 1325 1330 149805 199464770 APOLLO GLOBAL 0.051 0.053 0.054 0.054 0.051 0.053 64410000 3310510 CONVERGE 15.16 15.18 14.5 15.2 14.38 15.16 26882900 401012396 DFNN INC 3.02 3.06 3.09 3.09 3.02 3.02 101000 305480 DITO CME HLDG 6.77 6.78 6.5 6.85 6.21 6.77 99022100 650197824 IMPERIAL 1.34 1.39 1.34 1.34 1.34 1.34 1000 1340 ISLAND INFO 0.085 0.086 0.086 0.086 0.085 0.085 810000 68960 JACKSTONES 1.62 1.68 1.6 1.69 1.6 1.69 116000 192080 NOW CORP 4.74 4.75 4.75 4.82 4.6 4.75 7530000 35522030 TRANSPACIFIC BR 0.247 0.248 0.245 0.249 0.241 0.247 8810000 2157780 PHILWEB 2.85 2.86 2.8 2.91 2.7 2.85 2503000 7022700 2GO GROUP 8.75 8.91 8.99 8.99 8.75 8.91 34300 302444 CHELSEA 5.86 5.87 5.7 5.9 5.45 5.86 9584800 54502627 CEBU AIR 38.9 39.35 39.6 39.6 38.55 38.9 354200 13792200 INTL CONTAINER 114.5 114.9 116 116 111.5 114.5 2152740 246366568 LBC EXPRESS 14.3 15 14.28 15.7 14.28 14.3 5100 77956 LORENZO SHIPPNG 0.97 1 0.96 1 0.96 1 496000 479530 MACROASIA 5 5.01 5.19 5.19 5 5.01 8886700 45018554 METROALLIANCE A 1.94 1.96 2.03 2.04 1.92 1.94 1129000 2228880 METROALLIANCE B 1.95 2.1 1.92 2 1.92 2 5000 9920 PAL HLDG 6.95 6.96 7.27 7.27 6.95 6.96 112000 791221 HARBOR STAR 1.31 1.32 1.31 1.33 1.27 1.32 3977000 5186720 ACESITE HOTEL 1.22 1.29 1.22 1.22 1.22 1.22 1000 1220 BOULEVARD HLDG 0.027 0.028 0.027 0.028 0.027 0.027 46300000 1255100 DISCOVERY WORLD 1.72 1.8 1.72 1.72 1.72 1.72 4000 6880 GRAND PLAZA 10.58 11.42 11.44 11.44 11.44 11.44 400 4576 WATERFRONT 0.42 0.425 0.43 0.44 0.41 0.425 3890000 1641450 CENTRO ESCOLAR 6.49 6.99 6.49 6.49 6.49 6.49 100 649 FAR EASTERN U 550 560 560 560 550 550 420 231180 IPEOPLE 7.48 7.67 7.48 7.48 7.48 7.48 100 748 STI HLDG 0.335 0.34 0.345 0.35 0.335 0.34 9860000 3376950 BERJAYA 3.96 4.02 3.97 4.1 3.71 4.02 1330000 5278460 BLOOMBERRY 7.06 7.08 7.3 7.3 7.03 7.06 13146300 94046433 PACIFIC ONLINE 1.8 1.86 1.82 1.9 1.78 1.84 664000 1212070 LEISURE AND RES 1.51 1.53 1.51 1.53 1.5 1.53 826000 1249650 MANILA JOCKEY 2.12 2.33 2.2 2.2 2.12 2.12 18000 38480 PREMIUM LEISURE 0.32 0.325 0.33 0.33 0.32 0.325 15540000 5019600 PHIL RACING 7 7.15 7.05 7.05 7 7 5000 35040 ALLHOME 6.52 6.59 6.64 6.64 6.45 6.59 1504900 9857141 METRO RETAIL 1.44 1.45 1.5 1.5 1.42 1.44 1696000 2454540 PUREGOLD 41.5 41.55 42.2 42.25 41.4 41.55 3253300 135745125 ROBINSONS RTL 64.35 64.4 65 65 64 64.4 617770 39825759 PHIL SEVEN CORP 113 114 114 114 113.8 114 2770 315630 SSI GROUP 1.26 1.27 1.28 1.29 1.22 1.27 13286000 16817620 WILCON DEPOT 14.34 14.58 14.76 14.76 14.26 14.34 6465600 93203844 APC GROUP 0.325 0.33 0.315 0.33 0.315 0.33 4540000 1473500 EASYCALL 6.9 6.99 6.91 6.99 6.8 6.99 19300 131680 GOLDEN BRIA 346 370 345 370 345 370 150 54250 PRMIERE HORIZON 0.35 0.355 0.36 0.38 0.35 0.355 43630000 15963400 SBS PHIL CORP 4.13 4.2 4.2 4.2 4.19 4.2 37000 155280

15679010 -97042205 58493670 -2732662 -9660 -49530 4900 101050 -409394 -4221945 -93398627 -18510 -1468942 -61770 55020 649 -46897832 58240 -1056360 -576950 4021399 -10160 -75564585 -18737715 -209760 323300 -52338978 21600 -105000

MINING & OIL ATOK 9.5 9.79 9.74 9.8 9.34 9.79 121600 1164154 APEX MINING 1.84 1.85 1.8 1.86 1.79 1.84 8438000 15341980 209810 ABRA MINING 0.001 0.0011 0.001 0.0011 0.0009 0.001 2347000000 2348400 -4000 ATLAS MINING 4.1 4.12 4.05 4.12 4.05 4.12 230000 933730 -8100 BENGUET A 2.74 2.85 2.77 2.87 2.75 2.85 127000 352110 BENGUET B 2.68 2.77 2.77 2.77 2.77 2.77 102000 282540 COAL ASIA HLDG 0.255 0.265 0.255 0.265 0.255 0.265 190000 48750 CENTURY PEAK 2.46 2.53 2.53 2.53 2.53 2.53 5000 12650 DIZON MINES 7.65 7.81 7.82 7.82 7.59 7.81 2800 21439 FERRONICKEL 1.32 1.34 1.32 1.35 1.3 1.34 3975000 5271090 -49200 GEOGRACE 0.242 0.248 0.246 0.247 0.24 0.242 520000 126900 LEPANTO A 0.151 0.152 0.15 0.151 0.149 0.151 15910000 2385810 LEPANTO B 0.15 0.152 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.15 190000 28500 MANILA MINING A 0.0098 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.0098 0.0099 12200000 121400 MANILA MINING B 0.01 0.011 0.011 0.011 0.011 0.011 22300000 245300 MARCVENTURES 0.95 0.96 0.94 0.95 0.93 0.95 2120000 1992430 473760 NIHAO 2.57 2.59 2.6 2.63 2.56 2.57 170000 440200 NICKEL ASIA 3.72 3.73 3.77 3.77 3.61 3.72 13529000 50067750 589820 OMICO CORP 0.33 0.35 0.33 0.33 0.33 0.33 11280000 3722400 ORNTL PENINSULA 0.65 0.67 0.66 0.67 0.65 0.67 220000 144610 PX MINING 5.35 5.37 5.34 5.4 5.22 5.35 1288300 6870997 14879 SEMIRARA MINING 10.3 10.32 10.5 10.58 10.02 10.3 9275500 95445424 -3594286 ACE ENEXOR 6.16 6.26 6.36 6.4 6.12 6.26 360300 2242451 PHILODRILL 0.0087 0.0088 0.0087 0.0088 0.0087 0.0088 5000000 43900 PXP ENERGY 11.14 11.16 11 11.4 10.8 11.16 2071300 23018654 -483126

PREFFERED HOUSE PREF A 100 102 102 102 100 100 60070 6007140 AC PREF B1 510 519.5 518 518 518 518 230 119140 DD PREF 100.5 101.9 101.9 101.9 100.5 100.5 510 51269 FGEN PREF G 107.5 108 107 107 107 107 24850 2658950 GLO PREF P 512 518.5 510 512 510 512 50 25580 GTCAP PREF A 1002 1100 1005 1005 1005 1005 1600 1608000 MWIDE PREF 101.3 101.6 101.6 101.6 101.6 101.6 36790 3737864 PNX PREF 3A 98.2 100.3 100.3 100.4 100.3 100.4 730 73242 PNX PREF 3B 101 101.9 101 101.8 101 101.8 4340 438380 1010 PNX PREF 4 990 996 987 990.5 987 990 160 158185 PCOR PREF 2B 1002 1035 1003 1003 1002 1002 110 110270 PCOR PREF 3A 1050 1062 1062 1062 1041 1062 12795 13520370 PCOR PREF 3B 1075 1080 1080 1085 1080 1080 4550 4914025 SFI PREF 1.27 1.96 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1000 1200 SMC PREF 2C 78 78.2 78.2 78.2 78 78 15410 1202058 SMC PREF 2F 78.5 78.8 78.5 78.8 78.5 78.5 82220 6454285 SMC PREF 2G 76 76.5 76 76 76 76 900 68400 SMC PREF 2I 78.6 78.95 78.6 78.6 78.6 78.6 100 7860 SMC PREF 2J 76.95 77 76 77.1 76 77 129110 9911070

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR 10.9 11 11 11 10.9 10.9 24200 264260 GMA HLDG PDR 4.92 4.99 4.86 4.92 4.86 4.92 9000 44160

WARRANTS LR WARRANT 0.8 0.84 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8 72000 57600

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ALTUS PROP 12.48 12.5 12.9 13.24 12.4 12.5 1773400 22869186 -38620 ITALPINAS 2.71 2.72 2.79 2.79 2.66 2.72 4403000 12030410 -252240 KEPWEALTH 5.42 5.45 5.4 5.45 5.4 5.45 21600 117261 MAKATI FINANCE 2.2 2.63 2.17 2.17 2.17 2.17 15000 32550 MERRYMART 3.4 3.41 3.45 3.47 3.39 3.4 26571000 91016350 514610

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS

FIRST METRO ETF 94.3 94.45 96.35 96.35 94 94.45 19960 1891766.5 496304

www.businessmirror.com.ph

BDO Leasing bounces back with ₧135-M profit in Jan-Sept

B

By VG Cabuag

@villygc

DO Leasing and Finance Inc. on Thursday said it recorded a net income of P135 million in January to September, a reversal of the P39million loss it incurred last year, due to lower interest and financing charges.

The company’s total expenses fell 18 percent to P1.9 billion, on reduced borrowings and lower funding costs, with interest and

financing charges dropping by 55 percent given the low interest rate environment.

Gross revenues fell by 5 percent

to P2.1 billion on lower interest income following the sale of its assets, covering lease receivables and other assets, to the BDO Unibank Inc. as part of the restructuring of its leasing business.

Earlier this year, BDO agreed to sell its 88.54-percent stake in BDO Leasing to a group led by Luis N. Yu, who is also one of the owners of mass housing firm 8990 Holdings Inc. Yu is buying 33 percent of BDO Leasing, while Vittorio P. Lim will buy 33 percent. Victor Y. Lim Jr. will acquire 4 percent and the remaining 18.54 percent will be by third party buyers.

BDO Leasing continues to pro-

vide leasing and finance products to its clients through its whollyowned, privately-held subsidiary, BDO Finance Corp.

BDO Leasing, which will change its name to United Platinum Holdings Corp., has already transferred 27.02 percent of its assets to BDO Finance as part of the restructuring of the leasing business of BDO. The restructuring is aimed at optimizing the financial needs of clients in light of new accounting regulations covering lease transactions.

BDO Finance will assume current lease transactions booked in the corporation to provide continuity to existing clients.

