BusinessMirror August 26, 2020

ROTARY CLUB OF MANILA JOURNALISM AWARDS

2006 National Newspaper of the Year 2011 National Newspaper of the Year 2013 Business Newspaper of the Year 2017 Business Newspaper of the Year 2019 Business Newspaper of the Year

BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business

EJAP JOURNALISM AWARDS

BUSINESS NEWS SOURCE OF THE YEAR (2017, 2018)

DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

2018 BANTOG MEDIA AWARDS

PHILIPPINE STATISTICS AUTHORITY

DATA CHAMPION

2021 BUDGET FOCUSES www.businessmirror.com.ph

n

Wednesday, August 26, 2020 Vol. 15 No. 321

P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 16 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK

ON HEALTH, FOOD, JOBS

CITY workers try out different modes of transportation, as public transportation remains limited amid the steady increase in Covid-19 cases, especially in Metro Manila. NONIE REYES

T

By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

HE Department of Budget and Management (DBM) on Tuesday submitted for congressional scrutiny the 2021 P4.506-trillion National Expenditure Program (NEP), which will prioritize health-related response programs while restarting the economy amid the continuing crisis from the Covid-19 pandemic.

With the theme, “Reset, Rebound and Recover: Investing for Resiliency and Sustainability,” the proposed 2021 national budget, according to Budget and Management Secretary Wendel Avisado, will sustain government efforts to improve the health-care system, ensure food security, create jobs and enable digital infrastructure while protecting the most vulnerable sectors.

The 2021 expenditure plan is higher than this year’s budget by 9.9 percent and equivalent to 21.8 per-

cent of GDP.

According to Avisado, the 2021 P4.506-trillion NEP went through numerous budget hearings and consultations with the agencies.

“Allow me to emphasize to you that every peso of the P4.506 trillion in fiscal year 2021 NEP is geared toward saving lives and protecting communities, while making various sectors of the economy stronger and more agile. It is based on the sound fiscal policy of spending Continued on A2

BTr rejects all bids for ₧30-B 20-yr bonds

By Bernadette D. Nicolas

T

HE Bureau of the Treasury snapped on Tuesday its full-award streak as it rejected all bids for reissued 20-year Treasury Bonds (T-bonds) worth a total of P30 billion.

National Treasurer Rosalia V. De Leon told reporters investors are seeking higher yields after the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) decided to take a pause from aggressive monetary easing.

“Bids way too high versus valuation for the tenor,” De Leon said when asked why the Treasury ended up rejecting the bids.

Had the Treasury decided to fully award the reissued T-bonds with a remaining life of 12 years and 7 months, it would have fetched an average rate of 3.501 percent, higher than the secondary market benchmark and trading rate for the security.

Nonetheless, the auction was over-

PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 48.6510

subscribed, with total bids reaching P46.9 billion, more than 1.5x the P30billion offering.

Despite the turnout of the auction, De Leon said she expects rates to remain steady with good volume of liquidity and preference for safe haven assets.

For this month, the Treasury has programmed to borrow P170 billion from the local debt market.

The government borrows to finance its spending requirements as well as to

cover its budget deficit.

As tax collections are down amid the pandemic, the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) is projecting the country’s budget deficit to more than double to 9.6 percent of GDP or P1.815 trillion, from only 3.4 percent of GDP or P660.2 billion last year.

The DBCC also expects the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio this year to increase to 53.91 percent of GDP from a record low of 39.6 percent of GDP last year.

PNOC DEFERS ANEW OIL STOCKPILING PLAN ON VIRUS WOES

By Lenie Lectura

T

HE Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) has decided to postpone anew its planned oil stockpiling program due to the advent of the Covid‐ 19 pandemic.

In a report, PNOC said the target activities for the National Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR) Program for 2020 entail the hiring of a project transaction advisor. However, the PNOC’s hiring of a project transaction advisor has been postponed until further notice due to the pandemic.

“As a consequence, the extensive National SPR Program will be pushed back, possibly in 2021, until the country and overall global economy and situation improves considerably to allow these activities to be undertaken,” it said.

The National SPR Program is considered to be an extensive undertaking which aims to provide an oil stockpile—either crude oil, finished petroleum products, or both—equivalent to 90 days of the country’s domestic oil requirements.

Continued on A2

n JAPAN 0.4591 n UK 63.5869 n HK 6.2775 n CHINA 7.0315 n SINGAPORE 35.5117 n AUSTRALIA 34.8438 n EU 57.3790 n SAUDI ARABIA 12.9733

Source: BSP (August 25, 2020)

News 2021 BUDGET FOCUSES A2 Wednesday, August 26, 2020

BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

ON HEALTH, FOOD, JOBS Continued from A1

within means on the right priorities, and with measurable results under a regime of transparent, accountable and participatory governance,” Avisado said in a speech during the proposed budget’s submission at the House of Representatives.

“Budgetary support will be provided for the national health insurance program, medical assistance to indigent patients, human resources for health program, and health facilities enhancement program, among others. The fiscal year 2021 NEP will also set aside funds for the procurement of the Covid-19 vaccine, and the provision of personal protective equipment to DOH [Department of Health] hospitals, laboratories and centers,” he said.

Nevertheless, he said the agencies in the education sector will not be neglected and will get the biggest allocation so as to ensure educational continuity amid the crisis.

The Executive branch is proposing a total budget of P754.4 billion this year for education, 16.03 percent higher than DepEd’s budget this year of P650.2 billion.

Avisado said the government will also support the “Build, Build, Build” program to boost infrastructure devel-

opment and promote employment.

“Funding support will also be provided for information and communications technology expenditures to improve the country’s broadband infrastructures, develop e-program or platform and sustain online systems to support the efforts of the different departments for the new normal,” he said.

Other government priorities under the 2021 NEP include programs and strategies to help improve the productivity of the agriculture and fishery sector, accelerate the recovery of micro, small and medium enterprises, develop e-competitiveness of local industries or programs to promote digital upskilling, training and retooling of workers and digitalization of the government and the economy.

the proposed budget and growing by 12.9 percent. The increase in capital outlays is owed mainly to infrastructure programs of the DPWH (14.7 percent) and the DOTr (42.6 percent).

Maintenance, operating and other expenditures will amount to P699.4 billion, debt burden with P560.2 billion, support to government-owned and -controlled corporations with P157.5 billion, and tax expenditures with P14.5 billiion.

Top 10 agencies

Health insurance

AVISADO said budgetary support will be provided for the National Health Insurance Program of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (P71.4 billion), Medical Assistance to Indigent Patients (P17.3 billion), and Human Resources for Health Program (P16.6 billion), among others.

Around P6.1 billion will go to upgrading of equipment, laboratories and isolation facilities in the different regions; and some P2.7 billion is set aside

WITH their clothes hanging from the gate, 23 locally stranded individuals (LSIs), including four children, make the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Taguig City a temporary shelter. The government is targeting to bring all LSIs back to their home provinces before Christmas. NONIE REYES for the provision of personal protective equipment to DOH hospitals, laboratories and centers.

He said an initial P2.5 billion and P283.5 million will be used to buy Co-

vid-19 vaccine and the establishment of a Virology Center, respectively.

The DBM chief said DOH will also be supported with P1.03 billion for the purchase of about 861,720 GeneXpert cartridges to be used in GeneXpert machines for Covid-19 testing.

To improve health data systems, he said P51.56 million will be allotted under the DOH for disease surveillance and monitoring of Covid-19 and other similar respiratory infections.

Infra development

AVISADO said a total of P1.107 trillion for Public Infrastructure Program or a total 5.4 percent of GDP is embedded in the proposed budget for strategic infrastructure development and to create jobs and catalyze business activities all over the country.

The FY 2021 NEP will support the DPWH Network Development Program (P157.5 billion), Flood Management Program (P125.9 billion), Asset Preservation Program (P59.0 billion), and Bridge Program (P44.4 billion), among others.

For the DOTr, the Rail Transport Program (P106.3 billion), Land Public Transportation Program (P16.2 billion), and Maritime Infrastructure Program (P166.4 million) will also be funded. Some P21.4 billion will go to Information and Communications Technology expenditures to improve the country’s Wi-Fi and broadband infrastructure and develop e-platform and online systems to support the egovernance initiatives of different departments.

The 2021 NEP will prioritize programs improving the productivity of the agriculture and fishery sector, such as the irrigation services activities of the National Irrigation Authority (P31.5 billion), the National Rice Program (P15.7 billion) and the Rice Competitive En-

hancement Program (P10.0 billion) pursuant to Republic Act 11203.

The proposed budget will also support the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Development Program (P2.3 billion) for the recovery of MSMEs, Avisado said.

Promoting digital upskilling, training and retooling of workers through the Training for Work Scholarship Program (P3.6 billion) and the Tulong Trabaho Scholarship Program (P1.0 billion) will also be prioritized.

The government will keep aiding vulnerable groups by funding programs such as the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (P113.8 billion), Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens (P23.2 billion), Sustainable Livelihood Program (P4.3 billion) and the Supplementary Feeding Program (P3.7 billion), among many others.

The government priorities in education have been reshaped to respond to the challenges that require flexible and blended learning.

Avisado said this will be achieved through a two-pronged strategy: expanding and institutionalizing flexible and multi-modal learning and teaching options (P15.2 billion); and by funding the expansion of DepEd’s Computerization Program (P9.0 billion).

By class

BY expense class, personnel services will receive the bulk (29.2 percent) of 2021 allocation, reaching P1.32 trillion. This level considers the huge additional hiring of health workers under the Human Resource for Health Program of the Department of Health, the second tranche implementation of the Salary Standardization Law of 2019, and the increased pension requirements of military and uniformed personnel.

Capital outlays come in second with P920.5 billion, or 20.4 percent of

THE top 10 agencies getting bulk of the budget are:

• The education sector, including DepEd, state universities and colleges, the Commission on Higher Education, and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, remains the top agency with P754.4 billion next year from P650.2 billion this year;

• The DPWH, with P667.3 billion in 2021 from P438.9 billion in 2020;

• The Department of the Interior and Local Government, with P246.1 billion in 2021 from P235.9 billion in 2020; • The Department of National Defense, with P209.1 billion in 2021 from P179.7 billion in 2020;

• The Department of Health, with P203.1 billion in 2021 from P177.7 billion in 2020;

• The Department of Social Welfare and Development, with P171.2 billion in 2021 from P366.5 billion in 2020;

• The Department of Transportation, with P143.6 billion in 2021 from P84.2 billion in 2020;

• The Department of Agriculture with P66.4 billion in 2021 from P70.8 billion in 2020;

• The Judiciary with P43.5 billion in 2021 from P41.2 billion in 2020;

• The Department of Labor and Employment with P27.5 billion in 2021 from P23.5 billion in 2020.

By November

SPEAKER Alan Peter Cayetano said the House will immediately schedule deliberations of the House Committee on Appropriations chaired by ACT-CIS Rep. Eric Yap.

“We will try to finish the budget before the end of September, very ambitious schedule, to send it right away to the Senate because we hope for the first time in history, we can sign the budget maybe late November or midNovember as a sign of unity by our country,” he said.

Cayetano vowed to give all lawmakers equal time to scrutinize the proposed budget.

“We will be very transparent, and the members of the opposition in this House, we will give you first a copy of the budget and listen to you first and given more time sa budget deliberations para itong budget will be a product of the whole of Congress, [not just of the administration],” he said.

With Bernadette D. Nicolas

PNOC defers anew oil stockpiling plan on virus woes Continued from A1

In light of the effects of the pandemic and the global health crisis, the Department of Energy (DOE) has directed the PNOC to assist it in drafting a circular addressing the establishment of the Interim Oil Stockpiling mechanism.

This mechanism, the PNOC

said, is intended as a preliminary initiative relative to the more comprehensive and capital-intensive National SPR Program.

“This will provide the government with an effective means of government intervention in response, should it be required, to the disruption in oil supply and price stability in times of price spikes while also taking advantage of the low global oil prices due to combined demand decrease and oil glut caused by the Covid‐19 pandemic,” said the state firm.

The PNOC is now crafting a targeted fuel relief mechanism providing fuel assistance to marginalized fuel‐consuming sectors.

Currently, the details on

the project specification of the Interim Oil Stockpiling Program will be presented to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to justify the special provision for the intended budget for said program, through DOE’s endorsement.

The PNOC said the preparation of the in‐house feasibility study and implementation plan of said program is ongoing.

The establishment of an SPR program is aimed at ensuring the long‐term stability and security of oil supply in the country even in times of geopolitical events, calamities or emergencies, which induce global oil supply disruptions.

Such effects were recently demonstrated in the September 2019 drone attacks in Saudi Aramco’s oil facilities that knocked out about 5 percent of global oil production, causing oil prices to go up.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

The Nation BusinessMirror

SC urged to issue TRO against ATA

By Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

T

HE Supreme Court has been urged to immediately act on the plea for the immediate issuance of a temporary restraining order against the implementation of Republic Act 11479 or the AntiTerrorism Act of 2020.

The urgent plea was filed by incumbent and former senators critical of the Duterte administration, among whom are Senators Leila de Lima and Francis Pangilinan, former Senators Sergio Osmeña III and Wigberto Tañada Sr., former congressman Lorenzo “Erin” Tañada III, former Akbayan party-list Rep. Loreta Ann Rosales, lawyers Jose Manuel Diokno, Edmundo Garcia and Lutgardo Barbo and media practitioners Ma.Ceres Doyo, Josefa Maglipon, Rappler chief Maria Ressa, Rachel Khan, Ma. Rosario “Chay” Hofelina, Lilibeth Socorro Frondoso, Ma.Teresa Vitug, Mario Nery Jr., Beatrice Fuente, and Florangel Rosario-Braid.

The petitioners argued that there is a need for the issuance of a TRO against the ATA following the statements of Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff General Gilbert Gapay that the implementing rules and regulations of the law that is now being drafted should include provision that would regulate social media.

They claimed that the move could be considered as a form of prior restraint and another way for the state to use as a weapon against free speech and dissent.

“The casual conflation of ‘radicalization’ with ‘terrorism’ by a ranking officer of the law does not portend a measured, tolerant and even-handed implementation of a dangerously vague law,” they said in their 10-page petition filed by the Free Legal Assistance Group.

The petitioners said even if Gapay clarifies his statement by saying that what he meant was to regulate the platforms on the contents allowed to be uploaded rather than curtail the freedom of social-media users, it is still a form of prior restraint.

“That the statement [made by Gapay] was made before a media interview does not detract from the prior restraint nature of this official

governmental action,” they said.

“At the very least, the foregoing statements of the AFP Chief of Staff confirms that the Anti-Terrorism Act is both so overbroad and vague that it is susceptible to being used for an unconditional end, that is, a weapon against free speech and dissent,” they added.

The Court, according to the petitioners, has the power to issue a TRO to enjoin an act that is prima facie suffers from unconstitutionality pending the resolution of the petition on its merits.

The petitioners noted that the Court has issued a TRO in several cases pertaining to violation of free speech and content-based regulations.

Among these cases were David vs Arroyo where the SC declared as unconstitutional the warrantless search of the offices of the Daily Tribune, and Chavez vs Gonzales where it ruled as unconstitutional prior restraint the government warnings against the airing and publishing of the “Hello Garci” tape scandal.

Likewise, they said issuing an injunction does not constitute a prejudgment of the main case but would help stop “injustice and grave and irreparable injury to the petitioners and others.”

A total of 29 petitions have been filed questioning the constitutionality of ATA of 2020.

All the petitions sought the issuance of a TRO, or a writ of preliminary injunction, to stop its implementation, while the merits of their plea are being heard.

The SC has scheduled oral arguments on the petitions on the third week of September.

But Solicitor General Jose Calida recently asked the SC to cancel the oral arguments, citing health risks due to Covid-19 pandemic and lack of jurisdiction.

Calida also filed before the SC a 205-supplemental comment to deny the plea for the immediate issuance of a TRO against the ATA of 2020.

He also insisted that the petitions should be dismissed for procedural grounds and for lack of merit.

Calida insisted that the petitions raised factual issues which are not within the SC’s jurisdiction since it is not a trier of facts.

Army chief says he’ll likely recommend martial-law declaration in Sulu anew

By Rene Acosta @reneacostaBM

A

RMY chief Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana on Tuesday said he may be inclined to recommend the declaration of martial law in Sulu, a day after two powerful blasts claimed at least 15 casualties.

“The situation dictates [the declaration of martial law]. With that recent incident where there were a lot of casualties, I think it is wise to declare martial law again [in Sulu],” the top Army official stressed.

He added the measure is needed to bring back “normalcy” and to control the movement of people in the province, notably terror groups.

Sobejana said his recommendation would, however, need to go through the chain of command in the military.

“As I said, if I may recommend through the chain of command. If I may recommend to the President, through the chain of command. Of course, I have to pass through the chief of staff and secretary of national defense,” Sobejana explained.

Female suicide bombers

THE military, meanwhile, reported that the twin explosions that rocked Jolo, Sulu, on Monday were carried out by two female suicide bombers reportedly the wives of two Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) members.

The attacks that killed at least 14 people as the military officially listed—but 15 if the suicide bomber in the first explosion were to be included, according to Joint Task Force Sulu commander Brig. Gen. William Gonzales—was blamed on the group of ASG leader Mundi Sawadjaan.

Sawadjaan is the younger brother of Hatib Hadjan Sawadjaan, leader of the Islamic State (IS) in the country but whom Army chief Sobejana said was believed to have been killed by soldiers in one of their previous skirmishes with his group.

The terrorist leader’s killing, however, could not be officially declared without his body as proof.

Both Sobejana and Gonzales declared that the two bombings, which occurred in one-hour interval at the vicinity of the plaza of Jolo, were perpetrated by trained suicide bombers

Filipinos reminded to practice cyber hygiene amid Covid-19

By Rizal Raoul S. Reyes @brownindio

N

ETWORK security provider Kaspersky is urging Filipinos to practice “cyber hygiene” regularly as around 27 million students are expected to rely largely on Internet connection with the expected shift to a new normal of learning in the next quarter.

Kaspersky said it is expected that that multiple devices and online services may be shared in Filipino homes because of convenience.

“Connecting to Wi-fi at home would also be more economical for most Filipino families,” Kaspersky said in a news statement.

“Using stronger passwords, twofactor authentication, and virtual private networks [VPNs] are among the top 3 security tools to use,” according to Kaspersky.

According to a survey conducted

by Kaspersky, 38 percent personally use their computers, while 47 percent personally use their laptops.

Moreover, the company said every person is using the same device in one household.

Kaspersky recommended that each user account should have its own separate password. It added

that this is to ensure the password would not be leaked to everyone even to family members.

Kaspersky also stressed children should never create usernames out of their real names so that would not compromise their other personal identifiable information (PII) such as location, or age.

On the other hand, Kaspersky said using two-factor authentication (2FA) is like “having a door with two locks in the account log in process­— one is a traditional password and the second one could be something else.”

When enabled, the 2FA will prevent attempts of an attacker to figure out a user’s password and be in possession of a user’s device to be able to login in to his or her account.

Kaspersky said authentications are usually codes sent via e-mail or SMS. Furthermore, authenticator apps and hardware tokens which provide more features and useful options.

“Parents or guardians meanwhile would find that two-factor authentication will be useful to be used on their online bank accounts, as well as device accounts, such as for iOS and Android gadgets,” Kaspersky said.

Kaspersky said another viable option is the VPN or Virtual Private Networks.

Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug • Wednesday, August 26, 2020 A3

VPNs gives added protection by encrypting your online presence. It also provides a cover to Internet protocol (IP) addresses by rerouting it through a specially configured remote server run by the VPN host, where the VPN server becomes the source of your data.

As a result, Kaspersky said it prevents an Internet service provider or any other third party to see what web sites you are visiting or what information you are entering.

A VPN also function like a filter that converts all the data you are sending and receiving into gibberish. “Even if someone did get their hands on this data, it would be useless,” it said.

“Filipino children and their families, just like their counterparts in other parts of the world, are now bracing for a different learning experience,” Mary Grace Sotayco, Kaspersky territory manager for the Philippines said.

“To succeed in the new way of learning, browsing the Internet safely and privately will have to be a part of their new student life. By incorporating the security practices of using stronger passwords, 2FA, and VPN into their digital life, it will be easier to just focus on learning and not really think about getting into trouble,” Sotayco added.

POLICE attend to their injured at a site of an explosion in the town of Jolo, Sulu province, southern Philippines, on Monday, August 24, 2020.

Bombs exploded in a southern Philippine town Monday, killing several soldiers and wounding other military personnel and civilians despite extra tight security due to threats from Abu Sayyaf militants. AP

who are wives of Norman Lasuca and Said Talha Jumsa, alias Abu Talha.

Lasuca and Talha are members of the ASG who were both radicalized by the IS. Lasuca, who joined the ASG at a young age, was killed in a suicide bombing mission of the headquarters of the Army’s 1st Brigade Combat Team in Indanan, Sulu, in July last year, making him the first Filipino suicide bomber, according to the military.

On the other hand, Talha, who was the liaison of the IS to the ASG where he had also served as its purse keeper, was killed during a firefight with Scout Rangers in Patikul on November 23, 2019. The military said he was instrumental in further training the ASG’s bomb-making capability as well

as training suicide bombers.

Both Sobejana and Gonzales did not name Lasuca and Talha’s wives pending the results of investigation by scene of the crime investigators of the Philippine National Police.

When the first bomb exploded on Monday, police and military officials said the blast was caused by a homemade bomb that was rigged into a motorcycle parked outside a restaurant at the plaza and where a military truck was also parked nearby.

They also said that second explosion, which occurred an hour later and just 100 meters away from the site of the first blast may have been a suicide bombing case, with reports even saying that it was carried out by an Indonesian woman.

However, Sobejana said that the first explosion was also a suicide bombing.

“The motorcycle was just in proximity, that’s why it appeared the bomb came from there, but it is not, based on the testimonies of witnesses and CCTV footage,” the Army chief, who is in Mindanao, said.

Sobejana said the suicide bombers were the subjects of pursuit operations by Maj. Marvin Indammog and his intelligence team when they were killed by policemen while working on the case in downtown Jolo last month.

He believed the suicide bombing would not have happened had Indammog and his men managed to carry out their mission before they were killed.

Senators rush to tackle pending labor reforms

By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

S

ENATORS scrambled to pass pending remedial legislations to mitigate the global impact of the dreaded coronavirus seen to affect the local labor sector as well as overseas Filipino workers, a major source of foreign revenues.

This, as the Senate Committee on Labor, chaired by Sen. Joel Villanueva tackled Tuesday over a dozen bills (SBN) and resolution (SRN) separately filed by Senators Grace Poe, Ramon Revilla Jr., Nancy Binay, Juan Edgardo Angara, Risa Hontiveros , Leila de Lima and Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon.

“The legislative measures that we will discuss today are part of our general approach to strike a delicate balance between combating the pandemic and restoring our economic activities.

“We would like to thank all our colleagues for their unshakeable commitment and desire to boost the morale of our workers and support our modern-day heroes, our overseas Filipino workers [OFWs],” Villanueva said upon convening the panel hearing to tackle the package of pending labor reform bills.

“Let me point out that many

of the issues that we’re currently facing are not only urgent concerns but also formidable life and death issues and concerns for the majority of our kababayans, most especially our OFWs,” the senator said, adding, “We believe that the bills and resolutions that form part of our agenda are time-sensitive measures that will greatly impact the state of Filipino migrant workers across the globe.”

Villanueva acknowledged that senators are aware of the labor situation, saying “it’s also clear to us that in the midst of a global crisis such as the Covid-19 pandemic, our OFWs are not spared and they are in fact one of the hardest hit sectors by the Covid-19.”

“Our OFWs were already vulnerable before Covid-19 and the pandemic has illustrated the fact that they are in a very precarious situation from the very start,” he said.

“The economic strain, prolonged isolation and quarantine, work stoppage, restricted travel, panic and depression, among others, exacerbate the vulnerabilities of our OFWs,” Villanueva said.

The senator recalled results of the 2019 Survey on Overseas Filipinos released by Philippine Statistics Authority last June 4, 2020, indicating over 2.2 million

OFWs are deployed abroad.

He added that a study by Ateneo de Manila University, estimates that about 400,000 OFWs are likely to lose jobs or suffer “salary cuts” due to potential shutdowns by companies that hired them to work abroad.

On the other hand, Villanueva said the DOLE also noted over 600,000 OFWs already contacted the labor department seeking assistance, counting that “as of August 19, from DOLE, umabot na sa 394,044 ang mga displaced OFWs, 79,858 ang mga stranded, at 152,946 ang mga repatriated.”

Conveying serious concerns, the senator stressed there is no other time to enact an enabling legislation on “credit assistance, benefits and incentives for OFWs” similarly sought by Filipino mariners in the Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers.”

At the same time, Villanueva assured that “while we work for the welfare of OFWs, especially the ones who were displaced by the pandemic, we also recognize that in the post-Covid-19 future, it is for the best interests of Filipinos that they should find enough employment opportunities at home that could sustain a stable and comfortable life for themselves and their families.”

A4 Wednesday, August 26, 2020 • Editor: Vittorio V. Vitug

Economy BusinessMirror

PCA dismisses ‘smear drive’ against local coconut industry

T

By Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas

@jearcalas

HE Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) has dismissed recent reports that coconut oil production is more detrimental to the environment compared to palm oil as a “smear drive” against the industry.