Cemex posts lower 9-month income, sales

M

exican cement firm Cemex Holdings Philippines Inc. said its income in January to September fell 13 percent to P758.1 million from last year’s P874.7 million as both cement sales volume and prices declined.

Net sales fell 17 percent to P15.1 billion from last year’s P18.22 billion. For the third quarter alone, sales were slightly down by 6 percent to P5.51 billion from last year’s P5.86 billion.

The company, however, posted a net income of P623 million for the third quarter alone, or more than eight times higher than the P72 million it posted last year.

“As the country takes steps towards reopening the economy, the impact of the pandemic remains a concern. We must continue to adapt to the challenges and limitations brought about by covid-19. Full execution of the government’s infrastructure plan can help accelerate economic recovery. Nevertheless,

we continue to be optimistic on the long-term growth prospects of the Philippines,” Ignacio Mijares, the company’s president and CEO, said.

As of end-September, the company behind cement brands such as APO, Island, and Rizal has a total debt of P13.51 billion, a decrease of about P6.6 billion from end of December.

Domestic cement volumes fell by 12 percent during the nine months of the year. For the third quarter alone, its domestic cement volumes declined by 3 percent year-over-year.

“Activity in the residential sector was lower during the third quarter due to persisting covid-19 risks and effects on the country. Some developers have revised expansion plans, likely to safeguard their balance sheets amid challenging market conditions,” the company said, adding that the non-residential sector remained a challenge during the quarter amid uncertainties, especially in the retail, tourism and

San Miguel vows to help clean up Bulacan rivers

S

an Miguel Corp. (SMC) is gearing up for the construction of its P734-billion Manila International Airport in Bulakan, Bulacan and has vowed to help solve the province’s perennial flooding problem.

With the support of concerned local government units (LGUs) in the province, SMC said it aims to widen and dredge or remove silts and other debris in major waterways to allow the smooth flow of water.

In a statement, SMC President and Chief Operating Officer Ramon S. Ang said the company had been in talks with local government units and other stakeholders the past few weeks, to outline the company’s flood mitigation strategy.

He said concerned LGUs and other stakeholders had been requesting for SMC to replicate its ongoing P1-billion Tullahan-Tinajeros River System dredging project in Bulacan, to help mitigate flooding which has affected Bulacan residents, particularly those living in the low-lying areas of the province.

“Cleaning up major rivers in Bulacan is really part of our plan. That is why many stakeholders, led by the provincial government and local government units, welcome (to) the project. We have committed to help with this issue and show that this airport project will not only provide jobs and boost the economy but will also provide a long-term solution to the perennial flooding in Bulacan,” Ang said.

As part of SMC’s commitment, the tributaries belonging to the

Marilao-Meycauayan-Obando River System (MMORS) will be subjected to river channel improvement.

The plan, he said, is to dredge, widen, and deepen the Alipit or Taliptip River, Sta. Maria River, and the Meycauayan River, to address the risk of upstream flooding.

For the Alipit River, Ang said the target is to achieve a bottom width of 60 meters and a depth of 2.5 meters, mean sea level (MSL) throughout its 7.21-kilometer length. For the Sta. Maria River, the target is a bottom width of 90m, dredged depth of 5.0m MSL, and length of 0.50 km.

Meanwhile, for the Meycauayan River, the target bottom width is 80m; dredged depth, 4.5m MSL, and length of 4.46 km.

Ang revealed that SMC has also studied future improvements to alleviate the potential risk of flooding, as continued urban development, can increase surface runoff volumes. These include further dredging the rivers to increase their top w idth and dredged depth.

“Constant dredging and cleanup is important for these tributaries leading to the Manila Bay as silt, trash, and other obstructions restrict the free flow of water, caused heavy flooding, and affecting the marine ecosystem and traditional fishing grounds,” he said.

“By dredging, cleaning, and widening these tributaries both in Bulacan along with the Tullahan River System, we can increase their capacity to carry excess rainwater and thus reduce flooding.” Jonathan L. Mayuga

hospitality segments. For the public sector, infrastructure disbursements in July to August declined by 28 percent to P96.6 billion from P134.5 billion last year, mainly due to muted construction activity amid the pandemic, and as Metro Manila and nearby provinces was returned

mutual funds

to a two-week modified enhanced community quarantine in August.

“The government budget department expects a reduced level of spending for the year as some projects are discontinued pursuant to the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act,” it said. VG Cabuag

October 29, 2020

NAV One Year Three Year Five Year Y-T-D per share Return* Return Stock Funds ALFM Growth Fund, Inc. -a 207.61 -18.73% -10.01% -4.32% -17.56% ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 1.1096 -25.59% -11.1% -3.1% -19.71% ATRAM Philippine Equity Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 2.8178 -27.39% -14.03% -6.51% -23.39% Climbs Share Capital Equity Investment Fund Corp. -a 0.7174 -24.09% -10.66% n.a. -20.11% First Metro Consumer Fund on MSCI Phils. IMI, Inc. -a 0.6977 -19.26% n.a. n.a. -17.85% First Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund,Inc. -a 4.4395 -17.97% -8.47% -4.58% -16.68% First Metro Save and Learn Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a,4 0.6984 -19.82% -10.34% n.a.

-18.18% MBG Equity Investment Fund, Inc. -a 86.74 -23.85% n.a. n.a. -15.97% PAMI Equity Index Fund, Inc. -a 41.9521 -19.65% -8.37% -3.08% -18.19% Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 446.7 -17.67% -7.95% -3.38% -16.16% Philequity Alpha One Fund, Inc. -a,d,5 0.9621 n.a. n.a. n.a.

-6.6% Philequity Dividend Yield Fund, Inc. -a 1.0581 -19.39% -8.15% -2.95% -17.78% Philequity Fund, Inc. -a 31.1259 -19.44% -7.8% -2.58% -17.87% Philequity MSCI Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.8236 -20.48% n.a. n.a.

-19.1% Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. -a 4.286 -19.27% -7.9% -2.37% -17.95% Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a 716.78 -19.13% -7.82% -2.51% -17.8% Soldivo Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 0.6477 -27.58% -11.75% -6.41% -23.93% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, Inc. -a 3.2707 -23.94% -9.66% -4.07% -22.29% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.8212 -19.33% -8.11% -2.56% -17.95% United Fund, Inc. -a 2.9849 -19.42% -7.26% -2.19% -18.29% Exchange Traded Fund First Metro Phil. Equity Exchange Traded Fund, Inc. -a,c 96.2934 -18.97% -7.52% -1.73% -17.67% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund, Inc. -b $1.0884 11.54% 0.39% 3.42% 5.83% Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, Inc. -a $1.5313 17.68% 7.93% n.a.

11.07% Balanced Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ATRAM Dynamic Allocation Fund, Inc. -a 1.5644 -1.94% -5.02% -2.85% 0.1% ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 2.1034 -7% -4.46% -1.34% -3.56% First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. -a 2.4594 -7.28% -3.24% -2.65% -6.54% First Metro Save and Learn F.O.C.C.U.S. Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a,1 0.1864 -21.25% n.a. n.a.

-18.42% NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils., Inc. -a 1.8797 -4.49% -1.22% 0.46% -4.18% PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc. -a 3.5728 -6.27% -2.54% -0.7% -5.71% Philam Fund, Inc. -a 15.9853 -6.32% -2.67% -0.74% -5.75% Solidaritas Fund, Inc. -a 1.9781 -8.08% -3.71% -0.83% -6.79% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 3.3522 -14.15% -5.01% -2.05% -13.23% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2028, Inc. -a,d 0.9621 -6.04% n.a. n.a.

-5.28% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2038, Inc. -a,d 0.8697 -14.03% n.a. n.a. -12.72% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2048, Inc. -a,d 0.8492 -15.8% n.a. n.a.

-14.5% Sun Life Prosperity Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a 0.8241 -16.77% -6.01% -2.91% -15.46% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Cocolife Dollar Fund Builder, Inc. -a $0.03909 2.3% 2.7% 2.02% 2.33% PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, Inc. -b $1.0696 7.43% 1.24% 3% 5.69% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc. -a $4.1926 11.17% 5.73% 5.88% 7.21% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund, Inc. -a,3 $1.1705 5.66% 3.09% n.a.

3.7% Bond Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 368.83 3.75% 3.08% 2.62% 3.04% ATRAM Corporate Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.9536 1.63% 0.9% 0.28% 2.71% Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. -a 3.2054 3.61% 4.69% 4.91% 2.81% Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc. -a 2.2895 3.39% 2.57% 2.14% 2.97% First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund,Inc. -a 2.4443 4.29% 3.29% 1.93% 3.61% Philam Bond Fund, Inc. -a 4.6186 6.7% 4.12% 2.62% 5.62% Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc. -a,6 1.3124 5.37% 4.37% 2.47% 4.43% Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.9536 5.51% 4.16% 2.31% 4.37% Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.0364 8.58% 3.64% 2.03% 7.48% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.1736 4.17% 4.55% 2.82% 3.19% Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc. -a 1.7415 3.35% 3.94% 2.23% 2.37% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $480.55 3.12% 2.63% 2.78% 2.6% ALFM Euro Bond Fund, Inc. -a Є217.81 -0.95% 0.82% 1.16% -0.9% ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -b $1.2496 3.9% 3.29% 2.61% 3.51% First Metro Save and Learn Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $0.0264 2.33% 1.83% 1.59% 2.33% PAMI Global Bond Fund, Inc -b $1.089 -0.55% 0.3% 0.29% -0.42% Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $2.5106 4.7% 3.93% 3.26% 4.46% Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc. -a $0.0618488 2.63% 2.47% 2.18% 2.57% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund, Inc. -a $3.1956 0.93% 2.08% 2.31% 0.64% Money Market Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 129.34 3.4% 3.32% 2.53% 2.79% First Metro Save and Learn Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.0461 1.92% n.a. n.a.

1.93% Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.2925 2.73% 3.02% 2.61% 2.17% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Starter Fund, Inc. -a $1.0507 1.58% n.a. n.a.

1.19% Feeder Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities Sun Life Prosperity World Equity Index Feeder Fund, Inc. -a,d,7 1.0162 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Global Multi-Asset Income Fund Inc. -b,d,2 $0.93 n.a. n.a. n.a.

-6.06%

a - NAVPS as of the previous banking day. b - NAVPS as of two banking days ago. c - Listed in the PSE. d - in Net Asset Value per Unit (NAVPU).

1 - Launch date is September 28, 2019. 2 - Launch date is November 15, 2019. 3 - Adjusted due to stock dividend issuance last October 9, 2019.

4 - Renaming was approved by the SEC last October 12, 2018 (formerly, One Wealthy Nation Fund, Inc.). 5 - Launch date is December 09, 2019.

6 - Re-classified into a Bond Fund starting February 21, 2020 (Formerly a Money Market Fund). 7 - Launch date is July 6, 2020.

"While we endeavor to keep the information accurate, the Philippine Investment Funds Association (PIFA) and its members make no warranties as to the correctness of the newspaper’s publication and assume no liability or responsibility for any error or omissions. You may visit http://www. pifa.com.ph to see the

latest NAVPS/NAVPU."

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Banking&Finance BusinessMirror

BDO unit reverses 2019 loss as 9-mo income rises

T

he subsidiary of BDO Unibank Inc. reversed its P39-million net loss last year, days after the biggest bank in the country suffered a 48-percent profit decline in the first nine months of the year.

In a disclosure last Thursday, BDO Leasing and Finance Inc. (BDOLF) said it ended the first nine months of 2020 in the green, booking net income of P135 million on the back of lower expenses.

The listed lender said that it was a reversal from the net loss it posted for the same period in 2019.