PCA Deputy Administrator Roel M. Rosales said the study published by the University of Exeter last month about the supposed detrimental impact of coconut oil to the environment was just one among the many smear campaigns against the coconut industry.

United Kingdom’s University of Exeter report claimed that the production of coconut oil threatens around 20 animal species for every million tons made.

“We are not using any harmful chemicals in our coconut produc-

tion locally. Our coconut industry in fact is a sustainable one and environmental friendly—it is also good for biodiversity,” Rosales said during the Department of Agriculture’s weekly news briefing on Tuesday.

“We are pushing for the planting of coconuts in the seaside to improve biodiversity,” Rosales added.

The United Coconut Associations of the Philippines (UCAP) have earlier defended that the production of coconut oil in the country is not an environmental and

biodiversity threat. (Related story: https://businessmirror.com. ph/2020/08/11/ucap-defendsphl-coco-oil-production/) UCAP said what is happening at the local scene is the opposite.

The group said the main problem facing the local industry is the near extinction of coconut trees, most of which were planted during the Spanish colonial period that started in the 1600s when local coconuts were already exported to other countries, such as Mexico, as these were also ruled by the Spaniards.

The Philippine coconut sector also provides livelihood to about 3.5 million Filipino farmers, the group said.

UCAP said only Indonesia and Malaysia are open to corporate farming in the region, but involving mostly palm trees.

Palm oil, meanwhile, corners nearly 45 percent of the global market, while coconut oil accounts for just about 2 percent, UCAP said.

“But coconut’s usefulness compared to palm goes beyond oil. Coconut, many times referred to as a

low-cost but nutritious poor man’s food, is being used to manufacture oil health supplements, beauty products, biodiesel, and even aesthetic decors. Palm, on the other hand, is solely for industrial usage only. The use of palm oil as biodiesel ingredient is banned in the European Union,” UCAP added.

The country’s value of the country’s coconut oil exports in the first half declined by 16 percent to $434.202 million from $516.895 million, according to Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data.

PSA data showed that the country exported a total of 489,238.858 metric tons of coconut oil in the January-to-June period, which was 20.76 percent lower than the 617,484.576 MT recorded volume in the same period of last year.

“We took a blow in our exports of coconut oil in the first semester due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Demand in the international market has dwindled due to shutdown of global tourism industry,” Rosales said.

Expert underscores value of proper road maintenance

By Cai U. Ordinario @caiordinario

G

OVERNMENTS should not only focus on building new roads but should also properly maintain existing ones to ensure sustainability, according to experts.

In the second session of the 7th Asia and the Pacific Transport Forum 2020 on Tuesday, ADB South Asia Regional Department Director Ravi Peri said sustainability is key in all projects to maximize investments.

“New projects have visibility and glamor value. When they are announced, everybody is very eager, therefore the interest in these are much higher. Who really cares about an announcement that 5,000 kilometers of roads will be maintained properly?” Peri asked.

Peri said in many developing member-countries of the ADB, investments on road projects “are quite strong” but lack of proper maintenance have led to early deterioration.

“But unless asset sustainability

is assured, the assets are not maintained, efficiency is very quickly lost,” he added. In his slides, he said about 1 percent of gross domestic product is lost due to bad roads.

Peri also said that paying attention to road maintenance has a higher economic internal rate of return than new roads. He said the EIRR on road asset maintenance is 30 percent and above.

The EIRR is calculated to determine whether a project’s economic returns were satisfactory and that money invested in them would achieve development objectives equivalent to, or better than alternative investments.

In 2016, the Duterte administration brought down the Investment Coordination Committee (ICC) Social Discount Rate to 10 percent from the initial 15 percent. The SDR reflects the hurdle rate which the EIRR of a project must equal to become viable.

“All our DMCs are extremely capable of thinking through this pro-

cess. The problem, I think, is that the focus is more on asset creation, or projects rather than on maintenance,” Peri said.

Peri said moving forward, countries should move away from itemrate contracts to extended maintenance, among others. He also said there is a need to ensure budget mechanisms for these projects.

He said in so far as funding is concerned, ADB’s road infrastructure finance has been on the decline in the past 20 years.

He said road transport financing used to account for 79 percent of ADB’s lending in 2000. But this was cut down to 63 percent in the 2010s and, between 2020 and 2022, it’s down to 51 percent.

However, Peri said these investments can be made through collaboration between multilateral development banks, as well as public and private institutions.

“The first step in all these, is probably to have a proper database of road asset inventory, condition

traffic, and maintenance cycles. In many [most, all?] cases even this is missing—or not kept up to date,” Peri said in his slides.

In the Philippines, October 2019 data obtained from the Department of Public Works and Highways showed that 10.17 percent of all roads nationwide are considered poor, while 4.72 percent were considered bad.

This translates to a total of 4,914.77 kilometers of road were considered poor and bad. This consists of 3,358.87 kilometers of poor roads and 1,556.9 kilometers of bad roads.

Less than half, or 44.33 percent of all roads, were in good condition and third or 33.37 percent were in fair condition. 7.41 percent of the roads do not have any assessment.

Based on these figures, the Philippines only has 14,637.01 kilometers of good roads and 11,018.45 kilometers of fair roads. There are a total of 33,018.25 kilometers of roads nationwide.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Senator pushes passage of bill to aid ‘distressed’ Pinoy seafarers

By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM

S

EN. Risa Hontiveros pressed Tuesday for timely passage of “comprehensive reintegration programs, free legal aid” to Filipino seafarers affected by the Covid pandemic.

Hontiveros cited the significant contribution to the country of Pinoy seafarers who now await government support, saying, “Our seafarers deserve better protections as they deal with this difficult moment for the global maritime industry.”

In pushing timely enactment of remedial legislation, the senator suggested this should mandate comprehensive reintegration programs, free legal assistance and other workplace protections for Filipino seafarers that will help them better cope with the Covid-19 pandemic.

Hontiveros said an early approval of her Senate Bill 357, embodying the proposed Magna Carta for Seafarers, will enable the Duterte administration to better help the thousands of Filipino maritime workers whose livelihood was badly hit by the effects of the pandemic on global markets.

“The so-called Marino Bill will provide a comprehensive package of reforms to the legal framework regulating the maritime labor industry so the rights and welfare of seafarers are better protected before, during, and after deployment,” she said.

“We have long needed a strong legal framework for Pinoy seafarers that can safeguard their rights and interests wherever they may be. This is especially true during this pandemic since thousands of our sea-based workers are more vulnerable to illegal termination, decreased or unpaid salaries, unsafe working conditions and other forms of abuses.”

The senator suggested that in order to “address the dramatic rise in displaced seafarers during the last few months, SB 357 mandates an expanded reintegration program that will offer livelihood development, training programs and even job placement services for returning or unemployed seafarers.”

She clarified that under this program, seafarers who have lost their jobs may avail of appropriate retraining or skills upgrading programs so they can seek other gainful

means of employment both locally and abroad, noting that “at least 49,655 nang seafarer ang nawalan ng trabaho o napauwi sa bansa dahil sa Covid-19, ayon mismo sa datos ng pamahalaan. Hindi lang sila ang apektado, kundi pati ang kanilang mga pamilya. We should have a program that is ready to help them get back on their feet at the soonest.”

The Hontiveros bill provides that the reintegration program will be placed under concerned agencies like the Overseas Workers We l fa re A d m i n i st rat ion, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, and the National Reintegration Center for OFWs with cooperation from private sector partners in the port and shipping industries.

It includes, she added, another key feature of the bill provides for “the grant of free legal assistance to poor maritime workers whose rights may have been violated by their employers,” asserting that this program is meant to “better protect the rights of seafarers, especially as cases of labor abuses involving maritime workers become all too common during the pandemic.”

At the same time, the remedial legislation likewise mandates employers and ship owners to provide ample medical care for seafarers who will get sick, which includes giving them access to shore-based health facilities, and also mandates employers and other parties to respect the right of seafarers to self-organization, and to establish on-shore and off-shore grievance machineries for seafarers.

According to Hontiveros, the package of reforms under the bill is meant to address the situation of Filipino seafarers who are more vulnerable to abuse and other irregularities, especially during the pandemic.

For instance, the senator cited the case of Steven Borjal, a chief cook in a container ship, who was required to work under an expired contract and with no overtime pay and other benefits, while he was waiting for his repatriation to the country. “Marami sa ating mga marino ang sinasamantala ng kanilang employer na naabuso, naloloko at pinapahirapan bago pa man sila mare-patriate at makauwi sa bansa. Huwag sana natin hayaan lang magdusa ang ating mga marino,” she said.

Masinloc coal plant reels from Covid-19

Blue Ribbon, DOJ-led task force eye PhilHealth shakeup

As fate would have it, this worker became Patient Zero (ZAM-61 in the records of the Zambales Provincial Health Office to designate the 61st patient in Zambales), a case of Covid-19 infection that would soon spread to more than a hundred workers in the plant.

Records say Patient Zero first drew attention from company health care workers when he complained of dizziness on July 30. When this continued in the next few days, he consulted a doctor at the Candelaria District Hospital in the next town on August 3.

On August 4, when Patient Zero lost his appetite, he was brought to a hospital in Iba town for a rapid antibody test and the result showed he was reactive.

At the provincial hospital where suspected Covid-19 cases are brought for quarantine, Patient Zero developed a fever.

He was swabbed on August 6 and results issued on August 9 confirmed he was positive of SARS-Cov-2 virus, which causes Covid-19.

Patient Zero eventually tested negative on August 15, and was soon released. But the infection had apparently spread like wildfire at his workplace.

Del Rosario also told the task force that of 5,000 cases of suspected fraud being investigated by the Legal Sector, only 11 cases have been filed.

“We are asking for the records, their inventory including which region, which hospital and health care provider are involved, and how much were the claims. We are asking for the claims because we want to see if there is a pattern on why these are being allowed. Unfortunately, they have not yet submitted the records so we cannot yet come up with conclusions,” Perete said.

continued from a8

continued from a8

As tracing and testing of his close contacts began after Patient Zero tested positive, more positive cases turned up among workers at the plant. Five initially tested positive on August 16, followed by 15 on August 20.

On August 20, alarmed by the increasing number of cases, Masinloc Mayor Arsenia Lim declared a total lockdown of Barangay Bani, where the coal plant is located, and of Sitio Relocation in nearby Taltal village, where a lot of coal plant workers and their families reside, so that extensive contact-tracing could be made.

Following emergency meetings with provincial health officials, police and disaster management units, as well as managers of the coal plant and representatives of the community’s coal plant monitoring council, Mayor Lim designated the Bani National High School as community isolation area on August 21 to isolate workers and residents who took the swab test.

Meanwhile, those who tested positive were transported to the President Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Hospital in Iba, which Gov. Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. designated as a dedicated

Covid-19 facility.

Still, the Masinloc coal plant cases kept rising: 17 more workers tested positive on August 21, 13 on August 22, and 19 on August 23. Worse, while the first batches of patients only involved workers imported into the plant from other places, the succeeding wave of infections had claimed Masinloc natives as well, indicating local community transmission.

By August 24, according to municipal secretary Glenn Elayda, 99 cases have been recorded at the coal plant community, from out of the 1,776 swab tests made.

Then on August 25, with 395 more swab test results still pending, 56 more Covid-19 cases were confirmed, bringing the running tally to 155.

Of this total, 115 are plant workers who came from outside the town, mostly from the National Capital Region like Patient Zero.

A total of 40 workers are Masinloc natives—26 from Bani, which hosts the power plant.

As of now, Masinloc has reimposed stricter measures that made the town Covid-free in the first four months of the quarantine. Henry Empeño

Blue Ribbon reforms

HIGH on the list of reforms recommended by the Blue Ribbon committee is the “creation of an online mortality verification system covering PhilHealth, SSS, GSIS, PVAO [Philippine Veterans Affairs Office] and other government retirement agencies.”

The committee report also endorsed adoption of the following reforms: 1. Establishment of a monitoring group in the central office on the payments/transactions made in the regions. A Board of (Eminent) Supervisors for PhilHealth must be established to oversee the administration of the national health insurance system in the country. The Board shall preferably be composed of retired insurance men or businessmen of high caliber.

2. Creation of Insurance Fraud Detection Bureau within the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), which shall be a special independent unit dedicated to the investigation and criminal prosecution of fraud within PhilHealth.

PhilHealth Regional Directors must be re-shuffled as often as practicable to avoid familiarity with owners and management of hospitals and health care institutions under their jurisdiction. They must be subject to regular lifestyle check, including their relatives up to the 4th degree of consanguinity/affinity.

Constant monitoring of doctors as well, as they could be accomplices to the fraudulent schemes. The All Case Rate (ACR) Payment system must be subject to review every six months. The panel said ACR should serve as the cap of payments to hospitals and health care practitioners, but stressed that PhilHealth should pay whichever amount is lower.

6. The contracting out of the design, implementation, and operations of PhilHealth’s information technology systems, including the procurement of hardware, software, security, network, and related technologies, and their regular audit by independent, globally recognized and certified firms.

7. Creation of a system for independent insurance adjusters for PhilHealth.

8. Payment of Health Care Facilities and Professionals by case rate or actual cost, whichever is lower.

The committee said Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, who chairs PhilHealth, must be urged to report to the Committees the status of the funds, and those that were supposedly procured in: completed 270 BHS to be determined by the Commission on Audit, in accordance with the 29 July 2020 decision in a case entitled Department of Health v.

JBros Construction Corp. in Joint Venture Agreement with Fujian Zhongma Construction Engineering Co. Ltd.

PhilHealth seeks copy

REACTING to reports of the release of the investigation report, PhilHealth said it will ask for a copy from the Blue Ribbon Committee, to be informed and fully guided by their findings and recommendations to improve the administration of the National Health Insurance Program.

“PhilHealth remains one with the government in all these investigations to ferret out the truth amid allegations of corruption and irregularity,” the state health insurer said in a statement on Tuesday.

“The agency maintains its firm belief that after all these investigations, those innocent of any wrongdoing will be exonerated while those at fault will suffer the full force of the law,” it added.

With Samuel P. Medenilla and Bernadette D. Nicolas

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

The World

FDA head walks back claim of dramatic benefit from blood plasma Covid therapy

T

he head of the US Food and Drug Administration walked back his claim that an experimental therapy had provided a dramatic benefit to Covid-19 patients, a rare reversal for an agency that has prided itself on rock-solid science and public trust.

On Sunday night at a press conference with President Donald Trump, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said that blood plasma from Covid-19 survivors given to new patients could save huge numbers of lives.

“What that means is—and if the data continue to pan out—100 people who are sick with Covid-19, 35 would have been saved because of the administration of plasma,” Hahn said. Hahn’s remarks followed similar comments by Trump, who said that the therapy is “proven to reduce mortality by 35 percent,” and by Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar.

On Monday night, Hahn reversed himself.

“I have been criticized for remarks I made Sunday night about the benefits of convalescent plasma. The criticism is entirely justified,” Hahn said in a tweet.

Hahn had spent much of Monday taking heat from health experts, including two former FDA commissioners, for his remarks.

“That was not the way that I would have worded it,” said one of the doctors who led the blood plasma study, Arturo Casadevall, chair of the department of molecular microbiology and immunology at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. “I hope they will issue a clarification,” he said earlier Monday.

What the data do show is that a higher dose of blood plasma is better than a lower one. And while there are promising signals that it will lead to a real benefit when compared to a placebo, that’s not known yet.

“Until we have a randomized controlled trial, we don’t know definitively,” Casadevall said.

The administration’s misrepresentation of the data may raise fears about how Hahn and the rest of the administration will treat data on a vaccine for the virus. Trump has said he expects one to be ready in time for his potential re-election, and on Saturday accused unnamed members of the “deep state” at the FDA of slowing work to hurt him politically.

The “deep state” is a term used by Trump to describe employees of government agencies that he believes are manipulating policy to work against his interests.

There is no evidence this is happening at the FDA. The 35 percent statistic also has several fatal flaws.

Since everyone in the program received blood plasma, it’s not known what would have happened compared with patients who didn’t get the therapy. And scores of variables, like how sick the patients were and when they were treated—that could have skewed the results.

Robert Califf, the FDA commissioner under President Barack Obama, said that he thought Hahn had misspoken. “It would be good for Steve to publish a correction,” Califf said on Twitter earlier Monday.

Azar and Hahn both have extensive experience with drugs and therapies. Azar is a former pharmaceutical executive, and Hahn has spent several decades treating patients and researching cancer. Before joining the FDA, he was the chief medical executive of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, a leading oncology treatment and research hospital.

In a tweet posted earlier Monday, Hahn said that the agency will “reevaluate our emergency use authorization [EUA] based upon new incoming data that we receive.”

Wide use

Blood plasma from recovered patients is being used around the world, with the hope that its infectionfighting antibodies can help combat the virus. It doesn’t appear to pose a major safety risk, and on Sunday the Trump administration announced an emergency FDA measure to make it more widely available. Several studies have shown promising signs of efficacy.

“Based on the data we have today, it’s very likely that plasma is reducing mortality,” Casadevall said. “The one thing we are missing is a randomized controlled trial,”the gold-standard test that will tell researchers and regulators if blood plasma is a breakthrough, an incremental help or something in between.

To understand the confusion over the 35 percent figure, it’s important to look at two concepts: relative risk and absolute risk.

Imagine a clinical trial to test an experimental drug, with 2,000 patients split into two groups. The first 1,000 patients don’t get the drug, and in that group 10 people die. The other group of 1,000 patients gets the drug, and five people in that group die.

Using relative risk, that’s a 50 percent improvement—a tremendous number. But using absolute risk, the imaginary drug only decreases the likelihood of death by 0.5 percent. That means 5 more of those 1,000 people treated with the drug would live, not the 500 implied if you mistakenly use the 50 percent relative risk number.

The claim of a 35 percent mortality benefit made

by Trump, Azar and Hahn uses the first measure— relative risk. But because clinical trials of plasma therapy haven’t been completed, how many lives it actually saves—the absolute risk improvement— still isn’t known.

Hahn, in his tweet Monday, said he had muddled the difference. “What I should have said better is that the data show a relative risk reduction not an absolute risk reduction,” he said.

The FDA analysis was pulled from a subset of data in the trial—typically a no-no for credible studies.

And despite a day of criticism online from doctors and researchers, Hahn’s correction wasn’t enough for some.

“You need to correct the 35 lives saved per 100 sick with Covid-19 so people understand that was absolutely wrong, Steve,” Eric Topol, director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in California, said on Twitter. “That there is no evidence to support that. That there is no evidence at this juncture to support *any* survival benefit.”

Tweets

Doctors and patients rely on the FDA to put out authoritative information about the safety and efficacy of drugs, vaccines, medical devices and other products, guiding their use not just in the US but around the world. The agency has historically carefully guarded its reputation and scientific independence.

Hahn’s comments about 35 out of 100 people being saved were still posted to the FDA’s official twitter account as of Monday afternoon.

Miller, the FDA spokeswoman, repeated the error in a tweet after the press conference, saying “convalescent plasma has shown to be beneficial for 35 percent of patients.” While she clarified the error in a follow-up message about an hour later, the FDA’s main twitter account still carries Hahn’s misstatement.

Alyssa Farah, a White House spokesman made a similarly misleading tweet, saying that the therapy cuts mortality by 30 percent to 50 percent. And Michael Caputo, Azar’s chief spokesman at HHS, echoed the claim: “If you’re one of the 35 people out of a hundred who survive severe Covid symptoms because of convalescent plasma, you’re damn right this is a breakthrough.”

Farah didn’t respond to e-mails requesting comment. Caputo deferred comment to the FDA, though his tweet with the incorrect information was still up as of 10 p.m. Monday in New York.

Hahn’s predecessor Scott Gottlieb, who served as FDA commissioner under Trump from 2017 to 2019, said he thought the FDA was right to allow convalescent blood plasma for emergency use. But he suggested the press conference hadn’t given the correct picture of what health regulators actually know from the data. Bloomberg News

BusinessMirror

T

against the coronavirus, and as several companies race to deliver an effective, safe vaccine. On Sunday, President Donald Trump announced the administration was authorizing the use of a blood-plasma treatment for Covid-19.

The emergency approval could help restore public confidence in flying amid the coronavirus pandemic. Airlines have used a variety of products and measures to clean aircraft and help convince consumers it’s safe to fly, but the industry is still suffering from the demand collapse that began in April as Covid-19 spread and governments imposed travel restrictions. Air traffic remains less than 30 percent of where it was a year ago, based on passenger screenings by the Transportation Security Administration at US airports.

Airline shares extended gains after the EPA conference call on the product approval amid a broad rally in travel stocks tied to optimism about possible treatments and vaccines for coronavirus. A Standard & Poor’s 500 index of the five largest US carriers rose 7.8 percent at 3:27 p.m. in New

A5

US, China trade negotiators seen pushing phase-one deal success

U

NITED States and Chinese trade negotiators discussed the phase-one trade deal, with the US saying that both sides saw progress and are committed to its success.

The two countries talked about what China has done as part of the deal, including ensuring greater protection for intellectual property rights and removing impediments to American companies in financial services and agriculture, the US Trade Representative said in a statement. Both sides agreed to create conditions to push the deal forward, China’s Ministry of Commerce said in a separate statement Tuesday morning in Beijing.

Trade between the world’s largest economies has emerged as a rare area of cooperation as the relationship sours on a number of other fronts ranging from tech security to Hong Kong and the pandemic response. Yet Beijing is far behind where it needs to be to meet its promises to increase purchases of agricultural, energy and manufactured goods from the US. China would need to buy about $130 billion in the second half of this year to comply with the original terms of the agreement signed

in January, in which it agreed to purchase an additional $200 billion of American goods and services over the 2017 level by the end of 2021.

“The statement at least tells us that Trump’s administration still treasures the trade deal,” said Raymond Yeung, greater China chief economist with Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. “China’s buying of US agricultural and energy products is still an attractive proposition before the presidential election. This suggests that we are not really seeing a full decoupling of the two economies.”

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin spoke with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He on Monday evening Washington time, according to the US statement. The USTR later corrected that statement as they misspelled Liu’s first name, a mistake that drew attention on Chinese social media.

“The parties also discussed

the significant increases in purchases of US products by China as well as future actions needed to implement the agreement,” the US statement said. Both sides also discussed enhancing macropolicy coordination, according to the Chinese readout.

The call took place on the evening of the first day of the Republican National Convention, at which some speakers criticized Democratic Party nominee Joe Biden’s alleged friendliness to China.

Prior to the talks Bloomberg News reported that China would raise the issue of Washington’s recent crackdown on businesses including TikTok and WeChat. That wasn’t mentioned in the US announcement or the Chinese report. TikTok on Monday asked a federal judge to block the Trump administration from enacting the ban on its app.

Some progress

China has made some progress on its commitments. It modified regulations to allow imports of a variety of American farm and food products, while removing foreign equity caps in insurance, securities, and futures. It also lowered other financial market barriers and gave the greenlight to enterprises like American Express Co., MasterCard Inc. and Fitch Ratings

Inc. to enter its market.

US oil exports to China are set to reach a record next month, with about 19 tankers signing provisional bookings to load American crude for the Asian nation in September, according to shipping fixtures, which are subject to change.

If all of them set sail, exports could total 37 million barrels, the most on record for a single month.

C h i n a’s c u stom s h a s a l so strengthened a crackdown on counterfeits and released quarterly reports as set out in the agreement. The Supreme Court has issued a series of work guidelines and implementation plans on ensuring and improving legal enforcement of violations of intellectual property rights, while the National Intellectual Property Administration also published a work plan for strengthening IP protection in 2020 and 2021.

US President Donald Trump has projected a more conciliatory tone than he did in early May, when he threatened in a Fox News interview that “if they don’t buy, we’ll terminate the deal, very simple.” In recent days he has sounded more satisfied with Beijing’s compliance with the trade deal even if he’s not about China’s handling of the coronavirus. Bloomberg News

Pompeo hopes Arab nations will establish ties with Israel

J

ERUSALEM—US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday said he hoped other Arab countries would soon establish diplomatic relations with Israel as he kicked off a Mideast tour to build on the momentum of the recent US-brokered deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

Pompeo spoke during a joint statement with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, the first stop on a multi-country tour of the region following the Aug. 13 agreement by Israel and the UAE to establish diplomatic ties.

“I am hopeful that we will see other Arab nations join in this,” Pompeo said. “The opportunity for them to work alongside, to recognize the state of Israel and to work alongside them will not only increase Middle East stability, but it will improve the lives for the people of their own countries as well.”

The Israel-UAE agreement delivered a key foreign policy victory to President Donald Trump as he seeks reelection and reflected a changing Middle East in which shared concerns about Iran have largely overtaken traditional Arab support for the Palestinians.

Both Pompeo and Netanyahu criticized the lack of international support for the US demand for the

restoration of UN sanctions against Iran.

After failing to extend an arms embargo on Iran, the Trump administration has been pushing at the Security Council to have “snapback”sanctions imposed over what Washington says is Iran’s violation of the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. The Trump administration withdrew the US from that agreement in 2018.