In the first three quarters, BDOLF’s total expenses fell by 18 percent to P1.9 billion due to reduced borrowings and lower funding costs.

Gross revenues for the period, meanwhile, slipped by 5 percent to P2.1 billion “on lower interest income following the sale of BDOLF’s assets, covering lease receivables and other assets, to the BDO Unibank Group as part of the restructure of the Group’s leasing business.”

Shares in BDO Unibank fell by 3.26 percent, or P3, to close at P89 each amid the 2.01-percent drop for the main index last Thursday.

According to BDOLF’s quarterly report, its 9-month interest rev-

enues dropped by 24.48 percent to P1.08 billion from P1.51 billion year-on-year.

As of end-September, BDOLF’s assets and stockholder’s equity amounted to P14.29 billion and P5.79 billion, respectively.

It has earmarked P449.7 million for provisions against potential credit and impairment losses.

Earlier this month, BDOLF said it transferred 27.02 percent of its assets to BDO Finance Corp. as part of the restructuring of BDO Unibank’s leasing business.

Under BDO Unibank’s restructuring strategy, it incorporated BDOFC, a privately held company, to handle its lease products and services.

The exact amount of the transaction was not disclosed but BDOLF said it was based on at least the book value or price on arms’ length basis.

The bulk of the assets transferred were mortgage and other receivables, among others.

BDO Unibank reported earlier that its 9-month net income dropped by 48 percent to P16.6 billion yearon-year on the back of higher reserves for credit losses. The provisions reached P23.8 billion in the first nine months. Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

Core biz supports China Bank 9-month income

C

hina Banking Corp. saw its net income climb by 23 percent in the first nine months as it sustained the growth of core businesses.

In a disclosure on Thursday, the Sy-led bank said it posted P8.2-billion net income from January to September, translating to a return of equity of 11.15 percent.

For the third quarter alone, its net earnings improved by 21 percent to P3 billion year-on-year.

Loans and deposits in the first nine months increased by 6 percent to P595 billion and P827 billion, respectively.

Total assets stood at P1 trillion as of end-September, earlier than its yearend target.

“The year 2020 has been very challenging, but with the hard work and commitment of our employees, we are able to pull through and provide the needed banking services and support to our clients,” China Bank President William C. Whang said. “We are still expecting continuing challenges from a difficult environment, and the results give us the buffer to absorb further stresses down the road.”

The shares of China Bank skidded by 0.23 percent, or 5 centavos, to settle at P21.60 each amid the 2.01-percent

plunge for the benchmark index last Thursday.

The bank said its 9-month net interest income soared by 35 percent to P25 billion on the back of lower interest expenses, resulting in higher net interest margin of 3.89 percent.

Fee-based income in the JanuarySeptember period, meanwhile, surged by 35 percent to P7 billion because of higher trading gains and revenues from trust business.

China Bank increased its loan loss reserves by 12 times to P6.3 billion.

Nonperforming loans ratio and NPL coverage stood at 2.5 percent and 104 percent in the first nine months.

The bank’s capitalization rose by 9 percent to P101 billion as of end-September. Capital adequacy ratio stood at 13.99 percent for the period, which is above minimum regulatory requirement.

“Amid the pandemic, China Bank’s capital and liquidity position remains strong. We continue to productively deploy resources to drive strategic growth, finance our clients’ needs, and contribute to the country’s economic recovery,” China Bank Chief Finance Officer Patrick D. Cheng said.

Earlier this month, China Bank raised over P15 billion from its fixed rate bond offering. Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

DBP disburses nearly ₧12-B loans for tourism industry

T

By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

@Tyronepiad

he Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) disbursed over P11.98 billion in credit assistance for the tourism sector during the first half.

The state-owned bank said in a statement on Thursday that the borrowings helped around 178 tourism-related companies across the country.

DBP explained that the loan assistance is lodged under two programs, which include retail lending for micro and small enterprises and another one for medium enterprises and other businesses.

Extending financing was in line with DBP’s goal of helping the industry survive the impact of the pandemic.

The state-run bank said it is working with the Department of Tourism and tourism businesses to develop long-term solutions for the current economic slowdown.

DBP President and Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel G. Herbosa

said that the bank is “ready to provide needed resources to enable industry players to institute mechanisms that would rebuild trust in travel, seamlessly adapt to digital platforms and innovate traditional offerings to spur demand.”

Herbosa said that distressed companies may also access credit lines from the bank’s rehabilitation support program on severe events. It is open for rehabilitation efforts of both public and private institutions affected by calamities.

“Moving forward, we must ensure that resources for the industry are channeled not just for recovery and rebuilding but also for enhancing the readiness and resiliency to combat sudden and debilitating fluxes in the economy,” he said.

In the first half, the bank extended P19.16-billion credit support and payment deferment under its reha-

LandBank helps Bohol town accelerate development

P

RESIDENT Carlos P. Garcia, Bohol—Before becoming an emerging municipality, Boholanos often describe this island town as a gloomy ghost town with houses lit only by makeshift gas lamps and fishers sailing the dark sea as the only traces of human activity at night.

As the only town separated from mainland Bohol, commerce in the municipality was not feasible. Residents relied only on artisanal fishing, farming and mat weaving for daily subsistence.

The movement of people and commodities to and from the locality used to be risky, challenging and expensive as the only available means of sea transportation was through small outrigger pump boats.

When the proposal of connecting the municipality to the mainland through a bridge proved to be impractical and too costly, the municipal government opted to acquire a landing craft transport sea vessel to serve as a moving bridge.

With a P55-million term loan from Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) in 2018, the municipality acquired Isla de Pitogo, which can accommodate up to nine big passenger buses.

On February 4, 2019, the vessel began commercial operations and provided passengers with a safe, comfortable and affordable transportation. It also opened up the municipality to commerce and tourism, as consumer items and other goods started to pour in, including construction

materials for the town’s infrastructure projects.

“The landing craft sea vessel was a game changer. It became our first step to development. The vessel connected us to the rest of Bohol, and helped open up our municipality to progress and development,” Municipal Mayor Fernando B. Estavilla said.

Local fishermen and farmers of rice, corn, coconuts, root crops, fruits and vegetables also benefitted with the inter-island vessel in transporting their catch and produce to as far as Tagbilaran City. The operations of sea vessel also provided jobs to at least 35 residents who man the port in Barangay Popoo, and onboard the vessel. Establishments catering to the growing trade and commerce in the area also generated additional employment.

The LandBank said one of its main objectives is to support local government units nationwide. As of September 30, LandBank said it has extended loans to LGUs amounting to P51.38 billion. A significant portion of this, or P17.25 billion, represents loans used to finance the agri-aqua projects of LGUs, including farm-to-market roads, slaughter house, and irrigation.

Just recently, LandBank launched a lending program to help LGUs recover post Covid-19.

With a program fund allocation of P20 billion, the bank targets to finance the recovery and rehabilitation projects of provincial, city and municipal LGUs toward stronger and more resilient communities.

China eases controls in move toward liberal yuan

C

hina has taken more steps this month to loosen its grip on the yuan than at any time since curbs were imposed in the aftermath of a chaotic devaluation in 2015.

Although the changes were widely interpreted as an attempt to slow the currency’s appreciation, they have been deployed without significantly weakening the yuan or destabilizing global financial markets. Instead, the result has been a steady Chinese currency that remains near a two-year high—potentially emboldening officials looking to push ahead with yuan reform.

A growing consensus among analysts is that the yuan has every reason to stay strong, even if appreciation happens at a slower pace from now. Higher-yielding Chinese assets will continue to attract foreign capital into mainland bond and equity markets, and the country’s economy is recovering faster from the virus pandemic than elsewhere.

Paring back control helps liberalize China’s currency market, an important component of Beijing’s long-term plan to encourage greater global usage of the yuan. Reducing China’s reliance on the U.S. dollar is increasingly pressing as tensions with Washington spill over to the financial sphere.

“The time is ripe,” said Ding Shuang,

Friday, October 30, 2020 B3

A morning commuter rides an escalator in the Lujiazui Financial District in Shanghai, China, on Friday, October 9, 2020. China’s yuan strengthened and stocks rose on mainland exchanges in a positive start to the month for traders returning to work after an eight-day holiday. BLOOMBERG

chief economist for Greater China and North Asia at Standard Chartered Plc. “Authorities are much more prepared than before, as financial regulation is more mature and fundamentals are better. The next focus for Beijing will be making it easier for capital to come in and also leave China.” The onshore yuan rose 0.31 percent to 6.7084 a dollar Thursday, about 0.2 percent weaker than it was before the People’s Bank of China removed its rule on forwards.

Beijing’s campaign to liberalize the

yuan stalled after a messy devaluation in August 2015 that triggered a vicious cycle of rapid depreciation and capital flight.

The trade war triggered another round of losses from mid-2018, which eventually pushed the yuan to its weakest in more than a decade the following year.

The window for major reforms reopened this month after the yuan completed its best quarterly advance in 12 years, with an interest-rate premium that’s near the widest on record versus the dollar. That has made it more attractive

to foreign capital, which is already flowing into China’s bond and equity markets due to multiple index inclusions over the past two years.

On October 10, authorities said they would scrap a 20-percent fee imposed on traders who wished to buy certain forwards—a type of derivative often used to bet against the yuan. Less than two weeks later, local media reported Beijing would allow domestic funds to send more capital overseas. Just days after that, some lenders stopped including a volatilitysmoothening factor when submitting their reference rates, in effect removing a key control measure for the yuan.

China could do more to loosen control of the currency—though whether further changes will happen soon is anyone’s guess. Potential measures include letting mainland investors buy offshore bonds via a trading link with Hong Kong, widening the yuan’s trading band beyond 2 percent either side of the fixing, or increasing the amount of dollars that residents can buy per year.

“The change is in order to enhance market-driven flexibility of the currency, which ties into the yuan internationalization goal,” Citigroup Inc. strategists led by Sun Lu wrote in a note. “The change could increase yuan volatility ahead.”

Bloomberg News

bilitation support program, benefitting 606 clients.

Earlier, DBP said that the transport sector could also avail loans through the program. Public utility vehicle operators were badly hit by the pandemic because of the temporary travel ban amid the lockdown.

“DBP is one with the DOTr [Department of Transportation] and LTFRB [Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board] in finding suitable and sustainable solutions to assist the transport sector as it steadily begins to recover from the devastating losses spawned by this pandemic,” Herbosa said.

The DBP provides credit support to infrastructure and logistics; micro-, small- and medium-scale enterprises; social services and community development; and, the environment.

A sense of epiphany

I

was pleasantly struck by the phrase “a sense of epiphany” that Belinda Moore used durAssociation World ing her webinar on Octavio Peralta “Reshaping Associations: The Impact of the Pandemic on Membership Models” for my organization, the Philippine Council of Associations and Association Executives (Pcaae).

As a Christian, I know of epiphany as Three Kings’ Day or the Feast of the Epiphany and that it means “manifestation” or “showing forth.” Generally, the term is used to describe scientific breakthroughs, religious or philosophical discoveries; now, it also means a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by a simple occurrence or experience.

This enlightening realization is the context of Belinda’s use of the term when she related a story of how a member of a marine rescue association finally appreciated being a member when he was saved by his fellow members in a sea mishap that almost cost his life. He finally understood the importance of being a member because he himself benefited from it.

The story resonates to most associations. Members, especially during this pandemic, search for meaningful benefits from their associations although not necessarily related to saving lives. As associations, their main purpose is to create a positive impact for members.

Belinda, a director at the Strategic Membership Solutions (SMS)—Australia’s foremost consulting and advisory services company that specializes in strategy, sponsorship and membership support for associations, charities, unions and other not-for-profit entities—has cited the following five ways to deliver a powerful impact to members: Understand the value you need to provide to your members. This value is a meaningful contribution to the success of something important to the member, e.g., a fantastic career, a great lifestyle, a successful business, a healthy planet, solving their problems or what keeps them up at night.

Articulate the benefits that create value. Benefits are the outcomes required to achieve the desired value, e.g., expressing how you can help members sell more products, reduce costs, increase profile in their industry, or gain new skills that will lead to career success.

Ensure you have the features to deliver the benefits.

Features are the products you offer to create the benefits.

They fall into one of three categories: exerting influence, directly providing services, and/or facilitating community, e.g., discounts on insurance coverage, or advocating to the government.

Create communication processes that convey value. The value of membership is often intangible, making it difficult to articulate. This means segmenting and targeting your communications to ensure the right people receive the information they need in a manner that will inspire the right action.

Measure and report against the tangible impact you make.

Success is about creating tangible outcomes for members that are related to purpose. This means measuring, reporting, and constantly refining and innovating to enhance the impact your association is making.

So what was my sense of epiphany from Belinda’s webinar? It was when she said about an association: “its purpose is the fuel and impact is its goal.”

The column contributor, Octavio “Bobby” Peralta, is concurrently the secretarygeneral of the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific and the Founder & CEO of the Philippine Council of Associations and Association Executives. PCAAE is holding the Associations Summit 8 on November 25 and 26, 2020 with the theme, “Leading with Agility.” The two-day virtual event is supported

by Adfiap, the Tourism Promotions Board and the PICC. E-mail inquiries@adfiap.org for more details on AS8.

B4

Friday, October 30, 2020 • Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

Relationships BusinessMirror

Education, pandemic style

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Today’s Horoscope

By Eugenia Last

z

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Nia Long, 50; Gavin Rossdale, 55; Harry Hamlin, 69; Henry Winkler, 75.

Happy Birthday: Consider every detail before you make a move. You may be eager to get on with your life, but obstacles will continue to stop you in your tracks until you take care of unfinished business. It may be a slow process, but once you let go of the past, it will be much easier to pursue your goals. Your numbers are 8, 19, 24, 27, 31, 38, 40.

a

ARIES (March 21-April 19): When in doubt, pause. An offer is only useful if it suits your needs. Refuse to get involved in something that will benefit someone else more than it will help you.

Speak up, but don’t let anger take over. HHH

I

T must be incredible difficult to be a parent during this pandemic.

Pre-Covid, mommies and daddies went about their busy lives, working to get enough food on the table, sheltering their kids with a roof over their heads, and, on occasion, helping them with their assignments to enable the latter to succeed in their school work and move on to the next grade.

Parents at least had a modicum of confidence that whatever tuition they were paying for their children’s education, they would get their money’s worth. And with the teachers acting as surrogate parents, their kids would grow up to be the smart cherubs they believed their kids have been all along. Ahem.

These Covid-19 days, with kids stuck at home, and having to grapple with blended learning sessions, amid faltering Internet connections (Hello, Smart! Hello, PLDT! Hello, Globe!

Hello, Converge! Hello, Sky!), parents are finally realizing the pitfalls of relying on our schools too much, without the close supervision their kids have actually needed.

Since school year 2020-2021 began, a few self-learning modules (SLMs), which supposedly had the imprimatur of the Department of Education, have been found to be wanting in sense, reasoning, and well...education. Our Facebook and Twitter news feeds have been inundated by screenshots of what exactly the kids are being fed in school.

In one example, which scandalized even celebrity singer Lea Salonga she had to post it to her social-media accounts, an owl was labeled as an ostrich. And while grammatical errors have been found in many work books pre-Covid, which sent netizens a-tittering, the slew of mistakes recently discovered in these SLMs were so glaring, even news outlets wouldn’t let up in pointing these out and seeking comments from the DepEd. (E.g. “Tagaytay City is known for wonderful picturesque of the majestic Mount Taal...”)

Not to mention, errors in mathematic equations; frankly I’m not even our family’s Math genius but even I know how to solve for “x”—and it will not give you “zero” by dividing 2x by zero, then cross multiplying with zero/zero. Haller! Dr. Sheldon Cooper would throw a fit at this!

Film director Jose Javier Reyes was so shocked about an SLM module of his friend’s niece. It was supposed to teach Filipino to kids by using hugot lines from movies, and asking them to identify which film characters uttered these.

Reyes, who is also a university professor, said in his post: “I am not only disgusted but infuriated and demoralized by the educational standards being shown to Filipino students. How can we develop a nation of critical thinkers whereas some of those who were given the responsibility of shaping the minds of the young are in dire need of brains and even dedication to their work as well? Thus today I have concocted a new term: ‘EDIOTS.’ Idiots in Education.”

b

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Expand your knowledge, interests and goals. A partnership will be questionable. Make sure you are on the same page before you agree to something longterm. Someone will offer an inflated point of view.

Research the possibilities before getting involved.

HHHH

c

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): A personal pickme-up will change your mood and enhance your attitude. Physical fitness, a new look or additional skills will boost your confidence and encourage you to head in a new and exciting direction. A romantic encounter is favored. HHH

d

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Do what’s best for everyone. Refuse to get into a scuffle with someone negative or controlling. Keep the peace, but don’t give in to pressure. Do your own thing if you don’t like what someone asks you to do. HHHH

In a way, this Covid-19 could be a “blessing in the sky”— I’m betting an SLM would probably include that Filipinized joke, instead of the correct idiomatic expression “blessing in disguise”—because it’s made parents check up on what exactly their angels are being taught, especially on DepEd’s livestreamed school sessions and approved workbooks.

And yet, this should really not come as a surprise. We’ve seen the signs but chose to ignore them.

In my one trimester of teaching at a university, I had a few students from popular exclusive Catholic schools for girls and boys who could not write grammatically correct sentences on their test papers to save their overprivileged lives. And this was in the late 1980s. So can you imagine the kind of education the kids are receiving these days?!

Privately schooled children will probably manage to get by in the real world once they graduate, what with the social connections of their parents, but what of those studying in public institutions and using these poorly conceptualized learning materials?

What can we do though? There have been droves of competent teachers, dissatisfied by the inequitable salaries they receive here, leaving the country and trying their luck abroad, educating foreign students. Or worse, have become househelp or nannies taking care of other people’s kids.

Many in my generation work in private companies, or have become lawyers and doctors, or are working abroad in various occupations and professions. Among the X’ennials and millennials, a lot of them are in the business-process outsourcing field, either as supervisors or call center agents (if fresh graduates).

Many of us work at jobs which pay more than teaching,

so who are we expecting to educate children today? Or make learning materials for private and public school pupils? The Avengers?

I don’t mean to demean our current crop of teachers. For sure, many of them wouldn’t stay in the profession if they didn’t have some measure of devotion to, love even for their schools and the kids they teach. I’ve read the stories, I’ve watched the news features on TV...public school teachers, for instance, have hardly enough time on their hands to create their daily lesson plans, teach and take questions from what? 50-60 students, and make do with their blinking Internet connection at that. I doubt their salaries have been increased despite teaching online classes, which is exhausting believe me. Say what you will about the efficiency of WFH, and while attending webinars and online pressers may seem “easier” for journalists such as myself who have co-morbidities—in my case, asthma— the computer can just suck the life and energy out of a person. Even if you use a 100 blue-light filters to your screen. (There must be a study to explain why this is so.)

The only way we can stop the erosion in quality of the country’s educational system is for more of the intellectually bent to become teachers. Or at least help in crafting or editing these SLMs. (Volunteers, anyone?) We also should advocate for higher salaries for our country’s teachers and for budgets to fund their higher studies so they, too, can improve their skills and competence.

These are not impossible goals. But we need to this now, if we are to have a better future as a nation. Imagine having a president in Malacañang who can’t even spell “fuchsia“? Or, for heaven’s sake, do fractions?! n

‘Rebecca’ and the ghost of Joan Fontaine Continued from B5 tendency to use broad strokes, with the present Mrs. Danvers hewing closer to realistic portrayal.

In the remake, more closets are closed and more are opened, with Mrs. Danvers professing, it seems, attraction rather than loyalty to her Rebecca. In the present narrative, Mrs. Danvers looks to the house as the domain of Rebecca rather than an empire to be preserved.

The actors and filmmakers should have looked at Judith Anderson’s magnificent portrayal of servitude as well. More deranged than deprived of

love, Anderson’s sharp turn and twist of the body and the head are cultivated taste. Known for her sterling performance as Medea, she appears to have strayed from a staging of a play by Euripides into a Hitchcock set where—spoiler alert for those who have not seen the old and new Rebecca—she is credible as arsonist with the pedigree of a tragic artist.

Rebecca is the great director Alfred Hitchcock’s first American project. The screenplay is attributed to Robert E. Sherwood and Joan Harrison, with adaptation by Philip MacDonald and Michael Hogan.

The 1940 and 2020 Rebecca are both based on the 1938 novel of the same name by Daphne du Maurier.

Records attest to Rebecca having been released in 1940 to critical and commercial success. The film received 11 nominations at the 13th Academy Awards, where it won two awards; Best Picture and Best Cinematography.

In 2018, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

Rebecca, presently described as a “2020 British romantic thriller film” now streaming on Netflix, is directed by Ben Wheatley from a screenplay by Jane Goldman, Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse. n

e

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Control your emotions. Back away from unstable situations. Spend time working toward personal goals that will make you feel good about how you look and what you do. HH

f

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): A change of plans will work in your favor. Go with the flow and learn as you go. The information that comes your way will help you slide into situations with ease and put you in an excellent position to negotiate.

HHH

g

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Don’t take on responsibilities that don’t belong to you. Put your time and energy into a relationship that matters to you and bringing about the changes that will lead to your happiness. HHH

h

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Scrutinize secondhand information. A premature move will lead to unexpected difficulties if you rely on others to do things for you. Take control of what’s happening around you, and don’t let your emotions step in where efficiency is required. HHH

i

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): An energetic approach to whatever you do will bring excellent results. Doing home improvements, having meaningful discussions, making plans with someone you love or interviewing for a position that speaks to your creative skills and imagination is favored. HHHHH

j

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Don’t give up; push back. An emotional setback may be daunting, but it will help bring problems to the surface that need to be resolved before you move forward with your plans. HH

k

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Consider what you do for a living and how you would like to spend your time. The gap may not be as big as you think. Check out courses that will help you transpose something you enjoy doing into a lucrative sideline. HHHH

l

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Look for new ways to use your skills and expertise. An opportunity you least expect will come your way. You are overdue for a change that will help you let go of the past and fast-forward into something exciting.

HHH Birthday Baby: You are dynamic, emotional and zealous.

You are inventive and secretive.

‘a different breed’ by ria dhull and paolo pasco The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 “Understand?”

6 Tempeh or tofu base 9 Geographic reference book 14 Otherworldly being 15 Killing ___ (Sandra Oh show) 16 The “R” of R.I. 17 Tennis ball collector, after an encounter with King Midas?

20 Prefix for “venom” 21 Like a ghost story 22 Scary Spice 23 Thor’s father 25 Loves a lot 27 Some rooms in Wonka’s factory?

32 Inheritors 33 General’s group 34 Alphabetical nickname 37 Reese’s Legally Blonde role 38 Wailing instruments, informally 40 Couples’ getaway spots 41 Four-term prez 42 “Everything must go!” event 43 Jumps 44 One preparing the table in London?

8 Mississippi River explorer 4 50 Flapjack seller 51 At any time 52 One-up 55 Brainstorming result 59 Parts of a Stuttgart nativity scene?