“We are determined to use every tool that we have to ensure they can’t get access to high-end weapon systems,” Pompeo said. “The rest of the world should join us.”

Earlier this month, the US, Israel and the UAE announced the deal to establish full diplomatic relations, which also requires Israel to freeze its plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank sought by the Palestinians as part of their future state.

Netanyahu called the agreement “a boon to peace and regional stability” that “heralds a new era where we could have other nations join.”

He also said the agreement does not include Israel’s acceptance of the sale of sophisticated weaponry to the Emirates.

President Donald J. Trump said last week that the US is now reviewing an Emirati request to buy

Seven-day virus killer cleared for American Airlines planes

he Trump administration on Monday gave American Airlines Group Inc. emergency approval to deploy a new weapon against Covid-19: a surface coating that kills coronaviruses for as many as seven days.

The Environmental Protection Agency issued the emergency declaration for Allied BioScience Inc.’s SurfaceWise2 product, allowing it to be used in some American Airlines planes and airport facilities, as well as two Texas locations of Total Orthopedics Sports & Spine. All three companies are based in Texas, which sought the exemption.

“This is a major, game-changing announcement for our efforts to combat coronavirus and Covid-19,” EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler told reporters on a conference call.

“This is a groundbreaking step that is expected to provide a longerlasting protection in public spaces, increasing consumer confidence in resuming normal air travel and other activities.”

The move comes as the Trump administration seeks to propel emerging treatments and protections

Wednesday, August 26, 2020

York, led by a nearly 11-percent jump at American.

The EPA issued the emergency exemption to Texas under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act. Wheeler said he expects other states to seek their own exemptions, potentially opening up the product’s use in other airlines, schools and other facilities. Allied BioScience is already pursuing a broader EPA approval to allow widespread use of the disinfectant.

SurfaceWise2 works by binding to surfaces and continuing to kill the viruses and bacteria that land on it, including the virus that causes Covid-19, said Maha El-Sayed, chief science officer for Allied BioScience.

Product deployment

American Airlines plans to use the anti-viral spray to supplement its existing regimen—with cleaning and disinfecting coming before the SurfaceWise2 application, Chief Operating Officer David Seymour said in an interview. The product, which won’t be applied sooner than every seven days, will be sprayed throughout aircraft, except in cockpits crammed

with sensitive electronics.

It will take time for American Airlines to deploy the product in more than 1,400 planes, including regional aircraft. Under the current EPA authorization, the carrier is initially limited to applying the disinfectant in the state of Texas, and some of its planes don’t typically stop in the state.

The company is pursuing approvals for SurfaceWise2’s use in 10 to 12 other states, Seymour said.

Allied and American also are seeking a certification that the product lasts longer than seven days, buttressed by an Allied BioScience machine that allows the company to detect where the spray is still killing viruses.

“What we really like about SurfaceWise is it provides a continuous protection versus most electrostatic products that provide momentary cleaning,” Seymour said.

The EPA’s exemptions can only be offered in response to applications from states and other federal agencies, Wheeler said. And for now, as the EPA hasn’t granted a blanket authorization, the agency needs to vet proposed uses on a surface-by-surface basis. Bloomberg News

advanced F-35 warplanes. The announcement has triggered some criticism that Netanyahu, even if he did not explicitly agree, may have acquiesced to advanced weapons sales to the UAE without consulting with defense officials.

Pompeo said the US was committed to maintaining Israel’s “qualitative military edge” and would be reviewing arms deals with the UAE. Pompeo later met Netanyahu’s partner in the government, Defense Minister Benny Gantz, as well as Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi.

After his Israel stop, Pompeo was slated to visit Sudan, the UAE and Bahrain, with additional stops in the Gulf possible, the State Department had said. In Sudan, the secretary of state said he would push for “deepening the Sudan-Israel relationship.”

Sudan’s state-run SUNA news agency said Pompeo’s visit, the first by a secretary of state since 2004, would focus on Khartoum’s ties with Israel and US support for Sudan’s political transition and internal peace efforts.

Sudan is now on a fragile path to democracy after a popular uprising led the military to overthrow former autocratic President Omar al-Bashir in April 2019. A

military-civilian government rules the country, with elections deemed possible in late 2022.

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab arrived in Jerusalem on Monday for meetings with Israeli and Palestinian officials in an effort “to press for renewed dialogue” and a negotiated two-state solution to the conflict.

Raab and Pompeo met late Monday, discussing President Donald Trump’s Mideast plan, which the Palestinians have rejected, and shared concerns about Iran, the State Department said.

Pompeo, meanwhile, generated controversy back home with plans to deliver a speech to the Republican National Convention that would break decades of precedent for sitting secretaries of state avoiding overt partisan political activity.

The State Department said Pompeo would be speaking in a personal capacity and would not violate prohibitions on federal employees participating in public political events. But Democrats said the speech violated the spirit, if not the letter, of the law.

The speech, which was being recorded in Jerusalem, is to be broadcast in prime time on Tuesday. AP

TikTok sues Trump over his pending order to ban its app

N

EW YORK—Video app TikTok is suing the Trump Administration over its efforts to ban the popular Chinese-owned service over national-security concerns.

TikTok, which is owned by China’s ByteDance, insisted on Monday that it is not a national-security threat and that the government is acting to “further the president’s anti-China political campaign.” The company said the government is acting without evidence for its allegations or due process. It filed suit on Monday in federal court in California against the Commerce Department, President Donald Trump and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, saying that it sought to prevent the government from “impermissibly banning”TikTok by overturning President Donald Trump’s executive order.

Trump issued two orders in August. The first, on August 6, imposed a sweeping but unspecified ban on any “transaction” with ByteDance, to take effect by September 20. A week later, he ordered ByteDance to sell US TikTok assets within 90 days. TikTok’s lawsuit isn’t fighting the sell order.

In its complaint, TikTok said that while the full scope of the Aug. 6 ban order remains unclear until the Commerce Department fleshes it out, the order still poses “an existential threat to TikTok’s US business.” It said it would move to block action by the Commerce Department once it issues rules.

The Commerce Department did not reply to a request for comment. The White House referred questions to the Justice Department, which declined to comment.

Over the past year, TikTok has tried to put distance

between its app, which it says has 100 million US users, and its Chinese owners. It installed a former top Disney executive as its American CEO and named two other Americans chief security officer and general counsel. TikTok has also said it is willing to sell its US operations and has held talks with Microsoft. Other companies and investors have reportedly expressed interest as well.

Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have shared concerns about TikTok that ranged from its vulnerability to censorship and misinformation campaigns to the safety of user data and children’s privacy. But the administration has provided no specific evidence that TikTok has made US users’ data available to the Chinese government. The Trump administration has ratcheted up tensions with China over trade and tech security issues; the president has also blamed China for the global coronavirus pandemic. His administration has sought to hobble Chinese telecom equipment maker Huawei and the Chinese messaging app WeChat.

US officials point to the hypothetical threat that lies in the Chinese government’s ability to demand cooperation from Chinese companies. TikTok says it has not shared US user data with the Chinese government and would not do so, and that it does not censor videos at the request of Chinese authorities.

In its complaint, TikTok said that it has protected US user data by storing it in the US and Singapore, not China. It said it has also set up “software barriers” to ensure that TikTok segregates its US user data from other ByteDance products. AP

A6 Wednesday, August 26, 2020 • Editor: Angel R. Calso

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

editorial

Coconut survives detractors’ venom

A

mong all the crops grown in the Philippines, the much-maligned coconut has the most serious image problem. In stark contrast to bananas, a “crowd favorite” in Japan and South Korea, Philippine coconut continues to receive bad publicity. It has been like that since the 1980s, when the American Soybean Association said tropical oils, including coconut oil, are saturated fats that can cause heart attacks.

Coconut oil, in particular, has been the subject of intense scrutiny and has been criticized heavily in recent years. In 2017, the American Heart Association issued a health advisory discouraging the consumption of coconut oil, saying it could raise one’s bad cholesterol level and cause cardiovascular diseases. A year after, epidemiologist Karin Michels of the Harvard TH Chan school of public health called coconut oil “pure poison” that should be avoided. Michels said coconut oil has a high proportion of saturated fat, which could raise the so-called bad cholesterol.

Two years after earning the “pure poison” label, coconut oil is again being put under the microscope. This time the brickbats came from a report published by the University of Exeter based in the United Kingdom.

According to the study, coconut oil production may be more damaging to the environment than palm oil (See, “UCAP defends PHL coco oil production,” in the BusinessMirror, August 11, 2020).

The United Coconut Associations of the Philippines (Ucap) said the study’s claim is the opposite of what is happening in the country. The main problem facing the local industry, Ucap pointed out, is the near extinction of coconut trees, most of which were planted during the Spanish colonial period in the 1600s. It also noted that coconut areas in the Philippines are receding and have been transformed into other land uses.

While all agricultural production for commercial uses have adverse environmental impacts, these issues can be mitigated, according to Victoria Espaldon, former Dean of the University of the Philippines-Los Baños School of Environment Science and Management. In the Philippines, for instance, coconut oil processing plants have improved significantly and have been more environmentally conscious. Also, instead of ending up in landfills, coconut waste is being used to make other products that allow both farmers and traders to earn extra income.

Thankfully, the coconut is so versatile and sturdy that it has survived the negative publicity that it has been receiving through the years. Official government data would attest to this as the Philippines continues to earn more than $1 billion a year from coconut products, save for some years when the industry recorded low earnings. In 2018, for instance, the value of the country’s coconut oil shipments plummeted by 31 percent to $1.11 billion and this affected copra farmers as traders bought their crop at much lower prices.

This year, as the country grapples with the Covid-19 pandemic, we are again reminded of the versatility and reliability of the “tree of life.”

Aside from the positive reviews given to virgin coconut oil for its antiviral properties, the crop is now being used to manufacture ethyl alcohol for sanitizers and disinfectants. In June, the Philippine Craft Distillers Inc. presented to the Philippine Coconut Authority the ALCOCO hand sanitizers made from distilled coconut nectar.

The manufacture of these hand sanitizers from local coconut nectar is expected to reduce the country’s reliance on ethyl alcohol. More importantly, this development is one of the so-called pockets of hope that the government and the private sector must capitalize to help some 3.5 million farmers that continue to rely on this much-maligned crop.

Since 2005

BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business

SSS funeral benefit program’s checkless disbursement Aurora C. Ignacio

All About Social Security

O

ne Sunday morning, I came across an online Christian service where the pastor said, “What do you consider to be the saddest and lowest point in your life?” As I was watching and reading all the comments pouring in, I was struck by the one sent by an old woman that said, “When my husband of 49 years died, I felt I died with him.”

True enough, life has its low and high points. Death is one of them, and probably one of the greatest blows in our life especially if we lose a member of our family. For a student, her lowest point might be failing an exam; for wives and husbands, it’s heart-breaking if their marriage is falling apart; for an employee, it’s a difficult time losing his job; and for a child, it’s quite emotional losing his favorite pet or breaking his favorite toy, among others.

With the current situation that we are experiencing, deaths abound, unfortunately brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. Current data from the Department of Health said there are 3,010 deaths that are Covid-related. Sadly, the number is still increasing almost daily. But generally before the Covid-19 pan-

demic, the top three causes of deaths among Filipinos are heart disease, cancer and other respiratory ailments, based on DOH figures.

During such unfortunate event, families of SSS members can avail themselves of the Funeral Benefit Program of the SSS. Since August 2015, SSS has been giving P20,000 to P40,000 funeral benefit to whoever defrays the cost of funeral expenses of a deceased SSS member or pensioner. This amount is based on the member’s average monthly salary credit and number of contributions paid.

Unknown to many, SSS is not strict as to who is the rightful claimant for this benefit since anybody can pay for anyone, a relative or not, compared to our guidelines under the Death Benefit program,

which is stricter.

Likewise, effective June 2020, the SSS has implemented the checkless disbursement of paying funeral benefit claims for SSS member-claimants through the My.SSS portal in the SSS website, www.sss.gov.ph which proves to be simple, faster and easier than the usual practice of issuing checks to our claimants.

To start with, they must have a Unified Multi Purpose ID (UMID) or have applied for the UMID card and ​their own My.SSS account to use the online facility. Upon successful registration, they should log-in to their My.SSS accounts to register their disbursement account through the Bank Enrollment Module (BEM) for the disbursement of the funeral benefit. For SSS member-claimants, their disbursement account should be under a PESONet participating bank or E-wallet or cash payout outlet/remittance transfer company.

However, for non-SSS memberclaimants, they should provide a copy of their ATM card deposit slip if it’s a PESONet participating bank or their updated cellphone number if their preferred disbursement is through E-wallet via Paymaya or cash payout outlet/remittance transfer company via M-Lhuiller.

In case online applicants already have a UMID card enrolled as ATM, the system will automatically credit

the benefit to the said card.

To submit their applications online, they should log-in to their My.SSS account and click “Submit Funeral Claim Application” under the E-Services Tab. The required information of the deceased SSS Member should be provided, including civil status, claimant’s relationship with the deceased and their disbursement account. They should also submit their application by uploading the required documents such as proof to establish SSS membership of the deceased member, death certificate, and official receipt as proof of defrayal of funeral expenses.

Online applicants are also advised to read the Certification carefully before clicking the “Submit” box to agree and proceed with the application. After the successful submission of the application, SSS will send a notice through e-mail regarding the said application.

Indeed, SSS will always be every working Filipino’s arm in providing social security protection when members need it most, especially during these difficult times.

And going back to the old woman, I later learned that her husband was an SSS member, after all!

Aurora C. Ignacio is SSS president and chief executive officer.

We welcome your questions and insights on the topics that we discuss. E-mail mediaaffairs@sss. gov.ph for topics that you might want us to discuss.

✝ Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua Founder Publisher Editor in Chief Associate Editor News Editor

T. Anthony C. Cabangon Lourdes M. Fernandez Jennifer A. Ng Vittorio V. Vitug

Senior Editors

Lorenzo M. Lomibao Jr., Gerard S. Ramos Lyn B. Resurreccion, Dennis D. Estopace Angel R. Calso

Online Editor

Ruben M. Cruz Jr.

Creative Director Chief Photographer Chairman of the Board & Ombudsman President Advertising Sales Manager Group Circulation Manager

Eduardo A. Davad Nonilon G. Reyes Judge Pedro T. Santiago (Ret.) Benjamin V. Ramos Aldwin Maralit Tolosa Rolando M. Manangan

BusinessMirror is published daily by the Philippine Business Daily Mirror Publishing, Inc., with offices on the 3rd floor of Dominga Building III 2113 Chino Roces Avenue corner De La Rosa Street, Makati City, Philippines.

Tel. Nos. (Editorial) 817-9467; 813-0725. Fax line: 813-7025.

(Advertising Sales) 893-2019; 817-1351, 817-2807.

(Circulation) 893-1662; 814-0134 to 36. E-mail: news@businessmirror.com.ph.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Printed by brown madonna Press, Inc.–Sun Valley Drive KM-15, South Superhighway, Parañaque, Metro Manila MEMBER OF

ENTREPRENEURS’ FOOTPRINTS

Business lessons from mother’s love

By Dr. Carl E. Balita

T

here will always be a little boy or girl in all of us who is anchored on the maternal experience of love and care that make us whoever we are.

A mother’s advice may come in small packages of wisdom, like that of Felicidad, mother of Potato Corner co-founder Jose Magsaysay, whose specific instruction was to stay home at night because night-outs mean spending money all the time. It may also be as abstract as to work hard and pray harder, especially in difficult times, as taught by Mommy Jasmin of Tax Whiz Mon Abrea. Or it may be as practical as taking care of your health, as a persistent reminder of Ofelia, the mother of entrepreneurtrainer Paulo Tibig. It may also come in a pragmatic recommendation to look at people’s eyes to see through their soul like that of Ida, the mother of business advocate Jorge Weineke.

The 88-year-old Bienvenida would always nurture her children and ask

them to support, follow and love their Dad, the late Ambassador Antonio Cabangon-Chua.

The Wonder Woman:

Jennylle ‘Yeng’ Sorongon Tupaz, as President, navigated Ayala Malls amid the Covid-19 world guided by the lessons of endurance, resiliency, resourcefulness, and kindness. There is a wonder woman behind the lessons learned by this only Filipino cited by the Poets and Quants as one of the 100 Best and Brightest Executive MBAs around the globe in 2019. That wonder woman is her Mommy Menchu whom she witnessed to have led the family by making ends meet for their survival. Menchu would insist on the valuable lesson of

finding one’s worth, and striving to endure and survive whatever life throws at you. She imbibed in her family the value of discerning potential and working on extracting and creating value out of it despite challenges and roadblocks. Where business thinking and organizational development are concerned through 23 years with Ayala Land Inc., Yeng Tupaz would give credit to her 76-year-old Mom for her street-smart wisdom that greatly influenced her youth.

Similarly, Jovy Tuano was preferred by his Mommy Themy to escort her in the market and to help run the family business in his young age.

Jovy must have learned well by doing, as he is now engaged in various successful food business ventures in the United Arab Emirates.

The Model Miss Universe

Milagros, the mother of Bo’s Coffee founder Steve Benitez, taught the discipline of delayed gratification and working hard to get what one

wants. She modeled entrepreneurship as she operated a grocery and restaurant. Patience and attention to details is also what business and industry leader Sergio Ortiz Luis cites as best lessons from his mother Lourdes, who was a lawyer and a politician, from whom Mr. Ortiz learned the language of the industry. Atty. Crystal Dias demonstrates to her children the need for hard work, blood, sweat and tears to make dreams a reality after establishing her Law Firm in London 12 years ago, which, with her development work, led her to be one of the 100 Most Influential Women in the World by the Filipina Women Network.

The Teacher

International Professor Eric Soriano would be happy if he can put in half of the effort that her mother Professor Estela has done for many years. The professor-mother taught the professor-son to be a fighter for the family, for those who have less See “Balita,” A7

Opinion BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Extended warranty is insurance

Review trade policies amid Covid-19 for economic survival Dr. Jesus Lim Arranza

MAKE SENSE

Atty. Dennis B. Funa

INSURANCE FORUM

W

hen a consumer buys a product, it usually comes with a manufacturer’s or retailer’s warranty which is a written guarantee, issued to the purchaser of an article by its manufacturer, promising to repair or replace it if necessary due to defects in materials or workmanship within a specified period of time. In other words, it is a guarantee that a product will be repaired or replaced if it breaks down. This is mandated by law, specifically by Article 1562 of the New Civil Code and Articles 66 to 73 of the Consumer Act of the Philippines (Republic Act 7394). Warranties are timebound, usually one or two years. Warranties are usual for electronic or mechanical goods such as household appliances (washing machines, dishwashers, microwaves, televisions) and automobiles.

The usual indemnity is to cover the cost of repair or replacement if the repair is deemed uneconomical.

What is extended warranty Upon the purchase of a product, a consumer may choose to buy an extended warranty. Extended warranty covers a consumer for repair costs after the manufacturer’s or retailer’s guarantee has expired. It is a prolonged warranty offered to consumers after a standard warranty for new purchases has expired.

Extended warranty is also called a “service contract” or a “service agreement.” Some have also called it “breakdown insurance” or “repair insurance.” It has been referred to as a service contract because in case of defects, the product will be “serviced” or repaired. Extended warranties are paid for, and is purely optional. The decision to purchase an extended warranty should depend on your appreciation of the product purchased. There are products with a high repair rate, such as a desktop personal computer, while there are products with a very low repair rate, such as televisions and refrigerators.

The duration of the extended warranty would depend on the offeror.

It may be for two, three or four years.

Extended warranties are purchased at the time of the sale of the product. According to a consumers’ group, the purchase of extended warranties is appropriate for products which are expensive to repair or the repairs are needed frequently.

Extended warranties may differ in their terms from the original manufacturer’s warranty.

Insurance product

Extended warranties are insurance products. It is an insurance

Balita. . .

continued from A6

in life, and for those he believes in.

On his part, finance guru Chinkee Tan learned from his mother Shirley what he is teaching all his life in financial literacy—savings. And he first learned from his mother the formula that income minus savings equals expense, and that how-muchone-earns is less important than how-much-is-saved.

Science and Technology Secretary Fortunato de la Peña must have become an engineer and a scientist from the lessons of his Mommy Luz who was very assuring that there are answers and solutions that can be figured out for problems and challenges that may come. Rhoda Caliwara, the President of Philippine Association of Legitimate Service Contractors, shares the need to have a good purpose and intention, and in being part of the solution to the problem, which the Mother of Philippine Franchising, Bing Limjoco, refers to as the need to see the big picture in business. She advises to start everything with happiness from within and discover contentment from it.

The Legendary Homemaker

Make sure your family gets the best of you, not what is left of you. This is what Emma who, strong at 84, still teaches Anthony Pangilinan

policy. In the US, extended warranties are regulated by most state insurance commissioners as “service contracts.” In the state of New Hampshire, for example, extended warranties can only be sold by insurance agents. In Brazil in 2014, the Zurich Insurance Group, through its Brazilian subsidiary Zurich Minas Brasil Seguros S.A. entered into a distribution agreement with Via Varejo S.A., a major retailer of home appliances and furniture, for the exclusive sale of extended warranty insurance through the Casas Bahia and Ponto Frio branded store networks Via Varejo, covering almost 1,000 stores.

The Brazilian market for extended warranty insurance is the largest in Latin America.

Counter view

IN Alberta, province of Canada, however, the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta (Court of Appeals), on July 21, 2011, has ruled in the case of Brick Protection Corporation v. Alberta (Provincial Treasurer) that an extended warranty is not insurance.

The court ruled that “the distinction between a warranty and insurance is that a warranty covers the risk that the covered product will fail due to some inherent flaw or weakness in the course of normal use, while insurance covers the risk of unforeseen events or perils to the product unrelated to an inherent weakness in the product itself.” The Superintendent of Insurance in Alberta had considered extended warranties to be “insurance.” This ruling appears to be an exception to the general thinking of most jurisdictions. what to always prioritize and never neglect—the family. Similarly, for Dorothy, the mother of Sheril Ramos Quintana who is the President of Philippine Franchise Association, building memories with children is done by cooking with them and by building a home with them where they feel safe and happy. Socialite Bayani Ortiz intentionally exposed her children and grandchildren to humanitarian service as she lives a life of philanthropy that taught her positive humility and service.

Golden ABC matriarch Alice Liu, as a mother, allows her children the free choice of being part of the business, but demands ability and capability to run the business, which can be demonstrated by their feet being in the water. She upholds what her husband Bernard formulated: the 5 G’s of stewardship, where everything is a G-ift for which one should develop the sense of G-ratitude with a duty to G-row the resources entrusted and to G-overn selves well and the need to G-ive back to society.

And all mothers featured in this column made an indelible ink of faith. As Ambassador to the Holy See, Grace Princesa simply advises from Matthew 6:33 to “seek God first and His righteousness and everything will be given unto you.”

As for this writer, his Mom Siony is the spark that ignited his entrepreneurial spirit in the road less traveled.

Wednesday, August 26, 2020 A7

W

ith an already anxious global trade landscape devastated

by Covid 19, is the World Trade Organization (WTO) still relevant? This is practically the gist of a Chatham House online story, which I came across while writing this piece for our legislators and government policy leaders to consider amid the pandemic, as the global economy drifts toward Social Darwinism.

Following the mantra of “survival of the fittest,” it’s time to strengthen our trade protectionist policies, like safeguarding duties and mandatory standards, among others, to save jobs, the local industry, and most importantly, to help save the nation from recession.

With the country’s shrinking economy and 45 percent unemployment rate as reported in the news, Covid-19 could now be more of an economic problem than a health dilemma for Filipinos. Thus, if the world’s economic superpower and trade liberalization advocate like the US is already fortifying its economy from import surge with its “Buy American” challenge, Filipinos have more reasons to “Buy Pinoy, Buy

Local,” if only to help save the country’s pandemic-battered industries.

Aggravating the double-digit unemployment rate that impacts the country’s economic lifeline is the mass repatriation of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

This is a double whammy for the government because it will not only spike the number of unemployed Filipinos but also cause a significant reduction in dollar remittances, resulting in less consumer spending and less revenues in duties and taxes for the government.

Thus, if we do not tighten our trade policies and allow import surge from giant exporters like China to happen, this might lead to the country’s economic collapse. And should

this happen, as we struggle with the country’s shrinking economy, double digit unemployment and dwindling trade opportunities, the dumping of imported goods into the Philippine market by global trade giants could only worsen the Filipinos’ almost abject economic situation.

Some Philippine government officials say there’s no need to implement safeguard duties because global production has shrunk due to the pandemic. However, I find this idea dangerous, if not misconstrued.

Remember that the Chinese government subsidizes many Chinese manufacturing companies. And in crisis situations like the Covid-19 pandemic, profits become only a secondary objective to many Chinese companies. The first objective is to provide employment to its citizens.

With or without the pandemic, Chinese manufacturers will continue running their production lines, or at least downsize their operations.

This should explain China’s dominance in the world market and why its manufactured products are a lot cheaper than those made elsewhere in the world, including the Philippines. But this should make consumers even more careful by examining the quality of China made products, because some of their food and nonfood products are non-compliant to Philippine product standards. This

should be a good reason for the government to review and strengthen its Philippine National Standards.