62 Block for shaping metal 63 ___ Wonderful juice 64 Nail a test 65 Pittsburgh export 66 Drag to court 67 Inexperienced with DOWN 1 Lady ___ (“Rain on Me” singer) 2 X AE A-12 Musk’s dad 3 Slant 4 Earning 2/5 stars, say 5 Direction opposite WSW 6 Tennis star Williams 7 No longer bothered by 8 Elusive Himalayan 9 Melber on MSNBC 10 Mafia 11 Source of friction for flames?

12 “Skyfall” singer

3 Belgrade residents 1 18 Coraline author Gaiman 19 Domains 24 Cube root of ocho 26 Groundhog ___ 27 Guy Fieri, for example 28 ___ hands (showed affection) 29 Crude resource 30 Puts a strain on 31 Poetic “before” 35 Gymnast’s hand wrapper 36 A Gentleman in Moscow setting, briefly 38 Old West bar 39 Wong of Always Be My Maybe 40 Stage scenery part 42 Many a drill instructor: Abbr.

43 August 1 sign 45 One sticking to the status quo, in slang 46 “I can’t be seen here!”

47 Look for gifts, perhaps 48 Ballet painter Edgar 49 Uneven bars or balance beam 53 Letter-handling org.

4 The way you used to be?

5 56 Sketched 57 Revise, like a script 58 Regarding 60 ___-inclusive 61 To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before author Jenny

Solution to Tuesday’s puzzle:

Show BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

• Friday, October 30, 2020

B5

Armie Hammer and Lily James star in the remake of the classic Rebecca, now streaming on Netflix.

THIRD PARTY

THIS showbiz couple has been separated for two months now but they’ve kept it a secret from the public because of certain commitments. So what caused the separation? The husband was in a lockedin taping and according to a source, who belongs to the cast, he and one of his costars were lovey-dovey during the entire time. The source is a good friend of the wife, so of course you know what happened next.

If you look at the individual IG accounts of the couple, you’ll see that they haven’t posted about each other for a while. The wife posted to greet her husband during his birthday recently but that’s about it. It’s not clear whether they are civil and whether the images the husband are posting of their child are recent or old. As for the source who told the wife, we heard the source has been fired from the drama, thanks to the husband’s influence.

NEW ROMANCE

THE girl, a young actress and singer, is very popular and anyone paired with her is sure to get a career boost. Her former partner is probably feeling sorry for himself after what happened. The young actress is now reportedly dating a showbiz aspirant who is very popular online but has not had much success with his career. Many of the actress’ fans are rejoicing but some are skeptical. Yes, the aspirant is good-looking and talented but they’re afraid that he could be using the young actress as a shortcut to fame. He was in another love team before this and it didn’t quite work out. The initial plan was for him to be paired with someone already close to him. She’s a person who’s very similar to him in background and character. That didn’t work out, too.

‘Rebecca’ and the ghost of Joan Fontaine

SHE IS SKEPTICAL

A CELEBRITY has expressed her fears that the man her relative is about to marry is not all he appears to be. He comes from a wealthy family, yes, but he was just an employee in the business. He has no actual wealth himself. The celebrity is afraid that her relative will be used by the guy for his own purposes. She is fearful that her relative will end up supporting the guy. The celebrity should know because she is in a similar situation and she even supports her husband’s family, including his adult siblings. It was okay before but now, she isn’t making as much as she used to. She doesn’t want the same thing to happen to her relative.

NO MORE

THE actress is reportedly so sick and tired of her name being associated with her former screen partner and boyfriend even when they stopped being a couple several years ago and they’re now both in relationships with other people. She hates it that every time the actor is involved in any controversy, her name always comes up and press people will always try to get a sound bite out of her.

She reportedly told her management to help her remedy this situation by helping keep her name out of anything the actor gets involved with. They had to tell the actress that any form of publicity is good for her, since she is no longer in her prime.

NETFLIX BRINGS MORE FILIPINO STORIES TO FANS WORLDWIDE “OVER the last 20 years living and working across Southeast Asia, I have yet to encounter a community of fans as passionate, vocal, or visible as you. Your conversations on our social-media pages light up the Internet, spark global trends, and serve as a reminder that great stories are universal—they can come from anywhere and be loved everywhere,” says Raphael Phang, manager of content acquisition on Netflix, of the Filipino audience.

This November, the top streaming platform worldwide is bringing more Filipino titles to address the cravings of homegrown entertainment among Pinoys everywhere.

“We have been steadily growing our catalog of Filipino content with some of the most prominent film studios in the Philippines, like Viva, ABS-CBN, TBA Studios, Regal Films, The Idea First Company, Globe Studios, Mavx Productions and others,” continues Phang.

“We have renewed and expanded our content offering from ABS-CBN, and we can’t wait to show you more amazing stories from talented Filipino filmmakers through this partnership, including new films, like The Hows of Us, Hello, Love, Goodbye and Alone/Together, which will be coming very soon to Netflix worldwide.”

Phang adds that the first Filipino animated feature on Netflix, Hayop Ka! The Nimfa Dimaano Story, is coming to the platform soon, along with other Netflix films, such as Alter Me and Finding Agnes.

T

HE sumptuous production design brings us back to Manderley and that age of manners gilded amorality. Once we are there, we feel something is missing. Is it the heart of a memory? Is it the feeling someone—something—is taking away what belongs to our remembrances, even if it’s in the domain of cinema?

When the news got out that Rebecca, that 1940 film noir of a romance movie, was having a remake, many cineastes asked: Why? There is a particular question that needs a particular answer: What was the reason for Bert Wheatley to do a remake.

To be fair, there are no rules about remakes. But there are fast rules about memories. Some films, for good or bad, do not beg for a remake for the simple reason that those films have become etched in the mind—and heart—of those who have viewed them.

The same films whose images have become indelible have also been studied, their reviews preserved in books meant to become part of the heritage of cinema.

Again, there is no law which orders us that films belonging to a canon in film aesthetics cannot be retold again. Still, how does one contend with canonization in arts?

To be fair, I must admit I was not fair when I started viewing and reviewing the present Rebecca.

Long before the opening credits rolled, I was already contending with the opening scene of the “original”

Rebecca. I should have recognized the intertextual burden but I opted to let the present contend with the past. May the better time win!

Recall the massively imposing gate and the camera swimming through its curlicues and gothic swirl, above and close to the hedges, while lights and reflections from behind the trees shine and vanish as an ever-present darkness shrouds the entrance to a haunting house at the end of the road. Over this forbidding introduction, a voice, wan but mannered in the style of those years, the voice of Joan Fontaine is velvet declamation rather than merely recalling.

From that opening, which is terrifying as it is terrific filmmaking and editing, the scene drifts to mighty crags, with the camera climbing the side until it angles to catch a man standing on a precipice.

The camera goes up close to the legs in contrapposto position, and indeed one leg starts to move. Is he about to jump off the cliff? But a woman from below shouts and stops him from what we (sharing the view and mind of the woman) think he is about to do. The man is irritated. We know he is because the camera has gone to his face. Laurence Olivier it is! And he is in that matinee idol looks of his before he switched if off to allow the gravitas of those terribly heavy roles to take over.

The woman looking up is Joan Fontaine, one of the major faces and voices that ever graced Hollywood.

She is plain-looking in this opening scene but as the story deepens, she becomes the loveliest image of a film about love and the tricks memory plays with the past.

Fontaine is also one of those actors of old Hollywood described always as having a look the camera is forever in love with.

To the present, we contend with two actors, Lily James and Armie Hammer, burdened with the vestigial vision of Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine.

Two difficult acts to follow and a project is asking them to follow those acts, whether they like it or not.

The 2020 Rebecca is not that bad. The manor has been “reconstructed” so well we feel we are contending with another actor—a structure that houses secrets and seductions. But it is this very same virtue that becomes a trap into which it falls and never rescues itself from. Because every time the camera pans around and lingers over the most delicate of chemise and the wind blows through those French windows with their gossamer drapes, you long for the ghost of Joan Fontaine.

Lily James is no Joan Fontaine. While this may sound ad hominem, there is a world out there that has witnessed another Mrs. De Winter and that is Joan Fontaine. It is the sheer vulnerability of Fontaine that had the audience of the 1940s and those who have seen the film rooting for the present even as we pity the past. Rebecca the character is never shown in the narrative but Joan Fontaine makes her live again as she stands enchanted and enchanting in the wellpreserved room of the first original mistress of the manor.

In the characterization of Lily James, the new Mrs. De Winter is an inquisitive, nearly arrogant upstart.

She looks lost in some scenes but that look is more a function of what she appears to demand immediately from the house and the memories. From the start, we know the Mrs. De Winter does not deserve the phantoms of Manderley, and that is good.

The Rebecca in the story—1940 and 2020 editions—may have vanished but there is a scarier ghost in that huge house and she is not even dead.

This is Mrs. Danvers played in the remake by Kristin Scott-Thomas. Here, the playing field has changed.

True, the English-French actor has to face up to a mighty competition—the grand actor Dame Judith Anderson—but acting is a tradition that can change.

Scott-Thomas’s governess is more haunting than the phantasm provided by Anderson. Both have

Continued on B4

GMA shows, personalities honored anew BROADCAST giant GMA takes pride in providing superior entertainment and information to Filipino viewers, with the Guillermo Mendoza Memorial Scholarship Foundation (GMMSF) again recognizing some of its prized artists and programs at a virtual awarding ceremony held on October 18.

Leading the list of winners is GMA’s flagship newscast 24 Oras, which was recognized as the Popular TV Program in the News and Public Affairs category.

Top star Alden Richards was hailed as Phenomenal Star of Philippine Cinema and Film Actor of the Year for the blockbuster movie Hello, Love, Goodbye. Gabby Concepcion, on the other hand, was conferred the prestigious Corazon Samaniego Award.

Meanwhile, the well-loved pair of Bianca Umali and Miguel Tanfelix received the Most Popular Loveteam for Television award for their outstanding performances in the drama series Sahaya.

Eat Bulaga hosts also took home various awards. Allan K received the Bert Marcelo Lifetime Achievement Award, while Jose Manalo, Wally Bayola and Paolo Ballesteros won as the Male TV Host of the Year. Paolo also earned the Comedy Actor of the Year award, while Maine Mendoza was chosen as the Comedy Actress of the Year.

FROM left: Sandra Aguinaldo, Howie Severino, Kara David and Atom Araullo of I-Witness.

Receiving the Box Office Entertainment Awards nod, as well was fast-rising singer Anthony Rosaldo, who was named as Promising Male Recording Artist of the Year. Various GMA programs were also recognized by educational institutions in The Mendiola Consortium Awards.

Well-loved long-running newsmagazine Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho won as Best Magazine Show, while longest-running documentary program I-Witness was hailed as Best Documentary Show.

Hit family sitcom Pepito Manaloto emerged as Best

Comedy Show while GMA News TV’s Biyahe ni Drew was named Best Culture and Arts Program.

24 Oras, on the other hand, received a Special Citation for Best News Program, while environmental wildlife program Born to Be Wild earned a Special Citation for Best Educational Program.

The Mendiola Consortium is an educational organization in the Philippines founded by San Beda University, Centro Escolar University, La Consolacion College of Manila, College of the Holy Spirit, and Saint Jude Catholic School.

B6 Friday, October 30, 2020

Change the way you soda with Sunkist Freshie

Back-to-back farmers’ training in the South done by SM Foundation

N

O such thing as “good soda?” Think again. You can now enjoy the fizz and flavor of soda without the guilt.