As what British conservative politician Philip Hammond says, “While I believe firmly in open markets and free trade, I also believe an open market needs a level playing field.”

And with that, I urge our legislators and government policy leaders to tighten the country’s trade protection policies to prevent an import surge and to stop the entry of sub-standard products into the local market. Moreover, this would provide the much-needed level playing field for local manufacturers, for them to survive amid the pandemic.

And most importantly, I call on the Filipinos to be patriotic consumers. Every peso we spend to buy a locally made product could mean food on the table for the family of a hard working factory worker. And to borrow the lyrics of a Whitney Houston top grosser song, “The greatest love of all is easy to achieve, Learning to love yourself, is the greatest love of all.” Love your country and love yourself. God bless the Philippines.

Dr. Jesus Lim Arranza is the chairman of the Federation of Philippine Industries and Fight Illicit Trade; a broad-based, multisectoral movement intended to protect consumers, safeguard government revenues and shield legitimate industries from the ill effects of smuggling.

Balancing competition law and the preference for Filipino businesses Atty. Emerson B. Aquende

Competition Matters

S

tarting as a spark in Wuhan, China in December 2020, the Covid-19 has spread across the world like a wildfire. By March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the viral outbreak as a pandemic. Infection has creeped into every corner of the globe and to date afflicts peoples in 215 countries and territories, with the total worldwide death count reaching 810,885 as of August 23, 2020.

Eight months from the initial outbreak, science continues to play catch-up with Covid-19. As experts and researchers make new discoveries, prevention and treatment protocols are likewise evolving. The furious race to invent safe and effective vaccines is still months away from the finish line. With science yet unable to offer reliable solutions, governments are left with no choice but to supplement the gap in information with intuition resulting to either too draconian or overly lenient measures. Even the few governments that seemed to get the right mix of containment strategies have suffered setbacks from second or third waves of infections.

As people drastically reduce social interactions, the pandemic is also fast developing into a global economic crisis. With many economies screeching to a halt, the economic damage is fast becoming obvious.

In its June Global Economic Prospects, the World Bank has forecasted a 5.2 percent contraction in the 2020 Global GDP. The case of the Philippines is no different. As the country emerges from lockdown, the economic data confirms the devastating effects of the pandemic. The economy is projected to have lost as much as P1.1 trillion during the first 45 days of the lockdown. Tax collections slid by 61.56 percent year-on-year to P90.5 billion in April 2020 instead of the expected surge from the income tax filing deadline. Remittance from overseas Filipinos in 2020 is predicted by the Asian Development Bank to decline by 20.2 percent. The Philippine Statistics Authority recently reported an all-time high unemployment rate of 17.7 percent, with 7.3 million unemployed adults in April of this year. The economic recession was confirmed by the PSA when it announced a 16.5 percent decline in the 2nd Quarter GDP growth rate.

To reverse the recession, restart

the economy, promote business continuity, and save jobs and livelihood, the government is deploying a new set of tools that will hasten economic recovery even as the country continue to battle the Covid-19 menace. Congress is enacting into law “Bayanihan II.” The measure will authorize the President to deploy a wide-range of measures to stimulate the economy and promote business continuity, the most significant of which include the following: (1) Flexibility in realigning government funds; (2) Provisions for assistance, subsidies and/or allowances to displaced employees and OFW; (3) Enforcement of protection measures against hoarding, profiteering, price manipulation, cartels, monopolies, or other combinations in restraint of trade, (4) Provision for expansion of access to credit at lower interest by businesses; (5) Liberalization of the grant of incentives for the manufacture or importation of essential goods; (6) Provision for assistance to critically-impacted businesses in the transportation tourism and agriculture sector; and (7) Acceleration of online commerce, including the digitalization of MSMEs. Economic revival started after quarantine restrictions were eased across the country. In adopting a strategy of localized or micro lockdowns to contain infection outbreaks, the government has facilitated the calibrated reopening of businesses. However, as businesses struggle to cope with the negative shock of the initial quarantine measures, there are growing calls from various industries for government, businesses and consumers to adopt a policy of Filipino preference to speed up the economic recovery and job creation. Criticisms have been aired by some business quarters about the importation of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) instead of sourcing from local manufacturers. In the agriculture sector, hog and poultry growers have likewise called for a ban

on pork and chicken meat imports to avoid a local supply glut.

While a Filipino preference in business and trade finds constitutional support on the mandate for “the preferential use of Filipino labor, domestic materials and locally produced goods” in Section 12 of Article XII of the Constitution, the same provision does not, however, justify protectionist and anti-competitive biases. Counter-balancing the Filipino preference are provisions found in the same Article XII that mandate trade policies that serve the general welfare, and anchored on equality and reciprocity, as well as that which prohibits combinations in restraint of trade and unfair competition.

Contrary to the misplaced beliefs of some market participants, competition is in fact essential in attaining economic recovery. As clearly laid out in the Philippine Competition Act, competition will propel economic development by promoting equal opportunity, improving productivity, and safeguarding consumer welfare.

It cannot be overemphasized that the national emergency brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic may spawn its own host of anti-competitive practices that can impact economic recovery efforts. There may be businesses incentivized to take advantage of the pandemic emergency to enter into anti-competitive agreements and/or to abuse their dominant market position in order to gain unfair advantage. It is not difficult to imagine that businesses may agree or collude to fix prices, or allocate markets, or control production, for basic and essential goods and services that are in high demand during the pandemic emergency, such medical supplies and PPE, courier and transportation services, and Internet services. On the contrary, the absence of barrier to entry of market participants, has allowed the country to address the initial supply shortages in face masks and other PPEs through importation sourced from foreign suppliers.

Emerging markets that have grown during the pandemic and their potential contribution to the economy may remain underdeveloped if anti-competitive practices of market participants are not effectively checked. A prime example are the digital and online markets that have found a niche during the lengthy community quarantines as substitutes for brick and mortar establishments. Early market participants who have attained dominance may abuse their market power by imposing barriers to entry of competitors, which will only slow down the

development of this economic sector and negatively impact consumers.

Admittedly, the revival of Filipino businesses will greatly contribute to the economic recovery of the country. However, a protectionist and anti-competitive strategy to promote Filipino businesses will only yield short-term results and will eventually be counter-productive to economic development. The gains produced will be negated by the disadvantages and ills that are sought to be avoided by Section 19 of Article XII of the Constitution, and the PCA—that is, the detrimental effects to consumers and the concentration of market power in the hands of a few enterprises.

The interplay of these two factors require a careful balancing act on the part of our policy makers. While assistance and support should be extended by government to allow as many businesses as possible to restart their commercial activities, such support must be extended to all, or at least to those similarly situated on the basis of clear and sound criteria, without any market participant getting undue gain over its competitors.

Apparently, Congress has weighed well these two factors in drafting the Bayanihan II by focusing on provisions that support Philippine businesses and workers, without unduly giving market participants unfair advantage over other competitors, such as the subsidies to displaced workers, the expansion to access to credit with favorable interest rates and terms by affected businesses, the liberalization of incentive grants for manufacturers of essential goods, and the increased efficiency in processing permits. These measures will lessen the burden on businesses to resume full commercial activity without giving any market participant an advantage over other competitors.

In the final conclusion, with the right balance of competition law and preference for Filipino businesses, both Filipino businesses and consumers stand to be mutually benefitted by a competitive business climate and vibrant Philippine economy.

Comm. Emerson B. Aquende is the newest member of the Philippine Competition Commission.

Before joining the PCC on March 5, 2020, he headed the Legal Education Board, the government agency regulating legal education in the country. He has gained experience in insurance and finance as board director in the United Coconut Planters Life Assurance Corp., UCPB General Insurance Co., Inc., and its various subsidiaries. He practiced law as a litigation attorney, and has accumulated more than 22 years in the academe, 14 years of which as the law dean of the University of Santo Tomas-Legazpi. He currently teaches law in the University of Philippines College of Law.

A8 Wednesday, August 26, 2020

Masinloc coal plant reels from Covid-19

M

ASINLOC, Zambales—This town in the northern part of Zambales took the threat of the new coronavirus disease (Covid-19) seriously. Putting up checkpoints, imposing curfew, requiring quarantine and travel passes, and even setting up market schedules, Masinloc kept the virus at bay even when border controls somewhat eased as the province entered modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) in mid-July.

As of August 5 when the whole of Zambales had recorded 54 confirmed Covid-19 cases, with 10 active, 43 recovered, and one death, Masinloc had only one case—and a recovered one at that.

Just 20 days after, however, the town had reported 155 confirmed cases, a count higher than that of the August 18 record of Davao Oriental, which ranks 32nd among provinces with the most cases.

Masinloc’s nightmare began in July 21, less than a week after Zambales was placed under MGCQ .

That day, a 55-year-old welder from the City of Muntinlupa arrived at the Masinloc coal-fired thermal power plant, one of those a contractor had brought in for some overhauling work at the 600-megawatt plant owned by San Miguel Corp.

Continued on A4

Blue Ribbon, DOJ-led task force eye PhilHealth shakeup

S

By Butch Fernandez @butchfBM & Joel R. San Juan @jrsanjuan1573

ENATE Blue Ribbon probers wrapped up their inquiry into anomalies at the Philippine Health Insurance Corp., endorsing enactment of remedial legislation reorganizing the existing agency.

As the Blue Ribbon panel endorsed a reorganization, the interagency task force led by the Department of Justice proposed creation of an interim committee to handle affairs at the state health insurer.

High on the list of recommendations in the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee report is the “abolition of all positions” and recreation of such “through law.”

The report submitted by panel chairman Sen. Richard J. Gordon said, “We could authorize the Executive Department to make new appointments. This way, all may be replaced by fresh faces, fresh minds and untainted personnel.”

In the interim, the committee report proposed “the immediate removal of all PhilHealth Regional Di-

rectors,” noting that “all these overcharges, overpayments, upscaling, and other nefarious schemes could not have been perpetrated without their cooperation, or, maybe even principal leadership.”

The report noted that “there existed sufficient safeguards in the system that could have caught these criminal elements had they performed their jobs faithfully and honestly.”

DOJ-led team

On Wednesday, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, the head of the Task Force investigating corruption at PhilHealth, recommended the creation an interim management committee (IMC) to supervise PhilHealth operations while some of its

officials and employees are being investigated.

Guevarra made the recommendation at a meeting of the InterAgency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) with President Duterte.

The DOJ secretary said the President should instruct the Governance Commission for GOCC (GCG) to form the interim management committee as part of the structural reorganization of PhilHealth.

He said the GCG, which is under the Office of the President, has the statutory mandate to institute organizational changes in government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs).

“We thought of an Interim Management Committee for PhilHealth in view of the apparent systemic problems that will be difficult to resolve if the people who have an interest to keep the present structure and systems will remain in their present positions,” Guevarra explained.

Guevarra also said it would be entirely up to the GCG to select members of the IMC and when they would take over PhilHealth’s management.

He reported to the President that Task Force PhilHealth is focusing its probe on the so-called centers

of fraud in the agency.

He identified them as the agency’s Information Technology system, the Legal Sector, the Interim Reimbursement Mechanism (IRM) and financial management.

The Legal Sector, according to Guevarra, “seems to be one of the biggest sources of allegedly fraudulent activities” in the agency.

DOJ Undersecretary Markk Perete told reporters that Task Force PhilHealth on Monday questioned two ranking PhilHealth officials, namely Senior Vice President for Legal Sector Rodolfo del Rosario and Senior Vice President for Finance Policy Management Israel Francis Pargas.

Under the law creating PhilHealth, hospitals have 60 days from the time a patient is discharged, to file their claim, otherwise they would have waived their right to claim from PhilHealth.

Perete said the Legal Sector recommended the grant of amnesty on around P3.9-billion late claims.

The PhilHealth board also reportedly approved to pay P668 million, as part of the amnesty.

The task force said the Legal Sector should not have initiated the grant of amnesty but waited for the hospitals to bring the matter before the court.

Continued on A4

‘Revgov’ call could hurt PHL fiscal standing

D

UTERTE administration proponents calling for a revolutionary government were warned to abandon the idea or risk upsetting the Philippines’ fiscal position.

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian on Tuesday thumbed down calls for a revolutionary government in the midst of the crisis from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Several senators also raised serious concerns over the backlash of the proposal floated by Duterte supporters calling for a revolutionary government to pave the way for a shift to a federal form of government.

Gatchalian recalled that “even the country’s economic managers, during several Senate hearings on federalism, have voiced out their stand against the shift to federalism which in the long run could hurt the country’s economy, as this will create instability in our fiscal position and will prompt a massive fiscal deficit in our budgeting system.”

“If we bring it down to the local governments, the national government will go bankrupt; who will pay for the debts?

Our deficit will swell. Now, the question is: where do we get funds to fight Covid-19?

Even the economic managers were very wary and they were strongly opposing the shift to federalism,” Gatchalian said in a mix of English and Filipino.

He warned that a change in the form of government at this point could push the country to the brink of collapse, and transform a “health crisis...into an economic crisis, or even a political crisis.”

Butch Fernandez

Companies BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

SEC issues rules for CDVs

T

By VG Cabuag

@villygc

he Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the regulatory framework for the creation and operation of new investment companies that will invest in corporate debt papers.

The agency issued SEC Memorandum Circular 23, Series of 2020, or the Rules on Corporate Debt Vehicle (CDV), to support the liquidity needs of large corporations and medium-sized enterprises in the middle and aftermath of the pandemic.

A CDV is a closed-end investment company that issues or offers for sale its securities consisting of either shares of stock or units of participation to any number of qualified buyers and/or non-qualified buyers not exceeding 19

persons in the Philippines during any 12-month period. It will have a specific objective of investing in the corporate debts of large corporations and mediumsized enterprises.

It may offer different share or unit classes with similar investment objective but managed as separate asset pools, with each class corresponding to a distinct part of its assets and liabilities.

Subscription in a CDV is done only on initial public offering and redemption is at maturity. A CDV offering units of

participation can make periodic distribution of income to investors on a pro-rata basis from cash received by such CDV from its interest income after deduction of applicable taxes and expenses. It may also pay out the value of the underlying investments of each share or unit in a class upon maturity of the said underlying investments.

The unit holders of a CDV shall have no voting rights, but they are entitled to be notified of any material change to the prospectus, product highlight sheet and subscription agreement.

“CDVs can play a significant role in the survival and recovery of our economy from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic by providing large corporations and medium-sized enterprises the necessary funding to meet their obligations, sustain their operations and preserve jobs,” SEC Chairman Emilio B. Aquino said.

Proceeds from the issuance of CDV securities shall be invested in any bonds, notes, commercial papers, debentures and other evidence of indebtedness, whether secured or unsecured, of large corporations and medium-sized enter-

prises operating or deriving income in the Philippines.

A CDV may likewise invest in corporate debts guaranteed by a large or medium-sized domestic corporation or by the Philippine government or its agencies or by multilateral agencies involving exempt securities.

Large corporations are those with total assets of more than P350 million or total liabilities of more than P250 million, while medium-sized enterprises are those with more than P100 million to P350 million in total assets or P100 million to P250 million in total liabilities.

Investments in corporate debt issued by a single enterprise must not exceed 25 percent of the net asset value of a CDV and 50 percent in the case of single group entities. The limit shall be computed based on the total proceeds of the securities sold within the initial offering period.

A CDV shall not invest in its own securities and in corporate debts of corporations in which any of its directors or officers or directors or officers of its investment advisor/s, manager/s or distributor/s are members.

Razon gets nod for Manila Water takeover T he Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) has cleared the acquisition of Razon-led Trident Water Holdings Co. Inc. of a majority stake in Manila Water Inc. In its commission decision, the PCC is allowing Trident Water to complete its buyout of a 51-percent voting interest in Ayala Group’s Manila Water by way of the former’s subscription of 820 million common shares of stock from the unissued authorized capital stock of the water concessionaire.

Further, Manila Water’s subsidiary Philwater

Holdings Co. will grant proxy in favor of Trident Water over the seller’s preferred shares to make way for the 51-percent voting interest.

The PCC concluded the transaction will not result in substantial lessening of competition in the distribution of raw water to the east zone concession area. According to the antitrust, Manila Water has a captive customer base in the market and therefore has no downstream rivals based on its agreement with the government.

As waterworks is a form of natural monopoly

allowed by law through regulation, east zone concessionaire Manila Water is subject to the extensive oversight and state regulation in operating within 23 areas, including Makati, Mandaluyong, Pasig, Pateros, San Juan, Taguig, Marikina, parts of Quezon City, Manila and portions of Rizal.

Further, the PCC found the acquisition will lead to neither an incentive nor ability to engage in customer or input foreclosure in the said market.

Trident Water is a subsidiary of Prime Metroline

Holdings Inc., whose business interests range from hotel and gaming operations, mining, infrastructure, power generation and distribution, to port services.

Manila Water, the acquired entity, is a listed firm maintaining the exclusive right to provide water services, particularly water treatment, water distribution, sewerage and sanitation services to the eastern zone of Metro Manila via a concession agreement with the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System. Elijah Felice E. Rosales

Wednesday, August 26, 2020

B1

SMC sees infra projects spurring growth in Luzon

By Lorenz S. Marasigan @lorenzmarasigan

D

iversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp.

(SMC) hopes to “transform Luzon into a growth powerhouse within just five years” through two major infrastructure projects that are seen to spur economic growth in the region.

Ramon S. Ang, the company’s president, said his group intends to start constructing the 420-kilometer South Luzon Expressway (Slex) Tollroad 5 (TR5) and the 19.40-km. Pasig River Expressway (Parex) soon. The two projects amount to P121.8 billion in investments.

“As we said before, San Miguel is fully committed to helping our country overcome this crisis. A big part of that is to continue, and not hold back, on new investments. These projects will deliver hundreds of thousands of jobs and put money in the hands of the Filipinos—sustaining and boosting our economic recovery, even as we build for a much better future,” he said.

The Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) has recently designated both infrastructure deals as “certified toll road projects,” which means that the government is

supporting the construction of both projects.

“Slex TR5 will take four years to complete, and Parex, three years. By that time, the pandemic would have been far behind us.

Other major infrastructure projects would also be complete. Our Bulacan Airport project would also be complete. So imagine: within five years, the Philippines will be transformed, and be better than ever,” Ang added.

TR5 will run from TR4 in Lucena, Quezon, to Matnog Ferry in Sorsogon. It aims to reduce travel time between Lucena and Matnog from 9 hours to 5 and a half hours, and will provide access to tourist destinations, ports, and agricultural areas. Parex will run from Radial Road 10 (R10) in Manila to the South East Metro Manila Expressway on Circumferential Road 6 (C6). It will reduce travel time between R10 and C6 to 15 minutes and will help decongest Edsa.

“Hopefully, we will be able to finalize with government and they will find our proposals favorable to the country. In the short to medium term, many of our people need jobs. Among the most affected by the economic impact of Covid-19 are laborers, those who rely on daily wages, and many in the construction industry,” said Ang.

B2

Wednesday, August 26, 2020

Companies BusinessMirror

SC junks ABS-CBN petition against halt order of NTC

T

By Joel R. San Juan

@jrsanjuan1573

HE Supreme Court (SC) has dismissed for being moot the petition filed by ABS-CBN Corp. seeking to set aside the cease and desist order (CDO) issued by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to stop its television and radio operations last May. This was announced by SC spokesman Brian Keith Hosaka following the Court’s en banc virtual session

on Tuesday.

Hosaka said the Court approved the resolution that was penned by

Associate Justice Perlas-Bernabe, who was the member-in-charge of the case, unanimously except for Associate Justice Priscilla BaltazarPadilla who took no part as she was on leave.

“According to the Court, in light of the supervening denial of the pending House Bills for the renewal of ABS-CBN Corporation’s legislative franchise on July 10, 2020, the Court finds it appropriate to dismiss the case on the ground of mootness,” Hosaka said in a statement.

“Because of this supervening event, there is no actual substantial relief which ABS-CBN Corporation would be entitled to regardless of the Court’s disposition of the merits of the Petition,” he added.

In its petition, ABS-CBN accused

the NTC of committing grave abuse of discretion, amounting to lack of jurisdiction in issuing the CDO. ABS-CBN argued that the CDO resulted in irreparable repercussions on public interest especially at this time when there is a Covid-19 pandemic.

It also pointed out that 11,000 workers stand to be affected as they may lose their jobs.

The NTC said, however, that it was merely performing its administrative duty in issuing the CDO since it is the administrative agency tasked to regulate and supervise radio and television broadcast stations.

The CDO was issued by the NTC after ABS-CBN's 25-year franchise expired on May 4.

SEC approves new rules on corporate terms

By VG Cabuag

T

@villygc

he Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has paved the way for a company's perpetual existence by approving the new guidelines on corporate terms.

The SEC issued Memorandum Circular No. 22, Series of 2020 on August 18, in accordance with the Revised Corporation Code of the Philippines, which states that there should have a perpetual term of existence unless its articles of incorporation provide a specific corporate term.

The corporate term of a company organized under the existing Corporation Code, or Batas Pambansa No. 68, shall be deemed perpetual without any action necessary on the part of the corporation.

Prior to the enactment of the Revised Corporation Code, corporate terms were capped at 50 years. A corporation, however, could extend its existence for periods not exceeding 50 years by amending its articles of incorporation.

Under the new guidelines, the corporation may amend its articles of incorporation to reflect its perpetual corporate term by a vote of majority of the board of directors or trustees and stockholders representing a majority of its outstanding capital stock, including the nonvoting shares, or a majority of the members in the case of a nonstock corporation.

Meanwhile, a corporation organized under the old Corporation Code may retain its specific corporate term upon approval by a majority of the board of directors or trustees and a vote of stockholders representing a majority of the outstanding capital stock, including the non-

voting shares, or a majority of the members in the case of a nonstock corporation, during a meeting duly held for such purpose.

The corporation shall then file with the SEC a notice signed by at least a majority of the members of the board of directors or trustees and attested by the corporate secretary. It shall likewise submit a directors’ certificate on the approval of such action by the corporation’s board of directors or trustees and shareholders or members.

The notice must be submitted to the SEC Company Registration and Monitoring Department, any SEC Satellite Office or SEC Extension Office no later than February 23, 2021.

The corporate term of corporations, which fail to comply with the required notification, shall be treated as perpetual.

A corporation, which opted for a specific corporate term, may extend or shorten its existence by amending its articles of corporation upon the vote or written assent of a majority of the board of directors or trustees and of stockholders representing at least two-thirds of the outstanding capital stock of the corporation.

The corporation may initiate the extension of its corporate term no more than 3 years prior to its expiration unless there are justifiable reasons. The extension shall take effect on the day following the expiration of the prior corporate term.

A corporation, which opted to retain its specific corporate term, may also adopt a perpetual term of existence later on by amending its articles of incorporation. Such a decision must be approved by vote or written assent of a majority of the board of directors or trustees and stock-

holders representing at least two-thirds of the outstanding capital stock of the corporation.

A firm with a perpetual existence may also revert to a specific corporate term upon

mutual funds

approval by a majority of the board of directors or trustees and stockholders representing at least two-thirds of the outstanding capital stock of the corporation.

August 25, 2020

NAV One Year Three Year Five Year Y-T-D per share Return* Return Stock Funds ALFM Growth Fund, Inc. -a 195.84 -24.13% -10.87% -4.21% -22.24% ATRAM Alpha Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 1.0193 -34.12% -14.23% -3.15% -26.24% ATRAM Philippine Equity Opportunity Fund, Inc. -a 2.617 -34.78% -15.69% -6.44% -28.85% Climbs Share Capital Equity Investment Fund Corp. -a 0.6767 -28.96% -12.4% n.a. -24.64% First Metro Consumer Fund on MSCI Phils. IMI, Inc. -a 0.6894 -20.01% n.a. n.a. -18.83% First Metro Save and Learn Equity Fund,Inc. -a 4.2182 -21.79% -9.15% -3.37% -20.83% First Metro Save and Learn Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a,4 0.6588 -23.98% -11.91% n.a.

-22.82% MBG Equity Investment Fund, Inc. -a 78.16 -34.41% n.a. n.a. -24.28% PAMI Equity Index Fund, Inc. -a 39.2259 -24.22% -9.53% -3.15% -23.51% Philam Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 422.75 -21.8% -8.66% -3.31% -20.65% Philequity Alpha One Fund, Inc. -a,d,5 0.8838 n.a. n.a. n.a.

-14.2% Philequity Dividend Yield Fund, Inc. -a 1.0012 -23.58% -9.01% -2.79% -22.2% Philequity Fund, Inc. -a 29.3744 -23.65% -8.58% -2.43% -22.49% Philequity MSCI Philippine Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.7768 -24.41% n.a. n.a.

-23.7% Philequity PSE Index Fund Inc. -a 4.004 -23.8% -9.01% -2.43% -23.35% Philippine Stock Index Fund Corp. -a 669.39 -23.68% -9.02% -2.53% -23.23% Soldivo Strategic Growth Fund, Inc. -a 0.6013 -34.01% -13.08% -6.66% -29.38% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Equity Fund, Inc. -a 3.1062 -27.69% -10.3% -3.75% -26.2% Sun Life Prosperity Philippine Stock Index Fund, Inc. -a 0.767 -23.92% -9.21% -2.63% -23.36% United Fund, Inc. -a 2.8008 -24.36% -8.01% -1.97% -23.33% Exchange Traded Fund First Metro Phil. Equity Exchange Traded Fund, Inc. -a,c 89.8846 -23.55% -8.57% -1.71% -23.15% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ATRAM AsiaPlus Equity Fund, Inc. -b

$1.0475 12.55% 0.23% 3.1% 1.86% Sun Life Prosperity World Voyager Fund, Inc. -a $1.5081 17.32% 8.62% n.a.

9.39% Balanced Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ATRAM Dynamic Allocation Fund, Inc. -a 1.5726 -6.39% -4.25% -2.48% 0.63% ATRAM Philippine Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 2.0544 -11.07% -4.79% -0.98% -5.81% First Metro Save and Learn Balanced Fund Inc. -a 2.4005 -9.43% -3.41% -1.35% -8.78% First Metro Save and Learn F.O.C.C.U.S. Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a,1 0.1833 n.a. n.a. n.a.

-19.78% NCM Mutual Fund of the Phils., Inc. -a 1.8293 -6.42% -1.67% 0.66% -6.74% PAMI Horizon Fund, Inc. -a 3.4841 -8.44% -2.65% -0.5% -8.05% Philam Fund, Inc. -a 15.5106 -8.97% -2.98% -0.68% -8.55% Solidaritas Fund, Inc. -a -4.22% -0.66% -10.18% 1.906 -11.24% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Balanced Fund, Inc. -a 3.2584 -16.33% -5.2% -1.92% -15.66% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2028, Inc. -a,d 0.9366 -8.31% n.a. n.a.

-7.79% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2038, Inc. -a,d 0.8372 -17.01% n.a. n.a. -15.98% Sun Life Prosperity Achiever Fund 2048, Inc. -a,d 0.8095 -19.48% n.a. n.a.

-18.5% Sun Life Prosperity Dynamic Fund, Inc. -a 0.8047 -19.16% -6.27% -2.58% -17.45% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Cocolife Dollar Fund Builder, Inc. -a $0.03929 2.1% 3.05% 2.03% 2.85% 6.74% 1.04% 3.15% 2.4% PAMI Asia Balanced Fund, Inc. -b $1.0363 Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Advantage Fund, Inc. -a $4.1337 10.19% 6.01% 5.79% 5.7% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Wellspring Fund, Inc. -a,3 $1.1636 4.64% 3.19% n.a.

3.09% Bond Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 368.39 4.2% 3.18% 2.6% 2.92% ATRAM Corporate Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.9497 1.97% 1.15% -0.04% 2.51% Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. -a 3.1986 4% 4.92% 5.02% 2.59% Ekklesia Mutual Fund Inc. -a 2.3152 4.31% 3.12% 2.38% 4.13% First Metro Save and Learn Fixed Income Fund,Inc. -a 2.4602 4.73% 3.59% 2% 4.29% Philam Bond Fund, Inc. -a 4.7136 8.94% 4.87% 2.8% 7.79% Philam Managed Income Fund, Inc. -a,6 1.3112 5.84% 4.39% 2.47% 4.34% Philequity Peso Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.9591 5.75% 4.3% 2.29% 4.51% Soldivo Bond Fund, Inc. -a 1.0442 9.4% 3.91% 1.91% 8.29% Sun Life of Canada Prosperity Bond Fund, Inc. -a 3.1945 5.37% 5.05% 2.8% 3.87% Sun Life Prosperity GS Fund, Inc. -a 1.755 4.37% 4.41% 2.31% 3.17% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $478.73 3.44% 2.58% 2.89% 2.21% ALFM Euro Bond Fund, Inc. -a Є217.11 -1.34% 0.72% 1.1% -1.22% 2.72% ATRAM Total Return Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -b $1.2402 3.78% 3.09% 2.73% First Metro Save and Learn Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $0.0265 2.32% 1.96% 1.75% 2.71% PAMI Global Bond Fund, Inc -b $1.0912 -1.21% 0.27% 0.36% -0.22% Philam Dollar Bond Fund, Inc. -a $2.5106 4.01% 3.86% 3.55% 4.46% Philequity Dollar Income Fund Inc. -a $0.061025 1.58% 2.07% 2.05% 1.2% Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Abundance Fund, Inc. -a $3.2358 1.97% 2.26% 2.77% 1.91% Money Market Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities ALFM Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 128.83 3.52% 3.29% 2.49% 2.38% First Metro Save and Learn Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.0432 2.21% n.a. n.a.

1.65% Sun Life Prosperity Money Market Fund, Inc. -a 1.2883 2.93% 3.04% 2.61% 1.84% Primarily invested in foreign currency securities Sun Life Prosperity Dollar Starter Fund, Inc. -a $1.0476 1.6% n.a. n.a.

0.9% Feeder Funds Primarily invested in Peso securities Sun Life Prosperity World Equity Index Feeder Fund, Inc. -a,d,7 1.0195 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.

Primarily invested in foreign currency securities ALFM Global Multi-Asset Income Fund Inc. -b,d,2 $0.95 n.a. n.a. n.a.

-4.04%

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

PSE STOCK QUOTATIONS

August 25, 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 PHILTRUST RCBC SECURITY BANK UNION BANK BRIGHT KINDLE COL FINANCIAL FIRST ABACUS FERRONOUX HLDG MEDCO HLDG NTL REINSURANCE PHIL STOCK EXCH SUN LIFE VANTAGE

44.95 87.5 63 20.45 8.1 33.9 8.21 19.66 48 95.15 15.82 95.95 53.9 0.72 21.3 0.44 2.55 0.3 0.6 154.5 1915 1.05

45 88 63.5 20.5 8.12 34 8.79 19.7 48.6 105 16 96 53.95 0.83 21.4 0.66 2.66 0.305 0.63 155 1920 1.12

44.95 87.05 63.95 20.55 8.27 34.05 8.21 19.78 48 95.1 16.26 96.45 53.8 0.83 21.65 0.6 2.55 0.285 0.63 155 1915 1.04

45 88.1 63.95 20.55 8.27 34.15 8.21 19.78 48.6 105 16.7 96.5 54 0.83 21.65 0.66 2.55 0.315 0.64 155.1 1922 1.04

44.95 86.75 62.45 20 8.06 33.8 8.21 19.62 48 95.1 15.6 94.05 53.8 0.83 21.3 0.6 2.52 0.285 0.61 155 1915 1.04

45 87.5 63 20.5 8.1 33.9 8.21 19.7 48.6 105 15.82 96 53.95 0.83 21.3 0.66 2.55 0.3 0.63 155 1915 1.04

2000 2170580 2285890 150500 360200 2872200 15000 227000 200 490 46800 215850 26350 20000 6500 29000 61000 1780000 342000 3320 765 2000

89950 45000 189566343.5 -76781474 143623061.5 -74731842 3049430 539235 2924195 133019 97,547,230( 71,008,949.9999) 123150 4,464,866( 2,138,969.9997) 9660 46698 752564 120900 20659299.5 -1513122.5 1420765.5 -849950 16600 138780 18220 154380 534700 211870 514865 77500 1466800 1457200 2080 -

INDUSTRIAL AC ENERGY 2.8 2.81 2.75 2.82 2.73 2.8 6595000 18402300 1.26 1.27 1.29 1.29 1.25 1.27 2326000 2944840 ALSONS CONS 25.4 25.8 25.8 25.85 25.2 25.8 429500 10963635 ABOITIZ POWER 0.155 0.159 0.157 0.16 0.155 0.16 350000 54650 BASIC ENERGY FIRST GEN 23.55 23.8 23.7 23.7 23.5 23.7 511800 12086415 FIRST PHIL HLDG 60.1 60.5 60.7 60.7 60 60.5 67180 4031273 MERALCO 269 270 267.2 273 260 270 432950 116454062 13.2 13.22 13.48 13.48 13.1 13.22 4559500 60239070 MANILA WATER 3.07 3.09 3.09 3.09 3.06 3.09 370000 1136750 PETRON 3.08 3.27 3.13 3.27 3 3.27 28000 85790 PETROENERGY PHX PETROLEUM 11 11.2 11 11.2 11 11.2 30600 342342 17.46 17.48 17.3 17.48 17.2 17.48 190500 3310552 PILIPINAS SHELL SPC POWER 8.4 8.45 8.4 8.45 8.32 8.4 27800 233146 7.59 7.73 7.75 7.82 7.55 7.73 59100 449014 AGRINURTURE 2.32 2.36 2.39 2.4 2.32 2.36 1790000 4237060 AXELUM 76.15 97.95 76.15 76.15 76.15 76.15 40 3046 BOGO MEDELLIN CNTRL AZUCARERA 11.32 12.38 11.9 11.92 11.3 11.3 4700 55906 16.3 16.36 16.38 16.38 16.28 16.3 3133600 51091490 CENTURY FOOD DEL MONTE 4.9 4.95 4.88 4.9 4.86 4.9 50000 244270 4.87 4.88 4.9 4.91 4.85 4.88 509000 2483580 DNL INDUS 9.93 10 10 10 9.84 10 771100 7,654,053( EMPERADOR 67 67.2 67.35 67.35 66.1 67 266050 17840360 SMC FOODANDBEV ALLIANCE SELECT 0.66 0.67 0.66 0.67 0.66 0.66 265000 174950 FRUITAS HLDG 1.17 1.18 1.17 1.19 1.15 1.17 4455000 5223910 GINEBRA 38.2 38.3 39.45 39.45 38.2 38.2 2600 99960 140.3 141 141 141.2 139.5 141 392840 55098804 JOLLIBEE 7.7 7.9 7.95 7.95 7.6 7.9 12500 95788 MACAY HLDG 4.77 4.78 4.75 4.83 4.72 4.77 99000 473370 MAXS GROUP MG HLDG 0.124 0.138 0.13 0.138 0.123 0.138 2110000 267760 5.65 5.66 5.6 5.7 5.6 5.66 507100 2854367 SHAKEYS PIZZA ROXAS AND CO 1.29 1.3 1.27 1.3 1.24 1.3 6499000 8266100 142.3 142.5 137.8 144 137.1 142.5 1399390 197509531 UNIV ROBINA 0.77 0.78 0.76 0.78 0.76 0.78 14648000 11389870 VITARICH 2.23 2.38 2.23 2.23 2.23 2.23 1000 2230 VICTORIAS CONCRETE A 51.4 55.1 51.15 51.25 51.15 51.25 40 2049 52.3 54.75 52.2 54.8 52.2 54.75 520 27466.5 CONCRETE B 1.37 1.38 1.38 1.42 1.37 1.37 36922000 51393820 CEMEX HLDG DAVINCI CAPITAL 3.48 3.5 3.56 3.56 3.5 3.5 55000 193210 10.54 10.7 10.48 10.7 10.4 10.7 281600 2961450 EAGLE CEMENT 5.33 5.34 5.32 5.33 5.31 5.33 182300 970703 EEI CORP 5.18 5.19 5.18 5.2 5.05 5.18 701300 3590196 HOLCIM MEGAWIDE 6.33 6.36 6.25 6.4 6.12 6.33 934200 5830471 PHINMA 8.5 8.9 8.9 8.9 8.9 8.9 3000 26700 0.64 0.67 0.66 0.66 0.64 0.64 302000 194520 TKC METALS 0.73 0.74 0.72 0.74 0.72 0.74 166000 121870 VULCAN INDL 1.93 1.94 1.94 1.95 1.93 1.94 40000 77600 CROWN ASIA 1.87 1.89 1.88 1.88 1.85 1.87 157000 291050 EUROMED MABUHAY VINYL 3.85 3.95 3.94 3.94 3.94 3.94 2000 7880 4.05 4.11 4.04 4.05 4.03 4.05 50000 201840 PRYCE CORP 18.8 18.9 18.62 18.64 18.62 18.64 1300 24210 CONCEPCION 1.83 1.85 1.81 1.86 1.75 1.85 5605000 10194650 GREENERGY 4.7 4.74 4.89 4.89 4.65 4.7 317000 1497600 INTEGRATED MICR 0.97 0.98 0.98 0.98 0.96 0.97 27000 26090 IONICS PANASONIC 4.26 4.6 4.25 4.62 4.25 4.62 3000 13490 1.38 1.39 1.39 1.39 1.34 1.38 580000 796580 SFA SEMICON 5.97 5.98 5.71 5.97 5.71 5.97 6637200 39158918 CIRTEK HLDG

50260 -5666415 -1543430 52762 -36833850 811748 1027200 -280056 -1875690 -24489152 -38960 -1884950 2,144,710.9998) 424696.5 -6600 -89680 11160.0003 1255836 14250 399051 -1674610 5538162 -30030 11084570 -193210 -948400 772880 -27364 -964870 73600 18800 20482 2743830 469920 -67144

HOLDING & FRIMS ABACORE CAPITAL 0.475 0.48 0.47 0.475 0.465 0.475 4020000 1888800 7.62 8.08 8.22 8.24 7.6 8.09 32300 251591 ASIABEST GROUP 732 737 742 742 730 732 76610 56318785 AYALA CORP 48.65 49 49.6 49.6 48.55 49 378200 18445135 ABOITIZ EQUITY ALLIANCE GLOBAL 6.08 6.09 6.09 6.12 6.04 6.09 6737200 41016842 AYALA LAND LOG 1.8 1.81 1.74 1.81 1.74 1.8 1967000 3516500 ANSCOR 6.31 6.45 6.45 6.45 6.45 6.45 3100 19995 0.5 0.52 0.51 0.51 0.5 0.5 256000 128860 ANGLO PHIL HLDG 0.55 0.57 0.55 0.57 0.55 0.57 1751000 970620 ATN HLDG A 0.56 0.58 0.56 0.58 0.56 0.58 205000 114900 ATN HLDG B COSCO CAPITAL 4.99 5.01 5.06 5.06 4.99 4.99 6970600 34818047 DMCI HLDG 3.88 3.9 3.9 3.92 3.84 3.9 3710000 14368190 FILINVEST DEV 8.26 8.6 8.6 8.6 8.6 8.6 100 860 400.6 401 400 403 397 401 237820 95159870 GT CAPITAL 62.5 63 62 63 61.2 63 653200 40625719 JG SUMMIT 0.59 0.6 0.61 0.61 0.59 0.59 41000 24480 LODESTAR LT GROUP 8.42 8.43 8.44 8.55 8.4 8.43 1440600 12154025 METRO PAC INV 3.17 3.18 3.18 3.21 3.16 3.18 17786000 56549690 PACIFICA HLDG 2.86 2.99 2.87 2.98 2.86 2.98 33000 94800 0.79 0.8 0.77 0.8 0.77 0.8 91000 71970 PRIME MEDIA 0.99 1 0.99 0.99 0.99 0.99 419000 414810 SOLID GROUP 156 170 155 155 155 155 190 29450 SYNERGY GRID SM INVESTMENTS 881 889 883 889 877 881 647110 569994245 SAN MIGUEL CORP 99.95 101.5 99.75 101.5 99 101.5 76220 7617517 TOP FRONTIER 131.2 134 130.5 134 130.5 134 1960 260553 0.185 0.196 0.185 0.185 0.185 0.185 10000 1850 WELLEX INDUS 0.146 0.15 0.146 0.152 0.145 0.151 1220000 180070 ZEUS HLDG

-140150 62720 -31516580 -9768225 -4309233 17950 2900 362793 -413050 -65333644 -10861539 -2355412 -32277050 86100 -9900 364367755 -711344 -75497 -

PROPERTY ARTHALAND CORP 0.51 0.52 0.51 0.52 0.51 0.52 606000 309590 7.39 8.38 8.5 8.5 7.23 7.23 600 4592 ANCHOR LAND 30.35 30.4 30.6 30.6 30.2 30.4 9526100 289542355 AYALA LAND 0.98 1 0.99 1 0.98 1 51000 50100 ARANETA PROP AREIT RT 25.75 25.8 25.7 25.95 25.55 25.8 5669800 146149255 BELLE CORP 1.33 1.34 1.36 1.36 1.34 1.34 79000 106260 0.79 0.8 0.81 0.82 0.78 0.8 2677000 2128090 A BROWN 0.81 0.83 0.8 0.83 0.8 0.83 82000 66790 CITYLAND DEVT 0.122 0.125 0.12 0.125 0.12 0.125 2600000 314900 CROWN EQUITIES 5.68 5.95 5.95 5.95 5.95 5.95 100 595 CEBU HLDG CEB LANDMASTERS 4.97 5 5 5 4.97 5 243300 1213624 CENTURY PROP 0.35 0.36 0.355 0.36 0.35 0.355 3190000 1136150 0.28 0.29 0.265 0.295 0.265 0.29 3000000 846950 CYBER BAY 15 15.1 15.2 15.2 14.74 15.1 433700 6513358 DOUBLEDRAGON 5.96 6 5.97 6 5.97 6 536600 3218889 DM WENCESLAO 0.255 0.265 0.26 0.265 0.25 0.265 330000 83250 EMPIRE EAST EVER GOTESCO 0.089 0.09 0.09 0.09 0.09 0.09 650000 58500 0.92 0.93 0.93 0.93 0.92 0.92 4981000 4585210 FILINVEST LAND GLOBAL ESTATE 0.77 0.82 0.77 0.8 0.77 0.78 624000 486770 7.81 7.9 7.9 7.9 7.87 7.9 47400 373803 8990 HLDG 1.16 1.17 1.02 1.16 1.01 1.16 9904000 10981590 PHIL INFRADEV 3.01 3.02 2.99 3.02 2.95 3.01 9450000 28263810 MEGAWORLD MRC ALLIED 0.248 0.249 0.249 0.255 0.246 0.249 17470000 4349870 PHIL ESTATES 0.285 0.31 0.285 0.285 0.285 0.285 60000 17100 1.23 1.24 1.25 1.27 1.23 1.23 323000 402750 PRIMEX CORP 14.7 14.72 14.6 14.7 14.5 14.7 1180000 17246346 ROBINSONS LAND 0.228 0.233 0.228 0.228 0.228 0.228 500000 114000 PHIL REALTY 1.52 1.57 1.52 1.53 1.52 1.52 1264000 1921330 ROCKWELL SHANG PROP 2.64 2.69 2.74 2.74 2.6 2.7 258000 703870 STA LUCIA LAND 1.73 1.84 1.72 1.72 1.72 1.72 2000 3440 30 30.05 30 30.3 29.5 30.05 9789200 293635215 SM PRIME HLDG 3.7 3.78 3.68 3.8 3.68 3.7 73000 272510 VISTAMALLS 1.21 1.22 1.19 1.21 1.18 1.21 849000 1018210 SUNTRUST HOME 3.1 3.15 3.12 3.14 3.07 3.1 1929000 5980800 VISTA LAND

38250 -148550585 18620 -119661475 101440 74701 -4589294 -46800 -2108370 -319220 -232510 -124240 -14463940 77500 -6372300 -54000 -39603245 -52030 -4419160

SERVICES ABS CBN 7.33 7.34 7.28 7.34 7.26 7.33 138400 1009768 5.03 5.04 4.98 5.05 4.95 5.04 756500 3775451 GMA NETWORK 0.395 0.4 0.4 0.41 0.395 0.395 180000 71450 MANILA BULLETIN 11.42 11.8 11.8 11.8 11.8 11.8 100 1180 MLA BRDCASTING GLOBE TELECOM 2110 2114 2096 2114 2070 2110 43045 90205280 PLDT 1443 1448 1400 1449 1380 1448 155455 221818850 APOLLO GLOBAL 0.052 0.053 0.052 0.053 0.052 0.053 24910000 1295920 2.9 3.04 3.01 3.04 2.9 3.04 39000 117280 DFNN INC 3.35 3.36 3.47 3.52 3.32 3.35 108328000 368113910 DITO CME HLDG 0.069 0.071 0.07 0.07 0.07 0.07 610000 42700 ISLAND INFO JACKSTONES 1.6 1.63 1.6 1.64 1.6 1.64 55000 88200 2.15 2.16 2.32 2.38 2.14 2.16 24506000 53903650 NOW CORP TRANSPACIFIC BR 0.175 0.177 0.179 0.179 0.174 0.177 5820000 1019210 1.86 1.87 1.87 1.9 1.86 1.86 484000 906350 PHILWEB 8.31 8.54 8.59 8.59 8.3 8.31 23200 194369 2GO GROUP 3.36 3.38 3.42 3.6 3.34 3.38 1089000 3721950 CHELSEA CEBU AIR 36.85 36.9 38 38 36.65 36.9 264500 9,784,400( INTL CONTAINER 106.3 106.5 105.1 107.7 105.1 106.5 1373570 146288979 LBC EXPRESS 15.36 15.38 15.38 15.38 15.3 15.36 80800 1240798 0.74 0.79 0.78 0.78 0.78 0.78 22000 17160 LORENZO SHIPPNG 4.92 4.95 5 5 4.91 4.92 1520900 7502507 MACROASIA 1.59 1.6 1.58 1.6 1.57 1.59 356000 562280 METROALLIANCE A PAL HLDG 5.9 5.94 5.88 5.94 5.8 5.9 26500 155835 HARBOR STAR 0.86 0.87 0.87 0.87 0.82 0.86 901000 756250 0.028 0.029 0.029 0.029 0.028 0.028 60000000 1699400 BOULEVARD HLDG 10.62 11.22 10.58 10.58 10.58 10.58 200 2116 GRAND PLAZA 0.38 0.385 0.37 0.38 0.37 0.38 370000 140150 WATERFRONT 7.24 7.49 7.24 7.49 7.24 7.49 3600 26089 IPEOPLE STI HLDG 0.3 0.305 0.31 0.31 0.3 0.3 3900000 1190150 BERJAYA 2.24 2.33 2.18 2.35 2.18 2.33 548000 1254130 6.13 6.15 6.08 6.15 6.01 6.15 1021000 6219678 BLOOMBERRY 1.95 1.99 2 2 1.94 1.94 34000 66510 PACIFIC ONLINE 1.19 1.2 1.21 1.21 1.19 1.19 631000 756400 LEISURE AND RES 2.13 2.2 2.13 2.13 2.12 2.12 12000 25480 PH RESORTS GRP PREMIUM LEISURE 0.285 0.29 0.285 0.29 0.285 0.285 1090000 311700 ALLHOME 6.1 6.11 6.1 6.2 6.1 6.11 765500 4673991 METRO RETAIL 1.43 1.44 1.43 1.44 1.42 1.43 653000 934110 PUREGOLD 51.35 52 50.7 52.4 50.4 52 2617450 134605211 68.95 70 66 70 66 70 2310510 156,810,584.5( ROBINSONS RTL 125 125.5 124 125 124 125 150 18710 PHIL SEVEN CORP 1.02 1.03 1.03 1.03 1.02 1.02 2324000 2375360 SSI GROUP WILCON DEPOT 15.6 15.62 15.68 15.7 15.5 15.62 1082600 16894004 APC GROUP 0.3 0.305 0.295 0.3 0.295 0.3 1410000 418200 EASYCALL 6.21 6.24 6.26 6.49 6.2 6.24 17900 111907 2.04 2.19 2.04 2.04 2.04 2.04 56000 114240 PAXYS 0.237 0.238 0.243 0.244 0.231 0.238 19250000 4594200 PRMIERE HORIZON 4.5 4.75 4.52 4.52 4.52 4.52 3000 13560 SBS PHIL CORP

-23070620 35072695 -2003720 381850 -93160.0002 1880 5,209,040.0003) -70785169 -275110 -5310 2800 -770450 -1217472 -233000 59849.9998 -2357998 -715290 18017327.5 6,618,115.9997) 12500 -15060 829080 103250 -

MINING & OIL ATOK 7.53 7.92 8.1 8.1 7.92 7.92 300 2394 1.52 1.53 1.56 1.56 1.49 1.52 15921000 24230870 954850 APEX MINING 0.0009 0.001 0.0009 0.001 0.0009 0.0009 367000000 334000 -45000 ABRA MINING ATLAS MINING 2.85 2.9 2.9 2.9 2.85 2.89 281000 805540 -69120 BENGUET A 2.47 2.49 2.34 2.49 2.32 2.49 659000 1591070 2.47 2.48 2.31 2.47 2.13 2.47 572000 1347210 670159.9997 BENGUET B 0.197 0.2 0.195 0.202 0.195 0.197 960000 188990 850 COAL ASIA HLDG 2.59 2.65 2.58 2.66 2.58 2.66 180000 470600 212100 CENTURY PEAK 7.46 7.66 7.66 7.67 7.45 7.66 2200 16754 DIZON MINES FERRONICKEL 1.23 1.24 1.18 1.24 1.18 1.23 60878000 72912520 -849560 GEOGRACE 0.229 0.237 0.236 0.239 0.229 0.237 1580000 366800 0.143 0.144 0.145 0.145 0.14 0.144 17180000 2433770 LEPANTO A 0.142 0.148 0.143 0.148 0.142 0.148 2220000 318470 LEPANTO B 0.0093 0.0095 0.0093 0.0095 0.0092 0.0093 99000000 927300 MANILA MINING A 0.01 0.011 0.01 0.011 0.01 0.01 31000000 317000 MANILA MINING B MARCVENTURES 0.92 0.93 0.94 0.96 0.91 0.93 1870000 1750190 1.99 2 2.04 2.1 1.98 1.99 1368000 2755620 6019.9999 NIHAO NICKEL ASIA 3.06 3.07 3.1 3.14 3.03 3.07 6990000 21536560 605350 0.58 0.59 0.6 0.6 0.57 0.58 466000 269950 ORNTL PENINSULA 3.4 3.41 3.28 3.44 3.25 3.4 11571000 38148430 1493030 PX MINING 9.39 9.4 9.44 9.44 9.21 9.4 2002800 18748049 -2909329 SEMIRARA MINING UNITED PARAGON 0.0051 0.0053 0.0051 0.0051 0.0051 0.0051 14000000 71400 5.49 5.5 5.84 5.9 5.48 5.49 41300 228507 5480 ACE ENEXOR ORNTL PETROL A 0.0086 0.0088 0.0086 0.0086 0.0086 0.0086 8000000 68800 0.0086 0.009 0.0086 0.0086 0.0086 0.0086 5000000 43000 -43000 ORNTL PETROL B 0.0097 0.0098 0.01 0.01 0.0097 0.0098 51600000 500830 PHILODRILL 5.49 5.5 5.6 5.65 5.48 5.49 1356300 7521437 2294726.0001 PXP ENERGY