Introducing Sunkist Freshie—a refreshing, caffeine-free carbonated drink with essential vitamins and minerals, but with no sugar added.

Addressing health concerns about the long-standing reputation of soda as having adverse impact on one’s health due to incredibly high amounts of sugar and empty calories, Asia Brewery Inc.’s brand new soda drink has no sugar added as it is naturally sweetened with Stevia and fruit juice.

Stevia is a plant-based sweetener regarded as a safe and healthy sugar substitute and is associated with health benefits such as reduced calorie intake, blood sugar and risk of cavities as well as regulated blood pressure.

In the Philippines, authorities continue to hold public information campaigns that highlight the importance of a healthy lifestyle and raise awareness on sugar consumption, particularly of sugary drinks like soda, as one of the reasons for diabetes onset. Sunkist Freshie’s entry, however, offers a healthy alternative drink especially to those who love satisfying soda cravings.

Sunkist Freshie, as the “good soda,” contains Vitamin A that helps support immunity, Vitamin D and Calcium to help build strong bones, Iodine and Vitamin B12 ingredients known to help increase energy levels, and Iron an ingredient that has been known to help improve memory.

It also comes in two exciting, nontraditional flavors: Yoghurt and Apple that both promise a delightful drink experience.

“Sunkist Freshie is the healthy drink of choice for soda-loving consumers. Now, more than ever, people are becoming more conscious of their health and wellness.

With Sunkist Freshie as a ‘good soda,’ we’d like people to know that they can absolutely still make this carbonated drink very much a part of their healthy lifestyle while contributing something good to society,” Hubert Tan, senior vice president for Asia Brewery Inc., said.

Sunkist Freshie is available at a good, friendly SRP of P20 in Puregold, Ministop, Mercury Drug branches and other leading supermarkets, drug stores and convenience stores nationwide. You can even enjoy Sunkist Freshie with a low calorie meal through Yummy Diet (https://www. yummydiet.ph/index.php/home).

SM Foundation Kabalikat sa Kabuhayan (KSK) on Sustainable Agriculture program launches in Davao City.

S

INCE September, SM Foundation has been executing Kabalikat sa Kabuhayan (KSK) on Sustainable Agriculture in Davao City to diversify its reach so that more farmers will benefit from new farming technologies that would improve both their yields and incomes.

These launches are in collaboration with various government agencies, principally the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Department of Agriculture (DA), and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

The training programs are done in a span of 29 days and are based on a calendar planting schedule so that farmers will be able to crop do crop rotation year-round.

This agricultural strategy will enable the KSK participants to restore or to maintain a productive soil.

From September to October, the agri-based program has already been launched in the following areas in Davao City: Brgy. Talandang, Tugbok Distict, Brgy .Carmen, Baguio District, Brgy. Malagos, Baguio District, Brgy.

Baguio Proper, Baguio District, and Brgy.

Los Amigos, Tugbok District.

Two more KSK batches are being programmed for Barangay Cadalian, Baguio District and Barangay Cawayan, Calinan District. All told, the program

launches in Davao involve 250 trainees.

During the launch, SM Foundation distributed KSK Agri Starter Kits, which include vegetable seeds and other farm implements, together with its training partner—Macondray Philippines. This strategy intends to help the farmer trainees to immediately execute the farming technologies that they learned from the program.

Mayor Sara Duterte, in her native tongue, highlighted agriculture’s important role for the economy, “It starts with you, our hardworking farmers. The cycle from planting to providing food on our tables.”

“We are grateful to you for providing us with stable food supply. All of you have grand contribution to ensure food security and help augment our economy,” she told the farmer-trainees from Barangay Malagos.

Mayor Duterte also said the government is ready to implement programs and projects that could help elevate their livelihood. “We are also thankful to private organizations and foundations, like SM Foundation, for implementing Kabalikat sa Kabuhayan Program that would greatly help in boosting the livelihood of the farmers.”

To sustain the program, SM City Davao Assistant Mall Manager Warren Rey Bautista said that SM Supermalls

and SM Supermarkets will be assisting the farmers, through the guidance of partner farm-schools who will help the farmer trainees in finding markets for their produce.

Engr. Jonathan Nick D. Santos, regional manager of SM Supermalls – Mindanao, said, “Sa pamamagitan nitong KSK na may holistic training program, matuturuan ang mga participant ng iba’t-ibang paraan upang makatulong sa pagkamit ng sustainable agriculture practices at food security.”

“Sa programang ito, gagabayan kayo ng ating training partners mula sa TESDA at Wangan National Agricultural School.

Mayroon ding technical and hands-on training sa pagtatanim ng prutas, gulay at iba pang high value crops. At upang mapalago at magabayan ang inyong mga planong agri-business, kayo ay tuturuan din ng financial literacy, accounting, postharvesting and handling. Gagabayan din kayo para magkaroon kayo ng sustainable agri-based plans,” he added.

Kabalikat Sa Kabuhayan (KSK) program aims to bring modern and sustainable farming skills in both rural and urban communities to help farmers have food on their table and have potential economic opportunities. To date, the program has trained more than 26,700 farmers from almost 3,360 barangays in 880 cities/municipalities.

Enjoy a Sharktacular Halloween with Pink Fong & Baby Shark at Ayala Malls

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IDS are in for a #SharktacularHalloween treat this year with Ayala Malls, Pinkfong & Baby Shark.

“Families are all invited to join the fun by taking part in these fintastic online activities that kids and parents alike are sure to enjoy,” shares Tin Yabao, Ayala Malls Consumer Marketing Head.

To get one admission pass to the virtual event, customers must present a P500 single purchase receipt from Ayala Malls including purchases made at the Sharktacular Halloween Fair, and through A.N.A. (Ayala Malls Neighborhood Assistant). Receipts dated October 23-30, 2020 are qualified.

The first customers to present two P500 single purchase receipts or one P1,000 single receipt will receive a free Halloween sCARE kit loot bag. For single receipts worth P1,500 and above, customers may redeem a maximum of two Halloween sCARE kit loot bags.

Redemption of admission passes and sCARE kit loot bags are from October 23-30, 2020 at the Market!

Market! Activity Center. Each pass is valid for one Facebook account belonging to a child’s parent or guardian. Upon registration the parent or guardian will be added to a private Facebook Group where the Virtual Mall Show will be streamed.

For safety and convenience, customers have the option to avail of the A.N.A. personal shopper service.

Public warned against admin case scam

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HE Civil Service Commission (CSC) warns the public against unscrupulous individuals pretending to be CSC employees/officials.

The CSC has received reports about individuals pretending to be employees/ officials of the CSC or from a certain “Public Complaints Center”, who contact government employees to inform them that an administrative case has been filed against them. The employee is then instructed to pay a certain amount of money to clear himself/herself of the charges.

“The administrative cases filed before the CSC are decided through a clearly defined adjudication procedure as provided under the 2017 Rules on Administrative Cases in the Civil Service,” CSC Chairperson Alicia dela Rosa-Bala emphasized.

The public is advised to immediately report such activities to the CSC’s Office for Legal Affairs at telephone numbers (02) 8931-8016 and (02) 8931-7935 local 401 to 411 or email ola@csc.gov.ph. Scams can also be reported to the Contact Center ng Bayan by sending an SMS to 0908-8816565 or email to email@contactcenterngbayan.gov.ph.

CanCham announces changes for the 2021 International ICT Awards Philippines

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A.N.A. will take care of your purchases, as well as registration and redemption of your child’s admission pass and loot bag, and deliver these to your home. You may also opt to pick-up at the mall’s DriveBuy curbside station.

30 kids with the best costumes and best dance entries will be selected as winners, and will be featured on the Ayala Malls Facebook Page. Winners will be announced on November 6, 2020 on the Ayala Malls Facebook Page.

Sharktacular Halloween Fair

DRESS in your best Halloween costume, and do the Baby Shark Hand Wash Challenge using the Instagram filter available at the @pinkfong.official Instagram account. To qualify, you must

also follow @iloveayalamalls and mall’s account on Instagram.

Buy all your Halloween needs at the Sharktacular Halloween Fair from October 23 to November 1, 2020.

Score awesome Pinkfong & Baby Shark merchandise, as well as costumes, decor, and treats for the perfect DIY Halloween party at home.

Enjoy great deals on mom and baby essentials at Ayala Malls Pasyal TV Live Shopping Mom & Babies Edition on www.shop.pasyal.com.ph from October 31 to November 7, 2020.

For complete mechanics and other updates, like and follow Facebook.com/ ayalamalls and @iloveayalamalls on Instagram or visit http://www.ayalamalls. com.ph/.

HE 15th International ICT Awards Philippines (IICTAP) will be staged in 2021 with a new two-part format open for worldwide viewing.

Finalists and Winners will be announced on a nationwide TV show on April 10, 2021 with extravagant entertainment.

Winners and Finalists will be awarded trophies at a celebrity dinner on April 15, 2021 in their honor in a premier hotel. Both parts will be streamed live on Facebook as well as being posted on Facebook and You Tube for one month for further viewing.

In announcing the new format with the dates for the two 2021 events, the Chairman of the Organizing Committee, Julian Payne, President of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (CanCham, the Organizer of the annual event) said “We are moving forward and changing with the changing times and new opportunities to project the excellence of ICT service providers in the Philippines. We cannot continue business as usual.”

The Chairman of the Organizing Committee also announced that the award categories have been updated to match the ever-widening use of digital services and that sponsorship options had been streamlined to facilitate expanded support by emerging new stakeholders as well as traditional supporters. He confirmed that the 2021 IICTAP has again been honored to receive official endorsements for the third consecutive year by the DICT, PEZA, and NICP who, he said, clearly recognized the

dynamic role of the event as an incentive for excellence by ICT services providers.

On November 13, a ZOOM webinar will be scheduled for potential nominees to ask questions about the categories, judging criteria and nominating procedures, with questions submitted in writing without attribution and also to be posted and answered on the FAQ of the IICTAP website for the wider public.

On January 1, 2021 the IICTAP website app for nominations will be opened to receive online nominations for the 2021 awards (with submission of nominations through this channel mandatory for all nominations).

The deadline for receiving Nominations will be Sunday, January 31, 2021.

Payne also emphasized that “Maintaining the widely respected integrity of IICTAP in accepting eligible nominations and judging remains of paramount importance to ensure the value of the awards for the Winners and Finalists.” He further noted that “To ensure there is no real or perceived conflicts of interest, nominations are not accepted from the Endorsers, Sponsors, Judges, or CanCham officers and employees” and he confirmed that Monchito Ibrahim has again been appointed by the Organizer as the Independent Compliance Officer for the 15th IICTAP in 2021.

For more information contact: Ms Heidi Del Pilar, IICTAP Organizing Committee at hdelpilar@ictawards.org.ph or (63)9209748405 | (63)917-8069151

Sports BusinessMirror

mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph / Editor: Jun Lomibao

COACH LEO: WHO ARE THESE CRITICS?

Santa Ana Park rolls out mobile betting platform

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ORSERACING enters the digital era with the Philippine Racing Club Inc.’s (PRCI) rollout of a mobile payment platform that enables racing fans to place wagers on their smartphones.

PRCI Executive Vice President and COO Santiago Cualoping III said they released the Mobile Offtrack Betting Facility (MOTB) on Wednesday and noted that 1,000 accounts were created within a few hours.

“The MOTB replaces the traditional United Tote system,” Cualoping said. “The platform is convenient, intuitive and easy to use, and allows payments through bank transfer [BDO and Union Bank] and G-cash.”

Cualoping also said they have been scouting for new technology, but decided to invest all their resources in the MOTB after the Philippine Racing Commission (Philracom) announced the limited reopening of physical off-track betting stations, where there are no televisions, social distancing shall be observed, and patrons can only bet once.

PRCI’s mobile betting platform has been approved by the two government agencies overseeing horse racing—Philracom, that regulates the sport aspect, and the Games and Amusements Board (GAB), that overlooks the betting component.

“After the thorough testing and evaluation” conducted by GAB on the MOTB, GAB’s Board approved the use of the mobile betting platform on the win, forecast, trifecta, quartet, Daily Double Plus One, Pick 4, Pick 5, Pick 6 and Winner Take All pools,” GAB Chairman Abraham Kahlil Mitra said in a letter to the PRCI on Wednesday.

For the application’s creation and support, the 83-year-old racetrack company partnered with Bizooku Philippines Inc. to access the services of NorthAlley India Pvt. Ltd., an ISO-certified firm that provides totalizator services and solutions using the latest digital technology, including cloud computing and blockchain.

Cualoping said PRCI has utmost confidence in the MOTB system as NorthAlley’s totalizator has operated on 100 percent uptime since its launch in 2017, serving six of India’s seven racing clubs.

He added that the pivot to digitalization is a strategy that the racing industry must implement in order to keep up with the world’s increased adoption of virtual solutions for all types of transactions.

By Josef Ramos

“You just can’t please everyone. It’s normal for these people to criticize, but who are these critics?” Austria told BusinessMirror in a phone interview on Thursday from his room at the Quest Hotel in Clark.

“What is important is we already won championships through the help of the players and management,” he added.

Austria was no ordinary player—he was Rookie of the Year in 1985. As a coach, his collection of trophies is testament of his success—eight PBA titles in a seven-year career, including one for the Shell Turbochargers in 2005.

His string of Philippine Cup crowns included the classic 2015 Finals when they were down 0-3

only to send the Alaska Aces reeling in the next four games.

The 62-year-old tactician said he is not bothered by his bashers, all of whom he categorized as anti-San Miguel Beer, and in the current season, his wards have started to get into the groove after a 1-2 start in the bubble.

“The players are stepping up because they know the situation,” said Austria, referring to the absence of six-time Most Valuable Player, 6-foot-10 June Mar Fajardo, and three-time scoring champion Terrence Romeo, who are recovering from a leg and shoulder injury, respectively.

Matt Ganuelas-Rosser is in the US and is also absent in the bubble.

San Miguel Beer is now on a three-game roll, beating Terrafirma (105-98), Alaska (92-88) and Meralco (89-82) for a 4-2 win-loss record.

An encouraging sign, according to Austria.

“It’s their pride and willingness because they know there’s still a chance for us to win the title,” said Austria on the eve of their game against Barangay Ginebra San Miguel.

The Beermen-Gin Kings duel is set at 6:45 p.m. on Friday at the Angeles University Foundation gym in Pampanga with Austria being able to draw contributions from his entire bench in the absence of Fajardo and Romeo.

Mo Tautuaa is averaging 18.3 points and 7.3 rebounds, while veteran Arwind Santos is posting 14.1 points and 10.6 rebounds. Marcio is norming 15.6 points in the Beermen’s six.

Ginebra, on the other hand, is coming off back-to-back defeats, but hold the same 4-2 card as San Miguel Beer.

Magnolia (2-4) and Northport (1-4) clash in the first game at 4 p.m.

Zamboanga, Butuan carry favorites’ tag in Finals

and fourth-seeds, respectively.

They await the winners in the four knockout bouts with Big Boss Cement-Porac MSC Green Gorillas (8) and Zamboanga Peninsula Valientes MLV (9) kicking off the last leg.

That will be followed by matchups between Palayan City Capitals (5) and MLV Pagadian Rocky Sports (12), Sarangani Marlins (6) and Petra Cement-Roxas ZN Rockies (11) and Bacolod-Master Sardines (7) and Bicol Paxful 3x3 Pro (10).

The quarterfinals, semifinals and Finals will still be elimination matches.

All eyes will be on Zamboanga City, winner of three of four legs as well as the preseason of the FIBA 3x3-endorsed tournament supervised by the Games and Amusements Board and sanctioned by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas.

“We’re going for the championship.

We have all the talent, all the tools, all the experience to do it,” said Troy Rike, speaking for teammates Joshua Munzon, Alvin Pasaol, and Santi Santillan. “It’s not going to be easy. Other teams are going to go for it, too, but for us, we’re gunning for that championship.”

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OR every successful run, there are critics. And San Miguel Beer Head Coach Leo Austria is not exempt from tirades.

Austria is constantly getting a dose of criticisms especially in social media about his success with the San Miguel Corp. franchise. These attacks on the pride of Sariaya border on the Beermen winning five straight Philippine Cup crowns not on his merits, but because he has the material to dominate the allFilipino conference of the 45-year-old Philippine Basketball Association.

LEO AUSTRIA gets his share of criticism as a successful head coach of the San Miguel Beermen.

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AVORITES Family’s Brand SardinesZamboanga City Chooks and Uling Roasters-Butuan City couldn’t let their guard down in the Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 President’s Cup powered by TM which holds its Grand Finals this weekend.

Zamboanga City and Butuan City, as well as Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards and Pasig-Sta. Lucia Realtors, are already through the quarterfinals of the winner-take-all tournament that culminates with the MillionPeso Game on Friday at the Inspire Sports Academy in Calamba, Laguna.

But that’s no guarantee in an unpredictable 3x3 game with eight other teams expected to go all out in the Grand Finals beginning at 11 a.m. with streaming on Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas Facebook and FIBA 3x3 YouTube, and airing on BEAM TV Ch. 31.

“We expect that any team can go all the way.

We don’t underestimate any team,” said Uling Roasters’ top gun Franky Johnson on the level playing field in the pioneering professional 3x3 league energized by hydration partner Gatorade.

“We respect all these teams and what can they do.”

Nueva Ecija’s Juan Gomez

TROY RIKE: We’re going for the championship.

Pasig, San Juan, Marikina named bike-friendly cities

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HE cities of Pasig, San Juan and Marikina are the most bicycle-friendly cities in Metro Manila, according to organizers of the first ever Mobility Awards, while SM Mall of Asia, SM Marikina and Bonifacio High Street are the best in the commercial establishments category.

The Government Service Insurance System branch in Pasay City and The Medical City Ortigas, on the other hand, were also honored with the Gold Awards for Bike-Friendly Workplaces.

The recipients of the Padyak Awards, on

the other hand, were Joy Habana of GrabFood, Maria Gepayo of Foodpanda and Mr. Sebastian Cantero of Padyak Padala. Padyak distinction awards were also given to Jonnel Tomlod of Foodpanda, Ernest John Mediana of GrabFood and Helbert Ariola of Gofer.

The Embassy of Netherlands and Rolly Sol Cruz have announced they will be adding prizes for Padyak Awards winners, or outstanding bike delivery riders and couriers who count as frontliners during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Folayang picks Lee over Lapicus

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ILIPINO martial arts icon and former lightweight world champion Eduard “Landslide” Folayang picks reigning champion Christian “The Warrior” Lee of Singapore over undefeated challenger Iuri Lapicus of Moldova when they clash in the One: Inside the Matrix set at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Friday.

It’s a matchup Folayang will be closely watching as it will determine the future of the lightweight division and the 36-year-old “Landslide” is leaning towards the younger

guy to win the fight.

“This is a good fight between Christian Lee and Iuri Lapicus. The two top guys in the division, evenly matched. As a fan of martial arts, I’m excited to watch this,” Folayang said.

Lee is only 22 years old while Lapicus is 25.

The card will broadcast live and features four world title bouts for a total of six compelling martial arts contests.

In the main event, reigning middleweight and light heavyweight world champion “The Burmese Python” Aung La N Sang of

The panel of judges included Maria Golda Hilario of the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities, Aldrin Pelicano of MNL Moves, Nazrin Camille Castro of The Climate Reality Project Philippines, Chuck Baclagon of 350.org Pilipinas and Jaramia Armanani of the Pinay Bike Commuter Community.

“I’m very honored that San Juan has been chosen for this, and it gives me a lot of added inspiration to continue making San Juan bike-friendly,” said Mayor Francis Zamora, who accepted the Gold Award in a recorded message.

Myanmar stakes his belt against top contender Reinier “The Dutch Knight” de Ridder of The Netherlands.

Folayang himself will appear on the same card much earlier in the night as he takes on Australia’s Antonio “The Spartan” Caruso in a three round mixed martial arts contest.

The “Landslide” is in a must-win situation after losing three of his last four contests, but remains confident he can pull out the victory and make another championship run.

“I’m still strong. I’m still hungry. I’m improving every single day. I’ve always said, a martial artist is like a fish and the cage is like water,” Folayang said.

Athletes’ Village to have ‘health base’ for Covid-19 infections

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Friday, October 30, 2020 B7

“HEALTH BASE” is set to be established at the Athletes’ Village for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games in case of potential Covid-29 infection.

A coronavirus countermeasures taskforce, formed of officials from the Japanese government, Tokyo Metropolitan Government and Tokyo 2020, decided to implement a health base following their fourth meeting.

The base, separate from the general clinic in the Village, will be responsible for monitoring athletes’ health, selecting medical institutions to hospitalize those who contract the virus and organizing

transportation for patients.

The panel also agreed to set up an “infectious disease control center” in the Tokyo 2020 main operation center. Outfitted with doctors, this will centralize control over Covid-29 countermeasures.

It will work together with the health base and general clinic in the Athletes’ Village to keep on top of the health condition of athletes and detect infection at an early stage, while also gathering and sharing information on coronavirus.

The coronavirus countermeasures taskforce was established following the postponement of Tokyo 2020 as a result of the pandemic. Insidethegames

de Liaño and Butuan’s Chico Lanete, however, will miss the Finals because of injuries. De Liaño is still recovering from his right ankle sprain while Lanete will be on the sidelines nursing a swollen left shoulder.

Butuan City seized the second-seed after accumulating 330 points in the first four legs while the top-seed went to Family’s Brand Sardines with 345 points. Nueva Ecija (240 points) and Pasig (215 points) are the third-

Motoring BusinessMirror

Henry Ford Awards Best Motoring Section 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 2011 Hall of Fame

B8 Friday, October 30, 2020

Editor: Tet Andolong

All-new Mercedes-Benz GLA unveiled

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Story by Randy S. Peregrino

UTO Nation Group, the official distributor of Mercedes-Benz in the Philippines, recently held a digital premiere of its most exciting compact SUV—the new GLA. This entry-level new-generation SUV model is the eighth to join the lineup and rounds off the current Modular Front Architecture (MFA) from Mercedes-Benz. It embodies the perfect synergy between pure beauty and robust off-road elements and conveys the brand’s signature SUV design, as well as trailblazing technologies.

Exterior-wise, notable are the sharpened SUV character and expressive outline. Compared to its predecessor, the character has been significantly reinforced by its taller 1611 mm (1616 with roof rails) height. The AMG Body Styling comes with a diamond radiator grille with pins in chrome, 19-inch five twin-spoke light-alloy wheels, black roof liner and polished aluminum roof rails. The muscular shoulders of the vehicle characterize the side and rear views.

The GLA 200 AMG Line also boasts an attractive sporty interior. There’s the new generation multifunction sports steering wheel in Nappa leather and a more spacious interior with 40:20:40 split rear seats that are incredibly comfortable. Highlighted is the proprietary Mercedes-Benz User

Experience (MBUX). This multimedia system comes with a 7-inch instrument and media display and has its intelligent voice assistant who is activated with the code word “Hey Mercedes.” Smartphone connectivity via Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard, and the system supports the major applications and selected apps, including navigation.