PREFFERED HOUSE PREF A 99.5 100.9 99.5 99.5 99.5 99.5 60 5970 512 515 512 512 512 512 100 51200 AC PREF B1 100.8 102.3 102.3 102.3 102.3 102.3 740 75702 CPG PREF A 100.7 101.5 100.7 101.5 100.7 101.5 34070 3431649 100700 DD PREF FGEN PREF G 105 105.5 105 105.5 105 105.5 26000 2730500 1001 1088 1011 1011 1011 1011 20 20220 GTCAP PREF A 100 101 100 100 100 100 20000 2000000 MWIDE PREF 97.5 99 98.5 98.5 97.5 97.5 13310 1302840 492500 PNX PREF 3A 100 102.8 100 100 99.8 100 23130 2312400 PNX PREF 3B 945 950 950 950 944 945 9370 8863000 992250 PNX PREF 4 PCOR PREF 2B 1020 1051 1020 1020 1020 1020 1550 1581000 1052 1061 1061 1061 1052 1061 2805 2971405 2120000 PCOR PREF 3A PCOR PREF 3B 1071 1090 1090 1090 1090 1090 5 5450 78 78.15 78.1 78.15 78.1 78.15 5590 436848.5 8591 SMC PREF 2C 75.15 75.85 75.5 75.5 75.5 75.5 900 67950 SMC PREF 2D 75.3 76.8 75.5 75.5 75.3 75.3 12600 948885 11325 SMC PREF 2E SMC PREF 2F 78.9 79.5 78.9 78.9 78.9 78.9 56270 4439703 75.75 76.5 76.6 76.6 76.5 76.5 710 54385 -53619.9999 SMC PREF 2G SMC PREF 2H 76.5 77.5 76.5 76.65 76.5 76.65 32950 2520723 78.3 78.95 78.5 79 78.3 79 65500 5154328 1923250 SMC PREF 2I

PHIL. DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ABS HLDG PDR 6.92 7 6.92 6.92 6.92 6.92 100 692 4.7 4.75 4.74 4.74 4.7 4.7 63000 297870 GMA HLDG PDR

WARRANTS LR WARRANT 0.57 0.6 0.62 0.62 0.6 0.6 74000 44610

SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES ALTUS PROP 13.06 13.1 13.02 13.28 12.74 13.1 546900 7085820 -418660 1.8 1.81 1.78 1.8 1.74 1.8 1264000 2240010 ITALPINAS 5.18 5.26 5.17 5.3 5.17 5.26 29300 154727 KEPWEALTH 1.82 3.07 1.57 1.57 1.57 1.57 1000 1570 MAKATI FINANCE MERRYMART 3.22 3.23 3.2 3.26 3.16 3.23 14781000 47641070 146860 XURPAS 0.54 0.55 0.55 0.55 0.54 0.54 1642000 887280 -94500

EXHANGE TRADE FUNDS

FIRST METRO ETF 90.05 90.45 91.5 91.5 89.5 90.05 18780 1690687 102395

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Banking&Finance BusinessMirror

Budget in bill to aid ailing firms get lawmakers’ nod

T

he House Committee on Appropriations on Tuesday approved the budget provisions of the bill expected to help firms dislocated after government instituted lockdown measures against the Covid-19 pandemic.

Appropriations Committee ViceChairman Junie Cua said lawmakers approved the increase in the paid-up capital of the Land Bank of the Philippines and the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) as provided for in the proposed “Government Financial Institutions Unified Initiatives to Distressed Enterprises for Economic Recovery,” or Guide, Act. Cua, also principal author of the Guide bill, said the increase will strengthen the capacity of the government financial institutions (GFIs).

However, from the original proposal of P55 billion, the bill will now only provide P10 billion. Cua explained funding parts of the measure have already been included in the recently ratified Bayanihan to Recover as One Act or the Bayanihan 2.

The Bayanihan 2 allocated P39.4 billion to infuse capital to GFIs, which include the Landbank, PhilGuarantee Corp. and the Covid-19 Assistance to Restart Enterprises Program of SB Corp.

Of the P10 billion under the Guide bill, P7.5 billion will be allocated to LandBank while the remaining P2.5 billion will be allotted to the DBP. The bill said the amounts necessary for the implementation of the proposal shall be deemed automatically appropriated and shall be sourced from the savings generated under Republic Act 11469. This law,

also known as the “Bayanihan to Heal as One Act,” authorizes the President to direct the discontinuance of appropriated programs, projects or activities of any agency of the executive department, including governmentowned-or-controlled corporations and special purpose funds, and the General Appropriations Acts (GAA) for fiscal years 2019 to 2020.

The bill said the P10 billion shall be applied as additional paid-up capital of the DBP and Landbank, for lending to micro-enterprises, small businesses and medium-scale enterprises and for these GFI’s respective rediscounting and other programs.

The fund also must go to the creation of a special holding company.

Earlier, Cua said that with the imposition of the quarantine in Luzon, and in several provinces cities and municipalities in Visayas and Mindanao, only private establishments providing basic necessities and essentials services were allowed to remain open.

“We are confronted by the crisis at the same time we are restricted; we are limited by the meager resources of our government,” according to Cua, who is also chairman of the House Committee on Banks and Financial Intermediaries. “This bill proposes a very innovative way of addressing the concern of the national government in helping the millions of people working in MSMEs and big strategic companies.”

With the approval by three House Committees, the House Committee on Banks and Financial Intermediaries is expected to transmit the Guide bill to the plenary for another round of deliberation. Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

Wednesday, August 26, 2020 B3

BSP seen to further cut banks’ RRR, keep policy rates steady

By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad

W

@Tyronepiad

HILE the real policy rate is likely to be negative for the rest of the year, J.P. Morgan sees the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) possibly lowering the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) to free up further liquidity.

The US-based multinational investment bank noted that the Philippines has the highest RRR in the region, which means the BSP can still slash it if additional liquidity is needed.

“The BSP governor noted that banks’ behavior and capacity to absorb, invest and lend the freed-up liquidity will guide the timing for further adjustments,” J.P. Morgan said.

In March, the BSP reduced by 200 basis points (bp) the reserves requirements of universal and commercial banks and non-bank financial institutions with quasi-banking functions.

The investment bank noted earlier that this move released P180 billion into the local cash stream, representing 0.9 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

The Central Bank announced in July it had cut the RRR for thrift, rural and cooperative banks by 100

bp. It is seen to provide P10-billion worth of fresh liquidity infusion into the economy.

The reserve requirement is that part of the total deposit balance that banks secure in the BSP’s vaults as reserves. Reducing it means banks have more available funds for borrowings.

Steady rate

Meanwhile, J.P. Morgan explained that while an economic downturn may mean an accommodative monetary policy stance from the BSP, the key policy rate is still likely to be steady.

“In our view, however, the policy focus will likely turn toward ensuring easier liquidity conditions and away from cuts in the benchmark rate as the real policy rate has turned negative in recent months, and will remain so, barring any demand shocks,” it said.

Last week, the BSP kept the key policy rate—the first time after a series of cuts—at 2.25 percent. The Monetary Board has approved a total of 175-bp cut year-to-date.

With inflation accelerating to 2.7 percent in July, real interest rate stood at -0.45 percent.

The Monetary Board revised upwards its inflation projections for 2020, 2021 and 2022. It now sees inflation hitting 2.6 percent in 2020 from 2.3 percent; 3 percent in 2021 from 2.6 percent; and 3.1 percent in 2022 from 3 percent.

“While latest baseline forecasts have risen slightly due to the higher-than-expected inflation in July and recent increases in global crude oil prices, the future inflation path remains firmly within the government’s 2-percent to 4-percent target,” BSP said.

Economic recovery

J.P. Morgan, meanwhile, expects robust recovery for the Philippines next year at 9.5 percent from 7.3 percent previously, as the lockdown measure eases.

“While we do expect a strong GDP growth rebound in the Philippines compared to its regional peers, this is premised on the knock-on impact on the economy of this week’s ending of stricter containment measures in the National Capital Region following the recent acceleration in cases,” it explained.

Metro Manila and nearby areas were placed once again under

Banks pledge to support ‘Health is wealth’–PhilHealth Filipino students in Japan

S

ecurity Bank Corp. and MUFG Bank Ltd, together with other MUFG companies and strategic partners in Asia, have pledged approximately P183 million to support Southeast Asian students in Japan who are facing economic difficulties during the Covid-19 pandemic, Security Bank said in a statement.

“The multimillion education fund will be distributed evenly across four beneficiaries, namely: the Thai Students’ Association in Japan, Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Japan, Association of Filipino Students in Japan and the Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in Japan,” the bank said. “It will provide much needed financial aid to offset the economic hardship of students due to the pandemic.” Patrick Razo, President of the Association of the Filipino Students in Japan (AFSJ), weaas quoted in the statement as expressing gratitude to the banks’ efforts.

“This will help our students continue and focus on their education without worrying about whether or not they can afford to,” Razo said.

Security Bank said it “has long been committed to supporting the education of the Filipino youth” and that it “continues to invest in providing means for students to continue learning.”

Takashi Takeuchi, Security Bank Executive Vice President and Head of Alliance Segment, was quoted in the statement as saying the 69-year-old financial intermediary “welcomes

opportunities that allow us to extend our education advocacy to Filipino students in Japan.”

“Through this donation drive, we are able to take the financial burden away from the beneficiaries so they can focus on their studies,” Takeuchi said.

Security Bank said it is among MUFG’s strategic partner banks, “joining esteemed financial institutions within the MUFG network such as Bank of Ayudhya, or Krungsri, in Thailand, Bank Danamon in Indonesia and VietinBank in Vietnam.”

Security Bank said it and MUFG “have a longstanding partnership together and have collaborated on several business initiatives and corporate social responsibility projects.”

Yuichi Yamagishi, MUFG Bank Managing Director and Country Head of the Manila Branch, was quoted in the statement as saying that “just as we are working closely with clients to build resilience in their businesses during these trying times, we hope that this support package will not only provide some measure of relief to students in need but demonstrate our long-term commitment to the deepening of bilateral ties between Japan and key Southeast Asian markets in the MUFG network.”

Security Bank shares were down by 0.98 percent, or 95 centavos, to close at P96 each amid the 0.17-percent growth for the benchmark index on Tuesday. The bank saw volume turnover of 215,850 shares amounting to P20.66 million.

‘H

ealth is wealth” is a satirical parody popular in social media these days. It means if one wants to be rich—fitchy rich— be a senior Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) official.

The insinuation seems to dwarf the former citadels of corruption in the country, namely, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). They seem to have just been overtaken in the race to hell.

People were, however, not surprised hearing the huge corruption at PhilHealth. Shocked by the humongous amount, yes—but not on the act of corruption.

This is so because their point of reference was the glaring connivance of the then “Medicare” health care program with the various hospitals in the country in the past. The government’s health care system has been corrupted ever since with its “partnership in crime.”

There were many “ghost patients” claiming millions in fake insurance benefits then and, thus, painted PhilHealth as a “Hall of Famer” in corruption then. It was perpetrated by greedy officials, de facto, pocketing the monthly payment of struggling workers as their contribution to their health insurance program over so many years.

Congress is currently investigating Philhealth, not just for a “whiff” of corruption there but a seeming forest fire with killer fumes that have raged seemingly over many years—allegedly run by a Mafia.

Current Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III has been a Phil-

Finex free enterprise Zoilo ‘Bingo’ Dejaresco III health “fixture” since 2001 when he was appointed Health Secretary

by President Gloria M. Arroyo until today where he sits as chairman— being the top health cabinet official. He has been reportedly dubbed by others as the “Godfather”—the Don Vito Corleone of the Philhealth Mafia who continues, nonetheless, to have the trust of the President.

In defending Duque, the President once aired on TV that “I know the Duque family. They are very rich. Rich men don’t steal,” or words to that effect. “Tell us about it,” the barber on the sidewalk says in jest.

It is possible a chairman can be blindsided by his own Executive Commitee (“the real Mafia” according to Senator Panfilo Lacson); but given the pervading nasty graft talks, it should have behooved the chairman, at the least, to have appointed an “independent director” in-charge of audit to unravel the labyrinth of graft.

Many Philhealth officials are now on preventive suspension or have taken leaves-of-absence while its top two officials (president and executive vice-president) are very ill even as Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevara heads “Task Force Philhealth,” which

will wrap up the investigation in 30 days. One whistleblower says the loot is P15 billion.

The accusations include alleged anomalies in the disbursement of the P30-billion advanced IRM (Interim Reimbursement Mechanism) to private hospitals for Covid-19 purposes that went astray to parts unknown. Some P14 billion has been disbursed; others: n the P730-million in questionable information technology projects of the P1.2-billion budgeted multi-year in the same amounts; n the “ghost” dialysis and cataract operations and “up-casing” mere cold cases to pneumonia to secure bigger Philhealth coverage by officials; n the Philippine Red Cross, complained Chairman and Senator Dick Gordon, was only given P100 million of the P700-million budget so the PRC has stopped buying PPEs and setting up testing laboratories.

Where’s the money, boys?

The suggestion that “plunder” be filed against the erring crooks is more than just called for. “Yayariin ko kayo,” said the anti-graft president [I’ll finish you off]. So please have the plunder charges filed against the guilty, Mr. President. Let us not be sidetracked by some of the officials’ sanctimonious waiver on the “bank secrecy law” so they can be investigated for ill-gotten wealth.

We do not live in the ancient “Criminal Land” today; pay-offs are never made directly to one’s bank accounts now. They’re credited to other persons’ names or unnamed accounts in the Cayman Islands or some other tax

general community quarantine on August 19-31 after being subjected to modified enhanced community quarantine as Covid-19 cases rose.

However, it now projects a deeper cut for the economy this year with 8-percent contraction from 4.4 percent previously.

J.P. Morgan noted that the change in outlook was due to the 16.5-percent plunge in the second quarter, which signaled a recession after the Philippines registered a GDP drop in the first quarter as well.

“While the collapse in [the second quarter] was to be expected given the imposition and subsequent extension of quarantine measures, the weakness last quarter across most demand components was striking with much of the slowdown driven by sharp pullbacks in private consumption and fixed investment,” the US-based investment bank said.

Bond purchase

In a separate statement, ING Bank Manila Economist Nicholas Antonio T. Mapa said that the P800-billion bond acquisition of the Central Bank is helping make borrowing costs “conducive” as the economy strives to recover.

The BSP bought government debt and in the secondary market.

“By keeping the bond purchase window open, BSP has flooded even more liquidity into the market and kept a lid on bond yields, preventing any flare ups in rates during the pandemic,” Mapa said.

havens. Let’s stop this masquerade. All of us readers were not born yesterday.

Now the bright boys at Philhealth do the “squid tactics” and try to strike fear in the heart by saying that Philhealth will go bankrupt in two years, noting potential losses of P90 billion in 2020 and forecasted at P147 billion (2021).

This much we know in finance: insurance companies make money by investing the billions of insurance premiums in various forms. That incompetence in handling the “free investible funds” of Philhealth leading to losses should also be investigated; whether they were invested with armslength consideration and judicious economic sense.

If not, aside from hanging the guilty by the guillotine (figurative), we should also heed the call of one smart lady congressman from Marikina. This time, we rightly address her “The Honorable” Rep. Stella Quimbo who suggested we may have to “privatize” Philheath to prevent it from being politicized and being converted into a “den of thieves.”

Ambassador Babes Romualdez says “stealing is bad enough, but stealing from the sick and the poor…” You, ladies and gents, finish the sentence and send it to Satan for his proper disposal.

Enough said.

Bingo Dejaresco, an ex-banker, is a financial consultant, media practitioner and book author.

He is a Life Member and Chairman of the broadcast media of Finex. His views here, however, are personal and do not necessarily reflect those of Finex and the BusinessMirror. For comments, e-mail: dejarescobingo@yahoo.com.

GSIS resumes transactions under GFAL, loan applications via e-mail, drop box

S

tate pension fund Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) announced it has resumed transactions under the GSIS Financial Assistance Loan (GFAL) “and now accepts application through e-mail or drop box.”

“Since the safety of our members and employees is our priority and our members need financial assistance now more than ever, we are resuming the very popular GFAL transactions through contactless methods,” GSIS President and General Manager Rolando Ledesma Macasaet was quoted in a statement as

saying. “Members who wish to apply for GFAL may opt to e-mail their application and documentary requirements or put them in drop boxes located in the lobbies of GSIS offices.”

GFAL is the pension fund’s response to government’s call to save teachers and other government employees from the bondage of debt, the GSIS said.

Under GFAL, GSIS said it will pay the outstanding balance of qualified members of up to P500,000 to the lender.

Members, in turn, will pay the balance to GSIS at a lower monthly amortization and interest rate of 6-percent per

annum for a longer payment term of six years.

“If the member’s loan with the lending institution is less than P500,000, he or she may borrow the remaining amount as ‘Top Up Loan’ and the proceeds will be directly paid to him through check which we can deposit to his UMID or eCard account upon request,” Macasaet said. “If they want to personally pick up their checks, it will be on an appointment basis to control the number of clients in the office at a given time to avoid the spread of the virus.”

Due to Covid-19, the application and

processing for GFAL was temporarily suspended last March 14.

“To make up for the suspension, we have extended the application period until December 31, 2020. The temporary suspension of the loan enabled us [to] put in place safety protocols to protect our members who are interested to apply for the loan,” Macasaet said.

“Since social distancing does not permit conduct of training programs, we have developed online programs for the required attendance to GFAL’s financial literacy seminar. Borrowers may opt to choose any one of the following: watch a

video explainer in our web site or attend the live nationwide virtual seminar that GSIS will be hosting via Zoom or Webex,” Macasaet added.

Applicants may also attend a virtual loan counselling and e-mail their signed tentative computation as their availment confirmation.

GSIS has also reduced the previous three-month payslip requirement to only one month from date of application.

Macasaet added that members may qualify for GFAL if they are permanent government employees with outstanding loan from lending institutions, gov-

ernment banks, cooperatives, or other instrumentalities accredited or recognized by their agency; have paid GSIS premiums for at least three years; and have no due and demandable GSIS loan.

They must also be not on leave of absence without pay; have a net take-home pay of not lower than P5,000 after deduction of monthly obligations; and have no pending administrative case or criminal charge. A borrower with pending case is still eligible to apply for GFAL if the case was filed by a lending institution due to nonpayment as a result of the prioritization of GSIS payments.

B4

Show BusinessMirror

Wednesday, August 26, 2020 • Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

SOON TO BE A MOM

THERE is young actress is rumored to be pregnant, but the father is not the young actor being paired with her by her home network. Her boyfriend, a showbiz aspirant, is said to be the baby’s dad. If this is true, we wonder what the young actress’s mom thinks of the situation. It’s not a secret that she does not approve of her daughter having a love life. The young actress was once involved with another young actor and it didn’t end well. The pregnancy isn’t unplanned and isn’t unwelcome either. The actress has long wanted her own family. Her boyfriend is also quite young and not yet financially stable, so we don’t know whether this would be acceptable to her mom. The young actress hasn’t had a project in a while. The last time was maybe a year ago.

HOPEFUL

NOW that his ex seems to be in a relationship, the actor can hope that the public will see him differently.

He also hopes his career would take off again because it’s currently at a standstill. The issue has taken its toll on the actor and the other woman in the love triangle. It’s unclear whether they are together right now. But they were definitely together when the actor and his ex broke up. Anyway, the ex, who’s also an actress, is now rumored to be seeing another celebrity.

According to the grapevine, that relationship of the actress’s had been going on at the time the actor ghosted his now ex. The actor is also hoping that these reports are true so that people would stop seeing him as a cad.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

‘Jerry Maguire’s’ Cuba Gooding Jr. accused of raping New York woman in 2013

N

EW YORK—Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. is accused of raping a woman twice in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013, according to a lawsuit that escalates the severity of the growing number of claims against him.

The lawsuit, datedon Monday but filed publicly Tuesday in Manhattan federal court, alleged that the Oscar-winning Jerry Maguire actor attacked the woman, identified in court papers as “Jane Doe” to protect her privacy, after she met him at a Greenwich Village VIP lounge.

Atty. Mark Heller, who represent the 52-year-old actor, said the “alleged event never took place.”

“And my client is totally innocent of any of these false allegations and we’re confident it will be dismissed,” he said.

“She’s probably just somebody who’s looking for some glory to bask in the publicity and notoriety of Cuba Gooding Jr.’s case,” he added.

Gooding already faces misdemeanor criminal charges of sexual abuse and forcible touching related to claims women have previously made against him.

He has pleaded not guilty to those charges.

Heller has called the state court allegations “incredulous” and assailed the prosecution as a waste of taxpayer dollars.

The federal lawsuit said the woman agreed to accompany Gooding to a nearby SoHo hotel, where they were to be joined at the hotel’s ground-floor bar and restaurant by Gooding’s friends and a friend of the woman who was with her when she met Gooding at the VIP lounge.

But when they arrived at the hotel, Gooding convinced her to go upstairs with him to a room, saying he wanted to quickly change his clothes, the lawsuit said. Instead, he put on music and attacked her, taking off her clothing and holding her arms to pin her down as he sexually assaulted and raped her twice, the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit said the woman told Gooding during the attacks “’no’ numerous times but he wouldn’t stop.” According to court papers, the August 2013 attack has left the woman with “emotional pain, suffering, and a loss of enjoyment of life.” The suit seeks unspecified damages.

Gooding appeared last week in Manhattan state court, where he has pleaded not guilty to six misdemeanor charges of forcible touching and sexual abuse. If convicted, he faces up to a year behind bars.

State prosecutors say more than two dozen women have made claims against Gooding since allegations first arose against him. AP

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Keke Palmer, 27; Macaulay Culkin, 40; Chris Pine, 40; Melissa McCarthy, 50.

Happy Birthday: You’ll encounter winning proposals this year. Don’t let emotional issues stand between you and the changes you want to make. Maintain equality and fair trade, regardless of what you face. Let go of a personal problem to pursue your dreams. You’ll have to spend money to make money, but the experience will enrich your life when all is said and done. Your numbers are 3, 12, 23, 28, 34, 37, 48.

a

ARIES (March 21-April 19): A positive attitude will help you excel. Put your energy into perfecting whatever you want to pursue. Take on a challenge, or sign up for a course that interests you. An emotional encounter will bring you closer to someone you love. HHHHH

b

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Friendship is featured, and a chance to learn more about someone you enjoy being around will open your eyes to new possibilities. Spending on others isn’t necessary if you want to make an impression, but kindness and honesty will make differences. HHH

c

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Initiating force, ultimatums or emotional manipulation is not acceptable. Whether you are trying to get your way or someone else is, put an end to such behavior, and get on with your life. A trusted friend will offer sage advice. HHH

d

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Change direction. Spice up your life, move things around at home to suit your new lifestyle and be open to suggestions that will encourage spending more time with someone you love. HHH

e

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Keep active. Physical activities and challenges will encourage you to test your strength and help you dodge situations that require making decisions you aren’t ready to pursue. Refuse to let anyone pressure you into something you don’t want to do. HHHHH

f

THE family of the actress’s boyfriend is skeptical that their baby is indeed that of the guy’s. They actually know. They’re just hoping they’re right. To be fair, not every family member is against the relationship.

They’re not doubting the actress because she isn’t as rich as they are. Some of the family members don’t like her because she isn’t a nice person. They’ve heard not-so-good things about her, and they’re worried the relationship will not go well. But right now, they can’t do anything. The boyfriend is a happy man. He has everything. And, really, one look at the child and you’ll know who the father is. There is no doubt about it. But it’s true that the actress is not a nice person.

DOES the beautiful girl know that her boyfriend has a child with another woman, and that he’s kind of a deadbeat dad? The boyfriend, an actor, got a fellow celebrity’s sister pregnant and shortly after, they broke up and she never heard from him again. He does send the girl and their child money occasionally but not regularly, and the ex wishes he would. Anyway, this is a secret the actor and his management have swept under the rug. But would this be all right with the beautiful girl, who has all these advocacies?

Would it be okay with her to be with a guy who does not take his responsibilities seriously?

By Eugenia Last

z

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): You’ll be disappointed if you rely on anyone.