Another highlight is the comprehensive touch operation concept—the combination of a touchscreen, touchpad on the center console and touch control buttons in the steering wheel. In addition to the intuitive operating experience, less driver distraction is another advantage.

The GLA 200 AMG Line is powered by a turbocharged 1.3-liter four-cylinder engine generating

163 hp and 250 N-m of maximum torque. It is mated to a 7G dual-clutch automatic transmission with cruise control. Also, it comes with a Dynamic Select in ECO, Comfort, and Sport driving profiles. There’s also ECO Start/ Stop system that automatically shuts off the engine.

Safety-wise, the new GLA makes a further step with its driving assistance systems with cooperative driver support. Mercedes-Benz Intelligent Drive combines safety and convenience innovations. This feature allows the driver to experience a new dimension of safety, convenience and stress relief. The GLA can react when the driver doesn’t.

Active Brake Assist is charged in many situations with applying autonomous braking to avoid a collision or to reduce its severity. The ATTENTION ASSIST with adjustable sensitivity can warn the driver on detecting the typical signs of inattentiveness or drowsiness.

Moreover, the GLA 200 AMG Line is loaded with Light and Sight Package that provides added interior value appeal and optimum visibility in the vehicle. It comprises functional comfort- and safety-enhancing lighting. Parking is made easy thanks to Parking Package consists of Active Parking Assist with reversing camera.

There’s even a Tire Pressure Loss Warning System, which monitors the inflation pressure of all four tires while driving.

The new GLA represents an exciting moment for Mercedes-Benz most popular compact SUV. Sporty, modern, agile, and practical, and has remained a firm preferred for those who love sleek styling of an SUV but prefer a compact vehicle. Introductory price is at P3.290 million and is available in Digital White, Cosmos Black, Iridium Silver, Polar White, Night Black, Denim Blue, Designo Patagonia Red, and Mountain Grey. To know more, you may visit www.mercedes-benz.ph/GLA.

The all-new GLA 200 AMG donning that sharpened SUV character and design. Mercedes-Benz Philippines

The sporty interior highlighting the proprietary Mercedes-Benz User Experience (MBUX).

Words of wisdom from Raymond, Spencer & Willy

Quinta renders 21 Road sections impassable

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S of 12 noon, a total of 21 national road sections are currently impassable due to road cut, landslide, mudflow, collapsed bridge, sunken pavement, fallen trees and electrical post and flooding due to heavy rains brought by Tropical Storm “Quinta.”

Citing a report from Department of Public Works and Highways-Bureau of Maintenance (DPWHBOM), DPWH Secretary Mark A. Villar said that of the 21 road sections, seven roads are closed in Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR); five in Region 2, two in Region 3, one in Region 4A, one in Region 4B, four in Region 5, and one in Region 10.

“Our disaster-response teams with equipment are deployed to conduct immediate clearing operations and install warning signs along affected road sections once roads are safe for our crew,” said Secretary Villar.

Impassable roads in CAR include: Kennon Road; Tawang-Ambiong Road K0263+900-K0263+930 section in Sitio Lower Riverside, Brgy. Ambiong, La Trinidad, B enguet; Apayao-Ilocos Nor te

Road K0613+500-K0613+580 section in Madduang,Kabugao, Apayao; Claveria-CalanasanKabugao Road K0643+050-K0643+110 Maragmin S ec tion, Calanasan, Apayao; Jc t. TalubinBarlig-Natonin-Paracelis Road, K0380+500 in Talubin and Mt. Province-Nueva Vizcaya Road, K0363+500-K0363+535 in Bay yo, both in Bontoc, Mountain Province; and Tabuk-Banaue Road, K0522+100, Dupligan, Tanudan, Kalinga.

In Region 2, affected sections are: CabaganSta. Maria Over flow Bridge, Cabagan, Sta. Maria in Isabela; Abusag Over flow Bridge K0543+382 along Baybayog-San Jose-BaggaoAbusag-Dalin-Sta. Margarita Road in Cagayan; intermittent sections of Cadcadir-Kabugao Road; Jct. Logac-Lasam-Gagabutan Road (JLLGR) Rizal Section, k0760+700-k0761+500 in Cagayan; and Manila North Road (MNR) K0590+150, Brgy. San Juan, Sta. Praxedes, Cagayan.

The Nueva Ecija-Aurora Road K0174+300, Brgy. Vilia. Maria Aurora, Aurora, and BaliwagCandaba -Sta. Ana Road, K0068+850-K0069+250,

San Agustin, Candaba, Pampanga were identified as impassable in Region 3.

In CALABARZON, closed are intermittent sections of Tagaytay Taal Lake Road in Brgy. San Jose, Tagaytay City, Cavite while in MIMAROPA, DPWH-BOM reported the closure of Calapan North Road, K0029+400 to K0030+200, Oriental Mindoro.

In Region 5 where the first landfall of Tropical Storm “Quinta” was recorded, the t yphoon rendered the following road sections impassable: Naga-Carolina-Panicuason Road (K0442+600); Tigaon-Goa-San Jose-Lagonoy-Guijalo via San Vicente Road (Tigaon-Lagonoy Section) Brgy. San Antonio, Tigaon, and Baao-Iriga City-Nabua Road (K0472+100 -(K0474+200) in Camarines Sur; and the Daang Maharlika (Tuaca Basud Section) K0365+200 in Camarines Norte.

Lastly, the Misamis Oriental-BukidnonAgusan Road, Siloo Bridge, Brgy. San Luis, Malitbog, Bukidnon, is also impassable due to landslide and collapsed steel truss bridge.

Volvo outperforms all other car brands for tech innovation

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HE J.D. Power 2020 US Tech Experience Index (TXI) StudySM provides an overview of how vehicle owners perceive advanced technology features. With the highest Innovation Index score of all competitors, 617 out of 1,000, Volvo offers a high level of advanced technologies across its entire product lineup.

Key findings showed that, among other technologies, Volvo drivers appreciate Oncoming Lane Mitigation (known as Automatic Emergency Steering in the study,) Cross Traffic Alert with auto brake (Front and Rear Cross Traffic Alert and Rear Automatic Braking), and Pilot Assist (Active Driving Assistance), which aligns with the Swedish luxury brand’s priority on safety.

Other technologies offered, but not included in the study, include 360-view cameras and sensors and Advanced Driver Assist System (ADAS)

features like Blind Spot Information System (BLIS) and Run Off Road Mitigation.

“At Volvo we believe in applying technology with purpose, not just for the sake of it,” said Anders Gustafsson, senior vicepresident Americas and president and CEO, Volvo Car USA. “We have always been about safety. The innovation in our new cars adds to that and the J.D. Power Tech Experience Index clearly shows how much our customers appreciate it.”

“The race never ends to develop ‘must have’ vehicle technologies,” said Kristin Kolodge, executive director of driver interaction and human machine interface research at J.D. Power.

“New technology continues to be a primary factor in the vehicle purchase decision. However, it’s critical for automakers to offer features that owners find intuitive and reliable. The

user experience plays a major role in whether an owner will use the technology on a regular basis or abandon it and feel like they wasted their money.”

The study, fielded February through May this year, is based on responses from 82,527 owners of new 2020 model-year vehicles who were surveyed after 90 days of ownership. It complements the annual J.D. Power Initial Qualit y Study (IQS)SM and the J.D. Power Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study, SM and is also used to help the industry address any problematic areas before the technologies are made widely available across automotive portfolios, thus improving the future owner experience.

For more information about the technology in Volvo cars, visit www.volvocars.ph.

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HE following are the abridged views from three of the country’s top car moguls on coping up with the pandemic, as told to my well respected buddy, Alvin Uy. From Raymond T. Rodriguez, president of Lexus Manila: “Today’s pandemic-hit business climate has struck the auto industry real hard. We keep asking the country’s top vehicle executives how they are coping and strategizing their organizations and networks (supply chain, dealers, customers). We are always conscious of our operating expenses, touching base with our customers regularly by conducting webinars that touch topics close to our clientele’s hearts, like Japanese cheesecake making, health issues and even golf as we are proud to have Miguel Tabuena to be our brand ambassador. Happy to say we are doing well in these dire times.”

From Spencer Yu, president of BMW-SMC Philippines: “The pandemic has definitely shaken things up and made the business environment quite difficult. It demanded that we change the way we do things. So, we take this challenge head on and welcome the opportunities that come along with it.

“The team is striving to be flexible while maximizing our resources to better suit the current business climate. It also helps that we are a premium brand that offers two- and fourwheeled options catering to a wide variety. In fact, BMW Motorrad’s contribution helps to keep our numbers stable.

“We are also doing our very best to move towards digitalization. Since our customers have limited opportunities to visit BMW showrooms

nationwide, we are slowly automating some areas of our operations while making sure that each individual still gets the best from BMW. With the support of our dealer-networks and partners from San Miguel Corp. and BMW Group Asia, we are positive that we will be able to make the most out of these challenging times.”

From Wellington Soong, chairman emeritus, Ferrari and Maserati PHL: “The Covid-19 pandemic has totally redefined the demand profile of our customer sensitivities to their own financial realities, and all our marketing and sales initiatives are now situational. This is a very crucial time and the instinct is to survive and downscale operating costs as the market for luxury and ultra-luxury cars may have shrunk to about 30 percent.

“Lamentable, indeed, since while demand has become so fluid and dependent on a monthto-month basis for customer’s appetite, I’m still glad to note that our principals are empathetic and supportive of market realities so that we look forward to better times ahead.”

Such words of wisdom could only come from the industry experts, indeed.

Bicycle bashing

HERE’S a crunching hit at the bicycle, vibered to me by a friend of mine. Slightly edited: “A cyclist is of no help to the economy. He does not buy a car and does not avail of a car loan.

Because he does not have a car, he does not buy a car insurance and fuel. He has no need for car service and repairs. He does not pay parking fees. He does

not become obese.

“Damn it, but healthy people are not needed in our economy. They do not buy drugs. They do not go to hospitals and doctors. They add nothing to the country’s GDP. On the contrary, every new fast food outlet creates at least 30 jobs—10 cardiologists, 10 dentists, 10 weight-loss experts. It helps ease the unemployment problem for having several people working in the outlet.

“So, choose wisely: A cyclist or a KFC? Worth thinking about.”

“P.S. Podner: Walking is even worse. A walker does not buy a bicycle.”

Bulacan airport

SPEAKING of cars and employment, the soonto-rise New Manila International Airpor t in Bulacan will generate a surge in vehicle sales as a result of strong demand by travelers using the gateway in their trips, both domestic and overseas. That’s an automatic boon to the economy, eagerly awaited to jumpstart a return to normalcy following the debilitating impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

With the coming airport that will have a record four runways and eight taxiways, millions will have jobs, manufacturing will be whirring almost nonstop, and vehicle-driven commerce running in a frenzy for the P740-billion project of San Miguel Corp. through its President-COO Ramon S. Ang—predicted to be completed within five years or so.

Did you know that the airport was first conceived

by RSA in 2009 yet?

Through sheer daring will dreams come to reality.

PEE STOP Hey, fellas, did you know that our dear Willy Soong is a Covid-19 survivor? With the help of at least five doctors, including those from Cebu, Willy hurdled the hump but not after more than a two-week ordeal of warding off the relentless “onslaught of the virus.” But he says it was by “God’s grace” that he licked the deadly virus. “I am almost 78 and God still loves me,” he said. Truly, the One doctor that heals completely is Dear God. Here’s to life, Willy.