Something unexpected will stop you in your tracks if you are not prepared. Be ready to accept the inevitable, and make it work for you. HH

NOT A NICE GIRL

DEADBEAT DAD?

Today’s Horoscope

g

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Reach out and help others. Offer your time, knowledge and services, but not your cash. Take a handson approach, and make a difference. Someone will recognize your skills and make you an offer you can’t refuse. Don’t sell yourself short. HHHH

h

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Get organized, and you’ll make your life easier.

The pressure to finish what you start will mount. Your professionalism and reliability will determine your destiny. Don’t promise anything you cannot deliver. HHH

Mapúa wraps up its first online CineMapúa DESPITE the challenges brought by the Covid-19 pandemic, Mapúa University successfully concluded a fully online film festival for this year’s CineMapúa.

CineMapúa is the university’s annual digital film festival that features student films from schools all over the country in appreciation of students’ skills in producing short films and visual storytelling.

According to Mapúa School of Media Studies (SMS), 36 finalists were shortlisted out of 87 student film entries for this year, 12 each for the Collegiate, All Mapúans and High School categories.

For its 18th edition, Mapúa organized a fully online film festival where the films were made available for free streaming for the first time via YouTube and CineMapúa’s Facebook page.

In its awards night last July 26 held via Zoom, Kurok of BFA Digital Cinema was hailed as the CineMapúa 2020 overall winner after bagging the Cardinal Excellence Film Award and Cardinal Gold Film Award for the All Mapúans category.

Amanung Sisuan and Malapit Na Nay of Far Eastern

University received the Cardinal Gold Film Award for the Collegiate and High School categories, respectively.

Mapúa SMS Dean Benigno Agapito Jr. shared that 2020 had been a challenging year after CineMapúa was postponed twice, first when Taal Volcano erupted in January, and lastly when the pandemic hit in February. “There had been significant adjustments in this year’s CineMapúa. It allowed us to be creative in utilizing the online platform to feature and share the beautiful entries of the festival to a wider audience.

We broke barriers this year for CineMapúa,” said Agapito.

The Mapúa SMS Dean also thanked the support of students and film enthusiasts, and the 7,000 viewers they accommodated in the three-day live streaming.

CineMapúa 2020 jurors were composed of independent filmmaker, screenwriter, and playwright Joseph Israel Laban; filmmaker, animator and writer Carl Joseph Papa; and Viva Films director, screenwriter and film instructor Raynier F. Brizuela.

i

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Stick to the truth, or don’t say anything at all. Focus on personal growth, physical fitness and emotional stability. Learning experiences will have consequences if handled the wrong way. Don’t make unnecessary changes. HHH

j

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Trust in your ability to make your own decisions. Listen to the suggestions made, but don’t give in to something you don’t want to do. Love, commitment and contracts all look good, but donations or paying for others will lead to regret. HHH

k

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Concentrate on doing the best job possible. Refuse to let someone or something from your past disrupt your plans. Don’t feel you have to make a change because someone else does. HHHH

l

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Stick to the truth, or be prepared to face an emotional dispute. Someone you love will disappoint you if you expect too much too soon. Don’t make decisions that are final. HH Birthday Baby: You are dedicated, loyal and persistent.

You are caring and adaptable.

‘poker action’ by will eisenberg The Universal Crossword/Edited by David Steinberg

ACROSS 1 Half the “California Dreamin’” singers 6 “Drat!”

10 Slap bracelets and fidget spinners 14 Simple-living sect 15 Indian flatbread 16 Other, in Oaxaca 17 Farfalle, for one 18 Abbr. in a list of authors 19 Not fatty 20 Verifying, in a way 23 Bunches and bunches 24 State lines?

25 Stone-faced 28 South Pacific island country 30 Actress Tyler 31 “Sticks and stones may break my bones...” elicitor 36 Endmost bills in a till 38 Insect in a colony 39 He sold his birthright 40 Form of mutual aid for the 14-Across 45 Perfectly chosen 46 Hole in one, on a par three hole

7 Courses with few obstacles?

4 49 Cookie Monster’s street 52 Woody Guthrie’s son 53 Preparing turkeys for a fancy meal, say?

57 Bit of land 58 Dreadful 59 Caterpillar, e.g.

62 Anjou or Bosc 63 Cracked, as a door 64 Online commerce 65 “Grand” ice cream brand 66 Delta buildup 67 Desert refuges DOWN 1 Cartographer’s creation 2 Casual Reddit interview, for short 3 Assorted: Abbr.

4 Of the stars 5 Monastery with a kung fu style 6 Wave’s peak 7 Campus military org.

8 Some Southern Paiutes’ state 9 Tough choice

10 It’s often passed down by word of mouth 11 Wiped out 12 Clog-clearing brand 13 “Look Alive” and “Stayin’ Alive” 21 Kids’ party drink 22 Calm under pressure 25 Hardly a neatnik 26 Louise’s sister on Bob’s Burgers 27 More than 28 The Sixth ___ (Shyamalan film) 29 When Romeo meets Juliet 32 USPS delivery 33 Brit’s surprised cry 34 Valley with winery tours 35 Courage, informally 37 Shoes that have colorways 41 Malek of Mr. Robot 42 Convention plans 43 Geek (out) 44 Discoverer of Jupiter’s four largest moons 48 Beethoven’s “Moonlight ___” 49 Slender-billed wader

50 Lessened 51 Spread, as fingers 52 Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed 54 South Pacific archipelago 55 Like some language tests 56 Mardi ___ 60 Contend 61 “Ice Bucket Challenge” subj.

Solution to yesterday’s puzzle:

Image BusinessMirror

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Editor: Gerard S. Ramos

• Wednesday, August 26, 2020

WHY MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS IN THIS PANDEMIC

BY AYUNAN G. GUNTING WHILE companies struggle to keep their businesses afloat amid the Covid-19 pandemic, they must also address yet another ominous crisis. Mental health issues have surfaced from prolonged quarantine periods and the abrupt shift to work from home.

People feel socially isolated, more stressed out, more anxious and emotionally exhausted, reports the Harvard Business Review.

Qualtrics and SAP, an enterprise software and survey/feedback provider, studied over 2,700 employees from 10 industries in the US last March and April. Findings showed that people can adapt to change but have difficulty in controlling their anxiety over the future—particularly about finances, personal lives and job security.

Mind You (www.mindyou.com.ph), a specialist in corporate mental health care, can provide support and confidentiality for employees. It offers counseling and preventative psychological therapy which uncovers the root of an employee’s problem before it becomes detrimental.

“Mind You was established with the goal of creating a happier, healthier and more productive work force. The Mental Health online platform was conceptualized last January because of the growing need for easier access to preventative mental health care. The development was then fast-tracked and launched due to the demand created by the Covid-19 global pandemic,” says Yuri Marshall, chief executive officer.

He notes that in the country, mental health care particularly in the workplace is still in its early stages compared with its neighbors such as Malaysia and Singapore. Moreover, mental health remains a taboo subject in the Philippines.

Mind You is optimistic that more companies will invest in mental health care. Marshall attributes this to the effects of the pandemic, along with the Mental Health Act 2018 which mandates companies to implement a mental health policy for its employees by 2020.

Since its inception, Mind You has been serving large companies which recognize the sociopsychological impact of Covid-19 and the “new normal” work policies on their staff. They also understand that mental health care can improve the productivity of employess.

“Employees may book free, one-to-one psychological therapy through our proprietary telehealth platform Mind You. The sessions are hosted on our HIPAA [Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act]-approved telemedicine conferencing system. There is no longer a need to go through human resources to book an appointment with a psychologist. When an enterprise signs up, every staff member completes a standardized nine-question assessment to assure they receive the appropriate care. Employees have the option of videoconference, phone call or chat for their therapy sessions,” explains Marshall.

For people in quarantine and don’t want to be open about their problems, they can sign up anonymously and consult with a licensed psychologist.

Suicide is usually a result of MDD (major depressive disorder). Quoting Healthline.com, Marshall says: “The exact cause of MDD isn’t known....

A combination of genes and stress can affect brain chemistry and reduce the ability to maintain mood stability.” Asked how the unemployed or those on furlough can get access to counseling, Marshall suggests talking to a trusted and unbiased person who is a supportive listener.

“If a person cannot afford a psychologist or counseling, meditation, talking about your emotions to loved ones and understanding that these feelings will eventually come and go can help with overcoming these challenging times. There are free help lines you can contact if you’re feeling suicidal,” he says.

Leading with heartstrings

W

E all avoided her. And when we had to talk to her, it always felt like we were walking on eggshells because she could find dissatisfaction in a thing as simple as the shade of a coworker’s lipstick. We have all had bosses who strike fear in our hearts even if they do not intend to, and we subconsciously cower when they walk past us (think Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada).

And yet we still follow them even on tiptoes because they are experts in their field and they are the boss. But you end up feeling drained, exhausted, and caught between pleasing your boss and losing yourself. But don’t you ever wonder how much more you could have done for yourself if they were not so disagreeable? That was one of the questions that Daniel Goleman tried to answer when he published the book Emotional Intelligence in 1995.

What is Emotional Intelligence (EI)? It is basically understanding your own and other’s emotions. It has five components, one of which is self-awareness, or being mindful of your own feelings, how they affect others, and how other’s feelings affect you.

You have emotional intelligence when you do not let those feelings control how you deal with others.

Self-regulation is another component where you refrain from being compulsive and you deliberately think of the consequences of your actions (think Marshmallow test). Another component is your motivation which helps you see how your decisions will benefit the whole team and how your intent is shown in your actions. The other component is empathy where you listen and understand what others need or want. And the last one is social agility, which is how you adapt to different scenarios and how you work with people.

You can take tests to check for your EI but you can also get an idea of your EI levels by asking yourself several questions like the following: Do people think of you as an empathetic person? Do you get along with people from different backgrounds and temperaments? Do you take offense when people give

At the heart of emotional intelligence is empathy or being able to put yourself in another person’s shoes. And the best way to do that is to talk to people. But be warned that knowing how the other person feels does not mean you kowtow to whatever they want, or you use those motivations to take advantage. you constructive criticism? Do you set boundaries and are not afraid to say “no” when needed? Do you have trouble asserting yourself or taking charge? Do you admit your mistakes, apologize, and move on? Are you a great listener? Do you also share your feelings and are not afraid to be vulnerable to others? Do you hold grudges? These are just some of the questions you can start with but for more accurate results, you might want to go to a licensed professional.

Understanding your EI levels will help you improve them and cope with the negative people in your team. You can focus more on the big picture and let logic and reasoning drive changes in your team rather than forcibly demanding them to comply by shouting or blaming, or, worse, resorting to mind games. The big picture helps you deliberate without losing sight of how your decision will affect others.

Also, emotionally intelligent leaders have the capability to manage conflicts without demotivating the team, along with the proficiency to create an environment where their teams are motivated to perform well because they understand how to deal with their team as a group and as individual members. But more importantly, leaders with high EI levels can also take criticism well and use these to improve themselves and set an example in humility and patience.

With all these elements of EI, can it be developed?

You may have observed that some people are innately gregarious, socially agile, and naturally draw people to themselves. This may have been brought about by several factors in their nature and the way they were nurtured. For people lacking the proclivity to be affable, like me for example, you need to work on it. I am naturally introverted so imagine me teaching and training other people. I was able to overcome my shyness by constantly exposing myself to situations where I had to talk to people especially when I was already leading a team. So, yes, like any other skill or behavior, it can be developed.

But you can only know what you need to improve if you take the time to reflect and be self-aware. What

makes you happy? What ticks you off? Why does it tick you off? Understanding what sets you off will help you prevent it from being a full-blown attack against the first person to cross you. Do not dismiss your emotions, especially the negative ones. They are indicators of underlying issues you have not fully resolved. And personal issues have a way of seeping into how you manage other people, so start by selfreflection and a good inventory of your emotions.

At the heart of emotional intelligence is empathy or being able to put yourself in another person’s shoes.

And the best way to do that is to talk to people. But be warned that knowing how the other person feels does not mean you kowtow to whatever they want, or you use those motivations to take advantage. It means you are in a better position to manage yourself and the other person to arrive at a compromise.

Stop blaming others for how you feel and take responsibility for your own actions and behavior. You are in control of your emotions. If someone irritates you and you do not work well with the person, do not let them get under your skin. Again, understand where the negative emotions are coming from and see if you can do something about it. If not, do not give it the power to rob you off your joy. Instead, focus on seeing the good in others and if needed, just walk away. Learn how to control your reaction and when you feel you slighted, stop and ask yourself why the other person made you feel that way.

More importantly, having a high level of emotional intelligence also helps you avoid being sucked into the negative world of toxic people, and at the same time it gives you the fortitude and self-respect to just walk away. Toxic people are those who only talk about themselves and their achievements and do nothing but receive without giving anything back. They pursue their own interests and manipulate people to get what they want because they use their expertise to their own advantage. They may have the highest productivity in their organization but if their team does not respect them, their influence is only as good as their titles. ■

Leading dermatology company offers innovative aesthetic treatment BEAUTY comes in many different forms, and Galderma Aesthetics Philippines is a pioneer in aesthetics empowering beauty in all forms with a wide range of products offering a holistic and personalized treatment experience.

As the leading innovators in aesthetics, Galderma Aesthetics Philippines (@galdermaaestheticsph) has a strong heritage built on over two decades of aesthetic innovation with experience in providing patients complementary treatments that can go with any look. This holistic approach in treatment leaves patients more satisfied with their facial appearance, achieving natural-looking results with minimal to

no downsides.

Offering the most innovative products and services through its comprehensive aesthetic portfolio, one of the pillars of this portfolio is Restylane, the world’s first stabilized non-animal hyaluronic acid (HA) filler used for various needs.

Restylane offers a diverse range of fillers that can be tailored to any individual look, giving customers the freedom to be original.

Since its launch in 1996, Restylane has been producing innovation, specifically through its gel technologies: Restylane NASHA and Restylane OBT. Due to the high flexibility of these products, they are able to complement facial movement, and are

better suited for finer lines.

With a wide-ranging product line of fillers, Restylane touts real and reliable results within a week, with immediate and visible results as you undergo the procedure.

Partnering with leading dermatology and beauty clinics, and with over 200 doctors in Metro Manila, Restylane has continued to grow in prominence in the local beauty community.

Galderma Aesthetics Philippines

is now expanding its presence online through their social-media channels.

B5

B6 Wednesday, August 26, 2020

Corolla Cross: Toyota Motor Philippines’ very first hybrid crossover in its lineup EDUCATION PROGRAM. Clark Development Corporation (CDC) expands horizons in its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs as President and CEO Noel F. Manankil (3rd from left) led the turnover of check to Santa Rosa Municipal Mayor Josefino M. Angeles (center). Also in the photo are CDC Director Nestor I. Villaroman Jr. (5th from right), CDC AVP for External Affairs Rommel C. Narciso (2nd from left), CDC Communications Head Noel G. Tulabut (1st from left) and Santa Rosa Municipal Administrator Argee Esquejo (1st from right). A total of 28 scholars from Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology will be given educational assistance. The state firm also has CSR programs in various parts of Pampanga and Tarlac provinces. (CDC-CD Photo)

MUFG, Security Bank pledge to support Filipino students in Japan

S A

FTER commemorating its 32nd anniversary this August, leading mobility company Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) marked another milestone by introducing the very first hybrid crossover in its lineup, the new Corolla Cross.

Designed as the stylish urban vehicle, the Corolla Cross combines Toyota’s signature “QDR” (quality, durability, and reliability) with style and functionality.

Its hybrid electric variant further realizes Toyota’s vision of sustainable mobility and makes self-charging hybrid technology more accessible to Filipinos.

In addition to its hybrid technology, the Corolla Cross also features two of Toyota’s most advanced car technologies today, the Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA), and Toyota Safety Sense (TSS).

“Guided by our philosophy of making ever-better cars, Toyota took the best of a trusted model, the Toyota Corolla, and turned it into a sleek and modern crossover,” said TMP President Atsuhiro Okamoto during the online launch of the new vehicle. “The Corolla Cross is designed to move you in comfort and style, whether you're seeking adventure, doing business, or simply spending time with people you love,” he added.

The New Corolla Cross, with its 1.8 V HV (Hybrid) and 1.8 G CVT variants will be available at Toyota dealerships nationwide starting August 26.

The Corolla Cross’ exterior starts strong with its imposing double trapezoid front grille which gives the vehicle a wide and stable appearance. Exclusive to the hybrid variant are LED Light Curtain Daytime Running Lights and a subtle blue accent to the bi-beam LED headlamps

which perfectly complements the blue Toyota logo. Sleek defined lines run from the side to the front of the aerodynamic cabin and the subtle “Double C” character lines along the vehicle’s side profile exudes a sophisticated impression.

Consistent with its sophisticated exterior, the Corolla Cross gets a classy minimalist interior which comes in leather for the hybrid variant. The wide and spacious cabin space gives abundant head clearance for easier ingress and the slim seatback gives ample legroom for backseat passengers. The thinner pillars and rear quarter window add to the roomier atmosphere of the Corolla Cross and provides more outward visibility.

The hybrid variant also has a retractable tonneau cover for the rear trunk space for privacy, and the spacious trunk has comfortable loading height for ease of access.

The driver gets accessibility and control all throughout the ride with features such as Smart Entry and Push Start System, power adjust with auto fold for the side mirrors, power windows, and speed-sensing door locks, and for the 1.8 V hybrid variant, rain-sensing windshield wipers and 8-way power adjust driver’s seat. Convenient steering wheel switches enable the driver to adjust Toyota Safety Sense (TSS) features and 7” multi-information display for the 1.8 V hybrid, and audio, and phone connectivity features for all variants. Apple Carplay and Android Auto is compatible with the 1.8 V Hybrid’s display audio.

TMP positions adoption of hybrid electric vehicles as the perfect transition to vehicle electrification in the country.

By popularizing hybrid technology

and making it more accessible, TMP takes another step forward in line with Toyota’s global commitment to push for sustainable mobility as outlined in its Toyota Environmental Challenge 2050.

The hybrid variant is powered by a 1.8L engine with Atkinson Cycle designed for the Hybrid system, and gets 1,798 cc displacement which gives of 142 max. torque @3,600 rpm, and an electric motor which helps in providing a 120hp total system max output. Three available driving modes (Eco, Power, and EV) also give the driver more control.

The 1.8 G CVT variant gets 1,798cc displacement, 138hp total system maximum output, and 172Nm maximum torque @ 4,000 rpm with the 16-Valve DOHC, 4-Cylinder, In-line, Chain drive with Dual VVT-I engine.

Designed and developed under Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA), the Corolla Cross embodies Toyota’s vision of making ever-better cars with core strength and an emphasized personality. Boasting a 10.4m curb-to-curb turning circle and a commanding view of the road with the high seating position and thinner front pillars, the driver feels more in control with the Corolla Cross.

Drivers and passengers are guaranteed peace of mind and security with all of the available safety features in the Corolla Cross. All variants are equipped with 7 SRS airbags, Anti-Lock Brake System with Brake Assist and Electronic Brake Force Distribution, Vehicle Stability Control with Traction Control, Hill Start Assist, and 3-point Emergency Locking Retractor (ELR) seatbelts for the driver and all passengers. The hybrid variant has two front and four rear clearance sonars, while the G CVT variant has 2 rear sonars, and reverse camera is available for all variants.

The 1.8 Hybrid variant also has Blind Spot Monitor and Rear Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA). When turned on, thhis system detects vehicles approaching from the rear or vehicles which may not be fully visible through the side mirrors, and alerts the driver through visual and audio signals.

Customers may check out the vehicle at any of TMP’s 70 dealerships across the country submit inquiries via https:// toyota.com.ph/corollacross.

“We understand customer apprehension on hybrid technology: affordability, maintenance, and resale value – that’s why we are offering the Corolla Cross hybrid with Balloon Payment Plus – lower monthly payments, inclusive of periodic maintenance, with guaranteed future resale value.” said TMP First Vice President Sherwin Chualim “Owning a hybrid vehicle is made easier and more affordable, and customers are guaranteed a hassle-free experience from buying, owning, and future reselling of their vehicle.” he said.

For more information on the New Corolla Cross, visit TMP’s official website at www.toyota.com.ph. More information about hybrid electric vehicle technology can be found at www.toyota.com.ph/hybrid.

ECURITY Bank and MUFG Bank Ltd, together with other MUFG companies and strategic partners in Asia, have pledged approximately Php 183 million to support Southeast Asian students in Japan who are facing economic difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The multimillion education fund will be distributed evenly across four beneficiaries, namely Thai Students’ Association in Japan, Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Japan, Association of Filipino Students in Japan, and Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in Japan. It will provide much needed financial aid to offset the economic hardship of students due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are very grateful for the help extended

by MUFG Group of Companies, with Security Bank as their local Filipino bank partner,” said Patrick Razo, President of the Association of the Filipino Students in Japan (AFSJ). “This will help our students continue and focus on their education without worrying about whether or not they can afford to.”

Security Bank has long been committed to supporting the education of the Filipino youth. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Security Bank continues to invest in providing means for students to continue learning.

“Security Bank welcomes opportunities that allow us to extend our education advocacy to Filipino students in Japan,” said Takashi Takeuchi, Executive Vice President & Head of Alliance Segment, Security Bank. “Through this donation drive, we are able to take the financial burden away from the beneficiaries so they can focus on their studies.”

Security Bank is among MUFG’s strategic partner banks, joining esteemed financial institutions within the MUFG network such as Bank of Ayudhya, or Krungsri, in Thailand, Bank Danamon in Indonesia, and VietinBank

in Vietnam. Security Bank and MUFG have a longstanding partnership together and have collaborated on several business initiatives and corporate social responsibility projects.

“Just as we are working closely with clients to build resilience in their businesses during these trying times, we hope that this support package will not only provide some measure of relief to students in need but demonstrate our long-term commitment to the deepening of bilateral ties between Japan and key Southeast Asian markets in the MUFG network,” said Yuichi Yamagishi, Managing Director and Country Head, Manila Branch, MUFG Bank, Ltd. Security Bank is one with the nation in providing e-learning access to Filipinos through partnerships with 88Tuition, Edukasyon.ph and Knowledge Channel. The bank is with every Filipino in overcoming the pandemic and believes that together, we can get better.

MUFG’s long term mission is to drive sustainable growth for both clients and the communities in which it operates. It unveiled an Environmental and Social Policy Framework in 2018 to better understand, address and integrate environmental and social considerations into its business strategy and in the subsequent year, pledged a total of JPY20 trillion to support the sustainabilityfinancing needs of clients by 2030.

This student fund is also the latest in MUFG’s ongoing support towards Japan’s relief efforts. Previously, MUFG has donated a cumulative total of JPY2.5 billion that would go towards a variety of causes ranging from supporting healthcare workers and needy students to the resumption of cultural activities in the country.

Manila Marriott’s mooncakes bring luck and fortune

Manila Marriott encases their hand-crafted mooncakes in an elegant two-tiered box.

C

ELEBRATE the Mid-Autumn Festival with this hand-crafted delicacy to attract good luck and prosperity! This year’s mooncake in a soft and golden brown skin is elegantly arranged in a luxurious crimson red latticed box with gold stamping and patterns of cherry blossoms. Aside from the whole salted duck egg at the center, flavors of the filling vary from white lotus paste, red lotus paste, and five spiced nuts with dried scallops. It is customary for businessmen and families to present mooncake to clients or relatives as presents.

The mooncake gifts sets are available in a premium box of six priced at P2,020++ (as

seen in photo). Enjoy a 15% early bird discount when you order until September 4, 2020. Club Marriott discount may be accorded. This offer is available from September 7 to October 2, 2020.

Orders must be placed 48 hours in advance. Available for pickup and take-away.

Delivery maybe arranged via Delishvery or thru the customer’s chosen courier.

For orders, reservations, and inquiries about Manila Marriott’s latest offers, call 0917-6245980 or visit the hotel’s website www.manilamarriott.com, and social media accounts in FB, IG, and Twitter @ ManilaMarriott. Be updated and join their Viber Community at Make it Marriott.

BusinessMirror

Editor: Tet Andolong

Wednesday, August 26, 2020 B7

Forward-thinking luxury developer

utilizes design innovation amid pandemic

S

INCE the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, families have been spending more time in their homes. It has not only become their safe haven but has also served as their makeshift space for work, school and even fitness.

Now more than ever, potential homeowners are prioritizing developments that do not only offer comfort and safety, but also a life of ease with all the conveniences within their reach. This has always been the principle behind the projects of luxury real-estate developer Filigree, as it continues to build future-ready, masterfully designed spaces that allow residents to live a full life.

“Filigree has always been forward-thinking, taking to mind the needs of its clients through well-thought out locations, design, spaces and abundance of greens. For us, this is what luxury is all about,” Catherine Ilagan, Filigree head, said. “For this year, we will continue to showcase the unmatched value of our developments with residents benefiting from our innovative designs, especially in the new normal.”

All of Filigree’s projects are spac iou s a nd we l l- pl a n ned further making them great investments for residents today as they enjoy the advantages of these intentional designs.

For example, Botanika Nature Residences—known for its lush surrounding—is a low-density residential enclave with only 10 units to a floor and a total of 101 units per tower. This makes social distancing much easier as residents get to take pleasure in their own spaces. Upon entering the unit, powder rooms

are situated near the entrance to allow owners and guests to disinfect before going in. Each unit features sizable balconies perfect for at-home exercises as people continue to stay indoors during this quarantine period.

Meanwhile, single-load corridors per floor are also designed to minimize traffic as residents exit their unit. Ensuring the health and wellness of residents, Botanika takes pride in its lanai that has ample space for fitness activities and an atrium that allows airflow and natural daylight in the building.

At Bristol Parkway Place, each unit features balconies to give residents additional space and access to fresh air and sunlight. To further boost residents’ health, the meditative yoga deck is an available space wherein they can take a breather. Like any other Filigree project, Bristol stands proudly in a central location. Strategically situated in Filinvest City, Alabang, the country’s first-ever LEED for neighborhood Gold certified development, it grants residents easy access to the beautiful sceneries and relaxing atmosphere of the Spectrum Linear Park to help recharge the mind and soul. Moreover, just a stone’s throw away are supermarkets and other retail shops.

Meanwhile, The Enclave Alabang nestled along Daang Hari

Bristol at Parkway Place, strategically located in Filinvest City, is walking distance to essential services and thus provides convenience to its residents.

Golf Ridge Private Estate takes pride in units with exclusive balconies, affording residents with more living spaces amid lush greeneries.

Road is a low density, small-knit community that seeks to maintain utmost security, privacy and exclusivity. As it is consciously built with an abundance of

Bria Homes and ‘Magandang Buhay’ award house-and-lot unit to deserving single father

greens and open spaces, this opulent village makes staying at home extra pleasant. It allows residents to safely bask in nature with family or follow through their fitness

routine—without worry of bumping into anyone—at their own sprawling backyard or the village’s expansive Central Park with its stunning manmade lagoon. It is also near superstores and lifestyle centers, making grocery runs and the like convenient for residents.

The Beaufort in Taguig City contains only four units to a floor, also answering the need for space and privacy. Found in one of the most quiet and less congested parts of Bonifacio Global City and with a view of the Manila Golf and Country Club, the Beaufort offers sophistication like no other. Its highly exclusive location coupled with its five-star amenities allows residents to live a cozy, worry-free life even during the quarantine.

Among its features is the Business

Center, which allows residents to work from home conveniently with its office setup perfect for online meetings and webinars. Also nearby is the De Jesus Oval Park for those who want to take a quiet stroll or a change in scenery.

The newest addition to Filigree’s portfolio is The Golf Ridge Private Estate. It is located in Mimosa+ Clark, Pampanga, a leisure destination that combines modern convenience with a laidback ambience. Golf Ridge will follow the same excellent building principles of the real-estate brand, going all-in for luxe, intimate living with abundance of space. With high ceilings, big windows, and spacious balconies that bring the outside in, residents can enjoy the views of the sprawling, world-renowned Mimosa Golf right from the comforts of their units.

Each of Filigree’s projects comes with carefully curated facilities, thus residents stay safe and comfortable within their homes while powering through their quarantine life. These properties are all maintained by ProExcel—highly skilled property managers who have been ensuring that security and safety protocols are all properly and constantly in place. Since the start of the pandemic, they have been diligent in implementing safety measures against Covid-19. Sanitary footbaths are provided in all points of entry into buildings, while alcohols are available 24/7 in main lobbies.

There is also an hourly disinfection of frequently used areas and surfaces like elevators, entrance door handles, reception desks, hallway floors and admin offices.

With the pandemic forcing many to reevaluate their living conditions, the safety, ease and convenience of homeowners remain Filigree’s utmost priority. Residents aspiring to live a full life can do so with Filigree offering relaxed payments schemes for its impressive project portfolio.

To know more, visit https://filigree. com.ph/.

Home

Induction cookers are the ideal #QuaranCooking buddy

T

HE series of quarantines helped people rediscover their kitchens and pushed them to brush up on their cooking and baking skills.

Time spent in the kitchen is a period away from screens—and it can be a therapy of sorts. So investing in a cooktop just makes sense. Whether cooking for yourself or your whole family, induction cookers are the way to go and here’s why:

Induction cookers make cooking even more enjoyable

BRIA Homes Magalang, Pampanga—a fully furnished Elena end-unit model

B

RIA Homes (www.bria.com.ph), one of the leading housing developer in the Philippines, together with ABS-CBN’s top-rating morning show Magandang Buhay, recently turned over the digital key to a brandnew house and lot to single father Ernesto Bauzon, the fourth winner in their “Magandang Buhay, Magandang Bahay” segment.

The awarding took place in a Facebook live episode last August 14, which had winner Ernesto, his daughter Agnes, and Red Rosales, Bria Homes president and chief operating officer, joining Magandang Buhay hosts Jolina Magdangal, Melai Cantiveros-Francisco, and Karla Estrada in a conference call.

Magandang Buhay initially disclosed Ernesto Bauzon as winner of a Bria Homes in its December 25, 2019 episode, saying that Bauzon was chosen for his dedication to— and love for—his three children.

The tale of how the widowed father raised his children single-handedly for decades touched the hearts of many viewers and served to inspire them.

It will be recalled that the awarding of the Bauzons’ new home was suddenly put off when lockdown and quarantine measures due to the pandemic were enforced. Now Bria Homes is finally ready and waiting for them to move in.

In the live Facebook episode, Rosales presented a “digital key” to their new home in Bria Homes Pampanga, an Elena end-unit model with a floor area of 22 square meters and a lot area of 54 square meters.

“Handang-handa na ang inyong Bria Homes; kayo na lang po ang hinihintay.

Malugod po naming wine-welcome kayo sa Bria Homes,” Rosales told the Bauzons after a digital tour of their new Bria unit, which has been equipped with furniture in the living room, kitchen, and bedroom—including a brand-new air-conditioning unit.

According to Rosales, the Bauzon family can move into their new Bria Homes in Pampanga, as soon as the current situation and quarantine protocols allow them to.

Bria assures the Bauzons that their new home is located in a safe and secure

community, with facilities such as guarded entrance and exits, perimeter fences, and 24/7 CCTV coverage.

Homeowners of Bria Homes Pampanga also enjoy recreational amenities like a park, a spacious playground, and a covered multipurpose center.

Living in a Bria community also means that Bauzon and his family will have access to schools, hospitals, churches, retail establishments, and major roads and highways.

Rosales expresses his good wishes for every Filipino family as he holds on to Bria’s vision of helping ordinary Filipinos and solving the housing problem in the country.

“Panalangin naming lahat sa Bria Homes na sa gitna ng pandemiyang ito, makapagbigay kami ng pag-asa sa mga kapwa Filipino katulad ng pamilya ni Popshie Ernesto, isang mapagmahal na ama,” he said.

To know more about Bria Homes, like and follow “Bria Homes Inc.” on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, Spotify, Viber Community, Telegram Channel, Kakao Talk, LINE and WhatsApp. Reni Salvador

With sleek styles and flush, modern tops, induction cookers make for IG-worthy top shots of your food as you simmer your stews, reduce your pasta sauce, or just let your adobo rest.

More important, however, induction cooktops are a breeze to clean. Since the surface itself doesn’t heat up, spills and drippings don’t get baked on.

You can easily wipe them off using a damp cloth with warm water and a bit of soap. Induction hobs also don’t have crevices and crannies where food particles can build up and clog. At the end of the day, quick and easy cleanup equals more time to indulge in the joys of cooking and savor your flavorful dishes.

Induction cookers help you save up on electricity

Induction cooktops like those from La Germania’s Futura Series are energy efficient. More than 80 percent of the energy that induction cookers generate is converted to heat which is used to cook your food. Less energy wasted to achieve and maintain your desired cooking temperature means lower electrical consumption. And this can go a long way to help you keep your electric bill in check.

Induction cookers are safer

Aside from taking an open flame out of your cooking equation, induction cookers use electromagnetic technology to heat the pan directly and not the hob surface. If there’s no pot or pan on the

induction top, there’s no real danger of you or your hyperactive tot getting burned. Additionally, you’ll never have to experience that uneasy feeling that you might’ve left the gas on.

Induction cookers are hassle-free cooktops

Being energy efficient, induction cookers can heat up your food really quickly, so there’s less waiting around for your sinigang to simmer or your eggs to boil. “Induction cookers heat up your pan super fast. It actually heats up as fast as a gas or even faster sometimes,” explained restaurateur, professional chef, and La Germania brand ambassador Rolando Laudico.

Induction cookers are also as plug and play as it gets. You literally just plug and turn on. No more fussing about LPG tanks running empty in the middle of prepping dinner or your midnight ramyeon.

Induction cookers are for everyone

Typical induction cookers have touch-button temperature settings, which gives you more control and precision with your cooking—something newbie cooks, online food business-owners, and seasoned professionals alike will appreciate.

Sheltering in place and just cooking for yourself? La Germania’s single-burner induction stove already has a nine-level heat setting that will allow you to cook up quickie meals or more experimental fare. Those cooking for their families will do well with a four-burner cooktop that also has a child lock function to boot; while those catering to the food cravings of a solid-sized customer base can opt for an induction hob that has a timer feature so overcooking or undercooking dishes can be a thing of the past. Whatever your lifestyle or need, there’s a La Germania induction cooker for you. https://lagermaniaph.com

Sports BusinessMirror

B8 Wednesday, August 26, 2020

mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph / Editor: Jun Lomibao

BEAUTIFUL GAME, BOUNTIFUL GAIN

T

By Jun Lomibao

HE Philippine Football Federation (PFF) has the least to worry about as a national sports association (NSA) in terms of assuring the continuity of its programs that were shuttered by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The PFF is one of 211 member-federations that over time are bound to receive $1.5 million each from the sport’s world governing body, the International Football Federation or Fifa.

“This is Fifa’s program to help national federations continue football activities in their respective countries during and after the pandemic,” PFF President Mariano Araneta told the BusinessMirror on Tuesday.

Fifa President Gianni Infantino announced last month the international federation’s release of the financial grant totaling $1.5 billion.

The grant, PFF General Secretary Atty.

Edwin Gastanes said is divided into two— $500,00 for women’s football development and $1.5 million to be given in two tranches, the first half this year and the second half in 2021 both for general football program and Covid-19 pandemic relief.

“We have already submitted our application for $500,000 to Fifa for our women’s development for this year and next year,”

Gastanes said. “But it won’t be that simple, we need to justify in detail every dollar that we spend on each program or activity.”

Strict auditing measures govern all grants that the PFF receives from Fifa, as well as from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

“Under Fifa’s Forward 2.0 Program Regulations, PFF will be subject to stringent audit—Fifa does an annual audit of its grants to PFF on top of the annual audit by PFF external auditor SGV and Company,” he said.

Gastanes said the PFF programs for $1.5 million will be fully scrutinized by its board of governors—numbering 15—which has to review and approve the recommendations to be made by a task force headed by Agusan del Norte First District Rep. Lawrence Fortun with Dan Palami as one of the four members.

Fortun heads the PFF’s Finance Committee and Palami leads the National Team Committee. The two other members are board members Engr.

Henry Sabate, president of Davao Regional

IATF to roast UST, NU squads

T

HE Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Imerging Infectious Diseases starts its investigation on the alleged training “bubble” involving the varsity teams of University of Santo Tomas (UST) and National University (NU) on Wednesday.

The IATF tasked UST men’s basketball Head Coach Aldin Ayo and NU women’s volleyball Head Coach Norman Miguel to sit before the online panel, along with University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 83 President Nonong Calanog of De La Salle and Executive Director Rebo Saguisag.

Ayo allegedly tasked the Growling Tigers to train in an undisclosed facility in his native Sorsogon City two months ago, while Miguel and the Lady Bulldogs trained at NU’s Calamba campus in Laguna.

Both were unauthorized and prohibited by the IATF amid the quarantine set to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.

The meeting is set at 1 p.m. and will also include representatives from the Philippine Sports Commission, Games and Amusement Board and the Department of Health, the three bodies that make up the joint task force for sports during the pandemic.

UST officials declined to join an initial meeting over the weekend, insuating that they had no knowledge of Ayo’s “bubble.” But copies of a waiver signed by his players were circulated in the social media, thus contradicting the UST officials’ claim.

It was not also immediately known if local government officials of Sorsogon City and Sorsogon province tolerated then “bubble.”

Ramon Rafael Bonilla

Football Association (RFA), and Jay Adriatico, head of the Mindoro Oriental RFA. Fifa has more members than the International Olympic Committee (206 national Olympic committees) and even the United Nations (193 countries). It ranks as the most liquid IF with its generosity to its members running unabated annually.

According to Gastanes, Fifa’s traditional grant reaches $1.5 million annually, the amount of which is equally divided for infrastructure, administration support and programs and activities actually launched.

Fifa funded the construction in 2007 of the House of Football, a three-storey PFF headquarters that sits on a 360-square-meter corner lot in Oranbo in Pasig City. The PFF offices, however, would be transferred to Carmona in Cavite under a two-year timetable.

“We are moving to Carmona because we want the headquarters situated close to our National Training Center,” Gastanes said.

In 2016, PFF leased for 25 years for a nominal amount a 2-hectare area inside the 37-hectare Manila Jockey Club Inc. compound in Carmona for its National Training Center which now has a Fifa-funded internationalsized artificial turf and two AFCfunded 20m by 40m mini-pitches with lights.

In a few weeks, the main field floodlights which were recently funded by AFC will be switched on, he said.

Gastanes said that the new House of Football would be built on a 4,000-square-meter private lot which PFF is purchasing using proceeds from a separate grant by AFC. The headquarters is only 700 meters away from the training facilities and

LeBron, Lakers hot on course FOOTBALL federation President Mariano Araneta and General Secretary Atty. Edwin Gastanes hold the reins of Philippine football.

would consist of a four-story building with a gym and later on separate dormitories for men and women players.

The building construction will be funded by a separate grant from Fifa and the proceeds of the sale of the existing House of Football building and lot in Pasig City.

“We scheduled the ground-breaking ceremony last March 2020 but we were overran by the lockdown,” Gastanes said. “Hopefully, when things get better, we start construction late this year.”

The PFF also plans to add in the future to its existing regional training facility in Valencia, Bukidnon, consisting of a full size natural grass pitch and dormitories for 80 players.

The PFF in simple terms ranks head and shoulders over the other NSAs in the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) umbrella—the POC grants P50,000 administration assistance to its members annually plus opportunity for Olympic Solidarity grants.

With significant cash, but Gastanes said the PFF has been diligent when it comes to its finances.

emotional burden of both honoring Bryant and coping with the shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, by police officers in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

“I can’t even enjoy a playoff win right now, which is the sad part,” he said.

James spoke at length about the shooting, which has sparked violent protests.

Blake, who remained hospitalized on Monday, was shot, apparently in the back, as he leaned into his SUV while his three children sat in the vehicle.

“We are scared as Black people in America,” James said. “Black men, Black women, Black kids. We are, we are terrified.”

The Trail Blazers won the opener but have appeared gassed in the past two games. Damian Lillard, the MVP of the seeding games in the National Basketball Association bubble, had 11 points before leaving with a right knee injury

LEBRON JAMES says he felt Kobe Bryant in the building when the Lakers rushed to a 24-8 lead, the late basketball star’s jersey numbers. AP

“Everything we do at the PFF is above board—fully transparent and regulations compliant. No hanky panky,” said Gastanes, who was named in 2013 as general secretary after Araneta was elected president in 2011.

Gastanes said Araneta does not receive any emolument from PFF. Both hold sensitive positions beyond Philippine soil—Mariano is the first Filipino to be named to the Fifa Executive Council besides his membership in the AFC Executive Council while Gastanes is a member of the AFC Legal Committee since 2015—he chaired the AFC Ad hoc Electoral Committee in 2013.

Gastanes, a recreational footballer in his younger years and perhaps one of the pioneers in Sports Law in the country, said it would still be a long way to go before football ranks very high among Filipinos.

“From a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being highest, I say we are 6 going to 7,” said Gastanes, crediting the surge of the national men’s team Azkals’ historic upset of Vietnam in Hanoi in the 2010 AFF Championship. in the third. Jusuf Nurkic had 20 points and 13 rebounds.

Anthony Davis added 18 points in 18 minutes for the Lakers before leaving the game midway through the third with back spasms.

The Lakers, the top seed in the Western Conference, can close out the series on Wednesday.

Goran Dragic scored 23 points, Bam Adebayo had 14 points and 19 rebounds and the fifth-seeded Miami Heat completed a firstround sweep, beating the Pacers 99-87 also on Monday night. Tyler Herro had 16 points for the Heat, who made it out of the first round for the first time since 2016.

Victor Oladipo had 25 points and Myles Turner added 22 points and 14 rebounds for the Pacers, who have been bounced in the first round of the playoffs in five straight seasons.

Dennis Schroder, meanwhile, scored a career playoff-high 30 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder rallied to beat the Houston Rockets 117114 to even the first-round of their playoff series.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, on the other hand, had 31 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists and Khrus Middleton finally came alive with a huge fourth quarter as the Bucks beat the Magic, 121-106, for a 3-1 lead in their own series. AP

Vargas, PBA mulling NBA-like ‘bubble’

T

NOT ONLY IN THE PHILIPPINES!

L

ONDON—Ireland’s prime minister was forced to defend the future of his government Monday as criticism mounted over a golf event attended by senior politicians despite a ban on large gatherings designed to slow the spread of Covid-19.

Taoiseach Micheal Martin welcomed public outrage over the event attended by more than 80 people, which has already led to the resignation of his agriculture minister and the deputy speaker of the upper house of parliament, because he said it underscored the need for everyone to combat coronavirus.

But he sought to focus attention on the government’s legislative record, not speculation that his coalition will collapse over the scandal.

“It will survive,” he said during a 40-minute grilling by national broadcaster RTE. “The situation is tenable, of course it’s tenable. It’s not falling apart. The government is seven weeks in office. It’s done more in its first seven weeks in office than many of its predecessors.’’

Martin’s comments came after the government said parliament would be recalled from its summer recess next week, two weeks ahead of

schedule. Opposition parties are demanding that lawmakers return immediately.

“This government has been lurching from one crisis to another, entirely devoid of leadership or cohesion,” Mary Lou McDonald, president of the opposition Sinn Fein party, tweeted Sunday. “They must be held to account.”

The scandal erupted last week amid reports that senior members of Martin’s party, Fianna Fael, attended a golf society dinner in Galway on August 19. That was a day after the government reintroduced social distancing rules that barred large social events and said no more than eight people should sit together in restaurants.

Former Agriculture Minister Dara Calleary resigned over his attendance, as did Jerry Buttimer, the deputy speaker of the Senate. Phil Hogan, the European Union trade commissioner, is also under pressure.

Irish Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien on Monday demanded that Hogan step down, while Martin asked him provide a “comprehensive statement’’ on the issue.

HE Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) wanted a National Basketball Association (NBA)-like “bubble” for the local pro league to also return to action.

PBA Chairman Ricky Vargas admitted that the NBA model, despite being costly, provided the world’s No. 1 basketball league the opportunity to resume its season amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I don’t see any problem adopting the same [NBA] formula for Asia’s first ever play-for-pay league,” Vargas told Tuesday’s online Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum.

Vargas said the PBA could have its own “bubble” in either Laguna, Batangas, Subic and even as the good old Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The PBA opened its 45th season last February but was abruptly shut down because of the imposition of the enhanced community quarantine.

“My own feeling, as part of the board as chairman, is we don’t have a choice. There’s a model and the model is the NBA, so we just have go ahead and look forward to the time when we are playing again—whether it’s the NBA way or a more innovative way,” Vargas said.

Commissioner Willie Marcial, who joined Vargas in the forum, said the Inspire Sports Academy in Laguna, another school gym in Batangas and the Subic Golf and Country Club are the candidates for the PBA “bubble.”

Marcial said his deputy, Eric Castro, has started coordinating with officials from the potential venues. He said the “bubble” should ideally house all members of the 12 teams and other league personnel totaling least 350 people.

Al Mendoza

alsol47@yahoo.com

EMOTIONAL LEBRON, LAKERS GRAB 3-1 LEAD L AKE BUENA VISTA, Florida—LeBron James took note when the Los Angeles Lakers built an early 24-8 lead over the Trail Blazers on Kobe Bryant Day. “OK, he’s here in the building,” James said he thought in the moment, when the two numbers that Bryant wore during his career appeared on the scoreboard.

The Los Angeles Lakers dominated Portland the rest of the way Monday night, winning 135-115 to take a 3-1 advantage in their playoff series.

James had 30 points and 10 assists in 28 minutes before heading to the bench late in the third quarter. The Lakers led by as many as 38 points for their third straight win in the opening-round series, the team’s first playoff appearance since 2013.

After the game, James detailed the

THAT’S ALL

“We are looking at the best option which the Commissioner’s Office will present to Chairman Vargas and the board,” Marcial told the session presented by San Miguel Corp., Go For Gold, Milo, Amelie Hotel Manila, Braska Restaurant and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. and powered by Smart, with Upstream Media as webcast partner.

While other members of the board are also enthusiastic about the “bubble,” Vargas admitted it will definitely come with a huge cost.

“More than the site, the ‘bubble’ is financially heady,” said Vargas, saying it was the NBA itself which spent for the construction of the “bubble” at Disney World in Florida. The cost breached $180 million for a shortened season.

“So we will have to look at our own finances if the PBA could solely shoulder

the cost, or will it be shared by the teams,” Vargas said. “These are important issues that we have to discuss in the board.”

The PBA made its first step toward a possible season restart when half of the team members returned to training in various gyms on Tuesday.

For Vargas and Marcial, that’s a good sign.

“We are ready. This is a very good start, and we are ready to do what we’re supposed to do,” Vargas said.

BARANGAY Ginebra San Miguel’s (from left) Jeff Chan, Jared Dillinger and Stanley Pringle—and the rest of the teams—are back at the gym on Tuesday. The Gin Kings returned to training at the Upper Deck facility in Pasig City.

LEBRON JAMES and the Los Angeles Lakers just could not be stopped. After absorbing a 100-93 opening day loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, the Lakers turned into an unappeased bunch of avengers to sweep the succeeding three games in the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) West first-round playoffs.

The last one—a 135-115 rout yesterday— saw James dish off his patented power-game, returning to his routine double-double habit in collecting 30 points and 10 assists to go with six rebounds in Florida’s Walt Disney complex.

James now has 101 points in four games despite that 10 in Game Two done more out of choice than anything as he urged his teammates in producing more, leading to a 111-88 blasting of the Blazers.

That series-tying win alone signaled the Lakers’ ominous fiery comeback from that opening-day stinker, where LeBron’s mindset, seemingly, was to set a new career record at the expense of a Laker victory.

He had accomplished it, all right, piling up 23 points, 17 rebounds and 16 assists to become the first to make 20+points-15+rebounds-15+assists in NBA history.

Now, if you say LeBron must have programmed the Western Conference playoffs as something to experiment on extracurricular of his own, I give it to you.

Better to try to achieve some goals while the journey is just barely starting?

He figured there’s plenty of time to recover anyway in case his ploy backfires?

Well, give that to superstars. They have agendas that sometimes go against the team’s overall goal. They are practically licensed to be licentious—at times.

And so, can Coach Frank Vogel blame LeBron, or even accost him for straying from the main aim, as in persevering to win every game in a series?

He’d rather not. He knows the rules.

Superstars are given extra latitudes.

Wasn’t Phil Jackson like that in his dealings with Michael Jordan and, later, with the late Kobe Bryant, too?

When you have players that can coach themselves when on the floor, you are blessed.

Jackson knew that. And, by now, Vogel knows that, too.

When LeBron powered the Lakers to a 116-108, Game Three victory on Sunday for the go-ahead, 2-1 series lead, his game-high 38 points was from 11-of-18 field goal shooting, 4-of-8 triple clip and 12-of-17 from the line.

In Tuesday’s Game Four win, LeBron fired a couple of three-pointers to quickly lift the Lakers to a 15-0 start, continuing to fire at will in teaming up again with Anthony Davis in building a commanding 43-25 lead in just one quarter.

With Damian Lillard shackled again—he finished with just 11 points—the Lakers dropped bombs in bunches until the Blazers quit trailing altogether after being left behind, 80-51, at halftime.

The win left the Lakers waving a 3-1 lead like Utah over Denmark in the West playoffs, with Houston and Oklahoma tied at 2-2 like the Los Angeles Clippers and the Dallas Mavericks.

Luka Donkic gave Dallas, down 133-132, the lift of its life when he drained a buzzer-beating three for the Mavericks’ series-tying 135-133 victory in Game Four.

The East became a blank landscape as Boston swept Philadelphia 4-0 like Toronto over Brooklyn (4-0) and Miami over Indiana (4-0).

The 3-1 Milwaukee Bucks will try to finish off the Orlando Magic at 6 a.m. on Thursday before the Lakers also try to wrap it up against the Blazers at 9 a.m. tomorrow.

Thanks to the NBA as it somehow helps us forget the vicious virus—even temporarily.

THAT’S IT The NBA playoffs cost Coach Brett Brown his job as he got fired after his Sixers got blanked by the 4-0 Celtics in their East series— even as Brown, the seven-season Coach Brown brought Philadelphia to the playoffs three straight years. The cruelty of coaching.